Well pardon meeee

If I had the power to pardon people in jail...I don't think that I would exercise that power, unless they were blatantly in need of a lesser sentencing. I feel that the legal system has good people in it, and trust their decisions to put people in jail. However, there are times when sentencing can seem unfair. For example, the guy who inadvertently killed bald eagles by trying to poison coyotes. It sounds like he has/had been in jail for quite a few years. I don't think that the punishment matches the crime. It sounds like he just made a stupid mistake, so he should have to make it up to the eagles because he's certainly not helping anyone by taking up tax dollars in jail. Some sort of eagle community service is in order I think. For bigger issues, like people on death row, I think that I would pardon them. I don't really believe in the death penalty, but who am I to say who lives and die? Wouldn't I have to pardon ALL people on death row if I were to pardon one of them for that reason? If I were a governor, I would try to implement some way of giving people the same effect of the death penalty...but without the death. That sounds really weird but I just don't think that anyone on Earth can say who lives and who dies. As President I would try to do the same thing, or at least bring some sort of committee together to purpose an idea like that to me.

My friend Sarah, perhaps you've heard of her

Well good ole Sarah Palin came to town a week before the election and low and behold, I forgot to mention that! Well, it was actually totally awesome, and I don't mean that because of her outstanding speech. Actually, by the time that Sarah actually starting reeling away, I had sort of tuned out...it was really cold and it had started raining, to which she reminisced- "It reminds me of home!". cute.
However, the whole ambiance of the rally was so invigorating, and totally awesome. It was the first time that I had been to something like that, something where all sorts of people came together to support such an important and larger than life cause. Sure, I've been to concerts where there are tons of people, supporting the same bands...but it's a totally different experience to go to a political rally...which totally makes me feel like a giant nerd for saying that. Most memorable moment: the totally fat, totally clad in plaid, totally hickish, and totally Sarah "dude" holding a sign which read, "Drill Baby, Drill!", naturally evoking a sort of "Git R Done" mentality.
Least favorite moment(s): I just hated all the hooplah that happened before Sarah came. There should have been a lesser amount of people to announce her arrival because by the time she actually spoke, it's like I said, it was cold and rainy, and I was tuned out. By that time, I had waited in line and been corralled into the gates with the masses for several hours.
I don't mean to complain, I thought that overall, it was a totally awesome experience, and certainly a once in a lifetime one. I'm sure it's something my grandkids will ask me about...I only wish I had paid more attention to what Sarah said...

M.I.P. Most Important Pal

Okay, so at first when I was thinking about who Obama's most important helper is going to be, I was thinking maybe like...the head of Homeland Security or something like that. However, the more I thought about it, the more I think that it should actually be the Speaker of the House, and here's why. Joe Biden shouldn't be his most important go to guy because I feel that he would just agree with whatever Obama wants to do. Example: in order to be in Obama's campaigne, Biden totally bashed on McCain, despite their being such good "friends". I don't necessarily trust Joe to stick to his guns. God forbid, but if something bad should happen to both the President and the VP, the Speaker of the House is the next person in line to run the country. This person has to be up to snuff with all the happenings in America and elsewhere, but is also separated enough from the President that I would assume that they would be less inclined to agree with whatever President Obama has to say. And the Speaker has to preside over all sort of important meetings in Congress, which is "where the magic happens" as far as law making goes. There are a lot of important people that Obama is going to have to surround himself to pull us out of this crisis, but I think that Speaker of the House, Nancy, will prove to be most important.

Election Night

I have to say that I was pretty sure who was going to win this Presidential race, so I wasn't all that stoked to watch the race...plus I had homework to do. I find it so odd that the popular vote can be so utterly close, and yet have the electoral votes be such a landslide. I know we've talked about this, but it's still so weird. I kind of just ignored the popular vote tally because it was sort of a false hope. The morning after, my dad said something along the lines of, "We lost", and that he was worried about the nation. I said that that's probably what half the nation was saying when Bush was elected, so it's their turn, I guess. Change worries people, and since that's what Obama embodies, he's intimidating. I know that I have a hard time with change sometimes....but I'm also aware that change is necessary for progress, and this nation could certainly use some of that. Besides, if he is a truly horrific president (this is JUST an IF situation), the government will correct itself and find someone who it thinks will correct the situation. It'll be really interesting to see what will happen in the first few months of the new year.

ps- what was the deal with the thrown out votes? I heard somewhere that the votes from soldiers in Iraq were late in getting to the polls, so they were discounted? Is this true/possible?