Great News:  Captain Ed’s wife is doing great.  Her transplant is done.  The donor is doing well.  Now, start saying prayers for my friend Carrla.  She needs a lung transplant. 

We had about 6 inches of the white stuff today!  If I’d not seen 12” on Easter eve three years ago I would be shocked.  But here in Ruidoso, they say the first snow of the season can be in June and the last snow of the season can be in June!  It’s about 38 as I write this.  Things are melting and the sun is out, but – we get the benefit of all that nice moisture settling into things just as they are upping the fire danger to “moderate”.  This helps, much.

I can't get over how much better Miss Piggy is.  Now the little stinker is getting into trouble!  So far she is doing okay with her meds, even though she runs every time she sees me coming.

There is an interesting thread over on CNET about people considering Mac v. Windows now that Vista has messed things up so much.  I couldn’t come at a better time for me.

TODAY’S RANT:  KEEPING THE LITTLE WOMAN SILENT!

The latest dust up seems to be over the fact that Rudy Giuliani  has said that his wife will play a significant role as his advisor.  I heard Romney over on Cavuto completely disagreeing with this, how his wife would not have a role in his Administration.  I’m not quite sure what Judy Giuliani’s positions are, but I do know I definitely agree with the Giuliani premise of a modern marriage.  We live in a different world today.  Gone are the days when Mamie Eisenhower who was completely oblivious to what Ike was doing.  I have more problems with Mitt Romney who says his wife will not be taking such an active roll in his administration.  Any man who keeps his wife walking two steps behind, or in the background the way Romney seems to be doing is not going to get my vote.  I don’t like men who aren’t capable of recognizing the contribution of the women in their lives.  After the week I’ve had, dealing with the delicate balance of male testosterone and now allowing women to be treated equally in the field in which I write – my vote goes to the candidate who shows their spouse the most respect.

Until he was elected President, Lincoln’s most important and trusted advisor was his wife, Mary.  Once in the White House, she was pushed aside.  For revenge, she went shopping!  FDR listened to Eleanor.  Truman listed to his wife.  Ronnie listened to Nancy.  Nixon treated Pat like a dog.  I’ve been told by someone who witnessed his behavior first hand that he was quite abusive of her.  If our current POTUS treated his wife badly, his mother would wipe the floor with him.  The bottom line is quite simple (as far as Republicans are concerned).  If a person has no respect for his/her spouse and no respect for their opinion, how can you expect them to respect the American people?

Let’s be honest about something else.  Any dimwit who thinks we are not voting for the ‘spouse’ but just the candidate is living in a parallel universe where reality is quite different from our own.  I’m not married, but I know the give and take within my parents’ marriage and in my grandparents.  When my father listens to my mother, he makes money.  Same thing with my grandfather.  I can understand someone how isn’t involved in a marital union or who has a bad taste in their mouth making a comment, but if someone is married and they condemn Giuliani for saying he would listen to his wife and allow her to sit in on a Cabinet meeting IF – (please read the fine print) – they were discussing something near and dear to her.  But, I can’t handle a comment when it comes from a goodie two-shoes woman who has put herself in a secondary role, giving her husband head of the house hold – just because Paul said to do so.  Sorry, that doesn’t work for me.  Let’s be honest here.  If I were married to a man running for POTUS, I’d probably be considered the Republican version of Hillary.  I’m sorry, this is yet another conservative hit on Giuliani.

Every president has people who are his behind-the-scenes advisors.  Because a man is honest about his feelings about his (current – I’m sorry – but when you come from a family like mine where you uncle has had as many marriages as Giuliani you develop a sense of humor about it) wife he is now going to be criticized!  Heck, I think Romney’s comments that he would listen to others and not necessarily listen to his wife says even more.  He has no respect for his wife.  I know, shades of Hillary – but get over it.  Frankly, I think if the GOP and our dear conservatives (I too was nasty) had been nicer, maybe we wouldn’t be living in this culture of political acidity.

Is not listening to your wife – or not acknowledging the possibility that she might have something valuable to bring to the table (even cabinet) with her a conservative or a “Christian” thing?  Please don’t insult my attention.  Thinking back to the past five Republican presidents, the only one who did not listen to his wife, and treat her as a trusted and even “cabinet” level advisor was Richard Nixon.  I rest my case.

Captain’s Quarters

Debbie Schlussel

Kesher Talk

No Mr Mister Nice Blog

Althouse

Is this how the Great Pyramid was built?

Michael Zak over at Grand Old Partisan has an interesting history of Lincoln and Andrew Johnson.   

ISLAM

The “John Doe” saga continues.  Malkin  has taken it and run.   They’ve gone ahead and filed their lawsuit.  I sure hope the “John Doe” bunch files a counter suit.    American Thinker

Atlas Shurgs on The Islamicization  of the UN

Strata Sphere on the fall of Al Qaeda.

 Mapping sharia

THOSE LOVEABLE LYING DEMOCRATS

Why is HRM Nancy I going to Syria?

In the CSM today Mackubin Thomas Owens has a piece about today’s Copperhead Dem. 

“…Today's Democratic Party seems to have inherited the mantle, if not the name, of their Copperhead forebears. Like the Copperheads of old, today's Democrats put the entire blame for the war and its conduct on the administration. While the Copperheads of old assured the Union soldiers that the Rebels could not be defeated, today's Copperheads assure us that the Iraqi insurgents are invincible.  The Copperheads of old described Lincoln as a bloodthirsty tyrant, trampling the rights of Southerners and Northerners alike. And they portrayed Union soldiers as instruments of his tyrannical administration. Invoking the USA Patriot Act, Guantánamo Bay, and Abu Ghraib, today's Copperheads – from lawmakeres to bloggers – call President Bush a tyrant and a terrorist. Some have even suggested similarity between US soldiers serving in Iraq and Nazis in World War II. Rarely do they censure the enemy in such terms.  Like the Copperheads of old, today's Democrats offer no viable alternative to their respective president's policy except to "end the war now." And just as former Copperheads preferred Lincoln's failure to saving the Union, the current ones would rather see Bush lose than the country win in Iraq.

Of course, rhetoric is one thing. An action to obstruct the war effort is another. With the recent shameful vote in Congress to hamstring the commander in chief's authority and ability to conduct the war in Iraq, the Democrats have assumed Copperhead status by moving from the former to the latter….”