It's been how long since I've blogged?
Really?
Shew.
As the well worn cliche goes, time has certainly flown. I have good intentions, trust me. I was going to blog every Sunday morning but that didn't happen did it?
But I feel inspired again...maybe it's the insanity of the healthcare debate or maybe it's just my creative juices needing another outlet besides the writing of comic strips and other stories. Or maybe it's that I miss blogging...terribly so I have to admit.
And so...here we go...the first blog in a long time. It's short and sweet like me but I promise dear friends, or "frenemies" depending upon who you are, there will be more soon.
For now though, time to watch a football game...
I have my priorities!
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Yes We Did!
I didn't get to watch the innaguration live today because, thankfully, I have a job. I wanted to watch it and I did get to see most of his speech on my lunch break.
Today we got to see that what my Ivan's Dad said to him as a child is true; anyone can be president! If you grew up a person of color, or a woman, you never thought you could be elected president. But the election of Barack Obama has shown us that, indeed, that Ivan's Dad (like many other Dad's) was right...do well in school, do the right things, study hard, work hard, and be good to people and you will achieve great things.
I am excited for the future of our country. For the first time in years, I felt like we didn't just settle on a candidate. We have a good man leading us.
Hooray for us!
And hooray for our new president!
Today we got to see that what my Ivan's Dad said to him as a child is true; anyone can be president! If you grew up a person of color, or a woman, you never thought you could be elected president. But the election of Barack Obama has shown us that, indeed, that Ivan's Dad (like many other Dad's) was right...do well in school, do the right things, study hard, work hard, and be good to people and you will achieve great things.
I am excited for the future of our country. For the first time in years, I felt like we didn't just settle on a candidate. We have a good man leading us.
Hooray for us!
And hooray for our new president!
Monday, January 19, 2009
Goodbye Dope, Hello Hope!
After my doctors appointment today, Ivan and I went out to Steele's Creek Park and enjoyed a beautiful walk in the snow. We watched the ducks flap their wings in the water and the cardinals and blue jays fight over berries in the bushes. It is, as U2 sings it, a beautiful day. And it is a hopeful day.
The past couple of years I've been down because our world has been a mess, our president an embarrassment, and my own health, and the one I love, precarious. But today, we left the doctors office hopeful in so many ways. I am doing better this winter than I have in the past few years. And Ivan has seemed to adjusted to the early morning dialysis schedule down here.
As we walked, we talked of our upcoming plans for the rest of the winter. And we couldn't have helped discussing how this spring, we would love to meet up with some of his family in DC and see the Cherry Blossoms in bloom and enjoy out nations capital with a new leader in place.
We are hopeful; more hopeful than we have been in years. It's not that Obama is suddenly going to eliminate racism, economic inequality, two wars, and health issues with a wave of his hands. But unlike the last two presidents, he comes to office with a majority of Americans excited and willing to give him capital. Bush said he had capital after his second win and yet he failed to build coalitions. Obama is very well aware of his capital and has for months, tried to build coalitions.
As we celebrate MLK day, I can't help but smile when I think of how racism is dying in this country. When you look at the crowds in DC, you see millions of people of all races, celebrating the inauguration. I live in a part of the country where some people still have George Wallace stickers in their house (or barbaque places). Times are a changing...Thank God!
The past couple of years I've been down because our world has been a mess, our president an embarrassment, and my own health, and the one I love, precarious. But today, we left the doctors office hopeful in so many ways. I am doing better this winter than I have in the past few years. And Ivan has seemed to adjusted to the early morning dialysis schedule down here.
As we walked, we talked of our upcoming plans for the rest of the winter. And we couldn't have helped discussing how this spring, we would love to meet up with some of his family in DC and see the Cherry Blossoms in bloom and enjoy out nations capital with a new leader in place.
We are hopeful; more hopeful than we have been in years. It's not that Obama is suddenly going to eliminate racism, economic inequality, two wars, and health issues with a wave of his hands. But unlike the last two presidents, he comes to office with a majority of Americans excited and willing to give him capital. Bush said he had capital after his second win and yet he failed to build coalitions. Obama is very well aware of his capital and has for months, tried to build coalitions.
As we celebrate MLK day, I can't help but smile when I think of how racism is dying in this country. When you look at the crowds in DC, you see millions of people of all races, celebrating the inauguration. I live in a part of the country where some people still have George Wallace stickers in their house (or barbaque places). Times are a changing...Thank God!
Thursday, December 25, 2008
And so this is Christmas...
Like for many of you, this year for us has been a roller coaster. We gained new friends but lost an old one. We faced illness in ourselves and others. We watched a presidential race that really forced out the worst in some people. We saw job loss but job creation.
So this Christmas has been different from Christmases in the past. This Christmas we are not spending money on frivilous things or just buying to put presents under the tree. This year, more thought has been put into gifts and I am happy to see, more thought has been put into Christmas itself...the reason why we celebrate it.
Last night we went to Christmas mass and heard Father Tim speak about allowing Jesus into our lives. I am sure that many of you who went to a church service last night heard something similar. And really, that is what Christmas is about. It's not about the gifts we put under the tree, although they are nice. It's about how one was created and the meaning behind that One.
Christmas is also the time of year where we should reflect about what we have given others; how have we, in a positive way, touched the lives of others? We that in mine, I give you my favorite Christmas song, John Lennon's "Happy Christmas"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hb2YSAVHmIE
So this Christmas has been different from Christmases in the past. This Christmas we are not spending money on frivilous things or just buying to put presents under the tree. This year, more thought has been put into gifts and I am happy to see, more thought has been put into Christmas itself...the reason why we celebrate it.
Last night we went to Christmas mass and heard Father Tim speak about allowing Jesus into our lives. I am sure that many of you who went to a church service last night heard something similar. And really, that is what Christmas is about. It's not about the gifts we put under the tree, although they are nice. It's about how one was created and the meaning behind that One.
Christmas is also the time of year where we should reflect about what we have given others; how have we, in a positive way, touched the lives of others? We that in mine, I give you my favorite Christmas song, John Lennon's "Happy Christmas"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hb2YSAVHmIE
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Speak Little, Listen Much
Saint Ignatius of Loyola said speak little, listen much. Maybe the followers of the GOP need to take that advice if they want their party to survive the twenty first century.
Over a week after the elections and still many Republicans fail to see why they not only lost the election, but lost it on a bigger scale than first recognized. The GOP showed on many levels that it is out of touch with the one part of the electorate that Ronald Reagan knew better than anyone else: the Middle Class.
The GOP just doesn't get it. Late last year and earlier this year, when gas prices continued to rise and people started losing their homes, they kept denying that our country was in a recession. They kept insisting that yes, the economy has slowed down however, it's just people who shouldn't have taken out house loans that are losing their homes. And as we have learned, they were wrong.
The Middle Class saw their home values dropping and their salaries not keeping up with rising fuel and healthcare costs. During the GOP Primary debates, McCain was asked how he would fix the economy and more than once he commented how he was not an economist and he would have the smart guys look at how to fix things. The problem is, those smart guys are the ones that got us into this mess in the first place!
This election cycle, much like in 1992, 1980, and 1932, the middle class was listening and they were not falling for the lies. Make no mistake, our economy is facing an even bigger crisis than it did in 1980 and 1992; this is a global mess much like 1932. And what President Elect Obama and his economic team have to figure out is how do we make the economy grow without a great manufacturing base (we lost a lot of that thanks to NAFTA).
The Middle Class is scared and that is why they voted in big numbers for Obama. Besides the fact that McCain failed to even utter the phrase "middle class," many people were bothered by how the GOP seemed more concerned with throwing mud than offering solutions to our economic woes.
And a week after the election, that is still happening. Instead of trying to figure out what wrong in this campaign, many conservative leaders are still throwing insults at Obama. One Congressman, Paul Braun of Georgia, claimed that "We can't be lulled into complacency. You have to remember that Adolf Hitler was elected in a democratic Germany. I'm not comparing him to Adolf Hitler. What I'm saying is there is the potential of going down that road." Rush Limbaugh is even claiming we are in an "Obama recession." Then Rush went on to complain that Obama is being partisan by hiring Rahm Emmanuel.
Seriously Rush? Really? Was he the President the past eight years? Am I missing something or are you again on another one of those highs you get when you mix your prescriptions?
And here is the funny thing, Lindsay Graham, McCain's buddy and former middle of the road guy himself, even agreed that the hiring of Emmanuel was a good thing. Hmmm...maybe Graham has awoken from that eight year conservative coma that he and McCain fell into after they let Bush steal the nomination in 2000.
What the GOP needs to do is shut up and listen. Instead of yelling from the pulpit words of hate they need to listen to the screams of the middle class that put them in power in the first place that times are tough and we need help; we need our government to quit protecting the rich and help the middle class grow instead of shrink.
Reagan always realized that if you kept the middle class base happy, you won elections. He learned that lesson the hard way in 1982 when the GOP lost several Congressional seats during a scary recession. But Reagan wasn't always a genius; he believed in the misleading theory of "trickle down economics." Well any one that has worked in middle management can tell you that the only thing that ever trickles down from above is shit; at the bottom of the troft, you get nothing but morsels.
What is even scarier for the GOP is that they lost the middle class and the rather evasive youth vote. The under twenties actually showed up this last election and voted by some estimates over seventy percent for Obama. And usually how you voted as a twenty something determines how you vote the next decade.
To counteract this, the GOP needs to listen...but not listen to the voices of hate and division within their party. They need to step away from the religious and conservative nuts that got them in this place and realize that first of all, the middle class needs help. Great countries only survive if their middle class is vital and healthy. The GOP needs to quit trying to win on "small" isolated issues like abortion, the death penalty, and gay rights. Instead it needs to focus on how to create jobs. Sorry, I can't feel sorry for people that have to pay capital gains taxes when I am trying to figure out how to meet my copayments on medical bills. And with my health insurance going up eight percent, I know that if I do get a raise next year, there is no way it's going to be high enough to pay for that difference. Where is the extra income going to come from?
Until the GOP can answer those questions with sensible solutions that actually make sense and can work (without throwing around crazy trickle down theories), they have lost me as a voter. I have little respect for a party or it's followers that continue to throw out words of hatred and malice.
Over a week after the elections and still many Republicans fail to see why they not only lost the election, but lost it on a bigger scale than first recognized. The GOP showed on many levels that it is out of touch with the one part of the electorate that Ronald Reagan knew better than anyone else: the Middle Class.
The GOP just doesn't get it. Late last year and earlier this year, when gas prices continued to rise and people started losing their homes, they kept denying that our country was in a recession. They kept insisting that yes, the economy has slowed down however, it's just people who shouldn't have taken out house loans that are losing their homes. And as we have learned, they were wrong.
The Middle Class saw their home values dropping and their salaries not keeping up with rising fuel and healthcare costs. During the GOP Primary debates, McCain was asked how he would fix the economy and more than once he commented how he was not an economist and he would have the smart guys look at how to fix things. The problem is, those smart guys are the ones that got us into this mess in the first place!
This election cycle, much like in 1992, 1980, and 1932, the middle class was listening and they were not falling for the lies. Make no mistake, our economy is facing an even bigger crisis than it did in 1980 and 1992; this is a global mess much like 1932. And what President Elect Obama and his economic team have to figure out is how do we make the economy grow without a great manufacturing base (we lost a lot of that thanks to NAFTA).
The Middle Class is scared and that is why they voted in big numbers for Obama. Besides the fact that McCain failed to even utter the phrase "middle class," many people were bothered by how the GOP seemed more concerned with throwing mud than offering solutions to our economic woes.
And a week after the election, that is still happening. Instead of trying to figure out what wrong in this campaign, many conservative leaders are still throwing insults at Obama. One Congressman, Paul Braun of Georgia, claimed that "We can't be lulled into complacency. You have to remember that Adolf Hitler was elected in a democratic Germany. I'm not comparing him to Adolf Hitler. What I'm saying is there is the potential of going down that road." Rush Limbaugh is even claiming we are in an "Obama recession." Then Rush went on to complain that Obama is being partisan by hiring Rahm Emmanuel.
Seriously Rush? Really? Was he the President the past eight years? Am I missing something or are you again on another one of those highs you get when you mix your prescriptions?
And here is the funny thing, Lindsay Graham, McCain's buddy and former middle of the road guy himself, even agreed that the hiring of Emmanuel was a good thing. Hmmm...maybe Graham has awoken from that eight year conservative coma that he and McCain fell into after they let Bush steal the nomination in 2000.
What the GOP needs to do is shut up and listen. Instead of yelling from the pulpit words of hate they need to listen to the screams of the middle class that put them in power in the first place that times are tough and we need help; we need our government to quit protecting the rich and help the middle class grow instead of shrink.
Reagan always realized that if you kept the middle class base happy, you won elections. He learned that lesson the hard way in 1982 when the GOP lost several Congressional seats during a scary recession. But Reagan wasn't always a genius; he believed in the misleading theory of "trickle down economics." Well any one that has worked in middle management can tell you that the only thing that ever trickles down from above is shit; at the bottom of the troft, you get nothing but morsels.
What is even scarier for the GOP is that they lost the middle class and the rather evasive youth vote. The under twenties actually showed up this last election and voted by some estimates over seventy percent for Obama. And usually how you voted as a twenty something determines how you vote the next decade.
To counteract this, the GOP needs to listen...but not listen to the voices of hate and division within their party. They need to step away from the religious and conservative nuts that got them in this place and realize that first of all, the middle class needs help. Great countries only survive if their middle class is vital and healthy. The GOP needs to quit trying to win on "small" isolated issues like abortion, the death penalty, and gay rights. Instead it needs to focus on how to create jobs. Sorry, I can't feel sorry for people that have to pay capital gains taxes when I am trying to figure out how to meet my copayments on medical bills. And with my health insurance going up eight percent, I know that if I do get a raise next year, there is no way it's going to be high enough to pay for that difference. Where is the extra income going to come from?
Until the GOP can answer those questions with sensible solutions that actually make sense and can work (without throwing around crazy trickle down theories), they have lost me as a voter. I have little respect for a party or it's followers that continue to throw out words of hatred and malice.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
The Celebration!
Short Like Yoda would like to remind all her friends who were/are enemies of the empire to remember the past twenty four hours. Lets never forget how positive all of us felt this morning as we downed our coffee to the realization that we are coming out of the thaw; like walking into Spring after eight years on the ice planet Hoth.
Barack Obama is the President Elect!
Lets enjoy this week...celebrate...party like some crazy Ewoks and remember how we achieved this by working together. And only by working together can we make things better.
THis is how I feel (click on the link!):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEniXyEwmzo
Yoda Happy!
Barack Obama is the President Elect!
Lets enjoy this week...celebrate...party like some crazy Ewoks and remember how we achieved this by working together. And only by working together can we make things better.
THis is how I feel (click on the link!):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEniXyEwmzo
Yoda Happy!
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Go Vote!!!
Sorry it's been a few days since I have blogged however, I brought down my Ivan from New York. On the way home, we saw a group of young Obama supporters in New Jersey who were on their way back from a rally in Pennsylvania. They were excited, like most Obama supporters, and believed that change is a coming.
And hopefully those young folks are right.
So, if you haven't voted yet, get your tukus to the polls because they close soon in Tennessee and Virginia. And if you have voted, good! Isn't awesome to live in a democracy, as flawed as it can be?
If you are a political junkie, tonight is going to be a lot of fun. Enjoy it!
And hopefully those young folks are right.
So, if you haven't voted yet, get your tukus to the polls because they close soon in Tennessee and Virginia. And if you have voted, good! Isn't awesome to live in a democracy, as flawed as it can be?
If you are a political junkie, tonight is going to be a lot of fun. Enjoy it!
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