Lookin' Out My Back Door

More snow photos have been requested. Here's one looking out from our garage:

Enough Is Enough

I like snow, but this is starting to get ridiculous:

McCain Wins Florida (And Probably The Nomination)

There was lots of interesting stuff on cable news last night in the wake of McCain's victory in the Florida primary. Giuliani will reportedly drop out of the race today and endorse McCain, and there's talk of McCain wanting Huckabee to be his running mate. What this means, according to several pundits, is that the GOP establishment is uniting behind McCain and against Romney.

If all this is true, then not only is it a stunning development -- McCain's campaign was, after all, on life support last summer -- it's also the smart move because McCain is obviously the most electable Republican in the field right now. It will be interesting to see what Rush Limbaugh, who supposedly hates McCain and has been going after him in a big way lately, is going to say now.

One thing I think is critical for a McCain win in November is Iraq. If Iraq gets ultra-violent again in the run-up to November, then McCain could be hosed, particularly if Obama is the Democratic nominee. Obama's chances of being the nominee might have just improved now that Edwards is dropping out.

Thoughts On The SotU

I didn't watch Bush's State of the Union Address last night, but on NPR this morning, the radio people kept referring to it as Bush's "final State of the Union Address."

That made me feel good. But this is kind of screwed-up:

After delivering his State of the Union address last night, President Bush signed autographs and engaged in chit-chat with members of Congress as he left the chamber. An unidentified Republican congresswoman blurted out, “You make me proud to be an American!” Bush responded, “You know — thank you. I enjoyed that.”

It's amazing the shit people will say just to get an autograph.

Handy "Rambo" Death Toll Chart

This is pretty awesome (click on chart to enlarge):

Lots of great information here. JB was intrigued by the lack of violence in Rambo I, especially the fact that only one person died in that film.

Rambo did destroy an entire downtown area in that first movie, but it was after business hours so nobody died. The only person who died in the first movie was the dude who fell out of the helicopter while he was trying to shoot Rambo, who was hanging defenselessly on the side of a cliff. Rambo ended up throwing a rock at the helicopter, which caused it to go out of control slightly, resulting in the evil shooter guy falling to his death. Rambo wasn't even trying to kill anyone, so yeah, that was kind of a weak film violence-wise, at least given what ensued in the follow-up movies.

I remember losing count of how many died in Rambo II -- I was up to around 60, but then he started destroying an entire village so there was no way to really know how many he killed because some of those grass huts could have had like 20 people in them. It was very frustrating for folks like me who like to keep a running tally of the death toll.

It would have been helpful in Rambo II if, after Stallone blew up a grass hut, a sub-title appeared which said something like "There were 24 bad guys in that hut" or whatever. Or maybe have one of the bad guys tell Rambo near the end of the film (just before Rambo blew the bad guy up with an explosive-tipped arrow): "You killed 93 of my best guys in that village back there!" and then turn to the camera and say, "And those are confirmed kills!" That would have made me feel a little better.

Obama Crushes Billary In S.C.

I love it:

Barack Obama routed Hillary Rodham Clinton in a racially-charged South Carolina primary, regaining much-needed campaign momentum with the help of black voters in the prelude to next month's coast-to-coast presidential nomination competition in which nearly half the U.S. states will vote. * * *

Obama got 55% of the vote, and the Clintons got only 27%. I expect Bill will start whining even more now.

Meanwhile, it looks like it's time to put a fork in Giuliani's campaign:

The New York Police Department produced a detailed analysis in 1998 opposing plans by the city to locate its emergency command center at the World Trade Center, but the Giuliani administration overrode those objections. The command center later collapsed from damage in the Sept. 11 terrorist attack. * * *

Quote Of The Day

Right-Winger Peggy Noonan actually wrote this:

"George W. Bush destroyed the Republican Party, by which I mean he sundered it, broke its constituent pieces apart and set them against each other. He did this on spending, the size of government, war, the ability to prosecute war, immigration and other issues."

I don't think Bush has completely destroyed the GOP, so thank God he has one more year left to finish the job.

How Obama Should Respond To Bill Clinton

In last night's Democratic debate, Obama made this comment with regard to former President Bill Clinton's hyper-involvement with Hillary's campaign: "I can't tell who I'm running against."

That's a good start, but I think Obama should raise the stakes a bit and challenge Bill to a debate. Here's how Obama should present his challenge:

Bill Clinton, as an ex-president and de facto leader of the Democratic Party, has taken an extraordinary role in this campaign. In fact, he has basically assumed the role of attack dog for his wife's side, particularly when it comes to attacking me personally.

Since ex-president Bill Clinton is taking such an unprecedented role in this campaign, I have no choice but to challenge Bill Clinton to a debate. Such a debate is necessary because I have no doubt that Bill -- given that he appears to be running Hillary's campaign -- would assume a huge role in a Hillary Clinton Administration should his wife win the nomination and ultimately the presidency.

Therefore, the voters in this country should get a good idea on where he stands on the issues. For example, did Bill have any influence on Hillary's disastrous vote for the Iraq War Resolution or on her vote with regard to the resolution declaring the Iranian Revolutionary Guard a terrorist organization? The voters have a right to hear him answer these questions -- as well as a host of others questions -- in a debate format where I am able to personally respond to his answers. My staff will contact Bill Clinton's staff before the day is out to make arrangements for this debate, which I hope can take place as soon as possible.

Bill Clinton, of course, will not agree to debate Obama because such an event would upstage Hillary. Therefore, when Clinton declines, Obama can call Bill a coward. In any event, I think it would be a no-lose situation for Obama.

Slic[k] brought up an interesting potential problem concerning Bill's high-profile role in Hillary's campaign. What if Bill is still messing around with women who aren't his wife, and these women start coming out of the woodwork as the campaign progresses? I don't think this would be all that big of a problem normally, but Bill has inserted himself (pun intended) into this campaign to such an extent that it could become a problem (and who out there really believes that Bill has given up on adultery?).

Anyway, it's something to think about.

Great Cartoon From Jim Borgman

Via Hoffmania:

I actually enjoyed the 40-minute long Golden Globe Awards a couple days ago. Best awards show I've ever seen.

Hillary's Latest Regarding Her Iraq War Vote

Here is what Hillary said on Meet the Press this morning with regard to her 2002 vote to authorize the Iraq War:

Moderator Tim Russert pointed out that the title of the resolution was the "Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002." Clinton responded saying, "We can have this Jesuitical argument about what exactly was meant. But when Chuck Hagel, who helped to draft the resolution said, 'It was not a vote for war,' What I was told directly by the White House in response to my question, 'If you are given this authority, will you put the inspectors in and permit them to finish their job,' I was told that's exactly what we intended to do."

So if that resolution was such a great thing, why the hell did 23 Senators vote against it? I remember watching Senator Robert Byrd going on and on about how bad of a thing this resolution was. Did he know something you didn't, Hillary?

Dead On Arrival

Nice try I guess:

Two men wheeled a dead man through the streets in an office chair to a check-cashing store and tried to cash his Social Security check before being arrested on fraud charges, police said.

David J. Dalaia and James O'Hare pushed Virgilio Cintron's body from the Manhattan apartment that O'Hare and Cintron shared to Pay-O-Matic, about a block away, spokesman Paul Browne said witnesses told police.

"The witnesses saw the two pushing the chair with Cintron flopping from side to side and the two individuals propping him up and keeping him from flopping from side to side," Browne said.

The men left Cintron's body outside the store, went inside and tried to cash his $355 check, Browne said. The store's clerk, who knew Cintron, asked the men where he was, and O'Hare told the clerk they would go and get him, Browne said.

A police detective who was having lunch at a restaurant next to the check-cashing store noticed a crowd forming around Cintron's body, and "it's immediately apparent to him that Cintron is dead," Browne said.

The Bills Lose It

First this one (thanks for the link, JB -- it's hysterical) and then this one:

[Bill Clinton] literally shocked his audience, by criticizing Mr. Obama and his campaign, pointing his finger and raising his already hoarse voice. In response to a question about the Clinton camp’s pollster Mark Penn wrongly insisting initially that Mr. Obama had gotten no “bounce’’ out of Iowa, Mr. Clinton began by acknowledging that Mr. Penn had been wrong.

Then he fired away, in a mocking tone: “But since you raised the judgment issue let’s go over this again. That is the central argument for his campaign. It doesn’t matter that ‘I’ started running for president less than a year after ‘I’ got to the senate after the Illinois senate. ‘I’ am a great speaker and a charismatic figure and ‘I’ am the only one who had the judgment to oppose this war from the beginning – always always always.”

You can watch the video of it here. Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't think Bill is helping matters much.

UPDATE: Of course, I could be wrong.

Big Snow Day

Haven't had one of these in awhile:

God Endorses Unnamed Democrat For 2008

Pat Robertson said this on Hannity and Colmes yesterday:

COLMES: You said that you convene with God on a regular basis. You go into deep prayer and mediation, and you just recently say to you was revealed who would be the winner in November. Is that correct?

ROBERTSON: I felt so. But I’m a little shaky on it and I didn’t want to say anything about it publicly. I’m not sure I heard from the Lord. And if I did, I hope I heard wrong.

What kind of interview is that? No follow-up questions, like, "So Reverend Robertson, did God sound kind of pissed off when he told you a Democrat was going to win, or did he sound happy?"

Hillary's Next Move

The Hillary Camp is about to go negative on Obama:

Until now, Clinton's campaign has been relatively restrained in what political pros euphemistically call "contrast" — in large part, because Iowans have a history of rejecting negative campaigning. (See: Romney, Mitt.) "We certainly held back," one Clinton aide said.

But all that may be about to change. "We've got to start holding him to the standard people hold her to," Clinton's chief strategist Mark Penn told reporters aboard the campaign's chartered jet to New Hampshire. "I think there's a basic choice between experienced leadership for change and inexperienced leadership that talks about change."

Added another adviser: "You're going to see some very sharp media now." That suggests the next round of Clinton ads will go beyond the previous gentle references to Obama's lack of experience and begin to look at, for instance, inconsistency in his voting record. They are looking at issues like gun control, where he previously took a harder stand that may not play well with gun-loving voters in New Hampshire, and health care, where he previously expressed support for a government-run health care system. Clinton plans to exploit every whiff of inconsistency. * * *

This was, of course, inevitable. It'll be interesting to see how Obama responds. Huckabee apparently made the right decision when he chose not to counter-attack after Romney launched his negative campaign, but they're not in Iowa anymore.

I still think that Hillary's claim that she has more experience than Obama might end up backfiring on her. More experience at what? Voting to authorize illegal wars?

If Defending Bush Doesn't Help Your Campaign, Then Start Attacking Him

This is hilarious:

Presidential candidate Mitt Romney said on Tuesday the Bush administration mismanaged the Iraq war, distancing himself from his party's unpopular president two days before Iowa's first-in-the-nation presidential contest.

"I think we did a less than effective job in managing the conflict following the collapse of Saddam Hussein," the former Massachusetts governor said at a news conference. "I think we were under prepared for what occurred, understaffed, under planned, and, in some respects, under managed." * * *

The reason this is so funny is that, just a couple weeks ago, Romney accused Huckabee of "running from the wrong party" for criticizing President Bush's foreign policy as an "arrogant bunker mentality."

Romney's apparent strategy is to flip-flop so many times on so many key issues that it all becomes just a blur to the voting public.

And by the way, this is also very funny (from Salon):

I hesitate to give too much attention to Mike Huckabee’s promote-my-ad-for-free scheme, but about mid-way through the ad, during a litany of accusations against Mitt Romney, Huckabee criticizes his rival with this data point: “No executions.” Apparently, Huckabee — you know, the evangelical, pro-life Republican — is going after Romney for not having executed any Americans during his gubernatorial tenure. I realize Republican politics are far more crass than norms should allow, but it’s disconcerting to think “You didn’t kill anyone” has suddenly become a criticism in conservative circles.

Maybe Romney can be appointed "special guest executioner" somewhere so that he can correct this oversight before it is too late. Mitt should -- at the very least -- try to kick the shit out of somebody before the Iowa Caucuses tomorrow.

Musharraf's Backup Plan?

From McClatchy:

The day she was assassinated last Thursday, Benazir Bhutto had planned to reveal new evidence alleging the involvement of Pakistan's intelligence agencies in rigging the country's upcoming elections, an aide said Monday.

Bhutto had been due to meet U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., and Rep. Patrick Kennedy, D-R.I., to hand over a report charging that the military Inter-Services Intelligence agency was planning to fix the polls in the favor of President Pervez Musharraf.

Safraz Khan Lashari, a member of the Pakistan People's Party election monitoring unit, said the report was "very sensitive" and that the party wanted to initially share it with trusted American politicians rather than the Bush administration, which is seen here as strongly backing Musharraf.

"It was compiled from sources within the (intelligence) services who were working directly with Benazir Bhutto," Lashari said, speaking Monday at Bhutto's house in her ancestral village of Naudero, where her husband and children continued to mourn her death.

The report also claimed that U.S. aid money was being used to fix the elections.