What country would you live in if you didn't move? (H/T to Bob Morris of Politics in the Zero's, http://polizeros.com/2008/12/30/the-unit...)

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So, amid the razzle-dazzle-frazzle of the TO-Witten 'controversy' and with a NY win a sure bet to kill their playoff hopes this year, what did Tony Romo do Sunday night? What he does. "I play football for the Dallas Cowboys."

He cowboyed up in a major way for this one, kids. Twenty completions out of 30 passes, two for touchdowns; sacked three times in the first half and again in the second, beaten-up from being flung all over the field like last year's rag doll on Christmas morning (hat tip to the Ft. Worth Star-Telegram's Gil LeBreton for the metaphor) he still managed the presence of mind to shove the football over the end line, out of bounds, confining the oncoming NY Giants' defense to a safety instead of a touchdown should one of them spy and fall upon the loose football.

But the D did another stellar job, and not least among the standouts is Terrence Newman, the cornerback whose two interceptions (one very late, admittedly) helped seal the deal.

A better showing in the 20-8 win over the (somewhat hampered by the losses of Brandon Jacobs and self-inflicted season-ending injuries to Plaxico Burress) Giants than Eli Manning managed, even his critics will say of Romo this week. Granted, Manning's not used to being knocked down, time after time after time after time after time after time, and again; but eight sacks and two interceptions were hallmarks of the effort the Cowboys' defense turned in for this contest.

DeMarcus Ware's week-long mantra must've been "meet me at the quarterback." Bradie James accepted the invitation to that party, too.

William Perlman, USS Presswire photo Read more…

Congratulations to a number of football teams and players.

I dearly hope last night's dustup between the Giants and the Cowboys (20-8! Dallas!)
didn't seriously hurt the participants on either side; bruised egos go with this game as surely as NFL linemen spill each other's blood on the turf every ball game. But onward and upward first, and I'll be back for the Cowboys shortly.

Congratulations Graham Harrell on winning the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, annually given the nation's best college football quarterback! The criteria for the award alone suggest to me that it's not just a consolation prize for a young man mentioned as a Heismann hopeful, but a genuinely important award:

Determination of the Award will be based upon the on-field performance of the nominees, as well as their character. To be a Golden Arm Award Winner, these quarterbacks must demonstrate good citizenship off the field, and do their best to maintain the ideals of good character, morals, and values that Johnny Unitas upheld in his lifetime and career.

To be eligible for this Award, all candidates MUST be completing their college eligibility this season to be eligible for The Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award. Candidates are judged upon character, citizenship, scholastic achievement, leadership qualities, and athletic accomplishments. They MUST also preserve a positive public image above reproach by avoiding legal issues or other types of scandal.

(If only you and Mike Leach had been given a tour of the Obama White House, rather than the Bush White House, to go along with the award, how much sweeter would the rewards be!) To steal a bit of Don Williams' Lubbock A-J article on how the post-award trip to the White House did go, I'll note that normally close-mouthed Texas Tech athletics department personnel did vouchsafe some information to Bush:
Harrell threw for 4,747 yards and 41 touchdowns during the regular season, but he suffered two broken fingers in the regular-season finale against Baylor and underwent a complicated surgery the next day to repair multiple fractures.

Let me add a personal note to Graham Harrell, whose career I got to see start in spring football more years ago than I care to admit: That you're in company with the Manning brothers and Rodney Peete, not to mention David Carr, Carson Palmer and Brady Quinn, suggests to me that the NFL draft may be worth watching this year, just to see where you're invited. I have enjoyed watching you at Tech, and I want to wish you the best of all possible futures.

Congratulations too, to OU's Sam Bradford for winning the Heismann this year. I sincerely hope next year's competition is NOT reduced to Bradford's second award vs. Tebow's second award. Enough said about that? Hardly. Many deserving players never got considered for the Heismann; that's not unusual at all. That (BCS related) politics and the respective schools' money and fame did figure in which players were seriously considered, however, above and beyond the performance of the players on the field and above and beyond their importance to their teams' seasons must be repeated. Must be called out as the mockery of competition it is. Colt McCoy and Chase Daniel in the Big XII conference ALONE deserved more serious consideration than did either a 2nd award for Tebow or a 2nd-consecutive Sophomore Award. Enough already. Either honor the spirit of the award, which is supposed to go to the MOST OUTSTANDING MAJOR COLLEGE PLAYER every year, or quit giving the thing out (hat tip TTU coach Mike Leach for that suggestion btw).

And again, congratulations to the Borden County Coyotes, and to the undefeated Muleshoe, Texas, football team, both of whom won state titles Saturday, now being celebrated right here in my hometown even though both of these teams are from an hour and a half away.

Borden County's victory came with 4:18 left in regulation, as UIL rules will kick in to prevent a complete annihilation of an overmatched squad in six-man football. Go Coyotes!

And finally, last but not least here, congratulations to the Muleshoe team whose play brought the first state championship trophy ever to their school. Wes Wood and company had an excellent season. Fifteen wins, no losses, and a Grand Prairie finale that saw them shellac Kirbyville.

GO MULES!!

Image courtesy of Muleshoe ISD's team web site. Read more…

Ball game season's about to start.

Taco-flavored Popcorn,
spiced cider,, and
sweet smoky spiced pecans are on the menu.

Recipes for basics are linked above. What would you add/substitute?

[no commas were serialized in the making of this post]

I regret to report that I was unable to extract from my recalcitrant informants the recipe for the cheese grits I waxed poetic about on Friday night. They were excellent but alas! just exactly how excellent they were shall remain a state-guarded secret.

Cheese grits the way I learned to make them -- Read more…

It appears Howard Dean is good for his word and he will not be seeking another term as Chair of the DNC. According to HuffPo, Clair McCaskill may share the chairmanship. Bottom line, their circling the wagons and I'm afraid us liberals will be on the wrong side.

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/the-tra...

I guess any candidate like Clinton will have to work hard to crack that inner circle.

From the HuffPo: Read more…

Full disclosure: Anyone to the left of me would probably be a clown. And I've long felt the presence of jokers to the right. I bet you have too! So here I am: Stuck in the "middle" with you! Let's let them know just where the middle really is, my friends, eh?

batteries and accessories.

Rahm Emanuel in the White House. Counterbalance? I like the idea of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Secretary of Environment AND Energy -- a kind of EPA pro-active cabinet-level job.

What bells, whistles, and power do YOU want to see now?

Fewer mistakes and a defense that, for a change, didn't cave.
Wade Phillips' input seems to have made a difference for the Cowboys' D.
Roy Williams seems to be making the hook-up with Brad Johnson that Terrell Owens can't manage. The bad news: Jason Witten got hurt today.

Welcome home, Roy Williams!

Video

UPDATE: DMN hater Tim McMahon agrees with me: Read more…

The only good thing that happened in St. Louis today was DeMarcus Ware's defense.

The three sacks for the day tie a league record; the team still recognizes Harvey Martin's 11-games consecutive streak sacking-the-quarterback.

TO dropped a pass, and Marion Barber fumbled.

Zach Thomas has to be thinking it's a good thing Tech won yesterday:
.

The Dolphins and Chargers both lost today, too.

Since the economy is worse than we probably can imagine, I thought it best to offer some light humor. Enjoy.

No one can be this stupid...can they?

Recent ad for Tom Udall, running for Senate in New Mexico, features Erik Schei, a soldier shot in the head by a sniper in Iraq.
Since for some reason I cannot view, or embed, video, here is a link to it:
http://www.tomudall.com/humbled

One Manning brother's woes may be explained by revelations of a second knee surgery, but the other's disappointing performance is being blamed on bruises. Meanwhile, back at Valley Ranch, there's a broken hand, a broken foot, a hamstring pull, and an indefinite suspension; and I admit, the news that Tony Romo had been hurt really had an impact on my enthusiasm for the Cowboys. He and Wade Phillips are the whole reason I watch that team. But the 'Skins got pummelled this weekend, and all that leaves is Philly in the "toughest division in the NFC." Shades of an old song ... Read more…

With apologies to those who commented on the earlier version of this post, when the photograph I had posted changed to a completely different photo, negating the meaning of my post, I took it down.

But as I said before, the Cowboys apparently cannot have it all. Given that I would have dropped the ball in the situation pictured below, I'm sure, I can't really say anything about today's result except it's got to get better after this:

and while Lambert says we can keep TO if we want Read more…

One of the joys of reading far right wingnut blogs is the abundant affirmation this activity affords me: I am, after all, a sane and balanced human being and not a barking moonbat. Did you know that Obama's cousin had signed a secret agreement with Kenyan Muslims to institute Sharia law if he was elected President? And that furthermore, Obama himself has signed a secret agreement with US Muslims to make at least 10 changes to the Constitution if he's elected President? Well, maybe you'd heard this, but I hadn't. Read more…

One year ago today the Dow closed at an all-time high.

One year ago today Hillary Clinton was believed to be the "inevitable" Dem nominee for President.

Today the Dow Jones index closed at 8589. That's the first time in more than five years it's been below 9000. The drop is as bad as when the dot-com bubble fell apart about five years ago.

Go find a Republican and ask 'em if they're still proud of W.

You know you've made a mess in your bathroom when you have to vacuum your tub before you can use it.

Still seeking to answer the question "Who's going after Charlie Rangel," I found this Washington Post article whose coverage agrees well with most of my carefully-assembled timeline. Glad to see someone's on the story, even if I think they stop before asking the most important question.

From the article (and to fill in those who haven't been following the story):

Rep. Charles B. Rangel (D-N.Y.), 78, addressing two visitors in his office near the House chamber, says he won't cave in to Republicans and other critics who demand that he step aside as chairman of the powerful Ways and Means Committee until the ethics cloud surrounding him clears. Read more…

US bloggers still bandy about the idea that they'll run away to Canada if things get worse in the USA. This week, it appears that this is less justified than ever.

Despite campaign gaffes, the Conservative Party is still on the train to a majority government in Canada. Thus saith Nik Nanos, who is apparently the most trusted Canadian pollster. They are at 40% in the polls with a 15% gap between them and the Liberal Party. Another couple of points, and assuming that the poll results would hold at the ballot box, and they would have more than half the seats in the Canadian House of Commons, and full control of the levers of government.

So why is the Liberal Party doing so badly? Read more…

Phil?
Yes John.
We're not going to Oxford tomorrow are we?
No we're not John.
Even if the deal is done?
Nope.
Good, I never could spell Mississippi.
It isn't a spelling bee, John, it's a debate.
Oh, so why did we cancel Phil?
So you could look presidential John.
Good, I like it when I look presidential. How we gonna do that Phil?
You're going to Washington. You'll see the President, you'll take some meetings and you'll make statements showing your leadership and strength.
Great, I can't wait. Got those statements, the ones where I'm a great leader showing great strength?
I'll try to find you some, and I'll bring them to you.
Oh, okay. Anything else?
No, we're done.

BookMooch is now my preferred source and sink for books. With some patience, and the price of postage, I can get or get rid of many things. Shelf space is limited now, and most books come from the library, but sometimes they don't have what I want, or I want to own the book, possibly only for a while.

There is a small number of books on my shelves waiting to be read, and after that I'll put them up for "mooching". BookMooch is an unusual model in that getting the book costs you nothing (in money) but giving it costs you postage. It's all kept in balance by a point system that compares the books you've sent to the books you've gotten. Read more…

My favorite political ad of the past ten years is actually this ad/campaign theme song music video of the sovereigntist Bloc Québecois in the 2004 Canadian election: Read more…

So, I wanna go on vacation. So, I got zero dollars. So, what do I do? Book a campsite in a Texas state park, of course. Three nights, four people, $48. Tax included.

What would y'all do?

Just got a notice that Neal Stephenson (Snow Crash, The Diamond Age, The Baroque Cycle) is launching his new book, Anathem with a live webcast at 10pm EST:

Anathem

If you love, as I do, the slightly naughty pasttime of sucking up history, politics and economics through well-told fiction, here's a guy for you. I haven't heard much about Anathem, but found The Baroque Cycle hugely satisfying (once I got into it; must admit it took me a few times with the first book). Yum!

Because from there is no Department of Awesome tag.

Download Google Chrome. If you want AdBlock try this. Seriously, download it.

Hope this post finds you all well.