Morning Coffee (88)

Greetings. Another hard-hittin’ cup o’Coffee coming your way. Actually, since I generally have little idea as to what will flow forth from the Pot, I don’t really know how hard-hittin’ it’ll be. But I always attempt to make it so, with varying degrees of success.

It is still cold today. I’m not a big fan of the cold, which is why I use the Morning Coffee in a cheap attempt to warm me on frigid mornings such as this. But it’s supposed to warm up again this weekend. Forecasters (i.e. soothsayers and diviners) call for up to 10 feet of snow in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, so I guess I should be thankful that it’s just 17 degrees out.

But enough about the weather…

Hucka-Smash and O-BAM!-A:

Can you imagine all the puns and name-play we’ll have to endure should one of these two win the Presidency? It will become maddening just listening to pundits from both sides of the political spectrum take their petty little cheap shots by toying with the names of these guys. Imagine what Ann Coulter will say, or Al Franken. My gods…it’ll be ten times worse than the patronizing “Bushie” I have to hear every ten minutes.

But it’s possible; perhaps likely, that one of these two knuckleheads will be our next Commander in Chief. Can you say, “woo…hoo…?” I can. Repeatedly. Huckabee and Obama both came away winners in Iowa yesterday, and I’m not terribly surprised. Huck was my pick as the Republican nominee (and when I say “my pick” I do not mean that I would choose him or endorse him, I mean that he’s the one who I think will get the nomination). Huckabee counted on a large evangelical turnout, and they didn’t disappoint. I don’t think he’ll win New Hampshire because Romney’s more their style as even the Republicans in NH are somewhat liberal, but I’m still picking him. Obama, well, he’s the golden boy right now. Everyone’s enamored with the idea that he’s a breath of fresh air, however wrong they might. Plus, he’s a black man, and probably the most qualified black man to ever run for President, so he’s even more appealing than he would be were he white with the same CV. So, there you have it. It’ll be Huck vs. Obama. Scary, no? Well, it’s not like any of the alternatives are any better.

Mayoral Coup:

There’s nothing like having a gift-wrapped example of how power corrupts. In Anderson, Indiana, there is a bit of a battle for the office of Mayor, despite the city having successfully completed an election for said office. A lawsuit has been filed contesting the residency of the winner, Kris Ockomon, who has been sworn in and presently occupies the Mayor’s residence and is even carrying out mayoral duties. A judge actually threw out “a request to issue a temporary restraining order to keep Ockomon from taking office on Tuesday.”

Mayor (well, technically ex-Mayor) Kevin Smith has said, “Given the obvious potential for a vacancy in the office of mayor, I am ... announcing that I have not and will not be surrendering the office of mayor pending a determination by the courts." See, if Ockomon were to lose the lawsuit, he’d be out as Mayor since he didn’t meet the residency requirements. As for Smith, well, he’s just doing his duty to the city. He intends to “rule from exile” because Ockomon shouldn’t be Mayor. Since he shouldn’t be Mayor, Smith must continue to rule. Lost on the man is the fact that the city really did elect someone else. It seems clear to me that they were not interested in having Mr. Smith continue to be their ruler, er, Mayor. He should simply come to grips with that instead of having his lackeys file lawsuits and restraining order requests. I wonder, if Smith’s people win the lawsuit, and Ockomon is out, does Smith intend on carrying out another term as Mayor, or does he intend on holding to the spirit of democracy and hold immediate elections?

What an embarrassment. Surely there was a better way to do things. This Smith simply looks like a sore loser who refuses to acknowledge that people rejected him and his vision for Anderson. I guess when some people have a taste of power, all they want is another spoonful.

Object Sightings:

Over the past 24 hours, I’ve seen some interesting things. Last night I saw a UFO while driving along I-70. It was probably a plane rather than an alien spacecraft, but it was unidentifiable to me, thus its UFO label. I’m assuming that it was a plane coming in to land at the airport. It was one massively bright, white light, but it was moving very slow, if at all, and seemed to just hang in the night sky. The light, probably a landing light that obscured the rest of the airplane, didn’t increase or decrease in size throughout the five minutes I observed it. I saw no other lights on or near the object. It was pretty neat. I wish I could have stopped to observe it further, but I had someplace to go.

This morning, I saw a shooting star. It was brilliantly blue and purple and silver and lasted but an instant. That is the second shooting star I’ve seen in the past six months. I had previously gone years in between sightings. Did I wish upon it? Nope.

Fairly short today, but perhaps I’ll brew up a pot this weekend.

Word of the Day: Obdurate (adjective): 1. Hardened in wrongdoing; stubbornly wicked. Hardened in feelings; hard-hearted. 2. Resistant to persuasion; unyielding. 3. Hard; harsh; rugged; rough.

On This Day in History: Julius Caesar is defeated in the Battle of Ruspina by defector Titus Labienus and lost nearly 1/3 of his army (46 BCE). Yeah, Caesar was, on occasion, bested on the battlefield. He made up for this defeat at Thapsus. Christopher Columbus departs the New World, which ends his first journey (1493). Elizabeth Ann Seton becomes the first American born saint (1975).

“Give me a lever long enough, and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the world.” – Archimedes.