"Is the present state of the national republic enough? Is virtue the principle of our government? Is honor? Or is ambition and avarice, adulation, baseness, covetousness, the thirst for riches, indifference concerning the means of rising and enriching, the contempt of principle, the spirit of party and of faction the motive and principle that governs?"
Excerpt of a letter from John Adams to Benjamin Rush, February 6, 1805. From the book John Adams by David McCullough.
Monday, September 8, 2008
Saturday, September 6, 2008
An Oulsham Restaurant Review
So we went ot PF Chang's last night. Here's how it went down...
The food was good as usual in that mass-produced chain restaurant sort of way, but out here in the swamps of Jersey it's probably the best quality Chinese food we've got, but you didn't come here for a food review.
Our waitress seemed overwhelmed. After about a forty minute wait she refilled a water glass on the table and cheerfully presented that as if she was a surrogate mother for us. The service was deplorable, and in fact after waiting thirty-five minutes for a piece of cake we asked for our check and split. She blamed the wait on the kitchen staff and told us they were, at that moment, getting yelled at. But that's still not what you come here for.
At the table next to us was four generations of women and an extra PANK thrown in for fun. One of the kids was an infant, and I'm not being mean here, but his head was growing faster than his body and he looked like Jerry Lewis. But the big deal was the seven-year old who decided to tap dance while she was waiting for her meal. That's right I said tap dance. And, to make matters worse the other three generations of women thought this was adorable.
I decided to go to the bathroom. In the bathroom was a server who was dancing to the R&B song on the Muzak in front of the mirror. He was mugging for himself and, well, checking himself OUT. He didn't notice me for quite a few moments as I stood behind him staring with utmost incredulity. Tapdancing sisters of Jerry Lewis look-alikes and horrible service is okay, but seriously, the one thing I don't want happening when I go to the Men's Room is a guy dancing in front of the mirror. it's...just...yucky. Call me what you will, but dancing in the bathroom is worse than tapdancing in a restaurant.
Thank you.
The food was good as usual in that mass-produced chain restaurant sort of way, but out here in the swamps of Jersey it's probably the best quality Chinese food we've got, but you didn't come here for a food review.
Our waitress seemed overwhelmed. After about a forty minute wait she refilled a water glass on the table and cheerfully presented that as if she was a surrogate mother for us. The service was deplorable, and in fact after waiting thirty-five minutes for a piece of cake we asked for our check and split. She blamed the wait on the kitchen staff and told us they were, at that moment, getting yelled at. But that's still not what you come here for.
At the table next to us was four generations of women and an extra PANK thrown in for fun. One of the kids was an infant, and I'm not being mean here, but his head was growing faster than his body and he looked like Jerry Lewis. But the big deal was the seven-year old who decided to tap dance while she was waiting for her meal. That's right I said tap dance. And, to make matters worse the other three generations of women thought this was adorable.
I decided to go to the bathroom. In the bathroom was a server who was dancing to the R&B song on the Muzak in front of the mirror. He was mugging for himself and, well, checking himself OUT. He didn't notice me for quite a few moments as I stood behind him staring with utmost incredulity. Tapdancing sisters of Jerry Lewis look-alikes and horrible service is okay, but seriously, the one thing I don't want happening when I go to the Men's Room is a guy dancing in front of the mirror. it's...just...yucky. Call me what you will, but dancing in the bathroom is worse than tapdancing in a restaurant.
Thank you.
Friday, September 5, 2008
TWIR - Extended Version
Let's get right at it...
1. I fell asleep during McCain's speech last night. That was altogether not unexpected. On a scale of captivating speakers, with Mr. DeLuca my 10th grade Geometry teacher at 0 and Hitler at 100, McCain is around 9. Barama is around 75.
2. I don't know about you, but the chants of "USA, USA, USA," whether they be at the Olympics or a political convention make me really uncomfortable. It all gets a little too Reichstag for me, but then again what the hell do I know?
3. Joe Klein (Time) admitted that the media is going after Palin because they are only just now part of the vetting process.
4. Barama was on The O'Reilly Factor last night. He was better than expected, but he's still a hack politician who can only stick to his talking points - regardless of the question. O'Reilly actually did the job a journalist is supposed to do without resorting to guerrilla questioning.
5. "Irregardless" is not a word. And while I'm at it, it's a "moot" point, not a "mute" point. And one more thing, it's "the whole kit and kaboodle" not "the whole kitten kaboodle." You're welcome.
6. I'm playing bass tomorrow night with an Allman Brothers tribute band. This should be fun as I'll be winging it for the most part - it's been a while since I played any of their songs and I was too lazy to practice this week.
7. I did a book signing in Detroit in 2004 and spent most of the day with Kwame Kilpatrick, who was then the new and promising mayor of that pitiful city. He was a really engaging, nice guy and I am really disappointed that he's now nothing more than a corrupt politician who belongs in jail, although unfortunately I guess I'm beyond being shocked anymore.
8. Be prepared for Oulsham to switch back over again to an unanonymous blog.
9. One of our dogs has whooping cough or tuberculosis or something, and quite frankly it's annoying. I mean, I'd actually feel bad if she was lying on the couch with a blanket and a rubber bone, but she's just doing her usual running around, except with this horrible phlegmatic cough.
10. Go Saints!
1. I fell asleep during McCain's speech last night. That was altogether not unexpected. On a scale of captivating speakers, with Mr. DeLuca my 10th grade Geometry teacher at 0 and Hitler at 100, McCain is around 9. Barama is around 75.
2. I don't know about you, but the chants of "USA, USA, USA," whether they be at the Olympics or a political convention make me really uncomfortable. It all gets a little too Reichstag for me, but then again what the hell do I know?
3. Joe Klein (Time) admitted that the media is going after Palin because they are only just now part of the vetting process.
4. Barama was on The O'Reilly Factor last night. He was better than expected, but he's still a hack politician who can only stick to his talking points - regardless of the question. O'Reilly actually did the job a journalist is supposed to do without resorting to guerrilla questioning.
5. "Irregardless" is not a word. And while I'm at it, it's a "moot" point, not a "mute" point. And one more thing, it's "the whole kit and kaboodle" not "the whole kitten kaboodle." You're welcome.
6. I'm playing bass tomorrow night with an Allman Brothers tribute band. This should be fun as I'll be winging it for the most part - it's been a while since I played any of their songs and I was too lazy to practice this week.
7. I did a book signing in Detroit in 2004 and spent most of the day with Kwame Kilpatrick, who was then the new and promising mayor of that pitiful city. He was a really engaging, nice guy and I am really disappointed that he's now nothing more than a corrupt politician who belongs in jail, although unfortunately I guess I'm beyond being shocked anymore.
8. Be prepared for Oulsham to switch back over again to an unanonymous blog.
9. One of our dogs has whooping cough or tuberculosis or something, and quite frankly it's annoying. I mean, I'd actually feel bad if she was lying on the couch with a blanket and a rubber bone, but she's just doing her usual running around, except with this horrible phlegmatic cough.
10. Go Saints!
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Nobody Doesn't Like Sarah Palin.
Well. That was fun. First of all Mitt Romney disappointed. Then Mike Hukabee was good. Rudy kicked ass in the way only a New Yorker could do - until Sarah Palin came on. It was fun to watch the Media fall all over themselves going ga-ga over her. Joe Biden was as stupefied as I've ever seen him, which is always a treat for me.
It is clear now that the vitriol directed at Ms. Palin by the Media was simply their temper tantrum at not having been part of the vetting process. McCain's people kept her in the Secret Weapon file until the last possible minute, and well, how dare they not include the Katie Courics and Wold Blitzers of the world in running the government and the campaign?
In a brilliant stroke of triangulation (go back to your management studies) McCain is now above the fray, while a smart, witty, tough, experienced and pleasant Sarah Palin is drawing Barama into a fight with her - a fight he cannot win.
She is the strongest, best, and brightest example my generation has produced and I doubt I could have been more impressed with any other Veep candidate. I can't wait to watch the petulant, emotionally unstable Left-wing Barama supporters try to pull their bloomers out of the bunch they're in now.
It is clear now that the vitriol directed at Ms. Palin by the Media was simply their temper tantrum at not having been part of the vetting process. McCain's people kept her in the Secret Weapon file until the last possible minute, and well, how dare they not include the Katie Courics and Wold Blitzers of the world in running the government and the campaign?
In a brilliant stroke of triangulation (go back to your management studies) McCain is now above the fray, while a smart, witty, tough, experienced and pleasant Sarah Palin is drawing Barama into a fight with her - a fight he cannot win.
She is the strongest, best, and brightest example my generation has produced and I doubt I could have been more impressed with any other Veep candidate. I can't wait to watch the petulant, emotionally unstable Left-wing Barama supporters try to pull their bloomers out of the bunch they're in now.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Oulsham Does Andy Rooney (Call Up His Voice In Your Head)
1. If you didn't see Fred Thompson's speech last night, you missed out. He was captivating and on fire. He really made me lament the fact that he got in the race too late.
2. Didja ever notice how the news people always show the Republicans acting like buffoons but they never show the Democrats doing the same?
3. Didja ever notice how all the attention is on Sarah Palin and nobody is talking about Joe Biden? Joe Biden is a complete tool so it stands to reason that the Fourth Estate needs to obfuscate this fact by tearing apart a conservative woman.
4. Remember when Joe Biden wanted to divide Iraq into three distinct ethnic regions, thinking that would solve the problems over there? I think Joe Biden should read a history of the region so he will learn that that is exactly what the British did and that's why we have the problems we have now.
5. Remember when Rick Lazio walked across the stage and gave Hillary that paper to sign? Remember how up in arms we were over his treatment of a woman candidate?
6. My dentist is Russian and last year she really condescended to me about the fact that I was vacationing at Disney. "That's so American," she sniffed. Well, it's better than spending your summer in Georgia and you're so unwelcome you have to bring tanks and troops with you.
7. Remember when sixteen-year-old Jamie Lynn Spears got pregnant and that was okay?
8. Didja ever notice that Barack Obama is really absent of extemporaneous thoughts that actually make sense?
I'm old and crotchety and I'm going to drink a Saspirilla (no really I am) and watch the Republicans make fools of themselves now. I'll be back next week.
2. Didja ever notice how the news people always show the Republicans acting like buffoons but they never show the Democrats doing the same?
3. Didja ever notice how all the attention is on Sarah Palin and nobody is talking about Joe Biden? Joe Biden is a complete tool so it stands to reason that the Fourth Estate needs to obfuscate this fact by tearing apart a conservative woman.
4. Remember when Joe Biden wanted to divide Iraq into three distinct ethnic regions, thinking that would solve the problems over there? I think Joe Biden should read a history of the region so he will learn that that is exactly what the British did and that's why we have the problems we have now.
5. Remember when Rick Lazio walked across the stage and gave Hillary that paper to sign? Remember how up in arms we were over his treatment of a woman candidate?
6. My dentist is Russian and last year she really condescended to me about the fact that I was vacationing at Disney. "That's so American," she sniffed. Well, it's better than spending your summer in Georgia and you're so unwelcome you have to bring tanks and troops with you.
7. Remember when sixteen-year-old Jamie Lynn Spears got pregnant and that was okay?
8. Didja ever notice that Barack Obama is really absent of extemporaneous thoughts that actually make sense?
I'm old and crotchety and I'm going to drink a Saspirilla (no really I am) and watch the Republicans make fools of themselves now. I'll be back next week.
This Makes The Attacks On Geraldine Ferraro Seem Tame
The questions being raised about Sarah Palin are bordering on indecent. While she may not be the strongest Veep candidate in the country, she is strong, in fact she is probably stronger than both Obama and Biden in several areas and that is what has got the Left and the Media so thoroughly up in arms. Plus she is an attractive female - so apparently it's okay to attack her in ways men don't get attacked in this country.
Imagine asking a male candidate if he could be a good father and be Veep. The double-standard is as plain as the ears on Obama's head, yet no one seems to care. Imagine making Obama or Biden's under-age children - regardless of their personal circumstance - the number one story and then blaming it on them for not protecting their children! Al Gore's kid is a speed freak but we still believe in Global Warming.
If you're not outraged by the treatment of this woman and her family you need to re-evaluate your stances on a number of issues - equality, privacy, opportunity, chief among them.
The most fun thing I saw this morning was Barack Obama comparing Palin's experience as mayor (ignoring her governorship) to his own executive experience managing his campaign! Idiot. Your personal saviour is now campaigning against the Veep candidate from the other party and he doesn't even know it.
Let this all play out, because there's more to this than the media is allowing you to see.
Imagine asking a male candidate if he could be a good father and be Veep. The double-standard is as plain as the ears on Obama's head, yet no one seems to care. Imagine making Obama or Biden's under-age children - regardless of their personal circumstance - the number one story and then blaming it on them for not protecting their children! Al Gore's kid is a speed freak but we still believe in Global Warming.
If you're not outraged by the treatment of this woman and her family you need to re-evaluate your stances on a number of issues - equality, privacy, opportunity, chief among them.
The most fun thing I saw this morning was Barack Obama comparing Palin's experience as mayor (ignoring her governorship) to his own executive experience managing his campaign! Idiot. Your personal saviour is now campaigning against the Veep candidate from the other party and he doesn't even know it.
Let this all play out, because there's more to this than the media is allowing you to see.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Random Observations
Well folks, I hope you all made it through without me. Made the 1063 mile trip in 16 hours 45 minutes. No Pemmican and I found something to replace Mountain Dew...it's called Vault and I only found it in Maryland and Virginia. Several bottles of that got us to North Carolina by 5:00 AM in time for a nasty Waffle House breakfast.
1. It appears that the UK has been overrun with poorly trained and untalented tattoo artists. My God every Brit looked like a refugee from some North Jersey housing development. White people with shaved heads, too much large gold jewelry and many tattoos are hysterical in their attempts to be tough - and I'm just talking about the women.
2. Speaking of people from other countries - they all smoke.
3. Sarah Palin? Interesting on a lot of levels. The Dems can't attack her experience as she is the only one of the four of them with management experience. It's good to have a tie-breaking vote in the Senate that is pro-oil. She's young, McCain is old and they're in the right order, so that's good...Barama has it backwards.
4. YES! Joe Biden. Fantastic! Hehehehehehe.
5. Wolf Blitzer nearly had a stroke trying to contain his excitement over the potential death and destruction from Hurricane Gustav. Sorry, Wolf, things weren't as bad as you hoped.
6. I actually spent a week with the only two teenagers in the world without a sense of entitlement. What a pleasure.
7. Geraldo is an absolute ass. I watched his act live with the whole "amazing rescue" bit. What a jerk.
1. It appears that the UK has been overrun with poorly trained and untalented tattoo artists. My God every Brit looked like a refugee from some North Jersey housing development. White people with shaved heads, too much large gold jewelry and many tattoos are hysterical in their attempts to be tough - and I'm just talking about the women.
2. Speaking of people from other countries - they all smoke.
3. Sarah Palin? Interesting on a lot of levels. The Dems can't attack her experience as she is the only one of the four of them with management experience. It's good to have a tie-breaking vote in the Senate that is pro-oil. She's young, McCain is old and they're in the right order, so that's good...Barama has it backwards.
4. YES! Joe Biden. Fantastic! Hehehehehehe.
5. Wolf Blitzer nearly had a stroke trying to contain his excitement over the potential death and destruction from Hurricane Gustav. Sorry, Wolf, things weren't as bad as you hoped.
6. I actually spent a week with the only two teenagers in the world without a sense of entitlement. What a pleasure.
7. Geraldo is an absolute ass. I watched his act live with the whole "amazing rescue" bit. What a jerk.
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