Perspective on the bailout

My friend RPW has a great post on the bailout, the economy, history, and where we may be heading.

Go watch this video

This YouTube video was linked in the comment on my last post. Yeah, those Democrats had nothing to do with this crisis.

More on politics

While I sit here watching Cavuto, I wonder why we can't have more in the media like him.

Cheryl just posted exactly what I was going to post. I loved hearing the clips of Dingy Harry Reid and Barney Frank giving conflicting accounts of what happened at the White House yesterday. Can anyone say disingenuous? So why didn't any of the supposedly brilliant folks in the big media notice?

Here's another look at how the dems are trying to spin it.

And Michelle Malkin has a new look at an old story.

Then there's ACORN, to which BO has ties.

For you Issues Etc. fans

There is a very interesting open mike segment on the Issues, Etc. website dealing with the Q&A done by David Strand about the Issues issue.

Hollywood wake up call?

Did you watch the Primetime Emmy Awards? Yeah, me neither.

It appears that not many people did tune them in, and if you check out the comments on the piece I've linked to, it looks like I'm not alone in not wanting to hear the stars spout political hooey.

When do you think Hollywood will figure it out?

Here and there

Spent last night at a racetrack and casino. If you think that doesn't sound like my usual taste in entertainment, you're right, but this was a special occasion.

We went to Hoosier Park in Anderson to meet a couple of my really good friends from high school and their wives for dinner. Afterward, we walked over to the bar that was in the center of the casino to meet up with a few of our other classmates. It was great to see the guys. It had been 15 years since I had seen them and I have missed them. One of the wives didn't make it because she was at Grandma's with the three year old and twin one year olds. Amazing how we can be at such different points in our lives!
I can't say I would chose to go back to the casino. Noise, smoke, flashing lights. Did I mention noise? But the restaurant was pretty good, especially for Anderson.

I woke up this morning to find that my car had been broken into. We had a crime wave in our part of town last night, and a number of cars were broken into. Mine was literally broken into. One of the back windows was smashed all over the backseat. They threw the contents of my glove compartment and center console all over the floor. Patrick had left his wallet in the door pocket and he lost a fair amount of cash, a few gift cards, his ID, and his debit card.

I'm feeling really out of sorts today. I wish tomorrow could wait a day to come, because I just really don't feel like seeing people and I have to teach my class tomorrow.

Play day

Colin and the boys went to a Cubs game with his dad today. I spent the afternoon at the zoo with my dear sister-in-law, Shannan, who I don't get to see enough of and my adorable nieces and nephew.

It was a gorgeous day and we enjoyed the fresh air and sunshine. I needed it after my day yesterday!

Can't watch the news

My frustration level is high enough today--with insurance snafus, billing troubles, and the ever-vexing church treasurer job--that I just can't watch the news.

I turned on Neil Cavuto just long enough to watch him try to get a democrat to admit that maybe there was blame enough to go around in the financial mess, and that it isn't all Bush's fault. No dice.

I can't take it today. I hate to see what my blood pressure looked like this afternoon.

Whose fault is it?

I am so tired of seeing Obama's spokespeople today somehow blaming John McCain for what's happening on Wall Street. There's plenty of blame to go around.

Under pressure

I can really identify with the phrase under the weather. That's how I spent Saturday afternoon and evening and most of Sunday. I have known for years that my joints react to humidity and temperature changes, but the reaction they had to the passing of the remnants of Ike was the worst I've ever experienced.

Apparently I'm not alone. I have talked to several people who had increased joint pain, severe whole-body pain, and headaches this weekend. I've read a couple of articles that point to changes in barometric pressure as the reason. They don't know why, but they believe that's the likely culprit.

Whatever it was, it even kept me away from my computer.

Remembering

It is a beautiful day today, but not quite as gorgeous as it was in 2001. That was a fabulous morning. I spent about 15 minutes walking around our then acre+ yard, enjoying my flowers and the flawlessly beautiful September day. The sky was a brilliant blue. The air was crisp, but with the promise of a warm day. I remember feeling energized and ready to get busy on all kinds of things.

I went into my office to check my email and turned my radio on to WLS to listen as I did every morning. A couple of minutes after I turned it on, they broke in with a report that a plane had hit one of the towers of the world trade center. They thought it was an accident with a small plane, but I decided I would go turn on the news to see if there was any more information.

I turned on the TV and went and grabbed a cup of coffee. I came back in and sat down just in time to see the second plane hit the other tower, live on FoxNews. After the plane hit the Pentagon I went upstairs and woke up Bethany, who was 15 then, and Patrick who was 11 and had them come downstairs with me.

We spent the next several days mostly glued to the TV. We worried about family members and friends who were traveling. We walked out side of our house, which was in the approach path for O'Hare and felt the bizarre stillness as no planes passed overhead.

I think that day was a wake up call for many of us. It was probably the first time many people my age felt unsafe. For many of us it was the first time that we considered that evil from overseas could affect us here at home.

My new endeavor

Okay, it's not completely new, but this is the first time I'm doing it with a plan. I've decided I need to get in shape. It's only peripherally about losing weight. It's more about improving my health.

I knew that if, after three months of YMCA membership, I had not used the workout facilities, I probably wouldn't on my own. So I decided to take advantage of a special package that the Y offers members and get two sessions with a personal trainer and a fitness evaluation for less than the two sessions with the trainer normally cost.

I've had one session with the trainer and my evaluation. The biggest surprise of the evaluation is that I scored at the top of the scale for women my age on crunches and was very good as far as flexibility. Not at all surprising is that my upper body strength stinks. I need to improve my cardio, but when I consider that I've never specifically done cardio workouts, it's not too bad.

I am really glad I had the session with the trainer because she showed me the proper way to use the machines and how to set them for my height. There are a couple that I am not using because of my joint issues. She also introduced me to the rowing machine, which I am going to love!

Why I find Obama terrifying

Public Allies.

William Ayers. And not just because he's a terrorist.

The way he deals with his critics.

The Second Amendment.

The Omnivore's 100

I've lifted this from Evan's blog, because food is one of my favorite things to talk about. It is originally found here. This is what the original poster says about it: The list includes fine food, strange food, everyday food and even some pretty bad food - but a good omnivore should really try it all.

And here are the instructions:
1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out (I ghosted them) any items that you would never consider eating.
4) Optional extra: Post a comment here at www.verygoodtaste.co.uk linking to your results.

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects (if ants count)
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare (but I have had rabbit)
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

60 out of 100, with only a couple that I would absolutely not eat. Is there anything important you think is missing?

Maybe it's my midwestern roots showing but I can't imagine never having fresh (meaning hours from the field at the most) sweet corn dripping with butter.

If you decide to do the list, let me know.

Back to food

After a few days of politics I need to clear my palate. Let's talk about food.

Anyone has been reading for a while knows that I've taken up reading about food and nutrition over the past few years. Last summer we planted a garden for the first time in over 10 years. We've started buying the majority of our meat--grass fed--from a local farmer. We're figuring in trips to the same farmer for eggs a couple of times a month. I've learned how to can and freeze.

There are still areas where I could improve, but I'm feeling better all the time about how and what we're eating. I still need to get to the bread baking. I need to learn to live without boneless, skinless chicken breasts, which have always been our main form of chicken. It doesn't mean I can't ever use them again, but finding them that are natural and truly free-range is very difficult. And expensive.

We're joining a local CSA for this winter. By next winter I plan to have made progress on the four season harvest. I'm reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, which I am enjoying, except for her snarky comments about those of us who don't believe in evolution. She seems not to understand that most of us are totally cognizant of micro-evolution with a species. We just don't see the species-to-species thing. Throwing out that little annoyance, it's an enjoyable book.

The perfect is the enemy of the good

This Voltaire quote is one that has been important to me over the years, because I am a perfectionist and my perfectionism often leads to inaction if I can't be the best. (In the original French, the word commonly translated perfect is more properly translated best.)

I think that in this election year, there is much danger of the perfect being the enemy of the good.

Many of us who consider ourselves to be conservative have problems with McCain. The problems have names: McCain-Feingold, McCain-Lieberman, McCain-Kennedy. Barack Obama is, of course, not an option. So we've agonized. Do we hold our nose a bit and vote for McCain because he will appoint those strict constructionist justices? Or do we dip our toes into the tepid waters of third-party politics and cast a vote for Bob Barr or Chuck Baldwin?

The addition of Sarah Palin to the ticket has encouraged many of us who are pro-life. She has energized us by showing some of the spirit that we have wanted to see from the Republican Party over the past several years. For some of us, this is looking like enough to make us pull that lever for McCain.

But there are many out there who are still thinking they'll sit it out or vote third party because McCain isn't perfect. Or because Palin is a woman and this isn't her place. Or because they feel like they would be compromising.

The reality is that it will either be McCain or Obama winning in November. Unless something tragic happens one of them will be the next president. It is inarguable that Obama will, at the first opportunity, appoint justices who will protect Roe v. Wade. For me, the appointment of at least two Supreme Court Justices, is a good enough reason to take a chance on McCain.

Those who are teetering and vote for a third party candidate or stay at home will bear some of the responsibility if Obama wins. To quote my favorite band, "If you choose not to decide you still have made a choice." Some of them seem willing to take that chance.

I would ask them to reconsider. Politics isn't religion. In matters of faith, certainty and the Perfect are worth protecting, fighting for, even dying for. But in politics perfection is an illusion and even the most ideal-seeming candidates can let us down. Can we afford in this election to let the perfect be the enemy of the good?

They don't get Palin

The media and the blogosphere has exploded over Sarah Palin. Much of what they've written has seemed tabloidesque. Some of it is factual. Some of it is not.

When they do start to talk about her record, they seem to have trouble getting it right.
I mean, everyone knows she supports teaching creationism in public schools. Right? Wrong! (Note, this is not about what you or I believe, this is about media myopia.)

What about those earmarks? It's being widely reported that under her leadership Alaska received earmarks of $295 per capita, the highest in the country. What they don't tell you is that that is down. Way down. From $800 per capita last year and $1013 per capita the year before that. Now, I don't favor earmarks. In fact, I'd like to see them gone. But I have read several analyses that say Alaska's land mass, climate, and distance from the mainland are among the reasons for the high per capita amount.

Would she have been my first pick for VP? No. But neither were any of the people who were being talked about in the media. Is she a perfect candidate? No. But she is certainly looking better than the alternative.

The new slogan?

ZERO

Rudy is rockin' the house.

"Change is not a destination, just as hope is not a strategy."

Makes my day

Mike Pence. On TV. Right now.

He's my favorite. When he was first running for congress from my--at that time--district, I campaigned for him. Went door to door. I haven't done that, before or since.

Love him, love him.

(Unfortunately the TV doesn't do justice to his eyes.)

--signed, Mike Pence fangirl

More excitement: He's speaking tomorrow night.