Mean Girls

I don't know if I ever mentioned that Claire is the youngest kid in her class. She shares this title with Hezekiah; both are just over 16 months old. The oldest child in class is 20-month old Celia who, in a word, is a firecracker! And what do you get when you mix a firecracker with a spark? According to Stew, you get a throwdown in the classroom. Apparently, Claire and Celia had an "incident" inside the plastic playhouse that sits in the corner of the classroom. Wednesday's Brawl in the School Hall was reminiscent of 1974's Mohammed Ali vs. George Foreman Rumble in the Jungle... and even '75's Ali vs. Joe Frazier Thrilla in Manila. Anyone care to place a wager on Wednesday's outcome? Well, allow me to tell you the details from the beginning...

While waiting for a few more students to arrive to class, Claire and Stew were in the corner of the room where Claire was playing inside the plastic playhouse. She likes to enter the house, then open and close the shutters (while Stew sticks his head in the window after Claire opens the shutters). Note: the picture at left is not the playhouse from Claire's school, so no shutters are shown on the window. Anyway, when Celia arrived to class, she eventually made her way into the playhouse. As she opened the door, Celia gave Stew a big grin while saying the word, "open", as she entered. Once inside the house with Claire, Celia decided to go to one side of the room and close the window shutters. But, Claire apparently wanted the shutters on that side of the house to remain open, so she went over and pushed them open and stayed standing next to Celia. Claire just stood there staring (or glaring) at Celia. But Celia responded by putting up her right hand as if to say, "oh, no you didn't!" She put down her hand, but raised it again as if to taunt Claire. Still, Claire stood her ground. Then, in a careless display of aggression, Celia (gently) shoved Claire. Not surprisingly, Claire just continued to stare at Celia with a "you did NOT just do that" look on her face. Then, after a few seconds, Claire simply turned her back on Celia and walked out of the playhouse while no doubt thinking to herself, "I'm gonna make mashed tators out of that little tot!"

The kids went about their usual routine of sitting in a circle and singing songs. Claire was still stewing from the playhouse incident, so she didn't clap after any of the songs. And instead of sitting in Stew's lap during song time, Claire actually stood behind him... where she could block the doorway to the plastic playhouse. Then, after they sang all their songs, the kids started playtime while the grown-ups went to their corner of the room to discuss parenting stuff.

About 10 minutes into playtime, Claire decided she'd had enough. She found Stew with all the moms and plopped down in his lap. About five minutes later, Wyatt came running into the grown-up circle. He was screaming like a little girl and leaped into his mother's waiting arms. Following closely behind Wyatt, was Celia. In one hand, she was holding a red plastic ketchup dispenser. In the other, she held the matching yellow mustard one (no, I don't think either bottle contained any condiment materials). According to Judy, the teacher's aide, Celia took both bottles away from Wyatt. So, Celia's mom directed Celia to "give Wyatt one of the bottles." Celia responded by walking over the Wyatt with both bottles in hand. She gave him a disgusted look before she turned back toward her mom with a "I don't think so" look on her face. So, Celia's mom removed the ketchup bottle from Celia's hand and gave it to Wyatt, who then stopped crying. However, Celia then broke down and started wailing. Meanwhile, Claire sat quietly observing the entire ordeal before looking up at Stew and saying, "I think I like her..."

So, Celia and Claire will no doubt join forces in the future and take over the classroom. They're creating a new generation of "Mean Girls". And the term "Girl Power" will no longer be associated with a Eurotrash female singing troupe but will, instead, come to symbolize a couple of bad-ass toddler girls who plan to take on the world... one cry-baby boy at a time.

And now, I leave you with some pictures of Claire wearing a vest Momma used to wear way back in the early 1970's...

Help Wanted: Conflict Resolution Specialist

Woof, Y'all! I haven't been blogging much lately, and I think I'm losing my mind... which might explain why I started this post by channeling my inner Britney Spears. Anyway, I've been busy with other tasks around the house that have taken me away from blogging. Allow me to explain...

It all started 26 days ago. Macy's Department Store is a national sponsor of the American Heart Association's Go Red For Women movement, an endeavor designed to help raise awareness of cardiovascular disease and to focus health programs at high-risk populations. On February 1st, Macy’s celebrated national “Wear Red Day”, a promotion offering customers who wear red a special shopping reward on select purchases made that day (something like 10% or 15% off your purchase). Momma happened to have worn a red sweater to work on Friday, February 1st, so she decided to take Claire to the Macy's store located in the mall near our house after we all finished dinner that night. She and Claire left the house sometime after 7pm to take advantage of the Wear Red Day promotion and buy Claire some new shoes and other outfits.

Sometime shortly after 9pm, Momma and Claire arrived at home empty handed. Unfortunately, Momma had a terrible experience... and she let the Macy's folks know about her disgust when she was returning all the items she had planned to purchase. I will spare you the ugly details, but let's just say I've never seen Momma so pissed off... she was even more angry than she was six months ago when Stew shrunk her wool sweater while doing laundry. Anyway, sometime around 9:30pm Momma announced, "We're moving!" So, let me get this straight. Momma's solution for dealing with the Macy's conflict is to relocate neighborhoods? Note to self: NEVER make Momma angry! I hope Stew takes note of this, as well, or else he could easily find himself homeless. Then again, Stew's not out of the woods yet. As it turns out, Momma would like to get our house listed with the realtor within 4-5 weeks. Therefore, the "little" basement construction project Stew's been working on for the past six years has suddening been fast-tracked. That's right, the project Stew was to have completed before last Christmas now has a deadline that's set in stone. No more sitting in the basement guest room drinking beer while pretending to work on the project. Nope. Momma created a spreadsheet that prioritizes all the projects that absolutely must be completed before we can list the house on the market. Additionally, a separate budgetary spreadsheet has been formulated, and Stew's strictly forbidden from going over budget. Although, he's still trying to figure out how he can sneak his daily $4.05 Starbuck's Venti Iced Mocha (with no whip cream) onto the spreadsheet. Last I heard, he was trying to hide his coffee expenses under "project management fees", but I don't think Momma's going to buy it. We'll see...

Needless to say, since it's only a few weeks until Momma wants to list the house, things around here are a bit anxious. If only Stew had gone to Macy's instead of Momma, we wouldn't be moving. You see, while Momma is more assertive, Stew prefers to express his anger and/or frustration via passive aggressive means. He wouldn't have stood up for himself and, instead, would have probably sent an anonymous email to Macy's to complain about the lack of service (or whatever). Plus, he'd whine daily about how evil this particular Macy's is and swear never to return. But, he'd eventually give in and return to the store only to experience more poor service... and the vicious cycle would continue. So, I'm thinking Momma and Stew could use a therapy session (or two) with a Conflict Resolution Specialist. Otherwise, I don't know how many more times we can actually move...

Anyway, I've been trying to help Stew around the house as best I can, which has severely hindered my blogging time. Regardless, I still plan to blog about Claire's school day... but it probably won't be posted until tomorrow or Friday. In the meantime, I have to monitor the construction vacuum Stew's planning to use to clean out the window sills. And later this afternoon, it's my job to try to convince Claire to refrain from the following activities:

1) climbing onto the downstairs couch/ottoman/recliner,
2) dipping her toys into my water dish,
3) trying to take off her shirt (there must be an exhibitionist gene in Stew's family),
4) playing with the computer keyboard and messing up the computer settings (and turning "off" Stew's streaming liberal radio talk shows), or
5) hiding the garage door opener inside the dirty clothes hamper.

In the meantime, here's a picture of Claire modeling her new t-shirt that Grandma Helen got her from New Orleans (plus, some Mardis Gras beads)...

Here she is sitting in her toy basket doing her Fonze imitation ("Ayyyyyyyy!")... after emptying the toys from the basket by scattering them throughout the living room...

And, finally, here she is lying on my downstairs doggie bed (after she pulled Momma's blanket off the couch onto the dog-hair filled floor)...

Claire says, "Art is for nerds!"

At Claire's school Wednesday, the theme for the class was "farm animals". Having already visited Grandpa and Grandma Thullner's farm in SoDak a few times, Claire had a leg up on the other kids. She's seen cows, bulls, pigs, sows and feral cats. Incidentally, did you know they hunt feral cats in Australia? Good on ya, mates! Downunder, they consider the cats to be "varmints". But in SoDak, the cats are allowed to roam free. They usually eat pig slop, but they've also been known to steal food from my real-life farm dog pal, Lucy. Lucy lives with Grandpa and Grandma, and she even rides in the tractor with Grandpa Bob. Lucky dog...

By now, anyone who's read about Claire's school knows that Claire is always the first child to arrive at class. I guess being scholastically-inclined must be a hereditary thing (Claire's mother was Valedictorian of her graduating class way back in the early 1990's... a class of 12 students no less). Stew continues to try to leave the house later and later each week so as not to appear as though he's sucking up to the teacher and her two lovely aides by always arriving first. But Wednesday, when he saw Hezekiah and his mom pull into the school parking lot at the same time, Stew hustled to get Claire out of the car and into the school first... where he was greeted at the classroom with a "Hiiiiiiii, Stew!" from the trio of sexy teachers. Stew plays like he's embarrassed, but I think his "Goin' To School Shirt" he wears every Wednesday sends a different message.

Anyway, once all the kids arrived, they sat in a circle and sang songs. But something was different Wednesday because Claire didn't clap her hands for any of the songs (except after everyone sang "Hello, Claire!" to her). You see, normally Claire claps for all the kids, except for Ethan and Chase, after the "Hello" song. As it turns out, the non-clapping was a foreshadowing of the terror yet to come...

During song time, each parent was asked to take a farm animal hand puppet out of a box in preparation for the singing of "Old McDonald Had A Farm". Stew selected a cow puppet in honor of Grandpa and Grandma (who raise cattle). He immediately began wow-ing the crowd with his puppeteering proficiency. One hot mom even commented on Stew's "amazing dexterity." But unbeknownst to the ladies, Stew (along with his brother, Brad) were members of the Capitol Heights (Southern) Baptist Church Youth Puppeteers group while growing up in Pierre, SD. They performed puppet "skits" for a wide variety of audiences, ranging from preschool age Sunday school children to 90+ year old nursing home residents. Stew did not enjoy his time as a puppet master, so I suppose this explains his hatred of puppets, his anxiety when around old people... and his fear of Southern Baptists. Can I get an "Amen!"

In addition to the class having a "farm animal" theme, it was Art Day. Each child got the opportunity to paint on a construction paper tapestry shaped like a farm animal. Claire's brown tapestry was shaped like a cow. The kids used paint marker thingamagigs that look a lot like the utensils old ladies use while playing Bingo. Anyway, Claire was more interested in either throwing the markers or in trying to taste the delicious ink oozing out the end of the marker used for painting purposes. Therefore, Stew ended up doing the "painting" while Claire squirmed in her seat. She reportedly looked up at Stew and said, "Painting stinks, Papa... Now get me out of this chair so I can go play on the foam stairs!"

Here are some pictures of Claire showing off her (Papa's) artwork...

Be my Valentine... or get out!

Happy Valentine's Day, everybody... even you cats out there. Valentine's Day at our house is going to be interesting, to say the least. At least Grandma Helen will be here. She's passing through town on her way back from a telecommunications conference in New Orleans (she's on the Board of Directors of her local telephone co-op in SD). Anyway, I'm hoping she brings me something fun from my hometown (i.e., a doggie t-shirt that reads, "I drove my Chevy to the levy, but the levy was... GONE!"). So, Grandma and Aunt Karen are going to babysit Claire while Momma and Stew go out on a date. They're going to go see the movie "No Country for Old Men", a real love-story... if you like serial killers and violence. You guessed it -- Stew chose the movie they'd be seeing (but only because Uncle Peter Karl said the movie is "most excellent"). Anyway, since I don't share any of the HUNDREDS of dollars I've earned taking online surveys with Stew, the only money he has is actually Momma's money. Therefore, the couple decided to skip on buying Valentine's Day cards. Instead, they plan to give each other hand-made Valentines. That said, I've posted a picture of Stew's Valentine to Momma above. As you can see, he obviously spent a lot of time and put a lot of thought into it.

Moving on, let me just say that I'm not a snoop. Really. I am not. But I do follow Claire around the house to insure she doesn't get herself into any danger. I mean, somebody has to keep an eye on her since Stew is always lying on the front stoop in his Members Only jacket taking a nap. Anyway, Claire REALLY likes to wander into the master bedroom. Underneath the bed on Momma's side sits a basket that contains Momma's journal, plus a bunch of different books Momma likes to read before bedtime. Anyway, this basket is a Claire magnet. If the master bedroom door is open, you will find Claire inside digging in this basket, which is what happened this morning. Claire had books strewn all over the floor beside the bed. They were everywhere 'cause Momma really likes to read and has lots of books, especially books about business and how to become an effective CEO. I was about to grab Claire by the back of her shirt to carry her out of the room when I saw what appeared to be Momma's love letter to Stew. Since Momma's a business executive, the letter appeared to be a bit formal for Valentine's Day, but what do I know? Anyway, I probably shouldn't do this but I'm reprinting it for y'all here. Let me know what you think.

To My Dearest Stew,

First off, please allow me to express my love and gratitude for your nearly nine years of service to our marriage. I appreciate your support and participation in this endeavor, and I want you to know how much I enjoy your companionship.

On June 4, 2006, we drafted a resolution together that gave you the authority to resign from your position as a professional salesman of high-quality furniture at a modest price. The basis of our joint resolution was to allow you to become a stay-at-home dad (SAHD) upon the arrival of our first born child (now known as "Claire"). On June 15, 2006, you acted on said resolution and gave 6-months notice of resignation to your employer. Your official last day of employment was December 15, 2006. Furthermore, after my maternity leave expired on January 7, 2007, you became the sole primary caregiver for Claire.

Section 1.3.5 of our joint resolution specifically states that while your primary responsibility will be taking care of our child (or children), you will also actively pursue revenue-generating resources (such as, writing your first book, becoming a freelance writer, or starting your own at-home business). In fact, we set a goal that after 12 months, you would be bringing in enough revenue to cover mortgage expenditures. However, to date, very little - if anything - has been done to move this goal forward.

The attached pie charts illustrate both the lack of effort and progress on your part toward the accomplishment of our goal of reintroducing a second income into our household revenue stream. After completing an extensive cost-benefit analysis of this situation, I've come to the conclusion that more attention on my part is required in order to facilitate action on your part.

Therefore, consider this Valentine as your official 90-day notice that unless you show more initiative and progress related to the advancement of Section 1.3.5 of our resolution, I will have no choice but to request that you resign your SAHD position and return to the workforce.

Additionally, please be advised that I am open to the consideration of replacing you with a younger, leaner, more virile and physically appealing male companion should you fail to improve your performance within the 90-day probationary period I'm granting.

In the meantime, allow me to again express my deepest love and affection for you. It's my sincere hope you take this Valentine to heart and begin showing more initiative. I don't want to lose you but, if forced to do so, I will dismiss you from your matrimonial obligations.

All my love,
Your Schnookums

Claire's Milkshake Brings All the Kids to the Schoolyard

That's right. It was school day for Claire again, and all nine of her classmates showed up for class today. This is the first time the class was full, and my theory is that all the other kids heard about Claire, Queen of the Class. My sense is that a flurry of phone calls were placed after last week's class, when Claire established herself as Queen, and all the kids decided to show up today to watch Claire reign over the kingdom. And Claire didn't disappoint. Upon entering the classroom - the first kid to class for the third time in a row - Claire immediately took her position atop the foam stairs in the center of the room.

Once all the kids finally arrived, everyone sat in a big circle and sang the usual songs. The first song that's always sung is the "Hello" song (for example, Claire's song is "Hello, Claire!"). So, they sang the "Hello" song a total of 10 times this morning, and you are supposed to clap at the end of each song. And, just like last week, Claire clapped for everyone... except Ethan and Chase. Apparently these two little boys are still on Claire's Sh*t-List.

Today, Claire and the other kids got to play with grits. The grits apparently simulate sand, and they're safer in the event a little kid decides to eat the stuff. Claire grabbed a scoop and a bucket. She scooped some grits a few times and threw them on Hezekiah, the little boy seated to her right, telling him, "Eat my grits!" Eventually, Claire grew bored and took her scoop and bucket as she walked away from the grits table. However, Judy (one of the teacher's aides) stopped Claire to inform her (and Stew) that the "tools should stay at the grits table if you are finished with them." So, while Stew was apologizing on Claire's behalf, Claire decided to initiate a stare-down with Judy. There would be no apologies coming from Claire. But, eventually, Judy proved to be a formidable opponent, and Claire returned to the grits table... where she returned to throwing grits on the other children.

Then it was playtime for the kids while the grown-ups sat in a circle on the floor in the corner of the room to share their inner-most thoughts on child rearing. This week, Stew told the group about Claire's meltdown at Kohl's Department Store on Sunday when she accompanied Momma and Stew on a shoe shopping trip. Claire has grown accustomed to her Robeez, soft shoes that flex very easily, so she does not like regular shoes or boots that are too stiff. So, when Momma was attempting to get Claire to try out some new "regular" shoes on Sunday, Claire decided to flop down on the ground and refused to walk. So, Stew picked up a wailing Claire and bolted for the car like a psycho. Momma, on the other hand, calmy picked out some tennis shoes that blink and purchased them before joining Stew and Claire in the car.

Anyway, playtime and adult sharing time was cut short today due to a (practice) lockdown. The teacher instructed everyone to go gather their children and bring them back to the corner of the classroom. Specifically, the teacher said to "go get your kids and huddle in this corner of the room while remaining quiet." Since Claire happened to be seated in Stew's lap when it was time to practice the lockdown, he simply picked her up and stood below the combo TV-VCR unit hanging off the wall in the corner. Picture a 6' 2" Stew standing below a TV-VCR unit that hangs down to about 6' 0" from the floor. When the ladies in the group returned with their respective children, they all returned to sitting on the floor. Now, picture eight moms seated on the floor with their nine kids, plus one teach and two teacher's aides seated amongst them, and Stew... STANDING in the corner holding Claire while trying not to bang his head on the combo TV-VCR unit hanging above him. The entire time, Stew kept replaying the teacher's instructions in his head, "huddle in this corner... while remaining quiet." He wondered to himself, "why am I the only one huddling in the corner? Am I the only one in this room that understands the meaning of the word huddle?" Obviously, Stew could've simply stayed put on the floor, so knowing how paranoid he is, I'm sure he was obsessing in his mind, "does everyone think I'm a dunce for standing in the corner while they're all sitting on the floor? More importantly, will this affect my standing as the 'hot daddy' with all the hot moms in the class?" Fortunately, the practice lockdown didn't last too long; however, it remains to be seen if the ladies all think Stew is socially retarded or not. Only time will tell...

In the meantime, here are some recent pictures of Claire feeding herself yogurt, which is also apparently a good hair conditioner...

School Daze

Sorry about yesterday's "suggestion" of how you should vote. Ever since Claire arrived in our lives, I've gotten a little more fired up about the state of the union. Contrary to what Dubya tells us every year in his State of the Union Address, the union is NOT strong. Trust me. I watch C-Span every day, and it's enough to drive a dog crazy. Our "representatives" only care about their respective parties rather than serving us. We need to clean house on both sides of the aisle, but it's a shame we're not given much choice (see "Mitt Romney"). I'd run for office myself, but I'm not sure America's ready for a four-legged senator (a wide-stance senator is about all the nation can handle for now). Plus, I really don't want to answer tough questions about my past, even though I promise that I REALLY don't know what happened to the neighbor's cat. Honest.

Anyway, I found Stew in the bathroom this morning. I watched him shave before he jumped into the shower. The fact Stew was showering struck me as odd, and I thought to myself, "Hmm... is it Sunday already?" So, I checked the calendar and discovered we're only midway through the week. Then I remembered that Claire goes to school on Wednesday. Therefore, I ran and got my recorder, found Claire in the living room, and strapped the recorder to her back before she headed off to class. Following is a summary of today's events...

Once again, Stew and Claire were the first to arrive at class. They even sat in the car and waited five minutes before heading into the school. I'm guessing this is Stew's way of avoiding any uncomfortable chit-chat with all the moms in the class who like to flirt with him. You really can't blame the guy. He's a daddy and not a piece of meat. Anyway, despite waiting in the car, they still arrived five minutes early at 8:55AM. At about 9:10AM, after no other parents or children arrived, Stew sheepishly asked one of the teacher's aides, "Does class start at 9AM or 9:30AM?" It turns out the class starts at 9AM, and the aide complimented Stew for showing such initiative for being early. This was an obvious attempt by the aide to get a few minutes alone with Stew in the broom closet, but he didn't fall for it. Instead, he climbed into the plastic playhouse with Claire to avoid any more of her blatant sexual advances.

Once all the other kids finally arrived 15 minutes late, everyone got into a circle to sing songs. This time, when everyone sang Claire's welcome song...

HEL-lo Claire,
HEL-lo Claire,
HEL-lo Claire,
We're so glad you're here!
[everyone claps]

...Claire clapped along at the end of the song. Please note she's the only child to do so, and she even clapped for some of the other kids -- but not all of them. Apparently, she's still unsure about her feelings toward Ethan and Chase, despite the fact they are good little boys. Regardless, no clapping for them until further notice.

After a few more songs, the grown-ups formed a sitting circle in another corner of the room while the children played. Again, the parents sit in a circle and share things about their experiences at home. For example, Stew told everyone about how Claire likes to drop to the floor and roll around crying whenever you take something from her. And while this was going on, Claire decided to scale to the top of some foam steps, and she stayed atop the steps for the duration of play time. It was as if she were Queen of the Mountain surveying her kingdom. She just stood up there watching all the other kids running around screaming, throwing toys, and drueling on themselves. Oh, did I mention Claire was holding a little plastic coffee cup in her hand? She looked like Bill Lumberg, the boss from the movie Office Space... minus the suspenders. At one point, Claire pointed at 20-month old Elizabeth and said, "Um, yeah... I'm gonna need you to come in on Saturday.":

Not much else happened after playtime. The kids all gathered at a table and had a snack of graham crackers. Claire didn't spill hers on the floor this week, and she even brought her own sippy cup this time. After the last cracker crumb was devoured, Claire and Stew put on their coats and got ready to leave... while all the ladies fought over who could say "Bye, Stew" in the sexiest voice. In a word, it was "awkward."

Once home, Claire went about playing with her new stuffed lioness she got from Aunt Dee (Florida) yesterday. That's right, a lioness... a member of the cat family! But, to Aunt Dee's credit, the story of Claire and her infamous stare down on the pre-schooler a couple weeks back reminded her (Aunt Dee) of a brave lioness. And I agree! In the same package from Aunt Dee was a sleeper for Claire from Grandma Stewart (Claire likes to walk around wearing her sleepers like a cape -- see photo below). Lastly, I even got a Nylabone from Aunt Dee. Unfortunately, I was half-way through devouring it last night when Stew took it away from me. Apparently, I'm only supposed to chew on the Nylabone and not eat it. So, now I know.

Here are some photos for you...

Super Tuesday vs. Taco Tuesday

I've been reading The New York Times and The Washington Post online lately, and it's come to my attention today is known across the country as SUPER TUESDAY. Despite Stew's recent metamorphosis from a Republican into a (left-leaning) Independent, and despite his strong disgust of all things partisan and Bushy, Stew still holds Tuesdays as sacred solely for the Taco John's "Taco Tuesday" promotion (even if today is Super Tuesday). For those not fortunate enough to live near a Taco John's, this is the day you can get two tacos for a special price... back in the day, that price was 99 cents. Unfortunately, we only know of one Taco John's in the entire Minneapolis metro area (in a town called Little Canada, where Stew first lived in a studio apartment - with his futon, TV set, two milk crates, and one case of Budweiser tall boys - when he moved here in 1997). So, Stew's been unable to quench his thirst for bold and beefy, crispy and crunchy Taco John's tacos for quite some time since Little Canada is about a 20 minute drive from here. And don't even get Stew started on his hometown Taco John's Twilight Tacos promotion. Back when Stew and Momma lived in Pierre (SD), there were many a Friday and Saturday night when Stew would convince Rudy, the town's cab driver in the 1990's, to pull through the Taco John's drive-thru after the bars closed at 2AM so Stew could order bags full of tacos and tasty Potato Oles to take home. Anyway, I'd appreciate it if you'd mail any Taco John's coupons you have to Stew so maybe he could head over to Little Canada to get a bag of tacos and Potato Oles.

As for Super Tuesday, I hope everyone votes today... or on whatever day your state holds its primary/caucus. Momma, Stew and Claire are heading to our local Independent Precinct Caucus tonite from 7pm - 8pm. They used to be apathetic about voting due to the lack of any decent candidates in the last 15-20 years (sorry Al Gore). But now that the Bush crowd has put the country and economy in the toilet (can we finally agree Reaganomics doesn't work), Momma and Stew are angry and want to at least be part of the process. And I'm not going to tell anyone how to vote, BUT... if you want continued tax cuts for the richest Americans, 100+ more years of occupation in Iraq, even more ultra-conservative judges being appointed to the Supreme Court, and a national debt that will continue to skyrocket out of control due to the amount of money the gov't borrows from other countries (namely Japan and China) to pay for things we can't afford... you might as well vote to perpetuate the Bush legacy by voting Republican. Again, I'm not telling you how to vote. This is just a suggestion from one dog to another.

Since my conservative grandma might have recently returned to reading this blog, I'd better stop ranting now. I'll keep the political nonsense on my other blog. Besides, the first rule of blogging: Do not blog about your political views because nobody cares what you think!

But, hey, I'm just being a patriot by encouraging you to vote...