New York Times Columnist Questions McCain's Patriotism

A columnist for the increasingly irrelevant New York Times, Frank Rich has a column this weekend where he questions Senator John McCain's patriotism. I've had my disagreement with McCain's positions on issues and his pandering to the media, but there is no doubt of his love of this country.

John McCain epitomizes the unpatriotic opposition. On Wednesday night he could be seen sneering when Obama pointed out that most of the debt vilified by Republicans happened on the watch of a Republican president and Congress that never paid for “two wars, two tax cuts, and an expensive prescription drug program.”

Is failing to smile when President Obama criticizes your political party the new definition of patriotism? Does Rich even remember the Bush years when anytime the administration or their supporters complained about the actions/statements of the opposition they were accused of the unpardonable sin of "questioning their patriotism?" No, instead we heard endlessly that "dissent is the highest form of patriotism." In fact, Byron York or the Washington Examiner found some rather telling quotes from past columns by Frank Rich where he looked at political dissent quite differently solely because of which party was being criticized.

If the New York Times had any decency left they would can this partisan hack tomorrow. However, they have no journalistic standards and since Rich toes the NYT party line he won't even be called onto his bosses carpet.

Hope You Had a Better Weekend Than Rip Torn

I hope all of you had a better weekend than actor Rip Torn, I know I did.

Actor Rip Torn, who has had a recurring role in the NBC hit "30 Rock," has been arrested after police found him intoxicated and armed inside a Connecticut bank at the weekend.

Torn, 78, was being held on $100,000 bond after state police responded to an alarm at the Litchfield Bank in Salisbury, the Connecticut town where the actor lives, and found him inside the closed bank "with a loaded revolver" and "highly intoxicated," according to a police report issued on Saturday.

I always enjoyed Torn as an actor, but when someone screws up in a funny way you've got to laugh.

Separately, how does an elderly drunk break into a locked bank? Or was he in the restroom passed out when they closed? Preparing for a role in Oceans Nineteen? These are questions that need answering.

Not to Speak Ill of the Recently Departed, but . . .

I was raised not to speak ill of the recently departed. A couple deaths in the last couple days are sorely testing that adage. Instead of speaking ill of Howard Zinn or Ruth P. Smith, I'll only note that our average level of intelligence and decency suddenly spiked higher.

Good riddance, neither of them can do more harm.

Hey, Aren't Bulk Purchases Supposed to be Cheaper?

This morning I was in Walmart and noticed Campbell's Chicken Noodle Soup was on sale for 50 cents. Pretty good price. However, we didn't need any soup. So, I didn't buy any. This afternoon, I was in SamsClub (also owned by Walmart) and one of their middle aisle displays was soup and out of curiosity I glanced at the price. $8.99 for 12 cans of Campbell's Chicken Noodle Soup. Well, that works out to 74.9 cents a can. That means if you buy it in bulk you get charged nearly 50% more than buying individual cans. Ridiculous.

Hmmm, I wonder if I could buy a bunch from Walmart and then go sell it to Sams???

Obama Give Us Another Choice

I thought our only two choices with President Obama was one lousy term or two lousy terms of office. He is now saying there are other options.

President Barack Obama said that he "would rather be a really good one-term president" than have two mediocre terms.

Sounds like he is being delusionally optimistic to think he has a chance to be considered mediocre. I guess it is progress. A month or so ago, he actually told Oprah with a straight face that he thought he deserved a B+ for his first year in office.

Under 37 years old? Thank Your Mother for Not Killing You as Authorized by the Supreme Court

37 years ago today in an horrendous decision the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the weakest and most innocent of human beings could be killed at the whim of their mother. Since that ruling nearly fifty million children have been killed for the crime of being inconvenient. It is the darkest stain on our great nation since the ending of the existence of human slavery.

What can be done?

Pray for the children.
Pray for expectant mothers that they accept and love their children.
Pray for our elected representatives that they will correct this grave evil.
Work to only elect people who know good from evil.
Pray to convert the hearts of those who are unable to recognize evil.

Various Random Links and Thoughts

Been real busy lately and haven't had time for blogging. Here are a bunch of recent links and (hopefully) short commentary.

NBC tried using a late night talk show at 10 PM. On its face, the idea made sense. Talks shows are much cheaper to produce. So, NBC put Jay Leno in that time slot. Leno's ratings trailed the police dramas and other shows badly. Now, Leno wants to go back to his old time slot of 11:30 which is held by Conan O'Brien. O'Brien doesn't want to give up the spot which leads to a war of words between the two. The punch line to the whole mess is supplied by this clip of Leno from 5 years ago when he announced his intention to retire from the Tonight Show. He is now doing exactly what he said he wanted to avoid. (H/T A Large Regular)

Republican Scott Brown won the special election to fill an open senate seat from Massachusetts. Both sides should refrain from reading too much from this one election. Brown is not a far right winger as the clowns on MSNBC are claiming. His election does not completely shift power in the senate. It does not mean every Democrat will lose in November. It does mean there is no permanent ownership of a state or region by either party. It does mean Republicans can support, contribute to and campaign for moderate candidates with the right circumstances. In the northeast Brown is about as conservative a candidate as we could get. In Texas, North Dakota, North Carolina, etc. he would not get out of a GOP primary.

Hmmm, fresh off his success campaigning for Mass. Dem senate candidate Martha Coakley, we see "Obama Will Travel to Nevada for Reid Next Month." Hopefully, he continues to be as effective in upcoming races as he was in campaigning in Virginia, New Jersey and now Massachusetts.

I hope my nephew who is a huge Star Wars fan does not see an advertisement for this bed.



Here is something that should be required reading before anyone is allowed to post on the internet: Ten Words You Need To Stop Misspelling. Most of the ones covered are actually misuse of homophones. I have trouble taking someones political argument (or even sports argument) seriously if they don't know the difference between to, two, and too. Also, is there no one with internet access that knows how to spell "separately?" Okay, okay I'm done complaining about spelling.

As a reminder, being dared to do something does NOT mean you have to do it.

Officials in Germany say eight teenagers were hospitalized after a test of courage in which they drank chili sauce more than 200 times hotter than normal.

If they are interested, I make a no-bean chili that is relatively mild.

Are we taking the terrorism threat seriously? Recent evidence says not really. Latest message on the subject:

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has lifted a U.S. ban on a planned visit by a leading European Muslim critic of the Iraq war, in a move rights groups hailed as a victory for civil liberties.

Clinton signed orders which ended the ban on Professor Tariq Ramadan of Oxford University, who was barred due to alleged terrorism ties which he denies, State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said on Wednesday.

He added that the ban had also been lifted for Adam Habib of Johannesburg University, another prominent Muslim scholar.

Even if these characters are not directly involved in terror plots, does letting them in our country to spread their message do us any good? Nope. We need to remember that blowing up planes and buildings is just a small part of the overall game plan. Spreading the growth of Islam in order to overthrow all governments is the end game.

Baseball's musical chairs is going to end with some big names looking for seats. We are around three weeks from pitchers and catchers reporting for Spring training and there are quite a few players currently looking for work including a couple potential Hall of Famers. Jerry Crasnick of ESPN has a column today looking positionally at who is still available. The available pitching isn't great, but still you could make a team out of these guys and be very competitive. At this point, all the unemployed players will likely take a pay cut from last year as the owners have the leverage.

Some More Good News for Ohio State Buckeyes

Today we have some more good news regarding The Ohio State University Buckeye football team. The good news is this story about Terry Glenn being arrested for auto theft thankfully does NOT mention what college he attended.

Breaking News: Two Democrat Senators Announce Decision Not to Run for Reelection

2010 has been shaping up to be a tough year for the Democratic party. Voter anger over the excessive "stimulus" spending, fear of the threatened health care "reform" and the high unemployment added to the normal mid-term election environment had the Republicans salivating at the thought of large gains in the House of Representative and hopeful to pick up a few senate seats. A few congressmen viewed the difficult landscape and decided not to run for reelection. Yesterday there was some more potentially good news as Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-ND) and Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) both decided not to seek another term. While it is always difficult to unseat an incumbent, Dodd was seen as especially vulnerable as he has been embroiled in a couple high profile scandals over the last couple years. Dodd's decision not to run actually makes it less likely that the Republicans will pick up that seat. Connecticut is a fairly liberal state and a fresh Democratic face without Dodd's ethical baggage and who doesn't have to defend votes made in the current congress will be tougher to beat. By comparison, North Dakota actually becomes easier for the Republicans without an incumbent in the race. Even though North Dakota is a Republican leaning state, Dorgan is personally popular and this would have been a difficult gain unless a high profile Republican like the current governor entered the race. Now, I'd rate this a likely Republican pick up regardless of whether Governor John Hoeven runs.

Separately, I wonder how much Democratic leadership leaned on Dodd to retire? Unlike Dorgan, Dodd would likely have influenced more races than just his own. With Dodd's various ethical lapses, and individual Republicans likely to be running against the Dem majority as much as against their personal opponent, I expected that he would join Harry Reid as the focus of ads in states besides his own.

Regardless of whether Connecticut voters replace Dodd with a Republican or just elect some other Democrat the next congress will be more decent and more ethical for his absence. Hopefully, the state of Connecticut has gotten over their fixation with the Dodd family. Like father, like son, nearly forty years ago it took a scandal to get Dodd's crooked father to retire from the senate. Wonder if we can talk Chris Dodd into further emulating his father and get him to change his mind and run as an independent thereby splitting the Dem vote resulting in a Republican win.

Tuesday Afternoon Good News/Bad News for Ohio State Football

We have some good news and some bad news for fans of Ohio State football. After a strong showing in winning the Rose Bowl over a quality opponent and with few departing seniors, the Buckeyes were looking to challenge for the national title next season. However, there is always the risk of top juniors leaving early for the NFL. The players the Buckeyes were concerned about going pro were Cameron Heyward and Thaddeus Gibson. Well, those players have made up their minds about staying or leaving.

Heyward is staying for his senior season:

A statement from Heyward:

"I am excited about next season and am looking forward to being one of the senior leaders of our team. I sat down and talked at length with my family about my situation, and they totally support my decision. I've been blessed to this point. I am just having fun being a college student.

"I learned a lot from seniors like Doug (Worthington) and Kurt (Coleman) and all they were able to accomplish during their senior year. I would love to be a part of Buckeye tradition like that. I think the upside is very positive.

"I want to help our team achieve the goals of winning another Big Ten title and possibly accomplishing a national championship. If I could win some recognition, that would be great as well. I think I can be a leader for our team, and I know another season will help me become a better player."

Sadly, Gibson is leaving for the NFL:

In a statement, Gibson said:

"I would like to thank Coach Tressel, Coach Fickell, Coach Heacock, Shelly Poe, and the entire Ohio State football staff, as well as my mother, brother and of course God, for helping me to have the opportunity to enter the draft, and for the support from my teammates, alumni, and Ohio State fans across the nation.

"I am not leaving the Buckeye family. I wish the team the very best in the upcoming years and I thank all my teammates for all their support. I will keep in touch with my Buckeye family and I love them all. I will always bleed Scarlet and Gray."

I wish him well. Sure, it would have been nice to see him wreck havoc next year, but I don't begrudge a player seeking to get paid. Also, he was red shirted as a freshman which means he has been on campus four years.

Neither player's decision is surprising. Heyward is the son of the late NFL running back Craig “Ironhead” Heyward and probably doesn't have the financial urgency to rush to the pros. Personally, I think the draft "experts" predicting Heyward would be drafted in the middle of the first round were being overly generous. If both had gone pro I'd have expected Gibson to be picked first somewhere near the end of the first or early in the second round depending on what other juniors enter the draft.

What Can You Do About The Ominous Obama-Care Health Care "Reform" Mess?

Do you ever feel like congress is going to do the wrong thing regarding health care no matter how many calls you make? Do you feel helpless in the face of this assault on our liberties?

Well you are not helpless.

There is something you can do. Support Scott Brown.

Who is Scott Brown? Brown is a state senator in Massachusetts running in the special election to replace Ted Kennedy in the U.S. Senate.

Can he win? Sure. I'll admit, I've long believed Massachusetts to be a lost cause. A clear majority of residents of that state (okay, okay Commonwealth) have consistently reelected two of the worst U.S. senators (Kennedy and Kerry). However, this election has special circumstances. First it is a special election with nothing else drawing voters to the polls. Also, his Democrat opponent is a seriously flawed candidate who is not generating much enthusiasm. Lastly, and most importantly, the fact that this seat would either continue or end the filibuster proof Democrat majority may be enough to ensure a large Republican turnout.

Bottom line, it is your money so only contribute if you can afford. I guarantee the cost of Obama-care will far exceed any contribution you might make.Click here to donate to Scott Brown's campaign.

Want to know more about the candidate?
Here is a link to his website.
His Twitter address is @ScottBrownMA
Wikopedia
Here is a Youtube video of him echoing John F. Kennedy's position on taxes.



Don't know if it should matter much, but he was Cosmopolitan magazine's sexiest man in 1982 and his daughter Ayla is a college basketball player and was a finalist on American Idol.

2010 Will Be Interesting - Reason #1

This should be an interesting year for many reasons. Here is just one reason 2010 will be fun to watch:

Jim Geraghty at NRO's Campaign Spot found this piece in a local Ohio paper on former Rep. James Traficant, D-Ohio, recently released from federal prison for bribery and racketeering:

I’m going to run,” Traficant declared before some 35 members of The Biz Society assembled at the Rosetta Stone restaurant downtown to launch the group’s Youngstown chapter.

Traficant said he still isn’t sure which district he’ll throw his hat in, but he has nominating petitions circulating in three congressional districts –the 17th, the 6th and the 16th. And, the former congressman noted he hasn’t decided on whether to run as a Democrat, a Republican, an independent, or perhaps on another party ticket.

Hey, Traficant wasn't much more corrupt than the rest of Congress and he was a lot more entertaining.