Jasper Journal

I love my adopted hometown of Colorado Springs for reasons that include the people, the setting, the  climate, the feel etc. Colorado Springs hosted the Men’s Senior Open several years ago, is the home of the US Olympic Committee,  NORAD and the US Air Force Academy,  Garden of the Gods, and don’t forget Pikes Peak .

 So it makes me happy when others can witness the beauty that I see everyday. That’s why I encourage you to tune in to ESPN2 today,  or NBC this weekend , and watch the US Women’s Open Golf Championship being played this week at the Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs. The event has been going on since Monday, however the first round began today.

I was there, and was thrilled to see some of the best  golfers in the world.  The crowds were large but the organization was superb. Get this: no charge for parking, free shuttles, ridiculously reasonable prices, and civility everywhere. Take that baseball, football, basketball and hockey!  The golfers are talented, poised, friendly and approachable. I could not believe how close you can get to them on their tee shots or on the green. This is one sport that I really think is worthwhile to see in person.

 This tournament was years in the planning, and it showed in the flawless execution. Actually, flawless except for mother nature who forced cancellation of today’s matches just as the afternoon session was starting. Oh well, just that much more for tomorrow. Now I write this not just as a  kudo to Colorado  Springs for hosting it so well, but as a note of encouragement to my golfing readers out there. These women are incredible! While physically many are small in stature and physique, they can hit a golf ball a mile. Even their bad shots are infinitely better than any good shot I ever made! Maybe we can do this after all?

They give me hope. They help perpetuate the dream that maybe someday I too can hit decent drives or approach shots… or even mediocre shots by their standards. Golf is the perpetual challenge that perhaps you can do better than the day before. And after all, isn’t that a great philosophy for life?

So as this holiday shortened week draws to a close, I wish you all a happy weekend. Enjoy yourselves and check out the Open… you will not be disappointed.

My mom used to describe certain people  as being  ”black Irish.” I was never certain what that meant, but I am sure if she were alive today she would not call Barack Obama Black Irish, or Irish of any type.  However, since he inherited it from his mother, sad as it may be, I guess he can consider himself part Irish. His trip to Ireland is being fawned over by almost all US media. You would think things are going great here: Dont we have a huge budget crisis, horrendous unemployment, $4 a gallon gas etc? Well, I guess it is more important to watch the anointed one drink Guinness and tell the Irish their best days are ahead of them.  Hey, didn’t he say that here too before everything tanked?

Well not everyone is a fan of our young president, and an article in Britains Daily Telegraph is an example. The Brits have not forgotten the slights Obama directed their way and are not taken in by his grandiloquent oratory. The article  is typically biting and sarcastic, but points out some very interesting things. See if you agree.

By James Delingpole, May 23rd

Ah Bejaysus and Begorrah! Oi’ll be swearin’ boi the auld shrine to the Vorgin with the shamrocks growin’ round it next to the hill where Cuchullain slew the Great Leprechaun of Kildare on St Patrick’s Day that Barack Seamus O’Toole Flaherty Joyce O’Bama is the most Irish US president that ever set foot on the Emerald Oisle, so he is, so he is.

Except, when he’s in Africa,of course, when he disappears into the dry ice and re-emerges with a grass skirt and a bone through his nose and declares himself to be Mandingo, Prince of the Bloodline of the Bonga People, Drinker of Cattle Urine, Father of A Thousand Warrior Sons, Keeper of King Solomon’s Mines, Barehanded Slayer of Lions, Undaunted Victim of the Evil Colonial British Empire.

And in the Middle East, where he is Al-Barak Hussein Obama, Protector of the Holy Shrine, Smiter of the Kuffar, Lion of the Desert, Tent-Loving-Aficionado-of-the-Oversweetened-Coffee, Chomper of Sheeps’ Eyeballs, Restorer of the Caliphate.

Etc.

Tony Blair used to do this trick too, his accent mutating from broad Glaswegian to genteel Edinburgh to Mummerset to Estuary to Richard E Grant to Sarf London Grime – often in the course of one Downing Street reception – the better to persuade his target audience that he was their kind of guy. And it is, of course, the hallmark of an unutterable charlatan.

I’ve argued before that Tony Blair and Barack Obama have an awful lot in common. Both are lawyers; both are snake-oil-salesman; both claim to be post-partisan, and Third Way and consensual; both play the acceptable, moderate-seeming public face of a regime chock full of Communists, class warriors, single issue rabble rousers, malcontents, communitarians and eco-loons hell bent on destroying every last vestige of what once made their country great. And both do (or did) the things dodgy political leaders always do when the going gets tough at home and their domestic audience finally wises up to how totally useless they are: they hop on the plane and pose as international statesman instead.

My colleague Damian Thompson appears to be under the impression that Obama is a great guy because he said nice things about the Queen. Look, I think the Queen’s great too, but did it really not occur to my distinguished colleague (and editor) that there might have been a hint of an ulterior motive here? Obama can’t stand Britain (his wife likes us even less): he made that clear enough when he sent back Winston Churchill’s bust and dissed our Prime Minister with those dodgy DVDS. He blames us for what happened to his grandfather during Mau Mau. He doesn’t believe in the Special Relationship. Are we honestly supposed to believe in that during the subsequent year in office, Obama has since acquired such wisdom and insight that he suddenly realises how special we are?

Of course he hasn’t. Obama is just doing now what all bullies and losers start doing when they realise how unpopular they are and that everyone is abandoning them. They suck up to anybody and everybody. They whore themselves piteously before enemies they once considered beneath their contempt. Fain will they fill their bellies with husks that swine eat – but which no man will give them: and serve them jolly well right, too!

By all means let us enjoy watching Obama smarm and grovel and ingratiate himself like some presidential Uriah Heep. But for heaven’s sake let us never give him the benefit of the doubt. He’s a cold fish and would certainly never show any mercy towards us were the roles to be reversed.

Spring vacation is now officially over for our family for 2011. We drove a total of 2720 miles from Colorado to San Diego and back. Along the way we met wonderful people and enjoyed the incredible scenery of the southwest as well as experiencing spring break in Cabo San Lucas Mexico. UNBELIEVABLE!
I encourage everyone to see as much of this country as possible, especially driving through it. On this trip we discovered places like Escondido and Miramar California; Gila Bend , Payson , Mesa , and Yuma Arizona; Albuquerque and Santa Fe New Mexico. Some places we just passed through, others we visited for several days.
America is an awesome country and we have so much to be thankful for. However, we also have an obligation to ensure it remains great for the next generation. This means speaking out and fighting for the values that have endured over the years. This blog is one way we can speak out and share our ideas. Your comments make me think and hopefully the articles and videos do the same for you. So happy Monday and it’s great to be home.