Has Hillary had cosmetic work done?

I noticed how really good she looked at the last debate. I thought maybe it was good lighting. But I noticed this recent picture (on top) looked quite different from an older picture of her in the Senate. I think it hasn't been major, just some collagen injections, a bit of botox, and chemical resurfacing. It does look like an eye lift though.

There is nothing wrong with trying to look as young as possible. Heaven knows, I am all for it. But it is sad that women have to go through this kind of stuff. You won't see Fred Thompson getting all his sags and bags lifted.

Caption Contest

Presidential hopeful Barack Obama taped an appearance on The Tyra Banks Show on Thursday. Tyra offered him a crystal ball, which she suggested he give to his wife Michelle for their 15th wedding anniversary.

When she asked him what she saw in it, Obama said, "I see the White House right there."

Clarence Thomas.

CBS) In his first television interview, in which he discusses his childhood, his race, his rise to Supreme Court Justice and his job on the nation's highest court, Clarence Thomas says the real issue at his controversial confirmation hearings 16 years ago was abortion.

In 1991 I went home to Mississippi for a cousin's wedding. My brother was still an entrenched Democrat at the time. He isn't anymore, but he isn't a Republican either. He's a lawyer and the one in the family with whom I verbally spar the most.

We had a doozy of an argument over this. I knew without a shadow of doubt that this whole smear campaign on Thomas was about abortion. My brother thought I was crazy. The abortion lobby was so afraid that a conservative like Thomas would "turn back the clock" on their right to destroy their unborn children in the womb, that they were willing to do anything and everything to make sure that didn't happen.

Thomas now talks about it and I was exactly right. Fortunately, my brother has come around to my way of thinking on the abortion issue, so I can't call him today and say "I told you so."

Anyone who believed Anita Hill at that time didn't want to see the truth for what it was.

My grandfather was from the old south. Prejudice and proud. I was sitting in front of the TV at his house watching the hearings closely. We had the one and only political discussions we ever had. He asked me why I cared so much about a "negro" becoming a Supreme Court judge. I looked at my grandfather and said, "I don't care what color his skin is, he believes in the same things I believe in. He will help make decisions that will affect my children directly and generations to come. It's important." He just looked at me. He didn't say another thing.

What happened to Clarence Thomas should never happen to anyone wanting to serve our country. They tried to denigrate a good man with no evidence whatsoever other than heresay. This is one of the reason I think good people are reluctant to enter public life, and I don't blame them.

Evictions by Democrats.

A few weeks ago I wrote about the difference in the way the Bush daughters and Chelsea Clinton are living in their life in response to a slam on Jenna Bush by James Wolcott. I wrote about Chelsea working for Avenue Capital, a hedge fund run by Marc Lasry, a loyal donor to Democratic causes generally, and heavy supporter of the Clintons. (so says Wikipedia).

Well, John Edwards has been getting heat for working for the hedge fund that is responsible for some subprime loans and foreclosures in Iowa. But, as Slate points out, "the hedge fund for which Chelsea Clinton has worked is not exactly Landlord of the Year either " That landlord would be Marc Lasry and Avenue Capital.

Hedge funds, throwing people out on the street, and foreclosures. Don't you love how Democratic supporters are all about helping the poor?

Rudy explains his NRA speech cell phone call.

It was because of 9-11, of course!

Brody: I know there was some positive press from the cell phone call and there was some negative press. Do you care to clear that up?

Giuliani: Sure. My wife calls me when she gets on a plane. We'd just gotten back from England, hadn't had much sleep. I knew she was going to take a plane, but I didn't know which one she was going to take back to New York, and quite honestly since Sept. 11 most of the time when we get on a plane we talk to each other and just reaffirm the fact that we love each other.

Good spin. Except for the fact that he admits he doesn't take the call sometimes. (oh, dear! what if that's the one that crashes?!) He just thought it would be good TV to take that one.

"Sometimes if I'm in the middle of a very, very sensitive meeting, I don't take the call right then I wait. But I thought it would be kind of nice if I took it at that point, and I'd done that before in engagements, and I didn't realize it would create any kind of controversy.."

Blasphemy.

Blasphemy: impious utterance or action concerning God or sacred things.

You don't hear that word too often. But if it ever applied today, it would apply to The Folsom Street Fair ad in San Francisco where they have depicted the Last Supper with S&M gays and sex toys. I can't even bear to post the picture. Give it a look at Michelle's.

Christians put up with a lot of bashing these days. It seems we aren't suppose to be outraged when someone offends that which is most sacred to us.

Nooses are hung in a tree in a small town of Louisiana and the media is all over it. Bloggers are all over. We are stunned and disgusted. Media Matters is at this moment waging a smear campaign against Bill O'Reilly because he dared to say that the black America of rappers and gangsters don't represent mainstream blacks. Now Rush is under attack as well as they take out of context a conversation Rush has with a caller.

But let a S&M street fair mock and desecrate our God and not a word from the left.

Miller beer is sponsering this abomination. I've never been big on boycotts, but I will never buy Miller again and I urge you not to as well. People have a right to offend in this country, but we don't have to buy the products that openly sponser that which offends us.

Burma.

Michelle has the latest.

It seems dissident blogs have gone dark.

Michelle tells us what is being done:

— The United States ordered a freeze on the assets of Burma’s military leader and 13 other top officials
— President Bush urged Burmese troops “not to use force on their fellow citizens”
— Foreign ministers of the Association of SouthEast Asian Nations (Asean) expressed “revulsion” at the treatment of protesters. “They were appalled to receive reports of automatic weapons being used,” said George Yeo, the Singaporean Foreign Minister
— Burma issued a visa to Ibrahim Gambari, who was dispatched by the UN Security Council to investigate the crisis.

Grab a tissue....

New John McCain Ads.

Excellent.

The "One Man" ad reminds us of why McCain is and always will be an American Hero.

Hillary LaughBot.

This is hilarious. Jon Stewart shows us the "timed" laughter of Hillary Clinton on all the Sunday talk shows. "I'm fun, I promise!"

Seriously. Watch this and wonder how the Democrats could even think of nominating this calculating brittle woman.

The Global Initiative.

Bill Clinton and Al Gore spoke at the Global Initiative Meeting yesterday in New York.

"This climate crisis is not going to be solved only by personal actions and business actions," Gore said Wednesday at the conference. "God knows, I'm evidence of that" "We need changes in laws, changes in policies. We need leadership, and we need a new treaty."

Ok, the quote in red is mine. I couldn't resist. This is typical though. The Democrats want to change laws and policies, but will not practice what they preach.

You can say what you want about Ralph Nader, but at least he lives the way he believes.

Still good news from the war.

(Col. Simcock on the right)

An Interview with Col. Richard Simcock, Regimental Combat Team 6 -- [ON Point]As Col Simcock describes, Fallujah is a far different city today :

Q – What’s new in Fallujah since we last talked ?

A – I’m pleased to say that nothing is new. It’s the continuation of good news throughout my AO. We’ve just finished the last part of a ‘swarm’, which is like a small-scale surge into a district of the city, and now the last district in town is under control of the I/P’s.Last week Gen Petraeus took Katie Couric into downtown Fallujah, and they walked down the street through the market. This wasn’t a John McCain photo op, this was a no-sh*t walk through the market, and she was absolutely amazed at how normal it was.

No place in Fallujah is considered unsafe today.

Q – Fallujah must be unique in this ?

A – Absolutely not. Shiek Sattar and the Sons of Anbar have reached out from Ramadi into the whole area. Habbiniyah is safe. You’ve been to Ramadi, you know it’s safe. Al-Quam, Rawah…this is a far different environment than a year ago.

Q – Problems with the Iraqi Security Forces continue to make the news, and Gen Jones called for the disbanding of the Iraq National Police. Are these problems you encounter also?

A – No. In fact the Coalition Forces have taken a backseat to the ISF. In my AO these guys do a great job; the IP’s are aggressive and very competent, the Neighborhood Watch is extremely effective. We’re available to help, but let me tell you that these guys are good.

Read the whole thing.

via Mudville

The Democratic Debate.

All I can say is that it seems to me that Obama and Edwards have given up on being the nominee and are just hoping for the Veep spot. It's like they aren't even trying. It was all admiration for Hillary night. I wouldn't be surprised if there were some whispering behind the scenes from the Hillary camp to both of them.

The most disturbing part was when the candidates were told of a school where a 2nd grade teacher read a story to her students about same sex marriage where a prince meets his prince. It doesn't matter if you are pro-gay rights or not, any decent thinking person knows that 2nd grade is too young to discuss sexuality in such a way, and even more importantly, it's the parent's job to do so. Not one of the Democratic candidates understood this.

Geeze....

From The Corner:

The Code Pink crazies are at it again. Charlie Spiering in Bob Novak's office had his eagle eye on General Peter Pace's testimony on C-Span 3 moments ago.

Gen Peter Pace was testifying, Sen. Tom Harkin [D-Iowa] was grilling him about his comments on gays. Pace said that he had been raised to believe that sexual activity outside of marriage was immoral — which caused a huge "pink" uproar. Harkin suspended the hearing, demanding that they be "cleared out of the room." As noise came through the doors harkin demanded they be closed and asked, "Cant you get them out of the building?"

First of all, what does it matter what Gen. Pace thinks about gays? As long as he comports himself in the manner of a General, then he can dang well think what he wishes. Believing that something someone does is wrong is not the same as hating the person. Good grief. How many of us have friends or loved ones that do things that we think are wrong??? Everyone! This thought police thing is just getting out of control.

Second, oh, yeah, It's HORRIBLE to express your own sense of morality. How DARE he think sex outside of marriage is wrong!!! Off with his head!!!!!!!!!!!

Code pinkers are out of their mind. One either agrees with their warped worldview or to hell with them.

Tolerance. They should look the word up.

Women, Writing, and The Personal.

Salon Magazine has an article about political (way left communist type) columnist Katha Pollitt, who "has been vilified for airing her romantic dirty laundry. What's wrong with serious women writers exposing their soft underbellies to the world?"

It's an interesting look at a female writer who writes on serious political subjects, yet also has exposed her most vulnerable self with essays about finding another women's panties in her boyfriend's laundry and ignoring it, or cyber stalking her ex-boyfriend, or allowing him to belittle her and staying with him. All the while being a "feminist" writer.

Salon explains why this may be disconcerting to some:

"But the expectation for Pollitt, who is not twentysomething and not lithe, is that she care about Marxism and communism and feminism and not about breakups. It's surely not a coincidence that the review of her book in the New York Times runs next to a larger than normal photograph of her looking more than a little austere. Ew! Old lady writing about sex!

We frankly don't want to picture the emotional or romantic or sexual lives of non-dewy, non-leonine women. Even Pollitt herself finds it slightly distasteful, writing in the book that "People who despair after a certain age are just depressing. We don't have the looks for it, and besides, we make others uncomfortable: what if we're on to something?"

When I first starting writing this blog, I included quite a few extremely personal stories about my Father, my Grandma, my first love, and the death of my high school boyfriend. I wrote about my perfect summer and even recently about my daughter leaving for college.

But I notice that mostly when it comes to my own emotions and personal life, I only write from a distance. I look back. Never here and now. That would be too personal. And of course I would never write about my sexual life as Pollit does. I can't even imagine putting those things out there for the world to read and mock, as is what happened with Pollit. It would seem to take courage that Pollit doesn't seem to really have.

The writer of this article wonders if women writers can be taken seriously after exposing so much about herself:

"I understand the impulse to censure a writer like Pollitt for fueling her critics, for revealing so much of herself that she imperils her well-earned reputation. What if the next time I read her on single-issue voting or the death penalty or the Supreme Court, I'm actually thinking about how she never liked to give her ex blow jobs in the morning?"

More:

"I wonder how many women have been stopped from literary self-exposure by the fear of incurring a lasting bruise on their previously thick and unblemished skin. Maybe they were right to preserve the illusion of invulnerability, or perhaps in their effort to remain publicly invincible, they have deprived us of what might have been gripping and incisive narrative about their personal travails."

I have to say that is certainly true for me. I write things in private that I could never share and I wonder if I should. I certainly don't have the colorful and crazy life that Pollitt has, but I think I have many of the same feelings and problems of so many women.

I am a member of The Cotillion. A group of conservative women bloggers. We e-mail each other daily. Sometimes I get as many as 200 e-mails in one day. We share news items and opinions, but we also share our pain and heartache on every issue you can imagine, sexual, mental, and emotional.

I read some of these e-mails and sit in awe of the candor, honesty, and pain that so many carry with them. The rule of Cotillion is what is said in Cotillion stays in Cotillion, and I have never seen that trust breached in all my time there. But I admit, I don't pour my heart out even there, although I admire the ones who do. They receive so much support and advice.

Writing is cathartic. I wish I could express more of myself. I wish I was brave that way. For now, I'll give you what I can.

Stop Childhood Obesity...

This is an ad from Stop Childhood Obesity that uses that the Larry Craig scandal to promote Farm Bill reform.

It's effective, but kinda strange to use that particular scandal.

via Towleroad

Ok, I lied.

More on Ahmadinejad.

Not surprisingly, the Persian-language transcript of Ahmadinejad's speech and answers at Columbia University has excised both the question about treatment of gays in Iran and President Ahmadinejad’s denial of gays being in Iran.

Also, not surprisingly, Ahmadinejad's website which claims to provide the authoritative transcripts of his speeches and is relied upon by the news media in Iran, does not mention the gay reference either. To date, not a single Persian-language media outlet in Iran has reported on Ahmadinejad's remarks regarding gays.

SCHIP

I'm not surprised by the msm's distortion of the expansion of SCHIP. SCHIP bill simply goes too far toward federalizing health care. It turns a program meant to help low-income children into one that covers children in some households with incomes of up to $83,000 a year.

We all know what happens with federal programs. They never go away, they only expand. This is the problem I have with so many social programs. What starts as something we can all agree on to help the poor, just gets expanded to middle income. And the government bureaucracy always creates openings for billions of dollars in fraud (see welfare).

Powerline says this:

Now, however, it looks like Sen. Martinez has come up with a proposal that bridges the gap, and has the support of conservative activists such as Grover Norquist of Americans for Tax Reform, as well as the White House. The Republican plan is based on is based on a Heritage Foundation proposal. It's two key main elements are:

(a) Reauthorize SCHIP for eligible children, thereby covering children in families with incomes at or below 200% of the federal poverty level.

(b) Enact a child health care tax credit for families with incomes between 200% and 300% of the poverty level.

The virtue of this plan is it covers the population targeted by the Democrats, but instead of forcing them to drop their current coverage and go on a government plan, it provides assistance to enable them to keep their current insurance plan.

And he has this:

UPDATE: An excellent discussion of SCHIP can be found in this paper by health care policy expert David Hogberg, written for The National Center for Policy Research. Its apt title is: "SCHIP Expansion: Socialized Medicine on the Installment Plan."

Last Ahmadinejad post!

MichaelSavage.com shows that Columbia University blacked out's it's name on the podium where Ahmadinejad spoke. It is curious. Why do you think that happened? So the world community wouldn't associate the University?

Sigh.

There is always more to the story, isn't there?