OFF AND RUNNING!

We're now on the road with the Somebody's Gotta Say It book tour! Eleven cities in the first 12 nights ... starting in Jacksonville, Florida this evening and ending in Colorado with dinner on the slopes of Vail!

I want to sincerely thank the hundreds who turned out in Atlanta for our first book signing at Borders. I also want to thank those of you who bought Somebody's Gotta Say It on line yesterday. For the better part of the day we were No. 1 on the Amazon.com nonfiction bestseller's list! We've slipped to number two this morning ... but just let me get on the air for a bit more shameless self-promotion.

LOVE THOSE TV APPEARANCES

Now here's an email from Matt. Matt must have seen me on TV during the last few days. [video of Neal on Hannity & Colmes] I want you to notice what an incredible job Matt does of refuting the positions I put forth. Matt was probably captain of his debate team. Matt probably thinks that debate is the stuff you put on de hook. Wait! Matt's a teacher! Well that explains a lot! Why he can't spell my name correctly, for instance.

THE BRITISH ARE LEAVING

It was bound to happen sooner or later. The British are officially cutting and running out of Iraq. Declaring their mission complete, Tony Blair is expected to announce a pullout of UK troops. The Democrats, of course, dedicated to the idea of defeat as they are, will use this as proof that we should leave too. Once the Brits roll out their "time lime" you can bet the Left in this country will be pushing for a time line with American troops.

But this is really symbolic more than anything. Important though they are, the number of British troops in Iraq number only 7,200. We have almost 20 times that many. So it's not like we're talking some huge pullout. In addition, the other story here is that the UK may be able to leave. They patrol Southern Iraq...an area which is secure enough it can be handed over to the Iraqis. So there's somewhat of a success story as well.

Of course, the media will not be reporting it that way. They will point to the decision by Tony Blair to start pulling out as evidence that we've lost the war and it's time to leave. Time to cut and run...to surrender...throw in the towel...give up. Of course the question remains: if Democrats are so opposed to the war in Iraq, why not end it tomorrow? Just cut off the funding.

But they can't pull that off. They know they're weak on defense. They just don't want to make it quite that obvious to the American people. It's easier to criticize something than it is to take action.

JOHN EDWARDS OFF THE DEEP END

John Edwards finds himself in a bit of a bind these days. People remember him from his one term in the Senate and his months as The Poodle's running mate, but in a crowded 2008 field...he comes up short. With Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama leading all of the polls, there just isn't much room for another candidate like Edwards. But he's running anyway, so he's going around holding these same sort of townhall meetings everyone else is.

At any rate, some time back at an event in Hollywood...John Edwards actually...allegedly, I suppose...said, according to someone that was there, that perhaps the greatest short-term threat to world peace was the possibility that Israel would bomb Iran's nuclear facilities. What? I thought global warming the was the greatest threat to the world? Anyway, this is huge...and John Edwards has really stepped in it here.

The greatest short-term threat to the world isn't Iran acquiring the bomb. It's Israel preventing Iran from acquiring the bomb. Yeah .. makes perfect sense to me! What about you?

But watch the media response.

You won't see the outrage that would have come if say, Trent Lott had said something like this. For some unknown reason, Democrats are protecting Iran. Are there some campaign contributions we don't know about or something? As for the substance of his remarks, does he actually think Israel bombing Iran is a greater threat than say, Al-Qaeda bombing us?

How about The Gargoyle having a nuclear weapon? No problem, evidently.

REDNECK SCRAP BOOK

I suppose this is an alternative to up on blocks in the front yard. More in the Redneck Scrap Book.

READING ASSIGNMENTS

Herman Cain is taking those in the administration to task for pandering to the Democrats when it comes to entitlement spending. In particular, the new Fed chairman is playing right into their hands. And this is the largest part of the federal budget, mind you.

If Democrats follow the path of John Murtha and vote to cut off funds to the troops in Iraq, then they rightly deserve to join the ranks of Democratic losers like Jimmy Carter, George McGovern and John Kerry. At least that's the opinion of one Mort Kondracke.

When President Bush passed his prescription drug benefit for Medicare, John Stossel notes that it was the biggest expansion of the welfare state since the Great Society. And now Democrats want to make it bigger, by instituting drug price controls.

The fact that people like John Murtha are trying to tie the president's hands in Iraq shows that they are ignoring the Constitution. After all, the president of the United States is the commander-in-chief, not the Congress, notes Rich Lowry. So why not just cut off the funding for the war? Good read.

Hillary Clinton is complaining that the troops on the ground in Iraq don't have enough body armor. So is it true, or is it just another well-crafted Leftist distortion? Michelle Malkin says it's the card Democrats always play when they want to seem like they care about the troops, which they don't.

Did you know that there is a 1 in 45,000 chance that an asteroid could hit planet Earth in 29 years, killing us all? Well, it wouldn't kill us all...just maybe take out a city or two. Ben Shapiro wonders if the United Nations will protect us from the coming killer asteroid.

In today's column, Dr. Walter E. Williams looks at the stupid ideas of governments. He also challenges the line of thinking that if one particular action saves one life, it's worth doing. In that case, he says it's time for a national 10 mile an hour speed limit. Think of the lives it would save!

Barack Obama continues to be a thorn in Hillary Clinton's pantsuit. He's hauled in another $1 million dollars off the Left coast...something that has to worry The Hildabeast. That's her money...and you can bet she's going to try and reclaim it.

Nancy Pelosi, always on the lookout for more vote-buying schemes, is backing tuition breaks for illegal aliens. If that is enacted, what exactly will the point of becoming a U.S. Citizen be? You'll be able to get a driver's license, health care, tuition...all just because you could sneak across the border. Is this a great country or what?

Why do people feel comfortable flaming people online but would never say those things in person? Psychologists have some answers.

Video of the day: Don't you just love C-SPAN? Who is that enjoying a tasty snack on the House floor? There's some amusing debate about that here.

It's done. All the editing is over. "Somebody's Gotta Say It" will appear on your bookstore shelves on Tuesday, February 20, 2007. The autographed first editions have sold out so if you want my mark on your book, you'll need to catch me at one of my book signings. Or if you just want to get to reading, order it online here.

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