cultural extremes

Massachusetts,
I just wanted to take this opportunity, before the election tomorrow, to let you know how proud I am of you. For the longest time, Massachusetts has been called a blue state. Maybe, for the most part, it is still a blue state. However, what you have shown the entire nation is that you, collectively, will not sit back and accept the status quo when the status quo is not representative of your beliefs/needs/wants. Regardless of what happens tomorrow, you should feel proud of yourselves for taking part, and taking interest, in this election and its impact not only on the state but on the nation. For those of you who have acted in an attempt to ensure a better future for yourselves, your children and your country, I salute you. You truly are patriots. For those of you who chose to remain in your comfort level and accept the status quo, I understand. Change is not easy and it is often anxiety provoking. I don’t fault you or hold a grudge against you, but I hope that one way or another, you will learn to take a chance evey now and then and learn to vote your for heart, and your gut, rather than for a party affiliation.

Massachusetts,
You are faced with a very important task right now. The current senate race going on has national, and global, implications. You, as citizens of Massachusetts, have to make a choice between Scott Brown and Martha Coakley. Your decision will impact hundreds of millions of people, minimally. For the sake of full disclosure, I will tell you that I am a supporter of Scott Brown. I do not live in Massachusetts so my opinion does not really count but I think it is only fair to tell you where my loyalties lie.

I’m not here necessarily to talk issues. I’m more concerned with the notion of balance. For over a year now, the democrat party has had full power. They have been able to push through whatever issue they desire, unchecked. Just look at healthcare. The majority of americans do not agree with the current healthcare reform bill, yet the democrats are going to push it through, because in their mind, they know better then you. I, however, don’t think that is the case. We all have the ability to decide what is best for us. We should have the ability to speak our mind, communicate our needs and then let the true majority decide. Voting in Martha Coakley will ensure that we do not get that ability because she will vote with her party, no matter what. I think Scott Brown will take a more thoughtful approach to things. I think he will truly consider the ramifications of any bill. He has crossed party lines. He, a republican, once voted for Al Gore. Although this may not be all that appealing to staunch conservatives, I think we can all take solace in this fact because it shows that a blance will be restored, but not a roadblock. Scott Brown will vote on each issue based on the will of the people, not the will of his party.

It’s snowing pretty damn hard!!!!

If there is anyone who actually reads this blog, I want to apologize. I was just reading through some old posts and came across so many misspelled words and careless grammatical errors. I apologize. It must have been torture for you.

I think I was meant to be a chef. I love food. I love shows about food. I enjoy cooking and creating dishes. I make good food from scratch, without recipes. Probably something that I should have learned about myself years ago.

I know I’ve been in a school induced daze for the past few weeks but I just realized Obama has yet to make a decision regarding the number of troops, if any, he will send to Afghanistan to support our troops already there. So while people are dying every day, he is taking his time, hemming and hawing, trying to figure out future political implications for whatver move he decides to make.

Shameful

Today was a really good day, despite some unfortunate occurrences. Allison and Haleigh allowed me to sleep until about 10:00 which was nice considering I usually have to get up no later than 7:30 most other days. Some days now, because of school, I have to get up at 6:30 which is definitely not something that I am accustomed to. Haleigh was sick (one of the unfortunate occurrences mentioned earlier) but was still a joy to spend time with. She has grown into a really sweet 13 month old who loves her parents and can be quite affectionate at times. She continues to amaze us with her ever changing personality and sense of humor. Despite not feeling well, throughout the day she never ceased to greet me with a huge smile and an enrgetic “Hi.” Allison and Haligh bot hgave me very thoughtful gifts that exemplified their love for, and understanding of, me. Due to Haleigh’s illness, we were not able to go out and celebrate with other family members, meeting at my brother’s house (another unfortuante occurence) but it was nice to spend a day together, just the three of us. It is not often that we have such an opportunity. Although I was working on a paper for school intermittently throughout the day, we were definitely able to spend a substantial amount of time together. After Haleigh went to bed, Allison and I ended our day by cooking Korean barbecue (steak), shrimp and asparagus on the grill. Although I would have preferred Haleigh to be healthy on this day, I an’t complain about the great day that the three of us shared today.

I’m basically posting this so that I can find this song in the future. About 10 years ago, there was a variety type show hosted by the Zappa brothers, called Happy Hour. It was a pretty good show, not great but fun to watch. one night, the band Tonic was on and played Elvis Presley’s Suspicious Minds. It was the best version of the song that I’ve ever heard and has been on my mind ever since. I looked for this version for years, no exaggeration, and finally found it on google video about 8 months ago. I decided to post it here so that I will always have easy access to it and so that others may have the opportunity to hear it and enjoy it. Let me know what you think.

FYI: The last few seconds are cut off. Such a disappointment

Apparently, the situation involving 21 american citizens and a number of rogue seamen (Somalian) is not a serious matter to members of the Obama administration. In fact, depending on who within the administration you ask, it is either a non-issue, a joke, or someone elses responsibility.

Here is a clip of President Obama when asked about the Somalian piracy situation:

Now, here is a clip of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton laughing about the crisis:

And finally, Vice President Joe Biden shifting the responsibility to someone else. Couldn’t find the clip but it was reported that when questioned about the Somalian pirates, VP Biden recommended calling the White House and speaking to Jim (?) Jones.

What a disgrace these three are.

Apparently, President Obama views NATO’s lack of support as a success. Check it out here.