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.
Friday, January 2, 2009
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Wired and Inspired
Wired and Inspired is a good description of the last two days. I was in the hall and on the floor during Sarah Palin's speech last night. It was electrifying; it produced laughter, tears, and cheers. She touched the women on the floor, especially when she mentioned "the good old boys." Every woman I know have had bad experiences with the good boys and we knew exactly what she meant. The tension in the hall was huge while waiting for her. She started out a little slow but got much stronger and better. She is not going to be a push over. It was interesting before the speech to spend some time in the National Federation of Republican Women/Women for McCain box and talk with women from all across the country. All of them were furious at the unfair attacks on Sarah Palin by the leftist blogs and the MSM. It appears that her speech last night helped to tone down some of the nastier attacks. I left the Xcel Center last night totally exhausted, both mentally and physically. It was am amazing night.
Today I went to a Tribute Lunch for Cindy McCain. My seat was at a table about three rows from the back but I got moved up to the first row. My friend and I sat behind Judy and Charlie Black from the McCain headquarters and right next to Carly Firoina. We were two tables away from Cindy McCain and Todd Palin. The master of ceremonies was Elizabeth Hasselback from the View. John Voigt introduced Cindy after we heard from Todd Palin. He is a funny guy. I had an opportunity to talk with him afterwards and asked how he was holding up and he said fine. I said that I hoped when he came to North Carolina sometime in the next two months he still felt the same. After the lunch went down stairs where we ran into Richard and Brooke Burr and sat with them for a few moments and got caught up on things. It is always good to see Richard but he has been so busy traveling around the nation as a surrogate for John McCain.
The hall was full for John McCain's speech. Before his speech we spent some time in the women's box and the Republican Club lounge where we ate. I thought Senator McCain's speech was rather somber. But then again we are in somber times and perhaps it was fitting. He built up steam as he went and by the end he had the crown on their feet. Memorable speech, no. Did it do the job? Yes. But there is no doubt that Sarah Palin is the star on that ticket.
There were several Code Pink demonstrators in the galleries but they were swiftly removed. There were also a number of Ron Paul folks that just sat on their hands the entire evening.
Now we enter the final phase of this election season, the general election campaign. It is going to be a wild ride for the next 60+ days.
This was a full week full of some good speeches, some great ones, and some that were so forgettable that I don't even remember who they were. But those speeches were full of personal stories about the John the speakers know; full of personal testaments to him and Cindy; and full of speakers saying (to paraphrase Lloyd Bensen in the 1988 Vice Presidential debate with Dan Quayle) I know John and he is a friend of mine. These speeches were in stark contrast to the ones last week in Denver where there were no such speeches.
One final note, Republicans know how to do balloon drops much better than the Democrats. They came down on time, there were a lot of them, and the glitter included small round circles with McCain's picture on one side and the logo for the convention on the other.
I will add pictures in the next few days.
Today I went to a Tribute Lunch for Cindy McCain. My seat was at a table about three rows from the back but I got moved up to the first row. My friend and I sat behind Judy and Charlie Black from the McCain headquarters and right next to Carly Firoina. We were two tables away from Cindy McCain and Todd Palin. The master of ceremonies was Elizabeth Hasselback from the View. John Voigt introduced Cindy after we heard from Todd Palin. He is a funny guy. I had an opportunity to talk with him afterwards and asked how he was holding up and he said fine. I said that I hoped when he came to North Carolina sometime in the next two months he still felt the same. After the lunch went down stairs where we ran into Richard and Brooke Burr and sat with them for a few moments and got caught up on things. It is always good to see Richard but he has been so busy traveling around the nation as a surrogate for John McCain.
The hall was full for John McCain's speech. Before his speech we spent some time in the women's box and the Republican Club lounge where we ate. I thought Senator McCain's speech was rather somber. But then again we are in somber times and perhaps it was fitting. He built up steam as he went and by the end he had the crown on their feet. Memorable speech, no. Did it do the job? Yes. But there is no doubt that Sarah Palin is the star on that ticket.
There were several Code Pink demonstrators in the galleries but they were swiftly removed. There were also a number of Ron Paul folks that just sat on their hands the entire evening.
Now we enter the final phase of this election season, the general election campaign. It is going to be a wild ride for the next 60+ days.
This was a full week full of some good speeches, some great ones, and some that were so forgettable that I don't even remember who they were. But those speeches were full of personal stories about the John the speakers know; full of personal testaments to him and Cindy; and full of speakers saying (to paraphrase Lloyd Bensen in the 1988 Vice Presidential debate with Dan Quayle) I know John and he is a friend of mine. These speeches were in stark contrast to the ones last week in Denver where there were no such speeches.
One final note, Republicans know how to do balloon drops much better than the Democrats. They came down on time, there were a lot of them, and the glitter included small round circles with McCain's picture on one side and the logo for the convention on the other.
I will add pictures in the next few days.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Day 3
Am starting this early today as I find myself with free time and awake!!! Being an alternate delegate is wonderful but we move in a bubble and have no understanding of what is happening outside that bubble. For example I never did know about the demonstrations Monday night until I got back to the hotel and turned on the news. The same is true of the nasty stuff being said about Sarah Palin. I find it appailing and uncalled for. I know the far right and the far left do it but it also this time seems to be coming from the Obama campaign. The feeling in the convention hall is that they had better watch it as it may backfire on them. There were rumors that she might step down; that would be the worse possible thing she could do. However, for the sake of the argument what would the results be? I would argue that it would hurt the Democrats. A good case could be made that the women would blame the Obama campaign. First of all they kept Hilliary off the ticket and then the other woman in the race was forced out. Questions about her standing on issues and what she has done in her various elected positions and her life is fair game. But questions about her children should be off the record as well as the children of Obama, Biden, and McCain. They are not running.
Fred Thompson was wonderful last night. He tossed off the red meat to the crowd and he was loved. The question I heard the most afterward was where was this Fred during the primaries. I was a Fred support early on but became very disenchanted because he did not show up.
This morning at The Washington Center the first speaker did not show and the second one was Bob Barr. He is running for president on the Libertarian Party ticket. He has very strong policy ideas. He talked for about 20 minutes and then took questions from the students for another 40 minutes or so.
Just heard that Obama will be on Bill O'Reilly during McCain's acceptance speech. Shows you what little class the guy has. On the night of Obama's speech, McCain went on the air with the following classy ad: McCain Convention Ad Obama should do the same not try to steal the thunder.
More later after this evenings events.
Fred Thompson was wonderful last night. He tossed off the red meat to the crowd and he was loved. The question I heard the most afterward was where was this Fred during the primaries. I was a Fred support early on but became very disenchanted because he did not show up.
This morning at The Washington Center the first speaker did not show and the second one was Bob Barr. He is running for president on the Libertarian Party ticket. He has very strong policy ideas. He talked for about 20 minutes and then took questions from the students for another 40 minutes or so.
Just heard that Obama will be on Bill O'Reilly during McCain's acceptance speech. Shows you what little class the guy has. On the night of Obama's speech, McCain went on the air with the following classy ad: McCain Convention Ad Obama should do the same not try to steal the thunder.
More later after this evenings events.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Day 2 of the Convention
It was an interesting day today. We went into St. Paul for a party sponsored by Bob Crumley and it was wonderful; food and company was great. We then returned to the hotel and I went up to the room to take a lunch, but it did not work out. I had an e-mail from a reporter from the News & Record and he wanted to interview me. When we finished I had to run to get the bus back to St. Paul for the delagation picture. Then back to the Xcel center for the opening of tonight's session. I did get on the floor. The speeches were good. Fred Thompson gave the crowd the red meat they wanted and the crowd responded. Joe Lieberman was also good. Laura Bush introduced her husband. I wish he had come out for the night so that we could once again show him how thankful we are for him. President Bush 41 along with Baraba were there this evening. Cindy McCain and John's 90+ year old mother were also there. Saw a lot of friends from the NFRW.
Day Two
Sound quote of the day from Sarah Palin-- do you know the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull? lipstick. She can handle herself!! More later.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Minneapolis
Minneapolis is an interesting city. In the early 1990s when all the problems in Somalia occurred, President Clinton made a deal with the gov. of Minnesota to take in Somalian refugees. As I understand it, the people got on planes and did not know where they were going until the plane doors opened up in Minneapolis. Some 60,000 plus were relocated here. As a result Minneapolis has the largest concentration of Somalians in the United States. St. Paul has a huge concentration of Hmongs in the U.S. The area that I am staying in (and the North Carolina and New Mexico delegations) is very diverse due the the large number of Somalians and Ethiopians. In addition, we are across the street from the University of Minnesota West Bank campus.
The light rail system here in Minneapolis is wonderful. We are about 2 blocks from the nearest station. I took it out the the Mall of America yesterday. That is one of those places that one has to go visit just to say you were there. It is a huge shopping mall with an amusement park in the middle. The same with the State Fair. It was a fun evening and a wonderful fair. How could one not go and eat dinner on a stick.
Last night I successfully "crashed" the Medial Party -- that makes three conventions three crashes. The food was outstanding and of course the liquid refreshments were very liquid. It was a huge event, over two buildings, a tent, and a closed street.
The light rail system here in Minneapolis is wonderful. We are about 2 blocks from the nearest station. I took it out the the Mall of America yesterday. That is one of those places that one has to go visit just to say you were there. It is a huge shopping mall with an amusement park in the middle. The same with the State Fair. It was a fun evening and a wonderful fair. How could one not go and eat dinner on a stick.
Last night I successfully "crashed" the Medial Party -- that makes three conventions three crashes. The food was outstanding and of course the liquid refreshments were very liquid. It was a huge event, over two buildings, a tent, and a closed street.
Some friendly folks at the Media Party -- Sens. Lindsay Graham and Norm Coleman and my friend Nancy Mazza
View from the balcony at the Guthrie Theater, one of the sites of the Media Party.
We are still uncertain as to what is going to happen in the next several days because of the hurricane. It has been reported that President Bush and VP Chaney will not be here. Also the Governors of Mississippi, Florida, Louisiana, and Texas will not be here. We all are praying for the folks in these states and hope that it comes ashore as a tropical storm instead of a Cat 5. Rightfully so, the shape and tone of the convention is going to change. We have business that has to be accomplished and that will be done. But the celebratory nature of the convention will be muted.
The buzz on the nomination of Sarah Palin is very high. Everyone I have talked with are pleased with the selection. It is going to help to energize our grass roots and help us with volunteers. She has a record of being a strong conservative, a life long member of the NRA, good family values, and who doesn't like a woman who sells the state plane on Ebay?
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Last day of the DNC Convention
Interesting evening. I was not impressed by the speech given by Barak Obama this evening. It was the same old same old list of liberal ideas. Yes there was some differences in tone but the ideas were the same. The speech was full of sound bits and nothing else. It seemed staged. The big screens, at the end, were covered with streamers which made it look like they had been dropped on the candidates but they were not. Also interesting, as I am listening to CNN, they also must not have thought it was that great as they are discussing the GOP convention and what might happen if the hurricane lands along the Gulf Coast. They were talking about delaying the start of the GOP convention, about McCain going down there or even Bush not coming to Minneapolis. The end of the evening would have been even better if Hilliary had come out on stage. This coming week is going to be interesting to see how the GOP counters this convention.
Two other observations: one, the ad McCain ran this evening throughout the convention congratulating Obama was a class act. I can't imagine Obama doing the same. Two, it really was a strange way of ending the convention. I was surprised that he did not refer more to MLK and his I have a Dream speech. The music that was played during the fireworks was a little grand and too over the top. It just played into the Republican story of him. The set was also a little too over the top.
One last comment. I have been talking with the students in my small group about the expectation game. The GOP is predicting a 15 point for Obama. The Obama folks are saying it might be a 5-6 point bump. This year it will be strange since there will be no time for the events to sink in. Obama will have tonight and tomorrow morning to be the focus in the media and then McCain will take over. He is going to announce his VP selection tomorrow at noon. The week end talk shows will be discussing this selection and this will help to mute the bump. According to the latest polls, since Biden was named to be on the ticket, Obama had lost points. So we will see what kind of a bump, if any, he receives.
A funnel cake and a rose window, can life get any better?
Two other observations: one, the ad McCain ran this evening throughout the convention congratulating Obama was a class act. I can't imagine Obama doing the same. Two, it really was a strange way of ending the convention. I was surprised that he did not refer more to MLK and his I have a Dream speech. The music that was played during the fireworks was a little grand and too over the top. It just played into the Republican story of him. The set was also a little too over the top.
One last comment. I have been talking with the students in my small group about the expectation game. The GOP is predicting a 15 point for Obama. The Obama folks are saying it might be a 5-6 point bump. This year it will be strange since there will be no time for the events to sink in. Obama will have tonight and tomorrow morning to be the focus in the media and then McCain will take over. He is going to announce his VP selection tomorrow at noon. The week end talk shows will be discussing this selection and this will help to mute the bump. According to the latest polls, since Biden was named to be on the ticket, Obama had lost points. So we will see what kind of a bump, if any, he receives.
A funnel cake and a rose window, can life get any better?
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