I love politics and I also rubber stamp. Visit my blog if you like to make cards or fool around with rubber stamping. No politics though, just some art and an escape from the horror of Bush.
Sometimes there are moments when you realize things, sort of an awakening and then that leads to other thoughts and other realizations. Today I had one of those moments, one that clarified and defined for me the core reason I am strongly pro-choice. But, before we get to the moment, a few words on the journey to this moment.
I was born and raised Catholic, and yes, I am still a Catholic, actually part of the "Catholic Democrat" organization. My religious upbringing included 12 years of catholic schools. While things may be different today, at the time I went to these schools I was taught how to think, how to reason, there was no memorization of bible passages, just lessons about what it meant to be a Catholic.
Have you found my sense of humor? Seems sometime in late 2000 I misplaced my humor, specifically during the months of November and December. I miss my sense of humor, and am hoping one of you might help me find that all too familiar humor I long to have back.
Seems that this election has all but buried my sense of humor, because, well, you see I happen to think that truth and facts are not "funny" things, you know, truth like how our economy is, how our standing in the world is, little things like the truth about global warming, hunger, health care and Iraq.
As my signature indicates, I am into rubber stamping, which includes, but is not limited to: cards, altered art, ATC's (don't know what those are? Go to my blog and look them up ; ), journaling, and just stamping anything and everything that can be stamped, painted, altered, you get the idea.
So, if you live in Northern CA, and if you would like a break from politics, join us in September for a get together in San Jose at a GREAT art/stamp/crop studio called A Work of Heart. You don't have to bring a thing, you don't even need to know how to stamp.
Wow, just when you thought you had seen it all, the Nevada GOP has had to cancel their state convention, because they could not get more then 300 state delegates to confirm they would attend and they needed 675 for a quorum. Talk about pathetic:
Citing a lack of interest, the Nevada Republican Party has called off its state convention and will instead pick its delegates to the national convention by private conference call.
The state party broke up its original convention in April when supporters of Ron Paul hijacked the proceedings and tried to elect delegates for their candidate to the national GOP convention in September. Party officials tried to reconvene on July 26, but they needed a quorum of 675 and received only 300 RSVPs, according to local reports.
I have thought about this for a while now, we have become a nation that no longer has the will or know how to work together towards a common good. Why? Personally I believe that this is exactly what the GOP has sought to do to our nation, divide us along political, ethnic and economic lines. This division, as well as our national obsession with spending money on things we don't need (but must have), has created a society where the only interest is for the individual.
We are in the midst of a economic slowdown due to many events, one being the cost of gas. Do we hear solutions which might mean some type of sacrifice by Americans? No, what we hear, from the GOP especially, is a solution that solves nothing and feeds into our gluttony, selfishness and worse, a solution that offers nothing for the future.
What world does John McCain live in? Not this world, not the world that you and I have to struggle in each and every day, no, not that world. The world in which John McCain lives in is one that cares not to know what the cost of a gallon of gas is:
WICKSOL: When was the last time you pumped your own gas and how much did it cost?
MCCAIN: Oh, I don’t remember. Now there’s Secret Service protection. But I’ve done it for many, many years. I don’t recall and frankly, I don’t see how it matters.
I’ve had hundreds and hundreds of town hall meetings, many as short a time ago as yesterday. I communicate with the people and they communicate with me very effectively.
In his world it doesn't matter what he pays for a gallon of gas, but in the everyday world of Americans, it matters, and no, our job is not to communicate the price of gas to anyone running for President.
What more does it take for Americans to realize that we are in some serious financial difficulties? Bloomberg is reporting that:
U.S. stocks tumbled, sending the Dow Jones Industrial Average to its worst June since the Great Depression, as record oil prices, credit-market writedowns and a slowing economy threatened to extend a yearlong profit slump.
Why are we at this point? Because the GOP has run this country into the ground, their policies, their legislation, their lack of regulation, their utter disregard for real Americans, that is why we are at this point.
I am sick to death of hearing all this crap about needing to drill, drill, drill to put more oil on the market which supposedly will lower prices (it won't). So, now America seems to think oh yes, DRILL, DRILL NOW! Except it won't help them, not one bit. But there is one thing, one thing RIGHT now that we could all do which would add 50 million barrels of oil to our supplies each day.
Slow the Fricken hell DOWN! Yes, DRIVE 55 miles an hour! Wow, how novel, easy and immediate. Why, dear lord, why isn't our party, our leaders, our candidates shouting this from high and low?
We need to regain this drill argument, and we can, if we can offer an immediate solution, a solution that won't cost anything, will save everyone money, save lives and will result in more oil each day.
Just watching the Asian markets drop into hell, and was surfing on Bloomberg when this article caught my eye, "Retail sale in US probably rose on tax rebates, revenue at gas stations." So I clicked the article and what did I read?
This:
June 8 (Bloomberg) -- Sales at U.S. retailers probably rose in May as Americans started spending tax rebate checks and record gas prices inflated service-station receipts, economists said before reports this week.
Of course this little caveat was not mentioned by the news, and remember how the market surged 200 points when the story broke that consumer spending was up? Of course the market tanked the next day.
More....
Ok, so today as I was sitting and rubber stamping (yes,I rubber stamp, I make cards and it calms me), Wolf was talking away in the background about the news of the day....when something caught my ear, and then my attention.
We all know how McBush has been attacking Obama for not visiting Iraq in the last few years, implying that unless you go to Iraq you can't possibly know what the reality is on the ground. Sounds reasonable? Not to us, and certainly NOT to a seasoned reporter from CNN who has been in Iraq for years.
Now one could say so what, except that almost EVERYTHING in the store is shrinking in size, but not in price. What does that mean? You spend the same, or more, and get less, which means you need to buy more and so on.
Wednesday General Petras will report to the Congress on Iraq. Tonight MSNBC has this on their front page:
BAGHDAD - Hundreds of people fled fighting in Baghdad's Shiite militia stronghold Monday as U.S. and Iraqi forces increased pressure on anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, who faces an ultimatum to disband his Mahdi Army or face a ban from Iraqi politics.
Al-Sadr's aides said he would only dismantle the powerful militia if ordered by top Shiite clerics — who have remained silent throughout the increasingly dangerous showdown.
(emphasis mine)
Is there any sane person left in this country that thinks the current situation in Iraq is getting "better?"
According to reliable sources (you really need want me to post the links?), Bush is one of the most unpopular presidents in our HISTORY. Remember this please, in our HISTORY.
So, what do you do if you are the GOP in Silicon Valley? Well, you highlight McCain on your website, as you should, and that is really no big deal. But......given the choice, do you REALLY REALLY want to remind the voting public that McCain is, ummmmmm, Bush II?
Evidently, the Silicon Valley GOP thinks it is a GOOD thing to tie McCain to Bush, as evidenced by this picture on their front page:
I am a Catholic, have been all my life. I am also a Democrat because I am a Catholic. While you may think the two are complete opposites, they are not, in fact, as my Uncle states: "One cannot be a Catholic and Republican."
Growing up Catholic taught me to love my neighbor, to not judge, to accept, to think of others before myself. The teachings of the Catholic Church centered on love, or at least in my neck of the woods.
Why write this diary? Because each day seems to bring me closer to the realization that it is far too easy to claim how "Christian" our nation is, and at the same time ignore the teachings of Christ. (I do NOT believe we are a "Christian" nation, rather a secular nation that welcomes all, regardless of whether or not they have any type of religion.)
Look, I have read and seen far too many diaries here about how bad either Hillary is or Obama. I support Obama, I would support, with my whole HEART and soul Hillary, I will support our parties nominee.
I will not beat up any other Democrat, I refuse to help McCain get elected, I refuse, I absolutely refuse to allow the Repubs to win the WH, I refuse to give them one inch, one little anything that will help them win.
Tonight we know who we are going to fight against, we just do not know for sure who our nominee will be, but we know, we KNOW that our party, our ideals, will never be represented by McCain or the GOP.
I just found this on Atrios, and well, it made my day:
Melanie Morgan — the conservative radio talk show host who chairs Move America Forward, the group which has led efforts to shame and boycott Berkeley for its anti-U.S. Marine Corps recruiting stand — has lost her job at KSFO 560 AM.
Morgan, 51, delivered her final broadcast there today after 14 years at the microphone, she says in a news release. KSFO owner Citadel Broadcasting decided not to renew her contract as part of the company’s announced across-the-board financial cost cutting.
A new LA Times/Bloomberg poll, shows McCain with a slight national lead over Clinton or Obama:
In head-to-head contests, the poll found, McCain leads Clinton by 6 percentage points (46% to 40%) and Obama by 2 points (44% to 42%). Neither lead is commanding given that the survey, conducted Feb. 21-25, has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
I will note that I don't trust "national" polls as our system for the Presidential election is a result of how each state votes, additionally we have all seen how bad the polling has been lately.
Not sure if someone has posted this video yet so....for your viewing pleasure, a parody of the Yes We Can video, starring the war monger himself, John McCain:
