Today's my brother's birthday! Anyway, it's been a while since I wrote because it seems everything I touch has broken...lol! Our van has some sort of electrical problem and it won't start. Then, about three days later, we got rear-ended in the Jeep. The dog jumped on the laptop and broke it by bending the monitor all the way back, and then the heat pump went out in the house. Who knew we could rack up about $2K of repairs in less than two weeks?
Anyway, I'm trying to stay positive. We've got plenty of space heaters, so until the heat pump's fixed we can stay warm. The Jeep still runs, so until the van is fixed we still have transportation. The laptop is still functional, I just have to plug it via VGA into the desktop monitor, which of course makes it lack the portability of a laptop but hey, I didn't lose all my photos and data and buying another laptop isn't entirely necessary at this time. So as long as we're all healthy, I'm happy. (Knocking hard on wood).
So Logan got to come home for about four days and then went straight back out to sea. I hate it. But at least he will be home for the holidays this year!! I'm so excited! He's going to be here for Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, AND New Year's (an unprecedented lineup thus far in his Navy career!). I think we're sticking around the area during the holidays except maybe a long weekend up to NYC to ice-skate at Rockafeller Center. Logan's never been, which I think is a crying shame and I insisted we go before we move out to the MidWest and never again see civilization....er, you know what I mean. I know my parents are coming up for Thanksgiving and we may go down there for a few days right around Christmas.
OK, so is anyone sick to death of hearing about the election, already? If I hear one more ad about either candidate I'll scream. We're turning our cable off and attempting to live sans TV for a while...everyone I know who's done it has never gone back! So hopefully when I'm not leaving news channels on all day to watch while I do laundry, vaccuum, etc, it won't bug me so bad! Our local newspaper has done a great job of covering other news so my morning read isn't ruined. :)
I'm afraid I've got no new photos today...somehow I ruined my Bluetooth connection so I can't upload the photos from my phone. At least my 2 yr upgrade is coming up in a few weeks so I'll be getting a new phone that works ALL the time! Yay! Logan's tried to get me to buy a new phone before now, since mine is shorting out, losing power quickly, and now the Bluetooth is messed up....but there's a certain satsifaction in holding on to something until you get rewarded with a uber-cool new one for free or really, really cheap. So I'll hold out the three additional weeks, keep my phone plugged in 24/7, and just stockpile these photos until I do get a new, uber-cool phone! Until then...I'll just post here...
Showing posts with label presidential campaign. Show all posts
Showing posts with label presidential campaign. Show all posts
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Friday, October 3, 2008
There's always a morning after
Well I stayed up too late watching the debate and the subsequent reviews on various news channels. And I still feel like I have no idea what to do. Basically, Fox News was busy saying Biden lied while CNN was busy saying Palin lied. They both had documented sources to back up their claims of candidate dishonesty. I don't like how Palin referred to average Americans as "Joe Six-Pack and hockey moms"...I think that's an unfair portrayal, especially for non-drinking men and career women, which make up a large part of the population. I understand she's trying desperately to appeal to the "average Joe" but demeaning us isn't exactly going to do the trick, in my book. I don't see how she can possibly relate to my family as her husband is working for an oil company and has worked there for quite a while and her family has quite a nice lifestyle. Of course, neither can any of the candidates. When you only have bred, Ivy-league candidates preened for the Presidency and associated offices, what can you expect?
This campaign has turned into one big filibuster that's delayed any action on the bailout and detracting attention from our troops in Iraq, who are still being injured and killed while we're watching the presidential-campaign circus. While we are glued to MSNBC and bickering about dirty ads and Wall Street, this man lost his life in Iraq fighting for our freedoms:
Spc. Christopher T. Fox, 21, of Memphis, Tenn., died Sept. 29 in Adhamiyah, Iraq, of wounds suffered when he encountered small arms fire while on patrol. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 68th Armor Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colo.
It's sad that this man will get little to no recognition for his sacrifice, and his family's grief will be shadowed by 24/7 pundit coverage of the campaing. Yes, the campaign is important, but we should never forget about the guys (and gals) in the Middle East struggling to stay alive while we figure out who their next commander-in-Chief will be. Rest in peace, Spc. Fox. At 21 years old, this man's life was cut short before he had the joy of experiencing it. I do hope that your death will not be in vain, and we thank you and your family for your tremendous sacrifice.
My husband is currently off the coast of the US. While he is simply performing drills, we are never aware of the time and date our nation will again be attacked. He is on a floating target in the middle of a vast and deadly ocean. I never take for granted the time he is home, and I never sleep easy when he is out there.
Can we please take a moment to remember that, although we are in the midst of selecting a president in a pivotal time in American history, there are men and women in uniform worldwide who still need our support and attention. We cannot merely forget about the foreign conflicts and those fighting in them. This morning my daughter signed a letter to her daddy that I wrote, and she asked, "Daddy home day? (Daddy home today?)" I smiled and said, "No, baby, Daddy's out working to keep the bad guys away, but he loves you very much and he will be home soon." And thank God, unlike so many of our brothers and sisters, he will.Thursday, September 25, 2008
The $700B Bailout...
I'm watching John McCain right now. This whole bailout plan is scaring me. I'm no market expert, nor am I an expert in political science. But what it sounds like on the surface is we're handing the US Treasury Secretary, Henry Paulson, $700 billion dollars of our money, and he has said that he cannot be regulated nor investigated by any agency, including government agencies. That seems incredibly fishy to me.
I don't know what they're going to do, but I just don't see how our market is going to pull out of this without us going into a drastic recession before it all starts moving back upwards. Thank goodness Logan and I didn't sink too much of our money into stocks; right now we've got savings bonds and savings. But the bad part is that all the American people are calling their senators and representatives voicing a LOUD protest against this bailout, but it appears that it may still pass! I think the days of of America being a true democracy centered around the voice of the people are long gone. If the people were the deciding factor here, the bailout would have already been flat out denied or restructured drastically.
I'm looking for Barack Obama... I want to support him, but when he's mysteriously missing on this particular day when the news channels are filled with John McCain and his speeches, it's difficult to blindly side with a man who doesn't have a voice during a crisis. I'm hoping to hear something from him soon. And I'm hoping his words will voice my opinion: that the government has no place meddling in financial affairs. We are "free market", in good times and in bad. Should the government get entangled with mortgage companies and other businesses, would that not inherently corrupt the government? What is the root of all evil? All together now....money. It's scary to think about the government taking $700 BILLION and doing with it as they wish, unchecked.
Until the past couple of weeks, this presidential debate was undoubtedly important because of the war in Iraq and the weak economy. Now, we see the urgency in the next couple of months as we observe the actions of these two candidates and wait for the outcome of this situation. Like I said, I've been leaning towards Obama, but now I'm wavering. This morning, John McCain looked fresh, well-rested, and calm. Obama looked like he slept in his suit, appeared perhaps unshaven, and looked exhausted. But then again, that could be McCain's lengthy political grooming and training in public speaking. It's so hard to watch them on TV and try to deduct from a prepared speech what their character is, what their intentions are, and how much you can trust them.
There is also a mild fuel shortage, caused by the pipelines being shut off in Texas during Hurricane Ike. Now that they're just beginning to rehab the area, the pipelines are still shut off and will be restored soon, but until then, there isn't enough fuel. I saw two gas stations yesterday on my way to pick up Austin that had bags over the pumps. I think I'll fill up today, just in case.
This is an unprecedented time. We have men and women fighting and dying in Iraq and Afghanistan as we speak, yet our elected officials are busy trying to save our financial butts. I'm worried about what this will do to our already financially-strained troops on the grounds. I pray that they're safe and remain that way. I'm thankful that Logan is only on a work-up and will be home soon. I still miss him, but I know he's safe. I feel secure in our financial standing, also, as we are almost out from under our credit card debts and are paying in down in large amounts and will soon be free from large debt (other than our mortgage, of course). Thank goodness we aren't one of those families that got a mortgage they could not afford. We can comfortably afford our home, and though it's small and modest, it's clean and cozy and most importantly, we aren't defaulting on our loan...we can easily afford the payment so we can also feed our family healthy, fresh foods and dress them warmly. I feel sorry for friends of ours who wanted a huge home and got it, and are now struggling very much to make ends meet.
I hope everyone in this nation makes it through this time without poverty, without children going hungry or cold, and that our next President can make the changes needed to turn this nation back into the prosperous great nation we should be!
I don't know what they're going to do, but I just don't see how our market is going to pull out of this without us going into a drastic recession before it all starts moving back upwards. Thank goodness Logan and I didn't sink too much of our money into stocks; right now we've got savings bonds and savings. But the bad part is that all the American people are calling their senators and representatives voicing a LOUD protest against this bailout, but it appears that it may still pass! I think the days of of America being a true democracy centered around the voice of the people are long gone. If the people were the deciding factor here, the bailout would have already been flat out denied or restructured drastically.
I'm looking for Barack Obama... I want to support him, but when he's mysteriously missing on this particular day when the news channels are filled with John McCain and his speeches, it's difficult to blindly side with a man who doesn't have a voice during a crisis. I'm hoping to hear something from him soon. And I'm hoping his words will voice my opinion: that the government has no place meddling in financial affairs. We are "free market", in good times and in bad. Should the government get entangled with mortgage companies and other businesses, would that not inherently corrupt the government? What is the root of all evil? All together now....money. It's scary to think about the government taking $700 BILLION and doing with it as they wish, unchecked.
Until the past couple of weeks, this presidential debate was undoubtedly important because of the war in Iraq and the weak economy. Now, we see the urgency in the next couple of months as we observe the actions of these two candidates and wait for the outcome of this situation. Like I said, I've been leaning towards Obama, but now I'm wavering. This morning, John McCain looked fresh, well-rested, and calm. Obama looked like he slept in his suit, appeared perhaps unshaven, and looked exhausted. But then again, that could be McCain's lengthy political grooming and training in public speaking. It's so hard to watch them on TV and try to deduct from a prepared speech what their character is, what their intentions are, and how much you can trust them.
There is also a mild fuel shortage, caused by the pipelines being shut off in Texas during Hurricane Ike. Now that they're just beginning to rehab the area, the pipelines are still shut off and will be restored soon, but until then, there isn't enough fuel. I saw two gas stations yesterday on my way to pick up Austin that had bags over the pumps. I think I'll fill up today, just in case.
This is an unprecedented time. We have men and women fighting and dying in Iraq and Afghanistan as we speak, yet our elected officials are busy trying to save our financial butts. I'm worried about what this will do to our already financially-strained troops on the grounds. I pray that they're safe and remain that way. I'm thankful that Logan is only on a work-up and will be home soon. I still miss him, but I know he's safe. I feel secure in our financial standing, also, as we are almost out from under our credit card debts and are paying in down in large amounts and will soon be free from large debt (other than our mortgage, of course). Thank goodness we aren't one of those families that got a mortgage they could not afford. We can comfortably afford our home, and though it's small and modest, it's clean and cozy and most importantly, we aren't defaulting on our loan...we can easily afford the payment so we can also feed our family healthy, fresh foods and dress them warmly. I feel sorry for friends of ours who wanted a huge home and got it, and are now struggling very much to make ends meet.
I hope everyone in this nation makes it through this time without poverty, without children going hungry or cold, and that our next President can make the changes needed to turn this nation back into the prosperous great nation we should be!
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