Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Fully Supports IDF Military Action on Gaza Flotilla

What I love about Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is he’s the strongest leader in the Western World that speaks clearly aand identifies the enemy for what they are-terrorists goons. He speaks for and defends his country without apology the way a real leader should.

Don’t mess with Israel, unless you want your ass kicked, and that’s the way it should be.

That’s the way America used to be.

Here is how a real leader sounds like.



From Fox News

The Israeli military attacked a Gaza-bound aid flotilla, leaving at least nine dead, after receiving reports that the fleet had links to al Qaeda, the Israeli ambassador to Denmark said Monday.

"Before the flotilla entered Israeli waters, rumor had it that the organizers [of the aid initiative] had links with the al Qaeda terrorist network," Arthur Avnon was quoted as saying on the website of public broadcaster DR.

"The people on board were not so innocent ... and I cannot imagine that another country would react any differently," the ambassador said before being summoned to the Danish foreign ministry to explain the attack.

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said he spoke Monday to top diplomatic and security officials by telephone from Canada and voiced his “full backing” for the military.
Before the ships set sail from waters off the east Mediterranean island of Cyprus on Sunday, Israel had urged the flotilla not to try to breach the blockade and offered to transfer the cargo to Gaza from an Israeli port, following a security inspection.

Commandos stormed

the six ships carrying hundreds of pro-Palestinian activists on an aid mission to the blockaded Gaza Strip. At least nine people were killed and dozens wounded after Israeli soldiers encountered an unexpected resistance when they boarded the vessels.

According to Netanyahu, the Israeli soldiers were attacked and defending themselves in the raid.

SLIDESHOW: World Responds to Israeli Gaza Flotilla Attack

Avnon echoed Netanyahu’s sentiments, lamenting the loss of life but saying, "the [Israeli] soldiers were welcomed with violence when they climbed on board. One of them was injured in the stomach and others were injured with baseball bats."

An Israeli military spokesman said two guns had been discovered on the ships and Israel's military chief, General Gaby Ashkenazi, blamed the violence on Turkish nongovernmental organization (NGO) IHH, which he characterized as "extremist."
Israel's Channel 10 television and Al-Jazeera both reported 19 dead, but the Israeli channel later revised that number down to nine. The Gaza branch of IHH put the death toll at 15, saying most of them were Turkish nationals.

The Israeli military said seven soldiers were wounded, one of them seriously.

The operation in international waters off the Gaza coast was a nightmare scenario for Israel that looked certain to further damage its international standing, strain already tense relations with Turkey -- the unofficial sponsor of the mission -- and draw unwanted attention to Gaza's plight.

White House spokesman Bill Burton, speaking on the eve of a meeting that President Barack Obama had scheduled at the White House with Netanyahu, said the United States "deeply regrets the loss of life and injuries sustained" in the incident. Netanyahu announced Monday he would cancel his White House visit to deal with the crisis.

Burton also said that administration officials are "currently working to understand the circumstances surrounding this tragedy." The United States, among others, has been trying to restart direct peace talks between the Israelis and Palestinians, but progress toward this achievement has lagged severely in recent months.

The tough Israeli response also drew condemnations from Turkey, France and the U.N.'s Mideast envoy, while Greece suspended a military exercise with Israel and postponed a visit by Israel's air force chief.
The U.N. Security Council announced they would meet Monday afternoon to discuss the attack.

Turkey's prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan described the raid as "state terrorism" Monday, as some10,000 Turks marched from Israel's Consulate in Istanbul toward the city's main square, shouting slogans denouncing Israel. The protesters earlier Monday tried to storm the Consulate building but were blocked by police.

In response, Israel advised its citizens Monday to avoid travel to Turkey and instructed those already there to keep a low profile and avoid crowded downtown areas.
Full story



Via Fox News

The Last Tradition

Obama Pals William Ayers, Bernardine Dohrn Heavily Involved in Gaza Flotilla to Aid Hamas

This say a leopard never changes its spots.

So it should be no surprise that unrepentant terrorists’ buddies of Barack Hussein Obama are heavily involved in trying to sneak arms to another terrorist organization in Gaza, namely Hamas, under the guise of humanitarian aide.

Of course the Left is reporting this the way they always do, the terrorists of Hamas are the poor victims even though it’s written in their charter to wipe Israel off the face of the earth.

Hamas wants this fight because they know the media is sympathetic to their cause.

Whatever Israel needs to do to protect itself has my full backing. TLT is committed to report the truth that main stream media distorts.


From WorldNet Daily:

The group behind the Gaza flotilla that engaged in deadly clashes with Israeli commandos today counts among its top supporters the friends and associates of President Barack Obama, namely the founders of the Weather Underground terrorist organization, William Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn, as well as Jodie Evans, the leader of the radical activist organization Code Pink.

Earlier today, Israeli navy commandos raided the six-ship flotilla, encountering heavy resistance and live fire from the activists. Several activists were killed and dozens of others were reportedly injured, as were several of the Israeli commandos.

The flotilla was organized by the Free Gaza Movement, a coalition of leftist human rights activists and pro-Palestinian groups engaged in attempts to break a blockade imposed by Israel on the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.

Ayers, Dohrn and Evans' Code Pink have led several recent Free Gaza Movement initiatives, including attempted marches into the Gaza Strip. Dorhn was in the Middle East just last month on behalf of the movement.

Ayers and Dohrn were close associates for years with President Obama, while Evans was a fundraiser and financial bundler for Obama's presidential campaign.

In January, WND reported Ayers, Dohrn and Evans were involved in provoking chaos on the streets of Egypt in an attempt to enter Gaza with the Free Gaza Movement to join in solidarity with the territory's population and leadership.

The three helped to stir riots after the Egyptian government refused to allow a large number of protesters to enter neighboring Gaza. Eventually, the protesters accepted an Egyptian offer of allowing about 100 marchers into Gaza. Once in the territory, those marchers were reportedly met on the Gaza side by Hamas' former Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh.

At the time of the march, Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., wrote a letter in support of a "humanitarian delegation from Massachusetts" to Gaza. Members of Ayers', Dohrn and Evans' group documented on their blogs how Kerry's letter was used at the U.S. Embassy in Cairo while attempting to pressure Egypt to let their group into Gaza.

Images of the letter were also posted on the Electronic Intifada website run by Ali Abunimah, who was with Evans' group in Egypt and who, WND previously reported, spoke at pro-Palestinian events in the 1990s alongside Obama. In one such event, a 1999 fundraiser for Palestinian "refugees," Abunimah recalled introducing Obama on stage.

Dohrn later wrote on a blog that she was briefly detained at the U.S. Embassy in Cairo following the January protests there by her group: "Bill and I went to the American Embassy at 10 a.m. and asked to see the ambassador. We were ushered into a holding pen a block away from the embassy building where we joined 35 people already there, surrounded by Egyptian soldiers," she wrote.

Deadly clashes
Israeli Naval Forces intercepted the flotilla today attempting to break the maritime closure of the Gaza Strip.

An Israel Defense Forces spokesperson told WND commandos boarded the ships after numerous warnings from Israel requesting the ships redirect toward the Israeli port of Ashdod, where they would be able to unload their aid supplies, which could then be transferred to the Gaza Strip after undergoing security inspections.

During the boarding of one of the ships, the Marmara, activists onboard attacked IDF naval personnel with live fire and light weaponry including knives and clubs, the IDF spokesperson said.

"The demonstrators had clearly prepared their weapons in advance for this specific purpose," said the spokesperson. "As a result of this life-threatening and violent activity, naval forces first employed riot dispersal means, followed by live fire.

"IDF naval personnel encountered severe violence, including use of weaponry prepared in advance in order to attack them," said the spokesperson.
The IDF released a YouTube video clearly showing activists attacking Israeli commandos, including attacks with live fire.

Close Obama associates
Evans formed Code Pink, a far-left activist organization, in 2002 to protest America's war in Iraq. The group previously met with Hamas and with leaders of the Taliban. Evans was a fundraiser and financial bundler for Obama's presidential campaign.
Ayers, meanwhile, became a name in last year's presidential campaign when it was disclosed the radical worked closely with Obama for years.
Ayers helped launch Obama's political career with a fundraiser in his home. Obama served on the board of a Chicago nonprofit alongside Ayers. The terrorist later hired Obama to serve as chairman of the Chicago Annenberg Challenge, a job Obama later cited as experience that helped qualify him to run for public office.

While at the CAC, Obama and Ayers both granted funds to the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, or ACORN.
WND columnist Jack Cashill has produced a series of persuasive arguments that it was Ayers who ghostwrote Obama's award-winning autobiography, "Dreams from My Father."

Ayers and Dohrn were two of the main founders of the Weather Underground, which bombed the New York City Police headquarters in 1970, the Capitol in 1971 and the Pentagon in 1972. The group was responsible for some 30 bombings aimed at destroying the defense and security infrastructures of the U.S.

Characterizing the Weather Underground as "an American Red Army," Ayers summed up the organization's ideology: "Kill all the rich people. Break up their cars and apartments. Bring the revolution home. Kill your parents."

"Everything was absolutely ideal on the day I bombed the Pentagon," Ayers recalled in his 2001 memoir, "Fugitive Days." "The sky was blue. The birds were singing. And the bastards were finally going to get what was coming to them."

Ayers brandished his unrepentant radicalism for years later, as evidenced by his now notorious 2001 interview with the New York Times, published one day after the 9/11 attacks, in which he stated, "I don't regret setting bombs. I feel we didn't do enough."

Ayers posed for a photograph accompanying the New York Times piece that showed him stepping on an American flag. He said of the U.S.: "What a country.

It makes me want to puke."

Full story

Via WorldNet Daily

The Last Tradition

So Who is Wrong? Rep. Sestak vs. The White House

This matter is not closed!

There’s no way possible the White House counsel can conducted an honest and proper investigation because of a conflicts of interest.

The American people need to know if a law was broken and only an independent counsel appointed by AG Eric Holder is the only course the Obama administration, who promised honest dealing and transparency in Washington, can make.

From The Next Right:



The Last Tradition

Summer 2010 Kick Off

It's officially summer. Time for bikinis, flip flops, otter pops, fun, and sun...

The only prob? It's been three weeks since graduation and during this, the beginning of my final summer before med school, I've done close to nothing. Ok, I've read three books (the Queen of Babble series), watched a lot of movies, finally picked a medical school (the U), found housing in the city, spent time with some friends, and purchased the perfect bedding for my new chic 'med student' apartment. It's just...

I've not really done much of anything productive.

So... I've decided to call a Mulligan on these last 3 weeks and to kick off my summer 2010 right by making a few summer plans and goals:

1) The Summer Job- part time, fun, and easy... I've got 1 month in Idaho and I'll be working :)

2) Brain Food- Read at least 1 book/week... This week it's Dale Carnegie's How to Win Friends and Influence People.

3) Hottie With a Naughty Body- Get a gym pass and get off that couch sweety.

4) Get With the Times- I've been so busy this year that I've completely fallen off the pop culture band wagon. I'm ready to indulge in a little musical and entertainment education... First off? A Glee Season 1 marathon.

5) MD Cribs- Operation sweet apartment commences. I've got my bed and bedding, but I've got a long way to go to get my first unfurnished apartment up to par... I'm excited.

There you have it. June won't know what hit it.
That's about all I've got for now. I'll keep you posted people.

Obama asleep at the Swith Concerning Gulf Oil Leak

The Last Tradition

Memorial Day

The reason why we have Liberty in this country, the reason why so many in the world want to come to our shores for a better life, the reason why we are an exceptional nation which has done more for the cause of freedom around the world is because brave men and women in our armed forces have paid the ultimate price with their shed blood.

The Last Tradition

UFC 114: Rashad Pulls Perfect Plan Against Rampage but fight a Let-Down

From UK Telepraph:

After all the hype, the fight.

And it failed to live up to the hype, in truth, laced in bathos as two fighters stuck to their guns and played to their strengths. No one can blame Rashad Evans for thinking his way through this contest, and avoiding Rampage Jackson’s heavy hands. The problem was that it did not create a spectacle at the MGM Grand, Las Vegas, in keeping with the hyperbole which had preceded it.

It was tactical, technical. It was a battle, but not in the toe-to-toe manner that many had hoped after the two men had been at each other for months. But the tactical ploys came mainly from Rashad. Indeed, Evans employed his game plan to such good effect, Jackson looked one-dimensional for long periods of the fight, struggling to find his range against the bobbing, weaving, ducking and diving agility of Evans.

Rampage wanted an old-fashioned tear-up. So did the sell-out crowd. But that is not what they got. If they were booing Rashad before the contest, they were hissing him afterwards. That said, no one can take away the fact that he nullified Jackson, took him to the ground, put him up against the wall of the Octagon, and, in the opening salvoes, hit his opponent with a crisp overhead right hand that sent him sprawling off balance.

Rashad won the first two rounds clearly. Rampage Jackson’s corner believed so, too, telling theitr man he needed a knockout as he prepared, on his stool, for the third period. Indeed, Rampage should have gone for broke in the third, after clipping Rashad across the top of the head and scrambling his senses. When they got back to their feet, the Floridian seemed to stand off Evans when in fact he should have jumped on him.
With the victory, Evans became the light heavyweight championship title challenger against Mauricio “Shogun” Rua. On the cards, judges Sal D’Amato had it 29-28, with Glenn Trowbridge and Marcos Rosales a shut out 30-27 for Evans. I gave Rampage the third, Rashad the first two rounds.

Evans’ game plan, moving in and out quickly, circling, staying low, worked perfectly, and it was a fight in which the clock appeared to tick down quickly. They were up against the Octagon wall for long periods, with little happening. It was Evans’ game plan to nullify Jackson’s one-punch KO power; it worked – and tired the former UFC 205 lb champion. No question about that. It told in the third round.

Although the comportment was respectful between the two fighters within the combat zone afterwards, Jackson called for a re-match. Evans said he would do it again, too. “Rashad can still kiss my a**. He fought a good fight, but he can still kiss my a**. He said a whole lot of stuff and I ain’t going to forget it. We’re both warriors and I’m not a sore loser. I’m a fighter and I’ve been a fighter all my life. But with the stuff he said…”

“I feel tonight wasn’t the real me,” Jackson said. “I hesitated too much and I just don’t feel I was at my best. I’m not going to sit here and make excuses. Rashad is a good fighter. He proved that. That’s why I respect him. He proved that. He had a good strategy and he was real quick. I was surprised he took me down, but I still feel I’m on another level.”

UFC president Dana White said: “It was the right game plan from Rashad – to use his speed, agility and athleticis, and get the takedowns. Rampage was going to come forward and throw leather; I thought Rampage looked good, when he did catch Rashad in the third round, he got after him. Rashad looked strong, agile, explosive. You knew Rashad would be ready for a fight. The fight went the way I thought it would go.”

The event had gained epic proportions this week in Las Vegas. White believes it was not only the Evans-Jackson fight. “This became a huge event. It was the launch of the video game, we had this fight, the expo going on. It translated.”

On Rampage’s future, White added: “I think that there’s a lot of talk – the grass is never greener on the other side. This is where Rampage makes a lot of money. He made a great movie – I’m hearing he did a great job, it will be a big smash summer. Rashad was the winner in this fight, he’ll get the title shot, and Rampage will jump back in line.”

“People were booing at stupid stuff tonight,” White said. “Guys aren’t going to run out there and throw haymakers. There is strategy and these guys have game plans. They’re not going to run in like a train wreck at each other. The crowd was really fired up tonight.”

There will be a Rashad-Rampage II. I wouldn’t mind betting it will be for the 205lb UFC belt which both men have held previously. Maybe next time, they can really get down to business. Because this was not what we were all expecting

The Last Tradition

Roy Halladay Throws Perfect Game Against Florida Marlins Final Outs Video

The video speaks for itself.

The Last Tradition

Kendry Morales Breaks His Leg After Hitting Grtand Slam (Video)

Strange day in the game of baseball!

Earlier David Huff takes a line drive off his head at Yankee Stadium, and later Kendry Morales of the Anaheim Angels of Los Angeles hits a game winning Grand Slam homer against the Seattle Mariners and accidentally breaks his leg leaping at home plate where his teammates were waiting to celebrate.

Incredible!



The Last Tradition

Pitcher David Huff Hit in the Head by Line Drive off Alex Rodriguez (Video)

Cleveland Indians lefty David Huff pitcher took a nasty line shot off the bat of Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez.

The ball hit Huff above the left eye and he went down like he was shot. He was taken to the hospital and a CT scan showed no negative results.

Thank God for that.


The Last Tradition

BP Says Top kill Has Not Stopped Gulf Oil Leak and Now Considering Other Options

BP is operating at our direction?

That's sounded like Barack Obama was maneuvering himself to take credit if BP was able to “plug the hole” using the Top Kill method.

However, Mr. President, if you wanna take credit for BP’s work, then by the same token, you have to bear the blame if BP fails.

President Obama is failing his task to protect the United States from the possibly the worst ecological disaster in U.S. history.

From Nola.com:

A BP executive says the company has yet to stop the oil flowing into the Gulf of Mexico and is considering other ways to plug the leak.

A source told The Times-Picayune that officials would announce the failure of the top kill option at a 4 p.m. Saturday briefing in Robert .

BP is expected to announce that it will move on to its next option, known as LMRP. The procedure involves cutting off the failed, leaking riser at the top of the Lower Marine Riser Package on the blowout preventer to get a clean-cut surface on the pipe.

Then the company will install a cap with a sealing grommet that would be connected to a new riser from the Discoverer Enterprise drillship, with the hopes of capturing most of the oil and gas flowing from the well.

BP began a risky operation known as "top kill" on Wednesday. The procedure involves pumping heavy drilling mud into the crippled well in a bid to stop the oil. It's never been tried in 5,000 feet of water.

The oil spill began after the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig exploded last month, killing 11 people. It's the worst spill in U.S. history, dumping between 18 million and 40 million gallons into the Gulf.

It’s time for the president to leave Chicago and direct BP as to what to do next since they’re operating under his direction.


Via Nola.com

Via Memeoradun

The Last Tradition

Joe McGinniss tells his side of the story about becoming Sarah Palin's neighbor

Author Joe McGinniss has the nerve top play victim since Sarah Palin doesn’t take too kindly of him moving into the house next door to write his unauthorized biography.

What’s shameful is how the Left defends this creep and they see no problem with him moving in 15 feet away from Palin to write a book.

The hate her that much!

NcGinniss’s book is being published by Random House who’s CEO is named Markus Doble. Hiss home address is 20 Wayside Lane in Scarsdale. I think the American people have the right to let Mr. Doble know how they feel about this.

From The Washington Post

According to Joe McGinniss, the offer to rent the house next to Sarah Palin's came because the landlord trusted him to respect the former governor's privacy.

"She was talking to this mutual friend of ours and said, 'I've got to find someone we're comfortable with. My biggest concern is the Palins' privacy, especially the children,' " McGinniss said Friday evening from his Wasilla, Alaska, house, in one of his first interviews on the subject. "So this mutual friend said, 'Well, you know, I think you're in luck. Joe McGinniss is going to be coming back here, and you couldn't find a better guy, just the right sort of person to move in and guarantee their privacy.' "

But upon learning of her new neighbor, Palin accused McGinniss of moving into the house to spy on her family. "Wonder what kind of material he'll gather while overlooking Piper's bedroom, my little garden, and the family's swimming hole?" she wrote on her Facebook page.

Palin also called in to Glenn Beck's radio talk show to discuss McGinniss. "He's an odd character, if you look at his history, and the things that he's written and the things he's been engaged in," she said.

Her allies quickly took up the issue. Beck, another conservative icon, called it "really creepy" that the author had moved in next door, and others accused him of stalking Palin.

McGinniss had maintained a public silence through it all, but Friday, he agreed to talk to a handful of reporters by telephone. He said that he simply hadn't anticipated Palin's response.

"I would term this hysterical," he said.
McGinniss returned to Alaska to continue work on his Palin biography, but a room at the Best Western, not far away, would have been prohibitively expensive. The rental house, though, was only $1,500 a month. Sold.

Although McGinniss was new to the neighborhood, he wasn't new to the Palins. He had written a

Portfolio piece about her leadership and a critical Daily Beast piece on her book tour for her memoir, "Going Rogue."
But he'd hoped to keep things civil and introduce himself anew when he first came across Palin and her husband, Todd.

" 'I wanted to say, 'I'm writing this book, but I hope we can just get along as good neighbors, and after that, you'll never hear from me again,' " McGinniss said. "That's basically what I told Todd on Monday when he came over. He didn't really want to hear that.

"He took off on how my Portfolio piece was a bunch of lies, and a smear, and all this and all that, and he said, 'You going to be putting the microphones in now, and the surveillance cameras?' I said, 'Listen, you don't know how lucky you are that I'm renting this place because that's exactly what's not going to happen as long as I'm here. I won't see you, you don't see me, this will be fine.'
Full story

This guy McGinniss is a sick bastard!

Via Washington Post

Via Memeorandum

Joe McGinniss slimeball author

The Last Tradition

NCAA Investigating Kentucky’s Eric Bledoe

By popular demand, I’ve decided to cover more sports stories.

Why not?

College basketball is very important to the great state of Kentucky. So this latest story about Kentucky basketball can’t be a welcomed development.

Maybe if you just paid the players upfront, there wouldn’t be so much under the table deals.

But, I guess that a different bucket of worms.

Let Eric play ball and leave Calipari alone.


From SB Nation.com:

It seems that it's another school, another investigation for Kentucky head coach John Calipari. The New York Times is reporting that the NCAA is investigating the academic and financial circumstances surrounding Eric Bledsoe's final year in high school.

According to the Times' story:

Brenda Axle, the landlord for the house where Bledsoe and his mother moved for his senior year of high school, said that Bledsoe's high school coach paid her at least three months' rent, or $1,200. ...

Maurice Ford, the coach, denied paying the money.

A copy of Bledsoe's high school transcript from his first three years reveals that it would have taken an improbable academic makeover -- a jump from about a 1.9 grade-point average in core courses to just under a 2.5 during his senior year -- for Bledsoe to achieve minimum N.C.A.A. standards to qualify for a scholarship.

A college coach who recruited Bledsoe said that Ford explicitly told his coaching staff that he needed a specific amount of money to let Bledsoe sign with that university. The coach, who did not want to be named out of fear of repercussions when recruiting in Birmingham, said Ford told him and his staff that he was asking for money because he was helping pay rent for Bledsoe and his mother. Ford denied this, saying, "I don't prostitute my kids."

If that second allegation sounds slightly familiar, you've been paying attention to an investigation at Memphis, Calipari's last head coaching stop, which was forced to give up a Final Four appearance because of Derrick Rose's eventually invalidated SAT scores. Those scores were markedly better than Rose might have been expected to score based on his ACTs.

ncaa inestigating ku, ncaa investigating eric bledsoe at kentucy, john calipari, eric bledsoe, rule violation, money, rent, eric bledsoe’s mother, rent

Via SB Nation.com

The Last Tradition

Dennis Hopper dead at 74

Although Dennis Hopper is noted for Easy Rider with Peter Fonda, I really liked him in Giant with Rock Hudson, Elizabeth Taylor and James Dean. He also starred in True Grit and Sons of Katie Elder with John Wayne.

RIP Dennis Hopper!



From NJ.com:

Dennis Hopper, 74, died today at his home in Venice, California. He had been fighting prostate cancer, which had finally spread to his bones. He had also been fighting his wife, Victoria Duffy, against whom he began divorce proceedings from his deathbed.

When he received a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame on March 26, he appeared emaciated, and wore bandages on his arm and forehead.
It was not a gentle, Hollywood ending - but that should have surprised no one.

In a life that had spanned James Dean dramas and David Lynch nightmares - and took time out for hard drugs, alcoholism, five marriages, left-wing politics, right-wing politics and a couple of career suicides - Dennis Hopper had never done things the easy way.
Never wanted to, either.

It is important to resist the usual Hollywood hagiography early on. After all, isn't brutal honesty what Hopper supposedly stood for, as an artist? No illusions, man. Total truth. This should not be an obituary full of uncritical praise and endless encomiums.
So, yes, Hopper could be weirdly paranoid (according to Peter Biskind's "Easy Riders, Raging Bulls," he once thought Francis Ford Coppola was secretly filming him). He could also be violent - raising his hand to his first two wives, and threatening to kill several colleagues.

And yet, in all the tumult, he had managed to be present for decades of classics - from "Rebel Without a Cause" to "Blue Velvet," from "True Grit" to "Apocalypse Now." He co-created the seminal "Easy Rider," inspired a new generation of directors and amassed a museum-quality collection of modern art.
The eternal Hollywood outlaw was born, fittingly enough, in Dodge City, but moved with his family to San Diego when he was 13. Early interests were painting and drama; he studied with artist Thomas Hart Benton and at the Old Globe Theatre, and, in 1955, made his onscreen debut on TV's "Medic." He was just 19.

There were more formative influences ahead. That same year, he had a small part as one of the juvenile delinquents in "Rebel Without a Cause", then landed a juicier role in "Giant" (as the son of Rock Hudson and Elizabeth Taylor). Both films costarred James Dean, and the fledgling Hopper was simply awestruck.

"Jimmy was the most talented and original actor I ever saw work," he remembered years later. "He was also a guerrilla artist who attacked all restrictions on his sensibility. Once he pulled a switchblade and threatened to murder his director. I imitated his style in art, and in life. It got me in a lot of trouble."

It nearly ended his career, in fact. Cast in a small part in the 1958 Western "From Hell to Texas," Hopper refused to say a line the way veteran director Henry Hathaway insisted. Refused, in fact, through more than 80 takes. Neither man blinked. It began to draw a crowd.

Finally, Hopper gave in - and, reportedly, after calling "Print," the director told him he would "never work in this town again."

He did, of course, eventually - he even worked with Hathaway, on 1969's "True Grit," mostly because John Wayne got a kick out of the wild young man. But Hopper wouldn't give in again. He found solace in photography; he found a living acting on TV Westerns, and in cheap movies like "Planet of Blood" and "The Trip."

Director Roger Corman let Hopper shoot some of the second-unit stuff on "The Trip"; inspired, Hopper told co-star Peter Fonda that, rather than hire on for yet another B movie, they should make their own. But this time it would be an exploitation movie with a conscience, a biker movie with a message about an angry, polarized nation.

The jobs were quickly divided up. Fonda and Hopper would co-write with counter-culture wit Terry Southern, Fonda and Hopper would co-star, and Hopper would direct. When Rip Torn dropped out of the cast after an argument (according to Torn, Hopper had pulled a knife on him), the friends called another survivor of the Corman schlock factory, Jack Nicholson, and asked him if he wanted to be in their movie.
"Easy Rider," they called it.

If the film looks sloppy and or self-indulgent today - well, it did back then, too. Yet it was extraordinarily important, not so much for its anti-establishment message as for its very anti-establishment being. This was not a bohemian film made, like "The Graduate," by a respected New York director with an Oscar-winning co-star; this was a movie made by barefoot hippies and rich-kid outcasts.

None of the studio heads understood the picture (or the generation it spoke to). But they understood the money it made, and they realized if they wanted to keep selling tickets to young people, they were going to need young filmmakers to help. The decade of the director - Coppola, Scorsese, De Palma, Spielberg, Lucas - was about to begin.

Overnight, Hopper had gone from being on the margins of the industry to being at its forefront. But in Hollywood nothing is a better predictor of failure than success; a big hit brings more money, more power - and more people hoping you'll fail. It takes a person of unusual fortitude to resist that kind of temptation and flattery. And Hopper was not a person of unusual fortitude.

And so he took the capital, real and symbolic, from "Easy Rider" and sunk it into a new film, called "The Last Movie." An eclectic cast (Hopper, Fonda, Kris Kristofferson, Sylvia Miles) was assembled. Production was begun, down in Peru. Inspiration came from marijuana, tequila and whatever else was handy.
Full story



Via NJ.com

The Last Tradition

Beyonce’s Being Sued Steamy New Music Video Why Don't You Love Me

Let’s be fair now.

Housewives don’t look like that.


UPDATE Accordin to Missjia.com According to TMZ, Beyonce is being sued by a neighbor who said that he caught HELL from her during the shooting of her Why Don’t You Love Me video.
Philip Markowitz alleges in a lawsuit obtained by TMZ …his peace and quiet was shattered the morning of March 26, 2010, when the film crew “invaded his neighborhood” … waking him out of a peaceful sleep at 7 AM.


That nightmare was followed by a series of intrusions, Markowitz claims. Markowitz says during the morning … every time he tried leaving his house the crew was blocking his driveway. He went in and out and in and out …. and each time, he says, there was some obstacle in his way.

Now it gets really good. Markowitz says he “missed several business calls while arguing calmly in his driveway.” By 11:30 AM, “He demanded compensation for the trespass on his property and the inconvenience and delay he had already suffered.”

In fact, Markowitz says he told someone from the crew that he’s gotten upwards of $10,000 for the use of his property, but says he was told he couldn’t be paid this time because it was a “low budget film shoot.”
But Markowitz doesn’t buy it. He’s suing Beyonce and the production company for unspecified damages … including the dreaded punitive damages.

The Last Tradition

Elena Kagan Did Not Require Study of U.S. Constitutional Law at Harvard

This is the first thing I’ve read that convinces me that Elena Kagan is not fit to serve on the Suprmeme Court.

We have a constitution that should be the basis for all our decisions. But, Kagan like a typical Liberal thinker thinks that laws written outside of the United States should carry just as much weight.

That’s simply insane.

We already have one supreme court jutice in Athony Kennedy that’s a internationalist. We really don’t meed another.

But, I expect Republicans to take the cowardly course and not fight agan’s appointmen5t on this issue.

From CNS News:

Elena Kagan, President Barack Obama’s choice to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens on the Supreme Court, is best known for moving Harvard Law School away from the 100-year old “case-law method” of legal study.

But in the process, critics say, she moved the nation’s premier law school away from requiring the study of U.S. constitutional law towards the study of the laws of foreign nations and international law. As dean, Heklena Kagan won approval from the faculty in 2006 to make major changes to the Harvard Law's curriculum.

“My understanding is that she instituted three new courses to the required curriculum and, in so doing, got rid of a requirement to take constitutional law,” Robert Alt, senior legal fellow and deputy director of the Center for Legal and Judicial Studies at the Heritage Foundation, told CNSNews.com.“Currently, at Harvard, constitutional law is not required for first-year law students, or even for graduation,” Alt added.

Indeed, according to Harvard documents, constitutional law is not listed among the law school’s academic requirements, though the catalogue for 2010-2011 does list more than a dozen elective courses dealing with some form of constitutional law. But in a 2006 Harvard news release explaining the changes, Kagan explained the move away from constitutional law was deliberate:

“From the beginning of law school, students should learn to locate what they are learning about public and private law in the United States within the context of a larger universe -- global networks of economic regulation and private ordering, public systems created through multilateral relations among states, and different and widely varying legal cultures and systems.
“Accordingly, the Law School will develop three foundation courses, each of which represents a door into the global sphere that students will use as context for U.S. law,” the guide said. Among the three new required courses Kagan introduced, one focuses on public international law, involving treaties and international agreements, and the second is on international economic law and complex multinational financial transactions, according to a Harvard news release.

But the third course, on comparative law, “will introduce students to one or more legal systems outside our own, to the borrowing and transmission of legal ideas across borders and to a variety of approaches to substantive and procedural law that are rooted in distinct cultures and traditions,” the release said. In a 2008 article published in The Greenbag, a sometimes humorous journal of serious legal writing, Kagan explained the reasoning for her changes by saying that lawyers need “tools for all the roles they will be called on to play," which, she suggested, include solving problems “ranging from climate change to terrorism to economic insecurity," and "crafting frameworks that enable scientific and artistic creativity, and devising workable approaches to chronic conflicts around the world.”

“Our mission is not simply to train lawyers; more broadly, we must seek to train leaders--visionary thinkers and practitioners capable of designing new institutions to meet individual and societal needs,” Kagan wrote. Alt, meanwhile, agreed that some of the changes Kagan instituted made sense. But, he said, “What doesn’t make sense, I would say, is throwing out constitutional law, as a focus of study, and replacing it with international law."

Professor Ronald Rotunda of Chapman Law School in Southern California agrees that it is appropriate to add an international perspective, but not at the expense of constitutional law. Rotunda is the author of a leading course book on constitutional law being used in law schools, Modern Constitutional Law, and his books and law articles have been cited more than a thousand times by state and federal courts at every level, from trial courts to the U.S. Supreme Court. “Any English major, even if her specialty is early Victorian literature, should have familiarity with Shakespeare," said Rotunda.

"That’s just something that any English major should have. And any lawyer, even if he or she never argues a constitutional law case, should know the basic principles of constitutional law." Alt, meanwhile, said the changes raise questions about Kagan, especially in light of what we don’t know about her. “One of the things which we don’t know about Kagan, which she has not been terribly forthcoming on in previous questioning (during her nomination) for solicitor general, is how she views international law,” Alt said. “Should domestic law be influenced or modified by international law? We don’t know what she thinks.”
Full story

Via CNS News

The Last Tradition

Yankees Outfielder Nick Swisher Engaged to 'Privileged' star Joanna Garcia

Nick Swisher is stepping up his game to enter the celeb set. But, he hasn’t lived up to his advertised potential on the field as a big time prospect. He’s a 4th outfielder in my opinion.

But, that’s good enough to marry Joanna Garcia who’s not exactly a star.

From The New York Daily News:

Here's the dish on Swish: the Yankee outfielder has been keeping one big secret.

Nick Swisher told reporters Friday he's been engaged to "Privileged" actress Joanna Garcia since May 19.
The news came just before Swisher hit a two-run homer in the opener of the Yankees' four-game series against the Cleveland Indians in the Bronx. The Bombers beat the Indians, 8-2.

Swisher, 29, confirmed he was seeing Garcia to Sports Illustrated in September.

"Joanna is my lady," he said.

This is the second engagement for Garcia, who was previously engaged to Justin Timberlake's business partner Trace Ayala in 2008.

Garcia, 30, will star in ABC's comedy "Better Together" next fall.
with Mark Feinsand

Via New York Daily News

The Last Tradition

BP Buses Cleanup Crews to Grand Isle for for Obama Photo-Op

As previously reported on TLT on May 5th, Barack Obama was the biggest recipient of BP cash for his presidential run. That’s truly amazing since Barack Obama trashed the Oil industry on the campaign trial.

Or is it just playing politics to say one thing for public consumption and after the teleprompter is turned off, go out and have a beer with BP honchos and laugh as a big fat check slides across the table.

When the Obama administration says that they have their boot on the neck of BP, don’t believe the hype folks.

It’s all for show because Barry Obama and BP are uncover partners perpetrating a sham and what happened yesterday is just another example.

From Nola.com:

BP, the oil company taking flak for its inconsistent response to the massive oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico, bused in 400 extra cleanup workers to Grand Isle during President Obama's visit today, Jefferson Parish Council Chairman John Young said.

"It appears to have been a PR stunt by BP, not to say we don't appreciate the extra participation," Young said. "We certainly need them, but we don't need them for just one day that happens to coincide with a visit from the president."Obama made his second visit today to Louisiana's oil-stricken coast, stopping in Grand Isle and Port Fourchon.Young said he saw the workers dressed in red shirts, blue jeans and black shrimp boots mulling across the beaches and in the mess hall during the president's appearance. They were uniformed in a way "which you don't normally see workers dressed like that," Young said.After Obama's departure, Young said, the work crews all but vanished.

"This is a total shame that a mockery has been made of this visit by the executives of BP," Councilman Chris Roberts said."What we want to make clear (is) if they're going to send them, then send them everyday, not just on the day of the president's visit," Councilman Tom Capella said.BP spokesman Mike Abendhoff denied it was done solely for publicity.

"Obviously, it's unfortunate that that's what people are thinking," Abendhoff said. "We're not sending people for PR stunts.We're sending people to clean up this oil."Abendhoff said the additional workers are part of BP's efforts gradually to increase its presence on Louisiana beaches to meet the incoming oil. "We've continued to add resources every day," he said.

Donald Nalty, the chief operating officer of Environment, Safety, Health, Inc., the subcontractor that hired the workers, said Friday that the additional force in Grand Isle and Fourchon was part of a ramping up that will likely continue. He said the decision to bring on the additional workers was made May 23, before the president's visit was announced.

Nalty said 300 workers had been cleaning Grand Isle and 150 cleaning Fourchon. On Friday 400 additional workers were added in Grand Isle and an additional 100 to Fourchon, Nalty said.

"It had nothing to do with the president coming to town,'' Nalty said. "It was 100-percent coincidental. All the allegations to the contrary are false.''
Full story

Remember the AMA doctors and their lab coats when Obama was trying to sell ObamaCare? They love to use props and atmospherics.

Via Nola.com

Via Memeorandum

The Last Tradition

White House Used Bill Clinton to Ask Sestak to Drop Out of Race

The Obama administration is in serious cover up mode.

I’m not a lawyer or play one on TV, but

“federal law makes it a crime for anyone “who directly or indirectly, promises any employment, position, compensation, contract, appointment, or any other benefit” to someone else “as consideration, favor, or reward for any political activity or for the support of or opposition to any candidate or any political party in connection with any general or special election to any political office.” It is also illegal for a government official to use “his official authority for the purpose of interfering with, or affecting, the nomination or the election of any candidate” for Senate.”

Something smells very fishy and a special prosecutor is needed to get to the bottom of it. Also, the NY Times is reporting this story right down the middle without their usual slant in favor of Obama. That ought to tell you that they see big problems for the president.

From The New York Times:

President Obama’s chief of staff used former President Bill Clinton as an intermediary to see if Representative Joe Sestak would drop out of Pennsylvania’s Democratic Senate primary if given a prominent, but unpaid, advisory position, the White House said on Friday.
Rahm Emanuel, the chief of staff, asked Mr. Clinton last summer to explore “options of service” on a presidential or senior government advisory board with Mr. Sestak, the White House said in a statement. Mr. Sestak said no and went on to win last week’s primary against Senator Arlen Specter.

The White House disputed Republican claims that the conversations might be illegal or improper. “There was no such impropriety,” Robert F. Bauer, the White House counsel, said in a memo released to reporters. “The Democratic Party leadership had a legitimate interest in averting a divisive primary fight and a similarly legitimate concern about the congressman vacating his seat in the House.”

Mr. Bauer went on to say that such horse-trading has been commonplace through history. “There have been numerous, reported instances in the past when prior administrations – both Democratic and Republican, and motivated by the same goals – discussed alternative paths to service for qualified individuals also considering campaigns for public office,” he wrote. “Such discussions are fully consistent with the relevant law and ethical requirements.”

Representative Darrell Issa of California, the senior Republican on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said the interactions described by the White House “represent an illegal quid pro quo,” even if the position was unpaid. “It is abundantly clear that this kind of conduct is contrary to President Obama’s pledge to change ‘business as usual’ and that his administration has engaged in the kind of political shenanigans he once campaigned to end.”

Federal law makes it a crime for anyone “who directly or indirectly, promises any employment, position, compensation, contract, appointment, or any other benefit” to someone else “as consideration, favor, or reward for any political activity or for the support of or opposition to any candidate or any political party in connection with any general or special election to any political office.” It is also illegal for a government official to use “his official authority for the purpose of interfering with, or affecting, the nomination or the election of any candidate” for Senate.

While many have speculated that the White House offered to appoint Mr. Sestak as secretary of the Navy, Mr. Bauer said that was never the case. The White House did not offer Mr. Sestak a full-time paid position because Mr. Emanuel wanted him to stay in the House rather than risk losing his seat, so he considered “uncompensated advisory board options.”

The White House did not disclose what those options were, but people briefed on the matter said one option was an appointment to the president’s Intelligence Advisory Board, a panel of prominent Americans outside government who provide independent oversight of the nation’s spy apparatus and advise the president. But White House officials discovered that it would not work because Mr. Sestak could not serve on the board while still serving in Congress.

In a statement Friday, Mr. Sestak said Mr. Clinton had conveyed Mr. Emanuel’s suggestion that he join a “presidential board” while remaining in the House, but he declined. “I told President Clinton that my only consideration in getting into the Senate race or not was whether it was the right thing to do for Pennsylvania working families and not any offer,” Mr. Sestak said. “The former president said he knew I’d say that, and the conversation moved on to other subjects.”

Mr. Sestak first mentioned publicly in February that he had been offered a job but provided no details, and the White House for three months had refused to discuss it, generating intense criticism from Republicans who accused it of trying to bribe a congressman and deep consternation among Democrats who called on the administration to answer questions.
Mr. Emanuel was eager last summer to clear the way to this year’s Democratic Senate nomination for Mr. Specter, who had just left the Republican party, and to bolster Democrats’ majority in the Senate. Mr. Sestak, a retired admiral and two-term House member, was already planning a run.

In tapping Mr. Clinton as the go-between, Mr. Emanuel picked the party’s most prominent figure other than Mr. Obama and someone Mr. Sestak had worked for on the National Security Council in the 1990s. Mr. Sestak endorsed Hillary Rodham Clinton against Mr. Obama in the 2008 presidential primaries, and Mr. Clinton was one of the first to call to congratulate him on his Senate victory last week.
Mr. Clinton was at the White House on Thursday to have lunch with Mr. Obama and join him in greeting the American men’s World Cup soccer team heading to South Africa.

As chief of staff and previously as chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, Mr. Emanuel has not been shy about trying to steer party nominations to those he considers the stronger candidates. The White House under Mr. Emanuel has also leaned on Gov. href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/p/david_a_paterson/index.html?inline=nyt-per">David Paterson of New York to drop out of this year’s gubernatorial race, which he eventually did under a cloud of scandal. Mr. Emanuel’s deputy, Jim Messina, suggested a possible administration job to Andrew Romanoff to get him to not challenge Sen. Michael Bennet in a Colorado primary, The Denver Post has reported, citing unnamed sources.

Whether that constitutes ordinary political horse-trading or crosses a legal line has been debated in Washington for months. Democrats and some Republicans have said it is hardly unusual for presidents to offer political appointments to clear the way for allies. But Republicans have suggested such actions may constitute a crime.

Mr. Issa and all seven Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee have asked the Justice Department to appoint a special prosecutor. The Justice Department wrote Mr. Issa last week that it did not need a special prosecutor to investigate if it chose to do so. Government officials, who asked not to be identified discussing legal decisions, said that neither the Justice Department nor the Office of Special Counsel, an agency that looks at violations of the Hatch Act governing the political conduct of federal employees, is investigating.

While declining to discuss what happened, Mr. Obama on Thursday said, “I can assure the public that nothing improper took place.”

Isn't it interesting how the Emanuel reaches out to a man, Bill Clinton, who's very comfortable telling lies. That along with a Friday news dump before a holiday weekend.

Smart.

But, it isn't the crime that gets people, its the cover up afterwards.

Via New York Times

Via Memeorandun

The Last Tradition

Meet the Pole-Dancing Wife of Alleged Hollywood Ponzi Schemer Ken Starr

Please don’t mention ponzi scheme to me because Bernie Madoff took the owner of my baseball team, Fred Wilpon, owner of the New York Mets for millions.

I guess the celebrity set is just as vulnerable as anyone else.

From Gawker:

Investment adviser Ken Starr was arrested Thursday for allegedly defrauding a long list of Hollywood stars like Uma Thurman. And the story keeps getting better (trashier): His wife, Diane Passage, is a former Scores stripper and pole dancer.

Starr—not related to the Clinton prosecutor with the same name—was arrested on Thursday alongside former Manhattan borough president Andy Stein and accused of running a Ponzi scheme on a client roster drawn from Hollywood, major league sports, and Wall Street (Martin Scorsese, Wesley Snipes, and Annie Leibowitz are all former clients, and Uma Thurman was named in the criminal complaint).

According to the U.S. attorney, Starr funneled money to his son and his wife—Diane Passage, who just so happens to be a former Scores stripper and pole dancing enthusiast.

Passage is the founder of a group called Pole Superstar, which puts on a pole dancing competition.

Its mission is to "recognize the increasing interest in pole dancing as a sport, fitness activity and art form, worldwide." She has also guest-blogged at Pumps Mag, "the voice of the exotic dancing industry,".
Full story

The Last Tradition

Gary Colman Dead at 42

I was never much of a Gary Coleman fan because Different Strokes never appealed to me as a comedy. I felt the show was vastly overrated and considering Coleman was a teenager playing a young child always seemed kinda carnival side-showish.

But, there’s a long list of broken lives when it comes to former child stars.

So Gary, now you’re at peace!

From The Los Angeles Times:

Actor Gary Coleman died Friday at the age of 42.

The "Diff'rent Strokes" star had suffered a brain hemorrhage and died in a Utah hospital.

While the actor hadn't landed a blockbuster role since childhood, fans have already begun outpouring support on Internet forums and on sites like Twitter.

We've pulled out a few of the more notable tweets we came across shortly after the news hit.

@Afterdarks writes: "Watchoo talking about twitter? Gary Coleman can't be dead."

@Weatherzine writes: "Evenings after school in the early 80s for me watching Different Strokes - RIP Gary Coleman."

Goleman during much unhappier times


The Last Tradition

House Votes to Allow Repeal of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ Law

Why are we bothering with this issue now other than this is the Dems throwing a bone to the Gay community. Is it really that important to do this now?



From The New York Times;



The House voted Thursday to let the Defense Department repeal the ban on gay and bisexual people from serving openly in the military, a major step toward dismantling the 1993 law widely known as “don’t ask, don’t tell.”





The provision would allow military commanders to repeal the ban. The repeal would permit gay men and lesbians to serve openly in the military for the first time.



It was adopted as an amendment to the annual Pentagon policy bill, which the House is expected to vote on Friday. The repeal would be allowed 60 days after a Pentagon report is completed on the ramifications of allowing openly gay service members, and military leaders certify that it would not be disruptive. The report is due by Dec. 1.

The House vote was 234 to 194, with 229 Democrats and 5 Republicans in favor, after an emotionally charged debate. Opposed were 168 Republicans and 26 Democrats.



Supporters of the repeal hailed it as a matter of basic fairness and civil rights, while opponents charged that Democrats and President Obama were destabilizing the military to advance a liberal social agenda.

“On Memorial Day, America will come together and honor all who served our nation in uniform,” Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a floor speech, noting the symbolic timing of the debate. “I urge my colleagues to vote for the repeal of this discriminatory policy of ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ and make America more American.”



Separately on Thursday, the Senate Armed Services Committee approved a similar measure allowing the repeal.

The vote, in a closed session, was 16 to 12, with one Republican, Senator Susan Collins of Maine, in favor of the repeal, and one Democrat, Senator Jim Webb of Virginia, in opposition.



Senator Carl Levin, Democrat of Michigan and chairman of the committee, said he believed that the full Senate would support permitting the repeal.



Like the House amendment, the Senate measure would allow Pentagon leaders to revoke the ban 60 days after the military study group completes its report and President Obama, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen, certify that it would not hamper military readiness and effectiveness or “unit cohesion.”



Mr. Obama and Mr. Gates favor repealing the ban, as does Admiral Mullen, who, in testimony before the Armed Services Committee in February, called for a repeal.



In a statement, Mr. Obama said he was “pleased” by the votes.

“This legislation will help make our armed forces even stronger and more inclusive by allowing gay and lesbian soldiers to serve honestly and with integrity,” he said.

Full story





Via New York Times



Via Memeorandum