Tourist Season . . . No Voting Season

Voting season is upon us once again and although I don’t do a lot of political posts, I felt I should do one now.

I would like to start by saying that if you are not already registered to vote, do it now.  Voting is important and it is one of the ways we get to have our voices heard.  And as so many people have pointed out prior to me, if you don’t vote, you don’t get to bitch.  Basically, this means that if it is not important enough to you to go to a polling place every few years, then you are in no position to complain about the government.

I know someone who does not vote and I asked one time why that was.  Their reply was that they have never found anyone worth voting for.  My reply was that there are plenty of people to vote against.  Now, I can see their point.  Long gone are the days of Teddy Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy.  I have a feeling we may never encounter another candidate of their caliber again.  But is that any reason to sit back and watch things disintegrate as a passive observer?

My point in bringing this up is that we are in the midst of a crucial competition for the presidency of this country.  On the one hand, we have a candidate who is trying to repair eight years of disaster upon disaster.  His progress has been slower than I would have liked but at least there is movement in the right direction.

Please note there is no symbolism in the fact that Romney’s picture is on the far right of this post. 😉

Then on the other hand, we have a candidate who not only looks out for himself and his kind (the uber-rich) he wants to send this country marching backward into the 19th century – where women have no voice and no rights and the little guy is filthy, poor and hungry in the streets.

It is important to me as a woman and a student of history not to go back to those days.  But even if those nightmarish days were upon us once again, one thing this country has always stood for is separation of church and state.  So how can any American with a fifth grader’s understanding of the Constitution allow a man who adamantly believes that he has magic underwear run this country and to do so according to those beliefs?  Now, don’t get me wrong.  You are allowed to believe whatever you choose.  But you are not allowed to impose it on the entire country.  If Obama follows a religion I couldn’t tell you what it was as it – rightfully so – rarely comes up.

The last point I would like to bring up is that the Obamas are human.  They eat out and take their dog Christmas shopping at PetsMart.  Meanwhile, Romney cannot understand why you are not allowed to roll down the windows in an airplane; and  he cannot even visit our closest ally without insulting them.
You do not need to be a Mensa member to figure this one out.

Kissy, kissy, snog, snog

Answer to Presidential Trivia

Thank you to ryanlentforamerica for playing along yesterday!  The answer we were looking for was that of our 20th President, James Garfield.

President Garfield served less than one year (March 5, 1881 – September 19, 1881) as president before he was shot on July 2, 1881 in a Washington railroad station by an embittered attorney who had sought a consular post.

Mortally wounded, Garfield lay in the White House for about five weeks. During this time Alexander Graham Bell tried unsuccessfully to find the bullet with an induction-balance electrical device that he had designed. Then on September 6, Garfield was taken to the New Jersey seaside. For a few days he seemed to be recuperating, but on September 19, 1881, he died from an infection and internal hemorrhage.

Presidential Trivia

I thought I would spice things up a bit tonight and offer you a chance to answer a presidential trivia question.

This president was said to be able to write Latin with one hand and Greek with the other – at the same time!  Who was it?

And there are only 43 possible answers to this one, so it shouldn’t be too bad, right?  Leave a comment if you think you know the answer.  On Saturday, I will be offering our first gift for someone who answers correctly!  It will be a weekly thing, so be sure to keep coming back and answering questions.  If I need to do a tie breaker, I may award it to the person who answered the most questions correctly throughout the week!  Good luck and have fun!

Christmas email already. . .

I just received an email entitled “Your First Christmas Card” and I admit it was the first time I had ever seen it – although a friend has said this particular email has been in circulation for quite a long time.  But it contained a poem based upon “A Visit from St. Nicholas” or more commonly known as “Twas the Night Before Christmas” which was originally published in 1823 by an anonymous author (who I imagine is spinning in their grave at this particular adaptation).

Here is the text of that email:

 Twas the Month before Christmas 

Twas the month before Christmas

When all through our land,

Not a Christian was praying

Nor taking a stand.

See the PC Police had taken away

The reason for Christmas – no one could say.

The children were told by their schools not to sing

About Shepherds and Wise Men and Angels and things.

It might hurt people’s feelings, the teachers would say

December 25th is just a ‘ Holiday’.

Yet the shoppers were ready with cash, checks and credit

Pushing folks down to the floor just to get it!

CDs from Madonna, an X BOX, an I-Pod

Something was changing, something quite odd! 

Retailers promoted Ramadan and Kwanzaa

In hopes to sell books by Franken & Fonda.

As Targets were hanging their trees upside down

At Lowe’s the word Christmas – was no where to be found.

At K-Mart and Staples and Penny’s and Sears

You won’t hear the word Christmas; it won’t touch your ears.

Inclusive, sensitive, Di-ver-si-ty

Are words that were used to intimidate me.

Now Daschle, Now Darden, Now Sharpton, Wolf Blitzen

On Boxer, on Rather, on Kerry, on Clinton!

At the top of the Senate, there arose such a clatter

To eliminate Jesus, in all public matter.

And we spoke not a word, as they took away our faith

Forbidden to speak of salvation and grace

The true Gift of Christmas was exchanged and discarded

The reason for the season, stopped before it started.

So as you celebrate ‘Winter Break’ under your ‘Dream Tree’

Sipping your Starbucks, listen to me.

 

Choose your words carefully, choose what you say

Shout MERRY CHRISTMAS,

not Happy Holiday!

Please, all Christians join together and wish everyone you meet

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Christ is The Reason’ for the Christ-mas Season!

Pretty harsh words coming from “Christians”, right?

The world over uses this time of year (December/Christmas, etc) for religious festivities.  It does not belong exclusively to the Christians.  From the Winter Solstice to, yes, Kwanzaa (Ramadan isn’t even currently celebrated around Christmas) many countries use this time for celebration.  So why is it wrong to say Happy Holidays and include all cultures, as opposed to saying Merry Christmas and including just one?  And if these people have been sharing holidays for eons of time why is it now “taking away” the day from Christians?  What happened to the element of Christian charity?  Why is it not extended to anyone but other Christians?

As some of you may know, I have been studying Buddhism for many years now.  I may not be a good Buddhist, but it is my chosen path.  Yet, I still celebrate Christmas more out of habit or tradition rather than actual belief.  “This is the time of year, though, when those of us who aren’t Christian, or who don’t celebrate Christmas, most feel our minority status.”¹ December is when Buddhists celebrate Rohatsu or the enlightenment of the Buddha.  But I do not ask why there are so few meditating Buddhas or Bodhi trees among the reindeer and Christmas trees.

“But there is an ugly, bullying aspect to this [Anti-Christmas] dispute, in which the pro-Christmas forces are not only asking, reasonably, that their religion be treated with equal status and respect but in which they are attacking legitimate efforts at inclusivity. It’s this sense of aggrieved victimhood that confuses me: What, exactly, is so threatening about calling the school holiday a winter break rather than Christmas vacation?” [¹ and this were excerpts from Ruth Marcus’ excellent article What ‘War On Christmas’?]

I look at everything I do not understand as gravity.  It sounds odd, but there is valid reasoning.  I am not a physicist so basically I do not grasp the nature of gravity to any real degree.   I may not comprehend it but I sure respect it enough to not try jumping off a bridge.  So the same goes for Kwanzaa, Hanukkah or others.  I may not understand it but I respect it and I respect your right to celebrate it.  I mean, my birthday is frequently shared with Memorial Day.  I don’t like war.  But I am not on top of a skyscraper shouting that my birthday was “stolen” from me.

Our planet has just reached 7 billion people.  I think it is way past the time when we should have been respecting each other.  This lump of dirt and water may not be perfect but it is all we have.  It is up to each one of us to make it a nice place to live.

I Think I Need A Fact-Checker, Please

Ok, tons of people have been writing about this – so I will only take up a little space on it.

Please watch this 7 second video:

Um, wow.  Well, the Duke was born in Iowa – just not in Waterloo.  He was born in Winterset, which happens to be nowhere near Waterloo.  But there was a notable “John Wayne” in Waterloo, Iowa, right?  Yeah, John Wayne Gacy.  Yup, the serial killer.  But even then Gacy was born in Chicago – he just got started on his criminal career in Waterloo.

So, as usual, Bachmann is wrong on all points.  So let’s see if a little visual will help this backward lady fly straight for 5 seconds.

Not this John Wayne:

This John Wayne:

NOT this John Wayne:

THIS John Wayne:

I think I would feel bad for her, if she wasn’t so bloody stupid!!  How did this woman become a House Representative?