Americans are blessed to have inherited a constitutional republic. If we are to keep it, we must vigilantly preserve the Constitution upon which it stands. As 2011 draws to a close, we made a list (and checked it twice!) of the year’s most important constitutional trends.
Nice: Congress begins to rediscover its (atrophied) constitutional muscles
Congress kicked off the year with unprecedented reverence for the Constitution. Congress began the session with a ceremonial reading of the Constitution on the house floor, and then adopted a new rule that requires any proposed bill to cite its constitutional authority. While admirable, these measures have thus far failed to achieve their intended result. The potential solemnity of the reading ceremony was tainted by petty disputes and goofy mistakes (an entire section was skipped) and the citation rule has become little more thanan exercise in box checking. Congress still has a long way to go, but its newfound constitutional courage marks a welcome change from Pelosi’s “are you serious?” approach to the Constitution.
Nice: Grassroots Constitutionalism Stays Strong
Of course, Congress didn’t just decide to prioritize the constitution on a whim. The credit lies with the American people who have become fed up with government excesses. From their spontaneous origins in 2009, grassroots movements such as the Tea Party had gained enough strength by the 2010 elections to send Congress a strong message to respect the Constitution. From the many Constitution Day festivals across the nation to the numerous Tea Party rallies and the joint CNN/Tea Party primary debate, 2011 saw everyday Americans continue their efforts to restore limited, constitutional government.
Naughty: Constitutional Lawmaking Undermined
One of the most disturbing trends of 2011 was the Obama Administration’s willingness to skirt the Constitution’s law making process. In September, the Obama administration openly bypassed Congress by unilaterally issuing waivers to exempt states from the requirements of No Child Left Behind. Even more outrageous, Obamacare waivers (giving relief from the law’s most costly provisions) were given almost exclusively to political allies of the administration such as labor unions and Harry Reid’s home state of Nevada. Fully 20% went to unions and businesses (including luxury restaurants and financial firms) in Nancy Pelosi’s congressional district in San Francisco.
Thanks to YouTube, this gem in American history has been preserved.
In February 1956, two months before his death, 96-year-old Samuel J. Seymour appeared on the CBS television show “I’ve Got A Secret.” His secret: he witnessed Abraham Lincoln’s assassination when he was five years old.
Sure enough, Seymour has been widely recognized as the last surviving person in America who had been present at Ford’s Theatre the night of Lincoln’s assassination on April 14, 1865.
According to the Washington Times, Seymour attended the Ford’s Theatre performance as a young boy with family friends. He was told upon arriving in Washington, “Sammy, you and I and Sarah are going to a play – a real play. And President Abraham Lincoln will be there.”
Seymour’s recollection of the event includes a shot ringing out, someone in the President’s box screaming and Lincoln slumping forward in his seat. He also caught a glimpse of John Wilkes Booth jumping from the box to the stage.
A Maryland native who later lived in Arlington, Seymour died on April 12, 1956, three days before the anniversary of Lincoln’s death.
next Like many other southerners, my two grandfathers told me about their grandfathers who fought in the Civil war. My great, great grandfather from Mississippi actually was released after the war in Union City, Kentucky near the Tennessee state line. There he had to walk back to his home in Oxford, MS. My other great, […]
Confederate soldier Julius Howell Interview What The south Fought For Confederate soldier Julius Howell talking about his capture and imprisonment at the Union prison camp at Point Lookout, Md. Howell was born in 1846 near the Holy Neck section of Suffolk, in the Holland area. He was the youngest of 16 children, the son of […]
The American Civil War Part 1 The Union I really enjoyed the article “REBEL GRAY’S GOLDEN DAYS: In 1911, LR filled to the brim with Confederate veterans,” by Jake Sandlin that ran in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette on May 15, 2011. It took 81 years before more people to gather in Little Rock for another event (Bill […]
Ken Burns discusses his Emmy winning series The Civil War – EMMYTVLEGENDS.ORG I really enjoyed the article “REBEL GRAY’S GOLDEN DAYS: In 1911, LR filled to the brim with Confederate veterans,” by Jake Sandlin that ran in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette on May 15, 2011. It took 81 years before more people to gather in Little Rock […]
Civil war veteran soldier footage, captured between 1913 and 1938 Civil war veteran soldier footage, captured between 1913 and 1938. Our other greatest generation. God bless both sides of this war who both tested and saved our union. _____________________________________________ I really enjoyed the article “REBEL GRAY’S GOLDEN DAYS: In 1911, LR filled to the brim […]
This is colour video of Albert Woolson, the last Union veteran of the US Civil War; he is also the last absolutely confirmed veteran of that conflict from either side. This footage, as far as I know, is the very last footage taken of a US Civil War veteran at all. I believe at least […]
A montage of archival footage from the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg. I really enjoyed the article “REBEL GRAY’S GOLDEN DAYS: In 1911, LR filled to the brim with Confederate veterans,” by Jake Sandlin that ran in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette on May 15, 2011. It took 81 years before more people to gather in […]
Here is another fine article on the subject of the religious beliefs of Geore Lucas and how it affected what his characters like Darth Vader and what they had to say.
A long time ago, in a movie multiplex not so far away, a child looked up and asked: “Mom, Dad, is the Force the same thing as God?”
Children have been asking that question for 20 years. The simple answer is “yes.” But this raises another question: Which god or God is at the center of the “Star Wars” universe?
The trilogy’s creator was well aware that his work invaded turf traditionally reserved for parents, priests and preachers. George Lucas wrote “Star Wars” shortly after the cultural revolution of the ’60s. He sensed a spiritual void.
“I wanted it to be a traditional moral study, to have some sort of palpable precepts in it that children could understand,” said Lucas, in a recent New Yorker interview. “There is always a lesson to be learned. … Traditionally, we get them from church, the family, art and in the modern world we get them from the media — from movies.”
Lucas set out to create a modern mythology to teach right and wrong. The result was a fusion of “Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe” and Joseph Campbell’s “The Hero with a Thousand Faces,” of Arthurian legends and Japanese samurai epics, of Carlos Castaneda’s “Tales of Power” and the Narnia tales of C.S. Lewis. Along the way, Lucas sold $1.3 billion worth of tickets and “Star Wars” merchandise sales have topped $4 billion. Now, a revamped “Star Wars” is back in theaters, to be followed by its sequels, “The Empire Strikes Back” and “The Return of the Jedi.” A trilogy of “prequels” is set to begin in 1999.
The impact of Lucas’ work has led some researchers to speak in terms of a “Star Wars” generation. A modern preacher who wants to discuss self sacrifice will be understood by more people if he refers to the death of Jedi knight Obi Wan Kenobi, rather than that of St. Stephen.
“It was natural that my generation would latch on to these stories,” said Jason Ruspini, webmaster of the unofficial “Star Wars Home Page,” one of nearly 1,000 “Star Wars” Internet sites. “They were much more attractive and appropriate than the ancient myths of Judeo-Christian theology. How could these draconian and antiquated stories possibly compete with the majesty and scope of the Star Wars universe?”
Lucas grew up in the 1950s in Modesto, Calif., reading comics, escaping to movies and watching TV. Although he attended a Methodist church with his family, biographer Dale Pollock notes that he was turned off by the “self-serving piety” of Sunday school. Lucas also visited the housekeeper’s German Lutheran congregation, where he was impressed by the elaborate rituals.
Traces of these experiences are woven into his work. “The message of `Star Wars’ is religious: God isn’t dead, he’s there if you want him to be,” writes Pollock, in his book “Skywalking.” Lucas puts it this way: “The laws really are in yourself.”
The faith in “Star Wars” is hard to label. The Force is defined as “an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us and penetrates us.” It contains both good and evil. Jedi master Yoda clearly teaches a form of Buddhism. Yet the Lucas liturgy also proclaims “May the Force be with you,” a variation on the Christian phrase “May the Lord be with you.” The plot includes other symbols and themes from biblical faith. Lucas has embraced both “passive Oriental philosophies and the Judeo- Christian ethic of responsibility and self-sacrifice,” according to Pollock.
Thus, some Christians hail “Star Wars” as evidence of a cultural search for moral absolutes. On the World Wide Web, others use the films as glowing icons that teach Eastern philosophy. Welcome to the theological mall.
At the end of Pollock’s book, Lucas acknowledges that, by setting his goals so high, he is asking to be judged by very high standards. The creator of “Star Wars” explains that one of his least favorite fantasies is about what will happen when he dies. Perhaps, he said, he will come face to face with God and hear these words: “You’ve had your chance and you blew it. Get out.”
Terry Mattingly teaches communications at Milligan College in Tennessee. He writes a weekly column for the Scripps Howard News Service. Article used by permission of the author.
LONDON — Olympic fencer and movie sword master Bob Anderson appeared in some of film’s most famous dueling scenes – though few viewers knew it.
Anderson, who has died at age 89, donned Darth Vader’s black helmet and fought light saber battles in two of the three original “Star Wars” films, “The Empire Strikes Back” and “Return of the Jedi.”
Anderson, who worked with actors from Errol Flynn to Antonio Banderas during five decades as a sword master, fight director and stunt performer, died early New Year’s Day at an English hospital, the British Academy of Fencing said Monday.
Vader, “Star Wars'” intergalactic arch-villain, was voiced by James Earl Jones and played by six foot six (1.98 meter) former weightlifter David Prowse, but Anderson stepped in during the key fight scenes.
“David Prowse wasn’t very good with a sword and Bob couldn’t get him to do the moves,” said Anderson’s former assistant, Leon Hill. “Fortunately Bob could just don the costume and do it himself.”
The scenes worked beautifully, although Anderson, then nearing 60, was several inches shorter than Prowse.
Few knew of Anderson’s role until Mark Hamill, who played Luke Skywalker, said in a 1983 interview that “Bob Anderson was the man who actually did Vader’s fighting.”
“It was always supposed to be a secret, but I finally told (director) George (Lucas) I didn’t think it was fair any more,” Hamill told Starlog magazine. “Bob worked so bloody hard that he deserves some recognition. It’s ridiculous to preserve the myth that it’s all done by one man.”
Robert James Gilbert Anderson was born in Hampshire, southern England, in 1922, and was drawn to fencing from an early age.
“I never took up the sword,” he said in an interview for the 2009 documentary “Reclaiming the Blade.” “I think the sword took me up.”
Anderson joined the Royal Marines before World War II, teaching fencing aboard warships and winning several combined services titles in the sport.
He served in the Mediterranean during the war, later trained as a fencing coach and represented Britain at the 1952 Olympics and the 1950 and 1953 world championships.
In the 1950s, Anderson became coach of Britain’s national fencing team, a post he held until the late 1970s. He later served as technical director of the Canadian Fencing Association.
His first film work was staging fights and coaching Flynn on swashbuckler “The Master of Ballantrae” in 1952.
He went on to become one of the industry’s most sought after stunt performers, fight choreographers and sword masters, working on movies including the James Bond adventures “From Russia With Love” and “Die Another Day”; fantasy “The Princess Bride”; Banderas action romps “The Mask of Zorro” and “The Legend of Zorro”; and the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy.
Fencing academy president Philip Bruce said Anderson was “truly one of our greatest fencing masters and a world-class film fight director and choreographer.”
Hill remembered him as “a splendid man, a great man who gave so much to fencing that can never be repaid.”
Anderson is survived by his wife Pearl and three children. Funeral details were not immediately available.
The Bhagavad-Gita may well have been Yoda’s manual for teaching Luke Skywalker the way of the Jedi.
BY: Steven J. Rosen
At first glance, it might seem that “Star Wars” and Hinduism have little in common. The “Star Wars” films are modern science-fiction classics, created as entertainment. They make use of futuristic spaceships and imaginative weapons that the real world has not yet seen. Hinduism, for its part, is an ancient religious tradition-or, more explicitly, a family of religious traditions, such as Vaishnavism, Shaivism, and Shaktism–meant for spiritual enhancement and personal fulfillment. What, if anything, do the films have to do with the religion?
My thesis is simple. Lucas, the creator of “Star Wars,” was heavily influenced by Joseph Campbell, the famed mythologist. Campbell’s preferred stock of philosophical stories comes from India. This is well known. Campbell explained the Mahabharata and the Ramayana, the principal epics of contemporary Hinduism, to Lucas, who digested their many stories and gave them back to us as “Star Wars.” Lucas himself says that he was “influenced by Eastern myths.” Here’s one example I use in my forthcoming book, drawing on the first film of the series, which was released in 1977:
A beautiful princess is kidnapped by a powerful but evil warlord. With determined urgency, a mysterious non-human entity delivers a distress call to a budding young hero. The youthful hero, a prince, comes to the princess’s rescue, aided by a noble creature that is half-man and half-animal. In the end, after a war that epitomizes the perennial battle between good and evil, the beautiful maiden returns home. The valiant efforts of the prince and his comrade, who were assisted by an army of anthropomorphic bears in the fight to return the princess to safety, are duly rewarded, and peace and righteousness once again engulf the kingdom.
In the Eastern part of the world, the story evokes memories of the Ramayana, an ancient epic from which many of India’s myths and religious traditions originate: The princess is Sita, kidnapped by the power-mad Ravana. Her loving husband Rama, the archetypal hero who, as the story goes, is Vishnu (God) in human form, soon becomes aware of her plight and anxiously pursues her.
How did he learn of Ravana’s nefarious deed? The good-hearted Jatayu, a talking vulture-like creature, sworn to protect the princess, sees the demon-king abduct Sita. He attempts to rescue her on his own, but Ravana mercilessly cuts him down. Luckily, Rama happens upon the dying Jatayu, who manages to recount all that has taken place before he expires.
After a period of intense grieving, Rama engages his devoted half-human/half monkey companion, Hanuman, in a lengthy search for the princess and, after a complex series of events, they wage war to get Sita back. Aided by an army of Vanaras (bears and monkeys who have anthropomorphic characteristics), Rama rescues Sita from Ravana. The forces of the underworld defeated, Rama-raja (the kingdom of truth and righteousness) reigns supreme.
In Western countries, the story would remind most readers of the first “Star Wars” movie. Here, too, the princess–this time, Princess Leia–is kidnapped. In the “Star Wars” universe, evil incarnates as Darth Vader, who holds Leia against her will. Artoo-Deetoo (R2-D2), an android, carries a desperate cry for help. The princess, just before being captured, managed to conceal a holographic message in the droid’s memory banks. Thus, through this futuristic robot, she asks for the assistance of Obi-Wan Kenobi, a master among the mystical Jedi knights, hoping he would come to her aid.
Luke Skywalker, a farm boy from the planet Tatooine, is the one who first receives this message, however, and it is he who turns to the retired Obi-Wan to alert him to the princess’s plight. Luke himself is reluctant to travel into unknown territory, into a world of action and intrigue. But Obi-Wan convinces him to go, telling him that “the Force” will protect him.
The two team up with Han Solo, a renegade space cowboy, and Chewbacca, a “half-man/ half-monkey” creature who devotedly assists them. By the end of the original “Star Wars” trilogy, in the company of legions of bear soldiers, they wage a war to end all wars–Darth Vader and his evil empire are defeated and the princess is returned to safety.
Is it a stretch to say that Lucas was directly and/ or indirectly influenced by the Ramayana? This author, obviously, thinks not. And there are many other parallels between Star Wars and Hindu tradition as well. Consider the example of the relationship between Yoda and Luke–a dead-ringer for the traditional Guru/ disciple relationship, especially as depicted in the ancient Hindu text, the Bhagavad-gita.
Yoda teaches Luke self-control, the importance of restraining the senses. Every Jedi, he says, must overcome desire and anger. The Gita must have been Yoda’s sourcebook: “A faithful man who is dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge–and who subdues his senses–is eligible to achieve such knowledge, and having achieved it he quickly attains the supreme spiritual peace.” (4.39) Again, “By the time death arrives, one must be able to tolerate the urges of the material senses and overcome the force of desire and anger. If one does so, he will be well situated and able to leave his body without regret.” (5.23)
It is interesting, too, that Yoda locates the source of the Jedis’ strength as flowing from “the Force,” which he essentially defines as the ground of all being. Indeed, Yoda tells Luke that all ability comes from the Force, but that this is especially true of the Jedis’ supernatural powers. The Gita also says that all power flows from the “Force,” i.e., the metaphysical source of all that is: “Of all that is material and all that is spiritual, know for certain that I am both the origin and dissolution. . . .Everything rests upon Me, as pearls are strung on a thread. . . . I am the ability in man.” (7.6-8)
Yoda’s name is closely linked to the Sanskrit “yuddha,” which means “war.” Accordingly, he teaches a chivalrous form of warfare, imbued with ethics and spirituality, to the Jedi knights. The non-aggressive but valiant ways of these knights are exactly like those of Kshatriyas, ancient Indian warriors who emphasized yogic codes and the art of protective combat. In this, Yoda resembles Dronacharya from the Mahabharata, who, in the forest (again like Yoda), trains the Pandava heroes to be righteous protectors of the innocent.
In the Ramayana, Vishvamitra Muni, as Rama’s spiritual master, teaches the great avatar (incarnation of God) to be adept in the art of war, but he also teaches him that fighting must always be based on yogic principles–he teaches Rama while they are living in the forest as well. Both Dronacharya and Vishvamitra seem like earlier incarnations of Yoda.
In this sense, and in many others, the Hindu scriptures may be the ultimate guidebooks for aspiring Jedis: Consider the Bhagavad-gita yet again: Lust, anger, and greed, the Gita tells us, are deeply embedded in our consciousness. Just ask Anakin. And deep-rooted habits are not always easy to overcome. Nonetheless, in the Gita, Krishna helps us through the darkest of battles by explaining the source of our dilemma, the gradual steps by which we delude ourselves, and by putting us in touch with the spiritual element lying dormant within our hearts. He tells us that those who are enamored by materialistic life begin simply by contemplating the objects of the senses.
Again, just ask Anakin. Such contemplation naturally leads to self-interested action and, finally, attachment. This, in turn, gives rise to anger. Why anger? Because everything in the world is temporary, and so we eventually lose the objects of our attachment. Anger, Krishna says, leads to bewilderment, and bewilderment to loss of memory. At this point, intelligence is lost. We can watch this happening to Anakin in “Attack of the Clones” and, further, in the latest film, “Revenge of the Sith.”
Other connections to Hinduism are also apparent in the prequels. For example, the idea of midi-chlorians, or living cells found in high concentration in Jedi blood, resonates with the idea of Paramatma, or the Lord in the Heart. Vaishnava Hinduism uses this concept to explain how God (the Force?) exists inside our bodies as a symbiont, as it were, allowing living entities to commune with Him. Also, young Anakin Skywalker, a Jedi priest, wears a shikha, or a tuft of hair, on the back of his head. While this religious symbolism is found in several ancient monastic traditions, it is nowhere as pronounced as in the Vaishnava Hindu tradition. In the Bhagavad-Gita, Krishna teaches that intelligence means good memory and fine discretion–both of which fall away when we adopt a materialistic and self-centered approach to life. This vicious cycle puts us in a non-spiritual frame of mind, in which we forget who we are and what life is really all about. Krishna refers to this as “a material whirlpool” that drags people ever lower; it is a complex downward spiral that begins, as He says in the Gita, simply by one’s contemplating the objects of the senses. (2.61-64) Krishna thus tells Arjuna not to be fooled by sensual stimulation and, instead, to control his senses for a higher purpose. This, indeed, is the teaching of the Jedi and a lesson that is valuable to each and every one of us.
Can people learn this Hindu wisdom from watching “Star Wars”? Most likely not. They’ll have to go to established religious texts and the paths traversed by the sages. But something is definitely afoot here. More than 70,000 people in Australia, in a census poll, declared that they are followers of the Jedi faith, the “religion” engendered by the “Star Wars” films. Despite the extremism and absurdity of this statistic-of people adhering to a faith concocted in a fictional film series-experts see in it a manifestation of the movies’ spiritual dimension.
In light of this enthusiasm, it’s not surprising that the “Star Wars” universe continues to grow. Lucas is now re-mastering the entire series into special 3-D versions, updated for modern times. New TV shows based on “Star Wars” are planned for upcoming seasons. And you now learn of parallels between this consequential film epic and one of the earliest religious traditions known to humankind. What’s next?! Only the Force is likely to know!
Reviewer: Edwin L. Carpenter Source: Theater Writer: Woody Allen Producer: Letty Aronson Director: Woody Allen Genre: Comedy Runtime: 100 min. MPAA Rating: PG-13 Starring: Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams, Kurt Fuller, Kathy Bates
Synopsis:
Midnight in Paris is a romantic comedy that follows a family travelling to the city for business. The party includes a young engaged couple that has their lives transformed throughout the journey. The film celebrates a young man’s great love for Paris, and simultaneously explores the illusion people have that a life different from their own is better.
Dove Worldview:
This one has some funny moments for sure. You have to understand the plot to understand the humor though. In this one, Gil Pender is a romantic, a writer who dreams of living in Paris. In fact, he is there on business along with his fiance’, who spends more time with an old boyfriend named Paul then with Gil. She just can’t understand his desire to take walks in the rain and his dream of being a novelist instead of the successful screen writer that he is. She also can’t comprehend his daydreams of 1920s Paris. When he finds himself in a certain part of the city one night and the clock strikes twelve he soon is shocked to learn he has traveled back to his dream time, Paris in the 1920s. He meets Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald and Zelda Fitzgerald as well as Gertrude Stein, Pablo Picasso, and a woman he could fall in love with.
He always winds up back in the present when morning breaks but on one occasion he and the woman he falls for winds up in another time frame, the 1890s. She longs to remain in that time frame but he points out that he might have to get dental work done, and they didn’t have proper pain medication back then!
Owen Wilson is likable in his role as Gil and the movie makes a point that no matter what time one lives in, there are always problems to deal with. Despite the nice themes including being true to one’s self, and the opening sequence which includes shots of the Moulin Rouge, Notre Dame, the Seine River and nice cafes, sadly there is use of strong language and the sex rating hits a three in content, due to some frank sexual comments. It should be noted that there are a few political comments too which some viewers will not appreciate. We are unable to award this movie our Dove “Family-Approved” Seal.
Sex: Frank sexual comments and a few innuendos; kissing; a woman talks about having moved in with her boyfriend; an unmarried couple live together and the woman admits to having an affair while in Paris with her old boyfriend. Language: Chr*st-1; JC-1; For Chr*st Sake-1; G/OMG-10; H-3; D-1 Violence: A few disagreements. Drugs: A lot of drinking scenes including wine and champagne and comments about wine tasting; cigarette smoking; a character admits to being drunk; a few scenes of characters riding in cars including a taxi and drinking; a character takes medicine for panic attacks; a comment about “coke” spoons. Nudity: Cleavage; some hookers raise up skirts; a nude drawing of a woman nude from the waist up. Other: Political comments about former President Bush and right wingers who are “air-heads” and “demented” and “fascists”.
Looks like it is three-way race tonight in Iowa. With 88 percent of the vote in it seems that Santorum leads by 58 votes and Paul is down by 4% at 21 percent.
Iowa Caucuses Too Close to Call as Three Candidates Battle for Lead
Published January 03, 2012
| FoxNews.com
AP
Shown here are Rick Santorum, left, Mitt Romney, center, and Ron Paul.
The Iowa caucuses are too close to call, as early returns show Rick Santorum, Ron Paul and Mitt Romney in a dead heat for the first-in-the-nation presidential contest.
With 45 percent of precincts reporting, Santorum led with 25 percent. Romney followed with 24 percent, Paul with 22 percent. The Fox News decision desk projects that only those three candidates are in contention for the top spot.
Fox News also projects that Michele Bachmann will finish last in Tuesday’s caucuses among the candidates who are competing there. Early returns show her with 6 percent. Newt Gingrich and Rick Perry are settling into the second tier, with Gingrich slightly ahead.
The results trickled in following a day of sharp-elbowed politicking.
Gingrich, fed up with the negative ads against him, agreed with a depiction of Romney as a liar.Santorum, similarly dispirited about a spate of robo-calls in Iowa, called Paul “disgusting.”
The exchanges were characteristic of the bitter tone that pervaded the closing moments of one of history’s most volatile GOP elections. With more than 40 percent of Iowans supposedly uncommitted to a candidate as of this past weekend, the campaigns approached Tuesday night’s caucuses with little certainty of the outcome.
The three candidates at the top took nothing for granted, holding rallies on caucus day in a final bid to get out the vote. Gingrich, Perry and Bachmann also pressed the flesh Tuesday in a last appeal to caucus-goers.
At the 1,774 caucus sites, each candidate relied on local supporters to make his or her case before Iowans finally cast their ballots. Romney had found himself defending a narrow lead in the state — after barely competing there for most of 2011. A win Tuesday night could help reaffirm his oft-threatened front-runner status, as the field heads next into New Hampshire, where Romney holds a decisive lead.
But Romney is not pulling away from the pack by any means. After having predicted a win the night before, caucus returns show Romney seemingly unable to break the 25 percent threshold — which roughly has been his cap in terms of support in national polls. Romney’s showing in Tuesday’s caucuses appears similar to his showing in 2008, when his 25 percent haul landed him in second place behind former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee.
A second-place finish for the former Massachusetts governor on Tuesday could portend a more drawn-out and competitive process. Santorum and Paul, each looking for a come-from-behind win in the state, tussled on Tuesday as they tried to consolidate the not-Romney vote.
Paul has been claiming Santorum is a closet liberal, while Santorum and others say Paul is dangerous on foreign policy.
On Tuesday, Santorum called Paul “disgusting” after blaming his campaign for robo-calls that describe Santorum as too liberal on gun rights and abortion.
Paul, on Fox News, accused Santorum of trying to “deflect away” from the scrutiny his record is receiving. Paul claims Santorum’s support for foreign aid is outside the conservative mainstream.
Elsewhere in Iowa, Gingrich continued to take a more aggressive tone after being battered with negative advertising and watching his once-lofty poll numbers plummet.
Asked in a CBS interview early Tuesday whether he thinks Romney is a liar, he said yes — claiming the so-called “Super PACs” running ads against him are tied to Romney though he “pretends” he’s not involved.
Romney suggested on Fox News that Gingrich is thin-skinned.
“If you can’t stand the heat of this little kitchen, wait until the Hell’s Kitchen which is coming from Barack Obama,” Romney said.
And Perry, who like Gingrich once led the field in Iowa, tried to fire up the crowd Tuesday during a stop at his West Des Moines headquarters.
“It is a powerful moment in America’s history, and you are on the front lines. This is Concord, this is Omaha Beach,” Perry said. Despite flagging in the polls, Perry’s campaign is making plans to chart a post-Iowa course. The Perry campaign confirmed to Fox News on Tuesday that it has bought TV time in South Carolina, which holds the first-in-the-South primary — one that historically has been far more accurate at picking eventual GOP nominees than Iowa.
Romney, for his part, predicted a day earlier that he would pull off a win in Iowa. The statement marked a turnaround from his earlier campaign strategy, which all but discounted Iowa in favor of New Hampshire.
Romney told Fox News on Tuesday that he’s prepared to take on President Obama.
“We created more jobs in Massachusetts than this president created in this entire country,” Romney told Fox News. “We’ll be comparing my record with his record, and he comes up very short.”
Santorum, who unlike Romney was committed to Iowa from the start of his campaign and visited all 99 counties, said he has the essential ingredients headed into the evening’s endeavor.
“Caucuses are about enthusiasm and momentum, and we certainly have enthusiasm and momentum,” he said.
But Bachmann, an Iowa native, earlier claimed Iowans were quietly returning to her camp — a claim the caucus results appeared to dispute.
Aside from former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman who is not competing in Iowa, Bachmann had performed the worst in recent caucus polling.
Why is Ron Paul surging? (Part 3) The liberals have been successful at getting government to spend over 25 percent of our total GDP, but the problem is that money is running out. Actually it ran out a long time ago. In 2011 we spent 3.8 trillion and took in a little over half that […]
John David Duggar supports Rick Santorum in Iowa Uploaded by bubba2229 on Jan 2, 2012 John Duggar, 21, explains why he and his famous family are supporting Rick Santorum’s Republican presidential campaign. Recorded Jan. 2, 2012, in Boone, Iowa._____ _ Today Max Brantley of the Arkansas Times Blog commented: In some places, a Jim Bob […]
This caught my attention. It was very moving moment: Rick Santorum: Alan Colmes called to apologize Posted by The Right Scoop on Jan 2, 2012 in Politics Rick Santorum briefly discusses why they chose to take their newborn son home after he died and also mentions that Colmes called to apologize for his earlier comments: […]
Why is Ron Paul surging? (Part 2) The liberals have been successful at getting government to spend over 25 percent of our total GDP, but the problem is that money is running out. Actually it ran out a long time ago. In 2011 we spent 3.8 trillion and took in a little over half […]
Why is Ron Paul surging? (Part 1) The liberals have been successful at getting government to spend over 25 percent of our total GDP, but the problem is that money is running out. Actually it ran out a long time ago. In 2011 we spent 3.8 trillion and took in a little over half that […]
2012 Primary Schedule The 2012 GOP primary/caucus schedule is nearly set in stone. The calendar dates below are believed to be accurate unless last minute changes occur to the schedule. Always check with your local board of elections to verify election dates, times and locations ahead of time. Note that “Super Tuesday” in 2012 falls […]
Ron Paul is pro-life: AN EXPERIENCED PHYSICIAN As an OB/GYN who delivered over 4,000 babies, Ron Paul knows firsthand how precious, fragile, and in need of protection life is. Dr. Paul’s experience in science and medicine only reinforced his belief that life begins at conception, and he believes it would be inconsistent for him to […]
I saw Ron Paul on Jay Leno’s show the other day and here is some of the things he talked about: PROVEN LEADERSHIP “Ron Paul is one of the outstanding leaders fighting for a stronger national defense. As a former Air Force officer, he knows well the needs of our armed forces, and he […]
I have talked a lot about spending cuts on this blog. Here is a great article on this very subject: A Guide to the Presidential Candidates’ Proposals to Cut Spending Posted by Tad DeHaven Over at Downsizing the Federal Government, Chris Edwards and I have regularly complained that most policymakers have been insufficiently specific when it comes […]
Confederate soldier Julius Howell talking about his capture and imprisonment at the Union prison camp at Point Lookout, Md. Howell was born in 1846 near the Holy Neck section of Suffolk, in the Holland area. He was the youngest of 16 children, the son of a prominent Baptist minister. His daddy wouldn’t allow him to join the army until he was 16½, he says in his account.
He saw action guarding the Blackwater River against Yankees until his regiment was called to help defend Richmond in 1864. By then, he was a corporal and courier for two generals.
In April 1865, Howell was taken prisoner at the battle of Sailor’s Creek and was transported to Point Lookout, Md., a notorious Union prison. He was there when he heard about the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln.
“I arose pretty early,” he says. “There were 20,000 of us there. I saw a flag pole, and a flag stopped halfway.”
The youth, a slightly built man with bright red hair, knew what it meant.
“I stuck my head in a tent and said, ‘Boys, there must be some big Yankee dead.’ ”
A guard told the men later that the president had been shot. Howell says he felt no hatred toward Lincoln, only kindness.
“We didn’t fight for the preservation or extension of slavery,” he says. “It was a great curse on this country that we had slavery. We fought for states’ rights, for states’ rights.”
After the war, Howell taught at Reynoldson Institute in Gates County, N.C. He soon left teaching and went to the University of Pennsylvania, graduating with a history degree. From there, he went on to Harvard and got a doctorate in history.
Howell was a history professor at the University of Arkansas. He eventually headed the department. In 1901, he was named president of Virginia Intermont College in Bristol, where he served for 50 years.
Howell was forever loyal to the South. He became state commander of the Tennessee Confederate Veterans and, in 1940, was named commander-in-chief of the national United Confederate Veterans.
In 1942, Life magazine did a spread on Howell. Several photos of the old gentleman show him dressed in his Confederate uniform. Because legislators wanted to hear more from the Confederate veteran, Howell addressed the combined Congress of the United States in Washington in 1944, when he was 98, and that is when it is believed this tape was made.
Four years later, in February 1948, on his 102nd birthday, the city of Bristol threw a party. His old friend, actress Mary Pickford, and her family attended.
Howell, who had never been sick a day in his life, died the following June.
Julius Howell was the great-great-uncle of former ANV Commander Russell Darden.
next Like many other southerners, my two grandfathers told me about their grandfathers who fought in the Civil war. My great, great grandfather from Mississippi actually was released after the war in Union City, Kentucky near the Tennessee state line. There he had to walk back to his home in Oxford, MS. My other great, […]
Confederate soldier Julius Howell Interview What The south Fought For Confederate soldier Julius Howell talking about his capture and imprisonment at the Union prison camp at Point Lookout, Md. Howell was born in 1846 near the Holy Neck section of Suffolk, in the Holland area. He was the youngest of 16 children, the son of […]
The American Civil War Part 1 The Union I really enjoyed the article “REBEL GRAY’S GOLDEN DAYS: In 1911, LR filled to the brim with Confederate veterans,” by Jake Sandlin that ran in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette on May 15, 2011. It took 81 years before more people to gather in Little Rock for another event (Bill […]
Ken Burns discusses his Emmy winning series The Civil War – EMMYTVLEGENDS.ORG I really enjoyed the article “REBEL GRAY’S GOLDEN DAYS: In 1911, LR filled to the brim with Confederate veterans,” by Jake Sandlin that ran in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette on May 15, 2011. It took 81 years before more people to gather in Little Rock […]
Civil war veteran soldier footage, captured between 1913 and 1938 Civil war veteran soldier footage, captured between 1913 and 1938. Our other greatest generation. God bless both sides of this war who both tested and saved our union. _____________________________________________ I really enjoyed the article “REBEL GRAY’S GOLDEN DAYS: In 1911, LR filled to the brim […]
This is colour video of Albert Woolson, the last Union veteran of the US Civil War; he is also the last absolutely confirmed veteran of that conflict from either side. This footage, as far as I know, is the very last footage taken of a US Civil War veteran at all. I believe at least […]
A montage of archival footage from the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg. I really enjoyed the article “REBEL GRAY’S GOLDEN DAYS: In 1911, LR filled to the brim with Confederate veterans,” by Jake Sandlin that ran in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette on May 15, 2011. It took 81 years before more people to gather in […]
The liberals have been successful at getting government to spend over 25 percent of our total GDP, but the problem is that money is running out. Actually it ran out a long time ago. In 2011 we spent 3.8 trillion and took in a little over half that amount. At that rate we will be going bankrupt a few years after Greece.
I think the future looks bright for politicans like Ron Paul. There are several reasons why Ron Paul has surged in the polls. Let me list some of the reasons this has happened. These reasons are taken from the article by Edward Crane, “Why Ron Paul Matters,” Wall Street Journal, Dec 31, 2011:
• Austrian economics. Mr. Paul is often criticized for references to what some consider obscure economists of the so-called Austrian School. People should read them before criticizing. Nobel laureate Friedrich von Hayek and his mentor Ludwig von Mises were two of the greatest economists and social scientists ever to live.
Modern Austrian School economists such as Lawrence H. White, now at George Mason University, and Fred Foldvary at Santa Clara University predicted the housing bubble and the recession that followed the massive, multitrillion-dollar malinvestment caused by government redirection of capital into housing. Mr. Paul, like Austrian School economists, understands that we would be better off with a gold standard, competing currencies or a monetary rule than with the arbitrary and discretionary powers of our out-of-control Federal Reserve.
Mr. Paul should be given credit for his efforts to promote these ideas and other libertarian policies, all of which would make America better off. He’d be the first to admit he’s not the most erudite candidate to make the case, but surely part of his appeal is his very genuine persona.
John Duggar, 21, explains why he and his famous family are supporting Rick Santorum’s Republican presidential campaign. Recorded Jan. 2, 2012, in Boone, Iowa._____
UPDATE: Somebody sent me this Twitter from Sen. Bill Pritchard:
I am NOT in Iowa with Duggars & Jon Woods. Instead I am Campaigning hard in NWA for Sen. Bill Pritchard!
Good politics, I’d say. Pritchard beat Duggar in a race for Senate previously. He faces Woods this year. What’s more important — Arkies or catering to the fringe in the Iowa caucuses?
I read on the Arkansas Times Blog this morning this sad news about Duggar’s miscarriage. Michelle said, “I feel like my heart broke telling my children…” Below is the article from People Magazine: Michelle Duggar Miscarries By Alicia Dennis Update Thursday December 08, 2011 08:25 PM EST Originally posted Thursday December 08, 2011 04:30 PM […]
The Arkansas Times Blog reported today: EXPECTING 20th: Michelle Duggar People magazine reports that Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar are expecting their 20th child this spring. She’s 45 and had a rough time with her 19th, Josie, born prematurely weighing 22 ounces Link includes video to TLC, where the Duggar-based reality show airs. ______________________ Related […]
Demonstrators march through the streets of Little Rock on Saturday in a protest organized by Occupy Little Rock. (John Lyon photo) Occupy Arkansas got cranked up today in Little Rock with their first march and several hundred showed up. It was unlike the pro-life marches that I have been a part of that have had […]
What Ever Happened to the Human Race? Jason Tolbert told a story about pro-life marchers and their tactic of prayer: OWNER TURNS SPRINKLERS ON PRO-LIFE PRAYER VIGIL In July, I wrote about a new movement springing up in Arkansas that seeks to combat abortion not with violent protest, but with peaceful prayer demonstrations. It is called “40 […]
TLC stars Josh and Anna Duggar with their newborn son — TLC I was walking at the Another Duggar Baby! Josh & Anna Duggar Welcome Baby Boy Yahoo News reported: The Duggar family continues to grow! Josh Duggar, 23, – the eldest son of Jim Bob and Michelle – and wife Anna, 22, welcomed their […]
In today’s news you will read about Kirk Cameron taking on the atheist Stephen Hawking over some recent assertions he made concerning the existence of heaven. Back in December of 1995 I had the opportunity to correspond with Carl Sagan about a year before his untimely death. Sarah Anne Hughes in her article,”Kirk Cameron criticizes […]
Rep. Tim Griffin and Lt. Gov. Mark Darr at the Arkansas March for Life in Little Rock from Tolbert Report. Go to Fox 16 website and you will read this story below and watch a video clip on both marches. What you will not read is the fact that only 150 people showed up for […]
HALT:HaltingArkansasLiberalswithTruth.com President Obama on abortion Adrian Rogers (former President of Southern Baptist Convention): “I am not as afraid of the Communist, the Russians, the Chinese, as much as I am afraid of God. If God be for us, who can be against us? If God be against us, then who can be for us? It […]
Rick Santorum briefly discusses why they chose to take their newborn son home after he died and also mentions that Colmes called to apologize for his earlier comments:
UPDATE: Just to add to this, Santorum was asked to address the hurtful comments from Colmes earlier in the day, and his wife who was in the audience began to weep (via Hotair):
ABC NEWS – At a Pizza Ranch restaurant in Newton, Iowa, a member of the audience asked Santorum to react to a controversial attack leveled by liberal Fox News contributor Alan Colmes, who called the Santorum family’s approach to grieving for their dead baby boy, who lived for only two hours after his birth in 1996, “crazy.”
In a Fox News interview on Monday, Colmes characterized Santorum’s decision to bring the deceased child home an example of “some of the crazy things he’s said and done.”
But in Iowa this afternoon, Santorum explained that it was important for his other children to “know they had a brother.”
Santorum’s wife, Karen, who was at the event and listened to her husband talk about the experience, began to weep.
“It’s just so inappropriate,” she said as tears streamed from her eyes.
Related pro-life posts:
UPDATE: Just to add to this, Santorum was asked to address the hurtful comments from Colmes earlier in the day, and his wife who was in the audience began to weep (via Hotair):
ABC NEWS – At a Pizza Ranch restaurant in Newton, Iowa, a member of the audience asked Santorum to react to a controversial attack leveled by liberal Fox News contributor Alan Colmes, who called the Santorum family’s approach to grieving for their dead baby boy, who lived for only two hours after his birth in 1996, “crazy.”
In a Fox News interview on Monday, Colmes characterized Santorum’s decision to bring the deceased child home an example of “some of the crazy things he’s said and done.”
But in Iowa this afternoon, Santorum explained that it was important for his other children to “know they had a brother.”
Santorum’s wife, Karen, who was at the event and listened to her husband talk about the experience, began to weep.
“It’s just so inappropriate,” she said as tears streamed from her eyes.
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