Missouri Senate: Claire is In!
ArchPundit
There’s an actual race for the US Senate seat in Missouri. This is a high priority seat to challenge and early polls have Talent and McCaskill in a dead heat. This will be a race to watch.
2005
Sleep Apnea
If you are like me, you didn’t know much about sleep apnea or realize how many people have it. Something like a quarter of men 38 and older suffer from a condition that leads to temporarily stopping their breathing during sleep. In my case it’s obstructive sleep apnea which means part of the tissue in my throat blocks my breathing. All of this adds up to very little REM sleep and thus very little rest regardless of the hours of sleep and in the long run can lead to high blood pressure and heart problems amongst other problems.
Last week I had a sleep study–a rather strange process where they pretty much turn you into Picard when he’s turned into a Borg. I had 24 different sensors on my body and then was told to sleep. Not long into that they added a mask that pushed air through my nose thus keeping the tissue from collapsing.
Even with the Borglike wiring, I still had a better sleep than normal and was ‘lucky’ enough to take my own machine home that day. cough, cough.
On a more serious note, the breathing contraption has made me far more awake and alert after just a few days and I’m feeling better than I have in a long time. I need to return to regular workouts–workouts I was too tired for before–and get my weight down which will help with the sleep apnea, but I’m likely a candidate for some sort of treatment for good given I was a pretty loud snorer well before the relatively recent weight gains.
While I don’t usually go into this kind of thing–if you do feel tired a lot of the time or have a spouse who can’t stand your snoring, look into doing a sleep study. It’s made me much happier in a relatively short time.
In no time, I’ll be complaining about the mask. (And thanks for the advice Cal).
One thing that was remarkable is the number of people I’ve learned who have the condition already.
All that said, a return to normal posting is imminent.
Best Speech
Uberweis. He can actually speak, and well, he should after all the campaigns he’s lost. The one bit that was bizarre was when he called for Kjellander to step down and tried to make it a personal plea by half turning around to Kjellander. The only problem was Kjellander was the other way and Uberweis couldn’t even get away from the script long enough to do more than fling his arm behind him and look like he was about to get whacked.
And Curry, get Birkett to smile on stage sometime. He just comes off as dour. If he has that great sense of humor, get him to show it before the campaign is over.
Birkett and Rauschenberger gave generally good speeches, though there’s something about the beard and Steve’s voice that is incongruous–you expect a deep baritone and you get a slightly nasal Chicago accent out of him.
Brady–I now remember why I couldnt’ stand him when he first ran for state rep. Sanctimonious twit.
Judy was decent and gave actually one of the better fair type speeches.
Roskam’s speech–I hated it, but it’s exactly what he should be giving. It’s the type of speech that passes for what is a sermon at many churches today and it works fairly well with general audiences. I just hate it–it’s a personal thing. He also said “I submit to you” too many times, but overall that kind of speech and demeanor is the kind of thing he needs to do to reduce the effectiveness of those who’ll be calling him a right wing zealot during the campaign. His demeanor is very moderate even if his politics aren’t.
Someone, Anyone, Tell Ron Gidwitz to Go Away
Not only is he the guy most running without a reason, his speech was awful. Admittedly, this is the State Fair and not time for the Gettysburg Address, but a wimpy dorky guy trying to act tough and throwing his arm down for emphasis was like Stuart Smalley Gets Tough.
The Unbearable Whiteness Of Being
Wow, just watched the Republican rally on Illinois Channel here on cable and nice backdrop to the speakers for the Republicans.
Tom Cross looking like he’s at a State Fair and appropriately dressed and suave looking in some shorts, a bunch of old white guys who could lose some weight and Bob Kjellander’s pouch right there for the viewing audience. Other than Ray Lahood I needed some sunglasses to keep the glare down.
Off To A Sleep Study
So no more posting until Thursday sometime. What’s a sleep study? I’ll fill you in later…and I’m way backed up on mail. I’ll get to it.
The Fair
As was pointed out to me, you have to remember the Fair on Governor’s Day and Republican Day is essentially a Christmas Party. You hang out, you drink beer, and you may talk politics, but it’s ultimately a Christmas Party so don’t intrude on that.
Of the things to note, there is no appetite for an internal challenge to Blagojevich. If I’d gone to a similar gathering of Missouri Democrats in 2003, there would have been active work to talk about a better candidate than Bob Holden. Not at the Fair. The common themes were in two categories. First was, he’s our guy with the T-shirt listing his accomplishments. Second was, sure, he’s a pain in the ass, but he’s our pain in the ass.
As critical as I’ve been of Blagojevich, and will continue to be when he deserves it, he’s the Democratic nominee for Governor.
Next, whomever wrote up the talking points of Democrats being family for the speeches at the Fair, couldn’t have gotten their point across any better to the speech givers–Aaron Chambers pointed out the meme quite well. It was enough to drive one to drink more beer. Not that one needed such a drive. The beer ran out with the last speaker so the Beer Lobby gets kudos for getting the amount right.
I got to the fair later than I had hoped so I missed the DFI meeting and got to the Illinois Democratic Network’s meetup a bit late, but caught it and then headed over to the Democratic Rally. After chatting on e-mail with several members, it was great to actually meet many in the group and hey, Vic Roberts made it and gave a quick speech. Then I headed over to the Budweiser Tent which was the early preferred destination from the rally. I met quite a few folks and saw some folks I already knew. If this seems vague, I figure most people don’t go to a Christmas Party looking to have their name highlighted.
Most importantly, I did meet John Pavich who is running for the IL-11 against Weller. I’d heard lots of good things about John and he matches up well to the hype. He’s got his fundraising in line and seems to understand how to win a Congressional race. It’ll be a tough race, but this is one to pay attention to over the next year.
Other than that, the Fair was fantastic. It’s been a few years, but it was great to go again. Good people, good fun, good events, and good beer. I couldn’t be happier.
While I was going to spend Thursday at the Fair, I was a bit under the weather (errr–that’s a polite way of saying the beer was too good) so I can’t give any context to the Uberweis rain on the parade.
More later in the day, but let me just say, I still don’t think Edgar is going to run–largely because of the united front put on by the Democrats. Running against Blagojevich would be a tough race given the current demographics. Running against The Blagorgeous, Madigan, Jones, Hynes, Madigan2, and White is just a nightmare.
And finally, the biggest question present at the Fair was wtf is Dan Rutherford thinking? I am generally more sympathetic towards Dan than the typical Democrat, though no one dislikes him. Running against a popular institution like Jesse White is strange to say the least. Rutherford is a well liked guy in general on both sides of the aisle. If he ran for Treasurer, I might even endorse him. Running against a better liked guy on both sides of the aisle with a strong organization and no scandals under his tenure makes no sense. Add to that, he was the most energetic speaker and has an ability to speak like few other public officials, it’s a suicide run by Rutherford. SoS is better operating than in the past and the only area of weakness is the City of Chicago and the driver’s license offices still being somewhat slow–but that’s due to a long history of neglect–and it’s in the middle of White’s base where Rutherford isn’t going to get any traction. I don’t see the numbers.
extended break
Sorry about that–Wednesday at the Fair (don’t ask about Thursday) and then to Bloomington for the weekend with family including an A La Baldini
For those I was supposed to meet after the fair–drop me a line for a mildly funny story. Otherwise consider this an open thread for whatever until this evening when I’ll be posting again.
At the Fair
For Wednesday and Thursday–will have pics, but not sure if I’ll have a chance to update.