"There is always some madness in love, but there is also always some reason in madness.” Friedrich Nietzsche

191 comments:

Debrah said...

Book 'Em.

Throw the WikiBook at Them from Krauthammer.

Talk to me, baby.

You're speaking my language.

Debrah said...

Why not make your gifts especially expensive and thoughtless?

Stuart McGeady said...

Krauthammer nails it!

Here's another from Pat Buchanan with his patented historical perspective.

Debrah said...

Hi Stu Daddy.

That is, indeed, an excellent one.

Everything is outlined and all the facts concerning the real damage done are irrefutable.

He's now a contributor/commentator for MSNBC and always provides very reasoned commentary.

It's really quite amazing that a mere PFC was allowed access to such information.

The Obama administration appears unusually inept on this one.

Debrah said...

OMG, it's snowing inside The Diva World.

Big velvet, puffy flakes.

So glad that "Prissy" showed up early for her snacks today. "Mister" came to the veranda last night around 10 PM.

Two well-fed and happy wild ones who love the Diva!

Debrah said...

Listen to McCain (Mrs.) from Maureen.

~~~~~~~
"Once again, the Democrats waited too long to close the deal, the president showed no leadership, and a campaign promise that was seen as a fait accompli now seems a casualty."
~~~~~~~

More DADT gyrations.

Sooner or later DADT will be repealed.

And sooner or later SSM will be passed into law. Mainly because the majority of the population are sick to death of the subject.

We will all pretend that a man craving the sight of another man's sphincter muscle is "romance" and call it "marriage".

Gays want to bring their issues to the forefront ad nauseum, but don't want to discuss why so many will always have negative vibes about the lifestyle---albeit rarely openly voiced.

But in the meantime, the tyrannical and infantile displays of so many gays will dot the cultural landscape.

On university campuses---where so many gay activists and gay professors falsely believe they can force their agenda---an atmosphere exists in which anyone not fully in line with this agenda is punished and will often have their academic futures upended.

Even those nauseatingly pretentious ones in the academy who put on a show of fairness are fundamentally full of bullsh!t.

They provide a verbal show of supporting students' rights, while at the same time labeling incompatible views as unworthy and bigoted.

Gay professors need to be forced to extend the same "rights" to students that they demand for themselves.

Does anyone wonder why the youth demographic---teens and millenials---is so often referenced as the ones who will usher in gay marriage and a full menu of superfluous "gay rights" with their votes?

Given the hostile environment toward any student who does not tow the line on this issue and the tyranny of "gayness" on university campuses, poor students would be quite reluctant to voice any opposition at all.

This is unacceptable in the 21st century, yet those who pretend to be interested in equal rights for all points-of-view are quick to denigrate and harm students who think differently about the gay agenda.

These things should be discussed and those professors need the same treatment extended to Duke's Gang of 88.

Although never highlighted enough, hatred for hetero male athletes was as much a part of that injustice as anything else.

Debrah said...

No More Secrets from McArdle at The Atlantic.

"[Assange]...got a bunch of government documents because the US, in its addlepated, well meaning way, dumped all of them on a network open to 3 million people where they could be seen by a disaffected 23-year old stupid enough to either believe he could get away with this, or not understand how long the years in jail might be."

While listening to the music of cartoon Gaga, and after reportedly having had an argument with his "boyfriend", Manning decided lifting these documents might be a good idea.

How did this nut case make it into the military?

Anonymous said...

Diva- McArdle sums it up when she says that people like Assange develop convictions about certain things and convince themselves that acting on them has no downside.

The man is a dangerous zealot and is fronting for some people with some very deep pockets.

Brett

Debrah said...

Excellent from Kurtz at NRO.

Speech Policeman

And that's exactly what this is. No one is fooled by such lame platitudes.

Just an ultimately ineffective way to stifle free speech and have nothing debated with any degree of authenticity.

A milquetoast strategy for those who have no convictions.......but want to further their own ambitions.

Debrah said...

I agree, Brett.

Assange has a very strange past that places him firmly inside a very Leftist camp.

The damage he's done is enormous.

Debrah said...

I see that my response to Peter Wood's comments on this one was published.

Good.

Debrah said...

Christopher Hitchens tells Julian Assange to turn himself in.

"The WikiLeaks founder is an unscrupulous megalomaniac with a political agenda."

Debrah said...

Boardwalk Empire Creator Terence Winter Debriefs on the Half-Faced Man and All That Nudity

I simply love that show.

It's so off-center and quirky.

Can't wait for the second season.

Debrah said...

The anger of Barack Obama

He be angry, man! I mean, really!

Debrah said...

Pass the Caribou Stew from Maureen.

This is very clever.

Who could disagree with most of this one?

Palin's gruesome penchant for hunting animals and making this needless venture a political prop as well as sensationalism for a superfluous TV show are a real turn-off.

Even though I find the act of hunting as sport disgusting, I also realize that it's legal and is within the rights of others to do so.

But I'm still perplexed as to why Palin garners so much attention. I think she has many positive qualities and is obviously very popular with lots of people; however, it's another thing to believe that she will make it to the White House.

Obama is showing the weakness that Christopher Hitchens sensed about him months ago.

Now that the big show is over and even the Obama-worshipping media have lost their fascination for him somewhat, he does, indeed, appear very weak.

And this is something many on the Left will never understand about people like GWB.

Even as they ridiculed him mercilessly and made fun of his every tiny gaffe, he always appeared strong.

Because he knew how to make a difficult decision and not worry about polls and what the world thought of him.

Obama got our votes in 2008 because the country decided to participate in a popularity contest (the Diva included) with an effervescent candidate reading platitudes from a tele-prompter.

Obama's political future will now---at long last---depend squarely on whether or not he is capable of delivering anything substantive......after the long show.

Debrah said...

A really excellent editorial.

A clear explanation that even Kinsley might understand.

Debrah said...

Obama names Duke prof to humanities post.

Yeah, Obama seems to really have been turned off by Cathy Davidson's Gang of 88 credentials and how she and her colleagues tried to railroad innocent white heterosexual male student athletes.

What are the odds that this one will be highlighted?

LOL!

Debrah said...

Can Pragmatism Pay Off? from The Atlantic.

Debrah said...

Michael Jackson Video Breaks No New Ground in the Field of Posthumous-Music-Video Production from Vulture

Debrah said...

Stellar.

Tea'd Off from Christopher Hitchens at Vanity Fair.

Debrah said...

The Rupture Between House Democrats and the White House from National Journal

Debrah said...

Leaky Weeks from Tablet

Debrah said...

Yikes!

Senator Blasts Obama Tax Deal For Two Straight Hours

Debrah said...

Swindle of the Year from Krauthammer.

"Barack Obama won the great tax-cut showdown of 2010."

And the ultra-Lefties are steaming!

"...the current buzz [is] the Left will instead challenge Obama for the Democratic nomination. Really now? For decades, African-Americans have been this party’s most loyal constituency. They vote nine-to-one Democratic through hell and high water, through impeachment and recession, through everything. After four centuries of enduring much, African-Americans finally see one of their own achieve the presidency. And their own party is going to deny him a shot at reelection?"

Debrah said...

5 Flirting Styles...What Type of Flirt Are You?

Well, I don't know. I'll have to think about it.

Right now I'm a rather pizzed-off flirt. This morning as well as last night have been harrowing for the Diva.

Nonstop pizzed-off-inducing occurrences....one right after the other!

Had a heated argument with a friend last night and this morning when "Prissy" came by for her special snacks, the dogs that a neighbor is taking care of for her sister ran out and chased her up a tree.

The mindless idiot didn't even bother to put them on a leash which is a steadfast rule around here.

My long and painstaking work to make "Prissy" feel safe when she comes by for much-needed food has been destroyed....all because of an irresponsible woman.

She's up a huge pine tree so far that I doubt she will ever make it back down. My continued coaxing is futile because she's wild and probably doesn't trust that I will protect her from harm.

I've been given advice to simply leave her alone and keep things quiet and perhaps she will come down on her own.

Well......I hope it's very soon because it's extremely cold (in the 30's!) and will be for days to come.

Words cannot explain how pizzed-off I am.

Debrah said...

I'm happy to report that the beautiful and wild "Prissy" made her way down from atop the tree.

Without incident.

Now, I just hope that her excruciating experience hasn't scared her away from coming for her much-needed snacks!

Debrah said...

Is Obama Hatred Worse Than Bush Hatred Was? ......the headline given to this groping article on the front page of The Atlantic.

However, on the actual post, they assign a different title, which is something that I really find so irritating with some websites.

To answer this overblown anti-Semitic d!ck, the answer is most certainly NO.

None of us will live long enough to witness another president so badly treated with attacks from the Leftists that bordered on the criminal as GWB endured on a daily basis.

Andrew Sullivan, like most little gay men who put on a show of being a bit cerebral, is still running from the fact that Obama didn't keep his word to them.

He still doesn't assign the "marriage" appellation to butt-effing relationships.

But keep up the fantasy Andrew.....that he's kept his campaign promises to you and that you must avoid the facts of his presidency.

Debrah said...

Clive Crook, you are an unmitigated fool.

Get out of the fog, for neither you nor Brooks comes close to Krauthammer's cold blue steel analyses of any issue.

Debrah said...

Democrats Signal Tax Deal Will Pass House from National Journal.

I miss Stuart's great columns at NJ!

Debrah said...

Oh, man.

This one has been all over the internet so I might as well link it inside The Diva World.

Vladimir Putin singing "Blueberry Hill".

LOL!!!
LOL!!!
LOL!!!

Debrah said...

Can Anyone Defend Kissinger Now? from Christopher Hitchens.

"The Nixon tapes remind us what a vile creature Henry Kissinger is."

He has long been on Christopher's sh!t list.......along with Mother Teresa, Princess Diana and the entire Royal clan.

Gyro Gearloose said...

Hello diva,

Richard Holbrooke RIP.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/12/11/richard.holbrooke.obit/

Clarence***RealityIsGoodEnoughForMe***Alexander said...

HELLO GORGEOUS!!!

One no-fail method for breaking out of blogger’s block is to pick another blog that you really like and say nice things about it.

Seriously, that’s it.

Now, you don't have to start with my blog...

www.WHATMAKESITBETTER.blogspot.com

...but I would like all you talented writers, that may have come to "writers/bloggers block" to start somewhere!

Anywhere!!!

I realized that even if you were completely stuck in the doldrums of blogger’s block, you could always pick another blog to say something nice about. It’s like an instant post formula! We sometimes need a change of pace, a refreshing alternative, new inspiration from literary exploration and admiration of great authors will do the trick!

Has your mother ever told you that if you couldn’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all? Well, this is the same idea, but flipped on its side: if you can’t say anything at all, then say something nice! Not only is this a sure-fire method to come up with an idea for a blog post, you will also make somebody’s day...I'm starting with you...

You are great and talented, i really enjoyed reading your posts. You really gave me something to think about. You have a book inside of you. I hope you can read my posts and be inspired to write, as i have become, viewing your blog. Take care of yourself, God bless you and your family.

-Clarence

Debrah said...

"You are great and talented, i really enjoyed reading your posts. You really gave me something to think about. You have a book inside of you."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Well, Clarence.

I certainly appreciate your kind words.

You must be visiting blogs to spread holiday cheer.

It would be fun to write a book. I've often toyed with the idea; however, these days everyone does it and the whole enterprise has lost its cachet somewhat.

You should write a book if you have something unique to say or if you are capable of giving a particular subject a new and fresh treatment.

Happy holidays to you! It's nice to see you inside The Diva World.

Debrah said...

Hi Gyro Gearloose--

It's unfortunate news regarding Holbrooke.

By the way, he was married to Peter Jennings' ex-wife Kati Marton.

Debrah said...

Usurper in Chief? from Maureen.

Oh, no. Not the birth certificate issue again.

"James Haven, a black preacher from New York, dismissed Obama as 'the long-legged Mack Daddy, the president of all pimps.'

While I don't believe a lot of the things the Birthers say, I must admit how very strange it is that Obama doesn't have a paper trail of his early life---as in documentation of his birth!

What's such a big deal about making sure that the information is provided.....just like everyone else?

Why doesn't he just do it?

And it is simply a fact that Obama's father was Kenyan, which rendered him a British subject.

Therefore, there would be no naturalized citizenship. Consequently, it is not an outlandish idea that Obama would have dual allegiances.

But of course all this is mere rhetoric now. If those people were so concerned they should have made a case of it before he was elected.

It's silly at this point.

Debrah said...

Very provocative from Slate.

If homosexuality is OK, why is incest wrong?

Don't worry, gays will put a valentine on this one.

When you sit back and view what's taking place with regard to such issues, it's clear that detractors not only have valid points, but are excessively accurate.

The gay agenda in large part is a calculated effort to break down social patterns and to disassociate sex with child-bearing.

So-called "gay marriage" does no harm to heterosexual marriage---the mantra of gays and SSM "activists".

I agree.

But it does immeasurable harm to the institution of marriage.

"Marriage for everyone!"

There is no question---and anyone who's been living in the world longer than a few moments knows---that so many gay men have an attraction to adolescents.

Nothing is more vehemently denied by gays, but nothing is more crystal clear to anyone who's been observing for any length of time and who has any real experience in the world.

Gays try to cover by omission any clear case of this type of exploitation and undeniable proclivity.

Political correctness forces us to ignore or deny the obvious and, instead, focus on the few adult relationships that gays have with each other.

Yet one more reason why SSM is such bullsh!t.

I'm no traditionalist and am certainly not informed by religion; however, for the sake of humanity some of life's natural flow should be kept unmolested.

Unrelenting denial of the obvious might present a fuzzy kumbaya scenario for some, but it will produce nothing positive or productive for society.

Debrah said...

Diva holiday party tonight.

Lots to get done.

Such Diva magic!

Debrah said...

Who had the best and worst of 2010? from National Journal.

Debrah said...

Muslim 'Radicalization' is Focus of Planned Inquiry.

Good.

Debrah said...

Wow.

This one by Benjamin Kerstein really rips Hitchens.

"The fact that Christopher Hitchens has a problem with the Jews has been an open secret for years. No one much likes to talk about it, and for various reasons his journalistic peers have remained silent on the subject. But it is nonetheless the case, and there is little sense in denying it."

Debrah said...

Surprising one from Krauthammer.

The New Comeback Kid

Anonymous said...

Happy Holidays, D!

ES

Debrah said...

Barack Obama's 2010 Holiday Card from Slate.

Debrah said...

Hi ES--

Happy Holiday to you as well !

Debrah said...

Cautiously optimistic after 'don't ask' repeal from The Washington Post.

Ho! Ho! Ho!

We'll now endure a never-ending array of tear-jerking journalistic medleys of "we have overcome".

LOL!

I read somewhere this morning while Diva tweeting that "gay is the new black".

If you run across anyone who is stupid enough to make such an analogy, pummel his d!ck-sucking little azz.

This is an abominable crutch that gays love to use.

As if their most-often overblown concerns are on the same level as discrimination because of race/ethnicity.

I predict that many will soon ruin their own cause and alienate further by being so obnoxious.

Talk about affirmative action.

Not all gays are that stupid, but most want to max-out the "victim" role and it's obscene.

Debrah said...

HUH?

Debrah said...

Top Ten Christmas Songs Written By Jews

Debrah said...

I like this new The Fix Face-Off tool.

Debrah said...

No surprise that Merriam-Webster's 2010 Word of the Year is "austerity".

Along with the runners-up.

Debrah said...

The Year In Scandals from National Journal.

Debrah said...

Very odd one from Maureen today.

Collecting crèches?

Debrah said...

The Obamaites' About-Face from NRO.

Debrah said...

The Pak-Af Problem from Hitchens.

Are we committed to Afghanistan or Karzai's government?

Debrah said...

I'm constantly being told that I don't get enough sleep.

This is really scary if true.

Kantian said...

Hello Debrah,
I have enjoyed reading your blog everyday and look forward to 2011. Merry Christmas and Best Wishes for a Happy New Year!

Debrah said...

Interesting census.

Growth states are those with no income tax.

Anonymous said...

Greetings diva, and merry christmas.
You're hot!

Jason/:0>

Debrah said...

Thanks, Jason.

Greetings to you as well.

I hope you have a great holiday and a Happy New Year!

Debrah said...

An unexpected one from Maureen this holiday weekend.

Because the Night Belongs to Her

I realize that this woman is supposed to be famous and some kind of rock/punk icon; however, I don't know the first thing about her....except from bits and pieces of vague coverage of the music scene.

Patti Smith must have been a part---an obscure part---of that whole set of the oldest baby boomers when "avant garde" in NYC actually meant something.

But so many of them destroyed the art they were supposedly creating by their own excesses.

That's why those of us who came of age later opted for a more appealing genre. "Yuppies" were more upwardly mobile, meshing art with commerce. Subsequently incorporating a more attractive and palatable vehicle for public consumption.

Without the unkempt and sloppy facade.

And infinitely more enduring.

Debrah said...

How Did Obesity Become A Partisan Fight?

Who can disagree with this column?

Debrah said...

What a disgusting article.

And what a dumbazz if this report is indeed true.

Obama was supposedly praising the owner of the Philadelphia Eagles for hiring Michael Vick.

Is life so easy and free-flowing that someone like Vick is on the president's mind?

No matter how strongly you may feel about giving former criminals who've done time a second chance.....

......never, and I mean NEVER, sit inside the Oval Office or inside the people's house and give comfort to someone who perpetrated some of the most horrendous crimes and pain on innocent animals.

If anyone has read the details of what took place around Vick's home and how barbaric the torture, abuse, and killing of those dogs were.....

......you will become sick on your stomach from the idea that someone who is supposed to be the president issued "concern" about Vick's future.

Obama, take some Diva advice: Better keep your eye on the ball and worry about your own future.

I continue to wince and grimace at what surfaces regarding the true nature of Obama.

A tele-prompter and cigarette addict who worries about a grown man (Vick) who paid---albeit, not enough!---for a horrific crime.

Maybe that Nicorette Obama's been chewing on has produced a pesky tic......taking him back to the days of his "community organizing".

Debrah said...

Ouch!

More on Kissinger from Hitchens.

Debrah said...

The Year in Questions at the Times.

I can't believe that the Diva had a few incorrect guesses.

¡ Muy mal !

Debrah said...

Excellent from the opinion page of NRO.

The Future of an Illusion

"As we have noted before, liberalism has found the perfect division of labor: Elected officials can pretend to oppose same-sex marriage, secure in the knowledge that courts will pretend to interpret the law. Same-sex marriage is the 'civil-rights movement' that can’t survive speaking the truth."

Obama is turning out to be even more of a fraud and even more superficial than any of us thought.

As I have mentioned many times, I supported him for several reasons which had nothing to do with the idea that I believed him to be authentic.

His election took care of the "black issue" which I wanted off the table. No one can now say that a black man, or a half-black man, as is the case, can't be elected president.

Many of us even looked over Obama's strong ties to Rev. Wright, Ayers, and a whole host of crusty Far Left and anti-Semitic characters.

But the gay community---with few exceptions---will vote for anything and anyone like a Pavlov dog if the candidate even hints that they will support butt-fucking and fur-trapping as a "marriage"......in the true sense of the actual definition of the word.

Obama, as gays know, or rather sense---like the smell emitted from the maze of mendacity---that the O-Man will fake it as long as he can and hope the Independents and centrists like the Diva will stay with him in 2012......

.......until he lies his way through the issues and is safely planted inside his second term.

Then the O-Man will deliver same-sex marriage as the law of the land!

It's such a disgusting chain of events.

Gays will vote for anyone if they support this superfluous agenda. They will disregard many more significant political/cultural issues and how a candidate comes down on them just for this one piece of bullsh!t.

Gays are such a tiny percentage of the population, yet they demand so much and have cost taxpayers billions in health-care as a result of the "lifestyle".

Take it back to the closet or pick up the tab, yourselves.

Debrah said...

Lots of gay articles in the news currently.

Predictably so.

As Gay Becomes Bourgeois is an interesting one.

Especially the last two paragraphs.

Since following the Far Left and flaunting rampant promiscuity in the past didn't quite work for them, they are now adopting the values of those they previously criticized and reviled.

"Marry me!" LOL!

Debrah said...

This is really a great column with more than one ring of truth.

What Do Women Want?

"....what men most want from the woman they love is to be admired."

"What a woman most wants is to be loved by a man she admires."

Debrah said...

Why is Karzai 'Longing' For President Bush?

Ha!

Do you have to ask?

Anonymous said...

Happy new year Debrah.

Brett

Debrah said...

Happy New Year to you, Brett.

And to everyone!

Debrah said...

Brilliant.

Krauthammer has made all the necessary points and many that the Diva has mentioned above with regard to Obama's new stealth moves.

There's not a sincere bone in his body.

Government By Regulation

He will be reading from a tele-prompted script for public consumption and the one which he will profile and parade before the cameras.

All to ensure his re-election by pretending to be moving toward the center---the ONLY way that he was able to be elected the first time.

"Obama knows he has only so many years to change the country. In his first two, he achieved much: the first stimulus, Obamacare, and financial regulation. For the next two, however, the Republican House will prevent any repetition of that. Obama’s agenda will therefore have to be advanced by the more subterranean means of rule-by-regulation."

Debrah said...

What do you know?

We've made it through another year......unscathed for the most part.

I have absolutely no hangover from last evening, whatsoever, and I attribute it to the fact that I've been sipping on champagne all through the holidays, having it with lunch and sometimes with dinner for weeks now.

Consequently, I didn't overindulge last night just because it's suppose to be the most celebratory time of the year.

I think people mess up when they come into New Year's Eve with a vengeance to PAR-TAY and they just overdo it.

Not that there's anything wrong with that.

I prefer, and I think it's healthier, to extend the spirits throughout the holiday.

For example, the Diva has just micro-waved shrimp scampi and am finishing off a bottle of the Moët & Chandon left over from last night.

A decidedly healthy and scrumptuous lunch!

Later today a friend is bringing me a dish of black-eyed peas and a mixture of greens, as well as other things that are supposed to be eaten today for good luck throughout the coming year.

Simply amazing that I haven't really gained any weight after all the caloric snacks I've had the last few weeks.

Perhaps it's the magnificent gymnastic sex that keeps the calorie-overload at bay.

GOL!!!

Kantian said...

Happy New Year Debrah!

Debrah said...

From blogtalkradio, to which I have a link on the lower front page, this interview with Jamie Glazov is must-hear radio.

Such a candid and substantive discussion.

And he's so hot!

Debrah said...

Hi Kantian.

Happy New Year to you!

Anonymous said...

Palin has the potential to be Hillary Clinton's mirror image as being the GOP's most polarizing figure.

Doesn't matter what you think of her (and this is NOT an endorsement), this is pretty hysterical!

http://www.newsrealblog.com/2011/01/02/top-10-reasons-to-hate-sarah-palin/

ES Duke 1990
"Gymnastic"?? We really have to talk, Debrah!

Debrah said...

Hi ES--

I agree with you that Palin is much like Hillary Clinton with regard to polarization.

No question.

Here's the article you're talking about.

Very funny.

As you know, people who continue to belabor and demonize and ridicule Palin run the risk of desensitizing everyone to her real flaws.

The same thing happened with Hillary. I never cared for her at all and have always been a major detractor, especially with regard to her hypocrisy and behavior during the Lewinsky and Billy Jeff fiasco.

OMG! Has that really been over twelve years ago? Hard to believe.

What's so weird is that the big Hill has been around so long and people have demonized her for so long that she now seems like an old shoe thrown back in the closet that you know is there, but you don't pay much attention to. LOL!

She has clawed and fought to be an important political player for so long that you begin to develop a soft spot for her.....as bizarre as that sounds!

I really don't know what to make of Palin. She definitely has lots of supporters and is able to draw the crowds; however, she's simply not my cup of tea....so to speak.

I can't stand her nasal voice. It takes away any degree of gravitas she might muster. And I despise the fact that she loves to hunt and kill and skin animals. Who enjoys doing that?

But she's an attractive woman and smart enough, although not as smart as her supporters imagine.

This is all just my opinion. I really don't follow her closely enough to give a real critique.

I definitely don't think she'll ever be president.

Mitt Romney is the best bet for the GOP in 2012.

But it's early. Anything can happen in the next two years.

Debrah said...

How to make a decent cup of tea from Hitchens.

"Ignore Yoko Ono and John Lennon, and heed George Orwell's tea-making advice."

Debrah said...

OMG!

Fainting kittens!

Debrah said...

Excellent article that should be read by everyone.

Do this if you want to put on 15 pounds!

No doubt about it. Sodas are one of the biggest culprits in the obesity epidemic.

But people won't stop drinking them!

It's OK to have one occasionally (7-UP, the uncola!); however, many people drink tons of it on a daily basis.

Debrah said...

What's So Great About Israeli Security? from Slate.

"Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano arrived in Tel Aviv on Monday to study the Israeli airport security system, widely considered the best in the world. Terrorists haven't penetrated Ben Gurion International Airport's security since 1972."

Debrah said...

Very interesting points by Malcolm Gladwell at The New Yorker.

Small Change....why the revolution will not be tweeted

It's quite accurate that the most significant revolutions in recent history all happened without e-mail, texting, Facebook, or Twitter.

Yet we (or many) people now think they can't do without those little social tools.

I recently opened a Twitter account only because I had to in order to get an avatar on another forum.

It's OK, but hardly useful for anything significant; however, I like some of the articles I'm turned onto by other "tweeters".

I've been asked and asked over and over to open a Facebook account, but have resisted thus far.

Unless it's for business, I don't see it as anything but a group of middle-aged people trying to create a social life for themselves without actually having one.

Gladwell's article points out so clearly that as handy as those social tools can be, nothing fundamentally important gets started or is completed without one-on-one human exchange.

Certainly no "revolution".

Handy Man said...

diva, malcolm gladwell is quoooool.

Debrah said...

Insightful, candid, and provocative from Natasha Vargas-Cooper in The Atlantic Magazine.

Hard Core

Debrah said...

The Man Who Spilled the Secrets from Vanity Fair.

Compelling that a 200 year-old paper would have even thought about collaborating with Assange, who is basically a satellite entity.

"The partnership forged with The Guardian leveraged Assange and his Web site into a global story. But the relationship was never an easy one."

Debrah said...

The relationship between your sleep position and your personality from WebMD.

Hmmm......I have a few varying positions when I sleep.

I usually fall asleep on my side, but always wake up having slept on my back with my right arm extended above my head.

I don't see an example of that one!

Debrah said...

This is really a perfect illustration why Obama is so phony on so many important fronts.

Robert Gibbs 'Modest' Salary

This column explains everything so clearly.

And the bizarre reality is that Obama should be the last person who has to be told what a "modest" salary is, but because he's spent his entire life basically living off other people and getting the affirmative action ride (when he chose to highlight his "blackness") he talks and behaves as if he's a blue blood.

Not even Bill Clinton was ever so tone deaf.

Can anyone imagine George W. Bush exhibiting such an attitude? And he is a real blue blood! But he chose to live a different kind of life.

Yes, indeed.......Obama, whose father was from a hut in Kenya and the people who actually raised him (maternal grandparents) were from the Midwest and very hardworking people.....

......is now so "above it all" that Gibbs' salary of $172,000. is a "modest" one.

Another example of Obama's phony mentality and one that surely makes him a very odd president at a time when this country is suffering economically.

What happened to the sensitive man of "hope and change"?

LOL!!!

Debrah said...

Two off-putting and disgusting reports coming from Media-ite today.

John-Boy has asked his mistress to marry him (true or not, who knows?).....

......and GLAAD is trying to intimidate CNN into not inviting "anti-gay" guests on their network.

So predictable and anyone who dares to pretend that the gay community, in general, is not on a rampage to force their agenda is simply being disingenuous.

This will continue until people become so sick of this type of behavior that a backlash, of proportions they can only imagine, will occur.

So very pushy and obnoxious.

I was just reading an article about an athlete this morning who happens to be a very good-looking guy and a parade of gay men was already showing up to post graphic sexual comments about him (and what they'd like to do to him) even though he's hetero.

There's something so nauseating about middle-aged scrawny gay men jacking off by looking at the bodies of young male athletes who happen NOT to be gay.

Creepy beyond mention.

And some PC urchins comically put forth the idea that someone's sexual orientation isn't important.

Really?

Look up the terms "rimming" and "Santorum froth".

But let's pretend that things will evolve and somehow a man's azz will turn into a c*unt.

Then, and only then, will most people be able to say with honesty---instead of our usual PC public face---that sexual orientation doesn't matter.

It changes everything. And most gays enjoy forcing their agenda, no matter the arena.

Debrah said...

Constitutionalism from Krauthammer.

"For decades, Democrats and Republicans fought over who owns the American flag. Now they're fighting over who owns the Constitution."

Debrah said...

OMG!

It's snowing inside The Diva World....again.

Anonymous said...

Dear Debrah,
Wanted to stop by and thank you so much for your generosity over the holidays. Wish you would let us show our appreciation.
Have a lovely new year!

-HVL

Debrah said...

What political repercussions will result from the attack this weekend?

Predictably, many.

Leftists of the media---which is to say MOST of the media---are busy with their knitting needles and their hyper-keyboard melodramas.

Some will go back through history to draw analogies to this insane man who took the lives of innocent people so viciously.

Who wants to talk about politics first when something so tragic happens?

The media. That's who.

Democrats who know they face an uphill battle from now until 2012. That's who.

It appears that even as they protest to the contrary, Congresswoman Giffords will be used as their poster girl to neuter anything strident coming from Republicans or anyone disagreeing with their policies.

Beyond the tragic and needless loss of life and the critical injuries to Giffords, melodramatic scripts will be put together by Democrats when her recovery should be the focus.

They will use this tragedy as often as they can even though the motives for the attack appear to be those of an insane man and possibly an accomplice.

Millions of taxpayer-funded security will be put into place for every member of Congress when this case certainly does not call for such across-the-board measures.

Hyperbolic rhetoric and fantasies need to be toned down.

Does anyone remember the climate during GWB's presidency?

The threats and vitriol leveled at him on a daily basis?

You won't hear or read any of those examples from the whiny and opportunistic Left.

Debrah said...

Hi Hans--

So good to see you.

I appreciate that very much, but no thanks are necessary.

And I also wish a great coming year for you!

Debrah said...

What the Shooting Shouldn't Change by Ezra Klein at The Washington Post.

Finally someone who hasn't gone all melodramatic and nutty over the Tucson tragedy.

Thanks, Ezra.

Debrah said...

The Most Cynical Campaign

Lke clockwork, the Leftist parasitic fire breathers have come out of their low ratings crawl spaces.

No one can doubt they will use the Tucson carnage to the hilt for political purposes as long as they can.

And what's so bizarre is that the shooter was well-known for being on the Left with regard to most of his inane behavior that observers witnessed.

I'm no Sarah Palin fan, but if the thin-lipped maggot Keith Olbermann continues with his slander and off-the-wall behavior---loony behavior that rivals Lochner's, by the way---someone should think about having him committed to a mental institution.

It goes without saying that anyone you see on Facebook, Twitter, or any other social network site who subscribes to someone like Olbermann or "friends" him.....

.......is a raving Leftist who shouldn't be trusted to tie his own shoes.

It's shameful how the Left is trying to use this tragedy for strictly political points.

Debrah said...

Interesting one from Slate.

How much does it actually cost to eat well?

Debrah said...

There's so much ice inside The Diva World today and I fear it will be around---even worse perhaps with sleet or snow---in the morning.

I have a very early dental appointment and I may have to change it to afternoon.

Snow is fine, but you have no chance if you're driving on ice. Everything is out of your control.

I don't need that on a frigid Diva morning!

Little fluffy "Prissy" showed up for three breakfast snacks this morning. She's so funny and now has a place under the staircase where she waits for me to bring her food.

Too bad she's wild because she would be an excellent outside kitty. She's far more adaptable to domesticity than "Mister", whom I haven't seen in about three days.

I'm worried about him and hope he's found something to eat and a warm place out of the frigid weather.

He's so beautiful and his temperament reminds me of Dmitri.

Where are you "Mister"? !!!

Debrah said...

A few of you simpletons need to listen to this video of Jon Stewart on the Tucson shooting.

And please stop making fools of yourselves by parading your political panties and cheap melodrama all over the internet.

Debrah said...

Massacre, Followed By Libel from Krauthammer.

Fantastic, as usual. To wit:

"When profiles of Obama’s first chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, noted that he once sent a dead fish to a pollster who displeased him, a characteristically subtle statement carrying more than a whiff of malice and murder, it was considered a charming example of excessive — and creative — political enthusiasm. When Senate candidate Joe Manchin dispensed with metaphor and simply fired a bullet through the cap-and-trade bill — while intoning, 'I’ll take dead aim at [it]' — he was hardly assailed with complaints about violations of civil discourse or invitations to murder.

"Did Manchin push Loughner over the top? Did Emanuel’s little Mafia imitation create a climate for political violence? The very questions are absurd — unless you’re the New York Times and you substitute the name Sarah Palin.

"The origins of Loughner’s delusions are clear: mental illness. What are the origins of Krugman’s?"


Yesterday was a busy day and I missed the chance to visit my usual cyber haunts.

Alan Dershowitz seems to have put a damper on the Leftist attempt to create another issue.

Of course, I agree with Krauthammer that Palin's little video display was unnecessary; however, the idea that her use of "blood libel" could be ginned up into something obviously unintended---AGAIN---is one more ridiculous feature of this sorry scenario.

Debrah said...

From WebMD:

Kissing: The Hot Love Habit That Makes You Both Happier

Debrah said...

And I found this comment from another blog on target with its illumination of just how warped Sullivan's thinking is on the Tucson shooting.

Like most Leftists and most gays who need something---anything!---to lift themselves up from their dead-end agendas, they keep tripping over themselves.

~~~~~~~
"Andrew Sullivan once called the association of gay child molesters with gay men as a group 'the gay equivalent of blood libel,' and today stands by the analogy. By which he meant not that there are no such things as gay child molesters, but that using them to taint all gays as molesters was an infamous lie.

"Evidently, he disagrees with you about the uses to which the metaphor can be put. Men sexually abusing boys is not a 'heinous crime that never occurred.' It’s extending the culpability to all gay men that for him is the equivalent of 'blood libel.'

"That, mind you, is Sarah Palin’s Biggest Unfriend Ever speaking. Of course, he has his own argument for why she shouldn’t say 'blood libel' because her lips would be moving? No, silly, because it’s a term of collective guilt, and she’s not a collective."

~~~~~~~

Naturally, Sullivan, like most "high profile" gay men can never admit what is right there in their midst.

But we all know it's there.

It's undeniably there.

Debrah said...

Ha!

Krauthammer vs. Limbaugh

Debrah said...

The Blair Hitch Project from Hitchens at Vanity Fair.

This is really an extraordinary one giving an account of the recent debate/visit he had with Tony Blair.

And I love the play on words with "Blair Hitch (Witch) Project" just as he employed with the title of his latest book "Hitch-22".

RobertG said...

Andrew Sullivan has written some decent commentary but he does appear to have taken a drastic turn to the left.
I read him occasionally and think he's mainly become taken with Obama because he thinks gay marriage might get passed while he's president. Gay voters will support a blueberry pancake for office if the blueberry pancake affirms whatever they want at the time.
I certainly don't equate being gay with being black as many of them do, but they are a carbon copy of each other in the way they vote in lockstep. Few vote outside their orientation concerns. The Democratic party can count on them come hell or high water.

Debrah said...

New RNC Chairman Ran As Anti-Steele from Washington Post.

I don't know anything about the guy and since I'm not a Pub, why should I?

Quite an unusual name: Reince Priebus, pronounced (Rye-ence Pree-bus).

He's 38 and already has a big bald spot on the back of his head; married with children; supposedly fiscally competent, which the GOP needs right now. Multi-millionaire donors will now begin sending those checks again.

Oh well.....I hope the WP link is static. Sometimes when you click on it the subscription page emerges and you can't access it without subscribing to the paper.

Debrah said...

"I certainly don't equate being gay with being black as many of them do, but they are a carbon copy of each other in the way they vote in lockstep. Few vote outside their orientation concerns. The Democratic party can count on them come hell or high water."
~~~~~~~

Hi RobertG--

Very true and unfortunate at the same time.

They often marginalize themselves to the nth degree; however, I've come to believe that creating a stir and forcing the general population to treat their lifestyles as if they are comparable to heterosexual marriages---along with all the financial benefits!---are the real motivation.

Not that they actually have any respect for the word "marriage".

On most days, it's best just to ignore this issue; however, for the last few years that's usually impossible because the gay agenda is always in the news.

And if someone happens to be gay, they incorporate that obnoxious and childish agenda into everything they do.

Their social networking is like a virus. All gay-this-and-that-all-the-time which provides an easy analogy for how HIV-AIDS was spread so quickly decades ago. Ha!

And I'm not really joking because STD's are, tragically, once again rampant among the gay male population.

You can sense another wave of an obnoxious and defiant agenda which will always be accompanied by grotesque sexual homoerotic imagery.

Much the same way Robert Mapplethorpe---who died a particularly slow and painful death from AIDS---tried to do.

YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, or whatever. It's a nonstop one-trick pony show. Even on Twitter and Facebook, some use avatars of genitals (!) and always link to some brand of porn.

None will address the issue of why so many incorporate hardcore porn with allegedly professional and serious website material.

No, their relationships are NOT like everyone else!

And it's all mixed with the endless blubbering about "marriage equality". Are they nuts?

I was talking to a professional friend the other day (who happens to be very liberal, an Obama fanatic, around age 42) and he said that he believed that being gay was in large part genetic so they deserve the same rights as everyone to go about their lives, etc...

Who can disagree and who would care to?

But....he also said that he didn't go along with being told how he has to change his life to accommodate them.

Gays already have the same rights as everyone else.

They are asking for special rights to call an institution (marriage)---which is decidedly heterosexual---something that does not describe their unions.

They've been given all the financial benefits through civil unions, but they want to be given special privileges for something that isn't even in the ballpark of reality.

It should be highlighted that not all gays are so rabid and nonsensical. Some quite understand the reality and don't really care about pushing their lifestyle and forcing everyone to call it "marriage".

But they are most often Libertarians or Republicans with a more independent mentality.

I don't think most gays know or care about the extent of emotional drain they cause their own families. Who in a family would come out and tell the truth about how they feel?

This idea that most people are OK with the fantastical gay agenda is nothing short of a fantasy and a lie pushed by the ultra-left media.

Most people just sit back and say very little about their repulsion just to keep the peace.

The real question is when are adult gay men and women going to get real lives and stop making "being gay" their identity?

It's really quite embarrassing and sick.

Really creepy.

Debrah said...

What's the big deal about this?

Space Invaders ..... Why you should never, ever use two spaces after a period.

Can someone answer this?

One space or two?

A query of life-altering proportions!

Debrah said...

After 3PM? (!!!)

I'm running late for my Diva spa bath and I'm not even finished with my daily Diva blogging!

This one from Slate is most interesting.

~~~~~~~
"... the 'opposites attract' myth persists—and it has consequences. When asked, most people say they're attracted to people unlike them, even though they overwhelmingly pick mates with similar qualities. 'People may partially draw upon lay theories of romantic attraction rather than their true desires for a mate,' says Pieternel Dijkstra, a professor at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. They assume dating someone like them is 'boring,' he says. But in the long run, it's either that or be single."
~~~~~~~

Hmmm....I don't know if this can be said definitively; however, it's probably accurate that most people end up marrying someone more like themselves than someone so very different.

And is that really a good thing?

Debrah said...

State of the Unions from The New Yorker

"The Great Depression invigorated the modern American labor movement. The Great Recession has crippled it."

Debrah said...

In this NRO offering Katrina Trinko brings forth a great mix of examples showing how nutty so many people looked by rushing to use Sarah Palin as the reason for the Tucson shooting.

We're going to look back on this for a long time to come and shudder.

But please......I implore you, please!......stop building up Sarah Palin and participating in the publicity stunts. They're ridiculous.

She is never going to be president.

Not in a million years.

Debrah said...

The Cook's Report --- Dialing it Down.

"GOP leaders’ reaction to the Tucson rampage could make it harder for Democrats to portray Republicans as radicals."

Loony maggot Olbermann isn't going to like this!

Handy Man said...

A good afternoon to you diva. I'm enjoying my day off as I "celebrate the dream" and my dream is to cop a few more zzzz's!
Can't watch anymore cable. More of the same thing every year. Have we not been "celebrating the dream" since 1986? I don't see any American president treated with such reverence. Me thinks this has turned into one big day off for government slobs who don't work much anyway.
Don't get me wrong, I give MLK his due but he was by no means a saint. And the Handy Man can say that with certainty, not being one myself. :))
Have a great day diva!

Debrah said...

An interesting one at Tablet.

"I first learned about Devorah—the judge, prophetess, and heroine of this week’s haftorah—as a fourth-grader at an all-girls yeshiva in Brooklyn. Sharing a name with her, and learning of her successful military campaign against the Canaanites, made me tremendously proud. Even at 8 years old, I was familiar enough with the Bible to recognize that her story was unique: a woman in a leadership role with no male significant other, a woman who didn’t need a man to be complete."

Debrah said...

Hi Handy Man--

Good to see you and enjoy your day......preferably without incident!

Debrah said...

Great one by Jacob Mchangama.

The OIC's Double Standard.

"The West must confront the Organization of the Islamic Conference about its failure to protect Christians and moderate Muslims."

Debrah said...

I love this from Kausfiles.

LOL!

"Republicans are in a position to be mean to Democrats, and there's suddenly a campaign against meanness. What a happy coincidence!"

Anonymous said...

Went over to D-i-W and KC's still beating that dead horse.

Debrah said...

Is Obamacare Unconstitutional?

The latest 5-part series from Uncommon Knowledge with law professors Richard Epstein and John Yoo.

Debrah said...

The Roots of Overheated Rhetoric from Ross Douthat.

"Our debates are so furious, in this reading, because our disagreements aren’t that significant: We rely on apocalyptic rhetoric about socialism and fascism, tyranny and freedom, to persuade ourselves that we’re actors in a world-historical drama, rather than just interest groups feuding over the spoils of governing a prosperous but somewhat decadent republic."

Debrah said...

Poll brings bad news to Sarah Palin.

RobertG said...

anonymous@10:40_

Zimmerman had a point when he said that Johnson went over the top at times. He does continue to beat a dead horse.
If I were a Dukie which I'm not, I'd have long wondered what more is there to rehash. Some academics live in a very narrow world and that's just the way it is. Complaining and repeating what is already known and old news won't cut it unless you're doing something to change things besides talk.
Imho_ a real dead topic.

Debrah said...

U.S. Prepares to Lift Ban on Guantánamo Cases from the Times.

"Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates is expected to soon lift an order blocking the initiation of new cases against detainees, which he imposed on the day of President Obama’s inauguration. That would clear the way for tribunal officials, for the first time under the Obama administration, to initiate new charges against detainees."

Uh-huh.

Debrah said...

Rating Obama: It's Down to Black and White

Predictable, that.

Debrah said...

Too hilarious!

I'm dying with this one.

Are There No Left-Wing Blogs On the Internet? from The Atlantic.

Debrah said...

Why Everything Starts With Repeal from Krauthammer.

"Suppose someone — say, the president of the United States — proposed the following: We are drowning in debt. More than $14 trillion right now. I’ve got a great idea for deficit reduction. It will yield savings of $230 billion over the next 10 years: We increase spending by $540 billion while we increase taxes by $770 billion.

"He’d be laughed out of town. And yet, this is precisely what the Democrats are claiming as a virtue of Obamacare."

Debrah said...

Wow.

I'm finally chilling out this late afternoon. So tired.

What a frantic week this has been.

Lots going on behind the scenes that the Diva hasn't brought to The Diva World, but some time in late February or early March things should begin to cool.

A phlogistonic vibe prevails!

Debrah said...

TO RobertG--

I intended to respond to your comment earlier, but knew I wouldn't have the time to say all I wanted then.

And so... I'll just say that I agree with you somewhat and can't believe that the lacrosse case is still going on.

However, it isn't totally over because there's a few remnants of the civil suit to conclude, but I agree, as most others do, that the case is over.

If you're a local attorney or a Duke alumnus or alumna the finale would register on a meter of interest.

The actual case and what occurred in the Spring of 2006 will always serve as an example of gross injustice and an attempt to thwart due process; however, it would come as a great shock to some how very little interest anyone has in the topic now.

In the Spring of 2009 when I went over for that conference organized by many of the Duke professors who were the culprits in the Lacrosse Hoax, the students with whom I spoke were oblivious to the case and said that for them and their friends it was ancient history.

And thanks to Duke's deep pockets, the behavior of those professors was covered and all are back to their own designs and have even prospered (!)

No accountability at all......and so......for them it's as if nothing ever happened.

To continue harping about them with no way of changing things does get boring. Especially when it's done by those who cherry-pick their topics and on other issues exhibit the same kind of hypocrisy as do the Gang of 88.

The entire academy needs to be cleared out...totally. Something tells me that's going to happen in its own way in decades to come.

There's too much dead wood and curricula most often provide no substance for future employment.

Someone joked on another forum recently that it's like Godwin's Law and the case will inevitably be referenced when discussing other topics.

LOL!

In my view, that's a bit hyperbolic because that will only happen when you're in heated discussions with regard to culture war issues......

___ race / class / gender / sexual orientation ___

.......and the like.

Debrah said...

Hooray!

No more Olbermann.

Debrah said...

Notice the NYTimes reports that Olbermann "leaves" MSNBC when in fact he was fired.

A full two years were left on his contract, but now that Comcast is the new game in town and Jeff Zucker is gone.....

.....it's vamos with Olbermann as well.

Anderson Cooper reports the truth with his tweet....."Comcast deal is approved. Jeff Zucker leaves. Keith Olbermann gets fired. Coincidence?"

No, Anderson!

LOL!

Debrah said...

NRO has a little poll which is hilarious.

My vote was cast for "Daily Kos Diarist".

~~~~~~~~~
Olbermann’s Next Job Should Be:

NPR Ombudsman 9 %

Media Matters Analyst 5 %

Columbia Journo Prof 5 %

Daily Kos Diarist 23 %

Co-Chair, No Labels 9 %

WH Press Secretary 50 %

Debrah said...

Saw this on Andy's blog, a place consisting almost entirely of links to what a multitude of other people have written.

Nothing wrong with that, of course, which is what we all do.

However, most "well-known" bloggers do most of their own work.......which is why it's a puzzle that Sullivan's blog rates as anything but frivolity.

A mystery!

In any case, there's a link to an interesting post called Horoscoped where painstaking analyses have been done to conclude---they say---that horoscopes don't mean anything.

Part of me agrees, but the other part of me wants to think otherwise.

There are sometimes just too many coincidences to be coincidences. No matter the actual words used to describe them.

Yet another mystery of life!

Debrah said...

The Tragedy of CP from American Thinker

"Like most debilitating diseases, Ceteris Paribus results when normal behaviors go awry. Ceteris Paribus ('CP'), loosely translated 'other things being equal' or 'holding all else constant,' can be employed positively and normally in the sciences, particularly social sciences like economics."

Debrah said...

Finally, someone at The Atlantic Wire has made the point.

Let's Maybe Ease Up on the Gabby Giffords Coverage

I've been thinking this from the start. The media are really turning this tragedy into an emotional and profitable venture for themselves.....

......as well as bleeding it for political purposes.

Debrah said...

OMG!

What a story.

This cat was born in a tree and now simply lives there and won't come down.

I'd go up there and bring her down so that she could be domesticated.

Odd.

RobertG said...

Thoroughly enjoyed the Hitchens vs. Blair video series.

Debrah said...

Obama's Portfolio from NRO.

"Government does not make investments. History suggests that it is not especially successful when it tries to do so, and the Obama administration has been a singularly ineffective manager of our national finances, its incompetence rivaled in modern times only by that of the Johnson administration. 'Investing in America' is simply rhetorical camouflage..."

Debrah said...

Your stomach really does have a mind of its own from the WSJ.

Of course it does and I'm surprised that the diet and fitness gurus are just now getting wise to this.

Don't they listen to their own bodies?

Debrah said...

RobertG--

Did you listen to all the segments of the Hitchens/Blair debate?

I embedded #2, on the front page, omitting #1 because it consists almost totally of introductions.

And you can get the following segments when they emerge from there...one after the other.

I thought both men did well. A fabulous exchange; however, there's no question that Hitchen--even in his frail condition --- was stronger.

I'm not sure how I feel about it all, actually.

I believe there's a higher being, but organized religion contaminates.

Debrah said...

Ha!

A Reader Contest at Slate.

Stanley Fish's Top Five Sentences

Debrah said...

Ross Douthat's Politics of Evasion

Debrah said...

This latest one from Hitchens is quite spectacular.

Churchill Didn't Say That

Given all the accolades bestowed on the film, people really need to know just how phony the story line is.

Total fabrication. A hagiographic nightmare.

"Almost the entire moral capital of this rather odd little German dynasty is invested in the post-fabricated myth of its participation in 'Britain's finest hour.' In fact, had it been up to them, the finest hour would never have taken place. So this is not a detail but a major desecration of the historical record—now apparently gliding unopposed toward a baptism by Oscar."

Debrah said...

What's Behind the "Tiger Mother" Craze? from The New Yorker

Debrah said...

Good news.

The Diva has been selected as one of the lucky winners of a contest in which she rhapsodized about Italian culture and cuisine.

More prizes are yet to come......perhaps even a trip to Italy!

With so many entries --- something I did as a lark on the spur of the moment --- I don't expect to be that lucky.

However, so far I've been sent two gorgeous 2011 calendars, since I won for both months of October as well as November......even though I don't need a calendar. I only use calendars with photos of kitties!

If the Diva doesn't win the free excursion to Italy, then I'd settle for a year's supply of select Italian cuisine.

Stay tuned.

I just knew the photos sent of me eating would do the trick! LOL!!!

Debrah said...

Mubarak Should Go --- But Not Yet from NRO

Debrah said...

Get excited.

Jay Carney has been chosen to be the new White House press secretary.

Well, I suppose anything is an improvement over limp noodle Gibbs.

Debrah said...

How fantastic from Krauthammer.

Is there really anyone more brilliant?

The Old Obama In New Clothing

" 'We do big things,' Obama declared at the end of an address that was, on the contrary, the finest example of small-ball Clintonian minimalism since the days of school uniforms and midnight basketball. From the moon landing to solar shingles. Is there a better example of American decline?"

Jaeden said...

שלום דאבראה יפה. אני רוצה לעשות אהבה אליך.

Debrah said...

Hmm....interesting from Jonah Lehrer.

The Difficulty of Discovery (Where Have All The Geniuses Gone?)

"...Noah Gray, an editor at Nature, sees the 21st century importance of scientific teams as a 'return to our ancestral roots of socialized problem-solving.' It’s an intriguing possibility: Perhaps the era of the lone genius was merely an historical blip, an anomaly in the great span of human problem-solving."

Debrah said...

Hi Jaeden!

Jaeden said...

אני רוצה לפגוש אותך

Debrah said...

No Axe To Grind from Maureen.

Predictably, she's back with an "exclusive" as David Axelrod bids adieu to Washington.

Ah, such sweet sorrow!

Debrah said...

A few items of relative interest:

Duke University's Center for the History of Political Economy is expanding its efforts to instruct economists and future economists. Last week, the center announced it has received a three-year, $750,000 grant from a foundation started by [George] Soros, a frequent target of tea party ire.

And former president of Duke, Nan Keohane, who played such an integral part during her tenure of laying the groundwork for what would become the fertile milieu for the Gng of 88, is hawking a new book.

"Thinking about Leadership" (Princeton University Press, $27.95). Friday she'll return to Duke to discuss it.

Debrah said...

A surprising one from a guest columnist at The Atlantic, who is also a self-identified Obama supporter. Or at least he used to be a supporter.

Did Obama's Promise Trigger the Arab Revolt?

Debrah said...

Obama's Shah Problem at Slate.

Gyro Gearloose said...

The columnist at the Atlantic is right. Obama's election stirred the Arab world. He's always implied that he favors them over Israel.
As president he has to reinforce ties with Israel but I don't think his heart has ever been in it. Not hard to detect.
He's making some similar mistakes that Carter made with Iran but it won't be that bad 'cause Obama has a stronger support base.

Debrah said...

LOL!~

Jon Stewart calls out Facebook and their shady new deal.

Hi Gyro.

I agree with you for the most part.

Debrah said...

Maureen's Bye, Bye Mubarak

And he [Robert Kagan] advises President Obama — who went on TV Tuesday night to assure Egyptians that they will determine their own destiny, but maybe not just yet — not to count on a long goodbye for Mubarak.
“The notion of trying to figure out a Mubarak option,” he said, of a leisurely transition, “should be dropped.”

Debrah said...

The Shame Factor from Hitchens

"When will dictators learn not to treat their people like fools?"

Debrah said...

A hideous example of what a fool Obama's Valerie Jarrett is.

Debrah said...

Oh no.

This coming Sunday is the Super Bowl.

I'm going to need a way to avoid the usual crapola.

Honestly, I'm so sick of all the hyped-up sports programs and people wetting their pants with anticipation.

What simpletons.

B-O-R-I-N-G !

Debrah said...

Letter from the Sundance Film Festival from Paris Review.

Debrah said...

Egyptology from NRO.

Debrah said...

LOL!!!
LOL!!!

Hilarious video at The Blaze by Jon Stewart.

He really demolishes Olbermann.

Debrah said...

This week's five-part series at NRO's Uncommon Knowledge:

"Obama the Radical with Stanley Kurtz"

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

leisurelylawyer said...

As to your 3:39, happy super bowl weekend to you anyway. :)

Debrah said...

Blame, Not Shame from Maureen this very sunny Sunday morning.

She's on the warpath after Rummy this time.

~~~~~
Donald Rumsfeld has only 815 pages — including a scintillating List of Acronyms — to explain why he was not responsible when Stuff Happened. His memoir, “Known and Unknown,” is like a living, breathing version of the man himself: very thorough, highly analytical and totally absent any credible self-criticism.
~~~~~

Debrah said...

Hi "leisurelylawyer"--

Happy Super Bowl weekend to you as well.....

......even if my excitement is rather muted.

LIS!

Debrah said...

Reagan at 100 Casts Shadow Over Republican Party from the Washington Post.

Debrah said...

Sports Aren't Sex, They're War from the wonderful Hampton Stevens at The Atlantic.

I tweeted this, but thought it was interesting enough to link as well.

It's unfortunate that some in our culture try to make sports almost synonymous with sex.

I suppose because with most sports a good portion of the body is exposed and it's just an easy and sleazy avenue to go down.

From the beginning of time.....up through the ages.....sports has always been a clear war metaphor.

That's why I despise so much of the current gay male culture. Gay men attempt to look more "manly" by surrounding themselves with male athletes and body builders.....

......contaminating the sports arena with jock-sniffing and appendage-groping grotesquerie.

It's so creepy.

But Hampton's article sends a clear and accurate message.

One that not even gay porno perverts and their low-rent paraders and onlookers can taint.

Debrah said...

Would America Have Been Better Off Without A Reagan Presidency? from Hitchens.

As usual, Christopher delights me with his razor-sharp wit and over-the-top sarcasm.

Always delivered with the most ingenious dollop of personal opinion.

About the book: (I should add that I simply recoil at the sight and sound of Ron Reagan, the son of Prez Reagan. What a dull guy.)

"Reagan's friend Margaret Thatcher once said that the real test of her success was the way that she had changed the politics of the Labour Party. By that standard, the legacy of Reagan in permanently altering the political landscape is with us still."

Debrah said...

Poll: Cold Weather Means More Sex

Debrah said...

Toward A Soft Landing In Egypt from Krauthammer.

I missed this one until now. Don't know why I didn't see it.

It's so time-consuming being a Diva!

Debrah said...

From the upcoming March issue of Atlantic Magazine Mind vs. Machine.

"In the race to build computers that can think like humans, the proving ground is the Turing Test—an annual battle between the world’s most advanced artificial-intelligence programs and ordinary people."

Debrah said...

Father Forgive Me, For I Have Linked from Maureen.

"Our Father, who art in pixels,
linked be Thy name,
Thy Web site come, Thy Net be done,
on Explorer as it is on Firefox.
Give us this day our daily app,
and forgive us our spam,
as we forgive those
who spam against us,
and lead us not into aggregation,
but deliver us from e-vil. Amen."


This is so bizarre, however inevitable.

A Roman Catholic app.

Debrah said...

The Art of the Punt from National Journal.

In his options for scrapping Fannie and Freddie, Obama deflects political heat—with some risk.

Debrah said...

A really excellent one here about the food we eat and the food we are told to eat.

Is 'Eat Real Food' Unthinkable?

"The truly healthy alternative to that chip is not a fake chip; it’s a carrot. Likewise, the alternative to sausage is not vegan sausage; it’s less sausage. This is really all pretty simple, and pretty clear. But the messages we’ve heard recently are as clear as . . . well, a SOFA. You want an acronym? Let’s try ERF: Eat Real Food."

Debrah said...

From the U.S House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations a list of 70 spending cuts.

Debrah said...

Obama's Foreign-Policy Follies by Conrad Black.

Wrong on France, wrong on disarmament.

Gyro Gearloose said...

Mubarak is done but he'll not likely go quietly. In that speech he's going to give he'll have a few tricks up his sleeve. The Egyptian people deserve credit for organizing and persisting in what is a historical transition.

Debrah said...

Wow, Gyro.

You're simply rhapsodic with world analyses today.

I agree that what's happening in Egypt as we speak is of grand historical significance, especially since Egypt is a key Middle Eastern country.

The wild card and a foreboding element for the United States is the power held by The Muslim Brotherhood among Egyptians.

Obama has a test coming.

All this will necessitate a closer relationship with Israel.

Is the Obama administration up to it?

Debrah said...

From a Freedom Agenda to a Freedom Doctrine by Krauthammer.

"....the Left spent the better part of the Bush years excoriating the freedom agenda as either fantasy or yet another sordid example of U.S. imperialism."

"Now it seems everyone, even the Left, is enthusiastic for Arab democracy. Fine. Fellow travelers are welcome. But simply being in favor of freedom is not enough. With Egypt in turmoil and in the midst of a perilous transition, we need foreign-policy principles to ensure democracy for the long run."

"A freedom doctrine is a freedom agenda given direction by guiding principles. Truman did it. So can we."

Debrah said...

Trump For President?

Debrah said...

This is so amusing from Paris Review.

Winking Etiquette

Jaeden said...

"האחים המוסלמים" יש הרבה כוח במצרים יותר מאשר התקשורת מדווחים

Debrah said...

Deindividuation

Riveting from You Are Not So Smart blog.

Debrah said...

This is simply magnificent!

Life Coaching Tips: The Feline Way

Debrah said...

The Muslim Brotherhood's "intellectual godfather" was once an exchange student in the U.S.

Debrah said...

Simply the Worst

Ah, another day.

Another Sunday morning.

Maureen's still ripping Rummy.

Debrah said...

The Gentleman from Virginia from Tablet Magazine.

Interesting.

"In a sense, [Eric] Cantor is following a model successfully pioneered by earlier generations of Southern Jews who achieved prominence in city and state politics—men like Emanuel J. Evans, known as 'Mutt,' who as mayor of Durham, North Carolina, from 1951 to 1963, took pains to make sure his campaign posters noted his synagogue presidency and his work on behalf of Israel bonds. 'My father said, "People down here respect church work," ' explained Evans’ son, Eli, author of The Provincials: A History of Jews in the South. 'This is the tone for really successful Southern politicians, and Cantor has that one down pat.' "

Debrah said...

Happy Valentine's Day, Kantian!

An excuse to eat chocolate.

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