OFFICE 2007: MICROSOFT FINALLY GETS IT RIGHT
Microsoft Office is like the weather-you can't get away from it-but the 2007 version combines power, ease of use, and visual clarity in ways that leave earlier versions far behind. Microsoft Office 2007 packs more improvements into the world's leading application suite than any previous upgrade. For most users, the big question isn't whether to upgrade but when. Experts, beginners, and corporate users all get major benefits from the upgrade. The only downsides I could find are minor ones that will probably disappear in the first service pack. Once you get past the few minutes needed to navigate the new Ribbon interface, you'll wonder why Microsoft waited so long to get so many things right. So here's how you can use it right.
ENJOYING GLOBAL WARMING LIKE THE ROMANS AND VIKINGS
There is a wonderful new book, Unstoppable Global Warming: Every 1,500 Years, by distinguished climate physicist Fred Singer and award-winning environmental economist Dennis Avery. The conclusion of their book in a nutshell is that, yes, the world is getting a bit warmer, but this is just the natural cycle. They provide overwhelming evidence this warming would occur with or without mankind increasing CO2 emissions or doing anything else. The good news is that if we realize we cannot stop global warming, and concentrate on constructively dealing with the problems it causes -- which are all manageable at reasonable cost -- and then enjoy the benefits, mankind will do just fine. We have already had two cycles in recorded history; the Roman warming (200 B.C. to 600 A.D.) which was a very prosperous period, and the medieval warming (900 to 1300) during which farms were created in Greenland and Iceland. The modern warming period began about 1850, well before mankind was producing massive amounts of CO2.
GEORGE BUSH’S GEOPOLITICAL GENIUS
George W. Bush may be historically recorded as America's most frustratingly puzzling president. He is fundamentally a decent man, a genuine Christian with enormous moral courage. This is what infuriates the Left about him. It is his incomprehensible blind spots that drive conservatives around the bend. The one regarding illegal immigration is the worst, with many saying impeachably so. His refusal to destabilize Iran, which most likely will cause the Iraq War to be lost, is another. Yet with other geopolitical issues, he sees with astounding foresight and clarity. The best example is India. The first thing he asked Condi, when she became his National Security Advisor, was about India. She hadn't thought about it. "Biggest democracy in the world, only country in Asia capable of standing up to China," he explained. "I want a plan from you on how we develop a military, political, and economic alliance with India." Condi said she'd get right on it. "Oh, yes," he added, "make sure it includes support for military cooperation between India and Israel."
GEORGE BUSH’S BETRAYAL AND DESTRUCTION OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY
The worst fears of conservative Republicans in Congress came true this Monday (11/13), six days after their November 7 wipeout. The tapping of Senator Mel Martinez (R-FL) as RNC Chairman is confirming evidence that George Bush is intent on destroying the Republican Party. The most stunning defeat the GOP suffered on election day was that of Michael Steele for the open Senate seat in Maryland. Here is a black Lt. Governor who is really smart, really articulate, and really conservative Republican. The Dems were desperate to see him lose and they succeeded. Outgoing Republican National Committee (RNC) chairman Ken Mehlman immediately recognized the value of Steele to the GOP and asked him to be his successor. Rove and Bush squashed the offer like a bug. Steele has been humiliated and is infuriated - he may drop out of politics now to the GOP's great loss. Bush and Rove instead forced their choice of Martinez upon the party. Why? Because Martinez, a Hispanic, is a fierce advocate of amnesty for illegal aliens.
SHOULD WE THANK TOM DELAY FOR THE DEBACLE OF NOVEMBER 7?
Dick Tuck was a Democratic political consultant whose pranks bedeviled Richard Nixon in the 1950s. Mr. Tuck helped many clients to victory, but he got creamed in his lone bid for elective office, for the California state senate in 1964. His defeat permitted him to make the most memorable concession speech in history: "The people have spoken...the bastards." Many conservatives share Mr. Tuck's sentiments in the wake of Tuesday's debacle. How could an electorate whose judgment we praised in 2004 go so far off the rails in just two years? The truth is, they didn't. The Republicans lost because they deserved to lose. And we have Tom DeLay to thank for it.
A SAFER INTERNET FOR KIDS
Despite all the filters and parent blocking programs, currently the best way to protect your kids from all the horrible stuff out there on the Internet is to limit the technical capabilities of their computer. If, say, the instant messaging doesn't work too well, they're not going to use it too much, which means they'll have less opportunity to connect with "undesirable elements." This is only a stop-gap measure, as soon enough you'll have to upgrade out of computer obsolescence. So here's an idea that I've been toying with, based on a worldwide growing movement of free wireless Internet access employed by community groups all over the world. You could call it a Kosher Internet.
A LUTA CONTINUA
That's Portuguese for "The Struggle Continues." It was the mantra and motto of the RENAMO (Resisténcia Nacional de Moçambicana) guerrillas fighting to liberate Mozambique from Communist tyranny in the 1980s. Of all the anti-Soviet freedom fighters I spent time with, they were the ones I liked the most. Now, their mantra should be that of conservatives who wish to preserve their country from the Hate America Left. It certainly is of TTP member Erik Larson, who commented in the User Forum:
Republicans should tactically exploit the certain fracturing on the Left: we have the Blue Dogs, the Hillary crowd, and radical leftists -- one of whom is about to be speaker. Even the Left's backers like Eleanor Clift (current article on MSN) see trouble ahead. I laughed all day hearing the talk about consensus building and getting along -- there ain't gonna be none! Not with this crew. The Dems have essentially a three way split. The Republicans need to widen it.This is excellent advice. I discussed it with a Republican Congressman (happily re-elected) who agreed, especially about the Blue Dogs.
IT’S PARTY TIME: THE TO THE POINT VEGAS RENDEZVOUS
When the going gets tough, as it got excruciatingly so on November 7th, the tough have a party. You may recall that's a line from a famous movie. But it won't be a Toga Party as John Belushi had in Animal House (the smooth seduction character of "Otter" in the movie, by the way, was based on my Sigma Nu fraternity brother at UCLA, Steve Deming). It will be what the Mountain Men of the Old West called their gatherings: a Rendezvous. And what better place to have it in than Las Vegas? Here's how it's going to work.
A DAY TO CELEBRATE
Today is November 9th. It is a very special day in the history of the world. No, not because it's my birthday. Because on November 9, 1989, the Berlin Wall fell. Today is World Freedom Day. It seems so long ago, doesn't it? Yet for anyone who isn't still a kid, the fear of the Soviet Union, the tyranny and genocidal oppression inflicted by the Soviets upon so much of the world, epitomized by the Berlin Wall, is what we grew up with. Hardly anyone could even imagine it going away. I'm recalling this history because it comes to mind now that there is a new inevitable doom engulfing Europe. Like the Soviet Union, it can't be resisted, Europe's fate is sealed, blah, blah, blah. This is, of course, the inevitable transformation of Europe into Eurabia, the inescapable submission of Europe to Islam. The problem is serious. The Soviet threat was very, very real, and so is that of Islam. But problems are not important. Only solutions to them are. By focusing on the weaknesses and vulnerabilities of the Soviet Communists, we were able to defeat them. We can do the same with the Islamic Fascists..
IT’S SINATRA TIME
Yes, it's Sinatra Time - meaning, recall FS's lyrics in That's Life, take a while to feel like garbage over Americans electing people who hate their country to run Capitol Hill, then pick yourself up and get back in the race. Yes, this is not going to be easy. I lived through the old joke this morning - waking up at dawn to survey the wreckage of yesterday, telling myself to cheer up as things could be worse. So I cheered up and sure enough, things got disastrously worse when Bush threw Rummy to the wolves of the left - and announced the worst possible replacement. Bobby Gates' nickname at the CIA was The Little Prick. He is a pompous, incompetent, squishy witless fool. He is the total tool of the Jimmy Baker-Brent Scowcroft crowd that so horribly ran foreign affairs for GW's daddy. To put such a man in charge of the Pentagon - the one bastion of pro-Americanism remaining in our foreign policy establishment - is an unmitigated catastrophe. Conservatives can get back in the race by blocking this awful nomination. They did it with Harriet Miers, it can be done with Little Bobby.