Good morning dear readers! Velveeta was all set to review Mark Sanfords love letters, but then Sarah Palin debuted a new performance art piece / political press conference. I was still intent on the Sanford letters because, I mean, that is some juicy good reading, but then I read this. Seems that Todd’s wife and mother of “Trig” is getting litigious according to “some sources”
But Palin attorney Thomas Van Flein on Saturday warned legal action may be taken against bloggers and publications that reprint what he calls fraudulent claims.
So let me be clear, that we here at 4 Freedoms Blog do NOT want to get national attention by claiming that Sarah Palin may be under federal investigation for embezzlement or other criminal wrongdoing. Continue reading...
19 comments(Latest Comment: 07/06/2009 04:52:30 by livingonli)
Happy Independence day to one and all, on this the beginning of our 233rd year free of the tyranny of King George III.
While everyone is out and about today, I want you all to take a look at the street names in your city. With a reasonable degree of certainty, I can state that everyone has one or more of the following street names. Washington. Franklin. Jefferson. Maybe a Revere. Probably a Lexington.
I'm betting there's one other name out there. Lafayette.
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39 comments(Latest Comment: 07/05/2009 00:31:41 by trojanrabbit)
“A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes.” - Mark Twain
The 2008 election was an historic moment - the first black president of the United States was chosen by a majority of the voting public. At the same time, the House and Senate were given over to the Democrats with solid majorities. The messages from the campaigns struck the right notes in the ears of Americans, and the they went to the polls to vote for hope, but more importantly: change.
But of course, some things never change. The players in charge of disseminating the smears and lies about Obama and the Democrats (Limbaugh, FAUX News, ... you know who they are) have not only kept up the propaganda, they've ramped it up. The problem with this is that there is a small percentage of the population that eats this up as truth because it reinforces what they already believe and feel.
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65 comments(Latest Comment: 07/04/2009 03:52:17 by BobR)
President Manuel Zelaya, President of Honduras was ousted from office last Friday by the Honduran Military. It has largely gone unreported due to off-the-wall Jackson Coverage. I'm pretty sure that had Michael not died this story would have gone unreported anyway. You see, the coup has American fingerprints all over it. Continue reading...
72 comments(Latest Comment: 07/03/2009 01:05:08 by livingonli)
The last few days have been rather monolithic with regards to the news. First it was Farrah Fawcett, then Michael Jackson, then Harlequin Romance Novel cover model Governor Sanford, and then yesterday Senator Franken (c'mon Bill-O - you can say it!). With all of this hubbub going on, you have to assume some other news items got overlooked. As a public service, we here at FourFreedoms News are happy to pass along some of these Under the Radar stories.
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174 comments(Latest Comment: 07/02/2009 03:26:20 by livingonli)
We'll start this morning as we always do, with the latest casualty figures from Iraq and Afghanistan, courtesy of Antiwar.com:
American Deaths Since war began (3/19/03): 4319 Since "Mission Accomplished" (5/1/03): 4180 Since Capture of Saddam (12/13/03): 3858 Since Handover (6/29/04): 3460 Since Obama Inauguration (1/20/09): 91
Other Coalition Troops - Iraq: 318 US Military Deaths - Afghanistan: 715 Other Military Deaths - Afghanistan: 486 Journalists - Iraq: 138 Contractor Employee Deaths - Iraq: 1,306
We find this morning's cost of war passing through:
$ 873, 889, 350, 000 .00
Well, is today the day? US forces have pulled out of major Iraq cities and have turned over security to native forces. This has been a long time coming, and the US and Iraqi armies have spent many long months in training and preparations for this day.
This week, the House managed to pass what some would say is a landmark energy bill. Others have said it is just arranging the chairs on the deck. I happen to believe that this is a good bill and will create what has come to be known as green jobs. It's not perfect but I fully agree with Al Gore: Continue reading...
59 comments(Latest Comment: 06/30/2009 02:35:51 by Raine)
In this topsy turvy time of societies downfall, where gays have the audacity to walk the streets hand in hand and own their own business, and women not only wear mens clothing but at times the shortest of shorts so their knees are showing (!) it's great that we have people who are still brave enough to come out and tell us how we are supposed to be living. With the death of Jerry Falwell our moral compass' seem to spin in a circle never knowing where to stop!
Should I love my neighbors whore wife, only hating her sin? Or, should I stone her as required by the Bible?
Recently ads on my computer have been popping up telling me that a new show is coming out on the TV about a man who works as a "gigolo". The show, called "Hung" will surely be a hit, though Velveeta will never watch it, and not just because she can't afford HBO, but because its premise about a man with a rather large thingy will only perpetuate the stereotype that a man can only be manly with a large who-haa. I have scoured my Bible to find reference to this, but could find none, so it must be false!
Continue reading...
13 comments(Latest Comment: 06/28/2009 22:31:17 by livingonli)
This morning, Narragansett Bay is going to reverberate with the mighty roar of the General Electric F-404 turbojet. (Union-built in Lynn, MA....probably by my brother!)
Tomorrow, I'll be making the trek myself and doing one of my favorite things...sitting on a hot airfield, having my ears assaulted, and sniffing jet fumes.
Ah, but there's the rub. I grew up not too far from Logan Airport (Boston) and now I live and work not too far from Hanscom Field. I was always looking at the sky, and aviation and things with wings have been a lifelong interest of mine.
But then came September 11 (sheesh, maybe it did change everything?) and with it some changing attitudes and politics for me. Not that many years ago, I watched the invasion of Kuwait with rapt attention and pride; I celebrated the glories of war and the superiority of our technology with a lot of folks in those days. (We're talking 1991, people.)
But especially since 2003, and even more so writing "Ask a Vet" every week....I wonder about some of the things that I love so much. I am looking forward to seeing an F-22 Raptor in the sky for the first time tomorrow, but the intellectual part of me questions the need and the cost.
I haven't seen the Blue Angels since 1998, but now I wonder about the kids that are going to be watching and thinking they're the coolest thing, and all the recruiters that are going to be swarming the airbase this weekend 'just to talk'.
Curiously, I don't have that ambivalence towards the Canadian Air Force "Snowbirds". They fly 1950s vintage trainer jets, and their show is what a flight display should be about; it's artistry in the sky. (The US display teams do it with brute force and noise...how American, hmm?)
It's not a "warbird" show this weekend, but I do know that a few C-47s and a handful of Mustangs are showing up. There is truly no finer sound in all of aviation than a Merlin engine in full swing. (And in a side note, that's how you can tell car people and plane people apart....just do the word-association thing and say "Mustang".) Alas, no B-17 this trip. But they will be around in September.
In any case....it's been 8 years since I last stood on an airfield immersed in aviation and the US military. The intellectual part of me questions the need, and wonders about the recruiting trap that's been set this weekend. Of course, the little kid and the av-dork parts of me are going to be in fine fettle.
14 comments(Latest Comment: 06/28/2009 06:26:26 by livingonli)
I heard the news today, oh boy. Michael Jackson the King of Pop is dead of a heart attack at 50. He was the man-child wunderkind that never had a chance to be a boy, burning bright at a young age, and burning out too soon. His quirkiness was an easy target, yet his music was beyond critique. He set a new standard during MTV's heyday, flying so high that it was inevitable that his fall would be that much harder.
Despite being "of a certain age", I remember Michael Jackson from childhood. I used to sing "ABC... as easy as 1-2-3". I used to watch the animated "The Jackson 5" TV show. Driven by his father, he achieved success as an entertainer at an age when I was still playing with LEGOs.
He was 10 when he did this. 10. Years. Old.
Most of us have had the "privilege" of growing up "normal". We've all had those moments in our formative years that scarred us for the rest of our lives. How would our emotional development have progressed had we grown up in the spotlight? The saga of the "child star" is well-known: success at a young age, followed by growing pains, obscurity, drug abuse, a "come to Jesus moment", and then a comeback. Except - Michael Jackson never had that moment of obscurity. He kept going higher and higher, with no chance to rest and reflect.
He and MTV were a match made in heaven. His music and videos continually broke new ground and set new standards. Everybody tried to learn how to moonwalk. The "Thriller" video created a paradigm shift that bridged the gap between music video and cinema.
And with every video he seemed to keep getting... whiter. There's no other way to put it. First it seemed like he was trying to look like Diana Ross. His skin kept getting lighter, he had more plastic surgery. You have to wonder if anyone tried to intervene, to ask him "what the hell are you doing?". Add to that the stories of strange behavior and strange purchases (some true, some false, some concocted by Jackson himself and leaked to the press), and you have a picture of a man in the midst of an emotional crises.
Perhaps once he was out from under the oppressive hand of his father he just let loose. It was all fodder for the people that feed on the pain and troubles of the famous, and - as seems to happen too often - became a vicious cycle, a swirling abyss that swallowed him up. You have to wonder why the plastic surgeons didn't just say "no"...
I don't know if this was a cry for help, or just him lashing out at the media, but I remember this song/video distinctly and thinking "way to go!":
His downfall, though, was a combination of his apparent repressed sexuality and repressed childhood, which manifested itself with his desire to have kids around all the time, particularly boys. It seemed he was trying to recapture the childhood he was never allowed to have, while trying to come to grips with an attraction to males that he didn't know what to do with. That doesn't excuse his inexplicable and occasionally inappropriate behavior with children, but perhaps it can give us a better understanding of how people like him wind up like that.
Despite these emotional troubles, he continually put out incredible music that ran the gamut of soul, pop, and rock. He collaborated with everybody, and it seemed he always allowed them to shine, rather than overshadow them. He donated millions upon millions to charities and set up several charitable foundations that will continue to help people now that he's gone. Did he ever put out a bad music video? I don't know of any. I don't even remember seeing this one, but it packs a punch:
I just hope that history treats him fairly - something he rarely got from a bloodthirsty press. Rest in peace Michael - the press can't hound you anymore. Your music will be your most fitting epitaph.
78 comments(Latest Comment: 06/27/2009 01:23:16 by Raine)
