The Countdown

I haven't decided what to do with the countdown clock for the expiration of the ban on offshore drilling. I guess that depends on what the originating source of the timer does after the ban expires later today. I am sure that the Marxists in control of America's Congress will pull some trick and spin it in the media, giving themselves all the credit, while demonizing conservatives and Republicans and conservative Republicans for acting in America's and your true best interest.

Remember, the government is here to help. Big government is your friend.

If you believe that statement, you scare me. Belief in such things is a threat to the future of America, land of the free and the home of the brave. God help us. We need it!

The Real Inconvenient Truth

Despite all the gloomy news and yellow journalism from the left, there is a light at the end of the tunnel! If conservatives get their way, God willing, the market will be forced to fix itself without taxpayers footing the bill. Further, and this is almost certainly too good to be true (at least for long), the libs in Congress are not renewing the ban on offshore drilling, a ban that is set to expire tonight. I believe that the plan is to let the ban expire and then, when Obama wins, God forbid, the libs will rush in and do an end-run to kill any hopes of looking for oil here at home. They claim they want energy independence, but the costs of the pipe dreams of wind energy actually generating enough power to pay for the wind generators is far-fetched. It's a fairy tale! It's all about keeping Americans under the thumb of a domineering government, a de facto fiefdom, with socialist liberals in charge of YOUR life.

For today, though, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. We can only hope this isnt just a trick, but I am confident that this is just political posturing from the left, as always.

For the truth about offshore drilling and shale exploration, click here.

The Young Viking

With enthusiastic fans like this, how can the Vikings lose (again?)

The Jedi Padawan: Anakin Skywalker

Gabriel in his Halloween garb for 2008.

Playing With the Camera (part 4) - Dandelions

Gabriel, busy re-seeding dandelions.

Playing With the Camera (part 3)

A close-up of Jericho, lounging around on the floor and enjoying his sippy cup.

Playing With the Camera (part 2)

Gabriel is 3-years old. He was clowning around last week, and I guess, figured a Frisbee made good head gear. It is rather stylish, isn't it?

Playing With the Camera (part 1)

Jericho at 1-year old. Taken last week. Jericho was deep in thought, from the look of this photo.

PHOTOGRAPHY IS LIFE

I have been giving consideration to what I really want to do in the next five years in my life. Or ten years. Or twenty. Whatever. I have been considering what I truly enjoy doing. I really take pleasure in my job and think that I have the best employer I could ask for, and the ideal fit for me. In the future, that may no longer be true, but today, this is good for me. My real passion, aside from Heather, Jericho, and Gabriel is photography.

I have investigated the idea of taking photography classes, but haven’t made up my mind if there is something out there for me yet, something that can make the spark of inspiration grow ever more stimulating. I considered the New York Institute of Photography, but am not sure if it is reputable or not. NYIP has been in business for 99 years, so it has staying power, but what will it do for me as an aspiring photographer? I do not know yet, but it is a consideration. This is the site, if you want to see what I am seeing: http://www.nyip.com/

Another site I have investigated, though not a formal photography training organization, is the Nikon User Community. It is a forum for photographers who happen to think that Nikon cameras are great tools for the photographic vision. I am not a site member, but am mulling it over. The site is http://www.nikonians.org/ in case you are interested. There are sites out there just like it for Canon users, but the D300 has made me a true believer in the quality of Nikon cameras. Maybe someday, I will graduate to a D3, but if I do that, it will be funded by a reinvestment in a photography business or profitable hobby. We will see if it is in the cards.

I have been investigating another site called Part Time Photographer. The idea is that the forums on the site encourage aspiring photographers to develop their craft, while helping to see if the individual could become a paid shutterbug. The last post I read has hints about a ready-made business plan, not a full-blown document, but the guidelines that would allow a part-time photographer to see how feasible it will be to conduct their business for profit. I am not there yet, but some day, anything is possible. If you are curious or interested, the URL is here. http://www.ptphotographer.com/

I have a couple other URLs to share, but I will do that shortly. The one I have hinted about in the past is a photography site that I am developing. No one but Heather and a couple of her friends have even seen the site yet. I do promise that one of these days, I will publish the site. I am just trying to be sure that only my very best work is on display. I think that it drives Heather mad, but maybe not, that when I go to work at Lake Vermillion or Grand Portage, I may take 500-700 pictures in one day, and when I return, I sort through the pictures, and I decide that two or three are good enough for public consumption. To be honest, I hope that I have set my standards high enough, so that when I put my site online, it doesn’t disappoint. I am being off the wall with that comment, I admit, but it is not meant to be avant-garde or pretentious. I just want to put my best work out there and I don’t want to disappoint with what I hope is an engaging photographic vision. If you are interested, stay tuned and I will tell you more, as soon as the site is ready. I know, I said it would be ready months ago. When it is ready, you will be the first to know.

Looking back to when I got the D300, I had a post or two here about how the capabilities of that camera really energized my enthusiasm for photography. Each new day is like that, and it just keeps getting more exciting. I see photographic possibilities everywhere.

Photography is life.

Life, Death, and Accountability

Mom told me that a classmate of one of my nieces committed suicide yesterday. Barring severe psychosis, it really makes a person wonder what is wrong with people, both kids and adults, when taking one’s own life seems like a viable or effective solution. While nobody asked for my opinion, I am giving it anyway. Why does this happen? The average teenager knows right from wrong, but sees no consequence of bad behavior. Why? Society focuses too much on material achievement, and as a result, parents are not paying attention to what their kids are doing. Kids should hang out with their friends more often under the watchful eyes of the parents. You know, parents should encourage their kids to hang out at home with their friends, instead of hanging out in parts unknown and doing who knows what. Too often, when kids get into trouble, part of the blame lies with inattentive parents.

The one good thing about Heather working and me watching the boys a lot more evenings is that it gives me a chance to spend quality time with Gabriel and Jericho. Further, it forces me to pay attention. That is key to kids turning out okay. Kids need to know that their parents really care, even when parents are in disagreement with the kids. You know how it is. Teens think their parents are just being difficult, but when children reach adulthood, they understand that parents really do have moral and ethical experience from which to direct their children’s behavior, and have the best interests of their children in mind when they make demands that seemed annoying and overbearing. Later, it all makes sense. I say that as a former kid and a former teenager. I have been there.

May those kids rest in peace and hopefully, the friends they have left behind will find peace and a better way to cope. Parents need to pay attention! Families need to remember that they are the first line of defense in the safety and welfare for their children. When parents fail, when teenagers fail, a big part of the answer is accountability for personal actions, and parents keeping a close eye on their kids. Completely different and absolutely the same, like Ronald Reagan versus the big Russian bear: Trust but verify. Parenthood is no different; it is just a different scale of consequences!

A Death in the Family

We received the news last night that my aunt, Dorothy, passed on. Mom tells me that she didn't have Alzheimer’s, but she was frustrated by having increasing memory loss and limited mobility, for a few years, at least. It progressed to the point that she was rarely fully cognizant of her surroundings. It makes one reflect on the value of life and the mystery of death, when death is a merciful event that seems preferably to life, for family members who watch their loved ones slowly slipping away. I have had a few people in my life who dealt with terminal illnesses. When the terminal illness is a protracted condition, the family members have time to adjust to the inevitability of human mortality, such that, when death finally comes, it is a relief. The family members who are left behind can rest assured that their loved one is no longer suffering the frailties of the human condition.


I remember the illness and death of my next door neighbor, George, when I lived in Burnsville. George had a type of degenerative distal muscular dystrophy. George and his wife, Janet spent a lot of time with me in the several years that his health was declining. We would go out to dinner and go for drives in the outlying areas of the suburbs, usually about once a week, but sometimes more often. I worked from home then more than I do now, and George would call me at the house for assistance. I would go next door and help him to the restroom and get him drinks and so forth.

George was a man who was of pedestrian faith like so many of us as we go through life, distracted by the things that seem important at the time, but in the big picture, are trivialities. We really enjoyed going out to dinner; the company was as good as the dining experience, but it was not destined to last. George was a big guy, funny as Bob Hope, and as George grew weaker, he had more problems with his limited range of movement, labored breathing, and poor balance. We stopped going out to dinner, because he was not able to walk or maintain his balance, even with assistance.

When George couldn’t go out any longer, it was something we all missed. His strength completely failed him. However, what happened in the meantime was significant. The more physical abilities were stolen from George by the MD, the stronger his faith became. Near the end of his life, George began to talk about the future, and how he would soon be strong again. George grinned, as best he could with his weak muscles, and he told us how he would soon be a new and better man, and how he would dance with the Lord. George was very frail, but when he did manage to go to a church service, he found the strength to carry on for another day. Ultimately, the MD caught up with him, and he couldn’t leave the house. I continued to visit him until the week of his mortal end, when he left the pain behind and found the gift of immortality. He spent the end of his life with his pastor and prayer leaders of his church. He told his wife not to grieve for him, but to be ready to move on with life and to celebrate every day, not endlessly dwelling on his memory. His wife told me this part: At the end, his weakness left him long enough for him to put his hands to heaven and to wear a big smile on his face. Later that day, George passed away. I have no doubt that he danced with Jesus with a renewed lightness of being. I am confident that it is that way with others who suffer from terminal illnesses. I am not sure, though, if it is better when death comes unexpectedly, or after an illness, when the end is expected and predictable.

Would the anticipation of the death of a loved one give some comfort in knowing that the family was preparing and able to say good-bye? Having lost three of my closest friends in accidents and another to heart failure at the age of twenty six, the shock of a sudden loss is hard to comprehend and not easy to accept, as if those left behind have a choice but to accept the loss. I have had capacious experiences with the deaths of extended family and friends. Revisiting the losses in my mind reminds me that the whole idea of the death of a loved one is hard to consider, without becoming awash with maudlin poignancy and private melancholy. I do know that the family and friends can find a modicum of comfort, and that is in this:


While I was not close to my aunt, I can empathize with her children, and the losses that my dad and mom are going through. My mom grew close to my aunt in the past months, as my aunt’s health declined. I was happy to hear that seven of Dorothy’s nine adult children were able to be with her as she passed from this world. There may be some comfort in that. I can say that from my own experiences. I hope that Dorothy’s children know my mother went to visit often and to ensure that Dorothy was well attended until the end mercifully came. I am confident that Dorothy is in a better place now, without pain and earthly concerns.

The Bible tells us that we do not have the capacity or authority to judge the worth of another, since righteous judgment is left to God alone. As a human with my own weaknesses, I still insist that we can faithfully believe, as my mother said, "If Dorothy did not make heaven, then no one will."

The Palin Thread Still Continues

While the main vein media piles on Sarah Palin and attacks her for noteworthy deficiencies, such as having a shoe untied or for using a double negative in the same sentence with a split infinitive, Palin continues to impress and enthrall the masses. This lady kicks liberal booty all over town, and it looks like she is taking names, too.


Remember the parrot press corps fawning over Barack Hussein “Karl Marx” Obama having 80,000 people in attendance for his DNC acceptance speech? This was THE definitive emergence event for Obama, and you can bet that Obama will not have another speech before the election with that many people in attendance. Did you happen to hear that Sarah Palin had an event in Florida on Sunday attended by 60,000 people? This was not the Palin get-acquainted event or anything of that nature. This is just another homespun meeting for her, and the buzz is big. She is drawing thousands to rally after rally.

Yes, conservatives love life again, with Palin, who gives conservatism a fresh face and new hope. Sarah Palin is definitely the foil to John McCain’s wishy-washy stances and middle-of-the-road moderate politics. Two things seem exceedingly ironic here. One, John McCain, moderate to liberal Republican, has birthed a conservatism renaissance. Who would believe it? The second irony is that in a search of network news sites, the only web site that mentions the fact that Sarah Palin raised a crowd of 60,000 people for a rally happens to be Fox News. This is big news today. Why wasn’t this mentioned prominently on CNN, CBS, or MS-NBC, among others? At the same time, Obama is front-and-center, no matter how droll and dull his activities of the day might be at the moment. The media want Obama to win, and their bold-faced support for him through yellow journalism is tantamount to an endorsement. The free publicity given Obama is illegal, or at least it would be if there still were purist journalists in the main vein media. Can you say propagandists with an agenda? I just did, and it is true.

Speaking of the contrast in media coverage between those two political stars, I heard a good one regarding Sarah Palin and Barack Hussein “The Marxist” Obama. The source for this is a reporter with years of experience in Alaska.

“What’s the difference between Sarah Palin and Barack Obama?”

“One is a well turned-out, good-looking, and let’s be honest, pretty sexy piece of eye-candy.

“The other kills her own food.”

In the words of that vacuous dim bulb, Paris Hilton, but with genuine acuity behind the charm, “That’s hot!”

The In-laws Visit

Heather’s parents were in Minnesota to visit the weekend of September 12th. It was a good time, as it always is when the in-laws visit. We worked around the house quite a bit, including redoing the closet. I know, exciting stuff. I would much prefer to sit around and relax with the family, but when they visit, we always seem to be productive and get a lot done around the house, so that works, too.

Jericho decided it was time to walk. He took his first tentative steps for his Nana, but by the end of the weekend, he was showing off for her. Just like his big brother, Jericho is a ham who loves attention. I guess all kids are that way. Gabriel and Jericho enjoyed the visit with their Nana and Papa. On Saturday, the four of them got their pictures taken by a pro. I will post a picture when I have some available. I know I haven’t been posting a lot of pictures lately, but I will have to remedy that shortly. I have been taking quite a few pictures, as if there is a time that I don’t take a lot of pictures. I have had the Nikon D300 since late April, and according to the automatic numbering system, I have taken 12,000 pictures so far.

Speaking of pictures, Josh and I took the boys for a bike ride on Sunday while Heather was working. We didn’t get more than a mile from the house on the bike paths, but it took us three hours to get out there and back. We stopped to take pictures behind the Wal-Mart on the path, where there are oodles of flowers and lots of bees. As you may not know, taking pictures of bees is one of my favorite subjects, after my kids, of course. While I took pictures, Josh wanted to see how far Jericho could walk. He called Jericho to walk to him, and then Josh kept backing up to see how long he could stay on his feet. I guess he walked 30 steps or more, so it looks like the little guy is officially a biped now. For a while, it looked like he would crawl forever! That would work, though, as Jericho crawls mighty fast, and until this month, that worked for him.

When kids are small, it really is an exciting time. Everything changes so fast and they do grow up too fast. Sometimes, it would be fun to be a kid again. I thought I was pretty smart when I was a kid, but since then, I have learned that I sure had a lot to learn.

Engineering Meeting

Last week, eight hardware engineers visited Minnesota. Along with my boss and another Tech III, we had a forum to discuss hardware issues. It was so beneficial; I am not sure why the company doesn’t do this regularly. I believe that it really gave our customer the feeling that the company is concerned about their issues in a tangible way that is so easy to miss without enough face time. There is talk that there will be quarterly meetings like this, though I would be surprised if there were more in Minnesota in the near future. I really hope that this continues, as it will do a lot of good as we roll out our new machines and have de facto convergence with PC hardware. While I am sure it was an expensive visit, I can guarantee that it was money well spent, based on the enthusiastic response and the positive impression it left with the customers. Kudos to the engineering management for making that call.

The Palin Thread Continues

The mainstream media machine tries to connect many of Alaska's problems to Sarah Palin. That just helps her, you aberrants! The fact that Governor Palin is a reformer and wants to clean up Alaska truly proves that she is the REAL candidate for Change. Saying Alaska tried to get the "Bridge To Nowhere" before Governor Palin pulled the plug only supports her emergent characterization as a reformer who will clean house, even if that means offending the folks in your own political party. Governor Palin didn’t care if she offended Republicans when she cut ties with Alaska’s former pork-barrel addiction.

Just for the record, Citizens Against Government Waste, last year ranked all United States senators by what they called “taxpayer friendliness”. Wouldn’t you know it, Joe Biden scored at 0%, and Obama came in at 10%. John McCain, the maverick who lives his beliefs, beyond and despite party lines, scored a laudable 100%.

I just read an article in today’s Wall Street Journal, in which Senator Jim DeMint, from South Carolina, stated the facts regarding Governor Palin's record on spending, and I quote:
“Mrs. Palin used her veto pen to slash more local projects than any other governor in the state’s history. She cut nearly 10% of Alaska's budget this year, saving state residents $268 million. This included vetoing a $30,000 van for Campfire USA and $200,000 for a tennis court irrigation system. She succinctly justified these cuts by saying they were ‘not a state responsibility.’”

Senator DeMint goes on to say that “Obama voted for numerous wasteful earmarks last year, including: $12 million for bicycle paths, $450,000 for the International Peace Museum, $500,000 for a baseball stadium and $392,000 for a visitor's center in Louisiana, [while] Gov. Palin cut Alaska’s federal earmark requests in half last year, one of the strongest moves against earmarks by any governor.”

Barack Hussein Obama accused Governor Palin of lying, and that she was one of the biggest supporters of earmarks for Alaska, but here are the facts. Governor Palin originally supported the so-called “Bridge to Nowhere”, but later she personally terminated the project in her own state. Governor Palin’s reason for doing so? She saw that federal earmarks were such an unnecessary burden on the federal budget, making the deficit ever greater, and thus she changed her position in a reasonable rethinking of earmarking. Governor Palin’s actions saved taxpayers tens of millions of dollars.

To give credit where credit is due, Senator DeMint wrote that “Even the Alaska Democratic Party credits her with killing the bridge.” Who is the liar, Barrack Hussein Obama? Never forget that Obama and Biden had a chance to vote to kill the bridge project, and yet they both voted for the $223 million bridge. Even today, neither Obama nor Biden has withdrawn their support for the notorious “Bridge to Nowhere.”

DeMint concluded by noting that Palin “is one of the strongest anti-earmark governors in America. If more governors around the country would do what she has done, we would be much closer to fixing our nation's fiscal problems than we are.

“Mrs. Palin’s record here is solid and inspiring. She will help Mr. McCain shut down the congressional favor factory, and she has a record to prove it. Actions mean something. You can't just make stuff up.” Obama used those exact words (“You can’t just make stuff up”) but the irony of it is that Barack Hussein Obama is the liar, while Palin is busy telling the truth.

Did you know that about six months ago, the Alaskan Daily News reported that ‘Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens is aggravated about what he sees as Gov. Sarah Palin's antagonism toward the earmarks he uses to steer federal money to the state.’ Funny… which Alaska senator embarrassed the state and the Republican Party with an indictment for corruption? Senator Ted Stevens, you stink and are an embarassment to Republicans. Thank God I am not a Republican, but an independent with values and beliefs that vary from conservative to libertarian.

To Senator Ted Stevens, I say this: Enjoy life in prison. I hate to admit that there is enough corruption to go around, on both sides of the aisle. I just wish that there was a viable third side of the aisle, so to speak, because that "third side of the aisle" is where I would be found.

The Palin Thread Continues

Another thought regarding Governor Palin: Her daughter, Bristol, is pregnant and unmarried at the age of 17. Whether Bristol marries the father of their baby or not is simply not material for public consumption. I predict that, to the chagrin of the main vein media, Bristol’s pregnancy will not harm the McCain-Palin poll numbers. As the networks invade the private lives of the Palin family, it will become obvious to all but the liberal maniacs that the family is close knit; this will merely bring them even closer. Besides, this is a family matter and plainly none of our business, in the first place. Bristol Palin’s pregnancy is irrelevant to Governor Palin’s suitability to be vice president, and we, and the media, should leave it at that.

John McCain has been roundly criticized for choosing Governor Sarah Palin, because of her staunchly pro-life stance. Future president McCain has the right to choose whomever he wants to join him on the ticket, as long as they pass constitutional muster. For the uninformed, that basically means that the vice presidential candidate has to meet all the qualifications of the presidential candidate, including being an American born in America or specific U.S. territories. John McCain made an excellent choice with Governor Palin. It is obvious that he respects her, and as a self-styled maverick, he chose someone who has the chutzpa to stand up to corruption, not only from the other side of the aisle, but among the Republican Party as well. Governor Palin has stood up to Republican corruption and won. Duh. When that happens, we all come out ahead.

The Palin Thread Continues

The traditional media are saying that Sarah Palin fired the Public Safety Commissioner of Alaska for refusing to terminate her brother-in-law, Mike Wooten, because Wooten and Palin’s sister were going through an ugly divorce. As usual, the New York Times twisted the truth in their efforts to aid and abet the Marxist enemies within. The Old Gray Spin-meisters who hope to coronate Barrack Hussein Obama king propagandized last week that Palin audaciously used her influence to get the Public Safety Commissioner fired. Why would she do this? The main vein media claim the reason is because Wooten threatened the life of Sarah Palin’s father. This is not conjecture or rhetoric. This is a fact supported by the evidence. Wooten did this, and this has been substantiated and proven to be a fact. Instead of termination, Wooten, the trooper, faced a five-day suspension. Wooten also was seen drinking in his patrol car, and he tasered an 11-year old kid, who happened to be his Palin’s nephew, and Wooten’s stepson. These statements have also been substantiated and proven to be absolutely and completely factual.

This part is my opinion, but it is common sense. Mike Wooten was obviously not worthy of working in law enforcement, let alone to be armed by the state of Alaska. Wooten should never have been wearing a badge, and the fact that he was threatening the lives and safety of his in-laws seems to be irrelevant to the New York Times. Why should she, as governor, not be allowed to fire a state worker who was insubordinate and obviously not a suitable employee? That Wooten was a member of her family, albeit by marriage, is irrelevant. Of course, the union protected Mike Wooten from termination, and consequently, we have this “Troopergate” scandal, courtesy of the liberal media and the socialist-leaning union. The bias is blatant, as always. When would Governor Palin have been justified in firing the Public Safety Commissioner for refusing to terminate Mike Wooten, when Officer Wooten killed somebody?

To elucidate, we can make some safe assumptions, if only for the sake of discussion. Let's "assume" that the facts of the situation, for the purpose of discussion, constitute an ethics violation: Governor Sarah Palin terminated the Alaska Public Safety Commissioner because he refused to fire a state trooper who made death threats against a senior citizen, and used a Taser on his 11-year old stepson.

Face it, folks, because here it is: In Alaska, the Public Safety Commissioner is a governor-appointed position, held “at the discretion of the governor”. What that means is that she can fire any person holding that job title for cause or even if there is no cause at all. If Alaskans do not like that, they can change Alaska state law and leave the whining to the liberals.

I have absolutely no qualms with the governor exerting political influence to have a state trooper - a public servant who is responsible for public safety - terminated for making death threats against an old man and using a weapon on an 11-year old. The fact that the seasoned citizen was her father is irrelevant. The fact that the child who was tasered happens to be Governor Palin’s nephew is also irrelevant, when the public safety is put at risk by the very law officer charged with defending the peace.

Again, let’s enter dangerous territory of assuming, despite the risk of making an ass of “u” and “me” for our assumptions. Let us assume that Governor Palin’s termination of the Public Safety Commissioner of Alaska WAS an ethics violation. Extremist Palin-haters would rather self-righteously claim "Ethics first!" at the expense of safety for the most vulnerable in our society, the old and the young. Ridiculous as always, courtesy of your friendly neighborhood liberals in the Parrot Press Corps. Meanwhile, liberals keep goose-stepping down that greasy slope towards Marxism and selling out America to the U.N. and one-world government, with one-world government taxation and transference of wealth from America to the rest of the world. I say to all of you socialist wing nuts: Your lunatic fringe attacks on Governor Sarah Palin only serve to isolate you. Your personal attacks highlight the fact that you are scared, because wannabe king Obama is faltering in the polls, and to you, it doesn’t make sense. These dumb American commoners just don’t get it, that Obama is the savior we have all been waiting for. Or not.

Most of us don't wear tinfoil hats and drink Marxist Kool-Aid. You liberals and your politics of personal destruction only confirm that Governor Palin is the right choice for the real America. That’s me. Not you Marxists.

Liberals, eat my shorts.

The Palin Thread Continues

Despite the nonsense spouted by the “Parrot Press Corps”, to borrow a phrase coined by Mike Church, regarding the mainstream media and its blatantly biased reporting and supporting Barrack Hussein Obama, Palin has more executive experience than Obama, McCain, and Biden combined. Certainly, McCain is part of the establishment, not something I am thrilled about, but so is Obama. Joe Biden has been in Congress since I was a couple years old, even longer than McCain.

Minor tangent: Did you know that in the first 144 years in the life of the American republican experiment, all the laws written by the Congress filled 2,375 pages? In 2008, Congress passes enough laws to fill that many pages every single day that it is in session. WITHOUT EXCEPTION. Take this as one example. The 2008 federal budget was over 3000 pages long.

Do you think that you are really free? Freedom is not what it used to be.

The Palin Thread

I have been writing my posts in MS Word and didnt get around to posting all of my comments, so I am doing that today, with the date of creation added. That is how my blog often gets updated, with ten posts in one day, all with different dates, because the entries were created on different days. Makes sense to me. You know how it goes... too busy to blog every day, or too lazy to log in to blog. Potato, po-tah-to. In any case, I wrote a bunch of comments regarding Sarah Palin. There are enough comments from different days, and that is the point of the name of this series: The Palin Thread.

In August, I met with my insurance agent, who is a former Minnesota legislator, and I told him that Sarah Palin was the single best person to be on the ticket with John McCain, and even a better choice than Tim Pawlenty. A week later, I stopped in to see my agent again, and he said, “You called it!”

I hope that he runs for office again. Heather and I will both volunteer for his campaign in a minute if he throws his name in the running. We need someone to represent us who is not part of the organization. Take Jon Ward for example. This guy was a teacher in Brainerd. Okay, so he was named Teacher of the Year. Great. We need teachers like that. It isn’t for me to tell him how to run his life, but when he retired and ran for state office, who was he representing? The teachers’ union. That is quite a biased background from which to legislate. Ward is one of the people who thinks that the answer to lousy education is more money, always more money. Sure, and what do they say about being in a hole? The public educational system in the United States is the captive of the Marxists in the teachers’ union. When you are in a hole, stop digging. Jon Ward as representative simply represents a bigger shovel, not a ladder to climb out of the hole.

Back to Sarah Palin for vice president. She is perfect for the job for plenty of reasons. She is definitely not part of the establishment, like all the other candidates, including Barrack Hussein “Karl Marx” Obama. The reason that Palin is perfect is the same reason that Biden is not ideal. The longer people stay in politics, the more likelihood they have of getting corrupted, serving their own interests and lining their pockets, blinded by power and removed from the realities of the people they serve.