First Lady Material

From My Own Little Corner I watched Larry King Live last night. He interviewed Michelle Obama and I have to say that I was thoroughly impressed. What a classy lady. I don't know if I could be that gracious to the people who are throwing exaggerations and outright lies around like throwed rolls from Lambert's Cafe in Sikeston, MO. But she said absolutely NOTHING, and I mean NOTHING, nasty, snarky, or degrading about John McCain, Cindy McCain, Sarah Palin, Todd Palin, or any of their family members. As a matter of fact she only had nice and complimentary things to say about all of them. She was kind, intelligent, classy, and very, very down to earth. She helped to advance what her husband wants to do in his presidency. She talked about his philosophy-that you can disagree with someone without being disagreeable, that you should RESPECT all people, even those that have a difference of opinion or policy, and that if we all work together we can do anything. That is a big difference from what I have been hearing from the other side. I listened in disbelief as Cindy McCain stated that Barack Obama is running the "dirtiest campaign in American history". And at the campaign rally this week when she stated that it sent a cold shiver down her spine when Barack Obama voted against funding the troops. What she didn't say is that John McCain voted against it also. When she said that she would like for Barack Obama to wear her shoes for a day, I was dumbfounded. Can you see her living the life of an African American? Can you imagine Cindy McCain living in Chicago, in the same house all the time? Can you imagine her withstanding the racial or ethnic slurs? I can't. I do imagine, however, that if she did trade shoes with him, after an hour, she would be screaming that she wants her life back. After watching these two women for the last few months, I can say that it seems to me that Cindy McCain is a woman who is not very satisfied with her life, and that Michelle Obama is happy, grounded, and comfortable in her own skin. Maybe always being on the receiving end of the kind of remarks that I have heard hurled in this campaign, has made her more able to be a TRUE Christian, to follow the word of God, to forgive those who trespass against her, and to not bear false witness. I only wish that everyone could follow her example. 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!!!!

Yelling At Clouds

From My Own Little Corner I watched today as the stock market plunged to below 10,000 points for the first time in more than 4 years. The world markets didn't fare any better. In the European markets there were losses anywhere from 7.07% to 9.04%. The Asian markets dropped 4.25% to 4.97%. Germany's DAX was down over 7% and British FTSE down almost 8%. The Russian markets dropped even more sharply than these other markets, with losses from 6.10% to 20.67%. And in the midst of this terrible world economic crisis, Sarah Palin was pasted all over the news stations, spouting her rhetoric about Barack Obama's ties to Bill Ayers and telling us how the McCain-Palin ticket is going to change Washington D.C. Never mind that there are no specifics, just the same old, tired lines. I have listened to many speeches from these two and I still don't know what they are going to do. I have only heard the generalized and often reworked stump speech. Now when they see that they are falling behind in the polls, they revert to Karl Rove style attacks. These are the same type of attacks that G. W. Bush used against John McCain in the 2000 primaries. You know when they accused John McCain of having an illegitimate child by an African American woman. Remember back when John McCain decided that he wanted to run for the Republican nomination and he told all of America that he wouldn't run a campaign like the one that Karl Rove ran in 2000 and 2004? You know the kind where you will say anything to get elected. Remember when he said that he would never, ever approve a bill that had any "pork" and that as President he would veto any bill with earmarks that crossed his desk? I think that was just week before last. Gee, how things have changed. His campaign is throwing around false and misleading accusations against Barack Obama and he just voted FOR the bailout (I know that they are calling it a "rescue", but if it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck...) and it contained 112 BILLION DOLLARS in earmarks. Of course after he voted for it, he was against it. Remember that little bit of nostalgia from the 2004 election? So far the only change that I have seen from this ticket is in their promise to run a "clean" campaign. When I listen to John McCain now he just sounds like an angry old man, who is yelling at clouds. And as far as Sarah Palin is concerned, she is just the PTA mom who insists that her ideas are the only ones that count and every body else should just shut up. She and John Mccain were very loud and sarcastic today when they told America that Barack Obama was the angry one, the lying one, the one with no plan. It is the same old George W. Bush idea. Lie about it often enough, loud enough, and long enough and it will become true. Well, I have been listening to these two scream and rant and I still don't believe them. And if I am wrong, well, then I will be the first to say so. But I remember when George W. Bush was elected, my husband and I sat at our kitchen counter, in our middle class, 1350 foot ranch home, and told anyone who would listen that he would get us into a war within the first two years of his presidency and that given the chance he would ruin this country. Well, he has done that, and with his economic policies and lies about HIS war, he and his republican congress (it was that way for his first six years, so don't start telling me that the Democrats are in there now) have done more than any foreign or home grown terrorist to destroy MY COUNTRY and it's standing in the world. And so I say to you readers (all 2 of you), can we really afford 4 more years of the same old self serving policies and lies? As always, may your God bless, and keep, you and yours. Pray for peace and enlightenment. DON'T FORGET TO VOTE!!!!!!!!!

Let the Mudslinging Begin

From My Own Little Corner So, Sarah Palin wants to start the mudslinging, does she? Is she sure about that? There are some "associations" in her past and in John McCain's past that I am not so sure they want people to be reminded of.

Ever hear of the Alaskan Independence Party? Like that name? They are a political party in Alaska that Sarah Palin's husband Todd (first dude) belonged to from 1995 to 2002. Their motto is "Alaska First--Alaska Always", a far cry from "Country First". This political party wants a vote for secession from the union for Alaska, the 49Th state. Sarah Palin has had her dealings with this group also.

Earlier this year, Palin sent a video message to the AIP for its annual convention, where AIP vice chair George Clark told the small crowd that Palin "was an AIP member before she got the job as a mayor of a small town –- that was a non-partisan job. But you get along to go along -– she eventually joined the Republican Party, where she had all kinds of problems with their ethics, and well, I won’t go into that. She also had about an 80 percent approval rating, and is pretty well sympathetic to her former membership." (1)

Now, I do not intend to imply that Sarah Palin is a secessionist. Unless you use her reasoning, then there is guilt by association. The main difference here is that Barack Obama was EIGHT YEARS OLD when Bill Ayers, the terrorist member of the Weather Underground that he is supposedly "paling' around with" was being accused of his terrorist activities. The charges were eventually dropped for FBI misconduct. Sarah Palin was Governor of Alaska when she sent her video message to the AIP.

And don't forget the investigation into abuse of power allegations concerning the firing of Walt Monegan, the commissioner of public safety on July 11, 2008 because he wouldn't fire her ex brother-in-law. Neither she nor her staff have complied with the subpoenas issued by the court and have refused to testify at the hearings. She had originally agreed to cooperate with the investigation until shortly after she became the nominee for vice president.

Then there is the association of John McCain with the Keating Five in the late 1980's and early 1990's. For anyone not aware of the Keating Five, here’s a very simple summary:

Charles Keating owned a savings and loan in California. He was illegally using the money of his bank’s customers to give loans to himself and friends that they didn’t have to repay, and to speculate on risky real estate investments, which was strictly forbidden by U.S. law (and was one cause of the Great Depression).

When the feds found out what was going on and launched an investigation into Keating and his company, Keating called five U.S. Senators whom he had wined, dined, and lavished with hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign donations and personal gifts.

Keating asked the five Senators to tell the feds to bug off, and the five Senators, later known as the Keating Five, obliged, meeting with federal investigators twice and pressuring them to stop investigating Keating’s crimes. They bought Keating some time, but the feds didn’t give up and eventually Keating was nailed. The reason the feds were so persistent was because Keating wasn’t playing with mere chump change. Keating blew $3.4 billion through illegal personal loans and bad investments, and the FDIC had to reimburse Keating’s customers who had been ripped off.

(Background Info - Keating wasn’t the only Savings and Loan owner who was committing fraud, 20% of the S&L’s that failed during that three year period were found to have been caused by fraud and/or insider trading. The failure of the Lincoln Savings and Loan and other S&L’s pushed the country into a recession, costing the U.S. government $126 billion dollars in FDIC insurance payouts to investors. All of this came to a crescendo during the first year of the presidency of George H.W. Bush, who pushed through the S&L bailout plan to keep the economy afloat.)

When the involvement of the Keating Five was made public, a scandal erupted and the Senate Ethics Committee launched their own investigation into whether the Keating Five had violated Senate ethics rules. The other four Senators left office either immediately or within one term. John McCain was formally rebuked by the Senate Ethics Committee for exercising “poor judgment” for intervening with the federal regulators on behalf of Keating, but because McCain accepted Keating’s gifts of travel and vacations to Bahama while McCain was a member of the House of Representatives (he served one term there before moving to the Senate), the Senate claimed they had no jurisdiction to censure McCain. (However the meetings to pressure federal regulators occurred during the first few months of McCain serving in the Senate in 1987, so that excuse doesn’t hold up). (2)

These are just 2 of the skeletons in the closet that could be used to counter the latest claims from Sarah Palin. As I have said before and to quote the American proverb, "People in glass houses, shouldn't throw stones".

Everyone has had an association with someone that they regret. The difference between us regular Joes and the candidates, is that with us nobody is trying to use it to their advantage or against us.

So let's stick to the problems that face our country and what the candidates are going to do about it, and quit with the mudslinging.

May your God bless, and keep, you and yours. Pray for peace and enlightenment.

Sources

1. http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/09/members-of-frin.html
2. http://mccainkeatingfive.com/?p=6

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.

Do You Feel Safer?

From My Own Little Corner I haven't written in a while as I have been busy reading. I just finished "Bushworld" by Maureen Dowd. What a good book. It is chocked full of information that is written in an easy to follow and humorous manner. I am now in the process of reading "The One Percent Doctrine" by Ron Suskind. Both books revealed behind the scenes information that is both troubling and scary. This man that was "elected" to run our country and his idea of the "war on terror", his ideas on how he needs to "protect us", and the means that he will use to further his own agenda, and that of his cohorts, are quite frankly, in my own opinion, egocentric and nuts. The scariest part is that he truly believes that he is going to be remembered by history as one of the greatest leaders our country has ever had. I have been listening to some of the speeches that he has been giving over the last few weeks and am both amazed and puzzled. Amazed that he has the nerve to continue to attempt to link Iraq and the 9/11 attacks, that he has had the temerity to say that we have "defeated the Taliban", to tell us that we are safer without Saddam Hussein in power, and then turn around and tell us that we are still at great risk of additional terrorist attacks. That is why I am puzzled. If the Taliban was truly responsible for the 9/11 terrorist attacks, then why did we invade Iraq? The Taliban were headquartered in Afghanistan, a country that we invaded shortly after 9/11 to try to find Osama Bin Laden (rightly so), and that now we seem to have completely forgotten. The violence there and the resurgence of Taliban activity and their seemingly organized attacks, seems to prove that we have not "defeated the Taliban", but only pissed them off even more. Osama bin Laden is still out there planning and plotting, and GWB and his administration recently disbanded the Osama task force. This was the force responsible for tracking down the man behind the 9/11 attacks. And by moving into Iraq and attempting to set up our own brand of government and democracy, we have just given the terrorists more fuel for the fire. Al-Qaeda is more determined than ever to get us out of there and have join forces with other terrorist cells, including the Taliban, to form what appears to me to be a much stronger, better organized, and more extreme cell. For want of a better term-super terrorists. These terrorists are much scarier than the ones that existed just after 9/11. In their zeal to tie Saddam to the terror attacks of 9/11, this administration has given the terrorists what they always wanted and never had, a reason (in their own insane thought processes) to truly hate us. If they really needed a cause, other than hating us for our beliefs and lifestyle, we have given it to them. I certainly don't feel safer. Do you? And now we are hearing the same rhetoric from our leaders that we heard before the invasion of Iraq. "We won't talk to this country until they do as we say." "We are not making plans for war, just updating the plans that were already in place." "The people are repressed." The IAEA has stated the information that is being spoon fed to us about IRAN's nuclear ambitions and capabilities are being exaggerated. Does all this sound familiar? It's deja vu all over again. Hopefully, this time around, our REPUBLICAN congress will not be bamboozled into doing the same foolish things that they did before, the things that led us into this mess that we have in Iraq. In less than 2 months we will be having an election. It's time for regime change. Bush, his boys and girls, did it in Iraq and I hope that the citizens will do it in the United States. In the meantime, please pray for peace and enlightenment. I will, and may your personal God bless and keep you and yours.

A Great Man

From My Own Little Corner I awoke this morning to the tragic news of the death of a great man. His death was shocking. What was even more shocking was my reaction. I cried. I cried for his family and I cried for the loss of the things that he could have continued to teach the world. He wasn't great in the ways that we often associate with greatness. He was a man that used his God given talents to teach the world that all God's creatures are special and should be valued. His untimely death brought back many of my own memories. Sitting with my two young boys, anxiously awaiting the appointed time of his next lesson on wildlife. Watching with delight as my boys saw the value of the world's wildlife and waited with wide eyed excitement to see what his next adventure would bring. The hours that we spent as a family watching, then discussing what he had to teach us are part of my favorite memories. We watched as he first met and then married his wife. We watched as his daughter was born and again when the world was outraged when he held his son while feeding a crocodile. We watched him build a great zoo and wildlife refuge from the monies made showing the world the many exotic animals that he so loved. This man showed my children that even the ugliest and most viscious animals are an important part of our world and need to be protected. He gave my sons a love of all God's creatures that coincided with my own teachings. He was probably the strongest influence on my eldest son, who loves reptiles and has a red tailed boa named Madeline and an american alligator named Precious. We will miss his teachings and his enthusiasm. As I said he wasn't great in the ways that we often associate with greatness, but, as you can see, he was great in some of the ways that count the most. He loved his family, his crocs, and lived life with a zest that is not often seen. By crikey, we will miss you here at our house. God speed, Steve Irwin, Crocodile Hunter.