Exercise Your Civic Duty

If you have ever criticized a politician.

If you have ever complained about the government.

If you have any stake in how you country/state/city/school board/local government is run.

Then VOTE. please.

This Election Makes Me Crazy

The Republican rhetoric of this election is making me NUTS. Don't get me started on the Tea Party crazies, but even mainstream Republicans are just spewing it....

First - check out this awesome video. Its great to say you are going to cut spending - but how??? Love to hear someone who knows.

Second - Everyone hates TARP. Just a clue - TARP was signed by President BUSH - not Obama. BUSH. On October 3, 2008 - BEFORE the election. This was a REPUBLICAN plan.

Third- Saying only Republicans can solve the deficit. Two things have contributed most to the deficit.

1) the war. BUSH's war. That and all our other military conflicts. In fact check this out. Almost FIFTY percent of the entire World's annual Military spending is by the U.S.. Cutting U.S. expenses in half would still be more than next five or six countries combined. Notice no Republicans propose cutting defense spending in any way.

and 2) the collapse of the economy - again, happened under BUSH - due strongly to government deregulation. But what is the Republican answer? Smaller government - getting government out of business. REALLY?

ARGHH - best I can say is people, VOTE. VOTE VOTE VOTE. Vote early and vote often. We need all reasonable adults out there at the polls.

I Implore You!

Recently Newsweek did a great article on the truth about the healthcare plan. You can find it here. It does a great job of ironing out the truth/fiction of the proposed law itself, as well as reasons why some of the falsehoods are so strongly believed.

I am not sure which iteration of the plan I prefer - but let me say this: The President's job is not to be our best friend. It is not to be popular. It is not even to be reelected. It is to do what he thinks is best for the country and the people. I believe President Obama is doing that. And without healthcare reform - people will continue to suffer. We need healthcare reform. People are paying too much for healthcare, and being denied services they need to improve their quality of life. We need change. And I trust our President to get it for us.

Mr. President - please don't let us down. Don't let ludicrous rhetoric and idiotic popular opinion polls dissuade you from this most important task. And Congress - same to you! You can do it. This is the time. PLEASE reform healthcare. It is the right thing to do!

Show Me the Money

"Banks Allowed to Pay Back TARP"

I love President Obama. I really do. I think he has lots of great ideas and is working hard, and will make this country TONS TONS TONS better than it has been the last 8 years.

That said, what the !$*&%(*??!! Banks ALLOWED to pay back money they owe us? Yes, I know we don't want banks pushing too hard and returning assistance when they aren't out of trouble. But many of these banks claimed to have been "forced" to take the money. Well then give it back - but a warning - you DON'T get another chance. If you got money because the govt felt you were at risk, and then you gave it back and started to fail anyway - tough for you. Bye Bye..lots more mega banks to handle your problems, thank you very much.

One would hope we would soon be at a point where we ENCOURAGE people to pay back the money they owe us - not just permit them to.

The First Debate - live blogging

My stream of consciousness while watching the debate.....

McCain says he will veto all out of control spending bills - really, like Defense??!

McCain says "people who are under indictment are in control" - do you think that includes Republican Senator Ted Stevens from Sarah Palin's home state??

McCain thinks our business taxes are too high and should be cut. Are there any real Americans who care about that - seriously, is he that out of touch??!!

They are fighting over their tax plans. McCain appears to think it is inappropriate for Obama to consider people making more than $250,000 rich. I'm sorry - DH and I make a lot of money - but I think $250,000 is a GENEROUS definition of rich...should be lower....

McCain is saying some defense spending is out of control...interesting.

I love when "liberal" is used as a vicious slur.

McCain just said he thinks we should freeze spending for all except DEFENSE, entitlements, and veterans care -- ahh, that's more like it!

Why does Obama's hair look kind of green?

oh dear LORD...McCain is still talking about victory in Iraq...we won't come home until we have victory. ARGGHHHHHH

Is there anyone who doesn't think that a President McCain would have us in Iran before next summer?

blah blah...who can name more foreign leaders/regions...

Apparently McCain wants us in Iraq forever.

FINALLY Obama starts talking about state of economy vs defense spending

And...its over

How Can This Be???

I stole this from Minivan Mom. I LOVE it.

America is Scary

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

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

* If you graduate from Harvard law School, you are unstable.
* If you 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 teach 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, 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.

Seriously. I read these polls and I cannot believe it. What is going on in this country??!!!

Democratic Convention

Why oh why do I have to stay up so late to see Michelle Obama?? I am tired, but I don't want to miss it. On the other hand, I wept to see how well Ted Kennedy did. As a Massachusetts transplant, I love him. I have to - its inbred when you are born in Boston. But he was so brave and strong to get up and speak at this meeting. And so inspirational...

Support Our Troops

Back in 1944 when the GI bill was passed, it laid out a list of benefits our veterans would receive as part of their compensation for service to our country. Included was free education. Under that bill millions of returning soldiers were able to get a free education. Today the GI bill provides a MAXIMUM of $9,600 a year for higher education. Last year I paid more than that for childcare for each of my kids. And they didn't need books or the like. The benefits provided for WWII vets under the GI bill were fantastic and certainly well deserved. And the returns to the economy and American families were great.

Senator James Webb (D-VA) has introduced a bill to cover the full cost of college education for veterans. But the DoD has opposed the bill. They argue that increasing education benefits will hurt retention (presumably because once they have qualified, these men and women would leave the military to go to college).

The bill S. 22, has 50 cosponsors - both Republicans and Democrats - many of whom used the GI bill to get their education. The bill is estimated to cost $2 billion. Yes, that is alot of money. But seriously, its like what, a week or so in Iraq? Its truly a shame that we can't get our lawmakers to move a bill like this - that will have a great impact on many American families - and our veterans who deserve no less. 50 cosponsors is HUGE in the Senate. Yet the bill is not moving at all. Shame shame shame

Let Cami Run For President in 2040!

So there has been all this hullabaloo for a few years over what is known as the "Schwarzenegger Amendment" to the Constitution. Currently, Article II, Section 5, clause 5 of our Constitution reads:

"No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States."

This means that people who immigrate to this country and become citizens, like Arnold Schwarzenegger, can't be President. Now I have never had a real opinion on this issue. I guess I never thought much about it. Not being a big Arnie fan, it didn't do much for me. But just recently I was reading an article about foreign adoptions and within it there was a comment that foreign-adoptees can never be President, due to this clause in the Constitution. Well, that made me stop and think. And that is ridiculous. Then I thought about it some more and realized, that while my friend's daughter, Camille, adopted from China at 14 months couldn't be President; the child born of two illegals living here could be President. There is something horribly wrong with that. I don't want to get into the whole immigration debate, because I have awfully mixed feelings about it. But realizing that foreign adoptees aren't eligible to be President really ignited my fire about this Constitutional amendment.

I am writing my members of Congress today to push for this legislation TODAY. If Cami decides she wants to be President in 2040, she should be able to run!

John Edwards - campaigning and cancer

I was so saddened to hear the Elizabeth Edwards' cancer had come back and spread. I was really routing for them. I thought they were a strong couple and I really liked him as a candidate. But I am not sure how I feel about the announcement of his candidacy continuing despite his wife's cancer. On one hand I say, good for you -- don't let the cancer win, keep on trucking. But on the other hand, I can't believe they would try and do this. I mean, what can be more important than focusing on her health and spending time together. A campaign trail is stressful, unforgiving, and so much more than exhausting. That can't be good for either of them. While I agree they shouldn't just sit at home obsessed with cancer, I think this is well beyond the other extreme. I mean, he is young, he still has many more years to seek higher office. Shouldn't they focus on their family now? I don't know, on a base level this just bothers me. He should be focused on his wife and not the Presidency. Don't you think? All in all, it is sad.