V for Victory!!!

I woke up this morning and it's a new day in America . . .

Yes, it wasn't just a dream - the Democrats have taken control of the House and control of the Senate is still up in the air. And while I would have loved to wake up to a complete changeover in the balance of power, even if the Repugs (yes, that's Repugs because they are repugnant) maintain dominance in the Senate it will only be a slight advantage which could make things very interesting. As we all know, politics is about staying in power and if a Senator thinks that siding with the Dems on an issue or two will help him get re-elected - he'll side with the Dems.

So what does this mean? It means there's no more blank check writing by Dubyah and his boys. It means that with control of the House, the Democrats can block the hell out legislation that hurts the middle class and start working towards putting money back into the social and health services programs that have been gutted by the Bush Administration - it means that there is once again a balance of power in D.C.

The citizens of this nation made a statement yesterday and it was a resounding "No more business as usual!" Can you say impeachment? Dare I dream? Yes, I am ecstatic this morning. Yes I would have considered packing up the Jeep and driving north to Canada had the Repugs continued their bullying of the people who pay their salaries. Instead my confidence has been restored - we were not scared into voting for the Republicans; we stood up and told the powers that be that the Iraq War needs to end and end now; we showed Dubyah that we don't like the way he's running things and we're taking the first step to end his royal reign as king.

(**An interesting note: According to an exit poll conducted by MSN - yes I'm watching it right now for any more exciting developments - 40% of voters said that they voted Democrat as a statement in defiance of the Bush Administration. Hooray!)

I know I am giddy. I know I sound a little crazy right now. And I'm not naive enough to think that things will change tomorrow and the corruption and illegal activity in D.C. will immediately end. But I mean how can I not be happy when White House representatives, speaking about Dubyah's reaction to the election results, are forced to utter the words, "They have not gone the way he would have liked."

I have hope now and I haven't had that for the past six years. So yes - I'm excited!!!

P.S. Leave it to Britney to divert the spotlight from the post-election day celebration. ABCNews.com had five lead stories featured on its homepage this morning - four of them regarding the election results and the fifth? Britney and K-Fed's divorce. God Bless America!

P.P.S. I was just reading that six races for governor went from Republican to Democrat with two still to close to call. That means that for the first time in 12 years the Democrats outnumber the Repugs 28-20 in state corner offices. How many more hints do Dubyah and his boys need? We'll see what he has to say at 1 p.m. today.

Today's the BIG Day!!!

At approximately 7:13 a.m. this morning I voted. And it was empowering. It felt good. It made me feel like I was fulfilling a responsibility - a BIG responsibility. And when I walked out of the polling station, on the way to my car I could be heard saying, "Take that bitches!" (Yes, you can infer I was speaking of Republicans. I voted Democrat all the way and I'm proud to say it.)

This is a chance for change my fellow registered voters. There are no good excuses for not voting today. This is too important. And I call upon Democrats, Independents and those who are undecided especially. Republicans are notorious for their ability to motivate their constituents to hit the polls, so if you don't want to see this election decided by Republicans simply because they managed to get more bodies to vote - GET OFF YOUR ASS AND GO VOTE!!!

And if you're still not convinced that it matters who is sitting in those seats in Congress. If you don't think it's a big deal that a Republican controlled Congress and a Republican President are a formula for disaster, check out this interesting list put together by Congressman John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) - and you know I wouldn't praise anyone from Michigan (being a Ohio State fan and all) if it wasn't good - I got this in my email box yesterday:

"A President Hand-picked by Katherine Harris and the Supreme Court

Misleading a Nation into War. Outing an undercover CIA operative.

Smearing a Vietnam Veteran Senator who lost his limbs in combat.

No bid contracts.

Swiftboating.

Another Presidential Election Decided by Unanswered irregularities.

Terri Schiavo.

New Orleans.

Jack Abramoff.

Cronyism.

Releasing nuclear secrets on the web.
Abuse of Power.

Nancy, what is the Bush Administration going to do next? The only way to restore checks and balances is by electing a Democratic Congress. Here is what you can do to help:

First, Vote.

Second, make sure everyone in your family and your friends vote. Call them now."


I can't stress it enough. This is important. In fact, the stakes went up today when I was alerted to this little proposal put forth by the Dept. of Homeland Security. (Thank you to MySpace's Impeach Dubya for posting it.)

Here is an excerpt:

"We're All Prisoners, Now: US Citizens to be Required ''Clearance'' to Leave USA

October 26, 2006 Forget no-fly lists. If Uncle Sam gets its way, beginning on Jan. 14,2007, we'll all be on no-fly lists, unless the government gives us permission to leave-or re-enter-the United States.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (HSA) has proposed that all airlines, cruise lines-even fishing boats-be required to obtain clearance for each passenger they propose taking into or out of the United States.

It doesn't matter if you have a U.S. Passport - a "travel document"that now, absent a court order to the contrary, gives you a virtually unqualified right to enter or leave the United States, any time you want. When the DHS system comes into effect next January, if the agency says "no" to a clearance request, or doesn't answer the request at all, you won't be permitted to enter-or leave-the United States.

Consider what might happen if you're a U.S. passport holder on assignment in a country like Saudi Arabia. Your visa is about to expire, so you board your flight back to the United States. But wait!You can't get on, because you don't have permission from the HSA. Saudi immigration officials are on hand to escort you to a squalid detention center, where you and others who are now effectively"stateless persons" are detained, potentially indefinitely, until their immigration status is sorted out."

The Full Story Here

So I'll say it one more time and then I'll shut up. Today is the day - GO VOTE!!!

MoveOn.Org: Call for Change

I got an email today from one of my favorite organizations, MoveOn.Org. They asked for my help in getting Democrats out to vote. Historically, getting people out to vote has been a Republican strength, but if Americans really do want a change, then voting is the only thing we've got.

From the MoveOn site:
"This year, victory will come down to voter turnout. We've found the Democratic-leaning people who often don't vote in mid-term elections like this one. If we can just get these “unlikely voters” to vote, they'll provide a winning margin in a whole bunch of races.

"Over 30 races are in a dead heat – margins of a few thousand or few hundred votes. We’ve tested these calls, and we know they work – the people we talk to are much more likely to turn out. Your calls could tip the balance – but we're in a daily struggle to make sure we're reaching more voters than the Republicans’ infamous turnout program. Can you help?"

MoveOn is asking people to sign up to call people in their area, either individually or by holding or attending a phone party, and remind them to vote on November 7th. MoveOn will give you a phone list to call people at your leisure or will provide the list for a group to call all in one night. If you're interested, click on the link above for more information.

Now I'm not usually one for cold calling - personally, I don't like receiving them and therefore wouldn't like making them either. So if you're not one for calling strangers either, then I ask you to at least call family, friends, neighbors and acquaintances to remind them to vote one week from Tuesday. These kinds of reminders do make a difference - just ask the Republicans.

Every little bit counts, my fellow citizens looking for a change. Remember this election is a big one. The least you can do is go out and cast your vote on November 7th. If you feel like doing a little more, with the potential of having a big effect, then please remind the other registered voters in your life to cast their ballot, too.

While you're at it, remember to get their addresses too - Christmas is only eight weeks away and those holiday cards will be going out before you know it!!!

P.S. The Philosophy Blog War is still going strong and I am currently sitting in and around fifth place. Check out my entry and if you like it - VOTE FOR ME!!!

It's Thursday!!!

All right, so its Thursday. I've been very busy and scattered with two sick kids, one with a TERRIBLE cold that has lasted almost two weeks now and the other throwing up yesterday quite unexpectedly. But, alas, I have found time to write while my husband cleans the kitchen. (Aren't I a very lucky, girl?)

• I was driving yesterday and noticed something, not unusual at all, but slightly disturbing. I noticed that the car in front of me, the car behind me and the car making a left hand turn (although he didn't have the right of way) in front of the car in front of me all had drivers in them talking on their cellphones. Hmmmm ... Now, I'm not for legislating the banning of talking on your cellphone while driving. It's not always the best thing to be doing, a definite distraction, but so is having two screaming boys yelling at you from the backseat to get the Matchbox car they dropped on the floor or demanding that you tell the younger one to stop looking at the older one. So my children should be removed from my car, too . . . wait a minute . . . Anyway, what struck me is that cellphones are EVERYWHERE and I'm kind of getting sick of them. I mean, I only have a cellphone these days. I no longer have landline (when did that word even come about?) service because I get great cell service at my home and who needs to pay two bills? But I also have a tendency to turn off my cellphone when I don't wish to be bothered. But sometimes I feel like I'm the only one. And now with text messaging where you don't even have to use your voice and therefore can silently have a conversation with a friend (except for the annoying tone that sounds when you have an incoming message) it's as if these people have cellphones surgically attached to their hands! What did we do before the cellphone? Oh, right. We had answering machines to record the calls we missed while we were out. Was that so bad? Was that such an inconvenience? Is it really all that great now that people can get a hold of you whenever they want to? And how about when you do turn your phone off for that hour or so, that person who was trying to get a hold of you seems almost insulted that you weren't available when they called, "Why would you turn your cellphone off? I was trying to call you!" I just think this whole thing has gotten out of control. I mean, you'd think that we'd all have gotten better with cellphone etiquette as we got over the newness of the technology - I say we've gotten worse. I hear someone's phone ringing (and by ringing I mean some song playing - and I have them too) at least once during every public outing I make - in the doctor's office, at the grocery store, in a restaurant, at the movies - and let's not forget that nine times out of ten, the call is picked up and then I have to listen to the one-sided conversation happening next to me while I try to keep my children from taking all of the M&M's off the rack and putting them on the conveyor belt!! I don't know . . . maybe it's just me :)
• And here's just a little snapshot from my life yesterday. A conversation between me and my four-year-old (FYO) son:

FYO: Mommy, I think "O" should go to jail.

ME: What?

FYO: I think O should go to jail because people who go to jail go away for 10 years.

ME: Why would you say that? You'd miss your brother if he were gone for 10 years.

FYO: Mommy, I need to tell you the truth about something. O is not really the brother I wanted. I want a new little brother.

ME: Well, you're not getting one. And I don't want to hear you say anything like that again. O is your brother and you're going to be brothers forever. So get used to it.

I then proceeded to leave the room, hide behind the bathroom door and laugh my ass off :)

Have a great day everyone!

Oh, and if you want to check out my entry for the Philosophy Blog War, you can check it out here. And if you like it - Toss me your vote!!! (Polls close on November 7th, so for those of you in the U.S. you can vote for me as a lead up to that other election :)

Wal-Mart, Ritalin & Republicans on the Run

OK, so my random thoughts post for Thursday is a little late this week. Usually I like to have it up all day, but last night I went out and took a wreath making class. Not something I would normally do, but thanks to a couple of close friends I had a great time :) And my fall apple wreath didn't come out too bad either.

Anyway, here's this week's hodgepodge of random thoughts:

• First, some good news: Reading columnist Barbara Ehrenreich in this month's Progressive Magazine I learned that union busting, low wage paying, minimum benefit giving super corporate beast Wal-Mart reported that profits were down 26% for the second quarter of 2006 - and I couldn't be happier! It was apparently the first time Wal-Mart saw a dip in profits in ten years. Oh well!! It's about time people started waking up! Wal-Mart sells you cheap crap by paying its employees low wages, offering benefits that require the employee to carry the bulk of the cost and by threatening employees who try to unionize workers for better pay and better benefits. I for one refuse to participate in such tactics just to save a few bucks and have (happily) not shopped at Wal-Mart for several years now. I encourage anyone reading this to do the same because until we, the consumers, start showing corporations like Wal-Mart that we don't condone the way they do business, they'll keep raking in the profits by the billions while their employees can't even afford to shop where they work.



• I just read an amazing article in The Ecologist Online regarding the increasing number of children, especially boys, being prescribed drugs like Ritalin to control their "hyper" and "overly active" behavior. The article points out that "In schools today, the boy who can't sit still and careers around the classroom is defined as 'hyperactive' while the reserved one who prefers drawing churches to playing at superheroes is labelled 'possibly autistic'." While 20 years ago the same boys would have been considered boisterous and well, boys being boys. The article also points out that long term studies have not been done on these drugs that are so quickly handed out to "stressed out" parents who report being unable to control their children and have doctors willing to blame a "disease" without even considering that it could be the parents' inability to discipline their own children that's the problem. Nope, give 'em some drugs and all is better. This article also blames the education system itself for putting so much emphasis on results, standardized testing, etc. because there is no time to spend with a student who may require a little extra attention if you want to reach the statewide goals set by bureaucrats in big offices. According to reporter Rachel Ragg, in the UK, "The National Curriculum suppresses anything that doesn't fit. Never mind creativity or invention: homogeneity is what matters." I'd have to say the same is true here in the states as well. So parents beware! Teachers and doctors may not always have your child's best interests in mind, no matter how much we'd like to believe they do.



• And last, but certainly not least, I heard on the radio yesterday that Republicans are doing something previously unheard of. Campaign contributors are being encouraged to contribute their funds to races that are highly contested, while being discouraged to continue pouring money into candidates that appear to be too far behind in the polls to win. In other words, for the first time in a LONG time Republicans are worried. As they should be!! This election in two and a half weeks is CRUCIAL to the direction this country will take in the next few years and will certainly provide a big push for the Democrats for the 2008 Presidential race if they can take back Congress. THIS ELECTION ON NOVEMBER 7TH IS OF UTMOST IMPORTANCE!! It doesn't matter if the race in your district is a runaway or whether you believe that one vote can make a difference - we have to show these sly politicians that we care about what's happening in our country right now and voting (aside from enormous campaign contributions which I am not in a position to make)is the only way to make these people listen. And they will listen if they think there's a chance they'll get voted out of office if they don't. Come on, people, change is possible! I know things seem daunting, but nothing will happen if we all just sit back and sulk. Take action! Stand up and be heard! VOTE on November 7th!
  

That's it for this week's randomness. Have a great Friday everybody!!