Via Conservative Grapevine, Seven reasons for healthy skepticism about Obama. Here's #4:

4. Words, words, words

Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, though starkly different men, both viewed the presidency as pre-eminently a decision-making job. Clinton often waved away speech drafts bloated with lofty language by saying: “Words, words, words.”

Obama seems to have a different view of the presidency. He thinks that the right decisions can be reached by putting reasonable and enlightened people together and reaching a consensus. He believes his job as president is to educate and inspire, largely matters of style.

He knows he is good with words. He knows he has great style. So thatÂ’s why he projects exceptional confidence in his ability to do the job.

We don’t know yet how justified Obama is in his self-confidence — or how naive.

But he is almost certain to face many tests, probably imminently, in which the test will be Obama’s ability to act quickly and shrewdly — and not merely describe his actions smoothly or impress people with nuance. And an unlike a governor — who must decide what’s in a budget and what gets cut, or whether a person to be executed at midnight should be spared — Obama has not made many decisions for which the consequences affect more than himself.

Posted by: Sarah at 03:20 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Apparently Ace had haikus yesterday. My favorites:

Trust in Obama
All your worries gone forever
Bush goes to jail now
-----DrewM

unicorns for all!
I want one with wings on it!
pay up, you assholes.
-----jdub

Mr. President
My mortgage is due the first
Just an FYI
-----Guvnah

Posted by: Sarah at 12:05 PM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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We woke up to our first real snow in three years.
Charlie loves it, just like he did as a puppy.

We're getting smiles where we can today.

Also, people in the South can NOT drive in snow. I was laughing with my husband that I took my driving test at 16 in more snow than we have today.

Posted by: Sarah at 06:40 AM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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Because two hours later, it's finally funny again...
and because you have to laugh at yourself.

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I liked Hudnall's farewell to George Bush.

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I knew I was setting myself up to be irritated when I clicked on the MSN link called Are We A New Nation Now? But I didn't really think it was worth blogging about until I got to the end.

And 2009 is only the beginning of the story. According to Pew, if current trends continue, the U.S. population will rise from 296 million in 2005 to 438 million in 2050. Eighty-two percent—let me repeat that: 82 percent—of the increase will be attributable to immigrants arriving after 2005 and to their descendants. By that point, whites may make up only 47 percent of the country, ending centuries of a majority-white America.

Will the journey be smooth? That is doubtful. Politics can quickly turn mean. In hard economic times there is often a search for an "other" on which to blame the problems of life. In the wake of a possible terrorist attack, fear could easily lead to tension, resentment and discord. The good news about America, though, is that for all of our nativist fevers and periodic witch hunts, we tend, often after having exhausted every other option, to do what is right.

"Do what is right." You know, vote Democrat.

Grrr.

Posted by: Sarah at 04:50 PM | Comments (10) | Add Comment
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1 Yes, "right" is Left, because the Right is racist. Read between the lines: In hard economic times there is often a search for an "other" on which to blame the problems of life. Need I specify who will supposedly "search" for whom? Who will supposedly have "nativist fevers" and initiate "witch hunts"? But let's put politics aside for a moment and talk demographics. "Current trends" don't continue forever. If the US economy goes downhill, this country will become a less attractive destination for immigrants. (OTOH, even a fallen US would still be desirable to many who live in true misery.) In any case, there does not seem to be any significant demand to close the door. Many oppose amnesty for illegals, but few want to cut down on legal immigration. Questions for other readers: 1. Is restricting legal immigration a good idea, and if so, what sort of restrictions would be desirable: e.g., given our high-tech economy, would university graduates be preferred? 2. In particular, given the current war, is it desirable or even possible to prevent jihadists from immigrating? How can jihadists be distinguished from the majority of nonviolent Muslims? Is a small number of jihadist immigrants a necessary price to pay for an open door? Does it make sense to fight jihadists there if they can still come here? 3. Is more assimilation desirable? If so, how will this assimilation take place, and to what degree? For example, is it possible to be a "good American" without English? If America is a proposition nation, should it be OK to understand the Constitution and other fundamentals in another language? To vote in another language? Is Americanism intrinsically bound to the English language? 4. What will happen to affirmative action once more than half the population is eligible for it? 5. For the Rightists here: The Democratic Party is perceived to be the party of diversity. Should the Republican party reach out to nonwhites, and if so, how can it do this without tokenism, pandering, and patronizing?

Posted by: Amritas at January 18, 2009 09:30 PM (y3aIN)

2 I'm not a rightist, but can I answer #5? I think that Republicans can reach out to non-whites by virtue of being visible. Currently, we have a political situation where what you DO does not matter, what you SAY you do/believe/will do matters. The only way anyone can combat that is to actually go out and do things. Mississippi was rebuilt after Katrina by churches of people who took pilgrimages to work. Churches that sometimes get recognized, but really get lost in the complaining about a still stagnating New Orleans. And churches that are generally more "right" than "left". Rick Warren, while not a favorite of mine in many areas, gets attacked for some of his stands and yet his church has an active ministry for HIV+ as well as huge programs to provide food and shelter for the homeless. If conservatives want conservatives to be seen as a force for good rather than a force of people with way too much money; conservatives need to be more visible in what they do for the community. That is the best and most honest kind of outreach. Not insipid speeches about how everyone was wrong before and things will get better given to organizations that basically exist to perpetuate victim stereotypes. But, I could be wrong. Maybe you're just evil and beyond redemption.

Posted by: airforcewife at January 19, 2009 07:02 AM (Fb2PC)

3 AFW, Thank you for your reply. Is there any evidence for a correlation between increased Rightist community involvement and more votes for Republicans? Can conservative private and religious charities compete with state benefits for the loyalties of their recipients? A cynic could say that the Right gives, but the Left gives more. Should the Right play the giving game? I completely agree with you about "insipid speeches." That kind of talk isn't just cheap; it's toxic. Who is the "you" in your last line? Me specifically, or the Republicans in the audience? (It'd be nice if colloquial English had retained a singular thou/plural you distinction.) I am not and never have been a Republican.

Posted by: Amritas at January 19, 2009 08:54 AM (y3aIN)

4 Good questions & thoughtful responses. As a more conservative person, I prefer to decide where my charitable dollars and efforts go. It's hard for some, I'm sure, to realize that when the government hands out cash & prizes, that money comes from me too. The government doesn't generate it's own income, but it certainly does rely on me to do so. Until people are willing to be intellectually honest on a large scale and quit throwing the baby out with the bath water, so to speak, it will be very difficult to make a noticeable paradigm shift.

Posted by: Guard Wife at January 19, 2009 09:44 AM (N3nNT)

5 I have an errant apostrophe in that comment & it bothers me. I can't change it. If Sarah takes pity on me & does, I will be grateful.

Posted by: Guard Wife at January 19, 2009 09:45 AM (N3nNT)

6 I meant "you're" in the aggregate sense. But I agree also with Guard Wife's last sentence. I think the best way to introduce different ideals to Americans, and in particular bring the good works of those more conservative groups to the forefront is to have a lot more involvement with education. Seriously - that is where it all starts. For those of us who do not buy the leftist line hook, line, and sinker - we should really rethink where we send our children to learn. The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world, right? We homeschool because we move a lot, but also because I want my children to know my values. I'm not opposed to them thinking for themselves or disagreeing with me. Geez, I disagree with my VERY liberal father and grandmother quite a bit! And I was totally steeped in the ideology growing up, let me tell you. I phone banked at Planned Parenthood fundraisers when I was 12 (now I'm very solidly pro-life, believe it or not). But my children better darn well understand what they're rebelling against and be able to articulate their own arguments against it. And as a teacher I know for a fact that they will NOT learn those skills in most public schools and a great many private schools. There should be alternatives for parents - not everyone has the ability to work from home like I do, or to depend on their husband's income as much as we do. If conservatives really do care about they future, they will work to MAKE those alternatives, not sit around and wait for vouchers that may never come or demand that families make sacrifices that they may not be able to withstand. If you (aggregate) are conservative and concerned about kids, you (aggregate) should be doing something for their education. Period. And personally. Whether you have kids school age or not. But education is the only way to start. The ONLY way.

Posted by: airforcewife at January 19, 2009 03:04 PM (Fb2PC)

7 @Amritas - As a former Republican (and trying really hard to be Constitutionalist now), here are my initial thoughts (aside from "wow, there are a lot of thought-provoking questions today!"): #1: Nope, I'm not in favor of imposing any additional limits (or even some of what we already have) on legal immigration. My idea: let everyone who wants to build come put their efforts into building the country, bailing the water and righting the ship! ;-) #2: It does still make sense to fight radical Islamists around the world, I suppose; I've been conflicted for a while about the morality and Constitutionality of it, though. RE: the immigration aspect of it, screening for known terrorist ties makes sense, but I honestly don't know enough about existing procedure to make that sort of call. I'd probably err on the side of allowing people opportunity, since I really believe that the majority of good people can always overcome the bad minority. In fact, a good minority can overcome a bad majority. Good > Evil. #3: ABSOLUTELY. I LOVE other languages & a lot of cultures, and I think we should all learn more than just English and "el shoe-o" Spanish as part of being educated human beings. But yes, PLEASE let's standardize our language of social intercourse. It's just practicality, IMHO. English is the international language of flight, commerce, etc.; it used to be French, but since it's English now, (right?), we should quit trying to find a guilt trip and just standardize our "internal commerce" accordingly. #4: Dunno, LOL... but won't that be a hoot? :-) Seriously, though, I'm not holding out hope for the end of orchestrated class warfare, though, which is what a lot of the country's race problems seem to boil down to... power-hungry people using others for their own aggrandizement. I'm sure it wouldn't go away, even if the "race roles" those power brokers cling to, swap places... and heaven only knows what the bureaucrats will do then. #5: Ignore our pigmentation entirely, regardless of what happens. Quit viewing people as blocs and start looking at them as individuals. Stop the INFERNAL STRATEGIZING, politicians!!! I think community and individual service show our "true colors" much better than words, which powermongers and talking heads just ignore or deny by spouting their poisonous dogma, anyway. We're all human beings, and we recognize when real care is shown to us. If we lift each other up as individuals and work charitably with each other at our most basic levels of life, I am *confident* that the rest will follow.

Posted by: kannie at January 19, 2009 03:06 PM (iT8dn)

8 And a big AMEN to AFW's education and thinking sentiments, and Guard Wife's intellectual honesty point!!!

Posted by: kannie at January 19, 2009 03:14 PM (iT8dn)

9 Thanks to everyone for their responses. I'd be interested in hearing from the liberals in the audience about how to sway the other side. GW, Before we can even work on mass-scale intellectual honest, I'd like people to be more intellectual, period. I see too many people operating on instinct and feelings, not thought. That might have been sufficient to get by in the old days, but we live in a more complex world. However, I don't expect the human species to change soon. We're still cavepeople. We're not that far removed from the Flintstones. AFW, What do you think people without school-age kids could do to promote education? I have never heard of children phonebanking. It sounds manipulative, regardless of the right or wrong of the cause. kannie, I appreciate how you addressed all my questions. Not that anyone is obligated to answer even one of them.

Posted by: Amritas at January 19, 2009 08:24 PM (y3aIN)

10 I meant "intellectual honesty" - ack!

Posted by: Amritas at January 19, 2009 08:26 PM (y3aIN)

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I know it's not the first time it's been proposed, but I absolutely stand firm against any effort to repeal the 22nd Amendment. And I would've stood firm in 1987 as well when it was proposed during the Reagan presidency. Twice is enough for anyone, even my guy.

MORE TO GROK:

Seems I agree wholeheartedly with what William F. Buckley, Jr. (pbuh) said back in 1988:

Two terms is enough for a President. And if we are going to change the Constitution let's have a three-term limit for senators, and a five-term limit for congressmen.

Now there's an amendment idea.

Posted by: Sarah at 11:38 AM | Comments (7) | Add Comment
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Dear Obama,

You speak with a forked tongue and I will have a hard time typing this letter without resorting to swear words.

We no longer need to kill Bin Laden, claims Barack Obama

All throughout the campaign, you went on and on about how the Republican administration had failed the American people for letting Bin Laden out of their sights. You claimed Iraq was a distraction from the real goal, which was getting Bin Laden in Afghanistan.

In a presidential debate in October, he said: 'We will kill bin Laden. We will crush al-Qaeda. That has to be our biggest national security priority.'

And now that you've won, before you're even sworn in, you decide that an extremely difficult task, one that George Bush has worked on for seven years and one that you claimed was the most pressing security issue for our country, now all of a sudden it's no big deal since you're at the helm.

You, sir, are a pandering, no-good son of a bitch.

Oops. I swore.

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Sock knitters will notice that the colorways on the two socks match up exactly, which gives me so much joy.

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I knew that President Bush was an avid reader, but Amritas sent me a link last night to an article Karl Rove wrote about their reading contests.

I'm gonna try to break Bush's 2008 record.

I had already decided to keep a log of what I read this year, prompted by k2sc1's post and also John Hawkins, who reads voraciously. But now I have a goal to work towards and some healthy competition.

You're dead meat, Bush.

Heh.

Also, you read The Stranger, Mr. President, which is totally slim. I am going to re-read Animal Farm like all those hoopleheads in high school who picked it because, like, it's only 128 pages long.

And that totally counts.

Posted by: Sarah at 06:39 AM | Comments (7) | Add Comment
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I can't believe my husband has almost been home for a month.

I also can't believe that he will deploy again in about 25 weeks, and he came home with a training schedule last night showing that he will be gone for nine of those weeks. So much for dwell time. We now have this ridiculous calendar which is an overlay of his training and my fertility.

Also, I've been chuckling that my husband's branch is supposed to alternate between a combat deployment and a non-combat one. His combat one was Iraq; his upcoming non-combat one is being attached to the Navy SEALs in Afghanistan. Cuz that makes total sense.

But now we can't stop saying it in that voice. You know the one I mean.

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This is Lindsey Graham, speaking about/to Obama:

This president's popularity and the respect that he has earned throughout the world gives America a chance to re-engage not only in the region, but in a way that will in the long term make this job easier, take some pressure off our troops. And that's a compliment to you and the way you have campaigned.

I'm sorry, but what the frick has Obama done to earn respect throughout the world? He hasn't earned squat; he was just automatically given it by nature of being a Democrat and the kind of douchebag who blathers on and on about transnational progressivism. He hasn't earned a damn thing because he's been on the political scene for about five minutes.

Holy hell, I find that annoying. It's one thing to be polite to the office of the presidency; it's a whole nother thing to fawn all over the opposition as if they're so much better than we are.

Gag.

Posted by: Sarah at 07:32 AM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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Could life get any more annoying right now? First annoyance: We noticed that we weren't getting any mail delivered. Not even a piece of junk mail for over a week. I called yesterday, and someone had gone online and put a hold on our mail for a month. Thanks a heap. Then this morning, Ticketmaster calls and says that someone fraudulently charged NY Knicks tickets to our credit card. Fantastic. Maybe tomorrow someone could slash my tires.

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I have been a fan of the singer Jude for about ten years now. I love his music, and when I went to his concert in Champaign, IL, it was the best concert I've ever attended. (And also the last, because I'm old.) I got to meet him after that concert, when he stood around and shook everyone's hand and signed autographs.

And now he's on Big Hollywood revealing that he's a conservative.

Be still my heart.

I'm gonna go order his two most recent albums. I balked at buying an album named Cuba because I was afraid of it being a communist paean, but now I don't think I have anything to worry about.

And if you've never heard Jude's music before, this is the song to start with.

Thanks to Amritas for finding this post...and being the kind of friend who knows that I like Jude.

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Hey FbL, I'm starving. No really, I am; is it dinnertime yet? But I'm making chicken with prosciutto and Asiago, so I don't really think we're what the Obama people had in mind. And I don't even like arugula anyway, so they can keep their handouts.

(Seriously, you have to click to hear about the phone call FbL got.)

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The Fellowship of the Biscuit Ring

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'Atlas Shrugged': From Fiction to Fact in 52 Years
No excerpt needed.

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Today is the first day in a long time that my husband has gone to work and I've stayed home. When he's here, I stick to him like glue. And there have even been a couple of days where I worked while he was at home. Hence the lack of blogging; who wants to sit at the computer when the coolest person on the planet is in her living room?

Yesterday at work, I witnessed another example of what Rachel Lucas would label as Idiocracy Watch. Three women were trying to figure out the price of an item that was $5 and 70% off. They never even came close to guessing, just urging each other to figure it out. One of them eventually took her cell phone out and said, "Five...times...seven...zero...aw man, there's no percent function." So she deleted the math and started over, ending up in the same conundrum. It was what plants crave, seriously. Percent function? Dang. Finally, they turned to me and asked me what the price would be. I said that half of $5 is $2.50 and half of that again is $1.25, so it'd be somewhere around $1.40. They looked at me like I had explained relativistic physics.

Oy.

I know I bragged about knitting math, but really, I'm not that good at math. I can do arithmetic and algebra. And usually I prefer scratch paper. I would've struggled for a few moments to figure out 38% of a number. But 70% of a nice round number like five? Yeesh. And I was even WRONG by ten cents, so shame on me a little. But that was off the top of my head in about 15 seconds, so close enough. Closer than they got, which was "I was told there would be no math in shopping."

Posted by: Sarah at 03:13 AM | Comments (9) | Add Comment
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My husband and I have been torturing ourselves with alternate reality a little lately. Our due date is coming up this week, which just underscores how perfectly timed that baby was. I got pregnant right before he deployed, and he would've returned with a little over a month before I gave birth. And the birth would've happened right during block leave. It saddens us to think how perfectly that would've worked out.

Another wife in the unit got pregnant right at the same time I did. She is due any day now. I also hate that I keep getting hit with these Comparison Babies. Sometimes I look at CaliValleyBaby and think that my own first baby would be teething and scooting around these days too. And now I will have to look at this new baby in our unit and be reminded of the progress that our second baby isn't here to make.

Some days I am hopeful that this will work for us. Other days I think that, with our track record, we have little chance for success with only five times to try before the husband deploys again.

My New Year's resolution ought to have been to stop being Dante Hicks.

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I hope Bono starting to write for the New York Times garners as much outrage as Joe the Plumber corresponding from Israel does...

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