Ah, late summer in 1968. Oh, it's 2008 and we're still having 60's-esque dischord? The Dmocrats gathered in Denver, follwed by the Republican coven meeting in St. Paul. Both cities saw their share of protests, and both cities were plagued by overzealous "law" enforcement arresting those bold enough to excercise their First Amendment rights. I know of at least one case in each city where SWAT teams raided homes and confiscated signs and/or sign making material. Journalists covering protests in St. Paul were among those earlier arrested this week.

As for the conventions themselves, the only thing unexpected that happened was scaled-back Republican festivities caused by a hurricane a thousand miles away. Much to the relief of most attendees I'm sure, Bush and Cheney canceled their appearances in Minnesota to be with the hurricane victims along the Gulf Coast. They didn't get my memo to show up early and stick around for the storm. I really feel for those folks down there. Not only did they lose everything (again), but now they have Bush and Cheney hanging around them. Now on with the analysis!

The Democrats

The party that was unable/unwilling to take on Bush and was too inept to field a candidate who could beat him is now tryng to convince us that they can and should lead America. Based on the fact that they ran and won in 2006 on the promise to get us out of Iraq I don't trust the Ass Party to do anything good for this country. Their thinking is that liberal policies will undo the last 8 years when what we really need is a truly conservative fiscal and foreign policy, a liberal social policy, and leave everyone alone.

During the nomination roll call a motion was put forth to suspend the count and award nomination to Barack Obama. Oddly enough, the motion was put forth by none other than Hillary Clinton. How democratic! I heard a rumor that had they done the actual count, Obama wouldn't have had enough delegates to win it on the first ballot. In front of over 80,000 people Obama delivered his acceptance speech. As usual, lots of pretty words that mean nothing came out of his mouth.

In his speech, he sums up the problems facing America today, and realizes that not all of them are caused by government action. But the government wasn't responsive enough. Apparently he fails to realize the connection between government help and things getting worse, and that most of the time constitutionally the government CAN'T help.

In an uncharcteristic statement for a Democrat, he acknowledges we have freedom to make our own lives AND must repspect others. I find this amazing because the liberals are known for wanting us to live in their little nanny state.

He then contradicts his message of "hope" (hope for what we may never know) by saying that while government can't solve our problems it should do what we can't do ourselves. Namely, government should protect us from harm (there's the nanny state again), educate our children (how did anyone ever learn anything before the government came along?), and invest in new schools, new roads, and new science and technology. Education is NOT an enumerated power given to the federal government by the Constitution. It is and should be an entirely local matter. And who says we aren't capable of educating our kids? Thousands of homeschoolers seem to be doing better than the government-run schools. BUidling news roads is great. As long as it falls within the interstate commerce clause. Investing in new science and technology? Necessity is the mother of invention, not government interference.

To rid us of our dependence on foreign oil, Obama will spend $150 billion of your money to invest in energy. Shouldn't it be up to the energy companies?

Back to education, Obama will invest more in early childhood education and recruit new teachers, and pay them more so we can provide a world-class education for our kids. I thought it was up to the school districts to hire and pay teachers. But paying teachers more money doesn't mean better results. Everyone seems to think teachers are to blame for our education system being broken. I'm young enough to remember thata lot of times it's the kids who just don't want to learn. However, in order to address that problem we need to realize that our precious little babies aren't perfect and may be to blame for something.

Moving on to healthcare, he would make sure everyone has it. If you already have insurance, he can lower your premium! If not, he'll get you the same great benefits that Congress gets. Where is it written that government can set the price for a service like insurance? How will he lower your premium? And if you're old enough to remember a time before health insurance, you may recall that care was better quality and more affordable.

So how do we pay for all this ambitious social reform? Simple. He'll cut your taxes and also close the corporate tax loopholes. And by eliminating programs that don't work (the entire federal budget?) and streamlining those that do, we'll save enough money to balance the budget. Huh? A Democrat who wants to eliminate some programs and cut funding for others? Am I dreaming? And did anyone else notice that Obama-Biden looks a lot like Osama bin Laden?

It sounds like a wonderful plan, and I "hope" we can have all these thing Obama has the audacity to dream about, but without all the government strings attached. That would be "change" we can live with.

The Republicans

All the focus during the primary season was on how divided the Democrats were but there was little talk of a rift in the Republicans. Sure, every time a a candidate dropped out he'd throw his support to John McCain, but over a million followers of Ron Paul will refuse to vote for McCain. Most are split between Obama, Chuck Baldwin, and Bob Barr. This can only hurt the Republicans in what is expected to be a close election, and the party is making no overtures to win these voters back. Far from welcoming them into "the big tent", they went so far as to exclude Paul from a speaking role at the convention while other candidates who dropped out early, like Fred Thompson and Rudy Giuliani got prime speaking slots. The White Elephant Party seems to be shooting itself in the foot by turning away from its traditional values and shunning those who still hold those values.

That said, by endorsing McCain the party seems to be embracing the failed policies of a president with a 25% approval rating. Let them eat cake! McCain is a third Bush term, and by chosing Sarah Palin as his running mate he is essentially chosing a female Dick Cheney. Both have the unmarried pregnant daughter (Cheney's had her baby already) and both use their office for political payback- Cheney in the Valerie Plame case, and Palin, firing the head of the Alaska State Police for refusing to fire her sister's husband while they were going through a divorce. Also,Palin takes away McCain's right to criticize Obama'slak of experience.

Palin might have her shortcomings, but she was a strategic choice for McCain. First, he hopes to capture the Hillary Clinton vote. Second, he assumes guys will do anything for a pretty face. Third, he is wildly unpopular in Alaska, a Republican stronghold. By chosing Alaska's governor as his running mate he's working hard for their 3 electoral votes. Something to counteract Obama getting Delaware.  Now, onward to the convention!

I guess I missed the part where Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee released their pledge delegates. During the roll call,  Romney had 5 votes. It looked like it might be shaping up to be a surprise nomination for someone other than McCain as state after state deferred voting. Usually when a state defers it's because the pledged delegates don't want to vote for the candidate they are pledged to until whatever round of voting when they have free choice. Even McCain's home state of Arizona deferred. But then when it came around to the second round  of voting almost every vote was for McCain. That large group of Paul supporters failed to materialize in the balloting.

McCain's acceptance speech wasn't as eloquent as Obama's, of course. It began as a Bush lovefest, as the entire convention was supposed to be until Hurricane Gustav changed things. He's on our side, fighting for our futures! Does that mean Obama is plotting against us? He says he is the agent of change. Keep in mind, while he and Obama both want "change" what they really mean is the change in your pocket.

Once again, we got the reminder that he's a maverick! So is Palin. They stand up to the party, they fight corruption....yet remain silent when Bush rips the Constitution. He emphasized our need to win the war in Iraq. The same war that saw "mission accomplished" years ago. Who are we fighting in Iraq? People who will stop killing us once we leave.

Despite not even acknowledging Paul and his attempt to lead the party back to its roots, he perhaps is reaching out in his next remark: getting the party back to basics. Don't bet on it. Here's what he says the party believes in: low taxes, spending discipline, open markets, rewarding hard work and risk (he never did say anything about letting anyone lose on a gamble), strong defense, work, faith, service, a culture of life, personal responsibility, rule of law (except party rules), impartial judges. Sounds like what Paul has been sayng for 30 years.

Next, he stated that the government doesn't make choices for you but makes sure you have choices. Once again sounding like Paul. Then, he starts to sound like a Democrat. He wants to help the unemployed find and keep jobs. When someone in a hard-hit industry gets a lower paying job, he wants to make up the pay difference. 

Education-wise, he wants to shake up the failed school system with competition. Parents should have choice. He didn't say if non-government controlled education should be a choice. In another case of the feds doing the jobs of the locals, he wants to "remove barriers to qualified instructors" (WTF?), attract and reward good teachers, and "help bad teachers find a new line of work." 

To solve our energy problem, we need to allow private companies to drill on public land. Now! The government should develop cleaner coal, build nuclear plants, and increase green energy and natural gas. Not the power companies?

Then, the traditional Bush-like trash talk to other countries, particularly Iran and Russia. Russia, like America, invaded a smaller country to gain control over the world oil supply, intimidate its neighbors, and further its imperial ambitions. But Russia is bad, very very bad. Here is America we're virtuous when we do it! Then he started telling war stories. 

So after 2 weeks of pomp and circumstance, we have nothing to show for it but jailed protesters (just a few weeks after criticizing China for doing the same) and a couple of identical candidates with identical plans to lead America to complete ruin. Good luck voting!

Posted by Josh at 1:38 PM PDT
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I lost my first election but I made a very strong showing with 44%. The final tally was 168 for Amy Cruver, 137 for me, and 6 write-ins. 160 damn dirty Democrats chose not to vote for either of us. For those of you who want to be technical, I got 44.05144694533762057.....% or even more technical, of ALL the abllots, even those who didn't vote for anyone, it was 29%. I'm not getting any more precise than 29%. Do the math yourself if you want a more exact figure. Better luck next time, I guess. Vote for me in '010! Thanks for your support! I guess that was my concession speech.

Posted by Josh at 10:17 PM PDT
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Before I start, it seems like I get a lot of strange visitors at my door. In 2004 when Alicia was turning 3 we had a crayfish/crawfish/crawdad at our front door. Saturday night there was a bat sleeping on the front porch. Yesterday when I went to take out the trash there was a toad right in front of the porch.

Weird Wednesday started with Monster Quest. Our quest was the Thunderbirds. Native tribes have been seeing these giant birds which snatch people for thousands of years. In the 1970's there was a rash of thunderbird sightings in the Midwest. A 10 year old boy was picked up by one in 1977. There is one film of a thunderbird in flight. Is it a turkey vulture, as the experts claim? Are thunderbirds just regular birds, whose size can't be estimated because of distance and the human mind makes it appear larger? Is it an unknown species? Is it an unusually large example of a known bird?

Next on Ghost Hunters, TAPS traveled to the Iron Island Museum in Buffalo. The locked front door opened and closed while one of the investigaors was speaking to the camera. It is caught on film. There were footsteps in the attic. The voices caught on tape are some of the best ever. They all came from the attic or when they were investigating the attic. We have a man saying, "What do you want?", a woman's voice in what was described as sounding like Polish, and another man's voice saying, "Leave me alone." TAPS declared the building haunted.

Posted by Josh at 7:52 AM PDT
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Our journey south to Florida began in winter, late March 2007. We had a few inches of snow on the ground in Slatington when we left. Our first stop was the Elkton, MD Cracker Barrel for dinner. Next stop was Alexandria, VA to change drivers. The overnight drive was grueling, but worth it. When Heather and Alicia woke up in the morning we were in South Carolina. We stopped at another Cracker Barrel. By the time you get to central Virginia they have one every other exit. For me it was nice just to see South Carolina during the day. All my other trips through the state were by train and at night.

By breakfast, it had changed from winter to spring. And the entire night the temperature stayed pretty much the same because we were headed south into warmer air as it was cooling and we kept pace with the temperature change. In Georgia there were several wide rivers that very much looked like the back bays along the Jersey shore. We crossed the St. Mary's River and finally we were in Florida. We had our picture taken at the Sunshine State sign at the rest stop.

We passed through Jacksonville just as the daily rain shower hit. Then it was gone. In Orange City we stopped at Blue Springs State Park. Magnificent. Entry was $5 and worth it. There were manatees swimming in the lake. Alicia was afraid to go to the lake because she thought it would be full of aligators. Then we had lunch with GGPop at a Chinese restaurant. Alicia mastered chopsticks.

Finally, after 26 hours we made it to our hotel in Bradenton. Alicia spent the night at Jamie's place. Jamie was just about to move back to Washington when we visited Florida. Debbie was marrying Mark there, and that's why we went south. The next day, Heather and I went to Jamie's and had breakfast. Jayden was a brand new 10 day old baby. Alicia was in love. Also, she was excited about the little lizzards everywhere.

While in Florida, we went to DeSoto National Memorial and learned about Spanish exploration in the southeast in the 1500's. Alicia is crack shot with a crossbow. On the nature trail which leads through a mangrove swamp we saw an ibis and an egret. Alicia earned her third Junior Ranger badge there. We also spent some time at the beach and went to a Tampa Bay Rays spring training game.

The wedding got off without a hitch, other than Debbie and Mark getting hitched. Alicia was a flower girl and her job was to release the butterflies. She took off the lid, screamed, and dropped the butterflies.

On the way back we walked around Savannah and spent the night in South Carolina. The next day we stopped at Cowpens battlefield, where the Americans under Dan Morgan beat Bloody Ban Tarleton's British cavalry in the Revolution. We had lunch at the battlefield and Alicia got another Junior Ranger badge. We had dinner with Becca and her family in North Carolina and spent the night with them. We left early the next morning. In Virginia we did a little food shopping and picked up a lemon for Stonewall Jackson's grave in Lexington. We parked down the road from his house and walked to the cemetery. When we got back to Pennsylvania after lunch it was in the 80's. We stopped in Allentown before heading home because Heather had a seminar to do. All our snow was gone when we got home. It was a very exhausting drive home. We left at 6 AM and drove almost non-stop, only to do a seminar before going home. But despite all the work we did to get from Point A to Point B and back, it was a great trip.

Posted by Josh at 9:23 PM PDT
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In June 2000 I took my first trip to Pennsylvania. So did Heather. It was our honeymoon, after 6 month delay. We took a red-eye to Pittsburgh, picked up a rental car, and drove north. After stopping for a nap at a reststop, we continued north, arriving at Niagara Falls. New York (state) can claim the falls all they want but the real action is on the Canadien (Canadien spelling) side of the river. At the falls, we met Heather's friend Philip (AKA Pip), who is Canadien by way of Romania.

After spending the night on the New York (state) side in a room that was only $50 we went back south and finally hit that thunderstorm we flew over headed east. It was cool watching the sky light up below us. Back to the ground now. We got back to Pittsburgh and drove around for what seemed like hours trying to  find Michelle's place. We ate at a Long John Silvers (another first for me) while another storm rolled in. Western PA has some great thunderstorms. Finally I got to meet Michelle and Shaun. Since Heather has this terrible habit of calling me Jeff and calling Jeff Josh, I introduced myself as Jeff. I'm pretty sure someone smacked me.

We hung out in Pitt for a few days as Heather's parents flew east. We got dropped off at the train station, then took the train to Philly. We spent the night there before getting another rental visiting my parents in Quakertown. Heather's family traveled from Pitt to Quakertown and we had a wedding reception/Christine graduation party. So everyone who missed our wedding (AKA everyone) could watch us renew our vows, which apparently were expiring.

Next up was Heather's first trip to the Atlantic. We took the Commodore Barry Bridge and backroads to Cape May, NJ. Along the way we stopped at an old church just before sunset. Heather thought it was creepy but had to stop anyway. We camped just outside Cape May and had a wonderful time, aside from the sunburn. Heather swam with dolphins and decided Cape May is the happiest place on earth. However, the sunburn was bad enough that we gave up on camping and got a room in Wildwood and slept in separate beds.

Then it was back to Quakertown, then back to Washington. Tune in tomorrow for Florida 2007. Thursday's episode will be our Weird Wednesday recap of a brand new season of Ghost Hunters. Friday we'll take a look at how the Democrats and Republicans are faring following their conventions. 

Posted by Josh at 3:47 PM PDT
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Using the same characters as yesterday's Alaska adventure, let us now journey west from Columbia, MD. Actually, before going west I went south and east. To Washington, DC and Rehoboth Beach, DE to be exact. Then we went west. The night before leaving Maryland there was a thunderstorm, and it rained hard in the mountains of West Virginia as well. It cleared up just as we entered Kentucky. We had dinner at a place on the Ohio River in Indiana and spent the night at my uncle's friend in Louisville.

Day 2 took us to St. Meinrad Monastery in Indiana, then St. Louis. I didn't go in the arch, but there's a Western Expansion Museum underneath it. We also did the Budweiser brewery tour (soda and snacks for the kids, O'Doull's for the adults) but the famous Clydesdales were on tour. Our first night of camping had us in Lawrence, Kansas.

Our Kansas welcome was a thunderstorm wake-up call. After decamping we hit the zoo in Topeka. Also of note that day: I saw a Speed Limit 13 sign. Later that day we were making camp again, this time in western Kansas, a little town called Wakeeney. Another thunderstorm wake-up, this time my uncle saw a funnel cloud. We stayed in the office at the campground for shelter until the storm passed. It was the first of three, a single day record that has since been tied twice.

The plan for the night was to camp at Cherry Creek State Park outside Denver, but storm number three blew our tents down as we were leaving to get dinner. We stayed in a hotel instead. We checked out Denver the next day, then stopped at Colorado National Monument before kabin kamping at a KOA. The next day our voyage took us through Utah, where the rocks are red and everywhere. In Kanab, the gas station was full of Japanese tourists taking pictures like they've never seen a gas station before.

We arrived at Grand Canyon's North Rim late that night and slept in the van. I got to see the sunrise over the canyon. Amazing. We spent a few days on the north side before driving 80 miles to get to the other side of the 10 mile wide canyon. Along the way we stopped at the Lake Powell Dam in Page a site at Navajo National Monument, where I got my introduction to the Indian paintbrush, my new favorite flower. Unfortunately, I was sleeping when we passed through Tuba City, a place I always thought sounded interesting.

At the South Rim we had a thunderstorm. That was cool. I also had one of the best days of my life. It involved petting the mules, which you're not supposed to do, and generally being without adult supervision much of the day. When you're 13 it doesn't get any better. There was a presentation about the Civil War amp who explored the canyon in the 1870's and a tram ride along the canyon where they explained some of the history of the canyon. And of course, there was some hiking involved.

After leaving the canyon we first went south to Flagstaff, then east to Albuquerque. We camped 2 nights there, and during the day took a side trip to Santa Fe. There's an art museum and an outdoor plaza. Go there sometime. Next stop was carlsbad Caverns, where the thousands of bats fly out every evening. I got to see that. Imagine how many bugs would be in the desert without those guys.

After going batty, we hoteled in El Paso, then walked across the border and explored Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. We all survived the Mexico experience and were allowed back in the States. After leaving El Paso, we camped in Fort Stockton, a little west Texas frontier post. The sky was the clearest I'd ever seen, free of trees, light, and pollution.

The next mornng we went to the Fort Stockton fort, but it was closed. Instead we drove east and went to a cave. There's a rock formation that looks like a butterfly. Then we camped in San Antonio. They were giving away ice cream there at the campground. They also had a concert and played "Old Yeller" outside at night. Oh, and the Alamo was cool too. I love San Antonio's Riverwalk. It's an urban hiking experience. There are a few old Spanish missions in the city too.

After leaving San Antone, we passed the Republican National Convention in Houston. Texas felt different somewhere that day. It was more humid, there were more trees, and there were rivers. As we got closer to Louisiana, they started to call them bayous. We stayed in a cabin in Lake Charles, Louisiana, our last stop before the Big Easy.

New Orleans is right up there with San Antonio as far as best cities on this trip. I had an outdoor breakfast of crepes at a little cafe. Wrought iron quickly became my favorite design element in architecture. I wish I had more time there. I wanted to do the cemetery tour, or a voodoo ghost walk. And now that I'm over 21 there's Bourbon Street after dark.

In Mississippi, we stopped at the beach in Gulfport/Biloxi. The water was knee high about a half mile out. At some point it really drops off, and I'm glad we didn't go that far. We drove past Jefferson Davis's house. After got to Mobile, Alabama we took a turn to the north and you could tell we were gaining elevation. Dinner was at the Cracker Barrel in Montgomery, then we crossed into Georgia and hit 100,000 miles on the van.

The next day we went to Stone Mountain. The mountain has a carving of Confederate heros (Lee, Davis, and Stonewall Jackson) that was done by the same guy who did Mount Rushmore. There's also a plantation there for folks to explore. We did this, in the rain. We were planning on going to Myrtle Beach next, but because of the rain went to Tennesee instead. Dinner in Chatanooga was at another Cracker Barrel, same table. I believe we also sat in the same seats too. I don't think we all ordered the same thing as before though.

While in Chatanooga, we visited Confederama, a Civil War museum. We made to Virginia after leaving Chatanooga, and spent the night in Staunton in the Shenandoah Valley. The Valley is one of my favorite places. We hit the Caverns of Luray and took Skyline Drive through Shenandoah National Park before getting back to my uncle's place in Maryland.

While we were running around all over America, my family spent some time at my uncle's place. They really liked riding the water taxi around Baltimore. Becca played with crab legs. The next day, we were all in the car (nothing new for me) headed north and it was all over.

Posted by Josh at 8:32 PM PDT
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Well, Loyal Reader, here's my trip to Alaska as promised. We left from Falls Church, VA. Somewhere on the PA Turnpike on Day 1 we lost our car-top carrier (and our tents and sleeping bags too). After a day on the road we made it as far as Rockford, IL. I was traveling with my Uncle Bob, his friend, and her 3 kids. South Dakota was next. We saw the Badlands, Black Hills, including Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse. Then off to Custer National Battlefield (now Little Bighorn since Custer didn't win, why should he get to name it?) and a late night ride to Missoula, MT.

A day later and we were in Seattle. Next, my first flight, up to Anchorage. I slept through it. Arrival in Alaska was a shock as it was in the 70's and people were wearing shorts. I had on a winter coat. The highlights in Alaska included Earthquake Park (a neighborhood devestated and buried by the 1964 earthquake), Denali National Park (too a really great hike there), a glacier somewhere, and panning for gold.

After 6 or 7 days in Alaska we flew back to Seattle. I played mini golf at Seattle Center and hit a hole in one on the next hole. Headed back east, we first went south to Portland, passing through Pierce County, home to Heather and her family who I didn't know yet.

We cut east across Oregon and Idaho and made our way to Yellowstone. I can't wait to go back. Geysers, mudpots, hot springs, elk..... You have to go there yourself. Continuing east, we rode horses in Cheyenne. The pronghorns were everywhere. There's a pony Express station in Nebraska we visited. I had lunch with a chipmunk in Iowa.

Chicago the second time through was more fun than the first. Westbound we drove through in a thunderstorm. Eastbound, we spent the day. No signs of Ferris Beuller though. The Field Museum had a huge Egyptian exhibit. It was like being in ancient Egypt. I also saw the Buckingham (Al Bundy) Fountain in Lincoln (not Linkin) Park. Indiana brought us to Notre Dame's Touchdown Jesus and First Down Moses.

After another night of camping, I was home and the journey of a lifetime was over. Fret not, my Loyal Reader. For in just 2 short years I would be crossing the country with the same cast of characters. Read about 1992's Grand Canyon Expedition tomorrow!

Posted by Josh at 9:18 AM PDT
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Summer is almost over, so let's think back to our favorite summer vacations of all time! Here are some of mine, in no particular order: Florida, 1987 and 1988; Alaska, 1990; Arizona, 1992; Washington, 1999; Pennsylvania, 2000; Florida, 2007; and a bunch of smaller trips to places like Gettysburg, PA and Cape May, NJ.

Starting with Floirida in the 80's, it was my first time on the train. Disney is great, so is Sea World. Gatorland Zoo is a must for kids who like gators. I enjoyes the hot, humid weather and daily thunderstorms. The air smelled like tropical flowers and there were lizards running around Orlando like crazy. I think they even outnumbered the old folks. Since it was 20 years ago there's not a whole lot of details I remember, just the rides at Disney were great and I'm sure they're even better now. Check back tomorrow for Alaska!

DQ Update:

The golf cart DQ "fixed" stopped working again over the weekend. He has it back again, starting today. The Dude told me DQ had it running again. Only for himself? He's also working on the tractor. With the pressure washer. When you're car's acting funny the first thing to do is take it to the car wash.

Posted by Josh at 8:32 PM PDT
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