Rehashing the Past

I’m sitting here watching the DNC convention online… I swore to myself I wasn’t going to get wrapped up in another election, not after the gross misconduct of the last two we’ve faced. Sometimes I feel so hopeless in this system.. the corruption, vested interests, lobbyists, and bullshit politicians that only care about making money for themselves and their friends than they are about the single mother that busts her ass to feed her children. But something stirred within me tonight, it was the faces of my fellow Americans. Old ones, young ones… people who are just like you and me… and there was hope in their faces… a basic desire to have the best that they possibly can. How do we get that? Unfortunately, I don’t have that answer. I’m not sure that Obama, McCain, Bush, or anyone else that lays claim to such powerful positions even know. But how can we give up when there are so many who are hopeful? 4 years ago, after the last election, I posted on an old blog, and I’m reposting it in part here:

"President Bush now believes he has a mandate to radically change tax laws, social security, and anything else he decides to tarnish. According to democratic ideals, political leaders answer to their consituents, and President Bush, as your constituent, I'm giving you a little "mandate" of my own....

The fate of America now rests in your hands. When you retire from office in four years, leave this country in the same condition you found it in (I'm not optimistic enough to believe that such drastic changes can be made so that somehow things could be better than when you entered office in 2000)....

Protect the troops you have put in harms way. Prove that you are the great commander-in-chief that they believe you to be. Give our soldiers the resources necessary to successfully carry out your democracy-spreading mission. When I say success, I don't mean the toppling of governments that do not meet your standards. Right now, success is taking the lives of civilian Iraqi's that can't walk the streets of their hometown without the fear of being attacked by terrorists, and liberating them from dictatorship. Freedom doesn't mean replacing a domestic threat with a new transoceanic absolutist ruler.

Remember that not everyone was born with a silver spoon in their mouth. Each one of us has an "American Dream", but unfortunately some of us weren't born into it. Some of us have to fight through blood, sweat, and tears to find it. Create real tax cuts that help a single mom put food on the table instead of a check that buys her kid a Happy Meal. Do the rich really need to get richer?

Give our senior citizens real options. Don't take away my grandmothers meager assistance when she tries to get a part-time minimum wage job to pay for medicine that keeps her alive. Respect the seniors who have paved the way for you.

When you say "No Child Left Behind", mean it. Fund the legislation you promote. Make sure that the schools in the inner-cities have the same supplies that schools have in wealthy neighborhoods. The future leaders of America are depending on you.

Make your mark on history; Remember that you will be a legacy. What the history books say about you is for you to decide."

So let’s take a look at what has happened in the last 4 years since I have written this…

“Protecting the troops”…

Confirmed Deaths: 4146
Pending Confirmation: 3

That’s right, as I’m typing this there are 3 families that are waiting on the news that their mother, father, son, daughter, brother, sister, best friend has died. I have a friend who’s husband is in the military, and he’s recently completed his 5th tour in Iraq. My uncle recently returned from Iraq, and another friend said “See you later” to her grandson this week. He is now somewhere between here and war. I can’t imagine what’s it like to have a loved one as one of the ugly statstics noted above, and I fear for each and every one of them that one day they are one to add to that list. Our own troops have been raped, murdered, and brutalized by people who are suppose to be fighting on the same side. Families are being told that their daughter has committed suicide, even though there were acid burns on her genitals. LaVena Johnson’s story should not be untold, nor forgotten. Where was her protection?

How about living that “American Dream”? More families face foreclosure, lack of health care, higher food and gas prices than ever before. I make a decent wage in my job. I’m even lucky enough that I love the job that I perform, but there is still no way that I could afford to buy a home, let alone live the dream of owning some land to open a sanctuary for the other innocent beings that are being slaughted at the hands of corporate interests. Indeed, those born with the silver spoon are only concerned about themselves, and have left the rest of their fellow Americans behind; more so now than even 4 years ago.

My next topic on the blog, “giving our seniors real options”. Instead of my grandmother contemplating a part time job and the possibility of it affecting her Medicare, she now has been diagnosed with cancer. This is the brave woman whom I’ve watched lose her husband at the age of 49, who tried to be self sufficient because her husband had a small business and didn’t have a pension, who couldn’t afford insurance, who is now counting PENNIES to buy food, to pay for her cancer medications. This is not a real option. This is not my grandmother’s “golden years”!

“No Child Left Behind” is in the same state that it was 4 years ago. An art teacher must buy canvas and paint so their students can have the materials necessary for class. Shop teachers have to take money out of their pockets to pay for the supplies needed to teach students. That money could go to pay their insurance, their mortgage, or buy their family food. SAT scores are at an all time low. This means that students are entering the work force less competent than ever before. Children are being left behind at an astounding rate. What future does this give for tomorrow’s leaders?

When I wrote my old blog, I noted that I wasn’t optimistic enough that The United States would be on better ground now than we were back then. I was right….
I wish I had been proven wrong. President Bush, you wrote your legacy, now live with it!

BUT there is so much more to this, more than all the desperation and despair that so many people face now days. There is hope. I saw it in the face of a little girl, in the gleam of veterans eye. We cannot give up on that hope. We must push further, we must survive!

Oh how I've missed you!!!

Two weeks ago, my hard drive on my brand new laptop took a shit dive and decided to crap out on me... Dell sends me a new hard drive "next day mail" and it takes 2 weeks to show up... no shit, DHL sucks!

So for the last two weeks I've been out of touch and now I'm having to download everything all over again, and get caught up on everything that I've missed.

Everything's been really busy here for me recently though. A week ago, I interviewed for a promotion at work, and hellz yeah!!! I got it!! So now, I'm directly under the Operations Manager and I get to work with all the operators in the center... I love it so far! I've got a few idea's going on in my head to try to help motivate everyone and I can't wait to put them together! Last Sunday night I worked my last night and my last weekend!!! I was quite surprised when I walked past the office that is now mine to see that some of my Operators had decorated with balloons, ribbons, and signs that they all made! It brought a tear to my eye! So I took a few pics and will post them so you can see my beautiful new office!!




They Love me, they really love me!!! As you can tell, the packing up and moving out and in processes are in full progress here, but I've finally got things settled in well... I'll update with finished pics later... You can't see all the pic but if you right click and view pic it'll show the entire pic... Ok, well I've got tons of work to do so I just thought I'd give a quick update since it'd been a while. Hope life finds you fantastic!