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.

ER

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.

ER

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.

ER

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.

ER

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.

ER

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

ER

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!

ER

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.

ER