Does Obama Have A Chance?

Hmmm, you know, that's a good question. Does Obama have a chance?

And the answer is, I don't know.

I do have an opinion though. I don't see him as President this go-around. It's good that he's getting his name out there, he looks like a good future candidate.

But I think the Clinton machine is going to win the Democratic nomination this time. And I also think that the WORST thing he can do is to be Hilary's running mate.

Why? Because there are just too many people who hate the Clintons. Right or wrong, Bill's escapade with whats-her-name (Monica) just grated on too many people's personal morals. Even though, LOL, some of them aren't any better, they just haven't been caught.

I think Hilary is going to get the Democratic nomination. And then, unless the Republicans choose an utter loser, they're going to win the Presidency again.

Sigh, I'm not sure which is worse.

However, in four years, maybe eight, I can easily envision Obama as our new President. I really think he has a chance. He's just too new to the public eye right now.

One thing that the upper level spinmasters don't seem to take into account is that this country really has more middle of the road voters than the far right or left. When in doubt, voters are going to go for the more conservative guy. If voters are faced with the choice of a good candidate with a couple of views that are too far outside their comfort zone, or a much more conservative candidate that's not too, too far to the right, they're going to go for the more conservative candidate. People want change, but not too much change.

I really think that's why Bush won.

Gore didn't have a chance.

Plus, despite his intelligence, Gore is an idiot out here in the real world where the rest of us live. On top of it, his association with the Clintons tainted him from the beginning. There are just too many voters that hate the Clintons so much that they'll vote against anyone who's been a part of that administration.

So, my personal opinion, which is always subject to change, is that the Republicans are going to win the White House yet again.

Hopefully, the incoming President will get a clue about what the "little people" want and start cleaning up the mess in Iraq, not attack Iran, and start focusing more on issues that affect the people here at home.

What would I like to see here on the home front?

• Better coordination of benefits between the military and Veterans Administration.
• More health care for children. (I think ALL kids should have free or low-cost health care, no matter what their parents' income level or immigration status may be. And once they turn 21, then they are converted to the private insurance of their choice.)
• Open up immigration so we can properly document and tax the people who are coming here to work anyway. Jeez, people, we have people who come here to WORK! Don't tell me they're "taking jobs away from citizens". That is utterly false. YOU go out and pick fruit when it's 110 in the shade -- oh, wait, you're too good to do that, right? Yeah, I thought so. I'm not going to do it either...
• Better loans for subprime borrowers who've been caught up in the mortgage blowup. (Get people into fixed rate, long term loans at lower payments, even if it means a 50-60 year loan. Most people don't stay in their houses that long. It will average out...)
• If fuel is a problem, put the national speed limit back to 55mph. Let's not lie, the gov't and oil companies are screwing us over. People get the best gas mileage at 55mph whether they're driving a Prius or a Hummer. This would save a LOT of fuel (and lives).
• Nuclear power may be the most expensive to build, but in the long term, it's cheaper and cleaner than most other options. Coal fired plants are not clean and not a long term solution to our energy needs.
• More solar and wind power plants, because every bit counts.
• Encourage more alternative type housing, including passive and active solar systems.
• Fix our infrastructure - roads, bridges, trains, mass transit systems.
• Less posturing, more real work from our politicians. Let's see these men and women out there with Jimmy Carter, building houses for Habitat for Humanity. Let's see something more than the photo-op of the week!

Yeah, I know, my Republican dad thinks I'm too liberal.

My anarchist friend thinks I'm too conservative.

Guess I'm wobbling down the middle. Again.

My Dad Hates Democrats

My Dad hates Democrats.

Of course I'm a Demo -- LOL -- guess since I'm his baby girl I get a pass on it. (But you really have to pick something in order to have any kind of real vote in the elections.)

I consider myself to be a moderate. With some wild swings to the right and the left on certain issues. Mostly I think we have too much government, too many laws we don't enforce, and the feds need to get their noses out of people's bedrooms and private lives.

I think marriage should be between two consenting adults and their church. Everybody gets a civil union, then you can go over to your church to get "married" if you want. (I'm not in favor of polygamy, it's BS, sorry guys, you can't keep up, why should you get the extra woman and keep us ladies unsatisfied?)

Mary Jane should be legalized and regulated along with cigarettes and alcohol. No smoking nothing in public or around the kids. We should have proper smoking areas for people. We should concentrate the "drug war" on meth and crack, cocaine and heroin. Education first, then treatment with prison as a last resort for the big dealers.

I think Dad and I actually agree on some of that!!

But on the flip side of that conservative coin, Dad has all respect for hardworking people, he doesn't give a crap what color you are as long as you're good people and a worker. He has nothing but disdain for anyone who's leaching off the system (the disabled and truly poor are excluded from that).

He hates the Clintons (no surprise there, LOL), does NOT support the current actions in Iraq, thinks Obama doesn't have a chance because he's a Demo and therefore will ruin the country. (But I think if Obama went Republican Dad would most likely vote for him...) He would've voted for Colin Powell. In fact, I would have too. But we know the smartest people in Washington do NOT want to be President, and Powell is a really smart man. He would have been awesome. Sigh.

Oh, and he also thinks we have too many laws and don't enforce the ones we have already [that should be enforced].

He thinks that the news media looks for anything bad to present to the public as the only truth there is. (Hey, another thing we agree on!)

Don't get him started about Jesse or Al though...

James Watson Is A Racist

Let's get blunt here.

The man who basically ripped off the woman's work on DNA and got a Nobel Prize for it, is now blathering about intelligence?

Whoa Nelly! What kind of guy would steal another person's work then have the gall to accuse people of color, specifically Africans, of being less intelligent than whites?

I can tell you what kind. The unethical, conniving, demented kind. This is a man, who with his fellow researcher, got a copy of Franklin's DNA X-ray data (probably without her knowledge), and the manuscript by Pauling and Corey, which gave them the crucial insights into the DNA structure that they needed to write their own article. (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosalind_Franklin) They based their entire work on other people's research, and unashamedly took credit for it.

Now, honestly Rosalind could not have received the Nobel Prize, she died of ovarian cancer in 1958. The rules don't allow for posthumous awards. Despite this, I think that Watson's Nobel Prize should be revoked.

Anyway, Watson has gone on, year after year, peddling his racist, bigoted, homophobic beliefs to the world under his false credentials as "a Nobel Prize winner". Huh.

Yeah, I know he's back peddling now. Like I care at this point.

He'd better backpedal! His job has suspended him. He's being made to look like the ass he is. LOL, his pride must be suffering as the media is having a feeding frenzy at his expense.

Fellow scientists are busily refuting this preposterous theory of intelligence as fast as they can issue press releases (or be tracked down by reporters). For example, quote: "And further critical comment of Dr Watson's views has come from Dr Craig Venter, the scientist/businessman who led the private effort to decode the human genome, and who, by coincidence, is also visiting the UK to promote a book. 'Skin colour as a surrogate for race is a social concept not a scientific one,' Dr Venter said. 'There is no basis in scientific fact or in the human genetic code for the notion that skin colour will be predictive of intelligence.'"

Yay, Craig! Speak it!

I'd like to give Watson a break, just because I'm nice and he's old and could be slipping into dementia. But I'm afraid his past history of ugly remarks, racist and homophobic beliefs, don't allow me to be that kind to the old coot.

No matter how respected or old he might be, there's NO excuse for this kind of stupidity in today's world.

Yes, this is America. He has the benefit of freedom of speech. He's allowed to make himself look like an idiot. And I'm allowed to call him on it.

James Watson is a racist. And in his fading years, he's finally shown his true colors to the entire world.

Who says there's no justice in this life? Rosalind has been vindicated. And Watson reviled.

Huh.

A few interesting links:
http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20071019/lead/lead6.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7052416.stm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosalind_Franklin

Ann Coulter And The Perfect Christian

Oh Lord, I'm praying that You'll give me self control!

What the heck is wrong with that woman? Does she even understand what she's saying when she says it, or is she just a mouthpiece for the ultra-radical right?

Now I do understand the context that she was trying to use the term "perfected". The proper context is that the [Jewish] prophesy of the Messiah was fulfilled in the perfect body of Christ and His sacrifice for us all.

And since we believe in Christ and accept him as the Lord and Savior, we are perfect and thus if everyone believed exactly what we believe, the world would be better too. So according to her, all the Jewish peoples need to become perfect Christians.

AYYYY! What is that woman thinking?

I find that so incredibly disrespectful to pretty much everyone, including other Christians!

First, of course, the Jewish peoples have a covenant with God. In fact JESUS was a Jew! Ann seems to think that Jesus wasn't a Jew, that He was a Christian. No, no, no. How incredibly ignorant! Jesus was a Jew. Period. He came to Save us all, but He was born and raised in Judaism. Not Christianity.

Next, we consider ourselves as Christians to be the next step in the Path that God laid before us all, BUT do the Jews? No, I don't think so. I believe that God's covenant with the Jews was not replaced by our new covenant with Jesus. And so it's not our place to be judging Judaism. God will decide, not me, not you, and certainly NOT Ann Coulter.

Now, let's move on. Where the heck did she get the idea that all Americans have to be Christians? OK, look, I'm a Christian and I think it'd be great if everyone was Saved. BUT, but, but, this is America, where we all have the freedom to Believe or not as we choose. You know, that Free Will thing that God blessed us with...

Our whole country was based on the idea that we wouldn't allow a State religion. That was the point of separation of church and state. However, we still have that human impulse to be prejudiced and bigoted against anyone and anything that's different. Our prejudice even includes those who practice different forms of Christianity. Look at JFK for example. People were just having fits because he was a Catholic, and "you know how those Catholics are, always following the laws of the Vatican and the Pope..." Even today, I cringe when I'm at church and I hear someone say, "well, I'm a Christian and he's a Methodist". Oh my, what is God going to say to us when we move on from this plane of existence??

Please people, use those brains for more than a hat rack! (Not that Ann wears hats, she probably could use one to keep what little is left of her brains from frying in the hot sun.)

And while I'm ranting, what the HECK makes her think any of us are perfect Christians? No, no, no, we are most definitely imperfect! Jesus was the only perfect human ever, and He's the Son of God. Hello???

We Christians are NOT perfect, we're NOT going to be perfect, that's the reality of being human. As a Christian, I'm held to a higher standard. It doesn't mean I'm perfect. It means that I'm supposed to try harder to be that reflection of the perfection of Christ.

Am I going to miss the target? Heck yeah I am! Many, many times. I struggle against my own base nature every single day. And all too often, I have the privilege of picking myself up, dusting myself off, apologizing, and trying to get back to work.

Now, unlike some of my Brothers and Sisters in Christ, I'm not going to go utterly ballistic and accuse all of the GOP of being as small minded, bigoted, racist, etc, etc, etc, as I consider Ann Coulter to be. No. That would be unfair to all the good hearted people on the other side of the "line". And since I wobble back and forth in the middle, honestly, there are some topics I'm over with the more conservative middle-of-the-road folks. But not this one.

Ann Coulter is NOT the example that we should follow. She obviously thinks she's perfect. Huh.

The rest of us, we know we're not perfect and we're not going to be perfect, we're just striving, like everyone else, to do better.

So what's my opinion, as a dedicated middle-of-the-roader, former Republican, currently a Democrat?

Ann needs to get down off of her soapbox and stop with her pseudo-intelligent farce. The woman is a major embarrassment to the American people and Christians everywhere. As long as we let Ann and the people like her go unchallenged, we will continue to face the walls of prejudice, bigotry, closed-mindedness, of hate. We will continue to allow Satan to do his work here on this earth.

This country still has freedom of speech, she has the right to say what she wants, but WE also have the freedom and the duty to tell her that she's wrong, loud and clear, without any hesitation. And refuse to buy her books or support her positions in any way.

It's up to us -- especially we Christians -- to keep extremists like Ann from painting our Faith with the same brush that they use to paint swastikas and hate onto the walls of our churches, the synagogues, the mosques, the temples of America. It's our duty to be right in all that we do. And that includes stopping hate in its tracks, wherever we find it.

It's our duty.

Casey Sheehan Is A Hero

Casey Sheehan is a hero, he made the ultimate sacrifice -- he gave his life for his country.

Whatever we each think about the current world situation, we have thousands of men and women, our sons and daughters, nieces and nephews, aunts and uncles, parents, serving in the military. They have made a commitment to our country, to protect and serve, and if necessary, to give their lives to protect us. They deserve our respect.*

Now, I have no problem with people who are protesting for peace and think we have no place in Iraq. Shoot, I don't think we have any business in Iraq! But it's too late, now that we've brought down the former government, we can and should do what we can to rebuild the country. We have a responsibility to the peoples of Iraq.

But that wasn't my point today.

Casey Sheehan is a hero. Unfortunately, however, his mother is a blithering idiot. I do have much pity for Cindy Sheehan, she lost her much loved son. She and too many others have lost their beloved family members and deserve our compassion and understanding.

BUT, every time she opens her mouth and starts blathering on, she disrespects her son's memory. Casey was a good man. He made his choices as a man, not Cindy's little boy. Casey chose to join the military. It was a man's decision, made by a man. When he went to Iraq, he went there as a MAN.

Cindy lost her son. And now, in my not-at-all-humble opinion, she's using his memory and her own pain to make a fool of herself. Casey deserves better than this.

Cindy's pain is not unique. There are thousands of other mothers and fathers who are mourning the loss of their children. But they don't run in front of the TV cameras whining about how it's Bush's fault their child died. They have respect for the decisions their children made and the price they paid. It is a price no one should have to pay. But Casey and thousands of other men and women made their decisions. They deserve the respect of all of us for those decisions and the consequences, giving their lives.

Anyway, Cindy is out in front of the cameras, then she's waiting for Bush at his ranch, demanding that he meet with her. Then, when she tires of waiting for Bush at his ranch (like she'd ever be able to meet with him -- please Cindy, get real!); she announces she's going to go back to being a mother for her other children.

Hello? Cindy, didn't your other kids need you a long time ago? Where were you when your husband and family needed you? Where were you when they were working through their own pain in losing a son, a brother?

While Cindy was running around the country mugging for the media, she left her family in the midst of their own loss. So they had yet another loss, they lost her too.

Then Cindy announced that she's going to run against Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House, third in line to the Presidency, if Nancy doesn't impeach Bush. So Cindy is going to run against Nancy...

Has this poor woman completely lost her mind?

Actually, I think she has.

I pray that I never have to face the loss of one of my children. Jesus, if it ever happens, please keep me close to You, give me strength to face the reality of it, keep me sane in the midst of chaos. And right now, I also pray for Casey's family, that they are comforted in Your Peace and Love. Let them remember all the goodness of Casey and let the Joy of the Lord God Almighty overcome their sadness. In Jesus' holy name, Amen, Amen, and Amen.

*Please note, I do not support the murders committed by some members of the military in Iraq. Each one will face the US Military justice system, and in the end, will face their final Judgement. I pray that the innocent victims and their families find peace in the punishment those men receive, both here on this earth and beyond this life.