Comments on those I've read:

I enjoyed the Harry Potter books more than the movies in general, but she definitely could have used a better editor later in the series. Many of those books went on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on. And on.

The Lord of the Rings movies were better than the books, but I think that's largely because battles scenes in movies are so cool.

Neither the movie or the book Wizard of Oz did much for me.

The novel The Princess Bride is really not that good. The movie is sooooo much better. The same lines that were hilarious in the movie didn't cause a reaction when I read them in the book.

I had read an article, I believe in the News-Journal, about how many shows had declined in quality since the end of the writer's strike. It seemed to me that they just needed time to get back into the swing of things and get into their writing groove. That certainly seems to be what happened with The Office. Some of the great moments from last night's episode:

* Holly, the new HR representative, may just be the perfect woman for Michael, without being a complete freak, which speaks to a great job on imagining the character.
* Dwight deciding that putting a raccoon in Holly's car was a legitimate means of hazing her was absolutely brilliant, and so in character for someone who's lived on a farm his whole life.
* The additional hazing prank of convincing Holly that Kevin was mentally handicapped and a special program was a sitcom staple, but they executed it brilliantly without having to take Kevin out of character as often happens on sitcoms in similar situations.
* The unexpected proposal to Angela by Andy was a nice trick to hold off on Jim proposing to Pam. Angela's grudging acceptance, which as the epilogue confirmed was directed more at Dwight than Andy, was very in character.
* Ryan's arrest on corporate fraud charges was unexpected and it will be interesting to see what happens with him in the coming season, if they refer to him again. (It cracks me up that he still gets referred to as "the temp," even though he now outranks Michael.) They had clearly hinted that he was up to something shady, but I had thought, as most of the characters seemed to, that he was merely trying to make the website look good, as opposed to double-counting sales.
* Toby still can't get over Pam.
* Jan's pregnancy was a surprise, and frankly, a little disappointing. Given the decline in her character, I would have preferred her character to fade into the sunset. Maybe they can revive her. Let's hope so.

So, The Office hit its stride again, just in time for the show to end.

Last night's Lost was a great episode as well; it's a shame we have to wait two weeks to see what happens. The previews for the season finale seemed to imply we'd see how the Oceanic 6 got rescued. Does that mean we get to see why those six are the only ones to make it off the island? It seems like a random collection of people to make it off the island at the expense of others, although, for example, I can see Sawyer with his recent personal growth letting others go at the expense of his freedom. Jin, similarly, would die to help Sun escape. But Sayid and Jack have been all about risking themselves to get the others off the island. Sayid even said in last season's finale he was wiling to sacrifice his life if it would help the others escape, so why are they on the plane to Hawaii?

Also, how huge was the settlement from Oceanic that Sun was able to buy a controlling interest in her father's company? Given that we know from past episodes that Sun lies like some people breathe, here's a few possibilities:

1) She, and the rest of the Oceanic 6, were paid handsomely by Dharma/Ben/Widmore/somebody to keep the island secret. Although, I can't see Hurley agreeing to that given his distaste for money.
2) Widmore/someone helped her do it for some reason.
3) She already had a lot of her own money from Daddy, and the two combined to give her enough to pull it off.

I favor #2, because of the beginning of the scene where she informed her father of her controlling of his company. One of his employees made a comment about money coming from 5 different banks. Sun's no dummy, but I tend to doubt she was that financially astute as to pull that off.

One downside of the flash-forwards is that we know that, for example, Jack is in no danger as he heads to meet the commandos. Sawyer might be, but we know Jack will survive, (I think I speak for most people when I say I wish it was the other way around.)

Still, a great episode overall, and I can't wait for two Thursdays from now so I can get all ramped up and see what cliffhanger I'll have to deal with for seven months or so.

But when President Bush gives a speech talking about generic appeasers of dictators, and the Democrats immediately publicly attack him for criticizing them, even though he mentioned no names, it makes you wonder if the "Stupid Party" label has been misapplied.

UPDATE: And the Senator who thought he could talk Hitler out of war? William Borah, a Republican. The Democrats are essentially self-identifying themselves as appeasers by their reaction to this speech.

Q: Mr. President, I know you're going to hate this, but I'm hoping that we may twist your arm and talk about baseball for just a moment. (Laughter.) Mr. President, you're a Major League Baseball team owner again. Everyone is a free agent. You have a Yankees-like wallet. Who is your first position player? Who's your pitcher?

THE PRESIDENT: That's a great question. I like Ottley [sic] from the Philadelphia Phillies. He's a middle infielder, which is always -- you know, they say you have strength up the middle -- there's nothing better than having a good person up the middle that can hit. And Roy Halladay from the Toronto Blue Jays is a great pitcher. He's a steady guy, he burns up innings.

I enjoyed this video, but felt a little pain seeing the last out of the 1983 Series and seeing them celebrate their win over the Phils.

Hat Tip: The Corner

If you're like me and have the reference is to, here's the relevant verses:

When two men are fighting and the wife of one intervenes to save her husband from the blows of his opponent, if she stretches out her hand and seizes the latter by his private parts,

you shall chop off her hand without pity.

My hunch: it's God's saying "Hands off the nards" is always a good policy.

More likely: just another emphasis on the need for women to refrain from getting to close to a man other than her husband.

In response to the direct question of the poster, it's most likely a law specifically for the Jews that is not binding on Christians today. But "hands off the nards" probably is.

According to a summary of all the amendments, Sen. Bunning wants:

“to stop the bailout of the rich”
“to prevent the bailout of illegal aliens”
“to prevent the bailout of homeowners who used their homes as a credit card”
“to stop the bailout of sex offenders”
“to stop the bailout of drug offenders”

Another of Sen. Bunning’s amendments would change the name of the bill from “The Federal Housing Finance Regulatory Reform Act of 2008” to the “Bailout of Irresponsible Lenders and Borrowers Act of 2008.”

"The urge to save humanity is almost always a false-face for the urge to rule it." - H. L. Mencken

"Here are the Obama rules in detail: He can't be called a 'liberal' ('the same names and labels they pin on everyone,' as Obama puts it); his toughness on the war on terror can't be questioned ('attempts to play on our fears'); his extreme positions on social issues can't be exposed ('the same efforts to distract us from the issues that affect our lives' and 'turn us against each other'); and his Chicago background too is off-limits ('pouncing on every gaffe and association and fake controversy'). Besides that, it should be a freewheeling and spirited campaign." - Rich Lowry

"No one bothers to consider what those working whites in North Carolina, Indiana and the other big states that Mr. Obama couldn't win find suspicious about the man from Illinois. Maybe it's the company he keeps in Chicago, the crazy bigoted preacher, the unrepentant and unredeemed terrorists, the sleazy slumlords. Maybe the working stiffs don't trust his wife, who decided America was OK only when it looked like Americans might reward her with a lease on a big house on Pennsylvania Avenue. Maybe it's the mystery about the why and how he keeps so much hidden in the shadows. Maybe it's the change they can't believe in." - Wesley Pruden

"We pick presidents for their judgment and values. Anything that gives us a clue as to what those might be is not only fair game, it is the game." - Jonah Goldberg

"[John] McCain should begin identifying people who have overcome poverty and let them tell their stories of how they did it. Those stories are better than the stories of people mired in poverty, largely because of wrong decisions, who are doomed to remain there because they've been told the best they can hope for is a government check. Success becomes an example for others to follow." - Cal Thomas

"After the coldest April in 11 years, John McCain offers a 'market friendly' approach to global warming- saying we 'have a genius for adapting, solving problems.' But shouldn't the problems be real?...[W]e were disappointed when, at an Oregon wind turbine manufacturer on Monday, [McCain] seemed to embrace the shaky environmentalist position on global warming. Saying the costs of our reliance on fossil fuels 'have added up now in the atmosphere, in the oceans and all across the natural world,' he proposed that by 2050, the U.S. should reduce CO2 emissions to a level 60% below that emitted in 1990. The question is, why? Cold water was thrown on the climate-change disaster hypothesis by the National Climate Data Center's recent announcement that last month was the coldest April in more than a decade and the 29th coolest since record keeping began 114 years ago. The average temperature was 1 degree cooler than the average April temperature of the entire 20th century. A few weeks ago, as North America was emerging from one of its coldest and snowiest winters in decades, the climate center issued a statement saying that snow cover on the Eurasian land mass had been the most extensive ever recorded, and that this March had been only the 63rd warmest since 1895. On April 24, the World Wildlife Fund published a study, based on last September's data, showing that Arctic ice had shrunk from 13 million square kilometers to just 3 million. What the WWF omitted was that by March the Arctic ice had recovered to 14 million square kilometers and that the ice cover around the Bering Strait and Alaska was at the highest level ever recorded... We were pleased that McCain endorsed nuclear power as a pollution-free source of energy that can help us toward energy independence while reducing emissions. But the fact is that we will need more energy, not less, by 2050, from all sources. Both economic and technological growth will demand more... Global warming is debatable, both as to its causes and its effects. By taking the lead on domestic energy, McCain could help solve a real problem and make a clear distinction between himself and his head-in-the-tundra opponents." - Investor's Business Daily

"Taking the high road is the high-minded approach to campaigning, but the high road can lead to disappointing places. That's why successful pols usually look for alternate routes, just in case." - Wesley Pruden

Those were the days....

-- Alexander Hamilton (Federalist No. 70, 14 March 1788)

Reference: The Federalist

"Men naturally rebel against the injustice of which they are victims. Thus, when plunder is organized by law for the profit of those who make the law, all the plundered classes try somehow to enter- by peaceful or revolutionary means- into the making of laws. According to their degree of enlightenment, these plundered classes may propose one of two entirely different purposes when they attempt to attain political power: Either they may wish to stop lawful plunder, or they may wish to share in it." - Frederic Bastiat

"Time magazine has published another one of those silly and meaningless lists some in the media occasionally and irritatingly compile to validate their self-importance. It is the 100 - most influential people in the world.’... Who on Time’s list fits the definition of - influential’? Not Tim Russert, who is a terrific interviewer, but how much influence could he have at 11 a.m. on a Sunday morning when millions are in church? - If it’s Sunday, it is Meet the Press’ he signs off every week. No, if it’s Sunday, for more people than watch his program, it is church. Why is Mayor Michael Bloomberg on the list? Most of the world’s people don’t live in New York City, though on Friday afternoons while trying to escape by plane or car it sometimes seems that way. Maybe he’s influential because of the high taxes and high tolls over which he presides. Tony Blair?... George Clooney? Chris Rock?... Oprah Winfrey?... I wonder why Jesus of Nazareth never makes the list? Over 20 centuries, uncounted numbers have testified to changed lives upon meeting Him. Changing a life from what it was to something better is real influence, isn’t it? ... John McCain, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are on Time’s list of the most influential, but only the one who wins the election will have a chance to influence us. Even then, presidents only marginally influence our opinions, most of which we already hold before they are elected. Presidents rarely influence our actions or behavior, except when we don’t like what they do. Time’s newspaper ad says these - most influential people are changing the world and making history.’ Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie? I don’t think so." - Cal Thomas

"The line between judicial - activism’ and due deference is not determined by whether one always lets elected branches get their way, but rather by whether a judge will defer to the clear language of the Constitution regardless of whether that means affirming legislative or executive action or overturning it. Sometimes a judge is being activist by refusing to overturn a congressional action despite a lack of constitutional authority for that action, merely because the judge happens to agree with the policy Congress has enacted... The very problem is that too many judges want to ensure that - no interest is served except the interest of justice.’ The problem is that what one man considers justice is often in conflict with the law, and that too many judges want to put their ideas of justice above the law’s dictates. But Oliver Wendell Holmes was right to upbraid a friend who urged him to - do justice.’ His answer: - That is not my job, sir. My job is to apply the law’." - Quin Hillyer

"Here are my questions: In 1970, when environmentalists were making predictions of manmade global cooling and the threat of an ice age and millions of Americans starving to death, what kind of government policy should we have undertaken to prevent such a calamity? When Ehrlich predicted that England would not exist in the year 2000, what steps should the British Parliament have taken in 1970 to prevent such a dire outcome? In 1939, when the U.S. Department of the Interior warned that we only had oil supplies for another 13 years, what actions should President Roosevelt have taken? Finally, what makes us think that environmental alarmism is any more correct now that they have switched their tune to manmade global warming?" - Walter Williams

"[I]n the name of fairness, the [Democrat] party has continued to encumber itself with a set of rules that prevents two equally popular candidates like Clinton and Obama from ever truly winning a primary. In Democrat primaries, there are no winner-take-all elections. This creates a situation where a candidate can win what would, under any other circumstances, be considered a landslide (say, 60-40) and walk away with very few more delegates than the loser. This arcane system is a microcosm of socialist thinking. In the eternal utopia of the liberal mind, no one should really win or lose. No one should have more than anyone else. Everything should be equally distributed. In fact, equality of opportunity means nothing, while equality of result means everything. Anyone who gets ahead must be penalized. As in their primary elections, no matter how hard you work, no matter how much you prosper, no matter how diligently you plan, you will never get beyond a certain point. To allow you to do so would be unfair." - Doug Patton

-- John Adams (letter to Zabdiel Adams, 21 June 1776)

Reference: Our Sacred Honor, Bennett, pg. 371.