Free At Last! Greedy Oil Companies are GOUGING us! War mongering candidates are clueless! Women scared of Santorum or is he scared of women?

My sincere thanks to all the nice readers who were asking me about my foot injury, telling me to "hang in there", etc., etc. Yesterday, my foot doctor told me I was/am 75% healed and that means that after almost two months, I can again wear regular shoes, I can again drive my car and I can again do auditions for television and film projects.

FREE AT LAST....!!!

REPUBLICAN DEBATE #20:

Did you watch last night's debate? I did. Most folks think last night's debate was the LAST Republican debate. And I thought last night's debate was a very disappointing debate. It's almost as though they were all trying to make sure they didn't say anything controversial, "hot button questions" were danced around and in a couple of instances, questions that were asked were ignored by candidates who simply responded with comments about stuff that had absolutely nothing to do with the question(s).

A hearty helping of baloney was served up about Obama last night and that's not me who's saying that. The "Fact Check" people blasted Romney and Gingrich hard about fibs they were telling, but that's how the political game is played, right?

I don't know about you, but the one thing in the debate that really interested me (no, not the earmark stuff, zzzz, snore, zzzz) was when they began talking about Iran. Of the four candidates, only Ron Paul ever served in the military. The other three? Well, they are simply following the lead of people like Dick Cheney, Rush Limbaugh and Sean "Little Lord Fauntleroy" Hannity. They were too busy to serve in the military, but they've never been too busy to wave flags and come across as tough guys by encouraging us to go to war. The three presidential candidates who would like us to go to war in Iran are the people who avoided military service. The candidate (Ron Paul) who has served in the military is a guy who prefers "patience".

And so do I. And yes, I have served in the military. There's an old military saying that I've always believed in; "Those who talk the most have seen the least!" Click, click! That's the sound of a camera exposing Newt Gingrich, Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum.

And speaking of Santorum...

I know that a lot of women are scared to death of the thought of Rick Santorum becoming our next President of the United States. I know this because because of emails that have been sent to me. I get why women would be scared of a guy who seems to want to turn the clock back on women's rights etc., but I can't help but wonder if Santorum is more scared of women than women are scared of Santorum.

I get the feeling that Rick Santorum would like to go back to the days of "Ozzie and Harriet" in the 50's when all women were (supposedly) subservient. First of all, that was just a television show and what people claim to know about the way things were done in the 50's, are people who are reconstructing "history that didn't exist" which is consistent with other things that people like Santorum imagine.

Rick Santorum has been complaining about all the questions he gets about his "social issues" views. Well, Rick...do you think that's (maybe) because you're being asked questions about things you've said that bother some people or that are things that have "energized" people? Can't have it both ways, dude.

Magazine columnist Howard Kurtz answered Santorum's complaint by saying, "It may seem unfair for the press to pile on one candidate and relentlessly vet his views about women and religion. But no one becomes president without going through this kind of media gauntlet. And if Santorum finds that painful, perhaps he should ask Foster Freiss for an Aspirin."

Here's a final Rick Santorum observation from me. Santorum lets us all know that he's a very religious guy who (among other things) is very much against abortion. Religious and against abortion? I'm inclined to think that the majority of Americans are like Santorum. To a point. All religions aren't the same and we in America tend to think there's no such thing as a "super religion". In other words, pray as you like, Rick. But don't tell me (or anyone else) that they should be praying like you pray. Ever hear of "Freedom of Religion", Rick? Practice it!

Oh....Your objection to abortion? Rick, I don't know anyone who is in favor of abortion. I've told my own (many years ago) personal abortion story that broke my heart. The law states (in essence) that it's the woman's right to choose. It's her body, Rick. And as much as I was hurt, I still recognize and respect what the law is.

Rick, one of the scary things women have about you is that you believe abortion shouldn't be allowed in cases of rape or incest "Because we have to make the best out of a bad situation." That's your exact quote, Rick and I'm going to play "Devil's Advocate".

Rick, in your world, a woman should give birth to a child that was the result of a rape or incest. Let's look for a second at the Woman's World. She is supposed to spend 9 or so months feeling something inside her that was the result of a rapist and then she looks at a child she has given birth to that has the rapist's DNA??? Same deal with having to feel something inside her that's the result of her despicable and sick brother or father and then looking at a child that has the DNA of that despicable and sick brother or father??? Rick, as much as you talk about your religious faith, etc., will you please tell me how the religious definition of MERCY comes into play when something you refer to as simply "A bad situation" is in the body of a woman who would be forced to suffer because...? Well, I guess it's because you sir, don't believe in a woman's right to choose. And am I the only one who thinks that kind of thinking is "Stone age thinking"?

Just askin'.

GAS PRICES:

Is there anything that's upsetting us more than these higher and higher and higher GAS PRICES?!?

Here in the Los Angeles area, another 20-25 cents a gallon hike today. We're now looking at $4.50 to a little over $5 a gallon depending on what part of town we live in. The oil companies claim that the prices are going up like this because of "shortages". What they DON'T mention is that reason the shortages exist is because of all the gasoline that these oil companies are selling to foreign countries.

Conclusion? Americans are suffering, prices for everything (like groceries, etc.) go up because of the gasoline hikes that continue to go up, up, up and a guy like me can't help but wonder what kind of Americans would allow brother and sister Americans to suffer while they fill their pockets and safe deposit boxes with cash, cash and more cash?!?

And the only answer I can come up with is that we are dealing with the greediest of the greedy and I begin to wonder that if this continues...??? Well, maybe it's time to try to put together some kind of "Imminent Domain" procedure that would take this kind of greedy authority AWAY from these (beyond) greedy bleeps who don't deserve to be American citizens.

Just sayin'.

ENTERTAINMENT STUFF:

Are you ready for the Best Film, Best Actor(s) Oscar show on ABC this Sunday? Billy Crystal will be back as the host and the largest group of very big name actors that I've ever seen at this show will be presenters. My preferences regarding winners can be seen in a blog that I wrote three or four blogs ago. It's easy to find.

Because of my foot injury, I didn't see any new films this past week. I definitely plan to see a new film or two before my next blog because my foot doctor has told me I've healed enough to be "normal" again.

Here are a couple of films I saw on cable this past week. "Absolute Power", a 1997 film that's currently on the Encore circuit. It's a thriller that stars Clint Eastwood, Gene Hackman, Ed Harris, Laura Linney, Scott Glenn, E.G. Marshall and Dennis Haysbert. Yes, that nice Dennis Haysbert. The same guy who does all those All State commercials. Well, in "Absolute Power", Haysbert is a ruthless assassin. This is a good popcorn film. If you haven't seen it, check it out.

I very much enjoyed two films I had seen before. Both are on the Encore circuit. "As Good as it Gets", a 1997 film starring Jack Nicholson, Helen Hunt, Greg Kinnear and a cute dog that darn near steals the film. Fun, fun, fun film.

"The American President", a 1995 film written by Aaron Sorkin and stars Michael Douglas, Annette Bening, Michael J. Fox, Martin Sheen and Richard Dreyfuss. This is the third time I've seen this film. It's a love story and yes, my eyes watered up more than once.

"Gone With The Wind", a 1939 film on TCM. I had never seen this film, but I certainly had heard a lot about it. The great (and late) Clark Gable starred in this film and I got a big kick out of seeing the chemistry oozing from this great actor. The film is close to four hours long and four actors were nominated for Oscars. Two of them won as did the film itself. 73 years old and that film still "holds up".

TELEVISION SHOWS:

Another terrific episode of "The Good Wife" this past Sunday. It looks like the character "Will Gardner" played by Josh Charles has "left the building" and on March 25, Matthew Perry will be joining the cast.

Tuesday's episode of "Parenthood" has fans of that show a little nervous. The season finale will be this coming Tuesday, February 28 and because of what happened this past Tuesday and what the previews showed us about next Tuesday's show, we get the feeling that "Parenthood" might be on the chopping block. And if that turns out to be true, it'll be a darn shame because it's one of the very BEST shows on television.

A big cliff-hanger at the end of this past Tuesday's episode of "Glee". At the end of the show, the very pretty "Quinn" character, while driving, gets crashed into while she's on her way to a wedding. We won't find out what happens until the next episode is aired on....(pause)....April 10th!

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 there's no way for me to respond to you. I respond to all emails except "Anonymous" emails which are ignored.

THE NEXT BLOG? Barring unforseen circumstances, late next Thursday night, March 1 or very early Friday morning, March 2.

Meanwhile, I hope all of you have a great weekend annnnd please don't forget....AMERICA FIRST!!!

Rick Santorum, bedroom enforcer?!? Romney says "I'M FINISHED! Ron Paul! JFK! Gas Prices! Whitney Houston! S.I. Swimsuit Issue!

Yes, I received a few emails about last Thursday's blog. The majority of emails were about Catholic (leadership) complaints about contraception distribution. The second most amount of emails were about Madonna and her Super Bowl performance.

And yeah, a few of you were kind enough to ask about my fractured right foot. My next appointment with the foot doctor will be Wednesday morning, February 22. I'm keeping my fingers crossed, but if my foot feels like it does now when the doctor looks at it next Wednesday, I get the feeling I might be able to walk out of his office while mentally saying (with apologies to the late Martin Luther King), "Free at last! Free at last! Good God almighty, I'm FREE at LAST!"

But if I don't get good news from the doctor? Oh, I'll probably walk out of his office while mentally saying things that have to do with feeling sorry for myself. Which as we all know, accomplishes nothing.

Wednesday, February 22nd is looking like an interesting day. For me, that morning, it's the meeting with the foot doctor. But that evening, we'll all be able to watch what I think is the 21st Republican debate. It will take place in Mesa, Arizona and you'll be able to see it on CNN.

And that brings me to the Mitt Romney headline (above) about Romney saying he's FINISHED! No, he's not dropping out of the presidential race. He's dropping out of debating. He has apparently decided to agree with Senator McCain's suggestion that these debates STOP! Because they're too much like mud wrestling and not nearly enough about "problem solutions".

With no Romney after next Wednesday, does that mean the other three candidates will also not attend the remaining scheduled debates? I don't pretend to know the answer to that question, but here's something I DO know; With all the times that Romney has changed his mind about things.....

Just sayin'.

Speaking of the candidates.....Are we to believe that Rick Santorum is now a SERIOUS possibility to be the Republican nominee to be our next President Of The United States? I've seen every debate and I've heard him say a few things I agree with, but have you heard ALL the things he's said? Things that he has repeated over and over again? Things about stuff he doesn't like that goes on in our BEDROOMS?!?

And while we catch our breath and think about that.....We have millions of Americans who are unemployed, millions of Americans who have lost their homes, health care costs that are causing millions of Americans to declare bankruptcy, a broken illegal immigration policy that desperately needs fixing, gas prices that continue to climb, etc. on top of etc. and this holier than thou Rick Santorum wants to declare war on what's going on in American BEDROOMS that he DOESN'T APPROVE OF?!?

Mr. Santorum, I'm a little older than you are and I think my life's experiences surpass your life's experiences so I'm going to tell you something you might not be aware of because of some rigid standards you seem to have set for yourself. With all due respect, you sir, are missing out on one of life's great pleasures if the only time you ever have sex with a consenting adult is for the purpose of procreation. And because I have seen every Republican debate, I now know why it seems like (that) while you're saying something, you appear to have a stick up your butt.

Just sayin'.

Ron Paul:

Yesterday, I had a very interesting conversation with a store owner about Ron Paul. This store owner likes a lot of the things Congressman Paul says and he asked me if I think Ron Paul is too old to have a realistic shot at becoming the Republican nominee.

Several years ago, I interviewed Ron Paul a few times on a radio show I was doing. Like the store owner I spoke with yesterday, I also like Ron Paul. I think he's absolutely right when he talks about all the American troops that are stationed in many foreign countries and this attitude we seem to have about being "THE POLICEMAN OF THE WORLD". Ron Paul has some other good ideas, but I don't think he has a ghost's chance in hell of being the nominee because of some things that were written under his name twenty or thirty years ago. Things that appear to be racist in nature and things that he refuses to acknowledge having had any responsibility for. In my view, Ron Paul should have done a "Man-up" about this and say (in essence) that his long ago views (or whatever they were) are things he should have disavowed immediately and that those written words do not reflect his current thinking at all. As we know, if you're a politician and you say "I'm sorry! or, "I didn't mean it!", Americans tend to forgive quickly

I do wish the rest of these candidates including President Obama would adopt the "AMERICA FIRST" policy that Ron Paul favors and that you see stated at the end of every blog I write.

We most definitely should be taking care of America first and once we get that done, we can then help other countries when they need help, but we need to QUIT the business of being "THE POLICEMAN OF THE WORLD". I mean, how do you think we'd like it if a bunch of foreign troops opened up shop in America? I don't know about you, but the day THAT would happen, would be the day I'd be exercising my Second Amendment rights.

GAS PRICES:

You can't help but see these gas prices going up, up, up on a daily basis, right? Where I live, we're very close to $4 a gallon and that's for the CHEAP GAS! A few months ago, I was told by folks who are "connected" that after the first of the year, we could expect to see gas prices begin to (again) rise. And that we would be looking at $5 a gallon for the cheap gas by June. I said it then and I'll say it again. I hope the information I was given turns out to be "wrong information". A couple of days ago I was told that we could be looking at close to $10 a gallon by the end of the year. Needless to say, I really hope THAT'S wrong!

AND THAT BRINGS ME TO OUR PATRIOTIC OIL BARONS:

We give these guys terrific tax breaks. But did you know that much of the oil they drill for and get HERE in America is oil that they export to foreign countries?

WHY? More money for the Oil Barons. They save a bunch of tax money that would otherwise be money that would be here in America and then they turn around and sell a lot of that oil to foreign countries. Gee, do you think that maybe it would be nice if all that oil stayed HERE?!? And if that happened, do you think gas prices might go down?

Just askin'.

ENTERTAINMENT STUFF:

Again, because of my foot injury, I haven't had a chance to see NEW films, but I'll tell you about some films that are currently on the cable circuit and also some television shows.

But first.....Whitney Houston. No one but no one will ever sing "The Star Spangled Banner" at the Super Bowl better than Whitney Houston did. She had it all for a while. Great voice, great looks, sold a lot of records, starred in some films, but....Somewhere along the line the demons got to her. Demons she couldn't "shake". R.I.P., Whitney. You gave us a lot of entertainment.

"Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue": Am I the only one who thinks this isn't a big deal anymore and in fact, HASN'T been a big deal for many years. Yes, the women are beautiful and before cable television and the Internet, seeing the Sports Illustrated women was a guilty pleasure. Not anymore. Or am I wrong about this?

JFK: No, this isn't going to be about that woman who says she had sex with JFK in the White House more than 50 years ago. A couple of days ago I saw the 1991 Oliver Stone film, "JFK", on Encore. This was the first time I had seen this 3 and a half hour(s) film and it definitely had my attention. Kevin Costner is the star of this film, but this film features a lot of major actor stars, some of whom have passed away. I gotta tell ya, gang....After watching this film, you can include me in that list of "Conspiracy theory guys".

"Three Days of the Condor", a 1975 film on TCM. This was the first time I had seen this film SINCE 1975. I thought this was a great film then and I think it's still a great film NOW! The great director Sydney Pollack directed this thriller and it starred (stars) Robert Redford, Faye Dunaway, current Oscar nominee Max Von Sydow, Cliff Robertson, John Houseman and some other fine supporting players. If you haven't had the pleasure of seeing this 1975 film, find it, watch it, enjoy it and you can thank me later.

Television Shows: First of all, I enjoyed the Grammy Awards. A LOT! What I liked the most were the performances by The Foo Fighters, Bruce Springsteen, Glen Campbell, Paul McCartney, Katy Perry, Taylor Swift, Jennifer Hudson's tribute song to Whitney Houston and the way those great ol' rockers ENDED the show. Bravo, guys!

The best television drama I saw this week has to go to the Wednesday night ABC show, "Revenge". Gang, I've said it before and I'll say it again. THIS show is better and better every week. "Revenge" has everything you could possibly want in a TV drama. Including, revenge. The casting is brilliant, the writing is brilliant, the actors are terrific and just when you think you've pretty much "seen it all", another terrific actor shows up with a back story that's perfect for this show.

This is the final season for "House" on Fox, but there are rumors about new episodes of "House" showing up on cable next year. The last two episodes of "House" have been outstanding.

Speaking of "outstanding"....Tuesday night's episode of "Parenthood" on NBC. Tuesday night's episode of "Justified" on FX. Tuesday night's episode of "Southland" on TNT. There is NO cop show like this "Southland" cop show and I mean that as a big compliment. Sunday's "Shameless" which was an episode written by "Shameless" lead star, William H. Macy and featuring a terrific guest star performance by Louise Fletcher. Another outstanding show was Tuesday's "Glee" which had a Valentine's Day theme that included wonderful song performances including a great performance of Whitney Houston's hit song, "I Will Always Love You".

THOUGHTS AND OR COMMENTS? Please write to me at www.scottstjames.blogspot.com and I will respond to you ASAP. Don't write to the blog because there's no way for me to know what your email address is which means I won't be able to respond to you. I respond to everyone except those who send "Anonymous" emails. Those are ignored.

THE NEXT BLOG? Barring unforseen circumstances, the next blog will be written and posted late Thursday night, February 23 or very early Friday morning, February 24.

DON'T FORGET....A new and perhaps last, Republican Debate will be on CNN, Wednesday, February 22.

Meanwhile, I hope that all of you have a terrific weekend annnnd...

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

When you (me) decide to talk (write) about RELIGION?!? Welll....You (me) could be "asking for it"! Let's see what happens!

You gotta know what the headline (above) is referring to, right? Contraception, the Catholic Church and while I'm at it, I might as well include the Mormon religion and how some folks think (and have publicly stated) that it's a "Cult"?!?

The headline and the first paragraph can be classified as a "tease" because (first) I want to mention a couple of other things and then I'll dive into this religion business.

Thank you for asking and yes, my fractured foot is getting better and better. This injury has already cost me a possible Guest Star shot on the NBC show, "Parks and Recreation" and yes, I can hardly wait for the "healing" to have been completed.

HELL-LO to all you new subscribers and speaking of that... If you would like to get this little blog delivered directly to your email inbox for FREE, here's what you do; Use the convenient subscription form, just below my 'About Me' Profile (to the right of this column). Then click on the confirmation link that will arrive in your email. That's IT! Every time there's a new blog, it will automatically be delivered to you via email between 3 and 5 in the morning, Pacific Time. No ads, no spam, no charge. EVER!!!

Okay...Back to our lead story.

Some Catholic leaders and political leaders who happen to BE Catholic are raising hell about about an issue that has to do with "contraception" stuff being handed out by by religious employers who dont WANT to do this.

There's more to this and if you care (and know) about this subject, I don't need to go any further regarding specifics.

I'm not a Catholic, but if I'm understanding the essence of this argument, we seem to be hearing that the Church is against contraception of any kind. No condoms, birth control pills, etc., etc.

In other words (unless I'm missing something), if you're a Catholic and you have consensual sex with your partner, the only REASON for having sex is to have the "connection" result in the birth of a child in 9 months or so. Um, I don't have to explain what I mean by "connection", right?

Whew!

And if the sex you have DOESN'T result in the birth of a child? Again, if I understand this correctly, that kind of result (or lack of same) is okay, but you have to understand what having sex is supposed to be FOR!

Again...Whew!

As we learned when (mostly) Catholic priests (and above) were pedophile priests (and above), Church leadership at the highest levels seemed to either protect or not know about most of these despicable characters.

For the sake of argument and except those who ended up going to prison, let's graciously assume these leaders DIDN'T know about priests that were ruining the lives of children. And because it turned out there were way too many of these characters, we can graciously assume that a lot of these Church leaders were/are "slow".

Back to (what appears to be) the Church belief that the only time consensual sex should take place is when the man and woman are hoping to (9 or so months later) give birth to a child.

Again...I'm not a Catholic and I will look forward to responding to anyone who wants to "set me straight" and tell me why I'm wrong, or I don't understand, etc., etc.

Wellll.... Here's what I know and DO understand; Is it a news-flash when I say that having consensual sex while using a condom and birth control pills, is FUN?!?

Just sayin'...

Mormon Religion A Cult?

And here's another "hot-button" subject.

I know I'm not the only one who has heard some folks say that the Mormon religion is a cult religion. If memory serves, I seem to recall Governor Perry saying something like that along with a number of other high profile people.

Governor Romney is a Mormon. He got some extra attention from us when it was disclosed that he has recently given several million dollars to the Mormon Church, a donation that got Romney a heck of a good tax deduction.

I don't think Governor Romney is presidential material, but it has nothing to do with his religious beliefs. I've never been in a Mormon church so I'm clueless about what they do besides praying, but I did have an eye opening experience when I (recently) saw a documentary about a Montana beauty queen and a high level Mormon guy. If memory serves, the documentary had to do with things that happened more than 20 years ago. And in this documentary were stories about actions taken by the high level Mormon guy that made me say, "Hmmmm..."

And is it just me, or am I not alone when I say that wouldn't it be nice if the Catholic "contraception" beef and the Mormon "cult" allegations were discussed in an upcoming Republican debate. And by the way, the next debate will be Wednesday, February 22 and it will be broadcast by CNN.

Just sayin'...

Other Political Stuff:

Rick Santorum? Presidential material? The last office he ran for (U.S. Senate), he lost by 19 points. And he is now the hottest candidate that the Republicans have?!? As my long time friend Don King would say, "Only in America!!!"

But seriously, folks. RICK SANTORUM?!? I've been around a few zealots in my time. Ladies and gentlemen, Rick Santorum is a BIG TIME zealot! I like what he's said about our illegal immigrant problem, but other than that, Santorum in a power position is a scary position for the rest of us because folks, believe me when I tell you that Rick Santorum has Dangerous Dude written all over him.

Just sayin'.

And how about what Clint Eastwood was sayin' in the Super Bowl commercial he did? If you listen to Rush, watch Hannity and or read what Karl Rove thinks, then you know that good ol' "Dirty Harry" shook up some people with that commercial. A commercial that reminds me of Jack Nicholson's line in "A Few Good Men" when he yelled, "The truth? You want the TRUTH? You can't HANDLE the truth!!!"

GAS PRICES:

Have you noticed? They're creeping up again. A few months ago I told you about some scary predictions regarding gas prices. A posibility of $5 a gallon and I said I hoped that I had gotten bad information. Buuuut...I heard something even scarier a couple of days ago. The possibility of $10 a GALLON?!? Say it isn't so! PLEASE say it isn't so!

How 'bout dem tax breaks we give to oil barons?

Just sayin'.

ENTERTAINMENT STUFF:

Madonna at the Super Bowl! I agree with San Francisco area blog reader Pat Gallagher who wrote me an email right after Madonna was finished; "THAT was a halftime show!" I hope I quoted you correctly, Pat. If I didn't, I know I'm close. Pat also said something about how difficult it was going to be to book major music people to perform at future Super Bowls because they know they wouldn't be as good as Madonna was.

Because of this foot injury, I'm stuck with having to stay home which means I've been watching a lot of television. I'm not going to tell you about every film and television show I saw this past week, but here's my brief opinions about a FEW of those things.

FILMS FIRST:

"Mercury Rising", a 1998 film on HBO that starred Bruce Willis, Alec Baldwin, Chi McBride, Kim Dickens and a very young (14 years ago) actor named Mike Hughes who played the role of Simon, an autistic kid. There was a "hug" at the end that brought tears to my eyes and a high drama, non stop tension film that I really got into. Bravo, bravo, bravo!

Speaking of high drama and non stop tension, "Air Force One", a 1997 film on HBO that starred Harrison Ford, Gary Oldman, Glenn Close and an all star group of supporting players including Glenn Morshower who lives right up the street from me. Unlike the Bruce Willis film, I saw this Harrison Ford film when it was new. I liked it a lot then and I liked it a lot again.

"Titanic", a 1997 film that is also currently on the HBO circuit. I saw it when it first came out and I had forgotten how much I enjoyed that film. And I enjoyed it again. BIG TIME! Hard to believe it was 15 years ago when that film entertained us. "Titanic" was/is film making excellence. And guess what? A Three-D version of "Titanic" will be in your favorite cineplex in the next couple of months or so.

TELEVISION SHOWS:

"SMASH", Monday night on NBC. Wow, wow-wow, WOW-WOW!!! This show flat lived up to the hype!
"SMASH" is a smash hit and I can hardly wait for the next episode. Terrific performances from Katharine McPhee, Megan Hilty, Debra Messing, Anjelica Huston, Christian Borle and Jack Davenport, an actor who makes you (immediately) think of Simon Cowell.

Did you hear about "House"? This is their 8th and last season. That announcement was made yesterday. Too bad because the last two episodes have been great. We are told that we will watch a conclusion that we'll like when the final episode is aired.

The new episode of "Glee", featuring Ricky Martin was a big time fun episode. I got an extra kick out of it because the last episode of "Jimmy Kimmel Live" I did was an episode in which I did a riff on Ricky Martin.

Another wonderful episode of "Parenthood" on NBC this past Tuesday....Another great episode of "Alcatraz" on Fox this past Monday...Sunday, "Shameless" was good, but "Californication", a show I like a lot was butt ugly awful this past Sunday. I blame it on the script and I believe that whoever wrote that episode should never be allowed in the "Californication" building again.

Sunday's 2nd episode of "Luck" was terrific, but with all those great actors and great behind the scenes people, you had to figure this show would end up being VERY good!

I'll be surprised if "The River", ABC's new Tuesday night show lasts six episodes.

ABC does have a big winner on Wednesday nights. "Revenge", a show I can't say ENOUGH good things about!

And yes, two more entertaining episodes of "Justified" on FX and "Southland" on TNT, Tuesday night.

THOUGHTS 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 won't be able to respond to you. I respond to everyone who writes except for "Anonymous" emails which are ignored.

THE NEXT BLOG? Barring unforseen circumstances, Thursday night (late), February 16 or Friday morning (very early), February 17.

ATTENTION, ATTENTION, ATTENTION!!!: If you have a "significant other" or have your eyes on a POTENTIAL "significant other", next Tuesday, February 14 is VALENTINE'S DAY.

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

FRACTURES, WRESTLING, FLIP-FLOPPING AND THE LOSS OF 'SOUL!'

First of all, thanks for asking and yes, my fractured foot is healing. I saw my foot doctor yesterday and he said I'm 50% cured. My next appointment with the doctor is February 22. That evening, we'll be able to watch the next Republican debate. It'll take place in Mesa, Arizona and you'll be able to see it on CNN.

Did you hear about what Senator John McCain said about the Republican debates? He wants them ended because (in his view) they're too much like MUD WRESTLING and virtually NOTHING about PROBLEM SOLVING! McCain, a former presidential candidate his own self, is worried that if these debates continue, the four candidates will have been responsible for handing a second term to Barack Obama without Obama having to do anything except show up and say the word, "Present!". PRESENT, you (might) ask? People who have done their homework will know I'm being sarcastic and what the sarcasm is in reference to.

Back to Senator McCain. I agree with him, but as a guy who's seen every one of the debates, I want them to continue because they're so darn entertaining.

But seriously, folks....Have you heard any of these four candidates say ANYTHING in the way of good ideas on how to get jobs for the millions of Americans who are unemployed? Oh, there's been a lot of talk about getting rid of Obama Care, a lot of talk about Obama not knowing anything about how the private sector works, the claim that Obama is blah, blah, blah, but there has been no evidence of even ONE big idea that would lead to jobs for unemployed Americans. Not one. I've seen every debate. And if I had heard a good idea, I would have written about it. Hell, if I had heard even a big BAD idea, I would have written about it.

Instead, what we've gotten from an amount of debates I've lost track of are a lot of things that have absolutely NOTHING to do with what Americans are concerned about most. And so many of these "nothing" things have to do with personal attack things. Or as Senator McCain says, "Mud Wrestling!"

And as a viewer who likes to be entertained, I hope these debates continue for another few months.

Okay, enough sarcasm from me.

I would honestly like ONE of these four guys to come up with a good idea about how to get Americans back to work. Actually, I would prefer that all four of these guys would come up with BIG ideas about how to get Americans back to work and then have the other three guys comment about how to possibly sweeten the idea. Or not. If and when THAT were to happen, we would finally be watching a DEBATE! Instead of Mud Wrestling.I know. From a viewer's standpoint, the Mud Wrestling stuff is so much more entertaining, but here's a newsflash for our Republican candidates. If any of you guys have a big and (hopefully) good "jobs" idea, you better bring it up or no matter which of you ends up getting nominated, you are going to get your ass kicked when the voting for president begins. Unless of course, an 11th hour candidate gets selected while the four of you get thrown out with the bath water.

Just sayin'...

MITT ROMNEY:

Right now, he seems to be considered the best candidate the Republicans can put up against President Obama.

I respectfully disagree with that. This guy is someone who if he said to me, "The sun is shining.", I would get my raincoat.

Look at his record, folks. He has changed his mind on soooo many things that we've lost count of. In the debates, he has come up with no ideas, big or small about how to get jobs for Americans. What he HAS shown us is that while performing his private sector duties, he has been RUTHLESS! Yes, his comment the other day about not caring about poor people was taken out of context, but while trying to set the record straight, he said (in essence) that he's the guy who's best suited to improve things for our "middle class" which (I think) is most of us. What a load of horse manure THAT is! The record shows that when Mitt Romney shows up, his way of fixing things is to fire a bunch of people. A BIG bunch of people!

And this is a guy the "middle class" is supposed to count on if Romney is our next President of the United States?

Just sayin'.

ENTERTAINMENT STUFF:

A lot of entertainment stuff to write about. Most of it good, some of it bad.

First, the bad stuff.

Don Cornelius:

He's the guy who invented and for many years, was the host of "Soul Train". Don killed himself a couple of days ago. He was 75. I knew Don. I hadn't seen him since the 80's when we'd have a few drinks at a hot celebrity "watering hole" known as "Nicky Blair's" on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood. The music community was shocked when they heard about this and a lot verbal tributes were stated. All I can say is that I knew him when life was good for both of us and we had some very pleasant times together. R.I.P., Don Cornelius.

Patrick Emory:

People here in the Los Angeles area who have long memories, will remember that Emory did some very good radio work here and some very good work as a TV anchor here.

I met Patrick Emory in San Jose, California when I was about to begin a rock 'n roll d.j. job at KLIV that kick-started my career and he was ending his job at KLIV in what was the beginning of a terrific news-guy career. Ten or so years later, we were both working for CBS in St. Louis. Along the way, Patrick Emory made a big name for himself as a news anchor for CNN. And because of his good looks, him finding female companionship was never a problem.

A number of years ago, Patrick Emory finally met the woman who would end Patrick's roving eye and roaming tendencies. Brigitte was her name and she was Patrick's soul mate. She was also quite a bit younger than Patrick and that's why her sudden "passing" was a shock to many, especially Patrick.

R.I.P, Brigitte and I'm sorry I never had the chance to meet you. And Patrick? My friend and legendary radio column writer Claude Hall has a simple statement that applies to all of us; "We come. We go." Sadly, it's as simple as that.

Patrick, I can hardly imagine how you're feeling. All of us who know you are very sorry for your loss.

On a happier note, Paul McCartney:

McCartney will be honored as the 2012 MusicCares Person Of The Year, Friday, February 10. If you're interested in attending this event, call 310-392-3777 for ticket information and anything else you'd like to know. Two nights later, McCartney will be singing at the 54th Annual GRAMMY Awards.

McCartney also has a new CD that has been released. It's called, "Paul McCartney KISSES ON THE BOTTOM". Legendary music guy Don Graham sent me the McCartney CD. It has 14 songs and you get more than 49 minutes of music. In addition to McCartney, you will also be treated to an all star group of supporting players that include Grammy Award-winning producer Tommy LiPuma, Diana Krall and her band, Eric Clapton and Stevie Wonder.

I listened to this CD three times. Or in other words, almost two and a half hours. This is not a rock 'n roll, CD. It's what I refer to as "saloon music". In other words, imagine yourself going to a high class restaurant with a date. The atmosphere is terrific, you and your date are "clicking", suddenly the music begins, you look into each other's eyes, you stand up and you begin to dance. Slow dance. And you continue to dance. When you leave the restaurant and you both have that "look", a look that requires no words, by the time your evening and or morning has ended, you're quietly thanking Paul McCartney.

FILM & TELEVISION STUFF:

Because of my foot injury, I didn't see any new movies this past week, but here are some observations about what I DID see.

TV shows first...

If you saw the new episode of "The Good Wife" this past Sunday, I'm sure you'll agree with me when I tell you that the episode was SOOO good, I didn't want it to end. And now we have to wait until February 19 before we'll get another new episode of "The Good Wife".

Lots of other shows are still on hiatus, but I very much enjoyed Monday's new episode of "House" a show that's in danger of not being renewed. The show that followed "House" was the third episode of the great new show on Fox, "Alcatraz".

On Tuesday, I thought the "Glee" episode featuring Michael Jackson was very good. A lot of pretty people on that show. And they're also people who have learned the art of "good moves" to go along with their singing.

Also on Tuesday were two more terrific episodes of "Southland" on TNT and "Justified" on FX.

And as if Tuesday nights aren't already crowded enough with good television ("Parenthood" is also a Tuesday show), "The River" will make it's debut on ABC NEXT Tuesday. And this show has gotten some terrific reviews.

Renewal notices have been given to three Showtime shows that are Sunday night shows; "Californication" will have a 6th season, "Shameless" will have a 3rd season and "House of Lies" will have a 2nd season.

The new show, "Luck" on HBO? I thought the first episode was so-so.

A couple of films I saw on cable:

"Soylent Green", a 1973 film on TCM. This is a film that stars Charlton Heston and Edward G. Robinson and it's a film I hadn't seen since 1973. One of my last celebrity interviews was with Charlton Heston shortly before he died. When I asked him what he thought his best performance had been, he said, "I haven't done it yet!" I loved his answer, but he did mention a few films in which he'd had a lot of fun doing and "Soylent Green" was one of them. If you haven't seen this film, it's a futuristic story about how some high level people who have unique and scary ways to control an out of control population explosion.

"Rebel Without A Cause", a classic film on TCM that I had never seen. It starred James Dean, Sal Mineo (who was nominated for an Oscar), Natalie Wood, Dennis Hopper and several other fine actors. Near the beginning of this film, the James Dean character gets into a knife fight with a young actor who (shortly later) plays a dangerous game with the Dean character involving cars. The Dean character lives, but the other character known as Buzz, dies when his car goes over a cliff.

I liked this film a lot, but there's more to this story.

I arrived (here) in Los Angeles the day after Thanksgiving in 1979. A few years later I began a good run as a nightly sports anchor on a couple of TV stations here. Shortly after I had begun, I got a call from a guy named Corey Allen who liked what he was seeing. He was going to be the director of a play here and there was a small but critical role he wanted me to play. I told him I had never done a play but he said (in essence) "not to worry" because he was convinced this was something I could handle.

There was no money being offered but I did it, it was fun and I forgot about it until a year or so later when I heard from him again. He was now directing television shows and he hired me for small roles in Movies of the Week and other shows. I've forgotten how many. And yes, I was paid money for every one of these TV shows and in some cases, quite a lot of money.

A few years ago, Corey Allen died. Because he never talked about himself, I knew him only as a guy who asked me to be in a play for no money and who hired me for a sizeable number of TV shows for good money.

When I saw "Rebel Without A Cause", I was shocked when I realized that the "Buzz" character who had the knife fight with James Dean and who ended up dying in another scene with Dean, was in fact, Corey Allen. My first theatre, television and film benefactor.

Memories!

Oh! The Super Bowl? New England is favored by 3 points and as of now, the over-under number is 54. I like New England. 35-28.

THOUGHTS AND OR COMMENTS? Please write to me at scottstjames@sbcglobal.net and I'll 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? Barring unforseen circumstances, late Thursday night, February 9 or very early Friday morning, February 10.

I hope that you and yours have a great weekend and that the team you'll be rooting for will be the team that wins the Super Bowl.

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