Republican Debate

I was flipping through channels before “Grey’s Anatomy” came on and happened to see that there was a Republican debate. Normally this would have gotten a roll of the eyes and a quick flick of the remote.
For some unknown reason I decided to check the info on the show and found out that it was being held live at Morgan State University. This actually surprised me, a Historically Black College was hosting a Republican debate. Intriguing!

Now I will admit that I was switching back and forth from Grey’s so the first hour of watching was fragmented. In my mind the debate started off a bit hostile with the first speaker slamming the fact that four (4) candidates were not there. Granted the four (4) ARE the front runners but still, no need to slam them. This gives a chance for people to see the rest of the pack.

I have decided not to give my views on the debate but I have links to a couple of Republican blogs with their takes on it:

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/9/27/195236/373

http://lashawnbarber.com/archives/2007/09/27/pbs-republican-debate/

Here is an article about from the NY Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/28/us/politics/28repubs.html?ref=politics


And here is the transcripts from the debate it self:

http://www.pbs.org/kcet/tavissmiley/special/forums/transcript.html


The only way to know who to vote for is to be knowledgeable about the candidates themselves.

Bush to veto Children's Medical Coverage

Bush is blaming the Democrats for a bill that he said he will veto because it will expand coverage to millions of unisured children.

I don't understand why this is a bad thing. Bush is quoted as saying it will expand coverage to those who can easily afford medical coverage. So who are those people? If you are in a family of 4 - 2 children and your work medical coverage only is affordable for the employee..if you add dependants the cost quadruples. Are you able to cover your children if you make too much for medicaid?

How about Bush give real examples on this. Because he says himself...it would be a shame to hurt all those children.

Rental Market Nightmare

For months I have been bemoaning the rental markets in my area. I have said that only corporate types can afford the rentals in the area. Anyone making a "normal" wage is out of luck.

It seems that two writers with the Associated Press believe the same thing. In an article that appeared in the Stamford Advocate as "High prices, hidden costs",a link on the same article on Yahoo .
It's not so hard to believe that corporate America has forgotten to take care of who does the grunt work.
Why would i rail against corporate America, who do you think set up short term leases as corporate apartments for their CEO's and others for their Temporary stays in the area?

In Stamford there is a 10% rule for affordable housing. For developments built, 10% must be put aside for affordable housing. Sounds wonderful right? Guess what they are tearing down to built the luxury apartments and condos? That's right, existing affordable housing. Then not replacing the units one for one. It looks great for the city, but those poor slobs who don't make at least $30 an hour are pushed out of the rental market. (yes that is $30 an hour)

Let's highlight some statistics from the story -

Renters - about 32% of US householders are renters.
Shortage - The National Low Income Housing Coalition says that there are 9 million extremely low-income renter households and only 6.2 million units they can afford.

Recent proposed budget cuts in Connecticut mean that there will be less money to subsidize housing. This is not for the extremely poor but for the working poor - say family of 4 with 2 wage earners making less then $60,000 a year.

Sample rent for a one bedroom in Stamford is $1200 - That is $14400 a year. without having ANYTHING. Apartments in this area do not have any internal antenna, so reception is almost impossible save for public television out of NYC if you are lucky. Get a part of the picture?

They say that there is a bill pending in Congress that would establish a National Affordable Housing Trust Fund to rehabilitate 1.5 million homes over 10 years. Here's a question, with the way things are going in this country, won't we need at least quadruple that amount so we don't have working homeless?

A letter to the editer

I recently wrote a letter to the editor of my local paper about how the us against them mentality has gone a bit too far in this country.

Question for you, have you ever tried walking across the street, in a crosswalk with the light, only to be almost hit by a passing driver?

It happens more often then not these days. It really sad. Why is it that when some people get into a car, nothing else seems to matter except them!
There are others on the road besides you, what happen to courtesy, Hell, what happened to knowing how to drive?!

Part of knowing how to drive is observing the rules of the road. Small things like STOPPING at a red right and STOP sign may help to prevent accidents. And personally, I do not care what movie you are watching - yellow does not mean go very fast!

All us poor pedestrians ask for is a safe place to walk and cross the street. Aren't these what crosswalks are made for?!

What's on my mind

You would think i would stop to blog about something important. Like People taking swipes at Michele Obama and calling her unfit to be first lady or CNN using Ms. Instead of Mrs. When writing about her (supposedly continuing the racist myth that Black people don't marry.)

Or on sad entertainment news Pavarotti passing away or the Vanessa Hudgens pictures sans clothes. OK that last one wasn't important but I saw it on 4 news stations and E!.

No, I am here to share my thoughts on the great American past time that happens every year - Football Tryouts.

Tweedle wants to play football. Now, I know I have mentioned it before but I still can't get my head wrapped around that concept. Why is this so popular? I mean I have watched it on TV and even sort have watched it when I was a cheerleader in high school 5 million years ago.

I don't know if he's even good to be honest. I want him to play sports in order to truly understand the concept of teamwork, commitment, and hard work. He will need these in high school and beyond. But I don't want it to just be about winning. If the game is about winning, then what will you have learned?

Football is also a sacrifice on the parent's part a bit, I have to figure out how to get him to 9 am games every Saturday morning. Gotta love public transportation!

We'll see how this works out.

School Strated! Time to plan my vacation!

Yes it has officialy started, August 31st was the first day of school for Tweedle Dee (my eldest) No I am not being mean either. I have decided to nickname the boys TD. The little one is Tazmanian Devil. (onset of terrible two's).

I have met with Tweedle's teachers, who are all men this year! I am actually happy about that. I believe at this stage int he game (8th Grade) Tweedle needs more male authority figures in his life. Because heaven knows I am not going to try to find a guy just to get Tweedle a role model. Mom is out of the dating arena!

Back to school. his teachers were very receptive to what I had to say regarding my concerns for the year and though of ways to facilitate effective communication between the school and myself. Now that the groud work is set, I can turn my focus on a different aspect of my life. (Not that Tweedle wants to play football...ugh! that will be a WHOLE seperate entry!)

I am now planning my 35th birthday party. I am attempting to get a group together for Disney. i figure it will take me a year almost to get the money together. I don't want to stay at a value resort because I did that 10 years ago. Yes, I am a bit spoiled when it comes to vacations, but I think i deserve a real one. 5 nights 6 days isn't so bad for vacation.
I am doing all the preliminary ground work now that the prices for 2008 are out. I saw that they had meal plans and I know that food is a major expense. With Tweedle going to be 15, I am going to need all the help i can get with food. So I am looking into that as well.

So far I have invited 8 others to join me and my family. we shall see how that goes :)