To set the scene…..I was getting dinner ready to serve, and The Spouse and The Boy had come down to get their drinks.

Me:  “It’s time to eat, and I’m not even hungry.”

Tommy:  “Well then, why are we eating now?”

Me:  “Because I made hummus earlier and then you didn’t eat it.  So I had to cook because you didn’t have a snack.”

Tommy:  “Oh, so you ate the hummus because you made it for me and I didn’t want it so then you had to cook?”

Me:  “Well….you’re the one that likes hummus.”

Tommy:  “But I didn’t ask you to make any.  I wasn’t hungry earlier.”

Me:  “Well, because I had to eat the hummus, now I’m not hungry.”

Here is where Tommy and The Boy look at me like I’m crazy, and then just bust out laughing.

Me:  “Don’t you see how it’s your fault I’m not hungry?”

Tommy:  “No, but it’s always my fault so obviously this time it is too.”

Then they left and took their plates upstairs, shaking their heads.

What?  It’s his fault, right?

I recently found out that I’m one of the few who have a legitimate reason for why they can’t lose weight….I mean, besides the fact that I simply cannot give up alcohol completely, that is.

Yup.  My thyroid is low.  I tried the herbal stuff for a few months, and it helped….but not enough.  So now I’m on the meds from the doc.  I don’t expect to miraculously lose weight, but it will be nice not to be so tired and actually make some progress at the gym.

I can already tell the workouts are actually doing some good now, instead of just maintaining the status quo in the absence of a working thyroid.  So….good.

It runs in the family.  I don’t know why I was so surprised.

Oh…..I got a new laptop today!!!  My first laptop since leaving work six years ago.  It’s one of the Dell models that Best Buy started carrying.  The only really annoying extra software it came with was a trial version of Norton that kept trying to update itself.  But the system let me uninstall it easily enough once I found where to do it.  There’s other stuff out there that works better.

Can I just say that I’m not too thrilled with Vista?  It’s much harder for me to navigate.  I guess I’ll get used to it.  For what I do on a computer, there really was no other affordable option considering the fact that I could not find a new computer anywhere that still had XP and the Mac looks pretty…but not THAT pretty.  Oh, well….I’m sure we’ll all be upgrading to the fixed version of Vista soon enough.

I must go play with my new technology now.

Yeah, thyroid meds!  Yeah, new laptop!

Because clearly, this year it seems to matter.  To be honest, until this election cycle I wasn’t even aware that Texas was a Pri-Caucus state.  In fact…I have never voted in a Texas primary.  Because really…the state has gone Republican since I’ve been of age to vote.

So here’s the dilemma.  McCain will get the nomination.  Voting for him seems to me would be a wasted vote.  I’m really not into protest votes if the candidate at least supports the majority of my views.

But then….on the other side…on which I would never – based on my belief that low taxes and less government support the society on which the constitution was founded – vote for a democrat in the presidential election…..there seems to be help needed.

I won’t go into it, but I DO think that Hillary is bad for the country on so many levels that I can’t begin to start that argument.

So….is it worth the risk of Obamafever taking over the nation and sweeping him into office for another Carter-esque four years to cast a vote in the primary against Hillary? Would you do it? If you believed a potential nominee was bad for the country (and interns in the White House should her spouse ever gain striking distance again) – would it be worth your time?

And then there’s the caucus.  I’ve never been to a caucus.  That could be interesting.  I hear there are free snacks.  I like Obama on a basic, “Hey, that guy sure is charismatic and uplifting” kinda way.  I Don’t agree with his views or his policy, but he’s a likable enough guy.  I guess I could go to the dem caucus and cast my vote for him and say, “Yeah, Obama…boo, Hillary!”

But….is it worth my time?  Do you think it would be worth yours?  If you had the chance?  Would you be part of the “fix” to get Hillary out?

I need some advice here.  Should I leave my comfy house and early vote for Obama, and then wake the spouse up from his post-trip nap to go participate in the dem caucus to further support the non-Hillary candidate?

Would you?

And…if the roles were reversed and it was…say a Bush brother and you were anti-war and pro-big government….would you bother to participate and make a difference?

Do tell…..I only have a few days left until early voting is over….

That sounds about right. People that know me know it takes a lot to make me wake up earlier than say, 10 in the morning. Except maybe a good breakfast. That ALWAYS does the trick. Swiped this while I was catching up with Paula a few minutes ago.

Time for more coffee….

I’ve been amazed over the past several years how guilty some would have us feel over being American, over any success we might have due to our own hard work, and really – if you think about it – over simply being alive on this earth.

It’s not so hard to understand the guilt over being an American thing.  Liberal shame of our country has become common place since the 60s.  Just look at Michelle Obama’s comments the other day.  The liberal elite in our country honestly feel shame over some of the ideals that America was built on….the ability to live an independent free life, where our own prosperity is built by our own hard work.  The liberal elite would like to “share” in individuals’ prosperity so they can “show the world” they are generous.  And the thought of using force to free others is so distasteful to them they feel “shame and guilt” over any military action we take – even if it’s to deprive prisoners of sleep so we can prevent a terrorist attack.  Yes….those on the left have made it clear they are ashamed to call themselves American.

This whole idea of “shard prosperity” has really done a number on those that try to live the core values of being a “good” democrat.  People that have enough to pay their mortgage and send their kids to school and put food on the table feel somehow it’s wrong that they can support their families on a decent level when “there are others who need the money more”.  Yes, they talk a good game.  Especially to those of us who don’t feel guilty about our success, live our lives as we can given the resources that we have earned, and dutifully pay our taxes.  It’s somehow “wrong” that we “don’t do more”……even though we pay 30% of our income in taxes.  Since when did giving 30% of your income become “not nearly enough”?  No, I don’t feel guilty about being successful.  And yes, I DO feel that we pay our fair share.  And I DON’T feel one bit guilty about it.  In fact, I sleep very well at night..thank you.

Then there’s the whole “carbon footprint guilt” thing.  Yes….there appears to be some global warming happening.  And yes, I drive an SUV.  But in nine months, I drove it less than 5,000 miles. I’m pretty sure I drive way less than those that put many more emissions in the air with their long commutes and feel I should be over-burdened with guilt and shame over my choice of vehicle.  Sorry…I don’t.  If I drove more, I might have made a different choice in vehicles.  I’m not that uncaring.  But if you drive less, you get to have a bigger car.  That’s how I look at it.

Garbage.  Garbage guilt.  That’s what many have.  There are a lot of people that spend a lot of time recycling the hell out of their trash.  And that’s fine.  They can do that.  I recycle my newspapers.  I give old furniture to Christian Community Action.  But I’m not so caught up in how to dispose of my garbage in a “green” way that I stay up nights freaking out over what a horrible non-recycler I am.  And the whole plastic vs. paper bag thing at the store?  This makes no sense because dumps are completely enclosed now so nothing biodegrades like people think it does.  In fact, it takes less energy to make the plastic bags and they take up way less space at the dump…so really, I’m being “greener” about my groceries by choosing plastic over paper.  The only “green” way to do groceries is to buy your own burlap bags and use them every week.  I’ve actually considered going this, but I’ve seen others do it and the baggers really smash the groceries when they use them because they have no place to hang them…so the groceries are bagged on their sides and this does not bode well for bread or chips.

Meat.  Some are guilty about eating meat.  They say it’s inhumane how it’s raised and processed for food.  I say….God wouldn’t have made beef, chicken and fish so tasty if he hadn’t meant for us to eat it.  I’ve met many guilty vegetarians, and they all look pasty white and unhealthy.  Like they could use a good steak, really.  I can understand doing it if you’re convinced it’s healthier…but I really don’t think it’s healthier to cut out some proteins completely…I mean, eat some salmon once in a while at least.  It’s been proven to lower cholesterol and increase brain activity.  Nope.  I’m an omnivore just like God made me.  And I don’t feel a BIT guilty about it.  Hey….all those companies that process the food are providing jobs so others can “share the prosperity”.  Isn’t that supposed to be “good”?

Money.  Guilt over making money.  There are many trying to convince us that the socialist principal that all should share in an individual’s prosperity is the way we should go and we are horrible people if we don’t agree.  Just remember….all communists are socialist but not all socialists are communists.  Some actually do tolerate capitalism as long as they feel enough of the profit is going to the government so they can redistribute the wealth.

I do have a question…all these people that feel guilty that they “have so much when others have so little”…well, they seem to forget there are many that game the system and have gamed it for generations in families.  These generational families in which not one single member has EVER worked a day in their lives exist due to the societal guilt some feel over those down on their luck.  Hey, I don’t mind giving someone a helping hand if they’re unable to work.  But if they are…they should be required to get educated or acquire a skill so they can eventually support themselves.  At the very least, we should make them work for their benefits…if we are providing them an income large enough to live on, they should be willing to help repair our infrastructure, drive a school bus, process government paperwork…..do something in return for the money they are receiving from people that actually pay taxes.  This something for nothing attitude has created a culture of entitlement where people feel they are “owed” the right to live off of the hard work of others.  It ain’t right.

So here’s what I think over the money guilt thing.  Why don’t those people send MORE tax money in? Nobody ever told them they couldn’t.  Or why don’t they give to a local state program that “helps” the less fortunate.  Or…better yet….why don’t they take one Saturday a month and go work at a homeless shelter and donate their time to the needy?  They could do all those things and certainly feel less guilty about not “giving back” like they think others in higher income brackets should.

I’m not guilty about being an American.  I am proud we have freed Iraq from the hands of a brutal dictator who housed Al-Qaeda in its borders.  I’m proud we can work hard and provide for our family (at least for now..until the government takes more of our hard-earned cash).  I don’t create a huge “carbon footprint”.  I like to eat meat.  It’s tasty.  I recycle when I can.

Nope…no guilt here.  People need to just take a chill pill, do the best they can, and stop letting others make them feel guilty about living in a free America.

At least the two sick people I ran across at the gym today were.

There I was….doing my cardio…..with two empty machines on either side of me.  And up walks a lady who got on the machine directly to my right (even though there were two others farther away she could have used).

And then…she proceeded to cough…and cough….and cough.

My cringing and looking away every time she coughed did NOT make an impression on her.  And believe me..she could tell I was trying to avoid her spewage.

So I moved.

To a row of eight EMPTY machines.

I used the one on the end.

And then…..

A guy gets on the one RIGHT NEXT TO ME!

What the hell?!!

There were many, many other machines of the exact same make and model farther away from me he could have used.

And then…

HE coughed too!!

I asked him to turn his head away when he coughed because I didn’t want to get sick.

He at least covered his mouth…but still, he did not turn away.

So  I got off the damn machine and marched to the back of the gym and finished on a treadmill.

Luckily, no other coughers decided to use a machine next to me.

What the hell?

Do I have a sign on my forehead that says, “If you have an active cough and virus, please work out next to me so you are sure to spread your evil illness to me”?

I have to admit, I have gone to the gym at the tail end of a cold before.  But if I am still coughing, I make damn sure I don’t go right next to anyone else.  It’s just common courtesy and a respect for the general public’s well-being.

I guess those two idiots at the gym today have never heard of such things…..

Jerks.

Hate sick people that make every effort to work out next to me and get me sick.

Hate ‘em.

I’ve been mulling this over the past few days, as Hillary ramps up her efforts to get the votes already cast in Michigan and Florida to count.

If you are for Hillary, of course you think every vote cast in her favor should be counted. That only makes sense. You want your candidate to win. Even though this would be changing decisions mid-stream….still, it’s what you would want. We all know nothing in politics is fair.

If you are for Obama, of course you think the original decision to not count those votes and delegates should stand. After all, his name wasn’t even on the ticket in Michigan – a place where he probably could have had at least a decent showing.

As an aside, I think Hillary’s victory speech in Florida was a bit much. And it probably was a good predictor for how this is being played out now by her campaign…gotta have the votes cast if you wanna claim them later, right?

If you are for fairness….well, then you can’t win either way. If the original votes are counted, but a smaller number of delegates given in, say…Michigan. Then Obama doesn’t get any delegates at all because his name wasn’t on the ticket. If they decide to re-do both of the primaries, then Obama will get many more votes/delegates than he would have received had the primary been run as normal on the earlier dates because he’s on a roll and Hillary’s no longer the front-runner. So there will be at least some that join the Obama train that has already left the station on the way to victory if they re-do the primaries.

The only reasonably fair way to do it is to let the ruling stand and have no votes/delegates count. Is this fair to the voters that actually bothered to go to the polls? No. To use a very tired word…yes in this case they will be disenfranchised. But lets’ get real here. They were told their votes would NOT be counted and no delegates given when they voted. But they voted anyway. Since many of them voted for Hillary…one has to wonder if they were encouraged by the campaign to do so because they planned on pulling this little trick all along? Let me just say that it would not surprise me in the least if that is the case. Anything to win, right?

It’s truly a dilemma. And I’m sorry to say that no matter how it goes, the nominee will always have a legitimacy issue with some in the party over how it was decided. This cycle, they simply can’t win cleanly. Hopefully they’ll get rid of the super-delegates and resolve primary date issues better during the next election.

So…what do you think? Count the votes and award her the delegates (and super-delegates)? Re-do the primary? Or…let the original ruling stand in the interest of fairness vs. having every vote count.

Or do all the people on the weird deal Big Brother that premiered last night seem to be nothing more than young, arrogant, snotty, self-centered spoiled brats?  Oh…..and one middle-aged woman that is trying her best to be like that.

I mean…it’s always good to have a guy you can hate in the house.

But…this season….I can honestly say…..I HATE ALL OF THEM!!!!  Thank God the writers signed the agreement and soon there will be other new, much better stuff to watch.

Oh, get your mind out of the gutter.  But I am very guilt-ridden about it.

I….love….LOVE…..to listen to Obama speak!  I know, a rightie actually listening to the most liberal member of the Senate (when it comes to votes).  Inconceivable.

But….I CAN’T HELP IT!  The guy is attractive, smooth, eloquent, and oh, that voice…..so rich and deep and full of hope.

Yes, I listen.  Every single time I hear his by now (to me at least) highly recognizable voice on a commercial or on the news….I stop everything I’m doing just so I can go watch and hear that guy talk.  I always feel so hopeful after I hear him.

Hey, let’s get real here.  I disagree with almost everything the guys says.  But MAN, he is SO easy to listen to it’s scary!

I think most of getting people to vote for you is getting them to listen to you.  On the dem side, I can’t imagine an easier person to listen to.  Poor Hillary.  She has to fight against a message of hope delivered in that smooth, eloquent voice.

She really doesn’t stand a chance, does she?

It’s time for one of these lists, right?  It’s been a while….so here goes!

1.  It’s not a tax rebate.  Because you’re not giving money back to those that pay the majority of taxes.

2. Britney…..

3.  I got nothin’…except to say at least the parents are finally stepping up.  Daddy will take care of it.

4.  oBAMa!

5.  Hillary….is toast.

6.  Even if they did a re-vote in Florida and Michigan, I think she would be toast.

7.  Unless they honestly think it’s okay for the super-delegates that all owe them favors to hand her the nomination.

8.  Talk about stealing an election!  In broad daylight!

9.  At least the last election that was claimed to have been “stolen” was proven not to be on recounts.

10. For me, if there were absolutely NO other choice….I’d have to choose oBAMa.  He’s much more pleasant to listen to, and at least he makes people FEEL like everything’s okay (sorta like Reagan did).

11. Hillary is NOT fun to listen to.

12.  But neither is McCain.

13. Huckabee should quit.

14.  He should have quit instead of Romney.

15.  Hillary’s in Texas today.

16.  I haven’t spoken to one woman who likes Hillary.

17.  Even the Latina women that work at the grocery store.

18.  oBAMa all the way, baby!

19. I can’t remember when Texas has ever been a player in the Primary process.

20. I’m SO tempted to vote for oBAMa just so Hillary won’t win!

21. I’m not the only one that’s considering that move….

22.  But you know I probably won’t.

23.  Because I like lower taxes and less government and strong national security policies…not the reverse.

24.  But that’s just me.

25.  Seriously…who would vote to pay higher taxes?

26.  That’s right…those that are “promised” their taxes won’t go up.

27.  Here’s a question…..

28. If people want more money to go to the tax man….

29.  Then why don’t they send an extra check?

30.  Nobody ever told them they couldn’t.

31.  Which makes me wonder why the politicians that want to raise taxes don’t send in more of their own money.

32.  Oh..that’s right…I forgot.  They want to spend OUR money, not theirs.

33.  So much easier to spend it or apply for it when you didn’t have to earn it, isn’t it?

34.  I find it interesting that Hillary’s demographic is older, less educated people.

35.  oBAMa has younger, more educated people in his corner.

36.  Interesting…..

37.  Oh well, time to go watch the exit poll results.

38.  I must remember to have my remote handy so I can mute Hillary if they show her speaking….