Powell Endorses Obama

Colin Powell formally endorsed Barak Obama today for President of the United States. In seven minutes on Meet the Press, unleashing a volley of clear, concise, and blunt language, Powell eloquently and methodically divorced himself from the wayward, ever increasingly xenophobic and racist GOP.

He was honest and direct and respectful of both candidates and spoke from the heart. He spoke well of Obama but it seemed that his statement was just as much a rebuke of the Republican Party than of an endorsement.

He mentioned the Ayers diversion: "I think this goes too far, and I think it has made the McCain campaign look a little narrow. It's not what the American people are looking for."

On the Palin Pick: "I don't believe she's ready to be president of the United States, which is the job of vice president... that raised some question in mind mind as to the judgment that Sen. McCain made."

On the GOP in general: "It has moved more to the right than I would like to see it." "Over the last seven weeks, the approach of the Republican Party and Mr. McCain has become narrower and narrower."

To me the most important and poignant portion of his statement was when broaching the issue of Islam in America: On some senior Republican Party members who "drop the suggestion that [Obama] is a Muslim and he might be associated with terrorists": "What if he is [a Muslim]? Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country? The answer is no, that's not America." And then he eloquently told the story of Kareem Rashad Sultan Kahn.

As a liberal Democrat, I would like to think that had Colin Powell ever made the run for the White House, I would have voted for him without hesitation. My respect for him is limitless...

For the Birds...

Last weekend we were invited over to some friends house for a BBQ. They own a nice place outside of the city near Mt. Nebo ( I think) in a really pretty area with lots of open spaces and trees and the like. When we got there we saw these three Cockatoos in the back yard and the guys were feeding them. Of course I wanted a go at it.

After feeding them for a few minutes Steve told me to look up and then I noticed that the trees were literally filled with them. There must have been thirty or more hanging around.

They are a little skittish but not very afraid of people or anything for that matter. If you hold up a cup of seed they come right down.

They hung around for a while afterwards hoping for an encore.

Sunshine Coast Hinterlands...

Last week Mariana and I took a Sunday drive up to the Sunshine Coast hinterlands. Basically, you drive an hour north of Brisbane to Caloundra and hang a left.

It is a really pretty drive through the countryside. There are a couple of small towns along the way and the nearby Glass House Mountains make for some spectacular views. There were numerous vista points to gaze at and take it all in.

We ended up at a big State park that had some h iking trails and a waterfall. It was a very pretty hike out to the falls which emptied into a giant pool. There were people swimming in the pool and with the hot weather it looked inviting, of course until we saw the large eel that was making his way around the pool. Actually, no one seemed to mind him. He seemed to be swimming in a clockwise fashion around the pool and people would ask "where is he" and jump in if he was far enough away.

From the top of the falls was a really intense view of the valley that stretched for miles. It was an amazing place.

When we were about to leave a giant Water Monitor (think big lizard) came lumbering out of the jungle. He paid us no attention and just wanted a drink.

I just got a video camera and edited a small video of our day. Check out Mariana's blog for the full scoop with all the pictures. Please, pay no attention to the hackish editing job and ultra bad effects work in the video. I just getting the hang of all of it...