Monday, November 26, 2012

Scenes...

...from the natural world this Thanksgiving weekend. With cool temperatures and cloudless heavens, the weather could not have been better.

The sky was so perfect it improved every photograph, regardless of whether it was playing a lead role or a supporting one. Here, its natural azure backstops a turkey oak's autumn leaves:


Here, it subtly enhances a sepia sunscape:


We spent a lot of time outdoors, where Sarah tried to get close to a calf:


And Parker seemed to run all over the world:


And these somewhat prehistoric-looking creatures were not at all bothered by our presence in their territory. If you are one to keep score, the first is a black vulture and the second is a gopher tortoise:



The weekend was glorious, and although these photos are mostly nature-related, it was the human side of Thanksgiving that made it as rewarding as a holiday can possibly be. I hope you enjoyed yours as much as I enjoyed mine.

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Scenes...

...from last Sunday's early, ten-mile walk on the Withlacoochee State Trail, starting with this photo looking down into a boggy field from a somewhat elevated vantage point:


And continuing with this one, looking out at a vantage point that is more elevated than the one from which I captured the shot above:


All I can say is, I wish I lived in that house on the left!

The bucks and does were in hiding when I was walking, probably due to the fact it is deer season right now...And unfortunately, by the time my sister and I came upon a hawk perched right beside the trail, my camera battery had already died a premature death...But hey, at least I was able to snap a picture of this snail crossing the trail's asphalt/rubber pavement:


No, I have not gone into a deep funk since the election, even though I think its results are potentially catacylsmic. I refuse to let politics intrude on how I enjoy God's gift of life, because I believe Abraham Lincoln was right when he said that "most people are about as happy as they make up their mind to be." Or as Hugh Downs once put it, "A happy person is not a person in a certain set of circumstances, but rather a person with a certain set of attitudes."

Thanksgiving is tomorrow, which means the Christmas season, that most wonderful time of the year, is upon us. When it is past, I will recommence commenting about the goings-on in the world, and thinking about how we can transmit the blessings of Americanism to our descendants. Until then, I will write about other things and wish you a Happy Thanksgiving, Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year's.

And for all my Jewish friends out there, including everyone in the admirable and war-torn nation of Israel, I know Hanukkah starts December 8th. I hope for that holiday's core meaning, the triumph of light over darkness, to become reality no matter how long the odds may seem.

To close this post, here is one more picture from last Sunday. I just love the feel that black and white (actually, cinnamon) gives to a scene:


Monday, November 5, 2012

It's Time

Election Day is finally upon us, so here are some of my thoughts on the whole shebang.


Who Should Win
Everybody who has ever read this blog knows I think Romney is the man for whom to vote. I think the reasons why are so obvious that he should be up by 20 points, but since he's not, I feel compelled to expand on them. Here goes:

The economy:  Obama has been president for four years, and in all that time, there has not been a single month in which the nation's unemployment rate was lower that it was in the worst month of his predecessor's tenure. By constantly vilifying business in general, and openly targeting specific industries for destruction (coal) or confiscation (medicine), Obama has created the kind of anti-business climate that ensures contraction, or at best, growth that is soul-sappingly low. In other words, he has created the precise kind of environment that is sure to reduce job opportunities and guarantee high unemployment...Romney, on the other hand, knows how the economy works by virtue of a decades-long career creating and preserving businesses in the private sector.

National defense:  It is one of the biggest enigmas of all time that so many people claim national defense is an Obama strength. The reality is that he has stabbed our allies in the back and coddled our enemies so much that they laugh in our face while acting against us. While doing nothing to curb Iran's nuclear ambitions, he refers to that nation's top theocrat as "the supreme leader." He rolls over and lets Putin have his way with him. On his watch, the Taliban has come back from the brink of extinction and resumed power in Afghanistan.

Pardon my French, but when it comes to protecting America, and protecting the great human ideals for which America stands, Obama simply doesn't give a shit...Romney, on the other hand, knows evil when he sees it and is not afraid to call it what it is. From that alone, we can trust that he will not retreat to the cellar when the wolf howls at our door.

The Constitution:  It seems like a timeworn right wing cliche to say that liberals don't like the Constitution because it restricts the government's power. But in many ways that cliche is true, and Barack Obama is the most liberal person ever to occupy the Oval Office. The fact of the matter is that he has violated the Constitution so many times it might as well not even exist. His words and deeds have demonstrated contempt even for the First Amendment, which liberals supposedly love. When it comes to upholding the Constitution, that noble document that protects individual rights and liberty by restraining the central power of the federal government, it is hard to imagine how we could possibly do worse than reelect The Exalted One.

Character:  Obama constantly blames others for his shortcomings while taking credit for others' achievements. Benghazigate looks like it might be the biggest scandal in presidential history. And Obama routinely opines about things even when he doesn't know the facts, and even when the issue at hand is outside of his authority (see:  the Cambridge police "acted stupidly")...What about Romney's character, you ask? For my reply, go here.


Who Will Win
Your guess is probably as good as mine. I have my doubts about the polls that show the race basically tied, or that show Obama ahead. And I have good reasons for my doubts, since those polls assume Democrats will turn out to vote in just as high numbers, and Republicans in just as low numbers, as in 2008; and also because even when you look at the internal numbers in most of those polls, you find that Independents, who heavily favored Obama in 2008, now heavily favor Romney. Still, I remember not believing the polls in 2000, when they showed Bush and Gore to be basically tied, and we all know how that turned out...But having reliably C'ed my A, I now will go ahead and predict that Romney pulls it out.


The Coverage
As in, media coverage. It has been deplorable. The MSM has been cheering Democrats from the press box for longer than I've been alive, but this year, their Hallelujah chorus has become so obvious that many of them are no longer even trying to pretend they're unbiased. If Obama was a Republican, the coverage of Benghazigate would be so intense and relentless that either he would have resigned by now or the House would have already voted on Articles of Impeachment. Instead, the Old Gray Lady and major broadcast networks aren't saying a word.


Head-Scratching States
There are some states whose voting habits defy my ability to understand, and this year's Grand Prize, Ohio, is one of them. How can a state whose citizens embody solid Midwestern values and work ethic, and are unflinchingly patriotic, and not long ago installed John Kasich in the governor's mansion, be in a position to return a stuck-up anti-American lefty like Obama to the White House?

Pennsylvania is another. I understand why steel workers and coal miners would have reflexively voted  Democrat for some time after the New Deal and WWII drew to a close, but I have no idea why any of them have continued to do it all the way up to now. I hope things change this year, as polls suggest they might; but based on past presidential elections, I won't believe it until I see it.

Then there is Nevada. For a long time everyone has been calling this one for Obama, and on the eve of the election it looks like Romney is conceding it. Everyone says it's because of the state's large Hispanic population, but I just don't see how. First, Nevada has been ruby red, not royal blue, more often than not; and Obama has dissed it directly by criticizing people and companies for taking trips to Vegas. In that environment, its unemployment rate is highest in the nation. As far as I'm concerned, to say that Hispanics will vote as a bloc in spite of these figures is no different than saying Hispanics don't think.


NH/VA
New Hampshire and Virginia are states I love. Both have handsome coasts and beautiful mountains. Both have a native population whose sons and daughters cherish liberty and are willing to risk life and limb to support it. Virgnia was in many respects the cradle of the Revolution, and New Hampshire's state motto is "live free or die." 

Historically both states tend to vote conservative, but today they suffer from a geographical happenstance that has me worried. In recent decades, hordes of Bostonians have moved into the area around Manchester, New Hampshire, to flee the oppressive taxes and high cost of living  of Democrat-controlled Massachusetts. Similarly, hordes of D.C. bureaucrats have settled in Northern Virginia to flee the high crime and horrible schools of the city they run. And in both cases these "immigrants" continue to vote Democrat, oblivious to the cause and effect that say it makes no sense to run from a set of policies in one place, only to enact those same policies in the place you end up.

These states could go either way. Although national polls say Virginia belongs to Romney, my gut tells me not to believe that until I see it. And despite Kelly Ayotte's ascendancy to the Senate in 2010, I am hesitant to believe the Granite State has flipped back to red, though I admit that hesitancy it largely because I don't want to get my hopes up. In any event, I suspect that these two states will have a lot to do with who wins tomorrow night, regardless of what happens in Ohio.


And...
...we shall see what happens. I will be back to opining sometime after that happens. In the interim, as always, God Bless America!

Sunday, November 4, 2012

Scenes...

...from this morning's walk on the Withlacoochee State Trail, north of Dade City and east of Brooksville:


This rails-to-trails project always turns up interesting sights. All you have to do is take time pay attention:



When it's 60 degrees and foggy, this paved country trail is the perfect place to be, so head on out and enjoy what nature has to offer!