What I am thankful for....

I am thankful for my friends, family, and that I have a job that I like.....

... and that we will have a smart, competent president in office for at least the next 4 years.

Technology

I continue to be amazed at how President-Elect Obama uses the technology available. His team is very clever. Back in the campaign days... I got such a kick out of him putting his Early voting message in video games!! Who would have thought of that?

Well, it appears as if he's going to make very good use of the internet during his presidency. He has launched a healthcare page by which he is allowing people to comment on what they think of the healthcare system and generate a discussion as how best to fix it.
http://change.gov/page/content/discusshealthcare

I love the idea of a president who is interactive. That he keeps all Americans involved.
With the radio address, I've heard bits and pieces on the news over the years and now PE Obama is video taping them and putting them on the net for mostly all to see. How refreshing.

My first award.

From Cynthiaa @ Confessions of a yummy mummy.

"This blog invests and believes the PROXIMITY - nearness in space, time and relationships! These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated."

Thank you! Very much appreciated!

A break from serious issues.....

During this past election season... I've had the news on quite a bit.
When Barack Obama had his first press conference, my son and I watched it. You know he's young, 21 months... so he likes to point out things to me and he kept pointing at the TV and I would name off the people that were on it. It's funny b/c I knew it wouldn't mean anything to him. He doesn't see these people on a daily basis, but he seemed interested. Well, Barack Obama stuck with him... Anytime he comes on the TV, my son will stop and point at him a say "uhh, uhh". So, I will tell him it's Barack Obama and then he giggles. I think he just likes the sound of his name, but it's cute nonetheless.

Pro life?

I've often wondered this. What is the meaning of Pro-life?
The only time I ever see it applied is with unborn babies. Surely, most people would argue that abortion isn't the best option. We all hope that one would pick to carry out the pregnancy and give the baby up for adoption. But that isn't our choice to project onto people.

How come this "pro-life" movement doesn't carry over to the people that are already living?
Think about all the groups that the pro-lifers conveniently ignore....

--People that live with chronic disease. Getting back to the argument against Universal Healthcare. How come we can't all agree that these people need to be taken care of so they can have a better quality of life?

--People with mental disease. Many times these folks are homeless, broken. People make cruel jokes and insist that these people did this to themselves. And they dont' realize that a good portion of the homeless are veteran's that the system neglected. We are so patriotic when we send these people off, yet when they come back we can't be bothered to treat them for all of the horrors they experienced for our freedom.

--Convicts. I am not arguing whether the death penalty is appropriate. That's another arguement for another day. However, it's odd to me how pro-lifers can be for the death penalty. If all lives are worth saving, then shouldn't convicts be included in that. And what about the people that are wrongly convicted... surely some of them fall through the cracks.

--Children put up for adoption. - They don't always get warm, loving homes. Alot of times they are put into foster homes that aren't ideal. If they're children that aren't coveted, they get pushed aside. AND.. now that we are trying to make it illegal for gay parents to adopt, this leaves more children unloved.

Please, please explain this to me.

I need to vent!!

Healthcare is one cause that is near and dear to my heart. I believe that everyone should have it. And, I think there is a way that gov't can help provide it without "being in control" of your healthcare. Many countries have various versions of universal health care. When you have an entity that is as large as the government, it can cut costs by bulk buying.

My company is great to work for. However, they struggle just like every other company. Every year they scout out the best deal for health insurance. This means they will switch to a whole new company if they have to. My first year here, we had United HealthCare and my Primary doctor didn't take it. It was okay because I am healthy and will go for a physical or cold every once and awhile. But then I got pregnant. And that changed everything. The next year we switched to Blue cross, blue shield.. which worked out wonderfully. It covered all maternity visits and I only had to pay $250 for my hospitalization when I had my beautiful son. And we were able to get my son into the office where our PCP is because they take BCBS, and I'd like to keep the doctor who knows my son and has seen him his entire life. For two years we've had this insurance.

Well, it's the end of the year and the shopping begins again. The cost of our policy is going up 10% and the owners don't want to absorb those costs. So, they are thinking of going to a HSA with a high deductible health insurance. Now, to be honest, I don't know all that much about it... But what I do know is that it works out well if you never go to the doctor, which really defeats the purpose. Most companies are going to start leaning this way, I'm told. So, you have a savings acct and your payments will come out of there. Naturally at the beginning of the year, you better hope nothing happens, because you haven't put anything into your acct yet.

This makes me angry. What if your a person who takes good care of yourself, but you have an "accident", fall and break your leg or something? Or what if you simply have a larger sized family? And in my case, if I want to have another child... it will be very costly as I likely will have to have a Csection. So, where is the justice in that? Anyone with kids knows that unpredictable things happen. No one should have to worry about providing for their family or not getting the care they need to restore their health.

So, yeah.. .Universal Healthcare is looking pretty good. Heck, I pay a huge premium right now out of my check... and I don't mind because at least I know that all I am responsible for is a copay here and there. I don't want FREE health insurance, I want AFFORDABLE health insurance.

All that nonsense about how you don't get to pick your doctor.... Well... if most people have a govt plan, doctors will take it. Waiting a long time to have a surgery? Ask most people from Canada or other countries, it's simply not true.

So... I will be waiting to see what President Obama can come up with. I'll be hoping that someday, my children won't be forced with a tough decision of trying to figure out how to get affordable health insurance.

The Bailout!

I am starting to get real angry about how the administration is managing the bailout bill. I wasn't against it totally in the beginning because I figured something needed to be done. But, I really thought there would be some regulations added into it. At least some sort of stipulations attached. It makes me angry that the Treasury dept can just up and decide to change course so that it's not what the Congress intended when they passed the bill.

Then, I start to think about all the money this administration WASTED over the past 8 years.

First - they put us so far into debt, it's not even funny.

Second- at least the debt would be worth it, if we had invested into anything... healthcare, energy independence, or even public works.

It is such a tremendous mess.

She just loves the spotlight!

Sarah Palin that is.
It's awfully strange how I'm seeing more of her now than I did when she was campaiging. But no matter how many interviews she does... she still talks in circles.

And, someone needs to tell her that the Bill Ayers crap that she keeps bringing up makes her look so silly.

Who are the ones that raise the national debt?

I love how Democrats have a reputation for "tax and spend".
But under which presidents have we accumulated a large debt.

Ronald Reagan... and then Bill Clinton cleaned that up.
.. and now George W Bush.

It makes me angry.. because "supposedly" the Republicans are the ones that are going to "save the day" in that regard.

My Election Night Cupcakes

Every Election night we get together at my mom's house to watch the results. We had sandwiches, chips, veggies, dip and cupcakes. I used candy melts to make the Obama logos that are on the top of the cupcakes! On the other cupcakes, they are little stars that I had made.

For the first Debate, I made cupcakes only I had made donkeys to put on top. I had some leftover so I mixed them in with the Obama logo cupcakes. Here's a picture!

A little hypocritical.

I am astonished at the lack of tolerance for our gay/lesbian community.

however, I understand that it's not the mainstream to allow them to marry and that states will deal with this as they choose.

I am of the opinion that church and state should be separate and therefore gay/lesbian couples should have all of the same rights as heterosexual couples - under the law.

But this Arkansas ballot sinks to a new low. It was proposed and passed that "unmarried" couples should not be allowed to adopt children. Moreover, this was proposed as a way to exclude gay couples from adopting children. BUT, it's always presented by the Right to Lifers that adoption be the option as opposed to abortion. If that's the case, how can they honestly say that the pool of adoptive parents be narrowed down. They are trying to get more woman to complete their pregnancies in order to give babies up for adoption... all that should matter is that they get a loving, caring environment where their needs are met.

Ahhhhh.... exhaling.

What an experience... this election. I've felt highs and lows and now I'm at peace. We can restore our standing in the world.. and the rich get their free ride taken away.

I am going to miss a lot of the democratic talking heads that have been on TV. I love Robert Gibbs, spokesman for Obama campaign.... and many others.

But, I will not miss Nicolle Wallace. She gets on my last nerve.

My account on making calls as a Obama Volunteer.

I signed up at the Obama website a long time ago. I kept getting emails telling me that I had voters to call. It's very hard to do at home with a toddler, so I kept putting it off. Well, I finally made some yesterday (better late than never, eh?).

It was very interesting. Mostly I got answering machines.
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Here are how a couple of conversations went.

** I called a young man, 23, and got his mother. She said he wasn't home. I told her that I was calling to let him know where his polling place was. She told me that they knew and that he would be voting tomorrow (today). When asked who he was supporting, she told me Obama. I thanked her and hung up.

** I got a 60 ish aged woman and she told me that she was definitely voting tomorrow (today), but that she doesn't tell anyone on the phone who she is voting for. I can respect that. :D

** I got a 60ish aged man in Virginia. He had the southern accent. I told him who I was and he said "Gosh, you guys are relentless.". I was surprised, "Oh, you've gotten other calls?" He said "Are you sure you're with Barack Obama if you don't know that I've been called?"... I explained that I was volunteering through the website and was calling from NY. He then told me that he was supporting Obama and was a little worried by what he was seeing on TV. He told me that McCain's "minions" were spreading lies about Obama. We talked a little bit longer.

** I called a 37 yo man, but got his wife on the phone who offered to take a message.

Me: "You are probably sick of getting these phone calls about now, but I'm with Barack Obama's campaign for change.....:

Her: *laugh*

Me: I just wanted to let him know about polling location and hours.

Her: We are both voting tomorrow, we're definitely voting for Barack Obama.

** Another man, in 70's. Plans to vote for Barack.

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One Virginian told me that they don't have early voting. They do have early absentee voting and that he didn't trust that at all and that he would vote at the polls, in person.

It makes me so angry in this country that the one right/say we have in our government can't be assured to happen. That people worry their vote isn't going to be counted. It never seemed like this was so bad until that 2000 debacle that put Bush in office. I do hope that the Congress does some Voting Reform, so that people don't have to wait in lines and they can rest assured that their vote isn't going to get "thrown out".

It's beyond ridiculous that when they talk about it on the news, that voter intimidation seems to be accepted, that it "happens every year". I know that it's hard to pinpoint where some of these things are started but it's always perpetrated against the Democrats. Something seriously needs to be done.

An observation.

As I was driving to work this morning, I noticed that there were way more democratic sign holders than the republicans. Is this a sign of something? I always beep at them to show my support.


I love the feeling in the air on Election Day. It's almost like a buzzing.

It's finally here! ELECTION DAY!

This morning I placed my vote for Barack Obama!

It's so historical. I took my 20 mo old son with me and he pushed the levers.

I'm in NY, so this is the last year we'll have the old fashioned lever machines. They've served us well and I'm sad to see them go.

We never here of voting problems in NY. Which begs the question of why we're going to change out this machines. I didn't wait in any lines. In fact, I think I've waited in line once in NY. Makes me feel very lucky when I watch people waiting in line for hours.

My Breakfast Conversation This Morning

I am at work and eating my breakfast in the breakroom, when somehow the conversation of politics comes up. A young gentleman, who you could describe as poor.. married with 3 children... says "You wouldn't like what I have to say."

So of course, I want to hear. I'm not sure what point he was trying to make except that if Obama gets elected, it would make his situation worse. Okay, to be honest, it couldn't get much worse... he is exactly the type of person that Obama would help. We go into details of the tax plan and healthcare and I rebutt everything he says. His statements were classic things you would hear on TV...

*There have been inconsistencies with the amount of money to qualify for tax cuts. - How Biden was taken out of context when he said $150,000 as an example. etc.
* And that the tax cuts would hurt small business (it's not like he owns one??) , to which I commented that most small businesses don't earn a quarter of a million dollars.

What gets me, is this is a classic picture of a McCain supporter, yet he would benefit most from Obama's plans. So, it's true that people will pick up the typical bull McCain sputters at his rallies and run with it.