NaBloPoMo-NoMo’

I’ve had to abandon my quest to complete 30 Posts in 30 Days.

Why, you ask? Because, in all the NaBloPoMo excitement, I forgot that we’re traveling next week to a house (close your eyes and put your fingers in your ears and scream if you must- I know I’ll be) WITH NO INTERNET! Seriously, I freaked out last week for one day without DSL. I’ll cope somehow…

So, it’s with great sadness that I had to abandon my pursuit. We’re probably all better off anyway because I’m a grump this week due to many things, not the least of which today involved heated blog exchanges (if you have a lot of time and don’t care about your blood pressure, read all the comments posted under this entry) about religion and politics. It’s not too invigorating to be told multiple times that I’m misunderstanding someone merely because I disagree with them. Anyhoo. I’ve finally found a cogent approach to the whole issue that is so well written I wish I could steal it.

I need some blog love from you, my loyal blog friends. And, I’m going to return the favor making a great effort to comment five times a day for the rest of NaBloPoMo, with the obvious exception for my foray in Amish No Internet Land. Get ready for some fantastic-ly awesome comments and love from me, The Benevolent Dictator.

 

NaBloPoMo-NoMo'

I’ve had to abandon my quest to complete 30 Posts in 30 Days.

Why, you ask? Because, in all the NaBloPoMo excitement, I forgot that we’re traveling next week to a house (close your eyes and put your fingers in your ears and scream if you must- I know I’ll be) WITH NO INTERNET! Seriously, I freaked out last week for one day without DSL. I’ll cope somehow…

So, it’s with great sadness that I had to abandon my pursuit. We’re probably all better off anyway because I’m a grump this week due to many things, not the least of which today involved heated blog exchanges (if you have a lot of time and don’t care about your blood pressure, read all the comments posted under this entry) about religion and politics. It’s not too invigorating to be told multiple times that I’m misunderstanding someone merely because I disagree with them. Anyhoo. I’ve finally found a cogent approach to the whole issue that is so well written I wish I could steal it.

I need some blog love from you, my loyal blog friends. And, I’m going to return the favor making a great effort to comment five times a day for the rest of NaBloPoMo, with the obvious exception for my foray in Amish No Internet Land. Get ready for some fantastic-ly awesome comments and love from me, The Benevolent Dictator.

 

The First Step Is Admitting the Problem

I’m addicted to the Internet. There I said it.

AND. I WAS WITHOUT IT FOR 24 HOURS. How can life go on? I couldn’t check the weather or my email. Seriously, how can one be expected to go an entire day without google or Wikipedia? And, there’s that little issue of NaBloPoMo.

It’s only November 6 and I’m already behind and I really want to finish the 30 posts in 30 days…because here’s the thing: I’ve kind of promised myself my own blog if I can complete NaBloPoMo (I detest typing that word or acronym or whatever it is). A real one at my own address. Wouldn’t that be great? I mean, I need to entertain my 10 readers right.

So, if anyone has any ideas about how to go about this knowing that I know no code beyond <b> and <i>, feel free to inform me! PLEASE, be my dealer. Feed my addiction to the internet.

 

Jitters & Goosebumps

I’m nervous and I’m also very, very cold.

My TV seems to want to be set to CNN in anticipation of the first exit poll data to be shown at 5pm Eastern time.

I’m freezing because of a freak autumn snowstorm that makes Utahns simultaneously happy and irritated.  Happy because the ski resorts are getting a good base thereby ensuring an on time opening later this month.  Irritation, well, because its freakin’ cold.

My jitters…they’re not as easy to explain.  I voted for who I believe to be the best candidate for the job.  If the other guy wins, it won’t be the end of the world.  For most of America, life will continue on in the same way.  America’s current obsession with politics will fade, no matter who wins.  That’s the unfortunate truth.

How different would things be if all of us who are eating up every morsel of this election turned that fervor into holding our politicians accountable for the next four years?

No, I’m nervous because I’m not sure what these first polls and the numbers that’ll come later on this evening mean.  What will the numbers of votes say about the Americans who’ve withstood long lines and inclement weather say about us? I’m interested to see the numbers from places like West Virginia, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania.  Places with a traditional Democratic record and strong blue collar workforce.

All indications in the past few weeks point to Obama winning, some by a landslide.   What happens if the opposite happens?  Is it racism?  Despite our past, have we come far enough to elect a black man to be our president?

Sorry for all the questions, it’s just that I don’t have the answers.

 

It’s Monday, November 3, 2008

It’s almost the end of the road and, as endings are…its bittersweet. But, I’ll celebrate as I watch the returns tomorrow night with a good dinner and a better bottle of wine.

I like politics even though some people consider that to be odd- so I’ll miss the process.

What won’t I miss? Well, I guess most everything else: constant polling, dirty campaign tactics, and general bad manners. I think that our two candidates have mostly kept their vows to be civilized, but it’s their supporters who I’m most tired of.

The excitement that’s been generated over the course of this campaign has been palatable. Everyone seems to have an opinion. While that’s a good thing, it seems to have made us completely intolerant of each other. Having an actual exchange of ideas seems to have gone by the wayside in exchange for hitting each other over the head with our ideas with the expectation that we’ll change someone’s mind.

I can’t tell you how many conversations I’ve had with people in real life and via this blog where people question “how can you think that” or “are you really considering voting for him?” It’s come from both sides. I write this because I’m not some extreme thinker, but because I consider myself pretty middle of the road which continues to get me into trouble. It all started in graduate school where I was getting my master’s degree in social work. I wasn’t liberal enough for that program, but it seems that in my family I’m too liberal. I remind myself often that the “middle” is an artificially created space made by two massively flawed parties.

Perhaps this current phenomenon of the polarizing ideas running around in society can be traced back to our sitting president. After all, the current occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue has been a main proponent of the its my way or the highway, your either with us or against us philosophy. It’s hard to say.

I’ve watched every moment of all the debates, read most anything I could, fact checked, and watched my #2 guy Anderson Cooper break it all down. I don’t think that John McCain is a bad guy nor do I think that he would be a bad president. I don’t happen to agree with him on lots of issues..big ones like our war. But, I refuse to use any one issue become the overall decision maker. Despite what many people say, I don’t think that his choice of running mate was a bad one- on the contrary, the most energy that McCain’s campaign ever had was due to Sarah Palin- for better or for worse. I was glad to see a woman on the ticket, but at the end of the day, voting based on gender or race is wrong so if they were trying to win my vote based on Sarah Palin’s gender…that tactic failed.

And, I’ve cast my ballot. It’s been a surprisingly long campaign, and I’m tired.

Whatever happens tomorrow, it’ll be over. So, here’s my vote as a married, 30 something, stay at home mom, advanced degreed, Catholic, hard bodied (anyone actually reading?), upper middle class…according to Wikipedia (don’t read too much into it), Independent voter. I think, for the first time in my voting life, that I’ve voted for the person that’ll win.

 

It's Monday, November 3, 2008

It’s almost the end of the road and, as endings are…its bittersweet. But, I’ll celebrate as I watch the returns tomorrow night with a good dinner and a better bottle of wine.

I like politics even though some people consider that to be odd- so I’ll miss the process.

What won’t I miss? Well, I guess most everything else: constant polling, dirty campaign tactics, and general bad manners. I think that our two candidates have mostly kept their vows to be civilized, but it’s their supporters who I’m most tired of.

The excitement that’s been generated over the course of this campaign has been palatable. Everyone seems to have an opinion. While that’s a good thing, it seems to have made us completely intolerant of each other. Having an actual exchange of ideas seems to have gone by the wayside in exchange for hitting each other over the head with our ideas with the expectation that we’ll change someone’s mind.

I can’t tell you how many conversations I’ve had with people in real life and via this blog where people question “how can you think that” or “are you really considering voting for him?” It’s come from both sides. I write this because I’m not some extreme thinker, but because I consider myself pretty middle of the road which continues to get me into trouble. It all started in graduate school where I was getting my master’s degree in social work. I wasn’t liberal enough for that program, but it seems that in my family I’m too liberal. I remind myself often that the “middle” is an artificially created space made by two massively flawed parties.

Perhaps this current phenomenon of the polarizing ideas running around in society can be traced back to our sitting president. After all, the current occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue has been a main proponent of the its my way or the highway, your either with us or against us philosophy. It’s hard to say.

I’ve watched every moment of all the debates, read most anything I could, fact checked, and watched my #2 guy Anderson Cooper break it all down. I don’t think that John McCain is a bad guy nor do I think that he would be a bad president. I don’t happen to agree with him on lots of issues..big ones like our war. But, I refuse to use any one issue become the overall decision maker. Despite what many people say, I don’t think that his choice of running mate was a bad one- on the contrary, the most energy that McCain’s campaign ever had was due to Sarah Palin- for better or for worse. I was glad to see a woman on the ticket, but at the end of the day, voting based on gender or race is wrong so if they were trying to win my vote based on Sarah Palin’s gender…that tactic failed.

And, I’ve cast my ballot. It’s been a surprisingly long campaign, and I’m tired.

Whatever happens tomorrow, it’ll be over. So, here’s my vote as a married, 30 something, stay at home mom, advanced degreed, Catholic, hard bodied (anyone actually reading?), upper middle class…according to Wikipedia (don’t read too much into it), Independent voter. I think, for the first time in my voting life, that I’ve voted for the person that’ll win.