The man, Obama, has been hard at work this past week trying to get GOP backing for his new stimilus package. To see the plan at a glance go to : http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2009/01/26/stimulus_plan_at_a_glance/

Basically, the plan will call for $825 billion to create jobs in the renewable energy and homeland security and offer tax breaks for those who pay the high cost of childcare. OBRA, the temporary health insurance for those who had lost it when they lost their jobs, would also be expanded.The plan also calls for the renovation of over 10,000 schools and an increase in Pell grants that could enable college accessibilty to over 7 million students.

Now, the GOP's won't stop their complaining and criticism of the bill. I think general discussion and discourse is entirely appropriate. Afterall, look what happened when we pushed through Bush's all-encompassing $700 billion bailout? Zero accountability and more mismanaging of our money. Therefore, why would the GOP allow the government to make the same mistake? I do think that all bills should be carefully picked apart as neither party has the " perfect" solution. Yet, I secretly harbor a feeling that they just don't want to admit that their antics brought us to the point where this country HAS to have a measure like this.

I don't want my taxes to increase any more than you do. Yet, I don't think that creating jobs in renewable energy, that may actually decrease our reliance on foreign oil, or even jobs in homeland security is all that bad. The more people work, the more money they have to put back into the economy. Wouldn't Americans rather be working towards initiatives that will both protect us and help fight global warming?

God forbid we put any money into education. As a teacher its extremely difficult for me to understand why anyone wouldn't want to fortify our nations' education from prekindergarten to college. Our educational system is as close to being in the toilet alogn with the economy, it could use a little boost.

Extending OBRA for people who don't have health insurance? How dare they! Providing tax breaks for those parents who shell out tens of thousands a year just so they can participate in our workforce, and thus, our economy? Shameless.

What strikes me as highly ironic, is that Obama doesn't need the GOP to support the bill. He will have enough votes in the house to pass it regardless. Yet, Obama is following through with his campaign promise to work across party lines to formulate solutions to the problems that those to the right of the party lines, created for us.

Stop digging in your heels GOP. The bill will pass. Your insight and suggestions are important and justified. Be part of the solution, not a continued part of the problem.

In other words, stop acting like whining babies. Do the right thing. Our economy depends upon it.

Amidst the throngs of screaming Obama fans at the inauguration this past Tuesday, I freely admit to taking part in the collective " booing" that the crowd screamed at the sight, and mention, of George W. Bush.

I did receive a death stare from an onlooker, but that didn't stop me from also encouraging those who were singing " Nah nah nah, nah, nah nah nah, nah, hey hey hey, goodbye!"

A friend who was also attending the inauguration, told me afterwards, that a woman turned to the crowd and said, " Have some respect!"

Respect huh? I could ask Ole' Georgey Boy the same question.

My mother chided myself, and the crowd,for employing bad manners. " It looks bad on the country," she said. You know what else looks bad for the country? The village idiot who could have cared less about his constituents or his fellow men worldwide. " His family was with him," she said. Well, he didn't care about being a moral role model for his family over the past eight years, therefore I could care less.

Respect is a two-way street. I could say that he lost mine over these eight years, however, as someone who as been well aware of his antics when he was governor of Texas, he never had it to begin with.

Refraining from booing that man in the name of good manners is merely passive aggression, not politeness.

Luckily, my rage towards George was merely an afterthough as soon as the man stepped on stage! " Boos" quickly fell into cheers, tears, pride and joy!

I heart Obama. And, he could not have stepped in a moment too soon!

Change has come to America... ( insert the collective, proverbial sigh of relief here)

Would you like to know what this democraddict did for the inauguration? She drove eight hours straight, from Boston to D.C. ( and eventually back again), waited for hours in the freezing cold throngs of people and took her part in history.

I wasn't alone. Three million others were in the same boat as well. We sacrificed much to be there, money, time and body warmth. Yet, all of these sacrifices were made to participate in a small window of history that will hopefully eventually open the door for Obama to lead this nation back to greatness.

We have unwillingly sacrificed much as a nation over these past eight years. The love I have for this country resulted in heartbreak, time and time again. The hopes and dreams that I had for my future and that of our great nation became passive indifference.

Barack Obama is not only an incredibly, intelligent, caring and capable leader, he is, it seems, a bit of a miracle worker as well. He inspired us to revitalize those small pieces of hope that had been squashed by the Bush administration. He awoken pride in my nation. He reminded us of the sacrifice our forefathers made just to give their future generations the right to live and participate in a democracy.

Engaging yourselves in politics does not mean that you have to participate in a war between the left and the right. It merely allows you to have your voice in your government heard. Obama reminded us that every voice can be heard. That together, as a nation, we can restore our country through hard work and determination.

Obama will be a tremendous president. However, he would not be here if it were not for the millions of Americans who listened to his message for hope and change. If we did not believe within ourselves that we are indeed capable of hoping and believing that we can and will change, I'm not sure if I'd want to know what state our country would be in.

We believe in Obama, but more importantly,we believe in ourselves and our collective ability to bring about the change that our beloved nation so desperately needs.

" Yes we did" is merely the beginning. " Yes we will" should be our mantra now.

** WARNING! THIS POST CONTAINS PROFANE LANGUAGE, ILL WISHES AND OVERALL BITTERNESS AND RESENTMENT. THIS IS ARTICLE IS NOT MEANT FOR ANYONE WHO HAS THE SLIGHEST TWINGE OF SYMPATHY FOR GEORGE W. BUSH**

I read an article about Bush's "legacy" on Monday. The Boston Globe, usually a lefty newspaper, portrayed him in a fairly laudatory light. After I dry heaved, grittted my teeth and mentally kicked his, and the rest of the administration's asses, the cloud of fury passed just long enough for me to be able to write about Bush's legacy, from my point of view ( of course).

Where do I begin? Hmmm... I suppose at the beginning. You know, when he stole the election? Ahh yes, remember those grueling days in which I prayed and promised my first born and left kidney to anyone who would tell me that the world's largest idiot would not in fact become president? As a junior in college, I was beginning to develop my own role in our government, supporting and voting for the candidate that I felt represented my interests. As a child born of parents who raised us with good morales and even better politics, my perspective of democracy was crushed. I walked into my early adulthood feeling jipped.

As junior year turned into senior year in college, my world, once again, came crashing down on me like a ton of bricks on the morning of September 11, 2001. Fury over anyone who would want to hurt my country or it's citizens plagued me from that day forward. I believe in bringing terrorists to justice. Yet, Bush used these events to both bring our civil liberties to a near standstill and launch his platform of lies to engage in the war in Iraq.

As a graduate student in Sydney, Australia, I was met, day-to-day, with constant criticisms of America. These critiques were not just from Australians, but all of the other ( lovely) Europeans, whom I know and love, that I met there. It might surprise you to know that I'd never back down from a fight, yet, what they had to say hit the nail right on the head. President Bush, you ruined our world image. As much as I love my country, I have to admit, that when overseas, I sometimes find/found myself embarrassed about that joker in the oval office.

As the reality of adulthood set in and I was back in the states, and entering my teaching career, I had to and continue to endure the oppressive law ( and "brain" child of Bush) " No Child Left Behind". Good idea, bad law. Ask any teacher, it's ruining, not helping education. You know I don't balk at taxes, therefore supporters of the law should know that although I don't support " No Child Left Behind", I do support holding schools acountable ( and parents too) just not in the way that they are currently being assessed. I'll get off the soap box on this one, but if you're ever interested in hearing more, shoot me an email.

George W. Bush, you're a liar, and that's not just my opinion, it's a matter of public record. Your passive and arrogant attitude towards your country and the world is disgusting. I don't want to have a beer with you, I want to smash the bottle over your head! Also, why the hell would anyone want to have a beer with a recovering alcoholic? You let your disgusting administration pull at your puppet strings and in turn, enabled them to bring our country to near ruin. You are the WORST president this country has ever ,and hopefully will ever, see! I feel nothing but disgust and fury whenever I hear your name. Some may view you with a sympathetic eye. I dare to remind them of the 4,000 plus American men and women in the military who have died in Iraq ( not to mention the hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqi civilians). May I also remind them of the recessiont that we're currently knee-deep in!

Therefore President Bush, the best thing about your presidency is the fact that it's almost over. Don't let the door to the oval office hit you in the ass on the way out!

P.S. Kevin, aka " Ken", if you happen to read this, I stand by my statement that I made six years ago at my dining room table in Sydney. You know, when I said that George Bush was an "idiot" and you vehemently argued with me that he was not....
HOW DO YOU LIKE THEM APPLES!

Oh man, I just saw an excerpt of an upcoming documentary about Sarah Palin.

Wait... let me dry my eyes because I have been laughing that hard.

As of 11:05 PM on November 4th, I breathed the proverbial sigh of relief at the thought that " that woman" would (finally) drop off the planet, or at least the media.

Alas, my hopes for her media disappearance did not come true. Over time, my annoyance has eased, and, has evolved into pure delight. You see, her continued presence guarantes two things: enjoyment and hope. Enjoyment because the woman suffers from a rare strain of verbal diahrrea, the ingnorant kind. Every time she opens her mouth, the most ridiculous and stupid things come out. Yet, her ability to prove to the world time, and time again that she's a total moron only means certain disaster for the GOP.

Although I don't think too fondly about our dear friends to the right, they are not all as ludicrously idiotic as Palin is. In fact there are extremely brilliant members of the GOP, Condoleezza Rice being one who uses her intellect to solve major world issues and Karl Rove who uses his mind for the dark side ( don't even get my started on Cheney, he IS Dr. Evil!).

Palin claims outrage at how she was portrayed in the media. Oh come on Sarah, are you really that stupid that you didn't even consider that the GOP threw you to the lions in a desparate attempt to distract the nation from the fact that we needed Obama to fix that awful mess that they had made?

Apparently not.

The media does cater to the deepest and darkest aspects of our human nature. Gossip I'm afraid is what people crave. As a society we look to snatch up any shred of information that would allow us to tear another person down. We have not evolved much farther than the ancient Romans who thirsted for blood during the shows at the Colosseum. We've somewhat gotten beyond the desire for blood, but we will settle for anything to tear apart a person's credibility and character.

These are things that I know about the world because I live in it. Apparently this notion hasn't made it through the pipline to Alaska yet.

Palin you were a pawn, a willing one at that. It's not a nice business Sarah, but it is definitely a certain one for anyone willing to put themselves in the national spotlight. They weren't very nice to you Sarah, they said horrible things about you and your family. Then again, you said some pretty vicious, inflamatory and downright false things about my Obama.

You know what they say Sarah? People in glass houses, or igloos, shouldn't throw stones, or shoot from airplanes...

With the declining state of the economy, those who are forced to nickle and dime at the grocery store may tend to purchase, cheap, processed foods that are high in fat, sodium and calories but low in price.

According to a recent article, http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090109/us_nm/us_financial_obesity, experts are fearing a new, larger wave of poor health and obesity due to lower cost trends in lower quality food. Fruits, vegetable, fish, lean proteins and whole grains are both high in nutrition and cost. Processed foods that are high in empty calories, saturated fat and sodium, tend to be less in more affordable. In these days of a full-blown recession, cost is everything and health is just too darn expensive.

The article only highlights an American myth that those who fall in the lower socioeconomic classes are fat and therefore, lazy. It cost me over twenty dollars to prepare one meal ( for two) filled with vegetables and chicken. We could have gone to McDonald's for more than half that price.

I always am baffled by the irony that our fitness and well-being can cost so much. Our forefathers spent their days in the fields, performing hard labor, only to come home for dinner, go to bed and start all over again. I think they're turning over in their graves at the amount that we spend on gym memberships, " healthy" foods, yoga, accupuncture etc.

Health it seems, has become something that only those with means can achieve.

The good news is that there are some cheaper yet healthy options at the supermarket these days, low-sodium soups, ground beef, brown rice and canned vegetables. Be scrupulous at the supermarket so that you can ingest those empty calories in another recession-trend form, booze.

Cheers.

Now that the holidays are over, I can once again devote some leisure time to the pressing political issues that impact our nation.

Through the haze of shopping, gift wrapping, family time and unimaginable amounts of food and liquor, I did hear of Obama's descision to have Rick Warren deliver his invocation at the inauguration.

Rick Warren? The conservative pastor who has come out against both gay marriage and abortion rights?

Quick! Someone stem my bleeding, liberal heart!

I definitely went through the stages on this one; anger, denial and finally, acceptance. You see, as much as lefties like myself would like everyone to subscribe to our doctrine, it is a highly unrealistic view of our nation. One of the amazing things about living in a democracy is that our values and views may not be those of our neighbors, but, nonetheless are protected by our government.

With the current state of our nation, Obama cannot kick the door to the oval office down and instill his liberal agenda in our government. I have preached often that a vote for Obama would be a vote towards a unified country. Politics and religion are the strongest foces of polarization in this country. Therefore, giving the evangelical right a voice, albeit and hopefully a small one, is a step in the right direction.

Obama's pick for Rick Warren to deliver his invocation is an attempt at engaging the right in what will be an amazing and historic day. I may not like Rick Warren, and I may not be too pleased about Obama's choice in him. However, it is Obama's keen insight that I both love and believe in.

Barack, you're officially off the hook.