The Beatles and a February 45 years ago

Again....do we love the Beatles or are we getting old?

YES and YES!

We are looking back at 1965, the second year of The Beatles in the US, and much of the world.

We will remember some of their big hits from 1965, or a long 45 years ago!

"Eight days a week" was released 45 years ago this week. It was also included in "The Beatles VI" album!

Like everything from The Beatles, it went to #1 in the US and many other countries.

It was the second of 6 consecutive #1 songs in the US. (Nobody touched that streak until The Bee Gees in 1978-79!)

The B-side was 'I don't want to spoil the party", which is actually a better song in my opinion. However, the group decided to release it on the B-side!

Here are the songs:

"I don't want to spoil the party so I'll go
I would hate my disappointment to show
There's nothing for me here So I will disappear
If she turns up while I'm gone,
please let me know

I've had a drink or two and I don't care
There's no fun in what I do if she's not there
I wonder what went wrong I've waited far too long
I think I'll take a walk and look for her

Though tonight she's made me sad I still love her
If I find her I'll be glad I still love her

I don't want to spoil the party... "

Let's talk about Hispanics in Texas!

On Friday, we spoke with ROBERT T. GARRETT of The Dallas Morning News.

Rob wrote an interesting article about Hispanics in Texas:

"The poll found that only 18 percent of Texas Hispanics say they're liberal or progressive, while 54 percent say they're conservative, moderate conservative or religiously conservative." (DMN)

Click here for the show!

The "party of no' had a lot to say and BO had more "hope and change"!

Like most of you, I had to make a living on Thursday and did not watch the health care summit on TV.

I did catch bits and pieces on the radio. And I saw all of those video summaries in the evening.

At the end of the day, it was Cong Ryan who stole the show and put the Dems on defense.

Ryan had the facts and the numbers.

Obama had "hope and change" and a penchant for lecturing that is getting old by the minute. He also had Reid & Pelosi, two of the most unpopular politicians in the country, on his team.

Pres BO also had the unpleasant task for selling a program that has been sinking the polls since the summer: 41% Favor Obama’s Health Care Plan, 56% Oppose!

Line by line, Cong Ryan blew up BO-Care! He reminded me of a pitcher making hitters look bad with his command of the game. Again, it was a delight to watch!

He proved beyond any doubt that BO-Care is a sham and won't fix any health care problem.

Here is Stephen Spruiell:

"‘We have some strong disagreements on the numbers,” President Obama said after Rep. Paul Ryan (R., Wis.) concluded his devastating critique of the Democrats’ budget claims, “but I don’t want to get too bogged down.”

In the ensuing debate, what became clear is that the Democrats just don’t have an answer to Ryan’s arguments.

They ducked, dodged, and changed the subject repeatedly, because Ryan’s numbers themselves are unimpeachable."

Here is Congressman Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, one of the stars of the health care summit:

What's going on in Mexico?

On Thursday's show, we spoke with Allan Wall about Mexico,

Allan recently wrote about violence in Mexico:

"The narco-cartel violence continues unabated in Mexico, in fact, it’s going from bad to worse.

Universal, Mexico’s paper of record, does a detailed job of keeping a running tally of the carnage.

Universal reported that, as of February 3rd, 2010, the death count in the drug wars had already passed 1000.

Yes, you read that right. In a little over a month 1015 had been killed.

On average, that’s a killing every 48 minutes." (AWall)

Click here for the show!

Sorry but I'm tired of "euro-excuses" for not fighting in Afghanistan!

We were told for years that it was Bush's fault! In other words the "sensitive" euros did not relate to the blunt Texas cowboy.

So we elected a 'sensitive" euro-favorite named BO and nobody is sending troops to Afghanistan!

We read in Bill Katz' blog that Sec Gates is on his way to Europe:

"Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, who has long called European contributions to NATO inadequate, said Tuesday that public and political opposition to the military had grown so great in Europe that it was directly affecting operations in Afghanistan and impeding the alliance’s broader security goals."

Wasn't the world supposed to cooperate with us once BO was president? I guess not!

Since World War II, the US done the heavy lifting in protecting Europe and fighting the bad guys.

It's time for Europe to get on board. You can't fight the Afghanistan war with US,UK and Canadian soldiers!

Remembering George Harrison!

George Harrison would have turned 67 today. Of course, George died of cancer in 2001.

George always played behind John & Paul, the group's main songwriters and vocalists. They met in Liverpool and George was part of the original group that eventually became The Beatles.

George was indeed "the quiet Beatle" but played a great lead guitar. You can hear that guitar in all of those riffs like "Day Tripper"!

He also sang background vocals!

And he contributed some good songs to the group's LP's over the years.

This is "While my guitar gently weeps", one of the best Harrison songs from The White Album. Also, great guitar work on this song!

"Got a good reason for taking the easy way out
Got a good reason for taking the easy way out now

She was a day tripper, a one way ticket yeah
It took me so long to find out, and I found out

She's a big teaser, she took me half the way there
She's a big teaser, she took me half the way there now

Tried to please her, she only played one night stands
Tried to please her, she only played one night stands now

She was a day tripper, a Sunday driver yea
Took me so long to find out, and I found out"

Does Pres BO have enough Dems to pass the latest version of BO-Care?

Here is a headline:

Hoyer: Comprehensive health bill may be no go...

Incredibly, Pres BO may not have enough Dems to pass health care.

According to Byron York, the House may not have the 218 votes to pass the proposal. (They have about 250 votes in the House!)

And the polling date does not help either.

Rasmussen has bad numbers:

"A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 41% of voters favor the proposed health care plan, while 56% oppose it.

Those figures include 45% who strongly oppose the plan and just 23% who strongly favor it."

We are back to square one: the majority party does not have enough votes to support the president's plan!

We have not seen such governing incompetence since the last two times that a Dem president had a Dem majority, i.e. the first two years of Clinton and the Carter administration!

CPAC, the economy and the RNHA forum

On Tuesday's show, we looked at several issues:

1) Fausta Wertz related her experiences at the CPAC convention. You can keep with Fausta at her blog!

2) Mario Yngerto commented on the US economy.

3) Manuel Valles Tellez updated us on the RNHA candidate forum in Dallas.

Click here to listen to the show!

Some thoughts about CPAC

Overall, CPAC was a success!

Lots of enthusiasm! Lots of young people! Lots of good speeches!

On the negative side, Ron Paul won the straw poll, Sarah Palin was absent and Mike Huckabee stayed home.

I like our chances in 2010 a lot but we can't get too caught up in Ron Paul or Glen Beck.....or we will alienate lot of independents who are worried about the deficit and spending.

Overall grade: B-minus!

P.S. Click for our "Monday morning thoughts" show!

A word about George Washington's birthday!

Another February 22nd and another opportunity to recall the one and only George Washington.

Check out the official website!

George Washington made the US possible because he respected the new constitution and understood when to exit the public stage.

Without Washington, the US would have become another "failed revolution" replaced by a personality cult.

Still # 1 after all these years!

Check out Scott Johnson's Remembering the indispensable man. It never gets old to recall the story of George Washington. (This is an article written in 2006 and it's just as good today!)

P.S. I had some thoughts on George Washington in today's show: "Monday Morning thoughts".

Click here to listen!

Congratulations to Team USA

Like so many of you, I tuned in to watch the USA-Canada hockey game.

After all, how much of that beautiful "ice-skating couples dancing" can a man watch?

Team Canada is one of the greatest collections of NHL stars ever. How can you do better than Sid Crosby, the spectacular young Canadian who led the Penguins to the Stanley Cup last season.

Team USA came in with a lot of young guys and a veteran goalie.

And the USA pulled an upset: Miller makes 42 saves as U.S. shocks hosts

This is why they play the game.

On paper, Team Canada was superior. On the ice, Team USA had a better night!

Obama has failed (the system is OK)

From Pres Washington to Pres BO, every occupant of the Oval Office has had to deal with Senate rules.

In other words, Pres BO is not the first president to deal with the Senate's "super majority or filibuster".

Nevertheless, Pres BO, and his supporters, are into massive 'whining mode"!

First, it was blaming Bush.

Now, it's blaming the system.

However, no one is blaming Pres BO!

Here is the report card for year one: BO can't lead or govern.

Why is everyone surprised?

This is a man who came into the presidency without executive or successful legislative experience.

Christina Lamb has this note from the UK:

"More than than a year into the Obama administration, with health care yet to be reformed, Wall Street banks continuing to pay huge bonuses and Guantanamo Bay prison still open, that mood of hope has turned to disillusion.

Obama’s policy of engagement has yielded no progress in the Middle East or Iran; the war in Afghanistan continues to exact a big toll in lives and dollars; while the heaviest snow in Washington for 90 years seems to have stymied any hope of climate change legislation."

So what do you do when your guy has failed and can't get his own party to support him?

You blame the system rather than Pres BO!

However, the system has not failed.

Partisanship and politics have been a way of life in Washington DC for years.

It did not stop previous presidents from getting things done!

Why was Pres Bush able to work with Dems and Pres BO can't?

Why was Pres Reagan able to put together bipartisan coalitions and Pres BO can't?

Why was Pres Clinton able to cut deals with Republicans and pass NAFTA and welfare reform?

The answer is that past presidents tried to work with the legislature.

Unfortunately, Pres BO has not, no matter how many times he denounces the "ways of Washington"!

Fix the system? Not really!

Charles Krauthammer has another gem today:

"He failed because the utter implausibility of its central promise -- expanded coverage at lower cost -- led voters to conclude that it would lead ultimately to more government, more taxes and more debt.

More broadly, the Democrats failed because, thinking the economic emergency would give them the political mandate and legislative window, they tried to impose a left-wing agenda on a center-right country.

The people said no, expressing themselves first in spontaneous demonstrations, then in public opinion polls, then in elections -- Virginia, New Jersey and, most emphatically, Massachusetts.

That's not a structural defect.

That's a textbook demonstration of popular will expressing itself -- despite the special interests -- through the existing structures.

In other words, the system worked." (CK)

The system did not fail.

Again, Pres BO failed!

Despite having super majorities in the House and Senate, he was not able to get Dems to follow him.

Pres BO was never able to explain how "BOCare" would be better than your private or employer-based coverage.

Pres BO was never able to persuade Midwest Dems that "cap and trade" would improve their manufacturing constituents.

So let's drop all of this garbage about a "broken system"!

P.S. The Economist from the UK has a great point:

"American politics seems unusually bogged down at present. Blame Barack Obama more than the system!"

The left is learning the perils of blind love!

Were you one of those crying on election night 14 months ago?

Were you one of those "welcoming" the end of Bush, GITMO, the "police state", "tax cuts for the rich" and all of the other nonsense that we heard from the left.

Be careful what you ask for....you may get it!

The left is broken hearted these days.

Check out POLITICO:

"That can-do spirit, in the face of apparent legislative impossibility, masks some anger at Obama and congressional Democrats.

Labor leaders and immigration reform groups alike warn that their constituents will stay home in droves this fall."

Stay home this fall? Didn't they stay home in New Jersey and Massachusetts?

We've gone from "hope and change" to a lot of people wondering what they voted for.

As we've posted before, what exactly did the liberals see in BO's resume to assume that he could lead or run anything?

Why do only 6% believe in the "stimulus"?

The NY Times has a new poll:

"Only 6 percent of Americans believe the stimulus bill passed a year ago this week has created jobs, a CBS News/New York Times poll reported last week.

Six percent.

Nearly six times as many Americans believe in ghosts as believe President Obama's jobs claims.

It isn't hard to see why." (Cline)

Why so much skepticism?

The numbers don't add up, specially now that the campaign is over and people are actually listening to what BO is saying!

Again, let's look at the headlines, only 24 hours after Pres BO and VP Biden told us that the stimulus was working.

Read on:

"The number of newly laid-off workers filing applications for unemployment benefits unexpectedly surged last week after having fallen sharply in the previous week.

The gain dampened hopes about how quickly the labor market may improve this year." (AP)

What's wrong with the stimulus?

It is not stimulating the economy and that's why so few people are supporting it!

We need a real stimulus, such as the across the board tax cuts that got us out of past recessions!

Better than that, we need a president who believes in free markets and capitalism.

And it wouldn't hurt to have a president surrounded by people who have actually run something, such as businesses that must make a payroll every other Friday!

A musical memory from 1979!

Back in 1979, Pres. Carter was in the White, the hostages were in Iran, the Steelers defeated the Cowboys in Super Bowl 13 and the Pirates beat the Orioles in the World Series.

And many of us bought "My Sharona" by Knack.

I don't remember a lot of other hits by this group but I do recall 'My Sharona", a great rock song released in the peak of the disco era.

We learned this week that Doug Fieger, lead singer of rock group the Knack, died at 57 after a battle with cancer. (EWcom)

It was one of those songs that made a huge difference:

"The American magazine Billboard named My Sharona the number one single of 1979." (UK)

We remember a fun song and Doug's lead vocals.

Here is the video:

Alexander Haig was a patriot!

We just learned that Sec. Alexander Haig died. He was 85.

Mr Haig was a soldier, a diplomat and dedicated public servant. He was also a "straight shooter".

He served the country as a soldier in Korea and rose to become a 4-star general.

Later, he was a key player in managing the White House during Pres Nixon's resignation and the transition to Pres Ford.

Unfortunately, Sec Haig will always be associated with the day that Pres Reagan was shot.

Sec Haig said that "I'm in charge here".

He also said that he was in touch with VP Bush and in contact with him. (VP Bush was out of town and on his way back to Washington DC)

Sec Haig did not mean to say that he was the "acting president". However, a lot of people read it that way.

We remember Alexander Haig as a great American!

A chat with Jason Villalba

On Friday, we spoke with Jason Villalba of The Republican National Hispanic Assembly, Dallas Chapter.

We discussed the upcoming candidate forum and the political landscape in 2010 for Republicans.

P.S. Click here for the show!

Or you can go the radio box on the right side column!

A chat with Jack Kelly about national security

On Thursday, we spoke with Jack Kelly, national security expert and journalist.

We discussed Afghanistan and the military mission underway in Marjah.

We also reviewed Iran, Iraq, the "underwear bomber" and Pres BO's decision to hold the KSM trial in NY City.

You can read Mr. Kelly's articles by clicking here!

This is the show:

How do you elect Republicans? First, you elect Democrats!

Today, the WSJ editorial goes like this:

"For the fourth time since the 1960s, American voters in 2008 gave Democrats overwhelming control of both Congress and the White House.

Republicans haven't had such large majorities since the 1920s.

Yet once again, Democratic leaders have tried to govern the country from the left, only to find that their policies have hit a wall of practical and popular resistance.

Democrats failed in the latter half of the 1960s, as the twin burdens of the Great Society and Vietnam ended the Kennedy boom and split their party.

They failed again after Watergate, as Congress dragged Jimmy Carter to the left and liberals had no answer for stagflation.

They failed a third time in the first two Bill Clinton years, as tax increases and HillaryCare led to the Gingrich Congress before Mr. Clinton salvaged his Presidency by tacking to the center."

Is Pres BO & the Dem majority the 4th version of this movie?

Of course, we don't know what will happen in 9 months, although the signs are not good for Pres BO and the Dems:

1) CNN poll: 52% say Obama doesn't deserve reelection in 2012

2) "Scott Rasmussen finds that Republicans hold a nine-point advantage among likely voters in the generic Congressional ballot, a stunning turnaround from President Obama's inauguration, when the Democrats were up by seven points." (Power Line)

3) "Dems' blues: States reverting to red" (POLITICO)

Yes, I understand that 2010 is months away but these numbers are awful for Pres BO and the Dems.

What went wrong?

How did so much "hope and change" turn into such a nightmare?

Let's look a few reasons:

1) This is the first anniversary of the "stimulus" and the jobs problem has only gotten worse.

What genius at the White House came up with the idea of "overselling" such a plan?

2) Pres BO & Dems were never able to explain their health care proposal.

At the end of the day, why should you give up your current policy for something that can not be explained?

3) The left is furious with Pres BO.

We are still in Iraq. We just sent 30,000 troops to Afghanistan. GITMO is not closing anytime soon. We are still putting terrorists in rendition prisons all over. Frankly, Pres BO has changed zero of what they used to call "the Bush police state"!

What was the point of voting for a guy who made so many promises and has fulfilled so few of them?

Again, the left is furious because they were the ones who put BO in the lead in all of those small caucuses back in 2008!

4) National security is once again haunting the Dems.

From Vietnam to Carter to Clinton's unwillingness to tackle terrorism in the 90s, the Dems have had a hard time persuading the voters that they have the stomach to fight the bad guys in a very ugly world.

Pres BO was not helped by the way that his staff processed the "underwear bomber"!

Calling the bomber an "isolated extremist" proves that Pres BO was misinformed or that he does not understand the war on terror.

And the KSM trial in NY City is now a PR disaster of historic proportions!

5) Pres BO looks so weak on the international stage, i.e. Iran and free trade!

He talks about free trade but won't challenge his party to pass a free trade deal with Colombia!

He talks about sanctions with Iran but does not act!

Is it over for Pres BO and the Dems?

It's probably over for the congressional majority. No matter what happens in November, there will be a lot less liberals in the next Congress!

We don't know yet about Pres BO.

Will he do a Clinton and throw the liberals overboard? Time will tell!

Clinton was pragmatic and willing to work with a conservative opposition.

Clinton had governed Arkansas for 10 years and made all kinds of deals with a conservative legislature to survive politically.

Can BO do that? He may but this is a guy who grew up in left wing precincts. I can not find anything in Pres BO's background about compromising or making deals with the opposition.

So we ask again: How do you elect Republicans?

We let the Dems show us that they can't govern!

P.S. Here is our show: "Wednesday morning thoughts"

Tuesday's show: A chat with Mario about the economy!

On Tuesday, we spoke with Mario Yngerto about the economy.

Here is the show:

Bayh out and a few other thoughts!

On Monday morning, we learned that Sen Bayh of Indiana won't seek reelection.

Why won't a 2-term incumbent seek reelection?

The answer is 2010 and the anti-incumbent tsunami headed our way.

We also saw this today:

59% Favor Letting States Opt Out of Federal Programs

In other words, people across the country are growing restless and combative about the expansion of government.

Sen Bayh is a good man with a centrist background.

Of course, no Dem is safe anymore....even Sen Bayh!

Here is the "Monday morning thoughts" show:

# 3 son is joining the US Army today!

In our home, the Texas vs Texas A&M is the biggest college football game of the year.

As of today, we can add the Navy vs Army game to that list!

Alejandro, or # 3 son as I call him, is joining the Army today. He will fly to Ft. Benning in Georgia for his training.

We wish # 3 a lot of success in the US Army.

And we look forward to attending his graduation in late June.

What does he want to do? He wants to join the elite Rangers, one of the special forces.

Good luck and we are very proud of # 3 today!

Another bad week for the global warming fanatics!

Like so many others, I've been watching these almost daily disclosures of bad global warming data.

Here is the latest:

"The academic at the centre of the ‘Climategate’ affair, whose raw data is crucial to the theory of climate change, has admitted that he has trouble ‘keeping track’ of the information." (Petre)

It gets even better, or worse for those who've invested so much of their hopes and dreams on polar bears drowning:

"And he said that for the past 15 years there has been no ‘statistically significant’ warmin..."

Are you confused too? I am and very confused!

Here are some simple ideas:

1) Let's get our data straight; and,

2) Let's stop scaring little children that the bears will drown in the poles.

And, last but not least, can someone get Al Gore on TV for a little explanation?

Shouldn't we know what "scientific data" led Al Gore to make his movie?

Shouldn't we ask Speaker Pelosi for an explanation about spending all of that money sending such a large delegation to Copenhagen?

Another good day for VP Cheney

Do Democrats really want VP Biden debating VP Cheney about Iraq?

Like most Dems, VP Biden couldn't get rid of Saddam quickly enough:

"We have no choice but to eliminate the threat. This is a guy who is an extreme danger to the world." (Biden 2002)

As we have posted before, you can not take the Dems seriously about Iraq.

They were all for taking out Saddam and then conveniently flipped for partisan and political reasons.

Sorry....I see a lot of poll reading and very little statesmanship among Dems!

The Dems should thank Bush for Iraq and worry about fighting terrorists everywhere else!

Today, it was VP Biden's turn to get into a debate with VP Cheney.

VP Biden did his best to argue that the Obama administration is dead serious about fighting terrorists.

Unfortunately, the response to the "underwear bomber" and the KSM trial in NY City project the same opposite, i.e. weakness and disarray!

Cheney had another good day.

Again, where was this Cheney when the Dems were irresponsibly attacking the Bush administration over GITMO and just about everything else?

Also, am I the only one who thinks that VP Cheney has become the senior spokesman for the GOP?

P.S. I agree with Niles Gardner from the UK:

"Dick Cheney has become an extraordinarily influential game-changer in post-Bush Washington, emerging as Barack Obama’s leading nemesis on national security.

It is not hard to see why.

He is a formidable figure of tremendous principle, an unapologetic and uncompromising patriot who believes in the greatness of America on the world stage, as well as a shamelessly old-fashioned political pugilist in a modern age dominated by carefully choreographed spin.

In the political arena today Cheney remains a sure-footed Rocky Balboa, landing punch after punch on his opponents.

His latest intervention is another well-placed blow to Obama’s flailing leadership, and once again puts the White House firmly on the back foot."

Happy Valentine's Day!

We wish everyone a very happy Valentines' Day.

Enjoy your time with loved ones and remember how lucky you are, i.e. your wife still puts up with you!

This is Paul & The Beatles: "When I'm 64".

Here is a song for all of those guys getting older and for the ladies who still put up with us:



On a more romantic note, we can add "Here, there and everywhere" by The Beatles. This is Paul singing one of the greatest Lennon-McCartney tunes:



Let's add "Wouldn't it be nice" by The Beach Boys and make it a perfect Valentine's Day! This is one of my favorite Brian Wilson songs and lead vocals:

Saturday morning thoughts!

On this morning' show, we looked back at Feb 12th or Pres Lincoln's birthday.

We recommend Power Line's Remembering Mr Lincoln:

"Today is of course the anniversary of the birth of America's greatest president, Abraham Lincoln.

As a politician and as president, Lincoln was a profound student of the Constitution and constitutional history.

Perhaps most important, Lincoln was America's indispensable teacher of the moral ground of political freedom at the exact moment when the country was on the threshold of abandoning what he called its "ancient faith" that all men are created equal."

Great article about a great president!

We also looked at Pres BO's problems!

Do you get the impression that no one is happy with Pres BO's these days?

Jeniffer Rubin has a great post:

"It is quite a dilemma.

Moreover, it is a reminder that electing someone very new to the national stage is quite a gamble.

Unfortunately, it hasn’t paid off for his supporters.

And we all must live with the consequences."

P.S. Check out our show:

The "blame Bush" stuff is getting weaker and weaker!

Pres BO and the Dems "milked" the "blame Bush" to death.

As we mentioned last week, it's not working anymore.

It's not working anymore because we are in the 2nd year of Pres BO and the fourth year of Dem control of Congress.

Also, the facts are not with the Bush critics:

"Remarkably, President Obama will add more red ink in his first two years than President George W. Bush — berated by conservatives for his failure to control domestic spending and by liberals for the explosion of military spending in Iraq and Afghanistan — did in eight.

In his first 15 months, Mr. Obama will raise the debt burden — the ratio of the national debt to GDP — by more than Reagan did in eight years. . .

He projects a cumulative deficit of $11.5 trillion by 2020.

That brings the publicly held debt (excluding debt held inside the government, e.g., Social Security) to 77% of GDP, and the gross debt to over 100%.

Presidents Reagan and George W. Bush each ended their terms at about 40%." (Rubin)

Blaming Bush does not work anymore, as we saw in Virginia, New Jersey and Massachusetts!

At some point, Pres BO is going to have confront another reality: How are we going to finance these deficits or pay for this spending?

Are we going to raise taxes? cut spending? raise interest rates to attract more investors to buy US Treasuries?

P.S. From Rasmussen to CBS to The NY Times, every public approval poll shows that Pres BO is in the 44-49%.

The NY Times poll shows that Congress is at 15%.

Pres BO won't face the voters until 2012. On the other hand, every member of the Dem majority is up for reelection in 2010!

Another chapter from "The Twilight Zone" presidency

Where is Rod Sterling when we really need him?

Yesterday, VP Biden called Iraq a huge success for the Obama administration.

He said what?

We know that it was Pres Bush and the surge that made success possible in Iraq.

Like so many Dems, Biden was for the war when it was popular and then turned against it when it wasn't popular.

Wasn't Biden calling for a partition of Iraq into 3 countries?

We also know that candidate Obama opposed the surge.

Furthermore, we know that it was Pres Bush who negotiated the current withdrawal agreement being implemented.

As we posted before, we are happy that Pres BO kept the Bush plan in place and acted responsibly in Iraq.

However, it's a bit insane to say that Iraq is a success story for the Obama administration.

Shouldn't we have an honest debate about Iraq and recall how wrong Obama and Biden were about Iraq?

On another front, we now hear that Pres BO is “agnostic" about increasing taxes on families earning less than $250,000.

Again, this is a remarkable reversal from all of that rhetoric about not raising taxes on the middle class.

To say the least, the Obama administration would make a wonderful season of Twilight Zone episodes.

P.S. Speaking of fantasy, I like this from Rich Lowry:

"During the campaign, Obama could throw rhetorical pixie dust over all the difficult choices inherent in governing and the contradictions of his own program, making them fade into a beguiling vision of a sunlit post-Bush America.

This magical realism sustained him until November 2008, but couldn't withstand governing."

Thursday's show: Let's chat with Clifton about the tea parties

On Thursday's show, we spoke with Clifton of Another Black Conservative about the tea party movement.

Paul Greco added his thoughts on the Super Bowl!

Here is the show:

I guess we should all move to Rio today!

Even Dallas is getting a bit of that snow:

"Snow continues to fall and will only grow heavier across North Texas today, contributing to what is expected to be the snowiest winter in 25 years.

A winter storm warning was issued for much of North Texas through midnight tonight." (DallasMorningNews)

Of course, this is nothing compared to what the Northeast is getting.

From Washington to Boston, the East Coast is getting record snow:

"The second of back-to-back blizzards that smothered Washington and Philadelphia and eclipsed seasonal snowfall records had tapered off by Thursday, although governments and schools remained closed to contend with the aftermath." (Fox)

So where can you go and get some heat and sunshine?

Where else but Rio?

There is no snow down there:

"The worst heatwave to hit Rio de Janeiro in 50 years turned the city into a pre-Carnival furnace Wednesday, and killed 32 elderly people further south, officials said.

According to the Inmet national weather service, recorded temperatures in Rio were well above 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees) -- and felt more like above 50 degrees." (AFP)

So let me propose that we move to Rio and catch a little sunshine.

And we can listen to Roberto Carlos singing "pleno verano", a song that I had not heard in quite some time:

The voters don't like the "anti-Bush" approach to fighting terrorists!

Two more polls.....and two more indications that the public is not into singing "kumbaya" when it comes to fighting terrorism.

Our friend Ed Morrissey, of Hot Air, has a good analysis today:

"In the second poll today showing roughly the same conclusion, Quinnipiac’s latest poll of registered voters nationwide shows that a wide majority of Americans disagree with the Obama administration’s decision to use the criminal courts to try captured terrorists.

Fifty-nine percent of respondents want the US to handle such terrorists through military commissions, while only 35% agree with the White House’s policy of trying them in court.

Even the President’s own party is split almost down the middle, only 48/45 in favor of criminal trials.....

Earlier today, the WaPo/ABC poll came up with remarkably similar numbers."

Unfortunately, Pres BO does not understand the terrorism threat.

Yes, we support Pres BO's decision to use drones and send more troops to Afghanistan.

However, fighting terrorism is a lot about intelligence and interrogating the ones that you capture.

You can't stop future "underwear bombers" unless you interrogate and even shake them up a little bit.

Yes, I said shake'em up a bit, i.e. a little waterboarding comes in handy once in a while!

This is a war not some college debate tournament!

We got very lucky on Christmas Day because the bomb did not go off. Unfortunately, we've also been exposed to the lack of seriousness and urgency about terrorism in this administration.

Pres BO needs to drop those civilian trials in NY City and giving "rights" to people who try to blow up airplanes over US cities.

Otherwise, Pres BO's approval will continue to erode.

Big Labor and the Dems!

Yesterday, Big Labor suffered a huge defeat in the US Senate:

"President Obama’s nominee for the National Labor Relations Board fell short of the 60 votes needed to break a Republican-led filibuster.

The Senate vote was 52 yes and 33 no.

Two Democrats, Blanche Lincoln and Ben Nelson voted against Craig Becker." (FOX)

This vote shows how divided the Dem party really is.

This is a majority party that can't govern or without much of a backbone.

The vote also shows that Big Labor has gotten very little for investing millions of dollars in electing Dems to the Congress.

Card check? DEAD!

Cap and trade? Pres BO can not get Dems to go along with him!

The Obama administration has been a huge disappointment for Big Labor, except for that decision to shut out the Mexican trucks or do the "Buy American" dance with Canada.

Do you think that Big Labor is happy with this Dem president and his huge majorities?

The answer is no!

Wonder how Big Labor feels about their candidate now?

We see this in POLITICO:

"Labor groups are furious with the Democrats they helped put in office — and are threatening to stay home this fall when Democratic incumbents will need their help fending off Republican challengers.

The Senate’s failure to confirm labor lawyer Craig Becker to the National Labor Relations Board was just the latest blow, but the frustrations have been building for months."

I guess that's what happens when you vote for someone who tells you what you want to hear:

Pres BO's "staff" problem!

Pres BO also has a "staff" problem.

Pres BO did not bring any "governing" experience to The Oval Office.

He came into the presidency after a mediocre career in the Illinois Senate (a.k.a. voted present) and two years in the US Senate.

Worse than that, he is surrounded by Chicago types who grew up in a corrupt "one party city".

Let's hope that Pres BO reads this column from a man who supported him in 2008.

This is Doug Wilder's advice:

"The need is becoming more obvious by the day:

He must overhaul his own team, replacing the admittedly brilliant advisers who helped elect him with others more capable of helping him govern.

Getting elected and getting things done for the people are two different jobs."

Or he can check this from Michael Barone:

"Team Obama failed to realize they were no longer running in Chicago or in the Democratic primaries or facing an electorate fed up with Republicans.

And, more important, they failed to realize that vastly expanding government goes deeply against the American grain -- and against the basic appeal of their successful campaign."

P.S. This is our "Wednesday show":

Wednesday's thoughts

On today's show, we looked at several topics:

1) The Saints and New Orleans.

Isn't it amazing how a sports team can a bring a city together?

2) Iran....what will Pres BO do next?

I think that Iran will be the # 1 foreign policy issue of 2010.

3) Does Pres BO need a staff shakeup?

We agree with former VA Governor Wilder that he does! Check his column!

4) Why is Labor so unhappy with Pres BO and the Dems? Check this about the very unhappy unions!

Here is the show: