And here we are, 4 years later

4 years ago, I wrote this post.

4 years later, I feel the same way. I'm relieved the election is over. I'm relieved this isn't going to be a long, drawn out wait to find out the winner.

I'm disappointed in the result though. I didn't believe O was the right choice 4 years ago, and I don't believe O is right choice now, but, unfortunately, the majority did. *sigh*

Life will go on, but I'm betting things will get worse over the next 4 years.

Is the glass half full or half empty?

http://www.freep.com/article/20090518/NEWS15/90518022/Granholm+to+be+at+White+House+on+Tuesday

Hmmm...I would love to have her OUT of my state, but on the Supreme Court?  Lol.  Damn.

Where do I want her the least?

Biden == dumbass

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/05/17/oops-biden-reveals-location-secret-vp-bunker/

Good job Joe!

It's been awhile

When I give technical presentations, I tell people I have multiple blogs; one on technical stuff, one on World of Warcraft and this one.  I joke that people didn't like it when all 3 blogs were combined because honestly, if you're coming to my primary (tech) blog, you probably don't want to hear me rant about the left-wing nuts of the world or hear about my latest quest in World of Warcraft.

My last post was a few days after the last Presidential election.  I've been pretty quiet about the goings-on of the current administration, but I don't think I can keep quiet any longer.  I've definitely got some thoughts I'd like to post.  Hopefully in the very near future I'll have some time to make that happen. :-)

Coming to terms with the results

It's been a couple days and while I haven't really watched the news much, I'm coming to grips with the results of Tuesday's election. I'm still not sure how the majority of the US could think Obama was the right choice, but I guess we have 4 years to find out if they were right.

While Michigan went Blue, I'm happy that my county went Red. Of course, that's tempered with overall low voter turnout in my county. This is from my local newspaper:

"As it was, the city of Coldwater saw a 55 percent turnout, and the county just over 58 percent."

What the hell is that about?

Relieved and disappointed

I'm relieved this almost 2-year long election cycle is over. It was way too much for way too long. Unfortunately, I think it's the way of the future. Ugh.

I'm disappointed in the outcome of the election though.

I don't know what else to say at this point....

Michigan Congressman Wants 50-Cent Tax Hike on Every Gallon of Gas

You know what...I didn't even need to read the article (I did, BTW) to know there was a "D" at the end of that congressman's name. :-\

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,339589,00.html

Seriously...this guy needs to get a clue.

19-year old medic receives third-highest medal for valor

Medic Stationed in Afghanistan Becomes 2nd Woman to Be Awarded Silver Star
"...Brown ran through insurgent gunfire and used her body to shield wounded comrades as mortars fell less than 100 yards away"

Out-fucking-standing. :-)

I'll take one of her over a million Code Pinkers.

Michigan's Hurting Economy and License Requirements

http://www.wwmt.com/news/new_1346580___article.html/michigan_rapids.html

"The Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce says denying non-citizens id's actually hurts Michigan's economy. Chamber members say the changes prevent businesses from attracting highly-skilled professionals from around the world, something our region depends on to get by. "

Huh? All the people I've known throughout the years that were here LEGALLY had no problems getting drivers licenses. Exactly who is the GR Chamber talking about?

Mich. Denies Illegal Immigrants Licenses

Wow. I guess I didn't realize this was happening.

Mich. Denies Illegal Immigrants Licenses
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20080122/D8UAMCJG1.html

Hillary and Michigan

I LOVE this quote by Karl Rove:

“Think about that. She’s running against ‘nobody’ and ‘nobody’ gets 40 percent of the vote,” said Rove. “The other 5 percent of the vote went to three other people: 27,924 votes went to the guy who believes in UFOs, the guy who dropped out and the guy who last held public office somewhere around 1855.”

Voting in the Michigan Primary

Coldwater has a population of about 10,000 people and is divided into 4 wards. I happen to live in the 1st ward.

Anyway, I arrived to vote this morning around 7:45. There is only one location in Coldwater to vote and this was it...but it was quiet. I was actually a bit disappointed that more people weren't out voting, but then again....people suck.

After filling out the application and showing them my drivers license, I was told that I was the FIRST person from the 1st Ward to vote. :-\ WTF? Wow. People really do suck.

It took me about 2 minutes from the time I walked through the door to the time I deposited my ballot in the voting machine. If history is any indication, Coldwater probably had about 1,000 people TOTAL vote today. Hopefully our newspaper will print the turnout tomorrow.

Catching up

First, I saw this story earlier...
Pregnant high school students want maternity leave

*sigh* Give me a break. I'm not sure what else to say about this. It disturbs me that people are taking this request seriously.

As for the current election BS...if it hadn't been a year since most of these jackasses had started campaigning, I might care. At this point, I just want November to get here so we can get this settled and put all the posturing and name calling behind us for another couple years. ;-)

I'm not exactly thrilled with the Republican lineup, but of those that have a serious chance, I'm likin' Mitt Romney. I don't think Rudy is gonna make it too much longer, Huckabee doesn't do much for me personally....Ron Paul is a fuckin' freak and McCain has his own set of issues.

So, come next Tuesday, I'll be throwing my vote to Romney.

Boy Scouts being too political

From FoxNews: Cambridge Officials Put a Stop to Boy Scout Drive to Aid Troops in Iraq

OMG. What the hell is wrong with people? This is insane. "Too political"?

the troop committee chairmain had it right when he said:
“This was not about supporting the war or any politician or political view," troop committee chairman Jamisean Patterson told the Herald. "This was supporting the brave men and women who are stationed overseas.”

Anyone that sees it any other way has some serious issues.

Please, take more of my money

"John Edwards says if he's elected president, he'll institute a New Deal-like suite of programs to fight poverty and stem growing wealth disparity. To do it, he said, he'll ask many Americans to make sacrifices, like paying higher taxes. "

http://www.concordmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071026/FRONTPAGE/710260384

I've never understood the "wealth disparity" argument. I mean, really, it seems to me that some people make more money because they've put forth the EFFORT required to get a better job to make more money. Why should they be punished because Joe Dumbass down the street doesn't want to do anything but take handouts or complain about his poor life?

Hillary speaks -- making sense this time?

Clinton Says Universal Health Care Plan Will Not Cover Illegal Immigrants

Hmmmm....interesting, it not a bit unexpected.

Will Hillary ever stop?

Now Hillary wants to spend another $20-$25 BILLION on 401k retirement plans for everyone.

http://michellemalkin.com/2007/10/09/everybody-gets-a-401k-plan/

Health Insurance

If you've watched the news in the past week, you'll know that President Bush vetoed an expansion to the S-CHIP program. Details on the veto here.

Michelle has a great post about how the Dems are holding up one particular family in their fight to get the veto overturned.

All I really want to say is that from 2001-2005 and then from 2007-now I have been self-employed as a software developer / consultant / contractor. During that time, we built a house and have purchased two new vehicles. I have also paid for private health insurance for my family during those times. We currently pay close to $600 per month to cover two adults and two kids (ages 4 and 6). We're all pretty healthy and don't smoke. Is it expensive? Hell yea, but would I ever be without health insurance coverage? No way. Not with two young children.

I'd love to pay less for my coverage, but I DO NOT WANT, nor will I support any kind of national healthcare.

Chicago-area schools and holidays

Update: School Keeps Christmas, Halloween; Adds Ramadan

Anger Rises Over Rumors Of School Nixing Halloween

Interesting article.

Elizabeth Zahdan is at the center of the storm, a Muslim mother of three who requested that her children be separated from others at lunch during the Ramadan fast.

The schools agreed, but many parents didn't. Ok. Fine.

The schools agreed, but once non-Muslim parents turned up the heat, Superintendent Tom Smyth said, "I go back to our policy which says that public schools are to remain neutral in this respect."

What's neutral about allowing the Muslim students time for Ramadan, but taking away other traditional US holidays?

A (not so great) idea from Hillary

Original link: Clinton: $5,000 for Every U.S. Baby

Interesting.

"The New York senator did not offer any estimate of the total cost of such a program or how she would pay for it. Approximately 4 million babies are born each year in the United States. "

Quick math: 4,000,000 * 5000 = $20,000,000,000.

Wow, and that doesn't even include the overhead of running the program. Where is all that going to come from?

I'd be willing to bet that this will apply to those babies born to illegal immigrants. Nice.

I have a better idea: let's save $20+ billion dollars or put it toward increasing the $$$ we pay the brave men and women that unselfishly protect this great country.