Ann Romney and being a "stay at home mom".

There's a lot of hoopla over Ms. Romney's statement that she chose to be a stay at home mom.

Politicians, like those running for President or any other office, are public servants. We vote them in. So they have to convince the majority of us, so to speak, to buy into their rhetoric. How do they do that?

Well, there are a variety of approaches. A common one is to convince the public their future is in danger of various dastardly events and then present yourself as the savior or solution. Then combine that savior image with the idea that you are just like your voters.

This latter half can be a more difficult challenge because it's hard to hide who you are. In the case of Mitt Romney and his wife, Ann, they are very wealthy. There is nothing wrong with success or with wealth. The problem goes back to the idea that Mr. Romney is running to be a public servant. Does he understand the public and what we need from our leaders? That's the question.

So, when Ann steps forward and says she chose to be a stay at home mom to raise 5 boys while sitting by her husband, it is seen as part of a campaign, or "sales pitch" for the "we're just like you" part of the marketing strategy. It's her way of connecting to the women of this country and demonstrating herself as a traditional mom. But it's also a way of trying to demonstrate that she and her husband are a typical family, like the rest of us, and that this qualifies them to understand the "public" challenges and needs.

In my opinion, here is where the problem lies. Yes, she stayed at home and raised her beautiful boys. That is wonderful. I respect her choice. But does making this decision really make her just like every other woman who made this same choice? I don't think it does. She had the financial means to hire maids, nannies, chefs, etc. to help her so she could be freed up to do some things that fulfilled her. She has a wardrobe of beautiful evening wear that she actually had multiple occasions to enjoy. Spending a day at the spa to get a break and rejuvenate with girlfriends was easy. In other words, feeling the pressure of making her life work financially was not part of the equation. I doubt she clipped coupons. I doubt there was much concern regarding the cost of sending her boys to college. A trip to Disney World or anywhere else was just a matter of fitting it on the schedule.

Whether or not there's truth in the claim that Marie Antoinette said "let them eat cake", a book I read put the statement into this context. A party was being held at the castle and a hungry, angry mob was at the gate. When she and the king were informed of their presence and the angry calls, she had a moment of compassion and suggested that they be given the pastries and such from their party. Obviously she meant well but she was clueless regarding their true plight.

So, if you hear the economic outlook from the Right side of the argument, it's dire. Is it as dire as it was in revolutionary France? It depends on which Fox pundit is speaking, perhaps. But I can't see much difference between the King and Queen of France and Mr. and Mrs. Romney. I absolutely do not believe they have a clue regarding the public they wish to serve.

What's your poison?

I've had so many various conversations, both via social media and in person, with so many different people about politics. There is a common thread. Government is too big and it spends too much money.

The problem is, no one in DC really wants to relinquish power. Everyone is convinced his or her role is essential. It doesn't matter what side of the isle is represented. The Left believes that the people need to be protected from the evil consequences of free enterprise, environmental gremlins and such. The Right believes the people should be protected from evil doers and moral infractions, such as same sex marriages and abortion.

Both isles require the invasion of government in our lives. Perhaps the invasion of Left Wing policies aren't immediately noticed. For example, if the left imposes energy policies on oil companies, I might not make the direct connection of this imposition to the price of gas. But if the government wants to make it illegal to have an abortion, or imposes the Patriot Act to keep me safe, I as an individual will feel that encroachment directly. These are encroachments imposed by the government, both of which designed to exercise power.

So, which poison do you choose? Do you believe that a reduction in Government is really possible? Do you think that those calling for a smaller government would actually eliminate those programs supported by their party?

I don't believe that it's possible to reduce the size of the government. I don't believe that the people in D.C. will ever experience the urgency to do it because they are all so far removed from the laws they impose.

Whatever our founding fathers had in mind for our country, I am of the opinion it has been twisted and reshaped. Even if we all read the constitution, as Cain suggests (though I'm not so sure he's read it himself), understanding the true spirit of the constitution, bill of rights and declaration of independence has to be taught. Children should be taught critical thinking so that they be able to draw their own conclusions about everything from religion to environmental issues.

I'm saddened by the course we're on but selfishly relieved that I won't have to live it years from now.

Obama Kool-Aid

I saw the 60 Minutes Interview and I am so impressed by our President. He is cool. He is calm and he has nerves of steel. I don't think there is any public figure right now that would have had the courage to approve a mission that had only a 55% chance of success. I'm telling you, nerves of steel.

So, all I hear from "anti-Obama" people is that I'm drinking the Obama Kool-aid. You know what? I want to know who's serving who Kool-aid.

First, for two years, the Right tried to serve the "Birth-er" flavored kool-aid. They wanted to serve me the flavor that represents that Obama is NOT a U.S. citizen. They wanted to do everything they could to ilegitimize the Presidency.

Then, they started to serve the "Obama is a muslim sympathizer" flavored kool-aid. I can't tell you how many people tried to convince me that Obama was going to allow Sharia law into our constitution. Many have tried to tell me he's a "closet" Muslim.

The "Obama is a communist" flavor didn't last for very long.

Maybe I'm just declining THEIR Kool-aid.

Are they in shock?

I'm looking through the posts of all of my Facebook friends. With the exception of one person, no one is posting any anti-Obama quips or articles. The silence is deafening.

I think the news of Osama's death meant so many different things to me. First and foremost, I was so relieved to know that we took care of this. Osama Bin Ladin did not get away with 9/11. We were able to send that message around the world and let everyone know, you can run but you can't hide. We will find you.

Then, the second thing is that I got this really strong feeling that our country is in good hands. That the man in the White House really does know what he's doing and he has it all under control. I feel a sense of calm coming over me. And the method in which he is handling this shows me that this is just another day in the life of being President.

And finally, it also just sort of emphasized that Obama does do what he says he's going to do. I'm more optimistic now about our health care plan. I'm more optimistic about everything, I guess.

I was sharing this with a friend whose politics I did not know. I still don't know if he's Republican or Democrat but he shared my feeling about this combined feeling of optimism and serenity. I hope this lasts a little longer; though I know the naysayers are plotting to put a dark cloud over me at any moment.

Osama Bin Ladin - To release or not to release

So, today, Obama announced that he is not releasing the gory photos of Osama Bin Laden. Personally, I don't really care; however, intuitively, I think not releasing them is the right decision.

I've looked over the posts of most of my Facebook friends. No one has posted ANYTHING regarding an opinion on the release of these photos. My conclusion isn't that no one has an opinion but that no one feels strongly enough about our President's decision to say anything. There is more excitement and satisfaction in knowing the wicked witch is dead.

But if you listen to the news, they seem to be the ones with an opinion and they are reporting those opinions as though they are our opinions.

Sometimes I wonder if these guys ever listen to themselves speak.

Congratulations, Mr. President

Dear Mr. President,

It is with great pride and excitement that I extend to you my deepest gratitude for having successfully ended the life of the man responsible for 9/11. I am giddy with excitement.

Job well done, indeed.

Yours truly,

A girl from Texas.

Fiscal Conservative - but with strings attached.

I am of the opinion that many intelligent, educated people on both sides of the aisle want fiscal conservative policies. The problem is that the party that seems to own fiscal conservative as it's issue also wants social conservative values. They have hi-jacked fiscal conservatism, so to speak.

So, if you want to have a fiscally conservative government and you vote them in, then you also have to accept that in so doing, this same government is going to do everything in it's power to force women to have children they do not want, prevent gays from marrying, demonize and alienate American Muslims and interfere in our personal lives any time they believe they have the moral right to do so.

We have been dragged into a very expensive war in the Middle East, why are we not screaming about a Return On Investment for this war? What is our ROI anyway?

And right now, the Right Wing just wants power. If they can sabotage everything the current President does just so that they can stand up and say "See, he can't do it, you need to elect a conservative leader", then they will. Because they are NOT about ensuring conservative policies, they are about being in power.

I am so discouraged by what Right wing Party has become. It's vicious, ignorant, dark underbelly is surfacing and steamrolling its way into power. When I was on FreeRepublic, I never really took them seriously because they were so dogmatic. I didn't think anyone would listen to such hatred and close mindedness. I was so wrong! People I know and like and respect actually spread bad information about issues just to undermine the current administration. There is no regard or respect on their part for truth or accuracy. Those pesky things just get in their way.

Why can't we just have conservative fiscal policies and let the other stuff go to the way side? Why do we have to force unwanted children onto this planet? Why do we have to create such hatred and fear towards people who don't believe as we do? Why is it a problem for me or society if my gay neighbors marry and adopt a child?

We are human before we are Conservative or Liberal. Asking me to support the conservative position on social issues in order to get strong fiscal conservative policies is asking me to stop being human. It feels like there is a parasite hooked onto the fiscal conservative train; and it's gotten bigger and uglier.

Mitch Daniels - A call for Social Truce

I read a post recently on the Washington Post that stated that Mitch Daniels, Gov. of Indiana, suggested to fellow Republicans that maybe they should call a truce on social issues, such as gay marriage, pro-life, etc. and instead focus efforts and attention on fiscal issues.

When I saw this, I suddenly had compassion for the poor man. Back in the late 90's, I was a prolific poster on Free Republic. I had it in for Clinton and wanted a good ole' American, individual rights protecting, fiscally conservative President. I also suspected, before it was public knowledge, that Hillary was lining up to run for the 2008 Presidential race. So, having the foresight that I felt I had, I opened my mouth and said exactly what Daniels suggested. The party needed to back away from these intrusive social positions and start focusing on fiscal policy.

I was banned from FreeRepublic three times. Apparently, I was a RINO (Republican in Name Only). I was in shock. I was born and raised a Republican. I had never in my life cast a vote for a Democratic candidate. If I had a choice for an Independent, I might select him or her but I never voted for a Democrat. Suddenly felt like I had to prove I was a conservative. I hung in there through Bush's first term and voted for him during his second term.

After a couple of years, I realized that Bush was feeding the dogmatic ideology of the people that supported him. He himself may not have fully embraced it but he at least led his followers to believe he did and it fed their confidence in their own bigoted, misogynistic, homophobic agenda. I couldn't stomach it anymore, I had to jump ship. I did it, I left the Republican Party and voted FOR a Democrat. And I liked it!

I don't know who these Conservatives think they represent anymore. They are becoming the Christian version of the Taliban and I think they are equally dangerous.

So, Mr. Daniels, I applaud your attempt at trying to pull the party off the social issues but I'm afraid that the underbelly of the party is who you are going to have to appeal to in order to get the momentum for election. Really, I don't think that Obama is doing that poorly a job given the hand he was dealt when he was elected. So, you are going to have to sell your soul, swallow your sense of right and wrong, and become the bigoted, misogynist, homophone your extreme constituents want you to be. I'm hoping your self-respect and dignity gets the better of you, though and that you stand your ground. You may not win the election against Obama but you might very well be able to bring the Republican Party around to what it has great potential to be.

Congress Reform Act of 2011

This was sent to me in one of those "forward to 20 friends" type e-mail. I really liked it, so I forwarded it to 20 people and I'm posting it here as well.

The 26th amendment (granting the right to vote for 18 year-olds) took
only 3 months & 8 days to be ratified! Why? Simple! The people
demanded it. That was in 1971...before computers, before e-mail,
before cell phones, etc.

Of the 27 amendments to the Constitution, seven (7) took 1 year or
less to become the law of the land...all because of public pressure.

I'm asking each addressee to forward this email to a minimum of twenty
people on their address list; in turn ask each of those to do
likewise.

In three days, most people in The United States of America will have
the message. This is one idea that really should be passed around.

Congressional Reform Act of 2011


1. Term Limits.

12 years only, one of the possible options below..

A. Two Six-year Senate terms
B. Six Two-year House terms
C. One Six-year Senate term and three Two-Year House terms

2. No Tenure / No Pension.

A Congressman collects a salary while in office and receives no pay
when they are out of office.

3. Congress (past, present & future) participates in Social Security.

All funds in the Congressional retirement fund move to the Social
Security system immediately. All future funds flow into the Social
Security system, and Congress participates with the American people.

4. Congress can purchase their own retirement plan, just as all Americans do.

5. Congress will no longer vote themselves a pay raise. Congressional
pay will rise by the lower of CPI or 3%.

6. Congress loses their current health care system and participates in
the same health care system as the American people.

7. Congress must equally abide by all laws they impose on the American people.

8. All contracts with past and present Congressmen are void effective 1/1/11.

The American people did not make this contract with Congressmen.
Congressmen made all these contracts for themselves.

Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers
envisioned citizen legislators, so ours should serve their term(s),
then go home and back to work.

If each person contacts a minimum of twenty people then it will only
take three days for most people (in the U.S. ) to receive the message.
Maybe it is time.

THIS IS HOW YOU FIX CONGRESS!!!!! If you agree with the above, pass it
on.

Ron Paul on WikiLeaks - I really like this guy!

There is so much truth in this.

I laughed so hard when I saw this. Wish I could post this on my facebook page. But, being that I am a real estate broker, it wouldn't be appropriate.

What was Shonda Rhimes (Grey's Anatomy) thinking?

I have been an avid, true-blue fan of Grey's Anatomy since it started. I think it's a great program.

I was leery last year as I sat through the season finale and watched a cold hearted, yet grieving, man methodically kill each unwitting individual who happened to be on his path as he made his way to the main target, Dr. Shepherd. It was hard to watch but I got through it and finally started breathing again.

Then this new season began and I have found the cases very hard to stomach. In the opening episode this year, it was a kid who has to basically have his head/face broken in half and then operated on. We got a glimpse of how terribly difficult and somewhat paralyzing his recovery was going to be. The surgery on that was episode somewhat graphic and I found myself just wanting them to move on from the subject; somehow it just seemed so invasive.

And this last episode, well it just made me really angry. Shonda, how stupid do you think we are, really? There is no way you can lead me to believe that an educated, obviously professional couple with some access to health care in the UNITED STATES would allow a partner (much less oneself) to develop Human Papilloma virus to such an extend that 1) he would be 80%+ covered with warts, 2) he would have tree like hands and 3) his conditions would be so removed that he would be infested with spiders. Really Shondra? C'mon!

Cases of that extreme are in the poorer sections of Asian and Indian cultures where they have no access to the appropriate health care, clean housing, are clueless regarding the appropriate care and are surely not educated enough to speak English. This guy's English was very good and his wife was obviously well taken care of, even to the extend that she looked like a professional. Spiders? How the hell did he get a spider? He was not allowed to come into this country in this condition, so it's assumed his condition developed while living in Seattle.

That episode was so over the top gross that it is leading me to believe that Shonda is going for the shock factor and no longer confident that her characters' stories are strong enough to keep us coming back. All, I know is that I couldn't get through that episode fast enough and the case of that poor man has stayed with me even today. I feel nauseous about it and this is not how I want to feel. If I want to know about the health issues of the indigent people of third world countries, I'll go to National Geographic.

Watching something like that unfold while expecting to be entertained was not fun nor was it fair. I really hope that shock is not this year's theme for Grey's Anatomy, I don't think I can stomach much more.

I just had to get that off my chest.

NYPD - No longer New York's finest

Here's another interesting report:

What I don't get is how stupid do they think people really are? They keep denying it and yet the evidence keeps stacking up.

No wonder Law and Order pulled the plug - their series gave these guys WAY too much credibility.

NYPD Corruption - Unbelievable

I am still in shock after hearing about the level of corruption in the 81st precinct of NYPD along with the extreme measures taken by high ranking officers to cover it.

Adrian Schoolcraft endured this horrible event because he refused to conduct FALSE arrests.

This document sums sums it all up. Start at page 6 and watch it just unfold. I hope that they nail everyone along the chain.

BlackBerry Storm

I'm so frustrated right now with my phone.

I obtained my first BlackBerry Storm in November 2008. I loved it! One of the features I use the most is the Voice Activation feature. Well, it used to be the feature I used the most. Up until 2009 it was almost flawless. I could call out a phone number and it would repeat it back to me for confirmation before dialing it. I could call out the name of someone in my contacts list and it would usually get it on the first try.

Then, last year, BlackBerry upgraded it's software and now the feature is worthless. It appears to me as though they tried to tweak it. Now it's just a pain in the neck to use.

Does anyone out there have a really good voice activation feature on their phone?

Hurt Feelings

Ok, so my feelings are getting hurt these days.

I have a male friend, we'll say his name is George, just in case the real guy knows my blog. I don't think he does but just in case.

Ok, so George and I have been friends for a very very long time. I make a new friend, we'll say her name is Karen. At one point Karen and George meet and Karen decides she wants him to be her friend, too. And George really likes Karen and wants to be her friend. Only, I think he thinks he is going to be able to be more than just friends with Karen. Karen has no interest in George as anything more than a friend but she has no trouble allowing him to think he might have a slight (ever so slight) chance at being more than a friend because he opens doors for her. I don't mean structural doors, I mean opportunities. So, now George doesn't want to do stuff with me anymore and I realize that Karen is not as good a friend as I thought.

So, my feelings are hurt.

Trying to get into the swing

Jeez is my life that boring that I can't come up with something to write about?

I could write about how friggin cold it is right now but that really isn't that interesting.

Am I blocked? Do I just not want to write about stuff that's on my mind?

I went through and visited some of the blogs on my crawl. Sunwolfie, Synaptice Misfiring and Occhio Grosso, they're all still blogging. Doggy Blog is going strong. Unfortunately, it looks like we lost Timmy (Str8upwithatwist). I'm very sad that Timmy is no longer blogging. :(

Synaptic and Occhio are my FB friends, too. Interestingly, I get a whole different side of them from their blogs. (Sunwolfie is a FB friend, too but she's also my sister, so she doesn't count) That's because FB is so superficial. I don't mean that in a bad way. Really, FB is just supposed to be snippets. Not as whimsical as Twitter, of course. And the interaction between FB friends is much more spontaneous and faster than with blogging. Blogging sort of requires a bit of time commitment because there's more material to post and read through.

Ok, well, that's about all I have today.

I miss blogging

Wow, I haven't blogged in a very very long time.

So what happened?

Facebook. That's what happened.

That, and I became just too intense about so many things that were beyond my control. I wasn't writing about daily happenings like I was once before.

So, I'm going to try to start blogging again. I don't have any New Year's resolutions so maybe that could be a new one. We'll see.

Enough already!

I'm really getting sick and tired of hearing the Republicans blame Democrats for tax issues. There are all these "tea parties" planned across the nation as a protest to taxing.

I don't have a problem with protesting taxes. I think that it should be very very difficult for our government to raise our taxes because by making it difficult to raise them, they'll think long and hard about spending it.

What I'm sick of is hearing the Republican party, i.e. the "conservative" party, blame the Democratic party, i.e. the "liberal" party for any necessary tax increases.

Does the Republican party really think we are that stupid? It wasn't the Democratic party that charged us into Iraq to fight an $80 Billion/month war. Nor was it the Democratic party that initially proposed bailing the banks out of this financial mess they created. Who, exactly, did the Republicans think was going to pay for this?

But, of course, par for the course, the Republicans have absolutely no ability to self reflect. They really believe that if they continue the same rhetoric used over the last 8 years, that they are going to magically be popular again. It would seem that the tea parties are not generating as much support as they initially hoped.

Perhaps because we see the Republicans as the cause of the tax increase as opposed to a solution.

The case FOR bonuses is wrong.

This morning's edition of the New York Times includes an article by Andrew Sorkin whereby he is arguing for the AIG bonuses. The gist of the argument, which we've all heard a hundred times, is that if bonus contracts are not upheld here, then no one will have faith in them.

The problem with this argument is that everyone wants to overlook the fact that AIG failed. You take away the bailout money that was handed to them by the government and AIG is yesterday's news. It's like the government served as a loyal body guard and took a bullet to save the company. Only, AIG wants to pretend that that part of it didn't happen.

Liddy is on record saying "We cannot attract and retain the best and brightest talent to lead and staff' the company 'if employees believe that their compensation is subject to continued and arbitrary adjustment by the U.S. Treasury,' he said."

The key word in this previous statement that is absolutely incorrect is arbitrary. There is absolutely nothing arbitrary about the Government's stance on this issue. AIG accepted a bailout because they failed. They made very very poor decisions and were facing death. And now they want to continue, business as usual, and reward everyone as though they had succeeded. I'm curious, if AIG did not receive the bailout money, would the bonuses still have been paid?

This AIG fiasco is just one example regarding the need to allow those who are failing to fail. If you want the successful businesses of America to thrive and set examples of the right way of doing business, then it is imperative that one allow the bad ones to fail. Yes, even if those bad businesses are very big. Because, believe it or not, all those experienced employees along with the viable clients of those failing big businesses will go over to the companies that are doing it right. And those growing businesses will quickly fill in the gap left by the failing ones.

People, we don't function in a vacuum. Bailouts only make it possible for the offenders to continue to make the same mistake over and over again.