Caleb Howe at Red State has some Astroturf right here. (Hmmm, I see a vaguely familiar nom-de-blog in the comment section.)

Meanwhile, Dr. Melissa Clouthier finds some Astroturf in Craigslist.

Go over and read the guys at Six Meat Buffet…. they have me rolling more often than not…

I have been busy with this guy…no rashes here..just pure muscles and a hawtness rating of 100%. And he cracks the whip now to get me back here, and I comply without a question. I just hope my laptop works in steam.

When a reporter approached him for comment, one of the officials responded: “No chance.”

NBC said “Today” show host Matt Lauer would interview Sullenberger from Washington on Monday, a day before President-elect Barack Obama is inaugurated.

Just in case you DIDN’T know that Barack Obama was being inaugurated on Tuesday, the day after Monday. My wife read this, being a journalism major in college, and thought it was perhaps the most random statement that had nothing to do with the story it was included in. And I have to agree with her. Unless ofcourse you are completely and utterly OBSESSED WITH OBAMA, as the Associated Press is…

Apparently Soledad O’Brien is equally obsessed with Obama, since she compares Sully to Obama, or Obama to Sully. Oh whatever.. from Kim @ Wizbang:

CNN’s Saturday filled with following Barack Obama’s train trip to the Inauguration was also filled with Obama praise. At one juncture, CNN couldn’t help but metaphorically merge Barack Obama with the exhilarating news of the US Airways pilot who landed his plane in the Hudson River without losing a single passenger.

A few minutes after 2 pm Eastern time, anchorman Wolf Blitzer recalled “Soledad [O'Brien] and I were talking about this earlier and she was saying metaphorically in some ways, the pilot of that airplane is very much like Barack Obama — that he got the plane down safely, but everybody else had to join together to get out of the plane and pull together to get through that adversity. I thought that was an interesting metaphor.

Kim does not that this comparison to a mere mortal is a step down for Obama….

You know, I’ve been thinking. . .

The Christian music stations like K-LOVE have a thing they call “Meet Me At The Pole.” On certain days (like the beginning of school, or when there’s trouble) the kids meet unofficially at the flagpole and pray for the school before classes. Highly unofficial, highly positive, Christian oriented activity.

More about “Meet Me At The Pole” HERE for 1999, HERE for 2007, and HERE’s the obligatory story about “Americans United for Separation of Church and State” suing the principal of a school for daring to allow this to happen.

Anyway, I’ve been e-mailing some friends this last week who are all feeling a sort of “malaise” bordering on dread over the coming inauguration. We’ve been batting ideas around trying to put some kind of positive spin on an event that doesn’t hold a lot of positive feelings for most of us.

I had an idea, though. I’m thinking about going to the flagpole during the inauguration. Going to the flagpole in front of the nearest federal building (courthouse, post office, etc.) at noon Eastern time (11am central) and praying for the incoming President.

….

I’m going to be at the U.S. Post Office on Huebner Road in San Antonio Monday the 20th at 11:00 am Texas Time to pray for this guy. Anybody join me?

And even if you can’t join me, go to your own Post Office. Got to the flagpole outside your place of business. Just walk outside your business and pray on the isdewalk.

Wanna do something positive? Here it is. Want to be part of a massive silent protest?

I won’t be able to attend the prayer in San Antonio, but I work at a building with a flag-pole, so I’ll do my own one man prayer at work. And like JD said, praying for tObama to make America successful and safe is never a bad thing….

If Conservatives are blinded by love, then Liberals are blinded by hate.

Joel Stein pens a sort-of-comical article about this:

But I’ve come to believe conservatives are right. They do love America more. Sure, we liberals claim that our love is deeper because we seek to improve the United States by pointing out its flaws. But calling your wife fat isn’t love. True love is the blind belief that your child is the smartest, cutest, most charming person in the world, one you would gladly die for. I’m more in “like” with my country.

I think we ALL love America, but those on the Right not only love this country, they RESPECT it. They respect and admire the Constitution, the Founding Fathers, the idea of Freedom. Conservatives and Republicans have the pioneer attitude. They admire independence, hard work and personal responsibility. America’s front yard is the best, greenest, more awesome yard in town, in the eyes of many Conservatives. We don’t put blinders on however: We simply see no need to “improve” things that have little value to the nation as a whole.

Conservatives feel personally blessed to have been born in the only country worth living in. I, on the other hand, just feel lucky to have grown up in a wealthy democracy. If it had been Australia, Britain, Ireland, Canada, Italy, Spain, France, Luxembourg, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Japan, Israel or one of those Scandinavian countries with more relaxed attitudes toward sex, that would have been fine with me too.

Heh…note he states “wealthy” democracy. Money ranks high to most everyone, regardless of politics.

When a Democrat loses the presidential race, real lefties talk a lot about moving to Canada. When Republicans lose, they don’t do that. Though, to be fair, they don’t have a lot of nearby conservative options. Not even Hannity is a committed enough conservative to yell, “If Obama wins, I’m moving to Singapore.”

I wouldn’t ever consider leaving this country no matter WHO is elected. It has nothing to do with a lack of alternative nations willing to host me; I like living in America and I know, history shows me, Presidents come and go. The political damage they inflict can be changed. America is a fluid nation. Nothing is ever written on stone walls that cannot be taken down.

This doesn’t mean I’m not fascinated by American history, impressed by our Constitution or don’t appreciate our optimism and entrepreneurial spirit. In fact, I love everything Hannity listed on his TV special other than Madonna. But there are plenty of things I don’t like about America: our foreign policy, our religious fundamentalism, our provincialism, our intellectual laziness, our acceptance of sweat suits in public.

Foreign policy, again, is related to politics. I think Mr Stein should be telling us he HATES President Bush…but being a typical liberal, he cannot separate the two- the President or the Country. I love freedom. If I wish to wear sweat pants in public, I should be able to do so without judgment. Mr Stein judges people on petty things- which to me, is intellectual snobbery, a form of intellectual laziness. It’s easier to mock others then it is to get to know them for who they are.

Despite Beck’s rationalization, I still think conservatives love America for the same tribalistic reasons people love whatever groups they belong to. These are the people who are sure Christianity is the only right religion, that America is the best country, that the Republicans have the only good candidates, that gays have cooties.

Not all Conservatives are religious whacks, Mr Stein. And yes, I believe those who push it into others’ faces are overstepping THEIR purposes here on Earth. And gays don’t have cooties. But, in the order of Mother Nature, (and not some God)- people, animals- are here on Earth to reproduce. Homosexuals cannot do that. I don’t believe being gay is natural. That doesn’t mean I HATE them. Some of my best friends are gay.

I believe all people should have the right to chose the groups they wish to belong to- religions, political parties, and so on. If this makes me a primal, tribal bitch, so be it. Freedom rules.

I love America. But, like liberals, there are things I HATE ABOUT THIS COUNTRY. And, ironically, it is Liberal Policy and Mindset that creates the things I HATE.

The Left, for the most part, love America but not as she is. Or ever was. Liberals and Democrats have little respect for the Constitution, the Fathers, and in spite of their high pitched denials, they have much disdain for freedom.

They prefer hand holding to independence. Only in America do we have entire classes of people who are protected from their own laziness-able to get government assistance for education, jobs, welfare benefits- all for little to no cost, while others bust their butts working three jobs, going to school AND raising a family at the same time, with no help. People will never appreciate what is handed to them as much as what they work hard for.

They keep the race card game playing on, and on. Only in America do we have racial divides that continue to exist- because the very people who call themselves victims blindly follow leaders who make a lot of cold cash keeping these people in that coveted role.

They don’t value HARD WORK. Which I do, every day, for a living. I earn every penny I make- and need those pennies to survive. It pisses me off to know I GIVE away a huge chunk of my earnings, to my government- who in turns gives it away to someone else who DOES NOT work hard, oft by choice. Where is the freedom there? I would MUCH prefer to determine where my money goes- and I would and have indeed helped others less fortunate than myself (if you can believe there ARE people more poor than me!)

I could go on and on, but this post would turn into a book. Liberal policies and the like RUIN the true spirit of America, which is FINE with liberals since they do HATE America.

No matter: This country will survive- the doubts arise as to who will be left standing. I say Conservatives will be: Because we have that trait called independence. And we love freedom. A winning combination that never fails.