JustLisa

I have always tried to keep politics off of here but I've added a new category and I am going to start discussing the things that matter to me. As I get older, I find myself more in touch with the goings on around the world. Things such as Newt Gingrich shooting off his mouth about our country being bilingual.

"The American people believe English should be the official language of the government. ... We should replace bilingual education with immersion in English so people learn the common language of the country and they learn the language of prosperity, not the language of living in a ghetto," Gingrich said to cheers from the crowd of more than 100.

Ghetto talk??? Ohhhhh what an asshole. I know a lot of immigrants through my job. My coworker is Chinese. She's not from a ghetto and she learned our language as quickly as she could. I've worked with Russians, Swedes, Pakistanis, Indians, etc. and none of them are from a ghetto. They are well educated, hard working people who come here, learn our language as soon as they can, and the thing that idiot overlooks... they contribute greatly to our economy.

If immigrants come here to contribute to our society, they shouldn't be allowed to transition into learning our language? I wish someone would throw that pompous ass on a plane and drop him where they speak only Urdu.

I think of when Eva went to Brazil not knowing the language and how she cried a lot her first weeks as she learned it. I know I was beyond frustrated when I would call her and her host family would answer the phone. They even pronounced her name differently with a very strong accent so every conversation went off the rails quickly. If they didn't put her right on the phone, I knew she wasn't home but I had no idea what they did say. That got kind of scary a few times when she hadn't been in touch with anyone for several days.

In closing, while reading a little about english as a second language, I found this site which would be quite helpful to those learning our language.

Last night Eva and I attended a small group discussion with two of Obama's campaign people. They were basically collecting concerns to pass back up the chain. All in all it was a good conversation and hopefully got Eva thinking a bit about how young people need to part of the change.

I had a hard time finding anyone who understands why I am excited about Obama. I called one friend with the complete intent of getting him wound up because he's just plain funny and witty in his arguments and mud slinging. However a couple of others surprised me with their reaction. One asked why I was spending time learning about a towel head. That's just sad. Political discussion brings out the ignorance in people who rabidly protect their party even if they sound like retards.

Friday night I had the pleasure of actually meeting Barack Obama. Not just shaking his hand in a crowd but actually meeting him for a quick discussion with other Decatur County Democrats. Beforehand he gave a really great speech about where he'd like to see us (as Americans) in the future. Say what you will about the man but he is very intelligent and very well spoken.

I came home very energized and feeling good and immediately ran into the brick wall of naysayers. I don't understand what people don't like about him. When I ask for legitimate concerns I don't hear any valid responses. Some say they just don't like him. Other say he is full of crap. Some say he's scary.

I've talked to his people, read the campaign materials, watched the youtube debates and now have spent time with him in person. Everything he says makes perfect sense. How can you rally against a peaceful end to the Iraqi war? Against environmental protection? Against equal opportunity? Against health care for all? One thing he said really struck a chord with me and that was we may very well be the generation that passes on an America that is a little poorer and a little meaner than it was when we got it. Is that what we want for our children?

Maybe he is not the man to do it but someone has to start repairing my country and I'll do what I can in my small corner of the world. I am open to all reasonable debate from all sides but there are some things I will not sway on:

1. I love my gay friends and they deserve the same rights afforded to me
2. The war in Iraq was ill advised and is draining money and lives.
3. We have been destroying the planet for decades and need to take steps to protect it.
4. The rich are too rich and the poor are too poor.

Another thing I have to get off my chest: why do people feel like they can only listen to one party? To me that is ignorant. I lean Democrat (strongly!!) but that doesn't mean I think all Republicans are too stupid to hear out. It's like football. People tell me I can only pick one team. Why?? Why can't I pick one in each division and increase my odds of a happy ending each week? Same with NASCAR. Only pick one driver? That's crazy! I have a Chevy guy, a few Ford guys and even a Toyota driver I like. I am rarely disappointed on Sunday. So yeah, I'm entertaining Republicans as well. Obama is 95% sealed in my mind. I seriously invite you to try and change my mind through reasonable, polite debate. If you say one thing about his name, I won't hear another word. No cheap shots. Use your head and let's be part of the solution in '08. Comments or email me at obama4me08@gmail.com. I will also try to answer any questions you may have about him or his policy. If I don't know the answer, I can find it out.

That's my new motto. I attended an organizational meeting on Tuesday night and I tell ya', the more I hear, the more excited I get about the possibility of having a strong leader again. I've said it before, it does not matter if you love him or hate him, he makes you think... if you listen. The problem I continue to see amongst Republicans is that they refuse to listen. I have deliberately sought out a Republican to support and in doing so have listened to parts of their speeches and read their opinions. There's nothing scary about using your head and imagining the possibilities. At each meeting the subject of Obama being a hope monger comes up. There is nothing wrong with hope. If you listen to him, it will not hurt. I promise.

The new ad running in Iowa is about hope and faith. I challenge you to watch it. When I ask my friends to come to the meetings I say "We won't make you drink the Kool-aid." Same applies here. I'm not asking you to buy what I am selling. I just want you to hear the message. We are the United States of America and we've been separated too damn long. We need healing and I happen to think Senator Obama can lead us to that end.

As for his wife, she recently explained that she really doesn't have time to put on a lot of makeup and oh, how I can relate to that! Most working moms don't make that a priority and I admire Michelle for continuing to keep her priorities in the right order. It would be so refreshing to have such down to earth people in the White House.

If you live in Iowa and haven't signed a support card yet and wish to, you can do so here. If you are in Decatur County or any county near me, please sign up so we can show that there is a lot of support for the Senator in southern Iowa. As always, if you have any questions please feel free to ask me. I plan to share a lot more about him and his policies here in the future and I really do welcome all reasonable debate.

Today I participated in a phone conference with Senator Obama and wanted to share some of the things from the notes I took. The more I learn about him, the more I learn about the state of nation in general. These are the things that stood out for me:

To heal race and class divisions, he believes we need to work at the root of where these problems manifest by providing equal education, health care and job opportunities to all.

For health care, he'd like regulations in the insurance industry so that all insurance covers essential services and management for chronic diseases such as diabetes. There was a woman in the call who has been on an insulin pump for 20 years with her work insurance paying the bill. In a year she will be 65 and retire. Medicare will not pay for the pump so she'll have to go back on multiple injections of insulin after 20 years of having the luxury of a pump.

On the topic of ethanol, the Senator would like to see more money go into research for improving extraction of the ethanol to get more out of the corn. He'd also like to use the celluose from corn stalks and switch grass to make fuel so that we make good use of all our agricultural products and by-products, not just corn.

There was also a woman on the call who is on the ADAP waiting list for AIDS drugs. Her husband died of AIDS two months before their child was born. She said she was #208 on the list meaning that 207 people have to die before she can get her meds. That is just wrong. He would like for us to put quality controls in place so that we can import more medicine from other countries to alleviate our high costs and shortages.

I know some people will say that it's just more political rhetoric by yet another candidate wanting a vote but I am sticking by what I have said before. I've met him and he's genuine. I could feel it and if I'm good at anything, it's reading people.

Some additional reading on where he stands on other issues. You can look up other politicians on that site as well.

As I become more politically involved, things heat up on the homefront. Todd, God and Glock love him, is a one issue voter (guns) with a definite Republican leaning. Any political conversation in this house takes a bad turn within ten seconds so I found a new place for political debate. It's a bulletin board where you can easily find your issue(s) and read what others think and then get in there and debate without fear of marital strife. As with any forum of this type, you have to skip over the idiots who abuse civil discussion.

Every year Tom Harkin hosts a fall fundraiser steak fry and I had intended to go this year. Of course Obama was there as well as Clinton, Biden, Dodd, Edwards and Richardson. There was to be a HUGE Obama rally beforehand and I was incredibly excited. Then came the problems. First, this cold or whatever that will not go away. My nose looked redder than Rudolph's and my energy level is non-existent. Second, Todd won't admit to being a Republican but he sure is anti-Democrat. He wouldn't go with me. I couldn't find anyone else to go so when I found out it was to be webcast, I decided to stay home and watch it online. Then more problems. The webcast had technical difficulties and was a no-go. I heard from a friend that the day went very well. Over 3,000 Obama supporters showed up and the campaign gave out free t-shirts and other goodies. Now I am just waiting for the speeches to hit YouTube.

Bush wants another $42 billion for the wars. That's a whole lotta zeroes. 42,000,000,000,000. See? A lot! I just want one zero. $420 would get me to Indiana and back this weekend. That's where I want to be but probably won't make it because there are never enough zeroes coming in here to pay the bills.

Sometime I am going to read more about creating a war economy. Maybe I can create that in my home and cause some sort of panic situation in which money is thrown at me.

I'm a little late with this because work has been crazy busy. Eva and I are precinct captains for Barack Obama so last Saturday we were invited to the Jefferson Jackson dinner and pre-rally in Des Moines.

The day started with a precinct captain meeting with Michelle Obama. I was so impressed by her. What a lady! She is strong and confident without being overpowering and she can stand BY her man instead of behind or in front of him. She started out with his rally cry "Fired up! Ready to go!" then she said that was his line. Hers is "Are YOU ready?" She spoke of the change that would come with an Obama White House and how scary that change would be, how it would take courage and strength to get out of the familiar rut. I believe a lot of people are too afraid of change but we sure need to buck up and bring it. One of the best things she said was something like "I'm worried for this country. I am not worried for the Obamas. We will be okay." Now I know my Republican friends are thinking that's just political talk but if you ever stand in a room with either Barack or Michelle, you can tell it's not just talk. They are both really concerned. Concerned enough to give up their already great lifestyle to try and change our country for the better.

After Michelle, there was a rally with Barack and Michelle. John Legend played. We were less than four feet from him during his performance and he even shook Eva's hand. When Michelle introduced her husband, it was so genuine. You can tell they really love each other and have a deep, deep respect for one another. They are not just a political couple which makes them extraordinary in the world of wives who can forgive blowjobs. Now, don't get me wrong... I love Bill Clinton. Absolutely adore the man and his viewpoints but I'd have kicked his ass to the curb so fast. I really cannot respect Hillary based on her handling of that whole situation. Anyway...

After the rally we marched with Barack and Michelle from the conference to the auditorium where the dinner was held. It's always a site worth seeing when the noisy Obama supporters get organized into a group and march for their man. Once again the Obama people really outweighed the others. We are a joyful and friendly bunch. Eva and I talked to many people that day and everyone is really "Fired Up!"

His speech was great as always despite it being past 11PM when his turn rolled around. His message is consistent and strong. I am ashamed that my political interest comes so late in life but I am so proud that my first campaign involvement is for an honorable and decent man.

I wish I could tell you I was at the caucus last night, wearing my Obama t-shirt and my "I'm an Obama Precinct Captain" badge. It was the night I've been working so hard towards and I was so excited by the momentum going into it.

The truth is that I was home on the couch, loaded up on Vicodin and lying perfectly still. The cold I wrote about earlier turned into bronchitis which left me physically spent and short of breath. I got up in the night two nights ago, felt the ground falling away from me and was able to grab the dishwasher and go down gracefully. Sat on the floor for a bit then went into the bathroom where it happened again with no warning. Fell backwards into the shower doors and apparently slid down them into the little metal trash can that sits in the corner. I could hear the noise of things falling and smashing but I couldn't see or react. Came to in a heap with the trash can under me and the cat standing on me. I had no voice so no one could hear me call for help. I crawled back to bed and told Todd later that I had fallen.

The next morning I had some scrapes and bruise and it hurt like hell to breathe. It got worse as the morning went on so I went back to the doctor for xrays. I broke my rib in three places on the trash can. The doc said it was not a good thing as I was having trouble breathing already which was a pneumonia risk and with the broken rib, it would be instinctive to not take deep breaths at all. She said nothing could be done about the ribs other than more pain meds and that it was of absolute importance that I force myself to breathe deep. Oh yay!

So I missed my big night but my man Obama did great and I'm happy to have been a part of it. I'm bummed that I missed the big show but we deal with what life gives us and I'm just concerning myself with breathing right now. Thanks to everyone who supported Barack last night. A big thanks to the youth in Iowa for getting off your butts and being part of the process. Youths came out in record numbers and that is a really great thing! Thanks to all my friends for encouraging me through my first attempt at being politcal and a huge thanks to my Republican friends for swallowing your own B.S. (for the most part)

This post brought to you by the letter V (vicodin. lots of it.)

I have been too busy to post here much anymore, especially about Obama and politics. I get several emails asking how I feel about the momentum Barack has going right now. Last night I answered a good friend and found myself getting carried away and doing a massive brain dump. I am going to share it here since it pretty much sums up the raw emotion of where I'm at on the political scale right now.

Yes, he is doing awesome and I couldn't be happier. To me, I have always thought of our President as a figure head who is more a representative/messenger than anything. Like they have the ultimate power but their ear is bent all day by advisors and so on. They have
to have the ability to filter all of that through a good moral filter, which he has, and then, most importantly, they have to articulately convey the decision, policy, or whatever to our citizens and the rest of the world. Have you heard the man speak?? Holy cow. He could
sell ice to eskimos, more snow to me, humidity to you... he is very gifted in that area. (My friend replied he doubted Obama could sell me snow. Snow shovel, maybe.)

Hillary makes me sick. I used to like her and always thought I would support her but she flops and panders to whatever crowd she's trying to win over. Obama is consistent time and time again. My friend Suzette has a funny thing on her site about Hill and the many
styles... You
will laugh.

May make it back here later to fix links and whatnot but more than likely I will not. Everything is rush rush rush nowadays.

(came back and fixed links just for Faith)

Quick catch up post. A week after I got the new car, I went to Texas to visit Eva. I was instructed that she could not hug while in her uniform on base but the minute we saw each other, that rule went out the window. Lots of happy tears. It was so great to see her. She has an awesome man in her life who loves her the way she deserves. I love being on an Air Force base. Not a more bunch of people to be found that I know of. I left Texas feeling like the world might not be such a bad place after all.

Barack Obama continues his march to the top without stooping low and that also gives me hope. I think big changes are coming and they will be good. Change is very scary but taking a leap of faith and having it work out is worth it.

Mother's Day weekend I took my mom on her first Amtrak trip. It was a very short one as I wasn't sure she'd like it. She loved it so more train travel is in the future. Next month she is having knee surgery and we all hope it will restore her ability to get around like she used to. The train ride was nice but the getting off the train and walking up the platform to the depot was about too much for her and she's spent several days trying to get her feet under her again.

When the train stopped, the step down was enormous and the asphalt rounded off towards the tracks. No train employees came to help us disembark so I jumped down and had another person hand me the stool they use. That alleviated some of the giant step down but there was still a large gap across. Mom is afraid to trust her legs to hold her so she was getting the courage to take the step when this huge man came down behind her and wanted off to smoke. He had a bad knee too and was being so pushy. She told him if he'd just bear with her, she'd get her courage and make the step. The asshole started yelling at me to push the stool closer to the train. I kept telling him that I could not because of the way the asphalt sloped to the track. If I pushed it closer, it would slide down under the train. Another gentleman who had gotten off another car to smoke came down and helped me get mom off so I started to walk off with her and huge obnoxious guy said "HEY!! I need help getting off here too!!!" I almost whirled around and said "Fall off, you ....." but I bit my tongue and went back to help him. He grabbed my shoulder and my upper arm and used me like a rail to swing himself down and out. Didn't even say thank you! The next day my shoulder and elbow hurt and I wished I'd gone ahead and said "Fall off, you...."

Christopher had his first encounter with a rude person at work the other night. They had lots of ice cream orders to do and she gave hers. He told her it would be a few minutes and she said "Oh no, I think you will do mine now." He told her he couldn't and if she'd have a seat, he'd bring it to her. She repeated that he would do hers that instant. This would be where I lost my cool. Fortunately the kid has his dad's sense of grin big and bear it. They literally have the exact same gritted teeth grin when they are holding it together. Anyway, she kept arguing and he told her it had to go in the order received to be fair to all customers. She said to just tear up her order then. Some people... Really, what kind of person goes into a business and demands service ahead of others?? Someone who does NOT want to meet me, I can tell ya that.

Summer is here! Actually wore shorts yesterday and have mowed the yard four times now. Y'all know I love snow but after last winter, the sunshine and heat are most welcome.

So my hours of work as a precinct captain and my donations and my phone calls and so on (as well as the work of thousands of others like me) have paid off and we are now on the path of change. For two years I've expected this to happen and I had hoped to celebrate with friends and cry joyous tears. None of that happened as Texas is still red as red can be and it still stands true that Republicans are people and people can be cruel. I did cry last night but not happy tears. Anyway, I am excited about the direction our country will go now and I hope that by January, this hate and venom will die off and we will begin to work together to rebuild our great country. This comment from a CNN article sums it up better than I can.

I want to point out one thing:

We have issues in this country, and this is the time to focus on them. Barack Obama is not a Muslim (though it wouldn't matter is he was), he is not a terrorist, he is not a communist. I like him because he transcends the Cold War- he's said the things that nobody else has had the courage to say because we like to break things into "Communist" and "Democratic"- a totally false and outdated distinction. Obama believes that government should find where it can do the most good to help its citizens and the world, do what it can there, and back off where it's less effective. In that sense he's very pragmatic- and pragmatism is what we need. We need a realistic solution to Iraq, a realistic solution to the energy crisis, a realistic solution to health care and global warming and a realistic way to improve education across the board. We need to work together to do it. So please, everybody, the Republicans are not Nazis and the Democrats are not communists- it's incredibly obvious if you just take 3 minutes to use your brain instead of just making up hateful things about people who aren't just like you.

Thank you sooo much to my Republican friends who took the high road and called or emailed or texted to offer your congratulations last night. I love you. You give me faith that we can get on the same page or at least in the same chapter of the book and write a nice ending to the story of our generation.

As was the case on election night, I allowed someone to get under my skin and take the happiness out of the occasion. I walked away in anger and missed the swearing in and the speech. Sometimes I need to just chill out. Anyway, I read the speech online several times and this is my favorite part:

What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them -- that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply. The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works -- whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. And those of us who manage the public's dollars will be held to account -- to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day -- because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.

Was cool to come to work today and see the big sign on base with the words "Congratulations President Obama". I'm very proud to have done my small part to help him win Iowa and get the ball rolling towards this new day.