Robert Stacy McCain Heads to Iowa

See: "Memo From the National Affairs Desk: How’s the Weather Today in Vanuatu?"

Robert's been providing some excellent campaign coverage. And I'm interested in reports on the lead-up to the January 3rd  caucuses. It's coming down to the wire.

Plus, more McCain family videos at the link: "MERRY CHRISTMAS!"

'The Story of Israel: From Theodor Herzl to the Roadmap for Peace'

Well, somewhere in between bourbons, bon bons, and blog posts, I'm finding time to read one of the books I received for Christmas, Martin Gilbert's, The Story of Israel. I'll read more today and I'll also try to make it out to the movies with my boys. More on all of this later...

Kelly Brook Christmas Pictures

She's my favorite!

At London's Daily Mail, "'Look what came down the chimney': Santa looks very leggy this year in the form of Kelly Brook in a skimpy red dress."

Also, at The Sun, "Kelly Brook is a comedy cracker."

PHOTO CREDIT: Twitpic.

Queen Elizabeth Christmas Message 2011

At Telegraph UK, "The Queen's Christmas Message 2011":

In her traditional televised Christmas message, the Queen said she had been "inspired by the courage and hope" the royal family had witnessed in Britain and the Commonwealth in 2011.

RELATED: At London's Daily Mail, "Stunning Kate Is the Style Queen Sandringham."

Bears vs. Packers

Looking forward to tonight's game.

Some background at Bleacher Report, "Chicago Bears vs. Green Bay Packers Game Preview and Prediction":

The Chicago Bears (7-7) and the Green Bay Packers (13-1) will play tonight at Lambeau Field.

This marks the second time that the Bears and Packers will meet on Christmas night.

The last time they met on Christmas night was in 2005 when Chicago defeated Green Bay, 24-17.

Well, Green Bay can't afford that. See USA Today, "Three-and-out: Packers look to lock up home field vs. Bears." And at New York Times, "Once Beaten, Often Doubted, Packers Limp Into Game Against Bears":

On NBC last Sunday night, Tony Dungy — who led the Indianapolis Colts to a victory in Super Bowl XLI — said that if he were the coach of the Green Bay Packers, “I’d be worried right now.”

Dungy, however, is not Packers Coach Mike McCarthy.

“I feel very good about our football team,” McCarthy said after his team’s first loss of the season, 19-14, at Kansas City last Sunday. “We’re 13-1. Our team clearly understands the roller-coaster ride that everybody likes to take you on. We knew the ride would just go that way. So it’s important to stay in touch with reality.”

The reality is the Packers, who had won 19 consecutive games — the second-longest streak in N.F.L. history — lost for the first time in the calendar year. A defense that finished second in fewest points allowed last season has not performed anywhere close to that level this season — the Packers are tied for 14th in points allowed. It had not mattered, however, with quarterback Aaron Rodgers leading an offensive juggernaut that until last week was threatening the N.F.L.’s single-season scoring record established by the undefeated New England Patriots of 2007.

Continue reading.

Packers lingerie modelling by Leianna Kai.

Sunday Cartoons

See Flopping Aces, "Sunday Funnies."

Also at Reaganite Resistance, "Reaganite's CHRISTMAS Sunday Funnies," and Theo Spark, "Cartoon Round Up..."

Merry Christmas from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

From the Prime Minister of Israel:

Jerome Simpson Front-Flip Touchdown

At Los Angeles Times, "Jerome Simpson flip: A video clip that must be seen."

And at London's Daily Mail, "Is this the best touchdown ever? NFL star's amazing front flip lands him in history books (but he could be fined $25,000)."

Added: Ann Althouse has the NFL video, in case this YouTube gets pulled, "'Bengals WR Jerome Simpson flips over a Cardinals defender...'"

Merry Christmas From the Romneys

It's a nice touch:

'Home for the Holidays'

I've been meaning to post some Carly Foulkes Rule 5, and I was reminded of that by seeing this T-Mobile ad during yesterday's Chargers game.

Background here: "Magenta Meets New Directions For T-Mobile."

Merry Christmas!

BONUS: At American Perspective, "Rule 5 Aishwarya Rai."

Christmas in Bethlehem

At LAT, "Christmas Eve in Bethlehem: A hub of activity":

And at BBC, "Bethlehem Christmas: Christians celebrate Midnight Mass."

FedEx Guy Throws Computer Over Fence

Althouse has the video:

And at London's Daily Mail, "'This won't be his best day': FexEx vows to track down delivery man who tossed computer monitor over fence."

Victoria's Secret Holiday Rule 5

Jake Finnegan gets into the holiday spirit here: "Burkalesque Babes: We Wish You a Merry Christmas."

Also at Pirate's Cove, "If All You See…is a rising sea that will swamp the island, you might just be a Warmist." And Eye of Polyphemus, "Sara Underwood for Christmas Eve."

More at Gator Doug, "DaleyGator DaleyBabe Alina Kabaeva."

And really hot at Hookers and Booze, "Christmas Eve Hooker."

From Bob Belvedere, "Rule 5 Saturday: Carol Alt." And Randy's Rountable, "Thursday Nite Tart: Laura Acuna."

Also at Reaganite, "You Know Who's Kinda HAWT? Miss Argentina 2011 - Antonella Kruger!"

RELATED: At Blazing Cat Fur, "Silent Night," and Teresamerica, "Simply Magnificent - The First Noel by Jackie Evancho."

BONUS: At Wintery Knight, "The meaning of Christmas, from a Charlie Brown Christmas."

And at The Other McCain, "I DENOUNCE THIS ATROCITY!" (Check that link to see what's behind the curtain.)

Plus, I have some Christmas Day Rule 5 in the hopper, so drop your links in the comments to be added!

Why the Left Doesn't Mourn Vaclav Havel's Passing

From Ron Radosh, at PJMedia, "How the Left sees the Life of Vaclav Havel, and why they Do Not Mourn his Passing":

PJ Media readers know why we mourn the passing of Vaclav Havel. On this site, Michael Ledeen beautifully laid out the reasons why the world knows it has lost one of its greatest leaders. Ledeen put it in these words: “he was one of a handful of people who changed the world by fighting totalitarian Communism and then, having defeated it, inspired his people to rejoin the Western world, embrace capitalism, and support democratic dissidents everywhere.”

But now that a week or more have passed since Havel’s death, some on the Western Left have decided to let their true feelings about Havel out. Despite having to give some lip service to Havel’s integrity and what he accomplished, these men of the Left quickly get to what they really think: Havel helped destroy the great ideal of Communism as a worthy goal, and for that, he cannot be forgiven.

The most egregious is the article in the British paper The Guardian. The headline to Neil Clark’s article reads, “Another Side of the Story.” Clark immediately ties Havel up with another individual who has just passed way, Christopher Hitchens, whose “consecration” he strongly objects to. For Hitchens was, he writes, “ another ‘progressive’ opponent of the communist regimes of eastern Europe who found favour with Washington’s neocons.”

Clark does not question that Havel was “a brave man” who stood up for his views. That he cannot deny. It is Havel’s views, and his anti-Communism, that he detests. For Havel, he writes, did not help make his country “and the world, a better place.” In particular, denying everything we know about the nature of Stalinism in Eastern Europe — the repression, the bureaucracy, the lack of necessary consumer goods to lead a decent life, the ever pervasive secret police — he faults Havel for the following:

Havel’s anti-communist critique contained little if any acknowledgement of the positive achievements of the regimes of eastern Europe in the fields of employment, welfare provision, education and women’s rights. Or the fact that communism, for all its faults, was still a system which put the economic needs of the majority first.

Surely Mr. Clark must be kidding. Has he not read any of the scores of books revealing the nature of life under what his comrades then called “really existing socialism”? Does he not realize that all these so-called “positive achievements” were there mainly in the minds of the state and Party propaganda apparatus, and that the only people to have them were the Party’s apparatchiks? Does he really believe that communism put the needs of “the majority first”? What accounts, then, for the scores of brave crowds who swept Havel into office, and who openly taunted the regime’s spokesmen as liars and no different than the Nazis who ruled before them?

Clark does not stop with the above. In true Communistpeak, he attacks Havel as “the son of a wealthy entrepreneur,” in other words used by the Maoists of the day, a “capitalist roader.” How dare the son of a bourgeois merchant becomes a national hero? Havel, to Clark, as to the comrades who ruled for decades, had no right to power, since he came from the hated capitalist class.

Continue reading.

Also, from Darleen at Protein Wisdom, "Pining for the fjords Communism." Hammering Whoopi Goldberg's comments on communism, Darleen adds:

The base misanthropy of collectivist advocates is glaringly clear. From communism [international collectivism] to national socialism [national collectivism], these are anti-human systems that declare individuals are not sovereign beings with inherent rights, but units that live at the pleasure of the regime. A regime that decides what needs are to be met and who will be sentenced to fulfilling those needs.

Remember that as Obama and statist Democrats continue their attempts to fundamentally transform America.

Freakin' murderous asshats.

The War on Christmas

From Blazing Cat Fur:

Plus, at Telegraph UK, "The War on Christmas is real, and the atheist barbarians are winning it."

BONUS: At Lonely Conservative, "Random Ramblings – Christmas Edition."

Bikini Christmas!

'Tis the season:

And I don't see a 2011 Lucy Pinder Christmas video, but here's one from a couple of years ago.

Merry Christmas!

New Air Jordans Cause Race Riots Across the United States

That's hardly exaggerating.

See the headline at Edmonton Journal, "New Air Jordan shoes cause shopping frenzy in Seattle, across U.S."

And at Small Dead Animals, "The Decline and Fall of the American Empire."

Added: At London's Daily Mail, "Arrests, pepper spray, brawls and doors pulled off hinges: Chaos at stores across U.S. as thousands of shoppers scramble for new Air Jordans."

Tricks for Roasting a Juicy Prime Rib

We'll be having tri-tip steak and lobster for Christmas dinner, but prime rib sure sounds good.

At Los Angeles Times, "How to roast a prime rib."

The Rise and Fall of Communism

I'm reading Archie Brown's book, which I enthusiastically recommend for your holiday gift giving. See the link at Amazon. And the Telegraph review is here: "Simon Heffer praises a book by Archie Brown that strips away the romance of communism."

And more: Shop Amazon's Holiday Book Deals.

Bey Blade Shopping

My son loves Hell Kerbecs.

More here: Shop Amazon's Holiday Toy List.