Debate Reaction

I’ll talk about the weekend shortly, but first I wanted to write just briefly about the debate on Friday. First of all, getting back late from dinner, we missed about the first 35-40 minutes of it, which I understand was more to Obama’s benefit.

The polls apparently show the public thinks Obama won the debate; maybe it’s just that I didn’t see the first part, but I really can’t imagine how one could believe that based on the second half. Obama didn’t do horrible, in that he at least sounded knowledgeable about foreign affairs, but to me it seemed McCain clearly dominated.

However, the media came out of the debate reporting "no major gaffes" and therefore that the debate was a "tie".

Now, I’ve not seen this mentioned ANYWHERE in the Main Stream Media, but did NO ONE notice Obama’s complete and utter flub of the Bracelet moment? For one, the whole thing smacked of Elementary School in the first place: "Oh yeah, well I’ve got a bracelet too! So there!" But then, in mentioning the bracelet, Obama forgot the soldier's name and HAD TO READ IT OFF THE BRACELET!!

Now, to be fair, Shelly didn’t think it was that big a deal when she was watching it with me, and dismissed it as a "high pressure situation", but you’d best believe if McCain had done that, you’d have heard about it. The debate wouldn’t have ended with "no major gaffes" being reported, that’s for sure. And I’m not even saying it necessarily was a big deal, although to me it sure showed who cared about the soldiers and who was pulling a cheap stunt.

But I can promise you, if the shoe was on the other foot, this would be all over the news and the talk shows, and for all intents and purposes, the race would be over. The good news is, these days, the media deciding to completely ignore something doesn't necessarily mean it won't get talked about. We'll have to see if this picks up a life of its own in the coming week, because it sure deserves to.

It’s Now or Never

…with this blog. And by ‘never’ I mean "not until Monday if I don’t do it now."

Anyway, quick catch up for you. Mom and Dad were down the weekend before last. We took things pretty easy on Saturday, but Sunday saw a lot of housework get done, at the cost of damaging the ceiling in two places in totally self-inflicted wounds. Good news is, though, we now have a working exhaust fan in the guest bath upstairs, and a respectable faucet on the kitchen sink (Shelly knows how to pick ‘em… ninety…eight…dollars…sob!) Also, we went out to Spartacus on Saturday night, parental treat, to celebrate Shelly’s successful passing of the BAR. (Incidentally, am I supposed to capitalize every letter in that word, lawyers? Every time I see it, I think Browning Automatic Rifle.)

Monday saw a return of my parents to Maryland, and the commencement of yet another work week, the details of which I won’t bore you with. Suffice it to say, everyone and their uncle is worried to death that their deposits aren’t insured, leading to this hapless Financial Services Officer being bombarded with questions.

Week’s end saw the visitation of Ashley Kuda, sister of Stefanie Zambrano, nee Kuda. She got in late Friday night, and took right to Crash Bandicoot 2, which has been occupying an undue portion of Shelly and I’s time (I’m beginning to think it was a BAD THING that I found the Play Station power cord in the move). We all hung out Saturday, and then took Ashley to Chinese 35 on Franklin Street in the evening- taking almost an hour to get there, due to the damnable traffic from the UNC/Virginia Tech football game, which was just then letting out. Leaving there, we returned home, where we watched the newly acquired DVD of Jurassic Park and played Scrabble. Ashley has seen the movie a few too many times, as she now picks up on and questions every single plot oversight or inconsistency. "Why would there be a bathroom next to the Tyrannosaur pen if the guests weren’t supposed to get out of the cars??" "How does Dr. Grant know how to imitate a Brachiosaurus??" Then, to make matters worse, she beat me in Scrabble by a single point, thanks to the fact that I got stuck with the ten-point "Q" and never once had a chance to play it due to lack of accompanying ‘U’s.

Then we had Sunday, another red letter day in the DeAdder house. The air conditioning refrigerant line froze up and ice leaked onto the ceiling in the living room, causing a small stain. I realized then that A) I hate, HATE popcorn ceilings and B) when it comes to stains, Shelly’s like a hawk spotting a mouse from 2 miles up.

That night, sans Shelly and sans air conditioning, which I’d had to shut off, I was sitting at the computer when I suddenly realized that the nagging, slightly nauseous feeling in my stomach wasn’t going away- nay, it had gotten worse, much worse. After a ten minute trip to the bathroom, during which I refunded the whole of that day’s food intake, I decided to call it a night.

The next morning, still sans A/C, Shelly took an emergency trip to Charlotte (no details forthcoming on that, sorry), leaving me to cope with a sick day I’d have preferred not to take. Fortunately, I didn’t have to cope with extreme heat, as it was a fairly mild day, but I ended up losing about 4-5 lbs the hard way. I didn’t make an ill-advised attempt to go into work for a change, and it was a good thing, since I found out later it was crazy, and I wouldn’t have been able to handle the stress.

Fortunately, our home warranty covered the A/C repair, which took place Tuesday. Today’s crisis, however, is that I need a new cell phone; apparently, my phone just shuts off randomly now, usually whenever I close it, but sometimes in the middle of calls. Incidentally, if you were expecting to hear from me the last several days, and didn’t, that would be why- this has been going on since… you guessed it! Sunday!

Ah, Breaking News: Apparently Sarah Palin is being accused of having an affair by the National Enquirer! According to the story, this would have happened in 1996. You might remember that the Enquirer was the publication that broke the John Edwards affair story over the summer. So, how the rest of the media handles this will be very telling; they absolutely ignored the Edwards story for months, and it finally took him going on TV and confessing to it before they bothered to cover it. If they descend on this like the flock of vultures they are, and set up a 24-hour crew in front of the accuser’s house, their double standard will be laid bare for all to see. Somehow, I don’t think simple hypocrisy will stop them. My ideal solution is that they push this story for all it’s worth, it ends up being demonstrably false, and then they end up looking the biggest bunch of fools since Dan Rather went on the air with 1970 Texas National Guard letters that had obviously been typed on Microsoft Word.

Oh course, if the story is true, I don’t need to tell you the race might as well be over.
Well, happier thoughts: Shelly and I are leaving tonight for Myrtle Beach! We’re going to be staying with Misty and some other friends! I’ll take pictures and report back!

Oh, and I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Shelly’s swearing-in ceremony! It happened yesterday at the Court of Appeals in downtown Raleigh! The judges even let me hold the Bible for her to swear on! We got pictures, but since I’m posting this from work, youll have to wait to see them.
Alright, that’s it for now! See you all soon!

Random Events Blog


Having no major events in my life at the moment, I’m reduced to talking about subjects of interest to me, always a dangerous thing, as they might not be interesting to you folk at all. Realizing that, perhaps I’ll just write a few brief paragraphs, skimming over some recent circumstances.

1. Recently, Shelly and I watched The Golden Compass, which I’d heard rumored to be anti-Christian. It was, probably thinking itself subtle, but further research showed me that the book was actually far more blatant. What’s really funny is that the author is apparently surprised that (gasp!) Christians warned each other not to see the movie! ("You don’t want your faith mocked to your face? What’s wrong with you!") Anyway, apparently New Line is in no hurry to make the second and third installments to this series, using as an excuse that the first one didn’t do well, but I think someone over there actually sat down and read the final two books and realized that things the first book just hints at go into blasphemy overdrive in parts two and three. While they’re smart to ditch the series, it does make me wonder how they could have ever picked it up without knowing this would be a problem.

2. You know, I can almost find it in myself to feel sorry for Barack Obama. Just to be absolutely clear, he did the right thing in not selecting Hillary Clinton to be his Vice Presidential nominee. If he had gotten elected with her as a running mate, the next four years would have seen the most dysfunctional White House in the history of the Republic. The people so wisely saying now that he should have done so (to blunt the impact of Sarah Palin) conveniently forget that A) few suspected McCain would pick Palin and B) no one at all foresaw the impact she would have on the race. While a Democratic "Dream Team" may have ensured a win in November (I don’t exactly buy that, but that’s another story), it would have been a disaster for Obama and the entire country once he took office.

3. Quick aside here, somewhat along the same line: If I were Obama, I’d have delivered a drop kick to Joe Biden for that idiotic statement he made about Clinton being a better VP pick than him. I mean, in one sentence Biden managed to criticize his boss’ judgment and rub salt in the wound for the 18 million people who voted for her!

4. Well, none of you know her, but LaToya’s last day at the credit union was Friday. Since I’ve been there, that’s the first major staffing change that’s had any real affect on me (tellers come and go, barely noticed by my side of things). She was a great worker and I’ll miss her, but she’s going to another job that’s more in line with her degree. So here’s wishing good luck to LaToya! Here’s a picture of her, clutching a farewell gift from me:

5. I heard recently, secondhand, that my brother Brooks accepted that job from the Utah-based company. Whether or not this will mean a 2000 mile transplant or not remains to be seen. I really need to catch up with my older brother and see what exactly he’s doing. If this means someone else inherits that deck and flower garden I worked so hard to create … well, I’m just letting you know right now that I’m not recreating them in Utah!!

6. Miss Capital Hill Melissa (note new moniker) just breezed into town and breezed out again, after an about an hour stay with us. Her and Shelly got to catch up, then she was off to see her parents for lunch. My own parents, in town for the weekend, happened to be off looking at a house with Brenda, so the timing of it worked out beautifully. We actually had a brief, illuminating political conversation, most of which I already discussed above (she got a sneak peek at the blog, I guess you might say). Here's an unposed picture of her; she's undoubtedly laughing at some incredibly witty remark I'd just made!

Well, that’s about it, really. As mentioned above, Mom and Dad have come into town for the weekend, so doubtless there will be news of that to relate on Monday, as well as how the new guy at SECU turns out. So, hope everyone has a great weekend, and I’ll see you later.

Oh, one last thing, in the same 'random' vein. I have no idea why, but whenever I go near a body of water, this seems to happen:

My Open Letter to Europe

(This Blog entry is for any member of the world community, particularly Europe, with an interest in the upcoming Presidential election. All United States citizens, feel free to skip. And yes, I know no one like that reads my blog, I just feel the need to get this off my chest.)

Anyway, attention all European citizens: I'm going to be brutally frank here. Ready?

I really don’t care who you want our next President to be.

In fact, most of the rest of the United States doesn’t either, even if they happen to agree with you.

Yes, in my case, it’s partly because I don’t even need to ask- I can tell you who you’re supporting. Maybe if, even once a century, you actually picked the Republican running, I might actually be mildly curious. But you never do, so does your reasoning even matter?

But mainly it’s because, like huffy school children, you can never accept that sometimes the grown-ups need to do things that, while they’re in your best interests, make you hate them in the short term. So, like it or not little Hans or Nigel or Rene or Natasha, there are mean people out there in the world that we have to deal with, and eventually, you might even thank us for it.

For instance, remember 28 years ago, when you wanted us to re-elect Jimmy Carter? Well, despite all the kicking and screaming involved, we didn’t. But guess what? The guy we elected instead broke the Soviet Union. Come on, you remember- that nuclear-armed, totalitarian regime to your east? Yeah, that’s the one. Anyway, despite some rumblings lately, you haven’t had to think about that particular scary monster under your bed since 1991. And by the way, not to be a jerk about it, but you never really thanked us.

Then, in 1988, we elected this other guy who, three years later, repulsed an Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, thus insuring your gas prices didn’t hit $4 a gallon 17 years ago. And, even though you Europeans were a heckuva lot closer to the scene than we were, we took the lead on that whole thing too. Think your boy Dukakis would’ve had the stones for all that?

(Not that your picks never do good things: FDR and Truman did manage to bring your war to a successful conclusion, after we got unwittingly dragged into it (thus earning us your eternal gratitude ... hey, wait!))

Yes, yes, I know all about your problems with this President Bush. "He doesn’t consult us blah blah blah." Well, play back the tape recorder: When was the last time you offered a solution besides "Let’s just wait and see what the UN Security Council has to say"? That’s great and all, but the problem is, like bad poker players, you bluff every ... single ... time! Maybe if, just once, after the UN Security Council issues their strongly-worded statement (unless the country involved has veto power, in which case we won’t even get that), you carried things to the next level, we might could pretend that’s a reasonable response. But until you actually do, we’re not going to pretend that you have anything meaningful to contribute on any subject of any importance.

Which brings us, full circle, back to the current US election. I read this, and I have to say it’s probably fairly accurate: You’ll all have another absolute fit if we don’t elect your guy this time. Sorry, but holding your breath and stomping your feet and threatening to run away isn't going to help. We’re not going to decide to elect Barack Obama because you think it would be just so gosh darn neat to see a black guy in the White House. Yeah, he might end up winning anyway, but rest assured, it’s not because you had any say in the matter.

So, anyway, I just thought I’d clear the air here. I sincerely hope there’s no hard feelings if things don’t turn out the way you want.

But if there are ... well, as always ...

I DON'T CARE.

Seriously? Another Post?

Yep, another post. Despite the fact that it is seriously beginning to feel like I’m talking to myself around here.
Later on last Saturday, after the momentous news that Shelly had passed the BAR, we traveled to Bahama Breeze in Raleigh to join Jason, Erika, Matt, and Martha for dinner. Ostensibly, we were celebrating Shelly and Erika’s birthdays, though they were July 7th and August 12th, respectively.
It was a great (though somewhat pricey) meal, flavored by the colorful conversations that only seem to crop up in the presence of Matt Sacrinty. I ordered a portabella mushroom sandwich (Jason and Erika cringed in disgust) which I came to regret later after sampling Matt’s Cuban sandwich. At least the ‘fire cracker shrimp" appetizer sated my appetite.
A twenty-five minute car ride later, the six of us arrived back at our townhouse, where we celebrated Shelly’s ascent to lawyerhood. Matt, bitterly recalling the lack of game-playing last time, practically insisted we break out a board game, and Erika chose Apples to Apples (no doubt influenced by blog entry from last week). She lived to regret it, as Matt made the game take a random turn, and Erika’s sensible picks were rejected in favor of things that bordered on the bizarre. "Tyrannosaurus Rex" chosen for "Glorious" pales in comparison. Fortunately, midnight put an end to the madness, as Martha asked to be taken home, and Erika and Jason were nearly mad with worry that their baby-sitter was failing to answer the phone. Shelly's comforting words that the baby-sitter's first reaction to crib death probably wouldn't be to just turn off the phones brought no relief.
Labor Day passed in a relaxed blur, although we did host the Hawkins’ for an encore presentation of hamburgers and hotdogs, macaroni and cheese, and fried okra, which Erika and Jason were good sports and actually tried. Charlotte even actually seemed to like it. However, the little lady’s presence forced the parents to take their leave somewhat early.
So, with the hurricane missing New Orleans, and most of the channels broadcasting the Republican National Convention, Shelly and I settled in to watch. I enjoyed Fred Thompson and Joe Leiberman’s speeches, though poor Leiberman is going to be in for it if the Democrats get more Senate seats, as they’re expected to. The next night, I think I might have connected with Sarah Palin in a way that has nothing to do with her politics, and made the mistake of voicing this to Shelly. At least we keep a relatively comfortable guest room, where I spent the following night. (No, not really). But for the first time in this election, I'm actually excited! Seriously, where has this girl been for the last two years??
Anyway, politics dispensed with, Friday night, Shelly and I had the distinct pleasure of hosting cousin Scott and buddy Leroy (Brian, really), who were making a layover on their way to Atlanta to see the UFC fight. They got in late, but we had a nice breakfast for them the next morning before they got on their way. Next weekend, my parents are coming in; I'm going to try to get the downstairs bathroom mostly done with before they get here, lest they think we only invite them down for manual labor.
Well, I've got most of my Sunday left still, so I'm going to sign off here and go spend some time with my wifey. Hope everyone enjoys their remaining weekend, and I'll see you back again soon.

WARNING: RANT IN PROGRESS

Be advised, I have a whole blog ready to post that I will put up later tonight or tomorrow, but I've come upon something during my lunchtime reading that I have to just share... and oh, does this makes me incredibly angry...

Apparently, this nutbag doctor thinks, since Sarah Palin is pro-life, that she was hypocritical to give birth to her son, Trig.

Yeah, didn't make sense to me either.

Generally, hypocrites make choices that run contrary to the standards they say they live by, but apparently, if you oppose abortion, you're damned if you do or damned if you don't.

According to the nutbag doctor's "logic" (it hurts me to have to use that word, even guarded by quotation marks), since Sarah Palin had the "choice" to abort Trig before he was born, she's a hypocrite, even though she did not exercise that choice.

This is an extremely interesting standard for hypocrisy! Since the doctor mentions she's anti-gun, I presume she doesn't own one. However, this being America, she did have the choice of whether or not she wanted to buy one, whether she likes it or not. Is she a hypocrite, even though she chose not to?

MADD is against drunk driving, yet every last one of their members have the option of going into a bar and loading right on up. They, presumably, don't do so. But by the nutbag doctor's logic, since society gives them that choice, they're hypocrites!!!

Since my blog last week, the Left in this country has gone into overdrive trying to destroy this woman. They've thrown everything at her but the kitchen sink, insinuating Trig is her daughter's child, calling her a liar, mentioning her husband had a DUI but failing to note it was 22 YEARS AGO, and accusing her of ethical violations for trying to get her ex brother-in-law fired from the State Police, but not bothering to mention that he'd been accused of using a stun gun on a child. And now... 'hypocrisy'!!

To call this stuff baseless is to insult baseless allegations everywhere. The guy on the roadside in the tinfoil hat deserves to be taken more seriously. It's only one step above an investigative story by Dan Rather.

Ah, wait. Read the biographical line at the bottom. The nutbag doctor is from San Francisco. This explains a lot. For a second there I thought this had actually emerged from somewhere in America, rather than the last remaining Soviet enclave. Whew, what a relief!