A picky CF person note :)

OK kats and kittens, CF education time!

One does not have an "attack" of CF like one has a "attack" of asthma. 

One has a "flare up."

CF is always, in a sense, "attacking." So when you are admitted or need a clean out, then it's "flaring up."

Capise? 

Guess what?

Tonight is Ballet Class Night!

Yes, after a long hiatus (J&H, weddings, etc.) I am back to the ballet studio. 

New leotard ready to go--but I do need new technique shoes, since they still have stuff from the HDHS stage all over them. :) 

Poetry Thursday II

"On His Blindness"--John Donne

When I consider how my light is spent

Ere half my days in this dark world and wife,

And that one talent which is death to hide

Lodged with me useless, though my soul more bend

To serve therewith my Maker, and present

My true account, lest he returning chide,

"Doth God exact day-labor, light denied?" 

I fondly ask, But Patience, to prevent

That murmur, soon replies, "God doth not need

Either man's work or his owngifts. Who best

Bear his mild yoke, they serve him best. His state

is Kingly: thousands at his bidding speed,

And post o'er land and ocean without rest;

They also serve who stand and wait. 

Another CF-er to pray for

Dean Barnett   [Mark Steyn]

Keep Dean Barnett in your prayers tonight. Dean is one of our comrades over at The Weekly Standard, and the regular guest host of The Hugh Hewitt Show, and in both capacities is one of the sharpest commentators on this year's election. He's also one of the least deluded citizens in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Dean is in the ICU with a bad cystic fibrosis attack. We wish him well, and hope to see him back on the frontlines very soon.

(this was taken from the Corner)

Why does everyone get sick in October??? The worst bout I ever had--when I was in the ICU for 13 days--was in October. That's when the CF conference is, and when 99% of CF doctors are away from their hospitals (this year it's in Orlando). Why, why, WHY does this happen?  (The getting sick I mean--not the conference). 

Bookshelf: Render Unto Caesar

This is going to be an unusual bookshelf. 

I loved this book so much that, instead of reviewing it, I'm going to put some choice excerpts here. And yes, if these are "choice" excerpts, then you know the whole thing is really worth reading. 

These are widely diverse and cover a bunch of topics, so don't be surprised at the seeming "randomness". 

• " 'The Lord of the Rings is of course a fundamentally religious and Catholic book.'" (quoting J.R.R. Tolkien)
• " 'What is morally indefensible can never contribute to the good of the people.'"
• "We need to be more zealous in our faith, not more discreet; clearer in our convictions, not muddier; and more Catholic, not less." 
• "We will never build God's kingdom here on earth. When people have messianic expectations of the state, when they ask politics to deliver more than it can, the story ends badly." 
• From a section on Charles Carroll, the only Catholic signer of the Declaration of Independence:

Unlike Adams and Jefferson, though, Carroll faces an added danger. Not only did he risk treason against the British Crown; he also broke Maryland law. By the laws of his own colony, it was illegal for him--because he was Catholic--to be political active at all. In fact, under Maryland law, Carroll could not earn a living as an attorney. He could not run for office. He could not even vote for others who could run for office--because his home colony, for whose freedom he was struggling, forbade it.

• "Freedom is 'not the power of doing what we like, but the right of being able to do what we ought.'"
  
• "As [George] Washington said in his Farewell Address: 'Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports.'" 
• "..[a] key reason the First Amendment barred any official federal religion was that various states already had tax-supported established churches and wanted to keep them."
• "[de Touqueville] noted that 'these Catholicsa re very loyal to the practice of their worship and full of zeal and ardor for their beliefs. Nevertheless, they form the most republican and democratic of all classes in the United States.'"
• "In practice, American freedom meant freedom for belief. Continental freedom implied freedom from religion." 
• "Social progress was the real task for believers. Even the idea of limits seemed to fade. True, certain kinds of limits did gain ground: limits on growth, population, corporations, and government. But the idea that wisdom begins with mastering our own personal appetites seemed to lose power." 
• "We should remember that all Christian churches held that contraception was morally wrong untill the Anglican Church approved it in 1930 at the Lambeth Conference, though only for certain circumstances, and only within marriage...The Washington Post editorialized at the time: 'Carried to its logical conclusion, the [Lambeth] committee's report, if carried into effect, would sound the death knell of marriage as a holy institution by establishing degrading practices which would encourage indiscriminate immorality.'" (ME: Wow, what is the WaPo would say that NOW!)
• "Yet the Catholic faith does not hold, and Vatican II did not teach, that respect for conscience means that individuals have absolute sovereignty in determining their own truth, or that anyone's choice of beliefs is as good as any other. Even the secular order admits that some choices are good and others bad." 
• "Common sense and daily experience suggest that any society that accepts all moral views as having equal weight is headed for trouble." 
• "But when church leaders refrain from helping political leaders see their moral responsibilities, their lack of action implies that religion has nothing to say to the public square." 
• "In [Cardinal] Newman's words, 'We can believe what we choose. We are answerable for what we choose to believe.'"
• "We live under that unjust law [abortions on demand], but we sin only if we give up the struggle to change it." (my emphasis)
• "People should come away from every encounter with every American catholic knowing that they have met a true Catholic." (Love this one!)
• "We can never allow ourselves to offer an abridged version of the Gospel. We can never let Catholic social doctrine become an end in iteself. The Catholic faith is much more than another public philosophy or useful set of social programs. The church is not an association of social workers. She is a community of believers and disciples." 
• [Quoting Pope Liberius]: "The truth of faith is not lessened by the fact that I stand alone." 
• VITALLY IMPORTANT: "Not all evil things can or should be illegal. Not all issues have the same gravity...deliberately killing the innocent is always, inexcusable wrong. It sets a pattern of contempt for every other aspect of human dignity." 
• From the US Conference of Catholic Bishops Living the Gospel of Life (1998)--their emphasis: "But being "right' in such matters [other social issues] can never excuse a wrong choice regarding direct attacks on innocent human life. Indeed, the failure to protect and defend life in its most vulnerable stages renders suspect any claims to the 'rightness' of the positions in other matters affecting the poorest and least powerful of the human community...All direct attacks on innocent human life, such as abortion and euthanasia, strike at the house's foundations."
• "The more truly we love God, the more truly we serve the world." 

Debate

May watch...

But will certainly pray. 

Tricia update

She's in Duke's ICU (as a precaution) with what they probably think is pneumonia. Her heart rate is high (coming down though) and her blood sugar level (BSL) is also very high, so she's on an insulin drip. 

I've had one bout of pneumonia (which encompasses a wide, wide variety of things) since my tx (February of '07, if you want to check the archives). And it sort of sucks, because you have to figure out 1) is there rejection 2) is it rejection and infection, or just infection? and then 3) how to treat whatever it is while still keeping the organs happy. It is a very fine line and can involve a lot of back and forth. 

So prayers are necessary! 

More info at CF husband. 

A good quotation

for the changing of the seasons:

"Live in each season as it passes: breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influence of each."

--Henry David Thoreau

The Simple Woman's Daybook

(with some editions from Elizabeth)

For MONDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2008

Outside My Window...

Pale blue skies, and the leaves on the trees are slowly taking on a more yellowish hue. 

I am thinking...

that I better get more sleep tonight!

I am thankful for...

my faith.

From the kitchen...

coffee cake, hot chocolate!

To live the liturgy...

Just finished Mother Angelica's new book of Bible Meditations, and will begin Archbishop Chaput's Render Undo Caesar, about politics and Catholicism. 

I am wearing...

black pants and a black and grey Ann Taylor sweater.

I am creating...

my scrapbook--I finally put in my pictures from April! 

I am going to breathe deeply ...

and focus on what needs to be done.

Bringing beauty to my home ...

General tidying up. 

I am going...

to parish council.  

I am reading...

 Truth and Tolerance (B XVI); The Kreutzer Sonata and Other Stories (Tolstoy), Render Unto Caesar (Arch. Chaput), the Ignatius Critical Edition of Pride and Prejudice

I am hoping...

that Tricia gets better!

I am hearing...

the clock ticking. 

Around the house...

Baking cornbread (tomorrow)

One of my favorite things...

football!

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week:

Tuesday: Tiff comes over, Borders with Richelle

Wednesday: Choir rehearsal

Thursday: ballet class

Friday: Lunch with Dad, Dracula with Tiff

Here is picture thought I am sharing...

Why won't blogger post my pictures?! Argh!!!

The tale of the bouquet

Above: the reception hall for Justin and Lisa's wedding, Rochester Convention Center

So, at the wedding last weekend, there was, as usual, the bouquet toss. Normally, I'm a fan of this, since I like to watch people act crazy over a few flowers, and, at this point, I need some luck in the relationship department. 

So my cousin Cheryl shooes me and her two daughter, Jackie (16) and Gillian (12) over to the dance floor. We get there right as the bouquet is being tossed, and it lands at Jackie's feet. She manages to pick it up before one of the more--energetic--wedding guests tries to take it from her. 

Jackie looks at the small bouquet of peach roses. "What do I do with it?" She asks me. 

"Nothing. It means that you're going to get married next."

A look of horror crossed her face and she thrust the flowers at me. "No way! I don't want to get married!"

(When I told her parents this, they were very excited.)

I took the bouquet and walked back to the table, thinking I was done.

Oh no. 

Not even close. 

Apparently I am the only person on the planet who didn't know that the woman who caught the bouquet had the bride's garter put on her--by the guy who caught it. 

Um, huh. 

So I head back toward the dance floor. The guy who caught it (I didn't get his name), looked about my age, and looked Italian--dark hair, dark eyes. He was also a bit of a ham (like my brother). So he takes my hands and sits me down in a chair on the dance floor. 

"I'm glad my father isn't watching this," I told him. He winked. 

The garter went about three inches above my left knee, safely above my hemline. It felt rather odd. He was there with a date, so that was the end of our "relationship", but, apparently, he thought I was younger than I really was (according to my aunt). 

I was older than the bride by six months. 

I wasn't quite sure how to take that. I guess it's good to look younger than my age. I am starting to appreciate it. But still!

Pray for Tricia...

She's sick. 

Not happiness. 

Why I Am A Conservative

to be updated later!

Connie Schultz in the Cleveland Plain Dealer wrote a column describing the reasons why she's a liberal. I'd like to do the same, except for my political beliefs. 

The first, and the biggest:

• I am a conservative, because I believe all of us have a right to life.  
  

I was born with CF. With genetic testing the way it is now, some mothers would have aborted me. Republicans like Henry Hyde (RIP) kept that from happening, so more of us are alive. 

More to come, so watch this post!

PIPER!!!

Yay Piper was there and the baby!!!!

Wow like the whole clan. Bristol has the baby. Nioce dress. 

Palin's parents....Mr. Todd. :) 

Willow, I think?

But Piper, my favorite!!

If I were Todd I'd be like "do not touch my wife."

I would kill to know what they are saying to each other. 

Wow Biden's wife is really young looking. If that's her. 

Piper is so cute! Right by her mom, adorable red cardigan. Awwww. What a smile. 

OK, yes I just love Piper. She is bar none my favorite political kid of all time. 

And she got her hair cut!

And noW Sarah has TRig, who sort of fell asleep. Doing the mom pat on the back thing. So adorable. J ust totally cute. 

Can I be the First baby-sitter? Because I totally want to be. 

Trig's oufit is really cute--a plaid shirt and little khakis. Baby Gap, perhaps? 

Todd...nice tie. 

Sarah with family, down to Piper. 

Piper has Trig!!! Yay maybe more grooming!

She totally has a hold on him. it's so cute. He's like a big doll. He must be really out or exceptionally good, or both. Expect more "oh my gosh the seven year old was holding the baby!" tomorrow. 

Family meets Gwen. 

She is carrying him like he's a sack of potatoes or something. Doing the little back pat. I just love that. She's like a total little mom. 

I don't know who's who for Biden so I can't help you there. 

Debate, c'est moi

Biden is really just going "on and on and on and on" (with apologies to Journey)

Sarah playing the Washington outsider card.

Biden is sweating...or something. He looks sort of bamboolzed while she gives him these lovely smiles. 

Gosh I love her make-up. 

Oooh--cutting troop support re: Obama--she quotes the primary debates! 

Alaska called for divestment in Iran. Legis hasn't passed yet but it needs to. 

Biden: The line that should be drawn is that whether or not we have the capacity to do anything abot genocide. 

Wait a minute--the MOST POWERFUL NATION IN THE WORLD can't stop GENOCIDE??? Huh?What happened to that thing in the opening statement about genocide being a priority? Ahhh, Biden consistency. 

Biden: We want prevention and cooperation. 

So basically we want Neville Chamberlain foreign policy. I got it--let's just sit around and sing "Kumbaya"!

Sarah: If I ever became Pres. (due to McCain death or whatever) she would continue the policies of putting the government on the side of the people. Working class Americans saying "Government, just get out of my way!" (LOL)

Support the ticket that wants to create jobs or the ticket that wants to increase taxes. 

Biden's body language is very odd. What was with the "let us pray" hand position? 

Gee, Biden sure knows how to pander--now "his people" are the DE constituents. 

Sarah: "Now, doggone it, let's look ahead." AWESOME!!!!

And Reagan: "There you go again." 

"I come from a  house full of schoolteachers."

No Child....mentioned! Wow!

Emphasis on the profession of teaching. 

"My kids are public school participants." 

Gwen: the "what does the VP do" question. (barf)

Sarah: well of course we know--it's in the constitution. (LOL)

Supportive of pres's policies. President understands what our strengths are. 

He would lead with his agenda. 

Government of all, working with families of special needs children (YAY!!!!)

Biden: Well NCLB was left behind b/c we didn't fund it. 

Role of VP: Point person for legis. Also, when asked--didn't want a portfolio. He will give Obama his best advice. (Don't you have political liaisons for that???? Sheesh. Watch West Wing!)

Biden has VERY SCARY facial expressions. 

And the requisite Cheney slam. 

The primary rol eof VP is to support the pres. (Biden)

Oh, now Biden has juidial insight and is all about strict construction!!!!

Drinking game: every time Sarah says "Energy", take a shot. 

Sarah: We are exceptional--quotes Reagan. Together we demonstrate the perfect ideal--freedom, democracy and tolerance. We can be a force for good. I share that belief and so does McCain. "A good team is a good ticket. "

Biden: says he won't change. Um, he's changed positions quite a few times since becoming the VP candidate. 

 

Sarah's dad is in the audience. 

Biden's last statement about kitchen table stuff made me want to vomit. (Sorry, but true)

I think St. Thomas More would like Sarah. 

Biden's judicial temperament answer was not so hot. 

Sarah: No I haven't had to compromise on my beliefs because I have always found a way to work together with people. 

More debate!

LOVED Sarah's clean coal answer!!!! WOOOOO! 

On the troop funding--Biden MADE MCCAIN'S CASE! It would have been so much more effective if he had just said that McCain voted against it, instead of doing the timeline tihng, because most people supported the idea of stay until you win! DUH!!!!!

Biden re: Isreal: We need NATO! Yes, they did a great job with other conflicts! Why don't we just send the UN?!

This adminstration's policy has been an abject failure. 

Oh, we need real diplomacy. 

Sarah: No, the administation has not be an abject failure. 

We both love Israel. 

Biden Obama doing teh blame game. 

There have been big blunders in this admin, but to talk about change while constantly looking back isn't good. 

Positive change is coming with us we'll learn and we'll put govt. back on the side of the people. 

Sarah is the queen of backhanded compliments. 

Sarah: Dangerous regimes cannot be allowed to develop/have nuclear weapons. 

Talking about Afghanistan

(Sorry for the typos, I publish as I type so it's current!)

9:58: Gee, Biden is such a happy guy! "This will not work" 

We spend more money in 3 weeks in Iraq than we have in Afghanistan. 

Oh God in Heaven. 

Gree, Biden is SO SHOCKED that McCain didn't vote for the nuclear test ban treaty!!!!

Sarah: Gee, Joe, you didn't listen. :) 

Counterinsurgency principles could work in Afghanistan. The same principles apply. 

Commanders agree. Leaders agree. 

BIDEN STOP WITH THE STUPID GRIN!!!!!!

More debate III

Gwen: Bill tha twould make it more difficult for mortgage holders to get out from Debt.

Sarah: There have been so any changes in conditions in our economy. We need to look back and be appreciative of McCain's calls for reform, with Freddie Mae/Mac. The colleagues int he Senate weren't going for it. 

(OK yeah Sarah!)

Gwen: Biden voted one way, Obama the other. What gives?

Biden: Obama saw glass as half empty and I saw it as half full. We disagreed on that. Here's the deal--Obama said two years that there's a subprime mortgage crisis.  (Um, in Cleveland they knew that 10 YEARS AGO)

What we should be doing now is something w/ bankruptcy courts and interest rates. 

Sarah: Quick answer--energy vrs. alternative energy. Energy policy plan--we have to consider the need to become energy indepedent! We have domestic supplies of energy all over! Let's drill it!!!!!!!!!! (OK, that last part was me, but that's the point)

It will create jobs and allow domestic supplies of energy to be tapped. Energy is the ket to this nature's future-- both economically and in the case of national security. 

Gwen: Climate change!!!!!

Sarah: Alaska feels the climate of change more so than any other state. We can attribute some activity of man, but some to the cyclical effects of the planet. 

Debate II

Bide--YOU ARE NOT FROM SCRANTON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You we reborn there, but you LIVE in DELAWARE!

McCain taxes payroll health care for the tax credits. 

Plan will go straight to insurance company. 

$12000 for a regular plan

OK, he's losing me with numbers.

12000 plan v. 5000 plan? 

Gwen: what promise have you and your campaign made that you're not going to be able to keep?

Biden: Double foreign assistance (GRR! Bush has done that!)

Will not go with Bush tax cuts (GRRR again!)

Will not support...

Biden is not answering the question. At all. 

I am having a really hard time udnerstanding him. 

Bottom line is that we are going to eliminate wasteful spending and.....what? 

Sarah: McCain doesn't tell one thing to one group adn oen thing to another. 

Energy plan that Obama voted for gave tax breaks to oil companies--the running mate voted for that and yoiu're rtailing against it? 

Alaska--she took on the oil companies and said that wasn't going toh appen in my state. I had to break the monopoly and people are going to come first. The people of Alaska will benefit, and tax breaks are not coming ot the corps. 

People in the state, or the country, shoulf benefit. 

Her area of expertise. 

Gewn: There's nothing you would take off the table?

Sarah: We will do what's right for the american people. The rescue plan has to include the massive oversight that the American people want. 

Biden: Support for alternative energy. 

I think he loses the normal Americans when he talks about all this procedural stuff. Most people have no idea. 

He wants to do what Sarah did, but SARAH'S DONE IT!

Live Debate Blog!!!

If you have no interest in politics, then scroll on down for some poetry.

Those who are---read on. 

9:00 Watching pre-debate prep on fox (time is my parents' family room clock, not necessarily "official STL time"). Really, really perturbed that the author of a BOOK ON OBAMA, to be released on INAUGURATION DAY, is moderating this thing. 

9:01 PM: We are on--officially--with Brit giving us the pre-deabte talk. 

Just switched to NBC-_Brian Williams on

Back to Fox

9:03: ON!

Ifil talking. Nice outfit. 

Domestic and foreign policy matters. 

90 secs to answer, 2 minutes rebuttal/discussion.

Coin toss determined order. 

Subjects and questions have been chosen by her and not shared w/ candidates.

Candidates out

Sarah in Black with th ebig pin. Hair down. 

Skirt uit--excellent choice. 

Nice heels. 

Biden is...Biden. 

Sarah looks HOT!

Biden goes first. 

First question--Bailout

Oh that stupid smile!

Good lipstick for Sarah. 

Biden begisn by thanking Gwen and saying it's a pleasure to meet Sarah. 

Oh, the last eight years have been the worst economic policies ever!!!

Gee--maybe because of W's PREDECESSOR!!!!!

He's like reading the answer!!

Two um's already. 

Has to be oversight

Focus on Main Street...sure, both of you are good for that. 

Treat the taxpayers like in vestors--then the taxpayers would want a GOVERNMENT THAT WORKS. Sheesh. 

Sarah taking notes. 

"Change the focus on ecoming policy" --focus on growing middle class. 

BEcause Biden ows...

Sarah!

Going to a kids' soccer game and seeing what the parents are saying. 

How are we going to afford college, etc. 

Small business inventory and hiring. 

Federal government has not provided sound oversigh that we need and deserve. 

John McCain has been a representative for reform. John Mccain opushed fvor reform two years ago. 

Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac. His collegagues didn't want to listen to him then. The aklarm has been heard and there will be greater oversight, again, thanks to John mcCAin's bipartisan efforts. 

But politics aside and put the countr yfirst. 

YAY!

Liked that. 

Would Biden work to shrink the polarizaion gap? 

Biden: I have worked on Violeven against women, geonice, etc. I've reached across the aisle. 

Sarah looks ready to pounce. 

No infanctice mention there. LOL. 

Fundamentals of the economy are strong thing again. 

Sigh. 

Sarah: 

John McCain referring to the fundamental economics--talkign abotu the american workforce, which is the greatest in this world. 

Team of Mavericks--talks about reform--we are known for putting politics asided and getting thejob doen. Obama--not so much. 96% of his votes have been along party lines. 

Put the special interests aside and get down to working for the people. 

Tired of politics as usual. 

Americans are creating something new and different, new energy. Commitment that comes with reform. We ened a maverick.

Gwen: Let's talk about the subprime lending bill. 

Sarah up first: Who is at fault? 

Sarah: The lenders that tried to talk people into buying more than they can afford. That's they're fault. We need to stop that. McCain and I have made a commitemnt to end that. Let's commit ourselves to normal american people--American people, Hockey moms!--we will never be exploited again. We demand ctrict oversight on those entities in charg eof our entities and our savings. 

We need to make sure that as infividuals we are taking personal responsilbity. *YAY!*

Never agian we will be taken advatnage of. 

Biden: Obama was on this two years ago (WHERE was he two years ago??? Oh yeah. Campaigning!)

Wow he blabbers I have a hard time udnerstanding him. 

McCain wants more deregulation. 

Lets free market rule health care.

Biden keeps looking at his papers. 

Sarah: 

tax increases--we need tax relief! Obama and Biden voted for the largest tax increases in US history. Barack had 94 opportunities an d 94 times he votged to increase taxes or not vote for a tax reduction. That's not what we need to reduce jobs. We need to keep more of what we earn, and we need to be more efficient. The government growth needs reigned in. We need tax relief. Obama supported increases taxes on families making only $42K a year--the average American family. That kills jobs. 

Biden: Oh, Sarah that's not true. 

He did not vote for those tax increases. 

Something about Senate procedure. 

McCain voted 477 times to raise taxes (someone check that?). 

Back to dereg

Sarah: I'm still on the tax thing because that's werong. What I did as governor and you make not like it but I'm going to talk about my experience as governor and mayor. Ever yyear I eliminted income tax, fuel eax, etc. we did that knowing that it would increase our economy. Campaign finance reform. 

Gewn: Time is up (BOOO) Biden, do you want to talk about raising tazes. 

Patriotic taxes! Yes!

Biden: How is that not class warfare?

Palin: What about taxing employer ta benefits. 

Biden: TI's called "Fairness" (LOL!!!!!!)

It's just simpel fairness. 

100 million middle class families. 

No one less than 250K would see an increase.DUDE, someone give him a tax lesson!!!!!!

people at this income level don't CREATE JOBS!!!!!

He says it's not punitive. HUH?????

Sarah: more tghan 2350K are the small businesses! They are the ones who will be hurt and that means less jobs and less productivity!!!!

You said paying high taxrs is not paytriotic!!! YAY!!!!

Patriotic is saying Government, you know, you're not always the solution. Get out of the way and let the private sector and our families grow!

YES!!!!!!!!!! Woohoooo!!!

$2T in new spending under Barack's proposal. 

500,000 tax credit for families so they can purchase their own healthcare (mccain)

that's a smart thing to do. 

Obama's plan mandates health care coverage, government run program. If you've seen the way the federal government has been running anything lately, you don't want them running health care. 

Poetry Thursday I

A new BOP feature!

I found my old college English texts, and will now (in the hope of enlightening us all, lol) provide you all with my favorite poems on Thursday!

This week: "Ozymandis" by Percy Bysshe Shelley

I met a traveler from an antique land

Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone

Stand in the desert...Near then, on the sand,

Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown, 

And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,

Tell that its sculptor well those passions read

Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,

The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed;

And on the pedestal these words appear: 

"My name is Ozymandias, king of kinds; 

Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"

Nothing beside remains. Round the decay

Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare

The lone and level sands stretch far away. 

Sarah! Sarah! Sarah!

Some comments on Sarah-palooza of late:

1) NO ELECTED OFFICIAL actually reads the papers. NOT ONE. I know they don't because that's why I have a job. I read the papers, I cut the stories, so I tell them what is important to read! I did this for a Congressman, I do it for 33 Senators now. Trust me--not one of them really reads every paper that's important cover to cover. If they want to know what papers they are in, they do a google alert (at least that's what we do) and all the stories will be delivered neatly to the inbox. 

So the fact that Sarah "couldn't possibly read" all the papers in Alaska is crap. Do you actually think the President reads the Post or the New York Times or the Orlando Sentinel? NO. His staff does, and they tell him what he needs to know. Sheesh, people. Next you're going to be amazed that politicians have speechwriters!

2) Supreme Court (SCOTUS) case(s) she disagreed with: She could have safely said Dred Scott v. Sanford, the case that said slaves aren't really people. I think we can safely say that everyone disagrees with that ruling (except, say, Chief Justice Taney and Southern plantation owners). But that's really not a fair question. Unless you've really studied Con Law then how many SCOTUS cases, PERIOD, can you name? This is a relevant question for a judge or judicial position. It's not really relevant for a candidate for political office. At all. 

For the record, I took a year of con law at Capital. Here are the cases I can name off the top of my head, at this moment:

1. Lawrence v. Texas
2. Kelo v. New London
3. Marbury v. Madison
4. Dred Scott
5. Brown v. Board of Ed
6. Donnely
7. Lemon v. Kurtzman
8. Roe v. Wade
9. Griswold v. Conneticut
10. McCullough v. Maryland
11. Plessy v. Ferguson
12. Miranda v. State of Arizona

Frankly, I'm a lot more interested in a political candidate's grasp of the Constitution--especially the point that "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" are NOT IN IT. 

3) It amuses me how many people on chat boards, etc. say that they want a "really experience VP." Dick Cheney was chief of staff, secretary of defense, etc.--he's really smart. And yet--people don't like him. Hmmm.