Thursday, November 30, 2006

Thursday Thoughts

As promised, finally, the temperature has been dropping all day. Some light rain with it so it is a damp cold. Tonight I'll have to turn on the heater. It'll be in the 30's. Crazy stuff.

May I just comment on the cost of a nice suit, shirt, silk tie, belt, and lace up dress shoes for a 17 year old young man? Holy cow. I hope he enjoys the Winter Dance, that's all I can say. Plus the tickets and wrist corsage for his date. And dinner before the dance at a nice Italian restaurant. You'd think it was prom.

I used the heater in my new car today for the first time. Works great. Did I mention I have a new vehicle? For the first time in over 20 years I have a new, used car. Yeah, that's right. It is a 2006 so with the 2007 models out now, my car becomes used. It had 96 miles on it at delivery. But most importantly, it has the new car smell. What a luxury for this girl. When I married the husband, we became perennial used car buyers. We have had some great ones, at great deals. My first real adult working experience was at a automobile dealership so I am well aware of the instant depreciation of autos once they leave the dealership's lot.

This car is a Chevy Impala with the bigger engine in it. Maroon with biege cloth seats. I christened the cd player yesterday with my Il Divo Christmas album. I love my Il Divo boys. They're so pretty and have glorious voices.

The car I drove the longest period of time was a Mercedes 300D. It was a great car. Lasted forever. I've had good luck with Mazda's, too. I have had two different models of them. Both of those I bought new as a single woman. I worked for the dealership.

Anyway, I guess the old adage of everything comes in three's is true in Hollywood, huh. First Mel Gibson, then Michael Richards and now Danny DeVito having a meltdown. DeVito was on the View yesterday and according to the clips I saw, was drunk and obnoxious. He fell into the standard cheap laughs with the Bush is stupid crowd. Too bad. I liked him. No more. He was on Fox and Friends earlier and I saw him on that before starting the day and he appeared sober and was fine. Of course I wasn't terribly alert myself at that hour. Doesn't say much for his comedic skills when he does the same pap that Letterman and Jon Stewart do. Not to mention it is just not true. Bush isn't a great speaker but his intelligence is greater than his critics. I guess they still prefer a haughty French looking Boston accent to a Texas twang. It's one of the last accepted prejudices, isn't it, that a slower accent means you lack intelligence.

Bless his heart.

Wednesday, November 29, 2006

It's a New Day

Feeling more like myself today, it's a new day. Coffee drinking worked its magic and into the world I went. Stopped by the grocery store after dropping off the son at school in case we get any rainshowers this afternoon. I like going to early in the morning while the store is still quiet and not crowded.

Two disquieting local stories in the news yesterday and continuing on into today. A local high school was on lockdown yesterday after a teen was shot, drive-by style, in front of the school. More news is coming out this morning and seems to be a gang thing. This school has had its problems, beginning to come to a head after the Katrina evacuees came to town. As many schools suffered from turf wars between the locals and the New Orleans kids, this school in particular had a lot of problems including violence between the groups. Now they seem to have a growing gang problem. Earlier in the school year there was a report of a violent sexual assault in a restroom on school grounds. Sounds like the school needs new administrative leadership.

The second story of concern this morning is the arrest of two men in cahoots with the Taliban. As you may know, this area has a huge Muslim population, especially in comparison to other metro areas around the country, except Detroit. These two young men, one mid-twenties, one early thirties, were arrested and charged with training to fight American and coalition forces in the middle east. They were trained just outside Houston and I hope the authorities are handling all that this entails. Shut the operations down and get rid of these enemies of our country. One, by the way, is an illegal Pakistani.

I'm still waiting for the cold snap we have been promised for the past few days. It is suppose to be here tomorrow. I would like to stop running the a/c around here, thank you. The electric company has gotten enough of our family budget this year.

Tuesday, November 28, 2006

Tuesday's Tidings

I got about 3 hours sleep last night and I am feeling it today. I took a nap this morning to try to feel better, with not much in the way of success. Hubby left about 2:30 to drive over to Louisiana so he can get out into the Gulf. I only had a day and a half to get used to the Croatian haircut. It's not pretty, that's the truth. It is really short, Jarhead style, on the top and the back at the neckline goes too far down. The sides and sideburns aren't right either. It's just not good.

As I frequently mention the coffee waking me up each morning, I often mention Boca Java. I signed on to a plan where they ship an order to me every couple of months and then they ship coffee to the troops overseas earned from my order. Combined with lots of customer orders, it adds up. I got a notice, via e-mail yesterday that my coffee donation from the last order went to 950th Maintenance CO, 352nd CBS APO,AE 09334. Interesting. They ship coffee to the troops every Friday. Coffee is a basic need for me so I think it is a great program and the very least I can do.

Our Westside Wolves came to the end of the road in the District playoffs Saturday at beautiful, huge, Reliant Stadium. The team had a great year. For such a young school they have been quite remarkable. This year, on the All-District Team the Wolves' quarterback was named District MPV and the coach was named Coach of the Year. Maybe they'll win it all next year for son's senior year. He isn't much for sports but would be something to remember.

Monday, November 27, 2006

Monday Musings

Just back from taking son to school and fighting traffics snarls and drizzling rain. Back to the routine we were taking a break from last week. Finishing up a cup of Boca Java Boca Villa and getting ready to pick up my new automobile when the dealership opens this morning.

Hubby is back from his travels to Africa. One word of advice - never let a Croatian near your hair with scissors. That's all I'm saying.

Making preparations for the coming Christmas holiday. Have to take son to purchase a new suit for a Winter Dance this weekend. It's semi-formal and the girl who invited him says a nice suit is fine so that's what it'll be. He outgrew his suit from a year and a half ago. I'll order her wrist corsage later today. The girl goes to a Catholic girls school so it's girls inviting boys.

Making reservations for air travel for the mother in law to come here for Christmas. I'm looking at a 4 day visit. Maybe 5, tops. Hopefully husband will be home this year. I'll be making our dinner theatre reservations again for Christmas Eve, as it was a hit last year. My childhood girlfriend and her son will join us again. Her husband, too, if he is visiting from his work in Iraq.

Speaking of Iraq, did you hear Charlie Rangel, (D-NY) channeling John Kerry by saying on Fox's Sunday morning show that if a young man had an option of a "decent" career or on enlisting to serve the country, he'd not pick serving. Yeah, they just keep on proving the Dems are not worthy of the nation's trust when it comes to national defense.

The standard line by the foolish military bashers is that it's only those young people who are poor, rural, and without any other options in life that are in the armed forces. He's a Korean War vet so he feels entitled to spout nonsense and not be held accountable for it. The Hertitage Foundation has published a through paper on who comprises our military today and the answer is disturbing to charlatans like Rangel. The study shows our military is comprised of people who are better educated, from middle to higher income families, and a huge sense of service to country.

Rangel is in line to become the chair of the appropriations committee in the House so I am sure while he is trying to rescind the Bush tax cuts, which have brought about a boom in the economy at all levels, he'll be working on cutting funding to the military, too. He's a disgrace. I hope he continues with his nonsense loud and clear the next two years.

Friday, November 24, 2006

Leftovers

Sipping my Boca Java and enjoying some quiet time. I am feeling relief that yesterday I didn't do the whole bird but just the parts we wanted. No fridge full of leftovers to worry about. Son enjoyed the turkey legs, one leftover, and the fresh turkey breast was really good. Enough leftover from that for some really good sandwiches.

Last night I was channel surfing and caught an interview on C-SPAN dating back to 1994. It was with Barbara Bush and the interviewer was Carl S. Anthony, an author of books on first ladies. Barbara Bush, such a class act. The interviewer asked a few questions with a certain tone in his voice but he was no match for her. She handled the predominantly liberal audience just fine.

Mrs. Bush reminded me of a few facts I had forgotten. She was the first first lady to hire a minority chief of staff for her office in the east wing of the White House. Anna Perez went on to a career in California. Also, the first Bush administration gave more money to the world population planning movement than previous administrations.

She and Bush 41 made a vow with each other not to criticize the Clintons as they took office. Shows the difference of class and none.

The Clintons are a look into the flip side of a former president. Bill Clinton won't let the spotlight go and is now openly going around the world telling folks how smart he is, when we know our foreign policy mess falls at his feet. I am reading Louis Freeh's book, "My FBI" and it is an eye-opener. The man openly dismissed helping the FBI bring to justice the Khobar Towers terrorists, yet felt free to hit up King Abdullah for million dollar donations for the Clinton Library being built in Little Rock. Freeh had to go to Bush 41 for assistance, behind the scenes.

Remember Hillary Clinton on the floor of the Senate a couple of days after 9/11 holding up the New York newspaper with the headlines "What did he know and When did he know it?" implying President Bush didn't do anything to stop the attack? I will never forget that moment. I thought at the time, what a political whore she is, showing all the world her true, raw ambitions while our nation grieves in shock after the attacks. The Pentagon was still burning yet there she was. And it all traced back to her husband's administration and the beginnings back to the Carter Administration.

After the Barbara Bush interview re-run, C-SPAN showed one with the same author with Hillary from the same week. He was fawning and gushing as you would expect. To listen to her now after 8 years of them in the White House just makes me shake my head. Her payoff after suffering massive humiliation during her White House days was the Senate seat in New York so she could have a coveted political office. Next we will endure her presidential campaign. She is hellbent to be the occupant in the big house again with Bill up to his old tricks. He'll be free for all kinds of hijinks this time around.

And more gift registries and million dollar book deals to make.

Their sense of entitlement is breathtaking.

Wednesday, November 22, 2006

Baby Penguins

Last summer some penguins from the Indianapolis Zoo were relocated to the aquarium at Moody Gardens on Galveston Island. The truck transporting the penguins was in an accident and some of the birds didn't make it to their destination. Others had to recover for a while to get well.

The good news is now there are baby penguins from this group! One chick hatched on Nov. 12 and there are 8 more chicks expected to hatch in the coming weeks.

"Their mating and parenting behavior is a positive sign that they are adjusting to their new environment", according to a news release from Moody Gardens.

A little something to smile about this morning.

And now I'm am getting back to my Boca Java Palm Beach Passion with almond toffee creamer.

I wish everyone a truly Happy Thanksgiving tomorrow.

Hug someone.

Tuesday, November 21, 2006

Cruel and Unusual Behavior

Still no end in sight for hubby's African assignment. Poor guy. But the up side is he gets lots of lamb to eat, which he dearly loves. Good thing.

It's one of those odd sort of days, for some reason. I'm not quite sure why, so I'll just go with it. While sipping the Boca Java Ocean Drive this morning I seriously considered a breakfast consisting of a 3 Musketeers candy bar. At the last moment common sense won out and I had the standard bowl of Cheerios.

This whole media buzz over Michael Richards, aka Kramer from Seinfeld, seems so bizarre to me. He is caught going off on some members of his audience during a stand up routine over the weekend at a LA comedy club and was screaming racial slurs and all that. So, he gets to go on Letterman last night, which I did not watch but saw clips of this morning, to be so sorry along with Dave's pal Jerry Seinfeld. By the way, next week a new set of Seinfeld dvd's are to hit the retail shelves.

Richards is given the big hug interview from Letterman. Richards was presumably sober during this act of his at the club. The racial epithats were spewed due to his irritation at hecklers.

Seems to me, when a person loses control and a person's temper takes over, a person's true nature surfaces. The guy's a bigot. He got caught.

Contrast this softness on Richards to the beating Mel Gibson took from Hollywood after his bigoted tirade. Gibson is hugely wealthy, successful, and not beholden to Hollywood anymore. He was skewered. He is conservative politically. I would imagine in Hollywood that would be the difference. Gibson's not one of the cool kids. He was drunk and foul mouthed. Hollywood elites took out full page ads blasting him and swearing to never work with him again.

Just an observation.

Human Rights Watch has proven once again why they are an organization not worthy of being taken seriously in today's times. They have issued a statement claiming Saddam's death sentence is "cruel and inhumane" treatment of the deposed dictator.

Wonder what those surviving families of all those murdered by Saddam think of that dribble?

Monday, November 20, 2006

So, What's It Gonna Be?

Well, as is our life, we are looking at a change in hubby's travel plans. He's been delayed at the job site so it's up in the air, no pun intended, for now. After 24 years with the man, it isn't anything but normal to not assume he'll be here for holidays.

So now there is a study out that says "dry" oil rigs are good artificial reefs. Some of us knew that many years ago. Those of us connected in the evil oil drilling business, anyway. The fishing is excellent off oil rigs, too, by the way.

The Baker/Hamiliton Commission is being bantered about in the media. Seems they will present three scenarios on how to continue on in Iraq. Go big, go long or go home. Send more troops, spend a longer amount of time there, or pack it in.

It's a mess. We aren't winning right now. Until the Iraqi police and military step up in a bolder way and in more numbers to grab hold of their country, we are doomed to continue on in this downward spiral. My friend's husband over there just last week was in Basrah and had a rocket land in their metal building where they sleep. His best pal's head was blown off his body, right next to my friend's husband.

My friend's husband is a vet, but over there as a non-military person. He is with the military. He is as protected as possible and he is totally frustrated with the Iraqi people. He understands being beaten down for 30 plus years and their reluctance to step up with the fear of Saddam or someone like him coming back into power and murdering his citizens again, willy nilly. This is why the sentencing of Saddam was so important to the ordinary Iraqi.

The Iraqis are terrified we will leave too soon and they will be stuck. The Kurds are still smarting about being hung out to dry after the last Gulf war. We have to get this right.

I saw John Kerry on a Sunday morning show. Such a clueless human being, blinded by his own ego and personal ambition. He takes ownership for his mistaken "joke" but still blames the "Republican attack machine" for his problems. And he still thinks he will run again for 2008's president nomination. I don't think even Theresa's money will help him this time.

"If they say leave in six months, we'll leave in six months. If they say six years, it's six years. I'm just an average soldier, and I'll do what they tell me to do. I'm proud to be a part of it, either way it goes, but I'd like to see it through." - Sgt. Jonathan Kirkendall, 23, of Falls City, Nebraska.

Sgt. Kirkendall is awaiting the birth of his first daughter, due this week. He is on his third deployment to Iraq. He celebrated his 21st and 23rd birthdays there.

There is nothing average about him.

Our military. All volunteer. Bless them.

Sunday, November 19, 2006

Sunday

Got an e-mail from the husband last night and he should be winging in to town late Tuesday night. Looks like he'll be here for turkey, after all.

Our son has requested a sweet potato pie instead of the traditional pumpkin pie I normally serve. So, that's a change of pace. Neither of my guys are very fond of pumpkin pie, or turkey for that matter. They love all the side stuff, though, like the veggies and dressing. But usually just turkey legs are consumed by them.

My husband told me he had the best squid he's ever had, and this man has had tons of it in his lifetime, and maybe the biggest squid, too. But very tender. He loves the stuff.

The pearl is my birthstone. It symbolizes freedom from disease and grief, according to an article on gems I recently read.

Hubby is still taking his malaria pills and seems to feel ok. No side effects he sometimes feels from them.

Been reading about the problems with Angelina Jolie's bodyguards in India? Seems three of them were arrested and then released on bail after they allegedly roughed up some parents and students at a Bombay school where the U.N. goodwill ambassador is filming a movie. Angry parents said they were threatened when they tried to get into the school to pickup their children.

Not long ago I saw a photo of Brad Pitt working on a roof of a house in India. Seems he gave Habitat for Humanity a whooping 30 minutes, just enought for the feel good photo op. He spent his 30 minutes, according to the newspaper account, in the hot sun wielding a hammer and talking to other volunteers. Wow. What a guy.

At least Jimma and Rosalynn give a full week to Habitat for Humanity. And they're not spring chickens.

Saturday, November 18, 2006

These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things

Today has been a day of favorite things. First, to start the day, I enjoyed opening a fresh bag of coffee beans. I sipped Boca Java's Ocean Drive and baked some chocolate chip muffins. Yummy stuff.

I leasurely read the morning papers, as we receive two. First I read the Houston Chronicle then the Wall Street Journal, weekend edition. After a shower I watched some cooking shows as I pulled myself together for a lunch date with my childhood friend. We meet once a month and today it was a terrific seafood lunch and visit. Our lunches last about two hours. I brought my son fried shrimp for his lunch and he was very pleased.

I called the bookstore and reserved a copy of "Huck Finn" for son's AP English class reading. I am somewhat disappointed in this choice as he read it in middle school and I think for an AP English class it is not much of a challenge but I won't complain as this is the first choice I have been disappointed with since he began high school and advanced English classes. Next they will read "The Great Gatsby".

My son was in a middle school production of "Huck Finn" and played that character.

According to www.earthweek.com :
Wildlife officials in southern Australia plan to deploy sheepdogs to protect the coast's dwindling population of fairy penguins. A pilot project will employ one dog on Middle Island, where the number of birds has dropped from about 5,000 five years ago to only 100 now because of attacks by wild dogs and foxes.

I was unfamilar with fairy penguins.

And to come full circle on my beloved fancy birds, I see a story book for children is causing a ruckus in a town 20 miles east of St. Louis. It is a story of two male penguins raising a baby penguin called "And Tango Makes Three". It is a true story of two male penguins in NYC's Central Park Zoo that raised a chick from a fertilized egg as their own.

These parents at Shiloh Elementary School claim this raised the issue of same sex parents and they aren't happy with children asking questions on the subject.

Idiots.

Maybe before jumping off a cliff on this one the parents might educate themselves on penguins a bit. The male penguin cradles the egg under a flap above his feet and is the one to hatch the egg.

Education, people. Education.

And from this entry's title, yes, "The Sound of Music" is in my top 10 all time favorite movies. I love movies too much to scale down the all time favorites list any smaller!

Friday, November 17, 2006

A Little of This, A Little of That

Happy Feet, the movie, starts today. How wouldn't enjoy a tap-dancing penguin with an environmental message? That's entertainment.

The Easy Bake Oven was inducted into the Toy Hall Of Fame. I am quite pleased with this choice. The Easy Bake Oven was my all time favorite childhood toy. It replaced my Chatty Cathy, which is saying something.

Today's toy of choice, if you are to believe the news reports, is the PlayStation 3. So bizarre, the ruckus it causes. My son is asking for the other system coming out, the Nintendo Wii. This is not my area of expertise, I just purchase what I am told, and my son has been kind enough to tell me the prices to expect so I don't get ripped off.

I knew from an initial gut reaction to John Edwards as he jumped onto the national scene last presidential run, that he was not to be trusted. First clue, of course, is that he is a multimillionaire trial lawyer still claiming to be just one of the folks. Why he and Elizabeth go to Wendy's to celebrate their anniversary every year to remind them of their poor days as newlyweds. And, you heard his father was a factory worker, right?

Well, now he is on a tear against WalMart and seems this only applies when toys aren't involved. He sent a young, volunteer (read unpaid) off to find a PlayStation 3 for his younger children and the volunteer asked WalMart to help him out. Didn't want to wait in line like everyone else and not paying his flunkies but, that evil WalMart better shape up.

During his speech before the union upper eschelon Edwards brought out of story using his young son, Jack, who is about 6 years old now, I think. He claims Jack berated a young classmate for buying and wearing sneakers from WalMart. The moral of the story being if young Jack knew better than to shop at WalMart, then surely his classmates must learn the lesson, too.

Now, for those of us in the real world, I can say when my son was 6 years old he no more gave a flip about sneakers or stores than the man in the moon. I am proud to say my son to this days shuns name brands whenever possible and doesn't care what store things come from, whether it is Target or Neiman Marcus. I don't happen to shop at WalMart as it isn't as close by as Target and I prefer Target as it is a little more upscale for a bargain store.

My son is on the cynical side and thinks people blindly follow advertisers and all that. He has always been his own person, thank goodness.

Anyway, it is shameful to drag your own child into a speech for brownie points. Remember when Jimma Carter told a reporter that he was speaking with young Amy one day and she told him her biggest fear was nuclear proliferation?

They think we are idiots.

"There is no such thing as a free lunch". - Milton Friedman, Economist, Noble Prize recipient, brilliant thinker

Thursday, November 16, 2006

If You're Happy and You Know It, Clap Your Hands

Enjoyed Boca Java South Beach Rhythm and a cherry turnover this morning. It was chilly, for here, and it felt good.

I must admit I thoroughly enjoyed Nancy Pelosi having her butt handed back to her by the overwhelming majority of her party as to their pick of Majority Leader. They had the sense to stick with Steny Hoyer and not poor John Murtha.

Am I the only person who thinks Nancy's belly button is moving when she smiles? She does so exaggerate her facial expression that she looks slightly deranged.

Hillary does that, too, sometimes, when she is trying to look like she's happy and her eyes bug out.

Something I found interesting during Pelosi's comments on John Murtha after he lost the vote this morning - she felt compelled to give some of his resume, for street cred, I suppose and mentioned he had been given the Kennedy Profile in Courage award. Somehow I don't think JFK was so pleased with Caroline's choice on that one. The far left that Pelosi and the war position of Murtha are not values JFK possessed. I know he is idolized due to being assassinated after barely being in the job and he had the young Jackie as his long suffering wife but he was quite conservative compared to where his party is today. He was a tax cutter and a smaller government kind of guy. Not to mention the dust up with Cuba and getting us into Vietnam in the first place.

And when he smiled it was relaxed and looked normal. Not to mention sincere.

Wednesday, November 15, 2006

Blown Away

Today is blustery. The wind is fierce and a cold snap is promised. Again. We'll see if it comes to fruition this time. Max, the dog, loves the wind. He stands outside and sniffs to his heart's content. There are all kinds of scents in the air for a curious canine's snout.

Our son signed up for a French competition yesterday, which surprised me a bit. He will compete in March and will do so by reciting a poem, en francaise, that has been memorized. Then later in the day he tells me his English teacher from last year asked him to participate in a UIL competition in English later this year. He agreed so I congratulated him on taking on extra work. More stuff for the resume for applying to colleges next fall.

Our Houston Chronicle newsrag shows it level of accuracy once again. Saturday brought a parade downtown in honor of Veteran's Day. The Chronicle did a story and stated the crowd was about 1,000. Well, the police department estimates the crowd to have been 75,000. Makes a person wonder if anyone actually bothered to go to the event and look around.

The silence is deafening, isn't it, about the outcomes of close races in the country? Where's all the usual outrage of late about "disenfranchised" voters, rigged voting machines, police patrol cars too close to polling sites? Oh, that's right, that only happens when Republicans win big.

From an article in the Washington Post by Ellen Knickmeyer:
At Saddam's sentencing, at least 6 guards surrounded former U.S. attorney general Ramsey Clark, one of the defense lawyers, and hustled him out of the courtroom.
"Get him out! Get him out!" Chief Judge Abdul Rahman shouted in English, outraged at a court filing submitted by Clark that apparently referred to the trial as a travesty.
"He's coming from America to insult the Iraqi people and the court," the judge added in Arabic.

Ramsey Clark, still making us proud. Hey, I understand George McGovern is being brought in to advise the Dems on what their Iraq plans should be, I'm sure he'll save a seat at the conference table for Ramsey.

Tuesday, November 14, 2006

Gambling in River City

The warm temps are back and so is the humidity. I was just over the sinus headache and now I feel it starting again. The air conditioning is running again. Bleek.

So, how long did the bi-partisanship mumbo jumbo last after last week's elections? Already it has been announced the Senate committee running the re-confirmation hearings on John Bolton's U.N. ambassadorship will not allow a vote out of committee, thus no vote on the Senate floor, so he's dead in the water. Bolton deserves better. He has done a stellar job and the dems know he would be confirmed with a good majority on the Senate floor, so they have to shut that down. There is a way for the president to get around the Senate approval but I don't know if he has it in him to do it.

The Dems are handing Chavez, Kofi Annan and Aminijahad a bouquet of flowers with that victory.

Maybe if Bolton would just promise to go to North Korea and do the Macarana and bring along more autographed basketballs.

Nancy Pelosi, incoming House leader, has thrown her support to her old buddy Jack Murtha for second in command. He is being rewarded for his orchestrating Pelosi's ascension to the top several years back over Steny Hoyer, the current number two guy. Plus, he was the darling of the press and the far left crowd with his cut and run and hide out in Okinawa. Well, he's a former Marine, he's above reproach, isn't he? Umm, no. He can be just as wrong as the next person.

In 1980, Murtha was caught on tape by the FBI in the ABSCAM scandal. He was offered $50,000 to help Arab sheikh get into this country. He didn't accept this particular offer of money but told the FBI undercover agent he wanted to do business with them. Murtha never called the FBI or police to report the attempted bribe and nailed his own coffin.

Pelosi has inserted herself into the race for the number two slot now underway in the House. This is rarely done by the Majority Leaders but that is Pelosi's nature. She is an uber control freak and insists on blind loyalty. She makes Tom DeLay look like a choirboy when it comes to running her caucus. It'll all start coming out now that the power has shifted.

You knew it was time to run for the hills when she pompously stated she'll have the most ethical leadership ever. Yeah, that's what Hill and Bill said when their co-presidency began and they turned out to be the most subpoenaed and indicted administration in recent history. It's always the misbehavers that feel they have to tell you how ethical they are.

It's kind of like when a couple tells you how blissfully happy they are after all these years and the next week they are filing for divorce.

Not that I'm cynical about it all.

And Harry Reid, the incoming Majority Leader in the Senate is coming under the spotlight over yet another land deal from which he profits in Nevada. He has quite the knack for it, being just a poor boy from Searchlight Nevada and all. Turns out he backed funding for a bridge between Nevada and Arizona that affects the value of property nearby that he owns.

Reid has pledged more openness on the practice of earmarking, funding pet projects for their districts, so time will tell as he continues to enrich himself. With all of his sons as lobbyists in D.C., I doubt any of them will go hungry.

The first big Christmas tree was lit Saturday night at the Galleria. It gets earlier and earlier.

It'll be in the 70's here today. Warmer later in the week.

Monday, November 13, 2006

Coming and Going

So, here I am blogging from my very own, brand new notebook computer. It is the first one that is all mine and mine alone. I have always shared the main, big and powerful, desktop computer with the printer and all right there. So, this feels really wierd but I think I can get used to it! My husband surprised me with it yesterday afternoon. After freaking out that he just went out and spent the money without saying anything to me, who pays the bills, then I settled down and am getting used to it.

I don't do surprises well.

I always feel guilty, like the money should be spent on our son, who will be heading off to college in 1 1/2 short years, or something like that. My husband can spend money with merry abandonment and that is just the difference in our natures.

Tomorrow is another day.

Today my husband left for Equatorial Guinea. He was home a whopping 4 days this time, and 2 of those were spent with him sick in bed. As I type, he is winging it to Paris, which he abhors, then a 2 hour layover and then to Africa. Not too bad for his travels. He was in Equatorial Guinea once before, about 5 or so years ago.

I hope he is finished in a relatively short time and home for Thanksgiving. We don't have anything special planned but I am thinking this year we may eat out. I may just make reservations. It would be a first for us. I always cook and I have already begun stocking the pantry for this year's feast but with just the three of us, I just may suggest we go out. If it is just our son and me, we will definately go out.

Ah, life.

I would like to give a shout out to the Westside Wolves - the District 25-A champs! They were undefeated in the District playoffs and were 9-1 for the seasons.

Go Wolves.

My son doesn't play, but, hey, I'm a southern girl. Football is embedded in my soul.

So, who's sick of Madonna? Elton John? Brad Pitt? I'm starting "Shut up and Sing" by Laura Ingraham tonight.

And now I am going to look at the really cool aquarium screen saver my husband put on this thing.

Saturday, November 11, 2006

Once a Marine, Always a Marine

Happy Veteran's Day! I hope we all will take a few moments and think about what a lucky country we are to have a military population that will step up, follow orders and secure our future.

This morning's coffee - Boca Java's Blogs of Bravery with chocolate mint truffle creamer. Excellent.

Last night's stroganoff made in the crock pot was a hit. This morning husband requested eggs and grits. Then I fixed potato soup for lunch, thick and creamy like I like it. Hubby has been sleeping most of the day, trying to feel better. He leaves Monday afternoon for Equatorial Guinea. I have been doing laundry like a mad woman so that whatever he needs to travel is clean.

Sunday Gerald Ford will break the record set by Ronald Reagan for being the oldest living president, by one day. The new record will begin with 93 years and 121 days.

I read an article by Mitch Stacy of the Associated Press about Florida'a oldest living vet from WWI. He is 111 years old and Governor Jeb Bush awarded him with the World War I Victory Medal yesterday. Ernest Charles Pusey, his last name is kiling me, was in the U.S. Navy from 1917 to 1919 and served on the battleship USS Wyoming, patrolling the sea lanes around the British Isles. He lives in a trailer since he wasn't happy in a nursing home. He has a caretaker who takes him to church and out for scallop dinners on Sundays. He worked for GM in Flint, Mi for more than 30 years before retiring to Florida. He still remembers his time on the battleship and especially "stopping at different cities out there."

According to the federal Dept of Veterans Affairs website, according to this article, there are fewer than 25 living U.S. veterans from World War I out of nearly 5 million who served worldwide.

Yesterday in Virginia, President Bush became a bit emotional, as he is known to do, as he spoke about presenting the Medal of Honor to a Marine who died as he jumped on a grenade in Iraq to save the lives of two comrades. The Medal of Honor is the highest American military decoration. Cpt. Jason Dunham of Scio, N.Y. died April 22, 2004 as his patrol was ambushed near the Syrian border. He used his helmet and his body to absorb the blast from the grenade. Friday was to be his 25th birthday.

President Bush has awarded 6 Medals of Honor. Three to Vietnam vets and one each to vets of WWII and Korea and one to an Iraq war vet.

Cpl. Dunham's parents were present as President Bush spoke of their son yesterday at the dedication of the Marine museum and they were presented with their son's medal.

Semper fi.

Friday, November 10, 2006

The Cheese Nun

My sinuses are still out of whack. It will be a near record high temperature here today, projected to be 87 degrees. And humid, of course. Yes, still running the air-conditioning because my menopausal body insists on it.

My husband is at the doctor's office, awaiting a cure for his ills. He wasn't feeling too great after the journey home from China and then he realized an eye infection has set into his right eye, so he's home again today. He took my car and is having it's turn signals repaired as he waits to be squeezed into the doctor's schedule.

It's always something.

Last night I watched a PBS documentary about Sister Noella in Bethlehem, Connecticut. She lives in a cloistered nunnery of Benedictine sisters with emphasis on the benefit of physical labor. She has an interesting story.

Half way through the show I realized I had already seen it. I must have missed the beginning before, though. Yeah, it's been that kind of week.

Anyway, Sister Noella is the youngest of 6 children and was a student at Sarah Lawrence College in 1969 when she realized how disillusioned with life she had become, mostly due to sentiments about the Vietnam War. This group of nuns were criticized for taking in hippies and she was drawn to them.

In 1969, my husband was in the Air Force, stationed in Taiwan and flying missions into Vietnam. I was in my freshman year of high school. To save you the math, he's 7 years older than me!

Sister Noella had an interest in making cheese and that operation began with a single cow, Sheba. Sister Noella won a Fulbright Scholarship to study cheese manufacturing in France for a year.

The sisters make it in a very primitive way, stressing physical labor as is their belief, and it is done by hand. The milk is not pasteurized.

The Mother Superior there, Mother Anastacia, is a blacksmith. She does not look like a nun I would like to be on the wrong side of. After my three years in a Catholic girls' high school in Shreveport, there are lots of residual feelings about nuns remaining! Too many memories of kneeling for uniform inspection - our hemline could not be more than two inches above our knees, in the days of the miniskirt - and it yours was too short the ruler was brought out and your knuckles were whacked.

Ah, good times.

Thursday, November 09, 2006

Number 84

Hubby got home last night from his trip to China. He is home today recovering and getting some work done from home. He's a busy guy.

Today is my mother in law's 84th birthday. I spoke with her on the phone Tuesday night and she was telling me how beautiful the flowers are that we sent to her. I already gave her subscriptions to a couple of her favorite magazines, Southern Living and Paula Deen's magazine, so she's a happy woman.

My mother in law is one healthy woman. How lucky is she? She doesn't take any meds at all. She takes vitamins and supplements and that's it. She is still working. She retired last year from her work in real estate and that lasted about 7 or 8 months. She's back in the game and doing open houses on weekends for a realtor for a monthly salary.

She is back playing bridge - she is at master's level - and has a new beau, to whom she is re-teaching the game. She continues to be a voracious reader and works her word jumbles every morning. She continues to travel across the country, whether it is to visit us here in Houston, to the Seattle area to visit her other son, or to south Georgia to visit her hometown and her family there. She goes to Florida each winter for a bit with an old friend.

She is an actress and last year continued to pass out her head shots to do commercials and extra work in movies. As a younger woman, she had a cooking show on the local tv station in Indiana where she has lived since marrying my father in law, barely out of her teens. They met while she was a student in college in New Orleans and he was on leave from the war, passing through town, during WWII.

She has lived in Bloomington, Indiana since marrying him. She has the same circle of girlfriends as she always did, so her friendships are in the range of 60 years or so with many of them. They all get together on New Year's Eve and have a slumber party so they can drink champagne and not worry about getting home. A majority of them have a standing weekly date for lunch.

I want to go out the same way.

Wednesday, November 08, 2006

There's Got To Be A Morning After

I can't believe how foggy the air was this morning. I feel for the folks on the expressways around here in morning rush. My sinuses are giving me a pounding headache even after taking my meds.

So, here we are. The election is finally over and we can relax. I'm happy my state remained in the red column. It's too bad what happened to my party nationwide but I'll admit it was to be expected. I expect the two Senate seats, Montana and Virginia, still in limbo will go to the Dems, too. So, we'll have both houses under Democratic control. We do, however, still have George W. Bush in the White House. This just means not much is going to be accomplished in the next two years and that's not such a bad thing. My strong libertarian streak rejoices.

The good news from all this for me is that my party will now have to do a bit of soul searching and get back to the core principles. When it is the Democrats running on fiscal responsibility and corruption, you know the Republican leadership has lost its way. The president's veto pen will have to be dusted off and put to use. This is a good thing. The far right of my party will be reigned in on the social issues and that is also a good thing. When Republicans get involved in a personal decision on right to die issues, it is time to rethink the issues. When the Republicans got involved in the Schiavo case in Florida, I knew we were going the wrong way. The far right of my party is no better for our causes than the far left is for the Democrats. Both sides look equally off kilter to regular folks out there.

The good news is the president continues to lead the war on terrorism for the next two years. And now the prospects of a Republican president in 2008 are much better. When the partying is over and things settle down to business in D.C., the country will soon realize that Nancy Pelosi is a model of mixed messages. She claims to represent the union worker, yet her mulitmillionaire husband doesn't employ union workers in his hotels or his vineyards in California. She claims she wants civility in D.C. yet just last week in a national tv interview called the president a liar and stupid. Not original and not civil. She is the daughter of a former mayor of Baltimore, grew up in politics, and the only change she brings to Washington is the party affiliation initial after her name. But, boy, her plastic surgeon is good.

I was heartened to see Joe Lieberman's victory speech. I don't agree with him on much at all, but his support on national security is the most important issue of our time and he's a man of courage in his party. The ironic thing is now he is the most powerful Democrat in the Senate and is an Independent on paper. The Dems shunned him and supported Lamont to pacify the far left anti war crowd. Now they'll be required to get Lieberman's support for legislation to be up for votes. Sweet.

I admit to being happy Jack Carter lost his Senate bid in Nevada. He is no better than his failure of a president father, Jimma, and showed his true stripes by asking moms of fallen soldiers in Iraq to stand with him on stage and garner up support for his anti war stance on Iraq. The standard play of Democrats to use victims as vote fodder. What they are slowly learning is that when it comes to the war, Cindy Sheehan is the exception, not the rule. The majority of the moms will not dishonor the memory of their children in brazenly political ways. He was turned down, quite publicly, by the moms he was trying to win over and that is a good thing.

Our foreign policy will not change. The war effort will be modified, as it was being done already. Now, when Don Rumsfeld offers his resignation to President Bush, the president will be able to gracefully accept it and do what needs to be done. He needs a fresh Secretary of Defense with fresh eyes.

The Dems were set to re-elect Mollahan from W. VA and Jefferson from LA, both under corruption investigations so that will be interesting to see play out.

The party of No, if President Bush wants it we don't, the party of obstruction will now have to come up with policy to lead.

They have to be the grown ups now.

The future is looking good.

Tuesday, November 07, 2006

Election Day 2006

VOTE

Today is the day to take responsibility as an American citizen and vote.

The weather may not be pleasant.

The choices may not be the ones you want.

But...

Today you awoke a free American citizen.

The economy is humming right along.

Unemployment is at an all time low.

The stock market is at a high mark.

Our streets are not riddled with bombs.

Our children have a bright future.

We have plenty to eat.

Minorities are at record home ownership levels.

Small businesses are succeeding.

Thank a soldier.

Go vote.


Monday, November 06, 2006

Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word

It's a rainy Monday here in Space City. Sipping Starbuck's Verona, Bold, and deciding when to make a dash for the drugstore to pick up my blood pressure med refill. I'll be needing that stuff tomorrow. Chicken and dumplings in the crockpot, simmering away, and Max has given up on his quest to chase squirrels today. He doesn't like rain delays in his favorite sport.

Much to the dinosaur media's disappointment, the people of Iraq are accepting the guilty verdict of Saddam, even the Sunni's so far. The folks in Tikrit have voiced irritation but that's Saddam's hometown so it's to be expected. Their days of the gravy train are over.

Why is it so diffucult for those personalities in the spotlight to owe up to mistakes and just say "I'm sorry"? Media furors would be much less frequent and easily managed if only the person would get out front of a controversy and apologize.

The person could say, "I'm sorry, I made a mistake" or "I'm sorry, I used poor judgement", or more honestly, "oops, you caught me, I'm sorry". The general public would accept any of these statements and move on without any brouhaha. Everyone makes mistakes.

The latest examples, last week's slamming of the military by John Kerry and then the University of Penn president are two glaring examples. We are tired of the Kerry kerfuffle. The President of the Univ of Penn is a foolish woman. She was caught having a photo taken with a student dressed as a suicide bomber at the university's undergrad Halloween party. She poses with the students throughout the party. She posed with a Syrian student dressed as a suicide bomber without any question. She says she voiced surprise that he got through security. She says she wasn't paying close attention to the costumes of the students. The student promptly posted the photo on his website, a site that glorifies violence and killing execution style that we see in the Middle East, like beheadings, and then the photo made the wires. He says she was laughing it up with him and didn't have a problem with his costume.

So, she comes out with the statement that she apologizes if she has offended anyone. Again, the poorest form of apology. This is the non-apology apology. When the guilty person says the incident has been misinterpreted, or that the person is surprised anyone is offended, then this blames the victim. How silly of you to be offended. If you were smart, you would have interpreted the whole thing differently.

Be a grown up already.

I see in the newspaper that Chelsea Clinton has taken a new job at a Hedge Fund firm. Her previous job was as a consultant for a Wall Street firm at a base salary in the 6 figures.

The Bush twins are taking a different career path. Jenna is teaching this year in South America and Barbara is continuing on with her health care work in Africa. She concentrates on the AIDS programs being established by her father's pen in the Oval Office.

Sunday, November 05, 2006

Good Riddance

Today the verdict came in:

GUILTY.

Saddam is deemed guilty for crimes against humanity. The punishment handed down is death by hanging.

The appeal is expected to take 4 to 5 weeks.

Good riddance.

Saturday, November 04, 2006

Fantasy Land

So, what would your fantasy work be, if you could choose?

I have a fantasy of opening up a small bookstore. It has been my fantasy all of my adult life. The bookstore is the kind of place I find here in a locally owned store, in my part of town. My store would be a little bit different but she has the same thoughts as me.

What brought the fantasy bookstore to mind again was reading Elizabeth Berg's "The Year of Pleasures" recently. Berg never disappoints me and this book was not an exception. She captures me and keeps my attention throughout her books.

In "The Year of Pleasures" the main character is widowed and she moves from Boston to a small community outside of Chicago to begin a new life. She is not bothered by financial insecurity so she is able to decide to open her own store. Her store is a place for women and it would stock items women love, like fancy soap, flowing scarves, good books, fine paper goods, etc. Her place would have a wine and cheese bar with homemade desserts and would be available to rent out for retreats. It was such a wonderful fantasy place for me to envision.

I was on one of my favorite websites earlier this morning, www.bookreporter.com, and a question they pose in a poll is, have you ever dreamed of opening up a bookstore? What authors would you bring to your bookstore? I loved both questions.

My little place would have a couple of cozy, overstuffed chairs for leasurely browsing through a book or magazine, a coffee corner with homemade goodies, a section of fine stationary and quality paper as that is my other favorite thing, and I would hold frequent evenings with authors. The authors I would most like to bring in would be unknown locals or those I have stumbled upon and wish to call to the attention to other readers. I would book more widely known authors to bring in traffic to the store. I would begin two or three book clubs that would meet once a month to discuss the previous month's selection. Each book club would focus on a different genre of book.

It would be so fun. I love a good fantasy. The fantasy is always better than the reality.

"Oh, nobody understands anything. We're all just here, blinking in the light like kittens. The older I get, the more I see that nothing makes sense but to try to learn true compassion." - Elizabeth Berg

Friday, November 03, 2006

Which Way Ya Gonna Go?

It's the November surprise that backfires right onto the NYT, just as they thought it was the move of checkmate on that lying President Bush. The NYT got a little greedy about publishing national security secrets, giving aid and comfort to our enemies during a time of war and now they look like the buffoons they are on the editorial pages.

A website put up by the U.S. Dept of Intelligence has been shut down today after claims that sensitive weapon making techniques are published on it. Officials of the International Atomic Energy Agency were upset about the public disclosure.

The New York Times published findings from some of the 48,000 boxes of documents captured in Iraq by our soldiers and coalition forces. The government shut down the website due to information on the Iraqi nuke program put together by Saddam. In the course of disclosing the information about the program, some info was published that is better off left out. This info is readily available from other sources on the internet, to be sure, but there is no need for our government to be publishing it for anyone to see.

Remember the argument that all the documents found were not important? Remember the argument that the old weapons left in Iraq and buried in the desert were old and not important? Remember the argument that Saddam sent weapons out of the country just before the war began?

The New York Times has validated those believing the President, his advisors and the members of the intelligence community concerning the nuke program underway by Saddam. He was probably a year away from the atomic bomb, according to the documents.

In order to validate the "Bush lied" crowd, the war conspiracy would have to include our country's administration, the administration of all the coalition countries and all major intelligence gathering agencies worldwide.

The New York Times wanted to continue on with the theme of bashing the Bush administration and giving aid and comfort to our enemy. Their continued theme of sedition.

We are a nation at war.

The timing of this article says it all. This website has been up since March. This once respected newspaper hates President Bush more than they want our soldiers to complete the mission.

Our military hasn't lost a battle in Iraq. Those killing each other are Iraqis and outside insurgents.

If President Bush had not continued on with the settled policy of our government, which was regime change in Iraq and established in 1998 under Clinton, and the coalition of the willing agreed with the impending war, and the U.N. gave Saddam 17 resolutions before the war began which he never lived up to, and our pilots were being shot at in the no-fly zone created at the end of the first Gulf War, then what do you suppose the voices would have said in this country? They would have accused him of incompetence and not acting in the best interest of our country when the atomic bomb was developed in Iraq.

It can't go both ways. Tough decisions had to be made. Clinton kicked it all down the road and we were attacked on our own soil on September 11, 2001. We were all lulled into thinking it was all about the economy, stupid, throughout the emergence of radical Muslim forces in the world. They were determined to make a move.

Saddam has been removed from power. He will be convicted from his first trial, maybe on Sunday.

Our economy is still going full tilt. Lowest unemployment numbers ever. Dow at a record high. More minorities are homeowners than ever before. Low interest rates. All of this as we are a nation at war.

Have you seen the commercial made by Kurdistan thanking us for freedom and democracy? If it doesn't bring a tear to your eye, well, you're a tougher person than me.

"If you're going through hell, keep going." - Winston Churchill

"The fact that the fighting is tough doesn't mean our effort isn't worth it." - George W. Bush

Thursday, November 02, 2006

The Squirrel and ACORN

Did you hear the story about the postal carrier who was attacked by a squirrel? She was delivering the mail to a home and the squirrel in the yard ran up her pant leg and on up her shirt to her neck. The squirrel clawed her neck before she could grab it by the tail and stop the attack. She was treated for the clawing and given a rabies shot.

The squirrel went postal.

My dog, Max, was sleeping on the sofa when this story came on the tv screen. Max fancies himself the greatest squirrel chaser ever. I guess he heard the word, squirrel, and sat straight up on the sofa. He looked at the tv screen as they put up pictures of two different squirrels. I swear this happened. It was amusing. He just sat there staring at the screen while the squirrel photos were on it.

On a different twist of a squirrel story, the liberal politically active organization, ACORN, strikes again. In what is being called the biggest voter registration fraud operation in a quarter of a century, 4 ACORN workers have been indicted in Missouri. They were quite creative, but, alas were caught and now will be prosecuted. This investigation is continuing on in a half dozen other states. In the city of St. Louis alone the number of voter registrations questioned is over 5,000.

Howard Dean, the failed presidental primary candidate from 2004, now head of the DNC, says that requiring that voters show identification at polling places before casting ballots is voter suppression on black voters. Classic Dean, isn't it? I demand polling workers look at id's if the voter registration card is not produced by a potential voter. Are you kidding me? What can an adult do in everyday life without proper id? Get a driver's license? Banking transactions? License your pet? Make purchases with a credit card? Register a child for anything? Buy a home? Rent an apartment?

Get real. I think it is a travesty that id is not mandatory in all 50 states to vote. I'm like that.

So, Senator John Kerry, who should immediately resign his office, posted a half-assed apology on his website yesterday afternoon after being pounded by both sides of the aisle. He was all in your face with the press conference from Seattle and saying "I apology to no one" then meekly posts a kind of apology on the internet.

Stand up an be a man, Senator Kerry. Those mean Republicans didn't have a thing to do with your hideous remark smearing the American military, again. You dug this hole all by yourself. And now your chance of running again for president in 2008 is long gone.

Nice job.


"You can't say, "I support the troops but hate the cause, because that's why they signed up." - Tony Snow

Wednesday, November 01, 2006

Snatching Victory From The Jaws Of Defeat

So, here we are today. We will know many election returns by this time next week. Some races will be contested, as the plans to do so regardless of the outcome have been fleshed out and legions of lawyers have been dispensed around the country, and we won't know for a bit longer. Lots of nervous, future victims out there this time around.

"It is sad that we can't have civil discourse in the midst of historic times." So said President Bush the day before Senator Kerry slammed the military once again. Kerry's appearances with candidates in Iowa and Minnesota were promptly cancelled once the remarks hit the airwaves. Then, seeing how the American people were proving once again that they are not as gullible as Kerry thinks they are, the entire calendar of Kerry appearances were scrapped. Further proving it is all about him, Kerry claims he doesn't want to take the focus off the issues in the campaign. He is the gift that keeps on giving.

A recent study group has now released findings about press coverage of the two political parties in this country. The findings are not a surprise to many: 77% favorable to Dems, 12% favorable to Republicans. That's the fair and balanced coverage we expect from the dinosaur media.

The press is so invested in a Democratic win and changing majority in the House, most were even unwilling to give an honest headline to the Kerry kerfuffle. It's all about "Bush criticized Kerry", not Kerry slams the troops, again. The press forgets, however, that many serving in the military are Democrats and they and their families support the mission and the President as Commander in Chief. Oops.

Kerry has a bad habit of accusing our troops of murder, tortue, rape, and now being uneducated boobs with no other options for the future. Last week he said the Generals on the ground in Baghdad have failed "miserably" in their work. That must be a comfort to the troops and their families praying for them back home. Last November he claimed the troops were busting into homes in Iraq, "in the dark of night" and terrorizing women and children. Comforting and supportive talk, that. And the whole history started during his proud participation in the Winter Soldier hearings before Congress during Vietnam days. You know, when he accused our soldiers of acting in the model of Genghis Khan as they were beheading, raping, murdering, etc. the people of Vietnam.

Kerry loses credibility in saying it was all a botched joke. If it were not for his past history, maybe he'd get the benefit of the doubt. To say it was a joke about how stupid he thinks President Bush is doesn't fly. If he was saying President Bush and his people didn't do their homework and learn lessons of history so we are "stuck in Iraq", then what's his excuse for voting for the war? And the excuse of all those beating their chests in disgust now?

"Those in the military are plenty smart and plenty brave. Senator Kerry owes them an apology."- President George W. Bush. Our military is all voluntary. The troops are motivated in the mission. Sure, some enlist to further their station in life. Those signing up after 9/11 fully are aware of the state of the world. Yes, Kerry is a vet of Vietnam. So is my husband. They could not look at the world any more differently. Kerry has not known anything but a life of priviledge. He looked as his 4 months in the service as a career move for a future in politics. That's his right. But, on the flip side, he has no claim to being a victim when he is called on this fact.

The swells in academia and the cocktail party crowd on both coasts look at those in the military protecting their pampered butts as being of a lesser class than them. Those poor schmoes in the service. Kerry couldn't understand the rise of the Swift Boat Veterans because he sees himself as a hero. The fact is that the true heroes never boast on themselves. Think of the heroes of WWII. Like my deceased father in law. Or of my deceased father, a vet of the Korean war. They never talked about their service unless directly questioned about something in specfic. Kerry opened himself up with the whole "reporting for duty" stunt during the 2004 campaign.

The 2004 campaign is over. Kerry lost by millions of votes. More than three million votes, in a big turnout of voters on both sides. George Bush is not running in 2006.

We are a nation at war. I will say that every day if I have to, to make a point. All of the press and the Democrats screaming how terrible the war is going, how we are losing, it is sedition. How dare they, with American men and women in harm's way. We are Americans. We have to pull together and get this thing done.

War is horrid. Times are tough. Put on your big girl panties and do what needs to be done. Pull together, even with those you politically oppose, and do it for those serving so that you can voice your opinions in a free society.

Senator Kerry, resign. Now. Get off the stage. You have no clue. If you think it is appropriate to make every appearance a bash on the President and how you think he is so stupid, when he had a higher GPA than you in the same institution of higher learning, by the way, you have no clue.

Resign.