The Snuggie

The jokes are too easy.  I’ll let this speak for itself.

“A blanket that has sleeves.”

Segregation

Al   Lindsay passes along another interesting article on what is developing into a big Chicago news story.  The gist…

Would a public school that caters to gay and lesbian teens be a welcome addition to CPS? 

[...]

The school would welcome students of any sexual orientation, with a goal to have an approximate 40/60 split between straight and LGBT students. A high population of minorities is also expected.

 

Hmm.  I understand the goal.  I empathize with the need to improve life for some suffering LGBT students. 

But, this is not the solution.

I cannot wrap my head around the idea of fighting for equality on one hand, and then expanding segregated activities and institutions on the other.  For all of the good intentions, I find it counterproductive.

What is most needed are cultural changes…changes in the mindset of the ‘Average American.’  Cultural changes are never quick or easy.  And these solutions only slow it down.

We cannot ask the average American to change their mind about the uniqueness of sexual orienation, and then send signals that reinforce the idea that orientation is special, unqiue, and different.

We are fighting to be including in the staple institutions like marriage and open military service…NOT to exclude ourselves from them into special enclaves.  Whatever the intentions of the school, the public message that it sends is too damaging.

This only sets us back.

Clinched

Division Champions

 

And so it begins.  What a season.

The Epitome of Worthless Rhetoric

Rep. Cantor (a fella tossed around as a possible VP candidate) acts a moron.  This is another example of what I never want to become…ever…

A Conservative for Obama

Wick Allison is spot on.  I agree with this more than anything else I’ve read this year. 

Wick is the former publisher of the most well-known conservative magazine in the country, National Review.   This is the magazine founded by the Godfather of modern, intellecutal conservatism, William F. Buckley.

Be sure to read the whole thing.  It isn’t too long…

Conservatism to me is less a political philosophy than a stance, a recognition of the fallibility of man and of man’s institutions. Conservatives respect the past not for its antiquity but because it represents, as G.K. Chesterton said, the democracy of the dead; it gives the benefit of the doubt to customs and laws tried and tested in the crucible of time. Conservatives are skeptical of abstract theories and utopian schemes, doubtful that government is wiser than its citizens, and always ready to test any political program against actual results.

Liberalism always seemed to me to be a system of “oughts.” We ought to do this or that because it’s the right thing to do, regardless of whether it works or not. It is a doctrine based on intentions, not results, on feeling good rather than doing good.

[...]

Barack Obama is not my ideal candidate for president. (In fact, I made the maximum donation to John McCain during the primaries, when there was still hope he might come to his senses.) But I now see that Obama is almost the ideal candidate for this moment in American history. I disagree with him on many issues. But those don’t matter as much as what Obama offers, which is a deeply conservative view of the world. Nobody can read Obama’s books (which, it is worth noting, he wrote himself) or listen to him speak without realizing that this is a thoughtful, pragmatic, and prudent man. It gives me comfort just to think that after eight years of George W. Bush we will have a president who has actually read the Federalist Papers.

–

I couldn’t agree more.  Breaking from party lines is always tough, because it involves looking at what a party is ’suppose’ to do and what is ’says’ it will do  versus reality…what it actually does.

In this case, the choice for real conservatives is obvious….Obama.

Google Chrome

After having dinner with Al and Lindsey last week, I took Al’s advice and immediately downloaded the new web browser: Google Chrome.  I have not regretted it for a second.  The transfer was seemless, and there is nothing yet that I miss about Firefox.  If you haven’t done it yet, do it.  

Google can have all of me…..except my RSS feeds.

 

Biden

And with all the hoopla about Gov. Palin.   We have forgotten about the other fiery VP candidate who is lighting up the stump speech.

No matter what, you gotta love his passion.

Two Ads

After the financial chaos this week, each Presidential campaign put out quick, high-profile ads surrounding the crisis.  In my eyes the different ads are perfect indicators of the different campaigns being run (and of the candidates themselves).

It is substance versus fluffy politics.  Regardless of larger policy ideals, the tone indicates what choice I must make in November.

You all may have already seen these, but they are worth re-watching.

 

 

–McCain–

 

 

–Obama–

Can’t embed.  Just click…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONM7148cTyc

Quote of the Day

“For a long time it had seemed to me that life was about to begin–real life.  But there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be got through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, a debt to be paid.  Then life would begin. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life.”

-Alfred D’Souza-

Most Stressful City in the United States…

And this year’s winner is…

 

Chicago.

No. 1 Chicago, Ill.

With 7.3% unemployment and a gallon of gas going for just under four bucks, the Windy City has some economic headwinds that result in a perfect storm for stress. Chi-town’s pollution problems (it ranked No. 7 in terms poor air quality) and lack of breathing room (it’s No. 2 in terms of population density) couple to create a Midwestern Molotov cocktail of stress.

 

 

I feel great.  I love this place.  What are they talking about?  :)