Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Hood River Part Deux

PCDoc




















These are mostly at my moms house






White River






The Columbia, at the Hood River Bridge








A little bit of Heaven




Mt View



















mountain view











Memaloose again








Monday, October 20, 2008

What are we really afraid of?

I found out via my newspaper today that I am probably a racist. Hm, I was not aware of that. No really, on page 2, there is an article talking about how blacks are afraid to hope that Barak will really win. They are afraid that some how, somewhere, the powers that be will steal it from them. I can understand this, I wonder sometimes if the socialist takeover of the US is almost complete? Do I have nothing to say about this? Does my opinion not count? If I wanted to live in a socialist nation I would simply move north or cross the ocean or whatever, there are many choices. I can understand feeling somewhat helpless and hopeless. I take heart in the fact that I do not believe about 99% of what I read in the newspaper, and that there are many more people who agree with me, irrespective of what pablum I am fed in the local rag. What I find so unpleasant about this mornings article is the assumptions and closed mindedness of the people who are cited in the piece.

The Rev. Joseph Lowery, a civil rights veteran and co-founder of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, thinks the matter is plain:"What we boil down to is a choice between 'Will you vote for the good of the country?' or 'Will you vote your racial fears?' " said Lowery.
One thing to note is the oregonian article stops right there, but in the original from the LA times the article goes on, much in the same vein but with a brief nod to the fact that there might be other reasons a person might not want to vote for Barak.

I am sorry that there are people who will think otherwise, I cannot change that for them, I wouldn't vote for Obama if he were are white as the driven snow. It is sad that there will be many who will feel disenfranchised as a result of my no vote. Maybe if Obama was more centerist, if he were truly the uniter he says he is, but he is as far left of center as a person can be, he is in fact, for all intents and purposes, a communist. In his heart of hearts, and I get the feeling as long as he isn't the one paying for it, he would like to see people like me be stripped of what wealth I have worked so hard to accumulate in order to give it to others, not because I want to but because he thinks I ought to.

Why? My husband works hard, he does not have a college degree, he got where he is by working his fanny off, by training in the military in an area that would serve him well later in life, anyone who wanted to could have made the same choice. I went to college, I picked a career I knew I could actually get a job in, I paid for it and am still paying for it. No one gave me a free ride, no one made me make that choice, I made it myself.

Anyone who wanted to could have made the same choice, and believe me, with the shortage of nurses in this country, anyone who wants to go to college and work hard even with an associated degree, walk out with a job that pays 40-50 thousand a year out of the gate.

No one has to live in poverty, why is it my job to work as hard as I do so I can support people who don't work at all? If 1/3 or more of my income wasnt taken from me every day perhaps I could afford to give more to charities who make a difference in peoples lives, and do it better than the welfare system in this country. When we needed help this system had nothing for us, but if I had been an irresponsible deadbeat, they would have been right there, johnny on the spot, with money in hand.

When I don't vote for Barak Hussein Obama, it won't be because he is black, just like if I vote for Mcain , it won't be because he is white, or Palin is a woman. And if I voted against Mccain, it would not be because I could not stomach a woman for VP, or a conservative or a Christian, or anything else. It's the same reasoning. If Mccain loses, will it be because there is a conspiracy in the media that overwhelming favors Obama, that tells me every day and in every way that Mccain is going to lose, that Obama is going to win, that anything I think or do is irrelevant because this is all a foregone conclusion? In the end, if Mccain wins it will be because he got more votes. If Obama wins it will be because he got more votes.

Friday, October 03, 2008

Hood River

We got apples and pears last weekend in Hood River, or to be more precise, Parkdale.