I would like to hear someone explain just what Barack Obama has ever done that is praise-worthy. The high points seem to be: He freeloaded his way thru three colleges,got to be editor of the Harvard Review, but never seems to have written anything.

Morgan Freeman is a fine actor, but he should be embarrassed to recite these lines in a new Obama commercial: "Every president inherits challenges. Few have faced so many."
      Really? Seems to me George Washington may have faced some problems. James and Dolly Madison had to escape from the burning White House set afire by the British. Abe Lincoln had a full plate with that little scuffle called the Civil War.
      FDR was heir to a recession that he proceeded to turn into a full-scale depression. Harry Truman was handed World War 2, then turned the Korean War over to Eisenhower. LBJ inherited Vietnam, then passed it on to Nixon. Reagan was heir to Carter's inflation and the (first) Iran crisis. 
     I'm sure Mr. Freeman reads the script before he commits to a movie role. He should have taken time to read and fact-check the nonsense he's mouthing in this piece of self-excusing Obama mush.

More of Obama's "green" idiocy ...
     A Danish wind turbine company whose subsidiaries received over $50 million in U.S. stimulus dollars announced on Friday it has cut more than 800 jobs in the United States and Canada this year and may be forced to lay off another 800 employees in North America. This is yet another green energy company that received wasteful stimulus funds and does not even have anything to show for it. -- Breitbart


Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), in another reflection of the Obama economy, is preparing to lay off another 20% to 30% of its employees.


Joe Biden obviously got his law degree from a school whose curriculum includes the classic advice, "If the facts are against you, argue the law. If the law is against you, pound the table."
     Can you image this psycho-wacko as President??

Reader Todd's reflection on the VP debate ...
     "Many of us were disappointed that Paul Ryan wasn’t more aggressive in the debate, but maybe, just maybe, he was right.  From a list of Murphy’s Laws:  'Never argue with a fool, people might not know the difference'."


The Obama gang is still lying to the families of the men murdered in the Al Qaeda Libya attack that took the life of our ambassador, still blaming it on the video that was actually not a factor at all. It is to be hoped that some of the Romney campaign's advertising money will be used to pound the message that the Obama thugs are (A) habitual liars who are (B) utterly lacking a conscience.
     And the Big Media cover-up continues.


Ann Romney is a very admirable woman in many respects, but she displays a bit of naivete in using the word "sportsmanship" in any reference to a Democrat politician -- especially a graduate of the Chicago School of Politics.



Michael Ledeen (PJ Media) has another dash of cold reality for the distraught and overwrought liberals ...
     "In the end, Carter lost to Reagan because he dithered too much, because he was just too feckless, because our enemies were running amok, and Carter was trying to make a deal with them instead of acting the way most of us thought a real American leader should act. Then, as now, the media were overwhelmingly behind the Democratic incumbent, but the real world overwhelmed them. Then, it was American hostages in Iran. Now, it is American dead in Libya.
     "Back then, the symbol of a failed president was a big rabbit.  Now, it’s a big bird. Machiavelli says that once a leader becomes an object of contempt, he’s doomed.
     "I have real trouble imagining that Obama/Biden can undo this situation. If my political future hinged on Obama’s performance sans teleprompter, I’d be looking for the foodstamp counter.
     "Polls or no polls, Obama has been crippled, and the striking similarities with Carter evoke 1980, when lots of polls were calling for a photo finish, and Carter believed to the last minute that he could win.
     "You will say that Romney is no Reagan.  And I will say that back in 1980 hardly anyone knew that Reagan was Reagan. But they knew that Carter was a dithering wimp and they had had enough."


I hear regularly from outraged liberals protesting that I repeat "Republican talking points." It amuses me, because while I do receive daily e-mail from the Republican National Committee containing their pitch, I also receive the same kind of stuff from Democrats and other assorted political entities including wild-eyed crazies from extremes of the political spectrum.
     I never open any of them because I don't want my own independent thinking affected by axe-grinders of either or any sort.

A Life in Radio ...
     I was young(er) and single. I was spending a good deal of time in Hong Kong, pre-takeover by China. It was the best city in the world. I was often staying in an apartment off Stanley Road near Repulse Bay, enjoying my daily afternoon sunset beverage on the verandah of the old (now sadly gone) Repulse Bay Hotel.
     I decided I should stay in Hong Kong. There were two English-language radio stations in the then-British colony. One was a government-run service, the other a much livelier commercial operation.
     I talked to the manager and was quickly informed that to them, English-speaking on-air personnel meant British or Australians; no Americans need apply.
     That chat, however, did lead to meeting a young Chinese lady who worked for ABC News in Hong Kong. Our dating history was brief but fascinating.
     During office hours, she was totally westernized and, like many Hong Kong Chinese folk, had taken a western name to better blend culturally.
    To Americans, Brits and other westerners, she was Audrey. At 5PM, she abruptly became Tse Ha Ping. On dates, she was chaperoned by her 16-year-old sister, who spoke no English, but was there to be sure there was no hanky-panky with the dashing American. Okay ... me. I have a right to a fantasy life, don't I?
     One of our dates led to one of the more embarrassing moments of my life. The three of us went to dinner at a large restaurant near the Lee Theater (alas, not named for me, although Lee, usually spelled Li, is a common enough Chinese name). The restaurant was patronized by a totally local clientele. I was the only non-Chinese in the place, which was full.
     In the center of our table was placed a bowl of shrimp, cooked in oil. At the time, I was quite adept with chopsticks, even the slick plastic ones used in upscale establishments. Nevertheless, that slick plastic
applied to a slippery oil-coated shrimp presented a serious challenge.
     Bravely I reached to the center of the rather large round table and picked up one of the delicious creatures. Then came that moment when, halfway between bowl and mouth, you feel the slippage begin. I squeezed harder ... which, of course, only aggravated my problem.
     I almost made it to my mouth, conscious that about a thousand Chinese diners were looking at the gweilo (a Cantonese unflattering reference to a caucasian) about to make a fool of himself.
    I did not disappoint them. The increased chopstick pressure on the oily shrimp caused it to fly across to the next table where a very dignified-looking group of businessmen were dining -- and hit the man
who was obviously the leader of the group right on the forehead.
     It seemed many of the diners recognized that dignified gentleman and there was a collective gasp across the room. For a moment I envisioned myself being prodded to death by a thousand chopsticks.
     But after a moment of silence, the gentleman laughed loudly, gave me a friendly nod, and the entire room erupted into gales of laughter. Fortunately, that included Tse Ha Ping and kid sister, who were amused but appropriately sympathetic.
     I suspect to this day, both relate the incident to friends to re-live the hilarity. The thought that I'm likely still the butt of a joke to some folk in the wondrous city of Hong Kong gives me a small piece of
immortality that I enjoy.

    I still love moon cakes. Especially those from the little bakery in Tai Po Market.


This is apparently circulating on the internet. A relative forwarded it to me. It deserves as much circulation as possible ...
     "I grew up with practical parents. A mother, God love her, who washed aluminum foil after she cooked in it, then reused it. She was the original recycle queen before they had a name for it.  A father who was
happier getting old shoes fixed than buying new ones. Their marriage was good, their dreams focused.
     "I can see them now, Dad in trousers, tee shirt and a hat and Mom in a house dress, lawn mower in one hand, and dish-towel in the other.  It was the time for fixing things.  A curtain rod, the kitchen radio, screen door, the oven door, the hem in a dress. Things we keep. 
     "It was a way of life, and sometimes it made me crazy.  All that re-fixing, eating, renewing, I wanted just once to be wasteful.  Waste meant affluence. Throwing things away meant you knew there'd always be more. 
     "But then my mother died, and on that clear summer's night, in the warmth of the hospital room, I was struck with the pain of learning that sometimes there isn't any more. 
     "Sometimes, what we care about most gets all used up and goes away...never to return.. So... while we have it ..... it's best we love it.... and care for it... and fix it when it's broken...and heal it when it's sick. 
     "This is true. for marriage...and old cars..... and children with bad report cards..... and dogs with bad hips.... and aging parents...... and grandparents. We keep them because they are worth it, because we are worth it.
     Some things we keep."


I have no rooting interest in either team, but Stanford got royally screwed yesterday at Notre Dame. Anybody -- except the replay official -- could see that the overtime touchdown by Stanford WAS good.     
There's a term for that kind of officiating: "Home cooking."
    Sometimes, in order to score on the road, you have to be two yards into the end zone.
 

Jimmy Kimmel --
     "I think Facebook should stick to doing what they do best, which is letting you know that your friends from high school got fat and bald."