Joke

This a joke I heard in a movie:

What is one black man chased by 100 angry white guys?

Tiger Woods in a PGA tournament.

Chairs

Have you noticed the absence of chairs in America?

It's because nasty vagrants may not park their carcass.

Meanwhile the rest of us have to stand in the bitter cold.

Not fair.

Why not a McCain-Lieberman ticket?

Looking to Lieberman

By Ben J. Wattenberg

It has become quite apparent that Sen. John McCain will be the Republican candidate for President in 2008.

I came to know McCain in 2000 while touring New Hampshire with him for several days on the “Straight Talk Express” --- referred to by the regulars as “Bullshit One.” Notwithstanding their hard-boiled act, those regulars loved McCain for his near-total accessibility and more straight talk than most politicians serve up in a lifetime, albeit not on every issue nor on every occasion.

The sweepstakes for who McCain’s Vice-Presidential running mate is already booting up. It is an important choice.

The days are long gone since John Nance Garner (D.TX), one of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Vice Presidents, said that “the Vice Presidency wasn’t worth a bucket of warm piss.”

President Jimmy Carter gave V.P. Walter Mondale a vast swath of policy tasks to supervise. And the current incumbent, Dick Cheney, has been caricatured as “George Bush’s brain.” I am admirer of both men; I think each is educated and wise. Even more than Mondale, Cheney has had unprecedented influence on his boss and the U.S. Government, more so in the early years, somewhat less now.

The office of the Vice Presidency has been mocked since the day of its inception, coincident with the establishment of the Republic. But in addition to its new-found influence, it has something else to recommend it to public servants seeking to become President (most of them, not all.) It is a great stepping-stone to the highest office. Just recently, the cases of Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, and George H.W. Bush are instructive.

My choice for McCain’s choice is Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I.CT.) Now, surely, the Republican convention would reject out of hand a Democrat as McCain’s choice. We don’t do “unity governments” in America. But Lieberman is no longer a Senate Democrat although he caucuses with them. In 2006, he was beaten in a Connecticut Democratic primary by very liberal Democrat, Ned Lamont. But in the Nutmeg state, as in the rest of the country, very-liberal Democrats are not held in high regard. The radicalism of “The Sixties” has not worn off --- and most mainstream Democratic politicians --- particularly those running for President --- will not denounce the very-liberals, yielding the impression that the Party is in their thrall. That is a major reason that, since Lyndon Johnson's landslide victory 1964, Democrats have won a majority of the popular vote only once, when Jimmy Carter amassed 50.1% in 1976.

Having been turned down by the Democrats, driven by their peace activists, Lieberman ran as an Independent. He won a solid victory.

I have known Joe since he was a teenager in Stamford Connecticut, and I was about ten years older. He was a political prodigy. I recall hearing him speak to Democrats at Cummins Park on Long Island Sound, and spell-binding a fairly sophisticated audience. The elderly Jews in the audience murmured to each other “one day that boy is going to be President.”

It’s not too late.

He is a moderate. That may annoy some rigid conservatives. It should intrigue those who would actually like to capture the Presidency rather than score purity points. Lieberman has “cross-over appeal.” Recall that he and Albert Gore Jr. won a plurality of the popular vote in 2000. The polls indicated that Lieberman ran particularly well among religious voters, Easterners, Jews, moderates and those concerned about national security.

That is help McCain could use. Moreover, Lieberman is not so off the beaten track of GOP ideology --- although I expect he might deny that.

Recall: Ronald Reagan signed a California pro-choice bill. He was an environmentalist --- just try not being one today --- Lieberman is particularly strong on the issue, but not an extreme green. Government spending soared in California and Washington during Reagan’s watch, but taxation as a function of GDP has remained about constant. We do need to improve our infrastructure --- even if you call it “pork.”

Further, Lieberman runs particularly well in Florida, a crucial swing state that could well make the difference between defeat and victory, as it has before.

Of course, Lieberman has said that he would not accept a Vice-Presidential nomination in a McCain presidency. He will, however, appear at the GOP convention. He is a man of his word. He is also a patriot. I believe that if believes the country is in danger in a time of war --- he will accept the Vice-Presidential nomination if it is offered. If it is not, I would guess that if McCain wins he would ask him to serve as Secretary of State or Secretary of Defense. I think he would decline. Powerful Senators with seniority usually prefer the independence and influence of elected office. My hero, Sen. Henry M. "Scoop" Jackson was offered both --- and refused the offers.

Meanwhile, it seems as if Sens. Barack Obama and Hilary Clinton will be fighting interminable and probably bitter trench warfare for months, which is not a good sign for the Democrats.

I scorn those who make predictions on Presidential elections. So sue me. I think John McCain will be the next President of the United States.

A word about me to let the reader know from whence I come. I have always been a registered Democrat. In the 1960s, I think the far left wing of the Democratic Party went overboard and most centrists refused to denounce that tendency --- which tarred the party as one that is unduly influenced by that left wing. I have lived through and been involved in much of that process. I am trying to understand what happened and what happened to me.

I am writing a book --- my first in a narrative form.

It is called: “Fighting Words --- A Chronicle About How Liberals Created Neo-conservatism.

France Flips While Congress Shifts

I found this interesting maybe you will too.

September 28, 2007

WASHINGTON -- Ahmadinejad at Columbia provided the entertainment, but Sarkozy at the U.N. provided the substance. On the largest possible stage -- the U.N. General Assembly -- President Nicolas Sarkozy put Iran on notice. His predecessor, Jacques Chirac, had said that France could live with an Iranian nuclear bomb. Sarkozy said that France cannot. He declared Iran's nuclear ambitions "an unacceptable risk to stability in the region and in the world."
His foreign minister, Bernard Kouchner, had earlier said that the world faces two choices -- successful diplomacy to stop Iran's nuclear program or war. And Sarkozy himself has no great hopes for the Security Council, where China and Russia are blocking any effective action against Iran. He does hope to get the European Union to join the U.S. in imposing serious sanctions.
"Weakness and renunciation do not lead to peace," he warned. "They lead to war." This warning about appeasement was intended particularly for Germany, which for commercial reasons has been resisting U.S. pressure to support effective sanctions.
Sarkozy is no American lapdog. Like every Fifth Republic president, he begins with the notion of French exceptionalism. But whereas traditional Gaullism tended to define French grandeur as establishing a counterweight to American power, Sarkozy is not adverse to seeing French assertiveness exercised in conjunction with the United States. As Kouchner put it, "permanent anti-Americanism" is "a tradition we are working to overcome."
This French about-face creates a crucial shift in the balance of forces within Europe. The East Europeans are naturally pro-American for reasons of history (fresh memories of America's role in defeating their Soviet occupiers) and geography (physical proximity to a newly revived and aggressive Russia). Western Europe is intrinsically wary of American power and culturally anti-American by reflex. France's change from Chirac to Sarkozy, from Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin (who actively lobbied Third World countries to oppose America on Iraq) to Kouchner (who supported the U.S. invasion on humanitarian grounds) represents an enormous shift in Old Europe's relationship to the U.S.
Britain is a natural ally. Germany, given its history, is more follower than leader. France can define European policy, and Sarkozy intends to.
The French flip is only one part of the changing landscape that has given new life to Bush's Iran and Iraq policies in the waning months of his administration. The mood in Congress also has significantly shifted.
Just this week, the House overwhelmingly passed a resolution calling for very strong sanctions on Iran and urging the administration to designate Iran's Revolutionary Guards a terrorist entity. A similar measure passed the Senate Wednesday by 76-22, declaring that it is "a critical national interest of the United States" to prevent Iran from using Shiite militias inside Iraq to subvert the U.S.-backed government in Baghdad.
A few months ago, the question was: Will the Democratic Congress force a withdrawal from Iraq? Today the question in Congress is: What can be done to achieve success in Iraq -- most specifically, by countering Iran, which is intent on seeing us fail?
This change in mood and subject is entirely the result of changes on the ground. It takes time for reality to seep into a Washington debate. But after the Petraeus-Crocker testimony, the reality of the relative success of our new counterinsurgency strategy -- and the renewed possibility of ultimate success in Iraq -- became no longer deniable.
And that reality is reflected even in the rhetoric of Hillary Clinton, the most politically sophisticated of the Democratic presidential candidates. She does vote against war funding in order to alter the president's policy (and to appease the left), but that is as a senator. When asked what she would do as president, she carefully hedges. She says that it would depend on the situation on the ground at the time. For example, whether our alliance with the Sunni tribes will have succeeded in defeating al-Qaeda in Iraq. But when asked by ABC News if she would bring U.S. troops home by January 2013, she refused to "get into hypotheticals and make pledges."
Bush's presidency -- and foreign policy -- were pronounced dead on the morning after the 2006 election. Not so. France is going to join us in a last-ditch effort to find a nonmilitary solution to the Iranian issue. And on Iraq, the relative success of the surge has won President Bush the leeway to continue the Petraeus counterinsurgency strategy to the end of his term. Congress, and realistic Democrats, are finally beginning to think seriously about making that strategy succeed and planning for what comes after.

To All The Girls We've Loved Before ......... Or Just Shoot Me

This is only for those old enough to even know who these women are.?? I know who you are.
?
Time flies by too fast ! ! !
?
?
IN SPECIAL TRIBUTE TO ALL THE GIRLS? WE'VE LOVED BEFORE 2007
Ursula Andress is now 70
?
?
Julie Andrews is now 71
?
?
Ann-Margret is now 65
?
Carroll Baker is now 75
?
?
Brigette Bardot is now 72
?
?
?
Leslie Caron is now 75
?
?
Julie Christie is now 65
?
?
Joan Collins is now 73
?
?
Doris Day is now 82
?
?
Barbara Eden is now 72
?
?
Annette Funicello is now 64
?
?
Kathryn Grayson is now 84
?
?
Lena Horne is now 89
?
?
Deborah Kerr is now 95
?
?
Gina Lollobrigida is now 79
?
?
Sophia Loren is now 72
?
?
Rita Moreno is now 75
?
?
Julie Newmar is now 73
?
?
Kim Novak is now 73
?
?
Debra Padget is now 73
?
?
Patti Page is now 79
?
?
Jane Powell is now 77
?
?
Debbie Reynolds is now 74
?
?
Jane Russell is now 85
?
?
Jean Simmons is now 77
?
?
Elke Sommer is now 66
?
?
Kay Starr is now 84
?
?
Stella Stevens is now 69
?
?
Gale Storm is now 84
?
?
Jill St. John is now 66
?
?
Shirley Temple is now 78
?
?
Mamie Van Doren is now 75
?
?
Rachel Welch is now 67
?
?
Esther Williams is now 83
?
?
?
UNBELIEVEABLE, HOW IN THE WORLD DID WE ALL GET THIS OLD???

That's why we have Vice Presidents, succession laws, checks & balances. (My answer to below)

September 09, 2007

Is McCain Too Old To Be President?

By Steve Chapman

You often hear the complaint that modern political campaigns are too nasty, which is often true. But it's also often true that they are too polite. So we're fortunate when someone violates the prevailing etiquette, forcing candidates and voters to confront matters we'd rather not but should.

One of those moments came the other day when Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) visited a New Hampshire high school and took questions. One brave youngster asked him, as courteously as possible, if at 71, he might be too old for the job he's seeking. McCain scoffed, saying, "I work 24/7, I'm very active, I enjoy life," and bragging that he's always outcampaigned his opponents. He closed by joking, "Thanks for the question, you little jerk. You're drafted."

But the student raised an important question that many of his elders have been strangely unwilling to pursue. It may seem rude and even cruel to say that someone is simply too old to be entrusted with the presidency. But in McCain's case, by any sensible standard, it's also true.

If elected, he would be the oldest person ever to enter the office. Ronald Reagan was 69 when he was inaugurated, nearly 2 1/2 years younger than McCain will be on Jan. 20, 2009. If he served two full terms, McCain would leave the White House at the age of 80.

Yes, he appears to be an active man who doesn't tire easily. You don't get to the top of the political heap by working bankers' hours. But to claim that because he's energetic at 71, he will suffer no slowdown in the next five years is like saying that because he's still breathing, he won't ever stop. A car could run fine for 200,000 miles, but if you're driving across Death Valley in July, that vehicle might not be the best choice.

The only certainty in life is that age catches up with all of us eventually. In the case of a man McCain's age, the odds are it will happen sooner rather than later. Each additional year increases the likelihood of physical infirmity and mental deterioration, not to mention death. A report last year by the Mayo Clinic found that one out of every 11 people it studied between the ages of 70 and 79 had some cognitive impairment, often a precursor to Alzheimer's disease.

McCain thinks he's the exception to the normal rules of aging because he has a 95-year-old mother who, by his account, is still sharp. What he neglects to mention is that he's already outlived his father and grandfather.

In any case, he's endured more wear and tear than the normal AARP member. As a Navy pilot during the Vietnam War, he broke both arms and a leg in a crash after his plane was shot down. He spent 5 1/2 years being tortured, beaten and half-starved as a prisoner of war in North Vietnam. He's had surgery twice for melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer. All of those misfortunes exact a toll that may offset his hardy genes.

In other lines of work, everyone accepts that there is such a thing as too old. Some major corporations force chief executives and directors to step down at age 65 or so. Airline pilots have a mandatory limit of 60, which the Federal Aviation Administration has decided to raise to 65. Law firms often put partners out to pasture once they reach the golden years.

In those jobs, a fixed age limit makes less sense than it does for the one McCain wants. If a lawyer can no longer handle the work, after all, the firm can promptly cashier him or her. But the voters may never know if a president is growing befuddled by routine tasks -- or if a president, wearied by age, has simply lost the energy needed to perform well. And even if such facts became known, the public may not be able to force his removal.

That's not a big deal for a senator, who can't do much without 50 other people. But for the person occupying the most consequential office on Earth, it's an alarming prospect. John McCain has done a lot of things for his country. He could do one more service by acknowledging that the presidency is a job for a younger person.

schapman@tribune.com

Some of our young Presidents have been jerks; some of our older Presidents have done very well.

Yes, Steve, it is true that (most likely) all of us die.

I surely would not want to disqualify American war heroes from the Presidency.

I personally favor a McCain-Lieberman ticket.

Third parties have done better than most pundits realize.

Abraham Lincoln was one such.



See previous post.

Watch for a 2008 Third Party Candidate

About Independent presidential candidates:

Experts always think they are most unusual.

They are not. In fact, one third (or fourth) party candidate actually won the Presidency. Who?

An acquisitive, upwardly-mobile corporate attorney from Illinois. His name? Abraham Lincoln.

He did well.

In 1992 a Texas billionaire named H. Ross Perot ran as an independent candidate. In the Spring of that year public opinion polls showed him leading incumbent President George Herbert Walker Bush and Governor William J. ("Bill") Clinton by about five points. Perot then went la-la; he claimed that conspirators planned to disrupt his daughter's wedding.

He quit the race.

Then he entered it again. Notwithstanding his nuttiness he still ended up with 19% of the popular vote (!!!)

I think an independent party candidacacy in 2008 --- could win.

Mayor Mike could put half a billion bucks on the table --- not chump change.

Perot's efforts made ballot access easy.

My own personal independent party ticket would pair John McCain and Joe Lieberman.

Americans are fed up with both political parties --- with good reason.

BTW:Newsweek ran a cover story on Mayor Mike and Governor Ah-nold S (please spell name) (R. CA.).

A super- billionaire, Warren Buffet, noted that the U.S. Constitution only says that a "natural born" citizen must be President --- but makes no mention of the Vice President.

The first order of business of a B-S ticket would be to propose a Constitutional amendment to change that. How could the Congress or the States defy the will of the people?
Sen. Joseph Lieberman --- already an independent


Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger --- just about an independent

Mayor Mike Bloomberg --- Does he have a party affiliation?

All Hail Moliere

The promo material for the French movie Moliere compares it to Shakespeare in Love.

Wrong.

It is better by far.

It has sub-titles which I normally abhor --- but this time it hardly matters.

Moliere, the great French playwright (and actor), learns the hard way that tragedy is not necessarily greater than comedy. In fact, sometimes comedy can express tragic sentiments better than tragedy. (Molière's real name was Jean-Baptiste Poquelin ..)

He learns too, that the broad brush of vaudeville and slapstick can express real truth.

The movie --- quite remarkably --- describes the master of bedroom farce --- by staging a bedroom farce.

All hail Molierre.

Announcement

Wattenblog is back in business !!!

I HAVE MOSTLY FINISHED MY BOOK --- AND NOW I WILL BLOG AGAIN.
I WELCOME YOUR COMMENTS, INDEPENDENT POSTS AND RESPONSES.

Bob at the Beach

I spent a long weekend on the Eastern Shore --- at Bethany Beach, Delaware.

I had a crab-cracking beer-swilling dinner with Robert Novak whose new book The Prince of Darkness is selling very well.

It is a fascinating book with unique political insights. I recommend it highly.

Bob is all grumpy and growly on camera ---but with heart of drawn butter--- of the sort we had on our steamed clams.

HOW TO WRITE GOOD by Frank L. Visco

My several years in the word game have learnt me several rules:

1... Avoid alliteration. Always.

2... Prepositions are not words to end sentences with.

3... Avoid cliches like the plague. (They're old hat.)

4... Employ the vernacular.

5... Eschew ampersands & abbreviations, etc.

6... Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are unnecessary.

7... It is wrong to ever split an infinitive.

8... Contractions aren't necessary

9... Foreign words and phrases are not apropos.

10.. One should never generalize.

11.. Eliminate quotations. As Ralph Waldo Emerson once said:
"I hate quotations. Tell me what you know."

12.. Comparisons are as bad as cliches.

13.. Don't be redundant; don't use more words than necessary;
it's highly superfluous.

14.. Profanity sucks.

15.. Be more or less specific.

16.. Understatement is always best.

17.. Exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement.

18.. One-word sentences? Eliminate.

19.. Analogies in writing are like feathers on a snake.

20.. The passive voice is to be avoided.

21.. Go around the barn at high noon to avoid colloquialisms.

22.. Even if a mixed metaphor sings, it should be derailed.

23.. Who needs rhetorical questions?

As a younger man I loved gambling.

At age 20 I was a reporter for the Las Vegas Review-Journal earning $29 each week. I paid my weekly motel rent ($5) and bought two $5 meal tickets at a greasy spoon diner.

That left $14 each week to gamble --- at a time when Benny Binion's accepted 10 cent bets. I loved it.

Gambling is very much a part of the human experience. What can I say: I still love it and the excitement it yields.

I am spending a couple of days at the Jersey Shore. The food is good; the people are nice; the ocean is glorious --- but for me the allure is not the azure ocean but the green felt of the --- crap tables. I am gambling more than dimes. I have learned that gambling is fun when it hurts to lose but not to lose so much that it hurts too much.

I played for a few weeks in that famous (barely legal) poker game with several Supreme Court Justices. I stopped. They were playing quarter-and-a-half.

Boring.

Ben

A stunningly arrogant and stupid cover story in Newsweek (8-13-07) is entitled

Global Warming is a Hoax*

* or so claim well-funded naysayers who still reject the oveR-whelming evidence of climate change. Inside the denial machine. By Sharon Begley

Ugh --- how very cutesey-poo climatologists believe that the threat s so very grave.

I know a rather ...

I know a rather wealthy man who says: Ignore the day-today economic headline-mongerers who babel away about the value of the yen, a .2% increase in the monthly unemployment rate, blah blah blah.

He knows the truth of the matter: "Never sell America short."

America must pay its bills: defense, Medicare, Medicaid, --- and seeing to it that every kid gets as much education as he/she can.

Then let what Adam Smith called "the animal spirits" proceed apace.

Just look at what the markets are doing now!

Think Tank will be doing a 6-hour series on the theme entitled "The Real Economy" sub-title "Liberty Pays Off."

If the rather wealthy man approves it I will reveal his name.

global warming

I do not think it will be so terrible.

The snows on Mt. Kilmanjaro have been melting for 200 years.

There was a big-time flood recorded in The Bible and evey other important document.

We will survive --- and flourish --- unless we screw it up.

Attention

I was asked to write a piece for the Washington Post online about the massacre.

Take a look and let me know what you think.

Ben

Ever thus...

Wars are more often won at home than abroad...

I am not an inventor but...

I am not inventor but I have come up with some ideas at least I like.

1) A foldable tennis racket.

2) inflatable suitcases --- to get a cab quickly --- not advised.

3) Doo-hickeys to put on your thumbs to make it easier to work a Palm "he's all thumbs" was not meant to describe accuracy."

4) Now, will someone figure out a way to work a laptop while eating a meal at a restaurant? It's always so crowded !!!

This does NOT mean...

This does NOT mean that RG is toast in the GOP primaries.


(NEW YORK) — Republican Presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani on Thursday defended his record favoring the use of public money for abortions, saying he wouldn't try to undo a Supreme Court ruling allowing the procedures.
"Ultimately I believe it's an individual right and a woman should make that choice," the former New York mayor said during a statehouse news conference where he picked up three endorsements.

Betty Ford

Betty Ford is ill.

She was about as much an "accidental First Lady" as was her husband Gerald Rudolph Ford an "accidental President."

He turned out --- no surprise --- to do a tough with grit and intelligence.

She was a former model, is a mother of four, and a woman of rare grace, wisdom and charm.

Standard bet

The markets opened mixed today.

Put up your penny against my penny: I say the Dow ends up at least .01 pont up on Friday.

Gamblers: Tell me why I chose that number?

Dick Cheney

Click here: Cheney Visits Hospital for Examination - New York Times

Vice President Dick Cheney has come in for heavy doses of criticism recently.

But he is one tough hombre --- and knows that if you can't stand the heat --- get out of the kitchen.

He is probably the most experienced man ever to serve as V.P --- with the possible exception of LBJ.

Cheney denies it vigorously --- but I have seen stranger things happen --- he may run for President in 2008 !!!

Smart people

I keep running into smart people who say things like:

"It's very clear that we will lose in Iraq," or...

"It's very clear that (Barack) (Hilary) (McCain) will --- or will not === be nominated.

Even I can't predict the future === how do they?

PS: Check out the new issue of Vanity Fair.

As we begin the weekend ===

As we begin the weekend --- I think things are going well --- all things considered.

Do you?

I love blogging over the weekend when I have time.

What is it that I "Scooter" Libby

Exactly what is it that "Scooter" did wrong?

How do they really know he "lied?"

And about what?

That the wife of a loud-mouth braggard very-partisan Democrat --- stationed in WashDC --- was endangered?

Give me a break.

Pres WJC + Newt + Howard K

Click here: - Media Notes Extra - washingtonpost.com Newt "played around" while he was married. He was a high elected official --- but not head of the Executive Branch. He can answer to himself --- period. President Clinton was the Chief Law Enforcement Officer of the Land and a former law professor. Clinton --- clearly --- committed perjury --- for which some people go to jail. I think Clinton pretty well got what he deserved --- impeachment but not conviction. (It's not exactly treason --- is it?) Howard Kurtz frequently --- doesn't always get it does he?

Computer Wizard.

I am now very adept at the computer game.

What I cannot figure out is how to sit alone at a dinner table for four with a lap-top --- 2 cell phones --- and eat my meal at the same time.

How do you define "scarf" ?

AG --- right on !!!

AGreenspan says a recession is "possible not probable."

Way to go AG. We don't know much short term --- all we really know --- almost surely --- in to follow the cliche' :

Never sell America short.

Illustrate: Weird polar projection, stratospheric , rear-view, Mercator map of the US of A.

The Dow went up by 157

The Dow went up by 157 ---

ahem !!!

Some of my associates over 50...

Some of my associates over 50 think some of our associates over 30 don't work hard enough and that their minds are on other things.

What do you think?

Barron's got it right

Still Betting on the Bull
By ANDREW BARY, Barron's

anyone for another buck the Dow goes up again ?

Experts

Some experts said the Dow would tumble 1,000 points before "correcting" --- as those who understand the Real Economy know. (RE is the title of a forthcoming Think Tank multi-part series)

It didn't.

Abba Eban --- Israeli foreign minister

Click here: Al Jazeera English - News

Abba Eban said: "The Palestinians never miss and opportunity to miss an opportunity."

Alas --- I think it will so again

Anyone who thinks

Anyone who thinks that a public opinion poll taken about a year before the primaries begin --- is nuts in the head.

Anyway, Rudy or John ought team up with Sen.Joe to run as a third party --- a surprisingly successful modality to win. See ALincoln

Check out Giuliani up 25 points over McCain: poll Politics News Reuters.c

I am reading "Nutrition for Dummies"

I am reading Nutrition for Dummies.

The "For Dummies" books --- like "USAToday"

were scorned for being too simple and simplistic.

I may be a dummie --- but I think they are great.

Hummm

Just as "you are what you eat" --- so too "you are what you hum."

Humming a happy tune means you are happy.

Perhaps you can improve your mood by purposefully humming a tune.

Right now I am humming that grand old tune "Oh sweet and lovely, oh lady be good to me"

I am in

I am at the Politics & Prose --- one of America's unique bookstores --- with Eunice Greer who works for the National Center for Statistical Analysis --- and Donald Taylor who work for a translation service.

This machine really works !!!

Illustrate: with pictures of Eunice and Donald --- if they send me their pictures.

A super-tekkie

A super-tekkie named Wallace Cole tells me that Big Blue and some Brits are developing a chip that is 250x more powerful than anything now in existence, violating "Moore's Law."

What on earth will we do with that?

Illustrate: Pic of WCole or UK or IBM logo.

Wow !

The Think Tank program is now live on the 'Net.

It can be seen world-wide.

I think I am rather good --- and the staff is excellent.

If you like the program send a message to pbs.org or your local station --- a single message can go a very long way to secure carriage --- which generates buzz --- which generates a greater viewership for this unique program ---

Which generates $$$ which makes the whole thing go 'round.

If you know someone with $$$ --- or if you have bucks, even a small amount,

write to this blog and I will give you personal EMail address

Illustrate with logo from Hedy L movie Ecstasy...

I am seated at the Holiday Inn

I am seated at the beautiful Holiday Inn in beautiful downtown Chevy Chase MD.

Robert "Bob" Kennedy is giving me a tutorial in computerese.

He is a remarkable young man --- not really so young --- 45 but he looks 29. Although that is not his job, he is a great Ambassador for the Holiday Inn.

He has three children.

The dining room in the Holiday Inn looks like this:

Pic of Holiday Inn to come and one of Bob.

I would like to offer him some freelance work to help me.

I hope the Holiday Inn allows such moon-lighting. They certainly should.

Bob is younger than me --- but he knows so much more about the modern world.

But I guess I know some things that he doesn't know...

My understanding...

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "This sounds crazy...but": That story you heard sounds apocryphal. Women's kimonos don't seem to lend themselves to easy sex. They are billowy, full of folds and creases and layers of fabric. They have been around since about the fourth century, A.D., so it's likely that the story of how they were invented is lost to the ages.Read more about the kimono on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kimono

Ben's response:

My understanding... is that all those billows conceal blankets and pillows... handy items for ... the reproductive act.

2 X

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "The market opens": i hope no one took your bet, for your sake.

Ben's response:

A (:) is followed by a capital letter.

Wanna bet 2 cents for Friday?

A h --- college days...

Two of my favorite poems come from weiserheimers during my college days:

From Blake:

Tiger, Tiger burning bright, in the forest of the night
What immortal hand or eye
Could brush away the blue-tail fly.

Or:

Twinkle, twinkle little star.
Way up in the sky so far.
Just like a f-------ing eagle

Illustrate:

Blue-tail fly on eagle's beak --- doing

what?

When USA Today

When USA Today was established it was scorned by many old-time scribes as "McPaper."

I've always thought it covered demographic news --- in a "McNuggets" format --- better than any paper in the world.

It is the paper in the USA with the largest circulation.

Perhaps the joke is on those old-time scribes.

Illustrate with photo of Al Neuharth --- journalistic pioneer --- whoe always wore a black suit, a white shirts, a black tie --- except perhaps when he slept or went swimming.

The market opens

in 1 minute.

Anyone want to bet me 1 cent --- I say it goes up further.

This sounds crazy...but

This sounds crazy... but I am told on good authority that the origin of the Japanese kimono is demographic.

After a war had decimated the Japanese population, the kimono was "invented."

Complete with its own bedroll, the idea was that any man could have any woman --- except I guess a member of the Royal Family --- at any time, at any place.

That is not the remedy for the current Birth Dearth, but something has got to happen if the species is to continue.

Illustrate ??? Hmnnn...

I have known former Chairman Greenspan

Click here: Greenspan Warns of Likely U.S. Recession

I have known former Chairman Greenspan for many years and am a great admirer of his.

But he has been wrong before and I would like to bet 0ne (1) Cent that hos wrong this time.

Illustrate: Greenspan, preferaby playing a clarinet.

ahem !!

As I was saying shortly after the closing bell rang,

the markets would go up,

not down.

They did

I bet a 1 penny

that the market will go up today.

Any takers?

The DJIA is down...

As this is written, the Dow is way down --- but is was down worse.

I am buying --- modestly --- because I believe that the secular trends of our Real Economy are up --- way up --- not down.

The Real Economy is the way a very savvy, very wise, quite wealthy man of my aquaintance, describes why smart people say "Never Sell America Short."

Graph: Long term trend of US markets going back to 1790 showing that --- mif you count in re-invested dividends the markets made money in any ten year period --- including the Depression.

The NYTimes...

The op-ed page of the The NYTimes... fount of all wisdom ... had a good idea to put a working economist on their page.

I do not agree with much that PK says, but at least he knows the terminology and the history of economics.

No sooner was he there (BTW, a former advisor to Enron, I do believe) than he began spouting off about politics.

By my lights, PK knows much less about politics than about economics.

The NYTimes op-ed page got less than it bargained for.

I love John McCain ...

Click here: Sen. McCain Says Iraq Stance Could End His Career

But he know better than this ... it is not very often that an American running for President gets hurt at the polls for supporting our troops and promoting the views an values of America.

From Melanie --- the wonder trainer

I saw this and thought it was cute:

Now I lay me down to sleep

I pray the Lord my shape to keep

Please no wrinkles

Please no bags

Please lift my butt before it sags

Please no age spots

Please no gray

And as for my belly,

Please take it away

Please keep me healthy

Please keep me young

And thank you Lord,

for all you have done!

Illustrtate: as you please. Watch the Oscars...

Leverage

Lieberman Warns Democrats: I May Join GOP

NewsMax.com Wires
Friday, Feb. 23, 2007

Sen. Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut fired a shot across the bow of the Senate's Democratic majority, warning them he may bolt the party and join the GOP if Congress votes to withhold funding for the war in Iraq.

+++

The Senate has a one-vote Democratic majority. Because the Senate majority --- which can deliver power, influence and campaign funds to Senators --- the vote of a single Senator is potentially very powerful.

Sen. Lieberman is excercising "political leverage."

Archimedes, that smart old Greek, said, roughly, give me a lever, and a place to stand --- and I can move the world.

Gee,,,

--- The message cannot be delivered to the following address. ---
Mailbox unknown or not accepting mail.
550 , Recipient unknown

I really was counting on hearing from good old --- hadji-zadeh@beic.osi-az.org Mailbox unknown or not accepting mail. 550 , Recipient unknown

How sad to end a most remarkable number of days on such a sour note.

I sure hope someone fixes the Internet.

Pic of Internet goes here

An almost perfect end to a weird day

This most remarkable day ended in a most remarkable way.

As I lay down just before I went to sleep, I had a cell-phone conversation with a very good and dear friend named Herb Weintraub.

We talked of old times, old friends, experiences we shared and future plans, with the cell cradled ergononomicaly on my cheek.

If he sends me a picture I shall post it on this blog.

If not I shall post one of HW, BW and EMiller playing tennis against the wall of the schoolyard.

Herb always said his was the best neighborhood in the best borough in the best city --- anywhere in the whole wide world.

I am beginning to think that he was right

It has been a surreal day,,,

It has been a surreal day, this President's Day.

It started out with a snowstorm and ended with me being "stretched" by my incredible personal trainer Melanie Webb , a Mormon lass from Provo UT.

She is a fine upstanding Mormon lass --- but occasionally she shoots craps in --- Las Vegas.

What day ! The rains and snows """" /// ... will soon be gone.

The showers of April will yeild the flowers that bloom in May.

Pic: Anything you want but be sure to include a picture of Melanie Webb, when she is at ease enough to provide same.

Google: Please send this back to me before 12:01 AM Feburary 20th 2007.

Can a person...

Can a person --- trapped in an office on President's Day --- survive in a messed-up office --- eating take-out food.

So far so good.

The markets are...

The markets are... closed on President's Day.

I wonder if GWashington, who married into great wealth, and ALincoln who was an extremely ambitious corporate attorney, would have have approved of closing the markets on their day ??

BTW: The world is flat.

T or F ?

Just trying to drum up blog responses.

.

Duh ... shall invest

Would appreciate guidance.

(pic of white-collar criminal behind bars)

Dear friend,This is for your attention.We wish to notify you again that you were listed as a beneficiary to the total sum of £4,600,000.00GBP (Four million Six hundred thousand British Pounds Sterling) in the intent of the deceased (names now withheld since this is our second letter to you). We contacted you because you bear the surname identity and therefore can present you as the beneficiary to the inheritance since there is no written will.Our legal services aim to provide our private clients with a complete service. We are happy to prepare wills, set-up and administer Trusts, carry out the administration of estates and prepare and administer powers of attorney.All the papers will be processed in your acceptance. In your acceptance of this deal, we request that you kindly forward to us your letter of acceptance your current telephone and fax numbers and a forwarding address to enable us file necessary documents at our High court probate division for the release of this sum of money.Please reply via this email: (BLANK) Yours faithfully,

Weirder...

President's Day gets weirder than I could have imagined.

Some folks are at work.

Some folks are not.

This AM I was trapped in elevator.

I learned --- only now --- that a cell phone works in an elevator.

I wonder if that is so.

In tekkieland some folks know what they are talking about, some do not.

Just as in real life.

Illustration of chaos --- (eating hard-boiled egg with salt&pepper on it.)

My TW ( the web) is amazing;send in your favorites...

DICTIONARY FOR DECODING WOMEN'S PERSONAL ADS:> > >> > > Ø 40-ish..................................49.> > > Ø Adventurous..........................Slept with everyone.> > > Ø Athletic................................No breasts.> > > Ø Average looking.....................Moooo.> > > Ø Beautiful..............................Pathological liar.> > > Ø Emotionally Secure................On medication.> > > Ø Feminist...............................Dyke.> > > Ø Free Spirit............................Junkie.> > > Ø Friendship first.......................Former Slut.> > > Ø New-Age..............................Body hair in the wrong places.> > > Ø Old-fashioned........................No B.J.'s> > > Ø Open-minded.........................Desperate.> > > Ø Outgoing..............................Loud and embarrassing.> > > Ø Professional...........................Bitch.> > > Ø Voluptuous............................Chubby.> > > Ø Large frame...........................Big & fat.> > > Ø Wants soul mate.....................Stalker.> > >> > > DICTIONARY FOR DECODING WOMEN'S ENGLISH:> > >> > > Ø Yes.....................................No> > > Ø No......................................Yes> > > Ø Maybe.................................No> > > Ø We need...............................I want> > > Ø I am sorry............................You'll be sorry> > > Ø We need to talk....................You're in trouble> > > Ø Sure, go ahead.....................You better not> > > Ø Do what you want................You will pay for this later> > > Ø I am not upset.....................Of course, I am upset, you moron!> > > Ø You're attentive tonight.........Is sex all you ever think about?> > >> > > DICTIONARY FOR DECODING MEN'S ENGLISH:> > > Ø I am hungry...............................I am hungry> > > Ø I am sleepy................................I am sleepy> > > Ø I am tired..................................I am tired> > > Ø Nice dress.................................Nice cleavage!> > > Ø I love you..................................Let's have sex now> > > Ø I am bored.................................Do you want to have sex?> > > Ø May I have this dance?................I'd like to have sex with you.> > > Ø Can I call you sometime?...............I'd like to have sex with you.> > > Ø Do you want to go to a movie?.......I'd like to have sex with you.> > > Ø Can I take you out to dinner?.........I'd like to have sex with you.> > > Ø I don't think those shoes go with that outfit..............I'm gay.> > >> > >

PD

PD --- President's Day is a weird holiday. I liked it better when there were seperate holidays for GWas the FooC (Father of our Country and HonestAbe the hair-splitter---oops--- I meant you know what I mean.

MLK was a great man but there were others who did plenty --- including Bayard Rustin

Pic here of Rustin

Weirdest dream

I ever had

toads inherit the earth === I think I know it means

what?

I do not know

weirdest dream

I had, for sure, the weirdest dream.

Toads inheriting the earth ---

I think I know what it means

000

croaking

I think I know

what it means ---

I shall explore if this does not bounce back

I mean --- very weird indeed

I shall explore

Holey Moley ! ) 000







explore

The NBA MVP

is Kobe Bryant

not Gilbert Arenas.

Next year GA.

Pic of both

The big game starts tonight

The big NBA all-star ****

basketball game in Las Vegas (one of very favorite towns)

starts tonight in just nine (9) minutes.

I can hardly wait.

I bet Gilbert Arebas scores a ton --- because of the slight administered to him in the international tourney.

He is sykked.

(Pic of the great Gilbert goes here.)

Go Gilbert, go arrow sign,(x3)

So here it is

So here it is ... just after 8 PM in snowy Washington

Pic of WashDC in Winter.

I am at the house of a lovely extended family.

They are preparing to tuck themselves for the night

(Pic of nightgown)

Sleep tight lovely extended family.

Pleasant dreams...

Tek helpers --- pls add pix

The big melt starts on Monday.

A woman from El Salvador

A woman named (BLANK) is from El Salvador.

(Pic: Map of El Salvador.)

She is divorced, and is supporting three children.

She works very hard.

The children are doing wonderfully well in school.

She is taking a course in English as a second language,

She and her children will help make America greater(er) --- as so many immigrants before them have done.

She did niot come in via Ellis Island. She came in via...

(Picture of LAX)

Mr, Lee = a great American

Mr. Lee of Riestertown MD is an American original --- a Korean-American original. He is the go-to guy at the Somerset Towers in Chevy Chase MD (no, not named for the comedian--- that's what one Canadian young man speaking on my Onstar service suggested.)

Can show pic of Towers --- or better yet a pic of Mr Lee when I can get to him. He doesn't always answer very quickly when he is working a job. He has no secretary --- he is a one-man-band.

He is religious Christian. He takes Sundays off starting at 12:01---
Somerset Towers is made up of three huge towers I I I in the heart of one of the great urban centers in the world --- Bethesda. Not kidding --- I will explain in a future post.

Mr Lee emigrated from South Korea. He grew up in family engaged in construction.He is a independent contractor --- and works 6 days each week for probably 14 hours a day + 2 hours commuting. but takes Sunday off ---starting ring at 12:01 AM He is a religious Christian.

He paints the walls, fixes plumbing, works closely with decorators and contractors. He is a Jack of All Trades (Do not illustrate with a playing card Jack.)


He has two sons --- one who will be a dentist, one is just entering the world of high finance.
Mr. Lee paid for their entire education.

It is people like Mr. Lee, his wife and sons --- that make America great --- and will make it greater still.

All hail the Lees.

Sound card: America or My Country Tis, or JPSousa--- all better than the Star Spangled Banner.

I just saw ...

I just saw ... an incredible movie in Bethesda MD (Bet Hesda --- home of the well of pure water in Hebrew ---). The name on the ticket stub only Children of A... --- the rest of it will come to me.

It has violence **%%++ --- incredible photography --- ' click --- and deals with very favorite topic --- demography.

The theme concerns the possible extinction of the human race. Only one pregnant woman remains to propagate the species. She gives birth amidst terrible violence.

The movie ends with the baby crying 000 as the woman barely smiles .)

As the old slogan used to go --- Movies Are Better Than Ever

Image here from the movie Children of A

Hmnnn...

Just got a letter from a guy who liked the blog and stumbled on it while looking for PayPal $$$.

To the other Blogpal who said that using the current cold snap as an argument against Global Warming, --- be it noted that the post was 0:/)

Barnes&Noble + Bethesda MD

Here it Saturday at Noon at Barnes & Noble in beautiful downtown Bethesda, with about 15 people clicking at their computers. B&N probably has about 1000 stores, or more.

When I came to Washington in1966, Bethesda was cow town, no one had laptops, and there were less than 900 bookstores all across America.

Insert map of Bethesda --- or the logo of the nice folks at B&N

My love/hate relationship w/ hi-tek is...

My love/hate relationship w/ hi-tek is... well known.

It is mostly love. It is simply unbelievable to a man who grew up in the era of the peny post-card, the three cent stamp and when a 6-cent airmail via a < /****/> big four -engine plane was a big deal.

What bugs me most is the assumption by those in-the know that those not-in-the-know are really in-the-know.

Call aol via the AGB (AGBell) and (after a 30-minute wait) someone in Bangalore or Oklahoma will say "now find the Modzilla-Netscape-Word icons on your deaktop and right-click your wireless mouse." I respond "I don't now how to do that."

The response with an Indian or Okie accent is usually: "Oh of course you do, you just did it."

"Thanks, Okies or Indians I appreciate that; it is very helpful --- you (word that Dick Cheney used to describe NYTimes scribe Adam Clymer to Gov. GWBush in the year 2000.

PS: does anyone know whether there is a "lighted" keyboard that glows in the dark???

I really like both those guys...

Reuters - Thu Feb 15, 1:47 PM ET
U.S. President George W. Bush (L) gestures while being introduced by American Enterprise Institute President Chris DeMuth (R) before his speech about his Administration's 'Global War on Terror' in Washington, February 15, 2007.

There is a picture here of Presidents George W. Bush and Chhristopher Demuth

It is warming up in Washington...

It is warming up in Washington... +++

No more BRR... More moisture ''' ...

Less of that itchy dry skin...

1st anniversary

I started this blog exactly ONE year ago.

Who is reading it? What do you think of it?

Pls post your respond and respond to my posts or post idependently --- unless your posts are wacky ??/!! they will be published.

Joe Lieberman

Sen Joe Lieberman is back in the news ...

He should as a Third Party candidate for President, with JMcain or RGiuliani. They can work whose is at the top of the ticket they can do well.

A.Lincoln did.

Pic of Sen. Joe goes here

Go Joe, go.

Incredible movie --- excellent Think Tank

An incredible movie --- To Live and Become --- tells the story of the airlift of the Eithiopan Jewish community to Israel.

The star Sirak Sabahat was our guest at yesterday's taping of Think Tank. The program will be aired next week in the US on PBS and in many places all around the world.

My advice: Go see the movie; watch the program.

Is this ...

Is this ...

global warming ?

" " " dry snow --- brrr.

Monday is Presidents Day...

Monday is Presidents Day... there used to be holidays for Lincoln and Wasington. I liked that better. MLKing was a great man, but I think the holiday ought to be called "Civil Rights Day." Add pics of at least 3 Predidents + MLK & 1 one other civil rights leader

Just by chance...

I met a wonderful couple named the Bendsersons (Henderson with a "B") after dining at Washington"s famous deli --- "Morty's",

Pic goes here of Bendersons or Washington"s famous deli --- "Morty's",

The months to come

It keeps dis-appearing,

Blustery February yields Raw March, yields April Showers yields the Flowers that bloom in May.

Pic: blustery Feb, RM, AS,

Att: BK + RSW

Max Boot is...

Max Boot's latest posting on Commentary's blog can be found here:http://www.commentarymagazine.com/contentions/http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-boot14feb14,1,2806560.column?coll=la-news-columnsMAX BOOT

Max Boot is... a fine fellow.

He will be taping a Think Tank program on the day after St.Valentine's Day

Pic of boot ot valentine

The Israelis

The Israelis... who I generallylike and admire, made (at least) one big mistake.

Instead of settlining the Land m'Metullah ad HaNegev (roughly, from the rugged North to the beautiful Eilat) they most all clustered near Tel Aviv, making them too vulnerable to some wackos in the Middle Eas.

(map of Israel goes here.)

I wouldn't know

I wouldn't know enough to do it. The ZIP code on my EMail suddenly was changed from XXXXX to XXX7X.

How did that happen?

My kind of diet

The problem is that our bodies have evolved to crave copious amounts of rich and tasty foods, because historically such foods were valuable and rare. How can we modern humans resist? We shouldn't, at least not entirely, says Barry Glassner, a University of Southern California sociologist and author of the forthcoming book The Gospel of Food: Everything You Think You Know about Food Is Wrong (Ecco). We have wrongly embraced what Glassner calls "the gospel of naught," the view that "the worth of a meal lies principally in what it lacks. The less sugar, salt, fat, calories, carbs, preservatives, additives, or other suspect stuff, the better the meal." The science behind this culinary religion, Glassner says, is close to naught.

Moral of story --- old as the hills --- Eat Drink and be Merry.
And remember as the RDigest made a bundle on: Laughter is the Best medicine.

++ )) & $ + $ @ dinner table.

GW --- both ways

More Expected Snow After New York Town May Have Shattered Snowfall Record
Monday, February 12, 2007
E-MAIL STORY
PRINTER FRIENDLY VERSION


Ben's response:

When it is too hot it is global warming.

When it is too cold or the weather is behaving screwy it is global warming.

Gee, I wsh I had a theory as elegant as that.

Picture of a dish of "snow blindness" --- Cream cheese and cottage cheese

Can Barack Become President?

Can Barack Become President?

Some pundits say he can not because he doesn't have enough "experience."

Pshaw.

A good President doesn't need experience. He needs a sense of direction, and a vision. The idea is to tell his subalterns to move the ship of state steadily, but consistently, in one direction or the other.

Another politician from Illinois became President without much experience.

A. Lincoln, a highly ambitious attorney for the railroads.