Tracy Porter's Interception

As always, I was busy blogging away during the final minutes of yesterday's game. I was searching around for videos on best Super Bowl ads, but I thought I should just watch for a second. Sometimes I need to stop and say "what's going on"? Well, it did, and it was just in time to see Tracy Porter make his spectacular interception return right into the end zone. The video's a bit blurry, but watch it here. New Orleans is celebrating, and I wish I was down there with folks. Good times can't be beat, especially when you've just recently been down low, real wet and low.

Pat in Shreveport's been living it up a bit, so check her out: "The Morning After The Super Bowl Round Up." You go girl!

John Murtha, 1932-2010

Representative John Murtha has died. House Minority Leader John Boehner is quoted at the New York Times, via Memeorandum:

“Today, our nation has lost a decorated veteran and the House of Representatives has lost one of its own. I was saddened to hear of John Murtha’s passing, and my thoughts and prayers are with his friends and loved ones. I also want to express my condolences to Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who valued Congressman Murtha’s advice and friendship. He will be missed.”

Congressman Murtha generated tremendous heat for his outspoken views on the Iraq war a few years ago. He seemed to characterize the Democratic Party's "cut-and-run" defeatism. Murtha was also the most prolific pork-barreler in recent Congresses, and thus epitomized the Democrats' hypocrisy on "earmark" reform.

That said, I appaud Representative Boehner for his statement, and I hope that other conservatives will avoid the kinds of demonization campaigns that are so familiar on the left upon the death of controversial political leaders.

Bless this man and his family as he's laid to rest. We can all fight another day.

A full obituary is at the Washington Post, "Rep. John Murtha dies at 77."

Added: Check Michelle Malkin as well, who notes, "we can show Murtha’s family more decency and respect than he ever showed the Haditha Marines."

Is Markos Moulitsas an Extremist?

A discussion at Bloggingheads:

Kos' forthcoming book is entitled "American Taliban." Here's how Kos describes it:

As I’ve mentioned before, I’m putting the finishing touches on my new book, American Taliban, which catalogues the ways in which modern-day conservatives share the same agenda as radical Jihadists in the Islamic world ...

Rich Lowry's criteria is that to attack the other side as equivalent to the Taliban makes you an extremist. So, that begs the question: What about those who criticize the Obama administration, which has given direct access to Jody Evans? The Code Pink Founder met with the Taliban in Afghanistan last November, and she's had direct access to the president? So even if we give the president credit for trying to do right in Afghanistan, his ties to Taliban enablers is deeply troubling.

Does that make me an extremist? It all depends on the evidence, I guess. See, "Jodie Evans is Barack Obama's Code Pink Liaison to Taliban Insurgents."

Shuttle Endeavour Launch

You can count on my good friend AubreyJ to have comprehensive coverage of NASA shuttle missions. No disappointment today. See his post from yesterday, "Endeavour Set to Launch Early Sunday Morning," which includes updates on the launch delay until this morning:

Here’s a little about...

Endeavour's STS-130 Mission.

Commander George Zamka will lead the STS-130 mission to the International Space Station aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour. Terry Virts will serve as the pilot. Mission Specialists are Nicholas Patrick, Robert Behnken, Stephen Robinson and Kathryn Hire. Virts will be making his first trip to space.

Shuttle Endeavour and its crew will deliver to the space station a third connecting module, the Italian-built Tranquility node and the seven-windowed cupola, which will be used as a control room for robotics. The mission will feature three spacewalks.

Liftoff from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida is scheduled for February 7, 2010, at 4:39am EST .

P.S. I love to watch videos of the shuttle launches, especially the separation of the solid fuel booster.

RELATED: From the New York Times, "Shuttle Endeavour Blasts Off for Space Station."

Best Super Bowl Ads

Well, that Tracy Porter interception pretty much clinched it. So now it's time to rate some of the Super Bowl ads. A pre-game advertising roundup is at AdAge, "Who's Buying What in the Super Bowl 2010."

I especially liked the FLO-TV spot, with a remix of The Who's "My Generation." Seemed to strike the right tone, with the band doing an awesome halftime show:

You can vote for your favorites here, although not all the sponsors submitted spots.

Tebow Super Bowl Advertisements

Here they are. Can't imagine all the fuss from the left over this (actually, come to think of it, that's not true):

But see the Blog Prof, "More on Tim Tebow Super Bowl Commerical Derangement Syndrome (SBCDS)."

Cases in Palin Derangment: High School Crib Notes Edition

This is the leftists rage of the day, so, what the heck, I'm gonna throw old Sully a link, and in turn I'll get linked at Memeorandum:

I was too busy tapping away at my laptop to notice this little high-school trick. Having mocked president Obama for using a TelePrompter - not long after he made mincemeat of Republicans with no such TelePrompter at their retreat - she had to scribble down her priorities as president on her palm for the truly tough-as-nails Q and A she had to endure for ten minutes or so last night.

Written on her hand:

"Energy"

"Budget [crossed out] (Cuts)"

"Tax"

"Lift American spirits"

My favorite detail is "[Budget] Cuts". Which just about sums up the real Tea Party agenda on spending. But it also suggests that she was told in advance of the questions she would be asked, one of which was what would be you priorities if you were elected president? Now think about this: she had to write on her hand her priorities as president.

I stand by my belief that none of this matters to the people who support her, and that she remains a very potent, content-free and destructive force in American politics.

There's more where that came from, but you get the idea. And with that, we're having a whole new era of Palin Derangment Syndrome.

And here's a test: How many readers have NEVER written crib notes on their hand? Perhaps a few. Now, how many have pronounced "corpsman" as "corpse-man" in a nationally televised broadcast? I see. None. And with that, the trophy for ultimate stupidity goes to TOTUS.

And of course, the lefties didn't get too riled up about that.

You Must Be RINO If You Don't Advocate Shooting Illegal Immigrants on Sight!

Geez, I've forgotten how totally whacked old Texas Fred can be. Check out his entry, "Is Sarah Palin a TRUE Conservative?":

I may lose a few readers and fans over what I am about to say, but that’s the breaks.

I am NOT a fan of Sarah Palin. I have long said so. I believe that if Sarah Palin is the BEST the RNC can offer up, we are is some seriously deep poop. I said it when she was running with McCain on the GOP ticket and I say it now as she once again supports McCain. I have made it a topic in more than a few posts on this blog and I have yet to see anything to convince me otherwise.

Supporting John McCain now is just further proof that Palin is NOT a Conservative!

John McCain is a used up RINO. He is a wild card. You never know what McCain is going to do or who he’s going to side with. If Palin supporting him doesn’t open your eyes to the the lack of Conservatism that Sarah Palin possesses, I don’t guess anything will.

I don’t know about you, but to my way of thinking, if someone supports, and campaigns for a RINO, and make NO mistake about it, John McCain IS a RINO, that tends to make me believe that this individual supporter is quite likely a RINO too.

The Democrat party is now openly socialist while today’s Republican party is the Democrat party of 20 years ago. The results of these leftist shifts are plainly seen today with obscene deficits, a huge and growing federal government, misguided foreign policy and rising taxes on an already over-taxed working family. Conservatives have had enough! SOURCE

I could not have said it any better myself ....

There are many in the GOP that are convinced that we have to accept whatever the GOP/RNC throws out there. They say that if we don’t, we fragment the GOP and allow the Dems to gain more power. Those people do have a point, the GOP needs to be united and strong, but I have to ask; if we accept RINOs, if we are willing to settle for anything less than the very best in Conservative candidates, are we any better than straight ticket Dems and the moonbats that they vote for?

We know that politicians like Kay Bailey Hutchison, Lindsey Graham, Newt Gingrich, John Cornyn and a multitude of other self proclaimed GOP members are nothing but RINOs. Are we going to allow those RINOs to take the GOP further into the abyss of liberalism? The GOP is nothing other than Dem Lite as it currently stands. The GOP needs to be the party of Reagan!

Do YOU have the guts to stand and say so? Do YOU have the guts to fight and take the GOP back? Do YOU have the guts to declare that YOU will not accept the lesser of ANYTHING? Do YOU have the guts to vote for only the most Conservative patriots as we leave the RINOs to die off into extinction and take the GOP back?

2010 and 2012 will tell the tale.

That's interesting, and I'm not for RINOs either. But just so folks are clear on where Texas Fred's coming from, here's his litmus test on who's RINO and who's not:

We must have comprehensive immigration reform that benefits the American taxpayer at least as much as it benefits the immigrants, the LEGAL ones, and as far as I am concerned, the ILLEGALS that are literally pouring into this nation can either be rounded up and deported or allowed to starve to death or die of thirst as they cross the hot desert of the American southwest, that saves the American patriot the problem of having to buy so many rounds of ammunition.

And what the hell, the critters in the desert have got to eat too!

Somehow I doubt that Sarah Palin wants to round up illegal aliens shoot them on sight. And don't miss Texas Fred's additional points from the comments: "Just shoot the bastards and be done with it …"

See also Robert at American and Proud and Jenn at Political Jungle. These are your true conservatives: TRUE, I tell you!

RELATED: From the Washington Post, "Sarah Palin Watch: She Looks Trim, Fit — and Brimming With Energy and Plans." (Via Memeorandum.)

No Bias Here: Prop. 8 Trial Judge Vaughn Walker is Gay

First of all, I DON'T ENDORSE THE CONTENTS OF THE SIGNS AT THE IMAGE BELOW. It's mockery of the hate, and there's more at Laughing Squid, "San Francisco’s Answer to Westboro Baptist Church."

At the same time, I really am MOCKING Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker, who's presiding over the Proposition 8 trial in San Francisco. It turns out he's gay, and --- surprise!! --- there are questions of impartiality. See the San Francisco Chronicle, "Judge Being Gay a Nonissue During Prop. 8 Trial" (via Memeorandum):

The biggest open secret in the landmark trial over same-sex marriage being heard in San Francisco is that the federal judge who will decide the case, Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker, is himself gay.

Many gay politicians in San Francisco and lawyers who have had dealings with Walker say the 65-year-old jurist, appointed to the bench by President George H.W. Bush in 1989, has never taken pains to disguise - or advertise - his orientation.

They also don't believe it will influence how he rules on the case he's now hearing - whether Proposition 8, the 2008 ballot measure approved by state voters to ban same-sex marriage, unconstitutionally discriminates against gays and lesbians.

"There is nothing about Walker as a judge to indicate that his sexual orientation, other than being an interesting factor, will in any way bias his view," said Kate Kendell, head of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, which is supporting the lawsuit to overturn Prop. 8.

Yeah. Right.

See Ed Whelan, "Judge Walker’s Skewed Judgment."

RELATED: Michelle Malkin instead, "The Anti-Prop. 8 Mob Strikes Again."

More on Sarah Palin's Speech in Nashville

Via Dana Loesch, Piper Palin plays at the tea party convention. And Stogie has some thoughts on Palin:

While looking at Palin yesterday, I asked myself, honestly, does she "look like a president"? I had to say no. Also, I find her sing-song, happy voice kind of annoying; it doesn't sound serious enough. She needs to work on speech making and sounding serious and even somber at times. Image is very important and works on a subconscious level. Palin needs to work hard on both her message and her image.

See also, Another Black Conservative, "My Notes On Palin’s Tea Party Convention Speech."

Sarah Palin on Fox News Sunday: GOP and Tea Parties 'Should Be Merging'

A wide-ranging interview with Chris Wallace. Governor Palin settles questions about the future of the tea party movement. But as always, her comments on life and family are unmatched: "I want to empower women," at about 9:15 minutes:

Plus, Palin speaks for me perfectly on the administration and national security. See the Orlando Sentinel, "Sarah Palin Tells ‘Fox News Sunday’: Barack Obama Needs to ‘Toughen Up’ If He Wants to Be Re-Elected."

Also, at Fox News, "Palin 'Would Be Willing' to Take On Obama in 2012."

VIDEO HAT TIP: The Rigth Scoop, "Watch Sarah Palin on Fox News Sunday."

George Will on California GOP Senate Primary: Chuck DeVore Will Be the Republican Nominee

Via Chuck DeVore on Twitter:

Reactions to Sarah Palin in Nashville

This photo and more available from Founding Bloggers.

Saving me some time, there's a killer roundup of reactions at Knoxville News, "Sarah Palin Has Tea Party, Conservatives in Palm of Her Hand."

One very interesting piece is at the Nashville Post, "Beginning of the End: Sarah Palin Hijacks the Tea Party Movement"(also from Memeorandum):

The tea party movement is dead. The one I was familiar with anyway. Judson Phillips held it down and Sarah Palin drove a stake right through its heart live last night on C-Span in front of an unsuspecting audience.

Sarah Palin didn’t give a tea party speech last night. She gave a partisan Republican address. It was a purely political speech designed to position her for a presidential run in 2012 or 2016. Period. She wasn’t there to celebrate the organic nature of a movement she had nothing to do with creating. She was there to co-opt the name and claim the brand as hers. And she did.

The movement, that came to be officially recognized almost a year ago but whose roots go back further than that, has been snuffed out and replaced in the public mind. The movement that began as a people’s movement of angry independent, libertarians and conservatives will now be thought as the movement of people like Palin, Dick Armey, Judson Phillips, Mark Skoda, etc. Essentially, a wholly owned subsidiary of the “Official Conservative Movement” and the Republican Party.

This new tea party bears no resemblance to the one that began a year ago as a reaction to the collapse of our financial system and the subsequent bailout. That movement of ragtag and unorganized libertarians, independents and conservatives was something new and unique. An authentic protest movement angered not just by the new President, Barack Obama, who had presided over the bailouts but the president who started the ball rolling and whose incompetence had led to the crisis in the first place, George W. Bush.

I think that's only partly correct, especially in my personal experience as one highly active in the SoCal tea party movement. I'll have more on this, but Mark Tapscott, one of the original tea party leaders, is closer to my sense of things, "Sarah Palin is Miles Ahead of Every Other Politician in America":

Watching Sarah Palin's speech to the Tea Party National Convention last night in Nashville on PJTV, it was clear that she has a rapport and comfort with the Tea Partiers that is unmatched among politicians at the national level.

While I suspect that mine is a minority view among the leadership of conservative activism and journalism (and I am often reminded in a jocular sort of way that my view of Palin is a minority among my colleagues at The Examiner and The Weekly Standard), I believe Palin is miles ahead of every other national figure in understanding where the country has been in the last year and what the Tea Party movement means about the future course of American politics.

That doesn't mean I think Palin is or even should be a candidate for president or any other elective office in 2012 or any other time. What it does mean is I believe Palin has a unique insight into the state of things and is moving systematically and intelligently in concert with that insight. Where that leads, nobody, including Palin, likely knows at this point.

I'm Considering a New Textbook ...

The flyer's here: "American Government and Politics: Deliberation, Democracy, and Citizenship."

My current book is George C. Edwards, et al., Government in America: People, Politics, and Policy, 14/E. I've been using the Edwards text for 10 years, and I hadn't even thought about switching to a new volume but the cost of the book is out of control. A brand new copy at my bookstore's going for almost $150.00 and a used book is about $97.00. Although I've never been primarily driven by price considerations for students, it's simply much too expensive this year; and there are more and more alternatives becoming available all the time (online e-books, all-paper three-hole volumes, etc.).

With just so much to be done every semester (and little time), having a good book and getting into a good learning routine is crucial -- and it's taken me a long time to find a rhythm. The Edwards book has a powerful thesis suggesting that "politics and government matter," especially for young people, who in turn are increasingly apathetic. The scholarship is first rate and the revised editions are available by the January following the November elections every two years. I like that, and in the past I'd really appreciated all of the instructor's ancillary materials -- including a students' practice webstite, which had been free to use until the 13th edition came out.

I've found my groove with Government in America, but I think perhaps I should move on, and not just because of price. I have no idea if I'll adopt the Bessette volume, in any case. I found an examination copy in my mailbox as I was leaving work Thursday, and I've been reading the book this weekend. I'm liking it. There are so many texts on the market I could be reading different books all year, without that much variation. (So I'd be glad to settle on something quickly.) If you look at the chapters at the flyer, however, I'm pleased that there are two whole chapters on American citizenship, exceptionalism, and civic culture (tied together by the thesis of "deliberative democracy"). And importantly, the chapters on civil liberties and civil rights come right after (chapters 6 and 7). The order is important. I stress a "building blocks" approach in the classroom. Teaching the debates over the ratification of the Constitution, for example (with the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists), provides a surprisingly good lead-in to the study of the Bill of Rights, especially as it relates to current events in civil liberties. A number of books place civil liberties at the end of the text (along with civil rights), and by that time it's almost finals week. (And there's considerably less engagement as the semester's winding down.)

Anyway, I'm not making a decision right away. The authors of the American Government and Politics: Deliberation, Democracy, and Citizenship are at Claremont McKenna in Pomona, so I've thought of contacting them, especially John Pitney, to whom (I think) I introduced myself at an academic conference a few years back.

Anyway, more on this later. My classes alone could potentially lead to the sale of over 400 copies of the main textbook annually. Not all of them will be new, but a good portion of them will. Publishers know this and compete frantically for new faculty adopters. I'll check out a few other volumes as well, but the same criteria of price, book structure and accessibility, and ancillary technologies will be driving my decision.

Sarah Palin's Speech in Nashville

Glenn Reynolds snapped some shots, "SOME PICS FROM SARAH PALIN’S SPEECH."

And CNN has a clip, "Palin Blasts Democrats in Tea Party Speech":

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin drew many standing ovations from a friendly crowd Saturday night as she blasted Washington Democrats and the Obama administration in a keynote speech for what was billed as the first national Tea Party Convention.

"It's so inspiring to see real people, not politicos, inside-the-beltway professionals, come out, stand up and speak out for common-sense conservative principles," Palin said.

Palin sought to hold Washington accountable as she took on a number of issues, including national security, the economy, and the recent election of Republican Scott Brown to the Massachusetts Senate seat left vacant by the late Ted Kennedy.

"America is ready for another revolution and you are a part of this," Palin said.

She called the Tea Party movement a "ground-up call to action that is forcing both parties to change the way they're doing business."

Palin gave particular attention to Brown's election, calling him a representative "of this beautiful movement."

I'm going to have more on this later. But see also, the Los Angeles Times, "Sarah Palin to Tea Party Convention: 'This is About the People'; MSNBC, "Palin to Obama: ‘Stop Lecturing, Start Listening’" (via Hot Air); and the New York Times, "Palin Assails Obama at Tea Party Meeting."

Leftist David Weigel reports, "Palin Speaks: “How’s that Hopey-Changey Thing Working Out for Ya?”." (Via Memeorandum.)

Plus, C-SPAN has the full speech, "Sarah Palin Remarks to Tea Party Convention."

Palin to Lead Tea Party Movement?

A pretty favorable piece from this morning's New York Times: "Palin, Visible and Vocal, Is Positioned for Variety of Roles."

But more critically, at Politico, "Palin's Risky Bid to Lead Tea Party":

After flirting coyly for months, Sarah Palin this weekend launches an aggressive play to become the leader of the tea party movement, a move with major political upside for the former Alaska governor but also one rife with risk.

Her positioning could boost her prospects of securing the 2012 Republican presidential nomination, which she is widely believed to be eyeing. And the tea party is a natural fit for Palin, whose populist anti-Washington rhetoric and working mom persona have made her a movement favorite since its grass-roots activists burst onto the scene last year in opposition to the big-spending initiatives of President Barack Obama and the Democratic Congress.

Palin compared the movement to the American Revolution and the struggle for civil rights, while identifying with its activists, in an op-ed piece this week in USA Today. And her keynote speech Saturday night to a gathering here that bills itself as the first National Tea Party Convention will be followed by appearances at recently announced tea party rallies in Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's hometown next month and in Boston in April.

But embracing the movement also has a potential downside. Not only could it drag her into the controversies and in-fighting that have swirled around the movement; it also could further alienate the independents and Democrats who were left with a sour taste from her 2008 GOP vice presidential campaign. And the chaotic collection of local groups that make up the movement may not accept her — or anyone else — as a leader anyway.

Read the whole thing (here).

When you get further down it's clear (again) that a centralized tea party leadership is not really possible. Sarah Palin can best be considered as the movement's premier activist. She identifies with the goals of limited government and she walks the walk of those in the grassroots. Palin won't make everyone happy. But so far she's done nothing that would damage her brand. In fact, I remain convinced that all the jockeying she's been doing, following the very successful book tour promotion, has been to further solidify her credentials as a savvy political operative with high-powered potential for a run at the 2012 GOP nomination.

I'm looking forward to the speech. Don't forget to get registered at PJTV for the live feed.

RELATED: At the New York Times, "Tea Party Looks to Move From Fringe to Force." (Via Memeorandum.)

Sarah Palin Tonight in Nashville

Dana Loesch is getting reader for Sarah Palin's headline speech: "Sarah Palin Tonight in Nashville." At the picture are guests entering the ballroom:

From the National Tea Party Convention

Founding Bloggers has pictures, here and here:

Rachel Maddow: Calling for 'Civics Literacy' Makes You a 'White Hooded' Racist

At Newsbusters, "Maddow: Tea Party Conventioneers Are Racists In White Hoods":

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Listen to Maddow. What a crock. Oh sure, lteracy tests were required in the Jim Crow south, right. But actually, Tancredo's exact words were "we do not have a civics literacy test before people can vote in this country ..." See the Boston Herald, "Former GOP Rep. Tancredo: Civics Literacy Test Should Be Required to Vote."

As Newsbusters points out, civics literacy tests have been a requirement of immigration to the United States since 1917. And interestingly, Maddow's own employer has a civics literacy test on its home page, where it says:

When immigrants want to become Americans, they must take a civics test as part of their naturalization interview before a Citizenship and Immigration Services (INS) officer ....

Sarah Palin Live Stream From Nashville Tea Party Convention!

Are you watching Sarah Palin's speech tonight from Nashville? Supposed to be live streamed. The sign up page is here.

Also, here's a report on the ground from Carl Cameron at Fox News: