Facie’s Ramblings

My friend Q has an apple-tasting party every November. During this evening, guests sample about 15 to 20 different apple varieties (BYOK--bring your own knife) and then comment on and rate them. Once done tasting, everyone has the opportunity to try to guess the "mystery apple." This evening is a lot like a wine-tasting, except you actually consume the apples rather than spit them out, as you would wine. And, happily for me, there is plenty of snack food, including cheese and bread, to help cleanse the palate, as well as an array of beverages (yes, wine). At the end of the tasting, the group goes around the room and shares some of their comments on select apples. This year, there was a decidedly anti-Obama crowd, so some of the comments centered on Hope and Change as well as a few other gems. When it came time to reveal the mystery apple, I held my breath, wondering if I would once again guess correctly, yet also lose the inevitable tie-breaker. I and four others correctly gu...

When I started writing this blog, I was not sure what I would write about. I was fairly certain, however, that I would ramble on and on, whatever the topic. About eight or nine months into this, I mostly ramble about politics and money. But right now, I am just sick of both of those things. I am tired of reading about the latest bank/business/whatever to go bankrupt or be bought out. I don't like worrying about money. And yet I am worried that I am not worried as much as I should be. The excitement I felt when McCain picked a refreshing woman as his running mate? That has almost evaporated. Should I be concerned by her lack of experience? I don't know. What I do know is that about all the candidates can do is throw jabs at each other. I am just sick of it. I had a dream about Sean Hannity last night. I think it is time to turn off Fox News. I will try to watch some of the debate tonight, but I am not sure how long I will make it; my heart is just not in it. I am not sure anythi...

Either McCain's choice of Sarah Palin for veep is absolutely brilliant or it will sound the death knell (I think I mean knell, not knoll). I agree with many Obama supporters that McCain should not have talked about Obama's lack of experience and then turn around and pick a candidate with little experience herself; that could really hurt him. But I am not the only one who is not voting for Obama for a reason other than his inexperience. His views are just fundamentally different from mine (In fact, I took yet another quiz. Ron Paul got me 15 points, McCain and Bob Barr got me 8 and 7. And Obama, 0). Really, what makes a person qualified to be president? I would never vote for someone who had not held any office, but I am more turned off by someone who has a ton of experience, particularly someone who has been in Congress for decades. Of the two ( Obama and Palin ), neither is particularly qualified (though you could argue being a mayor and then governor is a more experienc...

For the second time in about six weeks, I drove past a group of people waving Obama signs, some of which read, "Honk for Obama." On this day, the peopled who probably numbered 20 or 30 were having a barbecue to help register voters and, of course, garner support for Obama. As I did when I drove past them the last time, I waved my fists in the air, which made the sign holders cheer. Jordan asked me why I did this, and I said, "These people really want this man to be the next president, and it makes them happy that I just did that." I could not honk my horn because I do not support Obama, but I do support these people and am glad for them, and envious, actually, that they are excited about their candidate. I wish I could be. The election is about three months away, and, once again, I do not want either of the top two candidates to be president. Several friends and relatives tell me if I vote for Ron Paul, who does stand for most of the things I believe in, I will be w...

When I went to vote this a.m., I handed my ID to the guy, since my last name can be tricky. He looked for several minutes in the box with the cards. Then he asked if I was in the right place (there is another area in this room, for people in a different neighborhood, I presume). And I told him that this is where I have always voted. He then reviewed the bound paper list, found my name, but could not figure out why it was there, yet not in the box with the cards. Then he realized what was going on and rather exclaimed, "Oh, you are a Republican!" One of the ladies sitting next to him said, "Oh, one of those." I said I assumed they had not seen too many of "my kind" that morning, and she said I was the third. Then, being the open person I am, I eagerly said I was coming to rock the vote and vote for Ron Paul. One of the women commented that she liked some of the things he had stood for, perhaps to try to make me feel as if I was not voting for a terrible per...

Just over two weeks from the PA primary, I am fairly certain I will be casting my vote for president for Pittsburgh-born-and-raised Congressman Ron Paul. Because mainstream media pretty much no longer covers him, some people have never heard of Dr. Paul, and others assume he dropped out of the race months ago. But I am here to tell you that this former libertarian is still fighting the fight, even though it will be an uphill battle. After all, too many people want to know what the government is going to do for them. Ron Paul's vision is not like that. In that respect, he reminds me of Alan Keyes. When he was running for president in '96, Keyes was asked what he would do about the government shutdowns that were going on (maybe it happened just once). He said he planned to do nothing, that he was all for less government and less government spending. I appreciated that stance, but Keyes was a little too conservative for my taste, especially back then. But now that I have been a wo...