Victor Davis Hanson - Liberalism in Ruins

In a recent article, the learned Victor Davis Hanson lays out what President Obama has done for liberalism, and its current state.  His analysis is aggressive, yet does not delve too deeply on any one specific misstep.

It could have been much, much more brutal.  I suggest you read the entire thing here

If you lack the time, I've included his insightful conclusion:

Six years after the summer of hope and change, no one in the Democratic party is showcasing American foreign policy, pushing for cap-and-trade legislation, singing the praises of Obamacare, bragging about the way amnesty was handled, or pointing to a new cleaner and more transparent federal bureaucracy. What started out with “hope and change” and “fundamentally transforming the United States of America” ended up with a president who habitually misleads his countrymen, a baffling array of scandals, the discrediting of the obsequious media, and policies that not only did not work but by any historical model could never really have worked.


As proof, watch as Democrats regroup for 2016. Their unspoken commandment will be that most of what Obama did, they must either ignore or deny.

Trey Gowdy on Jonathan Gruber

You really, really need to see this:

Harried Holidays

Why do we do this to ourselves?  Why do we let a time that should be joyous - a celebration of the birth of the Savior - be crammed with so much garbage?

The list is never ending.  For those of us that work in retail, there is no bigger period.  Hence, work simply cannot get more high pressure and stressful.  Add on to that obligations for things like Christmas cards, travel arrangements, parties, planning, and the never-ending to-do list, and things become nearly intolerable.

The only saving grace are the people with whom we go through all of this with - our friends, family, and co-workers - and the special time that we'll have together.  

And, of course, the ultimate Saving Grace.  

Here's wising you all peace and perspective this holiday season.

Saturday Song Share: Todd Carey (and friends) - The Weight

I'm not a big Todd Carey fan - his sound is a little too pop for my tastes.  That being said, I bumped into his cover the The Band's classic, and it really moved me.  This captures why I love music so much and what music means to me - it sounds incredible, it's a team effort, and most of all it elicits joy.

Wish I would have been there to see this live...

Gopher Football Overachieves - Big Time

I have to hand it to the Minnesota Gophers football team.  In the past, I've come down hard on the futility that has been Golden Gopher football, but this year has been a big surprise.  Huge wins included a 30-14 route of Michigan at the Big House, a 51-14 drubbing of Iowa, and a 28-24 win at ranked Nebraska.

Unfortunately, the Gophers couldn't pull off the miracle season, with a final game loss to Wisconsin at Camp Randall.  Despite no chance at a Big 10 championship, it still was a fantastic season.  One that earned the team a lot of warranted attention.

Now the Gophers will go on to play in one of the better bowls in which they've played in nearly 50 years.  And I'll actually be watching.

Go Gophers

My Team

I am extremely fortunate to work with some incredible people.  They work incredibly hard. achieve so many great things, and are just outstanding human beings.

Here was my Thanksgiving message to them:

It’s going to be a pretty meaningful Thanksgiving for the YDP household this year.  Mrs. YDP has come through her ordeal far better than either of us could have hoped, and we’re far, far luckier than most families that suffer the same diagnosis.  

Events like that really make one reflect and take stock in what is important, what we consider relevant, and how and with whom we spend our time.  I’ve been doing a lot of that reflection lately, and one thing that keeps coming back is how thankful I am to get to work with all of you.  The talents you all possess, the passion with which you do your jobs, the selflessness you have when pitching in for each other (or me), and the fantastic sense of humor that each of you have is just astonishing to me.  I am so lucky to work with you.  

Every year, a family tradition of ours since I was a little kid was to have everyone go around the table and talk about what they were thankful for.  I already know my speech – 1) Vera 2) her deliverance from cancer 3) my family 4) you guys.  

Here’s wishing you your best Thanksgiving ever, filled with food, family, friends, and football.  And maybe some brandy slush, if you’re so inclined.  


Rest well – you’ve earned it – and know that I am so very thankful for you and everything that you do.

When my wife was diagnosed with cancer, the entire team sent a care package, and that included this picture:

Everyone in pink, everyone sporting a pick wrist band, everyone there for my wife and me.  You know, sometimes work is a horrible drag.  However people like this, doing things like this, make me realize just how fortunate I am.

Obama Administration Ignorance - Again

This is old news, and forgive me for being late, but I'm catching up on things that have a bee in my bonnet.  The latest one goes back to ISIS' most recent beheading of an American - Peter Kassig.

It is bad enough that ISIS killed yet another American citizen as we sit back and look completely impotent.  But the really bad part is Obama's official statement (emphasis mine):


"Today we offer our prayers and condolences to the parents and family of Abdul-Rahman Kassig, also known to us as Peter.  We cannot begin to imagine their anguish at this painful time.  Abdul-Rahman was taken from us in an act of pure evil by a terrorist group that the world rightly associates with inhumanity..."

The name Abdul-Rahman is the name Peter took up in a last minute sham "conversion" to Islam - a hail Mary to attempt to prevent his captors from cutting off his head.  Obviously, it didn't work.  And the Obama administration, in an act so callous and tone-deaf that it is jaw dropping, feel the need to be so politically correct as to call Kassig by the name that his killers made him adopt.

You cannot make this stuff up.  These are the people that are leading our country.

There are no words...

Kids Off Limits? Sometimes

The liberal blogs blew up yesterday when it was reported that a low level staffer (specifically, a communications director for Rep. Stephen Fincher (R-Tenn.)) said some harsh and inappropriate things about the Obama daughters via a Facebook post.  She later apologized, but that is not good enough for the Left, which is blowing tyhis up as big as they can, as this episode is pretty much the only thing going for them right now.

Curious that such a low level person can raise the wrath of an entire political bent.  Cries are going up about how unfair it is, what a bully she was, and most importantly, how kids are off limits.

Oh, yeah.  I forgot about kids being off limits.  Like Trig Palin was/is off limits, you mean that kind of off limits?

Do a Google search on Trig Palin to see what off limits means to the Left.

Crocodile tears, hypocrites.