Um…Noooo…

…Three of them stood and said their normal evening prayers together on the plane, as 1.7 billion Muslims around the world do every day, Shahin said. He attributed any concerns by passengers or crew to ignorance about Islam.
…Shahin expressed frustration that — despite extensive efforts by him and other Muslim leaders since even before the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks — so many Americans know so little about Islam.
“If up to now they don’t know about prayers, this is a real problem,” he said.

The REAL problem is that Muslims don’t know enough to RESPECT their fellow AMERICANS. If he was flying on a Sunday, the Pope wouldn’t stand in the aisle of a USAir Flight and subject the whole plane to Mass, would he? And I’ll BET there were concerns, since no one would expect the Pope to stand, pray and blow the frickin’ plane up.
Three Islamic individuals suddenly standing and praying in the aisle would have me worried. They wouldn’t have gotten half a prayer out before I’d tackled their asses.
You live HERE, pinheads. Not Riyadh. Not Baghdad. Not Teheran.
HERE. Keep that sh*t in your seat.

This is Another BRILLIANT Decision, Comparable to Letting Tom Cruise

…play Lestat.

Jackson bids farewell to The Hobbit

He is the flamboyant director whose The Lord of the Rings trilogy picked up 17 Oscars. But Peter Jackson has been cast out of Middle Earth after a row over profits from the $4 billion-plus (£2.1 billion) franchise.
Fans of the fantasy films were dismayed by an e-mail, detailing a dispute between Jackson and the New Line film studio, which the New Zealander sent to a website devoted to matters Tolkien.
It contained explosive news that the most lucrative franchise in Hollywood history after Star Wars will return with a Lord of the Rings prequel. A big-budget version of The Hobbit is also set for production.
But Jackson, a devoted Tolkien fan who battled to bring his vision of Rings to the screen, will not be involved. The director said that he had been removed from the project by New Line.

Those Who Forget The Past…

And those who haven’t.
(via Insta)

And Here I Thought Giving Your Current Squeeze a Framed Picture of Yourself

…was a big deal.

Kimberly Stewart – Rod’s 27-year-old daughter with Alana Stewart…
…In addition to being healthier, Kimberly also seems to have rekindled an old flame. The blond rock scion turned up at Light in the Bellago in Las Vegas to help her ex-boyfriend Jack Osbourne celebrate his 21st birthday Friday night, and the two were spotted “getting cozy and kissing,” said our spy.
Osbourne could be a good influence on Kimberly – he has been sober for more than a year now. The two dated several years ago, and Kimberly was so enamored of Ozzy Osbourne’s son that when she had her breast implants removed several years ago, she gave them to Osbourne – who then proudly hung them on his wall.

I live in a bubble.

Well, I Guess They’re Not…

NOW, thanks for nothing.

MSNBC.com has just this second changed their home page.

You Got To Run On Heavy Heavy Fuel

If you wanna be cool:

Iran is set to upgrade its nuclear reactor capability by replacing its 5-megawatt reactor in Tehran with Arak’s 40-megawatt heavy water research reactor, the Tehran Times reported.
…Heavy water nuclear centers can be used to convert uranium into plutonium, for use in the production of nuclear weapons.
The “Arak research reactor is due for completion in 2009 and will make isotopes for medical, industrial, and other peaceful uses,” the Tehran Times claimed.

Let’s see, there’s something called the “Religion of Peace”, isn’t there? And any use of their nuclear power that “promotes” it, like, say, “convert or we nuke you” or “let’s wipe Israel off of the map” would I’m sure in their mind be a “peaceful” use, now wouldn’t it?

Iran has asked the International Atomic Agency for aid in setting up the Arak nuclear site, but Aqazadeh was quoted as saying that “the work on the Arak research reactor will continue whether the agency provides technical assistance or not.”
“It will be more harmful to the agency if it refuses assistance,” he warned.

I’m sure that will get the Europeasers scurrying to offer aid. It always does.

And For the Record

…the final “Prime Suspect” was a cheap git.
Helen Mirren is still as mesmerizing as the first time ever we saw her, but that was the extent of “riveting” viewing. I had a horrible feeling when the first part played last week and involved an appealing waif Jane took a shine to. Once a series starts using troubled yet adorable (and fashionably togged) young’uns/animals/midgets, it usually means they’ve jumped the shark. Throw in a spiritual awakening evinced by finally speaking at an AA meeting and the finned creatures are circling while Fonzie greases up the waterskis. A couple bottles of whiskey and the second part later, I’m sad to say the finale did no justice to the 15 years of “Prime Suspect” addiction we’ve suffered.
Rats.
And “I think we need a bigger boat…”

Searching for Answers Friday

While completely disregarding Cracker’s fevered, feigned umbrage at just the dang cutest little email I sent her (You know ~ one of those rare gems that manages to tell the truth but induce thigh slapping hilarity at the same time?), she did have another post that caused me great pain and emotional anguish. I’ll be spelling it out in detail here as the draft for my civil suit, but feel free to weigh in if your life has been similiarly victimized, your psyche irrepairably damaged, your very emotional well being compromised to the point of rendering YOU an unfeeling vegetable. Perhaps we have the making of a class action, who knows? But you might find this cathartic…cleansing even, as I’m sure I will.
Now, in her post she has a bullet point that asks the seemingly innocuous…

* What retired products do you miss?

She mentions “Jello Puddin Pops”. Pitiful, but hey! She misses it. I offer up in the same theme ~ “Shake-a-Puddin'”. Granted, missed more for it’s entertainment than food value, but fondly remembered none the less. No, where the emotional damage comes in is in those fond remembrances of things beloved in childhood which still exist on Winn-Dixie shelves, but in a VASTLY altered form. I am talking corporate canoodling of the most foul and unnatural description! The dreaded…

FORMULA CHANGES.

OOOOOO, that pisses me off, thereby causing extreme anguish. Wincing, I can recall the three horrible examples scarring my youth still frosting my chops three and a half decades later.

1) TWINKIES ~ the bastards changed the spongecake formula in the late 60’s. From a wonderous, moist, delectable, delicate taste treat of epic dimensions to something that now has a shelf life of…well…three and a half decades.
2) NESTLE’S HOT COCOA ~ the formula change here involved denying not only taste associations, but sensory as well. Half…no, ALL the damn fun of the stuff was the way it clumped in the bottom of the glass when cold milk was added, with a little foamy, gravelly, pumice-like dark chocolate clump flotilla that escaped to the top. Mountain Man and I were VERY particular about how our glass of milk was constructed, right down to a milk pour worthy of the finest head on a beer. Oh GOD! And the cocoa sugar sludge reward at the bottom of the drinking vessel? Sweet baby Jesus. ‘New and Improved!’ meant everything mixed the second the milk or (GOD FORBID!) water hit. No foam, no sludge. A contemporary uniform consistency.

3) GERBER’S JR. CEREAL, EGG YOLKS and BACON ~ Once upon a time, when babies and just done being babies ate, they ate Gerber’s. The ‘Junior’ foods had some consistency to them and generally tasted pretty damn good even to the adult palate ~ probably because they were full of all the hateful things adults LOVE and which we now know KILL BABIES. Or at least make them grow up Republican. One of our favorite, easy yummy morning meals as teenagers was two jars of Jr. Cereal, Egg Yolks and Bacon. Redolent with smokey bacon smell, laden with actual CHUNKS of the devine pork-fat product and creamy yet substantial body, it was the dream food of mornings. Pop off the top, jar in the microwave and voilà! Tummies warm and full for the beastly walk down the driveway and sub-zero wait for the bus. Ah, the smell of it! And unrecognizable in it’s current form. Which, I guess, doesn’t KILL BABIES or make them REPUBLICAN. (At one point they even dropped bacon from the label, but I see it’s back now.) It tastes like pooh and I’m not talking the bear. Bland…glopless…chunkless…devoid of smokey goodness…SAFE.

So there you have it. My litany of sins of egregious nature perpetrated against those sucked into the vortex of product loyalty. I’ve tried to spare Ebola the heartache we’ve suffered ~ changing up table fare so he doesn’t get too attached to any one thing. That’s what mothers do ~ protect their children.

Trust Me, Doc

The guy reeks of bad JuJu already.

Voodoo Practitioner Tries to Jinx Bush
A renowned black magic practitioner performed a voodoo ritual Thursday to jinx President George W. Bush and his entourage while he was on a brief visit to Indonesia.
Ki Gendeng Pamungkas slit the throat of a goat, a small snake and stabbed a black crow in the chest, stirred their blood with spice and broccoli before drank the “potion” and smeared some on his face.

And that bit with broccoli ~ you might want to double check which Bush you’re whammying.

The “It All Depends What ‘Is’ Is” Defense Redux

Some…creative lawyering going on in Minnesota:

Prosecution of a Douglas County case involving alleged sexual contact with a dead deer may hinge on the legal definition of the word “animal.”
Bryan James Hathaway, 20, of Superior faces a misdemeanor charge of sexual gratification with an animal. He is accused of having sex with a dead deer he saw beside Stinson Avenue on Oct. 11.
A motion filed last week by his attorney, public defender Fredric Anderson, argued that because the deer was dead, it was not considered an animal and the charge should be dismissed.
“The statute does not prohibit one from having sex with a carcass,” Anderson wrote.

That last sounds like the motto of many a frat boy I knew in college.
Now, before you get the idea that this fellow was just a little lonely as winter approaches in the Great White North, there’s this little throwaway line at the end of the article:

In April 2005, Hathaway pleaded no contest to one felony charge of mistreatment of an animal for the shooting death of Bambrick, a 26-year-old horse, to have sex with the animal.

Sounds like a man who should relocate to Enumclaw.

“Total Crap”

Sort of sums up Washington these days, doesn’t it (Or at the very least how the Giants played against the Bears last week)? But that’s actually what John Murtha, Mr. Abscam – to – Okinawa himself thinks of Nancy Grapes Of Wrath Pelosi’s Ethics Bill

On Hardball, Murtha had two strategies on “crap.” The first was to try to claim it was the corruption that was “crap.” When that didn’t fly, he said only meant the bill was “crap” in relation to the more urgent need to act on the Iraq war. Nice try! The problem is in his initial discussion of the issue, Murtha gave away why he really thinks the new ethics rules are “crap”–that they are, in Chris Matthews’ words, “Mickey Mouse.”

Actually, to me the most revealing thing Murtha said was this:

MURTHA: Let me tell you, I agree that we have to return a perception of honesty to the Congress.

There it is, folks, in black and white, the Congressional Prayer:

Dear Lord, let us, in your merciful wisdom and kindness, go back to those halcyon days where people thought we were honest, as these attempts at actually being honest are too trying for our souls…and wallets. Amen, er, person.

The perception of honesty. Someone oughta write a book about that.

“Die Well”

A warm Swill welcome to the blogroll for Boston Herald writer and far more importantly frequent Tim Blair commenter Jules Crittendon. Go check it out. He has a fantastic story up on a survivor of Ia Drang.

Hurrah For John Howard

My god, I wish we could elect him here when the Aussies are done with him:

The Prime Minister, John Howard, is proposing his own inconvenient truth after finding the movie of that name not to his liking.
An Inconvenient Truth, starring the former US vice-president Al Gore, “showed a degree of the peeved politician [with] the constant jibes at the Bush Administration,” Mr Howard said yesterday. He urged Australians who think nuclear power is a “horrific thought” to consider the forthcoming report which is expected to find that nuclear power will become more economical as the cost of reducing greenhouse emissions makes coal-fired electricity more expensive.

But no, we get the likes of Bush and Gore.

Thirteen Marines of Christmas Time!!!

I have NAMES, I have ADDRESSES ~ I have EVERYTHING YOU NEED to adopt a Marine…or two or THREE. (And Lisa’s National Guard hubby. {8^P) We’re even on top of this a month earlier than last year!!

For those of you who are new to this post: It is our second year taking care of this unit as best we can. Lemme tell you a little about our kids ~ we took care of them last year through the holidays (and by that I mean from before Thanksgiving until the mail cut off end of Feb) and we’re adopting again this year. Yep ~ you heard that right ~ mostly the SAME Marines, same station. They run the unmanned drones and, since there’s only two units PERIOD, they rotate in and out of country

EVERY 6 MONTHS.

(One of their young captains is on his FOURTH tour.) So they left Iraq in March and got back there mid-September. That’s a LOT to ask of anybody, but they just pack up and go, bless their hearts.
There’s some old friends on the list, so there’s a good chance you can touch base with your Marine from last year if you’d like. From cards and notes to ATOMIC FIREBALLS ~ WHATEVER you can do is hugely appreciated. Please start sending me those “I need a Jarhead” emails ~

Kcruella has already gotten Halloween goodies to Lt. Sara, so we need to get hopping! Please, please help. Some of these Marines have been to Iraq FOUR times already. That’s a lot to ask.

For newbies to our Swillers, lots of helpful info in these posts from VMU-1’s deployment last year.
Tons
of good
info/ideas
here!!
Nov. 10th note: It’s the Marine Corps Birthday. It’s easy to send money. It takes an effort to send friendship and support. We’d love to have you along.
AND BUMP.

Pour Mon Frère Le Bingster et Mlle. Suzette

Voilà! L’abomination avec la soupe dans le bidon.

Thanksgiving Dressing
2 boxes Jiffy corn muffin mix
6 to 7 slices stale white bread
2 (15-ounce) cans chicken broth
1 (10 3/4-ounce) can cream of chicken soup
1 medium onion
2 stalks celery, minced
1 stick butter, melted
3 eggs
Salt and pepper
Milk
Bake cornbread following package directions using buttermilk. Cool.
In a large bowl, crumble white bread and cornbread.
Microwave broth and soup until hot, then add to bread. Add onion, celery, butter, eggs, salt and pepper. Mix well. Add milk to make soupy consistency.
Pour dressing into greased 9-inch-by-13-inch baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 45 minutes, or until golden brown and firm in center.
Save some broth to add in pan to keep moist during baking.

Le yums.

“Don’t Listen to Me…”

“I’m a Pinhead.”

Perhaps for the first time in recent history, cooler talking heads will prevail. I could live with that.

One of the most resonant arguments in the debate over Iraq holds that the United States can move forward by pulling its troops back, as part of a phased withdrawal. If American troops begin to leave and the remaining forces assume a more limited role, the argument holds, it will galvanize the Iraqi government to assume more responsibility for securing and rebuilding Iraq.
…But this argument is being challenged by a number of military officers, experts and former generals, including some who have been among the most vehement critics of the Bush administration’s Iraq policies.
Anthony C. Zinni, the former head of the United States Central Command and one of the retired generals who called for the resignation of Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, argued that any substantial reduction of American forces over the next several months would be more likely to accelerate the slide to civil war than stop it.
“The logic of this is you put pressure on Maliki and force him to stand up to this,” General Zinni said in an interview, referring to Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, the Iraqi prime minister. “Well, you can’t put pressure on a wounded guy. There is a premise that the Iraqis are not doing enough now, that there is a capability that they have not employed or used. I am not so sure they are capable of stopping sectarian violence.”
…While Mr. Levin’s plan calls for beginning troop reductions over the next six months, it does not stipulate a time-frame for completing the withdrawal, or spell out precisely how many troops should be removed in the initial phase. The plan, however, does call for shifting the American military role to more limited missions like protecting the American Embassy, training the Iraqi forces and engaging in counterterrorist operations against cells of Al Qaeda.
“The point of the proposal is to force the Iraqis to take hold of the situation politically,” Mr. Levin said.
But some current and retired military officers say the situation in Baghdad and other parts of Iraq is too precarious to start thinning out the number of American troops. In addition, they worry that some Shiite leaders would see the reduction of American troops as an opportunity to unleash their militias against the Sunnis and engage in wholesale ethnic cleansing to consolidate their control of the capital.
John Batiste, a retired Army major general who also joined in the call for Mr. Rumsfeld’s resignation, described the Congressional proposals for troop withdrawals as “terribly naïve.”

Especially since the Iraqis in uniform seem to be a BIG part of the problem. Even super-secret-squirrel-serial-numberized-impossible-to-copy-Iraqi-uniformed guys are fakes.

Gunmen dressed in Iraqi police commando uniforms and driving vehicles with Interior Ministry markings rounded up dozens of people inside a government building in the heart of Baghdad on Tuesday and drove off with them in one of the most brazen mass kidnappings since a wave of sectarian abductions and killings became a feature of the war.

I’m still of the opinion that splattering copious amounts of Muqtada al-Sadr fat deposits would help immensely. And in the power vacuum to follow, there is opportunity ~ we’d just have to be the first ones in.
Plus, DAMN! It would just be so satisfying in a ‘wrath of God’ kind of way.

Breaking: 8.1 Earthquake In Japan; Tsunami Warning

Ouch.

Not Quite How They Hoped To Get Screwed

And probably a little more than they deserve

A couple’s ill-concealed sexual play aboard a Southwest Airlines flight from Los Angeles got them charged with violating the Patriot Act, intended for terrorist acts, and could land them in jail for 20 years.
According to their indictment, Carl Persing and Dawn Sewell were allegedly snuggling and kissing inappropriately, “making other passengers uncomfortable,” when a flight attendant asked them to stop.
“Persing was observed nuzzling or kissing Sewell on the neck, and … with his face pressed against Sewell’s vaginal area. During these actions, Sewell was observed smiling,” reads the indictment filed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
On a second warning from the flight attendant, Persing snapped back threatening the flight attendant with “serious consequences” if he did not leave them alone.

Bad idea, Romeo.

They have been placed under legal surveillance until their trial on February 5. If found guilty, they both could be sent to jail for up to 20 years.

I am so sick of people doing all this canoodling in public, and then they get all pissy when someone points out it’s rather…inappropriate and perhaps they should get a room somewhere.

Even Tho I Won’t Buy Their Chicken

…this still sounds sorry to me.

Colonel Sanders is shedding his white suit jacket for a cook’s red apron.
KFC unveiled a new brand logo Tuesday that includes bolder colors and a more well-defined visage of the late Kentucky Fried Chicken founder, Colonel Harland Sanders, who will keep his classic black bow tie, glasses and goatee.
“This change gives us a chance not only to make sure we stay relevant but also communicates to customers the realness of Colonel Sanders and the fact that he was a chef,” said Gregg Dedrick, president of KFC’s U.S. division.

He wasn’t a chef, you goon. He was a ‘cook’.
‘Chef’ in an apron is the Scientologist on ‘South Park’.

I love pretentious gurus talkin’ smack. They sounds like retards mah-roons.
As he was:
And now:

Blair Jumping Ship?

This is not encouraging:

The first cracks in the united front over Iraq between Tony Blair and President Bush appeared last night as the Prime Minister offered Iran and Syria the prospect of dialogue over the future of Iraq and the Middle East.
Mr Blair said there could be a new “partnership” with Iran if it stopped supporting terrorism in Iraq and gave up its nuclear ambitions. Syria and Iran could choose partnership or isolation, he said.
…Downing Street denied suggestions that Mr Blair was going “cap in hand” to Damascus and Tehran asking for help and insisted that they were being told that they had to make a “strategic choice” between giving up support for terrorism and nuclear ambitions in return for being brought in from the cold.

Hmm. Sadly, it spite of him tying this to Iran’s halting of its support for terrorism and nu-cu-lar designs it looks like Tony’s seen the writing on the US wall and feels he needs to go soft to protect his own position. Let’s face it, no one in Europe will hold a hard line against anyone* in the Middle East, no matter what those countries do; all they need do is say ‘we will consider blahblahblah’ and the Europeasers will shower them with gifts. Spineless batsards. Well, the CarBQs will spread throughout France and the radical Muftis will plan their terror campaigns from the British mosques.
And the ‘best and brightest’ of Europe will keep blaming it all on the Americans and the Jews.
*Well, Israel is of course the exception; the Europeasers always manage to keep attacking them.

Since the “60 Minutes” Guys Are Too Old to Travel

…and Peter Arnett’s a frustrated has been, thank GOD the U.N. can pick up interviewing murderous dictator/rebel leader/fascist thugs where they left off. It’s always good to have your replacement in the bag.

‘Most wanted’ man meets UN envoy
Talks in the bush with the Lord’s Resistance Army leader have raised hopes of an end to one of Africa’s most brutal wars. But there was little sign of any breakthrough
JOSEPH KONY, one of the International Criminal Court’s most wanted men, accused of massacre, rape and abducting children, strolled out of the jungle yesterday to shake hands with the United Nation’s highest humanitarian official.
The reclusive leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army kept Jan Egeland, UN under secretary-general for humanitarian affairs, waiting for two hours at Ri-Kwangba close to the Congolese border.
…The LRA has waged one of Africa’s most brutal and bizarre civil wars.
Tens of thousands of people have died and almost two million people have been forced to flee their homes since Mr Kony took up arms in Uganda against a Government accused of neglecting northerners.
The former altar boy claimed to have been instructed by the Holy Spirit and once said that he wanted to govern northern Uganda according to the Ten Commandments. The LRA abducted thousands of children to fight in its ranks, and tortured opponents by cutting off their lips, arms or legs. Girls were kept as sex slaves.
Mr Kony, and four senior commanders, have been charged by the International Criminal Court with war crimes, including killing civilians, rape, and abducting children.
Peace talks have stalled repeatedly on this issue as rebel negotiators demand an amnesty to allow Mr Kony to leave hiding.

If they were serious about helping this guy, they’d be on the phone to Jimmy Carter. And once they deep-six Bolton, the U.N. can do this kind of intervention work all the time.

James Baker and the Daddy Bushycons

…should scare the SH*T out of every American who’s supported the troops in Iraq. (via Insta)

…The commission’s discussions are said to be focused on an option presented by a panel of experts that the United States concede that the situation in Iraq cannot be stabilized and make plans for a phased withdrawal of U.S. troops.
An alternative proposal, that the United States commit money and troops toward stabilizing Iraq before a withdrawal, appears less likely of adoption, according to sources familiar with the proposals.
John Negroponte, director of national intelligence, is already working closely with Baker on some of the recommendations of his panel.
Negroponte reportedly has come to agree with what is expected to be the most controversial of recommendations from the Baker group: that the United States approach Iran, and, in tandem with Israel, approach Syria, for help with Iraq, according to a source familiar with Negroponte’s thinking. A spokesman for Negroponte did not respond to a request for comment Friday.

If this is a public opinion fishing expedition, the uproar should be ferocious and biblical in response. How DARE they. Shrub and his know-it-all-cheap-war neocons f*cked this up royally from the beginning. They never gave their wonderful idea the commitment of money, planning and support the troops who would pay the price for their arrogance deserved. And now they’re looking for a way to slide out of Dodge. So you ask older, slyer escape artists. Remember how they operate?

They cut a fledgling democracy movement off at the knees once before that hadn’t cost one American life. F*ckin’ Scowcroft was a weasel of epic proportion and Baker his enabler. So if Baker’s back in the picture, who’s our weasel of the moment already in contact with Iran and/or Syria?
And I didn’t vote for them the first time, either.

I Want To Share This With You

My dear friends. Yes, in this troubled world we sometimes get down, battered about by all that crazy karma out there. But don’t despair! Turn the Hi-Fi high and the lights down low, and settle back and reeeeelax, baby…

Read more »

I’m Not Surprised

…but it’s delicious they were. (Via Insta)

They had to run that clip because the much of the rest of his speech was an absolute riot.
He started off by mentioning that “tomorrow is an extremely important day for America,” and the crowd went wild, thinking he was talking about taking power. But of course, he launched into his praise of the Marine Corps, and the crowd cheered a little less loudly. Then he thanked all the brave veterans and brave men still fighting, and the crowd cheered a little less loudly again.
Then he mentioned that he received a call from Sen. Allen, and the crowd went nuts again. Then he mentioned how pleasant and dignified Allen was, and the crowd grew quiet. Then he said he was having lunch next week with Allen — and the crowd was dead silent. Finally he told the audience that they should all thank Sen./Gov. Allen for his many years of dedicated service to the people of Virginia — and you could almost hear the people gathered looking at each other asking, “What the $#@! did we just do?”
It was priceless.

In the spirit of full disclosure, major dad and I would have voted for James Webb. We have fond memories and tons of respect for him after serving during his tenure as SecNav. He was one guy who had the cajones to actually resign in protest and we were all sorrier than crap to lose him. One Marine breath of fresh air and back to bureaucratic dweebs (the odd one actually had served in the Navy) running the Department. (There’s also the matter of that kick ass Scotch Irish book he wrote ~ major dad’s always quoting chapter and verse.)
Confessing our turncoatedness in full, we also voted for Bill Nelson and I was delighted to find Florida Cracker sharing our secret little GOP purgatory. And Mark Steyn in concert with Hugh Hewitt looking as if he writes from his desk a la Jason Blair and sounding foolish. A couple pundits obviously NOT knowing the territory. (Wow! How often does THAT happen?)

Hugh made another sharp point, noting that in Florida the Republicans in effect gave away a Senate seat. Given the way the GOP have held the Governor’s mansion, and Katherine Harris’ House seat, and Foley’s seat, it seems clear that almost any credible Senate candidate could have swiped that seat out from under the Dems.

Mother Theresa would have had a hard time beating Bill Nelson. Why send a good guy who does your state proud (he was an astronaut, for God’s sake! WOO!) packing? There’s NO good reason and the state GOP knew it. Shrewd. As I noted in the comments over there…

Add me and major dad to the ‘voted for Nelson’ column. Good, decent guy. I think the only major beef I’ve had with him has been his insistance on the offshore drilling moratorium hard line ~ and I’M the treehugger! Katharine Harris is quite probably the best thing the Republicans could have hoped for. A candidate with no viable political future against a hugely popular real guy and no one hurt who might one day actually BE a contender, like Alan Bense. No harm, no foul, best guy for the job still has it, no future GOP star tarnished.

Happy Birthday, My Brothers and Sisters

And Semper Fi.