Top Ten List of greatest soccer players: E. Hatcher’s list v. W. Hatcher’s list (Part 7)

Today we are picking the fourth best player of all time.

Wilson Hatcher picks Diego Maradona and he won the world cup in 1986 and came in runner up in 1990. He is  most famous for the “Hand of God” and the goal of the century. He is third best player ever from South America.

Everette Hatcher’s pick:

Lionel Messi is my pick for the fourth best soccer player of all time.

Lionel Messi 2009 – Top 10 Goals *NEW*

_________________________________

Another list below I got off the internet:

10 Raul Gonzalez
FW, SS

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Called the ‘Angel of Madrid’ and simply known as Raúl, he is a Spanish football striker who plays for Spanish La Liga club Real Madrid. Also the three-time winner of the UEFA Champions League and is the second all-time leading scorer in official UEFA competitions after Filippo Inzaghi with 64 goals. He took over the captaincy of Real Madrid when Fernando Hierro departed in 2003, and has since shown himself to be a natural and respected leader.

9

Michael Platini
OMF

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Platini was a member of the French national team that won the 1984 European Championship, a tournament in which he was voted the best player and top goalscorer. Platini, Alain Giresse, Luis Fernández and Jean Tigana together made up the “carré magique” (magic square), the group of midfield players that formed the heart of the French national team throughout the 1980s. He is also widely regarded as one the best passers in football history as well as one of history’s greatest free kick specialists and finishers. He holds the record for most goals scored in European Championship final.

8

Carlos Alberto Torres
WB

Tri

is a former Brazilian footballer, one of the most highly regarded defenders of all time. He captained Brazil to victory in the 1970 World Cup and is a member of the World Team of the 20th Century, as well as the U.S. National Soccer Hall of Fame. Carlos Alberto’s goal against Italy in the final of the Football World Cup 1970 is considered one of the greatest goals ever scored in the history of the tournament.

7

Ronaldo
FW

Ronaldo 500 500

A brilliant and fluid forward, Ronaldo became one of international soccer’s great stars of the 1990s and Brazil’s biggest soccer hero since Pele. Nicknamed “The Phenomenon,” the talented forward has played for Cruzeiro, Eindhoven, Barcelona, Inter Milan, Real Madrid and AC Milan, amassing numerous records, championships, and cups. An international superstar, Ronaldo has been on the Brazilian national team since 1994 and was part of World Cup–winning teams in 1998 and in 2002, when he was the tournament’s top scorer

6

Gerd Müller
FW

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Müller was short, squat, awkward-looking and not notably fast; he never fit the conventional idea of a great footballer, but he had lethal acceleration over short distances, a remarkable aerial game, and uncanny goalscoring instincts. He could turn quickly and with perfect balance in small spaces at speeds that would cause other players to fall over. He also had a knack of scoring in unlikely situations. With national records of 68 goals in 62 international appearances, 365 goals in 427 Bundesliga games and the international record of 66 goals in 74 European Club games, he was by far the most successful striker of his day.

5

Johann Cruyff
OMF, ST

Cruyff

Cruyff is a former Dutch football player and manager/coach. He was named European Footballer of the Year three times. In 1999, Cruyff was voted European Player of the Century in an election held by the IFFHS, and came second, behind Pelé in their World Player of the Century poll. Cruyff was known for his technical ability, speed and acceleration, but his greatest quality was vision, based on an acute sense of his team-mates’ positions as an attack unfolded. He is believed Cruyff superior to any previous player in his ability to extract the most from others.

4

Franz Beckenbauer
SW, DMF

Franz-Beckenbauer-Signed-Memorabilia-Germany-World-Cup-1970

German football (soccer) player. He is credited with inventing the modern attacking sweeper position. Nicknamed “Der Kaiser,” Beckenbauer is the only man to both captain and manage World Cup-winning teams (1974 and 1990, respectively). He spent most of his career with Bayern Munich, leading the team to three European Cup championships and four national titles. He was named European Footballer of the Year in 1972 and 1976. He is generally regarded as the greatest German footballer of all time and also as one of the greatest footballers in the history of the game.

3

Diego Maradona
FW

Diego Maradona Escorpio

Maradona is an icon in Argentina. As a soccer player, he took his team to new heights and became a hero to sports fans – many of whom referred to him as “San Diego.” He also took sports paychecks to new heights, claiming unheard of salaries in trade after trade. Maradona was plagued by cocaine addiction, though, and his career came to an early end. His performance included two memorable goals against England, one scored with his hand (the referee mistakenly thought the ball struck his head) and now remembered as the “Hand of God,” and another that saw him dribble through a pack of defenders.

2

Pele
born 1940

P1 Pele

Pele – called “the Black Pearl,” was the greatest soccer player in the history of the game. With a career total of 1280 goals, he may have been the world’s most popular athlete after he was named Athlete of the Century by the world’s combined National Olympic Committees in 1999, though he never played in the Olympics himself. In March of 2002, the jersey Pelé wore in the 1970 World Cup final sold at auction for $220,850. Pelé became Brazil’s minister of sports in 1995, serving until 1998.

1

Zinedine Zidane
OMF, CMF

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Popularly nicknamed Zizou, he is a French former football midfielder. His career accomplishments include winning the 1998 FIFA World Cup and Euro 2000, in addition to the 2002 UEFA Champions League. He is also one of only two three-time FIFA World Player of the Year winners. Zidane won the Golden Ball as the MVP in the World Cups of 1998 and 2006. Zidane played his first professional First Division game for Cannes and quickly rose through the professional ranks. He sealed his reputation by scoring two goals in the World Cup finals of 1998, helping France defeat Brazil to claim its first-ever World Cup championship. Extremely passionate and a leader by example, he came first in an online poll conducted by UEFA.

June 6, 2011 – 2:13 pm Categories: Current Events | Post a comment

Will Maria Shriver’s marriage survive Arnold Schwarzenegger’s admission of infidelity? I hope so (Part 25)

File photo of Maria Shriver and husband California ...

California First Lady Maria Shriver

(L-R) California First Lady Maria Shriver, niece of U.S. Senator Edward Kennedy, her son Patrick Arnold Shriver Schwarzenegger and her husband CaliforniaGovernor Arnold Schwarzenegger attend funeral services for Senator Kennedy at the Basilica of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Boston, Massachusetts in this August 29, 2009 file photo. Former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has acknowledged that he fathered a child more than ten years ago with a member of his household staff, the Los Angeles Times reported on May 17, 2011. REUTERS/Brian Snyder/Files

Maria Shriver Asks – How Do You Handle Transitions in Your Life?

Arnold Schwarzenegger admitted to his wife several months ago that he had fathered a child about 10 years ago with a member of their household staff. Maria moved out, but has not filed for divorce. In the you tube clip above she comments:

“Like a lot of you I’m in transition: people come up to me all the time, asking, what are you doing next?” she said, adding: “It’s so stressful to not know what you are doing next when people ask what you are doing and they can’t believe you don’t know what you are doing.”

“I’d like to hear from other people who are in transition,” she said. “How did you find your transition: Personal, professional, emotional, spiritual, financial? How did you get through it?”

Mrs. Shriver has asked for spiritual input and I personally think that unless she gets the spiritual help that she needs then she will end up in the divorce court. I am starting a series on how a marriage can survive an infidelity. My first suggestion would be to attend a “Weekend to Remember” put on by the organization “Family Life” out of Little Rock, Arkansas. I actually posted this as a response to Mrs. Shriver’s request on you tube.

I found this article below helpful:

My Story: Can One Weekend Really Change a Marriage?
We were pretty close to the end if we didn’t do something, by Briana Brunner

Last year, my husband, Mark, and I were not getting along well. We had been in and out of counseling, and it seemed like we were always going over the same problems.

June and lamar sims

Mark and Briana Brunner

 

That all began to change in November 2007 when I happened to hear about the Weekend to Remember® marriage conference while listening to a local radio station. I told Mark that we needed to go to it. At first he kind of fought me on it. I told him that we didn’t have a choice and said, “I’m signing us up. We are going.”

Until then, I don’t think Mark had really admitted to himself that we were pretty close to the end if we didn’t do something. I had been through one divorce and didn’t want the kids to have to go through that again.

Things didn’t begin well for our Weekend to Remember. Mark and I had an argument as we drove to the conference, and we really didn’t like each other when stepped into the ballroom. Only God could have turned that evening into a weekend that transformed our marriage, our lives, our family … forever.

A turning point

The conference was an eye-opener for Mark and me as we heard God’s purpose and plan for marriage. One phrase that struck us both very powerfully was, “My spouse is not my enemy. My spouse is a gift given to me by God.”  I think grasping that truth was a turning point for both of us. 

It was neat to see couples who on Friday night were just bodies sitting by one another transform into lovers on Sunday. They sat with their arms entwined around each other and hands clasped.  Mark and I were among those couples.

Today we still use a lot of what we learned at the Weekend to Remember. One of the biggest changes is that neither one of us ever mentions the word divorce any more. We made a commitment to never threaten divorce because we love each other—and it’s not even a consideration when things don’t seem so bright.

Remembering that “My mate is not my enemy,” has also been huge for us. If we are in an argument one or the other one will say (depending on who is more upset), “I’m not the enemy, I love you. I’m your spouse.” Those words always remind me that whatever we’re disagreeing about is temporary. It instantly makes me tone it down to a level where Mark and I can calmly talk.

We’re also much better about listening to one another. Now we sit back and let each other finish a sentence instead of instantly getting mad and trying to jump in to defend ourselves or blame the other person. We’ve learned to listen and really try to hear what’s being said and not what we think someone means.

Nine times out of ten our arguments have come from one of us misinterpreting what the other one was trying to say. Sometimes one of us will now say, “Hey, that’s not what I meant.”

Mark and I work together and that can be very trying at times. In the past, when things didn’t go right, we blamed each other. Now, if Mark or I start to point fingers and say something is “your” fault, the other will say what we learned at the Weekend to Remember, “This isn’t about blaming each other. It’s not a you or a me problem. It’s just a conflict that needs to be resolved.” And that’s really helped quite a bit.

The weekend taught us huge things about dealing with conflict in front of the kids. We learned that it’s okay for them to notice that we’re not exactly happy with each other. But today we say, “We need to go talk for a few minutes and when we are all done talking things will be fine, but we just need to talk by ourselves.”

The older kids have noticed a difference in the way we communicate. It’s really funny because if they see things getting a little tense once in a while they say, “Remember what you guys learned [at the Weekend to Remember].”

The most important change

As wonderful as these changes are, the most important thing that happened at the Weekend to Remember was that Mark and I prayed and invited Jesus Christ into our lives. That was really powerful for both of us.

I had heard people in our business talk about finding God and I wondered, What are they talking about? I can’t really explain what happened at the conference spiritually, but it was like an “Aha!” moment, and I finally understood what finding God meant.

Having Christ at the center of our lives and marriage has been huge. When we are having difficulties I will pray, “Lord, I can’t do this on my own. Will you help me to get over this?”

Today Mark is much more open about talking about God with me, our kids, and others. I have seen him say to people, “I’ll pray about this.” I had never seen that side of him before.

When I first heard about the Weekend to Remember and read some of the testimonials about the conference, I wondered how one weekend could really change marriages that were so close to ending. I no longer have to wonder. Mark and I just have to look in the mirror and remember what God did in our lives and legacy.

Benefits of Attending a Weekend to Remember

June 6, 2011 – 1:19 pm Categories: Current Events | Post a comment

Sarah Palin right about Paul Revere?

How Sarah Palin Got it Right About Paul Revere ‘Warning the British’

Mark Whittington Mark Whittington Sun Jun 5, 3:38 pm ET

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COMMENTARY | Sarah Palin stepped out of Paul Revere’s home in Boston and appeared to get her history wrong. The Internet then exploded in ridicule and astonishment at the ditz from Alaska once again uttering nonsense.

It started when Palin told a questioner, according to the Daily Caller, that Revere had had “warned the British” and not the colonials. The firestorm was instantaneous and viral. From staid organs of the mainstream media like the Los Angeles Times to the snarky left side of the Internet such as the Daily Kos, almost everyone arose in high dudgeon.

Except, albeit somewhat clumsily expressed, Palin was correct.

Professor William A. Jacobson over at Legal Insurrection notes the memoirs of Revere himself, as pointed out by the Conservatives4Palin site. In it, Revere recounts an incident during the famous Midnight Ride in which he was accosted by a British military patrol and was interrogated about what his business was on the road. Revere indicated to his British captors that he had warned the countryside of the approach of British troops up the Lexington-Concord road, matching pretty much what Palin said.

“He demanded what time I left Boston? I told him; and added that their troops had catched aground in passing the River, and that there would be five hundred Americans there in a short time, for I had alarmed the Country all the way up. He imediately rode towards those who stoppd us, when all five of them came down upon a full gallop; one of them, whom I afterwards found to be Major Mitchel, of the 5th Regiment, Clapped his pistol to my head, called me by name, & told me he was going to ask me some questions, & if I did not give him true answers, he would blow my brains out. He then asked me similar questions to those above.”

So how was it that Palin got it right and just about everyone else got it wrong about Paul Revere and his famous ride? Most peoples’ knowledge about Revere begins and ends with the famous Longfellow poem, which somewhat fudged the actual history of the ride that night in 1775. Palin either has actually cracked open a book or, just as likely, was paying attention to the lecture visitors get when they go to Paul Revere’s home, unlike her critics.

And so it goes.

June 6, 2011 – 9:46 am Categories: Uncategorized | Post a comment

June 1, 2011 Performance of “Sunshine Boys” in Hot Springs with Tommy Smothers and Jerry Van Dyke was great!!!!

Tommy Smothers and Dick Smothers - 60th Primetime Emmy Awards - Arrivals

60th Primetime Emmy Awards – Arrivals

The Smothers Brothers comedians Tommy Smothers (C) and Dick Smothers (R) and wife of Tommy Smothers, Marcy Carricker (L), arrive at the 60th Primetime Emmy Awards held at Nokia Theatre on September 21, 2008 in Los Angeles, California.

The Accidental Interview – Smothers & Van Dyke

Ran into Jerry Van Dyke & Tommy Smothers in a restaurant in Hot Springs, AR over Memorial Day weekend. They were in town performing Neil Simon’s “The Sunshine Boys”, in preparation to taking to Broadway. They very graciously allowed me to interview them and shoot some video. Needless to say, it was a hoot! http://directorzone.cyberlink.com/video/550283

My son Wilson wants to be a movie director and my son Hunter is trying his hand at comedy. I told both of them that they needed to see Jerry Van Dyke and Tommy Smoothers because they both are comedy legends. Hunter was tied up, so Wilson went with me to see the “Sunshine Boys” on June 1st in Hot Springs. It was unbelievable. We sat on the 2nd row. The place was filled!! The chemistry of the two actors was great.

The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported:

HOT SPRINGS — Two kings of comedy take the stage tonight at the RayLynn Theater in Hot Springs, where they take on characters they say are not too different from themselves.

Longtime performers Jerry Van Dyke of TV’s Coach fame and Tommy Smothers, half of the music and comedy team of the Smothers Brothers, have recently joined forces to present The Sunshine Boys over seven days at the RayLynn Theater, 710 Central Ave.

The show opens today and continues through Wednesday.

In the Neil Simon comedy, a former vaudevillian duo, who grew to hate each other over their more than 40 years together, are invited to reunite for an on-screen performance.

“It’s us,” Van Dyke said. “It’s two over-the-hill comedians that were a team and broke up years ago and are fighting and they have to reappear to do a famous sketch.”

He and Smothers — both in their 70s — have never performed together, but, like the characters in the play, one wants to retire while the other wants to continue working. Van Dyke hopes to take the performance on to Broadway, but Smothers is reluctant.

“I tried to get a lot of people to do [this part], but the problem with it is if you’re old enough to do it, you’re too old to do it,” said Van Dyke, who is also directing and producing the play.

Though he was familiar with The Sunshine Boys storyline, he had not read the script until a few years ago when someone suggested he do the play.

“When I read the play, I wanted to do it because it was me, now,” Van Dyke said. “It’s the best role I’ve ever had. I am this guy.”

Van Dyke, who began his career as a stand-up comedian, had his television debut on The Dick Van Dyke Show. On the show he portrayed, as in real life, the young brother of Robert Petree, played by his older brother Dick.

Jerry went on to appear in a number of other shows and movies. He earned four Emmy nominations for his supporting role in Coach, which ran from 1989-1997.

Now a resident of Glen Rose, Jerry debuted The Sunshine Boys last October at the RayLynn Theater, with Jack Iafrate of Hot Springs Village playing alongside him.

“There are a lot of places that [Jerry] could perform this, but this is close to where he lives, and he loves Hot Springs,” said Tom Wilkins, owner of the RayLynn Theater and a longtime friend of Jerry.

Last year’s performance of The Sunshine Boys was “extremely successful,” Wilkins said, and, as a result, they decided to bring it back — this time with Smothers.

“This is a whole new added twist,” Wilkins said. “Bringing Tommy in is something that’s going to really give it new life, if you will.”

Wilkins said he expects this year’s performance to be successful as well.

“I think it’s going to be fantastic,” Wilkins said. “The phone has been extremely busy. When you get those two guys together, they both have big names and are extremely professional, I think that it will be a huge success.”

Following its debut at the RayLynn Theater last year, Jerry took the play to Branson, Mo., performing again with Iafrate, then to Malibu, Calif., where he performed with his brother, Dick.

Jerry said he had always had Smothers in mind for the part, though, having first approached him about it two years ago. Smothers, however, turned him down.

“I said, ‘I’m not interested. I don’t do plays. I can’t memorize them,’” Smothers said.

Jerry persisted, though, and eventually won him over.

“He sent me this video of him and his brother doing [The Sunshine Boys], and he’s so brilliant in this play,” Smothers said.

“I brought him out of retirement,” Jerry boasted. “It took me two years, but I got him.”

Last year, Smothers, a resident of Sonoma, Calif., retired after 51 years of touring with his brother, Dick. The longtime duo rose to fame with their popular yet controversial variety show, The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour. The pair continued their act following the show’s cancellation in 1969, performing both on stage and on television.

After wrapping up their schedule at the RayLynn Theater, Jerry and Tommy will take the show to Dallas, and possibly on to Broadway.

“With my brother, they came out from Broadway [to see the show] and wanted us immediately,” Jerry said. “[Dick] is 85. He couldn’t do it. So they’re going to see it with Tommy here and hopefully, we’ll go to Broadway — if Tommy will.”

Throughout their careers, Jerry and Tommy have met on occasion — the first time some 40 years ago — but they never really knew each other until recently.

“We hit it off right away,” Jerry said.

“But we argue about everything,” Tommy added.

Jerry Van Dyke-JKZ-002210.jpg

June 6, 2011 – 8:02 am Categories: Current Events | Post a comment

Candidate #6,Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum: Republican Presidential Hopefuls (Part 2)

He’s back: Santorum runs as reliable conservative

By ANDREW MIGA, Associated Press Andrew Miga, Associated Press 59 mins ago

WASHINGTON – Two decades ago, Rick Santorum took the House by storm as a freshman rabble-rouser who gave the complacent Republican leadership fits.

One decade ago, Santorum vaulted into the Senate GOP leadership as a young firebrand whose conservative zeal later helped cost him his seat in Congress.

Now, in a new decade, Santorum is back.

At 53, he’s entering the Republican presidential race no longer offering himself to voters as a rising star or the next big thing, but as the tried-and-true candidate conservatives can count on — like an old shoe that fits better than anything new.

“Someone who’s been there for many, many years talking about the same issues in the same way is what a lot of folks, a lot of conservatives, are looking for,” he says.

Long a favorite of religious and social conservatives for his staunch opposition to gay rights and abortion, Santorum is joining the GOP field on Monday as a longshot driven by his belief that religion deserves a stronger role in public life.

“To me there are truths out there,” Santorum said recently in an AP interview. “There are things that are right and things that are wrong. That may not be popular and it may lose you an election, but that’s OK.”

Santorum may have lost some swagger since his days as a congressional upstart, but he’s betting that the same conservative fire that worked against him when he lost his seat in Congress will be a big advantage in GOP primaries and caucuses often dominated by the right.

He’s selling authenticity.

“He says things that are combustible,” said Terry Madonna, a professor and pollster at Franklin & Marshall College in Pennsylvania. “He’s hard-charging and high-octane. … But he’s very direct. You don’t have to worry about double-speak with him. He is what he is.”

Santorum’s conservatism is deeply rooted in his faith.

He grew up in a devout Catholic family in Butler, Pa., the son of an Italian immigrant father who was a psychologist and a mother who was a nurse.

“You had to be on your deathbed not to go to Mass,” said his younger brother, Dan.

Butler was a mostly blue-collar town with lots of ethnic churches, Rick Santorum recalled.

“Those characteristics of hard work, loyalty, family and church were very much drummed into me,” he said.

Dan Santorum said his brother had a deep competitive streak, evident when he played baseball, chess and board games like Risk. He hated losing.

“He still does,” said the younger Santorum. “But he’s not a sore loser. He’s not a quitter. That’s served him well in politics.”

During college at Penn State, Rick Santorum drifted a bit from his faith before meeting his wife, Karen Garver Santorum.

“The beautiful thing about it is we grew in our faith together,” Santorum said. “We wanted that to be the grounding for our marriage.”

That faith has been tested. He and his wife have seven children. Another child, Gabriel Michael, died in 1996, two hours after an emergency delivery.

The couple slept with the bundled dead baby’s body in their hospital room that night, wanting to keep Gabriel in their arms until the burial. They took Gabriel’s body home so their other children could see and hold the baby before burying him, according to Karen Garver Santorum’s book, “Letters to Gabriel.”

“Daddy and I wanted to hold you for as long as we possibly could,” she wrote.

The couple’s youngest child, 3-year-old Isabella, was born in 2008 with trisomy 18, a genetic disorder. Fewer than 10 percent of those diagnosed with the condition live to their first birthday.

Santorum says his daughter’s illness cut both ways as he debated whether to run: He wanted to spend as much time with her as possible, but he also felt the need to fight for “children like Bella and for the dignity of human life.”

“These children are simply denied care because they don’t have long life expectancies,” he told the AP. “They’re not seen as useful economic units.”

Santorum has doggedly laid the groundwork for what he hopes is his comeback campaign. He’s been a frequent visitor to New Hampshire, Iowa and South Carolina, states that vote early in the nominating season. His back-to-better-days campaign slogan: “Fighting to make America America again.”

But his candidacy will have to overcome hurdles, including low name recognition and the lack of a strong fund-raising organization. He also has to hope supporters aren’t scared off by his 18-point loss in the 2006 Senate race.

Santorum was elected to the House in 1990 at age 32. He shot to prominence as one of the “Gang of Seven” freshman Republicans who bucked their leadership and helped to expose fellow lawmakers who had abused checking privileges at the now-defunct House bank. In 1994, the scandal helped the GOP capture control of the House.

That same year, Santorum beat Democratic Sen. Harris Wofford and emerged as a conservative force to be reckoned with in the Senate, attaining the No. 3 leadership spot in the chamber.

He successfully pushed a bill that banned late-term abortions. In 2005, Time magazine named him among the nation’s 25 most influential evangelists.

Santorum held his Senate seat for 12 years before losing in 2006 to Democrat Bob Casey, the son of a popular former governor, as part of an anti-war, anti-incumbent tide.

Controversy over his conservative views hurt him as well.

Santorum drew sharp criticism after saying in 2003 that he believed states had the right to ban gay sex or other private behaviors “antithetical to a healthy, stable, traditional family.” He brought up a pending Supreme Court case over a Texas sodomy law and said, “If the Supreme Court says that you have the right to consensual sex within your home, then you have the right to bigamy, you have the right to polygamy, you have the right to incest, you have the right to adultery.”

His words sparked protest, particularly among gay rights supporters and Democrats.

Santorum later said his remarks were in the context of a past Supreme Court ruling on privacy and were not meant as “a statement on individual lifestyles.”

Since losing his Senate seat, Santorum has given speeches and worked at a conservative think tank and as a cable news channel commentator.

June 6, 2011 – 7:27 am Categories: Uncategorized | Post a comment

Mildred Baena never got a DNA test to prove Arnold Schwarzenegger was father

 Arnold Schwarzenegger Never Got A DNA Test for Love Child was a top story. Here is the recap: (TMZ) Arnold Schwarzenegger concedes he’s Mildred “Patty” Baena’s baby daddy, but TMZ has learned there was NEVER a DNA test establishing paternity. Multiple sources with direct knowledge of the baby saga tell TMZ … Arnold never demanded a DNA test. We’ve also learned Baena never took steps to establish paternity through DNA. As for why Arnold was so sure he was the father … our sources say Baena’s husband was not even in the United States when the baby was conceived. He returned to the U.S. just days before the boy was born. By the time the boy was a toddler, it became “physically obvious” that Arnold was the dad, one source says. In fact, we’re told several members of the Maria Shriver/Arnold Schwarzenegger staff sometimes confused Arnold’s youngest son, Christopher, with Baena’s child.

I have written many times about Arnold Schwarzenegger before. Here are just a few of the times:1. President Reagan having a photo taken with Arnold Schwarzenegger at the Republican National Convention in Dallas, Texas. 8/23/84.2.Here is a video clip of Arnold Schwarzenegger using an Airlight
Broom as a prop for “cleaning house” in the California Recall
Election as seen on CNN, ABC, CBS, NBC, ect in 2003. The
Airlight Broom is manufactured by Little Rock Broom Works.3. I heard John Fund of the Wall Street Journal speak in Little Rock on April 27, 2011 and in his speech he mentioned the struggle that Arnold Schwarzenegger had with the envirnomentalists in California. I took time to repeat a lot of the facts about that in my blog post that day. 4. At that same luncheon on April 27th that I mentioned earlier, one subject that John Fund brought up was the red tape that Arnold Schwarzenegger had to deal with in California. I wrote about that too.5. St. James Palace has confirmed  that Kate Middleton and Prince William – or, more officially, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge – will be visiting California from July 8-10 this summer. Former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is expected to greet the Royals as they touch down.6. Which is better for setting up a business: California or Texas? Arnold Schwarzenegger is mentioned in this post too.7. Arnold Schwarzenegger is fond of quoting Milton Friedman but he rejected fiscal conservative idea to cut spending.8. Pictures of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver through the years. Video clip of them at Ronald Reagan’s funeral.

9. I wrote a post on American Exceptionalism and put in a video clip of Arnold Schwarzenegger doing the introduction to an episode of “Free to Choose.”

10. Will Maria Shriver’s marriage survive Arnold Schwarzenegger’s admission of  infidelity? I hope so (Part 1).

11. Will Maria Shriver’s marriage survive Arnold Schwarzenegger’s admission of infidelity? I hope so (Part 2)

12. Will Maria Shriver’s marriage survive Arnold Schwarzenegger’s admission of infidelity? I hope so (Part 3 )

13. Will Maria Shriver’s marriage survive Arnold Schwarzenegger’s admission of infidelity? I hope so (Part  4)

14. Will Maria Shriver’s marriage survive Arnold Schwarzenegger’s admission of infidelity? I hope so (Part  5)

15. Will Maria Shriver’s marriage survive Arnold Schwarzenegger’s admission of infidelity? I hope so (Part  6)

 

Will Maria Shriver’s marriage survive Arnold Schwarzenegger’s admission of infidelity? I hope so (Part 23)

Maria Shriver Asks – How Do You Handle Transitions in Your Life? Arnold Schwarzenegger admitted to his wife several months ago that he had fathered a child about 10 years ago with a member of their household staff. Maria moved out, but has not filed for divorce. In the you tube clip above she comments: […]

 

Will Maria Shriver’s marriage survive Arnold Schwarzenegger’s admission of infidelity? I hope so (Part 22)

Hot Topics-Arnold’s Love Child – The View Maria Shriver Asks – How Do You Handle Transitions in Your Life? Arnold Schwarzenegger admitted to his wife several months ago that he had fathered a child about 10 years ago with a member of their household staff. Maria moved out, but has not filed for divorce. In […]

 

Will Maria Shriver’s marriage survive Arnold Schwarzenegger’s admission of infidelity? I hope so (Part 21)

Schwarzenegger’s Love Child Bombshell Maria Shriver Asks – How Do You Handle Transitions in Your Life? Arnold Schwarzenegger admitted to his wife several months ago that he had fathered a child about 10 years ago with a member of their household staff. Maria moved out, but has not filed for divorce. In the you tube […]

 

Will Maria Shriver’s marriage survive Arnold Schwarzenegger’s admission of infidelity? I hope so (Part 20)

Arnold Schwarzenegger: News On Woman & Love Child TMZ Scoop Maria Shriver Asks – How Do You Handle Transitions in Your Life? Arnold Schwarzenegger admitted to his wife several months ago that he had fathered a child about 10 years ago with a member of their household staff. Maria moved out, but has not filed […]

June 6, 2011 – 7:11 am Categories: Current Events | Post a comment

Francis Schaeffer was prophetic about culture of death that Jack Kevorkian thrive in (Series on Jack Kevorkian’s legacy of death Part 6)

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What Ever Happened to the Human Race?

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Philosopher and Theologian, Francis A. Schaeffer has argued, “If there are no absolutes by which to judge society, then society is absolute.” Francis Schaeffer, How Shall We Then Live? (Old Tappan NJ: Fleming H Revell Company, 1976), p. 224.

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Francis Schaeffer had a big impact on many christians like me and gave us reasons to be prolife. Read the below article by Dr. Peter Lillback concerning the issue of assisted suicide (below is the first portion of the article).This is another subject that Francis Schaeffer discussed at length in his film series and books.

The Indecency of Assisted Suicide

Peter A. Lillback, Issue Number 10, August 2006

Death is universal. Apart from the intervention of the second advent of Christ, every human being will die. But how humans should die is a point of keen debate in the history of ethics.

Christians and non-Christians have deeply disagreed over the ethical validity of “non-natural” means of human death, namely suicide, abortion, infanticide, capital punishment, war, and euthanasia. And even among Christians there have been deep disagreements over whether these means of human death are ever legitimate. Specifically, then, what should a Christian think about the surging interest in euthanasia in our largely non-Christian culture?

For a host of reasons including advancements in medical technology, the aging of America, and the increasing impact of the secularization of our society, the concept of “quality of life” continues to supplant the concept of “sanctity of life.” Not surprisingly, the practice of euthanasia, simply translated as “the good death,” is a topic of increasing interest and concern.

The stories of Karen Ann Quinlan, Dr. Jack Kevorkian, the Hemlock Society, and Terri Shiavo have filled the news. “Death with dignity,” “mercy killing,” “the right to die,” or “physician assisted suicide” identify some of the claims of the advocates of euthanasia.

To consider the issues surrounding euthanasia, or the alleged “good death,” it is essential to understand how we, as a society, have arrived at the point where legislators are discussing not how we are to live, but how we are to die.

The Advent of the Culture of Death

Euthanasia is not new. But its rise to the forefront of our social and political discussions can be seen as one outcome of the legalization of abortion in 1973. Claims by the critics of abortion that its legalization would naturally lead to infanticide and euthanasia were seen as scare tactics to keep women from exercising their “right to privacy” or “right to choose.” However, it was not long until these warnings were becoming realities. “Deformed” children were being starved to death or refused treatment and newborn infants were being discarded in trash bins.

Surgeon General of the U.S. Dr. C. Everett Koop responded to the euthanasia/infanticide by starvation of a Down syndrome child in a Bloomfield, Ind., hospital by writing an article in 1980 entitled “Slide to Auschwitz.” He explained that when the “quality of life” value system replaces the “sanctity of life” ethic, it is the first step to what the Nazi physicians at Auschwitz proclaimed—namely, that the unhealthy, the aged, the handicapped, the mentally incompetent, or the dying were lebensunwerten Lebens, or “life unworthy of life.”

Francis Schaeffer explained this emerging thinking when he described an article by author Charles Hartshorne in a 1981 article in The Christian Century entitled “Concerning Abortion, an Attempt at a Rational View.” Schaeffer wrote, “He [Hartshorne] begins by equating the fact that the human fetus is alive with the fact that mosquitoes and bacteria are also alive. That is, he begins by assuming that human life is not unique. He then continues by saying that even after the baby is born it is not fully human until its social relations develop (though he says the infant does have some primitive social relations an unborn fetus does not have). His conclusion is, ‘Nevertheless, I have little sympathy with the idea that infanticide is just another form of murder. Persons who are already functionally persons in the full sense have more important rights even than infants.’ He then, logically takes the next step: ‘Does this distinction apply to the killing of a hopelessly senile person or one in a permanent coma? For me it does.’ No atheistic humanist could say it with greater clarity.”

The high priest of mercy killing, Dr. Peter Singer of Princeton makes the thinking clear in his book Practical Ethics: “I do not deny that if one accepts abortion … the case for euthanasia … is strong. … euthanasia is not something to be regarded with horror. … On the contrary, once we abandon those doctrines about the sanctity of human life … it is the refusal to accept euthanasia which, in some cases, is horrific.” Thus the leaps from abortion to infanticide, to voluntary euthanasia, and ultimately to involuntary euthanasia are not leaps at all, but the natural consequence of stepping onto the slippery slope of morality apart from God.

The Unfolding Expression of the Culture of Death

To a society which no longer embraces the sanctity of human life, the natural extension of a woman’s “right to choose” is a person’s right to die at the time and under the conditions of their own choosing. Physician John M. Templeton, Jr., explains, “This right of personal autonomy regarding medical intervention can contribute to the concept of death with dignity. However, some persons have begun to try and push the concept of rights into extreme positions. In the words of Leon Kass, author of Death with Dignity and the Sanctity of Life, ‘We find people asserting a “right to die” grounded not in objective conditions regarding prognosis or the uselessness of treatment, but in the supremacy of choice itself. In the name of choice, people claim the right to choose to cease to be choosing beings. From such a right to refuse not only treatment, but life itself—that is, from a right to become dead—it is then a small step to the right to be made dead. From my right to die will follow your duty to assist me in dying, i.e., to become the agent of my death, if I am not able, or do not wish, to kill myself.’”

The ultimate expression of the culture of death is of course, the arbitrary killing of human beings based on some yet to be determined criteria, such as age, health, productivity, or cost to society. Philip E. Hughes writes, “given the evolutionist presupposition that the species is of far more consequence than the individual, that Man matters rather than man, it is far from fantastic to envisage the enactment of a law which, in the interest of mankind, would prescribe that on reaching, say, the age of 60, persons should be ‘put to sleep’—painlessly of course—by means of a pill, potion, or an injection.”

What role do physicians play in this new paradigm of the culture of death where they are called no longer to be life givers and sustainers, but instead to become managers of life and death? Templeton, in Death and Dying, writes, “The Dutch, in their research on euthanasia, found that many physicians acted with the initial intention of relieving pain and suffering, but also with the admitted ‘partial intention’ of hastening death. Now the Dutch parliament has lifted all restraints and has completely legalized active euthanasia, even in some cases without the patient’s consent.”

In the end, Peter Singer’s questions paint the road map for the culture of death. “For me, the relevant question is, what makes it so seriously wrong to take a life? Those of you who are not vegetarians are responsible for taking a life every time you eat. Species is no more relevant than race in making these judgments.” Singer posits the ultimate question, “But why should human life have special value?”

The Imago Dei

Why is human life precious and why is it wrong to take a life? For the Christian, the answer is clear. We are created by God; in fact, we are created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-28.). But living out that answer is not always simple or easy. This understanding of the sanctity of life is undergirded by God’s moral law, summarized in the sixth commandment: “Thou shalt not kill.” J. Douma writes, “When we live and die in God’s presence, we do not exercise self-determination over ourselves. When God says that we may not kill, then we must not proceed stubbornly to put an end to our own lives. The wish for death can be a Christian desire, even outside of the dying stage of life (see Philippians 1:23). We may even pray for that; but that kind of praying itself presupposes that we must leave the realization thereof to God Himself.”

Professor J. J. Davis further clarifies how euthanasia is a violation of the sixth commandment: “Human life is sacred because God made man in his own image and likeness (Genesis 1:26-28). This canopy of sacredness extends throughout man’s life, and is not simply limited to those times and circumstances when man happens to be strong, independent, healthy, and fully conscious of his relationships to others. … The same God who lovingly is present in the womb can be present in the dying and comatose patient, for whom conscious human relationships are broken. The body of the dying can still be a temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19), and hence sacred to God. The euthanasia mentality sees man as the lord of his own life; the Christian sees human life as a gift from God, to be held in trusteeship throughout man’s life on earth: ‘You are not your own; you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body’ (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). Determining the moment of death is God’s prerogative, not man’s (Job 14:5). Man does not choose his own death, but acquiesces in the will of the heavenly Father, knowing that for the believer, death is both the last enemy, and the doorway to eternal life. Because man bears the image of God, his life is sacred in every state of its existence, in sickness or in health, in the womb, in infancy, in adolescence, in maturity, in old age, or even in the process of dying itself.”

In a culture of death, Christians are called to be shining lights of hope to a forlorn and fallen world. When Christians choose life for themselves and/or others—offering to the suffering not deadly poisons, but rather Christ’s life-giving love in word and deed—they reflect the gospel hope of the eternal life promised by Christ’s resurrection.

Dr. Peter A. Lillback is senior pastor of Proclamation Presbyterian Church (PCA) and president of Westminster Theological Seminary.

June 6, 2011 – 12:03 am Categories: Francis Schaeffer, Prolife | Post a comment

Will Maria Shriver’s marriage survive Arnold Schwarzenegger’s admission of infidelity? I hope so (Part 24)

Weekend to Remember Story – Dennis Rainey

File photo of California Governor Schwarzenegger, ...

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, his son Christopher, 9, and his wife Maria Shriver hold hands as they walk to their vehicle after voting inthe U.S. midterm elections at the Crestwood Hills Recreation Center in Los Angeles, California, in this November 7, 2006 file photo. Former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has acknowledged that he fathered a child more than ten years ago with a member of his household staff, the Los Angeles Times reported on May 17, 2011. REUTERS/Danny Moloshok/Files

Maria Shriver Asks – How Do You Handle Transitions in Your Life?

Arnold Schwarzenegger admitted to his wife several months ago that he had fathered a child about 10 years ago with a member of their household staff. Maria moved out, but has not filed for divorce. In the you tube clip above she comments:

“Like a lot of you I’m in transition: people come up to me all the time, asking, what are you doing next?” she said, adding: “It’s so stressful to not know what you are doing next when people ask what you are doing and they can’t believe you don’t know what you are doing.”

“I’d like to hear from other people who are in transition,” she said. “How did you find your transition: Personal, professional, emotional, spiritual, financial? How did you get through it?”

Mrs. Shriver has asked for spiritual input and I personally think that unless she gets the spiritual help that she needs then she will end up in the divorce court. I am starting a series on how a marriage can survive an infidelity. My first suggestion would be to attend a “Weekend to Remember” put on by the organization “Family Life” out of Little Rock, Arkansas. I actually posted this as a response to Mrs. Shriver’s request on you tube.

I got a lot out of this article below:

Adrift in Marriage:Jerry and Olivia Dugan wanted to stay married but didn’t know how by Mary May Larmoyeux

When Jerry and Olivia Dugan got married, they pledged lifelong commitment to one another. After all, they each knew firsthand how divorce rips families apart. They had individually vowed, “I will never do that to my children.”

When Jerry was 11 years old, his Army father secured housing for the family in Germany. Jerry remembers eating breakfast in a little trailer park in Southern California when his mother said she wasn’t following her husband overseas. He initially believed his mother, but then his brother started to cry—he had seen the man their mother was having an affair with.

Jerry says his parents’ divorce left a hole in his heart.

Olivia was just 7 years old when her mother announced that her father had to move out of their home.  “We were at my house; it was late in the evening. I can still see it … I cried.”

After her parents’ divorce, her mother remarried. Olivia was not able to see her father as much as she wanted to. “My stepdad didn’t treat me like my daddy.”

Olivia promised herself that she would never divorce. “I knew that I wanted to be married forever.”

Like Olivia, Jerry wanted a lifelong marriage. He listened carefully to the vows that couples made at weddings. He wondered, Why did my parents break their vows? If commitment is so important, why is it okay to break it?

They didn’t know how

When Jerry and Olivia were married, each of them had the desire to keep their commitment. But something was missing: They didn’t know how. A few years into their marriage, they began to drift apart. “There were paths that we were starting on,” Jerry says. “By year 14 or 15 we might have ended up like our parents.”  

Instead of continuing on their path toward isolation, the Dugans went to a Weekend to Remember® marriage getaway. That’s when they heard about God’s design for marriage. They learned what it would take for their relationship to last a lifetime.

A few weeks after that weekend, the Dugans had what Jerry describes as “some really heavy fights.” He says that the communication skills they learned allowed them not only to get through those arguments, but also helped them grow closer together.

Many of their arguments centered around money, and the getaway had taught them how to “fight fair.” Olivia says that she had a tendency to say hurtful words to her husband when things got heated. Now she asks herself: Do I want to say something mean and hurtful or can I say something constructive and get this conflict resolved?

“It feels good to see change”

Olivia and Jerry have seen from their own marriage how easy it is for couples to drift apart. They don’t want other families to experience what they did as kids of divorced parents. That’s why they became Weekend to Remember group coordinators at their church, Bay Area Fellowship (Corpus Christi, Texas). They are grateful that God is working through them to make a difference.

Two years ago, 22 couples from their church attended a Weekend to Remember, and the following year 20 more couples attended. Those who registered as part of a group received 50 percent off the regular registration rate. And as group coordinators, the Dugans earned one free registration (for one couple) for each completed group of five couples.

Jerry and Olivia wondered, Who should receive the free registrations? They asked their pastors, “Who have you been counseling every week that needs to go to this?”

The couples who were chosen not only expressed their appreciation to the Dugans, but also told their friends about the marriage getaway.  Says Jerry, “It feels good to see the change—couples going in [to the getaway] hurting and struggling and coming out renewed.”

Today many of those same couples are leading small groups and Bible studies. “After the Weekend to Remember,” Jerry says, “They were one unit going forward for Christ and that blows me away.”

Investing in families

Olivia is a part-time preschool teacher and Jerry is in real estate. Despite their busy schedules and their responsibilities raising two children, they think it’s important to intentionally invest in other families.

Olivia says that the media portrays a laissez faire attitude about divorce—as though it doesn’t really matter. “But it is a big deal,” she says. “It tears kids up and their families!”

Jerry says that he and Olivia are passionate about sharing God’s blueprints for marriage not only in their church, but also throughout their hometown of Corpus Christi.

“We want our town to realize divorce is not an option. Kids should expect to have one mom and one dad. Period.”


June 6, 2011 – 12:01 am Categories: Current Events | Post a comment

Kate Middleton and Prince William: Marriage made in Heaven? (Part 48)

The Royal Wedding in Photos
Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Charles, Prince of Wales leave Clarence House to travel to Buckingham Palace for the evening celebrations. (John Stillwell/WPA Pool/Getty Images)
I watched the royal wedding with great interest, and I really do wish Kate and William success in their marriage. I hope they truly are committed to each other, and if they are then the result will be a marriage that lasts their whole lifetime. Nevertheless, I do not think it is best to live together before marriage like they did, and I writing this series to help couples see how best to prepare for marriage.
Cohabiting not only leads to higher divorce rates, says research, but it’s highly unstable: half of all co-habitees’ relationships last less than a year and 90% end within five years, mostly because couples break up, according to a new study by New York’s Cornell University, published in the journal Demography in May. We know cohabiting couples are less assured than married couples, and tend to be more violent with reduced concern for fidelity. Cohabiting men and women also share a greater likelihood of depression than their married counterparts. (From article: Perils of “Living in Sin” – Shacking up isn’t always a guarantee of marriage Edmonton Sun (Canada) 8/05/06 By Jennifer Parks)

• Myth: Cohabiting relationships are more egalitarian than marriage. It is common knowledge that women and children suffer more poverty after a cohabiting relationship breaks up, but it’s not so well understood that there is typically an economic imbalance in favor of the man within such relationships, too. While couples who live together say that they plan to share expenses equally, more often than not the women support the men. Studies show that women typically contribute more than 70 percent of the income in a cohabiting relationship. Likewise, the women tend to do more of the cleaning, cooking and laundry. If they are students, as is often the case, and facing economic or time constraints that require a reduction in class load, it is almost invariably the woman, not the man, who drops a class. (Janice Shaw Crouse PhD, from the article, “The Myths and Reality of Living Together Without Marriage” as posted on Crosswalk.com)

Benefits of Attending a Weekend to Remember

 
June 6, 2011 – 12:01 am Categories: Current Events | Post a comment

Documentary about Sarah Palin

Shushannah Walshe – 2 hrs 25 mins ago

NEW YORK – Sarah Palin's Movie Makeover in The UndefeatedA forgotten Sarah Palin who worked with Democrats to pass landmark legislation emerges in the new documentary The Undefeated. Shushannah Walshe gets an early look and talks to director Stephen K. Bannon.

The Undefeated, a glowing, dramatic documentary about Sarah Palin’s history from the former Alaska governor’s point of view, is the latest step in Palin’s effort to reframe her image ahead of a potential presidential run. And it may succeed in bringing in conservatives who loved her in 2008 but have been turned off since.

The film’s director, Stephen K. Bannon, says he believes it will attract independents and liberals as well. “I think there is a huge audience out there for moderates and liberals that want to see this film,” he told The Daily Beast. “The American people are fair and decent, and I think they are willing to give this movie a shot and learn something they may not know about Gov. Palin.”

The Daily Beast got an early screening of The Undefeated, which offers an accurate look at just how much Palin was able to accomplish in her short tenure as governor of Alaska. The film goes into gritty detail about how Palin passed legislation that other governors had been working on for decades, including the initial legislation for a gas pipeline, oil tax reform that brought in billions for the state and its residents, and a push for Exxon Mobil to start drilling in an oil field it had been sitting on for decades. Many of the state’s lawmakers now think the oil tax reform legislation is a mistake, curbing oil exploration, but at the time of its passage, the bill was hailed as a boon in the 49th state.

Bannon, the 57-year-old filmmaker behind the Tea Party movie Generation Zero, was approached by SarahPAC treasurer Tim Crawford and adviser Rebecca Mansour after the 2010 midterm elections to make a series of videos about Palin. With her blessing and help facilitating, he instead decided to make a feature-length film about the former governor, putting up the money himself.

“It’s a fascinating story,” Bannon said. “It’s someone who’s one of the most well-known people in the world, but not a lot is really known about her. It was really the rise from obscurity to prominence. I thought was a terrific story, and no one has ever told it in film.”

Bannon defended the omission of Troopergate, saying it is not a “central theme” of her tenure and that the potential abuse of power case has been covered in depth.

Brought up in an Irish Catholic family of union workers and Reagan Democrats in Virginia, Bannon said he’s “always been pretty conservative.” When he’s not making documentaries, he’s the CEO of IMI Exchange, which trades “virtual currency” for the global video game industry, a business run mostly in Asia that he co-owns with Goldman Sachs and Oak Ventures. Most of his friends are liberals, he said, and politics is now off the table when his extended family gets together at Christmas.

Bannon—who owns homes in Santa Monica and Laguna Beach and describes himself as part of a small group of “Hollywood cultural conservatives” that includes Andrew Breitbart, Gary Sinise, David Mamet, and Dennis Miller—funded the film with $1 million of his own money.

“We thought it was going to be a commercial film,” he said. “We thought people would be fascinated by this and we thought we would have a strong return on investments. We always had a vision, my partners and I, if we told the story, the real story of Gov. Palin that it would have a huge audience.”

The Undefeated opens with Palin family home video and then cuts to footage of Palin detractors Matt Damon, Rosie O’Donnell, and others describing why they can’t stand the former Alaska governor. It’s an effective and eye-catching start that grabs the viewer. The film also shows how Palin has stunned the establishment, from the Wasilla mayor she crushed to the Alaska GOP, by sweeping into the governor’s office and working with Democrats to get her legislation passed. It’s a Palin who has been largely forgotten since she was chosen as John McCain’s running mate.

The film colorfully draws clear lines, as Palin does herself, between the “good guys” and “bad guys.” When the Beltway Republican establishment does not defend her, Bannon uses video of a zebra being eaten by hungry lions. When Palin is trying to get elected in the wake of FBI raids and arrests of state legislators, the film shows smoky rooms with cigar-chomping men, with a voice-over of Palin’s voice from the audio version ofGoing Rogue. (Palin wasn’t interviewed directly for the film, but she has seen a rough cut and told the press who traveled with her last week on her bus tour that she was “blown away” by it.)

The stock video may be hokey, but Palin’s Alaskan supporters and former staffers do a much better job defending her record. Palin’s former spokeswoman, Meg Stapleton, joins her former attorney Tom van Flein, her Wasilla deputy mayor Judy Patrick, and oil and gas adviser Marty Rutherford, among others. All are passionate and mostly quite effective retelling the drama of those moments in the legislature and negotiations with the oil companies. It’s also an incredible reminder of Palin in Alaska before she became a household name.

The film mostly ignores social conservative issues to focus on Palin’s big wins with energy and fiscal issues, and it completely skips Troopergate. Bannon defended the omission, saying it is not a “central theme” of her tenure and that the potential abuse of power case had already been covered in depth.

In the film’s last third, though, it undergoes a serious and seemingly sudden change—one that mirrors the transformation Palin herself went through. The problem solver who worked with Democrats to get Alaskans their fair share becomes a right-wing firebrand who instead of being defended by passionate Alaskans has conservative agitators Mark Levin, Andrew Breitbart, and Tammy Bruce speaking for her. Palin supporters will love this change, but it’s quite jarring and will undoubtedly turn off non-Palin fans who may have been starting to see a different side of her earlier in the film.

Van Flein goes into detail about why Palin resigned her governorship after fighting so hard to get there in 2006. He is also effective, but if Palin does run in 2012, this move will be the hardest for her to explain, even with van Flein’s defense. After watching the hard-charging politician get so much done in record time, blaming her resignation on ethics complaints filed by Alaskans—as annoying and costly as they may have been for the Palin family—just isn’t believable. The Sarah Palin depicted in the film would keep fighting, but she didn’t. Stapleton, a passionate defender of her former boss in the film, gives an over-the-top account of how sad it was for Alaskans that Palin was forced to step down, another moment that stretches credulity.

The Undefeated is set to premiere at the end of June in the first caucus state of Iowa, and from there it will travel to New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Nevada. Bannon said he will announce a distribution deal soon that will back a commercial run.

The director said he doesn’t know whether Palin will run for president but that he would back her if she does throw her hat in the ring: “I certainly think she would add a tremendous voice in the Republican primary…I think it would be terrific.”

The final section of the documentary is introduced with the caption “From here, I can see November.” This hint is the latest of several Palin has been giving that she will indeed jump into the 2012 race. After clearly enjoying being back on the trail this week and being urged on by supporters, staffers, and now this film, it’s hard to see how The Undefeated doesn’t give Palin just one more reason she should enter the race.

Shushannah Walshe covers politics for The Daily Beast. She is the co-author of Sarah From Alaska: The Sudden Rise and Brutal Education of a New Conservative Superstar. She was a reporter and producer at the Fox News Channel from August 2001 until the end of the 2008 presidential campaign.

June 5, 2011 – 11:42 pm Categories: Uncategorized | Post a comment