ArtLindsey.com

Perfect Valor, a documentary narrated by former Republican senator and 2008 presidential candidate Fred Thompson and produced by David Bossie and his colleagues at Citizens United Productions recounts the stories of a select group of marines and their families during the United States’ successful campaign to wrest control of the Iraqi city of Fallujah from insurgents in 2004.

The film provides an intimate look at the trials and tribulations that these men and women endured during this difficult time, all the way from training on a production lot in San Diego to their re-adjustment to life at home, and illustrates their tremendous courage throughout.

In Perfect Valor, we are introduced to selfless heroes, such as Dr. Richard Jadick, a naval commander and field surgeon who actually had the option not to be deployed to Iraq, but chose to serve his country despite the fact that his wife was about to give birth. Four days after his child was born, Jadick left for Iraq, and after having to endure the difficulties of having to race from the outskirts of Fallujah to troops in need of attention in the field, Jadick decided to set up a med station in the middle of the city. The location was soon more than just a medical facility to our mean and women in uniform as many of them saw it as a place of comfort where they could find respite from the stress of war.

The film also tells the story of Staff Sergeant Jeremiah Workman, a Navy Cross recipient who lost many friends in a battle with insurgent fighters. After his return home, Workman and his wife very candidly discuss his battle with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and his attempted suicide, which was triggered by his own misplaced guilt over the death of his friends.

Jadick and Workman are just two of the amazing people we meet in Perfect Valor, and their stories and those of the others in the film are presented with an honest insight and a depth of humanity that is rarely appreciated in today’s world. Perfect Valor is deeply moving endeavor. This film provides a perspective that most of aren’t aware of, and of us who have only seen the war on television yet complain of “war fatigue” should set aside 90 minutes and watch it, because it might just give pause to such thoughts.

Popularity: 18% [?]

On her Christmas in Washington special on ABC last night, Oprah Winfrey asked President Obama to grade himself.

“Good, solid B-plus,” the president said.

Explaining, he said, “we have inherited the biggest set of challenges of any president since Franklin Delano Roosevelt
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“We stabilized the economy, and prevented possibilities of a Great Depression or a significant financial meltdown. The economy is growing again.”

“We are on our way out of Iraq. I think we’ve got the best possible plan for Afghanistan.

“We have reset our image around the world.”
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Well, who here feels better now? I know I certainly do
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President Obama’s fondness for referring to himself is well documented, but this is one of his most stunning displays of arrogance yet. The proper answer to this question is, “That is not for me to decide. That is up to the American people.

This is why we don’t grade ourselves in school. (At Least not yet, but who knows. It may not be far down the road. First, teachers aren’t allowed to use red pens, so it seems logical that “self-assessment” may soon follow.) According to a New Rasmussen poll, Obama’s approval rating has dipped to 44 percent, and it should be noted that this is one of the fastest drops in US presidential history.

Now, I don’t know about any of you, but when I went to school, if I saw a “44” on my paper, that meant I got a big, fat “F”. In fact, I had to get a “90” to even get a “B”.

How can a man who approved a $787 billion spending bill (which for all intents and purposes has failed) sit idly by as congress is about to approve nearly another $2 trillion in spending? Seeing that the only “successes” that his administration can seem to tout is that “we didn’t lose as many jobs this month as last month”, shows that he lacks basic math skills. Such a claim is not an indication off success in a sane world. Logic would dictate that at some point, the job loss numbers would have to decrease simply because we are running out of jobs to lose. Somebody has to work. If nobody worked, society would collapse.

So, if by “stabilizing the economy” he means holding the unemployment numbers at a nice bouncy, round number like 10 percent, then yes, he is doing an outstanding job. If by “resetting our image” he means bowing and scraping to every would leader he can get a photo-op with, he’s earned a spot on the Dean’s List.

President Obama is so disengaged from reality that he either doesn’t hear what comes out of his own mouth or worse yet, the multiple failures he has presided over or instigated are perceived as achievements in eyes, regardless of what the data may suggest.

He has turned America into a poorly controlled science fair project, and the media that he has a “teacher’s pet” relationship with is giving him a passing grade.

One could argue that this is akin to cheating, and in the end, cheaters always get caught, don’t they?

Popularity: 47% [?]

According to the Politico’s Ben Smith, who is relaying information from Public Policy Polling, it would appear, as per their study, that 44 percent of Americans would prefer having George W. Bush as president for a third term than to have Barack Obama in office.

This is definitely an interesting conversation piece, assuming that the poll is indeed accurate. Ben Smith does not cite any source data for the poll, That will certainly raise the eyebrows of skeptics, but at the same time, President Obama’s approval rating is in fact hovering around 46 percent, so for the sake of argument, let’s examine this based on face value.

In the short time President Obama has been in office, in a matter of speaking, he himself has labeled his term in office as the “Not My Fault” presidency. He has continually discusses situations he has “inherited”, and seems to have no problems pointing fingers, particularly when it comes to matters of spending.

Obama often cites President Bush’s extravagant spending, in turn blaming it for the county’s financial straits; however, he seems to lack the basic math skills to realize that he himself has taken the Bush deficit and more than doubled down on it within his first year in office. Engaged Americans are smarter than this, and they see right through it.

Whether you like him or not, George W. Bush took ownership of his presidency. While he was often quieter than a lot of his supporters had wished, he had no problem stepping up when the chips were down. Remember when Bush took flak for his grammatically incorrect “I’m the decider” comment when he offered his support to then-secretary of defense Donald Rumsfeld? The media had a heyday with that, as it always did, continuing to its never-ending quest to prove that W. was an idiot.

However, poor grammar notwithstanding, people seemed to miss the point. George W. Bush, while he is a man with many faults, had the spine to stand up and say “This is mine. This is all on me.” The only times Obama seems to use the word “ I” is when he is he is so quick to remind us that “I won” or “I inherited this”, in an effort to quickly assert that whatever has befallen the country on a given day certainly wasn’t his fault. President Obama operates in a never-ending “CYA” mode, which makes him more akin to TV’s “Steve Urkel”, who often said, “Did I do that?”

So when you look at it, this poll may have something to it. In all honesty, George W. Bush was far from a conservative president. But at the same time, he took responsibility for his office and the path of his nation, even when his decisions were unpopular. While some of his policies were indeed deeply flawed, Bush carried himself as a leader, and with dignity.

Could it be that President Obama’s ego is finally beginning to wear on the American public? One wonders how long America will tolerate a man who demands to be adored, yet can’t deliver, and then refuses to take responsibility for his ineffectiveness.

Popularity: 49% [?]

Just when you think it’s safe to read the news, people are already talking about the 2012 presidential campaign. Not that this is really news in itself, because as we all know, the 2008 campaign seemed to start about 16 years too early, and by the time we got to the ballot boxes, it’s safe to assume that a lot of us felt like we had just gone the distance with Rocky Balboa.

Now, of course we all know about Mitt, Huck, Pawlenty, and possibly Newt. That crew comes with the territory. However, it seems that some people may have really lost their minds. How, you might ask?

Well, from the looks of things, it would appear that former Vice President Dick Cheney has been christened as the GOP’s last great hope, or some such thing. Sure. Why doesn’t somebody stop the world so the sane people can get off now, Okay?

It started off as nothing more than a flippant “Cheney 2012” comment made by his daughter Liz on Fox News a few weeks ago, and for some reason there was another outbreak of speculation over the weekend.

While one must concede that anything is possible, (look who’s in charge now) an honest broker must admit that such a scenario is highly unlikely.

It’s not that Cheney doesn’t have the “street cred” with conservative voters. He does. He has decades of service under his belt, and during his tenure as Vice President, he was far more articulate and concise than his boss ever was, and who can forget the even-tempered lashing he gave to Senator John Edwards in the 2004 Vice Presidential Debate? If you combine all of these things with his current spate of TV appearances where he has been substantively critical of the Obama Administration, Cheney would indeed make a fine GOP candidate in 2012.

However, there is just one tiny little problem with all of this:

Dick Cheney has made it quite clear that he has no aspirations for further office.

While it is certainly true that politicians often change their minds, and are known to lie like rugs on occasion, a presidential run for Dick Cheney in 2012 is hard to imagine.

In all honesty, why would he want to? The media has painted such a horrible picture of the man, how could he possibly get elected? We all know how disconnected a large portion of the electorate is. How could he possibly overcome the mountain of bad press that has been piled onto him over the years? He really can’t, regardless of his qualifications. Nothing short of a national educational miracle could undo the perception of Dick Cheney. It’s a pretty safe bet that a 68 year old man who has survived four heart attacks knows that, too. He doesn’t need the aggravation.

All of this speculation is obviously well intended, but it’s really nothing more than a waste of time. Again, Vice President Cheney would be a solid candidate on his merits, but the press has made him un-electable. More than that, if he really was the GOP’s and conservatism’s only hope, why didn’t a “Draft Cheney” movement begin before now? This is too little, too late.

Oh, the perils of a of a crappy news week.

We now return you to the Tiger Woods Channel.

Popularity: 35% [?]

He so pretty

On Thursday, President Barack Obama stated that he will not make a decision on Afghan troop levels until after the Thanksgiving holiday. This development came at the end of President Obama’s eight-day Asia tour, where he took time to stop at Osan Air Force Base in South Korea. While there, he remarked to 1,500 troops, “You guys make a pretty good photo op.”

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That says a lot, doesn’t it? Upon examination, photo-ops certainly seem to be President Obama’s main concern. If you will recall, just a few weeks ago, Obama visited Dover Air Force Base in Delaware as some of our fallen servicemen were brought home to rest. For reasons unbeknownst to many, the president thought it would be appropriate to allow cameras at the event. Most families were made uneasy by this, and in fact, only one family allowed cameras to follow their proceedings.

Because of that, his visit came off as self-serving, especially when contrasted with former President George W. Bush’s visit to Fort Hood, where he insisted that no press be permitted.

The underlying point of all this, is that President Obama only seems interested in our armed servicemen and women when he can use them as a prop to get his picture taken or to get himself on television.

It has been weeks since General Stanley McChrystal requested an additional 40,000 troops for the effort in Afghanistan, and in the process making it emphatically clear that this was indeed necessary, claiming that the effort was not sustainable with current resources. On top of that, General McChrystal was only able to secure a 25-minute meeting to make the request in the first place.

Something is desperately wrong here.

Does anybody remember the campaign, where Obama insisted that Afghanistan was a top priority? The war we should be most focused on, if you will? What happened to that?

The answer to that is simple. It was nothing more than a campaign promise. It has become quite clear that our Commander-in-Chief clearly has no interest in our effort there, and by extension, it shows exactly what he actually thinks of our troops, which is, not much.

You have to pay attention to what Obama is saying here, and the words that he uses. He is saying he will not make a decision until after Thanksgiving. He’s not saying he won’t commit more troops until after then. This is nothing short of him saying “Yeah, I’m going to continue to put this off until at least after turkey is served.”

Brave sons and daughters dying over there on a daily basis, and our president is content to dither and play games with American lives and American security. This is clearly a tactic he is using in an effort to placate his left wing base, military advisors and cost to America be damned.

This man has already made his decision, and deep down we all know what it is. He may finally be forced at some point to send additional resources at some point, but he clearly has no real interest in doing so.

The only future Barack Obama is interested in is his own.

Popularity: 14% [?]

It’s over. Sound the bagpipes. Journalism is officially dead. I’m sure this comes as a shock to none of us, because we have all seen the mainstream media take the sharpest of left turns over the past decade, but I never thought it would get this petty.

What am I talking about, you ask? I’m talking about Rush Limbaugh’s bid for a stake in the NFL’s St. Louis Rams.

As I alluded to earlier, it’s no secret that the media is decidedly liberal, and sportscasters are no exception. This has to be one of the biggest media pile-ons over a trivial matter that anyone has ever seen. This has led me to a startling revelation:

A lot of sportscasters and sportswriters are just flat out stupid people. They are. Case in point, I just finished watching ESPN before I began writing this piece. The reporter in question asked Atlanta Falcons wide receiver how exactly he was able to achieve his record-setting 210 yard, two touchdown performance this past Sunday against San Francisco.

Of course, Roddy had to do his best to make the answer sound intricate, but we all know how he did it. He was able to run past the San Francisco defense, catch the ball when it was thrown to him, and keep running with the ball afterwards. That’s how he did it. It’s as simple as that, really. I don’t want to hear any crap about oversimplification on my part, either. I’ve been involved in organized football. I’ve coached. I’ve been a fan for over 25 years. When you strip away the nuance, good play boils down to one player doing his job better than the other guy. The sportscaster is just there to complicate things. His or her job is simply to ask an inane question, wait for a bloated answer, and then repeat the process.

Deep down, I think they know that, so many sportscasters will jump at the chance to drone on about someone who is as omnipresent in the American consciousness as Rush Limbaugh is. It makes them feel better about themselves. We’re talking about of group of people who still haven’t figured out the fact that nobody really cares whether or not Barry Bonds took steroids. That’s not why people don’t like him. People don’t like Barry Bonds because he’s a jerk. If Americans honestly cared about that, sports stadiums would not be filled every day, all across the country. It’s a question of simple math, really, and it’s become apparent that most in the sports media isn’t good with deductive reasoning or facts in this particular case, and here’s why:

The media is currently hanging its hat on supposed racist quotes by Limbaugh. Quotes which make reference to “slavery having its merits”, and the “streets being safer at night” because of it.”

These quotes are yet to be sourced, and were supposedly uttered in 1998. I for one have been an avid listener of Mr. Limbaugh’s for many years, and I have never heard him say anything of the sort. Not only that, I have not heard even a rumor of such words until now. If they are indeed accurate, why have they been under wraps for over a decade? Given the mainstream media’s obsession with Mr. Limbaugh, I find it unlikely that it would let comments of such a bigoted nature go unpublished for so long. Something isn’t right here.

The second ploy, which is also supposedly tied to racism, deals with comments Mr. Limbaugh made a few years ago about Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb when he was employed as a commentator by ESPN. Limbaugh stated that McNabb was overrated, and was in a sense being propped up as a star because the media and the NFL had an overwhelming desire to see a black quarterback succeed. The comments of course started a firestorm of controversy, and Limbaugh resigned under pressure from the network.

Never mind the fact that the statement is accurate. Donovan McNabb is 1-4 and conference championship games and has never won a Super Bowl, and apparently is prone to vomit. Never mind that Limbaugh statement was actually an insight on the media and the league and not McNabb’s skin color. We all know word’s mean things, but apparently not in this case.

The truth is that McNabb is a non factor. I think what we should be more concerned with is the lack intellectual honesty on the part of the NFL and the media. Is it really so hard to believe that these two institutions have a vested desire in seeing a black quarterback succeed? Of course not. Don’t believe me? How many puff pieces have we football fans read over the years about the lack of black head coaches in the NFL? Quite a few. Remember the Super Bowl XLI , the first time two black head coaches (Lovie Smith and Tony Dungy) faced each other? The sports world could barely hold its water. Smith and Dungy were getting more press over their skin color than their accomplishments, and it was embarrassing. So I ask you: How is it that these people have an obvious desire to see black coaches succeed, but concept of pushing black quarterbacks is considered racist?

Simple. It’s not. This is nothing more than another obvious double standard and the media, and NFL should be ashamed of themselves. This is nothing more than a political agenda run amok.

Rush Limbaugh would be good for the NFL and the St. Louis Rams. He is a true fan of the game, which is something that isn’t readily apparent in terms of current NFL ownership. If he is a racist, why does he want to buy into a sport which is overwhelmingly black? He has proven he is a shrewd businessman by singlehandedly resurrecting the talk radio, and he has shown he has a heart, by choosing to invest in a terrible football team near his hometown, when he probably could have just as easily bought a piece of the Miami Dolphins, a team which is local to his current place of residence and seems willing to sell a chunk off to anybody with a passbook savings account.

This is hardly the effort of a sinister man. This is simply a guy chasing one of his boyhood dreams. Should he be handed the Rams simply because of whom he is? Of course not. Life will go on one way or the other. But on merit, Rush Limbaugh is just as qualified as anyone else to own an NFL franchise, and that is how he should be judged.

Popularity: 22% [?]