Seen on the road...

Just saw a bumper sticker that roiled me: "War is the failure of imagination." I'd love to have a bumper sticker that says, "Defeat and surrender are failures of imagination."

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Pastoral Letter from +Duncan

The Rt. Rev. Robert Duncan, Bishop of Pittsburgh, has issued the linked pastoral letter to our diocese. May God continue to be with our Bishop, and please pray for him and the Church.

TFH 1/29: First Sergeant Leonard A. Funk Jr., USA

Today's installment of TFH is from the record of Medal of Honor citations, and is a Pittsburgh-area individual to boot:

Rank and organization: First Sergeant, U.S. Army, Company C, 508th
Parachute Infantry, 82d Airborne Division. Place and date: Holzheim, Belgium, 29
January 1945. Entered service at: Wilkinsburg, Pa. Birth: Braddock Township, Pa.
G.O. No.: 75, 5 September 1945. Citation: He distinguished himself by gallant,
intrepid actions against the enemy. After advancing 15 miles in a driving
snowstorm, the American force prepared to attack through waist-deep drifts. The
company executive officer became a casualty, and 1st Sgt. Funk immediately
assumed his duties, forming headquarters soldiers into a combat unit for an
assault in the face of direct artillery shelling and harassing fire from the
right flank. Under his skillful and courageous leadership, this miscellaneous
group and the 3d Platoon attacked 15 houses, cleared them, and took 30 prisoners
without suffering a casualty. The fierce drive of Company C quickly overran
Holzheim, netting some 80 prisoners, who were placed under a 4-man guard, all
that could be spared, while the rest of the understrength unit went about
mopping up isolated points of resistance. An enemy patrol, by means of a ruse,
succeeded in capturing the guards and freeing the prisoners, and had begun
preparations to attack Company C from the rear when 1st Sgt. Funk walked around
the building and into their midst. He was ordered to surrender by a German
officer who pushed a machine pistol into his stomach. Although overwhelmingly
outnumbered and facing almost certain death, 1st Sgt. Funk, pretending to comply
with the order, began slowly to unsling his submachine gun from his shoulder and
then, with lightning motion, brought the muzzle into line and riddled the German
officer. He turned upon the other Germans, firing and shouting to the other
Americans to seize the enemy's weapons. In the ensuing fight 21 Germans were
killed, many wounded, and the remainder captured. 1st Sgt. Funk's bold action
and heroic disregard for his own safety were directly responsible for the
recapture of a vastly superior enemy force, which, if allowed to remain free,
could have taken the widespread units of Company C by surprise and endangered
the entire attack plan.

First Sergeant Leonard A. Funk: January 29, 1945 in the face of the enemies of freedom, was your finest hour!

Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church - Christian or Not?

Kevin Kallsen & Dr. Bill Witt dissect Presiding Bishop Katherine Jefferts Schori's interview with Religion Editor Frank Lockwood of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

Draw your own conclusions on her theology. I've drawn mine.

Check out the rest of the stuff on Anglican TV too!

Sad Sports News

From the AP via ESPN.com: 2006 Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro has been euthanized after the latest setbacks in recovering from the traumatic injuries suffered in the Preakness Stakes. I don't regularly follow horse racing, and certainly don't want to see it banned in animal-rights whacko fashion, but it's hard not to be sad at witnessing (I did watch the Preakness live) a fine animal meet a tragic end.

Carnegie Mellon - no mascot?

This article from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is talking about Carnegie Mellon University's lack of an official mascot. This reminds me of a very entertaining dialogue exchange between a friend of mine and a USMC Lieutenant Colonel during our Battalion Commander's inspection at OCS, July 1990:

LTCOL: "What school do you go to?"
Friend: "Sir, Carnegie Mellon University, Sir!"
LTCOL: "What's your mascot?"
Friend: "Sir, the candidate does not understand the question."
LTCOL: "What's the name of your football team?"
Friend: "The Tartans, Sir!"
LTCOL: "What the hell is a Tartan?"
Friend: "It's a PLAID, Sir!"

The Lieutenant Colonel (sorry, don't remember his name) walked away shaking his head. What a great military moment...

In Memoriam: 1/28/2007

Gregory B. Jarvis - Sharon Christa McAuliffe - Ronald E. McNair - Ellison S. Onizuka

Judith A. Resnik - Francis R. Scobee - Michael J. Smith

STS-51L - January 28, 1986

In Memoriam: 1/27/2007

Virgil I. "Gus" Grissom - Edward H. White II - Roger B. Chaffee

January 27, 1967

We Remember and Honor Their Sacrifice

+Duncan to Attend Primates Meeting

Very, very, very good news - The Rt. Rev. Robert Duncan, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh and Moderator of the Anglican Communion Network will be attending at least some parts of the Anglican Primates' meeting next month in Tanzania!

Stand Firm blog thread
TitusOneNine blog thread

The Rt. Rev. Bruce McPherson (W. Louisiana) will be going too. While +McPherson is not a "Network" bishop, he is firmly behind the Windsor Report and maintaining orthodox Anglicanism in North America.

Mark Harris+ at Preludium obviously doesn't like what's going on (surprise, surprise): Post1 Post2. His blog is one of the very few from the revisionist/reappraiser/progressive side that I can read and appreciate since, while I believe his theology to be mostly off-base and wrong, is at least civil in his discussions of the orthodox. His main complaints are that with +Duncan and +McPherson being there, the left-wing perspective will only be carried forward by Presiding Bishop Schori so she'll be outnumbered and that the "Primates will hear only what they want to hear."

What absolute hogwash! For the last twenty years the Anglican Communion has heard from the Episcopal Church about the rejection of Scripture, the growing Unitarianism of the province's theology, and the absolute disregard for the rest of the provinces by unilateral action. Time and time again since General Convention 2003 the Anglican Communion has called upon the Episcopal Church to repent and return to "the faith once delivered to the saints." They have not, and the Episcopal Church's future in the Anglican Communion is, thankfully, very much in doubt.

Please pray for the Primates' meeting, and for the future of orthodox, Biblical Anglicanism in this Nation and continent!

TFH 1/26: Audie L. Murphy

My first source of honorees for "Their Finest Hour" is Medal of Honor citations. Today's installment of TFH deals with an individual who needs no introduction: Audie L. Murphy, the most decorated U.S. Soldier in World War II. He enlisted in the Army when he was underage, fought with incredible courage, and later became a movie star. Audie L. Murphy was tragically taken from us before his time on May 28, 1971 in a plane crash at age 46.


He was awarded the Medal of Honor, the Distinguished Service Cross, the Silver Star Medal (2), the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star Medal (2), three Purple Heart Medals for wounds received in action. Words I could write about his valor wouldn't do him justice, so I'll just post in its entirety his Medal of Honor citation:

Second Lieutenant Audie L. Murphy, 01692509, 15th Infantry, Army of the United
States, on 26 January 1945, near Holtzwihr, France, commanded Company B, which
was attacked by six tanks and waves of infantry. Lieutenant Murphy ordered his
men to withdraw to a prepared position in a woods while he remained forward at
his command post and continued to give fire directions to the artillery by
telephone. Behind him to his right one of our tank destroyers received a direct
hit and began to burn. Its crew withdrew to the woods. Lieutenant Murphy
continued to direct artillery fire which killed large numbers of the advancing
enemy infantry. With the enemy tanks abreast of his position, Lieutenant Murphy
climbed on the burning tank destroyer which was in danger of blowing up any
instant and employed its .50 caliber machine gun against the enemy. He was alone
and exposed to the German fire from three sides, but his deadly fire killed
dozens of Germans and caused their infantry attack to waver. The enemy tanks,
losing infantry support, began to fall back. For an hour the Germans tried every
available weapon to eliminate Lieutenant Murphy, but he continued to hold his
position and wiped out a squad which was trying to creep up unnoticed on his
right flank. Germans reached as close as 10 yards only to be mowed down by his
fire. He received a leg wound but ignored it and continued the single-handed
fight until his ammunition was exhausted. He then made his way to his company,
refused medical attention, and organized the company in a counterattack which
forced the Germans to withdraw. His directing of artillery fire wiped out many
of the enemy; he personally killed or wounded about 50. Lieutenant Murphy's
indomitable courage and his refusal to give an inch of ground saved his company
from possible encirclement and destruction and enabled it to hold the woods
which had been the enemy's objective.

Image from Wikipedia

Audie L. Murphy: January 26, 1944 near Holtzwihr, France - conduct above and beyond the call of duty in the face of enemies of freedom - was your finest hour!

I feel so much safer...

...now that Nancy Pelosi and John "Surrender" Murtha have visited Iraq, really. I'm sure our troops were lining up to shake hands with them for subverting their mission and morale.

TFH 1/25: MER-B "Opportunity"

Ok, I know, I'm off by a day (darn Wikipedia using GMT to time/date everything!), but in any case the story of the successful landing, and subsequent much-better-than-anybody's-dreams performance, of NASA's two Mars Exploration Rovers is the subject of today's installment of TFH. MER-A, Spirit, successfully landed on Mars on January 3, 2004. Its sibling MER-B, Opportunity, landed on the red planet on January 24, 2004. Successfully landing on Mars is a big deal; many spacecraft - Mariner 3, Mariner 8, Mars Observer, Mars Climate Orbiter, and Mars Polar Lander just to name a few - have all been lost at some point on their journey. Building on the successful landing of Mars Pathfinder on July 4, 1997, engineers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory enhanced the Entry, Descent, and Landing (EDL) systems for use by the MERs. This amazing system of heatshield, parachute, retrorockets, and airbags safely delivered both Spirit and Opportunity to the Martian surface, where they are both still exploring three Earth years later! If you'd like to learn more about what it took to get Spirit and Opportunity to Mars, and how they're still roaming the surface today, check out the main website, but also look at the video clips on this page, particularly the ones for navigating to Mars, and "6 Minutes of Terror" - the story of Entry, Descent, and Landing. This story is even better because both MERs were only designed for a 90 sol (e.g. Martian Day) life span. Spirit will enter its 1,090th sol in the next day; Opportunity is at 978 sols. Getting to Mars safely is a huge achievement. The Mars Exploration Rovers are a national triumph. My congratulations go to all those who have worked on these amazing exploits! However, for navigation engineers Lou D'Amario and Darren Baird (seen in the "navigating" video) - and for EDL engineers Jaime Dyk, Wayne Lee, Rob Manning, Tom Rivellini, and Adam Steltzner (all appear in the "EDL" video) - along with all your other colleagues who were involved with getting the rovers down to the surface, the safe arrivals of Spirit on January 3, 2004 and Opportunity on January 24, 2004 were your finest hour!

AC Judge Manning: Troubling Story

This article, "Judge Manning facing federal inquiry", troubles me. One of my dilemmas as a voter are those "judge retention" elections, where basically you get to say yea or nay on whether or not a jurist should remain on the bench. I usually don't cast a vote for those, since I don't know enough about the judges in question.

Allegheny County Judge Jeffrey Manning, however, is one that I always pull the lever for his retention. I've read about and followed some of the cases he's presided over, and by all accounts he is fair yet strict in applying the law to the letter as it is written.

I sincerely hope that the referenced investigation turns up nothing and that Judge Manning is vindicated of these allegations of preferential treatment to a defense attorney that he is reportedly friends with.

Carl Bernstein: off the deep end

Reporter Carl Bernstein of Watergate fame spouts off in this article about how George W. Bush's administration is worse than Richard Nixon's. Puh-lease! Another example of "Bush Derangement Syndrome" (BDS) as Michelle Malkin would call it.

(Hat tip: Drudge)

Interesting: Clinton vs. Giuliani

From Fox News: A hypothetical Presidential election held today would have Rudy Giuliani beating Hillary Clinton by 7 points; Giuliani would even draw 19 percent of democrat voters.

Giuliani is "America's Mayor" for sure, but could hardly be called a conservative.

The Final Frontier

Just added a bunch of links under "Sites on My Mind" to various NASA web sites. I've always been a "space nut", and strongly believe that space exploration is one of things that our government spends our tax dollars on that can't be funded enough. Check them out.

Later today, I'll be posting about a particular current space project as today's installment of "Their Finest Hour".

TFH 1/24: Robert Baden-Powell

In keeping with the title and spirit of my blog, I am going to endeavor to post daily about one individual or group for whom the date was "Their Finest Hour".

To kick this off, I have found a great one: Robert Stephenson Smyth Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell, who on January 24, 1908 founded the Boy Scout Movement!

I had many great experiences myself in Scouts, including two trips (1987, 1988 Rayado) to Philmont Scout Ranch. If there is one regret of my adolescense, it's that I didn't quite make it to Eagle Scout.

The contributions of Scouting to our world, in the development of leaders, and the building of individual character in young men is without question.

The Scout's Oath: On my honor, I will do my best to do my duty to God and my Country; to obey the Scout Law; to help other people at all times; and to keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight.


The Scout Law: A Scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent.



And yes, I can still do the oath and law from memory! Both the Boy Scouts of America and the World Organization of the Scout Movement are being placed under "Sites on My Mind".

Lord Robert Baden-Powell, establishing the Scouting movement was your finest hour!

Image from Wikipedia

Thoughts on the State of the Union Address

As previously mentioned, I didn't watch the speech last night. I've read the transcript, and have the following thoughts. Quotes from the speech are italicized.

Congratulations, Madam Speaker.
Barf. I know one must play nice, and I certainly am not opposed to a woman in the Speaker's chair, but Nancy Pelosi? I will say one thing about her - she's about as left as they come, and probably still too conservative for the district she represents!

On budget "earmarks":
These special interest items are often slipped into bills at the last hour...over 90 percent of earmarks never make it to the floor of the House and Senate - they are droed into committee reports that are not even part of the bill that arrives on my desk. You did not vote them into law. I did not sign them into law. Yet they are treated as if they have the force of law. The time has come to end this practice.
AMEN, brother! The President says that $18 billion of extra expenditures were added to the budget this way in 2005. Ridiculous, and probably un-Constitutional to boot!

Finally, to keep this economy strong we must take on the challenge of entitlements. Social Security and Medicare and Medicaid are commitments of conscience - and so it is our duty to keep them permanently sound. Yet we are failing in that duty - and this failure will one day leave our children with three bad options: huge tax increases, huge deficits, or huge and immediate cuts in benefits.
How about we start with Constitutionally authorizing those programs? I agree with you Mr. President, but forget it. The Dems won't play on any common sense solution, privatization in particular, that would actually help the situation. Furthermore, "huge tax increases" isn't a bad option to them, it's the primary point of attack.

I propose a standard tax deduction for health insurance...Families with health insurance will pay no income or payroll taxes on $15,000 of their income.
I never saw a tax cut I didn't like. ROCK ON! Dems won't go for it though.

States that make basic private health insurance available to all their citizens should receive federal funds to help them provide this coverage to the poor and sick.
Emphasizing the private sector option, good. However, I still want somebody to show me where the Congress is Constitutionally authorized to spend money this way.

[P]rotect good doctors from junk lawsuits by passing medical liability reform.
Too late W. The only chance for much-needed tort reform would have been with a Republican Congress.

No quotes, but the President's comments on illegal immigration read as soft and limp. Complete enforcement first. Round up and deport all illegal immigrants second. Come up with "guest woker" or whatever you want to call it programs third. That's the way it should be.

Energy issues. Good that he mentioned increasing use of nuclear power. Stepping up domestic production, even better. Increasing fuel efficency standards, probably won't do a whole lot since consumption increases will likely outstrip efficency gains.

Every one of us wishes that this war were over and won. Yet it would not be like us to leave our promises unkept, our friends abandoned, and our own security at risk. Ladies and gentlemen: on this day, at this hour, it is still within our power to shape the outcome of this battle. So let us find our resolve, and turn events toward victory.
Too weak! Will somebody please come forth and state that there are only two outcomes possible in war? Outcome 1: complete unconditonal surrender of our enemies. Outcome 2: if they won't surrender, then they will be completely and totally annihilated. That is how war should be waged! Churchill said it best: "Victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory no matter how long and hard the road may be; for without victory there is no survival!"

Overall, not too much to be upset about. It matters not though, because the lefties will forever stand in the way of anything productive.

Prayers for the Faithful

Bishop Lee of the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia (ed. comment: "thediocese.net"? Isn't that a bit pompous?) has announced the inhibition of the orthodox, Bible-centered priests who have rightfully led their parishes - after, I might add, a 40-day discernment process - out of the Episcopal Church and into the Convocation of Anglicans in North America (CANA). Please pray for the below listed men and women of deep faith and principle:

The Rev. Robin T. Adams
The Rev. Marshall Brown
The Rev. E. Kathleen Christopher
The Rev. Jack W. Grubbs
The Rev. David N. Jones
The Rev. Herbert J. McMullan
The Rev. Valarie A. Whitcomb
The Rev. George R. Beaven
The Rev. Neal H. Brown
The Rev. Richard C. Crocker
The Rev. John A.M. Guernsey
The Rev. Nicholas P.N. Lebelfeld
The Rev. Elijah B. White
The Rev. John W. Yates II
The Rev. Mark W. Brown
The Rev. Jeffrey O. Cerar
The Rev. Ramsey D. Gilchrist
The Rev. David R. Harper
The Rev. Marion D. Lucas, III
The Rev. Robin Rauh
The Rev. Frederick M. Wright

Lord, please protect and strengthen your servants and leaders in the Anglican District of Virginia, CANA. Let your Holy Spirit continue to pour out upon them, their congregations, and may it spread to others who are struggling with the crisis in our denomination. I ask in Jesus' name. Amen.

He who would valiant be 'gainst all disaster
Let him in constancy follow the Master!

Their decision to stand with the Faith once delivered to the Saints instead of with the unitarian theology of the Episcopal Church may well be their finest hour.

Hat tips: Stand Firm and TitusOneNine

State of the Union

I am not going to be watching President Bush's address to the Congress and the Nation tonight because, based on what I've already heard and read in the various press previews, it will most likely disgust me.

6 1/2 years ago, in the summer of 2000, I had absolutely no enthusiasm for George W. Bush until the stirring address he made to the Republican National Convention. Today, I believe the President has destroyed the promise of his Administration by not prosecuting the War on Terror with the ferocity, violence, and unrelenting destruction that warfare demands, by sacrificing pure Conservative principles and embracing big government solutions, by endless kowtowing to liberals, etc., etc., etc.

I will read the transcript, and rip it to shreds on this blog tomorrow.

Hate to say it, but W has turned into his father, and this post is going to go in the RINO category.

Local politicians with their heads in the sand, I mean, ice

This article and also this one are the latest from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on the saga of the wrangling with the Pittsburgh Penguins to try and get a deal done for a new arena before they become the Kansas City Penguins.

Let me get this straight: the state and local folks trying to keep the Penguins here are asking the team to help pay for construction of a new arena, then pay rent on the arena, then still share revenues produced by the arena, and also wait at least two or three years before they can play in the arena, right?

Meanwhile, there is a 95% complete, brand-new, state-of-the-art facility in Kansas City nearly ready and waiting, with 100% of the luxury suites already sold, that the team doesn't have to pay for, gets rent free, and gets the majority of revenues?

The locals then call their proposals either competitive or superior to KC's? Earth to Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, and Pennsylvania powers-that-be: DUH!

Mike Lange is going to be quipping "Elvis has just left the building" for real at the end of this season. The Penguins, in the Steel City, are soon-to-be history.

UPDATE @ 13:42: just saw that the P-G has added to one of the stories that PA Gov. Ed Rendell (a.k.a "Less Red Ed" or "Pinky") is now saying that if the Penguins don't accept their offer, TPTB are going to go whine to the NHL and its Board of Governors to prevent the team from moving and make them accept the Pittsburgh deal. Hmmmm, let's see... Kansas City = bigger market than Pittsburgh. Houston = bigger market than Pittsburgh. Just about anywhere else that's been mentioned as a possible relocation city for the team = bigger market than Pittsburgh. Just about anywhere else = better facilities, better deal. Once more, Earth to them: DUH!

Bad Photoshop Job of the Day

Glad he's our new coach, but did they have to cut and paste Mike Tomlin's head onto a Steelers' shirt? Let's show the guy some respect! Picture direct from the Steelers' website:

Doesn't anybody at the Steelers have a digital camera and a spare polo shirt, so that they could have done a real job?

Coach Mike Tomlin: Steelers' News Conference

Live blogged comments:

From the horse's mouth, Coach Tomlin will retain Dick LeBeau as Steelers' defensive coordinator. Great news - probably won't mean a wholesale change of the Steelers' 3-4 base defense. Reading between the lines, it means that they'll have to build the personnel to switch to a "Tampa 2" 4-3. Best guess, Steelers take a quick DE with their 1st draft pick, looking to a 4-3 future.

Bravo! He's stressing that Coaches Dungy & Smith making it to the Super Bowl is significant because of the quality of the individuals, NOT because they just happen to be African-Americans.

UPDATE: other coaching positions will be settled "in the next few days".

UPDATE: he's talking about how he'll be involved in personnel decisions and basically saying what a great organization it will be to work in. Translation: "So long as I don't make a complete pig's breakfast of this job, it's my job until I don't want it any more!" ;-)

UPDATE: "as coaches, we have to be flexible schematically" - skirting around the 3-4 vs.4-3 issue. Can't argue with him though. Basic methodology is get good players, and game-plan for their strengths.

UPDATE: says he hasn't spoken to Russ Grimm, says he probably will. I really doubt that Coach Grimm will be back. Getting passed over is asking too much to have him stay on, even if hypothetically, he became the offensive coordinator.

Press conference ends at 15:57. Impressive. Said all the right things, must have used the term "blue collar" about a dozen times. As a Steelers' fan, I'm looking forward to seeing him prowl the sidelines for hopefully the next 15-20 years, and bring a couple more of those Lombardi Trophies back to Steel City.

Super Bowl XLI: Colts vs. Bears

Yesterday's NFC Championship Game was anti-climactic. Reggie Bush's 82-yard touchdown scamper made it look like it would be a game, but then the Saints went all pass-whacky and didn't ram the ball down the Bears' throat with the duo of Deuce McAllister and Bush.

However, the AFC Championship Game was a classic. Especially after Peyton Manning and the Colts had that late 2nd quarter interception run in for a touchdown to make the game Patriots 21, Colts 3 - it sure looked like that monkey was not just clinging to Manning's back, it was welded on.

Manning was superb in the 2nd half, and they're off to the Super Bowl. I'll be pulling for the Colts in the game. Early prediction: Colts 28, Bears 10.

Steelers: it's Tomlin!

After this weekend's mix of "It's Tomlin" and "It's Grimm" stories, the Pittsburgh Steelers will reportedly introduce Mike Tomlin as their new head coach today, according to this story by Ed Bouchette and Gerry Dulac in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

I like the pick. It will be interesting to see what happens on the Steelers' defense, having spent the last 10+ years running the 3-4 zone blitz as Coach Tomlin is a proponent of the 4-3 Cover 2/"Tampa 2". Could be a lot of personnel changes on defense if the base package changes, since we don't have a 4-3 style D-Linemen, or linebackers for that matter. Switching to a form of Cover 2 could also affect the Steelers best defensive player, SS Troy Polamalu, since with two deep safeties, unless they're going to play nickle on every down, Polamalu's usual "all over the place" play won't work.

Another example of "enemies domestic"?

Just read an article in the Pittsburgh City Paper entitled "Targeting 'Modern Bullet Factory,' POG to block CMU Building". "POG" is the Pittsburgh Organizing Group, our local ultra-left wing band of peaceniks, and "CMU" is Carnegie Mellon University. The building they're planning to blockade on 3/2/2007 is the National Robotics Engineering Center.

CMU's robotics arm is at the cutting edge of developing autonomous combat systems that will help keep our brave Warfighters safe under fire.

Let's get this straight: the left cares not for our troops. They care only for furthering their whacko agenda and destroying this Nation's ability to defend ourselves, thereby coddling our enemies.

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"One church makes way for another"

What a heartwarming story! Please keep these congregations in your prayers.
(Hat tip: TitusOneNine)

Oh, Jimmy

Former President Carter, that is. Assuming this is true, and I have no reason to doubt it is, it's a disgrace. Of course, why be surprised that someone who is content to give Palestininan terrorists everything they want at the expense of Israel would also try to intervene on behalf of a Nazi war criminal? (Hat tip: Drudge)

Katie Couric at the White House

Katie Couric on CBS' web site has made this post about a "deep background" press briefing at 1600 Pensylvania Avenue that she participated in. The post's theme is Ms. Couric looking around the room and finding she's the only woman there. To that point, I say, "so what?"

The quote I took away from the post is: "And even though I’ve been in this business for more years than I’d like to admit, and interviewed countless Presidents and world leaders, it’s still thrilling—and even a little awe-inspiring—to get “briefed” at the White House, no matter who is sitting in the Oval Office." [emphasis mine].

Let a liberal - politician, reporter, whomever - rattle on long enough, and their true colors will always show! Does anybody think she'd have written the "no matter who..." part if there was a Democrat in the White House?

To address her main beef though - Ms. Couric, especially since we just celebrated MLK (you know, the guy who said "I have a dream that one day men will be judged not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.") day, shouldn't the people "at the table" be the ones who got their on their merits, not their sex or some other naturally occuring physical attribute?

Ooooo, I'm scared now

The Board of the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists have moved their "Doomsday Clock" two minutes closer to "midnight" - i.e. the end of the world - it sits now at 23:55.

I'm agreed that we all should be worried about the possibility (likelihood?) of nations such as Iran and North Korea having nuclear weapons, but I really turn them off when I see:

Global warming presents a dire threat to human civilization that is second only
to nuclear weapons.

Yeah, right. Their clock will now include ridiculous fears of climate change in calculating the time to the supposed end of the world. Whatever.

"The Closer" Wins!

Congratulations to Kyra Sedgwick for winning the Golden Globe award (Best Actress in a TV Drama) for her role as Deputy Chief Brenda Lee Johnson on TNT's "The Closer"! She earlier won a Screen Actors' Guild award too.

If you haven't seen this show yet, I highly encourage you to check it out. It's in my top three on TV right now, along with "CSI" and "Shark", both on CBS. The first season of the show is available on DVD too.

Neck stretched a little too far...

By now, everybody has probably heard that two of Saddam Hussein's associates have followed him to the gallows, and one of them was inadvertently decapitated by the hanging.

So what????? The world is a better place that these men are gone from it. Would the world have shown as much concern and compassion for the human rights and existence of their countless victims as the powers that be are for these evil men.

By my account, Hussein et al. have gotten off lightly. The traditional end for dictators is more like how Mussolini (warning: graphic image) or Ceausescu met their demise. I'm sure a large portion of the Iraqi populace would have loved to see them swinging from a lamp post, or trampled in the street. What do you think the victims of Halabja deserve?

Will Grimm replace the Chin?

ESPN is reporting that the Steelers have narrowed their coach search to three: current Assistant Head Coach Russ Grimm, Vikings' Defensive Coordinator Mike Tomlin, and Bears' Defensive Coordinator Ron Rivera. The P-G's Ed Bouchette sounds off here on the story.

At this time, it would appear that the interview over the weekend with Georgia Tech's Chan Gailey (former Steelers' Offensive Coordinator) and the "permission asking" by the Steelers to consider Mike Sherman (current Texans' Assistant Head Coach/Offense, former GB Packers' head coach) will go nowhere. Sherman didn't even interview; when I heard his name mentioned, have to admit I was intrigued by the possibility.

Conventional wisdom is that if the Steelers don't announce their selection in the next several days, that puts Ron Rivera in the front runner position since the Steelers can't engage him any more until after the Bears' season is done. According to Bouchette, Tomlin has his 2nd interview tomorrow, Grimm on Wednesday.

I'd go with Grimm at this point - let's maintain some continuity on the staff. If there is no announcement on Thursday or Friday, then it will probably be Rivera.

BTW, congratulations to former Steelers' Offensive Coordinator Ken Whisenhunt, who is going to be the new Head Coach of the Arizona Cardinals. The Steelers play at Arizona next year, so mark that one down on the calendar! Unfortunately for Coach Whisenhunt, the Cardinals just seem to be one of those franchises mired in perpetual mediocrity.

How much you want to bet that Whis' first official act as Head Coach will be to tell Matt Leinart to sell his motorcycle, if he owns one. ;-)

Liberalism...at the Weather Channel?

Sister Toldjah has a great take on Environmental Whacko-ism encroaching on the Weather Channel.

Chomp, Chomp, Chompians!

Congratulations to the Florida Gators! Anybody who jobs Ohio State that badly on the gridiron gets my praise! (First saw the "Chompians" moniker at ESPN.com)

With Repulicans like these...

...who needs Democrats?

Aaaaaaahnold has proposed universal health coverage in California, essentially state-subsidized private insurance. Good on the surface, troubling underneath.

This post launches my "RINO" category.

Thank you, Bill Cowher!

Pittsburgh Steelers' head coach has made it official: he will be "retiring" and not be the Black'n'Gold's Chief Chin on the sidelines next year, and likely ever again. I felt for sure that when NC State hired Tom O'Brien away from Boston College that we'd have Bill back for another season.

Here's a link to the NFL's article on his resignation.
And the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Can't wait to see him on TV next year though. I'm sure he'll be an analyst for someone.

15 Seasons
161-99-1, .619
10 Playoff Appearances
8 Division Titles
2 AFC Championships
Super Bowl XL Champion
Canton anyone?

Bill, when you decide to return to the sidelines, please, anywhere but Baltimore, Dallas, or perish the thought, CLEVELAND.

Absurdity from the Pennsylvania 4th Congressional District

A road trip? For a new member of the House of Representatives? Give. Me. A. Break.

Parenting Tip of the Day: Do Not Let Your Children Watch the News

This story is tragic, truly tragic. Parents, please remember that television news is PG-13 rated at best. Given today's media saturation that we're all subject to, I know it's a difficult proposition to shelter our young ones from current events - like hanging videos that are all over TV and the Internet - but keeping them from even the local ("if it bleeds, it leads") news, is an easy step we can all take.

Hat tip: Drudge.

Back for the New Year

Greetings all, hope everybody is having a Happy New Year! Really, I'm going to be posting more, not that I actually think anybody is reading this! ;-)