Not since Rob Morrow left Northern Exposure have I followed a network (or, for that matter, cable as well) TV series.  To be sure, I have enjoyed a miniseries here and there and an occasional episode of a number of well-written shows (including most recently Grey’s Anatomy), but until watching an episode of House with my sister-in-law on Sunday while in Cincinnati, I never really felt engaged by a TV series.

So compelling was this TV show that I heard myself telling my newly 4-year-old nephew that he would have to wait until the commercial for my assistance with his puzzle (I had spent the better part of the day playing and shopping with him and his younger sister who, like a TV character of yore, can “turn the world on with her smile“.)  While I left him alone struggle with the puzzle on his own (which could have turned out to be a good thing), I did have to turn away from the tube when his local uncle (my other younger brother) arrived at the house.

What I so liked about the show was not merely Hugh Laurie‘s crusty demeanor, but the ability to the writers to make the show about something more than the matter at hand.  In the particular episode I was watching, Dr. House was treating a one-time nice guy who started speaking his every thought about those around him.  (Kind of a foil for the show’s protagonist?)  Without saying so directly, he show thus seemed to be asking a great (and fundamental) question:  who are we really, our persona (the “mask” we wear everyday) or our passions (many of which we conceal in order to fit in — or not offend).  Good writing that–to pose such a question through a story-line.

The show, despite one major casting flaw, seems to succeed for the same reason a number of good shows have succeeded:  sharp writing, good casting and a smart premise.  Nice to discover something this good on the tube when I had thought the only good TV today was miniseries.

Coupled with the good news from the political world comes this from Tinseltown, Sandra Bullock, one of my favorite contemporary stars of the silver screen,

accomplished a box office feat that her fellow A-listers Julia Roberts, Meryl Streep,Angelina Jolie and Reese Witherspoon have never succeeded at – she’s cracked the $200 million mark at the domestic box office.

And if you haven’t seen the Blind Side, the aforementioned $200 million movie, yet, don’t ask any questions, just see it.

If, as I predict, Republicans hold all the seats of retiring Republican Senators (NH, FL, KY, OH and MO), then there will be at least 44 GOP Senators in the 112th Congress.

With the announcement today of the retirement of Byron Dorgan, the junior Senator from the Peace Garden State, Republicans can add North Dakota to the list of states (AR, CT and NV) where we are all but certain to pick up a seat currently held by a Democrat.

Some say Earl Pomeroy, the state’s sole Congressman, has a shot at the seat.  But, with a recent poll showing the 11-term Democrat “losing to an unnamed candidate 50 – 42“, he just doesn’t look as strong as he might otherwise look.

If Republicans can recruit strong candidates to run in Washington State, New York State, Maryland, Oregon and Wisconsin, we may see a GOP Senate a year hence.  To help make that possible, donate to Massachusetts Senate candidate Scott Brown.

You can’t say we didn’t warn ‘em.  But, they just didn’t listen.   Two-thirds of Americans aged 18 to 29 pulled the lever for Barack Obama last fall whereas the Democrat won only a bare majority (50-49) among their elders, all voters over 30 (you know the ones Bill and Hillary’s generation told us not to trust).

And now they’re bearing the brunt of the sluggish economy.  Unemployment among young Americans has surged to a record high, with “more unemployed youths in America today than at any other time since World War II.”

Just desserts?

Caveat Emptor.  They got what they paid for.  They should have known better.  Or should they?

According to the Free Dictionary by Farlex (an online legal dictionary), the doctrine caveat emptor (Latin for “let the buy beware) applies to commercial transactions:

When a sale is subject to this warning the purchaser assumes the risk that the product might be either defective or unsuitable to his or her needs.

This rule is not designed to shield sellers who engage in Fraud or bad faith dealing by making false or misleading representations about the quality or condition of a particular product. It merely summarizes the concept that a purchaser must examine, judge, and test a product considered for purchase himself or herself.

Well, Obama did make a number of false and misleading representations in the campaign. So, maybe these desserts just aren’t just.  After all, these young’uns can attribute their bad choice to youth and inexperience.

A great article from the journal “Foreign Policy” (h/t – HotAir)

In general, U.S. presidents see the world through the eyes of four giants: Alexander Hamilton, Woodrow Wilson, Thomas Jefferson, and Andrew Jackson. Hamiltonians share the first Treasury secretary’s belief that a strong national government and a strong military should pursue a realist global policy and that the government can and should promote economic development and the interests of American business at home and abroad. Wilsonians agree with Hamiltonians on the need for a global foreign policy, but see the promotion of democracy and human rights as the core elements of American grand strategy. Jeffersonians dissent from this globalist consensus; they want the United States to minimize its commitments and, as much as possible, dismantle the national-security state. Jacksonians are today’s Fox News watchers. They are populists suspicious of Hamiltonian business links, Wilsonian do-gooding, and Jeffersonian weakness.

<…>

Like Carter in the 1970s, Obama comes from the old-fashioned Jeffersonian wing of the Democratic Party, and the strategic goal of his foreign policy is to reduce America’s costs and risks overseas by limiting U.S. commitments wherever possible. He’s a believer in the notion that the United States can best spread democracy and support peace by becoming an example of democracy at home and moderation abroad.

<…>

At their best, Jeffersonians provide a necessary element of caution and restraint in U.S. foreign policy, preventing what historian Paul Kennedy calls “imperial overstretch” by ensuring that America’s ends are proportionate to its means. We need this vision today more than ever: If Obama’s foreign policy collapses — whether sunk by Afghanistan or conflicts not yet foreseen — into the incoherence and reversals that ultimately marked Carter’s well-meaning but flawed approach, it will be even more difficult for future presidents to chart a prudent and cautious course through the rough seas ahead.

Since the Christmas Day terror attack (it was 99% successful, by the way), I’ve been having a recurring thought.  Has President Obama’s “worldview” been shattered?  After all, the election of Obama alone was supposed to endear the world to the USA and cause those pesky “man-made disaster” creators (aka – Islamic Terrorists) to throw up their arms and praise Obama’s name.

Victor Davis Hanson pointed out yesterday at National Review:

But more than one-third of all terrorist plots since 9/11 transpired in 2009 — despite loud chest-thumping about rejecting the idea of a war on terror, reaching out to the Muslim world, and apologizing for purported American sins. A non-impoverished Major Hasan or Mr. Mutallab (or Mr. Atta or KSM) does not fit with the notion that our enemies act out of poverty or oppression or want.

Clearly, Obama fell for his own hype and he has been governing like that for a year.  But maybe — just maybe — the 12/25 attack on America has shattered his extreme naivety.  Perhaps he will wake from his arrogance and realize that no matter how nice he is, no matter what gestures he gives — America has enemies bent on killing civilians and destroying our way of life.

Perhaps.  But I’m not holding my breath.

-Bruce (GayPatriot)

From DarkKnight3565 on Twitter:

The Bush Deficit of 2008 is roughly equal to the interest on the Obama Deficit of 2009.

Wowza.

-Bruce (GayPatriot)