And Another Two Bite the Dust

The presidential race narrowed by two today. My preferences for the next president of the United States (of the major candidates still in the running), in order of preference:
1. Fred Thompson - out Jan. 22
2. Mitt Romney
3. Rudy Guiliani - out Jan. 30
4. Mike Huckabee
5. John McCain
6. Ron Paul
7. Barack Obama
8. John Edwards - out Jan. 30
9. Kucinich - out Jan. 25
10. Hillary Clinton

The Russell Girl

We watched "The Russell Girl" (played by Amber Tamblyn) on regular TV last night, and it was pretty sad story. But the Hallmark Shows usually are. :)

What I noticed that was unusual about "The Russell Girl" was the unusual number of strong, caring, supportive men in the show. Even her own brother was nice to her.

Ann Coulter

I've been feeling rotten this weekend with a cold, and took the opportunity to read an Ann Coulter book.
My favorite quote so far is: "The common wisdom holds that 'both parties" have to appeal to the extremes during the primary and then move to the center for the general election. To the contrary, both parties run for office as conservatives. Once they have fooled the voters and are safely in office, Republicans sometimes double-cross the voters. Democrats always do."

Edna Turnblad

Fresh, from the stage in London, Michael Ball as Edna Turnblad in the world renowned musical hit comedy "Hairspray!"

Same person in street clothes:

Carcassonne

My daughter and I went to S&C's house last night for a game night. They still have their Christmas lights up because they looked so pretty and lit up the front yard.

Oddly enough, they have a rose blooming under the Christmas lights.

Carcassonne (named after a medieval town in France) was a fun board game. Here is how the board looked at the end. See the roads, towns, and farms?

Just to show off my new Fuji f50fd camaera, here is a close-up photo of a monastery piece.

Soto won, of course.

Ranking modern presidents

I think President Bush is one of the better presidents in my lifetime. I rank him just above his dad. Here are my rankings for presidents since 1952:

1. Reagan (8 years of economic growth, won the Cold War, encouraged Americans to be optimistic)
2. Eisenhower (several years of surplus, no wars)
3. G. W. Bush (6 years of economic growth, cut taxes, strong response to 9-11 attacks)
4. G. H. W. Bush (raised taxes and ended the growth period)
4. JFK (kept the civil rights movement rolling, cut taxes, stood up to the Soviet Union in Cuba)

Big jump here

5. LBJ (started massive social programs and entered the Vietnam War in a big year, which started deficit spending in a big way)
6. Ford (who?, what did he do?)
7. Nixon (resigned in disgrace, tried price fixing to help the economy, allowed a rare defeat for the U.S. military in Vietnam)
8. Carter (8% unemployment, 13% interest rates, unstable economy, mishandled Iran hostage situation)
9. Clinton (scandal after scandal, missed opportunities to capture Osama, invaded or bombed numerous countries for no good reason)

See, I'm not partisan: I put two Republicans in the bottom set and one Democrat in the top set.

Presidential Primaries

While the field is still wide open, I'd like to announce my preferences for the next president of the United States (of the major candidates still in the running). In order of preference:
1. Fred Thompson - out Jan. 22
2. Mitt Romney
3. Rudy Guiliani
4. Mike Huckabee
5. John McCain
6. Ron Paul
7. Barack Obama
8. John Edwards
9. Kucinich - out Jan. 25
10. Hillary Clinton

Fred is the only true conservative in the mix.
Fred and Mitt are very close, but Fred has come forth with good plans for immigration policy, social security reform, etc.
Guiliani would be great for foreign policy, but he is a bit too liberal on social issues (e.g., abortion) for me.
For a Republican, Huckabee is pretty liberal on a lot of issues.
I'll never forgive McCain for the McCain-Feingold legistlation for placing strong limits on free speech.
As for Ron Paul, any Republican is better than any in the Democrat field.
I'm hopeful that Obama would be an ineffective president (the best kind of Democrat), much like the last Governor of Washington State, Gary Locke.
Edwards is too smarmy.
Kucinich is a true liberal, but would also I hope be ineffective.
And, I said 16 years ago, Anybody But Clinton.

Chains

I had an opportunity to let my daughter try her hand at driving the Subaru in snow today. I picked a large open area near a hay barn. She hopped into the driver's seat, and I into the passenger seat. She made a loop in about 6 inches of snow, shrieking every time the wheels slipped. Turns out there was a hard layer of ice under the snow. Then she decided to drive closer to the barn and got it stuck in about a foot of snow. My son and I dug out the snow around it and behind it, and I backed it out. I drove back to the plowed area, put on the chains, took it for a spin in the area with 6 inches of snow, and invited her to do the same. This time she paused after the first loop and could not get it moving again. She let me drive after the clutch started to smell. It was not stuck this time, and I got it going no problem. Good fun, good experience for her, and I learned more about the Subaru's capabilities (6 inches on ice, no problem) and limitations (12 inches is too deep). The chains helped a little in deep snow, but not a lot. They should make a bigger difference on icy roads.