1 week and 1 day

I just want this election to be over! Partly it’s because I’m so tired of hearing about, but mostly because I just need to know who is going to win. I need to know whether I need to learn how to adapt to another four years under the leadership of someone I believe is uncapable of being a great president. How am I going to get up every day if I learn that more Americans felt that McCain was the right man for the job (not that he couldn’t win with less than half of the American vote). I hear the polls every day and they mostly get my hopes up, so I try NOT to listen or to be too hopeful, because I’ve been there before, and I remember waking up the next day and learning that George W. had been re-elected.

This is the first year in my 20 years of being old enough to vote that I’ve donated money to a presidential candidate’s campaign. I don’t actually know how much I donated. When Obama asked, I answered. And I will hold my breath through next week just find out the results. And I’m pretty sure I won’t be able to watch the election highlights during the day either, while everyone is speculating. It’s going to be horrible.

I’ve considered what other country I could be happy living in if McCain were to win the election. I thought maybe France or England or Australia. Certainly Canada, but Canada is colder than here, and I’d have trouble moving to colder climates.

McCain has said a lot of things during this campaign that have pissed me off. I know I am sensitive to it because I am an Obama supporter, and if I were a McCain supporter, I imagine Obama has said things to annoy them. But when McCain and Palin jumped on Biden’s remarks about foreign powers testing Obama if he is elected, he acted as though (and said as much) that foreign powers would NOT test him. I already believe he is delusional, so it’s not surprising he would say what he said. Foreign powers sure tested George W. soon after HE was in office. Can’t way I’m all that grateful for HIS response to 9-11. Does McCain think I would feel safer with him in office? FAR from it!

The McCain said that Obama is saying anything to get elected. That made me laugh out loud, because McCain was totally describing HIMSELF!

Anyway, I cannot wait for this election to be OVER. Go Obama! Make me proud to be an American again!!

Why I am voting for Obama

I have always considered myself an Independent. I don’t want to label myself as any particular party, because, well, I don’t like to be labeled at all. But I like to think that I would always vote for the most qualified candidate, or if it’s one of those “vote for the better of two evils” year, that I’ll do just that. When I was a new voter, I found myself voting mostly Republican, likely because I hadn’t found my footing and was still following in my parents’ footsteps. Then I found myself slowly becoming more liberal. 

One thing I have always found interesting is when Republicans say that they want less government control. But to me, I feel like that is ALL Republicans want. When Republicans are in office, I constantly feel under the eye of Big Brother. When Democrats are in office, I feel far less that way, and I think that’s party why I now lean that way. Republicans seem to hold on to the past. They don’t grow with society and the times. They want to keep life the way it was 100 years ago. I, on the other hand, want to move forward and accept more things as they are now. Democrats seem to look to the future while Republicans refuse to see what’s coming.

That said, I still haven’t really mentioned why I’m voting for Obama. In the past couple of weeks, I wrote how McCain scares me. The biggest reason is that a vote for McCain is basically a vote for war. He sees the world as a conqueror would…he wants to control everything and everyone. He puts fear in the minds of the people so they, too, want to conquer foreign lands, whether it be Iraq, Iran, or N. Korea. I am confident that McCain will start a war with Iran; he will find a reason even if they’re not really a threat. He will make them sound like a threat.

He will probably use Israel as a reason. I know Israel is an emotion issue for many. I grew up knowing little about the history of Israel, but it seems that at this point, the folks over there, both Israeli and Palestinian, just need to get over it already! There is no “right” answer. But take down your walls and just learn to see past the labels. You’re all people who just want to make it through to see tomorrow. Or maybe you’ve been brainwashed to believe that being a martyr will somehow make a better place for you in the afterlife. It is likely my lack of belief in an afterlife that makes me think how ridiculous you all look blowing yourselves up to make a point. Shake hands and learn to live together. Why waste your entire lives being angry.

Regardless, if not Israel, it’ll be nuclear weapons. Here’s another thing I don’t get. Why is the U.S. allowed nuclear weapons but other countries are not (except for those we choose)? That certainly doesn’t seem fair. If we can have them, then other countries should be allowed to have them. Do I want them to shoot them over here? Well, no. But do they want us to shoot them over there? Of course not. Either we should all be allowed to have them or we should all be made to destroy them . (I vote for the latter.) But for us to say that other countries absolutely cannot have them makes us a bully. You may say, “But those guys are CRAZY and they’ll send them off for no reason!” I’ve certainly had my days when I’ve been pretty sure that Bush isn’t “all there” either, and McCain…he is FAR less stable than even Bush. He wants to win a war no matter what, and if I were any other country, I would fear him. And my fear in him would make me want to make nuclear weapons to protect myself. If I were N. Korea, I’d be VERY afraid of Bush and McCain. It’s like the bully holding the bat and not letting me, the bullied, have any weapons to defend myself. When we see that in schools, we try to teach kids NOT to be bullies. So how can we be surprised when there are school shootings, etc.? These are kids who are told not to bully or not to put up with bullying, but they’re taught from day 1 that it’s okay for their country to treat other countries that way. “Do as I say, not as I do” does not work!!

And THAT is why I am voting for Obama. Although I agree that Obama has far less experienced as a politician than McCain, he doesn’t make me think about  only doom for this country. I think he can see things from both sides. I think we need a big change in government and we need to show other countries around the world that we KNOW that Bush has been useless to us and we want to make our relationships with other countries better, not worse. We need to listen to all sides and not just assume we are right. I am still horrified that Bush went into Iraq after made-up WMDs. The other countries said not to go in, but Bully Bush wasn’t going to listen. That’s crap. Let’s get someone in office who will work with the other countries of the world and not act like a know-it-all. No one likes a know-it-all, a bully, or a conqueror.

So to Obama I say this. I am putting my trust in you. I know you are a bit green, but I am hoping that you will surround yourself with others who are open minded and willing to listen to all sides, others with experience they can share with you as you grow in the presidential position. I hope that you will understand how other countries currently see us and that some of us aren’t always “proud” to be American. Republicans can say that’s unpatriotic. But honestly, I’m not going to wave a flag and be proud of a country whose government has royally screwed things up lately! We really DO need a change, and I am trusting you to bring the U.S. back into good standing. I don’t need to be the most powerful country in the world. I just need for us to be able to live with the respect of other countries. I really WANT to be proud to live here, and I hope it will start again when you are in office.

So if anyone else out there is listening, vote for McCain if you enjoy pillaging other countries, if you need to be #1, if you have little care of what other countries believe and think, if you simply cannot see things from any other point of view but your own. Vote for Obama for real change, inside and out!

Civilian flaggers vs. police details

In Massachusetts, for years and years, there have been police details at road construction sites. I personally didn’t care (at the time, I hadn’t realized the exorbitant cost to taxpayers to use police officers instead of civilian flaggers), except for one thing that really stood out to me: when there are cops on duty, I can never clearly tell whether I should go or stop because there’s just a hand waving. With civilians, they carry those nice big signs that say STOP or GO, and that seems a lot safer than not quite being able to see the sign that the cop is giving.

And the fact that civilians cost a lot less, with the economy the way it is and the lack of jobs, makes so much sense. I know the cops are going to miss their overtime, but it’s wasteful, and it would be nice if they would look at the big picture rather than just thinking of themselves. Civilian flaggers are the right choice. Most other states use them, and they’re smart to do so.

Plus, half the time that I pass a cop at a traffic detail, he/she is on the phone or talking to the construction guys instead of actually working. Taxpayers don’t want to pay for this. Others can do it just as well or better. And I’m thrilled that the governor of Massachusetts saw this and did something about it.

Do I offend you?

I do not understand why people take offense at things. It seems that no matter what I hear or see or read, someone complains that they have been offended, and the next thing I know, a TV program is discontinued, a statue is covered up, a performance is changed so as not to offend.

I’m female and blonde; I’m Irish, French, German, and Polish; I’m 5′5″ and 165 pounds. You can make jokes about dumb blondes, about drunk Irish, about fat people, and I will probably laugh. Or I won’t. I might not find something funny, but I will doubtfully be personally offended. I know who I am and I know if what someone is saying is true about me or not. If it’s true, it certainly can’t offend me. The truth might hurt, and someone might have been nicer to me, but I’m not going to deny what’s true. It’s in accepting the truth that gives me the power to be above taking offense.

I don’t understand how one person’s being offended can actually cause consequences for others. If there is an art display of, for instance, a man standing behind a woman, nude, having sex with her, it’s not necessarily something I want to look at for hours on end, but if one person complains, I don’t think it should change the outcome. Why would that offend someone? If they don’t like it, they shouldn’t look at it. 

I’m just so tired of people using “I’m offended” as a way of controlling the world around them. Get over yourselves. If you’re offended by something someone says, it’s because you believe what they’re saying is true about you, and if you believe that, either accept it and move on, or do something to change your experience. And if you don’t believe it, then don’t waste your energy being offended. If you tell me I’m ugly, I might feel a little sad because I worry that I AM ugly. If you tell me I’m a dumb blonde, I know I’m not dumb, so that will bounce off of me. Plus, I choose to be blonde. I certainly feel different emotions based on what people say to me and what I hear and see, but I’m never offended.

When I watch TV, I can recognize those things that others would likely find offensive. Hell, I watch Family Guy. That is one of the most “offensive” and the FUNNIEST programs on television. The Simpsons often zings Unitarians, something else that I consider myself at times. And I laugh and laugh, because what they say is true, and it’s not bad (although some Christians might think it’s bad). If I thought it was bad, I woudn’t embrace it.

So, my message is to just get over it and laugh!

I’m afraid

This presidential race is scaring me. I’m not really sure that either candidate is going to be able to lead this country. I can only hope that they choose good people to surround themselves with because if we don’t start thinking carefully, this country is screwed.

I’m afraid about a world with John McCain as president (and Sarah Palin standing behind him). McCain seems determined not to lose another war. I worry that he’s going to keep us in Iraq, get us into Iran, and basically make any country who doesn’t already hate us hate us.

I’m voting for Obama. Yes, he’s inexperienced as far as global politics, but he’s worldly in the way he grew up. He has connections far and wide. He will bring a new perspective to the White House. McCain will just continue the Bush legacy.

I used to be a fan of Hilary Clinton. If Obama hadn’t run at all, I probably would have supported her. But Obama has already meant “hope” to me. At the same time, Clinton says “experience,” and I hope that if Obama is elected to office (please please please please), that he brings Clinton on, perhaps as secretary of state or some office where she can have a big role in helping to lead. I’m not sure if she would have been a better choice for VP or not. I liked the Biden choice unti I learned that he’s been saying things that are complete falsities as though they were true. What IS that? Does me just make it up or does someone actually write that crap for him? But Clinton could bring a lot to the table, so I hope Obama and Clinton can be partners.

I’d love to have been a fly on the wall when McCain’s grup was trying to decide who their VP should be. Why on EARTH would they choose Sarah Palin except to “grab the women’s vote”? (I can only hope that most women are intelligent enough not to choose their candidates by gender alone!). He might has well have chosen me! I think I may know more about foreign policy than she does, and I learn most of that from the Daily Show! She’s certainly a looker, but she’s no world leader.

Obama, keep it clean and truthful and classy. Stay above all of the crap being thrown by McCain and Palin. You ARE the better candidate, and you deserve to win. Good luck. You are the only one who gives me hope.