What's Wrong With This Gay Man?

I was skimming through Politico tonight and came across a video interview of the head of the Republican gay group Log Cabin:

http://www.politico.com/singletitlevideo.html?bcpid=1155201977&bctid=20039951001

I mean, if you were coming from another planet and listened to this, you’d shake your head and say:  how could this guy stand in front of a camera and talk about how positive Barack is on issues most near and dear to him and still be a Republican in light of the strong, unrelenting anti-gay sentiment within the Party?

Did members of the Log Cabin really vote for John McCain and Sarah Palin?  OK, I get the point that these guys are all moneyed guys and they are always dressed in business attire to make the point.  But gay issues, understandably, dominate their agenda.  It makes no sense at all; beyond that, it’s sort of pathetic. How conflicted must these guys be?

Why wouldn’t all of them switch to becoming Democrats and then work hard to instilling more fiscal discipline within the Democratic Party?  Guys, get your priorities straight.  Doesn’t that make a whole lot more sense?

Dan, Here He Is!

This poor old guy was scary; click twice for increasingly larger image:

It's All a Little Sad (sort of!)

I’ve stayed away from political postings for weeks now, but I’ve been struck of late at how pathetic the Right Wing has behaved recently.  And how poorly they are doing in the eyes of the voters.  Here’s my take:

1.  I sure don’t love everything Barrack is doing, but he has inherited a mess and has one of the toughest situations that any President in our history has had to deal with from the outset of taking office.  He is smart, he is effective and is an excellent communicator.  He is working very, very hard.  He is cool, calm and collected.  He is one very impressive CEO.

2.  Barack’s approval ratings are off the charts high, including those polls that are taken outside of this country. For the life of me I can’t understand why smart people who are Republicans are in such incredible denial that our stature in the world suffered miserably during the eight years under Bush, and that in a few short months, Barack has make huge strides in regaining what’s been frittered away.  When Republicans travel abroad, don’t they get out and about and talk to people in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia?  What do they think, that it doesn’t matter how the rest of the world views the United States?  When I see the response that Barack gets when visiting the other countries of the world, I beam.  It makes me proud of my country.  To not feel that way is being a bit unpatriotic, I think.

3.  I continue to be flabbergasted that people actually voted for Sarah Palin.  Smart people voted for Sarah Palin!  Or maybe we need to redefine ‘smart.’  We have all these incredibly complex problems in the world, and some people voted for Sarah Palin. For me, it’s just really hard to fathom.  You read it here:  there is no way Sarah Palin will ever become a major national player again.  She just doesn’t have the smarts.  She can rile up 10% of the population forever, but after that, then what?

4.  Bobby Jindal. Michael Steele.  John Boehner.  Mitch McConnell.  Dick Cheney.  Karl Rove.  The Republican Party.  What do they have in common:  they all have approval ratings LESS THAN 25%.  Only 31% of voters now identify themselves as Republican.  Guys, you have a HUGE problem - you have two camps that simply can’t and won’t get along - moderates who want to be more inclusive and far-righters, who want to exclude lots of people through their various positions on social issues – groups like Hispanics (immigration) and gays.  And guess what - the number of white guys in this country are decreasing dramatically, and these guys are in complete denial.  They herd and kvetch and fret that their capital gains rate will go from 35% to 39%, while the rest of the world is in turmoil.

5.  Glenn Beck is scary.  I thought Rush was scary.  But then Sean came along.  Now Beck has taken scary to a new level.  Here’s the deal:  these guys fire up an ever-shrinking base, big-time.  I mean, it’s incendiary how much vitriol they spew.  But moderates and independents look at this stuff and it freaks them out. It hardens their position that the Republican Party is full of a lot of fringe guys.  And here’s the kicker:  now that MSNBC is firmly entrenched as the counterpoint to FoxNews, the wealthy and moderate income Lefties willingly open up their wallets to take on the Right.  Thanks to Howard Dean, David Plouffe, Keith Olberman, Rachel Maddow and others, the Left is now so much better organized.  It’s a force to be reckoned with; totally different dynamic than even a couple of years ago, and it ain’t going away any time soon.

The plight of the Republican Party is all a little sad, but it actually makes me feel pretty good about the future, if you know what I mean.

Three Club Wind

Arizona had gale force winds in some places today, and we played anyway!  A picture of just how crazy windy it was:

Look What Showed Up at Our Front Door Two Days Ago

When I was five years old, we lived in a community called Tauxmont, off of Fort Hunt Road, between Alexandria and Mt. Vernon.  One time I had a job collecting acorns in the front yard of our neighbor’s across the street.  I got five cents for every wooden crate I filled with acorns.  Great job, until I came face to face with a garter snake, while on my hands and knees:  tongue flicking, it was no more than a foot away from me.  Made a lasting impression!

So this past Friday there a bit of deja vu when Jen was on the ground trying to adjust a timer to a fountain near our front door.  When I went out to see how things were going, I saw the snake about six feet away and calmly (at least I thought it was calm!) told Jen to slowly get up and walk back toward where I was standing.  Fortunately, there was glass between us and the rattlesnake.  In any event, a guy from our community came right away and lifted the snake (which was in full coiled and rattling regalia) and placed it in a trash can, and relocated it.  Here are some pics (you can click on the pic to enlargen):

Animal Highlights

While a couple of these have already been posted, below are our best shots of animals from the trip.  The first picture is of a pack of wild dogs in Botswana, which had taken down an adult impala:

South Africa - Kruger

Kruger National Park - We stayed at Singita, a first class resort/reserve.  The organization is extremely professional:  our accomodations were great, food was very good, guides/trackers terrific, staff exceptional.  The only disappointment was the relative lack of animals.  We did see them, but they were pretty far and few between.  But the last morning we saw a leopard close up, and completed The Big Five.

Namibia

Namibia - We stayed at Hotel Heinitzburg in Windhoek and Sossusvlei Desert Lodge (in the Namib Rand Nature Preserve and near the dunes at Sossosvlei); again, both excellent accomodations and both places served very good food, particularly at the restaurant that’s part of the Heinitzburg.  Pics showing view from our room and outdoor dining at Heinitzburg, and then shots from Sossusvlei:

Botswana

Botswana (Chobe River) - We stayed at The Chobe Game Lodge (again, accomodations and food were excellent).  Our guides were very good, and there was lots of big animals to see, often very close.  Since Singita had much fewer animals than we thought it would, the trip to Botswana turned out to be a great part of the itinerary.  Here are pics of our suite and a couple shots around the Lodge, and some animals seen during our open air trips with our guide Lebo:

Africa Trip Recap - Zambia

This and the posts that follow are set up to provide an overview of our recent trip to Southern Africa, with easy references to recommended places, hotels and other highlights, for those who might want to make a similar trip in the future.

We visited four countries:  Zambia, Bostwana, Namibia and South Africa for three weeks in mid-January to early February.  Weather was generally warm/hot, though rarely ‘stifling, Houston in summer’ oppressive. We had a lot of rain, which interfered with some flights, but generally it didn’t impact the trip.  It was very evident that the global economic crisis has reduced tourism:  we stayed at a couple places where occupancy rates were less than 20% (with the exception of Cape Town and the Winelands).  With the exception of Singita near Kruger in South Africa, Americans are really in the minority, often about 10-15% of the tourists. All of the places we stayed were air conditioned, so we were able to limit our exposure to mosquitoes.  In fact, we saw only a total of about 20 of them during the whole trip, and only a couple in our rooms.

Zambia (Victoria Falls) - The Zimbabwe River was running high for this time of year, so the Falls were spectacular.  We stayed at the Royal Livingstone(accomodations, food was excellent), which is very close to the Falls.  Here are pics from the hotel to show just how close we were to the Falls, and then a shot Jen took when she took a helicopter ride:

South Africa - Johannesburg

Johannesburg - We stayed at a fantastic boutique hotel (The Saxon) in the middle of one of the nicest parts of the city, each home a huge enclosed fortress.  It was really surreal in a way: the crime and fear of crime permeates the vibe in the city.  But we did have a driver take us into Soweto and we did get a pretty good picture of the history of aparteid in the country.  It is still very much a work in progress.  But I can’t say enough about The Saxon.  If you choose to spend some time in JoBerg, this place is amazing.  Room, food, spa - we loved it.

Lighting Rods for the Republicans

A quick return to posting something political.  I just read that an old documentary featuring Jane Fonda during the Vietnam War is resurfacing, and I got to thinking about how there are certain people/situations that Republicans have a visceral, complete hatred toward.  And I totally get it, to a large extent.  This list:

1.  Hanoi Jane Fonda - She has never come out and completely rebuked her past behavior as being way, way beyond ‘anti-war.’  Granted, there was a time that being against the war in Vietnam, and more recently, the war in Iraq, was un-American. The NeoCon/Dick Cheney/Karl Rove movement have historically been brilliant at positioning people who question war as being unpatriotic.  The past election has pretty much obliterated the Neocon movement for the time being.  But Jane Fonda represents something that staunch Republicans can hold onto, as their party diminishes in power and numbers in the years to come.  Her failure to truly apologize establishes her as a lightning rod.

2.  The Reverend Jeremiah Wright situation.  I’ve already posted on this.  There is no excuse for it, and you can’t, or shouldn’t, try to defend it.

3.  Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi.  It is really unfortunate that these guys are lightweights.  Harry Reid in particular. Republicans truly hate these guys;  they admire Barack for his intelligence and his overall style of managing both the campaign and so far the first few weeks in office.  But they can’t stand Reid and Pelosi. Hey, the Republicans have Eric Cantor and Boehner, who are also lightweights.  Cantor is the most idiotic of the bunch.  But that’s not the point.  Reid and Pelosi have got to get their act together in helping Barack turn around the absolute fiasco that he just inherited from the Bush administration.

4.  The Monica Lewinsky scandal.  Bill Clinton really tarnished his legacy by this, but the event is tightly held onto by Republicans to offset the fact that this president presided over some of the best economic times our nation has ever experienced.  But it certainly didn’t take long for a Republican president to screw things up so bad that Clinton’s stature and legacy has nowhere to go but up.  But to hear Republican guys sound so self-righteous about how upset they are about Clinton’s behavior is ridiculous.  And – trust me – hypocritical.

209 Species For the Africa Trip

This wasn’t a birding trip, but when I could, I birded.  Thanks to the help of guides Shelley and Lebo at Singita near Kruger National Park in South Africa and Chobe Game Lodge in Botwana, respectively, I was able to get 209 birds during the trip.  Highlights:  6 species of bee-eaters, 19 kinds of raptors, Hoopoe, hornbills, Crested Barbet, and the sunbirds!  And here’s a Spotted Eagle Owl we saw at Namibia near our lodge:

Jen, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Judy

Back to Cape Town, here’s a picture taken last Friday after Jen and our friend Judy Mayotte attended the Archbishop’s liturgy at St. George’s Cathedral.  Judy, who we met in Milwaukee last summer while we were both involved in Barack’s campaign, lives in Cape Town and has a long relationship with Tutu, bringing him to Marquette University for a visit while she was a professor there.  Judy was extremely valuable in helping us plan our trip. We travelled together to the Winelands and had a great time!

End of Chinese New Year in London

We left Africa yesterday via London for a few days before heading back to the States.  The lanterns are coming down and we nabbed one!

Cape Town & The Winelands

View of Cape Town from the top of Table Mountain:

The V & A Waterfront:  Cape Grace Hotel & Table Mountain:

Along the Coast:

Stellenbosch vineyard:

A terrific place to stay in Franschoek:

Every time you check into a new place, you are presented in your room with either a chilled bottle of champagne, a food tray with cheeses and assorted foods, or all of the above.  At this place, they truly went over the top:

The Big Five

We completed seeing the Big Five - elephant, water buffalo, rhinoceros, lion, and finally leopard - yesterday morning. Here is the “money shot” Jen took at Singita game reserve, near Kruger National Park in South Africa: