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Thanks for your comments Jessica. That comment thread was getting a little long so I decided to create a new post to carry on the discussion. For those of you who haven’t been following along, the original post can be found here.
Obama’s plan is to be funded at least in part by:
Your argument of $50 billion vs. $700 billion is misguided. The $700 billion package is an effort to try to stop the financial sector crisis from bringing down the entire economy, and was not George Bush’s plan. Barack Obama’s $50 billion plan is divided evenly between a State Growth Fund to support state health, education, housing, health, etc programs and prevent increases in property taxes; and a jobs and growth fund to aid infrastructure projects and prevent job loss. The $700 billion package exists whether Obama’s $50 billion package exists or not, and Bush, McCain, and Obama all supported the $700 billion bill.
“His tax cuts are good for the everyday American, but he can easily say that because the occupants of the $250,000 and up tax brackets pay about 80% off all the income taxes already.”
To be more precise: in 2004 the 25% of the population with the highest earnings paid 84% of the income and at the end of 2001 10% of the population owned 71% of the wealth. That is why we have a progressive income tax system. Even paying a higher tax rate, the wealthy keep a much larger amount of money than the poor who are paying a lower rate.
You state in a very general way that you are against all of the regulation that Obama wants to put on the mortgage companies. I read that as you are against certain elements rather than that you are literally against all regulation. I find it hard to believe that anyone would still espouse a position in support of predatory lenders, and will not assume that that is your position. It is hard to go much farther on this without more detail about what you object to.
As to your statement that the subprime mortgage crisis is not solely the bank’s fault, I can cede to you that many of these people could have avoided getting themselves into the mess they are in had they been more savvy. The same could be said of the victims of con-men. The parallels here are nearly direct. Subprime mortgages are called subprime because the lenders know that it is unlikely that they will be paid back. Even if it was a crime to get yourself into bad financial straights, that would leave each mortgage holder responsible for one crime. The financial institutions that defrauded these people are responsible for thousands.
A subprime loan is categorized as a subprime loan based on the financial and credit profile of the consumers to which they are marketed. In other words subprime loans are marketed to those that the lending agency thinks are likely to be unable to pay. By your own logic these are the people that are least likely to understand credit. There is a reason why this is also known as predatory lending.
I think it is true that good credit is not hard to achieve when you come from a solid financial foundation to start with, but not everyone is fortunate enough to be in that situation.
I don’t find anything at all ridiculous about making a standard tax return simple enough to do in 5 minutes. He isn’t saying that if you want to hire an accountant to do your taxes for you or spend a lot of time and claim individual deductions on your own that you can’t. A lot of people don’t have the time and resources to hire an accountant or pore through the tax code trying to find every possible deduction they could be making. For those people the standard deductions will probably save them money. No matter what you do on the bottom end of the tax scale you aren’t going to hugely effect the amount of overall tax revenue the country receives.
His 10% Mortgage Interest Tax Credit is universal. This means it can be applied to homeowners that do not itemize on their tax returns. This means approximately 10 million people who are not receiving the credit now will.
“Reform Social Security: John McCain will fight to save the future of Social Security and believes that we may meet our obligations to the retirees of today and the future without raising taxes. John McCain supports supplementing the current Social Security system with personal accounts—but not as a substitute for addressing benefit promises that cannot be kept. John McCain will reach across the aisle, but if the Democrats do not act, he will. No problem is in more need of honesty than the looming financial challenges of entitlement programs. Americans have the right to know the truth and John McCain will not leave office without fixing the problems that threatens our future prosperity and power. ”
This is as close to a statement on Social Security policy as I could find on the McCain website so I’m not sure what his policy really entails, but given the current financial sector crisis, the idea that investing your retirement funds would have been a smart choice seems a bit off.
The embryonic stem cells used in research are created in fertility clinics for the purpose of fertility treatments. Not all embryos can be used for treatment and many are discarded. I have never been able to understand why it would be the argument that it is superior to throw away these tiny clusters of cells (that were never going to develop into a human being anyway), instead of than using them to try to improve actual living people’s lives. Whether you are anti-abortion or pro-choice this doesn’t seem like an issue that should be controversial.
I don’t know about you, but I never managed to find a job in college that would pay me $40/hour. How is getting a job better than doing 100 hours of public service to receive a $4,000 credit for school? Obama’s plan benefits the community, thee student, and the future of the workforce and economy all at the same time.
As for Obama’s policy on family farms, how is the tax code to distinguish from the “family farms” and the agricorps if not by overall income? It may be the case that some who have started off as family farms have done well enough that they can bear the higher tax bracket. Having grown up on a farm it is certainly not my experience that most farms are incorporated or large. Regardless, Obama is not anti-farm, if anything he is just not giving large farms preferential treatment
I won’t argue with you on education. I think you are likely right on this issue, but it is kind of a non-sequitur, as McCain doesn’t state any position on this issue either.
Regarding gun control, Obama supports a permanent reinstatement of the assault weapons ban, he is opposed to the confiscation of guns from private citizens. The basic difference between he and McCain is that McCain supports the repeal of the assault weapons ban. Please have a look at the definition of the weapons that would be banned and consider whether civilians really need to have these types of weapons.
Tighter control of mentally unstable people who go shoot up schools is great, but the problem is that they’ve already gone and shot up schools. I’m not sure that we are all that lax on people once they go shoot up schools. Perhaps I am unclear as to exactly what you are trying to propose in this regard, and how it is related with not wanting gun control.
Bill Ayers’ terrorist activities took place 40 years ago when Obama was 8. They are not close and Obama has publicly denounced Ayer’s radical actions from the 1960’s. McCain was in the room when Marylin Shannon praised domestic terrorist Shelley Shannon (no relation) at a conference of the Oregon Citizen’s Alliance in the early 90’s. In fact he spoke right after her and never disavowed her comments. Shelley Shannon is an abortion doctor shooter, and Marylin Shannon was a McCain delegate at this years convention! By the Ayer’s standard according to the McCain campaign; McCain is a supporter of domestic terrorists. I think you can agree that the notion is as ridiculous in the case of McCain as it is in the case of Obama.
Finally on the bailout issue, I think we’ve run this into the ground a little bit, but this bailout of the financial industry harkens back to a bailout during the 80’s of the Savings and Loan Industry. McCain was one of the 5 Senators implicated in the Keating 5 scandal. In fact McCain was the only one of the five with close social and personal ties to Keating, and in 1989 Phoenix New Times writer Tom Fitzpatrick opined that McCain was the “most reprehensible” of the five senators. There is no dispute about this and it is a matter of congressional record. If you aren’t familiar with it please go look it up.
I know, I know I promised Part 2 of a Weekend in Utah with Jimbo. All in good time, My Pretty. But tonight I’m going to write about what has been consuming my life for the past 9 weeks or so: College.
I just checked the Biology spreadsheet to see how Fibroblast did on crazy hard Cellular Biology Test II. Again, 50 questions Multiple Choice rife with “none of these”, “A & C”, “All of these but D”, etc. Here is a synopsis of an actual question: “You decide to perform a pulse-chase experiment on the route of the digestive system. You eat a radioactive banana, and ‘chase’ it 5 minutes later with 5 normal bananas. After ½ hour, where would you expect to find the highest concentration of radioactive particles? A) Teeth B) Mouth C) Stomach D) Large Intestine, E) How do I say this……the toilet?
We did talk about a pulse-chase experiment, albeit a vastly different one. I think I finally guessed “C”. I’ll let you know when I get a look at the test on Wednesday.
Anyway, I was at first disappointed to see that my score was ‘82’, but after checking the rest of the scores and noting that the highest grade was ‘84’, I was much happier. In fact, get this, at this moment in time, Fibroblast has the highest average of the first 2 test scores in the class!! Of course I probably also studied more than anyone else in the class, but I’m also undoubtedly the oldest student, so allow me to bask a moment. I already celebrated by actually turning the TV on; in fact I’m typing this while watching Law & Order, which is practically unheard of, at least for me.
I should actually get back to the books: tomorrow is Lab Practical in Biology, and on Thursday is Lab Test in Anatomy and Physiology. Speaking of A & P, we had a mildly interesting lab last Thursday night. It seemed we were actually going to conduct an experiment instead of merely listening to the Prof drone on for half the lab period. We had just begun studying the muscles and this activity would correlate with this. We were to measure the circumference of our dominant arm “in centimeters instead of inches, because we are being scientiferific” instructed Prof Ports. Then we would do bicep curls with elbow on table with a 5 lb weight until our arm was tired, and the results would be plotted. There were only 2 weights, so in the meantime, the rest of us were free to get out the box-o-bones and study for the upcoming lab test. My partner Korrie and I got to work identifying bones, processes, facets, tubercles and foramina. Every once in a while, we looked around to notice the weights still in use, with results gradually accumulating on the dry erase board. Finally we were the only ones left. Korrie measured my right bicep in centimeters. “27” she announced. I looked at the board: it was by far the smallest one. “That can’t be right,” I said. “Measure it again.” “Uh, maybe 26 ½” she said. “Never mind, let’s go with 27,” I muttered, setting my elbow on the table and getting to work. We continued to study, but it was hard to make notations with my right arm so engaged. “Maybe I’m about done,” I told her after a bit. “How long has it been?” “Five minutes,” she told me. Heck. I had to go longer than that. Meanwhile Korrie got a weight. Her bicep was 31 centimeters. I quit at about 12 minutes. While it’s true that I wanted to use my time studying, and the lifting was interfering with that, I have to also admit that my arm was getting tired. I had by far the shortest lifting time of the class. I think Korrie went for 30 minutes or so. Somehow, in the midst of this, we told our ages. Korrie is 46. Prof Ports, whom I would have sworn was near 70, is 56. I am somewhere in the middle….okay, okay, I’m 54. Anyway, next week, we will get the data and have to make some correlations and explanations and write it all up as some kind of report.
I told Johnny this story, and he said “Sound like good blog material.” I told Jimbo, and his reaction was “Are you about finished? This is one of THOSE stories, isn’t it?” referring to the long, meandering stories I occasionally tell, which sometimes end with the phrase: “So, I was right. He did look like Brad Pitt.”
So, I guess what I’m saying is it’s up to you to decide. Amusing (and well written) human interest story, or long, pointless, ‘looking like Brad Pitt” drivel?
Anyway, off to review parts of a cell and the process of DNA replication. Hope your evening is just as enjoyable.
UltraMom
UltraJessica what I want to hear about is ‘Weekend in Melba with Jessica”!
Write a guest post.......please???
Chenoa, we don’t measure our arms after; I think we just disprove the null hypothesis that ‘we will all lift the same amount of time’. I must have explained it wrong, but good job sticking through the story to the end:)
I would be willing to write a guest post if I knew how to post it…
If nothing else, email it to me and I will post it, but perhaps UltraBob can tell you how to do it on your own.
I really enjoyed the other post you wrote!
I will let Jessica know how to do it on her own
Mom, do you have the video I made for you about how to post? I did twenty minute instructional video for Jessica but a technical difficulty made it all go awry and I don’t savor the idea of doing it over.
very amusing! Go Fibroblast!!
Congratulations smartypants!!!
Note: Please don’t miss UltraMom’s post just before this one. They were posted at about the same time.
Here is the second 2008 presidential debate:
In Addition, for anyone who hasn’t been able to track it down yet, here is the first debate:
Let’s have your analysis boys and girls. Incidentally in the first debate the beadiness of Jim Lehrer’s eyes is off limits. In both debates McCain’s constant statements that Obama doesn’t understand something he seems to understand perfectly well and usually better than McCain are very well within bounds. Ready. Set. GO!
Stand your ground Jessica. Don’t let these two Obama bullies push you around.
Billie, I would also invite you to give us your take. Asking the other side to explain their position is hardly “bullying” 
Or was that unpatriotic? Am I “telegraphing my punches?”
By the way, note to McCain, if you want to try and fight the perception that you are ancient try not to refer to things like telegraphs.
OK, back from a long weekend, refreshed and ready to go. Jessica let’s start with what appears to be your most deeply passionate argument as judged by exclamation points: Sarah Palin’s unimpeachable sense of style:
Do you know how many tacky couches had to die to make that coat? 
OK, back to your post Jessica. You say that you haven’t been following the race well enough to write about it, and you say you have made up your mind on McCain and are not willing to change your mind. I don’t want to seem confrontational, but that is unacceptable. This is probably the most important election of your lifetime, and you shouldn’t weigh in on it without educating yourself. I can give you a basic rundown of each candidates stated positions on most major issues and have been following their speeches and activities closely since the primaries kicked off. That is what I base my position on.
I implore you to either educate yourself or refrain from voting against your best interests based on, to use Stephen Colbert’s word, truthiness.
What issues are important to you? What are the three things that you think are the most important things for the country to focus on going forward? How do McCain’s and Obama’s positions on these things differ, and in the case of McCain’s policies how have these policies bourne out in practice during the Bush administration? I encourage you to consider a few of these questions before going into the voting booth. I think you would agree that coming into a discussion with your mind closed to any possibility that there is some information that might change your mind is foolish.
Yes, the coat was not the best choice, but, overall, she has a good sense of style. I followed your advice and looked up Obama’s economic policy. I got it off of his website. First of all, where is he going to get all of this money? Second of all, $50 billion to jumpstart the economy pales in comparison to the $700 billion that Bush is putting in. His tax cuts are good for the everyday American, but he can easily say that because the occupants of the $250,000 and up tax brackets pay about 80% off all the income taxes already. I also don’t agree with all of the regulation that he wants to put on the mortgage companies. The subprime mortgage crisis is not solely the bank’s fault. A large portion of the blame lies with poorly educated everyday American people. People do not understand credit. It is a really simple thing really, but they never take the time to figure out what the heck they are doing. If people managed their credit well, they would all have good credit scores so they would all qualify for competitive interest rates on their mortgages. There would be no subprime mortgages. What I would really like to see is comprehensive financial education in high school. The only thing homeowners need protection from is themselves. Good credit is not hard to achieve. Plus, Obama wants to make it possible to fill out a tax return in 5 minutes. How ridiculous is that! No wonder people are missing out on deductions! Obama would also like to provide a tax credit for homeowners so they can deduct their home mortgage interest payments from their taxes. That tax credit already exists. This goes back to the spending more than 5 minutes on your tax return. I like that he supports foreign trade. Protectionism is not a good thing. However, I would like to know exactly how he is going to change CAFTA and NAFTA. I support the privatization of social security (which Obama opposes). I can manage my money much better than the government ever can. I strongly oppose the use of embryonic stem cells for research. I believe that life begins at fertilization so those embryos are living human beings. I support stem cell research from other sources, but not from embryos. Along those same lines, I am pro-life. If the woman did not want a baby she should’ve kept her knees together. Or at least used birth control. Her child should not have to pay for her mistake. His plan to make college more affordable is a good idea, but instead of spending 100 hours in public service the kids could just get a job. I don’t like his section about supporting family farms. News to Obama. The family farm is now much bigger. Size doesn’t make it into a corporate farm. A lot of family farms are incorporated because it helps reduce the tax burden and create succession plans. And what exactly are his CAFO regulations going to be? Something that his education plan is how the ADD and ADHD fiasco is going to be handled. Kindergartens and elementary schools are cutting recess. It is a necessary part of a kid’s day. In spite of all of these things, the real deal breakers for me are abortion and embryonic stem cell research. I don’t understand how somebody can claim to be a Christian and then support the destruction of human life. Its not just Christians that value human life. Its every religion in the world except for the religion of self. And maybe the Incans and Mayans who believed in human sacrifice. There are my views on Obama. Maybe tomorrow I’ll read all about McCain, but right now I’ve got to go to bed.
Wow. That was long.
Wow, I must say I didn’t expect you to come back with so much. Impressive for a day of reading. I can see right now some places where I disagree with you on principal and some flaws in your argument, but to give a proper response will take some time, and a family issue is taking up quite a bit of time right now so it may be a little while before I can come back with many good answers. Before I leave to get back to the issues at hand though, didn’t you just say that you were against the bailout? Is this some other $700 billion that you are talking about? If you are referring to the bailout, I think it was the wrong package and that we are likely to have to come back and put together another package soon, but it isn’t really Bush’s 700 billion the house ad senate negotiated a bill and Bush signed it. The 3 page proposal that came out of the Whitehouse was insane. insulting, and was immediately shot down.
P.S. I think this may be the best comment conversation we’ve ever had on DD, I hope more people will jump in with something of substance. Billie? Chenoa? Jim? FibroBlast?
I found out a few others issues that I have with Obama. He favors gun control, which I oppose. I’m in favor of tighter control of mentally unstable people who go shoot up schools. I read today about a survey that Obama had filled out that stated that he was in favor of tighter control of guns. He now blames that response on a staffer who was filling out the survey for him. For a politician with the goal of becoming President, it was pretty foolish to allow a staffer to fill out the survey for him. I also don’t like his association with Bill Ayers. Even though the relationship may have been innocent, a Presidential hopeful can never be too careful about who he associates with. He should have been a bit wiser and not had any association with an unrepentent old terrorist. In terms of the bailout, I do not agree with it. I feel that the market should dictate who succeeds and who fails. The financial institutions being bailed out should fail. Its is the result of taking on too much risk. However, I understand the necessity of the bailout to save the entire economy. The health of those huge financial institutions is directly connected to the health of the economy as a whole. I still don’t like the idea of the government owning a large portion of private companies. I’m in favor of a policy that is a little more hands-off. But take time solving your family issues before you craft a response to me.
I’m not going to address most of this because Bob can do a better job when he has time, but as for your abortion concern… I think you need to re-examine McCain’s position. On this stance I actually admire him because of his respect for the process of government as established in America. He is personally against abortion but wouldn’t try to overturn by fiat the interpretation of the Constitution established by the United States Supreme Court. The Court is the interpreter of the Constitution, that is how America works, as for a constitutional amendment to outlaw abortion in the Constitution, no one is going to ever have the political capital to achieve the supermajority required to achieve that. So right there, McCain’s position on abortion becomes moot in a practical sense.
As for my poor grammar and potential typos, I had to write quickly in a break between classes.
... and respect for McCain gone. Okay so that used to be his position, but apparently in his never ending quest of whoring his beliefs to the hardcore right in order to get elected he has changed that position… yay consistent leadership…
OK, my reply is in and can be found here. The reply was too long so I’d thought I’d better start a new placeholder for the conversation to continue. Jessica, maybe you can write up your own analysis of the third presidential debate to make this site a bit more fair and balanced. Your opinion is most misguided but welcome.
A Weekend in Utah: Sept 26-27
The prep for this weekend actually began several weeks earlier when Jimbo got a call from Rebecca, an old high school friend. She had met a great guy and after knowing him only a couple of months, was going to marry him. Did I, Jim inquired, want to attend the wedding with him? After ascertaining that the wedding would be held in Utah at a location not terribly distant from Jim’s present digs in Salt Lake City and that Jim would actually LIKE for me to go with him, I answered an emphatic ‘Yes!’ I arranged for the time off work and packed my bags.
UltraDad, meanwhile, considered the pros and cons of coming along. He definitely did NOT want to go to the wedding, but he DID want to see Jim. He SHOULD stay home and work on tiling the bathroom, but he DID want to see Jim, and so on. At the last minute, he decided to come.
We were trying out a new Auto GPS I had bought, a Garmin Navi 200 , or some such number. I entered Jim’s address and off we went. Everything went swimmingly until we turned a corner near where Jim lived. “You have arrived at your destination,” my GPS informed me in an authoritative female voice, “on the left.” As it turned out, ‘on the left’ was a concrete divider. I pulled into the next convenient parking lot and called Jimbo. Apparently, this GPS, like me, has a little trouble with her ‘lefts’ and ‘rights’. As per Jim’s instructions, I made a loop, and coming back down the street again, took a right and then a left turn (I think), this time arriving at my destination in reality.
We hadn’t arrived with a lot of time to spare, so I made a quick change into my wedding duds. Jimbo set his Dad up with movies to watch and told him to help himself to anything in the fridge, and we were off to the wedding. About 10 minutes after leaving the apartment, Jimbo realized he had forgotten the wedding announcement and did not remember the name of the resort we were heading towards. “Call Dad,’ he instructed. “The announcement is next to my computer.” As I prepared to make the call I suddenly remembered that Dad’s cell phone had a dead battery, and he had not brought his charger. “Shall we go back for it?” I wanted to know.
“No, I think I can figure it out,” Jim replied with typical male confidence. “It’s somewhere near Wellsville.”
It was a good thing we had allowed plenty of time. The drive was a little longer than we had anticipated, but as we neared our ostensible destination, the scenery became more and more…..well, scenic. The hillsides were covered in trees in various fall colors. “This is reminding me of when I used to go to Utah for Ladies Retreats with my church group years ago,” I told Jimbo. “It was at a really great place called…….uh…..” Just then we passed a sign pointing off to the left reading “Sherwood Hills Resort.” “That’s it,’ said Jim. “That’s where the wedding is.” “That’s it,” I said in turn. “That’s where I used to go for Ladies’ Retreat.”
We were able to turn around about 5 miles down the road, and, after taking the proper exit, drove down a winding road with even more autumn hued hillsides and soon arrived at a parking lot. A short walk past that, in a clearing surrounded by trees, and a little artificial waterfall (not nearly as good as mine, I assure you), the scene was clearly set for a wedding. We visited with several of Rebecca’s family members and met the groom. I took Jim on a short walk, pointing out various things I remembered from my Retreat Days. “I think the Osmonds had something to do with this place back in the day,” I told him. I remember some of the rooms had their names on the doors.”
“Like Ozzy?” Jim wanted to know.
“Uh, no, like Donny and Marie,” I answered, marveling at the generation gap. It was several hours later that I realized Jim was referring to Ozzy Osborne, not Osmond.
The wedding was smaller than we thought it would be, but very nice. Rebecca wore a traditional white dress & veil, but had a green sash tied about her waist. She was, of course, beautiful and glowing. I was fervently glad I had brought my jacket, and wished I had worn something more on my feet besides summer sandals. It was downright chilly!
We debated skipping the reception, which was being held at a friend’s home about 15 minutes away, but in the end we went, mainly because we needed to deliver the wedding card. Lanterns were lit and tables set about in the yard. They served slices of pumpkin rolls the bride had made with her own two hands, and cut the cake.
By the time we were on our way back to SLC, it was after 9 pm, and we were hungry. We were feeling a little bad about leaving UDad alone at Jim’s for so long without any outside communication, so we made a quick stop at an Arby’s drive through, where we bought sandwiches and fries for three. UltraDad had watched three movies in our absence and seemed happy to see the food. We played a little game of cribbage while we ate, which Jim, true to form, won with ease.
Jimbo gave his comfy bed to us and slept in his recliner. When I awoke the next morning, it was quite late; I must have been more tired than I realized. The guys had been up for hours and were starving, so as soon as I grabbed a quick shower, we went out to find some grub. We ended up having ‘brunch’ at Squatters, a locally semi-famous establishment known mainly for its microbrewery. We dined outdoors, enjoying watching the birds that boldly landed inbetween tables looking for a handout. We did not avail ourselves of the famous beer at 11:00 AM, but did enjoy burgers, or in my case, a greek salad.
We debated how to spend the rest of our day, and after spotting posters around town, decided to attend the circus. We got tickets online and set off. I was really glad Jimbo was doing the driving; the traffic around the ‘Energy Solutions Center’ (formerly the Delta Center) where the circus was being held was a nightmare.
Stay tuned for Part II: The Circus and Dinner at Ima’s, coming soon to a blog near you!
UltraMom
I just had a couple of very nice weekends sandwiched inbetween studying my brains out. I’m going to try to stay awake long enough to tell you about it!
This past weekend, I had some rare and very welcome company from Idaho. Several weeks ago, my very good friend Debbie Bailey called. Debbie and I used to lead Weight Watchers together when I lived in Idaho; I also had the privilege of having her kids at my house on a couple of overnighters where they entirely won me over by playing games with me til even I had had enough. Debbie and her girls, Rachel and Amy, have been to visit me in my new location a couple of times and they wanted to come again. The answer, of course, was an emphatic YES! I had to warn them there was only one operational bathroom in the house, the one next to my bedroom. UltraDad had been working on tiling the guest bathroom for the past several weeks, and had removed the toilet, which is a key component to any operational bathroom. I was relieved to hear they would come anyway.
That Friday, UltraDad and I had spent the morning in Elko at our Annual Health Fair, where we got blood drawn for a fasting blood test, got our flu shots, and went around to various stations where we got our body fat analyzed, tested our lung function and took our blood pressure. I was grumpy that my body fat tested a little on the high side, but Ultra Dad’s was perfect. His lung capacity was also very good, while mine was on the low side. I felt a little better after a good breakfast of ham, eggs and English Muffin in the local café. Then UltraDad insisted on showing me around the new Cal Stores that had just opened in Elko. I was a little nervous as my past experiences with Cal Ranch in Idaho Falls involved wandering around aimlessly looking at cowboy hats and livestock supplies for an hour or two while UltraDad pored over tools and irrigation boots. I had to remind myself that our farming days were over, and we had a great time selecting a new toy for the ‘boys’ and a new wallet for UDad. We got home just in time for me to leave for work; no time to vacuum before my guests arrived. UltraD graciously agreed to handle that chore after I pulled out my best cajoling and threats.
Debbie, Rachel and Amy were there visiting with UDad when I got home from work that night. After dinner, UDad took off, having decided it would make the bathroom situation more tenable if he spent the night at sister Pat’s, which was very considerate of him (and of Pat for putting him up.) The ‘boys’ also had a guest: Molly the poodle. She was probably three times bigger than my poodles and scared to death of them. Rowdy was delighted to find someone he could terrify, and when he could get away with it, chased Molly around the house snarling and growling ferociously. Murphy wasn’t much better, and they rather resembled little velocirapters tag-teaming their prey. Being locked in my bedroom for 1/2 hour or so calmed them down for a little while.
We talked, played games, made cookies and ate, all favorite pastimes of mine. The girls were as fun and cute as I remembered; I can’t believe Rachel is a high school senior this year, with Amy only two years behind. Their brother, Nathan, also a favorite of mine, is in his second year of college in Tennessee.
To make my weekend complete, my sister Panther called and said she wanted to come out on Saturday. She arrived late that afternoon, bringing the most wonderful produce out of her husband, John’s garden. That guys thumb is more than green. There were watermelons, cantaloupe, cucumbers, summer squash, onions, tomatoes, eggplant, green peppers, jalapeno peppers, raspberries and peaches (I think the peaches came from a neighbor). Not only does he grow a great garden, but he also puts up the produce, and in addition to all the fresh stuff, I also got home processed grape juice, salsa, tomato sauce and jam! Hey, I just thought of something…….where are my pickles???!! Panther also brought lavender bouquets from HER garden, plus fresh lavender spears so she could show us how to make lavender wands. As we all proved lavender wand-challenged, she went around the table providing remedial help and encouragement.
Supper was wonderful; Debbie B had brought ingredients and the recipe for a great chicken crockpot dish. I’ll include the recipe for your dining pleasure: throw in the crockpot some whole chicken breasts, 8 oz cream cheese, one envelope Italian seasoning, 2 TB sour cream and a can of cream soup. Cook it all day, and serve with rice. Divine!
After Rachel helped me with my Biology homework for about an hour, we played Cranium, the ‘mature’ women against the ‘girls’. We did a lot of laughing, which is one of my favorite activities.
On Sunday, the Baileys had to leave early to get home in time for an activity for the kids, and it is a 6 hour drive. I forgot to mention that Amy did most of the driving as she is working on her learner’s permit. Panther and I went to church in time to sing in the choir, which we enjoyed. Then it was time for her to get started on her 6-hour drive back home.
It feels great to know that people want to spend time with me badly enough to drive 6 hours to do it.
Meanwhile, UltraDad with the thoughtful help of Pat got the tile cut and laid down on the bathroom floor. Next week, he can apply the grout; it looks fantastic, and we may soon be back to having two working bathrooms in the house.
I am going to have to write another post to tell you about the previous weekend, which we got to spend with Jimbo. It’s nearly midnight, and I still have a little Biology to read. But that was a great weekend too, and I promise to fill you all in very soon.
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Just a quick addendum to my last post on the VP debate. Did anyone else soil themselves a little when Palin asserted that the constitution allowed for the VP to exert more power if they chose to? After Cheney, I think we should all be able to agree that the mere thought is terrifying, but I have a hard time believing that she was willing to say it aloud. I wonder how much the press has picked up on that in the US?
I listened to an audio version of the Biden-Palin debate earlier, but wanted to watch the video too so that I’d be able to pick up on body language cues and other things that don’t show up in an audio file or a transcript. A couple things come to mind that really get to me.
First, Palin not only doesn’t answer the questions from the moderator, she doesn’t even try. She goes to far as to announce that she isn’t going to answer the questions. What then, is the point of having a debate? As I see it the purpose of a debate is threefold:
So if the candidate doesn’t answer the questions given her, why even have a debate. I knew she would do better in the debates than in her one on one interviews because in debates the moderator rarely pushes the candidate very hard to answer, and the opponent can’t without seeming like a bully. I wouldn’t have ever in my wildest dreams expected this though if I hadn’t already listened to a debate she had when running for governor of Alaska where she did much the same thing, albeit to a lesser degree.
The second thing that is really bugging me is English. Both of the candidates supposedly speak it as their native tongue. Biden made his share of slip ups during the debate, but Palin makes him look like an English professor. Her two greatest hits though I thing stand out as proud monuments to being stupid, which really does seem to be the goal. Palin is in a big hurry to show off her lack of education and sophistication so this probably plays right into her hands. I guess it worked for Bush. The first big one comes directly from him after all. The word is nuclear, not nook-yoo-ler you nincompoop. It should be a prerequisite for being in a position to order the deployment of nuclear weapons that you can pronounce nuclear weapons.
The second big English language gaff was Palin’s remark that she wouldn’t want to attribute all of man’s activities to global warming. I’ll just leave you to stew in that until you, like I did last week, vote Obama.
Some Neat Quotes:
And, so that my dear mother can compare, here is the actual video:
Fairly Good Dad. Enabled me to videochat with the ever-awesome Linc today. Unfortunately, cannot give him a perfect score, because of lavish candy demands. Sorry.
The mother of my favorite grandchild, and by all accounts, an awesome one.
Chats with me once in a while on Skype. This is the kid I call when I’m feeling a little down. Whether it’s telling corny jokes or indulging in a gender-bashing fest, he can always make me laugh.
Had lots of fun with this guy in SLC last weekend. He spent half of his Saturday with two ‘mature’ women (UltraMom and Ima) and was charming and lots of fun. He graciously accepted Ima’s offer of homemade spaghetti leftovers. What a good son.
I don’t get to talk to this girl NEARLY enough, but she did email me an invite to a Women’s Seminar she will be attending in Pocatello. Unfortunately it is the weekend of my big Weight Watcher meeting. I miss you, honey!
Going on third week of wearing a plastic cone on his head to prevent scratching open the sore on this face, poor little guy. UDad says it is his Halloween Costume: Funnel Man,,,,,,er Pup
Has no plastic cone on his head; unlike Rowdy, does not spend first 5 minutes of each and every walk jumping and grabbing his own (and others) leashes. Has developed a rather cute trick of standing in the kitchen and barking when he wants a treat. After a false start, am determined to not give in to his extortion.
Dropping to the bottom. She has ruined another couch with her lethal claws, despite huge scratching post prominently displayed (and largely splayed) in the vicinity.
Unfortunately, I don’t’ have the time to do a thorough analysis. I agree with Bob’s explanations and/or positions re: gun control, stem cell research, education.
“In spite of all of these things, the real deal breakers for me are abortion and embryonic stem cell research. I don’t understand how somebody can claim to be a Christian and then support the destruction of human life.”
Jessica, I appreciate this statement. I too am pro-life. And this used to be a deal-breaker for me, but when I weigh all the other issues, I will still vote for Obama b/c I think overall his platform is more “Christian” than McCain’s. I find it ironic and hypocritical that so many fight for a pro-life platform, but will then turn around and say that every individual is not entitled to health care. So we’ll guarantee a fetus’s right to life, but will do nothing to step in and ensure that fetus’s health once it has grown to adulthood.
Also, FWIW (probably very little) I’m not really a huge fan of Obama’s healthcare plan. I preferred (gasp!) Sen. Clinton’s. I think Obama’s does too little. But in all honesty, there has to be some compromise and Obama’s is a step closer. I just don’t think it will resolve anything and in the long run, health care is still going to be a mess in our country.
Re: Bill Ayers. Come on now. McCain looks like a fool for bringing this up over and over. I think it shows how desperate his campaign is becoming. What really disappoints me is that so many Americans are won over by McCain’s stance on this non-substantive accusation. Ayers and Obama served on an educational committee together. Obama has never supported terrorism. I have a half brother who’s spent most of his life in prison; that doesn’t make me a convict. I have another brother who’s one of the greatest all-around people I’ve ever known (despite his right-wing tendencies). That doesn’t mean I’m a great person by mere association (wish it did).
Re: subprime mortgages, I can’t say it any better than Bob. Predatory, predatory, predatory. The banks knew what they were getting into and prey on the uneducated and poor. You see this in so many industries, (i.e. payday loans).
Re: last night’s debate. How funny was it that McCain kept talking about how negative Obama’s campaign was and then keeps repeating the “he supports terrorists” mantra (with Ayers and then again later with Chavez). I also “loved” that McCain’s only comeback to the discussion re: his supporters shouting “Kill him [Obama]” at rallies was that his supporters are the greatest group of patriots there are. Nice! Wouldn’t want to take a chance at disenfranchising some of your biggoted backers, now would you?
Overall, I am more and more impressed with Obama’s diplomacy. It will be refreshing to see that in the White House.
Billie, you need to respond so Jessica doesn’t feel ganged up on.
p.s. I can’t wait for the SNL “Joe the Plumber” spoofs.
My response did not work so apparently there is a character limit. Three pages seems to be too much. I’ve got it saved on my computer though so I’ll post it as soon as I watch the instructional video and learn how to post.
I just double checked and there shouldn’t be. Could you send me the comment by e-mail so I can try and see if I can figure out what the problem is?
I just made it into a post above, but I’ll email it to you anyway so you can check it out.
Somehow I missed Chenoa’s comments until just now. Thanks for that. I think you need to make our future responses, you are much better at this than I. Law school and brains do count for something it seems.
Could you go into more detail on the differences in the Clinton and Obama plans? I’m not disagreeing, I was just so turned off by Clinton’s campaign that I never really looked into her health care plan that much.
Finally, I agree, Billie it is time to step up to the plate. Jessica is fighting a valiant solo battle to defend a candidate that it is increasingly difficult to defend. Duty calls.