Rubio and Romney

The story last night was about Rubio and Romney. Not Clint Eastwood and Invisible Obama. That was just bizarre. A Reagan hologram would have worked better.  But it wasn't important.

Senator Marco Rubio was eloquent. He was passionate and he spoke truth.

These are tired and old big government ideas. Ideas that people come to America to get away from. Ideas that threaten to make America more like the rest of the world, instead of helping the world become more like America...

A few years ago during a speech, I noticed a bartender behind a portable bar at the back of the ballroom. I remembered my father who had worked for many years as a banquet bartender.

He was grateful for the work he had, but that's not the life he wanted for us.

He stood behind a bar in the back of the room all those years, so one day I could stand behind a podium in the front of a room.

That journey, from behind that bar to behind this podium, goes to the essence of the American miracle — that we're exceptional not because we have more rich people here...

 And in conclusion:

The story of our time will be written by Americans who haven't yet been born.

Let's make sure they write that we did our part. That in the early years of this new century, we lived in an uncertain time. But we did not allow fear to cause us to abandon what made us special.

We chose more freedom instead of more government.

We chose the principles of our founding to solve the challenges of our time.

We chose a special man to lead us in a special time.

We chose Mitt Romney to lead our nation.

And because we did, the American Miracle lived on for another generation to inherit.

Romney delivered maybe the best speech of his life. He was likable, and earnest, and powerful, and everything he usually does not portray himself to be. And the video tribute beforehand was one of the best I've seen. It humanized him, and showed him at his best: leading at work and being with his family. Too bad Eastwood came afterwards, but I digress.

In his speech, he heralded women:

My mom and dad were true partners, a life lesson that shaped me by everyday example. When my mom ran for the Senate, my dad was there for her every step of the way. I can still hear her saying in her beautiful voice, “Why should women have any less say than men, about the great decisions facing our nation?”
I wish she could have been here at the convention and heard leaders like Governor Mary Fallin, Governor Nikki Haley, Governor Susana Martinez, Senator Kelly Ayotte and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

 Truth:

How many days have you woken up feeling that something really special was happening in America?  Many of you felt that way on Election Day four years ago. Hope and Change had a powerful appeal. But tonight I’d ask a simple question: If you felt that excitement when you voted for Barack Obama, shouldn’t you feel that way now that he’s President Obama? You know there’s something wrong with the kind of job he’s done as president when the best feeling you had was the day you voted for him.

And the bottom line:

What is needed in our country today is not complicated or profound. It doesn’t take a special government commission to tell us what America needs.
What America needs is jobs.
Lots of jobs.

Onward to November!

 

Condi's Speech

Of course, I've been watching the GOP convention, and by far the most buzzed about speech was Condi's address last night. Jay Nordlinger summarizes many of the salient points, and he ends with an observation about her tenure as Secretary of State was "so flat." Yes, that. She was an ideological wimp in that role, and it meant that Donald Rumsfeld and Dick Cheney often had to exert the American exceptionalism needed in leadership.

Yet her speech last night reflected the VP buzz that was generated after her summer speeches. It was eloquent, emotional, delivered with conviction and thrust, and she spoke without the dreaded teleprompter. With her, Susana Martinez, Nikki Haley, and other talented GOP women on the front lines, who is to say we're losing this "war on women?"

Notable quotes:

"Now, to be sure, the burdens of leadership have been heavy. I know, as you do, the sacrifice of Americans, especially the sacrifice of many of our bravest in the ultimate sacrifice, but our armed forces are the surest shield and foundation of liberty, and we are so fortunate that we have men and women in uniform who volunteer, they volunteer to defend us at the front lines of freedom, and we owe them our eternal gratitude."

"I know that it feels as if we have carried these burdens long enough.  But we can only know that there is no choice, because one of two things will happen if we don't lead. Either no one will lead and there will be chaos, or someone will fill the vacuum who does not share our values."

"My fellow Americans, ours has never been a narrative of grievance and entitlement.  We have never believed that I am doing poorly because you are doing well...No, no, ours has been a belief in opportunity.  And it has been a constant struggle, long and hard, up and down, to try to
extend the benefits of the American dream to all.  But that American ideal is indeed in danger today. There is no country, no, not even a rising China that can do more harm to us than we can do to ourselves if we do not do the hard work before us here at home."

"America has a way of making the impossible seemed inevitable in retrospect, but we know it was
never inevitable. It took leadership.  And it took courage.  And it's a belief that our values.  Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan have the integrity and the experience and the vision to lead us. They know who we are.  They know who we want to be.  They know who we are in the world and what we offer. That is why -- that is why this is a moment and an election of consequence.  Because it just has to be that the freest most compassionate country on the face of the earth will continue to be the most powerful and the beacon for prosperity and the party across the world."

Five Random Thoughts

Tropical Storm Isaac beckons New Orleans. I swear, some liberals are praying for this storm just to give a big F-U to the GOP meeting in Tampa. Unreal.

Fantasy Football draft one is Saturday. So not prepared. Draft two? Sunday....

How in the world is John Stamos 49 years old? Wow.

Way overpriced.  It has been interesting to see the renovation process, though.

Detroit Unbuzzed. Sounds interesting!

Michigan for Romney?

Recent polls show the race to be a dead heat in Michigan. And with Michigan's history as Reagan Democrat country, maybe there's a chance that the state will vote for its hometown son this election year? Marc Thiessen sees several reasons why MI may go for the GOP this year beyond just the economy:

But the Romney campaign has also been highlighting two other issues that have particular resonance in Michigan. One is the administration’s contraception and abortifacient mandate, which hurts the president with the socially conservative Reagan Democrats in such places as Macomb County. There are 2.4 million Catholic voters in Michigan, and Obama’s assault on religious liberty has alienated many of them. In May, the Michigan Catholic Conference filed suit against the Obama administration over the Health and Human Services mandate — and Catholic priests will be preaching against it in parishes across the state between now and Election Day. Look for Romney to underscore his opposition to the HHS mandate — and his endorsement by Lech Walesa — with these Catholic voters, many of whom are of Polish and Ukrainian descent.
The second issue is welfare reform. Welfare fraud is fresh on people’s minds here, thanks to the news of a Detroit area woman who was recently caught continuing to collect benefits despite winning a $1 million state lottery prize. Michiganders have a strong work ethic and remain justly proud of their state’s role as a pioneer of welfare reform in the 1990s. The charge that Obama is gutting welfare reform hits a nerve here.

I would love, love to see Michigan go Romney. When I was there in June, some of the lawyers suggested that possibility.  Hopefully it can become a reality.

Fire and Rain

This week has gone by so quickly, but it also has been a long one. I went to Chicago for Donna's father's funeral on Tuesday and Wednesday. I don't want to write about it--the tragedy of seeing her strong mother, her sweet little nephew waving to the Knights of Columbus, feeling the embrace, witnessing the tears, and knowing that ache does not just go away. But people are stronger than you think, right? There is something comforting in the ritual of the Catholic funeral. "On Eagle's Wings" and Psalm 90 and Psalm 91.

James Taylor's classic "Fire and Rain" has been running through my head lately.  You know those lyrics. And the last month, Africa and weddings and a new niece and a friend's sad goodbye...all of those eternal things. Like the priest said, they are a part of our journey. And gosh, what a journey we're on. I looked at my church a little differently after these past couple of days. I was so grateful to have my faith. So grateful to have something to believe in.  And so grateful for friendship. The ability to be there for someone and to smile in those tears. So grateful.

Arrested Inside Jokes

This is a great feature on little missed Arrested Development inside jokes. I need a laugh today.

Cincinnati & Family

We had a very nice weekend in Cincinnati. Paul and Megan are fantastic hosts--from all of the fabulous food (like filet, quiche, key lime pie, chicken enchiladas), drinks, and tour. We went to the top of the Carew Tower, to the Hofbrauhaus for ridiculously large beers, to brunch at Teller's with good friends, to very good thai cuisine in Mt. Adams at Teak. They did not steer us wrong in recommendations.

I will remember playing pool, discussing the baby, watching Friday night fireworks, their beautiful view, cool Chase, running ridiculously rolling hills and getting my a$$ kicked multiple times as we went through the park and to the stadiums, a certain someone's overzealous workouts, and just hanging out with my brother. Not sure when we'll see each other next. Family is too important to wait too long.

And on that note, I am sad for Donna. My heart aches right now, and I can't imagine how she feels. I don't want to imagine how she is feeling.  All I can do is try to be there. Hopefully that will work out.

Cincinnati

We are off to Cincinnati for the weekend. I'm really looking forward to seeing my brother, SIL, and niece or nephew-to be.

And while I am there, my sad thoughts are in Chicago. I cannot and do not want to imagine how hard it is for all of them today and what the days ahead are like. My prayers and love go there.

Joe Biden III

Ah, so now a routine lunch meeting with his boss garners all sorts of speculation about Joe Biden.

Is Joe Biden OK?
Meltdown!
Even Douglas Wilder is scolding the VP.
And Joe Biden his his share of handlers.

But it's all a bad thing when the boss has to defend you. 

And his greatest hits. 

Shooting at FRC

A horrible tragedy was averted yesterday, when a brave security guard prevented an unhinged gun man from use his semi to kill an office full of people at the Family Research Council.

About 10:45 a.m., the shooter arrived at the Family Research Council’s brick-and-stone building at 801 G St. NW and walked through the tall glass-and-metal front doors, under an archway chiseled with group’s motto: “Faith, Family, Freedom.” Johnson, the guard, confronted him in the lobby, Lanier said.

The building is not far from the Gallery Place Metro station in one of the busiest areas of the city, thick with restaurants, shops and museums.

In the lobby, the intruder began “making statements” in opposition to the Family Research Council’s social conservatism, a law enforcement official said.

In the struggle that followed, Johnson “did a phenomenal job,” FBI spokeswoman Jacqueline Maguire said. She and Lanier said that if the gunman had gotten past the lobby and into the offices, a mass shooting might have occurred.

I generally think the "hate crime" designation is a little silly. The authorities are still determining whether to charge the assailant with a federal crime, "The FBI said it was evaluating evidence to determine whether to charge Corkins with a federal crime, such as attempting a terrorist act. Authorities said the decision will hinge on what the FBI concludes was the assailant’s motive for entering the building with a loaded Sig Sauer semiautomatic."

But yeah, entering an office building with a loaded generally infers that you want to shoot a lot of people. And I don't care what your motivation is--that is so wrong. But if you are going to designate certain heinous crimes as "hate" crimes, then yeah, entering a pro-traditional marriage, socially conservative group with the aim to shoot to kill is a hate crime. Period.

Joe Biden II

Let's go ahead and lead the world in automobiles in the 20th Century, Joe Biden!

And Bernie Goldberg insults Yogi Berra. 

And John Fund gets in the act, too.

But there has been a double standard for Joe Biden for decades, and almost every reporter in Washington knows it. Last night, a frustrated Rudy Giuliani acknowledged it on CNBC. “I’ve never seen a vice president that has made as many mistakes, said as many stupid things,” he told Larry Kudlow. “I mean, there’s a real fear if, God forbid, he ever had to be entrusted with the presidency, whether he really has the mental capacity to handle it. I mean, this guy just isn’t bright. He’s never been bright. He isn’t bright. And people think, ‘Well, he just talks a little too much.’ Actually, he’s just not very smart.”

Joe Biden Offends

There has to be a blog somewhere that tracks every stupid thing that comes out of Joe Biden's mouth. In the last few days, he's insulted Paul Ryan's deceased father. He also states that Romney & Ryan want "to put y'all back in chains."

He truly is the gift that keeps on giving.

"Joe Biden gaffes" come up with 321,000 Google hits.

There's "The Never-Ending List of VP Joe Biden's Verbal Gaffes" courtesy of the Daily Beast. He's already referred to "President Romney."  He insulted his boss as an African American.

"Joe Biden is an idiot" brings up 1.3 million results. There's a delightful Youtube video.  He's made bad policy moves and insulted the Irish Prime Minister (he has trouble remembering if parents are alive or dead).

Even Time magazine has gotten into the act. That says something.

Sure, he has foot in mouth disease, and sometimes he just mangles words. Every politician or candidate will occasionally screw up--Romney even introduced Ryan as the president (we wish!)

But sometimes, Biden borders on the offensive. He had his father for 60 years; Ryan did for only 15. Why bring that up? Why make bad slavery analogies in the last Confederate capitol and forget if you were in NC or VA?

Joe Biden is an idiot. And thankfully, he's not the candidate I would support.

Paul Ryan

We were pretty happy, after a fun night out at a favorite restaurant, to hear the news that Romney was going to pick Paul Ryan to be his running mate. I've speculated about his selection, and I admit I was not so sure it would happen. I remember Paul Ryan speaking in DC at least a dozen years ago, when I was 24 or 25ish, at Heritage. He was young, good looking, and stridently conservative. And he was the best selection that Romney could make.

He will stomp all over Joe Biden in the debate, and he will help ideas be debated. Not just attack, not just cliched statements about being wealthy and out of touch. He is Catholic and pro-life. He is a reformer. He is the first nominee from Generation X. He is one of the few who invoke Ryan.

I predict that Ryan will end up in the Oval Office at some point. Sure, he will make mistakes. But this is the next generation of leadership, and it is long past time that we turn forward.  And his opening salvo: perfect. Wonderful way to introduce yourself to the American public.

Uganda: Part VI

We went to Ethiopic last night to rehash the trip.

Ten things I'll remember...

Getting off that Ethiopian Airlines plane and seeing that air base, knowing we were in Africa, thousands of miles away from home. And it not looking so different. But also completely different.

Narrating to myself as we drove down the streets to the safari, seeing the barefoot children, seeing the women carrying parcels above their heads, the soccer teams, the school children in uniforms, the fresh produce we could not eat, the livestock at the side of the road,  the boda boda riders with three passengers and sometimes a baby.

It was not nearly as hot as we thought. Lots of rain. We didn't use much sun block.

The women hanging out at the gas station. They were over-employed. The vendors, frantic to make a sale. The desperation to make a sale.

The colorful dresses worn by the wedding. Culturally significant, maybe. The Buganda culture. The Luganda language.

The mosquito nets over all of the beds.

The many, many bottled waters consumed. Washing our face, brushing out teeth, taking out the contacts. The nasty yellowed water.

The Waragi and the Bell and the Nile. All cheap drinks.

The excitement when we had wifi access.

Seeing those volunteers in the airport and being slightly uneasy, maybe more like disturbed, by their volunteer t-shirts, the saving the orphans.  I almost felt like it was a bit patronizing, advertising their "look at me do-gooderness" good service.  Is that silly?

Seeing three college friends together, two decades later and all of them grown up and married and so far from where they started. Good times.

Other Things Going On...

The Uganda series will wrap up tomorrow after our debrief dinner.  What else is going on...

We had a quiet anniversary dinner with lousy service. Mo's Fish Shack worked far better.

Veepstakes speculation is the chatter. I am not surprised it hasn't been announced yet, but the convention is heading here rapidly. I'm going with Pawlenty, Portman, then Ryan.

We are watching a lot of Olympics. Every year I get sucked in.

Just started reading Gone Girl. Love it already.

Three dinners in a row out this week. Busy busy.

NFL preseason football starts tonight. 

Uganda Part V

On Sunday, N & I decided to wrap up the trip with a tour of Kampala. Husband stayed at the hotel,

A bulk of the day was spent touring the Anglican and Catholic memorials at the Uganda Martyrs Shrine, Namugongo. It took a little longer than we anticipated...anyway, we learned a lot about the heroic, yet tragic story of the young martyrs and St. Charles Lwanga.  Our tour of Kampala also took us to the Anglican cathedral. We also passed mosques and even a Mormon church. I was actually very struck by the religious faith of our tour guide. I will also remember an aside by the Catholic guide who mentioned that "gays never were in Africa until the Asians came." The Uganda anti-homosexuality bill has certainly been in the news, though I admit I didn't know a great deal about it before our trip.

We also visited the Kasubi Tombs. What was striking was the cemetery, where Christians and Muslims were buried side by side. The tombs are the site of the burial grounds for four kabakas (kings of Buganda).

We also briefly stopped by a market, and I picked up a cheap turquoise elephant purse and some jewelry. We also stopped at the market on Monday, our last full day. After one final dinner with the whole group on Sunday night, we were about to make our way home...

Uganda Part IV

The wedding was one of the most beautiful, unique ceremonies we have been lucky enough to witness. Cardinal Wamala, the bishop, and a dozen priests participated, along with a beautiful choir and music in both Lugandan and English. And some Latin, too. Yes, the dress was traditional. Of course, I don't know what I was expecting.

The reception featured 1500+ bottles of beer. Nile, Bell, Guiness, different varietals of each, etc. Lots of beer. And some boxed wine. Food was plentiful--traditional foods like matooke (eh, tasteless, I guess you need peanut or groundnut sauce), chicken, beef goulash, yams, rice. There was always a bit of an Indian influence. 

The toasts were plentiful full, and the guys did a classy job. I thought the Kenyans one was a bit over the top. That Kenyan crew was great, and I wish I had gotten a picture of them. They bought us Bourbon and we tried to finagle details from them on the newlyweds.

Music was traditional for the most part, though we had more dance music at the end of the very long reception. We danced a bit, talked to family members and friends, and circulated.  It was everything a wedding reception should be.

We wrapped up the evening when we talked to Pete's brother as we were leaving. Uganda is a beautiful country, but its governance presents problems and an impediment to progress. More on that...

We had another couple of days left to tour Kampala in Part V...

Uganda Part III

We woke up bright and early for our 6:30 a.m. game drive. We desperately needed coffee!  We left just at dawn, as the animals were waking up or setting in after searching for prey. After a very short trip away from  the safari lodge, we saw animals. Lots of animals. Baboons, giraffes, elephant, antelope. beautiful birds, buffalo, and well, more antelope. And after a short drive, we saw several safari vehicles lined up. We knew something had to be there, and yep, lionesses! Apparently lions are difficult to find, as the lady lions are the prey-hunters. We watched for several minutes before Michael took off in one direction to go off-road. And there, in the middle of the roadway, was a lion.  She literally was playing like a playful kitty, rolling around and generally frolicking. We captured several great shots of her there. The boys were in awe.

We drove around some more before settling back at the lodge, where we napped. Then we left for our launch cruise to the bottom of Murchison Falls, along the Nile. We saw even more birds, plus plenty of hippos, and even a few crocodile. Steve even napped for a while, because it was a bit more of a mellow trip. After the cruise, we went for another game drive. We were all pretty damn tired at this point, so we didn't go out for long.

After one more evening at Paraa, we left for chimp tracking.  This was cool--we bundled up in layers and put on our hiking/rain boots.  A guide took us for about a 15 minute hike before getting the message on his walkie talkies that chimps could be found. So we literally went off-trail, with vines and leaves and creeks and jungle in our way. We found other chimp trackers, gazed up, and then we saw a chimp, at least 50 foot up, perched in a tree and hungrily downing jackfruit. Apparently chimps are vegetarians.  Our guide circled around to find us the best view, and we saw several other chimps all eating. This was about 8 or 9 in the morning? We stayed out for an hour, which is as long as you are allowed to be out in the jungle. As we hiked back, we heard the chimps hooting and hollering.  Apparently they were quite excited that we were leaving.

After eating a quick lunch, our next destination was to the Speke Resort Munyono in Kampala. The drive back seemed to take forever, at least 5-6 hours, seemingly, with a stop for the ATM and to retrieve N's forgotten suit. We were SO ready to get to our hotel room. After the bungled credit transaction and a room switch (due to nasty rotten fruit), we finally could shower. We were still in our safari gear. And then dinner, marked by a brief appearance by the groom.  And finally, we could sleep.  The next day was wedding day!

Uganda Part II

We left Entebbe and then headed to Humura Resort, where we stayed our first night.  The room was comfortable, with the requisite mosquito net covering the bed. We took much-needed showers and then went to the bar to have the first of many Ugandan beers and to meet with Peter. We then went to the Serena Hotel for burgers. It felt a little surreal being there, like--are we really here? And we were all so tired. I don't even remember what we talked about. The wedding, maybe, and the safari. But it was good to be there. And we all slept well. 

We left for the safari around 9am on Wednesday morning. We were all so relieved to be able to sleep past 6am.  Michael picked us up and we made the 5+ hour journey to the Paraa Safari Lodge.  So much to see.  We stopped a few times, including once to buy some bananas from some aggressive sales ladies, and another time at a beautiful fruit stand. We had lunch in Masindi at the New Court View Hotel.  I had tilapia, the first of many seafood meals.

The scenery was amazing, both looking at the shacks and the soccer fields and the school children. We finally made it up to Murchison Falls.  Wow, what a view. The only damper (no pun intended) was that we got drenched after only a few minutes of exploring the top of the Falls and looking down upon the beautiful Nile River. Crazy to think we saw that, we were present there.

Afterwards, we headed up to the ferry crossing, though we missed the 5pm departure by only a few moments.  We hung out along the south bank and watched the birds, the warthogs, and the baboons, who were quite playful. Loved the mama with baby riding on her back, and the "siblings" who chased each other on the roof of the park ranger site until they were shooed off.  Apparently they were sneaking in food!

Once we crossed, we changed and then went to dinner. We had an abundance of Indian food on the trip.  We also opened up a bottle of port, hung out for a while chatting, and then got to bed early for our 6:30 a.m. game drive. More on that to come...

Uganda: Part I

I have much to recap, but let's start from the very beginning...

We had a crazy start to the trip. We barely made our flight. We loaded up in Brownsville after South Padre and the reunion, and then we got on the plane to get to Houston.Every flight that day had left on time, of course. And as we taxied out, the pilot announced there were bad thunderstorms in Houston, and we'd be stuck on the tarmac for a while.  And then we turned back to the terminal. Of course, we freaked out and began making all sorts of contingency plans. Maybe fly to BWI. Or head to Newark.

After a couple of hours of delay, we finally left. And thankfully, our next aircraft had been diverted to San Antonio. So we barely made the flight. Maybe ten minutes to spare. But it meant we were getting in two hours later, at 1am, so we didn't get home and in bed til after 1:30 am. Fun, fun. Four hours of sleep, laundry to do, and then packing in the morning.

So we go up, literally threw some stuff in suitcases, and then Shea and Shannen arrived to pick us up. We got to IAD in plenty of time, met up with N, and then we headed to breakfast.

Thirteen hours on our first flight. Ethiopian was not very bad, actually. Lots of entertainment options, though the new release movies were not great. I did watch the Sound of Music. And Runaway Jury.  We landed in Addas, and we immediately searched for wifi. We are news nerds. None of us slept. But leaving at 11:15 am was good, in a way. After a few hours in the decrepit older terminal, we flew on to Kampala.

And in early afternoon, we landed. We were in Africa.