Mark Knows It All

Time has changed and the days are getting shorter and shorter. I really hate that. But there is good news tonight. In less than 7 weeks, the days will start to get longer again. So to help you through the winter doldrums, here is my recommended winter movie viewing list. My criteria are very simple: a good story, and the movie must take you to a different time or place. Enjoy. 1) Blazing Saddles : Mel Brooks single handedly stunted the growth of political correctness by years in this 1974 comic tour de force. It’s marked with stellar performances by Gene Wilder, the late Cleavon Little, and the late Madeline Kahn in one of her best roles as Lili Von Shtupp, the Teutonic Titwillow. Never again will you hear those immortal words: “The Sheriff is a nig…..” 2) Ghosts of Mississippi: Alec Baldwin and Whoopee Goldberg almost made me turn liberal in this powerful story about the criminal prosecution of Byron De La Beckwith for the murder of Medgar Evers 30 years after the fact. Jam

From the LONDON TIMES . Right on the money. IRAQ IS JUST A COMMA, NOT A DEATH SENTENCE by: Gerard Baker The remarkable creative strength of America will ensure that its present travails are soon left far behindGEORGE BUSH got in trouble recently for saying the tragedy of Iraq over the last year will come to be seen, in the long narrative of history, as a mere comma. It sounded to his critics a little callous to dismiss the war as one of the commoner punctuation marks. Tens of thousands of casualties, the discrediting of a superpower’s foreign policy, the destabilisation of the world’s already most volatile region? You’d think that might at least merit an exclamation mark. But no. Just another dull comma, the notoriously overused dab of a penstroke separating much larger, substantive thoughts. And yet commas, and their placement, as Lynne Truss has cleverly and lucratively demonstrated, can have large consequences. They can change the entire meaning of sentences. They can, on the one ha

Bill Clinton helped stoke the fires of extreme control of the parties. When the Republicans took control of both houses of Congress in 1994, Clinton, under the direction of Dick Morris, established a policy better known as triangulation. He would actively encourage both sides of an issue to extreme positions, then stake out the middle ground for himself. It worked for him. Unfortunately, when Clinton left office, the parties had polarized to the point where the vitritude between the Republican right and the Democratic left has reached new heights. Notwithstanding the outcome of the 2006 mid-term election cycle, America faces a daunting task in choosing the next President. Of the two parties, the Republicans are probably in a better position to deal with issues of party doctrine. There is no clear far right front runner. The three most attractive candidates are John McCain, Rudi Giuliani, and Mitt Romney. All three of these individuals are center right, rather than far right. That's

1960 was the first year that I actually aware that an election was happening. My family was vacationing at Oglebay Park in Wheeling, W.V. It took just one ballot for the Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles to nominate John Kennedy for President. The hotel rooms didn't have television sets, and we had to watch the convention in the lobby. It marked the first time in history that primaries played THE definitive role in the nomination process. Kennedy worked the primaries hard, and went into the convention with sufficient pledged delegates to win the nomination. In the Republican Party, the battle was between the Rockefeller Republicans and the Goldwater Republicans. The Republicans were more comfortable with smoke filled room deals. Candidates had to work hard in local parties to gain support and pledged delegates. The political battles reached down as far as fighting for control of college Republican clubs. The burgeoning conservatives began their trek to political power

Lots of people are watching the upcoming elections closely for lots of different reasons. It has been fun watching the political pundits on television try to impose their will on the American people. Tim Russert, Chris Matthews, and Wolfe Blitzer have been almost orgasmic in their joy that the GOP might lose control of the House or the Senate or both. The New York Times has been printing stories involving leaked classified documents, which should be treason, and stories based in questionable facts, which is a shame for the only newspaper in the United States which is considered a primary source for those who make their livelihood from researching history. One of the worst offenders is CNN, with Jack Cafferty’s series, Broken America . It is continually flashed across the screen like a political ad, with little or no connection to whether Cafferty is on the screen or not. Talk about your subliminal messages. Many of these reports are abysmal. He should take some pills. The fact of the m

“It’s that Kraynak’s time of year”. Ho, Ho, Ho!!!! The Christmas rush is off and running, and right on schedule at the beginning of October. Midst my Halloween decorations and the opening salvo of family negotiations as to who is going where for Thanksgiving (we are demanding bilateral talks while the rest of the families want 6 party talks), I saw the first Kraynak’s commercial with its sickening jingle on television last week. For those of you not familiar with this area, Kraynaks is a garden center located in Hermitage, PA, just across the border, and is known for its miles of aisles of imported Christmas accoutrements as well as its world famous Santa’s Christmas Land. The “lil’ darlin’s” love it. The season has been rushed to the limit this year. For over a week, both QVC and Home Shopping Network have been pushing the holiday cookware, wrapping paper, lighted poinsettias and Christmas trees. In fact, I saw some of this stuff in August. Gift giving is the battle cry for the rest

The air is crisp and the leaves are golden. Fall is here and the football season is in full swing. What a great time of year! We once lived very close to Boardman High School. Starting in August, we could hear the drum beat from the marching band practicing before and after school all through the football season. That was fine for me because I love a good marching band. I am really big fan of school fight songs. The school fight song represents the embodiment of school spirit and loyalty, and will rouse school passions for a lifetime as the opening bars of the song are played in any kind of a surrounding. I am a Boardman High School Spartan graduating in 1968. Michigan State University also called itself the Spartans. So Boardman High adopted their fight song as its own. It is a great fight song.  (Edit 2014:  The Boardman Fight Song was actually The Minnesota Rouser...but it used the Michigan State Fight Song liberally when marching onto the field). Then I went to Ohio State. Wh

Politics is politics, but this year’s campaign has taken a nasty, nasty turn. With the Dems running a full court press to take control of the House of Representatives, the “scum” factor has reached new lows on both sides. I cannot refrain from commenting. Although I am a Republican, I have not been particularly thrilled with George Bush. The three areas that have concerned me are 1) his lack of attention to health care insurance issues; 2) the change in the Medicaid laws, which is lethal to the middle class and not well publicized; and 3) the lack of governmental incentives for the rapid development of alternative fuels to oil. As to the Iraq war and the war on terror, there are no good alternatives. And I have been disappointed in the Democratic Party’s continual sniping without offering any alternatives. That leads me to believe they have none, and for those issues I would rather deal with the devil I know versus the devil I don’t. All of the above are important issues to this countr

The following is written less to express any opinion on the merits of the Iraq War, but more as a commentary on the role of past Presidents. As our past Presidents are elected earlier and live longer, it is my opinion that they should confine their activities to philathropic activities and leave the running of the country to the current President. It does this country no good at all to have former Presidents cutting at the knees of a current sitting President, or forming shadow governments going about the world independently proposing foreign policy. Both Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter, especially this past week on ABC news, have chosen to take that path. It is damaging to the country. The political process of those currently holding office or currently aspiring to office gives more than sufficient space for important and necessary debate. Office of Jimmy Carter The Carter Center One Copenhill Atlanta, GA 30307 RE: Comments on ABC News Dear Mr. Carter: Your criticisms of the current adm