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Good T.V. -- The Dead Zone

Don't worry -- no spoilers here.  The Dead Zone returned to USA last Sunday at 10:00 p.m. with new episodes.  It was a pretty dramatic season opener.  Tonight's episode was good, too.  The show continues to impress me with its consistency.  Even though there are quite a few changes this season, they are sticking to the tried and true formula and I think it still works. If you have not watched the show, I highly recommend watching the DVDs of the previous seasons.  The show should still make sense, even to those not already familiar with it, though.

Nancy Drew, the movie

I took my daughters to see Nancy Drew today and we all loved it!  It was funny and interesting and cute and a perfect movie for girls of any age.  Probably boys of any age, too.  I just don't have any of those.  The Nancy Drew character makes it hip to be square.  Her sleuthing buddy, Corky, is hilarious.  The story is interesting enough that you want to know the secret behind the mystery (although it is pretty easy to predict who the good and bad guys are).  There are laughs at the "Martha Stewart"-like qualities that Nancy possesses, but never any ridiculing of all her positive attributes.  In other words, the movie does not make fun of the fact that Nancy is conscientious and honorable and honest and smart and modest and old-fashioned.  Well, there are a lot of jokes about it, but they are not laughing at those things, but at the reaction to someone who is those things.  I know I didn't explain that well, but it is just a really good movie and Nancy Drew is an excellent role model.  I go to a lot of kid movies and this is one of the best ones by far.   I took my six and ten year old daughters and one of their friends and they all loved it.  There was a girl I would guess to be around nine years old sitting in front of us with her mom and grandmother and they all laughed the entire time, too.   Lots of good, clean fun, but not so syrupy that it was corny or boring.  If you have a daughter, take her to this movie.

I should not have said kids of "all ages."  My only reservation is with very young kids.  My six year old was fine in the movie, but she has seen the Pirates of the Caribbean so she might not be the best guide.  It might have too many violent/scary scenes for a very young child that is easily frightened, but there is no blood or anything like that.   It is almost cartoonish violence, although a bomb does explode and Nancy is threatened to be shot (or strangled or stabbed -- it is a long story).  My younger daughter really enjoyed it because she has been reading Nancy Drew books this summer, but my ten year old liked it just as much.  I think I might have enjoyed it more than both of them.  Sorry to gush, but I really couldn't find anything that I didn't like about the movie.

Update:  The reviews are mixed.  I am really glad I didn't see them before seeing the movie.  In my opinion, those who hated the movie seemed to be expecting a film with some heavy significance.  It's just fun people!  Non-serious fun that it is safe to take your kids to see.  That is rare today and that is why I liked the movie so much.

Vice President Steele?

Check out my new column at Townhall about one of my favorite people in the world, Michael Steele.  I think he would make a great VP and expect he will be getting some buzz before long.

Operation AC

If you would like to do something to help our troops who are working 140 degree temps in the Middle East, consider donating to Operation AC.  Read CO Girl's post at Hang Right Politics for more info.

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to my dad and my husband and my brother-in-laws and all the other great dads out there.  Below is a picture of my dad and daughter at the beach a few years ago.

Working for Failure in Iraq

Harry Reid is working overtime trying to ensure defeat in Iraq.   Here is an excerpt from my Townhall column today.

The time for niceties has passed. The leaders of the Democratic party not only do not support the war effort, they do not want our troops to win and it is getting harder every day to pretend that they do.

Those in the field have noticed it, too. The L.A. Times recently reported: "Under a sweltering Iraqi sky, [Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis,commanding general of Marine Forces Central Command] asked for questions from his troops. Many were reluctant, but Marine Lance Cpl. Jack Kessel, 19,of Raleigh, N.C., stepped forward. Something had been gnawing at him as he and his buddies go about the business of winning hearts and minds in al-Anbar province: 'How are we supposed to fight a war when people back home say we've already lost?' "

Based on what I have observed, I would tell Lance Cpl.Kessel that many of those declaring the war already lost do not want him to fight. They are actively working for his defeat and they believe the sooner he stops fighting, the sooner that defeat will come. I realize that is an absolutely horrible thing to say, but I have come to believe it is true. Too much of the evidence I have seen in the past few months supports it.

Jules Crittenden is on the same wavelength, but he is putting his thoughts in bumper sticker language -- Just drop it.

Disagree without Destroying Each Other

Friday I linked to an Anchoress post about the tone of the recent debate on immigration.  Today at the Examiner I discuss the need for the GOP to learn how to disagree without destroying each other.

There were powerful arguments to be made on the facts, and some did just that. Unfortunately, though, some in the GOP decided the way to succeed was to revert to the tactics they have criticized those on the other side of the aisle for engaging in for so many years. I wonder if they realize how many supporters they risk alienating if they continue down the road of trading accusations like "traitor" and "bigot" in future debates.

I was drawn to the Republican Party as a teenager, and have happily remained a Republican, in large measure due to the tendency among its advocates to argue facts and appeal to logic, rather than solely emotion.

In the case of the recent immigration debate, the public desperately needed facts about the bill and its possible ramifications. In addition to facts, emotion does play an important role in political debate. Passion is what moves the public to call and write their congressmen and to venture out on a rainy day to vote. What too often passed as passion and factual debate on this issue, however, were attacks hurled from those on both sides of the issue.

Read the entire piece at The Examiner.

Mark Tapscott cites polls saying Congressional approval ratings are down for both parties and wonders whether a new party is needed.

Who are the "real" terrorists?

In my most recent column at Townhall, I help those confused about who the real terrorists are by giving them a few hints.

Remarkably there appear to be a growing number of people having trouble identifying who the "real terrorists" are. Here is a hint to help them. The real terrorists are the ones intentionally targeting innocent women and children, beheading as many Americans (and Jews) as they can get their hands on, and strapping bombs to their own small kids' bodies sending them out to blow themselves up for the cause.
...
In the months, and even for a few years, following September 11, the horror of the attacks was still fresh and the importance of strongly addressing the threat of Islamic jihadism was understood. Today a growing number of Americans entertain wild theories that it was not 19 jihadists that brought down the Twin Towers, but rather was forces within our own government. Almost six years later, with no additional attacks on U.S. soil, many have grown weary of the fight. Some now even refuse to recognize the threat. In 2003, Michael Moore famously denounced George Bush's "fictitious war." Four years later, John Edwards, a major candidate in the Democrat's presidential primary, said there was no war on terrorism - that it was just a "bumper sticker slogan."

Those in the government who have to review the daily threat assessments know that there is nothing fictitious, or "bumper sticker," about the terrorist threat. Those in Iraq discovering torture manuals in al Qaeda safe houses, or finding the mutilated bodies of their fellow soldiers tied to bombs, know that the terrorist threat is real. Hopefully it won't take another September 11 style attack on U.S. soil to remind those who have forgotten who the real terrorists are.

You can read the rest of the column at Townhall.com.

My Examiner Columns

There is now a column archive at the Examiner, making it much easier to access the columns I have written over the past year.  Please check it out and if you are not a regular Examiner reader, become one.  The paper is really good and getting better every day.