Christmas 2011!!!

Fabulous dinner! Flowers by Brinkley, meat by Pat, scallops by Bruz, fun by everyone.

"...to regard an adversary's situation without emotion".

 Ah, this is the secret to great leadership. Chris Matthews makes this observation about Jack Kennedy in his recently published biography of the 35th President of the United States. At the end of World War II when Kennedy was tilting toward a life in the political arena, he begins to display an ability to draw conclusions, especially regarding Russia, from a pragmatic, unemotional perspective.

The sentence jumped off the page and slapped me in the face. It is so true. Decisions made in anger, fear, long held grudges, or any other strong emotion often bring tragic results. Kennedy has always fascinated me. I have wavered between the manufactured and packaged candidate created by his father and the hero who led a generation out of the oppressive, hypocritical 1950's. Being a "regular" MSNBC observer, I was excited when Matthews completed his long touted work, Jack Kennedy Elusive Hero, and included it in my Christmas wish list. Though I have only just begun the reading, page 71 presented this insight into the mind of JFK. The Missile Crisis and the trip to Dallas came to mind as did current political figures.

Leadership is so important yet in the political climate of the new year 2012 it seems elusive. Passion is an essential ingredient in any political leader, but when events call for a decision that could change the course of history, the steady mind should prevail. Does Obama's mind operate on this level? Certainly several Presidential candidates do not possess this ability. Newt Gingrich is filled with an apparent hatred for Mitt Romney and sounds more like a petty 13 year old who never gets picked for dodge ball. Should the President make decisions that are predicated by a lifelong fear and misunderstanding of people and cultures?

At least on page 71 Kennedy is emerging as the hero I am seeking...

I'm up at this hour because I am trying to keep the Tar Heels from losing another game to the so called big 10.

So...I will tell you about our 2011 Christmas tree.

It is really the most beautiful tree ever! No kidding this time. I know that I said we put every ornament we had on the tree two years ago, but I lied. This year EVERY ORNAMENT that is not broken is on this big fat tree!

Our tree is a history of our family's Christmas throughout the years.

 Ornaments made by Emily and Brinkley at Mount Bethel Elementary...

A beautiful ball Pat and I bought on our honeymoon...

Butterfly ornaments that Emily gave us one year. She had noticed that Pat always gave me butterflies. And several additions this year; retro ones much like the ones that have been saved from my childhood tree.

Of course Alonzo our Christmas Elf is always the first to appear every year. No one is quite sure where he stays all year but he is right there as soon as the tree goes up. According to the notes that he leaves each year he lives at the North Pole.

Angels that my Dad had coming from the top of the tree down into the fairy land under the tree still survive. I think it may have been 1955.

Things I am not thankful for...

...don't get me wrong, I am still thankful for all the great things in my life, but really, there are some annoying things about thanksgiving.

The arguments and hard feelings that accompany the annual decision regarding who sits at the "kids table".

The never ending search for the perfect cornbread dressing recipe. You would think I would have found it by now.

The help lines to call about cooking a turkey. Just put the thing in a pan and throw it in the oven for crying out loud.

No wine really goes with all the different butter laden dishes.

The national dog show...I do not understand why the women who run with their dogs wear the homeliest shoes. YOUR FEET ARE ON TV!!

TV reporters at airports reporting the crowds. It's old and we know there are crowds.

The decorations that accompany the holiday are butt ugly! Turkeys are gross and Pilgrims are grim.

Thanksgiving is not Christmas and there should be no Christmas decorations until after the big meal.

BLACK FRIDAY is the worst of all things associated with this day of gorging. Shootings at malls, pepper spray in stores, pushing, and total rudeness mark this ridiculous exercise in free market capitalism.

There! Now on to decorating everything in my world!

"Oops"

It has now become ridiculous. Please get serious Republicans, we are talking about the Presidency.

It's a great day in the land of sane people.

In all parts of this great country people rejected the ideological right last night! I have hope. Mississippi rejected the so called "personhood" amendment, Ohio came alive and stood up for real people, the author of the ridiculous immigration bill in Arizona went down in a recall, AND right here in NC the Wake County Board of Education is back in the hands of Democrats. Let's not forget that here in the "Pitt" Randy Voller was reelected and two Democratic women won seats on the town council!!!! We are alive and kicking and 2012 doesn't look so bad!!!!!!

Excuse Me!!!

No, we will not excuse you Mr. Cain. You are no longer operating in the cocoon of Atlanta talk radio. You apparently want to be the President of the United States and you now must address questions from people who may not agree with you or like you. You cannot just hang up on them...this is not the insular world of the right wing echo chamber. Welcome to the real world. If you have been charged with sexual harassment it IS the public's business and people have the right to question you. The issue is not that someone "told" on you, the issue is that you could have used your position at the NRA to subject women to behavior that is not acceptable.

Aside from this unfortunate situation you apparently do not understand the complicated world in which we live. Sitting in a radio station and spouting crap to people who are as ill informed as you are is not comparable to running for the most powerful office in the world. The gig is up.

Brilliant! Only Maureen Dowd could bring Jane Austen into the Cain fiasco.

"Cain not Able", Dowd's piece in the NYT today is a must read.

I feel like the person who only goes to church on Easter Sunday

If you read my post from 10/23 you know that I had given up on baseball and was ignoring the World Series. But...then the greatest game in modern baseball history happened, I missed it and had only the highlights to watch the day after. That's what I get for giving up and not having faith. Baseball I am soooo sorry. I am here watching the last game of the 2011 World Series but it will serve me right if the Cardinals bomb. It's okay if they do I'm back. Though I do feel like I am back with Bobby Cox and his ridiculous habit of keeping pitchers in until it was too late, but the Cards have just hit a home run and are ahead. Carpenter recovered and is doing well.
I am for the Cards because there is no way I would be for any team from Texas. Texas has given us Rick Perry and George W Bush, and they killed JFK. They are always threatening to secede from the union...go, I say, and do not come back. The Cardinals' fans are loyal and enthusiastic and part of the history of baseball.

I watched every minute and realized how much I enjoy the deliberate pace of the game; the concentration needed to know what is going on. The things I grew weary with about the game are still there, but I just need to do what my pal Harriett does and ignore them and focus on the experience.

Can't wait for Spring training..tsk, tsk.

Can these people not hear themselves?

George W Bush issued 291 executive orders while he was President. Any complaints by Republicans in the Congress? Don't think so. The Constitution must apply to only some people.

Herman Cain is quite delusional...the people who are taking him seriously are deluded.

The Republicans will nominate Newt Gingrich and Paul Ryan. You heard it here. After listening to these absolute fools (Perry, Cain, Bachmann, Paul, Santorum, Palin, Romney, et al) for a couple of  months Newt will sound like the savior.