My Own Cynical Take on Presidential Politics – Sarah Palin Edition

I am a staunch No Party Affiliation registered voter that grew up in a very liberal Jewish household. I am on the mailing list for both Obama and McCain’s campaigns. The spin is just incredible.

Some friends and I were discussing the choice of Sarah Palin as the Vice Presidential candidate, and a good-natured debate blossomed.

She is fairly inexperienced.

I think it was a brilliant choice. He’ll take most of the women who were voting for Hilary just because she’s a woman, and she’ll satisfy many of the conservatives, too. HE has the experience. She doesn’t need it. McCain’s campaign will totally spin it “Who would you rather have get on the job training – the President or the VP?”

Besides, any woman that can be the Governor of a state and still be involved in 5 kids’ lives has to be doing something right!

McCain chose someone he barely knew, and his his choice was insulting to Hillary supporters as McCain thinks they are shallow enough to now vote for him simply because he chose a woman VP.

I’ve read that he’d met her 6 months ago and spoken to her once since, so it’s true he does not know her well. I don’t know if that’s necessarily a negative, though. I mean Obama chose for his running mate someone he’d spoken out against publicly, someone who he insisted he didn’t agree with on many issues, and now they’re bestest buds? I’m not really holding that against Obama, either – that’s the nature of politics, and one of the reasons it’s so distasteful to me. There is just so much hypocrisy.

I think there are many who would have voted for Hilary simply because she is female, just like I think there are many who will vote for Obama just because he is black or McCain just because he is white, and male. There are people that vote for candidates because they’re from the same state, or the same university, or they’re both Elks, or the look like their Cousin Floyd (or not vote for them for that r eason). There are people who will vote for the candidate that looks most likely to win, whether they agree with their politics or not.

There are those that vote either Democrat or Republican or Green, regardless of the merits of the candidate, just because they believe the general philosophy of the party, or they fear the general philosophy of the other parties.

I think Obama’s a hell of an orator, and he’s got charisma galore. I like that McCain is a bit of a maverick. I think both are relatively decent men with different philosophies, and I fear for our country no matter who is elected.

So I will do what I do with every distasteful yet necessary responsibility I have – hold my nose, devote some time to research the issues I feel are most important, tune out the rhetoric and vote.

And appreciate that I live in a country where have the right to do so.

And pray.

~<>~

Read the rest of this series:

My Own Cynical Take on Presidential Politics – Hypocrisy Edition

My Own Cynical Take on Politics: Going to the United Nations Does Not Foreign Policy Experience Make

My Own Cynical Take on Presidential Politics: Get Your Facts Straight Edition

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One Less Regret

Kate at One More Thing wrote a thoughtful post about what to do if you discover you have only one month to live, and one of the things she said struck a chord with me (actually the whole post is full of chords). She said that she had no regrets.

I do. I don’t have many, but they are there. The biggest is not having had more children, and though it still makes me sad when I think about it I don’t dwell on it. It’s a fact, it’s there, but there’s nothing I can do to change it so there’s no point.

Another regret is the one friendship I’ve lost over bad behavior on my part. This girl and I met in junior college and were friends for seven years. The memories we made are way too numerous (and often scandalous) to share. Suffice to say that we were to each other that most important relationship in the life of any young girl: best friends. We were there for each other in all the ways true best friends are.

It was good stuff.

A few years after graduating college we were planning her wedding and I was making the agonizing decision to put my mother in a mental hospital. My sister was pregnant and her husband laid off, so I felt the burden was mine, all mine. After the wedding she offered me an escape, so I wound up moving with her and her husband to another state to help her in-laws renovate a home they were turning into a bed-and-breakfast. I was very, very depressed.

I didn’t live up to my end of the bargain. I sneak-smoked in the house, I didn’t do the work I said I’d do and I didn’t find a job and move out. It took three months to end a friendship of seven years, and it ended with accusations of theft (which I absolutely did not do) and anti-semitic slurs. My friend did not trust easily, and my actions (or mostly lack thereof) shattered that trust.

It was the only time in my life I ever lost a friend by anything other than normal drift. And I felt lousy about it. Sure, I was wronged, too. But I did a lot wrong. That didn’t help my depression any.

I came back to Florida and tried to put my life back together. I had gotten offered a job in an insurance office, and I clawed my way into a life. My depression gradually lifted. A few months later I wrote letters of apology to my friend and her husband and to his parents, and while I hoped to hear from her I didn’t expect to.

That was fifteen years ago. I’ve thought of her often over the years. I’m still friends with many of the people we knew together back then (I even married one), though she has lost touch. So of course it’s a regret. My actions helped end a friendship that meant a great deal to me.

Fast forward to today. I ran a search on Facebook for people who were at university the same time I was, and her name was the very first to pop up. I’d only been a Facebook member for a few weeks, and here was an opportunity I could not let pass.

So I sent her a message, and she responded. Open, friendly, welcoming.

I cannot tell you how freed up I feel that this burden of loss/regret/guilt has been lifted, and I can’t explain why it would be lifted just because she replied to my message. After all ,it’s not that what happened has been erased, and that I don’t still feel guilt and regret. But even if we don’t stay in contact I somehow don’t feel that sense of loss that I’ve felt every time I’ve thought about her over the past fifteen years.

Hello, old friend.

Deal of the Day August 30, 2008

I don’t know about you, but when I fly I love to leaf through the Sky Mall magazine.  There are always such neat products!  Some brilliant, som ridiculous, all overpriced.

So if you’ve been dying for a Vibrating Head Massager, at least now you can save some money.  Save 15% on purchases from the Sky Mall when using coupon code MC158 at checkout. You’ll be able to saving on unique and hard to find electronics, apparel, accessories, hardware, pet products, and much more.  Hurry, expires 08/31/2008.

Check back tomorrow for another great deal!

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Costco American Express Card Holders Can Get More Rebate Cash Back!

We got a lovely little piece of mail the other day that’s going to put money in my pocket, and money in yours if you took my advice and signed up for the TrueEarnings card from Costco and American Express.

Enroll in the program and spend $1,000 on non-Costco purchases and you will get an additional 1% cash back on every eligible purchase (up to $200 extra!) between September 1 and October 31st!

That means I’ll be getting 4% cash back on gas, 3% on travel and 2% for every other non-Costco purchase.

And you know what else? I don’t have to wait for my rebate check to receive the extra cash back. It comes as a statement credit to my account 6-8 weeks after the promotion ends.

You have to be invited to participate. If you’re worried that you may have mistakenly tossed your invitation go to http://www.americanexpress.com/costco1000 and you can enter your login and password to see if you’re invited.

There’s lots of fine print, so check that out, of course.

It’s a great deal for me. I hope you can take advantage, too!

Deal of the Day August 29, 2008

Chik-Fil-A is giving away free food again.

Last month they wanted us to dress like cows to get free food, and we did.

On Labor Day, September 1st,  if you’re wearing at least one visible article of clothing that contains any football team logo or collegiate logo and you mention the promotion, you will receive a free three-count order of Chick-n-Strips.  At participating locations only, from 10:30 a.m. until close.

Son loves his Florida State shirt and Crocs.  The cow spots?  Not so much…

Check back tomorrow for another great deal!

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What Did I Give It All Up For?

Yesterday I turned on the television hoping for a Hurricane Gustav update. While waiting I was completely focused on reviewing my sister’s resume and didn’t notice that “The View” had come on.

They are apparently shooting from Las Vegas this week, and the hosts started discussing getting “guilt gifts” for the children they left home. Guilt gifts because they feel guilty for leaving their children to work, and having a good time while doing it. Then followed several moments discussion on the guilt working women feel because they have to leave their children to earn a living.

Finally Barbara Walters summed it up by saying how being a working mom and a stay-at-home moms both have negatives. She said that either you feel guilty for leaving your kids “…or you stay home and then the kids go off to college and you say to yourself, ‘What did I give it all up for?'”

Well, that comment certainly gave me pause (true, this is Barbara Walters, who said a woman breastfeeding on an airplane “made me very nervous, she didn’t cover the baby with a blanket. It made us uncomfortable.”).

But then I realized she was right, at least technically. I might actually say those words, “What did I give it all up for?” I’d like to answer it now:

Staying in bed and cuddling until mid-morning.

Taking a detour to the train station to watch trains go by.

Being there to see all his firsts.

Playing with Lincoln Logs in the middle of the day.

Watching him eat a peanut butter and banana sandwich.

Taking the long way everywhere so we can stop at the stop signs.

Visiting every bathroom in South Florida.

Watching his eyes droop as his naptime nears.

Waking him from a nap with a kiss and a cuddle.

Taking a spontaneous walk on the beach and watching him chase birds, giggling with glee.

Watching him take a cupful of milk and make it stick to his face.

I could go on and on. And it’s not that working Moms can’t do these things, they can just do it less frequently than I can.  But I’m greedy.  I can’t get enough of it.

Perhaps there are women who regret giving up their careers to raise their children themselves, though I don’t know any.

Yes, I gave it up. And I gave it up gladly. I definitely got the better end of this bargain, and sometimes I giggle with glee and awe that I get to do this. I try not to think about the day that Son leaves for college (or the military, or the Peace Corps) and I have to think about how my days won’t be filled with the wonder of him.

When I ask myself “What did I give it all up for?” it won’t be with tears of regret for opportunities missed. It will be with tears of joy as I remember all of the wonderful things I got to experience because I was lucky enough to have a front row seat for this wonderful child’s life.

I did give it up for him, and the reasons why will give me comfort as I take a back seat and watch him make a life.

So, Barbara, do me a favor. You go back to your important work of making celebrities cry, and I’ll go back to my work of shaping a human. K? K.

Deal of the Day August 28, 2008

I found this one over at Freebies4Mom, a terrific source of great deals.  In fact, I copied it directly.

Put her site in your reader.

Seriously.

Thanks, Heather!

Try a free 30 minute tutoring session at Tutor.com. If you have any students in your household, then this is an offer you should take advantage of! Sign-up for it now, and use the free tutoring when you need it during the school year.

You do not need to enter a credit card number to try the free trial. If you prefer you can choose the cell phone authentication where a text message is sent to your phone with an activation code. They require this as a way of limiting this free offer to one per student. If you do choose to enter your credit card number, and choose not to continue after the free trial, you need to cancel at the end of your free 30 minute tutoring session. I hope this will be helpful to some of you looking for some help with homework!

Ornery

I’ve been ornery lately.  That’s why I haven’t been posting.  I’ve also not entered posts in carnivals, visited others’ blogs or responded to comments.

Sorry.

I’ve spent the last days in frequent frustration with the job I’ve not yet quit, trying to get things finished at my Dad’s house despite a newly discovered water leak, discovering that my house is now worth less than 50% of what it was 2 years ago, and getting used to my son’s school schedule.

I’ve just not been good company.

So, please bear with me.  I’m sure I’ll get back on the bloghorse.

Just not today.

Deal of the Day August 27, 2008

If you’re local to South Florida and don’t already have a Sunpass, now is the time to get one.

I used to hardly ever use mine.  I’d always take the non-toll roads to save money.  But now with the price of gas hovering around $4 it makes sense to take the quickest route…

For a limited time if you buy a Sunpass transponder for $4.99 you get $4.99 in tolls loaded onto it.  So it’s kinda free.  Plus you’ll save 25 cents on all your tolls.

What are you waiting for?

Check back tomorrow for another great deal!

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Deal of the Day August 26, 2008

Oh my goodness.

Those who know me well know how much I love The Dollar Tree.  It’s a terrific dollar store, and I highly recommend it as a great place to go on an emotion-driven shopping spree without breaking the bank.

Now I’ve discovered that they have a website, and if you need items in bulk (great for teachers needing school supplies, brides planning weddings, corporate giveaway buyers) they will for a limited time ship it free to the store near you.

Check back tomorrow for another great deal!

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