New Year

It is a beautiful New Year full of opportunities, adventures, laughter, friendship,changes, and of course politics. One of the things I really like about teaching is that you get almost two months off over the Christmas holiday. This gives me an opportunity to "recover" from the year and to think about the coming one. My husband died a few days before Thanksgiving many years ago, but as a result I dread that holiday. The period between Thanksgiving and Christmas is usually a rough one for me and a period that I wish I could escape. This year I escaped by getting really sick with a combination of the flu and a cold. Lasted almost three weeks. So I did not get as much "thinking" and "recovering" done as normal.

It is Jan. 2nd and it is a dreary day with a winter storm advisory in effect. Of course around here that means sleet or ice. If there is going to be a winter storm advisory I would love to see snow.

We are getting close to the Inauguration of a new President. Barack Obama is not a man I supported. He is a man I know very little about even though I have read all I can about him. To me he is a blank slate that people projected their own wants/desires/hopes onto. So far he has surrounded himself with moderate/liberals. So we shall see. On Jan. 20th he will be sworn in as my President and for the sake of the country that I love so much I hope he will be a successful one. I will support him when I agree with him and challenge him when I disagree. However, Congress is another matter all together. Both Houses are being led by Radical Leftwing Liberals who scare me. One of the great unknowns about Obama is whether he will just go along with everything they send him or will he try to reign them in from excesses. And what does he draw the line. Is forcing everyone into a union a line? Is censuring talk radio a line? It will be interesting to see where the line is.

The Governor of Illinois is not stupid. I have really enjoyed his countermoves in fighting the headlong rush to remove him. It looks like Patrick Fitzgerald is moving back from an immediate indictment of the Governor, perhaps he rushed things too much in an attempt to keep his job? The Govs latest move to name someone to Obama's seat is great fun -- the reaction of the Democrats has been very amusing.

Has anyone noticed that all the recent "scandals" have involved Democrats? Are we heading into an era of Democrat corruption just as we are leaving an era of Republican corruption? To name a few: Jefferson, Frank, Dodd, Rangel, and of course Blagojevich. What fun. My hope is that the MSM will pay the same amount of attention to their misdeeds as they did to the misdeeds of Stevens, Craig, etc. But I know that is not going to happen.

It is interesting to watch and listen to the MSM try to figure out why they are loosing viewers/watchers/readers. They are the only business I know of off hand that insults their customers and don't listen to them and wonder why they don't come back. I have not watched the local news in a long time -- it is all blood, guts, rape, murder, mayhem, sports and weather. I grew up reading a newspaper and it is ingrained in me which is the only reason I have not canceled my local rag. But I am getting close. As for MSM national news, it is a joke and I have not seen it in years. As for the morning shows, it must be 20 years since I have watched them.

What fun this coming year will be.