Showing posts with label Presidential race. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Presidential race. Show all posts

Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Project 365 - Days 241-260 VOTE FOR BERNIE!

It's been a strange few weeks. I've been so taken up in planning for September's two shows (Passion in Portland and the Rose City Comic Con) that I haven't had much time for anything else. I confess that since my mom died, I've been a bit more detached than usual. I've been doing my 365s but forgetting to upload them. I have been uploading them in spurts. But I'm still doing them! That's a great thing. Yay for follow through for a change. I've already hit the 100 days left mark. They will be posted in the next round of twenty.

We are getting ready for a trip to Florida and New Orleans courtesy of my eldest sister. We joke that she only bothered to pay for OUR tickets so we could accompany Alex to visit, for it's him she really wants to see. It's our ten-year anniversary this year, and we will be renewing our vows by the water in Pensacola. She will be driving us to New Orleans to celebrate Dan's birthday too. Yay! Our first real vacation together! We didn't even have a honeymoon. So this is a big deal!

On top of that, I wasn't planning on attending the ORS's retreat this year for lack of funds for indulgent things, but someone was kind enough to pay my way. So I am going after all. I will be the lady's Abigail, aka Lady in Waiting. So I do get a little bit of fun! In spite of receiving a little inheritance from mom, we have been relegating it towards paying off all of our bills (it is astounding how much money we owe in medical expenses. Seriuosly America needs to get its shit together, this could bankrupt people. If it weren't for mom's money, I have no idea what we'd do).  We also replaced the aging and deteriorating Dodge, and getting a new roof, which as of this spring, with its leaks, became a priority issue.  Yay for pragmatism... even if it means you don't get a great deal of you-time.

241/365 - Tiles

242/365 - The first big rain in weeks. It was so nice. It's dry again now,
but hopefully the Oregon rains will soon return.  I'm a pluviophile. 

243/365 - Selfies

244/365 - Some antiquing with my sister. She was in town for a job interview.
 My sister took a shot and interviewed for the Environmental Manager for Intel here in Oregon. She got the job! She is moving back, I am SOOOooo excited. She is too. She will be close to her nephew and possibly living with us for a while. We may even venture into buying a property together down the line.

245/365 - Seeing Auntie Neenee off at PDX

246/365 - bribery material

247/365 - Super sized measurements

248/365 - Bubbles

249/365 - more bubbles for the boy. He likes his baths.

250/365 - A miniature meal

251/365 - Watching Robots
So my goal has been to complete rewrites on my latest novel. I'd like it to be released in February for Wizard World Comic Con.

252/365 - Plaid

253/365 - Fort Alexander in harsh light

254/365 - My new wheels. A necessary
purchase. I do love the Kia.

255/365 - My table at the Passion in Portland book signing event. Do
you recognize the little dollie? :)
 I sold more books at the Romance event than I'd anticipated. I feel somewhat out of place amongst the romance novelists. There's a pretty broad spectrum of romance styles in this group. I barely fit the archetype since romance is not the main theme of my stories, it's more of a byline. But there was interest. I got lots of people signing up for my mailing list and lots of interest in my Coming Soon for the new title "A Problem of Ghosts". Encouraging!

256/365 - The fairies recently paved
their walk.  Their little door looks
worse for wear. Must be from all those
little chipmunk visitors rapping on the wood.

257/365 - Citron
258/365 - Some mother/son silliness.

259/365 - The old man's beard only needs one good rain
to explode all over the place.

260/365 - The last of the hydrangea - I
found these on a house I was looking at in
Sellwood for my sister.
The autumn has arrived. Although it's dry and sunny the days are so much more tolerable. Much like the Indian Summers of the east. I'm waiting for the weeks of grey and lushness. That is when I'm happiest.

Elections are drawing near. The vitriol is flying on FaceBook and as usual, I'm the biggest troll of them all. BAHAHAHAHA. Who are you voting for? If it's not for Bernie, I don't want to know. Register democrat, and vote for Bernie! <3 p="">
The first sticker on my new wheels. :D

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Lunacy of politics.

A secret from this week's PostSecret page. It just goes to show you
how irrational people have become, and how afraid they've been made
about something benign. 

I do not support Romney. I think he is a colossal douche. The debates last night pretty much confirmed that for me. When he walked towards the president with his finger pointing, all I could think was that he was as disrespectful and as big as a bully as everyone says he is. He talked down to the president, the moderator and the audience as if they were the ‘help’. He is not, by any means, a good human being, even in spite of all the attestations of his ‘charitable’ nature.  I see someone who has no empathy at all. I see someone who is so out of touch with the middle class, he really has no idea what the hell he’s talking about when he talks about the middle class.

A good friend of mine who I love called me a hater yesterday because I was outraged by Romney’s behavior.  I see a lot of people whining that the outrage about Romney’s inhuman, robot behavior by calling it hate.  This coming from the base that allows Tea Party people to speak for them; people who post pictures of nooses, and spray the N-word on Obama signs. Sure. The Obama supporters are the haters. LOL, there’s a joke.

I want a president who is a human being. Romney’s practiced smile, and plastic exterior, his condescending tone and the way he looks through people… is not human.  He lacks empathy. You can tell by the way he speaks to people. He was warmer and more affable when he was preaching to his moneyed friends about the 47%... but when it comes to talking to Americans in general, he has no regard for them at all except to ingratiate them enough to get them to vote for him. He is a douchebag. A dirty, dirty douchebag.

Why am I so mad about the whole thing? Because I am middle class. We pay taxes, almost 35% of our income goes towards taxes and other deductions.  My reward for working hard all these years? Being told that the social security program I’ve been paying into all these years may not be there for me when I retire. That my retirement age will increase. That I will lose the mortgage interest deduction that saves our ass every year. That I could pay MORE for health coverage, and could be denied health coverage for pre-existing conditions. That’s my reward for being a responsible American.

Recently, I stopped working (got sort of shoved off to the side by my company is probably more accurate) because my pregnancy was hard and making me lose a lot of time.  That meant I had to either get Cobra (which is SICKENINGLY expensive), or buy our own insurance. My husband needs insurance because his new job doesn’t offer it, and Baby-J will need coverage as well, so we applied through LifeWise of Oregon.  I was declined for coverage because of a pre-existing condition. What was that pre-existing condition? PREGNANCY.  I applied well-within the transitional time, I have had continual coverage for more than ten years, and this is what I get for it.  It makes me sick that I live in a country where being pregnant can be a disease that insurance companies can choose not to cover.  It makes me sick that there is a candidate that will make sure these companies are protected at all cost from the people that keep them in existence, and that their mind-numbing profit margins are not affected by the inconvenience of people getting sick or worse… PREGNANT! And worse, pregnant in a non-rapey way too!

It makes me sick that there are people out there who stand beside this automaton with as zealously as they do their religious beliefs. They cling to things that are meaningless… his so-called ‘faith’ (as if being religious is some sort of ‘I am always a good person’ pass, which is bullshit)… his support of things like guns, and his desire to control how other people believe, how they marry, how they live and how women make choices about their own body, all the while espousing the merits of practicing freedom. It’s all such a big lie.  These people are utterly deluded and without sense.

Last night, on the third debate where this republican team once again comes out of a debate having offered NOTHING in answers for the most important questions that affect all Americans, even those ones who think they are somehow above the damage this potential administration could do.  No answers. The tactics in all three debates has been to deflect. Deflection seems to be a GOP mainstay. When called to the carpet for answers, just point out controversial things about the other side, even if those things are completely fabricated.

This team lies like nobody I’ve ever seen in my 41 years, and somehow that’s acceptable to Americans. It is not acceptable. It is never acceptable to base a political campaign on lies when the fate of 98% of the American people rest on these representatives.  Somehow Romney/Ryan have been given a free-pass to lie their asses off again and again. And not only that, they have a ‘news’ network happy to make up graphics and spin data to support the lies as much as it takes. It is unbelievable. And worse? Even if these lies are debunked with impunity by fact-checkers, they continue to be used and propagated with alacrity by the whole party, and parroted ad nauseam by the base. 


They are 100% unapologetic for their contempt for fact and truth.  They state plainly that they will not be influenced by fact-checkers. They will repeat and repeat lies as if somehow it will make it true. I cannot believe I live in a country where this is allowed; that there is a percentage of Americans who allows this to happen, who enable it, and support it even.  They do so for the dumbest reasons too and are only harming themselves in the end.  The party banks on their continued ignorance, and keeps them fired up by poking them with issues that rile them up, but issues that are utterly meaningless, ultimately.  They are against Obama because they don’t like him. Because they don’t want a black man leading this country. Because they are afraid, and have been made irrationally afraid by the party that is manipulating them.  The doom and gloom being preached by churches and politicians is unbelievable; the lies they are telling to freak them out is inhuman. But as long as it achieves the ends of the 1%, then it is acceptable I suppose, and they give these followers the promise of class-advancement while simultaneously widening the gap between the affluent and the chaff that gave them power and filled their pockets.

I am not supporting Romney. I am a rational person. He is an inhuman bully, who looks at the President of the United States as someone who is less than him. Because he is black.  Because he is human.  Because he is intelligent. Because he has shown success (much to the despair of the GOP and the pundits) IN SPITE of the treasonous stonewalling of the congress. The party heckles him, and disrespects him because they don’t see him as an equal. It’s as simple as that.  Last night’s blatant show of disrespect and bullying was as evident as it can be that this man should NEVER be allowed into the highest office of this country. It will destroy this country from within.

The Americans supporting Romney are being led by fear. A culture of fear being created by the party. They are being told that the economy will collapse (if the GOP keeps striving for that to happen, it just might, that's what they've been aiming for these past four years, they WANT Obama to fail). They are being told by pastors and priests that their souls will suffer eternal damnation if they vote for Obama. They are being told that Obama is going to take away their guns, their rights, their firstborns and their testicles too, for all I know. The craziness is out of control, and nobody seems to think this is complete bunk, and that maybe they're being manipulated. I cannot believe it.  How stupid do you have to be to believe this stuff? They are using words like Marxist, and Communist, and repeating them without even understanding what those things really are.  They are being told they are going to be forbidden to practice their religion... It's utter lunacy.

Get a grip and a perspective people. Context is important. And most of all, objectivity.  Step back from the alarmist crap and look at it with a rational eye.  Things ARE better since 2008. We paid fewer taxes, there are more jobs, and the economy is struggling back from the pit of despair in spite of a congress that has done nothing but work tirelessly to impair this progress. Look at the man you fear, this half-black man whom you seem to believe is a Kenyan Communist Nazi... look at this man who is a loving husband and a great father. A man who has fought for your right as middle class to not be butt-reamed by the 1% in spite of your efforts to protect their right to rape you incessantly.

Do I hate Romney? No. I feel sorry for Romney. He is a sad excuse for humanity, and his running mate is just as pitiable. These people are so disconnected and have no connection with real life. It's sad for them, ultimately. They have all the wrong ideas about what happiness stems from. I don't HATE anything, except maybe sweetbreads, root beer, black licorice and foie gras. And pedophiles. I hate pedophiles. 

Saturday, October 25, 2008

A Quiet Saturday.


My husband has been very doting recently. Yesterday he sent me a fresh bouquet of autumn roses at work. These came with a little box of chocolates too. Mmm. He likes to do the 'just because' things on occasion. He has an account with ProFlowers and he uses it quite frequently, the silly man. ;) In my last job there was a girl that worked there who would get visibly upset whenever he had flowers delivered to me or he brought them to me. She would spend the rest of the day slamming things around and making snippy comments. I discovered later it was because her significant other was wholly unromantic and never made special gestures like that--and that's what she hoped for in him. I felt sorry for her, but her display of resentful behaviour I found quite entertaining after a while. ::tee hee::

I am lucky that I have a husband like this. He is very sweet, and very thoughtful; and three years married and I still get 'just because' flowers. When tulips are in season (my favourite) he is alway sure to send me a vase full.

He also bought me a 'Dutch blue' tea-set I've been coveting for a while. He ordered it as a gift for our anniversary. So this morning I made myself my usual soft-boiled eggs and little toastlet strips (Tati used to call them 'petits soldats'), and I sat down to enjoy tea using my new set. I steeped up some of my precious Summer Pudding from Whittard of Chelsea. I am miserly with it since it's been discontinued in the US, and it's expensive to purchase from England. It's the most fragrant, delicious tea I've ever had. It's a black tea infused with strawberries, raspberries, redcurrant and blackcurrants. You open the tin and this incredible aroma just overtakes you, and when you brew it, oh, it's fantastic.

That was my treat to myself this morning. As I set it up, I thought it would make a pretty picture, and I think it did.


I then went on to perform one of my most important civic duties. It's time to submit my election ballot to the state of Oregon. First I want to read up on the measures and such. I love it that Oregon has a vote by mail system. It affords me the time to read up and become educated on the goings on in my region and statewide. There are several devisive issues to vote on this round, and that's not including the presidential election. I do not have the luxury to simply strike a party-specific dot on my ballot and be done with it. I'm a libertarian, slightly left leaning, but I have very conservative views on some matters, and very liberal views on others. I suppose that comes from being raised overseas by Naturalized citizens. It allows for a different perspective, I think. People would probably look at my ballot and think I'm just all over the place. I just try to be objective and keep a broader perspective on what I vote for; I will try not to let my passions or the things that are relatively minor in the greater scheme of things influence my choices.

Please take the time to vote. It's so important. Don't assume what you think has no effect on the outcome. Every one of us should make ourselves count. Well, it's time for me to open my envelope.

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Incredible.

A single soundbyte… a well chosen snapshot… context or no, it’s amazing how a presidential candidate’s entire fate can rest on something as fleeting as a few passionate words and images. It’s like their entire prior record is erased by the utterance of a sentence. Amazing. Are voters that transient? That flighty?

I really believe that the media presumes itself the final ‘decider’ in these matters. The stuff they catch, the reports they run; even the pictures they choose to run with them. I’m not a fan of any of the candidates, but even I felt sorry for the article Slate ran about Obama’s gaff; and the picture they coupled with it.

Look at these pictures and then put them with the headline below; see how it changes almost the entire context:

Better Explanations for
White Working-Class Bitterness



Better Explanations for
White Working-Class Bitterness


How do these make you feel about the candidate after reading the headlines and coupling it with the picture? And how does the paper presume to set the ‘mood’ of the article by influencing the reader with what is a clear attempt to vilify the subject, in a very subtle way?

Same with Billary. If the media wants to push a negative image, they use a picture like this one, which I've seen on a lot of righty sites and shows:



If they want to push a more positive story (rarely), they use one like this one.


It’s sad how malleable we all are. It's scary actually that American voters will pick and choose their leader based on what is no more than media branding. So few people will actually look any deeper into the candidate's accomplishments or background. They allow the media to tell them who they are.

I'm a libertarian left. I took the 'who's your candidate' test some months ago, and the closest one (at about 56%) was Kucinich. The next closest was Billary. I don't like any of them. McCain is just a Bush clone. Oh, what to do, what to do?

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