I’m embarrassed to admit that RT and I watch CNN a lot. They’re so blatantly biased towards leftist politics, but usually they try to keep a semblance of objectivity, and so we continue to watch. It’s just a habit – and definitely one we need to kick.

Today has been an eye-opening experience. David Gergen and other “commentators” just can’t handle the fact that John McCain has selected Sarah Palin as his VP nominee. Anderson Cooper is the only one that seems to be able to maintain a sense of objectivity. Roland Martin was his usual verbose self – just tut-tut-tutting his way through his comments. And Campbell Brown (is that her name?) literally shrieked – repeatedly – at a Republican spokesperson who dared to argue that Sarah Palin is more qualified to be Vice President than Barack Obama is to be President. Truly, she was yelling. It was incredible.

Jack Cafferty was rendered virutally incoherent with his emotions, and James Carville was hilarious. He just couldn’t contain his fear which he cloaked in an act of incredulity at McCain’s choice. Last night the dems were convinced they were invincible. And suddenly John McCain throws them this curve-ball of Sarah Palin who can totally whip Obama’s ass in what she has accomplished in her few years of public service. While Obama’s been talking, Palin’s being actually acting on her words to her constituents.

The temple of Obama was front and center last night, and today it was like yesterday’s “Where were YOU when Barack Obama accepted the nomination” hadn’t happened.

I wrote a post about Sarah Palin back in April of this year. Ever since then I’ve been hoping she’d be McCain’s pick. I was okay if he had chosen Mitt Romney, but I really really wanted him to choose Palin. When it seemed likely this morning that it would go Palin’s way, I was so excited. It was frustrating because I couldn’t be near a TV to hear McCain or Palin live. I had to wait till this evening and just see exerpts of their speeches.

Today I had over ten thousand visita to this blog – most of them as a result of Google searches about Sarah Palin – going to that post I wrote in April. Everyone’s attention has been on Sarah Palin. Wow, that had to really grate on the dem’s nerves. And I guess that explains the anger and hostility of the CNN folks.

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As my mama always said, “Your sins will find you out.” Now that we know that John Edwards definitely had an affair with this Rielle Hunter, her words in the video below are particularly hilarious.

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I love Jib Jab’s videos. This one is priceless. I love the part of Obama talking about change. Well, and Bill Clinton’s part is good, too.

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The “Reverend” Jesse Jackson said he wants to cut off Obama’s nuts because he believes Obama talks down to black people. THAT is the awful, horrible, obscene, violent, repulsive thing that none of the television stations will actually repeat on the air. The way Wolf Blitzer of CNN was talking about it earlier this afternoon, you would have thought there were at least a few F-words or N-words or something added to the comment.

Here’s the video if you want to watch it for yourself.

You gotta love the Democrats this year. I’ve never seen such a self-destructive group of people. All the in-fighting and back-stabbing and name-calling. You would think that with the Obamassiah as their candidate, they’d all join hand and sings Kum-ba-yah all the way to the White House.

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One of the best articles I’ve read about John McCain, Barack Obama and patriotism.

Here are two brief excerpts:

As of today, Sen. Barack Obama is about halfway through his “patriotism theme week” message cycle. As of 2008, Sen. John McCain is about seven-ninths through his patriotism theme life cycle. I guess that is the difference between the new politics and the old patriotism.

But just maybe, the strength of character and the wisdom of knowing what really matters in life that young John McCain formed on the anvil of his captivity — just maybe, those attributes are the beginnings of qualifications for leading the rest of us through a dangerous, morally ambiguous world. And when a man so formed then dedicates the next 30 years of his life to studying and leading from the United States Senate on national security issues, perhaps then we have the makings of a man fit to be president.

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John McCain is the father of seven children – three of them adopted. The story of his daughter, Bridget McCain, is especially touching and tells us a lot about what kind of people John and Cindy McCain are. Photos and a video are below.

First of all, let’s get the seven kids straight. Doug and Andy are the two children that he adopted when he married their mother, Carol – his first wife. He and Carol then had Sidney. After his divorce from Carol, he and second wife, Cindy, adopted Bridget from Mother Teresa’s orphange in Bangladesh. He and Cindy are the biological parents of Meghan, Jack and Jimmy.

Meghan McCain kissing sister, Bridget McCain

The story of Bridget McCain goes like this:

[Cindy McCain] visited Mother Teresa’s orphanage in Dhaka, Bangladesh, where she saw 160 newborn girls who had been abandoned. The nuns handed her a small baby with a cleft palate so severe that she couldn’t be fed. Another baby, also just a few weeks old, had a heart defect. Worried they would die without medical attention, Cindy applied for medical visas to take the girls back to the United States. But the country’s minister of health refused to sign the papers. “We can do surgery on this child,” an official told her. Cindy, frustrated, slammed her fist on the table. “Then do it! What are you waiting for?” The official, stunned, simply signed the papers. “I don’t know where I got the nerve,” Cindy said.

When she arrived in Phoenix, she carried the baby with the cleft palate off the plane. Her husband met her at the airport. He looked at the baby. “Where is she going,” he asked her. “To our house,” she replied. They adopted the little girl and named her Bridget. Family friends adopted the other little girl.

It is telling that you don’t hear the McCain’s bragging about their humanitarian efforts. You don’t see them trying to make a big deal out of having a multi-racial family. Bridget McCain is their daughter. Period. I like that. People are people are people.

Scholastic has a kid reporter interview with Bridget McCain in which she talks about being just a regular girl. Great reading – click the link to read it for yourself.

Bridget McCain with Scholastic Kid Reporter, Jacob Schroeder

The McCain Family, 1999

Video of Meghan McCain telling about Bridget McCain

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I’m in professional development meetings this week with instructors from Teachers College of Columbia University. The information on reading workshop is wonderful. Today, though, when I was reading part of the thick binder of information we each were given, I had to laugh at one little snippet:

“The author Annie Dillard once said that sometimes it is as if writers have all these Christmas tree ornaments and no Christmas tree to hang them on. If you forgive the religious reference, I suspect you’ll see that Dillard’s image can be a wise critique of too many primary reading units of study.”

IF YOU FORGIVE THE RELIGIOUS REFERENCE! That cracked me up.

A place like Teachers College WOULD feel the need to apologize for using the C-word. I’m actually surprised they didn’t quote another author or substitute a different metaphor: books without a bookshelf, plants without a garden , hot dogs without a grill, charms without a chain, merchandise without a store….. well, you get the idea.

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I was just watching CNN, and they were doing a “man-on-the-street” interview about “The American Dream.” When asked what the American Dream is, one guy said, “It’s about being rich and wealthy – and I’m not living it!” Others talked about being happy, several mentioned owning a home. One replied, “Freedom.”

Then I started my morning internet rounds, and I came upon an article titled “Makers and Takers” on Townhall. The article is an interview of Peter Schweizer who wrote the book Makers and Takers: Why conservatives work harder, feel happier, have closer families, take fewer drugs, give more generously, value honesty more, are less materialistic and. Fascinating title, and fascinating interview. I highly recommend that you read the entire article. Here’s a small exerpt.

Kengor: What is a Maker and what is a Taker, and why are conservatives in the former category and liberals in the latter?

Schweizer: The research shows that conservatives are much more outward-oriented and liberals tend toward looking at themselves. There is a sense of entitlement on the left. They are concerned with rights, but not responsibilities. The data clearly shows that.

Kengor: The subtitle is quite a statement in and of itself: Why Conservatives Work Harder, Feel Happier, Have Closer Families, Take Fewer Drugs, Give More Generously, Value Honesty More, Are Less Materialistic and Envious, Whine Less… And Even Hug Their Children More than Liberals. Surely, Peter, you’ve exaggerated. Can you back up every single one of those claims, or is this book just a diatribe against liberals?

Schweizer: No, this is not a diatribe. Each one of those areas gets a full chapter, and I only included research from the top academic journals and research programs. I didn’t include research from conservative think-tanks, which I purposely avoided.

Kengor: I suppose that of all the charges against liberals in the subtitle, the one that liberals will probably protest most vehemently is the point on materialism. And in their defense, Peter, I must say that I’ve seen some pretty darned materialistic conservatives.

Schweizer: Well remember, in all of this we are talking about tendencies. Not all conservatives are one way and not all liberals are the other. That said, the research really does indicate that liberals value money more than conservatives. After health, they are more likely to consider it the most important thing in their life. And they are more likely to say that there is no wrong way to make money. I think this actually makes sense when you look at modern liberalism. After all, what do liberals use as their measure of justice and equality? Income, or money! This is the reason I believe that modern liberals are also much more likely to be envious of other peoples’ success. They are constantly looking at the money yardstick.

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I have been reading about the Supreme Court’s decision in Bourmediene v Bush, and I’ve found it enormously disturbing. I’ve read blog posts about it from around the blogosphere – everything from the braggart “Supreme-Court-Showed-Bush-Who-Was-Boss” type posts to “This-Decision-will-have-far-reaching-repercussions” type posts. The most well spoken post was by Fred Thompson at Townhall.

It is truly stunning that this court has seen fit to arrogate unto itself a role in the most important issue facing any country, self-defense, in a case in which Congress has in fact repeatedly acted. This was not a case where Congress did not set the rules; it did. But the court still decided – in the face of overwhelming precedent to the contrary – to intervene. This decision, or course, will allow for “President Bush Is Rebuffed” headlines, the implication being that the Administration was caught red-handed violating clearly established Constitutional rights when in fact the Administration, and the Congress for that matter, followed guidelines established by the Supreme Court itself in prior cases.

People can disagree over whether Congress got it right, but at least members have to face the voters. What remedy do people have now if they don’t like the court’s decision? None. If that thought is not enough to cause concerned citizens to turn out on Election Day to elect a new president, then I don’t know what will be.

And considering that the liberal Supreme Court judges were the majority in this decision, it is obvious we need to elect John McCain as President in November.

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There are many reasons why I will vote for John McCain in November. Those reasons are why – for the first time in my life – I have donated money to a political candidate – that candidate being John McCain. Those many reasons are why I will put a McCain sticker on my car – the first time in my life I have put a political sticker of any kind of my car. The qualities that John McCain brings to the table far overshadows those of his opponent. John McCain is ethical and loyal. He is proud of his country – and has been his entire life. He has a record of working tirelessly for equal rights for all Americans.

John McCain brings to the presidency an enormous amount of experience, a respect for the challenges that face our country. He won’t bow to popular opinion and political pressure when it comes time to make tough decisions. Without question, he is the man who should be our next President.

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