Seriously...I wonder if that's what it would take, at this point.  

 

       

 

I mean...what else does the guy have to say or do to get people to realize that he is ridiculously liberal?  For some of you people in Seattle, this is probably okay.  I am fine with that.  If you are way left wing, fine.  But, don't pretend to be a moderate and give me the bunk about how this guy knows how to unite the nation.  He is clearly a Socialist.  Combine this newest info with his comment to "Joe the Plumber" with his National Health Care plan with his ties to radicals like Ayers and Rev. Wright, and you can't continue to act all ignorant.

 

Here's my point...if you like Obama because he's a Socialist, fine...I disagree with you, but I respect your opinion and I'll just cancel your vote with mine.  But...if you like Obama because he brings "Hope" for uniting the nation as a moderate bipartisan...I shake my head at you as you clearly don't listen too good. 

 

He will raise taxes, he has to in order to complete his goals. 

 

He will take your hard earned money and use it to "make sure those behind you can succeed." 

 

He will appoint Supreme Court Justices who will rule based on how they THINK the Constitution should read.

 

And...he'll have a filibuster proof Congress so Nobody can stand in his way.  He doesn't give a rip about what I think or about what the small business owner or the farmer thinks.  He has a world view, and he wants us all to follow it.  His way is the right and only way. 

 

I'm not a complete fatalist, here.  I don't think an Obama Presidency will be the end of the US like many talk radio people out there.  But, I do think it will make for a miserable 4-8 years for people like me. 

 

But...nobody seems to care.  Nobody seems to actually want to listen.  They are in this weird happy place where they are drunk on "Hope" and "Change" and "John McCain will raise taxes more than me." 

 

To all of you "Republicans for Obama" like General Powell and the person in the car in front of me at Target.  I agree with you...Bush is a douche.  That doesn't mean McCain is.  It doesn't mean that we should all run crying and swear off all things Republican.  Obama stands for redistribution of wealth, a very non-Republican idea.  Obama stands for Nationalized Heath Care, a non-Republican value.  Obama stands for bigger government, a non-Republican value.

 

Don't rebel and don't be ignorant.  If you want a Socialist President, vote for Obama.  If you don't, vote for McCain.  But, don't pretend that Obama is some miraculous agent of change that's going to make everything better.  And, don't act like he's not  a very left wing Liberal.  That's just ignorant, at this point. 

I often wish that I lived in the 8th District.  I would like to vote for Dave Reichart.  Instead, I have Saddam's buddy Jim McDermmott. 

 

What?  Is it mean to call him Saddam's buddy?  Don't you remember him flying out to Iraq just before we invaded to tell Bush not to invade?  Wasn't he palling around with Iraqi leaders while publicly denouncing his President?

 

Anyway...I digress.

 

Big news today, out of the 8th Districe Congressional race is that Darcy Burner is stretching the truth, again.

 

Remember, in 2006, when she said she was a former Microsoft Executive?  Oops...that wasn't true.

 

Yesterday, the Times reported that she graduated with a degree in Computer Science, not Economics, like she has been telling people during our tough economic times.  What a stupid thing to say.  I mean...you went to Harvard.  We'll assume your smart.  But, when you lie, you sound like, well...a liar.

 

Anyway, apparently they quickly called up the former head of the Harvard Computer Science department to "set the record straight." 

 

I graduated almost 9 years ago.  I promise that if you call any of my professors, they will not be able to give you a tenth of the information this guy gives on Darcy Burner.  She graduated 20 years ago...or something.  Not sure how long, but longer than 9. 

 

I love the line about how tough it was for her, financially.  I think it's party of the "How to run for office" handbook.  "Make sure to talk about your background in poverty." 

 

Indeed, Harvard cranks out some brilliant Computer Science people.  Heck, I've hired some.  But, that doesn't mean you will make a good legislator.  When Windows crashes...I'll call you.  When the stock market crashes...not so much.

 

  

We're down to the wire, now.  Less than 2 weeks, and we will know who our next President is. 

 

I am not very optimistic about my man's chances.  I have a feeling we'll be seeing a Democrat President, again.  That's okay.  I will be bummed that Johnny Mac didn't win, for many reasons.  One of them, though, is because I really really think he deserves it.  But, I really really think he deserved it 8 years ago.  Imagine what kind of country this would be if John McCain beat George Bush and became President.  Hmmmm.

 

What if he still pulls it off, though?  My biggest worry, if John McCain wins, will be the uproar from both the left and the black community.  I have read more and more articles, lately, about race in this election.  Newsweek even had an article a few weeks ago about how the black community will take it, if Obama loses.  One person even went so far as to say that white people will make sure there isn't a black President.

 

Liberals will immediately start screaming that the election was stolen.  That Republicans suppressed the minority vote and tampered with voting machines.  Blah blah blah. 

 

So...I am trying to prepare myself for at least 2 years of Socialism.  The Dems will win back the Presidency and quite possibly a filibuster proof Congress.  We'll have the opposite of what we had in 2000...and, look where that got us.

 

I am holding out for Washington State, though.  I think they may start to get smarter.  Of course, most of WA (at least Western WA) are Obama Zombies.  But, I can forgive that if they realize that the whole message of change also involves ousting Governor Gregoire. 

 

One bright side of an Obama win...rumor is that he would tap Gregoire for some kind of post in his administration.  Not sure what kind of post that would be.  But, whatever it is...we wouldn't have her in this Washington, anymore.  I could live with that. 

 

One bright side of an Obama win...rumor is that he would tap Gregoire for some kind of post in his administration.  Not sure what kind of post that would be.  But, whatever it is...we wouldn't have her in this Washington, anymore.  I could live with that. 

 

I will regain some of the faith I have lose in this state if they A) Elect Rossi as Governor and B) Retain Dave Reichart for Congress.  Even though he's a Republican, he's a very moderate one.  Good for a moderate area of the state (Bellevue).  Darcy Burner is nothing but a liberal hack who lies about her career at MS and even recently about her college degree.  Electing her only proves my point that idiots around here vote for the letter after the name, and not for the candidate.  Same thing if Queen Christine in reelected. 

 

 

One of the things I love most about working at the company I work for is the Employee Giving Campaign.  It's a way for me to take some of what I have been blessed with and give it back.

 

The thing I love most about the Giving Campaign is the payroll deduction option.  Say an employee wants to donate $1000.  That's a fat check to write, yeah?  Well...through payroll deduction, basically, the company removes a small amount from each paycheck over the course of the year.  During the campaign, I can say I want to donate $1000 to one organization, or split amongst many orgs.  MS will $41.67 out of each of my paychecks (equivalent to the cost of a nice dinner between myself an my wife) and they will donate to my designated orgs at the end of each quarter.

 

Oh...did I mention that MS will also match my donation dollar for dollar?  So, if an employee wants to donate $1000 to the Society of Harmonica Enthusiasts, as long as the are an eligible non-profit, MS will match the $1000 making a $2000 total donation.

 

The giving campaign makes me feel warm and fuzzy.  Sometimes, in my blog, I have highlighted orgs that I like to donate to.  Previous entries have been about Children International (and my sponsored child, Jesamin, from the Philippines), and my alma mater, Gonzaga.  Today, I want to talk about Summit Assistance Dogs.

 

I first heard about Summit my first year at Microsoft.  An employee thought up a brilliant idea to raise money for them.  Put together a Dogs of Microsoft calendar.  Of course, my dog is my little buddy, so I was all over it.  I made the minimum $25 donation to enter him in the contest.  That was that. (Quincy, my dog, has never made it as a featured dog in the calendar, unfortunately.  But, I have high hopes for this year.)

 

The next year rolled around and it was once again time to submit photos for the calendar.  After donating once, I ended up on the mailing list.  I started to learn more about Summit and what they did.  This place is amazing.  Check out the video above.

 

Basically, the train service dogs.  Did you know that only 1% of people that apply for a service dog actually receive one? 

 

I love my dog to pieces.  He is a very important part of my life.  When I think about that and try to combine it with a physical necessity to have the dog around, I become sad that more people don't have access to a service dog.

 

Summit Assistance Dogs also tried to help their donors actually see the influence they have.  This year, I received an invite to see the new batch of puppies!  The brought them to Microsoft so that people could see them and hold them and smooch them and "They're sooooo cute" them.  I also receive an invite to every graduation so that I can see the dog, who has been through intense training, together with their new human.

 

For anyone that can afford it, please don't forget to give back when you can.    

 

Okay...Liberal Hippies...I know you think stuff like this looks cool.  But, really...it just scares people like me. 

 

I'm going to do this one in a different format.

 

Let's start with the basics:

Now...more technical:

 Help me out...I need ideas. 

That video I recently posted...it's practically impossibe to find a good version, now.  Apparently, someone realized that it wreaks of Communist proganda. 

 

Here's another version:

 

 

I'm very curious as to whose idea this video was.  I don't think it came from the Obama campaign.  Did it?  When even my hippie wife says, "that's creepy," you should know there's a problem with your product. 

 

The video was yanked pretty quickly, so I am guessing someone caught on.