Brave New World

Check out this website. You can watch the festivities in New York's Times Square from 12 different live webcams or you can check out New Year's celebrations across the globe.

Purty cool.

Predictions.

Here are my predictions for 2005 -- some real, some silly. What say you?

-- The President will have two nominees confirmed to the U.S. Supreme Court, including a Chief Justice. An attempted filibuster of one of the nominees will fail, but conservatives will push for filibuster reform nonetheless.

-- Immigration reform will grow as an issue and democrats will pull out the stops to run to the right and attempt to divide the Republican caucus. Hillary Clinton will take the lead for the left.

-- Satellite radio will grow exponentially in popularity as cable television did.

-- Senator-elect Tom Coburn will make a name for himself relatively soon out of the gate, pleasing conservatives, upsetting mushy moderates. He will fill the void left by Senator Jesse Helms retirement -- Senator No has been replaced by Dr. No.

-- Osama bin Laden will be captured in 2005.

-- Social Security reform will stall, probably in the Senate.

-- Slick Willie, with a bad case of cabin fever from his long recovery, will create some kind of headline in his never-ending search for relevance and a legacy.

-- George Pataki will run for re-election in 2006 and Rudy Guiliani will take a pass on running against Hillary for U.S. Senate.

-- Richard Gere will seek relevance in the relief efforts of the tsunami aftermath.

-- Michael Moore will make his movie on the big bad pharmaceutical industry. And it will flop.

-- The chorus on voting rights will start to grow with the Voting Rights Act up for reauthorization soon.

-- Shortly after Liza Minelli and Elizabeth Taylor exit the mortal stage, extraordinary tell-all books and movies will reveal not-so-shocking lives of deep unhappiness.

-- In a fit of reinvention fever, Hollywood will award Mel Gibson, or the Passion, some sort of Oscar.

-- Reality TV will have one foot in the grave as ratings plummet.

-- Kelsey Grammar will explore running for elective office in California in 2006.

-- The election in Iraq will be fraught with irregularities and death, but nonetheless will be a step toward democracy, much to the disappointment of the Iraq naysayers.

-- Saddam's trial will be the stuff of O.J. for ratings but with a far more predictable ending.

Any others?

--

Bravo, Simone!

Must read piece in today's National Review by my buddy Simone Ledeen, daughter of the ever brilliant Michael Ledeen. The entire Ledeen family has done much for the heroes at Walter Reed and it is good to hear the story finally told. Not only has Simone risked her life as a contractor in Iraq, but her brothers are both Marine-bound and her mother spends what little spare time she has volunteering (and leading groups of volunteers) to assist the wounded soldiers at Walter Reed.

Stuff you don't hear about on CBS News, eh?

Budma!

What an amazing story this Ukrainian election has been!

Several years ago, I had the privilege to visit Ukraine and teach a political communications course to women's organizations in Kiev and Donetsk. We talk an awful lot about freedom over here, but to actually describe it to a group of people who have never quite experienced it......well, it becomes more than a word.

In every restaurant, there was a little kiosk near the entrance with a tough, military looking fellow slouched in a chair, watching all that went on. Apparently, the Russian mafia had basically co-opted whatever private enterprise that bloomed there.

In the nicest hotel in Kiev, there was a hall monitor on every floor to give you the key to your room when you arrived and drop off the key when you leave. As you can imagine, the stern, life-hardened women looked like something out of central casting.

And poverty? You've never seen poverty like this.

One woman who clearly suffered from some sort of elephantitis could only lean up against a building and moan, her unbelievably swollen legs dwarfing her body. Feet unrecognizable but for a couple of buds on the ends that must have been toes.

A young girl, no more than five or six years old, played her battered violin in the Kiev streets long past midnight, with such untrained talent that it took everything not to scoop her up and embrace her all the way to Julliard to nurture her God-given gift. I gave her five American dollars -- enough in Kiev to support a family for a month -- and she ran off with her treasure, tears in her eyes.

The trip truly moved me and I met many good friends that I still keep in touch with today.

One I wish I had met was Kathy Yushchenko -- the new first lady of Ukraine. I had received her name and contact information from my good friend Grover Norquist before I left for Kiev -- just as an emergency contact. Should have gotten in touch with her. She seems like an extraordinary woman, dedicated to her husband, the principles of freedom and democracy and her native Ukraine.

God bless her and her husband in their new journey.

A plethora to choose from!!!!

The good folks at the Media Research Center have once again compiled my favorite "end of the year" list -- the Annual Awards for the Worst Reporting. So much to choose from, so little bandwidth.

Even more than the overwhelming number of quotes to choose from this year is the complete implosion of the mainstream media with the Rathergate memo story. It will be impossible to put the toothpaste back into the tube now that the blogosphere has proven its mettle.

The media elite for too long has mistakenly believed that they were irreplaceable. They went from reporting the news to becoming the news -- a fatal mistake for any true reporter. The sheer weight of the bias has toppled the media giants in 2004 as the American citizenry looks to other sources for information.

That is a VERY good thing.

Domestic violence? Never heard of it!

On Christmas Eve in Yonkers, a shot rang out and when the dust settled, a lesbian activist lay dead in the backyard of her Sunlight Hill home with her "live-in partner" standing over her, clutching the murder weapon.

Aside from the question of what a liberal lesbian activist household is doing with a gun, the story carefully tiptoes around the question of domestic violence. In nearly every heterosexual tale of spousal murder, domestic violence is the centerpiece of the discussion. Why the different standard in this story?

A direct quote: "I don't want to call this domestic violence because we don't know what happened."

Sure we do. A lesbian woman shot her live-in lover. I'd call that domestic violence. Doesn't sound as though they were happily cleaning guns in the back yard when one went off.

Here's another quote: "We've lost not only a wonderful caring colleague, but a very bright, highly educated person."

Is domestic violence reserved for dumb, uneducated people? Sounds like someone's been watching one too many episodes of "Cops" and believing the stereotype that domestic violence is reserved for drunk white males who wear tank tops ("wife beater t-shirts), have very few teeth and southern accents.

Disturbed human behavior is not reserved for a particular class, gender or geographical location. You'd never know it from this story.

Can you imagine who ABC News believes is a "Person of the Year"? None other than Joseph Darby. Don't know who Joseph Darby is? He is the US Army Specialist who broke the Abu Ghraib prison abuse story.

Now, I have no doubts that it was very traumatic for these Muslim prisoners to wear panties on their heads.

But at least they had heads to wear panties on, unlike far too many others who died viciously at the hands of their terrorist captors. Have you ever seen a beheading? It stays with you.

Far too often I have heard Americans say, "Oh no, I could never watch a beheading video. I'd have nightmares and ewwww, and ugh........" In the next breath they spout off some Michael Moorian philosophy of our occupation of Iraq. They conveniently don't mention the millions slaughtered and maimed by Saddam and his ilk, but instead cling to the notion that Americans are there for oil, etc.

What a crock.

Person of the Year, indeed. I'd be more impressed with the young specialist if he spent time looking for those poor souls captured and threatened with real torture. Panties on the head, indeed.

Ok, somebody has to say it.

It's not ok to even whisper the words "Merry Christmas" these days, but if you say "Happy Kwanzaa", no one bats an eye.

This silliness was invented in the 60s by a socialist/Marxist professor. Dare I say it reminds me of "Festivus" on Seinfeld or do I risk excommunication from the Kwanzaa elders?

At any rate, I ran across this article -- apparently one of a series -- on Kwanzaa. Most interesting quote was from a gentleman who is a "practitioner" of Kwanzaa, but he said that he has "a lot of fear" in his heart, but that the "biggest flaw any man has in life is the fear of the unknown."

Well, here's the thing, Mr. Dukes. This whole Christianity thing? You might want to give it a whirl. Fear is not part of the process. And as you claim that Kwanzaa "principles" should be used in everyday lives and not just during the "celebration"? Well, ditto for that whole Christmas thing.

Not to put too fine a point on it, Mr. Dukes, but you might want to check out the whole birth of the savior story. THAT will change your live way above and beyond Kwanzaa. Reading this tragic article shows me that if Mr. Dukes attended or attends church, very little Christianity is being taught there. A common problem in many churches today.

In the crosshairs

Call me jaded, but somehow, I get the feeling that the hoopla over Vioxx, Celebrex, Bextra and Aleve is less about any real health issues involved and more about the Left's new target -- the pharmaceutical companies.

Can't speak to Vioxx, Celebrex or Aleve, but Bextra uncurled my spine every morning from the pain of arthritis. Whatever the problems associated with the drug, I certainly didn't experience it and I don't relish the idea of having to soon go to Tylenol or deep breathing.

That's the thing, folks. With the good comes some bad -- but is it ALWAYS necessary to throw out any modicum of progress because of some bad?

It wasn't too long ago when there weren't rescue inhalers for asthma. I remember it all too well. Spent many a night in an emergency room getting shot up with adrenalin and susphrine. Breathing in oxygen tents. Taking Marax and Prednisone night after sleepless night. It was horrible.

Been hearing rumblings about the rescue inhalers now. If abused, like any drug, of course there will be problems. They might be able to take the Bextra away from me. Pain, I can live with and certainly do on a daily basis. But breathing is not one of those optional things. They will take away my Albuterol from my cold, dead hands.

The big picture, however, is this -- the Left has decided to target the pharmaceutical industry, just as it did with Big Tobacco. They don't give a damn about the effects of tobacco or any of these targeted drugs -- they care that these are industries that tend to give money to conservatives. No matter what they say, it is all about the money and who it goes to.

Michael Moore is now stalking pharmaceutical companies. Before that it was gun manufacturers/supporters. Before that it was "big companies" that were either non-union or perceived as hostile to unions. Ever wonder why Moore doesn't go after, say, trial lawyers or union bosses?

That'd be a great movie, dontcha think? A documentary version of "On the Waterfront" -- the truth about union bosses. Show the difference between the houses of union royalty versus the working union stiff. Show the plasma tv's, the fur coats, the fancy cars and offices. Then show what the average working union guy drives and his office.

Where is our Michael Moore?????

Lake Wobegon: Where all inhabitants are atheists and a bit on the surly side...

Used to enjoy listening to Garrison Keillor's Tales from Lake Wobegon. As I recall, the closing line was always something like "Where the women are beautiful and the children are above average intelligence."

My mother bought the Lake Wobegon book soon as it came out and we enjoyed the stories immensely. Had no idea at the time that apparently Mr. Keillor equated personal religious beliefs with a serious IQ deficit.

Recently, Mr. Keillor announced at a Chicago chapel that evangelical Christians should be stripped of their right to vote because of the recent presidential election.

Uh-huh.

Can you imagine the furor that would have ensued if ANY conservative would suggest that ANY identifiable group be denied voting rights, even in jest? Who would write the more vicious editorial on the subject......the New York Times or the Washington Post?

As far as double standards go, there certainly is one for conservatives whose every utterance is maligned with barrels of ink on a daily basis. Heaven help a conservative who is also a Christian. It is open season on Christians. Only thing that is missing these days is the lions.

Sticks and stones

Larry Elder has it right. The Left, unable or unwilling to graciously accept a Bush victory, are stepping up their rhetoric to white hot levels. How is it that Chevy Chase can unleash a foul-mouthed diatribe against the President with little to no comment from editorial boards?

Bush's biggest crime, it seems, is not agreeing with the Left. Let's see if I have this straight. Osama murdered 3,000 Americans, Saddam murdered countless of his own countrymen and even John Kerry shot a Vietnamese national in the back, but none of this is worth a comment from these leftists -- all the hatred they can muster is left for the man who merely seeks to free the world from the likes of Osama and Saddam. Yep, that's clearly a problem.

Nope, not AWOL.....

.......felled by a wicked case of pneumonia.

At first, I thought it was possible I had blown another disc in my thoracic spine -- it was the kind of pain that is reserved for ice picks in the back. But an x-ray in the emergency room turned up a pretty bad case of pneumonia. My response? Couldn't be! I don't have time for this!

Goes to show ya what the holidays can do if you run yourself truly ragged.

Thought I was over it when we left for Christmas at grandma's house, but I was knocked down again.

Other than that, Christmas was lovely in North Carolina with family and friends -- we added a new member of the Daly clan -- a lively Jack Russell terrier puppy named "Margaret Thatcher" or Maggie, for short. She has more energy than our three year old and 18 month old combined, which is saying something.

Lots of catch up blogging to do today and tonight so stand by for a firehose. I've been sans outlet for a couple of weeks now -- column will restart on Monday here and radio show will be live again next Wednesday here -- so there is lots of news to comment on and lots of tidbits floating about Washington that merit discussing.

Aaaaaaahhhhhhhh. It's good to be back. Y'all miss me?

Petition for The Passion!!!

Passion Petition Gathers 10,000 Signatures In 10 Days

The advocacy website has generated a tremendous response with their petition to ask the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to nominate the film The Passion of The Christ, its director and its actors for Oscars in their respective categories. i-Newswire, 2004-12-17 -

This advocacy website has generated a tremendous response with their petition to ask the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to nominate the film The Passion of The Christ, its director and its actors for Oscars in their respective categories.In just 10 days, the website has generated 10,000 petition signers.

“We have had a tremendous response,” says Patrick Hynes, who spearheads the effort. “Regular folks are frustrated that Hollywood snubbed The Passion when they handed out nominations for a Golden Globe. They just don’t feel Hollywood is being fair. Now, they have a chance to organize and let Hollywood know they are watching them, but not they way Hollywood thinks.”

Hynes promised to present all the signatures to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences before they announce Oscar nominations at the end of January.

Since the launch of the site, several news outfits -- such as E! Online -- have written about it. And Hynes has been a guest on numerous radio talk shows. Hynes promises an ad campaign targeting Hollywood opinion leaders, as well.

LET'S HELP MEL OUT HERE!!!!

Zell and the Swifties

The good folks at the American Conservative Union have announced that Senator Zell Miller will present their "Courage Under Fire" award to the Swift Boat Veterans.

Very appropriate presenter and very deserving group of awardees.

By the way, if you haven't attended ACU's annual conference, CPAC, I highly recommend it. Most likely, I will be there on radio row, broadcasting for RIGHTALK.

Scandal brewing in Albany?

Deroy Murdock wrote a brilliant piece on NY Gov. George Pataki's woes. So far, according to Murdock, NY is "dead last" out of all 50 states on the economic freedom scale produced by the Pacific Research Institute. NY state, under Pataki's liberal reign, is number one in one area, however -- it is the "most economically repressed state" in the union.

And Pataki has his sights set on higher office?

Sources tell me that it is going to get worse for the Guv. There's a scandal a-brewin' and it involves Indian tribes. He's in a world of hurt now and it seems as though it is only going to get worse.

Oh, I'm sure his liberal friends will circle the wagons and save him, right? Right?

Stay tuned for the continuing saga of "As Pataki's Stomach Churns...."

Another day, another scary pill...

Listening to ads about pharmaceuticals can be a frightening experience. The specific ailment that the pill in question will cure is usually referred to in passing with lovely visuals of happy dancing, running, joyful people.....and then there are the list of possible side effects. "Your liver might explode. Could cause paralysis, blindness, deafness. Your left arm may fall off. You could become impotent......"

Certainly mentioning indications are important, but it just sort of runs against the grain of many sales practices, doesn't it?

Reports have now emerged recently that even Vitamin E in certain doses could DIE. Heavens! An excellent piece by Steven Milloy on the flaws of the study that produced the "sound-the-alarm" alert ran today here.

I am beginning to think that the only way to maintain perfect health is to be hermetically sealed.

What a class act PFAW is!

Apparently, the People for the American Way event at the Kennedy Center the other night went slightly awry when Chevy Chase unleashed a torrent of four letter words when talking about the Commander-in-Chief. PFAW spent most of today trying to undo the damage done by Chase's pottymouth tirade.

But should PFAW be surprised? Here is an organization seemingly dedicated to knocking down every cultural norm, social more and shred of decency. They have fought vigorously to defend the rights of child pornographers and run of the mill pornographers on the internet.

So what do they expect at this event? Kid gloves? Gentlemanly behavior?

No, friends, when you make every attempt to tear down decency, you cannot then act shocked when there is no decency left to be found.

Congrats! It's PNEUMONIA!!!

Sorry for the lack of blogging for the past couple of days. I was struck down by a wicked case of pneumonia.

Used to get it all the time as a kid, but haven't had it in years.

On Tuesday, I woke up to a bunch of pain on my right side, just under the shoulder blade and I thought it was a blown disk in my back. Lots of shortness of breath too. Felt like an ice pick was stuck in my back.

Went to the E.R. and they put me on Dilautin (a form of morphine) and did a chest x-ray. When the doctor came back with the diagnosis of pneumonia, I was pretty much in shock. I was sure it was a problem in my ever difficult back, not my lungs.

So, between the antibiotics for the pneumonia, the muscle relaxants for the back and the pain meds for the pain, I'm flyin' high. Who knows, I might come up with some pretty funny stuff in the next few days! Stay tuned.....

Let the blame game begin!

NY Post reports that Pataki, looking for someone, anyone to blame for political missteps and Republican losses to numerous to count is kicking his political consultants out of Albany.

Chances are pretty good then, that the Guv hasn't done much internal soul-searching to figure out what's wrong.

It's not the consultants, Mr. Pataki. It's the liberalism. It's being on the wrong side of every darned issue but desperately clinging to the Republican label. You make RINOs look conservative, Governor.

Blogging in South Dakota

We all heard how the blogosphere and the pajamahadeen took down Dan Rather over forged memos. But you might not have heard the role that blogs played in the South Dakota race. My buddy John Fund writes a fascinating piece here on this untold story.

Dean vs. Reid on Scalia and Thomas

Howard Dean, never one to shy away from sharing his thoughts, voiced his opposition to Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid's opinion that Antonin Scalia would be an acceptable choice to be Chief Justice. Opinionjournal.com's James Taranto does a fine job of discussing this on his must read blog, Best of the Web. (If you haven't signed up for his daily email, do it now!!)

Ann Coulter (who was on my radio show last week -- we gals had a great time tearing up liberals!) wrote in her wonderful column last week that Reid's slam on Thomas darn near suggested that Thomas practically wrote his opinions in ebonics!

Harry Reid is yet another blue senator in a red state. He, like Tom Daschle, is pro-life. He, like Tom Daschle, says one thing back home and votes another way in Washington. He, like Tom Daschle, may seem mild mannered, but read some of his venomous statements sometime. He has truly gone under the radar until his recent annointing as the new Senate minority leader.

Reid, like Tom Daschle, should be retired in his next election.

Need your help, gentle readers!

Santa Claus is apparently going to bring a Jack Russell terrier puppy for my children and we have not been able to come up with a really good name yet. The puppy is just beautiful (we'll post pics after Christmas) and is a girl. ANY suggestions you have, please give feedback.

I've been thinking of names like Lady Thatcher and Abigail (for Abigail Adams), but my husband, a lawyer, thinks that "Tort Feaser" is far more appropriate. Hmmmmm.

So. Give me your thoughts on the subject and help name our puppy!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Had a huge Christmas soiree at Casa de Daly this past Saturday night so between preparations (no Doritos thrown in tupperware with a side vat of salsa at MY parties) and the aftermath (lots of children running through the halls with eggnot and various forms of chocolate), I was a little light on the blogging.

But I'm back and ready to blog.

This week's column is up here and the Mel Gibson part of the column seems to be reinforced by the Golden Globe snub.

MoveOn.org says to the Dem. Party, "We bought it, we own it..."

Sorta brings a whole new perspective to the "You break it, you buy it" rule, doesn't it?

Supreme Court Obsession

No doubt that Supreme Court fever has hit Washington DC with reporters in an absolute frenzy just in case Chief Justice Rehnquist steps down. This piece by The Onion is hilarious and right on point....

Truth hurts, doesn't it Ralph?

Here is the statement made by federal judge Charles Pickering the other day announcing his retirement. It is, as one would expect from Judge Pickering, the absolute, unvarnished, unspun truth.


Statement of Charles Pickering:

"My nomination and permanent appointment to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has been pending before the full Senate for more than one year. The recess appointment given to me by President Bush on January 16, 2004 expires when Congress adjourns. Opposition by some Democratic senators prevented an up or down vote on my nomination. A minority of senators prevented the majority from confirming me to a permanent position on the Fifth Circuit. The actions of the minority leave me with no alternative than to retire as Congress adjourns. I thank Senator Trent Lott for fighting for my nomination. He made Herculean efforts on my behalf. I thank Senator Thad Cochran for his consistent and steady support. I thank my son Congressman Chip Pickering who fought hard for my nomination, my reputation and the image of Mississippi. I thank President George Bush for nominating me in 2001, in 2003 and in 2004. I am grateful for his strong support throughout the process, including his invitation to the White House to support my nomination, and then for giving me the recess appointment. My confirmation struggle lasted four years. Although I would prefer confirmation, I am in good spirits and at peace with the result. My faith is strong. I will continue to be involved in community and civic affairs. I will also speak out on issues relating to confirmation reform. I feel I can be a constructive voice in this vitally important debate. The bitter fight over judicial confirmations threatens the quality and the independence of the judiciary. The mean-spiritedness and lack of civility reduces the pool of nominees willing to offer themselves for service on the bench. For the first time in the history of the Senate, judicial nominations were blocked by filibusters. The recent election demonstrated that the American people rejected this unprecedented obstruction by the minority Senate leadership. Those voices will continue to be heard until the confirmation process is reformed and judicial filibusters ended. Extreme special interest groups opposed my nomination primarily due to their hostility to any nominee with strong religious convictions who personally disagrees with them on abortion, marriage and references to God at public ceremonies and institutions. They demonstrate their intolerance and religious prejudices not just in opposing my nomination, but also that of the Catholic nominees who hold deep religious beliefs. These groups believe nominees with committed religious values are not qualified to serve on America’s federal courts, despite the fact that our judicial records, statements and testimony demonstrate a commitment to uphold the law and current precedents. These far left groups cowed Democrat leadership into opposing my nomination. In doing so, they pushed those Senators out of the American mainstream, some out of their Senate seats, and the Democratic Party out of entire regions of the country. I thank all of the Republican Senators who without exception supported my nomination. I also thank Democratic Senators Zell Miller, John Breaux and Ben Nelson and the only Senate Independent, Jim Jeffords, for supporting my nomination and their courage to fairly examine my record. I will always be grateful to the people of Mississippi - both black and white, both Democrat and Republican - who supported my confirmation with their prayers, their words of encouragement, letters of support and trips to Washington to speak on my behalf. The people of Mississippi are a constant source of encouragement to me and my family. Most of all I want to express appreciation to my wife who walks with me each day through this journey. Margaret Ann and I are at peace. I look forward to the opportunities to contribute to my State and community in the future. I am blessed by my experiences on the Court and the work of all those who serve the Court and the administration of justice. "

Apparently, though, Ralph Neas, president of People for the American Way, doesn't like it. Calls it "graceless."

No, Ralph, graceless is hounding a man and his family for several years simply because the President of the United States nominated him. Graceless is calling him a racist even though he prosecuted the grand wizard of the KKK in Alabama in the 50's. Graceless is insisting that judicial nominees embrace your twisted, liberal philosophy and agree to be a judicial activist before you leave them in peace. Graceless is trying to take the moral high ground when your organization supports any kind of perverted internet pornography (and wants to make sure that children have full and free access to porn).

Charles Pickering was merely doing what he was not allowed to do since he was nominated -- respond to your bullying, lies and attempted character assasination. The way I see it, Ralph, it is your turn to shut up and take it just as he did from you for all these years.

Well that's the Pitts.

Turns out that the soldier who asked Secretary Rumsfeld the armor question yesterday was put up to it by a reporter from the Chattanooga Times Free Press. Matt Drudge reveals the email that the reporter sent out bragging of his excellent adventure skewering Rummy.

Curiously, the reporter's opening line was that it was his "best day as a reporter." Oh really? Is that reporting? Just what exactly are they teaching in J School these days? Whatever it is, so-called "journalists" like Edward Lee Pitts are springing up everywhere in these local papers -- bias is not just found at CBS, the New York Times and the Washington Post.

This is the kind of stuff that keeps Brent Bozell at the Media Research Center in business.

Well this would be a full time job.

Theresa Heinz Kerry says her job during the campaign (besides writing checks to extremist left wing organizations) was to tell her husband he was an idiot.

Bushwacking Rumsfeld.

Armor seems to be the issue of the day. Or at least, the lack of it.

Thank heavens for all of those survival schools that our soldiers and Marines are put through so that they have the ability to find what materials they need. This is what warfare has actually been about since time began. It is about surviving, improvising and making do with what you can find or acquire.

My father, who served in the OSS in World War II, spent close to three months in the sewers in Paris evading the Nazis who were looking all over Paris for him. Dad's contact had been killed and while he was figuring a way out, he "acquired" a German uniform and pretended to be drunk, wandered in and out of the Nazi headquarters almost daily, passing out here and there and gathering information. They kept throwing him out of the headquarters!

The point is that no matter how much equipment you have or want to have as a soldier, there is always going to be something else needed.

Production of armor has gone into overdrive, but apparently not fast enough.

I find it curious that Pelosi, et. al. are screaming bloody murder about armor when she, along with John Kerry and John Edwards, voted against the very bill that provided it. "I voted for body armor before I voted against it....."

Sheesh.

Oh Canada!

Big story out of Canada today that their Supreme Court has approved same-sex marriage. Coulda seen that one coming.

But I'm wondering if at least some of our neighbors to the north are having pangs of buyers regret having embraced the liberal philosophy hook, line and sinker. For example, here's a tragic story about a young woman who's pre-born baby died after a car accident. She was shocked to discover that Canadian law said that her unborn son was not a human.

The woman was eight months pregnant with "Garrett" who was removed from her womb via c-section, dressed in little flannel pajamas and brought to the parents so they could say goodbye.

Nah, that's not a little human. I understand it is quite common to put flannel pajamas on tables, bunny rabbits and general clumps of cells.

Absolutely tragic. Prayers to Aimee Wilson and her family during this time of grief.

Donna Brazile's advice

In a New York Times opinion-editorial piece today, Donna Brazile, former campaign manager for Al Gore's disastrous presidential bid gives the Democrat Party some advice. Apparently, the Dems are going to meet up this weekend in Florida to continue their overanalysis-fest on why they lost the election.

They (including Donna Brazile) are going in the wrong direction in this quest and while I hate to give them a hint as to why they are losing, heaven knows they aren't going to listen or mend their ways because they will outright reject the real truth of the matter.

This is not a marketing problem. They can package and re-package all they want, but it was a combination of the message and the messenger that were soundly rejected on November 2nd. You can put a stink bomb into a Nordstrom package with a pretty little bow but it is still a stink bomb.

John Kerry flip-flopped on everything so he had no trust with the public from the get-go. Add to that that the Democrat party has been completely hijacked by extremists in New York and LA and most of your flyover country Democrats were left saying, "Hold on a moment, that's not the Democrat Party I'm a part of...."

In sum, it was the message itself that was rejected along with a messenger who changed his mind as often as Sarah Jessica Parker changes shoes. There isn't a marketing professional alive who could have boosted message acceptance rates with that combination.

Dude -- You've got too much time on your hands.

A linguist from the Univeristy of Pittsburgh has actually published a paper analyzing the usage of the word "dude."

Yep, that was my burning question of the day. How much you wanna make a bet that some agency like HHS or Humanities or something federal has funded this tripe with our tax dollars?

Dumb and dumber.

Who said this?

"I don't think we should have litmus tests for members of the sub-Cabinet, the Cabinet or the judges. . . . We're not going to do that. We're going to have hearings. We're going to have the process vetted as soon as possible. And I think we should have up-or-down votes in the committee and on the floor. So the answer is, no, there is not litmus test and there will not be."

Any ideas?

That's right. The new Senate Minority Leader, Harry Reid. He said it in June, 2001.

It was bound to come to this.

You just had to know that the Left would resort to this eventually.

Drip, drip, drip.....

Someone get the plumber over to Porter Goss' place cause the CIA is leaking like a sieve. Seems to me that the old OSS rule-of-thumb applies well here -- the most obvious story is the one that is never true. Looks as though some folks worked awfully hard to get a front page NYT story on everything in Iraq going to hell in a handcart...


Oh yeah, it was "government officials."

To the victor.......

.....go the spoils. The President has wisely nominated Gerald Reynolds, former DoEd Asst. Sec. for the Civil Rights Division, to be the Chairman of what is left of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. He will replace Mary Frances Berry who has served on the commission for 25 years, 12 as Chairman.

Berry has said that she will not leave her appointment until January 2005, trying to eek out every last moment of her 15 laughable minutes of infamy.

Now while I certainly would have loved to have seen the always brilliant Abigail Thernstrom take the helm of this commission, perhaps Mr. Reynolds can restore some semblance of credibility, stability and respect in the wake of Berry's 12 year joy ride.

I have this sinking suspicion that Berry will not "go gently into that good night" and may pull a legal stunt or two to prolong her stay. But Reynolds seems like the kind of focused guy who won't be disturbed in the least if he has to work around Berry being forceably removed from the office space, clinging to the curtains, the desk, the doorjam......

Mfume TKO'd by Bond

According to Armstrong Williams' column today, NAACP President and CEO Kweise Mfume didn't get a hankerin' to retire after the election fuss. Seems that there has been a long standing, little talked about fued between Mfume and NAACP Chairman Julian Bond.

It seems that Mr. Mfume started reaching out to the Republican Party having realized that blacks were no longer a monolithic voting block beholden to the Democratic Party. Mr. Bond, it seems, was having none of it.

Now, remember, that this was the same NAACP that housed Elaine Jones as president of their Legal Defense Fund. It cannot be said too often that it was Elaine Jones (according to Senate Judiciary Committee memos) who made a call to Senator Ted Kennedy and delayed all Sixth Circuit judicial nominees until her affirmative action case was decided in the Sixth Circuit.....sans any Bush nominees. Once this was discovered, Ms. Jones took an early retirement too.

Given that Mr. Bond has eradicated his competition by pushing Mr. Mfume out the door, get your fire extinguishers ready. I doubt his historically flamable rhetoric will be doused by cooler heads in the organization.....

Harry Reid throws down the gaunlet on "Meet the Press"

Didn't take long. The new Senate Minority Leader, Harry Reid, said on Sunday's Meet the Press that Clarence Thomas was "an embarrassment" on the Supreme Court. Reid also said that he thought President Bush could take a few lessons on judicial nominations from Bill Clinton.

So Minority Leader Reid has an affinity for gauntlets. Since he just threw one down and all.

Does his brilliant idea to return to the idyllic days of Bill Clinton's nominations mean that he gives up on the filibuster idea? Because then-chairman Orrin Hatch basically went along with the Clinton Administration's nominees -- even Ginsburg -- without so much as a whimper. No filibuster for Ginsburg even though she was the poster girl for partisan political resumes. Oh, that's right. Ginsburg agrees with the Kennedy's, Schumer's and Durbin's of the world (and, as a judicial activist is more than willilng to implement the leftist social agenda from the bench) so she's ok.

Tell you what, Harry. We'll return to those Clinton nominations days, shall we? When the President nominated who he felt was the most qualified for the bench and there was not a peep about a filibuster. Sounds good to me.

I wonder what it is about Clarence Thomas that angers Reid so? Is it that he truly believes that Clarence Thomas is not bright enough to be on the Supreme Court? What does it say, then, about the U.S. Senate that confirmed him? Or, if he is the bright, accomplished jurist that most have come to know and respect him for, does it anger Minority Leader Reid that Justice Thomas is not beholden to what is left of the Democrat Party?

Women and minorities who don't tow the Democrat line get the most vitriolic response from the left. Not quite sure how that is strategically smart, but these are the geniuses who seem to believe that the obstruction thing is working out really well for them.

Fine by me, Harry. You want to continue to be the MINORITY Leader in the Senate, just keep it up. But you might want to check on that with your buddy, Tommy Daschle. The phone book/booster chair in his leadership seat isn't cold yet and you seem to have forgotten already that the very obstruction that you are threatening so cavalierly is what retired Mr. Daschle.

Clinging to the curtains

Peter Kirsanow, one of the long-suffering commissioners on the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, was probably very much looking forward to the expiration of Chairman Mary Frances Berry's term at the stroke of midnight Sunday.

Unfortunately for Kirsanow, his fellow Republicans on the commission and our nation, Berry is pulling one of her famous stunts to try to cling desperately to power until January 21st, 2005. This is not the first time Berry has made a power play, either. In her 25 years on the commission, 12 as chairman, she has managed to take a promising entity and make it a laughing stock.

The dictatorial grip that Berry has on this commission has only served to kill it and any hope she might have had for even a smidgen of power -- and more importantly, respect.

It's a shame.

Let's hope that once she has been peeled from the curtains she currently clings to that there is something salvageable for, say, a Chairman Kirsanow to restore.

Dumber than rocks.

Jaw-droppingly stupid criminals.

My weekly column is up....

......here. Here's a taste to get ya started...

I Am David
By Kay R. Daly
December 6, 2004

It's 1952. A twelve-year old boy, David, escapes a Communist gulag carrying a compass, a half loaf of bread, a bar of soap, a sealed letter and instructions to go to Denmark.

Within the first moments of the opening credits of the new film "I am David," the viewer is sucked into this little boy's devastated world. And at the beginning, his world is dark, forboding, and on the razor's edge between life and death. "I am David" was based upon the classic Anne Holm novel by the same name which won the ALA Notable Book award in 1965, the 1963 Best Scandinavian Children's Book award and the Boys Club of America Junior Book Award Gold Medal. It was one of those books that just begged to be filmed..............

Beauty and the Beast

Word has it that negotiations are underway to have directors Mel Gibson ("The Passion of the Christ") and Michael Moore ("Fahrenheit 9/11") appear as presenters at the Golden Globe Awards.

It is awards season and the People's Choice Awards has The Passion up for a vote here. It would send a great message to Hollywood to have an overwhelming victory for Mel's movie, wouldn't it?

Now we now what Greta will cover in a post-Peterson trial world

Night after night, Fox News Channel's Greta Van Sustren has covered the Scott Peterson trial. I don't know about you all, but I've got a serious case of Peterson fatigue. Don't get me wrong, my heart breaks for Laci's family and I truly hope that justice is served, but for heavens sake.......this trial has gone on forever! Now that it is in its final throws, what in the world is Greta going to cover?

Fear not! The Robert Blake murder trial is about to get underway. Frankly, the Blake case is more interesting. Proving my point, there is an article today about a burglary perpetrated on Blake's defense counsel.

Y-M-C-A, it's fun to stay at the.....

Order yours today!

The official Arlen Specter nutcracker lawn ornament......



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(Hat tip to the wonderfully creative folks at FreeRepublic.com)

Pet down the doobie and welcome rational thoughts back....

They really need to cut down on weed in the Netherlends. They've decided that euthanizing newborns is fine by them. That's taking abortion to an extreme, now isn't it?

What is it about babies that people despise so much? Why do people want to kill them? I'm just not comprehending what has gone so terribly wrong in this world that so-called mothers are doing the heretofore unthinkable to their own children.

Even more interesting in this uplifting little piece about euthanizing newborns is the quote at the end of the article from a so-called "ethicist" from Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte. My mother-in-law works at that neo-natal intensive care unit and there seems to be two different accounts as to what goes on there.

What is noteworthy is that this "ethicist" seems to believe that the euthanization of newborns is validated because of the frequency in which it occurs. What a novel concept in ethics! If something happens all the time, no matter how vile, putrid and evil the practice, it is perfectly ethical behavior. Good to know.

Hell. Handbasket.