Democrats Stick It To Themselves

Democratic aides were bizarrely instructed that it would be wise to obtain immunizations before making a Homeland Security related visit to Lowe's Motor Speedway in North Carolina.

It was recommended the aides receive more shots than are required for a visit to the Congo!

This funny video sums it up.

As Redstate notes, this is a great example of the Democrats defining themselves.

In actual NASCAR news, the great Dale Jarrett has announced his semi-retirement.

In actuality, Jarrett has been semi-retired this year, as the Michael Waltrip team's Toyotas have had trouble qualifying for races.

Jarrett -- a three-time Daytona winner and the 1999 season champion -- is expected to move into the broadcast booth.

Today at Disneyland: More Halloween Time 2007

We made a brief visit to Disneyland this evening, as our college daughter is home for the weekend. The park was insanely crowded with others who had come out on a Friday night to enjoy all the decorations.

We didn't do much more than eat dinner and take a ride on Snow White, but I did manage to snap a couple of photos.

The cheery entrance to Woody's Halloween Roundup in Frontierland:


Another holiday-themed sign:


The back of the Sleeping Beauty Castle looked appropriately spooky for Halloween:


Photos from our trip of two weeks ago are here. At that link you can also find links to photos I took during Halloween Time 2006.

Rush Auctions Democrat Smear Letter For Marine Charity

This is too delicious...Rush Limbaugh has obtained the letter to Clear Channel signed by Harry Reid and 40 other Democrat Senators charging that he doesn't support the troops.

Rush is auctioning off the letter on eBay to raise funds for the Marine Corps - Law Enforcement Foundation, which provides assistance to the children of fallen Marines and law enforcement officers. Rush serves on the Foundation's board.

The letter will arrive secured in a Halliburton briefcase. :)

This is too, too funny, and what a wonderful way to turn the phony charges of Harry Reid and Move On to good use.

Rush is challenging Harry Reid to match the amount raised by the auction and donate it to the Foundation.

October 18th: An update to this story has been posted today.

Coming To DVD: The Waltons, Season 6

Season 6 of one of my all-time favorite series, THE WALTONS, comes to DVD on January 8th. Here's a look at the beautiful cover art.

I loved the depiction of the WWII years later in the series. This season includes "The Children's Carol," in which children who are refugees of the London Blitz come to stay with the Baldwin Sisters.

As the box shows, this was also the season when Mary Ellen and Curt became the parents of John Curtis.

THE WALTONS ran 9 seasons, and there was also a "10th season" which consisted of three two-hour TV-movies which I would love to see on DVD. Hopefully the 1980 special A DECADE OF THE WALTONS will be in one of the later DVD sets as well.

As for the 1990s "reunion movies," which erased characters and logical timelines...we'll pretend those didn't exist!

Historic Los Angeles: Angels Flight

An interesting website, Los Angeles in the 1900s, has a fascinating series of old photos of the Angels Flight cable cars at Bunker Hill.

An index of other things which can be found at Los Angeles in the 1900s is here. If you're interested in Southern California history, you'll want to check out this site. The proprietor is George Garrigues.

(Hat tip: L.A. Observed.)

New Book: America's Best Lost Recipes

USA Today has the story on the newest book from the folks at America's Test Kitchen and Cook's Illustrated: AMERICA'S BEST LOST RECIPES: MORE THAN 150 HEIRLOOM RECIPES TOO GOOD TO FORGET.

My favorite cookbooks include this group's THE BEST RECIPE, THE COMPLETE BOOK OF CHICKEN, and especially THE AMERICA'S TEST KITCHEN FAMILY COOKBOOK, so I'm looking forward to learning more about their latest title.

Rohrabacher Presses for Berger Polygraph

As part of his plea bargain, Sandy Berger -- who infamously stole and destroyed highly classified documents from the National Archives -- was supposed to submit to a polygraph exam.

The Justice Department has inexplicably refused to administer the exam. As noted by National Review, the Justice Department's light treatment of the Berger case has been strange from the outset.

Rep. Dana Rohrabacher -- who was my Representative for many years until redistricting -- has written the Justice Department asking that the polygraph exam go forward. 22 members of Congress also signed the letter.

Instead of fulfilling his legal obligations, Berger is now advising Mrs. Clinton, as mentioned here last month.

One has to wonder: Does Mrs. Clinton feel she owes Berger a position in order to keep him quiet about what he destroyed?

The Clinton campaign, it should be noted, claims Berger has "no official position." However, they skirt around confirming that he's unofficially advising her.

The strange thing is that so many Americans, including those in the media, are willing to give Mrs. Clinton a free pass despite her sordid connections and unsavory past activities.

Barbara Olson's THE FINAL DAYS continues to make the case against Hillary, six years after its publication. If you've not yet read it, it's an eye-opening "must read."

Hillary: We Can't Afford Her

Hillary's own words: "I have a million ideas. The country can't afford them all."

But there's no doubt that Mrs. Clinton, paired with a Democrat Congress, would attempt to make taxpayers pay for as many of her ideas as possible. Her vision of desirable government is one which provides cradle-to-grave care, whether it's $5000 baby bonds, matching 401(k) plans for certain constituencies, or universal healthcare.

There should be two stark visions of America to choose from in 2008: one which envisions a Socialist Utopia and looks the other way on threats to our nation, and one which envisions the priority as protecting our nation so free people can live our lives relatively unfettered by the government snatching our hard-earned money and nannying us to death.

Unfortunately, even Republicans are too often intoxicated by governmental power. Hopefully the Republican candidate will stand for conservative ideals and clearly articulate them as he opposes the Democrat candidate.

Canada Outsourcing High-Risk Deliveries To U.S.

Canada's socialized health system lacks the equipment and staff to handle all of the high-risk pregnancies and premature infants that need care, so mothers are instead being sent to hospitals in Washington State.

Obstetrical care is already hard to come by in some areas of the U.S. because of the high costs of malpractice insurance. Do we really want to make things even worse with a socialized medical system?

Under a socialized medicine system, where would the U.S. then send its high-risk pregnancies? And Canada would certainly be out of luck, as the American "safety valve" for its socialized system would cease to exist. A member of the Cato Institute says one out of seven Canadian doctors sends a patient to the United States on an annual basis.

A video report by Fox News is available at the subject link.

"Meet My Friend Clarence"

Dr. Sowell on Justice Thomas...a good read.

In Thomas's younger, "radical" days, he once threw a Sowell book in the trash!

New on DVD: Little Women (1978)

Just a reminder for Alcott fans that today is the DVD release date for the 1978 TV production of LITTLE WOMEN.

Among this version's great pleasures are frequent '40s costars Dorothy McGuire and Robert Young as Marmee and Grandfather Lawrence, plus Greer Garson as Aunt March.

Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy are portrayed by Meredith Baxter-Birney, Susan Dey, Eve Plumb, and Ann Dusenberry, with Cliff Potts, Richard Gilliland, and William Shatner as John, Laurie, and Professor Bhaer.

Each of the excellent filmed versions of LITTLE WOMEN has interesting differences. One of the different slants in this version, as I recall, is that it focuses quite a bit on Jo's inner battles to contain her temper. At the time I first saw it, Jo's relationship with Professor Bhaer also seemed to be more romantic than in other productions.

The TV movie has a score by Elmer Bernstein, with costumes by Edith Head. It was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best TV Movie, and won the Emmy for Art Direction and Set Decoration.

My original post on this release is here.

Another Socialist Clinton Plan

Hillary Clinton is now proposing that Americans who make $60,000 or less per year receive $1000 in annual matching funds for 401(k) accounts from the U.S. government.

To pay for this, Clinton will tax estates valued over $7 million; Clinton says each estate would provide the matching funds for 5000 families.

That is a pretty clear transfer of assets from those who own the assets to those who aren't as well off -- all in the name of making U.S. citizens economically "equal." Clinton said her plan "would help narrow the gap between the rich and those who don't have enough savings for retirement."

She also said the plan "will begin to bring down this inequality that is eating away at our social contract."

Where in the Constitution -- the "contract" our government operates under -- is it authorized for Congress to decide who has too much money and who deserves more?

Clinton claims to have given up on the idea of giving every baby born in the U.S. $5000, but I take that with a grain of salt. What remains significant is that Hillary clearly considers it appropriate to take taxpayers' hard-earned money and give it away to other people's children.

The Republican candidate needs to hit these ideas hard. There are a significant number of Americans who only care "what's in it for me" and will be enthused about monetary handouts from a Democrat President and Congress, but I'd like to hope that most Americans still reject Socialism and believe in the right to own one's own property. Taxation in our country is already far out of control as it is, without these blatant attempts to grab money from one set of citizens in order to pass it out to others...and, in essence, buy votes.

The L.A. Times Hearts Hillary

I opened my morning Times to find that the day's biggest headline is "Clinton Winning Over the Skeptics."

The subheadline: "The demonized image fades when voters are reintroduced to her."

Says who?

Talk about opinion masquerading as news!

Curiously, the headline for the same article on the website reads slightly less like it was written by a member of the Hillary Fan Club: "How Clinton Has Built Her Lead." Apparently the headline has morphed over the course of the day (see below).

Patterico has analyzed the article in detail at Hot Air, so I'll leave further commentary on this topic in his capable hands.

Tonight's TV: Early Season Report Card

The DVR was working on overtime this weekend as I caught up with some of this season's new episodes.

GREY'S ANATOMY shows signs of reviving from the slump that hit it near the end of Season 3. However, if Meredith doesn't get some therapy and start to get over her family issues, the audience is going to lose patience with her. We want to see characters grow and mature, not remain trapped in misery.

Speaking of growing and maturing, my favorite character remains Alex, who started out as a self-centered womanizer looking to make big bucks, but has evolved into the go-to guy for difficult pediatric and obstetrical cases. More of this kind of positive character development is exactly what the show needs.

On the other hand, I really wouldn't be sorry if George left to repeat his internship somewhere else...yawn.

The show is at its best when it mixes romance and humor with the trauma dramas -- hopefully we'll be seeing more romance and humor and fewer trauma dramas this year.

PRIVATE PRACTICE, the GREY'S spinoff starring Kate Walsh, continues to be pretty dreadful, IMHO. Although last season's pilot was bad, I set the series to record in the hope it would be an improvement, as I love Kate Walsh's Dr. Addison Montgomery. However, the new show seems to have turned the super-smart and competent Addison into a nitwit -- even if she were looking to leave Seattle in a hurry, are we supposed to believe she'd take a new job having absolutely no idea what she'd be doing?

I scanned through much of the first PRIVATE PRACTICE, and as the patients dropped like flies and Addison morphed from a world-class surgeon into a goofball, I decided this was a show that needed to be dropped from my DVR list. If I hear that it improves, I'll catch up with it later.

BACK TO YOU, starring sitcom veterans Kelsey Grammer and Patricia Heaton, has happily proven to be a very good comedy, something which is in short supply on TV these days. The series isn't all the way there yet, but it's got a lot going for it and I anticipate it should develop into an excellent workplace comedy. There is a good balance between the lead characters needling each other (which could get old) and acting like human beings, and the supporting cast is solid.

My main complaint is that the news director played by Josh Gad is too reminiscent of MURPHY BROWN's Miles, with a little of FRASIER's Kenny thrown in on the side. I wish they'd been a little more creative with that character. Ayda Stevens is amusing as Montana, but they need to make sure she doesn't become a one-joke character.

The second episode had some laugh-out-loud funny moments, and this is a series I'll definitely be leaving in the DVR lineup. It's great to have Kelsey Grammer back on TV.

Kristol on Thomas: Read This Book

Bill Kristol writes at the Weekly Standard that Clarence Thomas's new book "is almost as important a contribution to his beloved country as his work as a Supreme Court justice."

At Real Clear Politics, Mona Charen reflects on how many in the media charge that the book is "bitter" and "angry." In the first place, as Charen notes, wouldn't it be strange if Thomas were not angry about the way he was treated in his infamous confirmation hearings?

More importantly, writes Charen, "...while there is anger in the book -- justifiable anger, one might argue -- there is also tenderness, vulnerability, brutal honesty and overflowing gratitude. None of the major reactions to the book seem to have noticed those things."

I've seen and heard several interviews with Justice Thomas over the last week, including Rush Limbaugh's extended interview last Monday, and I've been extremely impressed with the thoughtful way Justice Thomas has presented his life story. He strikes me as a very high-quality individual, to say the least.

Back to Bill Kristol and the conclusion of his review: "Thomas's memoir raises fundamental questions of love and responsibility, family and character. His book is a brief for the stern and vigorous virtues, but in a context of faith and love. It's a delightful book--you really can't put it down--but it's also a source of moral education for young Americans. It could be almost as important a contribution to his beloved country as Clarence Thomas's work as a Supreme Court justice. And it suggests one more contribution he could make. Thomas in 2012!"

Professor Pausch Visits the Pittsburgh Steelers

Last month I linked to a video of the inspirational "last lecture" by Carnegie Mellon's Randy Pausch, who is dying of pancreatic cancer.

Professor Pausch has just achieved another dream: working out with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

It's a lovely, though bittersweet, story.

My prayers are with Professor Pausch and his family.

The Latest on the South Carolina Terrorists

Don't miss Michelle Malkin's very interesting update. These guys seem scarier with each new revelation.

New Book: Thank You Power

TV's Deborah Norville has written a new book which sounds interesting: THANK YOU POWER: MAKING THE SCIENCE OF GRATITUDE WORK FOR YOU.

The premise of Norville's book, in a nutshell, is that people who appreciate the little things in life and focus on an optimistic outlook are happier and healthier. Makes sense to me. :)

Interviews with Norville have been published by USA Today and Newsweek.

Co-Founder of Harvey's Broiler Dies at 97

Minnie Ortner, who co-founded the Harvey's Broiler drive-in in Downey, has died at age 97.

Harvey's Broiler -- later known as Johnie's Broiler -- was famed as one of the finest examples of '50s space-age "Googie" architecture.

The building was illegally demolished last January. A criminal case is pending regarding the demolition.

Brooklyn to L.A., 50 Years Later

The great Vin Scully, who just completed his 58th season behind the microphone as a Dodgers announcer, reflects on the 50th anniversary of the Dodgers leaving Brooklyn for L.A.

More on the anniversary at the L.A. Times.