Gary's rejected candle scent: Take this quiz at QuizGalaxy.com

I would have guessed it to be "Stale Hardened Baby Poo". Honestly, some of these things are beyond stupid.

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1 Gee, Gary, this post isn't getting very many comments. I wonder why...

Posted by: Georgia Girl at January 14, 2006 08:25 PM (M2L+3)

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So this is what it's come to, huh? I swear I don't know how Alito puts up with this crap. Wouldn't it be great if he stood up and said to fat Ted "Uh, excuse me Senator Kennedy, I understand that your father was an anti-Semite who supported the Nazis. Would you care to justify to me why I shouldn't assume that you're a jew-hater?"

An editorial in today's OpinionJournal.com sums it up best:

It's a sign of how little Democrats have on Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito that on Day Three of his confirmation hearings they were still pounding away on his membership in an obscure Princeton alumni group that flowered briefly at the judge's alma mater. They can't touch him on credentials or his mastery of jurisprudence, so they're trying to get him on guilt by ancient association.

Senators Ted Kennedy and Chuck Schumer did their best yesterday to imply that Judge Alito was racist and sexist by linking the nominee with the views of some members of Concerned Alumni of Princeton, which back in the 1970s and 1980s took issue with university policies on coeducation and affirmative action. The questioning was mean enough that Judge Alito's wife left the hearing room after GOP Senator Lindsey Graham apologized for the comments of his fellow Senators. "Are you really a closet bigot?" Mr. Graham asked the nominee. "No, sir, you're not."

Democrats don't realize it, but by engaging in these underhanded and uncalled-for tactics they're just lowering the bar of their own credibility. If Bush gets to make another Supreme Court appointment in the next three years, it'll be an even harder task for them to try and derail it.

And while I've often taken issue with Sen. Graham, I have to commend him for defense of Sam Alito and his heartfelt apology for the reprehensible behavior of his colleagues on the Committee. There are as many as eight other Senators that owe Alito and his wife an apology. Don't hold your breath waiting for it, though.

UPDATE: From ScotusBlog's Liveblogging report: At 9am -

Specter reconvenes the hearings. Specter reports that in going through boxes of CAP's founder's personal papers, no files, letters, or cancelled checks for Prospect magazine were found with Alito's name on them. No meeting minutes from 1983-84 have Alito's name. The CAP founder has no recollection of Samuel Alito and did not believe Alito was heavily involved in the organization, if at all.

UPDATE II: Michelle Malkin reprints comments about Alito's wife posted on Kos' site by some lower life forms masquerading as human beings. Some examples: "She should go f*** herself" and "What a phony, fraudulent, sheltered twit."

How sad to be so twisted and bitter.

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1 #1) the sins of my father are NOT my sins #2) obscure? HE listed it when applying for a job with reagan #3) he knew he was going to be grilled. EVERYONE who is going for the position is.

Posted by: a rose is a rose at January 12, 2006 09:50 AM (76+ro)

2 i forgot to add, i DO enjoy your writing and it's always good to see another point of view.

Posted by: a rose is a rose at January 12, 2006 09:56 AM (76+ro)

3 One of the guys who rides the train with me was so sarcastic about Alito's wife crying. He was saying stuff like, "Oh boo hoo, poor baby." Let me tell you, if that had been the wife of a judge appointed by a Democrat, his tune would have been much different. I agree it must be difficult to sit and listen on live TV while idjits like Schumer and Kennedy try to smear your husband's character instead of asking pertinent questions. The comments on Kos' site are even worse.

Posted by: Pam at January 12, 2006 11:47 AM (rx9LD)

4 The Left-wing kooks with be the ones crying for the next thirty years.

Posted by: Gary at January 12, 2006 11:59 AM (PLHs9)

5 Can't we just toss Kennedy a bottle of Chivas and be done with him already? Hasn't he outlived his usefulness? Wait, was he ever useful?

Posted by: GroovyVic at January 12, 2006 03:14 PM (C0Cfh)

6 Tailspin Teddy is very useful...in helping Republicans get elected. If the people of MA want to keep voting for this incoherent old fool to represent them, that's their choice. If the Democrat party wants to hold him up as an example of what they stand for, it's better advertising for the GOP than they could ever hope to buy.

Posted by: Gary at January 12, 2006 03:36 PM (QoxB+)

7 #1) the sins of my father are NOT my sins That's the point, rose is a rose. The sins of some other guy who happened to write for a college club's newsletter years after Alito was a member are not his sins. Joseph McCarthy is alive and well and living in the U.S. Senate -- with a "D" before his name. #2) obscure? HE listed it when applying for a job with reagan That would have been on a form that asks you to list any organizations or clubs that you have ever been a member of. Whether it's the NRA, ACLU or the Birch Beer Society, he'll list it. #3) he knew he was going to be grilled. EVERYONE who is going for the position is. Getting grilled and getting smeared are two different things. Kennedy's performance, in particular, has plumbed the depths of incivility, wanton mudslinging and character assasination for purely political motivations. Disgusting.

Posted by: Tuning Spork at January 12, 2006 09:43 PM (MlTWc)

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Having read many of the opening statements from Monday and having watching much of the questioning by Democrat Committee members, it's clear that they haven't brought their A-game. Schumer was combative and Durbin certainly did his best to earn his nickname - "Dick". But that's about it so far.

All in all I don't sense a real aggressive approach on their part in these hearings. John McIntyre at The RCP Blog concurs:

Barring a change of tactics that would have to come soon, it looks like Democrats are giving Alito a pass. I still wouldnÂ’t rule out the possibility of a filibuster, but one would think that if the Democrats' plan was to filibuster, they would be making a more aggressive attempt to paint Alito as out of the mainstream with the hope of peeling away a few moderate Republicans and stiffening the spines of conservative Democrats.

What is interesting is when you look at the liberal blogs and what they are talking about, the energy is clearly not on Alito, and that should tell you a lot. I think the left-wing blogosphere is coalescing around the idea Bush and the Republicans are toast based on Abramoff, Iraq and the PresidentÂ’s spying on the American people. They correctly have determined that Alito is a losing battle for them and they are moving on. And I wonder if that is what we are seeing with Senate Democrats as well.

Mark Levin comments on the Dem Senators:

Sam Alito will be confirmed. The only question is how much more damage the Democrats will inflict on themselves during the course of these hearings.

UPDATE: A.J. Strata pulls quotes from some KosKids. They're all pissed off because the media isn't piling on Lefty attacks against Alito. Of course the press would if they thought it would make a difference, but they at least have the sense to recognize how stupid the Dems look right now.

UPDATE II: Teddy's been hitting the Chivas (and the Liberal Groups have been no doubt hitting him). He's grasping at the Princeton think. Specter just smacked him down. I suspect there's no substance to this line of attack, but the fat Senator from MA just made sure the MSM got their highlight reel for this evening.

UPDATE III: To John McIntyre's earlier point about the Liberal blogs on Alito. I got an email from MoveOn.org today spurring me to action against the "corrupt Abramoff Republicans". But nary a single word about Alito, the hearings, the Supreme Court...zip, zero, nada.

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Finally, a study that makes sense. Sleep researchers have found that the our brains are so impaired by sleep intertia when we wake up that this state can be credibly compare to the effects of having stayed up all night or having a blood alcohol level of 0.08%.

I need to print this out and have the Mrs. read this. She's always busting my chops that it takes me so long to get out of bed in the morning.

Hey, when you go to sleep at night do you conk out as soon as your head hits the pillow? Of course not! Falling asleep is a gradual process. So why shouldn't waking up be thought of in the same way? It doesn't matter how much sleep I get, I can't just bound out of bed and start singing a happy tune like I'm in some musical. Can you? (and damn you if you can!)

Scientists now know it takes somewhere between one and twenty minutes to recover from the effects of sleep inertia. Next they need to figure out exactly how long this period is, and hence how long we need to fully wake up, says Derk-Jan Dijk, director of the Surrey Sleep Research Centre, UK. "That's the crucial point," he says.

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Drudge has it above the headline "Unstoppable?". It really illustrates the frustration of the Democrat Senators. The talking points and questions provided to them by PFAW, NARAL and other Left-wing interest groups are being casually batted away by Alito like so many annoying mosquitos.

Heh.

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Return of the King, Book Five, Chapter Nine is posted.

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Based on Captain Ed's observations, this is looking a lot like John Roberts: Part Deux.

BullDogPundit looks at yesterday's performance, and concludes that the Dems have a losing hand:

There's a saying trial lawyers have that goes something like this: "If you have the facts on your side, argue the facts. If you have the law on your side argue the law. If you haven neither, try to baffle them with bulls*it". Well, it seems pretty clear that since the Dems have neither of the first two on their side in the Alito hearings, they're opting for the latter.

Certainly overconfidence wouldn't be prudent. But as Dan Balz writes in the WaPo this morning, while activists are riveted the average Joe isn't paying any attention anyway.

LiveBlogging of the hearings here and here.

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For those of you youngsters who aspire to go to J-school so you can "change the world", I've got a hot tip for you.

Mr. Right got his hands on a final exam from a prestigious program at a famous college - with the answers! Go check it out here and prepare yourself for the require "perspective".

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It seems that according to the search engine Mamma.com, I'm number 17 on a search for "jamie bamber captain adama naked". I know a certain Georgia Girl I can thank for that one.

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1 Well, Gary, if you hadn't had that TACKY post about the woman who paints with her breasts, which led to the "NAKED" mannequin lover, this wouldn't have happened to you. Besides, my posts and requests for Apollo in a towel never mentioned the word "naked." At least, not until now...

Posted by: Georgi Girl at January 09, 2006 09:07 PM (M2L+3)

2 That's Georgia with an "a" on the end there. Got too excited. Usually I don't make typos, unlike someone else I know...

Posted by: Georgia Girl at January 09, 2006 09:09 PM (M2L+3)

3 ...And, btw, why were you searching on mamma.com for "jamie bamber captain adama naked"??? Perv!

Posted by: Georgia Girl at January 09, 2006 09:10 PM (M2L+3)

4 I didn't do that search, some other perv did. It was a referring URL on my sitemeter listing. And I have the word "naked" embedded on this site so many times, that doesn't surprise me. I'm sure I've typed "Melissa Theuriau Naked" at least once.

Posted by: Gary at January 09, 2006 11:14 PM (krYna)

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This week, the RINOs are Raging over at The Unabrewer!

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With a statement from Judge Samuel Alito:

A judge canÂ’t have any agenda, a judge canÂ’t have any preferred outcome in any particular case and a judge certainly doesnÂ’t have a client.

The judge’s only obligation — and it’s a solemn obligation — is to the rule of law. And what that means is that in every single case, the judge has to do what the law requires.

Defining "constitutional" is simple. You ask the question, "Is it in the Constitution?" You don't ask "Is it in the Constitution's subtext?" or "Can you find it in the Constitution if you read between the lines?".

A Justice Alito will ask the first question and stop there. Which is why we need him on the Court.

Q&A starts tomorrow morning. 9am.

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Over at SCOTUSBlog.com. Good stuff.

See also Michelle Malkin.

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Character assassination Alito hearings scheduled to begin this morning at 11:30am. C-SPAN will provide live coverage.

The President is taking the high road. Is his team prepared? We shall see.

UPDATE: 12:15pm - the next three hours will be the opening statements of the committee members, ten minutes each. 100 minutes will be the Republicans and 80 minutes will be the opening salvos from the likes of Chucky Schumer, Teddy Kennedy, Joe Biden and Pat "Leaky" Leahy. Expect Arlen Spector and maybe even Mike DeWine on the GOP side to be low-key in their support, saying they're taking a "wait and see" posture.

But the tone of the Democrat statements will lay the foundation for the smear campaign that will hit the airwaves this week.

If I can find a site that has a good round-up of "notable quotes", I'll be sure to link it.

UPDATE II: Excellent song parody about the Democrat Committee members and their puppet-masters on the Left (to the tune of "The Lonely Goatherd" from The Sound of Music. Check it out here.

Thanks to NRO's "Bench Memos" for the heads-up.

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Return of the King, Book Five, Chapter Eight is posted.

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The Boston Globe calls him the "worst choice".

The GOP is preparing for the smear campaign that launched this morning on the Sunday shows. Follow the Human Events site, AlitoBlog.com for the latest.

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UPDATE: Hoo boy-howdy. That really sucked. Fortunately I was spared from watching this fiasco on tape because I checked the end on WFAN. Disappointed? Hell yes. But I've been a Giants fan for more than twenty-five years. I have had moments of elation and periods of misery. But one important lesson I've learned: the importance of "getting over it." The Giants should be proud of what they accomplished this season.

It's unfortunate that their season had to end in their own stadium on such a sour note. But the season was pretty much over as far as I was concerned. It's time the boys got some well earned rest. Time to re-tool the linebacking corp and the secondary. We have a draft to plan for.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Well, the Giants played it close than I would have liked last week. The Raiders were not about to lay down and gave New York a competitive game. But in the end the Giants did what they had to do.

As I've said before, at this point in the season my expectations going in have been exceeded. But reality is a bitch. The Giants just aren't good enough to go all the way. I think being at home, the Giants have a better than 50/50 chance today. Despite the injuries on defense, I think they can hold their own. But while Coach Coughlin may be tempted to air it out today, they should learn a lesson from a couple of weeks ago when Dallas beat the Panthers on the ground. If the offensive line can just keep the false starts to a minimum, Tiki Barber can get 30+ touches this afternoon. If he does, he will wear out Carolina's defense and the Giants will win.

New York needs to avoid turnovers at all costs. If they give the Panthers the opportunity, Carolina will make the most of it.

There are about twenty some-odd players who've never experienced a playoff game. It would experience for them to have at least one win under their belt heading into next season.

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Okay, so Tom DeLay did his party a favor by stepping down. Had he stayed, the ranks of the membership would have split throughout the year, second guessing every vote instead of focusing on getting things done. Naturally, as Liberals and Democrats manage to stay one step behind political events, the Lefty fever swamp is all a buzz about how wonderful this is. In fact, I'm willing to put money down that they'll overreach yet again and, not being satisfied with DeLay losing his leadership post, they'll be screaming for him to resign his house seat. They'll think they've won something big here. Actually, what it does is it takes away a GOP whipping boy to demonize. In the coming election year, they're going to find themselves missing "the Hammer".

Shortly after the 1998 election, the party decided that having Newt Gingrich continue as the Majority Leader was not helping, so after a lot of internal pressure, Gingrich stepped down and Denny Hastert picked up the gavel. The result: the Democrats lost a target to lob their attacks against. Hastert's integrity was beyond approach.

Today, the GOP has a similar opportunity. And in the uncertainty of the Abramoff case - which will taint all of Congress, across party lines - they need to put forth a Majority Leader whose career isn't synonymous with the lobbying corruption of "K Street" and take the higher ground away from Democrats, who will try to claim it for themselves.

Red State makes the case for Mike Pence.

At a time when Democrats are trying to paint Republicans as unethical greedy crooks in the pockets of Jack Abramoff and his ilk, Republicans in Congress should look to one who is willing to work for the party, but who is not willing to give up the fight for the conservative base. Republicans need to start looking for a "do as I do" Republican and not continue on with hypocrits of power.

Right now the House Republicans need Mike Pence. He's done wonders revitalizing the Republican Study Committee. It has become an effective organization. There are others there like Jeb Hensarling, who can keep it going. There are not many in the Republican ranks who can revitalize Republican leadership in the House as a whole. Mike Pence can and Mike Pence should be given the opportunity.

Stay tuned.

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Our innaugural 80's crush is Erin Gray.

Birth Name: Same
Birth Date: 1/7/50
Age Today: 56 (Happy Birthday!)
Birthplace: Honolulu, HI

80's Crush because: She was "out of this world" from 1979-1981 as sexy satin flight-suit wearing space pilot Col. Wilma Deering in the TV show "Buck Rogers in the 25th Century". Boy, did I want to settle into her cockpit.

Other notable roles: Kate Stratton in "Silver Spoons" which, ironically, I never watched because I couldn't stand that little bastard Ricky Schroder.

Most recent media appearance: Some film called "Meat Pie". Hmmm.

Distinguishing Feature: Killer Smile - with dimples.

Interesting Factoid: Erin started her career as a model featured in commercials for Breck, Clairol and Camay Soap.

Career moment she'd probably like to forget: Being the victim of an "energy vampire" in one of the cheesiest episodes of "Buck Rogers" ever.

Crush Meter: 8 out of 10

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1 Yeah, what about Diane? I was getting used to her. We decided to do a Dog of the Week (since this is the Chinese Year of the Dog), but you have us beat by a country mile.

Posted by: bird dog at January 07, 2006 09:23 AM (ywZa8)

2 Buck Rogers ... now there was a quality sci-fi series! What was that midget robot's name, Blinky or something like that?

Posted by: rightwingprof at January 07, 2006 01:35 PM (hj1Wx)

3 Erin's most recent media appearance might be the recent "I Love the 80's: 3D" series on VH1. She was one of the comment people in the 1987 or 1988 show. She still looked quite good. Although not as good as Linda Carter of Wonder Woman fame. I'm waiting for that one, Gary!

Posted by: .....Dan at January 07, 2006 06:36 PM (1RIcI)

4 Good choice for starting off the new year, blogfather! :wink: Erin Gray as Wilma Deering....I remember the fantasizing, like...it was 25 years ago! Uh oh...geek moment coming up: "Far beyond the world I've known, Far beyond my time What am I, who am I, what will I be? Where am I going, and what will I see? Searching my mind for some truth to reveal What parts are fantasy, what memories real? Long before this life of mine, Long before this time What was there, who cared to make it begin? Is it forever, or will it all end? Searching my past for things that I've seen Is it my life, or something I've dreamed? Far beyond this world I've known, Far beyond my time What kind of world am I going to find? Will it be real, or just all in my mind? What am I, who am I, what will I be? Where am I going, and what will I see?"

Posted by: Wordsmith at January 08, 2006 12:16 AM (nrGCx)

5 Erin Grey as Deering was OK, but Pamela Hensley as Ardala was the most memorable "crush" from the late 70s/early 80s for me.

Posted by: JohnL at January 10, 2006 12:33 AM (dYzx6)

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Return of the King, Book Five, Chapter Seven is posted.

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Here's a site where the guy makes a well-thought out and convincing argument that the "Federation" in the Star Trek universe (TNG and after) is essentially totalitarian in nature.

As Mr. Spock would say, "Fascinating".

Note: I'm angry at myself because when I stumbled upon it I had bookmarked it for reading later and forgot to note the referring source. If it's you, please leave a comment and I'll be sure to credit you! Apologies in advance.

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