What constitutes an "international airport?"

The sign greeting air travelers in the hub city of the South Plains proudly proclaims its name: Lubbock Preston Smith INTERNATIONAL Airport.

Ok, so the all caps version of "international" was my added emphasis.

But, it was that word that sparked an interesting discussion around this little corner of heaven recently.

Just what DOES an airport have to do or have to qualify as an "international" airport?

LPSIA, as I fondly abbreviate it, has NO international flights. But, it is not alone. Other similarly lacking airports claim the name, apparently as a reflection of their future plans and ambitions. (i.e. Gary/Chicago International Airport in Indiana)

Still other airports that one would think had international flights, do not: London's Heathrow, Detroit's Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, and (my favorite) George Bush Intercontinental.

Another presidential namesake, Gerald R. Ford International Airport in Grand Rapids, Michigan, claims the status as a result of part-time customs/immigration staff on site.

I guess, all of this goes to show that an airport can pretty much name itself whatever it wants--even after some obscure Texas governor. Truth in advertising rules need not apply!

Crist statements smell fishy

Yours truly has never been a big fan of our too-tan governor. And, his stock dropped precipitously in this little corner of heaven when he embraced TheObamaNation's wreckless "stimulus" plans to rob future generations. The image of that embrace will always be on my mind when I see his name, particularly on a ballot.

Recently, however, we Floridians have further been shamed by our illustrious chief executive. And, not just by his Q-tip hair.

Now, I don't expect him to stay in Tallahassee 24/7. Wouldn't wish that on anybody. A chill just ran down my spine thinking about it. But, with all this great state has to offer, it is really perplexing why our governor is perpetually traipsing around the other 49 states and the District of Columbia. I guess he's more interested in building a national profile than actually doing the job he was elected to do . . .

This past weekend found him up in Michigan, lying to the GOP faithful. Ok, maybe "lying" is too strong a word. But, he was certainly stretching the truth beyond the point of decency when he claimed credit for cutting Florida's budget from $73 to $66 billion. Ummmm . . . . Last I recall, the budget numbers are smaller because the recession has caused tax revenues to plummet. And, I also recall how Crist actually vetoed a trimmer budget passed by the state legislature in January.

Even more galling, Crist spent today making the rounds of the cable news networks. I guess he'd rather lie to the talking heads than to his actual constituents. Ok, again, maybe "lie" is too strong a word. But, I saw at least two interviews that made me want to retch.

The first was on MSNBC's Morning Joe, where he nearly dislocated his shoulder trying to pat himself on the back for improving Florida's public school system. I'm pretty sure all the accountability measures created by his predecessor (Jeb Bush) deserve the actual credit. But, I guess that's one of those inconvenient truths he'd rather ignore. Any efforts Crist may have made have been completely overshadowed by his out-of-state travels, tv appearances, and presidential hugs.

The second was with John Roberts on CNN, during which he sounded like a only-slightly-less-socialist version of the current occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. He was practically crowing about his version of a "public option" for health insurance: CoverFlorida. What a pathetic joke that has turned out to be. With premiums in the $150/month range, the governor has persuaded a whopping 4,129 people to sign-up since he took office. (We have a population of more than 18 million the last time I checked . . .)

I don't care how many dollars Charlie Crist raises from his out-of-state buddies, or how many times his grinning mug graces the airwaves. I'm just not buying his brand of politics any more. And, I definitely don't want to see it transplanted from Tallahassee to Washington, DC.

Sorry, Charlie.

The miserable loafer and his prostitute wife

No, that headline does NOT refer to our illustrious former president and the ambitious junior senator from the great state of New York.

Rather, it refers to a hillarious census enumeration I stumbled across in my ancestral peregrinations.

I know, I know. Some of ye socks scold me for too many family history posts. It's not your cup of tea, or whatever.

But, this one has cross-over appeal.

In case you're unfamiliar with these old records, the census taker had to collect all kinds of information on everybody in town.

Well, back in 1880, the person who collected this sort of info in Flint, Michigan, was either an aspiring comedian or a very judgemental person.

Click on the image above, and take a good look at the occupations listed for everyone in this household on Saginaw Street.

If it doesn't make you laugh, then you're missing a funnybone somewhere!

Michigan Smishigan

Was anyone really sitting on the edge of their seats yesterday, waiting with baited breath to find out who was going to win the Michigan primaries?

No.

Not on either side of the political aisle.

On the Democrat side, old Hillary was the only top tier candidate to even have her name on the ballot. (And, even then, 45% decided to send delegates to their national convention who were NOT COMMITTED to her.)

In the GOP, it was a foregone conclusion that native son Mitt Romney, whose dad was a three term governor of Michigan, would get the most votes. It turned out to be a "whopping" 39%.

Yawn.

What is exciting, however, is that both fields are still wide open, and we face the prospect of two brokered conventions.

Now, ye socks, turn your attention to South Carolina, where on Saturday only the Republicans will be voting. (The Dems take their turn a week later.) My prediction is Mike Huckabee wins. Handily. And, Fred Thompson will be forced out of the race.

What we're going to have is a delegate "round robin" going on, in which candidates have regional appeal. Huckabee in the Bible Belt. Romney in the country club states. McCain in places with lots of Independent voters. And, Giuliani . . . MAYBE . . . in the big urban centers.

That's a 3 or 4 candidate stew, whereby nobody is going to secure a majority of delegates to claim the nomination outright. And, they'll have to resort to some "horse trading."

But, that's just me. Draw your own conclusions.

Comanche Moon - part 2

Larry McMurtry delivered yet again with tonight's episode in the final installment of his Lonesome Dove series.

I mean, we started off with an Indian raid on Austin.

We followed up with Val Kilmer apparently losing his mind in a snake pit.

There was a jaguar that killed a bruja, and a parrot that scared a spider-bitten bandito off the edge of a cliff.

And, he topped it all off with Steve Zahn punching Rachel Griffiths in the face (a la James Cagney and the grapefruit incident)!

So, who cares about watching all the cable news channels for primary returns out of Michigan, much less the crap served up by the sycophants on American Idol?!?!

SC Republican Debate Re-cap

For ye socks who couldn't stay up late enough to watch last night's Republican debate up in South Carolina, yours truly sacrificed precious hours of sleep to provide you with the following observations--sorted by candidate:

1. Ron Paul - Why is this guy even on the stage? He's not a Republican. He's a Libertarian. And, a kooky one at that.

2. Mitt Romney - Poor guy. He spent all that money for nothing, and apparently he's lost all the fire in his belly. He barely showed up for the debate. If he doesn't win his native Michigan next week, look for him to pull out of the race altogether.

3. Rudy Giuliani - By sitting on the sidelines so long, he has rendered himself irrelevant. Pinning his hopes on Florida, where we don't even vote until 1/29, was a foolish plan. He keeps dropping in the polls down here, precipitously. He'll be gone by the end of the month.

4. Fred Thompson - Wow, can you smell the desperation?! He came out with both guns a-blazin'! But, he just came off as cantankerous and mean. Plus, it's awfully easy for someone like him who has NO EXECUTIVE EXPERIENCE to criticize those who do . . .

5. John McCain - American hero, I agree. Best adjective for him: venerable. He deserves all of our thanks and admiration. But, his time is long past. He appeared so disoriented at times, even muttering to moderator Brit Hume about the confusing lights on the stage . . .

6. Mike Huckabee - He bore Thompson's attacks like a gentleman, and defended his 10.5 years as a governor with statesmanlike efficiency. I was also glad to see him rebuke Ron Paul, something nobody else on the stage had the guts to do. In a word: presidential.

I hope this analysis will help ye socks in making up your primary choices, particularly those of you in the Palmetto State . . . and you know who you are!!

New Year's Eve reminders

1. All you Florida voters, remember today is the last day to get registered if you want to participate in the primary on 1/29/08. Make sure you get down to your local supervisor of elections office and sign-up so you can vote for the next President of the United States: Mike Huckabee!!

2. All you Gator fans, make sure you wear ORANGE tomorrow to counteract all the Michigan blue at the CapOne Bowl. Kick-off is 1pm tomorrow. If ye socks are fortunate enough to be in the Central Florida area, our favorite Heisman winner will be allowing fans to take pictures with his recently-acquired trophy outside the stadium before the game!

3. Be safe. If you're going to be drinking tonight, do it responsibly. And, if you're going to be out on the roads, use a designated driver. This may seem trite, but it cannot be said enough.

4. Have a Happy, Healthy, and Prosperous 2008!!

Candidates' candor

David Broder wrote an excellent article about this week's GOP debate in Michigan, which appears in today's issue of the Washington Post. You can check out the online version here:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/10/AR2007101002123.html?sub=new

He wraps-up his commentary with a salute to my favorite candidate Mike Huckabee, crediting him for his rare candor.

Finally someone in the media is "getting it!!!"

In the mean time, across the aisle, old Hillary is at it again with her own version of candor. She jubilantly told reporters in Boston today about her plans to increase federal government spending by leaps and bounds if she gets her hands on the Oval Office next year.

To date, the illustrious junior senator from the great state of New York has pledged a whopping seven-hundred and twenty-four BILLION dollars ($724,000,000,000.00) in increased spending if she is elected to her lovely husband's old job. That works out to over eighty billion dollars ($80,000,000,000.00) for every month she's been on the campaign trail. And, we've got another twelve months to go, so if she keep up her present pace, that would equate to an additional nine-hundred and sixty BILLION. Add that figure to what she's already pledged, and she will have promised one TRILLION six hundred eighty four billion dollars ($1,684,000,000,000.00) in INCREASES alone!!

I appreciate her candor, too. She's making a very public display of her plans to expand the reaches of our federal government. And, we all know who will foot the bill for it, don't we?

To keep track of Hillary's ambitious (sinister?!) plans, check out the Spend-o-meter at this site:

http://www.gop.com/flexpage.aspx?area=spendometer

If Mike Huckabee's candor doesn't make you want to run out and vote for him in a Republican primary, then Hillary's plans for your wallet/purse should scare you into doing so!

GOP debate in Michigan

I know it was hard to catch the big tete-a-tete up in Michigan today, because the boneheads who planned it evidently thought 4pm on a Tuesday was a convenient time for most Americans to be sitting in front of their tv's.

Fortunately, they are replaying it later tonight on MSNBC. But, for you socks whose schedules or lack of cable will prevent you from catching it the second time around, here's my very astute and much-sought-after analysis:

As usual, Mike Huckabee looked like the adult sitting at the kids' table during a family Christmas dinner. The rest of the crowded field . . .

Mitt Romney - he's the GOP version of John Kerry--suave, Massachusetts politician with more money than he knows how to spend. We can't let this guy buy the presidency any more than we could allow Kerry in '04.

Rudy Giuliani - come on. He was without a doubt a good mayor of New York City. But the rest of the country is not the Big Apple. And, arguing with Romney against the line-item veto is the best he's got to offer . . . fuh-gedda-bout-it!

Fred Thompson - too little, too late. He may be an actor, but the Gipper he is definitely not. Go back to the small screen and I'll promise to campaign for you to win an Emmy or something.

John McCain - old, tired, uninspiring. His time has already come and gone.

Ron Paul - it's okay to be a conservative, even a libertarian who dresses up like one. But, you don't have to be mad about EVERYTHING. Too shrill. Tone it down.

Sam Brownback, Duncan Hunter, and Tom Tancredo . . . uh, whatever. You are, collectively, the Republican version of Dennis Kucinich.

It's a crowded field, yes. But, I love seeing Huckabee standing shoulder to shoulder with these guys. It makes the choice even more clear, whether the media wants to continue to ignore it. Mike Huckabee needs to be our next president.