Palin In Gettysburg Memorial Day Refusal 5/2011

OK , I know rumors abound in the political world. But I had a conversation last night with an old associate who is involved with The National Park Service and general politics. I will keep their name out but they gave me such an interesting tidbit I just had to share. Sarah Palin who my political instincts still say is not running for President is about to embark on a bus tour. From her initial stop over at Memorial Day's Rolling Thunder event to next a tour of Civil War Battlefields of Antiedum and Gettsburg. She heading towards New Hampshire. Guess Why. Anyway now for my rumor. She and her team while in the planning stages of the tour requested to the Eisenhower Family & The Park Service permission to place a wreath on Ike's farm adjoining the Battlefield. She would have had press and TV news with her. Her memorial day tribute to Ike the General and the President.Which I find somewhat remarkable as she is one of the POLS who have worked so hard to close down the moderate wing of her party. Put simply she was turned down Flat. Especially from the Eisenhower family themselves who also refused to appear there with her. I know just a tidbit but I find it an interesting tidbit all the same. Have a Peaceful Memorial Day.

Some More Coded Stuff

For those of you that liked my last kind of coded offering here for you is a little more. A slight gateway to another era. The last one is the toughest , hint Sex in the City.

1. KAR 120C
2. NUV 647E
3. # 3 Equity Court
4. 299 DeKalb

The Closed Maderate Wing of America

Lets face a simple truth......the moderate wing of the Republican Party has been closed since Nelson Rockefeller died in the saddle. Slowly our politics have become an obstacle course of litmus tests as to how to think........funded very well by such personalities as the Coke Brothers. The liberal parts of the political spectrum has had their own media money people.....Trust Me......Wall Street is more left wing than one would presume. Their money has funded many a democrat. How political life has changed since I graduated High School. So for the often desired moderate voter , often put aside in the post election massage of ones political base , what can you be offered as hope for a hint of sane logic return. Or at least a decent measure of deficit minded , medicare fixing , science respecting , capital responsibility. What hope can this simple country blogger give you. This..............ready.................People Die.That's right.....since I first began to pay attention to politics in say my junior year of high school most of those people are dead. Nixon , Johnson , Hudson , Ford, Kennedy , Wm F. Buckley , Wallace , Rayburn , Goldwater , Reagan , Eisenhower , O'Neil , etc etc etc. The large and small eventually leave this earth. Marx died and so did Adam Smith. Future generations roll on and a surprising few look back all that much. Republicans don't mention Eisenhower , Democrats , rarely Johnson. So for the ego driven "Pol" of whatever pole of a political philosophy one sits on. Whatever future you think you or your ideas have shaped , remember , you are only mortal and often so are your political positions and even parties.

The Night the P1800 Died

Well after recently blogging about Simon Templar I will tell a quick story about the car Roger Moore used while playing The Saint in the 1960's. I and a couple of friends took some time this week to take a bike tour of the Gettysburg battlefield. After a 4 hour tour of a place of former carnage we that evening settled down to a dinner and a few beers. As guys do stories were told and one of the discussions was cars. So my P1800 Volvo was brought up. So here is my story. I was young in 1976 , out of college and working in the Albany NY area. I had some money from a recently departed Uncle. God rest his soul. I needed a car and as my college car had seen much better days I went out looking. And there she was a 1966 Volvo p 1800 being sold by an owner near where I lived. As I said I was young , and could lust after internal combustion and a beautiful design. The car Roger Moore drove as The Saint on the long running TV program. This was the obtainable sports car and I looked past any potential problems. I bought it in mid August. Put a couple of hundred in some repairs. Drove the rest of the summer away into early fall. A little smoke out the back was ignored. Just put in a heavier weight oil. Then that Friday night in late October. I agreed to meet a couple of older friends for dinner. I was to meet a friend of theirs , female. Lets face it........A BLIND DATE. We met at Jacks Oyster House in downtown Albany. Overall , not a bad night. Really. Potential seemed in the air. So we stayed late , after midnight. It became a chilly evening. To be honest I had one to many scotches. So I left that night with a phone number and a little to much cockiness and a cold car. I started her {the car}. Revved her up and pulled out heading for home. The radio was on loud , to loud to listen for trouble. I hit the interstate at about 60 mph. I went up the ramp went over the bridge and crossed the Hudson River heading east. I then reached over and flicked on the coolest feature of the car. The electric 5th gear overdrive. I believe I loosened my tie and unbottoned my shirt collar. Turned up the radio , Beatles tune. Was not listening for the probably increasing noise that was no doubt coming from the engine. I was speeding , up around 80 , feeling overly self confident. Good week at work , good Friday night end , probably a little to good. Suddenly a muffled bang that I even heard. What the hell was that. Radio off......this is not good at all. Even though my love affair was about to end I just wanted to deny it . Anyway , got a tow to my usual garage. Diagnosis on Monday...........thrown a rod. It was over. I went on to other cars and as fate would have it other girls. The memories remain , cue The Saint Theme music this story is over.