Well, with John Edwards out of the Democratic Presidential Race, and Rudy Giuliani out of the Republican, I feel like I can guarantee that the craziness that has been this presidential election so far is about to get crazier.
Between the people asking if Obama is black enough, to can Hillary Clinton handle the Presidency, can Mitt Romney be elected because of his Mormon religion, am I the only one standing on a mountain yelling, "Can we PLEASE just focus on the ISSUES people?"
Honestly, we should just stick the candidates in boxes, not tell anyone what their names are, and have them debate on the issues. When the elections are over, they get to come out of the box. We actually would elect a President on the ISSUES! Such a strategy has never been tried before! It's a groundbreaking new concept! GASP!
~Mer
Questions or Comments? Contact Mer at purplepineappletown@hotmail.com
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Thursday, January 24, 2008
A message from our buildings and bridges...
Alright- so a week ago the 35W bridge collapse was ruled to have been caused by faulty gusset plates. For those of you who don't know what gusset plates are, here's a picture-
The thing is, this isn't the first time that builders and architects have cut corners- In 1996, a bridge in Ohio collapsed, because the gusset plates weren't adequate to support the design load. Thankfully, no one was killed in that incident, but it should have been a wake up call to builders and architects, as well as transportation departments, that you can't cut SAFETY to save money.
Another case in point- the Twin Towers. Involved was not only negligent construction of the building, they also violated fire standards dating as far back as 60 years! The planes scraped away the fireproof coating on the steel beams, allowing the intense fire to soften the steel. Also, other than the core of the two towers were built like regular high-rises, with clusters of heavy steel columns and beams linked into a cage-like matrix. Beyond that, the 110 floors in each tower had NO vertical support columns.
Was the money saved by using the cheaper fireproofing substitutes, and no vertical support columns, worth the 2,974 deaths, and the 6,291 injuries, not to mention the rescue workers now dying from inhaling the airborne particles.
How many more people are going to have to die, before builders and architects put safety over money? Or will we continue to have these disasters, with the Government writing them off as "isolated incidents."
A great quote from one of my favorite movies of all time, The Towering Inferno seems to sum this up.
Chief O'Halloran (Steve McQueen) : You know we were pretty lucky tonight, body counts less then 200. You know, one of these days, you're gonna kill ten-thousand in one of these firetraps, and I'm gonna keep eating smoke and carrying out bodies until someone asks us... how to build them.
So for once, lets ask the firefighters, the police officers, and the rescue workers- everyday people who risk their lives for the rest of us.
Dedicated to the victims of the 35W bridge collapse, 9/11 victims, and all who risked their lives to save them.
~Mer
Thursday, January 10, 2008
What's that sound in the air...
Well, it's January, and you know what that means!
The whining of the Presidential Candidates!
I don't know about you guys, but as much as I love the craziness that is politics, I can't STAND when the candidates start sniveling and complaining about how they're getting attacked. If I'm old enough to know that as asinine as it is, that's basically what goes on during a Presidential election. You put your good (or bad) name out there, and your opponents try to tear you to bits.
Why is this such a surprise to them, I have no idea. This has gone on since before Abraham Lincoln's time, and will likely continue until the Sun explodes. (Or until we adopt another system of government.)
Don't get me wrong, I think that the attack ads are stupid, but we live in a society where there is (supposedly) free speech. I want a candidate that's going to be able to man (or woman) up and deal with this without crying to the media (or their mommy) about the so-called injustice of it all every time someone says something bad.
Memo to the Presidential Candidates- It's not the Elementary school playground anymore. You're big boys and girls. Deal with it.
~ Mer
Questions or Comments? Send them to: purplepineappletown@hotmail.com
The whining of the Presidential Candidates!
I don't know about you guys, but as much as I love the craziness that is politics, I can't STAND when the candidates start sniveling and complaining about how they're getting attacked. If I'm old enough to know that as asinine as it is, that's basically what goes on during a Presidential election. You put your good (or bad) name out there, and your opponents try to tear you to bits.
Why is this such a surprise to them, I have no idea. This has gone on since before Abraham Lincoln's time, and will likely continue until the Sun explodes. (Or until we adopt another system of government.)
Don't get me wrong, I think that the attack ads are stupid, but we live in a society where there is (supposedly) free speech. I want a candidate that's going to be able to man (or woman) up and deal with this without crying to the media (or their mommy) about the so-called injustice of it all every time someone says something bad.
Memo to the Presidential Candidates- It's not the Elementary school playground anymore. You're big boys and girls. Deal with it.
~ Mer
Questions or Comments? Send them to: purplepineappletown@hotmail.com
Sunday, December 23, 2007
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from Purple Pineapple Town.
-Meredith
-Meredith
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Quotes from the Frontrunners
As the primaries loom closer... I present- Quotes from the front runners of both parties (with commentary!).
REPUBLICANS
Rudy Giuliani-
"Freedom is about authority. Freedom is about the willingness of every single human being to cede to lawful authority a great deal of discretion about what you do and how you do it."
Actually Rudy, Freedom is defined as liberation from slavery or restraint or from the power of another and/or a political right.
"There are many qualities that make a great leader. But having strong beliefs, being able to stick with them through popular and unpopular times, is the most important characteristic of a great leader. "
Hmm... and you've done that Rudy?
Fred Thompson-
"China is one of the world's greatest proliferators of weapons of mass destruction to these rogue nations."
I have no words on this one- just another quote from him-
"Clearly, the Chinese know that we want a good relationship with them."
I would stick with playing an authority figure Fred- not actually being one.
Mitt Romney-
"And a special thank you to the citizens of Massachusetts: You are paying all the taxes, creating all the jobs, raising all the children. This government is yours. Thank you for letting me serve you. I love this job."
Hmm... It seems to me that there are children, taxpayers, and new jobs in the other 49 states- and the government doesn't belong to Massachusetts alone.
"Ronald Reagan was a president of strength. His philosophy was a philosophy of strength - a strong military, a strong economy and strong families."
Do I even have to point out the problems with this one?
Mike Huckabee-
"One thing governors feel, Democrats and Republicans alike, is that we have a health care system that, if you're on Medicaid, you have unlimited access to health care, at unlimited levels, at no cost. No wonder it's running away."
Actually- One of the BIG problems of Medicaid is that it LIMITS the access to quality health care. Not to mention it rations the treatments and services that you can receive.
"The health care system is really designed to reward you for being unhealthy. If you are a healthy person and work hard to be healthy, there are no benefits."
Wake up Huckabee- Under the Family and Medical Leave act, you get up to 12 weeks of UNPAID leave in a twelve month period. Sick wages are often much less than normal too... do you call that a reward?
DEMOCRATS
Hillary Clinton-
"I'm not going to have some reporters pawing through our papers. We are the president."
Besides the obvious grammatical errors... Hillary- your husband was the president. Not you. He may have asked you for advice on occasion, but he was the president. It's not a tandem job.
"If I want to knock a story off the front page, I just change my hairstyle."
Ok... so you're going to knock front page stories- which often do with good deeds, or the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan- because you want to change your hairstyle. I'm sure our fighting men and women really appreciate how much time you spend on your hair.
Barack Obama
"No one is pro-abortion."
I think the pro-choice people would argue you on that point.
"We worship an awesome God in the Blue States, and we don't like federal agents poking around our libraries in the Red States. We coach Little League in the Blue States and have gay friends in the Red States. "
This quote is simply wrong in so many ways- especially when you hear this one-
"There is not a liberal America and a conservative America - there is the United States of America. There is not a black America and a white America and Latino America and Asian America - there's the United States of America."
So if there's not a liberal America and a conservative America- surely there's no Red States or Blue States, since we're simply "The United States of America."
John Edwards-
"I was wrong to vote for this war. Unfortunately, I'll have to live with that forever. And the lesson I learned from it is to put more faith in my own judgment."
How was your judgement when you had your campaign pay for your $400 dollar haircut?
REPUBLICANS
Rudy Giuliani-
"Freedom is about authority. Freedom is about the willingness of every single human being to cede to lawful authority a great deal of discretion about what you do and how you do it."
Actually Rudy, Freedom is defined as liberation from slavery or restraint or from the power of another and/or a political right.
"There are many qualities that make a great leader. But having strong beliefs, being able to stick with them through popular and unpopular times, is the most important characteristic of a great leader. "
Hmm... and you've done that Rudy?
Fred Thompson-
"China is one of the world's greatest proliferators of weapons of mass destruction to these rogue nations."
I have no words on this one- just another quote from him-
"Clearly, the Chinese know that we want a good relationship with them."
I would stick with playing an authority figure Fred- not actually being one.
Mitt Romney-
"And a special thank you to the citizens of Massachusetts: You are paying all the taxes, creating all the jobs, raising all the children. This government is yours. Thank you for letting me serve you. I love this job."
Hmm... It seems to me that there are children, taxpayers, and new jobs in the other 49 states- and the government doesn't belong to Massachusetts alone.
"Ronald Reagan was a president of strength. His philosophy was a philosophy of strength - a strong military, a strong economy and strong families."
Do I even have to point out the problems with this one?
Mike Huckabee-
"One thing governors feel, Democrats and Republicans alike, is that we have a health care system that, if you're on Medicaid, you have unlimited access to health care, at unlimited levels, at no cost. No wonder it's running away."
Actually- One of the BIG problems of Medicaid is that it LIMITS the access to quality health care. Not to mention it rations the treatments and services that you can receive.
"The health care system is really designed to reward you for being unhealthy. If you are a healthy person and work hard to be healthy, there are no benefits."
Wake up Huckabee- Under the Family and Medical Leave act, you get up to 12 weeks of UNPAID leave in a twelve month period. Sick wages are often much less than normal too... do you call that a reward?
DEMOCRATS
Hillary Clinton-
"I'm not going to have some reporters pawing through our papers. We are the president."
Besides the obvious grammatical errors... Hillary- your husband was the president. Not you. He may have asked you for advice on occasion, but he was the president. It's not a tandem job.
"If I want to knock a story off the front page, I just change my hairstyle."
Ok... so you're going to knock front page stories- which often do with good deeds, or the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan- because you want to change your hairstyle. I'm sure our fighting men and women really appreciate how much time you spend on your hair.
Barack Obama
"No one is pro-abortion."
I think the pro-choice people would argue you on that point.
"We worship an awesome God in the Blue States, and we don't like federal agents poking around our libraries in the Red States. We coach Little League in the Blue States and have gay friends in the Red States. "
This quote is simply wrong in so many ways- especially when you hear this one-
"There is not a liberal America and a conservative America - there is the United States of America. There is not a black America and a white America and Latino America and Asian America - there's the United States of America."
So if there's not a liberal America and a conservative America- surely there's no Red States or Blue States, since we're simply "The United States of America."
John Edwards-
"I was wrong to vote for this war. Unfortunately, I'll have to live with that forever. And the lesson I learned from it is to put more faith in my own judgment."
How was your judgement when you had your campaign pay for your $400 dollar haircut?
Thursday, November 8, 2007
The Saga Continues...
I apologize in advance if this blog is rambling, it's been a long day.
Good news is that I've made it to the main doctor again... bad news is the doc I need to see is booked up for a couple of weeks.
Now I'll get to the point- Senator Chuck Hagel today said that a US draft may be unavoidable if the war in Iraq continues.
I feel that if the war had not been mismanaged in the first place, this wouldn't even have to be considered. If you remember, we went to war on the promise of finding WMD's in Iraq, and NONE were ever found. Later, the reasons became the "War on Terrorism" and "Fighting the Global Axis of Evil." Now don't get me wrong, Saddam Hussein was a nasty guy... but look at the lives (civilian and military) that have been lost for a war that the basis for was fictitious. Wouldn't it have made more sense to send in a Special Forces team to take him out, or even try and negotiate with him? Pres. Bush says that the US doesn't negotiate with terrorists. If you don't negotiate with the people that you fear, you become overwhelmed by the fear itself. The old saying, "Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer," carries real weight. In my experience, it will more often be your friend that stabs you in the back, and not your enemy.
If we continue this pattern of invading and avoiding people that we don't agree with, nothing will be gained and so much will be lost. Last spring, I spent an amazing and eye opening day with kids from military families and several service members that have been in Iraq. The kids don't understand why their family members are sent to a war that they see is pointless. The service members called Iraq, "A disastrous bloodbath."
I ask you, what have we gained with this war other than destroying lives and international relations? Access to one of the world's top oil suppliers so that the oil companies won't have to pay as much?
At what price of lives, American, Iraqi and Afghan, does it become too much? Ten Thousand? A Hundred Thousand? Would we accept the civilian deaths that we are now accepting in these wars if they were happening in the United States?
What world are we leaving our next generation?
Good news is that I've made it to the main doctor again... bad news is the doc I need to see is booked up for a couple of weeks.
Now I'll get to the point- Senator Chuck Hagel today said that a US draft may be unavoidable if the war in Iraq continues.
I feel that if the war had not been mismanaged in the first place, this wouldn't even have to be considered. If you remember, we went to war on the promise of finding WMD's in Iraq, and NONE were ever found. Later, the reasons became the "War on Terrorism" and "Fighting the Global Axis of Evil." Now don't get me wrong, Saddam Hussein was a nasty guy... but look at the lives (civilian and military) that have been lost for a war that the basis for was fictitious. Wouldn't it have made more sense to send in a Special Forces team to take him out, or even try and negotiate with him? Pres. Bush says that the US doesn't negotiate with terrorists. If you don't negotiate with the people that you fear, you become overwhelmed by the fear itself. The old saying, "Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer," carries real weight. In my experience, it will more often be your friend that stabs you in the back, and not your enemy.
If we continue this pattern of invading and avoiding people that we don't agree with, nothing will be gained and so much will be lost. Last spring, I spent an amazing and eye opening day with kids from military families and several service members that have been in Iraq. The kids don't understand why their family members are sent to a war that they see is pointless. The service members called Iraq, "A disastrous bloodbath."
I ask you, what have we gained with this war other than destroying lives and international relations? Access to one of the world's top oil suppliers so that the oil companies won't have to pay as much?
At what price of lives, American, Iraqi and Afghan, does it become too much? Ten Thousand? A Hundred Thousand? Would we accept the civilian deaths that we are now accepting in these wars if they were happening in the United States?
What world are we leaving our next generation?
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Happy Halloween!
Well, the Calendar has rolled around to my favorite holiday of the year, Halloween. I thought I would share my carved pumpkins with you to get you in the spirit!
First we have the "I tried for an evil pumpkin but it looks goofy instead." Interestingly enough this is the one that is rotting the fastest. (note: the spooky blue light on the right is a laptop, not a ghost)
This pumpkin wouldn't stand up so I had to go with a sideways one. My mother insists this one is her favorite because it's "so adorable!"
Now we have the (Sock) Monkey pumpkin. I carved this one mainly because I love sock monkeys. (I recently got Sock Monkey slippers. They ROCK!) (That and to annoy my sister. she had a bad experience with my sock monkey and his tail)
Now we have the "Lightning Storm" pumpkin. I'm a big weather nut and thought I would try something different this year. This one looks super cool lit up, but I couldn't manage to get a good picture of it. 
First we have the "I tried for an evil pumpkin but it looks goofy instead." Interestingly enough this is the one that is rotting the fastest. (note: the spooky blue light on the right is a laptop, not a ghost)
This pumpkin wouldn't stand up so I had to go with a sideways one. My mother insists this one is her favorite because it's "so adorable!"
Now we have the (Sock) Monkey pumpkin. I carved this one mainly because I love sock monkeys. (I recently got Sock Monkey slippers. They ROCK!) (That and to annoy my sister. she had a bad experience with my sock monkey and his tail)
Now we have the "Lightning Storm" pumpkin. I'm a big weather nut and thought I would try something different this year. This one looks super cool lit up, but I couldn't manage to get a good picture of it. Last but not least, we have the "Cannibal Pumpkin" Note the pumpkin gut brains oozing from the baby pumpkin.
Well, those are the pumpkins. Happy Halloween Everyone!
-Mer
Have a pumpkin picture to share? Leave a comment!
Questions, Comments, or have a story Idea?
E-mail Mer @ purplepineappletown@hotmail.com
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