I was just thinking...

Name:

I've become addicted to "A"s (I've gone back to college), love eating and cooking everything but goat cheese, I always try to please everyone and laugh without wetting myself or snorting. I love reading and keeping up with current events, I value my friends. And most especially, I'm a proud mother of four and an excessively proud grandmother of five.

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

...why didn't my bumper sticker arrive in the mail today?

















I'm going to have to do what this creative person did~make my own until my official one arrives in the mail. I'll put it on my "To Do" list. Then I'll post it on my blog.

...that I sound very crabby and biased...

...but oh, frigging well. It's my blog, and the beauty of it is I can say what I frigging want.
I would like to start this beautiful evening by NOT talking about the upcoming vice-presidential debate between Biden and Palin. But I really, really can't help myself. Biden is going to be criticized no matter what he says or does or doesn't say or doesn't do. Either he's going to be labeled condescending, or blamed for talking about things that are way over her head. I kind of feel a little bit bad for her. Then again, maybe not all that much...because she only had to "just say no"...she was flattered but felt she wasn't ready for the job...you know..."Thanks, but no thanks..." She ought to be treated like any man would who would be in the position of vice presidential nominee. Even if she and McCain don't make it to the White House, can you imagine the great stories she can tell her children and grandchildren about how a little girl from Idaho almost made it as VP of the United States?! What a great piece of family history to pass down through the generations.
Okay. I'm done being nice. I hope people will wake up and come to their senses once she opens her mouth and inserts her foot. I'm not saying I could do what she's done. I admire her ambition and perseverence. I'm lucky if I get my homework done, and a meal on the table. My bedroom closet and under my bed are frigging nightmares. I do not aspire to be a mayor or a governor...it was enough for me to be on the PTA Board. Whew...all that pressure. I'll just stick with my classes, trying to please my family, and deal with familiar stuff like brownie-baking.

Monday, September 29, 2008

...how cathartic writing a blog really is!!

It is hard to keep all of these emotions and opinions bottled up inside, and I find that writing a blog is a good way to do some mental cleaning. This is better than a diary, because there's the opportunity for feedback, whether it is positive or negative. It bothers me when I think about how serious I've become lately, and I find myself longing for the days when I used to be wild and crazy. I know my daughters (and for sure, my son) would find it hard to believe that I was ever wild, although crazy is easily believable. Why can't I just get up the nerve to be myself again? I miss me. I just want to have some fun. Just wanna get a little raunchy or naughty, ya' know what I mean? Before I kick the bucket.

...heaven help us...

Whew!! I thought it was just me. Apparently, others are also thinking "the emperor has no clothes."

But maybe this will give us a chance to get a little more insight into the workings of McCain's mind. I'm wondering here--and I'm not trying to be insulting or defaming the guy--if this man, who many think has exercised good judgment in the past, is in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease. And maybe it just hasn't been detected yet. When my mom was (unfortunately) my age (yikes!), some of the things she did were a little odd, and unnoticeable to others who didn't know her very, very well. Things like little lapses in judgment, and "different" behavior that one could not exactly put a finger on. I'll give you a couple of examples in a minute, and while you may not understand what the connection is now, maybe you will after I've explained why I'm so concerned. And furthermore, I would bet my right tit that Reagan had Alzheimer's when he was still president.

Examples of my mom's barely noticeable changes was diminished self-censorship (thinking before speaking). And some odd behavior one might think is just rudeness...my mom, dipping into the food at my oldest daughter's wedding reception...with her fingers...before the wedding began...and walking into the ceremony with a piece of chicken in hand. Or my mom telling my youngest daughter (age three) to quit going in and out of the house, and then locking her out. McCain's "Bomb Bomb Iran," and his expression of confidence in his stunning selection of Palin that left many of his supporters speechless and shaking their heads have made alarms go off in my mind; I had admired and supported him in the past. Are his friends afraid to question some of his decisions? Afraid to say that the emperor isn't wearing any clothes? I question his judgment in all things related to governing ME, when I feel like he may not be as sharp as he once was. And I am relieved to hear others who are much, much smarter than I am, expressing the same opinion of Palin as I am feeling. Now some are starting to speak up. I don't necessarily want Palin to withdraw, because I think that it will be very interesting (and funny) to see how this whole thing plays out. So while most eyes will be focused on Palin's upcoming debate with Biden, I think we should all keep a more critical eye on McCain. And pray enough people feel as I do, and do not vote for him.

This article is from CNN.com
Zakaria: McCain's VP decision is 'fundamentally irresponsible'

September 29, 2008

NEW YORK (CNN) -- In a column appearing in Newsweek, world affairs expert and author Fareed Zakaria said he thinks it would be best for Republican presidential hopeful John McCain, if Gov. Sarah Palin bowed out as his vice presidential running mate. Zakaria says McCain did not put the country first in making his V.P. choice, and he says Palin is not qualified to lead the United States.

CNN spoke to him about his commentary titled, "Palin is Ready. Please.”

CNN: “What did you initially think when Sarah Palin was announced as the Republican vice presidential nominee?”
Zakaria: “I was a bit surprised -- as I think most people were. But I was willing to give her a chance. And I thought her speech at the convention was clever and funny. But once she began answering questions about economics and foreign policy, it became clear that she has simply never thought about these subjects before and is dangerously ignorant and unprepared for the job of vice president, let alone president.”
CNN: “You don't think she is qualified?”
Zakaria: “No. Gov. Palin has been given a set of talking points by campaign advisers, simple ideological mantras that she repeats and repeats as long as she can. But if forced off those rehearsed lines, what she has to say is often, quite frankly -- nonsense. Just listen to her response to Katie Couric's question about the bailout. It's gibberish -- an emptying out of catchphrases about economics that have nothing to do with the question or the topic. It's scary to think that this person could be running the country.”

Here is their exchange:

Katie Couric: “Why isn't it better, Gov. Palin, to spend $700 billion helping middle-class families who are struggling with health care, housing, gas and groceries; allow them to spend more and put more money into the economy instead of helping these big financial institutions that played a role in creating this mess?”
Gov. Sarah Palin: “That's why I say I, like every American I'm speaking with, we're ill about this position that we have been put in where it is the taxpayers looking to bail out. But ultimately, what the bailout does is help those who are concerned about the health-care reform that is needed to help shore up our economy, helping the -- it's got to be all about job creation, too, shoring up our economy and putting it back on the right track. So health-care reform and reducing taxes and reining in spending has got to accompany tax reductions and tax relief for Americans. And trade, we've got to see trade as opportunity, not as a competitive, scary thing. But one in five jobs being created in the trade sector today, we've got to look at that as more opportunity. All those things under the umbrella of job creation. This bailout is a part of that.”

CNN: “But Dan Quayle wasn't very qualified and that didn't seem to matter, did it?
Zakaria: “This is way beyond Dan Quayle. Quayle was a lightweight who was prone to scramble his words, or say things that sounded weird, but you almost always knew what he meant. One of his most famous miscues was to the United Negro College Fund when he said, "What a terrible thing to have lost one's mind. Or not to have a mind at all." Now he was trying to play off a famous ad that the group used to run, "A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Waste." And he screwed it up in a funny way. But read Gov. Palin's answers and it does appear that she doesn't have any understanding about the topic under discussion.”
CNN: “But she has a lot of supporters.”
Zakaria: “Look, I'm not saying that she is not a feisty, charismatic politician who has done some good things in Alaska. It is just we are talking about a person who should be ready to lead the United States at a moment's notice. She has never spent a day thinking about any important national or international issue, and this is a hell of a time to start.”
CNN: “Does it make you concerned about Sen. McCain as a president?”
Zakaria: “Yes, and I say this with sadness because I greatly admire John McCain, a man of intelligence, honor and enormous personal and political courage. However, for him to choose Sara Palin to be his running mate is fundamentally irresponsible. He did not put the country first with this decision. Whether it is appropriate or not, considering Sen. McCain's age most people expected to have a vice presidential candidate who would be ready to step in at a moment's notice. The actuarial odds of that happening are significant, something like a one-in-five chance.”

Saturday, September 27, 2008

...McCain "Just Doesn't Get It"


Recalling the warm reception Barack Obama received in Europe, it is apparent that the citizens and leaders of other countries would welcome the type of change that Obama represents. We have not seen that warm a reception of any American leaders since JFK's and Reagan's visits to Germany. Consider the stark contrast between then and now, where we see protests and demonstrations against our country, and the burning of our flag and effigies of Bush--not just in nations we perceive as hostile, but in nations we consider our allies. Where is the America that other countries looked at and wished to emulate? Regardless of one's political persuasion,it should have instilled a deep sense of pride to see one of our perspective leaders be greeted with such an outpouring of good will.

While there are countries with whom we may never have good relations, there are many countries we have alienated in the recent past. Our leaders' air of superiority that this current administration has presented, has caused us to lose respect throughout the world. Our allies seem less willing to "have our back" under our present administration. It is apparent by his comments during the first debate that John McCain's beliefs are a continuation of that same arrogant and obtuse attitude and misguided policies. He just doesn't get it.

It is time for our country to try a different approach to global relations. Obama's willingness to open a dialogue with leaders of countries, whether we like them or agree with them or not, will be essential to our country's national interest in the 21st century.

Monday, September 22, 2008

...someone must be getting a little desperate!

My daughter in Jacksonville, Florida sent me this from her local news:

"A new mailing from the Republican National Committee and the McCain campaign to Florida voters has Democrats saying they're the victim of dirty tricks. They say that at the very least, the mailing is meant to confuse voters in this battleground state. Republicans say Democrats are making much ado abut nothing.

Lifelong Democrat Marilyn DiMauro of Naples was surprised to get a letter recently from Republican presidential contender John McCain. "I thought, well that's strange, because I'm a Democrat. And when I opened the envelope, there was a card that said I was listed as a Republican with my registration number. So I immediately got my Democratic card, and the registration number was not the same," she says.

She thought the mailing — labeled "Party Affiliation Voter Registration Card" — was a little fishy — especially when she found out two of her friends who are Democrats had received the same thing but a Republican friend had not.

"So I just felt that there was some diabolical reason for doing this mailing," she says. "Why would you spend the money?"

That's what Jim Reynolds, another lifelong Democrat in Naples, wants to know. He happens to be a former U.S. attorney from Iowa. And he has filed a mail-fraud complaint with the postal service. Reynolds thinks Republicans are trying to confuse Democratic voters into thinking there's a problem with their registrations.
"They're just doing everything to try to suppress a certain segment that they feel are not going to be favorable to them," he says.

And indeed, Florida election officials have reported dozens of worried calls from voters. A copy of the mailing obtained by NPR shows that it includes an official-looking card, listing the recipient's name, address, congressional district, party affiliation and something called a voter ID number. In an attached letter, McCain asks recipients to update the enclosed card — and to contribute to his campaign...
Jerry Holland, the Republican supervisor of elections in Duval County, received so many calls from worried voters that he released a statement last week assuring them that only a voter can change his or her own registration.

"Whoever designed the piece obviously created something, knowingly or unknowingly, confusing to some voters, because obviously they were concerned that maybe someone had changed their party," says Holland."

...that I'm glad my daughter, Meeghan, has become interested in politics!

She sent the following letter to the editors of a number of newspapers.

"I am a lineal descendant of the Lathrop family who has been in this country since 1635.

I love this country with all her imperfections. I am a cousin of George Bush and Ulysses Grant, and I am a registered Republican who voted for McCain in the Virginia Primaries in 2000. Today I live in Jacksonville, Florida.

As this campaign begins to close in on its expiration date, I find myself still trying to grasp just what the Republican ticket stands for. John McCain's campaign seems very disorganized and erratic at times. They can't even stay firm to a campaign slogan. I voted in 2000 for McCain because he WAS a maverick who DID put "Country First", but for the past eight years, McCain has put himself first and has succumbed to the status quo of his party. The man I see today, is NOT the man who I respected and admired those years ago. The man I see today has put his own ambitions first and that disappoints me. During the past eight years, this countryʼs policies have morphed into something unrecognizable. It seems more like the United States of Socialist America. After eight years of lies and secrets from THIS administration, enough IS enough. With the slogan of the month of "Country First" why isn't this being reflected in McCain's choice for Vice President? Why won't Sarah Palin sit down with the mainstream media and answer some basic policy questions?

With what appears to be more lies and secrets coming from the McCain Palin campaign why would I want to vote for them when I can vote for someone who's campaign has been strong, on point and consistent?

I like the policies that Barack Obama stands for. I do believe that the people can come together and reach compromise on such issues as gun control and abortion. Therefore, I will be voting for the more honest, consistent, and transparent candidate...Barack Obama."

...about Country First

This editorial is right on target. Written by David Sirota on September 12, 2008
http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/3904/country_first/

Let’s say that you enjoyed watching last week’s Republican National Convention on television.
Let’s say you drank in the almost uniformly white faces and the regimented revivalism, you clapped when speakers belittled Barack Obama’s work organizing impoverished communities, indeed, you cheered with Rudy Giuliani’s zinger, “Drill, baby, drill!”
Let’s further stipulate that you were not at all discomfited by the convention’s incessant “Country First” mantra that defines loyalty to America as lockstep fealty to the Republican Party.
Let’s say — for sheer argument’s sake, of course — all of this is true. What, then, of the substance? Stripping away the partisanship, passion and propaganda, what about the veracity of the claim that the GOP puts this country first?
Well, let’s just say it’s a little dicey.

On national security, the Republican Party advocates continuing to force thousands of young Americans to risk life and limb refereeing Iraq’s civil war. Though the party’s slogan hearkens back to conservatives’ “America First” isolationism, the GOP nonetheless supports spending $12 billion a month on the war — money needed at home.

Same story on economics. In 2004, the Republican White House called outsourcing “a plus.” In 2006, the Republican commander-in-chief okayed the sale of critical infrastructure to foreign dictators. And today the Republican presidential nominee is demanding more NAFTA-style trade pacts that eliminate American jobs. This, says the GOP, is putting our country first.

But who is the “country”? According to the Census Bureau, it will soon be mostly non-whites. That is, the demographic groups who the alleged “country first” party regularly disparages, whether it’s Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss.) yearning for a return to segregation, Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-Colo.) scapegoating Latinos, Rep. Howard Coble (R-N.C.) celebrating Japanese internment, President Bush genuflecting to Bob Jones University’s white supremacists, or Ronald Reagan echoing bigoted rallying cries at the scene of Mississippi race murders.

Maybe, you insist in your post-convention fervor, I just don’t get it. Maybe “country first” really does mean refereeing foreign civil wars, spending billions overseas while cutting domestic programs, exporting jobs and bashing ethnic groups that will soon comprise the majority of the nation.

But I don’t think so. More likely, Republicans have simply taken the famous parable to heart — the one about patriotism being the last refuge of scoundrels.

As a political strategy, it’s not stupid. Following the Bush-DeLay-Abramoff era, many Americans rightly think Republican politicians are scoundrels. And so those politicians are trying to make sure “this election is not about issues,” as John McCain’s campaign manager said this week, but about a hideous hypernationalism only Joe McCarthy could love. Employing flag pins, war stories and Bible-thumping social conservatism, former P.O.W. McCain and Christian fundamentalist Sarah Palin hope their red-white-and-blue phantasmagoria will hypnotize America into voting Republican.

Such desperation leads to seeming incoherence at times. For instance, when anti-war protestors at the GOP convention demanded lawmakers actually put country first by bringing the troops home, Republican delegates responded like an entranced mob of cultists, mindlessly chanting “U.S.A.”

Then again, in the Karl Rove age, every televised scene — no matter how absurd — is part of sculpting an election victory with a mallet of jingoism and a chisel of intolerance.

On the seventh anniversary of the 9/11 atrocities, the Republican convention reminds us of what Barry Goldwater suggested 44 years ago: Terrorists are not the only ones who believe extremism is “no vice.” And, as the old aphorism warns, when the most virulent extremism attacks our country, it won’t be shrouded in Islamic fatwas - it will be wrapped in a flag and carrying a cross.

Sadly, the when is now. McCain is the flag, Palin is the cross — and Americans will have to decide whether we believe their zealotry puts country first.

David Sirota is a senior editor at In These Times and a bestselling author whose newest book, "The Uprising," was released in May 2008. He is a fellow at the Campaign for America's Future and a board member of the Progressive States Network - both nonpartisan organizations. His blog is at www.credoaction.com/sirota.

Friday, September 12, 2008

...that I'm a little confused....

"Let me see if I have this right.....


* If you grow up in Hawaii, raised by your grandparents, you're 'exotic, different.'
* Grow up in Alaska eating moose burgers, a quintessential American story.

* If your name is Barack you're a radical, unpatriotic Muslim.
* Name your kids Willow, Trig and Track, you're a maverick.

* Graduate from Harvard Law School and you are unstable.
* Attend 5 different small colleges before graduating, you're well grounded.

* If you spend 3 years as a brilliant community organizer, become the first
black President of the Harvard Law Review, create a voter registration drive
that registers 150,000 new voters, spend 12 years as a Constitutional Law
professor, spend 8 years as a State Senator representing a district with
over 750,000 people, become chairman of the state Senate's Health and Human
Services committee, spend 4 years in the United States Senate representing a
state of 13 million people while sponsoring 131 bills and serving on the
Foreign Affairs, Environment and Public Works and Veteran's Affairs
committees, you don't have any real leadership experience.
* If your total resume is: local weather girl, 4 years on the city council
and 6 years as the mayor of a town with less than 7,000 people, 20 months as
the governor of a state with only 650,000 people, then you're qualified to
become the country's second highest ranking executive.

* If you have been married to the same woman for 19 years while raising 2 beautiful daughters, all within Protestant churches, you're not a real Christian.
* If you cheated on your first wife with a rich heiress, and left your
disfigured wife and married the heiress the next month, you're a Christian.

* If you promote responsible, age-appropriate sex education, including the proper use of birth control, you are eroding the fiber of society.
* If, while governor, you staunchly advocate abstinence only, with no other
option in sex education in your state's school system while your unwed teen
daughter ends up pregnant, you're very responsible.

* If your wife is a Harvard graduate lawyer who gave up a position in a
prestigious law firm to work for the betterment of her inner city community,
then gave that up to raise a family, your family's values don't represent
America's.
* If you're husband is nicknamed 'First Dude', with at least one DWI conviction and no college education, who didn't register to vote until age 25 and once was a member of a group that advocated the secession of Alaska from the USA, your family is extremely admirable."

Friday, September 05, 2008

VA-Jay Jay

My jaw dropped when I heard Sarah Palin was chosen by John McCain to be his running mate. I have still not recovered, and my husband said it was the first time since we've been married that I have been at a loss for words.

Just because we share a common anatomical feature...we both have VAJayJays, doesn't mean she has my vote! The audacity to assume that Hillary supporters were going to flock to Palin just because she's a woman! That is an insult. There is no comparison. I cannot imagine ANYTHING that would cause me to support this inexperienced, right-wing church lady. I've got plenty to say, but my mind is still swirling, and I am still too shocked to speak.