Please note that you can leave a comment on any of our posts at our Facebook page.  Subscribers can also comment at length at our Angel's Corner Forum.

AT OUR LATEST ANGEL'S CORNER:  READERS BLOG ABOUT THAT LIGHT-BULB LAW (YOU WILL BUY WHAT THEY WANT YOU TO BUY); RICK PERRY; THE DECLINE OF JOURNALISM; OUR DWINDLING DEFENSE; AND THE PRESIDENT.

JULY 19,  2011

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE: 

CHRISTIE TRAVELING – Republican Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey, having told one visiting delegation after another that he won't run for president next year, is suddenly off to make an appearance in Iowa, leading to speculation that maybe the governor has heard the call, or at least heard that a call is waiting for him.  A word of caution is required.  Republicans adore Christie because he's blunt-spoken and has taken on the entrenched liberal interests.  You want to cheer him.  You want to chant, "Run, Chris, run!"  But we're in the NY/NJ television market here, and we see him all the time.  He has the personality of a governor, not a president.  That confrontational style makes you applaud for the first ten minutes.  Then you yawn.  He might make a good president.  I don't think he can get there.

OBAMA DISSES CLINTON-SIGNED MARRIAGE LAW – President Obama has thrown his support to a Democratic effort in Congress to overturn the Defense of Marriage Law, signed by President Clinton.  It shows how far the Dems have drifted on this issue.  The law defines marriage as between a man and a woman.  The Obama Justice Department has already said it won't enforce the law because they believe it is unconstitutional.  A congressional overturn in the near future, though, is highly unlikely, as Republicans control the House, and they favor the Clinton-signed legislation. 

BARBARISM – The supreme court of Iran has refused to stop the planned execution of a man sentenced to death for being a Christian and advocating Christianity.  This court operates within a regime that will soon have nuclear weapons and intercontinental missiles, a regime whose president denies the Holocaust.  Yet, we have lost any sense of urgency in dealing with the Iranian government, although it is supplying weapons to forces in Iraq and Afghanistan that are killing American soldiers.  There were plenty of American "sophisticates" who, before World War II, refused to see Japan or Germany as enemies.  I'm afraid we're seeing that same psychology today.

MICHELE ADVANCES – We've reported today on Michele Bachmann's latest problem, a charge by anonymous former staffers that she gets migraines that interfere with her work.  She answered that charge vigorously, although probably didn't put the issue to bed.  At the same time, a new national poll has her leading in the race for the GOP presidential nomination, while another has her in second place and gaining.  She's clearly become a phenomenon, in some respects this year's Sarah Palin, although, of course, Palin never ran for president.

July 19, 2011      Permalink

BACHMANN REPLIES – AT 3:52 P.M. ET:  Michele Bachmann has rapidly and properly replied to a story circulating that she suffers stress-related issues that have impacted her ability to work.  (Please see the post just below).   Her written statement:

"Like nearly 30 million other Americans, I experience migraines that are easily controlled with medication. I am a wife, a mother, a lawyer who worked her way through law school, a former state senator who achieved the repeal of a harmful piece of education policy in Minnesota, and a congresswoman who has worked tirelessly fighting against the expansion of government and wasteful spending. Since entering the campaign, I have maintained a full schedule between my duties as a congresswoman and as a presidential candidate traveling across the nation to meet with voters in the key, early primary and caucus states of Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina. I have prescribed medication that I take whenever symptoms arise and they keep the migraines under control. Let me be abundantly clear - my ability to function effectively has never been impeded by migraines and will not affect my ability to serve as Commander in Chief.

"The many questions I have received on this subject have allowed me to discuss this important condition that impacts individuals in nearly one in four households. However, as a presidential candidate and office holder, I am focused on performing my job, which has never been more important given the state of our economy and the millions of Americans that are out of work. While I appreciate the concern for me and my health, the greater concern should be the debate that is occurring in Washington over whether or not we will increase our debt, spending and taxes."

COMMENT:  Well said, but the issue won't go away.  The same biased press that refused to ask Barack Obama a single question about his health, the same press that looked the other way when Obama, when running for president, released only a laughable summary of his medical status, will pursue the Bachmann story further in a naked attempt to Palinize her.  I can just see the grim-faced panels on CNN as they "analyze" Bachmann's mental state. 

On another note, I may have been a bit unclear in saying, below, that Bachmann has to deal with this immediately.  A physician-reader has taken me to task believing that I meant she had to deal with the migraines.  No, I meant that she has to deal with the political fallout from the issue.  I would never presume to make a medical assessment.  I was not sufficiently precise, and the fault is mine.

July 19, 2011      Permalink

THIS COULD BE PAINFUL – AT 10:44 A.M. ET:  Since late last night a story has been circulating about the medical condition of Michele Bachmann.  It was published on, ironically, the Daily Caller, a conservative site:

In late July 2010, Rep. Michele Bachmann’s then-communications director, Dave Dziok, told his boss that he planned to take a new job with the public relations firm Edelman.

Dziok had worked for Bachmann for two and a half years, a relatively long period by the standards of her office, and was leaving on good terms.

Staff turnover can frustrate any employer, but Bachmann responded more dramatically. Dziok’s departure triggered a debilitating medical episode that landed the congresswoman in urgent care.

“Within 24 hours she was in the hospital,” a former aide says.

Bachmann was admitted to a Washington, D.C. hospital on Friday, July 30, and released that same day. She flew home to Minnesota to recuperate, missing a scheduled campaign event with Sen. Roy Blunt.

And...

It was, according to three people who have worked closely with Bachmann, not an isolated event.

The Minnesota Republican frequently suffers from stress-induced medical episodes that she has characterized as severe headaches. These episodes, say witnesses, occur once a week on average and can “incapacitate” her for days at time. On at least three occasions, Bachmann has landed in the hospital as a result.

COMMENT:  This is serious, potentially disqualifying stuff.  Bachmann must deal with it immediately, real fast.  If she tries to ignore it, it will come back later. 

Is the story true, partially true, completely true?  If the story if completely true, and she suffers from stress-related incidents that incapacite her, she is finished as a candidate for president.  But it may be only partially true.  She may, for example, be particularly cautious about headaches, and seek medical attention.

Or, the story can be wildly exaggerated, the vindictive work of disgruntled former staffers. 

Whatever the truth, Bachmann must handle the story as potentially fatal.  I want to see her in front of microphones.

We recall that, in 1972, Senator George McGovern, the Democratic candidate for president, selected Senator Tom Eagleton of Missouri as his running mate.  As the campaign got started, it was revealed that Eagleton had gone through electro-shock therapy for a mental issue.  He had to leave the campaign, and was replaced by R. Sargent Shriver.  But the episode essentially finished McGovern, for it was felt that it reflected on his judgment.

We'll be following this.

July 19, 2011     Permalink 

WARNINGS INCREASE FOR REPUBLICANS – AT 9:43 A.M. ET:   There are increasing warnings to Republicans from some of the party's smartest supporters that they must get their act together and come to some agreement with Obama on the debt crisis.  Otherwise, these advisers fear, Republicans will be blamed for any government shutdown, with possibly devastating political results in 2012.

We've issued the same warnings here.  And now the financial columnist, Spengler (a pen name), whom I've met a number of times, puts the issue in perspective:

President Barack Obama's best hope of re-election lies in provoking Republicans to force the United States into technical default, engineering a brief but severe financial crisis in order to appear as crisis-manager-in-chief. The Tea Party movement may be marching into a political ambush, in which Obama will be able to portray the born-again budget-cutters as irresponsible fanatics who threaten to tip America into a new depression. The now unpopular president then would assume the role of national savior in time of crisis.

That's dead on.  That's the way these boys work, and naive tea partiers may force the GOP into just such a situation.

The liberal punditeska heaps contempt on the Tea Party as a bunch of dumb yahoos. If they're so dumb, though, why are they so powerful? The fact that a ragtag army of political amateurs could overturn the status quo in the 2010 elections shows that their unifying issue has legs: people don't want to pay taxes to cover budget deficits that pay outsized benefits for other people. That's why Republicans are crushing the public-employee unions in Wisconsin, Minnesota, New Jersey, and other fiscal battlefields, and why smart Democrats like New York's Governor Andrew Cuomo have been born again as fiscal conservatives.

But the Tea Partiers remain amateurs, after all, and vulnerable to a sucker punch. They don't seem to understand that the separation of powers is designed to slow the pace of change. A Republican administration, moreover, can't govern on the Tea Party program. It is a protest movement, and a valid one, but not a governing coalition. If the Tea Party expends all its ammunition in the debt-ceiling showdown with the President, it may take the Republicans down with it. The winning strategy is to keep the blame for failure on Obama through November 2012.

COMMENT:  Wise thinking from a very solid and knowledgeable writer.  Part of governing is having the right ideas.  The other part is knowing how to put them into practice.  It's that second part that requires skillful and experienced political operators.  There's nothing shameful about the word "politician."  It's shameful when people on our side are incompetent politicians.  There's big punishment for that. 

July 19, 2011      Permalink

SNIPPET OF THE DAY – AT 9:24 A.M. ET:

From London's left-wing Independent:  Young women across Russia have been called on to show their support for Vladimir Putin in an unusual way: by ripping off their clothes. The unexpected campaign has been launched by a group calling itself the Putin Army, which posted a slick video online at the weekend featuring a trio of young women announcing a competition.  "I'm just crazy about a man who changed our country," says a voiceover, as we see "Diana" walking through Moscow...Diana meets two nubile friends sunbathing by the riverbank, and they daub "I'll tear [clothes off] for Putin" onto skimpy T-shirts in red paint. The video ends as they rip the T-shirts off. They ask other "young, smart and beautiful" girls to "tear off something for Putin" and post a video of it online. The best entrant will win an iPad.

It's hilarious that the prize for this debauchery is that quintessential capitalist innovation, the iPad.  And no, I don't think the gimmick will work here.  I can't see anyone starting a campaign to "take it off for Tim Pawlenty."  If I'm wrong, let me know. 

ANYONE IN WASHINGTON INTERESTED? – AT 9:13 A.M. ET:  Reuters is one of the few news organizations that has shown an interest in this critically important story:

(Reuters) - Iran is installing new uranium enrichment machines to speed progress in its nuclear program, the Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday, a development that may increase Western concern about Tehran's aims.

May?  MAY?

Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast appeared to confirm a Reuters story last week that Iran was installing two newer and more advanced models of the centrifuges used to refine uranium for large-scale testing at a research site.

If Iran eventually succeeds in introducing the more modern centrifuges for production, it could significantly shorten the time needed to stockpile material which can have civilian as well as military purposes, if processed much further.

"By installing the new centrifuges progress is being made with more speed and better quality," Mehmanparast said, adding the move showed Iran was being successful in its "peaceful nuclear activity."

COMMENT:  They are going for a bomb.  Otherwise, why are so many of their nuke facilities underground, in hardened sites?  You don't do that if you're just building nuclear plants to recharge iPods.  And yet, we've taken our eye off the ball.  Iran hardly rates mention these days, and its internal revolution, which our president tried to ignore for days when it broke out in 2009, is off the front pages.

We will be reminded later, and it will be too late. 

July 19, 2011       Permalink

NEW AL QAEDA TACTICS – AT 8:49 A.M. ET:  The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the post-bin Laden leadership of Al Qaeda is focusing on new targets:

WASHINGTON—Al Qaeda is expected to shift strategy under new leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, placing a higher priority on attacking the U.S. and Western targets overseas, where plots are easier to execute than on the U.S. homeland, say U.S. officials.

This broader attack strategy advocated by Mr. Zawahiri better aligns the goals of al Qaeda's leaders in Pakistan and affiliates, particularly in Yemen, which are increasingly becoming the group's frontline operators.

The modus operandi of al Qaeda's branch in Yemen is to conduct any type of attack possible, whether or not it will have a spectacular result, U.S. officials say.

As a result, the U.S. may have to alter its approach to counterterrorism operations, especially if al Qaeda's Yemen and North African branches try to seek out U.S. or other Western targets in Europe or Africa. Such attacks would be reminiscent of al Qaeda's first U.S. attack—the 1998 bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania for which Mr. Zawahiri has been indicted.

"I would not be surprised to see potentially 1990s-style attacks at the U.S. embassies and consulates overseas whether it's in Pakistan or Africa or possibly even Afghanistan," said Seth Jones, a political scientist at Rand Corp., who is writing a book on al Qaeda.

He added that he would expect al Qaeda to target military, diplomatic or other U.S. government institutions overseas.

COMMENT:  Obviously, it's a relief if Al Qaeda is taking its focus off the American homeland, and probably a tribute to the measures put in place by President Bush.  But American targets overseas will be under greater pressure.  I fear a repeat of the 1983 bombing of the Marine barracks in Beirut, which killed 242 U.S. Marines.  We have to be on guard, and that may mean greater reinforcement and security for our embassies and intallations.  At a time of budget cutting, what are the chances of getting that? 

July 19, 2011    Permalink

JULY 18,  2011

LET'S WATCH THIS CLOSELY – AT 9:44 P.M. ET:  The left is up to its usual tricks, and the trick they love the most, it appears, is cutting the defense budget.  Now, true, there are probably significant savings in the Pentagon, especially in the procurement area, but the left will never be satisfied with just that.  These boys have big plans.  From the Washington Times:

The political left is pressing the White House and Congress to inflict a wave of Pentagon budget cuts not seen since the post-Cold War 1990s.

Liberals are citing the debt crisis and troop drawdowns from Iraq and Afghanistan to argue that now is the time for the Defense Department to shed people, missions and weapons after a decade of doubling arms spending after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

They have not noticed the rise of China and the fact that Russia is re-arming.  But these are people who believe that strumming a guitar and singing songs of peace will actually prevent war. 

The proposals, including one from the Center for America Progress, go well beyond President Obama’s call in April for $400 billion in defense cuts over 12 years. The center — run by John Podesta, who served as chief of staff to President Clinton — wants that much in reductions over the next three years and $1 trillion from what had been projected increases over the next decade.

Some House Democrats, led by Rep. Barney Frank of Massachusetts, also have called for $1 trillion in cuts.

Field Marshal Frank is that well-known military strategist.

“I think this is the time because of a combination of the deficit and the changing way in which we’re going to deal with threats from groups like al Qaeda,” said American Progress’ Lawrence Korb, a longtime defense analyst in Washington.

Mr. Korb said the Obama administration has dumped President George W. Bush’s overall war strategy of preemptive attacks against terrorist states, and he cited just-retired Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates’ warning against any future land wars in the Middle East.

The bottom line is that the center wants projected increases ended and the overall arms budget reduced to $500 billion by 2016, which would be $111 billion below the Pentagon’s already pared-down projection.

COMMENT  These drastic demands will result in many ships mothballed or not built at all, obsolete planes not replaced, and a military with far less capability than we will need to deter war.

The United States had four major drawdowns in the 20th century, and we lived to regret each one.  Yes, find savings where they can be found, but the drastic cutters are looking to cut bone, and somebody's kid is going to pay for it, and not with money.

July 18, 2011        Permalink

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE: 

SAD FINISHES – Two famous names have come on grim times.  Reader's Digest, one of the most famous names in print publishing, has put itself up for sale after emerging from bankruptcy.  And Border's, the book chain, is closing all its stores and liquidating.  Neither organization seemed to be able to keep up with the times.  It's a tough time for print, but the most imaginative and innovative companies will survive. 

GOOD IDEA – Philadelphia will soon be handing out citations to people who walk along texting, and not looking where they're going.  Some readers will disagree, but I think it's a good idea.  That's a dangerous habit that could easily result in a collision with a person or vehicle or lamppost.  We have responsibilities.  I wonder, by the way, if we'll soon need to give citations to presidents who walk along while not knowing where they're leading the country.  Just a thought.

DESPICABLE – Talk about political correctness carried to mad extremes.  The head of one of the world's leading physics labs, at CERN in Geneva, has forbidden his scientists from drawing conclusions from a major experiment.  The reason?  Some of the results could be applicable to the subject of climate change, and may, one prominent science writer charges, not support politically acceptable conclusions.  So, science marches on, but don't tell anyone.

FEAR OF THE POWERS THAT BE? – When have you ever heard of an author refusing to discuss the contents of a new book she's trying to sell?  Something isn't right here.  The author of a new book on Barack Obama's mother is refusing all requests to discuss the newsmaking revelation in the book that President Obama inaccurately (euphemism) claimed that his mother was denied medical coverage for her fatal illness.  The author is Janny Scott, formerly of The New York Times.  She has chosen not to respond to questions about the revelation, except when asked by The Times.  Is she fearful of what the disclosure might do to her career?  Did she underestimate how the press would pick it up?  I have no answers, but I'd love to know what's going on.

July 18, 2011     Permalink

SNIPPET OF THE DAY – AT 7:08 P.M. ET:

From The Smoking Gun – JULY 18--Between her marriage vows and the reception, a Michigan woman was arrested Saturday afternoon on a felony identity theft warrant and booked at the county jail while wearing her wedding dress and veil.  Tammy Lee Hinton, 50, was busted at the City of Zion Ministries church after the conclusion of her wedding. Hinton, pictured in the above mug shot (click to enlarge), was taken into custody by Blackman-Leoni Township cops.

Well, looking at the picture, I'm not sure whether they busted the bride or the groom.

NO STAGE FOR THIS ACCUSED KILLER – AT 9:32 A.M. ET:  A shrewd move by Arkansas has deflated the pretensions of a guy who seems to want bin Laden status. 

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — When Abdulhakim Muhammad killed a soldier outside a recruiting station in Arkansas, he hoped the world would pay attention to the war he had declared on the United States. He took responsibility for the shooting, called it retaliation for U.S. military action the Middle East and claimed ties to al-Qaida.

But when Muhammad goes on trial this week in Little Rock, he won't face any federal or terrorism charges. He complained he's being treated like a common criminal, with a state trial on a capital murder charge. There will be no grand stage for his political beliefs, and if convicted by the state rather than the federal government, he faces a much greater chance of execution.

The U.S. has put three people to death since the federal death penalty was reinstated in 1988. Arkansas executed 27 people in that time.

"This case should be in federal or military court..." Muhammad, 26, objected in a letter to Circuit Judge Herbert Wright in May. "In my eyes it's a sham trial set up only to make sure I'm handed down a death sentence."

Federal officials have mostly kept quiet about Muhammad's case. The U.S. attorney in Little Rock declined to comment. But one person in federal law enforcement, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak before the trial, said the Justice Department and FBI were interested in pursuing charges but allowed the state to proceed after extensive negotiations with Arkansas prosecutors.

Death penalty issues aside, some say prosecuting Muhammad on a capital murder charge has the benefit of deflating his grandiose self-perceptions.

COMMENT:  Memo to Eric Holder:  This may be a smart way to proceed in the future.  Federal civilian trials of accused terrorists will turn into show trials.  A regular capital murder state charge deflates the defendant, especially if it's held far off the beaten media path. 

We know that our earnest attorney general devoutly wishes for civilian terror trials in big cities like New York.   But when he sees 500 reporters outside the courthouse, many from European papers seeking to "understand" the accused terrorist, maybe he'll finally realize why that's a very bad idea.

July 18, 2011       Permalink

A WARNING TO THE GOP – AT 9:01 A.M. ET:   A new poll, even though probably tilted somewhat in the liberal direction, should warn the GOP that it is losing the debt-crisis debate.  We've warned about that repeatedly here.  The president has the big megaphone.  He can call press conferences, and they're covered on national TV.  The Republicans can gather some "leaders," anonymous to most of the country, and give sound bites.  From The Politico:

President Barack Obama is winning the battle for public opinion in the negotiations to raise the debt ceiling, with the overwhelming majority disapproving of the way Republicans are handling it - even most GOP voters, according to a new poll on Monday.

Seventy-one percent of Americans surveyed for a CBS News poll released Monday morning say they oppose how Republicans are handling negotiations, while just 21 percent approve. In contrast, 48 percent disapprove of the president’s role in the talks, while 43 percent approve.

I've noticed that CBS polls tend to oversample Democrats.  I don't know if that's the case here, but, even if allowing a correction, the numbers are alarming.  At the same time, the poll was taken among "adults."  A poll among "likely voters" usually shows more support for Republican arguments. 

Congressional Democrats don’t do quite as well as Obama, but are still polling better than their GOP colleagues, with 48 percent of those surveyed saying they disapprove of the Democrats’ handling of the talks, while 31 percent approve.

Even among Republicans surveyed, the party led by Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) in the House isn’t faring all that well, with 51 percent saying they disapprove of how the party is handling the negotiations. Meanwhile, 32 percent of Democrats say they disapprove of how congressional Democrats are handling the talks, while 22 percent disapprove of the president’s handling.

COMMENT:  Some very idealistic Republicans in the House were quoted as saying yesterday that the debt crisis means more to them than reelection.  That's nice.  We will pat them on their heads.  But a shrewd, astute party knows how to handle its issues and win reelection.

Historically, Americans have had suspicion of the GOP because of its association with "big business" and Wall Street.  That suspicion lingers today.  Obama, one of the best campaigners we've seen, knows exactly how to exploit it.   Republicans should, in the debt talks, go for 75% of something rather than 100% of nothing. 

Ideology rarely wins in American politics.  Be careful, GOP.  Don't throw away 2012 over a battle in which you get the blame if things blow up.

July 18, 2011       Permalink

CRITICISM OF WILD-EYED NINTH CIRCUIT IS VINDICATED – AT 8:32 A.M. ET:   For years conservatives have been complaining about the antics of the San Francisco-based Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, the most liberal federal appeals circuit in the nation.  Now, an analysis of Supreme Court decisions pretty much proves that the criticisms are correct.  Even Supreme Court liberals are going after the Ninth.  From the Los Angeles Times:

It was another bruising year for the liberal judges of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals as the Supreme Court overturned the majority of their decisions, at times sharply criticizing their legal reasoning.

Appeals from the nine Western states of the circuit dominated the high court's docket, as usual, supplying more than 30% of the 84 cases taken up by the justices during the term that ended last month.

The Supreme Court reversed or vacated 19 of the 26 decisions it looked at from the 9th Circuit this judicial term, issuing especially pointed critiques of the court's handling of cases involving prisoners' rights and death row reprieves.

Although the proportion of reversals was relatively in line with past years and other appellate circuits across the country, the 9th Circuit was often out of step even with the high court's liberal justices, who joined with the conservatives in 12 unanimous rulings.

In their reversals, the justices often expressed impatience with what they see as stubborn refusal by the lower court to follow Supreme Court precedent. One of the circuit's most renowned liberals, Judge Stephen Reinhardt, was seen by judicial analysts as the main target of the justices' pique.

"It just seems that they are getting a bit frustrated with these criminal procedure cases," said Barry McDonald, a constitutional law professor at Pepperdine University, referring to unanimous reversals of three opinions written by Reinhardt and a decision by another 9th Circuit panel to strike the conviction of a Sacramento rapist who claimed racial bias during jury selection.

In restoring Steven Jackson's conviction for raping a 72-year-old woman, the high court called the 9th Circuit decision written by Judge Johnnie B. Rawlinson and joined by two other Democratic appointees "as inexplicable as it is unexplained."

COMMENT:  There's no way to get the lifers of the Ninth off the court, but the Senate should take a special look at any new nominations to that goofy panel.  When you have the Supreme Court's liberals joining in 12 unanimous rulings against the Ninth, the left can no longer claim that right-wing bias is behind criticism of the Ninth's adolescent antics.  I mean, how do you blame Dick Cheney?

But they will.

July 18, 2011      Permalink

A PRESIDENTIAL ACCOMPLISHMENT – AT 8:18 A.M. ET:  The president has accomplished something.  We rush to bring you the news.  We are fair here.  We are noble.  From the Washington Examiner:

Here's an interesting couple of numbers that emerged during this past week: According to Jim Messina, his campaign manager, through the second quarter of 2011, President Obama now has 552,000 contributors to his 2012 re-election campaign.

And the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that during the same two quarters, the U.S. economy generated 260,000 jobs.

In other words, Obama attracted twice as many campaign donors as his economic policies created new jobs. That probably explains a great deal about yet a third number that received a great deal of attention this week: Gallup's finding that a "generic Republican" leads Obama by eight points in voter preference for 2012.

COMMENT:  That's good, eagle-eyed reporting by the Examiner.  But at least the president can point to an accomplishment.  No, no, they can't take that away from him.  (Hat tip to Ira Gershwin.)

July 18,  2011     Permalink