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�Once in his life, every man is entitled to fall madly in love with a gorgeous redhead�
-Lucille Ball
"To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public."
--Theodore Roosevelt, 1918
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"The time is always right to do what is right"
- Martin Luther King, Jr.
"The "seven social sins": Knowledge without character,
Science without humanity,
Wealth without work,
Commerce without morality,
Politics without principles,
Pleasure without conscience,
Worship without self-sacrifice."
--Gandhi
"We have not inherited the world from our forfathers -
We have borrowed it from our children."
--Kashmiri, proverb
--Mahatma Gandhi
~~~
Happy Birthday To: Sophia Loren, born this day in 1934
~~~
I read Gutterpoet�s note in response to my inquiry � �Why are you voting for Bush?� While I don�t disagree with anything he said, it doesn�t really answer my question. I guess my question should have been �What valid reason do you have for voting for Bush?�
I assume anyone reading this journal has more active brain cells than your average Joe and thus would actually have a valid reason.
Gutterpoet�s note did make me think about something, though (as he is wont to do) and that is the whole, �You�re not really voting for John Kerry, you�re voting against George W. Bush� aspect to the race this year.
In general, that is true; at least it is for me. John Kerry was not my pick out of the slew of Democratic hopefuls running this year, as you know. In fact, he wasn�t even my second or my third choice and I have always liked John Edwards a heck of a lot more than I like John Kerry. In that sense, I am very much settling for him. The man I truly believed in didn�t even come close to winning the party�s nomination, nor did I ever expect him to.
That said, there are actually plenty of reasons I am voting for John Kerry and not just voting against George W. Bush.
And in the words of that dude from The Dating Game: �And heeeere they aaaare!�
1. Iraq: John Kerry does have a plan to get our troops out of Iraq, contrary to popular opinion. You can read about it here or here, but here it is, in a nutshell:
a. Persuade NATO to Make the Security of Iraq one of its Global Missions
b. Internationalize the Non-Iraqi Reconstruction Personnel in Iraq c. Launch a Massive and Accelerated Training Effort to Build Iraqi Security Forces
d. Plan for Iraq�s Future by working with our allies to forgive Iraq�s multi-billion dollar debts and by supporting the development of a new Iraqi constitution and the political arrangements needed to protect minority rights.
Now yes, I would have preferred Dennis Kucinich�s more direct and immediate vision of how to get our troops out of Iraq, but in truth his plan was probably a bit�optimistic.
You will notice that John Kerry�s plan focuses on International cooperation and assistance in our future dealings with Iraq. You will also notice that he doesn�t give us a timeline as to when we can expect to pull our troops out of there. I believe this is because it is just hard to know � why promise you�ll have our troops home by a specific date and then have to keep pushing that date back? In order to pull our troops out, we will have to depend on the assistance of NATO and the UN and who knows what their response will be, especially after Dubya has alienated us from them so handily? I would rather someone not give me a timeline than lie to me, which is what Bush would do instead (and what he has done, already).
The bottom line for me is that I trust John Kerry more than I do Dubya � I trust that he will work to bring our troops home, without leaving the Iraqi people high and dry and with nobody to help them rebuild their country. I trust that he will accomplish this to the best of his ability, seeing as he will be cleaning up after someone else�s humungous mess. I don�t trust Dubya to do either one of those things. And why should I when he has never, ever told us the truth about anything over there?
When it comes to the reconstruction of Iraq, I also trust that John Kerry will get rid of these sweetheart deals (read: swindles) that are making Cheney�s friends at Halliburton so much money.
2. Homeland Security: You all know the reasons I think Dubya�s claims of �we are safer now than before 9/11� are a crock of proverbial shit. First if all, I think to correct anything, our new President has to actually admit there are flaws in the system - something the Bush administration has never done and probably never will do, because to do so would be to admit they messed up. Many of the flaws in our present system have to do with budgetary limitations. Dubya has been far too interested in cutting taxes for his wealthy friends to care much about funding our Homeland Security. What Bush has given away in the form of tax cuts (cuts he wants to make permanent, by the way), John Kerry will take back and put to programs such as Homeland Security and education. Which leads us right in to�
3. The Economy: John Kerry will not only reverse tax cuts given for the last two years to the wealthiest 2% of our population, he will put a lid on government waste and invest in new technology, creating new jobs. He will also put America on the path toward energy independence, investing in new technologies and alternative fuels and creating tax incentives that help automakers produce more fuel efficient cars.
4. Education: Rather than tout a great idea without funding it, such as Dubya has done with the No Child Left Behind act, Kerry will take funds presently given to wealthy people in the form of tax cuts to fund training for teachers and after-school programs for children, as well as make college more affordable.
5. Environment: While, granted, anyone�s treatment of our environment would be better than Dubya�s, John Kerry has a long-standing history of defending our environment. Therefore, I trust him to continue to do so, by working to clean our air, protect our forests and water systems, and to help clean up the back yards of every neighborhood.
There are other issues. I trust John Kerry to work to make Health Care more affordable, for instance. I trust John Kerry to reverse the evil effects Bush�s bumbling of the budget has had on Medicare costs for retirees (because of what Bush has done, but the time people born today retire, over 90% of their Social Security check will go toward their Medicare. My own cost will be in excess of 40% of my Social Security check. The percentage of your Social Security check going toward Medicare has stayed pretty much flat since the late-sixties�until Dubya came to town and fought to protect the profit-margin of Pharmaceutical companies, rather than your healthcare costs). I trust John Kerry to protect our Constitution and not allow it to be infected by the hatred of trying to enforce the denial of rights to homosexuals or to anybody else. I trust John Kerry will work WITH the leaders of other countries. I trust that John Kerry will do all he can to protect the health rights of women in this country and to assist with healthcare worldwide.
So these are the reasons I am voting for John Kerry. I trust that he will at least get our country back on track and back to working for the betterment of our future � all of ours. With the mess we have gotten ourselves in to, I do not expect miracles to happen in the next four or even eight years � not on any of the fronts outlined above. But I at least trust that John Kerry will try. I trust that he will put the best interest of all of us ahead of his own or those of his well-connected friends. I trust that he will try to do what�s best for all of us.
Is this a good enough reason? Well, obviously it is to me. I agree that it would be better to believe more passionately in my candidate of choice, as I did in Dennis Kucinich (or even as I did in Bill Clinton when he was running the first time). I also agree that I am much more passionate about voting Dubya out of office than anything. Sadly, that�s the way it is. But frankly, I don�t even think that�s all that bad. So what if the main reason I am supporting Kerry is that he�s NOT the other guy? That�s as good a reason as any, in my book, and it doesn�t make my vote any less worthwhile.
~~~
So apparently, CBS was lied to and the documents it showed on 60 Minutes (presumably proving that Bush was AWOL while serving in the National Guard) were faked.
Ouch. I feel bad for them. How embarrassing.
So these documents were fake, those �Swift Boat� people bad-mouthing John Kerry�s war service record were lying...maybe the lesson here is that we should be attempting neither to ride on the coattails of our past accomplishments nor to sully the service records of our opponents (records from forty years ago). As I have said before, ad nauseam, why don�t we all just talk about what�s going on today and what our plan is for the future, hmm???
Not that I don�t think that stuff matters, because it does. I just think there are plenty of things which have happened in this century and which matter more right now. I mean, were I a man living in the late-sixties, I would have done everything I could to get out of going to VietNam, too, including using whatever "connections� my family had in order to pull some strings. On the flip side, I think it was awesome and courageous that John Kerry not only volunteered to serve, but learned a lot while serving his stints in the Nam � enough to know that the war was ill-conceived and being fought for the wrong reasons so he came home and said so. I don�t care that some people still haven�t forgotten about that and that they feel somehow betrayed by his anti-war actions � they need to get over it already. Anyone who still thinks we were right to go in to Viet Nam and/or has a problem with John Kerry or anyone who said things to the contrary is an idiot.
(By the way � I saw a bumper sticker on someone�s car the other day that said �I will forgive Jane Fonda when the Jews forgive Hitler.� I mean, extreme hyperbole aside, talk about needing to get over it already.)
I don�t even care whether or not George W. Bush snorted Coke while hanging out at Camp David when his Dad was in office (see Kitty Kelley�s new book and the resulting hoopla).
In truth, Dubya�s struggles with substance abuse have been his one redeeming quality in my book. Say what you will, but overcoming an addiction takes a lot of courage and strength and anyone who can do it should be applauded. I don't care that he was an addict. I care that he was man enough to admit it and overcome it.
I guess it may be na�ve of me to wish that these guys would talk about real subjects with actual meaning and that they would ask hard questions of each other and demand answers, rather than speaking in sound bites. The debates will be interesting, to say the least�let�s see if John Kerry continues to let Dubya off the hook without demanding real answers or if John Edwards will confront Dick Cheney about his involvement with Halliburton and his probable war profiteering.
~~~
I had a pretty bad weekend.
Friday at the Spa was wonderful, of course. It was great spending the day with the gals (Barbara, Linda, Carla & Amy). My massage therapist found knots in my neck/back shoulders I had no idea existed and I was actually a little sore and stiff the next day, just from the massage. I really loved my facial and would love to get one monthly.
Of course, I spent way too much money, but I knew I was going to.
Friday night I baked two kinds of brownies after I got home and somehow managed to eat nary a one of �em. Then I woke up very early Saturday and was at my sister Linda�s before 6:00am, to get ready for our yard sale. The yard sale went very well for me in that I sold almost everything I had taken over there to sell, but badly in the sense that I didn�t sell the one thing I really wanted/needed to sell - this huge corner desk John bought when we lived together and which I inherited.
I no longer have room in my pad for this monstrosity and I if I have to store it I will have to get a storage space twice as big as I otherwise will need.
So we�re still trying to sell it. Linda was supposed to put it out on her curb again Sunday, but her husband was too lazy to help her do so (she used the word lazy, I didn�t). So she swears they will do that next week.
Pray for me.
I did make almost $200 for the 3 Day, though, and again � I sold almost everything else. What�s left are some old clothes that I will be dropping off at Goodwill after work today. You know, before I go home and clean the mountain of dirty laundry and the several dirty dishes I have waiting for me. Oh and my bathroom. I really should sweep my floors again, too.
The rest of my weekend was filled with either A) fighting with or B) not speaking to my boyfriend. And eating Chinese food.
I am not saying we�ve broken up, because I�ve said that before and we all know how that turned out. I am saying, though, that I have a lot on my mind this week. I�m also saying that I�m not even really upset about this turn of events and that in and of itself speaks volumes. I�m also saying I am very glad we�re not seeing each other this coming weekend, because now I have many days over which to think about this situation and make sure I am not overreacting due to the enormous amount of stress I have been under these past few weeks. I am also saying the fact that we didn�t have sex all weekend? Also didn�t bother me. So what does that tell ya?
~~~
Word of the Day for Monday September 20, 2004
fatidic fuh-TID-ik, adjective:
Of, relating to, or characterized by prophecy; prophetic.
last / next
~~~~~~~~~~~peace, love and smooches~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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