Thankful in Dallas

We spent four days in Dallas over Thanksgiving. We participated in the 8 mile Turkey Trot on Thursday morning. A great race, though crowded. I am sure I negative splitted, considering the heat and the slow go at the start. 1:14:39 is by no means great, but I'll take it. It was the top 1/3 for ladies, and there were some very in shape runners. Slow ones were in the 5K.

Besides hanging out with the nephews and niece, I also did Pinot's Palette with my SILs. I guess it was fun to be artistic and engage in a 6th grade art project, but really, it was not for me. Maybe another time with a less complex piece, right?

Other than that, we ate at the infamous Kuby's where our nephew was kicked out of. We also had lunch at Dodie's, worked out, and ate and drank to our heart's content.

And now we're back to reality. Can Christmas vacation hurry up and come?

One Day More

So I was hoping today would be nice and slow, but with the impromptu car pick up at Dulles and the last minute call to help tonight, not so much. But we'll soon be off to Dallas, and that will be enough to clear my head for a few days. Forget what's election related, work related, house related, financial related, etc. etc. Just be thankful for another year with my family, my job, my health, my friends, despite all of the crappy stuff that can happen. Just thankful.

So one day more. And that day is half over already. Thankful for that, too.

Conspiracy Silliness Edition

Is Krauthammer right? Did the Administration hold the affair over Petraeus' head in order to receive favorable testimony on Benghazi? They would not do that, would they?

I really am surprised that People magazine went ahead and put the sexiest man alive on the cover of their upcoming issue, as opposed to the Petraeus affair.

And how in the world is this woman Jill Kelly asking for diplomatic protection? I mean, Ambassador Stevens did not even receive it as his embassy was attacked on 9/11.  But a social party planning queen is able to ask for it. Silliness.

It's time to move on items with more substance. Like discussions on substantive due process, the protection of religious conscience rights, and the separation of powers.

The Petraeus Scandal

Count me as slightly obsessed with the Petraeus scandal. Yes, I was going through withdrawals of news consumption in the few days after the election, before which I just stared at my twitter feed and refreshed blogs and Drudge Report. (Yep, one of those conservatives who only reads the same RW material!).  But this scandal is juicy. Yep, between the daughter's blog, the DC setting, the scandalously threatening emails, and the sad spouse, it's scintillating. But there's a humanity to it that you just feel bad about the entire thing. It's like he made one huge mistake, took full responsibility, and gave up his post. And his family is being punished by seeing his photograph and the mistress (in her 15 minutes of fame) splashed everywhere.

And then you add  Libya, and with the specter of the Benghazi hearings this week, and a lame duck Congress, and the "when did the President know?" questions, then yeah, it's a DC soap storm. Ultimately, sadly, in DC sex sells and maybe that will finally put light on the scandal.

For now, I hope the family can heal, and all of those innocents brought to the middle of this unwittingly, they can go back to being anonymous. The only good thing is that all of the RIP conservative stories have been pushed off the front burner. Scandals sells more than ineptitude.

Ready for the Weekend

It's the last free one for a while. And there's stuff to do..Crafty Bastards is open at Union Market. I am going to the Limited 50% off sale and Target. And watching football and reading. Not to mention a quiet Saturday evening, while the husband is off to a bachelor party.

So yes, I will spend some time thinking about this week before moving on. The more I read and think about, the angrier I get. Elizabeth Warren, for example, is an incapable fraud who could not even complete a press conference. And massive layoffs to prepare for Obamacare.  And Petraeus is probably going to take the fall for Libya. Unreal.

So maybe I do need a break from all of this. 

Edited to say...Petraeus had an affair? OMG. I mean, I just find that implausible. How can the head of the CIA be that stupid? Is this a massive cover-up for Libya? I mean, the timing of this is suspect. Three days after an election on a  Friday afternoon. I mean, I am speechless.... 

Two Day Post-Mortem

So one of those most horrifying things about eight years of Obama (yeah, I said horrifying) is thinking about his legal and judiciary legacy. It's widely expected that Eric Holder will step down. The list of replacements for his is just awful. Awful. Janet Napolitano? Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, and Sens. Claire McCaskill of Missouri, Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota. Really? I am almost hoping it's McCaskill, purely to get her out of MO, but that is not likely.

I don't want to think about the courts. You need to pray that Scalia and Kennedy stay healthy. And the latter has a big enough ego not to go. I suspect Ginsburg will step down, and I hope it's not til 2014. Status quo can work for now.  

There's alot of heartbreak after the election, for jobs that will go unfilled and opportunities lost. And a lot of talented individuals won't have the opportunity to serve, because four years from now, anything can change.  

But yeah, just on the issues I care about, the judicial/legal landscape is frightening. The politicization of DOJ will continue, second tier affirmative action candidates will continue to serve, and incompetence will be rewarded. But hey, you get what you vote for. 

And it's not like Romney picks in these areas would be perfect. Reagan appointed O'Connor and Bush appointed Souter.  But the odds would be remarkably better with a President Romney for a Thomas or Alito.

After

I'm taking a little break from social media. I need to stay away from the gloating, the heralding of a liberal savior sent to save the world from big, bad conservatives. 

Roger Kimball seems quite eloquent.

For conservatives, it is a depressing situation. Ron is right, too, about “the coming crisis of a growing entitlement state” and the myriad foreign policy challenges, not least the challenges of radical Islam, that Obama, and the country at large, will continue to face. I fear that what an English friend just wrote me is true:

You just don’t care about being a Great Power any longer. That’s what this is about. The world should start sucking up to China instead now, as Americans have shown they’ve no appetite for world leadership any longer. You’ve had a century in the sun, and now you’ve decided to become Sweden instead of shouldering the burden. The 47% have won and you’re going to slip into social democracy and in 4 years time no-one — Christie, Rubio, Ryan — will be able to do anything about it.

RIP American Exceptionalism

It is said that the one unforgivable sin is despair. Depression is not quite despair, but it is an allied and a corrosive sentiment. I agree with Ron that “it is essential that conservative intellectuals do not abandon the effort to change the culture . . . and do all possible to challenge the ascension of a failed intellectual liberal ideology, whether it be in the form of Progressivism, liberalism or socialism.” But I misread and misread badly both the mood of the country and the depth of support for Obama’s failed policies. I will doubtless get around to rejoining Ron in the battle, but a little hiatus for reflection will not come amiss.

And Jonah:

That Mitt Romney got fewer votes than John McCain is dismaying on any number of levels. We were told, by strategists and by what seemed like common sense, that the McCain coalition was a floor for Romney to build up from. The possibility that it was in fact a ceiling is pretty awful to contemplate. It is also pretty infuriating when you think about what the Romney campaign was telling us about their path to 270.

I’ll be blunt: I do not think Mitt Romney ran a good campaign. Don’t get me wrong, I think he worked his heart out as did many who worked for him. I think he made himself into the best candidate he could (which is different than saying he was a great candidate). But I also think that Romney’s theory of the contest was wrong. As I wrote at the time, the Republican convention was a mess. I think Romney strategist Stu Stevens’ contempt for ideas – never mind conservative ideas – was absurd. I think the failure of the Romney campaign to offer a compelling explanation of any kind (at least until the second debate) for how it wasn’t a third Bush term was fatal (as I discussed here and elsewhere). Politics is about persuasion. And persuasion requires making serious arguments. Stevens, by all accounts, has contempt for serious arguments.

I think ultimately, ideas win. America may move "forward" but it is off a cliff. And I fear we took a big step backward tonight. But the world will continue to turn, and ultimately, as we debate and discuss what the next four years will bring, those of certain ideas will unite behind a better candidate in four years. And the bench is deep--Paul Ryan, Marco Rubio, Bob McConnell, Rob Portman, many others will step onward and we'll rebuild a better country. I hope.

Four Years Hence...

Four years ago, this country elected Barack Obama president. And we worried this would take place...And so much occurred. The worst was Obamacare. And bad judicial appointments.

I don't know what will happen tonight. I know or I guess it will be close. I said yesterday that the world will go on regardless of who wins. But damn, do I want it to be Mitt Romney!

Tomorrow

I am not sure if anyone's mind is really on work today. I think we're all distracted, refreshing Drudge or twitter or FB. We know what tomorrow means, what could or should or won't happen. There are parties to plan, polls to analyze, predictions to make.

We know the world won't end tomorrow, even if the Obama presidency does not end. But a world of Obamacare, rising debt, increased taxes, stagnating growth, increased unemployment, and a less safe world could be consequences. It is ridiculous that the media is helping to cover up what happened in Benghazi, and I suspect if Obama is reelected, that will be his second term shame. 

We freak out because of so many anticipations we have, as we all want to change the direction of this country.  We want more freedom, more growth, respect for life, respect for initiative in small businesses built by the hard work of ordinary Americans, all of whom just want a better life for themselves and for the next generation.  We all want to see that shining city on the hill beam its brightness across the sea.

The Battle Hymn of the Republic has a rarely seen final verse which is appropriate here.

He is coming like the glory of the morning on the wave,
He is wisdom to the mighty, He is honor to the brave;
So the world shall be His footstool, and the soul of wrong His slave,
Our God is marching on.
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Our God is marching on. 

We want to see God in this election. And I am not callous enough to think the other side does not want that, too. But bigotry against people of faith is something I fear is growing accepted in this country, and I fear that four more years along the path we're currently treading upon will lead to further violations of conscience rights and a newer, accepted discrimination. The left of the Kennedy, of Rose Kennedy, would not accept this, would she?

We all have one vote (well, unless voter fraud is further perpetuated). We must trust in the people, and well, their lawyers too. And we know we can contribute time, talent, and treasure, but that is all we can do. Until tomorrow.

More Scenes From Sandy

Wow, these images are really devastating. #12...wow.  Those images of intact, standing homes only a door down from a burnt out shell. It reminded me of touring New Orleans after Katrina. We saw lots with only a set of stairs, but no building. Dwellings where once families resided. Where a Congressman resided, right? It can happen to anyone, with little warning, and no way to prevent it.

I know perspective if needed, when crappy things happen like a burst pipe or even minor house issues. And yeah, some times it is legitimately OK to be bummed about it. But wow...things are just things and most anything physical can be replaced. But mourning those things will occur. God bless all of those who lost anything in the storm.