The Conservatives’ McCain Quandry

Which is, to vote or not to vote for McCain should he in fact become the Republican Party nominee for President (which is not, in fact, yet a forgone conclusion).
Up to now, the common assumption was “Any of our guys are better than any of their guys, so even if my favorite doesn’t get the [...]

Chump change (Updated)

OK, I am fully aware that I am far from the first or best commenter on the already worn-out campaign mantra of “Change!”. My disclaimer when I first began this blog was that I would not be flattering myself that I could be either first or best- that would be delusional, and I’d be too [...]

Fred’s out

What a disapointment.  Here is his tame official statement.  And here is the scorching statement you can imagine he really wanted to make [Humor disclaimer/ language alert].
When he (finally) started, Fred promised a new kind of campaign.  Obviously, future candidates can study his campaign as a lesson in what not to do.  There are post-mortems to his [...]

Alaska is just a little different, Part 4

In today’s Anchorage Daily News:

“Anchorage could have a new international celebrity: a nearly 70-year-old retired teacher who has spent the past two decades hiding from the public eye in an effort to conceal his intimate love affair with a large gang of black and grizzly bears.
After the existence of Charlie Vandergaw’s Susitna Valley bear farm [...]

“Where there’s a will…

the way will be a lot easier for those left behind when you die.  Believe me.
I’m still out in Virginia (almost D.C.) helping my aunt get through the legal and financial consequences of my father’s recent death.  Folks, it doesn’t matter how old you are or how modest your worldly possesions are.  None of us know [...]

“Who put the vitamins in Fred Thompson’s oatmeal?”

… my absolute favorite comment following the GOP debate in SC tonight, from Ed Morrissey @ “Captain’s Quarters“.  I’m still in Virginia visiting my aunt, and- heartbreak!- she doesn’t have cable.  But it certainly sounds like Fred caught fire and made the others feel the heat.
Looking forward to seeing whether there’s any substance to the [...]

Visit to a Western Rite Orthodox church.

Yesterday was the Feast of Epiphany, or Theophany (see here, and here, and here; be sure to read the Comments section of that last link, particularly the posts from “T” and “Canadian”).  I discovered that there was an Antiochian Western Rite  church nearby in D.C.(St. Gregory’s), and looked forward to attending and seeing how they celebrated [...]

Iowa Caucus comments

Not many- family matters matter more at the moment.  I’ve got to get busy packing the bags to fly out to D.C. tonight to spend some time with my aunt.
Re: Huckabee, I can’t see this guy as more than a one-trick flash in the pan, a testimony only to the enthusiastic but parochial and short-sighted [...]

The year ahead

As tiresome as The Permanent Campaign has become, with boredom and banality interspersed with moments of jaw-droppingly inexplicable mis-statements and inanities… in spite of that, the prospect of the final (finally!) home stretch run for the Presidency can hardly fail to quicken the pulse and pique the interest.  It starts tomorrow with the (hugely over-rated) Iowa caucus.  [...]

New Year without Dad.

Too busy recently to write a “year-in-review” post, so maybe I’ll take a “year-in-preview” approach instead.
Or maybe not- the death of my father last week is still much too recent to be set aside so soon- not surprisingly I am still inclined toward meditations on mortality.  I think about how strange it seems that on [...]