Big Dummy does the Big Apple

Perhaps it is entirely appropriate that The ObamaNation should be visiting New York City today.

And, no, I am not planning on tuning in to David Letterman's insipid little show. Nor do I plan to watch any of the "world leaders" pontificate at the United Nations.

Rather, this date on the calendar calls to mind that this is the anniversary of yet another momentous occasion in the still unfolding historic recession.

It was on 21 September a year ago that Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, the country's last two independent investment banks, became holding companies as a result of the subprime mortgage meltdown.

Something tells me that the current occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue will once again trade style for substance as he yuks it up with the late night crowd and poses for photo-ops with the new world order diplomats.

It is true that our world faces some serious problems, including infectious disease and nuclear proliferation, that have about as much respect for international borders as the amnesty for aliens crowd. And, it would be nice if some multi-lateral strategies could be developed to deal with them. But, don't hold your breaths, ye socks.

The bunch that is currently at the wheel is far more concerned about "wasting opportunities," to parlay our general angst into bigger and more intrusive government and less individual liberty. Wonder if THAT's what the off-camera discussions will be about up in NYC this week . . .

Shout out to my Bodo!

Well, I FINALLY got a hold of my baby sister on the phone today, after repeated failed efforts and much consternation.

Anyway, I had fun talking with her.

But, she did TRY to give me a hard time about my delinquent postings here in the dryer.

She should have known better.

I mean, after all, her little blog hasn't been updated since JUNE 19th!!

And, I have access to a virtual library of embarassing old photos of her teenage years.

The one posted here is fairly tame (NYC, 1989), but she should be forewarned that I've got some real doozies in my arsenal!

Rick Perry is getting nervous

For ye socks unfamiliar with Lone Star politics, Rick Perry is the Governor of Texas. He succeeded George W. Bush about the same time Mike Huckabee started cleaning-up all the Clinton debris in neighboring Arkansas.

Ye may also be unaware that Mr. Perry made the mistake of endorsing Rudy Giuliani for president several months ago. And, since the former New York City mayor withdrew from the race, Perry has sheepishly followed him into the McCain camp.

All of this must be pretty embarassing for the governor, and is doubtlessly eroding his support among his conservative fellow Texans.

If he believed more in the values that are most important to Texans instead of political opportunism, he wouldn't have to bounce around from one camp to another.

Today, we hear that he called Huckabee and practically begged him to suspend his campaign.

That took some nerve.

Rest assured, he didn't place that call out of any particular passion for John McCain.

He didn't do it for the best interests of the Republican party.

He didn't do it because he wants to necessarily defeat the Dumbocrats in November.

Rather, he acted out of fear and the instinct for self-preservation that are all too often the trademarks of most politicians. He can't afford to be seen as the supporter of TWO failed candidates. Think about it!

How much egg will Perry have on his face when Mike Huckabee wins Texas in March?!

Go, Mike, go!

Hillary is dead

No, I'm not referring to the highly-esteemed senator from the great state of New York who is currently engaged in a futile effort to equal the achievements of her ironically better half.

Rather, I refer to a real hero: Sir Edmund Hillary. He was 88.

But, there is a connection here. The senator once claimed her parents named her after the famous knight. Of course, this claim (like so many of her utterances) is utter poppycock, as Sir Edmund did not earn his knighthood until 1953, several years after the former first lady was hatched.

Ye socks may remember 1953 was the year a simple beekeeper from New Zealand named Ed conquered Mount Everest with the help of his loyal Nepalese sherpa. The newly-crowned Queen Elizabeth II was so elated, she made him a Knight of the Garter at the somewhat-tender age of 33. (Most KG's are ancient by comparison.)

Anyway, Sir Ed gave up his beekeeping to lead a pretty adventurous life. He was part of a famous race to the South Pole in 1958, and eventually served as his country's ambassador to India. He also led a charity that funded $250,000 per year in charitable projects in Nepal, the country that gave him his initial claim to fame.

Would that the other Hillary could lead such a productive life . . .

Law of the Sea Treaty

Isn't it more than slightly ironic that the acronym for this UN attempt at a power grab is L O S T?!?!

For ye socks just tuning-in to the Law of the Sea Treaty controversy, allow me to give you a little history.

Our subsidized friends at the United Nations crafted this piece of garbage back in the 1970s, whereby they declared the oceans of the world the "common heritage of mankind."

Sounds innocuous enough, doesn't it?

But, by making that declaration, they extend their faulty logic to demand that all the nations in the world--including those that are completely landlocked--should receive a share in any mineral resources that may be discovered under international waters.

Essentially, the career bureaucrats up there in New York City expect anyone with the entrepreneurial spirit enough to risk their lives and fortunes to explore the vast uncharted underwater world to turn over a portion of anything valuable they might discover for "equitable" redistribution.

Smacks of socialism, doesn't it?

Back in 1982, the late great Ronald Reagan rejected LOST because he correctly perceived it as a threat to US sovereignty. Indeed, it not only threatens the sovereignty of EVERY country in the world, it also discourages private enterprise.

LOST never seemed likely to pass the US Senate since the Reagan years. But, since last year's lurch to the left, the socialist wing of the Democratic Party now controls Congress and is salivating at the opportunity to revive the treaty.

Evidently, the supporters of this treaty didn't learn anything from the collapse of the Soviet Union. If you stifle the free market by removing profit motive, you also stifle innovation. And, mankind will be poorer for it. How many potential discoveries and technological advances may be left at the bottom of the ocean if it doesn't pay to get your boots wet?!

LOST must be stopped. I encourage all ye socks to contact your US Senators and tell them to VOTE NO ON LOST!

The Man of Steel wears Orange and Blue!

Ye out-of-state socks may not be aware of this, but the running joke down here in Florida this year has been: "Superman wears Tim Tebow pajamas to bed."



But, before you laugh too hard at that one-liner, can you tell me the last time you saw Clark Kent over at the Daily Planet?!



I have recently come to the conclusion that Superman has at long last ditched his reporter alter ego in favor of a much more dynamic modern alias:

TIMOTHY RICHARD TEBOW

(Or Timmy T, or Touchdown Tim, or any of a thousand variations of the name Gator Nation has grown to love over the last two seasons.)


I think what we love most about Tebow was evident this evening up in NYC when he accepted the Heisman Trophy at the Downtown Athletic Club - - the first sophomore to do so in the history of the most prestigious award in college football.


He was humble.


It wasn't all about him.


In fact, he acknowledged his faith first and foremost as the reason why he was standing up on that stage. Then repeated that and other acknowledgements several times over.


That's what has made this underclassman stand out as a leader on and off the football field. He gives credit for his amazing achievements not to his own abilities, but to the support he has had and continues to receive from others: his parents and siblings, his teammates, his coaches, etc.


And, that's probably why his win isn't just being celebrated in New York and Gainesville tonight. It's being heralded at the prisons and orphanages across this country that he visits on a regular basis. It's being lauded in the Philippines where his parents work as missionaries, and where newborn babies are being named Timothy in record numbers. And, don't forget Bangladesh, where his sister Christy took a brief break from fighting poverty to attend tonight's ceremony.


The appeal of this guy is wide spread. With Heisman in hand, he is not only an ambassador for the University of Florida or NCAA football. He has become a superhero for the modern generation.

The Man of Steel wears Orange and Blue!

Ye out-of-state socks may not be aware of this, but the running joke down here in Florida this year has been: "Superman wears Tim Tebow pajamas to bed."

But, before you laugh too hard at that one-liner, can you tell me the last time you saw Clark Kent over at the Daily Planet?!

I have recently come to the conclusion that Superman has at long last ditched his reporter alter ego in favor of a much more dynamic modern alias:

TIMOTHY RICHARD TEBOW

(Or Timmy T, or Touchdown Tim, or any of a thousand variations of the name Gator Nation has grown to love over the last two seasons.)

I think what we love most about Tebow was evident this evening up in NYC when he accepted the Heisman Trophy at the Downtown Athletic Club - - the first sophomore to do so in the history of the most prestigious award in college football.

He was humble.

It wasn't all about him.

In fact, he acknowledged his faith first and foremost as the reason why he was standing up on that stage. Then repeated that and other acknowledgements several times over.

That's what has made this underclassman stand out as a leader on and off the football field. He gives credit for his amazing achievements not to his own abilities, but to the support he has had and continues to receive from others: his parents and siblings, his teammates, his coaches, etc.

And, that's probably why his win isn't just being celebrated in New York and Gainesville tonight. It's being heralded at the prisons and orphanages across this country that he visits on a regular basis. It's being lauded in the Philippines where his parents work as missionaries, and where newborn babies are being named Timothy in record numbers. And, don't forget Bangladesh, where his sister Christy took a brief break from fighting poverty to attend tonight's ceremony.

The appeal of this guy is wide spread. With Heisman in hand, he is not only an ambassador for the University of Florida or NCAA football. He has become a superhero for the modern generation.

Myth vs. Reality

It really irritates me when history is purposely distorted, or downright fictionalized.

Case in point, "Chief Seattle's Letter."

I am not going to waste my socks' time regurgitating the drivel I'm sure you've probably already seen. I'm sure you know the diatribe I'm talking about. It's the one that glorifies AmerIndian traditions at the expense of Judeo-Christian values and culture, ending with the trite phrase, "We are all brothers."

Whatever. I mean, if you're "in" to drinking that Kool-Aid, go ahead. But, at least have the decency not to bastardize history in the process.

The FACT of the matter is that Seattle was never so eloquent. The so-called "letter" was actually lifted from a screenplay written by a New York City drama teacher named Ted Perry in the early 1970s. He, incidentally, is mortified that his work of FICTION has been passed-off as truth by others, and has spent a lot of time trying to set the record straight.

But, it's an uphill battle, mostly because those who pervert our history in the name of ecology and secular humanism have seen fit to reprint it ad nauseum on t-shirts, postcards, websites, etc. It has even been quoted (unwittingly, I hope) in the works of the late Joseph Campbell and the former President George H.W. Bush.

So, my plea to ye socks in the dryer is, when you hear something you know is a bunch of malarkey, stand up for the truth! And, if confronted by this particular example of buffoonery, tell the purveyors that Chief Seattle was a confirmed Roman Catholic, converted by French missionaries, and saw to it that his entire tribe attended regular Mass and joined together in prayer every morning and every evening. The chief accepted Jesus Christ as his savior, acknowledged His virgin birth, and knew God as the Blessed Trinity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He didn't worship twigs and branches or pray to rocks.

Would that some others would follow his TRUE example.

Happy Mother's Day!

I'm probably the only person you know who marked at least part of the day in contemplating mitochondria.

Abbreviated "mtDNA," it's the part of your unique genetic code that was inherited exclusively from your mother. And, she inherited it exclusively from her mother, and so on, and so on, ad infinitum.

Anyway, from a genealogical standpoint, it is much harder to trace these maternal lines--at least in western cultures--because surnames change with each generation.

I've only been able to trace my own mtDNA back to an Irish emigrant named Elizabeth Gallagher, who lived in Brooklyn, New York, in the 1850s.

My dad could trace his line to a Sarah Brown, who was born in the old Fairfield District of South Carolina in 1768.

And, my cousin Joanna can trace hers all the way back to 1600s Connecticut.

Well, before I get off on too much of a tangent, I hope those of you reading this in the blogosphere take time today to think about the unique things your mom passed on to you!

Oh, yeah, and two words for my mom: Ham and Cheese!

Apartment in New York City?!

Hey, if any of you out there in my blogosphere have a lead on an apartment--or need a roommate--in New York City, let me know.

A friend's brother just landed his dream job up there, and is moving up from Orlando around May 1st.

I can vouch for his character, for whatever that's worth. Clean, quiet, and Princeton-educated.

So, let me know, and I'll put you in touch.