The Debate

Just finished watching the debate and these are first impressions, as I remember.

Santorum – Has 7 kids….I actually fast forwarded through the rest of his remarks. Every time.

Gingrich – He would make one terrific history teacher; and somebody needs to give him a job in an administration, somewhere sometime doing something harmless (Secretary of Education?).

Bachman – She sure is pretty. $2 a gallon gas….Reagan said….something. Why didn’t they ask her about submitting to her husband? That sure is a pretty airplane they’re standing under.The hair is going to get in the way.

Romney – Romneycare (“Dammit, ask me about anything else – you put one little massive government program into place and that’s all they remember you for”). He’s smooth. But he didn’t answer any questions. He left no impression of any kind.

Paul – Wow – and not a good “wow”. He starts to make sense, then he’s off like the Roadrunner cutting a u-turn and heading back the other way.

Cain – Secretary of Commerce. Love the pizza. Got some good ideas but he's blown it weeks ago not knowing anything about foreign affairs.

Huntsman – He’s pretty too. Nice tan – absolutely incapable of answering a question without invoking Reagan. OK, Maybe I missed some flash of genius but the word that came to mind is “smarmy”.

Perry – OK, maybe I’m prejudiced as I’ve been following him for the last ten years. His flaw tonight? He answered the questions directly which is never good for a politician. On the other hand he stood by what he has said about social security (It’s a Ponzi scheme); immigration (boots on the ground, secure the border then we can talk); and Karl Rove has said a lot of over the top things. And to quote Ron White - "If you kill somebody in Texas, we're gonna kill you back!"

Politics Today

Been awhile - don't know if anybody's paying attention. But a few things popped up over the last couple of days.

As a member of the Legion I've got to say that whoever wrote the Won's speech did a good job of it. It was delivered nicely. Too bad he didn't mean any of it.

The Indianapolis Muslim Congressman who thinks we want blacks to be hanging from trees is probably too uneducated to know about black slavery under Muslims. If he's not uneducated then he's a poltroon, a racist, and a disgrace. I vote for the latter.

Sarah - we love you, but your expiration date is past.

Rudy, your expiration date is so far past you've soured. You were never going to be President - you couldn't even carry the New York of the South.

Michelle Bachmann - Really? "I don't know how much God has to do to get the attention of the politicians. We've had an earthquake; we've had a hurricane. He said, 'Are you going to start listening to me here?' " Even if that's a joke, people died in the hurricane. It's not funny and it shows that you're really not ready for this. Not all of us conservatives are that enamored of your version of Christianity.

Perry's unelectable. I still remember standing in a hall in Boston the first time I saw Ronald Reagan speak and heard the newsies saying how he was unelectable. I guess we'll see.

Is Romney ever going to admit that single payer doesn't work?

Keeping Austin Weird

That’s the catch-phrase here in my adopted city, the “liberal bastion” of Austin. A lady told me last week that the only bad thing about Austin is that 15 minutes after leaving the city you’re back in Texas with all the conservatives. I told her that was one of the best things about it. But it’s not just politics - last week I was sitting at a stop light at Red River and 6^th Street, right in the epicenter of keeping it weird when I was passed by four people on unicycles. I had about gotten used to the flocks of Segways that roll by every once in awhile, but four unicycles is still something to remark on. Kind of like the ostrich in my front yard a few years ago. Keeping it weird.

The Won stopped in Austin for a fundraiser last night. Oh sure, the El Paso trip was earlier in the day but he was preaching to Mexicans and illegals out there. Here was for grabbing money, and Austin is the only place in Texas weird enough to give him any. The rolling roadblocks to ease the motorcade through town were advertised all day so his arrival at 5 PM rush hour wouldn’t have any effect on the traffic. Hundreds of police cars blocked intersections 30 minutes before the motorcade rolled through so I had plenty of time to sit and watch what I used to take part in. I counted a bunch of Suburbans, including the latest cast of my brethren providing communications – hard to miss with that dome on top. I finally passed and it seemed a few people were excited to see it.

But. This morning I was at Jim’s, an old Austin establishment getting some breakfast at 5 AM. I’d about finished my migas when a couple of older gents came in and got their regular table and commenced the coffee drinking and problem solving. Of course I had to listen and it wasn’t hard to hear – “You know I like Obama, but I don’t see any reason that he couldn’t have met with Perry….he is the governor” – “Yeah and I don’t see any reason they haven’t released that federal money for the fires – didn’t take too long for Alabama – he had time to come and get some money here” “Yeah, I’m gonna have to think about that some”. And I heard more grousing like that today hanging around places where those things just aren’t said. After all - This is the place where “Obama is Awesome”.

Coffee Makers

Well----I wrote this one about a year ago too....I really need to catch up on what I intended to post. Oh and she WILL be responding to this one.

A couple of months ago the Significant Other Better Half Darling Wife (she HATES it when I refer to her this way and I WILL pay for it) and I were staying at a hotel and she wanted some coffee to relax after spending a little time at the casino. While brewing it up she had a brilliant idea that would eliminate all the coffee makers in all the rooms and make it much simpler for the guest to have coffee and the hotel to serve it. The idea? A central brewing facility in the basement of the hotel where fresh beans would be delivered by Juan Valdez then ground into the proper consistency and brewed in giant coffee makers. The prepared coffee would then be piped up to each room and delivered without all the hassle of putting the little bag in the filter container and pouring water into the spout on top.

I asked a couple of questions……

How much will this cost? “I don’t know but we’ll figure that out later, but I’ll bet I could do it for $11 million”.

What’s the benefit to the hotel? “Well, there may not be one, but I can have coffee right here in the room at any time I want it and it doesn’t matter what it costs!”

What happens to all the old coffee makers? “Well, throw them away of course!!!”

How do you keep it hot on the way to the room? “Well, I’ll work on that in the morning!!!”

How about the coffee maker manufacturers? “Well, who cares???? – What are you a sexist that thinks women can’t have good ideas??????? Just go to sleep – I can’t discuss this with you!!!!!!”

So I did.

In the morning I made coffee and reminded her of her brilliant scheme of the night before. Sober now she said, “What? That’s the dumbest thing I ever heard of.”

The only difference I can see between Obama’s plan to destroy the insurance industry and my darling wife’s coffee distribution plan is that she was sober the next morning.

The Difference

I wrote this about a year ago and forgot about it....

After I left the Army and my White House assignment I’ve worked several jobs and always come back to customer service. Now I’m in the most stress free thing ever – I drive limos and buses. I see everything from celebrities and business executives to people out on wine tours. I’m the guy at the airport with a black suit and your name on a card; most of the time I love it. I hear everything and officially remember nothing.

A few weeks ago a large company had their board meeting here in town. I picked up all the senior board members from their individual private jets and brought them downtown one at a time in a new sedan.

First arrival was a very well known CEO of an environmentally connected company – he advises Gore on carbon trading. I’d been warned by his staff that he tended to be forgetful about his personal bag and likely to leave it on the plane or in the car. There was a light drizzle when I arrived at the Gulfstream and the pilot handed out the bag. I greeted client as he deplaned and he said nothing He got under the umbrella and walked to the car. He didn’t say a word until “Driver, I need to go to a restroom.” I pulled around to the front of the terminal and he waited for me to get out (in the rain) and get the door and umbrella. He went inside and I moved the car under an awning and waited. He came back and we took off for downtown. The entire conversation was “Driver, how far to the hotel?” then 15 minutes later, “Driver, how much farther?” We pulled up in front and the bellman got the door; the gentleman went directly inside, saying nothing and leaving me literally holding the bag, which I turned over to the bellman. He didn’t forget it – he knew someone would take care of it.

An hour later the next arrival was an Assistant Secretary of State during the first Bush administration. I pulled up in front of the plane, still in a light drizzle and he came off with his own bag, waved away the umbrella and stuck out his hand for a shake and said “Hi, I’m John”. I responded, “Welcome Mr. Secretary, I’m John, too.” I took his bag and stowed it while he got in the car. He made two phone calls to let his staff know he had arrived, then we started talking – ‘John, how’s the economy here; John, how’s the politics here? What do you think of Hutchison running against Perry? and so on, all the way to the hotel. When we got there, he opened his door and grabbed his bag, waved off the bellman and again stuck his hand out – “John, thanks for the ride, I really enjoyed the conversation – hope to see you again tomorrow when I leave….”then turned to the bellman and spoke with him as I was leaving.

I’ve been doing this job off and on, with different companies, for about 10 years now. That day was so typical as to be commonplace. The self-described liberal “man of the people” very seldom is while the conservative business and political people always at the very least speak to the service providers as people. I saw this during my time at the White House during the Carter and Clinton administrations and I see it even more now that I’m ‘just the driver’.

A Lack of Empathy

I watched Mr Obama this morning giving what I thought was one of the worst speeches I've ever heard. And it finally hit me. The man has no empathy towards anyone who has ever been in danger or suffered any loss.
I was never in a combat zone. I was never a target. But I have had the crap scared out me many times on Air Force planes (near crash in Seoul on a C5A), in Army helicopters (nap of the earth in a Chinook in Honduras while "rebels" WERE shooting at us) and on the ground on the East German border when the Cold War was still pretty warm. I never "saw the elephant" but I stayed prepared to look for it. I am in awe of what our soldiers do every day. LT GW Bush never saw combat, but he was still a lieutenant in the United States armed forces and he strapped into the F102, a jet fighter that killed more than its share of pilots, and flew when and where he was told. He was also humbled by what the troops under his command accomplished. He understood.

Obama does not. This picture has been seen all over the internet. The President could have at least left his suit jacket on. Appearances matter to soldiers and what I see is a President trying to be casual and "cool" and a soldier who really doesn't appreciate the familiarity.
I heard him say yesterday that "I have muslim soldiers fighting in Afghanistan" and it struck a deep chord. We the people have soldiers in Afghanistan. Mr President, you are the commander in chief - you command - you do not own.

A Wrong Being Righted

The more I read, the older I get, the more I know, the more I regret voting for Richard Nixon in the first Presidential election for which I was eligible. Hit the title above to see what was done to a fine officer by Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger. Forty years later his reputation is being restored - but the man is dust in his grave and whatever consolation it gives to his widow and his children he died knowing he did right but was abandoned by his country.

The Ugliest Dog in Bastrop County

Well, she got him when she first moved to Texas, 13 years ago. He was in a litter by the side of the road, as so many puppies are. She brought him home unannounced and proclaimed that she could finally have a dog and he was going to be with her forever. And he was cute as puppies are – all black and fuzzy and nobody had a clue what breed. But that didn’t matter anyway. She named him BJ for “junior” after a dog she’d never known and she taught him to grab and tug the bottom of her jeans and run along beside her on her horse. But after a few months we started to notice that “cute” was turning into “strange looking” and finally after he’d gotten his full growth BJ was just plain ugly. People would stop by the house to visit and tactfully let you know that this was the strangest looking dog they’d ever seen. Now, not like the “ugly dog contest” or such, but just … well – ugly. He had black hair and red hair and stringy hair and fuzzy hair and textured red and black all mixed together all grown over his eyes. But he grew up and she grew up, turning into a young woman and moving away, and then moving closer. Apartment living would have killed BJ – he like to run through the cockleburs and roll in the horse stalls and he would not ever sit still for a bath. She pulled out the burrs and the smell finally wore off. He was a country dog. And in the last few months he either couldn’t see or hear, or he just ignored anybody he didn’t want to see. But every time she would come in he’d grab the bottom of her jeans and pull for all he had in him. And they’d roll around on the ground and play like the little kids they were when she first found him.

This morning I walked out and found BJ lying in the driveway, cold and still. And she came out behind me, took one look and knew the time had come. Tears and memories. She took his collar and I took care of the rest.

BJ is buried under the cockleburs he loved not far from a rabbit hole he haunted. I think he had a good life. He was loved and he’ll be missed. And I think that’s a pretty good epitaph for the Ugliest Dog in Bastrop County.