2008

Krissy is going to need a lot of dental work. She didn’t go to work twice last week because her cheek was the size of a golf ball and she was in an enormous amount of pain. I can’t blame her, but with the way things are with the economy if she looses this job, it might be months before she gets another one. If the economy was better then it wouldn’t be such a big deal, in fact next year at this time, we may have free health care and dental might be included in that so we won’t have these issues, but right now we are in a bad position.

We have been trying to figure out how to pay for her dental visits, and as much as I don’t want to, we might have to go ahead and consolidate debt by taking a large loan, paying off what we owe then use the rest to pay itself back for a while and get her teeth fixed. It might even work out where less is going out each month because of a lower interest rate, but I am not overly concerned with that right now, the most important thing is getting everything in line to be able to afford the dentist.

John McCain announced his vice president today. The Republican presumptive nominee for Vice President is Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin. I have said a lot of things about John McCain, and I said that if he wanted to be President then he would need to shake things up. Honestly I thought that he would be picking Joe Lieberman, but he did something that I did not see coming, picking a female Vice President Candidate who has the same amount of experience as his rival Barrack Obama.

I am simply saying that as a government official she has the same amount of experience, of course she has more life experience and experience in general. When you compare a father of five children, one of which has down syndrome, to a woman with the same experience, a woman 9 out of 10 times will have more experience. A mother is always much more influential in a child’s life than a father, so saying that Palin has less than or equal experience to Obama would be ridiculous. She has much more life experience than Obama, she has brought reform to Alaska and might bring reform to Washington if McCain is elected President.

Hillary Clinton ended her historic bid for the White House months ago, which made another important historic leap forward, having an African American on a major party’s ticket. Today history was made again when Sarah Palin was put into the nomination as the potential Vice President of the United States of America. It will be interesting to see if Obama and his stories of his mother and grandmother raising him, along with the strides that his wife has overcome will be able to win over and keep the female vote. Of course the issues are of major importance, Palin is pro-life whereas Obama is pro-choice. If elected it is almost certain that McCain and Palin would overturn Roe Vs Wade, where Obama would hold the ruling down as is and maybe modify it to be better.

Honestly I think that the election that was all about change is going to come down to a woman’s right to choose, and if it is harder to be a woman or a black man in America today. Obviosuly I am neither an African American or a woman, but one thing that has always confused me about women’s rights was how can a woman really be against her right to choose? That is part of women’s rights, I would think, the fact the fact that as a woman you have the right to have a baby or not have a baby, for whatever the reason. It is a part of you, it is part of who you are and if you feel that you cannot handle it, if you feel that it isn’t right or the right time, then they should have the right to choose to keep it or not.

The debates will also be something of interest. Up until this point McCain has said Obama does not have the qualifications, meanwhile he will be head to head with him in the debate, and McCain’s counterpart who has the same amount of time in office will be up against his Joe Biden. Obviously Sarah Palin has a lot less time to get prepared for the debates, seeing as how Obama has already been through numerous debates in the primary season, but I think it will be to see how these newbies, per say, will stand up to the people who have been doing it for over thirty years.

No matter what the outcome is in November, we are facing a historic landmark in time come January. And even though Sarah Palin could only be the Vice President, there is a very real possibility that because of McCain’s age, he wins, he could die in the office, which would then set another historic mark, the very first woman President this country has ever seen.

I am still behind Obama 100%, I agree with him on the social issues, and I believe that he can learn from the people around him how to be better at foreign policy. I have said in the past that I would leave the country if McCain wins, but I think McCain has proven today, based on his pick for the Vice President, that he too is looking for change and reform in America. I do not agree with everything he or Obama say, but I believe that we are at an exciting time in America, and that no matter which one wins, good things can happen.

I would love to have a supercharger in my car. I mean if I raced I realize that even with a supercharger wouldn’t give me so much power that I would beat a manual car, but it wouldn’t hurt to try. I don’t race my car now, it would be an embarrassment, I have paint chipping, and it isn’t the most powerful sounding engine. I think a supercharger might change that though. If I had the money I would not only drop a supercharger in the car, but I would get a new paint job, put in a sound system, get a high end alternator, and when I need it a new engine, maybe a V-8. Right now all I can do is dream, though.

Obama’s speech at the Democratic National Convention has done things that Obama has not really done in the past. For one Obama laid out his plan for his four years in office, strengthening the economy, and the school system along with strengthening his plan for foreign affairs. It wasn’t just a broad overview in which he had done with Hillary Clinton, he actually had a point to point plan on how he was going to fund his programs, such as shutting down programs that don’t work or are no longer needed and redefining those that do to work more efficiently.

He also did something that he had not done in any commercial, he attacked McCain. I think this was a big step, but I am not sure it was the right direction for Obama. All along he was trying to run a clean campaign, but running a clean campaign against a man who was going to do everything he can to smear his name was not something that was going to work, so he called McCain out right then and there. He linked McCain to Bush and he even went as far as to say that McCain is ignorant as to what America wants and needs.

Obama definitely came out swinging in his speech, even going as far as saying that he is waiting for the debates so America can see how the two stand on important issues. Regarding the issues, Obama admitted that he may have different views than some people, like abortion, but that they should both agree that there should be a lot less unwanted pregnancies in the US.

I think that the DNC really got Obama’s campaign rolling, and if he found places for Bill and Hillary Clinton on his campaign and even quite possibly in his cabinet then he would win hands down. He picked Biden for a reason, he wanted a straight talker, someone who isn’t afraid to be common. Biden is that guy, and he can also be an attack dog. While Hillary has that experience, I do not believe that she would have provided the same role that Biden will provide.

Obama has to win in 2008, we have seen what Republicans do when in office, start wars in countries we do not belong in, and give tax cuts to the rich. Band together my fellow Democrats, and my fellow Americans, you do not have to be a Democrat to see how bad things are. Millions without health insurance, millions without jobs, fortune 500 companies getting richer because they outsource their work to save money. Eight years ago we entered the Millennium with what could only be called hope. Hope that in this millennium we would solve the energy crisis that has existed since the 1970’s, hope that we would be able to explore Mars, and hope to finally get affordable health care for all Americans. Eight years later we have $4.00 gas, Mars is still just as mysterious as it was back then and health care is something only the rich can afford.

America, we have a chance to make history here. For the first time in 232 years we have an African American who is the nominee of a major party in America. 2008 has already made history for having the first “minority fight” for a party’s ticket. We not only had a woman and African American fighting for their name on the Democratic ticket, but also a Mexican in the running as well. Different races, and different genders vying for the top name on the Democratic ticket, but do you want to know the thing that they all have in common? They all see a better America. One where you can be proud to live. One where you can afford to raise your family without working two or three jobs. One where you taking a day off of work to take care of your ill child or parent wouldn’t bring about you loosing your job. That sounds like an America that I would be proud to be in.

After 9/11 everyone had their patriotic hearts on their sleeves, you couldn’t mess with America without messing with all citizens. Everyone joined together to say we will not be terrorized. Seven years later and that is all but forgotten. We forgot who attacked us, so we do not stand up when the President invades another country. Did you know that after 9/11 Bush signed an order, and Republicans in Congress signed off on it too, that basically states that we can go to war with any country at anytime if we feel there is a threat there? It sounds kind of like Russia did to Georgia, only in both cases it would be illegal under the Geneva Convention. McCain would keep these ridiculous acts in law if elected. Do you really want to feel like patriots when America becomes the terrorist nation under Bush and McCain?

Barrack Obama is ready to lead us into a better tomorrow, one without terrorizing other nations, one with new ideas and new ways of doing things. No longer will we have to suffer under a war monger. I know I am not alone in this, and I know that people should no longer stand idly by as things get worse. If you aren’t part of the solution then you are part of the problem and should be held just as accountable as Bush and Cheney and the Repubicans in Congress!

So Adbrite seems to have disappeared, so I am not m aking any money on ads. On top of that it appears the Myspace plugin I have for WordPress seems to be not working since Myspace is abnormally slow today. It just seems like one of those days where nothing works right. My one redeeming factor is we are heading out to Utopia tonight to check out the cool stuff they have. Maybe I will blog about it if I buy some stuff tonight.

I wrote yesterday (early this morning?) about how your friends and who you choose to surround yourself with helps define who you are. I was speaking about about Obama then, but now I am speaking as a more general idea. If you think about high school, you had the goths, the jocks, the nerds, the skaters, a bunch of groups that looked alike, sounded alike, and even thought alike.

Even though they may have been that way on the outside, if you think, and I mean really think about it, maybe there was one of them that on one or more occasion acted in a way that was unlike the rest of their specific clique. Now if you are in high school then you probably think that it is the worst part of your life. If you are out of high school then you probably think that too. Life after high school, commonly called “the real world” isn’t high school, but it sure can feel like one. The difference between high school and the real world is that you have more control over which clique you are in and what people you want to surround yourself with.

You can choose to surround yourself with drinking buddies, who do nothing but get drunk everyday, but if you are seen with them then you will get pushed into the general idea of what they are. If you are seen with wealthy high class businessmen then you too will be seen as that. If you choose carefully who you are seen with then you can appear to be anything you want. It doesn’t matter how you act because when your seen with a group you appear to be part of the whole. There is a way around that stereotype though, and that is clothes.

Think about it, in high school the goths always dressed the same, the jocks all wore the same jackets, that is no coincidence. Let’s assume that you are out drinking with the guys. Now say they all wear jeans and t-shirts, if you go in even a slight change, like khakis and a shirt then you would stand out from them and even though you are part of the group you would stand out. Even if you don’t act like the people you are with, visual appearance is still how you are mostly perceived, especially from a distance. In essence, it really is the clothes that make the man, just be careful who you are associating yourself with.

Say you need to find Locksmiths in Tucson, what do you do? Nowadays it costs a small fortune to use 411, so that is out. You can obviously get out the Tucson Phone Book and look up locksmiths, but did you know that you could also hop online and find exactly what you need, in the city you need?

Personally I love being able to hop online and find phone numbers. The phone book is just too thick to look through, and besides it seems like such an outdated way of doing things, I much prefer the internet for most things. I mean, even if you use the phone book, you are still limited to your area when searching, you can’t find things in different cities or states, so the internet is just better at things we used to do.

I have been tuning in to the Democratic National Convention the last few nights. I didn’t blog about it because nothing really caught my interest until tonight. John Kerry and Bill Clinton both gave speeches, but they weren’t just speeches, they summed up eight years under Bush. Clinton said that we went from record surpluses to an exploding national debt, while Kerry gave a speech that if he had given four years ago, we might not be voting for Obama at all, we might be voting Kerry for a second term.

I have never shied away from the fact that I believe Barrack Obama is the best man for the job. Even when people tell me he is inexperienced, if we look at the experience then George Bush should have made a better president than Bill Clinton. The fact is that he doesn’t, and it isn’t just based on experience that we should look for, it is who the person chooses to have around him and take advice from should be what we take into consideration. Obama knew he was down on foreign policy, so he picked a Vice Presidential Candidate that could help him out with that, Joe Biden. He has said numerous times that while he may not have Hillary Clinton as the Vice President, he would ask Bill Clinton in a heartbeat if he could, to be his VP.

Now I realize that some may ask, if it is who you surround yourself with then doesn’t that mean Obama is a racist since his pastor was from and Obama attended a black seperatist church? My thoughts on this are simple. How can you be racist against a race that your mother and your uncle are a part of? When half of you is part of this race? I realize that it doesn’t excuse him from going to a black separatist church and following Reverend Wright’s teachings, but if you are half black and half white then wouldn’t you feel mixed up in a world where things seem to be just black and white and you don’t fit in anywhere? If we hold this church against him, then we need to hold it against Oprah Winfrey too, who went to the same church for a time.

Obama has a good start, with the Clinton’s fully behind him and Biden by his side, maybe he will play the Clinton card more than Gore did in 2000 so that we can finally gain control of the country again. I am going to close this entry with a quote from John Kerry tonight. Again I say that four years ago had he made such a powerful speech maybe he would be up for reelection, but the sad fact is that we lost then and if we loose again I am leaving this country because there would be no hope for it.

“Years ago when we protested a war, people would weigh in against us saying, “My country, right or wrong.” Our answer? Absolutely, my country, right or wrong. When right, keep it right. When wrong, make it right. Sometimes loving your country demands you must tell the truth to power.”

I have always thought that all stores should accespt credit cards. I understand that they loose money everytime they charge a card, but at the same time they could also charge more for charging, like they did in the old days. I understand that having a merchant account can cost money, but there are ways to get a free merchant account. Imagine a small business taking processing credit cards, simply because they can afford it and it gives convenience to their customers.

I know that if I ever owned a business that required a store front then I would want to be able to accept credit cards. I know that I never have cash on me, and going to an ATM that charges a fee can be annoying, but if you raise the prices to cover the cost of the charge, or even just charge a $2.00 fee when using a card would be more then sufficient fee for convenience. How many times do you have enough cash on you? Personally I prefer charge over cash, I don’t handle cash with what I do, everything goes through electronically so having cash for me personally is a pain since I need to go to an ATM, so if I ran a store why wouldn’t I have a credit card machine, especially if I can get a free merchant account?

I used to complain because my website was going down due to my webhost being unreliable. I admit that I chose my host because of the resources and not reliability. If I had to do it over, I may look at website hosting ratings or reviews just so I could compare and see if the resources offered were enough to deal with the rating. Things have gotten better lately though, it has been a little slow at times, but that usually doesn’t last more than a half hour to an hour at most. I am going to be staying with my host for a while, at least until things either get really bad or until I need more resources or other resources that my host does not supply.

I went back and forth today with a conservative know it all who just pissed me off. I am going to post what she said and my responses to her.

Her:

why would obama pick hilary? theres so many reasons why he wouldn’t. first lets start off with the fact that hilary wouldn’t want to be second to obama; the clintons already speculated obama wouldn’t win the presidency so hilary wouldn’t want to hurt her chances of running again. Obama wouldn’t pick hilary cause bringing her on board cancels out the ” change DC ” crap he wants to do..

sorry i can’t be friends to a liberal… when you consider liking your country and joining capitalism come talk to me…

Me:

Hillary would be perfect for the change, 2 minorities as the executive branch of the government. Capitalism is crap, why have a government at all, why not just make it where the person with the most money runs the country. If that were the case then we’d have Bill Gates as president. You seem to be against socialism, I take it to assume that since your against it so much you don’t use any socialist ideas like the post office or school? This country is shit and it needs the socialistic aspects to get it on track. Without a government healthcare system you are denying people their basic rights, life. Wire tapping denies the people of liberty, and without a public education you deny them the pursuit of happiness. You want to deny American citizens of the principals that founded this country, you should be ashamed.

Her:

To start, Biden has been the 6th longest sitting senator in the senate, so BOZO where is the change?Capitalism is the best and only way, After all what do think drove Henry Ford, to make the first car, or the Wright Brothers to design and fly the first airplane or man to walk on the moon. Or the eradication of Small Pox or Polio from the face of the earth. Expalin why Africa seeks the help of the US when EBOLI or Aids is a problem over there, I’m tired of you socialist idiots thinking that working class people should have to support these things, example BONO from U2 thinks the US should support Africa with more money for Aids, What about his money I bet he has more than you and I combined. (Really think about it.) But yet your not smart enough to even comprhened that, and if you Hate America,
MOVE OUT. Proven fact socialized healthcare Russia, France , United Kingdom, Canada and Cuba dosesn’t work. Example look Castro, he had to have doctors flown in from spain to take care of his intestines.

So Dumb ass, you just vote for Barrack HUSSEIN Obama and don’t forget Democrats vote on Wednesday!

Me:

First off, I never said Biden was change, Biden won every debate in the primaries, Obama is the change Biden is the experience behind the change. Yes he may be in the senate for a long time but that is why he is second and not first. Fuck the other countries, we need to deal with America first and cut off the other countries, let NATO and the UN take a more active role. How much money did mommy and daddy have growing up anyway that makes you think so narrow mindedly?

Her:

Mr. Intelligent;
If Biden won every debate, why wasn’t he selected as the
Democrat nominee? There is no change in Obama only Bull Shit, do you think that putting the proper amount of air in your tires, should be the energy policy of the US, after all you just watch and see when china starts drilling off the coast of cuba, when they have major oil spill who will clean it up,Do you really think china will? after all they put lead in kids toys, or poision our pets with wheat glutten from china.
And as fact I come from blue collar working class white trash just as you, but the differnece betweeen you and I, I WORKED my Life to get what I have. I didn’t rely on the government to give me handouts such as healthcare, etc.
And by the way do really want Obama and the govenment in charge of your healthcare? After all look at how Social security and medicare, are already handle. You take care and remember it isn’t so hard to leave the U.S. after all you think the grass is greener in socilist countries be a real man and do it.
Your true red blooded american friend

Me:

First off, I never said Biden was change, Biden won every debate in the primaries, Obama is the change Biden is the experience behind the change. Yes he may be in the senate for a long time but that is why he is second and not first. Fuck the other countries, we need to deal with America first and cut off the other countries, let NATO and the UN take a more active role. How much money did mommy and daddy have growing up anyway that makes you think so narrow mindedly?

Her:

The right to bare arms was put in the constitution to stand up to our government. We should have used it when going into Iraq. We should use it to change Social Security and the healthcare system. You say your a true blooded American but on the Statue of Liberty does it not say give us your tired, your poor, your weak, why should we take and help people from other countries when we won’t help our own?

The question asked to Obama was how can I as an individual cut down on the gas used. What Obama responded was true, proper air pressure can. What he should have said was if you get everyone out of the goddamn SUVs and into compact cars it would lower the prices as well, but air pressure can help one man save on gas.

I don’t rely on the government, I don’t even rely on a job, I rely on myself to make the money. The corporate America is a joke, 5 days vacation after being at a company for 3 years? That is bullshit and you know it. It should too be regulated as any full time employee gets a week a year off and unlimited sick days, like other countries.

Her:

whats stopping ya?your wasting time arguing when you could be IMPROVING your life right now instead of complaining in a socialist country SUch as russia and cuba, they would love a man of your intelligence because you seem to know it all. I’m sure CHINA would love to have a guy like you! Don’t let the door hit you in the ass on the way out, take care moron!

I hate people like her, so narrowminded, don’t believe the government should help the people out. She contradicted herself so many times, saying shit like capitalism is the way to go yet seeingly okay with the fact that America helps out other countries financially, if America was truly capitalist we wouldn’t do that, we would help those who paid us the most. I wish the conservative bitches and assholes would ask themselves if George Bush, Dick Cheney, and John Mccain really represent them and the America they want to live in.

Obama picked Biden to be his Vice Presidential candidate (or should I say Vice President since Mccain will never be my president?) You picked Biden over Clinton? Hillary was exactly what the campaign was, change. She had the change and she had the experience, and she had her husband, who got us out of trouble after the first Bush. Now I don’t know if Biden will necessarily help Obama in the polls, but I don’t think that he could hurt him much either, after all Biden has experience, so the Mccain ads of Obama has no experience can be thwarted by his second in command does. I think that Obama might still find room for Hillary or Bill in his cabinet or on his campaign, I am just not sure as what yet.