Battlestar Galactica (Season Four to Premiere April 4, 2008)

Ok, with all this talk about Jericho coming to an end or as Scott McPherson put it, “Fat lady sings as Jericho bows for good”, we need not to forget that the fourth season and last season of Battlestar Galactica (BSG) will be starting April 4, 2008 on SciFi.

For a show to start out as a three-hour miniseries (December 8-9, 2003) on the SciFi Channel gained a wide range of critical acclaim. Based on that the SciFi Channel had no choose but to take it to the next level, which they did, and four seasons later, and two specials, it’s all coming to an end. Executive Producers David Eick and Ronald D. Moore took the story line from the original BSG from the late 70's - early 80’s.

The odd thing about original Battlestar Galactica and Jericho is they were both cancelled by the networks that aired them, and as with Jericho there was a massive write-in campaign and such things were uncommon in those days, and it prompted ABC to re-think their reasons for canceling the show, just as CBS had to with Jericho.

Now the different was the Original Battlestar Galactica looked at having a spinoff (Galactica 1980), which was five years after the ‘The Hand of God,’ which was the final episode of the original series. However, because the two original producers were unable or unavailable to be part of the spin-off, ABC did a quick re-think and it was decided the new series would take place thirty years after the end of the original series rather than five. Need to say Galactic 1980 had a short life; it only lasted for only ten episodes.

Now we jump up to 2003, 23 years later… That’s where BSG the Miniseries started. So, what’s all this mean and what am I trying to say… Well Jericho fans take a page out of history, just because the show is being cancelled, does not mean it’s the end. With BSG having its last season it does not mean the fans will be left hanging.

A press release from the SciFi Channel released March 18, 2008 informs fans that the spinoff show Caprica is a GO.

New York, NY – March 18, 2008 -- As the Peabody and Emmy-winning original series Battlestar Galactica heads into its fourth and final season, SciFi Channel has greenlit production on Caprica, a two-hour Battlestar backdoor pilot prequel from executive producers Ronald D. Moore and David Eick.

Production on Caprica is slated to begin in Vancouver this spring. “We couldn’t be more excited to see this long-anticipated project get off the ground. It’s an amazing script, and, though clearly inspired by the Battlestar mythology, it is not just a pale spin-off. This is a smart, thought-provoking, emotional, and compelling character drama in its own right,” said Mark Stern, Executive Vice President of Original Programming.

So Jericho fans, do not give up hope, maybe, just maybe SciFi or a different network will pick it up and keep it alive.

Good Night & Good Luck,

SlawDog

John McCain for President of the United States...

Well folks, now that we know who are guy is for the November election, I would like to say a few things about John McCain:

Winning the War on Terror
John McCain has been unrelenting in his support for the new strategy in Iraq. He said early signs of progress are cause for very cautious optimism but do not guarantee success. He believes we have a long way to go, but for the first time in four years, we have in place a winning strategy that deals with the reality on the ground in Iraq.

John McCain has said that success in Iraq critical in our titanic struggle against Islamic extremists. On the other hand, he believes that if we were to leave Iraq, there will be chaos, there will be genocide, and the extremists will follow us home.

John McCain is willing to confront this unpopular issue at the risk of losing this election. He believes that presidents don't lose wars, political parties don't lose wars – nations lose wars and nations suffer the consequences.

Taxes
John McCain will make the income and investment tax cuts permanent.
The economic freedom provided by low marginal tax rates supports innovation and entrepreneurship – the recipe for faster growth, greater investment, and more jobs. Low taxes on dividends and capital gains promote saving, innovation, investment and growth.

The only way to keep taxes low is to control spending. The greatest tax cut we can give is to our children – by fixing our spending problem. The federal government has a spending problem, not a revenue problem. Taxes have grown over 10 percent per year in the past 2 years, and have now risen above their historic share of national income.

Foreign Policy
John McCain has proposed a worldwide League of Democracies to help organize countries – with which we share basic values – to face the opportunities and challenges of the modern world.

John McCain believes the League of Democracies can complement the UN but could also take action in cases where the UN has been unable to act effectively or, in some cases, act at all. It did not act effectively in Bosnia or Rwanda and did not act at all in Kosovo or Darfur.

As long as Russia and China perceive their interests to be very different from ours in these and other cases, John McCain believes we should increase cooperation with fellow democracies to shape solutions for global problems. The League must also take into account countries not represented on the U.N. Security Council, like Japan, Germany, India, and Brazil, that can play a constructive role in tackling global challenges.

John McCain wants to begin a debate over how to work more closely with democracies to meet common challenges resulting from the rise of new centers of power, new threats like terrorism and proliferation, and new opportunities arising from globalization.

Immigration
Coming from a border state, John McCain has seen firsthand the negative effects Of illegal immigration.

John McCain believes that among the federal government's most important obligations is to secure our borders and enforce sensible immigration laws that will keep our nation strong and safe. A comprehensive immigration control plan that works is long overdue.

John McCain has consistently opposed giving amnesty or public benefits to illegal immigrants. In order for illegal immigrants to become legal, they must come out of the shadows and - pay stiff fines and back taxes; undergo criminal and security checks; pass English and civics tests; remain employed for six years; and go to the back of the line.

John McCain believes strong immigration reform must vastly improve our border surveillance and enforcement capabilities; increase the manpower, infrastructure and capabilities necessary to block, apprehend, detain and return those who try to enter the country illegally; strengthen the laws and penalties against those who hire illegal aliens and violate immigration law; achieve and maintain the integrity of official documents to stop fraud, verify immigration status and employment, and enforce immigration law; and develop a sensible guest worker program that will serve our nation's best economic and security interests.