Edwards Expects McCain to be the GOP Nominee

He didn't actually come out and say that, but John Edwards clearly plans to run the Iraq part of his campaign against John McCain:

Former Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., now a declared candidate for president in 2008, said in an exclusive interview with George Stephanopoulos set to air Sunday on ABC News' "This Week," that he expects Iraq will be one of the critical issues in upcoming campaign.

Edwards told Stephanopoulos that he opposes the idea of surging troops in Iraq in 2007 and called plans to escalate the war the "McCain doctrine" — naming it after the undeclared, possible Republican presidential front runner, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.

He might consider calling it the "Reid Doctrine" since Harry Reid has promoted much the same idea as McCain, but that wouldn't give Edwards something to complain about.

The Maiming of the Turks

As we discussed in a previous post, some Muslim festivities like the hajj can be hazardous to your health. The festival if Eid, which is kicking off right about now, has also had its share of casualties in Turkey:

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) - Over a thousand Turks spent the first day of the Muslim feast of Eid al-Adha in emergency wards on Sunday after stabbing themselves or suffering other injuries while sacrificing startled animals.

At least 1,413 people - referred to as "amateur butchers" by the Turkish media - were treated at hospitals across the country, most suffering cuts to their hands and legs, the Anatolia news agency reported.

Four people were severely injured, crushed under the weight of large animals that fell on top of them, the agency reported. Another person was hurt when a crane used to lift an animal tumbled onto him, the agency said.

Three other people suffered heart attacks and died while trying to restrain animals, CNN-Turk television reported.

Muslims sacrifice cows, sheep, goats and bulls during the four-day religious holiday, a ritual commemorating the biblical account of God's provision of a ram for Abraham to sacrifice as he was about to slay his son. They share the meat with friends, family and neighbors and give part of it to the poor.

And of course, the other favorite festival this year - the hanging of the dictator - went off without a hitch with only one fatal injury.

Will 2007 Be Good or Bad? Don't Check the Polls

Depends on how you look at the polls. For instance, the AP-AOL News poll sees gloom and doom:

WASHINGTON (AP) - Another terrorist attack, a warmer planet, death and destruction from a natural disaster. These are among Americans' grim predictions for the United States in 2007.

But on a brighter note, only a minority of people think the U.S. will go to war with Iran or North Korea over the countries' nuclear ambitions. An overwhelming majority thinks Congress will raise the federal minimum wage. A third sees hope for a cure to cancer.

These are among the findings of an Associated Press-AOL News poll that asked Americans to gaze into their crystal balls and contemplate what 2007 holds for the country.

Six in 10 people think the U.S. will be the victim of another terrorist attack next year, more than five years after the Sept. 11 assault on New York and Washington. An identical percentage think it is likely that bad guys will unleash a biological or nuclear weapon elsewhere in the world.

There is plenty of gloom to accompany all of that doom.

Given the AP's general anti-American tone in all their coverage, I can't say I'm surprised that they found gloomy people expecting doom.

But wait - there's more! Another AP story on the exact same AP poll says just the opposite:

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The news from Iraq and other national headlines may be grim, but in Greenville, N.C., John Given has a new baby and his first home, and life is good.

So, too, for Sandra Trowbridge in tiny Magnet Cove, Ark. The situation in Iraq makes her feel pessimistic about the state of the nation, but at home, at least, all is well. Even if nothing special has happened to her family, she says, "we still love each other," and that's enough.

And so it goes for most Americans. An AP-AOL News Poll finds that while most Americans said 2006 was a bad year for the country, three-fourths thought it had been a good one for them and their families.

Polling results are clearly in the eye of the beholder, which makes them essentially useless. However, these two stories do point out a reality about America today. If you ask someone how they think other people are doing, they'll often react pessimistically, because that's all they've been hearing on the news. Other people must be suffering and having problems - Katie Couric told me so.

However, if you ask them about their own lives and situations, they are often much more positive and enthusiastic. Why? Because the economic data, the greatest story never told as Larry Kudlow proclaims, shows that most Americans are doing very well, but the lack of reporting of those facts lends a feeling of doom and gloom.

My happiness is not dependent upon polls, so whenever I hear a poll proclaiming dark days, I just ask myself if that's true for me? Since it's not, the pollsters can go pound sand because their results are irrelevant to me and don't affect my life.

America's First Female President

No, it wasn't Jimmy Carter. As Gary Nelson points out in an interesting article in the Arizona Republic, America had a female president for the latter part of President Wilson's term in the early 1900's thanks to Wilson's illness. It's worth reading.

Newsweek Gets One Right

There was quite a debate at Newsweek over this week's cover story. They got it right:

NEWSWEEK's managing editor has decided to place President Ford on the cover of next week's issue -- over the execution of Saddam.

Even before news came of Saddam's execution, there was debate at the magazine about whether Ford's death merited a cover story; some dismissed him as a "transitional" president, explains the magazine's Jon Meacham.

"I felt differently. There is much to learn from Ford's legacy-one that we explain and explore in detail-and his brief, 29-month presidency shapes us still. This is not to say that Saddam is an unimportant historical figure: we have twice gone to war against him, and many American soldiers have died fighting him and his regime. But his death in 2006 matters less than his removal in 2003 does. America faces a terrible predicament in Iraq, and that predicament is the same today as it was on the day before Saddam was hanged."

He continues: "There could be no greater contrast than that between Gerald Ford and Saddam Hussein, and word of Saddam's death illuminated Ford's grace and generosity even more."

When one of only 42 men* in the nation's history who have served as president passes away, that should certainly trump other news.

*I know - President Bush is the 43rd President of the United States, but Grover Cleveland served twice making him the 22nd and 24th President of the United States.

A Couple of Memorable New Year's Eves

I'm sure we've all got New Year's Eve stories, and mine usually involve singing somewhere. Back in my younger days I remember a couple that will stay with me forever.

The first was in 1983. The quartet I was in at the time was set to sing for a New Year's Eve event at Rose Drive Friends Church in Yorba Linda. The church's plan for the evening was to celebrate the new year along with the folks in New York, so instead of hanging around until midnight, the event ended shortly after 9pm. That was a good idea since it got everybody home at a decent time.

I lived in a duplex in Santa Ana at the time, and I was very much the minority around there. The neighborhood was overwhelmingly Hispanic, and though most were good hard working family folk, we had our share of gang-bangers too.

I arrived home from the concert at about 10:15 pm and as I was walking up to my front door I heard tires squealing and looked up to see a car skidding around the corner (my house was on the corner) with a cop in hot pursuit. They ended up a couple of blocks away, and fortunately didn't end up in my front yard. I figured the excitement was over for the night.

This was my second New Year's Eve in Santa Ana, but the first time I was home at midnight. Around 11:50 I started hearing random shots and by midnight it sounded like the Tet offensive. The locals were firing everything from handguns to automatic weapons. I kept waiting for bullets to come crashing through my house. Needless to say, I kept a low profile until the shooting stopped around 12:30 or so.

The second night that sticks in my mind was in 1986. I was engaged at the time to the future Mrs. HolyCoast and we were spending a week with my folks up in a rented house in Running Springs. On New Year's Eve we were scheduled to sing at a banquet at the Anaheim Marriott near Disneyland. We drove down from the mountains to attend the banquet, and also on the program that night was Roy and Dale Evans and Thurl Ravenscroft, the voice of Tony the Tiger (and many rides at Disneyland). My wife-to-be got to talk to Dale Evans for awhile, and she even offered marital advice (they had been married about 50 years at that point). I had my picture taken with Roy and Thurl, and following the event's end near midnight, we drove 75 miles back up to the mountain house. It was a late night, but lots of fun.

This year we'll probably just hang around the house and may not even stay up until midnight. That's what happens when you get old (and don't have a better offer).

Defending the Right of Sheep to be Gay

More progress on the scientific front:

SCIENTISTS are conducting experiments to change the sexuality of “gay” sheep in a programme that critics fear could pave the way for breeding out homosexuality in humans.

The technique being developed by American researchers adjusts the hormonal balance in the brains of homosexual rams so that they are more inclined to mate with ewes.

It raises the prospect that pregnant women could one day be offered a treatment to reduce or eliminate the chance that their offspring will be homosexual. Experts say that, in theory, the “straightening” procedure on humans could be as simple as a hormone supplement for mothers-to-be, worn on the skin like an anti-smoking nicotine patch.

Good news? Not for some people:

The research, at Oregon State University in the city of Corvallis and at the Oregon Health and Science University in Portland, has caused an outcry. Martina Navratilova, the lesbian tennis player who won Wimbledon nine times, and scientists and gay rights campaigners in Britain have called for the project to be abandoned.

Navratilova defended the “right” of sheep to be gay. She said: “How can it be that in the year 2006 a major university would host such homophobic and cruel experiments?” She said gay men and lesbians would be “deeply offended” by the social implications of the tests.

A gay woman athlete? Imagine that.

Navratilova thinks fixing gay sheep is a ba-a-a-a-a-a-a-d idea. However, should such a hormone treatment become available, I'll bet it's popular.

Gerald Ford - the Correct Model for Ex-President

Robert Kaplan has a piece today in The Atlantic which praises the way Gerald Ford handled his post-presidency, and makes some unflattering comparison to the man to defeated him in 1976:

In all the commentary about Gerald Ford, one aspect of his life that has received little notice, but which I suspect is subconsciously behind a lot of the accolades, was his public role after he left the White House. It was understated to the point of disappearance. Two years ago in a piece about the media in Policy Review, I wrote that it may take long "for the realization to seep in that Ford has been our greatest contemporary ex-president. For in an age of mass media, where divinity is dependent upon being noticed by the crowd and being forgotten is the equivalent of excommunication—high character is rightly defined by the willingness to embrace obscurity the moment one relinquishes lofty bureaucratic responsibility."

Indeed, because of the way technology has revolutionized the media, never before in history have all of us been so tempted, and under so much social pressure, to have our opinions in the marketplace. If any former president has been a creature of an age of mass media it has been Jimmy Carter, who for a generation now, cannot seem to go a few weeks without issuing a statement, embarking on a diplomatic initiative, or publishing yet another new book or article. Behind all his undeniable good deeds, this former president seems to have an obsession with being noticed by the crowd. While his diplomatic initiatives have sometimes been well-founded, overall they have complicated rather than helped along the work of sitting presidents, both Democratic and Republican. It is almost as though he has been competing with them, offering an alternative address for foreign dictators who don't much like White House policy. And yet the more high profile stunts he tries—and the more books he publishes—the more devalued he seems to become. Being noticed by the crowd exacts its own law of diminishing returns.

Contrarily, there was Ford. In the 1980s, I remember commentators saying that while Carter was engaged with the world's problems, Ford was merely on the golf course. But that was precisely the point. A former president should, at least in a public sense, fade away to a significant degree, so as to leave his successors as wide a berth as possible for action. Of course, Carter has done much good with his foundation that rarely gets public attention. And, of course, Ford was quite active in good works, even as he spoke out on domestic and global issues on occasion. My point is only that Ford's high character was evinced by his willingness to generally shun publicity rather than to welcome it. The result was an air of dignity that grew over the years, encouraging the current tributes.

Don't you think that Ford had to bite his lip more than once during Carter's hapless administration? Maybe even offer an "I told you so" once or twice? However he might have felt, he had the class and character to stay out of the way. Too bad Carter and Clinton haven't figured that out.

Read the rest of it here.

WMD Found in Iraq

Scott Ott reports that WMD has indeed been found in Iraq:

WMD Found Hanging from Rope in Iraq
by Scott Ott

(2006-12-30) — The Pentagon announced this morning that a weapon of
mass destruction (WMD) was found today in Baghdad, hanging from a
rope on a platform.

“This particular WMD,” a Pentagon spokesman said, “is known to have
killed thousands of Iraqis, as well as Iranians, Kuwaitis and some
U.S. troops.”

The weapon is described as “a nasty, corrosive agent which kills
indiscriminately and without warning.”

“A lot of folks — including Hans Blix, the United Nations and the
Democrats — said there were no WMD in Iraq,” the Pentagon source
said. “Perhaps they were just looking in all the wrong places.”

According to Iraqi government sources, the WMD has been contained,
neutralized and prepared for burial.

How true.

Scum Removed

A local police shooting was solved with the death of the suspect, a guy who had been deported several times but was still running free in Southern California, and who had no qualms about shooting police officers (and anyone else to got in the way):

An illegal immigrant who had been deported from the United States several times but returned each time and now was being sought for wounding two police officers in Long Beach, Calif., has died in a shooting with officers who tracked him to a taco stand in Santa Ana, authorities have confirmed.

Santa Ana Police Chief Paul Walters said Oscar Gabriel Gallegos, wanted for the shooting of Long Beach officers Abram Yap and Roy Wade Jr. as they sat in their squad car Dec. 22, died while trying to shoot three of his officers with a .40-caliber Glock equipped with a laser sight. Walters told the Orange County Register that Gallegos carried two fully loaded magazines in his pocket during the confrontation.
"He was either going to kill the officers or be killed," Walters said. "Fortunately, the right person got killed."

The Long Beach officers, who had stopped Gallegos for running a red light, are recovering from their injuries in the hospital, officials said.

At a news conference, Steve Cooley, the Los Angeles County district attorney, said Gallegos was an illegal immigrant who had been deported to Mexico several times, most recently in 1996, according to federal immigration records.

Authorities in Long Beach said Gallegos also had faced weapons and drug charges over the years, and Police Chief Anthony Batts said Gallegos was "an evil man."

The Democrats are planning to cut the funding for the border fence, and make it easier for illegals to gain citizenship. They always use the example of the poor hardworking illegal who just wants to come here to send money back to his family, but guys like Gallegos also get in when we allow our border to continue to be a sieve.

Coral Ridge Pastor Suffers Heart Attack

The senior pastor of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church has suffered a serious heart attack:

D. James Kennedy, author, theologian, biblical scholar, pastor of the 10,000-member "Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church" in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and founder of the highly influential Coral Ridge Ministries, suffered a major heart attack last night and is in grave condition, ministry officials tell WND.

According to Mary Ann Bunker, Kennedy's long-time personal assistant, the 75-year-old religious leader had a "severe" cardiac arrest last evening.

"He was home at the time," she said, noting that "the last time he preached was on Christmas Eve. He was home in the kitchen. He fell, and his wife caught him, and gave him CPR until the ambulance arrived."

I wouldn't call Kennedy a "televangelist", though his church's services were carried on television every week. If there was ever evidence that there's still a market for traditional church service, it was Coral Ridge, which was about as traditional a service as you would ever want to see. The audience still dresses up for church and the music is pretty much straight out of the hold hymnals. The place was packed every week too, so at least in some areas, traditional services still work.

I wish him well.

Edwards Has the Wrong Message

Larry Kudlow writes today at RealClearPolitics.com about John Edwards entrance into the '08 presidential field:

So, John Edwards has thrown his hat into the presidential ring.

Unfortunately, he has a losing message.

His ultra-liberal approach will elicit only a small niche of support among the ultra lefties in the Democratic Party.

Democrats know (or at least, I think they know) that their success in the 2006 midterm election was largely a function of their best efforts to imitate Republicans. It was the conservative Blue Dog Democrats who were the tail successfully wagging the entire Democratic dog.

That said, if John Edwards somehow managed to reverse this tide and win his party's nomination, he would lead his party to a crushing defeat in 2008.

Edwards' "Two Americas" stump speech may be very popular with the "we hate America" crowd on the left, but it certainly doesn't reflect reality in America and paints an image unworthy of an American president. As a multi-millionaire trial lawyer who just sold his Georgetown townhome for $5.2 million, he hardly represents the poor and downtrodden among us, though he thinks throwing a few shovelfulls of dirt in New Orleans will make him a champion of the people.

He's all image and fluff and no real substance, and hasn't a chance in a field that will be dominated with much bigger personalities.

Saddam Gone

The Iraqis carried out the execution of Saddam Hussein:

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - Saddam Hussein, the shotgun-waving dictator who ruled Iraq with a remorseless brutality for a quarter-century and was driven from power by a U.S.-led war that left his country in shambles, was taken to the gallows clutching a Quran and hanged Saturday.

In Baghdad's Shiite enclave of Sadr City, people danced in the streets while others fired guns in the air to celebrate the former dictator's death. The government did not impose a round-the-clock curfew as it did last month when Saddam was convicted to thwart any surge in retaliatory violence.

To paraphrase Patrick Henry, I regret that Saddam had only one life to give for his crimes. If there's any real justice, he'll spend eternity being given the same treatment he gave so many others.

Say what you want about the current state of affairs in Iraq, but you have to appreciate their justice system when it comes to capital cases. If we had a system like that we wouldn't be worrying if the guy who has been on death row for 27 years felt a little pain when he was poked with the needle on the executioner's gurney.

The Least Wonderful Time of the Year

My favorite and least favorite days of the year come about a month apart. The favorite day is the Friday after Thanksgiving when the many boxes of Christmas decorations come out and the house is transformed into a winter wonderland. It's usually a two day effort, but when it's done, the house looks great inside and out.

You can probably guess what my least favorite day is - today, the day when everything starts coming down. There's a finality to all of it that really takes the wind out of the holiday sails. I'm the lighting director, so I spent the day taking down and putting away all the outside and inside lights, along with various other chores such as removing the garland on the banisters and taking all the ornaments and lighting off the tree (we've got a lot of stuff). The wife and daughter were putting away other decorations, including two nativity sets and two Victorian villages.

We still have some big stuff left for tomorrow. The 6' lighted wreath at the top of the stairs takes four of us to hang back up in the garage, and the 9' tree will take at least three of us to get back up in its spot in the garage. My boy, who is now over 6' tall and has a better sense of balance than me will have to get up on the ladder to take the window lighting down, and then climb the tree to get the last of the outdoor lights. Better him than me.

We were the first ones in the neighborhood to get the lights up, and it looks like we'll be the first to take them down. One of my neighbors didn't put his lights up until two days before Christmas. Why bother?

I saw something today that kind of caught my attention. I stopped in a Togo's to pick up lunch and a four man fire engine crew was in there ordering their lunch. I won't give the engine number because I don't want to create any problems for anybody, but when they still had one guy left to order their pagers started going off. I figured if they had a call they probably would have dropped everything and headed out.

However, the fourth guy went ahead and ordered his sandwich, the guys filled their drinks, and the captain waited as the manager processed his credit card. He grabbed up all the sandwiches and headed for the engine, lit up the lights and siren and took off. Apparently the pagers were signalling an emergency call for that paramedic engine company, and finishing their order added at least 5 minutes to their response time. I sure hope whatever they were going to wasn't time critical. I'd hate to think my loved one died because the paramedic was delayed while his submarine sandwich was being made.

I don't want to judge their actions too harshly, since for all I know the decision to finish up may have been within department policy, but just looking at it as an outsider, it was a little puzzling.

More work tomorrow (and hopefully it won't involve paramedics).

Uday & Qusay - Daddy Will Be Home Soon!

Saddam Hussein will soon be joining his evil sons in hell.

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Saddam Hussein's date with death could be just hours away. The former president of Iraq will be hanged by Saturday at the latest, an Iraqi judge said Friday night in Baghdad.

Saddam's chief lawyer said the U.S. had turned over custody of the mass murderer to Iraqi officials, one of the last steps necessary before the execution. An Iraqi parliamentarian, Methal Al Aloser, backed up the lawyer's claims. Al Aloser said not only had Saddam been handed over, but all papers and documents were finalized and the execution will be soon.

It's already Saturday in Iraq, so the big guy's date with the noose is drawing close.

UPDATE: Saddam to hang between 6:30 & 7:00 PM PST. Saddam will have company:

Also to be hanged at that time were Saddam's half-brother Barzan Ibrahim and Awad Hamed al-Bandar, the former chief justice of the Revolutionary Court, the adviser said.

The question now is whether Saddam's hanging will stoke the fires of the insurgency, or put them out.

Will There Be a New Entry in the Record Books At this Year's Hajj?

The annual hajj pilgimage to Mecca is underway as millions of the faithful flock to the holy city. Unfortunately, this event has often been marked with the tragic deaths of hundreds or even thousands. Some previous examples (from Wikipedia):

• On July 2, 1990, a stampede inside a pedestrian tunnel (Al-Ma'aisim tunnel) leading out from Mecca towards Mina and the Plains of Arafat led to the deaths of 1,426 pilgrims.
• On May 23, 1994, a stampede killed at least 270 pilgrims at the stoning of the Devil ritual.
• On April 9, 1998, at least 118 pilgrims were trampled to death and 180 injured in an incident on Jamarat Bridge. [1]
• On March 5, 2001, 35 pilgrims were trampled to death in a stampede during the stoning of the Devil ritual.
• On February 11, 2003, the stoning of the Devil ritual claimed 14 pilgrims' lives. [2]
• On February 1, 2004, 251 pilgrims were killed and another 244 injured in a stampede during the stoning ritual in Mina. [3]
• On January 12, 2006, a stampede during the ritual stoning of the Devil on the last day of the Hajj in Mina killed at least 346 pilgrims and injured at least 289 more.
• In December 1975 an exploding gas cylinder caused a fire in a tent colony and resulted in the deaths of 200 pilgrims. [4]
• On April 15, 1997 343 pilgrims were killed and 1,500 injured in a tent fire.
• On November 20, 1979 a group of about 200 militants occupied the Grand Mosque, and later were expelled by Saudi and French (who entered the city with special permission) forces, leaving about 250 dead, and 600 wounded.
• On July 31, 1987 Iranian pilgrims rioted, causing the deaths of over 400 people.
• On July 9, 1989 two bombs exploded, killing one pilgrim and wounding a further sixteen. Saudi authorities beheaded sixteen Kuwaiti Shiite Muslims for the bombings after originally suspecting Iranian terrorists.
• A concrete multi-story building located in Mecca close to the Grand Mosque collapsed on January 5, 2006. The building, the Al Ghaza Hotel, is said to have housed a restaurant, a convenience store, and a hostel. The hostel was reported to have been housing pilgrims to the 2006 Hajj. It is not clear how many pilgrims were in the hotel at the time of the collapse. As of latest reports, the death toll is seventy-six and the number of injured is sixty-four. [5]

Of course, should a non-Muslim attempt to enter the city, he would be immediately beheaded, so it can be dangerous for non-Muslims as well.

However, you'll be glad to know that our airport security people from the TSA have been given "sensitivity training" in order to properly respond to all the Muslims traveling to the hajj. I'm traveling one week from today - maybe we'll hold a prayer meeting in the terminal and see how "sensitive" the security personnel are to our religious needs.

The Land of the Dumbest Burglars

Albuquerque is my kind of town. The Land of the Rising Sun, and the Land of the Dumbest Burglars:

Three men who broke into homes in the Albuquerque, N.M., area in the last month were shot dead by homeowners, and police say they hope would-be robbers take the hint.

The latest incident involved Raymond Gabaldon, 40, a repeat offender, who, police say, stole a car and then tried to break into a home in southwest Albuquerque.

"Hopefully this is going to send a message to people who are breaking into homes," Albuquerque police spokeswoman Trish Hoffman told the Albuquerque Tribune. "They're engaging in very dangerous behavior, not only to the people they're robbing, but to themselves."

None of the three homeowners involved in the shootings have been charged, though the cases are still under review by law enforcement.

They're picking them off like ducks in a shooting gallery back there. You'd think that after the first couple made the news that the third guy would look for a safer profession. Of course, burglars are not known for paying attention to anything other than their next score.

Chavez Shuts Down Opposition Radio

He may consider President Bush to be "El Diablo", but Venezuelan strongman Hugo Chavez must have a little communist devil in him as well as he attempts to silence his critics:

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has said he will not renew the licence for the country's second largest TV channel when it expires in March 2007.

In an address to troops, Mr Chavez said he would not tolerate media outlets working toward a coup against him.

Radio Caracas Television, which is aligned with the opposition, supported a strike against Mr Chavez in 2003.

Correspondents say this is Mr Chavez' first significant political move since his re-election earlier this month.

The Venezuelan people are in for a hard time.

State Bar Brings Charges Against Nifong

The ethical violations committed by Durham County D.A. Mike Nifong (the infamous Duke "rape" case) are finally being prosecuted by the local State Bar:

The North Carolina Bar Association filed ethics charges Thursday against the prosecutor in the Duke University rape case, accusing him of saying misleading and inflammatory things to the media about the lacrosse players under suspicion.

The punishment for ethics violations can range from admonishment to disbarment.
Among the four rules of professional conduct that District Attorney Mike Nifong was accused of violating was a prohibition against making comments "that have a substantial likelihood of heightening public condemnation of the accused."

Many people thought Nifong had hopelessly prejudiced any possible jury with his prosecution in the press of the Duke lacrosse players. Given everything that has come out since then, including the willful withholding of exculpatory DNA evidence, it looks like Nifong's days as D.A. are numbered.

Saddam to Celebrate Eid with the Big Guy

It looks like Saddam might be spending the Eid holiday with Allah himself:

Former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, sentenced to death for his role in 148 killings in 1982, will have his sentence carried out by Sunday, NBC News reported Thursday. According to a U.S. military officer who spoke on condition of anonymity, Saddam will be hanged before the start of the Eid religious holiday, which begins this Sunday.

The hanging could take place as early as Friday, NBC’s Richard Engel reported.

The U.S. military received a formal request from the Iraqi government to transfer Saddam to Iraqi authorities, NBC reported on Thursday, which is one of the final steps required before his execution. His sentence, handed down last month, ordered that he be hanged within 30 days.

If you're a deposed genicidal dictator, do you still get the 72 virgins?

How to Fix the Polar Bear Problem

We were told this week that polar bears should be added to the "threatened" species list because parts of their environment are melting:

WASHINGTON (AP) - Polar bears are in jeopardy and need stronger government protection because of melting Arctic sea ice related to global warming, the Bush administration said Wednesday.

Pollution and overhunting also threaten their existence. Greenland and Norway have the most polar bears, while a quarter of them live mainly in Alaska and travel to Canada and Russia.

Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne on Wednesday proposed listing polar bears as a "threatened" species on the government list of imperiled species. The "endangered" category is reserved for species more likely to become extinct.

"Polar bears are one of nature's ultimate survivors, able to live and thrive in one of the world's harshest environments," Kempthorne said. "But we are concerned the polar bear's habitat may literally be melting."

Of course, the environmental activists have already made the leap of faith from "there is global warming going on" to "it's caused by man and therefore man can stop it". Rather than cut our efforts to extract oil and other resources from the Arctic region where the bears live and further subjugate ourselves to the Arabs, there is a simpler solution.

On Christmas night we went to the movies, and during the advertising that preceeds the film we saw a Coca-Cola ad that could cure the polar bear problem. In the ad a family of polar bears come upon a huge party being conducted by a flock of penguins. The fact that polar bears and penguins are in fact separated BY THE ENTIRE EARTH is lost on the ad writers who would rather have us think that polar bears and penguins would get along famously and party and drink Coke together. I'm sure there were those in the audience that thought such an event was possible.

The answer to the polar bear problem: Ship a bunch of the bears to Antarctica. There's plenty of ice and millions of penguins and the bears will eat them like popcorn. It may mess up future Coke advertising, but we'll make sure that there will always be polar bears and we won't have those pesky bears interfering with our oil wells.

Edwards Piles it Higher and Deeper

Sen. John Edwards (seen below shoveling more B.S. into the '08 campaign) will formerly announce his candidacy for president today...in New Orleans.

As documented previously, Edwards will formally become the King of the Katrina Whores as he makes his announcement in a state to which he has absolutely no connection whatsoever except that he hopes to fool black primary voters into believing that he really cares about their plight, and that if he was president Katrina would never have happened (and Christopher Reeve would have walked again).

UPDATE: Byron York reviews the announcement ceremony:

The first lesson of Edwards' announcement this morning is this: If you are going to wear a wireless microphone so you can appear before the press without the artifice of a podium, you should make sure your staff puts new batteries in the transmitter, so your audio signal will not deteriorate as it runs out of juice, or as it encounters interference from the zillions of other wireless devices at the news conference. Better yet, use a wire.

The second lesson is more substantive. Watching the event on television, it appeared that the backdrop crowd Edwards assembled was almost entirely black — not a big surprise in that part of New Orleans. Now, Edwards "Two Americas" refers to the division between rich and poor, or at least between poor and everybody else. But the visuals suggested that he views that pretty much as a black and white issue. Why not use the media event to suggest that the Two Americas goes beyond racial divisions? Hurricane Katrina hurt a lot of people without respect to race — just look at the damage it did in St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana, which is 88 percent white, and Harrison County, Mississippi, which is 73 percent white, and Hancock County, Mississippi, which is 90 percent white. If you're going to have a Katrina-themed media event in New Orleans, why not bring in representatives of all the people who were hurt by the storm and who suffered from the local/state/federal government's initial mishandling of it? That would look a lot more like the Gulf Coast, and, just coincidentally, it would look a lot more like the Democratic electorate Edwards hopes to attract.

At least the mic wasn't on when he went to the bathroom.

No Free Speech for NASCAR

In another stupid ruling prompted by the ridiculous campaign finance laws now in effect, a NASCAR car owner has been chastised for putting a Bush-Cheney sticker on his car:

It’s no secret that NASCAR drivers skew Republican, which is fine with the Federal Election Commission, just so long as they don’t display their preferences where anyone can see them.

In a decision announced Tuesday, the FEC sent an “admonishment letter” to Kirk Shelmerdine Racing. Kirk Shelmerdine, a former pit boss for the late Dale Earnhardt, has been an unsuccessful, underfunded and undersponsored driver. He has never finished higher than 26th.

So back in 2004, in a move perhaps designed to draw some attention to his car, he placed a “Bush-Cheney ’04” decal on his rear quarter panel, which was otherwise unencumbered by advertising. Democratic activist Sydnor Thompson complained to the FEC, and the agency found that Shelmerdine “may have made an unreported independent expenditure or a prohibited corporate expenditure.”

Former commissioner Bradley Smith dissented in one of the case’s early votes and blogged about the result this week. He has written that in reference to the FEC’s $250 expenditure limit, “evidence is strong that the market value of Shelmerdine’s rear quarter panel was approximately $0, give or take $249.”

Shelmerdine runs a quixotic campaign at best in NASCAR, pretty much running the whole thing by himself with a handful of mostly volunteer crewmen. He owns the team as well as drives the car and is a supporter of President Bush. The fact that his car got TV time shouldn't deprive him of his right to express his political views on his car like any other citizen.

Classless Harry Reid to Snub Ford's Funeral

Incoming Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid can't find time in his busy vacation schedule to attend the funeral of a former president:

WASHINGTON - Incoming Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will miss the state funeral for former President Gerald Ford at the Capitol Rotunda on Saturday night, opting instead to lead a delegation to South America with an expected stop at the Machu Picchu Inca ruins.

Reid, D-Nev., left Wednesday afternoon from Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland with a bipartisan group of five other senators, including Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., the incoming assistant majority leader, for what has been described as a weeklong visit to Bolivia, Ecuador and Peru.

The highlight of the trip is said to be separate meetings with the presidents of the three nations, with the last one scheduled in Peru on Tuesday afternoon.

"They would be difficult to cancel," Reid spokesman Jim Manley said via mobile phone as the congressional delegation took off in a U.S. military plane.

I'll bet it wouldn't be difficult to cancel if it was a former Democrat president that died.

Some Interesting Facts About President Ford

Special Report had some facts about President Ford that you may not have known:

Lasting Legacy

President Ford's most lasting legacy may be the appointment of John Paul Stevens to the Supreme Court. The former Chicago appeals court judge— who became a strong liberal as a justice — was actually picked by Ford's Attorney General Edward Levi— who was put in charge of the selection at the suggestion of White House Chief of Staff — Donald Rumsfeld.

Ford on Impeachment

President Ford wrestled with the issue of impeachment— before the Watergate scandal. Ford led the failed effort to impeach Supreme Court Justice William Douglas in 1970— partly over writings that appeared in a magazine— that also contained nude photographs.

Speaking on the House floor, Ford said, "an impeachable offense is whatever a majority of the House of Representatives considers it to be at a given moment in history."

Close Calls

As we told you earlier, Ford was the target of two assassination attempts— by two women— over the course of just two weeks— in California in 1975.

Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme— a follower of mass murderer Charles Manson—pointed a gun at the President— as he greeted well-wishers outside the state Capitol in Sacramento— but no shots were fired.

17 days later, Sarah Jane Moore fired a handgun at President Ford in San Francisco, but was grabbed by former marine Oliver Sipple— who forced the shot off target.

Both women remain in prison. And Fromme has never expressed any remorse.

Presidential Favorites

And the Gerald Ford Library and Museum reports— the late president was an avid stamp collector— and loved jazz— that he enjoyed golf, tennis, skiing and swimming— and as a Michigan man— was a fan of Detroit Tigers star — Al Kaline.
His favorite meal was pot roast and red cabbage — followed by a dessert of butter pecan ice cream. His hero was President Eisenhower.

And he said his most valued advice was — quote — "that which comes from my wife," Betty — with whom he held the record— as the longest-living First Couple.

The coverage of the passing of President Ford has been fairly generous toward Ford and his 2 1/2 years in office. The word "healing" is often used to describe the Ford administration and they way they handled the aftermath of Watergate and Vietnam. I can't help but think historians and pundits will treat Ford much better than they will Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, or both Bushes.

A Blustery Day

We're all on vacation this week, so today we decided to visit the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach. We've been to the Monterey Bay Aquarium several times but hadn't seen the one right here in our backyard. This shot was taken in the outside area where they have the touch pools, a kid's play area, and Lorakeet exhibits.


Thanks to some 2-for-1 tickets it only cost us $10 apiece to get in and I'm glad I didn't have to pay full price. This facility is quite a bit smaller than the one in Monterey, and unless you're a little kid who has to touch everything, you can pretty much see the whole thing in about 90 minutes. She's not a little kid anymore, but she still loves to touch the critter, like this large ray (stingers not included).

My daughter received a new digital camera from Santa this year, and she took 124 pictures just today. She took this one of one of the many exhibits.

When we came out of the aquarium the winds had dramatically increased. We had a rainstorm last night and the forecast was for gale force winds this afternoon and evening. They were already raking the Long Beach area and everywhere you looked there was dead palm tree debris that had rained down from above.

We took Pacific Coast Highway south from Long Beach to check out the high surf and stopped in Huntington Beach to walk out on the pier. The winds were absolutely howling off the ocean - probably 40+ mph with gusts over 50. Sand was blowing (which is great when you wear contacts), and as you can see from the photo below, the kids actually had to lean into the wind to keep from being blown over. I was wearing a windbreaker that acted quite nicely as a sail. It made for an interesting walk to the end of the pier and back.

The seas were very rough with high swells coming in. The picture doesn't really do it justice.

Tonight we're heading back to the beach to eat at the Spaghetti Factory near the Newport Beach pier. If the wind calms down a bit we may try walking out on that pier too.

The Problem of Elderly Dolphins

A near tragic dolphin-human crash:

A 27-year-old woman was seriously injured after she was hit by a leaping dolphin near Slipper Island in the western reaches of the Bay of Plenty this afternoon.

A spokesman for the Auckland rescue helicopter said the woman was sitting in the bow of a small pleasure craft around 2.30pm today when it appeared a dolphin miscalculated its leap out of the water.

This was apparently an elderly dolphin that mistook the gas peddle for the brake.

Dead Tree Media Selling at Deep Discount

In what must be a sign of the apocalypse to the newspaper business, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune has been sold for $530 million. Why is that bad? In 1998 the paper was worth $1.2 billion. There aren't too many industries taking a bath in values like that. Readership is down among most print newspapers as more and more people seek out their information from other sources.

I'm sure the left-leaning nature of the Star-Trib didn't help their circulation either.

President Bush's Statement on the Passing of Gerald Ford

Here is President Bush's statement from this morning:

6:56 A.M. CST

THE PRESIDENT: My fellow Americans, all of us are saddened by the news that former President Gerald R. Ford passed away last night. I spoke with Betty Ford. On behalf of all Americans Laura and I extend to Mrs. Ford and all President Ford's family our prayers and our condolences.

President Ford was a great man who devoted the best years of his life in serving the United States. He was a true gentleman who reflected the best in America's character. Before the world knew his name, he served with distinction in the United States Navy and in the United States Congress.

As a congressman from Michigan, and then as Vice President, he commanded the respect and earned the good will of all who had the privilege of knowing him. On August 9, 1974, he stepped into the presidency without ever having sought the office. He assumed power in a period of great division and turmoil. For a nation that needed healing and for an office that needed a calm and steady hand, Gerald Ford came along when we needed him most.

During his time in office, the American people came to know President Ford as a man of complete integrity who led our country with common sense and kind instincts.

Americans will always admire Gerald Ford's unflinching performance of duty and the honorable conduct of his administration, and the great rectitude of the man himself.

We mourn the loss of such a leader, and our 38th President will always have a special place in our nation's memory.

President Ford lived 93 years, and his life was a blessing to America. And now this fine man will be taken to his rest by a family that will love him always, and by a nation that will be grateful to him forever.

May god bless Gerald Ford.

Why Don't the Brits Have Their Own Air Force One?

The Prime Minister of Britain has to fly commercial when he goes on vacation:

Tony Blair and his family suffered a holiday scare as their jumbo jet overshot a runway in the United States, it emerged today.

The Prime Minister, wife Cherie and their children were embroiled in the airport drama after flying to Florida to stay with Bee Gee Robin Gibb.

The Blairs' British Airways flight from London ran into trouble on landing at Miami International Airport.

The Boeing 747-400, packed with 343 passengers, slid off the runway as it missed its turn after touching down. It crushed runway lights and engineers had to turn it around so it could taxi safely to the airport gate for passengers to disembark.

There was confusion as police and rescue vehicles rushed towards the plane, lights flashing, while it sat on an isolated part of the runway for 45 minutes. Most of the frightened passengers had no idea the Blairs were on board and the emergency rescue was ordered by the American Secret Service, which looks after the Prime Minister-whenever he is in the US. The Blairs, flying first-class, were the first to be evacuated at the airport terminal.

Can you really be considered an important nation if your top political leader has to fly commercial? And what if there was a major terrorist act back home? Would he have to wait until he got to Miami and then try and get a flight back home? I can just see Tony Blair sitting in the terminal on "stand-by" trying to get back to London.

This occurred the same day that President Bush took Air Force One to Texas for his vacation. I'll be Tony gets a good kidding next time Bush meets him.

The Brits need to invest in their own version of Air Force One. Not only will their Prime Minister be able to travel as he needs to, but he'll have access to any communications he might need as well in the event of a crisis. He won't have to push the flight attendant call button if he needs to nuke somebody.

President Gerald Ford Dies at 93

President Gerald Ford, who had the unenviable task of following Richard Nixon into office following Nixon's resignation, has died tonight at the age of 93. The statement was issued by his wife Betty: "My family joins me in sharing the difficult news that Gerald Ford, our beloved husband, father, and grandfather, has passed away..."

The 38th president of the United States was the nation's only unelected president, though he tried for election in 1976 and lost to Jimmy Carter in a voter backlash against Nixon and the Republicans following the Watergate scandal. Despite all of his predecessor's scandals, and a primary challenge from Ronald Reagan, Ford still nearly beat Carter.

In 1976 I visited the White House during a church choir tour and was able to stand on the South Lawn during the arrival ceremony for German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt. President Ford passed just a few feet away from me during the review of the troops.

His most memorable statement in office came on his first day as president when he stated that "our long national nightmare is over". Shortly thereafter he pardoned Richard Nixon, the move that probably cost him the 1976 election.

Ford also became fodder for comedians with his bumbling manner (he had several well-publicized tumbles). Chevy Chase played it up in the early days of Saturday Night Live and it became a regular feature of Chase's bits on SNL.

Ford paid the price for the country's disgust with Nixon in more ways than one. He had two different women attempt to assassinate him in office, something that I believe was more directed at disgust of the office rather than any dislike of Ford. I also remember one silly thing that occurred during his presidency - the W.I.N. buttons, which stood for Whip Inflation Now. Somehow we were all going to stop inflation by wearing those buttons.

I always liked Ford, a guy who would never have become president had he run for that office. It took a scandal involving Vice President Spiro Agnew and subsequent resignation to put Ford in position to become president in 1974. I doubt he would ever have run on his own, having served in the House for decades.

Funeral plans are pending.

King of the Katrina Whores

Mardi Gras celebrations in New Orleans contain all sorts of Kings and Queens of the various events, but I'm adding a new title to New Orleans festivities: King of the Katrina Whores. This year's King - John Edwards:

John Edwards, the former North Carolina Senator, will likely make a White House run and the announcement is expected to come in just two days.

Edwards is scheduled to travel to New Orleans to make the announcement. He will appear in the Katrina ravaged ninth ward where recovery efforts continue more than a year later.

Are there a lot of delegates available in the Louisiana primary? Of course not. Edwards is trying to get out in front of the compassion parade so he can talk about his "Two Americas" and how one of them was drowned in Katrina and ignored by the evil Republicans, and only he can save the po' black folks.

Sadly for Edwards, who has been campaigning almost nonstop since 2004, that light at the end of the tunnel is not the Edwards campaign train, but the Obama and Hillary express, both of which will drive him right out of the race before you know it.

"Stand Up and Be A Real Muslim"

Coming to a House of Representatives near you:

Speaking in Dearborn late Sunday night, the first Muslim elected to Congress told a cheering crowd of Muslims they should remain steadfast in their faith and push for justice.

"You can't back down. You can't chicken out. You can't be afraid. You got to have faith in Allah, and you've got to stand up and be a real Muslim," Detroit native Keith Ellison said to loud applause.

Many in the crowd replied "Allahu akbar" -- God is great.

It figures the crowd in Dearbornistan would eat that up. What I'd like to know from Mr. Ellison is just how he defines a "real muslim". Were the flying Imams "real Muslims"? How about the 9/11 hijackers? How about the Taliban, the Sunni al Qaeda members, or the Sadr militia in Iraq? Just what is a "real Muslim", and if the aforementioned parties do not qualify, when will he denounce them?

Democrats To Throw Open the Country to Illegals

Thanks to the GOP giving voters few if any reasons to vote for them in November, much of the good work done on the illegal immigration front will be overturned by the incoming Dems:

WASHINGTON, Dec. 25 — Counting on the support of the new Democratic majority in Congress, Democratic lawmakers and their Republican allies are working on measures that could place millions of illegal immigrants on a more direct path to citizenship than would a bill that the Senate passed in the spring.

The lawmakers are considering abandoning a requirement in the Senate bill that would compel several million illegal immigrants to leave the United States before becoming eligible to apply for citizenship.

The lawmakers are also considering denying financing for 700 miles of fencing along the border with Mexico, a law championed by Republicans that passed with significant Democratic support.

Any "Republican allies" that would support these measures should be targeted for replacement in '08 if possible, or as soon as they face reelection.

A Night At the Museum and Dinner at Denny's

Illness got in the way of our Christmas Day plans this year, so instead of spending the day with my parents and my sister's family, we did things a little different. After opening the gifts at home we went to the movies.

My sister was sick so we couldn't have the usually family gathering at my parent's house, but we invited the folks to join us at the theater to see Night at the Museum, the new movie starring Ben Stiller, Robin Williams, Dick Van Dyke and a feisty Mickey Rooney. Two thumbs up. It was entertaining and nothing about it was family unfriendly. I enjoyed the premise of the whole thing, and if you can suspend disbelief for a couple of hours you'll have a good time. Robin Williams plays a very good Teddy Roosevelt and some of the scenes with the T-Rex are pretty funny. Go see it.

Since we didn't have the big family dinner as usual, we still needed to eat, and if you've ever tried to go out on Christmas Day, there isn't much open. In our area your choice was pretty much Denney's. I have to give a shout out to the Denny's in Foothill Ranch (CA) where we ate last night. It was packed full of other people like us who were looking for something on Christmas night, and the staff did a terrific job. They obviously knew they were going to get blitzed (being the only thing open) and they were well prepared for it.

Denny's can be a real crapshoot. There's another one near our house that is perpetually understaffed and you can wait forever there for your food. That wasn't the case in Foothill Ranch. The staff was hopping, and despite the crowds, our food service was quick and accurate, and my hat's off to them for working so hard when everybody else was off.

We'll have our regular family Christmas on New Year's Day this year (if everyone is healthy again).

Many Happy Returns

The day after Thanksgiving is "Black Friday" as shoppers destroy the malls in an attempt to get a bargain on Christmas gifts. Today is "Returns Day" as those gifts are returned en masse to stores in hopes of money or better gifts.

Bob Newhart worked in retail many years ago before pursuing his career in comedy, and he recounts the story of gifts he sold and prayed wouldn't be returned:

Other returns days offered similarly useful lessons. But perhaps the most memorable returns day experience centered on a return that never took place. This also occurred at V.L.&A., probably in 1957, when I was working in the tobacco department.

That Christmas season, a gentleman accompanied by his wife stopped by the counter and, in a surprisingly short time, purchased any number of lighters, ashtrays and other accessories. (Many of the ashtrays he selected had gambling motifs, like dice or roulette wheels.)

The bill came to more than $3,000, a considerable sum in those days. I asked him if he wanted the gifts wrapped and delivered. He said yes. So I went through the formalities of asking him his name and he told me a name I immediately recognized as the name of the reputed head of “the outfit” in Chicago.

In a slightly higher voice, I asked him his address, which was River Forest, an affluent suburb of Chicago. He said he preferred to pay by check. I didn’t require any identification.

Before sending his considerable order over to the shipping desk, I felt compelled to explain to this gentleman (and his wife) that once the shipping clerk picked up his presents, they would be out of my control. If any arrived damaged, he should be in touch with the shipping department — not me.

My sleep the eve of December 26 could probably be described best as fitful. Work was equally unsettling. In fact, that particular returns day was one of the longest in the history of returns days. The clock didn’t move.

In the end, however, the workday came and went without incident. Two men with suspicious bulges in their jackets never visited V.L.&A. that day. Apparently, everything survived undamaged — including, thankfully, me.

I try to give gifts that can't be returned. It saves everybody a lot of trouble.

Saddam to Face Gallows Within 30 Days?

Saddam has lost his final appeal and is supposed to face justice within 30 days:

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- An Iraqi appeals court has upheld the death sentence for Saddam Hussein, Iraq's national security adviser said Tuesday.

"The appeals court approved the verdict to hang Saddam," said the official, Mouwafak al-Rubaie.

Iraqi High Tribunal rules say the execution must follow a final decision within 30 days.

On Nov. 5, an Iraqi court sentenced Saddam to the gallows for the 1982 killings of 148 people in a single Shiite town after an attempt on his life there.

I'll be surprised if it really happens that fast. I think there are still other groups wanting a piece of him in court and may not be satisfied if he's hanged, even though that would have been the outcome of their trial as well.

Don We Anyway Our Veiled Apparel

We told you in previous posts about he British Muslim who was going to deliver the "Democratic response" so to speak to the Queen's annual Christmas message. At first she was going to deliver it in full veil, then she backed out when it appeared that it would be a very unpopular move, but ended up giving the message after all. It was classic:

A veil-wearing Muslim convert today claimed the way she chooses to dress makes her feel "liberated" as she delivered an alternative Christmas message.

Khadija, the great-granddaughter of a suffragette, rejected claims that the niqab that covers her face is a mark of separation.

She said that remarks by Leader of the Commons Jack Straw about the veil earlier this year were not helpful to Muslims "trying to live quite peacefully in this society".

But she also said that Britain is the best country to live in for people who want to practise their religion freely.

Ain't that the truth. Some of your fellow adherants can even blow up portions of the British mass transit system and still feel free to practice their "religion" in England due to the English desire for political correctness and their reluctance to confront the evil in their own country.

As Allahpundit put it, the veil is the "facial equivalent of the chastity belt", and this grandaughter of a suffragette is, through her efforts, attempting to return women to the medieval status of chattel property.

Just this weekend the terrorist chatter in London was so high that one American official stated that "it would be a miracle if there wasn't an attack over the holidays". I wonder who those attackers might be?

While We Were Away...

I decided to post just one item a day for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, but the news never stops and here's some items that hit the wires during my brief hiatus:

• Governor Schwarzenegger is remaking himself as a big time environmentalist. On the same day that story ran, the Governator broke his leg skiing. It's funny how often the environment rises up and smacks environmentalists.
• The Weird One is making a comeback. Look for Michael Jackson in a Vegas casino very soon.
• A poll suggests that 2/3rds of Brits are anti-religious. I guess if there were a bunch of members of one particular religion in my country constantly scheming to blow me up, I might tend to become anti-religious too.
• The shooting war is off and running between Somalia (largely radical Muslims) and Ethiopia (largely Christian). This has big time potential to spread across Africa.
• The UN slaps sanctions on Iran. Big deal.
• He Don't Feel So Good - soul singer James Brown dies at 73.
• Too Much Money, Too Few Ferraris - the Wall Street bonuses and the impact on the luxury goods market.
• John F'ing Kerry official embraces flip-flopping.
• A couple is caught following a UPS truck and stealing gifts as soon as they are delivered.

Merry Christmas!

I hope you and yours have a very Merry Christmas! The New York Post has the story straight from Luke.

For a real trip down memory lane, you can find all 19 years of the Moore Family Christmas photos here (what happened to those little kids we used to have?).

Here's a Christmas joke for you, courtesy of my father-in-law:

Three guys die on Christmas Eve and arrive at the Pearly Gates. St. Peter tells them they must each have something with them related to Christmas or they can't get into heaven.

The first guy pulls out his Bic lighter, flicks it on, and declares that it's a Christmas candle.

The second guy pulls out his keys, starts jingling them, and declares that they are Christmas bells.

The third guy pulls out a pair of lacey women's underwear and declares: "They're Carol's."

A Christmas Eve Story

Do you think there are still angels among us? Read on.

MODERN DAY CHRISTMAS ANGELS

It was Christmas morning, 1994, and I was sitting at the kitchen table reading the paper when my wife Anne came in. She had tears in her eyes, and when I asked what was wrong, she said “I have to tell you something about last night. You probably won’t believe me”. With that intriguing introduction, she began to tell me about our family’s encounter with angels the night before.

On Christmas Eve we had driven about 100 miles from our home to my wife’s parent’s home in Santa Paula. Anne’s sister’s family was out from Michigan, and the whole clan had a wonderful day of eating, fellowshipping, and gift giving. Although the atmosphere inside the house was warm and cheerful, outside a large winter storm was moving in with the promise of significant rainfall.

By about 3pm the rain had started and the storm seemed to get stronger with each passing hour. By 7pm we decided that we had better get on the road if we were going to make it home before Santa arrived (our 6 and 3 year-old kids were very worried about that).

Leaving Santa Paula we headed out onto the canyon highway in heavy rain with occasional brilliant lightning flashes. I didn’t realize it at the time, but the driving conditions really frightened my wife. I’m a good driver and I wasn’t too worried about guiding our aging minivan through the torrent, but she was really scared. As we headed south on Interstate 5 in very heavy rain, she began to pray silently that the Lord would provide protection for us on our journey.

She told me later that she immediately could feel the presence of four protecting angels. More importantly, though she didn’t look at them directly, she could see them out of the corner of her eyes silently flying along at the four corners of our van. The rain and wind was beating at them, but they maintained their position like celestial Secret Service agents. I was concentrating on my driving and was totally oblivious to our heavenly guardians.

During the next hour and a half we saw no less than four overturned cars and a couple of other accidents caused by the heavy rains. A couple of times we hit large patches of standing water that caused the van to begin hydroplaning, but each time I was able to regain control without anything more than a bad scare. Even scarier were the occasions when another car splashed water across our windshield momentarily destroying our vision.

As the trip progressed Anne said she began to sense that the angel at the right rear of our van seemed to be struggling as though he was carrying a significant weight. The other angels didn’t seem to be having the same problem. Out of the corner of her eye she could see him straining to hang on.

Our harrowing journey was nearly over as we reached our offramp in Mission Viejo. Finally feeling safe, Anne breathed a silent thanks to the angels and released them to their next assignment. She said it was as though a flight of butterflies had soared aloft as the angels departed in a flurry of wings.

As we turned from the offramp onto the main street near our home, I noticed that the van was handling very funny. It seemed to be very loose in the back, and I suspected we had a problem with one of the tires. We pulled into the garage and I got out and walked around to the right rear. There to my surprise was a completely flat tire – not just low on air, completely flat. There was no major puncture in the tire, but a small leak had apparently caused it to go down over a period of time. Due to the small size of the hole, the lead had probably started many miles away from our home.

As Anne related her story to me the next day, I realized that the struggling angel had been straining to hold up our van while the tire slowly went flat. He had kept the van level and under control despite the lack of air in that tire. No wonder he had such a hard time during the long drive.

Had we been stuck out in that storm with a flat tire, there’s no telling how long we would have waited for help. With so many accidents and problems on the highways, we could have been there for hours. We’ve been members of AAA for many years and have often used them to come to our aid when our cars have had problems. This time, I’m thankful that we had AAAA – four angels – to do the job when we most needed it.

I’m sure holding up a tired old minivan is a pretty unexciting assignment for angels who two thousand years ago spend the first Christmas morning heralding the birth of the Son of God, but I’m sure glad they were there.

If you haven't figured it out yet, I wrote that story, and yes, it's true. It happened to us on a stormy night in 1994. I submitted that story to Guideposts Magazine, and after they rewrote it (and frankly in my opinion butchered it), it ran in the Jan/Feb 1996 edition of Angels on Earth, a subsidiary publication of Guideposts. I decided to run the original version here rather than the doctored up Guideposts version.

There was one other incident during our drive that night that I forgot to put in the write-up, which I did several months later. At one point during the heaviest of the rain a car to my right swerved toward us. We missed him, but I commented afterward that I didn't know how we kept from colliding. Anne told me later the angel on the right front of the car actually pushed the swerving car away. Of course, I didn't see it happen, but I believe it.

I wish you all a Merry Christmas and hope you're heavenly guardians are always on watch.

The Winter Holiday in China

I just thought this was a cool picture of a Chinese mom and child playing at a large ice sculpture (from FoxNews):

I'm a sucker for a good light show.

Up On the Rooftop...

Is a Hellfire missile, which took out one of bin Laden's buddies:

KABUL, Afghanistan — A top Taliban military commander described as a close associate of Usama bin Laden and Taliban leader Mullah Omar was killed in an airstrike this week close to the border with Pakistan, the U.S. military said Saturday. A Taliban spokesman denied the claim.

Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Osmani was killed Tuesday by a U.S. airstrike while traveling by vehicle in a deserted area in the southern province of Helmand, the U.S. military said. Two associates also were killed, it said.

Tell Allah he'll be home for Christmas.

Man Roasts His Own Chestnuts Over Christmas Holiday Name Change

We've heard lots of complaints from traditionalists who don't like to see the word "Christmas" replaced with "Holiday", but to my recollection, nobody has set themselves on fire over it:

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — A man used flammable liquid to light himself on fire, apparently to protest a San Joaquin Valley school district's decision to change the names of winter and spring breaks to Christmas and Easter vacation.

The man, who was not immediately identified, on Friday also set fire to a Christmas tree, an American flag and a revolutionary flag replica, said Fire Captain Garth Milam.

Seeing the flames, Sheriff's Deputy Lance Ferguson grabbed a fire extinguisher and ran to the man.

Flames were devouring a Christmas tree next to the Liberty Bell, where public events and demonstrations are common.

Beside the tree the man stood with an American flag draped around his shoulders and a red gas can over his head.

Seeing the deputy, the man poured the liquid over his head. He quickly burst into flames when the fumes from the gas met the flames from the tree.

The deputy ordered the man to drop to the ground as he and a parole agent sprayed him with fire extinguishers.

"The man stood there like this," the deputy said with his arms across his chest and his head bent down, "Saying no, no, no."

The man suffered first degree burns on his shoulders and arms, Milam said.

Kern County Sheriff's Deputy John Leyendecker said the man had a sign that read: "(expletive) the religious establishment and KHSD."

On Thursday, the Kern High School Board of Trustees voted to use the names Christmas and Easter instead of winter and spring breaks.

Let him glow, let him glow, let him glow...

Liberals Are "Coming Out"

You don't have to kick over rocks to find them anymore:

There's one certainty for the Capitol's most liberal lawmakers now that Democrats will control Congress: They won't have to meet in the basement anymore.

Basements? I thought they were all in closets. Let's read on:

"One time they put us in the most obscure, smallest meeting room in the farthest corner," Oregon Rep. Peter DeFazio said of life for progressive Democrats under GOP control. Now, "we should be able to score a regular and accessible meeting place."

That may be the easy part.

Accustomed to pleading in obscurity for causes like universal health care, come January these progressives from Northern California, Massachusetts and elsewhere will be part of the congressional majority and in a position to actually do something about them.

Yet they risk getting pinched between liberals itching for impeachment hearings and a quick end to the Iraq war, and more centrist Democrats looking to make common cause with Republicans on fiscal issues.

I hope every lib on Capitol Hill comes out loud and proud and promotes every wacky idea they've got. There's nothing more entertaining than watching the Dems try and fight off their own nutjobs as they desperately cling to power.

How Much Is That Doggie in Macy's Window?

Sometimes faux fur is not that faux after all:

NEW YORK - Macy's has pulled from its shelves and its Web site two styles of Sean John hooded jackets, originally advertised as featuring faux fur, after an investigation by the nation's largest animal protection organization concluded that the garments were actually made from a certain species of dog called "raccoon dog."

"First these jackets were falsely advertised as faux fur, and then it turned out that the fur came from a type of dog," said Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of the Humane Society of the United States.

Who cut the dogs up? Woof!...Woof1...Woof!...Woof!...Woof!

So Much for Greater Transparency

The campaign promises are dropping right and left (though mostly on the left)(from Special Report):

Incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has promised a greater transparency when the Democrats take over next year. But she has carried on the tradition of her predecessors and denied a request by C-SPAN to use its own cameras to cover House proceedings.

Pelosi today informed C-SPAN that the House will continue to provide the cameras and control what they show — saying she wants to preserve "the dignity and decorum" of the House. C-SPAN had tried to make the case that a news organization should have independent editorial control. C-SPAN also wants the House to release individual voting records electronically as soon as voting periods end. Pelosi says she is studying that request.

Don't look for a positive answer to that one either.

Duke "Rape" Case Continues to Collapse

The Duke "rape" case is a "rape" case no longer:

The district attorney dropped rape charges Friday against the three Duke University lacrosse players after the stripper who accused them changed her story again. But the men still face kidnapping and sex charges that could bring more than 30 years in prison.

A lawyer for one of the athletes bitterly demanded that District Attorney Mike Nifong drop the remaining counts, accusing him of offering shifting theories of the crime in an attempt to win the case at any cost.

"It's now the shifting sands again, the shifting factual theory," defense attorney Joseph Cheshire said. He added: "It is the ethical duty of a district attorney not to win a case, not to prosecute all cases, but to see that justice is done."

In dropping the rape charges, Nifong filed court papers that said the accuser told an investigator Thursday that she is no longer certain whether she was penetrated vaginally with the men's penises, as she had claimed earlier. Nifong previously said he would rely on the woman's account because of a lack of DNA evidence against the players.

Lacking any "scientific or other evidence independent of the victim's testimony" to corroborate that aspect of the case, the district attorney said in court papers, "the state is unable to meet its burden of proof with respect to this offense."

And what did District Attorney/publicity hound Mike Nifong have to say?

Nifong did not immediately return calls for comment, and a sign posted on his office door read, "No media, please!"

Coward. This case was about nothing more than a callous Distict Attorney trying to play on the communities emotions in order to get reelected. I fully expect that the remaining charges will never make it to trial.

Dems Have Terrorists to Thank for Midterm Victories

The Democrats got a Christmas greeting from al Qaeda informing them that it was the terrorists who brought the election home for the Dems:

Al Qaeda has sent a message to leaders of the Democratic party that credit for the defeat of congressional Republicans belongs to the terrorists.

In a portion of the tape from al Qaeda No. 2 man, Ayman al Zawahri, made available only today, Zawahri says he has two messages for American Democrats.
"The first is that you aren't the ones who won the midterm elections, nor are the Republicans the ones who lost. Rather, the Mujahideen -- the Muslim Ummah's vanguard in Afghanistan and Iraq -- are the ones who won, and the American forces and their Crusader allies are the ones who lost," Zawahri said, according to a full transcript obtained by ABC News.

Zawahri calls on the Democrats to negotiate with him and Osama bin Laden, not others in the Islamic world who Zawahri says cannot help.

No surprise there. So why would a terrorist victory result in a Democratic win? Hmmm.

Burned Out Congregations Find a Home for Christmas

I had the story yesterday about the church in La Crescenta, CA that burned down Wednesday night, a fire that was discovered during choir practice and quickly took the whole sanctuary. My blogger friend John lives right down the street from the fire, and worships at La Crescenta Presbyterian church, also just down the street from the burned out church. John's church has offered their facility for the two displaced congregations to meet on Christmas Eve. Read John's account here - there's more to the story than just a neighborly congregation.

One of my commenters has also offered space at Glendale Presbyterian, so hopefully these two congregations will have plenty of places to continue their services during the long rebuilding process.

The Iran Problem Might Resolve Itself

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadimanutjob continues his rants against the U.S., but he may be creating big problems for himself at home:

TEHRAN, Iran — President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called President Bush "the most hated person" in the world on Thursday, keeping up his tirades against the West despite elections that showed Iranians want him to focus on the country's domestic problems.

In final results announced Thursday from local elections last week, moderate conservatives opposed to Ahmadinejad won a majority of seats. They were followed by reformists, making a comeback after being driven out of local councils, parliament and the presidency over the past five years.

In the capital Tehran, where Ahmadinejad was mayor before becoming president 16 months ago, his allies grabbed only three of the 15 council seats, while moderate conservatives won seven. Reformists won four, and an independent one. Though the Dec. 15 elections were local, they were the first time the public has weighed in on Ahmadinejad's stormy presidency.

This guy is still clearly dangerous, but opposition to his presidency is rapidly building in Iran. Wouldn't it be great if before the U.S. or Israel had to take action to stop him, his own people removed him from power? Certainly there must be a lot of sane, rational Iranians that realize this guy's Messianic visions are taking the country down a path that will lead to annihilation.

Sluggo

Medical personnel can draw blood or urine samples from suspects to prove or disprove their guilt, but they apparently cannot remove a bullet from a guy's forehead:

PORT ARTHUR, Texas — In the middle of Joshua Bush's forehead, two inches above his eyes, lies the evidence that prosecutors say could send the teenager to prison for attempted murder: a 9 mm bullet, lodged just under the skin.

Prosecutors say it will prove that Bush, 17, tried to kill the owner of a used-car lot after a robbery in July. And they have obtained a search warrant to extract the slug.

But Bush and his lawyer are fighting the removal, in a legal and medical oddity that raises questions about patient privacy and how far the government can go to solve crimes without running afoul of the constitutional protection against unreasonable searches and seizures.

"It's unfortunate this arguably important piece of evidence is in a place where it can't be easily retrieved," said Seth Chandler, a professor at the University of Houston Law Center. "You have to balance our desire to convict the guilty against the government not poking around our bodies on a supposition."

Investigators say that Bush was part of a group of gang members who broke into a used car lot and tried to steal vehicles. According to police, Bush tried to shoot businessman Alan Olive, and when Olive returned fire, a bullet struck the teenager and borrowed into the soft, fatty tissue of his forehead.

Chances are you could have shot him anywhere in the head and hit soft fatty tissue.

I would advise the police to be patient. They'll be able to get the bullet during the autopsy, because the way this kid is going, it's just a matter of time before someone with better aim shoots him again.

If You Think Immigration Laws Here are Dumb...

John Derbyshire writes at The Corner today about the immigration lunacy afflicting his native Britain.

If you think the USA has left its collective senses over illegal immigration, just be glad that at least you don't live in Britain.

A Somali man wanted for the murder of a policewoman seems to have escaped the country. He got through passport control dressed in a female Muslim garment with full veil, using his sister's passport.

Here is something else on this guy. You really have to read it twice for the full flavor of its insanity: "Mustaf Jama is wanted for the murder of WPc Sharon Beshenivsky last year. The 25-year-old entered the country as a Somali asylum seeker and was locked up after a string of violent offences. He was not deported because officials said Somalia was too violent."

Here's another story on the murder of that policewoman. Look at what a good, pious Muslim one of these murderers is: "He told the jury, after swearing on the Koran, that he was 'tipsy' having drunk half a bottle of vodka on Nov 18 last year..." You can be sure he'll insist that his jailhouse meals are halal, of course. And here's a different, even more horrifying story.

Look at these three charmers, all illegal immigrants, and read what they did. (For a picture of the woman they shot, click the link in that first paragraph.) Note their ages. A fourth participant is too young to have his picture shown. Poor England.

Poor, poor old England.

Given this story from earlier today, I'm not sure we're that far behind in our own immigration lunacy.

Fear the Turtle

How about this inspiring story from the University of Maryland (h/t The Corner):

An offensive lineman on the University of Maryland football team won't return for his final season of eligibility. Instead, he's going to join the Army:

"It was an easy decision for me," said Woods, who plans to attend Officer Candidate School after graduating from Maryland. "I know what I stand for, I know what this country stands for. I'm willing to sacrifice to fight for this country, to do what I think is right. That's what I feel and I feel strongly about it." ...

Maryland Coach Ralph Friedgen, who remembers clearly the tear gas and draft lotteries of the Vietnam War era, said he had never heard of a player leaving early for service. ...

Members of Woods's family say that former NFL player Pat Tillman's story inspired the decision. Tillman turned down a lucrative free agent contract in 2002 to join the U.S. Army Rangers. He died in a hail of friendly fire while in Afghanistan in 2004.

But Woods played down a comparison between himself and Tillman.

"It was a motivation for me, kind of," Woods said. "His sacrifice was far more greater than I could dream of. He had millions and millions of dollars, he had a family."

God bless him and every other young American who volunteers to serve their country.