Right As Usual

I've been busy for the last few days, preparing for the NSTA regional meeting in Charlotte. Yesterday, I was at the convention, where there was email access only. My running around has had an unintended side effect - I haven't watched much TV. Fortunately. Because the airwaves here in the NC/SC region have been saturated with local political ads, which have been repetitive, nasty, and, frankly, enough to get me to turn off the TV completely. I can't wait until it's all over. On another note, I've noticed that many of the Obama partisans have virtually stopped talking about "when" the big O wins. The talk at work was non-stop for a while, but now, there's very little discussion. Could it be that the assumption of inevitability is beginning to fall prey to reality? Nah.

The above link is to a Dominican priest's website. It is thoughtful, and should be read before Catholics vote. I'm not insisting that you vote his way, but that you be aware of the facts, and how Catholic teaching positions itself on the issues. Note, he does NOT endorse McCain. However, he lays out the reality of Obama's past votes, and how Catholics are affected.

I don't get it. I'm seeing the same speeches as everyone else, and yet, I just don't perceive Obama as a charismatic individual . When he talks, he is somewhat persuasive, but bland - very bland - to the point of sending me to Drowsyland. Am I so out of step with things that I fail to recognize an extraordinary, even messianic leader? Nah. I've heard truly inspiring, engaging speakers before. Pope John Paul II, in the early years of his pontificate. Martin Luther King. Heck, even James Carville has a certain something - he is passionate in his convictions, and it shows. You feel drawn to him, even though you detest his politics. Probably accounts for his happy marriage to a dedicated conservative. Obama is overly measured and cool. Kind of John Kerry, without the accent or goofy overstatements. Perhaps what observers see is an aura of mystery - probably from the disinclination to talk much about himself. There are MAJOR chunks of his life that we know nothing ...

We've brought in the pepper plants - yes, they're still bearing fruit. I can't believe how long this growing season is - from June to almost-November. One of our plants over-wintered inside, and bore fruit again this year.

This video lays out the principles that all Catholics in America should be familiar with. Via The Curt Jester .

Surely you jest! According to this article from the Washington Post , not bloody likely. Both parties have filed formal complaints calling on the agency to investigate their rival. Only McCain will automatically be subjected to an audit, because his campaign accepted funds from the Treasury. There is no requirement that Obama's books be audited, and FEC-watchers predicted that it could be tough to find the four votes needed to approve an audit, given that the panel comprises three Republican and three Democratic appointees. But, of course, in the interests of bipartisanship, which Democrats are so noted for displaying, I'm confident that the required fourth person will step up to the plate, and investigate The Anointed One.

Priceless! A nice take-off on the I Am Joe schtick, but using Obama's fave unrepentant terrorist. LOVE this experiment in confronting an Obamaniac with the consequences of a potential victory for him? Aw, isn't the practical application of the ObaPhilosophy as much fun when it's YOU that's the giver, rather than the recipient?

Update: I forgot to name the blog that made the Broadway Baby connection. It's Hamilton, Madison, and Jay. Sorry, guys. I was so engaged in getting the information on my blog, I plumb forgot. Here's the story of one of them. As for Ayers & Dohrn, well, here's a link to a story about a - well, you could call it a Class Reunion of the Weather Underground. Further down in the story, a little about the reclusive Mrs. Ayers - oh, excuse me, I mean Ms. Dohrn: At Broadway Baby, customers often paid by check and used driver's licenses for identification. On Dec. 28, 1979, information from two customer files was used to apply for two driver's licenses at the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles. The fraudulent licenses were used to rent getaway cars for the gang.Investigators tracked the identities on two licenses for the getaway cars. The names belonged to women who had shopped at Broadway Baby in December 1979. But they weren't robbers. And who was the...

The source of this Powerpoint appears to be HEAVILY conservative. That doesn't negate the facts underlying the presentation. Watch it for yourself. I'll post later, but, right now, I'm hungry.

Eternity Road has a fascinating perspective on Robin Hood - the legend, not the current-day manifestations of him. He ties it into the Obama phenomenon.

Hey, didn't Huey Long promise that? Every Man a King!

I've been following the furor about "Joe the Plumber". He's the fellow below. His question was valid, and Obama flubbed it. A large part of the problem is that Obama doesn't know many plumbers or other skilled tradespeople. He's led a rather sheltered life. Sheltered? That globe-trotting sophisticate? Yeah. His experience is split between two types of people - the educated elite, and the desperately poor. He has no acquaintance with working people who are successful. Now, I've long known working people, of all races. Get along with them well. My own dad was a skilled craftsperson in the area of electronics. He worked for the Bell system before the break-up. In his work, he was NOT making minimum wage; his work required training and expertise. Joe is like that. Even without a license (which he doesn't need, as an employee of a larger company), he is making a good income. As the book "The Millionaire Next Door" pointed out, people ...

It's true. I was tired. Did I miss the debate of the year? Possibly, but not that likely. What I did was avoid being over-tired tomorrow. Yeah, but I'm awake now. That's just temporary. I'll be back in bed before you read this.

The quasi-military Obama youth are starting to scare me - and not in a good, Halloweenish way. Check out the story, and play the video.

This has to be seen to be believed. Hell hath not fury...

This is a 3-parter - long, but worth it. We need to push this issue back into the headlines - it seems that both candidates have forgotten just how much of a hot button this is.

I'm ashamed to admit that I had forgotten the day. There are some days that should be etched in memory, and the Cole attack is one. I was a Navy mom at the time, and I spent some worried years, until he was honorably discharged. The memorial is here.

Activists have flagged it as "adult content", which it hasn't, in an effort to keep it from being widely shown. You have to say that you are over 18 to view it. Well, I suppose, to Obamaniacs, it IS porn. Here's a link to the video. In protest, I'm including links to these QubeTv videos. A cute, Elvis-assisted send-up of the facts about Obama. The Audacity of Barack Obama. Obama's Voting Record Hazy

One of the most visited posts was one that I did on Alliteracy . Illiteracy is best defined as the INABILITY to read, or at read fluently. Alliteracy, on the other hand, occurs when a person CAN read, but does not. Alliteracy is becoming quite common. Increasing numbers of people seldom, if ever, read, unless there is no other alternative. They prefer text messaging to email, video to text, and get virtually all their news from television and cable.

I'm a political junkie. Like many bloggers, I am relentless in following the issues (NOT the personalities), and, so, I have accumulated sufficient background that, when I read or hear the news, I can understand beyond the headlines. Most people cannot. I don't mean this pejoratively, I simply mean that I have actual knowledge about the subjects being discussed. Obama & Rezko? I've been reading about their connections for over a year. So, when the media finally catches on to the underlying story, and pontificates about how this doesn't mean anything nefarious that would reflect badly on Obama, I have the background to call that BS. The ACORN connection? I'm a native Ohioan, and have kept up on the sleazy activities of Obama's favorite "community organization" for some time. Yeah, they are that corrupt, and that uncaring about the essential underpinnings of democracy. Their goal is to subvert elections via phony voter registration, intimidati...

Not crazy about this one. Too flashy and shiny. I kind of like the depth of this picture. It has a 3D quality to it that is esthetically pleasing. I'm always amazed at the extent people will go to "individualize" themselves. They will spend money, endure excruciating pain, and take up hours of their time to make themselves "different". Whatever. I, OTOH, have always tried to blend in. But, that's the curse of the truly different. We DON'T want to stand out - we work very hard to be as much like everyone else as we can (which, to be honest, we aren't, and never will be. I now understand that, at 57 years old. I'm not like the crowd; I never can be. Live with it).

There has been some concern about the potential for voter fraud with same-day registration and voting . It's a moot point - the court has ruled, and the practice is OK. What effect has it had? Karl Rove was just on FoxNews, and he pointed out that, in Cuyahoga County, with over 1 million voters, just 405 took advantage of the option. So, it seems, for this time at least, very little effect. If the practice does lead to fraud, it shouldn't have any effect on the election.

I just love Sheila O'Malley - The Sheila Chronicles . It's a lovely little world she brings to me, a world I have only seen on-screen. And, holding my hand, she toddles off to the backstage, and reveals the unknown story behind the movies. Today, it's Buster Keaton: ...all those silent comedy stars were amazing athletes - they had to be - but Keaton was on another level. He had the fearlessness about him of all the top athletes (you know, the "let me pause in mid-air" type athletes) - the types who move first, think later. There are great stories about the day his crew filmed the famous house-falling-on-Buster scene and the camera man had to cover his eyes, he couldn't look. Many of the crew felt the same way. They felt: I can't sit here and watch a man be killed ... on camera ... Buster, that is effed up. I never saw Buster until the days of the cheesy 1960's Beach movies. He had a long-running role in them - still poker-faced.

Whew! Hugh Hewitt is on fire! He makes the most straightforward case for John McCain, and why he should be elected. He is unsparing in his disdain for what the Democratic Party has become. Obama is a wholly untested Illinois state senator with less than 200 actual days on the floor of the U.S. Senate. Obama has never run anything or faced any significant political crisis in his life requiring the expert exercise of wisdom and judgment, much less this perfect storm of crises. Obama's rise has been because of machine politics and hard-left coalitions, and his past is checkered with the most radical and the most corrupt sort of characters imaginable --Ayers, Rezko and Wright to name just the big three. His party is led by hard-left partisans in the House and Senate, and the "grassroots" manning his campaign and ready to demand their patronage jobs are of the Michael Moore-Daily Kos variety. There is hardly anything left of the old Democratic Party. It isn't about a N...

I hadn't realized that Kim didn't know this : I discovered that croissants were originally invented to celebrate the defeat of the Muslim Turkish army at Vienna in 1683. I did not know that. I thought it was pretty common knowledge. NOTE: It appears that the story may be a relatively modern legend. I don't eat many croissants, myself. The off-the-shelf ones are yucky. Don't even get me started on the breakfast croissants. But, as a tangible symbol of resistance to Islamic takeover by war, I'm for them. I'm enjoying Black Coffee by Ella Fitzgerald on the Pandora Radio. Great song. I'm getting to appreciate the old jazz singers, thanks to ease of using the Pandora station. No, I'm not paid to endorse them, I just really like the service.

I'm going to see if I can add the above logo in place of the default on the template. If not I'll revert to the original template.

I'm lounging around this morning, thoroughly enjoying NOT having to get up early. I'm on my own this morning - DH is in Cleveland, visiting his doctor. As the air fare was too much (more than $350, one way), I opted to stay in SC by myself. While I enjoy the company most of the time, every once in a while, it's fun to give in to total selfishness, and eat what I want, sleep when I want, and, generally, do anything I please. One thing I enjoy is NOT having the TV on. On my own, I either have nothing, or some jazz on the radio (often Internet radio - I'm especially fond of the Pandora station ). I have my own stations - Billie Holliday, Miles Davis, and Jazz Fusion. I've been reading Ari Kaufman of the Pajamas Media , who is analyzing the chances of the swing states swinging for Obama. I was struck by a phrasing I've noticed in many commentators, on TV, radio, newspaper, and Internet: he talks about Obama, but then uses the phrase McCain/Palin. Think about ...

Just finished watching the VP debate, and Palin looked good. Smiling, confident, able to think on her feet. Michelle Malkin thinks Joe Biden looked tired. I guess, thinking about it, he did. What I really want to know is, did Biden have advance warning of the last question? Ifill: Can you think of a single issue that you were faced to change because of changed circumstances? Palin's answer was OK, citing her desire to have made greater budget cuts, but admitting she had made some necessary compromises. She finished by saying she hadn't compromised on major principles. But, Joe? Biden has a ready answer. He’s talking about a judicial pick, cites his opposition to Robert Bork…cites his judiciary committee chairmanship. I'm sorry, that question was not one I'd have expected him to have anticipated. Did he have advance warning of it? His answer was way too ready.

Just WHY does it seem that Democrats are always pointing out that the world is coming to an end? I mean, if Republicans point out that 95% of the US is doing rather well, the Democrats immediately focus on the 5% that is managing badly. (And, before I get any hysterical comments about the financial situations of the last few weeks, my comment applies to the general norm). Well, here's someone who has analyzed the WHY, and concluded that it is deliberate policy. It's the CLOWARD-PIVEN STRATEGY. What is that? In their 1966 article, Cloward and Piven charged that the ruling classes used welfare to weaken the poor; that by providing a social safety net, the rich doused the fires of rebellion. Poor people can advance only when "the rest of society is afraid of them," Cloward told The New York Times on September 27, 1970. Rather than placating the poor with government hand-outs, wrote Cloward and Piven, activists should work to sabotage and destroy the welfare system...