Tag Archives: obama

Tamales with a toddler, Yes We Can!

Posted on by

Yesterday I went to my parent’s house to make tamales with my mom. In the morning, I cooked the chicken, which makes chicken stock at the same time, de-boned the chicken, and then made the tamale filling with the shredded chicken. All the while I had a toddler who kept alternating between hanging onto my pant leg, going for the cat food on the floor, and demanding food from the confines of her booster seat. After I finished that task, I put the baby gate up at the front door and made trips from the kitchen to the car. I checked off that I also brought food, formula, diapers, booster seat, and baby gate up to grandma’s house to make tamales. Babies need a lot of shit!

I planned this whole thing relying on Sophia sleeping on the way up to grandma’s house. Though it would be a short nap, at least it would be a nap. My darling daughter stayed awake, quiet, but most assuredly awake through the whole trip until I was literally blocks from grandma’s house. Ok, fine. I’ll stealthily take her out of the car seat, tip-toe up to an empty room and quietly set her down. Nope, she’s awake. Shit.

Sophia stayed awake the WHOLE day. She pointed out exactly where grandma needs to baby proof her house about every five seconds, but she didn’t fuss. While I was assembling tamales, Sophia actually amused herself for half an hour with a small empty plain brown cardboard box. MYGOD she really is my child.

My mom and I experimented with substituting 2/3 of the Crisco we usually use with olive oil. I think it tastes a lot better and I know it’s a lot healthier. After we’ve used up all the Crisco we have left, we’ll probably switch to 100% olive oil.

My dad and I talked about the election. He couldn’t believe how fast it all went. He didn’t expect to know so quickly.

My parents live in a small city in a Hispanic neighborhood. They’re within a mile of a community college and blocks from an elementary school. My dad said after Obama was announced president elect that he stepped outside. The neighborhood was quiet, but in the surrounding area, he could hear shouts and cheers. It’s really amazing. I’ve always thought of picking a president as choosing between the lesser of two evils, not so this time. I really have high hopes for Obama. I know he’s inheriting a huge fuckin’ mess, so it’ll be slow going, but I really think he has our best interests in mind.

My mom commented about Rev. Jesse Jackson crying at Obama’s speech. I joked that of course he cried, he wanted that spot for himself. Jesse could never make it, not in 1984, 1988, not now, nor anytime in the future. His whole platform would be about a black man making it in a white world, which fractures the crowd. That only captures a small percentage of the population because it even alienates other minorities. Obama obviously brought us all together and has the attention of the world. His election is being compared to the fall of the Berlin wall and Neil Armstrong’s first step on the moon.

Obama victory sparks cheers around the globe
By JOHN LEICESTER
Associated Press Writer
People across Africa stayed up all night or woke before dawn to watch U.S. history being made, while the president of Kenya – where Obama’s father was born – declared a public holiday.

In Indonesia, where Obama lived as child, hundreds of students at his former elementary school erupted in cheers when he was declared winner and poured into the courtyard where they hugged each other, danced in the rain and chanted “Obama! Obama!”

Many expressed amazement and satisfaction that the United States could overcome centuries of racial strife and elect an African-American as president.

“This is the fall of the Berlin Wall times ten,” Rama Yade, France’s black junior minister for human rights, told French radio. “America is rebecoming a New World.

“On this morning, we all want to be American so we can take a bite of this dream unfolding before our eyes,” she said.

In Britain, The Sun newspaper borrowed from Neil Armstrong’s 1969 moon landing in describing Obama’s election as “one giant leap for mankind.”

November, 30 posts in 30 days nablopomo.com

Related posts:

Obama: Tax Happy Liberal Socialist Muslim Terrorist

Posted on by

When I hear Obama speak about his tax proposals it’s all pretty clear to me.

Under the Obama Plan:

  • Middle class families will see their taxes cut – and no family making less than $250,000 will see their taxes increase. The typical middle class family will receive well over $1,000 in tax relief under the Obama plan, and will pay tax rates that are 20% lower than they faced under President Reagan. According to the Tax Policy Center, the Obama plan provides three times as much tax relief for middle class families as the McCain plan.
  • Families making more than $250,000 will pay either the same or lower tax rates than they paid in the 1990s. Obama will ask the wealthiest 2% of families to give back a portion of the tax cuts they have received over the past eight years to ensure we are restoring fairness and returning to fiscal responsibility. But no family will pay higher tax rates than they would have paid in the 1990s. In fact, dividend rates would be 39 percent lower than what President Bush proposed in his 2001 tax cut.
  • Obama’s plan will cut taxes overall, reducing revenues to below the levels that prevailed under Ronald Reagan (less than 18.2 percent of GDP). The Obama tax plan is a net tax cut – his tax relief for middle class families is larger than the revenue raised by his tax changes for families over $250,000. Coupled with his commitment to cut unnecessary spending, Obama will pay for this tax relief while bringing down the budget deficit.

But for some reason McCain/Palin hear three different plans and say that Obama keeps changing his own definition of “middle class” family.

McCain Delivers Remarks in Miami, Fla.
CQ Transcripts Wire
Wednesday, October 29, 2008; 11:10 AM
Senator Obama has made a lot of promises. First he said people making less than 250,000 dollars would benefit from his plan, then this weekend he announced in an ad that if you’re a family making less than 200,000 dollars you’ll benefit — but this week, Senator Biden said tax relief should only go to “middle class people — people making under 150,000 dollars a year.” It’s interesting how their definition of rich has a way of creeping down. At this rate, it won’t be long before Senator Obama is right back to his vote that Americans making just 42,000 dollars a year should get a tax increase. We can’t let that happen.

Whatever dumbass. It’s called misspeaking. You know, like when your VP playmate running mate thought she was in the Northwest when she was actually in New Hampshire. The McCain tax policy would be difficult to make a numerical blunder on because he isn’t giving specific numbers. Hell, McCain doesn’t even know if the fundamentals of the economy are strong or in crisis.

FactChecking Debate No. 3
October 16, 2008
Updated: October 17, 2008

McCain was wrong to say Obama’s March 2008 vote for a budget resolution “increases” anything. Budget resolutions set targets for taxes and spending; actually raising or lowering them requires separate legislation.

The $42,000 figure also would only apply to single taxpayers, not to couples or families. As we’ve reported, a single taxpayer making more than $41,500 would have seen a tax increase, but a couple filing jointly would have seen no increase unless they made at least $83,000, and for a couple with two children the cut-off would have been $90,000. Regardless, the increase that Obama once supported as part of a Democratic budget bill is not part of his own current tax plan. And Obama was right when he said “even FOX News disputes” McCain’s $42,000 claim. Chris Wallace of Fox News agreed that it was misleading.

Fact check: Plumber Joe’s taxes
McCain has entrepreneurs spooked about tax hikes, but fewer than 2% of small business owners would pay more under Obama’s plan.
By Stacy Cowley
Last Updated: October 17, 2008: 2:59 PM ET

The bottom line: McCain’s claim only works by using an overly broad definition of what counts as a “small business” – and even with that definition, fewer than 2% of business owners would be hit by Obama’s proposed rate increase. For those who are affected, the increase would be levied only on a part of their earnings, not all of them.

Obama the liberal: Let’s look in our dictionaries for a moment.

lib•er•al – Show Spelled Pronunciation[lib-er-uh l, lib-ruh l]

–adjective

  • favorable to progress or reform, as in political or religious affairs.
  • (often initial capital letter ) noting or pertaining to a political party advocating measures of progressive political reform.
  • of, pertaining to, based on, or advocating liberalism.
  • favorable to or in accord with concepts of maximum individual freedom possible, esp. as guaranteed by law and secured by governmental protection of civil liberties.
  • favoring or permitting freedom of action, esp. with respect to matters of personal belief or expression: a liberal policy toward dissident artists and writers.
  • of or pertaining to representational forms of government rather than aristocracies and monarchies.
  • free from prejudice or bigotry; tolerant: a liberal attitude toward foreigners.
  • open-minded or tolerant, esp. free of or not bound by traditional or conventional ideas, values, etc.
  • characterized by generosity and willingness to give in large amounts: a liberal donor.
  • given freely or abundantly; generous: a liberal donation.
  • not strict or rigorous; free; not literal: a liberal interpretation of a rule.
  • of, pertaining to, or based on the liberal arts.
  • of, pertaining to, or befitting a freeman.

–noun

  • a person of liberal principles or views, esp. in politics or religion.
  • (often initial capital letter ) a member of a liberal party in politics, esp. of the Liberal party in Great Britain.

Frankly I don’t see how calling Obama a liberal is supposed to be a slam, so let’s move on to Socialist. We seem to hear this mostly when referring to his health plan, which isn’t socialist. He is opening the plan offered to Senators to everyone so that it reduces the cost as an individual. If you’re already insured by your employer and like what they offer then you can keep it. I for one wouldn’t mind if our health care system went through such on overhaul that it was completely socialized. So many think that it can’t work or that the government is so fucked up that it couldn’t possibly duplicate the health systems that EVERY OTHER INDUSTRIALIZED NATION HAVE EXCEPT THE US! Supposedly, we are the “greatest nation” yet we don’t even provide health care to our own people. I say we take a step back and look at some of our other socialized systems. If something happens to you, do you feel safe calling the police and believe that they will most likely help? You can gripe all you want about speeding tickets or certain unsolved crimes, but for the most part they do their best to make sure they catch the right person, don’t they? Firemen do a great job as well; we have public libraries and public education. If you’re not happy with public education, you can still send your child to private school and that can work for health care as well. There is no such thing as the perfect system that will please everyone all the time, but as someone without any health care at all I view some care as better than none.

Obama the Muslim: I’ll just quote Colin Powel on this one.

CQ Transcript: Colin Powell on NBC’s “Meet the Press”
Oct. 19, 2008 – 2:35 p.m.

I’m also troubled by, not what Senator McCain says, but what members of the party say. And it is permitted to be said such things as, “Well, you know that Mr. Obama is a Muslim.”

Well, the correct answer is, he is not a Muslim; he’s a Christian. He’s always been a Christian.
But the really right answer is, what if he is? Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country? The answer’s no, that’s not America.

Is there something wrong with some seven-year-old Muslim-American kid believing that he or she could be president?

Obama the terrifying terrorist who palls around with radical old hippies:

Republicans play up anti-Obama terrorist charge
Sympathizer Claim; ‘Dangerous’ and desperate strategy, Democrats say
Sheldon Alberts, Canwest News Service Published: Thursday, October 09, 2008

The two men sat on the boards of two Chicago community organizations and live in the same Hyde Park neighbourhood. Mr. Ayers hosted a political event for Mr. Obama when he first ran for the Illinois senate in 1995.

Mr. Obama has repeatedly denounced Mr. Ayers’ activities in the 1960s as “detestable,” says he has had no contact with him since 2005 and accuses the McCain campaign of practising “guilt by association.”

The Obama-Ayers relationship has been the centrepiece of a broader effort by McCain aides to portray the Democratic candidate as too “risky” to be elected president, with Ms. Palin leading the attacks.

They sat on two community boards together and live in the same neighborhood, my god he really is palling around with dirty hippie vegan commie-pinkos. *eye roll*

Obama and ’60s Bomber: A Look Into Crossed Paths
By SCOTT SHANE
October 4, 2008

But the two men do not appear to have been close. Nor has Mr. Obama ever expressed sympathy for the radical views and actions of Mr. Ayers, whom he has called “somebody who engaged in detestable acts 40 years ago, when I was 8.”

“If Barack Obama says he’s willing to talk to foreign leaders without preconditions,” Mr. Hayden said, “I can imagine he’d be willing to talk to Bill Ayers about schools. But I think that’s about as far as their relationship goes.”

Over Two Dozen Lies Refuted About Ayers And Obama
John K. Wilson
Posted October 6, 2008 | 08:04 AM (EST)

LIE: “They live half a mile from William Ayers, the unrepentant terrorist” and “Just a half a mile from those homes is Louis Farrakhan.”(Hannity’s America, October 5, 2008, “Obama and His Friends: History of Radicalism”)
TRUTH: It’s true, of course, that Obama lives in this same neighborhood, as do tens of thousands of other people who presumably are also guilty by geographical association. The logic of this argument would be, if you live half a mile from a sex offender, then you agree with child molesters.

LIE: Obama and Ayers “appeared together at various public engagements…it would seem that they are more than just a little bit friendly.”(Sean Hannity, Hannity’s America, October 5, 2008, “Obama and His Friends: History of Radicalism”)
TRUTH: Appearing on a speaking panel is not a sign of friendship. There is no evidence that Obama had any role in ever inviting Ayers to speak.

“Go vote now. It will make you feel big and strong.” – Bob Schieffer’s Mother

November, 30 posts in 30 days nablopomo.com

Related posts:

I have a Vagina, Vote for me!

Posted on by

Democrats are focusing too much on Palin’s “lack of experience”. She may be from banjo-playing saw-toothed red-neck-central “small town America” and it may take some adjusting to with the big city D.C. folks but I have a feeling she’ll fit right in. Hell, just look at how well our current “C” average high school student did. Prior to being governor of Texas, Dubya’s only experience was running oil companies into the ground digging around for oil where no one else would risk drilling. Bless our look-the-other-way souls, we gave little Napoleon another chance. In fact, at least 50% of Americans enjoyed his smug smirks and simultaneously ignorant and arrogant sound bites. Palin closely follows Dubya’s footsteps by surrounding herself with people like her that “would not allow others to disagree with her”, protecting her from “haters”. She is also as absent from the state capital as Dubya is from the national one. You see, she’s totally ready to be a heartbeat away from the highest office in the country.

Like many people, I don’t fit neatly into the republican or democrat mold. I do agree with a lot more of what the democrats say they stand for and would like the things they promise (health care). During the primaries, I was hoping that McCain would be the selected republican. I figured if we have to have another one of *them* in office he seemed the least offensive. I guess I don’t pay close enough attention to the enemy. After he won, the media meat market frenzy began with his selection for running mate. I was appalled when I read the news. I thought for sure that he picked Sarah Palin solely to pick up the shattered dreams of the rejected Mickey Mouse Hillary Clinton club. I wasn’t a fan of Clinton but I was offended at the thought that McCain might actually believe women would vote for anything with a vagina.

Palin will ‘help me shake up Washington,’ McCain says
Published: Friday, August 29, 2008

Palin made an immediate play for support from Democratic women, mentioning that she followed in the footsteps of Geraldine Ferraro, who was the Democratic vice presidential running mate in 1984.

There are so many similarities between Palin and Ferraro. It’s so obvious, how could anyone miss them? Geraldine Ferraro grew up in New York and her father died when she was eight, forcing her mother to move them to the Bronx. Palin grew up in a small town. As an attorney, Ferraro headed a bureau that dealt with sex crimes, domestic violence and child abuse. Months after becoming became mayor of Wasilla the former Miss Wasilla beauty queen fired the police chief, Irl Stambaugh because he ‘intimidated her‘ and hired Charlie Fannon. Wasilla then became the only town in Alaska that charged rape victims for tests to collect evidence of the crime in order to avoid causing any burden to the taxpayer. In congress, Ferraro focused on legislation to bring equity for women. Palin’s reputation was built by standing up to oil companies by imposing higher taxes, though she’s in favor of opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas development and she initiated a lawsuit over the federal listing of Polar bears as a threatened species for fear it would affect proposed natural gas pipeline. She also allowed Chevron to increase the amount of toxic waste it pours into the waters of Cook Inlet even though the number of beluga whales in the area has dropped significantly. She is also accused of abusing her power for firing Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan possibly because he didn’t fire her ex-brother in-law after a messy divorce from Palin’s sister. Ferraro was the running mate for the Democratic Party and Palin for the Republican Party; yes, the similarities just don’t seem to end.

She also referred favorably to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, who drew 18 million votes in her unsuccessful run against Obama for the Democratic nomination.

Cause she has a vagina too! *eye roll* Like I said, I wasn’t a fan of Hillary. I can understand people choosing Hillary based on her platform, but some of the women blogs I read after she lost to Obama were freakishly insane. I read one that was upset because blacks received the right to vote before woman did. Seriously, this race isn’t about abortion rights or the Iraq war, but which minority group archives presidency first? Are you fucking kidding me?!? People complain that everything on TV is so superficial and revolves around sex but then they reduce political candidates to skin color and genitals instead of their accomplishments and political position. Yesterday it showed up in my local newspaper. An article that made me furious. They do exist. Those people that vote for genitals.

Love her or loathe her, Americans can’t stop chattering about Sarah Palin
By Jocelyn Noveck, Associated Press

But Kidd’s mother, a former Hillary Rodham Clinton supporter, likes Palin — partially, her daughter said, because of her personal qualities and also, she said, because she’s a woman.

And that’s an issue that Kidd, like many women, is struggling with: Wouldn’t it be thrilling to see a woman VP, no matter what her policies?

I’ll make this simple so you understand – OH HELL NO! MYGOD, how can anyone who was ready to vote for Hillary go to the republican side so easily? Unless of course she was only going to vote for Hillary because of rumors, that she has a vagina. And what exactly would make it so fucking thrilling? Watching her turn back time with Roe vs. Wade because she’s against abortion even in cases of rape and incest? Headlines of her church putting gays back in the closet by trying to convert homosexuals through prayer? What the Fuck decade does she live in?

Wagner decided long ago that she was voting for Obama. But her friend Katy Huggins isn’t so sure anymore. Huggins, also a mother of four, admires Obama, and though she’s a registered Republican, she had been planning to vote for the Democrat.

Then she watched Palin’s convention speech.

“I was like, wow, I want YOU to be president!” said Huggins, who adds that she isn’t much of a McCain fan. “I could completely relate to her on a lot of levels, especially as a mom. That’s what my world is about now.”

LEAPING LIZARDS Batman! Seriously, you’re picking her because she’s a mom? Lady, there aren’t words to describe the simplicity of your brain functions. Oh look, shiny object! Really, I’m floored at the stupidity. I vote that in order to vote you must be able to correctly answer a few questions about the person or topic in which you’re voting. Maybe then I won’t mind the individual votes of small states counting for more than the more populated states, maybe.

There was a rally against Palin in Anchorage on Saturday. This gives me some hope. Unfortunately, no one gave a specific number of protesters. The Seattle Times says there were “at least 500 protesters” and that, “The protest, outside a public library, came hours after the governor held a morning rally attended by as many as 1,500 supporters in downtown Anchorage, then flew to Nevada to resume campaigning.” USA Today didn’t list any specific number of protesters, but did mention what some of the signs/protesters said.

Some of the signs spoke out against Palin’s anti-abortion position. Laura Kimmel, a 40-year-old Anchorage woman expecting her second baby in April, wore a clothes hanger with a sign attached that said, “This is not a surgical instrument. Keep abortions safe and legal.”

Whoa, now that’s a statement! I’d love to meet that woman! ;-)

The Washington post also covered the protest. They also didn’t give a specific number of protesters but did say that it was, “in the high hundreds — perhaps surging past a thousand”

Related posts:

Finally a democratic politician with balls!

Posted on by

Finally someone brave enough to point out that Christians can’t agree amongst themselves about various points of their religion.

Dobson accuses Obama of ‘distorting’ Bible
By ERIC GORSKI, AP Religion Writer

“Even if we did have only Christians in our midst, if we expelled every non-Christian from the United States of America, whose Christianity would we teach in the schools?” Obama said. “Would we go with James Dobson’s or Al Sharpton’s?” referring to the civil rights leader.

I think I’ve heard Obama’s original speech that this was pulled from, and I don’t think that he cited examples of Christians that wanted other forms of Christianity removed from schools because their children were being pressured to convert. If he didn’t, I really think he should have. Because many scream out “oh! oh! evil atheist!” when separation of church and state comes up, I think it’s important to understand that keeping religion out of public school is not just a benefit to non-religious people. In a rant I wrote about a chain letter, I cited two examples of Christians who wanted other Christians to back the hell off.

Dobson took aim at examples Obama cited in asking which Biblical passages should guide public policy — chapters like Leviticus, which Obama said suggests slavery is OK and eating shellfish is an abomination, or Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, “a passage that is so radical that it’s doubtful that our own Defense Department would survive its application.”

Woo!

“Folks haven’t been reading their Bibles,” Obama said.

Woo Woo! You tell ‘em Obama! ;-)

Dobson and Minnery accused Obama of wrongly equating Old Testament texts and dietary codes that no longer apply to Jesus’ teachings in the New Testament.

What, you’re throwing out the old Testament? Does that mean the Ten Commandments are no longer followed either? Ok, fine. Let’s stick with the New Testament.

1 Timothy 2:9 and 1 Peter 3:3 both say women may not braid their hair, wear gold, pearls, or expensive clothing.

1 Timothy 4:1-3 Says vegetarians are heeding the devil by not eating meat.

Luke 14:26 – If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.

Matthew 15:4 – God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death.

“I think he’s deliberately distorting the traditional understanding of the Bible to fit his own worldview, his own confused theology,” Dobson said.

If there was just one traditional understanding of the Bible there wouldn’t be so many denominations within Christianity.

“… He is dragging biblical understanding through the gutter.”

It could use a good analytical review.

Dobson reserved some of his harshest criticism for Obama’s argument that the religiously motivated must frame debates over issues like abortion not just in their own religion’s terms but in arguments accessible to all people.

He said Obama, who supports abortion rights, is trying to govern by the “lowest common denominator of morality,” labeling it “a fruitcake interpretation of the Constitution.”

No, dumbshit. He’s saying that in order for something to be Constitutional, a law or public act must have a secular purpose, have a primary effect that neither advances nor inhibits religion, and not result in excessive governmental entanglement with religion. It’s called the Lemon test. And if fruitcakes can interpret the Constitution then I need to move them WAY up on the evolutionary chart from your knuckle-dragging self.

“Am I required in a democracy to conform my efforts in the political arena to his bloody notion of what is right with regard to the lives of tiny babies?” Dobson said. “What he’s trying to say here is unless everybody agrees, we have no right to fight for what we believe.”

That’s right, appeal to the emotion. Oh, but I must protect the tiny babies. It’s my job to protect the unborn. No, it’s a politician’s job to serve the living people. People should be able to do as they wish with their own body. If you don’t believe in abortion – don’t have one!

Related posts: