Small Group of Citizens

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has." Margaret Mead

As a nation we should remember this. What smaller group of citizens has the authority to make changes to our world than the Supreme Court. The fight between Obama and Clinton, the two leading contenders for the Democratic nomination, has started to look like a school yard brawl. Both candidates are throwing barbs and trading punches. Whatever the outcome though, we need to remember that they are both Democrats. Either of them would make an excellent president. And either of them would guard against a continued shift of the Supreme Court to the right.

After the convention, when one or the other has been chosen, we Democrats must come together and ensure that a Democrat wins the presidency. If we are Obama supporters and Clinton wins or if we are Clinton supporters and Obama wins, we have to stop insisting that our candidate would have been better. We've got to rally around the cause and make sure that a Democrat is seated in the White House. Otherwise, we could find ourselves facing a Supreme Court that becomes untenably tilted to the right. And with it, we would see many of our hard won freedoms, and freedoms yet to come, left on the pages of the history books.

Balding Penguin!

Pierre, a 25 year old penguin, found himself with a problem facing many men in their twilight years. Pierre was going bald. But unlike balding men, losing his feathers meant that Pierre couldn't stay warm enough to swim with his penguin buddies. The solution - a wetsuit to keep him warm. And as an added bonus, he started to grow his feathers back!

America . . . at Gate 14

Anyone who knows me knows that I would never be mistaken for a conservative. I'm not so far left that I'd tip the boat over, but I am definitely a liberal. But I believe in the saying keep your friends close and your enemies closer. So I read the Wall Street Journal. I read Peggy Noonan fairly regularly, and I rarely agree with her. But this time around, I think she has a point.

Peggy is sitting in AnyAirport, America at Gate 14. She's tuning out Wolf Blitzer as he talks of the Pennsylvania primaries. And she's looking around realizing who Barak Obama's real enemy is. It's not Clinton or McCain. It's the average American who understands, truely feels, what patriotism is. The people of middle America who see the understanding in McCain's patriotism and in Clinton's time in Arkansas. The America that realizes Bush wasn't the president they could sit down and have a beer with. Peggy sees what Barak is missing, she sees the America that is beginning to get a whiff of Barak's elitism.

Hillary in 2012?

I admit I voted for Hillary in the primaries. I think that she is the best candidate overall to make the changes we need in Washington. But I'm coming to terms with the very real possibility that Obama will take the Democratic nomination. So I ask myself, with the race going this way, why is Hillary staying? Is she staying so that a dialog will remain open in the Democratic party? Is she hoping that some miracle will happen and all the super delegates will swing her way? (Which, by the way, I'm praying for!) Or is she laying the groundwork for her next run in 2012?

Missing Her . . .

The house is quiet. Just me and Ben, the dog. You'd think Ben would make enough noise that the house would have it's normal sounds, but it's just not right. She's in a hotel room for the weekend. Her once a month routine that I'll never get used to. I miss the scruff of her foot on the floor. The sound of her breathing. The fall of foot on the stairs. I miss her being here. And I postpone climbing the stairs to climb into our bed, where I'll miss her warmth. It's as if part of me didn't make it home from work. Ben even senses it. He looks at me from time to time as if to say, well, where is she? Let's go get her. Sunday won't be soon enough . . .