George Soros into the light of day

Van Helsing asks, "Wouldn't it be interesting to learn what Soros knows about the financial collapse of 2008 that ushered his minion B. Hussein into power?" Glenn Beck is fearlessly and ferociously going after Soros.

Biden is disappointed

Where else, but from my friends at The Looking Spoon

Illegal immigrant found guilty in murder of Chandra Levy

via Bloviating Zeppelin, which has more details

A War on the West?

This is how much of the West is already owned by the federal government. Michelle Malkin reports that Obama, through Ken Salazar, is stealthily grabbing more land, which she calls Obama's War on the West.

Illegal immigration is ultimately about moral issues.

Finally, someone has said what needs to be said about illegal immigration. Victor Davis Hansen explains that it is often debated on issues of costs and benefits, but that ultimately it is about moral issues. He outlines those moral issues here.

What Sarah Palin is thankful for

In case you missed this, here is what Sarah Palin said she was thankful for on Thanksgiving 2010.

"I am giving thanks for so much this Thanksgiving. I’m grateful that we enjoy the “blessings of liberty” secured by our Constitution. I’m grateful for the protection of America’s finest, our men and women in uniform — many of whom will spend Thanksgiving far from their loved ones so that we might celebrate with our families in peace and security.

I’m grateful that America’s children can look forward to a hopeful future because their mothers and fathers will make the sacrifices generations of American parents have made to safeguard freedom and opportunity.

I’m grateful that our land is rich in resources — all that we need to sustain ourselves and secure our prosperity.

I’m grateful that all Americans have the equal opportunity to earn, contribute, create, produce, perform, and succeed by our own merits and through the application of a sincere work ethic. I’m grateful for the ingenuity, innovation, and optimism that still animate the American spirit.

Most of all, I’m grateful that the steadying hand of Providence that guided the Pilgrims to Plymouth Rock continues to guide us toward a better future."

— Sarah Palin, former governor of Alaska and Republican vice-presidential nominee, is author of the new book, America by Heart.

No Guilt Whatsoever

George Soros has no guilt whatsoever about his role in sending fellow Jews off to their deaths during the Holocaust. Here is a partial transcript of a 60 Minutes interview with him.

"Not this Mitt again!"

This post is up at Pajamas Media, and it is not at all favorable to Mitt Romney.

Photos of North Korea's artillery attacks on South Korea

Go here to view more photos of North Korea's artillery attacks on South Korea.

News of the day

Here is the story and picture of the latest would-be-terrorist caught by the F.B.I.
Then there is this post, which points out, among many other interesting observations, that the young man has a "Mohammed Coefficient of 200%."
Update: The New York Times is reporting that it was a Portland Muslim who tipped off the F.B.I. Now that is really good news, indeed!

Clarity from a Brit

This fellow from Britain seems to have a knack for clarity!
via Dr. Sanity

TSA harasses woman over breast milk

What happens when a woman with a bag of breast milk asks the TSA not to put the milk through Xray screening? She is detained for over forty minutes and misses her flight home, where her 7-month-old child awaits for the arrival of her and her breast milk.
via The Looking Spoon

Happy Thanksgiving from our family to yours!

The children seemed really excited about Thanksgiving this year. 10-year-old Jon made absolutely delicious applesauce, then helped 9-year-old brother Greg (who made a wonderful fruit salad) and 7-year-old sister Sara set the table.
16-year-old Kim made six pies, mashed potatoes, and a sweet potato dish.
Although they missed the family gathering around the dinner table, 21-year-old Thomas and 18-year-old Erik arrived in time to make turkey sandwiches and finish off the pies.

Black Friday

As I walked into the Big Box Superstore today, my first clue that things might get a little strange on this Black Friday was the message I heard on the store intercom: "Will the shopper who was looking for Harry Potter please come to the dressing room?" Then, I saw shoppers eyeing the "Prelit, pine-scented artificial Xmas trees," and a man carrying a camo Snuggie, and decided to hurry for the checkout counter with my bag of apples. At the checkout counter I saw Prevention Magazine, which featured helpful hints for diabetes sufferers. On the cover was a chocolate cheesecake which, thankfully, was only one of "24 delicious diabetes recipes." Is this a great country, or what?

Paranoia about Sarah Palin

Barbara Bush wishes Sarah Palin would just stay in Alaska. I presume Barbara feels it is now Jeb's turn to be nominated as the GOP candidate for president in 2012. New York Times theater critic Frank Rich also fears a Palin candidacy. Tunku Varadarajan tries to understand the "Sarah Palin Paranoia" problem here.

Funding the ground zero mosque with taxpayer dollars

Muslims are asking for public funds (applying for a $5 million dollar grant) to build the ground zero mosque. While New Yorkers might think that is a fine idea, I doubt if the rest of the country will be too overjoyed.
Via Moonbattery

Where are the do-gooders now?

Remember when every good liberal in America and Europe proudly joined with Nelson Mandela to end apartheid in South Africa? Since then the ANC (African National Congress) has been in power for 16 years, unemployment is now 25.3%, ANC leaders have supported Robert Mugabe's African auto-genocide in Zimbabwe, there are rolling electricity blackouts, and the ANC has completely denied the country's HIV problem.

A new book detailing all of this and more has been written by R.W. Johnson of the London Sunday Times, and it is reviewed in the Wall Street Journal here by Grame Wood. Where are the do-gooders now?

Can Republicans lead on energy, or will they back renewable energy subsidies?

Kimberley Strassel wrote an excellent piece in the November 19 Wall Street Journal. She points out that although Republicans in the House are ready to fight against Obamacare, financial regulation, tax hikes, cap and trade, and unspent stimulus dollars, they are tongue-tied when it comes to Obama's stated ambition of "transforming" America's economy! No one of prominence (except Rush Limbaugh) has had the guts to speak out against Obama's "green" economy, which Strassel alleges will result in high costs and low jobs. I agree with her as to those results.

A good portion of the American people seem really to have been brainwashed on this "green" stuff. People actually think they are saving the environment when they bring their not-very-clean cloth bags back to the grocery store time and again, then drive away in their SUVs. Republicans are afraid to lose the votes of these suburban Americans. They don't want to be seen as anti-environment. So they have adopted what Strassel in her excellent article terms an "all of the above" strategy, meaning that they are for oil drilling and also for government-funded renewable energy subsidies. As Strassel notes, "Europe has already proven these subsidies destroy traditional employment, are permanent drains on state funds, and raise energy prices."

Republicans claim to believe in smaller government, freer markets, but gee, guys, it's "green!" Obama is way, way out in front of them on this issue.

Who's Nurse Ratchet and who is Mr. McMurphy?

I am reading Ken Kesey's masterpiece One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Has there been any person who has done more to influence us to treat the mentally ill humanely? The book and movie, of course, were about the sadistic Nurse Ratchet and her control of her patients. It was also about Mr. McMurphy, the Jack Nicholson character. McMurphy boasted that he could get to Nurse Ratchet. Sarah Palin is boasting to Barbara Walters that she can beat Obama. So Sarah is the McMurphy character, and Obama is Nurse Ratchet?

I saw on the cover of National Enquirer today that Sarah's 16-year-old daughter Willow is pregnant. If that is true, I think that might end Sarah's chances for the nomination.

In an historic gesture of goodwill, B.H. Obama lands on American soil.

via ELVISNIXON.COM

Does TSA have a new trainee?

I don't know if this is rumor or fact, but there is a news story saying that Bill Clinton has volunteered to work for the TSA. This photo would seem to lend credence to the rumor that he is currently in training.

Resentment

"As smoking is to the lungs, so resentment is to the soul. Even one puff is bad for you." from Liz Gilbert, in her wonderful book Eat, Pray, Love.

Another Photo from Indonesia

via blonde sagacity

The Mystery of the Missing Donuts

Ten-year-old Jon wrote this story today.

Jim woke up on Saturday morning very hungry. He sat up in his bed and remembered he didn't eat dinner last night. He got dressed, went to his car, and drove to the donut shop. When Jim got there he saw a hole about the size of a football in the big glass door. He walked in and saw a man on the floor with a knife in his chest. "Oh my gosh, there is a dead man on the floor!" Jim said, while he ran out the door screaming like a little girl. Then he whipped out his old cell phone and called 911. He told the 911 person, "I walked in and there he was, dead! Then I saw that-that-that the donuts were gone!" Jim screamed very fast.

The police came in and asked Jim more questions. Outside in an alley by the donut store, the police found a trail of frosting and sprinkles on the wall. The police and Jim walked and walked, following the trail until the alley ended. "Whoa, whoever did this sure stole a lot of donuts," said Jim. "How are we going to find him now," asked Charlie, a very loud detective. "I think I found the answer Char. Look," a young detective said, while pointing to the ground where tire tracks were. Charlie said, "Let's follow them!" They walked and walked, farther and farther, until Charlie said, sounding very annoyed, "Okay guys, let's think about this. There is a random set of tire tracks right next to the crime scene, leading straight to the middle of nowhere." "I think you're right. This is probably a red herring," said a big policeman named Bill. The group agreed. They headed back, but this time the opposite way.

"I just figured this out," said a skinny, short-haired detective. The tracks are going exactly straight. Don't you think that's weird?" "Yeah, I guess so," said Charlie. Then the others nodded to show they agreed. "Our suspect probably put the car in gear and let it loose," said Bill. "Look! The track leads directly to this apartment," said Charlie. Bill knocked down the door and found a very small man feasting on a pile of donuts.

You're under arrest for the murder of Chou Chung, and for stealing his pastries," said Officer Cindy Lou. "Get up! What's your name?" "Hgruwphtodo," said the small, but now very fat man with a mouth full of donuts. "What?" said Charlie. The man swallowed, then said his name in a small, squeaky tone: "Greg Tolker." Okay, how about this, Greg, "Get up now or I'll shoot you," said Charlie. Greg got up. Jim, Charlie, Bill, Cindy Lou and the young detective all drove back to the police department with their prisoner in handcuffs.

"Thank you for helping catch Greg, Jim," an old man who was the Chief said. Jim went home with the rest of the donuts, ate one, then went to bed and took a nap. The end.

Fill the seats with people who wish they weren't there!

P.J. O'Rourke isn't satisfied with the election results. He has a different idea as to how we could elect people to go to Washington: use the jury system!

Certain individuals on juries would be naïve and easily suborned by special interests. They could turn out to be thieves. This has happened before in Washington. But who is more dangerous as a burglar—the thief who knows all about your valuables and where you keep them or the thief who’s never been in your house (or Senate) before?

There are, of course, no easy reforms in a long-established political system—except this one. The principles of jury selection are simple to apply to representational democracy, at least in respect to our elected officials. We don’t have to change the Constitution, we just have to change the Democratic and Republican nomination process, which is such a mess that any change would be uncontroversial.

There’s a jury pool in every political district. Call up members of the pool for jury—that is to say, nominee—duty. Let voters in primaries act like prosecutors, defense attorneys, and judges, excusing some and dismissing others. When the pool has been culled to a reasonable size, the general election voters can pick whom they like. Nothing would prevent common politicians from running on third party or write-in tickets. But they’d be easily identifiable as what they are—politicians.

Then we’ll know when we’ve won an election: We’ll know we’ve won when every candidate who is voted in begins his or her acceptance speech by saying, “Oh, #@*!”

America gave him the ball, but Michael Jordan he ain't

Dr. Sanity compares Obama's narcissism with George Washington's humility.

Yet it’s important to remember that our presidents aren’t always this way. When he accepted command of the Revolutionary forces, George Washington said,
I feel great distress, from a consciousness that my abilities and military experience may not be equal to the extensive and important Trust. .  .  . I beg it may be remembered, by every Gentleman in the room, that I, this day, declare with the utmost sincerity, I do not think myself equal to the Command I am honored with.
Accepting the presidency, Washington was even more reticent. Being chosen to be president, he said, “could not but overwhelm with despondence one who, inheriting inferior endowments from nature and unpracticed in the duties of civil administration, ought to be peculiarly conscious of his own deficiencies.”

Compare those words of George Washington to these of Obama.

But Obama’s faith in his abilities extends beyond mere vote-getting. Buried in a 2008 New Yorker piece by Ryan Lizza about the Obama campaign was this gob-smacking passage:
Obama said that he liked being surrounded by people who expressed strong opinions, but he also said, “I think that I’m a better speechwriter than my speechwriters. I know more about policies on any particular issue than my policy directors. And I’ll tell you right now that I’m gonna think I’m a better political director than my political director.” After Obama’s first debate with McCain, on September 26th, [campaign political director Patrick] Gaspard sent him an e-mail. “You are more clutch than Michael Jordan,” he wrote. Obama replied, “Just give me the ball.”

Cody gets some support

Remember the thirteen-year-old boy in Sacramento who likes to ride his bike to school while flying an American flag, but the school told him he couldn't continue? Here's an update.

More absurdity from the United Nations

One of my favorite blogs, Betsy's Page, has an excellent rundown on the latest idiocy from the United Nations. Saudi Arabia has been selected to sit on the board of the new U.N. agency to promote equal rights for women. Betsy cites reports from several sources that show that Saudi Arabia's treatment of women is anything but equal to that of men.

Stuffed Brain Syndrome

Ten-year-old son Jon, after showing me his science homework, literature homework, lesson on verbs, and his math, says to me tonight, "Dad, I think I need to stay home from school tomorrow. I have too much stuff in my head, and I can't afford to put anything else in there."

Government Motors: "Rubbish"

George Will hits a home run with his latest column. He writes about GM and its new Volt car. He points out that the government (we, the people) so far has lent GM over $50 billion, but GM CEO Ed Whitaker says in expensive ads on television and in a Wall Street Journal column that "we have repaid our government loan, in full, with interest, five years ahead of the original schedule." That refers to a TARP-funded $6.7 billion escrow account, with no mention of almost $50 billion in other loans.

Then, there is the ludicrous Chevy Volt, charged by coal and gas-fired power plants to give the driver 40 miles before the gas engine kicks in, or, when the car is moving 70 mph. The federal government will give tax credits of $7,500 to every purchaser, but it will not be available in 44 states, for which George Will expresses gratitude on behalf of us taxpayers.

Concise

Dennis Prager explains "the middle east problem" concisely.
Via Theo Spark

Eat. Pray, Love

I am enjoying Liz Gilbert's Eat, Pray, Love. Yes, there have been a couple of Republican-bashing remarks, but we can't always limit ourselves to people who have the same political beliefs, can we? Liz has a great sense of humor, and writes about grappling with life issues that most of us have to deal with at one time or another. She goes through the excruciating pain of divorce, then another failed love relationship, and decides to spend four months each in Italy, India, and Indonesia. Italy was where she pleasured herself eating. Now I am at the part in the book where she goes to India and lives in an Ashram.

One of her comments about life in the Ashram, quoting someone else, was that "prayer is where we talk to God; meditation is where we listen to God." She had problems with the meditation part, and so would I.

And Democrats did well among female voters?

Barry and Michelle go for a walk in a Muslim country. Clarice Feldman has the commentary here.

Beware the praise of liberals in the media and academia

Sara Palin has some advice for the incoming freshman Congressmen and women. Much of it is what you would expect in terms of policy, but she also had some advice for them in dealing with the media. Clarence Thomas also had something to say about the same subject.

Undo it!

Michelle Malkin has the story on the hundreds of waivers to Obamacare being given to businesses, unions, and states.

A Happy Birthday Girl

For Sara's seventh birthday, the family headed to town. The onion rings got things rolling.
The birthday party was held at one of those restaurants where all the waiters come and sing happy birthday and bring a sundae to the lucky person. Sara suddenly became shy, a rare occasion indeed!
After the singers left, Sara quickly recovered, as she realized Mom was going to eat that sundae, if she didn't!
Judging by the look on her face, the birthday dinner seemed to have gone well. Now for the best part: going home to open presents!

Can you believe this?

A boy in Sacramento, California, home of the Democrats who are running the largest budget deficits of any state, likes to ride to school with an American flag on his bike. The middle school he attends has told him he can no longer do that. Read the story here.

A stupid military decision?

Amy Goodman writes here about President Obama's stupid decision to support Indonesia's notorious Kopassus, the Indonesian military's special forces commando group. As Obama landed in Indonesia, a journalist named Allan Nairn released several secret documents which revealed how the government of Indonesia, through Kopassus, has murdered tens of thousands of Indonesian citizens, Obama's old neighbors.

Palin email hacker gets one year in jail

The lefty creep who hacked into Sarah Palin's email during the presidential campaign has been sentenced to one year in jail. Here is Sarah talking to reporters outside the courtroom after she testified last April.
via Gateway Pundit

The Obama/Pelosi/Reid Legacy

In order to help us comprehend what is happening to our economy under Obama's presidency, Gateway Pundit posted these graphs.

"Something big is going on at the center of the galaxy"

This New York Times article tells about the photo above. Two huge "energy bubbles" in the core of the Milky Way have been discovered. No human knows what they are.
via Finest Kind Clinic and fish market

The Ride of Betsy Dowdy

Tonight in honor of Veterans Day I read Sara the story of Betsy Dowdy. It is about a sixteen-year-old girl who lived on the barrier island of Currituck, North Carolina. On December 8, 1775 a neighbor warned Betsy's father that the redcoats were marching toward them, and surely would take their supplies and animals. As the legend has it, Betsy got her beloved horse, Bess, and took off to warn General Skinner, who was fifty miles away. She made it to the General, who gathered his men together and joined with the Virginia militia to fight and defeat the redcoats. Their victory on December 9, 1775 was important, because it proved to the Americans that the British could be defeated.

The book I read to Sara was entitled The Ride by Kitty Griffin.

Fascism and Communism: Variants of Totalitarianism

"Fascism and communism are variants of the same totalitarianism, which central control of all economic activity tends to produce." So writes Frederich A. Hayek in his classic book The Road to Serfdom.

Lords of Discipline

I just finished reading Pat Conroy's Lords of Discipline. I had not been too eager to begin reading it, because I knew from reading his My Losing Season that it was going to be about the cruelty he and others endured as cadets at The Citadel. He disguised The Citadel as "Carolina Military Institute." The book builds to a climax that left me in tears, but I am so glad I read it (or, more precisely, listened to it as an audio book). His development of characters is just perfect. What a rich imagination he has. I found myself trying to guess what was going to happen to each of the characters. Which would turn out to be persons of honor and courage? Which would turn out to be pathetic people not to be trusted? One thing I knew for sure, though, all would be thoroughly believable characters.

Time to hit the slopes

I found this photo on Theo Spark's blog. I better not show it to my stepson Erik, who a couple of weekends ago was skiing at the top of Loveland Pass. I want to make sure Erik keeps his head in his school work, which he has been doing very well so far. We have snow here now, and more expected tomorrow.

Who are the ones who are developmentally disabled?

Yesterday I was in one of those huge big box superstores. There were twenty or so developmentally disabled adults being chaperoned by two other adults. Suddenly, one member of the group, a short round young woman, let out a piercing scream I had never heard from a human or animal. She had recognized her brother shopping in the store with his two young children. She ran to him and gave him a highly emotional hug. After telling him several times, "I love you," she patted the two young children lovingly and returned to her group, telling everyone that the man over there is her brother. The male chaperone came over and introduced himself to the brother, which I thought was very cool. The group milled around for a while, then left the store. The joy never left that young woman, as she continued to tell everyone that she had just seen her brother.

The genuineness of that young woman's love for her brother was inspiring to me. We are so used to reciting polite but phony greetings to one another. Here in Colorado, it all starts with "How're you doing?" If I am not doing well, I still say that I am. Sadness and loss are subjects that are off limits among us non-developmentally disabled adults. If you say "I'm well, thank you" enough, you start to believe it yourself, and you actually begin to feel better! Developmentally disabled adults do not seem to be capable of guile. The loving emotions from that young woman seemed to burst forth from every cell of her body.

I wonder, who are the ones who are disabled?

Hilarious Trick Play

There was one minute to go in the game and The Mayor’s team was down by six. The ref just finished marking off five yards on the defense when The Mayor – quarterback Mayor, that is – leaned over and yelled at the center that the ref was going to mark off five more yards. The Mayor then told the center to give him the ball – ”hiking it” in football lingo – technically starting the play. The Mayor then started to walk off the yards – as cool as a cucumber on a crisp autumn day in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan – and once he passed by the defensive line, he ran like diarrhea coming down the leg of a tourist at an all you can burrito cart in Tijuana.
video and narrative from a blog called Mitchieville
Via Andy's Place

0 for 95!

In an article entitled "Net Neutrality" goes 0 for 95, Gordon Crovitz writes in the Wall Street Journal today that all 95 members of Congress who signed a pledge to support "net neutrality" lost in last week's elections! Crovitz documents the absurdity of trying to regulate the internet, and urges more competition as the solution, not more regulation.

The New House of Representatives in ten seconds

via Andy's Place

A politician hooks himself up to a lie detector machine

I found this at the wonderful Invincible Armor blog
Now do you understand why, even as a teenager, I so enjoyed watching Johnny Carson every night with my parents before going to bed?

"Can we read now?"

By now those of you who are regular readers of this blog (and who are very much appreciated), know that I am enamored with the writings of Pat Conroy. I am now reading to Jon and Greg The Water is Wide, which is Pat's account of his year teaching on Yamacraw Island, off the coast of South Carolina. The boys are thoroughly enjoying it. Conroy is so much like me, except that he can write so wonderfully. He is five years younger than I, so we have lived through the same decades in this American life. He went through the same do-gooder phase at about the same time that I did. He shares my lack of love for bureaucracy, or to put it more positively, he was willing to be unorthodox in order to reach his students. Greg, Jon, and I love his wonderful sense of humor. I love to put the boys asleep at night reading to them something they enjoy so much. They ask questions or I explain words to them I know they do not understand. I love it when they actually come to me and ask, "Can we read now?"

A Tea Partier Who Can Flat Out Sing!

via American Digest

America the beautiful

I found this at Gecko's blog, and please tell her I miss her! Video via American Digest

Rationing Health Care of the Elderly

I found this at Red Stick Rant

Lots of zeros

President Obama and his entourage of 3,000 attendants are flying in five jets to India, where they plan to spend $200,000,000.00 per day for ten days! One person will not be part of the entourage: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Do you think Obama's $3,000,000,000.00 aid package to Pakistan might be on India's agenda of items to be discussed?

Bullseye!

If you ever get a chance to visit Arches National Park in Utah, you'll be glad you did. I found this photo at Theo Spark's Last of the Few blog.

When countries invest hope in a leader

Two years ago this month the majority of the American people invested their hopes and dreams for themselves and their country in Barack Obama. He was smart enough to convince them, albeit with the help of the omnipresent teleprompters, that he was the person who could bring them the changes they sought. Seventy years ago the German people invested their hopes and dreams for their country and themselves in Adolph Hitler. He was smart enough to convince them that he was the man who could deliver the changes they sought.

A.J. Goldmann writes in today's Wall Street Journal about an exhibition at the German Historical Museum entitled Hitler and the Germans: Nation and Crimes. The exhibit addresses the question of how Hitler was possible. How did parents allow their young people to be indoctrinated with evil? The exhibit shatters the myth that Nazis seized power. What was Hitler's appeal to the Germans? How did the acts of violence meet with the approval or at least the acceptance of the German people? Were the German people seduced by a ranting lunatic? Why does Hitler so fascinate the Germans even today? (10.000 visitors lined up to see the exhibit on the first weekend of the show).

Until we understand what ordinary Americans were (are?) thinking when they invested their hopes in Barack Obama, we are going to have a hard time winning the 2012 election. I think they thought he would miraculously create an America in which our sins of the past would not be allowed to be repeated; all that was or is bad about America would be vanquished by their fearless leader. Then, of course, there are the union people who know that he shares their belief that corporations are evil, the racial and ethnic minorities, the gays, and the women who think (sometimes correctly) that Republicans are going to make them carry rapists' babies, the young adult males who do not want to fight for their country or have anything to do with military discipline, and the young adults who want to get high on marijuana or cough syrup or glue or on whatever they can get a doctor to prescribe for the psychiatric fad of the month.

Will the Tea Partiers help Obama win in 2012?

Dean Singleton, owner and publisher of the Denver Post, and bigwig in the Associated Press, was interviewed this afternoon on the excellent Caplis and Silverman radio program. Singleton said that if the Tea Party continues to wield the influence it now wields in the Republican Party, the Tea Party will be the single reason why Barack Obama wins in 2012! Singleton pointed to Delaware, Colorado, Nevada and Alaska as four states that would have gone Republican in Senate races if the Tea Party had not played such significant roles in those states. Singleton's point is that America is a centrist nation that will reject extreme positions, whether left or right, once the people realize where their politicians are on the continuum.

What do you think?

Who will act in the best interests of America?

Ari Fleischer writes in today's Wall Street Journal that Barack Obama, despite being a "doctrinaire liberal," should follow the example of Bill Clinton, who, in early 1997, sent his Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin over to the House to reach an agreement on compromise legislation with Bill Archer, then the Ways and Means Chairman. The result was the balanced budget agreement of 1997 and four years of budget surpluses.

But the Republicans will also have to deal with "competing strains," according to Fleischer, who was Archer's spokesman after the Republicans took control of the House in 1994. One strain will advise caution in order to prevent being stuck with vilifying labels. The other will be to make good on promises made to voters to change Washington's "big spending ways."

Which side will succeed?

Obama a "go-along-to-get-along guy?"

Is Barack Obama a go-along-to-get-along guy? That is the thesis today of Holman Jenkins, writing in the Wall Street Journal. Jenkins notes that the only time Obama has ever tried to buck his own party, he lost in his challenge to oust Bobby Rush from his House seat in 2000. Since then, he has chosen the path of least resistance. That has meant going along with Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid. With Pelosi no longer the Speaker of the House, Obama will have other choices and possibilities. Read the whole thing here.

Pat Conroy on Loss

As he recounts in his non-fiction work My Losing Season, Pat Conroy had to first come to grips with loss, before he could come to believe in himself. First came the losses.

"There is no teacher more discriminating or transforming than loss. The great secret of athletics is that you learn more from losing than winning. Losing prepares you for the heartbreak, set-back, and tragedy that you will encounter in the world, more than winning ever can. By licking your wounds, you learn how to avoid getting wounded the next time. The American military learned more from its defeat in Viet Nam than it did in all the victories ever fought under the Stars and Stripes. Loss invites reflection and reformulating and a change of strategies. Loss hurts and bleeds and aches. Loss is always ready to call out your name in the night. Loss follows you home at the breakfast table. Loss follows you to work in the morning. You have to make accommodations and broker deals to soften the rabbit punches that loss brings to your daily life. You have to take the word "loser" and add it to your resume and walk around with it on your name tag as it hand-feeds you your own shit in dosages too large for even great beasts to swallow. The word loser follows you, bird dogs you, sniffs you out of whatever fields you hide in, because you have to face things clearly, and you cannot turn away from what is true."

On the other hand, writes Conway,

"Our losing season inspired every one of us to strive for complete and successful lives. Belief in oneself, authentic, inviolable, unshakable belief, not the undercutting kind, is necessary to all human achievement. Once I began believing in myself, and not listening to the people who do not believe in me, I turned myself into a point guard whom you needed to watch."

Five suggestions for newly elected conservatives

Senator Jim DeMint of South Carolina (home of Pat Conroy) has played a major role in funneling funds to help conservatives get elected. Now, in the Wall Street Journal today, he has some advice for those conservatives who were elected. He lists five suggestions:
1.) Don't request earmarks.
2.) Hire conservative staff.
3.) Beware of committees.
4.) Don't seek titles.
5.) Don't let your re-election become more important than your job.

We have much work left to do.

Dorothy Rabinowitz writes in today's Wall Street Journal that Americans have lost their illusions about Barack Obama. Rabinowitz asserts that "illusions matter. Their loss is irrecoverable." I am afraid she is overly optimistic. We will need to continue to work to earn the respect of independents, people who are not enamored with either party. We are not going to change the minds of those who have enthusiastically supported Obama.

Update: I just read this piece by Morgan K. Freeberg, who says in many more words what I tried to say in the above paragraph. In addition to the liberals he writes about, though, I am referring to the quieter, perhaps less educated masses of people whom Obama can count on to have faith in him.