Friday, August 29, 2008

Election 2008

I am a Mitt Romney fan. I voted for him during the Republican primary and was disappointed when he stepped down. I still firmly believe that he may have won the nomination had he a) stayed in the race longer and b) emphasized his position in the race as the true Conservative. I think his strong suits (executive experience and economic acumen) are exactly what this country needs at this time. I fully expect to see Mr. Romney play a large part in the future of the RNC. I also believe he would have been an excellent choice for McCain's VP pick. Imagine McCain's strong national defense with Romney's economic policy. The two most important issues of voters, according to a recent USA Today/Gallup poll.

All that being said, I cannot be happier for John McCain's announcement today. I believe Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska is one of the best choices for VP he could have made. I first heard about Sarah Palin a few months ago as people started floating names for John McCain's running mate. I didn't know much about her, but what little I did know was very enticing. She originally got into public life in the PTA for her kids' school. From there, she moved to other public positions and each time, she took on the "establishment" from a reformer perspective. She has battled against special interests, turning down earmarks from federal pork spending. She brings youthfulness, ambition, and a no-nonsense attitude to the GOP ticket. She is the mother of 5 children, one with Down Syndrome. She has stayed true to her convictions during some of the most difficult times in her life. One of my favorite attributes she has is that she has not been "tainted" by the cynicism of politics. She's a "regular person".

There are those who will say that she doesn't have any foreign policy experience. That's true. She doesn't. But she is the 2nd name on the ticket, John McCain is the first. And there is no doubt about John McCain's foreign policy experience. On the other hand, Barak Obama has zero foreign policy experience and he is the presidential nominee. Sure, she probably has some skeletons in her closet, one of which is the ex-brother-in-law trooper firing. But I can't imagine anything as devastating as Obama's issues, including his stance on abortion, his flip-flopping on almost all campaign issues (either that, or he's guilty of pandering to the crowds. I'm not sure which is worse), and his associations with confessed domestic terrorist Bill Ayers, anti-American preacher Jeremiah Wright, and convicted fraudster Tony Resko.

I'll try to keep up with this thing for awhile now and they won't all be political posts. But I'll leave by relaying a quote I read the other day. When I read it, I immediately thought of Sens. Obama and Biden and their propensity for bloviating.

The great enemy of clear language is insincerity. When there is a gap between one's real and one's declared aims, one turns as it were instinctively to long words and exhausted idioms, like a cuttlefish spurting out ink.
George Orwell, "Politics and the English Language", 1946
English essayist, novelist, & satirist (1903 - 1950)

I'm not saying. I'm just saying.

Wednesday, November 28, 2007


It's been quite a while since I've written.....and not much has happened with getting my weight to where I want it to be. Even though Katy insists that I look great and loves me, I want to be in the best health possible for me. I want to have fun with my family. I want to go hiking, swimming, camping, and every other active thing. I will get there.
Until then, I hope everyone has the happiest of holidays and may your new years resolution be one of good health. I know mine will be.

Friday, August 3, 2007

Move Along. Nothing to See Here

I've heard from a few people who, for some odd reason, read my BlogBQ. I keep hearing that they're interested in reading more. The problem is, I really don't have anything new to report. Since my last post, I haven't really done a whole lot in the category of weight loss. I haven't joined Pure Fitness yet and I haven't really eaten that healthy.

On Wednesday night, the Scouts decided to do some fitness. The plan was to run 1 1/2 miles, then do some tricep and ab work. We're going canoing in a couple of weeks and one of the other Scout leaders decided that the boys really need some work in the fitness arena to be able to keep up with the canoing. Not a bad idea.

What followed was one of the most discouraging and embarrassing runs of my life. I used to be able to run a mile without breaking a sweat and run 3 miles or more nonstop. Not only could I not run the entire 1 1/2 miles, I couldn't run even 1/2 mile. It was embarrassing. The Scouts and other leaders started running in place to wait for me, but I told them to go on. Anyway, I've got a long way to go.

In my last post, I posted a link to MyPlate. After using it a little, I decided I didn't like the format of that website, so I went back to my old standby, FitDay. I'll publish my FitDay journal in a bit. Right now, Hannah is bugging me to take her to the movies.