A Thriller Week

I heard Michael Jackson's "Thriller" playing in public three times in
the past two days. Is Michael making a comeback in the States and no
one bothered to tell me?

Defeating "Leftwing Triumphalists"

From William Kristol:

"(W)we hope for a McCain-Palin victory, for the sake of the country.
And also for the pleasure of seeing the dejection of the mainstream
media, the incredulity of the leftwing triumphalists, and the
humiliation of the pathetically opportunistic "conservatives" who've
been desperately clambering on board the Obama juggernaut. We're
proud to stay off that juggernaut. We're proud, in our modest way, to
stand with John McCain and Sarah Palin against it.

An Obama-Biden administration--working with a Democratic Congress--
would mean a more debilitating nanny state at home and a weaker
nation facing our enemies abroad. We, of course, have confidence that
the nation would survive such an interlude, and we would even hope
that a President Obama might adjust course from the path he's
advertised, especially in foreign policy. But the risk of real damage
is great, especially when compared with the prospect of a tough-
minded center-right McCain-Palin administration that could lead the
country sensibly through these difficult times.

Reading the endorsements of Obama in the liberal media should
strengthen the determination of all believers in American self-
government and greatness to fight this election campaign to the end.
Time magazine's Joe Klein tells us that Obama "seems a grown-up, in a
nation that badly needs some adult supervision." To the contrary, we
are a nation of adults. We don't need the "supervision" of a
conventionally liberal and totally untested junior senator whose most
impressive lifetime achievement has been the construction of an
effective narrative about himself."

Because Your Parents and Grandparents are Idiots

According to this Obama-sponsored video, your parents and grandparents who have a different view than you need to be talked down to and treated as "children." Or, like the one guy in the video, you can threaten to not help them in the future if they don't vote that way they want you to. "Sorry, Granny, but until you vote for Barak Obama, you won't get any cherry Jell-O. Or oxygen."

This type of thought further divides the country. Where's the bi-partisanship and respecting of all ideas? All ideas except for conservative ones are allowed. And these geniuses call George W. Bush a fascist.

Being the Wrong Type of Woman: Conservative

From The Weekly Standard's article on the mercurial positions of liberals:

"(T)here's the feminist model of womanhood, as cherished a liberal ideal as there is (or was). A woman could--and probably should--do it all: be a wife and mother, hold a job with real responsibilities, and never, ever knuckle under to the rule of males. Pursuing a career in politics while still caring for a family--that's the feminist model in its purest form.

Then Sarah Palin came along. Unlike feminist favorite Hillary Clinton, Palin actually succeeded in politics on her own. She didn't ride into office on her husband's shoulders. And she knocked off a string of powerful male politicians on her way to the Alaska governorship and the Republican vice presidential nomination.

Perfect! Palin has precisely the career profile that liberals are supposed to admire in a woman. Except she's a conservative Republican. Worse, she's pro-life and a serious Christian and pretty too. So rather than lift Palin up as a model for young women to follow, liberals loathe her.

Of course they're on high moral ground in feeling this way. They always are."

Read the entire article here.

Starbucks's Future Threatened

In political-season fashion, Dunkin Donuts is running this campaign about how DD beat Starbucks in a blind taste test. Now, outside of a few folks I've met in Rhode Island, I haven't met many who could agree. Maybe this taste test involved a free pair of tickets to Fenway or something.

By the way, since when does popular equal better? Can't this study simply mean that more people have bad taste in coffee?

O, Oregon...

One of the bragging points that I have about my state is that our two
senators, one Republican and one Democrat, reflect the two natures
existing in Oregon. Multnomah County is overwhelmingly Democrat,
while the rest of the state is overwhelmingly Republican. Because of
the two types of Oregonians, I love that we have one senator to
represent each: Gordon Smith (R) and Ron Wyden (D). This is true
representative government, as all Oregonians have someone in the
Senate to represent their voice. This bipartisanship relationship is
a model for other states, and I wouldn't want it another way.

The Oregon liberals want it differently, though. As usual, they think
that their voice is the only voice and that all others should be
silenced. I stay abreast with Oregon news and politics, and it is sad
to see the attacks on Gordon Smith as being a "toady" for the "Right
Wing Agenda." A true believer in bipartisanship and democracy would
see that having a Republican and a Democrat in the Senate is not only
fair for Oregonians, but it is also beneficial for Oregon. That's not
important, as long as they remove anyone who does not think and vote
like they do.

Being a conservative in Portland is soon going to be as dangerous as
being a Jew in Munich in 1933.

Happy Filthy Birthday to Me

Our friends Buddy and Jen thought it'd be hilarious to make fun of my germ phobia (although I refer to it as my "non-filthiness") by having their children create birthday projects in the most unsanitary environment. We'll see here in this video the children touching, licking, and biting the food before making my special birthday wraps. Unfortunately, it did not come with Purell or a penicillin shot!

It does include a minor sibling argument on who likes the Coia's more. That alone covers a multitude of germs. Almost.

Liberalism is Slavery

Here's an amusing, albeit lengthy, performance regarding why this man is voting for McCain/Palin. His words are especially directed to Black Americans who believe that Democrats provide the best options for them.

On top of this, he's wearing a Richard Pryor shirt.

Pictures of Our House

Kristie took these photos of our house today. Now that it's presentable, we thought we'd share a peek.

It has the only two criteria that I sought: 1. It has a balcony with a view of the ocean. 2. I can see the water from the living room.

A Motivation to Continue Blogging

Remembering Rod

Last Saturday, our friend Rod Rodriguez was killed in that terrorist
attack at the Marriot in Pakistan. Rod and his wife Caryn were our
friends in Korea, then they moved to Germany a little before we did.
Rod was a good man, and Kristie and I are still troubled by these
events. Read the article about his memorial service in Germany:
http://www.stripes.com/articleprint.asp?section=104&article=57701

Four of us from Korea who are now here met on Friday to talk about
our friend. It was a beautiful sunset that night, and we toasted in
honor of him.

My Pants

Outside of work and church, I've worn pants only twice in the almost
two months we've been in Okinawa.

What Obama Thinks of You

I think Obama flipped you off last night in the debates. It's hard to
argue with a middle finger.

Wendy!

Our good friend Wendy from Wiesbaden was in Okinawa this week for a
training. It was great to see her, especially since her stories of
Okinawa (she lived here less than two years ago) greatly contributed
to our desire to move here.

Fortunately, she was correct in her assessment. If she was wrong,
she'd be in trouble!

Aslan's Beach

Here are a few pictures and a short video of Araha Beach, the beach
in front of our apartment.

Getting Kicks Outta the Little Kicks

Here's a clip from Seinfeld episode "The Little Kicks." I watched it when I was in the hotel lobby here in Okinawa. I stood there and watched it with six or so strangers. There we were, all laughing out loud at it, even though we've probably seen it dozens of times before. I felt connected to them in a strange kicky kind of way.

Is this what Carl Roger's collective consciousness is about? Was he talking about Seinfeld?

Thank You for Your Corporation

On a driveway near our place.

"I Want Her to Decimate This Woman."

Another fine example of the friendliness and openness from the left. Spoken by none other than the political maven himself, Chevy Chase.

Now, put on your open-minded hat for a moment: imagine the outrage if someone like Dennis Miller (also a former SNL Weekend Update anchor) said that he wanted Obama decimated. "Hate speech!" "Racist!" "Close-minded!" Why the double-standard?

Clinton Cancels Rally Appearance After Learning Palin Invited

Rather than a goodwill gesture appearing at the United Nations in Jewish solidarity to protest Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Clinton pulled out after learning that Sarah Palin will attend. Interesting, as both Hillary and Barack stated that they will work at reaching out for bipartisanship. When they discovered that Palin would attend the same event, "Clinton aides were furious." Not furious at Ahmadinejad. Not furious over treatment of the Jews. No, they were furious because they discovered Sarah Palin would attend the same UN event.

Barack, why are you letting this woman campaign for you? I know that you are working hard at winning Hillary supporters, but may I suggest that you read the definition of a Pyrrhic victory? I think that's what you would get with the Clintons breathing down your executive neck looking for a return on the favor. Better to lose without her than win with her.

I teach 8th graders, and even 8th graders don't act like this much of a brat.

http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/09/17/clinton-blindsided-palin/

This Spider, Its Web, My Head

On a walk on a trail, I ran into a huge green web. As I was brushing
it out of my face and hair, I knocked this banana spider to the
ground. I doubt that you can begin to appreciate the gravity of that,
as this spider was about six inches wide. The web must have been
something Peter Parker slings up for a romantic evening with Mary
Jane. After Kristie saw it, there was no romantic night for this
spider man.

I still have a queasy stomach when I think of the incident. While I'm
not afraid of insects, I don't like ones as big as a DVD perching on
my melon.

One of these is a video, and you can hear Kristie's kind words for
me. It's something akin to, "I'm glad it was you and not me."

Tina Fey as Sarah Palin

Funny funny funny.

I have said for over a year now: it's not that we aren't ready for a woman president. Rather, we aren't ready for THAT woman (Hillary). And it has nothing to do with her cankles.

It is amusing to watch the left convulse in anger at McCain/Palin's strong possibility in November. The attacks have been non-stop. Who's swiftboating now? Or, is it only considered swiftboating when it's successful?

Aslan's Home

Today marked the day when Aslan finally arrived home. We moved into a
no pet room on September 2, and she's been in the kennel on-base ever
since. Her quarantine period was finally up today, so I broke her
free from prison, went to the vet, then brought her home.

She was so excited to see us again that she went into her new room
and fell asleep.

Charlie's Elephant

Charlie, our friend from Wiesbaden, has a style of painting that we love. Kristie traded photography services for this painting of an elephant inspired from Charlie's trip to Vietnam. We were so excited to put it up and start enjoying it. It's our only picture hung at this time, so it makes it even more special.

Check out Charlie's work at http://www.charliecooleyart.blogspot.com. Send him an email telling him to update with new paintings!

Moving Day

After living in hotels for over three months, we are moving into our
apartment today.

Dead Stuff on the Beach

And you thought you could only find seashells!