Play that ol' slide

Haven't blogged in awhile, don't feel like I have much to say. So I'll leave you with this video to enjoy. Take 3 minutes and relax to an excellent little trombone solo:

The Olympics

I've been struggling with the whole China-is-hosting-the-Olympics thing. On the one hand, they have a horrible human rights record, imprisoning political dissidents and persecuting Christians. Should we really be accepting that? And feting them, their country, their government?

On the other hand, I remember the U.S. boycotting the 1980 Olympics in the Soviet Union, and them returning the favor in 1984 when they were in L.A. What, precisely, did that accomplish?

Back to the first hand, you have this and this making pretty strong arguments on their own about why we should be upset that China is hosting the Games. They limit the very freedoms that we hold so dear here in America. No freedom of speech, no freedom of religion, no freedom to petition or protest. They are also hacking into the computers of members of OUR government, looking for the names and addresses of political dissidents who have fled that oppressive regime.

I want to support our athletes - but I want to protest Beijing. How does one square the two?

Global warming is good! No wait, bad! No wait, the earth is cooling!

Seriously, what's a girl to believe? Well, I'll tell you this much. There's enough scientists out there who don't believe in the myth of man-made global warming. And there's enough data out there that shows the earth warms and cools naturally, with no regard to man-kind. And this article shows that increases in carbon dioxide are also helping increase vegetation on the planet.

Could it be we're not nearly as important as we think we are?

But if that's the case, then what would Little Jackie sing about?

Clearly a lack of D.C. landmarks

I was on the Web site today of one of my favorite restaurants in the city, Central by Michel Richard. (Stay with me here, this isn't a restaurant review, though I would give it a good one).

Anyway, as I was looking for some information, I noticed something odd -- this Washington, D.C. restaurant has, featured prominently all over it's site, the Statue of Liberty. You know, the one in NEW YORK CITY.

I guess Washington, D.C. doesn't have any recognizable landmarks? I mean, it's not like we have the White House. Or the Lincoln Memorial. Or the Washington Monument. Or the Capitol of the United States of America. Bummer that a restaurant in our city has no landmarks of its own to promote on its Web site.

This is seriously going to bug me until they fix it, but as there is no way to contact someone via the Web site, they probably won't ever know. Sigh.

I am an apple

OK, I admit to being one those people. You know, the type that takes every personality quiz known to man. "Which Jane Austen character are you?" "What color are you?" "Are you an introvert or an extrovert?"

Yadda yadda yadda

But the following quiz nailed my personality better than any other one I've ever taken.

For the record, before you take it yourself, I'll disclose that I am an "apple."

THIS IS QUITE REMARKABLE, PLEASE DON'T CHEAT!

In the middle of the table is a round food tray with five kinds of
fruits on it. They are:

A. Apple
B. Banana
C. Strawberry
D. Peach
E. Orange

Which fruit will you choose? Please think VERY carefully and don't
rush into it. This is great, I was astounded! Your choice reveals a lot about you!

Test results: Please SCROLL DOWN

If you have chosen:

A. Apple: That means you are a person who loves to eat apples

B. Banana: That means you are a person who loves to eat bananas

C. Strawberry: That means you are a person who loves to eat
strawberries

D. Peach: That means you are a person who loves to eat peaches

E. Orange : That means you are a person who loves to eat oranges

I hope you find fulfillment in this new insight about yourself. May it bring you peace and understanding, tranquility and all that other profound stuff.

Angst

There's been a lot of hand wringing and angst amongst my fellow conservatives over the rise of John McCain as the presumptive GOP nominee. Some have even seen his rise as the death of conservatism.

Do these people really think so little of our cause? Our beliefs? Their fellows?

I understand where the angst comes from - but I'm not here to argue about whether a "good" conservative can vote for McCain or if one who does is actually a "bad" conservative (or, as is implied in many quarters, not a conservative at all).

My beef with these arguments, at the end of the day, is how demeaning and belittling they are to those of us who are in the conservative "movement" (whatever THAT even means).

How in the world can people imply, with a straight face, that conservative beliefs and ideals will fly out the window with the election of John McCain? How in the world can they think so little of the various causes and supporters of those causes in America, to think they would just *poof* disappear?

So on Wednesday, November 5, the pro-life movement will cease to exist? The tax reform movement will cease to exist? The home-school network, the private property rights, the defense of marriage, the kill-the-death-taxers will just crumple and die? They will just curl up into a fetal position and take whatever whipping given to them by the Moderate Establishment President John McCain and the RNC?

Give me a break. Anyone who tries to make that argument, in my opinion, simply doesn't have a real working knowledge of these groups, the people running them, the members and most importantly the passion that drives them.

I don't know if John McCain will be good for the conservative movement. Maybe (likely?) he won't be. But I'm not prepared to write the obituary for the conservative movement yet. Maybe, just maybe, we've been too fragmented and he'll accomplish something unforeseen - he'll unite us.

The importance of cross tabs

So many people look at a poll of public opinion and just see the top numbers. Candidate A has 55%, Candidate B has 45%. They never look into the particulars of where that support comes from (otherwise known as cross tabs) for each candidate.

That's why this quote from the March 5 edition of the New York Times is so intriguing:

"Mrs. Clinton maintained an edge over Mr. Obama among women, whites, Hispanics, older voters and those with less education. Mr. Obama continued to edge her out among men, blacks, younger voters and those with more education, according to an exit poll conducted statewide by Edison/Mitofsky for the National Election Pool."

So she has trouble with blacks and younger voters, and he has trouble with older voters. This is significant. If she gets the nomination, all his new support is disenfranchised and doesn’t go to the polls. If he gets the nomination, the old folks look to McCain because "he’s one of them."

Hmmm. While November 2008 is a long ways off, suddenly I’m thinking it might not be so bad to be a Republican.