Just watch this all the way through. This is the woman that the left would have you believe is “strange” or “unqualified” or “dangerous.” The truth is that Sarah Palin is brilliant, a gifted speaker, a person who lives her beliefs, and she is exactly what the United States needs to get us back on track. With John McCain and Sarah Palin as our leaders, America will once again gain the respect of the world. The left knows this, and Palin scares the crap out of them. She betters Obama on all fronts. That’s why they’ve attacked her so ruthlessly. She shows them for the empty suits they are.

Sunday morning RT and I woke up and decided to have a day together. So often RT and I spend much of weekends going our separate ways taking care of our individual errands and interests. We decided that whatever we did on Sunday, we would do it together.

Although Sunday School and church are things we always do together, we decided to skip them both. Instead we got on the internet and found an apple orchard that was just an hour away. We got in the car and headed east where we visited Breeden’s Apple Orchard in Mt. Juliet, TN.

There we bought four bags of apples, a half gallon of apple cider, some sorghum and molasses, and various jams and jellies. We left there and stopped by a country cafe for a “home-cooked” lunch of fried chicken, vegetables and sweet tea.

Then we headed southeast of Nashville to Henry Horton State Park for nine holes of golf.

Neither of us had ever played that particular course, and it was beautiful. We played the back nine holes - and had much of the course to ourselves. We didn’t keep score and had a grand time. We joked and laughed our way through the course. We had some great shots and some not-so-great shots. Mostly, we enjoyed the beautiful day, the cool breeze and the breathtaking scenery. The golf course is surrounded by beautiful wooded areas - just gorgeous.

After golf, we headed to the opposite side of the park to their skeet-shooting range where I “pulled” as Ron went through six boxes of shells - missing very few of the targets.

Afterwards we headed back to Nashville - drove by my school to pick up my lesson plan book so I could refresh my memory about whether or not I had a particular lesson to do today. (I did.)

Then we swung by the grandgirls’ house to share our apples with them. While we were there, they were eager for us to see the work they’ve done on their rooms. . . Well, the work their mom and dad have done on their rooms. Their rooms looked great, and they were thrilled to have the apples.

And finally we headed home again. What a wonderful and relaxing day.

RT and I were walking in our woods yesterday and found a persimmon tree loaded with ripe fruit - with lots of fruit on the ground underneath. We decided that we wanted to use the bounty from our land to make something.

We settled on persimmon jam, and RT went back and picked a basket of the fruit this afternoon.

He washed the fruit and mashed them. Then he pushed the fruit through a strainer to get out the seeds. He ended up with about 2 cups of pulp. To that we added 3 cups of sugar and then boiled the fruit/sugar mixture for about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, we prepared canning jars in boiling water. We added one package of powdered pectin to the persimmon/sugar mixture and boiled it for about a minute. Then we ladeled the mixture into the jars. It made about 3 1/2 jars of jam - 8 ounces each.

Needless to say, RT is very proud of his first efforts at canning.

Why have there not been any new posts at THE MEDIAN SIB lately? I’ve been asked that question several times lately. Even my daughter noticed that it has been almost two weeks since I last put up a new post.

I’m tired of politics. I guess I could write about other things, but I don’t have the interest right now. I read and watch the news, and I’m absolutely disgusted with the way that the liberals, in general, have attacked both McCain and Palin. I am absolutely disgusted with the liberal spin the MSM puts on any story.

Obama’s campaign preemptively claims racism regardless of what McCain or Palin say or do. It’s a tactic that works because it silences their opposition, makes their own constituents eager to jump on the racism accusation train. After all, if you accuse someone else of racism, it makes you seem so . . . uh . . . un-racist. Question Obama’s numerous shady associates and friends? You’re racist. Question Obama’s stand on abortion? You’re racist. Don’t like Obama for any reason whatsoever? You’re racist. Mention that Obama’s only significant accomplishment in his brief tenure as a U.S. Senator is running for POTUS, and you’re a racist. Simply BE for the McCain/Palin ticket? You’re a racist. I can’t even count the number of articles I’ve read from liberal media about how if Obama loses, it will show how racist the country is.

Obama’s long-term association with Jeremiah Wright and the Trinity United Church of Christ - the epitome of racial intolerance and psuedo-Christian theology - is the elephant in the room that is stomping around and knocking people around, but no one can talk about it. The Obama campaign has effectively silenced the oppositiion because to question it would result in charges of racism.

Most of the Clinton supporters have apparently forgotten that both Hillary and Bill Clinton were accused by the Obama campaign of being racist during the primaries. Of course, no one would dare categorize the racist charges as “negative” advertising. That would be racist.

I am thoroughly disgusted with both the Democratic party and the liberal media. No rational thinking person with anything but the most radical liberal beliefs could possibly support Obama based on his record, his beliefs and/or policies. However, Obama is young, he’s well-spoken, he’s charismatic, he’s Democratic, and he’s black. He is on his way to becoming our next President - and it will be a sad day for our country, and for our Constitution if that happens.

As I make my rounds of lefty blogs, I see the people who will vote for any candidate that has “D” after his/her name. An objective, independent thought never enters their head. I think some people have themselves so thoroughly aligned to the Democratic party emotionally - from the days when the Democratic party actually had some ethics - that they can’t even consider not voting for the Democratic candidate - even when that candidate poses grave danger to the very founding principles of our country. Every absurd spin of the liberal media gains full acceptance and endorsement. So they put their ethics and principles aside, buy into the liberal talking points and support a candidate that is the antithesis of what our country was founded on.

The Democratic party and the liberal media have done a very good job of characterizing any conservative as a Bible-thumping, irrational , gun-toting, hysterical and uneducated country bumpkin.

One of the more hilarious comments recently on this blog was an Obama supporter explaining in patronizing terms (along with numerous misspellings and incorrect grammar) how, as the country becomes more educated, the Democratic party gains ground because Democrats are logical - whereas Republicans are ruled by their emotions and their fear of gays and anger about abortion. The commenter went on to explain just how ignorant and irrational Republicans are. No one takes such an idiot seriously. He/she was just parroting the Democratic talking points.

Last week an Obama supporter claimed that someone yelled “Kill him!” when Sarah Palin mentioned Obama in a speech. Did the liberal media or Obama camp check the story? No, it was something negative about the McCain campaign, and so they ran with it. Obama himself even brought it up in the last presidential debate. And millions of people still believe it - even after the incident was proven not to have happened at all. I certainly won’t hold my breath waiting for the media to demand an apology from Obama . . . or even mention that it was simply a trumped up story by an Obamabot.

The Democratic party and liberal media have “accepted” that John McCain is running a negative campaign. We hear it all the time. Meanwhile they are running the worst of negative campaigns and going ruthlessly after anyone who questions Obama. The perfect example is that of “Joe the Plumber” whose tax and divorce records have been scrutinized meticulously by media - the same media that can’t be bothered to check into the tax records of Obama’s own treasurer. The double standard and media bias is breath-taking. However, I don’t think it will go un-noted.

My belief is that grass roots Americans will see this liberal spin and intimidation for what it is, and when they enter the voting booth on November 4th, they’ll vote for McCain-Palin in significant numbers to prove once again that the hysterical and mean-spirited left is out of touch with both America and reality.

This is the fourth year that I’ve celebrated my son’s birthday on The Median Sib. 2005, 2006, 2007 and now 2008. This year is a little different, though, because this year my baby - my youngest child - is thirty.

Thirty years ago today, I woke up early and realized that labor was starting. RT and I called my sister, Joan, to come get our daughter, Larisa, so we could go to the hospital. Back then, people didn’t know the sex of the baby before it was born. So we were anxious not only for the birth of the baby but to finally find out if we had a son or another daughter. We would have been thrilled to have another girl, but I believe we both wanted a boy so we’d have one of each gender.

Up until a couple weeks earlier we had planned on naming a boy Paul Benjamin. Then, however, we came up with the name Joseph Thomas - and we couldn’t decide which name to use. So in the hospital, after our son was born, we had to make the decision: Would he be Paul or would he be Joseph. We decided on Joseph Thomas, and it fit him perfectly. He is our Joey - a light in our lives that brings joy to every day.

Thirty years! Last night we celebrated his birthday at his party - given by his beautiful wife, Meleah, at their home. Some of his childhood friends were there - with their respective spouses. Some already have their own children. Meleah’s parents were there. As a parent, it is supremely rewarding to see one’s child as a wonderfully caring and responsible adult.

Happy birthday, Joey. I love you immensely.