A few of the highlights from Bob Wordward’s new book, Obama’s Wars.
We’ll Take the Pledge – The Editors – National Review Online
We’ll Take the Pledge – The Editors – National Review Online.
Key quote:
All year long, conservatives have been pressuring Republicans to release a Contract with America for 2010 — an updated version of the campaign platform that the party unveiled before its 1994 sweep of Congress. Thursday morning, Republican congressmen are responding to that pressure by making a “Pledge to America.” The inevitable question will be: Is the pledge as bold as the Contract?
The answer is: The pledge is bolder. The Contract with America merely promised to hold votes on popular bills that had been bottled up during decades of Democratic control of the House. The pledge commits Republicans to working toward a broad conservative agenda that, if implemented, would make the federal government significantly smaller, Congress more accountable, and America more prosperous.
Gordon Gekko’s Secret Revealed
The Pope in Parliament and Westminster Abbey: a day that shook the foundations of Britain’s Protestant myth
This article provides a very interesting assessment of the Pope’s visit to Westminster Abbey.
Niall Ferguson on the threat of US Debt
Dr. Ferguson maintains that sometime within the next decade the U.S. will spend more on debt service than it will be able to spend on defense. He predicts a major forced withdraw of U.S. forces from Iraq and Afghanistan.
To me, this sobering forecast highlights the need for a major reassessment of ALL American military commitments outside the U.S. Where does the U.S. truly need to have troops and bases? I don’t necessarily agree with Ferguson that there must be a major withdraw of U.S. military forces from the Middle East and Central Asia, but if that doesn’t happen it certainly means a major reduction of forces must occur elsewhere.
The Fisker Karma – A high performance hybrid
The Fisker Karma will be hitting the streets next year and it should redefine how most people view hybrids. I first saw the Fisker Karma at the L.A. Auto Show last year and I was immediately impressed by Karma’s sleek design and it’s size. This thing is big and powerful. It will start around around $87,000, which is obviously not cheap, but it is within the reach of many luxury car buyers. Can it make people trade in their Benz or BMW or Lexus or Porsche? We’ll see in the not too distant future.
More good pictures, video and information about this very cool car can be found at the Fisker Automotive website.
Fantasy Football Week II: Vick Changes Everything
The news that Michael Vick will start for the Eagles vs Detroit this Sunday totally changed the QB order of value in the fantasy football (FF) world. I added Vick to both of my teams yesterday. Vick is dirt cheap. In Rotohog Vick’s price this week is $0.75M, which is less than Tim Tebow or Matt Leinart, two QB’s who will get little or no playing time this week unless the starters in front of them get KO’d. If Vick plays to his potential he could produce FF points that rival the top tier QB’s in the league, such as Brees, Brady or Peyton Manning. In short, Vick is value proposition that cannot be ignored imo. It will be very interesting to see how many other FF players make the switch to Vick this week.
Justice Breyer reconsiders the 1st Amendment
EDITORIAL: Save the Koran, burn the Constitution
This item was definitely worthy of a Face Palm moment….
The Revolution Has Arrived
Key quote:
“Voters grabbed their pitchforks Tuesday night and came over the ramparts. The revolution has arrived. Republican primary voters Tuesday night in key contests in Delaware and New Hampshire and New York sent a clear message, in case anyone had missed it up until now: If you are part of the establishment, you better grab your goodies and get out of the castle while you can.”
Fantasy Football Week II
Both of my FF teams got off to slow starts and major changes have already been made. I used up all 4 of my allotted trades for each team.
Here are some the players that picked for week 1 that performed well (by that I mean they were good values) : I’m keeping these guys next week:
Vince Young QB TEN – He had a solid game and he has some serious weapons (Chris Johnson).
Austin Collie WR IND – Becoming Peyton’s favorite target.
David Akers K PHI – Very reliable and has range.
And here are a few of the guys that I am dumping:
Brent Celek TE PHI – I like Celek, but too much uncertainty with Philly QB situation.
Ryan Grant RB GB – He’s injured and gone for the season.
Chad Henne QB MIA – He wasn’t bad in opening game, but no TD passes? I need a top tier QB next week that will do some major damage and I paid up for one going into Week II.
gmf journal 