A Personal Journal

It has been several days of non-stop information flooding the news with new revelations of Sarah Palin’s past and her political philosophy. Yet, other than a statement released today by Robert Gibbs that focuses on her reformer credentials, the Obama camp has been quiet. Why?

Given her statements and decisions on things like the Bridge to Nowhere, pork barrel politics than even McCain would never countenance, her strong fundamentalist beliefs, goofy statements on being vice president and so forth, there are plenty of things that the Obama can launch advertising on without even bringing up her family and or anything related to gender.

It seems to me that the Obama is allowing the media to do all of the work so as to avoid getting caught in the fray. So far that is working out fairly well. All of the commentary talk is about her rather than him or even McCain and initially that has worked to his benefit.

Thing though is that the information is coming out scatter shot. There is no defined overall narrative about her. The only one that is going on is the lack of vetting by the McCain camp and the rush to decision. That may be a good thing but we would not know for sure until much later. But will it be enough to rely on that narrative to show how poorly McCain makes decisions?
Or should the narrative should be about her in one or two lines which are not so much about her but rather cast uncertainty about McCain and what he stands for and what kind of government he would run as a President?

For this is what the Obama camp should do. Give focus to the media to concentrate on one or two aspects of the Palin vice president candidacy and let that drive the narrative much in the way McCain created a narrative about Obama’s so called celebrity status with just one or two ads.

At some point, perhaps very soon, the well will be dry of any new revelations about Palin and the media will move on. If the Obama camp waits too long, an opportunity will be missed to define Sarah Palin and by inference a McCain presidency.

It’s time to take the initiative.

This is an amazing week in meteorological terms. No less than four named storms are currently active in the Atlantic Ocean region. We are just seeing the last of  Hurricane Gustav, a potent storm that never quite live up to its billing as one of the more devasting storms in recent history as it took aim at New Orleans but missed. Still caused quite a bit of damage and took dozens of lives but it could have been worst.

Now, the more important storm of the moment is Hanna as it spins its way in the Bahamas area. At some point tomorrow, it is supposed to make a sharp northward turn and bear down towards Charleston South Carolina as a full hurricane. We here in the central North Carolina area are supposed to get 2-4 inches of rain sometime Saturday from the storm which seems to be a relatively light amount considering what these storms are capable of producing in terms of rainfall.

Out in the central Atlantic Ocean, storms Ike and Josephine are lined up like freight trains moving in direct westward fashion. Right now, projections only extend to the weekend and both storms are in the same area of the Bahamas as is Hanna right now. Quite possible that both storms can deliver a 1-2 punch into the same area just two days apart. What that area may be is unsure but it includes northern Cuba and southern Florida.

Starting to look like a bit like 2005 when a slew of storms kept hitting the Gulf Coast and Atlantic region. Nothing like a Katrina or Rita storms yet but there is a feeling that such a storm may just pop up at any time.

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How this video of an event 45 years ago today

 

made this moment possible

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Tonight in Waco Texas, Wake Forest kicks off its 2008 season. Playing against the Baylor Bears, the Deacons have some expectations to live up to as a 23rd ranked team.  With a more mature offence lead by Rily Skinner and one of the best back field defenses in the ACC , tonight’s game should be considered to be a positive start for the Deacons. But do not take Baylor lightly as it is team that has a brand new look and new coaching.

Still Coach Jim Grobe has put the team through a serious pre-season workout. The team is ready as it can ever be. There are some injuries on the team especially on the offensive line which this season does not have a lot of bench depth but at this stage of the season it should not be a real serious issue. The defense lead by Aaron Curry and Alphonso Smith is sharp and quick. Tonight we will see for the first time, the new offence of Wake Forest. With the departure of Kenneth Moore, we will see more of the plays starting with Josh Adams but it will be interesting to see how the passes will be distributed to the new receiving corps. Expect the tight ends to play more of a role too.

Game time is 8pm and televised locally on FSN.

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A drizzlily day today which is quite welcome after a long dry period. Coolness is appreciated too. Starting to feel a bit like fall… Speaking of fall, yesterday was the start of the new school year. Christen is now a freshman at Parkland High. Seems it was not too long ago she was just starting first grade…. Bookmarks is coming back to Winston again on September 13th. Definitely need to check it out and I plan to stay longer than last year where it was just two hours of time. Really nice lineup of authours. Last year’s highlight was Elizabeth Edwards which upon reflection, seems a bit more poigant now considering what has happened to her since then… Speaking of politics, the Democratic convention kicked off last night. Full bore coverage on all of the cable news networks though the coverage seems to be endlessly fixated on the so-called dispute between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. But I think for the moment, all of that was overshadowed by seeing Senator Ted Kennedy stride onto the stage to give a speech speaking to the themes of the night. But by far the night was  Michelle Obama’s. She gave a superlative speech on family, values and what it is like struggling against the odds and succeeding. It was leavened by heartfelt emotion and vivid imagery that everyone can relate to. As the pace of the election quickens, her ability to reach out to women will be invaluable.

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Even though there is one day of competition yet for the Beijing Olympic Games, Canada’s involvement has ended on Saturday with one more medal, silver for Adam Van Koeverden in the men’s 500m kayak race. That brings Canada’s medal total to 18 overall, its third best showing ever after the 44 medals won at the 1984 Los Angeles Games and 22 at the 1996 Atlanta Games.

By all measures, Canada as a team, exceeded expectations and predictions. Not everything went right for Canada. There were many disappointments like Marie Premont having to leave the women’s cross country race that she was favoured to win a medal. But these few disappointments were more than offset by the athletes who through skill, determination and in a few instances, a bit of luck, were able to exceed their best hopes for themselves.

I tried to keep up with most of the successes of the Canadian team as they occurred. What I could not see live or on delayed basis I followed up with the video section of the NBC Olympics site. My long nights and Internet surfing for Olympic results will take a spell now for 18 months until the 2010 Vancouver Winter games. Television as they say, will return to its regular braodcasting schedule.

What is for me, the most singular Canadian Olympic moment for these Games. There are several good moments. Seeing Eric Lamaze winning individual equestrian jumping gold after a history of failed chances dued to drug abuse was undoubtedly a feel good moment. So too was seeing his teammate Ian Millar finally winning an Olympic medal, silver in team jumping, after so many appearances in the Games since 1972. Carole Hyunh’s win emotional response in winning her gold in women’s wrestling was also gratifying.

Still, the moment that is indelible for me and one that will linger on after these games are long gone was seeing Simon Whitfield charging on the final stretch of the triathlon run, catching up with the lead group of four which included the world champion and then passing them to take the lead but then found himself overtake by a lanky German thus giving him silver. More than anything else, Whitfield’s drive to excel at these games which started immediately after a subpar Athens Game showing in 2004, showed what it takes to be the best in the world. In his mind, he was not satisified with just a personal best or a decent placing but rather he set out to win gold which he nearly did. With that determination, he showed other Canadian athletes that they should never be satisified with second best but drive always for the top of the podium. More often than not, they will not suceed in doing so but be never accused of giving anything else but their very best.

This has been a good Olympics overall and not just for Canadian athletes. There have been some great performances from athletes like Michael Phelps and Ursain Bolt. Quite a few good moments for viewing along with the ability to catch up with some sports that one sees just every four years like modern pentathlon and volleyball. There are quite a few sports that deserve more time on broadcast television like diving, rowing and some of the team sports. Problem is that American audience are conditioned to just getting the major league sports and college football on television. It is a pity that people do not have time for sport compilation shows like ABC’s Wide World of Sports.

Now, the clock starts anew for London in 2012.

Canada’s medals at 2008 Beijing Olympic Games

Gold (3):

• Carol Huynh - Freestyle Wrestling Women’s 48 kg (105.5 lbs.)
• Canada - Rowing Men’s Eights
  
• Eric Lamaze - Equestrian Individual jumping

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Birthplace: Poitiers France
Date of Birth and Death: 300-368
Feast Day: January 14th

Notable: Patron of Children with Learning Disabilities
Life:
At the time of St. Hilary’s birth, the Church was just becoming established as Emperor Constantine legalised Christianity throughout the Roman Empire. Born of rich, pagan parents, he was intrigued by the Scriptures and decided to learn more about th Word of the Lord. After much study, he became a believer in Jesus Christ.

Hilary married and had children but his faith was such that he was named Bishop of Poitiers, a position he did not wanted at first. His display of humility increased the people’s admiration for him and he eventually accepted the post.

At this time a heresy called Arianism began to gain hold among many Christians including Emperor Constantius. Their belief was that Christ was not the Son of God but rather a semi-divine semi-human creation. To counter criticism of the Arians, the Emperor summoned his bishops to defend the heresy. Those who refused were banished including Hilary. That did not stop Hilary from defending the concept of the Trinity.

After the death of the Emperor, Hilary, after his return to Poitiers, was able to set the Church in order and his life became dedicated to helping those in his diocese.

Prayer:

Father, keep us from vain strife of words. Grant to us constant
profession of the Truth! Preserve us in a true and undefiled Faith
so that we may hold fst to that which we professed when we
were baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - that we may
have Thee for out Father, that we may abide in Thy Son and in the fellowship
of the Holy Spirit. Through Jesus Christ, our Lord, Amen.

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