What's Next for the Tea Party Movement

A nice look ahead by Glenn Reynolds

A year ago, the Tea Party movement didn't exist. Today, it is arguably the most popular political entity in America. The movement is already more popular than the Republican or Democratic parties, according to a recent NBC / WSJ poll .

Even in blue-state California, three in 10 voters identify with the Tea Party movement.

And, of course, Scott Brown's come-from-behind blowout in Massachusetts occurred in no small part because of money and volunteers from the Tea Party movement around the nation.

As Glenn would say, "Read the whole thing."  It includes a mention of "The Contract From America" which the Tea Party is developing through democratic means -- by voting on what's most important -- not by party politics in back rooms.

For what it's worth, I really like the Scott Brown methodology, where Tea Party word of mouth (word of mouth travels fast in the Internet age) about important races and needs make a huge difference in Washington.  Who needs political parties -- just pick and support the candidates who area heading in the right direction.

Obama to tackle College Football

The President is ready to investigate the BCS (Bowl Championship Series) that determines the college football National Champion... because, you know, there's nothing more important facing America today.  And, of course, because like any kid in a grocery store, he can't help poking his fingers into every shelf he can reach.

Attack Averted

I hadn't heard about this.

An update on Jarrod Parker

So how is Jarrod Parker doing after his Tommy John Surgery?

MLB TV presented their list of the top 50 prospects for 2010 and in somewhat of a surprise Parker was listed at number 21. While this is three spots lower than last year it is much higher than many predicted due to the surgery.

It is a testament of how far this surgery has come and the prognosis of full recovery. Parker will be working with the Diamondbacks training staff throughout 2010 building strength and flexibility so that he can hopefully fully recover and be ready for Spring Training in 2011.

Steve Buyer (R-Indiana) to Retire

Rep Steve Buyer is not seeking re-election... apparently, Rep Buyer, Republican, set up a scholarship fund, gathered nearly $900,000 for the fund, and instead of giving out scholarships has used it for his own slush fund -- for golfing, traveling, hiring his friends and family, etc.

Good riddance to bad rubbish.

Superhuman tape measure skills

Norwell 58, Luers 42

The Lady Knights move to 17-0, defeating Bishop Luers 58-42.

First Support, then a show

In a show of solidarity for injured Luers senior Shelby Gruss, both teams wore matching T-shirts brought by Norwell and the two teams posed for a picture wearing the shirts before the game.  Gruss was injured in a snowboarding accident in Ohio three weeks ago and is partially paralyzed in a rehabilitation hospital in Indianapolis. The Gruss family is from the Ossian area, and many of the players from each team know one another from AAU basketball. Shelby Gruss' brothers attended Norwell. 

Norwell's compassion also came from having gone through a similar situation last year with the graduated Haley Chaney, who was injured in an auto accident and had a serious brain injury and did return to the court.

"We don't wish that upon anybody because you know what it is like," Thornton said.

Good job on all fronts, girls.

R.I.P. Pernell Roberts

Pernell Roberts, the last surviving member of Bonanza, passes away at 81.

Bizarro Rat Pack Pic

If you're not a Superman fan (or a Seinfeld fan), then maybe you don't understand the concept of Bizarro. Bizarro is a being who is the opposite of the original. Superman is handsome, smart and is for Truth, Justice and the American Way. Bizarro Superman is strangely cracked, rather dumb, and definitely not for Truth, Justice and the American Way.

Anyway, when I saw the Flickr feed from the White House above (click on the picture to see more people comment on it at Perfunction), I had the immediate thought that it was a Bizarro version of the ultra-cool Rat Pack. It is a distinctly uncool, Bizarro version of Sammy Davis Jr., Frank Sinatra, Deano Martin, Joey Bishop and Peter Lawford. Gibbs is the anti-Sinatra if there ever was one. Axelrod is the anti-Deano...

Prayers for Charlie Daniels

I saw online that Charlie Daniels (73) has suffered a small stroke while snowmobiling.  He has some numbness in his left hand, but can still play the fiddle better than you-know-who.

Wind Power

The Department of Energy reports that Wind could provide 20% of the power needed by the East Coast by 2024

"I think we ought to be trying to make the transition away from fossil fuels to renewable energy resources as rapidly as possible. That's particularly important for Delaware, since it's a coastal state that is very vulnerable to climate change and sea level rise."

Ah... dump our Fossil Fuel plants and go with wind powered generators? I wonder if our Department of Energy has noticed that during the recent cold snap in England, their wind farms produced "practically no energy" because there was no wind:

"If we had this 30 gigawatts of wind power, it wouldn't have contributed anything of any significance this winter," he said. "The current cold snap is a warning that our power generation and gas supplies are under strain and it is getting worse."

Coal stations are currently used as back-up generation when there is a surge in demand for gas and the wind does not blow – which both tend to happen during cold weather.

However, increased dependence on wind farms will coincide with a European Union directive shutting down Britain's dirtiest coal and oil fired power stations.

The UK has committed to switching off these stations by 2015, leaving it uniquely vulnerable to gas shortages and the intermittency of wind farms.

Pay attention, people of Delaware... I hear it can get pretty cold in the Northeast.

Who is Ellie Light?

Virtually identical letters to the editor appear in dozens of newspapers supporting President Obama, all by Ellie Light, all at different addresses.

I don't want to tell tails out of school, but if you are a writer, looking for money, there are many jobs available where you go out to Amazon or other retail web sites and write detailed, fawning reviews of products...