The American election - 2006

Well, I have recovered from the election results and while I don't want to be stupid about this, I have to tell you I was bummed out as to the results and the meaning for our country of the Dems taking over the legislative branch. But after thinking about it, I realized the sun will still come up and that this back and forth we see in our political arena is not only what the Founding Fathers would have liked to see, it is what was designed into our political system by the Constitution. They certainly realized that it would have long term benefits to have lots of different parties and minority interests at play so that the majority would always be looking over their shoulders and would never be able to subject the minority interests to the tyranny they had felt living under the King's rule.

The founders certainly designed the constitution so as to allow for the kind of change in power we saw this week. It is really a good thing for us and I thing is the beauty of our form of government. What I love about our system is that we can have these bitterly partisans elections, filled with distortions, lies, attacks, (from both sides) and yet, when it is all over the rule of law prevails, we transition to the new government and we fight it out the next time around. No coups, no revolutions, no riots etc. It is a wonderful thing and really I think, somewhat unique in the history of the world. (certainly when it was formed 225 years ago) but maybe not so unique these days, but truly a remarkable, inspired form of government.

Now, as to the election itself. I fell badly as a Republican and would have preferred that the Senate and House be split as that would tie everything up and when that happens in our government these days we are all better off. Gridlock is not all that bad when it comes to our government as that means they can't help much, but they can't hurt anything either and that is what I worry about.

So the Dems have control and here we go. I think they will push their agenda that they have been squawking about. The Iraqi conflict will certainly need to be addressed in some form as that is what many ran on and certainly I think the American people want to see something change there. I like Rumsfeld but I'm glad he is gone as I think a new set of eyes looking at this mess might help us put additional resources into this thing to get it resolved. We are correct to be there and I totally support the efforts we have made, but we are fighting an enemy unique in its form of fighting us. These guys think it is an honor to die in the act of killing innocents and that is a hard enemy to know how to approach. They are evil and must be eliminated or at least curtailed somehow, so the basic strategy of being there is still sound. We just need to change tactics somehow so we can end this thing and win it and get the heck out of there and let the Iraqis run their country. So many people in our country just look at this as American soldiers, men and women dying and as the number of deaths and injuries increase, they simply can stomach it. They define the success or unsuccess if you prefer by body counts and money spent. Perfectly understandable but so shortsighted and overlooks the bigger picture of what is going on. That is what is so wrong with those that voted the way they did because of the war alone and I think there were many like that. They simply don't understand the stakes we are dealing with here and do not understand what we are fighting. Thank goodness for Bush's vision on this, but I wonder how he will be able to handle it with the Dems now controlling the legislative agenda. He has many short comings, I suppose, but he understands this fight and what is at stake for civilization. (much as Roosevelt understood the Hitler, Stalin threat and Reagan the Communist threat. History will look to Bush as far as recognizing the threat and drawing a line in the sand for the last great fight for civilization. Anyway, the American people have spoken on that point and I hope Bush and continue his resolve on this at least for the last two years of his term.

There is little else that matters and had it not been for so many not really understanding the war, I doubt if this election route would have occurred. The economy is going great, the unemployment rate is an all time low, tax rates are as low as they will ever be, incomes are up, and many other things are going well. Bush forgot who he was and has spent way too much money, has not reeled in government spending or expansion, has not done much on immigration, not been able to tackle entitlements etc, but I truly think the War is what defined this election.

It will be interesting to see what comes done in the next two years. The Dems will push things like the minimum wage, immigration reform including amnesty of some sort, raising taxes, stem ceel research, enviornment restrictions on energy exporating, and even a further expansion of government, etc, etc. Not sure if Bush will veto this stuff when it comes to him, but it will be tough for the Dems to not compromise somewhat as they will not be able to override many of the issues since they need a 2/3's majority to override a veto. (another brilliant provision by the Founding Fathers) Compromise will be important. Not all that bad a situation to tell you the truth.

Will Bush talk conservative and act moderately to maintain peace, insure a legacy or will he stick to his rhetoric about being conservative but acting moderately? It will be interesting to see. I think to the extent he sticks to his principals, (right or wrong depending on your slant) I think the 2008 elections will be largely formulated. His actions along with the the conflict in Iraq will determine in my opinion how the American people will respond in 2008, not only to the Presidential election but the House and Senate elections.

Have you noticed that when the Dems lose they look to conspiracy's, fraud, cheating, voter intimidation, vote supression by the other side, etc, etc as the answers. They sqawk and scream about how the American voter is just too stupid to understand the issues (I heard a guy say that once after an election...admittedly a minority point of view I think) They never look inward and say to themselves maybe our issues are not in line with the majority of Americans and maybe we should modify them, more to the center. Now that they have won, I truly think they will misinterpret the results and think they have some sort of a mandate to implement their liberal issues. The one thing they have the support for is a modification of the direction in Iraq and if they are wise they will direct their efforts there. If they go for the left wing agenda they really believe in, they will make the same mistake the GOP did and they will hurt their chances in 2008. Many, if not most of the new members ran as centrist Dems and not extreme left wingers (pro life, no new taxes, tough on immigration etc.) That is where the American center is and they will be wise to run on what they were elected on and not turn into something that they did not get elected for.

The GOP (in all modesty) has been quite humble in accepting this defeat as what it is. They are recognizing that they did not govern on the principals that got them elected. (You gotta go home from the dance with who brought yeh, as Mark would say) I hope they have learned. We have to win in Iraqi and win it quickly and overwhelmingly and get the heck out. (Not sure of how or even if that can be done....but getting out without victory is not the answer...that I know) If we do that, the Dems are in big trouble in 2008 if they continue to promote their very left agenda.

I love our country, all it stands for and the privledge it is to be an American and be free and able to discuss these matters without worrying about being stifled.

That is my 2 cents.

Love you all,
Dad

The Wonderfulness of my life

These last few weeks have been very, very hectic. We have visited Mark and Liz and the kids in Wyoming, gone to Provo to see Addie and Goose, been to Seattle to see Ty, Dana and the Maxster, had Matt and Wendi over for dinner and on and on. It is kind of a blur to me.

In the middle of all that, we found out that Mark and Liz will be adding another family member, Goose asked Kristen to marry him and Meggie has announced she is excited to be able to get her driving permit when she turns 15 in March.

Life is so, so busy and for Margaret and I it almost always involves family. It is both the greatest blessing I can imagine and stressful at the same time. We want to be everywhere with each of you at the same time and that just can't happen. We are also finding it is very expensive to try and keep up with this crew.

I was lying in bed this morning thinking about all of this and realized what a great blessing each of you are in my life and that truly there is nothing that I could replace in my life with the relationships I have with each of you that would bring me even close to the joy I feel thinking about each of you and what you mean to me and our family collectively. We have a great bunch of people in our family, not only from a goodness type of perspective, but from a professional and family perspective and even a righteousness point of view. You are all good men and women, good moms and dads and hard working, honest and faithful to each other and others in your families. It is a blessing I can't even begin to express in words how I feel.

I don't know how much longer I will be on the earth, but I do know that the remainder of my days will be a constant reminder of how lucky I have been in mortality to be in such a group of people. Mom and I didn't start out thinking we would have x number of kids in our family. I never remember saying that after so many, that was it. You all just kind of happened and I truly think it was the plan from the beginning as I can't imagine our family without each one of you in it.

I also know that in many ways I am the odd man out as regards to kindness, goodness and many other wonderful attributes you all have, but maybe that was part of the plan also. You all have and continue to make me better in all areas of my life. Thank you for that. We all know that I'm the standing joke in the family and rightly so, but I will always be grateful that dispite all my warts you are there and I can trust you and rely on you if I need it. You all don't realize what a great influence for good you have been in my life. As every daughter has come into the family and the grandkids, each one adds another flower to my bouquet of life and enriches all of us even more. It is wonderful to have so many good people in my life.

Sorry for these pathetic musings but I am overwhelmed sometimes in thinking of how blessed I am.

I love you all,
Dad

The Smallness of being in our Universe!!!

I got this from a friend at work. This is really fascinating !

Kind of dazzling to see it presented this way. This is certainly enlightening and makes one realize how small we are in comparison to the universe. It's a big, big universe. Hope you can read the small print.

All images are relative in size and to scale of actual size.


Not bad. Earth is looking pretty majestic aren't we.

But wait. This is a large solar system we are in. Look on.

Now we don't look so big anymore compared to our big brothers in our solar system.

Our sun will put them to shame!!

Jupiter is fairly puny and our earth? Hardly a dot on the picture. Are you feeling small yet?

There is more!!

Whoa!! I had no idea how small our sun really is and our magnificent planet is not even visible at this scale. How does Heavenly Father find us?

You should be feeling pretty small by now. Let me help you feel even smaller.

The size of our universe is frankly, unfathomable to our minds. I find this some of the best evidence yet that we are not alone in the huge universe we are part of. It staggers your mind.

And if you want to be even more amazed Antares is the 15th brightest star in the known universe. It is over 1,000 light years from the earth. (a light year is the distance light travels in a year....do the math)

Reminds me of the movie Contact at the opening scene when they pull back starting with Jodie Foster's eyes and keep going out and out and out. That truly was one of the better scenes you'll see in a movie, I think.

If you aren't feeling smaller than you were, you should be.

Dad

40th High School Reunion

I just got back from attending my 40th high school reunion in Tucson. I have to say, though I enj0yed much of it, the most fun I had was with Jeff and Angie and Cal. Cal is getting more and more attached to Angie and I think when I went in to wake him up and he saw me, it kind of scared him. (imagine waking up and seeing a big beast like me standing over you) He is sure cute and doing so much more than even this summer. That boy will be walking before we know it and then look out world!!

My reunion was good in a couple of ways. I met a couple of my best friends in high school that I literally had not seen in about 35 years. That was so much fun. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. I'm sure the stories we shared were a bit embellished but it was still great to share them with these guys. The best time I had was on Friday night where a bunch of us (about 20) met for dinner and general banter. I was a bit hesitant to just go in (I was 45 min late) but once I was there it was just great. Many that live in Tucson and knew about the reunion just chose not to come. Many just have no interest in reliving old times or renewing old friendships. (not even curiosity about what happened to old friends motivates them to come.) Don't understand that totally and it is kind of maddening but such is life.

I noticed that there was very little of "look at what I have accomplished in my life...what about you?" I have seen that at other reunions. People wanting everyone to know about their careers, how successful they have been...kind of an ego boost for them I guess. This time it was mostly just visiting and catching up...very little one upmanship at this one. I think we are at the point in our lives (all are 58 or 59 years old) where that kind of stuff just isn't as important to most of us. Most talk was about kids, grandkids and what they are doing in retirement. (yes there were several already retired) And then of course...the stories, the embellished stories of the stuff we did as teenagers. I couldn't remember most of it and probably didn't want to hear most of it due to the embarrasments I suffered in those days.

The next night was the big deal with dinner and all. It was a bit disappointing as many of my best friends were unable to attend. Reunions are a funny thing. Everyone comes up to you and asks your name and vice versa and in some cases you have a recollection of the person but most of the time not. You realize that this person had absolutely nothing to do with you in high school and now it is like you are old friends. Kind of weird as all I really wanted to do is visit with those people that were a big part of my life at that time and many of them were not there. Still those that were, it was a kick catching up and seeing the changes and talking about what has happened to them.

A couple of observations I had were that there were a few that had not divorced but most had been through a marriage or two or three. Most had 2 or 3 children but none had 8 and all continue to be amazed at the size of my family. I was amazed at how many still had children in their teens. That is because many had not started there families until they were in their 40's. One woman (Laura Dooley who I had a huge crush on in the 8th grade!!) had her only child when she was 48 years old!! Her child was only 8 1/2 years old. (she won a prize for having the youngest child)

As I read the bios of everyone who responded, it was amazing to me how many of my classmates were involved in efforts to help others with various causes and foundations they were involved in professionally and personally. I think part of that is the era we grew up in....the 60's and the "make love, not war" philosphy that came out of that. Amazing. While it is a wonderful thing in many ways, it also reflects the tremendous effect that the 60's, the Vietnam War and the feminist movement has had on my generation and the way life has been approached by many of us. I don't know for sure but I would bet that a good number of my classmates are quite liberal in their political leanings. I didn't ask and in fact didn't want to know as it would have only degenerated from there!!

Anyway, it was great seeing some of those I did and I'm glad I went. I thought I was in the wrong place for awhile as many of the people looked so old!!!

Love,
Dad

End of Summer

Well, it is almost over. This summer that we have all just experienced. It is pretty much a blur to me as to what happened. July came and went and it seems like I missed it.

Mom is back in school and has a 1/2 day kindergarten class. This will hurt us financially a bit, but that isn't really why she is teaching anyhow. She has 24 students and loves the work.

Megan is back in school and so far she "loves it' We admire her so much as she is getting up on her own every single morning and getting to early morning seminary by 6 a.m. She then goes directly over to school. She is also in choir and is running on the cross country team. Being on an athletic team is a new experience for her and we are so proud of her for sticking with it and trying as best she can. Just finishing the race is what her goal is. Her time will be secondary for sure. She is finding she enjoys it, especially the friendships. We have told her we hope she gets involved in as many things as she can handle. Go Megan!!

As busy as this summer was, I realize how much I enjoy having all the kids around. It is hectic and maybe even frustrating at time with all we want to do and not enough time, but looking back on it, I know there is no happier time for me than to have our children, their wives and their children around us. Mom and I are truly two lucky people. What a fine bunch of people you all are!! We are so lucky to have been blessed with such good people for children and the wives they have chosen.

We are going through withdrawal pains with the 4 grandkids. It was so nice having Joy and Grant so near us in Greeley and seeing them all so much this summer. We want to get up to see Mark and Liz real soon or they will be in high school before we know it!!!!

Having Drew home for these few weeks has also been good for us to kind of re-acclaimate to having the Goose around. He has inspired me for sure and has helped me with the Priest's Quorum big time. Now he is off again to BYU and life will get back to somewhat normal at
7336 S. Pierson.

Darn, I was just getting used to the craziness of having him around. Kristen and he have both beat me down in ping-pong and so whatever small amount of self esteem I had left has been destroyed by those two. We have loved having them both around so much since Goose has been home.

Anyway, I'm going to try and keep up with my Blog from now on. I hope we can all do better as it is a great way to stay in touch.

Love you all,
Dad

Doctor's manners

I was in the doctor's office the other day to get a physical. I think about doctors differently now that I have two sons that are going to be doctors with a possible third one in the form of Addie.As the doctor came in and sat down and started asking me questions I had a epiphony pertaining to docs. He was on the computer and looked up my file from when I was in a year ago (I hadn't seen him since) He was confiming a bunch of stuff like the meds I'm on (Norvasc and TriCor), my latest blood test, did I have a colonoscopy and the like. It just struck me that this man doesn't know me from Adam (no pun intended Addie) I'm just a body to him. No relationship with me as a person. It was obvious that he hadn't even looked at my file before he came in.I have nothing against this Doc nor do I think he was in anyway a bad doctor. When I only see him once a year, I can't expect him to know me from the hundreds of others he is seeing. It is just the thought occurred to me that I want a relationship with my doctor that is beyond just a body he is seeing. It just gives me a funny feeling that he really doesn't know me, has little interest in me as a person and is just treating me as a kind a generic patient. In a large practice it can be no other way, I suppose, but it just hit me that I hope Mark and Jeff and Addie really have the opportunity in their medical lives to get to know their patients and really be a part of improving their lives in a personal and professional way.I also suggest that when you see a patient after the first time, that before you go into the patient you review the records briefly, try jogging your memory as to why and when you saw him the last time so that when you open that door you are approaching him or her like you are personally interested and informed about their issues. It makes the patient feel more than just a body. Don't know how you do that, but I sure think it would help. My doctor takes a picture the first time you see him so he can kind of remember what you look like and that may jog his memory. Seems like notes in the file to help you the next time would be a good idea as well as names the patient goes my. You should take a few moments to review that before you open that door. I'm sure that in the rush sometimes that happens and other times maybe not. The first thing he said to me was "Hi Michael." I knew right away he didn't have a clue about anything we had talked about before and didn't remember me at all. How hard would it be to make a note in the file to say this patient goes by "Mickey." A little thing and perhaps a bit artificial but it sure gives the patient the impression you know who he is.Dad

Elder Foster's Phone Call Schedule

Well, no one has responded so let me tell you all. We are calling Drew at about 1 P.M. Denver time or 7 P.M. Accra tim on Saturday, May 13th. Note this is Sat, not Sunday. We will chit chat for awhile and then try and tie each one of you in, one at a time. The Schedule will be something like this.Mark and Liz - about 1:10 P.M.Addie - about 1:30 P.M.Matt and Wendie - (at Matt's place)about 1:50 P.M.Ty and Dana - about 2:10 Seattle timeJeff and Angie - about 2:30 Arizona timeKristen - after all of you.We plan on talking no more than a couple of hours with him. It is going to be fun so be there or be square.Dad
2:26 PM
Tankfos said...
Very well organized. You are a mastermind.
5:32 PM
Tyler said...
Great, I just have one comment.I think you meant the following:Ty and Dana - 2:10 PM Denver time (1:10 PM Seattle time)Jeff and Angie - 2:30 PM Denver time (1:30 Phoenix time)We'll be ready...Ty
8:49 PM

Elder Foster's phone call on Mother's Day

Just a thought for the week. I am going to try and call Drew this week to see when would be a good time to talk to him. For the first time in a long time, none of you will be here for the phone call. It seems like in the past at least some of you were here. Obviously, little Max might decide to come on the very day we talk to Elder Foster so if that happens, all bets are off. However, barring that wonderful event, I would like to see if we could tie you each in for a bit of the conversation. How about 10 minutes for each couple? I assume this will happen sometime around noon on May 14th but we will see what Elder Foster says. Please let me know if you all can be near a phone sometime on Sunday and we will make this work.

Love you all,
Dad

Thought for the Day - May 6, 2006

I am feeling kind of foolish as I try and figure out this blogging stuff. It is not that I'm stupid or ignornant of the power of the internet or how to use computers, but it is that it that I really have no strong desire to devote the time to figure it all out. This site appears to make this pretty easy, but it is not intuitive and they could have made it a lot easier by giving you tabs to add links and the like. Instead you have to go through this routine and I just have no desire to remember it. I don't mind making entries and all, but I'm just not into sitting down and figuring it all out.

Call me old fashioned, call me old school, call me a foolish old man, but them thar are the facts.

However, I will try and start some different strings on my blog that might prove to open some dialogue for those who know me best and know that I am not only interested in knowing your thoughts but am totally devoted to converting you fools to my way of thinking on every possible subject on the earth. There, I have finally said it. My goal is to convince every one of you that you are wrong and I am right on every conceivable subject that I wish to pontificate on.

Are you ready for that?

Dad