Somewhere in there, there's gotta be a theme!!
So, the fiscal cliff: it's a speed bump. I love how the media dramatizes everything. Even supposing (shocking, I know) that McConnell et al refuse to bargain and everything goes flushing, those cuts are phased in over FIVE YEARS. Five years. That's 1,825 days.
You're not gonna wake up and magically have your taxes raised and the economy in the toilet. It's available out there, folks - just read.
Republican obstruction: Like that's news? McConnell and the bunch need to realize that mid-terms are coming up and the American people (those who voted in this landslide election, remember??) are fed up with the divisive nature of politics. They're sick of seeing everything stuck because someone's having a hissy fit. So Prez Obama won a second term. Yes, he did, and yes I voted for him.
Y'all need to get over yourselves.
Yoga: I got to sub and teach my first yoga class last week!! How fun it was - and how nerve-wracking. I've been practicing for at least 7 years or so. But getting up in front? That was a bit scary. Luckily, the students took it easy on me and I had a practice that was fairly benign. No backbends; no pretzel poses.
I'm looking forward to teacher training in 2013 and hoping that after it's all done I have a place to teach. Just part-time. But I want to do this. I think I have something to offer.
Showing posts with label budget cuts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label budget cuts. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Thursday, September 06, 2012
So Now? Go Get Involved!
I stayed up way too late watching Bill Clinton's speech. He was his usual mesmeric self, but then I got to thinking.
Here's the YouTube of Bill's speech (click on his name - I've provided the link there) if you haven't seen it. Take a look. Forewarning - he went well over his 20 minutes (who set THAT time limit?), but it's 48 minutes worth of facts, outlining what successes President Obama has had, and dismantling the lies of the Republican Party's platform, as well as a reprimand on the "we don't need no stinkin' fact checkers" plank in the Republican platform -- it's not actually a plank, but it's apparently the nails holding that platform together.
I love the fact that it's "arithmetic." In my planet, 2 + 2 = 4. It always has, even after my advanced Finance courses, where you were given multiple reasons why 2 + 2 "doesn't necessarily" need to = 4, given certain circumstances. Which is why I hated those Finance classes!
Anyway, after outlining the case for President Obama and the need for a second term, including the statement that "no president, not me nor any of my predecessors, could clean up the mess President Obama was left with in 4 years," he went after and explained all the garbage the Conservatives tossed around in Tampa. And he also explained in a clear and cogent manner some policies which confused academics - people that study this stuff - not to say that it also would confuse the average voter. Big Bill brought it to a sensible, level field where the policy wonks got their groove on, and the average American who doesn't study white papers as a matter of course could understand this stuff without feeling belittled.
So now what? Yeah, Michelle Obama was stunning. Elizabeth Warren? I swear, if she doesn't get elected, Massachusetts needs its collective head examined! (And may I admit that I had to double-check that spelling...you'd think being from Illinois would mean that I'm ok with weird-looking names for states...)
But Bill ruled the night. And now WE need to do something. There was an overwhelming feeling that Clinton's speech "clinched" the election - even some Republicans admitted that. But his speech alone won't do it without us voting and participating.
Please don't sit on your laurels (or whatever you sit on) and think, "Ok, this is a no-brainer - he'll get in." Because he won't - without work. There are still states repressing the vote. There are disenchanted voters who need reminding of where we don't want to go. There are populations who need help getting to the polls.
Do something to help get the word out and Get the Vote Out.... Volunteer to be a poll watcher; go door-to-door or make phone calls. Write letters to the editor. Help register voters where you can. Remind people of early voting if it's available in your area. Just DO SOMETHING and don't sit on your rear end thinking "someone else..." We can't win if we don't vote. We can't win if people sit at home assuming "Someone else will be voting, volunteering, doing." That someone? It's YOU. Y-O-U.
Paraphrasing the Big Dawg, "it's a long, hard road." We all have to work hard to get where we need to be. As a nation, we didn't do it ourselves. We did it together. And we will still be the "greatest nation" if we continue to do it together.
Here's the YouTube of Bill's speech (click on his name - I've provided the link there) if you haven't seen it. Take a look. Forewarning - he went well over his 20 minutes (who set THAT time limit?), but it's 48 minutes worth of facts, outlining what successes President Obama has had, and dismantling the lies of the Republican Party's platform, as well as a reprimand on the "we don't need no stinkin' fact checkers" plank in the Republican platform -- it's not actually a plank, but it's apparently the nails holding that platform together.
I love the fact that it's "arithmetic." In my planet, 2 + 2 = 4. It always has, even after my advanced Finance courses, where you were given multiple reasons why 2 + 2 "doesn't necessarily" need to = 4, given certain circumstances. Which is why I hated those Finance classes!
Anyway, after outlining the case for President Obama and the need for a second term, including the statement that "no president, not me nor any of my predecessors, could clean up the mess President Obama was left with in 4 years," he went after and explained all the garbage the Conservatives tossed around in Tampa. And he also explained in a clear and cogent manner some policies which confused academics - people that study this stuff - not to say that it also would confuse the average voter. Big Bill brought it to a sensible, level field where the policy wonks got their groove on, and the average American who doesn't study white papers as a matter of course could understand this stuff without feeling belittled.
So now what? Yeah, Michelle Obama was stunning. Elizabeth Warren? I swear, if she doesn't get elected, Massachusetts needs its collective head examined! (And may I admit that I had to double-check that spelling...you'd think being from Illinois would mean that I'm ok with weird-looking names for states...)
But Bill ruled the night. And now WE need to do something. There was an overwhelming feeling that Clinton's speech "clinched" the election - even some Republicans admitted that. But his speech alone won't do it without us voting and participating.
Please don't sit on your laurels (or whatever you sit on) and think, "Ok, this is a no-brainer - he'll get in." Because he won't - without work. There are still states repressing the vote. There are disenchanted voters who need reminding of where we don't want to go. There are populations who need help getting to the polls.
Do something to help get the word out and Get the Vote Out.... Volunteer to be a poll watcher; go door-to-door or make phone calls. Write letters to the editor. Help register voters where you can. Remind people of early voting if it's available in your area. Just DO SOMETHING and don't sit on your rear end thinking "someone else..." We can't win if we don't vote. We can't win if people sit at home assuming "Someone else will be voting, volunteering, doing." That someone? It's YOU. Y-O-U.
Paraphrasing the Big Dawg, "it's a long, hard road." We all have to work hard to get where we need to be. As a nation, we didn't do it ourselves. We did it together. And we will still be the "greatest nation" if we continue to do it together.
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