Oh Gosh... She's really just not that bright!

PALIN: FIRST AMMENDMENT RIGHTS THREATENED BY CRITICISM

ABC News Reports

In a conservative radio interview that aired in Washington, D.C. Friday morning, Republican vice presidential nominee Gov. Sarah Palin said she fears her First Amendment rights may be threatened by "attacks" from reporters who suggest she is engaging in a negative campaign against Barack Obama.
Palin told WMAL-AM that her criticism of Obama's associations, like those with 1960s radical Bill Ayers and the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, should not be considered negative attacks. Rather, for reporters or columnists to suggest that it is going negative may constitute an attack that threatens a candidate's free speech rights under the Constitution, Palin said.
"If [the media] convince enough voters that that is negative campaigning, for me to call Barack Obama out on his associations," Palin told host Chris Plante, "then I don't know what the future of our country would be in terms of First Amendment rights and our ability to ask questions without fear of attacks by the mainstream media

Wow! That's some interesting and backwards thinking. I feel like her comprehension is very limited!

Happy Halloween!!!!

Last night boyfriend and I took my little primary to a haunted house. It was fabulous! They had props that were completely new to me. For instance, there was a claustrophobia room and meat packing plant that totally reconfirmed my vegetarian belief. I ended up running out of the house screaming like a wimp being chased by a chainsaw yielding clown. Good times:-)

More than a voice.... direction

George W. Bush became the 43rd President Jan. 1 of 2001. I was a 17 year old junior in high school when he was inagurated. At that time I favored Howard Dean, and then Al Gore when he recieved the nomination, but I had no legal voice in politics. I was still 17 when 9/11 occurred. I remember the state of shock everyone was in and the saturation of 24/7 media coverage. I remember everything feeling like it was in slow motion and the silent fear that so many people walked around with. At the time, I didn't understand how this event would shape and define my generation. The class of 2002- my class- was the first to graduate and enter adulthood in a post 9/11 world.

We were told that things would be different and it seemed like everyone; adults and kids, took a step back to observe what those differences would be. Our genereation no longer knew what to expect. We were entering a skewed world that was not reflective of those that had entered adulthood before us. We lived in a world where we could be attacked while attending a football game. We lived with a color system that clued us into our safety. Was it a red day or were we on orange alert? I remember sitting in the O'Hear airport in Chicago during a "Red Alert" waiting to take a flight home from college. Everyone was nervous and on edge. People looked around to judge those who they would be sharing travel space with. Passengers developed silent plans in case of emergency. Mental lists were made of who we would be called in case the plan was hi-jacked... We looked around and wondered which passenger would be able to stand up and lead the fight against the hypothetical terrorists. Our generation entered adulthood as vulnerable and passive observers.


This flock of sheep mentality was best demonstrated when the hurricanes hit. I had been in India 6 months prior to Hurrican Katrina's attack. I remember walking through villages in Nagapattinam that had been completely destroyed. I visited with families who had been displaced and provided us tours of the tin huts they lived in. The whole trip I was thinking, "This would never happen in the U.S." I remember verbalizing those thoughts to my travel companions and we were all in agreement. We believed that the U.S. had leadership in place that would prevent that type of aftermath. There's an odd sense of safety and entitlement you feel as a U.S. citizen. We believe we have inalienable rights that citizens of third world countries are still fighting for. What an interesting assumption. When Katrina hit, neighborhoods were destroyed and families were displaced. The scene looked very similar to third world India. Once again our leadership looked to the right and to the left. Local government looked towards the federal government to take lead, federal government observed. They did not know what to do and so they did nothing.

It seems like the whole country has been searching for leadership, not just the young adults. We looked at the adults ahead of us, who in turn looked at those above them. Those that were in positions to lead were looking to the left and the right... almost wondering who was going to stand up and lead. My mom has often commented that my generation has been politically silent when compared to her late '60's early 70's revolution. I wouldn't disagree with that. I think the difference is they had something to rebel against. They had a generation of leaders attempting to shape their world and their future. They didn't like the vision of the that generation so they fought for their own vision. My generation has been given a blank canvas. We've been given change and the unknown. We don't have anything to rebel against because we don't have any leadership pointing us in any direction. It's as if the country feels lost and unsure. No one rebels against uncertainty... During uncertain times people observe and they wander. That's what we've done.

To me this election represents an oppurtunity to choose an active leader. I'm excited for Barak Obama to fearlessly accept the responsibilities of leadership. I'm not just ready for change... I'm ready for direction.


READ THIS: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-mayer/hope-is-not-a-buzz-word_b_138771.html

Wow... Sometimes Strangers Impress Me

So... I totally left my wallet at the Bellevue Post Office and a complete stranger turned it in to the postal workers who contacted my bank and asked my bank to contact me and let me know the location of my misplaced wallet. No problems with fradulent credit charges; nothing was missing; amazing! How fabulously trustworthy is that? I am so impressed.

Watch This

On Saturday I took my primary to see Rachel Getting Married starring the lovely Anne Hathaway. If you are in the mood for a raw movie with a lot of depth I greatly reccommend it. The portrayal of a family dealing with crisis is incredibly authentic with complex character portrayals. This Focus Film does not dissapoint.

Thank you!

Last night was a lot of fun. Not to turn this into an Oscar speech but I had a lot of friends and family who fabulously showed their support. Big thanks to Brandy who sent me a super yummy edible arrangement; to Taylor and Dave who stopped by and mingled with my coworkers and family. This morning I was surprised with a fabulous Taylor note on my desk. I'd like to thank my parents brought flowers and my mom told "funny" stories. Of course Boyfriend who surprised me with Jason Mraz tickets and helped with clean up. Last but not least I'd like to thank the acadamy... oh wait. nevermind! What a great night. Thank you:-)

Today is the Day

All this hard work finally comes to an end with a big party tonight! I hope you can make it:-)

Gym Profiles

So I've been hitting the gym more frequently and I can't help but notice the emerging profiles of those I work out alongside

1. Profile numero uno... "The under dressed workout lady." You can easily spot this lady as she is the only one sporting spandex shorts causing you to reference everyone's favorite one toed, water storing, horselike, desert dwelling animal. She has a fabulous matching hot pink sports bra that seems to offer very little top shelf support and accentuates every love handle. I know this sounds incredibly unnatractively catty.... However, just because that outfit looks like a good idea on the model in Self magazine, doesn't mean the vision will translate well.
2. "Martini Shaped work out man" This man's upperbody is hugely inflated yet he's completely scrawny from the waste down. He seems to form the letter "Y" while standing. Sometimes I feel bad for his little legs that are forced to hide in three layers of socks and schmedium (smallmedium) sweat pants.
3. "Overly Competitive Treadmill Runner" Ok I have to admit it... sometimes I fall in this category. I like to have imaginary races with the people next to me. If we're on the same pace.... I always have to up the mph.
4. "Unnecessarily Naked Locker Room Dweller"- This person bugs me. They exit the shower, drape the towel over their shoulder and parade around the locker room in full nudist glory. This causes the rest of the weekend warriors sharing that space to have to awkwardly divert their eyes and think "happy thoughts" until they can make a swift get away. Please utilize the towel. It's a good thing.
5. "Miss Cute Guys Hang Out at the Gym" This chick is easily spotted. She's usually wearing a non workout tennis shoe like Keds with a platform sole, Juicy Sweatpants a tank top that's bedazzled with the word SPOILED, and her hand perfectly primped hanging loose around her shoulders. She'll awkwardly transition from the water fountain to the treadmill- she's careful not to break a sweat - back to a weight machine. All the while her eyes are constantly darting looking for Mr. Muscles.

This is Hideously Disgusting

Here is another example of hideous parents. These people make me sick and my heart bleed for their poor children.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008261218_webabuse13m.html

Sonic Boom

Gary Payton was on hand at Qwest Field this weekend to raise the 12th man flag at the Seahawks game. After the game a Seattle Times Reporter had the oppurtunity to interview Payton who made some incredibly shocking statements. He's trying to bring an NBA team back to Seattle and he is going to play a roll in the new franschise!!!! His goal is for the team to return by the 2011 season. The Glove was one of my favorite players back in the day and I absolutely love that he will be returning to Seattle. He's such a fabulous piece of Northwest History.

Audrina Nooooo!!!!

I'm totally a hills fanatic and would absolutely check into Promises if they cured addictions like this. Anyways, I have to express my disapointment in how Audrina is handling this whole "justin bobby / LC rumor" fiasco. It is completely transparent this is her attempt to develop a personality and identity outside of "Hills" fame. She is totally in cahoots with Speidi and is trying to be a spotlight person on the show.

The interesting thing is... I think Audrina both admires Lauren and is jealous of her. It's Lauren's show, she's done well outside of the show and has managed to establish a career for herself. In this process Lauren has laid down expectations regarding how she wants to live her life and expectations for the people she chooses to be in her life. She expects her friends to be loyal and in turn she is a loyal friend. However, when the people in her life do things that are untrustworthy she calls them out on it. At times it costs her relationships, but it also filters out poor relationships.

This is interesting to me, because it is really difficult to live your life with such honesty. I say honesty because I think it is easy to settle for ok relationships. I think it's easy to call someone a good friend or a best friend when the reality is that they aren't. It's much harder to question behaviour that goes against your what your hopes and wants and wants are. We all want to feel like the people we have chosen to be in our lives care. That doesn't always happen though. If you're dating a guy who says he cares about you, yet treats you like he doesn't, it's easy to ignore the behavior. Often times deep down you know if you question his behaviour you will be faced with an anwer you don't like. It's really difficult to be honest and say, if he cares it would be reflected in the way he treats me.

It's also interesting to see the dynamics that can unfold with integrity. When a person chooses to live with personal integrity; meaning, values, ideals, and standards, it can affect the relationships of those around them. At first some people are awwed by the confidence and straightforwardness exhibited by those with integrity. They subcounsciously strive to emulate those same characteristics and are searching for behaviour cues to copy. That's the tricky party. Integrity is personal and it's built over time. It's not something that can be copied; it's inherent. These relationships seem to develop in phases. The person who meets someone with integrity develops a high level of respect for the individual. They enjoy being with them and think they have just met a trusting life long friend. As the relationship develops the person with integrity expects their friend to display similar characteristics that they display. When the friend isn't able to live by the standards that they admire in someone else, they become frustrated at their internal lack of integrity and project that frustration on their friend.

All of a sudden their fabulous integrity friend is "not that great" and jealousy begins to rear it's ugly head. This is where the friendship implodes and the relationship ends...

Global Economic Meltdown

Wow... so the lead story on the seattletimes website is:

The Federal Reserve and six other major central banks around the world slashed interest rates Wednesday in an attempt to prevent a global economic meltdown.

Gosh... a global economic meltdown. That seems a like a big deal. For some reason all I'm picturing is lava over flowing mafor metropolitan cities like New York and Dubai. I wonder what will emerge from the wreckage of this global economic meltdown. My guess is that there will be a distrubution of wealth amongst countries. The US and parts of Europe will probably begin taking a back seat to countries like China, Japan, most of the Middle East, and India. This could be a humbling experience for our country. Well, a little humility is never a bad thing.

I'm a soldier

So... in the midst of an extremely busy two weeks coming up at work.... i got sick. I'm fighting it like a trooper, but I'm sick and it sucks. Boyfriend was sick and I bragged about my "Super Immunity" which is a joke, b/c I'm sick an average amount; anyways he gave me his stupid sickness. Not fun:-(

Comfy Cozy Storm

Awww... I heart a good Seattle storm. Nothing is better than an evening with yummy soup curled up on Boyfriend's couch.