well, well, well....

..the Tigers come up big against Miami and win the damn game. Who would have thunk it? ...but I must admit that i thought clemson had a chance...and that if they held on and kept it close, Miami would start pressing, and perhaps fold...Miami didnt fold, but they sure didnt play well once it became apparent Clemson wasnt going to go belly up....

...trying to potty train the twins right now... sigh...not the most pleasant of times at home these days....

...Going to Darlington this weekend for the truck race on friday and te Nextel race on Sunday. Sould be lots of fun....

Dude...totally awesome, Man!

the trailer for Star Wars 3 is out online. I tracked that bad boy down, and have already watched it 6 times.... May 19th, baby...May 19th....

just thinking...

wanna know something really wierd to think about...?????.... Rylee and Ian will be approaching 7 (seven) VII years old when the next presidential election comes around.....wow....

Yo...Brown? Democrats want me back in the fold?...

...then this article tells them how to approach it. Of course, the current Dem leadership has its head in the sand, so i'm not worried about it...yet.

Democratic Values
How to start winning the red states.
By William Saletan
Posted Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2004, at 1:15 PM PT

Hey, Democrats!

One silver lining in last night's debacle is that for another 24 hours or so, you might be open to rethinking what your party stands for. So, while I have your attention, here's an idea.

Go back to being the party of responsibility.

I'm not talking about scolding people. I'm talking about rewarding them. Be the party that rewards ordinary people who do what they're supposed to do—and protects them from those who don't.

If you think this kind of moral talk is anathema, you're the sort of person Karl Rove wants to be running the Democratic Party. Get out, or get a new attitude. Nearly 60 million people came out to vote for George W. Bush yesterday because they think that he represents their values and that you don't. Prove them wrong and you'll be the majority party again.

How? Start by changing the way you talk about pocketbook issues. Remember Bill Clinton's commitment to help people who "work hard and play by the rules"? Your positions on taxes and labor would be assets instead of liabilities if you explained them in moral terms. The minimum wage rewards work. Repealing the estate tax helps rich people get richer without risk or effort. Lax corporate oversight allows big businesses to evade taxes, deceive small investors, and raid pension funds.

Yes, Republicans will accuse you of waging a class war. I can see you cringing already. Get off your knees and fight. It is a war, but it isn't a class war. It's a culture war, and if you talk about it that way, you'll win it.

Some of you are dismayed by the emergence of a huge voting bloc of churchgoers. Stop viewing this as a threat, and start viewing it as an opportunity. Socially conservative blue-collar workers don't believe in the free market. They believe in the work ethic. Bush wins their votes by equating the free market with the work ethic. Show them where the free market betrays the work ethic, and they'll vote for the party of the work ethic—you—against the party of the free market.

What's your strongest issue among these voters? Outsourcing. Why? Because it's the issue on which you talk most naturally about right and wrong. It's also the issue on which you're most comfortable appealing to nationalism. That's another lesson you need to learn. People are voting Republican because they think you're weak. And, let's face it, you are weak. You say you'll defend this country, but then you go on about consulting other governments, cultivating goodwill, and playing well with others. You make a world full of terrorists sound like kindergarten.

Democrats in the Roosevelt-Truman years didn't have this problem. They called tyrants by their name, and they didn't sound like they were faking it. A party that believes in right and wrong at home must be assertive about right and wrong abroad. You need a serious antiterrorist agenda. Otherwise, when you object to a war like Iraq, you sound like the peace party.

I'm not asking you to act like you care about this stuff. I'm asking you to care about it for real, and not just at election time. When a Republican president runs a TV ad accusing you of failing to protect us from wolves, you should be able to point out that he's the one who emptied our shotgun into a fox, leaving us helpless against the wolves. And you should sound credible saying it.

Once you eliminate the sincerity gap between you and the Republicans on national security, you can exploit the reverse sincerity gap between you and them on responsibility. Think about the values of our armed forces: shared risk, shared sacrifice, and reciprocal duty between officers and soldiers, regardless of race or class. Those are your values.

When leaders betray troops through bad planning and false pretenses for war, that should be your issue. When Republicans cut taxes for the rich while the nation is at war and the Treasury is empty, that should be your issue. When soldiers from poor families die while corporations skim from the war budget, that should be your issue. I've heard John Kerry talk about each of these issues separately, but each time, he sounded opportunistic. To be powerful, they must flow from a common message. That message is responsibility.

All the issues Democrats like to run on—education, the environment, the deficit, energy independence—would be vastly more powerful if united under a single theme. Clean up your mess. Take care of your children. Pay your debts. Stand on your own two feet. It all comes down to responsibility.

The Democrat who talks this way most naturally is John Edwards. (I know, I've got to stop advertising for him.) He's the one who frames every issue in terms of values. He's the one who argued during the presidential primaries that Republicans were favoring unearned wealth over work. He's the one who connected Republican tax policies to make the point. You don't have to teach him the language, because he learned it growing up in one of those red states.

So, there's your candidate, and there's your message. Now go and live it, so you won't have to fake it.

William Saletan is Slate's chief political correspondent and author

Well, I made it...

...to work fine today, after staying up well after 2:00am. Missed the Edwards concession speech, errr, defiant statement that EVRY VOTE WILL BE COUNTED blather..... I understand the principle that everyone should have their say, etc and I agree with it totally...but come on now. Everyone with a clue knows this is over. Even once you count those other votes, unless they all are for Kerry, it wont over come the Bush lead... and there was all this knashing of teeth over what happened to all the newly registered voters. what happened to all the new black voters and young people.... I'll tell you what happened... the new black vote and new young vote didnt vote. Sure, the hardcore people waited in line. But I guarantee you that a lot of newly registered people showed up to vote, saw the line, and said "Screw that!, I'm heading to the Mall" ( or bar, or back home to nap, or whatever)

Wow..its late...

Ok, I stayed up till a little after 1 oclock. NBC just called Ohio for Bush, and he is fixin to take Alaska and New Mexico. I think the ole lady is warming up. I think I'm going to stay up and see this through to the concession speech, unless it drags out to the courts. I have very much enjoyed flipping channels, and especially seeing Dan Rather eat crow..so far. Also looks like Bush carries the popular vote as well.... not a clear mandate, but no-one can say that he didnt get the most votes now, either.....

but who knows.... while some are calling Ohio, CBS is refusing to call it, and I guess that is prudent. Dont want to repeat 2000.... and of course, Kerry/Edwards is saying that the networks are conceding Ohio too early, so I can see where this is heading.... sigh....

sinking feeling

Why do I have this feeling that despite a winner being called at some point in time soon with this Presidential election, that the loser will spend the next four years contesting, bad-mouthing and generally running down the winner. I certainly hope that someone...SOMEBODY...will be able to galvanize a clear majority with the Americans by the time the next cycle of elections. I dont really care if its Democrat or Republican. Well, actually, I think I do care, but it would be best if we could have a clear consensus at some point in time.

Almost there

tomorrow is election Day. THANK GOD ITS ALMOST OVER!!!. goodness, i am so tired of this stuff...all of it. Let's elect somebody, and move on... but of course, both sides are going to contest the election if they lose... sigh...

Put a couple of pix up below. Remember you can click on the picture to get a larger, clearer picture. That one picture of Rylee isnt as clear in its small form . It looks like smudges are on her face, when the actual picture shows the glitter she was wearing....

Falcons lookin good... Tigers lookin good... Panthers lookin...well, ...Falcons lookin good.

Halloween 2004.

Rylee as Princess Barbie

Ian in Trick or Treat mode. this was his usual demeanor.

Rylee and her Princess tiara

Aunt Brandy and Rylee. Rylee really likes to cheese it up.

wrap up

weekend wrap... went trick or treating with twins (pix later)... went to FRAT mini retreat.... cleaned up around house.... Watched Clemson game...had people over on Saturday afternoon/night... Today(sunday) i plan t watch the race and clean up the bedroom of random clothes, and get these halloween pics downloaded.

other stuff

i think perhaps the greatest tool invented by man is the.... leaf blower.

Hooked back up my wireless access point here in the house. i hadnt had it running since we moved, and I had forgotten how convenient it is to be able to chill out withthe CPu somewhere other than at the computer desk. Now perhaps i can sit downstairs with jessica and still be able to keep up with work email and even keep up with sports tickers, etc...

Tigers faced with a decent challenge on Saturday. I am interested to see how they fair.

uh...ice/sleet forecast for hell?

the Red Sox won the Series. I watched about 2 outs of the 4 games. Yippee....

Man, my son can be a tad bit moody. I think he gets a little bit of it from daycare, where he has become the oldest/biggest within his group, and he gets home and wants to have his way all the time and doesnt understand why when he wants something, it isnt automatic. so its."I can't wanna!!!!" all the time....

wow...now this is starting to get a tad interesting...

So...now it seems that the RUSSIANS!!! moved the Iraqi weapons in the days before the US entered Iraq. Good grief! this is starting to sound like a Tom Clancy novel.... at any rate, i cant wait to get up tomorrow and hear what ol Putin has to say about this one.....

Halloween!!!

they say the number 1 costume this year is Spiderman. And that the second is a Princess. I AM SO GLAD OUR KIDS WONT FOLLOW THE CROWD AND BE DRESSED LIKE THAT! THEY ARE GOING TO BE DIFFERENT! THEY WILL BREAK THE MOLD!!!!! THEY WILL FOLLOW THEIR OWN PATH!!!!

In other news... we are going to buy a leaf blower tomorrow. Awesome... those things kick butt.

Man this election carp is getting a little ridiculous. And despite my leanings toward Bush, I think it is safe to say that Kerry is way too obviously trying to court the dumb and stupid vote by repeating obvious midsleading statements, knowing full well informed people know he's full of crap, but that the idiots will take what he says a face value. of course, the same can be said for Bush....but, i think the absolute hatred and bias that has been demonstrated by the so called news media is a little shameful.....

oh, by the way...Ian is dressing as Spiderman and Rylee is a Princess for Halloween

Random

Lynn Sparks? Can you AIM me when you get a chance?

QUOTE OF THE DAY
"Most people are more comfortable with old problems than with new solutions."
- Anonymous

FACT OF THE DAY
The most productive day of the workweek is Tuesday.

The freaking Bengals were on Monday night football? Wow, i remember when the Bengals were my favorite team back in the 80's.... when they would go 12-4 one year, 4-12 the next... but of course, I know pull for the falcons and the Panthers, who seem to do the same thing now....

and down the stretch they come!

8 days til election...FINALLY...I am tired of hearing about this stuff.....lets have the elections and get some winners and get a new set of stuff for the left wing wackoos and right wing zealots to complain about....

i think we have officially decided to have a Hallowen get-together here on Saturday night. I dont know how many people will come, especially since most of the people i know will be coming into town from elsewhere, etc. So , whoever comes by...cool. but i also understand if a lot of people cant come either. Babies, long drives,... whatever are the most important things right now...