POWIP Piece of Work In Progress

Goodbyes

This was the Packers fan I asked for prayers for a couple months ago.

A couple of months ago one of the men I adored most in this world, my Uncle Bill, suffered a stroke. Since then he had been struggling through a tortuous attempt at recovery. At 1:15 Wednesday afternoon his suffering stopped.

I've written ad nauseam about my dad. Bill was his little brother and best friend. I'm so glad Bill was too far away to watch my dad's death and that Dad wasn't here for the last two months. When I was pregnant with my daughter I was thrilled to find out she was a girl, but a part of me was also bummed as I thought about how great it would be to have two little boys if they would be like Dad and Bill (in fact we were going to name her Bill). Years ago there was a television show called Sisters about the relationships and lives of four grown sisters. In one episode the matriarch of the family said that your siblings are the only people you have from the cradle to the grave (paraphrasing). That always stuck with me. Dad and Bill had the ideal relationship most mothers dream of for their children.

Like Dad, Bill was a child of the depression. He went on to serve in Korea and marry Jan, the woman he would remain in love with for the rest of his life. They raised my four cousins whom I also adore. He managed an auto parts warehouse until his retirement, then volunteered at the information desk at the Quad City International Airport and at Arrowhead Ranch, an agency that helps at risk youth. He was a very dedicated member of his church and was truly a light in the world who found ways to glorify God simply by the way he lived his everyday life. So that's the form letter stuff. Here are the memories of him that I cherish.

I can't remember exactly what the gift was, but in spite of being a huge Packers fan (the only kind they make), he gave me some sort of Bears memorabilia as a gift. At the time I didn't fully grasp the rivalry and hadn't thought about it in years, but as I was curled up in the fetal position watching the Superbowl Shuffle on YouTube during the last NFL post-season I remembered that and realized the greater significance.

I remember that he owned very fancy things like one of those stereos you could dub tapes with (someone tell Emma what tapes were). He used it to introduce me to the music of Chet Atkins and Nanci Griffith and the comedy of Steven Wright - all in the same week.

I remember him every time I flip by the Crook and Chase country countdown on the radio.

I remember him when I smell a swimming pool because of all the summer gatherings spent and Bill and Jan's.

I remember that the last time He and Jan visited Washington he made the 4 hour trip to my new home to meet my new husband and child in Northeast Washington. He was already suffering terribly with arthritis, and I could tell when he arrived that he probably shouldn't have made the trip.

I remember the Silvis Country Music festival, Whitey's Ice Cream and Harris Pizza.

I remember that his arthritis caused him to have a really hard time sleeping. He would catch some Zs where ever he could; bed, couch, chair, etc. and joked that he "slept around". The look on my chiropractors face when I used that line a few months ago reminded me of that.

I remember when he called me out of the blue shortly after my dad died on an afternoon that I really needed it. I remember that he ended that call like he always did, by saying "I love ya'."

I remember that he had a running prayer list hundreds of entries long.

I remember a hundred other things that there just aren't words for. But most of all I will remember what every other life he touched will remember, that Bill Dailing had the biggest heart of any man I've ever known.

Goodbye for now, Uncle Billy. I love you too.

“Down the Rabbit Hole” with Duchess Rebecca von Grunewald

Rebecca Watson Grunewald

Down the Rabbit Hole with Duchess Rebecca

Libya: War, Progressivism and Expediency

Remember George Bush II's "illegal wars"? Remember the "Unitary Executive"? In keeping with the fascistic proliferation of czars, unaccountable agencies with enormous powers, Congress's unconstitutional transfer of lawmaking powers to political appointees, the stonewalling of the DoJ, the firing of Inspectors General, and all the rest, Obama announces that US participation in the NATO operation in Libya does not rise to the "threshold" that would require him to seek a Congressional declaration.: Jim Geraghty's Morning Jolt email:

Yup, this is their defense:

The White House is telling Congress that President Obama has the legal authority to continue American participation in the NATO-led air war in Libya, even though lawmakers have not authorized it. In a broader package of materials the Obama administration is sending to Congress on Wednesday defending its Libya policy, the White House, for the first time, offers lawmakers and the public an argument for why Mr. Obama has not been violating the War Powers Resolution since May 20.

On that day, the Vietnam-era law's 60-day deadline for terminating unauthorized hostilities appeared to pass. But the White House argued that the activities of United States military forces in Libya do not amount to full-blown "hostilities" at the level necessary to involve the section of the War Powers Resolution that imposes the deadline.

"We are acting lawfully," said Harold Koh, the State Department legal adviser, who expanded on the administration's reasoning in a joint interview with White House Counsel Robert Bauer.

The two senior administration lawyers contended that American forces have not been in "hostilities" at least since April 7, when NATO took over leadership in maintaining a no-flight zone in Libya, and the United States took up what is mainly a supporting role -- providing surveillance and refueling for allied warplanes -- although unmanned drones operated by the United States periodically fire missiles as well.

Got that? The guys trying to shoot down our drones and our allies' planes are not, technically, "hostile" to us. Perhaps they're merely surly.

Change.

Because It’s Such A Pain to Knock Down The Door

Apparently, if you own a business or rent an apartment in Cedar Falls, Iowa, then your expectation of privacy needs to be re-set.  Also, apparently, residents and business owners in other nearby cities have already experienced that drop in privacy.

The city council has passed an ordinance, awaiting the mayor's signature, that expands an existing requirement.  Currently, commercial businesses and apartments with six or more units are required to have a lockbox outside the building that contains keys to the building; in case of emergency.  Cedar Falls is a college town, so there are going to be lots of residents enjoying life knowing that there's a key to their building right outside in a marked (but locked) box.

Condemned as Racist, Ladd Ehlinger Tells Dems “Suck It”

Naturally, those maintainers of high standards and beacons of journalistic ethics at Gawker were among those calling for Hahn's opponent and everyone else on the right to denounce the attack ad and its creator. He responds:

Update 6/15/2011: I hereby call upon the DCCC and Janice Hahn to issue an immediate, blanket condemnation of the harming of any person by their "Gang Intervention Specialists."

Update 6/15/2011: Holy Moly! For the media too lazy to do research, here's a RICO indictment in PDF form.

Update 6/15/2011: The DCCC and Janice Hahn demand that the video come down and that I apologize!
My answer: No! I didn't kill anyone. I didn't even enable anyone to kill anyone. And... oh yeah: suck it! The ad's funny. It makes me laugh. So if, for some reason, it's pulled by youTube, a thousand will be launched in its place all over Algorez' Internetz. Because you're only drawing more attention to your past of supporting criminals, Janice, and forcing policemen out of their jobs for doing their duty. So there you go. Claim victimhood all you like, but how many people were victimized by your coddling? There's a reason Mayor Villaraigosa took the program away from you. He's a Democrat. So are you. Think about it.

Latest from BJ Tex

Just chatted with him. The second surgery went well. He took a walk today, tires easily, but otherwise feeling pretty good.

Additionally, and I quote:

God is great! Round II; DING!

His family put him in touch with his best friends from college, whom he hasn't seen in 30 years. BJ may write something for us about that, tomorrow.