Today's it, people. It's October 6th, and the deadline is TODAY for registering to vote. Please watch this video, then click on the link from Google to show you where you can go register.

Then, you need to send this to 5 other people. BookMama tagged me with this one. So, now I tag:

1. Earnest Parenting

2. Asylum Letters

3. Depression Marathon

4. Angry Ballerina

5. Education for the Aughts

Many of you (most I hope), including yours truly, are backing Obama (and that's good). However, despite what the polls say (that Obama is leading), do NOT count your chickens before they hatch. PLEASE do NOT assume that just because public opinion is favoring Obama that it's safe to stay home and abstain your vote; that kind of thinking got us into trouble the past couple of elections; heck, even if the polls showed your favored candidate to be at 99%, it is STILL your obligation to go out and MAKE YOUR VOTE count, do not let the 'other side' win by voting-no-shows.

If you're not registered, you have precious little time to fix that, so head over to Vote for Change where you can get that done (you can also find out your voting location and other things); they're not the only place of course.

Kudos to the Obama campaign for pushing voter registration.

And if you ARE registered, USE IT come Nov 4th, and MAKE SURE that we get Obama...*cough*..favored candidate in office.

Thank you.

This has been a public service announcement.

I am the Finn, and I approve this message :P

Raqs the Vote!!

Raqs the vote!!

Click here, then pass it on, time is running out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vtHwWReGU0

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It's like reading a romance novel.

Romance novels, at least the formulaic-Harlequin-Presents-red banner novels, have to portray the motivations of both male and female characters.  Since these books are clearly written by women, it's an absolutely fascinating  insight on what women think men value most.  (And what women, in the depths of their souls, wish men valued.)

For example, a typical male character is phenomenally wealthy.  He's indifferent, tired of all the incredibly beautiful bourgeois women who throw themselves at him.  Yes, he sleeps with vast  amounts of the fawning coterie...but he doesn't mean it.  His heart is empty, but since no one has ever shown him love, he thinks he just needs a vacation.  Until she  somehow is dropped into the storyline.  She's not conventionally beautiful, yet he just can't help himself; not when she turns those expressive, doe-like eyes on him.

Hilarious.

Almost as hilarious as watching cable news analysts agonize over what the "Hillary" vote will do in this election. 

Will they vote for McCain/Palin because Sarah Palin is their only chance of getting a woman in the White House?  Is this an entire block of voters who wish John McCain drops dead within months of attaining the Presidency?  Will they vote, instead, for Barack Obama because of Sarah Palin's views on abortion?  Will they shudder in horror that she made rape victims pay for their own rape kits?

Did I miss the memo where we are all supposed to vote with our hoo-ha's?

As they slice and dice the American demographic, I wonder if they really think this is who we are. 

Am I my demographic?

I am a woman, but wait!  I grew up with three brothers.  I was a tomboy until I was 19.  Am I in the former tomboy, female demographic? 

I grew up in a single parent household, but wait!  I was the parent.  Even though I don't have kids, does that knock me into the parent demographic?

I've never been in the military, but wait!  My mother, grandfather, brother, and uncles aplenty were in the military?  Do I have some kind of military street cred?

I haven't found a church in Raleigh that I like yet, but wait!  I've been a churchgoer almost my whole life.  Do I qualify for the church-going demographic?  What if I think the evidence supports evolution?  Does that knock me right back out?

I'm married, but wait!  I've only been married for four years.  Is that long enough to count as a 'real' marriage?  Do I qualify for the under-30, married lady segment?

I'm from Texas, but wait!  I don't own a gun, but wait!  I totally would, but wait!  With rubber bullets, but wait!  As long as my uzi has some real ammo, but wait!  I don't want anyone else to have an uzi, but wait!  I want my husband to have one, but wait!  He wants a Colt .45, but wait!  Maybe it's because we just watched "The Matrix".

Alright, cable news people.  Who am I?

Personality, Not Reality

My personality swings from serious to playful.  I can be aggressive or silly.  Girly or She-Ra Goddess of Destruction.

I can't, shockingly, tell a story in person.   Sit me at a computer, however, and I might hold you hostage.  I also don't do jokes, but people find me amusing.  I am an abuse survivor.  I am an escapee from a cubicle.  I am a happiness proponent.

I don't really bake but I am an incredibly creative stove top chef.  I can't sew, but I can stab and yank some material with a piece of thread.  I don't like to clean, but I like things picked up.  I love science fiction and fantasy.  I look awesome in retro, 40's inspired clothing.  Pencil skirts, rawr!

So, who am I?  (I mean,  besides awesome.)

Who are you?

As we grow and change and experience new things, our ideas change.  Our personality changes.  Does that mean that who we are has changed?  If so, how many experiences does it take for the change to be the change that changes the person we are?

No.

The I Am That I Am

As we are not the cars we drive, the amount of money we have in the bank, or the khaki's we wear - we also are not our experiences.  Nor are we the sum of those experiences.

Why not?

Our experience of our experiences is always filtered, through our minds.  The past does not exist, except in our minds.  What we remember of our past, is filtered through how we originally perceived the event and then through how we perceive our perception of the event. 

When you think about it, it's amazing that we even communicate at all.

Who are you?

Some people spend their whole lives trying to answer this question.  What's important, however, is that you never let anyone answer it for you.

Hijab or ħijāb (حجاب, pronounced: [ħi.ˈdʒæːb]) is the Arabic term for "cover" (noun), based on the root حجب meaning "to veil, to cover (verb), to screen, to shelter".

In some Arabic-speaking countries and Western countries, the common meaning of hijab currently is of "modest dress for women," which most Islamic legal systems define as covering everything except the face and hands in public. Since the 1970s, hijab has emerged as a symbol of Islamic consciousness "and an affirmation of Islamic identity and morality" in opposition to "Western materialism, commercialism, and values."

Okay, so it's from Wikipedia, but it brings up some interesting points. Modesty, identity, morality in opposition of Western materialism, commercialism. Fair enough, then I saw this short fashion web pod about street styles and fashion trends in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

So I guess my first piece is about the contrast between middle eastern culture and western culture with the. It depicts a woman wearing a hijab. However, the hijab is patterned with the famous Burberry Check. While there are religious implications, I wanted to focus more on the ideas of materialism versus modesty.

The other thought I've been juggling with are muslim women who wear the niqab. The niqab is the veil that covers the face that is part of the hijab. I recently read a story about a muslim journalist who wanted to wear a niqab for day in London. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2006/oct/17/gender.religion Again, I think it's that dynamic between middle eastern and western cultures that intrigue me. I tend to believe western culture is more tolerant of differences (I should know better, but that is how I feel.) I can't really justify it. However, the journalist, Zaiba Malik, got nothing but babies crying, hate and fear. I started playing this scenario in my head. How would I react if I saw a woman in line voting for the presidential election (one of the most American, democratic, actions)?" Would I be gripped with fear or would there be a sense of empowerment believing that only this can happen in the United States? Would people scream "terrorist"?

It's a rough draft that I am still working on, but I'd appreciate your views and opinions on the subject and design? I'm trying to make her look less NINJA - so we'll see what kind of solution I can come to.

On another topic, I'm still stunned by Sarah Palin and not in a good way. However, in a surprising turn of events, she inspires and motivates me to WANT to vote just cause I sick of sitting and watching her wink at me. So I hope this inspires one other person out there to want to vote as well!

Obama 2008

THANK YOU

GOD THE CREATOR OF CREATION AND PIXY

Another example is my favorite video at the moment which is called Don't Vote. This was a video comprised of many famous actors. they get together and give the message that you need to register to vote and why. This i thought was very interesting because it wasnt just one or two actors but a group of them getting together to show  that they think this is important. They even tell you how to register and tell you why its so important.

Their are many other videos like these but i jsut thought these two were good examples.

From MSNBC

 A week after Obama's poll numbers spiked in battleground states and after McCain's campaign announced it was retreating from Michigan, Obama has opened up a nearly 100-point electoral-vote lead, according to NBC’s new map. Obama now has a 264-174 advantage over McCain, up from his 212-174 edge last week. The changes are all in Obama’s direction: We’ve moved Michigan, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin from Toss-up to Lean Obama. Also, every single Toss-up state is now a red state, and we are close to moving another red state -- Missouri -- to the Toss-up column. But let's remember: This is where the RACE IS RIGHT NOW, not where we expect the race to be in a month. And we move a state into lean when we believe there's significant evidence based on our reporting and a few of the public polls (we trust) that a candidate has a lead of five points or more.  More here.

The overwhelming majority of these campaigns are aimed at young people. Here are a few that I found interesting - do any of these make the case? Would they compel you to register?

Warning: The video below contains language that may be offensive to some.

This music video from Rock the Vote obviously leans left, so it may alienate would be registrants who don't agree on certain social issues. But it is a catchy tune....

Any register to vote PSAs that you thought were interesting? effective?

(By the way, if you haven't already, please REGISTER & VOTE!!!)

America is a country that is searching for our all new rising star to razzle dazzle us.  It is time for us to search for an all new hero and leader.  Hopefully not like the last one.

Things to consider when voting...  Katie Couric Interview, Presidential Debate, Amount of money spent in iraq and money spent abroad. Do we have health care, jobs, and a stable social security for our future.  Due to Reganomics era of republican thinking, Now we have a bailout to the tune of 700 billion dollars and where is the money coming from and what will be the benefits to us.  (we really need to think through theses issues.

Every state is a swing state so everyone must get out and vote.  We need the election polls working overtime and we need every vote to count.

This Treasury will expire 3 days from post.

Take a look at whatIsee's Etsy Shoppe and see more of her own joyful work! 

We called names. We tried to attack the person, trying to avoid discussing the real issue or argument because we didn't have anything intelligent to say. We knew we had met our defeat so we changed directions and attacked the other person.

That is exactly what Palin is doing now. For the past few days she has stated Obama "pals around with terrorists." She asserts that he his association with '1960's radicals' is something, as she puts it, "fair to talk about." She went even further to say, "I think it's fair to talk about where Barack Obama kicked off his political career, in the guy's living room," speaking of Bill Ayers, the founder of the Weather Underground group. Are you kidding me?

Obama has stated he does not condone the actions and views of Bill Ayers and dismissed Palin and the McCain camps weak attempt to divert attention from serious issues to petty school yard drama. Instead of focusing on the real issues at hand, McCain's camp is doing what politicians do best: avoid speaking of issues and attack the other person. Literally. They aren't attacking Obama's policies, realizing this isn't working, they have lowered themselves to attack his PERSON. Let me say that in another way: OBAMA ISN'T "PALLING" AROUND WITH TERRORISTS!

So before I go any further, it's interesting to note that, though the two knew each other, stating they are "palling around" is a bit far fetched. Barack was only 6 years old when Ayers committed terroristic acts and was only 8 when the WU accepted responsibility for a number of bombings.

McCain and Palin can't answer the real questions. When it comes down to the economy, foreign policy, health care, education, tax and anything else that matters to the American people McCain studders around not knowing what he is saying and Palin simply avoids answering the question, and does so with an arrogance that makes one sick. Gwen Ifill commented on Palin's behavior at the Vice Presidential debate stating that Palin "more than ignored the questions, she blew me off."

Palin is sickening and a disgraceful misrepresentation of women. She is simply a puppet of the McCain party to try and bring in Hillary voters off the sole fact that she is a woman. I hope women will stop and think: just because she is a woman, doesn't mean she is ready to take on the responsibilities laid before her. Her name calling, accusing tactic is evident of that, not to mention her rude behavior (as well as McCain's) at the recent debates.

Neither is ready to lead this country in a GOOD direction. He truly IS out of touch and she comes off as a dumb, null minded woman. Believe it or not, some of us women can speak on important issues without avoiding the topic, calling names to the other party, and winking repeatedly. She is a disgrace and if this nation elects the McCain, Palin "ticket" I am going to truly believe the end of days have arrived.

Well today is the LAST day to register to vote in the state of Texas. And like our homie Jagger said; and if you're a Republican you're too late either way. Hahahaha, thought it was pretty funny, but never the less, no matter who you're voting for. Make sure you're registered to vote, even my grandpa has registered to vote. So if you live in the state of Texas, please make sure you're registered to vote, today is the LAST day! The Grafwurks team is all registered to vote and our extended Grafwurks fam. is registered to vote! So go do your part...even if you think you're vote "doesn't count" go be part of this years' election.

And Leon (of NovaLab Project), make sure you get registered to vote today homie, you don't want to be left out. This is prior to our conversation we had on Friday!!!

Gen 1:1 IN THE beginning God (prepared, formed, fashioned, and) created the heavens and the earth.
Gen 1:2 The earth was without form and an empty waste, and darkness was upon the face of the very great deep. The Spirit of God was moving (hovering, brooding) over the face of the waters.
Gen 1:3 And God said, Let there be light; and there was light.
Gen 1:4 And God saw that the light was good (suitable, pleasant) {and} He approved it; and God separated the light from the darkness.
Gen 1:5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day.
Gen 1:6 And God said, Let there be a firmament [the expanse of the sky] in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters [below] from the waters [above].
Gen 1:7 And God made the firmament [the expanse] and separated the waters which were under the expanse from the waters which were above the expanse. And it was so.
Gen 1:8 And God called the firmament Heavens. And there was evening and there was morning, a second day.
Gen 1:9 And God said, Let the waters under the heavens be collected into one place [of standing], and let the dry land appear. And it was so.
Gen 1:10 God called the dry land Earth, and the accumulated waters He called Seas. And God saw that this was good (fitting, admirable) {and} He approved it.
Gen 1:11 And God said, Let the earth put forth [tender] vegetation: plants yielding seed and fruit trees yielding fruit whose seed is in itself, each according to its kind, upon the earth. And it was so.
Gen 1:12 The earth brought forth vegetation: plants yielding seed according to their own kinds and trees bearing fruit in which was their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good (suitable, admirable) {and} He approved it.
Gen 1:13 And there was evening and there was morning, a third day.
Gen 1:14 And God said, Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be signs {and} tokens [of God's provident care], and [to mark] seasons, days, and years,
Gen 1:15 And let them be lights in the expanse of the sky to give light upon the earth. And it was so.
Gen 1:16 And God made the two great lights--the greater light (the sun) to rule the day and the lesser light (the moon) to rule the night. He also made the stars.
Gen 1:17 And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth,
Gen 1:18 To rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good (fitting, pleasant) {and} He approved it.
Gen 1:19 And there was evening and there was morning, a fourth day.
Gen 1:20 And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly {and} swarm with living creatures, and let birds fly over the earth in the open expanse of the heavens.
Gen 1:21 God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, which the waters brought forth abundantly, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good (suitable, admirable) {and} He approved it.
Gen 1:22 And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let the fowl multiply in the earth.
Gen 1:23 And there was evening and there was morning, a fifth day.
Gen 1:24 And God said, Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creeping things, and [wild] beasts of the earth according to their kinds. And it was so.
Gen 1:25 And God made the [wild] beasts of the earth according to their kinds, and domestic animals according to their kinds, and everything that creeps upon the earth according to its kind. And God saw that it was good (fitting, pleasant) {and} He approved it.
Gen 1:26 God said, Let Us [Father, Son, and Holy Spirit] make mankind in Our image, after Our likeness, and let them have complete authority over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the [tame] beasts, and over all of the earth, and over everything that creeps upon the earth.
Gen 1:27 So God created man in His own image, in the image {and} likeness of God He created him; male and female He created them.
Gen 1:28 And God blessed them and said to them, Be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it [using all its vast resources in the service of God and man]; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and over every living creature that moves upon the earth.
Gen 1:29 And God said, See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the land and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food.
Gen 1:30 And to all the animals on the earth and to every bird of the air and to everything that creeps on the ground--to everything in which there is the breath of life--I have given every green plant for food. And it was so.
Gen 1:31 And God saw everything that He had made, and behold, it was very good (suitable, pleasant) {and} He approved it completely. And there was evening and there was morning, a sixth day.
Gen 2:1 THUS THE heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.
Gen 2:2 And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done; and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.
Gen 2:3 And God blessed (spoke good of) the seventh day, set it apart as His own, and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all His work which He had created and done.
Gen 2:4 This is the history of the heavens and of the earth when they were created. In the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens--

36

Have been accused of spousal abuse

7

Have been arrested for fraud

19

Have been accused of writing bad checks

117

Have directly or indirectly … Bankrupted at least 2 businesses?

3

Have done time for assault

71 ... Repeat ... 71

Cannot …Get a credit card due to bad credit

14

Have been arrested on drug-related charges

8

Have been arrested for shoplifting

21

Currently are defendants in lawsuits, and

84

Have been arrested for drunk driving in the last year.

Can you guess which organization this is?

Answer here.

Well, for the same reason I supported Mike Huckabee during the Presidential primaries (even though some of his desires to legislate morality frankly scare the bejesus out of me, pun intended), I have to now throw my support to the Libertarian ticket. For one simple reason: they stand on principle, no matter how unpopular that may be. When Huckabee came out strongly against same sex marriage, for instance, I cringed. A lot. But I still supported him for standing on his principles, and knowing that the U.S. Supreme Court would never allow a nationwide ban on gay marriage (or at least domestic partnership), because that's an issue for the individual states, per the 10th amendment. But, I digress.
Believe me, I have struggled with this since late Wednesday night, even having internal shouting matches over it. Why Wednesday night, you ask? Well, that's when the U.S. Senate, taking up the role of Igor, flipped the switch to send lightning into the patched-together monstrosity that is the bailout bill, bringing the ragged and mismatched corpse back to life, to the detriment of peaceful villagers everywhere. John McCain, in a move that completely negated his supposed "leadership" in going back to D.C. and suspending his campaign the week before, stood up and voted FOR the bill. Knowing that Obama & Biden would vote for it, this was his golden opportunity to stand up and signal to America and House Republicans that this was an awful bill. Perfect timing Thursday morning for a press conference, "I voted against the bill last night because it is wrong for America. I suspended my campaign to come back to Washington and get the Republicans a seat at the negotiating table. The Bush administration cut a deal with the Democrat Party to give away 700 BILLION of your tax dollars to companies that caused this mess. Americans shouldn't stand for that, and I WON'T stand for it. But Barack Obama and Joe Biden will. That's not leadership."
But NOOOO! He had the cojones or just plain ignorance to go along with it and flush his campaign down the crapper.So, as much as Bob Barr's stance on the Iraq war, and Wayne Allyn Root's, well, himself-ness just leave a horrible taste in my mouth, at least they have both had the courage of conviction to stand their ground and oppose this Ridiculocity at the top of their lungs. From day one. They've earned my vote, and I hope you'll seriously consider that on November 4th when it's your turn to be alone in the booth handling your lever. ;-)

McCain has abandoned Michigan, PA finally is pulling away for Obama.  This is seen below in a combined safe votes map.  I've turned PA and MI blue.  NM also is steady Obama and NH isn't that close anymore.  This added 47 more votes to Obama's safe count.  McCain on the other hand has lost his safe grip on MO and surprisingly MT. Also Obama is making apuch for that one EC vote in NE around Omaha that I've been talking about for so long.  This is obvious because Sarah Palin was sent there to campaign there.

McCain's main strategy now appears to be to defend bush states, but obviously doens't have the angle or the resources to go after any Kerry states any more.  Obama is just 5 EC shy now of his 269 win/tie, while Johnny Mac needs 101 more votes.  There are 9 toss up states and anyone win for Obama except for one (MT) gets him the presidency.  Big changes to my projection for Election night.  Polling in VA and NC has been very good for Obama so at this point I have to say he is the favorite there.  McCain will hold on in MT and MO and thats it (In is a true 50/50 filp), everywhere else will go to Obama.  The missed polling of younger voters will more than over take any Bradley effect and any state where McCain doens't have a lead now he will lose.  If his attacking Obama through smears goes badly which it might, the status of MO, MT, ND, and IN might flip and deliver the true landslide.  (I gave Obama that 1 EC vote from NE)  This makes a ceiling for Obama of 382 EC votes.

I will update again after the next debate and after seeing how the negative attacks play out.

Of the Obama states I have down for a final the most in play for McCain to take back would be OH (less likely) economic issues too much here and NC.  The most likely McCain state to fall would be IN as said before.  NV is almost in Obama's safe map by the way.  There are just way too many states for McCain to defend and Obama has way too many assets, even Carl Rove is predicting an Obama vicory as of today.