And you thought YOU were cranky?

2009-12-09T12:22:00.003-05:00

REALLY? HE'S GOING TO VIOLATE THE CONSTITUTION AGAIN - Isn't that an impeachable offense?!

Our president, Captain Moonbeam, is actually planning to accept the Noble Peace Prize - an award to which he is hardly entitled and an award, the acceptance of which is specifically interdicted by our Constitution. But hey, why deal in trivialities like the Constitution when you're the savior of the free world? Right? Yeah, well, not so much.

Article I, Section 9, of the Constitution, the emolument clause, clearly stipulates: "And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince or foreign State."
An opinion of the U.S. attorney general advised, in 1902, that "a simple remembrance," even "if merely a photograph, falls under the inclusion of 'any present of any kind whatever.' " President Clinton's Office of Legal Counsel, in 1993, reaffirmed the 1902 opinion, and explained that the text of the clause does not limit "its application solely to foreign governments acting as sovereigns." This opinion went on to say that the emolument clause applies even when the foreign government acts through instrumentalities. Thus the Nobel Prize is an emolument, and a foreign one to boot.

Second, the president has indicated that he will give the prize money to charity, but that does not solve his legal problem. Giving that $1.4 million to a charity could give him a deduction that would reduce his income taxes by $500,000 -- not a nominal amount. Moreover, the money is not his to give away. It belongs to the United States: A federal statute provides that if the president accepts a "tangible or intangible present" for more than a minimal value from any foreign government, the gift "shall become the property of the United States."

So he's accepting an award from a foreign government (i) to which he is not entitled, (ii) the acceptance of which is clearly unconstitutional and (iii) monies which he is accepting and then donating to charity - monies that are not his to give away since they belong to the U.S. Treasury!

Didn't our president advertise himself as a "constitutional lawyer" during the campaign. Surely he knows he is committing clearly impeachable offenses here. Or does he even care?

2009-12-09T10:01:00.002-05:00

BATSHIT CRAZY - PART TROIS!

Ahmadinejad - the utterly demented, babbling idiot who is the president of Iran, made the following comments recently (see post below):

“We have documented proof that they believe that a descendant of the prophet of Islam will raise in these parts and he will dry the roots of all injustice in the world,” Ahmadinejad said during a speech on Monday, according to Al Arabiya."

First, you moronic piece of camel excrement, let's see your documented proof. Secondly, what he calls "injustice" is actually the result of poor governance, complete lack of work ethic and a desire to have handed to you all that others have produced with their hard work and dedication.

I'm truly surprised that when we see this poor excuse for a human speaking, his eyes aren't spinning counterclockwise. He's just that crazy! And possibly with nuclear weapons at his disposal. Now THAT is truly batshit crazy!

2009-12-08T16:11:00.002-05:00

BATSHIT CRAZY - PART DEUX

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad claims the United States is attempting to thwart the return of mankind's savior, according to reports from Al Arabiya, a television news station based in Dubai.

Ahmadinejad reportedly claims he has documented evidence that the U.S. is blocking the return of Mahdi, the Imam believed by Muslims to be the savior.

“We have documented proof that they believe that a descendant of the prophet of Islam will raise in these parts and he will dry the roots of all injustice in the world,” Ahmadinejad said during a speech on Monday, according to Al Arabiya.

"They have devised all these plans to prevent the coming of the Hidden Imam because they know that the Iranian nation is the one that will prepare the grounds for his coming and will be the supporters of his rule," Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying.

Mind you there have been reports over the past few years that Ahmadinejad believes himself to be the Hidden Imam so he isn't even making any sense. Either he's already here (in a manner of speaking) or he isn't. Just more proof that this man is a psychotic, loopy-dee-loop nutbar! With his finger on a possible nuclear trigger! If you aren't scared, you should be.

2009-12-07T16:04:00.003-05:00

THE OLYMPICS HAPPEN IN FEBRUARY 2010 IN VANCOUVER!

So here's the deal. I made my first predictions several months ago and, at the time, thought I was waltzing way out on a very shaky limb. Now I think I've pretty much figured it out!
Figure Skating:
Women's Singles: Yu Na Kim, South Korea (also in the mix, Rachael Flatt and Alissa Czizny of the U.S.)
Men's Singles: Yvgeni Plushenko, Russia (Nobunari Oda of Japan and Evan Lysacek of the U.S. also on the podium)
Ice Dancing: United States (either Belbin and Agosto or White and Davis), Canada (Moir and Virtue) or Russia. This is way too close to call!
Pairs: Xue Shen and Hongbo Zhao of China - in a sprint away from the others, with Pang and Tong of China and Szalkowy and Savchenko of Germany also figuring in the mix.

Hold me to these predictions kids. Barring injuries, I very much believe that these are about as accurate as any handicapping coming out of Vegas!

2009-12-07T10:19:00.008-05:00

GRAND PRIX FINAL - JAPAN

True to my predictions, Xue Shen and Hongbo Zhao won the pairs final at the Grand Prix competition in Japan over the weekend. They are platinum in a field of lead! They command the ice with joy and passion in a way that no other contemporaneous skaters are able to do! In short, they are mind-boggling and remarkable in every way. Total champions of the heart and the technique which is impeccable. Even the current world champions from Germany were pale by comparison and they are magnificent skaters themselves! I'm not all that impressed with the other Chinese pairs teams as they strike me as still being somewhat sloppy in their presentation - but Shen and Zhao are brilliant by anyone's measure.

In the ladies free, Yu Na Kim halted her brief and totally expectable slide from perfection at 2 performances and won the final handily. All she did with those 2 losses is prove she is human! Evan Lysacek skated extremely well to win the Men's title while Charlie White and Meryl Davis gave the United States an unprecedented win in Ice Dancing. Johnny Weir skated well in the men's final. I will withhold my rants until after I'm done with Mr. Lysacek.

Okay, Evan, what's with the freaking five o'clock shadow and the greasy hair? I realize you need to show that you're using your upper body in the step sequences, but is the endless arm waving and flapping really necessary? You look ridiculous. That asinine snake on your costume isn't well taken either.

Now on to Mr. Weir. He is frail - both emotionally and intellectually. Having barely managed to win third place in the final, he was predicting that he will beat Mr. Lysacek (who won the competition) at the U.S. Nationals - in other words he expects (or says he does) to defeat the reigning World Champion and the reigning Grand Prix champion in just 8 weeks' time. Mr. Weir, it's called Mens skating - you are a boy and an immature one at that. You are so busy taking yourself oh-so seriously and paying assiduous attention to your sequins and feathers and other fripperies that you cannot even begin to realize that Evan Lysacek is a MAN and a powerful one at that on the ice. Don't kid yourself. You aren't up to defeating either Evan Lysacek or Yvgeni Plushenko in a direct competition which is what the Olympics will be. So quit running your mouth. You've finally managed to skate two relatively clean programs for the first time in 18 months and now you think you're ready to defeat the world? Talk about hubris! And get a haircut instead of going out on the ice with that scrambled and untidy mop on top of your head!

I must give a kudo to the ice dancers and the other women skaters who had clean skate laces and roots that matched their ends this time! It's about time that they started showing respect for themselves as world class athletes and for their sport and the occasion!

2009-12-04T15:18:00.003-05:00

THE WHITE HOUSE PARTY
CRASHER SCANDAL CONTINUES TO RAGE!

The matter of the Salahis insinuating themselves onto the White House grounds for the State Dinner being given by President and Mrs. Obama for the Prime Minister of India continues to exercise Congress - as it should. I don't like our current White House occupant but I for damned sure don't want anything untoward to happen to him either! Nor do I want his wife and daughters to be endangered in any way by the bad behavior or carelessness of others. Despite the Salahis breezy assertion that they've already talked to the Secret Service, the brass balls required to tell the U.S. Congress to go take a hike is exactly the same kind of brass balls needed to crash a White House State Dinner.

The latest fusillade of childish rhetoric has been (naturally) participated in by Robert Gibbs, the unbearably smug little twerp who is serving as White House Press Secretary and April Ryan of American Urban Radio, in which Gibbs essentially compared Ryan to a petulant child. Ryan said that Desiree Rogers had overstepped the traditional role of her title at the event to become the "belle of the ball," thus "overshadowing the first lady." Frustrated by Ryan's tabloid-y line of questioning, Gibbs instructed her to "calm down" and to take a deep breath," adding "I do this with my son and that's what happens." The smarmy and offensively condescending Gibbs is displaying none of the tact and patience exhibited by predecessors - although it must be said that the White House Press Corps is an unruly bunch, seldom amenable to being kept "on message" much as the White House would like them to do so.

It is my belief that the Obama White House, like the Clinton White House, is staffed with childish and immature people who see only their own self-aggrandizement and have no thought for their responsibilities to the president, his family and the nation that pays their salaries! It is my further belief that Robert Gibbs is a horse's patoot! In spades!

2009-12-04T12:25:00.001-05:00

QUESTION OF THE DAY

In view of the Flight 297 situation several weeks ago, would you be willing to board an airplane that was also being boarded by a bunch of men who look like they've hit the white sale at Macy's?

Personally I would rather WALK than get on the same plane with these bozos - even one bozo - and I don't walk all that well.

What's your opinion?

2009-12-04T09:43:00.002-05:00

GRAND PRIX FINAL - PAIRS

There are pairs skaters - and then there is Xue Shen and Hongbo Zhao! This married couple has come back after being off the competitive circuit for nearly 3 years and they haven't missed a beat. They are the gold standard when it comes to pairs skating and in the short program at the Grand Prix Final in Japan - they set a new record for a pairs short program! They were so incredibly good and skated with such evident joy that I was moved to tears!

If you get a chance to watch any figure skating over the next few days - try to get a glimpse of these two luminous and brilliant skaters from China. I am betting on them to win Gold in Vancouver!

2009-12-03T09:52:00.002-05:00

THOUGHT FOR A THURSDAY

Thanks to our out-of-control lunatics in Congress, led by Madame Pelosi and Harry "The Cadaver" Reid and encouraged and abetted by Captain Czero the current occupant of the White House - our one nation, under God is in serious trouble.

So what do we do?

First, we must inundate our elected representatives (who think they are the bosses of us) with letters reminding them that 33% of the Senate and ALL of the House is up for re-election in 2010 and that they will not receive our votes should they pass into law that egregiously flawed health care reform bill currently under consideration, or should they romp further down the road to socialism - a philosophy on which this country was not founded. We need to take back OUR government and carefully think out the transformative measures required to return us to our proper philosophical pathway, completely respecting of the U.S. Constitution which the current powers that be are treating as a set of suggestions rather than settled governing law.

Second, we need to resist in every way we can, the federal incursions onto our liberty. Don't let those bozos abrogate our rights under the 1st or 2nd Amendments. Give only the most basic of information to those intrusive census takers or - better yet - just don't ever be "at home" when they come around. Continue the Tea Parties up to and including 7/4/2010. Don't stop reminding these dimwitted ignoramuses (?) that WE the people don't like what they're doing one little bit. Contribute money to the candidate seeking to defeat Harry Reid. Send money to San Fran Nan's opponent. Continue to believe, as I do, that nobody is absolutely ENTRENCHED.

There is hope, there is a remedy - if only we believe in ourselves, our nation and our fellow citizens.

2009-12-02T10:38:00.002-05:00

THE PRESIDENT'S SPEECH (WHICH ELECTRIFIED THE CADETS AT WEST POINT)!

I was under the impression that our president was an electrifying speaker. So why did his address to the nation vis-a-vis Afghanistan succeed primarily in putting the cadet corps into a coma?

I watched part of the speech and it had the same effect on me. But then again, I'm 67 years old and afflicted with sleep apnea!

What I got from his speech is that (a) it's all President Bush's fault, (b) he's only going to give General McChrystal (President Obama's handpicked general) 75% of what he requested in terms of additional troops, (c) it's all President Bush's fault, and (d) we have a definite withdrawal date (in much the same way that we had a definite close-down date for Gitmo).

My assessment of last night's speech? Blah-blah-blah! Nothing new here; more along!

2009-12-02T10:31:00.003-05:00

WE ALL KNOW WHAT CRAWLS OUT OF THE WOODWORK!

Maggots and slime and all manner of nasty pests can be found in the woodwork - particularly in the case of the Tiger Woods saga. Suddenly this intensely private man is having his personal business bruited all about the Internet and people who should know better are speculating on what happened over Thanksgiving weekend, even though the Florida State Police have already closed the case.

Here's the deal - I absolutely do not believe in unfaithfulness within a marriage. I think you take vows and that's that! You live up to those vows. Period. However, it is not my place to tell Tiger Woods how to live his life and I sure as hell don't need to have any respect for those cretinous bimbos who are suddenly stepping forward claiming to have had a "relationship" (Gadzooks I am starting to hate that word!) with the finest golfer of his generation. Maybe all they did was say "hello" to him at a business function or maybe they did do the horizontal mambo with Mr. Woods. I don't know and frankly, I don't CARE!

Sit down, go away and shut the hell up you self-promoting clowns! It should purely be a matter between Mr. Woods and his WIFE. Nobody else. Let them work out their marital situation as best they can for the sake of their two little children.

2009-12-02T09:33:00.003-05:00

DOES LITTLE CHRISSIE MATTHEWS EVER
THINK BEFORE HE SPEAKS?

My guess is "no", given the nonsense that pours out of his ignorant piehole! The latest (And could MSNBC sink any lower?) from the mouth of Matthews, when he referred to West Point as an "enemy camp" and wondered why the COMMANDER IN CHIEF of the U.S. military would go to such a place to make a speech.

Have the tingles up this tool's legs finally rendered him incapable of coherent thought? The fact that he is free to spout such foolishness is the result of the vigilance of our military who protect not only those of us who value and love our country but also idiots like Matthews who possess the IQ of a kumquat!

When, oh when, dear Lord will we be delivered from this moronic twit and his deeply stupid commentary? My sister's pit bull Zeus makes more sense! And is a great deal more likable.

2009-12-01T10:49:00.005-05:00

PARTY CRASHERS, TIGER WOODS AND ALL THAT JAZZ!

So apparently a pair of socialite wannabes managed to either crash the State Dinner last Tuesday (a rude act at the very least, possibly an actionable national security breach at the other end of the scale) or show up without an invitation in hand or anywhere in evidence. Trust me, if they had an invite, they'd have shown it by now. The President is - reportedly - absolutely furious and he has every right to be. It's seldom that I agree with President Obama but on this score he is absolutely correct to be angry. Michelle Obama is also absolutely within her right to be steaming angry as well. Her family's security and safety were at risk when a combination of stupid mistakes by various people allowed these fame whores to crash a State Dinner in honor of the president of India! Michaele and Tareq Salahi reportedly wished to be included in Bravo's "Real Housewives of D.C." program and were using this as their entree. Dear merciful heavens, have we now completely blurred the line between reality TV and reality? Whatever their motivation, their "crashing" of the State Dinner was rude, unconscionable and downright dangerous!

Tiger Woods crashed his Escalade just outside his home in Florida. I think he's being somewhat foolish in not talking to the authorities about what happened. I also think it is none of anyone's business what happened if no crime was involved. It was an accident. He was injured. That's the end of it. Let's not use this accident as an opportunity to smear one of the truly great athletes AND gentlemen of this decade with unfounded and scurrilous rumors. It's just not right.

We are too much up in other people's business these days. We need to step back, take a deep breath and mind our own more thoroughly instead of being sanctimonious inquisitors of people we don't even know. I don't give a rat's eardrum if Brad and Angelina have differing political views. I don't CARE if Jennifer Anniston is getting laid. I don't have the slightest desire to hear about what Jon and Kate Gosselin (a pair of despicable creatures both) are up to except that I hope someone is looking out for the welfare of those 8 chidlren. I don't really care one way or the other if the President is having sex with his own wife. It isn't any of MY BUSINESS. The only reason that Bill Clinton's liaison with a slightly overweight yenta the same age as his daughter was that he freaking LIED ABOUT IT TO A FEDERAL GRAND JURY. That's a whole different thing. Tiger Woods doesn't owe me an explanation, even if he was having a domestic with his wife! As long as he's okay and nobody else got injured - the hell with it.

We're a nation of people who whisper in corners - and it's demeaning to us all as a culture. Five days off work gave me time to really think about it.

(And the fact that my eyesight was unaffected by the April 2009 stroke I suffered was the best news I could have gotten from my lengthy visit to the eye doctor yesterday - seriously, 3 HOURS?)

2009-11-28T20:30:00.002-05:00

HAS EVERYONE RECOVERED FROM THEIR TURKEY-INDUCED TORPOR?

Sweet sis Linda and I are recovering from two days of merry-making. Somehow we ended up going over to Joyce's house for Thanksgiving dinner - with her entire merry crew of children, grandchildren and adopted grandchildren who are treated in no way different than the blood relations. And a good time was had by all! Then yesterday, I went over to Linda's house, toting the turkey breast we deep fat fried at Joyce's house, and we watched some really good TV movies, played with the livestock (Tim the perfidious Siamese spent a good portion of the afternoon on my lap whilst Zeus and Harley managed to snatch their portion of snuggle time - who can deny that worried pit bull face of Zeus' or Harley's neediness). Today, I relaxed a tad and tomorrow we're doing it again at my house so that Sam can get his share of snuggles from Auntie Linda.

Hope everyone is having the kind of spectacularly family-oriented holiday that we are. It is the unintended and unexpected benefit of our less than hearty financial times that families are doing more things together and spending more quality time together.

Love to you all. Have a great day on Sunday.

2009-11-25T14:32:00.003-05:00

PATRICK KENNEDY - MAYBE HE DOESN'T KNOW AS MUCH ABOUT HIS "FAITH" AS HE THINKS HE DOES!

Rep. Kennedy, a Rhode Island Democrat and son of the late U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy, was criticized by Bishop Tobin of Providence for his attacks on the Catholic bishops’ opposition to abortion funding in health care legislation. Recently, Kennedy revealed that Bishop Tobin had asked him to refrain from receiving communion because of his public contradiction of Catholic teaching. Rep. Kennedy is playing fast and loose with reality here since the good Bishop asked this of the Representative in 2007 (long before the health care debate even began) and now the whining little scion of the reprehensible Senator is trying to lecture the Catholic Church on how it is supposed to behave and believe vis-a-vis the health care debate as it pertains to abortion, which any intelligent and marginally well-educated Catholic knows is a big no-no! It's called MURDER, Rep. Kennedy. It isn't an elective belief. It's an absolute. Supporting abortion rights, however politically expedient it may seem to you, is an endangerment of your immortal soul.

Rep. Kennedy - quit trying to be a Catholic scholar. You don't have the requisite intelligence to do so. Listen to what your Bishop is telling you and act on it. Or don't receive communion. It's your choice. Just as it's my choice to pray for the health of your immortal soul.

2009-11-25T10:13:00.003-05:00

FOR THOSE WHO KNOW MY BLOG -
I TOLD YOU GLOBAL WARMING SCARE TACTICS WERE CRAP!

Suddenly, suddenly the unscientific science behind the global warming terrorism of people around the world is being exposed! Suddenly, it is clear that Albert Gore, Jr., huckster extraordinaire, was spouting bullshit when he wrote "An Inconvenient Truth" and accepted an Academy Award for the film of the same name AND a Nobel Peace Prize which was less deserved than even the one awarded President Obama!

The earth has been cooling over the past ten years. This is a normal cyclical pattern and nothing new except to those who, like Chicken Little, prefer to believe that the sky is falling. Guess what Al Gore? You're an idiot. The earnest, essentially humorless, sanctimonious hucksters such as Al Gore have made a lot - and I do mean a LOT - of money pushing this fraudulent point of view and now they are about to be exposed - maybe even prosecuted for their nonsense.

I think a better policy would be to utterly ignore them henceforth. Never listen to another word they say. That would be the MOST crushing punishment of all. Making them live with how truly insignificant they really are!

I am so happy I stocked up on incandescent light bulbs at BJ's Warehouse store!

I'm really not one to say "I told you so!" but - - - I told you so!

2009-11-24T16:13:00.003-05:00

POLITICAL CORRECTNESS HAS JUMPED THE SHARK!

The University of Minnesota is apparently ready to demand that its education graduates (future teachers of Minnesota and other locales) confess to their own bigotry in order to remove cultural bigotry from their psyches. In other words, their thought processes are under review and subject to revision by those who think they know better!

The University has program called Teacher Education Redesign. Its purpose is not as one would guess to improve the quality of teaching in Minnesota. Oh no, my friends, its purpose is to reeducate (sounds like something Mao would have thought a good idea) the minds of future teachers so that they achieve something called "cultural competence". To me it sounds like total nonsense and offensive, anti-First Amendment bullshit.

Since when is dissent something to be suppressed? Certainly when Code Pink was making an ass of itself down in Crawford, Texas - annoying the President of the United States, we were told that dissent is an essential part of our nation's mental health and welfare. How is it any different when the right is dissenting?

I would support a Teacher Education Redesign if it led to our children being taught actual history, reading, writing and how to add, subtract, multiply and divide. I would be thrilled if our children were taught how the federal government worked, so that I wouldn't have to hear pinheads say things like "President Obama passed a law that . . ." No, he did not pass a law you nitwit! Congress passes the law. President Obama only signs it or vetos it. And as it happens, I wish to never ever hear a candidate for U.S. president assert that there are 57 States! So train our teachers to teach more effectively and with less bias and I'll be happy. Mess with their minds in pursuit of some pie-in-the-sky attempt at political correctness and I'm bound and determined to kick your ass with my elderly size 11 boot!

2009-11-24T11:36:00.001-05:00

FOR THOSE UNDERGOING CHEMO

If you know any woman currently undergoing Chemo, please pass the word to her that there is a cleaning service that provides *FREE* housecleaning - 1 time per month for 4 months while she is in treatment. All she has to do is sign up and have her doctor fax a note confirming the treatment. Cleaning for a Reason will have a participating maid service in her zip code area arrange for the service. Please pass this information on to bless a woman going through Breast Cancer treatment. This organization serves the entire USA and currently has 547 partners to help these women. It's our job to pass the word and let them know that there are people out there that care. Be a blessing to someone and pass this information along.

http://www.cleaningforareason.org/index.html

2009-11-24T11:07:00.003-05:00

SO LET ME GET THIS STRAIGHT . . .

Captain Zero, our ignoble commander in chief, is going to finally, finally, finally (maybe) going to make a decision vis-a-vis the war in Afghanistan on Tuesday of next week. Meanwhile, American soldiers are dying over there, partially as a result of Zero's dithering!

What a useless piece of excrement someone voted into the Oval Office - and trust me, my vote was for John McCain. Hey - all you people who didn't vote in order to "teach the Republicans a lesson" - how's that working out for you, eh? Morons.

2009-11-23T14:58:00.003-05:00

SENATE HEALTH CARE REFORM DEBATE

It is more likely that Jon and Kate Gosselin will reunite and go off into the sunset as a happily married couple than it is that the varying personalities and constituencies of the various Senators will unite to pass any kind of meaningful health care reform bill. In other words, those of us who consider any of the bills presented so far to be disastrous will be the winners if nothing gets passed into infamy!

33% of the Senators are up for re-election in 2010. ALL of the members of the House of Representatives are up for re-election in 2010. The American public has spoken - loudly - and continues to so speak and at some point (probably after the first of the year) it is going to dawn on these clowns that - if they want to keep their jobs - they are going to have to be more thoughtful and more intelligent in their approach to reform. A good start would be tort reform. It is long overdue. That alone will cut health care costs significantly.

I cannot support anything that removes from me the opportunity to continue to consult the team of physicians who have gotten me through 3 serious health care crises during 2009. I have carefully scrutinized their bills and do not find them to be outrageous. I don't have any issues with my insurer either. So why would I want any kind of change? I'm not an idiot. What I do think is necessary is the tort reform and I am expressing that opinion based on a couple of years as a legal secretary in a personal injury defense law firm. Some of the lawsuits were just plain asinine and yet, the insurance companies had to pay to defend them. Just as one example, a woman with a sick baby case who had had gonnorrhea three times during her pregnancy and had smoked and had consumed alcohol AND drugs non-stop throughout that selfsame pregnancy. Her baby was born brain damaged and she had the effrontery to blame the doctor! Talk about brass balls! These are the kinds of baseless lawsuits that must be curtailed in order to reduce costs. People who have experienced genuine injury at the hands of careless physicians certainly should retain their right to seek redress, but people like the sick baby complainant described above - she should be incarcerated in solitary confinement for a lengthy period as her punishment for the egregious harm she deliberately and stupidly inflicted on her own child. Fair comment: I was born unable to bear children and thus have absolutely no patience with women whose ability to bear children is intact and who abuse their bodies or their offspring in some way!

2009-11-23T11:10:00.003-05:00

SKATE CANADA

The final qualifying competition for the Grand Prix final took place in Kitchener, Ontario last weekend and was - to say the least - an interesting competition. The astonishing pair of Savchenko and Szalkowy (Germany) took a huge risk after their rather mediocre season debut earlier in the Grand Prix series. The created an entirely new free program just 4 weeks ago and debuted it this weekend, serving notice that the two time and reigning world champions are a force to be reckoned with. The new program looks totally polished and technically challenging and was skated with the speed and precision for which this team is known. And gave them first place in the competition. The Chinese will be a factor in the Grand Prix final, however, and at the Vancouver Olympics.

Canada's occasionally inconsistent Joanie Rochette won the Ladies' competition but not by a lot over America's enchanting Alissa Czizny. It appears to me that Yu-Na Kim will have some solid competition at the Grand Prix Final and also at the Olympics in Vancouver.

Jeremy Abbott of the United States won the men's competition, skating with some emotional turmoil (the skiing accident death of a dear friend of his just a few days before) over Takahashi of Japan who is recovering from knee surgery and skating better than anyone could hope to expect. Of course, for all of them, there is the spectre of Plushenko at the Olympics, but he won't be at the Grand Prix final and thus, the competition is between these two and Evan Lysacek, also of the U.S. Great skating expected.

As to ice dancing, Virtue and Moir of Canada won, thus setting up some serious competitiveness for the Olympics. Belbin and Agosto, White and Davis and Virtue and Moir all will be challenging for the gold medal.

Now for the carp! The women of ice dancing have a bad habit of showing up for competitions in beautiful outfits with filthy skates. Not just the laces, although those tend to be disgracefully dirty but the skates themselves! Ladies, there's this new invention called shoe polish! Use it!

Dark roots seem to be fewer and fewer between but men with 5-o'clock shadow are my new gripe. Is the idea of a competition for which you and your families and sponsors have spent thousands of dollars preparing not sufficiently important to cause you to SHAVE? Come on! No point in looking like a bum from the neck up fellows! Scruffy is a look, but not a good look!

2009-11-19T11:42:00.003-05:00

INTENTIONAL DISCONNECT?

The headline on the Associated Press story in my local newspaper read "Hundreds Turn Out for Palin" while the article started out "More than 1,000 fans cheer former Alaska Governor in Michigan for Book Tour," and the subsequent online story read: "Thousands gathered outside a Barnes & Noble bookstore in Grand Rapids to get a signed copy of Sarah Palin's new book." So which was it AP? Did y'all fail basic math?

Is this kind of nonsense really necessary or useful? It's no wonder that the credibility of the formerly elite media is at an all time low! And to be very realistic, we need them to be vibrant and healthy and successful because they should be the watchdogs over elected officials - reporting the facts without fear or favor! Doesn't happen, kids. Doesn't happen at all. Which is why the newspaper business is dying and TV news programs have ever slimmer audience share.

You'd think they'd learn but they are so deep in thrall to the present administration as to be wholly deaf to reality!

2009-11-19T11:03:00.003-05:00

AMATEUR HOUR OR DELIBERATE FOUL-UP?

Are BHO and company deliberately throwing the KSM prosecution? That question was asked this morning during our [too lengthy] commute from Fredericksburg into the District by someone whose intelligence I very much respect.

I will grant you that the Left prefers to see the prosecution of Khalid Sheik Mohammed as a law-enforcement matter, rather than the prosecution of a person who has been part of a deliberate and violent act of war towards our country, but even so, both our President and Attorney General Eric Holder (for whom I have no admiration and no respect - fair disclosure here - nobody calls me a coward and keeps my good regard) should know that their flat-out statements yesterday and the day before could easily be seen as poisoning the potential jury pool. And that is if, in fact, it is even possible to get an unbiased jury in New York City. Suspicious minds could easily posit that this is a deliberate and coordinated effort to so poison the atmosphere at a potential trial that the murdering bastard who admitted proudly to being the mastermind behind 9/11 will get off scot-free!

I'm not usually big on conspiracy theories, but this one resonates a bit with me. Is it possible that the reason for all of the huge amounts of money spent to elect Barack Hussein Obama to the presidency and the smooth confirmation of his incompetent and hate-spewing Attorney General was all geared toward getting KSM out from under the charges and the execution by a firing squad using bullets soaked in pig's blood he so richly deserves? I'm just wondering.

2009-11-18T15:05:00.003-05:00

THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY - AN APPRECIATION!

I was fortunate enough to spend my college years in Columbus, Ohio where I majored in journalism at The Ohio State University and learned to appreciate the game of football, fraternity men, and quarterbacks! The advisor to my sorority was Anne Hayes, wife of Woody, who was an exceptional and fascinating gentleman. Forget the neanderthal reputation foisted upon him by nasty newspaper persons (most of whom probably went to that "school up north"), Woody was a true gentleman and a scholar.

Jim Tressell is now the coach of The Ohio State University football team and a better example for his young charges I cannot imagine. The Coach believes in proper behavior both on and off the field and takes the descriptive phrase scholar-athlete very seriously. Bad grades and free rides in class are not his cup of tea. He believes in preparing the young men under his tutelage for a full life after college - whether or not they manage to make it to the NFL.

I received an excellent education in my years at Ohio State - even though there were times when I seldom attended classes. They kept giving me 8 o'clock classes and I don't DO mornings! A pledge in my sorority was persuaded to attend the class in my stead with a tape recorder. With over 500 students in each class (the leading edge of the baby boom don't you know), there was nobody taking attendance. Let the record show that I managed to "ace" most of those courses because my note taking was so first-rate!

Now, once again, the school I so proudly call my alma mater has managed to secure the Big Ten Championship. This coming Saturday, they are scheduled to play "that team up north" and then they will be playing the Pac-10 champions in the Rose Bowl. And I will, again, complain that the network broadcasting the game has not shown the Marching Band doing Script Ohio. It's on YouTube folks - I recommend it.

The elites who seem to think they are our rulers, not our employees, tend to look down their narrow noses at those of us who attended local and state-run colleges. Pfui on them. I got a great education at a reasonable cost, although I'm told that it isn't as affordable now as it was when I was there and it was only $100 per quarter! That's unfortunate.

2009-11-18T09:21:00.003-05:00

THINGS/PEOPLE THAT MAKE ME HAPPY!

Last night I stopped at Sis's house to pick up some back meds (OTC) from her because we have had a lot of rain lately and more is predicted. My back is totally out and I feel like my bum is sprained! Don't you hate when that happens?

Anyway, I went running into her house (limping is more accurate actually) and she was putting a good sized portion of freshly made potato soup into a plastic container for me to take home with me! Then she sprinkled the top of the soup with gorgonzola cheese, minced up tomato and green onion. When I got home, I had a spoonful of the soup and then I dove in because it was GOOD beyond my wildest imagination. I have to hand it to her - she's a great cook!

Then this morning, as I was struggling to get dressed and ready for work, I happened to spot Sam the Wonder Cat staying out of my way in the dining room, sound asleep on his back, all 4 paws sticking straight up in the air. I had to laugh. Not a bad way to start the day! He is, after all, the clown prince of Fredericksburg, Virginia.