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56 entries categorized "Current Events"

July 08, 2009

Just When You Think It Can't Get Any Worse

My husband was laid off on Monday.  I came home from a job interview and found out.  So now neither one of us is employed - ACK.

He got 6 weeks of severance.  He has been going to school at night to get his Bachelors degree, so he is signing up for a full time course load for the next semester, thinking that this will be a good opportunity to finish his degree.  Supposedly the government is providing some assistance with health insurance Cobra payments so that will help us a bit.

We're pretty subdued around here, as you would expect.  No, we will not be buying any zero radius sinks in the near future.  Except food and essentials that's it.  It's tough times for so many people right now.

Luckily I was able to sell some investments and pay off all debts.  We have a few months cushion right now so I have stepped up the job hunt and am hoping for the last minute save.   My mom and dad are blessings I can't say enough good things about.


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July 07, 2009

Sarah Palin's - Habitual Quitter

1. Attended four different colleges.  Quit 3 of them.  Did finally graduate for which I laud her.

2. After finally graduating, she worked as a sports anchor at Anchorage TV station KTUU.  Quit that job to become a stay at home mom.

3.  Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission - served less than one year and then quit.

4.  Alaska Governor - served half of one term and quit.

+++++++++++


As Sarah Palin resigned as Governor of Alaska over the July 4th Holiday weekend, the thought entered my head that this is not the first major life endeavor that she has given up on before its successful completion.  As a person who was laid off from my job of 10 years, and who would dearly love to find a good job, this type of habitual quitting is disturbing.

Palin was appointed to the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission by then Governor Murkowski in 2003, serving as Ethics Supervisor.   Palin resigned from the Alaska Oil and Gas Commission after less than a year in service,  in January 2004, protesting the "lack of ethics" of fellow Republican members.  Strangely, she was able to spin the resignation to her advantage and ran successfully for Governor on a ticket based on cleaning up ethics violations.

Prior to quitting as Governor, and quitting the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Committe, you can see signs of Palin's lack of perseverance in her college career.  Here is the paragraph from Wikipedia listing her varied and sometimes very short lived tenures at four different secondary schools.

After graduating from high school in 1982, she enrolled at Hawaii Pacific College in Honolulu. She left after one semester and transferred to North Idaho College, a community college in Coeur d'Alene and spent two semesters as a general studies major in 1983. In 1984, Palin won the Miss Wasilla Pageant,[13][14] then finished third in the 1984 Miss Alaska pageant[15][16] and won a college scholarship and the "Miss Congeniality" award.[11]

In August 1984, she transferred to the University of Idaho in Moscow, Idaho, where her older brother, Charles W. Heath, was majoring in education.[17] After two semesters at UI, Palin returned to Alaska and attended Matanuska-Susitna College, a community college in Palmer, for one term in the fall of 1985. She returned to the University of Idaho in January 1986, where she spent three semesters completing her bachelor's degree in communications-journalism, graduating in May 1987.[17]

Palin also has some other jobs on her resume including a job as a sports anchor at Anchorage TV station KTUU.  She quit that job.  Here is a quote from Conservatives4Palin.com.

She eventually landed a great job at the Anchorage station KTUU as a sports broadcaster. She got good at it. She probably could have gone all the way with it if she wanted to. But she didn't. She decided it wasn't for her. She left to raise her kids.

The very idea that Palin would be considered as a possible Presidential contender is ludicrous.  Can you imagine this picture....  the economy is bad, there is a war, the country has problems with leaders and press in other countries.  What does the President do?  Quit?   I hope not.  Please let us chose candidates for office (in both parties) who are steady, dependable, even tempered people who can work with others.

July 03, 2009

Governtment Cheese

***  This is satire  ***

Suggestion to Obama to solve the problem of hunger in America during the jobless recovery - bring back Government Cheese.  Who remembers in the 80's and 90's where part of your government relief package was a big ass block of tasty cheese.  Now, my parents did not qualify for government cheese, but I remember having it at a friend's house who's boyfriend was in between construction jobs.



Direct distribution of dairy products began in 1982 under the Temporary Emergency Food Assistance Program of the Food and Nutrition Service. According to the government, it "slices and melts well." The cheese was provided monthly, in unsliced block form, with generic product labeling and packaging.

Don't Poke The Crazy

Are you looking to waste time on "the interwebs" and you have already seen every single page of LOLCATS?  Then check out "Don't Poke The Crazy."  This new blog scours the internet to find crazy forum posts and websites so that you can rubberneck the drama and insanity.

Sarah Palin - Lies and Bad Spelling

Newly released emails from Palin and a McCain campaign advisor  show that people who were preparing to run the country seem to lack the ability to spell check and properly capitalize words such as "Alaska," and names such as "Todd."  Scary

Emails made public between McCain campaign Steve Schmidt and Sarah Palin show how she lied to the McCain campaign about her husband Todd's 7 year membership in the secessionist Alaska Independence Party.

The highlighting is mine.

----------

Palin:

"That's not part of their platform and he was only a 'member' bc independent alaskans too often check that 'Alaska Independent' box on voter registrations thinking it just means non partisan. He caught his error when changing our address and checked the right box. I still want it fixed."

Schmidt:


"Secession. It is their entire reason for existence. A cursory examination of the website shows that the party exists for the purpose of seceding from the union. That is the stated goal on the front page of the web site. Our records indicate that todd was a member for seven years. If this is incorrect then we need to understand the discrepancy. The statement you are suggesting be released would be innaccurate. The innaccuracy would bring greater media attention to this matter and be a distraction. According to your staff there have been no media inquiries into this and you received no questions about it during your interviews. If you are asked about it you should smile and say many alaskans who love their country join the party because it speeks to a tradition of political independence. Todd loves his country

We will not put out a statement and inflame this and create a situation where john has to adress this."

July 02, 2009

Patriotic Quotes for July 4th

"Those who desire to give up freedom in order to gain security will not have, nor do they deserve, either one" ~Benjamin Franklin

"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." ~ Edmund Burke

Patriotism is your conviction that this country is superior to all other countries because you were born in it. ~ George Bernard Shaw


I like to see a man proud of the place in which he lives.  I like to see a man live so that his place will be proud of him.  ~Abraham Lincoln

There are those, I know, who will say that the liberation of humanity, the freedom of man and mind, is nothing but a dream.  They are right.  It is the American dream.  ~Archibald MacLeish

Where liberty dwells, there is my country.  ~Benjamin Franklin

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July 4th Freebies: Coloring Pages, Music, and More

Free Patriotic Music from Amazon.  Download America the Beautiful, The Star Spangled Banner, and God Bless America on MP3 format for free.



June 18, 2009

My Iran Conspiracy Theory

My personal conspiracy theory is that Ahmadinejad rigged the elections against the wishes of the Mullahs. I think that is why they are allowing the demonstrations to proceed. Both candidates are already accepted by the Mullahs before they are allowed to run. The president is supposed to be a figurehead but Ahmadinejad’s major evil side and strong personality have been bringing heat on Iran so I think the Mullahs want to get rid of him, but he rigged the elections and is attempting a coup against the old guard.

May 17, 2009

RumsFailed - Rumsfeld's Problem Separating Church and State Revealed

Religious Quotes Cover Worldwide Intelligence Update Reports to President

Oh my this is very embarrassing. It gives fodder for the Islamic extremists who say that the war in Iraq was a “crusade.” It shows insensitivity to the soldiers depicted who may or may not share the religious sentiment. It seems like a cheesy internet email instead of what should have been treated as an official government document.

May 01, 2009

Go Back to School?

Now I know why so many people are going back to school.  The job market is sparse, and it's the perfect time to get your next degree.  Many people are getting their degree to be more competitive in their field.  Others are switching fields, after jobs have dried up in the area they have been working in.

I d0n't know what to do most days.  I think I have a good skill set, degree, and experience in IT.  I wouldn't normally consider switching career areas, as I really like IT and it used to have plentiful good playing jobs.  Well... needless to say those days are not today and I am finding myself looking and waiting for my next big opportunity.  I totally understand why people are flocking to health care and education careers as these are recession proof and needed no matter what the economy has in store for us.

I have a friend who is switching from a paralegal to the teaching field.  Since more people are choosing education, and some school systems are cutting budgets, if you are already a teacher you may be considering an additional advanced degree.     ST. Xavier's has an online Master of Arts in Curriculum and Instruction - this is the advanced MA degree that can enhance and extend the teaching degree to make someone more marketable and ready for promotion.  By being able to scientifically prepare great curriculum you are preparing yourself to move into administration, or make your classroom time more meaningful as a master teacher.  In short, the MS Curriculum degree could be the edge you need to compete.

April 29, 2009

Glad to Have Arlen Specter

I frequently wonder why so many really good people who are Republican party members stayed silent during the abuses of the G.W. Bush administration.  Bush used the 9/11 attacks as leverage to remove rights, condoned torture and abuses, initiated a unneeded war, and mismanaged the economy to boot.

I realize that the Republican Party machine played dirty with the politicians - threatening to remove party support for anyone who vocally opposed the President.  But, these guys must have realized that there was a moral crisis going on.  Right?

Here is some info from Wikipedia on how Senator Arlen Specter did speak out against illegal wiretapping done by the executive branch.

Specter was very critical of President Bush's wiretapping of US persons without warrants. When the story first broke, he called the effort "inappropriate" and "clearly and categorically wrong." He said, he intended to hold hearings into the matter early in 2006, and had Alberto Gonzales appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee to answer for the program (though Specter declined to force Gonzales to testify under oath). On January 15, 2006, Specter mentioned impeachment and criminal prosecution as potential remedies if President Bush broke the law, though he downplayed the likelihood of such an outcome.


Arlen Specter has today defected from the Republican Party and switched to a Democrat.   I think Specter has been a great politician and given over a long career for the American people.  He has always been a moderate and frequently been unafraid to speak his mind whether it meshes with either parties current power structure or not.  (ie, he opposed Supreme Court nomination for Robert Bork, angering Republicans, and also criticized Anita Hill's testimony against Clarence Thomas' nomination.

I don't think party affiliation should be that important for a senior politician, proven to be tough and also moderate.  It's not like a barcode scanner says "Good Egg or Bad Egg", like in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

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