Reflections from the road (and elsewhere)

"Why Louisville?" The short answer is I am considering accepting a job offer in the Louisville area. The Missus, the Girls, the Boy, the Inlaws, and I spent the weekend in Louisville on a marginally successfully recon mission.

I mentioned my bumper sticker research previously, giving the lead to GWB by a margin of plus two. A margin of two may not seem as that much, but given the scope and frame of reference for my "research", it is statistically huge. My "survey area" for this study has been southeast Michigan in general, where the UAW holds sway; the AnnArbor area, where liberal veiwpoints dominate and your bumper sticker can change the world; driving down I-75 throught the "battleground" state of Ohio; and various excursions throughout northern Kentucky and southern Indiana. If you factor out the time spent in the University of Michigan's and the University of Louisville's sphere of influence, which weights the survey against GWB, a two bumper sticker margin is huge indeed. Which brings me to my next point.....

"Oh, that's just wrong....."

Words issued by a very dear relative, to whom I'd give a kidney without hesitation, on Sunday morning regarding a CNN HeadLine News report that some poll was reporting GWB and j f'n k being in a statistical dead heat. (My apologies, I was not paying any attention to the TV and I have no clue who's poll it was, but it was on CNN so it sure as hell wasn't the Blogging Caesar's.) Anyway, she went on to opine that this was merely propaganda issued by Karl Rove and the White House to cover up how much trouble the campaign to re-select GWB (her words) was in. I leave my politics at the door when dealing with family, so I passed on pointing out that it was a poll cited by the Clinton News Network, just imagine how FOX was reporting it. When presented with facts that are not congruent with their world-view, the leftist will find (fabricate) a way to invalidate the evidence.

Nader

The headline in the Louisville paper on Saturday morning was about the Florida Supreme Court ruling that Ralph Nader be included on the November ballot. That set him off. A dear relative, to whom I would also give a kidney without hesitation, went on about the shameless Florida "Supremes" bending over backward to award the election to GWB by putting Nader on the ballot in violation of the Florida Constitution. I was like "Dude, WTF? Like giving the 'anyone but Bush' crowd another choice doesn't exactly help the President". Oh no, this was a deliberate effort by the Florida Supremes to undermine the kerry campaign to hand the election to GWB. Whatever. (My grandfather believe to his dying day that Ross Perot was a ploy by the Republicans to re-elect Bush 41 and keep billyjeff blythe clinton out of office. I'm not saying my grandfather was an idiot (wrong thinking maybe, as in leftist), but anyone can see that Perot fractionalized the Republican base and subsequentially the country that I love suffered eight years of the Clinton administration. But I digress.....) Anyway, just over 24 hours later, the subject of Nader came up again. I jokingly opined that, compared to Nader, Perot actually appeared to be qualified for the Presidency. Bad move on my part. I got 100 miles worth how Nader could never be selected (his word) because Nader was for the common person, about how Nader was a populist and that "corporate Amerikkka" would never allow someone who isn't going to line their pockets to be given the Office of the Presidency. My point in comparing the two was that at least Perot had done something productive, whereas Nader had made a career only by bitching about what others had done. I went on to point out that just 24 hours previous, my dear relative was complaining about Nader being added to the ballot in Florida, and now he was bemoaning the fact that Nader was being marginalized by the system. Really, really bad move on my part. I don't think I got a word in edge-wise for the next 150 miles. The only point I got in was something about being congruent in one's beliefs, but I don't think it registered.

As Linda Ellerbee used to say: "And so it goes" I had more to say, but it's late and I must sleep.