The attack on Westergaard cows media and academics

"The attack on [Kurt] Westergaard is a textbook application of terror. Even the weapons chosen — an axe for example — contributed to instilling fear. Although Westergaard himself escaped unharmed, every European writer knows that the next victim may not be so lucky. And that next writer may be himself. The Somali also demonstrated the second object lesson of terrorist pedagogy. They reminded the world that they never forget. Salman Rushdie is still on the run. Westergaard will have to be guarded until the day that he dies. There is no statute of limitations on al-Qaeda’s anger. Blasphemy is forever.

And it works. By slow degrees the intellectuals are being cowed into silence. . ." Belmont club

Ralph Nader--Car and Driver Interview

When you buy a new car, after you do the test drive you do a lot of sitting around in offices with plastic plants or showroom floors with shiny monster SUVs while they pile up the papers you need to sign, even when you pay cash the way we did in November when we bought our 2010 Town and Country. I can't just SIT. I have to be reading or writing, so I did both, and took notes on the Car and Driver interview with Ralph Nader in the September 2009 issue. Maybe you're too young to remember, but Ralph Nader was the consumer crank of my generation who got all the press in the 1960s and 70s. Didn't hurt that he was Hollywood handsome, very photogenic and quirky--he actually lived the lifestyle he recommended for others, as I recall. On auto safety, he says history has redeemed him, and the critics in the government, industry and the media now look like fools. Even the horse chariots in Roman times had a padded dash, he said.

"Everything we’ve gotten so far, we should have gotten years ago. And everything we don’t have, we should have gotten years ago. The first generation of auto safety devices are in play now—you know, seatbelts, airbags, padded dash panels, collapsible steering columns, side protection, head restraints, things like that—but there’s a second generation out there. Part of it is made up of upgrading existing standards that came out in 1968 or so, because they get obsolete. So we need to take that first generation and upgrade them—better collapsible steering columns, stronger side protection, airbags that protect you at higher speeds. Then there’s the second generation, of which most people are not aware, like collision-avoidance systems, much more effective vehicle dynamics in terms of handling and braking—all these should have been phased in back in the 1980s and 1990s. All in all, though, over a million lives have been saved."

When asked what he could have done differently, he responded,

"Well, I’d like to have had a different set of presidents."

But he also tosses in the unions with the automakers as blame worthy, and you can look at the current bailouts and payoffs for health care boondoggles and bennies right up to today to see that he is correct.

"Fuel efficiency, that was the real disaster. Anybody could have seen this coming, and the UAW and GM marched up on Capitol Hill and crushed, year after year, any attempt at fuel-efficiency legislation. And that’s why GM went bankrupt. They did it to themselves."

Then he closes with a quote (paraphrased I assume) from Ross Perot.

" He was talking to some senior GM executives in 1986, and he said here’s a company that doesn’t like its dealers, doesn’t like its workers, doesn’t like its customers—you people don’t even like each other!"

That said--and I do believe auto safety is important--it's not more so than some common sense. Lowering the speed limit to 55 in the 1970s not only saved thousands of lives and billions of gallons of fuel, it made driving far more pleasant and allowed much smoother, more pleasant trips. The decade following 1995 when the speed limits went back up (had been 55 mph), studies show an additional 12,500 people died and about 36,500 injured through 2006, even though overall deaths are going down due to safer cars, more seat belt use, and alcohol crack downs. And health care costs? Gracious, even lives that are saved through safety features, if those people are in an accident the costs to the person, the insurance companies, their investors, the court system in litigation and the state and federal tax system while people are out of work, are billions. Better to get the driver and passengers to their location at "fifty five and alive," but no one wants that any more. The death toll in Iraq and Afghanistan of our brightest and best? Not high compared to our highways. We lose 5,000+ teen-agers (16-20) a year on the highways just because we won't raise the legal driving age from 16 to 18! Their passengers are in danger, too--nearly 5,000 teen passengers were killed in 2006.

Where are our priorities! I can only conclude there is no political advantage to either party or lobbyists or the free market or wing-nuts at either end of the political spectrum to save lives through common sense and raising the legal age to drive.

Get in line. . . Michigan, Illinois, Ohio, New York. . .

"Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger asked for $6.9 billion in federal funds in his state-budget proposal Friday and warned that state health and welfare programs would be threatened without the emergency help." Link at WSJ

Why are U.S. medical costs high?

Open the newspaper. I've got the Columbus Dispatch in front of me.

1. Cordray opposes Medicaid break for Nebraska. The Cornhusker Kickback made headlines, but this kind of bribery is rampant in all legislation--sometimes it goes to big Pharma, sometimes to the states.

2. Latex paint will no longer be accepted by SWACO (toxic cleanup). I'm sure there were research grants to determine if latex paint leaches into the ground water system, but I'm also sure in 10 years some green non-profit will be filing a lawsuit and we tax payers will be paying to clean it up.

3. Ratus Norvegicus (brown rat) control program has been cut, despite an increase in the income-tax rate to handle these problems. It's below 2%, so no action is needed. Listen up OSU students--clean up your own fast food trash and beer bottles you leave in the streets and alleys. Don't let the rats return to your neighborhood!

4. Blake Haxton's parents are suing for medical negligance the very doctors and hospital who saved their son's life after he developed flesh eating bacteria (not at the hospital) and had to have his legs amputated with less than a 20% chance to live. He's now attending college.

5. An auto accident kills one, injures two, destroys 3 autos. A man stops to help an 18 year old in a ditch and is hit by another driver who lost control and hit them both.

6. Two owners of dogs are sued under dog bite statute. No pictures of a child's face torn apart by a dog and the resulting surgeries, but you can find them on the web. Don't ever, ever say, "Oh, he won't bite." All dogs will bite, given a reason, some of which only they know.

7. EPA grant to make school buses in Olentangy School District more "environmentally friendly." Retrofitted to reduce fine particulate emissions.

8. Central Ohio Technical College is expanding into Pataskala (already has locations in Columbus, Mt. Vernon, Newark and Coshocton)--nursing, lab tech, public safety programs. Health care is a growth industry. Purchased a former banquet hall and remodeled it.

Then turn the page and find. . .

9. A man shot in an SUV (why the auto make is significant, I don't know--I think because SUVs aren't "green" and therefore they contribute to gunshot wounds) but he was declared dead at the hospital.

10. Red Cross Clinics taking blood and H1N1 clinics dispensing vaccines. I've seen the cost figures for UK and Canada--can't find them for the U.S. Frankly, I think vaccines are worth the cost of development and marketing, but this one was definitely confusing and. . . botched. People have become so distrustful there will probably be millions of doses and billions of dollars lost.

11. Joe Montgomery, former OSU running back, is suing OSU over false information in his medical records while he was a player which is now cutting into his disability claim. Ah, more lawyers involved in our "health care" and nary a senator to take a peek.

And that was just one day, and I didn't even read the entire paper--like the obituaries!

Obama Tries to Turn Focus to Jobs, if Other Events Allow

IF OTHER EVENTS ALLOW? (Headline in NYT)

There was zero urgency to tackle health care; zero urgency to raise our taxes with cap and trade; zero urgency to insult the Cambridge police department; zero need to appoint all those czars and tax cheats who were clueless; zero, zero, zero. That's his score for his first year, not a B+ as he thinks. He should have tackled the economy as his number one priority. He was a Senator in a Democratic controlled Congress when unemployment started to rise a bit. It has soared on his watch with his absolutely ineffective "stimulus" and his threats to "fundamentally transform" our country while he's dawdled over the troop surge, played golf more than any other president in recent history, and refused to see terrorism as a necessary war we need to fight with determination and leadership.

"Anita Dunn [the gal who admires Mao so much], until recently Mr. Obama’s communications director, said that when the health care bill was completed, “that will give the administration more space to really communicate to the American people about those things that have been done and that the president continues to push forward on to make the economy work for middle-class families.”"

When Rush Limbaugh announced that he hoped Obama failed, he meant fail in his plan to destroy our economy. However, it looks like he has succeeded in proving Rush wrong--which is hard to do. His most egregious and grandiose plan is working!

Watching the Elvis birthday tribute

Last night I watched/listened to about an hour of the Elvis documentary, Elvis on Tour, on the Turner Classic Movies network which had a marathon and decided that I'd been quite influenced by our local Elvis impersonator, Mike Albert, the Big-E who sings often at Lakeside. By the time Elvis died at 42, I was long past listening to him, and only rarely saw him on TV. But Mike does a great show--the entry, the costumes, the back-up singers, water, scarves, the works, including a great voice--and I've finally learned to like Elvis.

This is from King Creole, HT Invincible Armor. I don't think I've ever seen this one at Lakeside. What's with the swishy limp wrists?



JD Sumner of the Stamps singing "Elvis has Left the Building."

Today's New Word--BRFSS

There are websites devoted to acronyms, but here's one that affects you whether or not you know what it means. "The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) is a state-based system of health surveys that collects information on health risk behaviors, preventive health practices, and health care access primarily related to chronic disease and injury. For many states, the BRFSS is the only available source of timely, accurate data on health-related behaviors. Established by the CDC in 1984, more than 350,000 adults are interviewed each year, making the BRFSS the largest telephone health survey in the world. [If you don't have a land line, are you in the game? I'm sure buried in the code book are corrections for that or they'd lose the younger population.] Here's why you should know what it is: States use BRFSS data to identify emerging health problems, establish and track health objectives, and develop and evaluate public health policies and programs. Many states also use BRFSS data to support health-related legislative efforts.

Here's the context. In the December 16 issue of JAMA there was an article about perceived insufficient rest or sleep. I like this section of JAMA because 1) I can usually understand a MMWR report, and 2) if I can't there is a good editorial explanation. This one's a bit tricky--the old double negative. "Insufficient sleep" means "not enough sleep" to me, but the wording is "no days of insufficient sleep or rest." So my brain has to stop and think "no no sleep days." But. . . here's what was interesting.

"Retired persons (43.8%) were most likely to report no days of insufficient rest or sleep in comparison with adults reporting other types of employment status (P = .003). Those with less than a high school diploma or general education development certificate (GED) (37.9%) also were more likely to report no days of insufficient rest or sleep in comparison with those with a high school diploma or GED (33.8%) or with some college or college degree (28.0%). Finally, reports of no days of insufficient rest or sleep were similar among adults of varying marital status, although never married adults (31.6%) were more likely to report no days than members of an unmarried couple (28.4%; P = .005)."

Almost everyone my age that I've ever talked to complains about not sleeping as well as she or he did when younger. But BRFSS data says that's not how it's reported--assuming I'm reading that double negative correctly. Also, could there be a trifecta here? It looks like elderly, less educated old maids sleep better than the rest of us. Is that how you read it?

Friday Family Photo--the Deardorff Sisters

It wasn't too long ago, just yesterday as a matter of fact*, that I found out what happened to Uncle Cornelius' grand daughters, Bessie, Rhea and Carrie. They are the 3 young ladies with X's above their heads in the back row of this photograph. Uncle was the older brother of my Great Grandfather, David. They were born in Adams County, Pennsylvania. David started out for California when he was about 20 to prospect for gold, but settled down to farm instead in Lee County, Illinois, after working in Rockford as a carpenter for awhile. His family was German Baptist Brethren (now Church of the Brethren), and there were a number of that group in the Franklin Grove/Ashton area. For awhile, Cornelius also lived in Lee County. One of Cornelius' daughters married a Sarchett, the other a Deardorff. At some point, the Deardorffs moved to California, and people sitting on my branch of the family tree back in Illinois and Iowa didn't know what became of that branch.

Yesterday I received a packet of information from a 2nd cousin once removed in Iowa from a third cousin once removed in Virginia. She has written an article for a Chinese American history journal, but when I checked the web, I see she'd also added something to the web about the Berean Bible School in Los Angeles, which is where I found this photo. This school was modeled after the Bethany Bible School in Chicago of which my grandfather was a trustee. Both of these schools had very active missions among the Chinese in their respective cities.

*I actually learned about this family in 2004, but hadn't put all the pieces together and had lost the e-mail of the source.

All this fuss over forgiveness

Brit Hume has come under attack for making a suggestion about Tiger Woods spiritual needs.

"He's said to be a Buddhist. I don't think that faith offers the kind of forgiveness and redemption that is offered by the Christian faith. So my message to Tiger would be, 'Tiger, turn your faith—turn to the Christian faith and you can make a total recovery and be a great example to the world.'"

I've seen every imaginable lurid and ridiculous comment about his promiscuity, adultery and disease spreading behavior--even a 12 month calendar featuring his mistresses, but leave it to a Christian offering comfort and help to really upset the left. Story here. Oprah is a much bigger name than Hume and she talks up her faith all the time--that warm, fuzzy, new agey stuff--they don't complain about her, nor do her supporters, fans and sponsors.

HT Helen.

Prayer march in Houston for Life

Planned Parenthood is renovating a former bank in Houston, turning it into a 78,000 square foot facility that will include a surgical wing equipped to provide late-term abortions. There will be a prayer march January 18 headed by Lou Engle, founder of the pro-life group The Call to Conscience to protest this expansion by Planned Parenthood which targets minority groups.

Joining Engle at the prayer march will be Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, and Samuel Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference. Religious leaders expected to attend include Bishop Harry Jackson, senior pastor of Hope Christian Church; Richard Land, president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention; Star Parker, president of the Coalition for Urban Renewal and Education; and Abby Johnson, the former director of a Planned Parenthood clinic. Story at CNS.

Winter in Oklahoma . . . or Iowa or Nebraska

Just about anywhere except central Ohio, where we got 4" last night and the streets are clear. My exercise class didn't meet today because the schools are closed. We meet in a church and it's been 15-50 years since most of us were pregnant, including our leader, my husband.

This poem was seen at Staci's, and she borrowed it from her niece who lives in Iowa.

It's winter in Oklahoma
And the gentle breezes blow,
70 miles per hour
at 25 below!

Oh, how I love Oklahoma
When the snow's up to your butt;
You take a breath of winter air
And your nose is frozen shut.

Yes, the weather here is wonderful,
I guess I'll hang around.
I could never leave Oklahoma,
'Cause I'm frozen to the ground.

It's too late for me, but

when they perfect that fat transfer for facial wrinkles and the back of the hands, I'm in!

The source for the fat [to enlarge breasts] is typically from the thigh, buttocks, or thighs. The fat is usually harvested and prepared in a process right before the fat transfer. The survival rate for the transferred fat cells depends on a number of things. Factors include the method of fat retrieval, the method of fat preparation, and method for depositing the fat cells. Doctors will generally inject more fat cells than what the final desired result will be. This is because a percentage will be naturally reabsorbed by the body.

Recovery time for breast augmentation using fat transfer is much quicker than other forms of breast augmentation. This is because the process is less invasive than the surgery required for saline implants. Results for breast augmentation using fat transfer so far, so good. link

Thursday Thirteen Rerun edition

I originally wrote this in December 2006, about 3 years ago; 13 things I was wondering about. Still haven't answered these important questions, some of which were making small headlines that year.


This is the season of wonder, so I've been wondering, in no particular order, while you've all been fighting the crowds at the mall:

1) Have Catholics advanced spiritually more with the vernacular rather than the unifying language of Latin?

2) Do Lutherans, Methodists and Presbyterians have a better grasp of the gospel with loud rock music?

3) If every household now has 2 or 3 fuel efficient cars, are we really better off, environmentally speaking, than when we had one gas hog that could hold six people comfortably?

4) Has bussing children for 45-60 minutes to and from school ever improved the quality of education or even built friendships and understanding among the races and income groups?

5) How many lawyers will get rich from restaurant operators (passing the costs on to us) trying to figure out compliance with Ohio's new minimum wage law (now part of our constitution) and the anti-smoking bans?

6) What do little children strapped into safety seats in automobiles think about or learn listening to mommy chatter on the cell phone while ignoring them?

7) Do restaurant employees really "lávase las manos" before leaving the restroom?

8) Do baseball caps on guys really hide thinning hair, or do they increase the fallout and make it difficult to give their wives a kiss?

9) Will Nicole Kidman change Keith Urban's drinking behavior or has she made another bad marriage?

10) Will the visual quality and intellectual content of YouTube be a passing fad?

11) Do gun enthusiasts, hunters and collectors really need assault weapons?

12) Did George Clooney really share his bed with Max his 300 lb. pet pig and could this be the real reason he's not married?

13) Does sloppy, loose clothing hide weight gain or does it visually add pounds?

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Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others’ comments. It’s easy, and fun!

The husband store

This came from a Chinese-Filipino chat room/forum (I was looking for something else). I think it's old, but oh, so true!

The Husband Store

A store that sells husbands has just opened in New York City, where a woman may go to choose a husband.

Among the instructions at the entrance is a description of how the store operates. You may visit the store ONLY ONCE!

There are six floors and the attributes of the men increase as the shopper ascends the flights. There is, however, a catch.. you may choose any man from a particular floor, or you may choose to go up a floor, but you cannot go back down except to exit the building.

So, a woman goes to the Husband Store to find a husband.

On the first floor the sign on the door reads:

Floor 1 - These men have jobs and love the Lord.

The second floor sign reads:

Floor 2 - These men have jobs, love the Lord, and love kids.

The third floor sign reads:

Floor 3 - These men have jobs, love the Lord, love kids, and are extremely good-looking.

"Wow," she thinks, but feels compelled to keep going.

She goes to the fourth floor and sign reads:

Floor 4 - These men have jobs, love the Lord, love kids, are drop-dead good-looking and help with the housework.

"Oh, mercy me!" she exclaims, "I can hardly stand it!"

Still, she goes to the fifth floor and sign reads:

Floor 5 - These men have jobs, love the Lord, love kids, are drop-dead gorgeous, help with the housework, and have a strong romantic streak.

She is so tempted to stay, but she goes to the sixth floor and the sign reads:

Floor 6 - You are visitor 4,363,012 to this floor. There are no men on this floor. This floor exists solely as proof that women are impossible to please.

Thank you for shopping at the Husband Store. Watch your step as you exit the building, and have a nice day!

Random Dozen from Lazy Daisy

1. On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being a cranky-baby-hissy-fitter, how much of a complainer are you? I’m definitely an 8 or a 9. You pick the topic, I’ll complain.

2. When someone else is talking, do you listen, or are you thinking about what you're going to say in response? Not such a good listener. And the harder I concentrate on listening, the worse it gets. I call it a learning disability--auditory dyslexia--sounds better and more PC than interrupting.

3. I just deleted 1062 messages from my email account. Do you have any plans for a clean sweep this month--of anything? After my bruce dot six ended up with several hundred, I cleaned up a few every day and then finally began reusing it. Terrible spam at that account. Now I clean out everyday. The basement storage areas are waiting--last did that 3 years ago.

4. Tell us about your perfume. Was it a gift? What does it remind you of? Do you have a signature scent? Rarely use it because my favorites are no longer made. But do occasionally use Cachet.

5. What is your best organizing tip for the new year? I’m not sure this is organizational, but I did bring the exercycle in from the garage to my office. The garage looks better, and if I work at it, so will I. In the winter it's 10 degrees in the garage and in the summer it's about 90 and I'm at Lakeside!



6. What is your favorite comic strip? I’ve never followed comic strips.

7. Do you sleep with a fluffy or flat pillow? For years I used a down pillow, then discovered if I went to flat and firm, my arm was no longer numb in the morning.

8. What color is your kitchen? Why did you choose that color? Beige, Khaki and cream. I’m a rather dull person, so it suits. I love deep rich colors in others' homes, but don't want to live with them. If I could find this wall paper, I’d do it over. One of the previous owners installed it.

9. What‘s the most interesting bumper sticker you’ve seen? Oh, I love all the liberal ones. They’re so snarky and clever and full of self-righteousness. They make me laugh remembering my past.

10. Do you prefer an expensive writing tool or whatever is lying around? (Are you a Montblanc or a Papermate?) I’m definitely a #2 BIC--have them in all colors and sizes. I carry them with me for my blogging drafts.

11. What chore doesn’t feel like a chore you just enjoy it (at least most of the time)? Writing letters. I’d rather write than pick up the phone. I have most of the letters I wrote to my parents over 40 years, and boy are they a snooze, but I know every slip up and accomplishment I ever made.

12. If your parents often repeated themselves, what is something one of them said more than once? My parents, both of them, were just full of advice, so I come by it naturally. I could count on my father to remind me to put on an apron even when I was 60. Mom always subtly tried to get me to lower the volume (she was deaf when I was growing up) and be more gentle. She was a good example, but apparently that’s not what it takes. Genes matter. But I do usually wear an apron now.

Why the kids got gift cards for Christmas

This is really cute--didn't see it in time for Christmas.



However, they gave us some neat stuff--subscription/memberships, ink cartridges for my printer, a beautiful framed replica of the Declaration of Independence, an itsy-bitsy TV, under the cabinet radio/cd player, hand cream, a right-size skillet, and of course an afternoon of their time, which is always the best gift for anyone.

HT Writers dogs, and Germans

Winter Weddings

Doesn't that sound romantic? This morning at the coffee shop I heard a couple discussing a winter wedding where they sang up near Cleveland the day after New Year's in extreme weather--but it all turned out well. The church was near the hotel where all the other events took place and the men were even able to gather early for the football games. The worst winter wedding I attended was that of Cheri and Donal O'Mathuna, and it was during one of Columbus' freak April blizzards. At one of my other blogs, Lynne is guest blogger and writes about attending our classmate Ebba's wedding during a 24" snow storm in 1964. It looks like Illinois is being socked in again today--our snow is expected a little later today.

Today's new word--Myocardial Infarction

This isn't a new word, but when I see it in print I do slow down--sort of like a "detour ahead" or Big funny words ahead. A myocardial infarction is a heart attack, and ischemia is lack of oxygen to the heart muscle cells, which may have been caused by plaque, a build up of fatty junk, in the arteries which supply the blood to the heart.

Whether or not you listen to Rush Limbaugh, heart attacks (myocardial infarction) have been in the news, either because you heard his confirmation of the excellent care he received from EMTs and at a hospital in Hawaii after experiencing severe chest pain (including aspirin and nitroglycerin tablet before getting to the hospital) or you heard one of the many MSM talkers complaining that he had politicized his emergency by announcing the U.S. has the best health care in the world.



Actually, that's not at all political--although the liberal talkers made it that way. First of all, heart disease is the leading cause of death because our excellent health care and research have pushed it to the top by eliminating so many of the childhood diseases that used to kill or weaken us--scarlet fever, polio, early onset diabetes, measles, etc. Both liberals and conservatives and libertarians should be able to agree that there are many health concerns that only the federal government can tackle--like clean water and air, safe highways, speed limits, and food purity, etc. The political challenge comes in deciding how far can you go in eliminating all risk without destroying people's ability to earn a living so they don't succumb to other health problems--like starvation and freezing for instance.

Secondly, I can't recall ever talking to anyone in the last decade who was rushed to the ER with chest pains who didn't rave about the near miraculous care they received. While Rush was explaining the procedures as he remembered them, a cardiologist from central Illinois called the show (that's called "down state" for those of you not from that area since Chicago overwhelms everything else) and reported that what Rush described was exactly what anyone would receive at his small hospital, regardless of insurance, gender, or celebrity. Rush put his emergency care on his credit card because he's one of the millions of Americans who chooses not to use health insurance, which is his right at this time, but will not be under the new PORK (Pelosi-Obama-Reid-Kennedy) Plan. Liberals continue to quote inaccurate stats--it's not 47 million--and the PORK Plan will not cover all the 10% of our citizens who currently do not have insurance because of choice, neglect to sign up, or being between jobs, or lack of money. Also, no health plan in the world will make Rush exercise more or lose weight or stop smoking cigars--that's the same option we all have regardless of our insurance, lectures from the family doctor, or New Year's Resolutions. He loves his steak, his exercise seems to be limited to golf outings and jaw boning, and he probably doesn't like vegetables. Everyone should know Yo-Yo dieting is unhealthy, but he's a poster child for that method of weight control.

However, he's right about our quality of care. He was treated immediately and didn't need a queue for tests to return when the damage was unrepairable. A free-market economy, whether for heart attacks or building automobiles or publishing on the Internet, is the healthiest way to go for Americans. It is our regulators, unions, creeping socialism in every aspect of life, and our federal bureaucracy that are increasingly plugging up the arteries of our economy with fatty barriers.

BTW, if you google "Myocardial infarction Rush Limbaugh" you get only one hit (now there will be two)--I think it was Money Times (it reports he makes about $50 million a year). You have to use "heart attack" to get all the articles, bizarre comments and smear attacks. That one source linked to over 3,000 that used other language.

Waffly wedded wife

It's good to have a few laughs.

Wrong question, NPR

"The headlines of the past day and a half, no matter how much Democrats would love to spin them, don't look especially good. Sen. Byron Dorgan, Democrat of North Dakota, announces he will retire. Gov. Bill Ritter, Democrat of Colorado, says he won't run again. And now comes the news that Christopher Dodd, a Connecticut Democrat who chairs the Senate Banking Committee, declared at noon today that he will pack it in after five terms -- longer than any Connecticut senator in history.

Yesterday afternoon also came the news that Michigan Lt. Gov. John Cherry, the clear Democratic frontrunner to succeed term-limited Gov. Jennifer Granholm (D), withdrew from the race.

And all this comes a week after a freshman Democratic congressman from northern Alabama -- Parker Griffith -- switched to the GOP. It's the first time in history that the district will be represented by a Republican in the House.

What to make of all this?" NPR Political Junkie

Here are my questions. How much are they being paid? What think tank will take them in? Will Reid be next? For whom will they consult? Lobbyists have never been more welcome at the White House. Dodd should be in jail, not in the Senate.

All you have to do is Google, "Dodd Ritter Dorgan"--Cherry and Griffith were by-products.

Atlantic

Air America

Beltway Blips

PrimeBuzz