Yesterday marked my 9th 30-minute walk in my renewed routine. I picked up the local nature trail at an East-end park that takes me across and then alongside the railroad tracks. Fall was certainly in the air with the crisper breeze and the dry color in all the leaves. It's this time of year my sinuses react the most violently to things. It can take away from what I might otherwise enjoy about my walks, but I'm not letting it. As for animals, there weren't many. A few bugs (even a couple of adventurous bees) and birds and a couple of squirrels scurried about. No snakes on the path this time. I'll be picking this up again on Tuesday. I do have a few things to blog about in the mean time, however.

Today brought me back to the stompin' grounds of Fremont's most famous son. True, current Green Bay Packer Charles Woodson barely acknowledges his home town, but I am referring to the 19th President of the United States, Rutherford B. Hayes. Speigel Grove is the place where his former home, a museum, and yes, his place of burial all are. It is also a lovely assortment of trees and squirrels and paths that are just fun to walk around in. Today was very nice, with acorns scattered about and the squirrelly squirrels more than ready to gobble them up. If you get the chance, Speigel Grove is worth stopping by to see. It is also a crossing of various paths for Civil War and 1812 troops from way back. I enjoyed getting my exercise there today.

So Charlie Rankin was the guy who drew the short straw among congressional Democrats yesterday when it came to talking tough to somebody who's been reading the DNC's talking points for a long time. It must have been very confusing for the dictator of Caracas. Wait a minute! All I said was exactly what you guys have been saying both in front of and away from microphones and cameras for 6 years. I've read all your stuff. I've memorized every line. Then, when I get it right before an international stage, you send someone out to chastise me? Now granted, I'm a foreign muckity muck. You want to keep all that stuff in the family. Are you saying you don't mean it? Are you saying that it's meaningless what you really feel as long as you win elections? Or did you get a couple of thousand phone calls and other correspondance from constituants who aren't so lock-step in line with your Bush-bashing after all?
The truth is, everything Hugo Chavez said could have been read off a paper with a cool little DNC watermark on it. A group of people that have had 6 years to offer alternative ideas and concepts and direction has failed to do so. All we get is "that blankity-blank Bush!" and "NOOOO... we won't raise YOUR taxes... just that RICH guy over there..." Maybe many American citizens from all stripes have been listening. Maybe some have been pursuaded by this lack of original material. But it is clear that there are foreign dictators the world over who are taking notes and using some of the very same phrases and concepts in their own speeches. They know there's CNN and FoxNews out there. They know there are microphones and/or cameras who will pick up everything they say. So when Dictator Bob sounds exactly like that "progressive" candidate for that open Senate seat, it shouldn't be all that surprising. But, thanks to the "objective" journalism that dominates the airwaves, Dictator Bob is made out to be a credible source. And the temptation (you can sense it) almost seems to be, "See, even Dictator Bob thinks Bush is scum. Vote for me."
This time around, the DNC and their joined-at-the-hip megaphone are caught with their pants around their ankles. The first reaction to the Venezuelan and Iranian dictators was silence... laughiing and snickering and hi-5ing all around as Bush took one on the teeth again... but silence wherever the response might be "on the record." Then the phone calls and e-mails came. Then the outrage of the American people, of all sorts of political persuasions, began erupting from the surface. And Charlie Rangle, who has been known to evicerate Bush himself with vigor, drew the short straw to go out and do damage control.

Today brought me back to Conner Park's figure-8 track. It was good to be back there amongst the cornfields and adjacent to the cabbage field that has already been harvested. The air was crisp and I was anxious to cruise around the recently re-paved sections of the track I have covered dozens of times by now. It feels good to be sticking to this concept of walking on a regular basis. I feel more focused and definitely calmer for having done so. 7 days a week just has not worked out. 4 days at most seems more like it. I say "at most" because there will be weeks, like next week, when I will probably only be able to log one walk. I will be on a retreat with my wife at a beautiful location and I doubt I'll be anywhere near a computer. Even if I was, I doubt seriously that my wife would tolerate it getting more than a passing glance for the brief time we are away. 2 days left of Summer. Okay, it's night time... make that 1 more day. Life is good. Eternal life is better...

Many are talking about the cast of villains taking the stage at the U.N. General Assembly over the last couple of days. What I have heard has been appalling. The Iranian and Venezuelan dictators have taken the microphone ripping our president and praying for Armageddon to come and eradicate us all. When moments like this happen, I am pretty sure part of our make-up as Americans is that we rally together. At least we used to. When the Soviet whack-job pounded his shoe on the podium in the very same venue years ago, politics were dropped so that we could all cock our fists ready to knock the guys lights out. My very brief question today is this: Do you hate President Bush? Fine. Vote against him when the time comes. Despise him every day between now and January 20th, 2009. Vote for his political opponents on November 7th this year and again in 2007. Rant and rave all you want. But when some real-life villain says the things Hugo Chavez and President Awhateveritis have said over the last 48 hours, do we drop the politics even briefly? Surprise to many may be the fact that when President Clinton led us into the conflict in Bosnia, we rallied behind him. And when foreign potentates and despots ripped him up from some podium, we all despised them. Sure, those of us who are conservative did not like Clinton. Some may have went so far as to hate the man. But as I heard someone say recently, it's like family. As a family member, I feel perfectly right in picking on my sister or rolling my eyes at crazy Uncle So-n-so. But don't you dare even begin to tear my family member down. I'll rip your lungs out... Is there any of that for those who hate Bush so badly? Isn't there a difference between when Democrats and liberals and media types and Hollywood foofs rip the President and when some whack-job third-world dictator does it? Isn't there a point when the Nancy Pelosi's and Harry Reid's and Hillary Clinton's and others in the Democratic community say, "Back off buddy! Ripping the President to shreds is our job!" I think the difference should be that when the pot is calling the kettle black in New York City, tearing down our president, he is essentially tearing down all of us. When the Dems and Republicans rip each other, it's a football game. But when communist dictators rip us... them's fightin' words!