..........the "middle school concept" is alive an well in Washington, D.C.; where everyone is a winner!

Laura Bush is recognized for her outstanding mediocrity. It sure can't be for fashion sense! Remember kids; all you have to do is believe in yourself and you can get a medal, too.

.........."Cindy, please! I've got a campaign to ruin..'er, ah, to run."

I watched the entire debate on Friday evening. My daughter was taking notes during the course of the debate to use as reference in her political science class. Many say that this debate was a "draw". I definitely disagree. In my opinion, John McCain was playing defense the entire time and never truly went on the offensive. This became quite evident to me when he felt it necessary to resurrect the memory of Ronald Reagan no less than four times. This shows that the "Maverick" is furiously trying to connect with people whom he has no connections to. Our next debate will pit Joe Biden against Caribou Barbie on Thursday evening. The pit bull had better put on plenty of lipstick for that one!

..........the most recent campaign stategy.

That's probably what it would take! With the Biden/Palin debate on Thursday, something will need to be done to distract voters from the issues!

..........our leaders, hard at work on the latest financial crisis.

Did I say crisis? You know we shouldn't think of it as a crisis, or use the phrase FINANCIAL PANIC; as it could cause a run on the banks. Talks broke down last night in Washington, D.C. as House Republicans could not come to terms with a bailout plan. I hate the thought of bailing out the very people that got us into this mess, but I also would like to be able to borrow enough money to make ends meet in sending my kids to college! The Republicans are all about standards, aren't they? "Let's punish these Wall Street guys and let them go under as they deserve!"; they say. I'm all for punishment, too. In fact, let's punish the people who sat in public office with extremely laxed oversight management by going to the polls and getting rid of them in November! Here we go Middle Class America! We're the ones that will be punished in the end! Even as we speak, jars of Vaseline are flying off drugstore shelves in an attempt to prepare for the screwing of America by its own leaders! For once I say; "Listen to the President and attempt to fix this mess!" Unfortunately, we need something that will bring order to the mess before PANIC does set in!

..........Maverick McWorse Proposes Bold Financial Plan. McCain Will Sell Hawaii to Raise Cash

WASHINGTON, D.C. - In one of the most shocking moves of his candidacy run, John McCain has proposed selling Hawaii to Japan to help repair the economy, a leading Washington insider has informed Weekly World News. “Basically, Senator McCain sees this as a quick and easy way to generate a huge bundle of cash,” stated the source, an upper-echelon State Department official with close ties to McCain’s inner circle.“As everyone knows, the U.S. economy is hurting real bad. McCain figures that by selling Hawaii, he’ll be able to pay off a sizeable portion of the recent bailout of AIG while also generating funding for continuing military operations in Iraq, and quite possibly, a full-scale invasion of Iran.” Initially, McCain considered putting up Massachusetts for sale, along with several other “blue” states. But after Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin pointed out such an action might trigger a massive popular revolt on the U.S. mainland, he decided to hang a “For Sale” sign on remote, isolated Hawaii. “It’s so far away, that it doesn’t even seem like part of America anyway,” the Senator is alleged to have said at a campaign strategy meeting. The campaign’s spokesman has been sure to point out that this has nothing to do with Hawaii being Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama’s home state. “It never occurred to Senator McCain, and frankly, we find it offensive that that is even being suggested.” It is widely believed that Japan would outbid any other countries, including Canada, China and Australia, for ownership of the “Aloha state.” According to a telephone poll of Hawaiian residents conducted last week, 98 percent described themselves as “extremely pissed” after being told about the Senator’s alleged plan. “He’s so lolo!*” fumed Roy Kaena, a Honolulu native. When asked if he would be voting for McCain, he proclaimed “Not! I nevah.**”

..........Who's the Elitist????

..........I'm shocked. SHOCKED!!

Do you mean to tell me that Clay Aiken is gay? These damn liberal rags are always destorting the real truth! Next they'll tell me that John McCain has voted alongside George Bush 90% of the time, and that Sarah Palin falls short on her knowledge of foreign policy. I bet they'll even claim that many of the McCain/Palin advisors are really the scum of those Wall Street lobbyists that were a great deal of the problem in this latest financial meltdown. I wish someone would just tell the truth. Wait. Fox (faux) News, Glenn Beck, and Rush Limbaugh. They tell the truth. I can get the truth from them! (Yes, you're right. That was a bit sarcastic!) And then, frustration set in.................................

..........One last "DIGNITUDE!" trip to the U.N.

"Nuh uh! Ah'm not fallin' fer that hand buzzer thingy again!"

.........."wait Cindy. Ah, there they are; the cameras. Continue to hug until I finish counting to ten."

..........Friday Funny.

..........just thinking.

This is from Josh Marshall:

Let me get this straight. John McCain's top economic advisor, former Sen. Phil Gramm, is the guy who authored the deregulation law that most agree is the ultimate cause of today's financial meltdown. Tomorrow's and probably next week's too. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. John Thain, CEO of Merrill Lynch, which swirled into brokerage oblivion today, is one of McCain's top economic advisors too. And now McCain says he's going to clean up the mess by putting in tighter regulations and oversight even though he's always supported lax oversight and his top economics guy is the one who loosened the rules in the first place.

I wonder if John McCain wears FLIP FLOPS, or eats WAFFLES or FLAPJACKS? I never mind someone changing their mind on something if they are man enough to admit that their original thoughts were incorrect. Damn those Democrats for taking away those regulations and allowing big business manage itself! Oops, it wasn't the Dems at all, was it? Dear Sarah Palin, welcome to the Bush Doctrine!

..........Socialists?

I used to get so angry at the right-wingnut talk show types (Rush Limpbaugh, Glenn Beck, etc.), talking about how the Democrats were taking us straight into Socialism! Dear right-wing-nut-jobs; explain Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and now AIG! The government now owns the biggest financial machines in the country! The $85 billion AIG bailout while we all slept was the crowning blow. I know, I know, if they had been allowed to fail the US and world financial markets would have been in disaster and complete ruin. Somebody had to do something, right? I'm sure glad all the deregulation of said markets/financial firms made things better for the US economy; and, I'm really glad that speculations play no role whatsoever in this whole mess. Thank goodness for conservatives like Phil Gramm! Oh, and did you know that global warming doesn't really exist?

..........WWRRD?

What Would Ronald Reagan Do? Yes, what would he say about the latest grasping at straws move of the Republican Party? I would have to think that he would say that the Republican Ideal has definitely been compromised. With the Sarah Palin choice for VP, John McCain has done nothing short of bringing some popularity to a very unpopular and unappealing presidential candidate (himself). The GOP is quick to rally around the candidates and bark the 'ole; "she really does have experience"; and "she's a breath of fresh air". I love a good "breath of fresh air" myself, but you're talking about a hardcore Republican who can't explain the Bush Doctrine! With that being said, I say this to John McCain; "We're not that stupid!" You've broken every conservative law in the book, and you've degenerated into a sexist candidate for control of the free world! Shame on you, and shame on anyone who believes in you!

..........finally, the weekend approaches!

Yes, it's the weekend is near at Beware of the Elephant in Tall Grass. As a blessing to begin the weekend, there is no Friday night football today for the mighty, mighty, Huskies! We have an open date this week. The coaches have informed me that they will travel to North Surry tonight to scout what they feel is our greatest opposition in the conference. I'm glad they're on it. For me, I plan to spend an evening with my family. Tomorrow at 8:30 AM I will meet the marching band for rehearsal and then we are off to Lenoir-Rhyne University (my alma mater) to perform at their football game. It's a night game; so, we won't be back home until after midnight. As a result of the beneficial rainfall of the past week, we've only been on the field to march once this week, hence the AM rehearsal tomorrow. This should be a pretty laid-back trip and performance. The thing that I like best about the whole thing is that my weakest marchers/musicians/human beings are going on a field trip today! Perfect! They're going to Blowing Rock to run a ropes course. You see, these kids haven't done well in school, couldn't organize their own breakfast, and they need this course to help them succeed. In other words, let's take some of the weakest students in the school (their attendance is horrible anyway), take them out of all their classes for a full day, and have them go on a fun day. Now this is education! Knowing some of the kids from the band going on this thing - they will take three to four days to run the course. Just as soon as it becomes a challenge, out comes the whining and false injuries. This is going to be such a waste of time! Oh well, mine is not to question why. Speaking of school stuff, we were informed at the beginning of the week that our school was in the top ten schools in the state for graduation. We had an 80% graduation rate last school year. Outstanding! We've graduated 8 out of every 10 kids that were in the senior class. Would you feel comfortable having a surgeon or dentist work on you that got it right 80% of the time? Am I too harsh on the North Carolina Public Schools? Do you really know how easy it is to get a basic diploma from the NC Public School System? It would be difficult to name all the available programs out there sponsored by the state to get students a basic diploma (all sponsored with tax payer money). The scary thing is that there are many, many schools that are way below the 80% mark! Our 80% sounds great when you attach the statistic to the sliding scale of comparison statewide. The lawyers should rejoice at this graduation rate. They need the 20% that didn't make the mark to keep them in business. I guarantee you that the 20% who didn't graduate will rise to being the 95% of those who are constantly working within the court system. We have an attendance policy to keep kids in school more often. My attendance policy slept in the bedroom beside mine when I lived at home! Now, we allow the state to do the dirty work for the parents. The only problem - policies don't really work for the individuals they are designed for without parent support at home. One part of our attendance policy states that after three unexcused tardies to a class, the student will be removed from all classes and put into in-school-suspension (ISS) for a full day. If it happens again, the student will get three days of ISS; and again, the student will be sent home for OSS (you figure it out). So, for poor attendance, the student gets a vacation from the daily grind of class. The real punishment is for the student's teacher who gets to come-up with extra assignments to do in ISS/OSS. You see, the student's grade can't be penalized (state regulation proven in court) for not being in class due to school assigned punishment, and the reflection of that student's test scores at the end of the semester will fall upon his teachers performance rating. What a great system to deal with parents not making their kids go to school! Alright, back to the original point - IT IS FRIDAY!!!!! FULL STEAM AHEAD AND DAMN THE TORPEDOES!

..........this just about sums-up the past eight years!

.........."Osama bin who?"

When enough is enough, you call in the pit bulls with lipstick to hunt for terrorists!

..........hey, I wonder who her running mate will be?

..........action figures of a vice-presidential candidate?

And at that moment, their society crumbled, and they ceased to exist!

..........yes, this is from a very left wingnut, National Review............

but, it seems pretty much the case in point. Nobody loves standards like me. I am totally convinced that successful people/organizations all have the issue of obvious standards in their repertoire. For just a moment, forget who wrote this piece, and forget where it came from:

National Review's Byron York muses about Republican double standards:

Perhaps I'm focusing on an irrelevant issue, but the presence, or non-presence, of Johnston on the stage tonight strikes me as important. It's one thing for delegates to be understanding and compassionate about the fix these two teenagers have gotten themselves into. It's another to actually celebrate it. And, given what we've learned in the last few days, if Johnston is up on stage with his girlfriend and the Palin family, and Republicans are wildly cheering, it will certainly look like they are celebrating this situation. I don't usually engage in these scenarios, but I'll do it here. If the Obamas had a 17 year-old daughter who was unmarried and pregnant by a tough-talking black kid, my guess is if that they all appeared onstage at a Democratic convention and the delegates were cheering wildly, a number of conservatives might be discussing the issue of dysfunctional black families.

I think he may have a point.

.........."There's got to be a morning aaaaaaaafter."

Cindy McCain pumps-up the RNC crowd with a popular '70's tune.

..........a nip here, a tuck there, and Dick Cheney has himself made into Sarah Palin. Talk about a bulldog with lipstick!

..........my day at the dentist.

Guilty as charged - I'm afraid of the dentist! During most of my summer break, I have been annoyed with pain from a tooth in the far back of my mouth (the next to the last molar on the upper left side). Hot and cold hitting that tooth really sent me through the roof! I went to the dentist in June. He told me there was a cavity; not large, but large enough to cause the problem. There was a slight bit of infection; so, we did the antibiotic thing and scheduled an appointment for the filling in July. I took the antibiotic, the infection cleared, and I went to my July appointment for the filling. During the course of the filling, I heard what you don't want to hear a dentist say; "uh oh!" What? "It seems that the tooth has a hairline fracture that goes pretty deep. With that kind of a fracture, things will get in there and cause pain. We need to get you scheduled with a specialist for this one. There's a great guy down in Winston-Salem who does nothing but root canals"; replies the dentist. "A root canal?"; I responded. "Yes, and this one could get a little tricky"; he says. That's not what I was prepared to hear. Later the next week, I went to see the specialist. He took an x-ray, looked at it, and said; "yes, I believe we can save the tooth." What? Save the tooth? I'm in danger of loosing the tooth? He says that if the crack goes into the pulp of the tooth, then we may have to pull it during the course of the root canal. Okay, this is getting really scary! I scheduled my root canal for September 2 (yesterday). I had a late appointment so I wouldn't have to miss my marching band class. I had a visit from the new Wind Ensemble Director from ASU, Dr. John Ross for my rehearsal yesterday. He's one of the most personable college level directors I've ever met. He watched the rehearsal and made some great suggestions. I told him at the beginning of his visit that I would have to leave right after the rehearsal to get to Winston-Salem for my 3:00 PM root canal appointment. As soon as I said that, he made a horrible face and proceeded to tell me a dental horror story - not what I needed to hear at that point! I left the high school right at 1:00 PM and arrived at Dr. Gambill's office in Winston-Salem at 2:40. I went in, signed-in, and began "the wait". I hate waiting in the dentist office. The calming music, the outdated periodicals, the sound of the drill in the background, and the smell. I think it takes a few minutes to prepare yourself mentally for what is to come. As I'm doing just that, the receptionist calls my name. What? I've only been here for five minutes, I'm not ready! At any rate, off I go to "the chair". Now, these people do nothing but root canals all day long (at $900 a pop, no less), and they're not into conversation. The nurse put me into the chair, and began pulling out all the stuff the doctor would use on me today - it took two damn trays to get everything out there! I began to find a place on the ceiling that I could focus on. Immediately, in comes the doctor, and I'm still not ready for this! He comes at me with this thing that looks like a drill; but, delivers the anesthesia. He says, "you will hear some beeping, and may feel some slight pain." Pain? I don't want pain! With the anesthesia delivered, he begins the clamping, and puts a rubber membrane over the tooth. "Here, you can bite down on this"; he says, putting a big rubber thing in the other side of my mouth. Now, I'm getting nervous. I'll need something to bite on? Where are we, 1870's Dodge City? Does he also double as a barber? Next, they put these big sunglasses on me. You know, the type that all the elderly Florida types wear when they drive. The nurse says; "we'll put these on you in case something flies into your eye." There's the possibility of stuff flying into my eye? Alert. Alert. We are a DEFCON 5! Attack is eminent! I find my place on the ceiling, grab the arm rails with my hands, and prepare for the worse. "Now, you may feel some vibration"; says the doctor. Here it comes, I see the drill! He begins his work. I hear the sounds, feel the vibration, and then there's the smoke that comes from the drilling. I hate the smell of that smoke. It reminds me of my time in "the chair" with Dr. Jimmy Harrell in Elkin. I'm a small child getting fillings with no anesthesia. This guy drilled, ground, and picked at my tooth for one hour solid, without saying a word. I'll have to hand it to him, I felt absolutely no pain at all. I guess that takes away the need for meaningless conversation. The thoughts of what was going on was the worst part. After the hour of work, the doctor led me to the checkout desk, wished me well, and sent me on my way. The great thing about this whole experience was the lack of any pain at all. The anesthesia he used only numbed the area right at my tooth. Normally, the numbing that I get at the dentist, numbs my entire face on one side. This was great! I hadn't eaten anything all day long (in anticipation of this appointment). I went to Krispy Kreme, got a doughnut, and headed for home. The doctor gave me a prescription for some pain medication; but, I've yet to use anything other than ibuprofen. I'm not even sore this morning. There's no longer hot and cold sensitivity, and I'm lovin' the results! I now must go back to my family dentist and get a crown in a couple of weeks. All in all, this was a good root canal experience. I'm still not over my dental fear; but, this helped me make some headway.

..........a little dose of FASHION FAIL from the Republican National Convention.

There's a point where you cross over the threshold of "enough" on almost everything. This representative of the "average American" has certainly done so. I mean, who would wear a ring like that anyway? And, with pearls, no less!

.........."yes, you can have your own beer truck route....

....after this silly election business is over." So, you take the oldest candidate with the most health problems; which already scares many citizens, and you couple that with a mommy/16 month governor, and what do you have - POLITICAL FAIL! I guess I'll just have to sit here with my mouth open for a while and try to consider what John McCain was thinking with his VP pick. All Darth Cheney references aside, many citizens felt more secure with Bush just knowing that Dick Cheney were there to head off any real disasters in diplomacy - well, nice try, anyway! So, here I go to flip-flop. I originally said in earlier posts that the VP choice wasn't of much consequence for me; but, with the Sarah Palin announcement, I have to seriously question the ability of John McCain to lead America. Let's see, according to Rush Limbaugh; "she shoots moose!" Yes, she belongs to the NRA, is pro-life under any circumstance, is an avid churchgoer, was a beauty pageant contestant, the mayor of a town in Alaska, a mommy, and a governor of a state that has fewer voters than most congressional districts! Yep, she should be able to run the country if John McCain is in dispose, right? This was a stupid decision on McCain's part. Anyone who advised him to do this is stupid, and anyone that could have but didn't stop him from this decision is stupid, too! Do you mean to tell me that this is the most qualified Republican woman that he could have chosen? And in the end, you made many women just plain mad with this decision! Seriously, all party support aside, what does Palin bring to the table that will qualify her to lead America? Well, here is what one "conservative" blog reports about Palin:

Washington – With all the talk about Sarah Palin being picked for vice-president, the Club for Growth PAC described the Alaska Governor as a genuine reformer who has taken on wasteful spending in her own state.
“At a time when many Republicans are still clinging to pork-barrel politics, Governor Palin has quickly become a leader on this issue,” said Club for Growth President Pat Toomey. “She is a principled reformer who understands how badly wasteful spending has marred the Republican brand.”
Governor Palin has proven herself to be a reformer unafraid to take on the establishment, which she did early on when she took on the incumbent Republican governor of Alaska in 2006. Only nine months in office, Governor Palin instructed the state to abandon the notorious pork project secured by Alaska’s politicians, the $223 million “Bridge to Nowhere.” While many Republicans in Congress are afraid to antagonize Washington’s biggest porkers, Sarah Palin stood strong for fiscal responsibility. Palin is also a persistent advocate of drilling in ANWR and expanding America’s domestic oil supply in general.

.....and here's what Fred Thompson says:

"I am absolutely delighted by this selection. Once again, John McCain has shown that he is an independent thinker who paints in bold strokes. Sarah Palin is a conservative reformer with executive experience who will bring a breath of fresh air to Washington. She will be an ideal running mate for John McCain, and will make a major contribution to our country's future."

I am delighted by the many references to Palin's foreign policy. Well, it's not like we're in the middle of a war or anything. Would you have picked her for a John McCain VP? God Save America!