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'Commander in Chief'I've been watching the new ABC show, 'Commander in Chief', starring Geena Davis, for the last couple of weeks, and I absolutely love it. I don't know what it is, but watching a woman in the position of President of the United States completely fascinates me.
I think it is high time that we had someone other than a rich, white male in the Oval Office, and this show really illustrates how some people would react to that happening.
I wouldn't classify myself as a staunch feminist (I definitely won't be burning my bras - I need those if I don't want to look like one of those tribal woman on the Discovery channel), but I am a firm believer in the 'anything men can do, women can do' adage.
Holding a public office is one of the items on my lifetime to-do list, but it really goes much deeper than that. I don't want to hold just any office. I dream about holding THE office. The most powerful position in the United States. Odds are, that won't ever happen. But it doesn't hurt to dream about it.
I have a friend who is set on becoming the governor of Missouri. His email is even 'governor2020@ . . . .' He was still a virgin (I say that because he said that, but he and his girlfriend, who was a 'devout' Christian and so didn't want to lose her virginity until marriage, would regularly have anal sex, just not vaginal, because they thought that still left them virgins. My thoughts are that once you've had a penis in either one of those holes, you are no longer a virgin, even if your hymen is still intact) when we graduated, because he didn't want any Clinton-esque scandals to surface later on in life.
I am the exact opposite. I will never tailor my actions for the beliefs of another. So, if I actually get to a position where the Presidency is a possibility, my opponents are going to have lots of ammunition. (This blog won't help either, I'm sure.)
I believe that the double standard we have towards the actions of our elected officials is some of the reason why they're all liars and cheats. They (like my friend) have spent their whole lives pretending to be something they're not. And if you've spent your entire life lying about yourself, it is then very easy to lie about anything else. Lying is one of those things that gets easier with practice.
We keep electing these men who are basically cookie-cutter images of each other. But what attributes do they bring to the table? They can raise money, they can kiss babies with flair, but they can't balance the budget because most of them don't even understand the concept of a budget. Put a woman who was once a poor single mother up there, and she'd have that budget balanced faster than you can say boo. Because she knows what it's like to account for every penny to make sure that everyone is fed and clothed.
We are supposed to be the richest country in the world, and yet poverty is running rampant, especially in the southern part of the country. Why? Why are the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer? Maybe because we elect our officials on how angelic and good-looking they are, instead of what kind of real world experience they have.
"In politics, stupidity is not a handicap." -Napoleon The Blame GameI have tried to steer clear of the Hurricane Katrina topic because that's all any of us see every time we turn on the tv. But the blame game being played out over the situation makes me sick. Every time I read something new about the hurricane and it's aftermath, another finger is pointed.
We all should know by now that our government does not really respond well to tragedy. Hell, we're just now discovering that the government had quite a few warnings that 9/11 was going to happen, and yet did nothing about it. To follow the reasoning of the people in Louisiana, that must mean that the president was prejudiced against all the 'rich, city folk' that died in that tragedy. Just as the poor response to the hurricane must mean that Bush is racist, and hates the 'poor black people'.
Bullshit. This is just a way for people to take the blame off of themselves. How many of the people that are crying out because it took so long to get a response tried to get out when they were told that the city was being evacuated? Or did they just stay, knowing that eventually someone would take care of them? Why should they put forth any effort if someone else could do it for them?
Mayor Nagin of New Orleans has been one of the loudest 'blamers'. But he is only blaming other people to cover up his failures. Why didn't he have buses going into the areas where people had no way to evacuate? Why didn't he have the police going door-to-door before the hurricane? Why didn't HE make sure that all the hospitals were the first to get evacuated? And since when does a problem with your job give you the right to act like a petulant child? He knows that the more he blames other people, the less anyone is going to remember him failing.
There are more important things to be focusing on right now than who did or didn't do what. Why does it matter at this point? Shouldn't our focus be on how to help these people?
There were failures at every level of this response, from the top on down, and that even includes the people that live in the areas where the hurricane hit. There will always be someone new to blame. Always.
Our focus now shouldn't be on pointing the finger, but lending a helping hand. Everyone who has an opinion about who is to blame should grab a shovel and get to work instead of running their mouths. That is the only thing that is going to make this situation better.
"The less justified a man is in claiming excellence for his own self, the more ready he is to claim all excellence for his nation, his religion, his race or his holy cause. A man is likely to mind his own business when it is worth minding. When it is not, he takes his mind off his own meaningless affairs by minding other people's business." -Eric Hoffer A Shift to the RightAs I'm sure you've heard by now, Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor has resigned. This is one of those events that has far-reaching consequences. With her resignation, and the illness of Chief Justice Rehnquist, the Supreme Court is very close to becoming a Republican stronghold. I have never defined myself as either Democrat or Republican, mostly because I think those two parties have outlived their usefulness. Their only purpose these days is to define which side of the war a politician is on. The political parties have digressed until watching any sort of political wrangling reminds me of watching my four-year-old son at the preschool playground. The impact of Ms. Day O'Connor's resignation will be felt in many areas of our lives, but one of the major issues will be abortion. Abortion is a very hot topic, even though it has been 32 years since the decision to legalize was handed down. Ms. Day O'Connor has long been known as the swing vote, and if Mr. Rehnquist resigns as well, President Bush will have an opportunity to fill those positions. He is a vocal non-supporter of abortion. One of the things that frustrates me about the abortion debate is that people who are 'pro-life' think that those that are pro-choice are automatically in favor of abortion. Not at all true. I was once a pregnant 18-year-old, having to make this decision, and although I decided that having an abortion wasn't the right choice for me, I definitely appreciated having the CHOICE. In fact, I believe that in most cases, there are better choices than having an abortion, but the important thing to remember here is, it's not MY decision for anyone else. That's the beauty of being an American - we have the freedom to make choices for ourselves.
Ms. Day O'Connor's resignation will have other consequences, and I'm not going to bore everyone with a list of all of them, but it is something we all need to remember, along with the fact that we hold the power. Our votes make a difference. When it comes time, I hope you all will vote for what YOU believe.
Now, on to less serious topics - I am sunburnt! Not bad, just enough for a good tan, but its a little uncomfortable regardless.
Today's quote - "I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious." - Albert Einstein
Cancun countdown - 38 days!
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