Maybe just one post on Political Thoughts

Just one post on this subject.  Tomorrow I will have pictures of The Son, or something else appropriate for a mommy blogger.  I have kept pretty quiet about this election, and I really do not want to come across as one of those bloggers who insults her readers because of a difference of opinion. I think that both Democrats and Republicans want to help people, there are just very different philosophies as how to best deliver the help. Following are several reasons why I will be voting for John McCain (or against Obama). Read them….don’t read them, whatever. Just don’t go and vote without really being educated, (and Jon Stewart cannot educate you to the intricacies of national politics). If you are one of those people who does not care about policy, and only vote on charisma, remember this: the choice is between a dedicated, experienced American with an uncorrupted Governor as VP or a great speaker and his entrenched-in-his-ways VP. For me the choice is clear and here are some reasons why.

1. The point is small government. Period. Why can’t subsidies for those less fortunate come in the way of a donation to a privately controlled, nonprofit agency, or organization instead of the federal government? Maybe even a state run program that’s a little easier to control and manage? If the federal government lays down the law, then chances are someone is going to fall through the cracks, or get “red taped”. I don’t want my hard earned (er, well The Husband technically earned them) tax dollars falling into a black hole of endless administration that intends to help, but is often for naught. Republicans do not want to force their ideals on us by way of federal laws and legislation. Instead they intend to leave it up to the states, which hopefully then leave it up to cities or communities. That in turn gives the American people a little more freedom to choose.

2. The stereotype of Republicans is wrong. Not all conservative Republicans are either rich corporate fat cats or uneducated, gun toting, close minded, uncaring, religious zealots. Conservatives have been misrepresented as being greedy money hoarders. There are numerous articles based on polls and findings which show that conservatives give overwhelmingly more of their money, and time, to charities than do their liberal counterparts. We just believe not only is it not the job of the government to eliminate hardships, but rather it is impossible for the government to eliminate hardships. As a good citizen, I do plenty, donate constantly, volunteer and what not, I don’t need the government to tax my family for us to help others. This is one of the many reasons that we think a smaller national government works best.

3. I believe Obama has faith in his plans to help the poor, and I believe that he and most liberals really do want to help. However, he doesn’t understand that it is impossible for him to follow through on the programs he is promising. Universal health care, overtaxing the higher earners, these things look on good paper, but end up creating other problems and shortfalls in the long run. In the end, the failed programs would hurt more people than they help. Hope is not a strategy, and confidence alone does not solve problems.

4. Sarah Palin has been criticized for everything from her accent to her religious convictions lately. Most of that criticism is focused on her lack of experience. Which begs the question, if Palin isn’t ready for the task of second in command, how can Democrats believe Obama is ready for first? He is obviously lacking experience which no die hard Democrat can deny. The truth is neither Palin or Obama have enough experience for the roles they are now vying for, but in the political game, the best and most experienced people are either jaded, not well liked for some reason, or dead. Both Palin and Obama have moved up through the political ranks because they articulate well, and their personalities resonate with people. One more word about Palin. Sarah Palin is doing something right in Alaska to have an 80% approval rating.

5. There are many people in this country who are fiscally conservative yet have rather liberal social views. Trying to marry these two is extremely difficult. I will say that I think Obama has some good ideas in regards to some social views, and I feel he is a decent man, but he gives me the feeling that he wants to wave a magic wand at the woes of our country, and world, and POOF! It will all be better. The polarization that has happened in our country of pitting one group against the other is neither helpful, nor productive, and I sincerely believe the Republicans are better at looking at both parties, and using the good ideas of both.

6. We aren’t trillions in debt by giving back to our own people, as I have heard many complain. We’re in debt due to different reasons, but one of the main reasons is that we help our foreign allies and less fortunate countries. Regarding drill vs don’t drill, while I think other energy sources are desperately needed, I also think it’s ridiculous that we depend on dangerous countries for our oil and don’t see why there can’t be a middle ground while we search for longer term solutions. Until Obama sees Iran as the threat that it is, I absolutely don’t want to see him in office–even as Senator.

7. As for health care, private insurance does need to change becoming affordable for everyone. HOWEVER, the government is not there to provide insurance for everyone. Insurance companies are in business to make money, the government is not. Besides, Republicans did not invent insurance. Insurance is not around just to make Democrats mad or keep the poor in their place. Insurance is a risk-based business that, unfortunately, causes some people great heartache. How can insurance companies make money when they can’t choose  whom to insure?  I absolutely don’t want the government anywhere near my health care. I have seen how much they can screw up an theoretically good system and don’t want to depend on them to tell me what doctor I can see, and when. I cannot believe Democrats really want the same people that run the DMV running our health care?

8. After the elections are over, and the dances have ended at the inaugural balls, it’s really just a game of who has best mastered the game of compromise. Who can work with who to get the most done, who knows how to play the game? Who is going to hold himself to the rules in which I believe? I think it is John McCain.

The Declaration of Independence states regarding the rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness:
“…That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.”

The Pink Suit.

It was a stunning day. The sky was crystal blue, and the air was crisp enough you could tell fall was coming, but still warm enough to wear sandals. I was a senior at the State University, majoring in Political Science and Speech Communications. I had landed a Poli-Sci student’s dream job of working part time for our Senior U.S. Senator. I mostly responded to letters, answered the phone, and forwarded people to more experienced case workers for help. That morning I was getting ready for my first class of the day, an upper level one with the name of National Defense. It was an interesting class with my favorite professor. I was in a good mood though tired, having been up late talking to my new boyfriend. I turned on the Today Show to see what Katie had for me, and remember noting how much I loved her pink suit she had on. It was a perfect color, bright without being Pepto, and a classic cut. She inspired me to wear my own pink suit to work later that day, I laid it out, and put on capris to hike across campus. I sat down on the foot of my bed to fasten my sandals when they broke in on the fluff piece they had been covering.

A plane had hit the World Trade Center moments ago. They started showing live coverage and Katie Couric was talking in the background. I remember being concerned, but my thoughts echoed hers…..what a terrible mistake. Was an overworked air traffic control tower operator to blame? I was sad, but kept getting ready for class.

Then I heard Katie Couric gasp. I glanced up just in time to see…and wish that I had not looked. The second plane. The second tower. I had to leave for class just as I heard them say what I was already thinking. This had to be the work of terrorists. I heard students laughing all over campus–they had not heard yet.

The Political Science department was another story. Ever on top of current events, my peers had seen it all from the ancient tv in the graduate lounge (the PoliTiki Lounge). We all sat silently waiting for class to start, someone’s radio blaring in the background, burning through my ears into my brain. People were jumping to their certain deaths. The tower fell. Rescue workers rushing in. The second tower fell. My professor sent us home and told us today’s assignment was to witness history. I walked back to my apartment thinking how cruel it was for the sky to be so beautiful.

When I got back to my college owned apartment I turned back on Katie Couric just in time to see her interviewing that bald guy from MSNBC, you know– the finance guy. He was covered in ash and soot and you could tell he was shaking. Katie had changed out of her lovely pink suit and was wearing a somber black one.

I hung my pink suit back in the closet and pulled on a navy blue shirt and drab skirt. I then went to work at the Federal Building, where I was searched by the security guards for the first time. All day, all week, all year I answered calls of outraged constituents. “Bomb them!” “Kill them!” “Revenge!” “They must pay!”.

My pink suit stayed in the closet for the rest of the year.

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I missed getting the below posted on 9/11, and contemplated saving it until next year, however I think it deserves to be shared now. The following is from The Neighbor and below that is a link for us all to watch. Please share your own memories in the comments section. Thanks.

I don’t know if you have a topic already for today, or if you’re interested in one, but I’ve attached some pics I took earlier this year from Ground Zero and the area if they can be of use. It really changes your perspective on the events seeing it in person.

The metal cross in the middle picture is from inside one of the towers and is exactly how it was found, in a cross shape. We were fortunate enough to have one of the foremen of the building site come talk to us and he told us the story. The glass case sitting on the cross contains two baseballs and he said the father of a son who was killed in the towers climbed the cross and put the baseballs on it as a tribute to his son. They are autographed by, I think he said, Mickey Mantle and someone else in that era. Very valuable. I asked how they kept people from stealing them and he said that if anyone ever tried to steal them, the police wouldn’t have to be involved because the city would hunt them down and kill them. Apparently, the WTC site and memorabilia, etc. is respected by everyone, including the thugs. The cross also served as a place of prayer and mass for the recovery workers throughout the months after the attack.

Thanks for sharing The Neighbor. I am not sure how I feel about us always hunting down the thugs. Can we live the rest of our lives shouting “Bomb Them!” “Kill them!” “Revenge!” “They must pay!”? I don’t know, I just know that it is time for us to stop being afraid. click here and turn up the volume

To Whom it May Concern: Blog Withdrawal

It started out so innocently. I was bored at Heartless cellular company. My manager told me to kill some time because I was making my teammates look bad by actually being productive. He gave me the password to be able to read blogs and chat boards from my work computer. I saw a post on The Nest that asked “what mommy blogs do you read?” Mommy Blog? What the heck is that?, I wondered. I was about five months pregnant and voraciously reading anything “Mommy” related. Dooce.com was the only one mentioned in the responses to the original post so I wandered on over to read my very first blog entry.

It was friggin hilarious. I read back through her archives and was enthralled. She had a post that listed the blogs that she reads everyday. I followed her cue to Finslippy, Fussy, and Mighty Girl. I was officially a hooked blog reader. I expanded and started reading blogs I found on my own, Amalah, Looky Daddy and more. I branched out from just parenting blogs and started to read humor, politics, and activist blogs as well. I am a crazy fast reader so I could spend 30 minutes a day and catch up on 10 blogs easily.

This is where you come in. You started your own blog. A Blog! From someone I know! That I can read everyday and it will be like an email just from you that shares your innermost thoughts and is funny and SQUEEEE! Breathe. I laughed, I cried, I was inspired with ideas for The Huckablog. And then your posts dropped from daily to bi-weekly, to weekly to oh yeah I should post something eventually. The whole time I faithfully added you to my blogroll. I directed others, friends and strangers to your site. I had faith in you, in your writing and knew you would entertain and motivate. I checked your site everyday. Then every other day. And now? I am thinking seriously about dropping you from my blogroll.

Please do not make me drop you. I rarely check blogs not on the blogroll anymore because I no longer have a boss that encourages me to goof off. My boss is much more demanding now. I have to sneak in internet time between naps, and early bedtimes. For the love of whomever will invoke you, post something already. It does not have to be perfect, it does not have to be particularly galvanizing; I do not have to be made to laugh or weep with every entry. You do not have to post every single day, I think two or three times a week is well within proper blogiquette. I can only go through one form of withdrawal at a time, so please just BLOG already!

Yours Sincerely,

Hey You Desperatelyseekingnewposts-Huckablog

p.s. A tweet does not equal blogging. Thank you very much.

OlymPICS of the day!

Awesome! We can debate over money being better spent elsewhere, but it is quite a spectacle to see regardless of opinions.   Oh, and these girls are NOT 16. Your thoughts?

There are no words.

How can a child slip through our (society’s) fingers? Nothing funny today; instead we have an article to read. I can’t even be a little funny after this.

Stupid Cellular Security Blanket.

When you are married to a techno geek you can’t just get a new cell phone, oh, no. You must first read all of the reviews, reports, and price check. This usually takes about…..oh, six months or so. (This is where you roll your eyes and say Hey You acts like a stupid girl) Two years ago when it was time to upgrade phones, I wanted the Pink Razor. It was in the store, it was a decent price, and most importantly, it was pretty. It matched my makeup bag, and the inside of my purse would be cute. Since it would be pink, we would never pick up the wrong phone by mistake. The Husband said it was a crappy phone, and we were not getting one. After many reviews and discussions that ended with me pointing at our old phones being held together with duct tape, the KRZR K1 (see above) was the phone that was deemed worthy for both of the Huckablogs.

They only came in the above blue, and I whined. Immediately we started getting our phones mixed up. He was avoiding Heartless Cellular Company on my phone, and I was avoiding Batsh!t crazy Ju–, er boss lady, on his. I whined some more. I wanted to go to one of those kiosks in the mall and get a skin thingy for my phone so it would be pretty, but no, apparently those are somehow bad for phones. I whined some more. For Christmas last year The Husband put in my stocking a hot pink metal body for my phone he had found from Hong Kong or someplace. It required him to completely rebuild my phone to put it in the new body, thusly making our phone insurance NULL and VOID. I am sure you can pretty much see where this is going.

My phone got dropped yesterday (anybody care to guess who did that?). The one teeny tiny non-metal piece snapped. The Husband took it apart and spent a good hour with his soldering iron last night trying to make it last until it is time to upgrade in the fall. I, of course, threw away the old ugly blue case months ago in one of my thorough, if infrequent, cleaning sprees. The Husband has ordered a piece to fix it, but it will take a couple of weeks to make it here from Thai Pae, or Phnom Penh, or wherever he ordered it from. I am at a loss without my phone, I might miss important calls! About play dates, or um, other important stuff I do. And the camera! I actually use my camera phone, what kind of world is this where I can not take that millionth picture of The Son on the slide?

Long story short: phone dead, email or call the house (for those who have the number) instead. Don’t expect me to call you, because every single number of every single person I know is in that pile of pink and screws. I had to write down my home phone number to remember it today. What did people do without their cellular security blankets back in the day?

Seriously Y’all

I am having to do a lot of editing of comments that have everything but our SSN in them!  Please, no real names or identifying places.   There actually are a lot of people we do not know reading, and safety is important.  The Husband just read a comment that about gave him a stroke.  And he is old now, so we must be careful!

Vacation my ass.

On second thought it is probably not that great of an idea to use the word ass in a blog post about church. Instead insert ….um…..Oh! Foot! The title should read Vacation my Foot. This is the week that dozens of children who we usually only see at Christmas, Easter, and chasing the ice cream truck join the half dozen, or so, kids who attend our church regularly in a five-night Jesus extravaganza we call Vacation Bible School. (I think I will pause here and mention I sincerely do not mean this to be sacrilegious. If it comes across that way then start over and read again in a lighthearted, Hey You goes to church multiple times a week kinda way) This year’s theme is “Power Lab”, so everything is bedecked in sciency stuff. We do science themed projects, play “experimental” games, watch a video about a talking chipmunk and a stressed, but not mad scientist. Oh, and learn that Jesus is powerful.

The last couple of years The Husband and I have been “crew” leaders. This means more than five, but less than ten, elementary schoolers pull on us and say, “Miss Hey You! Miss Hey You! She got more than me! But I wanted blue! Green is yucky.  Miss Hey You, will you take me potty?” “Mr. Husband? Why does your toe look like that? Mr. Husband? Can I climb on you? Mr. Husband! Garret farted (I HATE THAT WORD!)” The funniest is that The Husband has one kid who calls him Coach Husband. It cracks me up every time I hear it because it is:  a. Such a southern thing - all male teachers are “Coach”.  b. My darling husband is about as far from a “Coach” as you can get. Unless you can coach children running around like banshees?

Because we are working together, but still have our own distinct groups, the differences in how we relate to kids is painfully obvious. I am VERY strict. I do not tolerate running around, leaving the group, talking out of turn, using even slightly foul language (do as I say, not as I do!), or being disrespectful.  I also sing all the songs, dance and do all the hand motions to the music. I play all the games, do all the crafts, and generally am just excited to be doing whatever the curriculum requires. The Husband pretty much lets the kids do whatever. Their lines are nonexistent, never mind army straight like mine. They climb all over him, pick flowers out of the church garden, sit during the songs, and never finish their group questions. He does not participate in the same giddy way that I do, and is shy about getting up in front of them to lead. He is also so-o-o-o patient with them, he listens to them one-on-one. He sits next to them while they eat, and helps them with their projects. The kids adore him. We always request to be on the same team of “crews” because it comes down to the fact that we complement each other wonderfully.

We all come home hungry, exhausted, and happy. This is The Son’s first year to participate in something other than the nursery. Tonight when it was time to go we could not leave until he had kissed his teachers good-bye. He had sung, and danced, made crafts, played, and prayed with other toddlers. VBS is a lot of work, but it is worth it to give other kids that same feeling that he gets, and if they happen to decide that church is for more than Christmas carols and Easter egg hunts, then all the better.

Do you mean that you do not sit on the couch and drool all day?

Pre-school for a one (almost two) year old is a place where you learn….um. Okay, it is where you achieve…riiiiight. It is a place for people who need to work to put their children. Now don’t get me wrong, there is NOTHING wrong with that, hell I was one of those people six months ago. However, I do not appreciate the implication that The Son is not learning anything at home with me. In fact I would challenge anybody to find a more verbal, more kind, more funny, more active, or smarter child than him. (Yeah, Yeah, I know I am biased, but I would welcome the people who know him to give their input)

I can pretty much guarantee that there is not a pre-school teacher in the entire county who has the level of education that I do. I also am confident that The Son gets a lot more interaction with his teacher than he could anywhere else. Can you tell I got my first hate mail because of my blog? Can you tell they insulted my parenting skills? Does this mean I have ARRIVED in the mommy blogosphere?

Not because I have to, or because I think this person deserves any kind of explanation from me, but I will give you a glimpse into what it is that The Son and I do all day, if for no other reason than to show you some cute pictures. I will also promise to tell the truth and nothing but the truth. The Son wakes up at about 7am. The Husband picks him up, takes him potty, and deposits him in our bed. Once there, The Son sleeps and nurses for about 45 min. Many times I will roll over and turn on Little House on the Prairie and all three of us will watch in bed. (What? That show is totally educational, well it could be.) We then get up and I watch exactly five minutes of The Today Show while fixing us breakfast. We all sit at the table and eat together, or if The Husband is working away from home, The Son and I eat together at his little table. We then go to his room where we read a book or two and then get dressed. Four days a week we either go to the library for stories and crafts, or to gym class, or in the summer we go to swim class.

After we get changed we sometimes nurse, sometimes not. Then it is off to the park or to run errands. We either have lunch with someone, pick up something and eat it at the park, or come home and watch a little Elmo and eat sandwiches here. Afterward we will do crafts, or work on one of our projects, like his container garden. He planted them, he waters them, he replanted them when they got blown over in a storm. The bonus science project is the cocoon that popped up on the side. We even saw the day that the moth broke free and was sunning itself on the side. Cool huh! (Take that, you pansy anonymous emailer :P)

We then read another book, are you counting? We are up to four already. Nurse, yes, again. He takes a nap for a couple of hours and then we will read another book as he has a snack. When he is chock full of goldfish, we play cars, or trains, or blocks, or put together puzzles. I do admit to turning on a Mighty Machines or Elmo for him to watch while we play, but never is he just sitting on the couch drooling and staring at the TV.

When The Husband comes home, we figure out dinner together, pray together, eat together. Then we play together, outside or in. We give The Son a bath together, we sit on the futon in his room and all read stories together. The Husband lays next to us as The Son and I nurse, we both give him kisses and put him to bed. Through the whole day we are talking, talking, talking, never using baby talk, or watered down vernacular.

There, for those of you who think I plop him in front of Nick Jr. (we do not even have cable!) and blog all day, you are wrong. I am a Mommy first and a blogger about tenth or eleventh.

“I will tickle you into submission you mean, anonymous emailer! ”

To Whom it May Concern: You get what you pay for.

To Whom it May Concern:

I take my family’s follicle appearance very seriously. I also have made the lifestyle changes necessary to make it possible for my family to live on one income. This leads me to you. In exchange for the use of our heads to practice your fledgling skills and four dollars of course, you give us hair cuts. The whole point is that we tell you what we want. You do that. Your professor watches and makes sure you don’t screw up. Simple.  Why did I not think of charging other people for my education?  I could have made millions of….pennies from the people who I had to survey, or write thesis (thesi?) on.

The problem comes when the professor has three other people he is supervising at the same time. And when the professor won’t shut his yap long enough to pay attention to something other than himself. And when the professor has differing tastes in what looks good from the one who is paying aforementioned four dollars. To be honest, I really do not care if you jack up other people’s hair. Maybe the guy next to us liked that slanty flat top you gave him. I do care when it effects my baby’s head.

I said I LIKE IT LONG! I said JUST GET IT OUT OF HIS EYES! The sad thing is that the student did an okay job. The professor walked over, took the scissors out of his hands and proceeded to cut off whole inches of my darling baby’s hair. *sob* You left him looking like a boy. A boy with a bad hair cut. So what are you going to do about it? Glue it back on?

Bah. You suck. I will skip a couple of happy hours at Sonic and pay the eight dollars down the street next time.

Sincerely,

Hey You E. Pissed Off-Huckablog

Before (with chocolate frosting)

After

Okay, not really, but it is still much to short. The Little Deuce Coup pictures were taken post haircut.