[From the desk of Riley]:

Yep, no kidding.  I’ve got a job as Assistant Safety Director at Faith Technologies (a.k.a. Town & Country Electric).  Allison, pick up a case of PBR and pull out the good plasticware that’s usually reserved for company, because we’re celebratin’ tonight!  Now where’s that fatted calf?

Over Memorial Day weekend, Riley, Allison, CQ, and Aunt Lisa went to the annual Brat Fest in Madison. This was CQ’s second festival in two weeks and, upon arrival, CQ seemed to recognize the festival atmosphere immediately. She entered the fest with shrieks and squeals, her little legs moving as fast as possible toward the excitement that lay ahead. CQ partook in all the Brat Fest fun, including sampling the brats (it’s noteworthy that she seems to thoroughly enjoy sauerkraut), dancing to the live music, shoveling her mouth full of scrumptious cotton candy (the sugar taking affect shortly thereafter), and enjoying the rides. She was quite the little dare devil and had no reservations riding the carousel, tea cups, and dragon rollercoaster (sitting safely next to her chaperons, of course). Good times were had by all. See additional pictures in the CQ photos section.

Well, we had a bit of drama at our place, tonight, when CQ burned her foot in a bowl of hot soup.  Maybe I should start from the beginning.  Alli was eating a hot bowl of soup on the couch and CQ was sitting next to her, sharing it.  CQ, being rambunctious as usual, started climbing around and tried climbing up on Alli, using the bowl of soup as her first foothold position.  Riley went for a rag and soaked it with cold water, by which time CQ was already crying about the burn (it must have taken a bit for the soup to soak through her footed pajamas).  We pulled off the pajamas and soaked CQ’s foot in the cold rag, whilst CQ wailed away.  After a tense inspection by Dr. Dad, the amateur opinion was that the severity of the injury was 15% first degree burn and 85% bedtime (we will not be seeking a second opinion).  The tension was not released until CQ was given her revenge: another bite of the soup that burnt her.

[From the desk of Riley]:

Since much of the criticism of Presidential hopeful Barack Obama centers around his lack of experience, I would like to take this opportunity to discuss the value of experience (bear with me in this short history lesson or gloss over the italics).

Former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld served in Congress from 1962 to 1969 as a representative from Illinois (he served on the Joint Economic Committee, the Committee on Science and Aeronautics, and the Government Operations Committee, as well as the Subcommittees on Military and Foreign Operations). Rumsfeld served in the Office of Economic Opportunity under President Nixon. In February 1973, Rumsfeld left Washington to serve as U.S. Ambassador to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in Brussels, Belgium. He served as the United States’ Permanent Representative to the North Atlantic Council and the Defense Planning Committee, and the Nuclear Planning Group. He was promoted to Secretary of Defense under transition President Ford.

Vice President Dick Cheney served as Rumsfeld’s assistant in the Office of Economic Opportunity in the Nixon administration and was brought to the Department of Defense, under Ford, as Rumsfeld’s Chief of Staff. In 1978, Cheney was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from Wyoming; he was reelected five times, eventually becoming House Minority Whip. Cheney was selected to be the Secretary of Defense during the presidency of George H.W. Bush, a position he held for all but two months of Bush’s term. During this time, Cheney oversaw the 1991 Operation Desert Storm, among other actions.

Now, regardless of how you feel about their ideologies, there is no question that both men are strong patriots who devoted much of their lives to serving our country. However, there is also no legitimate question that together (along with other very experienced people, like Paul Wolfowitz, for instance) they involved the U.S. in a war based on bad intelligence (I won’t make judgments about the acquisition, retention, or use of the bad intelligence, you can research that yourself, if you like). Similarly, there is no real question that early management of the war, under Rumsfeld’s ultimate direction, was very poor (consider, for instance, the early decisions to disband the Iraqi army and the lack of policing to help prevent looting and rioting after the Bath regime was deposed). These were ENORMOUS mistakes in judgment, especially from men boasting such impressive resumes.

Why do I bring this all up? It is my opinion that people like Rumsfeld and Cheney became hyper-focused on two good objectives: 1) deposing Saddam and 2) introducing democracy to the Middle East (through Iraq). The result of this “tunnel-vision” was that they failed to consider alternatives to their plan–alternatives provided, among others, by Colin Powell (read about the Powell Doctrine). The objectives may have been good, but the plan was poor. They had no clear exit strategy because they refused to consider any alternative to their theory that we would “be greeted as liberators.” For evidence of this, see this transcript of Tim Russert interviewing Dick Cheney on Meet the Press in March, 2003. Russert directly asks what would happen if we were not greeted as liberators and Cheney refuses to discuss the possibility, in part saying, “Well, I don’t think it’s likely to unfold that way, Tim, because I really do believe that we will be greeted as liberators.”

Now I know you’re wondering what this all has to do with Barack Obama, and I appreciate that you’ve read this far. Here’s the point I’m trying to make: what really counts, on the job, is sound judgment. Don’t get me wrong; experience is important. But it is not nearly as important as sound judgment. Experience can come from the person making the judgment or from an advisor. The judgment, however, is what actually shapes the situation. In order to consistently make good judgment calls, you need to surround yourself with opposing opinions (based on experience) and be open to multiple solutions. There is no other way.

I trust the judgment of Barack Obama based on his previous voting records, his history of reaching across the aisle in the IL state senate since 1996, and his speeches on the campaign trail. In addition, I trust the judgment of John McCain because he has a LONG history of independent thought and of reaching across the aisle to work with the other party (consider his work with one of the more liberal Democrats, WI Senator Russ Feingold, in the “McCain-Feingold” Act of 2002, which imposes limits on campaign financing). The fact that McCain has more Washington experience than Obama may or may not be of much importance (you need to figure that out for yourself), but a more important question asks which candidate is most capable of the sound judgment required of a U.S. President. All the experience in the world won’t matter if it leads to a poor decision; and when the experience serves to harden the President against considering opposing views (as in the case of Rumsfeld, et al), it even negatively affects the quality of the decision.

Well, I know this was a lot to read and a lot to think about, so thank you for doing so. I have tried to present my case as thoroughly and as objectively as possible in the time I have chosen to devote to this post (far too much time, considering my schedule this week). If you’re a hardened Republican voter, I’m sure this will have no bearing on your decision to vote Republican in November. Likewise, if you’re a hardened Democrat, this will not likely affect your decision in the general election. But for anybody on the fence about whether to support Hillary vs. Obama or McCain vs. Obama, maybe this can help you make a more informed decision, keeping in mind the importance of judgment over experience.

I welcome and encourage comments. You may do so anonymously, if you wish (e.g. use a bogus name and e-mail address).

Note: Just so my political allegiances are clear, I’m currently a left-leaning registered independent. If it comes down to Obama vs. McCain, I will have a difficult decision (currently I am supporting Obama, but that very well could change). If it comes down to Hillary vs. McCain, I will be voting for McCain barring some unforeseen circumstance (e.g. a tree falls on my car as I drive to the voting booth or McCain suddenly unveils himself as the anti-Christ, equally likely scenarios, in my judgment).

From the desk of Riley:

My parents’ anniversary was earlier this month, and I wanted to do a little something to honor it. It wasn’t a landmark one, or anything. In fact, I’m not even sure which one it is (32nd, I think). Nonetheless, I still think it’s worth noting when two people make the kind of commitment they have made. I’m not talking about the wedding vows, but instead the commitment they make every time their relationship has been strained. From watching them, I’ve learned that a successful marriage isn’t about perfect financial security or about two people spending 50 years in a honeymoon phase together. Neither party is going to be perfect, so neither should expect perfection. The relationship dynamic won’t even stay the same, because people change. You just have to keep finding the best in each other so the bad times aren’t as bad while you wait to fall back in love. A successful marriage is about mutual respect–even (and especially) during disagreements–and a mutual desire to keep mending the relationship, no matter how big the rip.

This song represents well what I’m talking about, so I hope you’ll give it a listen. (Note: I had to make a rudimentary video about it because I didn’t know how to post an mp3).

Anyway, Happy Anniversary from the Rillison Clan, Mom and Dad. And thanks again.

[Song: “We Believe in Happy Endings,” as performed by Dry Branch Fire Squad].

From the desk of Riley:

This is a serious and nonpolitical topic. After watching Presidential candidate Barack Obama’s speech, this week, on race in America (provoked by the media attention to incendiary comments made his former pastor, Reverend Jeremiah Wright), I felt it appropriate to post on our family blog because of how necessary it is for Americans to hear this message. It is not a political one (though, naturally, Obama supports his campaign). It is, instead, one of the best articulated presentations of the complex racial divide in our country (something we don’t see a lot of in Wisconsin, being a state comprised of 90% whites). This is not some stump speech concocted by Obama’s speech writers. Obama wrote it, himself.

It is a very important topic and I think it’s unfortunate that the man who delivered it is running for President, because the result is that his message will probably be (and probably already is) clouded in a haze of criticisms, for political gain. Regardless, I hope you’ll take the 40 minutes to watch it, and I’m linking to it, here, to make it easier for you to find. If you watch it, try to ignore your feelings about Obama is a presidential candidate and focus on the message.

With all that said, I will suggest that Obama be praised for taking this bold move. While other politicians would have handled the situation by making a short comment distancing themselves from the source of controversy, Obama tactfully but comprehensively confronts the full issue, head on. I don’t agree 100% with his running platform, but I flat-out support him in this presidential bid. Regardless of whether he gets elected as President, I am one white male who is glad to have someone of Obama’s caliber in our national politics.

Thanks for reading.

Riley

Part 1 (10:03):

Part 2 (10:57):

Part 3 (10:49):

Part 4 (10:56):

Hillary’s Ad:

http://www.youtube.com/v/M70emIFxETs&rel=0″

Bill’s Response:

http://www.youtube.com/v/yZW0m2nWB_M&rel=0″

gbama!

*The contents of this post are not to be taken as factual and are for amusement purposes only.

Hey folks, we’re sorry about the long delay since our last post, but as you can see, we’re on a new system (thanks again to Turd for his technical and coding experience and web hosting space). This should result in more frequent posts, as well as more frequent updates to our photo album* (see the Photos link in the sidebar on the right).

So, on to the meat and potatoes of this post: CQ updates.

She took her first official steps in November, but didn’t “take off” with walking until January. Roughly a month ago, she finally decided to start actively communicating with us. While she had been signing “all done” since November, and she responded to our verbal and hand signals for words like “milk,” “baby,” “more,” “eat,” and “drink,” she wouldn’t actually sign them back to us. Now, however, she picks up new signs with relative ease (she knows “more,” “eat,” “water,” “milk,” “sleep,” and she’s learning “light,” “fan,” and “help”), and she recognizes a wide variety of words (sometimes surprising us by pointing to things we’re talking about, when we didn’t know she even knew the word, like “computer”). Verbally, she babbles with inflection in her voice, making obvious attempts to sound conversational. In addition, she has been using the phrase “uh-oh,” when she drops something or makes a mistake and lets out a deliberate “ahh” after taking a big drink. She even attempts to reproduce the sounds of some animals, including dogs and monkeys. While eating, she blows on her food when she knows that it’s hot and enjoys throwing her food off her tray so that she can shake her head “no” to us, showing us that she knows she’s not supposed to. Since November, she has been noticeably and deliberately more affectionate, walking up to give us hugs or kisses at her own will. She also recognizes extended family in pictures, even being able to point to the correct person when we say his/her name. Finally, she has started doing backflips.

As for the rest of the clan, we’re thoroughly enjoying this time in CQ’s life and soaking as much of it in as we can. Riley is also looking forward to graduation in September. Recent births include Colton Randall, son and first child to our friends Turd and Cindy, and Olivia Anne, 2nd daughter to Allison’s sister and brother-in-law, Kelly and Andrew (you can view both of their websites from the links in the sidebar). Otherwise, things are as they have been, with nothing new to report.

We hope all is well with our family and friends, and please feel free to leave comments. We will try to check them fairly often and leave feedback of our own.

*For those interested, you may notice, while viewing a picture in our photo album, a link that says “View this photo on Flickr.” By doing so, you will be able to view the photo in a high-resolution format that should print well if you A) have a photo-quality printer or B) want to send it to your local Walgreens to be developed.

The Rillison Clan blog is currently undergoing an upgrade. For all our old posts, please view the archives. If you want to be notified when new posts to our blog are made, please navigate to our subscribe page and enter your email address.