My Immediate Response to McCain's Running Mate Choice

I just did a 30 minute quick study on Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin and here is my trigger response:

1. I think that this pick shows that McCain is scared. He doesn't feel confident that he has enough support on his own, so he is going after Hillary supporters. The sad thing is that educated Hillary supporters should be offended by this pick. This women is pro-life, a member of the NRA, supports drilling in the Alaskan Wildlife Refuge and was a former beauty queen. By that description, she is the anti-feminist candidate!

2. What about McCain's rock-solid stance on "experience"?! He picks a woman who has only been a state governor for 20 months, and before that was a commercial fishing company owner, an outdoor recreation company owner, and a sportscaster?! Well, that makes me feel good to know that she would be our second in charge should McCain get elected! Those are the perfect qualifications for becoming president if the 72 year old McCain becomes ill or dies while in office.

3. This choice in running mate was to help McCain get elected to office, not to make him part of a stronger, smarter team once placed into office! That, in and of itself, should be offensive to Americans. We do not deserve for the future leaders of our country to chosen based on who will make you more look more popular, cuter or younger!

Celebrating History!

Tonight Chad and I celebrated Barack Obama's acceptance speech and this moment in American history.

What an electrifying night filled with energy, passion and hope for our future! How wonderful to see so many American's coming together to celebrate and become involved in our political process. I can not wait to march on and continue to be a part of history in the making over the next 67 days.

Of course, our celebration centered around great food and tasty drinks. Enjoy these few photos from our fun night.

Pupdate

As some of you already know, our Roscoe has been diagnosed with Polycythemia Vera, a rare blood disorder in which the bone marrow makes too many red blood cells. We discovered this "by accident" when we took him to the vet 2 weeks ago because he was drinking a lot of water.

After a barrage of tests, the vet ruled out other diseases that could also cause a red blood cell increase as a symptom. So then we turned our focus to getting Roscoe on a maintenance plan to get his red blood cell count within a healthy range and hold it there throughout his lifetime. Much like diabetes, as long as his blood count is "balanced" he will remain healthy. Achieving this balance will be tricky at first, but we hope that after a few months we will find the magic formula and then just continue to rinse and repeat.

Roscoe's maintenance plan includes giving him a pill called Hydroxyurea 3x per week. This medication will inhibit his bone marrow from making excess red blood cells. The trick is finding the right dose that will not negatively impact his platelets or white blood cells. In addition to medication, we will also have his blood checked regularly, and he will give blood and receive fluids on a regular basis to thin things out internally.

Throughout the past 2 weeks, Roscoe has been shaved, poked and prodded more times than...ah, forget it, there is nothing politically correct that I can insert here... Anyway, he has been very brave and remains in good butt-shaking spirits. Chad and I are in it for the long haul with our Roscoe- joking last night while watching Biden speak that "we will not rest until every dog in America has health care!"

Below you can see him resting in his favorite spot in the house- his new dog bed, and riding to the vet in the back seat of the beast. I will post updates as we learn more.

Scranton on my Mind

As a fan of NBC's The Office and of the Democratic Presidential Ticket, I would love to see Michael Scott endorse Joe Biden & Barack Obama.  Wouldn't that be a beautiful display of Scrantonicity? 

Besides, I am sure that one member of that extra-large Biden clan has interned at Dunder Mifflin at some point in time. 

That's what she said.

Wonder Women

With the Democratic National Convention kicking off less than 24 hours after the Olympic closing ceremonies, I have continued my bad habit of adrenaline-filled late nights in front of the TV. While the Olympics had me bursting with American pride, the convention has me bursting with pride that I am a woman in America.

Monday night, Michelle Obama took the podium and was poised, genuine and energizing. I admire her community and family values, and I can relate to her at-the-surface emotions about those that she loves. I can't imagine Cindy McCain having even 1/2 of Michelle's passion next Monday. Plus, as a fashion addict, I can't get enough of Michelle's feminine and classic style. I hope that someone out there is blogging about who she is wearing at the convention!

On Tuesday night we had Hillary. Her speech was electrifying! I found her message to be authentic and her delivery flawless. I really appreciated the slams and humor in her speech- especially the reference to her "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pantsuits!" By the way, I still don't understand who is her stylist, the tangerine pantsuit that she was wearing was absolutely horrible! Hillary is no doubt a strong woman and an incredible leader, and I only hope that the PUMA's can put their (irrational!) emotions aside and understand that a vote for Obama is a vote for Hillary too.

I feel so proud to be a woman in America today. Proud to have historical things happening right in front of my eyes- and to have these two very different woman to watch, admire and emulate.

Photos courtesy of www.demconvention.com and cnn.com