Friday, November 28, 2008
Today we visited the U.S. Air Force Museum in Dayton. It's great, and free to boot. We did watch an IMAX movie about the space station which cost us $15 but you really can't beat a day at a free museum.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Ch-ch-change?
Remember Barack Obama's line, "At defining moments like this one, the change we need doesn't come from Washington. Change comes to Washington." Apparently Obama changed his mind.
Secretary of State – Former First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton
Attorney General – Former Clinton Deputy Attorney General Eric Holder
Commerce Secretary – Former Clinton Secretary of State Bill Richardson
Treasury Secretary – Former Clinton Treasury Under Secretary Timothy Geithner
Chief of Staff – Former Clinton Senior Advisor Rahm Emanuel
VP Chief of Staff – Former Clinton Counsel and Lobbyist Ron Klain
Health & Human Services Secretary – Former Clinton-era Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle
Homeland Security Secretary – Former Clinton U.S. Attorney Janet Napolitano
Transition Chair - Former Clinton Chief of Staff John Podesta
According to Politico, "Thirty-one of the 47 people so far named to transition or staff posts have ties to the Clinton administration, including all but one of the members of his 12-person Transition Advisory Board and both of his White House staff choices." Obama also has 27 lobbyists working on his transition team despite the hyperbole about curbing their influence on his administration:
"I have done more to take on lobbyists than any other candidate in this race. I don't take a dime of their money, and when I am president, they won't find a job in my White House."
The LA Times is naturally giving Obama a free pass on his hypocrisy by suggesting he's just settling down to reality. So much for change.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Cowboys and Indians and Pirates
Henry's school had a Thanksgiving lunch today. On the way to school, he told me that the kids had picked out of a hat to determine what they would be and he was going to be a Pilgrim. I said "oh, and the other kids are going to be Indians?". He replied "Native Americans".
When I arrived at the lunch, half the kids were wearing Pilgrim hats and half feathers. Then I realized that there were a couple real Indians in his class, kids whose parents were from India. So Native Americans was probably the way to go. I guess. But when the "Pilgrims" started to pretend shoot the "Indians" before the brief skit they did, one of the teachers said "no, no, the Pilgrims don't shoot the Indians, they share their food with them". I guess even teachers forget political correctness at times. Speaking of that, should we really call pirates "pirates"? Enough arrrrready.
I don't remember all the toys I had as a youth but I did have some toy cowboy and indians figures and a plastic fort that you built to protect the cowboys. I remember that being a toy that I enjoyed. At some point, I got a much bigger action figure, GI Joe size, and he was a cowboy and sat on a horse. It was 10 times bigger than the little figures and not nearly as enjoyable. My walking toy robot was a lot of fun. I remember it well and helps that I found a video tape I made years ago from an old 8 mm movie. It shows video of the family around 1970 or so. I'll have to bust it out during Christmas and show dad and my sister. Here's a photo of the robot I found on the web.
Monday, November 24, 2008
Day Two in VA
We got up early (dad always gets up early) and breakfast was outside our door at 7:00 a.m. Every room in the hotel has a wooden shoebox with a card in there that you check off what you want and leave the box outside the door the night before. We watched some tv until 9:30 when we left to meet Ann and John at the facility. This time, we visited Uncle Nick in his room. I don't know if he was better or worse but he was interested in his Massillon yearbook.
After the visit, we headed to Bedford to see the National D-Day Memorial. The area around Lynchburg is beautiful and this place had nearby mountains which made for a great setting. They did a very nice job on this memorial.
It was lunchtime and I got lucky with a great restaurant near the memorial. My GPS has restaurants in it but its always a crapshoot to what you get. I picked Liberty Station and it turned out to be a great choice. It was in an old train depot and the food was great. We talked to the owner and he was Ohio friendly. I like local restaurants and this was a good one.
Next up was Thomas Jefferson's summer retreat, Poplar Forest. We pretty much had the place to ourselves since it was so cold but I really enjoyed the tour of this place. Jefferson designed and lived there off and on for 20 years. He had 5000 acres and it produced tobacco and wheat. There's a golf course on some of the property now prompting my comment to our tour guide about dad not knowing that Jefferson was a big golfer.
Dad was tired by then so we drove through some of Lynchburg's historic areas, which weren't all that great. But it killed some time, as did my stop at Sam's Club to get some reading material for the plane.
We got on the prop plane to Charlotte at 5:30 and had enough time to grab lunch there before boarding the flight to Akron-Canton. We sat on the runway forever waiting to take off and didn't get home to the snow and ice until 10:45. I think we were both exhausted by then. I stayed overnight and awoke at 5:30 a.m. to head back to Columbus.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Our flight to Lynchburg VA was uneventful. We flew through Charlotte and arrived around 10:30. Dad and I headed to the hotel but our room wasn't quite ready so we hung out in the lobby for a while. The Craddock Terry was a great hotel, a former shoe factory and the nicest hotel in the city. After throwing our bags in our room, we headed to the nursing facility.
I brought my GPS along on the trip and it was a lifesaver. It got us to the facility and Uncle Nick was waiting for us when we arrived. I didn't recognize him but dad did when we got close. They had arranged lunch in a private room and it was nice sitting in there and talking. Uncle Nick wasn't very responsive but I think he knew who dad was and enjoyed the photos we brought. Alzheimers is a strange disease, you're really not sure what memories are there as it progresses. Lunch wasn't much, typical hospital food but I at least ate my ham. Dad did okay with the visit. I think he was a little upset when we left but that's understandable.
After lunch, we headed to Appomattox Court House. You may remember it as the place the Civil War ended and that's about all I knew of it. After stopping by the Appomattox County Court House (the current one, although it certainly looked Civil War material) and the visitor's center, we finally were on our way to the National Park. I'm probably like a lot of people, I thought a document was signed by Generals Lee and Grant in a court house building. But Appomattox Court House is the name of a village, not just a building. The surrender was in a private home, we didn't tour it but did get a chance to walk around a bit. And I bought my 4th National Park Service patch for my new "collection". Afterwards, we went back to the hotel and I walked around downtown Lynchburg. I walked and walked and was unimpressed. It had looked interesting when we first arrived but it was just another small town in a state of decay. Big box stores outside the city had robbed the downtown of its business.
At 5:30, we headed down to the casual restaurant inside the hotel for a drink. We each had a Chivas, dad's favorite drink and one we shared when mom passed away. Cousin Ann and her husband John joined us at 6:00 for a nice dinner. I think we all learned a lot about the others. We were back in the room by 9:00 and in bed shortly thereafter. It had been a long day.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Parent Conference
Last night I had conferences with Henry and Jack's teachers. Jacks was easy and short, he's on target with everything.
Henrys was longer. The teachers were running late so Sarah made it on time. In short, he is doing great. They said he is ready to go to first grade right now. That makes me very proud but worried about sending him to kindergarden next year. I'm afraid he'll be bored learning stuff he already knows. Henry always has the answer to questions. He's reading great and can count to 100. There's really nothing we need to work on with him.
Yes, I'm proud.
Heading to VA
The Akron Canton Airport is a great place to fly from. Its small enough that there is little traffic but big enough to have good flights. And its cheap too.
They even have a Great Lakes Brewery here. 6:00 am is too early for a beer though and I'm not going to have my one this early.
I don't think Sarah thought I would be successful with my new non-drinking lifestyle. She's probably convinced after the McKinley game and my recent Myrtle trip though. I do miss drinking a couple beers on the golf course, that "swing smoother" was almost a habit when I golfed. But it certainly didn't affect my game negatively because I played well.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
VA
Tomorrow I am headed to Lynchburg, VA to take my dad to visit his brother in a nursing home. We're flying out of the Akron Canton Airport early so I'm heading up to Massillon tonight. While we're there, I'm hoping to visit a few historic sites. We're staying in a nice hotel so it should be a fun little trip.
Monday, November 17, 2008
HOA
Tonight was my last Homeowner's Association meeting. It wasn't my first elected office, I was a precinct committeeman back in Stark County 20 years ago, but it may have been my last. It wasn't time consuming or bad but just something I'm really not interested in doing again. And I certainly have no interest in ever holding elected office. I guess I'm best suited in my advocate role and not representative.
I had to take the boys to the meeting because Sarah is in Chicago today and tomorrow. Jack is getting to be a handful. He would not sit still and was running around the room. I wish I had remembered to bring some books for him. He loves to read and will sit with books for a long time. He's starting to talk more and can point to most of the animals and knows a few sounds they make.
Henry is doing great in school, he's learned so much in just the couple months he's been there. I was amazed last week when he started naming states out of the blue. And they were in alphabetic order. He's a joy. They both are.
Friday, November 14, 2008
Back to life
I'm tired of wearing braces. Today's adjustment actually hurt. I may have 4 more months but I'm hoping we can wrap this up sooner.
I wrote the above earlier today before I visited my dentist at 4:00 p.m. He thought I might be out of my top braces in 4 weeks. That makes me excited. I'll still need work after the braces come off but it would be nice to eat Christmas dinner without pain.
Until then, I'll have to deal with some pain. Seems like the ortho is trying to move a tooth in one day. It hurts.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Karl Rove's numbers
My last posting on the election and numbers and what it all means. Thanks to Matt for this article published in the WSJ:
Political races are about candidates and issues. But election results, in the end, are about numbers. So now that the dust is settling on the 2008 presidential race, what do the numbers tell us?
First, the predicted huge turnout surge didn't happen. The final tally is likely to show that fewer than 128.5 million people voted. That's up marginally from 122 million in 2004. But 17 million more people voted in 2004 than in 2000 (three times the change from 2004 to 2008).
Second, a substantial victory was won by modest improvement in the Democratic share of the vote. Barack Obama received 2.1 points more in the popular vote than President Bush received in 2004, 3.1 points more than Vice President Al Gore in 2000, and 4.6 points more than John Kerry in 2004. In raw numbers, the latest tally shows that Mr. Obama received 66.1 million votes, about 7.1 million more than Mr. Kerry.
Four out of five of these additional votes came from minorities. Mr. Obama got nearly 3.3 million more votes from African-Americans than did Mr. Kerry; 2.9 million of them were from younger blacks aged 18-29. A quarter of Mr. Obama's improvement among blacks -- 811,000 votes -- came from African-Americans who voted Republican in 2004. Mr. Obama also received 2.5 million more Hispanic votes than Mr. Kerry. Over a third of these votes -- 719,000 -- cast ballots for Republicans in 2004.
One of the most important shifts was Hispanic support for Democrats. John McCain got the votes of 32% of Hispanic voters. That's down from the 44% Mr. Bush won four years ago. If this trend continues, the GOP will find it difficult to regain the majority.
Mr. Obama won 4.6 million more votes in the West and 1.4 million more in the Midwest than Mr. Kerry. Mr. McCain, on the other hand, got more than 2.6 million fewer votes in the Midwest than Mr. Bush. In Ohio, for example, Mr. Obama received 32,000 fewer votes than Mr. Kerry in 2004 -- but Mr. McCain got 360,000 fewer votes than Mr. Bush. That turned a 119,000 vote GOP victory in 2004 into a 206,000 vote Democratic win this year.
Then there were those who didn't show up. There were 4.1 million fewer Republicans voting this year than in 2004. Some missing Republicans had turned independent or Democratic for this election. But most simply stayed home. Ironically for a campaign that featured probably the last Vietnam veteran to run for president, 2.7 million fewer veterans voted. There were also 4.1 million fewer voters who attend religious services more than once a week. Americans aren't suddenly going to church less; something was missing from the campaign to draw out the more religiously observant.
In a sign Mr. Obama's victory may have been more personal than partisan or philosophical, Democrats picked up just 10 state senate seats (out of 1,971) and 94 state house seats (out of 5,411). By comparison, when Ronald Reagan beat Jimmy Carter in 1980, Republicans picked up 112 state senate seats (out of 1,981) and 190 state house seats (out of 5,501).
In the states this year, five chambers shifted from Republican to Democrats, while four shifted from either tied or Democratic control to Republican control. In the South, Mr. Obama had "reverse coattails." Republicans gained legislative seats across the region. In Tennessee both the house and senate now have GOP majorities for the first time since the Civil War.
This matters because the 2010 Census could allocate as many as four additional congressional districts to Texas, two each to Arizona and Florida, and one district to each of a number of (mostly) red-leaning states, while subtracting seats from (mostly) blue-leaning states like Michigan, New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania and, for the first time, California. Redistricting and reapportionment could help tilt the playing field back to the GOP in Congress and the race for the White House by moving seven House seats (and electoral votes) from mostly blue to mostly red states.
History will favor Republicans in 2010. Since World War II, the out-party has gained an average of 23 seats in the U.S. House and two in the U.S. Senate in a new president's first midterm election. Other than FDR and George W. Bush, no president has gained seats in his first midterm election in both chambers.
Since 1966, the incumbent party has lost an average of 63 state senate and 262 state house seats, and six governorships, in a president's first midterm election. That 2010 is likely to see Republicans begin rebounding just before redistricting is one silver lining in an otherwise dismal year for the GOP.
In politics, good years follow bad years. Republicans and Democrats have experienced both during the past 15 years. A GOP comeback, while certainly possible, won't be self-executing and automatic. It will require Republicans to be skillful at both defense (opposing Mr. Obama on some issues) and offense (creating a compelling agenda that resonates with voters). And it will require leaders to emerge who give the right public face to the GOP. None of this will be easy. All of this will be necessary.
Mr. Rove is a former senior adviser and deputy chief of staff to President George W. Bush.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
More interesting turnout stats
Despite an army of 70 field offices, 600 paid staffers, and millions of dollars in paid media, Barack Obama received nearly seven percent fewer votes in Ohio than George W. Bush in 2004, and he even underperformed John Kerry. In fact, Sen. Obama received fewer votes statewide this year than Justice Maureen O'Connor, who carried all 88 counties with one fulltime campaign staffer.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Here is Jackie tonight before going to bed. His excema is pretty bad right now but that's not why he's giving me that look. I hope that goes away someday.
I'm back after a fairly successful four days of golf. I didn't win the championship match but did have the best record down there. I played well 3 of the 4 days.
It's a bit different not drinking on this golf trip. I'm not even sure I had my one drink a day down there but the other guys made up for it. Just a different trip for me and I'm okay with that.
It's nice having Veteran's Day off, especially after getting back from a trip. I wish I could do something with Henry today but I don't want to take him out of school. He's learning so much and is reading so well. I'm kinda worried about him going to real kindergarten next year and being bored while the other kids are learning their alphabet and how to read. I'm extremely proud of him though.
Thursday, November 06, 2008
I learned today that election turnout in Ohio was actually
less than it was in 2004 and Obama got less votes than John Kerry in our state. That's really shocking to me. I need to delve into these numbers a bit more though. John McCain won 70 counties of the 88, or something like that. Obviously, most of those were rural counties, democrats always do well in urban areas. But Ohio is still a red state in my mind. Obama winning 51-47 in a year like this when everyone wanted to vote for a democrat doesn't alarm me. I suspect the party will retool and come back strong in 2010. Fiscal conservatism and less government. That's the message.
I'm leaving for Myrtle Beach tomorrow morning for my annual golf trip. That 4:00 a.m. wakeup call will be painful.
Wednesday, November 05, 2008
Stocks Plunge as Investors Ponder Obama Presidency; Dow Down 500- AP
A case of post-election nerves sent stocks plunging Wednesday as investors, again anxious about a recession, began questioning what impact a Barack Obama presidency will have on business and the overall economy.
And so it begins. I hope this market reaction isn't indicative of the future. I suspect people will be selling off their investments now in anticipation of higher taxes later. I read somewhere today that this was the largest ever Dow drop the day following an election. I really can't blame this on our President-Elect though, the market has been yinging and yanging like crazy lately and hundred point swings have become the norm.
I also won't blame Obama if the markets continue to dive the next couple years. I really believe that the President has little control over the economy. If Congress raises taxes and unemployment goes up, inflation increases and the economy gets a lot worse, than I'll comment on that aspect. Because taxpayers create jobs, not the President or the government. Who's more likely to start a business and employ people, a guy making $500K a year or a guy making $50K a year? So why would we raise taxes on the first guy to give money to the second guy? The first guy might be employing ten people making $50K. If his business goes south, that's a problem.
Today we will hear that America needs to support our new President and disregard our differences. This article from today's Wall Street Journal should cause everyone to ponder that question.
The Treatment of Bush Has Been a Disgrace: What must our enemies be thinking?
Earlier this year, 12,000 people in San Francisco signed a petition in support of a proposition on a local ballot to rename an Oceanside sewage plant after George W. Bush. The proposition is only one example of the classless disrespect many Americans have shown the president.
According to recent Gallup polls, the president's average approval rating is below 30% -- down from his 90% approval in the wake of 9/11. Mr. Bush has endured relentless attacks from the left while facing abandonment from the right.
This is the price Mr. Bush is paying for trying to work with both Democrats and Republicans. During his 2004 victory speech, the president reached out to voters who supported his opponent, John Kerry, and said, "Today, I want to speak to every person who voted for my opponent. To make this nation stronger and better, I will need your support, and I will work to earn it. I will do all I can do to deserve your trust."
Those bipartisan efforts have been met with crushing resistance from both political parties.
The president's original Supreme Court choice of Harriet Miers alarmed Republicans, while his final nomination of Samuel Alito angered Democrats. His solutions to reform the immigration system alienated traditional conservatives, while his refusal to retreat in Iraq has enraged liberals who have unrealistic expectations about the challenges we face there.
It seems that no matter what Mr. Bush does, he is blamed for everything. He remains despised by the left while continuously disappointing the right.
Yet it should seem obvious that many of our country's current problems either existed long before Mr. Bush ever came to office, or are beyond his control. Perhaps if Americans stopped being so divisive, and congressional leaders came together to work with the president on some of these problems, he would actually have had a fighting chance of solving them.
Like the president said in his 2004 victory speech, "We have one country, one Constitution and one future that binds us. And when we come together and work together, there is no limit to the greatness of America."
To be sure, Mr. Bush is not completely alone. His low approval ratings put him in the good company of former Democratic President Harry S. Truman, whose own approval rating sank to 22% shortly before he left office. Despite Mr. Truman's low numbers, a 2005 Wall Street Journal poll found that he was ranked the seventh most popular president in history.
Just as Americans have gained perspective on how challenging Truman's presidency was in the wake of World War II, our country will recognize the hardship President Bush faced these past eight years -- and how extraordinary it was that he accomplished what he did in the wake of the September 11 attacks.
The treatment President Bush has received from this country is nothing less than a disgrace. The attacks launched against him have been cruel and slanderous, proving to the world what little character and resolve we have. The president is not to blame for all these problems. He never lost faith in America or her people, and has tried his hardest to continue leading our nation during a very difficult time.
Our failure to stand by the one person who continued to stand by us has not gone unnoticed by our enemies. It has shown to the world how disloyal we can be when our president needed loyalty -- a shameful display of arrogance and weakness that will haunt this nation long after Mr. Bush has left the White House.
Tuesday, November 04, 2008
Voting
I'm in line at our polling place at 7:45 am. Looks to be an hour wait. I always thought it was hilarious that democrats cried foul four years ago when lines were long. They thought somehow they were being cheated and lines were only long at "democrat" polling places. I'm here to tell you that I waited more than 2 hours then and it looks like another long one today.
A large group of lobbyists get together every two years on election day and golf. Most years the weather is awful and there have been some years when 9 holes was enough. Today will be different. If I make my 10:30 tee time.
For years I've attended election night parties, usually at the Hyatt Regency downtown. I ended that tradition a few years ago and let Sarah have her fun now. Tonight a group is gathering for dinner at Mortons but if all goes well with Netflix I'll be on my couch watching the new Indiana Jones movie before turning on the bad news.
I'm actually predicting a Obama victory but a much narrower one than the experts. Some believe this is the rebirth of the democrat party but I think the opposite. America is still a moderate/lean conservative country. What we are getting with this election does not reflect us. I understand this desire for change but don't think people want the government to do more in their lifes.
I think people will be in for quite the shock when the Obama/Nancy Pelosi policies begin.
Monday, November 03, 2008
Why I'm voting against Obama
I said months ago that I didn't dislike Barack Obama like I have some other democrat nominees for President. That's changed somewhat but its based more on what his intentions are rather than his personality. Here are two reasons I'll be casting my vote for the Republican on Tuesday.
- Obama is way too inexperienced to be President. From Illinois State Senate to U.S. Senate to President in 4 years? I'm not sure what I'm getting with him. He hasn't been properly vetted by the media, they would rather send 100 people to dig dirt up on Sarah Palin than do research on Obama. I know what I'm getting with John McCain. He served his country in war, served his country in the U.S. Congress for many years. He is the kind of man who is ready to be President now, with no learning curve.
- Democrats controlling the Congress and Oval Office scares me. All the things they want to do will be possible. Tax hikes, universal health care, lax immigration laws, protectionism, abolishment of the death penalty, I could go on but I won't.
I could type much more and delve into his specific politics but these two points sum up my vote. We are still today learning things about Obama, about his opposition to coal, about his illegal Aunt living in Boston, about his attendance and support at a anti-Israel event where there is video but the media refuses to release it. What else is out there?
Sunday, November 02, 2008
We don't have any big trees in our yard and don't get a lot of leaves. That's a great thing this time of year although Henry didn't have much of a pile to jump in. He helped me rake up this small pile though; today I cut the grass for the last time this year.
Saturday, November 01, 2008
corning
When I was a teenager, we would go corning around Halloween. I asked some people around here about it recently and no one had ever heard of it. I can't believe it was a Massillon thing though. Corning is when a group of people get together with feed corn in a bag and target neighbors. Everyone stands in front of a window and at the count throws the hard corn at their window and runs like hell. It's a blast and scares the bejesus out of both the people in the house and the kids.
We never really did the poop in a bag on the front porch or the egging thing. We would toilet paper people's houses on occasion and I never really thought it was that destructive but I can see how it would be a pain to get out of the trees.
Taxes
I'm no expert on taxes but I know I pay a lot of them. I'm trying to learn more about the Obama redistribution of wealth and how it affects the Briggs family. Details are sketchy, I heard from either his or Joe Biden's own mouth that taxes would not increase on those making over $300K, then $250K, then $200K, and now $150K. These were all audio clips that I heard. So where does that leave us?
An important thing to remember about the Bush tax cuts is that they are expiring soon. Will a democratic Congress and a Obama administration renew them. I think they have both said no. That means that tax brackets will increase by 3-4 percent on almost everyone paying taxes. While candidates will say that this isn't a tax increase, we all know it is. On middle class America, not just the rich.
Gasoline
I paid $2.08 for gas Friday in Mansfield on my way back from Cleveland/Canton.
House #2 is pretty much finished, at least with stuff I can do this year. We'll probably go up in the spring to do some landscaping; Sarah will enjoy that.
House #3 hasn't happened yet. We have a bid in on a HUD home but we went low because it needs a lot of work. But, I still want it since its next door to house #2 and half the empty lot next to our house is part of the deal. If we don't get the house, we'll hopefully buy the 1/2 lot.
