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.