Happy Halloween

West Coast Reunion

My friends from LA, Steve and Susan (from MIT) and their kids, were in town and were able to come by the homestead for a little get together and dinner.

It was great seeing them and finally spending some time with their family. Their kids fall right in line with ours with their boy in K and their daughter in pre-K. They all got along great playing in the backyard and bonding over Star Wars stories.



Hopefully we'll try this again before the boys' Bar Mitzvahs :-)

The role of the VP from www.senate.gov

I can see how she can confuse the term President of the Senate with someone who is in charge but all it would take is reading something as simple as this to find the answer. This link has a lot of really interesting information about the VP job. http://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/briefing/Vice_President.htm

Vice-Presidential Duties

The framers also devoted scant attention to the vice president's duties, providing only that he "shall be President of the Senate, but shall have no Vote, unless they be evenly divided" (Article I, section 3). In practice, the number of times vice presidents have exercised this right has varied greatly. John Adams holds the record at 29 votes, followed closely by John C. Calhoun with 28. Since the 1870s, however, no vice president has cast as many as 10 tie-breaking votes. While vice presidents have used their votes chiefly on legislative issues, they have also broken ties on the election of Senate officers, as well as on the appointment of committees in 1881 when the parties were evenly represented in the Senate.

The vice president's other constitutionally mandated duty was to receive from the states the tally of electoral ballots cast for president and vice president and to open the certificates "in the Presence of the Senate and House of Representatives," so that the total votes could be counted (Article II, section 1). Only a few happy vice presidents — John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Martin Van Buren, and George Bush — had the pleasure of announcing their own election as president. Many more were chagrined to announce the choice of some rival for the office.

Several framers ultimately refused to sign the Constitution, in part because they viewed the vice president's legislative role as a violation of the separation of powers doctrine. Elbridge Gerry, who would later serve as vice president, declared that the framers "might as well put the President himself as head of the legislature." Others thought the office unnecessary but agreed with Connecticut delegate Roger Sherman that "if the vice-President were not to be President of the Senate, he would be without employment, and some member [of the Senate, acting as presiding officer] must be deprived of his vote."

Under the original code of Senate rules, the presiding officer exercised great power over the conduct of the body's proceedings. Rule XVI provided that "every question of order shall be decided by the President [of the Senate], without debate; but if there be a doubt in his mind, he may call for a sense of the Senate." Thus, contrary to later practice, the presiding officer was the sole judge of proper procedure and his rulings could not be turned aside by the full Senate without his assent.

The first two vice presidents, Adams and Jefferson, did much to shape the nature of the office, setting precedents that were followed by others. During most of the nineteenth century, the degree of influence and the role played within the Senate depended chiefly on the personality and inclinations of the individual involved. Some had great parliamentary skill and presided well, while others found the task boring, were incapable of maintaining order, or chose to spend most of their time away from Washington, leaving the duty to a president pro tempore. Some made an effort to preside fairly, while others used their position to promote the political agenda of the administration.

During the twentieth century, the role of the vice president has evolved into more of an executive branch position. Now, the vice president is usually seen as an integral part of a president's administration and presides over the Senate only on ceremonial occasions or when a tie-breaking vote may be needed. Yet, even though the nature of the job has changed, it is still greatly affected by the personality and skills of the individual incumbent.

NM Op Ed Piece - Remarkable in many ways (none good)

Below is a submitted editorial piece from a NM newspaper.
My comments are embedded in italics

Why I'm a Republican
Alamogordo Daily News
Article Launched: 10/21/2008 12:00:00 AM MDT

I read in today's paper what a woman wrote explaining why she's a Democrat. Let me tell you why I'm not. I'm a Republican because:

I believe in a sovereign God who sometimes gives us what we deserve.
Because Republicans only believe in God?

I believe Muslims are our enemies.
We better get busy, since we're vastly outnumbered. And I guess all the US located mosques flying the American Flag is just a ruse.

I believe in life. A baby is not just a fetus, but a living being no matter where it resides.
I think her argument should be a fetus is a baby, but that's besides the point. We can agree that its tragic to have to have an abortion whether its by choice or medical necessity, but is it really government's role to provide its will over the internal goings on of a women's body. See below on government is too big.

I believe there is a good reason for the death penalty.
Because killing a living being no matter where it resides is sometimes OK.

I believe in fiscal responsibility, for the government and for us.
Here. Here. Where has this been for the last 8 years under Republican control. As I remember the Democrats last left us with a budget surplus.

I believe the government is way too big and rife with greed and corruption.
So let's move the greed and corruption to the private sector where it can really get out of control. Is she serious... $700B that could have been avoided with better government controls.

I believe in the truth. People believe lies because it's much easier than finding the truth.
And where can we find the truth... I'm sure she'd recommend the New Testament. Why value scientific thought and experimentation.

I believe in personal responsibility. That includes spanking your children.
Ummm. Thing that comes to mind for personal responsibility is spanking your children? This is just weird.

I believe American women should raise their own children and American men should be men enough to pay for children they've produced.
So, no abortion, no adoption, no options!

I believe a man and woman make marriage. Period.
Why do Republicans feel so threatened. Who cares what its called.

I believe in America first and foremost and we ought to take care of our own people, our own land, and illegal aliens should go home.

I believe in guns and knowing how to use them properly.
So I guess Republicans would believe in a testing requirement to own guns to assure that the user knows how to use it properly.

I believe war is a fact of life and we should always win.
Republicans also used to believe in defining what winning meant before waging war.

I believe in lower taxes. I know how to spend money better than Congress any day of the week.
Just don't complain when you're stuck in traffic or the city buses break down, or there is nobody monitoring the banks, or nobody available to investigate the break in at your house, or fight the wars that are a fact of life. Oh you didn't wisely spend your money to the private entities to provide these services?

I believe in voter ID.
Agree with you here.

I believe there is a moderate and a socialist in this election. I agree with a two-party system, but Obama isn't a messiah or a democrat.

He's a Muslim socialist.
Just Remarkable!!!

Faith At The Zoo

 
Faith and her friend had an off day at Hebrew School so they paid a visit to the zoo!

Some Things Speak For Themselves

Now That's Executive Experience!

Renaissance Fest

We all went to the Renaissance Festival this weekend. Its a fun time but I can now wait another 16 years to go back. I think Karen feels the same except her interval is 17 years. Kids liked it and we did get to ride an elephant.

Faith and her twin

This is Faith and her friend Evie. The biggest difference between them is their coloring. Otherwise they look so much alike. In fact teachers mess them up at school.

From One Thing To Another...

Busy day! 9:00am Sukkah team #1 started our morning effort of constructing 3 Sukkahs (mine and two others). Pretty much like what I did last year.

Meanwhile Karen, my Mom, our kids, and two other families went to the Plains, VA to a big pumpkin patch. All seemed to have a grand time, though Faith was said to be screaming the whole time they were lost in the corn stalk maze. Only upon exiting to say "that was fun."

Then in the afternoon my Uncle David and Aunt Kathy came by for nice visit and dinner.

Painting Party

Karen's teacher instincts took over today when a lot of neighborhood kids wandered by. Let's have a painting party!!! Also will provide some needed artwork for our soon to built Sukkah for 5769.

Saturday Softball

A very busy Saturday. I had makeup softball games this morning, so I took all the kids with me along with Grandma and Grandpa. I think the kids really gave Grandma and Grandpa work out as they played a long time on the soccer field while my team got spanked in both games.
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And just so you know, this was a nice clean line drive for single and an RBI!

Barry's Tattoo Parlor

Kids were excited about earning (good behavior) Halloween tattoos today.

Happy Birthday Mommy

 
 
 
 
We went out for dinner at Sakoontra to celebrate with the whole crew and Nana. Everyone including Faith enjoyed the meal. Reuben is a big fan of Pad See Ew, Chicken Satay, and tofu.

The kids and I then bought Mommy's 'surprise' birthcake. mmmmm, good ice cream cake.
So happy birthday to a Karen and another 60 more.