So for all of the "family values" voters out there, how do you explain supporting a man (McCain) who ditched his first wife after she became disfigured in a car accident?

How do you leave somebody who has stood by you while you were a POW and bore your children, and then turn around and tell me and my community that WE don't respect the institution of marriage!

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1024927/The-wife-John-McCain-callously-left-behind.html 

A few years ago, Americans went to the polls and overwhelmingly voted for the Democrats largely because they promised to get us out of Iraq.  We voted the Republicans out because they refused to make such a promise.

It has been a few years, and the Dems have continued to fund this war, and I just don't understand why.  How has the will of the people been so ignored? Why will my political party not stand up to the President with the lowest approval ratings of modern history and say "NO! We will not fund your war any longer.  You have 6 months to bring them home."

I go to school right next to the VA hospital, and many of our rotations are there.  All the cowards in congress who refuse to do so should be forced to walk through the waiting room of the VA and see all of the destroyed lives, lost limbs, and disfigured men and women who make such dramatic sacrifices.  

You cannot say that the war in Iraq is not worth fighting any further (which I agree, it is not worth it) while simultaneously funding it knowing that doing so will cause a soldier somewhere to be killed tomorrow.  How do you explain to that soldier's parents why you allowed him to go and die?  

It is one thing to be a political chicken shit cowering in the corner scared to do what is right because of fear of losing your precious election, but this is an issue that Americans overwhelmingly would support - BRING THEM HOME!

Some straight people are so fearful that gay marriage will cause straight marriages to collapse that they seem to be missing the bigger problem that straight (and gay) people are not taught how to be in successful relationships.  We are all supposed to sort of figure it out on the way instead of being taught.  I just don't understand this - if governments want to get all into the personal lives of everybody (which they just can't seem to resist doing) why don't they at least do it well, and TEACH people how to make relationships work?  I mean, we don't just let people take car keys and "figure out" how to drive - we have organized programs (many mandatory) in our schools that teach people how to drive.  Why can't we do the same with relationships?

I certainly could have benefitted from learning a few rules that I had to figure out along the way.  Maybe a bunch of us should get together and write a book, or draw up a curriculum.

In it we could have the following chapters:

1.  How to disagree without destroying your relationship
2.  How to define goals that you can accomplish in life together
3.  How to make sure you remain the sexy, interesting person that your partner married without degenerating into a fat lazy boring slob
4.  How to negotiate differences in sexual desires
5.  How to prioritize the relationship within the context of a busy life


I am sure there are more chapter ideas.. but the point is, these things would do a heck of a lot more towards saving straight marriages than demonizing gay people who choose to marry.  Heck, I know I should have learned a few of hte above lessons before screwing things up.

Who will be the first couple that I know to get married?  Hmm... I imagine this could be an expensive next year  for me having to buy wedding gifts for all of these couples - 

George Bush should have thought of THIS as an economic stimulus package!  Pottery Barn stock will skyrocket!

In a funk.  Bah.  Send Mango icecream and a back rub.

One area that the current economic slump has hit rather hard is education lenders.  In fact, the lender I had used for the last two years is now out of business, and I had to choose a new lender.  

Two years ago, the decision making process was very difficult - there were pages and pages of lenders to choose from.  Now there are a grand total of THREE lenders to choose from, and TWO of the three acknowledge that they likely will run out of funds in 2009.  I am therefore left with ONE choice of a lender.

What REALLY pissed me off though was this little comment that I got from the lender (copied and pasted for your pleasure)

"Wow! You're borrowing a lot of money to pay for your college education. Maybe you should think about attending a less expensive college? A good rule of thumb is that your total education debt should be less than your expected starting salary. If you borrow more than twice your expected starting salary you will find it extremely difficult to repay the debt. Live like a student while you are in school so you don't have to live like a student after you graduate. "

Yeah - I AM borrowing a lot of money - and I am not thrilled about it myself.  I am pissed about the last line though - I live on ~$1,200 a month now - not exactly living the high-life here - how DARE they imply that I am somehow living large?

And do they have to start the quote with "wow?"  I find that unprofessional, juvenile, and inappropriate.  

How clueless are they when it comes to the cost of attending medical school?  Nearly ALL private schools cost about the same, so where are these magical "cheaper schools" they talk about?  State school? I would LOVE to - maybe the lender can call the admissions committee of UCLA for me... Oh wait - even the state school is only SLIGHTLY cheaper.

What REALLY irks me though is that the loan is a FEDERALLY GUARANTEED loan - that is, there is NO WAY that it can be defaulted on - it is the best possible loan you could hope to give - and yet they STILL hit me with 6.8% interest, and a 3% origination fee (wtf?) AND then bitch that they think I am borrowing too much.  They should WANT me to borrow more!

I mean - a future physician is a reasonably good financial investment - I am not getting a PhD in 18th century Russian pottery - I will make a decent income eventually - so RELAX lenders!

Yeah - I know... Democratic blasphemy, but hey - I will support the man as much as he supports my community.

Here is the link to the article that really irritated me:

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/04/10/obama.gay.ap/index.html

In the interview, he says that he will repeal the "don't ask, don't tell" policy (DADT), but won't require that his appointments to the joint chiefs support letting gays in the military.  He says it won't be a "litmus test" that he uses.  

Well hey - I think that supporting the decisions of the commander-in-chief is a CRITICAL litmus test for serving on the joint-chiefs.  I can not imagine a general openly disagreeing with the orders of the President (at least not while actively serving), so if Obama wants to repeal the policy, then he is going to have to put people in place who will enforce the new policy of non-discrimination.

When Truman integrated black soldiers into the military if he had done so while allowing senior generals to openly reject the notion of integration - the integration would have never worked - but it did BECAUSE he demanded the support of his senior staff (he went so far as to fire extremely popular generals like MacArthur who refused to support his policies).

Obama- if you want to impress me, and if you want me to do more than passively support you, then show me some damn leadership.  If you don't support discrimination, then say you don't, and put some teeth into your support of gay rights and demand that your appointments to the joint chiefs will not undermine integration of gays and lesbians- heck the DADT thing is an easy fix as now most Americans actually are with us on this issue (unlike the marriage issue). 

Courage and leadership involve doing what is right regardless of the political consequences.  Obama - look at the backlash against the Clinton's for throwing us under the bus in 1992 by promising repeal of discrimination in the military only to introduce DADT which actually INCREASED the number of discharges.  You don't see the gay community rallying behind Hillary in droves because we have a long memory of the broken promises her husband made to us.