Toby Keith and Beer for the Voters

The day is grey down here and the surf rough as Faye sends some weather our way, so I thought to offer some random thoughts while my coffee brews…

Toby Keith, Democrat?  Anything to sell records, I guess.

I see that some college administrators want to stop binge drinking in part by lowering the beer age to 18.

I turned 18 while a senior in high school, and while 18 was the beer age when I was in college I attended a dry college.  I can tell you this-beer tastes a lot better when it is drunk illicitly…it is like a victory against The Man.

But I will tell you now what I said 25 years ago when states started rolling the beer age up to 21…

If you can vote at 18, and you can carry a weapon and defend our country at 18, then I think you should be able to buy beer at 18.

Obama may still pick Hillary, but I doubt it…unless he finds a way to keep Bill Clinton’s mouth shut.

BTW, all the stuff that happened this year on the Democratic side is much more understandable if you read Bob Shrum’s Concessions of a Serial Campaigner. The background and behavior of so many of the Democrats was in wide view to insiders four to eight years ago, including Bill Clinton’s unwillingness to allow someone else to hold the spotlight.

Next time you head to Myrtle Beach, remember: Georgio’s on NMB main street for pizza, Ella’s in Calabash for seafood. Oh, and they have opened a Five Guy’s down here. Yes, the controversy over the various Bike Weeks continues.

Be careful buying ground beef from the Food Lion’s down here…apparently “sell by” dates mean something else in SC than it does in VA.

For tapping your toes, nothing surpasses being here at the ancestral home of Beach Music, right here on Ocean Boulevard.

GO, USA!  Congrats Misty-May and Kerri!

No E Coli here!

In the wake of my visit to Camp Ross at the Gohen Scout Reservation, there have been reports of E Coli at Camp Olmstead, a Boy Scout camp at Camp Goshen.

Never fear, my blogging brethren who have asked if we contracted anything…

We did not.

The only diarhea either of us has experienced is WMD #1 tendency to run his mouth…all the time, except when eating or sleeping…and that condition pre-existed our trip.

Life’s Rich Pageantry, Part 2-Kaine snubs Byrne

Today’s WaPo announced that TheGov endorsed ChairGer in the race for he Democratic nomination for the Va 11 House seat. In doing so, he snubbed his 2005 running mate LB3, also a candidate for said nomination.

When I read that, I thought, “OH, the gang at RK ain’t going to be happy about this.”

Well…when I am right, I am right. A piece of the RK reaction to the even the possibility of Kaine endorsing Connolly:

…if this is true, it’s very disturbing news. Whether it’s bad judgment on Kaine’s part or merely a political payback, it’s doing the people of the 11th a disservice by endorsing the wrong candidate.

This is the mild conclusion to the piece, which goes into great detail why Kaine is wrong to back Connolly.

Meanwhile, over at NLS Ben takes the high road, simply referring to the endorsement as “Governor Kaine’s Blood Drenched Hands.”

I do find it interesting that Kaine has decided to endorse in this race, while he has not in the Va-10 contest nor did he in last year’s senate primary in Richmond between Donald McEachin and Benjamin Lambert. In fact, given Kaine’s constant droning about his time as a missionary, his commitment to liberal ideas, opposition to the death penalty, etc., it would seem to me that Leslie Byrne is a more reasonable choice for him to endorse, except…

…Nothing drives Kaine more than politics. He has always kept himself camouflaged, beginning with his 2005 campaign pledge to not raise taxes and then recanting on that idea before he was even sworn into office. The only reason I can think of for TheGov’s endorsement is that he thinks ChairGer has the best chance to win the general, and I have to wonder if he thinks he needs to endorse to help push ChairGer over the finish line.

But it is the RK reaction and the irony of the situation that strikes me. While I generally disagree with Lowell and the RK gang (and even was called a mouth breather over there in a comment), I recognize and admire the driving energy and devotion to their causes and candidates. They were in the front row pushing Tim Kaine and political blogging in Virginia in 2005, led the charge for Jim Webb in 2006, and served as a central information point for the statehouse races in 2007.

They laid it out heart and soul for Tim Kaine in 2005-their blog is even named for him. To have him come back around and to get into the Va-11 race for a candidate they so clearly despise must be heartbreaking…although I do not anticipate them changing the name of their blog to “RaisingByrne”.

On that count I do feel sorry for them today, but I guess that is part of Politics…yesterday’s allies are today’s misguided idiots.

Life’s Rich Pageantry strikes again!

Let Us Speak of Great Foods…

The Fourth approacheth, and with it the cooking of a variety of great foods.

MSNBC takes a stab at noting the Ten Foods that Make America Great.

Just in case the link dies, they are:

New England Clam Chowder
Pastrami
Shoofly Pie
Smithfield Ham
Po Boys
Fajitas
Chicago Hot Dogs
Chile Verde
San Francisco Sourdough
Olympia Oysters

Note that all have some specific regional connection, creation, or application. All time favorites, like Apple Pie and Pizza, originated elsewhere in the world or do not have the regional flavor that the author is looking for. The food on the list also is in original form unique to a region. Barbeque has so many styles, sauces, and applications, that it would require its own list to do justice.

To that end, I think the Philly Cheese Steak and Crab Cakes from the Chesapeake Bay deserved a listing…