Tom McMahon

What 'Playing the Race Card' Ultimately Leads To

Robert Mugabe's Zimbabwe: "But few here believe that Mugabe, who has hinted he might retire, will relinquish power so easily. After all, he is building another lavish palace. And, in one of the strange paradoxes that seem to define the continent's politics, he was recently applauded by fellow African leaders at the start of a development summit in Tanzania. Playing their version of the race card, some of those same leaders voice approval of the Mugabe government's policy of taking land away from white farmers and redistributing it mostly to Mugabe's cronies. This has led to a sharp decline in agricultural production, helping sow the seeds of economic disaster and starvation. It's one thing to try to provide opportunities for long-oppressed, poor blacks. It is another to destroy the country in doing so. "

The Bill of No Rights

ARTICLE I You do not have the right to a new car, big-screen color TV or any other form of wealth. More power to you if you can legally acquire them, but no one is guaranteeing anything.
ARTICLE II You do not have the right to never be offended. This country is based on freedom, and that means freedom for everyone -- not just you! You may leave the room, turn the channel, express a different opinion, etc., but the world is full of idiots, and probably always will be.
ARTICLE III You do not have the right to be free from harm. If you stick a screwdriver in your eye, learn to be more careful, do not expect the tool manufacturer to make you and all of your relatives independently wealthy. Read the other seven articles at The S Files - Collectible Charlie Sykes

Johnny Carson Guest Stars on The Jack Benny Show

"This particular episode of the Jack Benny Show is from the early sixties, probably 1963-64, only a couple of seasons after Johnny had taken over the hosting duties on the Tonight Show. While I probably watched this program when it was originally broadcast, and thoroughly enjoyed it, I couldn't possibly have known over thirty years ago, that this young Johnny Carson fellow would someday become a true TV legend. The whole premise of this Jack Benny Show episode was that the more experienced Benny was advising the young, inexperienced Carson, giving Carson the benefit of Benny's wisdom. While this was probably very timely, and quite humorous when originally broadcast; the real humor of that particular situation can only fully be appreciated today. Johnny Carson was obviously a success as the new host of the Tonight Show, but who knew in the early sixties that Carson would reign as "King of Late-Night" for almost 30 years."

Wontons? Not Now!

And other palindromes to amuse you on your trip to the Yreka Bakery

The Big 80’s Christmas

Nothing says Christmas like tinsel, silver bells, candy canes…and the Ramones, The Waitresses, and Queen. Holiday hits like “Jingle Bell Rock” or “Christmas Is The Time To Say I Love You,” whose videos garnered heavy rotation on VH1 back in the day, will instantly take you to those holidays past, when Atari video games, Cabbage Patch Kids, and Transformers cleaned out your parents’ bank account. The Big 80’s – Christmas, a collection of 16 of the era’s greatest Yuletide favorites, is the perfect stocking-stuffer for any ’80s music lover. Includes Los Lobos’ hard-to-find version of “Rudolph The Manic Reindeer.” So break out the eggnog, hang the mistletoe, and rock the halls!

Hollywood's Missing Movies

In the decade since the Berlin Wall fell, or even the decade before that, no Hollywood film has addressed the actual history of communism, the agony of the millions whose lives were poisoned by it, and the century of international deceit that obscured communist reality. The simple but startling truth is that the major conflict of our time, democracy versus Marxist-Leninist totalitarianism--what The New York Times recently called "the holy war of the 20th century"--is almost entirely missing from American cinema. It is as though since 1945, Hollywood had produced little or nothing about the victory of the Allies and the crimes of National Socialism. This void is all the stranger since the major conflict of our time would seem to be a natural draw for Hollywood.

Ghostbusters Fascinating Facts

By Hans Schneck. When pre-production began nobody realized that Filmation had produced a Saturday morning children's show called "The Ghost Busters" back in the 1975-76 television season. So Ivan Reitman and his crew were uncertain what their film would be called. It was maybe going to be called "Ghoststoppers." However, Columbia Pictures finally struck a deal with Filmation to call the classic movie "Ghostbusters." The film was so successful an animated series followed called "The Real Ghostbusters" 1986-1990, and "Extreme Ghostbusters" later in 1997.

A Pioneer of Music Animation

ANIMUSIC is a company producing 3D computer graphics music animation. Both the graphics and the music are entirely digitally synthesized. Virtual instruments are invented by building computer graphics models of objects that would appear to create the sound of the corresponding music synthesizer track. Graphical instruments range from being reminiscent of existing instruments to arbitrarily abstract. ANIMUSIC uses proprietary motion generation software called MIDImotion, to drive animation parameters within commercial packages. Without MIDImotion, animating instruments using traditional "keyframing" techniques would be prohibitively time-consuming and inaccurate. By combining motion generated by approximately 12 algorithms (each with 10 to 50 parameters), the instrument animation is automatically generated with sub-frame accuracy. If the music is changed, the animation is regenerated effortlessly.

Design Your Own Twenty Dollar Bill

This fun game is a great way to introduce children to money by allowing them to design their own currency.

Meals Ready to Eat

The Long Life Food Depot:Your source for MRE's just like the Army uses. Ready-to-Eat Individual Serving Pouches are the correct mealtime solution for emergency preparedness, camping, hunting, and all outdoor activities.