A Quickie

I wanted to thank my reading audience for keeping up with me as I've been away. My apartment is slowly turning to shambles as I pack it in boxes, as I'm anticipating a return to the East Coast in the next month. As I only have the luxury of a couple weeks to do this, I will be attempting to blog but giving you "quickies." (You can laugh if you want - it's the best I can come up with right now!) Anyway, here are some thoughts that have been running around in my head recently:

• There have been rumors that Condi Rice has a shot at being McCain's running mate. Rice's inevitable attachment to the Iraq war label notwithstanding, McCain could take the Democratic rhetoric - can this country elect a black man or a female? - and combine into one neat, perfectly coiffed, toothy package. I'm not so sure that McCain will do this, but then again, could this country elect a black female as the U.S. second in command? (I'm sure she'd be better with a shotgun than some previous Veeps.) All right, I'll stop with the snide comments that aren't funny...
• I don't know about you, but everything I read in the news has something to do with rising gas prices and food costs. The sad thing is, while the middle classes struggle to earn enough money to drive to work, there are two other constants that remain the same: the wealthy know how to stay wealthy, and the poor have nothing to lose and so stay at the bottom of the pile. Also, I am of the opinion that Presidents are either lucky or cursed when it comes to the state of the economy; they have nothing to do with the price of whole grain. President Bush has enough blame on his plate, and he doesn't have the resources to figure out how to end this war and make peace in the East before the end of the year. Quack, quack!
• I just read a Wikipedia entry about conspiracy theories of 9/11. Before you get ants in your pants, rest assured that I don't believe any of them, and I'll tell you why: Some of these theories, such as those for the New World Order, assume that the orchestration of four hijacked planes was for the sake of some global dominance or higher purpose that empowers only few on this entire planet. I think the human condition is too selfish for this kind of thing to be successful. I mean, a New World Order in theory is selfish enough, but there's always someone else who wants have the glory to themselves. If some sort of global government is secretly controlling my every move, then Lord, let me die an ignoramus, because I like the idea that someone else believed so completely in our freedoms that they died overseas for it, New World Order or not.
• Now, did the U.S. have knowledge of an impending attack that they tried to cover up? That's a conspiracy I can swallow. Not one of a bunch of Saudi suicide bombers who participated in 9/11 to appease some worldly organization - they were dying for what they believed was a much higher and otherworldly purpose.
• On a lighter note, I think we can all hold a mirror to ourselves when watching this video. If you want a nice laugh, pause the video at :59 and read her sign.
• And on the lightest note, one of my favorite videos on YouTube thus far. It's one person doing impersonations of her family, and she's pretty good. Click here to meet all the people in her family.

That's all for now, dear readers - thanks for stopping by and continue to check back in. I promise to keep blogging between wrestling with the permanent markers, boxes and tape.

Tough Oats

Hello readers - it's been awhile, and I think I can explain. Between a much-needed vacation to see some friends in Seattle and some life-changing events here at our California Headquarters, I've pushed my poor blog to somewhere in the middle of the to-do list. I've had an article I wanted to blog about for a while, and am just getting to it now.

CNN's Glenn Beck is one of my preferred CNN writers, and last week's article on Michigan and Florida's poo-pooing about not being able to count their votes towards the Democratic primary was something I read with, admittedly, much glee. Glenn, thy name is parental justice!

Glenn's choice of words for telling Florida and Michigan that they had their chance was very simple: Too bad. You broke the rules, you sit in time-out. But my mother had a better name for it: Tough oats. Did your mom ever say that to you? There was probably some two-word phrase that she might have used when withholding your dessert if you didn't finish your dinner. You didn't like the rules of the house? Tough oats. But Mom, can't I stay out until midnight tonight? Tough oats. You're embarrassed by that old fogey car that your father bought? Tough oats. (Side note: I ended up partially buying that old fogey car right after I got married.)

Isn't it strange how this country works? Most people in this country are looking to be able to have their vote and eat it, too. They want to have their voice heard, but when was the last time even 50% of the population showed up for an election? These delegates in MI and FL are charged with representing how the people vote in the state, but alas, the DNC made a few rules, and they broke them. It was all over the news; remember? Michigan and Florida held their primaries way too early, back in January. They flipped the proverbial bird to the parental figurehead of the Democrats, the DNC, and held primaries anyway. To which the DNC put their foot down and said: Well, go ahead. But your vote won't count. Tough oats; too bad.

Just recently, the DNC upheld their decision to not have a new primary in Florida, sending Brother Michigan and Sister Florida to their rooms to sit and think about what they've done, by giving up possibly the most exciting opportunity to participate in a Presidential primary such as this. What a bitter punishment!

What gets me even more is the fact that Sen. Clinton has asked for the primaries to be held in Florida later. Um, Senator? Do you realize you won that state? Of course you want those delegates; you're falling behind. In addition, Michigan did not have Sen. Obama on their ticket. His name wasn't even on the ballot! Do you think it might be fair for either Senator to go head-to-head in a face-off again?

Sure, it would make for some brilliant news. But what was done was done. Those two states made their choice to break the rules; fine. But just as the disobedient, pimpled teenager who breaks curfew on the weekends is stripped of their car and computer privileges, so goes for Michigan and Florida who now sit in their rooms, screaming "IT'S NOT FAIR!" to the DNC. And as all parents know, drawing the line in the sand is the best way to demonstrate between right and wrong, even if we're teaching the lesson to a bunch of adults who feel entitled otherwise.

March D.U.H.

Greetings from Seattle! I'll be here for the next few days on the trusty laptop, so thanks for joining me on my travels.

Seen on the front page of CNN.com, 11:08 AM PST:

"Developing Story: President Bush says 'it's clear our economy has slowed.'"

No kidding, man. Like the foreclosures at an all-time high, the job slump, and credit woes aren't enough to tip us off? Is this really the only news CNN has to offer us as urgent, developing news in the U.S.?

I do have a screenshot to prove it, but Blogger isn't being nice this morning to me. I'll try to post it later.