Christmas Break, The Office and 24!

Our family had a pretty good Christmas. We had some family over to our house for Christmas Eve and we went to see some family on Christmas. Since then, we have done nothing but relax. My 3 younger kids played games on the Wii, my oldest daughter and my husband and I watched episodes of The Office and 24. The above video is a hilarious compilation of many of the pranks that Jim has pulled on Dwight, a must see if you love the show "The Office".

This next week I plan on doing some reading, being an "organizing nazi" and getting back to the gym. The organizing nazi comes from the whole "soup nazi" on Seinfeld. There was a guy on Seinfeld who ran a really good soup restaurant but he was really strict and if you ticked him off you were banned from the restaurant. So, at my house if you are really strict about something the word nazi gets attached. I'm planning on de-cluttering and organizing cabinets and closets that haven't been done in awhile and I'm putting myself and my kids to work, so thus I will be the "organizing nazi". Thats why we've indulged that past couple of days and done absolutely nothing because we are planning on next week being productive. Thats the plan anyway, I'm still planning on next week having some break time built in since we don't have to do regular activities.

Reflections on Staying Engaged in Politics Without Getting Cynical!

I was working out last night and started reflecting on some things. As I often do, I was thinking about the choice we all have to either look at things through a negative prism or a positive one. It is human nature to trend negative, we have to make a conscious choice to be positive. Although, there are definitely some of us whose personalities trend towards optimism more than others.

Since, my theme is optimism, I thought it was only fitting to post a picture of Tony Snow. His legacy is that one can be immersed in politics and not become bitter and cynical.

My reflections started when I was thinking about how people tend to judge others by lumping everyone together. It is one of my biggest pet peeves. I can't tell you how many times I've been told that "all politicians are corrupt". What bothers me about that is its an insult to the many legislators who aren't.

I first got into politics because of the lack of outrage over Bill Clinton's many scandals. At the time, I read an excellent book by Bill Bennett entitled, The Death of Outrage. A big part of Bennett's premise was that Clinton's numerous scandals had worn the public down into not caring about the integrity of the office of the presidency. Clinton's apologists used the defense that all men, even Presidents cheat, etc... This led to a dumbing down of society into believing that all politicians were corrupt, so it didn't matter.

It does matter, and we should care about the standards of politicians. Yet, we cannot paint them all with a broad brush. During the elections last month I heard a lot of people saying they were voting out the incumbents no matter what. This is so unfair to the legislators who have stood by their principles despite what so many others have done. No matter whether its politics or something else, judge people individually on what they have or haven't done. Don't unfairly lump them in with those who deserve to have consequences for their bad behavior.

In conclusion, there is already some good coming out of this election. Just like Bill Clinton energized me to get involved on the other side, Obama is doing the same thing. I have had numerous friends contact me about how to get more involved.

Right now, I am listening to, 25 Ways to win with People on Cd. One of the ways is to look for the best in others. That is hard for many of us, but it makes a big difference if we look at the glass as half full, instead of half empty.

Justice Denied is Finally Justice Served!

"Earlier in this case, at a bail hearing, I asked — said — to Mr. Simpson I didn't know if he was arrogant or ignorant or both. And during the trial and through this proceeding, I got this answer, and it was both."--Judge Jackie Glass

What a difference a judge and jury makes!! The difference between Judge Glass and incompetent Judge Ito is stark. Isn't it ironic that a wife beater ends up going to jail after being sentenced by a female judge? As Glass said, the evidence was overwhelming and most of it came from OJ's Simpson's own mouth. Simpson has always been ignorant and so arrogant that he thought he was above the law, but not anymore.

Most of the legal experts say that Simpson will serve at least 9 years before being eligible for parole. The odds of him being paroled are slim, so it looks like he will spend the rest of his life in prison.

Unfortunately, it will not give his children back their mother and it won't give the Goldmans back their son/brother. It won't be able to heal the deep scars he's left on so many lives, but at least there is finally some measure of justice.

Why I Haven't Had Time to Blog...

--I'm trying to get back in shape by hitting the gym hard. I let things go during the hectic election season.

--I've actually been in the mood to get caught up on housework. I have to take advantage of that when the mood strikes. Again, I neglected my house during election season.

--Christmas Season in general

--2 of my kids have birthdays this time of year

--I'm bonding with my oldest daughter by re-watching old seasons of 24 with her.

--I've actually been going to bed at a decent time

--And the list goes on...

Twilight!

My teenage daughter isn't a big reader, but she loves the "Twilight" book series by Stephanie Meyer. It is a teenage love story between a normal girl and a guy who is a vampire. They are a huge hit right now with teens AND adults. Several friends of mine have read the books and really liked them.

My daughter has been counting down the days until the premiere of the movie based on the first book. So, last night 2 friends of mine, my daughter and one of her friends all went to the Midnight premiere of the movie. The movie theater we went to was showing it on 5 different screens, and the parking lot was packed.

I was the only one in the group that hadn't read any of the books. They all thought the movie wasn't as good as the book, although they enjoyed it. I had nothing to compare it with, so I thought it was pretty good. I can see why the storyline is so compelling and I look forward to reading the books.

The Palin-Bashers!

Sarah Palin and those like her are the future of the Republican Party. Conservatism is not dead – moderates are the losers in this election. No liberal has been elected by outing themselves as same. They become centrists, moving center and center-right (remember the elections of 2006). Obama, who is recognized by other liberals as the most liberal liberal in Congress, spent the last two months of the campaign running center-right.--Mychal Massie

I couldn't agree with Mychal Massie more in his column, "The Palin-Bashers". Here are some excerpts:

The accusations now surfacing is that Gov. Palin isn't "smart enough" to even consider running for president
, to which one might argue: like Al Gore and John Kerry were, and like Joe Biden is – but I digress. A pre-eminent business leader told me many years ago, "You don't have to be super smart to be successful – you just have to be smart enough to surround yourself with people who are."

To that point, Sarah Palin is not only smart enough to surround herself with smart people, but she is also both smart and capable. Her record of accomplishment in barely two years as governor of Alaska is extraordinary. She is a proven fiscal conservative who puts the best interests of the people ahead of "good ol' boy" politics and policies, and she isn't hesitant to take on malevolent factions of her own party. She holds to traditional values, not as a mace, but as a way of life.

She restructured her state's pre-existing severance tax on oil and gas production, renegotiating the structure in full public view, and the rebated part of the resulting surplus went directly to taxpayers. She ended a multi-year stalemate over the financing and construction of a $40 billion cross-state pipeline that supplies cheaper natural gas to Alaskans and the lower 48 states. That single act alone did more to advance American energy independence than Biden, Obama or McCain can boast collectively. In her capacity as being responsible for the Alaskan National Guard, she authorized 521 missions that saved 200 lives.

His conclusion:

Sarah Palin and those like her are the future of the Republican Party. Conservatism is not dead – moderates are the losers in this election. No liberal has been elected by outing themselves as same. They become centrists, moving center and center-right (remember the elections of 2006). Obama, who is recognized by other liberals as the most liberal liberal in Congress, spent the last two months of the campaign running center-right.

The attacks are coming from those who fear what Gov. Palin represents. They fear not being able to convince enough people to oppose her unless they start savaging her now. I am also inclined to believe that a good number of those spreading the lies and misinformation are either from, will be or desire to be part of a certain former and future presidential hopeful loser, who fancies himself a contender in 2012.

Sarah Palin is good for our party – she is good for America.And trust me, those attacking her do so because they fear her ability to connect with voters. They wouldn't waste their efforts if this were not the case. To those who say she isn't "smart enough," I say she doesn't have to be an Adams, Jefferson, Madison or Reagan; she just has to be smart enough to know it and surround herself with capable people. And keep in mind that Ronald Reagan was attacked as not being intelligent enough, while Bill Clinton was hailed as being supremely intelligent.

Palin didn't lose the race for McCain – he lost it himself despite her giving him a tremendous boost going into the closing weeks of the campaign. She is, however, the reason his 6-point lost wasn't a double-digit loss.

Fun Stuff!--Part 1

Since this election cycle was hard on all of us, I figure a diversion from politics is a good thing. My liberal buddies James and Dave are so happy about their Obama win that they are taking some time off from politics. Kudos to them, while being happy about their win there was no gloating to those of us who were mourning a loss.

1) True but funny story--I was working out on the elliptical machine at the gym last night and this guy starts working out next to me. He starts talking to me even though I have headphones on but he gets my attention. We start talking for awhile, when I realize that he is hitting on me. By this time he knows I'm married, have 4 kids, that my husband does kickboxing, etc... I even talk about how I'm a Republican and he is an Obama supporter and still he is not dissuaded. Finally, I happen to mention that I'm one of those people who still loves Bush and he finally disappears. LOL :-)!

2) Nickelback's New Cd--I'm a big fan of Nickelback and they are coming out with a new Cd. Ironically, it comes out the same day as David Cook's, November 18th. I'm looking forward to both of them. I'm really bummed that a friend and I didn't go to the Nickelback concert here in KC a year ago with Chris Daughtry. I'm a huge fan of both and it would've been worth the money. Hopefully, sometime in the near future. My friend is also a homeschooling Mom of 4 so we joked about how we would have to get some leather pants to go.

3) The Jane Austen Book Club--I knew I wanted to buy this movie the first time I saw it. It is an excellent movie but I was waiting for it to be a decent price. Then, this past weekend I needed a good movie to distract me from the rough political news. I went to Target and they had it for a great price and it was the last copy. How could I not buy it?

4) North and South--I started reading this during the summer but things got crazy busy with the campaigns. It was hard to get much reading done, but if I did, it was easier books. So, now that the campaigns are over I went back to reading it and I am enjoying it. I also only have 3 books after this to finish my 50 book list.

Tomorrow, will be my Fun Stuff--Part 2 post, stay tuned!

In Defense of Sarah Palin!

"I've been working over 20 years in Washington and I've been around literally dozens and dozens of politicians. She is among the smartest, toughest, most capable politicians I've ever dealt with. She has a photographic memory."--Randy Scheunemann (McCain's top foreign policy adviser)

It is unconscionable how Sarah Palin has been treated ever since joining the ticket with McCain. She, like Bush are a threat to liberals and as a result liberals have engaged in character assassination. And Palin has been thrown under the bus by some Republicans as well.

There have been a lot of false rumors that have traveled through the left wing blogosphere. In the above Greta interview Palin puts a lot of them to rest.

Also, it turns out that some loyal Romney supporters may have been behind the rumors. In this ABC article, a Palin aide and a McCain aide come to Palin's defense, insisting that the rumors are false.

"For one thing there is quite a defense of Palin mounting in the blogosphere. Gosh, if you had to come up with a plot to endear her to the base, increase anger against the McCain bumblers and lift the fighting spirits of conservatives you couldn’t come up with a better idea than continuing to trash Palin in the media. Is it a Rovian plot?"--Byron York

Michelle Malkin echoes my sentiments exactly in the above video. She starts off by talking about the hypocrisy of Oprah and then the treatment of Palin. Bill Kristol and Rush also came to Palin's defense.

Saturday Toons!!

These speak for themselves, for more go to Townhall's Cartoon page!

My Sarah Palin Order!

I ordered the above shirt and 2 bumper stickers from Cafe Press. For some reason, the bumper sticker pictures don't want to show up on this post. The first one said, "Sarah Palin A Hero for Real Women". The second one said, "Sarah Barracuda for Vice President". I also got my Mom a tote bag.

Cafe Press has a lot of cool election stuff. I highly encourage you to check them out.