Byrd Does the Right Thing

I never thought I'd see the day when I believed Robert Byrd to be correct about anything:

"Last week, Byrd decried the highly partisan tone of Alito's confirmation hearing, held three weeks ago, saying 'something is wrong with our judicial nominations process, and we in the Senate have the power to fix it.'

The West Virginia lawmaker admonished his colleagues from the Senate floor, telling them their votes should be based on Alito's qualifications not their party affiliation."

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Lakers' Kobe Bryant not chasing 100-mark - Yahoo! News

"Kobe Bryant feels a bit sheepish about his sensational 81-point performance and says he is not caught up in a chase after Wilt Chamberlain's magical record mark of 100."

Uh....right.

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Iran Gets a Timeout

Well, its a start...

"The permanent five members of the U.N. Security Council agreed on Tuesday that this week's meeting of the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog should report Iran to the Council over its nuclear programs ***. "

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Mighty Sporting of Iran!

It sure is a big concession from Iran to let UN "inspectors" view a former atomic site:

"VIENNA (Reuters) -Iran has allowed U.N. nuclear inspectors to check equipment from a former military site in an apparent effort to avert a crackdown by the U.N. atomic watchdog (IAEA) this week, a senior diplomat said on Monday."

It's just like: "Don't look at the man behind the curtain!"

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Health Care Costs: Whose Fault Are They?

Rick Wagoner, Chairman of General Motors, stated recently that something needs to be done about health care costs in this country:

"HOUSTON (AP) -- American industry and the government will need to address how rising health care costs are hurting companies and the economy, General Motors Corp.'s chairman Rick Wagoner said on Friday.

'I want to be clear I'm not saying we expect the government to pick these expenses up,' Wagoner said at the Houston Auto Show a day after the world's No. 1 carmaker reported it lost $4.8 billion in the fourth quarter, one of the its most dismal showings ever, and $8.6 billion for 2005. 'I think they've made it very clear they don't intend to do that, at least the current administration.'

The 'health care burden' affects every business as well as government and affects the ability to grow jobs and the economy, said Wagoner."

I agree that the Bush Administration is not going to jump in with a bail out plan. However, the Administration would do well to take heed of the fact that it is largely the Federal Government's doing (together with a ridiculous tort environment) that health care costs are what they are. The Medicare / Medicaid systems have created a rationing of health care costs leading to higher prices. Sure, that not the Bush Administration's fault, but let's also not simply blame the automakers for all their problems, either.

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Eeewwww!!!!

"President George W. Bush says Bill Clinton has become so close to his father that the Democratic former president is like a member of the family."

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Hugo Chavez and Cindy Sheehan meet

I'm not sure which of these two bozos this says the worst about:

"CARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters) - Venezuela's left-wing president, Hugo Chavez, joined U.S. anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan on Sunday to attack
President George W. Bush and the Iraq war at the close of the World Social Forum."

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Office 12 Christened Office 2007

And now for stunning news from Microsoft:

"Microsoft is now referring to the next version of its desktop office suite, code-named 'Office 12,' as 'Office 2007.' Microsoft watcher Steven Bink is reporting that Microsoft officials used the Office 2007 name at IT Forum. He also points to an Office Online page that uses the same terminology. Microsoft officials have held fast to the company line that Office 12 will ship towards the end of calendar 2006. But one member of the Office family, Exchange 12, already is on its way to becoming a 2007 deliverable. Will Office 12 slip into 2007? We'll keep you posted."

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Kerkorian ups GM stake to 9.9 percent; shares rise - Yahoo! News

We can only ponder what this means...

"Billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian has increased his stake in General Motors Corp. (NYSE:GM - news) to 9.9 percent from 7.8 percent, according to a regulatory filing on Wednesday.

News of the move helped send GM's shares higher in after-hours electronic trading.

Kerkorian's Tracinda Corp., over which he has effective control, acquired 5 million shares on the open market on January 23 at an average price of $21.40 a share and an additional 7 million shares in a private transaction expected to settle on January 27, according to the filing with the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission."

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Mickey buys Woody and Buzz

The oldest name in animation bought one of the newest on Tuesday:

"Walt Disney announced Tuesday that it's paying $7.4 billion in stock to acquire Pixar Animation Studios--a deal that puts Apple Computer CEO Steve Jobs on Disney's board of directors."

Personally, I am still skeptical of the new-fangled 3-D animation techniques. They have their place, but I don't think they will catch on as the only means of animating.

Can you imagine the Disney classics in that format?

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Canada's New Prime Minister

Lest any of us think that Reuter's left-wing leanings stop at our northern border, I have this little sample from a "news" story about the election of Canada's first Conservative prime minister in 12 years:

"Harper, who also wants to calm fractious ties with Washington, has nowhere near the 155 seats he needs to control a 308-seat Parliament where his party has no natural allies.

***

'Canadians did not endorse neoconservatism when they elected him last night,' the Globe and Mail said in an editorial. 'They voted against a Liberal Party that had become smug and arrogant.'

Harper, the first prime minister from the powerful oil-rich western province of Alberta in 25 years, was due to return to Ottawa on Tuesday and to meet Martin soon to decide when power would formally change hands -- a date Conservative officials said was likely to be in two or three weeks' time."

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Ronald Reagan's First Inaugural Address

On this, the weekend of the 25th anniversary of the inauguaration of Ronald Reagan as the 40th President of the United States, I thought it would be fitting to reproduce his first Inaugural Address. It has as much pertinence now as it did on January 20, 1981, when it was given.

Senator Hatfield, Mr. Chief Justice, Mr. President, Vice President Bush, Vice President Mondale, Senator Baker, Speaker O'Neill, Reverend Moomaw, and my fellow citizens: To a few of us here today, this is a solemn and most momentous occasion; and yet, in the history of our Nation, it is a commonplace occurrence. The orderly transfer of authority as called for in the Constitution routinely takes place as it has for almost two centuries and few of us stop to think how unique we really are. In the eyes of many in the world, this every-4-year ceremony we accept as normal is nothing less than a miracle.
Mr. President, I want our fellow citizens to know how much you did to carry on this tradition. By your gracious cooperation in the transition process, you have shown a watching world that we are a united people pledged to maintaining a political system which guarantees individual liberty to a greater degree than any other, and I thank you and your people for all your help in maintaining the continuity which is the bulwark of our Republic.

The business of our nation goes forward. These United States are confronted with an economic affliction of great proportions. We suffer from the longest and one of the worst sustained inflations in our national history. It distorts our economic decisions, penalizes thrift, and crushes the struggling young and the fixed-income elderly alike. It threatens to shatter the lives of millions of our people.

Idle industries have cast workers into unemployment, causing human misery and personal indignity. Those who do work are denied a fair return for their labor by a tax system which penalizes successful achievement and keeps us from maintaining full productivity.

But great as our tax burden is, it has not kept pace with public spending. For decades, we have piled deficit upon deficit, mortgaging our future and our children's future for the temporary convenience of the present. To continue this long trend is to guarantee tremendous social, cultural, political, and economic upheavals.

You and I, as individuals, can, by borrowing, live beyond our means, but for only a limited period of time. Why, then, should we think that collectively, as a nation, we are not bound by that same limitation?

We must act today in order to preserve tomorrow. And let there be no misunderstanding—we are going to begin to act, beginning today.

The economic ills we suffer have come upon us over several decades. They will not go away in days, weeks, or months, but they will go away. They will go away because we, as Americans, have the capacity now, as we have had in the past, to do whatever needs to be done to preserve this last and greatest bastion of freedom.

In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem.

From time to time, we have been tempted to believe that society has become too complex to be managed by self-rule, that government by an elite group is superior to government for, by, and of the people. But if no one among us is capable of governing himself, then who among us has the capacity to govern someone else? All of us together, in and out of government, must bear the burden. The solutions we seek must be equitable, with no one group singled out to pay a higher price.

We hear much of special interest groups. Our concern must be for a special interest group that has been too long neglected. It knows no sectional boundaries or ethnic and racial divisions, and it crosses political party lines. It is made up of men and women who raise our food, patrol our streets, man our mines and our factories, teach our children, keep our homes, and heal us when we are sick—professionals, industrialists, shopkeepers, clerks, cabbies, and truckdrivers. They are, in short, "We the people," this breed called Americans.

Well, this administration's objective will be a healthy, vigorous, growing economy that provides equal opportunity for all Americans, with no barriers born of bigotry or discrimination. Putting America back to work means putting all Americans back to work. Ending inflation means freeing all Americans from the terror of runaway living costs. All must share in the productive work of this "new beginning" and all must share in the bounty of a revived economy. With the idealism and fair play which are the core of our system and our strength, we can have a strong and prosperous America at peace with itself and the world.

So, as we begin, let us take inventory. We are a nation that has a government—not the other way around. And this makes us special among the nations of the Earth. Our Government has no power except that granted it by the people. It is time to check and reverse the growth of government which shows signs of having grown beyond the consent of the governed.

It is my intention to curb the size and influence of the Federal establishment and to demand recognition of the distinction between the powers granted to the Federal Government and those reserved to the States or to the people. All of us need to be reminded that the Federal Government did not create the States; the States created the Federal Government.

Now, so there will be no misunderstanding, it is not my intention to do away with government. It is, rather, to make it work—work with us, not over us; to stand by our side, not ride on our back. Government can and must provide opportunity, not smother it; foster productivity, not stifle it.

If we look to the answer as to why, for so many years, we achieved so much, prospered as no other people on Earth, it was because here, in this land, we unleashed the energy and individual genius of man to a greater extent than has ever been done before. Freedom and the dignity of the individual have been more available and assured here than in any other place on Earth. The price for this freedom at times has been high, but we have never been unwilling to pay that price.

It is no coincidence that our present troubles parallel and are proportionate to the intervention and intrusion in our lives that result from unnecessary and excessive growth of government. It is time for us to realize that we are too great a nation to limit ourselves to small dreams. We are not, as some would have us believe, doomed to an inevitable decline. I do not believe in a fate that will fall on us no matter what we do. I do believe in a fate that will fall on us if we do nothing. So, with all the creative energy at our command, let us begin an era of national renewal. Let us renew our determination, our courage, and our strength. And let us renew our faith and our hope.

We have every right to dream heroic dreams. Those who say that we are in a time when there are no heroes just don't know where to look. You can see heroes every day going in and out of factory gates. Others, a handful in number, produce enough food to feed all of us and then the world beyond. You meet heroes across a counter—and they are on both sides of that counter. There are entrepreneurs with faith in themselves and faith in an idea who create new jobs, new wealth and opportunity. They are individuals and families whose taxes support the Government and whose voluntary gifts support church, charity, culture, art, and education. Their patriotism is quiet but deep. Their values sustain our national life.

I have used the words "they" and "their" in speaking of these heroes. I could say "you" and "your" because I am addressing the heroes of whom I speak—you, the citizens of this blessed land. Your dreams, your hopes, your goals are going to be the dreams, the hopes, and the goals of this administration, so help me God.

We shall reflect the compassion that is so much a part of your makeup. How can we love our country and not love our countrymen, and loving them, reach out a hand when they fall, heal them when they are sick, and provide opportunities to make them self-sufficient so they will be equal in fact and not just in theory?

Can we solve the problems confronting us? Well, the answer is an unequivocal and emphatic "yes." To paraphrase Winston Churchill, I did not take the oath I have just taken with the intention of presiding over the dissolution of the world's strongest economy.

In the days ahead I will propose removing the roadblocks that have slowed our economy and reduced productivity. Steps will be taken aimed at restoring the balance between the various levels of government. Progress may be slow—measured in inches and feet, not miles—but we will progress. Is it time to reawaken this industrial giant, to get government back within its means, and to lighten our punitive tax burden. And these will be our first priorities, and on these principles, there will be no compromise.

On the eve of our struggle for independence a man who might have been one of the greatest among the Founding Fathers, Dr. Joseph Warren, President of the Massachusetts Congress, said to his fellow Americans, "Our country is in danger, but not to be despaired of.... On you depend the fortunes of America. You are to decide the important questions upon which rests the happiness and the liberty of millions yet unborn. Act worthy of yourselves."

Well, I believe we, the Americans of today, are ready to act worthy of ourselves, ready to do what must be done to ensure happiness and liberty for ourselves, our children and our children's children.

And as we renew ourselves here in our own land, we will be seen as having greater strength throughout the world. We will again be the exemplar of freedom and a beacon of hope for those who do not now have freedom.

To those neighbors and allies who share our freedom, we will strengthen our historic ties and assure them of our support and firm commitment. We will match loyalty with loyalty. We will strive for mutually beneficial relations. We will not use our friendship to impose on their sovereignty, for our own sovereignty is not for sale.

As for the enemies of freedom, those who are potential adversaries, they will be reminded that peace is the highest aspiration of the American people. We will negotiate for it, sacrifice for it; we will not surrender for it—now or ever.

Our forbearance should never be misunderstood. Our reluctance for conflict should not be misjudged as a failure of will. When action is required to preserve our national security, we will act. We will maintain sufficient strength to prevail if need be, knowing that if we do so we have the best chance of never having to use that strength.

Above all, we must realize that no arsenal, or no weapon in the arsenals of the world, is so formidable as the will and moral courage of free men and women. It is a weapon our adversaries in today's world do not have. It is a weapon that we as Americans do have. Let that be understood by those who practice terrorism and prey upon their neighbors.
I am told that tens of thousands of prayer meetings are being held on this day, and for that I am deeply grateful. We are a nation under God, and I believe God intended for us to be free. It would be fitting and good, I think, if on each Inauguration Day in future years it should be declared a day of prayer.

This is the first time in history that this ceremony has been held, as you have been told, on this West Front of the Capitol. Standing here, one faces a magnificent vista, opening up on this city's special beauty and history. At the end of this open mall are those shrines to the giants on whose shoulders we stand.

Directly in front of me, the monument to a monumental man: George Washington, Father of our country. A man of humility who came to greatness reluctantly. He led America out of revolutionary victory into infant nationhood. Off to one side, the stately memorial to Thomas Jefferson. The Declaration of Independence flames with his eloquence.

And then beyond the Reflecting Pool the dignified columns of the Lincoln Memorial. Whoever would understand in his heart the meaning of America will find it in the life of Abraham Lincoln.

Beyond those monuments to heroism is the Potomac River, and on the far shore the sloping hills of Arlington National Cemetery with its row on row of simple white markers bearing crosses or Stars of David. They add up to only a tiny fraction of the price that has been paid for our freedom.

Each one of those markers is a monument to the kinds of hero I spoke of earlier. Their lives ended in places called Belleau Wood, The Argonne, Omaha Beach, Salerno and halfway around the world on Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Pork Chop Hill, the Chosin Reservoir, and in a hundred rice paddies and jungles of a place called Vietnam.

Under one such marker lies a young man—Martin Treptow—who left his job in a small town barber shop in 1917 to go to France with the famed Rainbow Division. There, on the western front, he was killed trying to carry a message between battalions under heavy artillery fire.

We are told that on his body was found a diary. On the flyleaf under the heading, "My Pledge," he had written these words: "America must win this war. Therefore, I will work, I will save, I will sacrifice, I will endure, I will fight cheerfully and do my utmost, as if the issue of the whole struggle depended on me alone."

The crisis we are facing today does not require of us the kind of sacrifice that Martin Treptow and so many thousands of others were called upon to make. It does require, however, our best effort, and our willingness to believe in ourselves and to believe in our capacity to perform great deeds; to believe that together, with God's help, we can and will resolve the problems which now confront us.

And, after all, why shouldn't we believe that? We are Americans. God bless you, and thank you.

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Frist calls Alito Democrats' "nightmare" - Yahoo! News

This is probably NOT the thing to say BEFORE the confirmation vote:

"Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist told Republican Party activists on Friday night that U.S. Supreme Court nominee
Samuel Alito was the 'worst nightmare of liberal Democrats.'"

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