The Second Presidential Debate

The Presidential Debate tonight in Nashville will be following a day that the DOW plummeted 500 points. This has been a dreadful couple of weeks. The market has lost 33% since last October and all signs point to a long and painful ride. Eighteen months ago the pundits were predicting the election would go to a Democrat because of the failure of the Iraqi War. The war is going well. Now the election appears to becoming a referendum of a supposedly Republican led financial failure. The truth is that Democrats have more culpability in the environment that led to the demise of the mortgage industry. The mainstream media, of course, is covering fire once again for the liberals. Barney Frank, Chris Dodd and a handful of others should be facing criminal charges for the damage they have done to our country. I have no confidence that there will be any punishment to those who deserve it.



In just thirty minutes perhaps the most important debate of this new millennium will get underway. Will John McCain hold Barack Obama accountable for his lies? Will McCain drop caution and go after his opponent like so many of us conservatives crave? Will Barack Obama slip up similar to John Kerry during the second presidential debate in 2004; commenting that we should undergo a 'global test'? The tide of the election seemed to turn on that moment. We can only wait and see what happens. Perhaps it will be a great night for McCain and an off-night for Obama. The media will spin it into a tie and therefore a win for the Obama campaign.


This moment is a pivotal one for our country and our future. As Lincoln said during the Civil War, and I paraphrase: "both sides feel that God is on their side....both, but one must be wrong. For God can not be for one side and against the other. The best we can hope for is that we are on God's side."


May God look down and give grace to our nation. We have fallen in many ways but still believe in Him and divine providence.

Sarah Palin makes the left piss in their pants.

Sarah Palin has become the target of intense hatred to the liberals in just five weeks. Something about the woman and her values gets under the skin of liberals everywhere. What is it about her that drives them nuts? Perhaps it is her intense charisma and beauty. Republicans, historically, have meant pale, pasty, prosperous and plump white males to the Democrats. Sarah Palin comes along and negates this image that they have nurtured for decades.

The liberals have begun to verge on insanity. The hatred has become so intense that Palin has knocked George W. Bush from the most hated Republican. Palin is the epitome of everything the left loathe. She hunts, loves guns, loves God, bears children and looks great doing all those things.
But the real reason the liberals despise Sarah Palin is her popularity amongst conservatives. That day in August that John McCain named Palin his vice president nominee, a magical moment was born that touched millions of conservatives across the country. It was unexpected and powerful. In a matter of minutes, the disgruntled right, who were not happy with John McCain as the Republican candidate, suddenly found themselves to be inspired about this election.

Sarah Palin is loved and admired by the right because she represents the principals of conservatives everywhere. She is hated by the left for the same reason. No matter how this election ends on November 4th, the Republican party has gained, in Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, a worthy star. The mainstream media and Democratic party may strive to knock her off the pedestal she is occupying, but they will fall short because the Republicans are in love. Ronald Reagan and Abraham Lincoln occupy the rare admiration and ideals of the GOP. Perhaps, in Sarah Palin, lies something equally powerful.

Saturday, January 6, 2007 - Dallas, Texas - Part III

Dallas, Texas - Part III
Dallas County Part III - Pioneer Plaza, Longhorns, Sculpture, "Old Red" and Dealey Plaza - site of JFK assassination.

Pioneer Plaza

A mere yards from where the skateboarders were, lies Pioneer Cemetery. Four former Dallas mayors are interred here. Originally called Masonic Cemetery and built upon a hill to withstand the Trinity River flooding, the cemetery is adjacent to Pioneer Plaza; a 4.2 acre park with 40 bronze longhorns and cowboys depicting a cattle drive. This was the original site of the Shawnee Cattle Drive which began in 1854. Supposedly, the cattle drive sculpture was thought to be too unsophisticated by many city leaders, for the image of Dallas, but was pushed through by developer Trammel Crow. In the southeast corner of the cemetery, and very near the convention center, is a large granite and marble Confederate Memorial. The large piece has a tall center statue of "Johnny Reb" and the four corners are depicted with statues of Generals, Robert E. Lee, Albert Johnston, Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, and the Confederate president, Jefferson Davis. The original site for this memorial was located in Old City Park; it was restored and moved to the present location by the Daughters of the Confederacy. Erected in 1896, it is the oldest memorial in Dallas.

I began to walk northwest from the cattle drive, and toward the Reunion Tower; one of Dallas' signature structures. On my walk, I stopped by an outdoor sculpture garden and took some photographs of some of the art. At one of the sculptures, there were four children with an adult. The children were very cute and seemed to be having a great time. Taking pictures of children can sometimes be difficult, due to the stigma that our society has about perverts. I made eye contact with the adult and smiled; disarming any misunderstanding and relaying my sincerity before I took some pictures of two of the children, in particular.

Sculpture Garden

"Big Red"

The Dallas County Courthouse is undergoing a major renovation. Built in 1890, this example of Richardson Romanesque architecture was designed by M.A. Orlopp. In 1919, the 90 foot high clock tower was removed to do structural instability. Thanks to the State of Texas/Texas Historical Commission, the tower is being restored to it's original splendor. The courthouse is conspicuous when driving along Stemmons Freeway on the west side of downtown; this will have a great impact on the views of the Dallas skyline. I suppose if there are future JFK assassination films, the tower will have to be "PhotoChopped" out. The date of completion is scheduled for Spring of this year.

Dealey Plaza

The assassination of John F. Kennedy on Friday, November 22, 1963 changed our country forever. I wrote a report in sociology class in college stating that the events from that weekend in Dallas was the beginning of palpable violence being brought into our living rooms, via television. I will not go into detail of the assassination itself, as I am sure many of you are already familiar with it. I will provide some historical photographs of Dealey Plaza from 1963.

Then

Now



































A 360 Degree View

Part IV will conclude the photo blog for January 6. The sites will include more tall buildings, my "Blue Period", sculpture, a wedding and Thanksgiving Square.

Saturday, January 6, 2007 - Dallas, Texas - Part II

Dallas, Texas - Part II
Dallas County
Part II - Farmer's Market, Modern City Hall, Police Memorial, Skateboarders and Convention Center.



A short jaunt south from the Municipal Building, lies the Dallas Farmer's Market; a place I would often frequent when I was living in Dallas. The market has little claim to fame except a past commercial for Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing. I did not spend a lot of time at the market; just captured some images of some fall flowers and some metal lawn art before heading off again. I began walking west toward the Dallas City Hall; this structure is a very unique building. Designed by I.M. Pei and completed in 1977, the structure was featured in the Sci-Fi movie, Robocop; although the special effects show the building as being the base for a tall skyscraper. I did a case study of this building in my first year of architecture school. The most interesting aspect of the building is the structural system. The angular 79' cantilever of the building is achieved through unseen tension cables. However, Pei felt that people would feel uneasy being below the jutting edifice, therefore, he designed the three faux buttressing stair wells to give the sense of security. Another interesting feature about the site are the three 84' high conical flagpoles. The 11 acre site has a 4.7 acre open plaza with a 180' diameter pool and a monumental sculpture from Henry Moore called "The Dallas Piece". Below this plaza is a 1,325 car parking garage and a two level disaster shelter. The length of the building is 560 feet long and this building and plaza offer a great shade from the summer sun, as well as, an open space for an urban setting.

Just west from the Dallas City Hall exists the Dallas Police Memorial. This was actually the first time for me to see this monument to fallen heroes. It is a very angular and modern design and memorable. One portion of the roof has cut-outs of the badge numbers of the fallen policemen and women; on a sunnier day, this would result in the numbers being projected onto the surface below. There is also a long inlay of rectangular samples of Dallas asphalt and concrete streets in a linear pattern.

Three teenagers were riding their skateboards nearby. I sat on a low wall nearby and took some practice, action shots. It was a lot of fun and I think they enjoyed showing off a bit.

The newly constructed annex to the Dallas Convention Center boasts the largest, open room in the world. I only took photos from a small portion of the structure, and on the north facade near the east end.

Mom's favorites of Part II:

Part III will include the Pioneer Cemetery, steel Longhorns, sculpture, "Old Red", and the site of the JFK assassination, Dealey Plaza.

Saturday, January 6, 2007 - Saturday Shoot Journal

Dallas, Texas - Part I

Dallas County Part I - Tall Buildings.



An overcast morning sky hovered above me as I drove south on I-35 on Saturday morning on my way to Temple, Texas. About four miles outside of Hillsboro, something compelled me to turn around. I decided to head north, up to McKinney, Texas in far North Texas. Upon reaching the Dallas/Fort Worth "Metroplex", there were patches of blue that were beginning to appear through the thinning clouds. I have taken many photographs of Dallas on my daily commutes to and from work, and have always waited for the Saturday that I would spend the day downtown; this was the day. The promise of some blue and white backgrounds of sky to the tall buildings of Dallas convinced me to stop here.

I brought and used three cameras on this outing; the Canon PowerShot S2 and S3, along with the Olympus Evolt E-500. Before the day was done, I had filled my S2 memory card for the first time ever and had taken 957 photographs. I found it very hard to focus, no pun intended; I have ADHD and having the wonderful architecture, art and urban scenery of Dallas overwhelmed me on my tour. I spent six hours walking and shooting and, still, I still left out some major attractions. I did, however, manage to shoot Dealey Plaza; the scene of the John F. Kennedy assassination in November of 1963. Due to the high quantity of photographs and so many areas of interests, I have decided to break this week's photo blog into parts.

I began the day by parking on the east side of downtown Dallas. Surprisingly, I was only questioned once during the entire day by security. A young lad, who I had noticed was too young to shave, stepped outside of the 6th highest building in Texas; the Bank One Center, and informed me that I could not take pictures of the building. After 9/11, I choose not to question people who are just doing their job; so I agreed, and moved on. Of course, I ended up walking to the other side of the structure and continued taking pictures, and took some more later on that day. This is my first photo of the Bank One Center, designed by architects Phillip Johnson and John Burgee and completed in 1987.

I have never particularly liked this building, as far as Dallas buildings go. I wandered along the east side of downtown and crossed by the Municipal Building where several homeless people were gathered. One gentleman asked me if I could spare some money; I pulled out my money clip, which was empty, and without even thinking, asked him if he took credit cards. He laughed so hard I thought he was going to fall down. The whole group was laughing; though I could not give them money, I was happy to give them a laugh. The Dallas Municipal Building is the site where Jack Ruby killed Lee Harvey Oswald on the Sunday following the assassination of JFK. Ruby shot Oswald in the underground parking garage. Here is a couple of shots of this structure.

I headed toward the Dallas Farmer's Market where I will pick up next time. Here are some thumbnail shots of other pictures shot up to this point. As usual, you can click on the thumbnails to see a high quality format of the pictures.

Mom's Picks for Part I

Bushed

I am bushed.