TAKE THE MONEY AND RUN. Two whistleblowers will receive $8.1 million for reporting Medicare fraud in Redding, California. Tenant Healthcare Corp. has agreed to pay the U.S. a whopping $54 million to settle. Now that’s what I call fraud. It obviously was profitable.

IT’S A CRUEL WORLD OUT THERE. Remember the old saw about not going to the hospital because it will make you sick, just look at the people there? Well, it is true. Here are some examples of our beloved health care providers continuing to run amok. First, In Massachusetts, poor Audrey Serrano was told she had HIV and began treatment in 1994. The drugs caused her many problems, including colitis and an hysterectomy, not to mention the mental stress of thinking you will get AIDS and die. She began to question her status when she noticed that several of her tests indicated negative results. She went to another clinic and got retested. Guess what, she does not have HIV. Now that’s cruel.

Also in California (remind me not to go there for medical treatment, will you), a San Diego plastic surgeon is in some hot water. It seems he removed and replaced breast implants without anesthesia. Yeoow! He cut off a patient’s ear lobe during a face lift. Hey, you said you wanted to look different! The local medical board is considering whether to relieve him of his license. How much consideration does that take? This is stuff that violates the Geneva convention in wartime. If Saddam did this, we would call it torture. This guy actually got paid to torture people. It’s a shame he is not a Catholic priest, though. Doctors should learn from them. They would just take this guy and move him to another state, set him up in practice, and not tell anybody about his problems.

Here is the third horror story. A pharmacy is Connecticut filled a prescription for paregoric. Instead they gave her tincture of opium, which has 25 times more morphine. The customer took one teaspoon and died. But, you’ll be happy to know the pharmacist received a reprimand and must take some classes on error prevention. I think they should make the pharmacist undergo plastic surgery in San Diego. I can recommend a good doctor.

YOU TELL ME. So, which is it? Did Dean kill himself with the scream, or did Al Gore's endorsement do it?

What if the unthinkable happens, and the Dems turn their back on both their former leaders? If Dean loses, Gore is repudiated. If Wesley "my war was better than your war" Clark loses, the Clintons are repudiated.

If Kerry wins, they are back to the limosine liberals, rich guys who can withstand their own policies without being hurt economically, while the rest of us suffer. The only way Kerry will suffer is if Ketchup Woman divorces him and he has to live off what he makes. By the way, a few calculations show the interest on the loan his wife made his campaign is greater than his entire income.

JUST A GIGILO. Ann Coulter's column on John Kerry's career of marrying rich women is, well, priceless. Read it here.

Senator John McCain is working New Hampshire alongside the Democrats, but is working for the President. He said that President Bush has lead with strength and clarity.

McCain also pointed out the the President carried New Hampshire last time by 4000 votes.

No word on whether Al Franken has spotted him.

So, Ketchup Kerry won handily in New Hampshire. He was last seen pumping his arms in a victory dance of sorts. Unfortunately, Al Franken thought it was a violent jesture designed to hamper the free speech rights of (second time loser) Dean, and started chasing Kerry around New Hampshire, trying to body slam him. Dean was seen running a distant third (heh), screaming "we fight in South Carolina" and, sometimes, just screaming.

Clark said he was pleased he came in third because he knew Dean was falling like a stone and would change places with him soon. As a result, he promised not to bomb any civilian targets in South Carolina, for a change.

Lieberman, as usual, was no where to be found.

You know Stalin was a Franken pascivist (I can't be spelling this correctly). Anyone who hindered his freedom of speech was shot.

MY KIND OF PASCIVIST. Funny boy Al Franken slammed a heckler to the ground at a speech by Mad Dog Dean. I guess he was afraid the heckler would drown out the Dean Scream. Franken took this unilateral action to protect the free speech rights of Mad Dog. The Heckler obvously did not have the right of free speech. Afterward, Franken and Mad Dog got together and foamed at the mouth for a while. Tomorrow they will issue a joint press release where they promise to hurt anyone who does not oppose the war.

KETCHUP KERRY. Instead of comeback Kerry, I think we should call him "Ketchup Kerry". Not only did he come from behind, but he did it on ketchup money.

MONDAY BLUES. I already have the Monday blues. This weekend was a washout. Kids we hardly know dumped 380 rolls of toilet paper in our yard, trees, shrubs, etc. I have about 12 hours of work into cleanup so far, and still have some to go. Since we have a wedding at our house Saturday, we really have to get this cleaned up.

On top of that, some of my neighbors called and wanted us to come over and clean up anything that had blown into their yard. One of my friends suggested using the blower to blow it all over there. I resisted, but it was tempting.

So, I am plotting revenge. All suggestions are welcome.

Here are the notes for Isaiah 41.

ISAIAH 41

41:1 (Invitation To Judgment)

God tells the nations to come before Him to see how much greater he is than idols. Islands (NIV) or Coastlands (NKJV) means nations far away. They must be silent before him in reverence. See Habakkuk 2:20 and Zechariah 2:13 for similar thoughts. Then they must muster their strength to answer argue their position before God as idol worshipers.

God will then ask them questions they cannot answer, and they will be judged because of it. We saw rhetorical questions like this in the last chapter and in Job, where God asks who is like me, knowing that the answer is “no one is like you”.

42:2-3 (God’s Sovereignty In The Affairs of Nations)

God states his sovereignty in the affairs of nations by showing how He has affected history. He raised up a powerful man from the east. NIV says “stirred up”, the NKJV says “raised up” and the NASB says “aroused”. God brought someone from the east to conquer the nations.

Who is this person? One possibility is Abraham. God brought him from Ur, the Chaldean city, he empowered him to conquer the 5 kings and rescue Lot, and gave him the promised land. The “rule over kings” may not have physically happened in Abraham’s lifetime, although they paid tribute to him, but the promise is fulfilled in Christ. This interpretation was favored by the Jewish writers and many say the reference to Abraham in verse 8 supports this position. Calvin also took this position. Matthew Henry takes this position also.

The case could also be made for Cyrus, for God raised him up in Persia to conquer the Babylonians, and all others in the region, in order to provide protection for the Jews to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the city an the temple. Isaiah speaks of Cyrus as God’s instrument in several places. The New Geneva Bible takes this position (There may be some problem with the verse tense here as “stirred” is past tense, not future.) John Wesley also takes this position.

This person is also a type of Christ, who will ultimately come to judge the nations and conquer those who oppose God.

42:4 (Alpha and Omega)

God here says that he is first and last, he is eternal, and he has been ordering human history from beginning and will until the end. At the end of Revelation, Jesus identifies himself in the same way. See Revelation 22:13. Psalm 45:6 says “your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever…” Hebrews 1:8 applies that verse to Christ. Isaiah 46:10 says God makes the end known from the beginning. He is the one who has acted in history to accomplish his will. Acts 17:26 says that God appoints the times of the nations. Psalm 33:10-11 says The Lord foils the plans of the nations; he thwarts the purposes of the peoples. But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations.



42:5-7 (Fearing But Rebelling)

In the face of the activity of God, man is fearful and weak. We cannot stand before the glory and power of God. Yet, man’s sinful nature causes him to attempt rebellion, joining together as if there is strength in numbers against the Lord. They strengthen their idols and fix them so they do not fall over in the presence of the Lord.

Keith, here are the notes from Isaiah 40.

ISAIAH 40


40:6 (The Command to Speak For God)

Isaiah is told to “cry out”, or to proclaim God’s message. This is what a prophet does. God commissioned special people to do this. Baptist often say God “calls” people into special ministry. He called Isaiah and Paul by exposing them to and overwhelming them by his glory. Jeremiah and Moses both tried to decline, but God sent them anyway. Jeremiah 1 even talks about his being chosen before he was born.

Jesus also told the disciples that they did not choose him, he chose them.

God also gives gifts to believers for the building up of the church, such as apostles, evangelists, and pastors. Ephesians 4:11-13 tells us this. 1 Corinthians 12:28 in fact says that God appoints these people to position requiring these gifts.

Isaiah is still a willing witness. He does not complain about the task or question God’s choice of him. He just asks, what is the message you want proclaimed?

That message is: men and women are temporary and fragile. We are like grass in that respect. See also Job 14:1-2 and James 1:10-11. Our physical life is fleeting. 2 Corinthians 4:7 describes our bodies as jars of clay.

40:7 (The Frailty of Humankind)

“Because the breath of the Lord blows on them” means God is in control of life and death. See Psalm 139:16 and Job 14:15. James even warns us of presumptuous plans for the future. See James 4:13-17.

40:8 (God’s Eternal Word)

In contrast, God’s word will stand forever. Jesus said the same thing in Luke 21:33. This is important to the Israelites, because the current generation will not live to see the end of a 70 year captivity. God is telling them that their descendants will experience the promised deliverance, but neither God nor his word will ever end.

The permanence of God’s word is important to us also, for it means our salvation can be permanent. If the one who saves you, or his promise to save you, can ever pass away, then you cannot count on your salvation. 1 Peter 1:23-25 calls it imperishable.

So there is no glory in the flesh, only in God.



40:9 (Proclaim The Coming of God)

Isaiah proclaims the deliverance of believers in the future. First, he is telling the Israelites that the day will come when the good news of their deliverance from captivity will come, and the Lord will come to set them free.

But, he is also referring to the coming of Christ. The prophets proclaimed the coming of Christ to Israel. This concluded with John the Baptist preparing the way for Jesus by preaching repentance and teaching that Christ was coming. Jesus himself taught throughout Israel. Matthew 9:35 says that Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness.

In Acts 1:8, Jesus sent the disciples first to Jerusalem, then to Judea, then to the Gentile nations. Paul even kept the spirit of this instruction as he preached throughout Europe and Asia, as he first went to the synagogue and taught, then went to the Gentiles.

40:10 (Coming In Power)

This verse emphasizes Christ’s coming in power with the authority to rule. In Luke 1:32, the angel Gabriel told Mary that the Father would give Jesus the throne of David and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.

40:11 (Coming In Tenderness)

Jesus not only comes in power, he comes in tenderness. He acts as a shepherd, tending the flock, gathering the lambs and carrying them, and gently leading.

There are several analogies in the Bible for Jesus as shepherd, including Micah 5:4, John 10:11-16; Revelation 7:17, and Psalm 23.

Notice that he carries the lambs close to his heart. Children, new believers, and the weak all get his special concern. This is a picture of love and tenderness.

I also like the phrase “he gently leads those that have young”, as parents often need encouragement and strength for the job.

40:12-14 (Tribute To God’s Greatness)

This same tender and loving God is so far beyond us that there is no comparison. Here Isaiah points out God’s greatness through a series of hypothetical questions. He said that God did not have to consult anyone, his wisdom encompasses everything. The Lord spoke to Job in a similar fashion in Job 40:6. There is no one with whom God can be compared.


40:15-17 (Nations Are Insignificant)

Not only are humans unable to compare to God, so are nations. He also said that (verse 16) if we had to sacrifice according to God’s greatness, there would not be enough wood in the forest or altars built to conduct that many sacrifices.

40:18-20 (Idols Are Insignificant)

Not only are individuals and nations unable to compare to God, so are the idols that they make. It does not matter if they are rich or poor men, their idols are just crafted images. They rejected knowledge of God for the service of idols. See Romans 1:20-22.

Mankind has a need to worship. Science and government have tried to end Christianity. But the alternative is not the atheism they seek, rather it is pantheism and idol worship, as man will always try to find something or someone bigger than themselves to look to, for they are hard wired to look for God.

40:21-22 (God is Enthroned)

God cannot be contained in an idol. He is enthroned above the earth. He displays his power in creation, and in sustaining the earth.

40:23-24 (Rulers Are Insignificant)

He also controls princes, or governments. They serve at this pleasure and he can remove them at any time. God said the he raised up Assyria for his purposes. See Isaiah 37:26. He also raised up Pharaoh in Egypt. See Romans 9:17.

40:25-26 (God Is Unique)

40:27-28 (God Is Eternal)

40:29-31 (God Gives Strength To Those Who Trust Him)

I don't think I'll blog the Obstructionsist I mean Democrat comments. I think they are predictable and I won't agree with hardly any of them. And I am running low on duct tape. And I want to go to Starbucks.

So, you can rehash blogs on Howard Dean, or go blah blah blah, or read the NYT tomorrow for the liberal slant.

Godspeed.

Instapundit also has some comments up on the speech, if not the exhaustive, and exhausting coverage here.

Bob Schieffer mentions that there have been no terrorist attacks here in two years. That puts the lie to the Democrat line that we are no safer than before September 11.

MONKEY SEE MONKEY DO. Dan Rather is now telling us what the President told us. Is he killing time or does he think we are that stupid?

We know that his purposes are just and true. May God continue to bless America. Ovation 35 as he leaves the podium.

And from me, may God bless George W. Bush and give him wisdom and courage.

In grief we have found the grace to go on. Another good one.

Having come this far, we sense we live in a time set apart.

Ovation 34 as he quotes a letter from 10 year old Ashley Pearson, ending with tell the troups I support them.

Bush says, when you see a man or woman in uniform, say thank you. Laura Bush leads ovation 34.

He asks for money for training ex prisoners and gets ovation 33. He includes faith based groups. Go Chuck Colson.

He also touts funding for faith based charities. He asks Congress to codify his executive orders and end the discrimination against religious people.

He wants to defend marriage also. He lauds Congress for passing the Defense of Marriage Act and mentions it was signed by President Clinton. He criticizes judges who redefine marriage without regard for the will of the people. Our mation must defend the sanctity of marriage. Ovation 32. He raises the possibility of constitutional amendment if judges persist in attacking marriage. He throws homosexuals a bone by saying we must respect all people.

He gets standing ovation 31 for supporting abstinence education.

Oh no, I just realized I haven't been to Starbucks yet.

He criticizes performance enhancing drug use by athletes and the bad example it sets. He calls on athletes and teams to get rid of steroid use.

He wants to defend families. He touts reduction in drug use among young people. He proposes funding for continued community based education in this area. He also supports drug testing in schools and asks for $23 million for that.

He wants tort reform in health care also. Ovation 29. Hillary doesn't stand and is laughing. She is thinking of her donations from trial lawyers.

Ovation 30 is for his proposal to allow business to deduct all of their insurance payments for employees. He opposes socialized medicine. Take that Hillary. Rangel is not even looking up. This must be painful.

28 comes for business association health plans needing to be passed.

Kennedy is rubbing his neck. Standing ovation for the health care spending account. That is 27. He will veto anything that takes away senior's benefits.

Health care is next. Rising costs must be controlled and extend the benefits throughout the country. Restrained applause. He asks for bipartisan effort as they did with the prescription law. Seated applause. He says seniors will save 10 to 25 percent, and low income seniors will get an extra $600 a year, plus insurance coverage. He thinks it will cut their drug costs roughly in half. They can choose their plan.

Immigration reform is next. Will they applaud? He pushes the temporary worker idea in areas where America does not have workers. Silence so far. He says it will improve security by allowing law enforcement to focus on true threats. He opposes amnesty. Yea. A good applause, although seated.

He will cutthe deficit in half over the next five years. Wow. Ovation 26.

He advocates personal retirement accounts in lieu of S.S. and gets ovation 24. He wants to be a good steward of tax dollars. Ovation 25 and Bush is smiling again.

He will send a budget in 2 weeks and will limit spending growth to 4 %.

Standing ovation 22 for tort reform, protecting business from law suits that are groundless. He also gets ovation 23 for reduction of dependence on foreign oil.

He wants to pursue and agressive pro growth agenda. He urges congress to continue the tax reductions, to prevent the Marriage tax, to prevent the death tax, and tax on small business (they boo the idea of more taxes on small business). He wants the tax reduction to be permanent. Many yes erupt, and ovation 21 ensues. Bush smiles. There must be small businessmen in the gallery.

He wants larger Pell grants for high school honors students. Yea. He wants to support community colleges, and this gets ovation 20, a long one. Huh. TCC get ready for more money.

Now he is on education. The No Child Left Behind Act is the key here. We are making progress toward excelleance for every child in America. Ovation 19.

Some only want the status quo, he says. I take that to mean the teacher's union. He defends testing also. The Act is opening the door of opportunity to all of America's children. Ovation 19. I hope I'm not miscounting. If so, don't fault my teachers.

Standing ovation 18 as he lists the good factors in the economy. The speaker led this one.

Americans took those dollars and drove the economy forward. I sent my to Lindsey's college.

He credits the recovery of the economy to the tax cuts and gets ovation 17.

This great republic will lead the cause of freedom.

We are sending tv and radio in native languages into the Middle East to teach freedom. John Warner also looks like he is constipated.

He believes that God has planted in every human heart the desire to live in freedom. Even when crushed, it will rise again. A slow starting ovation 16. He does not feel Islam is incompatible with freedom.

But, America is pursuing a course of freedom in the Middle East. Go Neocons!

America will never seek a permission slip for protecting our security. Ovation 15 erupts. The military guys are tired of getting up. They should be ecstatic.

Standing ovation 14 when Bush lists our allies in the fight in response to the charge he did not "internationalize".

The President still maintains Iraq had WMD programs. Kennedy is again shaking his head. I'm afraid it might come off. It really is big, and you know I'm fascinated by big heads. There's Hillary. She stands, but is frowning. Ovation 13 is for the world being a safer place without Hussein.

It is not enough to serve our enemies with legal papers. Another good one. Ovation 12 as he says our enemies wanted war and war they got. Rumsfield is the first one up.

I still haven't seen Hilary. Did she boycott the speech?

He compliments Congress, the military, the diplomats, in making America safe. He says the military has the greatest burden. He wants them to know America is proud of them and he and Congress will give them the resources they need. Standing ovation number 11.

The military guys are stonefaced also.

He insists that North Korea abandon its nuclear program and Iran keep its agreements. America is committed to keeping WMD out of dangerous regimes. So the Axis of Evil has not been abandoned.

Libya's agreement to disarm is also discussed. He said it took 9 months of diplomacy to work there, where 12 years did not. Standing ovation 10 comes as he says it must be credible and no one now doubts America's words. Allright!

The President of the Iraqi Governing Council is there and gets standing ovation number 9. He looks like Walter Mondale with a big nose. He is standing next to Laura Bush, so is an honored guest.

The United States will never be intimidated by thugs and assassins. Standing O number 8.

"America is willing to do what it takes for what is right". That is another good one.

Cheney really has a poker face. He has no expression whatsoever. Remind me not to bet with him.

Standing ovation 7 comes from the capture of Saddam.

The people of Iraq are now free causes standing ovation 6, and it is a sustained one.

We are confronting those who supply weapons to terrorist countries. Does this mean France, Germany, and Russia? He cites the progress in Afghanistan.

He promises to bring terrorists to justice. Standing ovation 5.

He is defending the Patriot Act. He wants to use the methods for hunting criminal's funds to hunting terrorists funds. There is applause when he says the Patriot Act will expire in a year. There seems to be some confusion there, so there is more clapping when he says they need to renew the Patriot Act. The applause is not as hardy as that when speaking in general terms of defending the country.

Standing ovation 4 comes from his pledge to defeat terrorism.

Americans are rising to the tasks of history. That's a great phrase. Standing ovation number 3.

Ted Kennedy is shaking his corpulent head "no" while the President says they have helped seniors with the prescription plan.

The American economy is growing stronger and the tax relief you passed is working. Another standing ovation. Howard Dean must be gnashing his teeth.

First, he gave a great compliment to the military, saying they are making America more secure, and another standing ovation resulted.

STATE OF THE UNION. President Bush re-takes center stage in politics with the State of the Union address tonight.

It must be a heady experience to make the grand entrance. First you hear "Mr. Speaker, the President of the United States". The entire assembly is on its feet in a rousing, standing ovation. That is one advantage of being the majority party.

I wonder if Hilary Clinton will repeat her eye rolling act from a previous speech.

Here he goes.

ROCKS IN THE HEAD. I guess it is because they have that really short work week, but French scientist are now studying skipping stones. Those are the rocks you throw across the surface of the lake to see how many times they will skip. They even built a machine to throw the rocks. I mean, you couldn’t expect a scientist, especially a French one, to throw rocks. I called the research institute and found there is no truth to the rumor that they were throwing the rocks at a picture of George Bush.

Speaking of the French, they are having a little trouble with the 5 million Muslims in the country. The government recently proposed legislation forbidding the wearing of religious symbols, notably the head scarf worn by Muslim females. France has long prided itself, well in general, but specifically about its secularism. This is why American liberals love France. They want to remove religion from the social and political equations. Anyway, France is so secular, among non-Muslims, that a recent survey showed 45% of French Catholics did not know what Easter was about.

Muslims are on the other end of the spectrum. Everything for them revolves around religion. Government, law, art, and everything else must follow the religious law. Although they will cry for freedom in France now, if they get big enough to take control, they would gladly turn France into a theocracy ruled by bearded men in robes, killing the non-conformists, and turning the country back to the 6th century. As in Iran, the country they rolled back a hundred years already.

While the Muslims paraded around France in protest, wearing long beards, wearing skull caps and pedal pusher pants (are they still Capri pants if worn by men?) and protesting, one sign sums it up. It said “Down with the racist laws of the Catholics”. You, of course, know that Catholics are not a race, just a big religious group from all different races. But, to a Muslim, they are the non-Muslim, the non-Arab, the non-entity.

The real Catholics (not the French variety, but the Romans) still think they can make peace. That makes you wonder who has the rocks in their heads. The Pope invited the Iman of the Rome mosque to a concert. He wanted to renew friendships among faiths. Which friendship is this, that great, historical Roman Catholic and Muslim friendship that lead to the Crusades, that great friendship that sent the “Moors” across North Africa killing and enslaving until they threatened Europe itself? Remember what Muslims call every Western person they are mad at (which is, at last count, 99% of us)? They call us Crusaders.

Although the Pope has backed off his earlier statement that Muslims could get to heaven without Christ (and presumably the Roman Church), he still is actively trying to achieve some sort of peace by diplomacy.

Also marching this week were a few dozen supporters of Michael Jackson, in Mexico City. That will help, I’m sure. No word on their position on head scarves in public school. MJ is for them, evidently, he always drapes his kids in scarves when they go out.

Some people speculate the kids actually do that out of embarrassment for how their father dresses, but I haven’t been able to verify this.

While on the subject of rocks, Chris Rock appeared recently in Grand Prairie. I don’t take that as a good sign for his career. Grand Prairie is to cities what Yugo is to cars. It is the entertainment Mecca of the Southwest Parkway Trailer Park. Rock thinks Blacks in America still suffer. I like this quote: Shaq is rich. The white guy who signs his check is wealthy.

Most of the white people I know would be thrilled to be anywhere near as rich as Shaq. Maybe they would like to sing better or act better, but they would be happy with his money.

Actually, they would probably be happy with Chris Rock's money. And they wouldn't whine about it near as much either.

PRICELESS RESPONSE. Ann Coulter, on seeing a picture of Saddam arrested, said she thought Nick Nolte had been arrested again.

GOOD NEWS. FCC Commissioner Michael Copps has reversed himself and decided the "F word" cannot be used in broadcasting. This is after receiving approximately 1.5 million e-mails. Thanks to the American Family Association for leading the effort.

Remember having a transistor radio as a kid. I would lay awake in bed at night (yes I had insomnia even then) and listen to the radio, going up and down the dial to see what was there. Now, I am afraid to let my kids do that for what they might hear. (as in Howard Stern)

Our morning radio shows are very bad here in the Metroplex. Lots of sex talk especially. I keep my radio set on the two Christian stations for the drive in, either listening to christian music or a message. It also keeps me calm for the drive in, making it less likely I will kill anyone.

On this morning's drive, I saw someone had defaced the Trinity Valley school sign. They had written the "F" word, mispelled, on the sign, and tagged it with their symbol. Tagging is the teenage equivalent to a dog peeing to mark its territory. The kid usually has a symbol to represent himself and sprays it on any available surface, along with any comments he wants to make. The Taggers often know each other, so it brags to the other Taggers that they have committed this particular act of vandalism.

I hope this guy's symbol soon becomes a fellow in an orange jumpsuit looking through bars (not like Cheers, but like jail).

FLOGGING THE DEAD HORSE. Dean shouted "we have not begun to fight!" That's obvious, Howard, given your poor showing.

He also said he was the only one who will stand up to the President on the war. Why can he not see that is a dead horse for him? American support remains strong for the war. Why base you issue on a minority opinion? Especially after getting a good butt (pardon me Joy) kicking from a Kennedy wanabe.

I think Dean is too arrogant to change. Look for major horse guts splattered on this battered body. The thing is, I was really hoping he'd win, so Bush could flog him.

POLLED. So what is it with the polls and the Iowa thing? I was just reading an article in the Associated Press from early January showing Dean way ahead, but with a challenge from Gephardt. Then, they finish last. Who do they poll? In recent years, it seems we have seen a real problem with the accuracy of polls. They should have to reveal how and whom they poll wiht the results. Obviously their samples were off base this time.

KERRY WINS. ABC News is calling Kerry the winner in Iowa. They call it at 38%, with second going to Edwards with 32%, Dean a distant third at 18%, and Gephardt dead last at 11%.

It is interesting that the two top finishers supported the President on the war and do not want repeal of all the tax cuts.

Mad Dog Dean may have been too mean for Iowa, and his flip flops have cost him. His young support lost out to the older vote also.

Gephard may be finished. This is a resounding defeat for him and shows that someone else has won all his constituencies.

Now it is on to New Hampshire, where Leiberman and Clark are added to the mix.

NOT THE BEST BUY. I finally got the e-mail to work. The Little Woman had 84 e-mails waiting for her, mostly from people she bought stuff from or who want her to buy more stuff. Help! But, buried in this treasure trove was an e-mail from Best Buy wanting me to take a survey on my recent experience with them. Allllriiiight!

So I did. It was a terrible experience. They charged me a lot and did not do anything I couldn't. Then I had to do it over. The killed my network adapter and erased my drivers. The e-mail would not work and the computer kept locking up, saying it did not have enough memory.

I tried to be honest and truthful but yet not use the word "suck". The Little Woman does not like me to use "suck" as a perjorative, even when applicable to Best Buy or Circuit City (which ripped me off on rebates). She also does not like "fart" or "butt" very much. So, I am trying to be polite. Also, people who read my blog sometimes call her or e-mail to tell her what I said.

Finks.

So I told them I was "very dissastisfied". That was actually in the choices. "We suck!" was not one of the choices. So, I did not have to worry too much about being offensive.

Until I came to the comment box. Temptation loomed. But I am a Sunday School teacher. And the Little Woman sometimes reads the blog. Like if she is really bored and there are no Mary Higgins Clark novels in the house. And E-Bay has nothing left to sell.

So, I was good. I told them in an honest and open manner how it was and that I was "unhappy". I never even said "pissed off". Did I mention she does not like "pissed off" either?

Sometimes the kids will say one of these things. When the Little Woman scolds them, they say "Dad says it!".

Finks.

So, I'll let you know if Best Buy replies. I wonder if they read the blog. If so, they will probably be, uh, very dissatisfied.

Whew.

NEW READER! I have a reader in New York City. NEW YORK CITY! I feel like a Pace Picante Sauce commercial. Anyway, Brandon says by e-mail he is reading the blog. Thanks, Opera Boy. I'll try to provide a slice of the Southwest for you while you are in exile in the Big Apple. Please tell my daughter it is really crummy there so she will not want to go.

Have you ever noticed that certain occupations are drawn to certain cities? Opera singers are drawn to New York. I admit it sounds more sophisticated. If you say, I'm in New York with the opera, you feel much cooler than they guy who says I'm with the Mud Holler, Arkansas Light Opera.

Actors are drawn to Hollywood (and some to New York). Lawyers often want to go to D.C.

Who is drawn to Fort Worth?

I'll have to get back to you on that.

CLARK WALKS IN CLINTON'S FLIP FLOPS. Clark has evidently walked a mile in Bill Clinton's flip flops. He flip flops on positions, lies about them, and cannot keep them straight, just like his mentor.

The Drudge Report has published Clark's testimony before Congress stating the need for the war and alleging that Saddam had weapons. Oops!

Michael Moore likes Clark for opposing the war in Iraq. Oops. MM should read Drudge.

Please form a line at the back for towels to wipe the egg off your faces.

NAIL IN THE COFFIN. Michael Moore has endorsed Wesley Clark. Hopefully, that will kill his chances completely. Moore, the ultimate peacenik cannot have anything in common with Clark philosophically, but believes he has the chance to beat the President. Moore wants that worse than ideology.

IT IS AS IT WAS - THE PASSION. Mel Gibson's account of the death of Christ is coming to the theater. He will open it in over 2000 outlets, just as if a major studio did it. Hopefully, believers will take their friends to see it. Hopefully, they will also buy lots of tickets. I would like to see Mr. Gibson get back his investment in bringing this story to life. February 25 is the date. My church has bought out a screening. Get yours to do one also.

IS DEAN FALTERING? Zogby's poll says that John Kerry is now in the lead in Iowa with 22 percent of the vote. Dean is at 21 percent.

STOP THE PRESSES! Dick Gephardt and I agree about something. Gephardt says Howard Dean's words can't be trusted and his motives must be questioned. I agree!

BRING BACK DEAN. Vermont needs Dean back. It seems residents there pay more for their cocaine than anyone except West Virginia.

ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST. Carole Moseley Braun has quit the presidential campaign trail and endorsed Howard Dean after failing to muster more than 3 percent of any vote. CMB is the one term senator about whom it was once said "her middle name is campaign finance irregularity".

In July 2003 she said "I can win the Democratice nomination." (Chicago Sun Times by Steve Neal).

Not.

Here is my other favorite CMB quote: Your librarian now has to turn you in if you check out the wrong book.

Not.

CMB as leader of the country? Not. The voters evidently agree. It is interesting, though, that black voters are not voting for black candidates. Braun is gone and Sharpton has not done well. He did finish second in the D.C.beauty contest. But Blacks appear to be voting for the one guy who may not know any Black people. Howard Dean appointed no Blacks and said basically there were none in Vermont to appoint. Do they find that comforting. Or is the real crux that Dean has staked out the far left and that is where most Blacks land?

"DT's". For every MADD commercial against drinking and driving, there is a celebrity arrested and lightly punished for it. Diana Ross is the latest DUI star. They should form a group of their own. I suggest calling it Drunk Thespians, the DT's for short.

THE SAGA CONTINUES II. We are also trying to get back to normal, whatever that is, after the death of Joy's father. It has been hard to do. It looks as if it will take a great deal of time to handle his estate also. I guess it is just part of life, but not a part I care for. You could call this the leaving stage. Your kids are leaving you to go out on their own. Your parents are leaving you for heaven. You, sir, are now holding the rope. There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven...

THE SAGA CONTINUES. Computer woes still abound. I retrieved the Compaq from Best Buy's service department to find that the drivers to the ethernet card do not work and I cannot access my cable internet. You'll be proud of me. I did not throw the unit threw the window at Best Buy. Mike came over to help, but even he could not straighten it out. We decided to buy a new card and driver and install and see if it works. Mike graciously agreed to pick it up and install it. Thanks my good friend. My patience is exhausted. This is why I neve pray for patience, because this is how God gives it to you.

ARE YOU SURE THAT'S MARS? That picture looks suspiciously like the view from my old house in Odessa, Texas.

PILGRIM'S PROGRESS. In addition to a death in the family, blogging has been hampered by the crash of the family computer. After making a hotel reservation, the computer was infected with viruses, worms, and a trojan horse. After working on it for four days, I finally took it in for help. It is finally ready to pick up.

On the more serious front, the good news is that we found the Army discharge papers for my father in law so that we can arrange the funeral in the national cemetery. The funeral will be Friday at 11 a.m. It is a shame this is so difficult to arrange. The Government should make it easy for veterans' families to arrange their funerals. It is hard enough to deal with without this obstruction. One friend said it took her two weeks to get approval. So, Veterans Administration, get your stuff in one sock and move into the 21st Century. You should have all these records on computer and be ready to go when someone calls. Shame on you.

HIATUS OVER. Pardon the lack of blogging. Sometimes life intervenes. We had a death in the family and it has been difficult.

I could not resist blogging, though, as news flashed that the federal court ruled that the Texas redistricting plan was ok. Bad day for all the Dems who pranced around saying it would never survive a court challenge. It is not over, as they will appeal to the Supremes, but it is a good win for the Texas Republicans.

They guy hurting the most is probably Martin Frost who has prospered in a gerry mandered district for years, staying in office despite the changing political climate because of it. Well, live by the sword, die by the sword.