Sunday, November 30, 2008

Another Cuppa Coffee

Well, hello there.

Are you new? Well, first, let me welcome you to my, d$, blogpage. This was starting in June of 2005 to chronicle a mission trip to NYC, and I thought, "What the heck, why not just keep writing it?" And a few years, over 40,000 hits and over 600 posts later, here I am still... in fact, July 2010 will make five whole years of blogging, something I never thought I would get to... but, here I am still. 

What is this page about? Anything. Everything. Nothing. All at the same time.

Its about pop culture... God... music... movies... friends... family... thoughts... dreams... hopes... adventures... experiences... television... books... links... food... fashion (uh, right)... football... baseball... travelin'... wrasslin'... politics (which, I'm usually right, so I tend not to discuss too much)...

Its about Troy University (go Trojans!)... Samson High School (go Tigers!)... Toni Rocki Honda... The Former Happiest Place in the Mall... Starbucks... sweet potato casserole... my love of Sharpies... The Rock... my mancrush on The Rock... WalkAbout...

Some of the people you'll read about include my wife, The Lovely Steph Leann... Mikey... MZ... Little Sister Ashley... McQ... The Deuce... My Best Mate Wookiee... DeNick & DeLisa... friends like S'ray and C'ray... Brad Latta (the Official Ombudsman of Clouds in My Coffee)... Tommy Mac and Amy Mac... The Goddess... Amy Adams, whom I'm in love with... and more. Much more.

To the right, I've tried to assemble a list and collection of links that I use and enjoy, and that I hope you will too.

Its always a work in progress, and I'll be making more changes but I invite you to become an official Clouds in My Coffee Drinker--just click on the right side. It will make you a "follower", but that sounds so... well, cult like. It's not like I'm Obama or anything.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the tweaked site, I hope you let me know what you think and I hope that I can be a page you check frequently!

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How can you not love a site written by this guy? Seriously? This is a face that says, "Hey, read my site!"

Thursday, November 20, 2008

The War of the Table

Stop me if you've heard this one... or been there...

On February 28th, 2009, I will celebrate my 5th year of marriage to The Lovely Steph Leann, 5 years of fun, 5 years of romance, 5 years of movies, 5 years of music, 5 years of laughter... and yes, 5 years of such bitter disputes that perhaps there is no compromise. Dave! There's always a compromise. Yeah, there is... one of us says, "Screw it, I don't care."

While working today at The Happiest Place in the Mall, a buddy of mine dropped by--Bobowen, husband of The Freckled Becca... I call her this only in love, as I think her freckles are adorable, lest you think I'm taking a dig at her--I personally think she's a beautiful girl, but I'd never tell her that. So keep it between us, 'k? But on Clouds in My Coffee, we all get fun names, don't we?

Anyway, Bobowen used to manage a TJ Maxx, and has now moved over and taken on the opening of a new store in town, IO Metro. Bobowen told me that I should stop by after work to see the grand opening, and I texted The Lovely Steph Leann and let her know we should do that very thing. She texted back, called me later, then texted again for me to come home and meet her at The Cabana, and we'll go get dinner and visit the new store.

I did, passing Lil Sister Ashley along the way in her vehicle, Barney, and met The Lovely Steph Leann here. We got into her car and drove back to the Patton Creek Shopping Center, where we pulled up and parked in front of this huge Pier One type furniture & accessory shop. I was surprised, I thought it would be one of those boutiques stuck into a corner somewhere, but no, its a pretty big place. Its a furniture place. The Lovely Steph Leann, being 1043% more cultured in this stuff, knew this. I didn't.

We go in, and are greeted warmly by The Freckled Becca and Bobowen, and The Lovely Steph Leann and I start touring the place... well, she does, I actually head straight for the refreshment table, where they are serving a cheese plate with four or five different cheeses (one of them was pink... not sure how that happens, but it was good) and a bowl of crackers, and next to it, the cookie table, which I didn't touch, but just glanced at. Right.

Now, we've been in The Cabana since February 8th of this year, and after living in the apartment--The Casa de Pesos--for almost four years, between the two of us we have acquired most of what we needed furniture wise... well, let me rephrase that--for almost four years, she's had the time to acquire most of what we needed furniture wise while slowly getting rid of what she didn't like of mine. But that's marriage, right?

We were blessed to have some money to furnish our home with when we moved in, much of which we've used on various things like housewares, a futon for our guest room (a good, sleepable futon, not one of those cheap, board in your back futons from Wal-Mart), desks, lamps, and other small things we've needed. We still want to toss up a backsplash in our kitchen (mind you, before The Cabana, I didn't even really know the concept of a 'backsplash') and get some shelving done in our attic closet we've turned into a bonus room and so on and so forth.

The two glaring things that I think we need, and I'm guessing that The Lovely Steph Leann would put them at the top of her list, include a living room rug and a dining room table. And of course, chairs to go with the table. We both agree we need to have our living room painted--her because she doesn't like the neutral color we currently have on our walls, and me because the sooner we can get the room painted, the sooner we can start putting stuff actually on our walls. And she eventually wants a hutch or a china cabinet to hold the china.

Well, we work our way around the store and actually find the rugs... and actually find a rug we both like. Once again, we want them for different reasons--The Lovely Steph Leann wants a living room rug that will accent our pillows, go with our couches and give more life to our living room... I want a living room rug because I am tired of tossing down cloth mats on the hardwoods to put my tv trays when I'm eating in this room, or I'm blogging here. Currently, my laptop sits on a tv tray that is sitting on what I only can suppose is a pink bathmat rug. The bottoms of the trays are rounded, which means that little felt thingies on the bottom won't work--they fall off. We've tried it.

But, we found one we like. And this is a major break through. Because up until this very moment, I'm not sure we ever found one we both liked. And then, a few minutes later, we a dining room table we both liked... two, in face. A rectangle and a square one. The price is good. The look is good. This night might be golden. Bobowen is happy for us. The Freckled Becca is ecstatic, not just because we might be purchasing a big ticket item, but because she's frequented The Cabana, so she knows what needs we have.

We talk to a few of the sales people, and one of them makes a solid case for getting a square table instead of a rectangular one, a case so good that I'm now going square all the way--mind you, our friends Sammi C and Paulie Walnuts have a high table in their apartment, with high barstool-type chairs, and I love this, but The Lovely Steph Leann doesn't care for this very much.

I've also seen a square table in another store that I promised The Freckled Becca I wouldn't go to--it sounds like "Nashley Burniture"--with chairs and a bench on the backside. I am very pro this style, but The Lovely Steph Leann isn't crazy about it.

You have to know The Lovely Steph Leann... she lets you know pretty quickly when she likes something and when she doesn't. And she hasn't liked any of my table choices... for me, though, when it comes to furniture, I'd pretty much go along with whatever, I just know what I don't like. I mean, I know what I think is ugly, but sometimes my answer is just "that's fine", and it means just that very thing. I don't love it. I don't hate it. I feel as if it would serve my table needing purposes just fine, and I find it agreeable. Go with it.

So back at the store, we've toured the store twice now, and I think we've settled on a rug, and I am pretty sure The Lovely Steph Leann is leaning toward this table we like. The chairs are an additional expense, but I tell her, "Ya know what, we buy two tonight. Maybe three. Maybe one. Whatever. Anyway, every month or two, we buy another one. After six, eight months, we have the entire set." She nods agreeingly. This is great!

And to top it off, we're actually looking at hutches. We are checking out china cabinets. I say, "You know, I think its funny that the dishes we use all the time are piled up, various colors and randomly, in a closed cabinet, hidden away, but the dishes that we never use have to be put into a thousand dollar cabinet, for the world to see."

The Lovely Steph Leann gave me a look.

(This is where all the guys nod their heads and say "Yeah, brother!" and all the chicks shake their heads and say, "You're really stupid, and you just don't get it.")

I'm doing the math in my head (and the cabinet we are looking at doesn't cost a thousand bucks, lest you think we're rolling in the dough--we aren't) and I know we can't get all the things we've looked at. I even make the declaration, "If you want the rug and the table, we can get the cabinet too. We'll pay more than what we've got for house money, but the extra can come out of Christmas fundage--this will be your Christmas present. A new china cabinet." I'm feeling pretty good about myself, by the way.

Bobowen comes over, we chat for a little while, then The Freckled Becca comes over, and she's telling us how much she loves the table and rug we've discussed purchasing. I glance over, and The Lovely Steph Leann is holding her small calculator that she keeps in her purse... she's doing math too. We walk over and sit down, and begin to discuss the parameters of what we might spend and how to make it work...

The table and the hutch, no rug? The table, the rug, all 6 chairs? The table, two chairs and the hutch? What about the hutch and the rug only?

And then... its like... its like I saw it coming... I mean, I knew it was coming, but the process had started before I could stop it. Perhaps my guard let down, because I was excited that we might have a dining room table--remember, I lived at The Deuce with four guys... I've never owned a dining room table, especially not one this nice and this cool. And its a cool table. With cool chairs. And we both like it.

But... somewhere... it just... it just started...

The Lovely Steph Leann began to talk herself out of all of it.

It begins with an expression on her face. One of just, "Hmm... is this what I want to do...?" Then, its followed by something like, "Well... we could just... not do anything tonight..." And by this time, by the time the expression and the words come so close, its over. There is no discussion, there is no battle to be fought, there is no pleading and begging. Its over.

The Lovely Steph Leann has now expressed doubt about the table. And even further doubt about the cabinet. At this point, I'm under the delusion that the table can be saved, but fully understanding that cabinet is in the North Atlantic with the Titanic going down behind it. Its gone.

Its now to the point where, if we purchased the table (and I think had I pressed the issue, we would have bought it) then when people come over to The Cabana, and comment on the table, the response will not be an excited, "Oh yeah, we loved it when we saw it!" or a "Yeah, I thought it fit this room well!", it will be more a shrug of, "Yeah, Dave liked it, and I thought it was okay, so we got it." This is NOT how to furnish a home.

The Freckled Becca comes over, and so not only has The Lovely Steph Leann begun to express doubt about the table, The Freckled Becca, being a chick, begins to understand her logic and reasoning. She even uses the deadly words, "Oh, I know, my husband and I have that problem", said only to mean, "Oh, I know, I have a husband who just doesn't understand how the women need to furnish a home the way we want to furnish it..."

Let me stop right here and say this... I have fully comprehended the concept that a house is an extention of the wife. If the house is messy, not a big deal for the husband, you just pick it up and clean it. Eventually. For the woman, though, it makes her feel like she's failed as a homemaker and housekeeper--I get it, I get this... but... the table... it was so nice... it was so....

"You know, if you aren't crazy about it, don't get it," The Freckled Becca says. "When you envisioned your home before you moved in, if you didn't see a cabinet like this, or a table like this in your dining room, then don't get it."

Its as if The Freckled Becca loaded the gun and then handed it to The Lovely Steph Leann who shot the table as it lay helpless, defenseless. Bobowen raised his hands, smartly, saying, "I'm not in this. You're on your own." There are some things that guys just won't help each other out with... I'm not sure I would have come to his defense either.

Then, out of nowhere, The Lovely Steph Leann turns to the rug. Even The Freckled Becca is shocked--"No, no, the rug... it has to stay!"

I told Steph, finally, "If you want the rug, get it. Do not get it if you only are throwing me a bone here. At this point..." and I said the words that a guy should never really say to a woman when furniture shopping, at least in the tone I used... "at this point, I don't care."

She gave me a look, and we walked back over to the rugs.

Well, we got the rug, so The Cabana will now have carpeting for its living room. At what price, though? The Freckled Becca was excited for us, still siding with The Lovely Steph Leann ("you should go visit this other furniture store, you might find something you like there...") and Bobowen just happy we came out...

Dinner was quiet, as I think she was a little afronted, and I was just irritated that we still didn't have a dining room table, one we both liked--that doesn't happen often, remember. But as the night wore on, we loosened up a little...

Finally, back at home at The Cabana, she was in the crop room upstairs, so I dashed up the stairs, grabbed her, kissed her a few times, told her I loved her a few more times, and just hugged her tightly. For me, the table issue went away, as most of life's problems do, however temporarily, when I stand with The Lovely Steph's Leann's arms wrapped around me.

I should have gone to bed about an hour ago... but I wanted to post the next part of A Very Deuce Christmas Story and also to write this up... something I thought you could all relate to.

Now, I'm going to go wake up my wife and give her a big hug again. When she gets over being annoyed I woke her up, she might even kiss me goodnight. Just sayin'.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Reason Enough for Notes on a Wednesday

More rambling thoughts for the Clouds in My Coffee Blog...

Its a Wednesday, a day off from The Happiest Place in the Mall. Its cold outside--welcome to Fall! And winter is only four weeks away!

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For the record, The Happiest Place in the Mall doesn't carry anything having to do with...

Tranformers. Speed Racer. Spiderman. Batman. Superman. Kung Fu Panda. Aliens vs Monsters. Shrek. For that matter, Shrek 2. Even Shrek the Third. Nor the upcoming A Fourth of Shrek. Ferngully (got that one the other day).

Just in case you need some stuff from the above list, we won't have it, mainly because its not Disney properties.

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My common responses to questions I've been asked recently from guests at The Happiest Place in the Mall (and what I'm actually thinking)

"Yes ma'am, everything in our store is 25% off currently" (as directed by the 27 signs that say "This Week Only-Everything In Store is 25% Off", including that sign right above your head)

"Yes, we do have Mickey Mouse here" ( ..... )

"No, I'm sorry we don't have any Kuzco stuff right now, nor do we have any Princess Kida stuff" (because out of the thousands of Disney characters we have, we just don't have the room to pick out a character from The Emperor's New Groove or Atlantis: The Lost Empire)

"Yes, we open at midnight" (as evidenced from the fact I answered your call by saying "we open at midnight")

Don't get me wrong... I love my job at The Happiest Place in the Mall. But sometimes, you just get those people... just sometimes...

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Just finished reading a bunch of Stephen King material--I say "material" because it wasn't all novels, some of it was just short story stuff...

"Carrie". This was King's first novel published back in the early 70s. Its the story about a frumpy girl named Carrie White who has the pain of being the chick who is picked on. And I mean, really picked on--ruthlessly. I dare say despite all of King's bad guys in all of his books, Chris Hargensen may be the most rotten villian overall... she's not possessed, she's not risen from a grave, she's not a zombie... she's just really, really mean.

Anyway, Carrie is a little different... she's telekenetic. And she lives with a mother who is a complete nutcase, one of those religious women who thinks there is no joy in living and that God hates all us sinner people.

Well, some stuff happens (most people my age know the general idea of the ending, but many younger folk to not) and Carrie uses her powers and its all a big brouhaha. The book is written almost documentary style, with "newspaper clippings" and "book excerpts", and "interviews", which makes it a little different.

At only a few hundred pages, it is certainly one King's shortest novels, and its worth a read. Loved it. A shoo-in for The 100 Coolest Things of 2008.

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After I finished "Carrie", for some reason, I immediately went to "The Green Mile". This was a novel that came out in the mid-90s, in a style that was a throwback to the way many books were published... a few chapters at a time.

The first book, "Two Dead Girls", was only about 100 pages and I remember buying it in Troy's Wal-Mart in March of 1996. I was intrigued because it was so small, and figured I could read it pretty quickly--which I did. The next book, "The Mouse on the Mile" came out at the end of April, and so on monthly, until the final volume, Part 6, "Coffey on the Mile" was released in August of 96.

I remember liking the story a whole lot back then, and was excited to pick it up again. And it was amazing. Seriously... I don't remember much of what I re-read, perhaps having seen the movie so many times. By the way, the movie is just incredible too, a Dave100 pick, so I highly recommend it.

But the novel goes into so much more detail, as novels tend to do as they've got a length advantage over movies. You get more backstory, you care more about the characters, and though I still could see Tom Hanks and David Morse in the part of Edgecombe and Brutal, the best... worst... part was Percy Whitmore. He perhaps rivals Chris Hargensen as the meanest King villian, even worse that Wild Bill in the story.

This novel covers possibly more than 400 or 500 pages, so it takes a while longer to chug through, but it also will make an appearance on the 100 Coolest Things of 2008.

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"Blood and Smoke". Its a short story collection that features three tales... including...

"Lunch at the Gotham Cafe" This was an odd story... a guy goes to meet up with his wife, soon to be -ex, for a divorce settlement meeting. And the maitre'd goes nuts. Really weird.

"1408". If this sounds like a movie featuring John Cusack and Samuel L. Jackson, well, you're right. It's the same story. Mike Enslin is the writer of such novels as "Ten Nights in Ten Haunted Houses" and "Ten Nights in Ten Haunted Graveyards" and so on, and is working on "Ten Nights in Ten Haunted Hotel Rooms" when he books a room, specifically Room 1408, at The Dolphin Hotel right in New York City.

I do love the fact that this, and the "Gotham Cafe" story, don't occur in the woods, or out in the country, but amidst the hustle and bustle of the busiest city in the world.

Anyway, the set up is awesome. Mr. Olin, the hotel manager, spends the first half of the story trying to talk Enslin out of it. The second half is spent in the room, and while its creepy and chilling, it doesn't last long enough. The story suddenly ends, and you want more, especially after the lead up that King has written.

"In the Deathroom". Fletcher is an ex-reporter who has been kidnapped and is being held in a torture room in South America. Nothing supernatural or spiritual about it, just a little ditty about a man and his will to survive, however improbable. Decent tale.

In addtion to "Blood and Smoke", you'll find all these tales amongst a collection in "Everything's Eventual".
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College Basketball is in full swing now... I wish I cared. I mean, I root for Florida, and I root for Troy and want them to do well, but no one I know really cares until March Madness.

I've heard arguments that if college football had a playoff, then that would be the mentality of football fans. Bullcorn, dude. Complete bullcorn. College football would be bigger than ever if a playoff were instituted. For one thing, its only once per week... granted, there are games all during the week, but as a fan, you only have to follow your team once per week, not three, four, five times per week.

In the SEC, there are 12 schools. Easy to follow in football. But in the Big East? There are like, 10 football schools, and what, 39 basketball schools? The ACC has 12 football schools, and adds on another 122 basketball schools? I mean, Florida Gulf Coast lost last night. I had no idea that Florida Gulf Coast had a team. Uniforms and everything. Really, I had no idea that Florida Gulf Coast existed, and couldn't tell you where it is, other than... well, on the...

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I want BCS chaos. I want the BCS to collapse on itself. Seriously. I want Oklahoma to beat Texas Tech, who had beaten Texas by a single play, who had dominated Oklahoma. I want a three way tie in the Big XII South, then I want Missouri to win the Big XII. Then I want Cincinnati to finish strong and win the Big East. Then I want Oregon State to win out (and they can) to take the Pac 10 and go to the Rose Bowl against, Michigan State, who can win the Big Ten. As far as the ACC goes, who cares? Georgia Tech, Miami, Florida State, Maryland, North Carolina, Boston College--none of them deserve to be in a BCS Bowl Game... but one will go.

Then I want either Boise State or Utah, two of the best teams in the country either to be shut out completely, or both make a BCS bowl and absolutely destroy the BCS school they play.

If Missouri, Cincinnati, Oregon State, Michigan State and let's say North Carolina make the BCS, let's also say that Florida beats Alabama in the SEC Championship Game--which puts the Go Gators in the national championship game, and almost certainly will send Alabama to the Sugar Bowl. Let's also suppose that the loser of the Big XII title game will play in a BCS Bowl, probably the Fiesta...

Thats 8 teams thus far in BCS bowls. Only 2 spots remain, with Penn State, Ohio State, USC, two of the three of Texas, Texas Tech & Oklahoma, Utah, Boise State all screaming that they deserve to be in the games... this is BCS Hell. And I'd love it.

I'd love it because the BCS is a ridiculous system. And despite the fact they say "It's not just us!", it really is the Big Ten and the Pac 10 that are resisting any talk of a playoff. Even an 8 team playoff would be perfect... but instead, we get one game that matters and 30 something games that don't.

It would be as if the Titans and Giants played in the Super Bowl, because that's what the NFL pollsters deemed worthy--unless the Titans lost the last game of the year, and despite being 15-1, they lost late... so the pollsters might say "Oh, well Indianapolis is better... they are 12-4, but they lost all their games early, and they are coming on strong, so they should play..."

Anyway, those teams play in the title, but hey, someone wants to see the Jets and the Vikings play in Atlanta... and let's put the Steelers and Packers in Los Angeles!

This is our BCS.

I'm done now. I'll go take a shower.

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This is the song I woke up thinking about this morning... its been strumming in my head all day long... perhaps I need a quiet time.

I don't know what You saw in me
But I'm glad You believed in spite of my condition
That Your mission was to rescue my heart
Don't understand the sacrifice, why You gave up Your life for the sake of my soul
Only heaven knows
There's a mystery that lies within the logic of Your love
There's an undying mercy that I'm unworthy of

If that isn't reason enough to love You
Reason enough to give You
All of my heart and soul
There'll never be a reason
If that isn't reason enough to trust You
Reason enough to give You
All of my life I know
There'll never be a reason
If that isn't reason enough

You have opened my eyes to see the miracle You have made of me
I am Your creation
So keep reminding me
There's a mercy so much stronger than the weaknesses in me
And there are glimpses of Your power that make it easy to believe

If that isn't reason enough to love You, reason enough to give You all of my heart and soul, there'll never be a reason. If that isn't reason enough to trust You, reason enough to give You all of my life I know... There'll never be a reason... If that isn't reason enough


This song can be found on Disc Two of the double disc edition of "Welcome to Delaware: d$'s Life Soundtrack" available soon everywhere.

A Very Deuce Christmas Story (updated with Chap 3)

Chapter 1... Exposition.

I love Christmas. I really, really do... I love the festivities, I love the color, I love the lights, I love the joy, I love the happiness of it all. Of course, as a Christ-follower and Grace Abuser, I recognize the birth of our Saviour as the main root of what Christmas is all about, but I love what it is.

When I forget, however, the... forgive me for tossing this phrase out, as I'm not a fan of it, but for lack of a better word... "reason for the season", I'm reminded of a Christmas memory, one I hold dear in my mind and heart.

Many Christmasas have come and gone thus far in my life, 32 so far, and my 33rd will be in a few weeks. Hopefully, I'll be able to have many more with God's hand on my life. There are some Christmas days that I vaguely recall, mostly from when I was a child, but I do remember my 7th Christmas, when I awoke to find the Star Wars AT-AT standing by the tree, standing half as tall as I was. Next to it was Slave I, out of the package, awating my imagination to take hold.

My first college Christmas was great, and I remember a few after that actually working at the radio station--WTBF-FM--where I just played the programs on tape and CD all day. I worked perhaps 10 hours that day, making much needed money. I read. I watched tv. I just enjoyed a quiet Christmas day.

And then I remember the Christmas in 2000, and more importantly, the events of December 23rd and 24th, 2000. It was a night that would change my heart and life for years to come, one I hold dearly to, sometimes clinging to when I need a little faith in my life.

It was the week of the Tuscaloosa tornadoes. None of us at The Deuce--that is, the apartment that was habitated by Mikey, Shawn, Tom and Yours Truly--were directly affected, but yet, we ended up being just that. It wasn't just us... it was our friends close to us--Matt Latta, Ginger Thomas, The Revern Ty, Leslie Cordell, Drew Morris, Tommy McLeod, Jennifer Hudson, Justin Glenn, Big Wookiee, Stephanie Nipp--not The Lovely Steph Leann, mind you... I was two months along after meeting her for the first time, yet another month from asking her out. Not only those people mentioned, but there were the Kellers, Aunt Faith, Britney, Claire and more... and of course, what started it all, Amy Wible.

This story will be longer than many tales I tell on Clouds in My Coffee, but I want to make sure you, my fellow Coffee Drinkers, understand the full scope of what I'm about to tell you. I'll break the story up into several parts, perhaps a few postings a week--don't worry, the story is fully written, so there isn't a "what if he doesn't finish it?" fear.

I guess my fear resides in that you won't like the story I have to tell... of course, thats just the chance we all take when posting our thoughts and minds to the world on such a blogsite, one that is visited now by 10s of people every day. But, after thinking about it last year, and even the year before, I decided this is the year that it should be re-told. I'll start tonight, we'll tell it along the way, and I'll finish up right around Christmas, as it should be.

You could say that our story begins early Saturday morning as we left, or you could contend that our story began at the weekly Thursday night Bible study, held at Sybil Johnson's house, as so many were back in those days, this particular one being the Thursday before Christmas. But to truly get the full exposition, I'll have to tell you the two things that occurred, leading up to Thursday night which, in turn, led to the weekend of which you'll read. In fact, if you haven't heard me--or any of us, really--talk about it, I'm a little surprised.

The storm itself was the first major event. After a long evening of partying, Deuce style, I woke up around noon on Saturday. I don't remember the specifics, but if its like a normal Deuce night was, it was people up late, playing Tetris on the Gamecube, or watching a movie on the big screen tv, or playing cards or whatever... this is what we did at The Deuce, starting from the day we moved in (June 10th, 2000) to the day the last of us moved out (March 4th, 2004).

In my room, my bed was right beside the window, which allowed for the brightness of the day to usually blast the room with light. This morning, however, the room wasn't very bright. I rolled out of bed, did my morning routine--bathroom stop, brushing teeth, put on some sort of presentable clothes as I never knew who would be coming in without knocking--and shuffled my way to the living room. The shower would come later, if at all, cause hey, its Saturday, right?

One of the main fixtures of The Deuce was the 35 inch television--not impressive now, but in 2000, most impressive... another fixture was the hundreds of movies that lay on shelves and bookcases around the room... still another fixture mainstay of The Deuce? Tommy McLeod. A thin, lanky guy about 22 or 23 at the time, Tommy had a home in Birmingham (his family lives here), but chose to lay his bushy hair on The Deuce couch most nights. This morning, Tommy's glasses were transfixed on the weather maps that were on channel after channel as he flipped.

I sat down beside him, and gawked, "Wow." He didn't say anything, but stopped flipping on a local station that was showing tornado damage from somewhere. "Where is that?" I asked.

"Tuscaloosa," Tommy replied.

Chapter 2... Plans.

"So, how are you?" I asked gently over the phone.
"Holding up," came the reply, softly.
"What's it look like over there?"
"Its terrible, Dave. Just terrible. I mean... I can't... I mean I just..." she trailed off, and sniffled.

I could tell that Amy Wible was still crying a little, though not nearly as much as when she'd called me the day of the tornadoes. When she called me, and from my first, "Hello", she began to sob deeply into the phone. I let it go for a little while, as any friend would, until she finally could make coherent sentences. She then told me of her grandmother's house, and how it had been severly damaged by the tornadoes, and about the destruction in the entire neighborhood--entire houses nearby flattened, some people who had lost everything. Right before Christmas.

Amy and I had been friends since 1997, and I've told our story on this site before (you can find it here). This weekend fell about a month or two before we finally began to drift apart, but that's another day. This particular day, I had called her, after having already consulted with the Deuce guys.

"We have an idea, Amy. We want to help." I told her.
"How's that?"
I explained to her our idea of gathering a group of people, traveling to Tuscaloosa during the upcoming Friday--six days week after the tornadoes and two days before Christmas--to offer our services of manpower to her family, and to anyone else who needed it there.
"That would be amazing, Dave," she said, and I could tell she was smiling. "I don't know exactly how we'll get it all worked out, but I know the whole area needs help. Not just my grandmother, but the neighbors too. I mean, there are still trees in yards, holes in roofs, streets that are blocked... and the weather has been miserable."

She was right about that. The entire week had been record cold, with temperatures not even approaching 40, and much of it below freezing, even in mid-afternoon. There were rumors that there was snow approaching the area, but I didn't give much credence to such things. At least at this point.

"Well, then, just plan on it." I replied. "I'll send an email out, and call Sybil and ask her to do the same. "We'll see you on Friday, okay?"
"Perfect," came the response, and this time I knew she was smiling.
I hung up, and dialed the number to Sybil's home. She answered, we conversed for a few, and then I told her of the upcoming service day. She was more excited than I thought, saying, "Thats wonderful! This is a perfect chance to serve, especially in this whole 'season of giving'!"

It sounds cliche, but I guess that is what it boils down to.

CHAPTER 3... PARTY

As I mentioned before, there were two events that set our weekend in motion. The first, of course, was the tornado-filled storm that ripped apart Tuscaloosa, specifically the neighborhood of Amy Wible's grandmother. The second of the events happened a few weeks later at Thursday night Bible Study.

Sybil Johnson was, at one time, the leader of a ministry called "Common Ground", the college and career ministry at Valleydale Baptist Church. I'm sure we were an SBC Fellowship at the time, but because the "Baptist" was our middle name, there was no need for a declaration. Common Ground was an amazing ministry, comprised of at least 25 to 30 regular attenders, and numbering more than 50 or 60 in attendance. On this night of which I tell, we were gathering for our annual Christmas party at Common Ground, which was held at the small house across the street from the church campus... this was 2000, remember.

As with every Thursday, the familiar faces came shuffling in, one by one... Stephanie Nipp, sister of Mikey Nipp... Justin Glenn, guitar player and future husband of Jennifer Pritchett (though they knew not at the time)... Sarah Hasha, plucky, cute, loud... the Deuce was represented as always by Michael and myself, who came in together, while Shawn Sharp and Tom Johnson followed closely behind.

In every college ministry, there were faces that only appeared on certain weekends and holiday breaks, and our ministry was no exception... Hillary Kelly strolled in, from Mississippi State. Ginger Thomas and Matt Latta, dating and would eventually marry, from Lee University... Leslie Cordell, bushy hair and beautiful, also from Lee University... Drew Morris, another guitar playing, long haired, Guns N Roses lovin' fellow worshipper. He's an Alabama student, and he also just randomly comes, classes or not.

Sybil scurried around frantically as she does on a day to day basis, lighting candles, straightening pillows, wiping, dusting, fixing and doing whatever she can to pull the place up to her standards. As the leader of this motley, Godly crew, this was a big night... and she wanted everything to be perfect.That didn’t matter much, as when Michael sat down, he bumped the table, spilling candle wax all over Sybil’s new Snowflakes-N-Angels tablecloth.
“Michael!” she yelled. “You are messing up my decor!”
“Dangit woman!” he said, jumping up. “Who puts tablecloths on tables anyway? Stupid gay-cor!”

Michael Williams and Rebecca came in, hand in hand, prompting half the room to smile with an “aw, cute!” look and the other half to smirk with a nauseous glance. Justin and Drew sat down in the corner with their guitars, and began to strum and pluck, sharing cords and guitar stories. When Stephanie joined them, a chorus of Caedmon’s Call tunes came from that side of the room.

Ty walked through a few moments later. I stood in the game room watching Michael beat up on Ross Kingrey in ping-pong, so though I didn’t see him, I knew when Ty entered the building.“What’s up guys!” he said in his loud voice. “Hey Sybil! Why are you scrubbing that tablecloth?”

I perked up when I heard Shawn yell “Wookiee!” Walking back to the main room, there stood my 7 foot tall friend, Chris Fulaytar.
“What are you doing here?” I asked.
“Dude, got your email about Saturday,” he smiled. “I was coming for the dinner tomorrow night, and so I thought ‘You know, any mass destruction not caused by a Wookiee should have a Wookiee helping to clean it up’.”
“Right on,” I smiled, doing the Wonder Twins fist smack.

By seven or so, there were thirty people in the room, wandering about, hugging, talking, strumming, whatever, when Sybil came to the stage and gathered the attention of the crowd.

"A few announcements before we start,” she read from her paper. “Don’t forget, ministry team meeting in January… Watermark concert on January 20th… and Dave, I got your email, so do you want to make the announcement about Saturday's clean-up?"

"Sure," I replied. I spoke loudly, "Good friend of mine, Amy--some of you have met her--has a grandmother who lives in Tuscaloosa. You heard that lots of places were damaged, and I talked to Amy this past week... a few of us are going over there on Saturday to help clean up, maybe clear some trees, just do whatever we can.”
"What time?" Sybil asked.
“Nine thirty!” I yelled back.
“Okay, 9:30 it is,” she responded. “Now, without further ado, here is Noel Johnson.”
Sybil’s son took the stage and immediately began to play, while the crowd began to mingle again.

I had gotten my cup of whatever was available drink-wise, and saw Sarah sitting at a table by herself. I strode over and sat down with a "What's up, sunshine?" She looked up and half-smiled, “I can’t go this weekend,” she said. “I’m sorry… I have my surgery tomorrow, and I know I won’t be in any shape to go do any sort of manual labor by the next day.” Sarah had had nasal problems for awhile, and was finally getting it fixed. I was actually rather saddened, as I would have enjoyed having her around, if only to hear Michael and Sarah bicker. Good times.

She also had a special place in my heart as she had been baptized recently. "It’s okay,” I smiled, grabbing her hand. “I really enjoyed watching your baptism. Congrats.” I stood up and gave her a hug.

Over the course of the evening, I talked to several people, many who told me they could be there, and would be there, several who were unable to make it. Close to the end of the night, I had moved from here to there and back, finally ending up on a couch next to Leslie Cordell.

“So, who is going on Saturday?” Leslie asked me when I sat down, "besides me and you, I mean."
“What, you don't want to go with just me?" I laughed. She rolled her eyes and smiled.
"Let’s see…" I starting going through the faces that had given me a YES over the course of the evening,"Justin Glenn said he wanted to go... all the Deuce guys--Mikey, Shawn, Tom, Tommy, Drew and Wookiee... Steph Nipp wanted in... Matt and Ginger both felt like it would be cool to go... Jennifer Hudson said it would be fun to hang out with everyone... and Ty said he'd be in, as long as we could be back by 5pm.”
“What's he doing at 5pm?"
"I dunno, something about he knows this guy, Rob Riley or something, that is running for governor in a few years, and Ty is going to be on his campaign... I dunno. And Sybil can't go, because she's still having foot problems.”

Leslie nodded, “Ah, yeah, her surgery was just a few days ago, right? How are we getting there? Are we all just loading up and driving down there, or do we have any sort of plan whatsoever?”
“Michael, Ty and I are riding with Matt and Ginger. Wookiee is driving, and I think we worked it out that you and Steph and Shawn will ride with him. Justin and Drew will both be a little late, so Tommy, Tom and Jenn will wait on them.”
“And exactly what will we be doing?”
“Clearing debris, mostly. Amy’s grandmother’s house, plus the house on either side, have trees fallen over either in the yard or on the house. We’ve got to clear the yards of all three houses so that the dozers and equipment can get in there and do the big clearing of brick and stuff.”
“Should make for an interesting day.”
“Not really,” I leaned back. “Just another day of yardwork in a really messy yard or two.”

Leslie laughed, scoffing at the idea that any project we would be involved in would ever classify as "just another day".

Chapters 4 - 7

Saturday, November 15, 2008

Barnes & Noble: A Photo Essay

So, after a hard day of Magic at The Happiest Place in the Mall, then an hour donating blood at the latest Red Cross blood drive (25 pints lifetime!), where I had a drink with Kristi Arze at the Holiday Inn, I came back to The Cabana to see The Lovely Steph Leann on the couch, relaxing in front of the tv.

Gave it a little while, and decided that we needed to get out a little tonight... so she and went to The Barnes & Noble Cafe. And this is what I came up with...

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I refuse. I absolutely refuse.


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This is where you'd most likely find The Lovely Steph Leann


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This is my favorite book as a kid... its a funny story, its a sad story, its a boy-and-his-dog story. I've got my original copy somewhere, saved in a box. Its got my badly written name on the spine, its leaf paged, its yellow, and I love it.

You know what I also loved? The Bunnicula Series by James Howe. I had the first five books, but I let Melanie Jackson borrow them. She never gave them back. Similiar to when I let Liz Malphras borrow all six individual novels from The Green Mile (which you can now only find in a single volume). Sigh.


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I'm a big fan of trade paperbacks. The one on the left is a regular sized paperback, the one on the right is a Trade. Its slightly bigger, and you'll notice that most of the books on my shelf are trades. It just feels better when I'm reading it. Perhaps it makes me feel like I'm important enough to be reading a hard cover, yet, its not as heavy. Perhaps.


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This is one of my favorite books as well. The Sports Guy, Bill Simmons, is a brilliant columnist, and with both of us essentially growing up in the 80s, I can relate to his pop culture references. And if you are familiar with his work, and read this blog and think "Ya know, d$ steals some of The Sports Guy's mannerisms" well... you'd be right. But only a few.


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This is the first, and quite possibly the only, time I've ever taken a second look at a math book, and have considered its purchase and reading. Before you jump to conclusions and think, "Oh, he just likes the hot chick", I say to you that yes, it helps catch the attention of any male passers-by, but the fact that its Winnie Cooper is what really caught my attention. Winnie Cooper. Perhaps my first TV girlfriend.


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This picture cracks me up. Yes, I said it.


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I've taken an affinity for crossword puzzles lately, but I do love me some mazes. Always have. Probably because I'm good at it... now minesweeper and sudoku? Those are two games I refuse to do. Why? Because I don't know how to do them. Yes, yes, I'm sure its easy, yes, I'm sure you could show me, but I just don't care. And refuse to learn. So there.


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Just finished reading "Carrie" for the first time, and "The Green Mile" for the second time (though not since 1996). My favorite Stephen King novel is "It", the daunting and thick paperback on the left. Its just amazing. However, I'm scared to death of "The Stand", the one of the right--not because of its content, but because it would probably just consume my life for a month. Do you, the Clouds in My Coffee Drinkers, have books like that? Books you want to read, but are just afraid to start, because you know what it might take to finish it?

And for whatever reason, I picked up "The Shining" again. Scary book.


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They serve Starbucks Coffee. But they aren't a real Starbucks. Wanna know how to tell? Look for the gift cards. If they don't sell them, chances are, they aren't a real one. They'll make the drinks, they'll serve the coffee, but they get paid by B&N, not Starbucks Corp. Its a licensed store.


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Because the Old New Deal works so well. Hello Social Security and Welfare.

Holy crap, there were "Love Me Some Obama" books everywhere. I told The Lovely Steph Leann that if McCain had won, the magazines would have had titles like, "Too Old?" or "How Can We Make America Great Again" and the books like "Palin Sucks!" and "How You People Are Too Stupid to Realize that America Is the Cause of ALL The World's Problems So We Need to Vote In Someone Blindly that We Know Very Little About To Fix Everything".

Then the guy came and told me I had to quit taking pictures. So I did.

Wednesday, November 05, 2008

New Month, New Theme... November's Music List

Thought five days into the month, it might be time to change our music. For a day it was the appropriate "What a Fool Believes" by The Doobie Brothers, but I didn't have a great mix to surround it with.

So I spent a little time and come up with a good playlist for the month of November, which typically is known for its great fall weather, Thanksgiving, craziness in college football, DeNick AND DeLisa's birthdays and even more...

And here's what I chose for November:

"As Good As I Once Was" by Toby Keith... Wow... this could definately be my new theme song. For a while, I kept "Your So Vain" by Carly Simon in the leadoff spot, but this song is perfect. Because yes, I ain't as good as I once was... and that's just the cold, hard truth. I still throw a few back, talk a little smack when I'm feeling bulletproof. So don't double dog dare me now, I might have to call your bluff... cause I ain't as good as I once was... but I'm as good once, as I ever was. (possibly the funniest country video ever)

You'll probably want to pause the regular music player before hitting play on this... but its worth it.

"When I Get Where I'm Going" by Brad Paisley, featuring Dolly Parton... Talk about sentimental. This is one of those songs that make you sit back and just... well, sigh, and think of how beautiful Home will finally be.

"1,2,3" by Gloria Estefan. Gotta say, I lurves me some Gloria, always have. Even when she does that Spanish Cuban music I can't understand. Still, she's magnficent. I actually wanted "Here We Are", one of the Top Five Most Painful Songs Ever Written, but this will do. Makes me think of the Junior Honor Society Beach trips we'd go on in the Spring. It had to be an "educational" trip, so Mrs Whittle and Mrs. Rials would take us to the "Frog House", a mansion where the movie "Frogs" was filmed in the 70s. Terrible movie. Interesting house. Then we'd go to the beach. Its where I, as a 13 year old boy, first glimpsed not only Jennifer Lambert but also Stephanie Phillips in a swimsuit. When you are that young, this is an awesome thing. Now? I feel kinda creepy thinking about it. Crap. Chris Hansen is on my porch.

"Shameless" by Garth Brooks. I always liked Amanda Webster. Well, not "like" like, I mean, I wasn't crushin' on her by no means-that was Julie Wise, the Clouds In My Coffee Official Samson High Crush, but Amanda was always really cool to me. I only mention this because Amanda was my 2nd slow dance ever. Angiejay--who has rejected me on Facebook, by the way, and that has made me very bitter--was my first, to Alan Jackson's "Wanted". Where was I going with all of this, if only to rail against Angiejay again? I'm not really sure. But Amanda and I danced to this song at her birthday party. Amanda, I hope you are superduper well!

"If I Ever Lose My Faith In You" by Sting. Some artists, U2 comes to mind, have now hit that "we are so big we're almost overrated" status. Honestly, U2 really hasn't done that much in the last several years. I mean, Bono wears the sunglasses and goes to Africa alot, but musically, their stuff have just been, well, 'eh. Sting, however? He's still the man. He's hit that "I can do whatever the crap I want, I'm freakin' Sting" status. This is a song directly from that status' peak.

"More Than You'll Ever Know" by Watermark. Unfortunately, the title track to the d$'s Life Soundtrack was unavailable. No, not "You're So Vain" (and no, not "Your an Frickin Idiot", Anonymous Poster), but "Welcome to Delaware. So, I chose this little friendship ditty from one of my all time favorite bands, Watermark, who stopped performing as "Watermark"--I was going to say broke up, but since Watermark was husband and wife Nathan and Christy Nockel, how bad would that be?

"Let's Stay Together" by Al Green. The man, the master, the pimpdaddy of soulful 70s. Seriously, does it get any more pimp than Al? This is a song used masterfully in "Pulp Fiction", as most all songs are in a Tarantino movie.

"Alone" by Heart. When I hear this song now, it makes me think of Carrie Underwood on American Idol, in leather, with big, hairsprayed up hair, blowing this song out of the water. This truly is one of Heart's best. Perhaps next month I'll rock it a little more with Barracuda. But for now... How do I get you aloooone? How do I get you aloooone??

"Like a Child" by Jars of Clay. One of the best two or three Christian albums ever. Talk about the Law of Hootie--come out with your first album, and five albums later, the first is still the most popular and best of the bunch? I've actually interviewed Steve Mason from Jars of Clay, back when I did Sunday Night Power, a Christian Music show for Troy's WTBF in college. Steve said this was one of their favorites to record, because its just so simple. Faith like a child.

"The Way I Am" by Jennifer Knapp. Its better to be deaf, dumb and blind than to be the way I am. Could I sum up my life any better than those 15 words? Brilliant writing, and you can't believe how much I miss J-Knapp. This is from "The Way I Am", her final CD before Gotee Records released like, 40 greatest hits and live packages. The CD was actually going to be called "Deaf, Dumb and Blind" but producers nixed that idea.

"Take It On the Run" by REO Speedwagon. All I know is this... you will leave this computer singing this song. If you aren't singing it, it will be stuck in your head. If you did an entire album of songs that are meant to be played at high volume inside a fast moving vehicle, this would have to be on there. Heard if from a friend who heard it from a friend who heard it from another you been messing around. Isn't that how rumors get started?

"The Promise" by When In Rome. So, I worked at WKMX in Enterprise, doing the overnights on weekends. Well, during the Breakfast Jam with BJ Kelly, they would do a "name this old song" type of contest. Naturally, working there, I couldn't win, but one day, they played the first three or four notes of this song. I'm not kidding, I knew it as soon as those few little notes were played (when you hear it, you'll know what I mean). I immediately called, threw on this very feminine--and very fake sounding--voice. When they asked me my name, I said the first chick name that came to my mind--Valerie Newman.

Well, I/Valerie won, and then even asked me, "We thought this was a hard one, how did you know this so fast?" and in my fake, high pitched voice, I replied, "I just love this song!" Well the real Valerie Newman had never heard it, or so she told me when I called her a few minutes later. She was living in the Alpha Gamma Delta house at the time, and so a few days later, she, I and FarmHouse brother Jason White jumped in her Pontiac Grand Am and made the 30 minute trek to Enterprise to pick up her prize. I don't remember what it was, except that there was a free tanning package included. I don't know that she ever said thanks. Hmm...

"Kiss & Say Goodbye" by The Manhattans. Another American Idol reference, this one from Season Two. One of my top two or three performances ever was watching Ruben Studdard come out and just knock this song out of the park. He was amazing, so much so that I rewound it (I had a VCR at the time) and watched it four times. I'm afraid to go find it on YouTube, because I'm afraid it won't be as good as I remember. Kinda like a slow dance now with Angiejay.

Yep. I watched it again on YouTube. Yes, its good. But not nearly as good as I remember it being. Wait... what if Angiejay is my Anonymous Poster? That would make sense... hmmm...

"American Boy" by Estelle, featuring Kanye West. Let's be very clear, I'm not a fan of Kanye's politicking. I personally don't agree with him that Dubya hates black people. Truthbetold, I don't really like most of Kanye's stuff--"Gold Digger" is the exception. However, I can dig this song. Its a little rap, a little R&B, and even he manages not to screw it up too badly. And the bad word is deleted in the song... this might be my favorite song of 2008 thusfar.

"Your So Vain" by Carly Simon. Naturally. Its a Clouds In My Coffee music playlist standard.

There ya have it... November's playlist selection. Fifteen songs, different genres, yet somehow, they seemingly kinda go with each other.

Tuesday, November 04, 2008

d$'s Address to the Nation

My Fellow Americans,

Tonight, we have had a blow to our way of life. Tonight, we have been handed a defeat in the way of capitalism, freedom, military might and economic prosperity. For the next four years, we will live in fear of higher taxes, we will live in uncertainty of our country's security against those who proclaim to destroy us, we will step back and wonder about our hope, our future and what kind of world this will become for our children.

We have heard the news. We have accepted that Barack Obama will become the 44th President of these United States, the greatest country in the world. The greatest country in the history of the world. The greatest economic power in the history of the world. The greatest republic known to mankind. Yes, we stand on different sides of many issues... abortion, lifestyles, war and peace... but we stand as a part of the greatest expirament of a country this world has ever known.

And despite perhaps what might be the hardest and strongest intentions of our new leader, President-elect Obama, we will remain great. In the best of circumstances, we, as the producers and achievers of this nation, will suffer some inconvienence. We will have less disposable income. We will be forced to pay for those who do not contribute to our country, we will be forced into not just tolerance, but acceptance, of all those things that Americans have formerly rejected--socialistic tendancies, class warfare, unwelcome policies concerning issues that have never been scientifically proven.

It is now reported that our House of Representatives and our Senate will have an even higher majority of Democrats and liberals in power, almost to the point where they have a "blank check' to do practically anything they wish, unencumbered by Republican opposition.

Yes, my fellow Americans, this seems as if it might be a dark time for the conservative movement, a movement which represents a belief that YOU can do anything you want, if only the government would get out of the way. The conservative movement, a movement which represents a belief that the taxes you pay are too high, that lower taxes help our economy revive and rebuild. The conservative movement, a movement which represents a belief that unborn children have a right to life, no matter the age, a movement which represents a belief that our military is filled with brave men and woman who protect our rights and our freedoms.

But take heart, my fellow Americans, my Clouds in My Coffee readers (who, by the way, 44 page loads and counting is a record for this page... thank you). Take heart. We are down. But we are not out. You look at Obama TV, aka MSNBC. You watch CNN, aka Clinton News Network. You watch Fox News, which you'd realize is more down the middle than any if you'd pay attention. You feel left behind. You feel screwed. You feel like you've been kicked in the gut, not because a black guy is president, but because an inexperienced, far-left liberal has been elected president.

No, we are not out because we have something that left-leaning Democrats don't have. Faith. Hope. Optimism. You work hard for your money. You have a sense of belonging. You have a belief in the True Messiah. You as conservatives keep a smile on your face, have a sense of peace that the work you do means something, you have a set of core values--life, happiness, joy, faith, love--that you hold to. Never forget this truth... in this world we live in, it is easy to be a liberal. It is challenging to be a conservative.

But you must hold true to those values. DO NOT compromise them. When President-elect Obama tells you that you are sexist, that you are racist, that you are a Jesus lovin', Bible thumpin' homophobe, you smile and reply, "I know what I believe." And then live it out. Because remember, this man who is our next President became so by running a campaign that called upon YOUR values, whether he intends to live them out in office or not.

It is four years. During these four years, life will continue. You will work your job, you will learn in your school, you will go to the park with your children, you will go on dates with your spouse, you will fill up your tank--no matter the price, you will laugh, you will cry, you will love and you will regret. All the things that make up your life will continue in the next four years. It might be a little harder. It might require a little more sacrifice. But just know that The Clouds in My Coffee Blog is here for you.

This blog will never compromise what it is, and the author will never compromise who I am. And I challenge you to do the same. Live. Love. Believe. Hold strong. It might not be as bad as you think. It might be worse than you think. But, tomorrow, the sun will rise. Tomorrow night, the sun will set. And life will continue. As it should.

Thank you,

d$
Clouds in My Coffee

Vote Dollar/Palin '12!

Drinking the Sand (The Election Coverage Part II)

From The American President:
Lewis: People want leadership, Mr. President, and in the absence of genuine leadership, they'll listen to anyone who steps up to the microphone. They want leadership. They're so thirsty for it they'll crawl through the desert toward a mirage, and when they discover there's no water, they'll drink the sand.

President Shepherd: Lewis, we've had presidents who were beloved, who couldn't find a coherent sentence with two hands and a flashlight. People don't drink the sand because they're thirsty. They drink the sand because they don't know the difference.

940p... Figured I'd keep you from having to scroll all the way down over and over. The last update on the previous blog involved Pelosi, Reid and vomit, three words that are pretty much interchangable.

The Messiah carries Virginia and its however many votes. Virginia has drunk the sand. The Messiah leads 220-138. The last time VA went Democrat? LBJ. And we saw how that worked.

Fox News is having an interesting discussion on whether this country is still Center/Right or is it moving Center/Left? It seems that they think its still a Center/Right country... yet, why vote into the most powerful office in the world a guy who has been voted one of the, if not THE, most liberal guy in the Senate, where he'll preside over one of the most lopsided party majority rules in history?

Well... I'll tell ya. Barack Obama had to run moderate, and even Right to win this election. Seriously. He had to tell us he'd lover taxes. He had to go after the evangelical vote, defending his beliefs in Christianity and against arguments he was a Muslim. He had to appear pro-military. Senator Obama had to appear moderate and almost Right to get elected. Remember, the 2006 election was snatched from Republicans on two factors: conservative new Democrats and people fed up with compromsing Republicans.

What if he had run on the values his party actually holds? If Obama told us exactly how he "was going to lower taxes for the middle class", or if he had told us exactly how he "planned to end this war" or if he told us exactly how he "came to know Jesus Christ"? He'd never get elected.

Let's be clear, Anonymous Posters. I don't know Obama's faith. I don't know if he's a Christian or not. I have no clue. I have no doubt that Dubya is, that Palin is, and I would believe that McCain is too... but I don't know about Obama, because he doesn't talk about it.

This is how Obama wins an election. And this is how he loses 2012.

952p... Seems like something happened this year that didn't happen when Bush beat Kerry, who served in Vietnam. The young peoples rocked the vote. Here's what I have learned. Young people are idealistic. This isn't a slam on them, this isn't an insult to young people, but you take a bunch of 18 to 24 year olds, you stick them in classrooms for four years, being taught nothing but American Sucks! America Sucks! Republicans are Greedy! Conservatives are Bible Thumpin' Jesus Lovin' Gun Totin' Sexist Racist Homophobes! over and over and over, and all they see on the media--even Fox News many times--is how wonderful the Democrats are and how terrible the Republicans are...

I say this having been one of those. I would have voted for Clinton in 1992 were I old enough. I almost voted for Clinton in 1996 for my very first vote. Why did I? I started to pay attention. I started to read past the headlines and actually figure out what the stories say. I started to see the media bias that existed. I started to learn for myself how to think for myself.

Now, at 33, I'm totally conservative. I'm a right wing nut job, as some say. I like idealism, because it sets a standard of how great this country could be. But idealism doesn't make this country great. And Obama as president won't either.

10p... This exchange just happened:

Brit Hume on Fox: "We are now projecting what you probably new was the inevitable... we are calling California for Senator Obama, which now gives him 297 electoral votes, enough to make him our new president."
Shawn: "Got a gun?"
The Lovely Steph Leann: "We don't keep guns in our home. Just for situations just like this."

1005p... So, we've been told that we should forget race. We have been told that this isn't about race. And ya know what, for myself, for The Lovely Steph Leann, for Shawn, and I dare say for others that I know like Young Garrett, Hot Sista' Cheney, KT, J Rob, K Dub, Tiffany Abbott McC, The Angel, Blair, All the Von Latta family (now there is like, 45 of them) and tons more that I know, this was NOT about race.

In fact, you give me a good candidate, like Condi Rice, or Thomas Sowell or others, I'd vote that way. Black or white. Who cares?

Its the Democrats that keep bringing up race. There's a black correspondant on now, almost crying about how this wasn't even fathomable a few years ago... a black man elected president?!?!?

Wait... I thought Bill Clinton was the first black president. I'm confused.

1011p... Brit Hume said the words, "Barack Obama, America's 44th president", to which The Lovely Steph Leann stood up, threw her blanket down and replied, "I can't handle this. I'm going to bed."

1015p... Just saw this status on someone's facebook page: "Vote Democrat. It's Easier Than Working!"

1016p... Just saw this status on someone's facebook page: "Where can I do to get my mortgage paid for and my gas tank full"

1018p... I think Jesse Jackson is crying. That looks like The Honorable Reverend Jesse Jackson on television...

Well, he's crying for one of two reasons:

1) Because Obama is president, and the whole "first black in the White House" thing

2) Because he knows that he'll never be President, ever, and finally, a clean an articulate black man has won the election.

1020p... McCain has come out with his babelicious wife Cindy, and his babeliciouser VP nominee Sarah Palin. When McCain said he called Obama earlier, the audience erupted in boos. McCain threw his hands out, saying, "Please, please..."

Say what you want about McCain, you can dislike what he stands for, you can dislike the direction he wants to take our country (you know, freedom and capitalism) but you have to admit, he's conducted just about the cleanest campaign we've ever seen. I didn't say clean, I said it was cleaner than most.

1024p... Sarah Palin is freakin' hot.

1026p... This just in. Chris Matthews and Olbermann are both hammered, doing the macarena and about to make out.

1030p... John McCain's speech is really good. It could be better.

So McCain has given his gracious speech, giving props to Senator Obama. Perhaps McCain was too nice. Perhaps McCain didnt go after Obama & Biden in the right way. Perhaps Sarah Palin came along too late. Who knows.

What I do know is that alot of people... a helluva lot of people have drunk the sand because they didn't know the difference.

It's Finally Done

738p... Well, not the election (yet), but the voting is over for us here at The Cabana. However, its not looking pretty for the McCain/Palin ticket.

So far, The Messiah has managed to take Massachussetts (12 electoral votes), Maryland (10), Delaware (3), Connecticut (7), Vermont (3), Maine (4), Illinois (21) and New Hampshire (4)... and in a huge blow, Pennsylvania (21)

The actual Right Guy For the Job, meanwhile, has taken Oklahoma (7), Tennessee (11), West Virginia (5), Georgia (15) and Kentucky (8).

Remember, you need 270 electoral votes to win the presidency, and so far, The Messiah has 85... McCain has 46....

749p... They called Arkansas (6) for McCain, as well as Alabama (9) (that's a big surprise). Looks like Washington DC goes to The Messiah, giving him an 88 vote lead to McCain's 61.

So while The Lovely Steph Leann and I were eating at Pablo's (me with soft chicken tacos, The Lovely Steph Leann with chimichangas) and we learned that The Messiah was leading heavily in Ohio and Florida, two key states--but with only 2% voting.

Watching the updates, however, as more votings come in, Florida's gap is closing fast. Ohio? It probably will go totally Messiah. He was up 56 to 40% in Florida earlier, now the gaps is 52% to 47.

757p... Take Heart! In 2004, the exit polls went ALL John Kerry, who served in Vietnam. That's all we heard, about President-elect Kerry, who served in Vietnam.

FYI... South Carolina goes John McCain, which has 8 votes. McCain now has 69. Fox News is saying The Messiah has 103 votes, though I can't figure out what they've called for him yet.

Anyway, in 1980, President Carter was also leading Reagan with exit polls... and see what happened.

However... Minnesota (10), Michigan (17), Wisconsin (10) and New Mexico (5) are all being called for The Messiah. New York (31) and New Jersey (15) are called for The Messiah.

McCain gets Wyoming (3), though. Yee haw.

803p... A bright spot on a possibly dismal night for conservatives is that the Democrats are suffering a blow in the run to get a 60 seat power base in the Senate. Sixty seats means that any vote is filibuster proof, and after the guy in Georgia won, that means the Democrats will have to "run the table" in the remaining races.

Now, remember that even with a 58 seat base, 2 shy of 60, it will still be pretty powerful for the Democrats because there are several spineless wimps in the Republican side that will likely vote with the wind. But, at least its not debate proof.

812p... Rhode Island (4) goes The Messiah. Too close to call is Indiana, Virginia, Florida, North Carolina and Colorado.

They are discussing New Mexico's voting trend, and it seems 68% of New Mexico voters are Hispanic. And over 60% of NM citizens make less than $50,000. Just so you know where your tax dollars might go. Governor Bill Richardson, who is nothing less than a moron, let's be honest, led that NM support, as he's Hispanic himself. Oh, and 63% of The Messiah Supporters... followers... think that immigrants should be given legal status across the board. Surprise.

Shawniferous Sharpineous just rolled into The Cabana... its good to see him, former Deucemate that he is.

819p... So... Ohio goes for The Messiah. Now we hear the statistic "no Republican has ever won the presidency and lost Ohio." That could be quite a problem.

So, whatever the math is, The Messiah has 183 votes to McCain's 81. This is a big problem.

Well, I guess McCain will just have to win California.

826p... The Lovely Steph Leann and Shawniferous and myself are watching Fox News. I turned it to DNC-TV, aka MSNBC, expecting to see Olbermann and Chris Matthews actually having on air orgasms... not too far from the truth.

The Lovely Steph Leann, "I can't watch MSNBC. I'll throw up in my mouth. Turn it. Now."

832p... The Cajuns go to McCain... Louisiana (9) goes for McCain. The Messiah leads 200-90.

Here's another bright spot, as I'm the eternal optimist. There were two times when the Democrats ruled Washington--as in, controlled the Senate, the House and the Presidency. First, the 60s, when LBJ was the President. He gave us the war on poverty. Which has worked really well. (Anonymous Poster, note the sarcasm, please)

The other time was Jimmy Carter's presidency in the late 70s. That's when this country fell into a real recession. That's when unemployment was in double-digits. That's when things were so freakin' miserable, there was an actual Misery Index. They had to come up with a way to measure how miserable people were. And what happened four years later?

Ronald Reagan and the revival of the Conservative Movement. Yes We Freakin' Can.

836... So, this dude on Fox News says, "we are still trying to figure out who Obama is..."

Now let me get this right. The media drops two dozen reporters and lawyers into Alaska after the nomination of Sarah Palin, to find out all the dirt they can. Then, they use OHIO GOVERNMENT COMPUTERS to find out about Joe the Plumber. American tax dollars and resources to investigate a private citizen who DARED ask a question to The Most Merciful, Lord and Anointed One, Barack Hussein Obama.

And they can't figure out who Obama is? Why don't they... um... report on him. Why don't they, I dunno, investigave him. Perhaps do their effin jobs? Just a thought.

845p... Flipped over to The Obama News Network, aka MSNBC, where Chris Matthews was practically drooling on himself, leg shaking, ready to hump Obama's leg when he can.

Chris was discussing with some other no-name schmuck about "this ridiculous socialist charge" and "this ridiculous correlation to Jeremiah Wright". I laughed, Shawn laughed and The Lovely Steph Leann, as predicted, threw up in her mouth.

Chris Matthews is now smoking a cigerette, shirtless.

854p... This exchange just happened:

The Lovely Steph Leann: "Wow. Obama has 200. How can we win?"
Shawn & I at the same time: "Win everything else."
The Lovely Steph Leann: "Well, it seems like we're going to get what we want. I mean 'we' as a collective country. And we're about to deliver Israel into the hands of an idiot king."

McCain picked up another state or two, it looks like... The score is 200 to 124, and Florida is pretty dead-even right now.

We're about to deliver Israel into the hands of an idiot king. That's a pretty good summary.

901p... We keep hearing about the contrasts from election and the 2004 election, and how some states and counties that went for Bush then are going The Messiah now. Remember, though, John Kerry, who served in Vietnam, was a complete buffoon. Seriously. It was probably an issue with Dubya that the election was that close.

So Texas (34) goes to McCain! And the Mormons rise up, giving Utah (5) to McCain too! Also, the retiring Trent Lott's seat goes Republican!

We send it now to a Fox News reporter with the McCain camp, who have begun to admit that there is very little chance to win the presidency. Mathmatically, it might just be impossible.

Can I tell you were McCain went wrong? He didn't hang this economy on the Democrats. He blamed the "greedy Wall Street", and to her discredit, so did Palin. What they didnt do was blame Pelosi, Dodd, Obama, Frank and those guys.

FYI, Brit Hume is the man tonight. He is rolling with the one liners and such.

Fox has come back now and said the Mississippi rep race is too close to call.

910p... Fox News sent the broadcast out to Major Garrett (is there a cooler name in news?) the Obama party in Chicago, at Grant Park, where billions of people are there to celebrate the descension of The Messiah from the Glory of Heaven. This is where The Anointed One will come down from the clouds, raise his hands, end poverty, stop a war, heal the sick, make the lame walk, help the blind to see and personally bring us oil independence. This all starts later, by the way.

Anyway, they sent it out, and the broadcast went out. It went out almost immediately. The Lovely Steph Leann replied, "Oh darn. I wanted to see the Obama camp."

They are showing us the Iowa voter Bush job disapproval. Good thing he won't get elected this year.

918p... All the guys and their sister/wives rise up and vote! Mississippi goes to McCain! The Messiah now leads 207-135. It seems there are about 13 or 14 states left to call, or report. It looks like McCain will have to run the table.

Fox News is pondering the question, "Did Palin hurt McCain's candidacy?" They are undecided, based on poll numbers. My thoughts? She re-energized his campaign. Without Palin, I think this election would already be over... even though it might be practically over now, it would probably be completely done by now. Sarah Palin is awesome. And hopefully, she's here to say.

What strikes me is that so many people say...

...wait a minute...

...I just thought of something...

...oh crap... crap crap crap... crap... curse. Mother love bone...

...our new Vice President is going to be Joe Biden. I'm going to now use a fingernail clipper on my eyelids.

926p... Nebraska (5) goes McCain. The Messiah leads 207-138.

Bill Krystol makes the point that the media unfairly went after Palin, and investigated her in a way they never went after Biden. In other news, Obama TV, aka MSNBC, just reported that there are terrorists in Iran.

Wait... according to Obama TV, there are no terrorists in Iran. Just bullies. And when The Anointed One speaks, all Iranian bullies will cower in fear at the power of the words of The Peacemaker.

927p... John "I hate the military, my district is nothing but racists and rednecks" Murtha is giving his acceptance speech for keeping his Representative seat... only, he actually hasn't won the seat yet.

Brit Hume: "John Jack Murtha declaring victory, though he seems to be alone in that declaration, because no one is calling it for him yet..."

I cannot stand John Murtha. I have less respect for him than I do The Messiah, and that's saying something. Murtha is the guy who called out the Marines for what happened in Haditha. Its a small province in Iraq where 24 Iraqis were killed by Marines. Murtha went on this tangent, calling it unprovoked, blasting these Marines, humiliating them, destroying their lives and their reputations...

...and nothing was proven. In fact, there was very little evidence against the Marines. And when they were exhonerated, Murtha never apologized.

And recently, he did in fact call his own district "a bunch of racists", then after saying he was sorry, he called his own district "a bunch of rednecks".

I kinda feel the same way about Murtha than I do about Ray Nagin, mayor of New Orleans--if you are going to re-elect this guy, you deserve him.

And how is Al Franken winning the election in Minnesota? Wha...?

935p... Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi are set to speak momentarily. I think The Lovely Steph Leann, Shawn and myself all collectively threw up in our mouths.

Monday, November 03, 2008

The Official Endorsement

Just like to say...

  • Tiffany Abbott has officially endorsed McCain/Palin.
  • Young Garrett C has officially endorsed McCain/Palin. No word on who his sister, Hot Stuff Cheney, would have endorsed were she old enough.
  • J Rob and his wife KT has officially endorsed McCain/Palin, though its important to know that KT really doesn't care, and J Rob is really voting against Senator Obama.
  • Mikey has officially endorsed McCain/Palin as well
  • Clouds in My Coffee's Atty General Brad Latta didn't officially endorse anyone, though he leaned towards Bob Barr, the Libertarian Candidate. He was also holding up a rally sign that said, "They Both Suck '08"
  • Nikki Brown has officially endorsed John McCain, voting from a key battleground state of Pennsylvania
  • The Anonymous Poster hasn't officially endorsed anyone, but says, "Suck it, Trebek", complete with hand gestures and crude drawings.
  • The Lovely Steph Leann has officially endorsed McCain/Palin
And just for the record, The Clouds in My Coffee Blog will officially endorse John McCain & Sarah Palin for President. Go vote!

Sunday, November 02, 2008

Dave's Election Guide

(if you are seeking The Interview's Final Segment, please scroll below, two posts down. Or click on the following links)

Here are some links to different blogs and posts on my site that you might be interested in, especially if you are seeing this for the first time...


  • "The Interview, Part I"... the opening segment to my interview with Mary Beth Sutter from Headline America. In this part, we discuss William Ayers and John McCain, and the opening statement against Senator Obama. (October 27th)
  • "The Interview, Part II"... here, we talk about the economy, who's to blame for the mortgage industry collapse, Obama's tax cuts, and the reason for the interview at all. (October 28th)
  • "The Interview, Part III"... Obama's lying on Small Business tax cuts, the view on abortion, Joe the Plumber and the charge of Socialism (October 29th)
  • "The Interview Finale"... Closing arguments include sources, voting for Obama and five reasons why he's a bad choice. (November 2nd)
  • "What's at Stake"... What happens to our judicial system & the Supreme Court if Obama is elected (October 30th)
  • "An Obama Campaigner"... "sarah", working on the Obama campaign, vents a little on a random post from a Hillary site. (November 2nd)
  • "Chew On This"... Obama, Biden & Richardson try to agree on where the middle class ends... its either $250K, $200K, $150K or $120K... (November 1st)
  • "Won't Have to Work"... a video showing one supporter's reason for going Barack (November 1st)
  • "Sometimes Freedom is Worth the Price"... a serviceman tells his story (September 12th)
  • Huntley Brown's "Why I Can't Vote For Obama"... a column that has gotten quite a bit of time on the internet (posted October 18th)
  • What I Believe... a rambling political blog from this spring, though things have changed when it comes to Obama. (March 28th)
  • The George Michael Blog... Nothing to do with politics. Just a funny post from June to lighten the very serious mood we're all in.

Anyway... Tuesday it happens. I'm going to try to do some live blogging that night, so you can come visit me here at Clouds in My Coffee. Or not. Either way, its back to real life, higher taxes or no, on Wednesday...

And coming Wednesday night.. my 79th favorite movie ever... The Negotiator!

Obama Campaigner Blogs

From the website Hillbuzz.com, last week a blogger tells her story of working on the Obama campaign:

"Sarah", a professed Democrat and Hillary supporter, writes:

Okay, I want to clear my conscience a little. Hopefully you could make a blog post to help some fellow Clinton supporters out. I worked for the campaign--" Obama, "--and I can't wait for this week to be over. I was doing it for a job. I was not a fan of any candidate, but over time I grew to love Hillary. The internal campaign idea, Obama campaign, is to twist, distort, humiliate, and finally dispirit you. We pay people and organize people to go on all the online sites and play the part of a Clinton or McCain supporter who just switched our support for Obama. We do this to stifle your motivation, to destroy your confidence. We did this the whole primary, and it worked. Sprinkle in mass vote confusion becomes bewildering, most people lose patience, they just give up on their support of a candidate and decide just to block out TV, news, websites, et cetera.

This surprisingly has had a huge suppressing movement in vote turnout issues. Next, we infiltrate all the blogs, and all the YouTube videos, and we overwhelm the voting, the comments, all to continue the appearance of overwhelming world support for Obama. People make posts to the effect that the world has gone mad. That's the intention, to make you feel stressed and crazy and feel like the world is ending. We have also had quite a hand in skewing many, many polls.

Some we couldn't control as much as we would have liked, but many we have spoiled, just enough to make Real Clear Politics look scary to a McCain supporter. It's worked, although the goal was to appear 13 to 15 points ahead. You see, the results have been working. People tend to support a winner. Go with the flow, become sheep+people... sheeple. The polls are roughly three to five points in favor of Barack. That's due to our inflation of the polls and pulling in the sheeple. Our donors are the same people who finance the mainstream media. Their interests are tied. Barack then tends to come across as Teflon, nothing sticks, and trust me, there were meetings with Fox News, the goal was to blunt them as much as possible. Watch O'Reilly, he's become much more diplomatic and fair and balanced and soft towards Obama. It's because he wants to retain the number one spot on cable news and have access to the Obama campaign.

Now all the media want access, and they're expecting more, and that's why nothing sticks to Obama. The operation is massive, the goal is to paint a picture that is that of a winner, regardless the results. There is no true inauguration draft or true Grant Park construction going on. There will be a party, but we're boasting beyond the truth to make it seem like the election is wrapped up. Our goal is to continue to make you lose your morale. We worked hard at persuasion and paying off and timing and playing the right political numbers to get key Republican endorsements to make it seem even more like it was over and the world was coming to an end for you all. There's a huge staff of people working around the clock watching every site, every blog, we flood these sites, we have had a goal to overwhelm. The truth is here. I could go on and on, but you got the picture.

I'm saying this because I know Hillary was better for the country, and I now realize this. I was too late by the time I connected to her.

To me, Barack was just a cool young dude that seemed like a star. I didn't know him or his policies but now I understand more than I care to, and I realize his interests are more for him and the DNC and all working like puppets with Dean. I always thought a president wanted the better good for the country. The end result I see is everybody dependent on the government. This means more and more people voting for the DNC. This means the future is forever altered. I don't see this as America. So I'm now supporting McCain.

Sarah Palin's a huge threat. Our campaign has feared her like you cannot imagine. If it seems unfair how she's been treated, well, it's because she has had a team working around the clock to make her look like a fool. This is a big conspiracy. I'm so shocked. We released a little blurb the other day that Obama campaign was already working on reelection and now putting our efforts toward 2012. This was to make it seem like it was above us to continue caring about 2008. Trust me, it's alive. David Axelrod, Plouffe, very smart, but it's a sticky, ugly, not very truthful kind of intelligence.

It's not over yet but I think the machine is working. It's a hill to climb. I'll be quitting my post on November 5th. My vote will be for John McCain. Fortunately, my position has been a marketing position. I don't feel I had any part of anything I'd feel guilty for, but I look forward to getting out of this as the negativity and environment upset me. PS, my name is not really Sarah but I am a female and I understand your plight.

You may believe it. You may not. But the fun part is, its believable.

The Interview Finale... Choose Wisely

Welcome back and thank you for joining us here on Headline America. We turn now, one last time to our instudio guest, d$, columnist and blogger for The Clouds in My Coffee Blog, read by 5s of people every day.

(turning to me) Now, d$, before we get to the wrap up that I'm sure many, or two, people are waiting for, we must talk sources. You've thrown alot of dates and figures and quotes and such at us. Can you give me some information as to where you got all, or any, of it?

Sure. Let's see--there is a list of people I can source. Um... Fox News

Fox News. Of course, quite the right leaning news channel of Fox, huh? Obama was quoted as saying "If there were no Fox News, I'd be up by another ten points"

(smiling) And if there were no Washington Post, LA Times, NYTimes, MSNBC, CNN, ABC/NBC/CBS News and more, there'd be no Obama.

Look, I'm not here to defend Fox News, but I will say they are a sight better than the others. There is a pretty equal mix of conservatives--Hannity, O'Reilly, etc--and liberals--Frost, Clark, Colmes--and a ton of moderates, like Krystol and Susteran and Rivera and more. As opposed to MSNBC, who boasts Scarborough, a moderate. The rest? Straight in the can for Senator Obama.

MSNBC is a source?

Yep. Me and the three other people that watch it. I surf the online site too. Other sources include The Associated Press, Reuters, National Review Online, CNN, ABC News, CBS News, NBC News, Olbermann, Hannity, O'Reilly, Limbaugh...

YOU listen to Rush Limbaugh?

Well, what's funny is that I listed at least 7 liberal leaning sites, and you stop me on Limbaugh. Yep. I listen to Rush. What's great about Limbaugh is that he plays the soundbites and segments. His critics call his listeners "Mind Numbed Robots", but I see it as "Thinking for Yourself".

Don't you feel like he takes segments and soundbites out of context?

Perhaps. I've heard a few here or there. But that's the beauty of YouTube and other sites--you can see them for yourself. I first heard Jeremiah Wright's rants on Limbaugh's show. I went on YouTube and watched about 20 minutes of the sermon that some of the bites came from. Turns out... Reverend Wright--Senator Obama's pastor AND the man Obama said spoke for the black church in America--is kinda crazy.

Jeremiah Wright SoundBites Play:
"...we're living in the US of KKK A..."
"...Jesus was a poor black man who lived in a country controlled by rich white people..."
"...Bill Clinton did us like he did Monica Lewinsky! He was riiiiidin' dirty!"
"...I am sick of negroes who just do not get it! Barack knows what its like to be a black man living in a country controlled by RICH WHITE PEOPLE!! Hillary ain't never been called a n***a!"
"...I'm so glad I gotta God who knows what its like to be in a country controlled by rich white people..."

Any other sources of note? And why not link to all these in your columns?

Do you realize it would take forever? I had five days to put this up, and mostly it was written out late at night. Well, truthfully, the reason I haven't blogged much in the last month is I spent several weeks gathering information, writing notes in my little notebook, hearing quotes, researching quotes to make sure I didn't get them out of context and to assemble my own thoughts.

I know your biggest critic, Anoymous Poster, has been all over you to talk about your sources, even going so far as to say they would write a source page for you. Any thoughts? And any thoughts on who it might be?

As far as Anonymous Poster's identity, I have no clue. They are my own Deep Throat. I have my ideas, but really, it doesn't bother me that much. AP has actually become somewhat of a joke around our home. I look under my bed for AP when I go to sleep at night.

As for the source page, I invite them to do so. I will go so far as to say I give them ALL the credit. Anonymous Poster wrote all of this, I just stole it. I don't care who gets the credit for it... all I care about is that people understand their vote, they understand any vote for Obama means a vote against the ideals that this country is founded on.

What do you say to people who don't understand Senator Obama... or don't even know about Senator McCain, or Governor Palin or Senator Biden? People who aren't sure why they are voting.

I say don't vote.

Don't vote? Are you serious? You are actually telling people not to vote?

Absolutely. Voting is a right of this country's citizens, but with that right comes a certain amount of responsibility. That responsibility includes learning and understanding who you are attempting to put into the most powerful position this country, perhaps this world, has to offer. If you don't know who you are voting for, then figure out your ideals, what you want for this country, and vote the candidate that most closely fit those ideals.

However, if you are voting, and you are only voting because your candidate talks a big game, speaks of "change" and says things that make you feel good--not think, but feel--then you need to stay home. Don't you dare help someone take office when you don't know anything about them.

Who were you supporting? Who would you rather see on the ticket besides John McCain?
Hmm. Well, on the outset, I supported Fred Thompson. I also really like Rudy Guiliani, but honestly, I don't know enough about either candidate to say at this very moment who I would want to win. Both bowed out before our state's primary came out, so I didn't vote for either. I ended up voting for Romney, but it was toss up between he and Huckabee, who I wasn't crazy about.

You mentioned Senator Biden. We've really not touched on Gov. Palin or Sen. Biden much. Let's start with Palin. What do you like about her?

She's real. As real as politicians can get, anyway. She started in local government, worked her way up to her state's head office, and I think she's great. She's got a story. She's a blue collar family gal with challenges of her own, and I think she's awesome. She's low taxes, high on the military and is just... well, genuine.

Do you think the media has been fair to her?

Absolutely not. They have been downright vicious to her. Insulting her, her looks, her family, her daughter Bristol's pregnancy issues, her Down Syndrome child, Trig... I mean, this is the kind of woman who, were she liberal, the Democratic Party would be heralding as "making it in the man's world, fighting through the challenges, succeeding despite the odds". But because she's a Republican, and a Conservative? She's called a "sell-out", a "bad mother for running for office", and they jumped all over her for her $150,000 wardrobe.

Don't you think that $150K is alot to spend on clothes?

Yeah, I think it is, but I'll be honest with you... I don't know the nature of what it takes to "clothe" a campaign. But I do know that Palin had already agreed--before the campaign--to donate all of her campaign clothes to charity, and as long as Hillary Clinton continues to pay a reported $6000 for EACH of her pant suits, then Palin can wear what she wants.

Let's talk about Joe Biden.

(laughing)

You're laughing. You must find him a little funny...

(still laughing). Oh, as much as I am not a fan of Senator Obama, I loves me some Joe Biden. He is truly what this campaign needs for comic relief.

Joe Biden, September 22nd... "When the stock market crashed, Franklin Roosevelt got on the television and didn’t just talk about the princes of greed. He said, ‘Look, here’s what happened.’"

I love the fact he is inspired by President Roosevelt's 1929 address to the nation on television.

Joe Biden: "Mark my words, within the next -- first six months of this administration, if we win, they're going to -- we're going to face a major international challenge, 'cause they're going to want to test him, just like they did John Kennedy, they're going to want to test him, and they're going to find out this guy's got steel in his spine"

And it gets worse. Not only does he tell us that yeah, a crisis is coming, and the world, who apparently is afraid of John McCain, because the same prediction isn't made about him, the world thinks Obama is a wuss. And will test Obama. But the next bite is even worse...

Joe Biden: "I've forgotten more about foreign policy than most of my colleagues know. So I'm not being falsely humble with you. I think I can be value added, but this guy has it, this guy has it. But he's going to need your help because I promise you, you all are going to be sitting here a year from now saying, 'Oh, my God, why are they down there in the polls, why is the polling on Obama so low, why is this thing so tough?' We're going to have to make some incredibly tough decisions in the first two years, so I'm asking you now, I'm asking you now, be prepared to stick with us. Remember the faith you had at this point, because you're going to have to reinforce it."

Does this mean that they won't do anything? What do you mean we won't like it? After a crisis, when action is taken, poll numbers go up. Bush's approval rating was near 92% after 9/11. So in saying that poll numbers will tank, does that mean they won't do anything? We get attacked, and they'll try diplomacy? I know when I was in the school yard, the best way to get a bully off of me is to sit on the swings and discuss our differences. And the bully always respected my wishes.

What do you think will happen on Tuesday?

I don't know. I really don't know. I know that Obama has been campaigning in states like Vermont that he supposedly has in the bag. I also know that his own campaign is worried about battleground states like North Carolina, Virginia, Nevada and a few others. These were red states that were supposedly in the bag.

Do you expect a big win, on either side?

Not at all. Regardless of who wins, it will be close. The polls have McCain gaining fast on Senator Obama, with one or two having him within the margin of error, up or down a few points. I also know that, secretly, Obama's campaign doesn't consider a state to be for him unless they are up 10 points or more. The Bradley Effect--the theory that people will say they will vote for the black guy to keep from feeling guilty, only to vote the white guy in the booth--may or may not be a factor, who knows.

What will you do if Senator Obama wins?

Life goes on. My beautiful wife Stephanie and I will continue to pay our mortgage, we'll pay higher prices for gas, we'll pay more taxes, have less disposable income, make adjustments as necessary... we are Believers, and we know that He has a plan. I say "He", as in God, not Senator Obama. Just to avoid confusion.

Final question, d$. Why are you not voting for Senator Obama?

I'll give you four reasons...

1) The man has been lying to the American people about his tax plan. It doesn't make sense. It's widely known that his promises are to give 90% of Americans a tax break, when only around 60 to 70% of Americans actually pay taxes.

The dirty little secret is that there is no tax break. Senator Obama plans to cut payroll and Social Security taxes. That money will go back to those not paying taxes in the form of welfare. So, despite his claims that John McCain is going to cut Social Security--a out and out lie--its actually Senator Obama who will be cutting into Social Security through his "tax cut".

2) His vision for this country is not what this country is founded on. He believes in bigger government. He believes that Americans are entitled to healthcare, welfare, jobs, homes and so on. He believes that to do these things, the government programs must get bigger, needing more funding.

The problem is, they've been trying to do these things for fifty years. And nothing has gotten done. President Johnson's "war on poverty" has been a total failure, costing this country trillions, the welfare program has gotten bigger, and honestly, the black community has been nothing short of undercut at every pass by Democratic programs.

If you go to the doctor to get a cut stitched, and they cut your hand off accidentally--why do you still go back to the same doctor? Yet thats what has happened year after year when Democrats keep getting voted back into offices.

3) The Reverend Jeremiah Wright was his mentor for almost 20 years, from Senator Obama's own words. William Ayers is a friend of his, however close. He was a community organizer for ACORN...

Well, I mean, Jesus was a community organizer. Pontius Pilate was a governor, no?

And Hitler was a community organizer, Clinton was a governor. And yes, Obama was an organizer and worked with ACORN, a voter registration--federally funded, mind you--nonprofit that has been charged with voter fraud over and over and over... they are the reason one guy was allowed to vote 73 times, and the reason that Mickey Mouse is now registered to vote.

No matter what you say, when you are close to people like this, they will influence your decision making and your outlook on your life. This is not who we need influencing the President of the United States of America.

4) "Spread the Wealth". How dare you say to me that I make too much money? And that it needs to be spread around? No, I don't make $250K, or $200K, or $150K, or $120K even, but its just not right. You work hard, you save, you achieve, you make your money, its YOUR money.

Joe the Plumber has done for Senator Obama what The Swift Boat Veterans did to John Kerry, who served in Vietnam, in 2004. Joe exposed him. Joe brought out from Obama what his true intentions are... the Swifties brought out the truth of who Kerry, who served in Vietnam, is.

The "Spread the Wealth" Mentality is socialism. In its purest form. And thats not who we are as a nation, and I truly believe that if Americans understood this about Obama, and quit watching so much Olbermann (and we know that many people aren't) they wouldn't be supporting Obama in droves. Well, most wouldn't. Some are just born with a hand out.

Obama: "John McCain and Sarah Palin they call this socialistic. You know I don’t know when, when they decided they wanted to make a virtue out of selfishness."

5) No experience. I mean, 143 days in the Senate before deciding to run for president? Really? And his foreign policy experience is next to nothing. There is a reason his campaign hasn't been harping on this in ads and such... they have nothing to go on.

Plus, what has he done since he was in the Senate? No legislation worth noting ever had his name on it. He claims that he voted against the war, but was never there for the vote--he wasn't in office yet.

We are the United States of the America. We are the most powerful country in the history of the world. We have the greatest economy in the history of the world, and yes, sometimes we extend our hand too far, but we are the world's biggest helpers--the first to assist in disasters around the globe, the first to make sure our allies are taken care of, and yes, we make sure our own interests are taken care of too.

Senator Obama will do away with that. You haven't seen a recession like the one we'll have when his tax plan takes effect and hits our economy. Our enemies will know that we have elected a man who will not fight back, and will lead by Democratic party consensus. Our enemies--North Korea, Iran, Cuba, Venezuala, Palestine--will know that as long as Obama will sit down with them, and he will, they can say anything and promise anything.

Senator Barack Obama is a dangerous man to lead this country. If John McCain is elected, our problems here won't go away, and admittedly, we might have some issues that will be resolved with Obama that will magnify with McCain. But I will take those issues any day over what Obama will give us.

Well, there you have it. I want to thank you, d$, for joining us tonight, and giving us your insight. (turning to camera) When we come back, who is the real Bruce Willis? We have a revealing sit-down with him. And later, The Anonymous Poster calls in to weigh in on the whole night. Stay with us.