If you ask Grace, our twenty-two month old, who she wants to win for president she will emphatically wave her fist in the air and shout OOOO bam a!! For a while I have been hesitant to voice my support of one candidate because I don't like to cause tension. I know I have many many wonderful friends with the opposite political persuasions that I hold. However, I am not going to hold back on this one. After finishing his book and following the campaign closely I whole-heartedly support Barack OOO bam a! I know he is not a perfect person and I hold no delusions that he will be the perfect president that we all hope for, no such person exists. However, I do believe he is inspiring so many that have lost hope or fallen cynical. Please take a look at this video clip.
www.dipdive.com
I was inspired to stop being a chicken about my views by my dear friend who is the granddaughter of a republican president and supports Obama. If she can be brave enough to be vocal than I definitely can! I must say, she has always been much braver than me.
P.S. I promise to post more about our life and less about politics. I am just really excited about this.
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
The Iowa Caucuses
Jeremy and I were debating last night about what a caucus really is. We both should know this seeing as how he taught U.S. politics and I minored in it however, it is tricky to understand and apparently details from college are a little fuzzy. I will blame that on baby brain. Well, instead of rambling I will get to the point. Tomorrow are the Iowa Caucuses. Apparently, the Democratic caucus is like sorority rush. You walk around from "interest group" to "interest group" trying to decide which group, or in this case, candidate will best match your values and interest. In both a campaign and a sorority rush the experience can be quite shallow and selfish. However, if we stop, as responsible citizens and decide which candidate is best for the entire country then the experience can be less shallow than rushing a sorority. Now, when it comes to the other elections they are not in this caucus style but I still urge all of us to take the time to think about which candidates are best for those who are among the least in our country. As a Christian I believe at the very least we should be trying to understand who will champion the causes of the least among us, (I don't think this always means I will vote for the candidate who can talk the Christian language. After all a Christian vocabulary and a Christian life are often quite divergent). Now, I believe that is a very complex question to search the answer too. I describe myself as a pro-life democrat. However, in this election I am all over the board. I challenge each of you to do some research, if you have not already, and really think through who will look out for the meek.
I am not endorsing one candidate. I am not even sure who I will vote for but here are some of those who have really impressed me:
Barack Obama:
Early Childhood Education: from his website
* "Zero to Five Plan: Obama's comprehensive "Zero to Five" plan will provide critical support to young children and their parents. Unlike other early childhood education plans, Obama's plan places key emphasis at early care and education for infants, which is essential for children to be ready to enter kindergarten. Obama will create Early Learning Challenge Grants to promote state "zero to five" efforts and help states move toward voluntary, universal pre-school."
Reform No Child Left Behind: "Obama will reform NCLB, which starts by funding the law. Obama believes teachers should not be forced to spend the academic year preparing students to fill in bubbles on standardized tests. He will improve the assessments used to track student progress to measure readiness for college and the workplace and improve student learning in a timely, individualized manner. Obama will also improve NCLB's accountability system so that we are supporting schools that need improvement, rather than punishing them."
This is an issue Jeremy and I have talked about and lived through after teaching high school and Elementary School in Bed-Stuy Brooklyn.
Mike Huckabee
#" I believe that every child should have the opportunity for a quality education that teaches the fundamental skills needed to compete in a global economy."
# Music and the arts are not extraneous, extra-curricular, or expendable - I believe they are essential. I want to provide every child these "Weapons of Mass Instruction." from his website
"I opposed the teachers' union and got the Fair Dismissal Law passed, which allowed us to terminate poorly performing teachers. To attract top talent, I raised teachers' salaries from among the lowest in the nation to among the most competitive. I created systems to make our schools accountable to both parents and taxpayers by insisting on transparency in how money is spent, efficiency in putting money into classroom programs rather than administrative costs, and clear responsibility of all employees for the tasks assigned to them".
I am not endorsing one candidate. I am not even sure who I will vote for but here are some of those who have really impressed me:
Barack Obama:
Early Childhood Education: from his website
* "Zero to Five Plan: Obama's comprehensive "Zero to Five" plan will provide critical support to young children and their parents. Unlike other early childhood education plans, Obama's plan places key emphasis at early care and education for infants, which is essential for children to be ready to enter kindergarten. Obama will create Early Learning Challenge Grants to promote state "zero to five" efforts and help states move toward voluntary, universal pre-school."
Reform No Child Left Behind: "Obama will reform NCLB, which starts by funding the law. Obama believes teachers should not be forced to spend the academic year preparing students to fill in bubbles on standardized tests. He will improve the assessments used to track student progress to measure readiness for college and the workplace and improve student learning in a timely, individualized manner. Obama will also improve NCLB's accountability system so that we are supporting schools that need improvement, rather than punishing them."
This is an issue Jeremy and I have talked about and lived through after teaching high school and Elementary School in Bed-Stuy Brooklyn.
Mike Huckabee
#" I believe that every child should have the opportunity for a quality education that teaches the fundamental skills needed to compete in a global economy."
# Music and the arts are not extraneous, extra-curricular, or expendable - I believe they are essential. I want to provide every child these "Weapons of Mass Instruction." from his website
"I opposed the teachers' union and got the Fair Dismissal Law passed, which allowed us to terminate poorly performing teachers. To attract top talent, I raised teachers' salaries from among the lowest in the nation to among the most competitive. I created systems to make our schools accountable to both parents and taxpayers by insisting on transparency in how money is spent, efficiency in putting money into classroom programs rather than administrative costs, and clear responsibility of all employees for the tasks assigned to them".
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Our home
First Winter Snow December 2007 012
Originally uploaded by erintate41
This is the wonderful house that we get to live in while Jeremy does his internship in Annapolis. We really love it here. We are blessed to have such a wonderful home. It is even more charming in the snow.
First Winter Snow December 2007 011
First Winter Snow December 2007 011
Originally uploaded by erintate41
Grace loves to eat the snow and run in it.
Thursday, December 6, 2007
First Winter Snow December 2007 001
First Winter Snow December 2007 001
Originally uploaded by erintate41
Getting ready to play in the snow!
Snow
Something about the snow really makes our family excited. I am not sure if it is Jeremy's obsession, Grace's obsession, or my desire to have off of school, but it definitely brings out the kid in all of us. Grace loves to point out that it is snowing. However, it has brought some confusion too. When she saw snow for the first time in Maryland yesterday, she started to cheer, "Colorado!, Mimi!" She is convinced since we went to Colorado that all snow happens in Colorado. It took a bit of explaining but I think we managed to help her understand that is snows outside of Colorado as well! Here are some picks of the snow at our house here in Maryland.
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