Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Christine O'Donnell, The Gift That Keeps On Giving!!!

I know. It's next to impossible to top the headline in last week's blog, but the same person who inspired that headline is the person who is named in the headline above.


Madam Sanctimony, otherwise known as Christine O'Donnell, the Republican/Tea Party Senate candidate from Delaware, is another one of these "character" candidates who is endorsed by the biggest political character of them all, Sarah Palin.


Just for fun, let's run down a list of what we know about Christine O'Donnell and her beliefs. We have no idea what she stands for when it comes to finding ways to get more jobs for people, global warming, taxation, government spending, the war in Afghanistan, home foreclosures, etc., etc.


According to her beliefs that are available for all to see, (in no particular order) Christine O'Donnell is against masturbation, she's against women being admitted to West Point, she believes in no sex before marriage but yes, she's currently sharing a house with a man, she has a lesbian sister, but she's anti-gay, she has a bad history when it comes to paying her bills and seems to believe that's what campaign contributions are for, or I suppose one might wonder if that man she is living with might be paying for something, and she is against abortion unless the woman's life is in danger. Yes, Christine O'Donnell is against abortion when a rape is involved and she's against abortion when the pregnancy is the result of incest. Which usually means, the woman's father forced her to have sex with him.



Abortion Commentary:



I have no problem with people who are against abortion. I've written about my own abortion story in a previous blog. I hated it. I tried to talk her out of it. She had the abortion. I still hate what happened, but when all is said and done, I still believe in the law of the land, which is "the woman's right to choose".


Well meaning people disagree with me. Passionately. Some of these people are famous people who happen to be good friends of mine. Abortion is not a subject we have casual conversations about. In fact, we avoid the subject unless I do something like I'm doing now.


I can honestly say that I don't know ANYONE who is in FAVOR of abortion. Different people have different reasons for making this very difficult decision and they have the "law" on their side.


I have no problem with Christine O'Donnell being against abortion unless the woman's life is in danger. In fact, I support that position. And for the life of me, I don't understand anyone who doesn't support that position.


But here's something else I don't understand. Christine O'Donnell and a lot of other people think that a woman who becomes pregnant because of a rape or incest, is a woman who should never be allowed to have an abortion for either of those reasons.


Let's think about this for a second or two.


If I (or you) am married to the woman who got pregnant because she was raped, would you want to go through the months of watching her stomach grow so that a child who's DNA will consist of a rapist's DNA, will soon be living in your home?!?


If the woman who got pregnant because she was raped is single, how many loving thoughts do you think she would be expected to have during the course of THAT pregnancy?!? Should she be made to give birth to child who's DNA will consist of a rapist's DNA?!?


If a woman becomes pregnant because her father forced her to have sex with him (incest), that woman should be forced to give birth to THAT child?!?



If your answer to the questions I asked in the previous paragraphs are, "Yes, yes and yes!!!", please write to me and tell me why you feel that way. My email address is, scottstjames@sbcglobal.net I won't use your name unless you want me to.

OTHER STUFF:

When Velma Hart said, "I'm exhausted of defending you!", I think that most of us understood where she was coming from. In in case you don't know who she was talking to, she was eyeball to eyeball with President Obama.

Everybody wants lower taxes, right? I certainly do. But here's the problem. Spending also has to be lowered. And more so than the tax cuts or the only thing that's accomplished is all of us being in a "BIGGER ditch". And don't give me that baloney about how lower taxes by itself solves anything. It doesn't. It absolutely does NOT!

And how how about those Hedge Fund Managers? These people are making 200-700 million dollars a year and because of some goofy exemption they get, their tax liability is 15%. I'll bet every person who reads this has a tax liability of more that 15%. Maybe much more. I'm not making this up. Hedge Fund Managers. 200 to 700 million dollars a year these jokers are making. And their tax liability, because of something lobbyists got done on behalf of rich folks, is only 15%!!! Is it just me, or is that something YOU think should be changed as well?!?

What was your reaction when you read all the headlines saying, "The recession is over!"
Did you say something like, "Great! Now I'll buy a new car!"?!?

Or did you say what I said; "Bull Shit!!!"

How's the weather where you are? Here, on Monday, I looked at the thermometer on my computer and it told me it was 114 degrees outside my window.

Glenn Beck is in trouble. His ratings are going down and a whole lot of companies are demanding that their commercials not be run on his show. In fact, there's a new phrase stated by these companies about ads that do get aired on Beck's show; "Empty Calories!"

Do you remember that story about the 22-year old Muslim woman who was working for Disneyland and got mad at officials there when she wasn't allowed to wear a hijab. That's religious head-gear, something that no Disney employee has ever worn because everyone has to wear a uniform that represents whatever the particular establishment represents.

Well, she and Islamic Relations people raised holy hell about it and the Disney folks backed down. In my view, that's a shame because there's no legitimate reason for Disney to make any exceptions in this case. Do the Islamic Relations people think that the people at "Hooter's" would make an exception? Or any other "theme" restaurant?

Short commentary: If I'm running that department she complained about, my response to her would have been something like this; "Yo, Muslim woman! You wanna do some praying here? Just before your shift begins, look to the heavens, praise Allah and thank him for whatever help you think he gave you to get this job! Then, put your Disney uniform on and go to work!"

And if that's not acceptable, here's what I say then; "We'll get you a check for whatever we might owe you and I wish you much luck at your next job because you're no longer working at THIS job!"


ENTERTAINMENT STUFF:

Two new films, a recent award winning film, a 21-year old film and 3 television shows.

The "Fabulous Baker Boys" is a film that's currently on the Encore circuit and it's a film that was released in 1989. I saw it for the first time a few days ago. It stars Jeff Bridges, Beau Bridges and Michelle Pfeiffer. Folks, if you haven't seen this film, find it on Encore and you'll be glad you did. This is a very good film.

I didn't see "The Hurt Locker" when it came out, it's currently on the Showtime circuit and I saw it this past Saturday. And now I know what all the praise was about. Jeremy Renner is off the charts good in this film, but the film itself is riveting, riveting, riveting.

"Never Let Me Go" is a new film that I saw yesterday. It stars Carey Mulligan, Keira Knightley, Andrew Garfield and Charlotte Rampling. This is a heavy, heavy, HEAVY film. To tell you what it's about is a "spoiler alert" but trust me when I tell you this; If you like good filmmaking involving four world class actors, you will definitely like "Never Let Me Go".

"Wall Street, Money Never Sleeps" is a film I saw this past Friday. All star cast that is led by Michael Douglas who gets great support from Shia LaBeouf, Josh Brolin, Carey Mulligan, Eli Wallach, Susan Sarandon and Frank Langella.

When Douglas is on the screen, he flat owns it and I won't be surprised if he gets an Oscar nomination. Same deal with Carey Mulligan, Frank Langella and maybe (even) Eli Wallach.

There's a lot of stuff going on in this film and that's something that's been criticized by some critics. As is the complaint about the amount of camera time given to Michael Douglas, with the argument being, he should have had more camera time. I got past the complaints made by these critics and quite frankly, I sooo loved the way this film ends and for that reason alone, this film (to me) was worth double the admission price.

The new season of "Dexter" began on Showtime this past Sunday. The two main producers left the "Dexter" show after last season ended and I couldn't help but think of them while I was watching Sunday's episode. I have seen every episode of "Dexter" and the episode I saw this past Sunday was good, but not up to the standard I'm used to seeing.

Same deal with "Brothers & Sisters" on ABC which also began their new season this past Sunday. Good, but not as good as what I'm used to seeing.

Same deal with "The Good Wife", a show I absolutely love, that began their new season last night (Tuesday) on CBS. Good, but not up to the standard I'm used to seeing.

Questions and or comments? Write to me at scottstjames@sbcglobal.net and I will respond to you ASAP. Please don't write to the blog because there's no way for me to know what your email address is so there's no way for me to respond to you. Again...Please write to me at scottstjames@sbcglobal.net and I will respond to you quickly.

The next blog? Barring unforseen circumstances, late Wednesday night, October 6 or early Thursday morning, October 7.

P.S. I just finished another short film for some of those great film students at USC and I might be on CRN again, this Friday. If I am, I'll be on with CRN owner Mike Horn and you can hear us from 4-5 in the afternoon, Pacific Time and the show will be repeated during the weekend. If you'd like to check us out, click onto www.CRNTalk.com

Meanwhile, I hope that you and yours have a great rest of the week and weekend.





Wednesday, September 22, 2010

If Masturbation Were To Be Outlawed, I Wouldn't Have Any Sex At ALL!!!

Hi Gang,

I've said it before and I'll say it again; I believe that the people who take the time to read this blog are some of the most curious, informed and brightest people on the planet.

And I say that while knowing (from your emails) that not everyone agrees with my thoughts and or commentaries about things. I have had email and phone conversations with many of you. I look forward to every one of those/these conversations. Why? Because I enjoy the back and forth dialogue and there have been a number of times I changed my mind about something and there have been a number of times I learned something that I simply hadn't thought of. I've been doing a lot of radio stuff recently on CRN. A network you can hear all over the world. www.CRNTalk.com I'll be on the air this Friday afternoon from 4-5 Pacific Time and the other person on the air with me will either be CRN owner, Mike Horn or my long time friend and co-host, Harold Sylvester, a guy who is also a very successful actor, producer, director and writer. I mention Harold because there's a little poetic line I use every show that goes like this; "Scott and Harold, sittin' in a tree, A-R-G-U-I-N-G!" My point? That's how Harold and I learn stuff from each other and sometimes change our minds about things.

Okay...I'm making a little point about how "sharp" all you readers are, the dialogue I've had with many of you, etc., etc.

I gotta believe you know where I'm going with the "headline" I wrote at the top of this blog, right?

CHRISTINE O'DONNELL!!!

For the one or two of you (because you've been real busy) who are saying, "Who?!?", Christine O'Donnell is the Sarah Palin wannabe who, in a huge upset, won the Republican nomination for Senator in Delaware.

There are two things she seems to have in common with former Governor Palin. She's cute and we've seen video of her telling us about an interest in witchcraft. I'm sure you all remember that video of Sarah Palin moving around on stage with a Witch Doctor who (I think) was claiming to remove sins from Sarah's body. Or something like that. Palin was on stage with that Witch Doctor for quite a while and if you haven't seen that video, I can guarantee that you will see it over and over and over again if she decides she wants to be President of the United States.

But back to Christine O'Donnell, the Sarah Palin wannabe and a person who has been endorsed by Palin in that Delaware Senate race.

To suggest that Christine O'Donnell has some interesting ideas, would be an understatement. Her interest in witchcraft seems to have been a high school thing and there's no known evidence of a Witch Doctor having been in her life after she became an adult. But what I'm going to mention now are interesting things that Christine O'Donnell seems to believe in and or is somehow entitled to. That is, unless we haven't heard the "rest of the story", but so far, the reason or reasons we haven't is because she's refusing to talk about these things, publicly.

Here comes the short version and I'll preface this by using a line Fox News likes to use; "We report. You decide."

I like to think of myself as a "gentleman" and with that in mind, yes, a lady always has the option to "change her mind", but to the best of my knowledge, she has not (yet) changed her mind about the following things: Christine O'Donnell has said she's against females being allowed to attend school at West Point. I would assume she might also be against females being allowed to attend school at Annapolis, but I don't think she has ever stated that belief.

Christine O'Donnell seems to think it's okay to use campaign money to pay her bills and all of her other personal expenses, no matter what those expenses are. There are people currently investigating this, but supporters of her say (in essence) this is the mainstream media's fault.

Christine O'Donnell is a zealot when it comes to the issue of "saving herself for marriage". Nothing wrong with that. I don't think it's something we need to know, but there's certainly nothing wrong with the position she takes. Christine O'Donnell isn't married. So one assumes, she's still "saving herself". She's 41 years old. That's a lot of "saving", folks, but again....There's nothing wrong with that.

Christine O'Donnell has also publicly stated that she's against "masturbation". I will give her the benefit of the doubt and assume she's been "true to her school" regarding her 41-year old "masturbation" belief, but I can't help but wonder if the voters of Delaware make her a United States Senator, would Christine O'Donnell try to pass legislation that would outlaw masturbation? Because Madam (potential) Senator O'Donnell, if you and your very interesting mind get masturbation outlawed, a poor guy like me wouldn't have any sex at ALL!!!

One more thing, Christine....Thanks for going "public". You are the kind of character we can't take our eyes off of and it has nothing to do with your looks.

POVERTY:

Did you check out that story about poverty that came out at the end of last week? In 2009, one out of every seven people who live in this country, live in poverty.

To me, this story is huge! One out of every seven living in poverty? HERE?!?

And no, don't blame this on Obama. Or Bush.

Look, I know there are a lot of people who have been in a hating mood over the last five or six years. Hating Bush for seeming to run our economy into a ditch and hating Obama for seeming to keep it there or to have made it a bigger ditch.

I know that a lot of you don't want to hear what I'm about to say and many of you will refuse to believe what I'm about to say, but I'm gonna say it anyway; What we're going through didn't begin with Bush or Obama. It began at least 30 years ago. With Ronald Reagan. The "trickle down economics" thing was what Bush Senior said it was. Voodoo economics. Way too much money was spent on national defense, the rich got great tax breaks (I know because I was making good money in those days), our country was in great shape, but unknown to any of us, it was about then that we unintentionally let things begin to get out of hand. The greedier the people at the top got, the more our country began to sag. But we didn't begin to feel it until 2005 or so. When all this free money we thought we had from equity in our homes and credit card cash advances. Foreclosures on top of bankruptcies on top of more foreclosures on top of more bankruptcies and here we are. One out of seven of us is living in poverty. Many of us have lost our homes. Many of us are bankrupt. Many of us have been unable to get a job for 2 years, 3 years, 4 years and longer. No one who is legally rich has felt pain at all. The top one or two percent don't even know the rest of us exist.

Everyone who has aligned themselves with the tea party folks are people who might not know the "why's?" of our current financial situation, but they're united in knowing that something has to be changed. Even if that means electing someone who imagines they can see Russia from their back yard.

I mentioned what I believe to be mistakes made during the Reagan years. I think most of us would agree that the two most popular presidents in our lifetime(s) have been Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton. Bill Clinton is responsible for signing off on consolidation. We were sold the notion that consolidation would be better for the consumer and better for the worker. Two parts of my livelihood were affected by Clinton's pen. Radio and television. Consolidation has been an absolute disaster for people in those professions. Except for the people at the absolute top. Sound familiar? Here's something else Clinton signed off on. NAFTA. I was a lone voice in the night while hollering on the ABC station here about what a terrible mistake that was. And history has proven me to be right. Who benefitted from Clinton's stroke of the pen? People at the absolute top.

LOBBYISTS!!!

Yo, tea party people and all other concerned citizens! Put the power of the people on a straight line path to eliminate THIS albatross! Pass a law, put up blockades, whatever. But make your mission to make it ILLEGAL for lobbyists to be within a hundred miles of Washington, any state capitol or any city hall. And if lobbyists would respond by breaking that law? Let it be known that while every day won't be a duck season day, every day will be a lobbyist season day.

ENTERTAINMENT STUFF:

Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler are (officially) the two new "American Idol" judges. Randy Jackson will be the only "original" judge.

I have no idea what kind of judge Steven Tyler will be, but I will be very surprised if America doesn't fall in love with Jennifer Lopez while she's on the show.

New films and television shows:

"The Town", a new film that was directed by Ben Affleck, opened last Friday. I loved it. Affleck is also starring in this film and he can pat himself on the back for making that "hire". He made some other great hire's as well. Jon Hamm, Jeremy Renner (major badass), Rebecca Hall, Blake Lively in a role that is nothing like her "Gossip Girl" role, Pete Postlethwaite, the always very good Chris Cooper and I could go on and on. Check it out, gang. You'll thank me for the recommendation.

Sunday night, HBO presented the first episode of "Boardwalk Empire". This show is sooo good, it's already been renewed for a second season. I am looking forward to watching every episode.

A new season of "House" began on Monday night on Fox. That show is still solid as a rock. I also checked two new shows. "The Event" on NBC and boy, does this look like a "keeper" and "Hawaii Five-O" on CBS. Very good cast, but I don't know if this show will have "legs".

A new season of "Glee" began Tuesday night on Fox. A new character named Dot-Marie Jones has been added to the cast as the football coach. Yes, a female head football coach of a high school boys team. And she looks like a "fit". The show itself? I loved it!!!

There are two new half-hour shows that follow "Glee" on Fox and I liked 'em both. "Raising Hope" and "Running Wilde". The always great Martha Plimpton, gets terrific support from Garret Dillahunt and Cloris Leachman in "Raising Hope" and Will Arnett and Keri Russell headline "Running Wilde".

The new Wall Street film starring Michael Douglas opens this Friday and I hope to see it before I show up on CRN that afternoon between 4-5 Pacific Time. We have movie reviews during that hour, football picks and some things I've written about in this blog. You can hear us by clicking onto www.CRNTalk.com The Friday show is heard throughout the weekend on CRN.

QUESTIONS AND OR COMMENTS? Please write to me at scottstjames@sbcglobal.net and I will respond to you ASAP. Don't write to the blog because there's no way for me to know your email address which means I wouldn't be able to respond to you. I respond to every email I get except for "Anonymous" emails which are ignored.

THE NEXT BLOG? Barring unforseen circumstances, late Wednesday night, September 29 or early Thursday morning, September 30.

I hope that all of you have a great rest of the week and weekend!

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

MUSLIMS!!! Evil or Misunderstood?!?

Hi Gang,

First of all, I expect this might be a pretty short blog because of show business responsibilities tomorrow that will begin early in the morning. A commercial audition for ESPN and a film audition for the role of a boxing trainer. I have finished my work on the USC film, "A Brief History Lesson" and my heartfelt thanks go out to film director and writer, Jeff Chanley and his outstanding cast and crew for "having my back" and making this an incredible and fun experience.

Speaking of fun experiences....Thanks for the kind words from those of you who commented on the CRN radio show I did last Friday with Actor-Director-Producer-Writer, Harold Sylvester and LARadio.com Owner-Publisher, Don Barrett. Mike Horn OWNS CRN I'll be on CRN with him this Friday afternoon from 4-5 Pacific Time. You can listen to us by clicking on www.CRNTalk.com

And NOW...The SERIOUS Stuff!!!

MUSLIMS!!!

It seems like it wasn't that long ago when we never talked about Muslims, but a lot of folks are sure talkin' about 'em now!

I mean people like Newt Gingrich have been talking about Muslims non-stop, lately. And one thing Mr. Gingrich is good at is, talking! Like when he was preaching the "family values" thing while talking about President Clinton non-stop. Remember that? He was all high and mighty over President Clinton doing a little hanky-panky with an intern and Mr. Gingrich kept reminding us that President Clinton was a married man, for crying out loud. Oh, yeah! That was a lot of fun for people who didn't like President Clinton for other reasons and they were happy that Mr. Gingrich was being the "attack dog" that he was. UNTIL...Something came up about Mr. Gingrich being involved with a little hanky-panky his ownself while his wife was sick. Well, Mr. Gingrich ended up divorcing that woman and after marrying another woman, we heard about another hanky-panky incident which resulted in Mr. Gingrich divorcing again and getting hooked up with the understanding woman he's married to now.

No, this has nothing to with Mr. Gingrich talking about Muslims. But it does have to do with Mr. Gingrich talking about anything of substance and his "credibility". And in case you didn't know, please keep something else in mind....It is obvious that Mr. Gingrich is seriously testing the waters to find out if he would be considered a serious contender if he were to decide to try to become our next President of the United States.

No doubt about it. Mr. Gingrich is charming, smart and a lot of other things that could make him a viable candidate, buuuut....Ya gotta wonder if he has too much "leopard" in him, don't you? I mean, can this "leopard" change his spots?

Okay...To me, if you want to bark about or discuss Muslims, I'd like to hear from anyone except Mr. Gingrich.

Holy Books:

This most recent business regarding our feelings about Muslims hit the fan when that small-town Florida preacher said he was going to burn a bunch of Muslim holy books. The preacher contends and a lot of other people contend that the message in these Muslim holy books is an evil message. Muslim supporters say that they are misunderstood.

I have spent a lot of hours the last couple of days doing my own research. I'm not going to pretend that I read all of a Koran and I also didn't read all of the Old or New Testament in what is known as our Bible, a book that used to be in every room of every hotel and motel in America. The Bible is not in all the hotel and motel rooms anymore because we here in America aren't as religious as we used to be, despite protests to the contrary from people who want to keep that myth alive.

Personally, I think most people believe in a God of some kind, but if you ever run into someone who says that she or he doesn't believe there's a God of some kind, check back with that person when that person is in trouble and is hoping like hell that a God exists.

Back to the subject at hand. Holy books.

Did you know there are references to Jesus in the Koran? I didn't. There are a lot of things in the Koran that support "peace", but there are other things in the Koran that lead you to believe they're preaching intolerance.

Buuut...When you look at the Old Testament of the Bible (our holy book), you can see many examples of "intolerance", too. Some in the New Testament as well. But most everything else (of what I read) leans toward peace more than "intolerance".

Again...I don't pretend to have read these holy books from cover to cover. But my conclusion(s) from what I did read is this: Depending on what you want to latch onto, you can choose to go any direction you want to go. Which means good, evil or anything in between. But here's something to think about. If you were taught any religion at all, don't you remember being told (something like) that when we are born, God gives us "free will" to take the steps we choose to take.

Okay, that's what we take from our God.

Muslims? Well, there's certainly enough in the parts of the Koran that I read that could/would influence believers to be peace loving people unless they choose to go in another direction which is also talked about in their holy book as it is in OUR holy book.

Conclusion? Yo Muslims! Here's the deal! As the great boxing champion Mr. Ali once said, "I ain't got no quarrel with no Viet Cong!", and I say, We here in America HAD no quarrel with Muslims in general until this 9/11 business and all the incendiary things that were said by Muslims about Americans!

What I need and I believe that what most of America needs is for the "peace loving Muslims" to stand up, say it loud because you're proud, these words; "We ain't got no quarrel with no Americans!!!" or something like those words.

And Muslims? We here in America need to know that the majority of Muslims really ARE peace loving people because right now we're not so sure about that. Be loud, be proud and TELL US!!!

WHY, you might ask? Because the vast majority of you have been too silent, too long. I mean, how many years ago was 9/11? The vast majority of you have been silent that long! Most of us think that's about long enough.

Thoughts and or comments about what I wrote here? Send your note to scottstjames@sbcglobal.net and I will respond to you ASAP. Don't write to the blog because there's no way for me to know your email address.


NEW ELECTIONS!!!

Several weeks ago, long time blog reader, Dave Acocks in Illinois sent me a bumper sticker I told you all about and I want to mention that sticker again.

FIGHT ORGANIZED CRIME: RE-ELECT NO ONE!

A lot of people feel that way. You can tell because of some of the candidates who have gotten early nominations. And that has caused some professional political people to be upset because they're afraid too many "amateurs" have gotten nominated and they're afraid they'll be beaten by a seasoned professional or if the amateur wins, they won't do what they're "supposed to do" when they're sworn in office.

Short Commentary: Isn't that what most of us want from our lawmakers? To NOT show up and do what they're "supposed to do" according to their party leaders and lobbyists? I don't know about you, but those are the kinds of people I want to see get elected.

And while we're at it, does anyone have a good idea on how we can get rid of all the lobbyists? I mean, ALL the lobbyists? How the hell were they ever allowed to have the access they DO have to all of our lawmakers? Can you imagine how much we might be able to reduce the deficit if we got rid of all the lobbyists?

Again: "FIGHT ORGANIZED CRIME: RE-ELECT NO ONE!!!"


ENTERTAINMENT STUFF:

A new film opens this Friday that is getting terrific reviews. "The Town", directed by and starring, Ben Affleck and an all-star supporting cast. I plan to see it Friday morning and I'll talk about it when I'm on CRN that afternoon with Mike Horn from 4-5, Pacific Time. If you'd like to check us out, you can hear us by clicking on www.CRNTalk.com

Some television shows are doing their season openers this week. Last night, "Parenthood", a show I love, did it's season opening thing on NBC at 10, Pacific Time. It looks like it'll be another great season for that show because last night's episode was terrific.

Tonight at 10, Pacific Time on NBC ,will be the series premiere of "Outlaw", a show starring Jimmy Smits. The reviews aren't great, but because it's a Jimmy Smits show, I will most definitely check it out.

This coming Sunday night at 10, Pacific Time, "Boardwalk Empire" will have it's season premiere on HBO. The reviews for this prohibition-gangster show are off the charts terrific. Some are predicting this show will be better than "The Sopranos".

Wellll....That prediction is something to try to live up to, isn't it?

THOUGHTS AND OR COMMENTS? Please write to me at scottstjames@sbcglobal.net and I will respond to you as quickly as I can. Don't write to the blog because there's no way for me to know your email address and that means I won't be able to respond to you. All "Anonymous" emails are ignored.

THE NEXT BLOG? Barring unforseen circumstances, late Wednesday night, September 22 or early Thursday morning (the first day of Autumn), September 23.

I hope that all of you have a great rest of the week and weekend!

Thursday, September 09, 2010

Holy Book Burning Threats, 9/11 Reminders, Sarah Palin Supporters and "Mr. Unpopular"!!!

I'm a day late with this week's blog because of good reasons. I'm still studying and working on a student film I wrote about last week that will be finished in a couple of days and I have my fingers crossed while hoping I'm selected to participate in a small studio film I'm seriously being considered for. Last night, I was put through some lengthy scene work I knew I would be doing and some that I didn't know I would be doing during what is known as a "callback" audition for the role of a small town sheriff in, "The Princess and The Pony".

And tomorrow afternoon at 4-5 Pacific Time, big time actor, writer, producer, Harold Sylvester and I will again be hosting the "PM Show, Weekend Edition" on CRN which is heard all over the world and can be found by clicking on www.CRNTalk.com CRN owner Mike Horn will be in Napa, California trying to convince the wine people to spend some advertising dollars on CRN while Mike (his ownself) figures to be drinking a lot of their wine while listening to Harold and me and hoping we don't whacha call "discourage" these prospective sponsors.

Well, if they're interested in hearing what a lot of people are talking about, they don't figure to be discouraged at all. And if you're a first time listener tomorrow, there will be times when you'll understand what I mean when I state this little rhyme; "Scott and Harold sittin' in a tree, A-R-G-U-I-N-G!"

Okay....Time for some serious stuff....

The Wannabe Holy Book Burning Preacher:

We've all heard about this guy, right? Pastor Terry Jones. Small church in a small Florida town. 50 worshipers. Most of the time, closer to 30 worshipers. This church is a nondemoninational church and Pastor Jones let everyone know that to help commemorate 9/11, which is this Saturday, Pastor Jones planned to burn some Koran's which means he would be burning Muslim Holy Books. In fact, Pastor Jones was encouraging people to bring Muslim Holy Books and he'd be happy to burn those as well. In other words, the more the merrier.

Wellll....If the good Pastor was looking for some attention, he got it. General David Patraeus, the biggest General of them all, said (in essence), "Yo, Pastor! Are you NUTS? You start burnin' those books and a bunch of my soldiers are gonna get killed by some angry deeply religious Muslims!"

President Obama weighed in with some of the same sentiments. As did Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton. And a whole lot of preachers including Franklin Graham who, not long ago, because of some things HE said about Muslims, was disinvited from a fancy dinner.

I mean, all kinds of people popped up out of the woodwork to announce their objections to these book burnings because our country doesn't do or condone things like that. Heck, even Sarah Palin called it, "insensitive and an unnecessary provocation....much like building a mosque at ground zero."

Way to get that sarcasm in there, Mama Grizzly!

Shortly after I began writing this blog, I found out that Pastor Jones has changed his mind and he will NOT burn Muslim Holy Books this Saturday or any other time. He says he's sensitive to the concerns of what General Petraeus said and what other important people said as well.

WELL!!! Excuse me for being my normal contrarian self, buuuut....

Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't we have a lot of deeply religious people in America? Religious people who big time believe what is written in their Holy Books?

What happens here when (for example) someone burns an American Bible in this country or in another country? Pretty much nothing, right? We have a lot of people who claim to be big time patriots in this country. What happens here when (for example) someone burns our flag in this country or in another country. Shoot, we've been told that right after the word got out about the Florida Pastor saying he was going to do some Koran burning, a bunch of people in Afghanistan and other Muslim countries burned a sizeable number of American flags. And our response was, what?

We did nothing, folks. And I don't expect us to do anything! And neither do most of you.

But a bunch of so-called peace loving Muslims want to KILL AMERICANS because some Florida small town preacher was talking about burning Muslim holy books?

Somebody want to tell me again about how these Muslim holy books stress PEACE?!?

Just askin', folks. Just askin'.

And General Petraeus? I know you're considered to be our big deal General and all, but General, aren't you where you are with a mission to beat the enemy? And if the enemy climbs out of their caves and holes and starts shooting and blowing things up because of some small town preacher makin' noise about burnin' some so-called "holy books", what's your response supposed to BE, General?

General, my little pea-brain mind tells ME that small town preacher just made your job easier! Now do what your supposed to do and DESTROY the enemy!!! Or are you "All hat and no cattle"?!?


OTHER STUFF:

In last week's blog, I criticized Sarah Palin for being (in my view) "A Quitter".

And I have found out that when you bring up the subject of Sarah Palin, you all of a sudden have a bunch of new readers. Most of them defending her and a few of them telling me to ignore her, stop writing about her and one day we'll all forget about her.

Well, I'm here to tell you there are a heck of a lot of people who really like Sarah Palin and all of you who wrote to me know that I responded back to you which is something that surprised a lot of you. Welcome to our little blog, folks. I mean it when I say at the end of each blog that I will respond to you. Every one of you. And as a young 24-year old female Tax Specialist in Richmond, Virginia now knows, I'll talk to you, too. For more than an hour and a half on the phone.

"Mr. Unpopular":

That's the headline of a 3-page special report about President Obama in the September 13 issue of "Newsweek".

Yes, we all know that his approval numbers are down and we also know that in this time frame of the Clinton and Reagan "first terms", Obama's approval numbers are a little higher than Clinton's and Reagan's numbers were.

We also know that Reagan and Clinton went on to become the most popular presidential figures in our lifetime and there aren't too many people (now) who think there's a chance in hell of that happening to Obama.

What happened and why do so many people think this guy gives new meaning to the word, "unqualified"?

Great question and I don't have the definitive answer to that question. He's the first Democrat I've ever voted for. I still have hope for President Obama, but I also understand why a lot of people are bailing out on him. And no, not because of the idiotic nonsense out there about him supposedly not being "eligible" to be President of the United States because of the birther crowd and the rumors about him being a Muslim.

He promised to get us out of two wars and to find Osama bin Laden. Well, he has partially gotten us out of one war, has increased the number of our troops in the other war and still no Osama bin Laden.

He seems to have focused on "big ticket" items like health care, energy, etc. Ambitious projects all, but we Americans need jobs. And he seems to have come up with next to nothing to tackle that problem. Yes, he inherited a mess. But after a while, blaming Bush gets old.

He has also been victimized by distractions. Distractions like the mosque business in New York and the Muslim book burning business in Florida. These and other distractions are things that his advisors should have told him to basically ignore until a lot more Americans are bringing a paycheck home again.

Does this mean I think the man I voted for will be a one-term President of the United States? Well, unless he soon convinces the majority of Americans that he IS presidential material again, my answer to that question is an unqualified, yes!

Rahm Emanuel:

And speaking of President Obama....Will his Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel, leave the White House so he can run for Mayor of Chicago?

ENTERTAINMENT STUFF:

A film I saw on cable and two films that are in your Cineplex now.

A 1989 film I had never seen is now on the Encore circuit and I loved it. "Casualties of War" is a film that was directed by Brian De Palma and it features a lot of fine actors playing soldiers in Vietnam. Sean Penn plays the baddest of the bad soldiers and Michael J. Fox plays the good soldier in a film that is based on a true story involving rape and murder. We all know how good an actor Sean Penn is, but watching Michael J. Fox in this film reminds me of how good he was before he was struck by this terrible disease he now has to live with.

"The American" is currently being shown in a Cineplex near you. It stars George Clooney, unless you live in Italy, Clooney is the only actor in the film that you've ever heard of and the reviews have been whacha call, "mixed". According to the L.A. Times, most people polled who saw the film gave it an "F". And now a whole lot of people are wondering why so many people like George Clooney but hate his movies?

I think I know the answer to that question. Most folks want Clooney to (always) play the character they believe he was born to play; And that's our new Cary Grant.

I get that thinking, but I also respectfully disagree with that "F" rating a lot of people gave "The American" after they saw it.

I will admit that during the first few minutes of "The American", I, under my breath, said, "Uh, oh!" because I thought this might be an Art House film I wouldn't like.

But suddenly, I was riveted. And I stayed riveted. I also liked the eye candy provided by the actress who played the hooker that the Clooney character"falls for".

"The American" cost only 20 million to make so this is a film that will definitely make money, but above and beyond that, I simply say that if you like this blog, I think you'll like this film. In fact, you might even love it.

"Machete" is also being shown in a Cineplex near you. As you have probably heard, "Machete" is a film that is very sympathetic towards illegal immigrants. In fact, the afternoon I saw the film, I wondered if the audience consisted of me and every illegal immigrant in the San Fernando Valley.

You have also probably heard that Lindsay Lohan is seen topless in this film.

For a lot of guys, that's probably a good reason to buy a ticket and I don't exclude myself from that crowd, but the actor who darn near steals this film is Robert DeNiro. I mean, his anti-illegal immigrant politician character is an absolute hoot. But DeNiro isn't the only scene stealing character in this film. Don Johnson has his moments. So does Jeff Fahey. And Michelle Rodriguez (lookin' finer than fine, girl!) along with Jessica Alba. Cheech Marin does a good turn playing a 2-shotgun toting priest, a couple of other babes are easy on the eyes, I think every actor in the film is given at least one line that's funny or memorable and then there's.....Danny Trejo. You've seen this fine actor in a lot of films, but I believe this is the first mainstream film that he has been the lead actor in and he flat out OWNS his role!

For a fun experience at the Cineplex, I strongly recommend, "Machete".

QUESTIONS AND OR COMMENTS?

Write to me at scottstjames@sbcglobal.net and I will respond to you as soon as possible. Don't write to the blog because there's no way for me to know your email address so I won't be able to repond to you. Again. Write to scottstjames@sbcglobal.net

THE NEXT BLOG?

Barring unforseen circumstances which led to this blog being written a day late, I'm hoping to post next week's blog late Wednesday night, September 15 or early Thursday morning, September 16.

In closing, the NFL season begins tonight, let's all pause for a few seconds on 9/11, I hope that you and yours have a great weekend and if you get a chance, please check out the radio show I'll be doing with Harold Sylvester on CRN tomorrow afternoon, 4-5, Pacific Time. You can hear us by clicking onto www.CRNTalk.com

Wednesday, September 08, 2010

New blog will be posted by no later than 2 PM, Pacific Time, Thursday, September 9!!!

Hi Gang,

Because of show business responsibilities, the new blog will be posted tomorrow (Thursday) by 2 PM, Pacific Time.

Some of the subjects covered will be...

Sarah Palin supporters...

The preacher who wants to burn Muslim holy books...

"Mr. Unpopular"...

And my thoughts about 2 new films; "The American" and "Machete".

Wednesday, September 01, 2010

Glenn Beck, "The Quitter" and Newsweek Magazine's Attention Getting Cover Headline about President Obama!!!

Because of a film that's about to be produced and directed by three top of the line film students in the Steven Spielberg Building at USC that I will be the lead actor in, this figures to be a relatively short blog because of the studying I need to do. The title of the film is, "A Brief History Lesson" and I have no idea how many people will end up seeing this, but what I do know is this; If I'm any good in this film, there's only one person I want to see this and that would be Mr. Spielberg, his ownself. Meanwhile, my heartfelt thanks to the director of this film, Jeff Chanley, for asking me to be his lead guy in "A Brief History Lesson".

GLENN BECK and THE QUITTER!

Did you see the big rally that Glenn Beck put together a few days ago? Did you see "The Quitter" who was there as a soldier's mom? That would be Sarah Palin who quit her job as the Governor of Alaska and for some reason, some people seem to think she would be a good person to have in the White House. The most important thing she's done since failing to be the help John McCain needed in the last presidential election, is the decision she made to quit her job as Governor of Alaska in the middle of her term.

Am I the only one who thinks that's a pretty big deal? Am I the only one who wonders how anyone can take her seriously as a candidate for higher office when she quit the last real job she had? And am I the only one who wonders what the real reason was that she quit? I mean, has anyone heard any kind of sensible reason that she's given for walking away from the citizens of Alaska?

Oh, excuse me. Did I use the words "sensible reason" in a question about Sarah Palin? My bad!

After Sarah Palin made her brief remarks at the Beck rally, I watched about an hour of Glenn Beck doing a lot of talking about monuments, what they meant to him and a whole lot about God. In fact, he was doing so much preaching, I was immediately reminded of the evangelist named Jimmy something or other who's related to Jerry Lee Lewis. Beck is known for his ability to cry on cue, but I didn't see him do any crying at his rally. Evangelist Jimmy was known as a guy who could cry on cue, too. Especially when he was doing something he wasn't supposed to be doing.

I'll give Beck this; He has this thing about him that makes you wonder what he's going to say or do and that keeps you from changing the channel, so to speak. But after about an hour, I gave up. Why? Well, I simply got tired of waiting for something that I would consider to be interesting. The fact that I watched and listened for an hour before realizing there wasn't much "there" there, is a tribute to his stage presence and charisma.

However, there were some who picked up on some things that I either didn't hear, see or pay attention to because I kind of know what Beck's act is. So I would like to share with you observations made by blog reader, Edwin Craig, a guy who's a veteran stage and film actor who now spends most of his time teaching women how to dance. And yeah, that line seems to be working very well for him.

Edwin Craig is also a very serious political, economic and Glenn Beck analyst and here are his observations after he watched all of the Glenn Beck rally:

Don't these protesters realize that it's not the government that's taking money away from the people, it's the corporations?

Supporting less regulation of the so-called free market economy is causing the problems we have, the pit of depression we're likely to fall into.

Now, we've given those same corporations the control over which candidates get elected to government office.

That would REALLY end the people's rights.

I think that the majority of conservatives must be poorly educated.

Yet, they want to control what schools teach in a way that would make everyone less well-educated.

I'm very afraid of what's happening right now in America.

It's time for a people's revolution alright, but not the kind that Beck and his followers propose.

Thank you Edwin Craig.

Thoughts and or comments about what Edwin Craig says? Or anything I've written? Write to me at scottstjames@sbcglobal.net and I'll respond to you as quickly as possible.

The New NEWSWEEK Magazine Cover Featuring President Obama!!!

And what a cover it is! The September 6 issue has the following long headline on the cover:

THE MAKING OF A
TERRORIST-CODDLING
WARMONGERING
WALL STREET-LOVING
SOCIALISTIC
GODLESS
MUSLIM
PRESIDENT

What you'll read is a 4-page story that lays it all out there. The rumors, the polls, all of it.
And if you can handle some "truth", this is a story that's worth reading.

IRAQ:

We are told that the combat operations by us are done. Combat operations that never should have begun because the loss of American lives, the horrific wounding of Americans, all the Iraqis who were killed and wounded were because of a mission that was based on lies. Lies that even the most rabid of war lovers have to admit were lies.

AFGHANISTAN:

Our mission in that part of the world was supposed to be about getting Osama bin Laden. Here's a very simple question; If we haven't found him after 9 years, isn't it time to come home?

Are You Still Eating Eggs?

Legitimate question, isn't it?

ENTERTAINMENT STUFF:

Bravo, Jimmy Fallon! I mean, wasn't that opening "Born to Run" number uber-cool and just the right thing to get the Emmy show off to a rousing start? I enjoyed the whole show and I look forward to watching Jimmy Fallon in action again!

Have you heard about Michael Douglas? The Oscar winning actor has throat cancer and his appearance on David Letterman's show this week was quite revealing. Douglas' "Wall Street" sequel will be shown soon and I plan to be one of the first in line. Meanwhile, let's all think good thoughts for this very fine actor.

Paris Hilton has been banned from the two Wynn resorts in Las Vegas and her boyfriend was fired by the Wynn people. That's because they both got busted by the Vegas cops for their "I'm a celebrity and I can't be touched" behavior. Am I the only one who wonders what guys see in Paris Hilton and why the rest of us should even care about Paris Hilton?

The new George Clooney film opened today, I didn't see it, but I will have seen it when I write the next blog. The reviews are mixed.

Here are a couple of films I saw on cable during the past week:

"New York, I Love You". A 2008 film that's currently on the Showtime circuit and it features a lot of short stories directed by different directors and featuring many big name actors. I liked this film a lot and I think you will as well.

"Dragonfly". A 2002 film that's currently on the Encore circuit. This film stars Kevin Costner, Kathy Bates, Joe Morton, Susanna Thompson and Linda Hunt in a film about a doctor (Kevin Costner) who is close to becoming insane because he can't accept the fact that his wife (Susanna Thompson) has really died. He finally takes the mother of all trips to find his wife and what he does find, besides his sanity, is....Well, it's worth watching to find out what the Costner character finds.

ANOTHER CRN APPEARANCE:

I've been having the pleasure of appearing on CRN quite a bit lately and I, along with my good friend Harold Sylvester will be co-hosting their weekend show live this Friday afternoon, 4-5, Pacific Time. The show will then be aired several times throughout the weekend. This station can be heard all over the world and most of you can hear it by clicking onto www.CRNTalk.com or for more info, www.CRNi.net or you can call, 818-352-7152.

QUESTIONS AND OR COMMENTS? Write to me at scottstjames@sbcglobal.net and I will respond to you as soon as possible. Don't write to the blog because there's no way for me to know your email address and I won't be able to respond to you. All anonymous emails are ignored.

THE NEXT BLOG? Barring unforseen circumstances, Wednesday night, September 8 or early Thursday morning, September 9.

I hope that all of you have a very HAPPY LABOR DAY!!!