How does she look at herself in the mirror?

It's so amazing to me how Sarah Palin can tell bald faced lies. I mean, she knows that there is videotape of her saying the complete opposite.

For instance... now she says she never had a family vote on whether to run for VP, and during the campaign she told Sean Hannity that the girls voted on it.

News networks have been showing many instances of this... I don't get it? She knows she's going to be caught in lies, does she not care? Do the people not care?

And she honestly thinks that Glenn Beck would be a good running mate. She wasn't kidding when she said that....

AND, did you see the clip of her being asked about Iran by Sean Hannity and she answers by talking about Ahmadinijad and IRAQ? I mean, she doesn't know the difference?

Keep letting her talk about policy, cuz she will make an absolute fool of herself... but I just don't know what kind of a GOOD mother would teach her kids that lying is acceptable.

Here's the solution to healthcare.

I've given it some thought.
We need to get rid of health insurance alltogether.

Now bear with me, I've not lost my mind.
But, suppose we have no health insurance. Doctors will have to charge rates that people can afford. Naturally, competition would kick in so that the prices would be comparable with the market and what people could afford. There wouldn't be all that overhead to pay for lobbyists, CEO salaries and benefits, or advertising.

I mean, it is the way that things used to be done.

A couple of thoughts.

Hi all. Been busy, been sick.. you name it.

First of all, Someone needs to put a muzzle on Liz Cheney... I mean really. We've come to a time where she'll even criticize the President paying respects to dead soldiers returning. I mean WHO CARES how Bush dealt with it. Obama is his own man. And it's not like he asked the Press to come along so we could see him there. The press is mandated to go.

Secondly... I'm as Woman's rights as the next lady... but of all the fights there are, is it best to focus our time on the fact that President Obama plays basketball with men and no women. I mean, how many women honestly could play basketball at that level where it would be a challenge for the president. Let the man have his recreation.

Thirdly, if I see one more ad for the 23rd Congressional seat. I might just lose my mind. It would be different if I got to vote in that damn election.

When are we going to get the picture?!?!

Here's a surprise. The Health Insurance Companies released a "report" that states if the Baucus Bill passes in the Senate, then customers rates will increase dramatically over the next 10 years. They already go up 30% a year!!! I mean, honestly, how much more can they rape the system with a straight face. They just gave all of us Americans the middle finger.

There is a bright side maybe. Maybe we will get off our asses and get the Public Option in the bill. It's the only way to prevent the health insurance companies from getting away with this. They will never contain costs. They will ALWAYS raise the rates because they are greedy, corrupt, heartless individuals that let people DIE every day despite having health insurance.

Did you hear about the 2 month old baby that was denied coverage because he was at the 97%ile for height and weight. They baby only gets breastmilk. There is no way to overfeed a breastfed baby. Is this what we've come to now?

Congratulations Mr. President.

I woke up this morning and saw the Breaking News Banner. I always get nervous because you never know what that could be. Once I cleared my eyes I saw that President Obama has won the Nobel Peace Prize. I will say I was surprised. But I can understand why they gave it to him. He has touted his diplomatic policy since he was running for president. He has followed through on reaching out to a lot of countries. We were a country that bullied everyone and now we are trying to restore our respect for them.

And then as I was listening to the news, I got angry a little bit. President Obama was handed a bunch of shit when he took office. He's been doing all he can to clean up the mess that Bush left us, while trying to get some of his policy initiatives passed. Nothing happens overnight. We are so impatient that we are discouraged that things are getting done quicker??? We need to get off of his back. Day in and Day out... he gets nothing but criticism. No gratitude, NO thanks, no nothing. And this, for me, was vindication to a certain degree that at least the international community is appreciative of his efforts. All that nonsense about how the Olympics going to Rio was a reprimand against Obama??!! This proves that that's not the case.

So, congratulations to you Mr. President. I appreciate the hard job that you have and that you are trying to make our country better.

What a difference between these two women.

I heard Michelle Obama speak last Friday about what she sees as problems in the healthcare system. Now, remember that she worked as a hospital administrator for quite some time but she didn't mention that. Instead she talked about how not having reform impacts families and women. Insurance companies often charge more for women because they have more needs, esp in the realm of childbearing. This should really cause more outrage. We complain about the amount of terminated pregnancies, yet women do not get the resources that they need. C-sections are actually considered by some to be preexisting conditions, and sometimes a mere pregnancy can be considered that as well. As I listened to Mrs. Obama speak, I realized that we need more strong women out there fighting specifically for us. This is the type of thing that has been lost in the world of death panels and rationing.

Then there's good ole Sarah Palin. She was speaking to business people in Hong Kong, and it has been reported that she was trashing President Obama. I remember years ago when the Dixie Chicks dared express their opinions of President Bush and they faced a backlash that devastated them. I'm not sure what even makes her an expert on the American economy to be talking to these folks anyway.

It is interesting how the two parties have their goto people representing different ethic, gender, etc groups and the ones that fall into that role.

Since when is promoting staying in school considered Socialism?

Okay... we've officially hit a point where the GOP is "off their rocker".

President Obama plans to give a little pep-talk to school kids next week as they return to school.
His plan is to talk about staying in school, working hard, and achieving educational goals.

Sounds good right? I would like my kids to hear that positive message.

Nope,

Florida Republican Party Chairman Jim Greer issued a press release Tuesday slamming the plan, saying he is "absolutely appalled that taxpayer dollars are being used to spread President Obama's socialist ideology."

Seriously? I don't even know what to say here.

If President Bush had been thoughtful enough to do this, I'd have been thrilled. I'll even give him the benefit of the doubt that he had talked about the importance of exercise to children, if I remember correctly... I don't think that's an indoctrination to the conservative agenda.

The fact is that no matter what this president does, the GOP will be against it. President Obama has a long standing record of fighting for Education. Let's see the GOP try and step up and do something to help kids graduate besides taking away sex education.

More thoughts...healthcare and Ted Kennedy

Gosh, this summer has been so busy. I've had so much to say, but not a lot of time to write it.
I'm saddened by the passing of Ted Kennedy. I was actually shocked when I woke up last Wednesday and saw that he had died. I know the tumor was malignant and by all accounts he wasn't doing well the past couple of months, but for some reason I just thought he would conquer it, like he had done with so many things in the past. It takes a special man to have been born wealthy, yet champion time and again for the poor and underprivileged. To fight for civil rights and to hold his family together after so much tragedy.

I would hope this would put the fire under the Democratic Senators asses about how important healthcare was to him. The Republicans are trying to spin it into a case where he would have compromised with them... but I don't see it that way. He would have fought until the end to get a bill with some meaning. I woke up this morning and saw that Pres Obama is finally gonna come out and talk about what he sees the healthcare reform needing. That has been sorely lacking, leadership from the White House. With so-called bipartisan talks going on, and then the Republican Senators being sleazy behind closed doors about how they are trying to kill it? The writing should be on the wall for Pres Obama. I'm not saying the Dems are off the hook here. They need stop wimping out on things.

The fact remains that the Republicans are probably gonna think they won either way. If they defeat the Public Option part of reform, they will think they have dealt a big blow to the president and that they can stand against him on everything (well, they've already done that to a degree)... they will have gotten what they want, AND then they can BLAME it on the Dems by saying... "You had the House, the Senate and the White House... you could have gotten it done." If the Dems get the Public Option, they can cry and whine about the lack of bipartisanship and ... let's face it... It would take awhile to get it going, so they could say that it wasn't working.. blahblah like they are with the Stimulus package (which, is actually working.)

If we're (the dems) going to get blamed for anything, everything anyway... shouldn't we get what we want, and what's best for the people? No one would dare touch Medicare now, and that had to be jammed through with only Democratic support.

What this is really about to the Republicans, is that if Obama achieves anything worthwhile, esp the elephant in the room (healthcare), then voters may likely keep Dems in office. Isn't that sad, that this is what our country has come to?

I'm no fan of President Bush... however, if he had done anything that would have benefitted the country and risk keeping him in office, I'd have been okay with that.

If the President lets this get away from him... as much as I admire him and love his policies/ideas, I would definitely have to think about voting green party in 2012. He needs to keep his word. His whole campaign, he talked about the public option.. and many people voted because they liked his ideas. He needs to stand by them and deliver.

What you can do to throw your hat into the ring.

Here is a funny article about ways to be involved should you want. Got a good laugh.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ben-wyskida/five-things-you-can-do-ab_b_262534.html

So thankful... for govt programs...

I just wanted to share a little bit about my experience with government programs. I worked as a dietitian for the WIC program (Women, Infants, and Children) for quite some time. This program provides food to Pregnant/Breastfeeding women, Infants, Children who meet the criteria. Have to have a financial and nutrition need. I saw the affect this program had on women who were truly grateful for it. Sure, there were some people who didn't really appreciate it, and it's not perfect. Not too many program that are not-for-profit are. We were frequently short staffed and people had to wait.

My son is getting speech therapy, and occupational therapy. He was born 1 month premature and has a small problem with muscle development that is causing him trouble to speak. He's been at it for 6 weeks now and it has worked wonders! I can actually have a conversation with him. If it weren't for the Early Intervention program in NYS, I don't know what would have happened. I surely can't afford it on my own.

And while, I am benefitting from all of your precious tax dollars... I never begrudged anyone that did before I used them. I was so thankful that women had access to WIC. That there is Medicaid, Food Stamps, Social Security.

I think we need to remember that nobody is perfect and everyone will need help some time in their life... and that is what being a country is all about isn't it. Isn't that more patriotic than flying a stupid flag outside your home? Picking up the weakest to become the strongest.

Listen up Democrats!

I want to give you some words of warning. You are about to blow a chance that people are literally dying for. They voted you into office to get us some affordable health care. Most of you are worried about the political outcomes of voting for a public plan. Well, I think you should be more worried about the political outcomes of not voting for a public plan. Because if legislation comes out that Congress without a public plan, you can guarantee that your asses are going to be out a job in 2010. How about you all show some balls and get this thing done for the people!

Apology Resolutions.

I just read that the GOP is introducing a resolution to "make" Obama apologize to the Cambridge Police.

Am I the only one that thinks this is ridiculous? We don't handle things like adults anymore? We write resolutions to "make" someone apologize? I mean, President Obama is handling this whole situation very much like you would hope for an adult to do. He has invited them both to talk it over at the White House/Martha's Vineyard.

And we don't have enough to do in the legislature? The GOP has whined and cried about not having enough time to properly research Sonya Sotomayor, or to hash out healthcare before the August break, yet they can propose this stupid resolution?

I've seen all kinds of resolutions, and quite frankly, I think they're all silly, no matter what side of the political fence you sit on. Let's focus on the things that really matter!

Another point to this conspiracy....

Let's say..... for the sake of argument that he was born in Kenya... he's still be a US citizen because his mother was a citizen.

I was born overseas b/c my dad was in the Air Force... a little different b/c both of my parents were obviously American, but I am still a citizen. Would I be precluded from running for president?

Please tell me....

I want someone to name one other President of the USA that had to show their birth certificate to prove they were a citizen... I don't remember any of this with Bush or Clinton.

Harry and Louise....

Look... I am very happy they've switched sides and decided to be on the side of healthcare reform and getting healthcare for all people. But I find it a little annoying at the end of the commercial when they say "Maybe we can finally get something done on healthcare now."

I mean, don't they have themselves to thank for this.... Like they've been for it all along and now finally they are going to prevail....

I just want to yell at my TV .."Maybe if you jerks didn't torpedo it in 1993, we would have already had it."

RIP Michael Jackson

When I was a pre-teen, Michael Jackson was my hero. I loved the Thriller album and would play the record over and over. Our stereo was in the living room, so I'd lay on the floor with my headset on listening to it. Back in those days, it was a big clunky headset. I collected the Michael Jackson dolls with the glove and everything.

His life is a tragedy. It started by being abused by his father and his whole life was dampened by that. It must be so much easier to medicate your emotional and physical pain rather than dealing with it head on. He was never able to just be a kid and enjoy the normal things that kids do.

Such a talented man. If he had been able to lay off the drugs, who knows what he could have accomplished. Such a short, strange life. But his music will live on. He was someone that was able to bring all sorts of people together with his music.

He was devoted father by all accounts. What will his children do now? He is all that they have known. He was a brother and son that will be missed by his family and various friends. I hope that he is able to have some peace now and be free from all the pain.

My thoughts on political infidelity

I could really care less if a politician is unfaithful. I said this very thing about Clinton. If he gets a blow job in the oval office, I could care less. I didn't get riled up when the Republican politicians did either.

What does dance on my last nerve is when a politican has an affair....after having criticized and chastised others for having an affair.... called for said politician to resign.... and yet has no intention of resigning themselves.

This has been the case with Ensign and Sanford. They were very vocal of both Republicans and Democrats who have been caught in an affair and called for the resignation of them (Bill Clinton and Larry Craig in particular.).. and now they expect to keep their jobs and be forgiven. Ensign and Sanford have some questionable things as far as using money that wasn't theirs to either perpetuate the affair or cover it up.

Cheaper is not always better....

When you get a bid on getting your roof replaced (for an example) and you get 3 different bids. Do you pick the cheapest one out there?

When you go grocery shopping, do you fore go name brands and always buy the cheapest thing there is?

When you buy a new car do you forget personal preference/need or performance ratings and buy the cheapest thing on the lot?

I'm going to venture a guess and say no, you do not always buy what's cheapest....

So why do the Republicans feel that we need to always settle for what's cheap? They have a new health care proposal that they are touting as cheaper than the President's plan. So, what? That doesn't make it the plan that will suit the needs of the American people. Consumers are willing to pay for quality. So, why can't we get a quality health care plan that meets our needs, even if we have to pay a little more for it? I think any individual would be willing to pay higher taxes for quality. And I shouldn't just say "higher taxes" because that sounds overwhelming. The thing is that most times, it doesn't really amount to all that much more when it comes down to it.

Let's be clear about rationing of healthcare...

Ooooooh, that scary word... "rationing". The fear that the anti health reform groups are trying to make us all feel.

I think most individuals that look at papers from the insurance company realize that rationing already takes place.

1. Insurance companies deny covered procedures, tests, surgeries all the time. They make the decision on what is covered. It might be something that you read is covered, but if the insurance company decides that it isn't... you get to foot the entire bill.

2. You hear about how Medicare/Medicaid reimburse for procedures at under the market cost. So do insurance companies. Most times, they pay only 40-50% of what the doctor bills them. That either leads to the doctors needing to see more patients to make up the costs, or billing artificially high amounts to get what they deserve.

Insurance companies set the rules right now. We need a public health care option that gives them some competition. The consumer gets the choice. They can go with the public plan, or pick a private insurance company. The gov't isn't going to force you into anything either way.

We need to allow people to have regular checkups. Preventive medicine needs to be in the forefront. There is no better cost savings than prevention. We need for people to be able to get affordable health insurance if they have a pre-existing condition. It's not fair for someone to have had bad luck and then not be able to get insurance. Pregnancy is a pre-existing condition as well.

Don't fall for it people. They are counting on the fact that you may not know much about how the health care system works. As someone who works in it, I can tell you that we NEED this public plan. Please call your Senators and tell them that we need it.

You can't have it both ways.

The other night I heard Sarah Palin say on an interview that she is concerned about the government getting into businesses and taking them over and controlling the people. She has made many comments about her own freedom of speech being stifled.

So... Freedom of speech is a wonderful thing when you are doing the talking. When you have to do the listening and hear some not so pleasant things about your family... Well, then... that person shouldn't have the same rights. David Letterman shouldn't have a show to say these awful, horrible things, etc.

While, I don't think his top 10 list was very funny.... (I would prefer that Palin just Go away)... He is a comedian, a late night talk show host... He has the same freedoms of speech as Palin does.

But let's really get to the heart of this. Freedom of Speech. I think there is a difference between Speech and Hate Speech. There is a lot of sneakiness going on out there these days to incite hatred towards certain groups of people. And while, the average, sane person won't respond violently to it... there are people that will. And perhaps those with a public mic should really think about the things they are saying before they say it. It might benefit them for a couple of minutes, but can cause some real, long term damage to others.

We need to start embracing what makes us different, rather than using it as cheap, talking points.

R.I.P to a hero to the Pro-choice movement

I've had to take a day to figure out what I wanted to say about this.

First of all, this man knew the risks everyday to his life to be an abortion provider, yet he felt that it was something that he needed to do. Abortion is after all legal in this country, despite how some people feel about this. It is a medical necessity in some cases. Most of the controversial late-term abortions are done when there is risk of harm to the mother, or the fetus is having serious trouble. If there are fewer doctors to provide these LEGAL services, then there could be more deaths for mothers, whose hearts ache at the thought of proceeding with it.

And forgive me if I sound insensitive to religion here. I take all kinds of crap for being an atheist.. but what kind of Christian... goes into this man's church.... where he is serving God... and guns him down in front of the segregation??? Please someone explain this to me.

I wrote a post about Pro-life that you can read here... and I still stand by my thoughts. How can you be so worried about lives that haven't been born, but not about the ones that are living like abortion providers and mothers whose lives are at risk? It is completely hypocritical sounding to me.

Sotomayor & reverse racism

What in the world in reverse racism? Technically the word racism should do it. It doesn't matter what race is being derogatory about another, it's just racism. I don't know why we still have the idea that the caucasian race is the best. If a black person was racist against me, it's no less important than the other way around.

AND!! From what I've seen about Sotomayor, she's got a funny sense of humor. If you read the whole quote where she states a Latina woman would come to a better decision than a man, it is in no way racist.

Although, Gordon Liddy was quoted as saying....
"Let’s hope that the key conferences aren’t when she’s menstruating or something, or just before she’s going to menstruate. That would really be bad. Lord knows what we would get then"

I hope I don't offend anyone with my horrible language right here... But what a douchebag! I mean, really.... I haven't heard a menstruating joke since I was in junior high school.

ahhhhh.... finally the pick.

Sorry.. I've been missing. Work and home have been so busy.
I will be back...

I will say.. that I like Obama's pick.... Sotomayor..... Woman and Hispanic... 2 groups that should have a voice on the Supreme Court.

Notre Dame

I just listened to John King interview a graduate that is Boycotting Commencement because of Barack Obama. But, her reasons aren't (IMO) accurate.

She said that it's not right for Barack Obama to use commencement as a time to talk about abortion rights. She would be open to a town hall style meeting where there could be a back and forth discussion rather than just having to listen to him.

Barack Obama was asked to deliver a commencement speech. Peroid. End of story. EVERYONE else has made this about abortion... so much so that he'll actually likely have to address it in his COMMENCEMENT speech.

It's so crazy. I absolutely agree with their right to be pro-life. That's not even a question. It is after all a Catholic School. But, how do they justify asking Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush when they are pro death penalty? Just seems hypocritical to me.

The Big Tent

In listening to the GOP blitz... one thing really sticks out. People can belong to the "Big Tent" party so long as they ALWAYS support the GOP. Now that Colin Powell endorsed Barack Obama, he can no longer belong to the republican party per Dick Cheney. Rush Limbaugh maintains that John McCain should switch to the Democratic Party. McCain is trying to make nice with Rush by saying that the GOP should not moderate at all.... even though he is by all accounts a moderate Republican.

How is this going to entice people into joining the party, if once they waiver against something, they're going to get kicked out?

You can risk your life, but you can't.....

I had to sleep on this before posting it because it made me so angry.
But I have to say that sleeping on it didn't really help.

If any of you watch Rachel Maddow, you know about this. She interviewed a National Guard Platoon Leader named Dan Choi on her show in March. He said "I am gay" on TV and said he could be fired for it because of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy.

Well sure enough, today he got a letter saying that is going to be discharged because he broke that policy.

Who in the world could have possibly thought that was a good idea? We ask these people to possibly GIVE UP THEIR LIVES to protect us and they can't admit to who they REALLY are? This is shameful and it needs to be remedied RIGHT NOW. I am so truly pissed about this. We owe this to them... They are expected to be honest, truthful, loyal while in the armed services but how can they be, when they can't even admit to who they are.

Let's lose valuable servicemen and women for this??????

I love mustard.

I must be elitist now. In case you haven't seen, Hannity thinks that Obama is elitist for using Mustard on his hamburger.

This is honestly what we are talking about in America?

... and I lost a follower somewhere.

Showing their true colors

Boy, I've never noticed before how clearly you can tell which Senators/Congressman(women) collect funds, etc from which people.

Just saw a note that some Dems are opposing Obama's tax haven plan. And how the Repubs fight against healthcare reform. You can tell where their toasts are buttered.

It's a damn shame, they don't look out for what's best for all of the people in their country... they just seem to be looking out for their own wallets and political asses.

A plea to the good people of the 6th district of Minnesota.

Please for the love of all that's good and common sense.

Elect anybody BUT Michele Bachmann in 2010.
You honestly don't want to be known as the people that elected this crackpot. She gets more and more bizarre each day.

Change we can believe in!!!

Did you hear? Arlen Spector is becoming a Democrat!!! If/Once Franken gets sat, there will be a 60, filibuster proof majority.

Who's in Charge?

I was watching the press conference on Sunday regarding the Swine flu... I thought to myself... Why is the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security running this show? Isn't there a department more suitable to handle health crisis'? Surely, the flu can be a threat to Homeland Security... but something didn't seem right about this. Where's the CDC? Yeah, they've been out there.... but it seems like someone else ought to be really in charge of something like this....

Hmmm....

It hit me! I know it.... Don't we have a department of Health and Human Services??? Isn't health ultimately the first priority in taking care of the people? Too bad, the republicans won't hold a vote on Obama's nominee.... We could really use someone in that position now.

Oh, and actually... there are quite a few positions yet to be filled in the administration.... Sure, Obama hasn't picked them all.... but how can we let the Republicans be in opposition to EVERY one of the picks! C'mon...

More hypocrisy.

This just makes me crazy.

Rick Perry, R Gov TEXAS.... wants to seceed last week..... claiming Texas has a strong union and can take care of themselves.

He's requested help from the federal government to help combat Swine Flu.

Wow, wake up people... this is the GOP

I was just watching the Ed Schultz show.
I caught the end as I was getting ready for dinner.

Ed Schultz says "I don't see anything getting done on healthcare this year."

and Congressman Tom Tancredo (R-CO) says , "Thank goodness, thank goodness" all giddy like kid.

I certainly hope Americans watching that were as outraged as I am. My jaw must have dropped to the floor. You have 41 million Americans with NO heathcare and are sick without treatment, skyrocketing costs for businesses and people that do have expensive healthcare.... and all this guy can say is "Thank Goodness?"

I have no words for this.

What could be wrong with a smile and a handshake?

I am just floored at the big to do that this handshake with Chavez is drawing. I mean, really...???? This is what we are harping on ALL day. God forbid, we have a leader who isn't a guns-a-blazing, alienating everyone that crosses his path. We have serious problems and THIS is what the GOP are crying about now. I watched Pat Buchanan almost set his hair on fire about this last night and it was pathetic.

Please someone tell me how this makes are country weaker. Now the GOP claims we should be worried about what terrorists construe from a picture of our president smiling and shaking hands with the President of Venezuela. When Bush was in office, we weren't supposed to care what the terrorists thought.... we don't change our agenda to react to them? But now we are supposed to.

It's really getting old.... the damned if you do, damned if you don't. Another example. Republicans have been harping on the large spending in Obama's budget. So, Obama announces that they are going to work towards trimming down... and they say..."It's only a drop in the bucket, it's showplay."... Well, I'm sorry but 100million dollars is a lot of money to me. And they were just out there talking about how 100m dollars in executives bonuses is a lot to the American people, despite it being only 1% of the total money that AIG received. So, 100m is a lot then, but NOT now?

The American people aren't going to tolerate 4 years of this! If they want any chance of survival, they need to respectfully disagree with the president, but then give him kudos for when things go right.

Breaking News: Sarah Palin is Pro-choice!!!!!

Yes, folks it is true.
While speaking at a "Right to Life" dinner the other night, she confessed that for a split second after finding out her child was to be born with DS, she considered having an abortion but thought better of it and decided not to.

That my friends is the point of Pro-Choice. I think so many people mistake being pro-choice as being pro-abortion. There are plenty of people I'm sure that are Pro-choice, yet anti-abortion.... they would NEVER do it if they were in that situation, but honor other people to make the best decision for their families.

Sarah Palin had a choice... she thought about it and went the pro-life route. Which, is ideal. I think that anybody you've asked that has had an abortion, wasn't particularly gung-ho or doing cartwheels about it. (maybe there are a couple of freaks out there.. but hey).

Seceding?

Okay... to my count... there are 2 states that have threatened to secede from the US as of late. Those 2 are Alaska, and now Texas.

Here's what I think. GOODBYE! HASTA LA VISTA!

Let's see how far they make it on their own.

And IMHO, it's seems sort of unpatriotic to me.

Tea bagging today.

First of all, I find it humorous that no one seems to know or care what the slang of this term means. If you don't know, click here.

Secondly... I don't understand what the point is. The original tea party was about "Taxation without representation." Well... we have representation... We elected Barack Obama based on his plans and ideas.

Now.. I've heard it's over taxes. But, Obama just cut taxes? There hasn't been an increase in a long time. Obama has talked about raising it on the top 1% of people making over $250,000... but why would the average man be upset about this?

Then I hear it's over spending. Well, what the heck does that have to do with tea? Nothing... so still the connection isn't clear to me. Other than it's a cute gimmick to use.

So, what I really think this is about is sore losers. People can't handle the fact that the majority of the country voted for Barack Obama to be our president. And even though some people will say "Barack Obama doesn't speak for me.. I didn't vote for him"... Until we change ways of doing things, which I don't foresee... The majority is how we elect our president. Surely, they can be upset... I was upset for the last 8 years.... but don't masquerade the anger in a package of tea... Because that's not what the original tea parties was about.

Lastly... they would have you believe this is a grassroots effort. It's a nice thought.... but the fact is that this whole thing was dreamed up by Newt Gingrich and Dick Armey promoted by Fox News. If something is supposed to be a grassroots campaign, it really needs to start with the average people.

People are really going to waste their money buying tea and dumping it into our lakes/oceans/rivers?

I'm all for being agnostic... but...

....not in the realm of healthcare.

Evan Bayh told Fox News yesterday morning that he is "agnostic" when it comes to healthcare.

Here's the quote:

WALLACE: But the one big concern a lot of the private sector has is the president, in his program, has as a — supposedly as a provider of last resort a government program, and the concern is they’ll be able to do it so much more cheaply, or at least in terms of the cost, that everybody will end up in the government program.
BAYH: Well, it’s a debate we need to have, Chris. And I’m agnostic on that as we sit here this morning.

I'm so confused. Obviously the private sector is going to be concerned that the govt could provide healthcare at a much cheaper cost. But, isn't that a good thing? Don't we want to lower costs? I mean, I can see why private sector wouldn't like this... but a sitting Senator?? After all, entitlement costs are skyrocketing... Why on EARTH would we want to do something to lower them. When is Evan Bayh being re-elected?

But here is my BIGGEST thing... I am begging someone to ask this of people who oppose the president's plan..... IF GOVERNMENT HEALTH INSURANCE IS SOOOO AWFUL, WHY DO YOU GUYS (Senators, Reps, Governors, etc.) NOT COMPLAIN ABOUT YOUR OWN INSURANCE?

If it so crazy to think of providing this option to citizens, why don't you guys purchase your own private insurance?....

Including different view points in anti-religious?

http://tinyurl.com/clxnsl

This is an article about Newt Gingrich's latest thoughts.

Obama has appointed Harry Knox to the WH Advisory Council Faith Based Initiatives. He is a former Methodist Pastor and is currently the Director of the Human Rights campaign (an outspoken activist for the LGBT community).

Based on the Obama appointing this guy to the committee, Newt feels that the Obama Administration is "anti-religious". This is a far stretch to make. The man used to serve God, maybe not as a Christian, but nevertheless...

This just goes to show you how intolerant the Republican Party can be. This so-called "Big tent" they are trying to say they have... as long as you aren't against/question anything that the Catholic Church stands for, then you can be included in this "Big Tent".

I think it is wonderful for Obama to include all faiths on this council as we are a multi-denominational country, then all citizens should have someone at the table representing them. I'm sure that there will be Jewish and Muslim representation as well.

You don't have to belong to a religion to have faith. I think it's high disingenuous to say that the administration is anti religious just because they don't follow your religion!

ADDENDUM: Newt Gingrich's sister Candace tells him to back off of this guy. Read it here!
http://tinyurl.com/cvr9qg

RELAX CONSERVATIVES!

An addition to my previous post.

Let me make one thing clear. The Government is NOT out to get your guns. If you believe that for one second you are crazy. I don't understand how it's all or nothing. Can't we have gun rights and gun control. This is a crazy notion that the Right Wing News wants you to believe and get crazy over.

And since when is it right for government officials to advise stockpiling weapons for a revolution?? ie Glenn Beck with Nazis in his background, or another crazy statement by Michelle Bachmann?

Fear of gun ban leads to killing?

So, maybe you heard of the man near Pittsburgh that killed 3 police officers over the weekend. I think he may have injured some others as well.

His mother called in a domestic dispute to the police and they arrived at the house. A few of them walked up to the door and they were shot down. The suspect was wearing a bullet proof vest and had an AK-47. They are saying that this was a setup.

His motive? He was afraid that since Obama was elected, his guns would be taken away!

So, how does going on a shooting rampage help his cause? It just makes it more necessary to ban assault rifles and automatic weapons.

Luckily, he didn't kill himself so he'll have to face the consequences of his actions.


---Now I admit... I know very little about guns, and I'm happy with that. I don't want to be anywhere near them. They make me nervous. I'm not even against people having guns. I know some hunters and they are very responsible with their weapons.

BUT, do we need to have these high powered guns? Is there really a need for those? I mean, if you want to hunt or protect yourself, a rifle or handgun should be sufficient.

The shootings in Binghamton, NY (which is like an hour from me.) ... the suspect had 2 legally registered handguns that he used to carry out his slaughter... so what can we do? Do we just settle .. knowing that some people are nuts and that this will happen? or is there something we can do.

Obama of the World

I really admire Obama's eagerness to meet with the world leaders. He doesn't shy away from talking to any of them because they happen to disagree with him, or that he may be uncomfortable with what they have to say. I think this is a great thing for our country to have someone who is open to the possibilities of what others have to offer. For far too long, this country has had the attitude that it's "our way or the high way"... and it's nice to see that we can learn from what other countries are doing.

Imagine this... Germany doesn't feel like they need to do a stimulus because they have so many safety nets for the unemployed, ie "Universal Healthcare" and "Unlimited Unemployment moneys". Think about how universal healthcare could change everything for us. Right now, healthcare is big, black suckhole that takes and takes and gives very little in return. It's so much more cost effective to just give healthcare to everyone and give them the tools to live a healthy life so that they don't need to access the system that much.

The face of the DNC?

I am here, checking out the days news and I come across an article. (Read here: http://tinyurl.com/dj6lw3).

Governor Tim Kaine signed a bill for NO state funds in Virginia to be used for embryonic stem cell research. Now, at first I think... Well I respect his right to his catholic beliefs... and okay so Virginia won't use state funds... but they can use federal funds.

But I can't reconcile that this guy is going to be the face of the DNC. He is going to be determining what way the party heads. Will he go against the President and the democratic party's platform to further his agenda? Because if that is the case, then I think President Obama needs to pick someone else. I guess I need more information.

Care to discuss?

Please Explain this to me.

I have been asking this question lately... and I've gotten a range of reponses, but NO explanation.

I can't understand this. So... in regards to embryonic stem cell research.
If embryos are going to be destroyed (say extras that are left from IV fertilization)... what is the difference between destroying them, or using them for research?
I mean really... please give me some serious answers.

So far I've gotten "You really shouldn't talk about this." " I have feelings about this." "You never know what people are thinking."

DUH!!! I WANT to know what people are thinking. To me, it makes NO sense.

We need to relax and get a grip people!

There is a level of fury and anger in this country lately that is so frightening to me. I wonder if this is the effects of the pent up frustration of the last 10 years or so. We are upset these days about the President laughing on 60 mins, him taking time to go on Jay Leno or ESPN to fill out brackets, an unfortunate blunder about the Special Olympics, calling for the Treasury Secretary to resign after *60* days on the job with no staff of his own, How dare Michelle Obama wear sleeveless clothing, we spend too much, we don't spend enough, How come we are helping people stay in their houses when I've paid my mortgage, how come we give more unemployment benefits when 92% of us are still working......

It goes ON and ON and ON. Where was this level of hatred: when we invaded Iraq for false reasons, sending many troops into harm's way and ultimately their death; had our civil liberties taken away which is what makes this country so great, our freedom; tortured people who were likely innocent and even if they weren't we TORTURED them; allowed and still allow people in New Orleans to be displaced by Hurricane Katrina; allow 42 million people to go without healthcare....

Where was the hatred and anger then? Now we are upset about bonuses that are totalling .001 % of the $$ they received by the TARP. Don't get me wrong.... I hate that they got that money when they basically destroyed the company.... but Where was the hatred as the Congress DEREGULATED the business industry? I mean, after all, Wall Street does things that infuriate us, but are technically legal.

We need to move on. We need to give this administration a chance. Everyone needs to simmer down and give them time to put their plans into action. It's an embarrassment to watch our elected officials in Congress behave the way they are. They just squabble with each other when they need to get their asses off the TV and into the Capitol building and get some freakin' work done. Zip the lips and write some new regulations. Get Americans healthcare. Get a green market established.

We elected them to work for US! Not the other way around. Why do we never feel like we DESERVE to have healthcare paid for us... or vacation time... or free higher education. Many citizens are fighting this and I can't understand it. They should be doing this for US... It's our money after all and it should be buying us something sustainable and substantial.

Please, I encourage you all. Keep reaching out to our legislators and tell them what you WANT. It seems these days as they make their decisions on getting votes to be re-elected... Well, if that's the case then we all need to make our needs known.

What petrifies me about the future.....

....is NOT a deficit passed onto generations. While I want to avoid that from happening... What really scares me, what really keeps me up at night.... is the thought that when my kids graduate from college they won't have any healthcare... or they'll be paying all of their paycheck for healthcare. Now if god forbid, they have to pay some extra taxes to ensure the safety of their health... that's okay. I'd rather they live a long, healthy life achieving their potential... not being held back merely because they're in poor health and can't physically do it.

If you don't work in the healthcare industry and only access it rarely.... then maybe you don't truly see the serious problems there are with it. People who think they have coverage get denied... or if something is found to be a preexisting condition .. they don't cover it. That is just a ridiculous assumption that people will always be in good health when they get insurance. Obviously it's the people that have problems that really need the insurance. Despite what people tell you, it's not always poor lifestyle choices that lead to horrible diseases. Quite often, it's genetics and if you get born into a family without good health, then you pay dearly.

I have insurance... but we almost had it taken away this year because it was too costly for my company. This makes me very fearful for what is in store for next year.

It's time has come. We just need to buckle down and do this. I can't understand any argument the Republicans (or the traitor democrats) could make NOT to do this. It's the biggest burden on the taxpayers now! Might as well fix the problem and save $$$ in the long run... the deficit will take care of itself.

Conservadems and the Rachel Maddow Show

So I was watching Rachel Maddow last night as my son and I were snuggling... and she describes a list of Democrats that want to promote "Fiscal Responsiblity" by cutting Obama's initiatives out of the budget. Mainly... healthcare and green investment.

Evan Bayh is leading this group and he went on Joe Scarborough's show to announce this was happening. The startling part is that there are 3-4 more cowards, I mean democrats... that are part of the group but want to remain anonymous.

I am going to post the list, but the one I was most disappointed in is Claire McCaskill... She spent the whole campaign season supporting Obama's platform on healthcare reform and green technology and now she's going back on that because she's in a Republican State. I have tweeted my concerns to her, and so far she's said that "She's been in the Senate for 2 years and has a moderate record and votes to reflect her campaign initiatives and her state." So it's very clear she's trying to cover her ass for the 2010 election.

I encourage you all to write to these guys and tell them you want them to represent the democratic principles, esp if you live in these states because that's all they seem to care about.

Jeanne Shaheen (NH)
Mark Warner (VA)
Michael Bennet (CO)
Kay Hagan (NC)
Bill Nelson (FL)
Herb Kohl (WI)
Mark Begich (AK)
Mark Udall (CO)
Evan Bayh (IN)
Claire McCaskill (MO)
Tom Carper (DE)
Blanche Lincoln (AR)
Joe Liberman (I)(CT) -This guy again!?!?!
Mary Landrieu (LA)

Change you can believe in.

How can change be expected to take place in 2 months?
This is not realistic.

AIG...and capitalism... and republicans!!!!!!!!!

Okay... so nobody likes that AIG execs are taking this bonus. Yes, there should have been a clause in the TARP legislation that prevented this from taking place. Yes, they should do everything they can to keep them from keeping the money.

But, you can't blame this on Obama. Sure, he may have been able to handle this better.... but I still maintain that he ...
a. inherited most of this.
b. is still getting used to the office of president. (how long does it take YOU to adjust to a new job?
c. couldn't possibly know what's in every contract of every person working for every company that received bailout money.

We need to be patient. Recovery takes time. We are too used to getting what we want when we want it these days, it's ridiculous.

And NOW the republicans are INSISTING that the White House take action to get the bonuses stripped. This is LAUGHABLE given that they have been saying all along that government is too big, we need less government, government should stay out of the free market, we can't nationalize the banks....

BUT, we can dishonor contracts because THEY are outraged?!?! Where were they the last 20 freakin' years when they were obliterating regulations that would have prevented this crisis ALL together!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

They CANNOT have it both ways. In fact, they should just shut their pieholes until they can actually say something that makes any kind of sense. Where was their outrage when union workers had their pay cut!?!? When they made concessions to give up their wages to keep their jobs?!?! Where was their anger THEN!!!!!!!

For the love of god, please explain this to me.

Nobody cares, Dick!

When will Mr. Cheney realize that he is irrelevant. He left office with a 10% approval rating. And now he resurfaces to say that Obama has put our country in danger! That is totally laughable. After the torture nonsense, refusal to use diplomacy, lying to the public about the reasons for the Iraq War, and blatent disregard for anything but himself... He thinks he can come on the news and clear the Bush Administration of any wrongdoing, security, financially or otherwise!?!!?!?

Just laughable. He needs to go away because he just doesn't matter anymore.

It's Madness!!

No, no ... not the republicans... or at least that's not what I am referring to.

I'm not sure if you are sports fans, or at least college basketball fans..

But, I witnessed my beloved Syracuse Orange do something amazing last night.

In the Big East tournament, they beat the number 4 team, Uconn after 6 overtimes!! Yes, six.

I was up until 1:30 watching the game. They truly played their hearts out and never gave up!

And now I'm going to settle in and see if they can continue the winning ways!

ETA: Okay, so they lost the Big East Tournament... BUT we got a #3 seed in the NCAA Tournament, which surprised me!! Let's go SU.

National Registered Dietitian's Day!

Today is the second ever Registered Dietitian's Day.
March is National Nutrition Month.

If you visit my sister blog "A Working Mom trying to go Green." you will find a post about the "Blog Carnival". Several RD's did a post today talking about what they are doing as RD's. There are many links of the fellow RD's who've posted... Check them out as they are doing great things.
I'm hopeful that my profession will be more useful with the Health Care Reform that will hopefully take place. As more focus will be put on Prevention of illnesses, that leaves a big demand for our services. Right now, Insurance companies don't pay for a visit to a Dietitian unless one has Diabetes or Renal Disease. What better way to save money than to prevent these things or others from happening in the first place. By properly fueling your body and exercising, you can maintain a healthy life.

Anyway, just wanted to toot my own horn! and give a shout out to the incredibly talented individuals who are trying to make our services matter!

A Potpourri of things.

Gosh, I've been so busy lately. Getting over some illness... work is crazy aside from all the other daily things.

So, my son had his 2 year check up and he's a big boy now. 36" tall, weighs 31#.
He's still not really talking. I should clarify, he babbles and communicates with us perfectly, but he just struggles for actual words. Occasionally, he'll bust out with a loud "Ma", otherwise it's all babble. My doctor thinks he's a boy and a first child and he'll get there. But to make me feel better we're going to try to get him a little speech therapy. I think he just needs someone to set him on the right track to get him started.

I really am enjoying the discussion on the last post. I think Jennifer hit the nail on the head, which leads me to wonder... Why do moms fight against each other. Why is it working moms vs. SAHMs? Breastfeeding moms vs. non-breastfeeding moms? There are so many groups and different types of moms that we should be drawing from each others' experiences rather than fighting against each other.

Suburban Psychotic - I've been trying to comment on your blog and I keep getting errors. Just wanted you to know that. :D

Ethanol - So there are some politicians that are trying to get the amount of ethanol allowed in our gasoline raised. I have mixed feelings about this. As a "Green" individual, I like the idea that it is a reusable resources as in we can always grow corn... but there are some concerns I have that you never hear addressed. What about the effects of ethanol on our cars. I have heard many mechanics coming out saying that the parts we use in our cars are just not compatible with ethanol. I can't remember specifics, forgive me... but
Also, there's no doubt that farmers are going to want to grow corn because they know they can make money on it and therefore they will plant less of other things. This is troubling because the biodiversity of our crops is important. Also, then the prices will go very high on the few of the other crops that they ARE growing. As a dietitian, I worry about these things. Affordable, healthy food is important to our country and if we start to make this unattainable, then I worry about the future health of our children.

And lastly, but not least... Monkey girl was kind enough to give me an award. I do hope, that you will check out her blog.

Do we REALLY care about the working family?

I've been doing a lot of thinking about how we treat families in this country. Pundit mom has a great post about a woman is in the military and she was ordered to report, but had no one to care for her kids. Her husband's job requires him to travel, so she took her kids with her when she reported and they eventually discharged her. Check it out!

But why is it so hard for moms? And why is it so tough on families? We are becoming less of a family friendly society each year. When you look at what other countries do it is amazing?
In France, you get a child support payment and can have up to 3 years off from your job. We get six weeks!! They get someone to come to their home 2x/week to help with chores (nanny subsidies). That's right! They'll even do laundry.

This is because the government fears the citizens. When they protest, the government takes that seriously. We just accept it! And why? I often wonder if it's because men have been in charge for so long. I'm not really knocking men, but they can't truly understand all that delivering a baby entails. They can't understand the pain, the guilt, the possible post partum depression that may come along with it. And just when you are starting to feel like yourself, your 6 puny weeks are up. And I consider myself lucky, I had 11 weeks total: 8 weeks b/c I had a Csection and enough time stored up to get 1 more week paid... and then I took 2 weeks unpaid. Plus I have a short term disability policy that allows me to receive 60% of my pay. Most women likely don't have that, especially low-income women.. so they get to collect whatever their state disability sets as a "reasonable" amount.

I've heard President Obama talk about wanting to make some changes to FMLA... The following is taken from barackobama.com:

Expand the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA): The FMLA covers only certain employees of employers with 50 or more employees. Barack Obama and Joe Biden will expand the FMLA to cover businesses with 25 or more employees. Barack Obama and Joe Biden will expand the FMLA to cover more purposes as well, including allowing workers to take leave for elder care needs; allowing parents up to 24 hours of leave each year to participate in their children's academic activities at school; allowing leave to be taken for purposes of caring for individuals who reside in their home for 6 months or more; and expanding FMLA to cover leave for employees to address domestic violence and sexual assault.

This is a start! And this is great. I do think the 24 hours of leave for school activity participation is very creative. But we need more. 6 paid weeks is just unacceptable. We need to demand better for our families. All the politicians claim to stand up for working families... Well, let's make them put their money/votes where their mouths are. I'm sure there are already groups advocating for this stuff... but we all need to seek them out and participate.

Please comment with your ideas! Maybe we can come up with something brilliant! I'd love a good discussion on this.

We need the government.

I'm off my flu bed to say a couple of things.

I'm sick of all the crap I'm hearing about how the government is a bunch of evil beaurocrats. But the truth of the matter is, we've seen what can happen when there are no government interventions. Regulations are needed to keep us safe. Look at all the deadly food recalls and toys from China.

Now, I know Republicans are good people. My dad is one. But the point I don't get is that they are all up in arms about the deficit and what it will do to our children and grandchildren. Rightfully so... I'm concerned too, although I have a different opinion about it. But why aren't they concerned about what the lessoning of gov't regulations will do to this earth that they are going to leave to those same children/grandchildren. They are complaining about the fees that are going to be placed for carbon based products. That it might raise prices. Well, that's the way it is. You pay more for higher quality products. What life will it be if the budget is balanced but our kids can't breathe properly.

A good friend of mine said yesterday....that she doesn't get this about conservatives.
"They ALWAYS spout off about "too much government" but they want laws tellin' me who I can marry, if I have to have a baby, what my religion should be..."

Our country is an investment. We need to educate our children better, provide people with healthcare so they can be productive members of their families, and get going on green technology that will get us producing again. I don't think the private sector can be trusted alone with such an important task.

I'm sorry...

Okay... I'll be back soon. My son had pink eye last week and is still struggling with a cold. Then I got hit with something over the weekend, not sure if it's the flu, but it sucks. Oh, and putting eye drops into a 2 year old's eyes is excruciating.

About last night....

I bet you're not surprised that I have some thoughts on Obama's speech last night...

First, I gotta tell you about my adorable 2 year old son. He was crying in his room, didn't want to go to sleep. So I let him lay in bed with me to watch the speech. Now this kid LOVES Obama. I think he finds Obama's voice very soothing, he will often fall asleep in no time when listening to him. But, last night we were watching and he kept pointing at him... Then (and this just cracked me up)... he started clapping out of no where... I said "Why are you clapping, buddy?" and duh! He saw all the congresspeople clapping so he was just following along. He did it just about every time they did, usually with a delayed response.

So, to the speech. I love that he was very confident, forceful, yet optimistic and hopeful. I think he hit the right balance with the seriousness of the time, yet hopeful for our future. Now, tell me that I drank the koolaid, or that I'm a sap... I don't care, but I got teary eyed... thinking about how our country could be! I love that Obama is so over-achieving for us... All our politicians should be that way. It's frustrating to me because he will be fought on this stuff, every step of the way.

He's right though... the best way to fix the economy.. is to fix all the broken parts. I've been saying that by making healthcare affordable, it's like a tax cut, it puts money back into people's pockets to spend. If they have to spend their extra income on medical expenses... well that's money they won't be able to use to buy a car, or send their kid to college.

I was watching MSNBC and they had a group of Obama voters and McCain voters hooked up to the dial.. and to my surprise the McCain voters often had the dial up higher that the Obama ones! I think as a majority, the people of our country want this stuff done, and I think they would even pay a little more to have it.

......and then Jindal came on. I wasn't going to watch it... but I have to say that I felt like a friggin' teenager getting a lecture from one of my parents. He was so god damn condescending, that it drove me nuts. We are not fools. We know that he is pandering to the right... because everything he brought up, the republicans had made a mess of it. He was an amateur after the likes of Obama.

A few tidbits:

--There is no 8 billion dollars in the stimulus package for a high speed rail from Las Vegas to Disneyland. That is a blatent lie, that repubs have been called out on every time they bring it up. It reminds me of the "Bridge to Nowhere". Palin kept using that despite being proved wrong. It's so ridiculous.
--And even though Bush made an "investment" in the Medicare drug program... It's crap! It doesn't work well at all. I can attest to this. My patients have the Medicare Part D programs, and they STILL have to pay outrageous amounts of money for their drugs.. The only people that made out from that deal was the pharmaceutical companies.
--I can't stand to listen to the wealthy people and corporations cry and whine about Bush's stupid tax cuts expiring. Hello! You have money. You can pay the normal tax rate like everyone else. It's not like Obama is gonna take all your $$, despite you trying to make everyone think that way.
In fact, I am going to write to the White House and offer up my $65/month to them to help get things done. If any of you can afford, I encourage you to do the same.

Would this be a dealbreaker?

I got to thinking today about how Hillary is having dinner with Chinese diplomats tonight. If you are a picky eater, would that exclude you from being able to be Secretary of State?
I know that seems silly, but it could majorly offend governments if you won't eat what they serve you for dinner.

Change Change Change

I have so much to say this morning.
I feel like I might be a relic, a dinosaur... soon to be extinct. I rarely pat myself on the back, but...

I do okay, I am very lucky. My husband and I have decent jobs, a reasonable home, great family, wonderful son. We are able to pay our bills, feed our family and have a little extra for some fun things. I don't strive to make millions. I don't live my life to make money no matter what the cost. As far as the tax cut in the stimulus package, I'd rather them take mine and put it towards healthcare, education, infrastructure or give it to someone who needs it more than me.

My healthcare went up $100/mo this year. I AM concerned that at this rate, I will be unable to afford it. My yearly raise never amounts to anything because it mainly absorbs the hike in healthcare costs that I suffer. BUT I HAVE healthcare. Imagine families that don't have it.

It gets OLD hearing everyone panic about the debt. It seems so ridiculous. We've had debt before and turned it into a surplus. We can do that again. We can't when the economy is dire, and we have 2 wars going on. But, it's not the END OF THE WORLD.

I heard someone talk about how we are moving towards socialism. Like it's a dirty word. Are you happy with having police, firemen, and teachers? Hate to break it to you, but that's socialism. It's not all bad. I think we can find a free market world with a dash of socialism that can suit us all.

Now to my point about Change. I've heard how Obama "promised change"... "Where is the change we can believe in?". How can we expect things to change when everyone is so afraid and clinging onto the past. We have to be uncomfortable and allow things to BE changed. I know it's scary going into unchartered waters, but something needs to be done. We need to re-examine our entitlement programs and make them better, that requires change, we need to do something about healthcare but that will require things to change.... If our legislators keep up this standstill, there will be no way change can happen. The legislators need to feel uncomfortable too, go out on a limb against what we're used to and get the job done for the citizens of the US.

or else then we vote new people in.

Don't be fooled!

There is a bunch of nonsense going around about how the new stimulus bill will make it so that healthcare decisions about you can't be made by you and your doctor. It's nonsense.

Here is a good article by Howard Dean explaining the provision. Before entering politics, Gov Dean used to be a practicing doctor.

http://tinyurl.com/aobndr

The GOP is gearing up for the healthcare battle.
Again, I maintain that Healthcare should be a right, not a priviledge.

Government jobs

I want to take a moment to discuss this.
The GOP would have you believe that these are the worst jobs in the world. They always say that people don't want to "expand government".

However, anyone I've ever talked to that has actually worked for the government has never complained about their jobs at all. They get damn good benefits, good holidays, and usually good working hours. Job security is generally pretty good.

I worked for the WIC program that is run by our county government and it had one of the best compensation packages I've seen. Health insurance was very economical.

And I venture to say that anyone currently unemployed would give anything to have one of these jobs.

I mean, after all... the Congress is a government job.. and they seem to want to hang onto their jobs... they have great benefits and pay... so why wouldn't anyone want that gig?

You also hear how the American people don't want to spend taxpayer dollars on fixing the economy.... Ummm.... Is there any better thing TO spend it on? (except maybe healthcare :D) With the economy in the tanker, nothing else works.

At what point?

Does this GOP opposition seem absolutely absurd?
I would love to live in a world with bipartisanship. And I don't think the stimulus plan was a great way to try to get that started. I mean, after all... it goes to the core of the differences between the parties. Democrats believe in govt programs and the GOP believes in tax cuts. I don't think you can distinctly judge the future of bipartisanship based on this.

However... when you see all the comments like "It's a GOP victory!".. that this is their "comeback for 2010"... That infuriates me. This isn't a political game. This is all of our well beings, esp those of us that aren't wealthy. Every little decision matters. You can still stand by your beliefs and make concessions at the same time. This is what adults do in their every day life at their real jobs. I know for one, I don't always agree with my supervisors decisions, but alas I follow them. That doesn't mean that I give up my belief that there might be a better way.

We ALL deserve better.

Happy Birthday!

to my baby. He's 2 years old. I'll be up to my ears in family and party stuff today.
I can't remember what my life was like without him in it... and it simply keeps getting better every day.

Why don't we want better?

(click on picture for video)

This absolutely broke my heart. It doesn't matter how many times I watch it, it brings me to tears. Especially at the end when she says "Please help." And our President walked over and gave her a kiss on the cheek and took the time to find out who she is. She is the face of what this economy has done to families. No one should have to live out of a truck because they've had the bad luck to lose their job.

Really this makes me angry. To have so many people criticize the social programs that give people down on their luck a chance to get by until hopefully something better comes along. Forget Welfare programs, food stamps, food kitchens, shelters... Don't you all see we NEED these programs? It can happen to anyone! We need this safety net.

And the argument that people on welfare are lazy and suck off the system... I DEFY anyone to try to live on welfare money. No one is happy to be on welfare. No one dreams of living off the system. For the life of me, I cannot understand how intolerable of human suffering we can be. How if we truly are the richest country... that we can treat our very own citizens like trash that can be discarded. Why don't we embrace programs that help our citizens get back on their feet, invest in our weakest members?

It just breaks my heart...

I'm actually jealous of Missouri....

I am a huge fan of Missouri's Senator D- Claire McCaskill.
During the election she was on the news networks campaigning for Barack Obama. You couldn't help but notice her. She speaks so clearly, matter of factly in terms that we all can understand. She's like a next door neighbor that always greets you and that you like chat with over the fence.

I'm impressed with the way she communicates. I have become a twitter follower of hers (I'm still trying to figure out how twitter works) and she was reporting from the Senate floor the other night when they were discussing the Stimulus bill and it's fascinating to see what goes on. She can discuss anything with people that have dissenting opinions from her in a respectful way to get her point across. I love to watch her take on the big boys in the Senate. If you haven't seen footage of her last week arguing for a salary cap for bankers, you have to go see it now.

It's nice to see a smart, powerful woman who can serve as a great role model for young women. We have a lot of great women these days to admire. Hillary Clinton, Michelle Obama, Nancy Pelosi, Condoleeza Rice... I could go on.

oh.. and while I was on twitter, I sent Sen McCain a couple messages on how I feel about the lack of support for womens' issues. :D

Edited to add: I just noticed that when you "twitter? tweet?" a link, it automatically converts it to tinyurl. That's awesome.

A little bit off topic....

For all the mothers out there.
My son is about to turn 2.
I'd like you to comment when you started potty training your children...
and any good advice you may have.

The truth comes out...

Per T. Coburn (R) Oklahoma.

I'm paraphrasing here.... He told the news that one problem with the stimulus plan in that 1 out of every 5 jobs created is a government job.

I'm pretty sure the persons obtaining those jobs wouldn't have a problem with it.

But, it's not about ideology...

Howard Dean for Health and Human Secretary!

That is all!

"You lost"

Dear Republicans,

Are you happy now? You are a bunch of sore losers. You take advantage of the fact that Democrats are the "nice guys" and you count on the fact that Democrats don't like to look mean. Well, Barack Obama has done nothing but reach out to you. He's held several meetings to get your ideas because he genuinely believes that you might have some good ones. And how do you return the favor?? You announce before the final meeting that you are all going to vote against it no matter what? Then you whine and cry about how you were left out of negotiations. When did any Republican go this far to include Democrats? This is how compromise is defined by Webster dictionary, --"a settlement of differences by arbitration or by consent reached by mutual concessions". The key phrase is mutual concessions.-- You can't just have everything you want and then throw a temper tantrum like my 2 year old son when you don't get your way.

You are masters at twisting the truth. The so-called pork in the Stimulus package amounts to 1%. Now, I agree with you in the fact that there are several things that should be cut out of it... but you need to play fair. You are trying to manipulate the public into thinking that it's all bad. Meanwhile, people are losing jobs, struggling to feed their families.

And for the cabinet nominations... You have purposely held back confirmations, for what? To flex what little power you have? You are quick to roast Obama's set backs, but you won't even let him have his team into place? Free Hilda Solis. You have no reason to keep her from her post. You managed to get Tom Daschle to resign. You embarassed Hillary by making her wait a couple days. And poor Eric Holder.. he almost had to accept your blackmail proposal (a deal to not prosecute the Bush administration) to get through confirmation. Get off of it. Bush had plenty of people up for confirmation and the Democrats never went this far to oppose them, even when they had good reason.

Charlie Crist R-Gov of Florida said it best tonight... He supported McCain and even campaigned for him, but he didn't win. And now Barack Obama is his president and he will do what he can to help him succeed because he loves this country. The fact is that Republicans lost the election. The people voted for Barack Obama because they liked HIS ideas. You all need to respect that and give the guy a chance. I've heard several people "appalled" that Barack Obama would tell you that "He Won"... but more than that.. You LOST. The American people wildly rejected your principles. I know that's hard to accept. But let's move on. We've got a country to rebuild from the last 8 years of your failed policies.

Sincerely,

A Proud American.

Requesting you....

1. I want to send some special thoughts to Cynthiaa.. a loyal reader to my blog.
She is going through something right now that no parent wants to face. If you could see fit to include her in your prayers, or thoughts, I'd appreciate it.

2. If you tend to check in often, I invite you to "follow me". It will make it easier for you to get here, and for me to get to your blog. If you want to stay anonymous, I completed understand.

3. I'm trying to figure how to use twitter. I'm JenZny if anyone wants to communicate via that... or if you have any advice how to use this thing to my advantage, that would be great. I'd love to tweet some Congress members, if I new how to find them.

Tax Cuts....and the out of touch elephants.

I've been hearing the same theme over and over and finally need to share my thoughts.

While I believe it is worthwhile to have some tax cuts in this stimulus legislation (esp to the people that make the least amount of money).. the GOP is trying to make the argument for more of them.

This has NOT worked in the past 8 years when it happened. In fact, look at where it got us. Most of the middle class either saved it or paid down debt. The higher class usually invest it. The poorer people are apt to spend it on food, clothing and other necessity items. Why would we keep banging our head against the wall after receiving bruises from it?

To stimulate the economy, we need to spend on smart things. Mainly, for infrastructure. Look at how this country is falling apart. One never knows if they will make it across a bridge alive anymore. We can't keep abandoning these projects!
States need help. With the large amount of people getting laid off, they have to provide more unemployment, food stamps, medicaid/medicare... and the states could not have anticipated this in their budgets last year and now it's too late. We can argue that many of the things that have made it's way into the bill shouldn't be there, but these 2 items I just laid out are the most important in my view.

I just see the GOP as out of touch.
One R -congressman (can't remember his name) tried to argue that what we really need to do with the recovery program is to give everyone
*drum roll please* .............

.... a CAR voucher.

You see, people want to buy cars right now but they can't. and a $3,000 car credit/voucher to buy hybrids will work!

How about we just get back to basics.

Disappointing.

I was so pleased when Obama nominated Tom Daschle to be Secretary for HHS. You may know by now that I am so passionate about good, affordable healthcare for all.

Now, why can't these guys pay their taxes? Good god! Perhaps there's an explanation. I know the average Joe stumbles upon tax issues too. And.. so do Republicans.

If he doesn't get confirmed or whatnot... whatever happens with this.. perhaps Obama will consider Howard Dean to take his place. I am a huge fan of Howard Dean. Whatever happens, we need healthcare reform. Now is the time and I think most people are ready for it.

Women's rights.

So I was reading through Pundit mom and I came across a list of Senators that voted against the Lily Ledbetter Act that provides Fair Pay for women.

I scrolled down the list (all of them were Republican Men) and what name do I come across other than Sen John McCain of Arizona.

I find this interesting given that he chose a woman to be his running mate. And looking at the 3rd debate where he and Obama were discussing the ban on partial birth abortions. And he claimed that the typical argument was for *airquote with hands* "Women's health concerns".

Forget interesting, it's rather disturbing. We've had a huge historical moment with the election of our first African American President, but women of all races and cultures are still falling far behind. What can we do about this? Obama is set to sign the bill into law, so that's a good first step.

So I'm going to start with posting the list of Senator's names. If any of these are your senators, I encourage you to call and write letters to tell them that we want equal rights for women. We have to do this for our daughters' futures. And I also encourage you to reprint this list on your blogs if you have them.

Alexander (R-TN)
Barrasso (R-WY)
Bennett (R-UT)
Bond (R-MO)
Brownback (R-KS)
Bunning (R-KY)
Burr (R-NC)
Chambliss (R-GA)
Coburn (R-OK)
Cochran (R-MS)
Corker (R-TN)
Cornyn (R-TX)
Crapo (R-ID)
DeMint (R-SC)
Ensign (R-NV)
Enzi (R-WY)
Graham (R-SC)
Grassley (R-IA)
Gregg (R-NH)
Hatch (R-UT)
Inhofe (R-OK)
Isakson (R-GA)
Johanns (R-NE)
Kyl (R-AZ)
Lugar (R-IN)
Martinez (R-FL)
McCain (R-AZ)
McConnell (R-KY)
Risch (R-ID)
Roberts (R-KS)
Sessions (R-AL)
Shelby (R-AL)
Thune (R-SD)
Vitter (R-LA)
Voinovich (R-OH)
Wicker (R-MS)

Odds -n- Ends

Just some thoughts:

John Boehner - He's from Ohio and has a wicked tan. He really needs to lay off the tanning bed.

Kirstin who? - I'm in NY.... I'm not sure what to make of her.

Rush L - I think it's fun to watch him spin out of control. He is losing his power and will do anything, say anything to try to get it back.

I am really glad that someone put the smack down on these banks taking bailout money and buying "stuff". It is appalling about that CEO that remodeled his office. Looks like Citi isn't getting the jet after all.

And... I love these pictures.

Government of, for and by the people.

I have to say that I am really enjoying the first week of the presidency. You know that I have voted in 5 elections now and I've never watched an Inauguration until this week. The past 2 elections I was so disenfranchised (esp 2000) that I just didn't even care to hear anything. I basically went MIA from cable news.

It's definitely been interesting watching how the transition of power takes place. I'll admit that I haven't been the best citizen by tuning out during the Bush administration, but I did give him the benefit of the doubt in the beginning. I will give him some credit with the transition, although I think he was so ready to be done that it benefitted him to make it smooth. And the amount of pardons, rather who he didn't pardon surprised me some.

I love this era of transparency. It's exhilarating to feel like you are truly part of the government. I love all that Obama is doing to keep the people in the loop.

I just finished watching the concert from last weekend. I had to tape it because I had a birthday party to go to. I cried several times. It's amazing how some of those patriotic songs can get you to feel. I remember right after 9/11, they frequently played "America the Beautiful". I absolutely love this song. It really makes my heart flutter.

And, I have Fridays off so I was able to catch some of the news. I saw my first WH press conference. I LOVE Robert Gibbs. He was one of my favorites from the campaign, and it was quite fun to watch him dance with the press. To be able to dodge questions, with humor is a definite skill he will need.

So, this is it! Somebody pinch me because I feel like I'm dreaming!

The 44th President of the United States

Tomorrow is it.

We've been waiting and waiting for this day to arrive. All those bumper stickers that say "1/20/09 - Bush's last day"... It's finally here.

I enjoyed the coverage over the weekend. I was home most of the day doing things around the house on Saturday and I usually keep the EVIL MSNBC on so I can listen to it. I caught just about every stop on the whistle stop tour. My husband even commented "It's been a long time since we've heard him speak." From those summer days when you'd catch his rallies 4 times a day.

I'm very torn about taking the day off. My heart tells me to, my head tells me "no". I guess we'll see. At any rate, I've got my DVR all set to go.

Bush's goodbye

Did anyone catch clips from his press conference yesterday?? It is truly amazing how oblivious he is to what he's done the last 8 years and how he can make excuses for everything and never take any responsibility for anything.

His mistakes: The "Mission Accomplished" Banner photo op. and some of his rhetoric (and understatement to say the least)

Disappointments: Lack of WMD in Iraq. (Forget that this was supposedly THE reason for going to war.)

Katrina: What he claims went wrong here was that he didn't decide whether or not to land Air Force One in Louisianna. Per Bush, "The government's response was not slow, 30,000 people were taken off of roofs after the flooding" (Although, they had no food or water for days)

And he didn't take one iota of responsibility for the Economic mess that we're in.

And he basically admitted that he okay'd torturing detainees. Have you seen footage of waterboarding? It's horrible and it's a violation of one's civil rights.

But, he won't say any of these things are mistakes. Just disappointments.

Palin's Big Lie

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/geoffrey-dunn/sarah-palins-big-obama-li_b_156975.html

This article makes some great points regarding her recent interview with John Ziegler.
It's amazing how Palin has no grasp of reality.

A few thoughts on Infrastructure

Okay... I guess it's kind of a joke that when Dems get into office, there is automatic spending on "Infrastructure." *laugh* *wink* *laugh*

That term gets loosely thrown around as if it's something bad. Think of all the things we use on a daily basis that gets taken for granted. I know there are some schools in my area that kids are going too that have been around for almost 80 years and are dangerous. Things always need to be repaired and when we operate under the "No gov't spending" rule, these things go by the wayside.

Well, the Infrastructure is finally speaking up for itself at the cost of human lives. Let's review. The bridge in Minnesota, The water main in D.C., the levees in New Orleans. There are many, many others. We're in a new century with more updated, modern advances and we need to apply these to things that are already existing.

I may be liberal, and you might not believe that I don't think that government is the answer to everything. *gasp* But a properly run gov't could take care of a lot more than it does now. We need regulations to keep people safe. It's a fact, that if companies/businesses can cut costs, regulations will be the first thing to go. The food industry is a stark example. We need the government to start working for us. Not just the few that stand to get richer and richer.

I have a supporter!!

The ongoing saga of letters to the editor:

To the Editor:
Tuesday's letter by Douglas Fuegel blasted Jen Zingaro as a "true liberal" and went on to call her "extremely biased" for saying Fox News is the "most biased" news outlet. Mr. Fuegel then went on to blast Ms. Zingaro for not quoting sources. Well, talk about the pot calling the kettle black. Mr. Fuegel quoted three so-called non-partisan media watchdog groups. That's funny, because the Media Research Center and Accuracy in the Media both brag that they are conservative, and the Center for the Media and Public Affairs was started with major contributions from Pat Robertson. Finally, Mr. Fuegel goes on to suggest a book written by Mike Huckabee. Now this is getting really funny - Mike Huckabee, the former Republican presidential candidate who has his own show on Fox News.
Mr. Fuegel subscribes to the new Republican motto, "Don't confuse me with the facts; my mind is made up." If you only get your news and information from one source, you are sadly misinformed. Maybe Mr. Fuegel should consider alternate sources of information for the fair and balanced approach.

He made every point that I had wanted to make. :D