Everyone has been so stressed out because of elections. Then there's the after election stress. Those who voted for Obama are elated VS those who voted for someone else who... aren't. Then there's the people on both far ends of the spectrum that fuck it up for the rest of us. No, Obama is not the first or second coming. He's not the anti-christ either. He's a politician who worked his way up and after ten years made his case to the American people that he could do better. Considering Bush has the LOWEST approval rating since the rating system was created (thank you CNN) it's not that hard. In the end we should be working to get this nation back on it's feet and not sniping each other about what was done. Seriously, this shit is getting old and we as a nation can't handle much more stress. Let the healing begin.

Apparently my spending spree the last couple of weeks put me in a bit of a bind. Not a bad one, but just enough to not be able to afford a nice hotel for a few days. *sigh* Luckily Jake loves me and is more than happy with my backup plan. Movies on Friday, Santa Barbara on Saturday and then Houston's on Sunday. W00000!

Friday night Jake and I are going to dinner. Afterwards we're off to see The Nightmare Before Christmas in 3-D at the El Capitan theater. I fucking love that place. The first time I saw that movie (sans the 3-D) was when it first came out at the El capitan. I remember a hilarious intro, so I am hoping for something similar. It will be nice to walk around together and just enjoy each other. On Saturday we're off to Santa Barbara to visit one of the Missions. I loved going there the last time so we should have a blast. Then Sunday, his birthday, I am hoping to take him to Houston's. That is, unless we think of another fun place to go. *grins* I am just so excited to be able to hang out and enjoy the different places together. I've been holed up in the apartment for far too long.

Last night Jake and I watched the debate and he got to see a whole new side of me. The angry Democrat. The profanities flew as McCain sunk deeper and deeper into his old routine. After the initial bumps of him thinking I was miserable I explained that he hasn't seen me watch these sorts of things... but this is pretty normal. I remember as a child seeing my dad yell at the television while watching the game. He'd sit on that horrible brown leather couch and eat peanuts while yelling about how the umpire was an idiot. I'd usually say something like "Did they yell back, dad?" before getting the look. Either that or look at the peanuts that had fallen onto his hairy chest and say, "Saving for later, dad?". Sacrasm? *smiles* He taught me well...

I loathe this time of year. The special interest groups are calling our house multiple times a day, each one trying to annoy the fuck out of me. Celebrities and people trying to sound as ethnic as possible, trying to scramble for last minute voters for their cause. "Yo man. I don't care what you are. Black, white, whateva. Just get out there and vote". Between that and Scarlet Johansson's pre taped recordings I've had my fill. Let tomorrow be over with so I can get back to my regularly scheduled quiet time.

It was a pretty wild election day for us. Jake and I met after work to cast our votes in the usual spot. I was going to send it in... but with all the vote problems of the past I didn't want to chance it. I figured Schwarzenegger was going to win again, but was surprised to see the Democrats take the House. The only thing I heard was a possible Senate takeover. We came home and signed on to the various websites and it was on! I kept refreshing like a woman playing slots. After CNN called Democrats taking the House Jake went to bed. I just couldn't tear myself away. Finally I went to bed with 4 votes undecided in Senate. I'm not saying the Democrats are going to be our saviors. I just hope that it will do some changes. I also hope for world peace... so there ya go.

And by 'kingdom' I mean 'older one bedroom apartment with three cats, a recuperating blonde and a grumpy Texan'. What's up with all the hatred? Recently I got hate mail for being Jewish and a dear friend got attacked for being gay. Religion and sexuality are NOT contagious. If it's not for you then just move along. Jeesh. For some reason people feel the need to attack what they don't understand. To those people: You have no idea what you're missing. Do not fear the unknown. Learn from it. Respect it. Maybe... just maybe you'll walk away learning something about yourself. Not that you're a Jewish gay man... but someone who's able to talk to people without feeling threatened. That's a good thing.

Politics... Ahhh, the pandoras box. The Pink Rocks video that I linked a while back is still getting insane hits from Stumble Upon. Hate it. Love it. Just talk about it. People on both sides are meshing it up. The one thing I always laugh about is how personal people get when they talk politics. If I don't like the President I'm a Liberal. A traitor. The insults start flying. You can agree that people like their meat cooked differently, but their political choices had damn well better be the same. Why? We are told to question our leaders. That doesn't mean 'as long as they are not your choices'. Instead of insults and attacks you should be supporting them. We have freedoms. These freedoms are slowly slipping away because people are so afraid evolving that they would rather vote for someone who doesn't give a damn than someone who can lead us forward. You're going to look pretty foolish in that cave in a couple of years. I'm just saying...

But I'm about to do a 'feminist' type post. I am always leery of doing them because too many people with that mindset bring in the men hating attitude that I loathe. Anyway...

I have no background on this picture of Bush attempting to give German Chancellor Angela Merkel an impromtu massage, but the picture speaks for itself. It looks like she politely stretched to get him to stop, a move I have done many times before. It's disrespectful. It's inappropriate. It's just the kind of thing I'd expect him to do. Women are still barely breaking the glass ceiling to get into politics. It's a tough route and you have to be twice the politician your male counterpart is. Bush deciding to be touchy feely in the middle of a political summit is one step away from asking her to get his coffee. When I worked in the Operating Room I had quite a few frisky doctors try giving me a backrub. I consider that a personal space and should know you pretty damn well before your fingers start rubbing my back. I've had a few try sliding their hands down my top, too. Obviously that wasn't Bush's intention... so don't even go there. Think of it this way... someone is touching you without your permission. Guys will way it's 'just a rub'. Women may understand a little more. Men OR women shouldn't think it's okay to just reach out and place their hands on people. Is this a big deal? No. But it got a rant out of me, so be happy...

How ironic. I link Pink's video for Dear Mister President along with the lyrics and get slammed by people debating the 'depth' of her song. Like it. Hate it. I don't care. The fact that this song has people talking about what's happening in America is a good thing. A pop singer decides to voice her opinion on what's happening in this world and everyone says she's riding the Bush Haters bandwagon. Maybe she is, maybe she isn't. But she got you thinking, so in my book the song is good. It's not as deep as say... the teachings of Socrates. But it's a big step up from Get The Party Started (which I also like so biteme).

Look around you. Most will see videos, televisions, game consoles, the latest in footwear. Look in your frig. How much food did you have to throw out in the past month? Is it full? What about your cupboards? Look above you. See that roof? Nice, huh. We're lucky, you and I. We have so much and yet all we can do is measure a person's sincerity about how they feel based on a song. Sometimes you just need to stand up and speak your mind. You may get bitch slapped right back into your chair but at least you stood up. Pink stood up. She could have just stuck to fluff songs. Instead she spoke her mind and someone said she should join the Dixi Chicks. Clever... The Dixie Chicks stood their ground during a time where rednecks ruled the roost. They where bashed, slammed and ostracized. They stood their ground. I give them credit for that. People are finally beginning to see how bad things have gotten. They are FINALLY starting to speak up. I'm not saying you have to like Pink. I just think you should appreciate that she got you thinking.

I guess it's a sign of the emotional strain of the times when a song makes me cry. I just watched the video of Pink performing Dear Mr. President Live in NYC. The words are powerful and the music is beautiful. Here's my first try at embedding a video on the front page. Enjoy!

Dear Mr. President

Dear Mr. President
Come take a walk with me
Let's pretend we're just two people and
You're not better than me
I'd like to ask you some questions if we can speak honestly

What do you feel when you see all the homeless on the street
Who do you pray for at night before you go to sleep
What do you feel when you look in the mirror
Are you proud

How do you sleep while the rest of us cry
How do you dream when a mother has no chance to say goodbye
How do you walk with your head held high
Can you even look me in the eye
And tell me why

Dear Mr. President
Were you a lonely boy
Are you a lonely boy
Are you a lonely boy
How can you say
No child is left behind
We're not dumb and we're not blind
They're all sitting in your cells
While you pave the road to hell

What kind of father would take his own daughter's rights away
And what kind of father might hate his own daughter if she were gay
I can only imagine what the first lady has to say
You've come a long way from whiskey and cocaine

How do you sleep while the rest of us cry
How do you dream when a mother has no chance to say goodbye
How do you walk with your head held high
Can you even look me in the eye

Let me tell you bout hard work
Minimum wage with a baby on the way
Let me tell you bout hard work
Rebuilding your house after the bombs took them away
Let me tell you bout hard work
Building a bed out of a cardboard box
Let me tell you bout hard work
Hard work
Hard work
You don't know nothing bout hard work
Hard work
Hard work
Oh

How do you sleep at night
How do you walk with your head held high
Dear Mr. President
You'd never take a walk with me
Would you

Everybody needs a break from the political and current events arena. My boyfriend is no exception. Today he got frustrated from all the crap people were spewing and deleted his mini blog account. Gone. Bye bye. Blank page. Then he told me what he did. I understand the temptation to just wipe the slate clean and walk away, but I always take a step back to think about something that final and usually find a happy medium that saves a lot of heart ache and searching for backup databases.