1 - Barack Obama's inauguration speech was awesome - I loved it. Whether or not I agree with his rhetoric, policies, or political cabinet picks, I have to say it is refreshing to have a person of eloquence leading the country. Never underestimate the power of words. Tony Blair is one of my all-time favorite political leaders for this reason. He had the ability to speak eloquently and think fast (watch the Prime Minister's questions on CSPAN - it's awesome!) and his speech in the immediate aftermath of Sept. 11th was the one that I think people should have paid more attention to. Barack's speech addressed a lot of the nation's fears and had a lot of truth within it and I am so lucky to have witnessed one of the most historic moments in our country's history.
2 - So beyond excited about the premiere of Lost tonight - you don't even know. I have been looking forward to this day since the last episode of last season aired last May and it is finally, FINALLY here!
3 - I am loved by a beyond gracious God, a beyond wonderful family, and an amazing group of friends. So no matter what happens in the next few months, I have remembered that my life here is not about my financial security or independence, but about walking by faith and trusting in a God who I feel I am just getting to know.
4 - Never underestimate the importance of your living environment on your mental and physical health.
5 - I love living on my own in my new apartment! I am so blessed and grateful for this gift and so excited to share it with others! So if you are ever driving by Winchester Street, please stop in and say hello!
Showing posts with label Barack Obama. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Barack Obama. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Forgive Me...
This is my blog, my corner of the universe, and as such I am going to take a moment, be selfish and pat myself on the back for making so many correct predictions this past year. This is not humble of me and it will be showing a side of myself that I am acutely aware of and keep under wraps most of the time. But I can't help myself because it is kind of uncanny how many things I correctly called way back in January of this year (see this link for my original post).
1 - I was right on the economy. Fact is, being in the housing industry puts you on the forefront of what is actually happening in the American economy, and I could have told you back in August of 2006 that we were headed for troubled times. But the idiots in Washington put their heads in the sand and refused to say that the economy was in trouble - on the other hand, there was no other way for them to play it. It was a Catch 22 - if the government acknowledged that something was wrong in the economy, things would have collapsed a lot sooner than they did. It's all about politics and spin and if the spin is negative, the markets will come crashing down.
2 - I was right on the Democrats winning the White House. I must admit, I don't like it - I don't like having a Democrat in the White House. But McCain ran one of the poorest campaigns I have ever seen - what happened to him? I know he has the experience and the record and there is not a person who has served his country more faithfully than he has, but he became muzzled and the experienced statesman that he is never publicly showed itself. I also accurately called that he would have a chance if he picked Sarah Palin as his VP - she had a shining moment at her GOP convention speech, but was then quickly derailed by the media, late-night comedians, and herself. And I don't think he would have had a better shot if he had picked someone else as his Vice Presidential running mate. The public bought into Barack's message a long time ago and the Republican party shot itself in the foot with all of the corruption scandals and mishandling of the power they had. I think it is absolutely wonderful how many people turned out to vote in this election - that is amazing and incredible and right - too many men and women have sacrificed their lives to give us that right, and to not vote is to do them a dishonor and disrespect our own freedom and rights. BUT, I am just wondering how many people are going to be severely disappointed when all the changes promised don't happen. The Democrats will become drunk with their power, just like the Republicans did, and Washington will remain the way it has always been. THAT is politics and THAT is the reality of the political system that we live in. "Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely".
3 - I happened to be totally right about the Giants winning the Super Bowl - which was a fluke guess, but still the correct one! Yay for the downfall of the Patriots :).
4 - I was correct about Into the Wild not winning the Best Picture, but I still maintain that it should have.
5 - I was also correct about the bright color trend continuing.
6 - I also correctly predicted that the writers strike would last into the Spring 2008 TV season, though thankfully it did end in time for new episodes of Lost to be aired - thank the Good Lord above!
7 - I am right about the troops not being pulled out of Iraq until at least 2010. Though Obama has promised a total immediate withdrawal, the reality of the situation will not allow this to be feasible until at least 2 years into his presidency.
8- Though, this prediction came just a week ago, I did correctly predict that gas prices would fall to $1.99 on the eve of the election (Karen G can back me up on this one!), and, guess what! They did! Anyone who tells me that the oil companies do not fix their prices and do not control the politics in Washington (dad) needs to then explain to me the coincidence of the dramatic drop in gas prices during the election. I mean seriously - $1.99 gas - when was the last time that we saw $1.99 gas!? 2005? I don't care that the "market" has all of the sudden seen such a dramatic slip in demand. You tell me that the market has seen a slip in demand when prices are back to $4 next summer. I don't see a slip in demand - there is still plenty of traffic on 66 and 495 and even around the little town of Warrenton - more traffic in fact! Maybe the bubble of Northern Virginia keeps me from seeing the decline in demand, but I just don't see it. No, the conspiracy theorist in me says that the politics of oil run SO much deeper than any of us really know, and that there is more going on behind the scene. And in fact, if the gas prices were to accurately reflect the price of oil on the market, I believe that the prices should be even lower than they are.
9 - I correctly predicted that I would be moving this year! I am really excited about this - I have been keeping it kind of under wraps, but I recently found out that I will be moving (still in Warrenton, back to where I originally started 2 years ago), but I will be living on my own, which will be something completely new and exciting. I have never lived completely on my own and I'm excited/nervous to see what this new arrangement has in store for me.
And finally, number 10 - I correctly predicted that our new business venture, Signature WoodCrafters would be successful. Being involved with this start-up has been one of the hardest things I have ever worked on. Every day is a battle for survival, which is capitalism at its core. I have always tried to work hard and do my best at whatever I'm given to do, but until the work itself is a day to day struggle for survival, I have found out that I didn't know what it truly meant to work hard. It is not easy and is a battle day in and day out. Though we will probably only break even this year with this venture, that is still a victory, because I don't know many start-ups that have turned a profit in their first year, considering the massive advertising costs needed to get your name into the market. BUT, as hard as it has been, I don't know if I would trade this year for anything else. It has been exciting, taxing, draining, thrilling, hard, and totally worth being involved in. It has helped saved the rest of my coworkers' jobs, has given our company a new source of revenue, and taught me a ton - I really couldn't ask for more. I am really lucky to have the opportunities that I have at my company.
So, I ask for all of my legions of readers (all 2 of you :)) to forgive me for applauding myself and bragging about making some correct predictions about this year. And the fact that I hedged all of my bets by originally predicting that none of my predictions would come true, should negate everything that I have congratulated myself on :). And I will return back to my humble self and say with all sincere humility that it is just luck that I gave an accurate read on this stuff. To truly test my clairvoyance, I will have to accurately predict social, political, and international trends for at least two years in a row. And then if that happens, I will proudly take on Professor Larry Sabato's recently relinquished mantle of the "most accurate political prognosticator" :).
1 - I was right on the economy. Fact is, being in the housing industry puts you on the forefront of what is actually happening in the American economy, and I could have told you back in August of 2006 that we were headed for troubled times. But the idiots in Washington put their heads in the sand and refused to say that the economy was in trouble - on the other hand, there was no other way for them to play it. It was a Catch 22 - if the government acknowledged that something was wrong in the economy, things would have collapsed a lot sooner than they did. It's all about politics and spin and if the spin is negative, the markets will come crashing down.
2 - I was right on the Democrats winning the White House. I must admit, I don't like it - I don't like having a Democrat in the White House. But McCain ran one of the poorest campaigns I have ever seen - what happened to him? I know he has the experience and the record and there is not a person who has served his country more faithfully than he has, but he became muzzled and the experienced statesman that he is never publicly showed itself. I also accurately called that he would have a chance if he picked Sarah Palin as his VP - she had a shining moment at her GOP convention speech, but was then quickly derailed by the media, late-night comedians, and herself. And I don't think he would have had a better shot if he had picked someone else as his Vice Presidential running mate. The public bought into Barack's message a long time ago and the Republican party shot itself in the foot with all of the corruption scandals and mishandling of the power they had. I think it is absolutely wonderful how many people turned out to vote in this election - that is amazing and incredible and right - too many men and women have sacrificed their lives to give us that right, and to not vote is to do them a dishonor and disrespect our own freedom and rights. BUT, I am just wondering how many people are going to be severely disappointed when all the changes promised don't happen. The Democrats will become drunk with their power, just like the Republicans did, and Washington will remain the way it has always been. THAT is politics and THAT is the reality of the political system that we live in. "Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely".
3 - I happened to be totally right about the Giants winning the Super Bowl - which was a fluke guess, but still the correct one! Yay for the downfall of the Patriots :).
4 - I was correct about Into the Wild not winning the Best Picture, but I still maintain that it should have.
5 - I was also correct about the bright color trend continuing.
6 - I also correctly predicted that the writers strike would last into the Spring 2008 TV season, though thankfully it did end in time for new episodes of Lost to be aired - thank the Good Lord above!
7 - I am right about the troops not being pulled out of Iraq until at least 2010. Though Obama has promised a total immediate withdrawal, the reality of the situation will not allow this to be feasible until at least 2 years into his presidency.
8- Though, this prediction came just a week ago, I did correctly predict that gas prices would fall to $1.99 on the eve of the election (Karen G can back me up on this one!), and, guess what! They did! Anyone who tells me that the oil companies do not fix their prices and do not control the politics in Washington (dad) needs to then explain to me the coincidence of the dramatic drop in gas prices during the election. I mean seriously - $1.99 gas - when was the last time that we saw $1.99 gas!? 2005? I don't care that the "market" has all of the sudden seen such a dramatic slip in demand. You tell me that the market has seen a slip in demand when prices are back to $4 next summer. I don't see a slip in demand - there is still plenty of traffic on 66 and 495 and even around the little town of Warrenton - more traffic in fact! Maybe the bubble of Northern Virginia keeps me from seeing the decline in demand, but I just don't see it. No, the conspiracy theorist in me says that the politics of oil run SO much deeper than any of us really know, and that there is more going on behind the scene. And in fact, if the gas prices were to accurately reflect the price of oil on the market, I believe that the prices should be even lower than they are.
9 - I correctly predicted that I would be moving this year! I am really excited about this - I have been keeping it kind of under wraps, but I recently found out that I will be moving (still in Warrenton, back to where I originally started 2 years ago), but I will be living on my own, which will be something completely new and exciting. I have never lived completely on my own and I'm excited/nervous to see what this new arrangement has in store for me.
And finally, number 10 - I correctly predicted that our new business venture, Signature WoodCrafters would be successful. Being involved with this start-up has been one of the hardest things I have ever worked on. Every day is a battle for survival, which is capitalism at its core. I have always tried to work hard and do my best at whatever I'm given to do, but until the work itself is a day to day struggle for survival, I have found out that I didn't know what it truly meant to work hard. It is not easy and is a battle day in and day out. Though we will probably only break even this year with this venture, that is still a victory, because I don't know many start-ups that have turned a profit in their first year, considering the massive advertising costs needed to get your name into the market. BUT, as hard as it has been, I don't know if I would trade this year for anything else. It has been exciting, taxing, draining, thrilling, hard, and totally worth being involved in. It has helped saved the rest of my coworkers' jobs, has given our company a new source of revenue, and taught me a ton - I really couldn't ask for more. I am really lucky to have the opportunities that I have at my company.
So, I ask for all of my legions of readers (all 2 of you :)) to forgive me for applauding myself and bragging about making some correct predictions about this year. And the fact that I hedged all of my bets by originally predicting that none of my predictions would come true, should negate everything that I have congratulated myself on :). And I will return back to my humble self and say with all sincere humility that it is just luck that I gave an accurate read on this stuff. To truly test my clairvoyance, I will have to accurately predict social, political, and international trends for at least two years in a row. And then if that happens, I will proudly take on Professor Larry Sabato's recently relinquished mantle of the "most accurate political prognosticator" :).
Friday, August 29, 2008
Finally - An Interesting Turn of Events in Politics
This past Friday John McCain picked the Alaskan governor, Sarah Palin to be his Vice President, and I think, turned the tide of the race and made it a whole heck of a lot more interesting.
First to add a caveat and be honest, I hate politics and am very disillusioned by it (thanks to my stellar UVA education). Whether it is broken, needs fixed, etc, etc, doesn't really matter, because in the end the people in power are going to do what they want to do and the little person doesn't really have much say, and that won't change ("Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely").
That being said, I also dislike both candidates for this election. I don't care for either of them and wasn't excited by either candidate. Obama is interesting in the fact that it is historic to have an African-American man run for president (thank you David Palmer). But his message of "change" is just empty to me because I don't really like the kind of change he is proposing AND it's not like he will get half of the things "changed" that he wants to. Universal health care does sound great (with many pitfalls here and there), but I will be shocked if this country ever gets to that point, because of the kind of economic system that we run and exist in (plus, do we really want our government running the health care system?). A complete reduction of American forces in Iraq would be a huge mistake, in my opinion, and further destabilize a region known for its instability. And I don't really think he would help the economy.
I don't know what McCain plans to do either - I didn't want him to be the Republican nominee (I am a Mike Huckabee fan). Plus I didn't think he stood a chance to win when he won the nomination in April, unless he picked the Alaska governor for his VP, this lady who was making waves out there - only then did I think that maybe he would have a chance.
And he flippin' did. Seriously??
That is guts. To pick a pretty unknown candidate who has one of the most dramatic politcal stories in recent history takes guts. She is totally unknown to Washington and the national scene. The media is of course scrambling and looking for every little thing they can find about Palin and her family and stories are popping up every hour, but I don't care. McCain picking Palin as his VP made me interested again in this election and I might actually watch her speech tonight on network TV, something I have not done this entire election. And the fact that people are saying she doesn't have enough experience to be a VP, I find hilarious, since Obama has, until this pick, been touting the fact that he hasn't been taken by Washington because of his "newcomer" status. (And don't people find it funny that now both camps have basically switched attacks, with the Democrats now crying that Palin doesn't have enough experience, while the Republicans say that she does, when just a week before it was the opposite with Republicans saying that Obama doesn't have enough experience and the Democrats saying that he does?)
Anyway, I give McCain credit for a brilliant pick and for making me excited about this election. I am mightily impressed, which is very hard for politicians to do for me these days.
First to add a caveat and be honest, I hate politics and am very disillusioned by it (thanks to my stellar UVA education). Whether it is broken, needs fixed, etc, etc, doesn't really matter, because in the end the people in power are going to do what they want to do and the little person doesn't really have much say, and that won't change ("Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely").
That being said, I also dislike both candidates for this election. I don't care for either of them and wasn't excited by either candidate. Obama is interesting in the fact that it is historic to have an African-American man run for president (thank you David Palmer). But his message of "change" is just empty to me because I don't really like the kind of change he is proposing AND it's not like he will get half of the things "changed" that he wants to. Universal health care does sound great (with many pitfalls here and there), but I will be shocked if this country ever gets to that point, because of the kind of economic system that we run and exist in (plus, do we really want our government running the health care system?). A complete reduction of American forces in Iraq would be a huge mistake, in my opinion, and further destabilize a region known for its instability. And I don't really think he would help the economy.
I don't know what McCain plans to do either - I didn't want him to be the Republican nominee (I am a Mike Huckabee fan). Plus I didn't think he stood a chance to win when he won the nomination in April, unless he picked the Alaska governor for his VP, this lady who was making waves out there - only then did I think that maybe he would have a chance.
And he flippin' did. Seriously??
That is guts. To pick a pretty unknown candidate who has one of the most dramatic politcal stories in recent history takes guts. She is totally unknown to Washington and the national scene. The media is of course scrambling and looking for every little thing they can find about Palin and her family and stories are popping up every hour, but I don't care. McCain picking Palin as his VP made me interested again in this election and I might actually watch her speech tonight on network TV, something I have not done this entire election. And the fact that people are saying she doesn't have enough experience to be a VP, I find hilarious, since Obama has, until this pick, been touting the fact that he hasn't been taken by Washington because of his "newcomer" status. (And don't people find it funny that now both camps have basically switched attacks, with the Democrats now crying that Palin doesn't have enough experience, while the Republicans say that she does, when just a week before it was the opposite with Republicans saying that Obama doesn't have enough experience and the Democrats saying that he does?)
Anyway, I give McCain credit for a brilliant pick and for making me excited about this election. I am mightily impressed, which is very hard for politicians to do for me these days.
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