A couple quick thoughts while I'm extremely intoxicated after a marvelous meal with a bottle of 1992 Peter Michael "Les Pavots" (and a couple of Beck's while I prepared it)...
I still owe a number of thank you notes to all those that helped on the MDA Telethon. Work has been more than the usual bear of late. My apologies.
Daughter #1 (a sophomore in high school) and about ten of her friends got together and convinced a local business (The Alpine Shop) to let them run a car wash today in their parking lot to benefit the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Furthermore, they got another local business (Famous Barr, well, local until May bought our Federated last month and decided to turn all Famous Barr stores into Macy's) to match their efforts. Washing cars, they raised $800, which when matched by Famous Barr, uh, I mean Macy's, is $1,600. Kind of puts my recent efforts to help the Muscular Dystrophy Association to shame. Either that, or some people find it easier to open their wallets in person when 15- and 16-year old girls are washing cars in bikinis than when a middle-aged man begs online. Hey, whatever works.
Oh yes, and Howard Dean can go fuck himself for suggesting that I and my daughter are racists. As if I would ever consider voting for a Democrat again. And yes, it has happened before, but I can assure you it will never happen again. And yes, that is the first time I have uttered an unexpurgated R-rated epithet on this blog. But Howard Dean has earned it.
My feelings on the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina have been expressed in comments to various posts on Protein Wisdom, Outside the Beltway, Daily Pundit, and The Fat Guy, all of whom can be found on the blogrolls to the left. Scott and Jeff have fully captured my sense of outrage and shock at the collective ignorance and painful partisan stupidity of all leading Democrats, many Republicans, and most of Big Media. Suffice it to say that, "Damn the constitution, people are suffering", reminds me of nothing more than the aphorism that the road to Hell is paved with good intentions.
On a blog front, I've been 1-5 days ahead in my assorted comments to a lot of posts that Glenn Reynolds has linked, but a lot of good it's done me. Ack, that's one of the frustrations of being a second-tier blogger. Or is it third-tier?
Did I mention that my wife has authored and self-published a book? If you ask nicely, I'm sure I can get her and her other to autograph one for you.
Still deciding on whether to fold up this blog or not. On the one hand there is my honor and integrity, such as it is, and on the other there is the clamor of those who have become accustomed to my regular threats to quit and would miss them should I actually follow through. The conundrum I face can best be understood by knowing that I haven't found the time nor will to Scourge Richard Cohen's latest column, which is silly even for him.
Oh boy, I got to watch Ohio State and Michigan (that's two years in a row Michigan has outplayed Notre Dame and lost) choke on the same day and together with Iowa drag the Big 10 down the BCS toilet for yet another year. I would note that should Illinois win the Big 10, highly unlikely though that might be, they would yet again be cheated out of playing in the Rose Bowl, since every five years the execrable BCS rotates to the Rose Bowl. And this year, as in 2001 when the Fighting Illini won the Big 10 but had to play LSU in the Sugar Bowl, the Big 10 champion will only pay in the Rose Bowl if the grand poobahs of television money decide that the Big 10 champion is one of the two top teams in the coutry. That's not going to happen now, with all three Big 10 teams ranked in the top 10 losing on the same day. So, thanks to the NCAA, the Fighting Illini will have played in their last Rose Bowl in 1984, no matter how well Ron Zook gets them to play this year or in any subsequent year. As if I needed another reason to dislike Michigan, Ohio State, Iowa, or the NCAA.
Consolation prize: I get to watch the first full weekend of the NFL on my new Sony 55" HDTV. Living well truly is the best revenge.
I think I'll get the paperwork for my CCW license started next week. I've already taken care of the food, water, and other emergency supplies necessary to last 7 days in the event of an emergency. Given the gun grabbing tendencies of the NOPD when the shit hits the fan, this seems as good a time as any. I have to admit, the NRA slogan "They can take my gun when they pry it from my cold, dead fingers" has never seemed quite so apropos.
I haven't setled completely on what to do yet, but I'm thinking about folding this blog up and starting a new one called "My Life Among the Savages", because that is what reading papers and blogs feels like these days. The savages are the people who believe in magic to fix problems, evil spirits who bedevil their existence, tribalism, authority without commensurate responsibility for themselves, responsibility without commensurate authority for those with whom they disagree, and rewriting history whenever it becomes inconvenient -- amongst other egregious sins against humanity.
The battle against the darkness is becoming fierce.
DOWNDATE: Yep, savages. Starting with Tim Russert this morning. What a disgraceful performance, and make no mistake, it was a performance. Just notice how hostile and animated "non-partisan" Tim is when he asking a question about the "failures" of the federal government, and how softlly he lobs the questions about the "failures" of the state and local officials. And I would have thought that someone who worked at such a high level for the former governor of New York would have understood why the federal government doesn't sweep in and take over cities days before a disaster occurs. And as for Timmy's virtual demand that, "heads have to roll", well, I guess I hadn't realized until now that the Left really did long for the days of the French Revolution. Vive la terror!
Hindsight is such a wonderful thing, almost as good as a magic wand.