Cinnaman

Climate Change, Health Care: These Life-Changing Issues Are a Matter of Misplaced Trust

2009-11-30T08:39:00.005-05:00

Healthy skepticism, a long-time trait of the American people, is being tested by two of the three major issues foremost in the vaunted brain of President Barack Obama. (The third being the war, of course.)

Use your own intellect to determine the value of the following news items from today:

Climate Change

SCIENTISTS at the University of East Anglia (UEA) have admitted throwing away much of the raw temperature data on which their predictions of global warming are based.

It means that other academics are not able to check basic calculations said to show a long-term rise in temperature over the past 150 years.

See the entire article here

Health Care Change

Under the proposed Senate health care bill, the secretary of Health and Human Services will have enormous power, including the authority to determine what coverage Americans will receive and the monthly cost for such coverage.

See entire article here

On a "Post-Racial" Plantation, Bitterness May Be a Bumper Crop

2009-11-27T18:01:00.004-05:00

The election of President Barack Obama was expected by many to usher in a gentler, “post-racial” climate in the United States, but word hasn’t yet gotten to the historic Latta Plantation tourist spot in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina.

Tour guides and historic re-enactors are stationed in the various buildings on the picturesque plantation and on this day after Thanksgiving, in a small slave quarters replica, about 20 people stood listening to one of them.

Donned in clothing typical of the early 1800s, the bandana-wearing black woman sat by a glowing fire, explaining some of the daily activities of the plantation’s slaves. The crowd was racially mixed, with at least a half dozen youngsters lined against the table behind which the woman discussed the character of both slaves and slave owners.

She said slaves were often considered ignorant, but explained they were deprived of education and forbidden to even look at a book or a blackboard. The children of slave owners on the other hand, were all educated because their parents wanted them to learn how to live in a slave-oriented society.

As the children, white and black, listened with rapt attention, she said that her ancestors were slaves and that the people who owned slaves were “mean.”

She began her description of white slave owners by saying that “some people might not like to hear this.” She said that the slaves of the plantation were “victims” and then asked the crowd to characterize the mean slave owners. “What word is the opposite of victim?” she asked. No one offered a guess.

She offered a clue: “The word starts with a W,” she prompted.

Again, no one volunteered a guess.

“Villains,” she said. “And some people have ancestors who were slaves, and, I know some people might not like to hear this, but some people have ancestors who were villains.” She paused to let the statement land, explode and work on the minds of young and old. Some in the small audience furtively eyed each other in silence.

Perhaps to temper this as the crowd listened quietly, she explained that “we shouldn’t be feeling bad about that now.”

She did not explain that many white people, perhaps some in the room, have ancestors who fought in the Union Army to oppose slavery, or that other white people have ancestors who were struggling in Europe and elsewhere when the Civil War was won and slavery was abolished.

Even under the guise of education, the name calling continues.

Hubris, Not Hussein, Should Be His Middle Name

2009-11-11T12:48:00.011-05:00

With candor and sincerity as his major tools, George D'Ambrosio was a very good assistant district attorney to now Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell. He worked homicide cases. Decades ago, a friend and I headed to have lunch with George, who was finishing up work in a Philadelphia cop station courtroom.

Standing before the judge was a dirtball weighed down with chains and cuffs, a fellow the defense attorney hoped to spring on bail.

George detailed the violent crimes charged to the suspect, looked him up and down and pointed his finger a few inches from the defendant's head. He turned dramatically to the judge and slowly said:

"Your honor. (Pause) This is a bad man."

Chalie and I were rolling in our seats. Come on, George, what is this, kindergarten? We gave him the business at lunch.

Truth was, though, George was pretty damned effective. Sometimes you just have to call it what it is.

I thought of George yesterday after going through President Obama's speech at Ft. Hood, Texas, where obfuscation was the order of the day.

The president said the fact that the Ft. Hood military victims were shot on American soil "makes the tragedy even more painful, even more incomprehensible."

In the same speech, he said: "It may be hard to comprehend the twisted logic that led to this tragedy."

I can imagine a defense attorney trying to persuade George D'Ambrosio that a misguided murderer happened to get caught up in "twisted logic." George understood that there are bad people out there, evil doers who will kill because they want to kill.

Unlike his predecessor, Barack Obama doesn't get caught calling anything or anyone evil. Better to comprehend the facts and figure out solutions. There is no right, no wrong, just a lack of data or logic. And if we are smart enough, in our own heads and without any need for a higher or smarter power, we will prevail. Hubris, not Hussein, would be a better middle name.

Oddly enough, this is the same Barack Obama who stated in one or another of his lectures to the world community that "We can't have big nations bullying smaller nations."

But the remedy for global bullying seems to be getting together and talking it over, as witnessed by the Obama administraton's penchant for delaying action against a nation such as Iran as it builds nuclear capability and vows the destruction of Israel. The president dreamily speaks of abolishing nuclear weapons while his appointments secretary requests "let's all get together" sleepovers with Middle East tyrants.

Thus our national leader outlaws the use of the words "War on Terror" and sanitizes his Ft. Hood speech to protect the Islamic fascists from offending phrases.

Until Barack Obama concedes what George D'Ambrosio learned early, that there are killers out there who can not be defeated by words or even high IQs, our foreign policy will continue to have political correctness as its first tenent. And our domestic protectors will be terrified to go after the bad men who plot our demise.

There Really is Only One Health Care Question

2009-11-09T08:36:00.003-05:00

FACT: The overwhelming majority of Americans are satisfied with their health care coverage.

FACT: Obamacrats want the government to control health care to make it more "efficient" and less costly.

THE QUESTION: When was the last time government took over any major segment of American life and made it more efficient AND saved us lots of money?

Trust this fantasy at your own peril.

The Towering New Health Bureaucracy

2009-11-04T09:52:00.003-05:00

If there is any doubt in your mind that an ObamaCure will strangle this nation, please see the list below. It comes from the Pelosi bill and it details all of the new federal agencies, programs and entities that will suck the lifeblood of tax-paying citizens.

Imagine, dozens, maybe hundreds of new federal buildings jammed with hundreds of thousands (hey, maybe a million) of bureacrats who come in late, have more days off than Santa Claus, and pile up billions of dollars in pension funds, thanks to your wallet.

Oh, yes, the list was compiled by those evil Congressional Republicans who want to spend less so they can cut your taxes. So here it is, the Democratic tsunami poised to demolish your life under the guide of "health care" --

New Federal Bureaucracies Created in Pelosi Health Care Bill
November 2, 2009
The House Republican Conference has compiled a list of all the new boards, bureaucracies, commissions, and programs created in H.R. 3962, Speaker Pelosi’s government takeover of health care:

1. Retiree Reserve Trust Fund (Section 111(d), p. 61)
2. Grant program for wellness programs to small employers (Section 112, p. 62)
3. Grant program for State health access programs (Section 114, p. 72)
4. Program of administrative simplification (Section 115, p. 76)
5. Health Benefits Advisory Committee (Section 223, p. 111)
6. Health Choices Administration (Section 241, p. 131)
7. Qualified Health Benefits Plan Ombudsman (Section 244, p. 138)
8. Health Insurance Exchange (Section 201, p. 155)
9. Program for technical assistance to employees of small businesses buying Exchange coverage (Section 305(h), p. 191)
10. Mechanism for insurance risk pooling to be established by Health Choices Commissioner (Section 306(b), p. 194)
11. Health Insurance Exchange Trust Fund (Section 307, p. 195)
12. State-based Health Insurance Exchanges (Section 308, p. 197)
13. Grant program for health insurance cooperatives (Section 310, p. 206)
14. “Public Health Insurance Option” (Section 321, p. 211)
15. Ombudsman for “Public Health Insurance Option” (Section 321(d), p. 213)
16. Account for receipts and disbursements for “Public Health Insurance Option” (Section 322(b), p. 215)
17. Telehealth Advisory Committee (Section 1191 (b), p. 589)
18. Demonstration program providing reimbursement for “culturally and linguistically appropriate services” (Section 1222, p. 617)
19. Demonstration program for shared decision making using patient decision aids (Section 1236, p. 648)
20. Accountable Care Organization pilot program under Medicare (Section 1301, p. 653)
21. Independent patient-centered medical home pilot program under Medicare (Section 1302, p. 672)
22. Community-based medical home pilot program under Medicare (Section 1302(d), p. 681)
23. Independence at home demonstration program (Section 1312, p. 718)
24. Center for Comparative Effectiveness Research (Section 1401(a), p. 734)
25. Comparative Effectiveness Research Commission (Section 1401(a), p. 738)
26. Patient ombudsman for comparative effectiveness research (Section 1401(a), p. 753)
27. Quality assurance and performance improvement program for skilled nursing facilities (Section 1412(b)(1), p. 784)
28. Quality assurance and performance improvement program for nursing facilities (Section 1412 (b)(2), p. 786)
29. Special focus facility program for skilled nursing facilities (Section 1413(a)(3), p. 796)
30. Special focus facility program for nursing facilities (Section 1413(b)(3), p. 804)
31. National independent monitor pilot program for skilled nursing facilities and nursing facilities (Section 1422, p. 859)
32. Demonstration program for approved teaching health centers with respect to Medicare GME (Section 1502(d), p. 933)
33. Pilot program to develop anti-fraud compliance systems for Medicare providers (Section 1635, p. 978)
34. Special Inspector General for the Health Insurance Exchange (Section 1647, p. 1000)
35. Medical home pilot program under Medicaid (Section 1722, p. 1058)
36. Accountable Care Organization pilot program under Medicaid (Section 1730A, p. 1073)
37. Nursing facility supplemental payment program (Section 1745, p. 1106)
38. Demonstration program for Medicaid coverage to stabilize emergency medical conditions in institutions for mental diseases (Section 1787, p. 1149)
39. Comparative Effectiveness Research Trust Fund (Section 1802, p. 1162)
40. “Identifiable office or program” within CMS to “provide for improved coordination between Medicare and Medicaid in the case of dual eligibles” (Section 1905, p. 1191)
41. Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (Section 1907, p. 1198)
42. Public Health Investment Fund (Section 2002, p. 1214)
43. Scholarships for service in health professional needs areas (Section 2211, p. 1224)
44. Program for training medical residents in community-based settings (Section 2214, p. 1236)
45. Grant program for training in dentistry programs (Section 2215, p. 1240)
46. Public Health Workforce Corps (Section 2231, p. 1253)
47. Public health workforce scholarship program (Section 2231, p. 1254)
48. Public health workforce loan forgiveness program (Section 2231, p. 1258)
49. Grant program for innovations in interdisciplinary care (Section 2252, p. 1272)
50. Advisory Committee on Health Workforce Evaluation and Assessment (Section 2261, p. 1275)
51. Prevention and Wellness Trust (Section 2301, p. 1286)
52. Clinical Prevention Stakeholders Board (Section 2301, p. 1295)
53. Community Prevention Stakeholders Board (Section 2301, p. 1301)
54. Grant program for community prevention and wellness research (Section 2301, p. 1305)
55. Grant program for research and demonstration projects related to wellness incentives (Section 2301, p. 1305)
56. Grant program for community prevention and wellness services (Section 2301, p. 1308)
57. Grant program for public health infrastructure (Section 2301, p. 1313)
58. Center for Quality Improvement (Section 2401, p. 1322)
59. Assistant Secretary for Health Information (Section 2402, p. 1330)
60. Grant program to support the operation of school-based health clinics (Section 2511, p. 1352)
61. Grant program for nurse-managed health centers (Section 2512, p. 1361)
62. Grants for labor-management programs for nursing training (Section 2521, p. 1372)
63. Grant program for interdisciplinary mental and behavioral health training (Section 2522, p. 1382)
64. “No Child Left Unimmunized Against Influenza” demonstration grant program (Section 2524, p. 1391)
65. Healthy Teen Initiative grant program regarding teen pregnancy (Section 2526, p. 1398)
66. Grant program for interdisciplinary training, education, and services for individuals with autism (Section 2527(a), p. 1402)
67. University centers for excellence in developmental disabilities education (Section 2527(b), p. 1410)
68. Grant program to implement medication therapy management services (Section 2528, p. 1412)
69. Grant program to promote positive health behaviors in underserved communities (Section 2530, p. 1422)
70. Grant program for State alternative medical liability laws (Section 2531, p. 1431)
71. Grant program to develop infant mortality programs (Section 2532, p. 1433)
72. Grant program to prepare secondary school students for careers in health professions (Section 2533, p. 1437)
73. Grant program for community-based collaborative care (Section 2534, p. 1440)
74. Grant program for community-based overweight and obesity prevention (Section 2535, p. 1457)
75. Grant program for reducing the student-to-school nurse ratio in primary and secondary schools (Section 2536, p. 1462)
76. Demonstration project of grants to medical-legal partnerships (Section 2537, p. 1464)
77. Center for Emergency Care under the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (Section 2552, p. 1478)
78. Council for Emergency Care (Section 2552, p 1479)
79. Grant program to support demonstration programs that design and implement regionalized emergency care systems (Section 2553, p. 1480)
80. Grant program to assist veterans who wish to become emergency medical technicians upon discharge (Section 2554, p. 1487)
81. Interagency Pain Research Coordinating Committee (Section 2562, p. 1494)
82. National Medical Device Registry (Section 2571, p. 1501)
83. CLASS Independence Fund (Section 2581, p. 1597)
84. CLASS Independence Fund Board of Trustees (Section 2581, p. 1598)
85. CLASS Independence Advisory Council (Section 2581, p. 1602)
86. Health and Human Services Coordinating Committee on Women’s Health (Section 2588, p. 1610)
87. National Women’s Health Information Center (Section 2588, p. 1611)
88. Centers for Disease Control Office of Women’s Health (Section 2588, p. 1614)
89. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Office of Women’s Health and Gender-Based Research (Section 2588, p. 1617)
90. Health Resources and Services Administration Office of Women’s Health (Section 2588, p. 1618)
91. Food and Drug Administration Office of Women’s Health (Section 2588, p. 1621)
92. Personal Care Attendant Workforce Advisory Panel (Section 2589(a)(2), p. 1624)
93. Grant program for national health workforce online training (Section 2591, p. 1629)
94. Grant program to disseminate best practices on implementing health workforce investment programs (Section 2591, p. 1632)
95. Demonstration program for chronic shortages of health professionals (Section 3101, p. 1717)
96. Demonstration program for substance abuse counselor educational curricula (Section 3101, p. 1719)
97. Program of Indian community education on mental illness (Section 3101, p. 1722)
98. Intergovernmental Task Force on Indian environmental and nuclear hazards (Section 3101, p. 1754)
99. Office of Indian Men’s Health (Section 3101, p. 1765)
100. Indian Health facilities appropriation advisory board (Section 3101, p. 1774)
101. Indian Health facilities needs assessment workgroup (Section 3101, p. 1775)
102. Indian Health Service tribal facilities joint venture demonstration projects (Section 3101, p. 1809)
103. Urban youth treatment center demonstration project (Section 3101, p. 1873)
104. Grants to Urban Indian Organizations for diabetes prevention (Section 3101, p. 1874)
105. Grants to Urban Indian Organizations for health IT adoption (Section 3101, p. 1877)
106. Mental health technician training program (Section 3101, p. 1898)
107. Indian youth telemental health demonstration project (Section 3101, p. 1909)
108. Program for treatment of child sexual abuse victims and perpetrators (Section 3101, p. 1925)
109. Program for treatment of domestic violence and sexual abuse (Section 3101, p. 1927)
110. Native American Health and Wellness Foundation (Section 3103, p. 1966)
111. Committee for the Establishment of the Native American Health and Wellness Foundation (Section 3103, p. 1968)
The House Republican Conference • GOP.gov1420 Longworth HOB • (202) 225-5107

L.A. Times Hates Us, But Throws Dodgers Under the Bus

2009-10-20T08:07:00.007-04:00

Of course L.A. Times writer T.J. Simers had something nasty to say about Philadelphia fans after the Phillies took a 3 games to 1 lead over the Dodgers. This is from his dispatch to L.A. from Philadelphia today:

"As you know, Fox will be broadcasting the World Series and it likes to put the camera on the face of every single fan sitting in the stands, these fans as ugly as any in the country."

"These fans" would be Phillie fans, whom he described as "folks here who love a dash of violence with their sports entertainment."

The article is topped by a photo of The Vicious Ones pointing and hooting at Manny Ramirez after he struck out in the eighth inning of last night's amazing walk-off victory triggered by a JRoll gapper.

But hold off on that contract on Simers, Vito, and get a load of how the sports writer eviscerated the Los Angeles Dodgers, dubbing them "The Choking Dogs." Here are just a few tibits from the simmering Simster:

On the Dodgers taking the lead on a home run: "But it wasn't good enough, the Choking Dogs lacking the closing punch that separates champions from teams no one ultimately remembers."

"Rafael Furcal continued to play as if he's found a home with the Choking Dogs, hitting .125 in this series. Casey Blake is a scrunch better at .133, and while the Dodgers had the lead they needed in the late innings, they don't appear be in the Phillies' class.

"But then the dogs choked. Now it seems it's just time to bow-OUT."

See the article here

But wait, there's more, in a column by Bill Plaschke describing how Dodgers closer Janathan Broxton was "haunted" by Phils pinch hitter Matt Stairs, who blasted a 2-run homer against the pitcher for a victory in last year's NLCS.

"Your closer cannot be spooked by a memory. Your closer cannot be crushed by his past. But that is exactly what happened with one out and the bases empty in the ninth inning of Game 4 when pinch-hitter Stairs came to the plate."

(Stairs walked for the tying run, followed by Carlos Ruiz, who was hit by a pitch and scored the winning run after Rollin's walk-off extra base scorcher.)

Broxton, said the writer, should have welcomed the chance to face Stairs again and right last year's wrong.

"Broxton, however, essentially covered his eyes and said nothing," he wrote.

Plaschke closed with this:

"Maybe the Dodgers' front office will use the time to reflect, again, on the fact that weak starting pitching has strained the bullpen, surely a factor in Broxton's late weariness.But more important, maybe Broxton will use the time to reflect on the most important mental part of his job. Closers forget. He could not.The nightmare this created Monday is one that the Dodgers will remember forever."

Talk about violence.

First Pitch Fever, Part II

2009-10-16T17:49:00.006-04:00

Top of the 6th in a tight 1-0 game with the Phillies leading and at the plate. Jimmy Rollins runs the count to 2-2 before striking out. (Hmm, he must have read Cinnaman last night).

TV shows a graphic comparing pitches by the pitcher, 63 for Pedro Martinez, while the fireballing Vicente Padilla has thrown 71. Hmm, maybe we can get this guy out of here soon.

Up next, Shane Victorino. Swing and a grounder to first base. Out

Next up, Pete Rose-like Chase Utley, top notch student of the game who surely will make this pitcher work.

First pitch. Swing, and a fly ball to left out.

The Phillies are a super team with some great players. But doesn't anybody ever look at pitch counts and consider a waiting strategy at the plate, especially when Padilla is pitching like Nolan Ryan?

And manager Charlie Manuel spent decades as a hitting coach.

Go Phillies, but not always on the first pitch, for crying out loud.

Rollins, Rolaids and First Pitch Fever

2009-10-12T19:47:00.006-04:00

Thank God for Nexium. Otherwise Phillies infielder Jimmy Rollins would have had me reaching for Rolaids tonight.

Yeah, he's having a crummy year, I can forgive an off year. Yeah, he's a inspirational force in the clubhouse. That's nice.

But last night, at a time the Phillies desperately needed runners in a tight game, Rollins did what he has done 679 times this past season.

HE SWUNG AT THE FIRST PITCH!

Our leadoff hitter swung at the first pitch when the Rockies pitcher, Ubaldo Jimenez, already had piled up a ton of pitches in the first inning. Swung at the first pitch when baseball analysts were saying the Phils really had to be patient with Jimenez and wear him down.

Oh, yeah, the 679 statistic is phony. But here are stats that are not, because I researched them while the 1-0 game went into the 6th inning.

The batting stats for MLB shortstops in the 2009 season listed 19 players. Run your fingers way down to find Rollins because his batting average of .250 had him tied for 17th with only one player beneath.

He was 12th in base on balls (44), which means that with a lousy average and few walks, he wasn't on base much as a Phillies place setter. Maybe the math works out this way: If you swing at the first pitch, YOU WILL NEVER WALK!

Oh, Jimmy was one of only two shortstops whose on base percentage (OBP) was below .300. Table setter?

So in the 7th inning Jimmy got a nice double. With 2 out and no one on base. That will happen in an inning when you follow a catcher and pitcher in the lineup.

What we needed him to do is get on base when he opened the game and Shane Victorino followed with a homer.

Love the guy, want him to stay. But for the love of Rickey Henderson, watch a couple of pitches, man.

Beck Wakes Up "Silent Chorus" in Cherry Hill

2009-10-02T10:53:00.007-04:00

The bus bearing the likeness of TV/radio commentator Glenn Beck pulled in front of a Barnes & Noble in Cherry Hill, NJ, last night, triggering camera flashes and scurrying by hundreds outside. Another lucky 1,000 already were inside the place, wearing wristbands signaling 1/ they had bought his latest book and 2/ they could line up to meet the man.

“Bigger book signing than we expected” said a B&N employee, scanning the throng inside.

Truth was, this wasn’t a book signing as much as a Tea Party with a hard top. And the book being carried by the crowds of young and old wasn’t so much a book as a ticket to participate in something far bigger than a celebrity sighting.

Many came hours early and seats were at a premium in the coffee shop, where friendly folks nursed cold coffee and paged through Beck’s Arguing with Idiots book. As luck would have it, those folks were rewarded when the blonde image of Beck suddenly popped up amidst the crowd within sight of the coffee drinkers. (He had come in through a back door and security men were close by.)

The crowd erupted and a muscle-thick, 30-something guy in a suit jumped on a chair and shouted “God Bless Glenn Beck.” Cheers erupted, prompting the guy to start singing God Bless America. Many joined in.

And then it was Beck’s turn to shout to the crowd. A year ago, he said, referencing the emergence of Barack Obama, we didn’t know what we were dealing. “Now, they don’t know what they’re dealing with.” Cheers all around.

Then a B&N woman stood on a chair in the middle of the store and instructed the first 200 with numbered wristbands to begin a line that snaked from one end of the store to the other. The lines were orderly and the character types were varied, with many teenagers, although few people of color were seen.

One guy with a graying pony tail and sleeves of tattoo wore a splashy shirt bearing the U.S. flag and image of the Constitution. That caught the eye of an older man in ordinary senior clothing who asked Pony Tail” “Were you there on 9/12?” This was shorthand for the Tea Party rally in D.C. No, said Pony Tail. “Well, a lot of guys wore shirts like that,” said Main Street. “Cool.”

With the audience for his 5 p.m. Fox network show reaching 3 million at times, Beck seems to be replacing Rush Limbaugh as the main information source for millions of Main Street Americans who are frightened by the nation’s rush to socialism. Beck has created a new genre of political and government commentary, masterfully using props, farce, and personal insight (he’s a once-divorced, reformed alcoholic) to spice up deadly serious observations on where a debt-ridden America is headed.

His attacks on the radical/revolutionary/activist personalities President Obama has hired as advisors and czars have begun to sting the president and at least one high-profile advisor has resigned.

As the wristbands with numbers 600 to 700 filed into a line that moved as a fairly quick pace, hundreds more piled into the store. They would not have a chance at a wristband, but they would buy the book and they carried a hope that they would at least see the man whose words strike a chord in their hearts.

Meanwhile, a B&N employee instructed those of us in line to open our books to the first page with a color background, making sure we could hand it over to the assistant who would position the book for Beck.

That’s because Beck has perfected a slight-of-hand autograph technique which allows him to look at the person walking by, shaking every hand offered, all while scribbling a compact GB initial that even a physician could criticize for its lack of meaning.

No matter. As we approached the tall desk where he alternately smiled and offered serious thank yous, it occurred to me that Beck’s Brigades are not “fans” of a celebrity. They see him as a choral director, someone who lets them sing of and to and for their country. Beck doesn’t teach us the tune. We already know it. But he does give us the courage to sing.

Our moment came and my wife handed over the book and thanked the author for what he has done. Me? My line was short:

"Dan Rather said Courage. You live it. Thanks.”

And as we left, my wife said” “I really liked the way he looked you right in the eye and said thank you.”

It was a grand night for singing.

Black Journalists: "You Lie" Is a Racist Remark

2009-09-11T16:23:00.003-04:00

NEW YORK The National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) is backing out of holding its mid-winter conference in South Carolina after one of its U.S. representatives accused President Barack Obama of lying during the president's congressional address on health care.

"Rep. [Joe] Wilson's remarks were racist, disrespectful and a disingenuous violation -- not only of President Obama -- but to the institution of the presidency and only solidified our position and the importance in not spending Black dollars where Black people are not respected," NNPA Chairman Danny J. Bakewell Sr. said in a statement.

This is where we are in America today, folks: calling someone a liar is a slur against their ethnicity. Wasn't Pinocchio Italian?

To quote a famous American, I think the black journalists group, in deciding to punish North Carolina, is "acting "stupidly."

Obama Speech to Yutes of America: Fulfill, Fulfill

2009-09-08T06:01:00.006-04:00

Call off the dogs, Republicans, the text of the President's speech to the nation's school children has been released. Two small clues make it clear there is nothing to worry about.

"I'm calling on each of you ....," he says at one point.

And elsewhere, he begins a sentence with: "At the end of the day...."

This will resonate with kids? Maybe he should have encouraged them to become "boots on the ground for change." Maybe he should have related his own birth "four score and eight years ago."

Better yet, maybe he should have had Malia Anne write the speech, just so's kids could avoid the official White House language -- Bureacratish.

Even better yet, bring in Bill Cosby to really tell it like it is.

Memo to Pols:Labor Day is NOT Union Day

2009-09-05T10:23:00.004-04:00

The politicians trudged like love slaves into Friday's South Jersey AFL-CIO Labor Day breakfast, kissing butt and crying crocodile tears when one United Auto Workers (UAW) official belted out the same old blue collar blues. It went like this, according to the Courier-Post:

"In 1996 we had 1.1 million that worked for the United Auto Workers of America. We today have less than 400,000. We are losing families, they're losing their homes, they do not know where to turn."

Cry me a river, buddy. And don't forget to yodel the newest UAW tune: the union will own 55 percent of Chrysler under Obama's taxpayer-funded "living will" program to revive dead companies with bloated payrolls.

Labor unions became powerful in this country for two reasons: one, some factory owners and other employers were treating workers like dog feces, and two, a growing movement of socialists and revolutionaries used the union struggle to further their aims.

They did much good, these powerful unions. And then, after humbling the fat cats and puffing on their own cigars, they turned out to be pretty much like the old company jerks. Let the beatings and the thievery begin.

At the height of their powerful, they turned Philadelphia into a wild west, with shootings on the streets, murders of union bosses, beatings of non-union workers. Roofer friends told me of scab roofers tossed off of buildings for bucking the union. And the money, oh the money the union bosses raked in, often diverting it to their own slush funds.

Quicker than you can say Jimmy Hoffa the decline began. College educated workers saw less need for a union. Loyalty, in either direction, became a thing of the past.

But the unions could always count on the polticians to prop up their coffers and peddle their propaganda. (In his last book, Barack Obama states bluntly of the unions that endored him: "I owe them.") And the UAW is a good example of taxpayer-funded CPR for ineffective and failing unions.

Everyone knows the auto workers did lousy work a few decades ago, allowing foreign companies to eat their lunch. No problem, because the lawmakers were always on hand with their catering trays to feed the oppressed masses and support ever higher wages. Detroit makes better cars now, but always at a financial loss because of sweetheart union deals.

Google "average UAW member wage 2008" and try to figure out the true wages for an auto worker. The returns are like Miami weather -- plenty of clouds. UAW posts complain that the public gets the wrong impression about the true salary. It is not $70 an hour, really, they say. The number only gets to that point because it includes health benefits and pensions.

Really? How many of you out there have that sweetness in your life?

The fact is, there is a new definition of "haves" and "have nots" in America.

The "haves" are the politicians and members of unions -- labor unions, teachers unions, government workers unions. Most of them get all the health care they want at little cost and they are building a nice little retirement -- all on you and me. That pension comfort is draining federal, state and corporate budgets.

The "have nots" are the rest of us schmucks who have no union or government promising us a rosy future. We have our IRAs and 401Ks, now emaciated. Bail out for us? Government intervention for us? Yeah, sure.

Politicians owe the "haves," who deliver votes and muscle.

Ironically, there are many more "have nots" out there, steaming about their plight. We have the voting power to change all this, to "transform America" to financial common sense. But we haven't yet heard the alarm.

Where Have Miller and Shelly Gone?

2009-09-04T10:54:00.016-04:00

No, it doesn't seem like yesterday that we were playing boxball and halfball and wireball and stepball and curb ball and flipping baseball cards in the old neighborhood around 2nd and Cambria in Philly's Kensington section. It has been long enough for the neighborhood to get cancer and acquire a new name -- The Badlands. You do not want to play ball there or even drive there now.

Like me, Warren Miller and Bill Shelly are long gone from those asphalt ball fields of our youth. The post cards I got from each of them earlier this year state that they both reside at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas. But I'm 99.9 percent sure that they also are long gone from Lackland.

The reason: The postcards I received each carried a 4 cent stamp. And while the postmark year is obscured, they were likely sent to me when Miller and Shelly were settling in at training camp. That would put they year at about 1960.

Shelly's card says he just wanted me to have his mailing address. It is addressed to the old family homestead in the 2800 block of Hancock Street, which my father sold in the 70s, I believe, for $4,000.

Miller says "The weather down here is twice as hot as Philadelphia. Had a little trouble adjusting to the Air Force way of life. Must get up at 5 o'clock. Have 2 minutes to dress and get lined up."

I never read those lines with an unlined face. Nor did I see Shelly's jotttings at the time. I last saw Miller, my traveling buddy when we attended Central High, early in the 60s when he was still in uniform and recently married. Lost track of Shelly in ths 70s.

The cards came recently to me, but not from Warren and Bill. They came recently via some gent in the Philly area who researched my name and wound up calling our daughter-in-law in California. How they came to him I have no idea. Don't know his name. Lynnette sent the cards to me and now I sit and remember the guys.

Miller, who disappeared one whole summer and showed up ready for school with muscles everywhere but his ears. Weights, apparently. Oh, now I remember: he was showing us the weight set he got for Christmas when Shelly picked up the barbell, toppled backwards and made smithereens of Warren's new pinball machine.

I have about two hours of stories if you want more. But this whole episode carries one major lesson.

If we let the feds take over healthcare, some day 20 years from now one of my grandkids may get my latest PSA results in the mail.

Hey Miller, Shelly, please give a yell.

Make Congress Promise to Take Its Own Medicine

2009-08-04T13:34:00.008-04:00

A gentleman by the name of John Adler is my Congressman and I've just sent him the following pledge to sign. It requires him to scuttle his current federal health care coverage -- coverage that likely is far superior to yours -- and submit to any "public option" plan that Congress and the Obama administration create.

While Congress members work "for" us, the are treated as members of an elite club, and top-shelf health care is what they get while we scramble to find something halfway decent.

Oh, members of Congress don't want to receive email attachments, so I had to cut and paste the pledge text in my email to him. You can find your Congress member here http://www.congress.org/

If you want to print out a copy of the certificate form seen here, email me at louink@comcast.net and I will send it. You could mail it to him or her. This is a Word document and you can put in your Congress member's name. (For senators, make it "Joe Schmoe, a U.S. Senator".)

Oh, to make the border print out completely, tell your printer dialogue box that the paper is 11.5 inches wide, not 11.

Here is the pledge text:

I, (member name), a Member of the U.S. Congress, Hereby Pledge ...

that once a new health care bill is created by Congress and approved by President Obama, I will separate myself from the current health care provided to me by the federal government and will enroll in the same "public option" program President Obama has advocated.

I pledge to submit myself and my family to the same coverage and benefits to be created by the upcoming new bill, coverage that will extend to millions of Americans. I also promise to not accept special health care coverage or treatment. I will vote to discontinue the federal health system that currently provides Congress with health care.

(Have them sign and date it.)

If enough constituents get this before their representatives and demand an end to hypocrisy in politics, maybe we'll see a more thoughtful debate.

A Suckling at the Public Teat Wants to Milk Joe the Plumber

2008-10-16T09:04:00.007-04:00

Ever been hired by a poor person? Not me. As a matter fact, every person who interviewed me for a job made way more than I did when I got the job. And the owner of the company, well, let's not even talk about that SOB.

But wait a minute. Let's do talk for a minute about those stinking rich capitalists who start companies and rake in the big bucks. They're the ones Barack Obama wants to put it to in his proposed tax plan. (He's a Democrat, so it is called a plan, while anything a Republican poses is Barney Franked as a scheme.)

If you haven't seen the sneak preview into Obama's socialist agenda, watch the Joe the Plumber scene in which the senator tells plumber/businessman Joe that he wants to extract some extra taxes out of Joe "for the people behind you."

Only fair, right? That's the new Obamerica way -- take more from Joe to begin with in the current system of progressive income tax rates, and then hit him again, harder. Not to be fair, because the system already taxes Joe more, but to be even more fair.

Funny thing, fairness. When my partner and I started a business a couple decades ago, we began a stomach-wrenching life that put our houses and family well-being on the line. Extra loans to make payroll during tough times. Much longer hours than most Americans tolerate. Few vacations and lots of stress.

Interestingly enough, when we were out there on a limb, twisting slowly in the gales of uncertainty, we occasionally looked behind us. You know who we saw other than our families?

Nobody. All we had going for us was our risk, our necks on the line, with no life support from "the people behind you."

As a class warfare commander-in-chief, Barack Obama would have his troops believe that small business folks are as greedy and worthy of punishment as the predatory lenders who raped the nation. (Aided and abetted by the Barney Frank and Chris Dodd types in Congress.)

In his heart, the senator may not know that small business is the engine of this nation and the risk taken by hundreds of thousands of Joe the Plumbers is what creates jobs and makes America strong. His career as a suckling at the public teat does not qualify Obama to pass judgment or levy taxes on the risk-takers -- yeah, those stinking greedy capitalists -- who are the true foundation of U.S. business.

That foundation has been undermined by folks in suits and skirts whose abstract manipulations have nothing to do with sweating a joint or running a machine shop or dry cleaning 1000 pieces of clothing a day.

Obama and John McCain have both subscribed to a massive bailout for the paper shufflers who lined their pockets by exploiting the lower-income home dreamers who were oppressed or weak-minded or greedy.

Now Obama wants the plumber -- and an army of honest small businesses "behind" him -- to pay the piper. It's only "fair," because in the heart of a closet socialist, spreading the wealth around means confiscating from the productive sector to subsidize those who can not or choose not to take the risk.

Keep an eye on that closet door.

VP Debate Moderator Pumps Obama in New Book

2008-10-01T08:47:00.002-04:00

Hey, how's this for media bias "transparency"?

PBS "newswoman" Gwen Ifil, who will grill Sarah Palin and Joe Biden during the vice presidential debate Thursday night, is launching a new book on inauguration day in January.

Here is the Amazon description lead:

"In THE BREAKTHROUGH, veteran journalist Gwen Ifill surveys the American political landscape, shedding new light on the impact of Barack Obama’s stunning presidential campaign and introducing the emerging young African American politicians forging a bold new path to political power. "

Here is the article exposing one example of how a media personality exploits her position as a "objective" journalist to haul in some bucks while revealing her own bias.

Want to vent over this outrage, shoot an email to the PBS "ombudsman" Michael Getler, who is supposed to be on the hunt for such transgressions by journalists in his own PBS organization.

Is It Globamal Ego or Salvation?

2008-07-28T16:58:00.003-04:00

"He's sort of a gift from the world to us in so many ways."

Chris Matthews, 2008

Surprise: Chuckie Schumer Hits Fear-Mongering Media

2008-07-14T07:59:00.002-04:00

With the internet capturing the attention of a news-hungry public, America's traditional news outlets decided a few years back that they had to do much more than report the news.

And so they began to predict the news.

Which is why, for the last 18 months or so, print headlines and media teasers have been hammering us with "forward-looking statements." Things such as:

Growing Housing Bubble May Burst
U.S. May Be Headed for Recession
Fears About Mortgage Lenders Could Spark Meltdown

And, of course, after scaring the peanut butter out of us for a year or so, the outlets could then report the success of their self-fulfilling prophecies with this headline:

Latest Poll Shows American Fearful

NY Sen Charles Schumer just caught on to this trend. After his PR machine cranked out a letter warning that the IndyMac Bank had financial problems, the bank tanked and lots of people lost money.
Who does media darling Schumer blame?

A headline.

This one in a Pasadena newspaper:

"IndyMac Appears Close to Collapse."

Said Chuckie: "A very inflammatory headline."

Ironically, the story about Schumer is in today's Wall Street Journal, of late quite a scare-shaker itself. Opposite the Schumar story is an article with this headline: "Credit Crisis at Risk of Deepening."

Yes, folks, the news media is digging deep into the worry well. Much easier to do that than to report predatory lending when it was happening, when predatory lenders were savaging Americans who could have used some solid reporting.

Predicting is easier. Pretty good results, too.

Driving to the Election in Your Father's Oldsmobile

2008-02-13T19:12:00.001-05:00

We already have our new president.

Prove it, you say? OK, then.

I’ve got proof on my DVR. I will submit just one frame from the TV shots of Barrack Obama’s speech after he steamrolled Hillary Tuesday night, juxtaposed next to the shot of McCain as he spoke, much more slowly, much more weakly, after his tepid victory over Huckleberry.

Oh, dude, it was like Bono against Mr. Bean’s grandfather.

After Obama lit up the crowd at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, where do-good-ism made its bones in the late 19th century, after his soaring speechifying sent the young folks behind the podium into multiple Obamaspasms, on the telly came John McCain.

The gray folks behind his podium tried bravely to whip it up, but the faces had all the enthusiasm of an audience that had just listened to the entire Viagra warning label. Their smiles said “Yeah, this could really happen, uh, a lot could go wrong but I guess we can try it.”

And beneath the picture of McCain ran the election totals. Again, the Democrats stormed the polls and outnumbered Republicans two and three to one. The numbers, my friends, do not lie.

It is over. It is the Obama excitement rolling over the same old, Game Old Party. Even the aging Democrats who had given up on Camelot feel the stirring. Chris Matthews said the Smooth One’s speech sent shivers down his leg.

Shivers. And that’s from a speech lacking one policy statement, one detail about how Obama’s Change Machine will deliver a pocketful of promises to every man, woman and child.

And so, the conservatives will vote their conscience and then go home to their TVs to hear of the slaughter as the Pied Piper’s emotion-charged storm troops roll us into a new age of Hope. The media will unleash its pent-up treasure trove of “questions” about McCain’s age and anger. The investigations will begin.

And Obama’s rhetoric will go unchallenged because, well, because it is just so damned good. And it’s about time we had a crusade.

Only one letter – and one man – can magically transform Hype into Hope. That letter is O. Back when the media was calling George Bush “W,” the letter O stood for Oprah.

That will soon change.

You know deep down that this presidential election thing is so, so Over.

Tape That, Pats!

2008-02-04T09:22:00.000-05:00

There is a one-word reason that last night's winning play between Eli Manning and David Tyree is the greatest play in NFL history:

Circumstances.

The "Greatest Team in NFL History" had just done its fourth-quarter thing, pulling the game out of the fire, it seemed. Eli Manning responded by marching his team closer and closer to their goal. The crowd was roaring. Pressure was mounting. This is when Manning folds, or so the rap went.

And it happened. The Patriots defense finally woke up. Like Clydesdales gone wild, the Pats stormed across the line as Manning dropped back. The circumstances made it the most pressure-packed moment in football history.

You know what happend next.

Horshoe champion Dave Dlug Sr. has this explanation for greatness: "When you shake that bottle up, the cream always rises to the top."

And today Eli Manning, the little brother, the creme de la creme, has his face on the NFL history page entitled "Best Play Ever."

Tape that, Belichick.

No Debate On "Time-Bomb" Law Allowing Aliens to Bring Families Here

2008-02-03T10:18:00.000-05:00

It looks like a good bet that whoever moves into the White House in January, America’s 12 to 15 million illegal aliens soon will be embraced as new citizens by an amnesty from the new President (McCain, Obama or Clinton) and a Democratic Congress.

So now is the time to face the facts that were never raised in any of the primary debates.

What happens when the “undocumented workers” who sneaked into this country are granted citizenship and obtain the almost-automatic right to bring into the U.S. their spouses and children?

Oh, yes, the law allows for new citizens to do that. Here is one section of that law:

“The LIFE Act allows spouses and children of lawful permanent residents (LPR) to come to the United States on V nonimmigrant visas. The purpose of this act is to reunite families who have been or could be separated during the process of immigrating to the United States. With V visas, family members can wait in the United States for the immigrant visa process to be completed.”

And here is the web site explaining it all.

So the deal is this. By their sheer numbers, the current illegals have diminished the immigration opportunity to hundreds of thousands of U.S.-loving foreigners who yearn to come here. And soon their families will come across the border to balloon our population, use our services and tax our governments, health care system and overall economy.

Where was that question during those “hard-hitting” debates that were reduced to platitude platforms?

If there was ever a time to ask it, isn’t it right now?

Runs Like JFK, Sounds Like Gore

2008-02-02T11:50:00.000-05:00

A funny thing happened during the big “smackdown” debate between Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton the other night.

When I closed my eyes and listened to Sen. Obama speak many thousands of words, I did not hear John Fitzgerald Kennedy. Or even Martin Luther King Jr.

What I heard in his long, hyperbolic descriptions of the state of our nation were echoes of another familiar political figure, also prone to exaggeration and deception. What I heard was a lecture by ….

Al Gore.

Like Gore, Obama has become a master of myth. And like Gore, he has a gullible public ready to buy his stories. You really have to close your eyes and listen to the man to fully appreciate his oratorical trickery.

Time and again Obama rails at the lack of funding for public education in this country. He did it again this past week, telling a fawning audience of Hollywood glitterati that America’s schools are woefully under-funded.

That big lie is moving down the field, with massive blockers from the news media guiding the way. And the best example of this is the school system in Camden, New Jersey.

When ABC’s Diane Sawyer did a special there last year on the plight of the nation’s “poorest city,” she naturally detailed the sad lives of a few schoolchildren. It was perfect fodder for the Obama supporters, who just know in their heart that more money, tons more money, is the answer.

The real sadness in America is that no one wants to investigate the real story about education in America. No one wants to know that the Camden School District is flush with money, is spending more money than just about any district in the state of New Jersey when it comes to teaching (or trying to teach) children.

The real facts are found in this state report which details the spending going on in the educational sinkhole known as the Camden school district and Camden High School.

Obama supporters will not want to know that that the school has better-paid teachers and administrators, a lower pupils-to-teacher ratio, lower pupils-per-computer ratio and much more money spent per student overall than the state average.

The school district of Camden has been spending money like crazy, all while some of the adults there have been accused of stealing money and rigging tests.

And yes, the test results in Camden are atrocious, the graduation rate stinks and the kids who care about education are being deprived of opportunity. And it is NOT because of money.

Liberals would pounce on a recent news story that pointed out that students in the high school have no fresh drinking water because the old fountains are broke. Liberals would gloss over the fact that water coolers were brought into the hallways to solve that problem, but they were knocked over by in-house vandals and can no longer be used.

As he runs for the GOP presidential nomination he will not get, Republican Mitt goes around saying “Facts are stubborn things.”

That may be, but Barack Obama has a good chance of moving into 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue because he ignores facts and feeds the same old myths to his adoring fans. He says he will be able to bring Americans all together.

As long as a few people believe the facts and not the fluff, President Obama will fail to envelope all of us with his magical, mythical tongue.

It's Not the Race, Stupid

2008-01-30T11:01:00.001-05:00

Take a photograph of John McCain and Barack Obama, put them side-by-side and see the visible clue to why Barrack Obama has the better chance to be President of the United States.

No, it’s not the racial thing.

Look again.

John McCain will be 72 years old this summer. Yes, he is a vigorous senior citizen. And yes, his mother is in her 90s and going gangbusters. But McCain’s likely longevity is not the reason he will lose a match-up against Obama. The reason is to be found not in McCain but in the American people.

We will never again elect an “old” president.

The watershed moment for that new truism came at the 1992 Democratic national convention when a then-frisky Bill Clinton clapped his hands to the tune that would haunt the first President Bush and the Republican Party. (Don't Stop Thinking About Tomorrow.)

George Herbert Walker Bush was a World War II veteran. Clinton wasn’t a kid, but he played rock music and that made all the difference. It was clear that the torch had been passed.

Presidential elections from here on out are less about ideology than about demographics. And demographics will be working big-time for the Democrats.

When the white-thatched Teddy Kennedy endorsed Obama this week, he acknowledged that passing of the torch to a new generation of voters who have seen JFK only in books and movie clips. It is time for your Camelot, said Kennedy to the Obama armies of “change.”

But how can a rising bloc of younger, usually less-informed voters overtake the massive Baby Boomer generation that is now approaching Medicare? Won’t those older sons and daughters of the Greatest Generation put McCain over the top?

Probably not. Not when Obama is a cinch to galvanize black voters into storming the polls in record numbers. Not when the traditional Democratic blue collar base burns to prove its belief in racial equality. Not when millions of draft-age Americans are eager to turn their backs on war no matter the cost.

And not when die-hard conservatives view John McCain as a social liberal who will amnestatize illegals, give up on abortion and play patsy with the Dems. Sure, he's tough on the war, but the majority of Americans don't quite get the war's link to terrorism and would rather watch TV.

American opinion is media-driven. The GOP will strive mightily to make John McCain cool. It won’t work for the young voters who think Obama exudes coolness. MTV helped put Clinton in the White House. It will be no different this time.

Many of the retiring Boomers are not well fixed for the future. They may admire McCain as a hero, but they are listening to Obama’s promise of more help for the needy. They’ll take a chance on the new JFK.

News media members who lust for an Obama victory understand all this, which is exactly why they make no issue of McCain’s age or the demographic sea changes changing this nation (voting immigrants among them). As the oldest Republican frontrunner, he is the ideal rival for the Obama juggernaut. Bring him on.

If the Obama-McCain contest comes to pass, next January may find the Grand Old Party searching amidst the rubble of Grumpy Old White Guys for some new leadership.

Is it right that America shuns an older man running for President? Probably not. But unless Letterman decides to put his hat in the ring at the age of 70, that's the way it's going to be.

NJ to Employees: We Will Pay You to Leave

2008-01-28T09:46:00.001-05:00

Concerned that the Garden State is losing the agricultural race, New Jersey legislators have intensified their campaign to drive residents and businesses from the state to make room for more vegetables.

The state senate budget committee is meeting today to doctor up a proposed bill allowing workers up to six weeks of paid leave to care for a sick relative or new baby. An earlier bill allowing 10 weeks recently failed to pass.

“We can’t just order businesses and their employees to leave the state and give up their land for crops,” said Senate Majority Leader Stephen Sweeney. “But we have ways to take them out. Hopefully this bill passes. Our farms are disappearing and we’ve got tens of thousands of undocumented workers who need to work on them.”

The bill would give workers two-thirds of their pay, up to $502 weekly, so they could stay away from their jobs.

“The beauty of this proposed bill is that it disgusts both business and employees,” said Sweeney. “All workers will have to pay a tax of about a buck a week to subsidize their co-workers’ vacations. Of course, we cleverly don’t call it a tax. It’s payment to a ‘fund.’

“The businesses gripe that they will lose valuable employees for six weeks and the explostion of absences will sour the business climate in the state.”

Sweeney said as the state grows, homes, businesses and state government buildings have supplanted agriculture and threatening to make a mockery of the state’s “Garden State” nickname.

“The goal here is to resurrect thousands of farms through New Jersey, and then bring that field-hand and vegetable-picking manpower onto the state payroll, with pensions and cradle-to-grave security,” said Sweeney.

“First of all, we will have state employees who actually do something tangible, which will silence critics of the ‘workfarce’ in Trenton. Secondly, we will create a huge voting block with state pensions who know where their bread is buttered. Somebody referred to it as a collective, but I’m not sure what that means.”

Sweeney said the outflow of existing citizens and businesses is key to the Garden State survival.

“But we can’t let them back across the rivers and we’re already working on that threat.

“Somebody suggested building a wall. We’ve contracted with a great polling outfit in the state, headquartered in Berlin, to work on that for us.”

Did the Republicans Conspire to Be Nice to Each Other?

2008-01-25T09:46:00.000-05:00

NBC newsman Tim "Mad Dog" Russert looked like a poster boy for hypertension at the GOP candidates debate last night, red face all bunched up as he lashed out his "yes or no" questions to all the old white guys.

To Senator McCain, Iraq war, right or wong?

This is like asking a Presbyterian minister: "To the Reverend, does eternity, exist or not? One word, please."

Russert and his fellow prosecutors didn't lay a glove on the Republican rivals, a disappointment to anyone hoping for a fight as bloody as the groin-kicking, ear-biting smackdown that went on between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama a few days ago. Those two Democrats were about as civil as the War Between the States.

The Amway vibes from last night's wordfest lead to one conclusion: Those smiling gents behind the lecterns must have agreed ahead of time to back off the personal attacks. Let's speak to issues, be courteous to each other and let the millions of viewers pick up on the Donkey/Elephant contrast.

It worked.

Ronald Reagan's former speech writer, the mega-talented Peggy Noonan, laments today the factions within the GOP that threaten the ideals championed by her old boss. Great writer, Noonan, but she may be misreading the mood of the GOP electorate,

After viewing last night's thoughtful exchange among intelligent, experienced leaders who probably agreed to avoid mudslinging, the guess here is that a majority of the Republican voters went to bed feeling pretty good about all (just not Paul) of the candidates. No talk of surrender in Iraq. No promises to end poverty (look at the tapes, that is what John Edwards said his plan will do.) No walking all over George Bush to heighten their image.

Let those two kids in the cafeteria knock each other silly. We've got some adults ready to bring the class to order.

And if a Republican somehow manages to slide into the White House, he would do well to read A Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin. This substantial work documents how Lincoln recruited his bitter rivals for the presidential nomination to join his cabinet. Wouldn't that be a powerhouse administration?