Vacation

I'll be on vacation this week, so no new posts unless something amazing happens or inspiration hits.

Chris Rock on Abortion

Great article at NRO.com today using some monologue from Chris Rock to really point out what abortion has done for women:

It's time for all of us in the pro-life movement to learn to appreciate the power of political satire. Comedian Chris Rock, slated to host the Oscars this month, is being accused of promoting abortion.

"Abortion, it's beautiful, it's beautiful abortion is legal. I love going to an abortion rally to pick up women, cause you know they are f*!@*%g," Rock said during his club routine.

Whether Rock is pro-life or pro-choice, whether he intended to use satire or really believes what he said, is beside the point. What's "beautiful" is that Chris Rock has exposed a profound side effect of legalized abortion — the sexual mistreatment of women.

So here we are, five years into the new millennium, and a comedian has the nerve to say out loud what men across America know full well: that legalized abortion is great for their sex lives; that abortion on demand makes women into sex objects with the full consent of the highest court in the land; and that if their sexual use of a woman results in the unfortunate side effect of a pregnancy, then $300 and their "kindhearted" support of the woman's "right to choose" will take care of the problem.

The real problem is that women have gotten the raw end of this deal. Roe has ruined romance. Every woman's deepest desire to love and be loved has been distorted into a license to use and be used. Women have paid with their bodies and their souls. Abandoned emotionally and financially by the men they loved, and moved by profound grief at the loss of their children, they stand in front of crowds with signs that say "I regret my abortion."

Comedic satire may seem at first blush to be a harsh way to draw attention to the fact that legalized abortion allows men to sexually prey on women. But in our culture of entertainment it makes the point well.

We need not throw rocks at Chris Rock for having the audacity to expose how abortion has impacted men's view of women. He's crass, he's crude, he's vulgar — but he has hit the mark.

Hmm, a very interesting observation. And probably all too true. And from Chris Rock no less.

Oh how far our society has progressed…

Under the Black Flag: The Romance and the Reality of Life among the Pirates

Continuing on my pirate kick, I just finished reading this book by David Cordingly. Much more enjoyable than the previous book I read, The Pirate Hunter. Instead of focusing on one individual, like the Robert Zacks book did, this gives an overview of many figures in the pirating lifestyle. And what a lifestyle it was. Romanticized by novels and movies, the lifestyle of these men and woman (Anne Bonny and Mary Read) were often short and violent. Money stole was money immediately spent, violence towards each other and their victims was casual and often cruel. If you didn’t drown at sea, you were hanged at the gallows. Very few pirates retired to a life of ease after capturing a big “prize”.

If you are interested in reading a nice overview of the history of pirates, this one is for you.

NHL RIP

Image Courtesy ESPN.com

This really comes as no surprise.

Krypto comes to Smallville

Tonight’s episode will feature a dog with super-natural powers that is supposedly adopted by the Kents. A super dog and the Man of Steel. This sounds familiar.

I wonder if the dog will be able to fly. This should be a fun one.

Get a description of the episode here.

Sometimes you just have to let go…

and let the Enterprise head off into a distant galaxy for their final mission. Some Trekkies took out a full-page ad in the LA Times in an attempt to keep Star Trek: Enterprise on the air. It is slated to end in May and UPN is not picking it up for another season.

As a kid, I watched Captain James T. Kirk and Spock fly around distant galaxies getting in many a sticky situation (Who can forget the Trouble with Tribbles). It was enjoyable but nothing to write home about. I personally never found anything interesting about all the other various incarnations of Star Trek either.

So, just let it go. As Spock would say, “Live long and prosper.” The Star Trek franchise has had a good run. Captain Kirk would be proud.

Hitch: The Cure for the Common Man

I took my wife to see Hitch last night as a belated Valentine’s Day date (we wanted to avoid the crowds on Monday). Kevin James and Will Smith kept me in stitches. What a great pair to put together. Will is well, Will, and James’ physical humor is an absolute riot. The scene where Hitch is trying to teach Albert (KJ) how to dance acceptably in public (Albert has other ideas) is going to be a classic and will have you just about rolling in the aisle of the theater with laughter.

Great date movie that both the men and women will find enjoyable.

Ultimate Ironman Preview

Orson Scott Card, writer of the classic Sci-Fi novel Ender's Game, is writing the sript for the upcoming Ultimate Ironman title from Marvel Comics. Card's website has a preview featuring the art of Andy Kubert.

Link Courtesy of Slublog.

The Storm of the Century

It started snowing here in Bangor, Maine at approximately 7:00 AM yesterday morning. It hasn't stopped yet. This is day two, and a storm that the weatherman said should be coming to a halt has shown no signs of letting up. The snowfall total as of this morning was roughly 16". By the meteorologist's speculation, maybe up to a total of 2 more inches were to accumulate today. Yeah, right!

It has been snowing all day and there is a winter storm warning up until 9:00 PM tonight. We have added another 8" bringing our total up to about 22" in one fell swoop. It has been snowing almost nonstop for 48 hours. I have been hard at the snowblower and shovel in a vain attempt to keep ahead of it.

I fought the snow, and the snow won.

That's it. I'm waiting until it's all done before step foot out my door again.

Weathermen...

The Blogs Beat the Bigs Again

Latest Weekly Standard offering from Hugh Hewitt. While taping for the Chris Matthews show, Hugh predicted that the big break out story in the MSM next week will be the Eason Jordan fiasco.

Hugh's comments on how unimformed Matthews and the rest of the MSM is in contrast to how informed the blogoshpere is:

Matthews hadn't heard of the Eason Jordan story, which meant he hadn't been reading the blogs the previous three days, as they had been debating the Jordan charges since Tuesday, February 1. Jim Geraghty was the first of the big bloggers to point to Rony Abovitz's account of the Jordan remarks, posted from Davos on January 28. I broadcast the same day on the subject, and there have probably been a thousand blog posts on the matter in the week and a half since. The folks paying attention are spread out across the political spectrum, from Jay Rosen, Jeff Jarvis, and Mickey Kaus on the left to all the usual suspects on the right, where Michelle Malkin and LaShawn Barber merit special recognition for pushing the story forward.

But on Friday, when we taped the Matthews show, Chris didn't know anything about it, and apparently neither did Howard Fineman, nor Katrina Vanden Heuvel, nor Sam Donaldson. But the story was still somewhat young.

At this point the Eason Jorndan incident is all over the internet. When is this guy going to be held accountable for his outrageos statements (Click any one of the links above to find out about the Jordan Flap. Make sure you check out Slublog as well.)? The main stream media once again shows itself to be a thing of the past.

Superbowl Commercials

I always thought, “Wouldn’t it be cool if there was a site you could go to and see all the commercials played during the Superbowl”. Well, now there is.

Dave Skinner over at Galley Slaves gives us not only his personal faves and impressions of the ads, but points us to a site where we can see them all again.

Thanks, Dave!

Update: Okay, watching the commericals is really cool, but for some reason I can only watch said commericals with Safari. Firefox and Netscape are a no go. What's up with this?

The Pirate Hunter

I just finished reading The Pirate Hunter: The True Story of Captain Kidd by Richard Zacks. I have heard of late that there was a legend that Captain Kidd buried some treasure (according to the book there were a lot of those stories) on Maine's own Jewell Island, so I decided I wanted to read more about this Captain Kidd. I've had this fascination with pirates of late anyway, so I figured it would be a good read.

To start with, Zacks was well informed and had done an immense amount of research into Captain Kidd. The story of this privateer's life was very interesting and this book certainly gives you all the details. But the 400 page book could have been cut by about 100 pages and you would still have a very interesting book without all kinds of crap to wade through. Zacks writing style is fine, but the problem is that he actually gives us too many details. He spends way too much time telling us about Robert Cuilliford, a pirate with which Kidd has a couple of run ins during his life (Culliford actually ends up going free while Kidd is hung as a pirate). Almost as much information is given about Culliford as Kidd, and that really isn't what the book is supposed to be about. A few details about RC would have been adequate, and certainly Kidd's interactions with him.

Even though this book was hard to wade through at times, the history of Captain Kidd is very complete and gives us a glimpse into the true life of a pirate and of a privateer in the 17th century. Worth reading if you have any interest in this topic.

A little time to breathe

I want to apologize for the lack of posts of late. Life has been very busy over the last few days. I have been working on several web site projects and Sunday was busy due to church, a little X-Box (Halo with my buddies), and then a Superbowl Party where we watched with anticipation for a Patriots win, which they did (and there was much rejoicing).

Hopefully I can get back on more of a regular schedule this week.

Hellboy: The Chained Coffin and Others

Just finished reading this great book. Mike Mignola never ceases to amaze me. His art is dark and at times very simplistic, but it doesn't change how cool it is. Even though the title might turn some off, I would recommend any one of MM's works.

Mignola draws on a large collection of folktales, therefore making for some interesting stories. It's not just about a demon who is supposedly here to end the world. As stressed in the movie, your origins don't always determine who you are.

As I read through each one of the Hellboy volumes, I see a lot of the catch phrases that are used in the movie, thus giving us a great feel for HB's personality. The film draws from several Hellboy tales. "The Corpse" was the inspiration for Ivan at the end of the film where the long dead Russian leads Hellboy into the bowels of Rasputin's tomb. A great short story based on an Irish folktale called "Teig O'Kane and the Corpse."

Enough raving for now. I'm off to read The Right Hand of Doom.

Wictory Wednesday

It's Wictory Wednesday again! This week WW turns its efforts to securing more Republican Senate seats in 2006. You can help end Democratic obstructionism by donating to the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

Dean’s Qualifications as Leading Man of the DNC

The Editors at NRO.com point out Dean's only real qualification for the Chair position of the DNC:

The appeal of Howard Dean is simply this: He has stood up at regional meetings of (generally left-wing) DNC members and delivered versions of his usual rants, prompting members to applaud and feel good about themselves as they bask in the old-time religion. That's it. As Dean said at the New York meeting, "I hate the Republicans and everything they stand for," in a typically crude statement. The spectacle of his candidacy steaming toward the chairmanship makes a mockery of New Republic editor Peter Beinart's call for a return to the moral seriousness and maturity of the Democrats circa 1948. The DNC is looking as though it can't even muster the moral seriousness and maturity of the Democrats circa January 2004, when they relegated Dean to a devastating third-place finish in Iowa. The party's congressional leadership has half-heartedly tried to create an alternative to Dean, putting forward former congressman Tim Roemer, but he was doomed by his undue regard for unborn life and his past expressed willingness to modernize Social Security.

The article also points out that Dean himself did nothing to pioneer fundraising on the Internet. It was a few savvy campaign workers that did this. Dean was pretty much in the dark about the whole Internet thing.

And his organizational skills are nothing to write home about:

How about organizational skills? Dean ran a laughably disorganized campaign beset by poisonous infighting of epic proportions. He flamed out in embarrassing fashion while running through $52 million in ways no one yet quite understands.

The Hour of the Lawyer

Derek Reveron breaks down the stages of the Iraqi democratic transformation.

First comes the “hour of the lawyer”. The next stage is the “hour of the economist”. The last stage of a successful democracy is the “hour of the citizen”. Each stage has a different timetable ranging from six months to sixty years, and was a product of German Sociologist Claus Offe.

Very interesting reading. Iraq is in the first stage with the completion of its first free election in decades. The government reps have been picked and it is now time to create their own constitution.

It will be interesting to watch Iraq develop and go through each of the stages. The final stage takes generations, and is represented by democracy as a way of life, and when that democracy is challenged, they respond in one voice against it.

Fallujah Update

Latest email from Lt. Col. David G. Bellon, USMC, serving in Fallujah. This email focuses on the voting in this previously enemy held city.

During the weeks leading up to the elections, the enemy had been relentless in his threats and posturing against the people and has made it very clear that anyone who attempted to vote would be killed. Compared to the average American, the Iraqi people have lived a life of extreme violence and fear. Because of this, the insurgents’ threats did not fall on deaf ears.

In all honesty, we expected a very light turnout at the polls in Fallujah. To provide just a couple of specific examples of the terror campaign that has been ongoing in this area consider the following:

* Several days ago, in the area just south of the city, Marines found a local sheik dead in the road. His hands were tied behind his back and he had been shot from behind. On his body, a rock was placed over a note that read that the sheik was cooperating with coalition forces and that anyone else who did so would meet the same fate.
* Down the road in Ramadi, two Iraqi Solders were kidnapped, beheaded and left in the street. Their heads were placed on their bodies and cigarettes had been put in their mouths.
* Rumors of huge explosions and suicide attacks on polling places were widely circulated.

With this backdrop in mind, today’s elections began shortly after dawn. Even though the days for the Marines here tend to run together, this morning was different. By dawn, the Regiment had surged and both Iraqi Soldiers and Americans canvassed the streets.

Five polling places were established inside Fallujah. As the polling stations opened, trucks of Iraqi Soldiers began arriving to vote at one of the primary stations. The enthusiasm of the Iraqis surprised the Marines. Watching them move past the Marines and Iraqis on the perimeter of the site and then reemerge from the polling tent, the best description I can offer was “joyful.” They got it. As bleak as things have seemed to them over the past two years, this morning was a tangible reward for their personal courage and sacrifice.

As the locals saw the Iraqi Soldiers emerging from the polling tent and exchanging handshakes with the Marines, they began to slowly emerge from their houses. The Regimental CO ordered the PSYOP trucks to begin broadcasting wake up calls extolling the locals that the polling centers were open and secure and that the people should come out and vote.

Seeing must have been believing because before we knew it, they were emerging from their houses and moving into line to vote. The first person I actually saw go into the polling tent was a woman who came out alone. Others soon followed. Even after everything the Marines have seen, it was an amazing site.

Nearby, the Marines were walking through a recently established open-air market on a street corner. People gathered around and informal conversations began between them and the Marines. This same intersection had been a muj strong point just weeks before. This morning, Marines and locals were on the same intersection shooting the breeze as elections were taking place down the block. As the day went on, more and more people came out to vote. The positive atmosphere seemed to build.

Just a few images as the day progressed:

* HMMWV’s parked in the median of the main avenue through town with Marines hanging out talking with Iraqis as they walked to the polling center.
* A few people actually seeking Marines, Soldiers and Sailors out on the street and thanking them relating that it was the first time in their lives their votes meant something.
* A truck pulling up to a polling site overflowing with Iraqi Soldiers going to vote. The Soldiers were actually singing in the back of the truck and then jogging through the wire to get to the polling station.
* Kids going through the polling centers with their parents.
* Kids lined up outside the polling centers to watch.
* Marines on rooftops overwatching the polling centers taking in the first free elections in an area they literally just fought through weeks before.
* The RCT SgtMaj attaching a full sized Iraqi flag to the back of his vehicle and driving through the city being greeted by thumbs up and shouts of encouragement from both the Iraqi soldiers and citizens.

Of course not everyone voted in Fallujah today but just under eight thousand people did. No one expected such a turn out and any voting in Fallujah at all seemed like fantasy just three months ago.

Read the whole thing here.

Triple Shot

Townhall.com has a triple shot of columns that are must reads today.

The first is by David Limbaugh. Kerry reminds voters why they rejected him.

This election was about the sovereignty of the Iraqi people, the rejection of terrorist brutality, and God willing, the potential transformation of the Mideast. But it was not about France, Germany, or any other nations that stubbornly, and wrongly, refused to join the right side of history in the War in Iraq. But you'd never know that from listening to John Kerry, who, sadly, is still imprisoned in the pathetic quagmire of his "multilateralist" mindset.

Even on the heels of this profoundly gratifying election en route to liberating the long-oppressed and beleaguered Iraqi people, John Kerry couldn't resist the perverse temptation to resurrect his manufactured criticism of President Bush's "unilateral" approach to the war. It was a phony, desperate after-the-fact charge then, and it is even more so now. If you didn't understand before that Kerry was always just blowing smoke about President Bush's supposed alienation of the global community, you should see it clearly now.

Kerry said, "This election is a sort of demarcation point, and what really counts now is the effort to have a legitimate political reconciliation, and it's going to take a massive diplomatic effort and a much more significant outreach to the international community than this administration has been willing to engage in. Absent that, we will not be successful in Iraq."

This nonsense was bad enough during the election, but we can't let Kerry get away with this kind of inane, destructive rhetoric now. What in the world does he mean by a legitimate political reconciliation, a massive diplomatic effort, a significant outreach to the international community?

Dennis Prager weighs in with The Left is worth nothing.

But the non-Muslims who fail to acknowledge and confront the evil of Muslim terror and the evil of those monsters who cut innocent people's throats and murder those trying to make a democracy -- these people are truly worth nothing. Unlike the Muslims raised in a religious totalitarian society, they have no excuse. And in my lifetime, these people have overwhelmingly congregated on the political Left.

Since the 1960s, with few exceptions, on the greatest questions of good and evil, the Left has either been neutral toward or actively supported evil. The Left could not identify communism as evil; has been neutral toward or actually supported the anti-democratic pro-terrorist Palestinians against the liberal democracy called Israel; and has found it impossible to support the war for democracy and against an Arab/Muslim enemy in Iraq as evil as any fascist the Left ever claimed to hate.

There were intellectually and morally honest arguments against going to war in Iraq. But once the war began, a moral person could not oppose it. No moral person could hope for, let alone act on behalf of, a victory for the Arab/Islamic fascists. Just ask yourself but two questions: If America wins, will there be an increase or decrease in goodness in Iraq and in the world? And then ask what would happen if the Al Qaeda/Zarqawi/Baathists win.

It brings me no pleasure to describe opponents of the Iraqi war as "worth nothing." I know otherwise fine, decent people who oppose the war. So I sincerely apologize for the insult.

The final round comes from Robert Novak and has a very appropriate title: Gambling with Dean.

A prominent financier who has been a stalwart of Democratic fund-raising the past half-century told me last week his patience has been exhausted. He has remained a loyal Democrat while lamenting his party's periodic lurches to the left, but says he will neither contribute nor solicit a dime for the party so long as Howard Dean is chairman of the Democratic National Committee (DNC).

This is not one sorehead issuing idle threats. Many other longtime contributors are telling DNC fund-raisers to count them out if Dean is elected chairman at the DNC's meeting in Washington Feb. 12. Thus, the growing momentum for Dean represents a gamble by Democrats that money from "Deaniacs" on the Internet will compensate for money no longer coming from traditional contributors.

This looks less like a calculated risk than a mad roulette player's tossing everything on double-zero and hoping he gets lucky. Ordinary primary election voters last year were fascinated by Dean at first, but soon abandoned him. He lost 17 out of 18 Democratic primaries (winning only his own state of Vermont) after his Des Moines rant following defeat in the Iowa caucuses. A recent Wall Street Journal-NBC poll shows only 27 percent of Democrats are favorable toward him.

A long time Democratic supporter to cut funds if our favorite primal screamer is selected to chair the DNC? “Deaniacs” making up for the financial withdrawal of stalwart Democratic supporters? Not likely. Why does the far left continue to not only alienate itself from the rest of America, but its party also? Why does the Democratic Party play the fringe when clearly few support Dean as the DNC chair?

I see a new political group forming sometime soon with Dean, Kennedy, and Kerry leading the Kool-Aid swilling maniacs in a charge against the rest of America.

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.