Archive for the ‘Politics’ Category
I remember why I stopped watching “This Week” on ABC. They have maniacs for guests; the Republican’s aren’t much better than the Democrats. I catch myself yelling at the television set like a nut job.
I told Bob, “There is nothing to eat in the house. Come early and we can go for pizza.” Bob was early but it was still after 2 PM before we got to Godfathers. I ordered a Golden Crust for a change. I rented “Inglourious Basterds” on Bob’s recommendation. (B+) ” we’re gonna be doin’ one thing and one thing only… killin’ Nazis.”
Then we watched the Vikings lose to the Panthers. The Vikings didn’t play well at all.
Jim & Carol Peterson invited the family for a little Maas get together. Their new lake home is on Pickerel Lake. Although it isn’t far from Paul and Suzanne’s lake cabin, the directions are more complex. Carol’s directions were good, and except for a couple intersections, which Char almost drive by, we arrive with no trouble.
I called Paul and asked when we could audit St Joseph’s. I was thinking some time this week and Paul was thinking the sooner the better. We went over this afternoon and counted all the lights in the school. We didn’t have time for the church or office and we also missed the boiler room. But still it was a good start. We even found a condensation leak under the stairs that threatened to flood their supply of paper and files. Cleve was on vacation but the other guy on maintenance staff was working in the school and Paul was giving him crap. Michael Heinzen, the parish administrator showed up as we were finishing. Mike is an older guy, with reddish complexion, but very tall and imposing. Everything was locked up, so having Paul and his master key was good. He also had Steve from C&B Electric on speed dial to ask questions about the new addition.
Suzanne invited me to lunch at the Olive Garden. We talked about the recent election and the Detroit Automotive bailout. We talked about the economy while we waited for a table.
Once seated the conversation turned to St Joseph’s and Paul’s work in the cafeteria. Suzanne is hearing positive feedback from the staff, teachers, students, parents and even strangers. Paul and Suzanne are turning St Joseph’s around one project at a time. Now if Obama would just put Suzanne in the Treasury and Paul in the Fed, they could turn this country around.
I was tempted not to vote, but at 9:30 I told dad, “I think I’m going to vote now. It is probably the best time.” He came with me. There was no line but it was busy. They had scanner to check your ND driver’s license so there was no bottleneck. It took the longest just filling in those little ovals with a pen. I asked, “What if I make a mistake?” “Come back and I’ll give you another ballot.” I jokingly thought about voting for Mathern even though I’m a big supporter of Hoeven, “that way ALL my candidates will lose.” I was glad I’m a Libertarian, so I’m not stuck voting for Obama or McCain. I know Bob Barr will lose but at least I don’t have to hold my nose when I vote or make excuses for shitty policies.
I didn’t watch any election coverage, and blew off Sean’s (Suzanne’s) offer to come over and watch election coverage. I didn’t even look at the web- this election was over when the press went into the tank for Obama months ago. The fix is in; this is Obama’s night.
I wasn’t surprised by Wednesday’s headlines. I was a little surprised McCain did as well as he did.
Suzanne called to invite me over for spaghetti. This is better than reheating Kraft Macaroni and Cheese.
I played with Clare, which consists of walking up and down the stairs. Clare, Tim and I played with building blocks while Sean surfed the web. I helped Tim with his math homework: angles and line rays. Sean and I raced in Grand Turismo 4. I’m getting the hang of racing using the wireless Play Station 2 controller. I told him a bedtime story about Blaine Houston watching my humorous leadership skills (marching) at a generic Monday CAP meeting.
I was trying to tell Tim a bedtime story but Sean was annoying Tim so I locked him out of the room.
“What would you like a story about?”
Tim wanted to know about Queen Elizabeth I and the history of Japan. I started to tell him about Commodore Matthew Perry’s 1854 trip to Japan, but I didn’t get far. It was past Tim’s bedtime.
Paul, Suzanne and I talked about politics again. On Suzanne’s recommendation I started listening to the Mark Lavine show. He makes Rush sound reasonable. Mark is a blowhard and I don’t care for him. I’m a little surprised Suzanne and Paul like him- the show consists of Lavine ranting and raving about the Democrats. They’re bad enough without having to exaggerate everything ten fold.
Suzanne invited me to the Bison season opener. I was excited, not so much by the football, but by the rite of fall, the atmosphere and family.
Traffic was backed up all the way to the airport road on 19th Avenue. We got one of the last parking spots in the lot. After picking up some terrible Cloverdale hot dogs, bottled water and chips we found our seats. Just in time for the Fargodome to dim the lights and the Bison players to run out of the inflatable football helmet.
Yesterday I checked In-Forum.com for a voting guide. They had a nice area set up with candidate biographies and a review of their goals and positions. I made a list of candidates I support or that I have the fewest issues with. Odd, I don’t think this voting guide appeared in the paper. I was happy to see we have a good collection of candidates. I didn’t see anyone I had a serious issue with. I checked the Secretary of State web site to find our new polling place. They have moved all the polling places out of the schools- due to security paranoia.
