The Cuban tragedy started 50 years ago tonight!

50 years ago, my parents were getting dressed up to go welcome the new year of 1959.

Like most Cubans, they were optimistic about the future.

To say the least, there were no Cubans desperately trying to swim over to the US. There were no lines outside foreign embassies looking for any loophole to get out of the country. (Cubans clamor for Spanish passports)

IBD has a great editorial today called Communist Cuba: 50 Years Of Failure:

"New Year's Day marks 50 years of communist rule in Cuba. The Castro oligarchy will trumpet its survival and celebrate.

But the reality, up close, is that it's the longest-running failure in the New World.

Spare us the fireworks and media-parroted claims of Fidel Castro's dictatorship bringing universal health care and education to Cuba.

The real story is that a prosperous Cuba was turned into ruins in just five decades."

Also, spare me the "blame the US" message, too! Spare me the "blame the US embargo" nonsense. Cuba can do business with any country in the world. The US embargo has not stopped the EU, Canada or Mexico from doing business with Cuba. What's the problem? Read on:

""It's a major failure," Carmelo Mesa-Lago, a University of Pittsburgh economist, told IBD.

"Cuba is unable to increase food production to meet its needs and now imports 84% of its food.

Cuba produced 7 million tons of sugar in 1952.

This year, it's 1.5 million tons.

This is the result of economic policy of collectivization, killing of individual incentive, inefficiency, constant changes of policy."

50 years of lies, corruption and economic failure.

How does "the party of little people" replace its Senators?

We are watching a rather amazing performance by the Dems, the self appointed party of the little people.

After all, don't the Dems run around and say that they speak for the little guy?

I guess that they do until it comes to replacing US Senators.

The WSJ has a good one called Dynasty, and we are not talking about Linda Evans:

"So to recap all of this change you can believe in:

A Kennedy and Cuomo are competing to succeed a Clinton in New York;

the skids are greased for a Biden to replace a Biden in Delaware;

one Salazar might replace another in Colorado;

and a Governor charged with political corruption in Illinois wants one of his cronies to succeed the President-elect.

Let's just say we're looking forward to 2009."

"Hope and change" has never looked any crazier!

2008: It was a very bad year for The NY Times!

Just heard this:

"Vicki L. Iseman filed the defamation suit in U.S. District Court in Richmond. It also names as defendants the Times' executive editor, its Washington bureau chief and four reporters" (AP)

Do you remember the outrageous story linking Miss Iseman romantically with Sen. McCain? It was one of the worst performances by The NY Times! It was a clear cut demonstration that The NY Times was in the tank for Obama!

Let's hope that Miss Iseman can win her case. Furthermore, let's hope that The NY Times has any money to pay the judgement.

Thomas Lifson has been reporting on The NY Times' financial decline for years. This is how he puts it:

"For the New York Times Company, 2008 has been an annus horibilis."

I remember Latin from my days as an altar boy. I remember enough Latin to confirm that annus horiblis is not a good thing.

Will the despicable NY Times be around to endorse someone in 2012? I don't know for sure. I do expect them to make a lot of editorial excuses for Pres. Obama, specially when he keeps troops in Iraq and uses military force without consulting with our allies!

2009: Be careful with your predictions!

A year ago, most of us thought that it would be Rudy G vs. Hillary! It was as inevitable, as those inevitable 19-0 Patriots!

What happened?

Life happened!

Life is very hard to predict.

No matter what happens, everything will be blamed on global warming! It won't be long before someone blames the 0-16 Detroit Lions' woes on global warming! (No Matter What Happens, Someone Will Blame Global Warming)

2008: We lost Cachao

Israel "Cachao" López died in 2008. This is a little bit about Cachao:

"Born in Havana in 1918, he came from a family of musicians and studied classical music. He began his public career at 8 years old, playing bongos in a children’s group.

A year later, he had stood on a crate to play bass for the Cuban pianist and singer, Bola de Nieve, accompanying silent films.

At 13, he became the bassist of the Havana Philharmonic, and he performed with the orchestra from 1930 to 1960.

But he also played Havana clubs with his brother Orestes, working with a noted Cuban dance orchestra, Arcaño y Sus Maravillas, and with their own groups."

In recent years, Cachao recorded several albums and collected many awards. He was a master arranger of Cuban music. I posted this when he died in March: Cachao, legendary Cuban musician

Rest in peace Cachao!

2008: The Cardinal Mindszenty Foundation is 50 years old!

Along with Pope John Paul II, Cardinal Joseph Mindszenty is one of my Catholic heroes.

Both men stood up to Hitler and the Soviet Union., the two great evils of the 20th century

Cardinal Mindszenty's life was just amazing:

"Joseph Mindszenty was born in Hungary on March 29, 1892.

He was ordained to the priesthood on the Feast of the Sacred heart of Jesus on June 12, 1915, and was consecrated Bishop of Veszprem on March 25, 1944.

From November 27, 1944 to April 20, 1945, he was imprisoned by the Nazis.

Pope Pius XII appointed him Archbishop of Esztergom and Primate of Hungary on October 2, 1945.

Just a few months later, on February 18, 1946, the Holy Father raised him to the Cardinalate.

As Pope Pius XII placed the Cardinal's hat on his head, the Pope said:

"Among the thirty-two, you will be the first to suffer the martyrdom whose symbol this red color is."

When the Communists arrested Cardinal Mindszenty in Budapest on December 26, 1948, his twenty-three long years of persecution, suffering and enforced isolation began.

Throughout his ordeals, he was unwavering in his faith, hope and love of God.

Upon the request of Pope Paul VI, Cardinal Mindszenty departed from his country of Hungary, still occupied by the Communists, on September 29, 1971, and settled in Vienna, Austria.

He died there at the age of 83 on May 6, 1975.

Today, Cardinal Mindszenty is buried in the Church of the Assumption, the Basilica of Esztergom, Hungary, where pilgrims visit daily and pray for his intercession in their needs."

Now, that's a guy who doesn't read polls or tells people what they want to hear!

The Cardinal Mindszenty Foundation is 50 years old. It publishes great reports and broadcasts a radio show called DANGERS OF APATHY.

Congratulations to everyone who has made this Foundation possible.

2008: The Rangers were a disappointment again!

The Rangers' season had 3 chapters:

First, they started 7-16. It was painful to watch.

Second, they played well and got within a realistic challenge to the wild card. They were 6 back of Boston in August! (The AL West was out of contention because the Angels ran away with it!)

Third, the team collapsed again. It was painful to watch again!

They finished at 79-83. This is the eighth losing season in nine years.

The pitchers? They had too many injuries and the highest ERA in baseball.

How do you win a division with the highest ERA in the majors? You can't and the Rangers didn't.

What can we look forward to in 2009?

The Angels will be weaker. Oakland and Seattle have huge question marks.

The Rangers should be better, specially if Milwood and Padilla are healthy. They are both proven major league pitchers who could win 15-18 games each.

Can they add Ben Sheets? It'd be nice but I wouldn't give Sheets a long term contract because of those arm injuries.

What can we look forward to?

Josh Hamilton, Michael Young, Ian Kinsler, a healthy Hank Blalock, Chris Davis, etc.

We have young players but we need more veteran pitching. Frankly, we need another starter to compete in the AL West.

2008: It was a bad year for Al Gore

VP Gore had a choice in 2000.

The first option was to do what VP Nixon did in 1960, i.e. accept results and move on. Nixon had lost the presidency to JFK by 114,000 votes out 76 million! Nixon was under pressure to ask for recounts in Illinois and Texas!

In other words, recounts are always bad for the country. They don't help anyone, except the wackos in the left or right who buy into conspiracy theories.

By the way, Nixon was elected pesident 8 years later.

The second option was to play the victim card and let wackos promote the canard that Bush stole the election.

Of course, Bush did not steal the 2000 election. Bush won Gore's Tennessee and Clinton's Arkansas! Bush won the electoral college, which is the same way that every president has been elected since George Washington!

To make matters worse, Gore also went silly with global warming. Unfortunately, the global warming message is really cold, as they say in "hide and seek".

IBD has a great editorial:

"Global temperatures stopped rising after 1998 and have plummeted in the last two years by more than 0.5 degrees Celsius.

The 2007-08 temperature drop was not predicted by global climate models.

It was predictable by a decline in sunspot activity since 2000 and by a cyclical ocean-current phenomenon known as the Pacific Decadal Oscillation.

On CNN's "Lou Dobbs Tonight" recently, Jay Lehr, a senior fellow and science director at the Heartland Institute, was asked by the host what he considered the dominant influence on Earth's climate.

"Well, clearly, Lou, it is the sun," Lehr answered, adding that "if we go back in really recorded human history; in the 13th century, we were probably seven degrees Fahrenheit warmer than we are now."

Lehr considers global cooling to be the real threat, part of a natural pattern as we continue coming out of a period known as the Little Ice Age.

"If we go back to the Revolutionary War, 300 years ago," he said, "it was very, very cold. We've been warming out of that cold spell from the Revolutionary War period. And now we're back into a cooling cycle."

The Associated Press claims that the 10 warmest years on record have occurred since Bill Clinton's second inaugural. But after it was discovered that NASA's James Hansen, Gore's chief scientific ally, had been fudging the numbers, the agency was forced to correct its data.

The 10 warmest years turn out to be, in descending order: 1934, 1998, 1921, 2006, 1931, 1999, 1953, 1990, 1938 and 1939.

If there's a trend there, we don't see it. So is global warming man-made and an imminent danger? As the snow falls in Vegas, don't bet on it."

Why is Al Gore speaking at wacko environmentalist meetings in Europe rather than attending his inauguration as president in a couple of weeks?

You can blame Gore and how he reacted to the 2000 election.

Bill Katz, our favorite blogger in 2008

Bill Katz is one of the most interesting guys in the blog sphere.

First, he publishes a daily blog.

Second, he is so interesting to read and talk to.

A few months ago, we had him on our show. Since then, URGENT AGENDA is one of my daily favorites.

His audio clips are great:

SEPTEMBER 29, 2008 - The 1960 election

OCTOBER 10, 2008 - Remembering the election of 1968

Bill is great and worth every second.

We select Bill Katz as our favorite blogger of 2008!

2008: The Tampa Bay Rays were the big sports story

The Tampa Bay Rays stunned the sports world by winning the AL pennant:

"With an average age of 27, Tampa Bay experienced an unprecedented franchise turnaround. Its 31-win improvement ranks as the third-greatest turnaround in American League history and the biggest margin since the 1989 Orioles.

The Rays' 97 wins tied the Cubs for second-most in the Majors, catapulting them to their first AL East title.

Once in the postseason, the Rays defeated the White Sox in the AL Division Series and took a best-of-7 set from the Red Sox in the ALCS."

The Rays showed up in spring training with a new attitude. They went out and beat Boston and New York.

Can they do it again? They have the talent. They have some of the best young players in baseball.

Again, can they do it again? We will know soon! Repeating is always the hardest thing at the major league level.

Can it get any crazier in Illinois?

This afternoon, we saw 3 reasons why Chicago is going to be a much bigger problem than Obama had anticipated.

Let's face it. Obama can not run away from his political alma mater.

What did we see? We saw Gov Blago, a nice man named Burris and "race card" expert Bobby Rush.

Wanna use the race card? Call Bobby Rush and he'll be happy to tell how to play it!

Are there any grown ups in Illinois?

For now, Gov. Blago is the governor. No one has denied his appointment powers.

Blago has not been impeached. My guess is that there are several Dems in the Illinois legislature who are afraid of letting Blago talk.

After all, does anyone believe that Blago is the only corrupt Dem in Illinois?

Trust me. Blago is not going to the federal jail by himself!

Last, but not least, how in the world are the US Senate Dems going to keep a duly appointed senator from serving Illinois?

On what grounds? On what basis? What precedent are we setting here?

The good news is that Illinois is now Comedy Central USA. We can use a little laughter.

The bad news is that Obama knew, and campaigned, for all of these corrupt types.

What's next? Who knows?

Chicago has become Obama's nightmare.

It's a shame that no one in the news media took the time to review Obama's Chicago connections.

I guess that they were too busy looking for Sarah Pallin dirt in Alaska!

2008: We are very proud of Laura Bush's work!

Laura Bush was an extremely popular Texas First Lady. She is an equally popular US First Lady.

Better than that, Laura Bush has done so much to promote women's rights in the Middle East:

Laura Bush was nominated for Texan of the Year. She deserved it.

Again, Laura Bush quietly worked very hard to promote women's rights in places where women do not have rights:

"In Africa, she met with Ghanan mothers involved in a nutritional program for underweight children. Later, she helped raise money for one woman who lost a child.

She and daughter Jenna also sat in a semi-circle with Zambian women who had tested positive for HIV and their caregivers.

She met there with young rape victims, one of whom was raising her siblings after her parents had died.

In Afghanistan, she traveled to a rural province to meet the nation's only female governor, walking arm-in-arm to show support.

Big brass would rarely visit such a poor province.

America's first lady did, meeting entrepreneurs, attending a school run by the U.S./Afghan Women's Council and visiting children who had been orphaned by the Taliban's savagery.

In Saudi Arabia, she met victims of breast cancer, a disease the kingdom considers taboo.

She met survivors secluded in a pink tent, where they gather privately to share experiences.

Her visit had a Betty Ford-like quality, encouraging women to get treatment for a disease they were ashamed to discuss.

A latter-day Betty Ford is, in fact, a good way to describe Mrs. Bush.

She's a traditional wife in a Republican family.

But she used her position to bring attention to difficult problems."

Pres. & Mrs. Bush will be flying back to Texas in a few weeks. They will live in Crawford and their new home in Dallas. I'm sure that the First Lady will be actively involved in the new Pres. GW Bush Library at SMU.

Most of all, we will miss her smile and lovely face. She was a wonderful First Lady! Laura has come a long way from her librarian days in West Texas.

Will Obama be forced to bring back the draft?

Pres. Obama promised to increase our troop levels in Afghanistan. He believes, as many Dems do, that "we took our eye off the ball".

How are we going to send all of these troops to Afghanistan?

How can we do that? It won't be easy, unless you bring back some kind of draft.

Today, I saw this poll:

"When asked how they feel about President-elect Barack Obama as commander in chief, six out of 10 active-duty service members say they are uncertain or pessimistic, according to a Military Times survey.

In follow-up interviews, respondents expressed concerns about Obama's lack of military service and experience leading men and women in uniform.

''Being that the Marine Corps can be sent anywhere in the world with the snap of his fingers, nobody has confidence in this guy as commander in chief," said one lance corporal who asked not to be identified.

Underlying much of the uncertainty is Obama's stated 16-month timetable for pulling combat troops out of Iraq, as well as his calls to end the ''don't ask, don't tell" policy to allow gays to serve openly in the military, according to survey responses and interviews.

Nearly one-third of respondents -- including eight out of 10 black service members -- said they are optimistic about their incoming boss." (6 of 10 have doubts about new commander-in-chief )

We are counting on young people to volunteer and serve their country.

Can Obama get these young people to risk their life and pursue military service? I hope so!

P.S. The Power Line blog has a letter from a Marine who was with Pres. elect BO last week in Hawaii. There is concern and BO has his work cut out!

2008: A very bad year for the global warming fanatics!

Like most of you, I love the environment. I love clean air. I love clean lakes. I want to protect polar bears as much as any one.

Finally, the global warming debate has gone from politics to science. I agree with Christopher Booker:

"Easily one of the most important stories of 2008 has been all the evidence suggesting that this may be looked back on as the year when there was a turning point in the great worldwide panic over man-made global warming.

Just when politicians in Europe and America have been adopting the most costly and damaging measures politicians have ever proposed, to combat this supposed menace, the tide has turned in three significant respects.

First, all over the world, temperatures have been dropping in a way wholly unpredicted by all those computer models which have been used as the main drivers of the scare.

Last winter, as temperatures plummeted, many parts of the world had snowfalls on a scale not seen for decades.

This winter, with the whole of Canada and half the US under snow, looks likely to be even worse.

After several years flatlining, global temperatures have dropped sharply enough to cancel out much of their net rise in the 20th century."

Everybody needs to stop and count to ten. The Poles are not melting any time soon!

2008: The Castro brothers are still wrecking Cuba!

Down in Cuba, Raul Castro said this about the economic problems:

""The accounts don't square up," he said. "You have to act with realism and adjust the dreams to the true possibilities," said Castro, who officially replaced his ailing older brother Fidel Castro as president in February.

"Two plus two always equals four, never five," he said."

What's the problem?

Castro came down very hard on Cubans who don't work and get state handouts:

"Castro said Cuban managers need to demand more from their workers, who receive free education and health care and subsidized food rations but on average earn only $20 a month.

"I have arrived at the conclusion that one of our big problems is a lack of systemic demand," said Castro."

So Cubans are lazy and they don't want to work?

That's funny.

They didn't say that about Cuba before the Castro brothers took over the country.

They don't say that about Cubans in the US!

P.S. Pres-elect Obama should read Castro's Cuba at 50 (Wash Times editorial) before changing anything in Cuba:

"Mr. Obama has said he wants to improve relations with Cuba, and is willing to talk to Fidel and Raul Castro with few restrictions.

He said he would start by lifting restrictions on relatives, allowing regular trips to Cuba, letting them sending relatives in Cuba whatever amount of money they wanted to send. (President Bush in 2004 had tightened restrictions on Cuban-Americans, limiting them to one visit to immediate family members every three years and allowing them to send no more than $1,200 a year.)

But a number of analysts warn that lifting restrictions on travel and money only strengthens the regime without helping the people, and that at best only a small minority of people benefit.

At various times in the past two decades the Cuban government has allowed private enterprise and financial exchanges, then crushed it when it started to present a danger to the regime.

Mr. Obama would be wise - and would avoid a potentially humiliating embarrassment with rippling effects on many other areas of foreign policy - if he took a long, hard look at Cuba under the Castros before making any unilateral concessions.

Since the Cuban leopard hasn't changed its spots in the past half-century, there is virtually no reason to believe it will be so charmed by Mr. Obama's smiling visage that it will suddenly do so and purr like a kitten."

Again, nothing will happen in Cuba until the Castro brothers leave voluntarily or involuntarily. In the meantime, remember Dr. Biscet and that Real heroes are in Castro's prisons!

The incredible Clinton money machine

On the right column of this blog, you will see links to presidential libraries under the "My favorite places" heading.

From Truman to the first Bush, presidents built libraries, gave a speech at the conventions, and stayed out of partisan politics.

No more.

Bill Clinton has redefined it all.

MARTIN PERETZ is editor in chief of The New Republic. In other words, Mr. Peretz is not some right wing conservative.

This is what he wrote about Pres. Clinton's money machine:

"What we now know is that Mr. Clinton was indiscriminating when it came to accepting cash from all sorts of countries.

He took money from poor countries like Jamaica, and more prosperous countries like Italy. He dipped into the Irish Aid Fund and the Swedish Postal Lottery for big money, and for small money from the Social Economic Council of the Netherlands.

And then there was an especially strange source from which he schnorrered: Citgo, Hugo Chávez's oil company.

Even if the revolucion didn't gain points for this, it is unseemly for an American president to ask the energy company of the Venezuelan dictatorship for spare cash.

So where did all this fund-raised money go?

Wouldn't you want to know to which philanthropic undertaking the King of Saudi Arabia and the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques committed himself?

This information is not in the report -- and it doesn't look like President-elect Obama has any interest in pushing for further disclosure.

Maybe the king just gave to general expenses."

As always, Bill Clinton is one very controversial fellow. I can't wait for Hillary Clinton's answers at the confirmation hearings.

P.S. What would they say about Sarah Pallin if "The First Dude" was running out collecting huge amounts of cash from other countries?

Can someone tell Caroline to step aside?

It is very sad to watch.

It's sad to see Caroline pretend that she is candidate.

It's sad to see Democrats going after her record.

Are you listening Caroline?

Get out please.

Read Michael Goodwin's Say goodnight, Caroline:

"But a strange thing is happening on the way to the coronation. The wheels of the bandwagon are coming off. Fantasy is giving way to inescapable truth.
That truth is that Kennedy is not ready for the job and doesn't deserve it. Somebody who loves her should tell her.

Her quest is becoming a cringe-inducing experience, as painful to watch as it must be to endure.

Because she is the only survivor of that dreamy time nearly 50 years ago, she remains an iconic figure.

But in the last few days, her mini-campaign has proved she has little to offer New Yorkers except her name."

P.S. The Beach Boys recorded a song entitled "Caroline no". It's a perfect message for Caroline.

"Where did your long hair go

Where is the girl I used to know

How could you lose that happy glow

Oh, caroline no

Who took that look away

I remember how you used to say

Youd never change,

but thats not true

Oh, caroline you

Break my heart I want to go and cry

Its so sad to watch a sweet thing die

Oh, caroline why

Could I ever find in you again

Things that made me love you so much then

Could we ever bring em back once they have gone

Oh, caroline no"

Obama and the Iraq war

For a couple of years, BO, the anti-war candidate, criticized the Bush administration over Iraq.

So what does the anti-war candidate do as soon as he gets elected?

He keeps the Bush war team intact. So much for "hope and change"!

Bill Gertz has a few thoughts in Obama wants Bush war team to stay.

How do we know that Pres. Bush made the right call in Iraq? Take a look at the incoming Obama administration.

As The Wash Post editorialized recently, BO was very lucky to be wrong about the surge in Iraq:

"Though we don't expect him to say so, Mr. Obama is fortunate that he was wrong, both about the surge and about the capacity of Iraq's leaders." (Road Map in Iraq)

We are happy that the President elect turned out to be lucky rather than good. It pays to be lucky once in a while.

Let's hope that the new president thanks the outgoing president for doing the right thing in Iraq. ("Hey George, thanks for doing what none of us had the political guts to do. We read polls and you governed!")

More than that, let's hope that Pres. Obama has Pres. Bush's toughness! Let's hope that he will be tough enough to do the right thing when every poll tells him that he is unpopular.

It will take a long time to get over this Cowboys' defeat!

The 2006 season ended with a messed up field goal attempt.

The 2007 season ended with a loss to the underdog Giants.

The 2008 season ended in an embarrassing defeat in Philadelphia:

"The Philadelphia Eagles overcame daunting odds to capture an NFC wild-card spot with a dominating 44-6 victory over the Cowboys on Sunday.

So much for all that preseason Super Bowl hype in Dallas – America's Team can start its vacation plans early."(Dallas Cowboys eliminated from playoffs with 44-6 loss)

So much for my 13-3 pre-season prediction!

Here is the bad news: How can such a talented squad underperform so much?

Here is the good news: We are not 0-16 Detroit. We are not the 11-5 Patriots who didn't make the AFC playoffs.

What's next? My guess is that Coach Phillips will be fired and everyone will remind Tony Romo that he can't win in December.

What's next for me? I guess that we can follow Aggies' basketball. They have a pretty good team!

2008: Dr. Murano is our choice for Texan of the Year!

The Dallas Morning News is reviewing some candidates for the "Texan of the year" award.

The contest is still going on but one lady really stands out:

Our choice is Elsa A. Murano, Texas A&M president:

"As A&M's first female president – and the university's youngest in more than 100 years – Dr. Murano has blazed several trails befitting a finalist for Dallas Morning News Texan of the Year.

But without hesitating, she says the barrier she has broken that means the most to her is becoming the first Hispanic to lead one of Texas' two flagship universities.

A naturalized citizen from Cuba, she tells about a female Hispanic student who wrote her soon after she was chosen as president.

The student had struggled and wasn't sure the degree was worth it, but she was inspired by Dr. Murano, who often repeats the challenge she heard over the years from her mother:

"Why not me?" "

We are cheering for Dr. Murano! Texas A&M is one of the finest universities in the US. We are proud to have two sons as Aggies. We are also hoping for a better football team next year!

Of course, she took over when Mr. Gates, the former school president, was selected as Pres. Bush's Secretary of Defense in 2006!

Three songs about a girl named Ruby!

What's a Ruby:

"Ruby, precious gemstone that occurs as a red, transparent variety of the mineral corundum."

Just saw this the other day:

“Ruby” Becomes 4th Most Popular Girl’s Name in the UK

It's funny. I like that name a lot, too. We don't any daughters. However, I would have campaigned to have her named Ruby.

These are 3 examples of songs named after a girl named Ruby.

Each Ruby is a very different character, a girl with a different personality.

The first one is "Ruby Baby" from Dion in the early 1960s. We call this one sweet Ruby:

"Ah now said I love a girl and-a Ruby is her name

This girl don't love me but I love 'er just the same

(Whoa, oh, oh, oh, oh),

Ruby, Ruby, I'm-a want yaLike a ghost

I'm-a gonna haunt ya

Ruby, Ruby, Ruby will you be mine?,

sometime Ah each time I see you,

baby my heart cries

I tell ya I'm gonna steal you away from all those guys

Whoa, oh, oh, oh, oh, from the happy day I met ya

Now I made a bet that I was goin' to get ya

Ruby, Ruby, Ruby will you be mine?

"Hey-hey " (Ruby, Ruby, Ruby, baby)"Hey-hey"

(Ruby, Ruby, Ruby, baby)"Hey-hey"

(Ruby, Ruby, Ruby, baby)"Hey-hey"

(Ruby, Ruby, Ruby, baby)["Hey-hey"

Now I love this girl I said-a Ruby is her name

When this girl looks at me she just sets my soul aflame

Whoa, oh, oh, oh, oh, I got some hugs and-a kisses, too

Yeah and now I'm gonna give-a them all to you

Now, listen, now Ruby, Ruby, when will you be mine?"

The second is "Ruby Tuesday", the elusive character that inspired one of The Rolling Stones' very best tunes:

"She would never say where she came from

Yesterday dont matter if its gone

While the sun is bright

Or in the darkest night

No one knows She comes and goes

Goodbye, ruby tuesday

Who could hang a name on you?

When you change with every new day

Still Im gonna miss you...

Dont question why she needs to be so free

Shell tell you its the only way to be

She just cant be chained

To a life where nothings gained

And nothings lost At such a cost

Theres no time to lose, I heard her say

Catch your dreams before they slip away

Dying all the time

Lose your dreams

And you will lose your mind.

Aint life unkind?

Goodbye, ruby tuesday

Who could hang a name on you?

When you change with every new dayStill Im gonna miss you..."

The third is Kenny Rogers' "Ruby", a young woman who is hard to keep at home:

"You've painted up your lips

And rolled and curled your tinted hair

Ruby are you contemplating

Going out somewhere

The shadow on the wall

Tells me the sun is going down

Oh Ruby Don't take your love to town

It wasn't me That started that old crazy Asian war

But I was proud to go

And do my patriotic chore

And yes, it's true that I'm not the man I used to be

Oh, Ruby I still need some company

Its hard to love a man Whose legs are bent and paralysed

And the wants and the needs of a woman your age Ruby I realize,

But it won't be long i've heard them say until I not around

Oh Ruby Don't take your love to town

She's leaving now causeI just heard the slamming of the door

The way I know I've heard it slam 100 times before

And if I could move I'd get my gun

And put her in the ground

Oh Ruby

Don't take your love to town

Oh Ruby for God's sake turn around"

It's great to see Modano win one for the Stars!

Mike Modano has been here since 1993. He played in back to back Stanley Cups. He is one of the most popular athletes in North Texas. He continues to play hard despite his veteran status.

Tonight, Modano sent everyone home very happy:

"Mike Modano scored at 3:24 of overtime, and Mike Ribeiro tied it late in regulation in the Dallas Stars' 4-3 victory over the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday night.

Modano, the career goals leader among U.S.-born players with 540, scored on a one-timer from the top of the right circle off a pass from Brad Richards."

For some, BO is already the next Abe!

It had to happen. Obama is already being compared to Lincoln.

Let me get this straight.

Obama has not spent a single day in the Oval Office and he is already Lincoln.

If Obama wants to be Lincoln then he'd better get ready for very low approval ratings and incredibly mean attacks.

Also, he'd better get ready for lots of calls for his impeachment!

It's amazing how they attacked Pres. Lincoln back then.

Check out a typical anti-Lincoln cartoon: "Passage Through Baltimore," by Volck.

This is a cartoon mocking Lincoln because there were fears of an assasination attempt while travelling to Washington to assume the Presidency.

It's a shame that BO has not spent some time reading the real story of Abraham Lincoln.

It's even worse that so many journalists have not either!

BO may learn that Lincoln was not a poll reader.

After all, Lincoln spent much of his presidency as a hugely unpopular man. Thankfully, we did not have Gallup or Rasmussen or NY Times polls back then! Lincoln's approval ratings may have been in single digits!

Abe told a whole nation what it did not want to hear about slavery.

Obama told millions what they wanted to hear about Iraq, GITMO and just about everything else!

Lincoln wrote and signed The Emancipation Proclamation. Obama has written two books about himself.

He praised Rev. Wright, his religious mentor, in both books. After all, didn't Rev. Wright marry him and baptized his girls?

Lincoln delivered The Gettysburg Address, a great speech today. It wasn't so hot back in 1863.

Obama gave a speech about healing the planet!

We love Abe today. We have named lots of schools after Lincoln.

They didn't love him back in 1864.

In fact, it is Bush, yes Bush, who has more in common with Lincoln.

Mackubin Thomas Owens has a good post entitled Lincoln, Obama, and Bush:

"Long before the recent election, Barack Obama often liked to compare himself to Abraham Lincoln.

An adoring press followed suit. Googling "Obama and Lincoln," results in over 14 million hits.

Now many are of these are redundant and many have nothing to do with either Obama or Lincoln.

But it is obvious that the idea of Obama as the reincarnation of Lincoln resonates with a great many folks, especially in the mainstream media.

Consider just this small sample:

Evan Thomas and Richard Wolffe, "Obama's Lincoln," Newsweek, November 24, 2008, posted online November 15;

The Associated Press, "Parallels between Obama, Lincoln," November 10, 2008;

Carolyn Kellogg, "Obama is Inspired by Lincoln's Writings," Los Angeles Times Online, November 07, 2008;

Howard Fineman, "Obama and the Echoes of Lincoln," Newsweek, October 6, 2008.

The alleged Lincoln-Obama link has become so pervasive that even those of a liberal bent are beginning to protest."

Again, Bush is a far better comparison to Lincoln, specially to those who have actually read the history of the Civil War:

"As president, Bush confronted Democratic opponents of the Iraq war who echoed the rhetoric of the Copperheads.

The latter described Lincoln as a bloodthirsty tyrant, trampling the rights of Southerners and Northerners alike.

Today's Copperheads described Bush as the world's worst terrorist, comparable to Hitler.

But the actions of the Copperheads of today went far beyond unpleasant words.

Antiwar Democrats' expressions about "supporting the troops" rang hollow in light of Democratic efforts to hamstring the ability of the United States to achieve its objectives in Iraq until the success of the surge took the issue off the table.

The parallels between Lincoln and Bush regarding civil liberties during a period of emergency are even more striking.

In June of 1863, Abraham Lincoln wrote a letter to Erasmus Corning, who had sent him the resolutions of the Albany Democratic convention censuring the Lincoln administration for what it called unconstitutional acts, such as military arrests of civilians in the North.

This letter remains the best articulation of the problems that a democratic republic faces when confronted by a crisis that threatens the very existence of that republic."

Let's cut the Obama crap.

Obama is not Lincoln, FDR or even Washington.

Obama is Obama.

I'm not sure what that means yet!

We will be in a better position to answer that question in a couple of years!

In the meantime, did I hear that VP elect Biden is worried? He is worried that expectations are too high here, there and everywhere! (High expectations worry Biden)