Winnie has a baby dragon

Welcome to the world, Draco Verta.

Winnie Cooper fantasy

She's in Maxim this month. Her clothing is not.

I guess Winnie and I won't be getting married after all...

Wonder Years star expecting.

Oh no. UPDATED with AfterElton response

Peggy Noonan goes after Adam for his AMA performance.

Pretty sure she's already on her Christmas vacation and just copy/pasted this from an opinion piece from the 1950's about Elvis.

Update 12/18/09: AfterElton responds to Noonan:

Noonan isn't a stupid woman and I don't really think she believes the tripe she writes here. She's part of the Washington Beltway that she and other conservatives like to pretend they have nothing to do with, and what she's doing here is classic Republican sleight of hand. Is your party mostly responsible for the worst economic collapse in 80 years? Did your party start two failed wars? Did your party run-up massive deficits? Is your party responsible for killing the health care reform the vast majority of Americans want?

Well, then you better find a way to distract the Average Joe from what's going on or they might keep you out of pwer. And what's been better at distracting folks than dragging out the tired old cliche of the gay boogeyman!

Update II 12/18/09: Steve Benen at WashingtonMonthly.com copied me:

It was more than a half-century ago, but I suspect a similar column must have run in 1956, when Elvis swung his hips a little too much on The Ed Sullivan Show.

Star Trek

OK, given that I'm posting this at 5:20 on Friday I'm certifying my geekiness. Thumbs up on the new movie. I'm pretty sure I can say it is the best of the movies which I admit is not a very high hurdle. None have come close to any of the TV series. It's at least right there with The Wrath of Khan.

Karl Urban as Leonard "'Bones" McCoy was genius. Plenty of hat tips to original series and the 'tude of the movie is probably not unlike what Roddenberry would have done with the original series had he premiered it in 2009.

I won't say that Nimoy's appearance was a disaster as Jonah did but it didn't add much at all.

Best news: Uhura still hawt.

Fear of the [Bush] White House?

From Noonan’s column today:

Republicans are also up against themselves. On Capitol Hill they are up against the Bush era, when through fear of the White House or mindless opportunism they supported things they now decry. It will take them a while to seem credible again. The smarter of them know this. They're waiting for time to pass and a new cliché about them to take hold. Old cliché: "They're not a credible alternative." Future cliché they hope for: "They've learned a lot in the wilderness."

I get the point though I’m not sure how much of it was "fear." Certainly there was plenty of mindless opportunism but fear? Nobody seemed to [update: I'm a dope: too] scared of the White House when the attempt was made to touch the third rail. I’d like to think some of the silence on the things now decried was due to support of a wartime president.

"Political bullshit" says Scooter's girlfriend [UPDATED]

Peggy Noonan agrees, on an open mic, with Michael that the race for president is "over" but doesn't see it the same way.

[Update: Peggy says she didn't mean the McCain candidacy was "over".]

Re: Girlfriend

Absolutely agree with you on the cultural and economic side as she wrote, just not on the patriotic side. Acknowledging that the vast majority of those who are here aren't going anywhere, why not inculcate them with the stuff she listed so that we don't see the kind of c--p we saw at those "impromptu" demonstrations over the weekend.

They (and I mean the ones coming for good reasons) get that "job that no American wants to do," their kids learn valley speak, but no one teaches them that Washington never lied (of course, don't really mean that last one...but the stuff from her article, the patriotic stuff). It is hard enough to get that stuff into native kids given the state of our schools.

Aside: Every Thursday at my Lions Meeting, we start by singing the first verse of America and saying the pledge...I know I'm a dork but I appreciated that today.

Re: Girlfriend

I believe we have gone WAY out of our way to welcome them to our church - that is why we are where we are.

Re: Girlfriend

I don't think she meant to lay the absolute blame on us though I see how you could read it that way.

There is a Barry Levinson movie (I forget the name) about immigrants who come to Baltimore and a generation or two later the families have gone from being wallpaper hangers to successful businessmen. I think I recall a scene where the immigrants step of the boat to red, white and blue bunting and fireworks. I think that's the feel she's going for.

Given the overall tone of the column, to me what she said was more like gently chiding church members who don't proactively walk up to the visitors on Sunday and introduce themselves and welcome them.

Of course if I go to a new church (or move to another country), I have the responsibility to assimilate and participate, it's just nice if someone comes over, shakes my hand and tells me a little about the church.

Re: My real girlfriend

Scooter, I have a question for you and your girlfriend:

Whose responsibility is it to assimilate - the immigrant (whether legal or illegal) or the country they are coming into?

I'm sorry, but I believe it's the immigrants responsibility. If I were moving to another country, it would be MY responsibility - not the countries or the people to assimilate me. I should make the effort. I should try to fit in. Be proud of my heritage, of course. In the privacy of my home, speak my language and teach it to my children, sure. But not to expect or demand everyone and everything in the public domain (schools, health-care, voting ballots, driver's license tests, etc.) to be in my native language.

What I got from her column was that it is my fault. I totally disagree.

My real girlfriend...

...has hit another home run. Move over Condi; Peggy's back.

Today's column on Medal of Honor Winners, Patriotism, Immigration and History put a genuine lump in my throat.