Is it a blog? Or, is it an on line journal?

This is my 101st Post on this blog. I think that is amazing. I don't know who reads it, because there aren't comments very often. I see the numbers in the stats. So, I think it may just be my own on line journal. Which really isn't a bad thing. Is it?

I use Facebook and Pinterest, but this ... my  little blog here ... this is different from those other "social media" outlets. It's by personal virtual space.

I'm off today in observance of Veteran's Day. Thank YOU to every soldier who made this life possible ... this life of freedom and this pursuit of happiness. My dad was a veteran, serving during World War II, so it's a part of my personal history. Thank you, every one.

I don't often get a whole day at home alone, so today was nice. Just me and the dog and the cat.

Caught up on the new ABC soap, "Nashvlle."

Crocheted a babushka scarf for Hallie.

 

So, here I am, the windows open, the dog snoring, a beautiful breeze blowing and I'm writing my 101st blog post!

How about that?!

I'm going to the doll room now. Going to mess around with the new photo box my darling husband made for me. I'll post about that soon!

It's a beautiful day in sunny South Florida and I'm happy to be here!

I hope you are, too!

Day After Election Day

Boy! Am I glad that's over!

Clearly I will never make it as a political writer. I was just too busy with my job as an environmental educator to keep up with the hectic pace. You would think that writing once a day would be easy, but, I'm here to tell you: IT IS NOT! You've got to choose your issues carefully. Then, there's the research. Followed by the writing, proofing, adding images, checking links ... Whew! I get tired just thinking about it!

I think I'll stick to art, dolls and musings on life. So, thanks to those of you who read my humble political opinions. Now, let's get back to doing the fun stuff!

5 Days to the Election: Let's talk money!

As we close in on the final days of the campaign for President, the message from Romney is clear. If we vote for him and he gets elected, he will create 12,000,000 jobs. 12 million jobs.  Yeah.   Right.

However, now that Hurricane Sandy wreaked havoc in the northeast, I suspect rebuilding and repairing the areas hardest hit will create at least half of those jobs. What a great "stimulus," huh? And, it didn't take a President to do it! Just some wind and rain!

I have said it before, and I'm going to say it again: It does NOT matter WHO gets elected in November. Not where the economy is concerned. Our economy WILL recover, regardless of who the President is come January 2013. It's already on its way to recovery. It took awhile to screw it up, and it's taken awhile to get it to turn around. But, it's turning. Things ARE changing and the economy IS improving.

What I'm most pissed off about is that it could have been different if it weren't for the hard-headed Republican jerks running around Washington passing themselves off as representatives of the people. That guy, Mitch McConnell? He's the one who said, "The single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term president."    He said it in an interview prior to the mid-term elections in 2010. He said it because he and his cronies opposed what Obama was trying to do. But, instead of working together to find common ground and realistic solutions to the problems facing the country, he used his leadership skills to do just the opposite. I don't see him representing any people when he does that. I see him pursuing his own interests.

Granted, if you read the interview where the quote originates, you can see that he is speaking in a political context. He makes it clear that the goals of the Republicans couldn't be achieved unless Obama is defeated. What he didn't say, (but, I know this much is true) is that the health care law, often referred to as Obamacare, cannot be overturned if Obama gets another four years.

All the time, energy, money and creativity that have gone into undoing the President could just as easily been spent to fix things, couldn't it? Couldn't it?

Yes. It could.
But, it didn't work that way. And, when I seek to find out why, I keep running into the same crap. That Supreme Court decision that allows "big money" to give to the campaigns. THAT's a big problem. And, it's sure not doing anything to help improve our economy! Think of what that 2 Billion Dollars could've done to help the people! People like my brother who has been unemployed since 2009. All he wants is a job.

I've stopped listening to the commercials. I don't argue on Facebook anymore, either. It's over. I am worried about the outcome, but like everyone else, I'll have to wait to find out what the future holds.

6 Days to the Election

We are in the final run to election day and no one can say who might win. According to all the polls (Gallup, Pugh, NBC, CBS, ABC, CNN, etc.), it's a dead heat between the two presidential candidates.

I like the poll with Hallowe'en costume shops. On October 24th, Spirit Halloween stores stated that, according to their records, the candidate who sold the most masks before Halloween in an election year won the election.

In 1996, Clinton outsold Dole 71% to 29%, and as we all know, Clinton won. In 2000, Bush 2 beat Gore 57% to 43% and, in his re-election bid in 2004, Bush 2 once again outsold his opponent, Kerry, 65% to 35%.

In 2008, McCain's mask didn't do too hot. His mask accounted for 40%, leaving Obama to sweep it up with 60% of the sales. And, if mask sales are any indicator, Obama will take it away again in 2012. As of October 24th, it was Obama 65% and Romney 35%.

Now, THAAAT'S my kind of poll research!

11 Days to the Election

  “A man does what he must - in spite of personal consequences, in spite of obstacles and dangers and pressures - and that is the basis of all human morality.” 

    ― Winston Churchill

I got into a bit of an argument on Facebook today. It started with the Sun-Sentinel endorsing Romney. In the course of 'arguing my case' with hard-headed Republicans, it occurred to me that regardless of who gets elected, the economy will recover. It's all the other stuff I'm worried about. 

As much as I want my brother to find a job after three years of unemployment and his impending eviction from his apartment ... after watching my granddaughter struggle to work full time and go to school ... seeing my daughter, college degree in hand, struggle with the student loan debt she acquired ... these things make me realize that it really doesn't matter who gets elected anymore. The economy will recover. The rich will get richer. And, unless one of us invents something akin to sliced bread, my family will forever be middle class. Which is okay with me. I'm only going to be around another thirty or forty years. But my kids? I'm not so optimistic for their futures.

I'm bummed out today. This whole election thing has me going around in circles. We've had stormy weather and now this. So, here's a cute kitten picture to make me and you feel better.

There's always tomorrow, right?

12 Days to the Election: Political Ads & A Story

They are everywhere. On the television at home. 

America Deserves Better (Romney)

On the radio in the car. 
On the internet at work.
Political ads are everywhere.

Don't the marketing geniuses that put this stuff together (while making a slough of money!) realize that most of us know the stuff they keep saying over and over and over? Jeez.

I want fresh information. I want to know what I don't know about the candidates. And, I have been actively seeking such information. To my surprise, I found a story in my own neighborhood.

I have a new neighbor who is renting a house in my neck of the woods since early summer. He retired to sunny south Florida from the Boston area and is looking forward to his first winter here, minus the snow and cold. And, he shared a "Romney story" with me.  One I had never heard before.

This lovely man, who I will call "Henry," lived and worked in Boston his entire adult life and remembers the stories about Romney orchestrating the purchase of land for the Mormon church in a small community outside of Boston.  Belmont, according to my neighbor's recollection, was a community of upper middle class residents who liked the quiet and peaceful life they had outside of the booming city of Boston. The Mormons infiltrated the community by purchasing homes and, over a few years, succeeded in assembling a stockpile of land. It seems residents were not aware of this for several years because the Mormons operated quietly, not doing anything to attract attention to themselves.

At some point in the early 1990s, the Mormons decided they wanted to build a church in Belmont. At the top of a beautiful hill, according to Henry.  When the non-Mormon residents (many of whom had lived there for more than 20 years, he says) learned of this, they attended city council meetings to protest to their elected officials that building a church in that spot would change the character of their neighborhood and their way of life.  Those opposing construction of the church would learn that the city commission was not on their side. Somehow, the Mormons had managed to assemble the parcels of property necessary to build their church and, even a lawsuit wouldn't stop it. And, according to Henry, Mitt Romney was at the lead of this "business venture" on behalf of the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints. The same Mitt Romney that is running for President of these United States.

The January 2, 2000, Associated Press news story begins: "BOSTON — The 69,000-square-foot Mormon temple sits atop a hill, dominating the upscale residential neighborhood of single-family homes in suburban Boston. When complete, it will draw crowds of Mormons from all over the northeast and Canada for baptisms, marriages and other ceremonial events." To which I responded, "Oh. My."

Upon researching Henry's story (which I had never heard about before our conversation), I learned that the Mormon church is eager to build churches all over the world and Mitt Romney has been helpful to them in that regard. They're building one near my workplace as I write these words. So, I found myself imagining how it might be to have them infiltrate MY neighborhood the way they did the Belmont community ... and, I thought about how that would make me feel. I've lived in my home for 25 years. It's a quiet neighborhood, off the beaten path, tucked away from all the hullabaloo of tourists, a little piece of "old Florida." I cherish the peace and quiet and lack of traffic. And, I would be heartsick if that happened in my neighborhood, so I suspect that is how many Belmont residents felt back then.

Today, I ask myself and you: Is this who we want to run our country? I think some of you will say "yes." I hope most of you say "no." In 12 more days, we'll all be forced to make that choice.

Some of my references:

NY Times 10/16/2011- Romney, a role of faith and authority

Boston Massachusetts Temple, 100th operating temple

Mormon News' Coverage of the Boston Temple Challenges

Thirteen Days to the Election

All I had time to do was type this and the title.
Life does, indeed, get in the way of political ambition.