Happy Thanksgiving All!!

A Happy Thanksgiving to you all, and to all you hold dear.

Some Thanksgiving quotes I like:

Thanksgiving dinners take eighteen hours to prepare. They are consumed in twelve minutes. Half-times take twelve minutes. This is not coincidence. ~Erma Bombeck

Thanksgiving, man. Not a good day to be my pants. ~Kevin James

The Pilgrims made seven times more graves than huts. No Americans have been more impoverished than these who, nevertheless, set aside a day of thanksgiving. ~H.U. Westermayer

An optimist is a person who starts a new diet on Thanksgiving Day. ~Irv Kupcinet

Thanksgiving is an emotional holiday. People travel thousands of miles to be with people they only see once a year. And then discover once a year is way too often. ~Johnny Carson

There is one day that is ours. There is one day when all we Americans who are not self-made go back to the old home to eat saleratus biscuits and marvel how much nearer to the porch the old pump looks than it used to. Thanksgiving Day is the one day that is purely American. ~O. Henry

The funny thing about Thanksgiving, or any huge meal, is that you spend 12 hours shopping for it and then chopping and cooking and braising and blanching. Then it takes 20 minutes to eat it and everybody sort of sits around in a food coma, and then it takes four hours to clean it up. ~Ted Allen

Thanksgiving is so called because we are all so thankful that it only comes once a year. ~P. J. O'Rourke

Got no check books, got no banks. Still I'd like to express my thanks - I got the sun in the morning and the moon at night. ~Irving Berlin

I love Thanksgiving turkey. It's the only time in Los Angeles that you see natural breasts. ~Arnold Schwarzenegger

Let us remember that, as much has been given us, much will be expected from us, and that true homage comes from the heart as well as from the lips, and shows itself in deeds. ~Theodore Roosevelt

Happy Thanksgiving all!

Friday Quickies

...You know it's going to be bad when the economic reports on TV come on with a "crisis logo", and the theme song is Tom Petty's "Free Fallin'".

....You know things are bad when not only have illegal aliens started to go home, but they are smuggling Americans with them. "This is my friend Justin. He bought a house that was 5 times more than he could afford, then lost his job when Starbucks retrenched. I used to cut his lawn on Long Island. Now he cuts mine here in Tiaquilpa. Dios Bendice México!"

....I think as far as our 401k accounts are concerned, we are all racing towards a 5k. I stopped looking at my statements a while ago--not sure when I'll open the suckers again.

....I'm not sure if this is right or not--just something I've been kicking around in my head.

I think traditionally Republicans/conservatives have had more respect for the Presidency than liberals/Democrats have shown, which is why I think that while Republicans have opposed Democratic Presidents, they haven't detested them--with the exception of Bill-the-disbarred-lawyer.

In my lifetime: It was really the venom from the left that toppled LBJ, not from conservatives.

Liberals hated Nixon (see more below);

Liberals hated Ford for pardoning Nixon;

Nobody hated Carter (at least while he was President);

In fairness, most Dems opposed Reagan and Bush I, but the venom we've seen wasn't really there (for all of these, I'm excluding the nut cases on each side);

Republicans detested Clinton--but not because he was a Democrat.

Liberals have hated W from the hanging of the first chad.

So I think while Obama may face opposition from Republicans, I don't think he'll see the poisonous anger that liberals heaped on LBJ, Nixon, Ford and W.

As for Clinton, it was his blatant disrespect for the office that drove us over the edge. Selling the Lincoln bedroom; Monica; the bribes from the Chinese; the pardons; etc. etc.

Nixon lost the conservatives, who could have stonewalled like the despicable Congressional Democrats did with Bill, really when the tapes came out and the right was shocked by the gutter language Nixon used right IN THE OVAL OFFICE!!!

I've said it before, and I may be wrong, but I can't see President Obama disrespecting the office. There is a dignity to the man (and to people around him, like Tom Daschle); I would be absolutely shocked if he pulled any of the trailer-park sleaze stuff that Bill-the disbarred-attorney and his wife pulled.

....Speaking of Bill-- how ironic is it that the thing that might keep Hillary out of the State department is that her husband, a former President!, can't pass the vetting process!! Amazing.

....Instead of simply yelling at each other, I wish the talking heads on TV would actually think critically.

Republicans can rightly point out that Freddie and Fannie were defended vigorously by the Dems--but, damn it all, we controlled the House, the Senate and the Oval Office. We should have slammed the brakes on them.

Likewise, Pelosi and Reid and the rest are screaming about how the bailout money is being used, abused, etc.

Helloooooo. Idiots. YOU passed the legislation! YOU authorized the money! YOU can put on any restrictions you'd like. How in the world can the Dems get away with criticizing something THEY authorized?!?!

Is it just me, or does it seem like we've fallen down a hole, through a looking glass?

And, finally, a quote from the great Theodore Roosevelt:

The President is merely the most important among a large number of public servants. He should be supported or opposed exactly to the degree which is warranted by his good conduct or bad conduct, his efficiency or inefficiency in rendering loyal, able, and disinterested service to the Nation as a whole.

Detroit

I think the thing that may be most troubling this economy is that even us arm-chair amateur pundits don't believe we know the answers--and certainly, the people in charge, and the people-in-charge-in-waiting, all also seem to be shrugging their shoulders and looking around.

Detroit? How can we bail them out?

Then again, how can we not?

Who knows?

In the end, though, if I was the person who had to make the choice, I think I would want management and the Unions to sit in a room and come out with a pre-packaged bankruptcy plan.

Let them come out with internal controls on executive compensation and restructure the pension plans and health benefits so that the cars can be made affordably. Balance the hurt among the suits, the workers, the retirees, the bond holders and the stockholders. If we have to toss in a few billion to fill the gaps, I would reluctantly do it--probably would save on the additional employment and health costs the government would wind up paying anyway.

But a straight bailout? I'm sorry, but that's pouring water onto sand.

Is it unfair that some guy retired at 50 and now can't look forward to 15 years of premium health insurance? Yeah. But remember, anyone who worked in Detroit in the last 40 years or so--anyone, at any level, participated in this collapse by making crappy cars.

The alternatives to bankruptcy, or the voluntary restructuring of the costs and debts, are either the loss of tens of thousands of jobs or the further piling on of debt for us, our children, grandchildren, etc.--and a further bailout when this horribly run industry comes begging again in a few years.

As Frank Borman said-- Capitalism without bankruptcy is like Christianity without hell. Neither works in the long run.

Detroit's problems were not caused by an unforeseen crisis; there was no 9/11 like event. Detroit's problems stem from the fact that for at least 40 years they have made bad cars.

Really, really bad cars.

And while the Great Bailout America Tour continues to roll on, it should nevertheless take a pass on these open hands. If for no other reason than the people who are asking for the money, the people upon whose judgment we are being asked to trust to wisely invest this money, these pompous morons, each took their own private jet from Detroit to DC. (And, by the way, how come none of the Union leaders were sitting with the CEOs?)

So bailout Detroit. Absolutely not.

I think.

Probably.

Tom's Two Hats

On Monday, I wrote that I expected Tom Daschle, former Senate Majority leader and the real mover behind Obama's campaign from its infancy, to land a major job--and that Secretary of State certainly seemed in the running.

I was right in one way--wrong on two others.

Wrong--Not Secretary of State.

Wrong- He didn't land a major job--he got two.

Apparently he will be both the Secretary of Health & Human Services (a position which oversees a budget of over $700 billion dollars, or as we fiscally conservative people like to call it, one Socialist Bail-out unit) and the Health Care Czar, or, as we call it, Socializer-of-17%-of-our-Economy.

At least he's not another re-used Clintonite. I certainly hope somebody asks Attorney General-designate Holder about the Clinton pardons--particularly the shameful and blatantly corrupt payoff driven Marc Rich pardon.

Sorry, No Pity

They say a fool and his money are soon parted.

This twit held on to hers too long:

Oregon Woman Loses $400,000 to Nigerian E-Mail Scam

SWEET HOME, Ore. —

An Oregon woman who is out $400,000 after falling for a well-known Internet scam says she wasn't a sucker or an easy mark.

Janella Spears of Sweet Home says she simply became curious when she received an e-mail promising her $20.5 million if she would only help out a long-lost relative identified as J.B. Spears with a little money up front.

Spears told KATU-TV about the scammers' ability to identify her relative by name was persuasive.

"That's what got me to believe it," She said. "So, why wouldn't you send over $100?"

Why wouldn't you? Because it is the oldest email scam on the 'Net, you idiot! How this woman (who is a nursing administrator, mind you) had the mental capacity to turn the computer on is beyond me.

Here's the worst part. She's out 400K and that's too bad--but think what she could have done with the money:

A year of Saturday meals for 1,194 elderly neighbors

A year's tuition at a local community college for 200 single moms

2,000 Chevy Cobalts to help GM stave off bankruptcy

Heck, she could have grabbed a great deal on Expedia.com and taken 200 friends for a week in Maui.

But instead this twit sent the money to Nigeria--in the hopes of garnering millions.

Especially in times like these, that's disgraceful.

Hillary For Secretary of State

I mean, why not?

The change Pres. Obama seems to have meant thus far is swapping Bush people for Clinton people--though I expect that will change a bit as the rest of the appointments roll out.

I'm still waiting for Tom Daschle, who I understand to be the low-key, behind the scenes force behind the Obama candidacy from its infancy, to get a huge plum--and State would certainly make sense. And the way the Obama people have worked thus far, I assume Hillary's name is being floated, not as a serious notion, but as a courtesy.

Which is a bit dangerous if Hillary's people think that Obama has passed her over a second time.

But Hillary? Works for me.

Our foreign policy is going to be much different anyway--and at least this gets her out of New York!

New Tech, Smart, Smart, Smart

Pres. Obama's "people" have announced that they will continue to utilize the massive database they created during the campaign to help Pres. Obama promote his agenda.

Brilliant.

His Facebook page has over 3 million supporters--which means with a push of a button he can get out a message instantly to 3 million people. Add to that the massive donor list, email list, text message list, etc. and he has a way to fly over the heads of the media directly to millions of supporters. No filter. Direct, one-on-one contact on a massive scale.

A couple of clicks, a call to arms and millions of people can be urged to contact their Senator or Representative and tell them to support the Pres.'s plans.

I am very afraid of where we are being led on this trip, but you have to be impressed with the tour guides. Republicans have got to play catch-up---and fast.

Why Us?

Americans are not a super-race.

We hold no physical or mental attributes inherently superior to any other nation's peoples.

So why have we been able to forge the most diverse, the richest and still the freest society on Earth?

"When you've got nothing, you got nothin' to lose," so says the philosopher Joplin.

"Anyone desirous of success, should spend some time in introspection and contemplation". Sam Vada.

"Losing sucks." Anonymous.

Those of us in the Republican Party need to take a step back and let President Obama and his super-majority go to it. We need to take this time to look within, see what we believe, and then plan for where we want to go.

Power for power's sake is the goal of dictators and fools (that's my quote--feel to use it freely--unless I subconsciously stole it, in which case please tell me and I'll delete it!).

If the Dem's policies work and the country prospers etc., wonderful. But my life's experiences tell me otherwise--that giving something for nothing, while it works well for Santa and OK for us in the short-run, destroys the fabric and underpinnings of a free society. And works neither for the giver nor the receiver in the long run (see unfettered welfare, rent control, etc.).

Putting that aside, the first thing we need to reach a consensus on, because it is the most vital, is this:

What makes America uniquely America? What must we make sure stays alive as Change sweeps the land?

Is it the competition of a capitalist system? So should we worry about the Bailout America Tour leaving us socialist?

Is it the personal freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution? So should we worry about the government dictating how we can hire, fire, insure, pay employees, learn, worship, who we can love...in esssence, how we live?

Is it our educational system?

Is it our streak of self-reliance?

Is it our demand for change itself, the notion that good enough isn't good enough for us?

Is it our willingness to help each other out?

Is it our tax system?

Is it our freedom of speech and dissent? So should we be worried about the Fairness Doctrine?

Is it our belief, now truly confirmed, that we are a caste-free society, and that anyone can become President?

Is it our justice system?

Is it our openess to diversity and immigration? Or is is our traditional requirement that immigrants by and large leave their old ways behind and graft onto the American tree of traditions, language and core beliefs?

What is it?

Some of the things I just mentioned will, quite frankly, be enhanced by the Dems.

Some will be hurt.

Some will be destroyed.

As conservatives and Republicans we first have to decide for ourselves which of these attributes got us here--and which we need to protect for a free and prosperous future.

Hug A Veteran

"A man who is good enough to shed his blood for his country is good enough to be given a square deal afterwards. More than that no man is entitled, and less than that no man shall have."

-Theodore Roosevelt, speech to veterans, Springfield, IL, July 4, 1903

Before Congress finishes its "Bailout America" tour, I hope they will allocate funds to make sure that our veterans are given, as TR said, a fair deal.

A couple of years ago there was a big push to fund a specialized physical rehab center for injured service men and women--I remember being ticked off that the amount needed to be raised was so small, especially in the face of the billions being spent (and profits being earned) in the war effort.

And, of course, all Americans were rightly upset over the deplorable conditions at Walter Reed.

In honor of Veteran's Day, I hope Congress and the Administration will take a hard look at what's going on, and make sure our people are well taken care of.

And if you are inclined to help personally, Charity Navigator has a list of Veteran's charities, with their efficiency rating: here.

And to my friends and loved ones who served, starting with my Dad and my Uncle Jim, a big, big thank you.

Happy Veteran's Day!

A Sign of the Apocalypse?

Maybe we are nearing the end of days--I'm actually citing an article written by Donna Brazile.

That's right. Donna Brazile, Al Gore's campaign manager.

My daughter-the-elder passed this on to me. It's a good read:

A Letter to the Losers

"As someone who knows from experience, I write this open letter to all staff members, volunteers and supporters of candidates who lost last Tuesday.

No matter how much it hurts to lose a campaign, know that this, too, shall pass."

Friday Quickies

...So we're watching a news report about the re-election of the recently convicted Sen. Stevens of Alaska, and the reporter intones that even if Stevens takes his seat, he probably won't be able to serve, as the Senate may banish him because "the Senate doesn't want felons sitting among them."

To which my lovely wife responded: "When did they put in that rule?"

....Lots of nasty post-mortems coming from and about the McCain campaign. Wonderful to watch the rats pointing fingers as they flee the grounded ship. I'll have more to say about Sarah Palin, but I think almost any criticism of her is completely unfair.

Phil Esposito was one of the greatest hockey players ever, an unbelievable scorer. Hockey fans used to say that Jesus saves, but Espo puts in the rebound.

Hockey humor-- nothing better.

Anyway, I heard Espo tell a story that during his time with the Blackhawks he was playing for a coach who hated him--and apparently the feeling was mutual. There came a game where the coach pretty much benched Espo, hardly playing him at all. With the Blackhawks losing by 4 or 5 goals, and less than a minute to go in the game, the coach finally told Espo to go on the ice.

Espo turned to the coach and asked him if he'd like him to win the game or merely effen tie it.

That's what happened to Palin.

I touted her as a VP candidate on February 1, and I'm a know-nothing peon. McCain, or some of these low-life staffers wielding the daggers, should have had her on the radar back then as well. They should have used February, March, April, May, and on to roll her out to the American public, if for no other reason than to give her some seasoning and gauge America's response to her.

Like Espo, Palin was tossed into a losing game way too late, and asked to do way too much. In a few short days she had to:

• introduce herself to America
• get across her very compelling storyline
• energize a conservative base distrustful of McCain
  
• learn on the fly how to deal with the partisan national media
  
• raise funds for a lagging campaign
  
• provide vitality to the campaign
• draw and inspire crowds the Presidential candidate could not
• and act as the traditional attack dog

Way too much to ask anyone to do in such a short period of time.

How different things would have been if this compelling woman would have been introduced to the American public back during the Spring as an energy expert--which she is. If her first introductions would have been low-key. as a surrogate for McCain on TV interviews, etc. talking about ANWAR and energy, people would have been saying, hey, did you catch that engaging, intelligent, attractive woman on Meet the Press Sunday? instead of their first impression being Tina Fey's "comedy".

How different would people have reacted to her nomination if only they would have had a chance to know her first?

....I say this as an Italian-American man, a group long considered a bastion of sexism: there is no one as sexist as a liberal female attacking a conservative female. The libs attacks on Palin were extraordinary. Her clothes. Her looks. Her time with her family. If some Joey Bada-bing had said half the stuff liberal women said about Palin, NOW would have torched his house.

....Very sorry to see Michael Crichton passed away. A simply amazing writing career-- Andromeda Strain, The Great Train Robbery, Jurassic Park, Sphere, Terminal Man, ER, Rising Sun--man. the list goes on and on and on.

The last book of his I read was NeXt, a truly thought provking book. He will be missed.

...As I write this both North Carolina and Missouri are too close to call, though Obama is ahead in Carolina, and McCain is ahead in Missouri. Not that it matters.

Still, there is an interesting twist: In Missouri, where McCain leads by 5,859, Nader received over 17,000 votes. If one assumes that Nader's votes would have gone to Obama, well, there went the state.

In North Carolina, Obama leads by 13,993, Bob Barr got over 25,000 votes. Again, one would think that those were McCain's votes.

Nader and Barr were thus spoilers in the two closest races.

....Conservatives are hungry for any silver lining in this mess. Jonah Goldberg, in a wonderful article in the NY Post, said:

Well, now the Democratic Party is for all practical purposes America's super-majority party. It has complete control of the presidency and Congress. It's time to put away childish things and govern.

If Democrats govern from the center, good for the country. If they govern from their instincts, good for the Republicans.

The other thought to brighten up a Red Mind's day: Unless something horrible occurs, Hillary's designs on the White House are O-V-E-R.

...We Republicans lost this election because we deserved to lose. Our President and our Congress failed to do the things we sent them to do.

We expected them to govern well--they failed miserably. Yes, the Dem's caused this house of cards to fall by promoting Fannie and Freddie, and brow-beating banks to lend to those who could never repay.

But we controlled the House, the Senate and the White House. We were supposed to stop that nonsense.

Republicans have always prided ourselves on the ability to govern. But see the FAA, the FCC, FEMA, the FDA, and on and on and on. Put Afghanistan and Iraq completely aside-- Bush and the GOP failed to enforce immigration laws, keep lead out of our kids toys, etc. etc.

And, perhaps worst of all, they spent like, well,...Democrats. And ran up huge deficits, to boot.

Why am I not as upset with Obama's victory as I might otherwise have been? Close your eyes and tell me who ran the country for the last 8 years. If you didn't know any better, you'd swear it was the Dems.

So who do we, as a party, have to blame? The media? Sarah Palin? Barney Frank? John McCain?

Uh, uh. Time to check the mirror, or as the great Theodore Roosevelt said:

If you could kick the person in the pants responsible for most of your trouble, you wouldn't sit for a month.

Sympathetic Joy

Buddha taught the practice of "sympathetic joy", which is loosely defined as being happy for someone else's good fortune and happiness (the opposite of jealousy). Sympathetic joy is wonderful because it allows us to feel good, even when the source of the happiness isn't "ours".

Watching millions of Americans, with whom I agree on many core things but with whom I disagree on certain others, rejoice last night, made me smile.

I didn't vote for President Obama yesterday, but I came away proud to be an American, proud of how far we've come, proud of John McCain for his classy concession speech last night, and impressed and moved by the President-elect's acceptance speech, and especially his demeanor.

I most likely will disagree with President Obama in this space in the future. But as he has promised to be the President of us all, I make a promise to myself in this little space, for the little it is worth to anyone but myself-- I refuse to take the low, destructive, corrosive road so many liberals took after 2000. I will try to support President Obama where we agree, and to serve as part of the loyal opposition where we don't, but remembering always that as long as he respects his office, as I no doubt this solemn, thoughtful man will, I will respect it, and him, as well.

Sympathetic joy is a fun thing. Congratulations to my friends on the left.

I think I feel like much of the country feels this morning---President Obama set the tone last night. His speech was more serious than off-the-hook celebratory. It was a call to arms for this message:

It's time to get back to work.

Election Day

I am a Republican Committeeman, so one of my duties is to open my polls, make sure our workers showed up, etc. I also bring the munchkins and muffins for all the workers, Republicans and Democrats.

Polls open at 6 am. I showed up at 5:30-- there were 5 people waiting. Unprecedented.

By 5:45 there were over 60 people waiting, excited to vote. Beyond unprecedented.

Nobody is excited about voting for McCain--these were Democrats and Independents, and probably a fair number of Republicans, who couldn't wait to vote for Obama.

I then went to vote at my local elementary school. Huge turnout for 6:10 am. I was the 19th person to cast a ballot in my A-K book--and only the 2nd Republican. This in a precinct that's 65% Republican.

I feel like a guy standing on a beach watching the Tsunami coming in.

Enjoy my liberal friends. This is the fourth time in my life I've seen this-- Johnson in '64 (OK I was only 6, but I remember that election, believe it or not!); Nixon in '72; and Reagan in 1984 (tho this really feels more like Reagan in 1980 as far as nationwide ideological shift).

My prediction, for what it's worth:

Obama: 377 Electoral votes.

Dem's pick up 9 Senate seats.

The House? Who can count that high?

Tomorrow starts the real battle for the soul of the Republican Party. Conservatives: saddle up.

Obama. President Obama.

Here we sit on the eve of the election, and I assume that Barack Obama will win a sweeping victory tomorrow.

And while much of the credit goes to him and his campaign staff, who ran perhaps the best political campaign I have ever seen, I offer 3 other people whom I believe were responsible for this apparent victory:

Osama Bin Laden. Yes, Osama--stop throwing things at the screen, my liberal friends, and listen. I think that fifty years from now historians will view 9/11 as the watershed year for racial peace in America. I have written before, and I truly believe, that much of the white-black venom ended on that fateful day. I find in my daily life much more acceptance, much more collegiality among races than ever before--and I've heard this from others.

W. For two reasons--one apparent, the other maybe not so. First, with the possible exception of Jimmy Carter, W has run the most inept administration in my lifetime. Forget Iraq. I'm talking that there isn't a federal agency that's working--FAA, FDA, Immigration, FCC, SEC--and on and on. It opened the door for any Democrat to win.

The second reason W was key is this: for all his other faults, no one can deny that W put in place perhaps the most integrated cabinet ever--and the fact that the last two Secretaries of State have been African-American helped America get used to the idea of an African-American at the highest reaches of power.

Powell and Rice didn't serve as Secretary of HUD--they held the most prestigious Cabinet position there is.

Finally, there is Hillary Clinton. For this I'll use a sports metaphor. You are a Giants fan. You hate the Cowboys. The Cowboys play in the NFC championship against say, Tampa Bay. You don't care one way or another about Tampa Bay, but you root hard for them to beat the hated Cowboys.

Now, two weeks later Tampa Bay is playing against the Jets in the Super Bowl. You ordinarily would root for the Jets--and you still might. But you rooted so hard for Tampa you have a soft spot for them.

That's what happened here. So many of us Hillary-haters rooted so hard for Obama,during the primaries, made the argument for Obama against the Clintons, forgave Obama his missteps in the face of the Clinton machine, that the wind was out of our sails by the time of the general election.

If you were dismissing Clinton's attacks on Obama for his relationship with Rev. Wright, how could you look favorably on McCain when he tries to use the connection?

You can't. Hillary effectively inoculated Obama for the general election. (And as an aside, this turned out to be a very clean campaign, relatively speaking. Of course there were sharp elbows--these people were running for President, for goodness sakes. But compared to other campaigns, it was very civil. The primary campaign, as it turns out, was much nastier and much more race-oriented.)

Get out and vote tomorrow. If you are a Republican like me, and the vote comes out the way we all expect it to, take heart in this: we will have, as a nation, taken a huge step towards making true the statement that anyone can be President of the United States. Of course, that statement won't be fully true until Sarah is elected President in 2016.

And that's something we all can be proud of.