How I Would Choose To Handle The Fort Hood Assassin!!! The "God" Controversy!!! The Republican Convention!!! The Democrat Convention!!! Why Paul Ryan and Michele Bachmann have so much In Common!!! The Obama Documentary!!! Megyn Kelly and Fox News!!! A Way To Lose Serious Weight that WON'T COST YOU A DIME!!! A 50% Pay Cut for JAY LENO!!!

Hi Gang!   As you can see, there are 9 headlines that are posted above.    I have NEVER written NINE headlines and quite frankly there were three or four more that I seriously considered.

Thanks again for your patience regarding the fact that this blog is a day later than it usually is.

With that in mind, LET'S GET BUSY!!!

Headline #1:   How I would choose to "handle" the Fort Hood assassin!!!

I'm referring (of course) to Army Major Nidal Hasan, a guy who killed 13 American soldiers and injured more than 30 others.   Plenty of eye witnesses and he's willing to plead guilty.   But there's been no trial (yet) because he's insisting on wearing a beard because of religious reasons.   The Army has rules about NO beards, but Major Hasan and his lawyers are fighting the Army's rules with various appeals.

What immediately comes to MY mind is Major Hasan's "religion argument".

What part of ANY religion believes in WHAT HE DID!!!!

Did that ever cross his mind before he GOT religion regarding his BEARD?!?

As of now, the Army is standing firm and if all the appeals end up being rejected, the Army is planning to have Major Hasan wheeled to a barber with five military officers who will keep Major Hasan in his barber chair while the barber uses an electric razor to cut off his beard.   After that, there would be a trial.

Look, I know we're a law abiding country and even a psychotic jerk like Major Hasan gets the "benefit of doubt" thanks to our court system.

Buuuut....Here's where I go "Rogue", if allowed to.

There's no doubt in anyone's mind that Major Hasan murdered 13 American soldiers while trying very hard to murder AT LEAST more than THIRTY MORE American soldiers!

My solution, if allowed, would go like this:  

Let him keep his beard.

Find every relative of every American soldier who was killed or injured by Major Hasan.

Prepare Major Hasan, with his beard, to face a firing squad that would include any of the victims' relatives who wanted to participate along with some military sharp-shooters in case none of the relatives were able to shoot straight.

I'm all for Law and Order, but in this case, what I'm proposing, is to me, uncomplicated Law and Order with no chance of it ever being discovered that this piece of human garbage was really "innocent".   Therefore, I believe that Major Hasan should be dealt with without mercy except for being allowed to keep his beard.

Headline #2:   The "God" controversy!

You've probably heard about the griping associated with someone who kept the word "God" out of some written material for the Democrat Convention.   It was immediately put into the literature the next day.

We have freedom of religion, right?    Do we understand that some people don't believe in a God?   I don't know why "God" wasn't included in the literature that I think had to do with a "policy statement".   It was probably an oversight, but if it wasn't???   What if it was meant as an "inclusion" thing.  

Just askin'.

Headline #3:   The Democrat Convention!

I didn't watch all of it, but when I DID watch, I saw politicians do what politicians usually do.   Which is a tendency to "exaggerate" a little.   And in some cases, a lot.

Yes, that was true with the Democrat Convention, too.

I thought Mitt Romney's speech was pretty good.   I still think he's a con-man, but his speech was better than I thought it would be.

Paul Ryan?   More on him when we bring up Headline #5.

Clint Eastwood.   Wow!   Big time actor, big time director, big time period.

After his conversation with "The Chair", a lot of people were saying that Clint was guilty of doing "improv" and he was embarrassing.

I've had a week to think about this and I respectfully disagree with a couple of things that were said about Mr. Eastwood.

First of all, that wasn't "improv" he was doing.   I've done a lot of "improv" and I'm pretty good.   "Improv" is done with another actor who can really talk back to you.    Something a "chair" can't do.

Mr. Eastwood has finally spoken about what happened that night.   He says he told Romney officials to not try to look at his script because he didn't have one and he (in essence) never knows what he's going to say until he gets on the stage.    That's called, ad-libbing, folks.   Something I've also done a lot of.   Mr. Eastwood says he got the idea of what he might want to talk about when he saw a chair that Romney officials thought that Mr. Eastwood might like to sit on.

Well, as we all know, he never sat.   And with what he said in the conversation with a Carmel reporter today or yesterday, one could assume that Mr. Eastwood was saying "Sit on THIS!" when he told the reporter, "President Obama is the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people!"

Dirty Harry, direct and to the point.   HIS point!    "Do ya feel lucky, punk!"

Headline #4:  The Democrat Convention!

Bill Clinton "Rocked the house", Joe Biden was good, Barack Obama was, to me, so-so.

One thing that jumped out at me was that the Democrats, in their convention, talked about our troops.   A lot!   

The Republicans, in their convention?   Regarding our troops, the "Silence was Deafening".   Just like it was when a gay American combat soldier spoke from Afghanistan during the Republican debates and he was booed by a lot of people in the audience.   Not one of the Republican candidates defended our soldier who happens to be gay but he's fighting for US!   AMERICA!   And the Republicans at a high level STILL aren't talking about our troops.

Perception, folks.   And this (me) ex-soldier, picks up on their silence, loud and clear!

I've said it before and I'll say it again....

I believe that the winner of our upcoming presidential election will be the candidate who comes across best in the three presidential debates.   The first debate will be held October 3rd.

The vice presidential debate?   There's only one and to me, Joe Biden will win that debate easily.    Buuuut....it won't matter if Mitt Romney comes across better than Barack Obama does.

Headline #5:   Why Paul Ryan and Michele Bachmann have so much in common!

If you've been paying attention, you know the answer.   Mr. Ryan and Mrs. Bachmann have both been Congress people for a lot of years.   And neither one of them is good at telling the truth.

The Fox News folks LOVE Mr. Ryan, but they were the first to point out many lies that Ryan told when he delivered his speech at the Republican Convention.   And when you end up lying about a MARATHON he ran, you have to know that this is a guy who will lie about ANYTHING!   A MARATHON?!?   How sick is THAT?!?

Oh...The wives of the presidential candidates?    I thought they were both terrific.

Headline #6:   The Obama Documentary!

I'm sure you've heard about this documentary film that's now in a lot places that show films.   The title of this film is, "2016: Obama's America".

I saw the film last week.   It is very well produced and nothing about it is boring which is not the case with most documentary films.   The film is filled with opinions and because I write a lot of opinions in this blog, I'm not going to comment on the opinions expressed in the film.

You watch, you listen, you nod your head or you shake your head.

Same deal when you read some of the stuff I write.   But in my case, you can contact me and tell me what YOUR opinion is.

Headline #7:   Megyn Kelly and Fox News!

During the last two weeks when I've watched some of the convention stuff, the channel I was watching was the Fox News channel.   The hosts I saw most of the time were two people.   A pleasant and very smart question asker who, for the life of me, I can't think of his name.   And the reason for that is his co-host.
The very photogenic Megyn Kelly.   Older than she looks, smart as smart can be, a smile that melts you, a body to die for and a friendly assassin if you lie to her.

Yes, I have become big fans of those two Fox News reporters.

Headline #8:   A way to lose serious weight that won't cost you a dime!

I am a guy who does a 3-5 miles walk 7-days a week, rain or shine.   A few months ago I realized I had gained some weight.   The temperatures during that time were in the mid 90's and higher.   Instead of just wearing shorts and a short sleeved shirt, I added a jacket and zipped it up to my neck.

I have a lot of slacks (pants) in my closet.   A few weeks ago, I realized I couldn't wear any of them without embarrassing myself because I was in serious danger of them falling off of me.

Yes, wearing a zipped up jacket in heavy heat is not something that's comfortable.   Buuuuut....If you want to lose weight without having to spend money or starve yourself, do what I did.   If something like that can work for me, it sure as heck can work for you.

Just sayin'.

Headline #9:   A 50% pay cut for Jay Leno!

When I first read this, my first thought was that this only happens to radio performers (which I have been) or television anchors which I also have been.

No, this is something that as a rule is not talked about publicly.   And I know a lot of people in that position.   The Jay Leno situation has been told by a high level NBC guy with a big title.

Gang, with this economy the way it is, no one but no one is immune from being told (in essence) that beginning today you're going to be making a lot less money.

And this isn't something that's new.   This kind of thing has been going on for more years than a lot of people are aware of because when it happens to YOU, you assume it's ONLY happening to you and you keep your mouth shut.   I think that's a good idea anyway, but yes, you're not alone.

Sports Stuff:

If you care about the NFL, you know that the Cowboys beat the Giants in the NFL's season opener this past Wednesday night.   All the other NFL teams will play this Sunday and Monday.  

Big NFL news...I'm sure you NFL fans have heard about the so-called "bounty-hunter" business that got 4 New Orleans Saints players suspended for a bunch of games and it was the same deal for 3 New Orleans Saints coaches.   Today, it was announced that an arbitration panel overturned some suspensions and all four of the players will be able to play in the Saints-Redskins game that will be shown on Fox this Sunday.   The three coaches?   Still suspended.

The baseball season is winding down.   Almost time for the playoffs.   Teams like the Baltimore team, the Washington team, the Pittsburgh team, the Oakland team and the Cincinnati team are teams that weren't expected to be in the playoffs, but every one of those teams has a legitimate shot at getting there.
Here in the Los Angeles area, we're rooting for the Dodgers and Angels.   Both teams are going to have win most of their remaining games to get into the playoffs.

ENTERTAINMENT STUFF:

That great television show, "The Good Wife" will begin their 4th season soon with a bunch of new "name" actors.   Like the great Brian Dennehy and the very beautiful and sexy Christina Ricci among others.

Some other shows like "Parenthood" a show I LOVE will be beginning their new seasons next week.   And I'm sure some of your faves will begin their new seasons as well.

I didn't see any new films this past week except the Obama film, but I did see three films on cable that you can watch "On Demand".

"American History X", a 1998 film on the Encore circuit.   It stars Edward Norton who I think won an Oscar for his performance and all of the other actors in this film were good as well.    A very serious film that included this line;   "Has anything you've done made your life better?!?"  

"The People vs Larry Flynt", a 1996 film on the Encore circuit.   Woody Harrelson played Flynt and he was nominated for an Oscar.   And boy, did he deserve it.   Terrific performance.   Courtney Love also did a good job in that film.

"Hoodlum", a 1997 film on the Encore circuit.   It stars Laurence Fishburne, Tim Roth, Vanessa Williams, Andy Garcia, Chi McBride, William Atherton and some other terrific supporting players.   All three of the films are probably not for everyone, but they're all very good films.

Some upcoming awards are coming up soon and because one of the awards will be given to a friend of mine, I'm going to give him a "shout-out".

These awards are like honorary Oscars and they'll be presented a couple of months before the Oscar show.   

Congratulations to Hal Needham.   A legendary stunt performer who participated in more than 300 films and who also ended up directing a bunch of films.   While doing his stunt stuff, he broke many bones in his body, but he kept coming back for more.   For a while, he was Burt Reynolds' room-mate and I heard some great stories from Hal about THOSE days.

Hal Needham.   A genuine "tough guy" who no one disputes was "The Real Deal".

Big time congratulations, my friend.

And a big time BOOOOO to the Academy for not giving an award to Doris Day.   I mean, if anyone deserves one of these honorary awards, it certainly should be Doris Day.   I'll never forget a radio interview I did with her a number of years ago.   She came across as fun loving young girl you wanted to give a hug to.   That's also how she came across in so many films she was the star of.

Boo, Academy.   BIG BOO!!!

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 won't be able to respond to you.    I respond to everyone except those who choose to identify themselves as "Anonymous".   Those emails are ignored.

THE NEXT BLOG?   Barring unforseen circumstances, next Thursday night, September 13 or very early Friday morning, September 14.

I hope that all of you have a very pleasant weekend and don't forget...

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