The Iowa GOP Debate Hangover in Tweets

The images of an elephant in a zoo (the animal is the unofficial mascot of the Republican Party), T.C. Panther the mascot for Northern Iowa U, and a still with Robert Redford in "The Candidate" (1973) one of the best films ever made about American politics start us off here this afternoon.

Here are some tweets from the Day After as well as some we overlooked last night during the Republican Debate Minus Donald Trump broadcast by Fox News in Des Moines, Iowa.:

1) Liz Mair (conservative): If Marco Rubio were gay, his hair would look better.

2) Rich Lowry (conservative): Another takeaway which may get lost, but this is the debate when Rubio lets his full disdain for Cruz show.

3) Lila Rose (conservative pro-life activist): Thank you, Rand Paul for sharing during GOPDebate that 'abortion is always wrong' and for spearheading legislation protecting the unborn.

4) Christopher Hayes (liberal): This campaign is starting to feel more and more like a long, national nervous breakdown.

5) Brian Stelter (CNN): The #s are in.....12.5 million people watched Fox's GOP debate last night.

6) John Fuselgang (liberal): I especially liked the 1 question about Flint 51 minutes into the GOPDebate that was quickly dodged by Kasich and then forgotten.

7) E.J. Dionne (liberal, Washington Post): Interesting. Jeb Bush seems more confident with Trump off the stage.

8) Tyler Morrison (stand-up comic): Jeb Bush reminds me of a supply teacher who is constantly losing control of his class.

9) Des Moines Register: Rand Paul and Marco Rubio took turns attacking Ted Cruz at the GOP Debate.

GOP Debate from Iowa Minus Trump (3 of 3)

Before we get to our final entry on this blog about tonight's GOP debate from Des Moines, Iowa, let's say Gunaydin/ Good Morning to our American Ambassador John Bass in Ankara, Turkey, where it is now 8:30 a.m. Yes, I know there is a less than one percent chance he reads this blog....

For your knowledge, the man at the top is Gov. Chris Christie and the man at the bottom is Sen. Ted Cruz, the state capitol building in Des Mones (not where the Fox News debate took place) is in the middle.

Here are the tweets:

1) Peter Beinart: Chris Christie__ the fact that your wife was near Ground Zero on 9/11 is not a foreign policy credential.

2) David French (conservative): Jeb Bush is right_he's been out front on ISIS strategy__and getting lawyers off the damn backs of the military__Yes!

3) Andrew C. McCarthy (conservative, no not the brat pack actor from the '80s): You think something about Muslims is suspicious.....and Chris Christie says you're a Sharia crazy.

4) Meghan McCain (conservative, daughter of Sen. John McCain): This is a completely different and more substantive debate with Trump off the stage.

5) Patton Oswalt: Mohammad Atta tried to fly a plane into my wife on 9/11........Chris Christie....

6) Spartan Basketball: With 513 wins at Michigan State, Coach Tom Izzo moves ahead of Gene Keady for second-most victories at a Big Ten school (yeah, we did this to play a mind game on you)

7) Zeynep Tufekci: They were trying to out-Trump each other yet they got hit with tough Qs while Trump didn't? Umm.....maybe, I'll read this Art of the Deal book.....

8) Cenk Uygur (liberal): Ben Carson just copied and pasted his closing statement. Too much effort to come up with his own conclusion.

9) Michael Medved (conservative): Maybe Trump's strategy worked....in his absence, chief rival Cruz had his worst debate, by far.....

GOP Debate Minus Trump Tweets (2 of 3)

We continue the multiple blog entries about last night's debate (it is now past 9:00 a.m. in Dubai) with tweets from various folks across the political spectrum in America (ok, most of these folks seem to have a liberal bias as I do), and perhaps even Canada...

 (pictured are 1) Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly; 2) a windmill in Elkhorn, Iowa; and 3) Ben Carson):

1) Patton Oswalt: How ya gonna deal with Putin? With shootin-ass-batin' and root-a-man-hootin

2) Dean Obeidallah (standup comic and activist of Muslim heritage): Please turn off Ben Carson's microphone.

3) Edward Luce: Ben Carson was totally wise to boycott this debate.

4) Carlos Lozada (Washington Post): Finally, the Estonia question.

5) PBS Newshour: Jumping from religion back to foreign policy.

6) Kai Ryssdal (NPR's Marketplace): Hahahahahahahahahaha. President Ben Carson. Man that cracks me up.

7) Karen Tumulty (Washington Post): Rand Paul is having a debate with Rand Paul about abortion.

8) E.J. Dionne (Washington Post): Marco Rubio like John Kasich talks about faith and obligation to the poor. Interesting how Rubio mixes this with appeal to evangelicals.

9) Alexandra Petri (Washington Post): Ohhhhhh........nothing like the sight of a stage full o' men talking about abortion.

Tonight's Republican Debate from Iowa Minus Donald Trump in Tweets (1 of 3)

Here are tweets from tonight's debate from folks who are right, left, center and non-partisan. As everyone outside of Tashkent, Uzbekistan, probably knows Republican front-runner Donald Trump (pict. top) ironically boycotted the Fox News debate because of a feud with moderator Megyn Kelly.
The other images are of the eastern Iowa town of Nemaha (the debate was actually held in Des Moines) and an image of Jeb Bush (actually from an event in New Hampshire):

1) Erick Erickson (conservative): This is a brilliant part of the debate. Megyn Kelly's accountability project.

2) Cenk Uygur (liberal): I have to give credit to Fox News for asking really targeted and fair questions showing these candidates' clear hypocricy.

 3) David Corn (liberal): Asked about immigration, Ben Carson points out that he declared war on ISIS.

4) Molly Ball (The Atlantic): Ivanka is due in two weeks, but Trump is hoping she has baby in Iowa: 'It'd be great. I'd definitely win.'"

5) Michael Ian Black: "Carson: 'I recognize not all Mexicans are terrorists.' Brave."

6) Michigan State Spartans Basketball: "With 15:18 remaining, MSU leads 41-29." (They wound up winning the game over Northwestern; yeah, this has nothing to do with the debate).

7) Ana Marie Cox (liberal): 'Chris Christie: I will flip flop in public so you can totally trust me." (Yeah, he didn't actually say that).

8) Michael Medved (conservative): If Ted Cruz wants to win anything, anywhere, he MUST learn not to talk like a bad, slimy televangelist. (Yeah, Medved did actually tweet this!)...

9) Chris Cillizza (Washington Post): Jeb Bush is getting better as a debater. But, he's not natural at all."

Sports Desk: Penn State Goes over the Hills and through the Woods to win at Iowa State in women's gymnastics

Gathering from the photos we saw from the Penn State women's gymnastics team, the Nittany Lions had quite a trek to Ames, Iowa, where they faced Iowa State in the first major NCAA meet of the season in women's college gymnastics.

Thanks to Twitter and Facebook, we could see the team's photos of snowy places, such as West Virginia, as they journeyed to middle of the Hawkeye State in what is normally and presumably a 15-hour drive.

Thanks to two LSU transfers, juniors Randi Lau of Hawaii and Sidney Sanabria-Robles (the image is of Penn State gymnast Sharaya Musser who graduated last year), Penn State edged out a 193.925-193.550 win over the home mat Cyclones.

Lau's outstanding 9.825 performance on the vault was crucial for the visitors. Lau also tied for second in the all-around with Sanabria-Robles.

For the Cyclones, Caitlin Brown, a stand-out junior, won the all-around with a career-best 38.900; Brown also won the balance beam for the home team.

SIDEBAR: Back on Dec. 22, Penn State's women's volleyball won their fifth NCAA title in seven years in Seattle. The Nittany Lions faced their surprising Big 10 Conference Rival Wisconsin Badgers in the title game. The Badgers shocked the college volleyball world by upsetting then-defending NCAA champs in Texas in the semi-finals.

Senior Deja McClendon, from Louisville, Ky., delivered the game-winning kill which propelled Penn State to win the match 3-1.

SIDEBAR TWO: Lastly on New Year's Day, it was a grand Rose Bowl for the Michigan State Spartans football team as they pulled a slight and narrow 24-20 upset over Stanford in Pasadena, Calif. Spartans quarterback Connor Crook, a sophomore, threw for a career high 332-yards win in the victory for the Big Ten champions.

Billy Bragg on the Death of Margaret Thatcher

Yesterday on his Facebook page and his official web site the unapologetic left-wing folk/rock English singer Bill Bragg who was getting ready for a concert in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, issued a statement of the death of long-time conservative British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, also known as 'The Iron Lady.'

Bragg was heavily critical of Thatcher and in 1985, he released a powerful ballad "Between the Wars" about what he perceived to be her neglect of the working class and a useful war with Argentina over the Falkland Islands.

Here is Bragg's statement:

"This is not a time for celebration. The death of Margaret Thatcher is nothing more than a salient reminder of how Britain got into the mess that we are in today. Of why ordinary working people are no longer able to earn enough form one job to support a family; of why there is a shortage of descent affordable housing; of why domestic growth is driven by credit; not by real incomes; of why tax-payers are forced to top up wages; of why a spiteful government seeks to penalise the poor for an extra bedroom; of why Rupert Murdoch became so powerful; of why cynicism and greed became the hallmarks of our society.

Raising the glass to the death of an infirm old lady changes none of this. The only real antidote to cynicism is activism. Don't celebrate---organise."

Bragg comes to America with concert dates that include a concert at the Eagle Theatre in Iowa City, Iowa, on April 15th.

The American right-wing Republican political figure Newt Gingrich, the former Speaker of the House, who ran unsuccessfully for president last year was quite different in his remarks regarding Thatcher, who was called the 'Demir Leydi' in Turkey.

Gingrich tweeted yesterday that: "Margaret Thatcher, Pope John Paul and Ronald Reagan changed history. The world would be a different place without them."

SIDEBAR: On a personal date, I was very saddened to hear about the death of American filmmaker Les Blank who died at age 77 after a bout with cancer at his home near San Francisco. His landmark films included "Burden of Dreams" (1982) about eccentric German film director Werner Herzog and his grand efforts to put the epic film "Fitzcarraldo" with the late Klaus Kinski. I had the change to meet Blank in person and talk to him over the years. As one person said on his Facebook page today: "An artist may die, but his art never does."

http://www.billybragg.co.uk

http://www.twitter.com/newtgingrich

http://www.lesblank.com

Break from Politics-Top 10 Things Under My Kitchen Sink

There seem to few things as annoying as product commercials, but campaign ads seem to take the cake and if you are in a swing state and have to watch WSOC-TV (Channel 9, Charlotte, NC), WDBJ-TV
(Channel 7 Roanoke, Va.) or WHOV-TV (Channel 13, Des Moines, Iowa), you will stuck with them for the next 11 days, so we thought we'd offer a break with a random top ten list of things in under my kitchen sink.

Here they are:

1) Draino toliet cleaner

2) Garfield cat bowls

3) Comet Bathroom Cleaner

4) recyclable shopping bags

5) old silverware

6) Mop N Glo

7) plates

8) Armor All car cleaner

9) tissue boxes

10) garbage bags

http://www.whotv.com

http://www.wsoctv.com

http://www.wdbj7.com

http://www.garfieldminusgarfield.net

10 People Who will Decide Election (9 of 10) _Iowa

Today, we are continuing our series of how a given person in each swing state could potentially play a pivotal role in the American presidential election, which will be watched from Dover, Delaware, to Dubai.

The image above is a campaign button for George McGovern (D) who is the oldest living man who has run for the president. The former South Dakota senator who is now 90 lost to Richard Nixon in 1972.

Here is a look at our fictional voter of the day:

Name: David Harrison

Occupation: Community College Teacher

Residency: Davenport, Iowa

Age: 35

Political Leanings: Democrat, will vote for President Barack Obama


It is no secret that like Big Bird on "Sesame Street" whom Republican presidential candidate turned into a social sensation when he said he would cut federal spending for PBS during the debate last week that teachers generally vote Democratic because the party has traditionally been more supportive of education and teachers' needs as well as school funding.

The Big Bird comment was the topic of a recent "Washington Post" column by Glenn Kessler which asked: "Does Mitt Romney want to kill Big Bird?;" the same newspaper also published a stunning column by college professor Frank Portnoy who argues that America's long marathon presidential race is good for the country. One can assume that both Democrats and Republicans may actually unite in opposition to Portnoy's theory, even intellectually it was fairly well laid out.

Among the stories in the most current issue of "The Quad City Times," which serves Davenport, Iowa, and surrounding areas, the local police department is seeking a three-year contract and a three-percent pay raise.

In the comments section, a reader who attended a Paul Ryan rally in Clinton, Iowa, said that the Obama campaign had taken her comments in which she asked the vice presidential candidate about his plan to fix the economy out of context.

According to "Politico," Obama has a 48-6 to 45.5 percent lead over Romney.http://www.washingtonpost.com

http://www.politco.com

http://www.sesamestreet.org

http://www.qctimes.com

Colleges Nicknames- Wild, Wild Horses

Today, we conclude our looks at the nicknames of 96 different colleges, most of which will be going to post-season play in a sport besides college basketball (I'm making fun of an ad for the NCAA which shows most student athletes going on to become chemists instead of becoming NBA superstars).

The three schools pictured here are the Boise State Broncos from Idaho, which have a highly touted football and women's gymnastics program, the Bucknell Bison from Lewisburg, Pa., which has a competive wrestling team and one of the very few water polo teams on the east coast, and the Iowa Hawkeyes, from the Big Ten.

In addition to Boise State, there are two other teams from the Mountain West Conference, including the San Diego State Aztecs, which is nationally ranked and a virtually certainty for a NCAA bid in men's basketball, and the Colorado State Rams, which are predicted to get an at-large bid.

Here are the teams, all of which are related to horses, knights, cowboys/cowgirls and Native Americans:

1. Army Black Knights, Patriot, West Point, NY.

2. Boise State Broncos, Mountain West, Boise, Idaho

3. Bucknell Bison, Patriot, Lewisburg, Pa.

4. Colorado State Rams, Mountain West, Fort Collins, Colo.

5. Iowa Hawkeyes, Big 10, Iowa City, Iowa

6. Illinois Fightin' Illini, Big 10, Champaign, Ill.

7. Oklahoma State Cowboys*, Big 12, Stillwater, Okl.

8. San Diego State Aztecs, Mountain West, San Diego, Calif.

9. Southern Methodist University Mustangs, C-USA, Dallas, Tex.

10. UNC-Greensboro Spartans, Southern Conference, Greensboro, NC

11. University of Southern California Trojans, Pac-12, Los Angeles, Calif.

12. Utah Utes, Pac-12, Salt Lake City, Utah.

*-Oklahoma State's women's basketball team is nicknamed Cowgirls

The Rabbit Ear Test_ (7 out of 12) "Ask Gemisi/The Love Boat""

Yes, as a supposedly high-brow film snob, I should probably be moaning over how unjust it is that "The Artist" won the Best Picture Oscar last night as opposed to the four much-better films, "The Tree of Life," "Midnight in Paris," "The Descendants" and "Hugo."

But, as it is, we are going to stay focused on "The Love Boat," which a silly, though at times entertaining hour-long comedy which would feature cameos of sitcom stars of the time, such as the late John Ritter ("Three's Company") and Sherman Hemsley ("The Jeffersons") though according to Google the kitschy Latin singer Charo had the most number of guest appearances.

Tonight, we are asking about a regular cast member though.

As Gopher, Fred Grandy who try to make for chuckles, but then Grandy decided to run for Congress as a Republican in Iowa, and he actually got elected in 1986, the same year that "The Love Boat" (1977-86) concluded a cruise trip that lasted way, way too long.

I first became aware of "The Love Boat" during the two years we lived in Turkey (1977-79) where it was known as "Ask Gemisi," which does in fact mean "The Love Boat."

I checked Vikipedia, the Turkish-language version of Wikipedia to see when "Ask Gemisi" aired on the TRT (Turkish Radio Television), and I was unable to find out. But, Charlie's Angels, which has a "Love Boat" connection in that both shows were produced by the late Aaron Spelling, did first air in Turkey on Oct. 16, 1977, just a little over a year after its first airing on ABC in America on Sept. 22, 1976. In Turkey, that show was called "Charlie'nin Melekleri," which means (well) "Charlie's Angels."

For today's question, we are going to ask just how long Grandy,63, a native of Sioux City, represented the 5th and 6th districts of Iowa. According to Wikipedia, his office is now held by Cong. Steve King (R-Iowa), who is ironically just one year younger than Gopher.

Before we get to our question, here are some other nifty things we learned about Grandy, whom I saw perform on stage as Captain Heller in a production of "The Miracle Worker" by Arena Stage in Washington, DC, in 2000:

_ In 1982, Grandy suffered severe burns when a balloon filled with hydrogen exploded while visiting Turkey to film scenes for an episode of "The Love Boat.

_In recent years, Grandy decided to become a talk show host for 630 WMAL in Washington, DC, and while we assumed (since he was an actor, I guess) that he was a 'moderate Republican,' he apparently made statements that Muslims in America were going to implement Sharia law, and this ultimately lead to his resignation (there is a dispute between the two parties as to whether it was forced or voluntary) from the station.

But, right wing nuts still have the likes of Bill Cunnigham, Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity to listen to, while Democrats work to pay for their Medicade scooters (forgive the center-left political humor, admittedly Matt Taibbi of "Rolling Stone" who is more progressive than I am is better at this sort of thing!).

_ According to "Mother Jones," a very liberal magazine, Grandy endorsed Newt Gingrich ahead of the Iowa Caucus. Gingrich finished well behind Rick Santorum and Mitt Romney. Ironically, Gingrich soundly defeated another tv star turned member of Congress when he defeated the incumbent Democrat Ben Jones, who played Cooter on "The Dukes of Hazzard" during an election in Georgia.

Jones is the focus of our entry today on our sister blog "Politics, Culture and Other Wastes of Time."

So, just how long was Gopher/Grandy in Congress?

A) 6 years

B) 8 years

C) 10 years

D) 12 years

The winner gets a free subscription to "The Daily Worker" (that is a now-defunct American socialist magazine, we couldn't resist).

Amazingly enough, the entire regular cast of "The Love Boat" is still alive, some 30 years after it has been off the air.

Ted Lange, who played Isaac the bartender, is now a successful playwright. Last year, he performed in "Four Queens_ No Trump," which he himself wrote, at the National Black Theatre Festival in Winston-Salem, NC.

Quote of the Day/Week- Fidel Castro

Because of the Cuban dictator Fidel Castro and many older Cuban-Americans' desire to rid the world of him, many Cuban-Americans (yes, there are exceptions) lean right, but their vote will not matter in Sioux City, Iowa. And, perhaps, with the latest field of Republicans, which includes the ardent right-winger Newt Gingrinch, many Cuban-Americans might just go with President Barack Obama next year. Well, we can hope.

For our friends in Uzbekistan, it should be pointed out that most Cuban-Americans live around Miami, Florida.

In no way are we endorsing Fidel Castro or his view of the world, but he has been known to give great quotes:

"Men do not shape destiny; destiny produces the man for the hour."

IN THE WHOOPS DEPT- this was meant for the other blog; oh well.

The Rabbit Ears Quiz- Mork and Mindy (Entry 2 of 12)

Today, we continue our series on tv shows which infiltrated my developing years with a quiz question regarding "Mork and Mindy" (1978-82), which in my lasted much longer than the four seasons it was actually on the air.

Many young folks may not realize that 'Mork' was actually a spin-off of the very popular '70s sitcom "Happy Days." Mork, played by Robin Williams, visited the Cunnigham family in suburban Wisconsin during the fifth season of "Happy Days" in a strange episode entitled "My Favorite Orkan."

In spite of being a ratings bonanza during its first season, 'Mork' began to take a nose-dive in popularity during the show's third season. And, in the final season, Mork and Mindy were dubiously married.

Mork was from the planet Ork, and he was given instructions by a supreme deity named Orson. Minday was played by Pam Dawber.

Many people who haven't seen the show in years (it ran on Nick at Nite from 1991-95), may have forgotten that it was the rare sitcom to take place in a college town. So, we are asking for the name of that college town, where one also find a clock which is supposedly always accurate.

Your choices are:

A) Provo, Utah
B) Iowa City, Iowa
C) Boulder, Colorado
D) Lawrence, Kansas

Good luck, and sorry we have no prizes to give you, not even a cat toy!

SIDEBAR: I wanted to wish an Eid Mubarak to all of our Muslim friends, especially those living in Provo, Utah! Amazingly enough, I read that a surprising number of Muslims attend college at Brigham Young University.

And, though one may not associate UFOs with the Muslim world, there is indeed a UFO Museum in Istanbul, Turkey, which I have actually been to.

Bonus Road Trip- New Mexico to Iowa

Hello. And, for those of you in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, welcome to my blog.

As most of my faithful followers know (and, I have no idea how high or how low my following really is), I like to make fun of Republicans. And, with candidates as extreme as Rick Perry, Michele Bachmann, Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich, Herman Cain and Ron Paul, it is frankly very hard not to make fun of them!

I must profess that even though his politics and ideas are extreme and radical, it is hard to make fun of Herman Cain. For one, he is an African-American and secondly I liked his Godfather's Pizza for quite a while. And, Cain certainly looks as cool as the Richard Roundtree, the original Shaft, who is also an African-American republican.

But, it is easier to make fun of Ron Paul. To be honest, I actually endorsed him for the Republican nomination in 2008 simply because I admired any Republican willing to speak out against the Iraq War. But, since I am an uber-partisan Democrat, the endorsement probably didn't help him much. And, within the last four years, we've all heard the Texas congressional rep (yes, he actually holds a federal office) express some real far-out things, including some highly controversial remarks about
9-11. One may have attributed such sentiments to the far-left intellectual scholar Noam Chomsky, except that those remarks were made by Paul during a Republican debate!

I have also noticed that if there is an alien sent here from outer space to take over the world in the political forum, it would have to be Paul. I mean with Republicans making illegal immigration one of their main cause celebres, especially for Bachmann, it is highly ironic that one of their own might be from Mars!

So, we decided to see how far Roswell, New Mexico, is from Ames, Iowa, since Roswell is associated with UFOs and since Ames, also the home of Iowa State University, is where a key political straw poll takes place.

For, our two destinations, we went with the UFO Museum in Roswell (there is also one in Istanbul, Turkey_ of all places!) and The Cafe Ames in Iowa.

So, what is the answer; is it:

A) 16 hours even
B) 16 hours, 30 minutes
C) 16 hours, 45 minutes
D) 17 hours, 15 minutes

If you get this right, we will promptly send you a copy of "Neil Diamond's Greatest Hits" on 8-track tape (that is a joke!).

Things We Learned on Twitter Today: Michele Bachmann Headline-Maker

I've been a fan of Suzy Khimm, a great liberal reporter, since she wrote an excellent profile of Virginia's crazed right-wing maniac attorney Ken Cuccinelli, who looks like a grown-up Pinocchio doll, in the December 2010 issue of "Mother Jones."

This afternoon, Khimm tweeted the following:

"Daily Beast's most popular articles today: 1) Is Michele Bachmann submissive? 2)Queen of the Cougars."

We didn't want to put a photo of Bachmann up, since she does look like a professional female wrestler. And, ironically, her state of Minnesota elected a pro wrestler, Jesse Ventura, for governor.

(These headlines are in reference to Bachmann's 'performance' during the Republican debate in Ames, Iowa, last night. I didn't watch, but I gather her heated exchanges with Tim Pawlenty were very amusing. Pawlenty took over after Ventrua's term expired as governor of Minnesota.)

So, instead, we went with this image of a gorgreous Wyoming chainsaw cougar. We tried to find a cougar from Colorado, but I guess we will have to find one somewhere on the net some other time.

And, we thought that since Bachmann apparently wants to turn back the clock on social progress, we'd include an image of a Tupperware party. Perhaps, if elected president (of course, that will mean many of us on the center-left will get one-way plane tickets from Expedia to Costa Rica), she will also segregate schools again.

SIDEBAR: I saw a bumper sticker in Roanoke, Va., which I'm surprised even an ardent Republican would put on his or her vehicle: it is an image of George W. Bush with the line- "Do You Miss Me Yet?," well let me just give you the short answer, NO!

Last Ten Films I've Seen- Che Guevara and a Donkey

Here are the last ten films I've seen (actually as of Monday at 6:00 p.m.). Most of these are new films, and I saw six of the films in theatres.

"Submarine" opens at the delightful a/perature Cinema in Winston-Salem, NC, on
Aug. 12 (wow! That would be tomorrow). "Buck" opens at the Lyric Theatre in Blacksburg, Va., on Aug. 26.

Even though the IMDB counts "Che," the four and a half hour epic film about the Argentinian revolutionary figure Che Guevara, as two films, I count it as one here. I have read the 800-page plus biographer by Jon Lee Anderson, who was an advisor to the film, about irregardless of how one feels about Che's politics or his brutal violence, the story is quite a telling one.

The first part of "Che" deals with his succesful venture into Cuba which lead to the leadership of Fidel Castro. The second part focuses on Che's failed mission that lead to his own execution in Bolivia.

It is interesting that one of the films on this list focuses on guerillas, and the one ("Rise of the Planet of the Apes") examines gorillas!

John Cazale was a great character actor who died way too young at age 49. He is the subject of Richard Shepard's documentary which gives fairly good insight into the life of an actor who appeared in "The Godfater" films, "The Conversation," "Dog Day Afternoon" (pictured here with Al Pacino) and "The Deer Hunter."

Here is the list of films:

1. "Buck" (doc. 2011. Dir- Cindy Meehl) ***1/2 stars (out of ****)

2. "Submarine" (UK. 2010 Dir-Richard Ayoade) ***1/2

3. "Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011. Dir-Rupert Wyatt) ***

4. "Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer (doc. 2010. Dir-Alex Gibney) ***

5. "Che" (Parts One and Two) (USA/Spain/France. In Spanish. 2008. Dir- Steven Soderbergh) ***

6. "Jackasss the Movie" (2002. Dir-Jeff Tremaine) *

7. "Horrible Bosses" (2011. Dir- Seth Gordon) **

8. "Crazy, Stupid, Love" (2011. Dirs. Glen Ficarra and John Requa) **1/2

9. "The Hangerover 2" (2011. Dir- Todd Phillips) **1/2

10. "I Knew It Was You: Rediscovering John Cazale" (doc. 2009. Dir-Richard Shepard)

PS- The donkey, which was a reference to the awful "Jackass The Movie" is from Turkey.

SIDEBAR: I jokingly said that tonight's Republican Party Debate from Ames, Iowa, which is going on as off this writing, would be broadcast on Comedy Central while I updating my Facebook status. Amazingly enough, or perhaps not, a Republican friend of mine agreed with me. Comedy Central is/was actually broadcasting three consecutive reruns of "Futurama" against the Republican debate.

Things We Learned on Twitter Today- Bush 'Executes' 253 People

Perhaps "The Onion" decided to tweet this faux story they ran back in 2000 because Illinois officially abolished the death penalty today, but we just loved the headline even though 'the story' is almost 11 years old:

"Bush executes 253 New Mexico Democrats"

"The Onion" is a satire newspaper/magazine which now has its own show on IFC. In the 2001 fake news article, the publication said George W. Bush ordered the execution of 253 Democrats in Las Cruces, N. Mex., so he could get the state's five electoral points away from Al Gore.

They even had this great faux quote from the ever-diabolical Karl Rove: "We express great sorrow for the families of the condemned."

We must admit that as much as we love "The Onion," they have gone over the line at times. I do think the 2009 faux story proclaiming that female Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson from Iowa had died after a fall from the uneven bars was in remarkable bad taste. And, the then-17-year-old gymnast said she strongly disapproved what "The Onion" did.

But, the 2000 classic faux story about the 'actions' of Bush is vintage "Onion" material. And, of course, Fox News runs stories which are just as ridicilous, but they pass them off as genuine news!

COMING ATTRACTIONS: Tommorow, I am hoping to finally post the last ten films I've seen. It is going to be quite a strange list indeed!

Special Quote of the Week- Mark Twain

Wow, even Newt Gingrich is quoting Mark Twain (1835-1910) these days, well at least according to Google, but we don't think he'll be using the quip we will posting down below.

The author best known for novels like "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" and "Tom Sawyer" will be featured on a commemorative American postage stamp in June; the first one will be post-marked in (where else?!) Hannibal, Missouri. There is also a Mark Twain House in Hartford, Conn., which I was fortunate enough to visit as we headed north to Maine a few years ago. One of the museum's many highlights is a sketch that animator Chuck Jones ("Bugs Bunny") made regarding Twain.

Late last year, "The Autobiography of Mark Twain" also came out, and it has been selling well. I have not read the book, but I did read his novel "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court" fairly recently. And, luckily I did not have to write a book report on it!

When we get a proper chance, we will be sure to make fun of Gingrich and Donald Trump, but today well we are slightly overwhelmed! But, I would love to see a Republican candidate shaking hands in places like Sioux City, Iowa, or Rock Hill, SC, and making lofty promises that they themselves know could never ever happen. I guess that's what C-Span is for.

Here is the quote from Twain:

"A man is never more truthful than when he acknowledges himself a liar."

High School of the Week- Valley High School in West Des Mones, Iowa

Today we close out the High School of the Week feature (we've covered all 50 states between our two blogs!) with Valley High School from West Des Moines, Iowa, which is the alma mater of Olympic gold medalist gymnast Shawn Johnson (pictured here).

We got this idea after seeing a Milk campaign ad with Johnson in a magazine while buying groceries at a supermarket last week (where we also got undocumented status updates on Michael Douglas' battle with cancer that we could have done without). Johnson was posed with a glass of milk on the sole of her bare foot on a balance beam, the event she won individual gold for at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Johnson, who is now 18, also got national attention when she won on "Dancing with the Stars" last year. Of course, being a celebrity can bring unwelcome attention which Johnson found out when "The Onion," a usually hilarious journal published a satirical article that Johnson had 'to be put to sleep after falling off the balance beam.' Johnson was not amused, particularly since the term "Shawn Johnson is dead" became a hot search topic after "The Onion" wrote the article in June of last year.

Johnson is not only alive and well, she mentions on her official web site that she is training for the 2012 Olympics in London.

As for Valley High School, it is also the alma mater of another Olympian Karlos Kirby, a bobsledder.

SIDEBAR: The Coffeeparty USA, which is meant to counter the far right Tea Party, tweeted the following words from Burmese human rights activist Aung San Suu Kyi (Burma is officially known as Myanmar) who was freed from house arrest today: "We have to choose between dialogue and utter devastation."

SIDEBAR TWO: Though we highly disagree with "The Onion" for publishing a fake story/satire piece in June 2009 proclaiming that Shawn Johnson died from a balance beam fall, we do love their story today which states: "Oprah invites hundreds of lucky fans to buried with her in a massive tomb."

Quote of the Week- Joan Baez

Today, we profile right-wing blow-fish Glenn Beck's favorite singer Joan Baez (that is a joke for those of you in Tashkent, Uzbekistan!) with a quip from her.

Baez who was recently in North Carolina for a concert in Raleigh will be resuming her tour shortly.

Among her fall dates are a performance at The Unity Temple in Kansas City, Mo., on Oct. 5 along with concerts at The Englet Theatre in Iowa City on Oct. 6 and The Wisconsin Union Theatre in Madison (where The University of Wisconsin is) on Oct. 8.

Here is the quote from this '60s icon and folk-singing legend:

"Hypothetical questions get hypothetical answers."