Westminster Dog Show 2009

The Westminster Dog Show starts tonight! I love watching the dog show. Loved that beagle that won! And darn it, doesn't some silly poodle ALWAYS get in there? Sorry - I'm not a poodle fan.

Since I am still in allergy hell but am going on to work, I expect that I'll be curled up on the couch later watching the dogs.

Lazy Sunday

I'm paying for my yard work frenzy of yesterday with a day in allergy hell. I woke up this morning and knew right away that cutting back all that English Ivy while my Allegra prescription was empty was a big mistake. I broke out the Zicam allergy formula and tried that. I finally went around the corner and filled my Allegra ($70!) and felt almost instantly better.

I made spaghetti sauce this morning and it's been simmering all day. I made meatballs, too. Kind of wishing now I'd made some brownies, but am too lazy now to do it. We've had GREAT weather this weekend, almost like spring, and I've got windows and doors open. I hope the weather holds for our first major Mardi Gras parade next weekend!

I watched the Sunday talk shows this morning and all the talk was, of course, the Porkulus bill. How in the world can the Senate be ready to vote on this bill on Monday when their version only came out at 11 p.m. last night and is well over 700 pages? You just KNOW they can't have read the thing. The common feeling seems to be panic - "Well we HAVE to do SOMETHING!" Even if it's wrong, we'll worry about it later! Incredible. I'm proud of John McCain for speaking out against it, and our own David Vitter among a few others.

I love Mark Steyn. I don't know anybody else that could pull off such a comparison:

Appearing on "The Rush Limbaugh Show" last week, I got a little muddled over two adjoining newspaper clippings – one on the stimulus, the other on those octuplets in California – and for a brief moment the two stories converged. Everyone's hammering that mom – she's divorced, unemployed, living in a small house with parents who have a million bucks' worth of debt, and she's already got six kids. So she has in vitro fertilization to have eight more. But isn't that exactly what the Feds have done? Last fall, they gave birth to $850 billion of bailout they couldn't afford and didn't have enough time to keep an eye on, and now, four months later, they're going to do it all over again, but this time they want trillionuplets. Barney and Nancy represent the in vitro fertilization of the federal budget. And it's the taxpayers who'll get stuck with the diapers.

Read the whole article; it'll make you laugh.

Yard work, iPhones and Stimulus Debate

I spent the morning working in the yard a bit. I mowed, raked, fired up the weedeater and the blower. Also got out the old hedge clippers and cut the English ivy back on the fence before wasps and yellow jackets decide to move in. I haven't touched the flower beds yet but it's a bit early for that.

I also finally synced my iPhone to my computer, created a custom ringtone (LSU Fight Song) and learned how to send a picture on Tweetie (not hard.) So all in all, it's been a productive Saturday so far!

This afternoon I've been watching the stimulus debate in the Senate. Here's the PDF of the post-compromise version. The total on it at this point is 780, 215,025. Senator Vitter put up an amendment that would ban handouts for ACORN failed 45-51. Payback and all that.

Most of us realize that tax cuts aren't the only way to go; we know that some spending must occur, but nobody should want wasteful spending or spending that won't actually be stimulus. If you read the proposed bill as it is now, you will see LOTS of spending that does not need to occur as part of this bill.

At any rate, before the rest of my Saturday gets away from me, I am off to do exciting things like grocery shopping and helping my mom with her taxes. Tonight - MEXICAN FOOD! And MEXICAN BEER!

Friday Nights, Books and Politics

I love the promise of the weekend that I always feel on Friday evenings. Two luxurious days to myself. So much to do. Yard work has been beckoning for three or four weeks now and the weather this weekend will be perfect for it. We'll be in the 70s tomorrow!

I have books stacked up like crazy and can't seem to get offline long enough to read. I'm working my way through Team of Rivals still; it's very interesting and I'm fully engaged in my sticky note making, but have only read 25 pages this week. I'm also reading a Rosamunde Pilcher novel for those moments when my brain is too tired to worry about Lincoln, Seward, Chase and Bates. I'm about halfway through that one.

My copy of The Yankee Years arrived yesterday and I might have lost it temporarily to The Teenager who asked me if I ordered it for him because he wanted to read it.

Inside Gitmo also arrived yesterday and I received a nice email today from its author, Lt. Col. Gordon Cucullu who thanked me for mentioning his book on my blog. He also told me about the companion website, which is great. Tons of information, resources and insight there. Check it out!

I've been just about enraged for the past 24 hours about the dropped charges on al-Nashiri. I noted on the FoxNews website that they had an interview with the mother of one of the seventeen sailors who died in the October 2000 attack that was planned by al-Nashiri. She refused to go to the meeting today with Obama. She says that there is "nothing" he can say to her that will make this better. Of course, The New York Times gives the impression that the meeting went nicely and that everyone is pleased as punch now that they have listened to his words of explanation.

The Porkulus bill just nauseates me. I feel like I am Alice venturing into Wonderland. I've had too many mushrooms. Wake me when it's over. I fail to understand the world when the mayor of my own city submits the purchase of eight Harley Davidson motorcycles as a "shovel ready" project. These projects, as you know, were supposed to create jobs. When asked on Fox and Friends how many jobs the purchase of these Hogs would create, Mayor Glover said, "one or two, at the manufacturer." God help us.

On a lighter, happier note, today is Ronald Reagan's birthday! I surely miss Ronnie.

Charges Against USS Cole Terrorist Dropped

And so it begins. Tonight Mr. Obama ordered charges dropped "without prejudice" against Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, the accused planner of the USS Cole attack in Yemen in 2000. ABC News first reported the story this evening.

Tonight, the convening authority for the Department of Defense Military Commission, Susan Crawford, withdrew the charges. Tomorrow Mr. Obama will meet with the families of 9/11 and of the USS Cole and explain why he is dropping charges on a terrorist. I'm wondering if they will bring shoes to throw. He will assure them that this step was not done to be lenient towards al-Nashiri. The move is being done to stop the continued prosecution of al-Nashiri in a court system that his administration may ultimately find illegitimate.

Somehow I don't expect they will be pleased. However, "without prejudice" does mean that the charges can be refiled in a military commission or a federal court or military court. But we already have a system in place for prosecuting these detainees, so what is the purpose here? This just takes the al-Nashiri case back to ground zero (so to speak.)

You may remember that last week a military judge denied Obama's request to delay proceedings for 120 days saying that he found the request's reasoning "unpersuasive." The order was granted in all cases except this one. Obama's executive order calls for a panel to study where in the United States the prisoners at Gitmo might be moved and in what courts they might be tried. But what about the 2007 Senate resolution that forbids bringing Gitmo detainees to American soil?

Congress has twice addressed the issue of military tribunals and these laws remain in force.

Lt. Col. Gordon Cucullu, author of Inside Gitmo, says that "If detainees are indeed prosecuted in U.S. courts, the issue of evidentiary standards looms large, as does the handling of classified intelligence data. The battlefield is a poor environment for forensic criminal investigations, which may result in some detainees being summarily discharged." He also points out that many of "these detainees hold information that, if publicly released during a trial, would be considered a national security breach by intelligence services."

Obama's withdrawal of charges now means we are holding al-Nashiri WITHOUT CHARGE which is what people originally hated about Gitmo. Human rights groups are bound to love this twist. Vincent Warren, the executive director of the Center for Constitutional Rights, has said in The New York Times that "It only took days to put these men in Guantanamo; it shouldn't take a year to get them out." Just let 'em go? Send al-Nashiri back to his home country so he can plan more attacks? Yes, he will remain in custody for now, but isn't it only a matter of time?

The issue of what to do with al-Nashiri has now been complicated by Obama's own hands. His proceedings were moving along; his arraignment on capital charges is scheduled for February 9. The families of the 17 soldiers killed and many others wounded are ready for justice.

The defense attorneys for other cases have suggested said they would also seek withdrawal of charges against their clients, according to the Washington Post.

It seems to me that every message we are sending to the terrorist world so far has been one of weakness. We've "extended the open hand" to Iran, made plans to meet with Chavez, ordered the closure of Gitmo, suspended actions in trials, dismissed charges against a terrorist. We've apologized to Iran for "dictating" rather than listening, in essence, trashing our own country.

Meanwhile, as Victor Davis Hanson suggests, "the North Koreans are readying their missiles; the Iranians are calling us passive, bragging on nukes and satellites; Russia is declaring missle defense is over...Pakistanis say no more drone attacks."

Random Morning Thoughts

I finally caved in and bought an iPhone; I spent all last night playing with it which is why no blogging has been happening here, much. I'll settle back in soon!

I did notice though that Mr. Obama is venturing out of Washington today as he goes to a resort in Williamsburg to discuss issues with U.S. House Democrats during their annual retreat. He'll fly back to Washington tonight. No time for a quick visit to Kentucky to check on those freezing folks down there. He's got bigger things on his plate, like regulating how much money people can earn.

Lots of folks were buzzing about the Victor Davis Hanson piece in the National Review yesterday. I read it as well and it filled me with gloom. But I couldn't argue with one word of it.

I'm still watching the Porkulus boondoggle and read where there may be a vote on it this week. Good lord. I don't see how that's even possible. But, Mark Halperin says "CNN cites sources saying the president believes he has the votes to push the legislation through by Friday." Push through would be the right phrasing. Nuance.

And if you missed it yesterday, check out the NRO piece on Geithner and Daschle. The errors made by Geithner were much more egregious than those of Daschle, so why does he get to stay? Overall, this cabinet selection business has been a rotten mess filled with three withdrawals and multiple ethical issues (can you say THIRTEEN lobbyists?!) to be sure. Not that anyone expects that sort of thing to be perfect, but the media has built this up to be the smoothest transition EVAH and quite simply, who could possibly live up to that? But the Obama team failed in a big way on its "vetting process." Guess that multi-page questionaire they had to fill out had some gaps in it.

Obama signs yet another executive order today, this one on Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnerships which will impose potential restrictions on the hiring practices of religious groups that receive taxpayer dollars, among other things. Well, we all need a little faith right now, but I don't think that's what this order has in mind.

Mardi Gras in New Orleans

It's Mardi Gras time! If you can't get to New Orleans, bring New Orleans to you: check out ParadeCam! You can go here to check out the parade schedule.

Just over a week to go for our first big Shreveport parade. Can't wait!

(Photo credit: NOLA.com)

An Icy Washington Response to Kentucky Ice

I've been swamped at school lately so blogging has been light; progress reports go in on Friday and we've had several important visitors to our school, so between the two, I've been snowed under. On top of that, The Teenager has been under the weather and I've been back and forth to the doctor's office and pharmacy. We're on the downhill side of it all now though, so life is good!

Speaking of weather, or weather analogies anyway, the Washington reaction to the Kentucky ice storm has me just about outraged. Not just the federal response but mostly, WHERE is the press criticism of the lack of response!?

The Anchoress has written in a most excellent fashion on this here and here and I can't add anything more eloquent than what she has written. But I have to say that the national press was ALL OVER Bush for not rushing down to New Orleans as soon as the storm clouds of Katrina lifted. There were so many oddball factors in that situation that made the Bush-attacks so misguided.

Gov. Blanco and Ray Nagin were running a circus down there and absolutely must take the blame for what happened, starting with their decision not to make a forced evacuation. I knew when Ray Nagin came on the television and told people to go to the Superdome and to "bring your own food and water" that we were going to have problems!

Then you had Blanco who would not allow Bush to send aid in until it was far too late.

Once the storm was over, here came the media: we had Shepard Smith and Geraldo, we had Anderson Cooper, the whole mess of 'em. Looters on TV, taking potshots at helicopters, mass insanity. This was not George Bush's fault. This is not to say FEMA handled everything perfectly - they didn't. But Bush could not come in immediately and get in the way of first responders. Folks were trying to rescue people off roofs and get them out of the Superdome and the Convention Center (and WHO told them to even go there?!)

When things settled down and he could go in without being a distraction, he did.

But I don't want to re-hash the Katrina debacle. Over a week ago Kentucky was hit with a horrible ice storm. As of today, about 256,000 people are still without power. The only thing Obama has done is sign the emergency delcaration. No pleas for Red Cross donations. No flyover in a helicopter to survey the damage. No words of support to the residents. No visits to shelters.

And to be fair, he has other things on his plate right now, like talking up the Porkulus bill - the massive governmental SPENDING bill. He's got to deal with the tax cheats that got through the vetting process and the lobbyists working in positions where he vowed no lobbyists would be. He had a SuperBowl party to host and a cocktail party a day or two before that. He's busy serving $100 lb. Waygu steak dinners and cranking up the White House thermostat.

Bush took a lot of criticism, mostly undeserved, for the Katrina response. But he learned from that. When Iowa flooded this summer, he was there. Oh I know, Obama went down there for a photo op and filled some sandbags. But now the campaign is over. He "won" as he reminded us recently. Now is the time he should give an appropriate response to the people in Kentucky.

One email I received said, "He knows we didn't vote for him, so he doesn't care." Somebody please call FEMA and tell them that the people in Kentucky need some help. Thanks.

More Gitmo Questions

A couple of things have surfaced this week on the Gitmo debate that I've found interesting. It has long puzzled me why all the fuss has been about only Gitmo, and that's the only prison you hear about in the press, but nobody is really talking much about any of the others.

We have over 630 prisoners at the Bagram base and they are crowed into small holding areas in much less comfortable conditions that those guys at Gitmo. No exercise yard, no art lessons, nothing. Maybe it's because of the fact that we are building a new $60 million prison there to hold them. Eric Schmitt wrote about the Bagram prison this week outlining some questions the Obama administration must deal with, such as the new Bagram prison, the continued construction of which he suggests "would also signal a longer-term commitment to the American detention mission."

Since we quit transferring prisoners into Gitmo in September 2004, the Bagram population has increased rapidly. An expanded operation in Afghanistan will certainly add more. To alleviate over crowding, in 2005 we began transferring some Bagram prisoners to an American financed high security prison outside of Kabul. This prison is guarded by Afghan soldiers.

Another interesting item came up this week as well when a Gitmo military judge, Col. James Pohl, rejected the delay ordered by Obama for military tribunals. The judge ordered the government to proceed with the case against Adb al-Rahim al-Nashiri who is accused of planning the attack on the USS Cole in October 2000. In fact, Congress has already twice addressed the structure of military tribunals, so Pohl is only acting on current law.

In a briefing that same day, a Pentagon spokesman said that they "will be in full compliance with the president's executive order...And so while that executive order is in force and effect, trust me there will be no proceedings continuing down at Gitmo with military commissons."

Well, what does that mean, exactly? Will the exective order be rescinded? Doubtful. Will charges against Nashiri be dropped? Horrors! This would not be popular. Maybe the answer would be renditions.

In the executive order, Obama left open the option for renditions which the Bush administration took a lot of criticism for. There were a couple of ugly incidents that hit the media and make human rights groups unhappy. Renditions are secret abductions and transfers of prisoners to countries that cooperated with the United States; THOSE countries get to torture the prisoners or gather information by their own means, and then share the information with the United States. The problem of course is that we can't guarantee what other countries will do to gather information or how that prisoner will be treated, or how much of that information gathered is actually shared.

In a Los Angeles Times article today, one former CIA official points out that "In some ways, [rendition] is the worst option," the former official said. "If they are in U.S. hands, you have a lot of checks and balances, medics and lawyers. Once you turn them over to another service, you lose control."

It is a fact that you can't have a war without taking some prisoners and now Mr. Obama is charged with determining what to do with those prisoners. He may be gaining a better appreciation of what Bush was going through and what it means to keep the country safe. It's hard to do it all and make everyone happy. The fact remains that when you consider the other options, Gitmo hasn't been such a bad deal in past years.

Warm in the White House

The Anchoress is SPOT ON with this post.

No more words needed.

(Photo credit: FoxNews)

Saturday in the Neighborhood

It was a beautiful day today in Shreveport! Clear blue sky and a nice warm day! I really needed to do some yard work but I didn't; instead I headed over to my mom's and got her outside. We sat on her porch in the sun for an hour or so while I cooked a roast for her. We talked catty about the neighbors and had a nice afternoon.

This evening Steve and I are grilling ribeyes and laying low. He's fighting a crazy headache and I'm working on about four hours sleep - not nearly enough for me.

After I got home from mom's, my neighbor came over and knocked on my door; Eric said, "Come look at my new car!" He was beaming with the pride that only your very own first new car can provide! It's a Volkswagon CC. Eric is the son of my dear neighbors, Donny and Gena; he's ... 24? Maybe? I'm not sure. 23? Eric, how old are you?! Anyway, Eric has been driving one of those "well at least it's paid for" kind of cars for a few years now, and this is his first brand new car. And it's a beauty! Looks fast just sitting still! HUGE trunk - HUGE! Kickin' stereo! With XM radio! I'm thrilled for him! But I think his dad might be asking to borrow it from time to time - I think Donny is jealous! "Uh, Eric! Can I have the keys?!"

We all stood out in the driveway and admired the car for a while (had to get the book out to find out how to open the hood; and did you know these new cars don't come with "keys" but with - gadget-looking-things instead?) then Eric took charge of his new wheels and zoomed off to the Mudbugs hockey game. Godspeed!

We have no Super Bowl plans tomorrow. I bought football squares at work and unless fives, eights, and twos are good numbers, I'm not expecting to win. I will make hot wings and guacamole though and we will watch the commercials! I don't really care who wins. Unless they score a five, eight or two.

Pentagon Asked to Cut Budget

Update: As of today (2.2.09) this Fox story is in error. Congressional Quarterly reports that Obama is INCREASING the DoD budget by 8% which is online with what Bush had said was necessary. This is non-war spending by the way. While the DoD needs to cut wasteful spending in their budget, I am reassured that Obama is not cutting the DoD budget as previously reported. I criticize him enough when he deserves it and don't want to when he doesn't! I stand corrected on this one.

From FoxNews Urgent desk:

"A senior US defense official tells Fox tonight that the Joint Chiefs have been asked to cut the Pentagon's budget request for FY 2010 defense budget by more than 10 percent - about 55 billion dollars. Last year's defense budget was 512 billion dlrs. Service chiefs and planners will be spending the weekend "burning the midnight oil" looking at ways to cut the budget - looking especially at weapons programs. I am told. OMB is expected to announce a topline figure for the defense budget on Monday. Today Mr. Obama met with a small group of military advisers at the WH: included in the meeting Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Gen James Cartwright, Vice Chairman of Joint Chiefs and Gen Jim Jones, NSC Chairman. I am told this is going to be a weekly small group meeting of his military advisers."

I know times are tough but if we can buy new cars for all the government workers why are we asking the Pentagon to cut their budget when we are in the middle of two wars and planning on increasing troops in Afghanistan?

Porkulus Projects

Much has been written about the "Porkulus" bill (I just can't call it a "stimulus" bill) but the more I read about it the more incredulous I get. A couple of days ago I posted a link to the San Francisco Chronicle which listed some of the more extreme pork projects in the bill. This "crap sandwich" as Michelle Malkin refers to it, is still undergoing revision and alteration - for example, Nancy Pelosi was told to remove the contraception-as-stimulus portion. Other things have been scrapped and added but nothing approaching a reasonable bill is on the table at this time. The Senate will get the package next week.

The problem with the bill is that many of the things included are not "stimulus." The Pelosi-Reid Democrats have taken what COULD have been a stimulus package and tacked on many Democratic pet projects such as $2.1 billion for Head Start. This might be a worthy expenditure but it is disingenuous to consider it a stimulus for the economy. How is $150 million to remodel the Smithsonian a stimulus? I guess it provides jobs for the few contractors that get the lucky bids for the project. $600 million for new cars for government workers? The taxpayers have to fund this now? And this stimulates the economy by....??? Oh wait, didn't we already give the automakers a bailout? Or is this part of that?

$100 million to reduce lead-based paint hazards for children in low-income housing? How about the $2.4 billion for projects demonstrating carbon caputure technology? $800 million for AMTRAK?

How about stimulating the economy by increasing welfare? $20 billion for increased food stamps. There are several expenditures under that umbrella, including more money for AmeriCorps and the Low Income Energy Assistance program.

There is also more money for digital TV coupons ($650 million) and I'm still trying to figure out why it is the government's job to be sure I can watch TV.

Kimberly Strassel, writing in the Wall Street Journal, explains the stealthy moves in the Porkulus bill toward universal health care. The bill dramatically expands the number of people who will qualify for Medicaid, a program that was already struggling to stay afloat:

Under "stimulus," Medicaid is now on offer not to just poor Americans, but Americans who have lost their jobs. And not just Americans who have lost their jobs, but their spouses and their children. And not Americans who recently lost their jobs, but those who lost jobs, say, early last year. And not just Americans who already lost their jobs, but those who will lose their jobs up to 2011. The federal government is graciously footing the whole bill. The legislation also forbids states to apply income tests in most cases.

No income test? This means millionaires and bank executives that got laid off will qualify. As if the system wasn't already in trouble. It gets worse:

The "stimulus" also hijacks Cobra, a program that lets the unemployed retain access to their former company health benefits -- usually for about 18 months. The new stimulus permits any former employee over the age of 55 to keep using Cobra right up until they qualify for Medicare at age 65. And here's the kicker: Whereas employees were previously responsible for paying their health premiums while on Cobra, now the feds will pay 65%. CBO estimates? Seven million Americans will have the feds mostly pay their insurance bills in 2009.

This is just scary. Don't even get me started on the Democratic pay-back to ACORN that's embedded in there. It's criminal. Or should be.

So for the record, I'm not opposed to the "Stimulus" bill because it's the Democrats bill. I'm opposed to it because it is massive government spending on things that will NOT stimulate the economy and on things that will increase dependence on government. The House Democrats included little or none of the Republican amendments ("We won the election!") and cut out many of the tax cut recommendations the Republicans put forward.

I stand in hopes that Senate Republicans will hold the line as the House Republicans have and continue to work toward making this bill something that is good for the American people and actually stimulating for the economy.

Updated: Investors Business Daily has an insightful take on the provision that requires only American steel in the infrastructure projects.

A Stimulating Picture

Flip Pidot over at Suitably Flip has created this great graphic to illustrate the "stimulus" debacle. For the visual learners. He has a great post about it as well - check it out!

Quick Morning Round Up

Here's a quick couple of links to some interesting reading this morning:

Charles Krauthammer disagrees with Obama's apologetic tone.

David Limbaugh writes about the scuffle between the Dems and Rush.

and with a rare bit of criticism for Obama, sort of, is Peggy Noonan.

Finally, don't forget to Read The Stimulus! Somebody has to! :)

Iran Has Preconditions

When Barack Obama gave his first interview to Al-Arabia television he extended his open hand of reconciliation to the Iranians. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad slapped that hand away today.

Remember, in the YouTube debate, Obama was asked "Would you be willing to meet separately, without precondition, during the first year of your administration, in Washington or anywhere else, with the leaders of Iran, Syria, Venezuela, Cuba and North Korea?..."

"I would," he answered.

He has since qualified that slightly, changing "precondition" to "preparation" but in the Al-Arabia interview he said "Now, my job is to communicate the fact that the United States has a stake in the well-being of the Muslim world, that the language we use has to be a language of respect. I have Muslim members of my family. I have lived in Muslim countries."

This Obama-as-Muslim reference was off-limits during the campaign, but apparently is okay now. But that's not what troubles me about that statement; what troubles me is that I'm wondering if he really is expressing respect for the leader of Iran or is this just poorly worded? I'm sure that's not what he meant, but really, I have no respect for Ahmadinejad and I think it's dangerous for America to pretend that we do. Offering legitimacy to a terrorist leader is a mistake.

Our differences with Ahmadinejad are not simple differences of opinion - they are deeply imbeded, fundamental issues. And the simple fact is, nothing will satisfy him or his regime, until the western world is annihilated. Period. He has no intention of "getting along" with us.

At any rate, it seems that Ahmadinejad has quite a few preconditions of his own, not the least of which is an apology from the the U.S. and that we "try to repair 60 years of crimes" against Iran. Oh, and he'd also like for us to quit supporting Israel. He wants us to "stop interfering in other people's affairs."

Meanwhile, he's going to keep working on his nukes which are expected to be completed by the end of the year.

It's all well and good to extend the hand of friendship to other nations but to expect "Imanutjob" to drop the deep seeded islamofascist hatred that he has for the western world shows a huge and dangerous naievete on the part of the president. In the first place, there is little reason for the United States to apologize to Iran, but if Iran is willing to apologize for, oh say, taking American hostages, continuing with their nuclear program, and as Ed Morrissey says: "I wouldn’t mind an apology from Iran for “death to America” and creating Hezbollah and arming Hamas and trying to wreck Iraq and starting a Middle East arms race and bombing the occasional Jewish community center and…"

Rush versus the Democrats

I am watching the Democrats v. Limbaugh feud with great mirth!

Rush Limbaugh has been a thorn in the side of liberals for a long time now, as we all know. Rush is, well, anything but a shrinking violet. Seriously, it is his JOB to be outspoken and even abrasive. But Rush is sly like a fox and anyone that underestimates him is a fool.

Obama gave Rush great power this week when he told the Republicans Friday, "You can't just listen to Rush Limbaugh and get things done." Rush's response to that comment can be found here. Not much gets under his skin. But Obama should just ignore people like Rush Limbaugh; by even bringing him to the forefront like that shows a naivete and gives Limbaugh relevance that he might not have otherwise had.

The whole thing stems from a Limbaugh comment when he said "I hope he fails!" speaking about Obama. Then you get all this distortion of the comment and wails and cries that Rush is un-American. "How DARE he want our president to fail! He hates America!" But in context, what Rush was saying was that he hopes SOCIALISM fails. In the entire context of his comment he said that he believed Obama's policies to be socialist and he hopes they fail. What he said was:

My hope, and please understand me when I say this. I disagree fervently with the people on our side of the aisle who have caved and who say, 'Well I hope he succeeds. We've got to give him a chance.' Why? They didn't give Bush a chance in 2000. Before he was inaugurated the search-and-destroy mission had begun. I'm not talking about search-and-destroy, but I've been listening to Barack Obama for a year-and-a-half. I know what his policies are. I know what his politics are. I know what his plans are, as he has stated them. I don't want them to succeed.

If I wanted Obama to succeed, I'd be happy the Republicans have laid down. And I would be encouraging Republicans to lay down and support him. Look, what he's talking about is the absorption of as much of the private secor by the US government as possible, from the banking business, to the mortgage industry, the automobile business, to health care. I do not want the government in charge of all these things. I don't want this to work. So I'm thinking of replying to the guy, 'Okay, I'll send you a response, but I don't need 400 words, I need four. 'I hope he fails.'"

So now The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has launched a petition where you can tell Rush just how you feel about his nasty comments. And Rush, on his website tonight, has asked that you send love and support to him through this petition (and you will quickly note that it is the SAME petition - clever fellow!)

As Rush points out, Republicans are a dying breed in Congress and it has become more clear than ever that Republicans and conservatives no longer seem to be the same thing.

At any rate, I'm sure Rush is getting a nice ratings boost over this kerfuffle and having a good laugh and a cigar over it all.

Winter Weather!?

It was 73 degrees today and now is dipping close to 31 tonight. Our local news media is having a heydey in anticipation of an ice storm. Granted, there IS some ice in Arkansas which is in the "viewing area" and it "might" dip down almost to our area, but seriously - do we really have to dedicate the first fifteen minutes of the newscast to how to drive in icy conditions?

The local anchorettes are all standing along the interstate talking about "steering into the skid" while semis zoom along happily behind them. Then we cut to a story about sand trucks loading up. The only thing that was missing was the shots of crazed grocery store patrons stocking up on supplies (because there will be ICE on the roads for about an hour. Maybe.)

Oh, I know, I'll have mud in my eye if ice actually shows up tomorrow. But I'm not holding my breath worrying about that! And after all, the sand trucks are ready.

On the Reading Table

I just ordered two additions to my nightstand reading, as if the eight other books sitting there might eventually run low or something. I'm almost to page 100 of Team of Rivals (which is very good, by the way.)

The first is Inside Gitmo: The True Story Behind the Myths of Guantanamo Bay by Gordon Cucullu. The author is a retired Army Lt. Col. who went to the camp and interviewed everyone from nurses and cooks to guards and interrogators. Cucullu seems to have concluded that things were in fact bad in the beginning but have long since been corrected and that Gitmo is now one of the most human prisons anywhere.

And longtime Yankee fan that I am, I've ordered Joe Torre's book, The Yankee Years. I've always liked Joe and I think it'll be an interesting read. Did you know that his doctors told Steinbrenner about Joe's cancer before they told HIM? Crazy. The power of the pinstripes.

I also ordered John Grisham's The Associate because I need something light every now and then! I usually save him for the summer, and at the rate I'm going, it will be summer before I get to it!

Pork in the Stimulus

At the risk of sounding repetitive, or re-blogging myself, I want to encourage you to go Read The Stimulus! No matter what side of the aisle you are on, you owe it to yourself (and your kids, and your grandkids) to know what is in this behemoth, all 1,588 pages of it. Nothing is final yet which is another reason to read up on what is working in Washington. No, I haven't made it through 1,588 pages either, but I'm dogging through parts of it.

It is bad enough that Nancy Pelosi thinks that birth control can stimulate the economy. But this bill is so filled with pork, with massive spending, with things that will NOT stimulate the economy that one has to believe that Washington is counting on the fact that the public will not read the document or contact anyone that can do anything to stop it.

I'm sick to death of bailouts. And, as I've said before, I am certainly no economist, but someone please tell me how planting grass is going to stimulate the economy? And why in the HELL should we be giving more money to ACORN, who is already under federal investigation, and other non-profit "neighborhood stabilization"entities?

Here are a few questionable items rounded up by the San Francisco Chronicle:

$44 million for repairs at the Agriculture Department headquarters in Washington.

$200 million to rehabilitate the National Mall.

$360 million for new child care centers at military bases.

$1.8 billion to repair National Park Service facilities.

$276 million to update technology at the State Department.

$500 million for the Transportation Security Administration to install bomb detectors at airports.

$600 million for General Services Administration to replace older vehicles with alternative fuel vehicles.

$2.5 billion to upgrade low-income housing.

$400 million for NASA scientists to conduct climate change research.

$426 million to construct facilities at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

$800 million to clean up Superfund sites.

$150 million for the Coast Guard to repair or remove bridges deemed a hazard to navigation.

$6.7 billion to renovate and improve energy efficiency at federal buildings.

$400 million to replace the Social Security Administration's 30-year-old National Computer Center.

Again, I know that this bill will morph and change as it goes through the process, but there is a LOT of change it needs to do. The problem with this thing is that so much of this spending is not going to revive the economy. It's just not. The main thing economists believe would revive the economy would be tax cuts and there are precious few of those. The Read the Stimulus site (linked above) is great and has easy and helpful links to specific portions and discussions. Take a look. It's YOUR money.

Read the Stimulus

There was a lot of discussion this morning on the progress of the stimulus plan. On Face The Nation, VP Joe Biden said that "important progress" is being made and that there have already been many compromises made between Democrats and Republicans.

Meanwhile, John McCain says that there need to be "major rewrites" done on the stimulus before he will vote for it. He told Chris Wallace on Fox News Sunday this morning, "As it stands now, I would not support it." Contrary to what Biden says, McCain says that as far as he can tell, no Republican proposal has been incorporated into the bill.

Nancy Pelosi spoke to George Stephanopoulos and in response to his question regarding incorporating Republican ideas into the bill, she said, "Well, we will take some. We will judge them by their ability to create jobs, to -- to help turn the economy around, to stabilize the economy, and to see how much they cost. But we’re open to them, and we’ll review them, and it all has to be done right away because our bill has to come to the floor this week."

She also said with regard to increased welfare and unemployment insurance issues, "Food stamps, unemployment insurance, some of the initiatives you just mentioned, what the economists have told us, from right to left, there is more bang for the buck, is the term they use, by investing in food stamps and in unemployment insurance than in any tax cuts."

I'm not an economist by any means, but I don't actually agree with that statement. It's been proven and well documented that tax cuts do far more to stimulate a depressed economy than extension and enhanced social programs which don't do anything to actually move the economy forward.

At any rate, disagreement on this bill is certainly expected and in the end I hope both sides put aside partisan BS for the good of the country.

If you want to look at the stimulus yourself, there is a place you can to that here, and add your comments or suggestions. Get involved!

A New Look

Woot! Check out the new layout! I'm loving it!

The genius is Marina Simmons of Penny Lane Designs and she's terrific. I'm so NOT creative and she was able to pull exactly what I wanted out of my knotted little brain. And then she sent me two designs to choose from just to be sure she had what I wanted.

Check out her work on her blog (linked above). I wish I knew how to do stuff like she does, but since I don't, I'm glad Marina does!

Class Act

This just brings tears to my eyes! What a TOTAL class act these girls are!

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

The First Twenty-Four Hours

It's been about 24 hours since BHO has had the reins of power in his grasp and while one day does not an administration make, I'm wondering if the first 24 hours gives us a clue to the direction in which we are headed.

One of his first acts was issue an executive order reversing the Bush administration policy that bans the use of federal dollars by non-govermental organizations that discuss or provide abortions outside of the United States. Despite campaigning on a hope to reduce abortions, we are now funding overseas abortions.

As promised, Obama signed the empty-order to close Gitmo. I say empty because he doesn't yet know what to do with the detainees. The order also vows to figure out what to do with them. Of the ones still there, 60 have already been cleared for release but because they are in danger of persecution or torture from their home countries, they have no place to go. There are other dangerous prisoners there who can not be tried in regular federal American courts for obvious reasons - they aren't American citizens, for one; they've not been given Miranda rights because they are enemy combatants captured in the field of battle, and the only other option is a military tribunal.

You can not hold these guys in regular prisons on United States soil. This endangers the very communities they desired to attack. The military bases that have been suggested as viable options are no good either - military training is going on there, or the bases are part of the community and this would endanger them. Nobody wants them, exept maybe Jack Murtha who actually just wants the pork-benefit of beefing up his own minimum security prison system.

You also have the additonal problem of the martyr. Several of the detainees do not want a halt to their proceedings because they WANT to be sentenced to death and thereby made martyrs. Do you help 'em out, or not?

In short, there are no good options here and the promise to close Gitmo places "hope" before reality and no real clear path to get there. I'm not trying to be a "wet blanket" - it's all well and good to raise our moral standing in the world and to have everyone like us again, but I'd place safety over that any day and I'm not getting the connection just yet.

Ah well, Gitmo aside, Mr. Obama did find time to call a foreign head of state which was to the leader of Fatah, who has terrorist background and terrorist units reporting to him, such as the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade. THEN he called President Mubarak of Egypt, Ehud Olmert, the Israeli Prime Minister, and King Abdullah of Jordan. Symbolism is very important, though, and it seems the first call should have been to our ally in Israel. But maybe I'm being trivial.

And also today we read that Obama may order a hold on a proposal issued in the final days of the Bush administration to expand offshore drilling in previously banned areas. Obama is on the record against offshore drilling and has said that drilling is not the answer. We'll have to wait and see what decision he ultimately comes to on this, but not tapping into our own natural resources does not seem to be the answer to decreasing our dependance on foreign oil. The alternatives of "harnessing the winds" and the sun to provide energy seem a bit far down the road.

Meanwhile, to add a bit of absurdity to the mix, how about Larry King telling Bob Woodward: "My younger son Cannon, he is eight. And he now says that he would like to be black. I'm not kidding. He said there's a lot of advantages. Black is in. Is this a turning of the tide?"

Again, the first 24 hours does not an administration make, and in fact, Obama is holding true to the promises he made to his supporters. As conservatives, he told us as well that this is what he wanted to do and this is why we didn't support him. There are still four years of territory ahead and maybe there will be middle ground for us all. Enthusiasm and hope and global world warm fuzzy love is all well and good, but there are other things to consider such as national security.

And of course, if you think I'm being trival, you can check out HuffPo's piece about Obama breaking the Bush (and Reagan) rule of wearing a jacket in the Oval office. Respect for the office and all that.

Everybody take a deep breath. And calm down.

AKC 2008 Favorite Dogs

The AKC has released its Top Ten list of most popular dogs:

1.Labrador Retriever
2. Yorkshire Terrier
3. German Shepherd
4. Golden Retriever
5. Beagle
6. Boxer
7. Dachshund
8. Bulldog
9. Poodle
10. Shih Tzu

My grandpuppy, Bailey, (above) is ranked number two,
but obviously they did not see Checkers, my Boston Terrier, because they left her off the list. She's number one for me though! :)

They also didn't have Steve's dog, Abby, who IS a German Shepherd but she is a WHITE German Shepherd and the AKC does not recognize them. Idgits.