Health Care: My Hotbutton Issue

Here's the link to the Obama/Biden health care plan, so you can learn more.

Sneaky aren't I. Yes I will make you go to the sources yourself. Why? Because you should always research things on your own and decide for yourself. People keep telling you things about Obama, but have you taken time to find out the real deal for yourself?

Back to (un)reality.

It's been hard to keep up this blog. Why? I can sum it up in one word: lupus. It does things to you that you never really expect. There's that pesky "mind fog", which people with fibromyalgia will know very well. For those who don't, imagine trying to function mentally when you've had two too many drinks. Then there's the fatigue, which is indescribable, so I won't even try.

I've go a great rheumatologist, and I'm on a great new combination of meds. I actually think I can function at about 80% of normal, which is better than the 40% I've been averaging for the past couple of years. Which is very good, considering this is time we all should be be busy making sure our country gets headed in the right direction again!

Lupus (bad), John Coltrane (good, and very cool)

It sucks. I've had no energy to post, but with the help of the wonder drugs plaquinil and prednisone, I now have about an hour or two of energy a day, with which I am going to waste an hour blogging. I'll also cut-and-paste the same boring entries to Bovina Sancta and my Facebook pages, so for the next month or so there really won't be really topical stuff posted anywhere, just ramblings.

It's forced my to reschedule my trip to Idaho until late September. This is one time I won't argue back to the Big Guy. It's in the low hundreds there now, and while I used to love that temperature range, right now, I'll admire it from afar.

I have come across something that is very intriguing and has made for some good listening and spirit warming. It's Saint John Coltrane Church in San Francisco. I highly recommend going there on Tuesday afternoons for the Uplift Radio Broadcast. If you can pick up locally, tune in from Noon to 4. If not, you can listen online: KPOO 89.5.

When I was living in Philadelphia I used to go to Jazz Vespers at Old Pine Street Presbyterian Church, which, I learned today have ended due to lack of funding. I'm hope the tradition will continue somewhere in the area; it's a joyous noise too precious to lose.

I don't like Obama's vote on FISA either

I don't think the issue is going away just because he (and others) voted yes. We still can fight for our Fourth Amendment rights. It's ain't over yet. I got no answers.

For all you who feel let down by Obama, and there are lots of you out there: don't let this one issue (granted it's a biggie) keep your eyes on the greater prize. Getting our country and our Constitution back. I still think it's possible, and I haven't been the most optimistic person as of late.

Keep those donations going; we'll need it against the Swiftboaters. And please, remember to help Senator Clinton pay off her debt. She's a great role model for our daughters, as is Michelle.

On an unrelated note, I so want a dress like Michelle wore on The View. I can't carry off sleeveless dresses anymore. Maybe there's a matching shrug...

Blue Cat's claws are out about Obama smear!

I really don't want the Lair to become a home for fighting Obama smears; that's what Fight the Smears is for. But this is are Fred Hobbs and Lincoln Davis, Tennessee Dems repeating discredited internet rumors, as reported in todays City Paper!

Fred Hobbs, a state Democratic Party Executive Committee member representing part of Davis’ district, said he understands why Davis is not endorsing Obama and is “skeptical” of the Illinois senator himself.“Maybe [it’s] the same reason I don’t want to — I don’t exactly approve of a lot of the things he stands for and I’m not sure we know enough about him,” Hobbs said when asked why he thought Davis wasn’t endorsing Obama. “He’s got some bad connections, and he may be terrorist connected for all I can tell. It sounds kind of like he may be.”

Here's the link to the Nashville City Paper so you can read the same whole article.

The Tennessee Democratic Party deserves props for reacting so swifty to this badness done by their own members.

“The Tennessee Democratic Party is united behind our party’s nominee, Senator Barack Obama. Mr. Hobbs is obviously misinformed, and his statement highlights the perpetual efforts of the Republican Party, especially here in Tennessee, to turn internet smears and highly offensive gossip into their party’s message against Senator Barack Obama as we head into the General Election. Instead of debating the issues, the Tennessee Republican Party continues to rely upon slanderous and salacious tall tales. They are borrowing from the playbook first written by Richard Nixon and employed in the race against Congressman Harold Ford Jr. Tennesseans of every political persuasion are tired of these tactics.”

Fight Obama Smears with the Truth!

If someone has a legitimate against Obama, bring it forward, shine the light of truth on it and let it be fairly judged. For those who feel smearing Obama is a legitimate way of campaigning, be forewarned:

We're not going to take it,

we're not going to take it,

no we're not going to take it, anymore!

If you are dumb enough print the lies,

we are smart enough to print the truth.

It's a fair exchange

.

You can fight Obama smears, by going to mybarackobama.com smears homepage.

Not sure what I'm talking about, take a look at these smears, and their debunking:

Michelle says whitey on tape, from a pulpit! Wrongo - truth is here!

Or this out and out fabrication:

Obama won't release his birth certifcate because it shows he was born in Kenya and that his real middle name is Mohammad. Wrongo - truth is here!

Thank you, Mash for passing this along!

Give me a break: Sweetiegate?

The press is all atwitter with the story that Barack Obama called a reporter, Peggy Agar, "sweetie". Wow. What a hot news story. Not.

So what what does Ms. Agar say? Here we have her response from the Washington Post. (You can read the story in its entirety here.

The reporter, Peggy Agar, with WXYZ TV, an ABC News affiliate, says, "Frankly I have been called worse during interviews than just 'sweetie' so that really didn't take me aback right then."

However, she says, "I felt more offended that he didn't answer the question."

While walking through the press gaggle, Ms. Agar asked Mr. Obama a question about autoworkers.

Later on, Mr. Obama actually left a message on Ms. Agar's Voice mail:

Hi Peggy. This is Barack Obama. I'm calling to apologize on two fronts. One was you didn't get your question answered and I apologize. I thought that we had set up interviews with all the local stations. I guess we got it with your station but you weren't the reporter that got the interview. And so, I broke my word. I apologize for that and I will make up for it.

Second apology is for using the word 'sweetie.' That's a bad habit of mine. I do it sometimes with all kinds of people. I mean no disrespect and so I am duly chastened on that front. Feel free to call me back. I expect that my press team will be happy to try to make it up to you whenever we are in Detroit next.

I'd say that's pretty darn gentlemanly. I wouldn't mind if Mr. Obama called me Sweetie. When I lived it Philly, both men and women used terms of endearment with complete strangers: sweetie, honey, babe, darling, pretty, handsome; the list goes on. It's a regional thing that apparent is shared with Chicago.

So listen, honey, it's no big deal.

Make no mistake

Politically, just so you know, Blue Cat is a not a Blue Dog Democrat.

If you're interested my political compass is -6.12/ -7.08. If you have a few minutes, it's interesting test, located at Political Compass . I'm pretty close to where the Dali Lama is on the compass. Interesting.

Wow, it's been awhile since I've been here!

Short summary of my absence:

• close-up, face-to-face view of a neat streambed
• I thought my sprained left knee would have healed by two weeks
• after two weeks I finally went to see a doctor
• I'd have thought fracturing a bone would be more painful; boy was I wrong.
• Wore stupid knee brace for four months and found out getting pants that would fit over the brace was really hard.
• Wore black storm trooper walking brace on right foot and found out you really don't need all of the tendons a body has.
• caught up on General Hospital. I miss Alan Quartermaine.
• did some embroidery, and it's still unfinished.
• took pictures of the area outside my apartment.
• did you know you can get along without an acl? Fixing it isn't a high priority, I walk just fine now.
• had my left shoulder overhauled.
• I'm not going anywhere near that streambed again!

So that's it. Posted some on Kos, read lots of blogs, and got two cats.

It's almost normal here. As far as the Democratic primaries: man, are they are screwed up. We some housework to do before 2012!

And finally: Yes we can!