On President Trump's Speech....
I thought President Trump's address to the nation on Wednesday night went well
for him, despite the truly despicable behavior exhibited by the Democrats.
While they might have been seated on the right side of the president as he spoke
at the podium, there is no longer anything even remotely right or decent about a
party whose politics have centered around tyranny against the American people,
and the wholesale promotion of perversion and death.
President Trump reached across the aisle the other night asking for cooperation,
only to be met with a stony silence of self-righteous condescension
from the Democrats in attendance.
Those who were not holding up signs with the words, "False" and "Liar" or egging on
interlopers wearing black t-shirts with the slogan, "Resist!" ignored the president's
overtures for unity within the government while rudely scrolling or texting on
their cell phones while he spoke at the podium.
However, you could almost hear the rattling of sabers on their side of
the Senate chamber when President Trump once again reiterated:
"The United States of America recognizes only two genders, male and female."
Even more kudos to President Trump for countering the pervasive evil known
as transgender ideology with these memorable words: "Our message to every
child in America is that you are perfect exactly the way God made you."
I am not, however, in favor of the president's offer to wealthy illegals to
purchase US citizenship. This plan sounds like a quick fix scheme which will
not only complicate things in the long run, but will undoubtedly become an open
door for fraud and abuse. Although I realize that President Trump has inherited
a large mess when it comes to illegal immigration, I think this plan needs to be
re-thought, or better yet, scrapped altogether. There are some things in this world
that money cannot buy, like personal integrity and individual merit.
We are living in uncertain and perilous times. This past summer, we were all
witnesses to massive street demonstrations supporting Hamas! Whose to say that those
bent on destroying us as a people and a nation would not buy into this offer of citizenship
only to commit acts of terrorism against us? Was the tragic incident on New Year's Eve
in New Orleans a precursor of things to come?
"There was no finer actor than Gene."
-Clint Eastwood
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Gene Hackman was indeed not only a fine actor, but a performer known for
his versatility in playing both heroes and villains on the silver screen.
His portrayal as tough NYC police officer and narcotics detective Jimmy "Popeye"
Doyle in the Oscar-winning motion picture, "The French Connection"(1971) won
him the Academy Award for Best Actor. Several years before this, however, he
played the wily, ex-con Buck Barrow, brother of Clyde Barrow, (Warren Beatty),
who met with a violent end in 1967's "Bonnie and Clyde".
Decades later, Gene brought a sense of wry humor along with comic strip
shenanigans in his unforgettable role as arch villain Lex Luthor in Superman
(1978), Superman II (1980), and Superman IV: The Quest For Peace (1987).
In 1988's violent crime thriller, "Mississippi Burning" Hackman was convincing
as FBI agent Rupert Anderson, who, along with his colleague Alan Ward,
(Willem Dafoe) is sent to investigate the mysterious disappearance of
three young Civil Rights workers in a small Mississippi town in 1964.
I especially liked Gene in "Narrow Margin" (1990) co-starring Anne Archer
as a woman pursued by hit men after witnessing a murder. Hackman played
tough-as-nails former Marine and deputy District Attorney Robert Caulfield,
who is determine to track down frightened Carol Hunnicut (Archer) hiding
out in a cabin in the Canadian wilderness. They are later pursued by the hit
men on board a train in this action-packed thriller...but no spoiler alert here!
...only to say that this movie was loosely based on another film by
the same name made in the early 1950's.
The shocking news of Gene Hackman's mysterious death, along with that of his wife,
Betsy, and a family pet, ( their deaths are still under investigation) did not prevent
Hollywood from honoring him with a tribute by fellow actor Morgan Freeman,
at the 97th Oscar ceremony which aired on Sunday March 2nd.
"I had the pleasure of working alongside Gene on 'Unforgiven' and 'Under Suspicion'.
I learned he was a generous performer and a man whose gifts elevated everyone's
work," said Freeman. "He received two Oscars. He won the hearts of film lovers
all over the world. Gene always said, "I don't think about legacy, I just think
people remember me as someone who tried to do good work."
Aside from his award-winning career, Gene Hackman was a veteran of the United
States Marine Corps., who lied about his age (16) when he enlisted and served four
and a half years as a field-radio operator. Stationed in China, he was reassigned
after Communist revolutionaries conquered the mainland in 1949,
and was later stationed in Japan and Hawaii.
Honorably discharged in 1951, he studied journalism and television production
at the University of Illinois under the G.I. Bill, but left without graduating
and moved back to his home state of California to pursue acting.
In an interesting side note, did you know that Brady Bunch creator Sherwood Schwartz's
first choice to play family patriarch Mike Brady was none other than Gene Hackman?
According to the book, "Bradymania! Everything You Always Wanted To Know And
A Few Things You Probably Didn't" by Elizabeth Moran, Hackman was a relatively
unknown actor at the time, and did not have any experience with a television series.
He had also apparently been "axed" by Paramount Studio.
The role of one of classic TV's most beloved Dads later went to actor Robert Reed.
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