21st Century Mom » Politics

A picture with a couple of words…

21st Century Mom — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 20:28:23 +0000

Is worth a whole lot more words. Thanks Pundit Kitchen!

see more Political Pictures

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Monday Monday – the Day Before

21st Century Mom — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 04:05:13 +0000

I had all kinds of things to say today but I’ve decided to go with this;

THANK GOD THIS ELECTION WILL BE OVER TOMORROW!

I’m very excited. I’m going to swim, lift weights, and then go vote. I’m taking a book to read while I stand in line if that’s the way it goes but I don’t think it will. I don’t care, though. I’ll stand there for hours if I have to. I’m so exicted.

VOTE EVERYONE!! VOTE!

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When Your Friend is in a Video

21st Century Mom — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 22:05:19 +0000

I’m posting this because the last woman shown in this video is my birthday sistah! We’re a couple years apart (she is Humbly Anne’s best friend from high school) but not that far apart in many other ways. I’m posting the video in her honor and because I think it makes a very important point.

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Hockey Mom

21st Century Mom — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 18:41:40 +0000

Hockey Mom!

My brother in law made this pumpkin with a friend of his. He makes a pumpkin with a hocky puck every year but this year was special – so very special. His favorite part is that when you open the top and look in there’s nothing there!

(Okay you conservatives – GET A SENSE OF HUMOR! )

If you want to share this pumpkin please just post or email a link instead of downloading the picture and making up a story about it. This is 21st Century Brother In Law’s work and I want him to retain full attribution! Thank you. You can also use the little icons below to share.

If you need help with your sense of humor regarding the Hockey Mom’s intellect please read on…..

You have to admit she isn’t the brightest bulb in the pack, right?)

Here read a transcript of what comes out of her mouth when she is speaking extemporaneously (with a crib sheet) It is a little confounding. Really – check this one out if you don’t believe me

excerpt:

PALIN: Darn right it was the predator lenders, who tried to talk Americans into thinking that it was smart to buy a $300,000 house if we could only afford a $100,000 house. There was deception there, and there was greed and there is corruption on Wall Street. And we need to stop that.

Again, John McCain and I, that commitment that we have made, and we’re going to follow through on that, getting rid of that corruption.

PALIN: One thing that Americans do at this time, also, though, is let’s commit ourselves just every day American people, Joe Six Pack, hockey moms across the nation, I think we need to band together and say never again. Never will we be exploited and taken advantage of again by those who are managing our money and loaning us these dollars. We need to make sure that we demand from the federal government strict oversight of those entities in charge of our investments and our savings and we need also to not get ourselves in debt. Let’s do what our parents told us before we probably even got that first credit card. Don’t live outside of our means. We need to make sure that as individuals we’re taking personal responsibility through all of this. It’s not the American peoples fault that the economy is hurting like it is, but we have an opportunity to learn a heck of a lot of good lessons through this and say never again will we be taken advantage of.

——

Well- that was comprehensive, wasn’t it?

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Exactly!

21st Century Mom — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 17:01:01 +0000

In response to the stupid ad regarding the Obama/Ayres “connection” Obama said

“It’s easy to rile up a crowd by stoking anger and division,” Obama said. “But that’s not what we need right now in the United States. The times are too serious. The challenges are too great. The American people aren’t looking for someone who can divide this country — they’re looking for someone who will lead it.”

Amen to that!

Watching the nightly news and seeing a bunch of ya-hoos yelling “Drill, Baby Drill” and “NoBama” and grousing about Nancy Pelosi (and by the way – what the heck did she do to rile up the conservatives?) makes me want to cry.

FOCUS, PEOPLE!! FOCUS! You might not think Obama can lead the way out of this mess but please know why you think McCain is more capable than Obama at FIXING THE ECONOMIC CRISES and HEALTH CARE REFORM! The rest of the stuff is all just ugly window dressing. And ps to people who got angry at a campaign riddled with cheap accusations and name calling. Who are you mad at now?

Get over this terrorist crap and finding ‘the truth’. The truth is well published. Bill Ayers did bad things 40 years ago and he lives in Obama’s neighborhood and he threw a coffee klatch for Obama 13 years ago and they both served on the board of the same non-profit. That’s the story. Now FOCUS! Please. Please wear your thinking hats and not your “That One” hats. This is the most important election of your life. Be considerate.

And that’s the end of my political rantings – I promise. My next post will be related to how running literally gave me a pain in the a$$.

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Hump Day Miscellany – Fear and Loathing

21st Century Mom — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 04:14:13 +0000

I’m sorry but I have a few things to say about… the campaign. I’M SORRY!

1). As someone who is paying for her own health care coverage I’m am stunned and frightened by McCain’s “solution”.

I live for the day when I am employed and have decent health care coverage, subsidized by my employer. And I don’t want to pay taxes on that benefit, thank you very much.

So McCain would give me a $5K tax credit to shop around for my own coverage. Great. Does he have any idea how much good medical insurance costs? I don’t think he does because if he did he would know that $5K/yr isn’t much help to a family. And how are we supposed to get through that first year – the one before we qualify for the tax credit? Are we supposed to spend a year having our income effectively lowered by INCREASED taxes (and this would increase your taxes) before we qualify for the (inadequate) tax credit? I’m not seeing how this will work.

McCain should understand that letting the insurance companies play the free market game by allowing people to get insurance out of state is an endless nightmare. He clearly knows nothing about health care administration, managing medical records, about what people have to do when they are denied coverage or about the greed of insurance companies. Who will people go to when they are denied coverage – the federal government? That would require a whole new agency and we really don’t need any more agencies – we really don’t. They cost money and invite new and inventive ways to create government inefficiency. No – his plan is outlandish, outrageous and totally unworkable. If you were sitting on the fence before think good and hard about the McCain health care plan. It stinks.

2). Who the hell does Sarah Palin think she is saying that Obama isn’t willing to drill for oil but he’s willng to drill for votes? What the heck else is a political campaign about – DUH! That is right down there with her claiming she’s going to put the federal government’s checkbook on the internet – when Obama (with support from McCain) already did that 2 years ago. Way to go, lady! She now claims she just meant that “in general” Nice save – NOT!

3). Why does McCain insist on saying glowing things about the strength of the American worker as though that has anything to do with anything? It doesn’t matter how hard you are willing to work if there are no jobs. Maybe he needs a personal economic bail out package so he can buy a clue.

4). Regardless of what I think about Sarah Palin as a person or a politician I know this much is true – she can’t think on her feet. My evidence for that is that she couldn’t name a newspaper she reads (and I’m quite sure she does read them) and she couldn’t remember a Supreme Court case she disagreed with even though she recently had big issues with the reduction in the judgement against the Exxon Valdez and was very vocal about it. She just isn’t very quick and I think that’s a problem – a huge problem.

5). The McCain people need to drop the ‘Obama will raise taxes’ and the misplaced indignation that Ahmadinijad called Isreal a ‘Stinking Corpse’ and yet Obama wants to open diplomatic talks with him. We need to deal with Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Russia, Darfur and probably some others. If we can’t find diplomatic solutions to any of these issues we are doomed – we can’t keep tossing bodies at the problem and we’re out of money. McCain is too bellicose. He scares me.

The End

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Another Alaskan Woman Speaks Her Mind About Palin

21st Century Mom — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 19:40:10 +0000

I got this in email from 21st Century Sister and immediately set out to find a link so I could share it. I found the link. I don’t really care if this was written by the woman it is attributed to. I don’t care who wrote it because it mirrors my own thoughts and I like it. Assuming it really was written by Mairiis Kilcher of Homer, Alaska, it’s just that much sweeter.

Excerpts: (click on the exceprt to get the full text but turn the sound OFF on your computer first. This site plays music)

I am a 66 year old , Alaska born ,pioneer woman. Sarah Palin does not represent my values and my beliefs, nor those of countless Alaska women, who have also hunted, fished, raised families , and cared for a disabled family member while earning a living . I come from a large homesteading family and grew up in a one room log cabin with 7 brothers and sisters. We hunted and fished, out of necessity, not for recreation.

….

We abhor her stance against protecting Alaska from Global Warming, she shows no concern for the threat it poses to Polar Bears and countless first Alaskans who depend on the sea mammals for their very lives.
….

We ask: Why is no one making a big deal about the fact that Palin opposed the ALaska Clean Water Initiative (proposition 4)–which would have imposed tighter restrictions on large scale mining operations?

We ask: what has she done for women in our state? What has she done for health care in our state.? Nothing . I am at this moment too broke to afford even a pair of drugstore reading glasses, let alone expensive designer Sarah Palin glasses!

Who can we contact to bring our concerns to the attention of the American public before it is too late? Will the Obama campaign contact us and invite us to speak out around the Nation, so we can tell the world we are insulted and ashamed to be associated with Sarah Palin? Call me, I am ready and willing to go..
SIncerely,
Mairiis Kilcher , Homer, Alaska”

There is lots more text in between the dots and I encourage you to read the whole thing.

Have a great weekend!

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Looking for a link

21stcenturymom — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 15:21:11 +0000

UPDATE -

So far I have a link to woman who thinks Sarah Palin’s family values are conflicted and that she should stay home because she isn’t qualified to be VP (not because she is a mother) and a quote frome a conservative Republican (Dr. Laura) saying she should stay home, and a link to an article that quotes people as saying “does she really know what she’s getting in to” and Comm sent me a clip of some MSNBC reporting asking “what do you think of people making these statements fair or unfair” but where the reporter does not, in fact, make those statements.

Bottom line – NO ONE, least of all the Democratic party, has said that Sarah Palin should stay home because she is a mother so all that bloviating about sexism and about how no man would be questioned as to his committment to his family is just a BIG FAT RED HERRING!

As for qualifications I’m very amused at the turn around on what constitutes qualifications but I’m sick of that argument already because frankly, any party that can assert that a collective 58 years on the senate is trumped by a couple of years of being mayor of a small town and then governor of a frontier state and a small business owner isn’t worth arguing with. We’re not talking about making payroll – we’re talking about running the most powerful country in the world.

DONE!

Tomorrow I’m going to resume writing about training and my life. The election will consume us all from every other angle – at least we have our blogs to give us something else to think about.

This blog will return to triathlon related issues tomorrow.

Right now I need a link, please. Could someone point me to an article in which Sarah Palin is criticized for being a working mother? Where has someone questioned her readiness or suitability for office specifically because she has children?

I’m not suggesting that people are not saying that there may be a connection between her not being at home and her kid being pregnant. Working mothers get that one all the time (usually from conservatives) and I think it’s as much bunc as the next person.
What I’m looking for is someone specifically stating that she doesn’t belong in the White House because she has children.

Thank you.

And here’s one for you - this site vets claims made by both parties for truth. It’s very handy.

Last but not least – I think Palin did a credible job with her speech last night. The fact that people got all excited and started yelling ‘Drill, Baby, Drill’ doesn’t, in my mind, mean it was a great speech but clearly people were moved. Be that as it may, I am simultaneously appalled and disgusted by the level of condescension and snark that infused Guliani and Palin speeches. And to claim that Palin has more experience than Biden and Obama together is absurd. These people have played in different playgrounds but with respect to experience dealing with national and international issues there’s no question who has more and it isn’t Sarah Palin.

Sorry – just had to get that off my chest.

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OMFingG

21stcenturymom — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 18:08:57 +0000

Rudy Guliani is mocking Obama in his speech. Mocking him.

Classy…. very classy.

I’m especially charmed by the way they keep flashing the camera on the woman he was cheating on his wife with for quite some time while he was mayor of NYC.

And he’s talking about how inexperienced Obama is when Palin has ZERO experience at the national level and if McCain died she would be president. WHAT’S UP WITH THE DOUBLE STANDARDS, PEOPLE!!!?????

I’m ready to barf. I really am.

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Hall Passes

21stcenturymom — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 08:17:35 +0000

First of all I need a hall pass for inconsistency. I missed Monday, Monday AND Hump Day Miscellany. I blame the election! Or maybe just a lack of inspiration.

Here’s another hall pass question. If you only had 1 hall pass to hand out and you had the following 2 cases who would get it?

1). A man who cheats on his wife and then repents and works it out so that he can honor his wedding vows ever thereafter and keep his family whole.

2). A man who dumps his wife of 14 years who has waited for 6 years for him to come home, all the while raising their children, who then dumps aforementioned wife for a rich trophy wife.

I’m particularly interested in you fidelity purists. Does being a POW and the passage of time really get you off the hook? If so, how do you maintain your stance that any act of infidelity robs a man of all integrity and credibility? And if your position is “they just stayed married for the political advantage” be very careful – how much do you enjoy having people tell you why you do anything when they don’t live inside your head and your heart? How often is anyone correct when they say “you just did that because….” as they tear into you?

Discuss.

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Sorry but… I can’t help it

21stcenturymom — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 12:46:15 +0000

First of all, although I like Obama I voted for Clinton.

Second of all I know a lot of you are Republicans and I love you anyhow.

This, however, makes me sick and I think everyone needs to be very aware of the way “news” is presented. Keep in mind that John McCain has been endorsed by John Hagee who claimed that Hurricane Katrina was God’s punishment for allowing a gay pride parade in New Orleans. The news isn’t too upset about that, though.

The news is supposed to be informative, not biased. Those days are long gone and will only come back if we the people demand a lot less of this behavior and a lot more fact based, hysteria free reporting that actually involve original thought, not just a paraphrase of what the other guy said.

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Time Has Come Today

21stcenturymom — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 08:22:26 +0000

Actually, thanks to work time has gone. I have no time to blog! *sniffle*. Not that my life is oh so exciting – but still. Maybe the real problem is that I spend all day actually working on a computer and my interest in playing on one after work hours has diminished by quite a bit. But I’m reading blogs and I’m thinking of you and I’m going to write a post about my ‘word’, the discovery of which has done good things for my life..

I’m training! Here’s what the week has looked like so far:
Sunday – garage ride. We did some uber hard Coach Troy climbing DVD and got our friend’s garage floor quite damp. It was fun

Monday – off. I love Monday for being my day off.

Tues – AM Swim; PM Track workout. Owie – I kind of hurt my hammy

Wed – I rode in the trainer in the AM. This was a first! First time riding in the trainer before work, anyhow and I’m pleased to say I won’t need to do much more of that. Ran Wednesday PM

Thurs – Swim. We did 10 x 100 on the fastest possible send off. I held a 2:10 which was good for me. I made the mistake of discussing intervals in the locker room only to discover that a few lanes down they were going on the 1:15 but that’s okay! They are them and I am me and 2:10 x 10 was good so yeah!

Today – off. Hammy is still a little sore and I plan on doing quite a bit of riding and running and swimming this weekend.

Here’s the best news of all – THE DAYS ARE GETTING LONGER!! There is sun from 6 to 6, even a little before and a little after. This makes me very, very happy.

So that’s it – my post is totally boring and I’m dashing it off at 8:30 AM when I should be finishing getting ready for work. The job is pretty dull but I have money in my checking account and I didn’t have to rob my savings account or my line of credit to get it there AND my mortgage and health insurance are already paid. YES!! Sun and Money – what could be better than that? (okay fine – I can think of 1 other thing but alas – not happening).

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Monday Monday – the Let’s Hope Tina is Next edition

21stcenturymom — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 21:37:47 +0000

I wish I could embed this video but NBC doesn’t roll that way.

This is Tina Fey’s guest appearance on SNLs Weekend Update. It is her view on the election – and it is mine.

Watch until the end – it’s worth it.

That goes double for you people from Ohio and Texas.

thanks to Nytro for showing me how to embed an SNL clip. There will be more – consider yourself warned

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No Good Deed

21stcenturymom — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 17:38:45 +0000

So Marion Jones finally tells all, loses a $25M suit to that scum bag Victor Conte, gets stripped of her records, her medals and her dignity, and is this enough to satisfy someone’s need to punish her? Oh no. In addition to all of that she gets a trip to the hoosgow. For 6 months!

Her sentence was for lying under oath – just like Martha Stewart.

Does obstruction of justice land everyone in jail? Well Libby was sentenced to 30 months but had his sentence commuted by W. Bernard Law, a catholic Bishop who actively covered up sexual abuse of children has not gone to jail. Tim Finneran, former speaker of the House in Mass traded a perjury charge for obstruction of justice – and no jail time.

This isn’t to say others don’t go to jail for obstruction of justice but there is precedent for not sending someone to jail on that charge so you have to wonder why Marion Jones who was ultimatly cooperative and who is the mother of 2 young children including a 7 month old baby she’s still nursing is being sent up the river.

According to the Judge:
Karas turned aside her appeal for leniency, saying that, at her plea hearing in October, she failed to fully admit that she used banned substances.

Well whoop dee do…. this makes her a danger to society? He also has put her on 2 years probation and sentenced her to 800 hours of community service. That isn’t punishment enough?

She is the first one to be sent to jail as part of this anti-steroid sting.

At today’s hearing, the judge said Jones’ sentence should serve as a warning to other athletes.

“There’s a very strong inference that would make other athletes think twice before lying,” Karas said. “Nobody is above the obligation to tell the truth.”

Do you think Barry Bonds will ever go to jail or even be stripped of his record? I’m doubthful and his getting away with it because we have such a deep national love of baseball (and by “we” I mean “the rest of you”) will make the bitter taste in my mouth last all that much longer. I just hope I’m wrong.

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