ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST!

The killing of U.S.-born Anwar al-Awlaki means that one very, very bad bad man had a very bad bad day! Meanwhile, a debate seems to be shaping up as to whether or not killing him via drone is somehow "cricket" in terms of warfare! My response, hell to the yes! Dead is dead and this creature needed eradication! The fact that he was born here only makes his acts and intentions more heinous and frankly, citizenship doesn't matter a tinker's damn when you're openly and vocally plotting against the U.S. and its citizens!

I don't want to sound like some sort of hardass, but these are the same people who planned and financed and directed the killing of some 3,000 innocent humans on 9/11 and they need to be erased from the face of this planet if we ever have a hope in hell of moving into a better place in terms of international terrorism. If they think they can kill, maim and traumatize this country or other innocents with no consequences, then they will continue to do so!

Screw it! Wipe them all off the face of this blighted planet and let God sort out the details!

DANCING WITH THE STARS - WEEK 2

To my utter astonishment, Rob Kardashian was a refreshing performer on Monday night's show. And of course, J. R. Martinez and Carson Kressley continue to entertain.

I'm almost hoping that Chaz Bono gets voted off tonight. His effort is so sincere and the pain and injury it is causing for him is so evident, that for his own sake, he shouldn't continue on the show. On the other hand, he does want it so badly and he is losing weight. There is nothing about him that would lead anyone to believe he is anything other than a sincere, sweet person.

Nancy Grace was pleasing, as was Chynna Phillips. That Canalis woman needs to go. There is a sweet, wounded quality to her face, but really, a dancer she is not! David Arquette should stay for the sheer entertainment value. Likewise Ricki Lake who is a determined woman!

DANCING WITH THE STAR - FIRST NIGHT

J. R. Martinez is now my official pick to win the competition because (a) he is a wonderful dancer already in the first week and (b) he is clearly a beautiful human being. That smile of his is the most incredible testament to the man's quality as a human being and in all other ways.

Following closely in my view is the effervescent Carson Daly who brings a sense of outright fun to the proceedings, David Arquette who is surprisingly good and to my astonishment - Rob Kardashian who - if he can just forget his nightmare of a family is sitting there watching and judging him - will do very, very well. One thing the Kardashian kids are good at is hard work. I wouldn't count out Rikki Lake either. Surprisingly good work from that quarter.

UPDATE: Well, Ron Artest is gone - which surprised me. Elisabetta Canalis survived until next week, as did Chaz Bono who kind of surprised me!

PRIMETIME EMMY FASHION

Okay, Rule #1 - if you are flat chested, don't wear a neckline that plunges down to your waist! It looks stupid and only emphasizes how you were cheated by the boob fairy! Nobody wants to see your bony poitrine!

If you are attending the Emmys, get your damned roots done!

People are criticizing Katie Holmes for her beautiful blue gown saying it was "too casual". That is an asinine critique. What I would call her look is "classic". And simplicity is the highest form of elegance. Unlike others in attendance, she wasn't tricked out like some kind of circus pony.

Gwyneth Paltrow - you are too old to be baring your midriff! And take a curling iron to that limp, style-free hair of yours! Make an effort at least! Kudos, however, for having your roots in good shape!

To all teenagers: Take a lesson from Kelly Osbourne who has been very clear that she regrets the tattoos on her forearms. Consider your future life and what a potential employer will think of you. Don't get your tattoos in places that are impossible to conceal. Tattoos make a person look cheap and dirty. And removing tattoos is a difficult, lengthy and painful process. For the most part, people looked good although what in the hell was Heidi Klum thinking and did Seal take a shower before hitting the red carpet?

63rd ANNUAL PRIMETIME EMMYS

As of this writing, the show has been lugubriously lumbering along for nearly 1-1/2 hours. Jane Lynch is a disaster as a host and the writing of the show, such as it is, is relying on lame and tired political cliches (Bristol Palin jokes), and thinly disguised social agenda items. The production numbers are overproduced and incoherent and all in all it is an appallingly bad show, particularly in view of the fact that it is on the medium it is supposed to be celebrating.

What is so hard about these awards shows? They used to be entertaining. Show some clips of the nominated actors/shows, present the awards, have a couple of singing numbers that related to the nominated programs. Now it's all sly innuendo, utterly unfunny humor and the flopsweat of the Hollywood liberal establishment desperately attempting to remain relevant! The only win that I applaud is that of Melissa McCarthy for her leading role on Mike and Molly - a show that has the temerity to focus on two seriously overweight people who are actually sexual! And here the "industry" has been trying to convince us that only if you are a size 0 are you able to find love!

At long last, the television academy is putting on full display the paucity of its intelligence, humor and insights! And for that, we should all be grateful.

JOBS PEOPLE CAN DO RIGHT NOW!

I was speaking to my insurance agent this morning and he was sitting in his home office in shorts and flipflops - because there's about an inch of water in there! His insurance carrier has approved the required repairs - but he cannot find anyone to actually perform the work. And it occurred to me that he cannot be the only person in this country who has been hit with a natural disaster side effect like my insurance agent and, thanks to the shortage of people willing to perform actual physical labor, there are paying jobs out there being undone!

So good old American ingenuity needs to kick in here and those who are able bodied and seeking to earn their October rent and any other needs, make your availability known. Put up flyers at the local supermarket. Make your availability known online.

There are people with a strong need and the ability to pay you to fulfill their needs. Pitch in, do a good and responsible job and earn some money for yourself! Clearly I am not inviting the hustlers and the con artists to weigh in but if we fill the ranks of the available helpers with good folks like ourselves, there won't be room for the jerks!

LUCIANNE.COM SAYS IT BEST

Sometimes the simplest gesture is the best! Christie continues to be one of my absolute favorites! No nonsense, blunt spoken, absolutely certain of what he believes and totally courageous in acting upon those beliefs!

A good man, maybe even a great one!

WE WILL NEVER FORGET

Ten years ago today, I was home from work with an "iffy" tummy and had gone into the living room to sip a cup of herbal tea, something I only drink when I'm feeling punk. I turned on the television and watched with my mouth hanging open what was happening in New York City. I watched in horror throughout the day, cried a lot and worried a lot about my sister who was, at the time of the attack on the Pentagon, en route into D.C. for work and, as it happened, at the Crystal City train stop just as the planes hit! It was several hours before I could ascertain that she was okay.

As the day went by, I watched in amazement as the formerly uber-partisan Congress acted like patriots and supported our President wholeheartedly, if only for a short while. I thanked God multiple times that Albert Gore, Jr. had lost the Florida recount and thanked God for the blessing of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney heading the Executive Branch.

I listened in amazement at some of the truly stupid comments made - such as Rosie O'Donnell's assertion that it was the "first time in history" that fire had melted metal - an utterance that would have astonished my late grandfather who worked in the Carnegie Steelworks in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania! The boundless reach of celebrity stupidity still amazes me, and you have to remember, I was a lot younger then - only 59 years old!

I continue to consider this the greatest nation on earth and I still mourn the loss of those3,000 souls on the planes and in the buildings and in the field in Shanksville. I still have a vivid memory of the oft-maligned, but still magnificent, Donald Rumsfeld rolling up his sleeves and helping to evacuate the injured from the Pentagon. We frequently failed to appreciate this exceptional man.

As the ceremony in New York looms, I continue to be completely flummoxed by Mayor Bloomberg's decision, facilitated in large part by the mainstream media's silence on the matter, to exclude First Responders and Clergy from the program! You stupid, stupid man, one who will be remembered as an overly interfering proponent of the nanny state and the ham-handed moronic planning you espoused and permitted! Dumbshit! Bloomberg, you may be rich and you may be the Mayor of New York but you aren't Rudy Giuliani and you never will be!

There were some egregious villains involved in the 9/11 attacks but many marvelous and praiseworthy heroes who were little noted and who shunned that notice pretty thoroughly. Their humility and heroism is duly noted by the Ultimate Judge whose presence is apparently not required at the remembrance in New York. And Who, Mayor Bloomberg, is responsible for the fact that the death toll wasn't higher? Who, dummy, who?

Shit, I've lived too long and grieved too much. But my young friend Jillian put it best at the age of 2 when on 9/11/01 she opined that someone should do something to those people "who broke our stuff"! A patriot in the making, that one. At 12 she is incredible and I love her. So happy birthday doll girl. I love you very much.

DOUBLING DOWN ON INCOMPETENCE

In Thursday night's speech to the U.S. Congress, President Obama did not disappoint in at least one respect, he is still, and everlastingly, in campaign mode. The man has no idea how to govern, thus he goes to his fallback position, campaigning for undeserved reelection.

His speech was disingenuous in the extreme, condescending and warmly received by his fellow Democrats while John Boehner sat unsmiling behind him as the President attempted unsuccessfully to throw the entire Republican Party under the bus. There was one small deviation from same-old, same-old. As one wag put it, "at least he didn't blame President Bush for all our problems". This was, indeed, refreshing. And in point of fact, there were a few kernels of possible actions by the Congress that both precisely duplicate suggestions that have been pushed by Republicans in prior years and are a possible basis for compromise. Although, the dud who occupies the Oval Office made it quite clear that his vassals in the U.S. Congress are to give him his jobs bill just as he has proposed it - right, like THAT is going to happen!

He stuck to his everlasting refrain - class warfare - although he attempted to present it in such a way that we wouldn't "catch on" to his duplicity. Barry Soetero, buy a vowel. We've heard it all before on numerous occasions and we stopped buying your flimflam a long, long time ago.

Most particularly, The Won was demanding and arrogant - ordering the Congress to "Pass it now!" as though the representatives of We the People were only there to do his bidding. This is especially galling since he has claimed in the past to be a Constitutional Law professor (he wasn't) thus one would think that at least he would know that the Executive Branch is only one of three co-equal branches of the U.S. government. Those Congressmen and Senators who were in attendance are not his vassals, any more than are We the People.

All in all, it was tedious in the extreme to watch thinly disguised attempts to raise taxes and maintain out-of-control spending being espoused by a president who doesn't know what in the hell he is doing, is incapable of and unwilling to learn how to govern, and while claiming extreme patriotism, is doing everything in his power to destroy our Constitution, our liberties and our way of life for his own and his master's (Soros) twisted ends!