JOHN KERRY

Bill O’Reilly interviewed John Kerry on his television show this evening, and for myself it was a seminal event.

John came across with a very sober, intelligent, and sincere attitude.

They were both respectful of one another, and discussed several of the current issues in the news today.

John answered all questions directly without deflecting or spinning. Most of his answers, were sensible, from my general point of view anyway, and free of party line rhetoric. I wished that they could have spent more time discussing issues together.

If John could have come across as sincere, intelligent and practical, in his presidential campaign of 2004, he might have won the election.

The next time I see or hear him speak his opinion, and if he continues with this attitude, I will listen to what he has to say, instead of blowing him off as I have in the past.

I’m hoping this is something new for John which will be continued. Also: I would hope that all politicos would recognize this type of attitude and let it become the norm across all political parties, and at all levels of government.

For our country to continue to be strong, secure, peaceful, prosperous, and maintain our worldwide leadership heritage, we must have mutually respectful, citizens, candidates, and leaders.

I challenge everyone, citizens and politicos alike, to take up this attitude, and be proud of us, and our elected representatives, regardless of who the winners may be.

Is there anyone out there willing to pick up the gauntlet?

BOOK REVIEW
John James Audubon, the making of an American. By: Richard Rhodes.

This is a very well written and easy to read book about a very interesting man. One also gets a good dose of American history for no effort.

It is an interesting story with a fair amount of excitement. It chronicles the abundance of Flora and Fauna in the United States in the early nineteenth century, as well as the economic and social development of our society in its very beginning.

Some of the facts are interesting too; here is one I had never heard of until now: The Great earthquakes of 1811, centered near New Madrid, Missouri Territory, December 11, 1811. Three large earthquakes rocked the entire Eastern United States. The first was estimated to have been well above 8 and maybe as high as 9 magnitude on the modern Richter scale. There were one thousand seven hundred and eighty four after shocks counted through March 15, with at least twelve of these registering as high as magnitude 8. The initial three and the twelve large after shocks were felt as far away as Maine, Washington DC, The Gulf Coast, and the Rocky Mountains.

I recommend this book to anyone, regardless of ones interests. It brings back to mind why America developed into such a great country and society.

John James Audubon’s story represents just one of tens of thousands of similar stories played out by our emigrant ancestors that braved the wilderness, developed our resources, and formed our society, government, and way of life. Anyone that has ancestors dating back to this era deserves to be proud of their heritage, and they bear the responsibility to carry on in their spirit.

Citizens with a briefer American heritage owe a debt to these pioneers; carrying on with the pioneer American spirit into the future can pay this debt.

I believe that just reading this book can make anyone a better citizen.

BIRDING MILLER ISLAND
A great day at Miller Island! Some days are not what one expects, then BAM a great one comes along.
Today Nancy and I birded Miller Island, just five miles from home, one of our favorite quickie birding spots. We have been monitoring what we think to be the same two families of Sandhill Cranes for at least three years. We get lucky about fifty percent of the time and spot them somewhere in the area. Today we hit the jackpot, we found one of the families with two half grown chicks. They were feeding within fifty feet of the roadway. We were able to watch them for several minutes without distressing them. They were still feeding in the same location as we left the area.
We sighted two other Sandhill families, five birds in all, at a greater distance.
Although the Sandhills eclipsed all our other sightings, we did spot: one Red Tail Hawk, one Northern Harrier, several Canada Geese, two Killdeer, several Red Wing Blackbirds, one Ring Necked Pheasant, and two Great Egrets.

BIRDING LAKE EWAUNA
This afternoon I birded the Wing Watchers birding trail along the western shore of Lake Ewauna, just at the western end of downtown Klamath Falls.
The Wing Watcher’s trail meanders through both riparian, and wetlands habitats. Today, for birding, was not an especially good day, but the weather was great, the skies clear, and the temperature a mild 75 degrees Fahrenheit. I did enjoy the outing though, the sights, the sounds, and the smells.
Following are the meager list of species I spotted today. Usually the list would be twice as long as this. As the old gnome goes: “A bad day birding is better than…

Red Wing Black Bird
Brown Headed Black Bird (Cowbird)
American Robin
Yellow Headed Black Bird
Brewer’s Black Bird
Double Crested Cormorant
Caspian Tern
Killdeer
Barn Swallows
Mallard Ducks
Canada Geese
Canada Geese Goslings (half grown)
Western Grebes

Breaking Up:
Staring Vince Vaughn, and Jennifer Anniston, with Vince D’Onofrio.
D’Onofrio’s character was a little too dorkey for my taste.
Very good, cute, Chick Flick. It doesn’t miss any of the stereotypical Man/Woman differences.
It has a sweet and sour ending, and is well worth seeing.

MOVIE REVIEW
The D'Vinci Code, I did read the book, and I found it entertaining, and I enjoyed the movie too. The critics got it all wrong on this one, the movie moved at about the same pace and tempo as the book.
I do not see why all the controversy is going on over the religious aspect of the story. I have seen several other movies that have religious themes and there was no controversial hoopla over them! Take, The Omen, Rosemary's Baby, The Exorcist, and Stigmata for instance: they are all just fictional stories, with alternate themes, not intended to be taken seriously as religious doctrine.
See the movie and enjoy the puzzles, no belief changes are required.