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Archive for the ‘Politics/Government’ Category

Wishful Wednesday — Unemployment Benefits Extension

14 Oct

This week, the Sendate is supposed to vote on whether or not to extend unemployment benefits.  I am praying with all of my might that this passes, as my husband has 2 weeks of unemployment left.  I am terrified of what happens if we lose that $500 a week.  We will certainly lose our house (something we’re already on the brink of, anyway) and other things that I can’t even think about right now.  I am beyond terrified.  He’s doing his best to secure income for us but it just hasn’t happened yet.

I know there are other programs out there to help us if this happens, but I had really hoped not to be any more of a burden on the system than we already are.  I’m writing an email to my Senators today.  Would you consider doing the same?  You can find contact information for them here: http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

 

Finally, a political wife who stands up for herself!

29 Jun

Political wives are a strange breed to me.  The most famous example to illustrate my point is Hillary Clinton.  I am sorry, but there is no way in hell that I’m going to stand by my man when he embarrasses me in front of the entire country by having an affair with a much younger woman.  It’s not going to happen.  He would be kicked out on his behind the minute he admitted to me that it was true.  Even if there was an “arrangement” in place that allowed for straying, (harf!) I am not going to stand by and be thought of as the woman that condoned her husband’s cheating.  Period.  I think this is why I could never support her politically.  She didn’t stand up to her own husband when he cheated on her, but wants to be the president?  Perhaps a weird and shallow reason for not supporting someone, but she never appealed to me after that.

I’m kind of fascinated by the fact that so many well-known political figures do seem to stray.  Seriously?  You think that a young and indiscreet girl won’t blab the intimate details?  You think that you won’t be followed to that hotel you have no business being at?  You think people won’t find out that you were in Argentina with your mistress instead of hiking on the Appalachian Trail?  If you really do believe you won’t get caught, I have a bridge I can sell you!

But Jenny Sanford has earned my utmost respect for her handling of her husband’s affair.  I love that she wasn’t standing at his side when he admitted what he’d done.  That she had already left him/kicked him out.  That she has said she doesn’t care about what happens to his political career.  That she is showing her 4 sons that behavior of the sort their father has engaged in is not acceptable.  But in all of that, she is also willing to work things out.  I like to think I’d try to repair my marriage if it happened to me, but that I would do it in such a way that allows me to maintain my self-respect.  Based on the news reports, it seems like she’s doing her best to achieve this.

And shame on Governor Sanford.  Choosing to fly to South America to spend Father’s Day with your mistress rather than your own 4 children? Disgusting.  And if I was his wife, that is probably the point the whole thing would have been unforgivable.  Especially if we had just started a trial separation to see if things could be worked out.  The fact that he took off to see his girlfriend right away would have been enough to tell me exactly where I stood.  He deserves to have his political career ruined at this point.

 

Elections are like diaper changes!

05 Nov

Seriously, this is what I’m thinking as I just changed a very nasty one.  They’re not really much fun, but they have to be done every so often to ensure comfort for everyone involved.  You can’t necessarily guarantee that by changing things you’ll be better off because things can quickly become messy again, but you can trust that it’s only a matter of time before you get the chance to do it again and hope that things improve this time around.

I know there are a lot of people who are sad and scared today.  I am willing to admit that the complete control the Democrats seem to have scares me a little bit.  But we have the opportunity to vote again for House and Senate seats in a couple of years.  I don’t believe that 2, 4, or even 8 years from now we’ll be a socialist nation.  I have faith in our system of checks and balances and I’m putting my trust in our leaders.  That’s all any reasonable person can do…on either side of the fence!

 

If you haven’t already…

04 Nov

Don’t forget that you’re not choosing just the president…here we had races from county commissioners, judges, state and national senators, the governor, and many other less publicized seats.  These are just as important, if not more so, than the presidential race.  So get out there and do your DUTY as an American citizen.

FYI…my polling place is the American Legion and there was absolutely no line when we were there from 8:45 to about 9AM.  My husband and I were only #200 and #201 to cast our votes, so it hadn’t been very busy up until that point, either.  So don’t let the fear of a line stop you from going…that may be a non-issue.

 

Dirty Politics

01 Nov

From the smallest local race all the way up to the big one, I’ve been disgusted by some of the garbage that’s been going on.  In Sanford, we’ve got the Hincks sign debacle which I find to be completely disgusting.  Not necessarily the signs themselves, but the later actions trying to cover up who was responsible and then the bickering that followed.  Seriously, people…my kindergartener behaves better than some of these grown men!

Then of course there’s the nastiness in the presidential race.  I can’t even go there.  On both sides, I’ve seen things that were misleading and unnecessarily hateful.

But I think the absolute WORST is the new ads out from Elizabeth Dole calling Kay Hagan Godless.  To me, this is by far the most sickening.  To be honest, I wasn’t a fan of either of them.  I contemplated not voting for that office at all.  I’m still debating on whether to vote for someone in that race, but I guarantee you my vote won’t be going to someone who would run an ad that essentially calls someone else Godless.  Yes, I’ve seen the ad.  I know that I’m reading between the lines in my interpretation, but isn’t that what you’re supposed to do?

I wonder if Elizabeth Dole knows the religious beliefs of each and every one of her donors?  Are they all good Christians?  Even atheists can be Republicans, you know.  (Though I’d venture to say they’re more “Reagan Republican” than this new breed…)  Just because someone doesn’t believe in God doesn’t mean they’ve given up the right to care what happens in this country.  Just because someone doesn’t believe in God doesn’t mean they’re evil or otherwise unworthy of consideration.  I know people who don’t believe in God.  It makes me sad, but I don’t think they’re bad people.  I find many of them to be more moral than some Christians I know!  It’s not my place to pass judgment, only to live my life in a way that pleases God.  I have a hard time believing that Dole is pleasing God right now. As much as the idea of a Democratic filibuster proof Senate scares me, I cannot and will not vote for this woman.  (But I’m still not sure I’ll vote for Kay Hagan…)

And just because they popped up while I was typing this, here’s a couple of articles I found intereasting regarding this subject.

Washington Post Politics Blog.  This is the first I’ve seen all of the ads together.  I saw the first one on TV, but hadn’t seen Hagan’s response nor the 2nd one saying that they’re not calling Hagan’s faith into question.  Whatever.  But a good place to see all 3 ads and form your own opinions.  (FYI, the top video is actually the last to come out.)

An article from Fox News. It looks like Dole has basically screwed herself out of winning with these ads.  Stupid, stupid move.