doctorzhibloggo

Artie Shaw, 1900-2004...

One of the greatest swing leaders, Artie Shaw, has died at the age of 94. An innovative clarinetist, but  a real pain in the butt. He did marry some of the hottest babes of his time, including Lana Turner and Ava Gardner (!).

His most popular tune was "Begin the Beguine", but I really dug "Frenesi".

Wow...

Amazing satellite images of the Sri Lankan coastline before and after the Christmas Day tsunami. (Click on image for animation.)

Also, a great blog has been set-up as a clearinghouse for news and contribution info.

Susan Sontag, Dead...

Captain Ed lays to rest the career of Susan Sontag on her death today. She cemented her place in American letters with her comments after the 9-11 attacks -

Sontag was among the first to raise a dissenting voice after Sept. 11, 2001, in a controversial New Yorker magazine essay arguing that talk of an "attack on civilization" was "drivel."

She ignited a firestorm of criticism when she declared that the Sept. 11 attacks were not a "cowardly attack" on civilization but "an act undertaken as a consequence of specific American alliances and actions."

Of course the attacks were cowardly. It takes much more courage to look a man in the eye and pull the trigger than to terrorize innocent women and children and use a means of transportation to incinerate 3000 people. As more lefty icons die off, maybe rational "intellectuals" will see the light of American exceptionalism.

Viktor Yanukovych Means Al Gore in Ukrainian...

Not content with trying to steal the first election, Yanukovych takes a page out of the Democratic playbook and will contest the new results. -

"I will never recognise such a defeat, because the constitution and human rights were violated in our country,” Yanukovych said last night.

Official results from Sunday’s vote, with ballots counted from 99.89% of precincts, gave Yushchenko 52.01% compared with Yanukovych’s 44.18%. Turnout was 77.2%.

Between Gore, Kerry, and Gregoire, it seems, more and more, that there exists a mutual admiration society in Russia and the Democratic party for defying the will of the people.

"The Hammer of God"...

Science fiction great Arthur C. Clarke has issued a statement regarding the massive tsunami that struck his home in Sri Lanka. I think he may be more concerned about finding new houseboys.

UPDATE - Welcome Michelle Malkin readers. The post title refers to a 1993 Clarke novel  of the same name (though about an asteroid strike on the Earth).

Dear Mr. Rossi, It's Not Worth it...

Though Dino Rossi won the Washington Governor's race fair and square the Democratic party in the  state and its Supreme Court enablers have given it to Christine Gregiore, it is time for him to concede. It is time for him to take the high road and let the Republican party spend the next four years yelling that the Dems stole the election. Lets see how they feel with the shoe on the other foot and have them justify a stolen election. Heck, they tried to do it with George Bush in 2000.

This way, Rossi can run against Senator Maria Cantwell in 2006 and consolidate Republican gains in the Senate and guarantee a filibuster proof majority. That'll show these !@#$'s.

Iraqi Terrorists Joining Together?...

It seems that terrorist groups in Iraq are consolidating their loses -

Islam Memo is now reporting that 6 Terrorist Divisions including that of the famous Al-Zarqawi are joining together under one new leader.  The statement claims that the leader's identity is not known.

After their complete destruction in Falluja and the dismantling of their sanctuary, the !@#$-heads have no choice but to consolidate their commands to strike again. This is good news for our forces. The more the terrorists group the easier our firepower can eliminate them. Especially, after the cowardly attack in Mosul.

Why Bloggers are Superior to Journalists...

I'll get to the meat of this article in a sec, but I need to clear up two mistakes in it -

Currently, operations are split between the main courthouse at 213 N. Spring St. and the Edward Roybal Building on Temple and Los Angeles streets. It's 312 N. Spring St.

Bethany Rich, spokeswoman for the U.S. Government Services Administration, said the agency has no plans to return to the design for a single building. It's the General Services Administration.

I just love it when people are paid to make mistakes and bloggers can be their editors for free.

Regarding the proposed federal courthouse downtown. I worked for the Ninth Circuit for 13 years and I'm somewhat familiar with the project. The reason America's Royalty wants a new building is because the judges are unwilling to share courtrooms in the other buildings. Most courtrooms are dark, half the time, but judges with seniority don't want anyone encroaching on their feifdoms.

By the time the new courthouse is built, the price tag will be close to a billion dollars. Mark my words and hold on to your wallet.

A Dopey Game...

I don't think this is cool and I'm sure some parents will let their kids play it. What's next? A new version of Operation from Planned Parenthood?; "Take out useless fetus'. Or how about a game where you can be the head of an international terrorist organization; we'll call it "bin-opoly".   

Terminating the Republican Party in California...

George Neumayr in The Online Spectator writes about the efforts of Governor Arnie and his lapdog, Gerald Parsky, to marginalize conservatives in California. This leftward tilt will do nothing but allow the Dems to continue to drive debate in the state. Arnie doesn't give one whit about building a conservative base in which to elect right thinking people to higher office. From abortion, immigration, and fiscal issues it's all left all the time.