Texas GOP Convention - Day Two (6/13/08)

The first order of business today was Senate District Caucus meetings, scheduled from 9am - 11am. Unfortunately I had some work to do from my hotel room so missed the SD16 Caucus meeting. I showed up at the LCR hotel suite at about 11:30am and ran into my friends Ranil & Craig. We were all hungry so decided to go grab a bite.

On our way out, we noticed that Newt Gingrich had just arrived at the convention center and was walking our way. We decided to stick around for a few minutes to see if we could get closer to him. Newt proceeded to take a seat behind a table that had been set up for him & he began to sign copies of his latest book - see top pic above. It was amazing the crowd that swarmed around him. Newt still has rock star appeal among the party faithful - including me! We took a few pics of Newt but it was hard to get too close because it was an absolute mob scene!

Craig drove us to a Greek restaurant where we enjoyed a nice lunch. We got back to the convention center just in time for the start of the Second General Session at 1pm. The speakers today were fantastic! Newt kicked things off with a great speech focused on how we need to DRILL HERE, DRILL NOW, PAY LESS! An aside: if you haven't already signed his petition please do so right away. Other speakers were:

- Hon. Kay Bailey Hutchison, U.S. Senator
- Hon. John Cornyn, U.S. Senator
- Hon. Mike Huckabee, Former Governor of Arkansas
- Hon. Jerry Patterson, TX Land Commissioner

We then got down to business with the reports of the permanent committees (Credentials, Organization, Nominating, Rules, & Platform). This part of the afternoon seemed to drag on. The platform changes were approved all at once without much drama. I cast a symbolic "Nay" vote since LCR's resolution to remove anti-gay language from the platform wasn't even considered by the state platform committee.

Immediately after the General Session, we proceeded to CD Caucus meetings. Our CD32 meeting of ~ 150 people seemed quite cozy compared to the General Sessions of ~ 10,000. The CD Caucus meetings were the last "official" business of the day. Then it was off to dinner.

The GOP Dinner was supposed to start at 7pm but was delayed to 7:30pm since the General Session ran longer than scheduled. However, this still didn't give us enough time to go back to our rooms to change clothes so we went as is - much more casual than planned. The keynote dinner speaker was the Honorable Mitt Romney, former Governor of Massachusetts & former presidential candidate. Mitt gave an inspiring speech & encouraged everyone to support our nominee - John McCain.

After dinner, it was time to party! Rob, David, Ranil, Craig and I stopped into Borah Van Dormolen's party. Borah was one of the two candidates running for Republican National Committee (RNC) National Committeewoman. Most everyone I know was supporting Borah since she is conservative yet appears to be much more inclusive than her opponent.

Ranil, Craig and I then headed down the hall to the Lone Star Salute Party honoring the Republican State Senators - see bottom pic above. This party was a blast! They had an open bar so we consumed a few adult beverages. They also had a live band. It was an honor to meet Lt. Governor David Dewhurst at the party and get my picture taken with him - see middle pic above.

Thus concluded a VERY long day! Day Three to follow.

Father's Day 2008

This is the second Father's Day since my dad's death. I think about my dad every single day and know that I always will. As I was thinking about Dad today I wanted to write something about him on my blog but just couldn't find the right words to express what I'm feeling. So instead, I'm posting the eulogy that I gave at Dad's funeral. Happy Father's Day Dad. I love you.

Eulogy
I'd like to share a few things about my father but first please allow me to read a short poem that my father's sister Betty shared with me. The poem was written in 1996 by Dad's cousin Peggy Nash Galbreath and is titled “We'll meet tomorrow”

Although it isn't easy to release our loved ones to eternal peace
We trust their soul to the Father's care and know that eternity one day we'll share.
A good-bye kiss when they depart, memories are left within our heart.
Their spirit released. free as a dove; in perfect bliss, now one with love.
The ending of pain - fear, grief and sorrow, in that better place where we'll meet . . .
tomorrow.

My father was a family man and my mother, Pat, was his first and only love. He was a faithful and devoted husband to her. Dad had unconditional love for each of his children and grand-children and wanted nothing more than to see to it that we were happy. He celebrated our successes but even more important he always seemed to know exactly when we needed an encouraging word.

My father never gave up on any of us no matter how many times we erred. He believed in each us – even when we had doubts about ourselves. He wanted each of his children and grandchildren to meet their full potential and was always there to help us through any challenges we faced along the way.

My father was man of deep faith. He was active here at St. Ann's and truly loved being an usher. He was very passionate about his Catholic faith and was never shy about sharing it with others – but always in a non-threatening way. My father considered himself a behind a scenes kind of guy. He was never one who liked to be in the limelight. He just looked around for things that needed to be done and did them without seeking credit.

My father had a BIG BIG heart. He was the most caring and compassionate man I've even known. He did many kinds deeds, often for strangers - and usually always with little or no fanfare.

My parents both grew up going to Saint Ann's. Mother shared with me that her and Dad saw each other for the first time right here in this church. Mother and Dad were married at St Ann's 49 years ago. In fact, they would have been married 50 years this September. Although they moved around a lot throughout the years and attended many different parishes they came back home to Saint Ann's about fifteen years ago.

Many of you here know that my dad was a huge Notre Dame football fan. On Saturday afternoons during football season Dad would start getting himself ready for the game about an hour before kickoff. He had to have his chair positioned just right, his cup filled up and there on the table in front of him, the ringer on the phone turned down so it wouldn't ring during the game, but most important he had to get into the right mental frame of mind. Dad was convinced that we could affect the outcome of the game if we all channeled positive thoughts – which he referred to as cosmic rays. We learned at a young age not to talk about other things or say anything negative about the Irish during the game. My brother Steve and I have always been avid Notre Dame fans. We kid with each other that there was no way you could grow up in our father's household and not be an Irish fan.

Baseball was another of my father's passions. He enjoyed listening to the Royals every evening on his transistor radio. He played baseball throughout his younger years. He also played for the Knights of Columbus fast pitch softball team and was quite a third baseman.

My father had a great sense of humor. He always tried to make people laugh. My sister Lori shared with me that no matter how down she felt Dad always had the ability to cheer her up and make her laugh. My sister Suzy shared with me that the week before he passed away - when he saw her sad - he cracked a joke to cheer her up.

Dad liked to play around and sing in a Tiny Tim voice just to be funny. One day a friend was over at the house and Dad started singing in that awful falsetto voice. I was outside and didn't even realize what Dad was doing. About a week later, my friend asked me if my Dad sang out loud at mass. I said why do you ask? He said “well no offense but while you were outside the other day your Dad started singing and I have to say he has the worst singing voice I ever heard.” I immediately burst out laughing and explained that that wasn't his real singing voice. I still chuckle when I think of how my friend thought that he really sang that bad. Dad got a kick out of it too.

Dad was known for being quite a talker. He could go on for hours about any subject if given a chance. He found it difficult to answer a yes or no question without going into great detail. He was also very outgoing and had the ability to engage total strangers in conversation. He had a number of friends and he valued each of one of them in his own special way.

My father was always thinking of others and their well being. My Uncle Augie would usually drive my father out to the cancer center and sit with him while he received his chemotherapy. Dad noticed that a lot of the patients that would sit alongside him receiving treatment looked unhappy. One day in the car on the way to the treatment center, Dad told Augie “Our mission is to cheer the patients and nurses up.” And they proceeded to do just that.

I can honestly say that my father was my hero. He has always been an inspiration to me - but especially towards the end of his life when he faced tough challenges yet kept up his cheerfulness and positive attitude.

My father was also my best friend and confidant. If I ever had a problem or needed advice I knew that I could talk to him and he would understand. Although sometimes he would tell me something I didn't want to hear, I trusted his judgment and knew that he always had my best interest at heart.

Dad taught me many valuable life lessons and I'd like to mention just a few. One, he demonstrated by example to give of yourself freely without expecting to receive anything in return. Second, he used to always remind me not to take things too seriously – he believed that if you always try to do the right thing, things would have a way of working themselves out. Third, he taught me that the best things in life really are free. Although he didn't have a lot of material possessions, I believe that my father considered himself truly blessed since he was filled with faith and was surrounded by family and friends who loved him.

In closing - Dad - I just want to say thanks for always loving me, believing in me and being the best Dad a son could ever have. I love you very much and am proud to be your son. I'll miss our nightly chats but I know that you will always be with me in spirit. May you rest in peace with God.

My father's grandson, Thomas, would now like to say a few words about his grandfather.

Texas GOP convention - Day One (6/12/08)

As previously mentioned on this blog, I attended the Texas GOP state convention Thurs (6/12/08) - Sat (6/14/08). I drove from Dallas to Houston on Wednesday night & arrived at my hotel just after midnight. Needless to say, by the time I unpacked, I was exhausted & ready for bed!

The first General Session session didn't get under way until noon on Thursday but Log Cabin Republicans had work to do before then. We arrived at the convention center at 9am to distribute invitational fliers to the Big Tent Pizza Party we hosted that evening. We placed fliers on over 7,000 seats out on the convention floor! Our task completed, we sat back and enjoyed the first day of speeches. The speakers list was mainly comprised of our statewide office-holders including:

- Hon. Rick Perry, Governor
- Hon. Susan Combs, Commissioner of Agriculture
- Hon. Michael Williams, Chairman, Railroad Commission
- Hon. Greg Abbott, Attorney General
- Hon. David Dewhurst, Lieutenant Governor
- Hon. Tom Craddick, Speaker of the House

I enjoyed all of the speakers, especially Governor Perry and Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams.

The highlight of the day though was our Log Cabin Republicans (LCR) Big Tent Pizza Party! Over 500 fellow Republicans visited us in our suite Thursday evening. We served our guests pizza & drinks while educating them about LCR. A local pizza joint delivered pizzas for us as fast as they could make them. Still, the line to get into our suite snaked all the way down a very long haul and around the corner. Someone commented that this was likely the most Republicans who have ever attended a gay-hosted party. I don't doubt that it was!

Despite the wait (as much as 45 minutes) to get in, most everyone was grateful for our hospitality. A countless number expressed support for LCR, which was a real boost for the club! It's humbling to know that so many people - straight and gay - stand with us & I never take that support for granted!

Summary of Day Two to follow.

DAVID COOK ROCKS!

Congratulations David Cook! I'm pleasantly surprised that David Cook is the new American Idol. He's been my favorite for most of this season! GO DAVID COOK! YOU ROCK KANSAS CITY!

Media double standard

You can bet that if Obama was a Republican, the "mainstream" media would be having a field day with some of the doozies that Michelle Malkin lists in her column today on Townhall.com.
http://www.townhall.com/columnists/MichelleMalkin/2008/05/21/barack_obama_gaffe_machine

Busy Time

I've been extremely busy over the past couple of weeks so haven't had much chance lately to post. Hopefully things settle down to normal soon!

Work commute time quadruples!

On 5/9/08 I moved out of the AT&T office building in North Dallas of which I had worked for the most of the past six years. As of 5/12/08 I'm now located on the 31st floor of AT&T's largest office building in downtown Dallas. Thus began a whole new experience for me!

For the past 18 years, I've lived within 15 minutes of where I worked. Now however it takes me 15 minutes just to get to the train station. I then board the DART (Dallas Area Rapid Transit) light rail for my ride into downtown. The next leg of my trip involves walking two blocks from where I de-board the train to the AT&T office complex. It then concludes with a long ride up the elevator! My total commute time is now one hour each way, which is definitely going to take some getting used to. :(

It's pool season!

I took advantage of the nice weather in Dallas this weekend by spending a lot time laying out in the sun. Yesterday I got in the pool for the first time this year. The water temp was just 76 degrees but it felt great! Tom and I both got into the pool today - athough it took a bit of a push from me to get Tom into the water!

Chiefs draft DT Glenn Dorsey

The Kansas City Chiefs selected DT Glenn Dorsey (LSU) as the #5 pick in the first round of the NFL draft today. Chief's other picks today included T/G Branden Albert (Virginia) and CB Brandon Flowers (Virginia Tech). Overall, it was a solid first day for KC.

Thanks, but no thanks

Ashley Herzog's column today provides yet another example of the disastrous and often fatal consequences of allowing liberals too much authority. To read it go to: http://www.townhall.com/columnists/AshleyHerzog/2008/04/22/an_environmental_failure_restrictions_on_ddt
I was just recalling this very example with friends over the past weekend, so her column was very timely for me.

Liberals never seem to care about the potential harm that may result from their "do-gooder" schemes. Once they've made up their collective minds that something is good (or bad) for us libs shut off all debate and force their "prescription" down our throats. Pity anyone who dares to question them, as most liberals have absolutely no tolerance for opposing views - despite their claims to the contrary.

Nor do liberals take accountability for their failures. If liberals acknowledge their failures at all, which is quite rare, they do so only to shift the blame. You see it's never their fault things didn't work out as they had planned. Their failure is usually the result of mean and uncompassionate Republicans sabotaging their noble efforts.

A classic example is the explosion in the poverty rate after LBJ's "War on Poverty." How often have you heard liberals admit that LBJ's programs did far more harm than good? How often do they admit that government "assistance" programs often trap people in poverty? Rather than acknowledging the obvious and learning from their mistakes, liberals continue to call for more government handouts.

Liberals wonder why more people don't trust them when they offer assistance. Do they not realize that many of us have longer memories than they give us credit for? They must think we've forgotten all about the victims of their DDT ban, the lives destroyed by their "War on Poverty" and the many other times their "help" has ended up hurting people. That is all the reason we need to say "No thanks"!

Political Spin

Bill Clinton said he was going to run the most ethical administration ever. Then President Clinton, after committing perjury and obstructing justice, became only the second president to ever be impeached.

Barack Obama claims he is a uniter. It has now become painfully clear to all but those on the far left that Mr. Obama is in fact a very divisive politician.

It seems anytime a politician has a glaring weakness (e.g. Clinton's lack of ethics, Obama's divisiveness, etc.) the way he deals with it is to continually claim the opposite virtue. By repeating the falsehood often enough he is able to deceive many people into thinking he is who he claims to be...which is the opposite of who he really is.

The sad reality is that the spin often works. As difficult as it is to believe, there are actually Americans who - despite the HUGE mountain of evidence to the contrary - to this day still think Bill Clinton is an ethical person. Go figure.

So what will Obama do now and how will people react? No doubt he will continue to claim he is a uniter and a fair percentage of Americans will believe him. After all, if he says he is a uniter he must be, right?

Obama the Extremist

Cartoon is by Glenn McCoy.

Does anyone doubt that if a Republican's voting record was as conservative as Obama's is liberal, the media would be calling the Republican an "extremist" and a "right-wing zealot"? Obama is one of the most EXTREME (liberal or conservative) candidates EVER to run for president yet the media is fawning all over him and calling him a "uniter" who "transcends politics". Go figure.

Abortion is just one of the many issues in which Obama has an EXTREMIST voting record.

KC Royals Lose 4-3

The Royals just lost 4-3 to the Twins. Fall to 3-1.

Favorite Columns

Check out my Favorite Columns and let me know what you think. All of my posted favorites and many other great columns are archived at Townhall.com.

The 2-0 Royals. UPDATE - ROYALS NOW 3-0!

UPDATE - KC Royals are now 3-0. Royals are only remaining undefeated team in baseball - ya gotta love it!

As of right now, the Kansas City Royals have the best record in the American League at 2-0!

As of right now, the Kansas City Royals have the best record in the American League at 2-0!

So what if the 2008 season is still in its infancy. Long suffering Royals fans like myself have waited what seems like an eternity for this. One of the great things about baseball is that no matter how bad your team team did the year(s) before, once the new season arrives your past failures no longer matter. You are filled with hope that maybe, just maybe, this could be THE season we turn things around.

BTW, yes I do realize that I typed "As of right now, the Kansas City Royals have the best record in the American League at 2-0!" twice. It felt so good typing it the first time, I couldn't help myself.

GO ROYALS! http://kansascity.royals.mlb.com/index.jsp?c_id=kc