Republican Presidents Since Civil War

I came across this photo recently and it got me
to thinking about their backgrounds and how history
remembers them. It is a great shot of eight former
presidents in a card game....and having some fun.
Abraham Lincoln (back to camera) was the great
emancipator from Civil War days. He was president
from 1861 to 1865 when he was assassinated by John
Wilkes Booth.
Teddy Roosevelt had a great military career and
that success carried him to the presidency in 1901
to 1909. Rumor has it he still carried his Schofield
pistol with him as the president.
Dwight D. Eisenhower was the supreme commander
of all allied forces on D-Day when they invaded the
Normandy coastline, beginning the defeat of Hitler's
Germany. That success made him president from
1953 to 1961.
Richard Nixon promised to end the Democrat's war
in Vietnam and the opposition to that war led to his
outster as president. He lasted from 1969 to 1974.
Gerald Ford remains the ONLY president to reach
that office without being elected to it. He was Speaker
of the House when Nixon resigned. Vice-President
Spiro T. Agnew had already resigned in scandal.
Ford was president from 1974 to 1977.
Ronald Reagan was a governor of California, a movie
star, and a sportscaster before coming to the White
House. He took office with the biggest landslide in
election history. He was president from 1981 to 1989.
George Herbert Walker Bush came into the presidency
on the coat tails of Reagan. The former Texas Congress-
man and Director of the C.I.A. was held to one term
in the White House. He was president 1989 to 1993.
George Walker Bush was Governor of Texas and
president of the Texas Rangers Baseball team before
coming to Washington. Dub-ya was president from
2001 to 2009.

World War II Airplanes

These photos were taken about a year ago...There
was a big storm along the Texas coast and the
Confederate Air Force sent some of their planes
inland to escape the weather. Three jewels spent
a few days at Grayson County Airport (the former
Perrin Air Force Base) until the storm blew past.
One plane is a B-17 Flying Fortress...a veteran of
the European air war. This is the type plane that my
father-in-law bailed out of before being captured by
the Germans. He spent the last six months of the war
in a POW camp.
The second plane is a B-25 Mitchell Bomber. This very
plane is one of the Raiders that bombed Tokyo in early
1942 as a payback for Pearl Harbor. Sixteen B-25's took
off from the carrier Hornet and bombed the Japanese
capitol to show the enemy they were not immune from
America's wrath.
The third plane is a P-47 Thunderbolt. This was a far
better plane than history has recorded. At the beginning
of World War II America's top fighter was the P-40 Tomahawk
and was almost laughed at by the Japanese and the
Germans. The Thunderbolt came along and took the smiles
off their faces. While it could not turn with the Zeroes and
Messerschmidt's, it packed a wallop and provided it's pilots
with a lot more protection than their adversaries.
These planes and a lot more can be seen at the Confederate
Air Force Museum in Corpus Christi, Texas.

Scary Night

It was a scary night for the Stones last night..
About midnight a man woke us up ringing the
doorbell and yelling 'Fire'... Luckily it was the
house next door and NOT our house. The next
door house has been vacant for about a year
while the owner tries to sell it. It was already
blazing when we woke up. Six fire trucks and
three ambulances were on the scene with 5
minutes of getting the call. They battled the
65 year old house until 6:30 Saturday morning.
The climax came about 1am when the roof caved
in, sending flames 45-50 feet into the night sky.
The firemen kept a steady stream of water on
my house to prevent the flames from jumping
to it. We did NOT suffer any physical damage,
but our house does smell like smoke this
morning...It could have been a lot worse, and
we are extremely thankful for the positive outcome.
Our house is to the left of the burning house in
the photos.
Thank you's go out to the Denison Fire Department
and to the almighty Lord..
Underdog

Remembering the Marx Brothers

Today is August 19th...the anniversary of the
death of one of America's best and most-loved
comedians....Groucho Marx. He was one of 5
Marx Brothers that were born in New York and
went into show business together. I have won
many a beer in a bar by being able to name all
five Marx Brothers (the others being Harpo,
Chico, Zeppo, and Gummo). Actually there was
a sixth brother named Manfred that died in
infancy.
My favorite was always Harpo, the
woman-chasing, curly-haired silent brother always
wore a top hat and a overcoat. He was so talented
on the harp that he was asked to join the New York
City symphony, but turned it down to stay with his
brothers in the movie business. The episode of "I
Love Lucy" where she dressed up like Harpo and
did a bit with him in a fake mirror is still one of the
most popular of the Lucy series.
Groucho, Chico, and Harpo remained in the movie
business from 1913 until 1950. Zeppo and Gummo
only appeared in five of the twelve movies of the
Marx Brothers. Zeppo and Gummo went into the
talent agency business and did quite well on their
own. Recently the 'Screen Actors Guild' named the
top 100 movies of all time and five of the Marx Brothers
movies made the list (two of them were in the top 15).
Groucho took his talent to TV in the 1950's and 60's
and still had his trademark wisecracks. He died this
date in 1977. Mom and Dad Marx brought their family
to America from Germany in 1908 and all the sons
performed for the American troops in both World Wars.
Bob Hope called them great examples of the American
spirit.

Junkers JU87 Stuka Dive Bomber

In earlier blog entries I mentioned my admiration
for the German Luftwaffe of World War II. My office
is filled with models of Messerschmidt's, Fock-Wolfes,
etc...
My latest entry is a Junkers JU87 dive bomber.. It
was more commonly referred to as a "Stuka", after the
German term Stuka Geschwader, which translates to
dive bomber. The Stuka was updated through 14
different models beginning with the original in 1935.
It was powered by a Jumo 211J-1 engine putting out
over 1,400 horsepower. The Stuka was the most
notorious weapon that Germany used in World War II.
The blitzkrieg (lightening war) tactics used by Germany
had the Luftwaffe hitting the enemy first, followed by
huge waves of tanks and mechanized infantry. The
high command learned that the high pitched scream of
the Stuka's as they dived from 20,000 feet had a
terrorizing effect on their victims. So, to boost the
effect they mounted sirens on the wings of the Stuka's
to make it scream even louder. The plane was extremely
effective in the conquest of Poland, Czechoslovakia,
Belgium, France, and most of Europe. The success of
the Stuka lasted until August of 1940 when Germany
launched its aerial offensive against the British Isles.
Poorly armed and outmaneuvered by the defending
Spitfires and Hurricanes, the Stuka paid a heavy price.
By the end of 1940 the last of the Stuka attacks were
ordered over Great Britain. Even the paper pushers
back in Berlin could see that the Stuka was past its
prime.

The First "Mr Guitar" Dies

Les Paul, a true, undisputed musical genius passed away at 94 after complications from pneumonia in White Plains, NY. Paul will forever be remembered as a technological pioneer in the realm of electric guitar development and sound recording as well as a great pop artist in his own right. Les Paul's contribution to the foundation of rock n' roll can hardly be fully measured. He developed the first solid-bodied electric guitar in the mid-1940s, that would become a rock standard in the mid-1950s. He pioneered multi-track recording as well, which gave artists the ability to experiment on recordings. Imagine how limited The Beatles or Pink Floyd would have been without the freedom of overdubs and multi-tracking? They and countless others owe a bit of gratitude to Mr. Paul.

During the 1950s, Les Paul with his wife and singing partner Mary Ford scored many hit records on Capitol. They had a signature sound with Mary's double-tracked vocals and Les' soaring, multi-tracked guitar. Les never quit innovating and through the years, he continually updated his signature "Les Paul" guitar for Gibson Guitars. Sometimes using the word "legend" to describe someone feels thin or flat, but it was and is a perfect way to refer to Les Paul. He was and is a legend and he continued to play live gigs right up to his August 13, 2009 death.

This past November, my wife Kelly surprised me with a birthday trip to Cleveland, OH, The Rock n' Roll Hall Of Fame AND the American Music Masters concert tribute to Les Paul. Guitar gods from Billy Gibbons to James Burton showed up to pay tribute to the "Wizard Of Waukesha, WI". Les closed down the show with presence, humor and some great guitar playing. It was a night that I'll never forget. I never got to see Les' weekly live gig in Manhattan, so I am very fortunate that my wife made sure I got to see and hear the great Les Paul before he died.

So please take a moment today or over the next couple of days and put on some great guitar music. Even if it's not a Les Paul record that you put on, listen for Les' influence, because baby, it's in there!
(text taken from the website of Matt The Cat, the foremost expert of 1950's
Rock and Roll)

Non-Equal Treatment

By Kate Kilpatrick and Ruth McCann

Washington Post Staff Writers
Tuesday, August 11, 2009

The posters went up last week, 14 in Union Station. On each of the large displays, a thought bubble rises up from a picture of a beautiful 8-year-old: "President Obama's daughters get healthy school lunches. Why don't I?"

A Washington nonprofit that advocates nutrition-policy reform paid $20,000 to get its message across and carefully maneuvered Metro's tangle of regulations to display its posters. Metro gave it a go -- but the White House did not, according to the group. Within 24 hours of the signs' appearance, the White House asked the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine to take down the ads, which feature Jasmine Messiah, a vegetarian who attends a Miami-Dade County public school that, she says, offers no vegetarian or vegan lunch options.

The Physicians Committee has declined to take down the posters.

PCRM President Neal Barnard, a nutrition researcher, says he received a phone call regarding the posters Aug. 4 (a day after they went up) from Associate Counsel Karen Dunn and Deputy Associate Counsel Ian Bassin.

"They're very nice people. I like them a lot," Barnard says. "But they called and said: Please take those down, you can't mention the kids and so forth. . . . They felt that mentioning the president's children was off-limits. They said [they're] not going to allow the use of their daughters as leverage."

The fact that the poster mentions the president's children has been the main point of contention, though neither the children's names nor their images appear. That reaction doesn't come as a complete surprise; when Ty Inc. marketed dolls in January named Sweet Sasha and Marvelous Malia, the first lady made her objections clear, and the toy company stopped using the girls' names. The First Lady's Office declined to comment for this story.

To Frank Luntz, a Republican political consultant, the White House's response to the posters is hardly shocking.

"The children of the president are always off-limits. Always. No exceptions," Luntz says. "No ifs, ands or buts. And while it may draw short-term attention to the issue, the White House will hate the organization for it. And I assure you they will be punished. You don't mess with the president's children. It's an unwritten rule."

Luntz says that the added publicity from the White House's response will not benefit PCRM's agenda. "What matters is not whether people are aware of your campaign," he says. "What matters is your success. And if the White House hates you, then it's not successful."

"I do not think you can use the president's daughters for some cause -- good or otherwise -- that they don't play a role in," says Bonnie Angelo, a former White House correspondent for Time magazine and author of "First Families: The Impact of the White House on Their Lives."

"It's very hard for the presidential family to keep their daughters balanced in terms of getting too much exposure, and I think the Obamas have done a remarkable job of achieving that balance," Angelo says. "I think this goes beyond what's allowable."

Barnard is still in communication with the Office of the White House Counsel, which asked Barnard to remain "open" to further discussion. He says he is.

Bad Weather hits North Texas

This afternoon about 5 a heavy thunderstorm struck
Denison, Texas. We received over an inch of rain in less
than an hour and heavy winds took a heavy toll on trees
and billboards. Homes on the west side of town were
without power for about 90 minutes. Low lying areas
were flooded and several accidents were reported
due to hydroplaning. The storm was reportedly
widespread coming across the Red River and affected
Texas from Cooper to Gainesville, before moving on
south.

Funny Car Beginnings (Rollin' Stone)

The last report on the Rollin' Stone days had
us dealing with Altered Roadsters. Those cars
took some serious gonads to hang on to and
NOT let your foot come off the gas pedal. It
was a crapshoot at best and the Stone Brothers
decided to move on to greener pastures.
Moving to the Funny Car field was not an
overnight decision. First of all we had to have
someone to supply us with fiberglass bodies and we
stole ideas on extending the chassis. Most of the
engine and driveline components were brought
over from the Altereds.
The Dodge and Chryslers were making big noise
in the 1960's and 70's with their Hemispherical
combustion engines (Hemi). Chevrolet had no
such engine and suffered badly on the drag strips.
My brother contacted a West Coast business that
made conversions for Chevrolet racers and they
supplied us with Donovan heads for Chevrolet
engines. Thus we had the hemispherical
combustion chambers, but without infringing on
the Dodge/Chrysler patent. Our cars immediately
went from around 400 horsepower to over 600 hp.
The photo is from our first attempt in the Funny Car
field of the NHRA. The body is a Chevrolet Vega and
it was about as aerodynamic as a shoebox. Too square
and too flat in the front end. It was a learning tool for
the Stone Boys and allowed us to get our foot in the
door of one of NHRA's most competitive divisions. At
its best the flying Vega ran in the low 9 second bracket
and about 210 miles per hour. You have to remember
this was the early 1970's and we thought we were
someone to be contended with. The shape of the
car was the problem,..BUT it was a problem that was
soon to be overcome.