Ted Turner is a Leftwing Fruitcake

A few months ago, ted turner told Charlie Rose global warming could plunge humanity into cannibalism within a generation. I chalked that up to the rich old coot just being eccentric. After all, what good is having loads of money if you cannot make people wonder how you amassed a fortune when you are nuttier than squirrel poop?

Insanely wealthy people are expected to have strange notions. recall the billions he gave to the united nations year sago in some foolishly idealistic notion that undemocratic body of do nothings would save the world with it. or how he has flirted with running for president as either a Democratic or a Reform Party candidate. it is all fun and games for the idle wealthy who have no further challenges in life.

but this morning--a slow news day, one assumes--Turner appeared on Meet the Press to praise theSoviet union, the KGB, the 1979 invasion of Afghanistan, and blast the united states for its naked aggression in iraq and Afghanistan.

First, on the KGB asan honorable organization:

We have an FBI and, and, and, and, and we're not prejudiced against somebody who's worked at the FBI. It's an honorable place to work. And the KGB, I think, was an honorable place to work. And it, it gave people in the former Soviet Union, a communist country, an opportunity to do something important and worthwhile.

You mean like torturing dissidents and operating gulags? Unfortunately, turner does not cut the United states the same slack hedoes the Soviets:

TED TURNER: Well, we invaded Afghanistan, too, and it’s a lot further, at least it’s on the border of the Soviet Union, or the former Soviet Union or Russia. A lot of these countries have changed names several times.

TOM BROKAW: But, Ted, don’t try to go there in terms of justifying that. I mean, it was, the fact is that the Russians, it was a naked aggression.

TURNER: Why can’t I try and justify it?

BROKAW: Well, it was naked aggression on the part of the Russians at the time.

TURNER: Well, going into Iraq was naked aggression on the part of the United States.

No wonder ge fell for Jane Fonda. What an anti-American loon.

A New Cybermen in "The Next Doctor"

Check out this promotional photo in the December issue of Radio Times. It shows a new Cybermen design behind and to the left of Miss Harrigan:
It is something completely different than the previous first glimpse of the new Cybermen Wraith a few months ago:I am curious how they all fit in. Both photos can be enlarged for a better look.

Bobby Jindal Running for President

I figured that when he showed up in Iowa earlier this month. not exactly a hot spot for Louisiana governors to visit without White House ambitions. But today, the push for his candidacy begins with a profile in the Washington Post:

Last weekend, 18 days after Barack Obama decisively defeated their candidate for president, a mostly Republican crowd of self-described conservatives received their first introduction to someone many prominent members of the GOP think could be the party’s own version of Obama.

Like the president-elect, Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana is young (37), accomplished (a Rhodes scholar) and, as the son of Indian immigrants, someone familiar with breaking racial and cultural barriers. He came to Iowa to deliver a pair of speeches, and his mere presence ignited talk that the 2012 presidential campaign has begun here, if coyly. Already, a fierce fight is looming between him and other Republicans — former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, who arrived in Iowa a couple of days before him, and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who is said to be coming at some point — for the hearts of social conservatives.

So what do the social conservatives see in Jindal:

The record is still evolving, like the rest of him. But social conservatives like what they have heard about the public and private Jindal: his steadfast opposition to abortion without exceptions; his disapproval of embryonic stem cell research; his and his wife Supriya's decision in 1997 to enter into a Louisiana covenant marriage that prohibits no-fault divorce in the state; and his decision in June to sign into law the Louisiana Science Education Act, a bill heartily supported by creationists that permits public school teachers to educate students about both the theory of "scientific design" and criticisms of Darwinian evolutionary concepts.

He is Sarah Palin with a Rhodes scholarship. Is that enough, or is it too early to tell? Probably the latter.

Samantha Power Heads State Department Transition

Hopefully just the transition. Samantha Power is a teeny bit of a loony, peacenik hippie. Where is Eric Cartman when you really need him?

You may recall she was forced to resign from Barack Obama's presidential campaign after she referred to Hillary Clinton as a monster. she is now going to be working with Hillary Clinton at the State Department. I do adore irony.

But I said I hope she has influence only in the transition. Power is a member of the shrill left who has long since been embarrassed by US foreign policy and particularly military action. witness statements made while promoting her book in 2002:

...and your kids will ask you, "what did you do to meet those challenges?" I hope you can claim prouder ancestry than we can.

Or her anti-military commencement speech at UC Santa Cruz in 2006:

...none of my yammering was making the US government even a tad more willing to act morally abroad. We had invaded Iraq, which was falling to bits; our soldiers and guards had been revealed to be torturing detainees and, despite the pattern of abuse, only minor "bad apples" were being punished.

The big problem is Power's duties as transition head at State are to ensure that senior appointees have the information necessary to complete the confirmation process, lead their departments, and begin implementing signature policy initiatives immediately after they are sworn in.

In other words, Power is to make certain foreign service appointees have the "correct" opinions in order to "heal" America's image around the world. These opinions involve blaming the United States for every instance of oppression since the Stone Age and branding the US military as a roving bunch of thugs randomly torturing and killing any any swarthy foreigners that happen to get in their way.

Power will bring the sheltered, ivory tower of academic ideas to the executive branch. Change we can believe in, no?

Blast from the Past

I am a history buff as well as an admirer of the female form in the buff. What do you say I combine the two and post a photo of Elizabeth Taylor getting a massage as the queen of the Nile in the classic Cleopatra?

Interesting fact: Cleopatra's 4 44 million budget in 1963 translates to $ 270 million in today's dollars, making it one of the most expensive movies ever. It may still be the most expensive, but with the creative accounting of production companies these days, it is difficult to tell. Spider-Man III, for instancecost more than $ 250 million, but no one has ever pinned down exactly how much more.

But the reality is Cleopatra did not recover its enormous production cost until the fledgling television network ABC forked over millions for the rights to two prime time airings in 1968. Cleopatra and Bewitched were the only ratings hits ABC could muster at the time.

Gunfight a Toys "R" Us

In deep blue, mega enlightened California, no less:

Authorities released few details about the mayhem that broke out at the Toys "R" Us store around 11:30 a.m. Friday, sending scared shoppers fleeing. . . .

The victims were identified as Alejandro Moreno, 39, of Desert Hot Springs, and Juan Meza, 28, of Cathedral City. No one else was hurt.

Witnesses Scott and Joan Barrick said they were checking out of the store when the brawl began between two women, each with a man. . . .

One woman suddenly started punching the other woman, who fought back as blood flowed from her nose, said Scott Barrick, 41. The man who was with the woman being punched pulled a gun halfway out of his pocket, then shoved it back in, he said. . . .

The other man pulled a gun and pointed it at the first man but forgot to cock it, Scott Barrick said. The first man tried to run but was blocked by the line of people, then ran back toward the store's electronics section as the other man fired his gun, he said. The first man reached a dead-end in electronics, turned around and ran toward an exit, pulling his gun and firing back, Scott Barrick said.

When shopping these days, it is BYOK (Bring Your Own Kevlar.)

A Barack Obama Coloring & Activity Book

Just in time for Christmas. You kids will...hate it, probably.

Britney Spears Channels Madonna

The two of them performed a duet a couple weeks ago at a Madonna concert, but not Britney spears is sporting the same sort of hot pants dominatrix ensemble as Madonna during performances in Germany and France over the last couple nights. The transformation into becoming a BDSm gay icon is nearly complete. Why Spears aspires to this is anyone's guess. Why i am tempting fate with strange Google searches with the terms in the preceding sentence is also anyone's guess.Spears does have at least one nice asset, though, no?

Caturday

Since you are all probably still eating the bird from Thursday.

The Bush Legacy: Liberator of 50 Million People

Such is the way Bush would like history to remember him:

"I’d like to be a president (known) as somebody who liberated 50 million people and helped achieve peace; that focused on individuals rather than process; that rallied people to serve their neighbor."

Will it happen? unless the Middle East is magically transformed over the next couple decades thanks to intervention in Afghanistan and Iraq, I doubt it.

Unlike FDR and to an extent Eisenhower 9who was elected based on his heroic reputation as a liberator), bush did not have a clearly evil enemy like the Nazis. roosevelt has his detractors, too, and there are those who have claimed eisenhower took too much credit for winning in Europe.

if i had to guess, Bush will be remembered more like Teddy Roosevelt instead--a president who fought largely now forgotten wars in the Philippines and Latin America. Perhaps not a terrible legacy, but certainly not one as largely hailed as Bush would like his to be.

Interesting that John McCain wanted to pattern his presidency after Teddy Roosevelt.

The Whole Country Gets Rickrolled

Royalty checks make Rick Astley a good sport.

Wal-Mart Employees Trampled by Frantic Shoppers

Nothing honors the birth of Jesus and crass commercialism like killing the temporary help in a rush to get a Wall*E DVD:

A worker died after being trampled and a woman miscarried when hundreds of shoppers smashed through the doors of a Long Island Wal-Mart Friday morning, witnesses said.

The unidentified worker, employed as an overnight stock clerk, tried to hold back the unruly crowds just after the Valley Stream store opened at 5 a.m.

Witnesses said the surging throngs of shoppers knocked the man down. He fell and was stepped on. As he gasped for air, shoppers ran over and around him.

"He was bum-rushed by 200 people," said Jimmy Overby, 43, a co-worker. "They took the doors off the hinges. He was trampled and killed in front of me. They took me down too...I literally had to fight people off my back."

This is why we shop online in the 21st century.

Barack Obama: "I Am the Change"

Are you an idealistic liberal who voted for Barack Obama after a light shown down granting you an epiphany that you had to help him roll back the ocean tides and heal the world? Are you upset he has chosen hawkish foreign policy advisers and plutocrats for his economic team? do wonder wither the hope and change? well, fret not. The one true Obama has the answer you seek:

President-elect Barack Obama essentially said Wednesday that he is the change, striving to assure Americans that he'll shake up Washington despite filling his administration with old hands from the Clinton administration and the capital's corridors of power.

"Understand where the vision for change comes from, first and foremost," Obama said. "It comes from me. That's my job, is to provide a vision in terms of where we are going, and to make sure, then, that my team is implementing."

Reminds me way too much of, "I am the state." But what did I expect from a Marxist sympathizing liberal at heart? He is an egotist, to boot. Or is this that nuance concept I keep hearing so much about?

Alyssa Milano as a Harem Girl

Perhaps it is a day late to declare I am thankful for half naked Alyssa Milano, but I am.

The Land of Plenty

Hope your Thanksgiving did not end up like this:

Things That Sound Dirty Except on Thanksgiving

* Talk about a huge breast!
* Tying the legs together keeps the inside moist.
* It's Cool Whip time!
* If I don't undo my pants, I'll burst!
* Whew, that's one terrific spread!
* I'm in the mood for a little dark meat.
* Are you ready for seconds yet?
* It's a little dry. Do you still want to eat it?
* Just wait your turn. You'll get some!
* Don't play with your meat.
* Just spread the legs open and stuff it in.
* Do you think you'll be able to handle all these people at once?
* I didn't expect everyone to come at once!
* You still have a little bit on your chin.
* How long will it take after you stick it in?
* You'll know it's ready when it pops up.
* Wow, I didn't think I could handle all of that!
* That's the biggest one I've ever seen!
* How long do I beat it before it's ready?

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hopefully, there will not be any unpleasant surprises.

Some Doctor Who Rumors & Developments

The above photo is a new promotional release for the Doctor Who Christmas special, “The Next Doctor.” The photo depicts the Doctor showing a pocket watch to the other doctor, played by David Morrisey. The watch, combined with the mystery behind who this Other Doctor is, has lead to speculation the other Doctor may not be just another Time Lord but a future incarnation of the doctor himself, perhaps even the Eleventh Doctor.

I have doubts for two reasons. One, the BBC keeps its future plans tightly under wraps. They even go so far as to deliberately lie in order to keep spoilers secret. If that photo obviously spelled out who the Eleventh Doctor is, it would never have been released. Second, Morrisey has expressed fears of being typecast. He does not want the regular role of playing the Doctor. So I have to assume all is not what it appears to be.

While I am on the subject, there is a lot more rumblings about Paterson Joseph taking over the role. It is debatable how much stock one should put into it because the main motivation I have heard is that Barack Obama’s election as the first black US president may spur the BBC to selecting a black Doctor. Could Obamamania be enough to influence a decision like that across the pond? It could be interesting if done right. I recall several cases during Freema Agyeman’s run as Martha Jones where her ethnicity had to be addressed in Earth’s past, like when she was forced to be a maid in 1913 and patronized brutally. It would be interesting to see the Doctor deal with prejudice against himself.

Another rumble I hear is the prospect of a clean slight for Steven Moffat before the fifth season begins. It has been speculated that Torchwood will have a fourth season and The Sarah Jane Adventures will have a third before Doctor Who starts up again, but it will be the final seasons for both. It makes sense to end the Russell T. Davies era completely and I suppose Moffat will never use Torchwood or Sarah Jane again. Too bad, though. I was fond of Torchwood. Bear in mind it is just rumor right now. Both may be renewed at some point, but for right now, it looks like the plan isto give the Doctor a clean break.

Mark Sanford Tries to Stay Relevant, Fails

Our illustrious Gov. Mark Sanford, who makes the rounds of whatever talk shows will have him in order to make an incompetent ass of himself, is at it again. Sanford appeared on Hannity & Colmes and was asked by the departing mouthpiece for the DNC, Alan Colmes, whether he believed Gov. Sarah Palin would be a future leader of the Republican Party. Sanford burst out laughing at the idea, then straightened up and said sure, she will be there:As a South Carolinian, let me assure you palin did more to inspire voters to vote for John McCain than did this boob who could not even differentiate McCain's policies from Bush's in an infamous interview with CNN's Wolf blitzer a few months ago.

Sanford believes he has a shot in 2012 even though he is coy about his future plans. To that end, he was elected chairman of Republican Governor's Association, a move which many believe is a step in the wrong direction for many reasons.

Indeed, Sanford has missed his window even if he ever had a shot to begin with. His second and final term as governor is up in 2010, which gives little to no chance to make a name for himself nationally. Whatever shot he had would have been in the 2008 election, not 2012. given his relative obscurity compared to Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee, and yes, Sarah Palin, Sanford is deluding himself in thinking he will wind up as anything more than the last the last Republican governor of south Carolina with presidential ambitions, David Beasely.

Remember him? No one else does, either.

Jessica Simpson Has a Blonde Moment

I know--big surprise, right? Jessica Simpson recently visited Niketown on a shopping spree. Niketown is, of course, one of those stores that explains to you in its name what brand of item they sell. Did Simpson get the message? Of course not:

"Jessica asked the sales associate helping her where the Adidas sweat pants were," a witness says. Probably at the Adidas store! "The guy thought she was joking," adds the witness. Nope - the singer just didn't realize that Niketown sells only Nike apparel. Oops!"

in fairness, I am going to chalk the mistake up to Simpson's overwhelming concern her new nephew, Bronx Mowgl, and how many times he is going to get beat up in school.

Honestly--Mowgl? Reminds me of a Mogwai:Yes, the poor kid is going to get beat up a lot.

Britney Spears' Life is a Circus

Britney Spears is the latest cover girl for Rolling Stone. The feature article details her expected comeback, starting with the release of her latest album set to drop December 2nd, which is also her 27th birthday. The article is pretty much a fluff piece that that never bothers to analyze the question of why, if spears is on the rise, is she also so expressly unhappy?

She has had a devastating divorce, a mental/emotional l breakdown, her children have been taken away from her, and so has her control over her assets, all incidents which were high profile, public events involving any numbers of leeches trying to cash in. by leeches, I mean everyone from her parents to Dr. Phil to sleazy freelance photographers hoping for a clear shot at her potential suicide attempt. Hope can she not help but think it is her against the world?

Better yet—how can Rolling Stone think debuting at number one on Billboard should make up for it?

In the interview, Spears says she feels old before her time. Her life has no zest. It sounds like a cry for help to me, but the emphasis remains on the album’s promotion. Interesting that it is titled Circus, considering what her life has become. It certainly does not strike me she is into the whole pop star diva bit any longer. There is a sense she would like the album to fail so she can slink back to Louisiana and fade back into obascurity. The leeches can someone else to exploit.

Perspective on the Bailouts

So far, the bailouts are going to cost American taxpayers $ 4.6 trillion dollars. to put that number in perspective, here are the dollar amounts involved in a few other past expenditures:

Marshall Plan:
Cost: $12.7 billion,
Inflation Adjusted Cost: $115.3 billion

Louisiana Purchase:
Cost: $15 million,
Inflation Adjusted Cost: $217 billion

Race to the Moon:
Cost: $36.4 billion,
Inflation Adjusted Cost: $237 billion

S&L Crisis:
Cost: $153 billion,
Inflation Adjusted Cost: $256 billion

Korean War:
Cost: $54 billion,
Inflation Adjusted Cost: $454 billion

The New Deal:
Cost: $32 billion (Est),
Inflation Adjusted Cost: $500 billion (Est)

Invasion of Iraq:
Cost: $551 billion,
Inflation Adjusted Cost: $597 billion

Vietnam War:
Cost: $111 billion,
Inflation Adjusted Cost: $698 billion

NASA:
Cost: $416.7 billion,
Inflation Adjusted Cost: $851.2 billion

Yep--$ 4.6 trillion is a lot of money.

Battlestar Galactica: Final Ten Episode Trailer

"Children never truly thrive until their parents are dead." so who are the parents, the humans or the Cylons?

Critiquing Obama's Five Point Economic Recovery Plan

President-Elect Barack Obama spelled out five major points in his economic recovery plan in his weekly address. I have been rolling them around since Sunday, but I cannot find any reason to think he has not just announced a socialist agenda. Take a look at the five points and my thoughts on them below.

1. Congress must put more tax money into the economy.--No, private citizens need to spend that money. They need to buy tee shirts and toasters and ice vanilla ice cream cones and cars and boats and bicycles and video games. I agree there is no fundamental difference between the government spending money or a private citizen spending it—it is the same amount either way—but the principle of the private citizen consuming as he pleases is in tune with capitalist economics and, therefore, the American way of doing things.

2. The government must put 2 million people to work.--Is this his citizen defense force under a less sinister sounding description? Or forced service for young people, which Obama moved off his web page before serious protests started to rumble. Either way, it reeks of a Five year plan and not something we need to be doing. Obama wants to put people to work rebuilding our infrastructure: roads, bridges, etc. Those are the responsibility of the states, not the federal government to begin with.

Obama needs to encourage the private sector to create jobs by lowering taxes and easing up on the capital gains tax to to promote business growth, new hiring, and investment. The government needs to stay out of it as much aspossible, which means completely, as far as I am concerned.

3. Create a "green" energy economy with $150 billion.--Here is Obama covertly announcing his plan to bankrupt the coal industry. West Virginia got the message and went for John McCain. Pennsylvania did not pay attention and will regret it.

I am all for searching out alternative energy sources, but I do not see why we have to destroy the current energy industry during the research and development period. We should build nuclear power plants, but we ought to maintain the coal industry and drill for terror free oil off our own shores at the same time.

4. Create a Social Healthcare program.--Socialized medicine has been the liberal dream for decades in spite of the ridiculously high costs and sub par care that occurs everywhere socialized medicine has been implemented. Never mind the Constitution does not guarantee citizens health care.

In spite of dire rhetoric to the contrary, health insurance is not all that expensive and there are programs to help those who cannot afford insurance get medical treatment. It may not be perfect, but it is better than the disaster of the Canadian or British health care systems and a heck of a lot cheaper. I want my doctors rich and happy, not some poor shlub from the University of Grenada working on the governments dime. For that, you have to pay for your own health care.

5. Giving any child who wants it an education--Sorry, but not every kid needs to go to college just because he wants to. If a kid cannot hack it, he is going to have to become a working class type. There is nothing wrong with that, but there is something wrong with letting the unqualified reach heights they do not deserve to reach.

Ali Larter Has Nice Boobs

i still do not watch Heroes, but she would be the reason if i did.

California Courts to Nail Mormons Over Proposition 8

The first hint the California supreme Court is going to overturn 5,000 years of tradition and allow gay marriage--Mormons for their support of Proposition 8:

California officials will investigate whether the Mormon church accurately described its role in a campaign to ban gay marriage in the state.

The California Fair Political Practices Commission said Monday a complaint by a gay rights group merits further inquiry.

Executive director Roman Porter says the decision does not mean any wrongdoing has been determined.

Fred Karger, founder of Californians Against Hate, accuses the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints of failing to report the value of work it did to support Proposition 8, which amended.

I have all ideas the left will rely on the courts to force gay marriage on California. I further suspect when the issue is ripe enough for the united states supreme court to rule on, it will be legalized nationally in a 5-4 vote. But I do not know the timeline for either.

What I do believe is this will torpedo Mitt Romney's presidential bid better than Sarah Palin ever could. call it strike two against him along with the Church of Latter day Saints' racist past already making it difficult to run against Barack Obama. it will not matter with the social conservatives, unless palin's star still shines bright then, but the protest against Mormonism is going to be so bitter, Romney will not likely put himself through.

In addition to imposing public policy through the bench, the shrill left loves to brand conservatives as bigots and run them out of town.

Chinese Democracy Banned in China

The Guns 'n Roses CD, I mean. China's banning of democratic principles is not news, but Axl Rose's speaking out against the oppression of the Falon Gong religion and the freedom movement in China certainly is, at least to me.

Ergo, Chinese Democracy has been deemed inappropriate for the Chinese people.

Barack Obama Skipped Church for the Gym

I am skeptical of most liberals' religious nature, particularly if they support abortion rights, so the fact barack obama did not go this Sunday is no surprise. Politco is certainly hyperventilating over it:

President-elect Barack Obama has yet to attend church services since winning the White House earlier this month, a departure from the example of his two immediate predecessors.

On the three Sundays since his election, Obama has instead used his free time to get in workouts at a Chicago gym.

Asked about the president-elect's decision to not attend church, a transition aide noted that the Obamas valued their faith experience in Chicago but were concerned about the impact their large retinue may have on other parishioners.

That is a fair argument if true. Bill Clinton used to carry an over sized Bible to church in order to make flashier photos for the press. But i suspect the truth is Obama does not want to attend another church is Chicago because he does not want to snub Jeremiah Wright.

I am certain he will find a church in Washington out of political expediency and completely ignore the sermons there just like he apparently never heard any of Wright's racist, anti-Semitic, anti-American rants.

Rev. Ed Young: Put God Back in the Bedroom

I have seen this guy on television while absently flipping channels on Sunday morning. he has always struck me as a life coach with more Biblical references sprinkled into his "sermons' than Joel Osteen can mange, but ed young strikes me as a laid back, California-style yuppie Christian without any sense of reverence for what Christianity actually means. it is not sipping lattes and sending him a fat check every week.

I do not believe it is a week long sexathon for married couples, either, but apparently he does:

A week after the Rev. Ed Young challenged husbands and wives among his flock of 20,000 to strengthen their unions through Seven Days of Sex, his advice was — keep it going.

Mr. Young, an author, a television host and the pastor of the evangelical Fellowship Church, issued his call for a week of “congregational copulation” among married couples on Nov. 16, while pacing in front of a large bed. Sometimes he reclined on the paisley coverlet while flipping through a Bible, emphasizing his point that it is time for the church to put God back in the bed.

Maybe it is the Bible Belt Southerner in me--you know, the one where every fundamentalist Christian I know hates the concept of sex, but has six to eight children--but this is just too weird.

Reese Witherspoon Wary of Marriage

The actress told Parade:

Sometimes it is very difficult to make sense of how it could possibly happen. Laying blame is so easy.

"When you make wrong choices, you have to take responsibility for them: 'What part of this do I own?' I struggle to figure out what made me make those choices. All I can hope for is that I've learned something from it and won't make the same choices again.

"Family is all we have in life, but I don't know how I feel about marriage.

Obviously, I'm not far enough out of being married to think about doing it again."

Actually, the fear is just the knowledge gnawing at her that she is destined to be mine.

24--"Redemption"

After nearly two years, we finally get to check back in with Jack Bauer. Thanks for making us wait, Writers Guild of America. at least you gave Keifer Sutherland a chance to serve out his DUI sentence in the interim. Small blessings, no? The events of tonight’s two hour movie transpire in real time and lead into the seventh season in January. So, was it worth all the anticipation? It was definitely vintage 24, but I suspect only established fans are hanging on the edge of their seats in anticipation of what happens next.

The movie takes place four years after season six. Jack has gone all introspective Rambo on us and moved to Africa in order to assist an old friend who runs an orphanage. Jack has been running from a Congressional subpoena to testify about torture methods used by the now disbanded CTU. Embassy staff finally catch up with him, so he realizes it istime to move on and seek redemption for his violent past elsewhere.

Unfortunately, the country of Sangala is on the verge of a coup. A rebel group has been roaming the countryside drafting young boys into an army. A perfect army, when you think about it. Like the Khymer Rouge: teenage boys all eager to prove their manhood. Nothing says machismo like an M-16. When the rebels hit the orphanage just as Jack is leaving, heswings into action to save the boys.

Straightforward, Jack Bauer violence ensues, with the obligatory torture scene in which Jack nearly loses an ear, and a desperate race to get all the boys to the evacuating embassy. I was underwhelmed by it all. I was expecting more of a bang than I got, but those scenes may have been a casualty of the retooling of the storyline for budgetary purposes. Originally, the idea was for much of season to take place in Sangala, then shift to a plot in Washington. I got the vibe here the original story has been condensed with some entertaining twists having been chopped out.

There were bits taking place in Washington as the new president-elect is about to take office. The new president is a woman, presumably in anticipation of a Hillary Clinton victory. How quaint the idea seems now, no? The corrupt Noah Daniels is still there, but mostly as window dressing. His only role is to oppose the president-elect’s desire to intervene in Sangala’s coup for humanitarian reasons. There were some parallels there between the situation in Sangala and the all too real slaughter in Darfur. There just are not enough American interests there to justify the sacrifice of blood and treasure. Reality trumps idealism every time.

It was an entertaining two hours even if quite a few plot threads leading into the upcoming season were not really the cliffhangers they should have been. I guess it did the trick regardless. I will still check out the season premiere in January and more than likely stick around for the rest.

Rating; *** (out of 5)

School Daze

Barack Obama is yet another Democrat who is going to hypocritically abandon sub par public schooling for his children while opposing a voucher system for other parents without his personal wealth the ability to do the same for their their children.

Typical liberalism: do as I say, do not do as I do.

Guns 'n Roses' Chinese Democracy is a Clunker

Back in the glory days of the late ‘80’s, I was into big hair metal. Not thrash metal like iron Maiden or Megadeth, even though tossing out hints that we actually did was great fun back at my Bob Jones University affiliated school. I was into the big hair stuff—Motley Crue, Poison, the thanks to Run DMC revived Aerosmith, and especially Guns ‘n Roses. Would purists even call those bands metal? I do not know, but that is what I liked.

Guns ‘n Roses was cool, but one messed up band, so it does not surprise me it has taken seventeen years for them to release a new album of original material. In that time, Tommy Lee went to college, Vince Neill took MC hammer as a spiritual advisor, Brett Michaels went country, c. C. Deville became a reality show star, and Aerosmith went all pop on us. In other words, things ain’t what they used to be—and neither is GNR, unfortunately.

I listened to half the tracks from Chinese Democracy on MySpace and am unimpressed. There are a couple tracks that might grow on me, but nothing approaching “Welcome to the Jungle,” ‘Paradise City,” or even something like “Patience” from the classic Appetite for destruction. There is certainly nothing like personal favorite “November rain,” an instant classic from Use Your illusion.

I am disappointed, but like I said, not surprised. Chinese democracy has had so much drama attached to it over the years, you had to figure it was going to be a dud once GNR finally put it out. Plus, there just has not been any real hard rock out there in well over a decade. To me, Pearl Jam and Van Halen were the death throes of the genre circa 1992 and nothing has emerged since then rap, boy bands, and cotton candy pop acts. Maybe the drought gave me too high expectations GNR would bean oasis. Alas, they were not.

Chinese Democracy is said to be the first of a trilogy of albums, so perhaps GNR can pull an Empire Strikes Back with the sophomore effort surpassing the first. If not, we can all console ourselves with a free Dr. Pepper. The company joked earlier this year they would give everyone in America a free Dr. Pepper if the beleaguered GNR album was released in 2008. For the next 24 hours, they are making good on their promise. Follow the link to get your coupon.

Pushing Daisies is Now Pushing Daisies

ABC finally pulled the plug on Pushing Daisies, a nifty showaboyt a pie maker with the ability to raise the dead. It was a not ready for network concept that would have flourished on HBO, Showtime, or even FX, but it landed on one of the big four instead and got canned.My biggest regret is not getting to see the lovely and talented Kristin Chenoweth every week now that PD is gone.

I remember her fondly as Annabeth on the last few Aaron Sorkin-less season The West Wing. she was about the only interesting thing on the show as it limped towards cancellation. Chenoweth is one classy lady with a Master's degree in Opera Performance and a long string of theater roles. Hopefully, we will see her again on television in a series that better suits her talents. soon.

Since it is difficult to gush about Chenoweth's classiness when i used a photo of her with a toilet plunger as the main one for this post, here is a couple others:All these photos can be enlarged for a better look.

Gallup: Republicans Favor Sarah Palin in 2012

Note the the following poll numbers do not show who republicans want to win, just who they believe ought to run. Still, it isa good indicator of the party’s mood at this stage of the game.
Among conservatives:

Sarah Palin: 67%
Mitt Romney: 62%
Mike Huckabee: 61%

No one else scored higher than 50%. Among moderate to left leaning republicans, the numbers are different:

Mitt Romney: 59%
Rudy Giuliani: 505
Sarah Palin: 48%

Going by the numbers, Romney is the consensus candidate. He would certainly be favored among the party intelligentsia over Palin. However, I do not believe he will run in 2012. I do not believe the GOP will want a northeastern moderate then. I certainly do not believe the party will want to run a Mormon, whose church held a blatantly racist theological point until 1979, against a black president even if Barack obama looks vulnerable by then.

Romney may thrown his hat in the ring if it looks like there are enough social conservatives to divide the vote and let him slip into the nomination, but we have already done that disastrously with John McCain this year. We will not do that again if at all possible.

Looking at all the polling results, it is obvious the entire old guard is on its way out, to boot. An additional note to Kathleen Parker: all the top candidates claim to be devoutly religious. God is not killing the GOP quite as much as you think, Ms. Parker.

Elementary School Changes Name to Honor Obama

A Long Island elementary school has changed its name to Barack Obama Elementary:

A New York elementary school has been re-named in honor of President-elect Barack Obama. Ludlum Elementary School in Long Island's Hempstead Union Free School District was re-named at a board meeting Thursday, at the request of numerous school students.

"Just to watch these kids after the board voted on what they asked them to do, they were so elated," school district superintendent Dr. Joseph Laria told ABC News. "You want to talk about "Yes we can!"? That was a lesson in democracy."

Effective immediately, Ludlum will now be known as Barack Obama Elementary School, following a decision by the board to adopt the resolution drafted by students and staff.

Dear Leader has not even been inaugurated yet, but we are already turning into North Korea.

Screen Actors Guild May Strike

The SAG has called for a strike authorization vote after negotiations broke down:

"Our leadership was optimistic that federal mediation would help to move our negotiations forward, but despite the Guild’s extraordinary efforts to reach agreement, the mediation was adjourned shortly before 1:00 AM today.

"Management continues to insist on terms we cannot responsibly accept on behalf of our members. As previously authorized by the National Board of Directors, we will now launch a full-scale education campaign in support of a strike authorization referendum. We will further inform our members about the core, critical issues unique to actors that remain in dispute.

"We have already made difficult decisions and sacrifices in an attempt to reach agreement. Now it’s time for SAG members to stand united and empower the national negotiating committee to bargain with the strength of a possible work stoppage behind them.

"We remain committed to avoiding a strike but now more than ever we cannot allow our employers to experiment with our careers. The WGA has already learned that the new media terms they agreed to with the AMPTP are not being honored. We cannot allow our employers to undermine the futures of our members and their families.

"No timeline has been set for the mailing or return of the strike authorization ballots."

Just what Hollywood needs, no?

The SAG is the only labor organization in Hollywood that did not sign a new labor agreement in 2008. It also has the highest profile and richest membership overall, so it is difficult to sympathize. But bear in mind, just like the WGA strike, if one is called, there area lot of small time actors who will suffer under the radar while the wealthy get the lion's share of attention.

Caturday Meets Star Trek

Word is paramount had all intentions of dumping the filmed portion of the Star Trek franchise and relying solely on releasing DVD sets of the television shows and movies while allowing licensors to produce new product like novels and comic books. That was the plan until they handed the franchise over to Lost creator J. J. Abrams to relaunch. Originally, his film was to be released this Christmas, but it has been moved back to summer 2009.

There are only two possibilities why the film would be moved back. Either it is a mess and needs to be retooled or it is much better than expected and likely to dominate summer box office. After having viewed the trailer last weekend, I doubt it is a mess. The vibe I do get is Paramount’s fear over whether it will be embraced by the fan base. A twenty-five minute segment has already aired for audiences in New York and London with positive responses. But the positive responses all say the same thing—this ain’t your father’s Star Trek.

Over the last week, I have viewed message boards and had conversations with friends about the subject. There is sharp division between those who wanted to see a new series set within the old continuity and still others who think remounting and reloading is a good idea. I have weighed both viewpoints and drew some conclusions.

I have seen pretty much every episode of every Trek series with few exceptions and all the movies. I am not a huge Trekkie, but I am familiar with the canon at least enough to nitpick the more glaring inconsistencies. I often forgive them because Trek is only a part of my science fiction taste. I am not a purist about it. If some previously established tidbit needs to be altered to make a future story work, go for it. But as a longtime devoted comic book collector who gets hopping mad when something about my beloved characters is altered by some upstart young punk writer, I can sympathize with Trekkies who are wary of Abrams’ vision.

I feel their pain acutely, in fact. Before Superman Returns became a reality, Abrams penned a draft of the script himself which completely ignored the mythos. It was as though Abrams had never read a Superman comic book in his life. Comic fans trembled with visions of Tim Burton, who proudly stated he would never lower himself to read a comic book, mangling Batman’s mythos in 1989. Word has it the online outcry originating from Harry Knowles and the gang at Ain’t It Cool News, was so loud, Abrams was dumped from the project. Abrams allegedly created the fat, nerdy, and cursed Hurley on Lost as a tweak at Knowles.

All that to say I understand tradition even when I do not feel as attached to it as others. I am not, as a kneejerk reaction, fond of recasting established characters, revising their history, and in so doing destroy forty years of history. Yes, trek has flopped around like a dying fish desperately searching for the ocean in the last few years, but that has been largely the fault of no new blood in the established canon. It was the creative mind at fault, not the concept itself. So I am not sure scrapping it altogether is the best thing to do.

But then I looked back on why I am not more attached to Trek than I am. I have nostalgia for Trek because I love science fiction and it was about the most readily available for a big chunk of my life. The Original Series was only sporadically syndicated, but I eventually saw them all more than once over the years and got different things out of them as I got older. As for the other series, I watched most of the episodes as they were first run. We are talking about a nearly uninterrupted weekly event from 1987-2005. To put that in perspective, I followed trek from fifth grade on through the end of law school. That is a lot of young life I lived, with friends and experiences attached to certain series and episodes. In a way, I do not care so much about Trek as the memories of life surrounding it. You know—like an old song that reminds you of happier times.

But if I hold trek itself under a microscope, I should have a deep aversion to it. I have been to comic book conventions with all the trappings, but I would never go to a Trek convention. I have worn t-shirts related to comic books, but would not be caught dead in one related to trek. I have toys on display of comic book characters, but nothing about trek. I will readily embrace my inner geek on many things, but not Trek. It is just not me.

It is not that it is too dorky for me. Heck, you have already drawn conclusions about my dorkiness with the statements I have just made about comic books. It is that I do not share the vision like devoted Trekkies do. Trek promotes a humanistic, Pan-American, utopian socialism in which a human dominated Federation in comfy ships and powerful weapons lecture alien races about accepting their superior values. It is arrogant and preachy with a philosophy I do not subscribe to.

Looking at this new trailer, I get the impression Abrams does not, either. His version has high production values and action, more than I have ever seen in trek before. It looks like Abrams is casting aside elements I do not like about Trek and trying to make it cool. Since I have few attachments to what he has apparently jettisoned, I am going to give him the benefitt of the doubt and say the reboot is a good idea. I do not know what it means for the future of trek, but I will give it a chance to prove itself worthy.

The Making of St. Angelina Jolie

The Eye has often offered praise to Angelina Jolie for her international charity work and a chastisement from splitting up the marriage of one of my favorites, Jennifer Aniston. In some ways, I have been going with the flow on both, even though I agree with both based on the knowledge I have. The press has been astoundingly uncritical of Jolie, but that is not entirely unusual. The public likes her and they buy newspapers and magazines that paint her in the light they want to see her in. It is good business.

It now appears Jolie has been helping herself along in that regard. According to this eye opening profile, Jolie has masterfully manipulated her image as presented in the media. It makes sense when you think about it. Not too long ago, Jolie was the weird actress who was estranged from her father, had an apparent incestuous relationship with her brother, carried a vial of Billy Bob Thornton’s blood around her neck, and stole Brad Pitt away from Aniston. But we have all forgotten that, not just because of her charity work, but because she has presented herself through manipulations like this:

[S]he cut a very different, wilder figure in Hollywood during her marriage to the actor Billy Bob Thornton. After their divorce in 2003, Us magazine asked Ms. Jolie if she would agree to an interview and be photographed. According to two people involved, she declined — but then offered the magazine another photo opportunity. Ms. Jolie informed it what time and place she would be publicly playing with Maddox, essentially creating a paparazzi shot.
The resulting photo, the origin of which was not made public to Us readers, presented Ms. Jolie in a new light — a young mother unsuccessfully trying to have a private moment with her son.

This is the way it has to be done these days, of course. Image is everything and people are willing to forgive a lot if you have a good one. Just look at how many Barack Obama voters are aware of Jeremiah Wright and Bill Ayers, but voted for him anyway versus a genuine war hero who cuts the image of a feeble old man now.

Unfortunately Suggestive Headline of the Day

From Thestreet.com: Obama to Tap Clinton After Thanksgiving.Sorry. I have just eaten onion rings and am a bit giddy.

Michael Jackson Has Converted to Islam

Allegedly. Two Michael Jackson posts in one week. Yes, I hate it, too. But I cannot pass up the news that Wacko Jacko has become a Muslim and changed his name to Mikaeel, one of Allah's angels. The singer donned a traditional Arab women's veil and converted in a ceremony at a friend's house in Los Angeles.

Apparently, his brother, Jermaine, has been encouraging him to convert for years. Once Jacko heard Mohammed was a pedophile, he was sold on the religion.Hopefully, he will now have himself stoned for perversion.

Sarah Palin Visits a Turkey Farm

Sarah Palin returned to Wasilla, the town where she was once mayor, in order to pardon a turkey prior to Thanksgiving. that was all routine stuff. what happened next was the hilarious part. she then gives a three minute interview to a local television station while turkeys are being killed in the background. The governor carries on, completely oblivious.

Scratch that--the scene is not the hilarious part. What is funniest is the reaction of those who have seen the clip and think it demonstrates animal cruelty and says something about Palin's derangement that just knowing she is a Republican never could. I guess when liberal--well, those who do not eat tofu, at any rate--sit down for thanksgiving dinner, they never consider the turkey they are digging into was once alive.

Pamela Anderson Has Some Advice for Barack Obama

I am certain Barack Obama is getting more unsolicited advice than he can handle right now, but I doubt any is as inane as supermodel actress and world reknowned airhead bimbo bimbo Pamela Anderson's open letter blog entryto the President-Elect.

A few highlights:

I think we should Legalize Marijuana, tax and monitor -farm Hemp etc-this would make our borders less corrupt and then I think eventually this will be more secure option and save children in the long run – we should be able to farm Hemp in America- it’s just silly— it would create jobs- and be good for environment.

Legalize pot. It is for the children.

And if people are hard working why cant they work and pay taxes in America- if they have no criminal record- why do we have illegal immigration it should be made easier for people to work here- all they want to do is work- some Americans sure have a sense of entitlement that’s unhealthy, unwise and selfish at times… Thank God it’s a new day!

She would say that. She is a naturalized citizen from Canada who is paying taxes here in order to avoid the confiscatory tax rates up in moose land,eh?

Promote vegetarianism-which would help end world hunger- crack down on factory farming that is killing the environment and slaughtering so many animals- wastefully and carelessly and it’s unhealthy/and it’s just impractical- to think this is monitored/regulated effectively.

Here she encourages Obama to embrace human extinction. Discourage the technology based farming techniques so we can starve two-thirds more people than are already hungry, then defoliate and destroy fertile lands by over farming veggies to feed the survivors of the previous policy. Viola! no starving mouth to feed at all in due time.

Do not encourage Obama, please. He already has enough wacky leftist ideas to destroy the world while trying to "heal" it as it is.

Guy Ritchie Asked for Nothing from Madonna in Divorce

Even though under British law, without a prenup, he could have asked for half Madonna's $ 300 million fortune.

Instead, he just wanted to get rid of the screwy hussy. Who can blame him?

There is still a battle ahead. Madonna wants to take their three kids back to New York. Ritchie wants them to stay in London where they have spent their entire lives. Considering how headstrong Madonna is about getting her way, particularly when it comes to screwing up her children, too, expect this battle to get really ugly, really fast.

The Myth of the GOP's God Problem

There is much heated debate going around about Kathleen Parker’s Washington Post column on the Republican Party’s alleged God problem. Parker is yet another blue on the inside conservative who feels the need to lecture the rubes of the rightwing on the proper way of thinking. She is the latest in a line of pundits like “Tokyo” Peggy Noonan and George Will who have taken the opportunity of Sarah Palin’s rise to prominence to expose their contempt for the actual people who vote in politicians they agree with.

So I am not too thrilled with giving her much attention here. For one thing, I think she is just being controversial for the sake of making a name for herself. Her column is full of the self-congratulatory snark many skeptic have when they think believing in nothing makes them more enlightened than the childish masses looking for a daddy figure in God or whatever their mental/emotional disorders are beyond the idiocy they are most obviously suffering from. Parker wants to be the female Christopher Hitchens. Not a terribly unworthy goal, I suppose. But I do not buy into it for several reasons.

First, anytime someone complains about the religious nature of the Republican Party, what they are actually complaining about is the embrace of the pro-life stance. For whatever reason, a sizeable chunk of the intelligentsia believe the party would fly like an eagle if it would drop opposition to abortion from the party platform. This is a curiosity to me considering how often even pro-choice republicans wind up losing badly in blue states all the time. As obsessed as segments of the left are with keeping abortion as available as possible to as many as possible, they do not breathe a sigh of relief to have a choice between two candidates who support abortion rights. There is more to some voters’ aversion to voting conservative than just abortion.

Plus, abortion will never be outlawed again. That boat has sailed and even the most adamant of pro-lifers will admit it in candid moments. A candidate’s abortion stance is little more these days than a litmus test of character for them. I am as pro-life as you can get without advocating the firebombing of abortion clinics, but early this election season, I was for Rudy Giuliani in spite of his pro-choice stance. And so was pat Robertson, of all people. What you have there are social conservatives willing to embrace moderates they would prefer not to have because of his abortion stance and liberals unwilling to embrace pro-choice republicans. So abortion is not really the barrier it is made out to be.

Second, Americans like for their politicians to appreciate God, mother, and country. We will not elect candidates on the right or left or right who do not at least play lip service to god. Even candidates the religious right hated, like bill Clinton and Barack Obama, did so. It is so important to voters, they were willing to can Republican Elizabeth Dole for her democrat rival Kat Hagan because she falsely accused her opponent of supporting atheism. To accuse one of being godless is that much of an insult. Does Parker note the irony of religious voters electing a Democrat over the issue of atheism in Bible belt North Carolina?

It happens all the time. Democrat Geoffrey Fieger lost the gubernatorial race in deep blue Michigan a decade ago by a huge margin after claiming Jesus was just some kook nailed to a tree. Jesse Ventura was a one term governor of deep blue Minnesota due in large part to claiming religion was a crutch in a Playboy interview. It is not just Bible Belt Republicans who think religion is important. A lot of those folks were willing to overlook Obama’s association with Jeremiah Wright and his racist, anti-Semitic, and anti-American rhetoric because that was Obama’s religion. I do not necessarily condone the acceptance, but I recognize it for what it is—a respect for how one worships their God.

Finally, let us turn to Obama and his cult of personality to demonstrate how even the godless portion of the left will embrace the “right” religion when it comes along. I find it ironic they critique the religious right at the same time they are so enamored with a man who has claimed a light will shine down from heaven inspiring you to vote for him. Once he is elected, the oceans will roll back and the world will begin to heal. If that is not religious rhetoric applied to a secular messiah, what is?

Bill Maher and Jon Stewart have both said Obama might end their comedy careers because there is nothing to make fun of about him. T mock Obama would be blasphemous. They are offering Obama a reverence neither gives to actual religion but religious followers do give to their religious figures. Tell me again the republicans have a God problem when the democrats are struggling with issues like that.

United Nations Blows $23 Million on a Mural

The $ 23 million is not only excessive and partly from American taxpayers, but much of it was taken out of foreign aid budgets:

The U.N. Human Rights Council, frequently accused of coddling some of the world's most repressive governments, threw itself a party in Geneva Tuesday that featured the unveiling of a $23 million mural paid for in part with foreign aid funds.

In a ceremony attended by U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Spanish artist Miquel Barcelo told the press that his 16,000-square-foot ceiling artwork reminded him of "an image of the world dripping toward the sky" — but it reminded critics of money slipping out of relief coffers.

"In Spain there's a controversy because they took money out of the foreign aid budget — took money from starving children in Africa — and spent it on colorful stalactites," said Hillel Neuer, executive director of U.N. Watch.

Why that body of undemocratic, despotic, do-nothing crooks has a such a hold on the liberal imagination, I will never know.

Jessica Simpson Should Go Easier on the Collagen

She looks like she just fellated a beehive.

Organ Grown from Adult Stem Cell

A lifesaving, working organ:

Surgeons replaced the damaged windpipe of Claudia Castillo, a 30-year-old mother of two, with one created from stem cells grown in a laboratory at Bristol University.

Because the new windpipe was made from cells taken from Ms Castillo’s own body, using a process called “tissue engineering”, she has not needed powerful drugs to prevent her body rejecting the organ.

Avoiding the use of these drugs means she will not be at an increased risk of cancer and other diseases unlike other transplant patients - another significant advance.

Five months after the operation was carried out she is now living normally and is able to look after her children again.

Time and time again, science proves research using adult stem cells reaps more benefits than using embryonic stem cells. So why is there still a campaign to use embryonic stem cells?

The moral issue could be avoided altogether if pro-choiceers were not so terrified they would not be able for their 'fetal material" to "undergo demise" if embryonic cells were spared under an argument similar to the antiabortion one.

Lost Fifth Season Promo

Man, I have not written about Lost in a while, have I? There is only 63 days left to go before the fifth season begins. Woo hoo!

Chuck Norris on Proposition 8 Supporters

Chuck Norris explains the opposition to gay marriage succinctly andaccurately in a column for Town Hall:

The truth is that the great majority of Prop. 8 advocates are not bigots or hatemongers. They are American citizens who are following 5,000 years of human history and the belief of every major people and religion: Marriage is a sacred union between a man and a woman. Their pro-Prop. 8 votes weren’t intended to deprive any group of its rights; they were safeguarding their honest convictions regarding the boundaries of marriage.

although I am certain the United States Supreme court will miraculously find a hidden "right" to gay marriage in the Constitution once a case on the matter is ripe enough to hear or shortly before california is burnt to the ground by the forces of tolerance, whichever comes first.

Michael Jackson Being Sued Yet Again

At least he stayed away from little boys this time. He has moved on to Arab princes now.

Sheik Abdullah Bin Hamad Bin Isa Khalifa is suing Jackson over the $7 million, a Rolls Royce worth over $260,000 and a recording studio he gave Jackson as an advance for two albums, a stage show and an autobiography.

Jackson claims the loot was a gift, but in court papers filed in London, the Sheik assured insisted he would never hand over that kind of money while expecting nothing in return. then he goes on to claim the profits for the planned endeavor with Jackson were to go to the aid of Hurricane Katrina victims. out of the goodness of his oil rich heart, one can only assume.

Considering how hard up for cash Jackson is these days coupled with his unreliability in fulfilling contracts without the added incentive of seeing a Boyscout in nothing but his Spider-Man Under-Roos, i have no problem assuming jackson took the money and ran.

He is also claiming to be too ill to appear in court, a common plea for sympathy he has used during past legal battles. I imagine his only hope here is that the plaintiff will be just as unappealing this time around as the obnoxious mother was in his last trial.

Paula Abdul Believes Her House is Haunted

Since her number one fan/deranged stalker, Paula Goodspeed, committed suicide outside her home last week, Paul Abdul has refused to move back into her Beverly Hills mansion. The former laker Girl, pop star, and current American Idol judge hired mediums (Hey, this is California and she is nuttier than squirrel poop. I did not give that a second thought.) to cleanse the place of Goodspeed's restless spirit, but she swears it has not worked.

According to the New York Post:

“[Paula Goodspeed] was a deranged stalker who sent her death threats. Paula instructed guards to keep Goodspeed away from her at all costs. She refuses to stay at home because she fears that the spirit of Goodspeed is haunting her house. She feels like this is the absolute worst omen, a really bad curse . . . Paula is suffering. It is well known that she is emotionally fragile.”

So rejecting a stalker just makes them crazier, even in death. That is upsetting to know. But it would upset me a whole lot more if I was not absolutely certain the 'spirit" Abdul is experiencing is merely the entire bottle of Xanax and a fifth of vodka she had for breakfast.

I have to wish her well. She is haunted by just as many internal demons as Goodspeed was. It is probably the reason why Goodspeed thought believed they were so connected.

Scarlett Johansson Has Big Boobs

Scarlett Johansson is prepped for her photo spread in this month's Allure.

I wish I had more to say about it, but those puppies pretty much speak for themselves. I hope that get top billing in The Spirit. I am certain it is what will Eisner would want. A creative genius like him would never blow a chance to win her over like a certain President-Elect did.

Good news: the photo can be enlarged for a better look.

Twenty Questions

Sue me. It is a slow news day.

1. How many pets do you have?

Two. A cat named Boo and a dog named Lexi. Neither are actually mine, but they claim me since I have access to food.

2. How do you style your hair?

I keep it short and matted. I have shaved it a couple times in recent years.

3. What’s new in your life right now?

A new found fondness for candy corn.

4. How many colors are you wearing now?

Two. Blue and grey. There is no Lincoln/Davis conflict going on, however. Bummer.

5. Are you an introvert or extrovert?

An introverted, mysanthropic recluse who believes humanity is a huge waste of flesh.

6. What was the last book you read?

I have been listening to West with the Night by Beryl Markham for the second time in three years. The early days of aviation were the most exciting.

7. Do you nap a lot?

No.

8. If you could live anywhere else than where you live, where would it be?

Costa Rica. It is 70 degrees year round.

9. Is there anything that has made you unhappy these days?

I am growing even wearier of my health issues.

10. What was the last thing you ate today?

I nuked some leftover spaghetti.

11. How long does it take you to get ready in the morning?

Twenty minutes if I care how i look. Five if I do not.

12. What websites do you visit daily?

My blog, Gmail, Facebook, and a smattering of places where I can find bloggable material.

13. What kind of animal or insect do you not like?

I am not a fan of dogs. I dislike pack animals. It comes with me being so fiercely antisocial.

14. Do you like to clean?

Are you serious?

15. What’s the last TV Show you watched?

The first few minutes of House. We act too much alike to spend an enjoyable hour a week together.

16. What are you doing right now?

I am answering your inane questions, Mr. ADD.

17. What is the last song you listened to?

Eva Cassidy's cover of "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain."

18. What would you do if you see $100 lying on the ground?

Take it before someone else does.

19. Best time of your life?

So far, it was my sophomoree and junior years of college.

20. Tell me something good.

You start dying the moment you are born. Once you have that in perspective, everything else readily falls into place.

Joe Lieberman keeps His Chairmanship

He survived a secret ballot (which Democrats hypocritically do not want unions to have), but he is still a a shifty opportunist.

Tyranny of the Stupid

How well informed were Obama supporters? Take a wild guess.

In Which I Praise Sarah Palin Yet Again

We are all sick of hearing about elections at this point. I breathed a sigh of relief when al Franken lost his bid to have more ballots counted and am thrilled to only have to wait another two weeks for the Senate race in Georgia to end. But I cannot ignore the 2012 rumblings already. It is way too early to legitimately speculate how it will turn out—who thought Barack Obama was going to be president at this point in 2004?—but one thing is clear to me—Sarah Palin has a bright future as a party leader, if not the presumptive nominee.

I have added a “Palin 2012” image into the sidebar to show my support. I may getsick of looking at it over time, but it is there until my aesthetic whims get the better of me and a change the blog design yet again. The things is, I believe the attacks against Palin are an attempt by the old guard to maintain a hold on power, such that it is, and not a legitimate concern Palin does not have what it takes.

Four years is a long time to serve as governor, to fundraise, to give speeches, and participate in policy strategy sessions, all of which Palin now knows she needs to do in order to prepare herself. With her media savvy gleaned from years as a journalist, she already knows how to work even a hostile media. She is only going to improve in that and every other regard. The old guard may try to beat her down, but the young turks always rise to the top eventually.

As much respect as I have for Newt Gingrich as a prognosticator, I believe he is a part of trying to keep the gates closed for Palin. He can pitch Mitch Daniels and Bobby Jindal f he so desires. They are probably both worthwhile candidates. But I am sticking with my barracuda for the future.

Summer Glau

I have stopped watching Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. It could not hold my attention even with Shirley Manson and Summer Glau. That is no knock on Glau, however, as you can see by the above photos. She is one hot little number.

Too bad her show is so mediocre. The production is eating the cost of the show even though its ratings are in the tank because they cannot have the Terminator franchise take a hit before Terminator: Salvation with Christian Bale and Bryce Howard hit theaters next year. It has to be a pretty demoralized set with that fact being common knowledge, no?

Well, maybe not. They do get to look at Summer Glau all day.

Hillary Clinton Will Accept Secretary of State Job

Assuming her husband’s international fundraising for the Clinton Foundation does not torpedo her confirmation, Hillary Clinton will accept the offer to become Secretary of state for Barack Obama.

We will never know her true motivation, but I assume it is ego. It looks like she has given up any designs on the White House since no Secretary of state has become president since the early19th century. She could have based another run from her position as the junior senator from New York or even made a bid for Majority Leader against the tepid Harry Reid for an even, but the Senate was always a stepping stone for her and she never seemed to care for it much.

Now she will have a high profile spot on a international scale which will presumably suit her more. I do find it interesting that Obama’s primary weakness is lack of foreign policy experience, so he went out and selected a Secretary of State without much more experience than he has. I doubt the media will care, however. It looks like she will be the one to get that 3 am emergency call after all.

Tim Pawlenty Wants a Shot at the White House

He is willing to Tonya Harding any one else--particularly Sarah Palin--who gets in his way:

After HUMAN EVENTS reported the halting of Palin's press conference, corroboration of our take on what happened came from another media source: "Another Republican governor eyeing a presidential run in 2012 told CNN the event [Palin’s press conference] was 'odd' and 'weird,' and said it "unfortunately sent a message that she was the de facto leader of the party." NBC News, which falsely reported last night that it was Palin who wanted the news conference cut short, has corrected itself this morning on Today. . . .

The "Republican governor eyeing a presidential run in 2012" appears to be Minnesota's Tim Pawlenty. Pawlenty used his time at yesterday’s roundtable discussion to cast himself as the "modern" Republican while casting aspersions on the traditional conservative message, calling for outreach to the "new demographics," deriding the GOP for allegedly being 15 years behind in the use of the Internet, and calling for the party not to be led by "a crank." Pawlenty appears to have John McCain's penchant for attacking conservatives rather than those in the other party.

Which leads on to draw three conclusions:

First, Newt Gingrich is probably wrong about Palin. former aides to Mitt romney and Jeb Bush have taken anonymous shots at her and now Pawlenty is taking her out of the spotlight at the RGA conference. All this is out of fear she is going to take what is "rightfully" 9excuse the pun) theirs--leadership of the republican party.

Second, Republicans appear to have high hopes Barack Obama is going to be beatable in 2012, even to the point a relative unknown like Pawlenty thinks he has a shot at beating him even before obama is inaugurated. considering obama is rapidly bringing in successful Clintonistas from the '90's and is apparently backtracking on many of his loftier promises in favor of pragmatism, maybe he knows he is on shaky ground, too.

Finally, Pawlenty sounds too much like John McCain, as the article pointed out. I would be willing to bet if nominated, he could not even carry his home state of Minnesota. Forget him as a candidate for 2012.

Gregory Craig's Interesting Client List

Gregory Craig, Barack obama's choice for white House counsel, is an old Clintonista (and are those not as rare as a hen's tooth in the Obama Administration?) who switched his support from Hillary Clinton to Obama at the opportune moment. Craig has had quitea legal career, judging by his list of former clients:

* Elian Gonzalez’s father - Craig represented the father who demanded the return of his son after his estranged wife died trying to take Elian to freedom. Most people saw this as a thinly-veiled publicity stunt from Fidel Castro, attempting to embarrass the US. The dispute got resolved when Janet Reno ordered an armed assault on the house where Elian’s family in the US provided him a home.

* John Hinckley, Jr - Craig presented and won the insanity defense that allows Ronald Reagan’s would-be assassin to spend weekends with his family now.

* Kofi Annan - The former Secretary-General of the UN hired Craig to defend his interests in the Volcker Commission probe of the Oil-for-Food scandal, which put billions of dollars into Saddam Hussein’s pockets while providing cash for Annan’s son, his deputies, and some allege Annan himself.

* Pedro Gonzalez Pinzon - A Panamanian legislator wanted for murdering an American soldier in 1992. The Dallas Morning News demanded that Obama force Craig to drop the case during the campaign, but no report of whether he did is easily available.

Looks like he has been trying to compete with Ramsey Clark in racking up the wildest rogue's gallery of unpopular clients.