Take a Trip to an End of Summer Party and Listen to the Soulfish Blues Band

One of my standard rules of thumb is to take my camera with me wherever I go because, well, you just never know when you'll wish you had it.

What was I thinking yesterday when I left it at home?  After all, it was just a little top-down in the Jeep drive along Cross Lake, a spontaneous stop for lunch, and a birthday party at The Cove on Cross Lake.  Why would I need a camera?  My cell phone has, of course, a wonderful camera but the sound quality for video on it isn't so great which is what I really missed.

Who knew I would become an instant fan of the music of the Soulfish Blues Band?

Never leave home without the camera.  Ever.

Anyway, yesterday was our first real day of fall temperatures so we pulled the top down on the Jeep and decided to take a drive around Cross Lake before this birthday party we'd been invited to at The Cove.

Cross Lake is really pretty and we've been out there quite a bit since joining the American Legion in May.  I've posted some nice shots taken from the Legion.  I like this one:

Cell phone picture.  It's ok.

Yesterday we just drove to see where the road would take us and we ended up in Longwood.  We were both ready for a Coke so we stopped at the Longwood General Store and Truck Stop.  And casino. 

Cute, isn't it!

There's a big ol' front porch where you can sit and watch the cars go by:

We didn't realize it was also a restaurant when we stopped, but sure enough, there's the sign:  "World Famous Steaks."

It's the kind of place where you sit next to the 409 and the Brillo Pads while you eat your "World Famous Steak":

There's a counter with hot plate lunches:

I opted for a fish sandwich which was really good.

Steve had a bacon cheeseburger.

After our spontaneous lunch we headed to The Cove.  The Cove is one of those neighborhood clubs that has been there forever.  It's right on the lake and sits on a beautiful piece of property.  You can get there via car or boat.

We had been invited to the birthday party of a friend of ours from the Legion and things were in full swing when we arrived.  Most folks were inside watching The Saints on TV but the weather was so nice, we sat outside amidst the smoke from the two grills.  They were busy grilling chicken, pork chops, sausage and burgers.

After the game, the Soulfish Blues Band set up on the patio outside and played until after dark.

I'd heard of Soulfish before and I think I may have heard them at last year's Highland Jazz and Blues festival.  Actually, I think I was at the other end of the park listening to someone else when Soulfish played the Highland because I'm certain I would have remembered them.

When Julia Dunning started singing yesterday I was amazed.  Just amazed.  This girl can belt out covers of Janis Joplin, Aretha Franklin, Adele...you name it, she's got it.  I don't even like Janis Joplin but I liked it when Julia sang it.  She's got the kind of voice that gives you chill bumps when she hits those certain notes and she belts 'em out strong and loud.  Go here and listen to the "Rollin' in the Deep" cover; if you don't get chill bumps at 1:03, check your pulse.  And if you can stand one more cover of "Unchain My Heart," listen to that one, too.  Her voice is especially suited for that one.

I'm not sure how old Julia Dunning is, but she sings with the confidence and poise of an experienced torch singer.  The Soulfish website tells me that Julia Perrodin Dunning has been singing since she was two years old.  All I can tell you for sure is that she mesmerized me with her vocals and on-stage charisma; one thing that I really thought was cool is that she made it a point to walk around between sets and speak to folks.  She came over to our table and thanked us for coming and visited for a few minutes. 

This is where I wished for my video camera.  All the video I shot on my phone just didn't capture the sound very well.  I'm going to post this one I shot of "Sixteen Tons" but it still isn't as good as they actually were:



Julia has some serious musicians behind her:  Gary Huntsman on lead guitar does masterful work and Bill Allen on bass is excellent.  Both of them have strong resumes and are a perfect fit with this band.  On drums is "the pride of Zwolle," Bruce Procell.  He was glad to come out and talk to the crowd too, between sets.

The band's website is here.  Facebook is here.  They'll be playing Texas this weekend:  Friday night in Kilgore and Saturday in Marshall.  We will catch up with them next on 9/28 again at The Cove.  They have a busy schedule and you won't have trouble finding them.  It's well worth your effort.

We finally left The Cove after the last song and headed for home.  We hadn't intended on staying that long but just couldn't make ourselves leave until the music was done.  The cool, crisp air felt wonderful on the way home with the top down and we hated to park the car and head in, but work today beckoned.

End of Summer, indeed.

The SIGIS Take a Trip Series:

Take a Summer Trip to Jefferson, Texas and Meet New Friends

Take a Trip to Dallas, Texas and The West End

Take a Stocking the Freezer Trip to Ed Lester Farms and Find a Cool Truck!

Take a Trip to Coushatta Down Louisiana Backroads

Take a Sunday Drive in North Caddo Parish

Take a Trip to Minden's First Annual Cinco de Mayo Festival

Take a Trip to the 2012 Defenders of Liberty Air Show at BAFB
Take a Springtime Trip to Second Hand Rose Antiques in Minden, LA
Take a Trip to Logansport, Louisiana
Take a Trip to the Lock and Dam on Red River
Take a Trip to the 2012 Barkus and Meoux Parade
Take a Christmas Shopping Trip to Second Hand Rose in Minden
Take a Trip to Grand Cane's Fifth Annual Pioneer Trade Day
Take a Trip to the 2011 Highland Jazz & Blues Festival
Take an Autumn Trip to Jefferson, Texas
Take a Fall Trip to Second Hand Rose Antiques in Minden
Take a Trip to the 8th Air Force Museum at Barksdale Air Force Base
Take a Summertime Trip to Grand Cane
Take a Trip to Desoto Parish
Take a Summer Trip to Second Hand Rose Antiques in Minden
Take a Trip to Natchitoches and Melrose Plantation 
Take a Trip to Ed Lester Farms and a Random Antique Stop
Take a Trip to the Norton Art Gallery and the Masters of Cuban Art Exhibit
Take a Trip to Natchitoches to See the Christmas Lights
Take a Trip to Natchitoches and Oakland Plantation
Take a Trip to Jefferson, Texas

A Spontaneous Stop in a Sports Bar?

A few weeks back, on Pundette's blog, PoliticalJunkieMom pointed out how often the press now makes mention of Obama and his affinity for beer:

This is why the Obamas are making such a big deal of the home brew. This is why they're travelling with bottles of beer: to make a rather subversive point about Romney's Mormonism. They could do it with coffee. Or soda. But beer is the most effective way to show how "out of touch" he is while they follow the "traditional All-American home brewing" methods.

Because we couldn't possible elect a president who doesn't like beer, right?   How shallow.

The pandering continues in this report by Mary Bruce who reports on Obama's most recent beer stop:

Rolling to Orlando this evening, President Obama’s bus tour made a surprise stop at a local sports bar for beer and a little college football.
“There he is,” a girl squealed, according to pool reports, as Obama walked into Gators Dockside bar and grill, doing the “gator chomp.”
The president went straight to the bar and ordered a pint of beer before working his way around the room, chatting with patrons as the Florida State vs. Savannah State game played on the TVs.

Are we really to believe that the big black armored bus was rolling down the road when Obama spontaneously saw a sports bar and decided he wanted to stop for a beer?    That the Secret Service hadn't come through and cleaned the place?  That Obama just wanted to catch the game and have a brew?

Sigh.

Okay.

There isn't much the president of the free world does that is quite that spontaneous.

That the press thinks we would be fooled by this transparent attempt to make Romney appear as The Other and Not Normal is pathetic.  It's sad.

I don't care if Obama drinks beer or if Romney doesn't.  Does anybody really vote that way?

I suppose next we'll be hearing about a new Oktoberfest celebration on the White House lawn.

On Political Discourse in Social Media

I'm in a snarly mood this morning.  I've been in a discussion with friends recently about the state of political discourse and the intolerance of the left.  Nothing new there.

Let's talk about Facebook and social media in general for a moment.  New media, even - we can pull this out to the blogosphere, too.

I use my Facebook page not only as a way to keep up with old friends and stay in touch, but also to promote my blog.  Granted, blogging has been slowed by real life these past few weeks but that's another story.   But that's part of the objective of social media as I see it.  Sharing of ideas and spreading information.  Sharing news, articles, and videos you find interesting.

Yet there is a growing trend of intolerance from the left when your opinion doesn't jive with theirs.  That's not really new either, but the chatter seems to be more aggressive.  We've all seen the little e-cards photo that went around Facebook recently that said something like, "Wow!  Your political posting on Facebook has really changed my mind about who to vote for, said no person ever,"

Well, that was kind of funny really and not particularly mean-spirited.  It's the passive-aggressive snark and the even more outright hostile attacks that I find disheartening and that have my blood pressure up today.

A few weeks ago someone in my timeline posted a comment on their own wall (their right, of course!) that derided people for posting political opinion in Facebook.  "There should be a separate place for them to do that!" this person said.  Why?

Why shouldn't I be able to post political opinion and share articles if I want to?  Because it offends YOU?

If I'm offended or don't care to read a person's feed the simple response is to hide their posts or even "unfriend" them if it's that bad.  So why the passive-aggressive snark?

A friend of mine told me of a note she got from one of her Facebook friends which explained that she was unfriending her because of her political posting on Facebook.  That's fine, but why even announce that?   Why not take the high road and take whatever action you feel necessary without provoking a situation of resentment and/or hurt feelings?

Why all the attacks?  Why does the left feel the need to attack and diminish the right?  I'm sure it goes both ways but I've seen it more from the left lately.

We should be able to agree to disagree and stop the snark and hostility.  I get angry about the state of things.  I hate what Obama is doing to this country and I'm quite vociferous and opinionated about it but I won't attack you personally for your differing views.  I'll attack on policy and argument, but not personally.

In social media, I think it's perfectly fair to post and share your opinions.  In this country you are still, for the time being, allowed the right of free speech.

Ready for Oktoberfest!

National Empty Chair Day

Fisking Kathleen Parker

I'm still hospital sitting and will bring you up to speed on all that later.  I brought my laptop with me today because it's easier to blog on it than on the iPad (at least for some posts).  Plus I wanted to work on a letter to the Nursing Director of WK to commend an angelic, wonderful nurse we had on seventh floor last week.

Now that that's done, let's take a moment to fisk Kathleen Parker.  It's a good thing I'm sitting in a hospital because I'm sputtering and hyperventilating as I'm reading her column. 

Let's take a look, shall we?  Her thesis seems to be that the Republican convention was too white.  She opens with the mind boggling question: "What if Barack Obama had been a Republican?"  Have I been hospital-bound too long?  Can anyone even fathom that concept?  I can't.  She contends that if he'd been Republican, i.e., if Republicans had a black nominee, then the delegates on the floor would have been black.  And she gets paid the big bucks for this.

To Parker, it's all about race.  She writes:

 Obama was elected not only because of his attractive eloquence but because we are fundamentally a good people who value fairness and equality. Electing Obama was part of our reward to ourselves. It allowed us to feel that we were this good and this big.

Choke, sputter, gag.  "part of our reward to ourselves"?  Is she kidding?   Is this satire?

More:

He was also a tantalizing candidate with a message of hope that felt like honey after eight bitter years of terrorism and war. He courted our better angels and articulated our best instincts. We were going to become a purple, post-racial nation, never again to be divided. Who wouldn’t fall in love with that?

His "message of hope that felt like honey" never came across to me.  His message from day one was of big government and socialist style programs.   Anyone who fell for his "purple, post-racial nation" bullshit was not listening past the scripted prose to examine the real man.

And by the way: Republicans are racist:

Republicans were certain that Obama was all style over substance, but their criticisms quickly were interpreted in some quarters as racial animus. Certainly some who call themselves Republicans also can be called racist. Anyone who spends time on the Internet is aware of the racist content of some political dialogue. It’s out there, and it’s ugly.

Then Parker asks "Where are the blacks?"   Kathleen Parker, meet just some of the blacks in the Republican party:

Let's start with Rev. C. L. Bryant:

Rev. Bryant gave a brilliant speech at FreePAC in July following on the heels of his brilliant documentary Runaway Slave.  Did you see Runaway Slave, Miss Parker?



Meet Mia B. Love.  Did you see her at the RNC convention?  Wonderful speech!



Meet Mason Weaver, author of It's Okay to Leave the Plantation.

 

Meet Marvin D. Rogers, author of Silence Makes the Loudest Sound, a revealing look at the racist history of the Democratic party.

 Marvin appeared in C. L. Bryant's Runaway Slave documentary and was one of the more powerful segments in the film.

Meet Star Parker, author, activist, and founder of CURE.  She speaks out on a regular circut of conservative appearances:



Meet Deneen Borelli, author and activist.  She spoke on Fox and Friends recently about her new book Blacklash.



Meet K. Carl Smith, a Frederick Douglass Republican:



Mrs. Parker, I'm sure you're familiar with Condoleezza Rice, Herman Cain, Allen West, Alveda King, David Webb, and others.

What about Stephen Broden, Sonja, Schmidt, Kevin Daniels, Jesse Lee Peterson, and Erik Rush.  You ever heard of them?

In Kathleen Parker's article, she does note that there are some minorities in the Republican party, she writes:

Appearances matter, and the GOP simply doesn’t look that friendly. Regardless of what is true, when an arena full of white people cheers jabs aimed at the first African American president, it feels wrong. This may not be a conscious recognition, but the subliminal is powerful. It was with a deep, inner sigh of relief that white Republicans heard Romney say that he had wanted Obama to succeed because he wanted America to succeed. Bless the speechwriters. 

I would suggest that Miss Parker and others get past the appearances and quit worrying so much about surface issues.  Nobody boo'd or jabbed Obama at the RNC because he was black.  It's because his policies are failures. It's not "subliminal" racist code.  His policies are failures.  They'd be failures if he was a white man.  It's not about race here.  Get over it

In all her search for racial code and dog whistles, she concludes with this, which I'm not even going to touch:

There they’ll learn that ecosystems thrive and are most productive when there is biodiversity. The same can be said of political parties. An all-white party will not long survive in a diverse environment.
The strongest and fittest are those who adapt, and that species for now goes by the name Democrat.

Take a look around you, Miss Parker.  The black conservatives are rising.

Caregiver Stress

A quick Mom update:  we admitted her to Life Care yesterday afternoon.  This is a good thing!

Life Care is located on the 8th floor of WK Pierremont, so she didn't have to move very far.  Life Care is an acute care hospital and is often where patients go when they have been released from an intensive care situation in a hospital but still need more acute, long term care.  I was told that patients stay there on average about three weeks (depending on the situation) before they can transition either home or to a nursing home or rehab facility.  Our plan is to get mom back up to her fighting stance and into The Glen for rehab.  It's a long road.

She's not seeing rabbits anymore; we had our first conversation today since probably Saturday.  Today I can say for sure that she knew who I was and where she was.  She was tracking previous conversations, too.  I told her that she will feel a little better every day, now, and she said, "That's what you told me yesterday."  Progress.

She's still got a Picc line and is getting fed through tubes in her arm, but she did eat a little soft food today.  I want to get those lines out of her ASAP.  They've backed off the pain med cocktail she was on and I think we're just back to Lortab today.  She's coming out of that drugged haze, I think, so, like I said, no more rabbits.

They will begin aggressive treatment and therapy, as much as she can tolerate, and she should show improvement each day, I think.

I was thumbing through this booklet they gave me while I was sitting there today and found this section on caregiver stress.  I've been mom's caregiver for the past seven years.  As I read through the list it occurred to me, to no great surprise, that I have every symptom.

That stressed me out more than anything.

But, it does make one more aware; you have to take care of yourself and too often we caregivers forget to do that.

There is support online for those who find themselves in the same boat.  Here's a Mayo Clinic site dedicated to caregivers.  One of the first things on their list to do to combat this situation is to "Accept Help" which has always been difficult for me to do.  I'm so lucky that Steve forces me to do that.  He insists I accept his help and he works hard to take as much of the burden off me as he can.

When this happened with mom last week, I had a long conversation with my daughter on the phone.  She has a newborn and lives in Dallas; I wanted to keep her apprised of developments but assure her that she needed to take care of her baby and not try to come over here unless the situation changed badly for the worse.  Knowing my tendency to carry the burden, she insisted that I ask for help from others.  I did; it wasn't wholly successful, but at least I asked.

Here's one more site from WebMD about caregiver stress.  I'm going to make an effort to follow some of the recommendations to combat this situation.  I've already begun by contacting a professional estate planner to help me with the overwhelming financial details and complicated estate decisions that should be made now to make things easier later.  I forced myself to leave the hospital earlier today by about two hours and to turn mom's care over to the professionals.  They know what they're doing and I don't need to sit there and watch her sleep.  I'm going back to work Tuesday which will be good for both me and mom.

And Steve is helping too; he's going to take me out to dinner at our favorite Mexican place tonight because a local band is playing that I love to listen to.

We've got a long way to go, but I saw some of Mom's fighting spirit coming back today and to me, that's progress!

Thanks for all your notes, emails, and continued prayers.

Hospital Food is Gross

Yes, that is orange gravy.

Rabbits

Blogging has been light because I've had family issues; I know the RNC has a convention this week and I know a hurricane is headed my way, but blogging takes backseat to family so that's why you're not seeing much about all that here.

Many regular readers know my mom and my anecdotes of caretaking over the past seven years, but the last time I posted something about her I got some snarky comment about how my mom's medical issues aren't anybody's business.  It kind of stung so I haven't posted anything else about her.

However, mom took a fall at home Thursday evening and fractured her C2 vertebrae so I've been busy hospital sitting and dealing with all that this entails.  She's okay - she's in a collar brace for six to eight weeks; this is a non-surgical injury.  She's sore and banged up and quite drugged right now.  Yesterday she thought I was a rabbit.  When the doctor came in she asked him where all the rabbits were coming from.  

We are transitioning back to The Glen probably tomorrow which she is actually looking forward to.  If you want to get up to speed on mom, just click the tag at the bottom.  We've done The Glen before and she likes it there.  Great people there.

A quick shout out to those who are helping me so much right now and being so supportive: my principal and my school people have stepping up to help with my classes and I'm forever grateful.  Bearkats take care of other Bearkats and they're like family to me.  I'm overwhelmed.  I have nothing but good things to say about the folks at Willis Knighten Pierremont - those seventh floor nurses are great and mom's nurse, Rachel, has been a dream.  I'll post something about all that later (despite Mr. Snarky's comment from last time).

I've never been one to ask for help; I just bear the load and do what has to be done.  But I had to ask some folks this time and I'm forever grateful for the support.  Lucky to have such good friends and family when you need them!

Anyway, we're okay, but blogging is light until I get my momma taken care of!  A fractured neck at 87 is no small deal.  

I appreciate your prayers and support and thank you for checking in.

First One of the Season

Octoberfest. Could not have happened on a more worthy day.

The Lemonade Stand Metaphor

I watched some of the talking head Sunday shows today.  What is Stephanie Cutter's strategy here?  If you lie and you stick with that lie no matter the proof to the contrary, people will eventually believe you?



I think it's a losing strategy.  She is going to have a difficult time retaining any credibility.

Not to make too much of a small thing, but I thought this piece by Andrew Malcolm was interesting.  It's just one example of a growing number of signs that the Obama campaign isn't living up to 2008 expectations.  Malcolm writes about Obama's Iowa trip last week:

Obama's experienced advance team had a bunch of flubs. That farm family with all the windmills that President Quixote loves to laud turns out to be Republicans and informed reporters after Obama's visit that he sure wasn't getting their votes this time. 

There was the state fair beer tent where Obama bought a round of Bud Lights for everyone, except the guy with the Mitt Romney sign. Great summertime photo op. Except it turns out the Secret Service closed down the guy's tent long before Obama's arrival and the small business owner lost thousands in sales. 

Then there was the caterer who wore a "Government Didn't Build My Business" T-shirt to work the president's event. 

I don't think that trip went exactly as planned.  But, more telling, according to Malcolm's piece,  was Team Obama lumbering past a little girl's lemonade stand in Marshalltown.  The big, black armored bus drove right past the child who "fell to her knees" as Obama drove by.

As Malcolm notes, "spontaneous" stops are often very coordinated, and an important president does have a schedule to keep, but imagine the photo op that would have been.

The story is more a metaphor, it seems to me, of a campaign and a man that is oblivious to real America.

The Romney/Ryan campaign, by contrast, seems the polar opposite of the Obama campaign.  On one side we have demagoguery and negative attacks and on the other side, Romney/Ryan seem to offer the optimism that we can "turn this thing around" as Ryan likes to say.  To be sure, Romney will get his share of attacks in on Obama, but it seems that the Obama campaign is particularly aggressive awfully early.

Shannen Coffin at NRO pointed out that so far Romney has been accused of:

...complicity in the death of a cancer victim, failure to pay taxes owed the United States, wanting to return the American populace to shackles, poisoning the common man with e coli, and, generally, being a very mean white guy who mistreats animals. With his selection of Paul Ryan as vice president, we are reminded that Ryan relaxes by throwing grandmothers in wheelchairs off of cliffs. 

Arguments on policy are one thing, but character attacks are another.  I've never been a fan of that approach.  Love her or hate her, what the media did to Sarah Palin in 2008 was unconscionable.  Don't remember that?  A refresher course from Professor Jacobson is here.

Mark Steyn points out that the addition of Ryan to the Republican ticket has already raised the level of the Obama campaign in that we're no talking about Joe Soptic's wife now, but about Medicare:

Underneath the poseur narcissism, the half-wit demagoguery, and the 13-figure innumeracy is bleak reality: a flatline economy, underwater property, declining social mobility, half the population getting a check each month from the government and with minimum-wage service jobs as the only alternative to long-term dependency. 

If you seriously think this election is about gay marriage or affordable contraception, you’re about to do to America what Gavrilo Princip did to the Habsburg Empire. 

The truth is, nobody cares about Mitt Romney's tax returns, his dog, or his wife's horse.  It's clear that the Obama campaign can't run on his record and so demagoguery is all they have.

I think the American people will see through that.  I think in a debate on the issues, Obama will lose.

For BoR

Here it is.

Countdown

Currently Reading

Loose Thoughts

I'm trying to get back into the school groove.  I just want to come home every afternoon and take a nap.  I don't, though.  Then I'd be up all night.  I don't remember it taking this long to get back into the swing of things last year,though.  Oh wait.  It's only been a week.  Damn.  Seems like longer.

Since I'm too tired to come up with much original material, lets hit some links that caught my eye.

I broke faith with Peggy Noonan after she waxed rhapsodic about Obama in 2008 but she does have an interesting idea for a new Republican ad:

Republicans should do their own spot, now—one that's comic and sweet. Grandma in the wheelchair is speeding on a downward slope toward a cliff. She looks terrified. Suddenly a young guy who looks like Clark Kent—that is, like Paul Ryan—springs forward, puts his body between the wheelchair and the edge, and stops it. She looks up at him, smiles, touches his face with her hand. He smiles, turns the chair around and begins to push her back to safety. "Romney-Ryan. Trying to get things back on firm ground." 

That's pretty good, I think, except I'd change the catch line to "Romney-Ryan.  We can turn this around."   Something to that effect.  More forceful.

I like it.

Elsewhere, Bride of Rove got a giggle out of me today.  I love it when she gets on those rants:

This is embarrasing. You’ve got Biden setting new lows with the ethnic dialect and crazy-eyed babble speak. Wasserman who has no idea if Democrats are, in fact, part of the party she is in charge of, the head of the Senate accusing Romney of not paying taxes citing a rumor he heard … Holy mother of god, people! Did Romney kill his dog? Obama freaking ATE HIS DOG. 

Her overall point, of course, is that this whole election business has run off the rails and people are acting, as she would say, "sprayed roach crazy."

I can't recall ever seeing this country so polarized.  (I wasn't born during the Civil War - that might have been an exception.)  Obama's class warfare and demagoguery has divided people into the Obama camp, the Romney camp, and the I-Hate-All-Of-Them camp.  There are still some folks who are blissfully unaware of an imminent election but most of them will snap out of that soon as the airwaves become flooded with political ads.

According to the latest Rasmussen poll, about 7% are still undecided.

Speaking of polls, what's up with these polls.  I can't believe it's this close.

It's a good thing I don't pay any attention to polls.  That's damn depressing is what that is.

I can't believe anyone would consider giving this guy four more years, much less "four more beers."

Speaking of that, Politicaljunkimom has this:

This is why they’re travelling with bottles of beer: to make a rather subversive point about Romney’s Mormonism. They could do it with coffee. Or soda. But beer is the most effective way to show how “out of touch” he is while they follow the “traditional All-American home brewing” methods. 

I’m not fooled. But how many would be? What’s next, a reporter pointing out that Romney wouldn’t hold a beer summit (thank God)? Or the usual test pre-election, “With whom would you rather sit and have a beer?” would have to be hypothetical since, you know, Romney doesn’t drink. How far will the media carry this? 

Wonder if he has an Oktoberfest brew?

A friend of mine expressed concern today that there will be a Christian backlash against Romney and Mormonism.  I thought we got past all that when Kennedy was elected but maybe across the country there is still some lingering mistrust.  In this day and age where we're all supposed to be so tolerant of everything, I can't believe Romney's faith would be a big issue, but you never know, I guess.

Pretty heady stuff.  Head over to Andy's Place for a brain break.  I know Michelle Obama has been branded as the second coming of Jackie Kennedy and the epitome of style but I don't see it.  This looks like she made a dress out of the tablecloth on the picnic table.

"A renewed sense of glamour,"?  Nope.  I don't see it.

Finally, Charles Krauthammer reflect on the Paul Ryan pick:

Image. Ryan, fresh and 42, brings youth, energy and vitality — the very qualities Obama projected in 2008 and has by now depleted. “Hope and change” has become “the other guy killed a steelworker’s wife.” From transcendence to the political gutter in under four years. A new Olympic record.

In Peggy Noonan's piece, referenced above, she suggested that Romney-Ryan go against convention and campaign together as the seem to complement and balance each other.  No question that their appearances last weekend were dynamic.  I don't think they'll do it, but Ryan's presence next to Romney adds a vitality to Romney that he sometimes otherwise lacks.

More Krauthammer:

Ryan’s importance is enhanced by his identity as a movement conservative. Reagan was the first movement leader in modern times to achieve the presidency. Like him, Ryan represents a new kind of conservatism for his time. 

I think we'll be watching Paul Ryan for years to come.

And that's just fine with me!

The election is still months away and much will unfold between now and then.  The debates, for one.  That'll be interesting.

Hang in there folks.  As will I.

It's Time For a Little R and R!

I've donated to the Romney campaign twice.  The first time was when the ObamaCare ruling came down from the Supreme Court and the second time was today.

Apparently, I wasn't the only one!  The Hill:

Spokeswoman Andrea Saul announced on Twitter that the campaign has raised over $1.2 million since announcing Ryan as the vice presidential candidate early Saturday.

I think that conservatives are happy with the pick!  And I think that those who were holding back will now be on board.  Like the good professor:

I just donated to the Romney-Ryan campaign.  And in case you were wondering, maxed out. For the first time in my adult life I was proud to do so.

Around the web:

Hot Air has posted three fabulous Ryan videos, including the entire announcement event today.  I've listened to Ryan's speech three times now.  But especially refreshing (and just plain amazing) is this one of Ryan smacking Obama's health care bill:



Is this man ready for prime time?  You bet he is.

Pundette is thrilled; she has fireworks, too.

Yes, I'm happy. Paul Ryan is the guy who understands the urgency of putting the brakes on our national hurtle toward the fiscal cliff, and hence, is Obama's natural enemy.  

Michelle Malkin is very relieved; see her post (with links) here.

Robert Costa blogged about the rollout this morning noting:

The chemistry between the pair was evident, but what really made an impression was the reaction of veterans and suburban moms to Ryan. He doesn’t enthrall on the stump, but he connects. They don’t all know him well, but they like him, and they are excited.

I'd have to disagree on that "doesn't enthrall" thing;  I was enthralled this morning.  I found it refreshing to listen to a speech that was not filled with uhhhms, and uh, uh, uh staggers; one that showed humor, good nature and optimism.  Ryan seemed confident and happy to me.  Enthralling?  Yes, because I saw flashes of what is to come.

I'm not one of those who keeps looking for "the next Reagan."  There was only one Reagan.  I am, however, always looking for the bright leaders of the future.  I saw that in Marco Rubio early on (after being tipped off to him by Stacy McCain.)

I see it in Paul Ryan, too.  I was hoping, in a way, back in August that he would run.  As it turned out, I think we have the perfect ticket.  Or near perfect.

One of my favorite tweets that I saw this morning (sorry I didn't screen cap it and can't credit the tweeter) was after Romney announced Ryan as the next president.  The tweet was along the lines of "So you're changing roles?  Because if you are, that's okay with me!"

Charles Krauthammer reacts to the rollout today:

“Now here are the Republicans four years later saying, ‘well, you had your shot at charisma with this idea of hope and change. It’s not hope and change. It’s a dismal, sort of declining America. We have the ideas. We have the policies. We’re willing to risk on them. We are willing to lead on them, lead from in front. 

“And that’s what I think shifts the whole debate. It is a dynamic one about future, ideas and change. Change is now on the side of Republicans, where as it was on the policy of this side of the Democrats in 2008. And they can make a coherent case of that as we heard Ryan doing in his introductory remarks.”

Be sure to check out Doug Ross's post on the best reactions to the Ryan selection; especially rich is Ryan Lizza who notes that Paul Ryan is "light on experience."  Yes, well, we knew that was coming.

For my part, for today, I'm not going to read any negative lefty attacks today.  (Team Obama started attacking Ryan before Ryan's speech was over.)  There will be plenty of them and there will be time for that in the days to come.

Just for today, I'm going to bask in the optimism and the return to American values that Romney/Ryan will be serving up in November!


(Memeorandum is all about the pick today; many links and much more there.)

Finally, I Feel Hope

More later.  On the go today.

But first, I'm making a donation!

And The Kids Aren't Even Here Yet

Whew!  I'm exhausted and the kids haven't even reported yet.  One  more day of in-service before school actually starts.  We've got THREE in-service days this year!  That is because of the implementation of the Common Core State Standards for Louisiana, which is being phased in this year, and the new Compass teacher evaluation program.  It's just overwhelming. (Thus, the picture, stolen from a co-worker's Facebook page which made me laugh.)

But, after sixteen years in the classroom I can confirm ... it's just another thing.  These ideological fads have come and gone and this is just another.  It may work, it may be wonderful, but this reinventing of the wheel every few years is ... what?  My job?  Challenging?  Amazing?  I don't know.  I'm all for whatever works.  I'm for whatever allows the red tape and bureaucrats to stay out of my classroom and let me do my job.  I can teach. I'm trained.  I'm experienced.  Maybe Common Core will be the ticket.  I'm on board and will give it my best shot.  I have some thoughts I might share later, but not right now.  I'll give it a good go right now.

Anyway, it's been good to see my friends and co-workers and we've had some fun through all the in-service, training, and workshops.  Whatever comes down the pike ideologically, I can say that I do work at the best school in the parish with the very best people!  Now that's something!

Meanwhile, life goes on while I'm consumed and focused on Common Core.

The Mitt Romney VP sweepstakes intensifies daily and speculation is rampant.  I'm not going there.  Both campaign camps are about to solidify and get real serious, and nasty I expect.  The economy truly sucks.  It's starting to show in places that have not previously been seriously affected.  Business people are very, very nervous and holding their cards very close right now.

I'll probably be quiet here for a few days until school settles in and things get normal again.  I've got to concentrate on my 75 new kids right now, but I'm here.

The July Jobs Report is a Total Disaster for U.S. Workers

Let's put this July jobs report in perspective.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the U.S. economy supposedly grew 163,000 jobs last month.  Except that's not exactly true.

Rush Limbaugh was on a roll about these numbers yesterday.  He called Obama "a closed-minded economic bigot."  Here's his take:

Sadly, folks, there were 195,000 fewer people employed in this country in July than there were in June. It might have been 172,000 new jobs.  That's even debatable.  But it was a net wash because -- these are numbers from the BLS report.  I'm not making it up.  Obama's Department of Labor's own numbers, 195,000 fewer people employed in the United States in July than there were in June.  We lost jobs.  We also lost more people from the labor force.  The national unemployment rate went up, 8.2 to 8.3%. One-hundred and fifty thousand people simply dropped out of the labor force.  Actually that number is 155,000, which means that this 172,000 new jobs that he's trumpeting are actually a wash, folks.  No net new jobs, 195,000 fewer people employed, 150,000 simply dropped out of the labor force.  That's the pattern. 

If you figure in all the people that have just quit looking for work and have dropped out or gone on disability then our unemployment is closer to 15%.

Ed Morrissey:

July saw a slight move up in U-6, which had been coming down earlier in the year to the mid-14 range.  That measure of un/underemployment has now risen to 15.2%, increasing in both adjusted and unadjusted measures.  It’s the highest rating in this measure since February, and it’s now up more than a full point since April. 

Historically, no sitting president has won re-election with numbers like this.

Chris Cillizza:

Because the July jobs report affirmed the now-certain reality that the unemployment rate won’t drop below eight percent between today and November. And no sitting president since World War II has been re-elected with the unemployment rate above 7.2 percent. 

The numbers are daunting for Obama. The unemployment rate has been above 8 percent for 42 straight months— its longest period ever.

Remember, Obama said he would get unemployment down under 6% if Congress passed the stimulus.  He's quite a long way from that.

James Pethokoukis on the jobs report:

Not only is the 8.3% unemployment rate way above the 5.6% unemployment rate that Team Obama predicted for July 2012 if Congress passed the $800 billion stimulus plan. It’s way above the 6.0% unemployment rate they predicted if no stimulus was passed.

In his remarks yesterday, "the smartest president ever" redefined economic policy as we know it to work with his theory of trickle-up economics:

And keep in mind, we're talking about folks like me going back to the tax rates that existed under Bill Clinton.  If you remember, that was when we created 23 million new jobs, we went from deficits to surplus, and folks at the top did well, too -- because when middle-class families have money in their pockets, they go out and buy that new car, or that new appliance, or that new computer for their kids, or they go out to a restaurant, or, heaven forbid, they take a vacation once in a while.  And that money goes back into the economy, and businesses do well because they've got more customers.

So the rich get richer because the middle class spends money?  And the middle class gets this money where?  Food stamps?  After all, that's Nancy Pelosi's theory.  She explained her food-stamps-as-stimulus theory back in 2010.  That these people are running the country just scares the hell out of me.

Rush Limbaugh again:

Did you catch that?  The money starts with the middle class, and as long as the middle class has money, then they go out and spend it, and that's how the rich get rich.  Wow!  Wow!  Folks at the top did well, too, because when middle-class families have money in their pockets, they go out and buy that new car, that new appliance, or that new computer for their kids when they've got money in their pocket. So we gotta get money into the hands of the middle class.  How we gonna do that?  We're gonna do food stamps.  Trickle up.  So we got a brand-new economic definition here from Mr. Wizard of Smart.  

It's just incredible.  How can the polls even be close?  As Mark Steyn said, "This should not be a close race."

Every number, every statistic, every graph, every calculation you look at shows Obama's ruinous effect on our economy from the explosion of the entitlement state to unemployment and more.

And stop to think for a moment about all the job killing regulations that are to come via the EPA and ObamaCare (for starters).  Think about Taxmageddon coming in January. ObamaCare is already killing jobs.  Think about another four years under Obama's energy policy (gas prices are now more than double what they were when he took office).

In light of all that, if Obama wins in November, we may look back at this jobs report and think these were the good old days.


(Graphic from James Pethokoukis)

IPA Day 2012

Oh hoppy day!

It's IPA Day!

IPA Day was founded in 2011 to celebrate craft beers and the entire craft beer culture.  Read more about the founding of IPA Day here.

Via The Washington Post:

Today is a day to celebrate hoppy, citrusy, delicious India Pale Ales. Yes, this “holiday” is as contrived as National Cupcake Day or National Bosses Day. And no, it’s not as if the IPA -- or its cousin Double IPA -- is an endangered species, as a visit to any taphouse will demonstrate. But if National IPA Day is an excuse for bars to pull out some rare or fancy beer for us to sample, I’m all for it. 

New Jersey Online offers this list of IPAs for your consideration:

1. Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA  

2. Founders Centennial IPA 

3. Flying Fish HopFish IPA 

4. Longtrail Double IPA (Brewmaster Series) 

5. Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra IPA 

6. Kane Brewing Overhead Double IPA 

7. Green Flash West Coast IPA 

8. Bear Republic Racer 5 IPA 

9. Lagunitas IPA 

10. Tommyknocker Strike Black IPA 

The official IPA website offers this list of "the best IPA names":

1. Modus Hoperandi

1. Hoptical Illusion

1. Hops Of Wrath

1. Jack The RIPA

1. Ryediculous IPA

1. Trigger Hoppy

1. Third Eye P.A.

1. Boneshaker IPA

1. Hoppa Smurf

1. Yellow Snow IPA

What's not to love about a good, hoppy IPA?!

I've tried several IPAs (some of which I can't remember...) and my favorite is the Sam Adams Latitude 48 IPA.  Abita Jockamo is another great one.  Red Hook does an okay IPA, too.

Craft Beer offers ways you can participate in IPA day here and there are several Facebook pages devoted to the event.

"Hop" you get the chance to participate with a good cold one today!