I’m so ashamed…

For the 6th congressional district in MN. And of them, for voting the way they do!

Currently represented by “hot for God” Michelle Bachmann (R), this district is an ex-urban dominated, MacMansion-strewn part of the 7 county metro area.

She was elected in 2006, after the departure of another right-winger (Mark Kennedy). Little did we know that the replacement for Kennedy would provide such a constant stream of entertainment for those that watch politicians for outlandish behavior!

Most recent in her antics are:

• At the recent Conservative Political Action Committee, being moderated by Hip-Hop right winger Michael Steele: As [Steele] concluded his remarks, Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann — the event's moderator — told Steele he was “da man.”
  
  “Michael Steele! You be da man! You be da man,” she said.

• In a recent Interview with KTLK, She spouted off many un-truths and bizarre statements like:
  
  The "Community-Organizer-in-Chief" is also orchestrating a conspiracy involving the Census Bureau, which the president will use to redraw congressional lines to keep Democrats in power for up to "40 years." (Sounds almost biblical)
  
  
  The stimulus bill includes a measure to create a "rationing board" for health care, and after the bill becomes law, "your doctor will no longer be able to make your healthcare decisions with you." (Straight from Republican Talking Points, but when she says it, she sounds CRAZY)
  
  "We're running out of rich people in this country." My Favorite!

• During last year’s campaign, she was channeling Joe McCarthy when she went on Hardball and said (about Senator Obama), amongst other things:
  
  “What I would say is that the news media should do a penetrating expose and take a look. I wish they would. I wish the American media would take a great look at the views of the people in Congress and find out if they are pro-America or anti-America," – After this, her funding was cut off from the NRCC, so she prayed real hard and somehow by the grace of her god, won the election (far be it from me to understand why!)

• And probably the most embarrassing national moment of all, when she turned into Kissyface monster at Shrub’s last State of the Union, and laid a big wet sloppy one on POTUS. Luckily, she was not staking out a spot on the aisle for Obama’s address to Congress this last week. I will say, though that every single Minnesotan watching the address had their eyes peeled for her.
  
  

If I had wings....

I updated my Facebook status today with the fact that I was watching the local Red Tailed Hawk catch the currents between two office buildings… and ended it with “I wish I could fly”… which is true. I’ve always thought it would be cool to at a moments notice be untethered by earth’s gravitational pull as all humans are.

As the day wears on, and I have occasion for my mind to wander, I’ve been pondering “where would I fly to?”. Is the flying more important than the destination? Assuming I wouldn’t have to fly to catch food, or evade being someone else’s source of food, it would be a pure pleasure thing (for all of my fellow Darwin fans, I know, if I didn’t need to fly, I wouldn’t be able to, but that’s another post, some other day).

Here are some places that I would travel to and alight, given the opportunity to spread my wings:

1) I know this is corny, but I would first fly to the top of the water tower at North Memorial Hospital. I grew up and still live in the neighborhood, and always imagined seeing the ‘hood from above. Be able to scope out what is in my neighbor’s privacy-fenced back yard, see the real curve of the streets, and the view of the nearby parks from above.

2) Catch the human-made thermals in Chicago, New York, San Francisco, Tokyo and other skyscraper-laden cities. Those that have ridden in the passenger seat of my car know that I like to “go fast”, even swerve through traffic for the fun of it – I could only imagine what it would be like to feel the thermals under my wings and bob and weave through the city without a flap.

3) Dive bomb the inevitable asshat yelling at his kids as he’s dragging them to a tourist destination that is “for their own good”. I believe that birds scare a lot more people than they are willing to admit. I know two friends who are deathly afraid of being bombed by birds….

4) Fly through the Grand Canyon and Yosemite Valley and marvel at the natural architecture. I love looking out the window of the plane when flying over the southwest – makes me want to be a geologist.

5) Sit on top of the Pyramids of Giza and gaze upon the desert that the pharohs once ruled…. And try to understand why they wanted to rule over a place with that much sand.

6) Dodge through the Fjords and arctic landscape of my ancestral home in Scandinavia. Try to understand why, aside from the weather, did they think that Minnesota was similar in geographic qualities?

Where would you fly to?

Jenny by the numbers - Thanks for the idea Brian – I tweaked it a bit

No, this is not 25 things about me, well, it’s 20 things about me, and at least I’m only spamming my own blog rather than your Facebook newsfeed!

1: Times I’ve given birth – June 8, 1994
2: Children I have given birth to - Twin boys named Magni and Modi
3: Times I’ve been married – the third time is the charm
4: The most dogs I’ve lived with at one time – I hired somebody to do poop patrol
5: Years since we doubled the size of our house and mortgage payment – talk about bad timing!
6: Paring knives in my knife drawer at home– aside from all the other kind of knives
7:Years I have volunteered on a Habitat house – I hope to make it 8 this year
8: Sections of my vegetable garden – when will spring come?
9: Pens in my pencil cup on my desk – no pencils, though
10: Years I have been married to Scott: he’s the keeper!
11: Visits I have made to San Francisco in my lifetime… my second home (at least in my heart)
12: CDs that I have in the rack in my car – Yes, I have not joined the IPOD generation
13: Years that I have worked at GMAC RFC – it’s been quite the trip!
14: My age when I had my first boyfriend – he was a Senior in high school I was in junior high….
15: Pieces of the wooden puzzle on my desk that I use to build little buildings when I’m on conference calls.
16: My age when my brother took his own life – he was 18
17: Years since my father died from falling off a ladder – I miss him very much
18: Number of eggs I currently have in the refrigerator at home
19: The number of people in my cell phone contact list who I actually call on a semi- regular basis – are you one of them?
20: Times I have tried to figure out what significance 20 holds for me…. I got nothing…

Why do people try to save my soul? Part II

In Part One of this post, I talked about how I was raised in a non-believing family. This part is the real question: Why, when I try to explain to people why I (don’t) believe the way I do, they insist on trying to talk me out of it under the auspices of saving my soul?

The first time it happened, my former father in law (F-I-L) (husband #2) learned that I did not attend church, and according to him, I was “Prohibiting his son from attending”. Hah! His son (my boyfriend at the time), certainly didn’t need my permission to attend church… he made his own decisions. In trying to explain this to the F-I-L, he told me that he was only making it his business, because he wanted to see me in heaven. I think I said “thanks, but I don’t believe in heaven, so I’m happy the way I am”. He couldn’t understand it. It was like I was speaking a foreign language. I understand personal conviction, everyone’s entitled to their own faith and belief, but in my opinion, it stops with the individual. The more I explained, the more desperate he became. He branched off into worrying about his son, his future grandchildren, and again, his concern for my soul. I literally told him that my soul felt fine, thank you for the concern. Needless to say, he took that as being flip… and eventually convinced himself that I was the anti-christ. I’m not being sarcastic – he told me to my face. All I could do was tell him that I was sorry that he felt that way, but I was not going to change for him. The good news is that while that marriage did end, my (now ex) husband and I created children, and have no issues raising them as “critical thinkers” rather than “faith bound believers”.

While there have been other encounters with the faithful about the status of my soul, I learned to steer clear of the conversations with them that would lead to the revelation that I was “going to hell”. There was an interaction that sticks out the most, one with a co-worker. I had developed good working relationship with a project manager, and had found some common ground on a personal note – he was very quick witted, sarcastic like me. At some point, we went to lunch, and started chatting about various things – non-project related. He asked me if I was interested in joining a bible study group with other co-workers. I said “no thank you”. He asked a few more probing questions, and I finally told him my point of view. He leaned back and asked me “how it was possible that you turned out to be an apparently moral person, without the benefit of the lessons typically learned from the bible.” I countered that my parents taught me to respect others, and that I knew right from wrong by their example – that the bible is not the only way of skinning the moral education cat. He was shocked by my response that I really didn’t believe in anything – asked me all the usual questions… “How did we get here, what is the meaning of life, don’t you want to go to heaven, aren’t you afraid of hell, didn’t I know that is was damning my lovely children as well? “

After listening to my responses, he told me that he would pray for me and that I would see the light eventually. He said that he was worried about my soul – and that he cared enough about me to ask his congregation to consider me in their prayers. I said – thanks, but no thanks, my soul feels fine. Luckily, we left the conversation at Davanni’s and did not mention it again – our working relationship remained intact.

So the real question is: why do people feel the need, in fact the right, to intrude on my belief system under the auspices of “saving my soul?”. Over the years, in order to fit into society better, I have become desensitized to reactions when people learn of my beliefs. I keep quiet about celebrating Solstice rather than Christmas, when conversation turns to what church I belong to, I change the topic quickly. I understand that spreading the gospel is part of the christian dogma, but I believe that has more to do with the church coffers than anything else. Why is it that I chose to stay out of people’s business, when they feel just and virtuous getting into mine?

Please don’t try to save me… my soul feels fine, thank you….(Part one)

As the parking lot of the church starts to empty on this beautiful morning, I can see the virtue of the parishioners dribbling out the tailpipes of their Buicks, Le Sabres and Cadillacs. On their way to coffee, or perhaps brunch, those who have donned ties, dresses or pantsuits on the Sabbath day have done their religiously duty for the week. They’ve gathered with other parishioners, praised and offered thanks to their god, prayed for those less fortunate and promised themselves to have a sin-free week. Some may have gone to confession to alleviate a particular bad behavior, or some may have just prayed for forgiveness from the privacy of the pew. They’ve seen friends, met new neighbors, and wished the pastor a fine day. It’s the Norman Rockwell version of Sunday morning at the church down the street.

And here I am, in my kitchen, enjoying coffee and feeling sated from the brunch my family just shared. Aside from the syrup covered dishes on the counter, I feel that I have served humanity well this week – I am feeling pretty virtuous myself. Some may say that I pray at the altar of humanism, others may call me a pagan or a heretic; but the truth is I don’t pray or worship anything.

The fact is that I was raised in a family of non-believers. Well, that’s not quite right, my family believed in each other, and the rest of humanity. We simply didn’t believe in a god, a supreme being, or deity. I was never incented to behave through the threat of going to hell, nor was I told that when my grandfather died that I would see him in heaven.

On Sundays, all of my friends would go to church, and every once in a while, I would ask my parents what it was all about. Being the good parents they were, they encouraged me to tag along with one of my friends to find out. I remember actually attending vacation bible school once, but I’m pretty sure I only stayed as long as I needed to earn the prize for attendance – a balsa wood airplane. All the stories were just stories to me.

On my 18th birthday, when I declared to my parents that I was marrying my “soulmate”, I floored them even more by telling them that we were to be married in the catholic church… when my father asked “why now”, I told him that I wanted to give religion a shot and Catholicism seemed to be a good one. Ok, so I didn’t believe it either, but my 18 year-old self wanted the church wedding, blah, blah. So I stuck to my story and went through the conversion classes, got baptized, confirmed, the whole nine yards. I never felt “the quickening”, or whatever you are supposed to feel when you realize Jesus is your savior. I got sick from the incense on Christmas eve mass. My (now ex-) husband and I were married in the church, went back a few times for the fun masses (Easter, xmas, etc.). Then, we only went for rites of passage for his family. My stint as a catholic happily ended when the marriage did. Tomorrow: Why do people try to save my soul?

A day in the life of a local political activist

If you haven't guessed by my profile, and other entries, I am a born and bred Democrat - literally came out the womb that way. I spent my childhood licking stamps, knocking on doors, dropping literature and serving punch and cookies for Democratic candidates that my parents were actively supporting. It's no wonder, then that as I grew up, I remained involved in the party (Here in Minnesota, we call it the DFL (Democratic-Farmer-Labor)Party. With the exception of the time when my children (twin boys) were young, or I was going through personal/work strife, I remained active in campaigns - both at the local and national level.

After both of my parents passed away, it grew more important for me to continue the legacy that they started. I committed to become more active outside of election years, and thus begun my journey to my current position as Associate Chair of Senate District 45 here in MN. While that may sound impressive, it really is proof of the theory that showing up is 99% of the job - literally, I have found (at least with the DFL), if you go to meetings regularly and volunteer occasionally, they will hand out the "She's an activist" title very generously.

Like most things political, it all starts with the caucus... believe it or not, raising your hand in your neighborhood caucus can project you onto a fast track of power for your local political unit. Volunteering to be a chair of your precinct means that you are now part of the power structure of the local Senate District - being a part of the Central Committee means you can vote on funding for candidates, lobby your local legislators for support of your ideas, and get access to all the inside baseball you could ever want as it relates to your local political structure.

Once you get to the state level Senate district, you can work towards being a part of the federal level Congressional District - which means interacting with your US Congressperson. Again, by simply raising your hand, you can have direct access to candidates for the office, and if you work hard enough, your candidate becomes your Representative in Washington D.C..

I'm not sure if that sounds glamorous, but I can tell you, it's far from it. The real work for me starts at 7:00 on the third Wednesday of every month - down in the basement of Crystal City Hall - our Senate District Central Committee gathers. Tonight, I'm chairing the meeting because our Chair is out of town on business. We'll have a couple of elections for party positions, hopefully develop a fundraising strategy for this off year cycle, and generally form under the community of liberals.... The meeting is open to the public - even Republicans can drop by - they can't vote, but they can watch, and even participate if I recognize them. It's a wonderful pearl of democracy in action.... I hope that if you are driving by 42nd Ave N and Douglas Drive tonight, you'll know that there is a group of people in the basement, working towards a better Minnesota... and having a little fun in the mean time!

Vocabulary blast from the past, and no, I never had mall hair…

I was wasting time at work yesterday, and came across a site that serves as a glossary of 80’s terms…. And while I didn’t read everyone of the entries, as I skimmed them, several floods of memories came back.

I personally own up to using all of the phrases below – some of them I’ve used even recently! I could argue that a few should stay in the grave, but some have never had anything to replace them…. Probably my favorite is “nice play Shakespeare” – funny on so many levels! Any others to add?

Amped - Totally pumped or psyched about something.
Bitchin' - (1)Adj. Superb, excellent. ie. "That's a bitchin' Camaro."
Bogus -(1)Adj. Not good. ie. "I just died. That's pretty bogus." (2)Excl. Really not good. ie. "Aw man, that cop took my board." "Bogus!"
Book - To run and get away from a scene. We have to "book" it before we are late to phys ed.
Chill Pill - (1)Excl. Take it easy. ie. "Take a Chill Pill! You're gonna get us all busted."
Cool Beans - (1)Adj. Cool, awesome, agreeable.
Damn Skippy! - Excl. Similar to "You bet your a**!" Strong affirmation or agreement
Doy (Doi) - (1)Interj. Short for "No duh" or "no doy". See: No Shit Sherlock, Duh
F***in'-ey - (1)Adj./Intensifier: Enthusiastic approval or agreement. Congruity.
Hoser - Loser, jerk.
Nice Play Shakespeare - (1)Excl. That was a really stupid action.
"No Doy." - Excl. A variation of "No shit, Sherlock." Late in the decade, "doy" was used seperately as well, but "no doy" is the original utterance.
Ralph - To throw up.
Scoshe - When asked how much, you reply, "Just a scoshe." Meaning just a little bit. Very 80's valley girl talk
Shit Happens - I remember the first bumper sticker for this around 86.
Shiz Nits (Schiznick) - It means that it's 'the shits'. Meaning good.
Example: "Dude, that movie was the "shiz nits".
Spazzing - very excited. An exaggeration of being excited.
Spiffy (Spiff) - Cool, awesome
Trunkicular - Means Cool or sweet, related to Tubular
What's Crackalackin'? What's goin on. What's happening. Rhetorical greeting.
Wigging/Wig-out - Someone that is freaking out. "That dude is wiggin'."

Source: www.inthe80s.com/glossary.shtml

Kiss my grits…. Please…

Today is just going to be one of those days…. Not that I like picking fights with people, I usually try to avoid unnecessary confrontation, but there are a few current event topics in which I’m willing to engage in hearty debate – today’s Kiss my Grits topic is the Economic Stimulus package that President Obama will sign tomorrow.

For some reason, I am unable to see the stimulus through any lens other than my liberal, invest in the future one…. I’ve tried to listen to the other side. When they try to explain their support for tax cuts to big business and upper income individuals, I can see their lips moving, but the sound doesn’t form words that I comprehend. For example, the company I work for hasn’t made money in the last two years. How is lowering a nonexistent tax burden for this company going to help them hire workers? It’s not! Or, even if a company has made money and their tax burden is lightened, I’m not convinced that they will hire more staff because they can afford to. Until consumers feel that we are headed in the right direction, we aren’t going to start consuming more, which means that producers don’t have to make more. Econ 101: Demand drives supply, not the other way around. This is not a movie about a baseball team. It's about putting people back to work so they can earn a liveable wage and start spending.

On the flip side, fiscal conservatives (that’s a funny thing to write these days, given the last eight years!) say that investing in education, (including Head Start programs) won’t stimulate the economy – I think some Senators and pundits have even labeled this part of the bill as wasteful. Well, my right leaning friends, one of your own, Art Rolnick, Vice President of the Federal Reserve in Minneapolis believes that investments in early childhood education for at-risk children results in a 16% annual rate of return (adjusted for inflation). If you’ve looked at your 401K statement- that ROI is unimaginable! How does he back it up? Well, considering the fact that future prison populations are calculated based on third grade reading levels of the local population, I’d guess that it’s a pretty easy correlation to make! If you want to call me a “tax and spend liberal”, go right ahead, just don’t tell me that all lefty policies are simply meant to grow government. Investing in early childhood education allows growth in one area (education, readiness to participate in society), with the intention of shrinking other programs (public safety, penal systems and crime reduction).

Don’t get me started on the fact that the Vikings are looking for $700 million in funding for a new stadium…. What’s their ROI? Show me the money, someone, please!

V-Day - exposee of a hopeless love-nik

I admit it, I’m one of those people… you know, the one that really believes in taking one day out of the year to tell people you care about them. Don’t get me wrong, I understand that this day was created to sell greeting cards, and that it is one of the biggest retail days of the year- topped only by Christmas/winter holidays! In 2008, US citizens spent close to $17 BILLION– that’s a lot of chocolate, flowers, lingerie and restaurant meals - an average of $120 per person. Looks like spending is set to drop 20% in 2009 – down to an average of $102 per person.

And even though I know this intellectually, I have always been a big fan of Valentine’s Day. Ever since I was a little kid, my family celebrated V-day in a big way – cocktail parties, baking cookies, and secret hiding places for presents. I loved combing through the boxes of valentines at Target when I was a kid – should I give my classmates Scooby Doo, or maybe Flinstones, but never Holly Hobby… too girly! Fast forward to my junior high years, I remember getting a valentine slipped in my locker from a secret admirer – never found out who that was, but I’m sure it occupied a number of notes I passed to my friends during social studies.

Even as an adult – it’s one of my favorite holidays… but that may be because I’ve always had a “captive valentine” – that’s right, I’ve never been single on V-day – In fact, never been truly single since I was 16 (a topic for another day)! Maybe always having the up-side of the day guaranteed has colored my experience, or maybe I’m just a hippie in corporate clothes, but I really do believe that Love can heal most wounds, cure most ills, and make the world a better place. In fact, I would celebrate the concept of Valentine’s day over just about any other holiday – Winter Solstice is my favorite, but this comes right behind. All the others are throwbacks to historical events – most outdated and devoid of the original spirit of the day.

So, I celebrate the concept of love on February 14th – not just the romantic, hope I get laid kind of love, but the love that I feel for my children, my friends, and the community. So, to anyone who may read this – Happy Valentine’s day – will you be mine?

Rhinovirus V. Spring Fever…

About a month ago, I contracted a virus, the “Crud” that’s been going around the Twin Cities this season. While I won’t describe the symptoms, I will say that I was a Nyquil Junkie for about three weeks. This was not your typical winter cold, as I called in sick to work for 4 days… tried to go into the office twice, but was sent home by my co-workers who looked at me like I was Typhoid Mary! Honestly, I haven’t missed this much work since the Great Homecomings Mono epidemic of 1997.

Being at home alone for that many days in a row gave me time to consider life without the need for paid work – a seductive and dangerous thing for me. What would it be like to be a member of this society I find so foreign? Having worked since the day I was 16, I have a hard time conceptualizing it… How do you pass the time? Immediately, my thoughts focused on the fact that in mid January, Minnesota has little to offer the under-occupied person for entertainment. The winter wonderland associated with the holidays has given way to banks of grey, salty, ice and mush. Better off going to work than struggling with a bleak reality. I covet the light this time of year, but even when I had the opportunity to bask in it while recuperating, I chose instead to close the shades and wrapped myself in a cocoon… Would I do this if I were feeling well, but just not required to fill my days with tasks for others? My guess is that I would.

Which brings me to my current infliction: Spring Fever. The snow has melted away in the past few days, frozen green grass is peeking out from my lawn. A few days ago, it was getting warm enough to skip the jacket… warm being 45 degrees! Every year when this happens, I get the itch to be outside, touring my gardens to suss out any sign of life. It’s a physiological thing for me – it’s palpable and real.

Does this time of year afflict others the same way? Do people in Miami get spring fever? Is it something that predates cognition and has more to do with preparation for breeding and raising progeny?

I wonder…… What do you think?
Do you get Spring fever? How do you know?

Inaugural Post

I've finally jumped off the cliff..... I've done it, never to go back. I've decided that the value of the virtual community is real, and I must jump in.

Welcome to all those who stop by this quirky place! I can't make any promises as far as timing, content or quality, but I do promise to keep it meaningful and in context with current events. I will, from time to time, rant and blast. But I expect anyone who may visit to keep me honest!

What can you expect to see here? Items about local and national politics, education, science, human behavior, gardening, cooking, and other hedonistic tendencies....

What can you expect to not see here? Items that are judgemental of and demeaning to others, celebrity gossip, things that fall into my category of "stupid meaningless drivel"... sorry if you don't have the same definition!

Please comment, I will try my best to be interactive, and will as long as the Blog-blocker powers at work don't catch on that I might sign on during the work day.... here we go!