Get over it!

Let me begin by saying that all the Democrats I know are perfectly reasonable people who accept the results of the last election and are busily working on improvements to their party so that it will be viable in the future. Good for them. But what I can't get over is that the far left is so unbelieving of the fact that more people wanted Bush re-elected than put their invisible man in the Oval Office that they are turning into a bunch of petulant little kids. For instance:

>Hollywood has-been Chevy Chase needs a boost for his lagging career, so to get some much-needed publicity he's launching another attack on our president.


"Even certified Hollywood liberals were reeling after Chevy Chase's potty-mouthed Bush-bashing Tuesday night at the Kennedy Center," the Washington Post reported today.


After fellow travelers Alec Baldwin and Susan Sarandon accepted some cheesy little awards from the hate group that calls itself People for the American Way, Chase, PAW's master of ceremonies, "took the stage a final time and unleashed a rant against President Bush that stunned the crowd. He deployed the four-letter word that got Vice President Cheney in hot water, using it as a noun. Chase called the prez a 'dumb [expletive].' He also used it as an adjective, assuring the audience, 'I'm no [expletive] clown either. ... This guy started a jihad,'" the Post revealed.

Chase raged, "This guy in office is an uneducated, real lying schmuck ... and we still couldn't beat him with a bore like Kerry."

PAW's president, Ralph Neas, clucked: "Chevy Chase's improvised remarks caught everyone off guard, and were inappropriate and offensive. It was not what I would have said, and certainly not the language People for the American Way would ever use in discussing any president of the United States."

PAW's founder, Norman Lear, who still hasn't kept the promise he made to the Wall Street Journal to move to New Zealand if Bush won re-election, said: "I thought it was utterly untoward, obviously unexpected and unscripted and all that stuff. And, uh - it was Chevy Chase. He'll live with it. I won't."

P.S.: Democrat soon-to-be-ex-senator Tom Daschle, the Post tattled, "looked taken aback when he went on directly after Chase."

Daschle's opening line: "I've had to follow a lot of speakers, but ..."<

I still don't know which was worse: Chase's rant or the fact that somebody was coked-up enough to give Sarandon and Baldwin an award for "protecting democracy."

Now I really am Miri's dad

It is a bright, breezy day here in Wichita, and my two best girls are having a snooze. I can't say that I blame them; it was a rough few days.

Miriam Joscelyn Bell was born at 5:42pm CST on Wednesday, December 8. She weighed 8 pounds, six ounces and was 20 inches long. She has lots of black hair and grey eyes. She came after nearly 12 hours of induced labor and much hollering and carrying on. I felt pretty useless through the whole thing, but at least I was there. Afterward, Cole (her mama) was exhausted, in pain, very hungry and more beautiful to me than ever. Later on, after I returned home from letting the dog out (poor Frippen!), I expected to find her out cold. Instead she was wide awake, smiling, hair back in place and ejoying hospital french fries. God, I love that woman...

Miri was very well formed for a newborn and the nurse cleaning her commented to me that her feet were very large. "Better go by a basketball, daddy," she said. I'm thinking fencing gear: tall people have a better reach!

We spent one day at the hospital (swanky corner suite) and got home last night about 9PM. Frippen wants to be a good big brother dog, but his terrier personality is overwhelming and annoying. He'll adapt, though; he's a good dog. Cole is breast feeding, but apparently it doesn't move quickly enough for Miri. She was up most of the night yelling for food. Finally, a little formula this morning satisfied her and Cole was able to get a nap. We don't have a bottle, though. I need to pick one up when I go grocery shopping today.

It was a great experience for all and we are looking forward to watching her grow. Check back here: I tend to brag.

Chuck, now Dad-man

Music in the air

With the holidays here, it is hard to escape all of the cheerful, festive music being played in both homes and stores. Cole and I were talking about it, and I came up with my 3 most favorite tunes and two least favorite. Not that anybody really cares, but that is what you get for reading this.

Most Favorite:
The Christmas Song (any version is worthy, but Nat King Cole's version is still the best)
I'll be Home for Christmas (what great history this song has! Look it up and get a new appreciation for the song)
Sleigh Ride (Mel Torme's version: skippy doodly wah)

Least Favorite:
Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree (Have twangin' country Christmas, y'all)
Jingle Bell Rock (such awful lyrics...)

Well, today is Miri's due date, but still no little girl. *sigh*

Political cartoon

As both a librarian and a member of the vast right-wing conspiracy (which according to the American Library Association are mutually exclusive), I reccomend this cartoon:

http://www.time.com/time/election2004/cartoons/20040609/2.html

Oh, and no baby yet...