THE EXCELLENT BENEDICT WILL BE IN

WASHINGTON, D.C. NEXT MONTH!

The excellent Pope Benedict XVI will be in D.C. next month and will celebrate Mass at the new Washington Nationals stadium during his visit. I very much suspect that he will draw a crowd far larger than will the baseball team – and rightly so.

Pope Benedict garnered headlines during Easter observances when he very publicly baptized with his own hands, and publicly, one Magdi Allam, who chose the baptismal name “Christian”.

As the inimitable and brilliant Anchoress put it:

“Magdi Christian Allam — or Christian Allam, however this very brave man wishes to style it — told reporters, after receiving baptism, confirmation and his first Holy Communion, “this is the happiest day of my life,” and he also had a few words to say about the current state of Islam.

Christian Allam knows that he is now a target, that in some extremist quarters his conversion is seen as justification for his death.

But Christian Allam is now justified by Christ.

I am sure the timing of this baptism was no accident. And I have read more than a few comments suggesting Christian Allam go into hiding, somewhere. But I doubt he will. He seems made of tough stuff.

Christian Allam now feeds on the Body and Blood of Christ - through his veins the blood runs both royal and supernatural. If Christian Allam is now killed for his faith he knows his place in eternity; he knows, too, that anyone stupid enough to murder him for his faith will speed Christian Allam’s way to heaven wearing a martyr’s crown - and a true martyr eats not the golden raisin nor plunders the numerous virgins; he becomes a saint in heaven, and an inspiration. He also becomes an intercessor-in-prayer for the rest of us.”

As an American, and more than that as a Catholic American, I am looking forward to at least being in the same city with this remarkable and holy man!

According to Jake Tapper on ABC News, a Democratic Party Official Claims that Hillary Clinton Will Soon Be Pursuing 'The Tonya Harding Option'

March 25, 2008 3:44 PM

l just spoke with a Democratic Party official, who asked for anonymity so as to speak candidly, who said we in the media are all missing the point of this Democratic fight.

The delegate math is difficult for Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-NY, the official said. But it's not a question of CAN she achieve it. Of course she can, the official said.

The question is -- what will Clinton have to do in order to achieve it?

What will she have to do to Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, in order to eke out her improbable victory?

She will have to "break his back," the official said. She will have to destroy Obama, make Obama completely unacceptable.

"Her securing the nomination is certainly possible - but it will require exercising the 'Tonya Harding option.'" the official said. "Is that really what we Democrats want?"

The Tonya Harding Option -- the first time I've heard it put that way.

It implies that Clinton is so set on ensuring that Obama doesn't get the nomination, not only is she willing to take extra-ruthless steps, but in the end neither she nor Obama win the gold.

Despite the fact that this primary campaign has gone on for far too long, it’s starting to get fascinating at long last!

TUESDAY MORNING RUMINATIONS

Hillary Clinton: In order to be a really great liar, you have to have a really good memory. Hillary? Not so much! If she had remembered that CBS News accompanied her to Bosnia, she would have embroidered the truth a whole lot less. Then again, maybe she was counting on the press to cover her back as it used to do in the PB (pre-Barack) days?

Kwame Kilpatrick is due to be arraigned this morning on the various charges being asserted against him and due to that arraignment, I actually heard a Democrat say something that made me stop in my tracks. CBS News was interviewing the prosecutor who will be handling the case and without prompting she opined: “It isn’t just about sex, it’s about lying under oath, obstruction of justice and misuse of government resources.” HUH? Isn’t that what Republicans were saying way back when Bill Clinton was being impeached?

WORLD FIGURE SKATING CHAMPIONSHIPS

To say that the results were a major disappointment for our country is understatement. On the other hand, that we (or any nation for that matter) would expect our athletes to ALWAYS bring home gold medals is both unfair to the athletes and also unrealistic in the extreme. That said, here’s my assessment, such as it is:

Ladies:

Despite imperfect short and long programs, the victor was Japan’s Mao Asada. She is a charming sprite of a young woman who, with maturity, may remain a force to be reckoned with. Carolina Kostner, a skater who does not impress me, won the silver. Both Mao Asada and this year’s bronze medalist Yu-Na Kim of South Korea, who is 20 days older than Asada, sat out the 2006 Olympic Games because they were both three months too young. But I can’t help but consider that three U.S. skaters, all too young to compete at Senior World’s (including U.S. Champion Mirai Nagasu) just finished going 1-2-3 in the World Junior Championships. What concerns me is that there seems to be some serious burnout going on with the ladies, none of whom seem to have the staying power (perhaps because of the too-much-too-soon syndrome) of say, a Michelle Kwan. One can only wait and wonder. But the bad news is that because of how poorly the U.S. team performed, the U.S. can only send 2 ladies to next year’s World Championships.

Men:

Jeffrey Buttle skated brilliantly in both his short and long programs to win gold. He is the first Canadian world championship since the days of the extraordinary Elvis Stojko.

I have always been super critical of Johnny Weir, less for his flamboyance and more for his lack of focus and self-discipline. For the entire past season, Mr. Weir has been displaying none of his previous behaviors, he has been training seriously and has been entirely focused on his skating. His infatuation with all things Russian led to him changing coaches to the extremely successful Tatiana Tarasova and her son in law Viktor Petrenko, and it has worked. He definitely earned his bronze medal and I foresee many and better things ahead for him. More important than even Weir’s bronze medal (the only medal earned by any American), is the fact that because he placed third and Steven Carriere placed 10^th, three men will be able to represent the U.S. at the 2009 World Championships. Brian Joubert skated surprisingly well considering his recent and very serious encounter with a most resistant virus which wholly sapped his strength for many weeks, rendering practice impossible. And let’s face it, Joubert is definitely the sexiest male skater in the world today! Next year, if Evan Lysacek is healthy, the men's event should be really exciting!

Pairs:

Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy of Germany won the pairs title at the World Figure Skating Championships, and given the unending controversy surrounding their coach, Ingo Steuer which must cast a pall over their training, I cannot begrudge them their victory in any way. I was, however, sad to see China's Zhang Dan and Zhang Hao beaten. Canada's Jessica Dube and Bryce Davison won the bronze. America’s Rena Inoue and John Baldwin and Brooke Castile and Ben Okolski, skated competently but I do believe that our chances next year (only 2 pair may compete in 2009) will be markedly improved if Inoue and Baldwin retire (and they should) and our U.S. Champions who were too young to compete this year, Keauna McLaughlin and Rockne Brubaker and Castile and Okolski represent our country.

Ice Dance:

Isabelle Delobel and Olivier Schoenfelder won the gold medal. I’m happy for them. Maybe now they’ll go away! I have never liked their skating. At least this year her rather severe patent leather hairdo reflected the chilly reserve they have always exhibited in competition – technically precise and utterly removed from both the emotion of their performance and the audience for whom they are supposed to be skating.. Clearly, skating together for 18 years has paid off for them on a technical level.

On the other hand, I cannot say enough good things about the beautiful skating of Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir of Canada who won the silver medal. They are exquisite and technically brilliant. I am underwhelmed (and then some) by the overly flamboyant, technically deficient pair of Jana Khokhlova and Sergei Novitski, who won the bronze. If they are the future of Russian ice dance, it’s in big, big trouble!

Tanith Belbin and Benjamin Agosto disappointed themselves and their fans by placing 4^th. And maybe that’s a good thing. Belbin and Agosto have made no secret of the fact that they are pacing themselves toward the 2010 Olympics. Better a setback of this kind now, than next year in the run-up to the Olympics! And U.S. ice dancers will have three 2009 worlds spots, with up-and-coming Meryl Davis and Charlie White finishing sixth.

It was a great, self-indulgent weekend of enjoying figure skating! And next weekend the “special performances” will be broadcast, and that’s enjoyable. I recorded all of the action and can replay it when the temps outside are 90° to create the illusion of cooler climes!

Congratulations to all who competed. To even make it to the World Championships is an amazing achievement. And to all of you who’d like to see next year’s World’s in person – they are in Los Angeles and you can start planning your trip now by going to www.dashtours.com where I am also exploring the possibility of being there in person – blogging live!

DO NOT EVER DO BUSINESS WITH DIRECTTV!

When I first moved to Virginia, I had DirectTV installed at my new home. The service was appallingly bad (every little breeze seemed to whisper "no service") and the costs, rather than the amount promised, were always at least $20-$30 higher than agreed. Finally, in frustration, I canceled the DirectTV Service and went with Cox Cable.

Imagine my surprise when I checked my bank balance this morning and discovered that the money needed to pay for my car repairs which had been resting quietly in my bank account, was suddenly GONE due to DirectTV, without authorization and without my foreknowledge, raided my bank account for $257+!

I did not have a contract, but DirectTV is claiming I did. There is absolutely nothing I can do about it at this juncture except to warn everyone that they are SCAM artists who can deliver POOR SERVICE and still collect more than was originally agreed to on a regular basis!

DO NOT SUBSCRIBE TO DIRECTTV. Let my experience with these hucksters be your warning!

BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA - BLAH, BLAH, BLAH!

Apparently the foaming-at-the-mouth hate-filled sermons of his pastor of 20 years aren't supposed to make us wonder about the true beliefs and intentions of candidate for the Democratic nomination, Barack Hussein Obama, 1^st Term Senator representing the State of Illinois (when he can be bothered to show up and when he can be persuaded to do more than vote “present”).

Recently, the Candidate gave a lengthy speech that was intended to calm the furor over some of the Rev. Wright’s more incendiary sermons, many of which appear to me to be somewhat more political than religious in content. Where is the IRS in all of this and shouldn’t they be dealing with Rev. Wright’s church’s tax-exempt status?

Once again, despite his stated aims of keeping race out of the conversation, Senator Obama’s actions and associations inject the subject directly into the political process. And, despite the Senator’s attempts to blame us nasty old conservatives for this latest brouhaha, this one’s on you Senator. All on you!

First your lady wife opines that only IF you are elected President will she be able to feel proud of America. What a condescending, not to mention asinine point of view for someone whose husband aspires to lead this nation! Michelle Obama grew up privileged (despite her protestations to the contrary) and is still living a very privileged life. She is better off than at least 90% of her fellow countrymen, be they black, white, Latino or Asian and she’s got the unmitigated gall to play the VICTIM card? That’s chutzpah, lady!

As for you, Senator, you were raised in extreme comfort in Hawaii of all places, by two loving WHITE grandparents who saw to it that you had the best of everything. So of course you thank them by spouting the inevitable bullshit victim line of gab! I’m sorry – if you went to Harvard, you ain’t no victim, Senator!

Here’s the deal, Senator: You aren’t a dewy eyed kid and your treacle-laden rhetoric is starting to wear thin with a lot of people – even some of those who have been slavishly adoring you for no discernible reason. Time to come clean because these are not times for taking a chance on insubstantial clouds of obfuscation. The American people have the right to know precisely what they’re buying if they choose to vote for you. I don’t give a rat’s eardrum how well you speak, I want some content, dammit!

IF YOU WANT TO SEE MORONS MARCHING, COME TO THE DISTRICT!

Today our Nation’s capital is being treated to the more-than-questionable joys of multiple protests being held all over the place by anti-war/anti-capitalism/anti-who-knows-what protesters. I don’t know what bonehead issued permits for protesters to bedevil sane, hard-working, law-abiding citizens during the work week, but the person in the District’s bureaucracy who is responsible should have his/her derriere kicked by every single citizen who was irritated or inconvenienced by this asinine rabble.

This, from the protesters' website:
"Twenty-four hours from when we began, we will gather at the Reflecting Pool on the West side of the Capitol at 5:00 PM and march with pots and pans in a cacophony of resistance to the Democratic National Committee Headquarters. Here we will make it clear that we hold them accountable for the death, destruction and lies and that we will . . . continue to take action and intervene in their business until our call for peace is honored and all of our troops come home."

So they started at 5:00 p.m. yesterday, which means they have screwed up TWO return trips home for people who have worked hard all day and who have usually endured a wretched commute IN and will, thanks to these self-involved morons, enjoy a similarly unpleasant commute home. My only comfort is that this time the ignorant horde is pissed off at the Democratic Party! What unbelievably sanctimonious arrogance!

I’m sure taxicab drivers are quickly reaching critical mass, since these petulant idiots are doubtless impairing the taxicabs’ ability to earn a living as well! What we'll face heading home is anybody's guess. Hopefully the pinheads won't create any problems for our progress home.

Why do these offensive twits all show up in our Nation’s capital looking like unmade beds? Do they EVER bathe? Do they believe it makes their activities more persuasive if nobody dares get downwind of them? Do they think that those of us who earn the money that makes it possible for them to be parasitical nincompoops deserve no basic courtesy?

Here’s my bottom line: These activities will accomplish not one blessed thing because however many pathetic losers show up to “march with pots and pans in a cacophony of resistance” they are a negligible percentage compared to the Americans who understand the reality of the world as it is – not as these brain dead cretins imagine the world to be. We cannot defeat radical Islamo fascism by joining hands and singing “Kumbaya”. All yesterday and today’s activities will accomplish is to once again send the wrong message to our enemies who fail to grasp the true workings and nature of the American Republic, not to mention pissing me off!

SPITZER HAS RESIGNED

There is now a lot of conversation along the lines that this entire Spitzer situation will be detrimental to a huge extent to the presidential aspirations of Hillary Rodham Clinton. Clearly she is down one superdelegate – but how else should this harm her? She didn’t give Spitzer the money during the past ten years in order for him to patronize whores, nor did she encourage him to do so. Ergo, how is it something that should cause harm to her campaign? I’m just saying.

While I will grant that one cannot help but hearken back to the peccadilloes of Madame’s erstwhile horndog spouse, I find myself somewhat offended by the entire notion that the actions of a third-party should be considered a black mark against a presidential candidate. Hold Hillary responsible for her actions, positions, agenda and speech, absolutely. Do likewise with both Obama and McCain, as well.

Likewise, Democrats seem to be willfully misunderstanding what Geraldine Ferraro said about Obama. Am I the only one who understands that what was said is that, given Obama’s rather miniscule resume of public service and non-existent knowledge of foreign affairs (ala the disastrous Jimmy Carter), not to mention his not-even-one-term as U.S. Senator – and the fact is that he is completely unqualified on any objective basis for the office he seeks and the only reason he IS being considered is BECAUSE he is the “flavor of the month” – that is, an exceptionally skillful public speaker who happens to be half black and half white? The problem is that Mrs. Ferraro didn’t go far enough in what she said. I don’t think HILLARY would be considered qualified either, based on HER resume, were it not for the fact that she’s a woman! And former first lady.

SHAME ON YOU, ELIOT SPITZER!

Given your sanctimonious mien over the years, people can and should be forgiven for finding your current predicament more than a little delicious! That being said, shame on you!

When you marry, current cultural nonsense aside, you make certain VOWS (aka solemn pledges) to your spouse and one of those is fidelity. Now I realize that situational ethics are a big deal to Democrats – but to most women fidelity means you keep your woo-woo in your trousers unless you are planning to indulge in spousal conviviality!

Already it is clear from the various news sites that Democrats are going to fall back on that old standby that they think has served them so well in the past – it’s just sex! Guess what folks – that probably isn’t going to work in this case. Here’s the deal. It is NOT just about sex. It is about violation of Federal law on a number of important levels – let’s start with the Mann Act since you caused your illicit booty to be transported across state lines. Then there’s the matter of engaging in prostitution activities as a “john” – that’s also illegal. And from the indictment (which I have read in its entirety) and the various news reports, you were a repeat offender!

You have not yet resigned and you should – forthwith. And that trifling excuse for an apology needs some serious expansion and sincerity. As to your wife – she doesn’t need to accept your apology and I hope she doesn’t! The example that you have set for your three daughters is appalling. And you are indeed fortunate that you aren’t the spouse of any of the women in my car pool – you’d have been giving your “apology” from an emergency room where doctors worked feverishly to remove a cast iron frying pan which has justifiably been embedded in your head!

HAS THE REPUBLICAN PARTY COMPLETELY LOST ITS MIND?

That would be my guess as I contemplate the latest infamia brought to us by the moronic twits at the RNC! Bad enough that the Republicans in Congress were such spineless wimps that they blew their first real majority in both houses so completely, leading to the debacle of the 2006 election. It's bad enough that the Republican majority allowed the Democratic minority to basically remove their cojones pretty consistently over the past 7-8 years. And of course, the now-assured nomination of RINO John McCain hasn't exactly warmed the cockles of conservative Republican hearts.

Now, this!

I'm telling you folks, it's enough to make me retch!

WILLIAM F. BUCKLEY, JR. – RIP

Another giant gone from our midst!

I have read virtually every book written by WFB, both fiction and non-fiction. I was a faithful viewer of “Firing Line” and read National Review (with dictionary at hand) from the onset of its publication. Whenever the latest issue arrived, WFB’s column(s) were my first stop within its pages.

There are people who adorn our world with wit, wisdom and pure genius and William F. Buckley, Jr. was one of those. The conservative point of view benefited directly from WFB’s good works throughout his life. One of my favorites of his books is “Inveighing We Will Go” and I think I might wrestle it out of the box in which it is still packed and enjoy it again in his memory! On the other hand, a rollicking good read through one of his 11 Blackford Oakes spy novels might be a fitting epitaph too!

Rest in peace, good and faithful servant. You will be sorely missed.

MY MORMON EXPERIENCES

Here's what I know about Mormons, based solely on my own interactions with them over the years.

A friend with whom I worked at Carnation (now Nestle, U.S.A.) in Los Angeles didn't wish to believe there was caffeine in hot chocolate because he loved hot chocolate. I've known and worked with a number of Mormons and found them all to be forthright (except for that chocolate addiction thingie), moral, cleancut, straightforward and generally, the "salt of the earth" despite their various differences from a Catholic like me.

I learned that you NEVER help a Mormon move. They believe in setting by a store of food to last for many months - so there's one horrendous amount of pantry and often many, many pounds of wheat to make their own bread.

I know that Mormons believe in community in the sense that beyond physical location, a Mormon in trouble or economic turmoil can absolutely count on the assistance of other Mormons to get them through a crisis.

Unlike Scientologists (I encountered way more than my share when I lived in L.A.), the vast majority of Mormons are pretty honest in business, generally quite moral in their lifestyle, and pretty good friends to have. All my Mormon friends are kind, funny and not nearly as boring as Mitt seems to be. They are, in overwhelming percentages, hard working, generous and dependable.

Ignorance is the great impediment to understanding one another - and unfortunately for understanding in this instance, many Americans base all they know about Mormons on The Osmond family!

For those of you who happen to live in Columbus, Ohio - there's a Mormon attorney who drives as though his tailfeathers are on fire! He is, despite that, a good and ethical guy in all other respects. But seriously Theran - Mountain Dew DOES have lots of caffeine.

So would I vote for a Mormon? That depends on the Mormon. I don't choose my favored candidate based on religion, skin color, ethnicity, or gender - I choose my favored candidates based on character, belief system and strength of their dedication to this country's survival.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, THIRD WAVE DAVE!

There is a shortage of good guys out there - Dave is one of them and he is cherished by all of his blogging friends for that reason. He has been an inspiration to me on more than one occasion and were it not for him, blogging wouldn't be nearly as much fun for any of us!

Hope the next 52 will be as productive as the first, with twice the joy!

SUPER TUESDAY - COMING TO A STATE NEAR YOU!

Virginia doesn't have its primary scheduled until 2/12/08, but next Tuesday a plethora of states will be holding their primaries on "Super Tuesday". Some outrageously credulous souls in the Republican Party are saying that because of Senator John McCain's 36% showing in Florida (which means that 64% of Republicans did NOT vote for him), the primary contests are basically over and that McCain is inevitable.

John McCain has served our country in a most courageous and significant fashion and nobody can deny the courage he displayed during the five plus years he endured as a much-abused prisoner of the North Vietnamese. Is it any wonder that he regards even the most benign form of aggressive interrogation as leading to a slippery slope? I don’t agree with him, but I understand his reasoning completely.

That being said, what I cannot overcome is my antipathy to his all-out assault on our constitutionally guaranteed free speech in the form of the McCain/Feingold campaign finance law.

I also felt that the Florida primary campaign was waged in an unseemly fashion. Republicans are supposed to be better than that, or so I was raised to believe.

I also find his legendary temper a troublesome problem, as I’m not sure we want a president with anger management issues of that magnitude. And, last, there is his age. There are myriad citizens of this nation who are the same age as Senator McCain or older who are in roaring good health. But those citizens were not guests of the North Vietnamese for more than five years. So yes, I am concerned about residual effects from that experience.

I am 65 years old and while my health is excellent, there is no denying that my physical stamina and strength are not all that they were even 10 years ago. My mental acuity is far beyond that of the average citizen (and I thank my parents for that genetic windfall) – but again, it may not be what it once was, despite my excellent health.

I do not and will never suggest that conservative Republicans stay home if Senator McCain is nominated. Far better “Democrat Lite” than the real thing – particularly if the Dems’ candidate is Shrillery the Socialist Shrew. And I would remind them of how well sitting on their hands worked during the 2006 elections! But I would be a whole lot happier with a nominee named John McCain if I thought he would choose a true conservative as his running mate, preferably someone who is in extraordinary health and considerably (or even kind of) younger than Senator McCain, and that vice presidential nominee should be possessed of considerable spine and a discernable moral compass. Far beyond pacifying the conservative base, that kind of running mate would assure the nation that we would be in good hands, regardless.

Meanwhile, I don't agree with those who believe that Senator McCain is the inevitable nominee. I still think that Mitt Romney has a shot at the nomination and it is for him I will be casting my vote on 2/12/08. I'm not wild about Mitt either, but I like him a whole lot better for the presidency than John McCain.

HOG HEAVEN!

That’s where I was all this past weekend when NBC did a surprisingly good job of broadcasting the U.S. Figure Skating Championships from 4-6 p.m. on Saturday, again from 8-11 p.m. on Saturday and then from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Sunday.

Ice Dancing
This is my favorite part of the event. I only wish that I had ever been 1% of the ice dancer of any of those currently in the top 20 in the world. But it is my opinion – and not even based on national bias – that Tanith Belbin & Benjamin Agosto are superior to any other dance team in the world.

Certainly the controversial results at the European Championships last week give a frisson of déjà vu because it seemed clear to me that once again the judges were giving preferential treatment to the Russian ice dancers Domnina and Shabolin that was wholly undeserved. To me they are all flash and only mediocre technique and unworthy of the high marks they regularly receive.

Belbin & Agosto are the real deal, as are Meryl Davis & Charlie White. They will represent our country well.

Ladies Free Skate
First, let me comment that when only 1 of the top 4 ladies in the competition are even age-eligible to participate in the World Championships or Four Continents, a hard look at the U.S. criteria for this event is needed. Do we really need another wunderkind with endless hip and knee problems, as has been the case with Tara Lipinski? It is my view that there is nothing wrong with these little tiny phenoms gaining a little bit of seasoning and maturity. And, quite honestly, it is irritating as hell to hear them interviewed – they all sound like Minnie Mouse!

All that being said, Mirai Nagasu (gold), Rachael Flatt (silver) and Ashley Wagner (bronze and the only one old enough to actually GO to the World Championships) turned in wonderful performances. Caroline Zhang seemed to falter a bit under the weight of expectations – her own and those of the rest of the skating world – but her joy in her sport was evident in her long program to a far greater extent than in her short program. This is another 14-year old who needs seasoning, despite her beautiful skating.

Kimberly Meissner (former U.S. and World Champion) did herself no favors by skating on a sprained ankle (she placed 7th), but because of the ineligibilities of the children in the competition, she will be going to the World Championships. One can only hope that her ankle has healed somewhat by March. The final member of the U.S. team is Beatrisa Liang, a skater of enormous talent who has had some of the most bizarre bad luck as a skater that I have ever seen. Let’s hope this does not recur in Sweden.

Pairs
Again, the U.S. Pairs Champions are too young to compete at Worlds. However, the skating of Keanu McLaughlin and Rockne Brubaker signals the emergence of a brilliant and ultimately highly successful team.

The reliable John Baldwin and Rena Inoue will be competing at the World Championships as the team leaders, but they will most be remembered for John’s actions after the Free Skate, when he dropped to his knees and proposed marriage to his partner! Talk about emotional! They will be joined at the Worlds by Castile & Okolski and Vise & Trent (as alternates).

Men
I respect Johnny Weir (and at age 23 it might be time to be just plain “John”) as an athlete but have always felt he lacked focus and intensity – not to mention plain old common sense. He is so flamboyant he makes Rudi Galindo look conservative by comparison.

Evan Lysacek is another story. Other than my on-going quibble about his ever-present 5 o’clock shadow, I have always both respected and enjoyed his skating. He has enormous courage and intensity, outstanding technical ability and a commanding presence on the ice. He is quite tall for a skater and he uses what could be a disadvantage in his own favor with his exceptional carriage and line.

All that being said, last night’s men’s program was historic. These two men laid down brilliant programs, both ever-so-slightly flawed, and in the end each of them scored a total of 244.77 for a numerical tie, an unprecedented result. Because Lysacek had scored 1.35 points higher in the long program, he was declared the U.S. Champion for the second year in a row.

And this too is one of my quibbles with John Weir – he freaking pouted! For heaven’s sakes. You skated your best; someone else won – get over yourself! Man up, at the very least!

MY SUPPORT AND MY MONEY ARE GOING TO . . . FRED THOMPSON

I have been critical of Thompson in the past (who hasn’t) for running an unfocused campaign. But tonight, he was magnificent. When Fred talks about the future of the party he becomes animated, passionate, and most importantly, makes good sense. His answers to almost every question were thoughtful, measured, and exuded a competence that only perhaps Mitt Romney has ever matched. Here is a serious man thinking deeply about serious issues. No half cocked chest beating on foreign policy questions like those given by Huckabee. No talking points economic blather like that given by Mitt Romney. Fred’s answers penetrated to the heart of the matter and revealed rather than obscured his positions.

Said by Rick Moran in his excellent analysis of last night’s South Carolina GOP debates.

Like Rick Moran, I am definitely rooting for Fred Thompson to achieve the nomination. I have been attempting to psyche myself into being enthusiastic for McCain, but I just cannot do it. His time has come – and GONE. As the man who represents the kind of President I want for our country in these perilous times, Fred Thompson is the only one who makes sense to me. The extraordinary Pam Meister also agrees as you can see here.

TO CONTRIBUTE TO FRED: GO HERE!

UPDATE: 1/22/08: What a great effect my endorsement has had on the campaign. I endorse Fred Thompson and Fred Thompson drops out! And I cannot help pondering the possibility that endorsing someone I really dislike . . . . naw - it won't ever happen!

R.I.P. CHRISTOPHER BOWMAN

He was blessed with good looks and stupendous talent! He was cursed with major drug and alcohol dependency issues which ultimately led to this 2 time U.S. Champion's death at age 40 in a seedy motel in California.

Anyone who has tapes of Christopher Bowman when he was "on" should replay them tonight to remember the incredible raw talent possessed by this still-young man who is now gone forever.

R.I.P. Christopher. A lot of people admired and loved you. I don't think you ever knew how many or how much.

TALK ABOUT THE KISS OF DEATH!

Breitbart reports in an article this morning that Senator John F. Kerry plans to endorse Senator Barack Obama at a press conference today.

Yes indeed, that will make a difference!

NEW HAMPSHIRE PRIMARY RESULTS

So Hillary Rodham Clinton managed to pull her fat out of the fire in New Hampshire! Yes, it was no small feat. No, it doesn’t prove anything other than that, just maybe, people are finally realizing that Barack Obama is an empty suit. A doggone polished empty suit, but full of high flown rhetoric and very little substance, other than his decidedly left-wing mindset – a trait shared with Herself.

This campaign has already lasted 13 months and at the moment I find myself weary of the posturing, the evasions, the egos and the insanity that has occurred on both sides of the political spectrum!

What none of these candidates seem to realize is that whatever damage they do to each other during primary season will continue to hurt their respective parties come the General Election campaign.

So to both sides, I respectfully suggest: He/She may be a son-of-a-bitch/bitch, but he/she is YOUR son-of-a-bitch/bitch and you probably are going to need to work with each other in the future.

And an aside to Bill Clinton: This one isn’t all about YOU and we’re sick of you anyway! Just shut the heck up you has-been! I don’t even LIKE Hillary and I’m sick of you dragging her down! Let her win or lose this one on her own! You never garnered 50% of the national vote anyway – where did your reputation as this great political master come from.

You bet I’m cranky today.

SHE’S JOKING, RIGHT?

"You know for both Sen. Edwards and Obama, they've been given pretty much a free ride and that's fine," Clinton said. "I don't mind having to get up there and take all the scrutiny. But at some point the free ride ends, maybe it ends now, maybe it ends in a month maybe it ends in the general election. You cannot be elected president if you do not withstand the tough questions."

Thus spake Hillary Rodham Clinton during the New Hampshire campaign's closing hours. This is a woman who will not answer substantive questions, who claims interviewers are being unfair and picking on her if they try to ask a tough question, no matter who is posing those questions, so she is hardly in a position to criticize anyone on the basis of a “free ride”!

Thomas Sowell’s latest column is a reminder that we are seeking to elect a PRESIDENT who will serve this country for four years and whoever that president happens to be, the consequences will be with us, for good or ill, for a very long time.

We still must hear from that senile old fart Jimmy Carter far too often. Bill Clinton simply will NOT go away! George H.W. Bush has had the good grace to keep his mouth shut (as all former Presidents used to do before the ill-mannered, self-centered Carter and Clinton occupied the Oval Office). In addition, we are still suffering the results of Carter’s indefensible handling of the Iran situation when he first betrayed a long-time American ally, the Shah, and then utterly mishandled the hostage crisis. And the endless failures of the Clinton administration have led us to the current War on Terror.

Sowell opines that a president’s temperament is a defining factor in our choice. He deems Thompson, Romney and Giuliani to be the most even-tempered of the Republican candidates and John McCain as the least. On the Democratic side, he doesn’t have a good word in this department for ANY of the candidates. Character DOES count and none of the Democrats running have demonstrated to me that they possess ANY character at all.

NICE DREAM, NOW OVER!

The Ohio State Buckeyes is a team comprised of relatively inexperienced players and, as such, were not expected to do much this season. Instead, the team confounded the pundits and made it all the way to the National Championship game last night, where they lost to LSU in what was a really enjoyable football game.

I lived (until May 2007) in Columbus for 13 years and I can tell you that the entire city is in mourning right now, but their love affair (and my own) with the Buckeyes football team will continue. Any city where the classical music station plays the OSU fight song frequently is a city irrevocably in love with its University and that University's football team. So CONGRATULATIONS to LSU. They earned their victory and should enjoy it to the utmost.

There's always next year, folks! And whatever else you can say about OSU football, it's a very dependably strong franchise with a GREAT coach in Jim Tressell!

REALITY MEETS HUBRIS!

And as a result, Herself placed third in Iowa!

Got a question though. Iowa has 0.98% of the U.S. population and New Hampshire has only 0.48%. Why then are their votes considered to be so crucial!?

HE'S KIDDING, RIGHT?

In this article, Robert Novak predicts that the winners in the Iowa caucus will be Obama and Romney. The jaw dropping paragraph however is the following:

Ever since finishing second in the Iowa straw poll last August, Huckabee steadily climbed here in Iowa, aided by his evangelical pedigree, his sincerity and the freshface factor, and less critical press coverage than any other candidate. Polls of likely Republican caucusgoers consistently showed Huckabee ahead throughout December, but more recent surveys are a mixed bag, showing slippage by Huckabee.

Is Novak SERIOUS or just a besotted idiot? The candidate who consistently and long term has had less probing, critical press coverage than any other candidate is Hillary Rodham Clinton, that well known Spawn of Satan, to whom the press never addresses anything other than fawning encomiums! And anyone who DARES ask her even the most mildly probing question is routinely and immediately charged with picking on the little woman!

I find it fascinating that this so-called brilliant feminist is so quick to deploy behind the façade of helpless womanhood when it suits her purposes.

However, she is running for a position that requires brains, will and courage in exceptional quantities. Unless she is willing to DEMONSTRATE those qualities to the electorate by answering substantive questions, she has no moral right to expect our votes. Unless she can demonstrate some actual ACCOMPLISHMENTS in her public life – HER accomplishments, not Billy Jeff’s – then she is guilty of arrogant hubris in seeking our support.

Bottom line, based on my observations, she is only moderately intelligent, hardly a nice human being and a serial liar on all subjects.

BACKLASH IS A BITCH!

I am very fond of looking for the “law of unintended consequences” to kick in and I see two instances where that is either already happening or could soon happen.

First: Oprah Winfrey’s endorsement of Senator Barack Obama. Her fans (site pests?) are being very vocal on her website (by the thousands) in their opposition to her endorsement. I just spent a fascinated 15 minutes reading through opinions offered by Oprah’s fans and couldn’t really get a clear focus on what upsets them the most: Oprah’s money or the fact that she has an opinion, or something else altogether – but the fact remains, they are upset with her over the endorsement. All the posts were interesting, some of them even bordered on literate, but I must ask – the poster on the discussion board who said that Ron Paul and Dennis Kucinich were the most qualified candidates is either demented or kidding, right? The unintended consequence could, however, be a voter stampede to another candidate.

Second: The death of Benazir Bhutto yesterday has generated a great deal of emotional intensity in that very volatile part of the world. Nuclear weapons and excessive, unreasoning emotion are NOT a particularly healthy mix!

The naysayers vis-à-vis the former Prime Minister’s character and point of view are already weighing in and several articles I have read have likened her to a Pakistani version of Hillary Rodham Clinton: leftist, corrupt, money-grubbing and utterly unable to speak the truth under any circumstances. Then there are the columnists who point out that Mrs. Clinton met Benazir Bhutto ONE TIME and that Hillary's claim to have known her for “years” is therefore utterly unbelievable and crass. Seems like textbook First Grifter behavior to me! How do they sleep at night? (Probably very well is my guess.)

AS TO THE LAW OF UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES, beloved of me if nobody else. When Al Qaeda attacked us on September 11th, they expected a certain response from the U.S. They had an imperfect understanding of our national character and, worse yet, a complete misunderstanding about who the new United States President really was. It has always been clear to me that Al Qaeda read far too many DNC talking points memos and Al Qaeda truly did believe that our President was stupid. It seems clear to me that they expected our national response to be just as trifling as it had been all the other times they had attacked us. They had not counted on an actual man being Commander in Chief. The unintended consequence was, of course, ultimately the destruction of the Taliban-run government in Afghanistan and the toppling of Saddam Hussein.

The violence being fomented in Iraq by Al Qaeda, rather than giving them added power, turned off the Sunni Muslims who are now doing everything possible to eject Al Qaeda from Iraq.

Now the assassination of Benazir Bhutto. Whatever her past governing skills, or lack thereof, Al Qaeda has claimed “responsibility” (I hate that phrase more than you can imagine) for her death. They should be claiming shame and guilt! It is possible that the people in the provinces wherein the terrorists have traditionally been given sanctuary will be so utterly enraged by this claimed assassination that they will emulate their brethren in Iraq, reject the terrorists and drive them out of their hiding places and – hopefully – into the waiting and welcoming muzzles of American or Coalition weapons!

Well that’s my take on things, at any rate. How accurate? Who knows. Time will tell.

RIP BENAZIR BHUTTO

She was an intelligent woman, so I'm sure she knew that returning to Pakistan was a life-threatening risk. Hugh Hewitt at Townhall.com described her as a woman of uncommon courage. As always, Mr. Hewitt's assessment is entirely accurate.

PREDICTION: Even though Al Qaeda has "claimed responsibility" for the death of Benazir Bhutto, the left idiots will STILL not be willing to acknowledge that WE ARE AT WAR WITH THESE 7th CENTURY MANIACS!

And how on earth does ANYONE think that it's possible to "make nice" with a group of murderous lunatics who are PROUD that they have killed 21 people - 22 if you count the homicide bomber!

A SUPPLEMENTAL RANT!

Something has been imitating fingernails on the blackboard of my mind and it's time to let it out - for my own sake.

What's with the unkempt look that is creeping into the sports and entertainment world. Baseball players with major stubble on their faces. Singers as well. Josh Groban, much as I adore his talents, needs to learn to use both a hairbrush AND a razor. And just a hint to the VERY handsome Steven Cousins - shave before a skating performance!

Female entertainers and skaters - if you're going to color your hair DO YOUR DAMNED ROOTS more than once every 6 months or don't do it at all! Tanith Belbin, you know I absolutely adore you and Ben Agosto - but still, dark roots don't fly chica!

And can we talk about dirty skates - boots AND laces? Flopping laces on those skates? Both Kimmie Meissner and Sasha Cohen are guilty in this area. And Kimmie - you are pretty much all grown up - time to start being "Kim" - you aren't 6 years old and maybe if you started SEEING yourself as an adult, you'd start skating like one? I'm just saying.

Here's the deal: If you are a performer or a sports figure or that delicious combination of the two that is known as figure skating - part of your JOB is good grooming. It shows that you RESPECT yourself and your RESPECT your sport.

Nothing less is acceptable.

WHY DOESN’T THIS SURPRISE ME?

PARIS -- Didier Gailhaguet, one of the main players in the judging scandal at the Salt Lake City Olympics, has his old job back as president of the French skating federation. Gailhaguet was elected president of the French Ice Sport Federation on Saturday, receiving more than half of the votes and beating out, among others, disgraced judge Marie-Reine Le Gougne. Gailhaguet also was federation president from 1998 to 2004.

This creep should have been banned from the sport for the rest of his LIFE. Yet here he is again, back doing business at the same old stand. One can only hope and pray that the rule changes instituted since he was poisoning the well back in 1998 are sufficient to keep this slimey toad straight!

Only the French (or the Russians, or the Italians or the - - - well you get my point)!

WORDS OF WISDOM FROM MY HANDSOME AND BRILLIANT COUSIN ERNIE

The purpose of fighting is to win.
There is no possible victory in defense.
The sword is more important than the shield and skill is more important than either.
The final weapon is the brain. All else is supplemental."
-- John Steinbeck

≈≈

1- Don't pick a fight with an old man. If he's too old to fight, he'll just kill you. [Note from Gayle: This also applies to old WOMEN. As my estrogen decreases, my fuse shortens!]
2- If you find yourself in a fair fight, your tactics suck.
3- I carry a gun 'cause a cop is too heavy.
4- America is not at war. The U.S. Military is at war. America is at the mall. (Ain't this the gospel truth!)
5- When seconds count, the cops are just minutes away. (shoot first - then call 911).
6- A reporter did a human interest piece on the Texas Rangers. The reporter recognized the Colt Model 1911 the Ranger was carrying and asked him "Why do you carry a 45?". The Ranger responded with, "Because they don't make a 46."
7- An armed man will kill an unarmed man with monotonous regularity.
8- The old sheriff was attending an awards dinner when a lady commented on his wearing his sidearm. "Sheriff, I see you have your pistol. Are you expecting trouble?" "No Ma'am. If I were expecting trouble, I would have brought my rifle."
9- Beware the man who only has one gun. He probably knows how to use it.

≈≈

Memo to Reid, Pelosi, Murtha, Kucinich, et al.:
If you can't stand behind our troops, try standing in front of them!

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!

MAYBE MY LAST PRE-CHRISTMAS POST

(or not)

"The congressional leaders ran in the last election on a promise that they would curb earmarks. And they made some progress and there's more transparency in the process. But they have not made enough progress. "The bill they just passed includes about 9,800 earmarks. Together with the previously passed defense spending bill, that means Congress has approved about 11,900 earmarks this year."

President George W. Bush, 12/20/07

***

Lawmakers finally came to agreement Wednesday on a spending measure to hand Bush a partial victory over Iraq War funding, allotting $70 billion in emergency war funding. Democrats had pushed to strip out all money for combat operations in Iraq, but Bush had asked for nearly $200 billion.

***

Democrats are attempting to claim that they had LESS earmarks than in the prior, Republican-led Congress. It isn’t true and of course, they know that but math, as we’ve had cause to discover is not their strong suit. Bear in mind the “thousands” of scientists who support Gore’s global warming fiction? Turns out there are 53 of them. Hyperbole, thy residence is on the left!

Tax and spend is what the Dems know. Playing the race card is what the Dems know. Bold-faced lies – Dems do it out of REFLEX these days.

Counting properly – this the Dems do NOT know how to do!

Here’s the deal, folks – the Dems do NOT want to win in Iraq and they do NOT (regardless of what they SAY) support the troops. How much money was involved in those self-serving piles of pork they approved? Probably enough to give the President (and the troops) a more suitable amount of funding. But then, that wouldn't suit their BDS-driven agenda, would it?

They are dishonest, corrupt and on their best day self-serving.

Those Republicans and Conservatives who “sat on their hands” to “teach the Republicans a lesson” in 2006, may you burn in hell for loosing these maggots on our nation.

***

And to whoever is responsible for the outrageous intent of the NYT vis-à-vis Senator John McCain (and I think their nicknames are OINK and BOINK), you definitely will be burning in hell!

Got a question – is it possible that Bubba is showing early signs of Alzheimer’s? I'm just saying.

I HAVE BEEN TAGGED!

Gee Aaron, I hardly know what to say at such a munificent gift!

1. Wrapping or gift bags?
Gift bags - I am wholly incompetent in the gift wrapping department!

2. Real or artificial tree?
Because of the cat (whose curiosity is legendary but whose agility is somewhat lacking), a small, prelit, artifical tree that can be put up out of reach. It is decorated with a multitude of cat-related ornaments because cats are one of my passions.

3. When do you put up the tree?
When I feel the urge to do it. Probably this Saturday afternoon.

4. When do you take the tree down?
January 6th - "little Christmas" as my mother used to call it. We're Byzantine Catholic and that's REALLY our Christmas.

5. Do you like eggnog?
I detest the stuff! Now I could really GO FOR a Bloody Mary any time!

6. Favorite gift received as a child?
Ice Skates - my first pair, which led to thousands of dollars being poured into the sport over the next 12-14 years because once I tried it - I was HOOKED, I tell you, HOOKED!

7. Do you have a nativity scene?
We Catholics have the nativity scene to remind us of the REASON for the SEASON.

8. Worst Christmas gift you ever received?
Always was grateful for anything I received. My parents weren't encouraging to relatives who wanted to spoil me rotten - extravagant gifts were firmly DISCOURAGED but something as simple as a pair of knit gloves from Aunt Ida Kiplinger were treasured - especially because she always stuck a few pennies in the fingers and a few wrapped peppermints in the thumbs!

9. Mail or email Christmas cards?
I send cards to people who send me cards. And I will be getting my cards out this weekend, I swear!

10. Favorite Christmas movie?
A Christmas Carol (love that Scrooge!)

11. When do you start shopping for Christmas?
I tend to pick up (and give) gifts throughout the year and don't really give Christmas gifts per se. Instead, I cook or bake things for people.

12. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?
Dear Linda's lasagna and my own stuffed cabbage. Coincidentally, that's what each of us is making this year. I'm going to her house where we'll eat, watch DVDs and relax with the menagerie - then split the leftovers and each take half. [I will post the recipe for my stuffed cabbage this weekend on my blog if friend Michael can get my home computer modem replaced.]

13. Clear lights or colored on the tree?
I'm so over the clear or white lights. Not cheerful enough - give me multicolored every time. And remember those BUBBLE LIGHTS? If I could get my hands on some of those, I'd even consider getting a bigger [fake] tree for next year!

14. Favorite Christmas song?
O Holy Night and Silent Night - both were my late mother's favorites as well. Oddly enough, whenever I hear anyone singing Silent Night in any language, I HEAR IT in Hungarian! How odd is that?!

Here are the rules:

1. Link to the person that tagged you and post the rules on your blog.

2. Share Christmas facts about yourself.

3. Tag random people at the end of your post, and include links to their blogs.

4. Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

Moving right along, I am tagging: The Anchoress, Sissy and Laura Lee

VISCOUNT MONCKTON ON THE "GLOBAL WARMING" CONFERENCE IN BALI

Don't you just love a lucid commentator? Following is an excerpt from Viscount Monckton's report on the goings-on at the global warming conference in Bali:

"As with the 35 errors in Gore’s movie, so with the 50 in his speech to the zombies in Bali, comfortably exceeding his personal best – all the errors tend towards an extreme and scientifically-unwarranted exaggeration of the imagined threat posed by “global warming”. The zombies, of course, lapped up every word handed down from on high by Baron Thursdi (Gore), for Bali was a science-free, fact-free zone, question-free zone. The probability that all 43 of Gore’s latest errors could have pointed by mere accident and ignorance in the direction of excessive alarm is less than one in a million billion.

Therein lies a danger that Gore has not yet seen. For he failed, yet again, to declare his financial interest before whipping up worldwide alarm with his trademark errors and exaggerations in Bali. He is a director of Lehman Brothers, a global finance house that wants to control the worldwide managed market in carbon-emissions trading. He founded his own “green” corporation, Generation Investment Management. He is a paid member of the Board of a renewable-energy company. In the UK, if he made a speech containing so many deliberate and unidirectional errors as he did in Bali, and if he failed to declare his financial interest, he would be committing a criminal offence. It is surely only a matter of time before a complaint is filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, alleging that, through the numerous, extreme and scientifically-unwarranted exaggerations which Gore has relentlessly continued to peddle notwithstanding the warning in the UK judge’s verdict, he is in effect fraudulently promoting a false prospectors to potential investors. Indeed, his exaggerations are on such a scale, and have commanded such attention, and have done so much damage, that he may even have committed an offence under the Federal racketeering statute. I wanted to ask Gore about his failure to disclose his financial interest, but – as usual – he does not dare to take questions."

[emphasis Gayle's]

Viscount Monckton handles the “zombies” (his word – and a good one) in the best ways possible – with FACTS, ACCURACY and HUMOR.

There is nothing, nothing on earth, more dangerous than a messianic do-gooder with questionable intelligence and faulty research – and that would be your basic Albert Gore, Jr. – a man whose grades in college were LOWER than those of George W. Bush (as were John F. Kerry’s – so who is the dumb one) and who FLUNKED out of divinity school. Clearly, this is his only “respectable” means to fulfill his visceral need for adulation! Al Gore is both pathetic AND dangerous!

AMAZING UPDATE: Go to Townhall.com where you can read about how President Bush's intransigience on Kyoto has actually turned our nation into one of the least polluting nations on the planet! But don't expect the sheeplike MSM to publicize THAT!

Pelosi: Republicans `like' Iraq War

In an article written by Associated Press writer Charles Babington, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi opined thus, yesterday:

Dec 13 02:23 PM US/Eastern

By CHARLES BABINGTONAssociated Press
Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) - House Speaker Nancy Pelosi lashed out at Republicans on Thursday, saying they want the Iraq war to drag on and are ignoring the public's priorities.

"They like this war. They want this war to continue," Pelosi, D- Calif., told reporters. She expressed frustration over Republicans' ability to force majority Democrats to yield ground on taxes, spending, energy, war spending and other matters.

"We thought that they shared the view of so many people in our country that we needed a new direction in Iraq," Pelosi said at her weekly news conference in the Capitol. "But the Republicans have made it very clear that this is not just George Bush's war. This is the war of the Republicans in Congress."

Asked to clarify her remarks, Pelosi backed off a bit. "I shouldn't say they like the war," she said. "They support the war, the course of action that the president is on." "And that was a revelation to me," she said, "because I thought the American people's voices were so—and still are—so strong in this regard."

Mrs. Pelosi, you ignorant leftwing dope, the American people didn’t vote the Democrats into the majority with a mandate to make this a nation of seditious cowards, trembling in a corner for fear the big bad wolf would huff and puff and blow our houses down. Americans were frustrated with the rampant spending of the previous Congress and at the atmosphere of shrill discord existing in our Nation’s Capitol.

Americans support our troops. Americans support SUCCESS in Iraq – something that is happening in spite of the cowardly cowering going on in our Congress.

Also, Mrs. Pelosi, where is it written that just because YOU and your looney cabal of leftwing zealots think something should be so, everyone should follow in lockstep? There's a REASON we have a two-party system, you dimwit! You are NOT the second coming of anything or anyone!

Madame Speaker, you seem to have no idea that every time you open your big fat, stupid yap, you give aid and comfort to those who would destroy our entire way of life. It is my earnest wish and prayer for 2008 that the American people have had enough of you and your ilk (and the poll numbers seem to say that they have) and will boot your sorry asses out of the U.S. Congress.

Stupid twit!

HERE FOLLOWS A LIST OF THINGS THAT CHAPPED MY HIDE IN 2007:

*All people throughout the country, in the mainstream media and in the political world, who are afflicted with Bush Derangement Syndrome. You are ALL demented loons and should be given lip gloss laced with Krazy Glue! Now and in perpetuity.

*The strong and pervasive scent of anti-Semitism in this “land of the free, home of the brave”, coupled with the distinct addition of a very anti-Christian attitude in public life and in the mainstream media.

*Mike Huckabee, you retracted the foul canard you directed at Mitt Romney’s religion – but it was still in your mind or you wouldn’t have said it in the first place. Any slight possibility that I would consider you as a Republican presidential candidate (we don’t need another Arkansas governor as president, thank you very much – especially not one who is a clearly-bigoted Baptist minister) vanished in a heartbeat.

*Hillary Rodham Clinton and her consort the former horndog in chief – how can I count the ways? Let’s start with their habit of rewriting history every 12 seconds. Bill Clinton SUPPORTED the Iraq War when it was going well, opportunistic liar that he is, but NOW he says that he didn’t. William Jefferson Clinton wouldn’t know a truth if it came up and bit him on his nose!

*Mayor Bloomberg of NYC and all other politicians who think that Americans need a “nanny” to tell them what to eat, what not to eat and everything in between. GET OVER YOURSELVES!

*Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, Jack Murtha, Ted Kennedy and all the Democratic members of congress (and some Republicans – you know who you are Voinovich, Specter, et al.) who give them free rein to be anti-American seditious cowards on a regular basis, and dishonest with it which is the ultimate crowning insult! As always, I except the excellent Senator Lieberman from this condemnation. But the rest of you? You should be thoroughly ashamed of yourselves! You daily betray the country you swore to preserve, protect and defend.

*The mainstream media who give EVERY Democrat a free pass – particularly Hillary Rodham Clinton, aka The Spawn of Satan. This evil, dangerous leftwing presidential wannabe does, I think, literally get away with murder and nobody – nobody at all – calls her on it.

*Bill O’Reilly for being a bloviating gasbag who has taken sucking up to dishonest hucksters in public life almost an art form. Bill you’re 6’4+ – you’re going to pop a disc bending over to kiss all those butts! I notice that your pal Al Sharpton is finally getting the scrutiny he so richly deserves. It's a start.

*Albert Gore, Jr. for ramming his global warming hysteria down everyone’s throat to the detriment of third world citizens whose lives will be materially diminished due to ill-conceived, poorly executed efforts to avert a crisis that doesn’t exist.

*All the people who have been treating Albert Gore, Jr. like a demigod as he pedals his global warming religion throughout the world. Ever heard of critical thinking you morons? Clearly not.

*The secularists, one and all, who tried once again to ruin Christmas for the 94% of us who profess to believe in God. Here’s the deal – read the Amendment. All that it says is that no law shall be made regarding the “establishment” of a religion. Nothing whatsoever is said about this country being devoid of religious beliefs. In fact, an open minded study of the history of the times will clearly inform you that none of the Founding Fathers ever intended this to be anything other than a faith-based country.

*All those in this country illegally, GOODBYE! We didn't invite you into OUR HOME and we certainly didn't offer you MORE RIGHTS AND BENEFITS than are available to those of us who are here legally. You have the right to demand NOTHING from the citizens of this country. You do, however, HAVE THE RIGHT TO GET OUT! Take your drunk drivers, your gang members, your unwilling-to-speak English INVADERS who are not only too stupid or lazy to learn the language of this nation, but arrogant with it! If you don't like the country the way OUR COUNTRY is run, go back where you came from and reshape your own land to suit your requirements!

*Once again, although it is not politically correct to say this, to those immigrants who want to impose the standards and customs of their former countries on ours, I have only one thing to say to you: GET OUT! We do not need or want you in our country. If it was so peachy keen where you came from, why the hell did you leave and impose your sorry selves on US? This is AMERICA you ignorant morons. We speak ENGLISH. We respect each other (at least the vast majority of us do). We do not indulge in honor killings. We do not expect our women to walk 10 paces behind us, nor do we expect them to wrap themselves in burkas. In this country, it is a CRIME to beat up on your wife, your child, your neighbor or any person who happens to incite your wrath. There is nothing, absolutely nothing, in our Constitution or Bill of Rights that gives you a right not to be offended, nor is there anything that gives you any right to commit mayhem on anyone else!

*I believe in profiling. Those 19 murderers (let’s call them what they were, folks) were not from Sweden. They were swarthy, Middle Eastern men of a certain age bracket who had specific behavior models and heavy accents. They were believers in a specific religion, mired in the 7th century and its savagery, that has, over multitudinous centuries, waged war against the West and anyone whose values and beliefs are different than their own. Am I Islamaphobic? You bet! I think anyone who has even one functioning brain cell ought to be!

*HAPPY 2008!

PROBABLY NOT A GOOD IDEA TO PISS OFF YOUR LOON-INFESTED BASE!

"We felt betrayed by the very people we helped to put into office. We have a particular break with the leadership of the Democratic Party," Code Pink co-founder Medea Benjamin said.

Haaaaaaaaaaaaaahaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

AT LAST - SOME COMMON SENSE ON GLOBAL WARMING!

In an article in the Daily Mail (London) today, it is reported that the excellent Pope Benedict XVI is essentially saying “not so fast” to the ersatz global warming prophets of doom and suggesting that extensive scientific inquiry might be warranted before declaring impending doom. How refreshingly sensible and intelligent of him! How very adult!

While the prophet of doom (aka Albert Gore, Jr., high priest of faux science) seems to accept as “settled” his conclusions about the threat of global warming, I have been skeptical from his first utterance on the subject. This is a man who is on a “mission” and like many false prophets, he and his slavish devotees allow no discussion of alternative views.

I have repeatedly expressed total doubts about the threat of global warming, most especially because I well remember some 30 years ago when an impending ICE AGE was being predicted by the same nutbars and half-assed scientific types that now are screaming “Chicken Little – the sky is falling” to credulous buffoons who are too lazy to think for themselves, or incapable of doing so.

I have been a fan of Benedict XVI since his election as Supreme Pontiff and as a devout Catholic, I have followed his writings and speeches (get yourself a copy of his address at the University of Regensburg – the one that caused such a ridiculous fuss – it is astounding in its lucid research and reasoning - brilliant work) with great interest. It is my belief that, in his unique way, Benedict XVI will go down in papal history as a GREAT pope. Completely fitting for a Pope who loves both cats and Mozart!

DICK CHENEY IS RIGHT!

"House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) says a swipe that Vice President Cheney took at Democratic House leaders is “beneath the dignity of his office.”

Capitol Hill was abuzz Thursday with discussion of the vice president’s assertion in an interview with Politico that House Democratic leaders had been surprisingly supine: “They are not carrying the big sticks I would have expected.”

Cheney added that when he served in the House, “We would not have had a Speaker who, from my perspective, is that far out of the sort of mainstream — she is a San Francisco Democrat, certainly entitled to her views, but able to dictate policy as effectively as she apparently does to the rest of the caucus.” "

So what, exactly, did the Vice President say that was so offensive, you whiney leftwing ineffective troglodyte? You have taken over the House of Representatives, Mrs. Pelosi, imposed your San Francisco, un-American values on the entire body which is supposed to represent the rest of us who do not SHARE your values. You have had the hubris to declare yourself "the most powerful woman in the world" - and I'm surprised that that statement didn't activate Hillzilla's "hit squad".

Let me put it another way, Mrs. Pelosi, I have a 28-pound cat who could lick any one of those wimpy-assed, seditious, idiotic "yes" men in the Democratic caucus and I'd be delighted to arrange for him to prove it! Sam has teeth and he has both the knowledge and the will to use them. Can you say the same for your "pets"?

DECEMBER 7, 1941 - A DAY THAT WILL LIVE IN INFAMY

My father and mother were moving the last of her possessions from Pittsburgh to Cleveland. They had just married in September of the previous year. They had stopped for gas when the news about the bombing of Pearl Harbor came across the radio. Since I was born in July of 1942, it's entirely possible that I was already a little bun in the oven!

Both my parents were conservative Republicans and neither liked FDR even a little bit - but they always said that his speech to Congress was the best they'd ever heard. And give the politicians of that time full credit - NONE OF THEM were the quisling, defeatist cowards that our current crop have proven to be! Americans were just that - AMERICANS. We weren't hyphenated Americans in those days. And certainly none of them were demented enough to suggest doing cartwheels in the U.S. Senate! I always knew Harry Reid was a questionable patriot but until this morning I didn't know that he was dopey as well!

Many things on the American landscape have changed, some of them even for the better, but I'm not sure our national CHARACTER is even close to being equal to the character of those who comprised "the greatest generation" - among those fabulous people were my cousin Eddie Chupick and my Uncle Jumbo. My father served as a troubleshooter in defense plants (he was an engineer and thus uniquely qualified to be on the lookout for sabotage and stupidity). He later said that stupidity was much more common, so in that respect I think probably we haven't changed a great deal.

Even all these years later, those who died at Pearl Harbor and in World War II which followed are and should be honored and mourned by all of us. In my family, we do have one cause for celebration. My mother's nephew Ernie met a beautiful and utterly charming British woman named Lucy while he was stationed in England. He married her and brought her home to us and she was a gift to us then and "at a certain age" she is still a gift to our entire family. And thanks to Ernie and Lucy - I have my 3 beloved cousins Debbie, Ernie and Scott and their wonderful families.

DID HE HAVE ME AT "HELLO"?

Maybe not at "hello" but Mitt Romney's speech yesterday showed me a man who has a lot more going for him than his looks. While I may not be fully ready to support his presidential ambitions, he HAS convinced me to study the man and his record more closely, something I was disinclined to do before yesterday.

So Pat - I'm still on the fence - McCain isn't totally out of the picture, but Mitt is growing on me. I do not like or trust Huckabee. And do we really need another ARKANSAS politician in the White House? I think not.

BE PREPARED TO LAUGH!

Head on over to Lifelike Pundits but be sure to have your earphones on and be prepared to laugh while a brilliant video makes its point with totally appropriate, rib-tickling humor! As always, Aaron displays succinct and intelligent judgment in posting this hysterical video!

RIGHTS vs. RESPONSIBILITIES

It’s December and we’ve had nearly a year of the Democratically controlled Congress. Reid and Pelosi proclaimed that they were going to reverse all the Bush Administration “abuses” within the first 100 days. They proclaimed that Congress would be in session five days per week, all day! They proclaimed a great many initiatives that would be accomplished during that time frame.

None of that has happened.

Despite a plethora of ill-conceived attempts, nothing major in the way of legislation has been accomplished. This, to my mind, is a good thing. Most of what the Dems proposed was witless, lacking in foresight and thoroughly un-American, informed as it was by multiple advanced cases of Bush Derangement Syndrome.

You know the interesting thing is, while the Dems were flapping about and making overly ambitious plans to redesign the American landscape as we have known it (for over 200 years), the President went about his business quietly and now what do we have?

Pollsters report that the approval rating of the U.S. Congress is at 11%. And while the President’s poll numbers (about which he does not care – refreshing in and of itself) are still in the high 30s, the economy, contrary to almost daily dire predictions of doom, just keeps ticking along. People have made the statement to me, as recently as this past weekend, that “the economy is in bad, bad shape” and I have asked for specific examples – which they cannot give. What it boils down to is that these incurious dopes have read something negative in the Washington Post (aka Pravda on the Potomac) or the New York Times (“All the news fit to line your trash can – don’t be unkind to your bird!”) and have accepted it as gospel. DON’T DO THAT!

Last night in the car pool, there was a heated discussion of the news media and the perception of the other riders in the car pool that we have freedom of speech and freedom of the press and the media can do what it likes! My rejoinder was simple. No, damn it, they cannot. Just as freedom of speech does NOT allow you to yell “Fire” in a crowded theatre, freedom of the press does not permit falsehood being marketed as news. Marketing OPINION under the guise of NEWS/FACTS is an egredious offense. But until (a) more people understand the RESPONSIBILITies that accompany the RIGHTS afforded the news media and (b) start raising hell at the top of their lungs in MASSIVE numbers (whilst refusing to patronize the offending media outlets) when those responsibilities are not honored – nothing is going to change.

Oh yes, and just in case you believe Harry Reid (why believe him about anything when he is incapable of speaking the truth), here’s a news flash for you, free of charge: THE FREAKING SURGE IS WORKING! President Bush and General Petraeus were RIGHT and Senators Reid and Clinton were WRONG (although they are wrong so often, it hardly merits a comment).

Sean Taylor, R.I.P.

Gone too soon. How tremendously sad that his little daughter will never know a father who loved her.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ONE AND ALL!

2007 BIG TEN CHAMPIONS!

Congratulations to The Ohio State University Buckeyes on another solid season of football. Bear in mind, y'all, that the team was not expected to do nearly as well as it eventually did do - so definitely congratulations (and no small amount of crowing) are in order!

GO BUCKS!

GO BUCKS!!! BEAT MICHIGAN!!!

There is nothing more to be said!

NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE PERFIDY OF ATTORNEYS!

I'm just saying.

I'm also (briefly) unemployed!

Blogging will be light.