You Don’t Know What Cold Is

I’ve always considered myself a hearty New Englander. Poor weather conditions come with the turf of living in the Northeast of America. On the bright side, if you wait a minute the weather will change. All but one of my six brothers and sisters immigrated to Florida for the warmth and yes they do call when blizzards hit and brag about being out on the patio.

We had a small snow storm the other night and I was boxing up the fluffy white stuff into very compact snow balls to ship to my hateful siblings so they can enjoy our pain and suffering. I cleverly installed a launching device to throw whatever is left of my snowball in the box by the time it hits West Palm Beach right in their smug face when they open the care package.

Then I came across this on Yahoo from the AP on what the folks in central Alaska are putting up with. 60 below ZERO! No wonder there is less than a million folks living up there! The rest of them froze to death! God bless them for their stamina for not packing up the truck and moving to Arizona, Texas, Nevada, or even Florida where the temperatures are always moderately warm in comparison. So now I don’t feel so bad when it is 22 degrees out and the heating system kicks in. At sixty below zero I would be busting up the kitchen table and cooking it for heat in the friging oven. Basting it with lighter fluid from the charcoal grill every twenty minutes. Check out what Yahoo News has to say…

By STEVE QUINN, Associated Press Writer Steve Quinn – Thu Jan 8, 5:59 am ET

National Weather Service meteorologist Andy Brown said high pressure over much of central Alaska has been keeping other weather patterns from moving through. New conditions get pushed north or south while the affected area faces daily extremes.

"When it first started almost two weeks ago, it wasn't anything abnormal," Brown said.

"About once or twice every year, we get a good cold snap. But, in this case, you can call this an extreme event. This is rare. It doesn't happen every year."

Temperatures sit well below zero in the state's various regions, often without a wisp of wind pushing down the mercury further.

Johnson lives in Stevens Village, where residents have endured close to two weeks of temperatures pushing 60 below zero. - Yahoo News/AP

I don’t know about you but I get the chills just reading 60 below zero? How the hell do you insulate a home against that kind of extreme cold? The walls of the house would need to be eight feet thick and filled with the stuff to keep the cold out. How many heating systems do you need to keep up with keeping the house at a comfortable temperature? God bless the hearty folks of Alaska, I will stop bitching about the cold in New England. I'll be tossing an extra comforter on the bed just thinking about this story.

Papamoka

Joe Biden, Statesman Enough for You?

Picture courtesy of Senator Biden office

For the record I kind of like Senator Joe Biden for a couple of reasons for President. He isn’t afraid to put his neck out on the line on any issue and he backs his stance up with the facts needed to do so. There isn’t an “Um, um, (cough, little bit of throw up there in the back of the throat) when he speaks when asked about any topic. His recall of facts immediately come forth and he tells the voters why he has the position he has and then follows up why the voter should have the same thought process.

Of all of the Democrat’s running for President I would have to favor Senator Biden over all of them when it comes to foreign policy. Unlike a former beauty pageant contestant, Joe Biden seems to know all there is about the world conflicts and he does not need a map to know where they are. I tend to doubt that the rest of the candidates other than Bill Richardson could go toe to toe with him on issues to do with conflict around the world.

Then there is the man that is Joe Biden and his style of campaigning that does not need one hundred million in the bank like Hillary or Barack. Knocking door to door, running for President in Iowa is as grass roots as you get.

Over at Yahoo News they have this story on what Senator Biden is doing for his bid for President of the United States…

By AMY LORENTZEN, Associated Press Writer
Tue Oct 2, 4:05 PM ET

DES MOINES, Iowa - Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden remains mired in single digits in Iowa polls, but he's racking up support from the state's legislators.

Biden has the backing of 10 legislators, including the House majority leader. That makes him at least competitive with top tier rivals Barack Obama, who has one more endorsement, and Hillary Rodham Clinton, who garnered the most endorsements. He also has more endorsements than John Edwards, who is vying with Obama and Clinton for the lead in Iowa polls.

Biden said the endorsements demonstrate that local politicians think he has a shot at gaining the nomination.

State lawmakers know the ins and outs of the caucuses, and they "wouldn't be endorsing me if they didn't think I could win in Iowa," Biden said in an interview with The Associated Press.

And, he said, their support could be crucial in the days leading to the caucuses.

"An endorsement in a caucus state from someone who gets out and knocks on doors and has an organization is significantly more valuable," Biden said. "You've got to be pretty dedicated to spend a couple of hours on a very cold January night somewhere in the 1,700 (caucus) precincts in Iowa."

Biden, who is making his second bid for the Democratic presidential nomination, has worked hard for the support. - Yahoo News

Our nations highest office has gone from George Washington who could have been the first American King to someone that thinks he is a King. Where George and Martha would put up visitors from all of the land if they ventured to Mount Vernon, George Bush would have the Secret Service have them arrested for trespassing. Granted the times and attempted assassinations on our President’s has made protection part of the job but the simple idea of being able to talk to your President no longer exists in America.

Has anyone actually talked to the current President, the past couple of President’s? Form letters in response to a letter you sent does not count.

If I had a choice of watching a television commercial of all of the candidates running for President or just one of them knocking on my door, I think I would be more persuaded to listen to the actual person standing in my kitchen or living room. Name twenty or more people that you would boast to about having a Presidential candidate in your home? Not on the television but he sat on your sofa or at your kitchen table and told you what he was all about. Then he asked you what you thought, holy crap! I would be telling the world.

You can spend millions on television and radio ads but nothing beats the one on one contact with the voters. In my lifetime I have met many politicians and the personal encounter is far different than what you will ever see in a thirty second advertising commercial. Not one person on this earth can have their entire message wrapped up in one television or radio commercial. Twenty minutes in your home breaks down a plethora of evils in the advertising dollars to be made on Presidential advertising.

Senator Biden is following a tried and true method of campaigning but the time for doing so is growing shorter. With many states vying to be first for bragging rights, the process of actually getting to know all of the candidates is lost. In doing so, the best person for the job of President ends up being in the hands of who can pay for enough advertisement.

It has been said that candidates for President love to press the flesh of the voters. In the same context, the voters need to press the flesh as well with the person that may just be the next President. Shaking hands with a man or woman that wants to be the leader of the free world is kind of important. You cant sell that or describe that emotional moment on television.

Carry on Senator Biden, I wish you luck and the opportunity to meet many interesting and concerned people that will welcome you into their homes in Iowa! Press the flesh my friend.

Papamoka

Cross posted at Bring IT ON!

UPDATE 10/21/2007: The Storm Lake Times endorses Joe Biden for President

It’s hard to go wrong with any of the candidates. We stand with Joe Biden because he has all the professional skills and, more important, the personal strength to get the job done unlike any other candidate.

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