Poor Alex

Dear Monkey Bars at Alex's school:

Go away! We don't like you anymore! Look what you did....

A message from the children

Dear Barack Obama (or as Sam would say, "Bawok Uh-Bumma"):

A little message of congratulations...



~The Children Responsible for Putting Mom on the Edge :)

Our Long National Nightmare...Is It Over Yet?

Dear Harold Ickes:

You have had a lengthy and impressive career in Democratic politics. I respect that, really I do. But I can’t help but feel like you’ve thrown away some giant chunk of your dignity, not to mention your credibility with your most recent ranting and posturing on Senator Clinton’s behalf. It has finally reached a level where I’m not sure if you are actually dancing around questions and playing with the wording of your answers or if you’ve completely lost your mind and truly believe what you’re saying.

In August 2007, as a member of the DNC Rules & Bylaws Committee, you voted to strip Florida and Michigan of their delegates for the 2008 primaries. Fast forward to May 2008, you argued vehemently that those delegates should be reinstated completely with no penalty at all. Are we to believe this has nothing to do with the fact that your Mrs. Clinton “won” those primaries?

Let’s begin with your assessment of the Rules & Bylaws Committee meeting on May 31. You claim that the committee “hijacked” delegates from Senator Clinton and gave them to Senator Obama. In reality the committee gave them both delegates they didn’t have prior to that meeting. Those delegates were not supposed to count at all, according to your vote back in August. You insisted to Tim Russert on Sunday morning that “It violates a fundamental precept of our delegate selection rule, which is fair reflection.” Fair reflection. That’s interesting. Exactly how do you divine the “fair reflection” of the decision of the people in Michigan? You certainly can’t base it solely on results of a primary that YOU (and Senator Clinton, frankly) told the people of Michigan would not count.

This leads us, of course, to disenfranchising voters. Can you argue that some of the voters who showed up to the Michigan primary feel they’ve been disenfranchised? Absolutely. But one could equally argue that all those voters who stayed home that day, mainly because you and the committee had told them that it actually wasn’t a recognized primary and would not count, that no delegates would be seated from Michigan, could also feel disenfranchised. Is one group to be more favored than the other? That seems less than democratic to me.

As for the popular vote lead that the Clinton campaign is claiming to have, how did you determine which states to include and which to ignore to come to those numbers? And more importantly, how can you count Senator Clinton’s votes in Michigan and give none to Senator Obama? The committee has seated the delegates, but still is not truly recognizing the primary itself. Therefore it stands to reason that the popular vote count there would be negated as well. And if you believe you can claim those votes for Senator Clinton’s campaign BECAUSE the committee has now seated the delegates, then you must give Senator Obama a share of the popular vote as well, since the committee recognized a segment of the vote as his. You can’t really have it both ways.

I leave you, Mr. Ickes, with your own words to Tim Russert back in December, “"Timothy, delegates nominate. Not states, not popular vote, delegates."

Dear Terry McAuliffe:

Iowa, Nevada, Maine and Washington are states, too. You can't discount them just to come up with a number you like.

I have heard you (as well as Harold Ickes) repeatedly insist over the last two days that you “expect Senator Clinton will be the nominee.” I just have to ask, really? Do you really believe that? Is it getting hard to say with a straight face? You must have done the math, right?

I recently read an article which stated the following…

Clinton campaign chairman Terry McAuliffe, who had recently said he thought the race would be over this week, conceded yesterday that the finish line may not actually be the finish line. Asked whether the race would be over when Obama passed 2,118, McAuliffe said, “No, it’s not it.”
McAuliffe added, “We’re calling the uncommitted ones, primarily. But we’ve heard things. You know, you pick up stuff. So we’re following up on leads that we get. Just remember: No superdelegate is bound until they vote at the convention.”

Does that not make you feel the slightest bit slimy? Do you not feel like you’re dragging this on to the detriment of the party itself? If it is indeed your job to help guide Senator Clinton through this campaign, why aren’t you doing your job? The longer this drags on (and on, and on, and on) the more harm is done to the party, to Senator Obama’s chances of winning in November, and to Senator Clinton’s career and legacy.

Dear “Dream Ticket” supporters:

Are you crazy? How can Senator Obama ask Senator Clinton to be his VP? Adding her to the ticket would completely go against his platform of change. He touts the need for a real change in Washington politics. The Clintons represent that very system that Senator Obama claims to want revamped. It’s a laughable concept to me. That’s not even to mention the independent voters that Senator Obama has won over (myself included) who may very well shift the other way if Senator Clinton is added to the ticket.

And let’s face facts, a lot of those voters that Senator Clinton likes to claim she’s won over (you know, those hard working white voters)…well, they aren’t going to vote for a black man whether Senator Clinton is on the ticket with him or not.

Dear Hillary Clinton:

I’m at a loss for words, so I’ll just quote a truly great American, Mr. Ferris Bueller. “You’re still here? It’s over. Go home. Go!”

~Mom on the Edge

Misty taste of moonshine, Teardrops in my eye...

Dear Jon Stewart:

Thanks for saying what I was yelling at all the political pundits on my TV all of Tuesday night!

~Mom on the Edge

Gods and Unicorns

Pearson and I are atheists. When we met (about 16 years ago) Pearson was already fond of calling himself an atheist. At that time I classified myself more as agnostic. After much research and self exploration, I was swayed. Anyway, we have always agreed that we would raise our children with not only the knowledge of our own beliefs, but of the beliefs of as many others as we could. We also agreed that we would not impose our own beliefs and ideas on our children....though, as with most people, we likely had hopes that the kids would one day come to the same conclusion as we had. Really, we just want them to think for themselves.

We both were raised in Baptist churches and have a pretty bitter taste in our mouths from the Christian experience we were given, so we decided it would be best for the kids to learn about Christianity from people who aren't so biased against it. So we sent them to a Lutheran Church preschool. At preschool they say a blessing, thanking God for their snack. They go to chapel from time to time, where they learn bible stories. They tell the kids that "God made the trees and the flowers..." and that sort of thing. We've always made it clear that while we don't believe that, there are many people who do and that it's fine for everyone to believe what sounds right to them.

Alex is now in kindergarten, in public school. So she's not having Christianity taught to her daily anymore, but we do explain religious holidays when they come around...Christmas, Hanukkah, Easter, Purim, etc. ***We've mostly stuck with Christianity and Judaism thus far*** But Sam is still in the preschool environment. From time to time we catch him "praying." It's really more like wishing on a star with his hands in the prayer position: "I wish I had a new Optimus Prime action figure and a blue jacket and the Ratatouille DVD..." Alex has never really said one way or the other what she believes, although 2 years ago, she was famous for saying that her teachers knew more than we did and they must be right about God. We don't push to know her beliefs because we aren't really concerned with beliefs as much as we are with her being a critical thinker, a freethinker.

The other day we were in the car, Alex, Sam and I. Sam was saying one of his "prayers" and the following conversation commenced...

Alex: Sam, you don't pray in the car. You pray at preschool.

Sam: No, you pray to God.

Alex: Well, I don't believe in God and neither do Mom and Dad. So neither should you.

Me: Alex, we never told you what you had to believe and you shouldn't do it to Sam either. He can pray if he wants to.

***Sam continues his wish-prayers***

Alex: I guess so, but I don't know why he'd want to ask for things from God. Even if there was a god, he wouldn't be magic. Unicorns would be magic.

Me: Unicorns?

Alex: Yes, unicorns. It just makes more sense.

Me: What makes more sense?

Alex: To believe in unicorns instead of God.

Me: Why does that make more sense?

Alex: Well, think about it. A unicorn is really just a horse with a horn on its head.

Me: Ok, I still don't get it.

Alex: God is some invisible guy in the sky that made everything and nobody can see him, but he watches what you do. How could he know everything and watch everything? That doesn't make sense.

Me: Ok, but what does that have to do with unicorns?

Alex: In all the stories about God in the bible, he has all these powers and stuff and you can't even see him. But in all the stories about unicorns, they're magical, but at least you can see them and know they're real.

Me: Right, but they're still just stories. Unicorns aren't real.

Alex: And neither is God. But if I had to pick one to believe in, I would much rather unicorns be real.

Me: Fair enough.

Freethinker, indeed. I love that kid! :)

~Mom on the Edge

Dear Readers:

I'm having surgery in the morning. Hopefully I'll be able to update soon, but we'll see how things go. Nothing too serious, I don't think. Assuming all goes well, it will be an outpatient procedure and I'll be back to 100% in few days. I'm not feeling too nervous, just a bit anxious. I've never had surgery and am not fond of trying new things. ;) Be sure to think of me and send happy thoughts my way around 10:30 (Eastern) tomorrow as they're cutting through my abdominal muscles...OUCH! Best not to think too much about that.

See you soon.

~Mom on the Edge

Happy birthday, Sam!!!

Dear Sam:

How did 4 years pass so quickly? You have grown into such a smart, funny, compassionate, loving kid. It's so strange for me to think of you as a kid...you're not my baby anymore, not a little boy anymore. As you're so fond of telling me, "I'm just a kid!" And you are...a big kid, suddenly.

You are so much fun to be around. You try so hard to make everyone laugh and have a good time. You always want everyone to be happy. You're my constant companion, your dad's shadow, and your big sister's protector. She wouldn't dream of climbing the big staircase to upstairs without you by her side.

You're the most thoughtful kid, too. Today while we were shopping at Target (Dad was at work, Alex at school) you were asking me questions about your family birthday party we were having tonight...

You: Will everyone be there?

Me: Well, all of the family that can make it will be.

You: Will Alex be there, too?

Me: Of course.

You: Will I get presents?

Me: I bet everyone will bring you presents.

You: What about Alex?

Me: Yes, Alex has a present for you, too.

You: No! Will Alex get any presents?

Me: No, it's your birthday. The presents will be for you.

You: Well, can I buy Alex a present then? She really likes presents, too.

Me: But it isn't her birthday. It's yours.

You: I know. But I really want to give her a present. Please???

So you picked out a Littlest Pet Shop toy that you knew Alex wanted and put it in the cart. How could I say no to such a sweet gesture? Alex was thrilled and promised to return the favor on her birthday.

I think that story pretty much sums up who you are, Sam. You're loving and thoughtful and generous. It makes me so proud to watch you grow into such a terrific kid. I love you. Happy birthday.

Happy birthday,

Sam!

Much love,

Mom