Ultimate Fantasic Four Volume 2: Doom

Just got this in the mail from Amazon.com. I am very impressed with this book. Warren Ellis picks up where Bendis left off in Volume 1: The Fantastic with a very entertaining reinvention of the classic Fantastic Four. Volume 2 includes Reed sitting down with Ben Grimm in his altered rocky state and asking if he still goes to the bathroom. Ben Grimm repsponds by telling Richards that he doesn't want the details. I laughed out loud. Great writing and as I keep mentioning, a great new take on a classic group. I thought the "Ultimate" titles were just a gig to sell more comics, and maybe it is, but I have really enjoyed the FF Ultimate titles. Volume 3 is scheduled to be released this summer, so I will make sure to put it on my wish list.

The art by Stuart Immonen is not as good as the first book which was done by Andy Kubert, but there are plenty action scenes that make up for it. The Doctor Doom redesign is wicked. Instead of wearing his tell-tale armor, his trip through the N-Zone has turned his organic materials, skin and inards, into armor. And he has these wicked goat hoof type legs. Put a rocket launcher in his metallic hands and you have a truly nasty bad guy. Like Doom is supposed to be.

The Mark of Freedom

This Iraqi woman wears the mark of freedom. Awesome!!! (Via The Templar Pundit)

Marvel and Manifest Destiny

I was very surprised to see this piece. Comics and conservatism, all in one stop. David Adesnik opines about the adaption on one of America's most popular heroes to the Indian culture in Spider-Man: India. Personally, I haven't looked at this title yet, but Adesnik seems to think that a good job has been done keeping the American themes intact ("With great power comes great responsibilty") but using the more mystical Indian themes for Spider-Man to get his powers.

What an evil week...

My buddy Peter over at Slublog has alluded to my horrid week (granted my house is still standing, I don't live in a country ravaged by natural disasters, and the bills are paid), so here is some of the sob story and maybe some blues lyrics to boot.

Winter here in Maine can be brutal, and the past week we have seen some sub-zero tempatures and some very nasty wind chills. My truck, which God bless it, has done its job very admirably, died. The last time I was at the mechanic he said that the old girl was just about done. So, sub-zero temps have kept the truck dead in the driveway, and my wife and I don't commute well together. That was the first thing.

I am also the proud owner of an apartment house. We live upstairs and rent the downstairs. We are currently looking for a tenant, and have been showing the unit. What do you get when you combine an old house (built circa 1880), old plumbing (water lines run in 1907), and cold weather? You guessed it, leaks.

Upon showing the apartment on Thursday night, we were shocked to find water stains on the kitchen sealing, a wet wall, and standing water on the floor. Oh what fun!

Upon closer inspection, the nearly 100 year old cast iron drain pipe sprung a leak the size of my finger, which can create a lot of water damage as it runs into the old beams and ceiling tiles.

So, here are the possible lyrics to my sad state, done in an E blues shuffle and a voice sounding horribly like Lonesome George:

My trucks dead in the yard,
My pipes got a leak,
My rentals a mess,
I'd like to burn the whole heap!

There's a dog on my steps
That's not even mine
I am trying to make him my pet
But I ain't got the time

The second line alludes to this mangy Irish Wolfhound that has been hanging around my house. He suns himself on my porch during the day. I tried to get him to eat something the other day, but he seems very skittish. I'll keep working on 'im though. Seems like an odd breed of dog to be homeless.

Anyway, enough of my whining. Despite my rotten week, I can still see that I am so better off than a lot of people, and am definitely more fortunate, and I thank God for that.

Peter, my friend Scott, and myself are going to fix the plumbing and the truck after church tomorrow.

The temps are supposed to be around a balmy 30 degrees and both jobs are a relatively easy fix.

But Murphy is always lurking around the corner...

Update: Its funny how long it can take for a streak of unfortunate events to turn around. The truck is running, the plumbing is fixed, the water stains are gone, and the apartment is rented. Everything took a 180 in the matter of 48 hours give or take. Thanks to my good friends Scott and Peter for all their work. The success of the weekend's repairs couldn't have been done without them.

Now if I only tame the stray dog and make a pet out of him.

Smallville Returns

Tonight marks the (hopefully) triumphant return of Smallville with an all new episode called “Unsafe”. The first half of the season has certainly been very lackluster, so I hope they have saved the best for the second half. Tonight’s episode might be a little iffy.

I came across a good Smallville site today called KryptonSite. Great content. Episode guide, cast bios, and more importantly, spoilers. You might want to stop reading if you don’t want any surprises ruined.

KryptonSite is reporting that sometime mid February Chloe finds out Clark’s big secret. And about time I say. This whole Clark keeping his “secret” is getting old. He wants so desperately to let someone into his private world, but he “can’t”. His buddy Pete Ross knows, and now he is no where in sight. Many times so far Clark has been on the verge of divulging his big news, but then doesn’t. Come on! Chloe is the next logical person. Tell her!

Of course, according to the mythos, Lana knows Clark’s secret. But we should realize by now that the DC Universe is fair game for a little interpretation and re-invention (Lois Lane should have been a big clue). Since Chloe is not part of the DCU, let her in on Clark’s abilities. If they don’t, there might be a rebellion on their hands in TV Land.

Another thing that I wish they would do with Smallville is stick to only a couple of writers. Millar and Gough episodes are always good. Jeph Loeb, the quintessential Superman writer should write a few more episodes per season, and somehow get Joss Whedon (of Buffy fame) on board writing. We would have some totally cool episodes then.

We’ll see how tonight’s episode pans out.

Al-Zarqawi on Democracy

Jonah Goldberg’s latest piece called, “Don't take the president's word for it - take Zarqawi's”.

Earlier this month the Washington Post's Richard Cohen wrote, "As the late Susan Sontag bravely pointed out in a New Yorker essay published right after Sept. 11, 2001, those terrorist attacks were in response to American policy in the Middle East - not, as Bush has said repeatedly since, because Islamic radicals cannot abide freedom."

And Patrick Buchanan - allegedly on the other side of the ideological spectrum - has declared countless times, "Osama bin Laden and his crew up there in Tora Bora did not stumble on a copy of the Bill of Rights and go berserk that Americans are free in the United States."

In short, the notion that America is in a war for freedom over tyranny has elicited bipartisan snickering and guffawing. In the wake of Bush's inaugural, the chorus of complaints intensified. And understandably so, given the fact that his address was the most forceful articulation of his "freedom" vision to date.

But before the cackles could reach their crescendo, the naysayers hit an inconvenient snag. Musab al-Zarqawi, the "prince" of Al-Qaida in Iraq, appointed by Osama Bin Laden, came out and agreed with President Bush. "We have declared a fierce war on this evil principle of democracy and those who follow this wrong ideology," Zarqawi declared in a statement. "Democracy is also based on the right to choose your religion," he said, and that is "against the rule of God."

You can almost hear Cohen and Buchanan snapping their pencils "Darn it, stop stepping on my message!"

There you have it people, right from the source. Islamofascists are fighting against democracy and freedom. Hmm. There are a lot of people who aren’t going to like that statement, true or not. Apparently, Cohen and Buchanan are only two of them.

Big Media’s 40 Days and 40 Nights

Hugh Hewitt’s latest offering, and in my opinion, one of his better articles in a while. This time: how the blogosphere has changed the flow of news and information.

SITTING ACROSS from the very pleasant Soledad O'Brien, I got the impression that she had been well briefed and may even have dipped in my new book Blog, but I was certain by interview's end that she was not an enthusiast of the blogosphere. I'd had the same feeling upon completion of a four way conversation on Fox & Friends a couple of hours earlier, though the trio there was just as pleasant and welcoming as Soledad. I was a representative from the Blogger Nation--and a pretty dismal one at that, according to the blogs of the left--and the great fathers and mothers of Big Media would treat me kindly, even indulgently.

So I find myself slipping into deep Noah mode: When interacting with my colleagues in broadcast, I will answer their questions and tell them that the flood is not just coming but has begun. But I do not expect they will believe me.

And I won't be alarmed that they don't. The degree of their understanding doesn't matter a bit.

And why should they believe me? Rather, Kerry, Raines, and Lott blew themselves up, right? If they surf a bit to blogs with comments sections they will find there rabid, vulgar, and profane posters from all across the political spectrum. It is just so . . . raw. It cannot possibly compete with the refinement, and the budgets, of the bigs.

I have stopped trying to define what a blog is, but rather now default to describe what bloggers do: We
are cyber sherpas, leading anyone who wants to follow through the mountains of information that accumulate every day to the stuff we think is most important. We give advice. We warn.

We edit.

All of free media on the Internet is our giant wire service, and each day, throughout the day, we provide as many bulletins as we please.

Make sure to read Hugh’s latest book, Blog. I plan to pick up a copy very soon.

And the Razzie goes to…

Hally Berry for her connection to all things Catwoman:

The Razzies, which mock the worst in film, gave "Catwoman" a leading seven nominations Monday, among them worst picture, worst actress for Berry and worst supporting players for Sharon Stone and Lambert Wilson. "Catwoman" also was nominated for worst screen couple for Berry with either Stone or co-star Benjamin Bratt.

"'Catwoman' is the cinematic equivalent of a clump in the cat-litter box," Razzies founder John Wilson said. "Kind of a sad little thing laying there stinking up the place."

I had high hopes for Catwoman, a.k.a. Selina Kyle, of DC Comics, but after reading but a single paragraph about the movie decided that this “clump in a cat-litter box” wasn’t worth seeing. An artist named “Patience” and a cosmetics scandal. Please! They strayed from the whole Catwoman character and storyline.

And no amount of skin shown by the delectable Halle Berry was going to save this trainwreck.

DC gave the go-ahead to this project? Seems hard to believe. Batman Begins and the upcoming Superman movie have got to be awesome for DC to keep up with the Marvel movie powerhouse.

January 24, 2005: The most depressing day of the year

It’s been proven. Some U.K. psychologists have dubbed Monday, January 24, 2005, the most depressing day of this year. The reasons. Holiday debt, broken resolutions, and nasty weather.

I personally can think of a few other reasons that today is a real downer.

Judicial Filibuster Defeat?

Featured editorial over at OpinionJournal.com on the upcoming confrontation in the Senate over the Democrats obstructionist ways.

It's been a long time coming, but we now have an approximate date for a confrontation in the Senate on judicial nominations. Majority Leader Bill Frist has announced that if Democrats filibuster the nominations he expects to bring to the floor next month, he'll take action.

Finally. Perhaps the biggest failure of Mr. Frist's leadership in the last Congress was his inability to corral Republicans and stop the Democrats' unprecedented filibuster of 10 of President Bush's appeals-court nominees. It was the first time in U.S. history that the filibuster had been used against nominees to the appellate bench, as a Congressional Research Service paper has amply shown.

Mr. Bush has said he will re-nominate those men and women left over from his first term who are willing, and so the battle is about to be joined again. From the filibuster list, that includes Priscilla Owen, William Pryor, Henry Saad and Janice Brown. These highly qualified nominees had bipartisan support in the last Congress and would have won confirmation by majority vote, but they were denied up-or-down votes on the Senate floor.

Which brings us to the proposed change in Senate precedents that Democrats call the "nuclear option" to make it sound radical. If the Democrats filibuster again, Mr. Frist would ask for a ruling from the presiding officer that under Senate Rule XXII only a simple majority vote is required to end debate on judicial nominations. Assuming 51 Senators concur, the Senate would then proceed to an up-or-down floor vote on the nominee.

It’s about time the Democrats get the message and stop blocking nominees. This should be an interesting event to watch transpire. Tom Daschle lost his seat because of his obstructionism. Will there be more filibustering senators losing seats in 2006? Time will tell.

Double or Nothing

Fred Barnes on the high-stakes second term of President Bush.

21st Century Abolitionism

This is a very real and disturbing story that often doesn’t get enough attention. Slavery still exists, and it may not be in the forms you expect.

Ambassador John Miller is head of the State Department's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons. But he has a simpler word for what he is combating: "slavery." Trafficking, or "modern-day slavery," as Miller calls it, is fast becoming one of the early 21st century's foremost human-rights issues.

The U.S. intelligence community's most recent estimate is that 800,000 people are trafficked across international borders every year. Estimates of the number held against their will within individual countries run much higher. "There are probably millions of victims worldwide," says Miller, a former Republican congressman who bounces with energy and leads the U.S. anti-trafficking effort from a nondescript office a few blocks from the White House.

People are trafficked and coerced into prostitution (probably the largest category), domestic servitude, factory or farm labor, or even bizarre niche categories, such as child camel jockeys in the Persian Gulf states. The FBI estimates that trafficking in drugs, arms, and people makes billions of dollars a year for organized crime.

Unfortunately, movies like Pretty Woman glamorize or at least give a rather hazy view of what prostitution is really like. It is not a young woman getting picked up by a rich bachelor and falling in love. It is most often the poor and the young. They are tricked into leaving their homes and are then forced into prostitution. They are exploited. They are slaves to cruel taskmasters.

More attention needs to be given to this horrible attack on human rights and dignity.

TownHall.com Column Overload

Townhall.com has a bunch of great articles today. Here they are:

Charles Krauthammer- After al Qaeda
Jonah Goldberg- Fighting tyranny, a revolutionary idea
David Limbaugh- Shameless semantics
Larry Elder- You're too stupid to manage your own money

Ultimate Fantastic Four

I picked this up yesterday. I had the day off due to inclement weather (8-10" of snow here in Bangor) and ventured out to the local comic shop and got my book and then went and rented the Chronicles of Riddick (great movie by the way).

This is a well written book (collects Ultimate Fantasic Four #1-6). Brian Michel Bendis and Mike Millar have put together a very interesting story. It recounts the birth of the FF. But, this falls under the Ultimate title, so this isn't our childhood comic origins. Bendis and Millar create a new version of the age old tale of the FF getting exposed to Cosmic Rays and therefore gaining their super powers. I found this very entertaining and a fresh. Reed, Sue, Ben and Johnny get sucked through the N-Zone (I am assuming this is the Negative Zone from the classic FF comics) and wake up with new found powers. Sue is kidnapped by the Moleman, and the ensuing battle between our heroes and Molevic's Ani-Men is cool.

The art is great, being drawn by Andy Kubert, who is going to be pencilling the upcoming Ultimate Iron Man series writting by Orson Scott Card.

Well worth the entertainment value. I am planning pick up the rest of the volumes of the Ultimate FF.

Natural Mosquito Repellent

A study has found that some individuals emit a scent that keeps the bugs from biting. Scientists are trying to isolate these chemicals and make a marketable, all natural bug repellent out of it.

Hurry up and get it done will ya! Soon it will be spring here in Maine, and the bugs will be biting. There is a whole season up here devoted to all the biting insects. A local joke is that the Mosquito is the Maine state bird. It’s not far from the truth.

Wictory Wednesday

Senator Rick Santorum faces a tough re-election bid in 2006. I know it is a long way off, but it is never to early to jump start fund raising, especially when Senator Santorum's opponent, Democratic State Treasurer Bob Casey, Jr., is already polling ahead of the incumbent. We must keep this seat. Donate today to the Santorum camp to make sure he gets re-elected.

Today is Wictory Wednesday. If you have a blog and want to participate, go to Wictory Wednesday and get yourself on the blogroll.

Blogs that participate in Wictory Wednesday:

This is just sad

I have been watching this story develop on the Today Show. Just because you gave birth to a child, doesn't mean you're a parent.

Apparently the courts and the biological mother, who gave the child up for adoption while still pregnant, have no regard for the mental well-being of this child. This one will be interesting to follow, to see if the courts give custody back to the adoptive parents with whom the 3 1/2 year old child has spent his entire life and formed a strong emotional bond with "mom and dad".

Poor kid.

An Alternate Inaugural Address

What if President Bush weren't a compassionate conservative? This is how the inaugural address might go. A sampling:

MY FELLOW AMERICANS, I had intended to reach out to all of you and bring a divided nation together. But I changed my mind. America isn't divided by political ethos or ethnic origin. America isn't divided by region or religion. America is divided by jerks. Who wants to bring a bunch of jerks together with the rest of us? Let them stew in Berkeley, Boston, and Ann Arbor.

The media say that I won the election on the strength of moral values. If the other fellow had become president, would the media have said that he won the election on the strength of immoral values? For once the media would have been right.

We are all sinners. But jerks revel in their sins. You can tell by their reaction to the Ten Commandments. Post those Ten Commandments in a courthouse or a statehouse, in a public school or a public park, and the jerks go crazy. Why is that? Christians believe in the Ten Commandments. So do Muslims. Jews, too, obviously. Show the Ten Commandments to Hindus, Buddhists, Confucians, or to people with just good will and common sense and nobody says, "Whoa! That's all wrong!"

This is entertaining, but the sad thing is there might be more truth in it than intended.

Patriots move on to AFC Championship against the Steelers

What a great game yesterday. The Pats' defense made Peyton Manning and the Colts look silly losing 20-3. Actually, Peyton's receivers made him look bad yesterday. They had a bunch of missed catches. You can't do that playing against the Pats. And it also goes to prove that just because you set a bunch of regular season records it don't mean squat in the playoffs. Its a whole new ballgame in the post game and all bets are off. Anything can happen.

The Pittsburgh Steelers were one of only two teams to beat the Patriots during the regular season (the other was the hapless Miami Dolphins). I have a good feeling about the game next week. The Patriots are on a roll.

Katie Couric to replace Dan Rather?

Could it be? Couric gone and my dream co-anchor duo of Matt Lauer and Ann Curry to become a reality? I can only hope.

The Templar Pundit:

From Time.com:
Katie Couric A network source tells TIME the Today show co-anchor has been approached about the job. If she could be persuaded to jump, CBS would have to wait 16 months--when her NBC contract is up. But the network could name an old hand like Face the Nation's Bob Schieffer or Early Show host Harry Smith as a caretaker until then.

All the links worth dumping

Well, this morning started out being 51 degrees and raining (Bangor's average temp around this time of year is the mid 20s, no rain) and currently the temp has dropped to about 30 and there is a furious snow storm outside (this is normal for this time of year). As I browsed the old I-net this morning, nothing in the news struck me enough to really elaborate on, so here goes a nice little link dump. Hope I get it all.

After Prince Harry's brush with utter stupidity, he is considering visiting Auschwitz. He is a well educated lad and should have known better than to wear a swastika out in public. Not only does this bring into question his common sense, but more importantly his moral fiber. Does the British Military want a guy, even though he is a royal in uniform, when he might have some "hidden" agenda (the Nazi uniform might not have been a costume. I know this is far fetched and hopefully I'm very wrong).

More importantly, who let Harry out of the palace dressed like that?

Next we have Charles Krauthammer on the CBS debacle and the follow up inquiry. Bias? No, couldn't be. There was no political motivation behind the possibly damaging Nation Guard memos.

Senator Ted "Chapaquitic" Kennedy spoke at the Nation Press Club this week, and David Limbaugh writes his reaction. I read through the transcript of Kennedy's remarks, and it is the Kerry campaign all over again. Ted is once again is showing that he is the "Godfather" of the Kool-Aid gulping Moonbat Brigade. Find the transcript here if you actually want to read through it.

The Huygens probe has landed on Titan, a moon of Saturn, and has sent back some pictures. Maybe we should land a probe at Ted Kennedy's house. I bet there would be some mysterious images sent back from that planet.

Victor Davis Hanson has his latest article up at National Review Online. Were other wars easy?

Okay, that is all the news fit to print. I am off for an evening of X-Box and Halo 2.

What was he thinking?

Photo courtesy MSNBC

Prince Harry attending a private party dressed in a German desert uniform with a swastika armband. Only one thing can be said:

What was he thinking?

Or more appropriately, it was probably his lack of thinking that got him into this situation.

The End of American Journalism as We Know It

Another fine piece by Peggy Noonan. This time it is a requiem to the MSM.

The Rathergate Report is a watershed event in American journalism not because it changes things on its own but because it makes unavoidably clear a change that has already occurred. And that is that the mainstream media's monopoly on information is over. That is, the monopoly enjoyed by three big networks, a half dozen big newspapers and a handful of weekly magazines from roughly 1950 to 2000 is done and gone, and something else is taking its place. That would be a media cacophony. But a cacophony in which the truth has a greater chance of making itself clearly heard.

A word that Noonan often uses as she refers to the rise of the MSM is monopoly. She goes on to lay out a great sketch on the rise of the MSM post WWII to its fall in 2004, led by the events of Rathergate and the birth of such media outlets as Fox News, conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh and the Internet (which is the battleground of the pajamadeen, a.k.a. the Bloggers).

A Cover Up is a Cover Up

Hugh Hewitt’s Weekly Standard article this week is on the CBS News inquiry how they are still fighting the agents of change.

Farewell, My Producer

It you want a good laugh, check out Rathergate written as a detective novel over at iowahawk. An absolute riot. Link courtesy TKS.

Shuffling the iPod

Yesterday, I lauded the release of the iPod Shuffle, saying that it was some of the best news I had heard in awhile.

While browsing this morning, I came across some comments on Instapundit about the Shuffle’s possible lasting appeal and its abilties in terms of playing music because it was initially believed that the “Shuffle” aspect of the iPod means it doesn’t play your tunes in order, it mixes them up. It will take a random sampling of songs from your iTunes library to give you a fresh mix each time you upload if you want, but it will also play created songlists.

Personally, I am looking forward to getting a shuffle. For me, as is the case for some of you as well, I would love to have an iPod to put my entire music collection on, but $300 is a lot of cash. The Shuffle now gives the rest of us an affordable, iTunes compatible MP3 player. Why do I need to have my entire music collection on an iPod? I really don’t. Being able to create a playlist that can contain up to 240 songs should be enough to entertain anybody for awhile.

It certainly will entertain me and I look forward to doing a little Shuffle.

Wictory Wednesday

Wictory Wednesday takes on Social Security Reform. President Bush has taken on the task of reforming Social Security so it will be there for us in the future, so we need to act now to help with this difficult task. You can help by contributing to Progress for America. Watch their latest ad on Social Security here.

Today is Wictory Wednesday. If you have a blog and want to participate, go to Wictory Wednesday and get yourself on the blogroll.

Blogs that participate in Wictory Wednesday:

Apple Does it Again

Apple continues to show why it really is the best computer company and operating system there is (no bias here). Introducing the iPod shuffle starting at a very affordable $99 (1 GB model also available for $149), and the Mac mini, which weighs in at a extremely slender 6.5 inches wide and 2 inches tall, and costs a measly $499. Got a monitor and a keyboard but need a new computer, get a Mac mini. From Apple:

Get a Mac for Less

The modular design of Mac mini lets you upgrade your current system to the elegance, simplicity and reliability of Macintosh. If you already own a monitor, keyboard and mouse, you can get up and running in minutes. Or choose any combination of new devices to meet your individual situation. And yes, Mac mini will take advantage of your two-button USB mouse with scroll-wheel and your favorite USB keyboard. Just plug them in.

Oh Happy Day!!! This is the best news I have heard in awhile.

"Call me Ishmael"

A classic line that I have quoted often, but never read. I have endeavored to read The Whale, more commonly known as Moby Dick. The funny thing is that when I have told some people that I was going to read one of the greatest works of literature ever, they actually wish me good luck. I thought that funny, but now I know why.

Now growing up, I never read any of the "classics". When I had passed from picture books to more substantial reading, I went directly to comic books. While others where cutting their teeth on novels for young readers, I was expanding my vocabulary with comic books like Ghost Rider, Fantasic Four, the Hulk, and Iron Man. When I got to high school, I never took an English class that required me to read the "classics". During my teen years it was Stephen King, Brian Lumley, and Marvel Comics.

It was when I met my wife that I decided that I needed to read some of those titles that had passed me by, such as The Count of Monte Cristo, The Three Musketeers, so forth and so on, and I have enjoyed them greatly.

I do remember as a child having an illustrated "chapter" book on Moby Dick. The pictures were cool.

Now as I read The Whale, I am enjoying it. The story is great, but Melville seems excessively wordy, just for the sake of being wordy. A tangent here and a tangent there. Like some random, low-flying thoughts happened to make it into the text.

I'll let you know how the book is after finishing. Currently, Ahab has given up his reclusiveness and has ventured on deck. Now the crap is gonna hit the fan. A lunatic and a leviathan. They don't make books like this anymore (and that might be a good thing).

The "Boxer" Rebellion

My buddy Slublog has a great breakdown of Barbara Boxer's interuption of the constitutional process:

Yesterday Senator Barbara Boxer, at the urging of people like MoveOn and Michael Moore, stopped the constitutional process to air false charges against the Republican party and the president's re-election campaign. The speeches made in defense of the obstruction consisted mostly of outrage and conjecture. There was no sound reason to stop the Senate from carrying out its constitutionally-mandated duty to certify the electoral college vote. The Senate was certainly stripped of its dignity yesterday, and turned into a forum to question the legitimacy of a president elected with 286 electoral votes and 51 percent of the popular vote.

The Democrats can frame the issue however they want, but what they wanted to do yesterday was disenfranchise the almost 6 million people who voted in Ohio by throwing out the results in that state. This, despite no solid evidence of voter fraud or voting irregularities and a 118,000 vote victory margin by the president. Again, there was no good reason to call into question the legitimacy of a president on the floor of the United States Congress.

For this reason, Senator Barbara Boxer should be censured by the United States Senate for obstructing the constitutional processes of the Senate, bringing dishonor upon that body and impairing its dignity. I hope Republicans have the courage to do what needs to be done to this member of Congress who, for partisan purposes, has tried to make an elected president illegitimate through innuendo and lies.

Curb Your Enthusiasm

Charles Krauthammer suggests we not get to excited about the soon to be new Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas. If words are deeds, and they usually are in the Middle East, then he will continue the fight against their neighbor Israel. (Link courtesy Real Clear Politics)

The Gonzales Hearing

Today we have a triple threat going on over at NRO dealing with the Gonzales grilling before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Fine articles by Andrew C. McCarthy, Rich Lowry, and Johan Goldberg.

Should we make a treaty with Al-Qaeda?

Andrew C. McCarthy on Al-Qaeda’s barbaric history and White House nominee Alberto Gonzales who called the Geneva Conventions “quaint”.

Why should terrorists that have no regard for human life be treated humanely?

Nihilists, Atheists, Christians and the Tsunami

Excellent article by Michael Novak on the proverbial “If there is a God, why is there so much suffering?” question in regards to the tsunami that reared its ugly head and wiped out 150,000 people.

10 Words to Know

MSN has the list of the ten words you must know to enhance your vocabulary. My two favorites are:

Defenestrate: to throw someone or something out of a window

Digerati: computer experts: people who have or claim to have a sophisticated expertise in the area of computers, the Internet, and the World Wide Web.

I’d like to think myself a member of the Digerati, but I have a feeling I come up a little short.

I actually have been using defenstrate for quite some time. A gentleman that I worked with was a lover of words, particularly big words and or rare ones. I first learned of defenestration from him.

The next time I came across defenestration was in regards to history. In 1618 we have the Defenestration of Prague. An assembly of Protestants tried two Imperial governors (William Slavata and Jaroslav Martinic) for violating the Letter of Majesty, found them guilty and threw them, together with their scribe (Fabricius), out of the castle windows; they landed in some manure, and none was seriously injured. This kicks of the 30 Years War (1618-1648).

Candidates for DNC Chairman

Jim Geraghty, of NRO’s Kerry Spot, gives us the low down on the candidates likely to chair the Democratic National Committee. Topping the list, everybody’s favorite Primary Screamer, Howard Dean.

Frankly, Dean is too crazy and too left to attract anybody to the Democratic Party except for those that were behind him for president.

Other names thrown around include former Clinton advisor Harold Ickles, former Gore 2000 political director Donnie Fowler, and former Texas Democratic party chairman (and former Republican) Molly Beth Malcolm.

Goldberg’s 2004

Johan Goldberg runs down what he feels were the important stories of 2004.

Alias Premiere Wednesday

Finally, Alias returns to ABC on a new night behind the hit show Lost. Last season was a stinker (not all bad mind you), but the show has supposedly returned to it’s first season writing style and form, so we’ll see how it goes.

The latest from The Green Side

Latest email from Lt. Col. David Bellon, USMC, stationed in Fallujah. I don’t watch the news to find out what things are really like in Iraq. I wait for the Green Side to be updated. Thanks to David’s dad for sharing his son’s email with the rest of us.

For the past six weeks, the Regiment has been busy cleaning up the city and chasing down remaining pockets of insurgents. There have been some very stiff, isolated battles where the Marines continued to perform with the same tenacity and heroism that made them so successful in November. Unfortunately these efforts have not come without a price. We have lost additional Marines and many more have been wounded during these ongoing operations.

The city itself sustained severe damage during the battle itself and in the months leading up to the fight. It took a Herculean effort by the Marine engineers and Naval Construction Battalion Sailors ("Sea Bees") to clear the city. At the height of the battle, there was so much rubble on certain streets that they were impassable even for our tracks and wheeled vehicles. I am amazed at the amount of work these Marines and Sailors have done to get the city somewhat habitable by the civilians. It really is incredible how much effort went into making the city safe for the returning population after the Marines fought so hard to take it. No other force in the world would have made such an effort to take an enemy city and then immediately turn around and begin significant efforts to clean and reconstruct. All of that said, if you saw the city now you would probably still consider it tremendously damaged.

The end state of all the work has been conditions that permit the population to return. To be honest there have been very mixed emotions on having the civilians re-enter the city. On the one hand we know that the city will never be as safe as it was for the few weeks when it was empty following the major fighting. On the other hand, we want to try to get the population back to their lives and participating in Iraq's future - starting with the elections on 30 January.

Once again you would be proud of the Marines and how well they are dealing with all of the challenges that they face daily. Over the past month, the Regiment has received ten battalions of Iraqi army and security forces. Of course they are all fledgling units with only cursory training. Some show up without boots and never having fired their weapons. You have to understand that inheriting such units is a tremendous drain on the combat power of our own battalions. They require an incredible amount of supervision and support just to sustain them. Of course it difficult for the Marines who just took the city to turn around and mentor new Iraqi units while at the same time "clean up the mess." As you would expect, the Marines just shoulder the load and continue surprise us with their endurance and commitment.

Elections are less than a month away. The combination of the smashing defeat the enemy suffered in Fallujah along with the prospect of looming free elections has made them desperate. They regularly threaten the people by telling them that any one who goes to vote will be killed by the muj. They claim to be watching the polling places and continue to state that they will wage suicide attacks on the crowds that assemble there.

You have probably seen from the news that the ongoing murder and intimidation campaign on the Iraqi security forces has continued as well. We recently received a report that an Iraqi soldier in our area was drug from his home and beheaded. The muj barged into his house as he and his family were eating dinner and simply drug him out to his front yard and beheaded him while his wife and children were held inside only feet away. This sounds shocking but it is the world in which the Iraqi people live here and one that would only get worse if they did not have the coalition to help keep the muj at bay. Plainly stated it is pure savagery.

The insurgency is a collection of different elements that have gotten together out of a marriage of convenience and who are galvanized by a common enemy - us. The greatest irony is that the two most prominent players in the insurgency are former regime members from the Ba'ath party and the international Islamic extremists. These two elements are deeply in bed together but they do what they can to keep their alliance secret. The old regime henchmen hide out here in Iraq or just across the border and pump money and direction into the insurgency so that they can some day resume power. The Islamic extremist take the training and money offered by Sadaam's cronies and do the bidding of these criminals so that they can create a sectarian state not unlike the one the Taliban created in Afghanistan. How in the world can you call yourself a holy warrior and be in league with some of the greatest criminals this region has known?

Slowly but surely the people are returning and as you can imagine, there is a high degree of caution on both sides. Overall though, we have been pleasantly surprised by the lack of hostility from the people. Most just seem to want to live their lives. The Marines have seen this and have responded with an equally surprising degree of compassion. However, there is no doubt the muj will do their best to continue their fight without any compunction of putting the "innocent people" in the middle. They are well aware of the danger of the people seeing first hand that we are not "infidel animals" that are waiting to rape their women and children as they have been told. When the enemy senses this crack in its intimidation campaign, it will make the people pay in order to get them back in line. Time will tell how it will work out but we know the next several weeks are going to be tough.