Our local high school football team plays a state semifinal game this weekend (class 3A – four or five hundred student enrollment). Victory Saturday takes us to Champaign next week for the championship game.

Our community has been an avid HS football town for many years, but until Red Haired Girl became a cheerleader we never bothered to go to the games. I have to say, the community has developed quite a pagan ritual, but it’s a lot of cheap fun.

The other day I was thinking about a little “thing” that the cheerleaders do; when a player is injured they all assume a crouching position, metaphorically not unlike a bunch of birds with broken wings. Once the player is walked from the field, they all jump and clap and everything is good.

I also made the observation that one of the cheerleaders seems always to be tending some injury or another – usually involving an Ace bandage – and right out if front of the crowd, as though to remind everyone that things aren’t just tough on the field.

On the way home from the last game, I asked RHG a hypothetical – If a cheerleader gets injured while performing a stunt, does protocol require that the football players assume the wounded bird position until said cheerleader is walked from the running track (with a corresponding stop of the clock)?

Having inherited my sense of humor, RHG liked the joke – so much so that she asked her cheerleading coach that very question today. She reports that Mrs. T. responded with a fake laugh and a strange look. I felt it time to warn her that there are two kind of people in this world – those that get your jokes and those that don’t, and that you have to be careful around the latter lest you make them nervous.

I’m with Timmer that tonight marks a transition that takes us from the charged atmosphere of an election, with the natural partisan and sometimes raw competitive tendencies that go with such things, to a state where we all, as Americans, must respect the office that President Elect Obama has won through the voice of the people. At the risk of damning with faint praise (which is by no means intended) I sincerely hope that the pragmatism to which he has aspired in his campaign is a hallmark of his administration; that many of his seemingly contradictory convictions can now be laid to rest because there really is no higher office to which he can achieve. He now has only one constituency, and I pray that the gravity of office will so inspire him in both his aspirations and his deeds.

That is my hope tonight. I’ll call it a day with the recognition that his election carries a presumption of good will and respect predicated on the more honorable attributes of the American people, and the prayer of Godspeed to his administration. Note Mr. President elect; any such presumption has a shelf life beyond which it must be earned.

Oh yeah, the title of this post. I have to confess that I truly enjoyed a lot of the humor that was directed at past administrations – all of them – and will continue to do so. It sure beats spending the next four (hopefully not eight) years in the fever swamps that many of my liberal friends have haunted (hint to Keith Olberman et al. – your paradigm just shifted and I can’t wait to see how you evolve over the next couple of years).

The polls open in two days in what has been, to me, one of the most disheartening election cycles in my lifetime. It’s not because “my guy” is down in the polls. It is because a small radical minority in this nation has finally hit on the right formula to capture the passion of enough useful idiots to even make this election close. I use the term “useful idiots” purposefully. In speaking with people who support Obama, many of whom are very close friends and family, I am struck by their blind adoration that is utterly devoid of any ability to acknowledge the truth of what he believes or the factual history of his ascendance though the Chicago political machine. And here I thought that, after having been able to vote for 36 years and making the transition from liberal to conservative to independent, I could intelligently argue either side of any of these labels. I see now that I was behind the curve, because the arguments on the part of the left are now limited to ad hominem attacks, moral equivalence, and blind recitation of talking points (cf. Alan Colmes) – none of which are based on reason but are nonetheless effective with an electorate that has been conditioned, in a spookily Pavlovian way, to truly believe that the present administration is not humanly flawed but rather a manifestation of true evil.

From the beginning of this election cycle, Obama seemed a little too liberal for my tastes, but McCain’s ideas on how to fix many of the big problems of our day, although well intentioned, seemed always to manifest in unintended consequences (campaign finance reform or general immigration amnesty anyone?). So, in keeping with my belief that the privilege to vote carries an equal responsibility to perform due diligence, I set out on my journey of discovery to find out whether I could live with an Obama administration as I did with the Democrats that preceded him. My first impression was that he was a stereotypical liberal with a thin resume. Boy was I wrong – he is neither of those things. Rather, he is a left wing radical with an impressive resume of association with individuals and organizations who believe that the U.S. Constitution was a low ebb in western civilization and that this great nation must be protected, despite itself, against the center-right instincts that have prevailed from its founding. Stanley Kurtz, who I guarantee will see a wider audience for his work over the next few years, lays out a fairly detailed picture of what I am talking about here.

And, in anticipation of the negative commentary that this post will incite, I would encourage at least an intellectual discourse based on the merits of his thesis – failure to do so will merely prove my next point.

Useful Idiots was a term used by the Soviet propaganda machine to describe Soviet sympathizers in the west who were, in fact, held in contempt by their handlers. I have countless friends and family members who, almost without exception, are voting purely on the basis of hope and willful ignorance. Interestingly, this is an affliction of many notable heretofore conservatives as well (Colin Powell, Christopher Buckley, I’m talking to you).

Barack Obama has masterfully hidden from the American electorate what he stands for and who he stands with. That, in and of itself, should disqualify him not only from the presidency, but even a mid-level security clearance. He has been associated with voter fraud (yes, that’s right VOTER FRAUD – are we expected to believe that Acorn’s purpose was merely to distribute cigarettes and money to the disadvantaged?). He and his campaign have actively promoted censorship. His vision is to take this country to the lowest common denominator – how else to ensure that every single citizen is, by his definition, equally advantaged.

Honorable people can disagree. I can even hold a great deal of respect for those with whom I disagree. But I have no respect for useful idiots. Do your due diligence, and if you truly believe in mainstream liberal beliefs, write in Hillary Clinton. If I am wrong in my premises, provide some thoughtful commentary. BUT DON”T BE A USEFUL IDIOT! Remember, they will eventually come for you when you’ve served your purpose.

And finally, if you want to see this great republic stand for another century as one which embodies the visions and aspirations of our founding fathers, get out and vote. It’s important that you do, because those of us who share those beliefs only get one vote. We need each and every one.

P.S Let me also suggest paying attention to the writings of Bill Whittle and Michael Yon.

Sorry ’bout the broken link in my previous post – I’ve been playing around with Google Chrome and, although I think it loads pages much faster, it still has some beta issues. Here is the crux of the story:

“The Air Force is creating a new command to manage the nation’s nuclear arsenal better after a series of embarrassing missteps in the handling and oversight of its most sensitive materials.

Donley said the latest shuffle would be a “new starting point” that would reinvigorate the service’s nuclear mission. He also said it would help the Air Force focus on the arsenal’s management, no matter how small it might become under future international agreements.”

The last paragraph is interesting. Those of us a little older might remember the humorous story about “What the Captain Meant To Say” which transposed an official Viet Nam era account of a dog fight with what the pilot actually said, F words and all.

I wonder if, in this instance, what the captain really meant to say is that after 4 November 08 the new Commander in Chief will give us just slightly more confidence in the security of our strategic arsenal than what we have in, say, Pakistan’s. Just thinking out loud.

Maybe I missed something when I read this, but isn’t that why we had SAC?

RHG called to let me know that they are dead in the water mear Nashville. In her narrative, a steel bar was dragging from rear of the bus leaving a trail of sparks. Again according to the narrative, a state patrolman followed them for five miles and finally pulled them over with lights and siren and advised the driver that the situation had to be corrected before proceeding. RHG, knowing the protocol, advised that there were three scenarios: driver fixes problem, mechanic is called, or new bus comes from Peoria. Later comm advised that scenario two played out. Advice to RHG – get sleep while you can (earlier advice #1) and enjoy adventure. Comment to Real Wife – by the time RHG is 30 the rear of the bus will have been fully engulged in flames.

Timmer, right now I am listening to Billy the Kid by Aaron Copeland. Try it, you’ll like it (well, maybe not all of it).

Radar

Red Haired Girl departs at 09:30 hours tomorrow via motor coach to Space Camp in Huntsville, AL. Actually, it is an abbreviated version called Pathfinder, facilitated by the local 4H chapter. She will be gone for four days, with two days actually “training” for the astronaut corps. While I’m very excited for her, Real Wife and I face the next few days with much trepidation with this being the longest (other than church camp, which is only 8 miles away) and furthest that she has been away from home without us. Her primary concern seems to be availability of electricity to charge her iPod, with my primary concern being…everything else. I emphasized a number of points: 1) sleep when she can, 2) she is there to learn and experience – on topic. I do NOT, repeat NOT, want her to feel compelled to ride her bicycle three counties over wearing a diaper and carrying mace, etc., to avenge a love affair gone wrong, 3) before she does anything not closely supervised by instructors/adults-in-charge, to ask herself what I would say. If she imagines that I would freak out, then it’s probably a bad idea, and 4) enjoy an experience of a lifetime that most kids will never have. The closest I ever came was physiological flight training at Pease AFB and I loved every minute of it (other than laying awake all night after the first altitude chamber flight absolutely convinced that I had the bends).

A friend of mine, retired USMC colonel, just had a new engine installed in his rather old Cessna 170, so we will also be doing some local VFR flying in the next couple of weeks. He’s offered RHG some flight time if she successfully completes her Space Camp regimen. He’s a very cool guy, having flown both prop and jet fighters (WWII and Korea) and one of the few great representatives left in this area from the Greatest Generation. I don’t think RHG is headed for a career as an Airman or an astronaut, but whatever she ends up doing, I think all of this will stay with her in a positive reinforcement way, and maybe as a lifetime reminder of one of the true passions her dad had.

Lastly, a hat tip to our departed cyberspace friend Joe Comer, who I am sure would have shared my excitement.

Radar

We acquired a company earlier this year and I have been spending a lot of time on the road trying to integrate all things legal, hence limited blogging time. It’s kind of interesting because they are a tech company with a lot of the stereotypical traits, as in attire consisting of bermuda shorts and sandals. The parent company is quite the opposite – think IBM in the fifties. My “home” division is more business casual, but I still feel a little out of place when I wear jeans. I just love walking into the office there and announcing that “I’m from Corporate – I’m here to help”. At first everyone just rolled their eyes and thought the days of free espresso were numbered, but everyone now seems to understand that I HATE corporate crap. I’ve even been told by the Gen. Mgr. that I am welcome to come up just to “hang out”.

Throughout all of these road trips Real Wife has soldiered through her chemo treatments in followup to the lumpectamy back in June. The last one was two weeks ago, but she’s still pretty beat down. They have had a cumulative effect, with the “good” days fewer and further apart. After each treatment she received a single shot that, by itself, costs $5,000 (its for pumping up white blood cells and made by a cloning process using recombinant DNA). Thank God for passably decent insurance. How she has been able to teach school each day amazes me, but I think she should start feeling better soon. Next week the radiation treatments start – every weekday for six weeks. According to the docs, the side effects will be very minimal. We are hoping that the worst part will be the 45 mile drive each way. All in all a pretty crappy summer for all.

As to the title to this post, I took my oath for the USAF thirty-five years ago today. I was sitting on the patio in the dark last night thinking about how long ago it seems and all of the ups and downs since then. It has been unseasonably warm here, but there was a nice cool gentle breeze that brought me back to Lackland. I somehow had the good fortune of being assigned the duty of emptying the squadron trash into the dumpster each night. I say good fortune because it was an opportunity, however brief, to enjoy solitude under the starry skies – away from the TIs and the rest of the squadron. San Antonio was hot during much of my boot camp, but each night there was that same cool breeze I felt last night. It’s funny the things you remember most.

“This decision to commute the sentence of a man who compromised our national security cements the legacy of an administration characterized by a politics of cynicism and division, one that has consistently placed itself and its ideology above the law,” Barack Obama

“I have nothing to say to Scooter Libby,” Wilson said. “I don’t owe this administration. They owe my wife and my family an apology for having betrayed her. Scooter Libby is a traitor.” Joe Wilson (husband of Valerie Plame Wilson)

I don’t think I can recall a time when such deceit and hypocrisy was so prevalent across so wide a swath of our political leadership. Senator Obama, a law professor, practices the very cynicism and diversion that he decries, and the last I knew, commuting a sentence, particularly one as egregious as that handed down to Scooter Libby, is not above the law.

Senator Clinton, my message to you is simple – do you remember Marc Rich?

And Joe Wilson, look in the mirror before you start throwing out names such as traitor. You have shown yourself throughout this entire affair to be beneath contempt. Your fifteen minutes of fame has passed, so I sincerely hope that you shut up and enjoy your book royalties.

Finally, I hear that Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. has called for George Bush to be impeached over this. You guys just can’t get over Clinton’s impeachment can you?

I have no love for politicians in general, but the current crop absolutely sickens me.

Update: Powerline blog informs us that the House Judiciary Committee plans to hold hearings next week on the sentence commutation. Would that Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington et al. could be with us on this two hundred thirty-first birthday of our country to comment on this. They would most definitely be far more eloquent than I could ever be. On the other hand, they may have taken these left wing zealots to the woodshed for a proper flogging.

My favorite part of our house is a twenty by twenty five foot patio, screened floor to ceiling. I have a decent stereo, and a fairly extensive collection of music that is well suited to watching the summer go by. This year, I have designated the Official Summer Patio Song as (drumroll) Sleepwalk, by Joe Satriani. It is a remake of the original recorded by Santo and Johnny in 1959. I liked the original, but this version is juiced up nicely with a strong drumbeat and bass. I even got a slow dance from Real Wife:-)

Well, I think Real Wife is through the scariest part – the part of the journey where the immediate future is unknown. She underwent surgery Friday to remove the lump in her breast, as well as a so-called sentinal lymph node. The procedure as I understand it that they inject a dye into the tissue adjacent the tumor, and then remove the first lymph node that shows an uptake of the dye – the idea being that if the cancer has spread, that would be the first location. The tests came back last night that the margins of tissue around the tumor were clean (they got the whole thing), and the lymph node was negative for cancer. She is now scheduled for a consultation with doctors for both chemo and radiation therapy. While not an insignificant set of procedures, she feels that they are tribulations minor in comparison to waiting for the surgery and subsequent pathology reports.

Everyone in her family is hypersensitive to anesthesia, and she is no exception in terms of nausea and slowness to become alert. An interesting twist was that she exhibited a rare side effect of the dye injection in which her complexion turned green. Really green. She was later shocked to learn that her urine was bright blue – think Windex. Everything is normal now, and it did provide needed comic relief in what was a very long and stressful day.

It is now a matter of continued vigilance, but we are thankful to the excellent medical staff and all those who sent their kind prayers and support, not the least of whom were friends and readers at The Daily Brief.