I am Up I am Down

What a week this has been and it is only Wednesday!! I am a happy girl because President Obama lifted the Universal Gag Rule, Congress passed the Lilly Ledbetter Act and it should be signed soon! On the down side, a man killed his wife and 5 daughters in LA this week because of his job situation. I found out that my contract is on hold because there is no funding to pay me at this moment! I have always sat on the sideline and looked at everyone else and felt sorrow and sympathy for their situation - always thinking, maybe there must have been something wrong with them to get laid off. And now here I am and I know that there is nothing wrong with me - well nothing that a little humble pie won't cure. The walk in my shoes thing is true!! The economic news is not good - Boeing laying off 10,000, Home Depot thousands and even Starbucks, meanwhile the financial industry is still leeching taxpayer money. It makes me really angry that we the people have paid our taxes to support, well okay let me just say crooks (no offense leeches!), and there are people suffering all around. And the economic news is getting grimmer and grimmer. But the people who need to experience suffering still have their homes, salaries, health care!! Something has to be done - now and what can we do? Suck it up I guess. Meanwhile anyone got a job for an unemployed consultant!!

I am a political junkie and other outrages

So I am hands down, unapologetically a political junkie! I have been so since before I was born. Both my parents were politically active and I can't tell you the number of times I was kissed as baby by Texas politicians. (I wonder if that tainted me somehow!) When I was still a child I had the greatest honor of having lunch with Barbara Jordan. I wanted to be her page. She was not in the market for a page at that time! She was amazing and inspiring and my time with her coupled with my parents political activities addicted me to politics. I should also say that I do not have any delusions of grandeur for higher office - I do only so that I may do the work that makes a difference. I am an excellent and proud grunt! So I was happy and disappointed about the 2008 elections. I am glad that Barack Obama was elected but sad that Hillary was not elected. I am nothing if not a pragmatist, and a Democratic win was better than a Republican win. (Can we possibly ever be more grateful to Sarah Palin for helping push the win to Obama!) I have high hopes for our new President as many also do and I hope that he can accomplish great things - we need them here and now. Now that the election is over and the Republicans felt the public's wrath (why is Karl Rove still around?), we come to the most outrageous and stupid and insensitive and can't we just say Bigoted event in recent weeks. One of the men running for head of the Republican National Committee released a satrical album called "I hate the USA". On the album was a song called Barack the Magic Negro. I could not believe what I was reading on CNN.com (you know - the trusted source for news!!!). The candidate said that it was meant as a joke - gee I think that i missed that part. Can people be so obviously insensitive and ignorant - sometimes I think that the general public does not get the message about racial sensitivity. But I guess after 8 years of the Bush administration, cultural sensitivity has to be worked on. ALOT!! We need to do our part to understand one another better and celebrate our differences - we are like a smorgasbord - so many new experiences to try and share! Happy 2009 - may we all be better friends to each other and to ourselves!

You Tube

Okay I have to admit that I am not as technologically advanced as I thought I was. I mean, I just this year learned how to text on my cell phone, setup a Facebook account and now I am creating a blog. I can however, find almost anything on the internet. Oh and did I mention that I love the internet? Anything, anyone, anywhere can be found on the internet. Recipes, boots for wide-calves, a trip to the Hermitage in either Russia or Nashville or almost anywhere in the world. But I have crossed the final frontier - I have been introduced to You Tube. What a concept - people telling their stories in video. Amazing and weird. But before I criticize too much, let me just say that I found Christian the Lion on You Tube. Go there, cry your heart out at the simple beauty of it all - I did just that not once, or twice but multiple times. I cried so hard I think that I lost a couple of pounds in water weight! Loved it, loved it , loved it! But then I loved Born Free and the Day of the Dolphin, and the Last of the Mohicans (oh wait - that was just hot Daniel Day Lewis, not an animal). Oh and lest we forget The Incredible Journey - the original please - and Thomasina. But I have digressed to my favorite topic of conversation, animals! YouTube is an amazing place - almost as rewarding as a trip to Nordstrom Rack.