Pet Rocks Don't Listen

Wow, three days and three posts.  Can you tell I have strong feelings about the upcoming election?

Anyway, I have to rant a bit about last night's debate.  That was one of the most useless excuses for a "debate" I have seen in my entire life.  I'm including the debates staged for elections at my high school when I was a student there in the late eighties.  If anyone tries to tell me that the media is biased in favor of Obama after that fiasco I think my brain will simply cease to function.  To be fair, I do feel the media seemed biased towards Obama early on.... I felt that it was because he was the underdog.  I suppose that would explain the paradigm shift recently as well.

Wow.  I don't think I've seen Hillary so smug in months.  She knew Obama was getting blasted and was absolutely loving it!  "Obama, why won't you wear a flag pin, are you a terrorist?"  "Obama, why did you not abandon your church immediately after your minister's comments that you were not there to hear?"  "Obama, why did you associate with bad people that someone else hired to work with you?" "Obama, do you feel that your America hating minister is more of a patriot than you?" "Obama, why are Pennsylvanians so bitter towards you?"  "Obama, why do you hate religion and guns?"

Ok, it wasn't that bad.  Not quite, anyway.  But I'd be willing to bet these are the ideas that have been placed in some people's heads and will be passed around over the next week.  Hillary came under fire too.... for not coming under fire in the past.  Other than that she was given a pretty easy ride last night.  

Yes, I'm certain that debate didn't help Obama here in Pennsylvania.

All is fair in love and war.  And politics, I'm sure.  So yes, Obama answered the questions and answered them well.  He'll still win the nomination, of that I'm sure.  Hopefully he will go on to win the presidency as well.  But unless a minor miracle occurs in the next week, he'll still lose this primary and this battle will wage on for weeks to come, wasting money that could be better spent for the actual election and causing more strife amongst the ranks of the Democrats.  

Why couldn't you have brought up topics that are actually important last night?  Topics that I believe would have let Obama shine over Hillary?  Where was the discussion of the mortgage crisis (brought up by the candidates, not the moderators), the economy in general, our decaying roads and bridges, immigration, torture, wiretapping, possible crimes by members pf the current administration?  I felt like the debate was being moderated by anchors from Inside Edition, not ABC news.

No, at least that debate would have had Chelsea Clinton and Michelle Obama wearing bikinis.

It's so obvious that Obama is out of touch with the common man here in Pennsylvania, he has no idea what we've gone through.  Prices of gas and food are rising, taxes are always going up, many people are losing their jobs and there aren't many new ones coming here.  Beyond that, some of the area's biggest employers went through bankruptcy and backed out of their promised pension plans so now thousands of employees don't have the retirement they were expecting.  How dare he say we're bitter?  Come on!  We're ecstatic, wouldn't you be?

No, this isn't true for everyone in Pennsylvania, but it is a part of life here.  Yes there are bitter Pennsylvanians.  That isn't an insult or a threat, it's a fact.  Is he saying that we've given up or that we don't deserve better?  No, just the opposite, he is offering us hope that this will change.  Don't buy into the criticism.  Obama isn't out of touch, he seems to understand us better than most politicians on the national level.  He's financed his entire campaign with donations from people like you and me, not by accepting huge donations from corporations or lobbyists.  He wants a chance to serve US, the people of this nation, not just the corporations who can make him and his friends wealthy.  Let's give him that chance.

This post is directed mainly at my fellow Pennsylvanians and other states yet to vote in this year's Democratic party primaries.

Only one more week for those of us here in Pennsylvania and then the spotlight will move on.  So, have you made up your mind?  Are you voting for Hillary?  Obama?  Someone else entirely?  Well, here's the deal.  Vote for Obama so we can end this insanity.  Face it, Hillary simply cannot win unless she convinces superdelegates to vote against the will of the majority of the people in the Democratic party.  That is her only hope at this point.  And what will that accomplish?  The most divided Democratic party we've seen in a very long time.  I honestly cannot believe she would have even the slightest hope of winning the general election. Why?  Read on.

First of all, Hillary winning the primary in this manner would be even worse than Bush's victories in 2000 and 2008.  Remember the scandals during those years?  Gore won the popular vote, what really happened in Florida and then Ohio?  Did Bush really win?  Now imagine if Bush had only won if delegates from states that had gone Democrat switched and voted for him.  THIS IS WHAT HILLARY IS COUNTING ON FOR HER VICTORY!  No, superdelegates don't have to vote along with the general populace, but if they are going to override the popular vote, we truly have lost control of our own government.  So, after the Democrats were fired up by the results of the last two elections, all we have learned is to copy the behavior?  That is sad.

Second, we know that the Democrats usually have support of minority groups.  What effect do you think it will have on that support if a small group of people override the decision of the public and hand the nomination to Hillary Clinton over Barack Obama?  Come on people.  One of Hillary's biggest arguments is that she is the more electable.  If this is the way she wins that simply won't be true.  And again, this is the ONLY way she COULD win!

Hillary is simply leading a divisive campaign at this point.  It is serving no purpose other than lowering the chances of electing a Democrat this fall.  We need to finally realize this and unite as a party behind Barack Obama.  He has earned this support by running a superior campaign.  Don't allow this to go on any longer, let's come together as a party and send the message that it is time for Hillary to end her run.  Vote for Obama on Tuesday!

I believe in Barack Obama.   I think he is the one candidate that it is truly possible will bring the change we need to Washington.  Because of this, I am shouting from every place that I can about him.  I am asking that you give your support to this man, that you go to his website and DONATE!  Give him as much or as little as you can comfortably afford.  He has shown that a campaign can be run without smearing the mud that most candidates do.  He has shown that a campaign can be run without accepting contributions from PACs and lobbyists.  He has shown that a candidate CAN still be elected with the support of the people of this country.  Give him that support and let him show us what he can accomplish as our next President!

Visit Barack's website now!

You've got your pandora in my last.fm!  Uh-uh, you've got your last.fm in my pandora!

If you are an fan of either of these sites you need to check out PandoraFM, a mashup of the two.  I've been neglecting Pandora recently because I wanted to track my music in last.fm.  I've missed it.  Then I stumbled across this mashup and fell in love.  We go everywhere together!  It never grows old, I just love it more and more.  It completes me.  I think this may be the one.  Just don't tell my wife.

Show us an owl.

{o,o}
|)__)
-”-”-

How many email addresses do you have?  What are they for? 
Submitted by clippedwings.

Available? Infinite.  I have my own domain and it is set up to use wildcards for several addresses meaning I can use unlimited variations of a few email addresses.  I use it as a way to control spam.  I can give unique addresses at each website I sign up for.  If I start to get spam from one of the addresses, I know where it came from and I can stop it by blocking that address.

Beyond the addresses at my domain I also have three email accounts via the ISP I work for (not including my corporate account), as well as a yahoo and gmail account. 

The only accounts I really use at this point are those at my own domain.  I guess I just hold onto the others for nostalgia. 

Why do you live where you live?
Submitted by memtony.

I like comfort, shun change.  Yeah, I know.  Boring.  Eat me.  I live less than 10 miles from where I was born.  The only time I lived farther from home than that was during college and that was all of 45 miles or so away.  Yeah, I've got wanderlust deep in my bones.

So why am I where I am?  I love the area.  Mountains (albeit small ones), forests, streams, a reservoir.... this is what I love.  I live in the Pocono Mountain region of Pennsylvania and have never wanted to leave.  Life is a bit slow paced, but I can visit NYC or Philadelphia (each about a two hour drive) any time I want something different.  Maybe someday I'll leave and set down some roots somewhere else, but I doubt it, at least until after retirement.  For now, my exposure to the world will be limited to vacations.  I'm fine with that!

Who would you call with your one phone call if arrested? (No lawyers!)

My wife, no hesitation in this answer.  She is the one of the most intelligent people I know and obviously I would trust her with my life.  It's true! 

Where do you go to get away from it all? 
Submitted by Hops.  

This is why I love living where I now do.  Less than a mile away is the Christman trails section of Beltzville State Park.  When I need to relax this is my ultimate getaway spot.  All I need is a book and a spot to relax in and I can waste an afternoon relaxing in a secluded spot by the lake.  Just down the trail are a group of small but picturesque waterfalls (this is where Michelle and I had our engagement photo taken).  It's been a while, I think I should take a day for myself again soon.