HunterByrd

The Ukranian Situation

It would appear the Ukraine is undergoing a crisis of gigantic proportion. Thanks to the concise reporting of Wretchard, we catch a glimpse into a boiling situation. One so grave, it could bring confrontation (at some unpleasant level) between the US & (in this case) its NATO allies and Russia.

Let's hope this matter, reminiscent (from a liberal point-of-view) of Florida 2000, will be contained, successfully negotiated between the pro-western electorate and the Russia-oriented bloc, and democracy will continue to proceed apace...without bloodshed.

Surf's up!

We have a huge disconnect, that is for sure.

There was one silly response yesterday to the marine corporal's letter published yesterday, and then there was this:

Tell me why is there so much hate in the US if abortion isn't possible in many states if not all, when same sex marriage isn't allowed? Why is it that Europe is overwhelmed with internet spam from the USA? From my (European) point of view fundamentalistic christian fanatics in the USA are as wrong as the fundamentalistic islamic fanatics in Europe. They use the same methods of terror and killing.Your country doesn't support the war on terror, which is a euphemism of a silent war on all continents, but started it. So bear the consequenses and end it.

Anonymous, I wish I could understand just what you are trying to say! What does hate have to do with abortion? There are fanatics in this world, and they can, and obviously do, attach to every issue out there. But what does hate have to do with the issue of abortion?

I don't know, why is Europe overwhelmed with spam from the USA? I wish Europeans would do something about it. We sure are. It's a technological thing, you see. The internet. Wide open -- knows no boundaries...

Europeans, I am given to understand, are no longer as religious as they once were, for better or worse. I know, from personal experience, that animus directed at church goers oft-times will fester and grow in non-church goers. Could you please direct this writer to any recent news stories concerning "fundamentalistic christian fanatics"? When that is done, please serve up any recent stories concerning "fundamentalistic christian fanatics" who "use the same methods of terror and killing" as the islamofascists?

I do not believe you said what you really wanted to say. If you can go so far as to make the last statement you did, I would suspect your sentiments lie with those who would bomb trains and behead innocent men and shoot innocent women in front of a cheap, hand-held digicam.

NOTE: Blogspot gives the option of preventing anonymous posters. Hard decision, because there are some regular posters here who still post under 'anonymous', and I do not want you gone. So, I suppose we shall have to grin and bear... and REDACT the particularly onerous deposits sometimes left here from time to time, of which the above is not an example.

Uh, pass the mustache wax

Linda Ronstadt says:

"People don't realize that by voting Republican, they voted against themselves," she says. Of Iraq in particular, she adds, "I worry that some people are entertained by the idea of this war. They don't know anything about the Iraqis, but they're angry and frustrated in their own lives. It's like Germany, before Hitler took over. The economy was bad and people felt kicked around. They looked for a scapegoat. Now we've got a new bunch of Hitlers."

I would like to ask her a couple of follow-up questions, such as "Just how was Germany before Hitler took over? Just how did someone who voted Republican vote against themselves? What do you know about the Iraqis? If asked on the spot, how well do you think she could reply?

I think what she said and how she said it is classic, artful, empty liberalism. The art of it is to say something without substance for the 'sting value'; then cut and run. The grace of it is that anyone with any purchase in the public eye can do it...like Linda.

All the Tea in China

A Young Marine Writes Home

As published in a small-town West Kentucky newspaper - 11-17-04

To the editor:

I would like to thank everyone for your support and mostly for your prayers. The station I'm at is a calm place. I don't really have much to worry about as far as attacks. The living conditions are good here. We have a church to go to and Bible study. Now is the time more than ever for faith. God has been with us to give us strength and courage everyday.

We had a marine from my unit in the rear fall. He left a new wife. I also had a friend from boot-camp fall a week earlier. He left behind a new wife and unborn child. Please pray for them and their families. I also ask you to pray for those who have fallen and those still here. I am proud to serve my country and fight for freedom. I know and understand that these deaths are not in vain.

I look and talk to these people and see the desperation for freedom. They are all not like the stories we hear. They are very friendly, kind people. They always greet you with a smile and laughter. I now know why we are here. Everyone deserves freedom and happiness. To those who fight, I ask for God's mercy for them and their souls. I pray that one day they will understand the error of their ways. I hope they see that instead of murder, there can be peace.

Life is a gift from God that no one should take for granted, though we do it everyday. At home we enjoy our family meals, our favorite shows and our occasional night out. We fight with our spouses over money, the care, the cleanliness of the house and the toilet seat. Out here, none of that matters. Here, Christmas is another day at work with a slight relief that we are still alive. We give thanks to God for being alive and praying for those who have fallen.

Before you go to bed tonight, grant me this favor: pray for the marines, soldiers, sailors, Americans and the people here. The power of prayer is greater when more than one prays for the same cause. I thank you all.

Jason E. F.
Cpl., USMC

Jason's letter is followed by one other on the papers op-ed page. It is almost three times as long. A somewhat battered and bruised, albeit well-respected and highly educated, successful liberal attempts to extend a hand of friendship to all in the community following the contentious election season. He exhorts us all to live by our principles and to respect the Constitution, but...he just can't seem to get past himself, and falls back into the same, tired arguments of the left. You know, the wrongness of the war, helping OBL, you know the routine (e.g., "It's OK to be conservative, and it's OK to be liberal, without which by the way we would still have slaves and women would still be second-class citizens."). Bitter liberals can't even say 'can't we all just get along', without picking a fight.

All the tea in China could not purchase elevation of the liberal's grandiloquent proselytizing over the young marine's simple, profound song of thanks and entreaty for prayer. In him, and so many tens of thousands like him, is the core of what will carry America forward another 100 years.

God Bless our Troops. God Bless our Mission. Pray for everyone in Iraq.

Ssssshhhhhhhh

So says Peggy Noonan.

A Mexican breakfast

Strife in North Korea?

The people of North Korea are not as submissive as they appear to be. Unnoticed by the outside world, strong opposition to the regime of dictator Kim Jong Il is beginning to appear.

So begins this article from Der Spiegel (english version).

When the great train explosion occurred in the far northern reaches of the country, Kim Jong Il didn't bother much in the way of condolensces. Instead, the state spent time celebrating the 72nd anniversary of the founding of the army, "Dear Leader", and "joyful dancing". That wouldn't fly in the USA now, would it?

A few hours prior to the tragedy, Kim's special train passed through the Ryongchon train station, returning from a trip to China. Is it possible that this was not an accident, but instead an attempt by opponents of the regime to blow up the dictator and his entourage?

Sounds like a very large, open-ended, lack-of-any-substantive-evidence question to me. If there is merit to it, Kim already knows and the perpetrators would be long-dead as we read this... But. As all good articles are wont to do, the author gives us a little something to indicate all is not well in paradise -- as if hell on earth could ever be mistaken for such. Anti-government slogans on the sides of train cars, epithets on the 'Great Leader's' Kumsusan Mausoleum in Pyongyang, and so on and so on. Folks can only take so much.

When an "attempt to circumvent the defunct public supply system to obtain food [is] considered sabotage and treason," I can't take issue with human nature. Preservation of self and child is primal. The question is, what are those 22.5 million generationally suppressed people going to do about it? They will not do any more than the Iraqis did before the USA, with a solid hand from a few worthy friends, did something about it.

Forget internal revolution in North Korea! Remember Tianamen Square? When some Iraqis did try to do something about Saddam in the early 90's, their heads wound up beneath the treads of Soviet-made T-62 tanks. The PRK is all about a huge, entrenched military, my German friend.

The article recounts several anecdotes, including internal attempts to eradicate the leader. Alas, all have obviously ended in mortal failure, just like those who tried to oust Saddam.

While the North Koreans starved and the country descended ever more deeply into poverty, the younger Kim built at least ten palaces, complete with golf courses, stables and movie theaters. His garages are filled with luxury cars. The CIA estimates the family's wealth at four billion dollars, part of which is deposited in Swiss bank accounts.

My, that does sound like Saddam. Good read.

Condoleezza Rice

Listening to the car radio this day in small portion, I have heard more than passing reference to belittling of Condi Rice by the Left, especially allegations that the lib smarminess goes so far as to encompass bigotry and rascism, I have no doubt of the veracity of the reports, at least in degree.

After all, the Left is eager to belittle any person or official who has shown loyalty and acted faithfully in pursuit of our elected President's goals and policies. This is so regardless of the success of his vision. World view, including that of France, is far more optimistic, even enthusiastic, about the possibility of a Rice-run State Department.

The Left's general consensus seems to be this: Powell was a voice of reason, a multilateralist sharing the table in a room full of unilateralist hawks. Powell was not afraid to differ with his fellow cabinet members or his President. Rice is like the next pea in a pod with Bush. It may not be a good thing she is so loyal. Why is that? (because the Left doesn't want to see everyone on the same page; they prefer strife and dissention around W any which way they can get it -- and it ain't comin' from Condi).

You may remember Bush 41's SecState James Baker. Those two were on the same page. Their relationship was characterized as symbiotic - when one exhaled the other inhaled. I recall that Jim Baker disagreed at times with GHWB. There is no reason to believe Condi is some automaton.

That she is not.

Kayaks on 'El cenote de la Vida' (The life sinkhole)

Political Burnout

I feel the need for quiet

With each passing day, I get the feeling I am the typical American. As a typical American, I grew intensely interested as the election year passed by. With each day, the election drew nearer, and I became more passionate. Those around me did the same. Fever pitch! I watched my fellow bloggers become as incensed as I was; we couldn’t stay far away from the shining, center-right stars in the blogosphere. What they said was how we felt, and we embellished those well-spoken words.

And then came the election. Oh yes! The drama of the exit polls. The voices yelling, ‘hold fast, the day is yet ours!’ What sweet ecstacy! The Triumph of our man, and the ideals he embodied (in a generic sense, mind you, W is, after all, just a politician writ large in the foaming broth of history) gave us sublime satisfaction.

When Wednesday rolled around, I felt justified in the commanding numbers - some 60-odd million compatriots - who had voted my sincere beliefs. By God, sweet justification! Michael Moore and MoveOn.org were slapped with reality.

Reality. Thursday. The Left will not go away. We all knew that. People who write and talk for a living - from an ideological bent - are going to keep doing so. The MSM is not going away. The spin is not going to stop. And there is where the ‘typical Americanism’ washed over me in torrents.

I had enough. I ran away to another country, and the ensuing silence was bliss. This was so in spite of the fact I was immersed in a sea of sun-worshiping Germans, Italians, and ... FRENCH. I didn’t hear a word of politics until I returned to the good old USA. None of those ‘foreigners’ went out of their way to disparage Bush (not counting the Mexican merchant who was disgusted by one of my relatives who would not pay an exorbitant price for a silver bauble – when it was apparent to him that his craftiness would not prevail, he kept yelling "Bush - shieet, Bush shieet!").

So I return home. The blog is on my mind. I’m listening and reading (a little) about Fallujah and the Cabinet changes. My crazy right Democrat friend called W a bad name this afternoon, and belittled Condi ("she’s wacko – Powell was a ‘good soldier’"), and all I could do was smile, shake my head and listen. Nothing has changed but the fact W is around for another term, and even this prescient fact is muted by Hillary-talk (a woman in the catbird seat!).

I apologize (if to no one but myself) for my lack of posts, but I do not feel a burning desire to voice my beliefs and comment on the MSM rhetoric mill yet. I’m a good right-of-center American, rock-solid and confident in the just cause of my beliefs, but I am tired of the incessant shill. I have to breathe (this evening, at least).

‘Everyman’ is a touch burned out; he wants merely to gloat a while to himself...at least until his senses are so offended he feels compelled to speak out again. That could happen as early as tomorrow... After all, ‘Everyman’ can only take so much!

The pyramid at Chitchen Itza

Mayan Culture

I suppose the above photo leaves no doubt where I've been, and (part of) what I was up to last week. An abbreviated visit to the great Chitchen Itza complex on the Yucatan peninsula did much to change life-long misconceptions about the dominant culture in Central America, circa 200-1300 AD (that's 'CE' to you academic, agnostic, time-papering liberals who've just gotta 'have it your way' types).

First, I learned that the Mayans were centered upon sacrifice, bloody sacrifice, in the pursuit of their Sun and Water god-oriented religious practices. In quite horrific ways, indeed. The only levels of society not subject to being offered up at one time or another were the highest levels of nobility and (of course) the priests who did the performing. Second, they were very war-like. I had erroneously believed these attributes belonged more to the later Aztecs...

Third, this grand society was an incredibly hard-working one. While their stone structures were not as formidible as their earlier Egyptian counterparts, the labor was no less intense. For instance, the grand complex above mentioned, just happens to sit on a man-made (stone/fill)plateau which is, on average, eight to nine feet above the jungle it is built upon! The central area is immense. Eyeballing it, I estimated it was a minimum of 100 acres. The pyramid (above) is estimated to have taken 12,000 people twenty years to build...

Of course, you know about Mayan mathematical and astronomical prowess...

For what it is worth, if you harbor a desire to climb the pyramid, as we did, you had better pack your bags and go there now. I was given the firm understanding that direct access to this, and other significant Mayan ruins and restorations will be closed to the public as early as next year.

Near 'Bayou le Batrie'

On The Road Again

I'll be off-line eight days or so.

Whew! And about the right time, too. I am simply amazed at the vitriol, hate, and anger of the bitter Left. Yes, those highly enlightened, emotive, nuanced, and oh-so-unignorant among us, who cry foul and whine about the hate, anger, and ignorance of the Right. Yes. I need a break.

Nothing like a little silent observation and detachment to calm the nerves. Please come back around in due time.

Zealots are not only the 'province' of the right

Frequent commentator 'Pecheur' is chasing an unreported aspect of this election. Religious zealots on the Left.

It would seem, contrary to the plethora of NPR stories I heard this afternoon, that the Left has its own wing of Christian punditry, so to speak. Bill Keller, not to be confused with the NYT reporter of the same name, made bold statements of his own. Pecheur, a thoughtful student of Christian theology, is a conservative-leaning man. He inhabits a world where he finds himself in the midst of 'left-leaning' students and intellectuals. Pecheur should be, and I bet he is, comforted that a majority of Americans have borne out his own deep-seated sentiment.

He has a post concerning Bill Keller, vocal, activist leader of Bill Keller Ministries, which owns LivePrayer. Pastor Keller stated that he strongly believed Kerry would be our next President. Bill Keller "heard from God that Kerry will win." Pecheur emailed him: "[T]hat is that you feel strongly that our next president will be Kerry, what will happen if you are wrong?" . . .

Pastor Keller to Pecheur (prior to the big day): "Bush will lose for failing to do what God allowed him to be elected to do..if by some chance he win..no excuses form me..I am someone that is not to be heard.."

Well, as we now know, Pastor Keller was WRONG. You must read all said in Pecheur's post.

Well? Has Bill Keller been heard from again? What do you think? Will Pastor Keller follow his self-stated biblical mandate? Brother Bill's own testimony is interesting. Insider trading, inter alia. United Methodist background...(I identify) today, he is 'non-denominational'.

Just goes to show: The Left belittles we grounded, center-right folk for our traditional theology, while, in the silence of the left-wing airwaves, liberal religiosity is alive and well. My bet is that the dynamic, enigmatic Rev Keller will keep talking, despite his biblically-based contrary assurance to Pecheur, which begs the question: is something else motivating this preacher?

Irshad Manji

Manji, author of a controversial book in the world of Islam, "The Trouble with Islam: A Muslim's Call for Reform in Her Faith," has a thoughtful essay today in the Washington Times. Islamofascism is a serious business indeed.

The trouble with Islam today is that literalism is going mainstream.

* * * *

If Muslims in the West dare to ask questions about our holy book, and if we care to denounce human rights violations being committed under the banner of that book, we need not worry about being raped, flogged, stoned or executed by the state for doing so. What in God's name are Muslims in the West doing with our freedoms?

She says her growing support is coming principally from the female and youth of the Muslim community.

Manji gives passing mention in the lede to the murder on November 2nd of Theo van Gogh, a Dutch filmmaker who criticized Islamic practices. Follow this link and learn a little of the Netherlands dynamic which prompted Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende to implore his countrymen to remain calm in the face of this killing.

Moonbeams

A Level head in the Storm

What I like in a leader

"It was on Air Force One on election day that strategist Karl Rove started calling around to get the results of early exit polls. But the line kept breaking down. The only information that came through as the plane descended was a BlackBerry message from an aide that simply read: "Not good." Not long afterward, Rove got a more detailed picture and told the President and senior aides the bad news. Florida Governor Jeb Bush had been saying the state was looking good, and the Bush team had expected to be ahead in Ohio. But Kerry was leading everywhere. "I wanted to throw up," said an aide onboard. Bush was more philosophical: "Well, it is what it is," he told adviser Karen Hughes."

Source (today's date).

Precision Gloating Acceptable

Derbyshire has a collection of appropriate targets to gloat at, in an otherwise air of calm, reserve, and humility in the glow of an absolute popular and electoral vote victory.

First thought - post Bush (praise the Lord!)

The red counties, thus far posted on USA Today, are not so red as we may wish to believe. 'Majorities' are only that. In, reality, they are purple, albeit obviously weighted Red. My county, comfortably in flyover country is no exception. In this vein, I give grudging assent to the line of Barak Obama. That is, nothing is black and white as we give glancing acknowledgment to. My position is predicated upon the simple reason of my Americanhood. I prefer to get along with my fellow citizens. Mark Levin vociferously intones not to let my guard down; he says the Left will grow only more ascerbic. I will not. Still, the Blue people who are my neighbors are appreciated and endeared. I will not spit on them, even if their sentiments are bitter. I'm going to stand firm! We won!

When my neighbors inevitably begin to espouse their bitterness and lift up (the elated) Hillary Clinton, I'm going to smile and shake my head. If they persist, I'll say, "Bring it on!"

And Bring-it-on we will. We have no choice. None at all. Michael Moore isn't going away (he earned a lot of money in this cycle).

YES!

Bush 51% v. Kerry 48% -- margin: some 3.5 million votes

"It's over. The first thing out the door was the Boston Red Sox cap, then the barn coat, and his wife was about ready to throw him out, too," said Mike Barnacle. "Yeah, and don't forget the Bruce Springsteen guitar pick," added Don Imus.

Passing remarks, but indicative of the truth of Kerry's and the Demcrat Party's disconnect with we 'red' of heart and mind. Bush garnered more popular votes than Ronaldus Magnus. W is our legitimately elected President. If the Left continues to complain about 2000 now, the problem rests clearly with them. If 'Lord Haw Haw' Moore continues with the hate speech, he has mental health and behavioral issues which he should see to immediately.

Also: So long Tommy Boy!

Bust low and keep your head bowed!

That's what my high school football coach ground into me. Plow into someone like that, like you mean it! Win or lose, hit hard and keep your head up.

The exit polls spell cyclical doom for those of us in the right corner. But they are just polls. They are not the results. Oh far from it! They are the gleeful, gyrational spin of the MSM spinmeisters. It's 2000 all over. It's 2002 all over. And the spinmeisters soiled their pants (big-time) on each occasion. Votes count, and nothing else! Everytime.

As I told my fellow blogger Kelli, I have been unnaturally calm most of the day. I credit it to the fact I have stayed away from the MSM, FoxNews included. What little I have done this day, beside burp bile at Drudge, is graze on the Northern Alliance bigs, Polipundit, and The Corner. Most of what I read there (deep, so very deep, in feel-good country) is heartening.

Cheer up! I don't know enough to posit an intelligent guess. But I do know that the world will keep turning. I guarantee you this: whatever happens, the passion that I, and the friends and (highly valued) commenters who come here regularly, have, will not abate. If anything, it will intensify. The war has only begun.

This conflict is far deeper than a bunch of islamofascists intent on killing us each and every one, Tiny Tim included. It encompasses our own political landscape. Everyone reading knows what that landscape is, and who it includes. Regardless of the outcome of this election, MiKail Moore will still be around, ascerbic and rotten-to-the-core as ever, and he is just the "pus-pocket' of the left - a visible blackhead.

Stay calm. Watch the returns (the high drama we have waited years for), take a deep breath and know you are not alone. If you suffer, you have lots of company, what? about half the country? If you rejoice, do so among ourselves. The urge to rub it in lies deeper with the blind, corrupt, hateful, or ignorant left. We freedom-loving center-righters have absolutely sound ideas on our side, and there isn't a lot of need to grind anything in on the loser. Right has no need for hate.

Go!, Go!, Go!, Go!

I watched the first man in my precinct vote at 6:00 am, and I went in eighth. Three inches of rain soaked the ground last night and into this morning, but folks kept coming and coming to cast their votes, here in my red state county.

May every single last one of the 'red staters' ( in heart and mind, if not geographically) vote to keep the historic and courageous leadership Bush has shown these last four years.

To the polls!

Go George W Bush!

What you know but do not hear...

The great problems today, Iranian and Korean nuclear power, the coming baby-boom on Social Security and Medicare, immigration, health care, and dependency on foreign oil, are the intractible ones. They are the issues that fester like the wound from a rusty nail in the heal of our national foot. None of them were addressed hard and head-on by either candidate, because a politician can go only so far and remain viable.

Proof? Look at the Keyes - Obama race in Illinois. Mr Alan tells it like it is; there isn't a lot of soft rhetoric in his argument. And he will lose...because he speaks his mind to the detriment of his viability... yet he speaks from his heart, God bless him!

If the public won't abide honest discussion of clear problems -- and our leaders can't lead opinion -- then the problems simply fester. In this campaign, neither Bush nor Kerry has risen above that dilemma.

That suggests that many of our largest social problems will progressively worsen until they get so bad that we're forced to deal with them. Or they deal harshly with us. This is the true deadlock, and it may be incurable.

These are the words of Robert Samuelson, WaPo columnist. I agree. Our political campaigns are about one-upmanship in the world of talking points and surveys. It's about the spin and how 'evil' one candidate can make the other look. Mr Samuelson does have a point, re the deadlock.

We often wish our candidate would just 'blow and go' with the truth...really let the other guy 'have it'. But that doesn't happen, because the respective campaigns have to keep it in line, else votes will be lost! Again, Alan Keyes is a case in point.

Mr Samuelson quotes 19th century British historian James Bryce: "public opinion stands out . . . as the great source of power, the master of servants who tremble before it". True then. True today. Alas, foresake, and foresooth.

In any event, the long-anticipated election shall occur.

Tom Wolfe on the Eve of Hell

This story is from The Guardian. I have kept away from my blog, because I am sick of this. Sick of it all. All. Catatonic is a good word for my state of mind the past 48 hours. The pundits have shrilled. The politicians have spun out to the same decibal level. I tuned in because I can't help myself. Then I saw this article on Drudge (my 'home page'). It is written by (pardon my last minute, uncivil anger) leftist pig-dogs.

As he notes, the America which votes tomorrow is a country riven over morality like never before. On the flip side of the culture of ubiquitous sex is that of puritan Christianity, as harnessed in no small part by Bush. "Yes, there is this puritanism," says Wolfe, "and I suppose we are talking here about what you might call the religious right. But I don't think these people are left or right, they are just religious, and if you are religious, you observe certain strictures on sexual activity - you are against the mainstream, morally speaking. And I do have sympathy with them, yes, though I am not religious. I am simply in awe of it all; the openness of sex. In the 60s they talked about a sexual revolution, but it has become a sexual carnival."

I do think Mr Tom called that one right. Those of us here in fly-over country are not the shrill school teachers heard in Pink Floyd's 'The Wall'. Contrary to popular east and west coast belief, we are not the hard task masters of their rotten, modern day fable. Au contrare, mon frere, we are, indeed, kinder and gentler. We just know right from wrong, and are proud of our diminishing capablilites in so discerning. W rings true.

"Indeed, I was at a similar [NYC] dinner, listening to the same conversation [informed 'fly-overs' know the drill], and said: 'If all else fails, you can vote for Bush.' People looked at me as if I had just said: 'Oh, I forgot to tell you, I am a child molester.' I would vote for Bush if for no other reason than to be at the airport waving off all the people who say they are going to London if he wins again. Someone has got to stay behind."

Mr Tom, may that be the case. I will be here, and so will a whole lot of my friends, kith, and kin.

"I think support for Bush is about not wanting to be led by East-coast pretensions. It is about not wanting to be led by people who are forever trying to force their twisted sense of morality onto us, which is a non-morality. That is constantly done, and there is real resentment. Support for Bush is about resentment in the so-called 'red states' - a confusing term to Guardian readers, I agree - which here means, literally, middle America [note that is from where I hail, and so state]. I come from one of those states myself, Virginia. It's the same resentment, indeed, as that against your own newspaper when it sent emails targeting individuals in an American county." Wolfe laughs as he chastises. "No one cares to have outsiders or foreigners butting into their affairs. I'm sure that even many of those Iraqis who were cheering the fall of Saddam now object to our being there. As I said, I do not think the excursion is going well."

What will life be like, for us political animals, come November 3rd? Times like this, and I envy the life of the Amish, who are all blissfully and faithfully removed from the animus of 'the English'.

"I do think," he admits, apparently speaking for himself, his country and his president, "that if you are not having a fight with somebody, then you are not sure whether you are alive when you wake up in the morning."

With that, I think we Americans are acutely animate. God bless us all. In the end, we are all children of Abraham, come what may...