Nobody in their right mind like a fierce wind -- particularly in winter, when 4o degrees can turned into a "real feel" of 11.

Still, I had to chuckle at the noon news today.

The anchor said the debate over the closing of libraries across Philadelphia was intensifying and that the situation between Israel and Hamas on the Gaza Strip had no end in sight.

But the big story ... it's windy outside.

And then they cut to a weather guy outside to tell us more about how windy it was outside.

I get it -- it's windy.

But ... I don't get it.

This whole Caroline Kennedy thing poses quite a quandary for me, as I remain opposed to concept of American royal families dominating the political arena. I see the Bushes, the Clintons -- and the Kennedys -- as being diametrically opposed to the core reason we fought the Revolutionary War, which was to break free from the notion of being subjects to a king or queen based solely on that person's bloodlines.

Nonetheless, exceptions can be made. Just ask ... me. I supported Hillary Clinton for president she, herself, gave up the fight and join forces with President-elect Barack Obama. Obama since tabbed Clinton for the post of Secretary of State and we will be a better nation for it.

I never gave much thought to Caroline Kennedy. She was a civilian who lived a quiet life in NYC. We heard from her when her mother and brother died and again when the Jewish Elvis, Neil Diamond, revealed that she was the inspiration behind his timeless pop classic "Sweet Caroline."

She threw her support behind Obama at a time when I was still all about Hillary, so I resented her sudden interest in politics. I thought it was kind of weak to throw her last name around when it was convinient and seemingly on command from Uncle Teddy.

But after backing Obama this fall, my stance has softened. JFK's daughter is seeking the appointment to Hillary Clinton's soon-to-be-vacant U.S. Senate seat.

I say: You go, girl. Good times never seemed so good.

There are several reasons I like the idea:

1) To the victors go the spoils. This annoys so many Republicans, whose knee-jerk opposition is just as wrong as those who think her last name should mean at automatic nod from New York Gov. David Patterson, that you gotta love it. What good is a having a spare Kennedy hanging around if you can't rub one in the GOP's collective face.

2) She is not a carpet-bagger. She is a long-time New Yorker. And, from all I can glean, she is geunine in her intentions. A Kennedy or not, this is refreshing and emblematic of the Obama era.

3) If we are to maintain our new political dominance, we need to rip a page or two out of Karl Rove's playbook. In 2010, when Sweet Caroline would have to run for the spot, she could finance her own campaign and easily raise the spare change she would need to keep her seat warm for another two years. As a party, the money could spent elsewhere as we pursue a super majority in the Senate.

To quote the greatest movie ever made: It's not personal, it's business.

So get out your Karoake machine and sing:

Where it began
I cant begin to knowin
But then I know its growin strong

Was in the spring
And spring became the summer
Whod have believed youd come along

Hands, touchin hands
Reachin out
Touchin me
Touchin you

Sweet caroline
Good times never seemed so good
Ive been inclined
To believe they never would

But now i
Look at the night
And it dont seem so lonely
We fill it up with only two
And when I hurt
Hurtin runs off my shoulders
How can I hurt when Im with you

Warm, touchin warm
Reachin out
Touchin me
Touchin me

Sweet caroline
Good times never seemed so good
Ive been inclined
To believe they never would
Oh, no, no

Sweet caroline
Good times never seemed so good
Ive been inclined
I believed they never could
Sweet caroline

This whole mess with venerable Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter telling a Polish joke got my wheels turning beyond the old worn-out "How many Polish people does it take to screw in a light bulb?" (six, hold to hold it in place and the other five to turn him around).

Here's a new one, in honor of Specter:

How many Polish people does it take to believe the single-bullet theory?

Answer: None. Nobody is that dumb.

Disclaimer: My wife is part Polish meaning, meaning my daughter has some of that blood coursing through her veins as well. Therefore, I am allowed to tell this joke, right?

He didn’t get why many questioned the correlation between Sept. 11 and invading Iraq. He didn’t get why doing a fly-by over Katrina-ravaged New Orleans wasn’t sufficient. He didn’t get why leasing port security to Dubai seemed like a sick joke. He didn’t get why tax breaks to the rich – over and over and over again – were not A-OK with the common folk. He didn’t get why we weren’t going to just swallow the concept of his glorified personal assistant, Harriet Miers, as a Supreme Court justice.

And these are just the glaring low-lights of the last eight years of ineptitude.

So it only stood to reason that when an Iraqi journalist hurled his shoes – instead of lobbing softballs -- at him last Sunday at a press conference in the war-torn country, he didn’t get it.

In a follow-up interview on ABC, he said he “didn’t know what the guy’s beef was” and shrugged when he said “I guess he just wanted to get on TV.”

While there is no condoning the actions, it was kind of nice to see that there are still journalists who think outside the box.

His “beef” was fairly obvious – at least to those of us who “get it.” He said it was doing it for the “widows and orphans.”

And since the guy is in the television business already, his true reason for throwing shoes was an ultimate sign of disrespect.

Since the time we invaded Iraq on a whim and a prayer, needless casualties to Iraqi civilians number in the tens of thousands.

For He Whose Name Shall Not Be Written (or spoken) to visit the country with that stupid smirk on his face as he pretends that putting casts on a fractured infrastructure is sign that he done good, is seen as an insult.

That was the journalist’s “beef” and that’s why President Lame Duck was starring down the soles of the dude’s shoes.

If you read my Dec. 14 column, you may have noticed a reference to Michael Moore. It was in response to him going public -- including an appearance with the human insect, Larry King -- against a bailout of the U.S. auto industry's Big Three. Moore's rationale was based on a "they deserve it" mentality. The Big Three had neglected and abused its own workers for so long, he reasoned, why should they get a government bailout?

Since then, however, M2 seems to have changed his tune. His derision toward the Big Three was trumped by that of the GOP schmucks in the U.S. Senate who killed the bailout approved by the Congress.

He sent out this e-mail to those of us who generally support him, and I salute him for doing so. Read on:

Friends,

They could have given the loan on the condition that the automakers start building only cars and mass transit that reduce our dependency on oil.

They could have given the loan on the condition that the automakers build cars that reduce global warming.

They could have given the loan on the condition that the automakers withdraw their many lawsuits against state governments in their attempts to not comply with our environmental laws.

They could have given the loan on the condition that the management team which drove these once-great manufacturers into the ground resign and be replaced with a team who understands the transportation needs of the 21st century.

Yes, they could have given the loan for any of these reasons because, in the end, to lose our manufacturing infrastructure and throw 3 million people out of work would be a catastrophe.

But instead, the Senate said, we'll give you the loan only if the factory workers take a $20 an hour cut in wages, pension and health care. That's right. After giving BILLIONS to Wall Street hucksters and criminal investment bankers -- billions with no strings attached and, as we have since learned, no oversight whatsoever -- the Senate decided it is more important to break a union, more important to throw middle class wage earners into the ranks of the working poor than to prevent the total collapse of industrial America.

We have a little more than a month to go of this madness. As I sit here in Michigan today, tens of thousands of hard working, honest, decent Americans do not believe they can make it to January 20th. The malaise here is astounding. Why must they suffer because of the mistakes of every CEO from Roger Smith to Rick Wagoner? Make management and the boards of directors and the shareholders pay for this.

Of course that is heresy to the 31 Republicans who decided to blame the poor, miserable autoworkers for this mess. And our wonderful media complied with their spin on the morning news shows: "UAW Refuses to Give Concessions Killing Auto Bailout Bill." In fact the UAW has given concession after concession, reduced their benefits, agreed to get rid of the Jobs Bank and agreed to make it harder for their retirees to live from week to week. Yes! That's what we need to do! It's the Jobs Bank and the old people who have led the nation to economic ruin!

But even doing all that wasn't enough to satisfy the bastard Republicans. These Senate vampires wanted blood. Blue collar blood. You see, they weren't opposed to the bailout because they believed in the free market or capitalism. No, they were opposed to the bailout because they're opposed to workers making a decent wage. In their rage, they were driven to destroy the backbone of this country, not because the UAW hadn't given back enough, but because the UAW hadn't given up.

It appears that the sitting President has been looking for a way to end his reign by one magnanimous act, just like a warlord on his feast day. He will put his finger in the dyke, and the fragile mess of an auto industry will eke through the next few months.

That will give the Senate enough time to demand that the bankers and investment sharks who've already swiped nearly half of the $700 billion gift a chance to make the offer of cutting their pay.

Fat chance.

Yours,
Michael Moore
MMFlint@aol.com
MichaelMoore.com

I know my immediate thoughts about the scandal surrounding Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich allegedly trying to auction off the U.S. Senate seat of President-elect Barack Obama was to question the long-standing practice of shooting dirty pool in Chicago -- and Illinois -- politics.

And to make a quick connection to Obama, who has risen out of -- and above -- this world.

But I place this one squarely on the shoulders of the voters who put this clearly derranged governor in office in the first place.

Look at the guy? To say he looks like a used salesman would be a disservice to used car salesmen. He looks like a used car salesman who can't stay employed because he can't sell a car.

We don't always have to listen to our mothers. Sometimes we can judge a book by its cover.

Somehow, these sleaze balls -- i.e. Newt Gingrich -- get elected and re-elected.

And is anyone surprised that the name of Jesse Jackson Jr. has surfaced in this scandal. The son of the foot-in-mouth, pseudo-preacher-for-hire was one of the leading candidates to replace Obama in the senate on his own merit. He can kiss that goodbye.

But the worst part was watching Sean Hannity and Karl Rove yuck it up on Fox the night news of the scandal broke.

Are they serious?

Must be fun to have no conscious, let alone a sense of how hypocritical you appear.

Correct me if i'm wrong, but shouldn't Rove already be in jail keeping the cell warm for Blago?