Dodged a bullet there!

Today's Wall Street Journal The Editorial Page email has an item on a story in the New York Times about a brewing "crisis" over John McCain's impending nomination as the Republican candidate for president. Not content with trying to smear McCain with a non-sex sex story, the Old Gray Lady is now trying to question his eligibility to become president. John McCain was born in the Panama Canal Zone and the Times claims that the internet is abuzz with talk of this "controversy". (Never mind that Congress passed a law to address just this question in 1790.)

What I'm grateful for is that it looks like Hillary won't be the Democratic nominee. Since I put nothing past her, and believe that no tactic is beneath her, I have no trouble envisioning her challenging McCain's eligibility on the grounds that he is not a natural born citizen.

Collectively, we, the United States of America, are getting ready to dodge a HUGE bullet here, folks!

William F. Buckley, Rest In Peace

It's just coming across the wires, but it looks like National Review founder, William F. Buckley, Jr., has died today.

It is a gross understatement to say that Buckley was a giant of the modern American conservative movement. At points, it seems like he single-handedly kept it going.

Oscar Picks Revisited

Okay, so the new century's worst - so far - and most boring - so far - Oscars are over. How did I do in my picks for the top six awards?

Surprisingly well - four out of six. I missed Tilda Swinton for Best Supporting Actress and Marion Cotillard for Best Actress (although Cotillard was my dark horse). I will say that these Oscars were pretty easy to pick. It was a foregone conclusion that Javier Bardem would win Best Supporting Actor and that "No Country for Old Men" would win Best Picture. That's a third of my work done for me right there. Also, Daniel Day-Lewis was a pretty safe bet for Best Actor, so that's half my work done.

The big surprise of the show was "The Bourne Ultimatum". It was the second-biggest winner of the night, winning three. I'm glad the awards it won were more of the technical variety. I saw this movie in the theater and I thought it sucked big time. It was a clone of the second movie and we didn't learn very much more about Jason Bourne.

I will say that I think it's a shame that the Academy has such a short memory. I still think they could have bumped Tom Wilkinson for Mark Ruffalo from "Zodiac" for Best Supporting Actor. I think "Zodiac" was a hugely overlooked movie of 2007.

Likewise I thought "Gone, Baby. Gone" deserved much more than the one nomination it garnered. I could easily seen it getting nominations for Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Director for first-timer Ben Affleck. Think that thought is laughable? Watch "Juno" and while you're watching it recall that the director, lead actress, the writer and indeed the film itself were all deemed by the academy to be among the year's best.

Thank goodness it's not just me

Thanks for Chuck Muth's News & Views for this quote from former Reagan speechwriter and sydnicated columnist Peggy Noonan. I read this and am comforted that I am not the only one who thinks Obama is a walking collection of platitudes.

Barack Obama's biggest draw is not his eloquence. When you watch an Obama speech, you lean forward and listen and think, That's good. He's compelling, I like the way he speaks. And afterward all the commentators call him 'impossibly eloquent' and say 'he gave me thrills and chills.' But, in fact, when you go on the Internet and get a transcript of the speech and print it out and read it--that is, when you remove Mr. Obama from the words and take them on their own--you see the speech wasn't all that interesting, and was in fact high-class boilerplate.

- Columnist Peggy Noonan

Breaking news

It appears that Ralph Nader has decided to once again run for president.

I think my reaction can best be summed up as follows: a great, big 'who cares?'

I'm glad I write this stuff down

I am pretty sure if I looked back through my archives I could find some lines where I pronounced myself bemused by "Obama-nia". I'm glad because this phenomenon is officially starting to get creepy. It definitely left rational a few stops back.

Check out this from the Baltimore Sun political blog (via Taranto, of course):

Just a day before a debate in Texas, Sen. Barack Obama has a head cold.

And about a half-hour into a speech here, the Illinois Democrat announced that he had to take a quick break. "Gotta blow my nose here for a second," Obama said.

Out came a Kleenex (or perhaps it was a hankie), and he wiped his nose.

The near-capacity audience at the Reunion Arena, which his campaign said totaled 17,000, broke out in a slightly awkward applause.

I think I see the problem...

My cousin, Jonathan Birge, posted a comment on this article from the UK's The Times Online. The subject of the article is the modern, single, British woman's difficulty in finding a mate.

Reading the article, I was struck overwhelmingly by one thing: the tone. The tone of the article is amazingly condescending and contemptuous of men. Is it any wonder that none of the men in Ms. Nolan's life are tripping over themselves to meet her at the altar?

I am 40 years old and not married. The main reason I think I am not married is that it's been a long time since I've had a girlfriend that truly understood that an adult relationship is a partnership. Too many women think - and too many man accept - that getting married means getting to boss their husbands around. I'm sorry but I am not accepting applications for that position. I am capable, educated and resourceful. I don't need anyone managing the small details of my life. Thanks.

If I were to get married, it would almost certainly not be to an American or Western woman. As evidenced in this article, their expectations are wholly unrealistic.

For a tongue-in-cheek look at the high cost of marriage, check out http://www.nomarriage.com/.

Nice shootin', Tex!

Make that, "Nice shootin', Lake Erie!"

I just got this from CNN's Breaking News e-mail alert service:

-- The U.S. Navy successfully shot down an inoperable spy satellite before it crashed to Earth, the Pentagon confirms.

Tonight, on its crew's first attempt, the Ticonderoga-class cruiser USS Lake Erie successfully shot down the remains of that spy satellite that was falling to Earth. I read earlier in the day where today was the first of nine or ten ten minute windows the crew of Lake Erie would get at the crippled bird.

I am sure the Navy will be glad for the Chinese to find out that we nailed it the first time out.

To do what, exactly?

From professional gadfly Michael Moore comes this helpful suggestion: "Bring Fidel to the Oscars".

Oh, Michael! What would we do without the likes of you, Jon Stewart, Steven Colbert and Al Franken?

A Modest Proposal, Part Deux

I don't play the lottery. If you do any reading about them at all, you'll find that they are a regressive tax. This is because the people who can least afford to play the lottery are the ones who play it the most. I certainly don't think the government should sponsor such revenue-generating mechanisms.

However, more than that, what drives me nuts is having to wait in line at the convenience store or gas station behind some idiot that is trying to buy lottery tickets! If they must be sold, lottery tickets should be sold via automated vending machines. Don't make me late while you chase your stupid get-rich-quick schemes.

Besides, research shows most lottery winners end up broke again anyway.

Oscar 2008

Now that it looks like there is going to be a deal in place to end the writer's strike, some of TV's biggest shows can get back to work. It also means that we will get a real Academy Awards show, not something like the train wreck that passed for the People's Choice Awards this year.

I think I have an annual tradition of picking the big six Oscar categories. And if I don't, then I am going to start one - now.

So far this year I have seen four of the five Best Picture nominees and I plan on watching "Juno" before the show, so at least I should be prepared. Of course, given the numerous travesties the Academy has betrayed on us over the years ("Forrest Gump" over "The Shawshank Redemption" in 1994, "Titanic" over "L.A. Confidential" in 1997, "Shakespeare in Love" over "Saving Private Ryan" in 1998, and "Gladiator" over "Traffic" in 2000), that really doesn't mean much.

(Oh, and while I am here, can I just take a minute to say that I hope that Allan Carr is rotting in hell for ruining all awards shows. In 1989, Carr, a successful Broadway producer, was hired to produce the 61st Academy Awards. This show is widely regarded as one of the worst in Academy history. Among other things (such as Rob Lowe singing a duet of "Proud Mary" with an actress portraying Snow White), Carr decided that the fragile egos of Hollywood stars couldn't handle the logical implications of the phrase "And the winner is..." He changed the phrasing to "And the Oscar goes to..." For some inexplicable reason, the phrasing not only stuck, it spread so that now the standard phrasing for ALL awards shows is "And the _____ goes to..." and I hate it. So thanks, Allan Carr, you douche.)

Best Supporting Actress - Ruby Dee, "American Ganster". Even though she was barely in the movie and doesn't deserve the nomination in my opinion, I think Ruby Dee will win by process of elimination. I haven't seen it but I reckon her strongest competition is Cate Blanchett ("I'm Not There", the Dylan biopic) but Blanchett is a double-nominee (Best Actress, "Elizabeth: The Golden Age" ) and a very recent winner for "The Aviator". Tilda Swinton is in less of "Michael Clayton" than Ruby Dee is in "American Gangster", and her performance is hardly compelling - especially next to her male co-stars. Saoirse Ronan from "Atonement" is probably the one bright spot of that dreadful two hours and ten minutes, but is too young to win. My dark horse in this category is Amy Ryan from the vastly underrated "Gone, Baby Gone".

Best Supporting Actor - Javier Bardem, "No Country for Old Men". This one is no real contest. If you are going to make a bet, bet the farm on Bardem. "No Country for Old Men" is a fine film and he's the best thing in it as the other-worldy killer, Anton Chigurh. Bardem's main competition is from Casey Affleck who plays Robert Ford in "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford". I don't think there is much point in discussing the rest of the field. The winner should be one of these two men.

("The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" didn't get that much buzz and it's a shame. It's a bit long at 2 hours and 37 minutes, but a highly compelling film that is told in the style of a Ken Burns film with gorgeous cinematography from Best Cinematography favorite - for "James" or "No Country for Old Men" - Roger Deakins.)

Best Actress - Julie Christie, "Away from Her". Christie's lone Oscar win came 42 years ago (for a film of which I have never heard, "Darling") and I hear she is very good in this. I think Cate Blanchett, nominated for "Elizabeth: The Golden Age", suffers twice for being a double-nominee and her recent win. (That and the simple fact that "The Golden Age" isn't as good as "Elizabeth".) Ellen Page from "Juno" is in the "It's-An-Honor-Just-Being-Nominated" club. I don't think anyone saw Laura Linney in "The Savages" but she's usually good in about everything she does. I think the dark horse here is Marion Cotillard for the Edith Piaf biopic, "La Vie En Rose".

Best Actor - Daniel Day-Lewis, "There Will Be Blood". I saw this movie and I didn't like it. Once again, Paul Thomas Anderson has made a compelling, artful film about characters that I couldn't give two flying f*cks about. Daniel Day-Lewis' character in "Blood" is a complete shit. I just didn't get it at all. George Clooney is very watchable in "Michael Clayton" but, again, he has a recent win. I get the sense Johnny Depp will win an Oscar one day, but not for "Sweeney Todd". I don't think anyone saw either Tommy Lee Jones in "In The Valley Of Elah" or Viggo Mortensen in "Eastern Promises".

Best Director - Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, "No Country For Old Men". Since I think "No Country For Old Men" will win Best Picture, I think the Coens should win this award for this addition to their already considerable pantheon. I think Paul Thomas Anderson is a immense talent with no direction and sense of what makes a good story. He's like an uber-precocious three-year old behind the wheel of a Mack truck.

Best Picture - "No Country for Old Men". I didn't get "There Will Be Blood". I thought "Atonement" sucked. "Michael Clayton" was a taut, watchable legal thriller, but didn't quite hit a home run with me. I haven't seen "Juno" yet but I can't imagine I will like it more than "No Country For Old Men". I just read the book last month and really enjoyed this dark tale from the border of one unlucky guy who stumbles across the remains of a drug deal gone wrong. The movie, in the more than capable hands of the Coen brothers, does not disappoint either. Far from it!

Well, there are my picks. I will be back after the show to see how I did.

An all-too plausible scenario

Thanks to my Dad for sending me this article. Sadly, this scenario looks all too possible. The only silver lining that I can see is that it should provide some vindication to President Bush eight years after Florida. Americans will see once again that there is no depth to which the Democrats, and especially the Clintons, will not sink in their quest for power.

For Nick!

0%How Addicted to Apple Are You?

I'm shocked, shocked!

How positively, well, Clinto- actually, it's not either. It's Gore-ian.

Five months after all Democratic candidates agreed Florida and Michigan wouldn't get delegates to the August presidential convention, Hillary Clinton now says they should--a reversal that would benefit her now that she has won both states, unchallenged, following Tuesday's Florida primary...

The likelihood that it will come to this is low--although then again, so was the likelihood that the 2000 presidential election would turn the way it did in Florida. That analogy is on target in another way: If Mrs. Clinton does need Michigan and Florida to win the nomination, and she does wage a fight to honor their credentials, she will have behaved just as the Democratic Party and the Gore campaign did in Florida in 2000.

Having lost a heartbreakingly narrow election, Gore and the Dems [sic] sought to change the rules after the fact in order to provide him a margin of victory... (emphasis added)

This is just too much

From the Orwell was an optimist file, have a look at this.

This should be interesting

I am going to have to keep my eye on this. Oh, yes, indeed.

Be afraid

In my post-Super Tuesday, er, post, I acknowledged John McCain's front-runner status. That is a fact. But that doesn't mean that McCain deserves to be the Republican front-runner. I was pretty surprised and a bit disheartened to hear of Mitt Romney's suspension of his campaign. I know he didn't show that well on Super Tuesday, but it still strikes me as premature.

Back to McCain, though. Shouldn't limited-government conservatives and libertarians be wary of a guy that is so enthusiastically embraced by the likes of The New York Times and CNN?

A little levity

Lest I be accused of never trying to lighten the mood around here, have this.

This is just plain silly

Check out this story from California about a blan on a blood drive (yes, you read that right) at San Jose State University.

San Jose State University's decision this week to ban blood drives on the 30,000-student campus over discrimination concerns is drawing a gush of criticism from local blood banks.

Stanford Blood Center officials said they actually agree with San Jose State President Don Kassing that the federal Food and Drug Administration is wrong to prohibit blood donations from gay men....

By law, people who want to give blood must be screened for a variety of potential risk factors. For instance, people aren't allowed to donate within a year of getting a tattoo.

The rise of AIDS in the 1980s prompted the FDA to prohibit donations from men who had sex with men any time after 1977. These days, groups such as the American Red Cross say that lifetime prohibition is excessive, since modern blood testing will catch any diseases contracted more than three weeks before the donation.

That's right. In order not to discriminate against people who engage in risky sexual behavior, potentally putting the blood supply at risk, the university is going to ban blood drives on campus.

Is it it me or does that just seem dumb?

Huh?

Here's another item from the priceless "The Editorial Page" (formerly WSJ's "Best of the Web"). I'm not even sure what the heck Rosie is talking about. How in the world is her staph infection George Bush's fault?

I love the use of the psychological terminology to suggest a criminal level of violation. I love it when whiny b*tches like Al Franken, Paul Krugman, and Susan Sontag throw around this kind of hyperbole. Usually it's because they have been forced to listen to people say less than hateful things about George Bush, and, well, those things just can't be true, so the people who said them must be liars or accomplices in the vast, right-wing conspiracy, and, well, ooh! I am going to hold my breath until you make them stop!

Writing on the Puffington Host, Rosie O'Donnell makes the following case against George W. Bush:

President Bush almost killed me. It's true, and I have the scars to prove it--multiple scars that are part of the public record--you saw them in magazines and on my show, and you can see them on my blog frequently--no twelve year wait required.

It was 2000, and the Republican National Convention was on television. The whole affair felt something like a home invasion, with a chronically smirking and arrogant George W. Bush as ringleader. Not wishing to be robbed of my optimism and hope at the time--or to tumble into depression and despair--I shut off the TV and decided to go fishing.

I needed gear, so I went to the store and bought a few things, including a knife, which I used to cut the price tags off of the fishing poles.

Now, I could have stabbed myself 100 times in the hand and not managed to do the damage I did with that one poke to the inside of my middle finger. I went all out, though, and got everything--skin, ligaments, tendons, nerves. Maximum impact, including a particularly nasty staph infection that almost left me dead.

That's my personal war story from the demoralizing Bush years...

Uh, wait. This happened in 2000, right? That was still the Clinton years.