Too busy for a blog today but here's a little patriotic pick me up provided by my sister Sydney and her friend Hope.
Friday, October 24, 2008
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Divided We Fall
*Sigh* I wish I didn't even have to write this blog. This blog has been rolling around in my brain after several days of news stories about various members of the GOP apologizing for making remarks about people being "un-patriotic" or "un-American" or "real Americans" and I had decided I was just going to let it slide. Then today I see this:
In case you can't read it the mailer says "Terrorists" on the front and on the inside it says (among other things) "Barack Obama. Not who you think he is."
RNC, are you shitting me? Send me a mailer about why your candidate is better, send me a mailer about why Obama's health care plan won't work, send me a mailer about what John McCain can do for me but seriously, I mean seriously, don't do this.
What is going on America? Have we completely forgotten that having two parties is a good thing? That having more than one candidate IS American? That we rely on differing opinions and ideas to balance our democracy? Furthermore, does either party realize that we have considerably large problems that we are counting on them to deal with and we want to hear from them about what they plan to do?
I realize that both parties are guilty of this business so I won't go into a continued GOP tirade but I think it's pretty clear who has employed this as their number 1 campaign strategy.
This un-patriotic socialist, terrorist vs. real American business is just blowing my mind. Apparently America we are so dumb that the only way to communicate with us is through scare tactics and divisive bullshit. Forget the issues, stop trying to figure out who has the best platform, just figure out which guy scares you the least and vote for him because thinking and talking about the issues is just too much work.
Obama & McCain, I have a message for both of you: QUIT THIS NONSENSE! Start acting like the Americans you are.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
2nd Response to Bailout Letter
I got a response this evening from my other Senator, John Cornyn. Once again it is detailed and once again I don't fully agree but I appreciate the response. I found it interesting that he does go a step farther than Senator Hutchison's letter in attempting to defend his own actions leading up to these events and he describes what he feels is an appropriate course of action in dealing with the offenders. His timing is spot on considering that I have just been trying to decide whether or not I will be voting for him. Here it is for your reading enjoyment.
Dear Ms. Jones:
Thank you for contacting me about the current financial crisis. I appreciate having the benefit of your comments on this matter. I, like many Texans, am angry and frustrated that the United States is in the current financial crisis. As a strong supporter of the free market, I am opposed to unnecessary government intervention in the economy.
As you know, the federal government has recently taken several steps to ensure that our financial system remains stable for the growth of our economy. Any actions by the federal government must be temporary and limited. Furthermore, any taxpayer money that is used to support our troubled economy must be subject to strict oversight and be repaid—in full—to the American people. Hard-working, financially responsible Texans should not have to pay for the irresponsible behavior of corporate executives who abused their positions. These executives must now be held fully accountable under the law.
The current financial crisis was caused, to a large extent, by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac—two government sponsored enterprises that played a central role in the much maligned mortgage market by guaranteeing loans to individuals who could not pay them back. Together, these two agencies own or guarantee nearly half of the nation’s $12 trillion mortgage market. I have long advocated that Congress reform both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in an effort to protect taxpayers. In 2006, I urged the Senate Majority Leader to bring reform legislation before the full Senate after reports that Fannie Mae intentionally overstated its earnings by $10.6 billion. This reform legislation would have increased oversight and taken steps to protect taxpayers from the risk that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac posed to our economy. Regrettably, the Senate did not consider these reforms because special interest groups lobbied their Congressional allies to prevent this legislation from being debated.
Furthermore, risky business practices by irresponsible financial institutions have caused great stress on our credit market, limiting the amount of credit available to both individuals and businesses. America’s system of credit is the lifeblood of our economy as it affects thousands of purchases and investments made in our country each day. Without access to credit, small businesses cannot pay their employees and working families cannot receive the loans necessary to send their children to college or purchase a new home or car. It is critical for our economy that the financial crisis be prevented from spreading to families and businesses across Texas which would result in many Texans losing their jobs, diminished college funds for their children, and a loss of hard-earned retirement savings.
Finally, it is imperative that all parties associated with the current financial crisis are aggressively investigated and that any corporate executives found to be involved in criminal activities are swiftly prosecuted. I intend to ensure that a thorough criminal investigation is conducted and that those responsible for violating any criminal laws of the United States are held accountable. As such, I have called on the Attorney General to begin a criminal investigation of executives at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. It is because of their poor—and possibly criminal—business practices that American taxpayers and our nation’s economy are in jeopardy. Soon after the Attorney General received my request, the Federal Bureau of Investigation announced an investigation of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and multiple Wall Street financial firms.
I appreciate the opportunity to represent Texans in the United States Senate and you may be certain that I will keep your views in mind as the 110th Congress draws to a close. Thank you for taking the time to contact me.
Sincerely,
JOHN CORNYN
United States Senator
517 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Tel: (202) 224-2934Fax: (202) 228-2856
http://www.cornyn.senate.gov
Dear Ms. Jones:
Thank you for contacting me about the current financial crisis. I appreciate having the benefit of your comments on this matter. I, like many Texans, am angry and frustrated that the United States is in the current financial crisis. As a strong supporter of the free market, I am opposed to unnecessary government intervention in the economy.
As you know, the federal government has recently taken several steps to ensure that our financial system remains stable for the growth of our economy. Any actions by the federal government must be temporary and limited. Furthermore, any taxpayer money that is used to support our troubled economy must be subject to strict oversight and be repaid—in full—to the American people. Hard-working, financially responsible Texans should not have to pay for the irresponsible behavior of corporate executives who abused their positions. These executives must now be held fully accountable under the law.
The current financial crisis was caused, to a large extent, by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac—two government sponsored enterprises that played a central role in the much maligned mortgage market by guaranteeing loans to individuals who could not pay them back. Together, these two agencies own or guarantee nearly half of the nation’s $12 trillion mortgage market. I have long advocated that Congress reform both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in an effort to protect taxpayers. In 2006, I urged the Senate Majority Leader to bring reform legislation before the full Senate after reports that Fannie Mae intentionally overstated its earnings by $10.6 billion. This reform legislation would have increased oversight and taken steps to protect taxpayers from the risk that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac posed to our economy. Regrettably, the Senate did not consider these reforms because special interest groups lobbied their Congressional allies to prevent this legislation from being debated.
Furthermore, risky business practices by irresponsible financial institutions have caused great stress on our credit market, limiting the amount of credit available to both individuals and businesses. America’s system of credit is the lifeblood of our economy as it affects thousands of purchases and investments made in our country each day. Without access to credit, small businesses cannot pay their employees and working families cannot receive the loans necessary to send their children to college or purchase a new home or car. It is critical for our economy that the financial crisis be prevented from spreading to families and businesses across Texas which would result in many Texans losing their jobs, diminished college funds for their children, and a loss of hard-earned retirement savings.
Finally, it is imperative that all parties associated with the current financial crisis are aggressively investigated and that any corporate executives found to be involved in criminal activities are swiftly prosecuted. I intend to ensure that a thorough criminal investigation is conducted and that those responsible for violating any criminal laws of the United States are held accountable. As such, I have called on the Attorney General to begin a criminal investigation of executives at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. It is because of their poor—and possibly criminal—business practices that American taxpayers and our nation’s economy are in jeopardy. Soon after the Attorney General received my request, the Federal Bureau of Investigation announced an investigation of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and multiple Wall Street financial firms.
I appreciate the opportunity to represent Texans in the United States Senate and you may be certain that I will keep your views in mind as the 110th Congress draws to a close. Thank you for taking the time to contact me.
Sincerely,
JOHN CORNYN
United States Senator
517 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Tel: (202) 224-2934Fax: (202) 228-2856
http://www.cornyn.senate.gov
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Here We Go
Thanks to my girl Steph who is wise to the ways of the web, all of you can now view your ballot and prepare your voter checklist:
http://mk.thevoterguide.org/vgt/
Get busy. Times a wastin'
http://mk.thevoterguide.org/vgt/
Get busy. Times a wastin'
Monday, October 20, 2008
Tonight at 6
I don't have anything emotionally charged to blog about today but I did want to review a few newsworthy items.
First, election time has nearly arrived. If you are lucky enough to live in the great State of Texas you can vote right now (I have to tell you though Texas, I get a little personal excitement out of voting on election day so I'm waiting). A couple of people have mentioned to me that they don't know how to figure out what will be on their ballot so I thought I would take a few minutes to help out with that. If you are a Texan I would recommend that you visit this site:
http://z4.thevoterguide.org/a-dallas/get-started.do;jsessionid=07448055D849A2B3990ED7D822F7F896
This site will not only tell you what district you are in, it will show you your entire ballot and allow you to compare candidates (including judges). Once you decide who to vote for you can print the whole thing out and take it with you to the polling place. It's pretty groovy.
If you live anywhere else you should Google and visit your Secretary of State's website and you should be able to find all voting information there including the sample ballot. You will need to know your district number which can also be located by doing a little Googling. After you have your sample ballot you can visit the websites of each candidate to learn more about them. Yes this may require a little time and effort but DO IT ANYWAY! You may also want to check the website of your local paper because they likely have something similar to the link I provided above. If you want to know whether or not you can vote early and where, (and you have no aversion to the Obama website) you can visit here: http://www.voteforchange.com/ and gather the necessary information. I'm telling you, the internet is a beautiful thing.
In other news an 89 year old woman was arrested for refusing to return the neighbor kids ball. I say good. That's what you get for being mean. That's karma grandma.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081020/ap_on_re_us/odd_football_charge
Sarah Palin announced today that she does support a Constitutional Amendment to ban Gay marriage. Good for her and her hate monger friends. This confirms my thinking that what she said about gay marriage in the debate was an outright lie. Sometimes I hate it when I am right. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081020/ap_on_el_pr/palin_gay_marriage
And finally these assholes got together and pretended to do something.
I don't know what they are smiling about but I think there should be a new rule that if you are an elected official currently holding a position in Washington you aren't allowed to smile about a damn thing right now. This rule particularly applies to the idiot on the far right who terrifies me every time he smiles about something.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/financial_meltdown
That is all. Carry on.
First, election time has nearly arrived. If you are lucky enough to live in the great State of Texas you can vote right now (I have to tell you though Texas, I get a little personal excitement out of voting on election day so I'm waiting). A couple of people have mentioned to me that they don't know how to figure out what will be on their ballot so I thought I would take a few minutes to help out with that. If you are a Texan I would recommend that you visit this site:
http://z4.thevoterguide.org/a-dallas/get-started.do;jsessionid=07448055D849A2B3990ED7D822F7F896
This site will not only tell you what district you are in, it will show you your entire ballot and allow you to compare candidates (including judges). Once you decide who to vote for you can print the whole thing out and take it with you to the polling place. It's pretty groovy.
If you live anywhere else you should Google and visit your Secretary of State's website and you should be able to find all voting information there including the sample ballot. You will need to know your district number which can also be located by doing a little Googling. After you have your sample ballot you can visit the websites of each candidate to learn more about them. Yes this may require a little time and effort but DO IT ANYWAY! You may also want to check the website of your local paper because they likely have something similar to the link I provided above. If you want to know whether or not you can vote early and where, (and you have no aversion to the Obama website) you can visit here: http://www.voteforchange.com/ and gather the necessary information. I'm telling you, the internet is a beautiful thing.
In other news an 89 year old woman was arrested for refusing to return the neighbor kids ball. I say good. That's what you get for being mean. That's karma grandma.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081020/ap_on_re_us/odd_football_charge
Sarah Palin announced today that she does support a Constitutional Amendment to ban Gay marriage. Good for her and her hate monger friends. This confirms my thinking that what she said about gay marriage in the debate was an outright lie. Sometimes I hate it when I am right. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081020/ap_on_el_pr/palin_gay_marriage
And finally these assholes got together and pretended to do something.
I don't know what they are smiling about but I think there should be a new rule that if you are an elected official currently holding a position in Washington you aren't allowed to smile about a damn thing right now. This rule particularly applies to the idiot on the far right who terrifies me every time he smiles about something.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/financial_meltdown
That is all. Carry on.
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Grammar Got Run Over By a Reindeer
I have a confession to make. I am an elitist. I possess the elitist opinion that a person who is serving in a leadership capacity should have the ability to put together complete, coherent, and proper sentences. I’m not an English teacher and I will not even begin to suggest that I don’t make mistakes when using the English language. In fact I frequently make spelling and grammatical errors and I’m not ashamed to admit it. Not only do I frequently make errors, I have also been known to speak in slang and/or swear at times. You'll probably find a mistake or ten in this blog. However, when I lived in small town America, my mother (who reads this blog so Hi Mom!) frequently nagged me….I mean reminded me about the importance of using proper grammar and a dictionary. Thank goodness she did because I have reaped many rewards as a result of understanding the importance of words and articulate speech. For the last 8 years I have watched our Commander in Chief make a complete ass of himself by bungling the English language and it drives me insane. Once again we are face to face with a political figure who is shockingly inarticulate. What’s even worse is that she seems to think it’s excusable because it makes her more like us. I come from the Midwest and as a result I say my O's funny. I can't fault the woman for her dialect but it's positively shocking to me that she can't figure out how to put words in the right order and that people find this to be acceptable behavior. Here are a few shining examples of the Governor massacring our language:
"As Putin rears his head and comes into the air space of the United States of America, where– where do they go? It's Alaska. It's just right over the border." --Sarah Palin, explaining why Alaska's proximity to Russia gives her foreign policy experience, interview with CBS's Katie Couric, Sept. 24, 2008
"Well, let's see. There's ― of course in the great history of America there have been rulings that there's never going to be absolute consensus by every American, and there are those issues, again, like Roe v. Wade, where I believe are best held on a state level and addressed there. So, you know, going through the history of America, there would be others but ―" ―Palin, unable to name a Supreme Court decision she disagreed with other than Roe vs. Wade, interview with Katie Couric, CBS News, Oct. 1, 2008
This one is my favorite so far (and it prompted this blog):
"It's all pro-America. I was just reinforcing the fact that there, where I was, there's good patriotic people there in these rallies, so excited about positive change and reform of government that's coming that they are so appreciative of hearing our message, hearing our plan. Not any one area of America is more pro-America patriotically than others," Palin responding to criticism from Joe Biden at a fundraiser in North Carolina, October 17, 2008
For good measure, here’s one that that is disconcerting not only for its odd use of the English language but also for its content:
"All of 'em, any of 'em that have been in front of me over all these years." ―Palin, unable to name a single newspaper or magazine she reads, interview with Katie Couric, CBS News, Sept. 30, 2008
My friends, this brazen slaughter of the English language is not cute. I do not find anything endearing or sweet about a public official speaking like she barely made it through the 6th grade.
First, I am offended by the idea that because she is from a small town Mrs. Palin is given a free pass to talk like an idiot. It not only devalues the importance of education for people in communities of all sizes, it’s also inherently false. Some of the most well versed individuals I know are the products of small town education. Sarah Palin's inability to effectively and appropriately communicate perpetuates the myth that small town citizen = unsophisticated and under-educated.
Second, I think a person’s ability to construct sentences and communicate has a direct correlation to that individual’s thought process and intelligence. I don’t think this point requires any further explanation.
Finally, and most importantly in my opinion, communication is one of the cornerstones of leadership. Joe six-pack may like it that the Governor speaks his language but I can assure you that they don’t appreciate it at the U.N. and we certainly don’t appreciate it in this house. Like it or not, we now live in a global community and I am appalled by the idea that a woman who might represent us on a global stage will be made fun of because she can’t talk. I've watched "W" do it for 8 years and it’s degrading and humiliating.
I am not against the idea of a small town Washington outsider running for President. In fact I think the idea is grand. Give me a small town candidate who can communicate their ideas to me coherently and with even a shred of eloquence and I’ll listen intently to what they have to say. This isn't an issue of experience, it is a matter of being represented by someone who does not demonstrate the ability to speak as though she were educated (even though she does have a degree in *GASP* Journalism {I say as I vigorously shake my head in disgust that someone awarded her a degree in a subject that requires excellent writing skills not to mention the fact that she couldn't name a damn newspaper or magazine}).
If my expectation that the leaders of the free world should have a better than basic grasp on the English language is unreasonable, I guess I don’t fit in with the rest of you America. I’ll be watching for the USPS to deliver my elitist club card any day now and my new elitist friends and I will sit around having grammatically correct conversations with each other while the rest of you are busy being “real Americans” who don't care about silly little things like proper speech and global image. I wish you and your word fumbling candidate the best of luck in your efforts to make America respectable again.
"As Putin rears his head and comes into the air space of the United States of America, where– where do they go? It's Alaska. It's just right over the border." --Sarah Palin, explaining why Alaska's proximity to Russia gives her foreign policy experience, interview with CBS's Katie Couric, Sept. 24, 2008
"Well, let's see. There's ― of course in the great history of America there have been rulings that there's never going to be absolute consensus by every American, and there are those issues, again, like Roe v. Wade, where I believe are best held on a state level and addressed there. So, you know, going through the history of America, there would be others but ―" ―Palin, unable to name a Supreme Court decision she disagreed with other than Roe vs. Wade, interview with Katie Couric, CBS News, Oct. 1, 2008
This one is my favorite so far (and it prompted this blog):
"It's all pro-America. I was just reinforcing the fact that there, where I was, there's good patriotic people there in these rallies, so excited about positive change and reform of government that's coming that they are so appreciative of hearing our message, hearing our plan. Not any one area of America is more pro-America patriotically than others," Palin responding to criticism from Joe Biden at a fundraiser in North Carolina, October 17, 2008
For good measure, here’s one that that is disconcerting not only for its odd use of the English language but also for its content:
"All of 'em, any of 'em that have been in front of me over all these years." ―Palin, unable to name a single newspaper or magazine she reads, interview with Katie Couric, CBS News, Sept. 30, 2008
My friends, this brazen slaughter of the English language is not cute. I do not find anything endearing or sweet about a public official speaking like she barely made it through the 6th grade.
First, I am offended by the idea that because she is from a small town Mrs. Palin is given a free pass to talk like an idiot. It not only devalues the importance of education for people in communities of all sizes, it’s also inherently false. Some of the most well versed individuals I know are the products of small town education. Sarah Palin's inability to effectively and appropriately communicate perpetuates the myth that small town citizen = unsophisticated and under-educated.
Second, I think a person’s ability to construct sentences and communicate has a direct correlation to that individual’s thought process and intelligence. I don’t think this point requires any further explanation.
Finally, and most importantly in my opinion, communication is one of the cornerstones of leadership. Joe six-pack may like it that the Governor speaks his language but I can assure you that they don’t appreciate it at the U.N. and we certainly don’t appreciate it in this house. Like it or not, we now live in a global community and I am appalled by the idea that a woman who might represent us on a global stage will be made fun of because she can’t talk. I've watched "W" do it for 8 years and it’s degrading and humiliating.
I am not against the idea of a small town Washington outsider running for President. In fact I think the idea is grand. Give me a small town candidate who can communicate their ideas to me coherently and with even a shred of eloquence and I’ll listen intently to what they have to say. This isn't an issue of experience, it is a matter of being represented by someone who does not demonstrate the ability to speak as though she were educated (even though she does have a degree in *GASP* Journalism {I say as I vigorously shake my head in disgust that someone awarded her a degree in a subject that requires excellent writing skills not to mention the fact that she couldn't name a damn newspaper or magazine}).
If my expectation that the leaders of the free world should have a better than basic grasp on the English language is unreasonable, I guess I don’t fit in with the rest of you America. I’ll be watching for the USPS to deliver my elitist club card any day now and my new elitist friends and I will sit around having grammatically correct conversations with each other while the rest of you are busy being “real Americans” who don't care about silly little things like proper speech and global image. I wish you and your word fumbling candidate the best of luck in your efforts to make America respectable again.
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