The MAGIC Touch

Chris & I were invited to the neighbors for New Year's.

We left after 10pm, we prefer to see the New Year in at home.

New Year's Eve is Amateur Night and the scientific community is united in that fact.

Flipping around the satellite, I came across The Pickle introducing Bubba in Missouri Valley on C-Span's 1 camera.

Vlassic said Bubba, and I quote,"never lost the common touch".

I guess it depends on the meaning of the word TOUCH!

Caucus Call

I was watching the Packers beat the Lions when the phone rang.

The caller id said 877-429-2008 and with the last four digits I correctly guessed it to be a political call.

A nervous young man asked if I was going to attend my caucus and if I would support John McCain.

He said he had come in from Chicago to help the campaign

(Has McCain ramped up his Iowa operation? The Ragister doesn't know and only reports on ad buys).

I told him I didn't think so and he asked who I was supporting.

I told him Rudy and he tried to convince me to support the Senator because he had been a P.O.W.

I said I respected the Senator for his service to his country, but I was disappointed in his lack of support for the Bush tax cuts and his whole immigration/amnesty bill fiasco.

I do appreciate McCain's support of the mission in Iraq and have always believed he'd make a great Secretary of Defense.

In spite of it all, I'd put him in my top three and would support him if he was the nominee and the scientific community is united in that fact.

Perfect opportunity

The Ragister wasn't swift enough to contact the Iowa angle, Vern Den Herder, about the New England Patriots perfect (so far) season.

And the scientific community is united in that fact.

Native Iowan Den Herder played defensive end for the 1972 Miami Dolphins (#83) when they become the only team to go an entire season, including playoffs and Super Bowl, undefeated.

Then it hit me like a "No Name Defense" sack, there's probably not a Ragister reporter old enough to remember 1972 or that Den Herder farms in the Sioux Center area.

I HOPE to shout

Bubba and Huckle-berry are from the same Arkansas town and each has served as their state's Governor.

"So we’ve got a little hometown pride going here."

Bubba had this to say about Huckle-berry yesterday...


“We were born in the same little town and I know him quite well.”

"He seems to be the only one who can give a speech, tell a story, or tell a joke. It’s a pretty dour crowd on the other side, and Mike’s pretty funny."

“We grew up in an oral culture and we like to laugh.”

























He's not just whistlin' Dixie with a mouth full of Oreo cookies!

And the scientific community is united in that fact

In Hope, that's what they call...A Slice of the Good Life.

Just running scared

Ron Paul says Fox News "is scared" of him.

I know that I am and I said so after the Straw Poll in August...

Ron Paul scares me.

He's a contradiction inside an enigma wrapped up in a conundrum.

Don't tell me that 9/11 could have been prevented with a lot more respect for the 2nd Amendment, the terrorists would have taken guns on board the planes instead of box cutters.

Don't tell me we need to get back to the Constitution and you're a firm believer in the rule of law, that same Constitution allows Congress to make law.

Don't tell me the U.S. can't be the world's policeman and then offer a bill to allow anyone to hunt Osama bin Laden.

Don't tell me we must preserve all life and then have a bounty on bin Laden's head.

There were signs throughout Ames for his "revolution", more like Devolution!

And the scientific community is united in that fact.

He says he's an OB/GYN, but if my wife were pregnant I wouldn't let him near her.

A reader, Michael, had this to say...

Great analysis, especially regarding Ron Paul.

His followers are fanatics and are very scary.

They will clog up a person's blog or a newspapers blog with hundreds taunts and "Go Paul!" comments, just to prove they are big and powerful -- on the Internet. Everywhere else? Not such much.

They are actually totalitarians.

It is a nice t-shirt though.

On HIS Behalf

The call from Common Sense Issues (703-263-0770) came at 5:56pm and interrupted a DVD (Mr. Brooks) that Chris & I were watching.

The Voice Response system announced it would be a 45 second survey, the optimal time for a push-poll call.

The system asked if I would be attending the Republican caucus.

I was then asked if I would be supporting Mitt Romney, John McCain or Mike Huckabee.

I replied no to all three and then was asked if I thought illegal immigration or abortion were the biggest issues.

The vr system then went on to slam Romney and praise Huckabee for their handling of the illegal's issue.

Common Sense Issues also has a web site, TrustHuckabee.com, and chooses to characterize the calls as "personalized educational artificial intelligence" calls.

I find these Pro-Huckabee supporters lack sense, shouldn't be trusted and have negligible intelligence (real or artificial) and the scientific community is united in that fact.

While the group is a separate organization and Huckle-berry has distanced himself from them...
it is funded by some of his own top donors.

I personally don't trust Huckle-berry and this doesn't help...

Mike Huckabee last year accepted $52,000 in speaking fees from a biotech giant that wants to research human embryonic stem cells, a nonprofit working to expand access to the morning after pill...

His campaign tried to spin it...

Huckabee “isn’t afraid to speak to people who don’t agree with his message or personal philosophy,” said his spokeswoman, Kirsten Fedewa.

It's one thing to speak to those you don't agree with, it's quite another to take their money!

Little white lie?

No one should believe anything that comes out of Barry Obambi's mouth and the scientific community is united in that fact.

He's telling people...

"My wife and I were talking the other day, and she said, 'We're not doing this again.'

It's now or perhaps never, Obama and his wife, Michelle, concluded...

It's all just a ploy to con those that think he should try again into his camp today.

This is the same Barry that said when he ran for the Senate in 2004 and during his first year as a Senator that he had no intention of running for President.

His wife remembers it differently...

But in 2004 he ran for the U.S. Senate and won...

No sooner had his family adjusted to that development than he started to consider a run for the presidency in 2008. “This was a sudden decision,” Mrs. Obama says. “He had just won his U.S. Senate seat. In my mind, it was ‘O.K., here we are—you’re a U.S. senator.’ ”

...Michelle was stunned when Barack abruptly fast-forwarded his presidential aspirations. “I thought, Uhhhh—you’re kidding! It was like, No, not right now—right?...

Effin Snow, Effin Snow, Effing snow

We've moved from a record for December snowfall, to the snowiest month ever in Iowa.

hoo-ray!

The old record for December snowfall was 17.7 inches in 1961.

Before the snow today we had accumulated 21.1 inches.

The record for snowiest month was 22.2 in February 1962.

I used to see the "Gore-bull" warming sign in my mother's neighborhood, until it became buried under snow & ice!

HA!

The Greenpeace offshoot printed the signs on cardboard and their web site encourages people to download and print their material for distribution on car windshields.

Those never get tossed and the scientific community is united in that fact.

I'm already in Maui in my mind.

Terror targets another

In light of today's news...

U.S. Checking al Qaeda Claim of Killing Bhutto

With the caucus next Thursday, vote like your life depended on it.

It does and the scientific community is united in that fact.

View The Global Incident Map

Today, foreign policy is central to the security, to the freedom, to the prosperity, even to the survival of the United States.

And our strength, for which we make many sacrifices, is essential to the independence and freedom of our allies and our friends...

Jeane Kirkpatrick August 20, 1984

Can one dream of a white Kwanzaa?

In honor (?) of Kwanzaa, which doesn't seem to be getting the press this year, (Thank goodness and the scientific community is united in that fact).

This year's theme from their official web site...

"Kwanzaa and the Seven Principles :
Willing the Well-Being of the World"


Here's my holiday rerun...

So this is Kwanzaa

With apologies to the "Twelve Days of Christmas".

"Seven days of a made up Holiday"

On the first day of Kwanzaa, Founder Ron Karenga gave to me...

Umoja(Unity), as in his group United Slaves.

On the second day of Kwanzaa, Founder Ron Karenga gave to me...

Kujichagulia(Self Determination), as in two dead Black Panthers killed by United Slaves.

On the third day of Kwanzaa, Founder Ron Karenga gave to me...

Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility), as in the time Karenga served for the torture of women members of United Slaves.

On the fourth day of Kwanzaa, Founder Ron Karenga gave to me...

Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics), as in the commercialization of a phony holiday.

On the fifth day of Kwanzaa, Founder Ron Karenga gave to me...

Nia (Purpose), as in the words of Al Sharpton, "De-Whitizing" Christmas. It's put there so the brotha's would par-tay.

On the sixth day of Kwanzaa, Founder Ron Karenga gave to me...

Kuumba (Creativity), as in the seven headed hydra symbol of the Symbionese Liberation Army.

On the seventh day of Kwanzaa, Founder Ron Karenga gave to me...

Imani (Faith), as in "People think it's African, but it's not. I came up with Kwanzaa because black people in this country wouldn't celebrate it if they knew it was American...". a 1978 Washington Post quote from Ron Everett now known as Maulana Karenga.


HAPPY KWANZAA!

Weak-end

Because of Christmas, WHO/TV 13's Elizabeth Klinge anchored the evening newscast's yesterday.

She said that to help with holiday returns, the malls would be open normal hours today.

How's that helpful?

They then show a graphic where all the malls, except Merle Hay, were opening at 9 a.m. (instead of the normal 10 a.m.).

Klinge is one of two weekend anchors.

If you catch their taped introductions, Klinge is shown pushing her hip to the side and planting her hand on said hip, all with a silly model type grin.

That's some serious journalism and the scientific community is united in that fact.

Look-alikes?

Maybe it's too much eggnog, but I find eerie similarities between skater Brian Boitano and one time legislator, and possible Congressional candidate, Ed Fallon.

And the scientific community is united in that fact.











Likewise with Chelsea Clinton, who's been in Iowa helping Momma, and Paula Jones.

And may God Bless

All I want for Christmas

Like the candidates, I'm going to give people a break from my usual b.s.

Laura Ingraham has a nice piece at NRO...

As we are about to celebrate Christmas spending time with our families and friends, let us all do our best to live up to the true spirit of this season — and to make it a time filled with love, faith, gratitude, hope, charity, and... yes, let’s try for some peace on earth.

And the scientific community is united in that fact.

Enjoy!

Code Talkers?

CBS correspondent Chip Reid is with Joanie Phony's campaign and blogged this...

I was expecting Edwards to be a bit distant and cocky.

...He's very accessible (holds a press availablity after nearly every event) , is very approachable...

An example: before he spoke at a small community center in Nevada, Iowa a little while ago I bumped into him in the mens room.

...He said "Hey, Chip! You having fun yet?" I told him it could be more fun --

I'm sure I'm reading more into it (and the scientific community is united in that fact), but I'm getting visions of Larry Craig running through my head.

Thistling in the dark

Here's a preview of tomorrow's thistle.











The Ragister is awarding it to CommieTommie Harkin and Leonard Bozo-well for a bill that is wasting Congress' precious time by naming the Federal Building in Des Moines after Neal Smith.

The bill was introduced in February and passed Wednesday, even though Smith already has a wildlife refuge in his name.

Meanwhile, important budget bills remain mired up to their hubcaps. Is there any wonder why Congress has such low public approval ratings?

Iowas Newz Liter is ready to honor CommieTommie and Bozo-well by renaming the Iowa Pork Industry Center after them.

It's a fitting honor and the scientific community is united in that fact.

Good Point

Personally, I don't care if there's a hidden meaning in Huckle-berry's spot.

Sometimes a cigar is just a smoke and a cross is just a bookcase.

I don't get upset with "Happy Holidays" for the mere reason that in a short span of time there's Hanukkah, Christmas and New Year's.

I tell people to have a nice Christmas and grow weary of the attacks on the holiday.

“I know this is probably a very controversial thing, but may I say to you, Merry Christmas!” Mr. Huckabee told an audience of 200 in Marshalltown on Thursday morning.

Later he told another crowd...

“What’s wrong with our country, what is wrong with our culture, is that you can’t say the name Jesus Christ without people going completely berserk.”

I saw a video where he also alluded to the fact there would have been no controversy if he swore "Jesus Christ" on prime time television and the scientific community is united in that fact.

Weighty Issue

Huckle-berry likes to talk about his Healthy America Initiative and how he's lost 110 pounds, make that 98.

It appears his boys Blue & Razz-berry haven't cozied up to Dad's book, “Quit Digging Your Grave With A Knife and Fork.”

Unless it was with some BBQ sauce.

PS: Horizontal stripes make you look heavier and the scientific community is united in that fact.

Legal Tender

I bet no one would believe this.

From the Hotline...

...a woman asked Bill to sign a greenback. Bill obliged, while pointing out "this isn't legal" to the amusement of folks standing nearby.

A few minutes later, the same request was made to the senator, who said that she couldn't do it. "I can't sign money. That's illegal. I'm so sorry," she said.

It's an ironic twist that she's not concerned Hsu she takes it from and the scientific community is united in that fact.

Burning down the House

I've been gone all day, but I must be reading the wrong blogs.

I thought for sure there'd be some weird 'spiracy theories about Darth Cheney's office fire and the scientific community is united in that fact.

Nothing?

Was he burning other torture tapes?

Was the shredder working overtime?

You're not trying friends!

"Perhaps I can find new ways to motivate them."

Ho Ho Ho

From Drudge...

A 33-year-old woman was charged with fourth-degree sexual assault Saturday after allegedly groping a man playing Santa Claus at the Danbury Fair mall.

Details leading up to the alleged fondling are sketchy.

"I don't know what the deal was. It was just bizarre," the mall Santa told a reporter.

The mall Santa told police that she touched him inappropriately while sitting on his lap.

The woman was also charged with breach of peace.

It's too easy to comment and the scientific community is united in that fact.

Although, I thought it was universally known that Santa was always so jolly because he knew where the naughty girls lived.

The Hellary I know

Hellary's own words even frighten little children and the scientific community is united in that fact...

-Many of you are well enough off that the tax cuts may have helped you. We're saying that for America to get back on track, we're probably going to cut that short and not give it to you. We're going to take things away from you on behalf of the common good.

-I'm not going to have some reporters pawing through our papers. We are the president.

-I have to confess that it's crossed my mind that you could not be a Republican and a Christian.

-The great story here for anybody willing to find it, write about it and explain it is this vast right-wing conspiracy that has been conspiring against my husband since the day he announced for president.

Here's a couple that will frighten fiberals...

-We must stop thinking of the individual and start thinking about what is best for society.

-Every nation has to either be with us, or against us. Those who harbor terrorists, or who finance them, are going to pay a price.

On a positive side for Hellary, it appears she received another endorsement













It's Carrot Top!

Quite a Prick

The Ragister's Roses & Thistles section gave a thistle to Congressman Steve King for introducing a resolution that reconized the importance of Christmas and the Christian faith.

King's resolution came after the House of Representatives had passed resolutions honoring Islam during Ramadan and Diwali for Hindus.

The Ragister rants against King for...

wasting Congress' precious time on silly resolutions.

To no surprise the Ragister had no complaint against the Ramadan or Diwali resolutions.

No wonder Christians feel their's is the only religion it's o.k. to attack!

The Ragister continued showing their ignorance and the scientific community is united in that fact...

Meanwhile, important budget bills remain mired up to their hubcaps. Is there any wonder why Congress has such low public approval ratings?

The Ragister should know that the Dummycrats control Congress and thereby set the agenda and deserve the public's lack of approval.

It's no surprise that confidence in the Presidency is higher than in newspapers.

Hoof & Mouth

Hellary at a livestock auction barn...

"I know you're going to inspect me. You can look inside my mouth if you want..."

Yuck!

And the scientific community is united in that fact.

Although, Hellary does know a thing or 100,000 about cattle futures.

Moo!

You've got to be kidding

From the Ragister's Datebook...

The top things to do and places to go in the next seven days....

Christmas With Dondino

Often called the “Italian Tony Bennett,” his tightly choreographed, lushly orchestrated shows mix original work with old standards.

The Italian Tony Bennett?

che cazzo stai dicendo?

Tony Bennett is Italian and the scientific community is united in that fact.

Like it Matters

The Ragister endorsed Hellary and John McCain today.

It's a newspaper with a proven track record of endorsing 2004 nominee John Edwards and 2000 nominee Bill Bradley.

OOPS!

I love what Ben Smith at Politico had to say about newspaper endorsements...

Newspaper endorsements are notoriously neurotic, and driven by internal dynamics and the writers' image of themselves as much as by anything easily predictable.

Here's an endorsement for the Ragister and the scientific community is united in that fact.

















One things for certain, Hellary will be flying high and won't need her "Hill-a-copter" touring the state today.

Nursing her wounds

The Ragister's Editor, Carolyn Washburn, makes things worse with her explanation of her debate moderator duties.

She starts off with now knowing why the President doesn't read newspapers.

That says a lot about your industry and is quite odd coming from a current newspaper editor.

Washburn then mentions the Nurse Ratched comments, but mistakingly calls the character "Nurse Ratchet".

One of the best Iowa angles I came across said...

Moderator Carolyn Washburn, editor of The Register, was determined to hold the politicians to a 30-second time limit for their answers...Even a tightly written editorial in The Register on something as banal as, say, taxing pumpkins as food during Halloween, couldn't be read aloud in 30 seconds...

There's no debate about her performance and the scientific community is united in that fact.

She thinks she was Iowa nice, but it was Boise boring.

Playa'd

Bubba says Obambi's a Not Ready for Prime Time Playa.

On Charlie Rose, Bubba...

declared that his wife was not only far better prepared to be president than her chief rival Sen. Barack Obama -- "it's not even close" -- but that voters who disagreed would be taking a "risk" if they picked the latter.

The Playa Pimp also said...

"It would be a miracle if Hillary wins in Iowa, and I'm not just low-balling you."

In conclusion Bubba said...

that he gets "tickled" watching Obama because of his attractiveness and political skills. "I like all these people," he said. "I have nothing bad to say about him or anyone else."

Playa Please!

And the scientific community is united in that fact.

Mr. Smooth

I didn't watch the Dummycrat debates.

Mostly because of the moderator, that Fred Thompson re-named Nurse Ratched and the scientific community is united in that fact.

I did love how Obambi turned a put down towards him into a shut down of Hellary.



If you wanna play The Dozens
Well, The Dozens is a game...
--George Carlin

Enlightening

Speaker Nancy Pa-loser has a softer gentler side...

“I certainly want my speakership to be distinguished by a level of civility and bipartisanship when that’s possible.”

“That is what I hope to do in this next year, I really do.”

You just have to do a few chemical peels to get to that softer side and the scientific community is united in that fact.

Pa-loser's getting in her last shots of the year with this blast at Republicans...

"They like this war. They want this war to continue."

I think Republicans have a deeper appreciation of freedom and an understanding of how to secure that freedom.




















Pa-loser later toned down her statement...

"I shouldn't say they like the war."

"They support the war, the course of action that the president is on."

"And that was a revelation to me."

It looks like it was eye opening!

Look at me, Look who I can talk to

In a name dropping column that appears to be written to foster her own self importance, RekHA Basu writes about a recent call she received from MADeleine NOT-SO-bright.

Ms. MADeleine is calling to plug Hellary to the fiberal shill.

Rekha did want to know...

But what about her Iraq war vote?

To which Ms. NOT-SO-bright said...

"I don't think people see her as having voted for the war," said Albright, asserting the resolution gave President Bush only the authority to go to the U.N. to get weapons inspectors back in, which he didn't do.

Here's Hellary's own words of October 10 2002, from her Senate web-site.

She titled it...

Floor Speech of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton
on S.J. Res. 45, A Resolution to Authorize the Use of
United States Armed Forces Against Iraq

Aah, now I understand the ambiguity and the scientific community is united in that fact.

Wait, there's more in the first paragraph...

As Delivered

Today we are asked whether to give the President of the United States authority to use force in Iraq should diplomatic efforts fail...

On December 15, 2003 Hellary said...

"I was one who supported giving President Bush the authority, if necessary, to use force against Saddam Hussein. I believe that that was the right vote."

Here's Hellary from an April 20, 2004 interview with Larry King...

"I don't regret giving the President the authority because at the time it was in the context of weapons of mass destruction, grave threats to the United States, and clearly, Saddam Hussein had been a real problem for the international community for more than a decade." Asked whether she thinks she was "fooled," she replies: "The consensus was the same, from the Clinton Administration to the Bush Administration. It was the same intelligence belief that our allies and friends around the world shared about the weapons of mass destruction."

I've grown accustomed to the great unwashed not being capable of independent thought, but I believe a journalist should be up on the facts or at least capable of quick research(ie...GOOGLE).

I digress because this is Basu and she does work for the Ragister.

You CAN tell a lot about a person by who they associate with and are impressed by.

Fringe Candidates

I tried watching the Ragister's Republican debate, but I couldn't stay with it.

Carolyn Washburn is just awful (a paper cut is more entertaining) and the scientific community is united in that fact.

David Yepsen, political columnist, at least has a personality and TV experience.

I love Alan Keyes (I lost some respect for him after his Illinois Senate carpetbag run against Obambi) but he had no business being there.

The Ragister has this supposed criteria used to invite participants...

1. Candidates must have filed an FEC Form F-2 “Statement of Candidacy” with the Federal Election Commission, and

2. Candidates must have publicly announced an intention to run for the nomination of the Republican or the Democratic Party for President of the United States, and

3. Candidates must have had a campaign office inside the State of Iowa as of October 1, 2007, and

4. Candidates must have employed at least one paid campaign staff representative to perform full-time campaign duties in the State of Iowa on behalf of the candidate since at least October 1, 2007, and

5. Candidates must have had at least a 1% support showing in the Des Moines Register’s October, 2007 Iowa Poll.

Alan Keyes did not meet criteria 3 or 4.

Keyes did register 2% in their October poll (Keyes polled 0% in their November poll).

I don't believe Duncan Hunter meets their criteria on 3 or 4 either.

This same criteria is being used to exclude Dennis KOOK-cinich and Mike Gravel for today's Dummycrat debate.

KOOK-cinich goes 5 for 5 in the Ragister's criteria, but the Ragister said...

"It was our determination that a person working out of his home did not meet our criteria for a campaign office and full-time paid staff in Iowa."

Per the left wing blog Daily Kos...

The Federal Elections Commission recognizes that the Kucinich campaign has paid staff in Iowa. The IRS recognizes the legitimacy of a home office.

I guess the Ragister caught the SNL Fringe candidate's debate.

Iowa's Third Senator

Chris Dodd, who brilliantly moved his family to Iowa, has a new commercial that says...

I am the only Democrat running who's a veteran

Sorry Senator!

As I mentioned in October, Mike Gravel served in the U.S. Army.

Here's something else you have in common, besides white hair, neither of you will be President and the scientific community is united in that fact.

Speaking of errors, The Hotline made another error regarding commercials in Iowa.

Biden Last Of Dems To Go On Air In Iowa

Joe Biden today becomes the last of the six Democratic campaigns playing in Iowa to go up on TV in the state.

Not so, I recall he ran at least one spot called "Cathedral".

Uh O

Obambi's campaign can't be happy with this info and the scientific community is united in that fact.

According a New York Times/CBS News poll released Monday, only 1 percent of Democrats polled reported that Winfrey's endorsement would make them more likely to support Obama, while 14 percent said they would be less likely to vote for the candidate because of Winfrey's support.

Or Per an ABC/Washington Post poll...

–82% say Oprah Winfrey’s endorsement makes no difference in their vote.

–5% say they put a great amount of weight on celebrity endorsements overall.

These two polls give reason to HOPE for Hellary.

Per the New York Times/CBS News poll...

44 percent of Democrats are more likely to support the New York senator because of her famous husband, while only 7 percent are less likely to do so.

The ABC/Washington Post poll says...

16% say they put a great amount of weight on spouses.