I think the recent ban on Internet Gambling is a mistake...one that I suspect is due in part to that industry not having paid sufficient tribute in the form of lobbying fees and campaign donations. Even if that isn't the primary motive, it's wrong...for reasons Barney Frank explained in his speech in opposition to it. Here's what he said, again proving he's one of the smartest guys in Washington. Which, I know, still isn't much of a compliment.
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart is in reruns this week so they haven't had their chance yet to air a "Stay the course" montage, showing clips of Bush urging that over and over, capped by his recent statement that he was never about "Stay the course." Others have assembled such presentations, however. Here's a brief one from the Democratic National Committee...
And here's a link to a longer segment by Keith Olbermann. Mr. Olbermann makes the obvious point that this kind of self-contradiction is what Republicans love to pounce on to label an opponent a "flip-flopper." In some circles, changing your position seems to be a shameful character trait. Me, I think it's a strength. Or at least, to be able to reassess and reconsider — especially as you learn more — and to be willing to admit you were wrong...well, those are all good qualities to me. (At least, at the moment. I reserve the right to change my mind about this later on.)
Without getting into why our "course" in Iraq may have been right or wrong, I have to say that I always thought "Stay the course" was always a silly motto and probably always is, at least when uncoupled with some words as to why the course remains the correct one. I'm still not hearing a lot of that, which is why support is falling away at a stunning rate. Which reminds me: One of my correspondents — James H. Burns — sent me the following in a message with the subject line, "Why Iraq is not Vietnam"...
Most everyone seems to forget the most stunning, and seemingly obvious difference: Today, there is no draft.
Often forgotten, is that what so motivated mainstream America to protest the war in Vietnam, was conscription.
(There was even a largely forgotten episode in recent American history when LBJ announced the cutoff date for the last acceptable date for marriage exemptions to the draft. That final weekend, either in 1966, or 1967, there were a record number of nuptials.)
...In no way interpret any of this to mean that I think policy has been well engendered, in Iraq. It would have been terrific, I believe, to create a new, friendly to America, democratic beachhead, in the Mid-East. But this administration's execution, obviously, has been one of incompetence.
The modern horror, for our armed forces, is the criminal neglect with which they've been treated, not the least of which are tours of duty beyond anything which had been originally conceived. And, at least until recently, the incidence of soldier suicides among our soliders in Iraq was higher than in any other war. No doubt, one cause being, that soldiers diagnosed with mental problems WERE BEING KEPT ON A WAITING LIST, with no available hospital, or treatment, "beds." (This is shocking, but you can Google the topic, for verification...)
And everyone seems to forget our guys and gals who are still stationed in Afghanistan.
Some of us haven't forgotten them. In fact, we're concerned they're about to get a tour of portions of Korea.
Good point about the draft. And with 54% of Americans now wanting us out within a year (sez Gallup), you have to wonder what that number would be like if we did have a draft. I'm guessing about half that, and we'd have gotten there a lot sooner.
And yeah, I remember that cutoff date for marriage exemptions. I was 14 or 15 at the time and some of my classmates were actually talking about "convenience marriages," meaning that they'd get some female to do their patriotic anti-war duty and marry them just for the exemption. There would be an understanding that they would not live as man and wife, and would divorce just as soon as the threat was over. I don't think anyone I knew ever went past the stage of musing about it but I do recall one friend discussing it and whether having a "wife" of that kind would inhibit his dating possibilities. (And hey, wasn't that when Dick Cheney got married? Or did he and the Missus just have a baby on some timetable that would keep him out?)
I really think it's amazing that the country has reached this stage in opposition to the war so soon. Even the Democrats and the so-called "liberal media" seem to be catching up to them lately.
Earlier this AM, I posted a link to a Froot Loops commercial and said that I thought it might have been Lucille Bliss doing the voices of the two baby toucans. It isn't. Tim Hollis informs me (and I'm sure he's right) that it was the multi-talented Robie Lester. Well, I said I wasn't sure.
For correcting me, Tim wins our top prize, which is a plug for the book he co-authored with Greg Ehrbar, Mouse Tracks: The Story of Walt Disney Records. This is an excellent volume that will tell you everything you could possibly want to know about the many records released by divisions of the Disney empire, with plenty of insight into how they were made and the folks who performed on them, Robie Lester especially. You can and should order your very own copy from Amazon by clicking here.
Naturally, I owned many of the records covered...but even I was unaware of just how many there were, and of some of the largely-unnoticed treasures in the catalog. Naturally too, there came a stage in my childhood when I thought they were "baby" records and that it was beneath my dignity to listen to such things. In fact, my friend Randy and I decided it would be more fun to break the records than to listen to the records so we used them as targets and lobbed wooden croquet balls at them. You could get a lot of money today on eBay for what we shattered that day. Heck, you could probably get a lot of money on eBay for the croquet balls.
As I've been mentioning here, I'm emceeing a public Memorial Service tomorrow evening — i.e., Thursday, October 26 — for the great comic actor and cartoon voice artist, Lennie Weinrib. (That's Lennie in the above photo from one of his greatest performances...an episode of The Dick Van Dyke Show in which he tricked Rob Petrie into dismantling his telephone. Remember "Scream like a chicken"?)
Lennie passed away on June 28 in Chile. Here's what I posted then about his splendid career. Lennie was the voice of H.R. Pufnstuf, Inch-High Private Eye, Scrappy Doo and dozens of characters for Hanna-Barbera. He was on more than a hundred TV shows. He was an announcer and a writer and a director and a very funny man...reason enough for his friends to gather and have one more good time because of him.
I've received a couple of e-mails from folks saying, "I never knew Lennie but I admired his work. Is it okay if I come to the memorial?" Answer: Absolutely. This is a public function and everyone is welcome. It takes place tomorrow (Thursday) evening at the Sportsmen's Lodge in Studio City, California in their Starlight Ballroom. The Sportsmen's Lodge is located at 12833 Ventura Boulevard, at the corner of Ventura and Coldwater Canyon.
The doors open at 6:30, we'll have a buffet supper served around 7 PM and then the speeches and film clips and such will commence around 8 PM. Sid and Marty Krofft will be speaking. Lennie's daughter Linda will be speaking. Other friends and prominent folks will talk about our departed friend. (Fair Warning: Rather than burden his daughter with the full tab for this event, we'll be passing the hat to help pay for the room and the food. If you can kick in some bucks, that would be nice. You'll more than get your money's worth.)
If you were a fan of Lennie's work for the Kroffts...or his cartoon voice career...or any of his many TV appearances, come by and help us say goodbye to a great guy. Drop me a note if you think you might make it.
Here's an early commercial for Kellogg's Froot Loops with Mel Blanc doing the voice of Toucan Sam. (I think that may be Lucille Bliss doing the two baby toucans but it's hard to tell.) A little later on, someone decided that T.S. should sound like Ronald Coleman and his voice was thereafter done by Paul Frees. After Mr. Frees passed away, a couple of different folks imitated him imitating Ronald Coleman but for the last decade or so, it's been Maurice LaMarche doing the honors. We'll be back right after this brief word from our non-sponsor...
October 26, 2006
