Palin aide says Obama backers politicizing Alaska investigation

Another Republican not willing to cooperate with a legal investigation. Right out of the George W. Rove play book. Wag the dog and blame Obama for an investigation that was going on before she was VP nominee. Nice choice, McCain. Really, this is ridiculous.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said Friday it has held meetings with United States store managers warning them of issues that could arise if Democrats win power and pass a law that would make it easier for workers to unionize, but stressed it was not telling workers how to vote.

I love March. Not only do I get to indulge in delicious Shamrock Shakes almost daily, but it’s also the month that celebrates my profession.

In support of social workers everywhere, please take a minute to ask your Representative to co-sponsor the Social Work Reinvestment Initiative to establish the Social Work Reinvestment Commission to provide independent counsel to Congress on policy issues associated with the recruitment, retention, research, and reinvestment in the profession of social work.

There’s quite a few articles out there about “netiquette.” In these articles, they clearly write out the rules for sending emails and chatting, about forwarding messages, and even deciphering the emoticons. However, I think the topic of “googling” people needs to be tackled. We all do it. We all know we all do it, but do we need to tell people we do it. One of Jaycie’s friends recently came to school and told Jaycie about how she was googling her. Of course, they found the various websites of my family members with pictures. Now, I don’t put anything out here that I don’t want people to read, but I don’t want to have to discuss it in person either. It’s just kind of creepy. I’ve had this conversation with Jodi a couple of times. We all know her website and most know that we (her sisters) are not allowed to read it, but it’s so weird when others come across it and then want to discuss it with her or us in person. Then there are those who read and get upset with what they read. Some are offended because they feel left out of activities. They make assumptions and feelings get hurt. It’s lame. Then there are those who lurk. I like them the best. I’m a lurker. I interact when I feel like it, but sometimes I just don’t. At least lurkers are quiet and don’t make creepy comments to your face about what they found on the internet like it’s some kind of dirty secret.

Like I said before, I don’t put out there what I don’t want people to know. And I have to deal with those repercussions, but I just think it would be good netiquette to keep your googling to yourself. If you find me–great, either comment on the site, shoot me an email, or lurk, but don’t feel it’s okay to talk to me about it in person. It’s just creepy.

It’s only November 25th and I’ve managed to get quite a bit of my Christmas shopping done. I’m pretty impressed with myself. Typically, I do most of my shopping the week before Christmas, but I’m trying to stay ahead of the game this year. I’ve managed to knock off half my family already. The best is that I scored the an awesome gift for Maxwell last night. I’m so excited about it. I obviously can’t write much about it just in case he reads this entry, but I can’t wait to see his face Christmas morning. For the most part, I’m not going to get the kids a lot of toys. We already have way too many, so I’m going with bigger gifts for them. Maxwell has even opted for a symbolic adoption of an animal from WWF. Jaycie’s still trying to decide which big ticket item she’s going for. It should be interesting though because she has expensive taste!

I’ve struggled with the ethics behind international adoptions for quite sometime. While I understand there are many children internationally who need homes and parents, I wonder what influence our country has in the adoption process. I’m not very familiar with the adoption process at all, whether it be in the US or internationally. However, I have witnessed our country’s love of bullying others into doing what we want them to do. I fear that the US may play unfair games in order to obtain babies. See, that’s another problem too. We have tons of older children in this country who need good homes, but everyone seems to want babies, so rather than provide good homes to older US children, these parents go international to get a baby. Then there is the whole idea of how babies are becoming a commodity. In the US, usually only middle or upper class people adopt because the fees are so high. Those who have lower incomes cannot afford to become adoptive parents. This worries me. It’s as if the adoption process favors those with money rather than those who can be the best parents and provide a good home to the children. These two lines in a recent Star Tribune article articulate this concept of babies as goods rather than humans. I feel the children are getting lost in all of this.

“These notaries charge an average of $30,000 for children delivered in about nine months–record time for international adoptions.”

“The small Central American country sent 4,135 children to the United States last year, making it the largest source of babies for U.S. families after much-bigger China. Americans adopted 6,493 children from China in 2006.”

Thanksgiving is probably one of my most favorite holidays. I love waking up in the morning and watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade with the kids while Ben complains because he wants to watch the pre-game. Every year we have to figure out how to roast the turkey because we never remember. The kids have fun watching Ben eat the neck and gizzards. This year I have a new challenge. I have to figure out how to make the gravy. Usually, my Dad makes it, but he’s not joining us this year, so it’s up to me. I’m pretty sure I have it all figured out, so I think it’ll be fine. And if it sucks, I have some back up packaged gravy. I’m most excited about dessert–cheesecake and pumpkin pie–yum!

Argh. It’s another sleepless night. I’ve always struggled with falling asleep. I’m the type that can’t shut my brain off long enough to let myself sleep. I’ve probably written some of the best papers of my life while lying in bed waiting to fall asleep. Usually a good book aids me in the sleep process. I’ll read until my eyes are so tired so I just need to tap the light off and fall asleep. Lately, that’s not working for me. If it lasts much longer, I will have to resort to some non-habit forming sleep aids.

“Never separate the lives you live from the words you speak”–Paul Wellstone

I’ve been thinking about this quote a lot lately. I attempt on a daily basis to walk the talk. Of course, there are times when I falter, but a recent life event has truly put this philosophy to the test. The repercussions of living the life I speak have been horrible. I have lost some of the people who are most important to me because of doing what I believe is the right thing–the thing I advocate for on a daily basis. When I faced this difficult decision, I had to look at myself personally and professionally. I had to ask myself, am I willing to take the risks and consequences that I must ask people to do daily? If I am not willing to take the risk of speaking out against wrongdoing, how can I ask others to do so? In the end, I did what I knew I had to do. I know I did the right thing. I have no regrets. Yet, knowing that I did the right thing in the face of all the naysayers, has given me little comfort. I know I cannot be responsible for the actions and thoughts of others. I know that their reactions are typical and expected, but knowing this doesn’t make me feel any better. I’ve been physically sick for weeks. I don’t know how to be normal again

We Remember Paul Wellstone

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Five years after his death, Wellstone still inspires

Wellstone remembered on the fifth anniversary of his death

Wellstone-style campaigns live on: Grassroots political training of Camp Wellstone helping to produce ‘new wave of leaders’ in U.S.