A word from the wise...

I have mocked McCain and Palin, posted the parodies and unflattering interviews but now I want to be completely serious. To all undecideds, Republicans and, especially, Hillary-turned-Palin supporters I have something to say.

Stop and Think.

This is my new mantra. This election has come down to back and forth arguments between McCain and Obama supporters, reminiscent of the childish "Yah-huh, nuh-uh" variety. For a country that appears to be going down the toilet, this is not the most effective plan.

There have been arguments over whether or not McCain is physically and mentally fit to be president. Well, stop and think. The President of the United States is a taxing, stressful job. Is a 72 year old with a history of health problems the best choice? McCain loves to talk about his time in Vietnam and his five hellish years in a POW camp. Could his time as a POW have caused him traumatic stress that has made him mentally infirm? It's an assumption made about many other Vietnam vets, why not him?

McCain has proven himself to be somewhat of a hothead. Sarah Palin likes to say that one cannot hesitate but must act without blinking. Is this the type of leadership we want in Washington? Well, stop and think. When the day comes when a country points it's nuclear (pronounced nu-clee-ar) weapons at us, or terrorists start chattering about destroying a U.S. city, do we need the hotheaded, triggered-fingered, "strike-first-ask-questions-later" administration that McCain and Palin will surely bring to the White House? Or do we need the calm, level-headed, "weigh-the-consequences-and-act-appropriately" administration that Obama and Biden are much more likely to provide.

Ladies, this next paragraph is directed at you. Sarah Palin has said that she is anti-abortion and that she would like to see Roe vs. Wade overturned. Do you want an administration that will decide what you are allowed to do with your body? Well, stop and think. Placing Sarah Palin in office will undo decades of work that women have done to earn rights and equality. A short sidebar, remember that pro-choice does not equal pro-abortion. Pro-choice means that you have the opportunity to choose what you want to do with your body. This is not something that should be taken away. No one is forcing abortion on you but it is there if and when you need it. If you don't approve, then choose a different option. I respect the decision of women who choose not to have an abortion, please respect my decision if I decide to have one.

I know that many women out there would love to see a woman in the White House. I would love to see a woman in the White House. But Sarah Palin is not that woman. Sarah Palin is not Hillary Clinton. She is not even in the same league as Hillary Clinton. Be patient, ladies. The day will come when a woman enters the oval office.

The McCain/Palin campaign is doing a frighteningly thorough job of scaring their supporters into believing that Obama is not capable of being President. How exactly are they convincing you of this? Well, stop and think. They are spending the majority of their time (and, most likely, money) flinging nasty jabs and sarcastic remarks at the Democrats. They are producing ads that are nothing more than smear campaigns. They are deflecting hardhitting questions with cliched soundbites, negative commentary on their opponents, and cries of "sexism" and "offensiveness". This might be convincing people that the Democrats are a bad choice but are they really convincing people that the Republicans are a good choice? When the election is over and all is said and done, what have they accomplished? They've successfully (and unfairly) made Obama look bad but they haven't proven themselves.

This country has become so jaded and pessimistic that it can't stand the sight of optimism. There are people out there balking at the hopefulness and integrity of the Democratic campaign, writing it off as naivete. There are people mocking the idea of "change" as a platform when that is exactly what this country needs. Please don't be afraid of change, don't be afraid to be hopeful. Truly listen to what each candidate is saying and then stop and think. Think for yourselves. Don't let them tell you what to think.

McCain's New Beauty: Get Her Secret Makeup Tips

I'm having a hard time wrapping my brain around the fact that the Sarah Palin supporters refuse to see through the carefully crafted persona that the McCain campaign has created for her. Articles like this one from The New York Times give a fairly clear picture of what the country is in for if McCain and his pitbull (or is it hockey mom? I'm so confused) end up in the White House. This is a woman who believes the visibility of Russia from an island of Alaska equals experience in foreign policy. A woman who will appoint a friend to the Division of Agriculture because of her friend's "love of cows". Of course personal opinion comes into play in any politician's position on policies (check out that alliteration!) but Sarah Palin leads with her personal feelings and what appears to be snap decisions. She has said "...that you can't blink, you have to be wired in a way of being so committed to the mission, the mission that we're on, reform of this country and victory in the war, you can't blink." Is this the leadership that we want in the White House? A skittish colt who reacts first and thinks later? Her supporters will argue that she's made progress in her home state of Alaska, but at what cost? We don't need a secretive bunch running this country, another four years of "executive privilege" being tossed around.

So I say to the Sarah Palin supporters, do something new, something different.

Think.

(Thanks to kodak konfidential for the excellent photoshoppin')

Things You Have to Believe to be a U.S. Republican

1. Jesus​ loves​ you and share​s your hatre​d of the envir​onmen​t,​​ homos​exual​s,​​ and Hilla​ry. ​​

2. Sadda​m was a good guy when Reaga​n armed​ him, a bad guy when Bush'​​s daddy​ made war on him, a good guy when Chene​y did busin​ess with him, and a bad guy when Bush neede​d a 'we can'​​t find Bin Laden​'​​ diver​sion. ​​

3. Trade​ with Cuba is wrong​ becau​se the count​ry is Commu​nist,​​ but trade​ with China​ and Vietn​am is vital​ to a spiri​t of inter​natio​nal harmo​ny. ​​

4. The Unite​d State​s shoul​d get out of the Unite​d Natio​ns,​​ and our highe​st natio​nal prior​ity is enfor ​cing U.N. resol​ution​s again​st Iran.

5. A woman​ can'​​t be trust​ed with decis​ions about​ her own body,​​ but multi​-​​natio​nal corpo​ratio​ns can make decis​ions affec​ting all manki​nd witho​ut regul​ation​. ​​

6. The best way to impro​ve milit​ary moral​e is to prais​e the troop​s in speec​hes while​ slash​ing veter​ans'​​ benef​its and comba​t pay.

7. If condo​ms are kept out of schoo​ls,​​ adole​scent​s won'​​t have sex.

8. A good way to fight​ terro​rism is to belit​tle our long-​​time allie​s,​​ then deman​d their​ coope​ratio​n and money​. ​​

9. Provi​ding healt​h care to all Iraqi​s is sound​ polic​y,​​ but provi​ding healt​hcare​ to all Ameri​cans is socialism. ​​ HMOs and​ insur​ance compa​nies have the best inter​ests of the publi​c at heart​. ​​

10. Globa​l warmi​ng and tobac​co'​​s link to cance​r are junk scien​ce,​​ but creat​ionis​m shoul​d be taugh​t in schoo​ls. ​​

11. A presi​dent lying​ about​ an extra​-​​marit​al affai​r is an impea​chabl​e offen​se,​​ but a presi​dent lying​ to enlis​t suppo​rt for a war in which​ thous​ands die is solid​ defen​se polic​y. ​​

12. Gover​nment​ shoul​d limit​ itsel​f to the power​s named​ in the Const​ituti​on,​​ which​ inclu​de banni​ng gay marri​ages and censo​ring the Inter​net. ​​

13. The publi​c has a right​ to know about​ Hilla​ry'​​s cattl​e trade​s,​​ but Georg​e Bush'​​s drivi​ng and milit​ary recor​ds are none of our busin​ess. ​​

14. Being​ a drugg​y is a moral​ faili​ng and a crime​ unles​s you'​​re the wife of the Repub​lican​ candi​date for president or a conse​rvati​ve radio​ host,​​ then it's an illne​ss,​​ and you need our praye​rs for your recov​ery. ​​

15. What Bill Clint​on did in the 1960s​ is of vital​ natio​nal inter​est,​​ but what Bush did in the '60s is irrel​evant​. ​​

16. 4 more years​ of a Repub​lican​ presi​dent and Repub​lican​ Congr​ess is a vote for chang​e. ​​

17. The econo​my is in great​ shape​ and those​ who don'​​t belie​ve it are just whine​rs.

Say my name, bitch!

In my book, this is what really happened.

If you don't have your health insurance, you don't have anything

The last time I had health insurance was 2004. I've become so used to not having it that it no longer bothers me...until something hurts. Then I panic. My tonsils haven't look right for a long time but I'm pretty sure if I went to a doctor he would tell me that they need to be removed, so I deal. Two days ago I paid $210 at the dentist for a general cleaning and one cavity filled. Yesterday, after a bumpy ride on a parks department trolley bus (a beautiful old thing that was obviously not designed for comfort) I found that one of my hip muscles was hurting, most likely because I was sitting cross-legged on the trolley and tensing all my muscles every time we hit a pothole. So now I'm just praying that my yoga and stretching, along with plenty of ibuprofen, will take care of it otherwise I'll be shelling out big bucks to an orthopedic doctor who would probably tell me to stretch and take ibuprofen.

I've known for a long time that the health care in this country sucks but recently it's starting to anger me more and more. I take my cats to the vet every year for a wellness exam yet I haven't had a general physical exam for almost ten years. I rely on home remedies and advice from my mom, a registered nurse, instead of visiting a doctor. I looked into getting student health insurance only to find that the plans are only offered to students under 30. I'm 31. I'm a natural born worrier so whenever an ache or pain appears I tend to think the worst. I would love to have a general physical. I have no idea what my cholesterol levels are, what my blood pressure is, I couldn't tell you the last time I had any routine blood tests done. I'm not old but I'm not a "young 'un" anymore, it would probably do me well to have a check-up.

Now, I'm starting work at the ASPCA and in the fall I have my second internship at The Animal Medical Center in Manhattan. I'm considered a temp at the ASPCA so, even though I'm working full time, most likely there will be no health insurance offered. All this means that I will be handling scared, injured animals many of whom have been abused or neglected, or had little human contact. The probability of getting a bite or a scratch is fairly high (and believe me, a cat scratch can cause some serious infection). I haven't had rabies vaccines yet, although they are recommended in my line of work, because they cost about $500.

So I'm just sitting and waiting, hoping that whatever candidate ends up in the White House will follow through on the promises of a better health care system. We can't afford to let our country's leader spew hot air and empty promises any longer. I'd cry "Give me health care or give me death!" but I'm afraid that's a little too close to the truth.

What Perez Sez

I have had a definite dislike for Perez Hilton ever since he endorsed Hillary Clinton and started making political commentary, something he obviously knows little about. I admit I continue to check out his blog, mostly to see what kind of asinine statements he's making and then get pissed off about them. Apparently, I'm a masochist. Whatever. Today he posted what he calls "a very critical article" about Barack Obama written by The New York Times. Well, I read the article since I favor Obama and I don't find it to be very critical. On the contrary, I find it to be a fair article discussing his achievements and shortcomings during his first year in the senate. And, if Perez had read carefully (or at all), it states in the margin,

"This is part of a series of articles about the life and careers of contenders for the 2008 Republican and Democratic presidential nominations."

So, yes, the article has it's critical points but it also has praise for Obama. A very critical article? Perez is in way over his head. Isn't there anorexic starlet somewhere snorting coke off a hubcap who needs his attention?