The Date
Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday. That was really significant. Obama is his dream realized. Someone who fought for basic rights and dignity for black people would be proud. The highest office of the land is occupied by a black person. Before the 2008 election, I said constantly that there would be a woman president before a black one. Obviously, I was wrong and had to eat my words.

The Actual Swearing In
Did anyone notice that the Vice President oath is longer? Or is it because Chief Justice Roberts was talking faster? That was weird. I loved that he swore on Lincoln and Martin Luther King Jr.’s bible. It was nice that Roberts read the oath instead of relying on his memory and stumbling.

The Speech
What I found memorable was his inclusion of the LGBT community. He’s the first incumbent President to do that in a general-election acceptance speech. It wasn’t merely a “shout out” as in “Much love to all my gay peeps!” The inclusion was substantive. He pointed to the struggles of the gay community by mentioning “Stonewall.” Most importantly, he spoke of marriage equality.

Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law – for if we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well.

This was one for the history books. Oh and BTW, thanks Mr. President from one of your LGBT (bi) peeps!

The Music
Beyoncé-gate. I wouldn’t be surprised if she did lip-synch. A lot of people say, “Who cares?” I suppose, but one of my favorite parts of boxing matches, baseball games, the Superbowl is the singing of the National Anthem. I would prefer it to be live, and honestly, I respect the artist more. They are taking that chance, despite their nerves and weather. If she did lip-synch, she did a great job of faking it. Ripping out the ear piece was a great touch since singers do that to be able to hear themselves.

Whether or not she sang live wasn’t that big of an issue for me because it was Kelly Clarkson’s rendition of “My Country Tis of Thee” that moved me. And she didn’t lip-synch. I got chills. I’ve been a fan since she auditioned for American Idol. She has natural talent. Many can be trained to sing, but not that many possess that raw talent. Her ability to sing acapella really well is further evidence of that. The chick was born to sing.

The Fashion
I’m a girly girl, so I usually notice what they’re wearing. I liked the couture coat by New York designer Thom Browne. Interestingly, he is menswear designer. It had a vintage feel. Her bejeweled belt was J. Crew (off the rack), and they’ll be retiring it. The colorful coats that Malia and Sasha wore were gorgeous. I loved Malia’s fuschia one by J. Crew. Not-so-little-anymore Sasha wore Kate Spade. Both off the rack, which is nice. J. Crew said they’d be retiring that coat as well.

Michelle’s Inaugural Ball gown blew me away. The couture gown by Taiwanese designer Jason Wu was amazing. A “true red,” and that criss cross halter top looks best on tall women, so she rocked it. I didn’t like her 2009 dress by the same designer, mainly because I don’t like one-shoulder gowns. Asymmetry bugs me.

I really enjoyed this Inauguration. The pomp and circumstance and the traditions makes me even prouder to be an American – especially when the President is someone I like. Most of all, I enjoyed it because it was Obama up there – not Romney. That would have made me physically ill in a way that Bush never did. The last person I want up there is someone who stands for nothing because he said whatever people wanted to hear to get elected. With Obama, you know exactly what he supports and rejects. And if many of these coincide with my values and beliefs, even better.

The CT school shootings were horrific, which definitely took the 2nd Amendment off the back burner. I remember during the debates, gun control was not really addressed other than the usual, “make sure kids have a good childhood so they don’t turn into the Columbine monsters.”

The NRA has completely disgusted me. After the massacre, they wait days to give a statement, and when they did, their solution was all schools should have armed rent-a-cops. Because having them really helped in the Columbine shooting.

Bragging about their paid memberships increasing exponentially after the shootings pissed me off to no end. What kind of organization does that? Nothing like 20 dead kids to up your numbers. Ugh.

Vice President Biden meets with anyone and everyone related to guns and violence and comes up with recommendations. On the 16th, he took 23 of those recommendations and turned them into Executive Orders. For some reason, I get Conservative newsletters and alerts even though I’ve e-mailed them, saying that I’m a bleeding heart Liberal. Let’s see. In the past two days, I’ve read, “Impeach Him” (yawn) and “Congress must act to counter every single one of these orders! They have the power to do it, and they must take action.”

Every single one? Even this one?

18. Provide incentives for schools to hire school resource officers.

Wasn’t that what the NRA was calling for? Damn that Commie Obama for giving us what we wanted.

The whole debate has gotten ridiculous, really. I have heard it all. From hard core gun nuts who say NO background checks to banning all weapons. Maybe we can have some sensible solutions? Like tougher background checks? Closing that gun show loophole would be great too. I still don’t understand how Joe Crazy can walk right into a show in many states and purchase an AR-15 without any kind of background check. Here in CA, there are background checks when you buy from a gun show. You purchase from the dealer and go through the background check. When you pass, you pick up your weapon from the transfer dealer who has been holding it until you pass. That should be in all states.

The assault weapons ban. Senator Dianne Feinstein is leading this campaign, as she did when assault weapons were banned in 1994. So, to the NRA, she is Satan incarnate. It makes me ask the question. Who really needs an assault weapon? A handgun or shotgun would suffice if Stranger Danger comes into your house. Do you really need something that will literally blow their head to bits? Dead is dead.

And the high capacity magazines. Again, do you really need a 100RD magazine when one bullet is all you need to kill a deer. Max 3 if you’re a bad shot. Limiting the capacity you can buy would be one way to go.

One of the things that I wish the gun lobby, gun nuts, and Conservatives would drop is the “tyrannous” government argument. Where were you when the Patriot Act was signed into law by Bush? And extended by Obama? I should have seen well-regulated militias storming the capital. Did they sleep in? Were they too inept to send an e-mail blast, “Our rights are about to be eroded. Grab your guns and meet at the steps of the capital. Donuts and coffee will be provided.” Either they don’t really care about a tyrannous government, or their militias really suck. Or a combination of both.

Anyway, I’m pretty much fed up with the whole thing at this point. Will real change happen now? I’d like to believe so, but I am a realist. The NRA has a financial choke hold on Congress, and a large group of voters will keep the pressure on to keep gun laws as they are. Nothing screams American machismo more than assault rifles with magazines stuffed with as many hollow point bullets it can hold. Go big or go home, baby.

Of course, on a more personal level, if that Commie Imam King Barack Hussein Obama tries to take away my shoulder-fired surface-to-air missile, he’ll have to pry it from my cold, dead hands.

God help us. What can we do to stop this? I’ve heard it all over the weekend. Conservatives, like Representative Louie Gohmert of TX, have said that more guns are the answer. He told Chris Wallace of Fox News,

“Chris, I wish to God she had had an m-4 in her office, locked up so when she heard gunfire, she pulls it out … and takes him out and takes his head off before he can kill those precious kids”

Liberals, like Michael Moore tweeted:

“The short term solution? A law immediately banning semi-automatic weapons & mega-clips. Must have license to own gun. Must pass mental exam.”

Honestly, I don’t know what the answer is. If the Principal was armed, it doesn’t mean that she could have taken him out. And if we ban semis and mega clips, it doesn’t mean they won’t be sold. I see a very profitable black market emerging.

All I know is that the whole thing depresses me. I worked as a sub, and I remember doing those lockdown drills. You lock the door, turn off all the lights, and close the blinds or draw the drapes. It was all very creepy. You just pray you never have to do it for real.

My mind doesn’t want to go to these dark places anymore. It’s really making me hope the Mayans were right. I think the entire world needs purging, and Friday sounds like a great day to do it.

*sigh* When I first “Liked” the page, I enjoyed reading the comments of like-minded Liberals. The Conservatives just ruin it for me with their Liberal-bashing. I should stay in the blog world, but I was lured back into Lucifer’s lair.

The hot topics have been the Fiscal Cliff and the fiasco that is Michigan’s Right to Work Law. We’re inching toward the Fiscal Cliff, and I am praying that Obama doesn’t cave. I think he won’t because he is now emboldened with the win and the fact that there are no more political consequences for him. Before he agrees to any spending cuts, generating revenue via increasing taxes for the wealthy better be carved in stone and painted with the blood of dead plutocrats.

I believe that spending cuts are necessary. But so are those tax increases. If you’re broke, you can cut your expenses to the bone. To actually stop being perpetually broke, you need to earn more money. Same thing here. It’s not all about spending cuts or taxes. It’s both. However, I personally don’t trust the GOP farther than I can throw them, so Obama should take the carved in stone/blood suggestion above.

The fight didn’t end on election day, as we have seen in that disastrous Right to Work Law. Let’s see. You can choose not to be in a union, but still get the benefits of the same pay as a union worker and health benefits. You just don’t have to pay dues. Hmm. And Conservatives call us the freeloaders? Like I said in the comments section:

God forbid workers should have a living wage and good benefits. I swear to God the way a lot Conservatives are talking, they won’t be happy until people are indentured servants to the almighty job creators.

I need to be back here in blog world. There are posts of substance here – both sides. Those comments sections do nothing but make my blood pressure rise. My sister asked at lunch on Saturday, “Do we have to ban you from another site?” Heh. Looks like it. I’ll try and cut down. I promise!

Conservative Republicans showed their disdain for the UN by voting down the Disability Treaty. Former Senator Bob Dole (yes, one of their own), in a wheelchair, tried to persuade the Senate into ratifying this treaty. He championed the Americans with Disabilities Act. It didn’t work. The treaty needed 66 votes and it only got 61.

GOP Senator Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma said:

“I do not support the cumbersome regulations and potentially overzealous international organizations with anti-American biases that infringe upon American society.”

OK, “The UN sucks” argument is covered.

Rick Santorum, a name I didn’t want to type again, led the fight against this treaty.

What’s so problematic here is that the provisions of this treaty could open the door for a professional or government official to override the decision that we as parents need to make for our special-needs children.

Having been blessed with Bella, and all of our wonderful children, we’ve learned that when it comes to their care, we know what’s best. CRPD threatens to take parents out of the equation and attempt to determine the right path for children they have never met.

I read the articles of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. He’s referring to Article 7(2):

Article 7 – Children with Disabilities
2. In all actions concerning children with disabilities, the best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration.

To me, that is overly paranoid and a huge leap. He spread this message further – to the home-schooling community. People were up in arms about how bureaucrats from Geneva would storm into their homes and tell them how to raise their kids. The result? The treaty was shot down.

Over 150 nations have signed this treaty. Sadly, because of irrational fears of black helicopters and a New World Order, we’re not one of them.

On Nov. 6, Romney carried the majority of every economic group except those with less than $50,000 a year in household income. That means he carried the majority of middle-class voters…let’s remember that any party that captures the majority of the middle class must be doing something right.

Translation: We did better with the voters who actually matter – the middle class and of course, our super rich friends who backed us.

So who is the party that promotes class warfare again? Hmm. The ones who don’t care about getting the votes of the poor (working or otherwise). The ones who, behind closed doors, talk about how 47% of the population – like those on Social Security or disabled veterans, are entitled moochers.

This is the part that really burned my biscuits:

There was a time not so long ago when the problems of the Democratic Party revolved around being too liberal and too dependent on minorities. Obama turned those problems into advantages and rode that strategy to victory. But he was a charismatic African American president with a billion dollars, no primary and media that often felt morally conflicted about being critical. How easy is that to replicate?

He assumes that the media didn’t want to criticize Obama because he’s black? Are you kidding me? Has the guy ever turned on FOX “News?” Or listened to Conservative pundits like Limbaugh, Hannity, Levin, and Ingraham? The criticism was not just daily. It was hourly. Non-Conservative and Liberal news outlets weren’t afraid to criticize either. Hello……first debate? He was skewered by the media – Left, Right, and Middle.

I avoided writing about Romney after the election. He lost, and my hope is that he would fade into obscurity. However, this guy compelled me to write. And let him know the real reasons why they lost.

Effective Use of Campaign Donations
In 2008, Sarah Palin made fun of Obama being a community organizer. In campaigning, that is a huge asset. Community organizers usually have to work with extremely limited budgets – especially if they work for non-profit organizations. They have to make every dollar stretch as far as it can go. Obama’s campaign used the money they raised wisely, like pin pointing what regions needed the air time for ads and when they needed to run.

Better Ground Game
The Obama campaign had offices throughout the United States. They were divided into small groups with that region who held events. Phone banking was huge. I remember one event announcement in my area: “Phone banking for Ohio at Starbucks. Bring your cell phones and chargers.” Others held dinners as fund raisers. In the swing states, their community teams would go door-to-door. They’d offer people rides so they could vote. On election night, when people in Florida were waiting hours to vote, supporters encouraged them to stay. They gave them snacks and water.

However, the number one reason why Mitt Romney lost was by:

Being Mitt Romney
The small bits of information we’d get about him were like puzzle pieces. By election night, we got a good picture of him. The 47% comment. Saying how he’d have a better shot at winning if he were Latino. Using the Benghazi tragedy to slam Obama and hopefully score political points. High school classmates retelling how he physically bullied a gay student. Recalling the “binders full of women” from which he could choose. And the constant changing of positions. A lot of us made fun of his “flip flopping,” but when he did it within a 24-hour period, it became glaringly obvious. He would say anything to get elected, and what he said was tailored especially for the audience at that moment. If the audience changed, so did his position. Eventually, voters saw him for who he really was. Thank God.

Message to Stuart Stevens: Sorry, but he didn’t lose because you see Obama as an entertaining black man deemed “untouchable” by the media. Mitt Romney lost because he is an empty suit who wanted the title, not the job™ (™ Frank of A Frank Angle)