I Still #FeelTheBern But I'm Not #BerineOrBust

So I stayed up WAY too late last night watching the first night of the Democratic National Convention. And it was totally worth it.

I'm a political junkie and have no problem admitting it. I love the conventions (well, OK, I love the DNC...the other I can do without). For the rest of this week you'll find me on Twitter each night. ;)

Here is what I'm currently thinking about the election: I wish Bernie would have won the nomination. Woulda. Coulda. Shoulda. He didn't win. Do I think the Democratic party worked behind the scenes to make sure he didn't win? Yes. I do. I think those leaked emails show as much.

Does that mean I'm going to vote for someone other than Hillary?

No.

Why?

Because:
1. I'm a Democrat. Always have been. Always will be.

2. Hell would have to freeze over for me to even consider voting for the Republican candidate (the one whose name I refuse to type).

3. I'm not going to pout about Bernie losing. Hell, Bernie isn't pouting (at least not in public) and I still believe in him and if he's OK supporting Hillary then I'm OK with supporting that ticket too.

4. I don't want to imagine what this country would look like with that egomaniac sociopath narcissist asshat running the show.

Look, it's simple: I wish Bernie would have won the nomination. I think he would have made a great president. But he didn't win. We have to move on. We have to unite as one party if we're going to win in November. We have to stop acting like spoiled petulant kids who just want to take their toys and go vote for a third party candidate who has no hope of winning.

As Sarah Silverman said last night to the #BernieOrBust people: You're being ridiculous.
Seriously.
Stop being ridiculous.

Democrats are no good to anyone if we splinter our party. Do I think Hillary is the best person for the job? Right now, probably yes. Am I happy that it has come to this? Honestly, I'm not thrilled about it.

But if Bernie can go on stage last night at the convention and speak to Hillary's experience and tell everyone that he thinks she's the best candidate for the job...then I can vote for her in November.

However, I'm still leaving my Bernie sign in my office window. ;)

Politics on a Monday

Tomorrow is the Ohio Primary.
It has been non-stop politics here for a good two weeks.

Every ad on television is a political ad.
It is total insanity.

Last Friday I went downtown to hear Senator Bernie Sanders speak at a rally. It was in a word, awesome. The crowd had so much positive energy and Bernie had a lot of great things to say. I left the rally feeling excited and ready to vote in the primary tomorrow.

I'm sure you can figure out who gets my vote.

This guy:

Oh yeah, I also got to SHAKE HIS HAND on Friday. That was pretty epic. Of course, I was almost crushed to death in the process - it was like being at a rock concert. Seriously, the crowd was insane....but in a good non-Donald-Drumpf way.

Speaking of He Who Shall Not Be Named, I watched the nightly news last night and was floored by how ugly this presidential election is becoming thanks in very large part to Voldermort Drumpf. As I sat there watching Americans beat the crap out of other Americans at a freaking political rally I thought "this can't possibly be my country."

It was sad. And disheartening.

And I really, really, really hope that our governor wins Ohio tomorrow in the Republican primary. And that someone other than Darth Vader Drumpf wins Florida.

So here's the thing Ohioans: Your vote can be a vote AGAINST Drumpf. If you're going to vote Republican on Tuesday give your vote to anyone but him. Make your vote count against him.

Me? I'll be feeling the Bern.

Bernie!

So yesterday afternoon I was scrolling through my Facebook news feed as I'm wont to do on any given afternoon and that's when I saw it.

One of our local news stations posted that BERNIE IS COMING TO TOLEDO!

Today.

That's right. They announced on a Thursday afternoon at 2 p.m. that Bernie Sanders is coming to Toledo on Friday afternoon for 'A Future to Believe in Rally."

Nothing like almost last-minute, ya know.

I quickly emailed my husband and asked him to take half a day off work so that I could go. He of course said yes. (He had an ulterior motive - he wants to go to the driving range and hit golf balls).

And so ... I'm going to see Bernie today!

And I'm seriously excited about it. Yes, the doors open at 1:30 and the rally starts at 4:30 (WTH?) but it'll be just fine.

#FeelTheBern people.

Politics on a Wednesday

So, last night was YUUUUUGE for Bernie Sanders.

He won the Michigan primary. This is a big deal. Unless you listen to every news network out there. Then you might not think it's a big deal because according to them, Bernie is still "down in the delegate count" and blah, blah, blah.

People. Seriously.
Bernie was supposed to lose Michigan.
All the polls said so - and we all know how the polls are always right (insert sarcasm here).

But he didn't lose. He won by more than 20,000 votes.
YUUUUUUGE.
Feel. The. Bern.

This morning I thought that maybe, JUST MAYBE, the morning "news" shows (like Good Morning America) would actually LEAD WITH BERNIE. You know, since it's a big frickin' story and all.

But no.

They led with freaking Donald Drumpf.
WHY?
Because he has all the media eating out of his tiny hands and giving him FREE earned media.
His wins last night weren't newsworthy.

[As an aside: I made the mistake of actually watching Drumpf's "speech"  last night and I literally wanted to throw things at my television. Or punch someone. Or both. He said NOTHING OF SUBSTANCE. Absolutely nothing but garbage came out of his loud mouth. He had no policy points, nothing. Essentially it was "Ted is a liar, Marco is a little man, Lindsay Graham is a nasty person, people are attacking me, I own a lot of buildings, I watched the golf tournament at MY golf course on Sunday (WTF?), oh and I brought my own brand of water, wine, and steak (WTF? again) to this "press conference."]

But newsworthy or not GMA decided to lead with Drumpf. Their second story was about John Kasich who is barely holding on in the primary but hey he might win Ohio...but even if he does there's no hope.

And then...THREE STORIES into the broadcast they talked about Bernie and his "unlikely" victory.

I have a very strong feeling that had Hillary won that would have been a lead story "Hillary's nomination a done deal" or something like that. But Bernie? Nope. He gets relegated to the third news story of the day.

It irks me so very much that the media refuses to report on Bernie. He's not some flash-in-the-pan. He is a real candidate who is really winning and it's about damn time the media started giving him equal (and positive) air time and column inches.

And don't even get me started on how all the polls and pundits and talking heads are counting the super delegates NOW rather than waiting until the convention which is when they should/will be counted. The ONLY delegates that matter right freaking now are the "regular" (non-super) delegates. The super delegates can vote for either candidate at the convention which is why they don't count right now.

#RantOver
#FeelTheBern

Monday Afternoon Musings - Happy Leap Day!

Hey there. Happy Leap Day! Not sure how one celebrates today (or if you even need to celebrate), but whatever. Eat some chocolate or something. It IS Monday, after all.

It was gorgeous here yesterday - sunny, windy, and 65 freaking degrees outside. Today? Less sunny, just as breezy, and less warm. Tomorrow? Snowstorm.

Yeah, I love Ohio.
Not really.

Let's just get on with this shall we?

1. The Oscars: I remembered why I don't watch The Oscars anymore. They're boring as F*CK. Honestly. Boring. Yes, Chris Rock was good. He handled the whole #OscarsSoWhite controversy in a funny yet respectful way. Leo won. Of course he did. Sly Stallone lost. WTF? The dresses were boring. The whole show was a snooze fest. If they would just hand out the damn awards without all the fluff between the awards it would be like a 60-minute show. At least I had The Walking Dead to entertain me between awards.

2. I have managed to make a new dish every single week since proclaiming that as my goal back in January. Yay me. Hell, the kids have even tried all the new dishes. They haven't liked them all but they tried them.

3. I'm in pain. And no, surprisingly enough it isn't my ankle this time. I've been dealing with pain in my hand, wrists, elbows, and shoulders for about a month or so. My right hand is also swollen between the joints in the hand. So.....as much as I hate doctors (specifically my doctor) I am going in on Friday to figure out what the hell is going on. I'm tired of being achy all the time.

4. Tomorrow is Super Tuesday. I'll be glued to the TV tomorrow night. #FeelTheBern people. #FeelTheBern.

And there you have it. All the random stuff going on in my head right now. Enjoy your "extra" day today. :)

Monday Musings on a Tuesday Afternoon

I woke up this morning and my first thought (right after, 'Oh crap. It's only Tuesday) was "oh crap..I forgot to blog yesterday."

Now that's not to say that my Monday afternoon blogging is a chore. It isn't. But yesterday afternoon was madness when it came to free time so blogging didn't happen.

Lucky for all (2) of you...I decided to take a few minutes and blog today.

So what's up buttercup?

1. It might snow tomorrow night. And I'm talking SNOW. It's supposed to rain all day Wednesday and then change to snow during the night and according to our local weather guys we could get 1", 4", 8", or even a foot of snow. They have no clue. Every forecast is different. At this point I think they're totally guessing about all of it. And of course The Weather Channel has named the storm - Petros.

2.  I've mentioned before the Olivia has been dealing with a new health issue and haven't gone into much detail. I'm still not going to get into much detail - I've told a handful of people what's happening and that's that. We did get good news yesterday about her condition so I'm feeling a bit relieved about the whole situations. Ah, #Vaguebooking at its finest.

3. Anyone else tired of the presidential election yet? I'm so SICK AND FREAKING TIRED of hearing a certain billionaire reality tv star's name mentioned. I refuse to type his name here for fear that if I type it enough he'll materialize in my house (think: Beetlejuice). He is running his campaign on earned media because the damn media won't stop talking about him. NO ONE CARES except for the boneheads in the major network newsrooms who still think this clown is news.

4. I've given up eating at night (read: after dinner) for Lent. It's not as bad as it was last year. I'm hoping it'll help me drop some lbs since I'm too damn busy to get to the gym right now. Also, I need a treadmill at home.

I know I had more thoughts to write about yesterday but I didn't write them down so they're gone. All gone.

Happy Tuesday! ;)

Getting Political

OK. It's that time again.
Time for me to throw on my political pundit hat and start talking about this election.

Last night I watched the speeches from Hillary, Bernie, and (forgive me for even typing this) Donald Trump.

I can't believe I just typed his name. I hope it's not like Beetlejuice - if I type it three times he'll suddenly appear in my home office and start yelling. Just to be safe I won't type it again. Once was my limit.

Anyway...here's my takeaway from those three speeches.

Hillary needs to stop saying "I" and start saying "we." She comes across as angry and a bit shrill (and yes, I went there as a woman...get over it). Her speeches seem forced, almost as if she's pissed that she has to work so hard for something she assumed was going to be in the bag. She claims to share some of the same ideas as Bernie but I'm not impressed with her. Will I vote for her if she gets the Democratic nomination? Yes, because the GOP field is terrifying and we can't let any of them near the White House.

Bernie says "we" a lot. I like that. I like that he wants a political revolution and that he wants to bring change to the political process. I like that he want universal Medicare for all and wants to work to reduce student loan debt (as I owe about $60,000 from law school). I like his ideas. I like Bernie. He's personable and he's not a typical politician. And yes he yells too but I think that's just how he always talks. His speech was full of ideas about what he wants to do and what he will do when he is president. I was impressed.

And then we get to the former reality TV star. The racist, xenophobe who hates women and everyone else. This is my takeaway from his speech: He's going to (1) build up the military, (2) build a HUGE wall, (3) give everyone guns to protect the 2nd amendment, (4) take away your healthcare, and (5) fix the 40 percent unemployment rate that he claims is happening in this country.

What. The. F*ck.

Unemployment at 40 percent?
Um, no.

His entire speech was full of untruths, lies, overblown statements, blustering, and idiocy. And yet the people cheering for him ate it up. They drank the Kool-Aid and then some. I just sat there with my mouth agape wondering how in the hell HE managed to win New Hampshire. It's very, very scary.

One can only hope that someone else - anyone else other than Cruz and Rubio - can manage to overtake that moron in the remaining primaries.

As it is, right now my support is for Bernie.

#FeelTheBern people.