A Norman Rockwell Morning

What a difference a day makes.

We shovelled our driveway this morning, then decided we wouldn't go to work after all. So we put on our cross-country skis and explored the neighborhood. We headed up hill to the right, following last night's tire tracks, lightly covered with a new dusting of snow. Since most people couldn't either get their cars out, or just decided to stay home, we felt pretty safe gliding in the middle of the road. Traversing down the hills, we met children snow-boarding, sledding, and just playing. Everybody was friendly. Everyone was happy.

We followed trails through the woods, marveling at the stillness and beauty of our surroundings.

We met our new neighbors, recent transplants from Montana, via San Francisco. We played snow toss with another neighbor's dog. We stood in our front yard, a cup of hot chocolate in hand.......as a family walked up the hill, pulling suitcases behind them. No, they didn't need help. They were almost there.

The snow is beautiful, and even though I met new neighbors and talked with strangers, I miss my family and friends. We will make it one way or another to my sister's house on Christmas morning....over the river and through the woods....way on the other side of town.

Toy Soliers......on Salon.com

I posted Toy Soldiers on salon.com and it was an Editor's Pick. I don't know who picks 'em and who the editors are, but I heard there's at least 500 new posts a day on salon.com. So.......whatever.

Shades of Grey on a Snowy Day

Photo taken at 9:15 am Sunday 12/21

Ok, so I'm whining.

We've had a full week of snow, unusual for Portland. Right now we have a foot of snow in our yard, with 2 foot drifts in some spots. The car tracks in the street are covered over from last night's blizzard. This morning we woke up and our power was out. Luckily, we have a couple of gas fireplaces, so we lit them to keep warm. We have a gas range and can light the pilot light to cook. But what about coffee? How do I make my latte? And how do I grind my coffee beans? And where's my Sunday paper?

I found some old coffee in the cupboard, heated water on the stove, and found my camping coffee maker in the camping stuff. Ugh. Terrible. Added a little cocoa to make a cafe mocha. Bad. Note to self: throw out all old coffee.

Since we recently 'bundled' our cable service.....Internet, cable TV, and phone....we were without a phone (that's because this moron didn't charge up her cell phone last night and the battery is low). We sat in the car in the garage for a few minutes charging my phone, and trying to catch some news on the radio. Its funny....the TV news stations show the storm coverage 24/7, whether we like it or not, but try to find out what's happening on the radio when your power is out....no such luck! No TV, no Internet, no phone, no lights, no coffee. I didn't realize how much I counted on electricity.

I went for a walk, for something to do. Neighbors are out, shoveling their walks, walking dogs, or trying to dig out cars that have been left by the side of the road for the past 5 days. Walked to our little "Village Marketplace". Starbucks was closed, but there was a stack of The Sunday Oregonian. Papers were taken and money was left as payment. I grabbed a paper and left 2 bucks.

When I got home the power was on. Yea! I can have my latte and read the paper. Isn't life grand?

Fashion Queens.....or Easter Seesters

Easter morning, circa 1959
I'm on the left, with my 2 older sisters and next door neighbor

When I was little and would complain about not having something, my dad would say "I complained about not having any shoes, until I saw a man without any feet". Nice advice, but I wonder what he was thinking when he and my mom sent me off to church in my new Easter dress with these shoes.......tennis shoes with no laces!?!? I wonder what my play shoes looked like.....

Toy Soldiers

Now that Christmas is around the corner, and you might be wondering what you should get the little ones....what toy will make them say WOW! and create lifetime memories....I'd like to share with you the toys I shared with my younger brother and sister. Clothespins. That's right. Plain old wooden clothespins.

I found a box of clothespins in my mom's stuff when we were cleaning out her apartment. I don't think these were the actual ones we played with when we were kids, but it sure brought back memories. It's funny how we all grew up to be anti-war.....that we mostly played army with the clothespins. Sometimes we played cops and robbers, and sometimes cowboys and Indians....but mostly it was army. We'd build a small fort in our backyard, probably out of other household items, like cans of vegetables, forks, combs, or pots and pans. Then we'd station our army men (the clothespins) around the fort and fight battles. We would spend hours playing this way.

My family didn't have a lot of money, so we didn't have many toys. My older sister had one doll with a painted on dress. A doll she cherished. We love these memories. I guess in a way, I'm sort of glad we didn't have much. It's made me appreciate the things I do have.

Every year I make a gift for my great-niece who lives in Florida. Her mother told me she loves the homemade gifts, so I'll continue until she's too old to appreciate them. I made her something really special this year....and I promise, it's not made out of clothespins.

Warrior King - part 2

I wanted to add something to my review of Warrior King.

Nathan Sassaman comes from a long line of military men. This was his career. It's now over. Although he admits his 'cover up' was wrong, he thought he was doing the right thing at the time. Due to the ineptness of the way this so-called war was run, he was a scapegoat. Just like the soldiers convicted in the Abu Ghraib scandal were scapegoats.

Please read the book. Like I used to say when I gave my book-reports in grade school..."you have to read the book to find out how it ends".

Warrior King - Book Review

On the heels of Obama's naming of General Eric Shinseki as Secretary of Veteran's Affairs, I'd like to recommend a book written by a veteran of the Iraq war - "Warrior King - the triumph and betrayal of an American Commander in Iraq" - by Nathan Sassaman.

Nathan Sassaman was a 1985 graduate of West Point....captain and quarterback of Army football team....one of the most celebrated officers in the U.S. military....and also happened to belong to my sister and brother-in-law's church.

I borrowed this book from my brother-in-law. I was surprised to see him reading it, because I never, ever see him reading a book, except for the Bible. But he told me Nathan had been in his youth group at church and that he was an honest, stand-up citizen. Nathan sent my sister and brother-in-law a flag that had been flown in Iraq - as a thanks for their support of him throughout the years. I'm telling you this because I think it's important to understand who Nathan Sassaman is.

You might remember reading about the cover up and (apparent) drowning of two Iraqi detainees after American troops purportedly forced them to jump into the Tigris River. This was Sassaman's battalion and he was the person who was responsible for the cover up.

Nathan Sassaman Commanded 1st Battalion 8th Infantry Regiment in Iraq from 2003 - 2004. In this book, he is critical of the way the war was executed. There were errors and miscalculations from the Bush Administration (in particular, Rumsfeld), and some mid-ranking military personnel. He talks about the politicization (and cover up) of Jessica Lynch and Pat Tillman. About the pay-offs to Iraqi citizens to appease their losses. About how we can't win the war, because it's not a war anymore, it's police enforcement. He criticized Bush's 2003 announcement that “major combat operations in Iraq have ended” as a rather spectacularly ill-informed display of hubris.

While this book is dry at times when he describes the day-to-day military operations, three passages resonated with me.

On pages 50 -51

About going to war in Iraq: "I also suspect rather strongly that the issue had been on the table for quite some time, perhaps long before 9/11".

About WMD's: "There were no hardcore chemical or nuclear weapons anywhere in that country. I don't think there ever were. I think the Bush Administration used the issue of weapons of mass destruction as a legitimizing argument - in other words, for public relations issues".

On page 30

About our next steps: "What I think our next president (whoever he or she might be) ought to do. Bring our soldiers home - now. Start today".

I have always been against the war in Iraq. I remember after 9/11 how everyone wanted justice for what had been done. How we went into Afghanistan to get bin Laden and those responsible for the attacks. Then one day...all of a sudden...out of the blue....I heard on C-Span that there was some sort of threat in Iraq. I remember thinking...Huh?...what happened to Afghanistan?

I remember watching Colin Powell saying things like - we can see the weapons right there - as he pointed to a hand sketched diagram. I remember Codoleezza Rice talking about giant mushroom clouds. They had me scared. But still, I thought....what about Afghanistan and those guys who attacked us?

Reading this book answered my questions. I would like to hear comments from anyone else who has read the book.

(Note: for those who do not know, General Shinseki, as Army Chief of Staff, said we would need more troops if we were to win in Iraq, was ignored, then promptly asked to retire. As we now know, he was correct.)

Snow....Day 2

Photo taken this morning at 9am.

See our miniature Stonehenge in the background.

Snow - Part 2

Three hours later.

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!

This photo was taken in our backyard at 9:15 this morning.

Winter has come to the Northwest!

I can hardly believe that exactly 1 week ago I was golfing in a short-sleeve shirt.

For those of you who live in the mid-west or the east coast, this is a big deal for Portland. The city will shut down for the day. As for me, I'll curl up next to the fireplace with a good book and a cup of hot chocolate.

Bus Stories

My friend, MoverMike, drives a school bus and sometimes he writes a 'Yellow School Bus' story on his blog. That got me thinking about my own experiences with buses.

Way back in the old days when I worked at a bank, I rode the city bus to work everyday. One morning my dad called me, waking me up. Yikes, I thought...I had overslept...sleeping through my alarm clock. "Gotta go, daddy", I said. Then ran to my closet and got dressed, without even taking a shower. I ran the 1-block to my bus stop and hopped on the bus. Everyone looked different to me. You see, when you ride a city bus every day, so do other people. So you see the same people every day. But these people were different. When I got to the bank, I walked into a dark office. I was there an hour early.

But my favorite story happened to my friends Kim, Jeff, and me. A group from the bank played volleyball every Tuesday evening. Afterwards we would go to the local watering hole for pizza. One particular Tuesday the party eventually ended up at Kim and Jeff's house. Since I knew it would be a late night, I planned on spending the night. We must've had a little too much wine to drink, because the next morning our brains were foggy and our movements slow. We were running a little late getting ready for work, with one bathroom between three people. Dashing to the bus stop, we waved down the bus as it appeared to be passing us by. Huffing and puffing, we climbed on the bus and moved towards the rear. As Kim and I searched our purses (and Jeff his wallet) for our passes, we felt tiny little eyes staring at us. Then we heard giggles. Looking around slowly at the 30 or so miniature heads, we realized we were on a school bus.

Those were different days. I wonder if my friend MoverMike would've picked us up on his school bus. Probably not.

Bill Bennett is a Mean Spirited Idiot!

I vowed never to be mean or do any name-calling in my blog, but today is an exception.

Last night I was watching FOX News (yes..,,sometimes I watch FOX....I think it's important to find out what people from all sides of the spectrum are saying). Anyway, Bill Bennett is trying to link Obama with the Illinois Gov..........only because of one common thread...the state of Illinois! He kept saying things like there's gotta be a connection somehow, I mean Obama started his political career in Chicago.

Guilt by association. Even though the Guv HATES Obama. And Obama has no love for the Guv.

We have a couple of sleazy politicians in Oregon. One is Senator Packwood. If you don't remember, he groped women while drinking cheap box wine. So, are all politicians from Oregon cheap wine drinking gropers?

Here's another one....Neil Goldschmidt. Portland Mayor, Secretary of Transportation under Carter, Governor. He was probably our best mayor ever, and was a pretty good governor. However, a few years ago it came out that while he was mayor back in the 70's he had sex with a 14-year old neighbor girl...not once, but several times. A lot of people knew about it. He apparently paid to off not to talk. Talk about creep!

OK, my brother-in-law worked for Goldschmidt when he was mayor. They worked in City Hall together. He and my sister went to his house for a party. Did he know about the girl? Guilt by association? I don't think so!

Bill Bennett is a Mean Spirited Idiot! This is the same hypocritical pro-life guy who said on his radio show....There would be less crime if all black babies were aborted.

Is my job boring, or am I boring?

A few years ago I was talking to a woman I had just met at a friend's party. She asked me what I did for a living. I told her my husband and I had a furniture refinishing business. "Oh...can you make a living at that?" she asked. Not only did I think that was a really rude question....I thought it was a really stupid question. Maybe I should have said "No, this is my hobby. I really make my money as a prostitute." Or...."No, this is just my cover. I'm really a major drug dealer". Or...."No, I only do this because I don't make enough money at my real job....selling Happy Meals at McDonald's for minimum wage."

I guess maybe I didn't make my job sound exciting enough. I know people who can talk about eating a sandwich and make it sound like a thrilling adventure. But my mother taught me that it's not nice to brag about myself to people. I guess mom was not always right!

After my encounter with the woman at the party, my husband and I decided we would make up an occupation for the next time we met someone new. He was going to be a Motivational Speaker, loosely based on a Chris Farley character on SNL. He practiced his spiel with some friends and was so convincing that one friend almost hired him until her husband said "It's just pretend". Then one day we found out that a real motivational speaker moved into our neighborhood, so he nixed that idea.

OK, now what? We hadn't met anybody new who would be rude enough to ask "Can you make a living at that?", so we forgot about it for awhile.

Then one day on the golf course, we were playing with a couple of guys we did not know. They were in the hi-tech industry and asked what we did for a living.

"I'm a doctor" I said.

"Really?" one asked, looking interested, and sidling up next to me.

"Yeah, I'm a furniture doctor. I fix furniture" I replied.

"Heh, heh.......", then off they went down the fairway, looking for their drives.

The Truth about Health Savings Accounts (Note: I've made some adjustments to the original post...in RED)

Today on the Thom Hartmann radio show, I heard some guy say that people who can't afford medical insurance should get a Health Savings Account. That's the same thing George W Bush was saying when he pretended to be concerned about the millions of uninsured and under insured Americans.

Just what planet are they living on?

First of all......a Health Savings Account is NOT medical insurance. It is exactly what it says it is: A SAVINGS ACCOUNT. Anyone who cannot afford to purchase medical insurance cannot afford to put extra money into a savings account.

Second......in order to qualify for a Health Savings Account, you must FIRST PURCHASE MEDICAL INSURANCE. That's right, you must purchase high deductible medical insurance, in order to open up a Health Savings Account.

Third......once you have a Health Savings Account, you pay for all your medical expenses out of that account up to the amount of your deductible. If you don't have enough money in that account, you pay for it out of your pocket.

Fourth......your medical insurance kicks in after you've used up your deductible. If your deductible is $2500, you must pay the first $2500 from the money you've put into your Health Savings Account (or from your own pocket, if you don't have enough money in that accout).

Fifth.....Most people open up Health Savings Accounts (HSA) so they can deduct it on their tax returns. The money they put into their Health Savings Account is pre-tax dollars. So if you don't need the deduction, there is no need to open up an HSA. You might as well just pay for high deductible medical insurance and pay for your medical bills out of your pocket. It's the same thing, basically. Plus, you don't have to put any money in your HSA if you don't want to. You can put in between $1 and the maximum allowed for the year ($2900 in 2008).

My husband and I are self-employed. Medical insurance is expensive, but thankfully we are healthy. This is why a Health Savings Account works for us. Here's how it works:

We purchased a high deductible medical plan ($2500) for $622 a month, for 2 people. This is for medical only; we do not have dental or vision coverage. We can each put up to $2900 annually into a Health Savings Account, which is tax deductible, and can be carried over from year to year. Because we are both over 55 years old, we can each add an additional $900 this year. All of our medical bills are paid from this account. When we retire, we can withdraw money from this account, much like an IRA.

Since our medical expenses have been below $2500 each year, we have paid for everything out of our HSA. But because we have medical insurance, our insurance company will sometimes make adjustments, and we get our services at a reduced fee. This does not apply to dental or vision.

The reason a Health Savings Account works for us is twofold: 1) since we are self-employed, we are able to deduct the amount we contribute to our HSA ($7600 for 2008. It will be raised $8000 in 2009); and 2) we are healthy, so our medical expenses are not high.

The total cost we will pay this year is $7467 for our high deductible insurance, and $7600 for our Health Savings Account. That's $15,067. And this is considered cheap, because we don't have any pre-existing conditions. How can someone making minimum wage afford this? How can a family with children afford double this amount? How can someone with medical problems afford this?

Basically, a Health Savings Account is a tax-deductible savings account that people can use to pay their medical expenses. But it is not medical insurance. You must have a high deductible medical insurance policy in order to qualify for a Health Savings Account.

The next time you hear someone say that a person without medical insurance should get a Health Savings Account, ask them to explain it to you. I don't think they can, because they probably don't understand it.

Ask them "Just what planet are you living on?"

They Ride Horses, Don't They?

When I was a little girl I asked my dad if I could have a horse. He told me....."sure....when my ship comes in". My brother and I thought he really had a ship, and would wait daily for it to come in, carrying my pony and his Red Rider BB Gun. One day, we went to the beach, and my dad pointed out a big ship in the horizon. "See, there it is" he said. We wondered why it was taking so long for it to come in.

Needless to say, my dad didn't have a ship, and I didn't get a horse. But I never stopped dreaming about one.

I watched all the TV shows with horses in them....Bonanza....My Friend Flicka....Mr Ed. When I grew up, I rode horses at the local stables. That was way before liability insurance skyrocketed and you could actually rent a horse at a stable. My secret dream was to meet a real cowboy and live on a ranch. Imagine my excitement when it almost came true.....or so I thought.

I met my faux cowboy when I was 34 and he was 39. But wait, let me back up a bit.

I lived in LA in the early '80's, where I had a good friend who also loved horses. Every Saturday morning, we'd get in the saddles and run freely through the woods, reliving our childhood fantasies of being Elizabeth Taylor in National Velvet. Unfortunately, she moved to the east coast and I was without a riding companion. Until.........

Until......the ski club I belonged to got a group together to take horseback riding lessons. Every Friday night for 2 months we'd meet at the stables by Magic Mountain and learn the fine points of horsemanship. One night a new guy showed up to class. I had seen him at the ski club meetings and on a couple of ski trips, but I did not know him. The next week, I broke my tail bone while roller skating at Venice Beach, so my riding was put on the back burner.

Now, fast forward a few weeks. This young cowboy asked me out on a date, and we went putt-putt golfing. Golf, he told me, was his....ahem...second favorite sport. As soon as I healed and was able to get back in the saddle, we joined my fellow riding students for an afternoon ride. As the horses were beginning to cantor, my friend's stirrup broke and I accompanied him back to the barn. As we approached the barn, the horse decided to roll over, with him still in the saddle.

For some reason, he was reluctant to get on a horse after that. But he still rode with me from time to time. They were short rides. They were walks, actually. But that didn't matter. The guy seemed to love horses. I had met my cowboy.

Now fast forward a few more months. I moved back to Portland, and he came with me. One of the first things I did was open the Yellow Pages to find the phone number of the old stables where I used to ride. "How about next Saturday?" I would ask him. "Ummmm......I was thinking about golfing on Saturday" was his reply. Every time.

I'm not sure if it was before or after I had the wedding ring on my finger that he said "There's something I have to tell you. I really don't like to ride horses".

What?!?! Had he been leading me on, just like my dad with his ship?

"Why did you pretend to like horses?" I asked him.

"Well, you pretended to like golf" he replied.

Hmmph. Now 23 years later, I really enjoy the game of golf. And my horse?.......now I'm waiting for my ship to come in.

Tax Facts....(not that there's anything wrong with them)

In a classic Seinfeld episode, Kramer damaged Jerry's stereo, then filed a claim, saying it was broken during shipment. Jerry questioned how he was going to make the post office pay for it:

Kramer: They just write it off.

Jerry: Write it off where?

Kramer: Jerry, all these big companies, they just write off everything.

Jerry: You don't even know what a write off is.

I think most of you know that businesses and individuals 'write off'' whatever they can to lower their taxable income. However, during the Presidential campaign, some people seemed to suddenly forget what they learned in Tax Code 101......we are taxed on taxable income, not gross income. And, we have a progressive tax.

Throughout the campaign, I kept hearing from middle and lower-income people that Obama was going to raise their taxes. Then when Joe the Plumber surfaced, small businesses were going to fail because their taxes would be raised. Poor Joe the Plumber....he wanted to buy a business that grossed $250,000 in annual revenues, and was concerned that his taxes would be increased. But his business would have to net over $250,000 in taxable income to get a tax increase. So Joe the Plumber didn't have anything tlo worry about.

I'm not a CPA, but I am a small business owner, so I know a little bit about taxes and deductions. To reach my taxable income, I deduct all operating and overhead expenses, such as salaries & benefits, insurance, rent, utilities, supplies, advertising, and auto expenses. I can tell you that any small business netting $250,000 in taxable income is doing quite well.

What some people also seem to forget is that we are taxed on a progressive basis. If taxes are raised on small businesses earning $250,000 in net income, only the amount over $250,000 would be taxed at the higher rate. Everything under that would be at the lower rates.

So poor Joe the Plumber.....I wonder how much his company's gross income would be for him to worry about having his taxes increased.

As far as individual taxpayers, Obama never said he was going to raise taxes. In fact, he always said he would lower taxes on the bottom 95%. As for the upper 5%.....he said he would readjust their taxes to the percentage they were during Clinton's administration.....which was 39.6% on the amount of taxable income over $372,951 (single, or married-filing jointly). Currently, that rate is 35%. I don't know about you, but I would love to make that much money in taxable income.

I don't see anything wrong with raising taxes on the upper 5%, especially during a time of war. Looking back through history, between the years 1940 - 1981, taxes on the top bracket fluctuated between 70% - 94%. In 1982, it dropped to 50%, and in 1987 to 33%. During WWII, taxes on the bottom bracket were between 19% - 23%. On the top bracket, they were 88% - 94%.

For some reason, people don't want to raise taxes on the super-wealthy, yet they don't seem to care that we are borrowing billions of dollars from foreign countries to pay for a so-called war in Iraq. Maybe they just don't know what a write off is.

To judge or not to judge

I previously posted "Health Care.....is it a right or a privilege?" and "How the government saved my family" on a couple of other open blogs, to see if I could drum up some interest in my blog. In the Health Care piece, I wondered if a cousin of mine had health care coverage. A few people accused her of not contributing to society; one even suggested that I should pay for her health care. In the government piece, someone questioned my father's decisions, which I took as an attack on my family. My response to him was "Do not base your judgements of my family based on what you would have done. We are not all alike."

It seems to me that people are too eager to judge other people, based on how they would handle a situation. But people are not all alike. They do not start at the same point in life. They do not all have the same life skills. And sometimes......sometime people just do stupid things that they normally would not do. Trust me, I know.

Four years ago my 82-year old mom, 2 sisters, niece, 10-month old great-nephew and I visited my sister and her family in Florida. They lived on 12 acres, amongst orange groves and palmetto trees. There were also alligators, flying bats, and bobcats. And snakes. Now, we live in the city, so we don't get close to wild animals unless we're in the woods. So for the first few days, we were always on the look-out. Always on guard. After we realized these critters weren't going to bother us, we relaxed. One hot afternoon we walked down the road to a neighbor's house to swim in their pool. On the way back to my sister's, as we casually strolled along the gravel path, we heard a noise in the bushes. Then a loud rustle of branches and the sound of feet running towards us. We all screamed, turned and ran in the other direction. My 82-year-old mother, sisters, niece, nephews, and me. We all ran.....and left my 10-month old great-nephew sitting alone in his stroller.

Fortunately, the noise was a dog inside a fenced yard. But what if it hadn't been?

I know without a doubt that all of us would have given our lives for that little boy. This was not our normal reaction. But for some reason, at that particular moment, our instincts told us to run when we heard the noise. We didn't run far, and would have had enough time to grab the stroller before a wild animal appeared.....but still......we all ran.

Let's try not to second guess some one's decisions in life unless we've had a chance to walk in their shoes.

For Heterosexual Eyes Only

When did you decide you were straight?

Was there a moment in your life that caused you to want go live the life of a heterosexual? Were you an 8-year old girl with a best friend who dropped you for a more popular girl in school? Did you say to yourself "I'll show her! When I grow up, I'll get married to someone who looks like my dad"? Or were you a 7-year old boy who fought with your best friend about who got to be the pitcher in a baseball game? You went away and pouted, vowing to find a wife when you were old enough. Were you thinking about being gay, but then you had a crush on your new heterosexual teacher? Or maybe a happy heterosexual couple moved next door to your family, and you said "I want to be straight....just like them".

Do you remember when you made that decision?

You never decided? You were always that way? You always knew you were who you were? Is that what you're telling me? Well, every gay person I know has told me the same about themselves......they were always that way.....they just always knew.

Why would someone deliberately choose a life that generates so much scorn from people? (I'm sure there are some who do, but I think that's uncommon.) Many gays I know have tried living as a straight person, and even wished they were straight. But they can't, any more than I can suddenly become gay. I think we are just born that way.

One of the most compelling books I've read on this subject is called As Nature Made Him: The Boy Who Was Raised as a Girl, by John Colapinto. It's a true story about identical twin boys, Brian and Bruce Reimer, who were born in Canada in 1965. A botched circumcision on Bruce resulted in a decision to physically change him into a girl, who they named Brenda. A psychiatrist named Dr. Money used Brenda as an experiment, trying to prove that sexuality was a result of nurture, not nature. But it didn't work. Brenda always felt different, and never felt like a girl. In 1980, Brenda was told the truth, and is now living the life of a man. It's a sad story about Brenda's struggle to fit in, always knowing that she was different. And it's a disturbing story about how the adults tried to make Bruce/Brenda live the life they wanted him to live.

Comments?

Happy Birthday Mom!

Today would have been my mother's 86th birthday.

She died suddenly on June 5, 2007. We all miss her, but are thankful that she was able to leave this earth the way she had hoped to.....not being hooked to machines, and not being forced to live in pain.

As we approach Thanksgiving Day, a day that was sometimes her birthday, I am thankful that I do not have to say "I wish I could have spent more time with her". My mother was a simple woman, but also someone who truly appreciated all she had in life. What she appreciated most was her family. A few years ago I made a video of her life to give to her great-grandchildren. When I asked her what her favorite memories were, she said "Watching my children grow up". Family was always important to her, and she passed that down to her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

My mother was a real trooper. We could get her to do anything, go anywhere. And go anywhere, we did. We went to the Oregon Coast and rode bicycles on the beach. We went camping. We spent weekends in SunRiver. More than once we went to Florida and Wisconsin to visit relatives. We went to Las Vegas. We had sleepovers.

She dressed in costumes and sang silly songs. She danced to YMCA at her granddaughter's wedding. She made funny videos with her grandsons. She played catch with her great-grandson.....even while using a cane.

Three months before my mother died, my niece had a birthday party for her 2-year old daughter. She wanted us to have a slumber party afterwards....with just the girls....her grandma included. My sister and her granddaughter from Florida surprised us all by jumping out of a giant present. My mom was using a walker at the time, but she stayed overnight and sang karaoke with us. My favorite memory is of three of her great-grandhcildren arguing over who got to help her down the stairs.

My mother was very patriotic, a life-long Democrat, and I don't think she ever missed an election. She loved participating in the 4th of July Parade, and continuously won 1st Place in the costume contest. She was not a feminist, but was awed by successful women. She love reading biographies of famous women. When we buried her, we noticed how fitting it was that her grave was next to a female doctor. Mom would have been delighted.

My siblings and I decided early on that it was important to spend time with my mom. We were lucky, because she was fun and easy to be around. But when we were planning one trip, one member of my family said she couldn't afford to go. Another member told her "You can't afford NOT to go".

I am very thankful that I appreciated my mom while she was still alive. Please do not let it be too late for any of you.

Where did they think we were all the time?

When my nephew was 13 years old, he had open heart surgery. Thank goodness his mother, my sister, had good medical insurance. Many people do not. It was a routine doctor's check-up that discovered the irregularity in his heart beat. Since they live on the other side of the country with no other relatives close by, one of my sisters and I flew out to offer our support.

The surgery went well, and within a day, he was anxious to get moving. I imagine that's what 13 year old boys must be like. His mom, brother, step-father, a couple of friends, and two aunts spent many hours in his hospital room playing games and making him laugh. But what he really wanted was some fresh air. A couple of days we took him in his wheel chair down the elevator to an outside courtyard for a picnic lunch.

Now, this is a very good children's hospital. One of the best in the country. Another wing of the hospital is separated by an underground tunnel. One day, while my nephew was napping, everyone wanted to get something to eat at the other wing. We had gotten tired of the hospital food we had been eating for the past few days. We didn't want my nephew to wake up all alone, so I decided to stay in his room. When he woke up, he wanted to know where everyone had gone. Being 13 years old, he said "let's go find them".

So, I put him in his wheel chair and off we went. Down an elevator, though a darkened tunnel, up another elevator, and across a lobby. When we finally met up with the others, we laughed all the way back to his hospital room.

After about 4 days, my sister and I had to fly home. As we were wheeling my nephew to an elevator, a nurse walked by and asked where we were going. "I'm taking my son downstairs so he can say good-bye to his aunts", my sister said. "Oh, no", the nurse replied. "He just had heart surgery. He's not supposed to leave the floor."

Oops.

I'm happy to report that fourteen years later, my nephew is happy, healthy and doing well, despite our shenanigans.

This is for Stwo...or whoever else finds this funny

Stwo, you commented on my Junk Jivin' post that you found a brand-new pair of overalls with a 'free' sign on them. Can you beat this purchase by my niece and sister-in-law?

Junk Jivin'

I've had a week of slams from Ann Coulter followers.....and opened up my family saga to complete strangers, so I thought I'd break for something lighter. This time, I'll expose my husband's family quirks.

My husband's family is the Master of Yard Sales. The Junkin' Giants. They know how to find a good deal, and how to turn some one's useless throwaway into a treasured gem. I don't know how they have the knack for doing it, but they do. It's a badge of honor to find a good deal and brag about it. And I'm not talking about tacky stuff. I mean good stuff. 1950's patio furniture by the side of the road with a "Free " sign attached. Old cars. Bikes. Antique furniture. A barn full of old beauty salon equipment. If it's broken, they fix it. If they can't use it, they'll give it to someone who can.

They don't do this because they can't afford to buy nice things. They do it....well...they do it because they can.

Family gatherings in their upstate NY hometown always include an afternoon of what they call 'Junkin'. We all hop in cars and set out to find the best deals at the local second hand shops, antiques stores, and yard sales. The first time I went on one of these excursions, I followed his sisters around....picking up tips....learning the trade. I learned that you dig through the stuff that no one else wants. That's where you find the gem....something that was overlooked. Something you can tell others later on "I got it for two bucks!"

One of the last Junkin' excursions before my mother-in-law died was one I will remember the most. My husband was driving the car, with his mother in front with him, and his two sisters in the back seat with me. We were heading down 15th Street on our way to the highway, when the two sisters shouted out in unison "Stop the car! There's a yard sale!" We stopped in front of a white house with chairs, tables, and a sofa on the lawn. My in-laws scanned the yard and then spotted the boxes on the porch. That's it! That's the good stuff. The five of us pulled clothes and other items out of the boxes, oohing and aahing our finds. After about 10 minutes a man appeared at the door. "How much is this?" my 80 year-old mother-in-law asked, as she held up a cashmere sweater. The man eyed each one of us slowly. "This isn't a yard sale" he said. "I'm just moving in".

How the government saved my family

On July 28, 1998, (amid laughter) President Ronald Reagan told the Representatives of the Future Farmers of America "the 10 most dangerous words in the English language are, 'Hi, I'm from the Government, and I'm here to help'.''

Well, I'm here to tell you that statement is not true. You see, the government saved my family.

When my parents moved from the mid-west to Oregon in the early 1950's with 3 young children in tow, my father worked odd jobs as they made stops in Minnesota, Montana, and Idaho. While he looked for work in Portland, our family was on welfare. We received food stamps. He eventually got a job with the city, and was able to support his family, while building up a small pension, that was paid for by taxpayer money. My mother was a stay at home mom, having added two more children to the family.

In 1968 my father left the family, and my mom was forced to enter the workforce at the age of 47. She had 4 children at home; 3 school age and 1 in college. With no real work skills to put on a resume, she did not find a job right away. She did not want a hand-out, but had no other choice than to again apply for welfare and food stamps. She finally went to work in a factory, until she retired at the age of 65. The factory had slow periods, and instead of laying people off, they formulated a 'one week on, one week off' program. During my mom's weeks off, she collected unemployment. The only other time she missed a day of work was when she broke her arm. When she retired, her only source of income was social security, and 2 small pensions from her job and my dad's with the city. During all the time she worked, she did not have any extra money to put into a 401K, or other retirement account.

In 1974, my mom was able to purchase a modest house through HUD. She was proud of the fact that she was able to pay off the mortgage a few years early. In 2005, she sold the house for a nice profit and moved to a retirement community. In 2006, she broke her hip and needed to move to assisted living. We searched for a place that would take Medicaid, once her money ran out. But she never had to use Medicaid. She died suddenly in 2007, and left a small inheritance to her 5 children...the money left from the sale of her home that she was able to purchase through HUD.

My older sister and I were able to attend college through a federally funded work-study program. Two of my nephews attended college through student loans.

My sister and husband were teachers. My nephew is a teacher. My dad was a city employee. My brother is a city employee. These are jobs paid by taxpayers.

Sure, we had some help from family, friends, churches, and charitable organizations, but without these government programs, I don't know how we would have made it. These programs were all implemented to help Americans, and were created by....eek...that dirty word....liberals....

The Social Security Act of 1935 was part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal. The act was an attempt to limit what were seen as dangers in the modern American life, including old age, poverty, unemployment, and the burdens of widows and fatherless children.

The Higher Education Act of 1965 was part of President Lyndon Johnson's Great Society domestic agenda. The law was intended to strengthen the educational resources of our colleges and universities and to provide financial assistance for students in post secondary and higher education.

The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) was established on September 9, 1965 under President Lyndon Johnson.

Welfare was part of FDR's New Deal.

You see, we are the government. It was you, your parents, and your grand-parents who helped my family - and I thank you from the bottom of my heart. Through welfare, food stamps, social security, unemployment, and college financial aid, we have been able to not just survive, but get ahead and live the American Dream.

We are all hard-working, law-abiding citizens who contribute to society.

President Reagan, tell me again.....what are the ten most dangerous words in in English language?

Moving forward

Well, the mean-spirited comments about me continue on anncoulter.com. I had hoped it would ignite a discussion about affordable health care, instead, it became an assault on me as a person, and all of my views in general. But I'm moving forward.

We all know people who live in the past....who just can't get over something that was lacking in their childhood....and now they have a burden to carry for the rest of their lives. My husband has a relative like that. Mom and dad didn't do enough of this or that for her....blah, blah, blah...and now she's had to suffer for the rest of her life. I think it's sad that she's distanced herself from a wonderful family because of her imagined (or unimagined) memories. And she can't have a conversation with a brother or sister without reminding them of how bad she had it as a child.

Imagine how much more fulfilling our lives would be if we just moved forward.

On the morning of November 5th, when I saw pictures of people dancing in the streets around the world, I had great hopes for our country moving forward. For all mankind moving forward. We live in a global community, and I am hopeful that the world will someday be safer, residents of all nations will be richer and healthier, and everyone will have respect for each other. But we cannot do that if we stay in the past....if we berate people instead of discussing issues....if we do not have a desire to get along.

During the campaign, I had been having a friendly debade (via email) with my nephew in Florida. Just after the results came in from Ohio, and before the votes were counted on the west coast, he sent me an email that said "Congratulations. It looks like Obama's going to win". Then he went to to say that he thinks he'll make a good President, and he'll support him, because we should support our President. I wish I could have been as gracious in a loss. I hope we all use him as an example and move forward. Quit the bickering. Don't we all have the same goal, to make this a better country? To make our word safer? Our citizens stronger, healthier, smarter?

Thanks NTMc.....thanks for starting the move forward!

Health Care Responses

I took the advice of "whipcreamy", one of the followers of my blog, and checked out other blogs (in hopes of drumming up more interest). I posted my 'Health Care...is it a right or a privilege?' piece on 2 liberal blogs (salon.com and thomhartmann.com) and one conservative (anncoulter.com). I received about 10 - 15 responses on salon and thomhartmann, and they were pretty much the same as those on my blog. In 8 hours I received 48 replies on anncoulter. Needless to say, I was shocked....SHOCKED....at how angry and mean they were. Here are some examples:

You don't even know if she has or needs health care or not. You, my friend, are looking at the world and searching for problems to complain about. You are a liberal troll. Go play somewhere else. I don't want to go to your site or hear any more of your stupid views.

You call yourself "progressive" which is another word for socialist. Most of us don't like socialists.

Doesn't anyone understand that those without insurance actually have the gold-plated, Cadillac Plan?

While I support your cousin's freedom to live her life and "pursue happiness" as she sees fit, I also feel that because of her life choices she has decided to be a "non-contributor" to the general well-being of society.

Excellent answers...conservatives.It was just a twit questoin..made al the more twittish by the screen name 'progressive" (is that another way to say "moronic usefull idiot of the communist"?)

If your cousin thought that health care insurance was important, she would figure out a way to get it. She has assets, has a job, etc. For the vast, vast majority of people in this country, it is just a matter of setting priorities. If she doesn't have it, obviously it is not a priority. Why should I pay for her insurance through my taxes?PS--Does she use Alar on her apples?

Given what you have posted, the answer is simple; If your cousin doesn't have health insurance, YOU should pay for it. If you do not wish to, you are a hypocrite for not setting a good example in supporting your own ideology

I have the right to tell Ms. Progressive that I've passed craps with more intelligence than liberals

I'm a little bummed right now. I didn't realize people could me so mean. Plus, they all missed the point. I was merely describing a situation that many Americans face today. Not everyone has the same potential in life to turn their apple picking job into a huge money making franchise. Yes, there are pople out there who are lazy and want to take advantage of everyone, and take hand-outs. But there are people who try really hard, but still can't get ahead. Not everyone has the potential to be a rocket scientist. And....we still need people to pick our fruits and vegetables for us. Someone has to do it. And if they're doing something constructive to help put food in grocery stores so we can buy it for our families.....well, they should have the right to have affordable health insurance. I never, ever said that my cousin should get it for free.

Am I wrong in my beliefs? Do those people sound mean and angy, or am I being a little sensitive?

What I hope to accomplish

I'd like to take a moment to pause, and talk about what I hope people will take away from this blog. I hope people will start thinking, and not just accept as proof what they hear or read. That's one of the reasons I wrote about Mr X on November 14 (What we believe...or don't...) Some people believe what they want to believe, and nothing will change their minds. But I hope people will start using some critical thinking skills.

For instance, there are still people out there who still think Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, and that Saddam had something to do with 9/11, even though the Bush Administration has acknowledged this is not true. I have a good friend who voted for Bush in 2000. In 2004, he had a bet with his brother-in-law - If wmd's were found, the brother-in-law would vote for Bush; if not, my friend would vote for Kerry. My friend ended up voting for Kerry. In 2008 he voted for Obama, a decision he made on his own.

There are people who think Obama is a Muslim, yet, he's criticized for belonging a radical Christian church. How can he be both?

When John Kerry was running for President, someone told me (while holding a bottle of Heinz ketchup) that Teresa Heinz Kerry was shipping all of her jobs overseas. She said she knew it was true, because "I read in in an email". Seriously. That's what she said. I kept my mouth shut, but what I wished I had said was this......Teresa Heinz Kerry has nothing to do with the Heinz company. She inherited her money from her first husband, Republican Senator Henry John Heinz III, who died in a plane crash. She is Chairman of the Heinz Foundations, which distributes money to various social and environmental causes.

I previously wrote a piece on Sarah Palin. One friend told me he thought I was a little extreme in what I wrote. Another friend thought I was too nice. I think it's great to have different opinions. But I hope people will think about what they believe, and why they believe it, instead of just accepting something as truth because they read it in an email.

I want to use this blog as a way to get people to start thinking. Let me know what you think.

Health Care......is it a right or a privelege?

The other day I was listening to Thom Hartmann's national radio program on Air America. He and a guest on his show were discussing health care. Thom believes that health care is a right and not a privelege. He was explaining how people on minimum wage cannot afford health care. The guest said that people earning minimum wage were people just starting out in the work force, and if they wanted to make more money, they should just get another job. Thom's argument was that not everyone is capable of doing that. Not everyone has the same chance in life.

That made me think about my cousin. I'm pretty certain that neither she nor her siblings will ever read this blog, so I'm comfortable telling this story.

I have a cousin who is the sweetest, kindest person you could ever meet. When were were growing up, my siblings and I used to love to listen to her speak. She's from the mid-west, and we loved the way she said "yaw" for yes, and how her soft voice exuberated a sense of innocence. She's in her late 50's now and has always lived on the property homesteaded by her great-grandparents. She has her own home on the property, as do most of her brothers and sisters. She's a hard worker, and has always taken care of her family. She is caring and kind. She doesn't have much, but is proud of what she does have. She has a high school degree, but I'm not sure if all of her siblings graduated from high school. I do not know if she's ever had a job that required any skill above minimum wage.

A few weeks ago, two of my sisters and I visited the small mid-western town where my parents grew up....the town where my cousin still lives. In the summer and fall, she picks apples for a living. As I sat talking to her, listening to the same sweet voice, I wondered if she had health care. I doubt she does. She doesn't work for a company that provides it, and I'm pretty sure she cannot afford to pay for it from a salary of picking apples.

My cousin is not lazy. She tries as hard as she can. Even though the Declaration of Independence says that all men are created equal, we are not. We have no control over the situation we are born into. Either by the fortune or misfortune of our birth, we are not all equipped with the same skills for survival.

I would like to hear the guest on Thom Hartmann's show tell my cousin to go out and get a better paying job, so she can afford to pay for health care.

What do you think?

What we remember....or don't...

It's funny how the mind works. We believe things we want to believe, sometimes to justify our own actions, sometimes to help us cope with issues. This often happens in politics, but it also happens in everyday life.

For 30 years, my sister-in-law insisted that her father refused to walk her down the aisle at her wedding, because she got married in a catholic church. Years later, an old 8mm film showed up at a family reunion, showing....yep....the proud father escorting the young bride down the aisle.

I had my own moment of altered memory a few years ago; however, I like to call it my stolen memory. That's because I can't believe my mother and her 5 children would all have the same wonderful memories if they were not true.

It all started with my dad. When he wasn't drinking, he was a delightful person. Everyone liked him. He was always bringing home an assortment of interesting characters, much like you'd bring home a stray animal (although he did his share of that as well. But that's another story). His many friends that filled our home had names like Big Bob, Fat Bob, Shorty, and a woman we called Honey. Her real name was Ruby, but we didn't know that. Her husband called her Honey, so that's what we called her. Then, there was a man I'll call Mr. X. I won't reveal his real name, so as not to embarrass his family. Mr. X was a like a favorite Uncle to us. Partly because he had a funny name, and partly because he was so much fun to be around.

To this day, whenever we have family get-togethers, we laugh about stories about my dad's friends. And everyone has a story about Mr. X. We all remember big pots of spaghetti and berry picking. Mr. X worked with my dad and it seems like he was always at our house after work, making spaghetti or just playing with us. He would take a week's vacation in the summer and take us kids berry picking so we could earn some extra money. My older sister, the competitive one in the family, would race him to see who could pick the fastest and make the most money. Not wanting her to win, Mr. X would eat a sandwich in one hand and pick berries with the other.

We eventually lost contact with Mr. X, but we never forgot him. A few years ago, I saw his name in the Obituaries. I called my mom. We have to go to the funeral, I urged her. It was a nice ceremony, with lots of talk about what a fun guy he was (my mom and I nodded our heads in agreement), and how he was such a family man. What?!?!? He had a family?!?! You mean, we weren't his family?!?! I asked my mom if she had ever met his wife. Well, once or twice, she told me. After the ceremony, we searched for one of his daughters, who appeared to be about my age. We had to tell her how much her father meant to us. "Hello, I'm Mrs. A" my mom said. "Your dad worked with my husband, Mr. A. He came to our house every Friday night and made spaghetti". Blank stare from the daughter. She didn't know who we were. Had not even heard of our name.

I couldn't believe it. Mr. X was such an important part of our lives, but we didn't mean anything to him.

Now my family has one more thing to laugh about when we have get-togethers. When we talk about Mr. X, we add that we made him out to be the person we wanted him to be. Because that was what we wanted to believe.

President Elect-Obama, How Can I Help?

I didn't live during WWII, so I don't have any first hand knowledge of the sacrifices Americans made during the war. But my father was a proud military man who served stateside (much to his chagrin; he wanted to go into battle with his three brothers, but couldn't because he had a glass eye), and my mom worked for Ford Motor Company, doing something with airplanes. They were both patriotic and it was their excitement for a young JFK that introduced me to my first election. I was 8 years old at the time. My best friend and I thought he was so dreamy, we kissed the TV screen whenever his image appeared.

But enough about me.

Those of us old enough still remember Kennedy's inauguration speech and his "Ask not...." line. Those too young have heard it many times. Even though I was a few months shy of 9 years old, that inspired me. As years passed, my younger sister and I dreamed of joining the Peace Corps. But a dislike for bugs and snakes and unfamiliar food caused me to change course. It's a bit of sad irony that I was in gym class when Kennedy was shot, because that's were we did the sit-ups and push-ups that were part of the Presidential Council on Physical Fitness. My husband told me that he and a buddy walked 50 miles for the President's fitness program.

But enough about me.

I was in high school when Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King were killed, and in college during the height of Viet Nam. I thought I wanted to do something to save the world, so I studied sociology. Instead of the Peace Corps, I was going to work in poor communities in the US. Then I listened to some bad advice..."You'll never make money doing that. You need to major in business". Math being my weakest subject, I quit college and went to work for a bank. In hindsight, that was a good decision, because it led me on the path to meeting my husband.

But enough about me.

In 2000 and 2001, before I came to the conclusion that George W Bush didn't care about helping Americans, I thought he should do something like Kennedy did, and encourage fitness. Americans were getting fatter and lazier. Kids weren't getting enough exercise. Schools were cutting PE classes. And here we had a President who was the epitome of fitness. He exercised, appeared to eat well, and didn't smoke or drink. I kept waiting for him to get us all pumped up about health and physical fitness. I kept waiting for him to introduce a Presidential Physical Fitness Program. I think I even wrote him a letter. In my mind, anyway. I do that alot.

But enough about me.

When I woke up on November 5th, I felt full of energy. I wanted to do something for America and mankind in general. Barack Obama told me he won because of me, and I wanted to give back. He even wrote me an email that ended this way:

"We have a lot of work to do to get our country back on track, and I'll be in touch soon about what comes next. But I want to be very clear about one thing... All of this happened because of you. Thank you, Barack"

President-Elect Obama, I am excited about doing something to help get this country back on track. Give me something to do. I don't mean just by being a good American, voting and expressing my opinion. I want to do something tangible. Tell me how I can help.

You see, it's not really about me.

Progressive Talkers I Respect and Admire

I live in a liberal community, in a liberal city, in a liberal state, so most of the people I associate with know the names Thom Hartmann and Carl Wolfson. But if you haven't heard them yet, please find them on your nearest radio dial. If not on your radio, check them out on-line. They are absolutely the most brilliant people you will hear on talk radio.

Carl Wolfson lives in Portland, Oregon and does a local show weekday mornings on KPOJ 620 from 6-9am. He's a gay, stand up comic, with a knowledge of history you wouldn't believe. He's passionate about the issues. You get a little comedy mixed in with progressive politics. Thom Hartmans sometimes joins him, and sometimes hosts for him in his absence.

Thom Hartmann is on Air America, and his national show broadcasts from Portland on KPOJ 620 from 9am-noon. Thom also lives in Portland and is brilliant. Literally. I think he's a mensa. He's written numerous books on subjects ranging from ADD to politics. I mean it when I say this man is brilliant! He practically has the constitution memorized. He has lived all over the world, most recently residing in Vermont, one of my very favorite places to visit.

Maybe I'm drinking their cool-aid, but I really believe both Carl and Thom are doing their shows because they believe in a cause, and not for entertainment. I have learned so much from them. Please check them out. You will not regret it.

Open Letter to Sarah Palin

Dear Governor Palin,

I did not vote for John McCain. Even though I did not think you were remotely qualified, it did not have anything to do with you. I would not have voted for McCain, no matter who he selected for an running mate. That being said, I am appalled at how the GOP and the McCain campaign are treating you, now that the election is over. Governor, they used you! They selected you as the running mate to try to win the election. Now, they are using you to cover their backs.

I was deeply offended when you were chosen as McCain's running mate. In their minds, it was as if any woman would do. I knew we were smarter than that, and the election has proven it. But they paraded you out in front of us, and had you say things they knew were not true.

Governor Palin, you cannot blame the media for what the GOP is doing to you. The media did not get much of an opportunity to get to know you during the two months you were in the national spotlight. What you are getting is a dose of the mean-spirited right wing Republican smear machine. Perhaps you didn't know what Karl Rove did to John McCain in 2000 when he ran against George Bush. Or what they did to Max Clelland, or John Kerry. They say things that they know are not true, just to win elections. Perhaps you don't know that Rupert Murdock owns most of the media. So, how can the media be liberal? They paraded you in front of us, and had you say things they knew were not true.

When I first heard you speak at the GOP Convention, I thought you gave a good performance, but I thought you were mean. You insulted all community organizers when you said it was 'like being a mayor....but with responsibility'. Do you even know what Obama did while he was working in Chicago? In rallies, I heard you say that Obama 'palled around with terrorists'. Do you even know anything about the Annenberg project where Obama was a board member? In rallies I heard you say Obama wanted to 'spread the wealth around'. Did you ever listen to the entire exchange between Obama and Joe the Plumber? If you did, you would know that is not what he said. You called Obama a socialist. Do you even know what that means? If you do, you wouldn't be bragging about how you taxed the pipe line and gave money to the residents of Alaska. Governor Palin, they paraded you in front of us, and had you say things they knew were not true.

There are many people in the United States of America who think Barack Obama is a socialist Muslim terrorist because of some of the lies you said about him during the campaign. You need to take responsibility for that. Barack & Michelle Obama and Joe & Jill Biden never attacked John McCain's or your families. They never attacked your character, or your church, or your friends (although I did think it was sort of creepy that a witch doctor came to your church to get rid of evil spirits). They never made up lies about who you were. They stuck to issues, which is why they won. You are now getting attacked by the same people who attacked Obama. They try to attack character, because that is the only way they know how to win. Governor Palin, they paraded you in front of us, and had you say things they knew were not true.

If you want to do anything to redeem yourself, out them. Out them now!

Just Beginning

This is the first day of my first blogpost. A friend of mine, with oppposite political leanings, was blogging before blogging was popular. He has encouraged me over to years to get a blog, mainly for my business. After much hesitation, I decided to go for it (but leaving my business out of it for now). The reasons are twofold: 1) I have some ideas and opinions I'd like to share with others, and would like to hear what other people from around the world have to say; and 2) I heard it was a way to make extra money. My friend makes money from ads, and from hits on his blog. So, I thought......what the heck.

Any ideas out there on how to make this a money maker???