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Iran on Monday issued a bank note with a nuclear symbol in a move seen as an assertion of its national will in the face of international sanctions over its insistence on enriching uranium.

The new note for 50,000 rials _ worth about $5.40 _ also reflected rising inflation, a fact that has brought criticism of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's policies. It is worth more than twice the previously highest denomination note.

The note is printed in orange, green and blue and shows a nuclear symbol within a map of Iran. A brief text next to the symbol gives a quote from the Prophet Muhammad: "Men from the land of Persia will attain scientific knowledge even if it is as far as the Pleiades." Pleiades is a cluster of stars.

One of the movies I reviewed earlier today is a stupid new release called “Gray Matters.” The title is a pun based on the name of the main character, a glamorous ad exec played by Heather Graham who suddenly discovers that Gray’s gay when she develops a passionate crush on her brother’s wife, Bridget Moynahan.

Oddly enough, this is the second movie in a month in which the beautiful main character bears the odd name Gray. In the execrable “Catch and Release,” Jennifer Garner gets an embarrassing role as “Gray Wheeler,” who finds out that her tragically deceased fiancé wasn’t the paragon she thought he was.

In any event, both these movies are lame, lousy chick flicks, directed by little-known female directors, appealing to no one in particular, and choosing to name their heroines Gray.

Why, I’d like to know.

Has “Gray” become a suddenly stylish name? The only previous Gray (or Grey) I can remember is the pathetic ex-governor of California, Gray Davis, who got booted out of office on the same recall election that installed the current Governator.

Will this hazy moniker now become more common, because people see these two charmless films and feel inspired by the main character? Stranger things have happened: remember the well-documented craze for the name “Nevaeh” (“Heaven” spelled backwards) after one Christian music star anointed his baby?

Popular culture is full of mysteries. One of them involves two different femme directors (a rare enough breed in Hollyweird) and two different lam-o romantic comedies, both of which decide for some incomprehensible reason to go “Gray.”

If someone has an answer to this perplexing situation, I’d love to hear about it.

While I was at the VFW Convention this week, I saw the organization give three special teachers the National Citizenship Education Awards for their work in helping students learn and appreciate American history and American veterans.

Since we conservatives hear a lot about the teachers who are teaching anti-Americanism, diversity at the expense of patriotism, and multi-culturalism above all, I thought a HamNation treatment was in order for Lisa Wyatt of Running Brushy Middle School in Cedar Park, Texas, who teamed with her school, her local VFW, and troops abroad to send a special thank-you to thousands of troops in harm's way.

"The parents have been very supportive," she said. "This isn't about the war. It's about the soldier."

The students are "unbelievably touched" when soldiers write them personal notes and letters back, and many have formed lasting penpal relationships with soldiers overseas.

In the wake of the Walter Reed and VA controversies, I went over to the VFW National Convention at the Omni Shoreham to see what vets were talking about this week-- with each other and with Congress.

That's what my column's on today:

I learned long ago thatif you want to hear the talk among veterans, you gotta go to the bar atthe VFW Post. That’s where you’ll find men who’ve gone from the Hallsof Montezuma to the halls of modest Midwestern ranch houses, men who’vetamed the wild blue yonder glugging from tame blue cans of Miller Lite.Seemingly ordinary men who have been extraordinary heroes.

They’ve fought for their lives in jungles and deserts, so theycould come back home and live them out on the plains and in the mountainsof the country they kept free. The American veteran is a proud man,often reticent about his experiences far from home, but happy to talkabout the home he fought so hard to protect...

Hear what they have to say about a problem they knew about long before it became front-page news:

“Whew, got my bloodpressure up a little bit,” the Major said between sips of beer. “But Igot a pill for that. Luckily, I don’t have to wait for the VA to giveit to me.”

Shira Toeplitz of National Journal's "On The Download" asked "24 of the best Republican Internet strategists what they thought of the Democratic and Republican Presidential candidates' Web sites."

According to "insiders," BarackObama.com is the best Democrat website and JohnMcCain.com is the best Republican site.

Of the 24 "insiders" polled, four were Townhall contributors: Chuck DeFeo, Patrick Ruffini, Patrick Hynes, and yours truly.

Do you agree with the poll results?

The second half of Newt Gingrich's interview with Dr. Dobson is up today.  You can listen to it here.

While Newt spent the first half of the show talking about terrorism, the interview is garnering lots of attention because it also includes an admission of an affair (during the same time he was going after Bill Clinton for the Lewinski scandal).  As the AP reports:

"The honest answer is yes," Gingrich, a potential 2008 Republican presidential candidate, said in an interview with Focus on the Family founder James Dobson to be aired Friday, according to a transcript provided to The Associated Press. "There are times that I have fallen short of my own standards. There's certainly times when I've fallen short of God's standards."

Newt's admission may imply he is, in fact, preparing for a Presidential run.  Smart politics demands that you get negative information behind you.  And because he is the one coming forward to tell the story, he can frame it in the least unfavorable light.  He also gets to pick the time and venue.  A good rule in politics is: When in doubt, you bring it out.  It sounds to me like he is seriously considering a run ...

Almost every day (it seems) there is a new story out about how the blogosphere or YouTube is going to change politics.  I enjoy those stories, but always feel that there is more to tell.  The problem is that these stories usually play-up the new bells and whistles, but rarely delve into looking at deeper political trends.

With that in mind, following are just a few of my thoughts regarding emerging political trends for the future.  In this post, I've chosen to write about how these trends will impact the GOP ...

... In ‘08

What does history say about the GOP's chances in 2008?  With the exception of George W. Bush’s election in 1988 (Reagan’s 3^rd term), there is a strong trend of parties holding the White House for no more than two terms. In 2008, the trend is not our friend.

... On New Voters

How about the youth of America?  The theory of “political socialization” says that many people acquire their political identities at the age of 18 (when they first become eligible to vote). Once a person has assumed a political identity, so the theory goes, they often never relinquish it. For example, people who turned 18 in the 1940s (during FDR's administration) are strongly Democrat, while people who turned 18 in the 1980s (Ronald Reagan's presidency) tend to be Republicans. The bad news is that Republicans lost young voters in both ’04 and ’06. Based on this theory, President Bush’s unpopularity may have long-term implications.

... On Geography

What part of America will dominate the GOP in the future?  For much of the 20^th century, the GOP was dominated by North-Easterners (the party was, thus, more liberal). After about 1960, the party’s power-base moved to the South (as such, the party shifted strongly toward cultural conservatism). If you look at the population trends, the future may be in the West. This would imply conservative/libertarian “fusionism” could again become vogue.

... On Dynasties

More Bush Presidents?  This isn’t original to me, but since 1948, with one exception (1964) a Nixon, Dole, or Bush has been on every GOP national ticket. Americans fought a war against imposed monarchy, but still enjoy elevating our own elites (of course, some of our elites, like Richard Nixon, come from humble beginnings). While the names may change, America (and the GOP) will likely continue to anoint certain families to lead the country. (Don’t count Jeb bush out, yet.)

... On African-Americans & the GOP

Will African-Americans continue to vote Democrat in such overwhelming percentages?  Unlike many political tactics, micro-targeting, is a very healthy trend that encourages more participation in Democracy. Traditionally, campaigns focused their limited resources on voters they deem to be both likely voters and persuadable voters. Often times, they used geography to determine which geographic areas to target (and which areas to ignore). Republicans would spend money in “swing” precincts, but completely ignore entire neighborhoods perceived to be “Democrat” enclaves (in some cases, these were predominantly Black neighborhoods). While this might be a smart short-term strategy, over time, this strategy meant that both sides were "writing off" their perceived opponents' base. The good news is that micro-targeting allows Republican campaigns to go into Democrat enclaves and communicate with individual voters who lean Republican. In my estimation, treating people as individuals (as opposed to making group assumptions) is a good thing. And it should make both parties more diverse.

... On Freedom

Will technology give us more freedom -- or less?  More than fifty years ago, William F. Buckley famously founded National Review as a medium to “stand athwart history, yelling Stop.” Likewise, when Whittaker Chambers quit Communism and became a conservative, he felt as if he was “leaving the winning side for the losing side.” Of course, back then, a small number of media outlets controlled all news, and most Americans worked for a big company who “took care of them.” Things have changes since them. Fifty years ago, history was against us. I’m optimistic that history is largely now on our side. For example, today, more Americans earn their living from eBay than the steel industry. It will be difficult persuade people who are used to buying stock on their laptops that they cannot decide how to manage their own healthcare.  This trend should obviously bode well for the GOP.

These are my opinions.  Let me know your thoughts on the subject .

The Thompson trial balloon seems to be gaining steam.  ... The Hill reports:

Former Senate Majority Leader Howard Baker (R-Tenn.) is contacting powerbrokers in the Republican Party to build support for a 2008 presidential campaign by his one-time protégé, former Sen. Fred Thompson (R-Tenn.).

Will he be the "law and order" candidate?  (Bad pun intended...)

I’ve been working on a major column for USA TODAY (it’s slated to run in the newspaper on Monday) about the Discovery Channel documentary “The Lost Tomb of Jesus.” In the course of my research I learned that Newsweek is planning a big feature story in its March 28^th issue under the headline FROM JESUS TO THE CHRIST.

Isn’t it amazing how our popular coverage discovers Jesus once a year, every year, at just about this time? Do you think it’s a coincidence that we get a major TV documentary (and a new book associated with it) as well as a big Newsweek article at just about the same time? Could this sudden flurry of interest possibly relate to the upcoming Easter holiday?

The strategy behind this timing is slightly patronizing, even insulting. Once a year, just before observances commemorating the crucifixion and resurrection, the media suddenly (and briefly) recall that hundreds of millions of Americans take Christ and Christianity very seriously indeed. They therefore strain to hype some “sensational new discovery” (“The Lost Tomb of Jesus,” “The Gospel of Judas,” etc.) in an effort to make their transparent exploitation of religious enthusiasm seem newsy and relevant.

I’ve begun speculating on what breathless, heavily-hyped “scientific breakthroughs” they may generate next (“DNA Identifies Skeleton as Pet Dog of Jesus!”) but it’s hard to take this too far without tilting over toward sacrilege.

It might be refreshing if our media gate keepers remembered that many Americans remain passionately interested in Jesus every month, every day, nurturing a fascination that isn’t limited to the few weeks leading up to a big religious holiday.   

Dr. Richard Land -- a leading social conservative (who has served as Director of the influential Southern Baptist Convention) -- has some tough words for Rudy Giuliani ... 

He has many attractive qualities, not least of which is his ability to head off the Michael Moore chickenhawk attack nicely .

He's a Vietnam vet, and has a son who has served in Fallujah. Thanks to them both.

John Edwards will not be attending the first scheduled nationally televised Democratic debate Aug. 14 in Nevada.

Why? Because the debate is being held by Nevada Democrats in partnership with Fox News. Gasp!

Why would Nevada Democrats even consider such a thing?

Let's take a look at the figures from last night's cable news ratings:

FOXNEWS O'REILLY 2,297,000
FNC HANNITY/COLMES 1,701,000
FNC GRETA 1,451,000
FNC BRIT HUME 1,427,000
FNC SHEP SMITH 1,317,000
CNN KING 974,000
CNN COOPER 819,000
CNN DOBBS 797,000
MSNBC OLBERMANN 722,000
CNNHN NANCY GRACE 588,000
MSNBC HARDBALL 563,000
CNN PAULA ZAHN 491,000

Yes, why in the world they go to Fox for the first Democratic debate when the Democrats are trying desperately to win back the White House, which would require winning the votes and confidence of conservative Democrats/Reagan Democrats who may be convinced to ditch out on Republicans this time around? A lot of those folks watch Fox News.

Searer said the decision to partner with Fox, which will pay for someproduction and promotion costs, is part of Nevada Democrats' overallplan to bring new voters into the presidential process and its newearly caucus, scheduled for Jan. 19.

Sure, not all the folks watching Fox are Reagan Democrats or moderates or conservative Democrats. Some of them are dedicated Republicans, who won't be convinced to go the other way, but a lot of them are the kind of voters who would be happy to listen to Democrats. A lot of them are the kind of voters who are fed up with business as usual and are willing to listen to any person hawking "a change," which is what all the Democrats want to do. Why pass up the opportunity to bring that message to those people?

There's a chance Fox viewers will notice the Democrats caving to the far Left of their party on this one, and see it as confirmation that Dems just as out-of-touch with normal Americans as Republicans keep saying they are.