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About this blog

Reviews of books I am reading. TV shows and movies I have seen

Entries in this blog

Flag Day

Today is Flag Day. There were no American flags on display in my walk to Whole Foods this morning. If there were an Obama flag it would be flying high.

Chris Grieb

Chris Grieb

P J O'Rourke

P J O'Rourke was at Cato yesterday. The house was packed. He gave a great talk. You can find the talk at Cato's web site.

Chris Grieb

Chris Grieb

The Wire Again

The first shows of the last season of The Wire is back on In Demand. It is as I have said before one of the best shows ever done on TV.

Chris Grieb

Chris Grieb

The Jena Six

Today on Face Book I joined a group called F the Jena Six. Has the case vanished because the facts have interfered with the narrative? It was the racial crime of our era since Emmitt Tell except it wasn't.

Chris Grieb

Chris Grieb

A word for drunken sailors

People are saying the Obama administration is spending like a drunken sailor. That is unfair to drunken sailors. When drunken sailors ran out of money they go back to their ship. The government just prints more money.

Chris Grieb

Chris Grieb

In Cold Blood

I watched the movie yesterday (May 26). I suspect Richard Brooks, the writer of the screenplay who was also the director, let to change of focus. The book In Cold Blood was released to great fanfare in 1966. It was called a non-fiction novel. Truman Capote the author had tried the technique before but this book. Capote saw a small story in the New York Times about the murder of all four members of the family of a wealthy Kansas farmer. He decided to go to Holcombe, Kansas with his friend H

Chris Grieb

Chris Grieb

William Shatner

On my Face book page I have proposed that William Shatner should be honored by the Kennedy Center. Shatner should be honored for his portrayal of Captain James T Kirk on the first Star Trek TV series. He also portrayed Kirk in several of the movies.

Chris Grieb

Chris Grieb

Bonnie & Clyde

Yesterday May 23rd was the 75th anniversary of their death. The movie with Warren Beatty glamorized them and was not accurate. Still it does introduce most Americans to Foggy Mountain Breakdown so it wasn't all bad.

Chris Grieb

Chris Grieb

California's Election

Yesterday(May 19th) Californians voted on seven tax referendum. Six of the seven were rejected. The one that was approved puts a salary cap on state officials while the state is running a deficit. There are a couple of reason why this important. First of all California voters saw through the hysteric campaign made among others by Gov Arnold. Second California was a very strong Obama state. When Obama has to raise taxes on everyone I suspect many will not be happy. California in 1978 enact

Chris Grieb

Chris Grieb

Natural Order

Parents are supposed to die before children. When children die before parents it always distributing. I recently found that someone I know who had four sons has lost two of them. One to illness, the other to a police related shootings. You feel badly for the parents. They have to do things they never expect to do. In the past children because of childhood diseases would die early. My grandmother had lost three members of her family to scarlet fever. This doesn't happen now because of vac

Chris Grieb

Chris Grieb

Al Capp and Little Abner

My title "The Country in the Very Best of Hands" is from a title of a song in the musical "Little Abner". "Little Abner" was taken from a popular comic strip of the same name. Little Abner was hugely popular comic created by Al Capp (1909-1979). He created all the characters in the strip many of whom became household names. Little Abner, Daisey Mae, Ma and Pa Yokum, Marrying Sam, and Moonbeam McSwine. Abner's favorite comic strip character Fearless Fosdick who was a great take off on Dick

Chris Grieb

Chris Grieb

Great Wall Street Journal Article

There is a great article that say being unpricipled and pragmatic mean the same where judges are concerned. I think if Objectivists can make the same point in all area of life the Objectivists would have won.

Chris Grieb

Chris Grieb

Happy Mother's Day

The day is too commercial but we should still remember Mothers. Both of mine have gone but I think of them fondly.

Chris Grieb

Chris Grieb

A Free Range Kid

At the ages of ten and eleven we were living in Toyko, Japan. I can remember riding the Toyko subway. While on some occasions we went with our houseboy I am sure there were times we rode it alone. I remember seeing a report about the big deal of a kid in New York City who rode the subway and bus alone and the outcry to his parents. What kind of little wusses are we raising today.

Chris Grieb

Chris Grieb

Free Range Kids

I just found out that I was raised as a free range kid. Apparently there are people who think kids need to watched like they have a Secret Service detail. When I was eight I walked to school. Four blocks. A girl in my class walked a longer distance. Today my mother might be charged with child neglect.

Chris Grieb

Chris Grieb

Life

Life has been canceled. At least it wouldn't be back on NBC. We won't have an enjoyable actor Damien Lewis on TV. We won't find out what was really involved in faming of Charlie Crews.

Chris Grieb

Chris Grieb

The Boston Globe

There is a story in today's(May 5) Washington Post that the Times has relented and is not planning to close the Globe.The New York Times which own the Boston Globe is pulling the plug on that newspaper. The New York Times is not doing well itself. The stock costs less than a Sunday paper. It couldn't happen to a more deserving group.

Chris Grieb

Chris Grieb

Pete Seegar is 90

As I have said elsewhere I will not be observing his birthday. I think you should have denounced Stalin before 1993. For a further look Ronald Radosh on Pajamas Media has a great post about the old Red. I don't think he was much of a singer either.

Chris Grieb

Chris Grieb

The New York Times

Is there anyone who takes the Times seriously? If you do look at the gushing question of the NYT reporter of the President at the President's new conference Wednesday April 29th.

Chris Grieb

Chris Grieb

The GOP Impending Death

There seems to be that because Arlen Spector's departure that the GOP is about to die. Don't believe it. The party has problems but they are not incurable. I remember what it like in 1964 after the Goldwater defeat. I also remember what it like in 1976 when Jimmy Carter was elected. Finally I remember what it was like after George H W Bush was defeated. As I said the GOP must do some work but from now on everything that goes wrong can be blamed on the Democrats. The Democrats control Cong

Chris Grieb

Chris Grieb

Mary Ann Glendon

I had not heard of Mary Ann Glendon until today. Even so she is a figure of courage and she speaks truth to power. She has refused an award from Norte Dame University which she would have received at the same time as President Obama. She is refusing the award because she does not want to used as cover for President Obama's views on abortion. I am not taking a position on abortion but I think Catholic schools and universities should not honor individuals who attack fundamental doctrines of th

Chris Grieb

Chris Grieb