Only until yesterday did I learn that Iris Chang, the famous author of Chinese descent appeared to have shot herself in the head south of Los Gatos, Santa Clara county, California on November 9th, 2004. She was only 36 and her works include: "The rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II," "Thread of the silkworm," and most recently, "The Chinese in America: A Narrative History."

I love this article by senator Norm Coleman of Minnesota, a member of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, especially the conclusion: "It's time for Kofi Annan to step down. The massive scope of this debacle demands nothing less. If this widespread corruption had occurred in any legitimate organization around the world, its CEO would have been ousted long ago, in disgrace. Why is the U.N. different?"

The Dallas County Republican Party had their holiday reception tonight at Prestonwood Country Club. Had fun catching up with a lot of folks, some I haven't seen since election night.