Republicans have nothing to be proud of this morning

There are a lot of mindless articles on the web this morning that are talking about a new beginning for the GOP. Articles that claim that this election is good for conservatism, etc etc. I think before we can start our opposition movement, we need to clearly address the failure of our Republican leaders both national and local.

Be very careful today of those Republicans in power who are going to try and chaulk up this defeat to an inevitable loss due to the economic crisis, or George W. Bush's tenure. Obama won this election because the Republican Party and the Republican Nominee, John McCain were not up to the task. The Republican National Chairman should resign this morning for the sheer number of loses across the country (although luckily we avoided the magic number of six to avoid a fillibuster proof Senate).

John McCain may be a war hero, but he was a lousy, inept candidate for President. Disjointed, unimaginitive, stiff, old, and out of touch. This campaign was identical to the Dole campaign just a few years ago. John McCain barely had a chance. And the GOP and its old boy network of leaders decided that favors and backroom politics were to take precedence over practical evaluation of exactly what makes up an electable candidate.

Everyone deserves to primary, but in an eight-way race over a short period, sometimes a weak underdog emerges - no one had the dignity and courage to tell John McCain that at the end of the day - he just wasn't electable.

Democrats were better organized, grassroots organizations worked day and night, whether legallly or illegally - their foot soldiers never stopped working. The GOP never rallied their troops, and to be fair, our candidate never inspired them to work. And the decision to have John McCain throw President Bush under the bus as often as he did damaged the GOP and hurt him with conservatives beyond repair.

This is a terrible day, but final analysis is that Repubicans own this defeat.

Soon we will learn if we are willing to embrace that defeat, place blame where it lies and get rid of our leaders who led us down the path to failure. For now, don't buy into the the "it was unavoidable argument"; that's just an excuse and a lie.

Doomsday Arrives

At the time of this writing, we are hours from real election day. I use this term because all of the early voting madness is the kind of stuff that fraud stories are made up of... I mean the horror stories about Acorn, telephone voting, and drive up voting, etc during what has become election month.

With Republicans trailing in most polls its hard to fathom anything but an Obama win. That is unless the polls are all inaccurate, and there's a huge left wing conspiracy - well, we know there is at CBSNBCMSNBCABCPBS - all of which is very much in the Obama camp, certainly by everything we hear and see. The bias has never been so unbelievable open as it has this election cycle.

That being said, Republicans have run a terrible campaign. Shamefully inept, if not poorly coordinated. If Republicans cannot muster a win against a man who loves socialists and socialistic policies, then we are our own worst enemy. If a war hero and patriot with a strong record of accomplishment cannot defeat an unknown, unaccomplished, weak candidate like Obama then we deserve to lose.

If Republicans cannot defeat a man who for 25 years has attended the Church of a white hating, race bating minister who says "Goddamn America", who Barack Obama gave $50k over the last two years, then we deserve to lose.

If Republicans cannot defeat a man who hung out in the apartment of a traitor, Bill Ayers, who bombs buildings and served time in the Federal Pen, claiming afterward that "he did not do enough" then we deserve to lose.

If Republican allow a Democrat to lie openly about Democrat tax policy and let him get away with it, if not outright obsconding the tax issue all-together, then we deserve to lose.

I guess much more can be said, and will be said over the next several weeks.

Say a prayer, call your fairy-God mother, say a Hail Mary. There is this strange notion that perhaps if you wish upon a star that McCain may pull this one out. The notion that the world is lying to every pollster seems a bit remote even for this Sci-Fi fan, but who knows.

I guess we will tomorrow night.

This article was so well-written; it deserves to be posted here

This column appeared in the Washington Post. It couldn't be more accurate.

October 13, 2008
Op-Ed Columnist
Fire the Campaign
By WILLIAM KRISTOL

It’s time for John McCain to fire his campaign.

He has nothing to lose. His campaign is totally overmatched by Obama’s. The Obama team is well organized, flush with resources, and the candidate and the campaign are in sync. The McCain campaign, once merely problematic, is now close to being out-and-out dysfunctional. Its combination of strategic incoherence and operational incompetence has become toxic. If the race continues over the next three weeks to be a conventional one, McCain is doomed.

He may be anyway. Bush is unpopular. The media is hostile. The financial meltdown has made things tougher. Maybe the situation is hopeless — and if it is, then nothing McCain or his campaign does matters.

But I’m not convinced by such claims of inevitability. McCain isn’t Bush. The media isn’t all-powerful. And the economic crisis still presents an opportunity to show leadership.
The 2008 campaign is now about something very big — both our future prosperity and our national security. Yet the McCain campaign has become smaller.

What McCain needs to do is junk the whole thing and start over. Shut down the rapid responses, end the frantic e-mails, bench the spinning surrogates, stop putting up new TV and Internet ads every minute. In fact, pull all the ads — they’re doing no good anyway. Use that money for televised town halls and half-hour addresses in prime time.

And let McCain go back to what he’s been good at in the past — running as a cheerful, open and accessible candidate. Palin should follow suit. The two of them are attractive and competent politicians. They’re happy warriors and good campaigners. Set them free.

Provide total media accessibility on their campaign planes and buses. Kick most of the aides off and send them out to swing states to work for the state coordinators on getting voters to the polls. Keep just a minimal staff to help organize the press conferences McCain and Palin should have at every stop and the TV interviews they should do at every location. Do town halls, do the Sunday TV shows, do talk radio — and invite Obama and Biden to join them in some of these venues, on the ground that more joint appearances might restore civility and substance to the contest.

The hope for McCain and Palin is that they still have pretty good favorable ratings from the voters. The American people have by no means turned decisively against them.
The bad news, of course, is that right now Obama’s approval/disapproval rating is better than McCain’s. Indeed, Obama’s is a bit higher than it was a month ago. That suggests the failure of the McCain campaign’s attacks on Obama.

So drop them.

Not because they’re illegitimate. I think many of them are reasonable. Obama’s relationship to the Rev. Jeremiah Wright is, I believe, a legitimate issue. But McCain ruled it out of bounds, and he’s sticking to that. And for whatever reason — the public mood, campaign ineptness, McCain’s alternation between hesitancy and harshness, which reflects the fact that he’s uncomfortable in the attack role — the other attacks on Obama just aren’t working. There’s no reason to think they’re suddenly going to.

There are still enough doubts about Obama to allow McCain to win. But McCain needs to make his case, and do so as a serious but cheerful candidate for times that need a serious but upbeat leader.

McCain should stop unveiling gimmicky proposals every couple of days that pretend to deal with the financial crisis. He should tell the truth — we’re in uncharted waters, no one is certain what to do, and no one knows what the situation will be on Jan. 20, 2009. But what we do know is that we could use someone as president who’s shown in his career the kind of sound judgment and strong leadership we’ll need to make it through the crisis.

McCain can make the substantive case for his broadly centrist conservatism. He can explain that our enemies won’t take a vacation because the markets are down, and that it’s not unimportant that he’s ready to be commander in chief. He can remind voters that even in a recession, the president appoints federal judges — and that his judges won’t legislate from the bench.

And he can point out that there’s going to be a Democratic Congress. He can suggest that surely we’d prefer a president who would check that Congress where necessary and work with it where possible, instead of having an inexperienced Democratic president joined at the hip with an all-too-experienced Democratic Congress, leading us, unfettered and unchecked, back to 1970s-style liberalism.

At Wednesday night’s debate at Hofstra, McCain might want to volunteer a mild mea culpa about the extent to which the presidential race has degenerated into a shouting match. And then he can pledge to the voters that the last three weeks will feature a contest worthy of this moment in our history.

He’d enjoy it. And he might even win it.

Fannie and Freddie

Ain't it the truth!

Red Sox advance; Yankees don't

Just thought I'd remind everyone that the Boston Red Sox are in the playoffs once again. Meanwhile the so-called Bronx Bombers are once again sitting out the play offs. Thank God for the YES Network - where old games showing the Yankees winning each night - can be rehashed as if it were live TV.

If the Yankees Network and Yankees Organization had any class, they'd just simply shut down their operation until next year and stop pretending that the Yankees are relevant.

Meanwhile, the Sox have their hands full this time around. To win any one of these series is going to take work, particularly since both the Angels and Tampa Bay whipped our butts in the regular season serieses.

There is nothing magical about this year. It's been pretty painful if you ask me. Injuries, controversy, and stitching together enough wins to make it into the playoffs.

I consider any playing time in the post season gravy this year. If the magic runs out, it runs out. I'm just glad the Yankees aren't in it.

Don't bail out Wall Street

It must be nice to live in a place where you can make unsound financial loans and when they go bust - simply call on the tax-payer via Washington to bail you out.

$700 million dollars is a lot of money to fork over for risky mistakes made. Or perhaps they weren't mistakes - the greedy saw a way to get greedier by making short term gains and hoping to stick someone else with the bill.

Everyone in their right mind, sees this. Yet the President and the Congress seem ready to take the plunge on behalf of all of us. What sickens me is not just the millions in bailout money, but its the fact that Congress seems willing to fork over millions to pet groups like Acorn and other scandalous organizations. Plus why not tack on few million in earmarks for districts like Joe Biden's.

What the hell is going on?

We send the most irresponsible people to Washington to bail out an even more irresponsible group of people. And the threats just keep coming. Bail out the Wallsheeters or their will be total economic collapse. Sure.

Call your Congressman and tell them to go tell Wall Street and the corrupt executives that agreed to risky mortgage loans to get new jobs and bail themselves out. What a insane, socialistic country we are becoming.

Choosing Obama: Rationale and Analysis

The most complicated thought process is understanding why someone would support Barack Obama. I think that generally speaking when you lay everything out, he's an incredibly hard sell. But there are those - those looking beyond merit and experience, who are squarely in the Obama camp.

Let's analyze their arguments to see what we come up with.

Rationale: I'm voting for Barack Obama because we've had eight years of George Bush and Republicans and we can do better.

Analysis: George Bush can take both credit and blame for a lot of things. This writer has found many faults with Bush as a leader, communicator and President. But President Bush's biggest downfall is his inability to articulate positions and ideals in a manner understood by his general audience. This gap hurt him and Republicans tremendously because principles and ideals could not be advanced by the man at the top. If you can't communicate economic policy or defense policy in other than non-complex terms, or draw analogies (or paint the picture) then its hard for folks to buy into your way of thinking. In fact, the Bush Administration has been mostly about the various military conflicts abroad, and less about domestic policy - which required far more attention than it received.

Few people, even on the Republican side, are sad to see George Bush leave office.

Republicans dug their own hole with the public by proving that they are no better than Democrats at dipping into the til to spend money on pet projects. Newt Gingrich spoke most plainly to this by saying that Republicans began to act like Democrats, except that the pork spending went into Republican districts. Republicans were promoted to control of Congress after putting together the Contract with America and committing to hold the line on frivolous spending. Republicans were seen to be no better than Democrats, and as memories are short - Republicans got the boot. And they deserved to get the boot. The problem with this argument though, is that Democrats have controlled Congress over the last two cycles and have been less productive then just about any Congress in the history of the the United States.

Democrats cannot claim to be part of the solution since their Congressional record is beyond dismal. Even with a poor communicator like George Bush in office, Democrats couldn't muster a counter-argument to any policy. Senate Leader Henry Reid (D) came across bitter and angry; and made himself irrelevant. And Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D) seemed at best distracted and disengaged. Surely, no Congress has ever done so little with so much ammunition. And Democrat activists are coming unglued about the lost opportunty to have possibly advanced their agenda. And with both Presidential nominees coming from the U.S. Senate, we must admit that they are both part of the problem, and both fall within the 7% approval rating that Congress so justly deserves. That rating is far below the President's approval rating even at its lowest peak.

The other part of this faulty argument is that John McCain is not George Bush. In fact, the leadership styles are very different. Are the political stance different? Not quite sure on that one. We know that McCain has differed with his party on more than one occasion, but just because some agrees on where we need to get to, doesn't mean that they would follow the same path. In this respect, tying McCain to Bush is dishonest by any intellectual standard. While its true the platforms for Democrats and Republicans are different, approaches, plans and ideas should be evaluated on an individual basis, not a party line evaluation - particularly when it comes to John McCain.

Rationale: Obama is new and exciting. He's not an insider.

Analysis: It's true that Obama wasn't an insider at the start of his U.S. Senate career some 147 days ago before he was a Community Organizer. But one would have to say that he's probably just as much an insider as anyone is in the political establishment. The process to become a U.S. Senator, regardless of party, is rooted in favors, money, donations, pacs, special interest groups and a litany of other things that candidates seem to be always rallying against.

It's true he's new. But he's too new to know how things work. We do not elect dictators that come in on day one and start calling the shots. And moreover there are plenty of entrenched politicians in Congress, Lobbyists, and civilians lifers in every department that tend to be the ones that make the engine chug. Barack Obama has barely been in the Senate, he's barely proposed any solutions, and he's not managed to get a single piece of legislation approved by his peers. How do people expect him to come in and advance change on a global scale, when he cannot advance change in his own Chamber?

Rationale: Barack means change.

Analysis: Change to what? Change what? Barack Obama hasn't laid out any detail plans that reflect change we can believe in, let alone change we can't believe in. He's made the same general statements that most politicians wish to adhere to: better lives for middle class, getting along with our neighbors, ending the war on terror, better health care for everyone, on and on and on. In this respect, he's no different. But in one respect, given that the election is only two months away, he hasn't given out a hint of how all these wonderful goals can be achieved.

The only change we see is the one that he has gone out of his way to point out - that's he of a different ethnic background, and comes from a non-traditional background. But that alone isn't reason enough to select Obama.

Rationale: I hate Republicans. I'm voting for Obama.

Analysis: This by far is the most legitimate reason to vote for Barack Obama. The reason is that because behind this rationale, there is not need for discussion on merit, experience, resume, or detailed plans; its pure emotion and pure politics. There is no way to change the mind of someone that thinks like this (and there are those on the conservative side that will vote for McCain by the same argument).

Depending on where you come down on certain issues - we call such voters "one issue voters" that either McCain or Obama will be your candidate no matter what. For example, a die hard pro-abortion person will choose Obama, and a Christian conservative pro-life voter will choose McCain. But these issues are few and far between and make up a minority of the population. Their votes are already cast. It's the people in the middle - the independents, the loosely affiliated - those that may be members of a party but don't adhere to much of the platform, and those that are members of a party but may be so by chance or because they chose a party 20 some odd years ago.

If people really want new and untested. If they want to break the mold - they thing that seems to really excite the media because they enjoy a fairytale ending, then Obama will win in November. If Americans take the election seriously, and want the Nation governed by an experienced (work and real life) person, then McCain will get the nod.

My guess is that the college crowd (those who are still living in a bubble), the unions, the liberals, and minorities will show en masse for Obama. And the conservatives, the small business owners, the Christians, and the guy who watches his wallet will probably hold his nose and vote for McCain (against the unknown underachiever).

As for Palin and Biden. They add little; they are merely distractions from the main event.

Back from vacation....

Just a quick entry...

We all just got back from a fabulous week at Cape Cod.

So much to rant about, and so little time. Two and half hours of driving, followed by unpacking, followed by bedtime routine leaves me to put out this meager entry...

I'm off to have a beverage or two. And then ... I'm sure I'll be out like a light.

Obama time

Democratic operatives have been fast to create something out of nothing after Barack Obama's less than perfect nomination speech. A careful review of the speech finds that Barack has the usual list of Democrat complaints about George Bush, big plans for big spending to give out free stuff, and no details about how the complaints he raises can be addressed.

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Barack Hussein Obama has received more than a free ride over the past several months. In part, the media aided Obama by giving him favored treatment over Hillary Clinton - as a neutral observer with no horse in the race - that is pretty much a fact. In some ways it was enjoyable to watch the Clinton's get a dose of their own medicine after eight years of the same treatment that Republicans received while Bill was turning the White House into a fundraising center.

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The Obama factor is an interesting one. The free week long commercial always puts the candidate (particularly the Democrat one) in a positive light. The media laid off of Barack for the week, and didn't question the lack of specifics on energy, defense, or economic positions that he mentioned. There was a lot about Barack being different. The media loves the fact that Barack is black, has a non-traditional name and is the underdog of underdog's in a white man's world. They can't help but root for him and want to push him over the top to shake up what is considered the "status quo".

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Hillary Clinton was quoted during the primaries as saying that "[Barack] he can't win." She is right. When push comes to shove its hard to imagine Barack Hussein Obama, just a few years after 9-11, becoming President of the United States.

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Honestly, we really don't know much about Barack Obama which is because there isn't much to tell. His leadership and business experience is literally non-existent. All he can boast is that he was a "Community Organizer" in Chicago. No practical executive experience is a scary concept when you are applying to be CEO of the largest, most important agency in the free world.

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Something different isn't a substitute for qualification nor competence. And when we start seeing debates and tough questions about what Obama will do or won't do in different situations will be all telling. So the free ride is just about over (although I expect that some media circles will cheer lead for Obama all the way through the November election), and sooner rather than later conversation will turn to substance and qualification.

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The Obama camp know they are defeated. Whatever Obama says will not be based on experience but rather coached talking points by hired Democrat operatives. Everything you hear from Obama will be 'manufactured' and packaged - which is why experience does matter in the end.

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This week Republicans are setting up for their convention. Although it will be preempted by Hurricane Gustav (if not ruined). Watch carefully as the media's analysis turns cynical and dark in contrast to last week's nearly enthusiastic support by the media outlets.

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According to CBSNBCMSNBCABCPBS - Democrats can do no wrong, Republicans are always wrong. That's the message. It will be up to McCain and Palin to show America that they aren't Bush III, and they are more than a reasonable alternative to an upstart, unqualified, inexperienced Obama.

Hillary's Unity...

It must have been agonizing. Standing there in front of throngs of supporters, wishing that she was giving an acceptance speech rather than filling the Tuesday night runner up spot.

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There is a lot to be gleaned from Hillary's less than mediocre performance last night. First, we can zero in on her relentless talk about herself - why she ran, what she's done, who she is, and how grateful the Democrats should be that she has made them what they are today - well, OK - she didn't say that, but she came close.

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If I were Barack Obama I would feel pretty good this morning that I didn't choose Hillary as my running mate. I would be excited that I wouldn't have someone upstaging me at every whistle-stop tour across the 50 states. And I'd be elated that bumbling sour-puss Bill wasn't going to be lingering with his half-baked comments and allusions to what could have been with Hillary in office.

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Liberals Democrats will spend the day praising Hil' for her courage, and strength last night and a false allusion that she came out gang busters for Obama. They will spin this into something that it clearly wasn't - a heartfelt, personal, and genuine endorsement of Barack Obama. Or a personal plea for his nomination based on his positions and her respect for him. It's hard to make the case that a speech that amplifies your own positions and underscores your own accomplishments with a few tag along assertions that Barack believes what "I" believe in is anything more than sour grapes and gratuitous rhetoric.

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Last night we heard about woman's suffrage, 35 years of fighting for children, and and an endless campaign for national health care (which has pretty much fallen flatter than flat). We heard the usual mud-slinging comments that can be heard on the Senate floor by just about any Democrat against Republicans - we dislike Bush, no McCain, no-way, this administration... blah, blah, blah. What people wanted to hear is not trashing of the Republican Party but specific policy reasons to support for Hillary, er I mean Barack.

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Well, we got what we got. And of course she had to make this speech. You can imagine what the news reports would have printed this morning had she said less than what she said last night or declined to make a speech at all. What we saw last night was the start of Hillary's 2012 Presidential Bid.

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And when the smoke clears, and Barack turns out the loser - the apologies will flow. Those who failed to support her will find themselves dethroned from posts, and chased away from every nook and cranny of the Democrat Party. The Clinton machine got caught flat-footed once, they underestimated an upstart novelty that they thought wouldn't last beyond March. The Clinton's won't make the same mistake again. Clinton loyalists will be positioned in every office across the land, from major city mayors to small town dog-catchers.

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For now Barack Obama is really on his own. He'll find his treasurer chest filled by all the Bush-haters who will be out in full force - mostly those from Hollywood and abroad, who will do their damnedest to paint McCain as Bush - which no one buys at all. Most of the people shouting his name are on emotional overload with little to offer of substance and policy.

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So after two lousy nights in Chicago and a lackluster convention so far, it looks like Barack will need to hit a solo home run to find momentum. This morning he's down four points, this surely can't be what they wanted out of Hillary night.

A musical weekend ... fife and drum, swing, blues, and German Oktoberfest music!

It's hard to qualify what a fabulous weekend we had in such a short entry, but I'll do my best to break down each element and give it its due.

Saturday I took my older daughter to the Westbrook Muster. The Westbrook Muster has a tremendous reputation for being one of most well-attended fife and drum events in New England. This years' muster didn't disappoint and the weather was beautiful to boot. We saw a number of quality corps step up and show their best stuff. I took some B video off of my Canon A520. I have a few samples of some of the fun. My first bit is of the Ancient Mariners, who have a great reputation for entertainment and quality playing. And my second is a clip I took at the end of the parade - a tradition where those who've already marched (and those unaffiliated) jump in and play together.

Fife and Drum music is just fabulous stuff. There is no magic to it - no amplifiers, no electronics, no tricks, and echoboxes - just music in its purest, simplest form. It's the result of hours of practice. The fife is a simple instrument - a bored piece of wood with one hole for blowing, and six holes to regulate air flow which results in notes. Then you throw in the snare drum and bass drum and you have a corp.

The music is uplifting, clean, and patriotic. After listening to a few corps marching by you find yourself humming melodies hours later - tunes that they used to teach us to sing at "assembly" before the PC crowd took over our schools and decided that singing songs praising America was out of step with their insane desire to "blame America for the world's woes." And of course some of the tunes mention God - which is a no-no with the commie left.

So after a fun-filled day of music and great conversation with members of various corps, it was time to head home. We opted to drive back to Westbrook to Bill's Seafood - a great little place next to the singing bridge in Westbrook on Route 1. The jazz band there is tremendous on Saturday nights - the lead singer and sax man is an Englishman - who's name escapes me but I can tell you he is a Burnley fan and a great musician. It's worth going for the entertainment alone!

Of course on the way back from seafood and jazz, we stopped back to take in the Jam Session under the lights. My fifteen month old was smiling and laughing and taking in the sites. We hooked up with a few friends who were kind to offer some watermelon for the kids while we listened to the music.

Sunday morning, feeling a bit tired we headed over to the Open Air Market and Festival at Wadsworth Mansion in Middletown, Connecticut and enjoyed some food and treats while listening to the East Coast Ramblers Jazz group. I wish I could find a link for the group, they are worth seeing again.

Wearing and tired, we made a last minute decision to fulfill a promise to stop by and see our friends Freddie and Ronnie (and Wendy) of Scha-Musi (Schachtelgebirger Musikanten) and friends of the Alpine Taenzer dance group at the Hartford Saengerbund Bierfest. We danced, we sang, I even participated in a fun Schuplatler contest (and co-won with one other guy). It must have been the mugs of Spaten Oktoberfest and the fact that I was sporting a Manchester United shirt that bolstered my madness to participate (actually my wife pulled me out of a conversation I was having with a band member from the star band - Hornberg Musikanten.

My little episode was both photographed and video recorded for prosperity. I think my oldest daughter (3 years old) really enjoyed the whole show. It's not every day that her daddy gets up on stage and acts like a character from National Lampoon's European Vacation!

We ended our afternoon digesting homemade potato pancakes, drinking (limited) Spaten, and dancing to the sounds of Hornberg. What a fabulous group. I'll try to revisit this post and put up a few pics I took from my digital camera.

So fife and drum, Jazz, Blues, Swing, and German BlasMusik! What a weekend. Music uplifts! And to see your children enjoying it through singing and dancing makes it all the better!

Is McCain only days away from throwing away the election?

Sadly, major news stations are reporting that presumptive Republican Nominee John McCain is just days away from selecting his Vice-Presidential Candidate. The alarming news is that McCain is actually considering Liberal Democrat Joe Lieberman as his running mate! Such as suggestions is repulsive to the conservative and even moderate end of the party.

First of all, a life long Democrat and social liberal like Joe Lieberman has been a Democratic party line voter for years. A little bit of rhetoric showing he understands the Republican viewpoint doesn't make him the "moderate" that the media often portrays him as. Singularly, he has been a supporter of United States military action in the Middle East, and has shown concern for reducing violence on television - but these votes alone do not qualify him to hold a post that should be reserved for a Republican - after all this is supposed to be the GOP nomination.

Herein lies more of the problem with John McCain. He boast of being a maverick, but is he too much of a maverick? Too out of touch with his party? Unwilling to fight for the principles that have defined the GOP over the years?

It's nice that he has a few friends across the aisle, but the Presidency is about more than putting your buddies in high places. And moreover, did anyone at GOP headquarters ever think that a life-long Democrat would be a heartbeat away from the Presidency should McCain's health deteriorate? Then what would happen when it came to cabinet, courts, economic policies, etc?

Let's hope John McCain isn't REALLY thinking about Joe Lieberman as his VP choice. In doing so he will alienate the Republican base, give his party no one to support, and give Barack Hussein Obama an assured win in November.

And surely, John McCain would have secured his place - as the worst nominee - in GOP history. To which I'm sure he'd reply as he does to everything else in our grand old party - "So what?

What a mess!

I can honestly say that if Lieberman is on the ticket, I may have to sit this one out or vote third party. And why not? If my party won't nominate Republicans then why should I support them?

Let your state chairman know that this doesn't sit well with you. And that you do have an alternative should Leiberman land on the ticket.

English Premier League Back in Action

It was great to see the English Premier League return to full form this past weekend.

My new adopted team - Hull City managed to pull off a 2-1 win over Fulham. Newcastle United drew with league champions Manchester United, Aston Villa beat Manchester City 4-2, and Blackburn pulled out a win in the 94th minute.

What a start to the League!

All I can say is thank God for the DVR!

The Dark Knight: Review and Opinion

WARNING: This post contains spoilers, so if you haven't seen the movie and don't want it ruined then PLEASE do not read on.

I've always been a fan of the Batman franchises even going back to the days when I was ten years old; although admittedly I didn't subscribe to Batman or pick up the Batman comics as a collector. I liked his role in the Justice League of America (70s/80s) and his team ups with other DC (Detective Comics) stars over the years.

When contrasting the various iterations of Batman over the years, the Batman TV character of the 50s and 60s was silly and pathetic. That show was more a spoof on Batman then a show intended to portray good versus evil with all the complexities of crossing the moral lines of whether or not vigilantes are outlaws and whether taking the law into your own hands (or perhaps let's just say dishing out punishments) is ever justified. Both recent movie series' (Keaton and Bale) have tried to deal with the complexities of the man behind the mask, both men seem to stop short of directly inflicted murder. And the Joker and his villainous friends know Batman has his limits. And the villains use this to their advantage at every turn. But this is what separates Batman or The Dark Knight from becoming a vigilante villain.

Do people die as a result of Batman's speedy chases in the streets of Gotham? Or from his misfired guns that seem to often miss their target? We don't know, we probably don't need to know.

Going on record, I did enjoy the Keaton films. They were the closest thing to what the comics portrayed Batman to be. This is how we wanted Batman to be portrayed. And I admit that I like prefer Keaton as Batman over Bale, although I also like the more realistic approach of the latest series slightly better than the Keaton series. As the saying goes, "you never get everything you want."

The latest Batman series which starts with Batman Begins takes a very different view of how Batman came to be. For us traditionalists, we lose this one element we know to be true - Joker murdered Bruce Wayne's parents. That element seems to be lost, but it doesn't spiral the storyline, it was still a thug who murdered Wayne's parents, but the Joker doesn't get the credit this time.

But the trade off is that the latest installment series is somewhat more realistic (if realistic even applies here). We learn about who Batman confides in, we learn how his toys are financed and built, and we see iterations of costumes and toys that require perfection. We gain some satisfaction that its not necessarily Bruce Wayne how at night stitching up new costumes, but that even The Dark Knight requires a little help from his friends. And Batman is even challenged by his co-workers on his manner of ethics - in the latest case, our noble Wayne Enterprise Chairman, Lucius Fox, threatens to resign since Wayne has rigged every cell phone in the city into one network to act as sonar to find the villains. Fox declares it as unethical, but agrees to use the technology one time - and it saves thousands.

I like other elements of the movie that brought character definition to the land of Gotham. We see the rise of Lt. Gordon to Commissioner - and they had me going for a minute, I was temporarily perturbed about them killing off Gordon about midway through the movie. I did enjoy his wife's response to seeing Gordon alive.

I enjoyed the fact that it was never intended that Wayne was going get the girl (ref to Vicky Vale: Keaton series). And that she died loving Harvey Dent, and only Alfred the Butler knows the truth, and destroyed all evidence of that fact.

I liked that the Joker is alive and well, although very saddened to know that that performance will be singular to Keith Ledger who passed away earlier this year.

I enjoyed seeing The Scarecrow return for a brief cameo.

I like the reference to Catwoman, which sort of tells you that there is a lot that has been going on between Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. That's the kind of stuff that allows your own mind to fill in the gaps. In the land of comics, writers and directors allow the readers and fans to have their own space for creativity - we can fill in the blanks with our own stories.

I liked the sub story of the annoying copycat Batmans. And how the serve as a detriment to Batman's reputation and often wind up as victims of their own stupidity.

What I didn't like...

The Death of Two Face. I thought this character could have had legs.

Wayne Manor is still being rebuilt.

The story line around employee Colman Reese. Hard to believe he didn't spill the bean about Bruce Wayne's identity to someone. This was a shady element of the storyline. Also, hard to really comprehend why Joker would try to stop Reese revealing Batman's identity.

The Death of Rachel. I liked the character.

The movie seemed to drag at times. Seemed a bit long.

Bale as Batman is OK. At times his portrayal of Bruce Wayne is a bit off. Some of this may have to do with the writing of the character, but all in all - at times the Wayne character comes off too aloof and rude. Bruce Wayne was never rude before this series.

All in all, I give it a B+. There is more hype around this movie than should be.

I'm sure there will be future installments to come.

Obama sighted at Hammonassett Beach

Just back from his world-wind tour of the Middle East and Europe, Barack Obama was sighted over West Beach at Hammonassett State Beach Park in Madison, Connecticut.

Obama was easily spotted from as far as 5 miles away descending toward the beach. He was easily identifiable as black, round head with menacing eyes and large tentacles; most notable was that he was alleged to be full of hot air.

Reports were that he was pickpocketing bystanders from on high in order to demonstrate his new found proposed method for taking new revenue from middle class wage earners in order to advance his new spending agenda based loosely on the Robin Hood legend of take from those who have and redistribute to those who don't work.

Of course, this isn't Obama - it only looks and acts like Obama. It's actually a kite that we saw from Meigs Point. Pretty cool though.


"Look out Lady, Obama is headed for your pocket!"