...that the PA primary is now over, I'm posting something I saved from the last presidential election. I can't remember where I got it, but the date and the authors are listed. I hadn't read this since then; the last paragraph is telling.
August 29th, 2004 9:38 pm
A Day in the Life of Joe Middle-Class Republican
by Donna L. Lavins and Sheldon Cotler
Joe gets up at 6:00 AM to prepare his morning coffee. He fills his pot with good, clean drinking water because some liberal fought for minimum water quality standards. He takes his daily medication with his first swallow of coffee. His medications are safe to take because some liberal fought to insure their safety and that they work as advertised.
All but $10.00 of his medications are paid for by his employer's medical plan. Because some liberal union workers fought their employers for paid medical insurance, now Joe gets it too. He prepares his morning breakfast -- bacon and eggs this day. Joe's bacon is safe to eat because some liberal fought for laws to regulate the meat packing industry.
Joe takes his morning shower, reaching for his shampoo. His bottle is properly labeled with every ingredient and the amount that is contains because some liberal fought for his right to know what he was putting on his body and the breakdown of its contents. Joe dresses, walks outside and takes a deep breath. The air he breathes is clean because some tree-hugging liberal fought for laws to stop industries from polluting our air. He walks to the subway station for his government-subsidized ride to work; it saves him considerable money in parking and transportation fees. You see, some liberal fought for affordable public transportation, which gives everyone the opportunity to be a contributor.
Joe begins his work day; he has a good job with excellent pay, medicals benefits, retirement, paid holidays and vacation because some liberal union members fought and died for these working standards. Joe's employer meets these standards because Joe's employer doesn't want his employees to call the union. If Joe is hurt on the job or becomes unemployed he'll get worker's compensation or an unemployment check because some liberal didn't think he should lose his home to temporary misfortune.
It's noon time. Joe needs to make a bank deposit so he can pay some bills. Joe's deposit is federally insured by the FDIC because some liberal wanted to protect Joe's money from unscrupulous bankers who ruined the banking system before the depression.
Joe has to pay his Fannie Mae underwritten mortgage and his below market federal student loan because some stupid liberal decided that Joe and the government would be better off if he was educated and earned more money over his lifetime.
Joe is home from work. He plans to visit his father this evening at his farm home in the country. He gets in his car for the drive to dad’s; his car is among the safest in the world because some liberal fought for car safety standards. He arrives at his boyhood home. He was the third generation to live in the house financed by Farmers Home Administration because bankers didn't want to make rural loans. The house didn't have electric until some big government liberal stuck his nose where it didn't belong and demanded rural electrification (those rural Republican's would still be sitting in the dark).
Joe is happy to see his dad, who is now retired. Joe's dad lives on Social Security and his union pension because some liberal made sure he could take care of himself so Joe wouldn't have to. After his visit with dad, Joe gets back in his car for the ride home. He turns on a radio talk show. The host keeps saying that liberals are bad and conservatives are good. He doesn't tell Joe that his beloved Republicans have fought against every protection and benefit Joe enjoys throughout his day. Joe agrees, "We don't need those big government liberals ruining our lives. After all, I'm a self-made man who believes everyone should take care of themselves, just like I have."
In the years to come, Joe's life will change dramatically. The U.S. dollar will be devalued as a result of our huge deficit, our living standards demolished, our standing with the world diminished and our social security gone...all because some conservative republican made sure he could take care of himself and his buddies.
Aghast, i remain...
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Funny tidbit, garden, etc.
I heard the funniest thing on the radio last week. Ok, background: Martha Stewart's dog died. She raided champion Chows, beautiful dogs. One die, age 13, renal failure. Now, when you give a dog an AKC name it has to be unique, which is why when you watch a dog show they have strange and/or misspelled names, like Max's FountainHead W'ere the Bomb.
The three DJs (2 male, one female) on the radio were going through the news, and one of them read off about Martha's dog.
DJ1: Do you want to know what it's name is?
DJ2 & 3: Oh, no....
DJ1: Kublai Khan Paw-Paw Chow Chow Chow.
(pause)
DJ3: What?!?
DJ1: Kublai Khan Paw-Paw Chow Chow Chow.
Much laughter and commenting. It was very funny.
They then went on to 3 or 4 other news stories. The last one had to do with...
DJ1: John Mellencamp said today......
DJ2: Wait a minute, didn't his name used to be John Cougar Mellencamp?
DJ3: No, no no....it was John Cougar Mellencamp Chow Chow Chow.
Much laughter. I almost drove off the road.
In other news:
We had 4 inches of rain on Sunday. We'd just planted not quite 200lb of potatoes, and I'm really hoping they don't rot in the field. We have 300lb to plant this weekend, and they're calling for more rain.
The beets are starting to come up. This variety is notoriously difficult to get germinated, so I think the rain actually helped here. Also, I think I see radishes coming up, too. They are sooooo fast growing. Still no arugula, but the spinach is doing well, as are the peas.
I have a 4-day weekend starting tomorrow, and I think tomorrow and part of Friday I'm going to get a book and my hammock chair and sit outside and relax. I may plant the second batch of beets and a tomato, but mostly rest.
The three DJs (2 male, one female) on the radio were going through the news, and one of them read off about Martha's dog.
DJ1: Do you want to know what it's name is?
DJ2 & 3: Oh, no....
DJ1: Kublai Khan Paw-Paw Chow Chow Chow.
(pause)
DJ3: What?!?
DJ1: Kublai Khan Paw-Paw Chow Chow Chow.
Much laughter and commenting. It was very funny.
They then went on to 3 or 4 other news stories. The last one had to do with...
DJ1: John Mellencamp said today......
DJ2: Wait a minute, didn't his name used to be John Cougar Mellencamp?
DJ3: No, no no....it was John Cougar Mellencamp Chow Chow Chow.
Much laughter. I almost drove off the road.
In other news:
We had 4 inches of rain on Sunday. We'd just planted not quite 200lb of potatoes, and I'm really hoping they don't rot in the field. We have 300lb to plant this weekend, and they're calling for more rain.
The beets are starting to come up. This variety is notoriously difficult to get germinated, so I think the rain actually helped here. Also, I think I see radishes coming up, too. They are sooooo fast growing. Still no arugula, but the spinach is doing well, as are the peas.
I have a 4-day weekend starting tomorrow, and I think tomorrow and part of Friday I'm going to get a book and my hammock chair and sit outside and relax. I may plant the second batch of beets and a tomato, but mostly rest.
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Various things going on:
Garden: got a patch of beets planted, need to do one more (maybe two) and the patch of carrots/lettuce/radishes and parsnips. Then I can go work on other things that need help, such as parts of the herb bed and the front beds, not to mention plant the few things I’ve purchased already. Spinach is coming up, Kale is doing well. Arugula hasn't sprouted yet, though.
Put in about 200lb of potatoes today, with about 200 more to go. Sore? Yeah, I'm sore.
Work: hard to make myself go in every day. Really hard.
Matt’s work: he seems to be enjoying the new job, he’s been working out of Chambersburg almost every day, training mostly. He goes to a 2-week training session in Syracuse next month. At first we were hopeful I would be going along, but that tanked. So, we’ll have a mini-vacation from each other. He’s planning on going to dig at the Herkimer Diamond Mine on his weekend off.
Other stuff: I’m planning on going to this place while Matt’s in NY. Looked interesting. I still haven’t finished the online business license (Wuss. Chicken.) I need to open a business checking account, buy a domain name, etc etc. I’ve been too busy with the garden. And I’ve been putting it off. It’s a bit overwhelming. I’m afraid I’m going to forget to do something, like file my sales tax with the state and get a huge fine.
Food: I’ve found the most wonderful thing ever: Brown Cow yogurt. Now, I have never liked yogurt, I struggled to get it down. I LOVE this stuff. They just started carrying it at the Giant in Gettysburg when they renovated to add in the big organic section (they should have it in Hanover, too). I highly recommend the whole milk, cream-on-top raspberry and the low-fat pear/raspberry with the whole grains mixed in. Very good. Also, a smoothie recipe from Runner’s World (no I don’t run. Silly):
8oz Brown Cow cream-on-top chocolate yogurt
2 shots espresso (I just made some really strong instant coffee and used that)
12 chocolate covered espresso beans
1 large banana, frozen in chunks
12 ice cubes (or whatever you prefer)
Blend. God this was good. I didn’t really follow the recipe exactly, either, one cup of yogurt is 6 oz, so I used that and half the banana, espresso beans and ice, but the full 2 shots of strong coffee.
I’ve also found the joy that is a Yukon Gold potato. So much better than those white, dry potatoes I grew up with.
We went to the Chinese/Japanese/Thai restaurant in Thurmont the other day and I ordered the seaweed salad. I could happily live on this. It was incredible.
And the other day I made some yogurt cheese. You take a fine sieve and line it with a double layer of cheesecloth, put it over a bowl and dump in some plain yogurt (either full, low or no fat). Let it sit for 24 hours, then dump the water out of the bowl and put the remaining ‘cheese’ in a closed container. It comes out the consistency of soft cream cheese. You can doctor it up, too, I added minced garlic and black pepper to some and vanilla extract and a bit of sugar to some other, which was really good with strawberries. Lemon zest, or any other extract would work, fresh herbs too. Mint might be good, served with some chocolate ice cream. Hmmm…..or the garlic on a baked potato!
I have a bad feeling with this economy, and also with recent food riots around the world. Wild fish number have dropped drastically off the coast of CA/OR and Africa. The price of eggs in the US has jumped 24% in the past year. I’m planning on growing as much as I can this season and trying to preserve the hell out of as much as possible, just in case. Am I an alarmist? You bet. But I’m going to be an alarmist who’s eating.
Monday, March 31, 2008
General update and bleh.
Haven’t really felt like posting until recently as mood and things started to pick up again, finally. In no particular order, the recent stuff:
Went to Ashcombe’s on Saturday with Matt & his mom. We specifically went to pick up our seed potato for the field, as the field is finally tilled. We bought just over 400lb of seed potatoes: 150 Kennebecs, 150 Yukon Golds, 100 Red Norland, 20 All Blue, and 20 Irish Cobblers. I’m also going to buy some samplers of some more exotic stuff online to supplement us up to about 500lb total. Yep, lots of potatoes.
But of course when you go to Ashcombes you have to buy other things, too, so I came out with two pots of Iris Reticulata for half off, a new pot, a few food items, a couple garden implements, etc.
Rock-picking ensued when we got home, then the guy down the road is going to come back and till the field again, after which we will have more rock picking, plowing and planting.
I also got the onions in my veggie bed this weekend, total: 97. Peas are planted, and I hope to get the lettuce, arugala, kale, and spinach in this weekend.
Matt is off all week due to a recent job switch. He will be working for Suburban out of their Gettysburg office, which is really nice and closer to home. No more Frederick hell. He’s taking a bit of a pay cut, but he still gets to use a company vehicle so we’re not paying for gas for the truck for him to drive to the other side of Gettysburg and back every day. So that’s something. And there is room for advancement for him, too.
I also did some work on the computer on Sunday. Matt and I had our taxes done on Thursday, and I took the opportunity to talk to our tax person about accounting and the impending small business venture, and what she said thoroughly confused the hell out of me. Silly me, I thought all I’d have to worry about was money in vs. money out, but apparently it doesn’t work that way. My supplies (clasps, beads, etc) and inventory (finished jewelry) also count as assets, and since I’m a start-up and usually start-ups start with a $0 balance, I really don’t know what to do about all my accumulated ‘stuff.’
So I went to the Kutztown’s Small Business Development Center (SBDC) website, because I know they have free online business classes, and lo they do have an Accounting 101 class available. So I worked on that on Sunday getting not quite half way through it. And you know, it’s kind of interesting and not painful at all. I’ll be taking a few more classes from them as needed.
One other thing I did on Sunday was get all my finished jewelry together (minus the stuff in my jewelry box) and lay it out and take a good look at it. I’d never really done this before. When I had my ‘consultation’ with David the Potter last week, he talked about having ‘art’ pieces versus having ‘bread and butter’ pieces. The former are the truly unique, time consuming pieces you charge a mint for. The latter is what pays the bills. This is the basic strung beaded jewelry.
Looking at my spread I can see the difference, but I still don’t know which direction I truly want to go: art/unique stuff or ‘basic stringing’ stuff. I like to do both. And I was sitting there trying to force myself into one category or the other, but I did realize that it will come with time, one or the other. Or a bit of both. Just my impatience and tendency to want to categorize everything.
But I did really wonder if I have enough stuff to do a gallery show at his place in May or June like he offered me. Maybe the end of the summer, but in 2 months? I just don’t know.
Went out for pizza and shrimp poppers at our pizza-joint-of-choice. Really hit the spot.
Tonight we go to Edward Jones for a consultation and such on our money outlook and future. Since Matt is switching jobs we are taking this opportunity to mainly do something with his existing 401(k), but also getting the ball rolling on really planning out our retirement. I did not know that a consultation with Edward Jones is FREE!! Free, for gods sake. So this should be fun.
And in one other side note, this is not who I want running the country, and especially I don’t want to be lectured about health care and fiscal responsibility from this person. Ready on day one? Yeah, right.
Went to Ashcombe’s on Saturday with Matt & his mom. We specifically went to pick up our seed potato for the field, as the field is finally tilled. We bought just over 400lb of seed potatoes: 150 Kennebecs, 150 Yukon Golds, 100 Red Norland, 20 All Blue, and 20 Irish Cobblers. I’m also going to buy some samplers of some more exotic stuff online to supplement us up to about 500lb total. Yep, lots of potatoes.
But of course when you go to Ashcombes you have to buy other things, too, so I came out with two pots of Iris Reticulata for half off, a new pot, a few food items, a couple garden implements, etc.
Rock-picking ensued when we got home, then the guy down the road is going to come back and till the field again, after which we will have more rock picking, plowing and planting.
I also got the onions in my veggie bed this weekend, total: 97. Peas are planted, and I hope to get the lettuce, arugala, kale, and spinach in this weekend.
Matt is off all week due to a recent job switch. He will be working for Suburban out of their Gettysburg office, which is really nice and closer to home. No more Frederick hell. He’s taking a bit of a pay cut, but he still gets to use a company vehicle so we’re not paying for gas for the truck for him to drive to the other side of Gettysburg and back every day. So that’s something. And there is room for advancement for him, too.
I also did some work on the computer on Sunday. Matt and I had our taxes done on Thursday, and I took the opportunity to talk to our tax person about accounting and the impending small business venture, and what she said thoroughly confused the hell out of me. Silly me, I thought all I’d have to worry about was money in vs. money out, but apparently it doesn’t work that way. My supplies (clasps, beads, etc) and inventory (finished jewelry) also count as assets, and since I’m a start-up and usually start-ups start with a $0 balance, I really don’t know what to do about all my accumulated ‘stuff.’
So I went to the Kutztown’s Small Business Development Center (SBDC) website, because I know they have free online business classes, and lo they do have an Accounting 101 class available. So I worked on that on Sunday getting not quite half way through it. And you know, it’s kind of interesting and not painful at all. I’ll be taking a few more classes from them as needed.
One other thing I did on Sunday was get all my finished jewelry together (minus the stuff in my jewelry box) and lay it out and take a good look at it. I’d never really done this before. When I had my ‘consultation’ with David the Potter last week, he talked about having ‘art’ pieces versus having ‘bread and butter’ pieces. The former are the truly unique, time consuming pieces you charge a mint for. The latter is what pays the bills. This is the basic strung beaded jewelry.
Looking at my spread I can see the difference, but I still don’t know which direction I truly want to go: art/unique stuff or ‘basic stringing’ stuff. I like to do both. And I was sitting there trying to force myself into one category or the other, but I did realize that it will come with time, one or the other. Or a bit of both. Just my impatience and tendency to want to categorize everything.
But I did really wonder if I have enough stuff to do a gallery show at his place in May or June like he offered me. Maybe the end of the summer, but in 2 months? I just don’t know.
Went out for pizza and shrimp poppers at our pizza-joint-of-choice. Really hit the spot.
Tonight we go to Edward Jones for a consultation and such on our money outlook and future. Since Matt is switching jobs we are taking this opportunity to mainly do something with his existing 401(k), but also getting the ball rolling on really planning out our retirement. I did not know that a consultation with Edward Jones is FREE!! Free, for gods sake. So this should be fun.
And in one other side note, this is not who I want running the country, and especially I don’t want to be lectured about health care and fiscal responsibility from this person. Ready on day one? Yeah, right.
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
Just stuff
Recent events and such:
Matt's grandma Mary V. went in for her cochlear implant surgery last Thursday and is doing well. She said she had a plastic thing around her head and ear, so Matt and I joked that she had an elizabethan collar on to keep her from licking her stitches. She won't actually get the hearing aid part of the implant for a month.
Still have heard nothing about the fed job, except that they got my application. This is normal, it sometimes takes weeks or longer.
I went up to Ashcombes greenhouses on Saturday to reconoiter and get a few things, including 3 bags of mushroom soil and a pot of white grape hyacinths for Mary V. They smell wonderful. I had a bill over $100 so I know I got more but I can't remember what. Oh, three packs of seeds and 5 peanut butter orgasm cookies. And a quiche. And a fern. And a pot that biodegrades after 5 years. And two bags of coarse sand. And other stuff.
Then I went home and took a glorious 3-hour nap. It was a great, dead to the world nap. Then Matt got called out on a leak call and I got to go with him. It was interesting, nothing really exciting except we got the chance to talk a bit. He's looking for another job, too. Again.
I'm bummed that Hillary did so well in the primaries last night, but I still think Obama's going to take it. I really thought Obama would take Texas.
I have seeds started inside: the romaine and butterhead lettuces, a tomato, some kale, moonflowers and marigolds. Middle of the month I start the broccoli inside and the sugar snap peas outside. I still have a lot of work to do outside before that happens, and I'm hoping for a couple nice weekends and a nice Wednesday morning next week so I can get some of this done. If not, I may take a day off the next nice day to do the work.
My arm stick is doing well, I have no twinges of pain or anything. I also haven't had any of the in-between spotting they warned me about. I also haven't had my monthly cycle at all, which does not thrill me like it would other women. Women are supposed to have periods.
Max is well, he's in sore need of a haircut and I'll do it after I get the peas in. We got the first tick of the season off him this weekend.
And that's about it!
Matt's grandma Mary V. went in for her cochlear implant surgery last Thursday and is doing well. She said she had a plastic thing around her head and ear, so Matt and I joked that she had an elizabethan collar on to keep her from licking her stitches. She won't actually get the hearing aid part of the implant for a month.
Still have heard nothing about the fed job, except that they got my application. This is normal, it sometimes takes weeks or longer.
I went up to Ashcombes greenhouses on Saturday to reconoiter and get a few things, including 3 bags of mushroom soil and a pot of white grape hyacinths for Mary V. They smell wonderful. I had a bill over $100 so I know I got more but I can't remember what. Oh, three packs of seeds and 5 peanut butter orgasm cookies. And a quiche. And a fern. And a pot that biodegrades after 5 years. And two bags of coarse sand. And other stuff.
Then I went home and took a glorious 3-hour nap. It was a great, dead to the world nap. Then Matt got called out on a leak call and I got to go with him. It was interesting, nothing really exciting except we got the chance to talk a bit. He's looking for another job, too. Again.
I'm bummed that Hillary did so well in the primaries last night, but I still think Obama's going to take it. I really thought Obama would take Texas.
I have seeds started inside: the romaine and butterhead lettuces, a tomato, some kale, moonflowers and marigolds. Middle of the month I start the broccoli inside and the sugar snap peas outside. I still have a lot of work to do outside before that happens, and I'm hoping for a couple nice weekends and a nice Wednesday morning next week so I can get some of this done. If not, I may take a day off the next nice day to do the work.
My arm stick is doing well, I have no twinges of pain or anything. I also haven't had any of the in-between spotting they warned me about. I also haven't had my monthly cycle at all, which does not thrill me like it would other women. Women are supposed to have periods.
Max is well, he's in sore need of a haircut and I'll do it after I get the peas in. We got the first tick of the season off him this weekend.
And that's about it!
Friday, February 29, 2008
Politics
Matt and I stayed up to watch Obama’s speech last week. Again. This is the second week in a row now. I’m sure we’ll be watching next week, also, whether he wins Texas and Ohio or not. We’re both on board with him.
My mother doesn’t think he has enough experience in Washington yet to run for president. She obviously hasn’t listened to him talk. That’s his whole point. Washington doesn’t work anymore. He said last week that ‘Washington is where ideas go to die.’ I couldn’t agree more. The ‘old guard’ has made quite a mess of this over the past few decades. We’re still in a WWII mindset, Vietnam mindset. Women at home making babies mindset. Blacks should know their place mindset. This is not going to change until we change out the current group, the last of the WWII generation and their kids, the baby boomers (the ‘entitlement’ generation).
I was reading the article in Newsweek this week about Michelle Obama and started thinking about exactly what the difference is between what the Obamas are talking about and the way the media is spinning what is really going on here. All this talk about change, all the talk about McCain’s age and Hillary’s stigma, etc etc, isn’t what this is about at all. This is about the pre-civil rights generations moving aside in favor of the post-civil rights generations. It’s our turn. And this covers race, it covers gender, it covers gays/lesbians. Economics and jobs. Middle class and poor.
Michelle is asked in the article what she would do as first lady. She’s very vague, stating that she would need to see what resources were available to her and such. But she does say one thing that really stuck out to me: She is interested in issues women face balancing work and home.
How many first ladies have *ever* had this problem? The vast majority of them have been affluent enough that they never had to hold a job outside the home, and those that did usually quit as soon as they were married or pregnant.
Michelle has, and still does, work outside the home. The article goes on to state that ‘black women have never been burdened with the luxury of choice’ whether or not to work. They only recently came out of debt, when his book made the top of the best seller list. This is a person just like us, a family that was trying to make ends meet despite having good jobs and everything they are promised under the American Dream. This is a new generation, a new mindset for our government. How many rich old white male senators have ever faced the childcare issue? When was the last time we had a young family in the white house with young kids? Isn’t it time for something fresh?
I’ve been accused more than once that I don’t have any ambition. My mother has told me this before, about something stupid that happened in 3rd grade. Yes, I’m serious. Anyway, I have often been concerned about this, too, because it appears to me that I don’t have much ambition. Go back to school? Yeah, maybe someday. No real drive, though. Get a better job? Well, I don’t really like my current job, but it pays well and such, so no, no real drive there either. I just don’t see the point.
But get me in a situation where a group of people needs help and damn, I’m all over that. Which got me to thinking: personal ambition vs. group ambition. Look at that in terms of politics: most politicians throw out a lot of talk about helping groups of people: poor, homeless, women, people without health insurance, middle class, unions, all those poor sods who got sub prime mortgages. Has anything really changed in the last 20 years? 30 years? I mean, for the better? No, not really. It’s all talk. Most politicians are corporate people, too: they will help you only if it gets them money or power (or both). And the middle class really doesn’t have it to give. The poor certainly don’t. On the other hand, big oil and big pharmaceutical lobbies? Yeah, they have a lot of money and power to give. Who’s going to win every time with the people we currently have in DC?
So, enter Obama, who’s been promising change and such just like many before him, including Hillary. Why do I believe him over her? Well, the evidence backs it up: he was a community organizer in Chicago. He went to the sections where people had been laid off from steel mills and gave hope and listened, worked to make their situation better. He knows constitutional rights, because he taught constitutional law.
Hillary? She was on the Board of Wal-Mart at the same time Obama was working the streets in Chicago. I know this because one of my cousins took her seat on the Board when Bill was elected president. So, yeah, I think she’s going to give us the same old, same old. It will be big business as usual, just like we’ve got now.
I identify with his activism. He is walking the talk. I think he’s the only one who is.
The Obamas are dynamic about this change and it is infectious. We don’t need another WWII generational president. We don’t need a president that was so arrogant about her chances to get the nomination that she couldn’t even manage her campaign properly and ran out of money (how could she manage an entire country if she’s this short-sighted?) I really do believe he’s the right person in the right place at the right time, and for the right reasons.
My mother doesn’t think he has enough experience in Washington yet to run for president. She obviously hasn’t listened to him talk. That’s his whole point. Washington doesn’t work anymore. He said last week that ‘Washington is where ideas go to die.’ I couldn’t agree more. The ‘old guard’ has made quite a mess of this over the past few decades. We’re still in a WWII mindset, Vietnam mindset. Women at home making babies mindset. Blacks should know their place mindset. This is not going to change until we change out the current group, the last of the WWII generation and their kids, the baby boomers (the ‘entitlement’ generation).
I was reading the article in Newsweek this week about Michelle Obama and started thinking about exactly what the difference is between what the Obamas are talking about and the way the media is spinning what is really going on here. All this talk about change, all the talk about McCain’s age and Hillary’s stigma, etc etc, isn’t what this is about at all. This is about the pre-civil rights generations moving aside in favor of the post-civil rights generations. It’s our turn. And this covers race, it covers gender, it covers gays/lesbians. Economics and jobs. Middle class and poor.
Michelle is asked in the article what she would do as first lady. She’s very vague, stating that she would need to see what resources were available to her and such. But she does say one thing that really stuck out to me: She is interested in issues women face balancing work and home.
How many first ladies have *ever* had this problem? The vast majority of them have been affluent enough that they never had to hold a job outside the home, and those that did usually quit as soon as they were married or pregnant.
Michelle has, and still does, work outside the home. The article goes on to state that ‘black women have never been burdened with the luxury of choice’ whether or not to work. They only recently came out of debt, when his book made the top of the best seller list. This is a person just like us, a family that was trying to make ends meet despite having good jobs and everything they are promised under the American Dream. This is a new generation, a new mindset for our government. How many rich old white male senators have ever faced the childcare issue? When was the last time we had a young family in the white house with young kids? Isn’t it time for something fresh?
I’ve been accused more than once that I don’t have any ambition. My mother has told me this before, about something stupid that happened in 3rd grade. Yes, I’m serious. Anyway, I have often been concerned about this, too, because it appears to me that I don’t have much ambition. Go back to school? Yeah, maybe someday. No real drive, though. Get a better job? Well, I don’t really like my current job, but it pays well and such, so no, no real drive there either. I just don’t see the point.
But get me in a situation where a group of people needs help and damn, I’m all over that. Which got me to thinking: personal ambition vs. group ambition. Look at that in terms of politics: most politicians throw out a lot of talk about helping groups of people: poor, homeless, women, people without health insurance, middle class, unions, all those poor sods who got sub prime mortgages. Has anything really changed in the last 20 years? 30 years? I mean, for the better? No, not really. It’s all talk. Most politicians are corporate people, too: they will help you only if it gets them money or power (or both). And the middle class really doesn’t have it to give. The poor certainly don’t. On the other hand, big oil and big pharmaceutical lobbies? Yeah, they have a lot of money and power to give. Who’s going to win every time with the people we currently have in DC?
So, enter Obama, who’s been promising change and such just like many before him, including Hillary. Why do I believe him over her? Well, the evidence backs it up: he was a community organizer in Chicago. He went to the sections where people had been laid off from steel mills and gave hope and listened, worked to make their situation better. He knows constitutional rights, because he taught constitutional law.
Hillary? She was on the Board of Wal-Mart at the same time Obama was working the streets in Chicago. I know this because one of my cousins took her seat on the Board when Bill was elected president. So, yeah, I think she’s going to give us the same old, same old. It will be big business as usual, just like we’ve got now.
I identify with his activism. He is walking the talk. I think he’s the only one who is.
The Obamas are dynamic about this change and it is infectious. We don’t need another WWII generational president. We don’t need a president that was so arrogant about her chances to get the nomination that she couldn’t even manage her campaign properly and ran out of money (how could she manage an entire country if she’s this short-sighted?) I really do believe he’s the right person in the right place at the right time, and for the right reasons.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
From Russia with love! Or maybe Korea!!
In this installment we will cover:
-Updates about the refi and the job ap
-The surprise trip on Saturday
-The Visiting ‘O’ the Grandmas on Sunday
We had the finale of the whirl-wind refi of our mortgage on Friday, when Jeffrey, a local Notary Public, came to visit us and witness our signing of all the paperwork, and I mean an inch-high stack of paperwork. Fortunately he was a really nice guy, about our age, and we all talked about some interesting things.
Jeffrey, it seems, had a friend in Taneytown who was married to a small person (he called her a dwarf), and they had two kids (also small people). Apparently, they were really, ah, rednecks. Anyway, this guy called Jeffrey at 2 in the morning one night. He was in tears, he said he’d just seen his wife coming out of another guy’s house. And Jeffrey, who was still half asleep, said…
Wait for it….
“Are you sure it was her?”
To which the man yelled: “How many #$^!& dwarves do you know in Taneytown?!?!?”
So that’s done. I also finally got the application materials done and emailed in to FEMA last night, and I received a receipt notice this morning. I’m not thrilled about the job, I think I’m overqualified, but that’s the way it works around here: I’m overqualified for the support positions, but I’m not qualified for the training and administration positions. If I want to get a fed job, I need to get my foot in there somewhere. Tom of the Dancing Pecs told me that once they find out I can chew gum and walk at the same time, they start giving more job duties, and then you start getting more qualified for higher positions.
On to Saturday: Matt told me a week ago that we had a date on Saturday, and it was a surprise. So Saturday comes, we hop in the car and he drives us down to Frederick….through Frederick….down 270….where the hell are we going….Finally it dawned on me: we were going to the new Russian market he found down in Germantown. And yes, that’s where we were going. He was upset that I’d guessed. It is called the Russian Gourmet a small shop but with LOTS of stuff.
They have a couple freezers and coolers with drinks, cheeses, and frozen peirogi and raviolis available. Shelves and shelves of jams, canned pickled mushrooms and other things, bottles of beet juice, loads of chocolates, tins of different pates and smoked fish in oil. Teas. Coffees. Those really good, heavy, dense eastern European breads. And a deli with meats and cheeses (mostly) from eastern Europe and the Russian states.
When we got there it was busy, but soon we were the only people there. Matt started asking about some of the meats in the case, and the next thing you know they’re giving us samples of every meat and cheese we asked about. And chocolates, too, samples of those. Very nice stuff. Great people. They also had magazines in Russian and CDs.
Almost all the labels were entirely in Russian. We had no idea what some things where and relied on pictures on the packaging to help us. For example, they had several bottles of sodas in the cooler. Some of them had pictures of pears or oranges on them, and we could figure that out. But one of them had a picture of two bells on it, and another had a picture of a nice woodland scene with a lake. Pond scum soda? So we asked, and the woman said “Oh, that is soda.” And we asked if it tasted like bells, and she laughed. The Bell Soda was a clear soda, sweet with no real flavor. The Woodland soda was herbal, and we bought a bottle of that.
We also got several tins of smoked herring and such (Matt loves these), some tins of shrimp pate, a few loaves of bread, some candy, some sliced meats and cheeses, some lamb ravioli for Grandma Helen, some pierogi for Matt’s parents, tea for my mom. It was a very nice place, and we will definitely go back.
Two doors down from the Russian place was an Asian and International market called Lotte’s. It is a regular sized grocery store, big for an international market. We went in there next. All the signs here were in some Asian script and English, so that made us feel better, but the labeling was again predominantly in an Asian language and had little English, so if it wasn’t obvious from the packaging what was in it we really didn’t know.
It was very interesting to me to see the differences between this market and your average American market. The produce section was larger and had some different things: maybe 4 varieties of eggplant, 7 varieties of bok choy. They had some fruits that you don’t see in other markets. The seafood section was huge with tanks of living, swimming fish and live crabs and things. I’ve never seen a seafood section that big, it was probably as big as the inside of your average McDonalds, including the bathrooms and cooking area. Big. The meat counter was tiny. They had more varieties of tofu than I have ever seen before. And they had quail eggs available for purchase.
We found a display of pumelos in the produce section. They were the size of small bowling balls. The ones they have at Giant are usually the size of large grapefruits. The only other Caucasian couple in the store quickly ran over to us and said “What is it?!? Have you had them?!? How do you eat it?!?” It was really funny. We said we thought it was like a grapefruit and we’d never seen any this big before. They seemed disappointed that we couldn’t help them.
Lots and lots of canned oriental veggies like bamboo shoots and such. An entire half aisle devoted to dried kelp and seaweed. An aisle of ramen noodle-type packages with more variety than I thought possible. They had an ‘American’ aisle, and a ‘Mexican’ aisle. About 15 types of electric rice cookers. An excellent variety of spices and seasonings.
We didn’t get any veggies or seafood. We got a pound of freeze dried shitake mushrooms at a really good price, some frozen pork lumpia, a bag of star anise (89 cents! The pound bag was $2.99) and some galangal. Matt picked out some shrimp crisps (which sound awful but are pretty good). I got some rice cake-like sticks that were REALLY good and we need to get some more. We picked up two bottles of non-alcoholic Sangria from the Mexican section.
And as we were walking through the soft drink aisle, I looked over and said, in loud shock: “My god, they have Pocari Sweat!!”, which is a Japanese non-carbonated drink that has many positive ions. Dave Barry wrote about it in his Dave Barry Does Japan book, and I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to buy a bottle. It is sweet and flavored with grapefruit, but it is also a little salty, just barely, which reminds you very much of….sweat….when you drink it. It was ok. I wouldn’t go out of my way for it, but I’m glad I had a chance to try it.
All in all, we had a great shopping trip. We’re definitely going back to both places, to try some different things.
Sunday was Visiting the Grandmothers day. We first went to visit G. Helen and give her the lamb ravioli. She loved them. We sat and talked with her for a while. Then we went over to visit G. Mary V. I had some work to do there, she needed some of her necklace clasps converted to magnetic clasps, so I did that. I also got a pendant on a chain that needed some finagling to get it on. She was very happy and fed us really good tuna casserole and salads, then an apple tart. She’s an excellent cook. She is almost totally deaf now, and is going in for a cochlear implant surgery at the end of the month. I really hope all goes well, I’d love for her to be able to hear again.
Busy. I’ve been tired lately, but fortunately the refi is done and the job ap is done, and now I can focus on some other things that need done.
-Updates about the refi and the job ap
-The surprise trip on Saturday
-The Visiting ‘O’ the Grandmas on Sunday
We had the finale of the whirl-wind refi of our mortgage on Friday, when Jeffrey, a local Notary Public, came to visit us and witness our signing of all the paperwork, and I mean an inch-high stack of paperwork. Fortunately he was a really nice guy, about our age, and we all talked about some interesting things.
Jeffrey, it seems, had a friend in Taneytown who was married to a small person (he called her a dwarf), and they had two kids (also small people). Apparently, they were really, ah, rednecks. Anyway, this guy called Jeffrey at 2 in the morning one night. He was in tears, he said he’d just seen his wife coming out of another guy’s house. And Jeffrey, who was still half asleep, said…
Wait for it….
“Are you sure it was her?”
To which the man yelled: “How many #$^!& dwarves do you know in Taneytown?!?!?”
So that’s done. I also finally got the application materials done and emailed in to FEMA last night, and I received a receipt notice this morning. I’m not thrilled about the job, I think I’m overqualified, but that’s the way it works around here: I’m overqualified for the support positions, but I’m not qualified for the training and administration positions. If I want to get a fed job, I need to get my foot in there somewhere. Tom of the Dancing Pecs told me that once they find out I can chew gum and walk at the same time, they start giving more job duties, and then you start getting more qualified for higher positions.
On to Saturday: Matt told me a week ago that we had a date on Saturday, and it was a surprise. So Saturday comes, we hop in the car and he drives us down to Frederick….through Frederick….down 270….where the hell are we going….Finally it dawned on me: we were going to the new Russian market he found down in Germantown. And yes, that’s where we were going. He was upset that I’d guessed. It is called the Russian Gourmet a small shop but with LOTS of stuff.
They have a couple freezers and coolers with drinks, cheeses, and frozen peirogi and raviolis available. Shelves and shelves of jams, canned pickled mushrooms and other things, bottles of beet juice, loads of chocolates, tins of different pates and smoked fish in oil. Teas. Coffees. Those really good, heavy, dense eastern European breads. And a deli with meats and cheeses (mostly) from eastern Europe and the Russian states.
When we got there it was busy, but soon we were the only people there. Matt started asking about some of the meats in the case, and the next thing you know they’re giving us samples of every meat and cheese we asked about. And chocolates, too, samples of those. Very nice stuff. Great people. They also had magazines in Russian and CDs.
Almost all the labels were entirely in Russian. We had no idea what some things where and relied on pictures on the packaging to help us. For example, they had several bottles of sodas in the cooler. Some of them had pictures of pears or oranges on them, and we could figure that out. But one of them had a picture of two bells on it, and another had a picture of a nice woodland scene with a lake. Pond scum soda? So we asked, and the woman said “Oh, that is soda.” And we asked if it tasted like bells, and she laughed. The Bell Soda was a clear soda, sweet with no real flavor. The Woodland soda was herbal, and we bought a bottle of that.
We also got several tins of smoked herring and such (Matt loves these), some tins of shrimp pate, a few loaves of bread, some candy, some sliced meats and cheeses, some lamb ravioli for Grandma Helen, some pierogi for Matt’s parents, tea for my mom. It was a very nice place, and we will definitely go back.
Two doors down from the Russian place was an Asian and International market called Lotte’s. It is a regular sized grocery store, big for an international market. We went in there next. All the signs here were in some Asian script and English, so that made us feel better, but the labeling was again predominantly in an Asian language and had little English, so if it wasn’t obvious from the packaging what was in it we really didn’t know.
It was very interesting to me to see the differences between this market and your average American market. The produce section was larger and had some different things: maybe 4 varieties of eggplant, 7 varieties of bok choy. They had some fruits that you don’t see in other markets. The seafood section was huge with tanks of living, swimming fish and live crabs and things. I’ve never seen a seafood section that big, it was probably as big as the inside of your average McDonalds, including the bathrooms and cooking area. Big. The meat counter was tiny. They had more varieties of tofu than I have ever seen before. And they had quail eggs available for purchase.
We found a display of pumelos in the produce section. They were the size of small bowling balls. The ones they have at Giant are usually the size of large grapefruits. The only other Caucasian couple in the store quickly ran over to us and said “What is it?!? Have you had them?!? How do you eat it?!?” It was really funny. We said we thought it was like a grapefruit and we’d never seen any this big before. They seemed disappointed that we couldn’t help them.
Lots and lots of canned oriental veggies like bamboo shoots and such. An entire half aisle devoted to dried kelp and seaweed. An aisle of ramen noodle-type packages with more variety than I thought possible. They had an ‘American’ aisle, and a ‘Mexican’ aisle. About 15 types of electric rice cookers. An excellent variety of spices and seasonings.
We didn’t get any veggies or seafood. We got a pound of freeze dried shitake mushrooms at a really good price, some frozen pork lumpia, a bag of star anise (89 cents! The pound bag was $2.99) and some galangal. Matt picked out some shrimp crisps (which sound awful but are pretty good). I got some rice cake-like sticks that were REALLY good and we need to get some more. We picked up two bottles of non-alcoholic Sangria from the Mexican section.
And as we were walking through the soft drink aisle, I looked over and said, in loud shock: “My god, they have Pocari Sweat!!”, which is a Japanese non-carbonated drink that has many positive ions. Dave Barry wrote about it in his Dave Barry Does Japan book, and I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to buy a bottle. It is sweet and flavored with grapefruit, but it is also a little salty, just barely, which reminds you very much of….sweat….when you drink it. It was ok. I wouldn’t go out of my way for it, but I’m glad I had a chance to try it.
All in all, we had a great shopping trip. We’re definitely going back to both places, to try some different things.
Sunday was Visiting the Grandmothers day. We first went to visit G. Helen and give her the lamb ravioli. She loved them. We sat and talked with her for a while. Then we went over to visit G. Mary V. I had some work to do there, she needed some of her necklace clasps converted to magnetic clasps, so I did that. I also got a pendant on a chain that needed some finagling to get it on. She was very happy and fed us really good tuna casserole and salads, then an apple tart. She’s an excellent cook. She is almost totally deaf now, and is going in for a cochlear implant surgery at the end of the month. I really hope all goes well, I’d love for her to be able to hear again.
Busy. I’ve been tired lately, but fortunately the refi is done and the job ap is done, and now I can focus on some other things that need done.
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