Wow. Thats all I can say! Excuse me while I ramble. Most importantly, don't miss my previous post from today about commitment! Mark my words, over the next four years, commitment will mark and define the beginning of a new era. As we set forth on our personal journeys and our journeys as a nation, i can only imagine the outcome produced by our efforts. I stand in awe and with anticipation at the life we are forging!

To speak from the heart for a moment... My emotions have been brought to their height today. I have never smiled and been brought to tears so much in the same day. My family is very multicultural and very ethnic. With my roots mainly English and German I am a white man, but my family also encompasses Asian and South American. But today, I welcome Barack Obama into my family and I share in the history that brings us together and the humanity that binds us together as human beings.

Today is a day to celebrate. A day to realize the ties that bind us together, the shared goals, the shared humanity. I look out upon the world with a fresh view, a renewed view. I see a world that is brought together by common goals, not torn apart by petty differences. I see a world where all are appreciated, where our ideals are held above all else, where every single person can play a part in creating a world and a reality that we share and enjoy.

It is a day I celebrate both national accomplishment and personal feelings. Barack and Michelle are more than a national figure to me, they are family. They are heroes. They are inspiration. There are national implications and personal implications to the history that has unfolded today.

This is our chance America. Our chance to improve everything from our selves to the world. Take it and run with it. Don't let these feelings stagnate. Fight the apathy of our past. Throw out the disgruntled views of the past 8 years, hell the past all years of civilization. Today is the day to renew our commitments and move forward with grace, dignity, and good will. To become what we always dreamed we could be.

A short fifty years ago, a Barack Obama would have had to ride standing in the bus, he would have removed from the local diner. 140 years ago a Barack Obama could have hoped for no more than the life of a slave. The life of less than a man. Can you really imagine that? Do you see how far we have come? Can you imagine how your life could change? Do you not see all things are possible?

I do. I see it. I'm out to change the world. Watch out. Join me in creating a new world of hope, prosperity, and good will!

Here we have my prediction for tonight's presidential race:

Obama 353, McCain 185. Im also ready to call the time. We will officially know Obama is president by 9:00 p.m. tonight!

UPDATE! OBAMA WINS! OBAMA WINS! OBAMA WINS! Final results coming later! BUT, Obama has hit the 270 mark and is officially the president elect of the USA!!!!! OBAMA WINS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

UPDATE! Obama wins Ohio! That steals it from McCain right there! McCain needs an act of God to win now...lol. Like winning california! lol. Not gonna happen!

UPDATE! Obama wins Pennsylvania! Why is that such big news?? Because even if McCain won all the swing states, he needed Pennsylvania to win. Very Key state! It's in tha bag for Obama now! You heard it hear first!

Stay posted to this blog and I will keep you updated with all kinds of information!

In all fairness, I usually try to cite sources when I blog. Excuse me if I skip that step tonight as I just want to vent before sleeping.

I'm glad that election season is nearing an end. I love the thrill but its like a long roller coaster... If it doesn't stop soon ill barf and the fun will be over.

If I hear palin talk about god anymore I'm going to scream!

And let me get this straight... Taxing the wealthy to help the poor is socialism, but mccain's whole theme is "country first". So that means just ignoring the major social issues? That means the rich can afford the doctors bill but the poor should die?

WTF??? Yes, country first! But the whole country. If I hear one more rich person ($250,000+ a year) bitch about paying taxes so a single mother can afford medical treatment for her daughter I don't know what I will do.

This is first and foremost a country where all are equal. Everyone is entitled to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. In that order. Capitalism is just an economic structure not an american right. I'm not saying we need full blown socialism, but we do need to redistribute some wealth. The income gap generated by capitalism has begun to infringe the basic rights of a lot of americans. This cannot be tolerated any longer!

What will happen if some amount of socialism is not adopted to redistribute wealth and protect the rights of every American? Well, its already happening. The government has to step in with an even larger role ($700 billion bailout as an example) and that is the begining of facism!

So here it is folks... Capitalism as we know it is dying. More capitalism is not going to fix it. Our choices are few and facism is hardly a good call in a free society. Some amount of socialism must be implemented for a period of time in order to save our great country and protect the American dream. If you don't like it you are either rich or have a lacking knowledge of economics and government. Go back to high school. Peace!

Taken from an article which covers Sarah Palin's visit with James Donson of Focus on the Family. This is too funny:

She also thanked her supporters — including Dobson, who said he and his wife were asking "for God's intervention" on election day — for their prayers of support.

"It is that intercession that is so needed," she said. "And so greatly appreciated. And I can feel it too, Dr. Dobson. I can feel the power of prayer, and that strength that is provided through our prayer warriors across this nation. And I so appreciate it."

So there you have it. The new McCain strategy is to unleash it's "prayer warriors" to intercede to that god guy so that he will influence the American political process! This is wrong on sooooo many levels! But it does show just how desperate the campaign must be.

Later on Palin said "And it also strengthens my faith because I know at the end of the day putting this in God's hands, the right thing for America will be done, at the end of the day on Nov. 4." Since all you Christians hang on every word that Ms. Palin utters, I just hope you remember that she said this when election day comes and Obama wins. Because if there were a god, he would vote for Obama.

On a similar note, did you know that Jesus would have been a liberal democrat?

If you had purchased $1,000.00 of Nortel stock one year ago, it would now be worth $49.00.

With Enron, you would have $16.50 left of the original $1,000.00.

With WorldCom, you would have less than $5.00 left.

If you had purchased $1,000.00 of Delta Air Lines stock you would have $44.00 left.

If you had purchased United Airlines, you would have nothing left.

But, if you had purchased $1,000.00 worth of beer one year ago, drank all the beer, then turned in the cans for the aluminum recycling refund, you would have $214.00.

Based on the above, the best current investment advice is to drink heavily and recycle. Sounds like a plan I can get excited about!

Thats not true. But it's my blog (definitely not a reliable news source for you) and he is a public figure open to ridicule and parody so I am safe from liable.

I read an article that made a very important discovery... What we read in headlines affects our brains differently than the text that follows. If the text contradicts the headline our brain still puts more emphasis (and therefore longer staying power in the memory) on the headline!

Throughout recent history there has been evidence that both parties used this technique, and it has been somewhat effective. Combine it with people that just dont know any better and you get all types of weirdos running around believing stuff that was never true!

So why pick on McCain? Because he unleashed the begining of a strong negative campaign this week against Barack. Barack wants to focus on the issues, but even McCain's strategists say that focusing on the issues will mean a loss for McCain. McCain's only option is to inundate headlines with wild accusations and half truths. Knowing well that headlines will stick in the minds of voters whether or not the article finds them to be true.

And I'm kinda angry tonight and someone needs to be the butt of my anger.

So here's some more headlines for you:

McCain's Sister Makes Claim of Childhood Incest!
- in a new non-fiction book she is writing

McCain Says Guns OK at School!
- military school anxiously awaits new shipment

McCain Gets High at the Bar!
- in this 1952 picture of a track and field meet

McCain Says All Jews Must Die!
- while reading from a book of Hitler's most diabolical quotes

McCain Loved Dick, Hated Bush!
- when asked what he thought about the disagreement between Dick Cheney and George Bush

Palin Complains About Her Monthly Visitor!
- the Alaskan attorney general who has a meeting with her every 4th tuesday

Palin Wanted to Ride Giant Cock!
- the abnormally sized rooster was seen giving toddlers a ride at the county fair

Ok, That was fun. I hope you thought so too. And just remember my republican friends... It's all in good natured ribbing. Im like Tina Fey on saturday night live, maybe I will get a call from the McCain/Palin campaign letting me know they enjoyed my satire.

One more funny note... My grandma called the other night to know if I watched the last few debates. She said she had a blast watching the beaver boy and his floozy. Grandmas! You gotta love em! GOODNIGHT!

That's right! I'm giving away free pez. You know, the wonderful little pieces of candy that pop out of a little plastic head of your choice! What's the catch... Read this post and become informed on your state politics here in Kansas. Then tell me who you're gonna vote for (even if it's for the wrong guy...lol) and I will mail you your free pez candy!

Now. Shhhhh! Play time is over. Put on your thinking cap.

This election year, one of our current senators, Pat Roberts (Republican), is running for re-election against Jim Slattery (Democrat). Let me tell you a little bit about my views on the two candidates.

Pat Roberts has spent the last forty years in Washington DC as a politician and I feel he has lost touch with Kansas because of this. I find myself writing a letter to him about once a month on issues important to me, and I always get the same canned response that he is doing what he feels Kansans want him to do. Not this Kansan, and from what I hear my friends and colleagues say, he doesn't speak for them either. In fact, when you start looking at the issues it's easy to see that he is out of touch not only with the majority of Kansans, but the majority of Americans as well. Let me touch on a few specific issues...

Do you worry about the price of filling your car or heating your home? - Pat Roberts doesn't. He voted for tax breaks to be given to the Oil and Gas companies. Maybe that has something to do with the $300,000 his campaign has recieved from the industry. He has also voted against alternative energy incentives, against fuel-efficiency regulations on auto makers, and voted for a plan that, by admission, may take 20 years to lower the cost of oil!

Do you believe we had a legitimate reason to go to war with Iraq when we know now that the intelligence was faulty? - Pat Roberts was the chairman of the senate intelligence committee when the decision to attack Iraq was made. That means it was his job to make sure that the Intelligence gathered was accurate and important enough to bring the US into armed conflict. He is very much responsible for the war and the loss of American life in Iraq because he did not do his job! Interestingly enough, He voted against two measures that would have established an independent counsel to investigate the faulty intelligence.

Do you care about national security? - Pat Roberts doesn't. He voted against the recomendations of the Sept. 11th Commission placing Americans in harms way, and has voted twice to do business with countries that sponsor terrorism. Even worse, Pat Roberts voted to allow our country to perform torture on our enemies. That's even out of step with the current Republican Presidential nominee John McCain, who spent years being tortured in a Vietnamese POW camp.

Do you care about jobs in Kansas? - Pat Roberts doesn't. Once again, we find Mr. Roberts more concerned with his campaign money and Washington politics. To the point that he voted to allow a foreign company to bid against Boeing on military jets. It cost Kansans both money and jobs and hurt our economy. Not too mention the security risks that go hand in hand with the foreign manufacturing of military equipment!

One last note here on an important topic.....

Do you enjoy a free and open internet? Would you want to pay a monthly fee to access myspace, google, or your favorite site ON TOP of what you pay for your internet access? - Pat Roberts want's you too pay. The issue is Net Neutrality. It's a subject I have dabated with Mr. Roberts in many letters. He continues to vote against net neutrality and in favor of media giants like AT&T.

As you can see, Mr. Roberts does not have the interest of Kansans at heart. He has made a career out of public service, but it has become more of a career than service at all. Each decision he makes is based on how it will affect his next campaign financially. Roberts does not get elected with the money of Kansans, but rather the money of the oil companies, media giants, and other washington lobbyists that know Pat Roberts will vote for their wants and not OUR needs. You can learn more about Pat Roberts here.

Now a few words about Mr. Jim Slattery. Jim Slattery plans on working for the people of Kansas. He is running his campaign from money raised by people just like you and me. He does not answer to lobbyists and big corporations.

Mr. Slattery believes in balancing the budget and reducing unnecessary government spending.

He believes that all Kansas should have affordable healthcare, and that all Kansas children should be covered.

He plans on improving our economy by creating more jobs, eliminating tax breaks for the rich, and creating tax breaks for the middle class working families.

When it comes to the oil crisis, Mr. Slattery has a common sense approach that will have immediate impact. He believes in supporting conservation and efficiency, investing in alternative energy, and implementing more domestic drilling with certain guidlines.

Mr. Slattery would call for an end to the Iraq war, and would push for a smarter war on terror which focuses on strong intelligence and strategic action.

The bottom line is we need a senator that is willing to stand up for us Kansans. We need a senator that takes our concerns to heart. Jim Slattery can be that senator. Pat Roberts is stuck in a tangled web of lobbyists and is too tied into the current politicians in Washington, DC. It's time for Mr. Roberts to retire, and time for someone to step up and stand up for the average Kansan.

I hope you will do your research and make the right decision this november. You may want to check out Jim Slattery's Website. In the meantime... Tell me something you learned by reading this and where I should mail your pez!

You know. I remember reading Tale of Two Cities a long time ago. Though Dickens isn't always the easiest read I must say I enjoyed the book. For those of you not inclined to read historical novels, you may still be familiar with the opening line of the book:

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times"

How intriguing is that? I remember thats what pulled me to the book in the first place. Long before English Lit I was intrigued by that first line. I still am, though I feel I may finally understand what dickens was saying. Before, I found it to be contradictory... the possibility that the book could not make up it's mind, or, in fact, was describing two very different places simultaneously. As for how it applies to Tale of Two Cities, I suggest you grab a copy. But if your curious how it applies to me, and possibly you read on...

I'm not even sure why the line popped into my head again. It was just there late one night. No external source suggested it too me. I just lay awake in bed, thinking about my day (which surprisingly didn't include Dickens), and there it was, in all its opening paragraph glory:

"IT WAS the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way"

Deep, huh?

So even if you give jack crap about the Fench and their Revolution, the paragraph is still kick ass. I would have been a pretty cool teacher talking about Dicken's literary style in terms such as "kick ass", but I digress...

See, things really can be the best and the worst simultaneously. That's my theory on why Dickens not only capitalized the first letter of the first word in his novel (like a good writer should), but capitalized the first two words... IT WAS. That way when you ask "Could it really be the best and the worst together" like a moron, Dickens could simply yell "IT WAS" and you would hafta shut up.

So how does this apply to the non-french, non-revolutionaries, and non-readers? Consider a dramatic time in your life. Not a good time per se, nor a bad time, but a time that is "dramatic". My theory will start to make sense. Drama is not good happening in comparison to boring, nor bad happening when things are already bad. Drama is when they become so intertwined you don't know where things begin or end.

For instance... You have a slightly used car and buy a brand new car. Thats great. Good for you. But no drama.

You have an old beater and it breaks down on your way to work. That sucks. Hope you don't get fired for being late, but alas, no drama.

Your best friend dies and leaves you a fortune. A-HA! Drama. "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times".

Now, with examples in hand, remember a dramatic event in your life. Perhaps something you pervieve very negatively or something hard to get past. Read Dicken's paragraph above. I hope it worked for you like it did for me.

I'm no psychologist, but I think some of us are cursed with pulling the negative out of a situation. We start defining "drama" as "negative", but it is not. Drama is life. Please don't mix it up with silly relationship "drama" which is usually brought on by stupidity, lies, and bad people. I'm talking about real life drama....

A grandmother with incurable cancer passes in the night - It's a time of mourning and a time to be relieved that she will no longer suffer.

A man is depressed to learn his wife is divorcing him, but later finds true love - Starting to see a pattern here?

Good and bad can't exist on their own. To paraphrase a man whose name I cannot remember at the moment... In order to obtain something, you must pass through it's opposite. That's drama.

So enjoy life. See the big picture. You may realize looking back on your entire life it could be summed up as "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times". Pass through the bad and you will achieve the good.

Let me point out kindly to you that the post directly under this humorous video is brand spankin' new too. It was rather in depth and a tid borish, so I thought I would lighten the overall feel of the room with a man I consider to be funnier than... hmmm.... somthing really funny.

Before you hit play on this wonderful six minutes of humor, please read my other new post! Or you will be beaten down by my blog police!

For the fun of it, let's add one more lovely poem by Mr. Tim Minchin. You should check out some of this guys tunes on youtube too

It's sad really, that the uninformed hold such strong convictions. The following are quotes from a random myspace conversation:

"i see your a barack fan, no time for that stupid shit"

- I hafta laugh at this. You lost any valid argument you may have had when you immediately dismissed my perspective as "stupid shit". You don't change someone's point of view with demeaning criticism. In addition, statements like this just reflect your lack of intelligent thought.

"as far as obama... he is just an idiot.. wait he is a democrat! they are dumb.. talking about raising taxes and shit. he will be assasinated if he is elected which he wont be."

- Once again we see the demeaning criticism that does absolutely nothing. "stupid shit", "idiot", "dumb", "shit" all these statments make no point. They prove nothing and offer no viewpoint. See above comments. Then we have a general statement about raising taxes. On who? On what? Do you have a point here? Yes, Obama will raise taxes. On the rich and on luxury items. If you make $275,000 you are gonna pay more. The only reason taxes need to be raised on these individuals is because they recieved a huge tax break thanks to GWB.  Obama will not raise taxes and perhaps even lower them for the middle class and the poor. 90% of us fall into that category. As far as the assassination statement... It's a shame to think that way. Let me just say that bush has had the lowest approval ratings of any president ever and has enemies in every country of this world. I think the Secret Service has done one heck of a job and I believe they will continue to do so!

"if we pull out of war right now they will come over and bomb the fuck out of us we will now be vulnerable and weak since we quit the war..  granted i dont really agree with the war but since we are there we cant pussyout!"

- First off... who's gonna fly over here and bomb us? The insurgents with no planes and old weaponry? Hmmmm. Al Queda had no ties with Iraq. It's a fact. The insurgents are Iraqi nationalists that just want us out of their country. Iraq is in the middle of a civil war due to the two sects of Islam in the region. We cannot win because we can't take one side or the other. Now... Al Queda is in Afghanistan and we are losing ground there. Our resources are better spent focused on the real enemy and homeland security. From the person concerned about taxes, I'm surprised you wan't to keep spending money just for the sake of "not pussying out". Which, by the way, is the silliest reason I have ever heard to stay in Iraq.

"as far as taxes go.. im thinkin nobody wants to pay higher taxes to support welfare for people who sell drugs and still live on teh state. i think everybody is born with same opportunity.. if they decide to drop of out of high school and become a drug dealer or whatever and make nothing of their lives than people who spent time in college should NOT pay for their poor choices!"

- Let me say first off that I know plenty of people without a college degree and even without a high school education that have made a good living, and many people with degrees are on welfare. No one "wants" to pay taxes. That shouldn't be the point. People "need" to pay taxes. The more money you make and spend, the more goes to taxes. The good of all men is important. Everyone is not born with the same chance in this country. There are poor kids in the ghetto that would never be able to get an education and make a life for themselves if thier parents tried to raise them on minimum wage. What in the world makes you think drug dealers get welfare. I know alot of people who make use of state services. All of them are honest poeople with jobs. People who left an abusive husband, a woman who supports her husband and family because her husband was paralyzed after being hit by a drunk driver. These people deserve the help they get!

"yeah maybe im a little racist but oh well."

- Do I even need to make a comment here? Not only was this girl racist, but she didn't even care that she was. Think she would feel the same if she had been a slave, or if her dad would have been beaten down in the 60's for a peaceful protest? Suppose she would support racism if she was a Jew in Nazi Germany? But since she is a priveledged white girl in the US she thinks it's ok to be "a little racist"

If you took the time to reas this I appreciate that. We are ALL entitled to our own viewpoint. The point of this blog is to highlight why we believe and how we express our beliefs. I am open to conversation on any topic and I'm open to new ideas and new ways of thinking. But please be intelligent and backup your statements with facts if you want to dhave a discussion with me.

OK. I think I finally overloaded my brain. The last two years have brought so many changes and new experiences. I went on a mission to expand my horizons, seek out the truth, increase my knowledge, and soak up life.

This is my official resignation. I'm not admitting defeat, rather I'm admitting to being human. I am not let down. I feel succesful. I think I have absorbed alot more than the average person could. I have viewed things from more angle than most. I feel accomplished as well as worn.

So what now? Well honestly I feel like a huge conglomerate that has acquired too many assets. To the point I have lost my original focus. I have too many goals, too many projects. It's hard to focus on an objective.

So my new goal is to downsize. It's time to sell off some of those assets and return to a manageable life. Enough of the metaphors. I'm simplifying my life down to what's important.

How will this affect you? I don't really care right now. If you are important to me it won't. My new focus is on the important, the meaningful. Hopefully you fall into that category.

Does anyone understand what I am saying? I'm awake and I've been losing sleep. I've been fighting all my demons and getting weak. I've been trying to be anything other than me. Enough silly dreams.

So my only focus... The Kids, The Evernet Firm, Music, and the right woman for me. Where is she by the way? Do I already know her ;) or is that yet to come?

It's like spring cleaning of the soul and it feels good. I'm out.