Creating Visibility. Wear your Obama shirts.
Sun Jun 15, 2008 at 06:13:29 AM PDT
I went door knocking for Obama and other people in the DFL party yesterday. It was an absolutely beautiful day here yesterday in Minneapolis, Minnesota and we cherish those days here. So it was a great day to go door knocking but most people weren't home. I can't blame them. We have to soak up the sunshine when we can.
My husband, Jim, and I were wearing our Obama t-shirts. People honked and shouted out the window "Woo Hoo Obama" as we walked by. I shouted back with a huge smile. Jim just kept studying the house numbers to see where we go next. Another lady rolled down her car window and asked for an Obama bumber sticker. We didn't have one but I am glad she asked. I thought about running out into the middle of the street to get her name and address to mail her a bumper sticker but she was driving off before my feet were moving. I missed an opportunity. I had to write this diary because now there is a person without an Obama bumber sticker on their car.
FOX shows Dems leading in the polls.
Sat Aug 12, 2006 at 06:40:39 PM PDT
As much as I like hearing about Bush's falling poll numbers, I LOVE hearing about polls that show Democrats winning in November.
I remember that awful feeling of November 2004. I really, really thought John Kerry was going to win. I had attended rallys listening to him speak. I waved my sign wildly cheering. Same thing with John Edwards. I felt like I was surrounded by people who knew we were going to win.
And then George Bush won. It seemed impossible. But it happened.
A white man, an ex-con and a black man
Sun Dec 04, 2005 at 01:37:56 PM PDT
apply for a job. What happens? This has been haunting me for days. It was on the local news in Minneapolis. I can't say many television news reports stick with me for days but this one has.
"Being a black man in America today is essentially like having a felony conviction," said Professor Devah Pager, who specializes in sociology at Princeton University.
Pager's research on the entry-level job market shows that when it comes to getting a job, a black man has the same limited chances as a white ex-con.
http://wcco.com/...
(I did the tags search but could not find any diary on this. But you can let me know . . .)
I don't like Amy Klobuchar's ad.
Mon Nov 14, 2005 at 06:19:42 PM PDT
I know a lot of people were offended by the pie fights. But I am offended by Amy Klobuchar's ad about price gouging. There are a ton of issues out there and she picks an easy target like Exxon. Wow. Way to take a risk.
It is really bothering me because I want to completely support her campaign. I want a Democratic female to represent me. She seems smart, articulate, and genuinely caring. I heard as an inroductory speaker to a John Edwards rally last fall. She was quite inspiring. She speaks from the heart.
Does your vehicle run on E85?
Sun Oct 16, 2005 at 11:55:08 AM PDT
Mine does not. Well, it shouldn't. I don't have a fuel flexible vehicle. However, i have been putting in 40% E85 into my car with 60% gasoline when I fill up for a while now. It works fine. I admit that I don't care a lot about the long-term value my car. It is an 1998 beat-up red neon. It gets me where I need to be and I feel better putting E85 in it.
In Minnesota, there are a lot of stations selling E85. hey, we grow a lot of corn. It makes sense. My husband put some in his P.T. Cruiser today at a price of $1.71. He was so pleased. And since he has a strong desire to live in accordance to his liberal values, he was very happy with himself. He was babbling about how the power seemed the same. The engine seemed to make less noise. He shouldn't be using E85 in his car either so he is talking about putting a conversion kit in his car. He handles his own car maintenance so he most likely will do this sometime soon.
My Dad and E85.
Sun Oct 02, 2005 at 06:30:35 PM PDT
I wrote a diary about E85 last week. I like the fact there is an alternative at the pump for people right now. I am not saying E85 is any way going to lead to the complete end of our oil dependency because I do not believe it is. However, if one does not own a hybrid car, buying E85 is an alternative for a lot people out there.
I do not own a flexible fuel vehicle. However, my sister, parents, and only cousin do! None of them are using E85. It frustrates me.
Let me preface this by saying that my Dad has Stage 4 Kidney cancer. I don't confront him about anyting except for possibly pursing further treatments for himself. If he were to say the sky is green, I would give him a hug and agree with him. I am going to have the most happy moments I can with him while he is still alive.
E85 fuel.
Thu Sep 29, 2005 at 06:41:05 PM PDT
The price of gasoline is annoying me. I realize that many of you out there are doing cartwheels of joy about the higher gas prices but I still don't like it. However, I certainly want alternative fuel options and I am excited about E85.
Wendy Wilde is a dj on Air America Minnesota. She was talking about E85 and flexible fuel vehicles recently. She doesn't own one. However, she fills her car up with 40% E85 and 60% gasoline. Good idea, I thought. This was an easy decision for me because I have a crappy 1998 Dodge neon. I don't love it all that much so it thought I could risk trying this mix. Well, I tried it last night and drove it today. It works fine. If anything, I think the engine actually sounds better!
Congressman Pombo is bringing new life to environmentalism.
Sat Sep 24, 2005 at 07:32:34 AM PDT
People have said environmentalism is dead. Well, Congressman Pombo is creating so much legislation to hurt the environment that it will hopefully revive the environmental movement.
"One day after Congress Pombo's (R-CA) bill to raze the Endangered Species Act passed out of committee, Pombo released a draft bill to sell off America's National Parks and open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and America's coasts to dangerous drilling. The irresponsible legislation fails to decrease oil dependence or save consumers money, but instead focuses bizarrely on items like selling naming rights and advertising in National Parks and destroying millions of acres of the heritage Americans cherish. The draft bill comes on the heels of Congressman Tancredo's (R-CO) radical bill to sell off 15 percent of America's public land.
http://www.sierraclub.com/pressroom/releases/pr2005-09-23.asp
Schumer worried about gasoline price gouging.
Mon Sep 19, 2005 at 04:29:43 PM PDT
I keep hearing Ed Schultz talking about the price gouging. I have read diaries referring to it at the Daily Kos. And it certainly feels like price gouging when I fill up the tank on my car. I drive a 1998 Neon. I do not take good care of it. I am really uninterested in car maintenance.
But I am concerned about gas prices and their affect on my disposable income. However, I am even more worried that the rising fuel costs will keep people from traveling. I am the Director of Sales of a hotel near the Mall of America. We are depended on travel from feeder cities. People come from all over the five state area and they drive to stay with us. I am very frustrated knowing that George Bush and other Republicans are all under the control of big oil companies. Our government is not going to do a damn thing about this price gouging and it is going to have a negative affect on our economy.
Forest Service Proposal Would Speed Up Grasslands Oil Drilling
Mon Sep 12, 2005 at 04:28:55 PM PDT
I filled up my car today paying $2.69 a gallon. It felt like a good deal. I am grateful I am not paying over $3.00 a gallon. My husband and I have been car pooling some to work lately. But it requires getting out of bed earlier. Sometimes we choose cuddling.
While I am very aware of my own dependence on oil, Icannot imagine life without my car. Yet I still get angry when I see more and more headlines about how our government is scrounging and searching for more oil to take from the earth.
The U.S. Forest Service will propose regulations to shorten the environmental reviews of small oil-drilling projects in national grasslands, an Agriculture Department official said Friday.
The proposal would affect grasslands covering about 4 million acres in a dozen states in the Great Plains and West.
http://www.enn.com/today.html?id=8764
Bush's claims on fuel economy standards.
Fri Aug 26, 2005 at 12:17:28 PM PDT
As we purchase gas at the highest price we ever have in the U.S., George Bush wants to look good. He is all image. Perception is reality. His handlers certainly try to control the public perception of him but he isn't doing so well lately. So the adminstration is calling for new fuel econmy standards. Wow. This must have taken a lot of thought. Can't you hear them talking? "How can we improve Bush's image? Pretend to do something about the high gas prices."
The Bush administration has announced fuel economy standards. The rules will increase slightly the fuel economy standards for minivans, pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles starting in 2008. It seems like a token effort. They undoubtedly hope it will prop up Bush's dismal approval ratings.
Republicans Eye Offshore Drilling in U.S. Budget Bill
Wed Aug 24, 2005 at 03:26:14 PM PDT
Republicans next month may try to open new U.S. offshore areas to oil and gas drilling in a move that would bring in billions of dollars in new revenue and let politicians claim progress in boosting domestic energy supplies at a time of record prices.
http://www.enn.com/today.html?id=8599
Of course, this is what the Republicans will do. What makes matters worse, they will succeed. They passed their energy bill. Energy executives and industry lobbyists had been working on variations of this bill for five years. It focuses more on oil companies and nuclear power rather than truly the continued development of alternative energy sources. They legislation calls for an inventory of oil and gas resources in the Outer Continental Shelf, which can damage fisheries and sensitive coastal areas.
National school plan
Tue Aug 23, 2005 at 04:59:26 PM PDT
I live in Minnesota. I went to public schools and thought they very good. Of course, I was middle-class kid in a wealthy suburb. I didn't know at the time my school was good in part due to high property taxes.
Then as I left the sheltered rock under which my parents liked me to live, I realized not everyone has the same opportunities in school because not all public schools are the same.
Something good from war.
Fri Aug 19, 2005 at 08:02:09 PM PDT
Usually when I read about North Korea, I read about their nuclear arms and the poverty in the country. I haven't heard much about the Demilitarised Zone between North Korea and South Korea. I thought of the Demilitarised Zone as a simple line dividng the two countries. Turns out it is quite an haven for wildlife.
It has been a no man's land for over 50 years and because of that, the band of land has also become a wildlife sanctuary that is the home to some of the world's rarest birds as well as a variety of plant and animal life.
http://www.enn.com/today.html?id=8552
Public Hospitals in Poor Suburbs Closing Doors
Wed Aug 17, 2005 at 04:05:43 PM PDT
Deep sigh. I don't care how well Bush wants to claim the economy is doing. It isn't going well for a lot of people and the divsion between the have and the have-nots in this country grows larger with each passing day.
While many hospitals in the suburbs surrounding the country's largest cities have closed their doors in the past decade, a new study finds that public hospitals, which typically serve the poor, have been hit the hardest.
Researchers at SUNY Downstate Medical Center in New York City report that about 27 percent of public hospitals in the suburbs of large cities and 16 percent of public hospitals in cities have closed between 1996 and 2002, leaving a potentially serious gap in the availability of health care for the vulnerable populations that rely on these hospitals for their medical needs.
Judge Supports Charges vs. Delay Colleagues
Tue Aug 09, 2005 at 07:05:28 PM PDT
This seems like good news to me so I thought I should share.
A state district judge on Tuesday refused to dismiss charges of money laundering and accepting illegal political contributions against two associates of U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay.
Judge Bob Perkins denied arguments from attorneys for John Colyandro and Jim Ellis that the charges were based on an unconstitutionally vague law and that the indictments were improperly worded.
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050810/ap_on_go_co/election_investigation
Bush gives Zell Miller a job.
Tue Aug 09, 2005 at 05:57:00 PM PDT
Bush is always paying people back with jobs.
After snubbing his Democratic Party to deliver the Republican keynote address for President Bush, former Georgia Sen. Zell Miller (news, bio, voting record) seemed a good bet for an ambassadorship, adviser post or maybe even a Cabinet office. On Tuesday, the White House revealed Miller's choice: a seat on the American Battle Monuments Commission.
"I'm just an old man looking after cemeteries," Miller said in an interview Tuesday after President Bush tapped him for the job.
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050809/ap_on_go_pr_wh/miller_war_memorials
