Happy Halloween!!

It's a spooky wooky day and I am lovin' it! Halloween is one of my faves and has been for a long time. Today I am an Evil (of course) Priestess - oooooOOOOOO!
So yesterday was the last day in my 365 days - which ended up being 366 days due to Leap Year. Here's the summary:

Now the question is: should I take today's Halloween Picture and make it day 1 for a 2nd year of 365? hmmmmm....we'll see.

Halloweening At Work

Need some Halloween play time? Here are my favorite Halloween ways to play (during lunch and breaks, of course).

Halloween Hangman
Here's one of my words. What's the word? EEK! Help!

Looks like I got it. I didn't want to give you the word, so I removed it from the shot.

Ooops! Looks like I hung the skeleton. Ha ha ha ha! Keep your speakers on and listen to Mr Skeleton's funny comments.

Garfield’s Scary Scavenger Hunt
Help Garfield collect all the items on his list - but don't scare him because you could lose if he gets too scared.

Looks like I scared him! I forgot to include the scare-o-meter, but you get the idea.

Witch’s Cat Bowling
Be sure to read the instructions because that arrow moves at different rates.
Evil Green Witch herself starts you off:

Woohoo! I hit some!!
My final score SUCKS!

Halloween Jack-O-Lantern
Make your own online jack-o-lantern!
Start with a blank pumpkin.
Finish:

Have fun playing!

What would an entry be without an Obama plug?

The Power Of Endorsement

Here we are in the last stretch of the election and I am holding my breath. So much has happened this week that should cause any undecided voter (and any current McCain supporter) to pause and think about who McCain and Palin are.

Before we get to the video clips that matter, lets look at the 'BIG' story for the week: Ashley Todd. When I first heard the story, I thought it was odd that someone would put a "B" for Barack instead of an "O" for Obama. I think her actions are nothing short of despicable and racist and altogether outrageous! The worst part about it is her actions discredit any body who has ever REALLY been sexually assaulted! I hope she is fined (at the least) and jailed.


Some clips that stand out for me this week:

Hardball on MSNBC - loved the summary of the SNL, Andy Griffith Show and Happy Days:

Click Here to watch the full video for the Andy Griffith and Happy Days remake.

Another personal fave: The Rachel Maddow Show.
Here's the opening for her Friday show - which is kind of long here, but I really like her list (and especially her comments in the opening 2 minutes regarding the new McCain ad.)


I know EVERY BODY now knows that Collin Powell has endorsed Barack Obama for president. I wanted to post the actual video from Meet the Press because I was so moved by his explanation and logic behind his decision. I especially LOVED his comments near the end of this first video clip regarding Obama being Christian and not Muslim. Very moving:


Here's the picture Powell is referring to:


2nd part of Collin Powell's interview:


This week, before Obama left the campaign trail to be with his ailing grandmother, he made two AMAZING speeches I want to post here.

First was his speech directed to Native Americans and addresses his policy:


By the way, here's Bush's understanding (remember this?)


Obama's most moving speech this week was given in Richmond, VA on Wednesday:


Go Obama!! Holding my breath! I'm a conservative-liberal (if that's possible) and I'm voting for Obama because I think he reflects my values and will lead this country to a better tomorrow. I hope he wins.

Two Weeks and Counting!

Two more weeks!
My friend forwarded this to me - I found it entertaining.


Washington Veteran for Barack Obama

Getting Down to The Wire

We're getting down to the closing weeks of this election (and the closing days of Bush's terrible presidency). Now, more than ever, we need to be aware of what the candidates REALLY stand for. Frankly I'm shocked that there's this strange phenomenon called The Undecided Voter - I just think it's the uneducated voter; the ones who haven't really researched out where the candidates stand. And in actuality, I'd almost prefer them because it means they aren't voting blindly. "Oh, he's democrat or republican so I'll vote for him."

I watched the 3rd presidential debate with some interest and was glad to see McCain bring his game like he hadn't done in previous debates. However, he seemed to fizzle about half way through and that's when Obama shined through more. I was glad that Obama cleared up his past and that he was more specific regarding his healthcare plan. I still don't think either candidate was specific enough with some of their plans or visions for the future. I feel like there's a lot of "Trust my vision." AND this is why there are undecided voters who now have to do their research because the media is incapable of being truly unbiased in doing their job to bring truth (but that's just one lowly opinion).

The day after this final debate, the two candidates (and many other senators) attended the 2008 Al Smith Dinner. Every year there is this satirical political roast and this year guess who spoke? John McCain and Barack Obama. Both were fairly funny in their sarcasm in making fun of their own campaigns and each others campaigns. I loved how eloquently they spoke of their respect for each other.
MSNBC summarized the event - but it's worth checking out the whole thing on YouTube.




Here is one of the most disturbing things I think I've seen all election:

Seriously, this is the "transcript," if you will:
“I’m afraid if he wins, the blacks will take over. He’s not a Christian! This is a Christian nation! What is our country gonna end up like?”
“When you got a Nigger running for president, you need a first stringer. He’s definitely a second stringer.”
“He seems like a sheep - or a wolf in sheep’s clothing to be honest with you. And I believe Palin - she’s filled with the Holy Spirit, and I believe she’s gonna bring honesty and integrity to the White House.”
“He’s related to a known terrorist, for one.”
“He is friends with a terrorist of this country!”
“He must support terrorists! You know, uh, if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it must be a duck. And that to me is Obama.”
“Just the whole, Muslim thing, and everything, and everybody’s still kinda - a lot of people have forgotten about 9/11, but… I dunno, it’s just kinda… a little unnerving.”
“Obama and his wife, I’m concerned that they could be anti-white. That he might hide that.”
“I don’t like the fact that he thinks us white people are trash… because we’re not!”

Okay, what???? Are you serious!?!?!? Anti-white? White people are trash? Where did that come from? It's just appalling!

Here's the REAL Obama:

Great Story Alert:
So, there's this little story that the main stream media has not picked up yet about Obama in his very early days. The story is from a Norwegian newspaper:
I got this from This Blog.

ÅSGÅRDSTRAND (VG): Mary was a newlywed and ready to move to Norway, but was stopped at the airport because she didn’t have enough money for the trip. Then a stranger turned up and paid for her.

Mary Menth Andersen was 31 years old at the time and had just married Norwegian Dag Andersen. She was looking forward to starting a new life in Åsgårdstrand in Vestfold with him. But first she had to get all of her belongings across to Norway. The date was November 2nd, 1988.
At the airport in Miami things were hectic as usual, with long lines at the check-in counters. When it was finally Mary’s turn and she had placed her luggage on the baggage line, she got the message that would crush her bubbling feeling of happiness.
-You’ll have to pay a 103 dollar surcharge if you want to bring both those suitcases to Norway, the man behind the counter said.
Mary had no money. Her new husband had travelled ahead of her to Norway, and she had no one else to call.
-I was completely desperate and tried to think which of my things I could manage without. But I had already made such a careful selection of my most prized possessions, says Mary.

Although she explained the situation to the man behind the counter, he showed no signs of mercy.
-I started to cry, tears were pouring down my face and I had no idea what to do. Then I heard a gentle and friendly voice behind me saying, That’s OK, I’ll pay for her.
Mary turned around to see a tall man whom she had never seen before.
-He had a gentle and kind voice that was still firm and decisive. The first thing I thought was, Who is this man?
Although this happened 20 years ago, Mary still remembers the authority that radiated from the man.
-He was nicely dressed, fashionably dressed with brown leather shoes, a cotton shirt open at the throat and khaki pants, says Mary.
She was thrilled to be able to bring both her suitcases to Norway and assured the stranger that he would get his money back. The man wrote his name and address on a piece of paper that he gave to Mary. She thanked him repeatedly. When she finally walked off towards the security checkpoint, he waved goodbye to her.

The piece of paper said ‘Barack Obama’ and his address in Kansas, which is the state where his mother comes from. Mary carried the slip of paper around in her wallet for years, before it was thrown out.
-He was my knight in shining armor, says Mary, smiling.
She paid the 103 dollars back to Obama the day after she arrived in Norway. At that time he had just finished his job as a poorly paid community worker* in Chicago, and had started his law studies at prestigious Harvard university.
In the spring of 2006 Mary’s parents had heard that Obama was considering a run for president, but that he had still not decided. They chose to write a letter in which they told him that he would receive their votes. At the same time, they thanked Obama for helping their daughter 18 years earlier.
In a letter to Mary’s parents dated May 4th, 2006 and stamped ‘United States Senate, Washington DC’, Barack Obama writes**:
‘I want to thank you for the lovely things you wrote about me and for reminding me of what happened at Miami airport. I’m happy I could help back then, and I’m delighted to hear that your daughter is happy in Norway. Please send her my best wishes. Sincerely, Barack Obama, United States senator’.
The parents sent the letter on to Mary.

This week VG met her and her husband in the café that she runs with her friend Lisbeth Tollefsrud in Åsgårdstrand.
-It’s amazing to think that the man who helped me 20 years ago may now become the next US president, says Mary delightedly.
She has already voted for Obama. She recently donated 100 dollars to his campaign.
She often tells the story from Miami airport, both when race issues are raised and when the conversation turns to the presidential elections.
-I sincerely hope the Americans will see reason and understand that Obama means change, says Mary.

Yeah Obama!!! This, to me, says more about his character than anything else has.

Lovin' California

Eric and I went to California last Friday morning and spent five days with my sisters. We also drove to San Diego to watch the Patriots and the Chargers face off.

We flew on my personal favorite airline: Jet Blue and landed in Long Beach - SO much better than LAX!

We had reserved our car through Enterprise, but realized when we landed that we'd booked it for SATURDAY not Friday...so we went to the counter hoping they would have cars we could rent one day early. I was happy when I saw this sign:

We approached the counter and told the guy of our silly error and that we needed to get a car one day earlier. He told us that he wasn't sure they had any cars available but that we could wait until 1:00 p.m. (3 hours later) to see if one becomes available (GEE WHIZ, can we?). Wait for 3 hours for the mere possibility!? Your sign says there are cars available!!! (oh, and it took about 30 minutes for him to get this information to us)
So we cancelled the car reservation for Saturday and asked where there was another Enterprise. "It's about 2 miles away" Oh good, well let's hook that up, then, shall we? "There's a taxi right outside that is about $10"
What? Um, do you realize that EVERY SINGLE ONE of your commercials says you'll come get us? Nope, not so, apparently...so $15 later we're at the other side of the airport trying to get a damn rental car. After another 45 minutes, we finally get into a car for about 3 times the amount of what we had on our reservation BUT we could be on our way...so off we went, lest I personally hurt the poor kid behind the counter.

We spent the first day at Elida and Damon's house, but had a great dinner with Sandy and April, too. Yummy dry buns - LOL! No really, they were just delish! Can I have a little water, please?
We helped Mason with his first taste of soda:
The drop of coke hits the tongue:

Thinking about it, rolling it around:

Um, not so much! Good kid!
How about some water to wash out the taste:

Saturday we all went to lunch and then to the tide pools...that was kinda cool.




And then on Sunday we drove to San Diego to see our NE Patriots face the Chargers. We loved our seats - well worth the gazillion dollars we paid for them...We were on the 50 yard line, 9th row up right behind the NE bench. Awesome!

To our dismay, our Patriots did not bring enough fight to the game and lost 30 to 10 - so sad *tear*
In boredom, I took several random pictures of the game and the disappointed fans and anything I could find of mediocre interest.
Airforce fly-over right before the game began

Me with NE Patriots superheroes - too bad they couldn't save the game for us.

Bill Belichick

Disappointed fan (around the beginning of the 4th quarter)

Our CRAZY neighbor! The obscenities and malice was outrageous!

Me and Eric - one of my favorite pictures of us (shhhh, don't tell Eric this picture is here).

After San Diego, we went back to LA and stayed with April and Sandy. We played the Wii and had a blast. Richard and Cynthia had been in Costa Rica the same time we were in California and they had a late night lay over so on Monday night, we all hung out together. What a blast!!
I miss my sisters and love when I get to hang out as a family. We have such a great time laughing and being ourselves - loud and funny.
It was nice to come home to my dogs, though. I missed them and they were very happy to see us. We got home with PLENTY of time to catch the final presidential debate and you can bet, I loved it! That will come later (maybe).

Political Humor

I'm here in California and not too close to a computer so when I find one, here's what I quickly upload. (Something political, of course)


From Nick Anderson's Political blog.

Tedious Debate #2

Last night was the 2nd of 3 debates. I didn't really learn anything new from either candidate and neither seemed to have changed or refocused any energy on the financial crisis that blew up since they last met. It was still the same old stuff and it came across as being a little bit out of touch with what's really going on for Americans like myself.

McCain looked uncomfortable in HIS setting, pacing around and making odd jokes that didn't really connect to me at home - it was like he forgot that he was in a room filled with undecided voters.
McCain was at his best in his final two statements of the debate. When he answered the question regarding what you don't know and how you'll learn it, he was kind of vague but became stronger. His closing was the strongest of all his statements.
Other than that, he was childish and petty in his remarks toward Obama. To me the super negative for McCain was the general disrespect and even disdain for Obama in referring to Obama as "that one" and "him" and he still avoided looking at Obama in the eye. Again, it lead me to wonder what kind of "maverick" doesn't look at his enemy and fight?

Obama started off looking like he was a bit uncomfortable and I was nervous for him because this ISN'T his setting traditionally. I was surprised at how fast he became comfortable and began connecting to people. I think he could have been stronger, but I thought he did very well.
I think he missed the boat with his answer to the question: What don't you know and how will you learn it (I don't have the exact question).
I think he started to allude to the fact you can't really know everything - he should have finished it with something like "you surround yourself with a strong cabinet and Vice President like Joe Biden." Something to bring it around to the fact that it's not JUST him but an entire team and together they have the knowledge.

MSNBC summarized the debate with this video showing a few of the higher moments.


Overall I found the debate less than exciting and kind of boring. I swapped over to the Food Network and enjoyed Ace of Cake a couple of times.

SNL Debate Skit

Frontline: Before the Vote

OCTOBER 14, 2008
"It is one of the most memorable presidential elections in decades. It is a race that pits the iconoclast John McCain against the newcomer Barack Obama; the heroic former prisoner of war against the first African American major party nominee. For two hours, the 20th anniversary broadcast of The Choice examines the rich personal and political biographies of these men and goes behind the headlines to discover how they arrived at this moment and what their very different candidacies say about America."
The Trailer:


Preview of Obama:


Preview of McCain:


This will be the 4th election where I watch PBS Frontline's special on each of the Presidential Candidates. I've always enjoyed watching it because it gives a history (both political and personal) of each person.
I hope you'll watch it!
PBS Frontline information

Post Veep Debate

I joined millions of Americans in watching the Vice President debate.

#1: Sarah Palin - was charming at times and resurrected the strong looking character from the Republican Convention. In recent weeks, she has lowered her bar so low that her mediocre performance shined and shocked people into thinking she had done a spectacular job. She's a terrible debater and changed the topic back to energy multiple times rather than answering the question at hand. While watching, I kept feeling like she'd been given specific phrases that she'd memorized and she stuck to those few facts she could remember. And really, that winking, tick thing she has, was driving me crazy.

#2: Joe Biden - is an experienced debater and started out fairly slow but when it came time to really hit hard, he did...but he did it well. He stuck to the theme that it's John McCain and Governor Palin - he didn't attack and came out shining like a diamond - and not because he'd lowered the bar of expectation. He got personal and really showed the public WHO he is. I didn't know much about him and was pleased and moved to see something about his family.

factcheck.org has the candidates true facts laid out

I will soon tackle each candidate's health care plan because McCain has a terrible plan that, if enacted, will not serve you or me or anybody you know.

In this time of financial crisis, let's get real about the people who are losing their homes. Indeed, I hope this bailout, rescue plan really gets things back on course because any one of us could be in this place:


To end this, I want to share a good laugh with you.
The Daily Show gives me get a good laugh:

Thursday Veep Debates

Are you ready? Tonight is the big VP Debate!
Local time: 7:00 p.m. and I'll be glued to my TV with a ton of other Americans.


AFTER that circus, Eric and I will be glued to another anticipated show: Supernatural. We LOVE this show and we're into season 4. Here's the preview of the Season Premier from a few weeks ago.


In preparation for the final weeks of the election, Eric and I ordered this T-Shirt:


This is the T-Shirt I've wanted forever!
So onto the debates! I hope that Palin is let off her leash so we can see the REAL her. I hope Biden is appropriate and on his game.

Bail and Rescue - What it REALLY Means

This week I've been all up in arms with talk of a government bail out of Wall Street. I've watched the news broadcasters attempt to explain what it means. I have to say, I'm still confused and angry. I don't get it - not completely. I'm not a stupid person, either, it's just not my field of expertise.

Yesterday, April sent out a fantastic, dummied-down summary of what the bail out really means. And I FINALLY understand the full issue. Thank you, April! Thank you for completing your higher education in THIS field! Thank you for dummying it down for people like me who have expertise in other areas. I still don't like the idea of the bail out, but then I think it's the better of two options: 1. leave it as it is and let the chips fall (baaaaad) or 2. rescue and failing economy created largely by people who should have known better, who've been here before and should have learned from their mistakes. In the end, I'll take the latter.

Here's what April wrote:
So everyone keeps asking me to explain what is going on with the financial markets and I've tried to find an answer that doesn't sound like a long winded economist. This is the short answer to a very complicate problem.

We've destroyed confidence in our system because we overspent, deceived, lied, and got in WAY over our head and the government's liaise faire policies for the last decade allowed it to happen. Now no one trusts anyone anymore which is stopping the world economy in its tracks. The only way to restart the flow of money and economic activity is to gain back the trust, which is the backbone of our economy, and the only way that can happen is with transparency and regulation.

Want more? Hopefully this can help you understand what you hear on the news:

At the turn of the century, two very interesting things happened; A) the US gov't relinquished a lot of control over the credit markets and B) the average real wage of most Americans decreased (ie they couldn't buy as much as they used to). The decrease in purchasing power was offset by an increase in debt so we continued spending as if our wages had increased. To pay for our overages, we mortgaged our homes and began using our credit cards with greater frequency. In other words we created a high demand for credit which creates a high price (interest rates).

At the same time, the global pool of money began growing (thanks China) and was looking for a safe place to invest (especially after the volatile 90s). When they saw a lot of people in the strongest economy in the world paying a lot to borrow money, they flooded us with easy cash.

Eventually, all the traditional borrowers were satisfied (they didn't need any more money), yet the global pool of money was not, they wanted to lend more and more in order to make more profits. So we began lowering loan requirements (now possible due to the de-regulation) so that non-traditional borrowers could get, say, a home, AND everyone was happy. People had homes and the global pool of money kept getting their profits. Loan requirements got so low that people were getting home loans worth 110% of the home's worth, without any money down, and without proving they had any income at all.

Simply put; we were overspending and the global pool of money was over borrowing.

But we started making things complicated. And this is where the problem lies so pay attention. In order to satisfy the growing demand for US assets (ie the demand to lend the US money), we began breaking up mortgage loans into pieces and then taking a piece of your loan and a piece of my loan and a piece of my dog's loan and bundling them up to make on ONE super fancy loan called a CDO. We then sold, not my loan, but the CDO to the global pool of money. Think of it like a rope made up of many strands. Each strand is a piece of a loan and the entire rope is what we sold.

That would OK if my loan was as safe as your loan and my dog's loan but they weren't, yet we sold them as if they were. So, when my dog couldn't pay his mortgage because he doesn't have a job, the strand in every rope his loan was apart of breaks. His ONE bad loan weakens 6 or 7 whole ropes.

Multiply this process over and over again and a bunch of ropes start breaking. Eventually the stores that sell ropes go bust, either because they can't sell anything (who wants bits of rope?) or really, because no one trusts the quality of ANYTHING they sell. Eventually, it gets so bad no on trusts any rope sold anywhere OR anything sold by anyone who sells rope. The system grinds to a halt.

Ever hear of the credit crunch?

That's what has happened. The global pool of money doesn't trust anything so they've stopped lending. No money, no economic activity. Our overspending is no longer financed so we can't make the payments on our boats, our cars, our homes which only breaks more and more strands, and ropes, and businesses selling ropes, and the whole system takes another hit.

Combine this with people's mortgage payments going up due to the adjustable rate mortgages (ARMS) they got 4 or 5 years ago, and I think it's clear that this is a perfect storm. And like a hurricane, it is feeding on its own destruction so it can destroy more.

So what about this 'bailout'?

The reason the global pool of money isn't lending is because they don't trust anyone. This bailout, as opposed to others in the past, is meant to restore trust by taking these bad strands and weak ropes out of the store so the store can sell what is good and get the system moving again.

With the government as the owner of these loans, my dog will be able to go to them and say, "Hey, I can make A house payment, because I walk old ladies across the street, but I can't make my CURRENT house payment." The government has an incentive to re-structure the loan so that my dog can keep his house and so we can get our money back. So they re-structure the loan and no strands break, no ropes break, no stores close.

Without the government, who does my dog go to? His loan is owned by 6 or 7 different people AND no one really knows who those 6 or 7 people are. My dog has a job and can pay something but without anyone to negotiate with, and no one lending money, he can't re-structure his loan so he gets foreclosed on and adds to the destruction.

In theory, this should bring back the trust of the global pool of money and therefore their money, and the stability to our own economy. In a few years' time, house prices should rebound and the government can sell these loans back to the 'free market' and make a profit that hopefully pays for the whole thing. It happened in the 1930s.

Why does it have to be so fast?

How long did it take for Washington Mutual to go bust? Or Lehman Bros? Or AIG? A few days! Without money, companies bleed out fast! And this creates less and less trust in our economic system. Additionally, every day we wait another homeowner's adjustable rate mortgage gets adjusted to a higher interest rate and higher monthly payment which increases the likelihood of foreclosure. It has to be the government and it has to be now.

Think about this: the reason the Great Depression was so bad and so long was because the Federal Government left it to the free market to correct a serious but not catastrophic problem. Had they intervened in 1929, the world would have experienced, yes a recession, but not the disastrous depression it did. That's where we're heading if we don't do something now. Even the most religious free market advocates know that there are times the government has to step in. This is one of them.


Now why couldn't President Bush or Mr Treasury Secretary: Mr Paulson just have said this - explained it.

Oh I know! Pick me!

Because they had no idea people wouldn't just take their word for it. They thought we'd jump, like we have EVERY other time. It's a bit of the syndrome of the Boy Who Cried Wolf. Now we're really in danger and we don't believe it because we've heard so many similar scare tactics and responded.

Last night the Senate passed their version of the "Rescue" or "Bail Out" and added more incentives and more money onto the package.

In the end, it's a sucky choice! I work to keep my credit nose clean and make wise financial decisions with what little extra money I have and now people who are aggressive and careless get to be rescued!? But if they're not, the consequence isn't just a poor shopping season for the holidays....the potential is frightening!

If the University of Utah, my employer, can't make payroll because insurance companies can't pay them because people can't pay the insurance premiums because they'd rather keep their house or feed their children, then I could lose my job and therefore my house and be in the EXACT position I've worked so hard to stay out of. Can't they just take out a loan to make payroll? Well, IF they could take a loan IF lenders were lending, how long would they have to do that before the interest rate crippled them?

If we think it can't happen and won't happen to us, we couldn't be more wrong.

The scary part is that no one knows if this will really work. And my question is: in the future, are the lenders going to allow borrowers to renegotiate rates and payment amounts and therefore be rescued from personal smaller financial crisis? Are they going to pass this 'generosity' on?

It's a bit of a waiting game. But I am more in favor of this rescue then I was before and I understand why we have to pass it. I will call my representative today and ask him to reconsider his vote. Truly, insist on it.