Archive for the 'icons' Category
Happy Reagan Day
Saturday, February 6, 2010 marks the 99th birthday of President Ronald Wilson Reagan, one of three great presidents whose birth is celebrated this month. Washington and Lincoln were born in February and it’s fitting that Presidents Day is also celebrated on the fifteenth of the month.
Image - President Reagan fielding questions from the White House press
Rather than trying to describe this great man to you on this anniversary, I’ll let him speak for himself by offering some of his most famous and endearing quotations.
On the second amendment . . .
“You won’t get gun control by disarming law-abiding citizens. There’s only one way to get real gun control: Disarm the thugs and the criminals, lock them up, and if you don’t actually throw away the key, at least lose it for a long time… It’s a nasty truth, but those who seek to inflict harm are not fazed by gun controllers. I happen to know this from personal experience.”
On entitlements and Government control . . .
“I would suggest that no one should have a vested interest in poverty or dependency, that these tragedies must never be looked at as a source of votes for politicians or paychecks for bureaucrats. They are blights on our society that we must work to eliminate, not institutionalize.”
“It is not my intention to do away with government. It is rather to make it work - work with us, not over us; stand by our side, not ride on our back. Government can and must provide opportunity, not smother it; foster productivity, not stifle it.”
On conservatism in politics . . .
“Our people look for a cause to believe in. Is it a third party we need, or is it a new and revitalized second party, raising a banner of no pale pastels, but bold colors, which make it unmistakably clear where we stand on all of the issues troubling the people?”
On American Pride . . .
“We will always remember. We will always be proud. We will always be prepared, so we may always be free.”
“Why should we be frightened? No people who have ever lived on this earth have fought harder, paid a higher price for freedom, or done more to advance the dignity of man than the living Americans, those Americans living in this land today.”
And then there was always his sense of humor . . .
“Republicans think that every day is the 4th of July, while Democrats think it is April 15th.”
“You can tell a lot about a fellow’s character by his way of eating jellybeans.”
“Politics is supposed to be the second oldest profession. I have come to realize that it bears a very close resemblance to the first.”
“Abortion is advocated only by persons who have themselves been born.”
“I have left orders to be awakened at any time in case of national emergency, even if I’m in a cabinet meeting.”
“Politics is not a bad profession. If you succeed there are many rewards, if you disgrace yourself you can always write a book.”
“Détente is what a farmer has with his turkey until Thanksgiving Day.”
From the 1992 Republican Convention . . .
“And whatever else history may say about me when I’m gone, I hope it will record that I appealed to your best hopes, not your worst fears, to your confidence rather than your doubts. My dream is that you will travel the road ahead with liberty’s lamp guiding your steps and opportunity’s arm steadying your way. My fondest hope for each one of you — and especially for young people — is that you will love your country, not for her power or wealth, but for her selflessness and her idealism. May each of you have the heart to conceive, the understanding to direct, and the hand to execute works that will make the world a little better for your having been here. May all of you as Americans never forget your heroic origins, never fail to seek divine guidance, and never lose your natural, God-given optimism. And finally, my fellow Americans, may every dawn be a great new beginning for America and every evening bring us closer to that shining city upon a hill.”
And Finally,
“I know in my heart that man is good, that what is right will always eventually triumph, and there is purpose and worth to every life.” — Epitaph, Tomb of Ronald Reagan
Woods’ New Book
I got nothin’ today. Still recovering from a great Christmas. Here - read this . . .
That’s The Way It Is
Always a fan of the great Walter Cronkite, but seldom in agreement with his political leanings, it is with nostalgia and a bit of sadness that we acknowledge the life and works of a great American News Icon. We grew up and spent most of our young adulthood watching and listening to the way it was.
God bless the family in this hour of loss.
Walter Cronkite - 1916-2009 - Rest in peace.
Gunny: Lock N’ Load
Last month at the NRA Convention, the Gunny was in the Glock exhibit signing autographs. I did not wait in the lineup to talk with him, but I would have asked about his next TV gig. I ran across this item today on the R. Lee Ermey website.
This guy has one of the best jobs in the world.
R. Lee Ermey and The History Channel announce the Gunny’s NEW show, Lock N’ Load.
R. Lee Ermey takes us on a fascinating ride through the pathology of the rifle: where it came from, who thought of it, who improved it, its victories, its defeats, its impact on history and where it is now. R. Lee also calls on experts to highlight historical characters who exploited this weapon.
Airs starting in July on the History Channel.
Be sure to check your local listings.
One of the episodes is going to deal with Tanks. Ermey visited the Marine Station at Twentynine Palms in the California High Desert to film part of the episode.
From Marines.mil:
Retired Gunnery Sgt. R. Lee Ermey and his crew visited 1st Tank Battalion at the Combat Center April 13 through 15 to shoot footage for his new show, “Lock n’ Load,” on the History Channel.
The Combat Center was the best place to shoot the episode, for multiple reasons, Ermey said.
“We did away with “Mail Call” and came out with our new show, now the crew is here shooting 1st Tanks,” Ermey said.
The episode is going to follow the history of the tank, so it was vital to talk about the tank used on today’s battlefield, the M1–A1 Abrams Main Battle Tank.
Read more about the tanks episode here.
Once in a while, the Better Half and I take out our “Full Metal Jacket” DVD and watch it until Ermey’s character gets killed off. The flick sucked after that, anyhow.
UPDATE: Welcome 2A Roundup readers.
UPDATE: Check out this article about the Gunny.
Nevada Ranches and Spas
Oh look! Right here in the remote desert of Nevada, you can get a bath and massage at Madam Butterfly’s or visit Mabel’s to relax at the Cherry Patch Ranch.
Nevada is known for gambling and bordellos - more the former and less the latter, these days.
Skull Styles
The better half bought this at a Wal Mart in Arizona a couple of weeks ago. She wore it to the range on Sunday. She’s really getting into the shooting stuff and that’s a good thing.
And, she sorta matches the theme of this website - makes me proud.
The Rock Art of Ancient Indian Country
I’m still having a vacation hangover, so I gotta show you some stuff I learned while traveling through the Indian Lands of Arizona and Utah. I learned that there are basically two kinds of rock art found in the Southwest: pictographs and petroglyphs. Pictographs are made from a variety of substances painted onto the rocks - they listed urine and blood among the substances the natives painted - weird, but whatever. Petroglyphs are etchings scratched or pounded into the patina deposited on the rocks.
In the Flash® animation above, you will notice a pictograph of the sun and a prominence. It fades into a petroglyph with images of animals, natives, stars, tools and an early cartoon of Bart Simpson in the lower right corner. Finally, the images will alternate until you put your mouse cursor over them, when you will see an amazing combination of both techniques that we discovered in Washington, UT. There is conjecture that this interesting combination may not have come from the early natives, but I’ll let you decide on that.
