I'VE TRIED TO BE SUPPORTIVE OF KATIE COURIC, I REALLY HAVE . .

Well, here's Katie Couric speaking at the National Press Club 9/25/07:

“The whole culture of wearing flags on our lapel and saying ‘we’ when referring to the United States and, even the ‘shock and awe’ of the initial stages, it was just too jubilant and just a little uncomfortable. And I remember feeling, when I was anchoring the ‘Today’ show, this inevitable march towards war and kind of feeling like, ‘Will anybody put the brakes on this?’ And is this really being properly challenged by the right people? And I think, at the time, anyone who questioned the administration was considered unpatriotic and it was a very difficult position to be in.”

Katie, there is no other nation on earth where someone whose intelligence and abilities are as one-dimensional as yours could make the kind of outrageous salary that you are paid for essentially trashing your own country.

Why don’t you just shut the f**k up!

WILL THE REAL CARPOOLERS STAND UP?!

Our carpool morning starts each day with driver Lucille sticking her head out the window and shouting Boogety! Boogety! Boogety! This is, after all, the South! And some of us are definitely NASCAR fans.

Now I see that ABC has a new series, that has debuted to VERY mixed reviews, entitled “Carpoolers”. From the description of the various characters riding in ABC’s fictional carpool, they are entirely too predictable and tame. Consequently,I am offering our carpool’s services as a consultant to ABC on the series so that it’s realistic and, more importantly, so it will be intelligent and FUNNY. If not the current series, we’ll be happy to consult – for a suitably outrageous fee – on a new series. Just don’t ask 2 of us to ever live there again!

Lucille is an experienced legal secretary with zero patience for lackadaisical drivers. Because she lived (if you can call it that) in Los Angeles for some 40 years, she has the art of aggressive driving down pat. That is why, although it is MY car we use, it is Lucille that drives. I-95 is no place for sissies and I freely admit that, except for short hops, I find myself a complete wuss vis-a-vis I-95, in spite of the fact that I too lived for a very long time in Los Angeles (20 years). On the other hand, I am complete cynic yet oddly sentimental, and a consummate smart-mouth – equaled (but never exceeded) by Lucille. And did I mention that of all the humans walking planet earth, Lucille is by far my very favorite! But I am the better cook!

The other riders are a mixed group:

Hope is a paralegal, a unique and beautiful woman with two gorgeous small daughters and an adoring husband. Hope’s intelligence is phenomenal and her patience with foolishness is nearly non-existent. She is, in a word, a complete treasure.

Erica is also a paralegal, from Jamaica, young and an aspiring science fiction screenwriter, fueled both by her inate creativity and a desire to get out of law firms. I can’t fault her for fueling the first and feeling the latter. She sees herself as a certain kind of person; I’d never tell her this to her face, but she is so much more than she thinks she is able to be.

Janet appears to be – at least on the surface – “the little woman”. If you buy into that facade, you will do yourself a disservice. Whether she has kept it hidden from us or it is just surfacing in recent months, her wicked wit and humor are delightful. And more of the true Janet emerges every day, an emergence that is seriously good fun to watch.

During that hour plus commute, twice daily, many topics are discussed. For example, Erica has an enormous attraction to Hispanic men with very thin legs. I have suggested that she get her own website: chickenlegs.com but she has resisted that suggestion. Therefore, if you men on I-95 wonder why a car full of women is checking you out so intently – it’s us and we’re trolling for chicken legs. There are also discussions of those things that especially concern a woman as young as Erica – and she is considerably younger than 3 of us in the carpool.

Sometimes the subject of work arises in our conversation, but more often we find ourselves discussing Jason v. Sonny on General Hospital. Erica is mad for Jason and I am a staunch Sonny fan. Those dimples! And let the record reflect that when Erica and I are absorbed in our discussion, Lucille often feigns falling asleep from boredom and Janet and Hope quietly veer off in their own conversational direction.

Recently we have discussed the kind of house Erica will build when she is a famous screenwriter living in Hollywood. We haven’t had the heart to tell her that she really wouldn’t want to LIVE in Hollywood, except in a metaphorical sense. More importantly, it had never occurred to her that she cannot have the brick house she has always wanted if she chooses to live in Southern California. She actually asked if L.A. really did have earthquakes and we assured her that in less than a year, she would become INTIMATELY acquainted with the damned things.

So if ABC’s version of Carpoolers is as bad as the reviews have led me to believe, it’s their own darned fault if they get canceled. They didn’t consult US!

We are smarter, funnier and – with Lucille behind the wheel – we’re one heck of a lot faster!

TODAY'S MUST READ

For the sake of your mind and/or your soul, you must head on over to Common Sense America and read, more than once, Christi's remarkable commentary on the Episcopal/Angelican divide in America. She's always good, but this is beyond good - moving right over the line into GREAT! Thanks, Christi!

21 WAYS TO BE A GOOD DEMOCRAT!

This has been around several times, but it definitely needs to be repeated.

1. You have to be against capital punishment, but support abortion on demand.

2. You have to believe that businesses create oppression and governments create prosperity.

3. You have to believe that guns in the hands of law-abiding Americans are more of a threat than U.S. nuclear weapons technology in the hands of Chinese and North Korean communists.

4. You have to believe that there was no art before Federal funding.

5. You have to believe that global temperatures are less affected by cyclical documented changes in the earth's climate and more affected by soccer moms driving SUV's.

6. You have to believe that the AIDS virus is spread by a lack of federal funding.

7. You have to believe that the same teacher who can't teach 4th-graders how to read is somehow qualified to teach those same kids about sex.

8. You have to believe that hunters don't care about nature, but loony activists who have never been outside of San Francisco do.

9. You have to believe that self-esteem is more important than actually doing something to earn it.

10. You have to believe that Mel Gibson spent $25 million of his own money to make The Passion of the Christ for financial gain only.

11. You have to believe the NRA is bad because it supports certain parts of the Constitution, while the ACLU is good because it supports certain parts of the Constitution.

12. You have to believe that taxes are too low, but ATM fees are too high.

13. You have to believe that Margaret Sanger and Gloria Steinem are more important to American history than Thomas Jefferson, Gen. Robert E. Lee,Thomas Edison and A.G. Bell.

14. You have to believe that standardized tests are racist, but racial quotas and set-asides are not.

15. You have to believe that Hillary Clinton is normal and is a very nice person.

16. You have to believe that the only reason socialism hasn't worked anywhere it's been tried is because the right people haven't been in charge.

17. You have to believe conservatives telling the truth belong in jail, but a liar and a sex offender belonged in the White House.

18. You have to believe that homosexual parades displaying drag queens,transvestites, and bestiality should be constitutionally protected, and manger scenes at Christmas should be illegal.

19. You have to believe that illegal Democratic Party funding by the Chinese Government is somehow in the best interest of the United States.

20. You have to believe that it's OK to give Federal workers the day off on Christmas Day but it's not OK to say 'Merry Christmas.'

Last, but not least:

21. You have to believe that this message is a part of a vast, right-wing conspiracy.

BOLLINGER "GROWS A PAIR" - SORT OF

HILLARY PROVES SHE STILL HAS HERS

The President of Columbia actually spoke to that dangerous sociopathic psychopath Ahmadinejad in a less than deferential tone last night. That doesn't really excuse the stupidity of the invitation to speak at a formerly prestigious American university that was extended to this mass murdering son-of-a-bitch, but at least it was a start.

Meanwhile, proving that consistency is her forte, the Spawn of Satan leveraged the possibility of an interview with serial rapist and adulterer Bill Clinton slated for GQ in order to quash an unflattering story about Herself that was due to appear in the same publication. If she is this heavy-handed as a candidate, can you even begin to imagine how she'd be in the event (heaven forfend) she is elected?! The mind boggles and reels at the same time!

AHMADINEJAD AND GROUND ZERO

This demented nutbar is the best argument in favor of the U.S. getting the hell out of the U.N. and then kicking the U.N. out of this country. And as far as I'm concerned, when they leave, the U.N. can take Columbia University with it!

Yes, I'm feeling VERY cranky today!

O.J. OUT ON BAIL

Frankly, my dear, I don't give a horse's patoot! Nor do I give a rip about Britney Spears and her debauched behavior. Ditto Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton.

There is a large group of people roaming around the world whose only desire in life is to see the American people suffer and die, and they don't care about dying themselves which is what makes them pretty doggone dangerous. We have a U.S. Congress that consists primarily of moronic twits who think if we just "talk nice" to these people, they'll love us! Trust me, they won't!

While accusing Republicans of being "corrupt", the Democrats in Congress largely overlook the endemic corruption existing in their own party. Hillary's fund-raising debacles are somewhat more than questionable? Move along folks, nothing to see here! Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi's real estate kerfluffles? Move along folks, nothing to see here! Don't have any clear agenda other than unreasoning hatred of the other guy? Go with what you have, particularly if your gross dishonesty and viciousness is aided and abetted by a complicit leftwing media. Oh, and while you're at it, call Fox News any vile and despicable name you can think of.

The purpose of the Federal government is to protect and defend this nation. WHENINHELL are these wastes of human skin who DARE call themselves Senators and Congressmen going to get on with the business they were elected to do?

Unite for Victory

I received this today from Merrilee Carlson at "Families United" .

Dear friends,

MoveOn.org and their cohorts in Congress claimed 2007 the "Iraq Summer" and boasted it was only a matter of time before they forced troops out of Iraq.

The Politico reported that one of the leading anti-war activists said this of the GOP, "We're going to smash their heads against their base and flush them down the toilet."

Friends, the radical anti-war groups have never been more serious and today they are getting help in Congress from Senator Jim Webb.

Senator Webb is introducing a deceitful amendment labeled, "Support the troops," but it is anything but supportive.

The Pentagon, General Petraeus, Secretary of Defense Gates and leading military officials all agree that this legislation is nothing more that a slow bleed on our troops which would actually tie the hands of the Generals on the ground, making it even more difficult to fight the war on terror.

We must stand United for a Strong America - please call and let your legislators know that we stand United and Strong and they should not be bullied into making a bad choice for America. Also, they should know that we believe this Webb Amendment will weaken our military's ability to keep troops where they are needed - when they are needed.

We need your help! Please call 1-888-362-2813 today. An operator will connect you to your Member of Congress. Please share your voice and let them know we proud Americans stand strong beside our troops and disagree with the Webb, that the amendment is just WRONG! Tell them that victory is America's only option in Iraq.

Who do you trust to fight the war in Iraq: General Petraeus or Congress? The Senators below are on the fence - make sure they hear from you today!

Senator George Voinovich (OH) - (202) 224-3353
Senator Lisa Murkowski (AK) - (202) 224-6665
Senator Arlen Specter (PA) - (202) 224-4254
Senator John Sununu (NH) - (202) 224-2841
Senator Susan Collins (ME) - (202) 224-2523
Senator Lamar Alexander (TN) - (202) 224-4944

I'm sorry to say that Webb is my current Senator and VOINOVICH (who I am convinced is either an idiot or senile) is my FORMER Senator.

I leave it up to you whether or not you do something about this.

Oh yes - and to those who sat on their hands last election, once again, thank you.

WHAT A MAN SHOULD BE!

UPDATE 9/20/07: Hillary Rodham Clinton is NO judge of character (Look who she married - a serial rapist and adulterer!) and this bitch is, in addition, a freaking IDIOT for calling Vice President Cheney "Darth Vader". I'm sure she's thinking that she's "all that and a bag of chips" and terribly clever, when the reality is that she is a dishonest, corrupt, shrill and unlikeable buffoon with all the grace and charm of a rabid and syphylitic hippo on the rampage! And no, I do NOT like the woman (just in case you hadn't guessed).

WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT IT?


I’m not exactly defending Senator Barack Obama, but I found this comment by Rev. Jesse Jackson, notorious race-baiting hustler, to be more than a little offensive:

Jackson sharply criticized presidential hopeful and Illinois Sen. Barack Obama for “acting like he’s white” in what Jackson said has been a tepid response to six black juveniles’ arrest on attempted-murder charges in Jena, La. Jackson, who also lives in Illinois, endorsed Obama in March, according to The Associated Press.

“If I were a candidate, I’d be all over Jena,” Jackson said after an hour-long speech at Columbia’s historically black Benedict College.

Maybe that’s why, you corrupt cretin, Senator Obama is in the Senate and you, Rev. Jackson, are NOT. Criminals are criminals and the color of their skin doesn’t change one whit the degree of their guilt. If the positions had been reversed and the person beaten was black and the 6 people doing the beating were white – I’d be JUST AS OUTRAGED.

And while we’re on the subject, Rev. Jackson, not ONE WORD of apology has emanated from your despicable and dishonest mouth since the Attorney General of the State of North Carolina unequivocally stated that the three indicted Duke lacrosse players were INNOCENT and that NO CRIME HAD OCCURRED. You were really anxious to grab as much “face time” for yourself as you could when disbarred District Attorney Nifong was using race-baiting to win election to office. Now that he has been completely discredited, you are missing in action from that situation!

If "acting white" means that the person isn't acting like YOU, Rev. Jackson, then my applause definitely goes to Senator Barack Obama! He's showing something you lack in its entirety: class.

Parker adopts baby from Africa

9/18/07 4:32 p.m. - 1 hour, 46 minutes ago
NEW YORK - Mary-Louise Parker has adopted a baby girl from Africa, her spokeswoman confirmed to People.com. When asked for comment Tuesday, Parker's spokeswoman, Tamar Salup, referred The Associated Press to the Web site.

Parker, 43, has a 3-year-old son, Will, with ex-boyfriend Billy Crudup.

It’s wonderful that these showbiz types want to give a home to a child that is orphaned and nobody, least of all this writer, would criticize that impulse. EXCEPT, how many orphaned children of color live in THIS COUNTRY and need homes? Granted, adopting an orphaned child from Detroit isn’t as EXOTIC – but is it any less praiseworthy?

WHAT LAST NIGHT’S EMMY BROADCAST SAYS ABOUT HOLLYWOOD
(but not necessarily about America)

Sally Field, a woman heretofore not known as a rocket scientist, proved that prior assessment to be quite valid when she confused her PRETEND life as the mother of a serving soldier with her REAL life where she has no child in the military - in a mightily bleeped acceptance speech. Please, for the love of God, don't give this dingbat any more AWARDS!

Robert Duvall may have all his marbles, but they weren’t on display during his incomprehensible and endlessly rambling acceptance speech for Best Miniseries. Who even watched it?

Neil Patrick Harris, who is openly gay, embarrassed himself with a leering set of one-liners aimed at Hayden Panatierre, one of the few 18-year olds who isn’t in rehab or running around flashing her crotch. She certainly deserved better despite the décolletage on the gown she was almost wearing sending a message of its own.

The evening abounded with one-liners, double-entendres and generally inappropriately political prattling, bad language and utterly indefensible smut talk and near-miss nudity. Note to Joely Fisher – the fact that you have a new set of implants does not mean that all of America is even slightly interested in nipple positioning!

Does this indict the American television viewer? Perhaps a tiny bit. But more than anything, it indicts the people of the television entertainment industry who display themselves as brainless, witless and wholly lacking in morality or ethics, in conjunction with sufficient arrogance to believe that they actually have some modicum of brains!

What – did you think Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan were isolated incidents?

Final note: These were the TELEVISION awards. Dare one ask why on earth the production was, as usual, lackluster at best?

AWESOME DISCOVERY - RIGHT IN MY OWN BACKYARD!

Today I discovered an awesome writer named Donnie Johnston who writes in the Fredericksburg Free Lance Star newspaper. The premise of today's column is "Why should anyone give a contribution to a politician?" Go read him - he's delightful!

DEMOCRATS - OFF THEIR MEDS?

I am more convinced than ever that most of the Democrats in the Senate (and a few Republicans) and far too many of the Democrats in the House are in serious need of psychological counseling and serious medication. They appear to be quite eager to sell their souls for the votes of the nutroots and sell out our country for political gain. In all of this, I do not refer to such as Joe Lieberman who is a man of principle and character. Even when I don't agree with his position, I respect his intelligence, courage and honesty. I cannot say the same for the likes of Harry Reid and his acolyte little Chuckie Schumer or Nancy Pelosi and a host of insane Dems in the House such as John "Slander the Trooops for Fun and Profit" Murtha. And while we're on the subject, why was Chuckie Schumer flapping his pie hole on Rosh Hashanah?

What is wrong with these people? How do we take back our country from this completely maniacal and destructive MINORITY (and I do believe that right now the tail is wagging the dog in a very real fashion)? The danger to our nation more and more seems to emanate from within its rather porous borders.

REALLY WORTHWHILE AND UPLIFTING READ: Go on over to In My Taxi to read about a beauty queen and her dedication to the idea of serving our nation in Iraq. It's a really uplifting piece of writing by Paul.

THERE THEY GO AGAIN!

Every single solitary time I think the Democrats in the House or Senate cannot possibly show any less class, there they go again!

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid vowed on Wednesday to block former Solicitor General Theodore Olson from becoming attorney general if President George W. Bush nominates him to replace Alberto Gonzales, because he’s “partisan”. Senator Reid is quoted as saying: “The last thing we need at the Department of Justice is a partisan!”. No Senator Reid, you ignorant and pusillanimous pipsqueak, the LAST THING this Nation needs at the Department of Justice is someone YOU would consider worthy of approval! This current crop of Democrats in the Senate and the House are UN-freaking believable, folks!

Let’s glance at Ted Olson’s qualifications. He has served under Presidents Reagan and George H.W. Bush. He is respected and admired by the Department of Justice employees, who are largely demoralized by the troubles their department has experienced during the past couple of years. A legal superstar such as Ted Olson could be expected to attract experienced and talented colleagues to join him throughout the balance of the current Administration. Olson left the Justice Department in 2004 with his formidable reputation further enhanced. He skillfully served as solicitor general with unquestionable integrity and without a whiff of partisanship. Granted he would fulfill his oath of office without fear or favor – but maybe THAT is what the Democrats in all their corrupt glory fear the most.

This should be interesting: Harry Reid, ineffective yet contentious Senator from the State of Nevada, attempting to assume moral superiority of which he is completely devoid over the widower of the late, lamented and brilliant Barbara Olson, whose books exposing the vileness that is Hillary Rodham Clinton were immensely informative and popular.

This could get interesting - and not in a good way – for the Dems.

And I still say Ann Coulter would be a brilliant backup nominee. Hey, Senator Reid, you want to talk about PARTISAN?

UPDATE 9/14/07:

In his rousing endorsement of Theodore Olson for U.S Attorney General, none other than former White House Special Counsel to President Clinton, Lanny Davis, writes:

"I believe he is 100 percent intellectually honest: meaning, he applies the same standards of analysis and applies the same set of principles to each issue, regardless of whether the outcome will be a liberal one or a conservative one. I wish there were more people in Washington and in politics I could say that about, on both sides of the ideological and partisan spectrum."

TALK ABOUT POLITICALLY TONE DEAF!

The purported "smartest woman in the world" is proving once again that she is anything but.

In the first place, her campaign announced that they were returning $850,000 in donations that came courtesy of criminal Norman Hsu. This is problematic since apparently the funds were the fruits of another of Mr. Hsu's "ponzi schemes" and therefore owed to his defrauded investors.

Today, the Clinton campaign announced that IF the individual so-called contributors were willing to SWEAR that it really was their money, the Clinton campaign would accept a new check from these people (from the funds that presumably were being returned).

Any way you look at it, the managers of Mrs. Clinton's presidential campaign are displaying gross dishonesty, stupidity and a complete lack of awareness of how their actions illuminate the corrupt practices of Mrs. Clinton's fund raising efforts. And ultimately, even if she knew nothing about any of this (which I very much doubt), the responsibility is hers.

Smartest woman in the world? I don't think so!

WHAT PART OF "THEY WANT TO KILL US" DO THESE LEFTIST DEMS NOT UNDERSTAND?

COULD IT POSSIBLY BE THAT, AT LONG LAST,

MOVEON.ORG HAS “JUMPED THE SHARK”?

The full page ad run in the New York Times features a large headline under a picture of the general that reads: "General Petraeus or General Betray Us?" It goes on to say, "Cooking the books for the White House: General Petraeus is a military man constantly at war with the facts."

For a change the Republicans are actually speaking out sharply against this kind of hate speech from the Left, although the response is being characterized thus: “MoveOn.org's Attack Ad on Petraeus Strikes Republicans' Nerves”. No, you dopey dimwits, Republicans are PISSED OFF and sick of listening to this crap.

Some reactions:

"I resent the comments of those who have sat comfortably in their air-conditioned offices, thousands of miles away from the firefights and the roadside bombs, and tried their Washington best in recent days to impugn the general’s good name," Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said in a statement delivered from the Senate floor on Monday.

The ad points to statements from Petraeus such as, "We have achieved progress," regarding the troop surge this year, but says the war is failing, and criticizes the Defense Department for adopting reporting rules that MoveOn says show a rosier picture of Iraqi casualties than reality.

White House spokesman Tony Snow dismissed the ad Monday morning as a an attempt to smear the general before his testimony, and called it "boorish" and "childish."

Sen. John Ensign, chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, said a failure of Democrats to denounce the ad would mean they have decided re-election is more important than "moving our country forward" or being fair to Petraeus.

"Today, ostensibly on behalf of National Democrats, Democrat front group MoveOn.org is calling a unanimously confirmed United States General a liar and betrayer of the public trust. Apparently the prospect of campaign funds is enough of an incentive for Senate Democrats to stand idly by while a respected General is maligned before he has even presented his report to Congress, said Ensign of Nevada. [emphasis mine]

Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., said: “It’s repugnant, but unfortunately not surprising, to see MoveOn.org launch this despicable ad campaign against General Petraeus."

Arizona Republican, Sen. John McCain, issued a statement calling the ad a "McCarthyite attack" and "despicable."

"This is a man who has devoted his life in service to our nation and has defended America in many battles over many years," said McCain, also a White House contender, calling on Democrats to join him in condemning the ad.

The only condemnation of this ad that I found somewhat disingenuous was that of Senator John McCain, since it is his wonderful legislation, McCain-Feingold, which MADE MoveOn.org possible and powerful. Thanks Senator McCain and why aren’t you apologizing for your handiwork WHILE condemning the fruits of it!

What I do know is that the people at MoveOn.org are despicable and seditious cowards, financed by a lunatic whose hatred of his adopted homeland seemingly knows no bounds. George Soros makes me ashamed to be of Hungarian ancestry!

UPDATE: Three Democrats, one of them expected and the other two garnering a modicum of unexpected respect from me, have unequivocally condemned the MoveOn.org ad: Senator Joseph Lieberman condemned it almost immediately. But his disgust with the ad was echoed by both Senators John F. Kerry and "Rosary Joe" Biden! A shred of decency? You decide.

MEANWHILE, ON THE IDIOT BOX . .

That bag of bloviating bull chips, Senator Edward Moore Kennedy (D-Chivas) was babbling to Bob Schieffer Sunday morning about the surge and how it "isn't working", a fiction even Senator Horse Puckey's Democratic colleagues aren't trying to sell to the credulous minority that may occasionally buy their line of nonsense. Hey, Ted, you ignorant jackass, if you're going to lie about progress in Iraq, at least stick with the current lie, instead of the one that even the dimmest of dimwits in your Party aren't trying to sell any longer!

OHIO STATE 20, AKRON 2

Then there’s the hapless TTUN who were drubbed by the “other OSU” (Oregon) by a lopsided score of 39-7 in front of a home crowd. The offense was unable to make up for the flawed Michigan defense. Quarterback Chad Henne, running back Mike Hart and offensive tackle Jake Long are all returning veterans from last year’s strong team but they don’t seem to be providing the leadership this young team needs. And the loss to Appalachian State, while delicious to those of us who are supporters of Ohio State, appears to have thoroughly demoralized TTUN. Worse yet, Carr’s job looks to be in jeopardy and that isn’t necessarily a good thing for The Ohio State University Buckeyes.

Meanwhile, once again Jim Tressell proves that he is consistently a gentleman. Once again the score was not run into the stratosphere against an overmatched opponent. Tressell, you make me proud to be a Buckeye Alum!

NO MORE “CHINESE FOOD” FOR THE SPAWN OF SATAN?

Those of you who read me regularly have long suspected that I’m not a big fan of Hillary Rodham Clinton. She has accomplished nothing substantive during her Senate tenure, other than her vote in favor of the Iraq war, a vote away from which she has been scurrying ever since.

So imagine my fascination and delight as the saga of Norman Hsu unfolds, Norman Hsu is the man who seemingly materializes substantial campaign funds out of thin air through the pockets of otherwise low income or moderate income Chinese-American citizens, thus circumventing the interdiction against foreign contributions to presidential campaigns.

Despite the fact that Mr. Hsu is a convicted felon facing 15 years in prison, he has somehow managed, quite magically, to live freely and openly in New York for a number of years after his years of living in the environs of Shanghai and Hong Kong. And as a part of his U.S. ventures, he apparently went into the business of supporting candidates for public office, all of them Democrats either directly or through third-parties. It’s interesting that all of the politicians who were tsk-tsk-ing and boo-hooing over Jack Abramoff, are greeting the spreading information about Norman Hsu with “Nothing to see here. Move along now!”

Mr. Hsu’s adventures read more like a bad spy novel and that is what worries me. How is it that he has done what he has done, in the way that he has done it? Where DOES all the money come from, since Mr. Hsu has no visible means of support? How LONG has Mr. Hsu been making contributions to the Clintons, Mr. and Mrs.? And finally, what benefits does he hope to derive from the various contributions made to all the Democratic candidates through his various “fronts”?

It seemed like the entire l’affaire Hsu was going to be a 10-day wonder when Mr. Hsu turned himself in to the California authorities recently. Then came the news several days ago that he had skipped bail.

Sad to say, it is inevitable to speculate about the involvement of a former U.S. president and his consort. What really happened on that Amtrak train from which Mr. Hsu was removed to the hospital yesterday and was it related – as have so many other incidents of like nature – to the Clinton machine? What is the true nature of his “illness”? And think about the fact that we can even ask such a question about a former U.S. President, something that was unheard of before 1992.

If, as many suspect is the case, Mr. Hsu is an agent of the Chinese (and somehow the Chinese theme recurs frequently in the saga of the Clintons), then he is a particularly maladroit one at times. But nefarious and undercover connections might explain why he was able to disappear so successfully in the early 90s and why it was so imperative for him to do so now.

Was a deliberate attempt to silence Norman Hsu made on that train or did he fear that one was imminent? Does the man have dirty secrets that someone thinks should remain hidden? Just how high up in our government is that person who wishes to remain unknown?

Finally, just how long does Norman Hsu have to live? For anyone associated with the Clintons in any way, that is a valid question.

R.I.P. DEAR LUCIANO

Luciano Pavarotti, the Italian tenor who did a great deal to bring GOOD music to resistant ears and whose voice and performances from concert houses to outdoor stadiums made him a pop icon, has died at the age of 71. From some who eulogize him comes excessive hyperbole. That he was a brilliant singer and performer, there is no doubt. That he was the ABSOLUTE best, of that there is some doubt. I tend to prefer the technical brilliance and attention to detail of the unsurpassed Placido Domingo, but Pavarotti’s passion and emotional freedom were riveting.

Pavarotti was larger than life in every sense of the word. His talents were huge, as was his appetite for life. He leaves behind a legacy of magnificent music, an example of a gargantuan zest for life and, for those who have ever heard him sing – either in person or in recordings – a memory of surpassing beauty.

I can only think that God needed another tenor in the heavenly choir. And he needed THIS voice for this beautiful piece of music. While others may rhapsodize about other gorgeous pieces of music sung by the extraordinary Luciano, the Ave Maria is definitive for me.

WHOOPI GOLDBERG IS A MORON!

Way to start the new gig, Goldberg!

On her first outing as a regular on The View, Whoopi Goldberg opined that Michael Vick, former multimillion dollar contract football player, shouldn’t be disdained for financing and running a dog fighting ring where losing dogs were tortured and brutally executed because “down there” that’s commonplace.

Whoopi, you blithering idiot – lynching black people used to be commonplace too! Are you sorry the South stopped doing THAT?

Dog fighting is AGAINST THE LAW. No amount of moral equivalency bullshit will make that less true. Nor will any amount of apologia for a black athlete caught doing something despicable make his offenses any less egregious.

Goldberg, you are Rosie-redux!

IT’S NOT LIKE ME TO GLOAT!

Well, okay, actually it IS like me to gloat – especially in this instance.

The Ohio State University, beloved alma mater of yours truly, was magnanimously victorious in their first football game of the season this past Saturday, defeating Youngstown State University in a game that probably could have been a total blowout, had it not been for the fact that Jim Tressell (a true gentleman) doesn’t believe in humiliating opponents.

The University of Michigan (hereafter to be known as That Team Up North or TTUN) was not so lucky. They were defeated by Appalachian State University (it's in North Caorlina kids) 34-32. TTUN was bigger. Appalachian State displayed two qualities that made the difference: superior speed and PASSION. Let’s hope, for the sake of The Ohio State University, that this humiliation doesn’t lead to the firing of TTUN’s coach Carr.

DOGGONE IT – those two games conspired to make me have a WONDERFUL holiday weekend. Hope all of you had something equally sweet to enjoy!