Latest poll out of New Hampshire has Huntsman at the number two spot.

Now if he can finish there maybe the media will start to give him more space and time. Unfortunately I think the same thing will happen to him as all the others and Mr. 25% will go on to win the nomination.
 

I see that people are now starting to mention Huntsman more and more in the media.

I expect it is about to be his turn to become the new darling of the Republicans. The only problem is that he is not going to draw support from the Tea Party members but from those who support Romney. There are a lot of Romney supporters that support him only because they don't like the right wing candidates, not because they think he's the best choice. So New Hampshire will be a good place to kick Huntsman tires and see what he is all about.

I just don't think Huntsman will survive to Super Tuesday if he doesn't place in the top two in New Hampshire. My sources indicate that most people in the state are more likely to vote for Obama than any of the Republicans come election day. But, they indicate Huntsman could make things very interesting.
 

How can someone win when three out of four people vote AGINST you?

Only in Iowa!

As I have been saying Iowa will not produce a winner as much as getting rid of some losers. No more Michelle and Perry is on the ropes waiting for South Carolina for the knock out punch!

And we now have a new leader for the anti Romney pack. First it was Michelle, then along came Perry to be replaced by Herman, Then Newt stepped up to the plate only to be replaced by Paul and now Rick is up to bat.

Meanwhile Mitt continues with his 25% to attract, barely, enough voters to win Iowa!

New Hampshire will be interesting as it will pit Romney against the only other viable candidate in Huntsman. If Mitt wants to win he will need a lot more than 25%. He.really needs to be at or near 50% if he is going to survive the southern state's primaries.

The Republican candidates all look like a bunch of clowns with one straight man, make it two if one counts Huntsman.

The only thing that can defeat Obama at this point is the economy and that could be a major problem come this fall.

The economy is showing signs of improvement and if that continues through to November Obama wins walking away, but don't count on it.

Europe is headed for a major disaster this year and too many American banks are invested in Europe. If you been wondering why American banks haven't been loaning out money it's because they used their cash in Europe!

If the .... hits the fan this summer then the US economy is going to falter in the fall, not good news for the President.

If we are lucky voters in November will elect a unified Congress and a President that does not have to fight tooth and nail to get things done. Hopefully that will be government that has ALL the people in mind when it enacts bills to serve us.
 

Iowa gets to send 25 delegates to the Republican Convention in August out of over the 2000 plus delegates that will be deciding who the Republicans will nominate their presidential candidate.

So why is there so much hype about this first episode? Well for one its the first one and though it may not pick winners it does usually help in cutting down the field. I say usually, but this time I have my doubts. First of all neither Bachmann or Perry seem to get it, Huntsman never did commit to Iowa and Paul is in a world of his own. Personally I don't see any of them withdrawing after Iowa and only Huntsman may withdraw after New Hampshire if he doesn't place in the top three.

So we will be looking at the seven dwarfs marching along until Super Tuesday.

The best thing about this is that American comedians are having a field day. The biggest disappointment to Jon Stewart was when Cain suspended his campaign.

Iowa is an interesting state. It's unemployment rate is under 6%, those corn fields are bring high prices because of the use in blended fuels. It is the best example of the benefits the Obama administration has done to allow the state to avoid much of the downside of the current economic problems.

I get the feeling that more Iowans will support Obama than the Republican candidate come November.

Hard to believe that 25 people can cause such a stir nationally.
 

Does it really matter what happens tomorrow in Iowa?

Iowa has had less than a 50/50 success rate in picking the candidate that goes on to win their party's nomination. Even the most die hard conservative must realize by now that only Romney will be able to put up a half decent campaign against Obama. Nobody seems to realize that the only candidate with half a chance of defeating Obama is Huntsman.

What Iowa should do is knock off Bachmann and Perry out of the mix and let Newt and Rick fight it out for the Tea party's second choice. Paul being their first.

You also might see Paul withdraw and become a third party candidate to the delight of the Democrats.

All in all this 24/7 coverage of the Iowa primary is a little too much. I would rather see more effort in the coverage of Syria, the car bombings in LA, the shooter in the national park, the transition going on in North Korea, or the threat Iran is making in the waterways of the middle east than more coverage of the Iowa primary.

The good people of Iowa will make their decision tomorrow and then 24 hours later everyone will forget about it and it will be 24/7 coverage in NH, meanwhile things will be happening in the rest of the world that most Americans will never become aware of unless it so serious it immediately threatens US security.
 

In many ways this Christmas was the same as everyone I have been involved in since I can remember. The big diner, the opening of gifts, the gathering of family, and the Christmas cheer. These have been around for a long time, but recently I have seen a slow change in behavior. The one that has impressed me is the one where parents and children are doing more and more volunteer work during the season.

They are working in food banks and working for organizations that provide Christmas dinners for the homeless.

Some where the true meaning of Christmas has Ben passed on and today's parents are not satisfied with just talking about the meaning to their children.

So the same old is not the same old as there is more action in carrying on Christmas traditions and we are better for it!
 

To everyone I hope the new year is the best one to date in your life.

The older I get I find each new year like wine. Some are better than others and some look better as time passes.

Here is to an interesting election year, here is to an improvement in world peace, here is to 2012 being as interesting as the Mayan calendar indicates.

To everyone have a safe and happy New Year!
 

In the late 1960's I was recruited by a school division to come to Canada. I came for two years and stayed for a live time. At the time I was teaching in a school division just north of Denver. My salary was to be $5200 for the upcoming year. At the time Alberta was in a teacher shortage and were recruiting teachers from all over the world and their salaries were among the highest in North America. My contract provided me with $6800 that first year and three years later salaries had increased over 100% as I signed up for my third year at over $13,000 a year. Even with a 92.5 cent dollar it was easily double what my friends in Colorado were making!

By the end of my career my salary was still double what a teacher in the US was making in the highest paying state.

Today Alberta no longer needs to recruit beyond its border to fill its needs for teachers.

However, the province is in desperate need for workers for the developments occurring in the oil sands. The provinces unemployment rate hoovers around 5%, but with the recent announcements of over 200 BILLION dollars worth of expansion the need for workers has increased dramatically!

Its not only workers for the oil fields but all the things that are needed to supply the projects. The need for housing, transportation, and service industries are all affected. Anyone willing to come to Alberta can find a good paying job in short order. Even the minimum wage jobs pay nearly $10 an hour.

Coming to Alberta is like moving to the state next to yours. English is the language spoken, all the stores you have come to expect are available plus the addition of Tim Horton's! The education system is among the best in the world and universal health care is available for landed immigrants.

Currently there are major shortages in construction workers, welders, pipe fitters,and truck drivers to name a few areas needing workers.

If the US doesn't want to build the Keystone pipeline there will be a need for workers to work on the Chinese pipeline being built to the west coast.
 

Seems like the extreme right members of the Republican party are going to pick Rick S as the latest darling of the right.

The only candidate left is Huntsman, but there is no way in heck they will back him!

This maybe the first time in history the nomination will go to someone that couldn't draw a 30% level of support before the first primary vote. Romney will gain more support as other candidates drop out, but his biggest worry is that most of that support will go to the extreme candidate remaining. Newt for one is counting on it!

I hope Rick enjoys his 15 minutes as by next week it will be someone else getting the headlines...
 

Yesterday my wife and I mentioned that next year we were thinking of going somewhere away for Christmas.

My daughter's first response was where were we going? When I said what do you mean by we? She began to tear up realizing I was only talking about her mom and me.

My wife since the beginning of our marriage has done a tremendous job of blending both our families Christmas traditions into one and over the years we have added our own traditions. These include food, decorations, all the other actives around the Christmas spirit.

When my daughter reacted like she did it was at that momment that I realized that we had become part of our Christmas tradition and to remove our selfs were like taking out the Christmas tree or gift giving from Christmas.

After 40 plus years of cooking dinner, putting up a tree, making cookies, and chocolates my wife thinks it is time for someone else to make the effort.

We both think that a few weeks in a warm climate would be better than all the hassel that goes into Christmas traditions. We also feel that it is time our children start their own traditions with their family.

Regardless of what we think or would like I doubt that you wil find us on a Hawaiian beach next Christmas or anywhere else without the rest of the family.....

Looks like I will be booking our next trip for Easter or next spring....