Get ready to rumble.

The Supreme Court battle is nigh.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch.....

Just the wierdest story of the day. Seems that Don Imus is being sued by his former nanny. Apparently on a trip to the Imus' New Mexico ranch, the nanny brought along a cap gun and a pocket knife. Imus and wife flip out when they discover that she is "armed" and they throw her off the ranch at 4:30 in the morning. The nanny had lost her wallet before the trip even started, but because it was a chartered jet, she didn't need her ID. (Really?)

At any rate, the nanny is stranded because she can't get on a plane back to NYC without an ID. Finally she makes her way to her grandmother's home in California. Meanwhile, Imus does his radio show ranting and raving that he had to fire his "terrorist" nanny because he had to "disarm" her in the middle of the night.

Phew, what a sordid tale. Methinks the rhetoric is a tad inflamed in the claim filed by the nanny's lawyers, but nonetheless, it is one bizarre story.

Why DID the chicken cross the road?

JOHN KERRY I voted to support the chicken crossing the road before I voted against the chicken. I do not believe the chicken should have crossed the road without the support of the French, Germans, and United Nations. Did I mention I have three Purple Hearts?

GEORGE W. BUSH We don't need to know why the chicken crossed the road. We just want to know if the chicken is on our side of the road or not. The chicken is either against us or for us. There is no middle ground here.

COLIN POWELL Now to the left of the screen, you can clearly see the satellite image of the chicken crossing the road.

HANS BLIX We have reason to believe there is a chicken, but we have not yet been allowed to have access to the other side of the road.

RALPH NADER The chicken's habitat on the other side of the road had been polluted by unchecked industrial greed. The chicken did not reach the unspoiled habitat on the other side of the road because it was crushed by the wheels of a gas-guzzling SUV.

PAT BUCHANAN To steal the job of a decent, hard-working American.

RUSH LIMBAUGH I don't know why the chicken crossed the road, but I'll bet it was getting a government grant to cross the road, and I'll bet that somebody out there is already forming a support group to help chickens with crossing-the-road syndrome. Can you believe this? How much more of this can real Americans take? Chickens crossing the road paid for by their tax dollars. And when I say tax dollars, I'm talking about your money, money the government took from you to build a road for chickens to cross.

MARTHA STEWART No one called me to warn me which way that chicken was going. I had a standing order at the Farmer's Market to sell my eggs when the price dropped to a certain level. No little bird gave me any insider information.

JERRY FALWELL Because the chicken was gay --- isn't it obvious? Can't you people see the plain truth in front of your face? The chicken was going to the "other side." That's what they call it the other side. Yes, my friends, that chicken is gay. And if you eat that chicken, you will become gay too. I say we Boycott all chickens until we sort out this abomination that the liberal media whitewashes with seemingly harmless phrases like "the other side."

DR SEUSS Did the chicken cross the road? Did he cross it with a toad? Yes, the chicken crossed the road, but why it crossed I've not been told.

ERNEST HEMINGWAY To die in the rain. Alone.

MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR I envision a world where all chickens will be free to cross roads without having their motives called into question.

GRANDPA In my day, we didn't ask why the chicken crossed the road. Somebody told us the chicken crossed the road, and that was good enough.

BARBARA WALTERS Isn't that interesting? In a few moments, we will be listening to the chicken tell, for the first time, the heart-warming story of how it experienced a serious case of molting, and went on to accomplish its life long dream of crossing the road.

JOHN LENNON Imagine all the chickens in the world crossing roads together - in peace.

ARISTOTLE It is the nature of chickens to cross the road.

KARL MARX It was an historic inevitability.

CAPTAIN KIRK To boldly go where no chicken has ever gone before.

SIGMUND FREUD The fact that you are at all concerned that the chicken crossed the road reveals your underlying sexual insecurity.

BILL GATES I have just witnessed eChicken2004, which will not only cross roads, but will lay eggs, file your important documents, and balance your checkbook and internet explorer is an integral part of eChicken.

ALBERT EINSTEIN Did the chicken really cross the road, or did the road move beneath the chicken?

BILL CLINTON I did not cross the road with THAT chicken. What is your definition of chicken?
AL GORE I invented the chicken!

THE BIBLE And God came down from heaven, and he said unto the chicken THOU SHALT CROSS THE ROAD. And the chicken did cross the road, and there was much rejoicing.

COLONEL SANDERS Did I miss one?

Politics is a rough business

No doubt, politics is a contact sport. Those of us who foolishly sign up for this abuse know the price that is often extracted from our hides. Rather than speaking out, it would be a whole lot easier just to keep quiet, go about our lives and not rock the boat. But we love our country more than we love peaceful, comfortable lives, I guess.

Some, though, get involved in the arena purely by accident. Folks like Steve Gardner, one of the Swift Boat Veterans for the Truth. Because he spoke out against John Kerry, he has lost his job, been lied about mercilessly in the media, been threatened by political hacks and had his life basically turned upside down.

It is just plain wrong.

Mr. Pataki wants to go to Washington -- Part I

New York's lightweight, RINO Governor wants to run for President. D'oh! I suppose it makes sense, since basically everyone in New York hates him at this point.

The latest people he has ticked off are are the Oneida Indian Nation of upstate New York. After 200 years of poverty, the nation has sprung into an economic powerhouse, creating not only prosperity for themselves, but for their neighbors in the economically-crippled upstate region. Through their Turning Stone Resort and Casino, the nation has created over 4,000 new jobs for New Yorkers. And they did it all with no help from Pataki. It is a moving and amazing success story.

Now, in a reckless attempt to try and score political points, Pataki has announced that he will allow out-of-state tribes to come to NY and open casinos. It is one thing for tribes like the Oneidas to build a successful enterprise on their native lands while reinvesting in their own communities for the common good. It is another altogether to allow out-of-state tribes to come in, open MORE casinos and profit off the state, while sending those profits out of the state. It's not smart, and it seems to me to undermine the entire principle behind allowing Indian gaming in the first place.

In a risky but gutsy move, the Oneidas are taking Pataki on with a series of hard-hitting ads running all over the state. My source in Albany says Pataki's seriously upset with them, likely because his polls show that most New Yorkers agree with the Oneida's position. This is going to be an interesting one to watch.....Help me, dear readers, spread the word about this loser Governor who wants to come to Washington.

Gramm to Treasury?

Word on the street is that Phil Gramm, former Senator from Texas, economist, deficit hawk and author of the famous Gramm-Rudman bill, is under consideration to be nominated for the Treasury Secretary spot.

Would be music to the ears of financial conservatives everywhere concerned about the deficit.

Phil Gramm was my first boss when I graduated from college. Learned a lot from this very wise man. He'd be an awesome pick.

Sad news this morning.

Just learned that Laury Estrada, wife of Miguel Estrada (former DC Circuit Court of Appeals nominee tormented by the oh-so-tolerant Left to the point of withdrawing his nomination), died suddenly Sunday morning. She was 46.

My heart breaks for Mr. Estrada and I pray that he and his family find peace in this time of grief. Sincerest condolences to the Estrada family.

Ahhhhhhhhhh.

Turkey and "Gone with the Wind". What could be better, eh?

Calling all sugar daddies!

You are more than welcome to donate any of the inaugural packages listed here to a worthy cause.....moi! Extra points given to those who choose the one with the Manolo Blahniks. My kingdom for one pair of Manolos!

Here's our exclusive breakdown of the highest-end offerings:
• The Fairmont's "President for a Day" -- or rather, four days (must stay four nights between Jan. 17 and 21). Includes: Two actors posing as Secret Service agents to "guard" you during your stay, Beluga caviar and Dom Perignon "state reception" for 10 in the presidential suite, chauffeured Rolls-Royce to and from an inaugural ball, in-room massages and other salon services for "The President" and "First Lady." Price: $10,000 per night. (Still available.)

• "The Hay-Adams Inauguration Package," four nights, Jan. 19-23. Includes: Cristal champagne upon arrival, a Cadillac sedan on call 24 hours, in-room salon services for one day, presidential cuff links and a Tiffany commemorative keepsake. Price: $25,000 (sorry, this one is booked).

• The Ritz-Carlton's "Presidential Package 2005," four nights, Jan. 17-21. Includes: First-class airfare to and from Washington; a $20,000 set of luggage from Saks Fifth Avenue, packed before you travel by a hotel-supplied butler; 24-hour on-call chauffeur and personal massage therapist; "daily selection from the hotel's extensive menu of butler-drawn baths"; his and hers ballroom garb from Saks, including white gold diamond earrings and necklace; two tickets to one of the official inaugural balls -- and two weekend stays per year until Inauguration 2009. Price: $150,000 (available).

• The Mandarin Oriental's "Presidential Privilege 2005," four nights, Jan. 17-21. Includes: Private jet service to and from D.C.; guest's choice of chauffeured Maybach, Rolls-Royce or Hummer for duration of visit; a private dinner for eight guests; 20 "Washington-based movies" on DVD; daily supplies of Krug champagne and Beluga caviar; tickets to an inaugural event; designer fashions from Neiman Marcus, including (for her) an Oscar de la Renta gown, Manolo Blahnik shoes, a mink coat, and (for him) a Kiton tuxedo, David Yurman cuff links and 18-carat gold Cartier watch. And an American flag, flown over the U.S. Capitol. Price: $200,500 (still available!).

Courage, Dan.

If you haven't followed the hullabalo on Dan Rather's, er, retirement, one of the best catalogues of Ratherisms through the years is housed at the indispensable Media Research Center.

There is so much gold at the MRC website, particularly on Dan Rather. But this excerpt has to be my all-time favorite Dan Rather moment:

Bill O’Reilly: “I want to ask you flat out, do you think President Clinton’s an honest man?”

Dan Rather: “Yes, I think he’s an honest man.”O’Reilly: “Do you, really?”

Rather: “I do.”

O’Reilly: “Even though he lied to Jim Lehrer’s face about the Lewinsky case?”

Rather: “Who among us has not lied about something?”

O’Reilly: “Well, I didn’t lie to anybody’s face on national television. I don’t think you have, have you?”

Rather: “I don’t think I ever have. I hope I never have. But, look, it’s one thing – “

O’Reilly: “How can you say he’s an honest guy then?”

Rather: “Well, because I think he is. I think at core he’s an honest person. I know that you have a different view. I know that you consider it sort of astonishing anybody would say so, but I think you can be an honest person and lie about any number of things.”

— Exchange on Fox News Channel’s The O’Reilly Factor, May 15, 2001.

Congratulations to Free Republic for blowing the forged memos issue wide open. It was the typeface heard round the world.

We'll miss ya, Dan. NOT.

From a friend in Kiev

Got an email from a buddy who is actually in Kiev, Ukraine. Fascinating story on the presidential elections if you haven't followed it. At any rate, here is his report on the situation:

"2 million in the streets protesting! Yushchenko took the oath as President symbolically in the Parliament yesterday and marched with 500,000 people to Bankova Street to meet with Kuchma. Kuchma is negotiation with the opposition. However there are 800 russian special forces inside the presidential administration guarding Kuchma. Can you imagine German SS guarding the White House? UNBELIEVABLE!!!!

"The size of the protest grows each day. The Klitchko brothers and Ruslana are speaking for Yushchenko today. Vaclav Havel, Mikhail Saakashvili and Gorbachev all support Yushchenko. The White House warned the Central Election Commission NOT to certify (announce) the final results. The Russian Ambassador to the US was summoned to the State Department and reprimanded for Putin's early congratulations to Yanukovych. Putin then immediately changed his statement and denied congratulating Yanukovych.

"Last night we marched on the Prez Administration and faced down 2 water cannons. When they saw the crowd they immediately withdraw. Then the regular police withdrew as well. Unbelievable! Army units in western Ukraine have sworn allegiance to Yushchenko. Situation is volatile and changing by the moment.

"Viva Revolution!!!"

Indeed, my friend. Stay safe. Budma!

Was it something I said?

Apparently the American Prospect is interested in my work on judicial nominations. It has some pretty blatant errors, but it is an interesting insight into the minds of lefties on those of us in the conservative movement.

Prosperous Cheaters

In what has to be the saddest commentary on today's cultural ills, John Stossel of ABC's 20/20 will air a special report tonight entitled "Big Cheats on Campus."

In the report, Stossel shows just how rampant cheating has become on college campuses and even more startling, how blase students are about it. Apparently, paying up to $40K a year to have your work done for you, using text messaging to cheat on tests, shelling out cash for pre-written or custom term papers is all within the bounds of fair play according to these students. At a minimum, plagarism from the Internet is quite commonplace for those who cannot afford the big bucks schemes.

All in all, it seems to herald a generation who has had life just a little too easy and expect a little too much. Even the poorest of the poor students cannot possibly imagine the devastating poverty of the Great Depression when for most, any schooling was out of the question (much less college) as young people scrambled for work to assist their desperate families.

My father considered himself one of the fortunate ones. He had left his Aurora, Ill., home at age nine and lived in a firehouse for most of the Great Depression, sometimes working for a farm woman who could provide him room and board for his work. He had a talent for football and got a full scholarship to Northwestern University as a quarterback. Playing football in those days was not the glamour gig of today.

Although Dad maintained grades at the top of his class despite work, football and courses, his scholarship flat ran out of money. At one point, Dad said, he was walking down the street, starving for a meal and he saw a shiny dime on the sidewalk just at the moment he had almost given up hope. That was enough for a meal for him. He said he never passed over a penny or any kind of change on the sidewalk again.

Dad's college career was interrupted by World War II, where he distinguished himself as an O.S.S. agent on the front lines of both the Pacific and the European theaters. When he got back, despite not having completed college, he was awarded a place in the graduate school of banking at the University of Washington. He graduated Magna Cum Laude.

Nothing had ever been handed to my father. Everything he had, he had made for himself. Those of us who have had things handed to us on a silver platter have to work extra hard to make sure that we don't take these things for granted and make the most out of the privileges we enjoy.

One of my father's greatest regrets in life was a sense that he had never completed his education. The top priority for him was making sure that I had every educational opportunity available to me. Upon his demise, as he requested, I put the proceeds from his insurance policy into 529 accounts for his grandsons for their education.

To learn that many of today's students have little to no respect for the privilege of the educational opportunities they have today truly disgusts me. Contrary to what they have been told all of their lives by the liberal chattering class, education is not a "right", it is a privilege.

Got the Munchies?

Oh no!!!!!! Looks like thieves have struck again!




Not only have "The Scream" and "Madonna" by Edward Munch been stolen right out of the Munch Museum in Norway, now, a bust of the artist perched on Munch's own gravesite in Oslo has been spirited away.

Someone's got the Munchies.

What happened to enlightenment and tolerance?

The Greeks apparently have their togas in a wad because of the soon-to-be released film "Alexander" which alludes to the young leader's rumored bisexual tendencies. Isn't is the Europeans who have scolded Americans for their supposedly repressive view on sexuality? (This has always been a source of great irony for me. The Europeans thinks we are repressed and the Jihadists think we are the source of decadence and depravity. So which is it?)

All of this, of course, reached a crescendo during the Clinton years when Europeans scoffed at the Monica Lewinsky kerfluffle. They never quite got that the defiling of the Oval Office was only a small part of the outrage -- it was the lying, the obstruction of justice, asking others to lie...little things like that. Despite what history the Billy J. Clinton Presidential Library Bait & Tackle Shop and Massage Parlor tries to rewrite.

There has been a concerted effort in the past decade for the homosexual lobby to "out" many beloved historical figures in American history -- most recently, Abraham Lincoln. I don't quite know what the point of this exercise is, to be honest, except to seek some semblance of legitimacy by adding "big names" to the fold.

Now that American political correctness seems to have taken on a beloved Greek historical figure important to their sense of nationalistic pride and self-identification, the Greeks are having none of it. A little late to wise up, friends.

Shut up and draw

Ted Rall has a blog and calls himself "America's B.S. detector." Riddled with four letter words and hateful tirades, the blog reflects a Ted Rall who apparently fancies himself an expert on all things.......well, just all things. When he isn't dwelling on the tired, old, well-debunked, extreme liberal conspiracy theories, he is turning his poison pen on the half of America that didn't agree with him on election day.

Ted, honey, you are a cartoonist. A controversial cartoonist who has some serious anger issues, but you are a cartoonist. Shut up and draw.

I'm Cinderella....

.....Go to this online test and find out what kind of princess you are! I'd be particularly interested to hear from the guys on this one.

Why can't liberals tolerate dissent?

It is utterly unexplainable why liberals believe that blacks, Hispanics, women or any "group" should march in lockstep with their way of thinking. Freedom of the individual, the right to NOT be labelled and identified by race and gender is quite appealing to many of us. Heaven help any of us, however, who dare to disagree with the left. A special bit of vitriol is reserved for us.

What really seems to torque them into orbit, however, is when a black female embraces conservatism. THEN their heads truly explode, unable to comprehend why they won't toe the line when they've offered so much to them -- welfare, freedom from the constraints of their faith, liberation from that slave institution of marriage, regulating/litigating their small businesses to non-existence, coddling the murders and gangsters who threaten their children, dumbed down, valueless schools for their children......now who could resist all of that?

Watching judicial nominations as I do, it was horrifying to see a particular website viciously attack Janice Rogers Brown, one of the President's nominees to the DC Circuit Court of Appeals.

Here's the "cartoon":




Charming, isn't it? Can you imagine the howls if a conservative website drew this racist garbage?

Well, the tolerant left has done it again. From the Washington Post online edition, cartoonist Thomas Oliphant gives us this little gem on Condi Rice:




Unbelievable.

I expect that Rice will handle this attempted character assasination with the same charm, grace and dignity that Brown did in her hearing. These are two extraordinary women who are more than just mere survivors. They are living, breathing examples of the word "lady" which, where I come from, is the ultimate compliment.

Words fail me.

There just isn't a word that can adequately describe the powerful mixture of rage, deep sadness and horror at stories like this.

Why did these two tiny children, aged 7 weeks and a year and a half have to die? I look in the eyes of my beautiful boys, one and a half and three years old and there is not a chance that a beer would take priority over feeding them.

I just don't understand the evil that walks this earth.

Liberals vs. conservatives -- a world history lesson

Email from a friend in California:

The division of the human family into 2 distinct political groups began some 12,000 years ago. Humans existed as members of small bands of>nomadic hunter/gatherers. They lived on deer in the mountains in the summer and would go to the beach and live on fish and lobster in winter.

The two most important events in all of history were the invention of beer and the invention of the wheel. The wheel was invented to get man to the beer. These were the foundation of modern civilization and together were the catalyst for the splitting of humanity into two distinct subgroups:

Liberals and Conservatives. Once beer was discovered it required grain and that was the beginning of agriculture. Neither the glass bottle nor aluminum can were invented yet, so while our early human ancestors were sitting around waiting for them to be invented, they just stayed close to the brewery. That's how villages were formed.

Some men spent their days tracking and killing animals to barbeque at night while they were drinking beer.

This was the beginning of what is known as "the Conservative>movement."

Other men who were weaker and less skilled at hunting learned to live off the conservatives by showing up for the nightly barbeque and doing the sewing, fetching and hair dressing.

This was the beginning of "the Liberal movement."

Some of these liberal men eventually evolved into women. The rest became known as 'girleymen.'

Some noteworthy liberal achievements include the domestication of cats, the invention of group therapy and group hugs and the concept of Democratic voting to decide how to divide the meat and beer that conservatives provided.

Over the years conservatives came to be symbolized by the largest, most powerful land animal on earth, the elephant.

Liberals are symbolized by the jackass.

Modern liberals like imported beer (with lime added), but most prefer white wine or imported bottled water. They eat raw fish but like their beef well done. Sushi, tofu, and French food are standard liberal fare.

Another interesting revolutionary side note, most of their women have higher testosterone levels than their men.

Most social workers, personal injury attorneys, journalists, dreamers in Hollywood and group therapists are liberals.

Liberals invented the designated hitter rule because it wasn't "fair" to make the pitcher also bat.

Conservatives drink domestic beer. They eat red meat and still provide for their women. Conservatives are big-game hunters, rodeo cowboys, lumberjacks, construction workers, medical doctors, police officers, corporate executives, soldiers, athletes and generally anyone who works productively outside government.

Conservatives who own companies hire other conservatives who want towork for a living.

Liberals produce little or nothing. They like to "govern" the producers and decide what to do with the production.

Liberals believe Europeans are more enlightened than Americans. That is why most of the liberals remained in Europe when conservatives were coming to America. They crept in after the Wild West was tame and created a business of trying to get MORE for nothing.

Here ends today's lesson in world history.

And there are appliances on the front porch too!

I completely agree with the good folks over at the Club for Growth....




The new William J. Clinton Presidential Library looks like a quadruple-wide mobile home.

Appropriately so.

$10K for a 10 year old grilled cheese sandwich?

My husband makes the best grilled cheese sandwiches in the world, but I wouldn't pay $10K for one. Not so on Ebay, apparently. Folks are lining up around the block to bid on a grilled cheese sandwich, made 10 years ago, that has the image of the Virgin Mary on it.

Not kidding.

It has been kept in a plastic pouch, but the pouch is not airtight so one of the miracles of the grilled cheese is that it hasn't grown moldy.

Seeking faith is seeking faith, I suppose. But this is a little more than "out there."

A drink by any other name.......

This could leave a bad taste in the mouths of liquor industry execs. My friends at the Center for Government Reform just released a national poll that has some disturbing news for the liquor industry: Many Americans aren’t buying its alleged public service campaign that “a drink is a drink.”

The survey found that half of those polled – and more than half of all drinkers surveyed -- believe that a drink is not a drink because liquor is more powerful than beer and wine, and can be consumed much faster.

The “equivalency” theory has been promoted by the liquor industry as a public safety message. Its theme: There’s no difference between beer, wine, or hard liquor if they are consumed in “standard sizes,” or in other words, “A drink is a drink.”

The poll, however, found that most Americans don’t use standard serving sizes when they have a drink.

Moreover, they do not believe the liquor industry’s effort is purely a public service campaign. A full 75 percent believe that “equivalency” is being promoted to make liquor seem less harmful, and 68 percent believe it is being done to increase liquor’s appeal among young drinkers.
Notes my friend, Center Vice President Michelle Plasari: “Equivalency clearly is a Trojan Horse message. Creating a public perception of parity among clearly different types of alcohol is the first step in the liquor industry’s plan to erase any differences among beer, wine, and hard liquor when it comes to taxation, licensing, and marketing. Duping the public in order to levy more taxes and regulation is not in anyone’s best interest.”

Boycott boycotts!

As a christian conservative, I'm usually the first in line to support the efforts of my brethren on the right. I'm unabashedly pro-life, pro-family, pro-marriage, etc.

Apparently, there is an organized boycott against certain products at Procter and Gamble because some christian conservatives believe that there is an active, pro-homosexual agenda at P&G (www.afa.net). (This would be the very same company which, a few years ago, some groups claimed was 'satanic' because of the way their logo was designed).

Got three problems with this approach -- 1) boycotts don't work, 2) the information my conservative brethren seem to be operating on is not entirely correct (or is based upon honest mistakes remedied long ago), and 3) P&G has, as far as I can tell, actually been friendly toward the conservative movement (just last night, while attending the Federalist Society dinner, I noticed them among the sponsors).

Additionally, I have inside scoop, and I have seen internal communication to christian employees on the boycott issues. I have christian friends inside P&G who like the company and think it's generally a family-friendly, good, solid place to work. Though they don't agree with the company on everything, none of them believes there is any sort of Big Gay Conspiracy going on.

The boycott, it appears, has not had any real impact on sales (hellooooo! that's cause they don't WORK!), but it has people on the inside very upset just on principle.

My point? I have always been leery of boycotts, even if they are deserved. The problem is, I think P&G is being scapegoated. In fact, if you read some of the distortions on the boycotters' websites, it's not hard to come to the conclusion that the boycott is not being executed in a very Christian (read: honest) way. This is not a perfect company--they have made mistakes, and they probably will again. My internal sources quickly point this out. But there are FAR worse actors out there. Based on my conversations with some very distressed christians on the inside, I believe the culture at P&G is in no way like the boycotters are trying to portray it.

Perhaps, my friends, it's time to move on. We need to slap 'em when they deserve it, for sure....and a few extra times, just for fun, but a full-fledged boycott in this instance seems very over-done. Plus, if you are holding up P&G as a worthy target for boycott, we might as well be boycotting every major company in the nation.

Finally, give up my Swiffer? From my cold, dead hands.....

Happy 35th Birthday, Sesame Street!

So Sesame Street turns 35 years old today. My parents got a color television when Sesame Street started so that I could watch Kermit, Big Bird, Grover, Oscar, Bert, Ernie and the gang in technicolor.

It used to be a nice kiddie program about numbers and letters with little lessons about sharing and kindness sprinkled throughout. Now, it is a full-on indoctrination machine for pre-schoolers completely saturated with political correctness. The lessons about sharing have now morphed into complete socialism.

Looky here who they invited onto the show:





Of course, like most "child stars", some of the characters went down a bad road. Started running with the wrong people......and for a while, it infiltrated Sesame Street. No longer just lovable fuzzballs, they formed a street gang.







And it was Bert, sweet little perfectionist Bert, lover of pigeons and order, who went completely to the dark side. Not even Ernie could bring him back to the light:












It's a shame, isn't it? When puppets go bad.....

Feminists sound the alarm

You know, if feminists put half the creative energy in figuring out how to TRULY empower young women and teach them that saying "NO" saves them from a world of painful consequences, they wouldn't have to spend their time making sure that their cash cow/money train isn't halted with an overturning of Roe v. Wade.

Oh, that's right. There's no profit margin in abstinence.

FLASH -- MSNBC SAYS ARAFAT DEAD -- No, really, he's gone now.

Arafat is dead. How many times have we heard that this week? I have taken a very Old Testament view of this passing. It would be poetic justice to learn that he really had been pronounced dead all those times we heard of his demise, then they bring him back again and again and again. For each person he has snuffed out.

Can you see his wife by his bedside? Apparently no one knew the Swiss bank account codes where he had smuggled away BILLIONS of dollars. And Mrs. Yasser has quite expensive tastes, I'm told. For 1.5 million a month in allowance, one could say that she likes her champagne cold and caviar plentiful. So I have this vision of Mrs. Yasser sittin' by her ailing husband's bedside in France...

"YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSER! YASSER! WAKE UUUUUUUUUUUP. I NEED THE DAMN NUMBERS, YASSER!!!!!!! NO, WHAT DO YOU MEAN TURN OFF THE MACHINES? ARE YOU NUTS? I NEED THOSE NUMBERS -- GOT MY EYE ON A NEW BENZ AND THE 18 CARAT GOLD SINK IN MY BATHROOM SIMPLY WILL NOT DO. IT MUST BE DIPPED IN 24 CARAT. I'M SLUMMING IT AS IT IS! YASSER! YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSER!!!! OH YES, I'M TALKING TO YOU MISTER......"

Phew. Did you feel that hot breeze on your face? The gates of hell swung open to welcome him.

Bill Clinton -- Scared Straight

Leave it to National Enquirer. Apparently, Bill Clinton is going to go on the straight and narrow now and give up the babes because his operation-table dreams showed the gaping jaws of hell yawning before him.

But then, a light...a bright light......and in that light was...........Hillary.

Ok. That'd scare me straight too.

I think that Bill's newfound celibacy has a lot more to do with the amazing difficulty of the surgery that he has just gone through. Doctors literally cut you open, spread your ribcage and it is terribly difficult to get over at any age.

Rumor has it that when an almost gaunt Bill Clinton appeared at the Kerry rally in October, he had some pretty stringent requirements for his attendance -- no stairs, walking only on a flat plane, no inclines, and his team of doctors within feet of him at all times.

Wonder what Bill's health situation will do not only to his extracurricular activities but also to Hillary's future political considerations?

So it's Gonzales for Attorney General

Actually, this is good news. Gonzales is no bleeding heart conservative and the rumor had persistently been that President Bush would not be able to resist "the first" when it came to the Supreme Court. In other words, Presidents like "firsts" -- First woman, First African American, First Hispanic.....etc. etc. etc.

Gonzales' name kept coming up and conservative organizations kept batting it back down. In most of the comments I have seen so far on the subject, there seems to be a collective sigh of relief at the notion that Alberto Gonzales is not suiting up for a nomination battle for the Supreme Court.

I can hear it inside the beltway now.

"Well, it's Gonzales."

"He's been nominated?"

"Yep. The President nominated Gonzales."

"Damn."

"Nah, man, it's only A.G."

"Oh, phew. You had me worried there! Don't do that to me -- not when a Chief Justice is in chemo!"

Here is a compendium of the Specter kerfluffle in the press

NEW! An ominous Specter - Thomas Sowell 11-10 Part II
NEW! Specter Still Not in the Clear - Fox News 11-9
NEW! Spat over Specter may be subsiding - Pittsburg Post-Gazette 11-9
NEW! Conservatives target Specter - Washington Times 11-9
NEW! GOP Senators Struggle with Specter Chairmanship Focus on the Family 11-9
NEW! Under Fire, Specter Gets Only Tepid White House Support NY Times 11-9
NEW! Why the Specter flap matters - Boston Globe 11-9
The Left's View on Specter - Limbaugh 11-9
Specter Campaign Crumbling - Human Events 11-8
Senate Chairmanship in Question for Specter - NPR 11-8
Specter blunders on Roe vs. Wade - Chicago Tribune (Novak) 11-8
Specter Opponents Pressing Senate Leaders - AP 11-8
A Specter of Trouble - OpinionEditorials 11-8
Specter: "I not only voted against Bork, I led the charge aGrassroots PAgainst him." - Grassroots.PA 11-7
Specter says he won't slow anti-abortion court nominees - CNN 11-7
Arlen Specter - "Bork" Him - Intellectual Conservative 11-6
Judges Following No Law (why Arlen Specter must go) - ****Robert Bork, 8-12-04
Keep Arlen Specter off chair of Judiciary Committee! - WND 11-6
Who's spinning? Specter or reporter? - WND 11-5
All eyes on Sen. Specter - Washington Times 11-5
Conservative wing raises fuss over Specter's views - New York Times 11-5
Specter faces battle for Judiciary chair - Washington Times 11-5
Sen. Specter Ignites Firestorm of Opposition - NewsMax 11-5
Suffering Specter - Pittsburg Tribune Review 11-5
Specter's Remarks Trigger Protest - Focus on the Family 11-5
Lawmaker wants Grassley on judiciary panel - Des Moines Register 11-5
Specter 'Borked' Himself from Senate Judiciary Committee - Concerned Women for America 11-5
Pro-Life Pray-In Planned to Stop Specter - CNSNEWS 11-5
Will Specter Chair Judiciary? - Human Events 11-5
Thank You, Arlen - National Review 11-3
GOP Sen. Specter Vows to Block Bush's Nominees - NewsMax 10-29
The Northeastern Liberal (Kerry and Specter, two peas in a pod.) - Evan-Novak 3-11-04

CALL EVERY REPUBLICAN SENATOR.

Regarding Senator Arlen Specter and the Judiciary Committee chairmanship.

Senator Kyl, Senator Kyl, paging Senator Kyl. Senator Kyl, white courtesy phone.

Contact Information:
Bill Frist: E-mail: senator.frist@senate.gov461 DIRKSEN SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510 PHONE: (202) 224-3344 Web Form (Email his office): http://www.frist.senate.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=AboutSenatorFrist.ContactForm
Contact Information for all Senators
Sen. Orrin Hatch, UT, current Committee Chair PH: 202-224-5251 FX: 202-224-6331
Sen. Jon Kyl, AZ PH: 202-224-4521 FX: 202-224-2207
Sen. John Cornyn, TX PH: 202-224-2934 FX: 202-228-2856
Sen. Charles Grassley, IA PH: 202-224-3744 FX: 319-363-7179
Sen. Mike DeWine, OH PH: 202-224-2315 FX: 202-224-6519
Sen. Jeff Sessions, AL PH: 202-224-4124 FX: 202-224-3149
Sen. Lindsey Graham, SC PH: 202-224-5972 FX: 202-224-3808
Sen. Larry Craig, ID PH: 202-224-2752 FX: 202-228-1067
Sen. Saxby Chambliss, GA PH: 202-224-3521 FX: 202-224-0103
Homepages of Judiciary Committe Members:
Orrin Hatch Chuck Grassley Jon Kyl Mike DeWine Jeff Sessions Lindsey Graham Larry Craig Saxby Chambliss John Cornyn Arlen Specter

Out of the mouths of babes

A pocket of liberal dissent in this country besides the urban centers continues to churn on college campuses. A recent piece from a University of Michigan student crystallizes the amount of brainwashing that is still happening on college campuses everywhere.

I particularly enjoyed the student's theory that "morality has no place in politics." Clearly, this student grew up during the Clinton years.

Morality most certainly does and should have a place in politics and it is only the self-deluded superior beings in the blue states that believe fervently in moral relativism. Perhaps the blue states should be colored gray, their favorite color.

Truly, leftists do not believe in good vs. evil -- and this is reflected even in Hollywood movie characters. Gone are the days of black hats and white hats.....characters are now "complex" and portrayed with something redeeming to evoke some kind of sympathy.

These college kids have marinated in this popular culture of moral relativism and have been spoon fed from birth the leftist drivel. It is solidified in college classes.

To them I say, graduate from college, start a business, go to work, pay some taxes, try to survive under regulations, risk being sued at every turn -- in short, live life a little. Then get back to me about your liberalism. Living it and having to pay for it (in more ways than one) are a far cry from theorizing about it in a classroom setting.

A picture is worth a thousand words

Liberals' heads may explode

When they hear about this.

The elevation of Clarence Thomas to Chief Justice would mean another battle over the open position of Associate Justice, but it might just be worth it.

Imagine if there was both the first black Chief Justice AND the first Hispanic Justice appointed by a Republican!

Get a lawn chair and some popcorn, friends, cause this is gonna be fun.

Carney on Specter

Excellent piece by Tim Carney on the Specter situation here.

Word on the Hill is that the phones are melting down with all the calls. Emails and faxes are pouring in too.

The fact is that a Supreme Court nominations battle is around the corner and having Arlen Specter making critical decisions as Judiciary Committee chairman is a problem.

Although Kyl is an acceptable alternative, there would be something delicious about having Senator Sessions take the gavel. It was, after all, Specter who BORKED Sessions when he was up for a federal judgeship in Bush 41.

Ahhhhhh. A gal can dream, can't she?

Sex sells!

It would appear that the junk science industry has added a little spice to their repetoire. According to a terrific article by Steven Milloy, the American Public Health Association is using Erin Brockovich...or, to be more accurate, Erin Brockovich's ample cleavage, to be the keynote speaker at their annual convention next week.

Now, I'm all for filling seats at a conference. But besides a revealing wardrobe, what could Erin Brockovich reveal to a room full of scholars and bureaucrats from the public health community?

Clearly, it is all about sensationalizing the entire industry. Scare tactics, wild charges and ludicrous, unprovable claims are all part of the junk science universe. Now it would appear that they are adding a touch of Hollywood, a dash of cleavage and a dollop of a trollop to make their message known.

The saddest part of all is that those who watched Julia Roberts' portrayal of Erin Brockovich in the movie of the same name and believed her questionable claims will undoubtedly latch on to the real live Erin Brockovich as she launches into another crusade to save us from some unseen evil.

Don't look for the truth in any of her pronouncements. Brockovich's little speech to this group should be given all the serious consideration of a lunchtime visit to Hooters.

Chris Heinz rants on DU

First-son-wanna-be Chris Heinz posts on Democratic Underground. To spare you the agony of going to this link of horrors (http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x2598145), I am posting the entire text of his message
to his fellow liberals-in-agony. What is it about the left that requires them to express themselves in four-letter words? Not a becoming trait. Particularly for a first-son-wanna-be.


Hello DU,

Chris Heinz here, newly minted casualty of the Bush economic plan. Like many of you, I put my life aside to fight for this campaign, and to fight for a man I deeply care about, my stepfather John Kerry. I am proud of the man, and of our campaigns work. I am proud of my mother and my family, and the Edwards family (my thoughts are with you Elizabeth). Every day I traveled this country, I was also humbled, truly humbled, by the fact that I would meet volunteers and activists who were putting all of their excess energy and hope into this process and the man, despite arguably fewer incentives than those in my immediate life. Like many of you, I do not think anger is my current dominant feeling, though it is present. Nor is it exhaustion, as I would have guessed a week ago as we campaigned 24/7. Rather, I feel sad and confused. I feel sad because I believe this country made a grave error in judgement on tuesday. And I feel confused because I dont feel the same closeness for my country, but was raised a patriot and by default want to love all of it. So here we are. We move forward. Each of us will have to look inside ourselves about whether to heed this call for national unity. In my opinion, we owe our neighbors, democrats and republican, the same basic honor we did before November 2. But as for this adminstration, I think I feel the same way as most on this board: I dont owe George W. Bush shit. He does not get a clean slate from me. He has ruled this country for four years by focusing on what makes us different and it is unforgivable. History will make this clear.In the meantime, thanks DU for your passion. And last night, for your courage. The "my name is" thread was perhaps the most powerful, courageous and cathartic I have ever seen.
Good night,
Chris Heinz

Because protesting has worked out so well for us.....

Here's a photo of the good ol' family fun in San Francisco on November 3rd. Nothing like a flag burning ceremony to rally people to your cause, eh?

Will these people ever learn? Petulant toddlers in the middle of a tantrum are not fun to be around.

Teeerrrraaaaaayyyyyyzzzzza is a bit of a hypochondriac.

According to a new Newsweek report.

Over the top

This guy is completely unhinged. May I suggest switching to decaf?

The Spector of Specter

Conservatives weren't exactly thrilled when Arlen Specter defeated Pat Toomey in the hotly contested Senate primary. And is it any wonder? We did not fight this hard in the election to rid the Senate of obstructionists only to have the next Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman impose his own ideological litmus test on the President's nominees. Particularly when a Supreme Court battle is upon us.

You be the judge.

Here is what Specter's office has to say.

And here is the transcript of the press conference:

November 3, 2004> Transcript> > >

JORDAN: Senator, you didn't talk about the Judiciary Committee, it is something you are expected to Chair this January. With 3 Supreme Court Justices rumored to retire soon, starting with Rehnquist, how do you see this unfolding in the next couple of months and what part do you intend to play on it?

SPECTER: You know my approach is cautious with respect to the Judiciary Committee. I am in line, Senator Hatch is barred now by term limits and Senate Rules so that I am next in line. There has to be a vote of the Committee and I have already started to talk to some of my fellow committee members. I am respectful of Senate traditions, so I am not designating myself Chairman, I will wait for the Senate procedures to act in do course. You are right on the substance, the Chief Justice is gravely ill. I had known more about that than had appeared in the media. When he said he was going to be back on Monday, it was known inside that he was not going to be back on Monday. The full extent of his full incapacitation is really not known, I believe there will be cause for deliberation by the President. The Constitution has a clause called advise and consent, the advise part is traditionally not paid a whole lot of attention to, I wouldn't quite say ignored, but close to that. My hope that the Senate will be more involved in expressing our views. We start off with the basic fact that the Democrats are have filibustered and expect them to filibuster if the nominees are not within the broad range of acceptability. I think there is a very broad range of Presidential Discretion but there is a range.

ODOM: Is Mr. Bush, he just won the election, even with the popular vote as well. If he wants anti-abortion judges up there, you are caught in the middle of it what are you going to do? The party is going one way and you are saying this.

SPECTER: When you talk about judges who would change the right of a woman to choose, overturn Roe v Wade, I think that is unlikely. And I have said that bluntly during the course of the campaign and before. When the Inquirer endorsed me, they quoted my statement that Roe v Wade was inviolate. And that 1973 decision, which has been in effect now for 33 years, was buttressed by the 1992 decision, written by three Republican justices-O'Conner, Souter, and Kennedy-and nobody can doubt Anthony Kennedy's conservativism or pro-life position, but that's the fabric of the country. Nobody can be confirmed today who didn't agree with Brown v. Board of Education on integration, and I believe that while you traditionally do not ask a nominee how they're going to decide a specific case, there's a doctorate and a fancy label term, stari decisis, precedent which I think protects that issue. That is my view, now, before, and always.

ODOM: You are saying the President should not bother to send somebody up there like that.

SPECTER: Can't hear you.

ODOM: You are saying the President should not bother or make the move to send somebody up there who is clearly anti-abortion.

SPECTER: I don't want to prejudge what the President is going to do. But the President is well aware of what happened when a number of his nominees were sent up, were filibustered, and the President has said he is not going to impose a litmus test, he faced that issue squarely in the third debate and I would not expect the President, I would expect the President to be mindful of the considerations that I mentioned.

JORDAN: However, Senator the President has President has sent up, as you know, a number of very very conservative judges socially, you have made a point in this campaign of saying that you have supported all of those ______ at least I the last two years, how is this going to square with what you are saying today about wanting the Republican party to be big tent and moderate.

SPECTER: I have been very careful in what I have said and what I have done. The nominees whom I supported in Committee, I had reservations on. As for judge Pryor, there had been an issue as to whether as Attorney General he had raised money, I said in voting him out of committee, that he did not have my vote on the floor until I satisfied myself about collateral matters. The woman judge out of California, who had dismissed a case on invasion of privacy where the doctor had permitted an insurance adjuster to watch a mammogram, I had a reservation on it, so I wanted to talk to her to see if that was aberrational or whether that really reflected her judgment on each and every one of those cases. This may be more detail than you want, but there was one judge for a district judgeship, Judge Holmes, in Arkansas, who was first in his class at the University of Arkansas, had a PhD from Duke, had a master's degree, was touted by both Democratic Arkansas Senators, was supported by 2 pro-choice women, Senator Landrieu and Senator Lincoln, highly regarded in the Arkansas editorial pages, and for a district court judgeship I thought. He had made two statements, and they were, one was in a religious context that a wife should be subservient to a husband, that was in a religious context. Then he made a statement doubting the potential for impregnation from rape, and made an absurd statement that it would be as rare as snow in Florida in July. That was about a 20 year-old statement and I brought him in and sat down, had a long talk with him and concluded that they were not disqualifiers. He was the only judge whom I voted to confirm on the floor vote where any question has been raised and I think that was the right decision for a district court judgeship, not to make that a disqualifier. There are few if any whose record if you go back over 30 or 40 years, and not find some dumb thing, I don't want you to take a to close a look at my 40 year record.

HIGHSMITH: Talk to us a little bit beyond judgeships, you said again today and last night that your goal now is to moderate the party, bring it to the center.

SPECTER: Correct.

[BREAK-Bringing the Country Together Question]

[BREAK-Stem Cell Question]

MACINTOSH: What are the characteristics that you are looking for in any candidate for the high court who might come your way in the next year or two?

SPECTER: Well I would like to see a select someone in the mold of Holmes, Brandeis, Cardozo, or Marshall. With all due respect to the U.S. Supreme Court, we don't have one. And I haven't minced any words about that during the confirmation process.

MACINTOSH: Meaning?

SPECTER: Where I have questioned them all very closely. I had an argument before the Supreme Court of the United States on trying to keep the Navy base, and you should heard what the eight of them had to say to me. They were almost as tough as this gang here this morning.

ODOM: Senator, the judges you mentioned are obviously renown. Are you saying that there are no greatness on there, is that what you're driving at?

SPECTER: Yes. Can you take yes for an answer Vernon? I'm saying that we don't have anybody of the stature of Oliver Wendell Holmes, or Willy Brandeis, or Cardozo, or Marshall. That's what I'm saying. I'm saying that we have a court which they're graduates from the Court of Appeals from the District of Columbia basically, some other Circuit Courts of Appeals. I think that we could use, and I am repeating myself again, a Holmes or a Brandeis.

ODOM: Would you resign to take the appointment? You're the only person I can think of?

SPECTER: I can think of quite a few other people.

JORDAN: Like who?

SPECTER: I think there's some possibility, just a slight possibility, I may not be offered the appointment.

JORDAN: Senator, who do you think would be a good candidate?

SPECTER: For the Supreme Court?

JORDAN: Yes.

SPECTER: I have some ideas but I'm going to withhold my comments. If, as, and when the President asks that question, Lara, I'll have some specific information for him. In the alternative, if you become President, I'll have it for you.

[BREAK-Election 2010 question]

[BREAK-Iraq questions]

JORDAN: Do you expect to continue supporting all of President Bush's judicial nominees?

AS: I am hopeful that I'll be able to do that. That obviously depends upon the President's judicial nominees. I'm hopeful that I can support them.

[BREAK-Election question]> > [End Press Conference]