Chuck here.

First, I’ve gotta’ say, I have got to get me one of these!

Second, I’m certainly pleased to be on the west coast at this time, because being on the east coast or in the deep south, the latter a place where one has rarely seen any snow in the past, means falling victim to an overdose of global warming.

ATLANTA (AP) — The Big Chill turned into the Big Dig on Saturday for many Southerners — the Americans who least expect to open their doors to see up to a foot of snow.

Some stayed indoors a day after the storm moved out to sea, while others turned icy streets and snow-covered parks into sledding playgrounds. Many who tried to dig out found shovels in short supply at home improvement stores.

Tens of thousands of people lost power in Texas and South Carolina, and thousands of others were left stranded by airline flight cancellations.

The National Weather Service says Dallas got 12.5 inches of snow, while Harkers Island, N.C., got 8.8 inches, Belleville, Ala., got 6 inches, Foreman, Ark., got 4 inches and Atlanta got more than 3 inches.

OOOOOH, dogie!

Third and finally, I was having an interesting telephone conversation with Seth earlier, and we touched on the decision by Evan Baye not to seek reelection.

Like all the other Democrats who have made the same decision, he of course cited some logical reasons for the move. Congress has become too partison, to the point of gridlock, it’s time to serve the people in a more private capacity, etc. Some may say they merely wish to spend more quality time with their families, yaddayaddayadda…

The truth, of course, which they will never admit, is simple:

Between Osama Obama, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and a few others, who attempted to bury our republic to the point of smothering it in far left agendas despite the will of the bulk of the American people, the Democrats have destroyed their own party. A Republican wave is on its way in, a Republican majority is on its way back. November, 2010 and November, 2012 will see to that.

No, all these Democrats are merely rats deserting a sinking ship. Period.

Having said that, both Seth and myself have misgivings about the aftermath.

That is, did the Republicans learn anything from their loss of the majority back in election 2006?

Neither of us considers the people on the right side of the aisle’s current tooth and nail opposition to the left wing legislation we’ve been asaulted with over the last year or so as any indication that any lesson was learned. All they’re doing now is fighting for their political lives.

What remains to be seen is what they’ll do after they have their majority back. Will it be back to business as usual, liberal-like pork spending while ignoring the conservative base, or have they truly learned, and will they make a return journey to the realm of small government, prudent spending of the taxpayers’ hard earned dollars and support of the principles that made America great to begin with? Will they renew the respect by our government for the Constitution, and embrace the will of not only their conservative electorate, but of our nation’s founding fathers?

We, as they say, shall see.

…but first:

Who dat, who dat, who dat say dey gonna beat dem Saints?

I was reading this morning’s Santa Monica Daily Press, and came across an OpEd by John W. Whitehead, a Constitutional lawyer, and found myself in total agreement with a commentary he titled Are You Brainwashed?

Precisely because Americans are easily distracted — because, as study after study shows, they are clueless about their rights — and because the nation’s schools have ceased teaching the fundamentals of the Constitution or the Bill of Rights — the American governmental scheme is sliding ever closer toward authoritarianism. This is taking place with little more than a whimper from an increasingly compliant populace that, intentionally or not, has allowed itself to be brainwashed into trusting their politicians.

If the people have little or no knowledge of the basics of government and their rights, those who wield governmental power inevitably wield it excessively. After all, a citizenry can only hold its government accountable if it knows when the government oversteps its bounds.

{The emphasis in the first paragraph is mine.}

I would recommend reading the entire piece, it’s right on the money.