Broken Masterpieces

Please keep your eyes open for Joel.  He’s been missing for about 3 days and was last seen in San Pasqual Valley in California.  Prayers are also greatly appreciated.  My sister was at the hospital when Joel was born to a close friend of hers.

Townhall.com Blog : Meredith Jessup : Steele Enjoys Spending Spree on Donors’ Dime.

If Ann Coulter is the conservative “it” girl then the conservative movement is in trouble.  She brings nothing of value and I consider her to be a huge negative.  She’s no better than Keith Olbermann.  Her humor is nasty and personal and helps put the wrong image out of what a conservatism is.  I’ll pass.  Shame on Townhall for giving her a forum.

That was the farewell from conservative “it” girl Ann Coulter at her noontime CPAC address. It consisted entirely of one-liners.

via Townhall.com Blog : Jillian Bandes : Coulter: “You’ve been a great crowd, thanks for coming, remember Keith Olbermann is a girl, I’ll take questions, and remember Keith Olbermann is a girl.”.

Townhall.com Blog : Michael Medved : What Is There About “Unelectable” That We Don’t Understand?.

It is terribly disrespectful to our 2008 presidential nominee to even consider an alternative to John McCain for his Senate seat in Arizona.  We need McCain and to see him treated like this reminds me of what the Democrats did to Joe Lieberman.  John McCain isn’t my ideal candidate but he was right on Iraq and is a deficit hawk.  We do not need to become the scapegoat party.  Illegal immigration is a legitimate issue but we don’t need to blowhards like JD Hayworth to help make our points.

How Obama got Keynes wrong – Feb. 5, 2010.

Very interesting ready on what Keynesian economics is and how the Obama administration has missed the boat on this one.

HT to InstaPundit

The great global warming collapse – The Globe and Mail.

No matter where you may stand on global warming it is alarming that “scientists” are manipulating data.  Obviously it is more than just about warming.  There is clearly and agenda.  I have two different theories on why this occurs.  The first one is simple greed; they want to keep receiving government money to keep their jobs.  The other one is that they want to use global warming as a means to extract money from large countries for a big re-distribution.  That’s what that whole Copenhagen was about.

Hat Tip: Drudge

U.S. Media Silent as Climate Scandals Continue (Wizbang).

Journalism in the US is clearly tilted towards a certain political bent.  No matter which side you are on we should demand better from our journalists and, I guess, many scientists.

HT: InstaPundit

Leftwing Professor Writes Hilarious Essay About ‘Conan Obama’ | NewsBusters.org.

It looks to me like our all talk and negative results president is losing some hard-core left-wingers.  Here’s a hint President Obama, head towards the center and lead.

Hat Tip: InstaPundit

Change we should not believe in.  Read the whole article by a endorser and voter of Barack Obama.  There has never been a candidate so ill prepared for the presidency than Obama and that says a lot.

In the campaign, he said he would change politics as usual. He did change them. It’s now worse than it was. I’ve now seen the kind of buying off of politicians that I’ve never seen before. It’s politically corrupt and it’s starting at the top. It’s revolting.

Five states got deals on health care—one of them was Harry Reid’s. It is disgusting, just disgusting. I’ve never seen anything like it. The unions just got them to drop the tax on Cadillac plans in the health-care bill. It was pure union politics. They just went along with it. It’s a bizarre form of political corruption. It’s bribery. I suppose they could say, that’s the system. He was supposed to change it or try to change it.

via He’s Done Everything Wrong – The Daily Beast.

Hat tip: InstaPundit

From MSNBC:

Former Tennessee Rep. Harold Ford Jr. is readying for a fight in the race to challenge New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand in this fall's Democratic primary.

via Ford ’strongly considering’ N.Y. Senate run – More politics- msnbc.com.

I like Harold Ford Jr. quite a bit.  He doesn’t share too many of my political views but he’s a good alternative to the Democratic Party Machine’s candidate.

Cool Video.  Makes me proud to be a Mustang owner.  Ford has been doing it right lately and is doing well.

A blog you should begin reading regularly is Wholly Jesus. It’s written by Mark Foreman, the man I want to be when I grow up.

Personally, I’m glad to see Mark McGwire come clean on steroids.  I’m hoping to hear more of these confessions.  Let’s get it all out on the open and move on.

“The toughest thing is my wife, my parents, close friends have had no idea that I hid it from them all this time,” he told The Associated Press in an emotional, 20-minute interview. “I knew this day was going to come. I didn’t know when.”

via McGwire admits using steroids in 70-HR year – Baseball- nbcsports.msnbc.com.

Michelle Malkin » Unbelievable update: The crappiest NYTimes column on Obamacare just got crappier; Update: Kristof’s disingenuous non-response.

It’s unbelievable what is called journalism.  Nick Kristof needs to go work for somewhere where facts don’t matter.  I can’t believe the NY Times thinks this is OK.

HT: InstaPundit

Music and Concert Review: Switchfoot – Hello Hurricane – Blogcritics Music.

Dodgers don’t offer arbitration to any free agents — latimes.com.

The whole McCourt divorce is going to kill the Dodgers.  They are afraid they will be stuck in arbitration with a big one year contract but I think they are also afraid of having to sign a bunch of draft picks.  This blows.  Sell the Dodgers.

Today, November 10, is the official release day for the new Switchfoot album, “Hello Hurricane”.  Go to the Switchfoot’s My Space to take a listen (you’ll need to scroll down to turn off a video that is playing).  Then, go out and buy it.

VDH’s Private Papers::Obamanoia – This covers all my concerns about the current path of this administration.  It’s a lot of warmed-over Jimmy Carter plus the worst aspects of Richard Nixon.  Hope and Change are good as long as you agree with Obama.  If not, you are trashed.

HT: Doug TenNapel

President Obama wins the Nobel Peace Prize for doing what?  What a joke.  He had very few accomplishments before he became President and hasn’t really done anything since then.

I think they just assumed that Obama is so amazing that world peace would already be achieved by the time the award was announced.

My heart says Dodgers all the way in 2009 but this isn’t about that. Here’s my quick analysis of the eight playoff teams and my assessment of their changes.

Rockies – They’ve got a lot of heart but their starting pitching isn’t enough, especially if Jorge De La Rosa isn’t available. I still can’t believe they were able to get into the playoffs so you never know what can happen. A huge long shot.

Cardinals – I love their pitching staff especially the top two. I think Carpenter is the best pitcher in baseball at the moment and Wainright is a super strong number two starter. They’ve got enough offense and the defense is good enough also. The bullpen is the weaker spot. If it comes down to the bullpen then they might have some issues unless they are playing the Phillies.

Phillies – A very heavy left-handed hitting team with a great top two starting pitchers. Cliff Lee has been nails since being acquired from Cleveland (why the heck didn’t the Dodgers get him). Their bullpen is truly horrible so that big offense needs to spot the starters a few runs. Lee and Hammels need to throw a lot of innings in order for them to win.

Dodgers – A solid team offensively and defensively with a nasty good bullpen. The big problem is that, as of now, their starting pitchers are all no better than number three starters which is horrible when they play the Cardinals or Phillies who each have two stud starting pitchers. If Manny finally gets back on the juice and his bat explodes then that changes everything.

Twins – A great story but it will end soon. Their starting pitching is generally untested and their bullpen is tired as they need to be ready to play at Yankee Stadium less than one day after their 12 inning historic victory.

Angels – Their starting pitching wasn’t as strong as expected. There are some decent numbers but Lackey, Weaver and Kazmir need to take it to the next level. I’m not a big fan of their closer, Brian Fuentes as I just don’t think he’s that good. Very good defensive team and good hitting. They are also very well managed as I think Scioscia is the best in the game.

Red Sox – The starting pitching is a bit questionable. Lester is a stud and Beckett has been a stud but I just am not sure he’s ready to step up in the playoffs this year. Buchholz isn’t an ideal starting for the playoffs yet but I guess the Sox don’t have a choice. Good enough offense and defense is solid. These guys are dangerous.

Yankees – Loaded on offense and defense is good (or even great) in most areas. Rivera is the best reliever in the business, especially the playoffs. The question marks are Sabathia and Burnett. The big game history for Sabathia is weak and Burnett had a mediocre season for the money he was paid. Pettitte has the big game history so if CC and AJ come through then the Yankees are the team to beat.

My predictions:

Phillies vs. Rockies – Phillies
Cardinals vs. Dodgers – Cardinals
Red Sox vs. Angels – Angels
Yankees vs. Twins – Yankees

Philles vs. Cardinals – Cardinals
Angels vs. Yankees – Yankees

Cardinals vs. Yankees – Yankees

Those are my picks. Let’s see what happens.

UPDATE: Here’s my 2008 Picks so hopefully I’m smarter this year.

2009 MLB Playoff Central – MLB News – FOX Sports on MSN.

Philip K. Howard: Why Medical Malpractice Reform Is Off Limits – WSJ.com.

Eliminating defensive medicine could save upwards of $200 billion in health-care costs annually, according to estimates by the American Medical Association and others. The cure is a reliable medical malpractice system that patients, doctors and the general public can trust.

The party of the trial lawyers (the Democrats) needs to act make tort reform happen even before health care reform.  This is a slam dunk.

HT: Real Clear Politics

Towers had need, went out and found it | padres.com: News.

For the first time since PETCO Park opened in 2004, Towers has the kind of athleticism and speed he’s long coveted, spearheaded but certainly not limited to 22-year-old rookie shortstop Everth Cabrera, who leads the Padres with 24 stolen bases.

I’ve been saying this for years.  Now that Sandy Alderson is out of the way Towers can build the type of team that is needed in San Diego.

HT to MLB Trade Rumors

Hot Air » Blog Archive » Study: Regulation costs California economy almost $500 billion. – Just read it.

HT: InstaPundit

This is disgusting. If one of my kids was in this class I’m just suing everybody. Whoever ran this had better be fired or at least suspended for quite a while.