Political Football

 Gerald R. Ford   1913-2006

Ford White House Bio   

Ford Library and Museum 

Washington Post Obituary

NRO Article Reagan & Ford – A Pair for History        

My friend Geri asked me to create this post so she can say something about one of her favorite Presidents.  Geri and I share a love of Presidential History, and we’ve visited three Libraries together, FDR, Truman and Hoover.  We’ve also visited the Lincoln and Reagan home sites in Illinois.

Everyone knows the story of Watergate and the damage it did to the Presidency.  Geri and I were talking tonight and she believes the reflection of the man over the next weeks will remind both parties of nobler times – a time of healing.  Geri will write something next that I will post over the next days.

ScrappleFace Editor Responds to Real Editor

ScrappleFace.com publishes funny parodies of the news. Once a parody is cut off the website and pasted by someone into an email then they distribute it around the world without the next reader understanding original intent (the parody part…) someone, eventually, will most likely be offended. Such was the case of some Katrina victims, defended by the editor of a Black Panther sponsored newspaper in San Francisco, who apparently had never heard of ScrappleFace.

Below, find a reply from the author of ScrappleFace when asked to explain (link at the top of the page). In any case, the Editor asked the Author of ScrappleFace to explain himself; and he did.

I’ve severely edited his 1,400 word reply below to about 250 words. Please read this and his entire letter (again, link above) if you can find the time. This is a serious piece from someone who normally writes pretty funny stuff.

—————

In the immediate aftermath of Katrina, journalists sought someone to blame. They, predictably, found President George Bush was the best scapegoat. If anyone “out there” is to be blamed, it is the large, remote, centralized federal government which has become a surrogate father to so many millions of Americans. Over the decades, we have ceded power, authority and responsibility to the federal government far beyond anything envisioned or desired by our founders. This is not a matter of ‘blaming the victim’, because the victim has become so immersed in this twisted view of human life that he cannot see what has happened.

The problem is that the morsels of that wealth [that trickles down] never provide enough to do anything other than keep folks in a perpetual state of dependence upon the State. The threat of this system is that it strips a man of what makes him a man, and turns him away from his inner resources, or the inclination to partner with neighbors to solve problems. It humiliates him, blinds him and ultimately cripples him.

The victims of Katrina are not really the victims of Katrina herself. The tragedy began long before the hurricane hit.

We need to cultivate the inner resources in ourselves, our children and our neighborhoods to cope with the inevitable. When we cede that power and responsibility to the federal government, we surrender a part of what makes us human and leave ourselves more vulnerable to the tempest.

Since what we know about America flows mostly from the media, we can be certain that most of what we know is just plain wrong, or at least atypical. My old journalism professor used to say, ‘News is coups, earthquakes and three-legged chickens.’

IN KIRK WE TRUST 

Football.com recap

game recap

pregame story featuring Klinkeborg

12/30/06 – well, we played well against a good Texas team but fell short 24-26 and it went down to the last play.  Well done Hawkeyes, can’t wait until the Spring Game! You can read more about the Hawks and the game in the two links above, and don’t miss my tribute to John Hayden Fry by taking the link at the bottom of this page or through the link on the right under PAGES.

12/25/06 – a very Hawkeye Christmas to you!  The more I look at this game the worse I feel.  We just do not match up.  Kirk needs to pull some magic out of his football bag to stay even on this one.  Our best hope is a sloppy game by their injured Redshirt Freshman QB. 

12/21/06 – heard the Hawkeyes are practicing in full pads during the two-a-days in preparation for the Bowl game.  Hope that helps, they’re going to need more than that – they’re going to need an unprepared Longhorn team.  Go Hawks!

12/20/06 – with the QB problems at Texas it looks like we’re “only” 11 point underdogs now.  Texas is a big strong team – this could be a good game, or get ugly fast.  Still better than playing in Idaho for the Holidays! 

12/15/06 – The 6-6 Hawkeyes are staring their first losing season since 2000, playing the 9-3 defending National Champion Texas Longhorns in the Alamo Bowl. This is a fun Bowl (I’ve been there twice) mostly because San Antonio is a great bowl town.  Iowa has been lucky to be only one of four teams to play in FOUR straight Jan 1 Bowl games; this game breaks that streak.

QUOTE: “The Russians feared Ike. They didn’t fear me.”   – Lyndon B Johnson, 36th US President, On Korean War in contrast to Vietnam War, quoted by Richard M Nixon Time Magazine 29 Jul 85 

I guess President Bush is saying thanks but no thanks as he should, to the Iraq Study Group report (also known as the Iraq Surrender Group). We are at war for our survival.  What part of that does the world not understand?

No president has been popular in war even FDR and Lincoln had their serious detractors. My trust is still in President Bush to do the right thing.  

I just finished reading Mark Steyn’s excellent Best Seller “America Alone”.  Read it during the daylight, you’ll have nightmares if you pick it for your night stand reading.  Population shifts all over the world in the last 20 and the next 50 years are just part of the story.

See more on the Media Bias and WoT segments of this site

12/16/06  Things are always interesting in Iowa during the political season.

The Iowa Political Boards for the last few days have been talking about Tommy Thompson almost ready to announce his run for the 2008 Presidential elections.

I think he’s an ok guy and with Steve Grubbs in his corner this could get interesting. I was just reminded though, that he’s the guy that said in his closing remarks when he left his Cabinet position at HHS (at the end of W’s first term) that the USA food supply would be easy to sabotage and he didn’t know why the terrorists hadn’t tried it.  Where that’s not a check mate – it doesn’t say much about his processing thoughts.

So, I like Romney…  so far. This is going to be a very important election. We can’t lose the executive branch.

Favorite Presidential quotes:

The nation which forgets its defenders will be itself forgotten. – Calvin Coolidge 

A government big enough to give you everything you want, is strong enough to take everything you have. – Gerald Ford

Some people spend their whole lives wondering if they made a difference. The Marines don’t have that problem. – Ronald Reagan