Happy Thanksgiving!

Good Morning and Happy Thanksgiving to everyone.
I'm headed home for a variety of reasons. I'll post more on our adventures that kept me away from the newsroom tomorrow. I just wanted to pop in and say Happy Thanksgiving.
PWD

It's good to live in Des Moines

Today the big story is Thanksgiving travel and the Thanksgiving bird. Triple A always tells us more people travel today than any other day of the year but you would never know it at the Des Moines Airport. Not because it isn't busy, but because it can handle a lot of people and it's not Chicago! This morning on Today in Iowa we interviewed Craig Smith, Aviation Operations Manager, and he said on average it only takes about 5 to 10 minutes to get through security even when it's busy. If you have been through O'Hare lately you know it can take at least 30 minutes or an hour there. It's one of the things I love about Des Moines... easy living.

Staying Home

Craig Smith made another interesting point this morning about holiday travel. He thought more people were simply driving to see family instead of flying because gas prices are so low. He thought that helped account for the drop in air travel out of Des Moines. He thinks it's down about 10% this year which is about the national average.

Brining it is!

I got this great e-mail from one of our viewers about brining a turkey before cooking it. I am a Food Network addict and this year a lot of the shows are singing the praises of soaking your turkey in salt water before cooking it. I wondered if it really is worth the extra work and according to one of our faithful viewers, it is. Here's part of what she told me... along with a link to a great recipe. I plan to try it and I will let you know how it goes.

"Don't know why I was sitting here so early reading blogs, but I saw you wanted to know if turkey brining works, and I have to say that it does with a huge YES! I saw the method explained by Alton Brown on the Food Network and decided to try it. Now I have to make two turkeys every year because we never had any leftovers with just one turkey! And moist...well I don't have to say any more, because with this recipe, it just melts in your mouth. I used his cooking method too, and that combination is just the best I found. I did need to make a few investments in a couple of items, but it was worth the cost and is definitely worth the effort!

Of course, Alton Brown goes a little overboard on his recipe, which you can find on his food network site:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/good-eats-roast-turkey-recipe/index.html

Speaking of the Food Network... I went to the Celebrity Food and Wine Expo on Friday night with some of my colleagues and we had a blast. Got to meet Curtis Stone from TLC's 'The Takehome Chef' and Andrew Zimmern from 'Bizzare Food with Andrew Zimmern' on Discovery.

We watched Curtis Stone do a cooking demonstration which was pretty entertaining... even for Jeriann who had no idea who Curtis Stone was. Guy Fieri made an unexpected experience and kind of hinted to the audience that Curtis is getting his own Food Network Show. So, for all you Curtis Stone fans... you might be seeing more of him.

(Ericka, our morning show producer is on the left and Kelly Maricle, WHO web producer is on the right)

Hope you all have a nice Thanksgiving. I am traveling to Oskaloosa to visit family tomorrow and eat at least three versions of corn casserole that always turn up! Happy eats!

Brooke

Gas is up and getting ready for Thanksgiving

Good morning everyone. As you probably already noticed this morning, Pat is gone so it's just me today. I bet a lot of you are getting ready for Thanksgiving, so I would love to hear about your favorite dish and how you cook your turkey, which is something I am debating this year. We'll get to those things in a moment.

Gas Prices back up
Even though $1.63 is still very nice.. prices did go up overnight from $1.51 a gallon. We were sooo close to getting below $1.50 which a gas station manager told me a month ago we'd get to. I didn't believe him but he was right. I don't remember the last time it cost me just $20 to fill up my car.

Sign of the times
GM says it will no longer pay Tiger Woods to be in its ads for Buick. The company said it was looking for ways to save money and now it can keep the 7 million a year it was paying Woods to appear in its commercials. Now I no longer have to laugh every time I see Tiger driving in the commericals. Like Tiger really drives a LeSabre.

Rhodes Scholar
We already knew the Drake women's basketball players were not only good athletes but also smart, but now we know one of them is INSANELY smart! Lindsay Whorton is one of just 32 recipients of this year's prestigious award. Here's the article in the Des Moines Register. She's not only smart, she's also modest and clearly wants to use her talents to help others.

Thanksgiving
So, I am trying to come up with the best way to make my turkey this year. I keep hearing about brining and how it makes your turkey less dry. Have any of you ever tried this method? And, any good side dish recipes to pass along? Please share them.

Hope you are all having a good week. Stay warm.

Brooke

Announcing the Team, Someone's Going to Emergency, and Busy Weekend

Good Morning,

It was a good and bad weekend at the Dix Household. We'll get into both this morning but there's also a lot of news to talk about...


Obama Economy
The President Elect announces his economic team today. It will also be an opportunity for the President Elect to answer some questions. He's sure to be asked about the Auto bailout. He's also going to get some questions about tax "cuts". It looks like the new President is finding out there's a difference between campaigning and governing. Several outlets are reporting Obama will not reverse tax cuts for the richest taxpayers...a promise he made while governing. I imagine he's going to find he can't come through on a lot of those promises given the economy.



No Vilsack
I'm not sure who put the runor out there that former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack was going to be The Ag Secretary under the Obama Administration but apparently no one told Obama. Vilsack cleared all this up saying he'd never been offered the position and Obama's team said he hadn't been considered.



Making a Difference
Jeriann spent the morning at Amicci Espresso in Urbandale this morning for our "Making a Difference Day" If you remember we did this in May and it was a big hit. The idea was to pay for the person behind you in line at the drive -thru...then that person pays for the person behind them and so on. We hope the acts of kindness will extend to other areas of your life and in other ways today. We'll report back tomorrow on some of the stories we hear. Or you can go to the As Seen On tab and check out some of the stories people post on our website.



Somebody's Going to Emergency
So Our cat didn't do so well over the weekend. His temperature went down Saturday night but it went down WAY too far. Apparently that's a bad sign in cats when they can't maintain their own body temperature.
I'm not sure anyone cares about my cat but I like to tell you when I find places that have OUTSTANDING service. We were at two of them this weekend. First, Jordan Creek Animal Hospital is the only place I would take my pets. Dr Dan Whitney and the rest of the staff at Jordan Creek are as invested in our animal's health as we are. Saturday we had to take Gus in for a checkup. Dr Whitney was off that day, but when he heard Gus was at the office, he drove in just to see us.
We also found the people at Iowa Veterinary Specialties to be outstanding. They don't always have en easy job dealing with sick pets that people are rather emotional about in the middle of the night. Our unplanned visit at 5am Sunday morning was made a lot easier by the doctors and staff. We hope to have Gus home soon.

Brunch
After our early morning visit to the Vet ER, we made pancakes at home. I haven't had a new list up for a while so I decided I'd post the recipe for buttermilk pancakes. We made bacon on our electric griddle first then just made the pancakes right on top of the bacon grease. They were really good.

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like....
A new poll seemed appropriate too and I had a topic hit me as I walked into the mall. It was 50 degrees a week before Thanksgiving and we're on Christmas Music already. I know it comes earlier every year but I wanted to know how you all felt about this. When is the appropriate time to start playing Christmas Music? I for one am a traditionalist. The Christmas stuff, including the music, goes up the day after Thanksgiving.
Comment and respond on these or any other topics you like.
PWD

Gas Milestone, Online Buzz and A Restless Night

Good Morning,
It was a long night so this is going to be a short blog.

The News

Gas Milestone
The price of a gallon of gas is getting back into the reasonable range. So will we start driving more? Not so far.
I found it interesting to note that the price of a barrel of oil isn't really the driving force behind the price of gas. Demand is doing more to drive price. Right now a barrel of unrefined oil is selling for more than a refined barrel of gasoline. That doesn't make you a profit if you're a refinery. Don't worry, it will still be a great Christmas in Houston. Diesel is still sky high.
The problem with the price of oil coming down? It's an indicator of an economy headed south for a long winter's nap. The Dow fell another four hundred plus points yesterday. Ouch.

Online Buzz
Regina Lewis joined us again today for our Consumer News segment about 5:50. If you missed it, or if you just weren't quick enough to write down some of the sites she highlighted...here they are:

For online shopping comparisons: http://shopping.aol.com
For ratings and descriptions of some of the video games your kids might want this Christmas:http://PlaySavvy.com
For a site with listings of a lot of the events going on around the Metro:http://when.com
And the one we didn't really get to...the site that defines what good NETIQUETTE is: reginalewis.com .

Restless Night
We were up most of the night last night. My cat is still sick but Sally seems to think he's turned a corner this morning and the antibiotics are kicking in. I'm taking him to the vet again this morning. The problem? He didn't sleep well, that means Sally didn't sleep well. Our other cat doesn't like the smell of the Vet's office so she was up hissing at Gus all night. When there's that much activity going on, let's just say no one got a restful night's sleep. So we hope he's actually turned a corner this morning and that his fever is down and the fluid in his lungs clears up. I'm headed home to take care of that appointment.
PWD

Deadend for the Bailout, The Stories We Didn't get to, and Getting My Ticker Back.

Good Morning!
We didn't have a blog yesterday cause i blew it. Sorry.
We'll make up for it today.
To the news

Bailout Goes Bust

Did you see the CEO's of the Big 3 Automakers get WORKED in front of another Congressional committee yesterday? Usually I hate these congressional hearings because they turn into two hours of speeches from each of the members of Congress involved. The speech is followed by a leading question, the answer to which, can only serve the political agenda of that particular member.

Yesterday these congressmen were unrelenting. They wouldn't let these guys up off the mat!
"How many of you are going to sell the Private jets you flew in on and fly back commercial?"...CLASSIC.
The CEO of Ford pulled up to the second day of hearings in a new hybrid car to try to make the point that these Automakers are looking toward the future...
Let's be clear, the US automakers could make those cool little Jetson's cars and they still wouldn't be able to be competitive. It would take too many Union laborers to build.


Stories We Didn't Have
Sometimes we just have too many news stories and not enough time...here's a sampling from this morning:
-Two bars are in front of the State's Alcoholic Beverages Division for review of their license. Both may lose their liqueur license as a result of violating the state's new no smoking law.
-3 of the nation's biggest Airports opened new runways that should increase capacity...even in bad weather. Chicago is one of the airports so that's good news for any of you traveling around the holidays.
-Did I go to sleep and wake up in the late 1700's? Pirates off the coast of Africa? How can a well armed street gang take over an oil Supertanker? You'd think with their record profits the Oil companies or the Oil Producing countries could get some security.

By Noon there were even more stories:
-Mortgage rates fell, Jobless claims increased to a 16 year high, and there's news a bipartisan group of lawmakers from Auto states
-Ted Stevens, Sen From Alaska has given his last speech on the floor of the Senate. He lost a recount for his seat to Anchorage's mayor.



Busy Day
My day is full of errands to run the first of which wasn't fun. I had to take one of our cats to the Vet. He's usually a pretty laid back cat but the last two days he hasn't been moving around too much. He's not eating, and it was pretty clear he didn't feel good. We took him for blood work yesterday and this morning the Vet found he'd spiked a fever. X-rays revealed a little fluid in his lungs and that means pneumonia. it's not good, but it could be worse. He'll get better but I always feel bad when he gets sick. I can't imagine how guilty I'm going to feel when it actually my KIDS!
-A Haircut is in the cards this afternoon. I know it looks to most people like my hair never changes. I can't stand going more than two weeks without a haircut.
-Sally's car needs an oil change. I'm interested in just how good the deals are at car dealerships right now so I'll spend my half hour waiting in the showroom.-I have my first session with my trainer in about a month this afternoon. I already can't feel my arms.

We'll see you tomorrow morning
PWD

Bailout Debate, Tough or Inapropriate and Clean Yard

Good Morning,
We've got a lot to get to this morning and I think you'll have a lot to say about the topics...at least I hope you do. Don't forget to weigh in on the poll question...I'll explain below...

Bailout
The CEO's of the Big 3 Automakers are again on Capitol Hill trying to explain why they should get $25 billion to keep their business afloat. Many of you will note that I wrote in favor the the banking bailout weeks ago. That was then, this is now.
The Banking Industry made one big mistake coupled with a wave of greed. To my reading of the situation, the Auto Industry has made so many mistakes and management and Labor have been so greedy the examples become too long to list.
I'd agree with the Iowa State Economics Professor we had on last night that said, let the Auto Industry go into Bankruptcy and let the government guarantee financing to see them through that restructuring. I'm willing to put my tax dollars up to save this industry but only if it's going to be a competitive industry. That means changing the corporate and labor structure.

I agree management failed...get new managers. I also think the Union is in LALA land if it thinks that United Autoworkers are making "reasonable wages" The cost of making a car in the US is largely made up of the labor cost and it is simply not competitive with other automakers. That includes companies like Saturn, Honda, Toyota and BMW that are making cars right here in the US and are doing it without Union Labor. The Guys who head up this Union aren't credible after you realize how much they're making in a year. Read this article from the Detroit Free Press from last fall. Lets just say I don't think I will NEVER make close to that kind of money.
How about the average worker? The AVERAGE cost of those workers is anywhere from $70-$78 PER HOUR! How many of you make that much? How many of you will EVER make that much. The average starting salary for a Broadcast Journalist is about $14/hour. If you're generous and calculate the kind of benefits most of us get...lets go overboard and make it $30/hour. We're not even close.
Unions serve a valuable purpose in many industries and can be an important way for workers to guarantee they'll be treated fairly and paid a fare wage. How can we feel anything but insulted by the suggestion that these autoworkers are somehow the "victims" of bad management as this article on the Huffington Post suggests?
I think we can use the autoworkers as an example of that protection gone too far, and in many cases abused. No one wants to see the hundreds of thousands of people who work for this industry sent to the poor house but that doesn't have to happen in order for GM, Ford or Chrysler to be competitive.

Tough Talk
As someone who is thinking a lot about being a parent these days, I can't believe a Des Moines School Board Member would send an email to a student with a reference to oral sex in it. If you take an objective look at it, Jonathan Narcisse is someone who brings up topics no one wants to talk about. He shakes up the comfortable, ordered world of education and I think that's probably a good thing.
That said, as usual, Jonathan has gone too far. He says he doesn't care. I do.
Our Schooll Board Members should have better judgement than this and Jonathan knows it. I also think Jonathan would be the first to tell you that the kind of "tough talk" he's giving this kid should be coming from his parents. If it doesn't, it's not the job of a government official to take the place of that parent.
Lastly, it appears Jonathan didn't fully read the kid's letter. He's not some high school kid failing second grade math because he does nothing but wrestle. He's no idiot. He's a kid taking a math class he's not supposed to be in for another two years. It's a bad rule that keeps a kid out of an extracurricular activity because he didn't overachieve...enough. It's also a bad system that passes this kid into a class that he can't handle. So how do you fix it?

Kids and Smoking
Can you believe it's been 10 years since the tobacco companies settled with the States suing them? We had two experts on this morning talking about the efforts to keep kids from smoking. the point was, a lot of this money is going to plug budget holes and not going to the health programs it was intended for.

How Long Would you Wait?
I just got a call from a woman who heard us talking about today's poll question. It stems from three experiences I had in the last week that kept me waiting. First was at an appointment I made. The sign in the waiting area said if I was 20 minutes late...I'd need to reschedule. The second was an appointment I had with someone to meet me at my home. They never showed up but I wasted two hours waiting. The third was an appointment where inexplicably, I wanted in an office for a half hour before just walking in and saying I'd reschedule. Now, let me be clear, I don't think anyone was trying to be rude, and I'm sure in most cases they were more embarrassed than I was mad. I was however, in all of these instances, debating how long I'd wait before leaving. So I want to know how long you wait.

I have to go. As Always, feel free to disagree, comment or question anything you see here.

10:54 update: I forgot to add one more topic here. For the first time this fall, we used someone to do a fall clean-up.
At first I thought, this is not going to be worth it. I couldn't have been more wrong. My yard is cleaner and looks better than it ever has in the fall. It will be easier to deal with in the spring and the bonus is that I didn't have to bag anything, or drag any of those bags out to the curb.
As Ferris Bueller said: If you have the means.... I highly recommend picking one up.
PWD

Barack's picks.. The weekend... do vitamins work?

Good morning everyone. Mondays are usually hard, but this one was a even harder than most because I stayed up too late watching Iron Chef. I am usually very disciplined about going to bed early but I couldn't walk away from the television. As much as I love the Food Network, I have never watched Iron Chef. I know understand why it's one of the channel's top rated shows and why people get hooked on it. Last night was Bobby Flay versus Cat Cora. They had to use ingredients that were likely used in the first Thanksgiving meal so they were making things like duck, venison and squash. Normally those things don't appeal to me. Deer meat? Yuk. But the creations they came up were amazing and the judges were clearly blown away, too. And they do it all in an hour which makes it exciting. Definitely hooked now!
Pat here...We were also watching the Iron Chef Challenge last night but turned it off at a commercial break. Just way too tired from a weekend hosting a friend from college.

On to the news of the day:

Barack Obama picks staff members

This was one of the things we were talking about during commercial breaks today. Barack Obama is said to be considering Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State and it looks like he may also be hiring a lot of Bill Clinton's former staff as well. Here is a list of a few of his most recent appointments. The argument we were having this morning about this is centered on the idea Barack Obama wants "change." So, should he be selecting some of his decision-makers from an old administration?

There was also a lot of debate about Hillary Clinton possibly being name Secretary of State yesterday on the Sunday morning news programs. I heard Republicans say she would make a fine Secretary of State. But again, the question a lot of people are now asking : Is this really change?

There was an interesting article on Politico about how Bill Clinton's global fundraising could create conflicts of interest if Hillary is named Secretary of State. I guess it's a small world.. in the world of politics, isn't it?

Vitamin Study
This story made me think of my High School biology teacher who always said that vitamins are a sham because "all we do is pee them out." I'm just quoting! Anyway, the story we ran this morning was about a study involving men and Vitamins C and D. After following a large group of men, researchers concluded that taking the vitamins will not prevent cancer or heart disease.

I have always wondered if vitamins do anything good for the body or if we're all better off not wasting our hard-earned money. My doctor tells me to take a multi-vitamin so I do. And I have friends who think vitamins make them "feel" better. Maybe it's the cynical side of me, but I think eating well is probably the only way to really get the nutrients your body really needs. I hope the people from Vitamin World don't send me mean e-mails.

I admit it...I take a multivitamin. I can believe it makes little or no difference. If it makes my wife feel a little bit better about my health, good enough.

This weekend was nice and relaxing. My husband and I saw a matinee showing of the James Bond movie. It's wasn't great... but it was good. I do like Daniel Craig as Bond but the producers of the movie are clearly trying to create a new image of the man who has always had a polished style. Craig's version is a little rough around the edges. In the new movie, he's downing his famous martini (instead of sipping it) and when asked what it is... he says he doesn't know.

I would give the movie three out of five stars. Heavy on the action... but the characters weren't developed.

That's all from me for now. Pat will add more later about his trip to the ISU Game. Have a good day!

Well I fared a lot better this weekend than I thought I would and I have Jeriann to thank. She had me so worried I was going to freeze my you know what off that I probably went overboard on the long underwear and layers of clothing for the Iowa State/Missouri game..

My good friend Ben Bailey came down from Detroit where he works as a Meteorologist for the Fox affiliate. Before Ben decided he wanted to forecast the weather, he earned a degree from Missouri and was an anchor and reporter.

We had a great time tailgating with Mike Zavacki from our Today in Iowa production crew. He is an Iowa State die hard and has some other ISU fans he tailgates with. We showed up about an hour and a half before the game. They gave us a lesson in "flippy-cup" and we gave them a lesson in winning a Big 12 North Championship. The pictures are being screened and will show up on the blog only after I'm assured I don't look like I was trying to re-live too many college memories in one afternoon.

Our seats were great, down in the southwest corner of the stadium with Marching MIZZOU, and the Tigers didn't disappoint.

With the game well in hand, Ben and I decided we'd had our fill of College Football for the year and left at halftime.

I have to give a shout out to the Per-Mar security staff at ISU for finding Ben's phone, which he dropped on the way out of the stadium. They picked it up and kept it in the security office. When we went by to pick it up the woman behind the counter yelled at me, "You tell Andy Fales it was Per-Mar security that found that phone!" Consider the message delivered.

I hope you all had a relaxing weekend.

Brooke and Pat

Recession? Kids and Stress and Everyone's Healthy

Good Morning ...
Who's not happy to see the weekend?
I'm happy to see the teleprompter working again...Our camera operator for the day, Mike (Angry Intern)...decided to try to "fix" the teleprompter. The red light that tells me the camera is on was broken (it actually came on after about a three second delay). Well, Mike's "fix" actually caused the picture on the actual teleprompter to start flashing. Try reading something that's flashing about 30 times a minute...

He got it fixed before I had to read anything...but it added some excitement to my Friday morning.

Recession?
We had a question come up about the definition of a recession today during the show. We haven't met "the definition" (newspaper definition) just yet but the signs are pointing to meeting that criterion by the end of this year. Retail sales figures for October should be out this morning. We'll update you at Noon. There will also be a bunch of retailers telling us how they did during the third quarter. I expect the news won;t be good. I think I've asked this before but how much are you guys pulling back with your spending?


Kids and Stress
A new study showed us if you put a bunch of kids in a room together...the adults aren't the only ones who feel the stress. In preschool classrooms where there are ten or fewer children, the kids have lower levels of stress hormone. In classes of 20 or more, the stress level is higher. I'd say it's more a study about class sizes than it is about kids and stress.



Shawn
Everyone's talking around the newsroom about our morning visitor. Shawn Johnson's supposed to be here today to do another interview with Keith. She's in town with the Tour of Gymnastics Superstars at the Wells Fargo Arena tonight. It sounds like it's a pretty grueling schedule to keep.


Thanksgiving
Anyone cutting back on what they make this year? We're trying to save but we're doing it by asking the people who will be visiting to contribute to the meal or the weekend's festivities in some way. They're happy to do it and it ensures no one is stuck for the entire bill. Today's poll question comes from that subject. How much will you be spending on Thanksgiving?


Everyone's Healthy
I'll use this as an excuse to update everyone on Jeriann and Sally and Megan Reuther.
We had an appointment to see the doctor yesterday and everything looks good with both babies. They're measuring and weighing in at the right numbers, as is Sally. Jeriann asked that I let people know she's due mid-February. She's had several emails asking about it...even a few people betting on it. The girls visited Megan Reuther last week and report she's doing really well with her new arrival. She's a heck of a Mom and doing a great job balancing it all. We'll be glad to get her back mid December.

I'm headed to the MIZZOU Iowa State Game Saturday. I'm trying to find all my Polar Exploration gear for the trip. A friend from college is coming in from Detroit to see the game. We had high hopes this would cap off a National Championship season for MIZZOU at the beginning of the year. Now we're just going to go out there and freeze our tails off for an Alamo Bowl birth. I suppose the Tigers could still see a BCS game with a HUGE upset in the Big 12 Championship, but if I say that out loud people usually ask me if my brain is already frozen.
Anyway if any of you Cyclone fans see us walking around before the game feel free to say hi.

Hope you all have a good weekend.
PWD

Economic Chaos,GOP What's next and Move it Results

Good Afternoon...
I'm blogging at noon again today...sorry, I didn't get to it this morning, but I wanted to share a couple of interesting articles we've been reading over the last few days.

Economic Chaos
It may be a little bit of an overstatement to call this chaos but it's hard for an armature like me to see any order in the bailout "plan"...There's a call for another bailout of the auto industry or the rather lame attempt of a couple of congressmen to try to outsmart hedge fund managers in an effort to make them admit their blame in all of this. This is getting a little crazy. At the writing of this the Dow is down 150 points...better than the nearly 300 point drop we saw at the beginning of the hour. If there's a silver lining it;'s gas prices...down again today. Eat your heart out friends and family across the country...we're paying $1.79 a gallon. I heard on CNBC this morning that the retail price of the gas they're trading today is more like a dollar twenty a gallon. I think we haven;t seen the low.

GOP Recovery
We've been writing here about what's next for the Republican party and this morning one of our morning staff pointed out an article by long time conservative columnist Cal Thomas. He's got a very direct and very well written remedy for Republicans. It's the same question Gov Sarah Palin took up this morning at the Republican Governor's Assoc meeting in Florida. The message: back to basics.

Move It
As some of you know these are some of my favorite stories. A Guy by the name of Dave Williams took out Move It Challenge last year and one year later he's lost more than 100 lbs. I'm thinking a lot of my own health these days and wondering if I have enough time to lose some weight before my kids are born. I don't want to be a bad example but honestly this is something I'm really struggling with. I'm afraid the place I haven't really tried yet is in my diet. We'll see if I can find the motivation to go to the gym more.
We've got another doctor's appointment today...excited to see some progress.
Have a good Day,
PWD

Bailout Take 3, MofD Study, and National Young Readers Day

Good Morning

I'm refreshed after an early nap. Sally needed a ride to work today so I went home right after the show and came back a little earlier. I got a quick nap in and now we're ready for the noon news.

She needed a ride to work because I'm meeting her at the Convention and Visitors Bureau 100th anniversary event tonight at Hy-Vee Hall. She didn't want to have two cars down there.

Bailout 3

Is anyone else starting to feel like we should all just apply for a bailout? I mean I think I can screw the checkbook up pretty well over the next few months. If I can Congress do you think I can get the same kind of deal the Auto Industry wants?

This is not a meltdown of the credit markets, this is not a sudden realization that we lent money to hundreds of thousands of people we shouldn't have. This is a long and drawn out propping up of an industry that simply hasn't been competing. There a great Op Ed Article in the Wall Street Journal this morning. A friend in Detroit who has a front seat for the debate over the future of the auto industry forwarded me the article.

I wholeheartedly agree. If you like we can have more of a discussion about the future of Unions in this country we can do that some other day...this is just one part of the discussion.

Mof D Study

Ever since we found out we were having twins we've been more than a little worried about what Sally is doing to take care of herself and our boys. If I'm reading the books correctly, we can have a significant effect on the birth weight and overall development of our children if we take care of Mom while she's pregnant. This is the gist of a new March of Dimes Study that gives the state of Iowa a "D" for it's efforts to make sure babies aren't born pre-term. The study identifies smoking as a big problem for women of childbearing age (24% of Iowa women in that age range smoke) and it identifies scheduled early births (cesarean) as another concern. Interesting reading.

Young Readers Day

I was pleased to be invited over to Garton Elementary School in Des Moines to read to a couple of the classrooms yesterday. It was a lot of fun and the kids had some good questions. I also got ideas for two great books Sally and I should have in our collection when we have kids. the first was a Halloween story about a runaway Pumpkin. The second was about a snowman named "Just Bob" I loved them both.

The Kindergarten class sent over this picture that I wanted to put on Today in Iowa this morning. Unfortunately, our email was down this morning and I didn't get the picture until about 10am. So apologies. maybe I'll try to get the pic on tomorrow.

Hope you all have a good day!

PWD

WIntery Mix, Palin Interview and Veterans Day

Good Morning and a well deserved thank you for the veterans who read this!

We'll start this morning with the weather...
Wintery Mix
It's teetering on the edge of freezing this morning so we were trying to keep an eye on it. I woke up thinking I might have a little ice to deal with on the way in...I didn't an you probably didn't either, but this is one of those mornings where we're probably on the better safe than sorry plan. We figured a few of you might be getting up this morning wondering about the weather.

Palin Interview
Is there any doubt in anyone's mind who watched the Today show this morning that THIS is the interview Governor Palin should have done after the convention? I swear the definition of "consultant" is someone who's job it is to screw someone up. She answered Matt Lauer's questions and sounded like the person we heard from at the Republican convention. Who knows whether she'll be a viable candidate for the Republican nomination but I think she would do well NOT to listen to the top political strategists in the party.

Veteran's Day
Is there anyone we owe more to than a verteran of our armed services? I thank my lucky stars every day there are men and women who volunteer to protect me. If you see a Veteran, take the time to go over and thank them for their service.

Have a good day!
PWD

Oval Office Meeting, Power Struggle, and Baby Class

Good Morning.

For a while now I've been telling people Sally and I don't even know what we don't know yet when it comes to having two babies next March. We had what I called "Baby Boot Camp" all day Saturday. It's a Mercy class they offer new parents.

It was mostly about the birthing process. Here's what I kept wondering as I was listening to a lot of the advice:
A lot of people offer you their advice when you are expecting. They are all well meaning people who, it seems to me, just want to share their experience with you. They start by saying, "You have no idea what you're in for." Then they follow it up by telling you all the the things you "have to do".
Now, if I'm not going to know what it's like till I get there and if everyone experience in childbirth and parenting vary so widely...how in the heck am I supposed to take any of this advice? I've come to this conclusion. Sally and I will need to take in as many of the different scenarios as we can/. We need to stay flexible and open minded, and mostly, I've concluded that going into one of the biggest unknowns of my life, there's no one I'd rather have with me than Sally. The rest I'm not going to worry about.

To the news:
Oval Office Meeting
We were talking about the lovefest going on for our new President elect this morning. There was general agreement it was over the top. This is the danger in the 24 hour news cycle. When all of the networks were done talking about the actual election they had to talk about something else. They've filled the space with endless articles about the "what ifs" of an Obama Presidency. I saw two articles on what kind of puppy the Obama's were going to buy their kids. It's complicated you see. One of the two girls has an allergy, so they can only buy certain breeds...then there was the analysis of which pound the Obama's might get a dog from and how many of those dogs at those pounds fit the description of the kinds of dogs that wouldn't shed too much. MAAAAKE IIIIIT STOOOOOOOP!!!!!!!!
Then there was the speculation of whether the meeting between The President and the President-elect would be "civil". Really? No No I'm sure the pundits are right on this one...I'm sure there's going to have to be some sort of Presidential Chaperon to make sure The President of the United States and the man who will succeed him don't start pulling each other's hair and calling each other names.
These are two grown men. And by the way, President Elect Obama is now a part of a very small Fraternity of men who've been elected to that office. I imagine that President Bush and President Obama will actually understand one another a lot more than people might think.

Power struggle
Now what may not be a civil meeting? The Iowa Republican House Caucus. Rep Christopher Rants has had a hold on power in that Caucus for years but I haven't heard anyone saying he's the guy to take the party forward in this state. This should say a lot about where the Iowa Republican Party is headed in the next two years though.

Shawn Update
Shawn Johnson's going to try for the 2012 Olympic Games. I'm glad to hear it. I'd hate to see someone so talented feel as if they'd left anything undone.

Movie Update
Watch Casino Royale before you go see the new bond film. I forgot how much of this Bond film is a setup to the next one.

Thermostat
Where do you keep yours? This will be the poll Question...if I'm smart enough to get the thing going. Brooke is the high score for the group. I think Brad comes in on the low end. Where do you keep yours in the winter? Feel free to follow up with comments or stories about the thermostat wars in your home.

Meet the Press, 1st Snow Freakout, and Stop Staring!

Good Morning!

What is it about a man in a maternity section of a store that draws attention? Sally and I went out to buy her a couple of things last night and I actually thought I had something hanging off my face. I'm walking through the BabyGap and looking at the clothes for her (we had a specific mission), and the other women in the store looked genuinely surprised to see me. I haven't been this uncomfortable since I stood next to that random pile of underwear in Victoria's Secret while Sally picked a few pair. Yikes.
Meet the Press
I will be interested to hear the tone President Elect Obama uses at his first public news conference since his Tuesday night win. No more campaign rhetoric. I want to hear what he's going to do.

S'no Big Deal
The flakes flew this morning as Jeriann predicted they would and yet, we all looked outside and wondered if we'd have, to steal a Brad Ehrlich phrase, "carmagedon". It rarely fails. People see snow and something in their DNA blocks all memory of driving in winter conditions. It's as if we all become drivers from Phoenix. SO far so good according to Brooke. Maybe next time.
The first snow of the year sparked a debate on the set. It's the subject of today's poll question. Feel free to expand on your answer to the poll.

We're headed to our Baby Boot Camp this weekend. Should be a lot to report Monday. Have a great weekend!
Sorry this is late. As you see by the time signature, I actually wrote the thing before the show was over. I forgot to hit "publish". It's easier for you all to read it when I finish that last step.

PWD

Transition, Homecoming and Hanging on the Edge of a Cold

Good Morning,

Yesterday, Jlynn wrote:

Where is my Wednesday blog??

I am having withdrawals,

I count on you guys to get my morning going

and it is now after noon!!!!Was everyone up to late with the election??????????????

My bad...I'm sure nobody's noticed but I've been fighting off a cold with more Airborne, Zycam, OJ and Daquil to clear the sinuses of a draft horse. I tried to start with some thoughts yesterday and just ran out of juice. I still don't feel well. Anyway, sleep took priority.

Lets take another crack at it.

To the News:

Transition

How would you like to wake up one morning knowing one of the first things you're going to hear is a classified CIA briefing? Such is the life of a President-elect. I wonder if you notice it right away? I wonder if he's feeling the weight of the office already? I wonder if he's just so dead tired after the campaign that his brain is fried. So anyway, thinking about this led to my Poll question for today. Which Cabinet post would you take if you were offered any post in any administration you wanted. I figure this way we don't have to limit it to the Obama Administration.

Homecoming

Brooke Jeriann and I never get tired of seeing the homecoming ceremonies for the National Guard. Talk about a group that's served it's country faithfully and well. We wish they didn't have to leave their families but are glad there are men and women who volunteer to do it. I was particularly glad to hear this group came home without any casualties.

Other Random thoughts

-Bravo is running old seasons of The West Wing again. I'm hooked. I love this show. I think it's well written and I wish they'd kept it going into a second administration.

-Our Noon guest yesterday reminds me I'll be the emcee for Pottery for Prevention Friday night at the Scottish Right Masonic Center. The evening starts at 6pm. It's 50 bucks for a ticket and there will be an auction, which I'm hoping will be entertaining. Who knows maybe you'll get a steal. Any way you slice it this is a cause worthy of a donation.

-I'm breaking down and having someone else do our fall clean-up this year. I can't stand the idea of paying someone to do yard work for me, but I also don't see how we're going to get to it this fall.

OK...I'll put the poll up shortly...think of your answer and you can give a more detailed response here in the comments if you like.

Have a good one.

PWD

Election Day

Good Morning!

All the talk is over this morning and it's time to vote. Not a lot more to say than that about this day. I hope you've all cast your ballot. The last of the crazy, ultra sensitive voters out there emailed us to tell us we're biased this morning...Jeriann talked about change in the forecast...They wrote to thank her for supporting Obama.

Wednesday can't come soon enough.

Just some random thoughts:

-How would you deal with the sadness anyone would feel at hearing the news your Grandmother had passed away, on the eve of your potential election to the Presidency?

-How tired are both of these candidates? Sen McCain sounded Howard Dean-esque firing up the crowd. I'm not sure I'd know where I was after seven stops in as many hours.

-How long would you wait in line to vote?

-(I'm continuing this after going out to vote this morning):
No Problems and no wait at our polling place. I was #126 at about 8:15. My wife commented and I agree.
There are no armed guards at the polling place. No one is going to try to nullify the election with a military takeover of the government. I can vote my conscience without fear of any kind of intimidation or retribution. We're pretty lucky.

-Jeriann came back from trying to get her free Chic-fil-a sandwich and they told her the corporate office called and told them to pull the promotion. Turns out they feel it would be illegal. You can't pay people to vote. I guess Starbucks is still giving away free coffee, and last we heard the Krispy Creme was giving away the free doughnuts.

-

Wednesday can't come soon enough

Good morning. It's Brooke here. Pat will add more later. I h0pe this doesn't sound too negative because I generally describe myself as a positive person. But I am so tired of politics right now. I am tired of the ads... I am tired of the pundits. I am tired of the predictions. And I am really tired of all the negativity and divisiveness I see on the ads and from the campaigns and even candidate supporters. Maybe I am just tired and that is part of the problem. (It's hard to get my 8 hours with a 1 year old) Either way, I am ready for Wednesday. Although as Pat pointed out today, we might still be talking about who will be the winner instead of who the winner is on Wednesday morning. So there is the possibility that this things could go on for a while, I guess. We'll see. The positive is that the ads are gone after today.
Pat here with a Noon update.
I'll add my anticipation of the end of this race. Though I think one way or the other we've got a pretty big story to cover Wednesday.
I drove Sally to Class in Iowa City this weekend. Just easier if I driver her and it gave me an excuse to get over to Riverside to play one more round of golf! One of my favorite things to do is to get out on a cool morning and play a quick round of golf and that's what I got Saturday. It was FOGGY down in Riverside. Good thing I was hitting the ball straight off the tee. The front nine at Riverside's course was flooded out in the spring and is still trying to recover. They let you play the back nine twice. For my money, still the toughest nine holes in Iowa...now question.
From Iowa City Sally and I went out to Prairie Meadows for dinner and to see the Dennis Miller concert. First, dinner. We were really impressed at the service. We went to AJ's steakhouse for a quick bite to eat. We sat in the bar, which was a little crowded but still, it's nice to have some conversation with strangers over a glass of wine a steak and some football highlights.
The Concert was, as you'd expect...smart and sunny. One buzzkill. Miller was on a roll and about halfway through his set when he asked, "...so what does Iowa think about Sen Obama?" A woman in the front left of the room yelled, "terrorist!".
See my earlier posts for my feeling about this one. There are so many times I'm proud to live in this state. I will not be adding that moment to the list.

Did you enjoy the weekend? The weather couldn't get any better and I tried to savor it. I took Evan down to grassy area in front of the library. I sat and watched him play with the rocks for about 2 hours. I have learned quickly that kids enjoy the simple things in life. Evan would much rather play with a stick he found on the ground than a fancy toy that cost $50. Which makes me think I should just wrap boxes instead of gifts for Christmas.

It sounds like we'll have a few more nice days and then mother nature is going to broadside us. Jeriann says we will likely break a record today but on Friday we could see snow.

In addition to spending the weekend outside, Eric and I watched a few movies including Dan in Real Life. Have you seen it? It wasn't what I expected but I liked it. Steve Carrell played a sweet newspaper columnist and single dad raising three girls. It was cute but some of the parts were a little cliche and that almost ruined the movie for me. And, Dane Cook was in the movie but he never had the chance to be really funny. Also saw Getting Over Sarah Marshall. Funny. Very funny. But don't let your kids see it until they turn 30.
I also caught a movie I hadn't seen yet last night. 27 Dresses. It was really good. Just the kind of romantic comedy I like.

Ok... have a great day and enjoy the weather!