Vote Palin in 2010

I’m definitely a Sarah Palin fan. If she runs in 2012, she’s got my vote. I voted enthusiastically for her in 2008. It was her running mate I had big problems with.

But I’m not waiting until 2012 to vote for a Palin. I’ll be casting my first ever Palin-specific vote for daughter Bristol – ‘The Pistol’ – on the ‘Dancing With The Stars’ finals.

She’s not the best dancer, I confess. But she is the only reason I have watched any of the show this year. Whether live or saved on the DVR, most times she’s the only one I watch. I have seen some others, but not a lot. The three left are, actually, the ones I like the most. But Palin is THE one I like most.



So, in the ‘Dancing With The Stars’ finale, I will be voting for Bristol Palin. It’s probably the closest to voting like a Liberal I’ll ever get. And it’s for a Palin!

Liberals tend to vote for the person they like the most. This time, that’s what I’m going to do.

Liberals like to vote for people based on who they are, rather than what they can actually do or accomplish. This time, that’s exactly what I’m doing.

Liberals especially like to vote for a “minority”, anyone they can identify as a “victim”. The way the Palin family has been treated by the media the last two years, that Bristol is female – still defined as a victim by the Left – and a young, unwed mother, yes, that’s exactly what I plan to do. I’m voting for the victim.

I’m voting for Bristol Palin because she’s so exceeded expectations, improved tremendously, wonderfully represented a portion of America rarely seen on that show. I’m voting for Bristol Palin because of the contestants who have been on that show who are in any way connected to the Conservative side of the political aisle, she’s definitely been the best. Admittedly, Tom Delay was embarrassing. But I never liked him in Congress either.

I AM going to vote for Bristol Palin and will be pushing every button on that telephone with a big smile on my face because I know if she wins, well, I know a lot of Liberals will need long, intensive therapy sessions. Some votes just keep on giving.

Palin 2010.

Beauty Lost

Societies, the times in which we live, everything, it all changes.

There have been songs on the subject.

Some changes are surely better than others. Some worse.

Change can't be stopped, but surely it can be managed, tailored, if a society so desires. Change can be big, and hard to miss. It can also be small, hardly noticeable until one day it's just there and you wonder how it all came about.

Of late, I've become interested in vintage tins. Yes, no question it's a sign of my own aging. Whether it was 'Antiques in the Attic' or 'Antiques Road Show' years ago, or 'American Pickers' now, I think we have a natural curiosity to wonder if something lying around the house might be worth a lot of money. Or, maybe just more than we'd initially suspect. It's been around a while, after all, it's got to be. What seems junk in the here and now always seems to be worth something later. I used to scold my mother for being a bit of a pack rat. Now, I wish she'd stored away more, it was still there to be rediscovered, enjoyed. Turns out it's not just 'stuff', but often times our history, both individually and all together.



These wonderful tins I've become interested in, developed an admiration and appreciation for, well, they're sort of amazing. Beautiful. So many produced for selling candy and cookies. Yeah, candy and cookies. So much time and effort to design, so much color and thought behind a landscape, a pattern. We've lost a lot of appreciation for real beauty, I think. A rush for this, a time table for that, we have to have it tomorrow because we needed it yesterday. The time and effort put into a candy tin once, it's symptomatic of much else, I believe. Often when a society, a culture, a world loses an appreciation for one thing, when you notice it, its a small piece of a larger puzzle. Life, love, relationships, perhaps much connected to something as simple as a candy tin. Lost, now missed and communicating -- whether intentionally or not -- something about us, the people who made the things, appreciated them and now make them no more.



A man who's often chastised in our society for his commentary on what we have lost, what we may be losing is Rush Limbaugh. In my opinion, his simple eloquence on what has made us great, how we could be greater, and what we still are losing is unmatched. If America has a voice of its national conscience, in my opinion, it would be him. His is the sort of common sense appreciation of America which is as simple, real and beautiful as the tins I've come to appreciate. I often wish more Americans listen to Rush, someone who speaks so eloquently of this country, possibly helping them better understand just how fortunate they are, instilling, reigniting in them that they can still be all that they can be as long as they have the freedom to do so. We have so many supposed leaders in this country who love to tell us why we can't and shouldn't, which makes it that much nicer to have someone like Rush who explains to us why we still can for ourselves, individually.

I listen to him religiously. One day, sometime over the last several years, he went off on an impromptu monologue as only Rush can do. He spoke of our society in soaring, yet somewhat regretful terms. I think it may have been around the time of the collapse of General Motors. He spoke of innovation and dreams, of appreciation and commitment, of an American spirit which saw nothing out of reach. He spoke of Americans' love of automobiles, of flying, of creating and inventing things and then MAKING them. No one speaks of this country with such a natural, easy and beautiful flow. I think it's because he so feels it, believes it, has experienced and seen it. It would be wonderful to have leaders who did such again.



But that, for now, may be lost, like these amazing, beautiful tins.

The Dangers Of Patriotism

Today was Veterans' Day. Thank you to all who have served.

You were surely dangerous to our enemies. I now find unabashed patriotism, which you often engender, is dangerous domestically.

I had the pleasure this morning of attending a Veterans' Day presentation at the Lake Highland Preparatory School in Orlando, Florida.

I was shocked. I wasn't sure such still existed in America: exuberant patriotism, celebration of America, of God, of all our blessings and those who have fought to ensure they continue.



There were probably 200 kids on that stage, dressed in red, white and blue, at times camouflage. There were no apologies for our country's greatness. Instead, a celebration of it.

Members of the military, current and past, were profiled, celebrated, shown in person and in video. Patriotic songs were sung with glee. A pledge to the flag was given, including that "one Nation, under God" part. God showed up a few times. I think he was pleased with the casting call.

Yes, patriotism is dangerous. To the Left. They likely wouldn't have so enjoyed this soaring, amazing, very traditionally American show.

If anyone there needed it, it was a terrific reminder of how fortunate we are to live in this country. It served to remind us to be thankful, to be proud, to be resolved, that others before us have encountered obstacles, difficult times and situations and persevered. No, many who are on the Left in this country would surely not have liked it.

Patriotic types such as myself no doubt loved it. Maybe even some who hadn't seen themselves as that before. And that's why such is so dangerous to the Left.

My Apologies

I would like to apologize.

After this week's elections, with "historic" results, I'm obviously supposed to be in a better mood, look to the future of this country with a more positive view.

I've tried. It's not working so well.

We're still in a hole and going deeper. I wanted a landslide, winners so emboldened they would immediately begin sounding the emergency horn, current office holders now convinced of our problems, called to action.

Maybe I'm wrong. But maybe I'm right. If we are moving in the right direction, we are not moving nearly fast enough.



I still can't help but see Thelma & Louise hitting the gas and going over the side, flying high above the canyon until, well, until they started plummeting downward. You could have placed a few stop signs for T & L to stop at on the way to the edge, but they still went over. I can't help but feel like we're all still in that convertible, screaming to the edge.



Mitch McConnell's words this week helped. I even liked John Boehner's speech, his crying episode, as I took it to mean he's serious, understands the weight of our times and truly appreciates the country we are losing. I've read and heard other good comments. There, and then not there, as so many simply seem NOT to get it.

We still face debt we can't individually imagine, piling on more. We have a growing number of homeowners in this country who are choosing to cease paying their mortgages because either others they know have stopped are still living in their homes, and / or because they believe the government will come to their aid if they join the distressed masses. Not paying, I've read in a number of accounts, gives them an increased amount of spending money. I've read some amazing examples of this. Yet, it sets off a whole new wave of dominoes, more and more uncontrollable, never-ending.

All of this, for anyone paying attention, with even a slight grasp of what is going on, creates more unease, more concern for where we are going. The problems may not have happened overnight, but many of the solutions now, I believe, must be implemented overnight, or at least now reasonably discussed and planned for.

But they are not. We are supposed to pretend, listen to a media which is pretending, misleading, none of it is there. All is fine.

I'm supposed to feel better, be ecstatic, I guess. I am not.

My apologies.