Memorial Day

"Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few." ~ Winston Churchill



h/t Z

Frank Frazetta

"All the heroes and legends I knew as a child have fallen to idols of clay" ~ Dennis DeYoung

May 10, 2010 came and went with barely a whisper of news about the passing of a giant. On that day, Frank Frazetta, one of my personal heroes, passed away.

I have always loved art, and once believed I had some talent. So much so, in fact, that I attended college with the intention of majoring in art, but eventually dropped out for a multitude of reasons. One of those reasons was because after observing the talent the other art students possessed, I realized I really didn't have that much talent in art, after all.

But, I still love art, and a few years after I left college, I discovered Frank Frazetta. No doubt, everyone is familiar with Frazetta's work, but don't know who he was. To this day, when I spy a cover illustration by Frazetta, I immediately recognize the familiar style. I can also recognize the imitators, of which there are many.

I first became acquainted with Frazetta's work shortly after college when I became interested in a particular type of comic book. I started buying and reading comic books with titles such as "Creepy", "Eerie", and my personal favorite, "Vampirella". The allure of these particular comic books came mostly from the artwork, which was far better than the ordinary DC Comics (which is very good in it's own right) style artwork.

Probably the most popular and most sought after comic book cover illustrators was Frank Frazetta. Frazetta's artwork was distinctive, and singularly recognizable by it's incredible detail.

Frazetta's art was probably the chief reason I became familiar with the novels of Edgar Rice Burroughs. Although Burroughs' novels have gone through possibly hundreds of printings since he wrote them in the 1800's, Frazetta's cover illustrations of books such as "Warlord of Mars", and the "Tarzan" series, spawned an entire new generation of Edgar Rice Burroughs fans.

I was one of them.

During one period of my life, I voraciously read virtually every Edgar Rice Burroughs book I could get my hands on, particularly those whose covers had been decorated with Frank Frazetta paintings.

Now, besides loving art, I also love Edgar Rice Burroughs' books, thanks to the artistic genius of Frank Frazetta.

It was the "out of the frying pan, into the fire" style of Burroughs that inspired one of my personal original quotations:

"My life is an Edgar Rice Burroughs book without the adventure."

Those readers familiar with Burroughs' novels will no doubt understand my meaning.

In honor and memory of Frank Frazetta, I now present my two readers with examples of some of his amazing artwork:

Conan

Warlord of Mars

Egyptian Queen

John Carter and the Apes of Mars

Gollum

Conan the Destroyer

Werewolf

Vampirella

Obama's Katrina

"The problem with political jokes is they get elected." ~ Henry Cate VII

Five (5) weeks has now elapsed since the BP oil disaster in the gulf took place. Obama has made one (1) short visit to the gulf area in that time.

One visit.

And, some of Obama's staunchest supporters are, to say the least, disappointed in their hero.


Here's some quotes I came across today:

"He blew it. Obama faces a meltdown akin to the unraveling of his predecessor, George W. Bush. A press conference and a visit to the region are simply too little too late. It doesn't matter whether government could do any better than the oil companies. The political fallout has taken hold. Obama failed to manage a massive crisis. There's no fixing this failure. His only hope now is changing the subject. Good Luck."

Here's another:

"Thinking before doing is one of Barack Obama’s strengths, but not in this oil crisis. The President’s famously deliberative style has not served him well.

When an uncontrollable gusher of this magnitude threatens the economy and ecosystem of an entire region, it’s not enough for Obama to essentially adopt a wait-and-see stance in letting the oil industry tinker and experiment in vain.

The President’s pattern is to swoop in at the last minute and close the deal. He’s good at it.

But sometimes presidents cannot wait to see what everyone else thinks and does before acting. When it comes to the Gulf region in environmental chaos, we needed a starter, not a closer."

And, another:

"[I]t just looks like he's not involved in this! Man, you have got to get down here and take control of this!..."

...Put somebody in charge of this and get this thing moving! We're about to die down here!"

The first quote is by one of Obama's chief water carriers, Craig Crawford, a particularly rabid Liberal propagandist.

The second comes from an article by Mike Lee, who was commenting on Craig Crawford's quote.

The third quote is by former Clinton Strategist, and Obama supporter, James Carville.

For more from Mr. Carville, watch this:



Unlike Liberals, who placed the full weight of the blame for the destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina (an unpreventable natural disaster) squarely on George W. Bush's shoulders, I won't blame Obama for the colossal oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. I understand he had nothing to do with the causation of the spill.

However, at least Bush made a fairly timely appearance in Louisiana to assess the situation first hand.

Obama hasn't even attempted a photo op in relation to the oil spill.

Obviously, there is nothing he could have done to prevent the spill, and nothing he could have done to stem the leak. But, he could have at least pretended he was trying to do something.

What is he doing instead, you might ask?

He is appearing in San Francisco, campaigning for California Democratic Senator Barbara Boxer, and when he is done with that, he will be taking a vacation back in sweet home Chicago. Three campaign events, including a stopover at the home of one America's wealthiest families.

Ironically, a family that gained their wealth in the oil industry.

And, skipping the traditional Memorial Day visit to Arlington to honor the nation's war dead on Memorial Day, something that sitting United States Presidents have been doing annually for decades.

But, you know what? I support his decision not to uphold the Presidential tradition of honoring our fallen soldiers on Memorial day. As I said on my Facebook page,

"I think Obama doesn't deserve to share the spotlight with those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice for their country. This celebration should be for those who love this country, not those who hate it."

Now, Blogger buddy Lone Ranger says, "Currently, about one out of five democrats who supported him, now oppose him."

It seems to me the only Democrats left who still support this guy are those who are willfully blind, deaf, and ignorant.

Cross posted at American Descent

The Buck Stops...Where?

"All you need in this life is ignorance and confidence; then success is sure." ~ Mark Twain

My Liberal Doctor nephew posted this on his Facebook page. He said he still loves Obama but imagines this must be what might be going through his mind, if he were in Obama's shoes.



Alas, I feel my beloved nephew underestimates Obama's strength of arrogance.

Pathological Narcissists don't ever doubt themselves.

Cross-posted at American Descent

A Problematic Party

"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." ~ George Santayana

I am beginning to think this National Tea party movement may end up doing serious damage to the Republican Party's efforts to unseat Obama in the Presidential election of 2012. In the aftermath of recent primary victories by "Tea Party" candidates across the nation, to me, it is troubling that some of these candidates are actively campaigning more vigorously against Republicans than Democrats.

The Tea parties were a great idea in the beginning, when Americans across the country began to realize how dangerous the Obama administration's policies are. They served as an resounding wake-up call to those who were in the middle of the road and still unconvinced that electing Obama was a colossal mistake.

The Tea Party movement served it's purpose at the time.

Now, it's time to get back to the business of throwing the Liberal Democrats out of office. It will take a concerted effort by Republicans to accomplish that goal. But, sadly, we cannot do that with a "Tea Party".

I sense a split in the Republican party, and that isn't a good thing.

Third party candidates, for whatever reason, never win.

All they manage to do is insure a victory for the party that didn't split.

In 1912, Former Republican President Theodore Roosevelt attempted to wrest the Republican nomination from William Howard Taft* , and when he failed, he launched the Bull Moose Party. In the election, Roosevelt became the only third party candidate to come in second place, beating Taft but losing to Woodrow Wilson, who, many feel, was among the worst Presidents in our history.

Democratic Alabama Governor George Wallace ran for President as an independent in 1972, effectively splitting the Democrat vote between himself and George McGovern. If you remember, Democrat George McGovern was defeated by Republican Richard Nixon as a result.

Republican John B. Anderson ran for President as an Independent in 1980 against President Jimmy Carter and Republican Ronald Reagan. Although Anderson was a Republican, he was endorsed by many Liberal Democrats, which probably split the vote among Democrats, many of whom obviously felt that Jimmy Carter was an atrocious President, but could not bring themselves to vote for a Conservative Republican.

Likely, many Democrat voters felt that a Liberal Republican was preferable to a Conservative Republican, and Conservatives owe them a debt of gratitude for that, since Conservative Republicans hold Ronald Reagan up as the paradigm of Conservatism to this day.

In 1992, George H.W. Bush probably would have retained the Presidency had it not been for a Republican-turned-independent candidate, H. Ross Perot, who successfully pulled enough Republican voters away from Bush to insure Clinton a victory despite his numerous scandalous distractions (Gennifer Flowers, etc).

If, in 2012, the choice of Conservative candidates for President is split between the Republican party and the Tea Party, Obama will win the Presidency again.

This is something that Conservatives cannot allow.

Even a RINO President is preferable to a Marxist President.

If a Tea Party candidate is selected to run for President, he must be selected to run by the Republican National Convention, and not as an independent third party.

*Taft was as big as two men, so it was fortunate that he had two names, both William and Howard.

What's In My Head

OK. What got this song stuck in my head was meeting a guy a few days ago who used to skate in the Roller Derby. He is now a personal trainer. Interestingly enough, he didn't know of this song.

Political Correctness Will Get Us All Killed

"Lord, what fools these mortals be!" ~ William Shakespeare.

Here is something I was going to post an an entry about, but didn't get around to it, and now it's too late, but I'll post anyway, because the motive is still questionable:

The guy in the video who was seen near Times Square removing his sweat shirt minutes after (before?) the SUV was found with all the explosive devices aboard. look at this:



Why was he considered a suspect?

I've tried to understand what it is about a man removing a sweatshirt and placing it into the bag he is carrying that arouses suspicion, but I can't.

Now, if he just threw the sweatshirt away and walked on, possibly there might be reason to question that action.

But, If I am walking, and I get hot, and I remove my outer shirt or jacket, I will hold onto it, and If I am carrying a bag of some type, I would likely place the shirt in there.

I think I have an idea why this one man, out of all the other passers-by, was singled out as a possible suspect.

He is white, and apparently forty-ish.

Which is, in itself, in this politically correct, all inclusive, topsy-turvy world, a world created by journalists, a particularly dangerous combination.

The media would like nothing more than to find a typical white man to suspect of terrorist intentions, and if he happens to be a Conservative tea partier, all the better.

Forget the fact that, with few exceptions, terrorists are young brown-skinned middle eastern Muslim men. The exceptions are white men who have converted to Islam. But, they are still young. Not forty-ish.

So, while police possibly wasted many man-hours researching this man who had the misfortune to take his sweatshirt off at the wrong place and the wrong time, the real suspect was preparing to escape to Dubai.

And guess what? The real suspect is a young, brown skinned, middle eastern Muslim male.

Go figure.

It is only a matter of time before these Liberal, blame America first, terrorist loving, love-everybody-regardless-of-how-evil-they-are-except-innocent-God-fearing-Americans, so-called journalists will distract law enforcement officers long enough to let a real terrorist kill hundreds of people.

It's not a question of "if" it happens. It is only a question of "when and where" it will happen.

OK. That's my opinion. Anyone have a better explanation for suspecting this man?

Tebow A Nazi

"There is nothing worse than aggressive stupidity." ~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Remember Don Imus getting fired a while back for calling the Rutger's woman's basketball team a bunch of "nappy headed ho's"?

Remember that for several weeks, numerous articles and news stories flooded our newspapers and TV sets calling for Imus' resignation and/or firing? Remember we couldn't go two minutes without hearing some breaking news update about the "racist" Don Imus? Remember all the threats directed toward Imus for his callous remarks?

So why has no one heard about this?

Fred "Toucher" Toettcher, a Boston Sports radio talk show host, called ex University of Florida Quarterback Tim Tebow's NFL Draft party, "some kind of Nazi rally". He went on to say, "So lily-white is what I'm trying to say."

(Toettcher is a German name if I'm not mistaken, isn't it? Well, maybe he has first hand experience with Nazism.)

See, my point here is this: Just because someone holds a party that happens to have a proportionately majority of white attendees, it is not a logical conclusion to assume they are all Nazi's. Or KKK. Or White Supremacists.

We might as well assume that anyone with German last name is a Nazi.

See the stupidity of the reasoning?

Or perhaps I'm off-base here. Maybe Toettcher just stupidly assumes that Christians are Nazi's. That's a stereotypical assumption often made by the Liberal elite.

Here is a more logical assumption: Toettcher is an idiotic racist, typical Liberal elitist.

Whatever. In any case, Toettcher's remarks should not be ignored. He must be called to account for his dangerously racist comments.

But, but, but, doesn't he has the right to free speech?

Well, Imus didn't. Well, I guess Toettcher gets a pass because he's a Liberal.

But wait a minute. Imus, although he calls himself a Republican is not exactly a Conservative.

So, what is the difference?

The American media certainly didn't seem to have a problem with censorship when Imus was on the hotseat.

Toettcher's seat isn't even warm.

What's wrong with this picture?

If Imus was wrong, so is Toettcher. I am calling for the Media to treat this incident with the same zealousness and fervor with which they so unmercifully attacked Imus. It's only fair, and, after all, isn't "fairness" the Liberal's buzzword?

I am officially calling for Toettcher to be fired for making racist comments.

Who's with me?