Vice President Cheney accepts responsibility for the hunting accident. Cheney told FOX News on Wednesday that he alone is responsible for the weekend hunting accident in which he shot Austin attorney Harry Whittington. He told Brit Hume:

"Ultimately I'm the guy who pulled the trigger that fired the round that hit Harry. I'm the guy who pulled the trigger and shot my friend, and that's something I'll never forget...The image of him falling is something I will never be able to get out my mind. It was one of the worst days of my life."

Of course, liberals continue in their efforts to exploit this unfortunate incident. They have been harping on the way the incident was reported to the press, and now they are criticizing Cheney for choosing FOX News as the forum to address the incident. CNN commentator Jack Cafferty called the interview "a little bit like Bonnie interviewing Clyde. ... I mean, running over there to the FOX network -- talk about seeking a safe haven."

I'll tell you what he means by that. FOX News is often portrayed by liberals as a conservative network that is sympathetic to Republicans. This is actually not true. The difference between FOX and other news networks is that FOX has conservative commentators as well as liberal ones. Other news networks (especially CNN) have obvious liberal bias almost across the board, give or take a token conservative or two. So, was Cheney supposed to choose a news outlet that was clearly hostile to him? Apparently, that is what liberals are saying. Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D, NJ) said:

"Now that he feels forced to talk, he wants to restrict the discussion to a friendly news outlet, guaranteeing no hard questions from the press corps."

First of all, speaking to Brit Hume hardly guarantees "no hard questions". Second of all, many Democrats are known to avoid appearing on FOX News, even as they complain that the network does not feature enough Democrats. Why? Because they fear hard questions. Liberal Democrats are used to being given a free pass by liberal-biased news outlets, and they often react with hostility when they are asked probing questions. That is one of many reasons why Democrats have been losing elections.

Besides the fact that Cheney was more likely to receive fair treatment from FOX than from other networks, there is another reason why Cheney was wise to choose FOX: it is the top-rated cable news network. That is something that the more liberal networks clearly resent, and their childish outbursts aren't likely to help them.

By the way, a new Rasmussen poll indicates that only 27% of Americans believe that the recent hunting accident raises serious questions about Cheney's ability to serve as Vice President. More than twice as many, 57%, say it was "just one of those very embarrassing things that happens to all of us."

The FOX News story:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,184957,00.html

Saddam Hussein spoke of terrorism and WMDs in tape-recorded meetings. ABC News has reported that 12 hours of tape-recorded meetings between Saddam and his top aides, recorded in the former dictator's palace in the mid-'90's, have been obtained from the U.N. On these tapes, Saddam can be heard predicting terrorist attacks on the United States, and his aides discuss the creation of biological weapons and hiding weapons of mass destruction from U.N. inspectors. Here is the story:

http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/Investigation/story?id=1616996

According to the translation, Saddam can be heard saying:

"Terrorism is coming. I told the Americans a long time before Aug. 2 and told the British as well … that in the future there will be terrorism with weapons of mass destruction...In the future, what would prevent a booby-trapped car causing a nuclear explosion in Washington or a germ or a chemical one?"

He added that Iraq would not do such a thing. Likely story! Russian intelligence told U.S. intelligence that Saddam was planning terrorist attacks on U.S. soil, after the 9/11 attacks in 2001 and before the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003.

Elsewhere on these tapes, Saddam's son-in-law Hussein Kamel (who was killed by Iraqi security forces in 1996) can be heard saying that weapons of mass destruction were hidden from U.N. inspectors. He said:

"We did not reveal all that we have. Not the type of weapons, not the volume of the materials we imported, not the volume of the production we told them about, not the volume of use. None of this was correct."

Charles Duelfer, who led the official U.S. search for weapons of mass destruction after the war, points out that the tapes don't prove that WMDs were still hidden in Iraq at the time of the U.S. invasion. But he says this:

"What they do is support the conclusion in the report, which we made in the last couple of years, that the regime had the intention of building and rebuilding weapons of mass destruction, when circumstances permitted."

This, my friends, is why the United States could not allow circumstances to permit such things.

American actors star in anti-American propaganda film. Valley Of The Wolves - Iraq is the title of the film that opened last week in Turkey, Austria, and Germany. It is described as a Rambo-like action story about Turkish gunmen who battle evil Americans in Iraq. One character named Sam (as in "Uncle Sam") is a sociopath who kills people without a second thought and claims he is doing God's will. The character is meant to symbolize George W. Bush. He is played by American actor Billy Zane. Zane has no problem with his role in this movie. He said:

"I acted in this movie because I'm a pacifist. I'm against all kinds of war."

The movie depicts American marines as ruthless killers of Iraqis, and depicts soldiers mistreating inmates at Abu Ghraib prison. One character is a Jewish-American doctor who harvests the organs of inmates and sends the organs to the U.S., England, and Israel. This character is portrayed by American actor Gary Busey. Busey defends the film as "freedom of expression".

What's wrong with this picture? I am reminded of an e-mail that a friend sent me recently with the subject line "How Hollywood Has Changed". It's a good e-mail, and I will reprint the text of it here in case no one has sent it to you.


WHAT HAPPENED TO THE WW II MOVIE STARS

With the advent of World War II many of our actors went to fight rather than stand and rant against this country we all love. They gave up their wealth, position and fame to become service men & women, many as simple "enlisted men".

This page lists but a few, but from this group of only 18 men came over 70 medals in honor of their valor, spanning from Bronze Stars, Silver Stars, Distinguish Service Cross', Purple Hearts and one Congressional Medal of Honor.

Most of these brave men have since passed on.

Real Hollywood Heros

Alec Guinness (Star Wars~Bridge over the River Kwai) operated a British Royal Navy landing craft on D-Day.

James Doohan ("Scotty" on Star Trek) landed in Normandy with the U. S. Army on D-Day.

Donald Pleasance (The Great Escape) really was an R. A. F. pilot who was shot down, held prisoner and tortured by the Germans.

David Niven was a Sandhurst graduate and Lt. Colonel of the British Commandos in Normandy.

James Stewart Entered the Army Air Force as a private and worked his way to the rank of Colonel. During World War II, Stewart served as a bomber pilot, his service record crediting him with leading more than 20 missions over Germany, and taking part in hundreds of air strikes during his tour of duty. Stewart earned the Air Medal, the Distinguished Flying Cross, France's Croix de Guerre,and 7 Battle Stars during World War II. In peace time, Stewart continued to be an active member of the Air Force as a reservist, reaching the rank of Brigadier General before retiring in the late 1950's.

Clark Gable (Mega-Movie Star when war broke out) Although he was beyond the draft age at the time the U.S. entered WW II Clark Gable enlisted as a private in the AAF on Aug. 12, 1942 at Los Angeles. He attended the Officers' Candidate School at Miami Beach, Fla. and graduated as a second lieutenant on Oct. 28, 1942. He then attended aerial gunnery school and in Feb. 1943 he was assigned to the 351st Bomb Group at Polebrook where he flew operational missions over Europe in B-17s. Capt. Gable returned to the U.S. in Oct. 1943 and was relieved from active duty as a major on Jun. 12, 1944 at his own request, since he was over-age for combat.

Charlton Heston was an Army Air Corps Sergeant in Kodiak.

Ernest Borgnine was a U. S. Navy Gunners Mate 1935-1945.

Charles Durning was a U. S. Army Ranger at Normandy earning a Silver Star and awarded the Purple Heart.

Charles Bronson was a tail gunner in the Army Air Corps, more specifically on B-29s in the 20th Air Force out of Guam, Tinian, and Saipan.

George C. Scott was a decorated U. S. Marine.

Eddie Albert (Green Acres TV) was awarded a Bronze Star for his heroic action as a U. S. Naval officer aiding Marines at the horrific battle on the island of Tarawa in the Pacific Nov. 1943.

Brian Keith served as a U.S. Marine rear gunner in several actions against the Japanese on Rabaul in the Pacific.

Lee Marvin was a U.S. Marine on Saipan during the Marianas campaign when he was wounded earning the Purple Heart.

John Russell: In 1942, he enlisted in the Marine Corps where he received a battlefield commission and was wounded and highly decorated for valor at Guadalcanal.

Robert Ryan was a U.S. Marine who served with the OSS in Yugoslavia.

Tyrone Power (an established movie star when Pearl Harbor was bombed) joined the US Marines, was a pilot flying supplies into, and wounded Marines out of, Iwo Jima and Okinawa.

Audie Murphy, little 5'5" tall 110 pound guy from Bay City, Texas who played cowboy parts?

Most decorated serviceman of WWII and earned: Medal of Honor, Distinguished Service Cross, 2 Silver Star Medals, Legion of Merit, 2 Bronze Star Medals with "V", 2 Purple Hearts, U.S. Army Outstanding Civilian Service Medal, Good Conduct Medal, 2 Distinguished Unit Emblems, American Campaign Medal, European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with One Silver Star, Four Bronze Service Stars (representing nine campaigns) and one Bronze Arrowhead (representing assault landing at Sicily and Southern France) World War II Victory Medal Army of Occupation Medal with Germany Clasp, Armed Forces Reserve Medal, Combat Infantry Badge, Marksman Badge with Rifle Bar, Expert Badge with Bayonet Bar, French Fourragere in Colors of the Croix de Guerre, French Legion of Honor, Grade of Chevalier, French Croix de Guerre With Silver Star, French Croix de Guerre with Palm, Medal of Liberated France, Belgian Croix de Guerre 1940 Palm.

So how do you feel the real heroes of the silver screen acted when compared to the hollywonks today who spray out anti-American drivel as they bite the hand that feeds them?

Can you imagine these stars of yesteryear saying they hate our flag, making anti-war speeches, marching in anti-American parades and saying they hate our president?

I thought not, neither did I!

If you enjoyed the story send it on, if not delete it as we cannot always agree, and that is what is great about the USA.

BUT REMEMBER:

The e-mail ends with an image from 9/11.

Batman to the rescue! According to Contactmusic.com, the superhero Batman is going to take on the al Qaeda terrorist network in an upcoming graphic novel titled Holy Terror, Batman! Writer Frank Miller says:

"It is, not to put too fine a point on it, a piece of propaganda. Batman kicks al-Qaeda's a**."

Well, good! It's nice to see that someone in the media is on the right side in the war on terror.

Earth In The Balance, Book 2 -- and a movie, too! Did I miss something? Has the world been crying out for a follow-up to Al Gore's 1992 book Earth in the Balance: Ecology and the Human Spirit? That was the book in which the then-senator and soon-to-be-vice-president argued that the planet was headed for an environmental apocalypse, and that modern technology and the American way of life were to blame. Gore's book has been widely discredited (and is very difficult to read). It is often described as a best-seller, although it reportedly sold no more than 300,000 copies (which is not considered "best-selling" by most standards).

Well, if you (like the Unabomber) are one of the book's admirers, I have great news for you. Gore's follow-up book is coming in May. It is titled An Inconvenient Truth, published by Rodale Books. Wait, there's more! Davis Guggenheim (Elisabeth Shue's husband) has directed an accompanying documentary film of the same name, featuring our beloved former vice president. It will be released May 26th by Paramount Pictures' new specialty division. It premiered (appropriately enough) at the Sundance Film Festival last month. According to the Hollywood Reporter, it "weaves the science behind the issue of global warming with the former vice president's personal history and longtime commitment to communicating the pressing need to reverse the effects of global climate change." Paramount specialty division president John Lesher calls the film "a visually mesmerizing and shocking look at the serious and dire state of our planet." He adds:

"We are very proud to help Al Gore expose the urgency of global warming to the widest possible audience."

I wouldn't count on the audience being all that wide. The only people who will be interested in this book and movie will be the fringe left. Through both media, Gore will simply be preaching to his choir.

Boom time! Retail sales posted the strongest gains in six years for January. Here is the news article:

http://finance.myway.com/jsp/nw/nwdt_rt.jsp?section=news&feed=ap&src=601&news_id=ap-d8fov4eg0&date=20060214

Consumers, lured to the malls by unusually warm weather and eager to spend their Christmas gift cards, boosted retail sales by a much larger than expected amount in January with sales outside of autos surging at the fastest pace in six years.

The Commerce Department said Tuesday that retail sales excluding autos were up 2.2 percent in January, the best showing in this category since late 1999. With autos included, retail sales rose by 2.3 percent, the best showing in 20 months. Overall retail sales had risen by a tiny 0.4 percent in December.

The overall increase was more than double what economists had been forecasting. They attributed the strong showing in part to the mildest January in more than a century. This prompted consumers to troop to the stores to redeem the gift cards they had received in December.

This should quell the panic some people probably felt when the economy only grew by 1.1% last quarter. Make no mistake about it: this is nearly as good as the economy gets. Unemployment is down to 4.7%, inflation is happening but it's not slowing consumers down -- this is boom time, folks, and don't let the liberal media tell you otherwise.

Rendell vs. Swann! Yeah, baby, yeah! It's only 2006, and here we may have the PA gubernatorial battle of the century. In case you haven't heard, former Pennsylvania Lt. Governor Bill Scranton has announced that he will not run in the primary for the PA governor's race. This clears the way for Lynn Swann, the former Pittsburgh Steeler, to receive the Republican nomination and run against incumbent Democrat governor Ed Rendell.

This will be an energetic election season. Rendell and Swann are virtually tied in recent polls, while Scranton trailed Rendell by ten points. Swann's only competition in the primary will be Jim Panyard, a Lebanon county businessman who is not seen as a strong candidate. Swann will now be able to concentrate his resources on the fight against Rendell, giving Swann the potential to actually unseat an incumbent PA governor. The Philadelphia Inquirer is likening this race to an Eagles-vs-Steelers "smackdown". (If that comparison holds, Rendell is in trouble!).

Best Picture Oscar nominees didn't get much box office boost. And I am happy to report this! The movies that are currently playing in theatres were added to more venues as a result of their Oscar nods, but did not generate significant ticket sales. Here is the weekend box office report from Box Office Mojo, and the relevant paragraphs:

http://boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=2001&p=l.htm

Going into the weekend, though, the group of Best Picture nominees were collectively the least popular with audiences on record, with two barely over $50 million at announcement time last Tuesday—Crash and Brokeback Mountain. It's the second year in a row that the Academy's selections diverged wildly from the public's, and the resulting boost did little to assuage the Oscars' continued wane.

Brokeback Mountain roped 435 more theaters for a total of 2,089, but saw business drop eight percent. Ang Lee's $14 million cowboy love story gathered $6 million, taking its total to $60.1 million in 59 days.

"We've got a lot of runs that have been playing for a month, and some of these markets are over-encumbered," Foley noted of Focus' highest-grossing picture ever. "So there's a weakness in some of these theaters that are playing out. It's a function of normal attrition, despite the Academy awards stuff. It's the core markets that it's important to sustain."

Foley expects Brokeback Mountain to climb past $80 million at least and more if it wins Best Picture. "[$100 million] always necessitated a win," Foley said.

A Best Picture nomination helped Sony Pictures Classics catapult Capote into wide release for the first time. Playing at 1,239 theaters in its 19th weekend, the drama about writer Truman Capote took in a paltry $2.3 million. Under-performing relative to past Oscar pictures, the $7 million production is still hit in the realm of specialty releases, with $18 million in the till.

With Best Picture nomination in tow, Good Night, and Good Luck. broadcasted in wide release again, rallying few new patrons. George Clooney's $7 million 1950s journalism drama showed at 929 locations but drew $1.5 million, bringing its total to $26.8 million in over four months.

The final Best Picture nominee in theaters—Crash has been on DVD for five months with no theatrical re-issue scheduled—Munich was even with last weekend, despite an expansion. Steven Spielberg's $70 million drama about the aftermath of the 1972 Munich Olympics' Palestinian terrorist attack pulled $1.7 million from 1,151 theaters for a somber $43 million in 45 days.

Without receiving a Best Picture nomination as many expected, Walk the Line drummed up an eight percent increase over last weekend, making $3.3 million. The $28 million Johnny Cash biographical drama was already a sizable hit without the aid of Oscar, and its total stands at $110.6 million in 80 days.

Ex-Flyer Rick Tocchet and NJ state trooper charged in illegal sports betting ring. The Philadelphia Inquirer has a story on this scandal involving the former Philadelphia Flyers hockey star:

http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/13813048.htm

New Jersey state investigators today announced they had dismantled an illegal sports betting ring they say was orchestrated by former Philadelphia Flyers star Rick Tocchet and a state trooper.

Authorities said the ring had ties to the mob, and touched on at least one Hollywood star and several professional hockey players.

Officials with the State Police and the Division of Criminal Justice said Trooper James Harney, 40, of Marlton, had been charged with official misconduct, promoting gambling, money laundering and conspiracy, for his role in a betting scheme they said operated mainly in South Jersey and Philadelphia but extended nationwide. Harney's alleged partner, Tocchet, 41, who played for the Flyers from 1984 to 1992 and from 1999 to 2002 and is now an assistant coach for the Phoenix Coyotes, also was served with a complaint summons charging him with promoting gambling, money laundering and conspiracy.

James Ulmer, 40, of Swedesboro, who investigators said helped the pair taking bets, was similarly charged. He and Tocchet could face five to 10 years in prison if convicted.

Harney, an 8-year veteran of the force stationed in Moorestown, faces a minimum of 20 years in prison, lawyers for the attorney general's office said. If convicted, Harney, who has been suspended without pay, also would never be allowed to return to a government job.

Boscov's is to acquire 10 stores, 4 of them within the Philly region. Those 4 stores will be at Deptford Mall, Montgomery Mall, Oxford Valley Mall and Willow Grove Park mall. Here is the Philadelphia Inquirer story:

http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/13808123.htm

This shines some light on why the Reading-based department store chain closed its store at the Franklin Mills mall in Philadelphia last week. Now that there are no more Boscov's stores within Philadelphia city limits, I wonder if the company will continue to host the city's annual Thanksgiving Day parade each year. If you're wondering who will be moving in to the former Franklin Mills location, rumor has it that a fast-growing clothing company called Steve and Barry's University Sportswear will be taking over that space. Incidentally, the first Steve and Barry's store, which opened in 1985, was a collegiate apparel store at the University of Pennsylvania.

Bush was shining in last night's State Of The Union address, at least for the first half of it. When Bush spoke about the war on terror, the Democrats were put in their place. The things that Democrats refused to applaud spoke volumes about who the Democrats are. When Bush said that we won't wait to get "hit again" by terrorists, the Democrats sat on their hands. When the president said that we were in the Iraq war to win, and that any decision to withdraw will be made by generals on the ground instead of politicians in Washington, the Democrats sat on their hands. When Bush stated that fewer abortions were being performed now than in the previous three decades, the Democrats sat on their hands. (So, are they really "pro-choice" rather than "pro-abortion"?). And when Bush criticized Congress for failing to act on social security reform, the Democrats -- loudly applauded and taunted the president! How mature! I will never be able to take Democrats seriously on the social security issue again; indeed, I'm not sure that I ever did anyway. The RNC should use that footage in Republican campaign commercials during this year's congressional election season (I'll bet Karl Rove is already working on ways to use it). When the president spoke of foreign policy, he was in top form, more relaxed than usual, yet looking like a true leader.

The second half of the speech was less impressive, as he spoke about domestic issues. His idea to research alternative energy sources to reduce our dependence on oil from unstable parts of the world sounded good, but such goals seem unlikely to be met. Many pundits are remarking that Bush is asking the Democrats to work with him in bipartisan fashion, but this is mainly political talk. The president knows full well that the Dems have no desire at all to work together; they only wish to be obstructionists without offering alternate ideas of their own. Still, this speech may make it more difficult for Democrats to convince people that Bush is a divider.

The Democratic response, delivered by Virginia Governor Tim Kaine, sounded more like a campaign speech by someone seeking office. This is not surprising, since Kaine has only been Virginia's governor for about two weeks. Kaine kept repeating the statement "there is a better way", which sounds suspiciously like the Kerry-Edwards campaign slogan "help is on the way". But he always failed to mention what the "better way" was. In what has become all too typical of Democrats, Kaine claimed that Bush was doing everything wrong with "poor choices and bad management", but offered no ideas on how to improve things. For someone who is being touted as a "rising new star" in the Democratic party, Kaine sure seems like more of the same old thing to me.

Democrats seem awfully confident that they will make significant gains in Congress this year, perhaps taking back one or more houses of Congress. Historically, such things have usually happened; during a president's second term, the opposition party usually makes gains in the mid-term elections. But the most recent case was an exception. During Bill Clinton's second term, when he was plagued by the Lewinsky scandal and impending impeachment, the Republicans didn't bother campaigning on ideas, assuming that the media was beating up on Clinton so badly that Republicans were guaranteed to make gains. But it didn't work that way; Republicans lost seats in Congress instead of gaining. The same thing can happen to Democrats, if they simply think that they will make gains because the press is beating on Bush, and they fail to offer new ideas of their own. Didn't they pay attention to what happened to John Kerry?

Plenty of political action at Oscars this year. Here's an article discussing the politics behind this year's Oscar nominations:

http://channels.netscape.com/news/story.jsp?id=2006013122380002916497&dt=20060131223800&w=RTR&coview=

Here's a good paragraph:

What remains to be seen is how the world -- and the bits of red state America between the coasts -- will respond to what is sure to be one of the bluest Oscarcasts in recent memory, especially with wise-cracking New York liberal Jon Stewart as host.

Personally, I live in a blue state (Pennsylvania), and I usually don't miss the Oscarcast, but I'm planning on missing it this year.