Monday, November 19, 2007

It's Been A Good Day, Today

I've felt so much better today. More like myself than I have in just weeks. Thomas and I spent the day shopping and driving around town and enjoying the leaves turning colors and the beautiful blue sky. I know we need rain more than anything, but today was gorgeous.
Just read in my niece's myspace blog that she's now watching Ninja Warrior. She likes it. I knew she would. They finally got cable or direct TV or something, after not having anything but local channels for ever so long. Hurrah! That means I won't have to miss the show while we are down there.
Really looking forward to seeing my sister and the girls. It's been so long since we were together last. Over a year, I think. More like 2 years, maybe. That's too long. And I'm looking forward to seeing Tina and her boys, and aunt Mutt and Uncle T. Mutt had surgery on her knee this past Friday. Didn't tell anyone, Tina let it slip the other day when I was on the phone with her. Silly woman. Wish she would let folks know how she's doing and all.
I think I will go visit Mama while we're down there, take her some flowers or something. Today was her birthday. I made the usual chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. That's what she always asked me to make for her birthday. It was kind of funny tho. Uncle Donnie called last night to talk and he said that he and Vicky were making banana pudding in her honor. That was one of her most favorite things, too. I thought that Thomas and I were the only ones to still celebrate her birthday. It's nice to know that her youngest brother still does, too. Sometimes I feel like I'm the only one who still remembers her. It is astonishing to me that it's been nearly 8 years now since she passed away. It just doesn't seem like it's possible that it's been that long already. It still pisses me off, even now. I get so mad when I find a really good recipe and I can't share it with her. And I know we would have had some really good discussions on the current political situation. She loved talking politics and had very strong views. Guess that's where I got it, eh?
Anyway... should be in the kitchen right now making fudge. A couple we know are renewing their vows the Saturday after Thanksgiving and we won't be here to celebrate with them. They specified no gifts on the announcement, but since we aren't going to be here, I'm going to make them a little goodie box to give them before we go. Pete suggested a bottle of wine, but since Dean is an alcoholic in recovery I didn't think that was such a good idea. They both love it when I make the goodies for them at Christmas, so I'm going to do that. That way they can both enjoy it without any guilt or recriminations later. Anyway, I'm making goodies for the family in Florida, so it isn't anything to make a little more. Sisterwoman can't have the candy either, but she always talks about how much she misses the roti and other flat breads that I make so I'm going to make her a big batch of flat breads on Wednesday before we leave and a batch of chicken curry to go with. She'll love that.
So, guess I better go get busy. I always get over-ambitious when I start making candies and the like. I love doing it, but after a while of standing over a hot stove stirring the pot my feet get to hurting and my back feels like it's breaking. So I'm going to try to do a little at a time for the next couple of days.
Probably won't post again until we get back. Hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Peace.

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

No Wonder I Feel Like Crap!

Went to see Dr. Hogue today. He gave me the results of all the blood tests I had last week. Everything was fine, even my cholesterol. But my sugar was over 400! No wonder I don't have any energy and can't concentrate and feel dizzy all the time! So... now I have to take meds for that and I have to go to the diabetes classes. Oh joy! I do so enjoy driving down town to University Hospital. What a delight it is to try to find the right building you are supposed to go to. And trying to find a parking space that isn't two miles away from the building you are supposed to go to, when you do find it, makes me so indescribably happy.

Seriously, I'm not happy about the sugar level, but at least now I know what's wrong with me. I just want to get it under control and get back to my life. I'm so tired of feeling like my brain is as holey as a hunk of Swiss cheese. I want to be able to think again, to speak coherently again. To make sense again. And have some energy again. That will be wonderful!

I am so relieved to find out what's been wrong. I think I'll go celebrate by taking a little walk. I can live with diabetes. It is controllable. And getting back to walking and working out, getting back to loosing this extra weight, will help with the sugar, too. Extra incentive, indeed.

Thursday, November 1, 2007

Scanning postcards and thinking

So if my thoughts seem a bit scattered or incoherent, you will know. I am writing this while my scanner is doing it's thing. Then I stop and do my bit on the cards and save them, then I write some more while the scanner is doing a couple more.

The Georgia primaries are going to be held on February 5, 2008. The Super Duper Tuesday as some are calling it now. This whole primary uproar has got me thinking:


Remember way back after the 2000 election when every body was getting up in arms about the Electoral College and many were wanting to change the way Presidents are elected and do away with the College? One of the big excuses for the continuation of the Electoral College was some drivel about that being the only way to ensure that no region was made any more or less important than any other. I still don't see how or why that matters. If we went by the popular vote, then every one's vote would matter equally. Why are 'regions' more important than individuals? Are we not all Americans? Should we not, each one of us, be just as important as the next one? Anyway... the point of this is this: Why do the state's get to say when they hold Presidential preference primaries? And why are the national parties so concerned with protecting Iowa and New Hampshire? Doesn't that give them undue influence over who gets the nomination? It does, and everyone knows it. It's a rare candidate that gets the nomination without having first won at least one of those. So... how does that square with the reason given to keep the Electoral College? It doesn't, does it?


And since the GA primary is in early February, I should really get a better handle on who I'm going to vote for, shouldn't I? I watched part of the Democratic debate on MSNBC the other night. Moderated by Brian Williams and Tim Russert. Once again Mr. Russert asked foolish, hypothetical questions and Mr. Williams asked all the smart questions. I haven't figured out yet why Tim Russert has been asking such stupid questions. I've seen him moderate in two Democratic debates so far this season and both times he asked the stupidest questions. Questions that were so hypothetical that it would have been foolish in the extreme for any of the candidates to answer them. Wonder what's up with him? I always kinda liked him. I watch his show sometimes and I thought he was smarter than he's proved to be on the debate stage thus far.


Like I said, I watched part of it, about half. To be truthful, I changed the channel when Ninja Warrior came on. But, honestly, I don't know how much more of Mr. Russert I could have taken. Barak Obama said some things that made me think harder on exactly how truthful he is. He was chastising Clinton and the rest (but especially Clinton) about needing change in Washington and them (her) being part of the Washington 'business as usual' crowd. But when he plays the campaign game the same as everyone else, attacking other candidates, saying what his 'handlers' tell him to say, etc., how is that change? He vowed to run a clean campaign, to not attack his fellow democrats, to not go around smearing anyone he was running against. And he's not kept that vow, that promise. So, how is he any different than any one else who is running? It sort of turned me off.


And John Edwards is looking more and more like a smooth talking, say anything to get you to buy, used-car salesman. His smile is too slick, his body language is too smooth, if you know what I mean. I like his wife better than I like him, but his wife isn't running, he is. And I don't think I'll be voting for him. At least that narrows the field, eh?


I know I won't be voting for Dennis Kucinch, either. So that's two out right there. Not that Kucinich doesn't speak truthfully and say some things that make sense, sometimes, but he doesn't have a chance in hell of getting the nomination, so... why waste my vote? I know John Edwards could possibly, maybe, perhaps get the nomination, but I'm still not voting for him. That would require me to set all my scruples aside, and I'm not willing to do that in the primary. If, by some chance, he gets the Democratic nomination I would vote for him in the general election. But only because I will not under any circumstances, vote for a repugnicant, sorry, Republican, for President. To vote for a Repukelican would require me to set aside all my scruples and all my morals. And I just don't see myself doing that. To vote for one of them would be plain wrong, bad, bad, bad. I can't foresee, at this point in time, anything that would make me vote for one.


Enough of that... back to the debate. I like Bill Richardson, but he doesn't seem to be a very good public speaker. He's getting better, but I don't think it's in time to really catch fire, so to speak. He's a smart man and whoever does get the nomination, if they win the general, should look into appointing him to a cabinet post or something like that. Not sure if he's forceful enough to be President.

Chris Dodd is also a very smart man. He knows the ins and outs of Washington and of holding public office, but... that's one big problem with him, right there. He seems a good, decent, intelligent man. However, he himself brought up another issue I have with him: electability. He was speaking of Hillary Clinton and her electability, saying that she was not electable because polls indicated that fully 50% of Americans would not vote for her. What he did not mention was that more than that would not vote for him. Not because they don't like him, but because they don't know him. Most Americans don't have a clue who he is. To be fair, most Americans don't know who any of them are, except Clinton and Obama, perhaps.

Joe Biden is also a very smart man, but he has a lot of the same issues as Chris Dodd. Plus, he has the long history of gaffs and blunders that most people know him for, if they know of him at all. He's shown to good effect in these debates. But he'll never get the nomination and I doubt seriously if he'll be called on to fill the number two spot by whomever does get the nomination. He just has too much baggage. He speaks sense, a lot of the time, but so do many of the others.

I guess that leaves Hillary, she looks good on paper, but I don't like the way she talks around the issues sometimes and downright refuses to answer certain questions. She's far too evasive to suit me, at times. I love Bill, but Bill isn't running, Hillary is. That is a problem. If I vote for her, will I be casting a vote for Bill or Hillary, in my heart? I don't know. I think, in many ways, she is a Washington insider, too. But in some respects, it takes one to know how to deal with one, right? And if she does become our President, she will have to deal with them. She also has an arrogant look on her face that I don't like. It could be that my sub-conscious is doing that old double standard thing, but I don't know. I don't like anyone who wears a habitual smug or arrogant look on their face. Neither male nor female. She's smart, tho, unbelievably smart. She can do the job, I think. But so could many of the others. Biden could, Richardson, Dodd, perhaps even Obama.

I know that most Americans don't think the way I do. Or at least it doesn't seem like they do. And I understand that the candidates have to do what they have to do to get their names out there to the masses. Still, I find it all somewhat repugnant (okay, more than somewhat). The whole process is just bad; filthy, fraudulent, flawed. There has to be a better way, doesn't there?

And Hillary is ticking me off a little bit. She's starting to act like she thinks she is the nominee already. Again, it may be that double standard thing, again, I don't know. Things that we take for granted in men, we tend to look askance at in a woman. And I especially don't like to see a woman behaving in a manner that is distasteful, if typical, in a man. Perhaps inside I feel a woman should know better or behave better. But why should a woman be held to a different standard than a man who runs for office? I suppose I am as guilty as the next person of having that perception. I shall try harder beginning immediately.

And I have just one thing to say to Mr. Mukasey: Waterboarding is TORTURE. Simulated drowning of a person is torture. It was torture yesterday, it's torture today, and it will be torture tomorrow. It is wrong. It was wrong for the Nazis to do it, it was wrong for the Russians to do it, it was wrong for the Vietnamese to do it. It's wrong for us to do it. It's wrong. Why is that so hard for grown men and women to understand? I can't even believe they are debating it. What is there to debate? How could anyone in our government think that torturing people is a good idea? It boggles the mind, it truly, truly does.

Enough, this has become a novel.
More later, I'm sure.