Saturday, May 3, 2014

Weekend Newsbites: Sat. & Sun., May 3 & 4, 2014


June 11, 1979...

I was 17 years old.

June 11, 1979...

That was the day John Wayne died.

June 11, 1979...

I cried like a baby.

I've just started reading Scott Eyman's just published new biography of Wayne, "John Wayne: The Life and Legend."

So far, so good. I'm only a few pages in to the prologue, but I can already tell that this latest biography of "The Duke" is gonna be a great read. (And I've read many biographies of John Wayne - born Marion Robert Morrison - so I'm coming at this from an already fairly knowledgeable perspective.)

Are you a John Wayne fan? (You! Yes, you! I'm talking to you!)

I worry that today's kids and young adults aren't... weren't... brought up watching the same movies and television shows that I did and that this is a key reason the younger generation is so f--ked up.

Do you revere the cowboys... the homesteaders... the trappers and minors and shopkeepers... the ranchers and farmers... the railroaders... the cavalrymen... all those who "won the west" and created the America my generation inherited from "The Greatest Generation?"

If not... 

(*SIGH*)

Do you view "the John Wayne character" as representing everything "bad" about the America which I grew up loving and love to this day, or, do you look up to "the John Wayne character" as the iconic American ideal... or at least a large segment of that ideal? (Your answer tells me pretty much all I need to know about you...)

Almost 35 years, folks... that's how long it's been since America lost John Wayne. Thirty-five years come June.

John Wayne is gone... Maureen O'Hara lives in Ireland... and here... now... in 2014 through this blog... I'll continue to try and represent John Wayne's - and Maureen O'Hara's - America to the best of my ability.


1 comment:

William R. Barker said...

http://freebeacon.com/national-security/saudi-arabia-shows-off-chinese-missiles/

Saudi Arabia’s military for the first time displayed Chinese made intermediate-range missiles during a recent military parade in the kingdom.

(*PURSED LIPS*)

The unveiling of the two Chinese DF-3 missiles is the latest sign that the oil-rich kingdom is distancing itself from the United States.

* BARACK FUCKING HUSSEIN FUCKING OBAMA...

The disclosure of the missiles follows a recent visit to China by Saudi defense officials who U.S. officials say are angered at the Obama administration over its policies toward Iran.

* SO... SEEMS AS IF ALL OBAMA'S TRASHING OF ISRAEL HASN'T DONE MUCH TO WIN FRIENDS IN SAUDI ARABIA...

Saudi Crown Prince and Defense Minister Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud traveled to Pakistan in February. U.S. officials said the visit was an indication that the Saudis are preparing to purchase Chinese-designed JF-17 combat jets from the Pakistanis.

Saudi Deputy Defense Minister Prince Salman bin Sultan also visited Pakistan’s Heavy Industries Taxila fueling reports that the Saudi are buying the Chinese-Pakistani Al-Khalid tank.

* BY THE TIME OBAMA IS OUT OF OFFICE HE'LL HAVE TURNED THE ENTIRE WORLD AGAINST US! (IT'S NOT FUCKING FUNNY! AND, NO... I'M NOT EXAGGERATING BY MUCH! LOOK AT OUR RELATIONS WITH GERMANY!!!)

Newsweek reported Jan. 29 that China also secretly supplied Saudi Arabia with more advanced DF-21 medium range missiles — among Beijing’s most advanced missiles that have been modified for use in attacking satellites and aircraft carriers at sea.

“As the dominance of U.S.-supplied equipment in the parade indicated, Washington is still the kingdom’s preferred security partner, but the relationship continues to show signs of being frayed.”

According to U.S. officials, another sign that Saudi Arabia appears to be limiting its long-time friendship with the United States was the ouster last month of its intelligence chief, Prince Bandar bin Sultan, a former ambassador to the United States who was considered one of the most pro-U.S. officials in Riyadh. Bandar had been intelligence chief since 2012 and his departure from the post is widely regarded as an indication of a major shift in Saudi policy away from the United States.