58.5%*

From My Own Little Corner In the tradition of my baby sister, Catrina, I am doing my own version of wordless Wednesday, but with a few words as a forward. Regardless of your political affiliation, yesterday, November 4, 2008, was a historical day. This country made a giant leap forward in it's reputation as the greatest nation in the world. People of all races, genders, religions, ages, colors, and political backgrounds came together and voted. They waited for hours, in some cases, for the chance to exercise their constitutional right to vote. The turnout was unbelievable. As of the typing of this post, 125,244,014* people out of 213,005,467* eligible voters had placed their vote for the President of these United States of America. That is approximately 58.5%* of the people who are registered. The result was another monumental moment, in our remarkably long list of monumental moments, as a democracy. We finally may have put the behind us the most shameful part of our legacy, racism. At least I hope that we have. Here, then, are some pictures to commemorate this truly phenomenal day.

*these are new numbers available as of 11/10/2008

I Am Confused

From My Own Little Corner Okay, I am officially confused. After listening to John McCain say that Barack Obama is the most liberal senator in the senate, today he said that if we want eight more years of George W. Bush, then we should vote for him. Okay, so then George W. Bush is the most liberal president that we have ever had? I am seriously beginning to wonder about the thought processes of John McCain. Yesterday he told Pennsylvania that he heard that there had been some pretty nasty things said about them. Then he said that he couldn't agree more. When the people booed, he said that he couldn't disagree with them more. By the time he was done I was so thoroughly confused that I am still not sure that what I heard was what I heard. Then there was the speech several weeks ago, when he referred to us as "my fellow prisoners". Now I know that the campaign trail is long and arduous, but if campaigning is going to affect him like this, then what will the strains of the presidency do to his stability? I know that he was a prisoner of war and that he served his country in the armed services and continues to serve as a senator, but I don't know if that is necessarily a reason to vote for him, or that it qualifies him to run this country, especially at this particular time. In looking forward to the country that my children will inherit I personally feel that it time to take this country in a new direction. The old boys network hasn't done such a great job these last 40 years,(with the exception of Bill Clinton and to a lesser extent, Jimmy Carter, although he was dealt a bad hand) and the party that gave us Richard Nixon, George H. W. Bush, and George W. Bush needs to be replaced and the other party needs to have a shot at fixing what the Republicans have so thoroughly tried to destroy. They promised that if we had a Republican President and a Republican congress, that they would REDUCE the size of government, decrease the amount of our deficit, make us safer, NOT nation build, and oh, so many others. Well, they had their chance, and the end result is a country that I barely recognize anymore. So, in two weeks we will go to the polls and elect a new President, and as I stated earlier, I am confused by John McCain's latest campaign and smear tactics. However, the one thing that I am not confused about is the direction that I want to see this country that I love go in, and as a result I will be voting for change. I will be voting for Barack Obama, and I am doing so proudly. May your God bless, and keep, you and yours. Pray for peace and enlightenment. Don't forget to vote on November 4Th.

"Kennedyesque" or "Nixonesque"

From My Own Little Corner I just finished watching the latest debate. This debate was a town hall style and, according to all the pundits, it was supposed to be John McCain's night. Neither threw any mud, with the exception of the "that one" remark by John McCain. Saying that about his opponent was uncalled for and showed a total lack of respect at the least and total disdain at the most. Both tended to ramble at times and in some instances the question asked was not answered, but overall, it was pretty much what I expected. I liked the information that Barack Obama gave about health care, the environment, the economy, and catching Osama bin Laden and dealing with Pakistan and Iran. John McCain did not impress me with his style or his answers. He appeared angry most of the time that he wasn't being allowed to attack Barack Obama. He was condescending to the audience (Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac-you probably never heard of them before), and thought that he was funny, and that doesn't work when you aren't preaching to the choir. Senator McCain said that the new Secretary of the Treasury would buy out the mortgages of people in trouble. That is great. But what about the people with NINJA (no income, no jobs, no assets)loans? How will you guarantee those loans? And he called the bailout a rescue plan, when I don't think the majority of the country thinks that paying for the stupidity of large companies, that give huge severance and stock packages to the CEO's that caused this mess, is a rescue. It is tossing money down a rat hole. Barack Obama offered a plan for medical coverage that, to me, seemed reasonable and plausible. I would love to be able to purchase the same coverage that our congressmen and president have. John McCain thinks that you can get health care for $5000.00 a year. I'm sorry, but if you have a family, preexisting condition, are elderly, or any other number of problems, there is no way. Trust me on that one. I also thought that Barack Obama's plan for stabilizing the economy was more feasible. It is time to review the budget of this country and get rid of the excess baggage. And if you think that you can buy services or products without money, then you haven't learned anything from the latest economic crisis. You need to have income and in this country, like it or not, that comes from taxes. It is time for a fair taxation plan. That includes getting rid of the excessive tax breaks that are being given to these huge companies that have been lobbying congress for all these years. You know, like the oil companies? And it includes making sure that the people with more money pay more taxes. That means if you make over $250,000.00 a year your taxes will go up and if your income is below $200,00.00 they will go down. I didn't really hear a plan from John McCain other than a freeze on spending on everything except military and some essential programs. Does that include keeping the veteran's benefits in place or will he freeze them too? And who decides what is essential? A man with assets in excess of $100,000,000.00? After all the dust settled, I felt that Barack Obama came off as intelligent, willing to work with anyone to get the job done, and eager to hear the opinions and problems of every day Americans. John McCain just looked tired and annoyed most of the evening and like he would rather be anywhere than there. He left very quickly after the debate and didn't seem the least bit interested in what the audience had to say. I thought that Barack Obama seemed very "Kennedyesque" and John McCain kind of "Nixonesque". As I sit here and watch the coverage on CNN I just heard David Gergen make a comment that I hope isn't true. He implied that people might not vote for Barack Obama because he is black. I can only say that I certainly hope that he is wrong, that most people will vote for what is best for this country, and not based on a party or a man's race. After watching them answer all the questions, I can honestly say that there is now no question who is better able to serve as commander-in-chief of the United States. And in my own humble opinion, that man is BARACK OBAMA. May your God bless, and keep, you and yours. Pray for peace and enlightenment. Remember, VOTE November 4!!!!

I'm back

From My Own Little CornerAfter a long hiatus, I have decided to begin blogging again. I have lots of things to blog about, as there have been lots of changes in my life and in this country since October of 2006. The most significant is the graduation of my youngest son from high school, his starting college, and the marriage of my oldest son to a beautiful young lady named Nicole. They have moved to Independence, MO, where Nicole is going to pharmacy school, and it has almost killed me. I miss them so much. I have gotten 2 years older and a little rounder in the intervening years, but my wonderful husband still loves me. Huh, will wonders never cease? My political views have not changed, if anything they have gotten stronger. I am supporting Barack Obama, and before anyone starts yelling that I am voting for the wrong person, let me just say that, as in the case of our current president, I have done my research. If people had done enough research before GWB was elected, maybe we wouldn't be in the mess that we're in today. I am a born again christian, mother of a child with handicaps (that were much worse than those of Sarah Palin's son), the wife of a man who is blind (from a hunting accident), and am personally opposed to abortion (but I would never attempt to force my PERSONAL beliefs on anyone else). I also believe that global warming is caused mostly by man and his careless disregard of this planet that we live on, that our economy is in the tank thanks to the out of control spending of the last 8 years, that this administration, the one that touts less government, has increased the government's role in our lives more than at any other time in our history, and that the legacy that they left for our children is dismal. Okay, I have ranted enough for one post. As I said in the beginning, I'm back and I have lots to say. May your God bless and keep you. Pray for peace and enlightenment.