President Obama predicts Colts win
Politico

President Barack Obama joined with most odds fixers on Sunday and called the Indianapolis Colts the favorite in the Super Bowl, even though he is rooting for the New Orleans Saints.

Obama Invites GOP to “Bipartisan Health-Care Summit”
National Review

President Obama has invited Congressional Republicans to a half-day health-care summit, to be broadcast live from the Blair House later this month.

Here’s the kicker…

So I doubt even the most masterful of rhetorical performances from President Obama will change the prognosis of the bill — reconciliation or bust — but the very fact the White House is resorting to this strategem is a sign of just how few options they have left.

I didn’t get the chance to watch Sarah Palin’s speech at the Tea Party Convention.  But apparently she was in a take no prisoner mood.  Here are some of the just in stories.

Palin Calls Obama Budget ‘Immoral’
New York Times
Palin told the national ”tea party” convention Saturday that America’s national debt, which is held largely by other nations, ”makes us less free” and ‘’should tick us off.”

Palin to Obama: ‘Stop lecturing, start listening’
Former Alaska governor slams president’s handling of economy, security
MSNBC
The former Republican vice presidential candidate told people attending the convention that it’s time America had a commander in chief, not a professor at a lectern.

Palin says Obama policies to be short-lived
Associated Press via Yahoo!
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Sarah Palin is predicting a good year for conservative candidates for public office, saying the policies of President Barack Obama and Democratic leaders in Congress will be short-lived.

I honestly haven’t decided if I could support Sarah Palin for President.  But I want her around for a long time.  Just because she drives the left and the media (redundant, I know) absolutely bonkers.

ACLU threatens suit for pro-choice car plate
PilotOnline.com

An attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia has threatened to sue state lawmakers if they don’t approve a state license plate with a pro-choice theme.

Let’s be clear.  There’s nothing about “choice” in this suit, or in this license plate. It’s about promoting abortion.  The recent controversy over the Tim Tebow Super Bowl ad illustrates just how true that is.  Tebow and his mom talk about their choice.  The choice of life.  But somehow the radical women’s groups and the abortion industry just can’t accept that sometimes people might not choose abortion.

It speaks volumes.

We’ve done our part. And as I walk off into the city streets, a final word to the men and women of the Reagan revolution, the men and women across America who for eight years did the work that brought America back. My friends: We did it. We weren’t just marking time. We made a difference. We made the city stronger. We made the city freer, and we left her in good hands. All in all, not bad, not bad at all.

Farewell Address, January 11, 1989

The Global Warming Christmas Blizzard of 2009

Michael Barone has a great article over at TownHall.

How Climate-Change Fanatics Corrupted Science

Some decades hence, I suspect, people will look back and wonder why so many government, corporate and media elites were taken in by propaganda that was based on such shoddy and dishonest evidence. And taken in to the point that they advocated devoting trillions of dollars to a cause that was based on flagrant dishonesty and dissembling.

Indeed, and in doing so, they’ve harmed the very planet they claim to protect.

Look, the reality is that the science of “global warming” or “climate change” is far from settled.  In fact these revelations give pretty strong indication that it never existed.

In other words, man doesn’t cause global warming OR climate change.

But, man does pollute.

Unfortunately the zealots of the Church of Global Warming have so long preached the message that the very air we exhale is killing the planet that they’ve distracted from real causes of real pollution.

Had they taken the time and the bazillions of dollars spent (and earned, thankyouverymuchAlGore), they could have done worlds of good for clean water and reforestation and more in terms of education.

But not to blame just the zealots. My personal view is that conseration is a conservative issue that the right was all to happy enough, or careless enough, to let the left claim it as it’s own. 

It’s about the wise use of our Natural Resources.

That, to borrow a phrase, would be Earth in the Ballance.

It boggles the mind.

Jenny Sanford says that she agreed to let her husband Mark (R-Argentina) remove the vow to be faithful from their wedding ceremony. 

Wasn’t that a clue?

I mean, sure lots of wedding vows no longer require the woman to say “obey.”  But isn’t the whole point of a wedding a commitment to remain faithful?

Apparently Governor Sanford was a wanderer well before he hit the Appalachian trail, so to speak.

H/T Politico:  Mark Sanford dropped ‘faithful’ from vows

In the case Obama mentioned, the court overruled section 441a of the campaign-finance law, which had banned all corporate spending on elections. The case did not concern, nor did the court address, section 441e, which prohibits foreign corporations from making any “contribution or donation of money or other thing of value … in connection with a Federal, State or local election.”

History will record that these remarks from his State of the Union address were the only case legendary barrister Barack Obama ever argued before the Supreme Court. And he lost.

Read more.

Doc says these are the episodes to watch to be up to speed for the premiere of Season 6.

AP Photo/Edmund Fountain

Maybe it’s an old back injury.

This photo from last week shows President Obama bowing to Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio last Thursday.  This follows on last years stories of the President bowing to Saudi King Abdullah and Japanese Emperor Akihito.

While greetings differ, protocol does not dictate that the President bow to other heads of state.  That’s the story here.

Sure there’s the message of hopey-changeyness thats says we can all get along if we just play nice.  But I don’t think even President Obama is saying that the United States is bowing to the Saudis, or the Japanese, or even the City of Tampa.

I think someone in his protocol office, perhaps the same person that suggested he give an iPod to the Queen of England, needs to get up to speed.

In other words, this is a non-story.  One that can distract from the real issue of defeating Obama care, or the real issue of the President’s proposed budget of $3.8 trillion budget for fiscal 2011 that projects the deficit will shoot up to a record $1.6 trillion this year.

(L) Col. Claus von Stauffenberg (R) Tom Cruise as Stauffenberg

Recently I reinstated my Netflix membership.  I like having movies playing in the background while I’m writing or editing.  And there are hundreds of movies I meant to see in the theater but just never did.

So tonight I took a break from my LOST marathon and watched Valkyrie with the family.  It’s the Tom Cruise movie about one of many attempts to assasinate Hitler. 

Fascinating story.  Painfully slow movie.

Cruise has been basically the same character in any film in which I’ve seen him. This is sort of a “Jerry Maguire goes to Germany” movie. At one point I recoginized the interrogation seen from “A Few Good Men.”  That’s not necessarily a bad thing if you’re a star like Cruise.  But it didn’t work in this film. 

As an aside, my son and I did a double take as Bernard Hill gave a bit of Theoden’s speech to the Rohirrim in the opening scene.

Cruise’s lack of a German accent was also distracting.  Yes, I get that Robert Redford wasn’t British in “Out of Africa.”  I get that Kevin Costner didn’t have a British accent in “Robin Hood.”  But a non-German German?  At the very least have the accents in the film, that is the other Germans, be consistent with that of your star.

When I saw the previews for this in the theaters, I was anxious to see it.  But as things go, we rarely get to the non-kid-friendly movies on the big screen.  Thus the convenience of Netflix.  But I’m glad I didn’t pay the big bucks for this.

Back Row (l to r): Ellison S. Onizuka, Sharon Christa McAuliffe, Greg Jarvis, and Judy Resnik. Front Row: Michael J. Smith, Dick Scobee, and Ron McNair. Photo from the Johnson Space Center

January 28, 1986:  The Space Shuttle Challenger exploded just 73 seconds into its flight. 

The crew of the space shuttle Challenger honoured us by the manner in which they lived their lives. We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them, this morning, as they prepared for the journey and waved goodbye and ’slipped the surly bonds of earth’ to ‘touch the face of God.’

~ President Ronald Reagan

May 18, 1928 – January 24, 2010

Pernell Roberts, Eldest Son on Bonanza, Dead at 81
Seattle Post Intellgencer
Pernell Roberts, the last surviving member of Bonanza’s cast, has died of cancer, the Los Angeles Times reported. He was 81. ]]> http://thewritesideofmybrain.com/?feed=rss2&p=4869 1 http://thewritesideofmybrain.com/?p=4865 http://thewritesideofmybrain.com/?p=4865#comments Wed, 27 Jan 2010 04:31:00 +0000 Michael http://thewritesideofmybrain.com/?p=4865

I have to admit I remain skeptical.  Seasons 6 and 7 were less than great.  Okay, they were pretty bad.  But so far, 24 once again has me intrigued.  Sure some of the formulas are the same, but episodes 4 and 5 had some interesting twists. 

Just some random thoughts.

Glad that Kim and family got on the plane back to L.A.  Kim has always been less than one of my favorite characters.  But for two hours, I was dreading the thought that they’d put Jack’s grandchild in danger.  They may yet.  They’d better not.

Didn’t care for the fact that Chloe didn’t have the upper hand at CTU the first couple of hours.  We all know that Chloe is the best there is.  But it took a while for Hastings and company to learn it.

Still, Chloe doesn’t have her usual nemesis now that Dana/Jenny has problems of her own.

Speaking of Dana/Jenny.  Not real fond of that story line either.  Starbuck would’ve kicked that redneck’s backside halfway across the galaxy by now. 

As for Dana/Jenny being a former convict.  Didn’t CTU run a background check?

Something tells me that Arlo should be wearing a red shirt.

I’m not sure yet that I’m going to like the kinder, gentler Jack.  Let’s hope that part doesn’t last. 

But if it does, Renee Walker is one bad dude.