Silly Wabbit
Last night after a glass and a half of wine I accidently posted on my lovely husband's blog. You read that right. I meant to post on my blog but as we're both members of the angelfire community I didn't really notice who I was logged in as and just posted away. Here's the post that was meant for you, dear readers (you can also find it at his site if you're so inclined):

It didn?t take long for Bushco (? Barce) to start attacking KerryEdwards04. I love this quote: ?The people in the south know that the Senator from Massachusetts does not share their values.? Which values would those be? The screw-the-environment value? Or the billionaire-tax-cut value? Or, wait, I bet it?s the let-corporate-America-do-whatever-it-wants-while-the-rest-of-the-country-endures-the-first-jobless-recovery-in-history value? No, no, no! I bet it's the let's-invade-Iraq-and-see-where-it-goes value!

Sigh.

Also, my new hubby came up with a brilliant little something today. Around our house the distinguished Vice President is now known as Darth Cheney. ?He could be president.? Unless of course he already is. Since the day they took office. Wait. Since the day they were given the office.

Clintonians Unite!
No internet at work today. Grrr!

John Kerry picked John Edwards. Yay!

And something arrived in my inbox today. I cannot verify anything (although I'm sure I could if I looked hard enough for the info), but it probably won't change anyone's mind anyway. People are so polarized under Bush that opinions aren't likely to change. This is for the Dems out there.

HOW MANY TERRORIST ATTACKS CLINTON STOPPED.
Just for the record, under Richard Clarke's leadership as Czar of COunterterrorism:

CLINTON Developed the nation's first anti-terrorism policy, and appointed first national coordinator of anti-terrorist efforts.

CLINTON Stopped cold the Al Qaeda millennium hijacking and bombing plots.

CLINTON Stopped cold the planned attack to kill the Pope.

CLINTON Stopped cold the planned attack to blow up 12 U.S. jetliners simultaneously.

CLINTON Stopped cold the planned attack to blow up UN Headquarters.

CLINTON Stopped cold the planned attack to blow up FBI Headquarters.

CLINTON Stopped cold the planned attack to blow up the Israeli Embassy in Washington.

CLINTON Stopped cold the planned attack to blow up Boston airport.

CLINTON Stopped cold the planned attack to blow up Lincoln and Holland Tunnels in NY.

CLINTON Stopped cold the planned attack to blow up the George Washington Bridge.

CLINTON Stopped cold the planned attack to blow up the US Embassy in Albania.

-- Tried to kill Osama bin Laden and disrupt Al Qaeda through preemptive strikes (efforts denounced by the G.O.P.).

-- Brought perpetrators of first World Trade Center bombing and CIA killings to justice.

-- Did not blame Bush I administration for first World Trade Center bombing even though it occurred 38 days after Bush left office. Instead, worked hard, even obsessively -- and successfully -- to stop future terrorist attacks.

--Named the Hart-Rudman commission to report on nature of terrorist threats and major steps to be taken to combat terrorism.

-Clinton sent legislation to Congress to TIGHTEN AIRPORT SECURITY. (Remember, this is before 9/11) The legislation was defeated by the Republicans because of opposition from the airlines.

-Clinton sent legislation to Congress to allow for BETTER TRACKING OF TERRORIST FUNDING. It was defeated by Republicans in the Senate because of opposition from banking interests.

-Clinton sent legislation to Congress to add tagents to explosives, to allow for BETTER TRACKING OF EXPLOSIVES USED BY TERRORISTS. It was defeated by the Republicans because of opposition from the NRA.

-Clinton increased the military budget by an average of 14 per cent, reversing the trend under Bush I.

-Clinton tripled the budget of the FBI for counterterrorism and doubled overall funding for counterterrorism.

-Clinton detected and destroyed cells of Al Qaeda in over 20 countries.

-Clinton created national stockpile of drugs and vaccines including 40 million doses of smallpox vaccine.

-Of Clinton's efforts says Robert Oakley, Reagan Ambassador for Counterterrorism: "Overall, I give them very high marks" and "The only major criticism I have is the obsession with Osama."

-Paul Bremer, current Civilian Administrator of Iraq disagrees slightly with Robert Oakley as he believed the Clinton Administration had "correctly focused on bin Laden."

-Barton Gellman in the Washington Post put it best, "By any measure available, Clinton left office having given greater priority to terrorism than any president before him" and was the "first administration to undertake a systematic anti-terrorist effort"

Yes, he had a zipper problem. So what? So did Washington, Jefferson, Franklin, Harding, Roosevelt, Eisenhower, Kennedy and Johnson. Get over it!

The Lovely Three-Day Weekend
This weekend was awesome. We had some friends over for a barbeque and it was a long day of sun, food, drinks and fun. Sunday we recovered.

Yesterday we saw a great movie ? ?Supersize Me?. After reading Fast Food Nation I don?t eat fast food anyway, but this movie reinforced the knowledge that it?s beyond awful.

Here?s the premise: a guy named Morgan decides to eat nothing but McDonalds for thirty days straight, three meals a day. His decision is partly based on genuine curiosity and partly because of the recent lawsuits against fast food companies, which alleged that the companies were responsible for their consumers? poor health and/or obesity.

By the end of the thirty days, Morgan had gained seventeen pounds, lost his sex drive, was moody and depressed unless he was eating the food, developed chest pains, felt exhausted all the time, gave himself high cholesterol, hypertension, and almost experienced liver failure.

Did you hear that? Liver. Failure. At one point his doctor told him that his liver was like that of an alcoholic. Keep in mind that he was given a plethora of medical exams prior to the experiment and his liver was found to be in tip-top shape along with everything else.

Don?t get me wrong, though. I?m not suggesting that fast food companies are responsible for the poor health of their consumers. Personal responsibility must come in to play at some point. However, I do think it?s high time that someone, anyone, really exposed all the effects of fast food on the body.

I never would have guessed that it would be so bad. But at the same time, I never would have tried the experiment.

And Speaking of Laying the Smacketh Down
The Cos has something to say.

Hey Y'all
I haven?t written much in the last few days because I?ve been feeling a little overwhelmed what with all the crap going on in the world. Also, I found myself getting really political in this space and that was never my intent. I?m here to rant and rave about stuff going on, but the problem with most news is that it makes me want to cry and sleep. Yes. News is depressing. Who knew?

Anyway, I?m going to try to get past all that noise and just go back to commenting the little things. Before I do, though, I?d just like to say thanks to the Supreme Court who yesterday laid the smackdown on BushCo (? Barce). Awww, yeah.

And now, the trip. Here are the highlights:
We got run off the road in Wisconsin by a guy who decided to join us in our lane without looking first.
I got pulled over on our way back home for doing 85 in a 65. Everyone else was doing it, too, though and I gave him my PBA card and he let me walk. Yay!
We met my third cousin Ron who works for NASA and we had an awesome time hanging out with him. Check out this to see what he?s been up to lately.
We heard ? I kid you not ? Christian Rap on a Midwestern radio station.
I wrote a letter of complaint to the Best Western Hotel in Elkhart, IN for having the worst ?expanded? continental breakfast I?ve ever seen.
The church recognized our marriage.
I wore the dress again but half way through the reception I put on jeans and a Hawaiian shirt. Both outfits were a big hit.

I think that?s it. As I think of more I?ll post. We got home at about midnight on Sunday and had Monday and Tuesday off to rest up and get stuff done. This is what we did:
Laundry
Grocery shopping
Saw Fahrenheit 9/11 (see below for my thoughts)
Bought me a new car (2003 Hyundai Elantra). I highly recommend using Enterprise Car Sales for your next car purchase. I never even knew that they sold cars but they do. After a year or two of renting, they sell the cars they don?t need anymore at below blue book value and you know you?re getting something that?s been cared for really well.
Watched the movie Japanese Story with Toni Colette. It was awesome! But a little depressing. Watch with caution.

And that?s about it.

Back
Well, we're back.

The trip was good and we got home safely. I'm too tired to post more. Instead, here's a picture of the after party on June 5th.

Also, we saw Fahrenheit 9/11. It was intense and it made me really sad. But I think everyone should see it.

I know that a lot of people are saying that Michael Moore's a traitor but honestly, I didn't get that from the movie at all. It was just...footage. I would absolutely see a rebuttal documentary produced by a conservative but I think that the facts speak for themselves.

Go see it and tell me I'm wrong.

Hobbit-Love
Finally saw Lord of the Rings this weekend with Kevin. I think it would have been more meaningful if I hadn?t had been a little buzzed. Two glasses of wine and all of a sudden the dialogue was laugh-out-loud cheesy. It was definitely engaging, though. At one point I was standing on my knees in the chair, remote in one hand, glass of pinot in the other, shouting at Sam. ?Stab it, Sam! Right up from the bottom! Get your knife in there and just jab it up!!? (Bonus points to the person who can tell me what scene was playing while I yelled this). I was out of hand. But in a good way.

Kevin commented on this, too, but I feel that it?s worth repeating. What is up with the hobbit-love? No wonder there are a million and one fanfics out there dealing with hobbit-on-hobbit action. The numerous meaningful looks filled with longing and desire all happened between the four hobbits. Peter Jackson is there something you want to tell us?

I've said it before and I'll say it again,
if this joker is elected to the the White House in November, it will be for the first time.

Weekend Rant
This was a good weekend. We ran errands on Saturday, did laundry, started packing for the trip out to MN and in general took care of stuff. Unfortunately, we had to go to the mall on Saturday afternoon and that was enough to make me want to physically hurt people.

The masses were just everywhere. One guy was wearing a tank top with an open plaid shirt on top. The tank top was very loose and as he walked he gradually exposed his entire nipple to anyone unfortunate enough to look at him. This is just wrong. When I go to the mall I don?t want to see nipples. Malls should be nipple-less. Period.

On top of this some sort of pop group was have a mini-concert and I was immediately conflicted. Memories of Tiffany and her mall tours floated to mind and it brought me right back to eighth grade. But, the unbelievable noise, the crush of bodies, the smell of people and the overpowering worry that if I didn?t get out of there I?d become one of them resulted in a mini-panic attack. I hate people.

On Sunday we had a very nice dinner with Kevin?s parents for Fathers Day. They?re talking about selling the house this time next year and moving to North Carolina. If he can just make it through one more year of work they?ll be able to get his health insurance and that?s a pretty big deal considering the constant cuts to veterans benefits (Kevin?s dad was in Vietnam) and senior care.

The ridiculous part of the whole thing is that he?s almost made it to 30 years so he should be able to leave with his pension intact. Unfortunately, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer about seven years ago and the resulting surgeries, chemotherapy, prescriptions, doctor visits and time off work combined with his already poor health, bad back and bad knees have led to the problem he now faces.

Everyday he goes in to work and his manager treats him like crap. He is completely beaten down by his bosses regarding how much time he?s missed. They?ve basically threatened him with losing a portion of his pension because he may not have worked exactly 30 years when you take into account the time he?s missed due to illness.

Of course, if he were to quit before the 30 years he would lose part of his pension and that?s exactly what they?re trying to do. The owner of Shop Rite could afford to buy out Kevin?s dad?s contract, but he would rather force him into quitting because that?s the kind of soulless prick he is. ?Eff the workingman, I need to buy another house!?

It?s such a depressing situation, especially when someone you care about is the victim of it all.

His thirty years is up in August ? less than a month and a half away! But, in order to make sure that they don?t get screwed over he has to keep working there for another freaking year.

The whole thing makes me sick. Join me and boycott Shot Rite. They don?t deserve our money.

"No one could deny that Iraq had a relationship with al Qaeda."
Relationship, yes. Collaborative relationship? Not so much.