this piece by john g miller is excellent! i got permission from him to post it - thanks, john! i highly recommend his books.
QBQ! QuickNotes™ may be forwarded by email to others or printed in their entirety with full credit given for personal and group use. © QBQ, Inc. 2008. All rights reserved.
What If Your Guy Loses?
By John G. Miller, author of QBQ! and Flipping the Switch.
(Complete contact info below)
Well, every four years in America we vote for the POTUS (President of the United States), and every four years on the day after there is weeping and gnashing of teeth by the losing side. And the truth is, the losing side is just about as large as the winning side. Amazingly, there could be 60 million people who vote for the ticket that does not win on November 4th, 2008. That’s a ton of people who’ll have a choice to […]
Original post by morethanfine
I don’t have many links to share this week - I’ve been too busy to do much surfing. I will say that we watched the election returns and speeches on Tuesday night. The kids and I watched Schoolhouse Rock, particularly the song “I’m Going to Send Your Vote to College” and talked about how the electoral college works. We tracked the votes on our map, with red and blue stickers. Since we live on the West, they were able to stay up long enough to see almost all of president-elect Obama’s speech, but Noah was nodding off toward the end.
I cried often, with true amazement that our country has elected a black president. Only fifty or so years ago, Barack Obama would have not been allowed in certain restaurants, would have had to sit at the back of the bus, would have gone to a segregated school. But this is […]
Original post by carrie
What were the top two reasons you voted for your choice for President? I’m sure if you asked this question of a wide swath of people you would get an amazing variety of answers. Some would make a great deal of logical sense, even if you didn’t agree with their position. Others would contain little to no logic at all, motivated by countless other factors. Whatever rational you used to cast your vote is yours and you exercised that privilage and responsibility. You, as an American citizen, are entitled to your reasons. But your reasons are not inherrently better or worse than anyone else’s reasons, they are simply your own. Election Day was yesterday. And now our country has a new President-Elect. This man and this nation face some serious issues, ones that will affect our lives for many years to come. Now it is time to begin moving towards […]
Original post by Crunchy Mama
I know I said I was done posting about politics, but I just read this post at Little Blue School, and I can’t help but quote:
If you enjoy having weekends off, thank a socialist.
If you appreciate the eight-hour work day, thank a socialist.
If you approve of minimum wage, thank a socialist.
If you like living in a country where it’s illegal to sell your child to a sweatshop for a dollar a week, you can be thankful that socialists, yes those are anti-capitalist, anti-free-market socialists, worked hard in the face of big business and government opposition to make that happen.
~snip~
I keep hearing, “I enjoy living in a capitalist country and I want to keep it that way! Don’t you take my capitalism away from me!” Sister, you don’t live in a capitalist country. Sorry. That has already been taken away from you. Along with children working in mines, tenements made out […]
Original post by carrie
the wait was only about 30 minutes. i didn’t think that was bad, considering the line wound around inside and went out the door. the worst part was they were out of “i voted” stickers. i was bummed. my husband offered me his from a couple of days before but it’s not the same! maybe it’s true that the turnout is greater this year than it has been for decades… because they ran out of stickers. maybe i’m not so bummed if this means more people are taking the time to vote. i will be glad when this election is over, though!
Original post by morethanfine
SPOILER ALERT
Oh my gosh, House and Cuddy totally kissed! Really, really kissed. And then, biggest surprise of all, House did the gentlemanly thing and said, “Goodnight” and left, instead of taking advantage of her depressed state of mind.
I cried when the birth mother changed her mind about letting Cuddy adopt the baby.
On a completely unrelated note, I won’t be posting about politics anymore, nor will I be answering comments on any of my previous political posts. I’m more than ready for the election to be over, and I’m tired of talking about it, reading about it, and hearing about it.
Original post by carrie
Jesus and Politics
The conclusion of Mike Banta in the above article is EXACTLY what I have come to realize as well.
Original post by razorbackmama
There’s something I’ve noticed as I’ve been reading blogs lately. And I’m not talking strictly about political blogs, but also about general bloggers who occasionally mention politics. Once a blogger has decided on a candidate - or if they are strictly a party-line voter - their blog posts reflect this in an unswerving way.
Let me explain: if a blogger has decided to vote for McCain, then Obama can’t do anything right and McCain can’t do anything wrong. If a blogger has decided to vote for Obama, then McCain can’t do anything right and Obama can’t do anything wrong.
Now, I know this is a broad generalization - and obviously all bloggers aren’t this extreme. But the ones I’ve read, other than Crunch Con, who seems to be an equal opportunity analyst, all seem to stick to their party. They regurgitate what other poli-bloggers with the same viewpoint are posting; they restate […]
Original post by carrie
In my never-ending (well, it has to end by November 4th, right?) quest to determine my vote for president, I’ve been doing some research on the candidate’s position on school choice and homeschooling. I’m disturbed by the fact that Obama’s official web site doesn’t even mention homeschooling in his education plan. I’m also concerned by the fact that he has opposed school choice and seems to be falling in line with the teacher’s union when it comes to his plan for education.
I know I have some homeschooling readers who support Obama, so I thought I’d ask for your thoughts/opinions on this. Are you at all concerned that homeschoolers may lose some freedoms under an Obama administration, or do you think that unlikely to happen? If you have any links on Obama and school choice and/or homeschooling, I’d love the tip. And thanks in advance for your honesty.
Please remember to […]
Original post by carrie
There is just so much wrong with this situation I don’t even know where to begin. Dh and I are tossing around the idea of starting a bank and then saying, “Oops, going bankrupt and it’s gonna affect our local economy. Come save me.”
I just can’t even put it into words.
One thing is for certain. I’d never, EVER manage to get elected for public office. I believe in personal responsibility. That doesn’t tickle the ears too much, ya know?
Original post by razorbackmama
I got another one of those e-mails again today. You know the ones.
~ From a personal friend of Sarah Palin, assuring us how sincere and wonderful she is.
~ Telling me how I can pray the Psalms for Sarah Palin, or John McCain, and get lots of blessings for myself.
~ Telling me how wonderful Cindy McCain is and how if I vote for John McCain, it will be like getting two-for-one.
I know that sounds a little one-sided, but most of the people whose e-mail lists I am on happen to be Republicans.
What got me ticked was the last one, about Cindy McCain. Now, for all I know, all the things the e-mail said about Mrs. McCain could be true. That’s not what bothered me. This was the last statement:
“This is for all you Barack voters.
From Barack’s book, Audacity of Hope: ‘I will stand with the Muslims should the political […]
Original post by carrie
Yes, that’s me. My name is Carrie, and I’m a terrified voter. I’ve had so many thoughts about the upcoming presidential election rattling around in this brain of mine, and I kept thinking I should organize them and write a post of some sort. Well, it was either organize my thoughts, or write a post, because I don’t have time to do both. So I’m posting, and you’ll have to excuse the disorganized (and probably long) mishmash of a post this will be.
Let’s start with a little background, and then I’ll get myself in trouble right off the bat. Sounds promising, huh?
I voted for President Bush in 2000. I voted for him again in 2004. And I feel like I was duped.
See, told ya! Some of you are probably already ready to hit that comment button and tell me how wrong I am. That’s okay - I’m just going […]
Original post by carrie
No, not those headlines. These headlines. I seriously just almost peed my pants laughing. At the second link, of course. I don’t even want to talk about the first link. Stephanie at Throwing Marshmallows has done a fabulous job addressing the first link. All I have to say about that is “Here, here!”
Original post by Crunchy Mama
I think I’m recovered from our day-long Silverwood extravaganza. Did I mention that we left at 8:30 am and didn’t return until 10 pm? I’m looking forward to Tuesday, which - in spite of being our fifth day of school - will feel like our first day of school and life will begin to return to normal. Whatever that is.
Lots of exciting things happening in the news lately. Obama gives a darn good speech; McCain announces a surprise VP pick. And me? I’m still ambivalent about the whole thing. I’m musing over a post - that will probably be very long - about the whole presidential thing. Probably sometime this week, if I find the time to get the thoughts out of my head and into some kind of organized format.
But, for now, I promised you links - and do I have a bunch!
~ Entertainment Weekly counts down […]
Original post by carrie
There needs to be a ban on the word “card” until this election is over. “Race card,” “Gender card,” “Class card,” “Age card,” “Experience card” - it goes on and on and on… The people reporting politics need to completely erase that word from their vocabulary.
Original post by carrie
Whenever people discuss different political things, governmental changes, etc. in the U.S., the Founding Fathers are often brought up. “This was/was not the Founding Fathers’ intent,” is commonly said. The plumb line for said item that is being discussed is whether it lines up with what the Founding Fathers intended.
For example, some feel that the Department of the Interior is “wrong” because it oversteps the role of government according to the Constitution. It’s a ”waste” of resources, etc, since it’s not what the Founding Fathers intended. However, what is it that makes it “wrong?” Is it sinful for a government to have a Department of the Interior? Considering that the Bible doesn’t really talk about national parks ;-), I’m going to say no. But why isn’t these seen as a preference issue rather than a “right/wrong” issue, since we are talking about a constitution, not the Word of God? AND, since the U.S. Constitution […]
Original post by razorbackmama
As of tonight, there will be a black nominee for president on the ballot in November. Regardless of how you feel about Senator Obama’s politics, can we just take a moment to reflect on the historicity of this event? My kids are always amazed when we read stories like Goin’ Someplace Special, which deals with segregation and the fact that the only place the little girl knew everyone was welcome was the public library. That was less than fifty years ago. And tonight, a black man clinched the presidential nomination for the Democratic Party. This is a momentous occasion.
Original post by carrie
…when i’m not expecting anyone - mostly because i can’t see who’s at the door (no peephole or sidelight). but this evening the garage door was open, so i decided i’d better answer. it was a current town council member that is not running for re-election, coming to ask everyone to vote. she was very nice and we had a good conversation about issues in the town. she told me that turnout was very low for early voting and that meant it would be a close vote. i’m not sure why she thinks that, but turnout is usually very low anyway. i am going to do some research tonight because i’ll be at the homeschool bookfair tomorrow and won’t have much time. the trick will be remembering to go vote on saturday!
Original post by morethanfine
People in Glass Houses
I build my house of shining glass
of crystal
prisms
light, clear,
delicate.
The wind blows
Sets my rooms to singing.
The sun’s bright rays
are not held back
but pour
their radiance through the rooms
in sparkles of delight.
And what, you ask, of rain
that leaves blurred muddy streaks
across translucent purity?
What, you ask,
of the throwers of stones?
Glass shatters,
breaks,
sharp fragments pierce my flesh,
darken with blood.
The wind tinkles brittle splinters
of shivered crystal.
The stones crash through.
But never mind.
My house
My lovely shining
fragile broken house
is filled with flowers
and founded on a rock.
~ from The Ordering of Love: The New and Collected Poems of Madeleine L’Engle
How’s your April going so far? Did anyone prank you on the first?
We started into our normal week on Tuesday after a long weekend of visiting with family, and it was hard. We had such a great time visiting, but it made for a very busy few days and none of us were ready to jump into school […]
Original post by carrie
Yesterday the Diane Rehm Show (on NPR) did a segment on homeschooling. It featured Mike Donnelly (from HSLDA), Rob Reich (associate professor of ethics at Stanford) and Gretchen Roe (homeschool mom and part-time liaison for Calvert School).
I have lots of comments about the show which, in my opinion, came across as fairly positive to homeschooling. I do not want to get into all the points that I would have liked to have seen made, but I did want to focus on one aspect that Rob Reich brought up…the issue of the rights of children.
At one point, Reich posed a question to Donnelly (who had just said that HSLDA was for more freedom for parents, wanting parents to have more choices and less government intrusion): “Are you also for the freedom of the children? What if the child wants to learn, say science, but the parents haven’t taught them that?”
This […]
Original post by throwingmarshmallows
…is telling a flat-out lie considered a “mistake?”
But during a speech last week on Iraq, Clinton stretched the truth to the breaking point. “I certainly do remember that trip to Bosnia and … there was a saying around the White House that if a place was too small, too poor, or too dangerous, the president couldn’t go, so send the first lady. That’s where we went. I remember landing under sniper fire. There was supposed to be some kind of greeting ceremony at the airport, but instead we just ran with our heads down to get into the vehicles to get to our base.”
Hogwash. The truth is:
� There was no sniper fire.
� Nobody ducked for cover.
� Bad weather, not security concerns, kept her husband from making the same trip a few months earlier.
Clinton and her aides stood behind the story � which she has told more than once � until […]
Original post by carrie
I had been not been overly thrilled with the direction that the primary campaign and coverage had been taking lately…mostly getting tired with slew of “resignations” and the “controversy” surrounding them on both sides. Seems as if anyone says anything remotely “wrong” and they had to be ejected and the candidates had to completely distance themselves (yes, it bothered me on both sides). Every word and reaction was being parsed and analyzed and the “effect” it would have on each campaign was being analyzed.
Then the “controversy” surrounding Reverend Wright reared its head and I had just about completely stopped reading any kind of coverage because I was so sick of the divisiveness and nit-picking and knee-jerk reactions and judgments. I resigned myself to accepting that it was “politics as usual” and I would just have to accept that this was the way it was going to be and hope for […]
Original post by throwingmarshmallows
I have been in the Obama camp for awhile now and hope to pull together some of my favorite links and speeches soon.
In the meantime and on the eve of the Virginia primary, I thought that I would put out a few things for those who might still be undecided.
Governor Tim Kaine sent out an email that actually hits on my main reasons for supporting Barack:
Barack Obama has an excellence of character, intellect and judgment that America needs. His natural inclination is to bring people together to face the tough challenges that often divide us. This was his skill as a community organizer, attorney, state legislator and U.S. Senator. I have also been impressed by Barack’s calm demeanor in the face of triumph and challenge and his ability to pick great people to give him advice. His intelligence is confident and […]
Original post by throwingmarshmallows
Yup. I watched the State of the Union Speech. And I really want to know what reality Bush is living in.
AFSC has just released a new 2 min. video to help people understand the outrageous amount of money that is being spent daily on the Iraq war — at the expense of meeting human needs.
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flashObject.write(”fo_targ_Wnq6cD5jk1Q1269874390″);
Original post by throwingmarshmallows
I posted about Mike Huckabee and homeschooling a couple days ago. I just found this video. This just solidifies my opinion.
[kml_flashembed movie=”http://www.youtube.com/v/L-q0h1cb6xE” width=”425″ height=”350″/]
Original post by razorbackmama
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