A GREAT TIME LAST NIGHT

Belinda and I will be doing the show from the Norwalk studios of two of our Connecticut stations, WSTC and WNLK, Stamford and Norwalk. We flew up here yesterday to meet with some contest winners for a little food and libations, a great Q&A session, and a book signing. It was times like last night that make me feel so blessed to be doing what I do for a living (if you want to call $75 a day and all the old tape carts I can recycle a living). We got to spend about three hours interacting with a really wonderful group of Connecticut listeners. I want to thank those of you in attendance last night for your graciousness, and Robin Faller and the gang at WSTC/WNLK for your great hospitality.

Next week we get to travel to Dayton for a WHIO gathering on Thursday night, then to Norfolk, Virginia to broadcast from the WNIS Talkfest 2006!

WHAT DO I HAVE TO DO TO BE THE "WORSEST?"

To be labeled the "worse, worser or worsest" person in the world by Keith Olbermann is nothing short of a badge of honor. When a bed-wetting liberal like Olbermann thinks that I have said something wrong, then clearly I have tweaked some liberal sensitivities ... thus making my day.

Here's what Olbermann had to say about me on his MSNBC program last night in his "worse, worser and worsest" segment:

"But the winner, radio commentator Neal Boortz, who said that offering counseling to kids traumatized by shootings in schools was just an attempt to sell them on the idea that government is, quote, 'responsible for everything.' He said there should not have been counseling offered to the students at Columbine. 'I had a friend,' Boortz said, 'that died of Leukemia. Never once did they run a bunch of damn counselors into the school the next day to assist me in getting my feelings out about this issue.' Yeah, Neal, and look how good you turned out. Neal Boortz, today's 'Worst Person in the World.'"

Right you are, Mr. O. But let me be a bit more clear than you were on your segment. My position is that it is not good for the government to offer psychological counseling to children in government schools. The psychological welfare of our children is the primary responsibility of their parents, not the government. I went through 12 years of government education without once arriving at my government school to find that psychological counselors were lying in wait to help me through some trauma. I truly believe that there is a concerted effort here to make our schools more and more of a replacement for parents. The ultimate goal here is to train our youngsters that in times of personal stress or upset it is to the government they should turn, not their families or their friends. Olbermann, of course, is one of those who believes that America is great because of government. It's no wonder that he isn't happy that I don't share his fondness for that one entity in our live!

Hey, my friends ... I'll keep working for that Olbermann "worsest" award. At least I have his attention.

WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO BITE THE BULLET -- IT'S JUST A MATTER OF TIME

Belinda and I flew commercial to LGA yesterday for our event last night in Stamford, Ct. I didn't like the weather, so I decided to let the pros handle the heavy lifting. On the way up here I was talking to an airline executive. The conversation turned to fuel prices. Did you know that Delta Airlines has lost about $14 billion since January 2001? Virtually every other airline is losing money also. This airline executive told me that fuel costs used to account for about 15% of operating costs. Today fuel costs are 40%.

The airlines have no option here but to raise their ticket prices. Every time they sell a ticket they lose money. These are private businesses and they simply cannot afford to continue operating at a loss like this. The problem is, if one airlines raises their prices to cover the increased fuel costs, the other airlines will eat their lunch. They either all have to do it together, or those with a stronger cash position will eat the weak. Frankly, I'm stumped! We, the travelers, are going to have to pay eventually .. but what can be done to save these airlines? And no .. it's not the government's job to intervene.

HOW LOW CAN IT GO?

It seems that the president's approval ratings are down again, and they're asking this morning just how low President Bush's approval rating can go. Well ... I guess that depends. On what? OK ... here's a short list of just a few things:

• How long the media can go without reporting the good things that are happening in Iraq.
   
• How long Bush can go without responding positively to those eight out of ten Americans who want the border between Mexico and the United States secured! And that means SHUT DOWN!
   
• How long the media can go without accurately and enthusiastically reporting to the American people that our economy is strong and growing and that household net worth and home ownership is at an all-time high.
   
• How long Bush can go without actually vetoing a spending bill from this free-spending Republican-controlled congress.

Well .. that took just a few seconds. Give me some time and I could add quite a few more points, but I'm hungry and it's time for breakfast.

A BIT OF GOOD NEWS

The efforts of a Gwinnett County (Georgia) woman to force her religious viewpoints and prejudices on the county's school system have failed. Laura Mallory wanted all of the Harry Potter books to be removed from the libraries in the Gwinnett County schools. She says that they were offensive to her religious beliefs. Somehow it never occurred to Ms. Mallory that all she needed to do was to make sure that her own personal kids didn't read those books. That, however, wasn't good enough for Ms. Mallory. She wanted to make sure that not only her kids didn't have access to the books, but that everyone else's kids couldn't get them either.

Well .. I'm please to report that the Gwinnett County school board voted unanimously to keep the books in the libraries. One school board member said "At the very heart of this issue is censorship. Our students do understand the difference between fact and fiction."

So --- today I feel just a little bit better about government education ... at least in Gwinnett County. I wonder where Laura Mallory would have carried her censorship campaign next if she had been victorious in the Gwinnett County schools?

THE AJC VENT -- SOMETHING NICE TO SAY ABOUT TALK RADIO?

You've seen me mention "The Vent" in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution before. It's a daily feature where the pithy short comments phoned in my readers are printed. For some reason today's Vent has some nice things to say about talk radio?

What happens to the brain that makes one prefer talk radio to music? Maturity makes you realize there are several sides to important issues, and understanding these viewpoints is more important than dumbing down to numbing rhythm and infantile lyrics The music choices today are rap and crap. Talk radio is better.

Thanks! It's so nice to be loved.

ANOTHER YEAR --- NO INVITATION

How many years has it been now? Thirty-seven years of talk radio. Now in my eighth year of syndication. A number 1 New York Times bestseller to my shared-credit. Yet no invitation to deliver a commencement speech at a college or university! What do I have to do? Develop ties to a terrorist organization? Preach the gospel of big government?

TROOPS TO THE BORDER? IT'S ABOUT TIME

With 8 out of 10 Americans wanting our border with Mexico shut down, it may just be that the politicians in Washington are starting to listen. Or at least maybe somebody at the Pentagon doesn't have their head stuck up their you know what. It all started yesterday. The House voted to allow the Pentagon to help the Department of Homeland Security secure the border.

Well! Let's get right to it. Our border with Mexico is 1,952 miles long...and spans four states. Let's send all the troops that aren't in Iraq down there to stop the invasion of illegal aliens. The orders could be simple: our border is shut down....anyone caught trying to cross will be stopped. Any one that fires on our troops will be treated like a hostile invading force. should stop the influx.

So now the Pentagon is working on a plan to send the National Guard down there to help. It's about time. The governors of the four border states have been jumping up and down for months asking for help from the feds. After all, it is the responsibility of the federal government to protect the borders.

Now there will be opposition to this. Some will say the Posse Comitatus Act prohibits federal troops from conducting law enforcement duties. They're wrong. They're stopping an invasion. If we can't use troops to stop an invasion, what can we use them for?

Besides...remember when Bush Senior sent the Marines to Los Angeles to put down the L.A. riots? It's been done before.

THE NSA PHONE DATABASE

Boy, it's really hit the fan over this NSA wiretapping database. USA Today is reporting that the federal government has been keeping phone records on tens of millions of Americans, all with the help of AT&T, Verizon and (soon to be part of AT&T again) Bellsouth. Supposedly, the arrangement is that the calls are not listened to or recorded. Evidently the NSA analyzes the calling data...numbers dialed, duration and so forth...to detect any terrorist activity. Sort of like credit card companies tracking your spending patterns to search for fraud.

The president came out yesterday and insisted nothing was amiss, saying "The government does not listen to domestic phone calls without court approval. We're not mining or trolling through the personal lives of millions of innocent Americans." Members of Congress weren't swayed...lawmakers from both parties are quite upset. Expect investigations with the phone companies being hauled before Congress.

But people shouldn't be surprised. This has been going on for decades. The NSA was created in 1952 by Harry Truman, and has been spying ever since. In fact, there was a scandal 30 years ago that showed the NSA had been wiretapping for 20 years. It is outrageous that the government can do all of this without a warrant, but only a fool would believe they never do.

The moral of the story? Watch what you say into a telephone...because big brother might be listening --- or your husband could be on the extension.

HOWARD DEAN PUTS FOOT IN MOUTH

Hard times continue down at the DNC...this time for Democratic Chairman Howard Dean. He's in trouble with gay Americans. Here's the long and the short of what happened. In an interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network, Dean pointed out that the 2004 Democratic platform said marriage was between a man and a woman. Dean was trying to pander to the evangelicals, traditionally the Republican base.

As you might expect, this went over like a pregnant nun with gay rights activists. They even returned a $5,000 donation from the DNC. Dean started doing the political backstroke immediately, but it was too late. Poor Howard Dean.

This is what you get when you have a political party trying to be all things to all people. Once in awhile, they put their foot in their mouths. Hillary Clinton should take note.

REDNECK SCRAP BOOK

Don't you wish your neighbor had a whole row of these lovely planters in their front yard? More in the Redneck Scrap Book.

FAIRTAX RALLY - WILL YOU BE THERE?

READING ASSIGNMENTS

The Senate has reached an agreement on amnesty for illegal aliens.  The proposal would allow illegals who have been in the United States more than two years to apply for citizenship.  The good news?  It faces an uphill battle in the House.

It turns out 11 of the 12 Zacarias Moussaoui jurors had agreed to send the Al-Qaeda terrorist to his death....but there was the one holdout.  Because the votes were anonymous, nobody knows who it is.  Too bad.

Charles Krauthammer generally opposes the death penalty....but he makes an exception for people like Saddam Hussein.  He says as long as that thug walks the Earth, all is not right in the world.  But he wouldn't have sentenced Zacarias Moussaoui to death.

General Michael Hayden's nomination to run the CIA is setting off fireworks on both sides of the aisle, but Mark Davis writes that he deserves a shot.

Robert Novak tells us who was behind the sacking of Porter Goss at the CIA...and it was not the president.  He says it was the director of national intelligence, John Negroponte.  Just who is this person and what does he do?  Read on.

David Limbaugh can't believe some in the media actually want President Bush to take Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's letter seriously.  Limbaugh argues that it is the furthest thing from any sort of opportunity to reconcile.

Mona Charen looks at a new book about Hillary's 2008 campaign for the presidency.  Can she actually win?  Charen says absolutely...and people shouldn't be deceived by her high negative numbers.

Oliver North tells the story of Nathan Hale...the first American spy ever executed.  He was hanged by the British for spying.  North says there is a statue of Hale in the CIA courtyard...that should be moved to the front door...so people realize just how high the stakes are in the war on terror.

Pat Buchanan says Iran's sabre rattling may be much ado about nothing.  After all, if Iran really wanted war with the west, they could have it tomorrow.  Buchanan takes a look at our history with Iran over the years.

The New York Times reported a ridiculous study this week that said men who handle guns are more aggressive than those who do not.  Jonah Goldberg explores the ridiculousness of it all.

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