Do You Think They Can Tell I'm Conservative?

Yesterday I went to Barnes and Noble and bought these:



Do you think they can tell I'm conservative?

While I was in there I was looking again at the Laura Hillenbrand book, Unbroken, about Louis Zamperini.  I've been reading Zamperini's own account of his life and have NOT been able to put it down.  As I was looking at the Hillenbrand book, there was an older gentleman looking at it too and he asked me if I knew anything about it.  He'd enjoyed Seabiscuit and thought he might like to read another book by Hillenbrand.  I told him I was reading Zamerini's own account first and then might come back to Hillenbrand's. 

He was unfamiliar with Zamperini and so I told him about Louis getting shot down over the Pacific in 1943, drifting over 40 days in a raft over a distance of 2,000 miles until he and his comrade were captured, then spending two years in a Japanese POW camp, tortured, starved and humiliated.  The book goes on to describe his life after he returns, but I'm not that far yet.

Anyway, I showed the man the book I'm reading and he thanked me and said he was going to do the same thing. 

The book, Devil on My Heels, reminds me a lot of the two books by Eugene Sledge, except Sledge was not a POW.  What I mean is that their writing style is similar: conversational, easy, not filled with technical jargon or acronyms that a non-military person would have trouble deciphering.  If you haven't read these, run post haste to Amazon or your local book store and pick them up:



I'm also just over halfway through with Decision Points.  It's also been very interesting reading.  Right now I'm beginning the chapter on Afghanistan.  I've just finished the chapter where Bush defends his choice of enhanced interrogation.  I've always been on his side on that one.  I was really interested in the chapter entitled Stem Cells because that's not an issue I followed very closely and didn't know a whole lot about.  I'd recommend this one to both sides of the aisle, just as a matter of policy.  I'd also recommend Laura's book, which I'd just finished when I started his.  Read together, they give you a pretty full picture of the Bush presidency:






Seriously.  If Barnes and Noble ever cared to track the politics of their customers, I'd be pretty easy to peg.

Shhh! Reading.

I've been quiet the past couple of days because I'm busy reading.  I'm trying to finish Laura Bush's book before George's book hits my mailbox this week. 

There's something about the onset of cooler weather that makes me long to just curl up on the couch with a dog next to me and read a book.   I always have a stack of books waiting to be read and always feel "behind."  I think I have an unhealthy compulsion when it comes to buying books.  I pass as many along to others as I can, although there are some that I just want to keep and re-read. 

As far as Laura's book, I'm really enjoying it.  She has a lovely, easy style in her prose and I've been sort of surprised at the very personal, and not always flattering, things she reveals. 

She writes of her ailing father and how it just never crossed their minds to have him brought to the inauguration when George was sworn in as the governor of Texas.  Her mother was there, but they thought it would be too difficult to bring her father, who by then needed an aide and a wheelchair.  Mrs. Bush writes that at one point during the ceremony she looked into the crowd and saw an elderly gentleman in a wheelchair sitting there and you can feel the pain and remorse at her neglect to make the extra effort to have her father there. 

It's been an absorbing read so far and if you haven't read it, I'd recommend it. 

Otherwise, it's been a quiet weekend.  We went to The Vintage last night for our steak dinner and felt like total rubes when we opened the heavy menus to discover they light up.  Steve was looking around the dark room trying to figure out how he was going to read the menu, I was fishing in my purse for my little flashlight and voila!  He opened his menu and it lit up.  Country comes to town.

I heard from a couple of my Bama friends over the weekend; our friend Ray called me from Massachusetts with a hearty "Roooollllll Tide!" before the game.  I got back to him after the game, "Heh, heh, heh!"  Good times.

All in all, a nice weekend and a busy week to come.  Don't forget Veteran's Day this week.  Did you read today's Beetle Baily comic strip?

"When the Problems Go Away"

 From The Hill:

Asked if there was a statute of limitations on blaming Bush, Pelosi said: "Well, it runs out when the problems go away.

Guess Nasty Nancy didn't listen to Obama's speech to high school seniors last week.

I prefer Laura Bush's sense of humor:

"We've almost gotten where we think it's funny," the former first lady added. "Now we're all blaming George for something in our family."

A classy lady from whom Nancy Pelosi could learn something.

Laura Bush: Spoken From the Heart

Just ordered Laura Bush's new book!  Can't wait!

I checked her schedule of book signings and the closest she'll get to me is Dallas.  Rats.

Oh well.  Laura Bush is one classy lady and I can't wait to read her story!

Morticia Meets the Pope

Yes, I know. It's ugly.















But Laura dressed that way too.

Back to Regularly Scheduled Programming

Now that Gustav has settled itself into a nice, relaxing rain, I'm anxious to get back to the Republican National Convention. I watched Laura Bush and Cindy McCain last night and could not help but think what a class act they both are. As of last night, of course, the RNC had put "Country First" and the ladies made pleas for support for hurricane affected areas. I look forward to hearing more from Mrs. McCain as the convention and the campaign progress. I think she has been so understated in her accomplishments (although maybe I just wasn't paying close enough attention). I knew about her adopting a child from Mother Teresa's orphanage but I did not know she founded the American Voluntary Medical Team. She's involved with more charities than I can list here. She's quite accomplished and real first lady material (yes, I know about her drug addiction/treatment; that just puts her in line with lots of today's coveted celebrities as far as I'm concerned. She got treatment and the courage THAT took can't be discounted. Ask Betty Ford).

Laura Bush has been a total class act in my mind. I love her sweet expression and her kindness. I like the issues she chose (literacy, education, children) to focus in on as first lady. I loved watching the Jenna Bush wedding coverage. I like Laura. Plus, my neice kind of said something to the effect that Laura fits our stereotypical, comfortable perception of first lady, and that's true. She wasn't in there trying to reform national agendas or stepping outside "her place" as first lady.

As for the other lady in the Republican convention, Palin, I knew it wouldn't take long for the dogs to dig up drek, but I think she will come through. If the worst they can find is a drunk driving charge from 22 years ago on her husband, that just tells me that they are digging waaayyyy toooo deep. While you lose a lot of privacy as a candidate, I still think the situation with her daughter should be kept private and as a family matter. The Clinton's demanded (and received) privacy for Chelsea; the Obama's have put their kids on magazine covers and Inside Edition; if the Palins request privacy, they should get it. I don't think this makes Palin hypocritcal at all. I think she will survive this and I so look forward to her speech at the RNC! Bring it on!

(Photo credit: CSMonitor.com Mary Knox Merrill/Staff)