Misconceptions of Obama fuel Republican campaign – 13 Oct 08

obama, racism, ignorance, bigotry, white

1) Bad Marketing – “From the start, the Bush administration did not do enough to emphasize
the point that taxpayers would get at least some of the money back,”
writes Ben Pershing in the Washington Post

2) Constituents – Most Americans, it must be said, have never understood the mechanics and therefore the gravity of this situation.

3) Politics – As if the overwhelming negative reaction from their constituents in an
election year wasn’t enough to scare the crap out of Congress, there
was also the fact that some of them, namely Republicans, were grappling
with an existential as well as fiscal crisis: They’d supported
deregulation their entire lives! Now they were supposed to chuck it all
and become socialists?

4) The President – The American people have very little faith in George Bush….His approval ratings are at an all-time low…His support was ultimately more of a negative than a positive.

For me the Constituents and Politics were the top two reasons. If you want, read the whole article “Why Did the Rescue Bill Fail?“.

rescue, failure, bill, constituents, president, politics, bad.marketing

“Michigan Republican Thaddeus McCotter paraphrased Dostoevsky when explaining his “Nay” vote to the Journal. “These interests who want your money threaten your prosperity,” he said of Wall Street. “You are being asked to choose between bread and freedom, and I suggest the American people have chosen freedom.”

Do you Agree or Disagree?

new york, magazine, wall street journal, freedom, bread, american, people, wall street

The Republicans are, in effect, saying: We’re not
going to win this race on the basis of being the better candidates. Barack Obama
is going to make you think. You don’t like thinking. Here’s an It Girl vice
president who is easy on the eyes, you stodgy old white baby boomer. She’s like
a grown-up version of Mary Ann from “Gilligan’s Island.” She embodies the raw
conviction that everything the Republicans have ever done has been right. She’ll
make you feel better about yourself for voting for Bush. Twice.

Relax: The war is God’s plan. (Or whatever.) Women,
even if they are vice president, can always look pretty, worship their husbands
in the fear of God and never, ever resist invasions from unwanted sperm.

Sarah Palin and her virtual burqa have me and my
friends retching into our handbags. She’s such a power-mad, backwater
beauty-pageant casualty, it’s easy to write her off and make fun of her. But in
reality I feel as horrified as a ghetto Jew watching the rise of National
Socialism.

-“Sarah Palin: White House Bunny” by Cintra Wilson

If you like that little bit of the article you should read the rest here then you can let me know what you think.

Technorati Tags: Palin, Cintra Wilson, Cintra, Wilson, Republican, Vice President, Bad, Choice, White House, Bunny, Politics

Technorati Tags: Babylon 5, Meaning of Life, Soul Hunter, Dr Stephen Franklin

What I do know is that my Mother died almost 5 years ago. And since that day there have been two incidences that have made me sway more towards the there is something afterlife than not. I’m not a holy roller that is why I admit to my lack of church upfront. I’m a suspicious person who relies more on fact and science than on mysticism. But twice in the past 5 years, as I was sitting at my computer, I smelt something. Not the cat’s litter box which needs to be changed or the garbage that needs to go out; But a smell that was unique. The bodily smell of my Mother. I know you think I’m nuts. You think that I miss her so much that I’m imagining her. Maybe you think I was doing something that involved her or a memory of her and my mind conjured up her smell. Because smell and memory are very closely related.

The connection between odor, memory and emotion has an anatomical basis. The primary olfactory cortex, which receives information about smells from nerves in the nose, links directly to the amygdala, which controls expression and experience of emotion, and the hippocampus, which controls the consolidation of memories.

Odor-evoked memories may seem clearer or more intense than other memories because they appear to be more emotional than memories triggered by visual, audio or other types of cues, Herz finds.

Psychologist Rachel Herz, PhD, of Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia was quoted in the article “Certain smells evoke stronger memories“. There are many article like this that report similar findings. Smell and memories, emotional ones, are intrinsically linked.

I have distinctively smelt my mother 2 times. Her bodily oder which is something I think we each may know of only a few people in our lives. Our spouse or significant other, our children and our parents. Maybe a few others depending on the person. But it is definitely the people we feel closest too, who we’ve spent a lot of time with because we Americans spend so much time showering, putting on lotions, deodorants and powders that is is rare to know the real smell of most of those around us. So it is those we spend a lot of time around. Good times and Bad. Stressful times and Non stressful times. The times when we really sweat. When our truth whether it be smell or otherwise comes out.

I smelt her and it made me take pause. Why was her I smelling her now as opposed to other times? I’m not sure exactly yet. I’m trying to analyze that. Maybe she is just letting me know she is here. Maybe the universe is just letting me know that there is something more. Something beyond. Or maybe my mind needed hope and my olfactory senses gave it to me by conjuring up the smell out of the millions of molecules around me. I don’t know the why or how for sure. All I do know is it did happen and I’m better for it.

Technorati Tags: Oprah, Death, Smell, Memory, Olfactory, What I know for sure

Sometimes the right thing is a luxury. -President Roslyn commenting on Lee Adama

I wasn’t afraid to die. I was afraid of the emptiness I felt inside. I couldn’t feel anything and that’s what scared me. You came into my thoughts. You filled them. It felt good. -Captain Adama reading a book to President Roslyn

I’m not a priest. I haven’t been a particualrly good man. I have in fact been a profoundly selfish man but that doesn’t matter. You see something in the universe loves me. Something in the universe loves the entity that is me. I will choose to call this something God. A singular spark that dwells in the soul of every living being. If you look inside yourself you will see this spark too. You will but you have to look….Deep. Love your faults. Embrace them. If God embraces them, then how can they be faults.

Love yourself. You have to love yourself. If we don’t love ourselves, how can we love others?

And when we know what we are, then we can find the truth out about others. See what they are.

The truth about them. And you know what the truth is. The truth about Them, about You, about Me? Do you?

The truth is we are all perfect….just as we are. God only loves that which is perfect and he loves you. He loves you because you are perfect. You are perfect. Perfect just as you are.

Gaius Baltar preaching

I’m not a particularly religious person I call myself more spiritual but I like the thought that something in the universe loves me and that I’m perfect just as I am. Now if only I could really believe those things

PS To anyone else who watched this episode: How strange was it to see Baltar “mysteriously” rise up when the guards wouldn’t let him back into his quarters?….Reminiscent of another man who mysteriously rose up?….Food for thought.

Technorati Tags: Battlestar Galactica, Sci Fi, TV, Escape Velocity, Religion, Death, Perfection

“Jericho was canceled after one season, but was brought back due to a huge campaign by it’s fans. However, it seems that Jericho still has low ratings with weekly viewership, and appears to be on the path for cancellation again. Why is that? Who are the people or families that are determining the TV show ratings? Who are these “Nielsen Families” that are determining what programming stays on TV and what shows are canceled? I’ve never been asked what shows I watch on a weekly basis, so who are these people that are governing viewership of shows?”

“So I guess I’ll have to accept the fact that most shows that I deem as being “good” will only last one season. I guess that’s truly reality.”

I totally agree with him and wrote a response to his blog in the comment section. It was kinda long and I was on a soapbox so I figured I would share my soapbox rant it with you. I wrote:

I totally agree with you. I am a Jericho and Lost fan in a big way. I just started watching New Amsterdam but am hesitant to like it for fear the networks will cancel it. So I will have invested time on a show to see how the story unfolds and then be left hanging mid-unfold.
I hate to say it about the Nielsen Families (cause my father is one of those Dancing with the Stars viewers) but I believe they are mindless drones. They don’t want intelligent TV. They want empty shows that pretend to show reality. Really those shows are just another example of our society’s obsession of watching other peoples lives self destruct so we can feel better about our own lives ie Our obsession with Britney, Lindsey Lohen…ect.
I get that people work hard and may turn to TV for mindless distraction from their lives but why can’t we also have an option for people who like to watch a show and think?? Are the two things mutually exclusive? You can’t have both?
Also I think the networks have to realize that they aren’t going to get the HUGE audiences they use to because peoples view habits are different. We have many choices between Network TV, Cable TV, the Internet, Tivo, DVR and DVDs. So totally viewership for a show like Jericho maybe skewed between Network, the Internet, Tivo and DVR. I definitely think that the way Networks and other TV executives rate shows need to change to reflect the viewing habits of the CURRENT times. We aren’t in Kansas or the 1970s anymore peeps. Get with the program!

this time ~ this space » A New Choice for Women: Sterilization Without Surgery

Most women seeking to be sterilized now have their fallopian tubes “tied” or blocked, which involves surgery and 4 to 6 days of recovery. The FDA-approved sterilization device — Conceptus Inc.’s Essure — uses a tiny group of coils to sterilize a woman without surgery. The Essure method is an irreversible form of contraception that requires no incision and only a local anesthetic.

If you want to read the whole post, read it here:

this time ~ this space » A New Choice for Women: Sterilization Without Surgery

Look to me Hillary is six and Barack is half a dozen. Their differences on policy are not substantive in my opinion. Those of you who disagree can send me your comments, site your examples and do your best to try to cure me of my wayward thinking but alas you are barking up the wrong tree. Save your breath to use on a person who feels war mongering, religion equates morality and accentuating fear are platforms the next president should stand on instead of health care, helping the middle class and an exit strategy outta Iraq.

Let me just preface this opinion of mine with the fact that say I am a minority. By that I mean I’m a woman or female or not male and I’m biracial or a person of color or not white. Take your pick of adjectives you feel comfortable with. I’m just me to me but others feel better putting on a label and commenting how my race or gender affects my choice. Duh of course it does as it does with everyone. I’ve had life experiences of discrimination based on my gender and race that have formed the filter I perceive the world in. So have we all. Is it important that I put my identification as a woman before my identification as a person of color? Probably.

My experiences being a woman executive were more disconcerting then the ones I had being a person of color. An example would be my superiors’ questions regarding whether my level of bitchiness was increased by my menstrual period. The way I see it Sen Clinton is being perceived as a bitch when she is just being tough. A woman who is tough is a bitch while a man is just being himself. When the Bush machine railroaded Kerry’s campaign with the swift boat ad that was considered some ingenious politics. When Hillary sarcastically joked about solutions mythically appearing rather then concrete policy as to how we can get there, she was vilified. Her scrambling to defend herself and her record has kept her more on the defensive, thus aggressive, side then Sen Obama has had to be in reference to his thin resume.

Am I invigorated and inspired by Barack Obama? Yes I am. Does it feel good after almost 8 years of being demoralized and unhopeful? Yes it does! But do I think that we are sooo far up shits creek without a paddle, that we need a woman who can multi-task and knows how to get her hands dirty cleaning up the mess? Yes I Do!!

Have I given up on hope? No. Have I given into the idea that my leader shouldn’t be a dreamer? No. Have I given up ever being able to obtain the ideal this country was built on? No. I’ve given into reality. Does that make me a cynic? I don’t think so. I like to think of it as being realistic. Is my motto No we can’t? No. I still believe in dreams and the dreams I have for this country. The reality is though that those dreams can not be achieved until we fix the clouds they rest on. The reality is that having them is great but I feel that the thick skin Hillary has developed from the process of continuous beatings for her policies and decisions enables her to have a slight edge in knowing how things work in our government and that this will help to enable her to eventually get things done.

My ideal would be that Hillary get elected so she can help clean up the international mess the Bush team has made. That she can start to repair our international image, restore international good will, create a plan to get us out of Iraq, get universal healthcare to finally become a reality and stimulate the economy.

After some of the damage is repaired, I would love for Barack to come into office to help put us back on track to fulfilling the ideal this country can be. The idea of the United States of America is still a great one but so much has been broken. We’ve been taken so far off track. Instead of being a country that inspires, who innovates and who leads. We’ve become a country who attacks, who instills fear, who bullies, who bitches and moans and who is entitled. And to get from off track to ideal may take a woman who can dole out some tough love about reality and sweet talk our detractors so that they can once again believe in our potential.

I need Mom to come clean up the mess. Then my charismatic big brother can come in to lead me to the promise land after Mom has cleaned the debris blocking the road.

As in all things this is just my opinion. If Barack gets elected, I’ll be right there behind him giving him my vote and my support. Because you know what they say about opinions and ass**** everyone’s got one.