"...Oklahoma Sen. Don Nickles, the second-ranking Senate Republican at the time, said the Democrats 'sound somewhat like spokespersons for the Iraqi government.' "I know what you're thinking...biggest surprise since Jody Foster came out, right? Still, imagine this happening with Hitler instead of Saddam. You know what we'd call these guys, back when the nation had a single, unified backbone? Traitors.
This would mean Spielberg will adapt "The Secret of the Unicorn" and "Red Rackham's Treasure" stories. The first book follows the pair racing to find three parchments, hidden inside the masts of three ship model replicas, which lead to a buried treasure of Haddock's ancestor Red Rackham. The second sees the voyage to find the treasure somewhere in the Caribbean.I devoured these "graphic novels" (come on, they're comics, people) as a kid growing up in Montana. My brother and I used to check them out at the library every chance we had. They still epitomize the notion of pure adventure in my mind, which is why I'm getting goosebumps over all this.
While this is the worst problem Spitzer has faced, his 14 months in office have been marred by problems, including an unpopular plan to grant driver's licenses to illegal immigrants and a plot by his aides to smear Spitzer's main Republican nemesis.Yep, couldn't have happened to a nicer guy. Except for maybe Ted Kennedy, but that guy would have to kill someone -- like, actually drive-off-a-bridge-while-intoxicated-and-flee-the-scene kill someone -- to lose his job.
"Here is why a nation with Obama as president will be in such mortal danger. It is because we currently face determined [Islamic] enemies which have a well-honed grand scheme / master plan and are highly motivated to carry it out. Dreamers imagining us "living for today" in a "brotherhood of man" are no match for enemies such as these, who have no interest whatsoever in brotherhood with those who imagine no heaven, no hell and no religion."If after reading this piece you still doubt Obama represents a cult leader for the brainless, check out this website. Be prepared to laugh.
"British military officials confirmed that Harry, 23, third in line to the British throne, deployed to Afghanistan on Dec. 14 and has been fighting Taliban forces from a forward operating base in southern Helmand province."Say what you want about do-nothing royals and a life of "undeserved privilege," but I'd like to see a Kennedy exhibit this kind of patriotism and sense of duty:
Elsewhere in a videotaped interview, he recounts the Queen telling him where he was bound and her approval of his service. Asked what his mum would say, he responded, "I think she'd be proud.""In the December interview, one of the most extensive of his life, Harry said he considered leaving the army after being denied an Iraq deployment. The reason he didn't, he said, was 'the possibility of this' mission to Afghanistan."
" 'I would never want to put someone else's life in danger when they have to sit next to the bullet magnet,' he said. 'But if I'm wanted, if I'm needed, then I will serve my country as I signed up to do.' "
Which brings to mind another Prince Hal.
And gentlemen in England now-a-bed
Shall think themselves accurs'd they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day.
"NBC is cashing in on the "Survivor"/"Lost" phenomenon by ordering 13 episodes of "Robinson Crusoe," a drama series based on Daniel Defoe's classic novel."...and now the bad news.
The 17th century setting of the book will remain intact but will have a contemporary feel and deal with such issues as race relations.I should be immune to the disease by now but apparently not, because suddenly I feel kinda queasy.
"...The cadets at West Point designated Smith’s character as the best personification of the military academy’s leadership qualities on the silver screen. ... Runners-up included King Leonidas of "300," portrayed by Gerard Butler, and John McClane of "Live Free or Die Hard," portrayed by Bruce Willis..."While Time is swooning over George Clooney as "THE Last Movie Star" like a hysterical bunch of backstage bobbysoxers, the real world knows there are a few more left, and they aren't George Clooney as "Michael Clayton."
The true leader of these post-apocalyptic Republicans? A chrome-domed Bond villain of a Homeland Security director who dictates to military commanders while looming overhead on Evil-Vision JumboTron, puffy white cat in hand. (OK, there's no cat, but you know he's got one.)
The signs of Spring are harder to miss this year. Maybe that's only because we just survived of our very first Washington state winter.
"[Pitcher Barry] Zito told San Francisco reporters that a lot of players weren't 'comfortable in their own skin' around Bonds, including himself.Did any of us realize it was that bad? I didn't. But it explains a lot.
'I'm excited,' Zito said. 'People will be allowed to be who they want to be, not who they think they have to be because there is such a heavy presence in the clubhouse, such a superstar.'
Reliever Tyler Walker agreed that players often walked on eggshells around Bonds. He could break up a conversation or chill a room with a turn of his head.
"Like many of his teammates, [pitcherMatt] Cain began the day Thursday by slipping into a black-and-white-and-gray camouflage T-shirt with a saying on the back, in bold orange lettering, that reads, Warrior Spirit, Find the Swagger."
(Have I mentioned how much I like Bruce Bochy? This team draws an equal number of fans from the liberal Bay Area and conservative No Cal inlands. But Boch has more in common with the latter. Therefore, I dig.)
"It was a sartorial — and symbolic — departure from the T-shirts that were unveiled, to much fanfare, at Giants spring training last year. They were worn by pitcher Barry Zito, the team’s prized free-agent acquisition, and Bonds, its most popular — and polarizing — figure and read, 'Don’t ask me, ask Barry.' "
Or as the "good Barry" put it, in reference to the crazy-stringent drug testing now in effect:“I think it’s good that everything’s getting cleansed right now in baseball,” he said. “You want to show kids that this game has integrity, that we have morals and rules that we abide by, and it’s not just about hitting home runs at whatever cost.”Zito -- who has given time and raised a ton of money for the troops -- is another Red Stater you can't help but love. Seated at Bonds' old locker, he went on:
Hey, best of luck to Barry Bonds. Sincerely. I'm not throwing that jersey away anytime soon. But, Giants fans, this is how it's supposed to feel.“I just want the team to feel cohesive and I felt like so much focus on the [Bonds home run] record last year took away from that,” Zito said.
“This year instead of it being us on Barry’s team, it’s just going to be our team.”
Flynn has so far written nine novels, eight about the fictional Rapp, who possesses the ruthlessness and killing skills of Jason Bourne and the sleuthing talents of Jack Ryan.Yeah, but is he on our side, really?
Flynn began the Rapp novels in 2000 with "Transfer of Power," in which the agent was assigned to stop Islamic terrorists who took control of the White House. In "Protect and Defend," Rapp and his longtime boss get ambushed in Iraq, and he becomes a killing machine to rescue his mentor before she is tortured.
That would be a big yes.
Sounds too good to be true, doesn't it? I Googled Vince Flynn immediately. First hit was a Q&A that began this-a-way:The studio and producers haven't decided yet which novel to use as the basis for the first film. Most involve Rapp defusing a global crisis in places like Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq or the U.S.
Read the whole interview here. This guy is clearly one of us, or close enough for terrorist-greasing government work.Question: In the real world, how effective do you think torture is with Islamic terrorists?
A: Far more effective than liberals would have you believe. Congress really upset me with how they treated Attorney General Michael Mukasey and how the media pushed this question. Why aren’t reporters forcing senators and Congress to answer the same questions about torture? What do you think we should have done? Given them a lawyer, three square meals a day and let planes get hijacked?
