Caution: Political Views Below

Brian and I had a conversation the other day where I expressed that I have a hard time understanding other people's political views, other than the news commentators that tend to be pretty clear.   Political discussions seem to be taboo, particularly since things seem so divided lately. 

So I decided to publish a letter to the editor of our local paper.  My first version was almost 1200 words long and the local paper requires letters to the editor to be 300 words or less.  So I sent them a very condensed version, but I decided to post the original here.  I doubt that my political views will be a surprise to anyone, but if you want to comment with your own thoughts, I would love to hear them. 

I am a supporter of President Obama and Vice President Biden.  I personally find it hard to understand how people in similar situations to me could support Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan.  I feel like it is taboo to talk about politics outside of family and friends and sometimes even with family and friends when there is such discord like there is with the election this year.  I am hoping that expressing my opinion will help others understand why many of us support President Obama and Vice President Biden and that others will write in and express why they support whomever they support and hopefully we will all learn a little something.

With two young children I have to think about their future and the generations after them.  Romney has proposed stripping the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from regulating greenhouse gasses and the Department of Interior's ability to lease and issue permits for drilling on federal lands and waters.  Romney's energy plan very clearly states that he would continue to supplement oil by giving them large tax breaks and incentives and that he would give no help to alternative energy, but expect them to compete on their own against supplemented fossil fuels. Obama has advocated raising the federal standards for fuel efficiency of cars and light trucks and maintaining incentives for renewable energy including wind and solar-powered generation.  Additionally, I am one person that obtained a green energy job during President Obama's administration.  I don't know that my job was a direct result of any of the administration's policies, but I do know that the company I work for is successful, employs American workers and supports many more, reduces pollution, enhances U.S. energy security, and is exporting its products to many countries.  Because I am concerned about the environment, I support President Obama. 

As I moved to my current position, my husband also changed jobs.  He works in the arts.  I believe that most everyone knows where Romney stands on this one due to his remark about Big Bird in the debate.  Because I support the arts, I support President Obama. 

I consider myself fortunate because I have never had an unexpected pregnancy. Although I believe that I would never have made the decision to have an abortion I do not think that I, or anyone else, has the right to legislate this decision for other women.  Also, I and the women I know generally make health care decisions for our families.  I have worried about the lifetime cap that my father hadson his insurance plan as he fights cancer.  I heard about a close friend's father's fight to get insurance privately due to a preexisting condition.  Thanks to Obamacare I need only worry about my father's fight against cancer now and not about a lifetime cap and soon others will no longer need to worry about being denied coverage because of a preexisting condition (immediately for children).  Finally Obamacare is also providing eight preventive health care services at no cost to millions of women enrolled in insurance plans. Because I think the healthcare legislation that took generations to be enacted should stay in place and because I think women should be allowed to make their own choices, I support President Obama.

My husband and I both have university degrees and we both paid back our student loans.  As a mother who is aware of the cost of a college education as well as the benefits, I hope that my children will be able to receive student loans so that we can afford to send them to college and so that, as a colleague of mine says, "They have some skin in the game." I attended public schools and a private university.  I know that I benefited from smaller classrooms and dedicated teachers in both environments. Because I believe that our students deserve our support, I support President Obama.

I think that when choosing a president,the choice for vice president should be given considerable thought.  Joe Biden has a lot of experience in the government.  I believe that he showed this during his debate with Paul Ryan.  I also believe that he respects hard-working Americans, women, and the men and women that serve or have served our country.  I believe that during his time in politics he has worked to make this country better for everyone, not just himself.  I believe him to be honest, to have integrity and to have empathy.  I believe that if we needed a Vice President to step up and lead the country he would do a better job than Paul Ryan who supported ending Medicare as we know it, cutting food stamps, and voted for a bill that would have allowed anyone involved to refuse to perform an abortion for any reason, even if the life of the woman needing the abortion was in danger.  Because I think we need to plan for disasters, I support Vice President Joe Biden.

Finally, I am a nerd.  I have always been a nerd. I love numbers and facts and I make most of my decisions based on facts.  This election, like most elections I have witnessed, has been full of negative campaigning.  I strive to find out the facts behind the sound bites and the facts that I have been able to find point to both candidates quoting the facts in ways that make them look better or their oppenent look worse.  However, Romney seems to do this to an extreme and seems to feel no need to even stick to the facts at times.  Although some misrepresentation of facts is going to happen, particularly in debates where a candidate could simply misspeak, Romney's mistakes just seem too extreme to not be considered misleading or untruthful.  One example was when Romney tried to depict himself as wanting to produce jobs for women.  First of all, he did not lead a search for qualified women for his cabinet; a nonpartisan coalition of women's groups did because in 2002 women held only 30 percent of the top appointed positions in Massachusetts.  Also, while Romney was governor the number of high-level appointed positions held by women fell 27.6 percent.  Secondly Romney has opposed numerous policies striving for pay equity, such as the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and the Paycheck Fairness Act.  Finally, when he ran for governor in 2002, Romney told voters, “I will preserve and protect a woman’s right to choose.”  Now he says, “I’m a pro-life candidate and I’ll be a pro-life president.” Romney does not mention that his stance has changed or why.  Because I believe honesty is the best policy, I cannot in good faith support Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan.

Thanks,
Denise

By the way, I purposely left the whole job argument out because to me it truly is not important.  Economists say that no matter who is elected 12 million jobs will be created in the next four years. I am sure in four years someone will be trying to take credit for them though.  I saw this chart and thought it was a good look at what has actually happened with jobs since Obama took office.

Another Busy Weekend

Life in the Phillips' household is continuing at a breakneck speed.  Last weekend Brian and I both worked, we went birthday gift shopping, we went to Gavin's birthday party, we went apple picking (and rode the ponies), and we went to the library.  The kids were exhausted at the end of the weekend, but very happy.

A couple of funny stories:
Mackenzie blurted out "O M G" in the car the other day. Needless to say, Brian and I are too old to talk in text acronyms, but we thought it was pretty funny that Mackenzie did it. We asked if she knew what OMG stood for (she used it in the proper context) and she said no, so we explained that it meant "Oh my goodness".

Brian was home with the kids and Isacc came tearing by him in his Woody cowboy hat, one Woody rain boot and one fireman rain boot and his underwear. Brian suggested to him that he put on some pants and Isaac explained, "Cowboys don't wear pants!" Brian turned on parental controls on Netflix, just in case.

Trip Back to Chicago

The kids had their first trip back to Chicago since we moved and they had a great weekend.

We left Friday night and stopped in Shipshewana for the night.  We had gone to Splash Universe there before and we thought going to a waterpark would be fun and would wear them out Saturday morning before the drive to Chicago in the afternoon.  The kids had a blast at the waterpark.  It has been a while since we went to one and this one is the perfect size for their age now.  Mackenzie loved swimming in the lazy river and going down the big tube slides.  Isaac still likes the smaller slide in the toddler pool, but he tried the bigger slides in the "bucket" section (where there is a bucket that dumps every few minutes). He even went down the big tube slide with me once.  He didn't like it so much (it was very dark for a good portion of the slide, since the slide goes outside and we tried it out Friday night).  However, for Isaac he has made huge strides at the waterpark.  When we went to this waterpark when he was still a baby he pretty much cried and sat in Grandpa's lap the whole time :)

Saturday we headed over to Chicago.  We got there in time to check into the hotel Brian and I were staying in that night, to go to the grocery store and get Isaac some milkless snacks, and to go to Pollo Campero for dinner.  If you have never heard of Pollo Campero, it is a fast food restaurant that is actually based in Guatemala and serves fried chicken, black beans and rice that the kids love.  Mackenzie is a particularly big fan.  When we told the kids we were headed there, I am not sure they remembered what it was, but once we got there they remembered.  Mackenzie didn't stop eating the whole time we were there, in fact she was still finishing up the bowl of beans as we were clearing the table.

The bowl was one of the sides for the family, but I am pretty sure Mackenzie ate 3/4 of the bowl.

I didn't think to take any pictures of the kids when we dropped them off for their sleepover at Granny's Corner.  Mackenzie was super excited, but Isaac was a bit hesitant when we left him.  I am not sure he remembered Granny's Corner very well.

Then Brian and I headed to the ND vs. Miami game at Soldier Field.  We had a great time at the game, particularly since the Irish won and are now 5-0.

 

The next morning we headed back to Granny's Corner to pick up the kids and to go to brunch at the George's new house.  Of course the kids did not want to leave.  Mackenzie got to spend the entire sleepover with Sophia, who was one of the three baby girls at Granny's Corner with Mackenzie from the time she was six weeks old.  I asked Mackenzie how Isaac did and she said that he cried the whole time.  Granny said that he did fine once he got used to being there.  Isaac said he cried a little when he went to sleep and when he woke up.  He told me that when he woke up Granny gave him sausage and he calmed down. 

We all had a great time at the George's for brunch.  We got to see their new house in Oak Park and hang out with the Georges, the Conn's and the Schultz's.  All in all there were 8 adults and 9 kids there.  The kids all played really nicely together.  I had gotten some small pumpkins for all of the kids before we went over in the hopes that I could bribe them with the pumpkins to get them all to sit together.  It worked pretty well, but unfortunately I am not a very good photographer.  I thought the pictures looked okay on the camera when I took them, but when I downloaded them they were really dark.  Hopefully someone else got a better shot.

From left to right: Isaac, Mackenzie, Abigail, Ben, Sydney, Isobel, Noah and Vivienne.  Milo is still a bit small to sit for the picture.

 Here are a couple shots of Isaac and Isobel playing together.  They may not remember, but they were cohorts at Granny's Corner together.  Miss Terry used to tell me that she would put all of the infant/toddlers down for their naps together and after she left the room Isobel and Isaac would stand up (there pack 'n plays were next to each other) and chat and keep each other up.  If she opened the door they would plop back down : )

 Vivienne decided to join in the fun as well:

 

Meanwhile, Mackenzie was playing upstairs with Ben and Noah.  The three of them definitely remembered playing together in the past.  Here is a shot of Mackenzie and Ben with a wagon full of pumpkins that they got up the stairs together:



 

Here is a shot of all of the babies born after we left Chicago, with their moms.
From left to right: Jenn and Abigail, Laura and Sydney, and Amber and Milo.



Later Isobel and Isaac joined the party upstairs.  Evidently Mackenzie convinced the boys to clean their room up (and she helped) in order to decorate for Halloween, which then became decorating for a birthday party.  Then they decided that it should be a surprise party.  So they would all hide in the room and then ask the adults to come up and when we opened the door they would yell "Surprise!"  The kids did this a number for times for different groups of adults.  It never got old for them.

When I was upstairs with them, the kids wanted to take pictures.  Here is Mackenzie's shot of Isobel with her pumpkin (she didn't quite get the pumpkin in the shot):

 Here is Mackenzie's shot of Ben with his pumpkin.  She told Ben to hold up the pumpkin so that she was sure to get it in his shot:

 Here is Ben's shot of Mackenzie with her pumpkin:

 Here is Isaac's shot of Noah with his pumpkin:

The kids didn't want to leave the George's either, but it was time to head back to Chicago.  The kids were pretty exhausted and slept most of the way home and then went to bed on time and slept in this morning.  I think they had all the fun that they could handle.  Hopefully Granny will invite us back for the next sleep over so we can do it again!