***BIG CHANGES IN THE WORKS***

***BIG CHANGES IN THE WORKS***

Be sure to stay tuned to this blog over the next couple of weeks. There are some fundamental changes in the works for this blog.

November 30, 2008

A moment of thanks.

So the last time I talked to you I decided that this blog was going on a diet. Since then I have not posted anything! There's no point in redirecting the subject matter of my blog if I don't continue to write.

I'll start off with bringing up that Thanksgiving has come and gone yet I made no mention of what I am thankful of. Given the current difficult economic times facing our nation, people are loosing their jobs, savings and retirement accounts are loosing value and homes are being foreclosed there is much I can be thankful for. I am lucky enough to have a job, health insurance, etc.

I am thankful for these things, however; in these times when you can lose your job and so on, there is something I am even more thankful of. Something that does not have the dollar amount value of a job, house or retirement account. Refer to this older blog post.

I am thankful for my family and friends. I am thankful to be blessed to have all of my grandparents with us and (relatively) healthy.

I know... that sounds incredibly corny. But in trying times when we are losing the things we place a monetary value on, things that are priceless and unable to lose during hard times take on a whole new value.

This is why above all I am thankful for my family and friends. It is their love that helps me appreciate and enjoy life when things are going well. Their support and encouragement also helps get me through the difficult times that life has.

O.K. That's enough sentimental blogging for the time being.

November 12, 2008

This blog is going on a diet!!!

By that I mean for at least one month, I am not going to discuss politics or the government. It has corrupted the pages of this blog for the past several posts as you can see. Let's hope I have the discipline to adhere to this diet.

Before it goes into effect though... you probably want to know my feelings towards the election outcome though. Even though (as you can probably tell) I voted for McCain, I am not "Mr. Bitter Conservative" today. I am actually pretty darn proud of the election. Our nation whom just 40-50 years ago considered segregation acceptable has overcome that and elected our first black (or African American/culturally diverse/*insert desired non-offensive politically correct term* here) president. I think it is wonderful to live in a nation where a man can rise up from a difficult upbringing and become our president regardless of the color of their skin. The key word to that statement is "our". He is our... America's President, regardless of weather you are democrat/republican, liberal/conservative, black/white, etc. He has been fairly elected as my President... as our President.

As such, I will give him the benefit of the doubt. It is up to him to lead me as a citizen of this great nation. It is up to him to do a great job or to completely screw it up. I sincerely hope it ends up being the former of the two.

What does not change in this situation are my beliefs and values. My beliefs and values have developed into some very strong, deep and meaningful things to me. The beauty of the American Constitution is that I have the freedom to disagree with Obama over the next 4 years if he governs in a way that is in opposition to my beliefs and values, but nonetheless, he will still be our President for the next 4 years. It is our duty as Americans to treat him as such.

Check out this blog post to get more of an idea for what I am talking about.

P.S. Congrats to whol ever ends up being the 1000th viewer of my blog! :-p

November 4, 2008

I am sorry readers... but I can't stop.

So I recently herd some feedback from some family members that I need to relax and start focusing my mind on something other than politics and news. HA! I wish it were that simple. If I had it my way, ignorance would be my day to day bliss.

I know I know... politics has become the obsession of this blog over the past couple of months. I am not alone in this either.

Why can't I stop thinking, learning and analyzing. It's just my nature. I like to know and learn everything I can about how things work (which is probably why I am a scientist).

September 11, 2001 changed me in a profound way. That historic event happened while I was a freshmen in college. During the months following, I was naturally drawn towards trying to understand this screwed up world in terms of history (where we have been and where we're heading), politics, religion and philosophy and what is right and just in the world. This experience shaped me in strong ways and influenced me to seek out knowledge through various courses I took during my years at Nazareth. Since then, I have continued to build on this by reading an endless pile of books and articles. I will probably never have all the answers by the time I die but there's no doubt I am going to die trying to find them!

So in closing... Historical election... *insert generic encouragement here* Exercise your right... *yada yada yada* Go vote...

BUT... if you are planning to go vote for McCain because he's not black or has a woman for VP , or planning to vote for Obama because he is black or stands for "hope"... do the country a favor and stay home. Don't even bother voting. If you are that ignorant... you have not yet earned the right to help guide our country by casting a balot.