Gov. Huckabee on SNL

I'm a little late on posting this, but funny none the less.






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Rove on O'Reilly

This was pretty good analysis by Karl Rove, and he also reinforces what I've been saying all along about the state of our party:




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Romney Bows Out

Mitt Romney suspended (practically withdrawing from the race) his campaign for the Republican nomination today.

In a charismatic delivery to the Conservative Political Action Conference, I was impressed with his selflessness and gracious nature of the speech he gave. Highlighting conservative values before making his announcement, he all but endorsed John McCain by saying more is a stake in this election then a political ideology.

Commenting on the alternative of a Democrat winning the White House, Romney said that, “In this time of war, I simply cannot let my campaign be a part of aiding a surrender to terror.”

Obviously directed toward Hillary and Obama, Romney continued by saying, “If this were only about me, I'd go on. But it's never been only about me. I entered this race because I love America, and because I love America, in this time of war I feel I have to now stand aside for our party and for our country.”

Those comments alone underline the need for unity within our party and sends a message to conservatives: Get behind McCain so we can win in November.

Ultimately, Romney was quite animated in his speech and noble in his actions. Nobility and having the ability to rise above one’s self interests is something you don’t see out of many politicians in Washington, and it’s something that bodes well for him in his political future.

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TFA: Lift-off!

Since the space shuttle Atlantis will be launching today (barring technical difficulties and weather), I thought it might be a good time to blog about my live experience of a shuttle launch.

Anyone who knows me understands how much of a dork I am about NASA and the exploration of space. It’s something that’s obviously a risky enterprise, but to me has romantic appeal, analogous to venturing westward in 19^th century America.

Once I found myself in Florida, taking a trip to Cape Canaveral to watch a shuttle launch was at the top of my list. On August 8^th, 2007, I got to mark it off.

A group of us decided to make the trip from Ft. Lauderdale to the coastal town of Titusville, Florida where we would watch the launch of the space shuttle Endeavour. The drive was anything but glamorous, but when we got closer to our destination, we started to see a spattering of cars parked on the side of Highway 1. The closer we got, the more these groups grew and the more I became amazed at how many people actually watched a shuttle launch.

By the time we arrived in Titusville, the number of spectators had grown into a mass of humanity that stood on a packed shoreline waiting to catch a glimpse of Endeavour.

Pushing through the crowds, we finally found our own spot to patiently await the launch. With binoculars in hand, I gazed through and began to skim the horizon. It was a fairly hazy day and the binoculars had a hard time focusing in on Merritt Island over the bay, but I knew exactly what I was looking for – Launch Pad 39A.

From my vantage point, I knew the launch pad was to the left, or north of NASA’s Vehicle Assembly Building (a huge, rectangular building that preps and houses the shuttle). After locating the exact position of the pad, I stood patiently, waiting for the final countdown.

With personal radios and car stereos blaring the NASA audio feed, the time had finally arrived. With bated breath and child-like anticipation, I watched and listened as the final seconds arrived: 3, 2, 1 . . . Lift-off!

While taking pictures with my camera and describing the launch to a friend over the phone, I gazed across the bay in amazement. Plumes of smoke shot out from the launch pad and an orange glow from the rockets illuminated and pierced through the haze. A few seconds later, the shuttle was clear of the tower and miasma she had created. While captivated by the view, the sounds and vibrations of the launch hadn’t reached us yet. The silence the shuttle ascended in seemed unnatural, but like rolling thunder from a spring storm, Endeavour eventually let us know that she was there.

The entire experience of being at a live launch lasted no longer then two minutes. To some, the build-up may have over hyped the actual event, but I personally got to witness a childhood dream come true that I will never be able to adequately describe.

Either way, a space shuttle launch is something that everyone should definitely see.

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The Future of the Republican Party

The party of Lincoln, Eisenhower and Reagan is in trouble.

At least that’s what every hard right-winger would have you believe.

Over the past couple of months, talking heads from Limbaugh to no-name political pundits have said that our party is a house divided and crumbling. It’s a house that no longer reflects the ideals of Reagan and true conservative values.

I have a different take on the other hand.

I feel that it’s a house of progressive change that is starting to show the beliefs of moderate, mainstream America by burying the tradition of preserving the status quo.

The future of our party is moderates like Giuliani and McCain who can embrace the other side of the aisle. It’s a future that will hold on to core Republican ideas such as lower taxes, smaller government and strong defense, but opens it’s mind to true freedoms that government shouldn’t give a damn about like the right for a gay couple to pursue marriage and a woman’s right to choose.

I would even argue that Reagan himself would be happy of the path our party is going today (minus a couple of domestic issues here and there). It was he who showed a strong arm to Iran, the USSR and communism world wide. It was he who signed the largest tax cut in American history in 1981. And after all, it was he who gave millions of illegal immigrants citizenship status by granting amnesty in the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986.

It’s a “compassionate conservative” message that carries though to today with George W. Bush, and it’s why I still support him in his waning days in office.

Rush Limbaugh and others who invoke the name of Reagan and say he would never approve of McCain or Giuliani obviously never paid attention to Reagan’s politics. Limbaugh and others are only citing the name and image of Reagan to pursue a political philosophy over a party platform by trying to mold the GOP into something it’s not.

Do I believe our Grand Old Party has the ability to embrace moderates and conservatives?

If the talking heads have their way and hard, right-wing conservatives run the GOP by playing on your emotions, then no and I would worry about the direction of the party.

But, if our party is to be led by moderate (i.e. open-minded) leadership like the three former presidents mentioned at the beginning of this blog, then with out a doubt, the GOP will remain strong.

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RCP: Will the Reagan Era End Today?

Washington Post: Limbaugh on McCain

The Denver Post: Conservatives vs. McCain

The Money Race

Have you ever wondered if a friend really is a Republican or Democrat? How about a celebrity and who they gave their hard earned money to?

You can check that info out (and waste tons of time) at the Federal Election Commission’s website or at FundRace 2008.

Federal Election Commission

FundRace 2008

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RE: Mac is Back

After watching the final Republican debate before Super Tuesday last night, I was impressed with every candidate except Senator McCain.

I may agree with a majority of his views, but he carried himself poorly in my opinion. Throughout most of the evening, he had a look of contempt when jibes were thrown his way as if he were above the insults. Because of that, you can tell that the senator has a short fuse with little patients (which scares me a bit), and ultimately responded to his cohorts average at best.

On Romney, I do think that he would make an exceptional nominee, but I’m not confident in his ability to compete with Clinton or Obama.

None the less, McCain’s straight talk (minus the cheap shot at Romney about an Iraq timetable) carried though in this debate.

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CNN: Debate Transcript

Mac is Back

Of the Republican candidates left in the field, none were considered a front runner.

Last night changed that.

McCain used his momentum from South Carolina to capture a state that just two weeks ago belonged to McCain’s close friend, Rudy Giuliani. Consequently, Giuliani will be dropping out of the race and endorsing McCain as early as today (my prediction in an October ’07 post turned out to be a bit off).

But even with victory, the senator has a long road ahead.

McCain will have to convince the conservatives of the party (Romney and Huckabee followers) to join his cause. He’ll need to silence critics within the party (Limbaugh and others) and show that he can be the uniter of all Republicans, moderate and conservatives alike.

I was a Giuliani supporter, so it won’t be difficult for me to back another moderate candidate. The hard right on the other hand needs to realize that a moderate Republican is our best chance to win in November.

On CNN’s post primary coverage, Wolf Blitzer interviewed Mrs. Clinton and asked her what she would do on day one in the Oval Office if elected. Her response, which included immediate withdraw from Iraq and the expansion of socialized medicine, should scare every Republican into action.

On the other hand, if we don’t move into action, a Clinton or Obama in the White House is exactly what we’ll get.

McCain leads in most Super Tuesday states and will probably win a majority of the delegates come February 5th. Because of his inevitable victory, it’s time we put our support behind a decorated war hero, a proven senator and a candidate who can embrace the full diversity of our party.

It’s time we get aboard the Straight Talk Express.

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Florida Results

CNN: Clinton Transcript

The State of a President

Legacy, legacy, legacy.

That’s all you hear about Bush these days from pundits. When reporters recently asked the president about his legacy, he quipped in typical Bush fashion and proclaimed that history would be his judge.

After listening to the State of the Union speech last night, it’s clear that the president is doing just that.

In what was called a conciliatory speech, there were also references to a number of divisive issues close the presidents heart from the security of Iraq to immigration. It was surprising but refreshing to hear a president in his final year deliver his remaining to-do list in a passionate way.

Granted, every issue won’t be resolved or even addressed in an election year, but let’s not forget that they, in the words of the president, are in Washington to, “set forth to do their [the peoples] business.”

In short, they still have a job to do.

So, in his final year, will Bush continue to be an advocate of Republican ideals? Will he push for permanent tax cuts and strengthen this weak economy? Will he convey a compassionate and “humane way” of dealing with immigration? Will he continue to stand strong on Iraq that has stabilized due to a successful trop surge?

Most definitely, yes.

Will it be easy? Absolutely not.

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Link: 2008 State of the Union Address

Impressions from the First ’08 Primary

After watching the results roll in this past Tuesday and the subsequent speeches from the Democratic and GOP contenders, the one candidate I was most impressed with was Barack Obama.

He may be on the wrong side of the fence on a majority of the issues, but his presentation that followed the final results was concise and eloquent. Unlike Hillary, he’s very likable and doesn’t struggle to show himself as human. It’s easy to see why he’s been crowned the media darling, let alone why so many Democrats are starting to flock toward his camp.

I’m interested to see if Hillary can continue her momentum from her New Hampshire win, but it won’t be easy.

On the GOP side, McCain (who I like more and more) took the win with enthusiastic chants of “Mac-at-tack” cheering him on. His speech was average at best, but his content held true to what he’s preached on the campaign trail. He’s never wavered on Iraq and I like his approach toward immigration.

Giuliani is and has been my first choice for the GOP nomination, but if McCain ended up winning, I wouldn’t be disappointed.

So, who left me with the worst impression Tuesday night? That honor went to John Edwards, hands down. He’s a broken record from ’04 and he needs to withdraw from the race all together.

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CNN: Election Center 2008

Newsweek: Bush Shakes up ’08 Iraq Debate

The Weekly Standard: The Surge Effect

TFA: A Very Dirty Job

Each member of the Weatherbird had a specific reason why they were hired with Planktos. I was obviously hired to install a computer infrastructure, but being the IT guy wouldn’t be the only hat I would wear while I was there.

Let me elaborate.

Planktos is just like any other start-up company when it comes to a budget. A purchasing priority needed to be set, and in the beginning, IT was not at the top of the list.

I would end up being recruited on a wide variety of projects that mostly included the needs of a boat that had been in drydock for a while. I knew when signing up with Planktos that their mission was to restore the ecology of the seas, but I didn’t realize the boat herself would turn into a restoration project.

Painting would become the Weatherbird’s primary need.

Now, let me say this right now – I hate to paint. To me, it’s tedious, boring and downright awful. As it would turn out (and just my luck), every damn thing on that boat needed to be painted from the deck to sections of engineering.

One of the many restoration projects in which the Weatherbird needed was the cleaning and painting of the two main water tanks.

These tanks were only accessible through engineering which rested below the decks of the boat. If there was a word to describe the constant temperature of the engine and generator rooms that comprised the engineering deck, hell would be my word of choice.

When working inside these tanks, it was hot and damp like a sauna on steroids. The tanks were the size of a large closet, but divided into sections by steal dividers. There was an opening in the center of these dividers which allowed you to reach each section, but the further away from the entrance you went, the less fresh air you received. Granted, these entrances led to the hot, stuffy air in the engine room, but it was ten times better then the environment of those tanks.

Those surroundings are what I imagine Dante’s sixth circle of hell to be like, minus the heretics. They were nothing more then an oven, courtesy of the mid day sun beating down on the deck above our heads.

I can’t describe how dirty that particular job really was, and it’s a job that Mike Rowe and crew needed to be present at. A Dirty Jobs video would probably give the water tank job the dirty title it deserves, but my blog will have to do for now.

Either way, it’s a job I hope to never do again.

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Overseas Interest

I’m always interested in what other countries think of our democratic process when it comes to electing a president.

To us, it can be a long and drawn out process which now lasts the better part of a year. It is a full fledged, year long marathon that has become the interest of a growing number of countries overseas (with the help of the 2000 election, I’m sure).

We may get tired of the caucuses and primaries, but it’s a process that ultimately works.

From The Telegraph: The Splendid Theatre of American Democracy

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Support the WGA

As many of you know, the Writers Guild of America went on strike in early November to get fair compensation for its writers.

Tonight, Letterman finally returns to the airwaves for the first time in over two months, but only after negotiating directly with the WGA and his writers.

The studios should take a line from Letterman and actually sit down with the WGA instead of ignoring calls for negotiation.

Show your support for the WGA by going to fans4writers.com!

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TFA: A Safari in Florida

When you think of Florida, what do you think of? South Beach? The Keys? Alligators maybe?


How about monkeys?


I wouldn’t think so either, but as it turns out, there was a nice little community of them living down the way from where the Weatherbird was first docked.


When we arrived in Fort Lauderdale from Norfolk, we spent or first six weeks at the Dania Cut shipping yard. While we were there, we met the wonderful crew of the Sirenuse, a luxury yacht docked next to us.


After being invited over to their boat for a tour and drinks, both crews decided to continue the evening by going to dinner. We traded various stories, but the one that drew the most attention had nothing to do with the sea.


The first mate of the Sirenuse asked, “So, has anyone seen the monkeys yet?”


We all looked at each other and asked laughingly, “What?”


According to the first mate, there was a community of monkeys living right outside the gate of the docks we were at. They apparently had been left there because they escaped from a Hollywood set that filmed there years before.


After hearing the explanation, we all blew it off as bull and continued the evening.


The next morning, my curiosity (or naivety) got the best of me. I decided that after breakfast I would secretly sneak away from the boat and see for myself if the monkey story was legit. I didn’t want too many people to know because who in their right mind would go looking for monkeys in Florida?


As I was walking off the boat, the first mate of the Sirenuse was on deck of his boat. He saw me walking off the Weatherbird with a banana in my hand.


He said, “Do you have a camera?”


“On my phone, yeah.”


“Well,” he said, “be sure to take lots of pictures because no one will believe you if you see them.”


Laughing, I said, “Ok, but I’m just hoping I don’t look like a fool, waving a banana in the air trying to snag a picture of a monkey.”

With that, I started out of the docks, past the gates and walked down a lone road flanked by trees. Walking to the corner that was the center of discussion, I had my head down looking at some missed calls I had on my phone. When I arrived, I looked up and out of the corner of my eye, I saw an animal sitting on a tree stump. I looked over and to my amazement, there was a monkey staring right at me.

Unprepared, I put my phone back in my pocket and peeled the banana I had. I tossed the banana in the little guy’s direction. Curious with what I just did, he jumps around for a bit, but then decides to examine what I threw his way. After he deems it safe, he begins to eat the banana. While he’s doing this, I get out my phone and take as many pictures as possible before he runs off. Amazingly, he never does.

With this newly acquired evidence, I go back to the boat and proclaim that the story is true. Everyone immediately decides to go see for themselves. On this second trip however, the full monkey community made themselves known (mainly because we were all carrying bananas and apples I think).

Ironically during my entire stay in Florida, I would never see an alligator, but I guess I’ll take the wild encounters of a semi-trained, escaped Hollywood monkey instead.

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A Long Way to Go

This morning I got up and had my usual cup o’ Joe and started browsing through the Sunday morning headlines.

One particular headline caught my eye in the Dallas Morning News. It read, “Northern Iraqi Women Increasingly Attempting Suicide” with the byline, “Feeling hopeless about life, some women in Iraqi Kurdistan set themselves on fire, then suffer through survival.”

It was a pretty powerful headline for early morning reading and so was the article.

A couple of blogs back, I posted a link that highlights some of the policies that have actually been successful for the president in 2007. The troop surge is one of them.

Now that stability is finally taking hold because of that surge, it seems that humanitarian aid programs need to be increased through (dare I say it) the UN. The DMN article highlights a glaring need for it.

With their jobs nearly complete, the big guns of the 1^st Calvary and other divisions in Iraq are drawing to a close, but the humanitarian efforts will continue for years to come. I hope that we put as much attention and effort into the mission that is the Iraqi people as we did in dismantling an oppressive regime.

We gave them a new beginning. It’s our job to make sure they have the opportunity to live it.

DMN Article: Northern Iraqi Women Increasingly Attempting Suicide

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Funny Quote

I was on a forum this afternoon catching up on current events and opinions when I came across the quote below. It's probably not as funny as I think, but I found it amusing none the less.

If you have a friend that's a midge, I apologize in advance.

Quote: Support the 2^nd Amendment. The Democrats can have my guns when midgets rule the earth."

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A Very Good Year . . . Sort of

Back to politics for a moment, it seems our president had a decent year, minus the approval ratings of course.

Washington Times: Bush’s Very Good Year

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TFA: Deadliest Catch Redux

I’ve always had respect for the mountains. They’re beautiful, majestic and exhilarating at the same time. At the age of seven, I remember standing at the peak of Mt. Engineer in Colorado with my dad’s jacket on to keep me warm. It was an amazing view that I barely remember. Ever since then, my love for the mountains has been imprinted on my soul.

The ocean on the other hand is a different story. I was indifferent. Other than the footage I’ve seen on various Discovery Channel shows and the tranquility of walking on a beach, I really didn’t know what to expect.

When we departed Norfolk for Fort Lauderdale in early April, it was a cool, crisp and calm afternoon; it wouldn’t stay that way.

Later that night around Cape Hatteras off of the North Carolina coast, we would be hit by a late season cold front that we knew was coming but wasn’t sure what kind of weather it would bring.

At about one o’clock AM that morning, we found out.

Asleep in my rack, I awoke to the knocking of loose items and the slamming of open doors. I found myself levitating above my bed like Sigourney Weaver in Ghostbusters. When I stood up, it took every muscle I had to keep myself from running into walls and people.

It became obvious we were unprepared and the boat was a mess to say the least.

After stumbling through hallways and dancing up a flight of stairs, I finally made it to the bridge. I wanted to ask the captain how long we would be in these conditions, but just as I was at the top of that mountain twenty-one years ago, I was stunned and awestruck by what I saw.

Looking out the front of the bridge toward the bow of the boat, images of Deadliest Catch immediately came to mind. With the flicker of lightning reflecting off of the waves and the sharp, cutting beam from the spotlight on the mast above, I would watch the bow ride up a wave only to come crashing down and meet the next one head on. Waves would overtake the deck, and mist from the waves crashing into us would fly over horizontally in a left to right motion driven by a driving, howling wind.

It was a humbling experience for someone who had never been to sea before and a new respect came from it.

Thankfully, the remaining four days were quite pleasant, but that night is definitely one I’ll remember for years to come.

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The Floridian Adventures (TFA): A Feather in the Window

I found out about the Planktos opportunity (or challenge) in mid-March earlier this year. It seemed like a wonderful opportunity. Create the computer infrastructure for the Weatherbird II, travel the sea and see all these exotic places we were to travel to boot. Who wouldn’t turn it down, right?

So, at the beginning of April, I accepted Planktos’ invite.

Planktos bought my ticket on this initial interview. I would join the crew in Norfolk, Virginia and go through a five day trial run that would take us to Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Now, when I fly, I’m a Southwest loyalist. In this particular case, I didn’t have a choice and thought nothing of it until I saw the ticket stub in my email inbox. AirTran Airlines was the carrier I would be flying and before this point, I had never heard of them.

Before I departed DFW, I told a friend of mine what carrier I was using. She looked at me with a crazed look and said, “What? Are you f*****’ crazy? They’re the Wal-Mart of the skies with the worst safety record possible.” (Note: To validate her point, I came to find out later that AirTran buys a majority of their airplanes used from the major carriers like American and Continental which translates into cheaper prices).

Cautious, but not deterred, I obviously took the flight anyway. This flight happened to stop over in Atlanta where I would board a connecting flight to Richmond, Virginia.

The flight from Dallas was unremarkable and round one was over when we landed in Atlanta. Round two of the trip however would be a completely different story.

After boarding the McDonald-Douglas MD-80 that would take myself and the other passengers to Richmond, it was obvious the plane was showing its age. Resolved, I found my window seat anyway, sat down and continued reading my Time magazine I bought in Dallas. When we started to push back from the gate, I put my magazine down, buckled up and turned to look out the window.

Now, when you look out an airplane window, you expect to see a wing, the tarmac or vehicles running around, hurrying to their destination. Well, not this window.

On most aircraft, the windows have two panes - an inner pane, and an outer pane with a void of air separating the two panes. In this particular void, there wasn’t just air. There was a whole, unblemished bird feather resting at the bottom of the window.

After staring in amazement, I began to ask myself how the hell a feather got there and what is wrong with this plane?

By this point in my stunned awe, we had already taken off and ascended into the clouds. Five minutes passed with me staring at the window when I was brought back to reality by the Captain coming on the PA system:

“Uhhhhhhh, ladies and gentlemen, I don’t want to alarm you, but the aircraft is doing some odd things. It just came out of maintenance last night and seems to be having some odd mechanical problems. Because of this, we’re going to turn back to Atlanta. We’ll give you updates when we get on the ground.”

And with that, the plane veered hard to the left, did a 180 and flew back to Atlanta.

When we got back to the airport, I found a nice little bar where I parked it and had some well deserved glasses of Scotch.

I eventually made it to Richmond, but I should have heeded that feathers warning. It was an omen of interesting things to come.

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The Floridian Adventures

As many of you know, I had a unique opportunity this past year to travel to Florida and install a computer network on a research vessel. It was interesting to say the least and over the next month or so, I’ll be posting some of those stories with the abundance of time I seem to have on my hands right now.

I’ll preface all these stories by saying when I initially showed up on the research vessel Weatherbird II, I thought I would be diving face first into a computer project that would take the better part of a summer.

I couldn’t have been more wrong.

With the budget problems of a start-up company (Planktos) and the misconceptions of a job title, it was an adventure to say the least.

The stories are yet to come, so stay tuned.

ER