Monday, November 28, 2011

NEXT BLOG WILL BE POSTED LATE THURSDAY NIGHT, DECEMBER 1 OR EARLY FRIDAY MORNING, DECEMBER 2!!!

Hi Gang,

By now, you know there was no new blog on Thursday, Thanksgiving Day.

And I hope that you and yours had a very pleasant Thanksgiving.

Among other things, here's a partial list of subjects that will be covered in the next blog. And in no particular order....

Rush Limbaugh's verbal shot at First Lady, Mrs. Obama by referring to her as being "Uppity" and some things I know about Rush's background.

Fox News' boss being ticked off at Sarah Palin.

More and more people telling me they feel we have NO reasonable choices to be our President beginning in 2013. Not Obama or ANY of the Republican candidates. And right now, I'm AGREEING with all of these people.

The sudden interest in Newt Gingrich and how it doesn't surprise me because long time readers of this blog know that I might have been the first person to point out this sudden interest and why.

Lindsay Lohan's inability to pose nude properly.

Why "Lyin' Ass Bitch" isn't Michele Bachmann's favorite song.

Some early holiday and end of year thanks from me to some very special people who have been off the charts kind to me recently.

ENTERTAINMENT STUFF.

And More!

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Meanwhile, I hope that all of you have a great week!

Most sincerely,

Scott "The Jammer with the Hammer" St. James

Thursday, November 17, 2011

Budget Cuts You Can BELIEVE In! The GOP Candidates! Regis Philbin! Jimmy Kimmel & Facebook!!!

Our Republican candidates for the presidency have made it clear that if they're elected, they will be on a mission to be doing some serious budget cutting. We've also heard a lot about the Fanny and Freddie folks seeming to be out of control and they should be eliminated. The fact that wasn't done earlier is apparently a very good thing for one of the loudest candidates calling for the "Off with their heads!" solution. That would be Newt Gingrich who we now learn has collected close to two million dollars from the "Freddie" folks. WHY?!? According to Gingrich, it was for advice he had given them.

Hmmmm....

And while you think about that, please know that candidate Michele Bachmann has been all over Gingrich about this and she's accusing Newt of "hypocrisy".

Newt Gingrich? A hypocrite?!? The same Newt Gringrich who was screaming about the lack of family values being shown by (then) President Bill Clinton and while Newt was doing his pious preaching, ol' "family values Newt" was cheating on his wife while she was in the HOSPITAL?!?

Say it ain't so, Newt! But you can't! And ya know what? Most folks probably wouldn't have cared that much if you had kept your mouth shut about Clinton and didn't expose yourself as just another two-bit family values phony.

And now this "Freddie Mac" business? As Governor Perry might say, "Oops!"

Say "Good night!" Newt!

BACK TO THE BUDGET CUTS BUSINESS:

Mike Baker, a Bay Area reader (San Francisco area) was kind enough to send me some money numbers we might all be interested in.

Retired U.S. Presidents: $450,000 a year for life!

House/Senate members: $174,000 For Life!

Speaker of the House: $223,500 For Life!

Majority/Minority Leaders: $193,400 For Life!

Average salary for a soldier deployed in Afghanistan: $38,000

Average income for seniors on Social Security: $12,000

Reader Mike Baker then adds these words: "I think we found where the cuts should be made."

And Mike Baker, I think you're right!


THE "OCCUPY" CROWD:

Gang, you regular readers know that I began telling you about the quiet "drum beating" that I had been made aware of several months ago. That quiet drum beating has turned into the "occupy" crowd(s) that we've been hearing a lot about. A few days ago, city officials in a number of cities decided to get tough and "move" these Occupiers.

Does anybody really think that these "Mad as hell and I'm not gonna take it anymore!" people are just going to meekly walk away?

Serious business, folks. And if our so-called political leaders don't begin to "get this", we are definitely gonna have whacha call, "Trouble in River City".

NEXT REPUBLICAN DEBATE?

This coming Saturday, November 19 and it won't be on television. You can watch at http://www.citizenlink.com/ Three days later (November 22) another Republican debate will take place on CNN.

THE SUPREME COURT:

You've probably heard about this, but in case you haven't.....A few months from now, the U.S. Supreme Court is going to listen to arguments for and against what most folks refer to as "Obama Care", but is in fact, the "Affordable Care Act". A ruling figures to be made a few months or so before the next presidential election. How's THAT for high drama?!?

JIMMY KIMMEL AND FACEBOOK:

In case you hadn't heard, Jimmy Kimmel is encouraging his fans to "lose" a large number of "friends" on Facebook because it's a monumental waste of time and no one, but no one has "two thousand friends".

Short commentary: Amen, A-Men, AMEN!!! Full disclosure: Yes, I've had the privilege of participating on that fun show of his several times, but I would be doing the "Amen" thing even if I had never done a few "bits" on his show.

THE MORE I THINK OF THIS PENN STATE BUSINESS....

Children, a much older assistant coach, a legendary head coach who did virtually nothing as simple as calling the police, higher-up Penn State officials who seemingly did nothing while some very wrong things seem to have been allowed to occur and re-occur....Am I the only one who's thinking vigilante solutions? Yes, I know that would be wrong, but I'll guaran-damn-tee-ya that a father or two of those kids is thinking thoughts like that.

ENTERTAINMENT STUFF:

Demi Moore has announced that she is divorcing Ashton Kutcher.

We told you last week that we thought this was going to happen, but Billy Crystal being the host of the Oscars for the 9th time is official.

Here's something we didn't think would happen; Ricky Gervais will be brought back as host of the Golden Globes on January 15.

More terrific episodes this past week of "The Good Wife", "Homeland", "Boss", "Dexter" and especially "Parenthood" and "Revenge". The shows "Homeland", "Boss" and "Revenge" are new shows and they've all been renewed for a second season. Gang, I know that there are a lot of other good shows on television, but to me, the six I've mentioned here are the "gold standard" shows.

Last night, I saw a 1995 film on Encore that I hadn't seen since I saw it in a theatre. "The American President" starring Michael Douglas, Annette Bening and Martin Sheen. I loved it in '95 and I loved it again last night.

I'm a huge Clint Eastwood fan, but I'm sorry to say that I was disappointed when I saw his latest film a couple of days ago. "J. Edgar" is about the legendary FBI Director, J. Edgar Hoover who is played by Leonardo DiCaprio. An outstanding supporting cast of actors are all good (as is DiCaprio), but the film "isn't", in my view. I can't help but think of the line, "If it ain't on the page, it ain't on the stage" and I believe that's the problem with this film. We're told it cost only 35 million to make this film and I can't help but wonder if this film will break even.

Meanwhile, George Clooney's new film, "The Descendants" opens tomorrow and it has gotten great reviews. Many critics are saying this is Clooney's best film performance ever and some critics are saying a 19-year old actress named Shaileen Woodley who plays Clooney's 17-year old daughter, steals the show with her "big chip on her shoulder" attitude.

My closing topic is Regis Philbin:

As you probably have heard, tomorrow (Friday, November 18) will be Regis Philbin's final show on ABC. He leaves the show with a record that will probably never be duplicated. Most hours on television.

Regis Philbin was the first guy who put me on television. It was a small game-show that he was hosting in St. Louis. Early 70's. Why did he put me on his show? Who knows. Fast forward 8 years or so and I'm in Los Angeles which is where I still am. I was the nightly sports anchor on a television station here. It was the first of two stations here that I did sports anchor work at. Regis Philbin was also here in Los Angeles and he was hosting a very popular television talk show. Soon, he would move to New York and do a lot of shows with Kathy Lee Gifford and a lot of shows with Kelly Ripa. From his studio here in Los Angeles, he decided to call me. He congratulated me for the work I was doing but he wanted to let me know something that needed fixing. He said I wasn't being "lit" properly and he told me exactly what to tell the person who was responsible for the "lighting". I gently brought it up to the "Light Guy", he agreed with Regis's observations and my reaction was, "Wow!". I mean, Regis Philbin taking the time to do that for me? WHY? It was simply a case of Regis being Regis.

Gang, I've been here in Los Angeles doing the show biz thing for more than 30 years. There are a lot of "poseurs" in this town and they're pretty easy to spot. The real deal performers aren't that easy to spot because their "goodness" is a constant. I am very proud to say that I experienced the goodness of a real deal guy twice! I have no idea what Regis Philbin will do next, but Regis, whatever you choose to do or not do, I am one happy camper who will always be grateful for you coming into my life.

THOUGHTS AND OR COMMENTS? Please write to me at scottstjames@sbcglobal.net and 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. All "Anonymous" emails are ignored.

THE NEXT BLOG? Good question. Next Thursday is Thanksgiving Day. As of now, I might write a new blog then, but if I don't, the next new blog will be Friday, November 25th or Thursday, December 1st.

Have a great weekend everybody and I hope all of you have a very Happy gobble-gobble Thanksgiving!

GOOD LUCK, REGIS annnd

AMERICA FIRST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thursday, November 10, 2011

SCARY gas prices are on the horizon!!! What Clint Eastwood thinks of Mitt Romney!!! Billy Crystal, Herman Cain and "Princess Nancy"!!!

Because most of you won't see this blog until tomorrow, which is Veterans Day, to all my brother and sister veterans, HAPPY VETERANS DAY and thanks for your service.

Before going any further, let me get some very bad news out of the way. Oil companies. You know, those very rich companies that get all those tax breaks from us? We're being told that on or about the beginning of 2012, we can expect gas prices to rise to heights we've never seen before.

And we give those greedy bastard oil companies great tax breaks because....WHY?!?

Last night's Republican debates:

Did you see them on CNBC? I did. Except for that one loud-mouth host (who was admittedly entertaining), I thought the rest of the CNBC hosts did a terrific job by "calling" candidates on their "ducking" of questions by filling the airwaves with baloney until the hosts gave them one additional shot at addressing what they'd been asked and if the baloney kept flowing, they went to a different candidate.

In our last blog, I mentioned all the Republican candidates and pointed out why I didn't think any of them are coming across as serious candidates because none of them have come up with serious ideas on how to get our economy back on track. And yes, between now and the day one of these people gets nominated, it's possible we will hear some serious "solution ideas" from (hopefully) at least ONE of these candidates.

Oh...what was that? Did I hear someone mention Mitt Romney as someone who should be taken seriously as an electable candidate?

Clint Eastwood. I think we all know who HE is, right? Mr. Eastwood has a new film that's probably at your favorite movie theatre. It's about the late J. Edgar Hoover who is played by Leonardo Dicaprio.

We know that Mr. Eastwood is an Oscar winner and we've heard all the nice things that actors have said about him after they've had the pleasure of working with him, etc., etc.

Do you know anything about Mr. Eastwood's politics? Conservative. Very conservative. And his views were expressed freely during a very interesting conversation he had with Patrick Goldstein, the L.A. Times' long time star entertainment reporter a couple of days ago.

Mr. Eastwood was asked what he thought about Mitt Romney and the possibility he could be our next President of the United States. I don't have the Eastwood quote in front of me, but what I'm about to tell you will be very close to being exactly how Mr. Eastwood feels about Mitt Romney. He said if he was looking for someone to play the President of the United States in a film he was directing, his first choice would be Mitt Romney because he "looks good".

And as to Romney being a real President of the United States? "Next question, please." Or something like that.

Herman Cain:

He got off easy on the sexual harassment questions. Buuuut....Under the category of, "Open mouth, insert foot", Cain, while answering a question about a different subject, decided to take a shot at House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi by referring to her as, "Princess Nancy".

Okay....We have a candidate that several women are saying is a guy who has treated them like second class citizens. His response is to deny, deny, deny. Okay. Until we see some solid proof showing this guy in a negative light.....

He said, WHAAAT?!?

Folks, like it or not, it's time to realize we're looking at a loose-tongued, loose cannon who is living in a dream world as far as presidential aspirations go.

And speaking of dreamers...

Governor Rick Perry. Even if you didn't see Perry's mind cramp moment, I'm sure you've heard about it. His inability to come up with the third of three departments he said he would eliminate if he becomes our next president. It was embarrassing. The other candidates tried to help him, but he had one of those moments that many of us have experienced, but not in situations where the stakes are so high. And after the debates had ended, pretty much all the "talking heads" declared that Perry is now "done".

If you read my last blog, you know that I referred to Governor Perry as being, "All hat and no cattle".

I'm still inclined to believe that, but I don't think the mind cramp he had was that big of a deal as long as he handles it properly. Tonight, he is scheduled to be on the David Letterman show to do the show's "Top Ten List". Perry was not a scheduled guest before he had his mind cramp. I think it's a stroke of genius on Perry's part to offer to do the Letterman thing about what happened last night and to continue to make fun of himself until it's time for the next Republican Debates. Which will be this coming Saturday in South Carolina and televised by CBS beginning at 5pm, Pacific Time.


JOE PATERNO:

What an idiot! He gets told a bunch of years ago that a coach of his was seen doing criminal things to a child and after telling his boss (which was the right thing to do) but then not following up with a call to the police when he realized his boss didn't call the police, was out and out stupid.

JOE FRAZIER:

Back in the day, he was a terrific boxer. A boxer who in his retirement years, was a bitter boxer because of how he thought he's been treated by Muhammad Ali.

I knew Joe. The last time I saw him was in 1979, just before I moved to where I am now. I listened to him go on a long rant about Ali. I listened and I felt sorry for him. I hope he can now rest in peace.

ENTERTAINMENT STUFF:

It's not official, but it looks like Billy Crystal might be the host of the Oscars (again) in a few months. Eddie Murphy was the scheduled host but he backed out because the guy who hired him got fired.

And speaking of Eddie Murphy, I saw "Tower Heist" yesterday. Murphy's in it along with Ben Stiller, Alan Alda, Tea Leoni, Casey Affleck and some other fine actors. You really have to accept something that's preposterous near the end of this film for you to enjoy it, and I did accept which means I did enjoy "Tower Heist".

"Love and other Drugs" is a film that came out last year and is currently on the HBO circuit. It stars Anne Hathaway and Jake Gyllenhaal. I saw it last year and loved it. I saw it again a few nights ago and loved it again. This film is (to me) a very charming love story. Yes, you see a lot of the beautiful Ms. Hathaway in this film, but this film is a lot more than Hathaway's skin. I think "Love and other Drugs" was last year's most underrated film of the year.

Speaking of underrated, why does the television show, "Parenthood" have such lousy ratings? I think this is a terrific show with a whole bunch of terrific actors and it's produced by Ron Howard and his "disciples". In addition to the great acting being done by this ensemble cast, these are actors who are also "easy on the eyes".
I'm only going to mention three of the "head turners", but head turners, they are. Bonnie Bedelia, Joy Bryant and Sarah Ramos. "Parenthood" is shown by NBC on Tuesday nights. I know. It's up against that NCIS juggernaut, but believe me when I tell you that if you give "Parenthood" a look-see, you'll be thanking me.

Like all you folks who have thanked me for recommending "The Good Wife" which is shown by CBS on Sunday nights.

Another great show is "Revenge" which is shown by ABC on Wednesday nights, but it wasn't shown last night because of the CMA Awards show. "Revenge" star Emily VanCamp was an awards presenter last night, but the highlight of last night's show (to me) was the very nice tribute the CMA folks put together for Glen Campbell.

THOUGHTS AND OR COMMENTS? Please write to me at scottstjames@sbcgloblal.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 won't be able to respond to you. All "Anonymous" emails are ignored.

THE NEXT BLOG? Barring something unforseen, next Thursday night, November 17 or early Friday morning, November 18.

I hope you all have a very nice weekend and to you veterans, HAPPY VETERANS DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And don't forget...AMERICA FIRST!!!!!!!!!!

Thursday, November 03, 2011

Is Herman Cain Still a Legitimate Presidential Candidate? Justin Bieber: Daddy? Rape Victim? Both? Sunday, Turn Your Clocks Back 1 HOUR!!!

Because I've been busy with meetings and a very pleasant visit with my family in Arizona, this figures to be a pretty short blog. Shoot, I've even been unable to watch some of my favorite television shows this week. GRRRR!!!

I know. Poor me.

Speaking of poor... Poor Texas Rangers, poor Herman Cane, poor Justin Bieber, poor Lindsay Lohan, poor Kim Kardashian, poor Republican Party, poor radio industry....

And that's where I'll start.

In last weeks blog, I wrote a commentary about the sorry state of the radio business and why. Radio is a subject I rarely comment on in this blog even though I spent many years in that business. The commentary hit a nerve with a lot of people, many of whom weren't readers of this blog, but were tipped off about what I wrote by people like Don Barrett who recently received a Lifetime Achievement Award for his wonderful work as Owner/Publisher of LARadio.com. Karl Southcott, son of legendary radio performer and program director, Chuck Southcott, liked what I wrote enough to post it on Facebook. Between the thousands of readers Don Barrett has and who knows how many readers Facebook has, a whole bunch of new people became aware of this little blog known as, "The Jammer with the Hammer".

Don and Karl, I owe you. Big time! Thank you very, very much.

And here's a reminder to all you new readers. You can get this blog sent to your email inbox for FREE! Just use the convenient subscription form below my 'About Me' Profile to the right of this column. Enter your email address in the box provided, click on 'Subscribe' and then click on the confirmation link that will arrive in your email and you're "good to go". Every time there's a new blog, it will be automatically delivered to you via email between 3 and 5 in the morning, Pacific Time. This is a free service, it will always be free and no, you won't be sent any ads, spam or ANYTHING...except the new blog. Oh...In addition to subscribing to my blog on this page, you can also follow me on Twitter:@scottstjamesla

HERMAN CAIN:

He's had a heck of a ride, hasn't he? A guy who has never been elected to anything, but a few days ago, he was the leading Republican presidential candidate in many polls. I've seen every minute of every Republican debate and you had to be blind and or deaf to not realize you were looking at a very charismatic candidate every time he opened his mouth.

But something strange began happening a few weeks ago. He was still charming and charismatic, but it seemed as though he didn't know some things that anyone running for the highest office in our land SHOULD know. And some positions he took on things began to be changed by him, over and over again. I mean, we KNEW Mitt Romney was/is like that, but HERMAN CAIN?!? And we couldn't help but wonder.....
Is Herman Cain NOT who he appears to be? The charming, confident man who just might be the "breath of fresh air" we need in Washington?

A few days ago, those of us who had taken a liking to Herman Cain heard a story which became Stor-IES about WHAAAAT?!? Allegedly paying off one, which became two, which (so far) has become three women to be quiet about charges of some form of sexual harassment?!? One woman was allegedly given $35,000, another woman was allegedly given $45,000. The alleged 3rd woman? We don't know. Yet. Herman Cain has been married for more than 40 years and his wife was scheduled to be a guest on FOX tomorrow night (Friday, November 4) to "stand up for her husband", but earlier today, it was announced that Mrs. Cain has decided to NOT be a guest on Fox tomorrow night. WHY? As of now, we don't know. Nothing about sickness, a death in the family or anything like that. She certainly wouldn't have a reason to be worried about facing a tough host on FOX, but even a softball throwing host would be asking basic questions and Mrs. Cain has bowed out? Hmmmm....

Here's the deal, folks. If you're a candidate for the highest office in our land (President of the United States), you don't get a "PRIVACY PASS". Like it or not, your life now and your past life is an "open book". And if YOU don't open it, someone else WILL.

I don't pretend to know how this will "play out", but my guess right now is that Herman Cain is done as far as being a candidate for the office of president or vice president UNLESS... he can use his very good communication skills to convince all of us (or enough of us) that what we've heard are over the top exaggerations about what were at worst, dumb jokes stated by Cain.

Like I used to say on the radio, "Stay tuned!"


WHAT ABOUT THE OTHER REPUBLICAN CANDIDATES?!?

I ask this question because as I've stated in long ago previous blogs, I've been a lifetime Republican who voted for a democrat for the first time when I voted for Barack Obama. I voted for him because our previous president and his administration presided over our economy while it got buried in a ditch. My view was that ANYTHING would be better than "more of the same" which I figured we'd get with McCain and Palin.
Sadly, it appears that we HAVE gotten "more of the same" from the Obama administration. The bailouts which began with the Bush administration, all the money we've spent on stupid wars that began with the Bush administration, etc. on top of etc. And yes, it was the Obama administration that got Osama bin Laden, something these "candidates" refuse to acknowledge and that killing (to me) was a good thing because he was the so-called architect of 9/11. I also supported the Obama administration's decision to assassinate that turban wearing American citizen who was plotting bad things against us. Overall, Barack Obama has been a big disappointment to me. "Change we can believe in"? WHAT change? To me, Barack Obama is "Bush Lite" except for some military successes he's had as opposed to what the Bush administration didn't have. But the one thing I really don't like about Obama is his (seeming to be) reluctance to FIGHT for things he supposedly believes in. And then I can't help but wonder, what DOES he REALLY believe in?

Just askin'.

Back to the Republican candidates.

Do any of you honestly believe that what you've seen and heard from these candidates that ANY of them would give you a warm and fuzzy feeling if one of them became our next President of the United States?

Seriously. Ron Paul? I love his ideas about taking care of America as opposed to spending so much of our money on stupid wars and the billions on top of billions we give to countries that don't even like us. But except for that, is there any other reason you would vote for Ron Paul?

Rick Santorum? Puh-Leez!

Michele Bachmann? Rick Santorum in a skirt.

Rick Perry? All hat and no cattle.

Jon Huntsman? Possibly the brightest candidate of them all, but it's easy to see why he worked for Obama because Huntsman doesn't seem to be a fighter either.

Mitt Romney? Which Mitt Romney are we talking about? There seem to be several Mitt Romneys in the same body. Flip, flop, flip, flop.

Herman Cain? If he continues to be a candidate, based on what you've heard and seen from him recently, would you think he is someone you would vote for?

And then there's Newt Gingrich. Probably the most qualified of all the Republican candidates. He strikes me as having more good ideas than all the other Republican candidates combined. But oh, the BAGGAGE that comes with Gingrich. It is baggage that doesn't bother me like it bothers the people who preach hard line "family values", etc. and I think that's why even though he would be the Republican's BEST shot, his "baggage" makes him a LONG shot.

If I'm right, what does this leave the Republicans with? The necessity to find ANOTHER candidate or Obama will win by default.

Just sayin'.

OTHER STUFF:

Am I the only one who's tired of hearing anything about the Kardashian family or the Lohan family?

Daylight Saving Time ends this Sunday. Remember the old saying, "Spring Forward, Fall Back"? That means that this Sunday you need to remember to move your clocks and watches BACK one hour. Yay! An extra hour of sleep!

Have you heard about this Justin Bieber business? We're being told he might have had sex with a woman when he was 16? And she was 19? And the baby she now has was allegedly fathered by Bieber? And if true, this could result in some kind of rape charge against the woman? As my long time friend Don King might say, "Only in America!"


TELEVISION STUFF:

I didn't see as much television this past week as I usually do for reasons explained at the beginning of this blog, but here are a few comments about some shows I DID see.

I saw the second episode of "Boss", starring Kelsey Grammer on STARZ this past Friday and I liked it a lot. The first episode didn't grab me that much, but I'm glad I checked out episode #2. It is obvious that this is going to be a very "heavy" show, but "heavy" can be very good if you have the right writers and the right actors. It looks like "Boss" has both.

I thought the Sunday episodes of "The Good Wife" on CBS and "Homeland" on Showtime were both shows' BEST episodes so far. I love both of those shows.

And Tuesday, another terrific episode of "Parenthood" on NBC. Folks, if you haven't checked out "Parenthood" yet, do yourself a favor and become as addicted to that wonderful show as I am.

THOUGHTS AND OR COMMENTS? Please write to me at scottstjames@sbcglobal.net. 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 there's no way for me to respond to you. All "Anonymous" emails are ignored.

THE NEXT BLOG? If I continue by recent consistency, late Thursday night, November 10 or very early Friday morning, November 11.

Meanwhile, I hope that you and yours have a terrific weekend and don't forget to turn your clocks and watches back one hour this coming Sunday.

AMERICA FIRST!!!!!!!