The Liberals Just Won't Quit

Like the zombies in Michael Jackson's Thriller, the Democrats just won't quit.  Even after losing Ted Kennedy's old Senate seat in deep blue Massachusetts, Nancy Pelosi and her party pals aren't ready to give up on Obamacare.  "We will move on many fronts - - any front we can," said the Speaker of the House and - until we throw the Democrats out of office in the next election - third in line to the presidency, "we are going to get [so called] healthcare reform passed for the American people [whether they want it or not]."  (Link to story here.)

What do you think "any front we can" means?  Political shenanigans, of course.  Pelosi, Harry Reid, and Barack Obama are still looking for ways to ram socialized medicine through before the November elections and the seating of a new Congress in January.  Be watchful.  Ethics and rules won't stop these people.  And they won't quit - they're like zombies.

Hugo's New Conspiracy Theory . . . or is it an old movie plot?

It seems that our hemisphere's loudest communist dictator, Venezuelan tyrant Hugo Chavez, is blaming the United States Navy for testing a massive new weapon that caused the earthquake in and destruction of Alderaan, I mean Haiti.  This test, of course, was only a test and the true target is the Secret Rebel Base on Yavin IV, I mean Iran.

I wish that I was making this all up.  But I'm not.  Link here for the story.

This latest Chavez rant is worthy of Oliver Stone . . . or is it George Lucas?

If a tree falls in the forest . . .

I must admit that one of my guilty pleasures in life is "American Idol" (one can't spend every moment of every day saving the world from liberalism), so this story caught my eye.  It seems that Judge Paula Abdul's feelings have been hurt and she may not return the the show for its ninth season.  The show has re-signed Ryan Seacrest to a multimillion dollar deal and is in negotiations with Abdul's fellow-judge Simon Cowell on what will certainly be an even bigger deal but has yet to approach Abdul's team about a new contract.

But would anyone (ANYONE) care if Paula Abdul left the show?  Probably not.  Frankly, with the addition of a fourth judge last season, there was one too many anyway.  And, except for comic relief (laughing at - not with - her) has she ever made a relevant, insightful, or entertaining comment?  No, the best thing that Paula Abdul provides viewers of "American Idol" is time to talk about Randy Jackson's comments before Simon Cowell speaks.

So Abdul and her new manager had better not go all-in on this "respect" angle because if an "American Idol" judge (other than Cowell) quit, would anyone notice?

While the cat was away . . .

As regular readers of this blog know, posts have been fewer and farther between over the past week.  I was away and though I did have web access, very little seemed important enough to take the time to write about.

But that doesn't mean nothing was happening . . . the Republican governor of South Carolina committed political suicide by libido.  Michael Jackson, Farrah Fawcett, and Ed McMahon, passed on.  Missouri governor Jay Nixon agreed to national educational standards.  And, once again, the Democrat-controlled U.S. House of Representatives passed another major piece of legislation (which would "solve" a nonexistent problem by crippling our already hobbled economy) without reading it.

Much as I would love to take the time to exhaust all of these issues in this space, I must admit to feeling a bit of the blahs about all of this news . . .  blah, blah, blah . . . the country is controlled by liberals and so is the state.  Conservatives keep shooting themselves in the feet.  And the public seems more interested in spectacle and celebrity than in issues.  

So I won't look back.  On to bigger and newer news.  Billy Mays is gone.  It's not been a good week for A, B, or C-list celebrities.  May they all rest in peace.

I look forward to getting back in the saddle this week.

Bumper Sticker Juxtaposition

SLC observed a vehicle with today with several bumper stickers.  Two of them caught my eye.  They're noteworthy because of their proximity on the same car.

The first one read . . . "Don't Steal . . . Government hates competition."

The second one read . . . "Hillary Clinton 2008."

How can someone who believes that the government is stealing the people's money support one of the biggest proponents of such crime?

I'm reminded again of the essential truth of life . . . people are stupid!

Cult of Personality

A twenty foot tall bust of Barack Obama is on a thirty city tour around the country.  (Link to story here.)  It made an appearance in St. Louis today.

American Idol Shocker

In the biggest entertainment shocker since RuPaul came out of the closet, American Idol runner-up Adam Lambert announced that he's gay.  (Link to blurb here.)

Who's next?  Clay Aiken?

What will save the newspaper industry? The Post knows!

At a time when newspapers across the country are losing readership, scaling back, and running a serious risk of going belly-up, our town's St. Louis Post-Dispatch has gotten its act together.  The folks down at the Post know what will sell papers in St. Louis and, heck, this great idea might catch on nationally and save the entire industry.

Has the Post decided to do more hard news and less fluff?  No.

Has the Post decided to do more of its own original reporting rather than continue to rely on news services?  Nope.

Has the Post decided to give more space to sports?  Not that either.

Has the Post decided to report news instead of advocating its editors' liberal point of view?  Ha.

No, the Post decided to bring back "Our Own Oddities," a comic feature that ran from 1940-1990, when it was canceled because, frankly, it was stupid.  

How I missed this story of the resurrected saviour of the newspaper last month, I'll never know.  But, I'll make it up to you . . . here's a link to stltoday's photo gallery showing "Oddities" from the past.

What's the key to happiness? Apparently being me.

According to this piece from Robert Roy Britt, "happiness is being old, male and Republican."

Folks, of course, don't have much control over their age or their gender but political affiliation is voluntary.  That's the piece most interesting to me.  Why are Republican's happier than Democrats?  Even these days when our party has virtually no power in American politics?

Casual readers may, at first, answer that Republicans are "the rich" so, of course, they are happier because they have more money.  Not so.  The survey behind Britt's piece adjusted for income and found that poor Republicans are happier than poor Democrats; rich Republicans are happier than rich Democrats; and everything in between.

So, what gives?

I think religion might be a factor.  I think that Christians are more likely to be happy than non-Christians for obvious reasons like hope of eternal salvation, etc.  (Reasons obvious enough to Christians anyway.)

I also think that Republicans are more likely to be self-reliant.  Republicans aren't typically looking to others - like government - to provide them with anything, happiness included.

Any other theories out there?  Why are Republicans happier than Democrats?

Happy Thanksgiving . . . and please remember who to thank for your blessings this year.

American culture has done a "great" job of secularizing Christian holidays.  Christmas often seems more about Santa and his elves than the birth of Jesus Christ.  Easter's celebrations of the resurrection have been replaced by bonnets and bunnies.

But the secular attack on Thanksgiving has been more subtle.  This year I began to notice that most of the references to the holiday on television acknowledged the need to be thankful or even to give thanks for blessings received.  

But each reference was incomplete . . .  

If we are to "be thankful" . . . who are we supposed to thank?

If we are to "give thanks" . . . to whom do we give our thanks?

If we "received blessings" . . . who blessed us?

None of these questions are answered in public in American culture.  Keep an eye on public officials tomorrow or on news anchors or your politically correct friends.  God won't receive a mention.

And that's a shame.  After all, the holiday of Thanksgiving is a date set aside to give thanks to God and recognize the blessings that God, yes, GOD, has bestowed upon us all.

George Washington proclaimed the first Thanksgiving.  After a joint committee of both Houses of Congress recommended the holiday, Washington recognized that it was "the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and to humbly implore His protection and favor" and set aside November 26, 1789, to be a day "devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we may then unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks."

Though the P.C. crowd won't mention God tomorrow, try not to forget Him.

The election is OVER . . . remove your bumper stickers, please!

Elisa Crouch and Ken Leiser at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch hit the nail on the head today writing that "with the election in the rear-view mirror, it's time to do something about those bumper stickers.  . . . It's time to move on."

Hear hear!

Why on earth would anybody want to continue to campaign for a candidate when the election is finished?  The winners don't need your help and the losers can't use your support.

If you've still got an Obama sticker . . . why?  Are you just gloating?  Do you think that it makes you cool?  You supported the winner . . . yippee!  So did, unfortunately, lots of other people.  But most of them are smart enough to realize that your guy's performance in office over the next four years will have significantly more influence on the 2012 election than a sticker on the back of their Prius.  

And if you've still got a McCain sticker . . . why?  Are you so in need of attention that you seek out the amused looks, jeers, and taunts of Democrats buoyed by their candidate kicking your man's you-know-what?  Maybe you just don't want to be blamed for all the bad things that you think will happen when Obama takes office.  Well, guess what, nobody's going to blame you.  Nobody cares about who you voted for.  And why you'd want to continue to tout your support for the RINO who took the GOP down to defeat is beyond me.  It wouldn't surprise me if you still had a Rams jersey on your Christmas list.

And if you're still driving around with a bumper sticker from 2004 or before, you're in serious need of professional help.

The time has come.  Shed the campaign stickers America.

Watch this video. Please.

Occasionally, my wife watches The Oprah Winfrey Show.  Today, she had a segment queued up for me to watch.  I know, I know, tell all the jokes you want . . . but I'm exceedingly glad that she had me watch the clip.  My only complaint was that she allowed me to watch it when the box of tissues in the living room was empty.  I had to go to the bathroom down the hall to dry my eyes.

The Oprah segment was actually showing a video from youtube about the extraordinary life of a very special child.

Click here to watch that youtube video yourself.

Every child is a gift from God.

Every baby has a reason for being.

Every life is worth protecting.

Warner Brothers hiding McCain Interview

Warner Brothers studios is set to release a DVD version of the 1987 drama, Hanoi Hilton.  Republican presidential candidate John McCain was, of course, a prisoner in the real Hanoi Hilton during the Vietnam War.  Back in May, the movie's writer/director, Lionel Chetwynd, interviewed McCain as part of a promotion for the film's DVD release.  Chetwynd planned to show the McCain interview at screenings for veterans' groups and on the internet but Warner Brothers has blocked him from doing so because, the studio claims, they're "trying to be cautious and not affect the election in one way or the other."  (Link to story.)

Yeah, right.

Refusing to allow the showing of something positive about McCain fits quite well with Hollywood's m.o.  It is simply the flip-side of the coin that allows Lions Gate Entertainment to release W this friday or Fahrenheit 9/11 in 2004.  If the project paints a Republican in a bad light, by all means, release it before an election.  On the other hand, if it shines a positive light on a Republican, well, we wouldn't want to affect the election.

As Lionel Chetwynd put it, "finding someone in Hollywood who says they don't want to affect the election is like finding a virgin in a brothel."  Take both claims with a grain (or ton) of salt.

Flawed Assumption at Fox News

"Which candidate do you trust more to get us out of the current economic crisis?

Today at lunch I noticed that question posed by the folks at Fox News.  Tonight I found that question was today's "Question of the Day" on The Live Desk With Martha and Trace.

The answer to any question asking me who I "trust more" between Barack Obama and John McCain should be pretty obvious.  Though I don't have much trust in McCain, I would certainly trust him more on anything than I would Obama.

But the question is flawed and symptomatic of something wrong with modern America . . . it implies that the president can fix our economy.  The simple fact is that he can't - no matter who he is.  We live in a market economy and market forces are too powerful to be controlled by the government.  While government policies can have some effect - often negative - no president can fix the problem or "get us out of the current economic crisis."

Martha MacCallum and Trace Gallagher appear to have typical American attitude . . . child-like, wanting to be taken care of by the nanny state.  And naively believing that government is up to the task.

Click on the link above and let Martha and Trace know your thoughts.

Censorship at Random House - Publisher of The Da Vinci Code doesn't want to offend Muslims

Random House has "postponed indefinitely" publication of The Jewel of Medina, a novel by Sherry Jones, which was due out on August 12.  According to Reuters, the book "traces the life of A'isha from her engagement to Mohammed, when she was six, until the prophet's death."

Though the author claims to have "written respectfully about Islam and Mohammed," the publisher felt that the novel "might be offensive to some in the Muslim community" and pulled it.  Random House also felt that the novel "could incite acts of violence."

Offending Muslims is verboten at Random House . . . but offending Catholics isn't.  Random House, you see, published The Da Vinci Code.  (Doubleday is the named publisher - but that's a division of Random House.)

I'm not Catholic and I don't even play one on television.  I actually enjoyed The Da Vinci Code quite a lot.  I don't really understand the offense taken either - it's just fiction everybody, not history after all - but, again, I'm not Catholic.

A large number of Catholics did find The Da Vinci Code offensive but that didn't keep and shouldn't have kept it from being published.

But the same goes here . . . even if Muslims find The Jewel of Medina offensive, that shouldn't keep it from being published.  There should be no room for such a double standard.

Shame on Random House.

Commission claims babies harm the economy

Australia's Productivity Commission (clearly not a reproductivity commission) has issued a report urging parents not to have more than two children.  Kids, you see, don't work and don't pay taxes.  They also seem to be causing mommies to stay home to care for them and keeping them from being "productive" citizens.  By choosing to stay at home, these selfish women are "depressing the labour supply and reducing the taxation base."  (Link to story.)

This story is a ridiculous example of egg-head bureaucrats with misplaced priorities.  Children aren't economic resources.  They're people.  And parents don't choose to have children because of the financial benefit.  In fact, they welcome children in spite of their significant costs.

It is also ridiculous to value only work outside the home.  Mothers (or fathers) who choose to stay at home to care for their own children are providing significant value to those children and to society - whether or not that value shows up on a tax return.

Did the commission consider the economic effect of all the goods and services purchased for children?  What about the money spent to keep them entertained?  Fed?  Clothed?  Diapered?  What about people buying new houses or moving to bigger apartments to have room for more kids?  I doubt that any of that was considered.  It doesn't fit the template.

The template seems these days that human beings are bad.  We're destructive of nature and destroying the planet.  The fewer of us - the better.

I have a suggestion for how people who think that there are too many people on the planet can have a direct impact on solving that "problem" themselves.  But I think I'll keep that to myself.

The Victimization of America

What has happened to personal responsibility?  Is anything bad that happens to someone these days the mere result of their own mistakes?

It seems like the answer is, more and more, no.  Everyone is a victim of something.  Nothing is ever anybody's own fault anymore.

Here's the latest example . . . In 2005, the very popular ABC television program Extreme Makeover:  Home Edition demolished an old home and build a sparkling new one (seen above) for the Harper family in Georgia.  This new home was given to the Harpers, free of charge.  And contributions of about $250,000.00, including scholarships and a home maintenance fund, were raised and given to them as well.  

But the Harpers didn't rest in their new house.  No, they mortgaged it.  They put the gift home up as collateral for a $450,000.00 loan and sank the money into a construction business.  The business failed, the Harpers defaulted on the loan, the bank foreclosed, and now the "four-bedroom house with decorative rock walls and a three-car garage" with "a lobby that featured four fireplaces, a solarium, a music room and a plush new office" will be auctioned at the county courthouse next week to pay off the mortgage.

Did the Harper's make a mistake when they mortgaged the family home to start a business?  Did that mistake and failing to operate their business profitably lead to this sad result?  

Heck, no.  It's not their fault.  According to the Associated Press story, these folks have "become the latest victim of the foreclosure crisis."

This is a sad story.  Sure.  And I do feel sorry for the Harpers.  But they aren't victims of anything but their own bad judgment.

Why is Offending Christians Culturally Acceptable?

Today's column by Jonah Goldberg raises the interesting question . . . why is it acceptable in America to insult and offend Christians but nobody else?