Vote for the Loser? Or Vote for the Muslim Terrorist?

Last night was a first for me.

It was the first time I attended a political rally... of any sort.

I attended a rally for presidential candidate Senator Obama. It was amazing to see how many people had turned out to show their support (most local news agencies report ~45,000 in attendance). On the surface I find it encouraging this many people (especially in my state) care.

However I'm wondering if they are doing it for the 'right' reasons. Allow me to explain... a week ago the Girlfriend and I attended a wedding reception. At the reception we introduced ourselves to a couple at our table. The topic of the election came up. He was a former marine and had served over in Iraq and was now a police officer. During the conversation they admitted that they were going to vote for Obama because John McCain was going to lose and they wanted to vote for the guy that won...

Za?! Really? Are you serious?



Over the last several weeks I have been receiving lots of emails about why one shouldn't vote for one candidate or the other. Most of them were ridiculous and I was able to ignore them until... several of the anti-Obama emails began to pander to fear-mongering and demonizing Muslims. The emails contained little fact, a lot of lies, and a whole lot of anti-muslim implications. The gist:

Terrorist == Muslim == Obama == Vote for McCain.

I could not let these emails go by unanswered. There are plenty reason why both of these men should not be president. However, even if it were true that Barack Obama was Muslim (it's not)... so what? Why should it matter? At least 20% of the population in the U.S. is not Christian... that means at least 60 million U.S citizens don't share our current president's religious views. I replied to those emails with a bit of angst. Solid facts against one candidate or another are fine, but just don't tell me a lie based on fear and expect me to go with it. I hope the people at the rally do get out and vote.



In the last election (2004) I felt McCain was one of the stronger/better candidates. I'm not so sure now; previously he was very anti-Bush, then he was very pro-Bush, and now he is claiming he is anti-Bush again. Obama promotoes "change" however in the last year he has voted with the status quo on a few key issues of which I hold particular interest; claiming he would change them once he got in the White House. Why wait? If you believe in change, then start now... don't wait until it becomes more convenient.

I want to get excited about a candidate and believe; but then I remember in the end they are both big politicians and they will continue to behave as such.

To Heal Like a Dog

Almost a Month
Originally uploaded by dcumminsusa

It's been almost two months since my grandmother died (see my previous blog post). I miss her.

I have had a few break downs, but for the most part I'm doing really well. I wish I could say the same for other members of the family.

Death tends to bring out the best and the worst in some people. There is a lot of anger and hate regarding things that happened in the past. Nothing can be done to change them, they are in the past and we are living in the present.

I have simply slipped back into my daily routines as they were before; ny daily routines did not include talking to my grandmother or those closest to her. I will probably feel her void next around the holidays as those were when I would usually be with her. Will enough time have passed that it won't be a big deal? We will see.

I wish my loved ones could heal as quickly as Darby. We adopted him a few days after my Grandmother died. He had a hard life the first few weeks he was alive.

He was found abandoned on the side of the road at two weeks of age; two of his litter mates were already dead. His paws were burned from the hot asphalt of the parking lot where he was left. His eyes were just beginning to open. Once he was in the shelter he had protect his food and eat it as quickly as possible because he was so small and young.

When we brought him home he was eight weeks old and showed some extreme food aggression. In fact he actually bit me and drew blood. Through hand feeding and giving him positive experiences with food he no longer has any food issues (unless you count barking at the food bowl just before he starts eating). We free feed him just like the rest of our dogs, and he will eat right along side his adoptive brothers and sister; even sharing the bowl.

In a little more than a month he no longer feels the pains of his past. He lives in the now and the now is good.

He is happy.

He doesn't occasionally have 'bad food days.' Those are gone. They are less than a distant memory to him.

When people say that our dogs have it easy I think there is more truth to that statement then they realize.