Tears of laughter or Tears of joy for this ridiculousness?

`Tea party' activists eagerly await Palin's words

By LIZ SIDOTI, Associated Press Writer Liz Sidoti, Associated Press Writer 1 hr 46 mins ago

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – These are Sarah Palin's people. Just ask them.

At the mere mention of her name, "tea party" activists light up and whip out "Saracudda" buttons — a play off her "Sara Barracuda" nickname from her high school basketball team in Alaska.

With a dash of familiarity, many say they didn't vote for Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., in 2008 — they voted for "Sarah." Quite a few see her as the right person to carry their limited-government, low-tax, freedom-fighting mantle — if only she wanted it.

"She is the one," says Loren Nelson of Seattle. "And she's gonna do it."

Maybe.

The 2008 GOP vice presidential nominee isn't saying whether she'll run for president in 2012.

In fact, Republican observers say she's seemingly done more lately to establish herself as a political celebrity focused on publicity rather than a political candidate focused on policy.

If she does launch a White House bid, she has a natural constituency with this anti-establishment grass-roots network that's motivated by anger over the growth of government, budget-busting spending and President Barack Obama's policies.

In her latest media blitz since her "Going Rogue" book release last fall and the publicity tour that went with it, Palin was booked to give to give the keynote address Saturday night for the inaugural national "tea party" convention — a gathering of 600 activists from across the country.

Her fee is $100,000 for the appearance at the for-profit event. That sum has led to criticism from even some activists that it runs counter to the coalition's image and could preclude people from attending.

Palin struck back at critics in a column in USA Today, saying she weighed whether to participate.

"My decision came down to this: It's important to keep faith with people who put a little bit of their faith in you. Everyone attending this event is a soldier in the cause," she wrote. "I made a commitment to them to be there, and I am going to honor it."

Without elaborating, she says she won't benefit financially from speaking at the convention and any compensation from the appearance "will go right back to the cause."

"The soul of the Tea Party is the people who belong to it," Palin says. "They have the courage to stand up and speak out ... They believe in the same principles that guided my work in public service."

She called the "tea party" mentality an organic effort, a ground-up call to action. Because of that, she said, "the process may not always be pretty or perfect, but the message is loud and clear: We want a government worthy of the fine Americans that it serves."

The former Alaska governor also planned to tape an interview Saturday to air on "Fox News Sunday," the network where's been employed as a contributing analyst since January. Then it was off to Texas on Sunday to campaign for GOP Gov. Rick Perry, who is facing a bitter primary challenge from Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison.

Next month, she will speak at a rally in Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid's hometown of Searchlight, Nev., to kick off the Tea Party Express III tour. In April, she heads to Boston for "tea party" gathering there around the one-year anniversary of the coalition that began last spring.

Yesterday, Howard Zinn ("A People's History of the United States"). Today, J.D. Salinger ("The Catcher in the Rye").

The world has lost two great voices, but their impacts live on.

Both forced ordinary people to think outside the box.

Is there any epitaph more great?

Each day that passes since the Eagles' annual demise -- and subsequent cliche-laden platitudes that take the wind of out the sails of those of us hoping for the substantive change that will get us over the hump -- off-season hope grows.

The blogosphere is abuzz with speculation that makes Donovan McNabb all but a goner, which A-OK here. He had his time, and his chances, and has climbed to the top of the franchise's run-of-the-mill chart by collecting numbers in a pass-happy offense. He has also done a lot of his best work against bad teams, particularly since his one Super Bowl appearance.

He is about to play in his sixth pro bowl (although most of those appearances have been as a replacement for the QB who side-stepped that given year en route to the Super Bowl).

McNabb has a lot of chips -- ones the Eagles will hopefully cash in for trade value -- that still cannot buy him a Super Bowl ring at the NFL's high-end jewelry counter.

It has been written that this Sunday's Pro Bowl may very well be the last time that McNabb wears an Eagles' helmet (players wear their team's helmets in the Pro Bowl).

It is what goes under the helmet that just won't fix -- not here, not anymore. He has shown physical toughness by playing through injuries, but McNabb's mental fortitude -- his willingness to get tough in crunch time -- just isn't there.

Example: When center Jamaal Jackson went down with a season-ending injury, McNabb bemoaned it beyond what was needed in order to quickly move on to a showdown Dallas that set the stage for a quick playoff exit. It was in his head that there would be a bad exchange -- either on a snap or in the shotgun formation -- and, sure enough, McNabb's self-fulfilling prophecy of doom came to be at a crucial time.

Enough, I declare.

I was as big a McNabb supporter as there was the first half of his career. I have his jersey in my closet and one my cats his named after him.

My opinion began to change during the 2006 season when Jeff Garcia came in and ran the offense the way I had not seen it run previously -- until Kevin Kolb did the same in two starts this year.

So, here we go. I personally think there are more teams that would like to have McNabb, at the right price, than those being commonly mentioned -- Arizona, Cleveland and Minnesota.

I can see Arizona, as McNabb's spends his downtime there either bulking up with muscle or losing weight to add quickness -- depending on the year and his mood -- although that franchise has kept Matt Leinert on ice a while (kind of like Kolb, the guy whose career McNabb has quietly sought to sabotage).

As is the case with Arizona, the theoretical need for a quarterback is based on a retirement. The difference Kurt Warner is going to do the right thing at the right time, doing right by the league and the Cardinals, while diva Brett Favre will surely do the opposite in Minnesota after turning into himself at a vital time in the NFC title game.

Favre had not yet taken his fake limp into the locker room to meet with his ESPN sycophants to plot the offseason drama when speculation about McNabb going to Minnesota -- thus reuniting him with former offensive coordinator, Brad Childress -- kicked into high gear.

While it makes sense on paper, including the late first-round pick that is about what McNabb is worth, it makes no sense otherwise. The Eagles were in the championship game last year, beating a quarterback-starved Minnesota team in the first round. This year, the Eagles were the team exiting in the wild card round and Minnesota was the one losing a championship game it should have and could have won. Why would the Eagles help another team with Super Bowl aspirations stay on a par? Not going to happen, period. While McNabb is McNabb, and will always be McNabb, he would have it good in Minnesota. He would have a consistent running game and powerful defense to overcome his bouts of on-field depression. I just don't see his next life being lived in that northern town -- not unless the Eagles have a death wish.

That leaves Cleveland -- although the 49ers and Carolina Panthers are two teams on the precipice of making the playoffs and might believe, falsely, that McNabb can get them there -- as the best bet.

The Browns stink, but need a PR jolt. McNabb will struggle there without weapons, which will be hilarious to watch from afar. Cleveland's second-round pick (high in the round, because they stink), along with another in the middle rounds -- and maybe one of their two overpaid QBs, Derek Anderson or Brady Quinn, to be Kolb's backup -- would do the trick.

Will it? Who knows? The frustrating part is that it is all out of hands. But it's all good.
This is what makes the off-season fun. You can dream, instead of dealing with weekly thuds of reality that hit the ground as hard as a McNabb bounce pass to an open wide receiver at a key part of a crucial game.

Perhaps there is some justice in this world. Merry Christmas, America ...

Balloon boy parents get jail time, tough probation

By P. SOLOMON BANDA, Associated Press Writer P. Solomon Banda, Associated Press Writer 10 mins ago

FORT COLLINS, Colo. – The parents who carried out the balloon boy hoax were sentenced to jail Wednesday and given strict probation conditions that forbid them from earning any money from the spectacle for four years.

Richard Heene was sentenced to 90 days in jail, including 60 days of work release that will let him pursue his job as a construction contractor while serving his time. His wife, Mayumi, was sentenced to 20 days in jail.

Richard Heene choked back tears as he said he was sorry, especially to the rescue workers who chased down false reports that his 6-year-old son had floated away in a balloon on Oct. 15. It was a stunt designed to generate attention for a reality TV show.

"I do want to reiterate that I'm very, very sorry. And I want to apologize to all the rescue workers out there, and the people that got involved in the community. That's it," said Richard Heene, whose wife did not speak at the hearing.

Larimer County District Judge Stephen Schapanski then ordered Heene to begin a 30-day jail term on Jan. 11, delaying the start of the sentence for two weeks so he can spend the holidays with his family. Schapanski allowed Heene to serve the remaining 60 days of his jail term under work release, meaning he can work during the day but spend his nights in jail.

The Heenes' probation will be revoked if they are found to be profiting from any book, TV, movie or other deals related to the stunt.

"This, in simple terms, was an elaborate hoax that was devised by Mr. and Mrs. Heene," the judge said.

The Heenes pleaded guilty to charges that they carried out the balloon hoax, with deals that called for up to 90 days in jail for the husband and 60 days for his wife.

Schapanski ordered Mayumi Heene to serve 20 days in jail after her husband completes his sentence. Her time served is flexible — she can report to jail on 10 weekends, for example — so the children are cared for, the judge said.

Prosecutors asked for the maximum sentence for the husband, saying that a message needs to be sent to promoters who attempt to carry out hoaxes to generate publicity. Chief Deputy District Attorney Andrew Lewis also asked for full restitution to reimburse authorities for the cost of investigating the hoax — an amount that could exceed $50,000.

"People around the world were watching this unfold," he said. "Mr. Heene wasted a lot of manpower and a lot of money in wanting to get himself some publicity."

He added, "Jay Leno said it best when he said, 'This is copycat game.' And people will copycat this event. (The Heenes) need to go to jail so people don't do that."

He portrayed the Heenes as growing increasingly desperate as their pitches for a reality TV show kept getting turned down by networks — and the family fell deeper into a financial hole. Lewis said the Heenes set in motion the balloon hoax in early October as a way to jumpstart the effort and get some attention.

They chose Oct. 15 because the weather was cooperating and the kids were home for school with parent-teacher conferences, allowing the Heenes to report that 6-year-old Falcon had floated away, Lewis said.

Once the parents were brought in for questioning, Richard Heene feigned sleep during the lie-detector test, claiming it was some sort of diabetic episode, Lewis said.

David Lane, Richard Heene's attorney, pleaded for leniency with the judge and said that the couple "have learned a lesson they will never forget for the rest of their lives." He also said that if someone has to go to jail, let it be Richard Heene and not his wife.

"That is his plea. That would be something of a Christmas miracle if that can occur," he said.

Dreaming of a white Christmas?
Well, you got it. Deal with the consequences.
And do the "Christian" thing, if you dare. Shovel an elderly person's driveway, stay off the road unless it's emergency so that PennDOT can do its thing, etc.
Have a merry one!

Gulp!
The first time it happened, I thought it was an involuntary reaction. I felt ashamed, but dismissed it as such.
It happened again, so I better come clean.
I'm cheering when Michael Vick scores a touchdown, or makes a big play -- neither of which was happened much through the fist two-thirds of the Eagles season.
Do I still wish they never signed him? Yes.
But since he's here, what the hay ...

Snubbed again ...
Johnny Depp named the Sexiest Man Alive.
Just wait 'til next year!