The "Arizona Republic" Endorses Jeff Flake

Thought I'd post this for your enjoyment, along with a letter to the editor I wrote in response below:

Flake a good fit for East Valley Oct. 27, 2008

Even the worst storms leave pockets of undisturbed calm . . . isolated spots amid the wreckage left untouched by the devastating winds.

That pretty much describes the 2008 election season for Rep. Jeff Flake, R-District 6. Opportunistic Democrats are pouring millions into formerly safe Republican congressional districts, seeking to maximize the anticipated rout of the GOP this year.

But Flake's East Valley district? Well, even this crazy election isn't crazy enough to render the conservative Flake vulnerable in one of the West's most conservative congressional districts.

Conservative with a healthy dollop of libertarian, Jeff Flake is a good fit for District 6. The Republic recommends that district voters do exactly as they seem inclined to do, which is to return Flake to Congress.

Flake is opposed by Democrat Rebecca Schneider, and Libertarian Party candidate Rick Biondi. Schneider is an earnest political neophyte. Biondi, meanwhile, freely admits that there are "very few actions (Flake) has taken that I wouldn't take myself," thus negating any meaningful rationale for ousting the incumbent.

Consistently wary of government intrusion, Flake has never been an easy vote for the Bush administration. He managed to insert six amendments into the reauthorization of the Patriot Act. He will continue to argue persistently for free trade, even with the likes of Cuba. And, as always, we expect Flake will continue to shine a light on inappropriate federal spending.

The Republic recommends District 6 voters retain Republican Jeff Flake for Congress.

Letter to the Editor: "Dear "Republic" Editorial Board, "I was very happy to see that the Republic has endorsed Congressman Jeff Flake for re-election in Congressional District 6. As a newly graduated College Republican from Flagstaff, I have worked with Congressman Flake's campaign in the past and in the present, and I know him to be not only an upstanding citizen and a leader for my district, but a traditional conservative as well - something of a rarity in today's political climate. "From his stand against government waste to his Goldwater-esque stance on limited government power, Jeff Flake represents what the Republican Party used to be known for, and what it must embrace again for the future if our country is to continue to prosper. "Thank you, Arizona Republic Editorial Board, for remembering that the best leaders in Congress aren't always the ones who conform to outdated Washington norms, but who instead try to make government work for "we the people." Jeff Flake is just such a tried and true leader, and the people of the sixth district would be sorely remiss if they did not return him to Congress come November 4th. Andrew Meeusen"

Reading List

I'm finally finishing up with "The Eight" by Katherine Neville, and I'm looking forward to my new books yet to be read: "The Last Oracle" by James Rollins "Painting the Map Red" by Hugh Hewitt "Legend" by the guy who wrote "Event" "The Execution Channel" that I checked out of the library Also, I kind of want to get "The Fire" by Neville, to see if her sequel to "The Eight" stacks up.

Meeting Jeff Flake

Yesterday evening, Congressman Jeff Flake went to the Arizona State University College Republicans' meeting to speak about the election and the upcoming opportunities the CRs would have to volunteer to keep Arizona a red state (whereas it is currently purple trending royal blue). I also attended, both to meet the congressman and to see the ASUCRs, whom I had not seen in a couple years since Junior year of college. So, making a long story short, I did finally meet Congressman Flake, who is a very cool guy, even though he semi-not-really-referred to me as "John Murtha" while talking about the manner in which earmarks are appropriated! The CRs also seemed to enjoy having him there, and definitely enjoyed his jokes and being able to ask him some questions about earmarks, banking, and the propositions here in Arizona. I'm way glad I have the opportunity to work on his campaign, and I hope I'll be a part of his work in the future!

Walter Cronkite

This evening I attended the ASU Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication's forum on the First Amendment, in celebration of Freedom Week. It was your basic panel discussion, with panelists from the Tuscon news media, Arizona Republic, Justice Andrew Hurwitz from the Arizona Supreme Court, and an attorney whose name I didn't quite catch except to say it was David. They discussed the first amendment to the Constitution as it pertains to journalism, specifically freedom of speech and of the press, and how it is becoming a challenge to keep up standards of ethical journalism in a time when mass communications (think blogs) disseminate much more unverified information than ever before. The basic tenet I, as an outside, non-journalism non-student took away from it was "the ends of the story do not necessarily justify the means to collect the information in it." Truth be told, I honestly think the forum, though advertised online for anyone to attend, was meant mostly for ASU journalism majors. I was hoping for more of a discussion of the original intent of the amendment and its political manifestations in modern times, but alas, I was harangued!

A Shout Out

Happy Anniversary, Scott and Abigail!

Rays Win!

The Rays beat the Red Sox tonight in the decisive 7th game of the American League Championship Series, and will face the Phillies on Wednesday evening in the 2008 World Series! The game was a classic pitchers' duel, with John Lester (BOS) and Matt Garza (TB) combining for only 8 hits and 4 runs between them in the 3:31 game. After Dustin Pedroia (BOS) hit a first-inning big fly over the wall in left to give the Sox the lead, you had the sense that things might only go downhill from there, but Garza settled in, giving up merely 1 hit and 3 walks in his next 6 2/3 innings of work while striking out 9. The big game-changing moment for me, when I was absolutely certain the Rays had won it came in the 8th inning when Kevin Youkilis fouled off the fifth pitch of the at-bat for a full count. He ended up walking, but I somehow just absolutely knew that the Rays were going to win. I guess my curse worked!

FLORIDA

So for those of you who might regularly read my blog (all three of you lol!), you've probably heard that I won a radio contest called the Two-Minute Drill from AM 620 KTAR sports radio for a trip to any football game's city and tickets to the game playing on 10/12/2008. I chose to go to Tampa, Florida and see the Panthers-Buccaneers game. Here's what we did on the trip!

At 9am on Saturday, my dad and I boarded our nonstop flight to Tampa. Southwest Airlines does not have very good seating, may I say, though the flight itself wasn't that bad. I just happen to be a large person, and it's less than easy fitting in a tin can with seatbelts! But nonetheless, we got to Tampa just fine, checked into our hotel, the Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay, and immediately left for Tropicana Field to see if we could score some (relatively) cheapish tickets to the ALCS Game 2 between the Red Sox and Rays.

Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay at dusk

At Tropicana Field for Game 2 of the ALCS

I won't tell you how much the tickets cost, but suffice it to say that I was glad I'd just been paid the previous day! The game itself was GREAT! And LONG. It was a 9-8 Rays victory over 11 innings and 5 1/2 hours. The game started at 8:07 pm EST and ended at 1:37 am EST! After the flight and the game, I was definitely ready for bed! The next day, we got up fairly early, had our complementary continental breakfast (from a hotel costing $200 a night, continental breakfast is GOOD!) and went to Raymond James Stadium, home of the Buccaneers. We were seated in front of the big (and quite unique) pirate ship on the North end of the stadium, about 8 rows off of field level. Every time the Bucs scored, big loud cannons would fire from the ship, rocking the stadium and just about deafening me and dad!

The game was a good shellacking of the Panthers, with the final score ending up as 27-3 Bucs. I saw my first in-person blocked punt on the first drive of the game, and one of the Buccaneers was called for "unsportsmanlike conduct" after cartwheeling (yes, cartwheeling) off the field after having intercepted a pass!

The only downfall was that the stadium was open-air and REALLY hot (see: humid). Suffice it to say that I got quite nicely sunburned. But it was definitely a fun and unique experience!

Pregame at RJ Stadium with the pirate ship behind me The famous Tampa Bay Buccaneers' cheerleaders!

During halftime at RJS

After the game, we drove down and over the Sunshine Skyway toll bridge south of St. Petersburg, because my dad wanted to see it - it's a cool bridge, actually. It's a suspension bridge where all the weight of the bridge is carried on two superstrong pillers, supported by high-tension cables trailing down to the roadway level. (See photo below) It was actually hit by a boat in 1980 and destroyed, and they rebuilt it this way:

We also did the obligatory stop at St. Pete's beaches, driving up the Gulf coast from the Sunshine Skyway to Clearwater, FL. There, where it had been sunny and bright all day, it suddenly turned stormy, and I caught this beautiful photo of one of the Tampa bridges and causeways out on the edge of Tampa Bay:

That night, we ate at Bahama Breeze, a restaurant overlooking the bay, and I got something called a paiella, basically cajun-style rice with Creole spices, Tampa Bay scallops, mussels, shrimp, chicken, and other goodies. It was delicious! The next day, we checked out of the Hyatt fairly early, and spent much of the day at the Florida Aquarium, which I will elaborate on in another post probably tomorrow.

But it was really a great trip, and I had so much fun! (Now I'm about to go see if the Rays can finish off the Red Sox in Game 6 of the ALCS!)

Cursed!

In light of the Rays rather devastating loss to the "Comeback Kings" of the Red Sox this evening, I would like to announce that I, Andrew Meeusen, Lover of Baseball and Longtime Arizona Diamondbacks Fan, do hereby and henceforth place a new curse upon the Boston Red Sox lasting for a period of one decade from October 16, 2008 to October 16, 2018 that during this time they shall not again win an American League Championship Series. Boston fans, consider thyselves cursed!

The 3rd Debate

While I know I promised Florida, my pictures aren't available yet, so you'll all just have to settle for my take on Debate Part III! McCain Positives: 1. On the attack, McCain actually looked ALIVE in a debate for the first time. 2. McCain actually stuck to many of the issues instead of beating 'round the bush. McCain Negatives: 1. He is a BAD public speaker. He rivals President Bush, because where the president just isn't eloquent, McCain is actually just plain erratic-sounding. Ever read "Don Quixote de la Mancha?" McCain sounds like he, too, is tilting at windmills. 2. He seemed to devolve from enthusiasm and offensive attacks showcasing his drive and determination to do well tonight into a bitterness and cynicism that we have come to expect to see from his campaign over the last few weeks as his poll numbers have slipped. 3. The pundits are saying that he made a big gaffe when he dismissively shrugged off questions "about the life of the mother" in abortion policy and Roe v. Wade. I don't know about that. The people that care about that particular line were never going to vote for McCain anyway. I just thought I'd pass that info along. 4. "Let me tell you" and "Let me say this" and "Let me show you" are all McCain phrases that get REALLY old the third time after he gets asked a question or asked to respond to Obama. Obama Positives: 1. Sounded calm, cool, collected, and - dare I say - presidential. Specifically when dealing with the economy, McCain seemed to be trying to relate to the "anger" of the populace, while Obama tried to portray a leader who is calm in the face of an impending challenge. I'd say he pulled it off. 2. Did NOT attack McCain and Palin back on a number of random charges. He could have, and it probably would've been just fine, but as a taxpaying voter, I have to admit a certain appreciation for Obama's sticking to the issues for the most part. 3. Explained his positions fully and at a level for the "Regular Joe the Plumber." Even when they weren't on issues (see: William Ayers, ACORN, etc). Even though some of the stuff he said was full of [insert expletive here], he talked it down and made it understandable and positive-sounding. Obama Negatives: 1. Not delivering a knockout punch. He could have, but he didn't. It leaves at least a glimmer of hope for a McCain Miracle. Big Gaffes: 1. For McCain, while the pundits say his big gaffe was made on abortion, I think his all-around worst mistake was to take on an air of anger in both his tone and his demeanor. He started off as an angry guy wanting to affect change and eventually devolved into a cynical old man who couldn't string together his words. Best Line: "Sen. Obama, I am not President Bush. If you wanted to run against President Bush, you should have run four years ago." - John McCain (Seriously, now, this was without question the best line of all three presidential debates.) Who Won the Debate: 1. As far as anything else goes, I think Joe the Plumber won the debate fairly easily. I mean, both campaigns talked with him and about him, and he was mentioned more than any other single issue was if my count is correct. How can he NOT be at least A winner? 2. The winner of the debate between McCain and Obama is most likely McCain. Even though Obama did well, he only performed at a consistant level with his other two appearances. McCain NEEDED a home run tonight, and though his performance was dottery and quixotic, he performed at his highest level of the three debates. If I could, I'd give it a tie.

Updates Soon

So, I'm now back from Florida and I wanted to make sure to get up a new post soon, but I've been busy, not to mention tired from the weekend. Suffice it to say for now that it was a GREAT trip! I'll post more details on what my dad and I did in Tampa probably tomorrow. Stay tuned, sports fans!