Obama Mama

My Mom voted for the first time in her life today. It was awesome. A few days ago I asked her if she was registered and she said she didn't know. So, I logged into the SOS site and checked. Sure enough she was registered. I dragged her to the early voting site today. We waited in line for 30 minutes but she was so excited it made the wait so worth it. I stood next to her and read the instructions while she figured the machine out. For those who are used to the process, congratulations, but for my mom today was a special day. Her voice was heard. The little old lady from Yazour is now an Obama Mama.

The Reformer

My friend Sheree is an athlete. I can see her reading this and saying "yeah, right." She is. She has a gorgeous body and she works very hard for it. Yesterday, I ran into her at the gym. I let her talk me into taking a pilates class on the reformer. This reformer is a contraption that sort of looks like it comes out of an S&M movie. It has chains, handcuffs, and the works. The trainer was really nice but what was funny is that he said he was some kind of Ranger for the military (he looked like the gentle giant). Now, close your eyes and imagine him teaching us to do pilates.

First of all, I have to say that I didn't anticipate it being as hard as it was. I mean for heavens sake, Star Jones did it. In case you didn't grasp that, let me repeat myself, STAR JONES DID IT. I saw her big ass sliding up and down like a pro. I thought I was going to look like I was a pro. I was in so much pain. I actually flashed Sheree the bird. Second, to add insult to injury, the trainer points out very private parts using locations like "above your pubic hair." Ughhh...Since I am so fat I haven't seen that area in years, I couldn't locate that area without a GPS locator. Then, like that was not bad enough, he explains to us that he will touch us to correct our positions. Those who know me, know I hate to be touched. Needless to say, I was straining to get the positions right so he wouldn't lay a finger on me. I came out with a hemorrhoid..just kidding (I had those before the class). Every time I strained he would say,"yep, that's it." I kept that face going for an hour. I think it worked.

Ok...I have to confess, I actually got a great work out. I loved the fact that I couldn't do any of the positions. It was exhausting and I really felt the pain. So, I am going to sign up for another month of this. I don't know if I am just asking for it but for sure I look forward to blogging about it. I found a picture online of some women using the reformer and I am posting it so you can get the idea and no, I am not that fat woman in the picture.

Federal Debt Counter

Jeneane decided to point out that she hated social security today. I couldn't help myself so of course the obvious question that followed that comment was, "Why?" She put together the lame basics that most outdated conservative teachers cover in class (before I get a few nasty emails tomorrow I just want to say that he really is old and outdated, I met him).
1. I'm not benefiting from it.
2. It won't be around when I'm old enough to get it.
3. People should take care of themselves.

I was happy to see that she obviously is paying attention in class but saddened to the reality that as long as I live in Texas, I will have to fight to raise my children with the liberal social views that I believe I try to live by. I respected her argument and asked her questions about the things that she had not thought about. She came up with her own conclusion, and for a young kid, that is as good as it gets. I am posting her pretty little school picture..... I know, I know, thank you, thank you, she does look like me, doesn't she?

I was actually going to write about the federal debt. In fact, I put a debt counter on the right hand side of my blog to keep up with the mounting debt. I tried to write but I couldn't keep my eyes off the numbers because they move so fast. I was hypnotised and I figured that must have been what happened to congress. I bet after a while the numbers just fade into the background. So this is sort of a test for me. I want to see if I am as amazed by that number in a few months as I am today or if it just begins to be that, just a number.

My car broke down today. My rocket car (Afif's name for it) literally smoked. I picked Afif up on Jeneane's bike. Here I was going to the damn gym everyday and I couldn't walk after two blocks on a bike. I am definitely doing something wrong here.

Is Obama Muslim? No, and F-you for asking - by Omar Abou-Sayed

This is an AWESOME note written by a guy named Omar Abou-Sayed. Please read and forward!

I owe everything I have an am to this country and my parents’ decision to leave their home and to come to America. LIke a lot of you, our love for this country was manifested in a deep sacrifice and in a profound appreciation for the gift of living and being raised here.

Which is why the unbottling of our society's worst instincts recently is so troubling. Specifically, the notion that being of Arab descent or being Muslim is some kind of disqualification for being American, for being patriotic, for being President, and the casualness with which national voices and leaders weave those messages into their discourse, is deeply offensive, and should be to more people than it is.

Simply put, there is a lot of hate and ignorance here today. You hear it in the crowds recently at McCain Palin rallies. It drips from the mouths of pundits like Limbaugh and O'Reilly and Glenn Beck, all nationally prominent and syndicated voices. When Hillary Clinton replies in an interview, when asked about Obama's religion, ""He is not a Muslim as far as I know," she accepts the premise that is being implied. When Giuliani says to thunderous applause, that "the only people you offend when you call it Islamic terrorism is terrorists” he is playing on hate. That is when we have gone off the rails. That is when we have bred a culture of denigration and dehumanization that says that what you can’t say about Blacks or Hispanics or Jews for fear of being labeled racist, bigoted, or anti-Semitic, you can still say about Arabs and Muslims.
“The only people you offend when you call them Black (insert attribute here) are Blacks!”
“The only people you offend when you call them Mexican (insert attribute here) are Mexicans!”
“The only people you offend when you call them Jewish (insert attribute here) are Jews!”

Can you imagine the outcry? And this was not from the lips of some blowhard radio personality. This guy ran for President!

Really, how far off is “nappy headed ho’s” (*cough*Don Imus*cough*) from “towel headed terrorist”. I meant this as a rhetorical question, but then I decided to test Google. I was surprised, and saddened to find that page hit references to Don Imus’s slur (166,000) were actually outnumbered by references "towel headed terrorist" (199,000). So sad.

And it is not a new thing. Dick Armey, when he was house majority leader, called for the expulsion of Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza, which, when they did similar things in other parts of the world was called ethnic cleansing. Glen Beck, of CNN, in his interview with Keith Ellison, the first Muslim Congressman, asks the Congressman, “"Sir, prove to me that you are not working with our enemies." This guy is on CNN. Every flipping night.

And it plays it self out in the ugliest of ways. Forget profiling at the airport, which I can accept (mostly because I have convinced myself that the profile also includes people who fit the profile of the Unabomber, the Anthrax mail guy, Timothy McVeigh, and their ilk, none of whom were Muslim, Arab, or browner than a grocery bag). But when a month ago I was reading outside at Barnes and Nobles, and a car drives by and the passenger throws a sandwich at me and yells “Fuck you sand Nigger,” well, then its personal. Then we have stripped the shame away from society.

Ironically, that is exactly what happened in the Middle East over the past 30 years. First, was economic decline, and a widening gap between ultra rich and poor. The middle class was stressed, and pushed almost to extinction. People felt like their leaders had failed them and abused them. Angry voices in the mob got louder and more organized and whipped crowds into frenzies while railing upon all the outside groups "responsible" for their misery. It happened in Germany, it happened in the Middle East, and it is happening here.

We should be careful when we open Pandora’s box, when we accept bigoted overtones as jocularity.

In Islam, in the Qur’an, we are taught that (to paraphrase), God made us different so that we can learn from each other. "O mankind! We created you from a male and a female and made you into nations and tribes that you may know and honor each other (not that you should despise one another). Indeed the most honorable of you in the sight of God is the most righteous." Chapter 49, Verse 13

Maybe we should hope for more Muslims running for President, not fewer.


Update: Here is a saddening interview with sweet, earnest, elderly woman with an awfully distorted worldview who asked McCain about Obama being Arab, which McCain refuted by saying that no, Obama is not Arab but rather that Obama is a decent man and a citizen. Because, you know who are not decent men and citizens? Here is the link: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/the-uptake/mccain-responds-to-arab-a_b_133820.html.

Keyword: MIDDLE CLASS

The Presidential debate has done me in. I don't give a damn who you think won. I don't give a damn who won. I don't give a damn about wall street, main street, or any street. I don't care who O'Drama's friends are. I have never run a background check on any of my friends, have you? I don't care if Moose Barbie winks, or McDaddy has a temper. What the hell happened to what really matters. The middle class....remember them???

I don't have a single friend who has not had someone in their direct family laid off.....I give a damn about them. I know tons of people that are so in debt, they are beyond drowning....I give a damn about that. I give a damn about the way schools have stopped teaching and base their entire class curriculum around a stupid test. I give a damn that my electric bill is higher than my car payment. I give a damn that our family spends about $600 monthly on gas alone to get around. I give a damn that my 401K is now worthless. I give a damn that Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, and insurance is one big mess. I give a damn that a bag of onions at the local store cost me 8 bucks. I give a damn about the tuition I will never have for my kids college education. I give a damn about the victims of Katrina, Gustav, and Ike, who still have not received the aid they deserve while our money is spent on wars and bailouts.

For heavens sake! One thing is for sure the "people" haven't won. We are watching as our nation, the greatest nation on earth, is falling apart and the big question on TV is who won the debate???? When is someone going to ask the real tough questions. When is someone going to point out the obvious....we are screwed...we are destroying the base of this country, Yep....the middle class. Then, when is somebody going to do anything about it?