Battle For The Party

Hey South Carolina: Vote for Fred!

With Nevada already decided (Hillary and Mitt), the South Carolina primary is next up to bat. Voting ends in about two hours, and I'm pulling for Fred! He needs this win to really boost his standing as a presidential candidate. Having been declared the winner of the most recent Republican debate, Fred can use a win in South Carolina to even further push him towards the Republican Party nomination. It's a close race no matter which way you slice it, but I hope that South Carolinians will brave the cold, rainy weather and head to the polls. The future of our country depends on it!

Showdown in New Hampshire

I just tuned in to the results of the New Hampshire primary and was surprised to learn that Hillary Clinton is leading Barack Obama. They have called the Republican primary for John McCain, but haven't called it for Hillary yet. It will be quite a story if Hillary wins, since all the polls showed her coming in second or third place (shows how much polls really matter, right?).

The race to the White House continues to prove to be very interesting. Nothing is set in stone. No poll results are for certain. It is still anyone's game. It will be a wild wide until November!

Showdown in Iowa

Tonight is the night that our presidential candidates have been waiting for! They have been campaigning hard, with many sleepless nights, and the media has been playing up the Iowa Caucuses for many many months.

We've got Fox News tuned in, and I'll be notating some interesting factoids that I hear as the night progresses.

8:39pm

Republican results (2% reporting)
1. Huckabee
2. Romney
3. Thompson
4. McCain

Democratic results (11% reporting)
1. Edwards
2. Clinton
3. Obama
4. Richardson

*46% of Huckabee supporters also state that they are evangelical Christians.

*Poll questions: Top quality that you look for in a presidential candidate? A candidate who shares my same values.

*As of 8am this morning, Edwards had been campaigning for 36 hours straight.

8:56pm
Iowa Caucuses already reporting that Mike Huckabee is the winner for the Republicans.

9:01pm
Ron Paul is ahead of Giuliani - Ron Paul at 11%, Rudy Giuliani at 4%

9:03pm
Obama has taken the lead away from Edwards

*Blogs are a strong force now in politics!

*Voting swapping and deal making is occurring on the Democratic side. Iowapolitics.com and Realclearblogs.com has picked up this story. All campaigns have denied vote swapping story; although campaign workers who may have been encouraging vote swapping among Iowa voters more than likely already have a seat in the candidate's presidential office should that candidate win the presidency.

*There is a strong segment in the Obama and Edwards camp that is an anti-Clinton vote.

*Ed Rollins is Huckabee's campaign chairman. Rollins ran Ronald Reagan's campaign and was very involved with Reagan's White House.

*Ed Rollins use to be a boxer! Look out!

9:24pm
Obama is still in the lead at 35% with 72% reporting.

9:28pm
Iowa Caucuses are reporting Obama as the Democratic winner.

9:28pm
Iowa Caucuses still declaring Huckabee as the Republican winner.

Santa Baby

After a whirlwind Christmas "break", the husband and I are now finally settling back into reality. We visited friends and family over the holidays, and Santa was very good to us indeed. One of my gifts was a brand new digital camera given to me by my husband! Look below to view some of my handywork over the holidays.


Jason's grandmother and her Peek-A-Poo dog Maggie.


Maggie enjoying the Christmas rawhide bone we gave her for Christmas (she was very protective of her new bone).


Our 2007 Christmas tree.


Sydney enjoying her Christmas rawhide bone.

Time Disappoints

Sigh...If you read this blog on a regular basis, you probably know how I felt when I saw the cover of Time magazine.

I was literally stunned when I saw that Time had chosen Vladimir Putin as man of the year. Our relations are not really good with Russia at the moment and Time - an AMERICAN magazine - chose to put Putin on its cover and declare him man of the year.

Time states that Putin has stabilized the Russian government and taken strides to make it a strong country. Of course the magazine doesn't go into exactly how Putin accomplished all this - by imprisoning and poisoning dissenters of the Russian government and Putin's policies. And Russia is against sanctions against Iran that would disclose their nuclear weapons program. And on that note, there is no way that I believe for one second that Iran does not have a nuclear weapons program. So, lets see...Putin's tactics would get him arrested in America AND his government is in cahoots with Iran. Yes, I think that is the absolute most perfect reason to name him man of the year. Thanks, Time, for showcasing this upstanding world leader. Maybe next year you can choose Hugo Chavez as man of the year.

What about a true man of the year? One that has actually done some good? What about Moses Mathis of Fayetteville, NC who gave away 700 bicycles today to children of need in Cumberland County, NC. And he has been doing this for the past 16 years. What about LaDainian Tomlinson of the San Diego Chargers, who is 28 and spends his time off the field coaching youth football camps, handing out toys to inner city children and telling kids to work hard - it pays off. What about honoring Dustin Jerome Lee and his German Shepperd Lex, the 20 year old Marine who was killed in Iraq, and Lex (himself injured) stayed by Lee's side as he lay dying. Lex today was adopted by Lee's family even though Lex still had two years left of service. What about a school teacher, an animal rescue worker or a nurse? What about one of the Virginia Tech student who tried to save other students during April's massacre.

There are so many OTHER men and women of the year that Time could have chosen. So many other real, and deserving people that could have been on the cover, or at least named in the magazine. But these are the unsung heroes, the ones that you don't hear about because Time is too busy profiling people like Putin. While I am thoroughly disappointed in the magazine's choice, I'm not surprised. A runner up was Al Gore. And the other week Barbara Walters declared Hugo Chavez as one of the most fascinating people. It's the way our liberal media runs these days - highlighting and idolizing people that should not deserve their accolades. Maybe next year Time will actually profile a deserving person.

Christmas Frazzle

It's the most wonderful time of the year.

And the busiest time of year. And the coldest (depending on where you live - tonight the temperatures are suppose to get down into the 20's). My husband told me that today was the busiest shipping day of the year for the post office, and Wednesday is suppose to be the busiest delivery day of the year. I'm glad I'm not out driving a brown or white truck in 30 degree weather.

Side note - I just heard on TV that Jessica Simpson may be to blame for Tony Romo's poor performance in yesterday's Eagles v. Cowboys game. Damn you Jessica Simpson and your over sized sunglasses in an indoor stadium and your bleach blond hair! How dare you distract Tony from his game!

We just finished writing, addressing and labeling all of our Christmas cards. We have only done a little Christmas shopping, and we still have no idea where we are going to spend Christmas day. We know that Christmas comes the same time each year, yet every year it's a rush to get everything done! But, that is part of the charm of the season (in my opinion). I do love the holiday hustle and bustle.

Speaking of bustle, my husband picked up my wedding dress the other day from being preserved. It's in a box, with one side of the box having a clear plastic window so that one can gaze upon the dress. Except the dress is stuffed and formed in such a way that the bodice of the dress looks like it is being worn by someone. So, it's kind of creepy looking. Kind of like looking at a body. My husband and I only looked at the dress briefly, because it kind of weirded us out.

Needless to say, we are on the go everyday and Christmas is only getting closer with every passing minute! I'm hoping that come January, North Carolina will see some snow and we'll have a couple snow days to relax in the comfort of our home.