We're Back !!!

I'm sorry it took so long, but we're finally back on line here in our new city. My boss transferred me to Amarillo (and raised my paltry salary a bit). The move took more money than I had counted on, and we were left with a choice after arriving here - we could buy food or get on the internet. My family chose to eat. Imagine that!

Of course we picked the worst possible day to make our move. We took off from the DFW metroplex on January 13th, in the middle of the winter's worst ice storm. We had to drive from Decatur to Amarillo on a sheet of ice - over 300 miles. It was a frightening experience, and not one I would ever care to repeat.

But we're here now and getting used to our new city. So far, I like Amarillo. The people are friendly and it's much easier to drive here than in Fort Worth. It has more of a big-city feel than I expected and seems to be in a growth mode. There's lots of construction going on.

I am having a bit of trouble getting used to the weather though. I've seen more snow in the last month than I've seen before in my entire life. People keep telling me this is an unusually harsh winter. I hope they're right.

Of course, since we had to go off-line there's been lots of news. Hope you don't mind if I sound off a bit on some of it.

The Scooter Libby trial is now nearly over. He's a jerk, and I hope he's found guilty, but we all know he's just the sacrificial lamb thrown to the wolves by the Bush administration to protect higher-ups - Dick Cheney and Karl Rove.

Gov. Bill Richardson threw his hat into the 2008 presidential race. I was glad to see that. I still think he's the most qualified candidate. Congressman, Ambassador, Governor, Diplomatic Trouble-Shooter - Bill has done it all, and done it well. He's even got the balls to speak the truth on Iraq. He says we need to get our soldiers out now! Before you climb on the Clinton or Obama bandwagons, give Richardson a chance. He's a pretty impressive guy.

Of course, if you listen to the main-stream media you wouldn't know there was anyone in the race other than Clinton and Obama, even though both seem to be having trouble deciding just what they believe in - especially about Iraq. Guess they need to read some more opinion polls. They seem to be afraid to take a position unless they're certain it won't cost them a few votes. Surely the Democrats can do better than these two!

George Bush is still determined to go down as the most incompetent president ever elected. Now he's told Americans that he's sending another 28,000 troops to Iraq (even though military sources say it's upward of 42,000 actually being sent). Neither figure is anywhere near enough to make a difference in Iraq. Georgie lost this war a long time ago. Now he's just trying to hang on until the end of his term so he can try and blame the loss on a new president. More troops will die because of Georgie's pride.

Since the death of Anna Nicole Smith, I have to feel sorry for her baby. There are at least a half-dozen people fighting to claim possession of the child. Actually, what they really want is control of the child's inheritance. What a pathetic group of losers!

News reports say we have a deal with North Korea now. I'm not going to hold my breath for this to be finalized. Bush will find a way to screw it up.

Better sign off for now. I want to thank Matt for keeping the blog alive while we were gone. Hopefully, it will be a very, very long time before we have to leave again.