Fear Mongering

It's no secret that I'm a liberal. Social and civil liberties have revolutionized this country into the amazing place it is today. Our founding fathers were revolutionary and progressive in thought. They had ingenious ideas of their own making, and borrowed ideas from Plato, Socrates, and Aristotle, and yet we censor and shut out those exact forms of government and ruling that would change our country for the better! I don't care what you think about me being a democrat, to be frank. I try to educate myself daily with the best options for my family in terms of religious freedoms in my home, the right to an education, a job, and a pursuit of a happy life. And I afford others the SAME pursuit. I'm sick of hearing racist, back-woods, uneducated, "feelings" about Obama. You can't FEEL something when it's in a legal and political ramification. You either know it, or you don't. It's either law, or it's not. It's either a right, or it's not. So, to clear some things up about McCain (for a change) I thought I'd blog about why I WON'T be voting for him (even though he is one of the most liberal republicans to run for office). The issues at hand that plague this country will not be solved with him in office! Period! I won't vote for him because I would like someone in office who has been candid and honest with his supporters that put him in office in the first place (that would be Obama). McCain is not a loyal person, let's face it. He has tried more than once to abandon his party and cross lines (which would be sweet) and for the past 8 years has disappointed his loyal followers by voting liberal (which is fine). Don't think that by voting him to office you will get your trustworthy, conservative, stuffed-shirt "you can trust me" person. So why all the fear mongering about Obama! He's black. Oh, oh wait, he comes from an interesting background that is too much to handle for you? Or is it that his dad was once a muslim and is now agnostic? Since when is it okay to judge a person by their parent's religion!? It's ridiculous. I suggest you check it out on snopes.com. If you want fear, because that seems to be how you operate, let's get some out there. Here is some reading to educate and enlighten your senses. (Yes, I feel it a duty to inform and protect this country just as much as you do. I’m just as patriotic. I have no problem waving the ol’ red, white and blue. But I do have a problem when it is laid over the bloating bodies of the innocent. Most of this information can be found in “The New Republic” under Maverick Vs. Iceman.) I know you need more "facts" though, right? I mean, true fear mongering doesn't work unless there is something factual to back it up. (That's why it doesn't work for me when all I hear Glen Beck say is "Obama scares me." Oooo, okay, and your point Mr. Beck?)

*First, he has moved across the political spectrum not once--like Al Smith or Mitt Romney--but twice. And, second, he refuses to acknowledge his change.

*During Bush's first term, McCain was the most effective advocate of the Democratic agenda in Washington. (Hey, the more the merrier, thanks McCain!)

*In health care, McCain co-sponsored, with John Edwards and Ted Kennedy, a patients' bill of rights. He joined Chuck Schumer to sponsor one bill allowing the re-importation of prescription drugs and another permitting wider sale of generic alternatives. (If any of you have ever been to a dr where it seems they run a drive-through service, you would want protections. Been there, done that, and I'm thankful that I have rights as a patient. And the drug industry...generic is cheaper and more affordable for all Americans, and that's how we like it, right Wal*Mart buddies?)

*On the environment, he sponsored with John Kerry a bill raising automobile fuel-efficiency standards and another bill with Joe Lieberman imposing a cap-and-trade regime on carbon emissions. He was also one of six Republicans to vote against drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. (As we all know this will not stop our consumption as guzzling Americans with monster trucks, but only allow us more leeway to depleat the earth that God commanded us to be stewards over, not demolishers of! And what in the heck is wrong with automoblie fuel-efficiency? NOTHING.)

*McCain teamed with Carl Levin on bills closing down tax shelters, forbidding accounting firms from selling products to the firms they audited, and requiring businesses that gave out stock options as compensation to reveal the cost to their stockholders. These measures were bitterly opposed by big business and faced opposition not only from virtually the whole of the GOP but even from many Democrats as well. (Hey, honesty is the best policy!)

*McCain voted against the 2001 and 2003 Bush tax cuts. (These cuts were for the rich, we all know this now in hindsite, and did nothing for my class of citizen, which was supposed to be the promised result. Hmmm, did I pay less in taxes that year? NO. Was education more affordable for me that year? NO. Did my parents suddenly flourish because "tax cuts" were made possible by the Bush admin? NO. Were more jobs created? NO. That's why tax breaks and tax cuts from the republican party only support their butts in office and the rich oil companies. These tax cuts weren't used to create more jobs! The money grubbing businesses held on to those subsidies -different topic- and the economy has failed - different topic. Look, everyone complains about the low income family living on welfare, like, their not paying into the system. Neither is corporate America. Their tax cuts helped them. They are putting just about as much into the economy as the family on welfare. So get off the high horse! Thanks McCain for seeing the falacy in these proposed "tax cuts"!)

*McCain co-sponsored bills to close the gun-show loophole, expand AmeriCorps, and federalize airport security. All these things set him against nearly the entire Republican Party. (Gun control. I know...you're cringing at the thought. Have you ever been to a gun show!? I have, and let me tell you, I could walk up to any counter, lay my green president down and walk away with a high caliber rifle, .22, pistol, you name it. No checks to see if I have warrants, if I'm on parole, if I was just released from a psychological clinic with instructions to not sell me a fire-arm. That's why gun-show loop holes need to be addressed! We all threw a hissy fit when we needed to maintain airport security. Why people!? Couldn't it have saved us some lives on 9/11. I know, it does get annoying, but it's safe. We like that word "safe".)

*McCain was best described as a progressive--like Teddy Roosevelt (and I'll add like Obama which is now used as a slander, not as something positive), whom he cited constantly. McCain tended to see politics as a contest between the national interest and the selfishness of private agendas, and he favored a role for government in counterbalancing the excesses of organized wealth. In 2002, for instance, he was asked about the Bush administration's view, with regard to the Enron scandal, that "[t]he company had a duty to inform its shareholders and its employees about things that were going on inside the company. That's not a federal government responsibility." McCain thundered in response, "Well, Theodore Roosevelt would not agree with at least that rhetoric....We have had regulatory agencies always to curb the abuses or potential abuses of the capitalist system."

*McCain did not leave his party, but he came close. The Washington Post (at the time) and The Hill (again last year) reported that, in 2001, McCain met with Democratic leaders to ponder a party switch. McCain and his allies deny these accounts, which are obviously devastating to his current prospects, and reporters almost never mention it in their McCain coverage. They also rarely mention how, in 2004, John Kerry wooed him to join his ticket as vice president. The reported half-dozen conversations the two held on the topic are about a half-dozen more than would have been needed if McCain truly was a dyed-in-the-wool conservative Republican.

*McCain obviously decided that his only plausible path to the presidency lay with the Republican Party in 2008. So he set about re-ingratiating himself with the GOP establishment while maintaining his reputation as an unwavering man of principle.

*And last but NOT least, McCain recently voted NO to help fund rehabilitation and hospital expenses for American soldiers who have served in a war. Voted NO to help compensate their families further, during their husband's/wife's time of recovery. Not only did he vote no, he was not even at the debate and vote meeting. He just called it in. What a swell guy! As a United States Veteran I would expect more!

None of this scares me, per se, because I think his voting record is pretty much in line with most liberals to moderates. But if you're thinking of voting for McCain just educate yourself on any topic to see what he "really" believes. And, no, I won't take my bumper sticker off of my car. I believe in change, not in changing the greatness of this country (unless it only means getting better), but in changing the face of the white house, the caliber of person that serves the highest position, and I believe in changing the way we see each other and respect for each other. Obama will lead us in that direction.

Stop being afraid.

Twirling

DO you ever have those days where you feel like your life is just twirling? Like, you don't hear conversations going on around you, you're all twirling inside with frustrations over this or that? There are some days of the week (more than not) that I feel like I'm twirling. I'm sure this is induced from stress of being a mom to a rambunctious 17 month old boy.

I have learned that no matter how much discipline Chris and I give Coleman, he's still going to follow through on his boyish impulses and smack some other little kid in the face, throw toys, throw food, or bite me on the shoulder as he's cuddling with me. As Chris likes to say, as he's reassuring me that I'm not a complete failure of a mom, "We are not doing anything wrong! He's going to learn over time and with experience about behavior. Kids don't just "know" behavior." Today, for instance, little nursery children were being shuffled single file across the hall to another room. Coleman, being in close proximity to the children, (he plays with a toy kitchen set that's always in the hall near nursery) proceeds to run and body slam an older, but helpless, little boy. That little boy got up before I could run and help. He growled at Coleman. Then they were joined by another boy and a few girls in a riot over the kitchen set. Yup. An all out freak out session. There was no more single file. No more folded arms. And Coleman was beyond reproach. He clung to the kitchen set with his life! The other children were quickly shuffled to the classroom and I was left in the hall with my head twirling over the behavior of my son. My emotions had had it! A few moments later we were headed back to the kitchen set, only to see the nursery door open. Coleman hurried to the room and...I saw it coming...he smacked a little girl right in the face! I grabbed him, and sternly gave him the verbal reprimand of a lifetime. He continued to cry until church was over because of one thing or another. I was twirling inside and Coleman was tired, ornery, and in trouble!

There is no time to stop when you're a parent. No breathers, no kick-your-legs-up moments. It's like you have to constantly be on guard. You do the best you can day in and day out, but sometimes it just feels futile! I wonder if my child will ever learn to control his impulses. My advice to myself is...don't give him time to do those things. Keep him busy. Keep him occupied and happy. I have to say that it does work...most of the time! When we are twirling in playtime with each other, running outside after a ball, or playing with cars I notice a happier and less agressive boy. He even seems to communicate with me better. We twirl to music all the time and he laughs out loud. It's great. Although hard and exhausting, the busy moments make being a mom worth it to me, because I see my son happy and carefree. And sorry to all the moms whose children Coleman may body slam or bite in the future. *Shrug* It's not because he's malicious, or because I lack parenting skills (I hope). We're all just learning and twirling in this parenting bubble.

Family; a reason to travel!

Baby Mya, and summer fun

My sister, Kimberly, had her baby three weeks early!!! Her name is Mya and SHE IS SOOOO CUTE! My-a, not Meea, was 6 lbs 1 oz and 20 1/4 inches long! She is so little little little. We hurried and packed up the car when she went into labor and drove 17 hours to Utah to see her and the new cutie pie. Lukily Chris' work is WAY flexible and let him have the time off. We chilled with my family over the fourth of July too, since we were there, and spent a lot of time holding baby Mya and imagining maybe having a girl of our own one day! The clothes are sooo cute and little girls have such a sweetness about them. Coleman spent most of his time running amok in my parent's backyard with his uncles, 4-wheeling with daddy, helping my parents mow the lawn, swimming in his little pool my mom got for him, going to the zoo, taking a nature walk with Kim's new little family (Mya's real first outing at 1/2 a week old! Yeah, crazy!), biting and hiting the dogs, and completely ignoring Mya. It made me feel guilty bringing him back to Oklahoma because I'm not that outgoing as far as "let's get out in the humidity and play all day." Utah was good for him. He learned a lot. Explored a lot, and had enough outdoor time to last a million years. My only wish would be for him to have had more fun with Mya. He was soooo annoyed by her at first. He DID NOT like seeing anyone hold her or coo with her, which is to be expected. But, one morning I was helping Kim and was changing Mya's diaper. Coleman came into the room and layed down on his belly with his head in his hands and watched me. Then he got up and left, then ran back into the room with one of his diapers and gave it to me and just stood there talking his little jibberish, like, "Hey, mom, change my diaper now." I was laughing so hard! He finally warmed up to her, but we weren't there long enough for them to establish any sort of memorable relationship. Oh well. It was great nonetheless.
We had a fourth of July party...my family goes to DATC's field every year, where I swear ALL of Kaysville comes to. We played cards, ate yummy food, and then saw the BEST fireworks show west of D.C. Then we were back on the road heading home to Oklahoma. So, that's my quick little update for you all. I took around 1200 pictures of the trip. Yeah, sometimes I'm even a little overwhelming for myself...but hey, you have to catch the cuteness of Mya, she's so dang cute. Look for the slide show, I may/may not get it up tonight. I've loved reading about everyone's summer fun. It's such a good time of the year!