One of my favorite childhood memories is watching my father’s reaction to Don Rickles. He absolutely loves Don Rickles. Here are some classic clips in honor of his 85th birthday today,
Dean Martin Roasts: On Gov. Ronald Reagan
President Ronald Reagan’s 2nd inaugural
The bad news first, no show tonight, bumped for the Celtics game.
The good news? I spent part of the weekend at the 2011 Milblog Conference in Washington DC, which is an amazing event I’m going to try and make every year.
This picture captures the first of many I enjoyed with my great friend Bruce McQuain, the man behind Someone You Should Know, our weekly tribute to the troops on WRKO’s Pundit Review Radio.
UPDATE: VIDEO OF BRUCE WITH FORMER DEFENSE SECRETARY DONALD RUMSFELD
Sec Donald Rumsfeld at MilBlog Conference 2011 from You Served Radio & Blog on Vimeo.
Al Gore’s Rotten Apple Part 1, Part 2
A classic scene from an all-time great comedy, Best in Show. (0:58 for best line) Makes me laugh every time. So does the idea of all these coffee house hipsters and poseurs who are so worried about global warming, worshiping at the Church of Apple.
Headline : Apple named ‘least green’ tech company
Activists like Greenpeace are all over the company and Gore. Those who Gore has helped brainwash through a combination of fear, guilt and lies, well, they probably have no idea that A.) Apple is such a meanie to Mother Earth or B) Al Gore sits on their Board of Directors while doing nothing about the Company’s longstanding reputation for having a poor environmental record.
Al Gore has been on the Board of Apple since 2003 and in that time he has only done one thing of significance. He helped whitewash Steve Jobs role in backdating stock options. Not an insignificant contribution to the company’s success, I’ll give Gore that.
This is a guy who has said some pretty extreme things about the fragile state of the environment. For the life of me, I don’t know how he could spend eight years on the Board of a company with such a terrible environmental record and do nothing? That is no way to respond to a planetary emergency! Didn’t he read Earth in The Balance?
“[T]he time has long since come to take more political risks–and endure more political criticism–by proposing tougher, more effective solutions and fighting hard for their enactments.” – Al Gore, 1992
I just don’t understand how he can sit there and do nothing….oh, wait a a minute….
It’s been obvious for years where Al Gore’s true priorities are. Not saving Mother Earth. That is a means to an end. The real objective is personal wealth. He’s done great by Apple, and the eco-hustler business has been very, very lucrative for Gore. When it comes to eco-hypocrites, Al Gore is in a league of his own. Even legendary eco-hypocrites like Arnold Schwarzenegger can’t hold a candle to the disgrace that is Al Gore.
From the Pundit Review Archives, May 2009….
If you are a Lincoln buff then you must read Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln’s Killer by James L. Swanson. This book is riveting and it reads like a novel. The book is really sensational. Large portions are dedicated to the assassination itself, obviously, and Ford’s Theater and the Petersen House across the street where Lincoln died are central characters in the story.
I had some time to kill yesterday in Washington DC so I did what any good history buff/political junkie would do. Sightseeing! One of the few things left in Washington DC that I had not seen was the Ford Theater and Petersen House.
Ford’s Theater
The President’s Box
Here is a portion of the tour guides description of events on that terrible evening
This photo below was taken directly in front of the Ford Theater facing the Petersen House, the red brick building. Realizing that Lincoln’s wounds were mortal, they were simply looking for a place where he could rest in peace. The Petersen House at that time was a boarding house and the owner heard the commotion following the assassination and was on those front steps and called for Lincoln to be brought into the home, which he was. He died there some eight hours later.
You’ll notice the long line of people waiting to get in. By a stroke of good fortune, I was walking by between tours and started chatting up the tour guide. We talked a bit about the book Manhunt and I learned that like me, she was a Massachusetts native, originally from Lowell. Since the house was empty, she agreed to give me a personal tour. It was very cool. It was also kind of creppy to be in the same place where such a monumental and horrible event took place. The lighting gets worse in each successive room, apologies.
Here is the first room, immediately to the left of the door. This is forever known as Mary’s waiting room. She stayed in this room for most of the evening, only a few feet away from her mortally wounded husband.
Only a few feet away is the room which became The Temporary Seat of Government. In this room, Lincoln’s cabinet waited, prayed and started the investigation into the assassination. It is just stunning to actually see how small and close together these rooms are.
The third and final room on the first floor is the bedroom at the end of the hall where the greatest American who ever lived, died.
And here is a replica of the bed where Lincoln drew his last breath,
“And now he belongs to the ages.”
Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of War
What a great way to start the show last night with a surprise call from Scott in the truck! Yes, U.S. Senator Scott Brown gave us a call as he was driving home last evening. Good to see that Washington DC hasn’t changed him, because over the past six years, when he was simply State Senator Scott Brown, he’d pick up the phone and check in with us from time to time.
I’m not afraid to say that I am a Scott Brown Republican. I’m a conservative person but not a political conservative. I want to see people of good will work together from both parties to solve our fiscal crisis. Scott said he would do that if elected, and he has done so.
On WRKO I sometimes hear from conservatives who are angry with Sen. Brown when he cuts a deal, or takes a certain vote that isn’t in 100% alignment with the right wing of the GOP. I say the same thing every time. Number one, Scott Brown never promised to be a down the line conservative. Sure, he received a lot of Tea Party support, but he never a Tea Party candidate. He is who he is, and he is comfortable with that. Number two, if Scott Brown votes the way I’d like 70% of the time, that is 70% more support I am getting in Washington than I got the first 40 years of my life from my Senator. Life isn’t perfect. Politics isn’t perfect and no human being can please everybody all the time. Scott Brown is the genuine article. He is doing in Washington exactly what he said he would and I continue to be proud to call him my Senator.
The Pundit Review Radio Podcast RSS feed can be found here.
What is Pundit Review Radio?
On Boston’s Talk Station WRKO since 2005, Pundit Review Radio is where the old media meets the new. Each week we give voice to the work of the most influential leaders in the new media/citizen journalist revolution. Called “groundbreaking” by Talkers Magazine, this unique show brings the best of the blogs to the radio every Sunday evening from 6-9pm on AM680 WRKO, Boston’s Talk Station.
It was great to welcome back to the show our friend James Pethokoukis, columnist and blogger at Reuters, as well as a CNBC contributor. He has provided some of the best coverage and analysis of the Paul Ryan budget plan anywhere.
The Pundit Review Radio Podcast RSS feed can be found here.
What is Pundit Review Radio?
On Boston’s Talk Station WRKO since 2005, Pundit Review Radio is where the old media meets the new. Each week we give voice to the work of the most influential leaders in the new media/citizen journalist revolution. Called “groundbreaking” by Talkers Magazine, this unique show brings the best of the blogs to the radio every Sunday evening from 6-9pm on AM680 WRKO, Boston’s Talk Station.
Bruce McQuain from Blackfive joined us once again for Someone You Should Know, our weekly tribute to the troops. Bruce spent 28 years in the U.S. Army and he is a veteran of the Vietnam war. He brings a perspective and understanding to these stories that we could never match.
This week Bruce told us about two incredible Marines wounded in Afghanistan and eager to rejoin the fight, Sgt. Paul Boothroyd and Cpl. Matt Garst,
Manning the top of a compound south of Sangin, Afghanistan, Sgt. Paul Boothroyd III took a sniper round to the head. He landed face down onto the muddy roof with a thud.
Fifteen minutes later, Boothroyd was bandaged, smiling, smoking a cigarette and giving the “thumbs up†as he waited for the medevac helicopter, to which he walked under his own power.
“My first thought was, ‘Oh s—, I just hit an IED,’†he said. “Then I thought, ‘Well I’m standing. That’s good.’â€
Garst’s squad stared at him in disbelief. The square-jawed Marine has a tendency to be short-tempered, and the realization that the blast was meant to kill him spiked his adrenaline and anger. “It pissed me off,†he said.
He directed his men to establish a security perimeter while letting them know in his own way that he was OK.
“What the f— are you looking at?†he said. “Get on the cordon!†Garst quickly radioed back to base, calling an explosive ordnance disposal team and quick reaction force.“I called them and said, ‘hey, I just got blown up. Get ready,’†he said. “The guy thought I was joking at first. ‘You got blown up? You’re not calling me. Get out of here.’â€
The Someone You Should Know radio collaboration began as an extension of Matt Burden’s series at Blackfive. Bruce does an incredible job with the series every week. The SYSK archive can be found here and the Pundit Review Radio Podcast RSS feed can be found here.
What is Pundit Review Radio?
On Boston’s Talk Station WRKO since 2005, Pundit Review Radio is where the old media meets the new. Each week we give voice to the work of the most influential leaders in the new media/citizen journalist revolution. Called “groundbreaking” by Talkers Magazine, this unique show brings the best of the blogs to the radio every Sunday evening from 6-9pm on AM680 WRKO, Boston’s Talk Station.