Wednesday Grab Bag

I fell into an old trap of posting political stuff on Facebook, which is never a good idea.  95% of my Facebook friends ignore it, as is their right, and the 5% who read it uniformly think I am a crazy person and tell me so in their comments to my posts.  But making a quick post to FB is just so darn easy.  I need to have some sort mechanism built into my keyboard that gives me an electronic shock whenever I try to go political on Facebook.

At least for today, I will do my ranting right here where it can be uniformly ignored.

And the Walls Came Tumbling Down:  Republican Bob Turner, a Roman Catholic, defeated Democrat Mark Weprin, an observant Jew, in the special election to fill the seat vacated by the Topless Tweeter (and occasionally bottomless also), Anthony Weiner, in New York's predominately Jewish 9th Congressional District.  A Democrat has held this seat without interuption for 88 years.  But while every cogent person in America understands that President Obama's job-killing, economy-wrecking policies are driving the country over a cliff, the so-called "progressives" are out there saying that the real problem is that the President is not liberal enough.  Keep it up guys, because you are guaranteeing Republican domination in the 2012 elections.

UPDATE:  Denial.  It isn't just a river in Egypt.

Ponzi Schemers:  I posted one of my political links on FB a couple of days ago to an article discussing the long history of use of the term "Ponzi scheme" in reference to Social Security.  The focus for this charge has been on Governor Rick Perry, who made the comparison in his book and in the presidential debates.  Much tut-tutting has resulted with claims of the Governor needlessly scaring seniors and general references to him as a mouth-breathing booger-picker who just doesn't understand.  But it turns out that the man with the biggest soapbox in all of liberal punditry, Paul Krugman of the The New York Times, has made the same comparison himself.  Oops.

Regulatory Hangover:  With Son of Stimulus, the new proposal from President Obama to throw another half trillion of taxpayers' Dollars down the old s***hole because, well, the first three-quarters of a trillion just wasn't enough, the President has shown himself again to be someone who never misses an opportunity to double-down on a stupid bet.  Instead, the President would give his own electoral chances a big boost if he would just clamp down on the avalanche of job-killing regulations that are being churned out by his executive bureaucracy faster than you can say "Federal Register."  The President's regulatory spree is a particularly sore point here in West Virginia, where the entire coal industry--our economic backbone--is being threatened with total shutdown by Lisa Jackson and the Environmental "Protection" Agency.  For some insight, check out this and this.

Weekend in Blacksburg

How do you write about your only daughter growing up and leaving home without being maudlin?  Probably impossible, at least for me, as someone who tends to have an overly developed sentamental side.

I spent last weekend in Blacksburg with Emily while she took part in the Virginia Tech Honor Band program.  Upon arrival on Friday, she auditioned for her position in the band.  Out of all the trumpets who auditioned, Emily was selected for the best of the three bands (the "Golden Hokie Band"), and she was awarded third chair in the band (out of ten trumpets).  I am pretty proud of her.



Emily loves her music.  She started playing trumpet in 6th grade.  She has had a private trumpet teacher ever since then, and she has excelled.  Since arriving at high school, and despite a lack of support from her own band director (a topic for another day, perhaps), she has been selected for All-County Band all four years and All-State Orchestra twice.  This year, she is first chair in the All-State Orchestra.  She is a member of the West Virginia Youth Symphony and the Youth Symphony Wind Ensemble.  She has participated in the Honor Band and "Brass in the Grass" programs at Alderson-Broaddus College.  At school, she participates in the marching, concert and jazz bands.  She really is good, and I do not begrudge for a moment all the money spent on private lessons and the accoutrements needed for her participation.

As anyone who follows me on Facebook knows, she is seriously considering attending West Virginia University.  I cannot fault her logic:  she can attend WVU on the cheap and then use her college fund to pay for graduate school.  But am I ever having a hard time swallowing the fact that my daughter may be going to "that school."  I have spent a lifetime loathing WVU, and the thought of my little girl attending college in Morgantown really makes my stomach churn.  I was hoping that after a weekend in Blacksburg, she would come home convinced that she needed to beg, borrow or steal her way through Virginia Tech, regardless of the cost.  Fortunately for me, I suppose, she maintains her practical stance on the subject.

Two weeks ago, a package arrived at my office that had been mailed from a clothing store in Morgantown.  The package contained a sweatshirt emblazoned with "WVU Dad" on the front.  Nothing that would have identified the sender was enclosed with the sweatshirt, and so far, no one has stepped forward to take credit (or blame) for the prank.  I have inquired of most of the suspects, and no one has yet admitted to being the sender.  I am dying to know who sent it to me.

A few weeks ago, Emily asked me whether I would make the trek to Morgantown to see her play if she joins the WVU Marching Band.  I told her that I would consider it but that I would not miss a home game in Blacksburg in order to go to Morgantown.  Then she asked if I would wear a WVU shirt to the game.  Of course, I said no.  I do have some pride left.

Regardless of where she goes to school, I will miss her.  Thank goodness for wireless phones, text messaging and social media.  I will probably wear her out.