41-30

I'm thinking that next time, instead of gathering the team to vote on what color clothes you'll wear, Georgia would be better served running a few extra drills on the practice field. Honestly, UGA has some of the most dedicated fans in the SEC -- you don't need to coordinate your outfits to get everyone pumped for the game.

I was lucky enough to make it up to Athens yesterday, and thanks to Kim's getting us free rides to where we needed to go, and Amber's superior negotiating skills, not only did I have a fabulous time, but I also got my ticket for only $80.00! We couldn't get 5 all together, so we bought what we could and ended up sitting in the student endzone (kind of a hostile place for anyone decked out in Crimson and White, but other than one or two bad seeds, I was actually not treated all too poorly).

As excellent as my Tide (yes, they're mine, but don't worry, I'll share them with whomever wants to join me) played the first half, I was a little disappointed to see Georgia's first half performance. Don't get me wrong, I wanted Bama to win and win big, but I wanted them to do it by beating one of the best teams in the country while that team was playing its best. But Stafford's timing was off. Knowshon didn't get to work his magic as much as we're used to him doing. The D-Line just didn't seem to be as quick as normal. I would never in a million years have bet you that the score would be 31-0 at the half.

The second half was more along the lines of what I was expecting yesterday. Georgia showed up. They were quick, smart and hard-hitting. Stafford still had some timing issues (but just for the record, I don't think it was intentional grounding either -- exactly how far out of the pocket do you want the kid to go before he can throw it away?!? He was 5 yards from the freakin' sideline for crying out loud), but they started getting points on the board, and the whole stadium seemed to regain some of its energy. However, as much as I hate to do it after a loss to a team I respect, I have to take the Georgia fans to task for this:



Mass exodus with 7 minutes remaining in the 4th. Georgia, c'mon, you're not Miami. Stop it. Despite this rather obvious display of lack of support from the fans in the stadium, the Dawgs actually did turn up the volume in the last 4 minutes and make a couple touchdowns. I almost wish it was a closer game, because I take a lot of pride seeing so many SEC teams in the top 25...but then again, what with Florida's shenanigans yesterday, I'm not so sure the SEC is going to elbow in on the top 10 as much as it did earlier in the season.

On a different note though, I'd like to give Bama's offensive line a ton of credit for playing smart, clean football. Those boys blocked well and kept those yellow flags in the waistband of the officials, and you just can't ask more from them. Lots of kudos should also go to Bama's defense for reading the offense so well and disrupting so many passes. Pre-season, I called it for Bama at 7-5. So far, I'm being pleasantly proven wrong. I sincerely hope it continues. I hope my boys make me look like I don't know what I'm talking about. I'm elated that Saban isn't earning quite as much per win this year as last. I love his strategy in trying to make the team come back after the half like there's no score on the board (which, let's be honest, is Bama's biggest pitfall, the whole not coming back to play after halftime). It might be too much to hope for that I can justify spending a ridiculous amount of money on memorabilia pursuant to College Football Fan Rule 45 come January, but hey, a girl can dream, right?

Courtesy of Ben

THE 57 COLLEGE FOOTBALL FAN RULES:

Let's face it: Life requires rules. Precepts to live by, laws to abide by, dictums to follow, lest civilization devolve into a Hobbesian state of nature, "Lord of the Flies," with all of us grasping for the conch and no one agreeing if it takes one or both feet inbounds for a sideline catch to count.

College football fandom is no different.

AP Photo

If you win the whole damn thing you can pretty much do what you want. Well, almost anything.

Is it OK to root for two schools? Is it ever OK to root for a rival? As a fan, how many Freedom of Information Act requests can I file before it seems creepy? Such are the questions that try boosters' souls. But fear not: Page 2 is here to help.

After months of careful deliberation and a two-week retreat to the College Football Hall of Fame, Page 2 has compiled a list of 57 rules for college football fandom. Learn them. Love them. But we need 100 rules, so please use the conversation pages to help us fill out the list. We'll add the best of your suggestions to Page 2's official list. Step out of the confusing darkness, and into clarity's* sweet light…

* Note: Clarity does not apply to BCS debates

I. ALLEGIANCES, OR WHO YA GOT?

1. As a fan, you have to pick a school, one school, same as if you were filling out applications to, you know, go to school there. You may not be a fan of a conference, teams from a specific state, "West Coast football" or college football in general. Nobody is a fan of college football in general, not even Lee Corso. Nor may you root for Harvard and Yale, any more than you could matriculate at both places, unless you're really, really smart, in which case you're probably building prototype military surveillance nanobots in your MIT dorm room, and/or devising a computerized ranking system* to shame Jeff Sagarin.

* Note: In scenario No. 2, you are allowed to root for the spread. Just make sure Skynet never becomes self-aware

AP Photo

The trendy team? Only if you went there, or someone you married did.

1a. Under extenuating circumstances, however, you may have up to three Division I-A rooting allegiances, so long as the schools meet the following criteria:

(a) Your birthplace/family school – especially if an inheritance is at stake, or if a campus library bears your last name.
(b) Al(most)ma mater – the school you transferred from.
(c) The school that actually handed you a diploma. Or would have, if you hadn't finished three credits short.
(d) Your spouse's school, especially if the program is vastly superior to your own, or your spouse cares waaaay more than you do, in which case: good call on getting married!
(e) You're a bandwagon-jumping, low-self-esteem weenie and scurry from Notre Dame to Miami to Ohio State to USC to Boise State depending on the year, the polls and the amount of water flooding into the ship.

If you can't be true to a school, at least be true to your own weaselly nature.

2. Your schools of allegiance must be in different conferences. Unless the conference in question is the ACC, in which case you may root for Duke and anyone else, since the Blue Devils might as well play in another conference – like, say, the Patriot League.

3. If your schools of allegiance ever play each other, you must pick one to root for, before the game, and put your preference in writing, ALL CAPS, preferably in blood. No sitting on the fence, no qualified endorsements, no switching sides at halftime, and especially none of this:

4. If you attended a lower-division or NAIA school, you're allowed to pick a D-I school of your choice. But you must consistently root for that school year in and year out, and it's preferred that the school be geographically close to you.

4a. Or you can just root for Appalachian State every week.

4b. Notre Dame? How very original.

5. You may not bet against your favorite team unless you're: (a) trying to purge it of a rotten coach; (b) in Vegas and about to sell bodily fluids or organs to cover your previous losses (thanks, Michigan!); (c) looking at a huge spread and you think your team will win but not cover, probably 'cause its coached by Phil Fulmer.

6. You may use the Freedom of Information Act once per decade on your favorite team. This is America , after all.

7. Unlimited use of the Freedom of Information Act is permitted for your rival schools. America: [Expletive] Yeah!

8. If a team from your conference makes the BCS title game and is a sworn rival, you cannot root for that team. Not now. Not ever. Not even if under duress, gunpoint or waterboarding in an Eastern European black site CIA detention center.

AP Photo

Movie-based trash talk is always welcome.

8a. Michigan fans should not have been rooting for Ohio State in the national title game. That's just wrong. And, frankly, a little sick.

9. You are allowed to root freely against the following schools for no specific reasons: Notre Dame; Notre Dame in their puke-green jerseys; Notre Dame when playing on "Triumph of the Will"-shaming propaganda house organ NBC; USC; any school that plays its fight song approximately 4,387 times per game like USC; Michigan; Miami; Ohio State; any school like Ohio State with a pretentious "the" in front of its name, because otherwise how would we know which Ohio State university they were talking about?; any school coached by Steve Spurrier; any school coached by Nick Saban.

II. ATTIRE, OR WHAT TO WEAR

10. Please observe the following age limits on male attire:

WireImage.com

Kudos to these Longhorns fans: Shirtless but wearing body paint.

• 25-and-under: Team jersey or shirtless (body paint mandatory)
• 26-35: T-shirt, jersey, shirtless if you work out at least three times per week and/or have a BMI reading of less than "morbidly obese"
• 36-50: Polo shirt
• 51-75: Sweater vest with polo shirt underneath; sweatshirt from bowl victory two decades ago
• 75-over: Shirtless, alcoholic steam rising from graying chest hair

11. Please observe the following age limits on female attire: • 25-and-under: Baby-doll tank top, or sports bra if spelling out letter with body paint; cowboy hats; short shorts with team nickname on rear; nothing but a letter of intent and a smile (recruiting hostesses only)
• 26-35: T-shirt, jersey or sweatshirt
• 36-50: Any outfit accented by bead-heavy team necklace
• 51-75: Any outfit accented by glittery hat or electric glasses
• 75-over: Hair must be dyed school colors; polyester pants to match.

12. If your team changes its uniform, go ahead and buy the new jersey – as long as it's on your parents' credit card.

AP Photo

Politically correct? Come on! This is college football!

13. University of Oregon fans are exempt from all jersey-wearing rules.

13a. When using crayons, University of Oregon fans also are exempt from having to color within the lines.

13b. University of Oregon fans are permitted to put on a jersey, look in the mirror and procl.. My god, it's full of stars.

13c. University of Oregon fans wearing jerseys may qualify for federal Superfund status. Contact the EPA.

14. Team hats should never contain more animal hair than the family pet.

14a. Unless you're a Tennessee fan.

15. If you weigh less than 150 pounds, you can spell out only the following letters when shirtless and wearing body paint: I, L, T.

15a. If you weigh more than 275 pounds, you can spell out only the following letters when shirtless and wearing body paint: O, W, M.

15b. If you're a hot coed, paint yourself with Chinese characters for all we care

16. Southern frat boys not wearing khakis and a tie to the game must forfeit one bourbon and Coke.

16a. Southern fans wearing team-colored seersucker suits with matching bow ties drink free for the season.

17. Midwestern adults not wearing jersey of favorite white player to the game are penalized one Old Style.

18. Los Angeles fans really ought to have a tan.

19. "COCKS" hats? Good one, brah!

20. "Property of School Athletic Department" sweatshirts are acceptable, but they work best as an ironic comment on the state of student-athletes.

III. LIFESTYLE, OR WHY DID I EVER THINK GRADUATION WAS A GOOD IDEA?
21. You must know the rules of beer pong. Even if you're "retired."

21a. Dude, no one ever retires from beer pong.

22. You must be willing and able to sing the school fight song at any moment, in any location, under any circumstances.

22a. You must be able to remember the always-forgotten second/third verse of the school fight song, but only when utterly intoxicated.

23. You may have a school license plate if you are not an alum, but only if your car horn also plays the school fight song.

24. It is OK to deny the existence of your school's male cheerleaders.

24a. Even if they someday become president.

AP Photo

It is against any and all rules to dis the USC song girls.

25. It is never OK to deny the hotness of the USC song girls.

25a. Not even if you attend UCLA.

26. Please observe the following age guidelines on appropriate thoughts to have while ogling the USC song girls:

• 11-15: What is this strange tingling feeling?
• 16-18: College is going to be awesome.
• 18-24: Damn, I wish she'd wear that skirt to sociology class.
• 25-35: College was awesome.
• 36-50: Damn, I wish she'd wear a burka or something. That could be my baby daughter!
• 51-75: Gee, what a lovely young lady. I hope she meets a nice boy.
• 75-over: What is this strange tingling feeling? Do I have to go to the bathroom again?

27. You are allowed to start tailgating six hours before kickoff.

27a. If you want to remember the game, do not drink heavily during those six hours.

27b. Four hours of drinking is more reasonable.

28. Always yield to the rich alumni driving the decked-out Winnebagos.

28a. They mix the best drinks.

28b. And they might be hiring you in six months.

29. If you have a TV at your tailgate, you must expect and allow other fans to congregate around your area and sneak a peek. Share your bounty!

29a. Especially if Notre Dame is on and is getting its golden little teeth kicked in by Georgia Tech.

30. If tailgating at South Carolina and there are more than six people present, one must be wearing a real, stuffed gamecock on his/her head.

30a. Sorry, PETA.

AP Photo

If anyone has an extra jaguar, Southern is looking for a new one. (Sorry PETA.)

31. You must leave your tailgate at least 20 minutes before kickoff and be in your seat for the national anthem.

31a. Unless you're getting digits.

32. Never leave a game early, unless: (a) it's a blowout and there's a great game just starting on TV; (b) it's time to use those digits.

33. When arguing with fans from another conference, you are allowed to cite the accomplishments of rival schools within your conference.

33a. Grudgingly.

34. You must have at least two bobbleheads or stuffed animals on your office desk, or a combination of one bobblehead and one stuffed animal.

34a. No refrigerator schedule magnet? Then the terrorists have already won.

35. If your significant other went to a rival school, no sex on rivalry game day.

35a. If your significant other went to a rival school, all wagers should involve sex.

35b. If rule 35a is in effect, waive rule 35.

36. You must buy a letterman's jacket to display the letter you won in band.

36a. You must not write Page 2 to explain how band members are really athletes.

AP Photo

Friends don't let friends date body painters.

37. (For men): Never hit on a woman while wearing face paint.

37a. (For men): Always hit on a woman who is wearing face paint.

38. (For women): Never hit on a man spelling out the following letters in body paint: O, W, M.

39. Anyone who calls Division I-AA by the new name "Division I Football Championship Subdivision" must receive one punch directly to the throat.

39a. If you are giving the punch, remember: This hurts you more than it hurts them.

40. You must make at least one road trip while in college without tickets or a hotel room lined up ahead of time.

40a. Bonus points if you spend the night in a sorority house.

40b. Double bonus points if you spend the night in a sorority house wearing nothing but a stuffed gamecock on your head.

IV. GLOATING, OR WHY ANYONE BOTHERS TO BE A FAN IN THE FIRST PLACE

41. Observe the following statutes of limitations:

(a) Bragging about national title: 25 years
(b) Bragging about a top-five finish: 15 years
(c) Bragging about a top-five finish if you are Ohio State, USC, Florida , Miami, Tennessee, Michigan, Florida State, Texas, Oklahoma: 0 years
(d) Bragging about a BCS bowl win: 10 years
(e) Bragging about a blowout BCS bowl win over Notre Dame: one year, or until someone else joins the club
(f) Bragging about Heisman winner: 10 years
(g) Bragging about Heisman winners whose last names rhyme with "Baretta": six months
(h) Bragging about Heisman winners named "O.J.": null
(i) Bragging about a big upset of your rival: Five years on a daily basis, for eternity at least twice a year
(j) Bragging about a victory, any victory: Two years*

* Note: Applies to Duke only

42. You must never be proud of your 6-5 bowl team.

42a. Unless, of course, it's Duke.

AP Photo

Uh-oh, Notre Dame ... here comes Navy!

43. You must always overestimate the strength of your favorite team's conference.

43a. You must always overestimate the strength of those plucky service academies, if your favorite team is Notre Dame.

44. You must cheer at the stadium when the public-address announcer reveals that your rival school is losing.

44a. You must let out an "oooooooh" when the public address announcer alerts you to an upset in progress.

44b. You must let out an "ooooooh … ahhhhhhh!" when the public address announcer alerts you to an upset in progress involving your rival school.

45. If your team wins the national championship, you are allowed to spend $1,000 on commemorative items with absolutely no questions asked.

45a. No questions means no questions, not even about the leather hardbound Sports Illustrated just-add-water Chia book.

46. You must change the bumper stickers on your car every five years.

46a. Note: Please remove the "1985 Orange Bowl champs" sticker immediately.

V. TAUNTING, OR THE ONLY THING BETTER THAN GLOATING

47. Always assume that your league rivals are cheating. Always assume your school's great kids epitomize throwback student-athletes, with footballs under one arm and textbooks under the other.

47a. Pay no attention to the fact that said textbooks are for: (a) physical education; (b) sociology; (c) theory of football; (d) theory of ballroom dancing.

48. If you root for an SEC school, you are not allowed to act sanctimonious when a rival conference program is busted for academic fraud, dirty recruiting or any other NCAA rules violation. Instead, give thanks for your see-no-evil compliance department.

48a. You are, however, allowed to snicker.

48b. You may also file a FOIA request.

49. Feel free to spread a rumor that your rival's head coach is having an affair. You heard it from a very reliable source at a frat party.

50. You must always deny – with great conviction – that there are patsies on your favorite team's schedule when attacking the schedules of rivals. Youngstown State is a formidable opponent! And there are no American tanks at the Baghdad airport!

51. Never call to taunt a rival fan when the game is still in progress, unless your team holds a lead of 28 points or more in the second half.

51a. A snarky text message works fine.

52. Never answer the phone after your team loses a big game.

52a. Better still, unplug your phone.

52b. Even better still, throw your phone out the window. Then run it over.

AP Photo

And always be willing to take your I-AA medicine.

53. Never skip work the following Monday after your team loses a big game. Take your medicine like a real fan.

54. If you get on the message boards and/or call talk radio demanding that the coach be fired after your team loses the opener, you must stick with it and continue to pay the domain registration fee for FireLloydCarr.com for the next five years.

54a. Even when they turn it around and go 11-1.

54b. Or when Carr is fired.

55. Statute of limitations on ripping Lee Corso for not putting on the headgear of your team, and then having the nerve to pick the other guys instead: one year.

56. You are allowed one e-mail per season to a media outlet – local or national – bitterly complaining about the lack of respect for your school and the obvious media bias against your conference.

56a. More than one such e-mail makes you a paranoid crybaby.

56b. If you're a Pac-10 fan, just shut up already.

57. Do not call the opposing punter a wuss from the safety of the stands. He's probably tougher than you are. And if he's from Northern Colorado, he might have to cut you.

57a. Besides, throwing a ziplock bag of urine works much better.

Convincing evidence that US citizens vote for the President like it's a high school yearbook superlative...

This, courtesy of my good friend Becky:
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Interesting fact as our election approaches:

Since 1956, no newspaper, network, or news agency has been able to correctly predict the outcome of all 13 presidential elections—except for one group. Every four years for a half century, the quarter million children who vote in the Weekly Reader Presidential poll have been right every time.


~So if you want to know who will win the election ask a kid!
Becky
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Kids don't think about the issues. They don't look at voting history in office. They are 100% convinced that if you call someone a flip-flopper, you're saying they're a person wearing the sandals that have one strap over your big toe and another over the rest. They vote based on who they think looks like a president, or who they think is cooler. It's sad that the way kids pick who will be president so accurately mirrors how voting adults pick who will be president. When are we going to start taking our right to vote seriously?!? When are we going to really show our appreciation for the thousands of American men and women who died to give us the right to vote by exercising that right after serious consideration and evaluation of the issues?!?

The men and women of my grandfather's generation knew more about how our government operates and more about what the Constitution actually says than the average so-called pundit on either side of the aisle these days. The vast majority of US citizens these days can't even tell you what rights each amendment of the Bill of Rights provides (fyi, there is no Constitutional Right to Privacy as it pertains to private individuals -- the Constitution only protects you from state actions, contrary to popular belief). The main difference between that generation and my own? Ownership. Men and women of my grandfather's generation felt a sense of ownership in the state and federal government. They knew that the power of any free nation comes from its people. People of my generation treat state and federal government like nothing more than a nanny. It's time we started owning our government again.

It's time we stopped whining about what our government does when most of the whiners don't even bother to vote -- or if they do, they only vote in the presidential election, but not their municipal, county, state or federal elections. Most people think that what a city counselman or county commissioner does doesn't actually affect them. They're wrong. These are the people whose actions affect you most dearly on a day-to-day basis. Your state legislators are the people who create the state laws by which you must abide (else you may end up a guest of your local Sheriff, or worse, the State). Your federal legislators are the ones responsible for creating and maintaining the numerous federal programs that directly affect the amount of the federal taxes you pay. These offices are important. They do not need to be filled haphazardly. Pay attention, people! We have no one else to blame but ourselves for the state of our state and federal governments. We have no one else to blame but ourselves for the state of our economy. We have no one else to blame but ourselves for the state of our foreign policy. Many people say our system is broken. It's because WE broke it. We broke it when we became apathetic about owning our own country.

We need to be more like the Martin Luther Kings of our country; more like the Abraham Lincolns of our country; more like the Susan B. Anthonys of our country. If we see a problem, we shouldn't simply whine about it -- we should take action and DO something about it! Man up, people. Don't let the kids keep predicting who we vote into office with such accuracy. We're talking about the offices of our governing bodies, not the yearbook superlatives. Elections should not simply be a popularity contest. They should be the means by which we interview the people competing for those jobs.

Five Questions

This blogging thing is getting addictive...my friend, Betsy, got me into it. And even though she didn't 'tag' me with this one, I'm jacking it just the same...

1. What were you doing 10 years ago?

September 1998 I was a junior in high school at Stratford (GO KNIGHTS!). We were smack dab in the middle of the fall semester so I would have been doing off-season training for track and being the manager for the volleyball team (because it was actually really fun and I just wasn't good enough to make the team, sigh)...oh yeah, and I was going to class too.

2. What are 5 items on your to-do list?

• get back into shape -- the move and work and family events have kind of killed my workout routine...but I'm getting back into it and I joined a way better gym than I was previously at so it's really a fun item on my to-do list
  
• get caught up at work...but with a certain pro se plaintiff being the bain of my existence, this is becoming increasingly difficult to do
  
• request my absentee ballot for the November elections (because hey, I live in a city of 5 million people and really don't care to fight the crowds)....p.s. GO VOTE, PEOPLE!!! If you don't vote, you have absolutely no place to whine about how much you dislike what the elected officials are doing in office
  
• find tickets to the Bama/UGA game that don't require me mortgaging the soul of my first born male child...so yeah, if anyone can help me find some, give me a shout!
  
• get a haircut. it's been months. and it's getting obnoxious.
  

3. Snacks I enjoy

I'm a huge fan of dried pineapple. I also thoroughly enjoy natural flavored popcorn. And I usually always have some of the dried fruit bars from Archer Farms on hand...yeah, so I have a huge sweet tooth and most of my snacks are sweet ones...

4. What would you do if you were a billionaire?

Pay off the student loans. Buy one of those adorable 4-story brownstone townhouses in Brookhaven. Buy an Astin Martin DB9. Build dad's dream log home on the retirement property. Pay off their debt. Make my brother a trust fund baby. Set up a scholarship at the University of Alabama in my cousin's honor for students who have suffered catastrophic injuries. Buy 4 seats of season tickets on the 50, 15 rows off the field, and a condo at Crimson Place. Endow Happy Days & Special Times. Travel the world.....and (grudgingly) give half of it to Uncle Sam.

5. Six places I would live:

Charleston, London, Tampa, DC, Orlando, or Amsterdam

This is the point where I'm supposed to tag people...but since I don' know anyone who blogs other than Bets, I'm not exactly able to.

...now I remember why I don't want to be President

Ok, so thus far I've refused to be baited into any political discussions for the simple reason that it's one of two topics that you're never going to change someone's mind about, no matter how awesome you may be in debates. But this week's absurdity has compelled me to say out loud (or, um, in type, as it were) why it is that I don't want to be president...

My cousins' grandparents (Gram and Gramps Molinski) love me like I'm one of their own. I love them right back. But every time I get a chance to visit with them, they always ask me "when are you gonna run for president?" I always laugh and make some crack about not having a strong enough verbal filter for that job or having too low of a bullsh*t tolerance, yada yada yada. But to be specific for a change, the reason why I don't want to be the president of the United States of America is simple: you're never going to be good enough to do the job. No matter your platform, no matter your stance on the issues, no matter the level of dedication or service to your country, millions of your own citizens are going to hate you, and the vast majority of the rest of the world is going to hate you too. And don't get me started on the media...

It's gotten to the point where I can't force myself to watch the news. While I normally watch Fox and Friends in the morning because the interaction between Steve and Brian makes me giggle, I found myself being similarly disgusted with them as I normally would be with CNN or NBC. My issue with Fox News is this: Obama was not referring to Sarah Palin when he referenced putting lipstick on a pig!!! If you took the time to hear the entire speech, you'd know unequivocally that Obama was talking about McCain when he said "you can put lipstick on a pig, but it's still a pig." He was referring to the fact that despite the fact that the McCain campaign has started to use the 'change' theme, he's still more of the same old establishment. Admittedly, it was a boneheaded move on Obama's part to reference 'lipstick' in any way, given the roaring popularity of Palin's joke at the RNC, but I'm fairly certain he wasn't thinking about that joke when he made his. Don't get me wrong, I'm no Obama fan, but sheesh, cut the guy some slack, will ya?

Now onto the liberal establishment. I find it completely ironic how people are attacking Palin's inexperience and using the argument that it's a serious concern given that McCain is so old and is far more likely to die during his first term, thus making Palin president. Let's think about this logically, shall we? The liberal establishment is saying that there's a strong possibility that if the Republican ticket is elected, a young, inexperienced, charismatic speaker will be president of the United States of America. But they completely ignore the fact that if the Democratic ticket is elected, it's a guaranteed certainty that a young, inexperienced, charismatic speaker will be president of the United States of America.

While I find it absurd that people are comparing the VP candidate on one side with the Presidential candidate on the other, it's happening, so let's discuss for just a second. The liberals say that Palin doesn't have the experience necessary to be president. Just for the record, Sarah Palin was a City Counsel Member from 1992 to 1996 in Wasilla, Alaska (a town of about 7,000 people). From 1996 to 2002, she was Mayor of Wasilla. From 2002 until January 2004, Palin served as Chair of the Alaska Oil and Natural Gas Commission. From 2004 until June 2005, she served as Director of Ted Stevens Excellence in Public Service, Inc., which was an organization designed to support and train Republican women in Alaska. In December 2006, Palin took office as Governor of Alaska and has served in that capacity since then.

Now let's look at Obama's record. Obama served as an Illinois state Senator from 1997 until 2004. He took office as a United States Senator in January 2005, and on February 10, 2007, he began his campaign for president of the United States of America. It has been noted repeatedly in by the liberal establishment that Obama was a community organizer from 1985 until roughly 1997. For those of you that don't know exactly what a community organizer is, it's a person that takes special interest in the community in which he or she lives and takes action via social groups and organizations to improve their community (or at least, that's what Wikipedia says...hey, I had to look it up too, because I wasn't exactly sure what it meant).

Admittedly, Obama has 7 years of legislative experience on the state level, and another 25 months of legislative experience on the federal level (yes, I know he's still technically a senator, but let's face it, for the past 19 months he's been somewhat distracted from his senatorial duties). While he spent 12 years helping to better his community, he had no actual public duties or authority. He has roughly 9 years of legislative experience but no executive experience whatsoever. Palin has 4 years of municipal legislative experience, 6 years of municipal executive experience, and 2 years of state executive experience. Additionally, she has 2 years experience heading a commission under the executive branch of state government, and another year of experience working as community organizer of sorts. Clearly, Obama beats Palin on the legislative experience, but, um....I'm not sure if y'all realized this but...the office of the President of the United States of America is an executive office, not a legislative office. Just, uh, FYI.

So, in summation, the liberal establishment is worried about the possibility that a young, charismatic speaker with 8 years of executive experience might take the highest executive office in the country if the Republicans win, but they're not worried at all about the absolute certainty that a young, charismatic speaker with 9 years of legislative experience will take the highest executive office in the country if the Democrats win. Honestly, people, attacking Palin on her inexperience as an executive is absurd considering the alternative is someone just as young and just as charismatic but with no executive experience. And may I just remind you all that Palin is running for vice-president? That's not the office of president -- it's the office of the spare; the person we call in if something happens to the head dude in charge; the BACKUP QUARTERBACK. Obama is running for president. You know, the head dude in charge? The STARTING QUARTERBACK?!? Don't get me wrong, Greg McElroy's a great guy, and I'm sure he's a great quarterback, but when it comes to gameday, I want John Parker Wilson taking the snaps, not wearing the headset on the sidelines....I'm just sayin'...

Oh yeah, and ROLL TIDE!

p.s. although I don't agree with his political beliefs, he's spot-on regarding his opinion of the media...and he's pretty hot to boot, so here's some Jon Stewart for your viewing pleasure -- trust me, it's worth the 10 minutes to watch this:

Brandon O'Neal Berry

Brandon O'Neal Berry was born in 1972, the second child of Johnny and Alice Berry, and baby brother to Alicia Berry (Jenne). As a boy he was full of energy and always up to something. I remember him running around with his cousin, Ben Berry, riding 4-wheelers and dirtbikes. There's a story about how our Great Aunt Levy, who was in her 70s at the time, was over at our mammaw's house with her hair in pin curls and a scarf around her head. Brandon invited her on a ride on the 3-wheeler, and naturally, Levy accepted. He went tearing out across the field with her on the back and popped a wheely, sending Aunt Levy's feet up over her head....don't worry though, nobody was hurt.

I also remember stories about him messing with his grandpa Page's fake geese...now, he was certainly not the first to do this; Neal Page has always been quite particular about those fake geese around his pond -- even my mom has messed with them. They'd get rearranged to look like they were mating; there'd be round rocks piled underneath them to look like they'd laid eggs; but one time, Brandon kidnapped them, took a polaroid picture of them, and made a ransom note -- even cut out letters from a magazine and everything.

Brandon had the best sense of humor, and timing that would make Mel Brooks jealous. He had an infectious laugh, and never met a stranger -- when I say that everyone who ever knew him loved him, it's no hyperbole.

When Brandon was 14, he was driving a rig for his daddy and was forced off the road. The driver didn't even bother to stop. Brandon was pinned under the steering wheel and the truck caught fire. My Uncle Johnny, his father, tried to get him out but the door was jammed. He tried to put out the fire but the extinguisher was just no match. He tried to get people to help him pull his only son out of the burning truck but no one did. Brandon was burned so badly he lost both legs. He spent months and months in Memphis at the burn unit, but never complained. Coach Curry even came to see him -- and if there's one thing Brandon loved besides his family no matter what, it was his Crimson Tide. When Brandon finally came home, every tree in Red Bay had a yellow ribbon on it.

Being in a wheel chair didn't slow him down one bit...if anything, it made him convinced he could do anything he wanted. There's a story about him rolling his go-cart into the creek and him diving in to pull it out. Brandon found a way to do things his way no matter what anyone told him.

A few years ago, we were lucky enough to welcome his wife, Jada, into the family. She spoiled him ROTTEN! She constantly doted on him and loved on him, and she fit into our clan perfectly. I'm proud to call her family. The last time I saw Brandon was at our family reunion this year. Brandon and I were sitting at a table and Jada brought him a plate of food, and brought him a drink, and made sure he had everything he could want before she got any food for herself. I said to Brandon, "aww, isn't she such a good wifey, taking care of you like that." Brandon's response was, "yeah, I've got her trained up pretty good."

About six weeks ago, Brandon went into the hospital for some problems with his stomach. He ended up in the ICU and had to have several surgeries. His doctors did everything they could to save him, because after all he had been through, if anyone could make it, Brandon could. It breaks my heart to say that we lost him at 3:30 a.m. on Thursday, September 4, 2008. He left behind an adoring wife, Jada McKinney Berry, his mother and father, sister, and an extended family that loves and adores him -- not to mention the hundreds of friends he's collected throughout his 35 years with us.

Brandon's viewing was Friday night, and the line of visitors were around the building twice for a solid three hours. There wasn't an empty chair in the church for his funeral services. He was buried next to his pappaw Berry in the family plot in Halltown and the entire plot was blanketed in flowers...I don't think there was a flower to spare in Red Bay. You could landscape your front yard with all the potted plants. It was just a small symbol of how great a man Brandon was.

If I've learned anything from Brandon, it's that there's just no need to complain about the obstacles placed in your path. Just deal with it and make the best of the situation. It's hard to whine about something when you consider what he went through and never complained about it. I also learned that no matter how bad things might be, a sense of humor can really come in handy. It can help take a loved one's mind off of their loss -- laughter really can help to heal those wounds, if only just a little bit. So in Brandon's honor, Jada, my brother, Chris, and I thought it would be appropriate to pull one last prank to send him off in style. Brandon would be so proud to see a Caterpillar tag on his hearse...



I take heart in knowing that he's no longer in pain; no longer limited by anything; that he's with his Savior; and as Jada puts it, is watching the Tide play from the best seat in the house...and hopefully giving the coaching staff some divine inspiration...

We love you so much, Brandon -- you're irreplaceable. Thank you for blessing our lives. Roll Tide!