It’s 11:30 at night on my birthday and i’m at the base of a ski slope, looking all around at so very many stars… And wishing you were here…  I love you!

I watched the sky a bit, feeling what it would feel like to see a shooting star in that gorgeous setting.  (just like I did in St. Thomas, sitting on the rocks at the water’s edge only 3 weeks ago!)  I started walking down a road and there went my shooting star!  Right in my field of view, just like it did in St. Thomas!  Chills!!!  Feeling so very grateful and good, I kept on making my way and taking in all that I possibly could.  Then I came back into this wonderful room and sat down to write this.  Now off to bed, hopefully to dream of stars…  Life is good!

Whenever your perspective on something creates emotional pain, Sam, it’s always because your perspective is still so narrow that you’ve yet to see all the good it will make possible.
Because it will.

I can see clearly now…
The Universe

You can get them, too, by visiting Mike Dooley’s TUT’s Adventurer’s Club.

• The Silent generation, people born before 1946.
• The Baby Boomers, people born between 1946 and 1959.
• Generation X, people born between 1960 and 1979.
• Generation Y, people born between 1980 and 1995.

Why do we call the last one “Generation Y”? I did not know, but a caricaturist explains it eloquently below… Learned something new!

Here’s a bit more of why she’s a non-issue (courtesy of MoveOn.org):

Yesterday was John McCain’s 72nd birthday. If elected, he’d be the oldest president ever inaugurated. And after months of slamming Barack Obama for “inexperience,” here’s who John McCain has chosen to be one heartbeat away from the presidency: a right-wing religious conservative with no foreign policy experience, who until recently was mayor of a town of 9,000 people.

Huh?

Who is Sarah Palin? Here’s some basic background:

• She was elected Alaska’s governor a little over a year and a half ago. Her previous office was mayor of Wasilla, a small town outside Anchorage. She has no foreign policy experience.¹
• Palin is strongly anti-choice, opposing abortion even in the case of rape or incest.²
• She supported right-wing extremist Pat Buchanan for president in 2000. ³
• Palin thinks creationism should be taught in public schools.⁴
• She’s doesn’t think humans are the cause of climate change.⁵
• She’s solidly in line with John McCain’s “Big Oil first” energy policy. She’s pushed hard for more oil drilling and says renewables won’t be ready for years. She also sued the Bush administration for listing polar bears as an endangered species—she was worried it would interfere with more oil drilling in Alaska.⁶
• How closely did John McCain vet this choice? He met Sarah Palin once at a meeting. They spoke a second time, last Sunday, when he called her about being vice-president. Then he offered her the position.⁷

We also asked Alaska MoveOn members what the rest of us should know about their governor. The response was striking. Here’s a sample:

She is really just a mayor from a small town outside Anchorage who has been a governor for only 1.5 years, and has ZERO national and international experience. I shudder to think that she could be the person taking that 3AM call on the White House hotline, and the one who could potentially be charged with leading the US in the volatile international scene that exists today. —Rose M., Fairbanks, AK

She is VERY, VERY conservative, and far from perfect. She’s a hunter and fisherwoman, but votes against the environment again and again. She ran on ethics reform, but is currently under investigation for several charges involving hiring and firing of state officials. She has NO experience beyond Alaska. —Christine B., Denali Park, AK

As an Alaskan and a feminist, I am beyond words at this announcement. Palin is not a feminist, and she is not the reformer she claims to be. —Karen L., Anchorage, AK

Alaskans, collectively, are just as stunned as the rest of the nation. She is doing well running our State, but is totally inexperienced on the national level, and very much unequipped to run the nation, if it came to that. She is as far right as one can get, which has already been communicated on the news. In our office of thirty employees (dems, republicans, and nonpartisans), not one person feels she is ready for the V.P. position.—Sherry C., Anchorage, AK

She’s vehemently anti-choice and doesn’t care about protecting our natural resources, even though she has worked as a fisherman. McCain chose her to pick up the Hillary voters, but Palin is no Hillary. —Marina L., Juneau, AK

I think she’s far too inexperienced to be in this position. I’m all for a woman in the White House, but not one who hasn’t done anything to deserve it. There are far many other women who have worked their way up and have much more experience that would have been better choices. This is a patronizing decision on John McCain’s part- and insulting to females everywhere that he would assume he’ll get our vote by putting “A Woman” in that position.—Jennifer M., Anchorage,
AK

So Governor Palin is a staunch anti-choice religious conservative. She’s a global warming denier who shares John McCain’s commitment to Big Oil. And she’s dramatically inexperienced.

In picking Sarah Palin, John McCain has made the religious right very happy. And he’s made a very dangerous decision for our country.

Sources:
1. “Sarah Palin,” Wikipedia, Accessed August 29, 2008

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_Palin

2. “McCain Selects Anti-Choice Sarah Palin as Running Mate,” NARAL Pro-Choice America, August 29, 2008

http://www.moveon.org/r?r=17515&id=13661-2985616-ibdRF4x&t=1

3. “Sarah Palin, Buchananite,” The Nation, August 29, 2008

http://www.moveon.org/r?r=17736&id=13661-2985616-ibdRF4x&t=2
4. “‘Creation science’ enters the race,” Anchorage Daily News, October 27, 2006

http://www.moveon.org/r?r=17737&id=13661-2985616-ibdRF4x&t=3

5. “Palin buys climate denial PR spin—ignores science,” Huffington Post, August 29, 2008

http://www.moveon.org/r?r=17517&id=13661-2985616-ibdRF4x&t=4

6. “McCain VP Pick Completes Shift to Bush Energy Policy,” Sierra Club, August 29, 2008

http://www.moveon.org/r?r=17518&id=13661-2985616-ibdRF4x&t=5

“Choice of Palin Promises Failed Energy Policies of the Past,” League of Conservation Voters, August 29, 2008

http://www.moveon.org/r?r=17519&id=13661-2985616-ibdRF4x&t=6

“Protecting polar bears gets in way of drilling for oil, says governor,” The Times of London, May 23, 2008

http://www.moveon.org/r?r=17520&id=13661-2985616-ibdRF4x&t=7

7. “McCain met Palin once before yesterday,” MSNBC, August 29, 2008

http://www.moveon.org/r?r=21119&id=13661-2985616-ibdRF4x&t=8

First, they lowered my rate and I didn’t have to do anything. Nothing. Nada. Zip. As best I can recall, no other business I’ve interacted with has lowered my rate without my having to request it or jump through hoops to get it.

A few days ago, I received another email from Netflix telling me of a problem they were having with their systems and apologizing for the delays in shipping my next DVDs. Further, they stated I’d receive a discount for the inconvenience. WOW! Tonight I’ve received another email from them stating the systems are repaired and detailing the discount I’ll receive… and I don’t have to do anything to get it. This is EXCELLENT CUSTOMER SERVICE!

We opened this discussion with Sen. Obama’s assertion that we can offset the need to reopen offshore drilling—and save money at the pump—by keeping our tires inflated properly. He’s right, although he’s ignoring the potential for making a serious dent in natural gas production rates. You know what? I’m not running straight out to buy luxury items with the savings like I was supposed to with my incentive check. But then again, if you’re reading Popular Mechanics, you already know that proper auto maintenance saves you money in the long run.

hat tip: AmericaBlog