I'm an optimist. I tend to look at the bigger picture and see the good in everyone, doing my best to not generalize and take every individual for who they really are. I also feel strongly about the world in which we live in. I am completely aware of the obstacles that surround us, but feel incredibly optimistic about what we are capable of doing in the future. The present times are tough, no doubt about it, but I look for the good and hope for the best, in everyone and everything. Last night, however...I experienced something utterly depressing. People questioning my idealism and naivety. I pray to god that I never become such a disappointment as I get older, because these old people ARE a disappointment.
My reason for dismay last night had nothing to do with CSPAN and the debate on health care reform, which quite frankly, is affecting many of us liberals right now. Instead what really got me was a discussion that was had in my own sister's back yard. I witnessed a conversation held by 50 to 60 year olds, who all claim to be die-hard Democrats, and saying some of the most backwards and awful things. I found myself transported in time to the height of the Civil Rights debate and wishing to wake up from a nightmare I obviously couldn't wake up from.
The conversation began quite nice actually, by a friend of my sisters talking about his youth in central California and how his mother met his dad at a rodeo near Cal Poly. Then without further notice, the conversation went from this nostalgic and fascinating historical account to when this story teller finally realized "what a real N***** was?" I was floored! Unable to speak right away because I was completely taken aback on how this conversation had all of the sudden changed in just a few seconds. When I finally did speak up and stated my dismay for the use of the N-word and I was verbally attacked by everyone around, including my oldest sister. They were trying to explain to me, and with much conviction I might add, "how the use of the N word is appropriate and how I just don't get it because I have never lived the lives they have." Sounds confusing right? I know...I'm still confused because I don't understand how we went from speaking about this guy's youth in central California to his right to use the N word whenever the f*** he wants. Even more disturbing was my sisters utter defense for anyone's bigotry.
As I mentioned in my previous posts, I decided to move back to NM after 5 years in Los Angeles. The reason for moving is because of my love for my home state and passion for wanting to do good for the people of NM. However, last night throughout this discussion and my attempts to defend my stance on this debate and it's utter inappropriateness, I realized that I may have made the wrong decision. Why would I want to live in such a backwards place, with such backwards thinking people? Or could it be that everyone over 50, regardless of where they live, may just in fact think this way? Now think back to my earlier paragraph. I don't like to generalize but we are being represented at all levels of public life, by so called "progressives," many 50+ year olds, but are they really progressive? Do they in fact have skeletons in their closets that represent ideas that are not so progressive?
Last night, the discussion preceded to move on to another idea that not only are there really "N******" but that of all those on welfare today, at least 90% are taking advantage of the system. 90%!?! They didn't show any references or sources from where this number may have come from...instead, I was told that it had to do with their own professional experiences in the field of work they tend to and that is enough to prove their theories. Furthermore, "people choose the life they live, because they have the option to do right or wrong." All those in this conversation at this point were utterly surprised to hear me denounce everything that was being said.
#1, the N-word is never acceptable. It brings back harsh memories of the worst of our country from years past and a reminder of how awful racism is. I also believe that it is unacceptable to use the term in a conversation between African American's (even if they may think it's ok). I hate hearing AA use the word, it's just not right, even if used in rap music or any other kind of popular culture. I've always believed this and always will. Continuing to use this word in whatever context is both irresponsible and a reminder of the ignorance that has existed and continues to exist...even my sister's back yard.
#2 No one chooses to be on welfare. Many are forced into the cycle of welfare because it may be all that they have ever known and it is very difficult to let go of something that has been one's livelihood for so long. It is even more difficult because injustices still exist. As much as we would like to believe that everyone is created and treated equally, many people still face discrimination which can lead to individuals inability to gain employment, forced to live off of government support. Moreover, to say that 90% of those on welfare are taking advantage of the situation is also false. I'm not going to deny that there are people out there living on welfare and taking advantage of the system but that does not mean that all recipients are that way. Furthermore, generalizing that all those on welfare are African American and driving around in their Escalade's looking to collect free stuff during the holiday's is utterly ridiculous.
#3 If you're going to be running a charity drive for the holiday season, like what was discussed last night, or any other event, do it because you're doing it out of the kindness of your heart and not to use it as a venue to begin judging on who is collecting welfare and what they are driving and guessing who can and should work and who can't. That's not what these events are for. It is about doing good, not increase your level of judgement just because you think you can and unwilling to get off your high horse.
I do not want to claim to be one of those libs many GOPers accuse us of, and that is so called "liberal intellectuals" or "elitists." But you know what? Fuck them! I AM an elitist and I AM an intellectual and I am better than a lot of those right wing crazies, disguised as progressives. I'm all about a good debate and working for compromise with those who disagree with me, however bigotry cannot and will not be tolerated. It is the reason this country cannot move past our historical short comings because people like this still exist and are given a public platform. Furthermore, this is not what Democrats, progressives, nor liberals believe in and those participating in the discussion last night, labeling themselves as such, are unequivocally wrong! These ideas or thoughts are something you would expect from a GOPer, right wing nut job, but never something from a progressive movement and its foundation. I was utterly disgusted, disappointed, and so angry last night over what occurred and it was imperative that I share.
Those expressing these ideas (and I am generalizing now) represent generations who were around when racism and social injustices were at their peaks. However I remain optimistic as I await patiently for the day when those who think like this no longer are representative at higher levels of service and those of us, who were around when we elected Barack Hussein Obama as POTUS and Annise Parker, the first openly gay mayor for Houston, will fight to eliminate the world of these false assessments of people and look for the good in all.
About Me
- GeL Livin N LA
- Political junkie. I heart CSPAN and want to be Rachel Maddow when I grow up.
Friday, December 18, 2009
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Absent...
Leaving LA in less than 5 days. Very sad about saying bye to LA and friends, but feeling that excitment I get when I'm starting something new. Reason why I haven't written in awhile, been so busy.
On the politics front? Still #hcr!! Saturday the Senate voted to start the debate, however at least 4 Democratic Senators have already said they're going to vote no against a public option. I swear, these Blue Dogs are seriously annoying the heck out of me. I know the imporance of fiscal responsibility, however...everyone deserves healthcare at whatever cost. Let's do this already. The President is expected to make an announcement on Afghanistan on 12/1. We're all expecting him to send troops, but how many? Should I begin to write letters letting the Fed Govt know that I'm against the war and I'd like my tax dollars to go to #hcr? This is the Republican argument on federal funding going to pay for abortions, why can't we have the same argument with the war?
Anyways, there may be a vote on #hcr through xmas eve...ill be watching from New Mexico...
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
On the politics front? Still #hcr!! Saturday the Senate voted to start the debate, however at least 4 Democratic Senators have already said they're going to vote no against a public option. I swear, these Blue Dogs are seriously annoying the heck out of me. I know the imporance of fiscal responsibility, however...everyone deserves healthcare at whatever cost. Let's do this already. The President is expected to make an announcement on Afghanistan on 12/1. We're all expecting him to send troops, but how many? Should I begin to write letters letting the Fed Govt know that I'm against the war and I'd like my tax dollars to go to #hcr? This is the Republican argument on federal funding going to pay for abortions, why can't we have the same argument with the war?
Anyways, there may be a vote on #hcr through xmas eve...ill be watching from New Mexico...
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
Monday, November 2, 2009
Big LA....Little LA
August 28th, 2009. A day that will live in infamy. OK...maybe it was not as dramatic as the bombing of Pearl Harbor, but for the tiny world in which I exist, this day will be remembered for a very long time. It marked a day in which I made the difficult decision to leave Los Angeles after more than four years and return to my beloved home state of New Mexico.
Leaving LA will not be easy. It is a city in which I have grown to love. A city that has provided to me one of many second families. I have a fantastic job as Director of Community Wealth with East LA Community Corporation and set personal goals of making significant strides to impact my community of Boyle Heights and unincorporated East LA. I am comfortable, things are really good. But...
As a young person growing up in Lake Arthur, New Mexico and now as a grown adult, I have always felt an obligation to the public interest of rural communities in New Mexico. I have always felt a strong obligation to serve my people in the capacity of public service, providing for the greater good of all. However living in Los Angeles can sometimes distract you from your true love and can lead you to not so great paths; such as fame, money, etc (which I possess neither of those things) The point is, I have become distracted....forgetting for awhile my true purpose in life.
Believe it or not, a historical event took place two days before my "day of infamy" and is quite frankly, responsible for changing the course of my life, forever. If you are the one person who has read my posts the last few months, you will have come to the conclusion that I am a staunch liberal/progressive (whichever you prefer) and it was 8/26 when one of my favorite Senator's, from one of the most notorious political families in the United States, died. Like many other American's I too had known over a year that Senator Kennedy was extremely ill and his death was inevitable. However for me...his death took a tremendous toll on me. I called in sick the day after Teddy's death and I sat on my green chair and watched as C-SPAN reported on the lines of people forming and waiting in Boston to catch a glimpse of this man. The last of the Kennedy's and one of my personal hero's.
Many have criticized the Kennedy's, making insensitive statements about how they became so influential. But the bottom line is this: the Kennedy's really did want to make the world a better place. Ted Kennedy truly wanted to see the world improve for all people. I was intoxicated by the events transpiring on my television and lead me to reflect intensely that on 8/28, after watching hours upon hours of the history of Senator Edward M. Kennedy, I came to the realization that I too needed to make a mark in history. But for Angelica M. Rubio, I needed to finally leave my comfort zone here in Los Angeles and return to my home state of New Mexico, where I will be greatly challenged.
In 27 days, I will return to New Mexico for good. I will return for the first time in over four years. I think back on all the incredible things I have learned during my time in Los Angeles and I think about the incredible impact I could make in my own community and state. However, while I feel confident about my decision and I am so inspired by my return, I also worry about the challenges that I will face as I look ahead to the future.
I grew up in Lake Arthur, New Mexico, the smallest town in the world. I joke around about its "rural-ness," but I do it with love. While it is the smallest place in the world, it is also a place where very few of its citizens believes that he or she can make a difference in their community. I believe it is a feeling that has always existed and continues to be a belief even today. This is a challenge. What is also challenging is that these same feelings exist up and down the Pecos Valley in southeast New Mexico, which may reflect an unwillingness to changing the status quo. There seems to be no desire to make the necessary changes to improve the quality of life for all within their own community. So I worry. I worry that I may not be prepared to confront those who may be responsible for creating the status quo. I worry that I am not fully prepared to confront the realities that exist and my idealism will be tarnished and eventually fade away. But as I think all of these things, I also wonder if I am, what many conservatives call, "an elitist." Those so-called liberal intellectuals who are consumed by the wrongs of the world, blaming it on ignorant honky's, unwilling to see beyond "big city" progressive thinking. Hands down, I will defend my beliefs and my thinking until the day I die, nevertheless...what gives me the right to assume that I know more than the people I think I need to save? What gives me the right to assume all rural people have tiny little brains, incapable of thinking for themselves?
During the eight years that the Bush Administration was in office, I lived and worked in Lake Arthur, New Mexico, and worked whole-heartedly for the Kerry/Edwards campaign in 2004 and was so convinced that I could sway conservative retirees and get young people to get involved and vote for Senator Kerry. I obviously did not, as we all know how the election turned out. What was sad though and continues to be depressing is that in a place as small and rural as New Mexico, people have greater problems to worry about then voting in a bunch of rich, white men who may or may not make the situation better for them. Those living in the rural parts of our country are demographic who time and time again have been disenfranchised by the left and the right and now may have chosen at one point or another, to be complacent with the present and disregard any form of civic duty. If this is the case, that is fine and I can respect that. I have no doubt in my mind that people choose to stay out of politics because politics is what has screwed them over time and time again. What I do find disheartening and very concerning however, is a small percentage of those who are disenfranchised, are looking to the wrong people to speak on their behalf. We have the Glen Becks, the Rush Limbaugh's, the Michelle Malkin's and the Sarah Palin's, dictating what this rural group of people should believe in, while these Tea Party pundits sulk growing wealth and fame, giving tyrannical speeches, insulting the so-called "crazy liberals" and blaming us for the screwing up the country, at the expense of those who continue to make them rich, and all the while these rural communities like Lake Arthur continue to suffer. No quality, affordable health care, high unemployment, no end to a war in Afghanistan and an increasing High School drop out rate. I am not stating that the Left has all of the answers, believe me, I know we don't. Nevertheless, as someone from the Left and like many others on my side, we do our research and make our own decisions on what to believe in, without being influenced by the Keith Olberman's and Rachel Maddow's (however I do heart Rachel Maddow) It is imperative that my community do the same. That they speak for themselves and make a conscience decision on how they move their community forward. Will I have something to do with that? I don't know...I guess that is what makes me excited and still, very highly challenged.
So I return to Lake Arthur at the end of the year. Preparing myself for the obstacles I say confront and who knows...maybe some surprises. I may have my community all wrong. It may turn out that I just needed to grow up a little, return and maybe educate myself on what my own community may already know.
Leaving LA will not be easy. It is a city in which I have grown to love. A city that has provided to me one of many second families. I have a fantastic job as Director of Community Wealth with East LA Community Corporation and set personal goals of making significant strides to impact my community of Boyle Heights and unincorporated East LA. I am comfortable, things are really good. But...
As a young person growing up in Lake Arthur, New Mexico and now as a grown adult, I have always felt an obligation to the public interest of rural communities in New Mexico. I have always felt a strong obligation to serve my people in the capacity of public service, providing for the greater good of all. However living in Los Angeles can sometimes distract you from your true love and can lead you to not so great paths; such as fame, money, etc (which I possess neither of those things) The point is, I have become distracted....forgetting for awhile my true purpose in life.
Believe it or not, a historical event took place two days before my "day of infamy" and is quite frankly, responsible for changing the course of my life, forever. If you are the one person who has read my posts the last few months, you will have come to the conclusion that I am a staunch liberal/progressive (whichever you prefer) and it was 8/26 when one of my favorite Senator's, from one of the most notorious political families in the United States, died. Like many other American's I too had known over a year that Senator Kennedy was extremely ill and his death was inevitable. However for me...his death took a tremendous toll on me. I called in sick the day after Teddy's death and I sat on my green chair and watched as C-SPAN reported on the lines of people forming and waiting in Boston to catch a glimpse of this man. The last of the Kennedy's and one of my personal hero's.
Many have criticized the Kennedy's, making insensitive statements about how they became so influential. But the bottom line is this: the Kennedy's really did want to make the world a better place. Ted Kennedy truly wanted to see the world improve for all people. I was intoxicated by the events transpiring on my television and lead me to reflect intensely that on 8/28, after watching hours upon hours of the history of Senator Edward M. Kennedy, I came to the realization that I too needed to make a mark in history. But for Angelica M. Rubio, I needed to finally leave my comfort zone here in Los Angeles and return to my home state of New Mexico, where I will be greatly challenged.
In 27 days, I will return to New Mexico for good. I will return for the first time in over four years. I think back on all the incredible things I have learned during my time in Los Angeles and I think about the incredible impact I could make in my own community and state. However, while I feel confident about my decision and I am so inspired by my return, I also worry about the challenges that I will face as I look ahead to the future.
I grew up in Lake Arthur, New Mexico, the smallest town in the world. I joke around about its "rural-ness," but I do it with love. While it is the smallest place in the world, it is also a place where very few of its citizens believes that he or she can make a difference in their community. I believe it is a feeling that has always existed and continues to be a belief even today. This is a challenge. What is also challenging is that these same feelings exist up and down the Pecos Valley in southeast New Mexico, which may reflect an unwillingness to changing the status quo. There seems to be no desire to make the necessary changes to improve the quality of life for all within their own community. So I worry. I worry that I may not be prepared to confront those who may be responsible for creating the status quo. I worry that I am not fully prepared to confront the realities that exist and my idealism will be tarnished and eventually fade away. But as I think all of these things, I also wonder if I am, what many conservatives call, "an elitist." Those so-called liberal intellectuals who are consumed by the wrongs of the world, blaming it on ignorant honky's, unwilling to see beyond "big city" progressive thinking. Hands down, I will defend my beliefs and my thinking until the day I die, nevertheless...what gives me the right to assume that I know more than the people I think I need to save? What gives me the right to assume all rural people have tiny little brains, incapable of thinking for themselves?
During the eight years that the Bush Administration was in office, I lived and worked in Lake Arthur, New Mexico, and worked whole-heartedly for the Kerry/Edwards campaign in 2004 and was so convinced that I could sway conservative retirees and get young people to get involved and vote for Senator Kerry. I obviously did not, as we all know how the election turned out. What was sad though and continues to be depressing is that in a place as small and rural as New Mexico, people have greater problems to worry about then voting in a bunch of rich, white men who may or may not make the situation better for them. Those living in the rural parts of our country are demographic who time and time again have been disenfranchised by the left and the right and now may have chosen at one point or another, to be complacent with the present and disregard any form of civic duty. If this is the case, that is fine and I can respect that. I have no doubt in my mind that people choose to stay out of politics because politics is what has screwed them over time and time again. What I do find disheartening and very concerning however, is a small percentage of those who are disenfranchised, are looking to the wrong people to speak on their behalf. We have the Glen Becks, the Rush Limbaugh's, the Michelle Malkin's and the Sarah Palin's, dictating what this rural group of people should believe in, while these Tea Party pundits sulk growing wealth and fame, giving tyrannical speeches, insulting the so-called "crazy liberals" and blaming us for the screwing up the country, at the expense of those who continue to make them rich, and all the while these rural communities like Lake Arthur continue to suffer. No quality, affordable health care, high unemployment, no end to a war in Afghanistan and an increasing High School drop out rate. I am not stating that the Left has all of the answers, believe me, I know we don't. Nevertheless, as someone from the Left and like many others on my side, we do our research and make our own decisions on what to believe in, without being influenced by the Keith Olberman's and Rachel Maddow's (however I do heart Rachel Maddow) It is imperative that my community do the same. That they speak for themselves and make a conscience decision on how they move their community forward. Will I have something to do with that? I don't know...I guess that is what makes me excited and still, very highly challenged.
So I return to Lake Arthur at the end of the year. Preparing myself for the obstacles I say confront and who knows...maybe some surprises. I may have my community all wrong. It may turn out that I just needed to grow up a little, return and maybe educate myself on what my own community may already know.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Capitalism: A Love Story
Say what you will about Michael Moore, but after watching Capitalism: A Love Story tonight, I am once again reminded of why I am devoted to the public interest of this country. We all know who Michael Moore is. He's known for his films and those on the right see him as an utter insult to the America, however...and I am obviously bias as I'm just as progressive as Mr. Moore, but in all honesty...how can you possibly disagree with what is portrayed in this film? Yes, I am a person, like many others who have benefited from capitalism. There is no disputing that. But we also live in a democracy, which I believe supersedes any capitalist ideology in existence today. "I refuse to live in a country like this...but I'm not leaving," is by far the greatest line ever in the film! Why? Because remember 8 years ago and then 4 years ago...when both times we had to deal with George Dub being "elected" then "re-elected?" All of us liberals declared an end to our United States citizenship, threatening to jump the border into Canada because we "refuse to live in a country like this..." We're still here.
We're about a week and a half away from reaching our one year anniversary of American's like myself, coming together to change the direction of this country. We were sick and tired of the corruption, chaos and madness that took place for 8 solid years under the Bush administration and we demanded an alternative to the destruction we had all been witnessing. Not to give all the credit to President Obama, but while we're still relatively fucked right now...things I'd say are better than they were one year ago today. Am I wrong about that? Financially, things are still pretty bad, millions of people continue to lose their homes to foreclosure, hard working American's continue to lose their jobs every single day and households who are receiving income are seeing the majority of it go to pay of extremely high debt. Moreover, we have two wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, with the threat of prolonging one of those battles and possibly engaging in further battles with Iran and Pakistan. In addition we are reaching the end of a third month of the health care debate. Ok...so things aren't so great.
I'm utterly disgusted with the arguments the talking heads on the right and left have in regards to Obama's performance in the last 10 months. When are they finally going to realize that they are in fact contradicting their support of Bush when they point out Obama's inability to turn things around? So things were bad right?!?! Where were these talking heads 4 to 8 years ago, when all the bad things began to take place?
I know Obama is pissing a lot of us off. Here we have health reform and the public option being handed to us and there is Obama...freakin courting Olympia Snowe! It's frustrating and I pray to God that he's got some strategy behind this because a lot of us still believe in him. While the rest expect him to fail, we still expect him to be the President we elected him to be. That said, those of us that did all we can in 2008 to get Obama elected, to help protect the greater good of this country, we cannot led up. We need to step it up and make sure that we are not screwed over by this President the way we were with Bush.
Capitalism: A Love Story, was a just a reminder of what we can do if we work together. As easily as we elected a President and Congress, as easily we can remove you. But let's be smart about this...hopefully things will begin to turn around in the coming months...if not? Ten words. R-E-V-O-L-U-T-I-O-N
We're about a week and a half away from reaching our one year anniversary of American's like myself, coming together to change the direction of this country. We were sick and tired of the corruption, chaos and madness that took place for 8 solid years under the Bush administration and we demanded an alternative to the destruction we had all been witnessing. Not to give all the credit to President Obama, but while we're still relatively fucked right now...things I'd say are better than they were one year ago today. Am I wrong about that? Financially, things are still pretty bad, millions of people continue to lose their homes to foreclosure, hard working American's continue to lose their jobs every single day and households who are receiving income are seeing the majority of it go to pay of extremely high debt. Moreover, we have two wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, with the threat of prolonging one of those battles and possibly engaging in further battles with Iran and Pakistan. In addition we are reaching the end of a third month of the health care debate. Ok...so things aren't so great.
I'm utterly disgusted with the arguments the talking heads on the right and left have in regards to Obama's performance in the last 10 months. When are they finally going to realize that they are in fact contradicting their support of Bush when they point out Obama's inability to turn things around? So things were bad right?!?! Where were these talking heads 4 to 8 years ago, when all the bad things began to take place?
I know Obama is pissing a lot of us off. Here we have health reform and the public option being handed to us and there is Obama...freakin courting Olympia Snowe! It's frustrating and I pray to God that he's got some strategy behind this because a lot of us still believe in him. While the rest expect him to fail, we still expect him to be the President we elected him to be. That said, those of us that did all we can in 2008 to get Obama elected, to help protect the greater good of this country, we cannot led up. We need to step it up and make sure that we are not screwed over by this President the way we were with Bush.
Capitalism: A Love Story, was a just a reminder of what we can do if we work together. As easily as we elected a President and Congress, as easily we can remove you. But let's be smart about this...hopefully things will begin to turn around in the coming months...if not? Ten words. R-E-V-O-L-U-T-I-O-N
Friday, October 9, 2009
Obama and the Nobel Peace Prize
I understand we are all frustrated about the POTUS, with not seeing immediate results to correcting a lot of what was brought upon us during the Bush years. With that said, I still think that we need to support him, while holding him accountable. Today's win of the Nobel Peace Prize is really quite spectacular! Think about it. Unlike our previous administration, our POTUS is finally doing or attempting to do something we have yearned for but have not seen in a very long time and that is diplomacy and a sense of international community. Some of us may feel like he has not done anything so far to deserve this prestigious award, but obviously the rest of the world feels differently. It just seems that the world has embraced his ideology for peace and a sense of community and that right there is a major win for America, not just Obama. I am a huge proponent of ending the war in Afghanistan and I see this Nobel Peace Prize win from the committee as not just an award for Obama but as a symbol and perhaps a silent call to the President that "the world is watching" and is looking to him to stay the course and move towards peace and maybe an end to a 9 year war.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Will Sen. Grassley ever fight for the rights of the people he represents?
Months after the health care discussion began, Sen. Grassley still does not seem to understand how to compromise. The word "no" seems to be the only word which seems to exist in his vocab. For someone that has been in the discussion from the beginning, making agreements and participating in discussions and then to finaly go against what he previously agreed upon, is just plain awful. Sen. Grassley, this isn't a game, this is our lives your messing with. You're seriously politicizing this whole debate. When will you finally wake up and realize that what you're doing is making the situation worse and prolonging relief for all of us?
For someone like me, who really does belief in equal rights for everyone, including the notion that health care is a right not a privledge, I'm disheartened at how this debate has turned into the battle of our lives. Who could possibly disagree with the notion that all Americans should have access to high quality health care? Sen. Grassley that's who! And not just him, but also every other highly ranked Republican in Congress, in addition to all the right wing pundits on the radio and the television. Listen, I know its all about limiting government interference and decrease our deficit, but seriously? Why haven't they been more committed before? For over 50 years, we've pushed this idea fiscal responsibility and small government yet its never worked and instead, our country has spiraled out of control. People want health care reform all over the country, and as we continue to live in a nation attempting to pursue a democracy, it is the wishes of the American people that should be taken into consideration, not have Congress listen to corporate lobbyists who happen to be making billions off all of us. How can anyone support that?
There is a reason that the Dems won last Novemeber. They won because things have obviously not been going well the last 8yrs under the Republican party's leadership. Dems need to step it up! We have a lot of work to do and we need to make it happen, otherwise...November 2010 will come real quickly and the legacy of the Democratic party will be, leaders appointed to represent the people, who can't deliver.
Sen. Grassley, for a man who I once respected, you have become a major disappointment. How can you possibly live with yourself, as you influence your party to rob the American people of their right and entitlementto affordable, quality healthcare?
Anyway, I'm venting. I saw Sen. Grassley on the senate floor this afternoon regarding his new argument towards the new state public option "opt out" discussion now floating around and I was seriously overcome with anger at the thought that this is the Republican leadership right now. Its quite sad and frightening, all at the same time. I'm hoping forthe best, however, its hard to think positive when our Dems are scared to rul and th Repubs are being, well...Repubs
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
Monday, October 5, 2009
It's been 10 months...
and already President Obama is losing support from both sides of the aisle. Of course, it's to be expected from the Republicans...we always knew their whole platform from the beginning was to see him and his administration fail. But what is more surprising to me however, is how quickly Obama supporters have jumped ship. I understand that we elected President Obama for a reason; an opportunity to leave behind the Bush days and move forward onto a path for better days. But just 10 months into his presidency, many of the staunch supporters from a year ago, have already turned their backs on our president and furthermore, from what I read and hear...many are more critical of Obama then they ever were towards George W. Bush...the worst American President EVER!
Bottom line. The GOP is not going to change. The Right will undoubtedly continue to not support the President and that is a fact. We have seen it for the last 10 months and unless there is this weird, much needed awakening of the Right and they begin to think about moving forward rather than politicizing everything they will continue to hate on Obama and his decisions, even despite Obama's continued effort for bipartisanship. That's the Right...now the Left? That's another story. The Left needs to push the President and put Congress to serve us for the reasons we elected them for. The problem is we have not done that. We are not holding them accountable for anything, instead...we are giving up and already looking to not re-elect them in 2010. Yes, we need to hold that threat up, however we also have to advocate. How is it we were able to mobilize millions of people during election season a year ago, but we can't mobilize people now for the health care debate or the war in Afghanistan? Yes, Obama did make promises when he was on the campaign trail and when he was inaugurated, but we also made a commitment ourselves. The commmitment was, "we would take back America and prevent it from spiraling out of control."
We can't blame Obama without blaming ourselves a little bit. We all had this belief that somehow on January 21, 2009...all our problems were going to be resolved. We were convinced that Obama was going to cure all our ills within the first 100 days, but come on people...let's be realistic. If anything, what the President has done is actually show us how bad things really are. Think about it, things were bad under GWB, but with our new President, Obama has uncovered the realities that truly existed...things are truly worse than what we had actually expected and we can't expect everything to be solved in just 10 months.
1) Healthcare -- We are up against a lot of people in an effort to pass health care reform. I hate to say this, but the US has moved on to be a corporatist state. Its an ideological tendency, embedded into many serving us in Congress and we face a major risk of not getting anything out of health care this year because so many of those serving us in Congress are in bed with corporations who have taken over our country. Until we break away from this ideological perspective, the idea of privatization, we're not going to get anything done when helping our people and our communities. Corporations make too many of our decisions and we need to put an end to this.
2) Afghanistan -- We need to get the hell out of dodge. It was great to see Obama announce to the world this year that we would be exiting Iraq soon. But when will the same announcment be made for Afghanistan? We won't. Whoever is advising the President, he's being told that we have to stay and defeat the Taliban. Increasing troop levels in a highly dangerous region, sounds a lot like Vietnam to me. I understand where Obama is coming from and his belief that we need to go in and end this thing, but it's not a winnable war and I wish he'd finally understand that. But rather than putting it all on the President, what we need is an effective anti-war movement. We have become so consumed with our daily lives that we do not realize how important this debate is and maybe we do realize its importance, but we choose to ignore it as we've become comfortable with the status quo. As a people against the war in Afghanistan, we need to step it up and become the democracy of people we are meant to be.
To reach a path we're meant to be on as a country, I'd say we're on the right track. American's realized that the GOP were not doing anything during the last 8 years, hence Obama's election and the Democrats taking Congress. However we shouldn't have ended it there. The same passion and conviction we had as voters a year ago, we should be organizing our efforts towards pushing our representatives to vote in ways that will help our country and it's citizens. I'm tired of feeling as if these radical righties are representative of the nation as a whole. The majority of the country still supports the President and we need to show that support by not ditching him in the gravest of times, but by countering those who are wishing on the failure of our country.
Bottom line. The GOP is not going to change. The Right will undoubtedly continue to not support the President and that is a fact. We have seen it for the last 10 months and unless there is this weird, much needed awakening of the Right and they begin to think about moving forward rather than politicizing everything they will continue to hate on Obama and his decisions, even despite Obama's continued effort for bipartisanship. That's the Right...now the Left? That's another story. The Left needs to push the President and put Congress to serve us for the reasons we elected them for. The problem is we have not done that. We are not holding them accountable for anything, instead...we are giving up and already looking to not re-elect them in 2010. Yes, we need to hold that threat up, however we also have to advocate. How is it we were able to mobilize millions of people during election season a year ago, but we can't mobilize people now for the health care debate or the war in Afghanistan? Yes, Obama did make promises when he was on the campaign trail and when he was inaugurated, but we also made a commitment ourselves. The commmitment was, "we would take back America and prevent it from spiraling out of control."
We can't blame Obama without blaming ourselves a little bit. We all had this belief that somehow on January 21, 2009...all our problems were going to be resolved. We were convinced that Obama was going to cure all our ills within the first 100 days, but come on people...let's be realistic. If anything, what the President has done is actually show us how bad things really are. Think about it, things were bad under GWB, but with our new President, Obama has uncovered the realities that truly existed...things are truly worse than what we had actually expected and we can't expect everything to be solved in just 10 months.
1) Healthcare -- We are up against a lot of people in an effort to pass health care reform. I hate to say this, but the US has moved on to be a corporatist state. Its an ideological tendency, embedded into many serving us in Congress and we face a major risk of not getting anything out of health care this year because so many of those serving us in Congress are in bed with corporations who have taken over our country. Until we break away from this ideological perspective, the idea of privatization, we're not going to get anything done when helping our people and our communities. Corporations make too many of our decisions and we need to put an end to this.
2) Afghanistan -- We need to get the hell out of dodge. It was great to see Obama announce to the world this year that we would be exiting Iraq soon. But when will the same announcment be made for Afghanistan? We won't. Whoever is advising the President, he's being told that we have to stay and defeat the Taliban. Increasing troop levels in a highly dangerous region, sounds a lot like Vietnam to me. I understand where Obama is coming from and his belief that we need to go in and end this thing, but it's not a winnable war and I wish he'd finally understand that. But rather than putting it all on the President, what we need is an effective anti-war movement. We have become so consumed with our daily lives that we do not realize how important this debate is and maybe we do realize its importance, but we choose to ignore it as we've become comfortable with the status quo. As a people against the war in Afghanistan, we need to step it up and become the democracy of people we are meant to be.
To reach a path we're meant to be on as a country, I'd say we're on the right track. American's realized that the GOP were not doing anything during the last 8 years, hence Obama's election and the Democrats taking Congress. However we shouldn't have ended it there. The same passion and conviction we had as voters a year ago, we should be organizing our efforts towards pushing our representatives to vote in ways that will help our country and it's citizens. I'm tired of feeling as if these radical righties are representative of the nation as a whole. The majority of the country still supports the President and we need to show that support by not ditching him in the gravest of times, but by countering those who are wishing on the failure of our country.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Re: So there goes Healthcare Reform?
Wendell Potter spoke before the House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee today giving a straightforward position on Senator Baucus' plan today. Once an insurance executive, now turned whistle blower, Mr. Potter was pretty much begging the committee to support public option. Stating that Baucus' plan "would create a government-subsidized monopoly for the purchase of bare-bones, high deductible policies that would truly benefit Big Insurance. In other words, insurers would win; your constituents would lose."
When will we stop being so concerned about the insurance companies and their feelings?! They've screwed us long enough yet they manage to stay and even facilitate this health care debate. Baucus seriously needs to grow a pair or get out. He's obviously not in this for the American people and strictly protecting his butt from the insurance companies who are obviously responsible for his longevity in Congress. Talk about campaign financing.
Dems seriously need to get with the program, come together and pass health care reform now! Otherwise, we'll go elsewhere in 2010.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Rest In Peace Teddy...
It was the summer of 2001. I was interning in DC for a Senator from New Mexico and like many interns, it was another world, but it was magical. Roaming the underground halls of the Capitol...moving from Hart Building to Russell and back...I became lost in my thoughts and looked at the possibilities of one day doing my part in public service. On one of those days where I was lost in a trance, not paying any attention to the chaos that surrounded me, there in the Russell Senate Building, was a tall burly man, with a very large poodle by his side. It was Senator Kennedy. I was lost amongst the crowd and had just witnessed something great, even for just a brief second.
Last night as I sat at home, relaxing with the Bravo channel on my television, I received a tweet from @cnnbrk and there it was...Ted Kennedy was gone. The thing about this loss is that his death, like those in his family before him, are so close to many of our hearts. Growing up, my parents, who came to the US from Mexico, knew and spoke of the Kennedy's like they were people they knew personally. Like we had been family friends for years. Why? Because despite their fame and fortune and the prestige of America's version of Camelot, they were a family that could have chosen a different life, but instead chose public service -- to serve and push for issues so close to the hearts of our communities.
When John was killed in 1963...and Robert in 1968, the country mourned and American's felt a huge loss. Not just for the country and the obstacles it faced without them, but for the family that was left behind. Ted Kennedy was the youngest of his family but after the deaths of his brothers, he had to take on whatever responsibility he was handed over, unintentionally, by these losses. Ted was not the best early on, but overtime, he became great.
Today as I listened to NPR, it finally hit me...Ted was really quite extraordinary. So many legislative bills that he submitted or signed on to, have become American law and incorporated into our daily lives. The freedoms and opportunities those of us my age (and younger) take advantage of all the time, are the same freedoms and opportunties that did not exist before us but do so because of Senator Kennedy's committment, influence and extremely powerful liberal voice. While yes, we would have preferred that he be much more to the left...he did enough to get the job done for all of those social issues that we hold dear to our hearts.
While television and internet gives us a great look of our Kennedy history, I am so glad that I was able to see it first hand, the greatness that was Ted Kennedy. I hope that all the great things we loved about Senator Kennedy, will be replicated amongst our present Congress and and our future leaders. That politics be put aside and that serious issues be dealt with immediately and head on, with great passion and conviction. It's ironic that Senator Kennedy's death comes in the middle of the biggest policy battle that this country has seen since the Civil Right's era and an issue he has advocated for years. I still believe in this great democracy and I hope that his spirit lives on as we move forward. As in the Senator's own words, "For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die..."
Last night as I sat at home, relaxing with the Bravo channel on my television, I received a tweet from @cnnbrk and there it was...Ted Kennedy was gone. The thing about this loss is that his death, like those in his family before him, are so close to many of our hearts. Growing up, my parents, who came to the US from Mexico, knew and spoke of the Kennedy's like they were people they knew personally. Like we had been family friends for years. Why? Because despite their fame and fortune and the prestige of America's version of Camelot, they were a family that could have chosen a different life, but instead chose public service -- to serve and push for issues so close to the hearts of our communities.
When John was killed in 1963...and Robert in 1968, the country mourned and American's felt a huge loss. Not just for the country and the obstacles it faced without them, but for the family that was left behind. Ted Kennedy was the youngest of his family but after the deaths of his brothers, he had to take on whatever responsibility he was handed over, unintentionally, by these losses. Ted was not the best early on, but overtime, he became great.
Today as I listened to NPR, it finally hit me...Ted was really quite extraordinary. So many legislative bills that he submitted or signed on to, have become American law and incorporated into our daily lives. The freedoms and opportunities those of us my age (and younger) take advantage of all the time, are the same freedoms and opportunties that did not exist before us but do so because of Senator Kennedy's committment, influence and extremely powerful liberal voice. While yes, we would have preferred that he be much more to the left...he did enough to get the job done for all of those social issues that we hold dear to our hearts.
While television and internet gives us a great look of our Kennedy history, I am so glad that I was able to see it first hand, the greatness that was Ted Kennedy. I hope that all the great things we loved about Senator Kennedy, will be replicated amongst our present Congress and and our future leaders. That politics be put aside and that serious issues be dealt with immediately and head on, with great passion and conviction. It's ironic that Senator Kennedy's death comes in the middle of the biggest policy battle that this country has seen since the Civil Right's era and an issue he has advocated for years. I still believe in this great democracy and I hope that his spirit lives on as we move forward. As in the Senator's own words, "For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die..."
Thursday, August 20, 2009
WTF Ridge?!
2004 Presidential election. Just having moved back from Washington DC, and spending some time in El Paso, Texas, I decided to move back home to New Mexico, specifically Roswell, New Mexico a very VERY, conservative town. It was election year and it was finally time to get the Bush administration out of the White House, and put our country back on track. My interests in politics were slightly on the obsessive side and in my early and mid-twenties were, what some would say, slightly over the top. But like many progressives, I did not trust Bush and his administration. We believed he had stolen the election in 2000, we wondered why the hell he sat for 7 minutes at a children's school in Florida on 9/11, we were totally against the invasion and inevitable war in Iraq, very much against the terror and scare tactics of the administration and its continuous fear mongering and absolutely sick of the "if you don't vote for us, you will die!" politics. (whew!) In 2004, it was time to put an end to all of this.
While John Kerry was not the quintessential ideal candidate, I felt that he was the right person for the job as POTUS and the best person to dethrone George W. Bush from his self appointed and stolen position as President of the United States. But we also knew it would not be easy. Early on in 2004, I was led to the Chavez County Court house to pick up some voter registration forms. It was time to get people registered and ready for a fight in November. In addition I joined the Chavez County Democratic Party and began my volunteer work. It was here, starting in the summer of 2004, that battle began.
It was definitely not easy. I mean seriously, we're talking about a county populated by people who were mostly republican and if registered democrat, were moderates, large percentages of retirees, many...you guessed it, Veterans. No one in their right mind was willing to vote against Bush. Why? Because there was a war on terror that needed to be won and we couldn't win with John Kerry. The reason was plain and simple, while John Kerry did serve his country in Vietnam, people believed he lied! On or around August 12, 2004, just a few days after the Democratic convention and a huge poll jump for John Kerry, the Swift Boat smears began. Here was a group of Vets being used by conservatives, to basically come out and say that they were with John Kerry in 1968, and countered Kerry's claims of heroism and that frankly, John Kerry was a liar. How could I go door to door, to residents of Roswell, New Mexico, with the smear campaign all over the news, keeping John Kerry from winning the election in November!!
John Kerry went to war, Bush did not. In fact, Bush pretty much was AWOL during Vietnam and yet Bush was considered the most qualified to protect our country? Why would we elect a new president when we were facing threats from terrorists? The US was under extreme levels of terror threats!!...Or was it?
One thing us progressives and crazy liberals were accused of back in 2004 was this notion that we were conspiracy theorists. That anything that came out of our mouths, when debating against the policies of Dubya, were pure fiction and rightfully false. We could never win and we were seen as crazies and our opinions were never taken with validity.
It's been almost five years to the T, in which we saw poll numbers for Kerry drop significantly after the Bush administration announced the terror threat would be raised, coincidentally soon after Kerry's convention speech (which had given him a huge bump in the polls) and then again right before the 2004 presidential election. There were those of us progressives that were seriously pissed because for us it was not coincidental. It had to be freakin intentional! We believed that the Bush administration was very much manipulating the war on terror in an effort to stay in office. Our theories were seen as ridiculous and we were asked to STFU. In November's presidential elections, we lost.
Today, 5 years later...we find out that we were in fact duped. In fact we have found out that we were right all along.
According to the Associated Press,
When I read about this this morning, I was not only stunned but heartbroken. Like many of us in 2004, we were seriously committed to our purpose of getting the right person into office. We needed a president that would make the necessary changes to put this country back on track. We needed to end the terrorizing our communities, to end the war in Iraq and to bring back our stature as a reputable democracy in the international world, but instead, we were left with four more years of Bush and a very broken country. What is more disheartening is that Ridge, just a few weeks after the election in 2004, decided to resign. Did this man not have a conscience? Did he not see how wrong this was, to not only be misled by his own boss, but then to lie to the American people? Why come out now? Why do it this way? It's easy...money. He's got a book coming out and this sells.
What is interesting now is that when we finally get our shit together by electing Barack Obama, "WITH A MANDATE"...we have protests from the other side. Just 5 years ago we were ready to get the hell out of dodge. We were dealing with real issues. We were confronted with a lack of leadership and intelligence. However now, when we think we're going to accomplish some goals and fix what was broken, we now face protests for all the wrong reasons. The same people who supported Bush in 2004 and believed that he would protect them from the threats of terror, are the same people protesting today on health care and other domestic issues that can really change the course of our lives for the better. When will they finally realize that they have been misled all this time and they too are being duped by the conservatives? What will it take for them to trust the POTUS, who right now is the person to put this country back on the right track?
Yes, we should move on from the past and not keep bringing up "old shit" (as Smokey says on Friday) but in order to move forward we have to learn from the past. Had Ridge told us early on in 2004 what we had suspected all along...so much of our country's problems might have been prevented. Even those protesting health care today, might they have thought they were seeing the real deal then, perhaps today they would in fact, see a real big mess!
While John Kerry was not the quintessential ideal candidate, I felt that he was the right person for the job as POTUS and the best person to dethrone George W. Bush from his self appointed and stolen position as President of the United States. But we also knew it would not be easy. Early on in 2004, I was led to the Chavez County Court house to pick up some voter registration forms. It was time to get people registered and ready for a fight in November. In addition I joined the Chavez County Democratic Party and began my volunteer work. It was here, starting in the summer of 2004, that battle began.
It was definitely not easy. I mean seriously, we're talking about a county populated by people who were mostly republican and if registered democrat, were moderates, large percentages of retirees, many...you guessed it, Veterans. No one in their right mind was willing to vote against Bush. Why? Because there was a war on terror that needed to be won and we couldn't win with John Kerry. The reason was plain and simple, while John Kerry did serve his country in Vietnam, people believed he lied! On or around August 12, 2004, just a few days after the Democratic convention and a huge poll jump for John Kerry, the Swift Boat smears began. Here was a group of Vets being used by conservatives, to basically come out and say that they were with John Kerry in 1968, and countered Kerry's claims of heroism and that frankly, John Kerry was a liar. How could I go door to door, to residents of Roswell, New Mexico, with the smear campaign all over the news, keeping John Kerry from winning the election in November!!
John Kerry went to war, Bush did not. In fact, Bush pretty much was AWOL during Vietnam and yet Bush was considered the most qualified to protect our country? Why would we elect a new president when we were facing threats from terrorists? The US was under extreme levels of terror threats!!...Or was it?
One thing us progressives and crazy liberals were accused of back in 2004 was this notion that we were conspiracy theorists. That anything that came out of our mouths, when debating against the policies of Dubya, were pure fiction and rightfully false. We could never win and we were seen as crazies and our opinions were never taken with validity.
It's been almost five years to the T, in which we saw poll numbers for Kerry drop significantly after the Bush administration announced the terror threat would be raised, coincidentally soon after Kerry's convention speech (which had given him a huge bump in the polls) and then again right before the 2004 presidential election. There were those of us progressives that were seriously pissed because for us it was not coincidental. It had to be freakin intentional! We believed that the Bush administration was very much manipulating the war on terror in an effort to stay in office. Our theories were seen as ridiculous and we were asked to STFU. In November's presidential elections, we lost.
Today, 5 years later...we find out that we were in fact duped. In fact we have found out that we were right all along.
According to the Associated Press,
"Former Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge claims in a new book that he was pressured by other members of President George W. Bush's Cabinet to raise the nation's terror alert level just before the 2004 presidential election."
When I read about this this morning, I was not only stunned but heartbroken. Like many of us in 2004, we were seriously committed to our purpose of getting the right person into office. We needed a president that would make the necessary changes to put this country back on track. We needed to end the terrorizing our communities, to end the war in Iraq and to bring back our stature as a reputable democracy in the international world, but instead, we were left with four more years of Bush and a very broken country. What is more disheartening is that Ridge, just a few weeks after the election in 2004, decided to resign. Did this man not have a conscience? Did he not see how wrong this was, to not only be misled by his own boss, but then to lie to the American people? Why come out now? Why do it this way? It's easy...money. He's got a book coming out and this sells.
What is interesting now is that when we finally get our shit together by electing Barack Obama, "WITH A MANDATE"...we have protests from the other side. Just 5 years ago we were ready to get the hell out of dodge. We were dealing with real issues. We were confronted with a lack of leadership and intelligence. However now, when we think we're going to accomplish some goals and fix what was broken, we now face protests for all the wrong reasons. The same people who supported Bush in 2004 and believed that he would protect them from the threats of terror, are the same people protesting today on health care and other domestic issues that can really change the course of our lives for the better. When will they finally realize that they have been misled all this time and they too are being duped by the conservatives? What will it take for them to trust the POTUS, who right now is the person to put this country back on the right track?
Yes, we should move on from the past and not keep bringing up "old shit" (as Smokey says on Friday) but in order to move forward we have to learn from the past. Had Ridge told us early on in 2004 what we had suspected all along...so much of our country's problems might have been prevented. Even those protesting health care today, might they have thought they were seeing the real deal then, perhaps today they would in fact, see a real big mess!
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Summer of Hate Reaction
I'm reading the Daily Beast, and focused on John Avlon's blog titled "Summer of Hate." http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-08-13/25-signs-of-hate/?cid=hp:mostpopular1 And quite frankly...I'm highly disturbed. It's not the blog itself that bothers me, but the comments from the readers.
Routinely, when reading news or blogs online, I go down to the comments immediately because I want to read what people think before I develop my own opinion. Usually it doesn't really influence my thoughts because most of the comments are pretty redonkulous, but what it does do for me is give me a pulse of what is going on nationwide. However, after reading the comments on "Summer of Hate," and the blog itself, I'm actually pretty frightened for the future of this country.
Example? North49. His/her comment states:
Believe me, I'm one of those people who tries to limit myself to as little corporate-owned news media outlets as possible. I know that these news outlets tend to sensationalize the news more often then not, however the last few weeks have prompted me to be overly concerned over our current health care debate and the antics going on at these town hall meetings. Not even the news network cannot over-hype. It is no longer a debate about health care reform, but a platform for a people to speak freely about their dissatisfaction over a president they were never going to like. Furthermore, the conservative grassroots movement has taken the same stance as the Republicans in the Beltway, who have unanimously taken on a decisive position to watch President Obama fail. Republicans have allowed and openly engaged members of their party in "death panel" politics allowing it to overwhelm the real health care debate.
As Bill Clinton stated at his speech during the Netroots Nation Conference in Pittsburgh this weekend, "America is closer now than ever before" in regards to passing health care reform. Yet what is frustrating is seeing Obama prioritize his political capital over policy making, not at all considering all we have had to put up with as Progressives for the last 8 years and everything we have had to work for to get a majority in Congress. Today we hear that Obama is considering dropping public option from the table, in order to ease tensions, I presume. Bottom line President Obama, you drop public options, you lose a large supporter base. Furthermore, the conservatives don't care what you do because in the end, they will still defy you. Republicans will never support you Mr. President. They have blatantly and publicly stated this outpouring of distaste for your presidency and they will not stand down. While I commend you for all you have tried to do, trying to build a bridge between the two party lines...the fact is that the conservative movement will never back down. You have majority Mr. President. Stop peddling around and get this country moving again. We need to protect and sustain our progressive majority and we need to pass health care reform this year, with public option!
Routinely, when reading news or blogs online, I go down to the comments immediately because I want to read what people think before I develop my own opinion. Usually it doesn't really influence my thoughts because most of the comments are pretty redonkulous, but what it does do for me is give me a pulse of what is going on nationwide. However, after reading the comments on "Summer of Hate," and the blog itself, I'm actually pretty frightened for the future of this country.
Example? North49. His/her comment states:
"MSNBC parrots the Obama party line. FOX NEWS at least to some extent tries to expose the nature of the beast that seeks to expand the state, while the Obots blindly sing the praises of enslaving statism. There are an abundance of "Harvard scholars" following BO like he's the Pied Piper, methinks. Does the over "edjumicated" elite know how idiotic they appear pretending to oppose slavery as one of America's worst sins, while embracing enslaving socialism of the Bolshevik Obama?"
It wasn't this specific comment that worried me per se, but instead the thread of comments that proceeded it. There is a lot of hostility and anger going on right now regarding health care reform and what is even scarier is the threat of violence that we are seeing all over the country. Now, the thread didn't specifically state a type of threat, however the comments, as you can probably tell, does illustrate a highly heated discussion with some surprisingly unintelligent remarks or responses. Let me just put it this way, as a hard-core, progressive, social liberal, these conversations taking place online and offline scare the bejesus' out of me. If the Republicans losing the elections in 2006/2008 elections, and their faltering popularity in the last 8 months gave some indication of their demise...the health care debate is slowly reviving the conservative movement and its agenda, specifically from the grassroots movement of the conservative party.
Yesterday, as I was watched CSPAN, the Americans for Prosperity conference came on. Now, some will say it is a copy-cat of a progressive conference for bloggers that already exists, (Netroots Nation Conference), but for the purpose of sticking to my point, I'll let this one slide. So, Americans for Prosperity. The speaker that was highlighted was Michelle Malkin. I do not know much about her, but what I do know is that she is now one of the new faces of the Republican party (and the new Ann Coulter of the conservative party, in my opinion BUT a bit smarter) From the sounds of her latest book and what she was vocalizing this weekend at this bloggers conference, is that conservatives at the grassroots level, are hating on today's GOP. In addition, it seems that they also despise those within the Republican party who think the party should go through a "re-branding" process. Michelle Malkin, like those in the audience I presume, believe that the Republican party should stick to the ideology that they have always been known for and in regards to the current health care debate, she insinuated that those attending the town hall meetings all over the country, should stick to their guns (literally speaking) Ok, the latter part about the guns...may not have been said, however she did insinuate that those protesting had every right to be there, guns or no guns. In all honesty, her speech was really powerful and had I been a cut throat conservative, card carrying member of the NRA, with a loaded .45 in my car, I would have been truly inspired and ready for war against those socialist and liberal fascists, as the conservative base calls us.
Honestly, if you were not scared before...you should be now. Listening to Michelle Malkin scared the shit out of me! Why? Because if I am someone in the conservative movement, still pissed that Barack Hussien Obama won the presidential election by a mandate in November 2008, and in my ear I have conservative pundits like this Michelle person, in addition to the Rushes of the conservative radio world, telling me to go to the mattresses...(add country accent here) "you're gawd damn right I'm gonna do somethin!" Specific leaders in the GOP, in addition to popular conservative talk-show hosts, have inadvertently and/or have outright supported some of the most vocal (and honestly, very scary) protests going on all over the country these last two weeks and Michelle Malkin is another potential person adding fuel to an already out of control fire.
Yesterday, as I was watched CSPAN, the Americans for Prosperity conference came on. Now, some will say it is a copy-cat of a progressive conference for bloggers that already exists, (Netroots Nation Conference), but for the purpose of sticking to my point, I'll let this one slide. So, Americans for Prosperity. The speaker that was highlighted was Michelle Malkin. I do not know much about her, but what I do know is that she is now one of the new faces of the Republican party (and the new Ann Coulter of the conservative party, in my opinion BUT a bit smarter) From the sounds of her latest book and what she was vocalizing this weekend at this bloggers conference, is that conservatives at the grassroots level, are hating on today's GOP. In addition, it seems that they also despise those within the Republican party who think the party should go through a "re-branding" process. Michelle Malkin, like those in the audience I presume, believe that the Republican party should stick to the ideology that they have always been known for and in regards to the current health care debate, she insinuated that those attending the town hall meetings all over the country, should stick to their guns (literally speaking) Ok, the latter part about the guns...may not have been said, however she did insinuate that those protesting had every right to be there, guns or no guns. In all honesty, her speech was really powerful and had I been a cut throat conservative, card carrying member of the NRA, with a loaded .45 in my car, I would have been truly inspired and ready for war against those socialist and liberal fascists, as the conservative base calls us.
Honestly, if you were not scared before...you should be now. Listening to Michelle Malkin scared the shit out of me! Why? Because if I am someone in the conservative movement, still pissed that Barack Hussien Obama won the presidential election by a mandate in November 2008, and in my ear I have conservative pundits like this Michelle person, in addition to the Rushes of the conservative radio world, telling me to go to the mattresses...(add country accent here) "you're gawd damn right I'm gonna do somethin!" Specific leaders in the GOP, in addition to popular conservative talk-show hosts, have inadvertently and/or have outright supported some of the most vocal (and honestly, very scary) protests going on all over the country these last two weeks and Michelle Malkin is another potential person adding fuel to an already out of control fire.
Believe me, I'm one of those people who tries to limit myself to as little corporate-owned news media outlets as possible. I know that these news outlets tend to sensationalize the news more often then not, however the last few weeks have prompted me to be overly concerned over our current health care debate and the antics going on at these town hall meetings. Not even the news network cannot over-hype. It is no longer a debate about health care reform, but a platform for a people to speak freely about their dissatisfaction over a president they were never going to like. Furthermore, the conservative grassroots movement has taken the same stance as the Republicans in the Beltway, who have unanimously taken on a decisive position to watch President Obama fail. Republicans have allowed and openly engaged members of their party in "death panel" politics allowing it to overwhelm the real health care debate.
As Bill Clinton stated at his speech during the Netroots Nation Conference in Pittsburgh this weekend, "America is closer now than ever before" in regards to passing health care reform. Yet what is frustrating is seeing Obama prioritize his political capital over policy making, not at all considering all we have had to put up with as Progressives for the last 8 years and everything we have had to work for to get a majority in Congress. Today we hear that Obama is considering dropping public option from the table, in order to ease tensions, I presume. Bottom line President Obama, you drop public options, you lose a large supporter base. Furthermore, the conservatives don't care what you do because in the end, they will still defy you. Republicans will never support you Mr. President. They have blatantly and publicly stated this outpouring of distaste for your presidency and they will not stand down. While I commend you for all you have tried to do, trying to build a bridge between the two party lines...the fact is that the conservative movement will never back down. You have majority Mr. President. Stop peddling around and get this country moving again. We need to protect and sustain our progressive majority and we need to pass health care reform this year, with public option!
Friday, May 8, 2009
Angeles
This is one of my favorite Elliott Smith songs.
I'm currently in my room listening to music, in addition to the sounds of cars and trucks driving by along the very loud, 101 freeway.
I haven't written on here in awhile as I've been very unmotivated and quite frankly, uninspired.
Angeles is a great song. Not sure if Smith was talking about LA per se, but when I do hear this song specifically it brings me back to reality, and me thinking to myself, "I freakin live in LA!" August will be four years that I've lived here and each day I still wake up as excited about this then the day before.
Yes, in fact I am a transplant from NM, but I have completely embraced Los Angeles as my new home and truly believe that I was meant to start a life here. A New Mexican will always believe that they're NM'ican forever...and I confess that the same will apply to me. But for how much longer?...and that's kinda scary.
Yesterday I got a call on a prospective endeavor in New Mexico, which many ambitious people, like myself, would probably take on in a heartbeat. However, my killer instinct, which about 99% of the time is accurate (on good days), told me to say no and not to even consider it.
Now, I really REALLY hope that yesterday was a good day for that killer instinct to kick in because I'm not the type of person that handles a state of "dwelling on things" very well and there may be times in the coming days where I could feel as if I should reconsider. However, as Angeles by Elliott Smith ends...and my interpretation of the song absorbs in my head and heart, I'm convinced that not only is living in LA awesome...but LA is now in fact my home and honestly, there is no looking back only forward.
I'm currently in my room listening to music, in addition to the sounds of cars and trucks driving by along the very loud, 101 freeway.
I haven't written on here in awhile as I've been very unmotivated and quite frankly, uninspired.
Angeles is a great song. Not sure if Smith was talking about LA per se, but when I do hear this song specifically it brings me back to reality, and me thinking to myself, "I freakin live in LA!" August will be four years that I've lived here and each day I still wake up as excited about this then the day before.
Yes, in fact I am a transplant from NM, but I have completely embraced Los Angeles as my new home and truly believe that I was meant to start a life here. A New Mexican will always believe that they're NM'ican forever...and I confess that the same will apply to me. But for how much longer?...and that's kinda scary.
Yesterday I got a call on a prospective endeavor in New Mexico, which many ambitious people, like myself, would probably take on in a heartbeat. However, my killer instinct, which about 99% of the time is accurate (on good days), told me to say no and not to even consider it.
Now, I really REALLY hope that yesterday was a good day for that killer instinct to kick in because I'm not the type of person that handles a state of "dwelling on things" very well and there may be times in the coming days where I could feel as if I should reconsider. However, as Angeles by Elliott Smith ends...and my interpretation of the song absorbs in my head and heart, I'm convinced that not only is living in LA awesome...but LA is now in fact my home and honestly, there is no looking back only forward.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
I like watching the puddles gather rain....
It's been awhile since I last wrote. Nothing too eventful has been going on except the financial collapse of our markets...but other than that, that's pretty much it.
Since we're all facing economic hardships, last night I decided to go on craigslist.com to find a couch for my place and of course, stimulate the economy by spending some money. I'd been looking for one for a few months and last night i figured that i'd take a chance and look again. Finally...after a few scrolls down the list of prospective peices of furniture, I was seriously in love with a pastel green, slightly faded, comfy looking chair. It was perfect. I figured it would be a perfect match for my avacado green colored walls and of course...my days of wonderous lounging. It looked ultra comfy and so inexpensive...you can't beat a measley $50 right?
I got to the owners house...ALL THE WAY out to West LA...passed the 405. I figured I'd be stuck in traffic, but for some reason I flew and made it from Boyle Heights in under 30 minutes. When I got to the house, I was slightly frightened by some barking coming from the home...then I realized it wasn't a dog, but some guy on the other side of the door asking me who it was...I was like..."it's me?" (as if he could possibly know who "me" is)
A girl finally came to the door and said...sorry about that...the dogs are going crazy...(right)
She led me through a small house and finally to the "chair." I was impressed. Considering how unruly the house that I was in looked, the chair didn't seem too bad. I wanted to take it...but how would I take it back to my place...? 1) I was 13+/- miles away from my house...which in LA times is an eternity 2) I drive a VW Beetle convertible and finally 3) It looks as if there will be a down pour from the looks of the dark clouds above me.
Some background about craigslist...if the stuff is good, it will sell...so it's absolutely necessary to not only be aggressive, but also impulsive. I confirmed with the owner by stating "50 right?" = SOLD!!!
I ran to the ATM down the road, pulled out some cash and drove back to the home, where I pulled in in reverse. Prior to pulling into the long drive way...i pushed the necessary button to start pulling back the top of the convertible. Not only did I notice some really dark clouds above my head, but for some reason my damn convertible top was not going down correctly. I didn't have time to fix it...I had to get the chair.
It took what seemed like hundreds of minutes and constant switchbacks to finally making it to the door where the chair would be brought out. The "boyfriend" came out and looked at my car and must of thought..."this girl is crazy" He gave me a look of disbelief...not at all thinking that I could put that chair in the back of my two seat backseat. I looked at him with a gaze that said..."I don't know how the hell I'm going to get it clear across the city, with no rope to tie the chair down, but I'm going to do it" look. He was seriously concerned asking, "you're not taking the freeway are you...?" Of course not...
I drove off...
Now...I'm pulling on to Olympic Blvd and head east. It will clearly take me back to Boyle Heights...but I was clearly west of the 405 and in my mind I kept thinking...how the heck am i going to get home? I stayed calm, turned down the radio and tried to ignore the stares from ongoing traffic. As I drove 15...20....25 minutes...i realized that things weren't so bad. At about Robertson Blvd, I noticed drops of rain...but figured they were just figments of my imagination. Eventually...about 40 minutes later, I saw the LA skyline and the sign pointing out that Staples Center was straight ahead. I gave a sigh of relief.
As I'm crossing Figueroa....i feel drops of rain fall onto my head...hand...steering wheel and now my chair. I kind of begin to freak out, but I try to calm down...breathing in and out....then without really thinking and remembering...i completely forgot that Olympic stops for a bit near and around skid row and so i'm now thinking damn...i gotta turn left. LUCKILY there is no traffic because as I'm heading North...completely preoccupied with getting home asap and dry, I run a damn red light!!!! At this point I'm so freaked out...not only am I driving in my convertible Beetle, with the top down, carrying this gigantic chair in the rain...but I'm obviously putting my life in danger.
I finally get to 7th street, make a right....try to miss all the red lights and finally see the 7th street bridge to take me into Boyle Heights...IT BEGINS TO POUR!!! I haul ass....driving up and down the bridge and as I'm doing this, I notice someone on my right screaming at me.... "you need to put a trash bag over that" I know that you fool!!! It's not like i'm doing this for fun. As i'm driving...I'm yelling at this guy "i live nearby!" which wasn't true, because I still had several blocks....anyway...i'm beginning to get soaked...saved by a few underpasses who intercept whatever rain drop that is on its way down....and then finally...FINALLY, i drive into my driveway and with the amount of adrenaline I had, I scooped my chair out of my car and into my tiny little house, where it sits tonight in my living room...perfectly.
Some will say that this was utterly ridiculous...however, I find it to have been adventurous. Well...now I do. At the time it was an utter mess :)
Since we're all facing economic hardships, last night I decided to go on craigslist.com to find a couch for my place and of course, stimulate the economy by spending some money. I'd been looking for one for a few months and last night i figured that i'd take a chance and look again. Finally...after a few scrolls down the list of prospective peices of furniture, I was seriously in love with a pastel green, slightly faded, comfy looking chair. It was perfect. I figured it would be a perfect match for my avacado green colored walls and of course...my days of wonderous lounging. It looked ultra comfy and so inexpensive...you can't beat a measley $50 right?
I got to the owners house...ALL THE WAY out to West LA...passed the 405. I figured I'd be stuck in traffic, but for some reason I flew and made it from Boyle Heights in under 30 minutes. When I got to the house, I was slightly frightened by some barking coming from the home...then I realized it wasn't a dog, but some guy on the other side of the door asking me who it was...I was like..."it's me?" (as if he could possibly know who "me" is)
A girl finally came to the door and said...sorry about that...the dogs are going crazy...(right)
She led me through a small house and finally to the "chair." I was impressed. Considering how unruly the house that I was in looked, the chair didn't seem too bad. I wanted to take it...but how would I take it back to my place...? 1) I was 13+/- miles away from my house...which in LA times is an eternity 2) I drive a VW Beetle convertible and finally 3) It looks as if there will be a down pour from the looks of the dark clouds above me.
Some background about craigslist...if the stuff is good, it will sell...so it's absolutely necessary to not only be aggressive, but also impulsive. I confirmed with the owner by stating "50 right?" = SOLD!!!
I ran to the ATM down the road, pulled out some cash and drove back to the home, where I pulled in in reverse. Prior to pulling into the long drive way...i pushed the necessary button to start pulling back the top of the convertible. Not only did I notice some really dark clouds above my head, but for some reason my damn convertible top was not going down correctly. I didn't have time to fix it...I had to get the chair.
It took what seemed like hundreds of minutes and constant switchbacks to finally making it to the door where the chair would be brought out. The "boyfriend" came out and looked at my car and must of thought..."this girl is crazy" He gave me a look of disbelief...not at all thinking that I could put that chair in the back of my two seat backseat. I looked at him with a gaze that said..."I don't know how the hell I'm going to get it clear across the city, with no rope to tie the chair down, but I'm going to do it" look. He was seriously concerned asking, "you're not taking the freeway are you...?" Of course not...
I drove off...
Now...I'm pulling on to Olympic Blvd and head east. It will clearly take me back to Boyle Heights...but I was clearly west of the 405 and in my mind I kept thinking...how the heck am i going to get home? I stayed calm, turned down the radio and tried to ignore the stares from ongoing traffic. As I drove 15...20....25 minutes...i realized that things weren't so bad. At about Robertson Blvd, I noticed drops of rain...but figured they were just figments of my imagination. Eventually...about 40 minutes later, I saw the LA skyline and the sign pointing out that Staples Center was straight ahead. I gave a sigh of relief.
As I'm crossing Figueroa....i feel drops of rain fall onto my head...hand...steering wheel and now my chair. I kind of begin to freak out, but I try to calm down...breathing in and out....then without really thinking and remembering...i completely forgot that Olympic stops for a bit near and around skid row and so i'm now thinking damn...i gotta turn left. LUCKILY there is no traffic because as I'm heading North...completely preoccupied with getting home asap and dry, I run a damn red light!!!! At this point I'm so freaked out...not only am I driving in my convertible Beetle, with the top down, carrying this gigantic chair in the rain...but I'm obviously putting my life in danger.
I finally get to 7th street, make a right....try to miss all the red lights and finally see the 7th street bridge to take me into Boyle Heights...IT BEGINS TO POUR!!! I haul ass....driving up and down the bridge and as I'm doing this, I notice someone on my right screaming at me.... "you need to put a trash bag over that" I know that you fool!!! It's not like i'm doing this for fun. As i'm driving...I'm yelling at this guy "i live nearby!" which wasn't true, because I still had several blocks....anyway...i'm beginning to get soaked...saved by a few underpasses who intercept whatever rain drop that is on its way down....and then finally...FINALLY, i drive into my driveway and with the amount of adrenaline I had, I scooped my chair out of my car and into my tiny little house, where it sits tonight in my living room...perfectly.
Some will say that this was utterly ridiculous...however, I find it to have been adventurous. Well...now I do. At the time it was an utter mess :)
Monday, February 2, 2009
Trafficologist....
I was on the treadmill early this morning when i happened to look up at the TV at the gym and noticed that the channel 4 news has an actual person reporting called "Trafficologist." I almost slid off the treadmill because I could not believe it.
What is this world coming to?
What is this world coming to?
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Superbowl recap...
As an NFL die hard fan, I'd have to say that tonight's performance by both teams was exceptional. I've been watching this sport for years now and usually by the time you get to the actual Superbowl game, you already have an idea of who will come out on top and you know it's probably going to be a blow out. This is exactly what I was thinking prior to the game. I could have honestly seen the Steelers take it by more than 20 points...however, the Cards put up a pretty good game. You look back and wonder, had they not had close to 100 yards in penalties, would they have taken it all? Possibly, but we'll never know and I guess you can't take anything away from the Steelers either because they played a great game, except for that bone head play by James Harrison in th end. He had a great 100 yd run, but that personal foul in the 4th could have ended it for Pittsburgh. Overall...it was a great game and it's sad to see football over for now...
Also, regarding the half time show by "the Boss," I was nostalgic and my eyes I think glistened a bit when the E Street band played Glory Days. Had they performed Dancing in the Dark, I think I would have lost it. I think it was funny early on in the performance when Bruce slid on his knees towards the camera man...I'm thinking he had to have gotten racked pretty hard I'd say.
It's Monday in 44 minutes...yuck!
Also, regarding the half time show by "the Boss," I was nostalgic and my eyes I think glistened a bit when the E Street band played Glory Days. Had they performed Dancing in the Dark, I think I would have lost it. I think it was funny early on in the performance when Bruce slid on his knees towards the camera man...I'm thinking he had to have gotten racked pretty hard I'd say.
It's Monday in 44 minutes...yuck!
Jason Mraz is underrated...
I just got done watching SNL, which I rarely do nowadays because the writing is so bad, but tonight I happened to be skimming through my channels when I noticed that Jason Mraz was about to perform. I've always had this sort of teenage crush on him from back in the day in 2003 when I was driving out to Washington DC and his song "The Remedy" was pretty popular and everytime I hear that song I always think about that particular road trip...anyways, tonight...seeing his live performance, I was once again convinced of why this tiny crush exists.
Not sure if anyone cares, but his new song..."I'm Yours," that single was released like 3 years ago, but it wasn't until a concert he did last year, in which he performed it, did it become so popular and he re-released it and I think it's actually topped much higher on the charts then any of his other popular songs. I always did like that song. Anyways...he performed tonight and it was a really great performance.
Superbowl is tomorrow (or today) and I am seriously considering not watching. Not sure why I'm not interested, as it is usually a big event for me. I have not missed watching a superbowl since I was like nine or something...Go Steelers?
Not sure if anyone cares, but his new song..."I'm Yours," that single was released like 3 years ago, but it wasn't until a concert he did last year, in which he performed it, did it become so popular and he re-released it and I think it's actually topped much higher on the charts then any of his other popular songs. I always did like that song. Anyways...he performed tonight and it was a really great performance.
Superbowl is tomorrow (or today) and I am seriously considering not watching. Not sure why I'm not interested, as it is usually a big event for me. I have not missed watching a superbowl since I was like nine or something...Go Steelers?
Friday, January 30, 2009
Public Trans + City of LA = So will never happen...
Something that just came to mind as I was parking my car in the driveway this evening...
When I was living in Washington, DC, one of my favorite things to do (and still is when I'm visiting) is riding on a bus or the metro . A car is absolutely unneccessary. Public trans is seriously the best way to travel in and around the city, plus it's cheap and convenient as hell and so easy!!
LA...on the other hand, is a completely different story. Public trans in Los Angeles is not practical and very inconvenient. Believe me...I've jumped on the blue line from Long Beach to downtown LA and it's taken me 2 hours....2HOURS!!! In my car....20 to 40 minutes depending on traffic...TOPS!
I have friends that are totally psyched about the gold line coming through east LA because they think that it will be something that they will use all the time and "oh so convenient..bar crawls here we come!"
That's bogus. Take me for instance...I live three blocks from work and I still drive most days. Yeah, yeah, i should be embarrassed to say that but it's more convenient and if you ask every other Angeleno they will tell you the exact same thing. We are madly in love with our cars!! We are conditioned to depend on them and there is just this strong connection for that four wheeled machine. That is our culture and it will never die. If you were to put a metro stop right up the street from your home, people will constantly come up with an excuse as to why they're better off driving then taking public trans. It is a proven fact...believe me. It's not to say that it's right...but it's done enough to prove me correctly.
I was thinking about this early this morning as I was trying to get to bed and I thought it was particularly funny. I was laughing to myself as I lay in bed. I don't know if it was the effects of the drugs I had just taken for my cold or what, but it was a hysterical laughter that I could not contain. As I was driving in to my house this evening and bypassing people at the corner waiting for the bus, I began to wonder about it once again, except this time...not so funny.
Cars mean freedom. I've always believed this personally and coming from a girl who started driving when she was 7 years old (rural New Mexico folks...there is nothing to do but drive around and cruise) I know this to be true. I always thought how cool it would be to just drive forever...travelling to all parts of the country. Now, mind you it's different here in LA, where you would think people would lessen their driving because of the traffic, but they don't. So I have absolutely no explanation except for that we just love our cars too much and that public trans, while convenient and cool to some in other parts of the country, will never become in vogue in LA. The idea of public trans here in LA has just taken to long to incorporate into the planning of the city and into the minds of those living in this city...we are too afraid to let go of the key in the ignition. Higher gas prices didn't really change that lifestyle in 2008...not sure exactly what will. When you find out the answer...let me know.
When I was living in Washington, DC, one of my favorite things to do (and still is when I'm visiting) is riding on a bus or the metro . A car is absolutely unneccessary. Public trans is seriously the best way to travel in and around the city, plus it's cheap and convenient as hell and so easy!!
LA...on the other hand, is a completely different story. Public trans in Los Angeles is not practical and very inconvenient. Believe me...I've jumped on the blue line from Long Beach to downtown LA and it's taken me 2 hours....2HOURS!!! In my car....20 to 40 minutes depending on traffic...TOPS!
I have friends that are totally psyched about the gold line coming through east LA because they think that it will be something that they will use all the time and "oh so convenient..bar crawls here we come!"
That's bogus. Take me for instance...I live three blocks from work and I still drive most days. Yeah, yeah, i should be embarrassed to say that but it's more convenient and if you ask every other Angeleno they will tell you the exact same thing. We are madly in love with our cars!! We are conditioned to depend on them and there is just this strong connection for that four wheeled machine. That is our culture and it will never die. If you were to put a metro stop right up the street from your home, people will constantly come up with an excuse as to why they're better off driving then taking public trans. It is a proven fact...believe me. It's not to say that it's right...but it's done enough to prove me correctly.
I was thinking about this early this morning as I was trying to get to bed and I thought it was particularly funny. I was laughing to myself as I lay in bed. I don't know if it was the effects of the drugs I had just taken for my cold or what, but it was a hysterical laughter that I could not contain. As I was driving in to my house this evening and bypassing people at the corner waiting for the bus, I began to wonder about it once again, except this time...not so funny.
Cars mean freedom. I've always believed this personally and coming from a girl who started driving when she was 7 years old (rural New Mexico folks...there is nothing to do but drive around and cruise) I know this to be true. I always thought how cool it would be to just drive forever...travelling to all parts of the country. Now, mind you it's different here in LA, where you would think people would lessen their driving because of the traffic, but they don't. So I have absolutely no explanation except for that we just love our cars too much and that public trans, while convenient and cool to some in other parts of the country, will never become in vogue in LA. The idea of public trans here in LA has just taken to long to incorporate into the planning of the city and into the minds of those living in this city...we are too afraid to let go of the key in the ignition. Higher gas prices didn't really change that lifestyle in 2008...not sure exactly what will. When you find out the answer...let me know.
Oh how I've missed you...
It was 7 years ago this month that I began my own personal blog. Back then it was just random jibberish I would type up during my uneventful days working at the New Mexico legislature. I would sit at my cubicle...looking at a long list of democratic bills needing to be analyzed and my mind would just go...blank. My mind wandering in every direction, I would always go back to my hotmail and stare at my empty inbox. "Where was everyone?" I would ask myself, not at all understanding that on a Wednesday afternoon, about 2pm...people worked. Somehow I had a hard time grappling with this and it was infuriating. Some would say that it was out of boredom, but it was mostly done out of spite. I began to write random emails about my daily life and I would email them to everyone that I knew. The thought of writing random paragraphs about my life in boring Santa Fe, New Mexico gave me such a high that when I would click send, it was absolutely exihilarting. Into the world wide web this email would go, being delivered to the inboxes of all my friends and family. Fewer than five found this to be funny and entertaining, while most blocked my address or asked me to remove them from my list. Others would respond with concerns of possible psychological imbalance on my end. However through that process, I did eventually gain a small audience of about 3, who even to this day continue to ask "when will you make your grand return?"
Well...
Tonight...maybe because I am miserable with a cold, with LA weather outside at 80 degrees, and an inability to sleep, I have decided to once again take a chance and put my brilliant thoughts and ideas on paper...er, blogspot. I do not like that it's 12:48am and I'm sitting here wide awake, nose dripping, head aching...while the rest of the world sleeps. It's time.
I'm not sure exactly what I will write about, but what I do know is even though they may be words of high intellect and of great importance... I hope to entertain people once again. Seven years ago, I always thought that my words of wisdom would eventually lead to major fame and fortune. Some will tell you that I have in fact reached a certain pinnacle of fame, yet fortune is something I continue to lack...but still thrive for. This continues to be true.
Maybe 2009 will be good to me...just maybe...
"How often will you write?" my followers will ask. Just look out for it, is my only reply. Words of wisdom and knowledge have a difficult time escaping from this thing we call a brain...
Well...
Tonight...maybe because I am miserable with a cold, with LA weather outside at 80 degrees, and an inability to sleep, I have decided to once again take a chance and put my brilliant thoughts and ideas on paper...er, blogspot. I do not like that it's 12:48am and I'm sitting here wide awake, nose dripping, head aching...while the rest of the world sleeps. It's time.
I'm not sure exactly what I will write about, but what I do know is even though they may be words of high intellect and of great importance... I hope to entertain people once again. Seven years ago, I always thought that my words of wisdom would eventually lead to major fame and fortune. Some will tell you that I have in fact reached a certain pinnacle of fame, yet fortune is something I continue to lack...but still thrive for. This continues to be true.
Maybe 2009 will be good to me...just maybe...
"How often will you write?" my followers will ask. Just look out for it, is my only reply. Words of wisdom and knowledge have a difficult time escaping from this thing we call a brain...
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