I am at peace with the Tarheels.

Thanks to our wonderful friend Julie, we had great tickets to last night's game against Florida State. This year you can get tickets anywhere. The Dean Dome took a long time to have a respectable crowd but those that were there were real fans. There was tremendous support for Roy and the boys. Everyone seemed to accept the fact that this is most likely the worst basketball season ever...but there is nothing to do but remember past glory and know that it will get better. Based on the fact that the team does not seem to see that dribbling and passing do not put points on the board, I cannot see a good showing in the Tournament. They will most likely play the Thursday game for the first time ever (I think).

Emily and Kate were there and they stayed to the bitter end to take part in the Carolina tradition of singing the Alma Mater and fight song. They do not have tickets to the last home game against Miami so this was their last Carolina home basketball game...you can bet that I am shedding a few tears. The loss did not seem tragic, it was just being a part of the Carolina tradition.

And by the way, they wore ridiculous silver uniforms...turn the dome Blue? Roy, what were you thinking?

"Rising Blue Cross bills stun N.C. families"

That is the headline in the Raleigh News and Observer this morning. Well, who is surprised at that? Meanwhile the Republicans are dithering in the meeting at Blair House today and those not there are whining about the TV coverage. They continue to put forth the misguided assertion that the American People want to start over, the American people do not want whatever the Democrats want; but guess what they are wrong!!!!! They have no idea what Americans want they are to quote Congressman Wiener of NY... "The Republican Party is a wholly owned subsidiary of the health care industry".

The tide is shifting away from the lunatics who have gotten all of the attention lately, but the Fox crowd can not hear it because they live in an echo chamber.

Alexander Haig to God...

"I am in control."

I'm not going to say anything about the Tarheels.

Rouler Les Bon Temps!

Hope everyone is having a great Mardi Gras! I still shudder thinking about the times we went to New Orleans for the celebration...remember Carolyn? The "Pitt" celebrates with an annual event. It was held last Saturday at the Chatham Mill and Pat and I went. I can tell you that it was too bad you were not there. It was an event to remember. Everyone was dressed in the most outrageous outfits you can imagine. I think most of Chatham County attended and a great time was had by all.

Remember 1998?

In 1998 following the impeachment of Bill Clinton and the "trial" in the Senate the conventional wisdom was that the Dems were going to be taken to the cleaners in the off-year elections. It was going to be a blood bath. Democrats were jumping ship and it seemed the end of the party of Jefferson and Jackson was eminent. Guess what, it did not happen...Democrats GAINED seats in the Congress and Clinton's poll ratings went up!!!!!! Get ready for a repeat. There are people who are paying attention and realize that the party of NO (aka republicans) has become ridiculous. I am following Nate Silver and though he is not as optomistic as I am, he is not digging the grave of the Democratic Party. Next November people will go to the polls and vote against these "nattering nabobs of negativism".

an evening with the politicos

Here in Chatham County where politics is the favorite pastime there is always something going on. Tonight Pat and I went to the mayor's house for a fundraiser. The guest of honor was Bob Etheridge our Congressman. He is in a pretty tight race this year which is a bit unusual for him. He is a Democrat and most of the district is on the conservative side, so we know that before November he will be painted as a socialist, or a communist, or a Hitler lover...perhaps a martian. He is a very nice man and deserves to keep his seat. We will help!

It was a very interesting gathering. The Speaker of the NC House, Joe Hackney, as well as our state senator Bob Atwater were there. The most interesting person we met was a man who came up to us, introduced himself and we carried on a long conversation. His name was Bruce Ladd and he told us he had moved to Chapel Hill from DC. I of course asked him what he had done in DC. He told me he'd have to kill me if he told me... I was intrigued. Finally he said he had worked in the Nixon White House and for Donald Rumsfeld. I must have looked surprised because he explained that he had been very impressed with the Democrats in Chatham County when he moved here and that the Republicans seemed to be out of the picture. I googled him when we got home and found that he had written several books and had authored the Freedom of Information Act! He HAD worked for Rumsfeld when he was a congressman and had worked in the press office for Nixon. Considering that one of the books he has written is Crisis in Credibility, I would say he became skeptical about the US Government.

It was a great gathering and we are glad we were included.

Bye Bayh!

Evan Bayh has announced that he will not seek a third term in the Senate. Babbling heads on TV are making this sound like the death of the Democratic Party. I say see ya! Bayh is THE most BORING politician since John Quincy Adams (though he, John Q, did swim naked in the Potomac.) Evan seems to have been the perennial middle of the mush politician to be on every short list of every office known to man...but never picked. He opens his mouth and the audience nods and snores.

His father Birch, was a casualty of the 1980 conservative onslaught bringing about the defeat of the most liberal Democrats in the Senate. It was the beginning of the end for the progressive movement. These liberals were not prepared for the onslaught of the slash and burn campaigns that would become the norm for the Right. The Republicans took control of the Senate for the first time since 1954. Gaylord Nelson, Frank Church, George McGovern, Warren Magnuson, Frank Culver and Bayh all went down to defeat. The campaigns were riddled with slander and innuendo. I sat in shock in our little condo in Atlanta watching this happen...even Herman Talmadge of Georgia was defeated (NBC had declared him the winner very early in the evening).

You would think that Evan would have wanted to fight the mean and nasty people who had defeated his Dad...but no, he has not stood up to the thugs from the right and now he caves. Find a good progressive to run against whoever the Repubs put up....I wonder if Mike Pence will take back his announcement that he won't run for the seat.

follow up....Does Bayh want to run for President on the Republican ticket? Certainly sounds like it to me. it would be a real race for the dullest of the dull with Romney.

Finally!!!!!

The Tarheels look like a basketball team!!! Toe to toe with Duke! The Dean Dome is rockin'! Even if they do not win at least they are playing a good game. Like I said, there is always the ACC tournament.

palinistics

New rule....if you are a liberal and refer to other liberals as "retards" you are insensitive and should not be able to hold a job in the federal government. If you are a right wing radio personality who loves Sarah Palin you can call liberals "retards"...that's the "new" definition of satire.

"How ya liken that hopey, changey stuff now?"

Obama is a jerk for using a teleprompter, but Palin can and does write her talking points on HER HAND! This must be a carry over from high school.

WHO DAT!!!!!

I have not cared about professional football in years....since we had season tickets to the Falcons a couple of years in the early 80's. And I must admit that I did not care about or follow the games this season. But the Saints have brought real life drama and soul into the Super Bowl this year. New Orleans is a city that I love...I love the grit, the energy, the history, the music, the uniqueness, the river...everything. The Saints are New Orleans. The owner could have pulled the team out of the city after Katrina, but she didn't; she stayed and fought back. None of that "it's a business decision" rationalization. The city needed the team and the reward has come! I will be pulling for the New Orleans Saints today as if they were the Tarheels playing for the national championship (and we know that's not happening). New Orleans will celebrate whatever the outcome...anyone want to take a road trip?

An afternoon spent on Pandora in the 3rd dimension.

Avatar does have a message and the plot is familiar...Dances With Wolves would sum it up. Do not go to see it expecting a revolutionary story line and denouement, see it to experience an unbelievable feast for the eyes. It is a milestone in cinematic art. Not to see this film would be like shunning the French Impressionist painters in the late 19th Century and refusing to view their art. Fantasy films are usually not appealing to me, but this is an altogether different experience. Pandora and its indigenous beings become real...you want to go there...you want to know them.

After Graduation...

Our sweet and wonderful Emily has been accepted to join the Mississippi Teacher Corps! We are very proud but will miss her since she will be sooooo far away.

The Tarheels are not going to make it to the dance.

They could win the ACC tournament....I can still hope.

The Sex Tape's...

...future has been decided right here in the "Pitt" today! Perhaps now you will believe that this is a happening place. Andrew Young (John Edwards' lackey) appeared in court today in Pittsboro and was ordered to turn over the infamous pregnant sex tape.

The "Pitt" has been on vacation in a place where there is no snow and all the people read the NY Times.

I must say there is a great deal of catching up to do.

The Tarheels have dampened my spirits...my winter entertainment has become a nightmare. What has happened? Well, of course I have an opinion. For whatever reason Roy is not connecting with the boys. Maybe it is the pain medication he was taking after his operation, maybe he longs for last year's group, maybe he is looking past this year to next, or maybe he isn't the coach everyone thinks he is. (right Carolyn) At any rate the lack of b-ball excitement has gotten me down. I used to be able to shift my enthusiasm to Duke when they were doing better...but no more. After having paid a gazillion dollars to UNC I can no longer support the K man and his thugs. Ga Tech will become my team...I will recover. By the way, living with Pat when the Bulldogs are having a fairly good season and there are only 2 ACC teams in the top 25 is hell. Though our annual ACC vs SEC basketball war has cooled since we moved here.

Katrina and I have renewed our walking commitment and are once again tackling Firetower Road. We WILL be in shape come the summer! There are several updates from the Firetower. Rex, the Lab that looked like Katrina was killed. Everyone seems to miss him especially his owner who refuses to accept the fact that he is dead. The Bottle House has been adorned with raccoon skins and tails. Naturally they have all been placed in "artistic" locations among the collection. A freezer, many more interesting rocks, bottles, and bicycle parts have been added as well. One morning as we were walking down the hill two men were walking up with shot guns and I wasn't real sure what to think. They were going squirrel hunting I was told. That was certainly a new experience.

The "Pitt" has seen two businesses close in January; Archie's Appliance Store and Beggars and Choosers. B and C was an antique, vintage clothing, stuff store that had been here since the 70's. It was a landmark and people were quite upset, but you have to buy things in these stores for them to stay in business. This stupid economy has got to turn around.

Then there is the political situation. It has put me in a super funk. I will deal with that in the next post. It will take a great deal of energy.

The snow that I thought was so cool last week has become a menace. Our house sits at an angle where the sun does not hit the front in the winter. The 15 inches of snow that blew up against the garage and then became the South Pole was still there this morning. Though it is sunny and warmer no way it was going to melt, so I have been loading up the sled with the huge chunks of iced snow and hauling it to the gutter where the sun does shine. Fun times in the "Pitt"

January is over and I will come out of my hibernation and face the world again.