46 Days til ?

I can't remember who said it but it goes "those who don't remember history are condemned to repeat it" is very close to the truth. We have Sen. McCain with his "the fundamentals of the economy are solid" speech sounding much like Herbert Hoover. He of "a chicken in every pot" and "Hooverville"(look it up) fame. We have financial markets that are teetering on the brink of collapse because of excesses and being able to run unchecked for the last 7+ years and a President who just doesn't get it. Not sure what role he is playing in all this.

I am of course referring to the "Great Depression" that held our county in its grips for over a decade and some rural areas, even longer. There were rules put in place at that time to make sure such a collapse couldn't happen again and yet due to some very short-sighted, right wing politicians, who removed the oversight of our nations banking system, here we are again. You would think we would have learned our lesson but with a presidential candidate that isn't sure where Spain is and that they are an ally in NATO, I am sure history doesn't matter. Reality is obviously different when you have a rich wife, more houses than you can count and even at his advanced age makes important decisions based on how the opposite sex looks than how they can function.

I hope the bail-out plan takes hold. I'm not sure America can withstand another depression and I am quite sure we can not stand 4 more years of Bush, brought to you via the McCain and "Failin with" Palin ticket.

47 Days til ?

So today I heard GOP Presidential candidate John McCain give us a geography lesson. Per the
Senator from Arizona (which is in this hemisphere) Spain is in it as well. Latin America to be exact. Maybe when he was a young man (before continental drift took place) it was but now, not so much. He also gave the impression that Spain which is in NATO and sent troops to support us in our legal efforts in Afghanistan is possibly not and ally? What world does he live in. Oh I know, it is the one where it is OK to abandon your first wife who is injured and in need of care, to marry an heiress. It is the world where President Bush has a high approval rating and should be supported. It is a world where Gov Sarah (Failin with) Palin is ready to hold the office of VP of the United States, but it is not my world.

He is so out of touch that he probably doesn't know that Francisco Franco is still dead.

In other news, it is OK to ignore supeno's if you are "First Dude" of Alaska but if you or I do it, we go to jail. It is OK to wire tap and read other peoples email if your are in President Bush's world but it is an outrage and someone should go to jail if it happens to a VP candidate who is using such emails in a questionable manner anyway (to possibly avoid the freedom of information act concerning public documents.) Don't you just love double standards.

I can hardly wait to see what tomorrow brings. Maybe those pigs wearing lipstick will fly or not.

48 Days til ?

We saw more news today of what Sen. McCain's fundamentally strong economy looks like. AIG was bailed out to the tune of $85 Billion. If this is a sound economy, I don't want to see a recession. Oh but wait, now it isn't strong, we are in a crisis and Sen. McCain is says he is good in a crisis.

He should not be allowed to play both sides of this. He has been a US Senator for 26 years. He has been one of the power brokers who was in charge of not overseeing this mess and now we are supposed to let him be in charge of cleaning it up. I don't think so! We can't wait for his "Blue Ribbon Panel" to determine what is wrong and make recommendations to fix it! By the time this takes place, it is very possible he will have forgotten what the problem is.

In another very interesting twist, I saw today that Sarah "Fallin with Palen" has as six of her top advisers, employees that were.....now wait for it.... recently employed by our Commander in Chief George "Mission Accomplished" Bush. Now in all fairness, she needs some help to get up to speed on what is happening in Washington, because Alaska is a long ways from DC but why would someone who wants to be a Maverick bring on these hired guns. This is just more of the same.
I hope the numbers that I have seen today are the start of a trend and the bounce to the McCain/ Palin ticket is deflated and we at least have hope that something fresh can be bought to the Whitehouse.

49 Days to ?

I have been watching the run-up to the presidential campaign very intently. If we once again fall for the Republican game playing and rhetoric then we deserve four more years of what Pres. Bush has delivered. From the selection of Sarah failing with Palin, to the speech today that our economy is fundamentally sound, it is obvious that Sen. McCain is out of touch with reality.

Mrs. Palin has more questions surrounding her than a round of Double Jeopardy. If it is true that she got on a plane and flew 8 hours to have a baby in Alaska after her water broke then I question her judgement. If she said she did and it wasn't true she is a liar. In this case I am not sure which is worse. Then three days after delivering a baby with special needs, she is back at work? I once again question her priorities and her judgement.

She may be a fine person but everything I am able to find shows her to be mean spirited, vindictive and small minded. If you disagree with her or her policies, you could potentially find yourself on her list. Not a good place to be if you have a job in Alaska. I find this type of personality to be common among people who wish to be thought of as brilliant but are something else. I would rather chew on aluminum foil than be subjected to listening to anymore of her half truths and fabrications (she did not sell the jet on Ebay and she did support the bridge!) I have had pit bulls and she gives them a bad name!

I hope the Democrats get their act together and quash this threat. I for one am not sure how much more of the current prosperity we can stand. I don't blame the Republican party for all our current woes. I think people should take responsibility for their actions. I think government should only try to make sure that the playing field is level and not tipped in the favor or whoever has the biggest purse. Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness is what the Preamble offers and that is what we deserve.

Football Kickoff

Football season is in full swing and what a strange spread of emotions they have caused so far. I guess it is silly to invest so much time and thought in a game but I do. First my son was left off the travel squad of his DII team after starting last year. I as well as his mother were puzzled by this. How can someone with his talent and work ethic be ignored on a team that frankly hasn't shown any signs of being competitive this year. To say the least I was puzzled to say the most I was irate!

My TarHeels had a real struggle to beat McNeese State and their season really looks to be in question. Many people have pointed to them being much improved and they may be but if the first game is any indication it could be another long year for the Heels.

Hibriten HS is off to a great start. The team as a lot of speed, some really talented skill position players and pretty good chemistry. They could make some real noise come playoff time. They may struggle against big athletic teams. They play Bandys on Friday night and that game could tell a great deal about their season. Win it and they should finish well, lose and the season is a big question mark.

More on my son. After being left off the travel squad, he worked hard and was named the "Scout Team Player of the Week". To me this would be akin to kissing your cousin, OK but nothing to get all excited about. On top of this announcement, his line coach called him three times during his 8 AM class. He got in touch with him afterwards and to his and my surprise was told he would be playing center with the first team this week. He has never played center in a game situation or if he has, it has been very little. He must have made a real impression this past week. My advise to him is to go all out and leave nothing on the field. Not only this week in football but in life as well. Come to think of it I think I will take the same advise.

Learning that everyone is not looking out for your best interest is a tough lesson. It is sad that you can't take people at their word or think that most people are honorable. The bottom line is that when faced with the choice of doing the easy thing or the right thing, I believe most choose the first.
I know I have but I hope that most of the time I choose the right thing.

It really hurts when someone you love and have tried to teach to take the high road faces the harsh realities of life. You want to protect them and make sure they don't get hurt. Unfortunately you can't always do so. Your only choice is to remain steady and keep repeating the lessons you have passed on all these years: do your best, take care of what you can and be able to look at yourself in the mirror and like what you see.

Tough Day

I went with my son to check in for his second year or college. As I mentioned in a previous post, he plays football at Chowan University. It was tough because it was almost six hundred miles of driving and it is hard to drop him off. I don't care if he is 18 or 80, I guess I will never get used to him being out of the house.

We start raising our kids with the express purpose of them leaving home. Everything we do is to help prepare them to face the world. I think he has the skills to be successful, he is intelligent, good looking, funny and has a good work ethic (he worked his tail off getting ready for football, dropping 25 pounds over the last six weeks). He will be OK, I guess it is me that I feel sorry for. Every time he leaves now, I start to feel older. I know that I have done my job but it hurts to push him out the door.

On a positive note, the coaches were upbeat about the team and his friend Garrett was named as d line coach. He is a fine young man and I am glad they rewarded his loyalty to the program with a job. I will give updated on the teams progress as it becomes available. The need depth on the O Line and at the skill positions. They need to shore up the defense and the kicking game. Other than that, I think they will be fine. Time will tell.