New Book: Joy of Cooking 75th Anniversary Edition

'Tis the season for lots of wonderful book releases!

As first reported here last March, there is a new 75th Anniversary Edition of THE JOY OF COOKING, which is being released today.

I haven't yet looked the book over myself. The New York Times traces JOY's history and compares editions, asking "Does the world need another JOY? Do you?"

For more on the history of JOY OF COOKING, I recommend STAND FACING THE STOVE: THE STORY OF THE WOMEN WHO GAVE AMERICA THE JOY OF COOKING by Anne Mendelson.

Today the Times also ran a fun article on hard-to-find classic cookbooks. (Who knew Johnny Mathis wrote COOKING FOR YOU, ALONE?)

Kerry Pulled From the Campaign Trail

Free Republic has a thread up that Fox News Channel has announced John Kerry will not be making his scheduled campaign appearances on Wednesday, November 1st.

And Bruce Braley, a Democrat candidate in Iowa, has cancelled Thursday's scheduled appearance with Kerry.

I especially enjoyed Alan Colmes tonight on HANNITY AND COLMES, endlessly insisting that Kerry didn't say what he said. He was neatly slapped down by Michael Barone: "The words say what they said." Indeed.

Barone also said that this incident will energize the Republican base.

John Kerry, the gift that keeps on giving...

Update: Karen Tumulty of Time Magazine on "John Kerry, Still One Step Behind."

More on Wednesday's cancelled Kerry appearance in Mankato, MN.

Positive Jedi Predictions

As longtime readers of TKS (aka The Kerry Spot) know, Jim Geraghty has two anonymous confidantes he's nicknamed Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon. Each of these men has longtime experience in politics...and both predict Republicans will maintain control of both the House and the Senate.

Geraghty also wonders today if TKS should return to being called The Kerry Spot.

The most unintentionally funny line of the day may have been Kerry calling dear Tony Snow a "stuffed shirt"...does he know Tony is in a rock band? :)

President Bush: Kerry "Insulting, Shameful"

Strong words from President Bush today, in response to Senator Kerry:

"The Senator’s suggestion that the men and women of our military are somehow uneducated is insulting and shameful. Our troops did not enlist because they did not study hard in school or do their homework. The men and women who serve in our all-volunteer Armed Forces are plenty smart and are serving because they are patriots – and Senator Kerry owes them an apology."

Thank you, President Bush.

New Book: Walt Disney Biography

Neil Gabler's new biography, WALT DISNEY: THE TRIUMPH OF THE AMERICAN IMAGINATION is receiving rave reviews.

USA TODAY calls it "masterful" while THE WASHINGTON TIMES says the book is "magnificent."

Holy Coast has some interesting quotes from a John Fund piece in the Wall Street Journal about the book's depiction of Walt Disney's political conservatism. (Fund's original article is accessible by subscription only.)

WALT DISNEY: THE TRIUMPH OF THE AMERICAN IMAGINATION is being released today.

John Kerry: A Petulant Child

John Kerry's press conference this morning, ongoing as I write, is sickening, there's simply no other word for it. Kerry is blaming the White House for "distorting" his remarks about our not-so-smart military and responding with nothing less than a full-blown hissy fit at Republicans. He says that Republican outrage is "textbook Republican campaign tactics." No, I'd say the "blame the other guy" response is textbook Democrat campaign tactics.

You know, I am sick and tired of Democrats like John Kerry, aided and abetted by the media, who play these kinds of games, calling Republicans "bullies." Kerry screws up, and instead of being a stand-up guy, owning up to it and apologizing to the troops, he apologizes for nothing, blames the other guy, and basically stomps his feet and carries on like a petulant child.

The other day I read a satirical post somewhere on the Internet suggesting that Democrats would blame Republicans for what Harold Ford said about Christian Republicans not loving the Lord. Kerry's press conference lives up to that suggestion: "It's not my fault!"

And the media does its part by ignoring the story to the greatest extent possible. Kerry made his statement here in Southern California, but it was nowhere to be found in the morning's Los Angeles Times. They finally covered it by running an AP story when Tony Snow criticized Kerry.

Thank you, Senator Kerry, for reminding voters everywhere exactly what Democrats do and don't stand for.

Michelle Malkin (subject link) has regular updates.

Update: Robert Novak accurately dubbed Kerry's press conference demeanor "almost hysterical" and suggested he seriously damaged any remaining Presidential prospects.

Will Kerry's late-breaking faux pas damage Democrat hopes at the polls next week? A correspondent to The Corner says that "Somewhere [DNC strategist] Rahm Emanuel is throwing a Blackberry against a wall..."

John Kerry Disses the Troops

John Kerry was campaigning in California today and was caught on tape saying, in so many words, that those serving in the U.S. military are uneducated, stupid rubes.

Kerry's statement at Pasadena City College: "You know, education, if you make the most of it, if you study hard and do your homework, and you make an effort to be smart, uh, you can do well. If you don't, you get stuck in Iraq."

More from Michelle Malkin.

And to think this man might have been Commander in Chief.

The End of the Ford Campaign?

Oh, my.

I believe today Harold Ford Jr. may have sealed his loss in the race for the Tennessee Senate with this amazing pronouncement, quoting his campaign chair:

"There’s one big difference between us and misfortunate Republicans when it comes to our faith: he said that Republicans fear the Lord; he said Democrats fear AND love the Lord."

Power Line (linked above) has YouTube video. (Hat tip: Hugh Hewitt.)

I can't imagine Tennessee Christians of any party would feel comfortable with this insult to the faith of Republican Christians. (Not to mention the insult to the ears of such poor grammar. "Misfortunate"?)

Glenn Reynolds: "If a Republican said something like that about Democrats, it would be a national scandal."

Stop the ACLU has YouTube video of Bob Corker's response, suggesting that those of all parties will find Ford's statement of concern.

Earlier Sunday, Hugh Hewitt's co-blogger Dean Barnett said of Ford's appearance on Fox News Sunday: "Ford looked haggard and angry. He gave off the unmistakable whiff of a candidate who has been bludgeoned with unfavorable internals the last several days. He also looked like he hadn’t slept since July."

I watched a little of the interview before fast-forwarding to the panel discussion, and I think the description is apt.

While we're on the topic of Ford, here's Jeff Jacoby on the attempt to play the "race card" complaining about last week's Ford ad.

Inclusivity Equals Excluding Christianity

On the heels of the story about Georgetown University banning several Christian fellowship groups from campus comes word that the historic College of William and Mary, our nation's second university, has removed the cross from its chapel in the name of "inclusivity."

This isn't about "inclusivity," this is about excluding Christianity and its most sacred symbols.

Studio 60 on the Way Out?

STUDIO 60 ON THE SUNSET STRIP will not air Monday evening. NBC has pulled the scheduled rerun in favor of an episode of FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS.

Roger Friedman of Fox News (subject link) says cancellation is imminent.

The Latest on Tony Snow

A lot has been written about White House Press Secretary Tony Snow in recent months, but this New York Times Magazine profile is worth taking the time to read. Very enjoyable.

2007 Postage Stamps to Honor Stewart, Fitzgerald

The U.S. Postal Service has announced its lineup of stamps for 2007. Among those featured will be James Stewart (the 13th actor to be honored in the "Legends of Hollywood" series) and Ella Fitzgerald. Scroll down at the subject link to see the artwork for each stamp.

Striking stamps honoring Longfellow (with Paul Revere riding in the background) and the Settlement of Jamestown (an unusual triangular design) are among the other stamps we can look forward to next year.

(Hat tip: Missyisms.)

If you're an early shopper, Christmas stamps are already available at the post office! This year's new designs are the Madonna and Child and snowflakes. My local post office tends to run out of these as Christmas nears, so I like to stock up as soon as they're released.

Go, Lynne, Go!

I heard Lynne Cheney's interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer on the radio this afternoon. She is a wonderfully forthright lady who is nobody's fool.

Hugh Hewitt describes how Mrs. Cheney turned the tables when Blitzer attempted to sandbag her, avoiding the topic -- her new book -- which she was invited to discuss. Mrs. Cheney, a veteran of CROSSFIRE, had no difficulty at all rebutting Blitzer's points and serving a few right back at him. Hugh also has the transcript of the entire interview.

I was delighted to hear Mrs. Cheney take on Blitzer about CNN airing a terrorist propaganda tape of an American soldier being shot. Within a matter of a minute or so Blitzer contradicted himself, asserting first that the tape was not propaganda, and later in the interview that it was.

Blitzer clearly had no firm case to stand on for CNN having aired the tape -- and no firm case for the charges he made that Mrs. Cheney's book equated with the writing of Jim Webb. Hardly surprising that Blitzer actually confronted Mrs. Cheney with unresearched Democratic talking points. (What might be surprising is that he actually admitted he was using them to question her.) Mrs. Cheney's response, in part: "Wolf, I have nothing to explain. Jim Webb has a lot to explain."

I've admired Lynne Cheney since long before she become our nation's second lady, and I continue to be impressed; she is both articulate and dignified.

Mrs. Cheney's new book, OUR 50 STATES, is already winging its way to us from Amazon.

Tuba Player Was Part of Pop Culture History

If you're not a musician you may not be familiar with the name Tommy Johnson, but you certainly know his work.

Johnson, who passed away on October 16th, was the tuba player who played those ominous "shark" notes in the JAWS theme composed by John Williams.

A musical tribute to Johnson will be held on December 3rd in Bovard Auditorium at USC.

Georgetown University Bans Christian Fellowship

Brit Hume alluded to this strange story on Special Report today...Georgetown University, having accepted $20 million to promote Islam on campus, has also banned several Christian fellowship groups from the campus, notably InterVarsity Christian Fellowship.

My daughter participates in InterVarsity Christian Fellowship at her university, and I can't fathom why a Christian university would ban this group, which welcomes Protestants and Catholics alike. The ban is all the more strange when the university is so accepting of Islam. The InterVarsity students are continuing to hold Bible studies and other meetings "behind closed doors."

More is at Christianity Today, and an older story that provides background information is at NRO's Phi Beta Cons.

Patterico, The L.A. Times, and "That" Ford Ad

Patterico has devastating analysis of the L.A. Times' one-sided coverage of the Harold Ford ad controversy.

As an aside, the more complaints I hear that the Ford ad is "racist" -- tonight on TV it was Pat Caddell, who is on my short list of Democrat politicos I respect -- the more disturbed I become. The complaints either seem to come from political types who are bent on stirring up trouble any way they can, or political analysts of a "certain age" who don't seem to understand that the world has changed.

The Washington establishment types look down their noses and automatically assume most voters are such racist "hicks" that they can be "baited" to vote a certain way by an allusion to interracial dating. That kind of implied slam doesn't say a whole lot for those who would make that argument.

Tonight's Dinner: Beef Bourguignon

I haven't done a cooking post in a while, and tonight we had an excellent meal from a crockpot recipe I came across on the web. The recipe is linked above.

I modified the recipe somewhat; I used 2 pounds of beef instead of 3, and I thought an entire pound of bacon was overkill and cut that amount in half. Conversely, I doubled the amount of carrots.

The meal requires a bit of effort at the stove, prior to loading up the crockpot, but it was well worth it.

With the bacon in the recipe, this is a meal you'll probably want to save as an occasional treat rather than as a staple of your diet (grin), but it made a very nice change of pace. The stew had great flavor and was extremely tender.

Along with the stew I tried Nigella Lawson's sticky garlic potatoes from her book FEAST. Heavenly!

FEAST has to be one of the most beautiful cookbooks ever published. The photographs are remarkable, and Lawson's droll writing style is most enjoyable. I've been meaning to try making a cake from her "Chocolate Cake Hall of Fame" forever...hopefully I'll get to it by year's end.

New Book: Our 50 States

Lynne Cheney has written a new book, OUR 50 STATES, illustrated by Robin Preiss Glasser. The Amazon description sounds like it will be as much fun as Cheney and Glasser's two previous books, AMERICA: A PATRIOTIC PRIMER and A IS FOR ABIGAIL.

OUR 50 STATES will be under our Christmas tree for our 8-year-old this year. Fortunately he's not yet old enough to read this blog, grin.

My favorite of Cheney's books is WHEN WASHINGTON CROSSED THE DELAWARE, beautifully illustrated by Peter Fiore. We lingered over each page, carefully studying the details in each picture. If you're not yet acquainted with this book, I highly recommend it.

Aren't We Over That Kind of Thinking Already?

I'm trying to figure out how anyone can state with a straight face that the new Harold Ford ad is racist. The YouTube link to the ad is above.

The commercial, which is quite amusing, pokes fun -- among other things -- of Ford's attending a Playboy party last year, which certainly seems to me to be fair game for voters wishing to assess Ford's moral character.

Now the NAACP and others are coming out of the woodwork crying "racism" because the ad ends with a white woman, who says she met Ford at the party, asking Ford to call her. This supposedly "plays to pre-existing prejudices about African-American men and white women" and is "a very serious appeal to a racist sentiment."

What pre-existing prejudices? How does this appeal to racism? I thought our country was so past that kind of thinking.

We live in an era when the most popular program on television is populated by diverse characters who include a black/Asian couple and a black/white couple. And it's just...normal. Not even commented upon, that I can recall. They're people. Which is as it should be. And which is how the Ford ad should be viewed.

I suspect this is only an "issue" in the eyes of politicians who want to make it an issue; it causes me to wonder uncomfortably if the politicians or NAACP members may have some racist feelings deep down themselves, if that's what automatically pops into their heads when they watch the ad.

I suspect the Republican candidate who has made a negative comment about the ad has been pushed to do so by political correctness, as Ford is obviously going to try to use the commercial as some sort of racial wedge to divide voters.

On the other hand, we've also got YouTube video of Ford's father possibly calling pro-life demonstrators "crackers." (There is some dispute over whether he may have said "trackers.") Isn't that racist? Hmmmm.

Main Stream Media Time vs. Blog Time

John Podhoretz compares the different ways the MSM and the blogosphere are seeing the last couple weeks before the election develop.

He particularly notes that "At some point last week, Republicans and conservatives on Blog Time began to cheer up, and Democrats and liberals on Blog Time began to worry."

Interesting...

Many of the polls are now trending positive for Republicans, such as this one.

George Allen is pulling ahead in the Virginia polls, despite (because of?) the Washington Post's relentless and unseemly campaign against him, totaling over 100 articles or editorials alleging he's racist in a little over two months.

Rush Limbaugh has mentioned his theory this week that as the election nears, the MSM is pulling back from its "push the electorate" polls to results that are closer to reality, so that they won't look completely partisan come election day if they don't receive the hoped-for results.

My husband has for years called this kind of moment "The Donaldson Line"; I don't know offhand if he coined that phrase or borrowed it, but it refers to the time when even someone like Sam Donaldson has to broadcast reality and quit pushing the agenda, or risk being caught completely flat-footed by actual events.

Dick Morris, who until recently has been quite gloomy, is now calling the overall race for control of Congress a toss-up. The respected Michael Barone, however, still forecasts a marginal win of the House by the Democrats. And Jim Geraghty waits and wonders.

And in an aside about the media, isn't it interesting that over the last two weeks Time and Newsweek have run fawning cover stories on Barack Obama ("The Next President") and Harold Ford, Jr. ("Not Your Daddy's Democrats"). Would have been awfully nice if the news magazines could have found the time, this close to the election, to also spotlight a prominent black Republican political candidate, such as Michael Steele or Ken Blackwell. Not that I'm for racial quotas...but when Time is running "Republican" covers such as a recent cover photo of an elephant's rear end, well, they obviously could be more "fair and balanced."