Taking a Nap-a from Political Blogging

I am going to take a week off from blogging about Politics. My blood pressure needs a break and there are 60 long days to go until Nov 4. Still plenty of time to make friends and influence people.

Right before the conventions kicked off, I had the most lovely weekend in Napa California with my girlfriends. The weekend was girls get-a-way in honor of Kori's upcoming wedding. I have a hard time calling it a Bachelorette Party because it was so tame and relaxing- although we did start a dance party while singing "Get Lo" in the Del Drunko, um I mean Del Dotto, wine caves.

The weekend was also totally delicious- with wine tastings, amazing organic meals and the most delectable cookies (chocolate chip coconut pecan clusters) we have ever tasted. Our time in Napa stirred in me the desire for simpler things in life- things like gardening, cooking, and relaxing in a quiet place where you can actually see a sky full of stars at night.

The weekend also reminded me how lucky that I am to have such wonderful female friends in my life. We always make great memories together. Enjoy these photos from our weekend:

The Republican National Contradiction

Well folks, I survived. I vowed to watch the entire DNC and RNC and listen to both sides of the story. As a wrap up, here are a few of my favorite contradictions from the RNC this week:

• John McCain, how can say that you are for small town values, community colleges, community service...when Wednesday night of your convention relentlessly bashed "community organizers?"

• How can you be against big unions, but for the working man?

• How can you be for families with special needs children but be against a bill that grants mandatory health insurance to all children in America?

• How can you be for bi-partisanship and reaching across party lines when your entire convention was focused on attacking and mocking the Democratic Party, the "Liberal Elite Media" and anyone else in America who doesn't believe what you do?
  

• How can you tout "change in Washington" as a part of what you offer as President? How can "change in Washington" come from another Conservative Republican ticket which includes a 72 year old rich white man who has been in Washington for over 25 years, believes in war, national debt and tax breaks for the rich?

And my favorite contradiction of all:

• How can you believe in the sanctity of life, of protecting the unborn, of standing up for helpless children...but celebrate the killing of helpless deer, moose and caribou; pass a law that permits helpless wolves to be killed from the air; and protest the helpless Polar Bear being put on the Endangered Species list. WTF?!

In an effort to end on a lighter note, the most entertaining collaboration of contradictions was sent to me by my brother Patrick, a huge fan of The Daily Show. Watch and enjoy!

The Dirty Spread of...Facts

As I have said many times already during this election, I am on a personal mission to educate people on how to find out the facts. Below is a great article from the AP which highlights some areas where the facts weren't all that clear last night.

Attacks, praise stretch truth at GOP convention

By JIM KUHNHENN, Associated Press Writer Wed Sep 3, 11:48 pm ET

ST. PAUL, Minn. – Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and her Republican supporters held back little Wednesday as they issued dismissive attacks on Barack Obama and flattering praise on her credentials to be vice president. In some cases, the reproach and the praise stretched the truth.

Some examples:

PALIN: "I have protected the taxpayers by vetoing wasteful spending ... and championed reform to end the abuses of earmark spending by Congress. I told the Congress 'thanks but no thanks' for that Bridge to Nowhere."

THE FACTS: As mayor of Wasilla, Palin hired a lobbyist and traveled to Washington annually to support earmarks for the town totaling $27 million. In her two years as governor, Alaska has requested nearly $750 million in special federal spending, by far the largest per-capita request in the nation. While Palin notes she rejected plans to build a $398 million bridge from Ketchikan to an island with 50 residents and an airport, that opposition came only after the plan was ridiculed nationally as a "bridge to nowhere."

PALIN: "There is much to like and admire about our opponent. But listening to him speak, it's easy to forget that this is a man who has authored two memoirs but not a single major law or reform — not even in the state senate."

THE FACTS: Compared to McCain and his two decades in the Senate, Obama does have a more meager record. But he has worked with Republicans to pass legislation that expanded efforts to intercept illegal shipments of weapons of mass destruction and to help destroy conventional weapons stockpiles. The legislation became law last year. To demean that accomplishment would be to also demean the work of Republican Sen. Richard Lugar of Indiana, a respected foreign policy voice in the Senate. In Illinois, he was the leader on two big, contentious measures in Illinois: studying racial profiling by police and requiring recordings of interrogations in potential death penalty cases. He also successfully co-sponsored major ethics reform legislation.

PALIN: "The Democratic nominee for president supports plans to raise income taxes, raise payroll taxes, raise investment income taxes, raise the death tax, raise business taxes, and increase the tax burden on the American people by hundreds of billions of dollars."

THE FACTS: The Tax Policy Center, a think tank run jointly by the Brookings Institution and the Urban Institute, concluded that Obama's plan would increase after-tax income for middle-income taxpayers by about 5 percent by 2012, or nearly $2,200 annually. McCain's plan, which cuts taxes across all income levels, would raise after tax-income for middle-income taxpayers by 3 percent, the center concluded.

Obama would provide $80 billion in tax breaks, mainly for poor workers and the elderly, including tripling the Earned Income Tax Credit for minimum-wage workers and higher credits for larger families.

He also would raise income taxes, capital gains and dividend taxes on the wealthiest. He would raise payroll taxes on taxpayers with incomes above $250,000, and he would raise corporate taxes. Small businesses that make more than $250,000 a year would see taxes rise.

MCCAIN: "She's been governor of our largest state, in charge of 20 percent of America's energy supply ... She's responsible for 20 percent of the nation's energy supply. I'm entertained by the comparison and I hope we can keep making that comparison that running a political campaign is somehow comparable to being the executive of the largest state in America," he said in an interview with ABC News' Charles Gibson.

THE FACTS: McCain's phrasing exaggerates both claims. Palin is governor of a state that ranks second nationally in crude oil production, but she's no more "responsible" for that resource than President Bush was when he was governor of Texas, another oil-producing state. In fact, her primary power is the ability to tax oil, which she did in concert with the Alaska Legislature. And where Alaska is the largest state in America, McCain could as easily have called it the 47th largest state — by population.

MCCAIN: "She's the commander of the Alaska National Guard. ... She has been in charge, and she has had national security as one of her primary responsibilities," he said on ABC.

THE FACTS: While governors are in charge of their state guard units, that authority ends whenever those units are called to actual military service. When guard units are deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan, for example, they assume those duties under "federal status," which means they report to the Defense Department, not their governors. Alaska's national guard units have a total of about 4,200 personnel, among the smallest of state guard organizations.

FORMER ARKANSAS GOV. MIKE HUCKABEE: Palin "got more votes running for mayor of Wasilla, Alaska than Joe Biden got running for president of the United States."

THE FACTS: A whopper. Palin got 616 votes in the 1996 mayor's election, and got 909 in her 1999 re-election race, for a total of 1,525. Biden dropped out of the race after the Iowa caucuses, but he still got 76,165 votes in 23 states and the District of Columbia where he was on the ballot during the 2008 presidential primaries.

FORMER MASSACHUSETTS GOV. MITT ROMNEY: "We need change, all right — change from a liberal Washington to a conservative Washington! We have a prescription for every American who wants change in Washington — throw out the big-government liberals, and elect John McCain and Sarah Palin."

THE FACTS: A Back-to-the-Future moment. George W. Bush, a conservative Republican, has been president for nearly eight years. And until last year, Republicans controlled Congress. Only since January 2007 have Democrats have been in charge of the House and Senate.

Newsflash: RNC & Ranting

The RNC is back on, and (thank God) GW and Laura Bush will be throwing their weight behind McCain tonight on the big stage. In honor of the non-stop-spin that is about to begin, I toss out my random political rants of the day:

• Stop calling it Pro-Life & Pro-Choice when really it is Pro-Choice and Anti-Choice. Even Sarah Palin keeps talking about her choice to carry her newborn son to term despite him having down syndrome, and her daughters choice to carry her unplanned child to term. God bless America for allowing them to make their choices!

• Along those same lines, how is it that one can be "Pro-life" and an avid hunter?

• I really wish that educated young people would stop thinking that saying they are a Republican, like carrying a fake Louis Vuitton bag, will make them look more rich.
  

• If I hear the response for being undecided or supporting McCain, "I am fiscally conservative but socially liberal" one more time I am going to puke. Fixing our nation, mending the economy and helping the poor requires responsible spending. If you are so fiscally conservative and socially liberal then why are you tolerating the trillions of dollars that we have spent and the thousands of lives that we have lost in the war?!

• The Republicans are right, I am going to fall in love with Sarah Palin's story. Especially the part where her life story continues to be such a distraction to the issues-at-hand that she causes McCain to lose the race.

• Finally, have a little fun this week while watching the convention and count along with me how many times McCain says "my friends." Slate did a great piece on his Mr. Rogers speech tic that you can check out here.
  

The Nike Human Race

On Sunday evening, Chad and I joined 14,000 people in Chicago to run The Nike Human Race 10K. This very same race was going on in 20 cities across the world on August 31, 2008 and it was such a fun celebration to be a part of. It was the first time that Chad ran 6+ miles since 2002, and he did awesome!

The highlight of the race was during miles 2-4 when we were entertained by a very passionate runner who was screaming self-affirmations while running, such as..."Just do it, I'm doin' it, Just do it, I'm doin' it" and "Dig deeper, I'm diggin', Dig Deeper, I'm diggin'". It was a riot!

The race ended at Soldier Field with a free Fall Out Boy concert inside the stadium. It was a great event and a great night in Chicago.

Chad was so excited to run 6 miles. LOL!

The start looked so cool, with everyone in their red shirts.

Just before the start of the race.

Fall Out Boy concert in Soldier Field.