Bill's Notes

I'm off to San Diego for a convention for the new job. There will be lots of work getting because I need to get a handle on this market. But I may get over to La Jolla while I'm there. I'm renting a car on my dime. Might as well see the most stunning view in North America.

Last trip to San Diego was with D, and we drank mai tai's on this little restaurant overlooking the Coronado Bay, and stayed at this cheap hotel in a Mexican part of town. Lots of fun. When I was sobering up 16 years ago this fall, one of the hardest recurring memories I had to dispel was just how pleasant those mai tai's were ... things of bacchanalian beauty. D and I had a long conversation but I'm not at liberty to reveal the contents. Not long after we returned on that vacation she made an unfortunate error in judgment, don't know if it was related to that conversation, and well that knocked the wind out of both of our sails. Part of having to cope with the aftermath involved my sobering up. I'll never forget that I had to buy her a bottle of champagne to get her to tell the truth.

But that June we drove across the desert together. Flew into Phoenix first. She wanted to move there for some reason. She'd gotten into her head that Phoenix was beautiful. It was a hellhole-ish nightmare of Jack-in-the-Boxes, auto parts stores, and Circle K's. Perhaps it's nicer now. Of course Scottsdale and Tempe were beautiful. From Phoenix we drove to Los Angeles, but she hated LA (she'd given up on Phoenix though). We stayed at a bed and breakfast in Seal Beach. Jeez, this entry isn't going anywhere. The only cool part of this story I'm not going to tell you ... ok mebbe a hint ... the only bit of poetry involved some turquoise jewelry she bought contrasting against her tanned skin...she was quite beautiful. oh never mind. Well, now that I think of it, the cookies at the bed and breakfast were good, too. I have a pretty good memory for cookies. You know, now that I think about it, I've had memories of San Diego for years. It'll be fun to return.

BTW, sorry to Phoenix readers. Perhaps I was just in a bad section of town. FTR, I'm not thrilled with Las Vegas, either. Speaking of LV, I wish I was going to Comdex.

Jebus, this is getting duller than ever.

More random thoughts:

Why I like the Republicans, the short version: Because I can breathe easier around them. I don't get the sense they're judging my opinions or testing them against a template of correct opinions. Republicans allow me to live my life in peace. Which is what I want. Still, Dems have a compelling argument when they point out my car stinks ...

As much as I see this whole red v. blue paradigm as interesting, I can't help wonder: Isn't a disparity between the city and the country kind of an old story? Like, Sumerian old. Written on a Sumerian wall was the following: "Look at them city-slickers." "Ah, screw you, hicks."

Just because both sides of a political debate say the other side is delusional and insane doesn't mean that one side isn't right. Heh. I mean, when a shrink diagnoses someone as insane, you don't say, "Well, I think they both have a point."

But enough about me ... oh wait, this is my blog. This is where I dump my self-absorbed thoughts so I don't have to torment the people in my life with them. Go ahead, I just served it up. Knock it out of the park.

Hey, you know what wouldn't be funny ... if in the afterlife God tells us, oh yeah, the Dems were right. Bush stole the election in 2004. :)

Turns out that piece of land I bought in the Poconos may be worthless. That's just great, you know. The funny thing is I was warned ... and that's not the only time in my life I've been warned about something but blew it off and trusted someone, only to have to come back and haunt me. By worthless, I mean it may be a big, big hassle to get a driveway permit. But, the jury's still out on this.

I'm exhausted. I have an early flight tomorrow.

Don't know when I'll be back again.

If you got keys to my Poconos house, go ahead and have a party while I'm gone. Enjoy. That's what the house is for.

Oh yeah. The Red Sox won the Series. And Kerry lost. ZB, it looks like I'm off the hook.

That's all for now.

Some recriminations going on among the Blogosphere Left. For examples, head to to all the usual suspects (I'm not linking to them.)

Here's what I think. Two reasons Dems are losing:

1. Perception of contempt. People in the heartland think Dems don't think much of them. Claiming the people are morons, by the way, isn't very democratic. You can't be the populist party while condemning the beliefs of the populace.

2. Bill Clinton. You should have discovered by now that Clinton poisoned the well. Clinton was out for Clinton, but he won at your expense. Your party's reputation has been immeasurably damaged by him. Defend him at your own risk, because it will not be at his risk or his wife's risk.

UPDATE: My commenters SuperG and Harry seemed to have taken this as more Democrat bashing. I'm actually trying to be helpful. It turns out my initial fears when I wrote this post were well-founded; this post was seen as a post-election attack on Dems. (In fact, I pulled an earlier version of the post for just that reason.) So if this came across as excessively partisan or as condescending, I'm sorry.

I remind you that I am a former Democrat and to a certain extent my heart will always be with the Democratic Party. The Dems used to have a super-majority and for nearly 40 years owned the House of Representatives. They've lost a tremendous amount of ground just in the past 12 years. There's a reason for that.

There's a reason people like me who were lifelong loyal Dems left. I'm just trying to help explain why. If you don't listen or just cross-accuse the GOP, you're missing the point. Many of us would like to come home; we're exiles in the Republican Party. We didn't leave because we're greedy or we're stupid or we're bloodthirsty or we're just easily manipulated by Karl Rove's evil campaign machine. There's more to it than that.

I fully expected to be writing my own congratulations this morning to the Dems. I thought Kerry had it won, and by potentially a landslide. There was a lot of Kerry enthusiasm where I was, and a lot of Bush hatred. It turns out I live, work and hang out in those four counties in Pennsylvania that went 2-1 for Kerry. So I was boiling in the Kerry cauldron for quite a while now.

That also might account for some of my more intemperate remarks ... I saw very little support for the president in the past four years and especially during this election campaign, and heard a lot of calumnies heaped upon him, calumnies heaped sometimes by people I really respect. The constant effort of opposition was tiring me out. Partisan fever may have gotten the best of me, too. Sorry if anyone has been insulted out there.

I'm glad Bush won, but more important than victory, I think we all wanted a clean election. By yesterday afternoon, just seeing the size of the turnout, I was quite moved by the show of civic support. Better to be hot or cold than lukewarm ... This country deserves better than the bickering of the past four years. We Americans showed extraordinary patience and restraint yesterday, and we have shown that we are not the last generation of Americans, but just one. No terrorist is going to defeat a nation of 100 million American voters who line up and vote peacefully. Not in this generation. The next generation will make its choices, but the baton of civilization, so to speak, will have been passed to them.

The Dems fought tenaciously and well, and just fell short of pulling off a historic upset. And of course as one of the nations' two great and historic parties, they live to fight another day. Best of luck next time. We'll be here to oppose you then, too :)

Exhausting, overall.

Now, to work.

and correctly. It's not that difficult. Try to get it right this time. Remember: It's YOUR job to clearly signify to the rest of us for whom you want to vote. It is not our job to have to figure out your intentions. If, for example, you want to vote for Kerry, clearly knock out the entire hole-thingy and don't vote for Pat Buchanan or Andrew Cunanan. Mkay?

And vote for Bush!

Here's why. Here's how a Democratic presidency goes:

1. Oooooh! We won! Let's implement our Good Intentions to create Universal Justice.

2. It doesn't seem to working. As a matter of fact, it seems to be making things worse. How could our plan not be working? All the right people in the right places said this would work.

3. Choice time:
A. "I'd rather be popular than right" [Clinton].
B. "I'd rather be right than popular" [Carter].

4A. Things seem to be going much better now that we've stolen the Repubbies ideas and pretended they are ours. Plus, do you see how they howl? Man, this is more fun than being right! Hey, Monica, come over here and celebrate with me. Yeah, bring the pizza.

4B. Capitalism doesn't work. Life sucks. Socialism should work but people are too selfish. We need to transform people and create socialist individuals by radical re-education.

Will Kerry's choice be A or B? Ultimately, we're counting that Kerry would rather be popular than right. Don't count on it.

OK, in fairness, here's how a Republican presidency goes.

1. Mwahahahahahahahah! Our evil designs have unfolded exactly as I have foreseen. Fully implement our Bad Intentions and create Universal Injustice. Bwahahahaha! Bwahahahahahahah! [Assorted demonic cackles.]

2. It doesn't seem to be working. Drats! Foiled again. If anything, our evil plans seem to be making things better. This always happens.

3. Choice time.
A. Martini.
B. G & T.

4A. Aaaah! That's better. Think we'll at least get credit for accidentally improving things? Bah. Who cares? Hey you, say hello to the bad guy.
4B. Another, please. Make it a double. I'm going to be here a while, so might as well run a tab.
__________________

Whatever happens, I want it to be OVER by tomorrow evening. And I'll be that most of you agree out there, no matter what side of the fence you're on.

*************************************

Let's also remember perspective, and yes I'm aware I violate this particular issue when it comes to the Yankees and politics.

Heaven is not one of the 50 states. We Christians are pilgrims on our way to another world and thus strangers even here in America. This election is a worldly thing, it's about worldly values, it concerns worldly issues and thus entirely about things that are subject to their own futility and will pass away and become dust.

Yes, I love the United States. I served it. And I'll serve it again, God willing, when I retire. But it ain't home, if you know what I mean.

May God grant you grace to choose wisely tomorrow. Pax.

Have you ever noticed that criminals almost always perceive themselves as victims?

Talk to them. In many cases, they insist that they are the aggrieved party.

What worries me about this election is the Democrats have become those "victimized" criminals. With the imagined electoral crimes of Florida (which the Dems' were prevented from committing) still in their heads, my biggest fear is the Dems and their team of 10,000 lawyers will attempt to steal this election. And they'll succeed.

And as Republicans, we'll just have to take it for the good of the country. Ack.

Another reason Bush needs to win big. As Hugh Hewitt says, if it's not close, they can't cheat.

UPDATE: Same idea, better version here.

This sums up my thoughts on this election before than I did in my endorsement post.

A Central Washington political science professor says:

In that this will be my last column before the presidential election, there will be no sarcasm, no attempts at witty repartee. The topic is too serious, and the stakes are too high.

This November we will vote in the only election during our lifetime that will truly matter. Because America is at a once-in-a-generation crossroads, more than an election hangs in the balance. Down one path lies retreat, abdication and a reign of ambivalence.

Down the other lies a nation that is aware of it's past and accepts the daunting obligation its future demands. If we choose poorly, the consequences will echo through the next 50 years of history. If we, in a spasm of frustration, turn out the current occupant of the White House, the message to the world and ourselves will be two-fold. First, we will reject the notion that America can do big things. Once a nation that tamed a frontier, stood down the Nazis and stood upon the moon, we will announce to the world that bringing democracy to the Middle East is too big of a task for us. But more significantly, we will signal to future presidents that as voters, we are unwilling to tackle difficult challenges, preferring caution to boldness, embracing the mediocrity that has characterized other civilizations.

The defeat of President Bush will send a chilling message to future presidents who may need to make difficult, yet unpopular decisions. America has always been a nation that rises to the demands of history regardless of the costs or appeal. If we turn away from that legacy, we turn away from whom we are.

Second, we inform every terrorist organization on the globe that the lesson of Somalia was well-learned. In Somalia we showed terrorists that you don't need to defeat America on the battlefield when you can defeat them in the newsroom. They learned that a wounded America can become a defeated America. Twenty-four-hour news stations and daily tracing polls will do the heavy lifting, turning a cut into a fatal blow. Except that Iraq is Somalia times 10. The election of John Kerry will serve notice to every terrorist in every cave that the soft underbelly of American power is the timidity of American voters. Terrorists will know that a steady stream of grisly photos for CNN is all you need to break the will of the American people. Our own self-doubt will take it from there. Bin Laden will recognize that he can topple any American administration without setting foot on the homeland.

It is said that America's W.W.II generation is its 'greatest generation'. But my greatest fear is that it will become known as America's 'last generation.' Born in the bleakness of the Great depression and hardened in the fire of W.W. II, they may be the last American generation that understands the meaning of duty, honor and sacrifice. It is difficult to admit, but I know these terms are spoken with only hollow detachment by many (but not all) in my generation. Too many citizens today mistake 'living in America' as 'being an American.' But America has always been more of an idea than a place. When you sign on, you do more than buy real estate. You accept a set of values and responsibilities.

This November, my generation, which has been absent too long, must grasp the obligation that comes with being an American, or fade into the oblivion they may deserve. I believe that 100 years from now historians will look back at the election of 2004 and see it as the decisive election of our century. Depending on the outcome, they will describe it as the moment America joined the ranks of ordinary nations; or they will describe it as the moment the prodigal sons and daughters of the greatest generation accepted their burden as caretakers of the City on the Hill."

(Emphases mine.)

One thing I've noticed just in my immediate social circle is that those of who are voting for Bush tend to be those that have served their country, either in the military or in the U.S. Peace Corps. Those who never took that time out for their country perhaps feel differently about America.

We've seen the barbarians inside the gates. We've got a place to fight them — Iraq. And we've got a leader willing to fight it. And that leader faces a candidate who says the barbarians are a criminal problem, that we're not at war and who has a history of pacifism.

The choice could not be more clear. God tests the hearts of men. Each generation gets tested in his own way. For some, they are broken by their warlike tendencies. Some are sifted by their intolerance. Some are tested by their repression. These are not the flaws of our generation. Ours are the opposite of these tendencies — we are being tested to see if we will take a stand on anything, to see if we believe there is anything worth fighting for beyond our self-interest, and to see if we are still men and women enough to persevere in that fight.

A vote for Bush is a vote to persevere. A vote for Kerry is to break faith with past generations and live off the fruits of their labor, including, by the way, their religious capital. And our children, and their children, will suffer for it — even if they choose to restore the faith.

God, help us all to choose wisely.

Ugh.

Societies don't always progress. Sometimes they rot.

Terrible nightmare last night. Woke me up. I dreamt John Kerry won the election. The streets were filled with cheering people. Ack.

Just a bad dream. It was just a bad dream....