On Being a "Nutcracker" parent

This year my 10-year-old auditioned for and was cast in the Pacific Northwest Ballet's annual holiday event, "The Nutcracker." Only students at the ballet's school are eligible to audition, and not everyone is chosen.

So it was with great pride, excitement, and trepidation, that we launched ourselves into being a Nutcracker family, something hundreds of families have done over the years.

As a Nutcracker parent, I need to make sure my dancer is at rehearsals on time, as well as performances. Plus I need to make sure the shoes are purchased and labeled, snacks are packed, homework is finished in spite of rehearsals, and we all still enjoy Christmas.

The production depends heavily on parent volunteers, and acknowledges that -- parents who volunteer for performances need to apply makeup, help with costumes, and other things, in addition to the obvious kid minding. I guess I should be grateful that I don't have to worry about learning how to make girl's curls for the party scene, although I have a sneaking suspicion everyone is supposed to learn how to do hair curls to help out.

I feel a little odd about all of this. How I would have been thrilled and panicked if I had been cast in the professional production of anything when I was 10, and so I can't help be a bit envious. But not too much -- I'm not a dancer!

I thought just today that it is so exciting to see the start of something exciting for life, to be set to experience a whole new world as a temporary member of a professional company. And to dance each performance on a fine stage, in front of a paying audience, with a live orchestra -- what could be better?

I can tell you -- being the parent watching the child's stage thrills can be better.

The Trouble With Loyalty

Rajiv Chandrasekaran, in a piece in The Washington Post that he adapted from his book, "Imperial Life in the Emerald City," (Knopf 2006) explores how the missteps and huge errors made in Iraq have largely been due to the selection of personnel based on loyalty to President Bush vs. experience and qualifications.

"...To recruit the people he wanted, [Jim] O'Beirne ['a political appointee who screens prospective political appointees for Defense Department posts'] sought résumés from the offices of Republican congressmen, conservative think tanks and GOP activists. He discarded applications from those his staff deemed ideologically suspect, even if the applicants possessed Arabic language skills or postwar rebuilding experience..."

It has been apparent, almost from the beginning of Bush's presidency, that he values loyalty above all else. Condoleeza Rice, his former national security advisor is a prime example. Although arguably qualified for the position, she reached it after Colin Powell, one of the finest military minds and men to serve our country, left the administration after being marginalized because he was first loyal to the United States, not to G. W. Bush.

And there is the problem with loyalty. President Bush needs and wants people to be, first and foremost, loyal to him. But where does that leave the United States? Effectively without a leader. Why? Because the president needs to be loyal to America, and remember that he is elected by and for the people.

I like to joke that he's not an American, he's a Texan. But seriously, he seems to not understand what it means to be in public service, and has surrounded himself with people who are there to serve the man, not the presidency.

Bill Clinton understands it. Al Gore and John Kerry understand it. Ronald Reagan even understood it. John McCain, Bob Dole, Ted Kennedy, Harry Reid, and Arlen Specter get it. Abraham Lincoln, John Adams, George Washington, FDR, Theodore Roosevelt, John Quincy Adams, and John Kennedy understood.

The first loyalty of the public servants must be to the nation, not to the person in office. The presidency must be treated with respect and humility by the officeholder first, who in turn demands respect for the office in all who serve it.

No wonder the Katrina aftermath and the Iraq war is such a debacle. No wonder, five years after 9/11, Osama bin Laden is still at large. We are being led by a man who has placed his personal agenda way above national sovereigncy.

Perhaps the election this November will replace the president's enablers in Congress with people who are determined to return this nation to greatness by returning its people to greatness.

Perhaps our president simply needs to be reminded that he is a citizen, elected to serve the citizens.

Child molestation has nothing to do with sex

So, yet another teacher who molested a student is in the news. And since it is a woman teacher, and the boy is a teenager, it is suddenly seduction.

Sexual contact with someone under the age of 16, or even 18 in some states, is rape. Why? Because, over and over, it has been proven that human beings do not reliably make good choices while they are still growing up.

So, I look at these instances, and questions immediately leap into my mind:

• Don't they teach ethics to teachers in college any more? Since when does someone obtain a teaching degree without having drilled into their heads that it is their responsibility to set and maintain limits?
• How did these women get married in the first place?
• If this were a man seducing a student, would anyone even be having this conversation?

There is no romance in this. There is no "seduction." There is no reasonable choice. It is irresponsible, it is criminal, and rapists belong behind bars.

Vikings Beat Washington!

It's the first Monday night game of the season, and the opener of a double header (new, like it's new to ESPN) was Minnesota vs. Washington. In an excellent victory, the Vikings managed to defeat the Redskins at home in the opener.

I confess that, although I am in the Pacific Northwest and I always enjoy watching the Seahawks, my heart is with the Vikings.

And, tonight, watching the Vikings win their first road game, it warmed my heart and made me proud to stayed a Vikings fan all these years. What their final record will be at the end of the season remains to be seen. But with Brad Johnson at quarterback (again...), this team of players who never stopped playing hard and well will end the season performing their best.

Skol, Vikings, let's go!

Rosie's Back

Rosie O'Donnell is coming to "The View." And am I glad.

I rarely watch "The View," especially once the funny and smart Meredith Viera left to become the new cohost on "The Today Show."

But I'll be watching now. Why? Because Rosie O'Donnell will be a cohost. Rosie has a knack for being genuine, warm, funny and honest when she is on television. But more than that, she doesn't create an on-air persona that is drastically different from who she is.

I like to hold up Rosie as a role model to my daughters. She is a successful woman who is, first and foremost, true to herself. When she has a problem, or makes a mistake, she accepts responsibility and works to fix it. She uses her fame to help children, and without a lot of fanfare, through the For All Kids Foundation.

She shops at Target, for goodness' sake.

She works hard to be a good parent, a loyal friend, and one of those comedians who can be contemporary, biting, and raunchy, but can also be very funny without the raunchiness.

For four years she had me watching daytime television -- I never missed the Rosie O'Donnell Show from the first to the last episode. After she ended her show, I stopped watching daytime talk shows. I don't even watch Ellen Degeneres, whose show is always delightful, and who I think is the funniest woman on the planet. But she's still not Rosie. (Hey, maybe now that the kids are in school, I'll have time to watch Ellen...)

So, welcome back to television, Ro, we've missed you. Maybe you can teach Elizabeth Hasellbeck that all parents are pretty much the same, regardless of political and religious differences, and lifestyles. And maybe you can balance Joy Behar's acerbic wit with your own brand of humor. And maybe you can make Barbara relax again.

And remind everyone that nice people can be funny, smart, outspoken and passionate.