Caption This!

I just had to make this a separate post. Mitt Romney looks to me completley uncomfortable here.  That look on his face is saying a thousand words.  You provide the caption!

Morning Mimosa: November 30, 2012

So let's get today's morning mimosa started! Have a sip!...



The media has seemed to back off the steamy sexcapades of former CIA head, General Petraeus in favor of covering play-by-play onslaught by the Republican party of Ambassador Susan Rice. See what's going on here.

Mitt Romney visited the White House to meet with President Obama to talk about, well...we don't know what in order to achieve...well, we don't know that either. Good luck trying to fill in the blanks on this one, maybe reading more here will help.  I know one thing for sure, coming straight off this loss and being in the house he will never have had to be a punch in the gut to Romney. Ouch!


Has the President taken an "it's my party and I'll do what I want to" approach in dealing with the Republicans? Steven Benen from the Rachel Maddow blog thinks so, click here to see why I agree.

And that's all for today folks, have a great weekend!

The Republican Witch Hunt

Fresh off a loss for the Presidency, The Republicans are now scrambling to lay blame or at the very least, find a scapegoat for the failings of their party to take the Commander in Chief post twice in a row.  The Witch Hunt is on and a scapegoat has been found, in none other than Susan Rice.

After a closed meeting with Susan Rice, the acting director of the CIA and a few Republican figureheads that was designed to give more information and explain the ambassadors comments on the situation in Libya, there is still no rest in this matter. Senator John McCain in a press conference following the meeting says he now has more questions than he did previously and has expressed dissatisfaction with what Susan Rice said ultimately alluding to a cover-up by the Obama administration.

I call BULLSHIT!

I think what happened here was that Susan Rice along with other top officials had an idea of what was going on in Libya. But it being too soon to call anything with surety and of course, that information would be classified anyway--was given generic and of course, diluted talking points to for public consumption.  This is not new, and this happens more often than not.  And for Senator McCain and his clan to pretend like this was some grand conspiracy theory and not something that happens routinely in the intel community is bullshit!

You can not divulge classified information to the masses, it puts us at a national security risk. But at the same time, people do have the right to know what is going on. And so here you see, that fine line being blurred between what we need to know and what we should know. As as much as that sounds a little scary, it is not an attempt to mislead or deceive but an effort to protect those who are protecting our security.  Classified information is not classified because of what it is, it is classified because of the source of the information   To clearly, information was being received from sources who remain and probably will always remain unknown. Welcome to the world of intelligence folks.

The Republican Witch Hunt needs to end, and they need to let those in the intelligence community continue to do their jobs.  This is ridiculous and the grandstanding needs to cease.  The Republicans lost the election, now its time to focus on getting people back to work and healing the economy. Enough is enough.

How much are you willing to pay for a discount?

I did it.

At 8pm Thursday night, I and I presume a million other souls flocked to the stores for the doorbuster deals that we all have become accustomed to after Thanksgiving AKA Black Friday.  Only this time, Black Friday started on Thursday.  While I initially balked at the idea of lining up and hustling to get a deal on a day that should be reserved for family, it wasn't enough to stop me from participating.  So at 8pm on Thanksgiving day, there I was standing in the aisles at Walmart, waiting for the deals to begin.

The plan was:

8pm : Walmart
9pm: Target
12am: Kohls
4am: Target (again)

At the time it seemed like a great strategy to save hundreds of dollars.
In hindsight, it was insane.

Within 10 minutes of the first deals at Walmart, a child was trampled, another separated from his family, an employee was trampled and a fight broke out. First 10 minutes.  All I wanted was some dolls and a Nerf gun...nothing major. It was chaos at Walmart. I did manage to find the Nerf gun and one doll, I checked out at customer service to save time.  I left Walmart with 2 items and a headache.  Made my way to Target and didn't even stay because the line to enter was crazy long.  And I wondered, what price do we pay for a deal?  I mean, people standing in the cold, camping out in front of stores all to save a couple hundred bucks...is it that serious?

I didn't go to Kohls at midnight as planned or Target at 4am, I enjoyed  time at home with my family and in the comfort of my warm bed and that was priceless.

I did make my way to Kohls today, only to spend over an hour in line for a waffle maker and a scarf. Then back to Walmart, which was relatively calm but only to spend over an hour waiting for my layaway as a part of my botched Black Friday plan, which is a whole other story...  By the time I returned, the kids and my sweetie had the Christmas tree up and stockings hung...glad they had fun, maybe I will join the fun next year :-(

Now, don't get me wrong I LOVE a deal, but there does become a certain point when a deal just isn't worth the hassle.  If risking life and limb to save $150 on a TV is worth it for some, then go for it; but for me I'll pass.  The price of deal in some instances is just too high. I think going forward, I will participate in Black Friday online only or after crowds have gone. And yes, that does mean I will miss some of the better deals, but if I calculate my time, the opportunity cost I realize I will miss nothing at all.

So whats in Black Friday for consumers? Deals! And of course, the bragging rights of to be one of the few people to get X widget at Y price.

But for businesses the politics is a bite different.  Target, Walmart, Best Buy, etc... advertise low prices on certain items and they are fully aware that only a small percentage of folks will even get them. But they do this anyway in hopes that the deal is sweet enough to lure you to their store versus their competitors. Target doesn't want you at Walmart, Walmart doesn't want you at Best Buy, you get the point. Retailers fighting for your business and trying to keep you away from the competition. Notice how this year many retailers were offering staggered times for sales.  Certain deals released at certain times only, in an effort to keep you at their store.

Yup, that's the game they play.

The question is how much are YOU willing to pay for a discount.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Enjoy your day!

Tammy :-)

Out Sick :-(

No updates until possibly Thursday, I'm a bit under the weather.
Stay tuned!

Morning Mimosa: November 16, 2012

Get your sip of morning mimosa!

Here are a few headlines on my brain this morning.

More of the Romney rhetoric on loosing because the President promised gifts to blacks, young people and Hispanics. Gee golly, sound to me similar to his 47% chat he gave a while back.  This zebra will never change his stripes, you have to go here and read exactly what he said. Some of what he said is quite offensive, but you be the judge.

Denzel Washington tells his daughter, Olivia who is a aspiring actress that she needs to bring her A game, work harder and be better because she's a dark-skinned black woman. Do you agree? I sure do! Get more information here.  You may be saying how does this relate to politics? Because the same holds true in all arena's! Blog post on this topic to come.

It's getting real gangsta in Gaza. Isreal and Palestine are throwing hands again.
Will we ever see peace in the middle east? More on this story here.

Morning Mimosa

Hey ladies!

Here are a few top headlines that makes today's morning mimosa.

General Petraeus scandal keeps going. The General claiming he did not quit over what happened in Libya...get the scoop here.

Obama comes out swinging hard for Susan Rice, who could be our next Secretary of State. See what he said here.

Romney says he lost because of blacks and young people voting. (Excuse me while I pause to crack up!) Okay, I'm back. Yes, the Republicans lost because...well...people voted. All the foolery is here.

Certainly there is lots going on, but that's all I have time to mix for you.  And of course, comment below on other headlines you are following.

Enjoy the day!

The Scariest Thing About the 2012 Elections

There was a lot to digest this past election and even providing an executive summary of the events that occurred would be a painstaking task.

What stuck out to me like a sore thumb this election was the Republican party's  complete and unrelenting insistence on putting the woman's right to make the best decision for her life on the ballot.

Had Mitt Romney and friends had of won this election, women would have faced a serious setback in decades of progress for women rights and issues.  Romney wasn't interested in equal pay for women, he would overturn Roe v. Wade and force women to have the baby of their rapists in addition to ending funding to programs like Planned Parenthood which provides essential services for thousands of young women.

Phew.

We dodged a bullet.

Though the war isn't over. We must move to make sure that the rights of women, basic human rights never become ballot issues again. Not only is it wrong, its offensive. Let's do better.

Sex & Power: Why Monica Lewinsky Continues To Get A Bad Rap

One notable figure this election outside of the candidates themselves was undeniably former President Bill Clinton, who has now become a superhouse in the Democratic party.  People adore Bill, the media loves him, some even call for him to run for President again (not that its possible).   But maybe it's just me, but I can't think of Bill Clinton without thinking of Monica Lewinsky and the Oval Office private party for 2 featuring Bill and Monica in the late 1990's.

It would seem to me that all have forgiven Mr. Clinton of his transgressions, his betrayal of country and the vows he took, but yet Ms. Lewinsky, almost 2 decades later remains in the doghouse.  I am not saying that Ms. Lewinsky is a saint by any means, her motives of course were questionable.  At the time her romps with the former President began, Monica was just a 21 year-old young woman who like most twenty-one year olds; was trying to find her stride in a big and sometimes confusing world. Whether or not Monica's saving of the infamous blue dress was part of some plot to "trap" President Clinton is to me, of little consequence.

I want to understand why Bill Clinton has been forgiven by the public and media and Ms. Lewinsky is still branded as a whore.  Certainly, it takes two to tango. One could argue that Mr. Clinton being much older holding the highest office in the land held quite a bit of influence over the young Lewinsky. After all, it was Bill who should have known better, right? Wasn't it Bill who took a vow of fidelity to his wife Hilary? Wasn't it Bill who held the public trust?  Did Ms. Lewinsky do something completely stupid? Absolutely.  But who hasn't at the age of 21? It just so happened that Ms. Lewinsky's transgressions were on a bigger playing field, with a larger audience and much higher stakes.  I have no doubt that Ms. Lewinsky was smart, but sometimes a lack of maturity shows up even in the most brilliant young adults.

It's safe to say that both made a mistake or at least the mistake of letting private affairs become fodder for public consumption. But if I had to choose one biggest looser here, it would be for me, President Clinton.  But in reality, the opposite has played out.  This scandal as followed Ms. Lewinsky around like a plague and according to sources has been unable to secure employment because of it...20 years later!  President Clinton on the other hand, is being paid millions just to show up and speak to large crowds.  And while, being a former President would command such attention, it almost seems as his affair with Ms. Lewinsky is a notch on his belt, a key chain that says "been there, done that".  Bragging rights that Ms. Lewinsky has not nor will ever have.

For me, this doesn't make sense. If one is a whore, then so are both. If one is going to be stoned, in the public eye, so should both. After all, it was President Clinton who was accused of questionable relationships with several women other than his wife.  He was after all, the second President to be impeached for none other than, adulterous affairs with numerous women. But yet, being known as a smooth operator has ironically elevated his status, not tarnished it.   No matter how you slice and dice it, it will be hard to prove that this doesn't boil down to good old fashioned sexism.

What say you? I will be concluding my thoughts in part 2. But I'd love to hear from you!