RED 6 ON THE WAY
A certain Silver Star recipient former tanker Indian type is in the car headed our direction. It's been two years since we've seen him, so it should be a good day. Too cool.
THE OBAMA HOOK-UP SCENE
My husband and I had a roaring good laugh at this article on Drudge: Singles will check out eligible candidates at Obama rally. It's not really that funny -- if I were single, I too would rather meet someone at a political rally than a bar -- but some of the quotes were just hilarious.
Even the invite for the event reads like a singles bash:
"Hope hits the Big Apple! Join us at Jay-Z's 4-0/40 Club on Thursday as we ride the winds of change from the hottest rally in New York. Move to the music, socialize with friends, and let your voice be heard as we celebrate with audacity."
Lindsay Schaeffer, 25, may even skip the rally for the nighttime bash.
That cracks me up. Why would someone waste time on the silly politics when she can just skip ahead for the hook-up scene? I want to date an Obama supporter, without all that pesky Obama stuff killing my buzz.
One ardent Obama supporter (who declined to give his name because he works in politics) says he'll attend both the rally and the after-party, and he doesn't expect to be going home alone.
1
Not so sure about the lefty-girls-are-easy thing. A lot of lefty women seem pretty hung up about sex and pretty hostile to men. I wonder if they can relax enough to make the sex a satisfying experience for either partner.
Also, lefties in general are very status-conscious. An average lefty chick will evaluate you on your income and school pedigree at least as much as on your political opinions. She wants someone she can brag to her girlfriends about, and having the right political opinions is just part of that story.
Posted by: anon at September 28, 2007 10:08 AM (SpkYG)
2
It's good to know that when you're wondering what the policies of a presidential candidate might be, that you'll be able to rest a little more easily once you hit up the after-party. The left sure is wasting a lot of money with this Obama thing. He's not qualified enough to make it to the end.
Posted by: psh at September 29, 2007 07:08 PM (1cgkm)
MEETING FRED SMITH
Lorie Byrd invited me and other local bloggers to a gubernatorial campaign event for Fred Smith. We bloggers got free admission to this fundraiser and were treated like bigwigs. In fact, real bigwigs were locked out of Senator Smith's home while he talked to us bloggers. It was a real treat.
By now you know that I usually feel like a kid at the grown-ups' table when it comes to these blog events. I'm just happy to be taken seriously at all, especially since my blog has basically devolved into talking about knitted octopi and...um...other uninteresting crap. I like using my blog to talk about my opinions and values as much as the next person, but I am not so in touch with the actual implementation of policy, especially at the local level. I am rather a dunce at that sort of thing. Plus, with moving around every year or so, I've never really participated in local politics. So Wednesday when I was surrounded by bloggers asking Sen. Smith good questions about his campaign, I sure felt like I didn't belong. But I did what I think one should do in such situations: shut the hell up and let the smart people talk.
After I listened to Sen. Smith talk about his ideas and experience, my mind couldn't help but wander to what a strange thing politics is. I have never met a politician before, so I couldn't help but analyze the situation. Sen. Smith probably can't ever just have a normal conversation with people. He must constantly expect questions about policies and projects. He has to carefully think about every single thing he says. I can look like an inexperienced jackass in his home, but he sure can't. The whole idea seems so weird to me. He's supposed to be prepared and infallible, seven days a week.
And yet, he doesn't have that Bill Clinton vibe. That's what I normally think of when I imagine the archetypical politician, the selling-ice-to-an-Eskimo type of guy. Fred Smith didn't have a toothy grin and a golly-shucks attitude. I personally thought he was intimidating. I didn't feel at ease on that sofa in his living room, and I wondered why I was feeling so stupid sitting there. And then I remembered something: I usually feel stupid in the company of great men.
Likeability is a big factor in politics. As I sat there with Fred Smith, I realized it shouldn't be. Whether or not you like someone has no bearing on how effective he'd be as governor. He doesn't have to be dripping with honey if his ideas are sound. It's better to have a no-nonsense man in charge than a used car salesman type. I'd rather have him have a plan for the state than be able to effectively kiss a baby. And most of his ideas and the vision he lays out on his website seem pretty sound. I like his stuff. I like that he said that the government should be "good stewards of my money." I like that he said he wants to run for office as a businessman, as if he's marketing a product. More things in government should be run like a business, in my opinion, where results count more than intentions do.
I'm looking forward to hearing more about Fred Smith.
Sen. Smith's guest of honor for the evening was Lee Greenwood. I got to meet him and talk to him a little about my husband's service. (More evidence that people still think I'm a teenager: when he heard I was a military family, Lee Greenwood asked me how long my father has been in.) I got to tell him about how we wanted to perform a rendition of his "God Bless the USA" in a talent show when I studied in France but the school wouldn't let us because they said it was jingoistic. Stupid France. Mr. Greenwood was super nice in person and a lot of fun in the concert he gave after the meet and greet. He even made a mention of my husband and me during his concert, which was such a nice thing to do. When he says he supports the troops, he darn sure means it.
It was so nice to be invited to this campaign event. I'm always excited to be surrounded by fellow right-wingers! And I think it's really cool that Sen. Smith reached out to bloggers and gave us the royal treatment. I look forward to following his campaign.
1
What you said here was SO true, Sarah, and something I think we keep forgetting:
"I didn't feel at ease on that sofa in his living room, and I wondered why I was feeling so stupid sitting there. And then I remembered something: I usually feel stupid in the company of great men. Likeability is a big factor in politics. As I sat there with Fred Smith, I realized it shouldn't be."
This is not a popularity contest - or at least, it shouldn't be. At the same time, though, for myself I would pay attention to feelings of not liking a candidate, if only to figure out why. The answer to THAT question can be painfully enlightening, as well. . . .
So cool you got the chance to sit in on something like that - I certainly appreciate the - for me - important insight. I think I'm going to remember that.
Posted by: prophet at September 28, 2007 04:59 AM (Yagmr)
2
It really had nothing to do with Fred Smith why I felt uncomfortable. I was unprepared to really delve into policy questions. And he was in Politician Mode, ready to answer tough questions from bloggers just like he does from other media. Later when he was just mingling and talking to folks, he seemed nice and approachable. But really, so what if he's not. You don't have to be approachable to have the right answers.
Posted by: Sarah at September 28, 2007 07:01 AM (TWet1)
3
"You don't have to be approachable to have the right answers."
True. But approachability helps to propagate the right answer. And unfortunately, some people equate what they perceive as "aloofness" with "not having anything worth sharing" (i.e., not having the right answer).
(None of this is a comment on Fred Smith, about whom I know nothing.)
Posted by: Amritas at September 28, 2007 09:35 AM (+nV09)
4
I was at the blogger conference both this year and last and Sarah is right about Fred being all business when taking questions from the media and talking about policy. I was a little intimidated myself last year when listening to some of the other bloggers asking questions about local politics, which I did not follow closely then.
She is also right about him being friendly and approachable when not in that press conference setting though. I would encourage anyone in NC to go to one of his BBQs when he gets to your county. He does not leave until he has spoken to everyone who wants to talk to him (which is typically everyone in attendance) and signed every book. Both in the book and from county to county in what will amount to over 100 BBQs, he is putting himself out there and inviting people to decide whether or not he is what they want in a governor. Everyone I have talked to has liked what they have seen.
Posted by: Lorie at September 28, 2007 01:38 PM (RkBJk)
5
I guess the part I find interesting is just how important we feel the approachability - 'likeability' - quotient is in our elected officials. It's a delicate balance, isn't it? On the one hand, our elected representative ought to be approachable by us - the electers. But on another level, he ought not to be concerned with popularity polls or with trying to curry public favor, because pubic "opinion" is as changeable as the wind.
Abraham Lincoln comes to mind: he was eminently approachable, yet unswerving as straight steel.
The fact of the matter is that the President of the United States will likely not be our close personal friend. It's a physical - and real - impossibility to be close friends with every American citizen. Anything that leads us to believe he is - or will be - our "friend" is show-bis. (and if I try to spell that with a zee, it rejects this comment for "questionable content"?)
Anyway: Why do we ask that of our prospective President?
Posted by: prophet at September 30, 2007 07:42 AM (Yagmr)
6
prophet,
"he ought not to be concerned with popularity polls or with trying to curry public favor"
I agree. I would add another reason: Popularity has no inherent value. The majority can be right or wrong. A leader is supposed to do what's right. (Yes, I realize that the definition of 'right' is up for grabs ...)
"unswerving as straight steel"
I also see this quality as lacking inherent value. Being unswerving is not a virtue if you insist on driving straight off a cliff.
I see the ideal leader as adaptable, which isn't the same as wishy-washy.
Why do we demand 'likability' from our leaders? Good question. I think it's because we've evolved to deal with people on a personal level.
Until very recently in human history (i.e., the last few millennia), there was no concept of VIPs far, far away from you. In caveman times, the chief of your tribe was somebody you saw every day. Until *extremely* recently, distant VIPs were just vague notions in people's heads. The only people anyone ever saw were the people in their immediate village. The king was Some Guy Far, Far Away. People probably never even saw a painting of the guy. There were no newspapers, no photography, no video, no YouTube.
But now the mass media allow us to indulge in the illusion of 'knowing' people. Although the celebs have no idea we exist, we not only know that they exist, but can see and hear every detail of their public lives (and receive reports alleging what they do in private). We're wired to react to people we 'know', and we feel we 'know' those strangers. And we want these 'familiar' strangers to be 'likable'.
Posted by: Amritas at September 30, 2007 07:31 PM (02w/M)
7
Granted, Amritas, foolish inflexibility in the name of integrity would not be a virtue to aspire to. And I don't think you implied that I did. . . It's funny though, because I think that we are VERY FAR indeed away from the danger of foolishly sticking to a course of action. If we are in danger of heading off a cliff, it may very well be because we DON'T stick to anything! We don't do anything long enough to see what good it does. We are swayed from one extreme to the other, at the whiff of the slightest change in "public opinion".
C.S. Lewis put it well in Screwtape Letters
The use of Fashions in thought is to distract the attention of men from their real dangers. We direct the fashionable outcry of each generation against those vices of which it is least in danger and fix its approval on the virtue nearest to that vice which we are trying to make endemic. The game is to have them all runing about with fire extinguishers whenever there is a flood, and all crowding to that side of the boat which is already nearly gunwale under. Thus we make it fashionable to expose the dangers of enthusiam at the very moment when they are all really becoming worldly and lukewarm
[and, I might add: we descry the folly of stubborn persistence on a dangerous path at the very moment when there IS no safe path and the only safety to be had - if any - is by all sticking together, heading in the same direction.]
We're like a bunch of foolish chickens, running about aimlessly.
Perhaps "unswerving straight steel" may indeed be seen as a virtue if we're talking about tracks to run on. It is not so good an image if we're talking about how we conduct our relationships. I think that what I was trying to convey was a sense of personal integrity - something that holds and does not change at a whim - even as it takes people and circumstances into account. I guess it's the old 'ends' versus 'means' debate, eh?
Posted by: prophet at October 01, 2007 08:56 AM (Yagmr)
8
Sarah, it's very cool that you were invited to this event. Yay for you! Who knows where this will next lead you? You've been in a book, you've attended a getting-to-know-you event, what's next? Lovely picture of you, by the way
Kate
Posted by: Kate at October 01, 2007 11:49 AM (tB/4l)
9
prophet,
No argument from me at all. It looks like we want the same things from our leaders. I was using the term "wishy-washy" to refer to what you were criticizing in your most recent post: fluctuating by following fashion.
Of course, the point at which changing one's mind becomes "adaptable" (what you describe as "people and circumstances into account") as opposed to "wishy-washy" (what you describe as "running about aimlessly") is open to debate. Everyone wants "integrity" but not everyone *perceives* "integrity" in the same person.
Suppose I change my mind about issue X: my view is now A instead of B. And it turns out that 51% of the public believe in B instead of A.
If you are my ally, you will say that I mean it when I claim I considered the evidence and came to the right conclusion.
If you are my foe, you will brand me as an appeaser - a panderer.
Without more details, what conclusion can you rightfully draw from the correlation between my new view and the public view? None, I'd say. These beliefs about me say more about others' tribal loyalties than they say about my integrity.
But add context. Suppose it turns out I have a long history of jumping on bandwagons. Then a pattern becomes clear: I'm a follower, not a leader.
Followers are dangerous, because reality is not a democracy. If the majority believes something that is not true, or that is outright dangerous, and a 'leader' follows this just to get votes, that person not only has no integrity, but is also doing the public a disservice. If everyone in a theater believes the theater isn't on fire, and a 'leader' goes along with this instead of shouting, "Let's get outta here!" he's won the election, but he'll 'lead' his constituents to their deaths.
Posted by: Amritas at October 01, 2007 05:25 PM (02w/M)
10
"reality is not a democracy."
By this I meant to say that majority belief does not make something true. A leader should pursue truth and convince others to join him in that pursuit.
Posted by: Amritas at October 01, 2007 05:28 PM (02w/M)
11
Clarification #2 (sorry, Sarah):
"If everyone in a theater believes the theater isn't on fire, and a 'leader' goes along with this instead of shouting, 'Let's get outta here!' he's won the election, but he'll 'lead' his constituents to their deaths."
This should read, "If everyone in a burning theater believes the theater isn't on fire ..."
Posted by: Amritas at October 01, 2007 05:30 PM (02w/M)
WOMEN DRIVE ME NUTSJohn Hawkins posts that Katie Couric is still blaming her failure on the fact that the world can't handle her being a woman. Puh-lease.
Look, you can't have it both ways. You can't say that the country is progressive enough to hire you for the biggest news job ever but not progressive enough to watch you do it. CBS is in it to make money, and Hawkins is right: they wouldn't have hired you if they thought you couldn't pull in ratings. They were wrong. But it's not because they're sexist.
God, that's what I hate about women. They want to be thought of as completely equal, able to do any job that men can and bristling when anyone even suggests they can't. And then when they fail, they say it's because they're a woman and it's different. Either it's different or it's not. It can't be that you are just as good as a man when you're successful and then held back by your gender when you fail.
Male anchormen have come and gone, and none of them get to whine that they failed because they were men. Stop blaming your problems on the viewing audience. And stop viewing everything in the entire world through the lens of your gender. No one cares that you have a vagina; they only care that they don't like to watch you reading the news.
Posted by: Tammi at September 27, 2007 08:47 AM (xYhVQ)
2
Gotta agree here...I don't see anything great about her...in fact the only thing I really felt about her, was sorry for her when she lost her husband....and that is human nature.
Posted by: A Soldier's Wife at September 27, 2007 09:54 AM (Yo28E)
3
ok now that you have said vagina and Katie Couric in the same sentence...
I need to puke...
I think Ms. Couric has had inordinate amount of success based on her being female.
My Pastor called her Godless in church the other day. He brought her name up because of her being deemed "Americas Sweetheart". He thought it was a shameful thing to say about America, and what Amercia thinks is valuable and honorable. Frankly I gave a hefty amen, but wanted to stand and cheer.
4
Katie Couric is a b*tch. And I say that with no due respect. There is a great deal about her in the book Spin Sisters, which just confirms things I've been told by people who have worked under her in one respect or another. She's not a sweetheart, she's not sweet, and she has no depth of feeling for anyone but herself.
Watching her try to give the news is worse than anticipating a dental visit. It has nothing to do with her vagina, and everything to do with the fact that she's talentless in that regard and has risen to her level of incompetance. Wolf Blitzer has a penis, and I can't stand to watch him anchor a news desk, either.
Feminazis. Ick.
Posted by: airforcewife at September 27, 2007 12:36 PM (emgKQ)
5
That's funny that you should write about this because just yesterday I was thinking that Katie's rank would be the subject of HILLARY's rant when she loses to Rudy. "The country wasn't progressive enough to elect me, what can I say?" Ugh.
Posted by: Nicole at September 27, 2007 01:35 PM (Mus7L)
6
Maybe her problem has something to do with this.
Posted by: david foster at September 27, 2007 04:33 PM (gguM0)
7
IT has nothing to do with her gender. She isn't, in any respect, a journalist. She hasn't paid her dues, hasn't been a real reporter. All she has done is the Today Show. Even Charlie Gibson has done real reporting, before he became a morning show geek. I'm sorry, those morning shows are NOT news. Therefore, I am surprised anyone thought she could do this. I felt sorry for her when her husband died, but this is NOT a reason to hire someone.
LAW
8
A lot of guys, especially younger guys, are concluding that COMPLAINING is the essence of femininity. It's not fair, because there are a lot of women who aren't whiners, but the complainers are so visible especially in colleges that it's natural for guys to draw this conclusion.
Age, education, and social class have a big effect. Take a woman who is upper middle class, with an advanced degree, and in her 40s or 50s, and odds are you have one of the most unhappy creatures on the earth.
Posted by: anon at September 28, 2007 08:43 AM (tC0Tu)
9
Yeah,sorry,Katie...but it's not us,it's you. I
tried watching the woman and she is simply not
meant to do hard news. Painful to watch in a way
that has nothing to do with gender.
Posted by: MaryIndiana at October 03, 2007 04:55 PM (82AdA)
WE DON'T HEAR THIS ENOUGH
Jay Tea wins quote of the day:
People who rejoice in their tax refunds are fools for thinking that "the government gave me money" instead of "the government borrowed all this money from me, then returned it with no interest."
THE BEACH
Why do I hate the beach, you ask. Well, it combines three things I hate independently: water, sand, and sun. I like to look at the beach, and an hour there would be nice, but after several hours I was ready to get the heck out. I'd rather spend time in a salvage yard. And I just really hate the feeling of baking in the sun. You could put a chicken breast in the oven at 100 degrees, and in a couple of hours it'd be cooked. That's what you're doing to your skin, people! The thought of it entirely creeps me out; I feel myself baking like a chicken in the oven. Gives me the willies.
1
People, I have got pictures of Sarah (looking slightly uncomfortable) at the beach knitting in the shade...will sell to highest bidder.
Posted by: CaliValleyGirl at September 27, 2007 06:57 AM (Ijp/q)
2
I have to agree wholeheartedly with you about the beach. Not my favorite either. My children mocked me for knitting in the shade while at the beach this summer.
Posted by: gatorgirl at September 27, 2007 08:44 AM (S7tlX)
3
Sarah....knitting...in the shade...at the beach....blasphemy!
I don't do the whole cooking myself in the sun...although I love the beach, love the water and love the sun...I love it though, with an SPF ranging from 30-50 during the time I'm out there, my kids too...but I grew up living on the beach...so whole different life for me...
I also love the snow...so I'm an either or gal...but I love the change of seasons...so not sure I could live forever in either climate!
still having a hard time with the knitting thing though....I don't think I ever saw anyone knitting on the beach, now I saw some strange things in Mallorja on the beach but that consisted of a really old guy with old um.....anatomy....you should go...it was comical....I kept my bathing suit on...
Posted by: A Soldier's Wife at September 27, 2007 09:59 AM (Yo28E)
4
Not a beach fan either. It is pretty, but after two near drowning incidents, the only water I really like is in the bath tub.
Posted by: Kasey at October 03, 2007 01:12 PM (tttDj)
MY TRIP TO HAWAII
I got up at 0300 on Wednesday and left the house late. So I sped the hour and a half to the airport, and by "sped" I mean "drove three miles over the speed limit." I was so freaked out that I would miss my plane, but I'm even more scared of getting a ticket.
I made it in time.
On my second flight, some girl in front of me tattled to the stewardess that she didn't like the way I stowed my bag in the overhead compartment. Instead of asking me to shuffle some stuff around, she went and told on me. So they made me check my bag through. So silly.
I crocheted the entire way to Honolulu, much to the hilarity of my rowmates. They looked at me like I was the biggest dork ever, but I got six more squares made for charity. I crocheted for six hours straight.
Honolulu made me laugh. The entire place looks like a joke, like someone set up a movie set for me to walk through. It's so Hawaii that it looks absurd. Also I love that these are the restroom signs:
Both my bag and I made it to Kauai, where CaliValleyGirl picked me up and took me around to meet people until I couldn't keep my eyes open. The next morning, I awoke to what can only be described as screams from zombie victims. I later learned it was roosters. I have never heard such a sound in my life. That island is filled with roosters, gangs of them roaming the streets and howling at 0430 every morning. Unreal. Roosters are to Kauai what squirrels are to normal cities.
Thursday was the rehearsal and dinner. We did the shopping for food and booze in the morning; I had never seen $1200 worth of groceries before! I put together shish kebabs while CaliValleyGirl and company were at the church. We crashed after a fun night and I promised not to keep her awake. Because really, the best part of the trip was that Cali let me share a room with her while I was there. I was the last person to share a bed with single Cali. It was like giving her away! I thought that was a pretty good honor, and I told anyone who would listen. They probably all think I'm a lesbian now.
Friday was wedding day. While the wedding party was getting hair and makeup done, a nice German boy escorted me around the island so I could actually get some photos of Hawaii.
I returned to the house to do one more chore before the wedding: refill the lighter fluid in the tiki torches around the reception tent. Yeah, the problem is that used tiki torches are covered in soot. Thirty minutes before the wedding, I was black up to my elbows. I looked like a car mechanic the whole rest of the day.
I made it to the wedding ceremony only to sit behind the tallest guest in the joint. I barely saw anything of the ceremony, but I was so glad to snap this photo as the happy couple made their way to the limo.
We went back to the reception tent, where Cali's good decorating taste really shined through:
Another huge thrill was that I got to sit at the head table! Imaginary friend, my butt; I rated tip top! Too cool. Dinner was delicious, the entertainment was awesome -- I learned I really, really like traditional Hawaiian music -- and the evening passed into night. Everyone became really surprised that Sarah can actually dance. We lingering few put the happy couple in the limo again and went to crash.
Saturday I spent my last day in Hawaii at the beach. I don't care how beautiful it is, I still hate the beach. I can't stand it. But luckily neither can one of Cali's cousins, so he and I sat and chatted while I knitted. I took a lot of crap for sitting under a tree in Hawaii knitting, but I coined a new saying: "I'd rather go home with a sock than a sunburn." After the beach, I said my goodbyes and made my way to the airport for my 2340 red-eye flight.
The way home was uneventful, save the incident at dinner. I bought a hamburger and fries at some airport fast food place, and a pilot in line behind me bought two burgers and fries. The cooks called his number first, so he took the bag and offered me a fry while I waited. He munched on some fries and then started digging in the bag and realized there was only one burger in there. Um, oops. The dumb cooks had handed him my order. So this pilot, who was super nice and really not to blame, manhandled my burger and fries...and the cooks said, "Oh, sir, we're so sorry for the mix-up." They apologized to him! I couldn't decide if I was really ticked off or just too awestruck by the gall of it to be mad.
My last flight was two hours late in taking off, which is never fun at the end of a 22-hour journey. But I made it home in one piece and slept in late with no roosters to disturb me.
Hawaii was lovely. I didn't think I'd care one way or the other, but I did think it was beautiful. However, now that I'm home, I'm back to thinking that the grass is greener in my own backyard.
And we don't even have grass. Just weeds and dirt.
1
Ahh, I had forgotten that you were going to Kauai. Now you have to find the time to go back and visit the Big Island. Kilauea volcano has been erupting non-stop for over 20 years. You can rent a decent house/cabin at Kilauea Military Reservation for cheap.
Posted by: R1 at September 25, 2007 08:27 PM (b8byF)
2
Wow, you did find the time to write this after all! I wouldn't have minded waiting a day or two, but I'm happy you 'filed your report' early! Thanks for a good read - as always.
I've been through Honolulu International Airport so many times over the last 30 years that I've become oblivious to the decor. I don't remember ever seeing the signs you posted. How'd you find them online?
Last Sunday or so at the supermarket, I saw a sign that said something like "no checks over $200 accepted" and I thought, who would spend more than $200 on groceries? Never even dreamed of "$1200 worth of groceries". Wonder what the checkout person thought ...
Sorry to hear you didn't get a good seat at the ceremony but I guess being at the head table made up for it!
What is it that you don't like about the beach? The sun exposure? Would being at a beach at night be better? (I haven't done that in 15 years.) Not that I'm saying you _have_ to like beaches. Just curious.
Posted by: Amritas at September 25, 2007 08:59 PM (02w/M)
3
"Now they all probably think I'm a lesbian."
I'm DYING here!!!
Posted by: airforcewife at September 26, 2007 03:31 AM (emgKQ)
4
LOL - Cali and her new husband look terrific! (not that I expected any less *grin*).
Sounds like the wedding went off wonderfully well. And yes, you crack me up... the last person to sleep with her... OMG!!! Excellent.
I'm not a beach person either... not for sitting. I love walking along beaches - especially rocky beaches like we have up here in the Northeast.
Posted by: Teresa at September 26, 2007 04:33 AM (rVIv9)
5
Wow, what a fun time! Glad you got to go and have fun, and she does look lovely (dress blues.. so much better than a rental tux!) I used to hate sand so much, my parents could leave me on a blanket on the beach, and I wouldn't move off it! So, they are NOW letting crochet hooks on the plane? last time I tried to get on a plane with a crochet hook, I had to leave it behind! When we had chickens, my neighbours were a bit miffed about the roosters..
LAW
6
This is the same person who, when she was a little girl, LOVED to play on the beach for hours. We spent a lot of weekends on the Gulf when we lived in Houston and enjoyed trips to Florida. She and her brother loved to make me nervous by going out as far as they could (they were both excellent swimmers and loved adventure). Unfortunately, that Scotch-Irish skin doesn't like the sun! Sarah, your pictures are just beautiful!!!
Love,
Your Mama
Posted by: Nancy at September 26, 2007 05:39 AM (m84zM)
7
maybe I will "room " with you in Vegas, since you are a lesbian.
(Only kidding)
I am so glad you had such a fantastic time, and I am glad to hear Hawaii is sort of a satire of itslef, that is really funny. I kept picturing you in a Wes Anderson Hawaii while you were there.
To CVG,
Many happy years, and you two look gorgeous as always!!!
PS the reception was very pretty
8
Sarah - You are hilarious & I don't even "know" you in person...
Hono is funny, though, isnt it? But you can't beat the Hale Koa.
They look great.
Posted by: Keri at September 26, 2007 07:30 AM (l3uZP)
9
Looks like and sounds like a great time. I think it is sweet that you got to spend the last night with your friend. That is not a kind of platonic intimacy that many people have have or share.
Posted by: Butterfly Wife at September 26, 2007 09:38 AM (+2qii)
10
It's nice to get away from home every once in a while, if only to realize we really like it at home.
Posted by: Green at September 26, 2007 09:47 AM (VqW06)
WAITING
I know some of you are anxiously waiting for a long post on Hawaii, but I just haven't found the time yet. I have had knitting classes and trips to the grocery store and toilets to clean and my little brother passing through town tonight. And tomorrow I will be gone all day too, which will be a future blog post. I just wanted to let you know why you're still waiting.
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01:40 PM
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HI FROM HI
I had really forgotten how nervewracking one's own wedding is.
CaliValleyGirl and fiance are hanging in there, both a tad frazzled about the whole event tomorrow. Most of their friends here are single, so I don't quite think anyone understands why they're so stressed. But I remember it well: wanting to puke for two days and feeling like nothing was going to get done on time. But it all magically does.
Hawaii is beautiful. But I sure didn't expect to wake up to a cacophony of roosters this morning. So odd.
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Give her a hug from me. Tell her it will all be perfect! *grin*
Posted by: Teresa at September 20, 2007 06:02 PM (rVIv9)
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Oh the wedding stress.....I remember it well...well it was a blur and a really long time ago, but nonetheless it was just as you describe...wish the couple good luck from the East Coast and many years of Happiness!!!!
Enjoy your HI time....I'm envious, you live in Germany, which I so so miss....and now you are in my other favorite part of the world.....
Sarah, can I be you when I grow up??? Please?
~ASW
Posted by: A Soldier's Wife at September 21, 2007 04:32 AM (M7kiy)
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Sarah,
Where did you end up staying? I would rather wake up to the cooing of the doves instead of roosters.
Don't forget to squeeze in the Diamondhead hike if you have the time. Also sunrise at Makapuu beach and sunset at Ala Moana beach. I was going to suggest Makaha beach but too many locals there dislike haole's.
Posted by: R1 at September 21, 2007 05:47 AM (b8byF)
Posted by: Green at September 21, 2007 09:29 AM (VqW06)
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took us awhile after first being stationed in hawaii to get accoustomed to the roosters, but soon they blended. loved our 3 years there and would love to get back! enjoy your time!
Posted by: Mel at September 23, 2007 09:26 PM (ZHI1a)
LEAVING ON FOUR JET PLANES
My neighbor told me that all she had to do to finally get pregnant was take a nice, relaxing trip to Hawaii.
Plane ticket to awe-inspiring places like this? Check.
Romantic weekend of nuptials? Check.
Husband? Oh wait, crap.
Somehow I don't think this is going to work out for me...
Anyway, I'll be gone for a while, but I'll return with stories and photos and tales of changing planes four times in one day.
And here's a little tidbit for people in the travel-size industry: Will you please consider making products that one can actually take on an airplane? It's been over a year, so you'd think the market would've dictated 1.7 oz bottles. But no. Apparently I don't get to take contact solution or sunscreen to Hawaii. Thanks a ton. Big pointy metal knitting needles are fine, but not my sunscreen.
Posted by: Butterfly Wife at September 18, 2007 12:19 PM (18CO/)
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Have a great time!
As for contact solution - now you know why I recently bought a new pair of glasses - I'm tired of trying to work around that so I'm cutting out the annoyance. Although I did find something small (can't remember what it was) the last time I traveled. *sigh*
One thing I didn't check was Minimus.b-i-z (remove the dashes, someone blacklisted the damn extension!) They are Soldier's Angels they do travel sized stuff - you might want to check them out and see if they have sizes you want. (or click over to my blog, they're on my sidebar under companies that support our troops)
Posted by: Teresa at September 18, 2007 04:32 PM (rVIv9)
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fyi - You can pack 3 oz containers of your travel size stuff. (I am no expert on contact lens solution packaging.) And all your gels and liquids (each 3 oz or less) needs to fit in a clear 1 quart plastic bag. I usually put that in a gallon bag so I have "secondary containment." And you can pick up some decent bottles to fill at most drugstores for $1 each or less. (I hate buying travel size for shampoo and lotion - yes, many hotels provide, but I like what I like.) And yes, I am a bit of a geek, but this has worked well as I travel around the US and globe.
Have a great trip!
Posted by: jck at September 18, 2007 05:12 PM (jQVQ+)
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Jck - since lense solution has to be sterile or you risk eye infection, it's a really bad idea to transfer it to another container. That's the really sucky part. *sigh*
Posted by: Teresa at September 20, 2007 06:04 PM (rVIv9)
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Some of the comments on that post are pretty disheartening. Rachel says women are not superior to men, but some of her fans take it further and say women are inferior to men. How about we say there are great people and horrible people of each gender and leave it at that?
Some of them think they can generalize their bad experiences into justification for sexism.
Posted by: Sabbrielle at September 18, 2007 11:49 AM (1/8jR)
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Why only in preemie sizes? I would SO wear the skull one. Especially if it had a cute little rolled brim.
I'm sorry, the hippie-ness just has to come out somewhere. I can't control it.
Posted by: airforcewife at September 18, 2007 03:56 AM (emgKQ)
MOST OF MY LIFE IS GONE
You know how you're supposed to back up your files in case something ever happens to your computer? I have always been pretty good about this. A few years ago when we had to wipe out the desktop and start over, I burned everything to CDs. We didn't lose anything. But a few weeks ago, my mom asked me about a paper I wrote in college. I went to my back-up CDs to get the paper.
What happens when your back-up CD turns up broken?
I have no idea how this happened. It broke from the center hole outward, three inch-long cracks. And it was in a jewel case too. I just have no idea how it could've broken like that.
Everything's gone. All the papers I wrote in college and grad school. The poem I wrote that won a national contest. The 40,000 word journal I kept from my year in France. And probably many other things that I will gradually come to remember and mourn.
Is there any way to save data from a cracked CD? I doubt it, but some of you are more computer savvy than I.
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I'm really sorry to hear this, Sarah. Most of my diary is still on paper back in Hawaii. If my house there ever burns down ... oh well, at least I'll still have my memories. (And that's *all* I have of the years before 1993, before I started writing a diary.)
When I shudder at imagining such a loss, I try to comfort myself by saying, it's the act of creation that's more important than retaining the creation, and I can still create. Losing the ability to write would be a far bigger blow.
Since I got a CD burner in 1996 I've always made at least two copies of everything, and for the most critical files (e.g., my diary) I have many copies. When my hard drive died after only one year of use in 1997, my policy paid off - I got a new, bigger hard drive and moved everything onto it.
A couple of years ago, I started transferring my CD-ROMs to DVD. So far almost none of my CD-ROMs have gone bad, with the exception of one or two CD-RWs. Fortunately, all key files survived on other disks, and nothing important was lost.
I know one guy who has an external drive backing up everything in real time (?). Turned out to be a lifesaver for him after a computer crash. I should do the same thing. Maybe I'll get myself such a drive when I buy a new laptop at the end of this year. Backups are a big issue for me because I'm constantly changing computers. My laptops wear out very quickly. If I'm not asleep, I'm using a computer - both at home and at work.
One more thing - be careful when selecting CDs and DVDs for backups. Lots of good advice here:
http://www.digitalfaq.com/media/
I can verify its DVD ratings from experience. It's really hard to find reliable DVDs.
Posted by: Amritas at September 17, 2007 04:28 AM (02w/M)
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It may have cracked during your last move - changes in temperature that kind of thing. There are many ways it can happen.
I don't know what the price might be - but there are data recovery specialists out there. This is one that I've found by searching...
http://www.datarecoveryspecialist.com/
you may want to try googling up a few more. I chose this one as they seem to work with personal data as opposed to business data. You could also check your area for computer businesses and call them they may have leads in the area. But for now, until you find you absolutely can not get it back... don't thow out the disk!
Also, for really important stuff - it needs double backups - two different sources stored in 2 different places. That's about the best you can do to keep your data from being lost. There are even free online backup places that let you back up your data and they store it (encrypted sites only please) for you. So then you have the CD and the online backup... not to say they can't both fail - but there's less chance of total loss.
Posted by: Teresa at September 17, 2007 06:59 AM (rVIv9)
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Thanks to Teresa for pointing out data recovery services exist. Many of Sarah's readers could benefit from this information.
Here's a tip I recently learned that I left out: don't write on CDs and DVDs:
/cs/docs/leaflets/g81/#heading6
(at cam dot ac dot uk; mu.nu won't let me post the URL)
"Don't write on CDs or DVDs, even with a soft marker pen as the ink damages the surface. Use a CD label instead and write on it before affixing it to CD."
Even labels make me uneasy. Stickers don't necessarily stick forever, and I'd hate to have a peeling sticker impede disc playback. I store my discs in jewel cases with paper labels that I handwrote or printed using my computer.
Posted by: Amritas at September 17, 2007 07:56 AM (+nV09)
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Sarah, I'm not a computer person, but found this site through a search and thought I'd pass it on for what you might find here to use. http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US
fficial&hs=SDm&sa=X&oi=spell&resnum=0&ct=result&cd=1&q=isobuster&spell=1 Rosie
Posted by: Rosie at September 17, 2007 04:19 PM (6Mz/s)
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Sarah,
I am so sorry to hear this.....ugh...I have lost so much in the past off my computers...I feel for you with the loss of your backup. I have recently backed up my POS laptop, by the way I hate Dell products.....sorry off topic there....
And of course none of this will help you with your current issue....so {{{hugs}}} on that but here is what I do now....
I also recently bought a 250 gig external backup harddrive (no I have not used it yet....I have good ideas, bad implementation) but the last time our desktop had it's major issues, I had a computer guy (friend of my husband's) make two copies of that hard drive on CD's and then a DVD of it as well...they are in cases and are labeled with sharpie permanent markers...and kept in our safe.....as are all of our back ups.
Also when I upload new photos to our computer I move the old ones after I back them up to a folder in the computer itself that says they have been backed up so I know what I have to burn....this will all become much easier once I begin to back them up. I also have now begun to upload all my favorite ones to a photobucket account and I use box.net for important documents.....that way if I do not have my computer with me and I need to access any of them I can from where ever I am.....not to mention, if I lose them, much like your paper, I will not really have lost them, they are online....
Of course, I do need to remember the darn passwords....
Okay, now I really need to get busy using that backup hard drive....cause this laptop will be lucky to survive another crash, it may end up in the back yard!!!
Posted by: A Soldier's Wife at September 18, 2007 06:57 AM (M7kiy)
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One of my teachers said she backs everything up on a thumb drive. hat way she has it wih her at all times and can pull up anything she needs right now.
Posted by: Reasa at September 18, 2007 12:02 PM (JfF5d)
Pfc. Trippany's father, an infantryman with 24 years of active-duty service, had a solution. She moved back home, started a special diet and began her body transformation.
"I did Jenny Craig for the diet and then for exercise I would walk four miles per day. My dad wanted me to keep a 3.6 mile-per-hour pace in order to keep my cardio up, so every day, for 17 months, my dad drove behind me in his truck while I walked," said Pfc. Trippany.
"My dad even moved the family refrigerator out to the garage and bought another refrigerator for the food I was allowed to eat and put that one in the kitchen. There was no way for me to sneak food as the family fridge had a key lock on it and I didn't have the code. So, I was really on lockdown."
I think that parents often need to let their adult children face their own challenges and tackle their own demons. The helicopter parent phenomenon is a little creepy. But I love the fact that, once she came to her father for help, he took her seriously and really helped her. He spent money for a new fridge and countless hours trailing her in the car because he loves her and wanted to help her reach her goal. She said she wanted to lose the weight, and dad busted her butt to help her do it.
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I would say that the "helicopter parent" thing isn't an issue here. She went to her father who did everything he could to help her. Maybe a little more than most people would have (especially with the refrigerator thing. LOL). But he didn't follow her to college and try to make her change things. He waited to be asked then pitched in. That's the real difference. Many parents don't wait to be asked - they just waltz in and take over everything.
I was wondering how she would fare after she left home, but it seems she's been able to keep the weight off. That's excellent. She sounds like a person who needs lots of activity to keep herself from overeating. Her father had her in a very controlled environment, but it looks like she was able to make the leap to being on her own when she got to a certain point.
Posted by: Teresa at September 16, 2007 11:41 AM (rVIv9)
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Crap, I guess I wasn't being clear. I meant lots of young people these days ask too much of their parents. But they want their parents to give them easy solutions and superficial help. I didn't mean that this was an example of helicopter parents; this is an example of what kind of help a parent really can and should give. She wanted help losing weight and her dad did all he could to really help, not just listen to her whine and tell her she's beautiful how she is and that society just needs to accept her. That's why I like the story: it's NOT helicopter parenting.
Posted by: Sarah at September 16, 2007 12:49 PM (TWet1)
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LOL - I see what you mean now. And you're right. Her father went above and beyond and made sure she did what she needed to do. I have to admit, I don't know if I would have done quite that much!!! Like I said though - good for them both!
Posted by: Teresa at September 17, 2007 06:49 AM (rVIv9)
FORGIVENESS
I started thinking about forgiveness the other day when I was in Blockbuster and happened to walk by a movie called Forgiving Dr. Mengele. It's about an Auschwitz survivor who learns to forgive the Nazis for the genetic experiments they did on her. Ouch.
I'm thinking about the virtue of forgiveness. I would imagine that, in those circumstances, one might feel the need to forgive in order to move on. But as an outsider, I don't really forgive any of those bastards.
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I wonder how many of those who donated now wish they hadn't. Frankly, I'd be pissed.
Posted by: tim at September 14, 2007 04:59 AM (nno0f)
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Everyday I get at least 3 or 4 hits looking for an update on the Amish School Shooting.
This donation does not surprise me one bit. It's who they are.
That "man" was a part of their community. An "English", but a part non the less. They will NOT allow his family to suffer for his deeds. It is not their way.
No, I'm not surprised to read this at all. But I'll tell you, even having been a part of that "culture" I don't have that kind of forgiveness in me. It's not in my personal make-up.......
Posted by: Tammi at September 14, 2007 05:35 AM (eAXdf)
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Guess I'm not a nice enough person. Not when it's something like forgiving Mengele.
The widow of the school shooter - I don't know what to think of her. She didn't do it, I don't know that she could have stopped it unless he told her what he was going to do. Yet she gets to live with what he did for the rest of her life.
If she was as taken by surprise as the rest of the country - I feel very sorry for her. If she knew about it and had a chance to stop it yet didn't do anything - she's worse than he is. It's the not knowing that puts me in a quandary about her.
Posted by: Teresa at September 14, 2007 06:02 AM (rVIv9)
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I don't mean my post to make it sound like I'm blaming the widow. She wasn't one of the "bastards" I meant
I do feel sorry for her, and I don't mind that donated money goes to help her...actually, less than I mind that donated money went to Kathy Trant.
Posted by: Sarah at September 14, 2007 08:55 AM (TWet1)
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I wish I could say that I could give that kind of forgiveness but I don't think it is in me either.
Posted by: Lemon Stand at September 14, 2007 02:51 PM (JROsA)
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I would love to! I wasn't impressed with the pattern when I originally saw it on Knitty, but the colors on the one shown on Spousebuzz convinced me! Now to find the yarn & get going...
Posted by: Toni at September 13, 2007 06:12 PM (OoGre)
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Yeah, the original Danica is neat only in that it's entrelac, but with that SWS yarn...awesome. Check google images for a few pics using the different color choices.
Posted by: Sarah at September 14, 2007 01:31 AM (TWet1)
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Wow! I'd love to do that! Is there any way to translate that to crochet? I haven't expanded my horizons yet.
Posted by: Green at September 14, 2007 08:29 AM (VqW06)
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A search of "crochet entrelac" yielded this website:
http://knitknotpurlcurl.wordpress.com/2006/09/30/my-first-try-at-tunisian-crochet-entrelac/
It seems it's possible...though I'm not sure I'm up to the task of converting the pattern!
Posted by: Sarah at September 14, 2007 08:58 AM (TWet1)
Posted by: Mare at September 15, 2007 04:50 PM (5PAuk)
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this looks way cool. I also found some info on knitting 'backwards', which apparently makes this pattern a bit less unwieldy? Do you guys do it that way? I wouldn't be able to start for another month or so, but would love to participate, too!
Posted by: prophet at September 17, 2007 04:53 AM (Yagmr)
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I love knitting backwards for rows with not-so-many stitches. There's a good tutorial at Knitty with vivid pictures: http://www.knitty.com/issuesummer06/FEATreverse.html
Posted by: Sarah at September 17, 2007 06:21 AM (TWet1)
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Thanks for the link, Sarah. I got some yarn out just to see if I could figure it out, and managed OK, which surprised/pleased me. Have you started already? I'm going to be tied up for at least another month, like I said. . . . bummer.
Posted by: prophet at September 18, 2007 04:23 AM (4mFKZ)
NO MAN IS A FAILURE WHO HAS FRIENDS
Something wonderful happened today. Someone who barely knows me did something very kind for me. And tonight, I feel like this.
To Sarah, the richest woman on the internet...
It really is a wonderful life.
Posted by: Beth at September 13, 2007 01:37 PM (VoZuu)
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hm.....{tilts head, scratches head, shrugs shoulders, smiles}
Whatever it was they did, I am very happy that it made you post a clip from my VERY FAVORITE MOVIE from THE OTHER ONE of my HEROES in life.....Brigadier General James Maitland Stewart, USAF....(there is a story there)
Posted by: A Soldier's Wife at September 13, 2007 04:37 PM (M7kiy)
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There is neither happiness nor misery in the world; there is only the comparison of one state with another, nothing more. He who has felt the deepest grief is best able to experience supreme happiness. We must have felt what it is to die, Morrel, that we may appreciate the enjoyments of living. --The Count of Monte Cristo--
While our troops go out to defend our country, it is incumbent upon us to make the country worth defending. --Deskmerc--
Contrary to what you've just seen, war is neither glamorous nor fun. There are no winners, only losers. There are no good wars, with the following exceptions: The American Revolution, WWII, and the Star Wars Trilogy. --Bart Simpson--
If you want to be a peacemaker, you've gotta learn to kick ass. --Sheriff of East Houston, Superman II--
Going to war without France is like going deer hunting without an accordion. You just leave a lot of useless noisy baggage behind. --Jed Babbin--
Dante once said that the hottest places in hell are reserved for those who in a period of moral crisis maintain their neutrality. --President John F. Kennedy--
War is a bloody, killing business. You've got to spill their blood, or they will spill yours. --General Patton--
We've gotta keep our heads until this peace craze blows over. --Full Metal Jacket--
Those who threaten us and kill innocents around the world do not need to be treated more sensitively. They need to be destroyed. --Dick Cheney--
The Flag has to come first if freedom is to survive. --Col Steven Arrington--
The purpose of diplomacy isn't to make us feel good about Eurocentric diplomatic skills, and having countries from the axis of chocolate tie our shoelaces together does nothing to advance our infantry. --Sir George--
I just don't care about the criticism I receive every day, because I know the cause I defend is right. --Oriol--
It's days like this when we're reminded that freedom isn't free. --Chaplain Jacob--
Bumper stickers aren't going to accomplish some of the missions this country is going to face. --David Smith--
The success of multilateralism is measured not merely by following a process, but by achieving results. --President Bush--
Live and act within the limit of your knowledge and keep expanding it to the limit of your life.
--John Galt--
First, go buy a six pack and swig it all down. Then, watch Ace Ventura. And after that, buy a Hard Rock Cafe shirt and come talk to me. You really need to lighten up, man.
--Sminklemeyer--
You've got to kill people, and when you've killed enough they stop fighting --General Curtis Lemay--
If we wish to be free, if we mean to preserve inviolate those inestimable privileges for which we have been so long contending, if we mean not basely to abandon the noble struggle in which we have been so long engaged, and which we have pledged ourselves never to abandon until the glorious object of our contest shall be obtained -- we must fight! --Patrick Henry--
America has never been united by blood or birth or soil. We are bound by ideals that move us beyond our backgrounds, lift us above our interests and teach us what it means to be citizens. Every child must be taught these principles. Every citizen must uphold them. And every immigrant, by embracing these ideals, makes our country more, not less, American. --President George W. Bush--
are usually just cheerleading sessions, full of sound and fury and signifying nothing but a soothing reduction in blood pressure brought about by the narcotic high of being agreed with. --Bill Whittle
War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself.
--John Stuart Mill--
We are determined that before the sun sets on this terrible struggle, our flag will be recognized throughout the world as a symbol of freedom on the one hand and of overwhelming force on the other. --General George Marshall--
We can continue to try and clean up the gutters all over the world and spend all of our resources looking at just the dirty spots and trying to make them clean. Or we can lift our eyes up and look into the skies and move forward in an evolutionary way.
--Buzz Aldrin--
America is the greatest, freest and most decent society in existence. It is an oasis of goodness in a desert of cynicism and barbarism. This country, once an experiment unique in the world, is now the last best hope for the world.
--Dinesh D'Souza--
Recent anti-Israel protests remind us again of our era's peculiar alliance: the most violent, intolerant, militantly religious movement in modern times has the peace movement on its side. --James Lileks--
As a wise man once said: we will pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty.
Unless the price is too high, the burden too great, the hardship too hard, the friend acts disproportionately, and the foe fights back. In which case, we need a timetable.
--James Lileks--
I am not willing to kill a man so that he will agree with my faith, but I am prepared to kill a man so that he cannot force my compatriots to submit to his.
--Froggy--
You can say what you want about President Bush; but the truth is that he can take a punch. The man has taken a swift kick in the crotch for breakfast every day for 6 years and he keeps getting up with a smile in his heart and a sense of swift determination to see the job through to the best of his abilties.
--Varifrank--
In a perfect world, We'd live in peace and love and harmony with each oither and the world, but then, in a perfect world, Yoko would have taken the bullet.
--SarahBellum--
Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free. --Ronald Reagan--
America is rather like life. You can usually find in it what you look for. It will probably be interesting, and it is sure to be large. --E.M. Forster--
Do not fear the enemy, for your enemy can only take your life. It is far better that you fear the media, for they will steal your HONOR. That awful power, the public opinion of a nation, is created in America by a horde of ignorant, self-complacent simpletons who failed at ditching and shoemaking and fetched up in journalism on their way to the poorhouse. --Mark Twain--
The Enlightenment was followed by the French Revolution and the Napoleonic wars, which touched every European state, sparked vicious guerrilla conflicts across the Continent and killed millions. Then, things really turned ugly after the invention of soccer. --Iowahawk--
Every time I meet an Iraqi Army Soldier or Policeman that I haven't met before, I shake his hand and thank him for his service. Many times I am thanked for being here and helping his country. I always tell them that free people help each other and that those that truly value freedom help those seeking it no matter the cost. --Jack Army--
Right, left - the terms are useless nowadays anyway. There are statists, and there are individualists. There are pessimists, and optimists. There are people who look backwards and trust in the West, and those who look forward and trust in The World. Those are the continuums that seem to matter the most right now. --Lileks--
The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter.
--Winston Churchill--
A man or a nation is not placed upon this earth to do merely what is pleasant and what is profitable. It is often called upon to carry out what is both unpleasant and unprofitable, but if it is obviously right it is mere shirking not to undertake it. --Arthur Conan Doyle--
A man who has nothing which he cares about more than he does about his personal safety is a miserable creature who has no chance of being free, unless made and kept so by the existing of better men than himself. --John Stuart Mill--
After the attacks on September 11, 2001, most of the sheep, that is, most citizens in America said, "Thank God I wasn't on one of those planes." The sheepdogs, the warriors, said, "Dear God, I wish I could have been on one of those planes. Maybe I could have made a difference." --Dave Grossman--
At heart I’m a cowboy; my attitude is if they’re not going to stand up and fight for what they believe in then they can go pound sand. --Bill Whittle--
A democracy is always temporary in nature; it simply cannot exist as a permanent form of government. A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover that they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse due to loose fiscal policy, which is always followed by a dictatorship. --Alexander Tyler--
By that time a village half-wit could see what generations of professors had pretended not to notice. --Atlas Shrugged--
I kept asking Clarence why our world seemed to be collapsing and everything seemed so shitty. And he'd say, "That's the way it goes, but don't forget, it goes the other way too." --Alabama Worley--
So Bush is history, and we have a new president who promises to heal the planet, and yet the jihadists don’t seem to have got the Obama message that there are no enemies, just friends we haven’t yet held talks without preconditions with.
--Mark Steyn--
"I had started alone in this journey called life, people started
gathering up on the way, and the caravan got bigger everyday." --Urdu couplet
The book and the sword are the two things that control the world. We either gonna control them through knowledge and influence their minds, or we gonna bring the sword and take their heads off. --RZA--
It's a daily game of public Frogger, hopping frantically to avoid being crushed under the weight of your own narcissism, banality, and plain old stupidity. --Mary Katharine Ham--
There are more instances of the abridgment of freedoms
of the people by gradual and silent encroachment of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations. --James Madison--
It is in the heat of emotion that good people must remember to stand on principle. --Larry Elder--
Please show this to the president and ask him to remember the wishes of the forgotten man, that is, the one who dared to vote against him. We expect to be tramped on but we do wish the stepping would be a little less hard. --from a letter to Eleanor Roosevelt--
The world economy depends every day on some engineer, farmer, architect, radiator shop owner, truck driver or plumber getting up at 5AM, going to work, toiling hard, and producing real wealth so that an array of bureaucrats, regulators, and redistributors can manage the proper allotment of much of the natural largess produced. --VDH--
Parents are often so busy with the physical rearing of children that they miss the glory of parenthood, just as the grandeur of the trees is lost when raking leaves. --Marcelene Cox--
I see the ideal leader as adaptable, which isn't the same as wishy-washy.
Why do we demand 'likability' from our leaders? Good question. I think it's because we've evolved to deal with people on a personal level.
Until very recently in human history (i.e., the last few millennia), there was no concept of VIPs far, far away from you. In caveman times, the chief of your tribe was somebody you saw every day. Until *extremely* recently, distant VIPs were just vague notions in people's heads. The only people anyone ever saw were the people in their immediate village. The king was Some Guy Far, Far Away. People probably never even saw a painting of the guy. There were no newspapers, no photography, no video, no YouTube.
But now the mass media allow us to indulge in the illusion of 'knowing' people. Although the celebs have no idea we exist, we not only know that they exist, but can see and hear every detail of their public lives (and receive reports alleging what they do in private). We're wired to react to people we 'know', and we feel we 'know' those strangers. And we want these 'familiar' strangers to be 'likable'.
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