So it's pretty well known that most other nations endorsed Obama. I wonder how many of them did so knowing that with his liberal foreign policies, it would weaken the U.S. dominance, and how many people think of that when they speak of how proud they are to have a president that other nations support.

... Honestly, while I think it's important to be diplomatic with other nations, I'd rather have a president that other nations hate, so long as he/she's definitely working toward the good of our nation.

... Yeah, I'm selfish. I don't care.

By the way, for those who think I just hate Obama or something, that's not true. I just didn't want him as our president (though of course now that he's in office, I'll support him). And I wasn't so fond of McCain, either.

Want to know a secret?

(I voted for Nader.)

Today my brother sent me this comment in an email, concerning the election and general annoyances with the campaigning:

Basically I'm tired of hearing "My opponent removed his baby on board sticker from his car last week, he's a baby hater. We don't want a baby hater in office. Vote for me, I've got a secret plan to fix the economy that I've been keeping to myself the last 12 months."
- David Pettengill, Jr.


I think it's BRILLIANT.

Also, I already didn't like Christine Gregoire much, but now I can't stand her. Purple and Gold Day? SERIOUSLY? How about Crimson and Gray Day, lady?!

Oh, and Baby News: I'm dilated to two centimeters and 50% effaced. Which means that I could pop any day!

I'm so sick of people falling for political hogwash. It's amazing how gullible our citizens are when it comes to believing false promises of hope and change.

Yes, I'm talking about Obama.

No, I don't support him.

I think he'd make a fine friend. He seems like a nice guy. But seriously? His claims are ludicrous, and anybody who believes he actually has a chance of putting them into action is just as ridiculous. Some points that have me especially peeved:

- Bringing all of the troops home in 2009 (Just how does he plan to do that? And what about the fallout in the Middle East?)

- Using urban planning as a means of completely changing our oil and energy crisis (Just, HAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAA. I'm totally for mass transit and efficient planning, but that's not going to drop gas prices. Also, where's he planning on getting the funding for all of this?)

- People should be taxed equally. I like tax cuts, especially for the middle class. That's good that he wants to do that. Really. But punishing people in a higher income bracket by making them pay higher taxes than others is mean and stupid. In fact, punishing the wealthy for being successful seems awfully like a form of prejudice based on social class. But maybe that's just me.

- His "HOPE" and "CHANGE" campaign is ALL FLUFF. Even when directly asked how he plans to implement some of these changes, his response is "We WILL have change! We have hope! We WILL ACT!" (But HOW, Obama? HOW will you act?)

- Lastly, his name reminds me of bananas, which I love. However, now that my brain has made the connection between them, I find myself enjoying my absurdly shaped yellow fruit much less than before.

Honestly, I'm not overly fond of Hilary Clinton, but I think that's just a personal bias. She let her husband get away with too much (not that I think it's bad she forgave him for being a horrible husband, but I think they both concentrated too much on their careers and too little on their marriage). At least her plans had solid information backing up how she wanted to DO things. But oh, the closest the Democrats can hope for now is that she goes on the VP ticket for Obama.

I don't know how I feel about McCain. I know I think he looks funny, but honestly, most politicians aren't exactly the most attractive bunch in the United States. He has some good ideas and some bad ideas, but at least people don't treat him like a superstar.

That said, I have a kitten on my lap who definitely wants me to stop clacking away at the keyboard. I'm inclined to listen - who can care about political angst when there's a loudly snurring kitten wanting to be cuddled?

Be warned: This post includes discussion on religion and politics. Whee!

Apparently, people were protesting the Pope. This doesn't really surprise me, though it does piss me off. See, these weren't atheists upset that the Pope was hanging out with our president. These were Protestants protesting one man, the Pope, and blaming him for all of the issues in Catholicism today.

I'm not Catholic, but that just seems silly to me. The Pope certainly isn't responsible for some priests who allowed themselves to be tempted by Satan into acts of lust and sin. Calling him the anti-Christ certainly isn't going to fix anything. The part that made me mad was this:

Ontario native Axel Poessy said Bush should arrest Benedict for child abuse, not welcome him to the White House. She said priests' vows of celibacy led them to prey on children.

"If you abstain from having sex, you're activating your body to want it more," Poessy said.

That's bull-dookie. The Catholic church has many problems, as any group with power. But unless the Pope himself was molesting children, it's not fair to arrest him for child abuse. Also, that bit about the vows of celibacy leading people to prey on children is, again, total cow crap. I certainly think that it's silly to abstain from having sex in a healthy relationship between a husband and wife. I also believe that religious figures should have the option of entering into marriage with a loved one because, hey, who better to provide a model of a God-centered, loving marriage than a pastor and his wife (and if you doubt me, come and meet Pastor Dan and his wife, Theresa).

But anyway. What's nonsense is the idea that vows of celibacy will lead priests to becoming pedophiles. Abstaining does not "activate the body to want it more". That's ridiculous. The priests who allowed themselves to be tempted by lust were simply weak in faith, morality, and judgement. Just as a non-Christian pedophile is weak in morality in judgement (and since he/she's a non-Christian, weak in faith as well, I guess).

I suppose another reason this news annoys me so much is because there isn't even a high majority of priests out there molesting children. Much as it is with just about any heinous crime, a few instances are blown up and people are taught that it's the norm. Which I'm sure my many Catholic friends will tell you, along with countless statistics, it isn't.

Another line that killed me was when some people said it was a fake religion, and that Catholics worship false idols, and that their worship of the Pope makes them lost. Perhaps there are a few religious zealots out there that do more than honor and respect the Pope as a religious authority who has spent countless years studying and preparing for the position... But on the whole, I think not. The Pope isn't worshipped, he's revered as a holy man.

Granted, that's not to say that I don't disagree with a lot in Catholicism. I don't like that they disallow communion with non-Catholics (I believe communion is there to bring Christians together with Christ, not separate us by denominations). I think that using a language that a majority of the congregation doesn't understand does nothing for the development of knowledge and faith (referring to sermons all in Latin, Greek, Aramaic, etc.). I think most of the rituals and all that standing up and sitting down and responding back and forth with specific phrases is a bit overdone. And I think that there should never be a need for somebody else to give me a penance - Jesus Christ saved me from myself and readily forgives me of my sins when I confess to Him. There's no need for a middle-man and there's certainly no need for me to pray a certain way a certain number of times to make up for my sin. I confess, I change my ways, I follow God's plan, I go to Heaven when I die. Simple.

BUT. As I was saying. Despite my disagreements with Catholicism on the whole, this attack on the Pope is just rude and misguided. It's like the idiots in Olympia who were protesting soldiers coming back from the war. I thought we learned something from Vietnam, folks? But no, they had to protest the actual soldiers, by yelling and screaming and throwing things and not allowing civilians in the area to get on with their business. Protesting the war I can understand (even if I disagree), but protesting soldiers is just stupid.

Hmmm, the war. Now there's a whole other issue I could rant about. My opinion? Basically, this: We either fight it over on Middle Eastern soil, or we fight it on United States soil. I have no doubt whatsoever that if the U.S. wasn't throwing it's weight around, we would be fighting terrorist attacks all over our country. Guerilla warfare at its best. That's not to say I don't believe our administration has made some (major) mistakes. But I believe that defending our country, even if that means pro-actively attacking another, is a top priority. It's not nice, it's not pretty, but it's true. As it's our government and our military's responsibility to protect us in the best way possible, I see nothing wrong with fighting a war on foreign soil to protect our homeland. Those who disagree, well, that's fine, you're entitled to your opinion. Just remember you're entitled to it because people were willing to fight a war.

Oh, and another thing - I wish people would stop complaining about the number of dead soldiers due to the war. I know lots of soldiers. I live by Ft. Lewis, the take-off point for just about every overseas military operation. My father was in the Army. My husband was in training to be a Marine. My brother in law IS a Marine. Many of my best friends are in the Army, the Air Force, or the Navy. Many of these same friends are currently overseas, or just returned, and many have been in the Middle East more than once. And every damn one of them chose that path for themselves. They knew the consequences of their actions when they signed up, and they made the decision to give up their lives if necessary to keep YOU safe. So yes, I feel badly that people are dying. But don't lessen their sacrifices by ranting about their deaths. You dishonor them and their choices when you do.