I’ve heard a lot of chatter about Governor Palin being the reason McCain lost the election.  Its interesting to me to hear liberal democrates say things like, “McCain had a chance until he caved to the republican pressures to choose Palin.”  Maybe I’m the one that is confused here, but wasn’t McCain running as the Republican Nominee???

McCain lost because he has 20 years of being a ‘moderate’.  Ann Coulter put it this way – “The Reign of Lame Falls Mainly on McCain”.  The reason liberals think Palin was the problem is because they honestly believe most of America is like them and want a liberal in office.  They believe that republicans want a liberal Republican in office and democrates want a liberal democrate in office.  I’m a conservative – I want a conservative in office!

Palin wasn’t as silk tounged as Obama is, but I do believe she is as qualified as he is.  That’s not to say I thought she were ready to be president – I don’t believe Obama is ready for the job he was just hired to do (unless of course, he plans to start his campaign for re-election on Jan 21, 2009, then he has years of experince).

McCain’s mother said of his run for office, “I think holding their [republicans] nose they’re going to have to take him.”  Until Palin, there was nothing but stink in the air.  If any fault lies with Palin, its that she wasn’t enough to pull McCain out of a 20 year history of being a “maverick” – which in this case means liberal.

McCain had three and only three things going for him in this election:

1 – He’s a war hero.  Held captive for years and tortured for this country – and while this story was told, he seemingly refused to capitalize on it.  Never once did I hear him ask what Obama has done for this country – how Obama has served this nation – outside of Obama’s short election driven political life.  Never once did I hear him slam Obama for not having joined the military.  Don’t tell me that should be off limits, Bush was shredded by the liberals because he only joined the national guard.  Those same liberals said dodging the draft was no big deal regarding Clinton.  Palin made McCain’s military an issue.  She said many times – McCain is the only man in this election that has ever REALLY fought for you!  Palin was not the problem.

2 – He’s pro-life.  I heard one of the ladies in my office say she was thinking about not voting for McCain because Palin was pro-life.  McCain has been pro-life his entire career, but he has been so good at blending in with liberals, no one seemed to notice until Palin joined the ticket.  Palin’s pro-life position encouraged the base and made us feel that McCain was serious about protecting life.  Palin was not the problem!

3 – His record of cutting pork spending.  He has always been against ‘Christmas tree’ bills with every spending whim attached like an ornament on a tacky looking tree with those big colored bulbs that flash out of sink with the other strings on the same tree.  But did McCain stand up during this financial crisis to stop wasteful spending?  NO!  He could have marched up the hill to demand we cut government programs that waste tax payer money in order to fund a bail out bill – but he didn’t!  He could have offered a plan to allowed Wall Street to insure their bad debt, making them liquid again – while paying insurance premiums rather than taking blank checks, but he didn’t – no that idea came from house republicans, the real conservatives in Washington.  Palin was kept outside of that process because she isn’t a member of congress – Palin was not the problem!

Out of the three – McCain refused to play hard ball on any of them.  He took the public funds dispite Obama’s refusal to do the same.  He supports the same insane regulations on energy efforts in the name of man-made global warming.  He built his campaign on a 20 year history of reaching across the isle and congratulating the democrates on a job well done – and Tuesday night was an apex to his life long career choices – and he nailed it in a single quote – “The failure was Mine”.

Palin was not the problem!

McCain did not win – not even close.  I know many of you are as upset as I am, some even more so.  But the sun will come up tomorrow, life will continue.  I do not personally believe that an Obama presidency is the beginning of the end or the start of a biblical ‘end times’.  To some of you it sounds ridiculous that I would even suggest such a thing and to others you are confused as to why I don’t see it as clearly as you do.

Here is what I know – God is still in control, He always has been and always will be.  I also know we are commanded to pray for our leadership and the book of Romans (13:1) tells us all authority is given by God.  I will pray for President Elect Barak Obama, for soon he will be my president.

There was one aspect tonight that I found bitter sweet – although most of the night was just bitter.  America has come a long way in showing that we are the nation of opportunity – today we elect our first black president.  Congratulations America, for that I am proud.  But I am heart broken as well.

Heart broken that I cannot rejoice in such a monumental occasion.  I cannot be excited about the first black president because I so fundamentally disagree with him on issues of fiscal policy, moral resolve, social responsibility, and foreign affairs.  I hear Martin Luther King Jr.’s words ringing in my head “I have a dream” – I think about that check Rev King spoke of, writen to all men on our declaration, stating “All men are created equal”, that check bounced when black men tried to stand next to white men on a bus or in line for water.

I want to be proud that this GREAT nation of ours FINALLY making good on that check – FINALLY having the balance sufficient to say – you can take that to the bank!  But my pride in such a moment is grossly overshadowed but the substance of the man carrying the note.

I was wrong last night when I predicted a McCain victory – I hope and pray I am wrong again regarding Obama.

Here we are again – Voter Tuesday!!! By this time tomorrow we may know who the next president of the United States will be, but I doubt it. I predict that the election will go on for hours into the night

and we may not know until Wednesday morning. But I am ready to make a prediction

I predict a John McCain Victory!

I know many of you are thinking I’m crazy – but I’m willing to put a bet on it – so here’s the bet – If John McCain wins, you have to buy me lunch, but if Obama wins, the government will buy you lunch!

Ok, on another note – many people are jumping on the early voter/absentee voter band wagon – I am completely against the idea of online voting, early voting, and unnecessary absentee voting. My LORD People, men died so you could have the right to vote – get off your lazy butt and drive to the poll. Are we really so far gone as a nation that we refuse to wait in line to exercise a right paid for in blood? Our troops can’t fight a war online or absentee –

GO VOTE!

Here are the latest Lexi pictures.  We hope to have a few of Lexi and Zander pictures soon too…

If you aren’t technical – you can skip reading this  article, it won’t make sense and there are a few off color comments in here from me – but I really felt like I should share this wonderful support experience I had with godaddy today for those of us that are technical:

You have been connected to Nyira P. – Server Support.
Nyira P. – Server Support: Thank you for contacting Live Chat support for Virtual and Dedicated Servers. All Live Chat sessions are logged and may be monitored for security and quality assurance purposes. This is Nyira, how can I help you?
dsackr: hi Nyira
dsackr: I have a question about my vded and wordpress
Nyira P. – Server Support: Ok
dsackr: it seems that the permissions are not setup so that the apache user can change files, so my wp-admin page has errors when I attempt to update a page
dsackr: I’m also having issues with ZenCart in a similar way
Nyira P. – Server Support: You would need to check the permissions and then make the necessary changes
dsackr: I changed the owner of the files to be the apache user and it worked – however I don’t want to have to do that step every time I upload a file using FTP since when I upload, the owner of the file is the ftp user
Nyira P. – Server Support: You would be able to do that via SSH
dsackr: is it not possible to have the website run as the user?
dsackr: yes – i know how to do that – I don’t believe I should have to do that
dsackr: is it not possible to make each site run as the user it belongs to?
Nyira P. – Server Support: You don’t have to do that each time, if you configure the server no to change the user
Nyira P. – Server Support: It is possible to do that
Nyira P. – Server Support: However, we do not assist with that type of configuration
dsackr: are you kidding me?
dsackr: WTF
Nyira P. – Server Support: No, I’m not joking
Nyira P. – Server Support: You are the administrator of the server
dsackr: currently, everytime I upload an image to my zencart – I have to go change the permission on it to allow apache to execute it
Nyira P. – Server Support: Ok
dsackr: you guys don’t even have an article on how to do what I need to do???
Nyira P. – Server Support: You may wish to consult a search engine or check an online forum
dsackr: sorry – did you just say “consult a search engine”??? damn!
dsackr: well everytime I search in google about the vds from godaddy – I get articles about how much godaddy sucks — I’ll keep searching through those to find the answer – but most of the articles there start with “switch hosting”
dsackr: that’s all I had – do you guys send surveys like phone support does?
Nyira P. – Server Support: If you would like to cancel your server you can do so at any time and then contact our Billing department to see if there is an applicable refund
Nyira P. – Server Support: Is there anything else I can help you with?
dsackr: doesn’t seem like it
Nyira P. – Server Support: Yes, a survey will appear then the chat is over
Nyira P. – Server Support: Thanks again for using Live Chat, have a good day.

Ok – Just a quick thought and question – why is it that every girl on myface and spacebook have the same picture?  You know the one where the camera is just above their head and they are looking up with big eyes, usually showing just a little shoulder or clevage, and sometimes puckering a little?  Really?

Just wondering…

I’ve been too busy lately and this morning is no exception, but I didn’t want to lose this train of thought.  Last night I went to a movie with a friend and I realized building friendships doesn’t just happen.  It takes work; it takes time; it takes effort; it takes desire – on both sides.  Its rare to find someone willing to put forth their life in the way needed to forge a true friendship.

My wife and I were talking last night and I said I wanted my son to have life long friends that are true and not just friendly acquaintances.  She replied simply “that doesn’t happen anymore”.  I know she was just lamenting how rare it is to find such a friend.  I share her concern.

This isn’t new information; I’ve known how hard it is to build deep relationships, but last night I realized how hard it is to keep old ones.  I miss a dear friend of mine from Ohio.  We talk on the phone sometimes – we even interact with each others blogs on occasion.  But the time we spend in hours of debate over coffee and cigars, the hours of car pool time, the back yard barbeque’s, the work hours meeting deadlines and creating solutions – are memories.

Great memories… but as I build this new friendship, I realize my old friend and I are no longer able to build these daily experiences together.  We will still talk, still debate over the phone on occasion – maybe even spend some time in person every other year or so… but the daily interactions will have to wait until we meet in the next life.

Jason – when you read this, know I miss you and I’m secure enough in my manhood to say it!

When asked if Health Care was a privilege, a right, or a responsibility, Obama said in Tuesday night’s debate that health care was a right.  A Right!  The Bill of Rights that our nation demanded be included before we would ratify the Constitution was apparently one bill short.  Unbelievable!

Both Obama and McCain have tax plans that would make almost 45% of the American people have zero tax liability.  I learned something in high school that I will never forget – if you don’t pay for it, you won’t respect it.  More than one of my fellow students that had cars bought for them totaled their car.  My class mates that paid for their own cars not only didn’t drive recklessly around town until the car was totaled, they took care of the car.  I saw brand new cars smashed up while old clunkers were waxed and polished.

How can we have almost half of all Americans paying nothing while the rest foot the bill?  How is it that people defaulting in their home loans are being told – don’t worry about it, you will get to keep your house, the rest of us will pay for it.  How is it that while 45% of us are paying nothing in income taxes, our leaders are declaring health care a right just as our freedom of speech, or our freedom of religion???  Our founding fathers would likely be bothered by both our choices for President for their economic policies among other things.

I don’t know who will win on Nov 4th, but as I see it, it won’t be America.

Just a quick rant… I skipped my workout this morning so cleaning the house seems like an appropriate punishment with the added benefit of making the wife happy.  I’m watching the news this morning while cleaning the house before work when I noticed a very annoying aspect of morning news programs.  Every segment repeats the same stories over and over, which I get because many times you only have a few minutes to catch the news while getting ready for the day and may not be able to watch the entire program.  My rant is simple: between each segment this morning the anchor announced an ‘upcoming story’ regarding a heckler during a Palin speech that had my interest but each segment came and went with no story and the same ‘upcoming story’ announcement!

Having seen the exact same headlines regarding the rate cut by the Feds this morning, the debate polling from last night, the Seinfeld lawsuit over plagiarism and slander, the Newsweek cover with an untouched photo of Palin and the likely jail time for the kid that hacked Palin’s email account, I was looking forward to hearing what the heckler had to say and how Palin dealt with it.  When the “story” finally did come – it was the same 15 second clip that they had shown every time they announced the story but with sound.  You couldn’t hear what the heckler said and Palin’s response was simply to tell her son was fighting in Iraq to preserve the hecklers right to protest.

In another note – minute by minute coverage of the Dow Jones is dumb.  I was told it was 200 points down, then 150 points up, then 90 points up, then 150 points down — really?  Each announcement was followed by comments about what it meant – first the stock ‘didn’t care about the rate cut’, then the stock was responding to the rate cut favorably, then the stock market wasn’t reacting to the rate cut, then the market was down because the rate cut wasn’t enough… WHATEVER…

I’ve been thinking about documenting my thoughts regarding several subject matters including religion, politics, economics, and life.  Ok – if I’m reading this blog, I’m thinking, “isn’t that what your blog is already?”  Well, yes and no.  I have been using my blog as a public record of my personal life events, my thoughts on events in real time, and the like.  With a “My Position” series, I’m suggesting a series of position paper articles where I share my position on subject matters and not just recording my real time thoughts on events.  The latter is my reaction to life’s events, the former is the foundation of beliefs that my reactions derive from.

I have what I believe to be unique positions on subject matters regarding Salvation, Creation, Homosexuality, Economics, Politics, faith, religion, taxes, and many other matters (in no particular order).  I hesitate to write such a series because positions change over time.  The “me” ten years ago would easily argue with the “me” today on any or all of these issues.  I assume the “me” ten years from now will view the world differently as well.

However, I would personally enjoy reading the position papers that the “me” ten years ago might have penned.  I would like to see where I have changed as well as where I have held fast in my ideals.  I fear I may find that ideals are the bonds purchased in our youth and when matured are cashed out in compromise and realism.

If I do not document my positions now, what will my children have to inspire them while they disagree with my wisdom of experience later?  I am, of course, in jest.  Regardless, I would love to hear your thoughts on whether or not I should write such papers and if so, what subject matter should I tackle first…  Maybe even your thoughts on a name for the series?