"Captain" Ed Morissey's wife (the First Mate) will be getting a transplant Friday morning. Let's all remember her in our prayers tonight.
Godspeed, First Mate, and I pray for good winds on this voyage.
And, skip, tell the Admiral Emeritus happy birthday!
This should go along nicely with the last post about the Fred bumper sticker.
Frank Facts about Fred Thompson.
Some of my faves:
* Fred Thompson has on multiple occasions pronounced "nuclear" correctly.
* Fred Thompson has blasted more people in the face with a shotgun than even Dick Cheney.
* Every night before going to sleep, Osama bin Laden checks under his bed for Fred Thompson.
* Though Fred Thompson left the Senate in 2003, Harry Reid still hasn't stopped wetting his pants.
* Fred Thompson's gaze can kill small animals.
* Fred Thompson once ended a filibuster by ripping out a Senator's heart and showing it to him before he died.
* Fred Thompson's sense of strategy is so great that he can checkmate you using only a pawn and a knight.
* Fred Thompson can know both the exact position and momentum of a particle. Furthermore, he knows Schroedinger's cat is dead because he personally strangled it.
Will Collier, over at Vodkapundit, has ID'd the best slogan to date for Fred Thompson.
Hell, I forgot he was even in that movie; it's been too long!..
(apologies for the Galaxy Quest quote, but it seemed appropriate.)
I've been following the debate over John Edward's decision to keep running, including over at Dean's World. Since that thread seems to reflect some of the "real world," I'll ground my comments from that thread.
First up we have Arnold Harris, who says
If Elizabeth Edwards were my wife, with terminal breast cancer, I would not leave her immediate presence -- except for the obvious and vital sanitary purposes -- for as long as she could live.I sure as hell would put aside every other activity.
I feel sorry for the former senator, even though I would not want him for US president. I feel sorry for his family. I feel sorry for his beautiful and gracious wife.
Well, Arnold, you -in spite of you very kind words- aren't John Edwards, are you ? Nor am I you.
Which is my point, really. This truly is a personal decision, one which pretty much by definition will be different for each person, as they are different people.
I have to say I have trouble understanding those who espouse the "can he still run the country" thread. Do these people think he'll just fall into an incoherent puddle if/when his wife dies? Have they been watching too many cheesy movies on the Lifetime channel?
Let's shift the question just a little. The personal pressure a recovering alcoholic faces every day is tremendous, because every day is a new challenge all over again. And it will be that way for the rest of their lives.
My question is: do you think someone who faces that kind of day-to-day emotional pressure can handle the job of President of the United States?
I hope -if you answered "yes"- that you didn't vote for Dubya, since he is in fact a recovering alcoholic, and will be so for the rest of his life.
Let's look at another facet: the men and women who have a spouse in Iraq or Afghanistan. Should we expect that each and every one of them to collapse into a futile heap of emotional goo if their spouse dies? From what I've read and heard, just about all of them (Cindy Sheehan excepted) have managed to master the pain & grief, and get on with their lives.
...How odd it is that I am on the same side as mikeca on this one. :))
I am reminded of the old question: would you rather have a long life, or a glorious one? Or -to rephrase the latter- would you go out fighting?
...Hmmm. How many of you critizing Edwards have seen (and loved! {g}) 300 yet? You know the drill: death before surrender; glory; fight for what you believe in... whoops, isn't that what the Edwards are doing?
Right now I'd like to cite the excellent Captain Ed on this. By way of context, his wife (the lovely First Mate) has faced several health challenges the past few years.
It's a tough call for Edwards to make, and it's tough to criticize it either way. I think it's fair to say that Elizabeth has invested herself pretty deeply into John's campaign up to now, and she probably strongly resisted a suspension in the campaign. If this is what will keep her spirits high, then Edwards made the right decision.Bottom line, that's it; we need to keep Elizabeth & John Edwards in our prayers, respect his (and her) decision, and base our votes as sane adults.All I can offer is my own perspective. My wife has had a number of chronic illnesses and acute crises, such as the one ongoing now, and one simply cannot stop living life or making a living. That being said, it usually helps to stay closer to home and family, just for one's own peace of mind. Edwards might find himself distracted on the campaign trail, and nagging issues might get blown out of proportion as he gets frustrated with the stress. ...
Edwards has the good fortune to have a fortune, so he can keep his family close while on the campaign trail. If he can balance the needs of his family with a presidential campaign, then he's made the right decision. I'm not hoping he succeeds in his political ambitions, but I do hope he stays strong for his family and that Elizabeth can remain as healthy as possible from now on.
CODA: Joe Gandelman has an excellent round-up, as well as a truly heart-breaking wedding photo of the Edwards. I defy you to look at that picture, and not shed a tear...
I used to enjoy at least some of Ann Coulter's work. When she kept out of the gutter she could be inventively witty and genuinely funny.
Alas, she has become more and more hatefully unpleasant.
The most recent incident (courtesy of Captain Ed) involves calling John Edwards a faggot.
I'd say something about John Edwards, but if you use the word 'faggot', you have to go to rehab.
That's bad enough. What's worse is that many in the audience actually applauded her! In fact a couple of commenters on Captain Ed's post tried to defend her. Sheesh. Thank God there are classy conservative folks like Ed who are willing to call Ms. Coulter out on her hateful remarks.
This is the sort of vicious, mindless drivel that convinces the rest of the world that conservative Republicans really are a bunch of mindless homophobes, no matter the reality. I think the Human Rights Campaign has it about right when Joe Solomonese said
We demand that every single Presidential candidate in attendance at this conference, along with Vice President Cheney stand up and publicly condemn this type of gutter-style politics,” continued Solmonese. “If not, then their silence will be deafening to the vast majority of Americans who believe this type of language belongs no where near the discussions about the future of our country.”
This is exactly the kind of crap which can drive independents such as myself away from Republican candidates. I've known and worked with gays/lesbians for over thirty years in local music, theater, and other areas, and (here in the midwest) they're pretty much like straights. It's just that their compass points in a different direction. One lesbian couple I know own a home, and want nothing more than to get married and raise a kid. How Republican is that!?
Sorry, Annie; you have now been officially defined an Idiotarian by the Gantry Launchpad Mission Control.