December 31, 2005

Happy New Year!

The family and I are headed out into the snow to Rhode Island, where we plan to ring in the New Year with some of our oldest and dearest friends. May all of you have a great time tonight, and stay safe! I'll catch you in 2006!

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December 30, 2005

A Nutso Day Today!

Ugh...today is absoutely crazy at work, and so I won't have time to post until tonight. Please check out the blogs and other sites on my blogroll for great commentary and other goodies!

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December 29, 2005

Kathleen Parker on Bloggers

I read Kathleen Parker's column on Town Hall today. Normally I enjoy her work, but today, I felt like a young child who has been rebuked by his mother for being naughty.

Bloggers persist no matter their contributions or quality, though most would have little to occupy their time were the mainstream media to disappear tomorrow. Some bloggers do their own reporting, but most rely on mainstream reporters to do the heavy lifting. Some bloggers also offer superb commentary, but most babble, buzz and blurt like caffeinated adolescents competing for the Ritalin generation's inevitable senior superlative: Most Obsessive-Compulsive.

Even so, they hold the same megaphone as the adults and enjoy perceived credibility owing to membership in the larger world of blog grown-ups. These effete and often clever baby "bloggies" are rich in time and toys, but bereft of adult supervision. Spoiled and undisciplined, they have grabbed the mike and seized the stage, a privilege granted not by years in the trenches, but by virtue of a three-pronged plug and the miracle of WiFi.

Yikes! She goes on to compare bloggers to the kids gone savage in the classic novel Lord of the Flies (which used to be compulsory high school reading, but I am not sure if it still is).

I considered writing my own rebuttal, but thought twice about what she said about being "spoiled and undisciplined." Fortunately for me and my wishy-washiness, I saw two great rebuttals: one by John Hawkins over at Right Wing News and another by JimK over at Right Thoughts.

Read 'em! (BTW, I did take a journalism class while in college, as well as a course on how to write magazine articles. So, you could call me a semi-trained "journalist.")

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CIA Rendition Program Utilized by Clinton

What will the New York Times say about this?

Former US President Bill Clinton was the first to use the CIA's rendition program to capture, transfer and question terror suspects on foreign soil, a former US counterterrorism agent has revealed.

"President Clinton, his national security advisor Sandy Berger and his terrorism advisor Richard Clark ordered the CIA in the autumn of 1995 to destroy Al-Qaeda," Michael Scheuer, a 22-year veteran of the CIA who resigned from the agency in 2004, told Thursday's issue of the German newsweekly Die Zeit, reported Agence France Presse (AFP) Wednesday, December 28.

"We asked the president what we should do with the people we capture. Clinton said 'That's up to you'."

Read the whole thing.

h/t: PCD

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Global Warming Hits Europe; U.S. to Blame

Snow in Great Chart, Kent

Yet another example of global warming is hitting Britain and other parts of Europe. The Kyoto crowd must be having a field day.

(Isn't -10C {negative 10 degrees Celsius} somewhere in the 20s Fahrenheit? I'm never sure.)

tagged: global warming europe u.k. snow

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December 28, 2005

The Dems Have a Plan!

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The Gender Gap on College Campuses

It used to be that there were more guys than gals on ye olde college campus. Not anymore--and the reason isn't pretty.

Melana Zyla Vickers writes about this disturbing phenomenon in the Weekly Standard. If you are at all concerned about our education system, you'll want to read this article.

h/t: Hugh Hewitt

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Gun Violence in Canada is U.S.'s Fault

Blaming your own problems on the U.S. has become a popular pastime in other countries. Now Canada has come up with a doozy:

TORONTO, Ontario (AP) -- Canadian officials, seeking to make sense of another fatal shooting in what has been a record year for gun-related deaths, said Tuesday that along with a host of social ills, part of the problem stemmed from what they said was the United States exporting its violence.

...

"It's a sign that the lack of gun laws in the U.S. is allowing guns to flood across the border that are literally being used to kill people in the streets of Toronto," [Toronto Mayor David] Miller said.

Miller said Toronto, a city of nearly three million, is still very safe compared to most American cities, but the illegal flow of weapons from the United States is causing the noticeable rise in gun violence.

"The U.S. is exporting its problem of violence to the streets of Toronto," he said.

Lack of gun laws? We have gun laws. Unfortunately, there are criminals who flaunt our laws. Illegal flow of weapons from the U.S.? If Canadian criminals didn't want them, our criminals wouldn't be able to sell them.

Fortunately, there is a voice of reason from the Great White North:

John Thompson, a security analyst with the Toronto-based Mackenzie Institute, says the number of guns smuggled from the United States is a problem, but that Canada has a gang problem -- not a gun problem -- and that Canada should stop pointing the finger at the United States.

"It's a cop out. It's an easy way of looking at one symptom rather than addressing a whole disease," Thompson said.

Yep. It's a whole lot easier to blame the big, bad United States than to look at the real reason for the problem. Let's get one thing straight: I am not advocating the flow of illegal arms across our borders, no matter what the direction. What I dislike is one, the knee-jerk finger pointing at the U.S. and two, the fact that politicos seem to forget that for a gun to kill someone, another person has to be pulling the trigger.

In other words, it's a people problem, not a gun problem. Obviously there are criminals in Canada who have decided that they'll use guns. If they didn't get them from their criminal pals to the south, they'd find another way to get them.

Blaming us for your issues isn't going to solve them, Paul Martin and David Miller. Once you figure that out, you might have a chance of actually finding a way to combat these thugs.

tagged: toronto canada guns paul martin canada

Crossposted to Lifelike Pundits

Phil over at Camp Katrina weighs in...

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More Democrat Whining

Democrats charge that the Department of Homeland Security isn't doing its job properly:

WASHINGTON — The Homeland Security Department, created in response to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, has failed to fulfill 33 of its own pledges to better protect the nation, according to a report released Tuesday by House Democrats.

The report concludes that gaps remain in federal efforts to secure an array of areas, including ports, borders and chemical plants. There also are still delays in the department's sharing terror alerts and other intelligence with state and local officials, the review said.

Considering that this is a government agency, I am not surprised that there are gaps and delays. Since when has anything the government undertaken been quick and flawless?

And, as my friend Cookiewrangler points out, now that President Bush's poll numbers are up, they need to find something to complain about.

If they have any better ideas, I for one would love to hear them.

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December 27, 2005

Grassroots Politics According to the AP

The Good Lieutenant over at Mein Blogovault takes on this AP article that discusses "grass roots politics" via the Internet. If you scan the article, you might notice that it only discusses left-leaning, Democrat-supporting activists.

Surprise!

From the Good Lieutenant:

A particularly revelatory (and humorous) quote form the piece is spake thus by the story's obigatory Democrat commentator:

"At a time when we are craving community and meaning in our lives, people are using these technologies to find others with the same complaints and organize them," he said. "They don't have to just sit in a coffee shop and gripe about politics. They can change politics."

He makes several assumptions here that are humorous to me. First, I would like to know why he assumes that we are all craving "community and meaning in our lives" in the context of liberal political websites - it is the activists on these sites who are craving community and meaning. The rest of us simply go about our lives. He also reinforces the traditional stereotype of liberals - they whine about everything. He is basically admitting that the sites are little more than ways for like-minded whiners to get together and whine loudly. They don't actually do anything about their percieved slights -they just get together, submit press releases to news outlets and whine about whatever irks them at that moment. The third and perhaps most humorous assumption is that we are all sitting around in coffee houses discussing politics. Sorry, but America is not Seattle. Average Americans are not sitting around in coffee houses - they are working and earning their collective living while the whining hippie-retreads are sitting around in the coffee houses discussing "politics" - all the while doing absolutely nothing.

I couldn't have said it better myself. Note to my readers: I am not sitting in a Starbucks using their free Internet; I'm at home waiting for my dinner to finish cooking after a long day at work.

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Muslims' "Privacy Violations"

Neil Steinberg for the Chicago Sun-Times has this to say about the complaining by certain Muslim groups that their privacy is being unduly invaded.

Would you feel offended -- persecuted, oppressed, trod upon -- if you discovered that the federal government had parked a van outside your church, bowling league, supper club, sniffing the air for excess radiation as part of a larger attempt to keep terrorists from blowing up an atom bomb in the center of the Loop?

Me neither.

So though this spot usually waves the flag for privacy, it holds less than the usual sympathy for the protests from Muslim groups, who feel wronged because the government for some strange reason feels that future terrorism might come from their direction, and has conducted a few rather desultory checks for heightened radiation levels.

Ignoring reality is a luxury we can't afford. It is ludicrous to waste limited security resources patting down Lutheran grandmothers as a smoke screen for checking guys from Saudi Arabia. Muslims in America have a legitimate grievance, but not with the United States government. I wonder how much they complain to those elements of their own culture that have placed them in this awkward situation in the first place? My bet: not much.

As John over at Marathon Pundit notes (and a big h/t to him for finding this article), Steinberg isn't a "fire breathing conservative." It'll be interesting to see if Steinberg gets the cold shoulder from his fellow libs regarding this bit of common sense coming forth from his keyboard...

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Latest Kyoto Snafu

Some like to believe that last year's record hurricane season is America's fault because President Bush wouldn't sign the Kyoto treaty and is polluting the environment faster than Michael Moore goes through a KFC 15-piece bucket. However, it seems that those who have signed it aren't keeping the promises they made when they did.

Britain and Sweden are the only European countries honouring their Kyoto commitments to cut greenhouse gasses, according to a think-tank report.

Although the US is portrayed as the ecological villain for refusing to sign up to the agreement, 10 out of the 15 European Union signatories - including Ireland, Italy and Spain - will miss their targets without urgent action, the Institute for Public Policy Research found.

France, Greece and Germany are given "amber warnings" and will only achieve the objectives if planned policies are successfully carried out.

Never fear, however. As long as there is a United States to be made out as the heavy--and especially while George W. Bush is in the White House--these other countries will not risk being demonized in the press. Perhaps they're looking for a way to blame us now for their not being able to cut down on their pollution...

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December 26, 2005

Kill George

Via the NY Daily News:

Before he was captured last spring, Osama Bin Laden's top operational commander was solely focused on killing President Bush and Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharaff, the Daily News has learned.

Wonder if that's why so many on the left want to end our war on terror?

h/t: PCD

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Arnold Schwarzenegger Stadium No More

Arnold Schwarzenegger's name was removed from the stadium in his hometown of Graz, Austria at his request:

The California governor had asked for his name to be stricken from the 15,300-seat arena after critics in his birthplace, where opposition to capital punishment runs high, scorned him for refusing to block this month's execution of convicted killer Stanley Tookie Williams.

Capital punishment may be illegal and unpopular in Austria, but Schwarzenegger is now an American citizen and the governor of one of America's most populous states.

His actions in this ridiculous matter show that he cares more for his duties as California's governor than popular opinion in the hometown he left nearly 40 years ago.

Thumbs up to Arnold!

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This Post Will Stay At the Top Until December 26--Scroll Down for Updates

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December 24, 2005

Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah!

I'll be MIA for the next couple of days, as I imagine most of you will be, visiting relatives and making merry.

I'll be back to posting after Christmas!

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December 23, 2005

History as it Relates to Today

Nepotism alert: Both of the following articles I'm featuring are by people I know personally. But since I don't make money on this blog, who's going to care?!

Article one: Written by Joseph Morrison Skelly for NRO, it compares the crossing of the Delaware by George Washington and his troops on Christmas Day, 1776 to our mission in Iraq. The opening paragraph:

On the night of December 25, 1776, with the winter wind whipsawing the water, with waves ripping across the bows of their leaky boats, and sheets of ice impeding their path, American soldiers rowed across the merciless river, from Pennsylvania to New Jersey. The city of Trenton was their objective. On the evening of December 25, 2005, American soldiers, like their Colonial-era predecessors, will traverse swift, unforgiving currents, but in a distant land. Victory in Operation Iraqi Freedom is their aim. Perhaps this Christmas, when Americans gather to exchange presents with their families and friends, they can take a moment to recall the heroism of those soldiers who helped to win our independence in 1776 by crossing the Delaware River, and pause to reflect on the courage of those soldiers who are preserving it for us in 2005 by crossing the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers in Iraq. This simple act must be our gift to them.

Skelly knows both about history and about Iraq. He is a college professor of history in New York City, with a PhD, and is also an officer in the National Guard who recently spent a year in Iraq. I first wrote about him on my blog back in August. Please be sure to read the whole article, as it makes many poignant observations.

Article two: On his site The Anthropogene, John features an article written by Portugese chroniclers regarding the fall of the Hindu city Vijahyanagar at the hand of Muslim invaders back in 1565. The point of the city's existence at that time was to repel Muslims. Alas, the day came when it fell.

The third day saw the beginning of the end. The victorious Mussulmans had halted on the field of battle for rest and refreshment, but now they had reached the capital, and from that time forward for a space of five months Vijayanagar knew no rest. The enemy had come to destroy, and they carried out their object relentlessly. They slaughtered the people without mercy, broke down the temples and palaces; and wreaked such savage vengeance on the abode of the kings, that, with the exception of a few great stone-built temples and walls, nothing now remains but a heap of ruins to mark the spot where once the stately buildings stood. They demolished the statues, and even succeeded in breaking the limbs of the huge Narasimha monolith. Nothing seemed to escape them. They broke up the pavilions standing on the huge platform from which the kings used to watch the festivals, and overthrew all the carved work. They lit huge fires in the magnificently decorated buildings forming the temple of Vitthalasvami near the river, and smashed its exquisite stone sculptures. With fire and sword, with crowbars and axes, they carried on day after day their work of destruction. Never perhaps in the history of the world has such havoc been wrought, and wrought so suddenly, on so splendid a city; teeming with a wealthy and industrious population in the full plenitude of prosperity one day, and on the next seized, pillaged, and reduced to ruins, amid scenes of savage massacre and horrors beggaring description.

What does this piece of history have to do with anything? Think about how Vijahyanagar and how it was destroyed: "seized, pillaged, and reduced to ruins, amid scenes of savage massacre and horrors beggaring description." 9/11 comes to mind, as do the tactics used by Islamic terrorists in Iraq and elsewhere around the world--killing civilians indiscriminately in an attempt to terrify and destroy.

Read it all and see if you agree.

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Senate Lacks Holiday Cheer

Aw gee, the Senate is grumpy because there's legislating to be done on the eve of their Christmas (oops, "holiday") recess. Here's why:

Weighty policy matters hang in limbo on the eve of a midterm election year. A spending bill containing money for the military and Gulf Coast hurricane recovery also now includes a provision to allow Arctic oil drilling - a recent addition by Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, that has infuriated senators of both parties. The move would force lawmakers to vote for the package or be accused of withholding support for U.S. troops and storm victims.

Do you mean they might have to work during the week between Christmas and New Year's like most of the rest of us? Earning the salaries we pay them with our taxes? I'm hardly crying here.

Pretty sneaky of Senator Stevens to slip the Arctic drilling measure in a package of cash for the military and Gulf relief. Good! This ANWR drilling issue has gone on long enough. Those who cry that we need to be less dependent upon Middle East oil but won't let us drill in Alaska need the holes drilled in their heads filled. Until a viable alternative for fossil fuels is found, the more domestic oil we can supply ourselves, the better.

Merry Christmas, senators!

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December 22, 2005

Bashing Bush's iPod: Nothing Better to Do?

My pal Chris over at Lucky Dawg News caught Andrew Shaw of the UK's "Bush Sucks" Daily Mirror in a ridiculous lie. Apparently, President Bush, in a recent interview with FOX News' Brit Hume, discussed the music he has on his iPod. Shaw was indignant that Bush not only got Don McLean's first name wrong (he said Dan), but dared to "namedrop" by mentioning U2's Bono.

Here's the lie:

"Mr Bush also shamelessly namedropped when he revealed he had got his iPod from U2 singer Bono. Asked by a TV crew which artists he had stored in the gadget, he started reeling off names."

I have the video of the exchange and Bush didn't get his iPod from U2 singer Bono. Here's what Bush really said, "Bono came in and dropped his new iPod on me." He then compared the popular iPod Nano from U2's lead singer to the older one he carries. "This is a clunker compared to the newer version," he said.

My gosh, have the Bush bashers really got nothing better to do than to criticize the President for bringing up his discussion with Bono on TV and for saying "Dan" instead of "Don"? Not only that, but he lied about something so petty that it's not even worth the paper it's printed on. Bill Clinton's schmoozing with celebrities during his eight years in the Oval Office was legendary, so what's the big deal here?

As Chris says,

I'm sure the President focuses on more important things than song trivia. That's why he's the leader of the free World and Andrew Shaw writes for a 2 bit rag in a country that bows down to incestuous looking birth defects they like to call 'royalty'. Of course our little Bush hater use this inconsequential gaffe to segue into the leftist myth that Bush is a drooling idiot.

No kidding.

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Fish Named After Hillary

A new fish has been discovered and named after Hillary Clinton.

The fish, now known as the Hillary Fish, has a unique feature--two mouths. As Clinton is for talking out of both sides of her mouth in an effort to appeal to supporters and non-supporters alike, scientists agree that naming it after the New York senator and former First Lady was a no-brainer.

Clinton was honored to have a fish named after her. "I think it reflects my commitment to the environment, diversity, and individuality."

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One of the Most Ironic Statements Ever

I am not writing about the transit strike today, because there is only so much one can say about it...

While trawling today's news stories, one about the trial of Saddam Hussein caught my eye. Sure he's been ranting about physical abuse while being imprisoned (of course, he doesn't offer to show the bruises), but that's to be expected. His half-brother, however, said something that made my jaw drop.

Barzan [Ibrahim al-Tikriti ], who has emerged as the most outspoken of the defendants, eclipsing even Saddam, complained about the way the trial was being televised. It is being broadcast with a delay of 30 minutes to allow court officials to censor images and sound.

Occasionally the officials have cut the sound, usually when Saddam or Barzan have been speaking.

"If the sound is cut off once again, then I don't know about my comrades but I personally won't attend again," Barzan said on Thursday. "This is unjust and undemocratic."

Coming from a man who was part of one of the most murderous dictatorial regimes in modern history, this has to be one of the most ludicrous claims of all time. He should be grateful he's even getting a trial and not being handed over to the people for a special brand of vigilante justice.

He's on trial for the murder of 148 people in the 1980s after a failed assassination attempt on Saddam Hussein's life. Was there a trial for them?

Pitiful.

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December 21, 2005

Transit Strike: Day 2

Day two of the transit strike and it still sucks. While it doesn't affect my travel directly, it affects me in other ways. Here are just a few:

--My workload has tripled because half of my department is unable to make it in. Thanks, TWU!
--I was unable to stay home with my youngest daughter, who wasn't feeling well, because I knew I would be in hot water with my boss under the circumstances. I ended up having my oldest miss school too so my youngest could rest at home. Thanks, TWU!
--I had an appointment at the podiatrist uptown that I had to cancel because while walking there from Grand Central wasn't a problem, getting to my office afterward was. Thanks, TWU!
--Our group luncheon was postponed from today to sometime in January because we were booked at a restaurant 20 blocks uptown. Not only do we miss out on free grub, but the restaurant misses out on a big check. Thanks, TWU!

Any other New Yorkers (commuters, etc.) out there? How is this affecting you?

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December 20, 2005

The Blather Review...

...has been added to my blogroll. Actually, it's already in the MuNu Family of Blogs blogroll, but I have added it to my Fellow New Englanders blogroll as well, as it's a Connecticut blog.

I'll be checking it out more frequently, and you should too!

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Deutschland Uber Alles

Seems like our pals in Germany have allowed a Hizbollah member supposedly jailed for life because he murdered a Navy Seal diver to go free, sending him back to Lebanon.

Sources in Berlin and Beirut said earlier that Mohammad Ali Hammadi, convicted of killing Navy diver Robert Dean Stethem in Beirut during the 1985 hijacking of a TWA flight and sentenced to life in prison, was flown back to Lebanon last week.

Let's see...he was sentenced to life, but according to Germany's justice ministry he "served his term." I guess the German justice system must have a foolproof way to rehabilitate prisoners. I'm sure Hammadi has no intention of returning to Hizbollah (also spelled Hezbollah), one of the most dangerous terrorist groups around.

Morons. But hey, a poke in the eye of the US (and Israel) is worth it...

h/t: GD

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More of My Opinion on the Strike...

For those of you who don't know, I also post at a group blog, Lifelike Pundits. Click here to see my LLP commentary on the NYC transit strike.

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Transit Strike!

SCROLL DOWN FOR UPDATES

It happened...subway and bus employees employed by the MTA in the city of New York have gone on a transit strike.

Today should be very interesting.

While the strike doesn't affect me (I ride Metro North trains in from Connecticut and usually walk the 20-minute walk to my office), I know it affects several people in my department--and goodness knows how many other people in my building. I know my company was trying to set up as many people as possible to work from home, but there is only so much one can do from home.

I did hear a Metro North worker yesterday saying there have been grumblings in his union...I hope he was just spreading a baseless rumor.

Unions, I'm sorry to say, suck. This union in particular will not only be screwing over its employer, but paralyzing an entire city. Think of the money that will be lost by businesses--from the most humble newsstand to large corporations, everyone will be affected. Tourists' vacations will be ruined. The only ones profiting from this strike will be the media, as they are already having a field day with it.

Once upon a time, unions served a vital purpose. I believe that they have now become just as bad, or worse, than the employers they once actually protected employees from. The transit workers' union president was screaming at a rally last week that the MTA just wanted to keep them poor. Poor? The lowest paid workers (booth attendants and cleaning crew) earn between $47K and $55K before overtime. That's not to mention their generous pension plans and their healthcare that they don't have to pay a dime into. Heck, they make more than I do. My college degree obviously wasn't a guarantee of big bucks...

Every day this union is on strike, a New York law says employees will lose two days pay, and the union itself will owe millions in fines. Do you remember when Ronald Reagan fired air traffic controllers when they went on strike back int the 1980s? I think that's a great idea.

8:50 am: There are as many people on the sidewalks as usual, but there is a different feel...people are not happy. Also, my floor is like a morgue. Half of my own department was unable to come in, and the rest of the floor seems to be in the same boat. The one plus was that I was able to walk across both Madison Avenue and 5th Avenue against the light because traffic is much lighter today.

The Man over at GOP and the City has more strike info here and here. He says, "Let the bums strike!" I have another question regarding this strike. If the union gets what it wants, will service improve? I seriously doubt it.

11:55 am: The guy from the mailroom just called the strike a "blackout on wheels." I thought that was really funny! Be sure to check out this site opened up by the TWU (Transit Workers Union) that is allowing open comments (h/t GOP and the City). Many of them are quite nasty! More strike griping can be found at Suitably Flip.

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December 19, 2005

Disney's Chronicles of Narnia

Last night, the hubby and I took the kids to see Disney's Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. All I can say is, wow! What a great film.

Having read the book multiple times, I was quite familiar with the story before going into the theater. The movie version takes very few liberties with the story, and is quite faithful to it. I won't bore you with details, as there are scads of reviews out there. I will mention, however, that the bombing scene in the beginning (that wasn't in the book) is necessary to explain why the children are sent out to the countryside to live with "the Professor."

I also don't remember the flight of Peter, Susan and Lucy from the White Witch being fraught with so many close calls, but I guess it makes for more exciting cinema.

The effects are wonderful--the Beavers, Aslan and other creatures of Narnia are very lifelike. (We have a copy of the BBC miniseries that was made around 1984, and laugh at the full-sized adults dressed up as beavers, etc.) The children who portray the Pevensy children are all excellent, and Tilda Swensen is perfectly cast as the White Witch.

If you have very young children, I wouldn't recommend it as there is some disturbing imagery. My youngest (who will be 10 next month) hid her eyes during some of the more violent scenes, including the sacrifice of Aslan at the hands of the White Witch. Even so, she came away smiling, and for the most part enjoyed the film.

And for those who are griping about the Christian overtones in the movie (and, of course, in the book), I have this to say: The story can be taken at face value or can be picked apart in as much detail as one cares to. The ones who are squawking about the Christianity are probably the ones who criticized those who wanted to ban Harry Potter because of the witchcraft. Don't like it? Don't see it, and leave it to those who have an interest.

I would pay the ten bucks to see it again.

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Ben Stein's Heroes

Sorry I didn't post at all over the weekend...with it being the last weekend before Christmas (and I hadn't done any shopping or decorating) I spent the entire weekend catching up.

OK, on to more important things.

Today, someone sent me Ben Stein's final column for E! Online. Let's hope he continues to write elsewhere. In the meantime, we can enjoy what he writes here, because it's great. Apparently, Mr. Stein is no longer impressed by the Hollywood stars he has come to know over the years (and, in my opinion, with good reason):

Beyond that, a bigger change has happened. I no longer think Hollywood stars are terribly important. They are uniformly pleasant, friendly people, and they treat me better than I deserve to be treated. But a man or woman who makes a huge wage for memorizing lines and reciting them in front of a camera is no longer my idea of a shining star we should all look up to.

How can a man or woman who makes an eight-figure wage and lives in insane luxury really be a star in today's world, if by a "star" we mean someone bright and powerful and attractive as a role model?

Real stars are not riding around in the backs of limousines or in Porsches or getting trained in yoga or Pilates and eating only raw fruit while they have Vietnamese girls do their nails. They can be interesting, nice people, but they are not heroes to me any longer.

A real star is the soldier of the 4th Infantry Division who poked his head into a hole on a farm near Tikrit, Iraq. He could have been met by a bomb or a hail of AK-47 bullets. Instead, he faced an abject Saddam Hussein and the gratitude of all of the decent people of the world.

Read it all, and hats off to Ben Stein for telling it like it is.

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December 16, 2005

All Hail Iraq!

I haven't blogged yet about the election in Iraq yesterday--partly because I've been so darn busy, and partly because so many others have done such a bang-up job. However, I would be remiss if I neglected to say something regarding this historic precedent.

It's been a long haul this past two and a half years since we first went into Iraq. We kept hearing the word "quagmire" bandied about by disgruntled Democrats who voted to authorize military action, but then regretted their action when party radicals had a hissy fit.

We've had to endure the likes of Cindy Sheehan, who used and abused her status of a parent who lost a child in combat in order to further her own leftwing agenda.

We've had to read scads of negative coverage by the MSM who, because of their deep loathing of Republicans in general and President Bush in particular, will do whatever they can to make any progress in Iraq seem impossible.

However, what we here at home have had to endure is nothing compared to what our military deals with on a daily basis--not to mention what the Iraqi people are living with.

Read More "All Hail Iraq!"

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'Tis the Season

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December 15, 2005

AOL Poll: Most Still Don't Like Hillary

On AOL today there is an AP article about Hillary Clinton's rising political star since becoming a senator nearly six years ago.

In 1999, Hillary Rodham Clinton was skewered as a carpetbagger from Illinois and Arkansas who would get her comeuppance at the hands of the mayor of New York City. Today, she appears to be coasting to a 2006 Senate re-election victory that could set her up for a White House run two years later.

...

Independent polls show Clinton with solid approval ratings and far ahead of the potential Republican competition. She also has a ton of money in the bank - about $14 million as of the end of September and still counting. On Tuesday, she and her famous husband hosted 900 people at $500 a plate in New York City.

Doesn't she sound like a clear winner? However, a reader poll attached to the article tells a different story. As of this writing, here are the results thus far:

Has your opinion of Hillary Clinton changed in the last six years?
No, I still don't like her 47%
Yes, I like her more 23%
Yes, I dislike her more 17%
No, I still like her 13%

Would you vote for her for president?
No 67%
Yes 33%
Total Votes: 245,811

What do you think? Click on the article link above and vote for yourself, then check the current results...

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A Tale of Two Drug Addicts

Phil over at Camp Katrina noticed something strange with the following article excerpts regarding a couple of famous people and their drug problems. Excerpt number one:

Colin Farrell is being treated for exhaustion and dependency on prescription medication, his publicist said.

The medication was prescribed to the Irish actor after a back injury, publicist Danica Smith said in a written statement Monday.

I just got the warm fuzzies. Then, there's this story:

A judge on Monday ruled that prosecutors can subpoena Rush Limbaugh's doctors as part an investigation into whether the conservative talk show commentator illegally bought painkillers.

I just got nauseated. Both stories are sourced from AP (the Associated Press). It's good to know how unbiased our MSM is, isn't it? Poor Colin Farrell is suffering from exhaustion and is recovering from his "dependency" on painkillers after an injury, while Rush, a "conservative talk show commentator illegally bought painkillers." Of course, Rush also got addicted to the painkillers after having back surgery, and what the ruling really meant was that prosecutors couldn't question his doctors regarding his treatment.

Both stories factually true. Both stories the victim of spin. Who got the better end of the deal?

Thanks, Phil, for pointing it out!

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December 14, 2005

No Christmas for YOU!

OMG, this is hilarious! If you're annoyed by the tolerance-based anti-Christmas crowd, this little video is for you. Fair warning...there are a few profanities.

h/t: American Dinosaur

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On the Convenient Quotings of Scripture

Head on over to Brainster for an interesting example of the Bible and its teachings as prescriptive to society, but not individuals.

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A Pepto Bismol Moment

The Clintons in a clinch at a fundraiser for Hillary

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After Tookie

In the wake of Stanley "Tookie" Williams' execution, there is a lot of discussion about the death penalty. Some people, of course, think there should be no death penalty. But some states do have the death penalty--and prosecutors, therefore, are entitled to seek it when trying murder cases.

Williams co-founded the Crips, one of the most dangerous gangs in America. He was found guilty of murdering four people for paltry sums of money nearly 25 years ago. He never admitted guilt, although the justice system found him guilty. He was never able to find proof that someone else did the killings. His legal options ran out.

Why do some death row inmates inspire some to fight for their lives? Hollywood seems to glom on to prisoners like Tookie and Mumia Abu-Jabal, who is on death row for killing a police officer. The killers who inspire the "save so-and-so" movements usually do something while in jail that some think redeems them, such as finding religion, getting a college education or lecturing on the folly of crime. Does this erase their crimes and society's responsibility for punishing them to the full extent of the law?

What about clemency? What motivates a governor or president to grant clemency (it need not be for a murderer, either). Ben Shapiro has some thoughts about executive clemency:

Read More "After Tookie"

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December 13, 2005

World Not Helping with Saddam's Trial

Via Breitbart:

The world has shirked its duty to help prosecute Saddam Hussein, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Tuesday. "The international community's effective boycott of Saddam's trial is only harming the Iraqi people, who are now working to secure the hope of justice and freedom that Saddam long denied them," Rice said.

I guess Condi has a higher expectation of the world than I do. Frankly, it doesn't surprise me that the "international community" is ignoring Saddam's trial. If the countries who had a hissy fit when we went into Iraq actually paid attention to the trial of its deposed leader, they might actually have to admit that Saddam was an evil b*stard who tortured and killed millions of Iraqis while he raped the country of its assets for his own personal gain.

Every country who claims to support the UN and its interests would have to admit that the UN fell down on the job by not enforcing its own resolutions against Iraq, as well as its major botching of the Oil for Food program--a program designed to help Iraqis during a period of sanctions, but that ended up lining Saddam's pockets with even more ill-gotten wealth under Kofi Annan's watch.

In other words, the trial of Saddam serves only to remind the world that they screwed up. What young babies can't see they think no longer exists--so it goes with the world and Saddam on trial.

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Canada's Paul Martin: Not Much to Say

Prime Minister Paul Martin, our old pal from the Great White North, is at it again.

David Wilkins, the U.S. Ambassador to Canada warned Prime Minister Paul Martin to knock off the bashing of America in the days leading up to its election:

"It may be smart election politics to thump your chest and constantly criticize your friend and your No. 1 trading partner. But it's a slippery slope and all of us should hope it doesn't have a long-term impact on our relationship."

...

In the campaign for the June 2004 election Martin regularly said Canada did not want U.S.-style health care, fiscal deficits, taxes or attack ads.

But in the last several months, particularly in frustration over U.S. refusal to eliminate duties on Canadian softwood, he has made more direct attacks on U.S. policy, and continued to do so during the election campaign.

Martin refuses to back down, saying he has the right to "defend [his] country."

Of course, he has every right to make us look bad while he tries to hold onto his office after a vote of no-confidence. However, it doesn't say much for his leadership and record if he feels that using the old "America as a punching bag" tactic is a great way to win votes.

Doesn't he have anything else to offer?

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Put the "Gore" Back in Christmas

No, I'm not talking about Al Gore. I'm talking about Killer Santa Claus, hanging outside a ritzy Manhattan brownstone.

The Man at GOP and the City has all of the details.

What the h*ll is wrong with people?

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December 12, 2005

I Made the Top 10!

Top 10 what, you ask? The top 10 captions to The Man's latest photo caption contest over at GOP and the City. My entry was rated as #6.

Time to play Powerball...my luck is on a roll!

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Rosa DeLauro Against Alito

Color me surprised...or not. Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) is against the nomination of Justice Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court.

DeLauro, who like her House colleagues will not have a vote on the nomination, called Alito "someone who has consistently ruled that Congress does not have the power to hold employers accountable for engaging in discrimination.

What I believe she refers to here is his opinion that the Family Leave and Medical act is unconstitutional, believing that it should be left to individual state jurisdiction. As I am not an expert on that, I prefer to leave it to experts like Alito.

"Nor does he believe the federal government has the responsibility to protect the health, safety of welfare of Americans," DeLauro said.

Technically, the federal government has no business in doing any of these things. The Constitution makes no provision for healthcare, personal safety (with the exception of protecting citizens from foreign attack) or welfare of American citizens--except for the part where it says we are all deserve "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." There are times when federal intervention is necessary. However, the framers did not intend for our federal government to hold our hands along every step of the way in the journey of life.

The U.S. was not founded on the nanny state philosophy. What about personal accountability?

And of course, the Roe v. Wade card gets played. Marcia Greenberger, president of the National Women's Law Center joined DeLauro in denouncing Alito.

Greenberger, like other Alito critics, noted that his confirmation would place a pro-life jurist in the seat currently held by Justice Sandra Day O’Connor.

Is there nothing else going on that the court needs to worry about? Why is it that abortion seems to be the main point of contention as to whether or not a judge is qualified (or not) to sit on the Supreme Court.

Give it a rest already.

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In Their Own Words

Senator Daniel Inouye is demanding that President Bush instruct the GOP to stop playing this ad, calling it a

...shameful and disgusting attempt to distract the American people from the problem in Iraq. It may improve the President’s political fortunes, but the American people and our troops will pay the price. I hope that President Bush realizes how shameful it is to play politics when what we really need is leadership, and that he will direct his Party to take down this ad immediately."

Let's rewrite the above statement using a few different (but strategically placed) words:

The Democrats' latest comments about not being able to win the war in Iraq and likening our soldiers to terrorists is a shameful and disgusting attempt to distract the American people from the progress being made in Iraq. It may improve Democrats' political fortunes, but the American people and our troops will pay the price. I hope the Democrats realize how shameful it is to play politics when what we really need is leadership, and that they will cease from making such damaging comments in public immediately.

See what a little creative editing can do? The problem here is, Democrats are now upset that their own statements are being used against them. It's not as though the GOP made this stuff up. Howard Dean, John Kerry and Barbara Boxer made these statements on radio and television, but when the words they uttered are thrown back in their faces, Democrats can't take it and whine about the "shameful" playing of "politics." Do the Dems really think Americans don't realize that they too are playing politics?

As Arnold Ahlert says in today's NY Post:

Democrats seem to think that when Dean says winning the war “is an idea which is just plain wrong,� or Kerry says American troops are “going into the homes of Iraqis in the dead of night, terrorizing kids and children,� they’re entitled to do so — without rebuttal. Any refutation of their viewpoint is an “attack,� while their odious two-year “Bush lied� campaign is “principled dissent.�

Their quotes betray them. They’ve had plenty of opportunity to demonstrate solidarity with a wartime president, support our soldiers in harm’s way and send a message of American resolve to terrorist thugs. With some notable exceptions, such as Sen. Joe Lieberman, they did none of it.

It’s about time they are taken to task — with their own words, no less.

Well said.

Crossposted to Lifelike Pundits.

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Suicide Killers: An Interview with the Documentarist

Jamie Glazov of Front Page Magazine interviews Pierre Rehov, a French filmmaker whose latest documentary, Suicide Killers, explores the psychology of suicide bombers. An excerpt:

One of the paradoxes of radical Islam is that most of what is forbidden on earth is allowed, as a reward for good behaviour, in the afterlife. The problem that we are facing is that, because of the modern world, the easiness of communications, travel, flow of information, most Muslims, a lot of them still living like in the Middle Ages, are confronted with our civilisation, namely democracies, where women are equal to men. Separation of men and women, supremacy of men over women, are among the most important concepts of the Muslim culture.

I am not here to denounce what one doctor and philosopher in my film describes as the sacrifice of Eros to Thanatos, found in all monotheism and, somehow, also in Buddhism. For thousands of years, men developed this absurd concept that sacrificing sexuality, which is the most fulfilling of all pleasures, would appease the God of death, or Death itself. While evolving, the modern man started to moderate the importance of this sacrifice. This is not the case in Islam, where sex out of marriage is a severe offense to the law, where a girl can be slaughtered by her own father or brother if she has lost her virginity, or if she wants to marry someone who has not been chosen by her family.

The result of all this pathology is that you end up with 16 to 20 year old men, with a strong libido, who have never approached a woman, don't even know what they look like, consider them as evil, and have this high level of energy, literally ready to blow themselves up out of frustration. It then becomes very easy to convince them that they have a duty to destroy impurity, symbolized by the Occidental world, and that they will be rewarded by 72 virgins in the afterlife. Their entire society is built on the absolute belief in this afterlife, so much better than the miserable life they have on earth -- thanks to the teachings of their leaders.

Read the whole thing. Somehow, I don't think this documentary will be nominated for an Oscar.

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December 11, 2005

ICC a Bad Idea

Peter A. Brown, writing for the Orlando Sentinel:

A Spanish judge's effort to extradite three American soldiers in connection with the deaths of two journalists in the Iraq war is worth noting -- and not because the United States is likely to turn over the three men involved in a 2003 firefight in which two journalists, one a Spaniard, were mistakenly killed.

It is important because it illustrates the wisdom of the U.S. decision not to join the International Criminal Court.

We should remember this when, as surely as the sun rises in the east, the 2008 presidential campaign will see the ICC issue resurrected by those who think the United States needs to repair its global image by trading on our sovereignty.

Obviously, countering the view around the globe that the United States does what it pleases regardless of the consequences would be a good thing. And, historically the United States has supported the idea of post-war panels to discipline those who commit genocide.

But a full-time world court is another matter. Especially when it requires that American troops doing their job during wartime be subjected to the whims of those who don't share U.S. views and values.

Read the whole thing.

h/t: GD

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A New Look!

I'm pleased to introduce you to the "new" Blogmeister USA! Thanks to the folks at Apothegm Designs, my blog no longer looks like a "poor relation." Sadie was extremely helpful and, as you can see, is a wonderfully talented Webpage designer.

If you're looking to have your blog made over, I suggest you contact Apothegm Designs. The price is reasonable and they really give you quality service.

Let me know what you think of the new design!

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December 10, 2005

This Just Cracks Me Up

From the mouth of Rep. Earl Pomeroy (D-ND):

"My words to Howard Dean are simple - shut up."

Thank you!

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December 09, 2005

Let It Snow!

Since I had a scheduled day off today, I don't give a hoot about the snowstorm! Here are some pictures of my little corner of Connecticut:

A view from my front door

A view of the backyard

The back porch railing--see how high the snow is?

My lazy cat, enjoying the warm house after being out in the cold!

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Danbury Mayor: Deal With Illegals

Mark Boughton, mayor of Danbury, Connecticut, is forming a coalition of mayors from throughout the country that will lobby federal lawmakers to overhaul and reform immigration laws.

It's a good idea. Of course, during yesterday's press conference, some idjit reporter had to ask:

"Mayor Boughton, are you anti-immigrant?"

Boughton paused for a moment, smiled – and then said no.

Why is it that wanting immigration reform--in order to keep illegal immigrants from entering the country--automatically makes one anti-immigrant? We have laws, and these people are flat out ignoring them.

This other piece from the article was hurl-worthy as well:

However, [Stamford Mayor Dan] Malloy said the economy would go into the tank if every undocumented worker left the U.S. Immigrant laborers fill many landscaping and construction jobs American workers don't want.

Wages for these very jobs are kept low because of the influx of illegals. Those who employ them know they are willing to work for very little and therefore the employers rake in more cash for themselves. (I'm a capitalist, but I'm not for making profit by exploiting illegals and cheating American citizens in the process.) By not employing illegals, wages for construction and landscaping jobs would reach more realistic levels, making those positions more attractive to Americans. Americans--most of them, anyway--want to work, but want to be paid fairly. (BTW, I am not a union supporter.)

In the meantime, illegals pay no taxes yet receive taxpayer-funded frills such as education and hospital treatment for illness.

This doesn't even take into consideration the security issues surrounding illegals' ability to just waltz over our southern borders.

I'll be keeping an eye on this coaltion. It'll be interesting to see if it actually gets anywhere.

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Inside Grand Central

I just finished watching a fascinating 2-hour documentary on Grand Central Terminal in NYC on the National Geographic Channel (although I missed the first 45 minutes). It airs again at 6pm EST on Saturday, and I hope to catch the part I missed. As a commuter who goes through Grand Central twice a day, five days a week, I have a special connection to the terminal.

The show covers the entire history of the terminal: from its opening in 1913 and the golden age of railroading to its decline in the 1950s and '60s; the threat of demolition in the late '60s and early '70s to renovation in the late '80s and through the '90s; and the challenges it faces today (i.e. terrorism).

I remember going through Grand Central whenever I'd go into New York while in college in the late '80s, and having to avoid homeless people camped out in the horrendously dirty terminal. Today, you'd never know that it had reached that depressing state. The limestone, marble and gold leaf gleam, and I have not grown tired of looking at the October night sky ceiling. (I try to avoid looking like a tourist, but sometimes I can't help myself. Usually I'm in too much of a hurry to take a lot of time, but sometimes I get lucky.)

If you're planning on watching it, I won't spoil some of the interesting tidbits that may (or may not!) fascinate you. If you have New York in your travel plans, take a half hour or so and wander about Grand Central. It's well worth it!

Click here to see a "live" view from the National Geographic website.

And now, to bed!

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December 08, 2005

I Think This is Hilarious!

From the NY Post:

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Both Sides of the Poll

There's been a lot of talk in the MSM in the past month or two about President Bush's tanking poll ratings (which have gone up within the past week, by the way--an average of 41.4% approval rating, which is up from 37%.).

What we don't see much about is how Congress is rating in the polls.

Within the same week as linked above for the president, Congress rates a dismal 30.6% approval rating. (Yes, I'm aware that the Republicans control both the House and the Senate, and I too am none to pleased with their performance of late). As a body, Congress has an approval rating that is way below that of President Bush.

Frankly, none of it is really news, as polls can change with the blowing of the wind. What is newsworthy is how President Bush's low ratings get top headlines while Congressional ratings are sent to the back of the class.

And who has really low ratings these days? Hillary Clinton. According to a Rasmussen poll, only 25% of those surveyed said they would definitely vote for her, while 38% have a favorable opinion of her. That's not much higher than President Bush's low of a few weeks ago.

Again, public opinion is a fickle beast, and polls are not the be all and end all of politics...or rather, they shouldn't be. In which case, it's interesting to take a look at the other side of the coin once in a while.

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Latest on Miami Airport Shooting

From ABC News:

Federal law enforcement sources told ABC News they had been on the alert for a possible shoe bomber when a federal air marshal opened fire at the Miami International Airport yesterday.

So air marshals were already on the lookout for possible trouble when Rigoberto Alpizar claimed he had a bomb in his backpack and ran from authorities when they told him to stop. According to his wife, he was bipolar and had not taken his medication.

It's a sad situation, but the air marshals were doing their job. Had they not, and Alpizar had actually had a bomb, what then? When split-second decisions need to be made, there is no time for second guessing.

My prayers go out to Alpizar's family.

Thanks to GD for the tip.

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December 07, 2005

Coulter on Republicans and Murtha

Classic Ann:

On the House floor, both Republicans and Democrats repeatedly gave Murtha rousing standing ovations. There was so much praise for Murtha that one of his Democratic colleagues asked him if he still had to attend Murtha's funeral.

What is this? Special Olympics for the Democrats? Can't Republicans disagree with a Democrat who demands that the U.S. surrender in the middle of a war without erecting monuments to him first? What would happen if a Democrat were to propose restoring Saddam Hussein to power? Is that Medal of Freedom territory?

Read it all here.

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"Silent Night" Becomes "Cold in the Night"

Banning Christmas songs from school concerts is annoying enough. What's worse is when the songs are changed to reflect stringent PC requirements. Here's what students in Dodgeville, Wisconsin will be singing to the tune of Silent Night:

Cold in the night, no one in sight,
winter winds whirl and bite, how I wish
I were happy and warm, safe with my
family out of the storm.

Perhaps we'll soon be hearing the same kind of arguments being made in Australia by The Forum on Australia's Islamic Relations, who find Christmas politically incorrect, and want the word Christmas eliminated--replaced by a word like "festive" instead.

If that's the case, I want Ramadan to be changed to "Month of Denying Oneself Nourishment."

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New Additions to the Blogroll

I'm pleased to announce the following additions to my blogroll:

The Noonzwire: Alex is a transplanted New Yorker in Connecticut, with very definite views on politics and lifestyle.

Radio Blogger: Not that he needs my support, as he's one of the biggest bloggers out there, but I've added him because...well, why not?

Enjoy!

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Blogs for Heather: Wilson Returns Cash

Democrats called for Republicans last Thursday to return any cash received from PACs of former California Republican Congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham, calling it "tainted cash." Cunningham pled guilty on Monday to tax evasion and conspiracy to accept bribes.

Congresswoman Heather Wilson (R-NM) donated $6,830.10 she had received to charity the day before the Democrats' announcement.

Two months ago, Wilson also made the move to return $10,000 she received from Tom DeLay's PAC.

When Republicans are caught breaking the law, Democrats rush to say the entire Republican party is part of a "culture of corruption." This, of course, is hogwash. A few bad apples don't mean the entire barrel is rotten. In fact, there are a few Democrats I profess to like (like Senator Joe Lieberman).

Heather Wilson doesn't seem like she's a part of a "culture of corruption" to me.

h/t: Lucky Dawg News

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December 06, 2005

Can We Question Their Patriotism NOW? PLEASE?

Yegads, the new lows the radical leftwingers will sink to. Michelle Malkin tells us about a card that wounded soldier Joshua Sparling received while in Walter Reed Hospital in D.C.

The text on the handmade card reads:

Dear Soldier,
Have a great time in the war, and have a great time dieing (sic) in the war.
From Miguel
P.S. D.I.E.

Thanks to reader PCWhoopass for the tip.

If you want to send a card to counteract this crap, here's the address:

Joshua Sparling
c/o Walter Reed Army Medical Center
6900 Georgia Avenue N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20307-5001

Michelle's post has other information if you'd like to send a card to other soldiers as well.

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Dean: The Man Who Would be President

If an alien out in space heard Howard Dean's interview on WAOI, San Antonio yesterday, the alien might have thought he was listening to our country's leader speak:

"I think we need a strategic redeployment over a period of two years," Dean said. "Bring the 80,000 National Guard and Reserve troops home immediately. They don't belong in a conflict like this anyway. We ought to have a redeployment to Afghanistan of 20,000 troops, we don't have enough troops to do the job there and its a place where we are welcome. And we need a force in the Middle East, not in Iraq but in a friendly neighboring country to fight (terrorist leader Musab) Zarqawi, who came to Iraq after this invasion. We've got to get the target off the backs of American troops.

(Cue Hail to the Chief)

You have to say this for him: Dean's chutzpah has taken him a long way from being an unknown doctor to loudmouth for the Democrats. I'm wondering, though, if he has military advisers who told him about strategic redeployment? It sounds great, but will it work?

It's gone beyond questioning his patriotism at this point; I'm beginning to question his sanity.

Joe at Geosciblog has a few things to say on this subject!

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December 05, 2005

The Big Black Book of Horrors

Reader PCWhoopass clued me in to this article in The Weekend Australian.

WITH the trial of Saddam Hussein under way, those in the God-damn-America camp find themselves uncomfortably wedged. Should they justify their opposition to the war by downplaying Saddam's crimes while sheeting home blame for the present turmoil to the US and its allies? Or do they opt for the defence of moral equivalence, conceding that Saddam was indeed a monster but those US presidents who once backed his regime, including George H.W. Bush, are the real monsters.

The best riposte to this warped analysis is a scholarly and sober 700-page volume recently published in France, of all places. Le Livre Noir de Saddam Hussein (The Black Book of Saddam Hussein) is a robust denunciation of Saddam's regime that does not fall into the trap of viewing everything in Iraq through a US-centric prism. The writers - Arabs, Americans, Germans, French and Iranian - have produced the most comprehensive work to date on the former Iraqi president's war crimes, assembling a mass of evidence that makes the anti-intervention arguments redundant.

Intrigued? You might well be. The fact that the book has authors from multiple countries helps to ensure a balanced view of not only the current war in Iraq, but the events that led up to the war...events the left seems to gloss over in its zeal to discredit George W. Bush.

"The American war was perhaps not a good solution for getting rid of the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein. But, as this book shows, after 35 years of a dictatorship of exceptional violence, which has destroyed Iraqi civil society and created millions of victims, there wasn't a good solution," Kutschera writes.

The entire article is a must-read, as it includes excerpts from people whose families were executed and more. I wish I could read the book itself...

Read More "The Big Black Book of Horrors"

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December 04, 2005

Stay Outta Hollywood, Al...Please?

The day Al Sharpton decides to hang up his political/activist hat is a day many of us are looking forward to. Are we looking forward to his next incarnation, however?

NEW YORK — He's been a minister, an activist and a presidential candidate. Now Al Sharpton wants to be a sitcom star.

Sharpton told the Daily News in Saturday's editions that he is working with CBS on a pilot, tentatively named, "Al in the Family."

"It's about conflicting social and political views," Sharpton said. "There'll also be a social message."

The Democrat, who has also run for mayor of New York and the U.S. Senate, said one possible episode would have one of his TV children becoming a Republican.

"I don't know if I am a good actor or not, but I will be playing myself and I have been practicing that for 51 years," he said.

Did he get the bug from this commercial he shot while supporting Freddy Ferrer for mayor of NYC? The thought of watching Al Sharpton trying to be funny on TV is about as appealing as having a cavity filled. Actually, I'd rather have the cavity filled--without novacaine.

I honestly thought the offerings from Hollywood couldn't get much worse...but it seems I was wrong.

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December 02, 2005

Farrell vs. Sliwa on Tookie

I was at my mom's tonight. Just before my leaving, she was watching Scarborough Country on MSNBC, and called me in to see Mike Farrell and Curtis Sliwa talking about the possibility--or not--of Stanley Tookie Williams having his death sentence commuted to life imprisonment.

I only caught the end of the segment, but it was enough to entertain me. Farrell was blabbering on about how Tookie has redeemed himself and become a role model for our youth. He also mentioned how a belief in religion and faith should play a role in how we treat prisoners who have been convicted of murder. (Funny how religion is brought up when it's for a cause near and dear to the left's heart.)

The whole time Mike Farrell was speaking from his location (I presume California), Curtis Sliwa was grimacing and squirming in his seat in NYC. His disdain for Farrell's point of view was evident before he even opened his mouth. When he did, he brought up an interesting point. He wondered why, amidst all of the talk about Tookie's life as a model prisoner and the fact that he was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, he (Sliwa) is unable to find the names of the four people Tookie was convicted of murdering. (Tookie, you may remember, is a co-founder of the Crips.)

Think about it: so many people are talking about the fate of Tookie. What about the fate of his victims, not to mention their families and friends? As Sliwa put it, the victims are "out of sight, out of mind." Is their fate unimportant?

To use a British phrase, what a load of bollocks.

On a related note, check out this link about a Tookie Teach-In (teach-ins are usually a load of bollocks too), where one student thought Tookie is only taking the high road now in order to get out of what the student calls a "bad situation."

The funniest bit here is when Stefanie Faucher, the woman praising Tookie to the heavens, had this to say about Arnold Schwarzenegger:

Then Johnson asked Faucher, "Does Arnold even have his citizenship?"

"No," Faucher replied. "He doesn't."

"How can he be our governor then?" she asked.

Faucher took a step back and reconsidered. "I don't actually know if he's gotten his citizenship," she conceded. She looked to the other adults for help. There were no takers.

And we're supposed to take her and her position seriously?

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Another Reason NOT to Watch CBS News

-
From CalendarLive.com:

NBC's "Today" show co-anchor Katie Couric is being actively wooed by CBS to be its next evening news anchor — a move she is seriously considering, according to sources at both networks.

She's difficult enough to take in the morning. Seeing her in the evening after a long day of work and stress would just about do me in...

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