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I’m Patriotic, I’m a Republican, Oh the Nonsense We Tell Our Children

  • Posted on November 12, 2010 at 6:32 pm

To me this looks a lot like child abuse. What parent would want their child involved in a political rally this way?

My students have just finished making a six page art journal.  I was busy grading them today when I came across a sixth grade boy’s journal that made me laugh.  The art journals are meant to be personal and tell something about the person creating it.  On one page this sixth grade boy drew an American flag, stated he is a patriot and then stated he is a Republican.  This made me crack up because for years the Republicans have always made that “patriot” label seem like it belongs to them.

After September 11th the Democrats resented the fact that Republicans thought of themselves as being “more” patriotic.  All the politicians had to run out and buy flag pins to prove they are patriots.  It is rare these days to catch a politician without their little pin that supposedly confirms they are a patriot.  I thought it was funny that this boy called himself a patriot and a Republican.  I was raised by two strong Democrats.  I don’t remember being that aware of politics when I was in sixth grade.  I was more into kickball, reading and the Monkees.  I really got into politics when I began high school.  However, the thing that I find most interesting is this idea that a patriot is a Republican.

I think Republicans must be starting out quite young indoctrinating their children.  Democrats and liberals probably have that “open minded” thing that gets in the way of indoctrination.  As a liberal person I know I wanted my son to be a “free thinker”.  I may be paying for that now as my son doesn’t always do everything the way I would like him to do things.  However, I know in my heart I feel it is best to teach in a non judgmental way and he is an adult now and free to live the kind of life he chooses.  Free thinking and that open minded thing can sometimes appear like a person can be easily swayed to a compromise.  Republicans tend to think they are right and anyone that doesn’t think like they do is wrong.  I know this because I have a lot of Republican relatives!

With all of this in mind, I think it’s interesting to think about the make up of the new congress in January.  Already President Obama is talking about compromise.  Standing firm doesn’t seem to enter into any of the Democrats lingo.  There is a famous quote by Alexander Hamilton, “”Those who stand for nothing fall for anything.”   If you think about it, the current Democrats haven’t really shown us what they stand for, so I will not be surprised if they fall for whatever the Republicans want.  They have two strikes against them.  The first is that fact that most of them were raised to have an open mind and listen to the other side.  Second, most don’t seem to have strong convictions.  Yes, I know there is always Representative Dennis Kucinich, but he’s a rarity in this Democratic Party.

I’ve always considered President Obama to really be a Republican anyway, so I don’t expect that he will hold out for much.  Senator Kennedy is dead, so a lot of the blow back we would usually feel when these discussions get heated just won’t happen.  There is no one left like Teddy Kennedy that will show their outrage at anything.  Oh, Republicans you think we need to change Social Security and give those tax breaks to the wealthy?  No problem.  We just want to get along!

This morning on “Morning Joe” I had to listen to Joe tell me that the American people really get it.  They know that we have to have the tax cuts kept in place for the wealthy to grow our economy.  I’m lucky I didn’t spit out my coffee.  The American people don’t know any such thing.  They are currently being indoctrinated by the media which includes Joe to think this is the right thing to do.  However, it doesn’t make any sense.  If those so called tax breaks were so great, then why are we in so much trouble?  Those tax breaks have lead to our giant deficit.  If the Republicans get their tax break rest assured, they will have to cut something.  Just do the math!  Logic tells me there is an imbalance.  We can’t keep running into the red, so they will make cuts.  They will cut everything they can for the little guys, but they won’t touch the wealthy or big business.  I don’t know where you are on this scale but I can tell you most of you are part of the 98%.  The Republicans will pass that pain to all of us and save the wealthy 2 % from the pain the rest of us will feel.  Those Republicans will expect us to be “patriotic” and indoctrinate us to suffer our own losses in silence.

Right now the media is also indoctrinating us about those crazy Europeans that are protesting everything from the rising retirement age to the cost of college tripling.  We have been told that Americans don’t act like those socialists!  Americans wouldn’t take to the street like that and smash windows and cause chaos because they want to prove a point.  However, they forgot about our own history.  The real question is how much will the American people put up with from these corrupt Republicans and Democrats that continue to do the bidding of big business and the wealthy?  Will we ever get really mad and take to the streets or are we lulled into a false reality that we have no choice but to live with whatever our representatives decide to throw our way?  Democrats and Republicans are labels that don’t seem to really fit any more.  What are they?  What do either party stand for?

The Republicans used to stand for a smaller governmental footprint and states rights, and a form of conservative governing.  They certainly wouldn’t be out “saving” the world and policing it.  However, President Bush changed all of that.  Under the last administration government grew and grew to the point that Republicans can no longer claim to be conservative.  Oh, they can say it, but they certainly don’t live it!  Democrats used to be different than the Republicans.   We could always count on the Democrats to stand up for the rights of people.  Those personal issues of freedom were always really important.  Helping people get a hand up was also important.  We could easily say, “Don’t leave anyone behind.”  It’s kind of like the motto from the military of “Leave No Man Behind”.  However, in recent times the Democrats have left us all behind.  They haven’t stood up for the little guy, the working stiff, the laborer.  They’ve talked about it, but they haven’t walked the walk!

Neither party stands for much of anything any more except for taking care of business.  They take care of the lobbyists and then when they’re out of office they continue to take care of themselves.  Hell, when they’re in office they take care of themselves.  Wouldn’t you love to name your own raise?  I’m taking a class right now because I want to get a raise.  I don’t think the politicians are required to do much of anything to get their raises but they sure do get them.
http://usgovinfo.about.com/od/uscongress/a/congresspay.htm

All of these politicians want the American people to think they are politicians because they are such great patriots!  The truth is we are all patriots.  Being patriotic might mean taking to the streets to protest just as much as wearing a pin and proclaiming your patriotism.  Being patriotic is more than waving a flag and blindly supporting war, any war.  Being a patriot means that you love your country enough to question the politicians.   It might mean working hard at holding their feet to the fire to get them to get something done.  We are all patriots, Republicans, Democrats, liberals, conservatives, Green Party, Tea Party, Coffee Party, Independent or whatever party we come from.  Patriots aren’t just Republicans.  In fact patriots can even be gay and lesbians and that just makes those Republicans crazy!

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I’m a humanist! What are the Democrats and Republicans? Oh, yeah Corporatist!

  • Posted on November 10, 2010 at 9:26 pm

Most wars look a lot like this to me! If it isn't religion, it's oil or some other mineral.

It’s a week after the midterm elections and after hearing all of the Monday morning quarterbacks tell us play by play how the Democrats got it wrong and some how magically the Republicans got it right, I feel a need to express myself.  I heard for the umpteenth time today Joe Scarborough proclaim on “Morning Joe” that we are a center, right nation and Barack Obama doesn’t understand that.  He went on and on today about how so many Democratic senators have come to him and expressed their displeasure with Barack Obama.  The part that I am frustrated about is that center, right nation proclamation.  I, for one, have never had any real political representation in my entire life.  That’s hard to believe since I am fifty five years old, but it is true!  I have never had the real opportunity to vote in any election other than a primary for the person that I truly think will best represent me, my beliefs and values and, who for that matter, be best for the country.

I think conservatives have been over represented all of my life and in recent years the far right has had the ability to control much that goes on in politics.  I’m tired of the politics of fear and control.  I’m tired of politicians that talk about gays and lesbian as though they are some crazy creature from some netherworld.  I’m tired of politicians that talk religion and spew all kinds of morality issues and then run off to Argentina to have an affair like Governor Mark Sanford.  I’m tired of politicians that claim to follow the constitution but do everything they can to inhibit it by stomping on the rights of others.

I used to say I am a yellow dog Democrat.  I have also said I’m liberal.  However I am liberal only to a point, as I am liberal on issues but personally quite conservative.  These are labels that we assign to ourselves.  I really think I’m what I would refer to as a humanist.  I really believe in an education for everyone that includes free college to all that qualify and want to go.  I believe in the humanities and an approach in life that includes studying the human condition and the arts.  I am a woman and because of it I feel woefully underrepresented in politics.  We, as women, are a bit more than half of the population but we virtually run nothing when it comes to our national politics.  I am religious, but I don’t want religion to be mixed with politics.  I don’t believe in my tax dollars going to “faith” based initiatives.  I don’t believe in my tax dollars going to any form of private education either.  I definitely want less money going to defense and more money going to education.  I believe that in the pursuit of happiness we all should have health care, not health insurance, but health care.  No one should lose their home over an illness.  I believe in the common good of all, not the common good of the corporations or the rich and powerful.  I believe if you are at the top you owe it to your country to put your hand out and lift up those that are at the bottom!

Some may think I am an idealist but I am not.  I am a realist that believes in humans, not things!  I believe in kindness, not hatred.  I believe in the power of love and what it can do to transform people and even a nation.  It seems to me that there isn’t much real love going on in Washington D.C.  The two parties cannot even have a civil discussion unless it’s after hours.  From all appearances they don’t look like they care too much for each other.  However, I think that is a scam played out on the American people, so they don’t have to really get much done.  They can scream and holler and roll their eyes at each other for the cameras and never accomplish much of anything for the people.  It’s exhausting how little for the people, the masses, is really accomplished by either party.

I do understand the frustration people have and the many reasons they don’t vote.  Many don’t feel it really matters.  I’m starting to feel much the same way.  Why does it matter who we vote for when the new stuff smells and looks a lot like the old stuff?

As I said the new boss is much like the old boss.  President Obama decided to pursue much of the same policies of President Bush which is kind of mind boggling.  We are still involved in two wars, one of which was totally a war of choice and there will be no way we will pursue anyone in the past administration for any kind of crime or misconduct.  Oh, no we’re better than that.  Hearing President Bush recently explaining himself has left me breathless.  I feel like Ricky Ricardo when he’d say to Lucy, “Lucy, you got a lot explaining to do!”  President Bush continues to spread his lies about the war and he is treated with such respect about it all that it’s hard to understand where that line is between Democrats and Republicans and truth telling and lies.  The American people are expected to listen to his lies and take them as truth.  This is his truth which is water boarding is okay because some lawyer told him it was okay.  Could this have been his appointed friend, John Ashcroft?

http://news.findlaw.com/wp/docs/torture/jash20102ltr.html

In this letter I find an awful lot of that squirm test.  We will wiggle here and there and frankly do whatever the hell we want to do because we are the United States of America.  We aren’t bound by any Geneva Convention are we?  Aren’t we better than this?  Aren’t we part of the human race?  What about President Obama?  He ignores all of this.  Even though the Republicans will be dragging out a daily hearing on everything from Obama’s birth certificate to Nancy’s plane, rest assured he will do nothing.

However, he has brought out his “Deficit Panel” and surprise, surprise, the cuts are coming and their not for the wealthy!  Could this be the “Death” panel Sarah Palin kept talking about?  Oh, dear me, they will cut social security, Medicare, Pentagon (which has so much waste who cares) and Middle-class tax breaks.  Imagine that!  You know when Obama appointed Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson as co-chairmen on the deficit commission we shouldn’t be surprised.  Here is a direct quote from Simpson, “And yes, I’ve made some plenty smart cracks about people on Social Security who milk it to the last degree. You know ’em too. It’s the same with any system in America. We’ve reached a point now where it’s like a milk cow with 310 million tits! Call when you get honest work!” His response was to a Huffington Post blogger.  This was made this August.  Personally, I don’t think this man should have anything to do with the future of Social Security.  President Obama let him stay on because this is part of the plan.

Remember when Representative Alan Grayson said that Republicans want you to die quickly if you get sick?  That was his response to the health care debate.  It seems like the same thing could be said of social security.  They want you to pay into it all of your life and die before you can use it!  None of this will concern the wealthy.  They don’t even need Social Security.  However, most people in the United States count on their Social Security.  For some people, that is all they have to look forward to with low paying jobs.

I said earlier that I have never truly been represented in my entire life by any politician.  The truth is that none of us have been represented.  Lobbyists and corporations are the only ones that get representation.  Back in the seventies when I was a young woman I really thought we had come a long way, but of course now I know that was all bullshit.  We are like an under developed nation when it comes to women in politics at the national level.  We may have some women governors and their may be state representatives but anyone would be hard pressed to name ten women at the national level in politics.  That is just unbelievable.  We have made a giant leap backwards with politics in its current state.  Women have suffered the most losses but the American people are the real losers.  We have no choice in our politics and we are told constantly what we believe.  However, the media doesn’t know me or you.  They feed us the lines they want us to talk to our friends about.  We are played constantly and most people are too stupid to even feel that voice of propaganda.  Our election system is messed up with these two corrupt parties and it looks like I’ll never get the representation I desire and deserve and you won’t either!

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Worn Out In Michigan

  • Posted on November 6, 2010 at 11:25 am

These two dance to the same tunes, get married to each other and at the end of the day are friends!

So this week has been really tiring for me.  I don’t know if it’s because I’m recovering from a cold, I have a challenging seventh grade class, I’m busy with an online class or the crazy election results are buzzing in my head!  Maybe it’s everything combined.  My sister claims I’m upset about the election.  I don’t really think so, as I could see it coming like everyone else.  Really what is so different?  Corporate Democrats have been replaced by corporate Republicans.  They are both corrupt and it was hard to really fight for those Dems, because they so easily disappointed all of us.

However, there is a bright spot in this election.  Many of those “Blue Dog Democrats” are gone.  I didn’t care a bit for them.  DINO’s should all become extinct as far as I’m concerned.  I don’t like to see Senator Russ Feingold taken down though.  I guess he’s a casualty of being “Obamatronned”.

President Obama really did everything he could to get rid of many Democrats.  I have really wondered about what he really wanted.  There was so much that he could have done, that he didn’t do.  It’s hard to understand why he made the choices he did in the last two years and why he continues to disappoint so many of us through his leadership style.  He hasn’t lead and that is the problem.  He hasn’t explained anything which hasn’t helped at all.  He’s governed in the image of GW which really frustrates any real left leaning person anywhere.

Yesterday I heard a couple of sixth grade students talking about Obama.  One said to the other, “You don’t want to be a loser like Obama.”  When the eighth grade students held a mock election, Rick Snyder, the self professed nerd, won for governor here in Michigan.  My class of sixth graders erupted in cheers when they heard the news over the loud speaker.  Strangely enough it brought back the same memories of when Obama won the mock election just two years earlier.  I live in a very Republican town.  Obama won our mock election big and so did the nerd win big for the governorship.  The nerd is a Republican.  It seems like the parents of my students here in Sturgis can easily switch from the package Obama was selling to the package that Rick Snyder was selling.

The big thing is both of these guys came in like they were something special that was going to change politics.  Rick Snyder won but of course we’ll have to wait and see what his leadership skills really look like.  We have already witnessed Obama’s leadership skills and unfortunately they are greatly lacking.  I, like most people, don’t have a lot of confidence in what he’s selling.  Earlier this fall Obama addressed the nation’s school children.  It was really well received and I felt like the students really looked up to him.  So I wonder what happened over the last two months that changed for them.  Why did I hear a sixth grader speaking so poorly about Obama when just a couple months before they were so enthralled with him?  I think there must be a lot of conversation going on at home or maybe it’s the constant blasting of the mass media.  Some how in the last couple of months the students I teach vastly changed their feelings about the president.  If Obama’s lost the youth and these young students are future voters, what does he have left?

It’s funny when I think back to the 2008 election and that “package” Obama was selling.  It seemed like everyone was expecting a Democratic victory just as they were expecting a Republican victory during this election.  Obama was handed the election.  Much was done to assist him including dismissing Hillary Clinton.  She was taking all of the “real” Democratic states if you will recall.  The race was very close, much closer than people really want to remember.  The two big states of Florida and Michigan were taken out with the game playing that was going on.  Both of those states were the type of state that would probably have gone for Hillary Clinton in the end.  My vote for John Edwards in the primary was basically stolen.  It was given to Obama on May 31st, 2008 when the Democrats got together and decided how to “handle” us voters here in Michigan.  At that time they even took votes away from Hillary, a very anti-democratic procedure!

Thinking about that election is interesting because it seemed like McCain didn’t have a chance in hell and he wasn’t supposed to have one either.  He was supposed to lose.  It was part of the plan.  Sarah Palin almost made it possible for him to win.  As much as she makes the left crazy a lot of other people are crazy about her.  She turned McCain’s campaign around.  If the October surprise, you know the banking crisis, hadn’t erupted, who knows what would have happened with the election?  The point of all of this is I feel very much like we have been “played”.  Each of these elections we were told how we were going to vote and what was going to happen.  Last time the Republicans were supposed to lose and this time the Democrats were supposed to lose.  I don’t trust politics and I frankly wonder who is really pulling the strings.  Corporations seem to have the control over our votes now more than ever.  We are fed garbage in and we regurgitate garbage out with our vote.  My 6th grade students had all they needed to know about the governorship, the “nerd” won and the “angry” mayor didn’t.  Hmmm, I wonder where they heard those meaningless words.  Candidates are packaged to sell.  Barack Obama was packaged as the “change” agent and Rick “Nerd”, oh I mean Snyder, was packaged as a businessman with both a brain and a plan.  You know the smart guy that’s picked last for dodge ball in school won the election.

As much as the Republicans want to think they’re the cool kids in class right now, they need to remember that next time will probably be the Democrats turn to fool the American people.

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Restoring Sanity and/or Fear Rally

  • Posted on October 30, 2010 at 6:09 pm

Jon and Stephen

So I checked out the Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert’s “Restoring Sanity and/or Fear Rally” today.  I have to say it was actually sane.  While obviously making fun of the politics of fear that we are constantly bombarded with by the media, they managed to blast both sides of this problem, right wing and left.  No one was spared as much of the restoring sanity part was about the lack of civil discourse in our politics.  There were many entertaining antics like the giant puppet Stephen had made of himself but there was also a message.  My favorite part was when the Jewish John Stewart brought out the Muslim Yusuf, formerly Cat Stevens, to sing the “Peace Train”.  My only regret is Yusuf should have been allowed to finish the song and sing more.  He was interrupted by Stephen Colbert bringing out Ozzie Osborne to sing “Crazy train.”  I remember a few years ago when Yusuf was banned from coming into the country so it was great to see him be a part of this rally.

Of course Stephen Colbert did everything he could to try and keep fear alive.  He started out bunkered down somewhere under the platform like he was in a cave kind of naked.  He was afraid to come out because he wasn’t sure many people would come to the rally.  The numbers were huge.  There must be many Stewart and Colbert fans as the mall was full and crowded.  Ozzie was interrupted by Jon and Stephen and but in the end they decided on the “Love Train”.  The crowd was to get on the “Love Train”.  Much of the rally was aimed at people being able to have a civil discourse and get along.  The ideas were very simple but it almost felt like the two zaniest characters, Jon and Stephen, are the “sane” people during this political season.

I am so tired of seeing al of the negative political ads.  It was refreshing to see something political that didn’t tell anyone how to vote.  Voting didn’t even come up.  The rally was simply about restoring sanity and I have to say I found it to be both hilarious as they gave awards for both restoring sanity and keeping fear alive or something like that.  Of course the fear award was on a ribbon and showcased a naked guy running with scissors!  Leave it to Colbert to be the most absurd of all!

A surprising part for me was when Kid Rock and Sheryl Crowe got on stage and sang a new song that Kid Rock had just written.  It was unlike anything I’ve heard from him and I really enjoyed it.

I hope more people could have seen the rally and see how silly so much of this back and forth discourse really is.  The two video clips that Stephen showed to try and keep fear alive were so telling.  He had both sides Fox News and MSNBC, and people that consider themselves to be both liberal and right wing conservatives saying things that just keep the negative discourse going.  He also showed how we are constantly bombarded with things to fear.  It’s amazing that most of us actually live a normal life with all of the garbage that is thrown at us from both sides and the mass corporate media.  Most of it is just rhetoric to try and show how evil the other side is but I think it is time to restore sanity.

Most of us get along with our friends and families even if we don’t agree on anything.  Washington D.C. politicians should have gone to the rally or turned it on maybe they would learn something.

In the end Jon gave a speech that sounded very sane and better than most politicians.  I was thinking, “Is John running for something?”  He sounded like a politician without the “hate” speech about the other side.  Whatever he was selling, I’m all for it.  His speech made me realize just why he was voted the most influential man in America by Askmen.com.

Jon for all the silliness is like you or me, a normal guy.  When I think about Christine O’Donnell’s ad where she says, “I’m you!” I think John is really one of us as well, but a “rich, successful” us.  I remember when he was on Crossfire and that show went off the air shortly after.

Jon was fed up back then with the discourse that the media constantly kept going with the right and left constantly fighting and shouting at each other.  He called them out and that seems to be what he was doing today with the “Restoring Sanity Rally”.  Jon and Stephen are both powerful in such a funny way.  Live and let live!  I’m all for it.  Jon showed many people in cars figuring out how to go down to one lane to go through a tunnel and he said we seem to be able to figure this out even if the bumper stickers are the opposite of what we believe in.  The point he was trying to make was that we all figure out how to get along every day.  He said that Washington D.C. could learn something from the American people and I have to agree.  We get things done in our own communities.  We rise to occasions when we need to do something even we don’t feel like it.  We go to work and do our jobs and some days suck.  However, we keep on going and we don’t find a thousand different ways to put each other down and belittle each other about what we believe.

Politicians could learn something from the American people.  We all love our country and we all want to prosper and succeed, so we all need to just get along.  We are greater together than we are apart.  We are stronger when we join together to solve our problems.  Whatever happens on Tuesday, I sure hope the Democrats, Republicans and the few Independents can set about to do the work of the American people without the constant discourse!  Jon and Stephen made it safe to remember to be “SANE” when talking about politics.  I hope the politicians “get it”.

Here is an article on the rally!

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20021281-503544.html

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Ten Things I Won’t Miss About this October

  • Posted on October 29, 2010 at 4:56 pm

1)  I won’t miss anything about the

This is from a Bay City Times file picture!

M.E.A.P.  (Michigan Educational Assessment Program)  Since school started this year we have all been in M.E.A.P. mode.  This means we have a different schedule and homerooms where we work with students to help get them ready for the big test.  Now that the big test is over, we all have a regular schedule with our regular times for our classes.  I don’t even want to hear the word M.E.A.P. for awhile.  I’m glad I can now focus on teaching art and enjoying my students!

2)

Mom and Dad's Tree, no more!

I will not be missing this crazy weather.  I woke up this morning to look on Facebook only to discover that my favorite tree was killed by strong winds.  Rest in peace beautiful tree of my youth.  I will miss that tree.  It was the first thing I would see when I would drive up north to see my parents.  Many things changed over the years but that beautiful tree was always there to greet me!  Mom and dad are both gone now.  My brothers have been remodeling the farm and now with the tree gone, it seems like everything I associated with my parents is completely gone except for their descendants, my memories and of course pictures!

3)      I won’t miss the crazy political ads.  I cannot remember a year when there were so many stupid, pointless political ads.  I especially hate this ad where this little girl is such a brat!  Why would anyone want to depict a child this way?  It seems abusive to me.  Tim Walberg Ad

4)      I won’t miss hearing any more pundits talking about Christine O’Donnell and witchcraft.  This video just shows that people do say a lot of different things over the course of their life and some of them are crazy!  However, most of us aren’t video taped saying crazy things.

5)      I won’t miss two, four hour night parent teacher conferences.  I will say that I think it was great and I wish I had seen more parents.  I saw nearly 60 student’s parents which is awesome!  However, sitting in the gym for four hours straight was very tiring!  It was difficult to squeeze in a bathroom break!  I’m thankful we have today off!

6)      I won’t miss hearing about “Sister Wives”.  I must admit I haven’t watched the show and have no desire to do so.  However, I have been hearing about it on shows and the Internet because it seems to have a lot of people talking.  It’s wrapping up its first season and I hope people stop talking about it!

Do you really want to know more about this man's sex life?

7)      I won’t miss the Tea Party people that go crazy at political rallies.  I like politics to a point but come on, there is never a reason to act like this.  I won’t miss any of this!

8)      I won’t miss the constant reporting about some poll that says how America is going to vote!  Sometimes it seems like they think we have already voted.  Tuesday cannot come fast enough for me!  Here is the latest “poll” on the governor’s race.

9)      I won’t miss the constant talk about Sarah Palin. Will she or won’t she run for president in 2012?  Hello, we haven’t even finished this election.  I don’t want to think about another election for a long time.

Sarah Palin, will she or won't she?

10)   I won’t miss this mean political season where politics seems to bring the worse out of most politicians.  Senator Lisa Murkowski actually said one of her opponents is “unfit” for the office.  Kendrick Meeks has been asked by his own party to step aside and put support behind Charlie Crist.   Then there is that Rand Paul “Aqua Buddha” ad.  Yikes!  Enough said!  I’m glad October is almost over!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BCa8xw9yGY

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The Politics of a “Growth” Mindset

  • Posted on October 24, 2010 at 6:25 pm

What kind of mindset do politicians have, fixed or growth?

This weekend I have been busy working on an online course about the adolescent brain.  My own brain feels a bit heavy as I am fighting a head cold and trying to embrace this online course with gusto!  I’ve read a lot this weekend and it isn’t about politics.  However, I am sure I can make an analogy between the “fixed” mindset and “growth” mindset as it pertains to politics and politicians.  Here is a good diagram that I can share with you, so you can understand what I’ve been thinking about.  It is fascinating so click on it and study it!

http://michaelgr.com/2007/04/15/fixed-mindset-vs-growth-mindset-which-one-are-you/

If you study the chart you will tend to recognize what kind of mindset you have yourself.  Of course we all will want to think that we have a “growth” mindset as it is pretty obvious that with a growth mindset you can go far in the world.  I was thinking about politicians, both Republicans and Democrats.  It seems like the status quo is made up of the fixed mindset and the growth mindset would be those that aren’t afraid to change things up a bit.  Change is hard to achieve with a “fixed” mindset nation.  Even though we may know that doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result is the somewhat silly definition of crazy, many voters are ready to do just that.  Even though they know what will happen if they vote the Republicans back in power, many are willing to do it even at the risk of their own best self interests.

The problems with the Democrats are looming ever larger as we get closer and closer to the election.  Many are concerned about the health care bill that was passed.  I refuse to call it “Obamacare” as I know the same thing was done to Hillary Clinton when she tried to pass a universal health care plan.  We all remember “Hillarycare”.  The same people are out saying the same things about “Obamacare”.  The truth is none of us really know whether the positives outweigh the negatives for the health care plan.  I’m beginning to think we have to give it some time as it seems like those with the money and the great health care are the ones squealing the hardest to repeal it.  The mindset of the Republicans is “fixed”.  They don’t want to change anything.  There whole idea is to give tax breaks to the wealthy and big business and it will trickle down to the little guy.  Unfortunately, that ship has already sailed and it sunk!  After forty years of this trend, look where we are at.  The ugly head of poverty has reared again.  It seems that while the rich are getting richer, the poor are also getting poorer and some of the middle class are being knocked down to the level of poverty.  The tax break for the wealthy that GW passed that is set to expire didn’t work.  If it had worked, it seems to me that we wouldn’t be where we are today, in a heap of an economic mess!

I want some new ideas in politics.  Let’s get some growth minded people in office that are willing to think beyond the petty ideas of partisan politics.  Some might think the Tea Party people are the answer but when I hear things like, “We should get rid of social security from these people.” I know that isn’t the answer.  I understand their frustration with taxes.  However, most people that have a decent job don’t spend their lives complaining about their taxes.  In fact they’re too busy living their life.  If we all can have jobs that pay a decent wage, I’m sure most of us wouldn’t be as concerned about those darn taxes.

Republicans are excited about the possibility that they may take back the House and even the Senate.  Through no real effort on their part or any new ideas, this may be true.  So many want to “Throw the bums out!” and the bums are the people in power, the Democrats.  How soon we all forget what a wasteland the Republicans made of our country.

What mindset do you have?  Is it “fixed” in the past or leaning towards “growth” for the future?  Think long and hard before you vote those old bums back in as they will probably be worse than the current bums and they will have a “fixed” mindset.  They think they are right about everything.  Don’t reinforce this image they have of themselves by rewarding them with your vote.  In Nevada they don’t want you to vote if you are a Latino that voted for Democrats.

That’s right Latinos, don’t vote, that will show them.  Talk about voting for your own best interest or not voting for them.  I always encourage people to vote.  Regardless of party we all should vote.  It’s the only way to get a true representation of what the people want.  I encourage everyone to vote, even Republicans!

However, we already know what the Republicans will do.  Their policies are the policies that they hold in their “fixed” mindset.  They will take us back to the future or the past.  Their policies favor big business and the wealthy.  If you aren’t with them, you are against them.  Their thinking is black and white with nothing in between.  They will try to control you through everything from gay marriage, women’s rights, teaching Creationism in schools and other divisive issues to the separation of church and state.  They will talk about how great the constitution is and then they will set out to change some of the amendments to it.  You know what you get with those Republicans.  It may seem safe to you because it is familiar as it’s a show you have seen before.  However, if you want something new for this nation, open your mind to the possibilities of a “growth” mindset.  Vote for people that have a vision of a different future.  Embrace change and think about how we might be able to be stronger as a nation if we all work together for the growth of our great nation.  Let’s not step back to the fast but embrace the future.  Vote for people that have a “growth” mindset for the future and the middle class.  Don’t vote for the past.  Vote for the future and the future of our children.

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Scared Straight

  • Posted on October 18, 2010 at 9:27 pm

Voting for Republicans should scare you to death!

Recently President Obama made the following statement, “Americans are so “scared” they’re not thinking straight about the upcoming elections.”  This brought back “Scared Straight” memories.  If any of you have not seen this old documentary.  Here is a small video clip well worth watching.  Essentially, the kids are “cut ups” and in order to set them “straight” they are introduced to “real” convicts.  Watch the video and think about it in terms of politics.  I think the Democrats and President Obama are playing the wrong message.  Democrats may be so scared they can’t think straight like President Obama claims.  Hell, I’m mad as hell at the Democrats for acting so much like Republicans.  However, Obama and the Democrats need to have the “Scared Straight” message to send to potential voters.  Maybe if voters can really think things through, they will realize that although the Democrats are really bad, by God, the Republicans are infinitely worse.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_Fw2y2S6Ew

So maybe President Obama needs to use the “Scared Straight” tactic for voting.  Maybe he needs to tell it to the voters straight.  Maybe they have to be scared straight into voting Democratic.  Maybe he needs to introduce them to some real Republicans just like the convicts in the movie.  In the movie clip that I just shared with you, towards the end the convict talked about when you ask the quiet guy to take care of you, you just became his property in every way possible.  Is this what is going to happen if people vote for the Republicans?  Maybe voters need to know what differences will take place.  Right now it’s hard to see any differences between the two parties.

So tell me Mr. President.  Scare me straight.  What evil things will the Republicans do next?  The problem I have is I just don’t see much difference between the two parties.  They both seem to like corporations better than people. I’ll be honest.  I’m not rushing out looking for a Republican to vote for I’m simply looking for someone that puts people before corporations.  The pickings have been slim.

You know for years I thought there was a major difference between the two parties.  It’s only been the last few years that the two have some how blended together but we all can still easily recognize a DINO.

You really can’t scare me about merit pay.  That used to be Republican union busting talk.  Some how you thought that was a good idea, so you implemented it.  War used to be something that those crazy Republican “Hawks” always had to dabble in.  Yep, we’re still caught up in these two crazy wars, so there doesn’t seem to be a difference there.  That crazy torture stuff that GW started, which I thought would surely be abandoned along with Guantanamo Bay….well, enough said we still torture or at least we put a hit out on an American citizen and we still have Guantanamo Bay.  How can the Republicans be any worse?  I know it’s the social issues.  Just tell Granny to hang on to her pocketbook and hang on tight.  Those nasty Republicans are looking to snatch away her Social Security check.  They’re also going to get rid of that new fangled health care that no one seems to understand.  By George those Republicans are even going to cut welfare.

All I can say is, “Scare me some more!”  What the Democrats haven’t done is proven they can govern different than the Republicans.  This is a nasty game called politics and it seems like only the most corrupt win.  Well, I do have the answer for President Obama and the Democrats.  Tell the truth. Tell exactly what you think the Republicans plan to do when they get into office.

Here are some starters for you.  It’s not that hard to figure out what they would and would not do.

If you put them head to head, there are differences!

Republicans would:

Aim to repeal the health care bill rather than build on it.

Not pass legislation to extend unemployment benefits.

Pass tax cuts for big business and the high wage earners above $250,000.

Continue to support money for war, any war, because they haven’t met a war they wouldn’t fund.

Would plan on privatizing every aspect of government including education, our roads, anything they can think of to help their buddies.

Repeal the minimum wage because in these tough times we have to let the market determine the wage.

Put everything they can back on the states to pay for because they believe in “state’s rights” above all else.

Give more money to “faith based” organizations.

Take away money from social programs.

Not create any new stimulus projects.

Not provide legislation to fix our crumbling infrastructure.

Cut capital gains taxes and get rid of the estate tax on the wealthiest Americans.

Call for loosening environmental standards to help business.

Push for more off shore drilling without putting safety standards in place.

Now that wasn’t so hard was it?  If you are a Democrat and your mad like me, just think about what the Republicans really want to do. As a Democrat you may now notice that as much as we are disappointed by the current batch of Democrats, they aren’t as bad as the Republicans that we would surely get. Trust me.  They don’t want to help the little guy.  It’s all for big business and corporations.  So, even if you’re mad as hell, vote for the Democrats!

"Scared Straight" should scare you into voting for the Democrats!

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The Education of Bristol Palin

  • Posted on October 17, 2010 at 12:42 am

Bristol Palin could surely be the girl next door.

I haven’t been watching “Dancing with the Starts”.  However, I have seen enough of it this season through small clips to wonder what’s going on with Bristol Palin.  We all know the story about Bristol and who her famous mom is and all the problems that may go with being a child of politics.  The show has used Bristol for the obvious reasons of obtaining ratings.  What is sad to see is the way this child is being put into some fairly risqué dance routines that don’t seem to fit her personality at all.  She is being used and abused by a system for a monetary gain.  It makes me wonder what this young woman would do for money?  I think Bristol could easily have been on this show and not have been put into the sexy situations and the show could still have great ratings.  For some unknown reason the show executives have decided to portray Bristol in a fairly raunchy way which I think undermines all young women and surely portrays Bristol in the poorest light possible.

I feel she is being forced to do the opposite of what she is really about.  I saw the first dance where she was dressed like her mom and then her coat was ripped off to reveal a rather sultry, flashy, hooker type dress.

This dress is so un-Palin like and highly suggestive.

This may have been a statement that Bristol was trying to make, but I highly doubt it.  What troubles me is seeing mom in the audience whooping it up when Bristol looks to be rather uncomfortable in her own skin.

Some people probably have no sympathy for Bristol because she is getting paid to do this show.  However, I wonder if this young woman realizes how she appears to be some comic parody.  She is supposed to be representing “abstinence”.  In every aspect of the show that I have witnessed she has been portrayed more like a harlot than a confused teen.  She is fairly young and inexperienced.  She made a mistake as a youngster and she is living with the consequence of her mistake.  This new Bristol seems to have given up something precious from the old Bristol.  That would be the “self respect” thing.  I don’t believe for a minute that this young woman really wants to be portrayed as she is currently is or else she is just clueless to the image that she is playing.  In the most recent dance she wore seamed stockings and a shirt.  She actually pulled off the shirt of her dance partner as though she was so full of lust she had to have him right there and now.  This is a new level of trash TV and I’m appalled that Bristol has been put in this position and doesn’t seem to realize how she is being made fun of in many ways.

I think it’s a way to make fun of her and probably her mother’s stance on some issues.  However, mom has “bought” into this because money seems to trump anything else that really matters. The fact is it is tough to see Bristol as an abstinence proponent as it seems to be a case of “Do as I say, not as I did.”  However, she could be a great spokesperson to show young teens that there are consequences for having sex that you may have to live with in the future.  However, Bristol’s life seems to be better than ever.  She gets to be on a TV show.  She’s making a lot more money than any other kid her age would be making if they were in the same situation, young, unwed with a child.  It’s really about the education of Bristol and this education seems to be about making money while the press still thinks you have value.  There is a certain amount of sleaziness to all of this.  What won’t Bristol do for money?  She obviously gave up some of her virtuous clothing choices to appear on this show but more than that she seems to be willing to try to appear to look like some unrestrained sex kitten for ratings.

I am troubled by all of this.  I look at Bristol with the eyes of a mother and also with the eyes of a woman.  I see her as being betrayed by her female qualities for the sole purpose of selling a product and the product is sex.  It really is abusive to all young women to see her portrayed in this manner.   We are back to the Madonna/Whore phenomenon.   A woman must be portrayed as the good girl or the bad girl, the Madonna or the whore.  Bristol is a “fallen” woman as she had sex without marriage and she wasn’t able to cover it up like most young women because she got pregnant and chose to keep the baby.  I guess now that she is a “fallen” woman it’s okay for her to be portrayed as a slut.

This is how Bristol is being portrayed on the internet. This is fake for now.

Bristol’s mom is so busy campaigning and selling her own books that she doesn’t seem to mind the image that her “fallen” daughter is sending out to other young women and of course living with while she dances and prances on this show.  This is poor parenting from my point of view.  I know we have little control over what our children do in life but mom doesn’t have to sit there acting like everything is fine and dandy talking about “Bristol the Pistol” as though she’s just a sweet little girl from Wasilla, Alaska.  No, Bristol is getting an education but it’s not the kind of education most of us want for our daughters, nieces, friends, sisters or any young woman we really care about to get.  Bristol is discovering her worth is related to what her body can give her.  Right now her body is selling sexual fantasy.  It’s an image most of us wouldn’t want attached to our young ones.  Most of us want our children to get a real education by going away to college and learning about life under the bubble of the perfection and idealism that college can sometimes be.  Bristol seems to be attending some kind of college of hard knocks but the money is so good that she doesn’t see what she’s lost in the process.  Kids can be stubborn and sometimes they revolt from what their parents want but some how I don’t think Bristol’s mom seems to mind where her daughter is right now.  I just wish they could both see what I see.  Bristol may be having fun with all of this and maybe I’m an old stogie but truthfully there is more to being a woman than just trying to appear sexual.  This young woman saw two roads and she chose this one.  I wonder what the other one would have brought her.

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Tribute to a Fallen Soldier

  • Posted on October 15, 2010 at 8:01 pm

Sgt. Amanda "Mandy" Sheldon

Last night I was watching the news and learned about the suicide of Sgt. Amanda Sheldon, a young female soldier from Michigan.  Her devastated mother was interviewed about her daughter.  Her mother truly wanted to let soldiers that are having a hard time dealing with depression to know that it is okay to seek help.  What happened to Amanda is a tragedy and I was touched by her mother as any mother would be.  I felt a need to share this young woman’s plight with other people in the hope that more can be done for these soldiers.

At some time during her military career Amanda was given a date rape drug and raped by a superior.  (I want to add here that I was watching “Oprah” tonight as she had a show about homeless female veterans and Tammy Duckworth said that one in three female soldiers are assaulted in the military.)  The suspect was discharged from the Army and was convicted but Amanda’s problems didn’t stop there.  She did seek counseling.  Later when she was up for a promotion, military personnel wanted to know why she needed counseling.  This must have made Amanda feel that the military deemed that a “weakness”.  She never went in for counseling again and she suffered dearly for it.

Her mother said that Amanda was planning on leaving the military and starting a new life attending college.  She had one more deployment with her unit to Afghanistan to do.  Her mom said that to deploy she would have to sign up for two more years.  She didn’t really want to do that.  Her mom also said that she had fallen in love and was very torn between going with her unit to Afghanistan and leaving the military as either choice would eventually “let someone down”.  Amanda evidently couldn’t take it and instead of going in for counseling, she took her own life.

The full story about Amanda can be read here:

http://www.woodtv.com/dpp/news/local/kent_county/Soldiers-mom-speaks-out-on-suicide

Amanda’s obituary is here:

http://www.sentinel-standard.com/newsnow/x1389358997/Obituary-Amanda-Mandy-Ann-Sheldon-24-of-North-Carolina-formerly-of-Belding

Something needs to be done to protect these women from being assaulted.  I remember reading a few years back about young women in the military dying of dehydration in the desert when they were deployed in Iraq because they feared going to the bathroom in the night.  There were many female soldiers being assaulted.  Many would not drink fluids that they needed to stay healthy in the desert because of this fear of having to go to the latrine late at night.  http://www.alternet.org/world/31584/

A female soldier is tough but sexual abuse can take every ounce of toughness out of anyone.  It can destroy lives just as it seems to have destroyed the life of this beautiful, young soldier named Amanda or “Mandy” by her friends.  We all know life isn’t fair but our country owes our young people a debt  of gratitude for their service and a sense of honor that allows them to be safe from predators when they are serving their country.  We should all be outraged because Amanda isn’t just the child of her own parents.  She is your child and my child.  Mandy’s death should not be in vain.  We should all be contacting our representatives and pushing for more to be done so other soldiers don’t follow Mandy and take their own life because they see no other option.

I wrote my representative about this.  I hope you will be moved to do the same so that something more can be done to protect these young female soldiers from sexual predators.  Here is the link:  https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml

You can also contact your senators here:  http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

Please do something.  I have written both of my senators and my representative.  If we want our daughters protected from sexual predators in the military, let’s stand up and do something about it.  Mandy could be my daughter and she could be your daughter.  She deserved better and we as a nation should have protected her better.

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Macintology

  • Posted on October 13, 2010 at 8:40 pm

Is it religion or is it just a Mac?

I came across this article today and it made me think.  http://www.csmonitor.com/Innovation/Horizons/2010/1013/Back-to-the-Mac-event-What-does-Apple-have-on-the-agenda

It was funny that it was in the Christian Science Monitor because the other day I was likening Mac lovers to being part of the religion of “Macintology”.  That is a totally made up word by the way.  I made some comment about how Mac people seemed like sheep.  I’m laughing about this because my son is a major computer geek.  He knows anything anyone would want to know about computers.  He gets annoyed with Mac people because they seem to be close minded and elitist.  At least I think that is what he thinks.  He does have an Iphone and I know he likes the Mac platform as he has used it on his PC.  He couldn’t believe all the people at the Mac store in Chicago where he went to get his phone repaired.  He had an appointment but still had to wait an hour and a half.  The people in the store didn’t seem to mind waiting.  The store was packed and he couldn’t believe it in this economy.  It’s interesting that Mac has these marketing ploys where they get everyone worked up over their next big thing.  Whatever the new thing is on October 20th I’m sure there will be many Mac people standing in line like little sheep paying homage and waiting patiently for whatever Mac is selling them!

Looking at the Apple “iCandy” pictures I must admit that Ipad looks like it would be a lot of fun.  http://www.csmonitor.com/CSM-Photo-Galleries/In-Pictures/Apple-s-iCandy

I never got into the Apple format because I was always “PC poor”.  I could always buy two or three personal computers for the price of a Mac, so I never had the opportunity or urge to join that religion.

Apple wants you to think different and then follow the other sheep!

Mac people don’t be offended by my little entry here.  I suppose one religion is as good as the next.  At least you believe in something and you’re willing to defend your right to believe in the almightiness of Mac.  I on the other hand will continue to use my PC and never refer to it in any type of elitist tone as it is what it is, a computer, something I use to get to some place else, to create some other place, to learn about the world and to whine about everything from politics to religion.  It’s not my religion.  It’s just a good friend when I have something on my mind!

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