Sick Daze

Head colds are not fun. Neither is the flu. I'm not sure which one I have but I am definitely sick. Wrapped up in a blanket and resting on the couch, I took a sick day today to recover and avoid infecting my co-workers. And being sick on Halloween is so not fun! We're weren't planning to go out, but I was planning to dress up and reprise my role as Princess Leia. Perhaps if I feel a little better this afternoon I can get myself geared up for the big night of handing out candy and trying to control our dogs from running out into the street to join the trick-or-treaters (or as my grandmother liked to say, "spooks"). We'll hand out candy regardless, and it will be a fun night. Let's just hope my cold/flu goes away soon so that I can get back to walking the dogs (did I mention they are about to go crazy because we haven't walked since Tuesday night), going to work, and being more than just a lump on the couch. Fortunately my sweet husband has been taking care of me and pumping full of chicken noodle soup and Alka-seltzer.

Top Ten Reasons Why John McCain Can Pull Off The Upset

10. Joe Biden enters the Scripps National Spelling Bee, and loses by misspelling the word "football".

9. Bill Clinton plays a sax solo during "Drill Here, Drill Now" with Aaron Tippin on Huckabee.

8. Sarah Palin and Colin Powell compete on So, You Think You Can Dance, and only Sarah gets on board the Mary Murphy hot tamale train.

7. John McCain is offered a guest hosting gig on The Tonight Show based on his speech at the Al Smith dinner.

6. Hillary Clinton is discovered at a McCain-Palin rally in Ohio disguised as Joe the Plumber.

5. Oprah has Sarah Palin's glasses in her Favorite Things show.

4. High School Musical 4 is released November 3rd. The storyline revolves around a young man doing drugs, but who dreams of one day becoming president. He votes "present" during elections for homecoming king and queen.

3. Barack Obama tells Warren Buffet that he will spread his wealth around.

2. ACORN is successful in securing more votes for Ronald McDonald in Ohio, thus losing the state for Barack Obama.

1. Michelle Obama slips and says that she has never been proud...of her husband.

Raise The Roof: Sarah Palin In The House

Mad props to Sarah Palin for appearing on SNL last night.





You gotta give up to Palin for appearing on a show that has completely trashed her the past few weeks. She did a great job, and the cast members seemed to have a good time joking with her. Let's hope she'll be raising the roof at One Conservatory Circle come January 20.

Just Because You Are A Professor Doesn't Make You Smart

I always knew that my beloved college Alma mater was a relatively liberal university located in an extremely liberal town. It wasn't so uncommon for me to see two young women engaged in a lip lock on my way to class, or to see fliers posted in the Pit about the upcoming Young Democrats meeting (funny, I never really saw any Young Republican fliers). My senior year we had an anti-abortion organization display over sized pictures of aborted fetuses in the lower quad (you can image the rebel rousing that caused, and on both sides too, because there is a time and a place for everything and seeing these images on the way to Lenior to grab a turkey sandwich before 1pm English Lit was not one of them). The campus and school, it seems, are game for anything.

So when I ran across this story posted on Michelle Malkin's website, I was intrigued, but ultimately not that surprised:

More schools to avoid: UNC-Chapel Hill. They heart The Unrepentant Terrorist.

The line refers to an article published in the News and Observer about professors from UNC signing an online petition in support of William Ayers, of most recent fame for his relationship with Barack Obama and the fact that Ayers bombed several Federal buildings back in the '60's and '70's and has absolutely no remorse for doing so.

CHAPEL HILL - Bill Ayers, the radical militant-turned-university professor whose ties to Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama are under scrutiny, is getting some support from faculty members across the country.

Professors from UNC-Chapel Hill are among the more than 3,200 educators who have signed an online petition in support of Ayers. More than a dozen signatories are from local universities here in the Triangle.

Lawrence Grossberg, a UNC communications studies professor, said he signed the petition because he believes Ayers should not be demonized for his actions 40 years ago. He said he also respects the work Ayers does now as an education professor at the University of Illinois-Chicago. Ayers is a school reform advocate who has written or edited more than a dozen books.

"He did break the law, and he was punished and he moved on," Grossberg said. "He built an extraordinary life. He has become one of the leading scholars in the field of education. [People are] excoriating him for things he did 40 years ago and misrepresenting what he has done since, in order to make someone else suffer. That doesn't seem very American to me."

Most local signers were from UNC-Chapel Hill, though others were from Duke, N.C. State and UNC Greensboro.

Honestly, this comes as no shock to me. It's not like UNC doesn't already have the reputation for being a fairly liberal teaching institution. Sure, I absolutely love the university and loved my four years being there. It's just a little frightening to think back on some of my classes and wonder, "Gee, were my professors teaching me true academia, or academia with a slight personal/political agenda." In general, I would hazard to say that most professors and education professionals lean towards the liberal side. In fact, I had one Religion professor who was absolutely adored by students. He was a great instructor, cared about his students, and an agnostic. He had a common law marriage, did not believe in government and probably skirted around paying his taxes. For all intents and purposes, he'd rather have nothing to do with the state and Federal government at all. Interesting that he choose to teach at a public university for over 20 years, in which his salary was paid by...yup, you guessed it...tax payer money. Probably shouldn't criticize the 'ole government so much, right?

But, back to the issue at hand. It saddens me that many of the UNC professors feel the need to sign this ridiculous online petition supporting Ayers. Do they even know the guy? Doubtful. Are they just falling in line with the liberal mindset and showing support for Ayers because it is the Liberal PC thing to do? Highly probable. Futher, I find it extremely interesting that anyone would support Ayers because his actions killed 7 people. Who cares if it was 40+ years ago? People died. And yet Ayers lives a cozy little life with his wife up in Chicago "teaching" (read: ingraining) students to be radical themselves.

Back in 2006, a fanatic drove his SUV into the crowded Pit on UNC's campus during the middle of the day. He claims he mowed down students in the Pit in response to the US government's treatment of Muslims around the world. Domestic terrorist? Yup, I think he earned that title. And he did this horrible act (no one was killed but at least 3 were injured) for his own purpose because he believed in something, you could even say that he believed in a cause greater than himself...just as Ayers believed in a cause greater than himself (hey, I didn't say the greater cause was good or anything. But you don't see professors at UNC lining up to sign an online petition in support of Mohammed Taheri-azar. Why should they sign a petition in support of Ayers?

Seems like earning your Ph.D doesn't necessarily mean that you will also earn common sense and a mind of your own.

McCain-Palin, XOXO

As you know, Gossip Girl is one of the shows I watch and (yes) like...a lot. Sure, it's about a bunch of uber wealthy prep school kids who rule Manhattan, a lifestyle I know absolutely nothing about, but I watch GG still. Guilty pleasure? Absolutely. Mental escape? Definitely. Political messages? What?...

You can imagine my surprise and delight when I came across this ad from MoveOn.org featuring two of the characters from the show. Penn Badgley (who plays Dan Humphrey) and Blake Lively (who plays Serena van der Woodsen on GG, and also of Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants fame) are featured in the ad. Now, it is an anti-McCain ad, but check out the hat that Penn finds in his parent's closet...



The hat is none other than a hat designed by American Elephant! How cool is that? Sure, I totally disagree with the message, but the fact that MoveOn.org and Gossip Girl have used an American Elephant design to show just how much they loathe John McCain, well, American Elephant must be doing something right.

XOXO, A Coffee To Go

Dog Party!

In honor of one of my favorite books as a child, Go Dogs, Go!, in which there was a huge dog party in a tree at the end of the story, I title this post.

Below are some pictures of Sydney, River and their friend Indy (our neighbor and friend's dog who lives up the street). We use to live next door to Indy, so Sydney has known Indy for a long time (they use to greet each other through an opening in the fence separating our two backyards). Sydney has long since outgrown Indy, but they still love to play with each other and are good friends. River, our calm dog, is usually the silent observer.


Resting for a bit.


Nothing like a good old fashion game of tug-o-war!


Looks like someone needs a bath!

Thanks Krissi for the photos!

Where's River?

OK, so I don't have this whole "hide-n-seek" game down quite yet...

Sarah Barracuda is Back!

Shh...I'm sneaking in a blog post at work...don't tell anyone...but I couldn't wait to comment on last night's debate, and also it's before 7:30 a.m. and I'm the only one here in the office, so the early bird gets to blog.

Last night's Vice-Presidential debate was the highlight of my week, as for many political news junkies. I was actually quite anxious the hour or so leading up to the debate as I sat watching Fox News analyze what both sides needed to accomplish during the debate. But the stakes were clearly higher for Sarah Palin. She had a lot to prove, a lot to overcome, a lot at stake for her and John McCain. The press has been absolutely brutal to her the past few weeks. And the Katie Couric interview? Well, let's just say that was definitely not her best moments. But I think some of her best moments happened last night, and I was cheering along the way and couldn't wait to hear what she had to say next.

Sarah was solid and concise. She delivered crisp answers to tough and detailed questions. She knew her foreign policy. She knew her economic policy. And she knows where the average American is coming from because she herself is an average American. She and Todd are middle class. Her family is diverse, complicated and faces the same tough issues that we all face. That is not to say the Joe Biden doesn't know the middle class. That he doesn't know hardship. But I would argue to say that he is far removed from his roots in Scranton because he has been in Washington for over 30 years. He's inside the Beltway, and actually, one of the main reasons I believe Barack Obama picked him for VP. He is politics as usual, and that is not what this country needs.

But Sarah...man...what a charmer she is. She even charmed Mr. Biden, and I really felt like last night's exchange was a political debate at it's best. There weren't any gaffes on either side, any "gottcha" moments from the Gwen Ifill (who, consequently, I thought did a really good job despite the book controversy). The questions and topics addressed a wide range of issues, and Sarah Palin held her own against Mr. Biden. She defended John McCain, outlined her beliefs on numerous issues, and told the American public how a McCain-Palin administration was going to work for the American people. I think Sarah is the breath of fresh air that Washington needs - that we all need - and I for one couldn't be happier on how the debate went last night.

The Barracuda is back!