SEARCHING FOR INTELLIGENT CONSERVATIVES

I miss William F. Buckley. George Will can't carry the mantle alone, although he does so admirably.

I am a liberal or a moderate-to-liberal. But I enjoy a well-expressed point of view and feel we all learn from and grow from good, considered discussion.

I am so tired of Rush Limbaugh stomping his feet and whining like the big fat idiot baby that he is, throwing tantrums and tirades. To oppose socialism and to fear we're going in the wrong direction is one thing. But to say he hopes the stimulus plan fails and encouraging others to cause its failure is to encourage the failure of the country. He was the first to say we must support our leaders no matter what when HIS candidates are in office, but clearly, he just wants to be right, to have his own way. Well, where's YOUR patriotism now? And how disappointing that the leader of the Republican party, Michael Steele, who wisely chastised bad and self-serving behavior, recanted because he's afraid of a bully. Rush is entitled to his opinion, naturally, but that doesn't make his behavior off-limits for criticism.

And as for the lovely Ann Coulter . . . what a shame such a steel-trap of a mind is so mired in hate-mongering. She has a great brain for facts and figures, but so twists and distorts things to feed her own ego. She mistakes negative attention for positive reinforcement.

These are people who would rather be right than have things better. Or rather, THEY are doing well, so the hell with anything that would make life better for the rest of us--we got ours, so therefore something is wrong with all of you. In a most brutish way, they've gone extreme Darwin on us (and even Darwin wasn't recommending survival of the fittest as an excuse for selfish extremism.)

There are liberals as well who favor less government--but who also favor fair chances for all, who favor a generosity that the religious right gives lip service to but does not support with their actions.

On the other hand, the late great Buckley, and those who follow in his wake, would propose alternatives and would enter into the discussion with respect and intelligence, recognizing a need to solve problems over a need to be right.

In this day and age, pundits need to get over their egos--something else that grew overinflated over the past 8-10 years!

GARGOYLES

As if you thought there'd be no animations today . . . !

At the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, MA, you can see the original paintings which, in the flesh, reveal a far greater skill and artistry than the magazine cover reproductions that graced the many Saturday Evening Post covers over the years. His fame is well-deserved.

But on our visit one summer, we saw the wonderful, whimsical work of his son out in the gardens and walkways of the museum, terrific gargoyle creations that seemed like they could talk to you.

And now, one of them is . . . enjoy!