Two words

Just watched Paul Ryan. Two words...FUCK YEAH!!!! I told you. Man oh man.

Convention Day 2

It's 8:30 and I've had lots of interruptions. I've got cspan taped but am trying to catch up on Fox. Loved the video from the Bushes. Haven't heard any big speeches yet. Didn't listen to McCain and quit listening to Portman. Guess I'll wait for the big hitters. I'm not watching live yet. Watching Hannity that I taped. He's interviewing Christie.

Love following twitter. I'm getting a lot of good sound bites, and a lot of tweets from The Blaze. They are reporting about how the major outlets broke away every time a black or hispanic spoke at the convention. Lots of tweets about how they are spinning this and crap they are saying. It's infuriating. So slanted. It's really outrageous. There is no hope whatsoever for the mainstream media.

Loved your analogy of the theme to jewelry. Exactly. Lots have analyzed Ann Romney's speech as you did - rough in the beginning but great at the end.

Christie's interview with Hannity is really good. Love to listen to that guy.

My day with Noah

Had some Noah and Mommy time today.. took him to swimming lessons (where I just hung my head as he spun in circles and dunked his head in the water constantly as he waited his turn with the instructor) and then to Sams. He walked in the front door and greeted the greeter with... "hello Sams! I love you and your samples." On the way out he casually commented "so mom, you know that one guy that w

e met a long time ago (I have no idea who he is talking about btw) I wish he was my Daddy." "Noah, I think you have a pretty great daddy already." His reply (which was loud enough for multiple people to hear) "Yeah but I'd like a new daddy because mine beats me.... ALL the time."
A fitting conversation for Sams Club..

another shopping trip...

Went shopping with Noah and stopped at Motherhood Maternity to look for a couple shirts. Noah was all over the place so I took him into the changing room and told him we were going to play fashion show. I'm a bit disturbed at how happy he was and how appropriate some of his comments were..."wow mom. You look very stylish." "you should buy that shirt, you deserve to have it." Of course there w

ere the "wow, that shirt is my favorite, it makes you look like a zebra! Act like a Zebra mom." "Wow, that red dress is great. It makes you look so homeless, mom" comments as well. He found the pillow that women put on to look pregnant and insisted it was a helmet and that he wear it... until I told him what it was for then he insisted on wearing it under his shirt and then wanted to sumo wrestle/run our bellies into eachother. When he pulled something off the rack, tried it on and told me that we should have a makeup show too I threw the stuff down and took him home. I think I'll stick to having Grace shop with me.

Convention Thoughts...Day 1

I will update as I watch day 1 Ma, sorry I am so far behind. I might be missing Ryan tonight. I am going to work out about the time he goes on. I will likely watch him after my workout at 10:30 ish so feel free to write as you will.

7:16p - Getting caught up from day 1, Ted Cruz is on now...meh...

7:22p - Skipping Ted Cruz now, just can not get into it...playing nice with Obama. Davis is on now.

7:23p - DAVIS IS AWESOME!!!!!!!!! He had me a go....ony three minutes in and I love this guy.

7:33p - Davis killed it, Haley now, still sick of the we built it theme. She opened with it. I GOT IT, the horse is dead and we keep hitting it. I am ok with the theme but they are beating into the ground and it loses all meaning. It should be like jewlery, some here and there to accent and stand out but if you bedazzle the shit out of yourself it gets ridiculous.

7:36p - Immigration/voter ID NIKI HALEY I LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

7:43p - Haley was great. Skipping the Puerto Rico Gov's wife, three words in and all I hear is Charro. Can't stand it. WOW Ann looks great, where has she been? Oh, a moment about Isaac and first responders. Nicely played.

7:48p - Woof, this is getting thick. Ann loves women, mom's, aunts, grandmas, neighbor's mom, third cousin women on Mitt's side and their moms. The mom of gas station attendent, the mom, sister, daughter, and aunt of the person who is running the sound board. I am getting full.

7:52p - On to Mitt, this is better. Nice, wholesome, I kinda like it. Nice he built it reference, that is how it should be done.

7:55p - Real marriage, not story book. That was good. Cheesy beginning, really picking up now. She is good.

8:04p - Ann was great, thick and heavy handed opening but last third was great. Speaking of heavy, GOOD LORD Christie is enormous. Ouch, I am winded for him watching him walk on stage.

8:30p - Wrapping up....
Christie was good, energetic, enjoyable but I see what Rush was saying today and why he was underwhelmed by Day 1 of the convention. Christie talked about truth but one thing was noticably missing from almost everyone, the name BARACK OBAMA. They all kind of talked around him, referred to in the abstract, glancing blows but never taken head on. Why is the country broken? OBAMA DID IT. Come on, it is just that easy.

That said, Day 1 had successful Rep Govs Christie, McDonnell, Kasich, Walker, Haley, Sandoval. Name two Dem Govs they can throw up there next week to talk about balanced budgets, tax cuts, improved job numbers, and a growing economy in their states like ours can?

I will end day 1 here. I am going to work out at 9p and will watch Ryan afterward and post on that late tonight (i'm off tomorrow). I will likely skip most if not all the speeches other than Ryan's. We will see.

Convention Thoughts

Mia Love, Artur Davis, and Nikki Haley have been my highlights of the evening.

Ann Romney is giving a great speech. Lots of personality and confidence. She nailed it. She did her job in personalizing Romney. Wow. She's going to be great in the White House. Love, love, loved her. So happy for her. Mitt comes out and gives her a very un-Gore-like kiss. Here comes Chris Christie!

Don't know what the talking heads are saying because I'm watching cspan.

Chris Christie is one of a kind. I have not seen his like in all my years of following politics. So refreshingly real. You can't help but love him. Or at the very least, respect him.

Jonah Goldberg tweeted that the moving blue background behind the speakers was making him woozy. Now that's all I can see. The RNC needs to fix that.

Great debates I will see and would like to see: Biden vs. Ryan; Obama vs. Gingrich; Obama vs. Chris Christie. Christie would stomp him.

Christie is basically saying to America: do the math.

So far Christie is avoiding "we built that." Hooray. He's hitting education. Amen brother. They believe in teachers' unions. We believe in teachers. Love it.

"It doesn't matter how we got here. There's enough blame to go around. It matters what we do now." Use that Romney. Genius.

Now I fear for Romney's speech. He has to live up to his wife and to Chris Christie. Tough acts to follow.

I am feeling more and more confident in what Romney can do as president. I think he's EXACTLY what we need. I'm excited. He's not an exciting person, but we don't need excitement. I think we need the skills that Romney has.

Good lord Christie, lose 100 pounds and run for president. We have an embarrassment of good people to follow Romney: Ryan, Christie, Rubio. Wow.

Can't wait to see what you think, Terry.

Note: it did take Christie awhile to get to Romney.

Convention Memory

I know it is just you and me Ma, but I am ok with it. Just turned the convention on (cspan). I just have always loved the signs with the state names and the delegates sitting together. I don't know why, I just do. I remember them from Reagen in 84. That and the four more years chant.

Update @ 7:05p...Michelle Malkin has a good timeline of that rules vote mess found here.

Update @ 7:07p...Am now watching the undead corpses of the Oak Ridge Boys sing Amazing Grace. Look horrible, sound fantastic.

Update @ 8:00p...Playing catch up, just put Grace to bed. Kasich is killing it! Interesting posts here, the Brietbart crew is live blogging about the media's coverage of the convention. Seriously Ma, check that link. CNN is cutting away from the swing state Gov's speeches (OH, VA, WI) to hurricane coverage and commercials. Fasinating.

awesome little league letter my cousin posted on FB

Mike Matheny Letter To Parents

Message from Kevin Seitzer - Mike Matheny is the new St. Louis Cardinals Manager.  Mike lived with me in Milwaukee his rookie year.  He's one of the most respected, wonderful people you will ever be around.  Mike coached his kids after retirement and this is a letter to the parents on his team.  This may be the BEST letter I've ever read regarding youth baseball and is exactly what "The Mac-N-Seitz Way" is all about.  Please enjoy and help us get there!

Letter from Mike Matheny.....

I always said that the only team that I would coach would be a team of orphans, and now here we are. The reason for me saying this is that I have found the biggest problem with youth sports has been the parents. I think that it is best to nip this in the bud right off the bat. I think the concept that I am asking all of you to grab is that this experience is ALL about the boys. If there is anything about it that includes you, we need to make a change of plans. My main goals are as follows:

(1) to teach these young men how to play the game of baseball the right way,

(2) to be a positive impact on them as young men, and

(3) do all of this with class.

We may not win every game, but we will be the classiest coaches, players, and parents in every game we play. The boys are going to play with a respect for their teammates, opposition, and the umpires no matter what.

With that being said, I need to let you know where I stand. I have no hidden agenda. I have no ulterior motive other than what I said about my goals. I also need all of you to know that my priorities in life will most likely be a part of how I coach, and the expectations I have for the boys. My Christian faith is the guide for my life and I have never been one for forcing my faith down someone's throat, but I also believe it to be cowardly, and hypocritical to shy away from what I believe. You as parents need to know for yourselves and for your boys, that when the opportunity presents itself, I will be honest with what I believe. That may make some people uncomfortable, but I did that as a player, and I hope to continue it in any endeavor that I get into. I am just trying to get as many potential issues out in the open from the beginning. I believe that the biggest role of the parent is to be a silent source of encouragement. I think if you ask most boys what they would want their parents to do during the game; they would say "NOTHING". Once again, this is ALL about the boys. I believe that a little league parent feels that they must participate with loud cheering and "Come on, let's go, you can do it", which just adds more pressure to the kids. I will be putting plenty of pressure on these boys to play the game the right way with class, and respect, and they will put too much pressure on themselves and each other already. You as parents need to be the silent, constant, source of support.

Let the record stand right now that we will not have good umpiring. This is a fact, and the sooner we all understand that, the better off we will be. We will have balls that bounce in the dirt that will be called strikes, and we will have balls over our heads that will be called strikes. Likewise, the opposite will happen with the strike zone while we are pitching. The boys will not be allowed at any time to show any emotion against the umpire. They will not shake their head, or pout, or say anything to the umpire. This is my job, and I will do it well. I once got paid to handle those guys, and I will let them know when they need to hear something. I am really doing all of you parents a favor that you probably don't realize at this point. I have taken out any work at all for you except to get them there on time, and enjoy. The thing that these boys need to hear is that you enjoyed watching them and you hope that they had fun. I know that it is going to be very hard not to coach from the stands and yell encouraging things to your son, but I am confident that this works in a negative way for their development and their enjoyment. Trust me on this. I am not saying that you cannot clap for your kids when they do well. I am saying that if you hand your child over to me to coach them, then let me do that job.

A large part of how your child improves is your responsibility. The difference for kids at this level is the amount of repetition that they get. This goes with pitching, hitting and fielding. As a parent, you can help out tremendously by playing catch, throwing batting practice, hitting ground balls, or finding an instructor who will do this in your place. The more of this your kids can get, the better. This is the one constant that I have found with players that reached the major leagues....someone spent time with them away from the field.

I am completely fine with your son getting lessons from whomever you see fit. The only problem I will have is if your instructor is telling your son not to follow the plan of the team. I will not teach a great deal of mechanics at the beginning, but I will teach mental approach, and expect the boys to comply. If I see something that your son is doing mechanically that is drastically wrong, I will talk with the instructor and clear things up. The same will hold true with pitching coaches. We will have a pitching philosophy and will teach the pitchers and catchers how to call a game, and why we choose the pitches we choose. There is no guessing. We will have a reason for the pitches that we throw. A pitching coach will be helpful for the boys to get their arms in shape and be ready to throw when spring arrives. Every boy on this team will be worked as a pitcher. We will not over use these young arms and will keep close watch on the number of innings that the boys are throwing.

I will be throwing so much info at these boys that they are going to suffer from overload for a while, but eventually they are going to get it. I am a stickler about the thought process of the game. I will be talking non-stop about situational hitting, situational pitching, and defensive preparation. The question that they are going to hear the most is "What were you thinking?" What were you thinking when you threw that pitch? What were you thinking during that at bat? What were you thinking before the pitch was thrown, were you anticipating anything? I am a firm believer that this game is more mental than physical, and the mental may be more difficult, but can be taught and can be learned by a 10 and 11 year old. If it sounds like I am going to be demanding of these boys, you are exactly right. I am definitely demanding their attention, and the other thing that I am going to require is effort. Their attitude, their concentration, and their effort are the things that they can control. If they give me these things every time they show up, they will have a great experience.

The best situation for all of us is for you to plan on handing these kids over to me and the assistant coaches when you drop them off, and plan on them being mine for the 2 or so hours that we have scheduled for a game, or the time that we have scheduled for the practice. I would like for these boys to have some responsibility for having their own water, not needing you to keep running to the concession stand, or having parents behind the dugout asking their son if they are thirsty, or hungry, or too hot, and I would appreciate if you would share this information with other invited guests...like grandparents. If there is an injury, obviously we will get you to help, but besides that, let's pretend that they are at work for a short amount of time and that you have been granted the pleasure of watching. I will have them at games early so we can get stretched and loosened up, and I will have a meeting with just the boys after the game. After the meeting, they are all yours again. As I am writing this, I sound like the little league Nazi, but I believe that this will make things easier for everyone involved.

I truly believe that the family is the most important institution in the lives of these guys. With that being said, l think that the family events are much more important than the sports events. I just ask that you are considerate of the rest of the team and let the team manager, and myself know when you will miss, and to let us know as soon as possible. I know that there will be times when I am going to miss either for family reasons, for other commitments. If your son misses a game or a practice, it is not the end of the world, but there may be some sort of repercussion, just out of respect for the kids that put the effort into making it. The kind of repercussions could possibly be running, altered playing time, or position in the batting order.

Speaking of batting order, I would like to address that right from the top as well seeing that next to playing time this is the second most complained about issue, or actually tied for second with position on the defensive field. Once again, I need you to know that I am trying to develop each boy individually, and I will give them a chance to learn and play any position that they are interested in. I also believe that this team will be competitive and when we get into situations where we are focusing on winning; like a tournament for example; we are going to put the boys in the position that will give the team the best opportunity. I will talk with the boys individually and have them tell me what their favorite position is and what other position they would like to learn about. As this season progresses, there is a chance that your son may be playing a position that they don't necessarily like, but I will need your support about their role on the team. I know that times have changed, but one of the greatest lessons that my father taught me was that my coach was always right...even when he was wrong. The principle is a great life lesson about how things really work. I hope that I will have enough humility to come to your son if I treated him wrong and apologize. Our culture has lost this respect for authority mostly because the kids hear the parents constantly complaining about the teachers and coaches of the child.

I need all of you to know that we are most likely going to lose many games this year. The main reason is that we need to find out how we measure up with the local talent pool. The only way to do this is to play against some of the best teams. I am convinced that if the boys put their work in at home, and give me their best effort, that we will be able to play with just about any team. Time will tell. l also believe that there is enough local talent that we will not have to do a large amount of travel, if any. This may be disappointing for those of you who only play baseball and look forward to the out of town experiences, but I also know that this is a relief for the parents that have traveled throughout the US and Canada for hockey and soccer looking for better competition. In my experiences, we have traveled all over the Midwest and have found just as good competition right in our back yard. If this season goes well, we will entertain the idea of travel in the future.

The boys will be required to show up ready to play every time they come to the field. Shirts tucked in, hats on straight, and pants not drooping down to their knees. There is not an excuse for lack of hustle on a baseball field. From the first step outside the dugout they will hustle. They will have a fast jog to their position, to the plate, and back to the bench when they make an out. We will run out every hit harder than any team we will play, and will learn how to always back up a play to help our teammates. Every single play, every player will be required to move to a spot. Players that do not hustle and run out balls will not play. The boys will catch on to this quickly. The game of baseball becomes very boring when players are not thinking about the next play and what they possibly could do to help the team. Players on the bench will not be messing around. I will constantly be talking with them about situations and what they would be doing if they were in a specific position, or if they were the batter. There is as much to learn on the bench as there is on the field if the boys want to learn. All of this will take some time for the boys to conform to. They are boys and I am not trying to take away from that, but I do believe that they can bear down and concentrate hard for just a little while during the games and practices.

I know this works because this was how I was taught the game and how our parents acted in the stands. We started our little league team when I was 10 years old in a little suburb of Columbus, Ohio. We had a very disciplined coach that expected the same from us. We committed 8 summers to this man and we were rewarded for our efforts. I went to Michigan, one went to Duke, one to Miami of Florida, two went to North Carolina, one went to Central Florida, one went to Kent State, and most of the others played smaller division one or division two baseball. Four of us went on to play professionally. This was coming from a town where no one had ever been recruited by any colleges. I am not saying that this is what is going to happen to our boys, but what I do want you to see is that this system works. I know that right now you are asking yourself if this is what you want to get yourself into and I understand that for some of you it may not be the right fit. I also think that there is a great opportunity for these boys to grow together and learn some lessons that will go beyond their baseball experience. Let me know as soon as possible whether or not this is a commitment that you and your son want to make.

Thanks,

Mike Matheny

from FB...

Here's my FB post... and perhaps I have incriminated myself for attempting to discipline my child (however it was unsuccessful as we both ended up laughing).  Once I crack even a bit he gets me to laugh uncontrollably and it's all downhill from there...

Noah: "Mom, I love you. I love you so much." D: "how much is so much?" N: "more than the universe. More than the solar system" D: "so you love me more than legos star wars then?" N: laughs..."uh, no mom. not that much." Good thing that conversation happened before he was dodging in and out of clothes racks, running down the aisles, pulling my shopping cart into other shoppers.... b/c I would like to think that when I scolded him and said "you better knock it off. Lock it up and quit being so hyper or you're going to get thumped" I sounded a bit less crazy..(thumping is flicking him on the top of the head-Terry's form of punishment--and don't ask me where "lock it up" came from). Of course when I did "thump" him, he turned and laughed at me and said "that didn't hurt." I couldn't help but laugh at him and said "oh Noah. someday when you're smart you'll learn that you never admit that to your parents..

From my hero Ann Althouse's Blog

Scott Walker crushes the competition...

... in the Daily Kos's Public Policy Polling poll.

 

These numbers show a drop for Democrats from PPP's last survey of the race, which of course makes you ask, why? What's changed? Our pollster, Tom Jensen, offers his thoughts:

The biggest change is probably that this was our first time using a likely voter screen...

Ah ha ha ha! They finally polled likely voters. Oh, how lovely it was living in fantasy land. What's changed??!!! They decided to try... the real world.

What an embarrassment!

 

 

TNT with the greatest commercial ever

TNT, a cable television channel whose slogan is “We Know Drama,” added a little — actually a lot — of drama to an unassuming town square in Belgium as part of an advertisement. It’s an understatement to say spectators were surprised.
It all started with this: a big red button in the middle of the square with the instruction “push to add drama.”

Who could resist? When curiosity finally killed the cat and a couple residents pushed the button, mayhem ensued. Paramedics dropping a patient’s body. Cyclists running into the emergency vehicle and starting a brawl with the responders. A woman riding by on a motorcycle in her underwear. Cops squealing in for a full on shoot out. And a football team rescuing one of the gunned downed bodies as everyone takes off. That’s quite a lot of fan fare to announce the launch of the channel in Belgium.

See the drama for yourself by pushing play:

From Big Hollywood's Daily Call Sheet

'SOUTH PARK' DOES MORE TO COMMENT ON BULLYING 19 SECONDS…

About says it all.

The anti-bully crowd is nothing more than a bunch of bullies. Every bit as bad as the pro same sex-marriage bullies. Oppressive tolerance. Using force to force tolerance without a sense of irony.

Butterballs
Get More: SOUTH
PARKLeopold "Butters" Stotch,Mr. Mackey,more...

Greatest Photo EVER!!!!!

Voter ID

We passed a voter ID law here, which of course was promptly blocked by a Dane County judge. So back to the court battle we go just like the collective bargining law. However James O'Keefe (from the Acorn pimp video fame) pulls off another one. From Brietbart's website:

In a shocking new video, James O’Keefe’s Project Veritas demonstrates to the Attorney General of the United States, Eric Holder, just why he should be concerned about lack of voter ID laws – by walking into Holder’s voting precinct and showing the world that anyone can obtain Eric Holder’s ballot. Literally.

The video shows a young man entering a Washington, DC polling place at 3401 Nebraska Avenue, NW, on primary day of this year – April 3, 2012 – and giving Holder’s name and address. The poll worker promptly offers the young man Holder’s ballot to vote.

Holder has maintained that voter fraud is not a major problem in the United States, and that voter ID would not curb voter fraud in any case.

Project Veritas has already shown how dead people can vote in New Hampshire, prompting the state senate to pass a voter ID law; they’ve shown celebrities like Tim Tebow and Tom Brady registering to vote in Minnesota, prompting the state legislature to put voter ID on the ballot as a constitutional amendment. Washington DC voting law is a federal jurisdictional area. Will the federal government take up the challenge?

Happy Easter from us and our good friend Gov. Walker

Prediction

Santorum gets out before Pennsylvania. 

New Topic - V.P. Predictions

Okay, let's prognosticate. Who is Romney going to choose as vice president? 

It's Your Day

Okay, who did you plug your nose and vote for today? I'm dying to know. Did you see/hear any of the candidates in person? What's the word on the street in Wisconsin? I realize that it's all academic at this point, but I'm interested to know how Wisconsinites are viewing their primary and the candidates.

Two Random quick hits

From an email between Darci and Mom about crazyness..."I am surprised that the Evans crazy gene that is so obvious in you and somehow totally missed Terry and doubled down in Katie."

Matt adds to the crazy by emailing me suggested names for Baby Lily..."Elmer or Bufordella. All other names are horseshit."

Ryan's Budget

From the Washington Examiner:

WH: Ryan 'aggressively and deliberately ignorant'
byJoel Gehrke Commentary Staff

Secretary Jay Carney didn't pull any punches in his attack on Paul Ryan's budget, as he declared that supporters of the budget -- and by extension, Ryan himself -- are "aggressively and deliberately ignorant" about the need for green energy and other programs slated for cuts.


"You have to be aggressively and deliberately ignorant of the world economy not to know and understand that clean energy technologies are going to play a huge role in the 21st century," Carney said after decrying the clean energy spending cuts in Ryan's plan. "You have to have severely diminished capacity to understand what drives economic growth in industrialized countries in this century if you do not understand that education is the key that unlocks the door to prosperity," he added.

Carney concluded that "the budget proposed by Chairman Ryan and supported overwhelmingly already by Republicans suggests that those problems" -- aggressive ignorance and diminished comprehension -- "exist in the minds of the supporters of that plan."

Your Boy Ryan

Well, Terry, what do you think of your boy Ryan today? God bless him! The guy is genius. When you introduced me to him several years ago, you called him your "man crush." He is the kind of guy who gives me hope for the future, and he gives me hope that there are politicians who work hard, mean what they say, and have courage. He is the real deal. He and Scott Walker are putting Wisconsin on the conservative map big time. The only thing I can fault Paul Ryan for is that he doesn't eat sweets. Come on! Is that even possible?

What the F????

Apparently DishNetwork and the local CBS channel are in some sort of billing dispute so the game is blacked out and I am reduced to watching play by play online. It is that or pay 3.99 to watch it live. WHAT THE HELL.

Update: They must have resolved something, I got CBS back just in time to see ISU down about 11with 12min or so to go in the 2nd half.

Update 2: Down 20 with 7 to go, I'm considering switching to the WI High School Championship. This is out of hand, Went to down 24 while I typed.