Is that Fidler venting again?

Regarding cold weather, I am okay with it as long as it is not so cold that it is necessary to wear a hat and gloves. I turned on the radio this morning and I heard it is -4 outside. That is just beyond manageable. I have been doing a lot of indoor activities recently. I just finished the book Meat Market by ESPN journalist Bruce Feldman. The book follows (former) Ole Miss head football coach Ed Orgeron from 2006 through late 2007. It goes deep into the ins and outs of recruiting and running a college football team. If you like college football, I would pick up a copy. Or just ask me and I will give you mine. It is an easy, but interesting read. Last night, I saw the movie Slumdog Millionaire at Eden Prairie Center. The movie was much more dark than I anticipated but very good. Slumdog delves into the seedy, sinister side of Bombay in the 1980s as a kid from the poorest part of India becomes a successful contestant of India's version of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? It is also one of those movies that the critics love and I was not surprised to read that it won the Golden Globe for best flim.

1. There are a lot of bad TV shows on right now. I have written before about my abhorrence for shows like Rock of Love... and pretty much anything else on VH1. However, my least favorite show of all time is TMZ. I believe it is on Fox, but it could be on UPN. Basically the show follows around celebrities and tries to bait them into embarrassing themselves. The rest of the show is a panelist of a dozen people who sit and make fun of people. Yesterday they acrimoniously made fun of American gymnast Shawn Johnson for looking like a mouse; then they criticized Jessica Alba's parenting because she was holding her infant in a manner they disliked. I immediately flipped channels and commented how completely uncouth they are. Being the quasi-libertarian I am, in most cases I would suggest viewers just don't watch. However, this show crosses those moral boundaries, and is harmful to America. Every episode they refer to some female celebrity as fat. No wonder so many women have eating disorders.

2. I am utterly sickened and disturbed by the Obama Administration's stance on Israel/Palestine. Basically, Obama, Biden, and Hillary want to continue status-quo on Israel including giving $30 billion to Israel in the next few years! WTF!!! We are going broke yet we still are giving money to Israel? Bin Laden did not bomb the United States because of our "freedom" or are "liberalism". There are lots of countries that are democratically free. There are lots of countries that are more liberal than us (Brazil, France, Holland, etc). We were targeted because of our stance on Israel. Apparently Obama is okay with the fact that we will be hated in the Middle East. I have a news flash for the Obamas. The Israel vs. Palestine is not a good vs. evil. It is one extremely corrupt government vs. another extremely corrupt government. Except guess what? We fund one of those two and call the other one a terrorist? This sophomoric game of semantics should be thrown out by the new administration, not encouraged! The United States is broke and we should have no obligation to continue to prop up Israel. Here is what Obama should say: He should publicly denounce the actions of both Hamas and the reaction by Israel. He should say we will permanently cut off financial and military assistance to Israel but he should also make clear that Israel is a democratic friend to the United States and an attack on Israel will be met with harsh resistance by both America, NATO, and the United Nations. Only then can we began talks of a cease fire. Only then can we began real talks of peace. Only then can America start to feel safer from the threat of terrorism. But Obama is a politician and so are Biden and Hillary Clinton. The three of them are terrified by what the American Jewish groups will do in terms of voting and financial support. Plus there is guilt and sympathy. Israel can rally around the Holocaust. What can Palestine rally around? Plus there is racism. This is NOT a religious Jihad! This is NOT a religious war between Muslims and non-Muslims. This is about respect. This is about land. This is about corruption. I can only pray that this is the only neo-conservative stance Obama takes.

3. I also love Steven Sondheim.

4. Currently listening to Oliver's Army by Elvis Costello from the album: Armed Forces.