Jama Oliver

Although I may do a bit of blogging tonight to get my mind off of more personal matters, I’ll be taking a bit of a break for at least the next couple of weeks.

We found out today that, due to an issue with his kidney, our newest little Oliver is going to have to be induced this weekend - 3 1/2 weeks early. I’m a natural childbirth gal, so I’m certainly stressed about the induction, but we are, of course, most concerned that our new addition gets here safely and hopefully healthier than the doctors are thinking at this point.

We’ve got a lot to get done over the next couple of days, and in the days and weeks following I will be so sleep-deprived taking care of a newborn, politics will be the last thing on my mind.

I’ll certainly keep you posted on the condition of baby Oliver, and would appreciate your prayers as we face an uncertain couple of weeks!

Little did I know when I tuned in for my nightly hippie-fest, a.k.a., the Democratic National Convention, that I would also be lambasted by feminists.

I turned on while Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano was speaking and, I must admit, to the untrained ear, she gave a good speech. She spoke to the ignorant masses and she did it well. She spoke in a way that has become so commonplace among Democrats nowadays, in which the speaker appeals to the “common man,” and how the government will save us all from our ills. Cleverly, Napolitano spoke often of “rewards for hard work,” attempting, I’m sure, to lure in those of us who are naturally skeptical of the Democratic platform. Many, I’m sure, fell for it. I didn’t.

Nancy Floyd, founder of Nth Power in Portland, OR, was another Chick Speaker I had the “pleasure” of hearing. I actually laughed out loud when she said that Barack Obama “has a comprehensive energy plan that will get us off of foreign oil, will stop global warming, and will create millions of new jobs in the United States.” Apparently, Barack Obama will also be able to cure cancer, end global poverty, and make my poop not stink. The man is a miracle worker! Oh, and if I had been able to play the Barack Obama drinking game, I would have already passed out by now.

Kathleen Sebelius, Governor of Kansas, made it clear how much we should hate rich people. She also invoked the name of Abraham Lincoln, without really invoking the name of Abraham Lincoln, as an example of a President who went against the status quo of “divisive politics.” Allow me to point out that this was the only President in the US to invade his own country! Yeah, we want another one of those guys in the White House…

Somehow a dude ended up on the agenda next, I suppose simply by virtue of being the former Mayor of Denver.

Wait! Another reference to John Kennedy! Maybe we need to start a new drinking game: every time a speaker mentions John F. Kennedy, chug a beer; if he/she also mentions the moon, funnel two beers!

What I find terribly interesting is how each and every speaker is attacking John McCain as if he’s the only guy other guy on the ticket. Look, you don’t have to convince me that John McCain is more of the same - I’m not gonna vote for him, either. I suppose it’s easier to stick with the old two-party system, but insulting the other guy on the ticket that I already don’t like isn’t doing a thing for you…

Look, I’ve watched about all I can take. I’m going to turn on a bit of “The Bourne Ultimatum,” drink some herbal tea, and try and forget the idiocy I’ve spent the last hour or so listening to. Find a happy place, find a happy place…

The hubby and I have been ready to get the heck out of Washington County for a while now, but the vote by our illustrious commissioners last night to once again increase property taxes has just solidified our resolve to move as soon as we can. Unfortunately, we’re stuck in our house for at least another 2.5 years. Unless, of course, someone wants to go ahead and give us well above market value for a house in the taxation capital of East Tennessee. Any takers?

The measure to increase the property tax rate in Washington County by ten cents from $2.35 to $2.45 per $100 of assessed value passed 16-8. Voting against the increase were Commissioners Sid Campbell, Danny Edens, Mark Ferguson, Sam Humphreys, Evert Jarrett, Greg Matherly, Richard Matherly and Paul Woodby. The greedy jerks who voted in favor were Frank Bolus, Mark Hicks, Phil McPeak, Ron England, Wendell Messimer, Jim Powell, Pat Wolfe, Scott Buckingham, Bill Biles, Peggy Richardson, Mark Larkey, C.B. Kinch, Ben Bowman, Gerald Sparks, Pete Speropulos and Kyle Shell.

In September of 2006 - a mere 7 months after my husband and I purchased our home in Washington County - the property tax rate stood at a reasonable $1.87. Sid Campbell, who voted against the increase, cited the fact that last night’s vote amounted to a 31% increase in property tax rates in the last two years. Let’s not forget about the increase in food, gasoline, and electricity costs during that time. What my husband and I thought was going to be a great investment has turned out to be nothing more than an ever-increasing drain on our budget, thanks in large part to our inept commissioners.

We’re going to have to think long and hard about the possibility of my running for County Commission in 2010 (when our goober commissioners will be up for reelection). I’m a gal that will actually run the County’s budget like I run my own family’s, where we don’t buy things for which we can’t pay.

I turned on the Democratic National Convention as I went to bed tonight (remember: CSPAN is only tolerated in my house when I go to bed before the hubby and have control of the bedroom TV remote…). Instead of boring me to sleep as I had hoped, the DNC has left me no choice but to blog rather than snooze. I have been left with a few impressions in the half hour or so I’ve been watching:

1. How did they get all those aging hippies in one room? Don’t take the brown acid, people! The brown acid is bad! I repeat…the brown acid is bad!!!

2. As Ted Kennedy finished his speech and people leaped to their feet, I was left thinking, “What in the name of all things sacred was he talking about?” The moon, Ted? Seriously?

3. The music that plays between speakers, and the dancing that inevitably follows, reminds me of the “Audience Dancing” segment of the Ellen Show. Hysterical, yet very, very sad.

4. If only I wasn’t pregnant, I would be taking part in Katie Granju’s “Obama Drinking Game.” I’d certainly be asleep by now, that’s for sure…every time someone says the word “change,” you take a shot; every time someone says the word “hope,” you take a double-shot. There’s a shot…and a double…and another…and another…oh, I give up.

5. Tom Harkin just referred to the two-party system in which Iowans are so proud. I can’t take anymore. The TV is going off, and I’m going to bed. I anticipate nightmares about hope, change, and dancing hippies.

Now that I’ve had most of the day to sort this through, I think I’ve actually formed an opinion on Obama’s VP pick. Not that I really care who Obama picks, because nothing short of aliens taking over my brain would make me vote for him, but it’s politically interesting.

Obama has highlighted his weaknesses, but succeeded in “balancing the ticket.” We all know that Obama is young, inexperienced, weak on foreign policy and defense, and black (although being black is only a “weakness” for some; for many this is a HUGE asset - like all those folks who are going to vote for Obama because “he look like me”).

Now, Obama has admitted that he’s young, inexperienced, and weak on foreign policy and defense by picking a guy whose only strong suits are that he’s old, “experienced” (at least as far as years in the Senate are concerned), and at least marginally strong in the areas of foreign policy and defense.

We all knew Obama is black - has the media ever let us forget it? - and really, even though he picked an old white guy, this part of Biden’s resume isn’t going to carry the folks to whom skin color really matters. Bringing in the “anti-black” vote would have required a Southerner (such as Tim Kaine, who by the way, my husband thinks looks like a child molester).

Summary: Obama has covered the “I’m young, inexperienced, and don’t have a clue about defense or foreign policy” parts of his candidacy. He forgot about the fact that he’s an African American from the North.

A smart move might have been to pick someone who could actually carry a state that Obama may have trouble with, such as Virginia (ahem, Tim Kaine), Tennessee, or, oh heck - anything in the South where the majority of voters are white evangelicals. Or Ohio. Or Florida. Or half of the Midwest.

Instead, Obama picked another Yankee who just so happens to also be Catholic. As a guy who’s already having some trouble ironing out his reputation with Christians (is he a Muslim or a subscriber to Black Liberation Theology?), a better choice might have been a Methodist or something a little more appealing to those who don’t typically vote Democrat but who also don’t want to vote for McCain. Not that I’m complaining. I don’t want Obama to win so I’m a bit gleeful over this choice, but also curious.

Here’s the thing…I understand the concept of “balancing the ticket.” You understand the concept of “balancing the ticket.” But there are scores (I would venture to say a large majority) of Americans who not only have no clue what it means to “balance the ticket,” but who don’t care one iota that Barack Obama is unimaginably inexperienced and clueless in the areas of defense and foreign policy. These are the people who would vote for Obama if he picked a white, Southern, Methodist running mate (all other credentials notwithstanding).

It seems to me that Obama went with the “party choice.” He went with the guy who might carry some of those party-active Hillary supporters who are worried about said Obama weaknesses. These are the people who would have probably voted for Obama in the end any-old-way. So, instead of making a decision based on what would carry the voters who are on the fence, he went with the guy who will carry the voters who are already on his side of the fence, saying that they’re not on his side of the fence. Does this make sense?

An interesting choice, indeed. And one that I hope will be the nail in the coffin of the Obama presidency…

I just saw the headline, so I’ll need some time to chew on the implications of this choice.

Initially, I’m thinking that Biden provides experience that Obama is lacking, but he also has a big mouth, which will be good for Obama’s opponents.

Doubtful.

Although the buzz around the media over the last couple of days has been the possibility of a McCain-Lieberman ticket, I tend to think that this is just a ploy from the McCain camp to make conservatives downright gleeful when he picks someone who is somewhat conservative. With all the talk about Lieberman and Ridge, Conservatives are starting to sweat (um, even more than they have been?), and this is just another way to remind them how bad things could get.

So, while I don’t think McCain is actually going to choose Tom Ridge or Joe Lieberman as a running-mate, do I think it’s wise to “court the Independents” while poking a finger in the eye of conservatives by showcasing the more liberal side of McCain’s maverick ways? In a word: no.

Conservatives hate McCain, but are merely going along because they feel they don’t have any other choice. With all of this eye-poking, however, Conservatives are going to get fed up and either vote third party (that’s my plan) or they’re going to stay home in November (my mom’s plan). Even those who are planning on holding their noses and voting for McCain out of sheer horror at the thought of an Obama presidency (like my brother-in-law), may just get tired of being fiddled with by McCain and decide to do something else. Point being: McCain can’t have both the left-leaning and the far-right wings of the party. We don’t much care for each other, really.

The fact remains that George W. Bush would not be president if not for the far-right, evangelical vote and McCain is either forgetting that or choosing an entirely different tactic. This is a tactic that I think will fail against an opponent like Barack Obama. Independents are far more likely to push the button for Obama than McCain (I can reference several friends - who I thought were smarter than this - who are supporting Obama out of hatred for McCain), so McCain needs to stick with the base and get rid of his lefty buddies. Really, it’s his only shot.

For those of you, however, who are thinking of voting for one of the two “major” candidates simply because a third party candidate “doesn’t have a chance,” I leave you with this:

A great many men feel that there is no use in voting against a thing unless you can defeat it. I do not feel that way. I think it is a very important thing to vote exactly in accordance with your conscience, quite irrespective of the immediate success of your vote in your dealing with that measure. -J. Gresham Machen

Ron Paul 2008!

As people get on their “but what about the children?!?” high horse, they seem to forget that it’s the job of parents to ensure their children’s education, not some county commission.

While the Cumberland County Commission refuses to increase property taxes to cover a budget shortfall, and schools in Cumberland County still have not opened, folks are ranting and raving about the Commission not educating “Cumberland County’s” children.

The last time I checked, a county isn’t capable of giving birth to, feeding, nurturing, or, ahem, educating children. That’s the job of the parents who brought them into this world. So, all the political posturing, calling the Cumberland County Commissioners “idiots,” and whining about folks who actually don’t want to pay for other people’s kids, is sorely misplaced. How about we start blaming the parents who are sitting around waiting for some County Commission to pay for and educate their children. I, for one, will be taking care of my children’s education myself, rather than relying on the government to do it for me.

I cannot say enough good things about the Cumberland County Commission. If that move to Texas doesn’t work out, I’ll certainly pack my bags for Cumberland County - the land where parents are forced to actually take care of their children themselves.

Oh, and a note to those Cumberland County parents who are upset that other folks don’t want to pay to take care of other peoples’ kids: move. That’s the beauty of living the in United States, where folks, if they are displeased with the status quo in their hometown can pick it up and head somewhere else. Heck, come to Washington County, where our commissioners don’t seem to have a problem raising taxes for anything. You can have my house, and I’ll settle on your little patch of land in Cumberland County - the land of low taxes and personal responsibility…

Well, this settles it. If my husband’s employer ever wants him to move to their Texas facility, I’m ready to load the U-Haul.

The Harold Independent School district, located about 150 miles northwest of Ft. Worth, has decided to allow their teachers and staff members to carry concealed handguns into the school when classes resume this year. Those who will be carrying are required to possess a Texas-issued concealed carry permit, “authorization by the district to carry the weapon, training in crisis management and hostile situations, and ammunition designed to minimize the risk of ricochet” (AP Story).

I cannot say in enough in favor of this policy.

On CBS this morning, the only substantive argument an opposing party could offer on the policy was that “most school shootings are committed by students, and teachers will instinctively want to protect the shooter/student, not shoot them.” This forgets, of course, the classroom full of students that aren’t armed that the teacher might want to consider protecting…

My hope is that other districts will follow suit, effectively eliminating the school-shooting phenomenon. It’s one moronic shooter in a billion who will walk into a place where he knows folks are armed and start shooting, which is probably why you don’t hear of many “gun show shootings.”

So, good for you, Harold Independent School District! A school system with some common sense…I never thought I’d see the day.

Despite the fact that it’s fun for me to have political upheaval in the district, David Davis made the smart decision to concede.

Davis said in a written statement:

I am announcing today that even though I have the law on my side, I have decided not to pursue an election contest with the Republican Primary Board. I love East Tennessee and I love America, therefore it is in the best interest of everyone concerned that I concede the election to my primary opponent. I have contacted Mr. Roe and made him aware of my decision.

I agree that it’s in everyone’s best interest (well, except for maybe mine, because getting to write about election shenanigans sure has been fun…) for Davis to concede, especially his own. If he had decided to drag this out further, his political career would have been long gone. At least at this point, he still has a chance to salvage his reputation and make another go of it.

So, although he’s a little late in doing so, Davis made the right decision to concede. Now we can pick up, move on, and decide who in the world I can write in for the First Congressional seat in November.