Opining Online

I’ll testify, under oath if you want, that Chardonnay does not, repeat NOT, go with french fries and ketchup. I’m really stumped as to which wine would. Anybody… help?

I didn’t watch tonight’s GOP debate in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina - I find them boring, but I do like reading other people’s comments as they are watching. So far I’ve read:

S.C. Politics Live by USC political science professor Blease Graham. Since he actually seemed to take Ron Paul seriously, I don’t know quite what to think. He also grouped Thompson next to Paul with Guiliani, then Huckabee at the other end of the spectrum, with McCain and Romney in the ideological middle. This just does not make sense to me. I think he was trying to hard not to piss anybody off. His final take:

To the extent that Huckabee was the leader going in; Thompson gained at his expense. Paul didn’t expand his constituency, but Giuliani may have added a bit to his at the expense of Romney perhaps more than McCain. Giuliani’s tax plan is the difference for appeal to conservatives to step over Romney.

The Sundries Shack gives the debate overwhelmingly to Fred Thompson. He says everyone else came in second, except Ron Paul.

Heading Right, a group blog, is difficult to follow with several people posting. One of the posters is from Minnesota and rightly points out that Huckabee lost that state with his line about “no bridges falling in Arkansas.” Their notes include McCain as overall winner, Huckabee no gain no loss, Thompson did well enough, and Romney tanked.

Freeman Hunt did a very nice and organized job of live-blogging. Her best comment is about growing revenue by cutting taxes;

Frankly, I don’t care that much about growing tax revenue. Is our goal to make sure that the government has the maximum amount of money possible?

Too bad she wasn’t one of the debaters. She says they all seem to be trying to out Reagan Reagan, compliments Romney on speaking precisely, and actually ends without proclaiming a winner, but providing links to donate to Thompson.

Ann Althouse also notes all the candidates seem to “be in a competition to say ”Reagan” as often as possible.” Looks like this year’s drinking game words will be  “change” for the Democrats and “Reagan” for the Republicans. She notes Frank Luntz’ focus group overwhelming gives it to Thompson as winner and Paul as loser.

Right Wing News - the best line? “Ha! They cut to Mitt and he was looking at Ron Paul like something he scraped off of his shoe.” John Hawkins also slams Brit Hume for trying to get the candidates to second guess the commanders in the field. No one bit. McCain gets a compliment on always being strong on foreign policy. Summary: Ron Paul’s best debate ever, but still a loser. Mike Huckabee, Rudy Guiliani, Mitt Romney, John McCain, with Fred Thompson as winner.

Michelle Malkin - Thompson the big winner, Romney the big loser, McCain, nothing gained, nothing lost. She predicts Brit Hume will get hate mail for his handling of Ron Paul.

Jim Geraghty: “…it’s not unthinkable that Romney wins Michigan, Thompson wins South Carolina, and Giuliani wins Florida. Under that scenario, the five biggest contests of the early GOP Primary season will have generated five different winners.” That scenario fits with what Blease Graham said about no decisive winner until Feb. 5.

Enough for me. Check out Instapundit for more. 
 

I hope these Asian lilies come back up as promised when I bought them last year from Lowe’s. They were called Mona Lisa, looking very similar to stargazers, but smelling 10x as good.

 Bush Says Now Is Time for Mideast Peace.

When, in the last 60 years or so has NOT been the time for Mideast Peace? In my years as an adult, I do not remember any time that there has not been some kind of war in the Middle East. I also remember almost every President in my adult life trying in some way to leave “peace in the Middle East” as his legacy.

Though, I’m cynical about it ever completely being accomplished, the Iraq war and our efforts in Afghanistan may make it somewhat more possible. That’s why I’ve supported the wars unfailingly. I do not want my grandchildren (and great-grandchildren) fighting the same wars… again and again.

May Bush be successful.

In a very good way!

Bent Objects

Go ahead, look at all the entries. You’ll be glad you did.

 (via Non Sequitur)

No Relief in Sight

Clinicians and researchers have long remarked on the link between opiophobia and undertreatment of pain. In a 1966 pharmacology textbook, the psychiatrist Jerome H. Jaffe, who later became Richard Nixon’s drug czar, noted that patients who take narcotics long enough develop tolerance (a need for larger doses to achieve the same effect) and physical dependence (resulting in withdrawal symptoms). But he cautioned that “such considerations should not in any way prevent the physician from fulfilling his primary obligation to ease the patient’s discomfort. The physician should not wait until the pain becomes agonizing; no patient should ever wish for death because of his physician’s reluctance to use adequate amounts of potent narcotics.”

It’s been going on a long time and should end now.

Fat, I am.

Why? One reason is I eat & drink the wrong things – I can’t eat too much of anything since I had banded gastroplasty and have about a 4 bite limit on solids, less on lean meats. The limit is higher on liquids, but not infinite. So, most of my weight is probably under my control. But what about that part that is due to inheritance? My mother, and my grandmothers on both sides were obese.

There’s plenty of evidence that genetics plays a role in obesity. I thought I’d gather some links here to show how varied and scattered that evidence is, as well as how ineffective current “treatments” are.

CORRELATION OF OBESITY TO THINGS UNRELATED TO BEING AN OVEREATING COUCH POTATO

Continue reading “Fat, Fat, Fat”