quiltersmuse.com Blog

This election year seems more important than ever and the comedians are not missing a chance to celebrate the more outrageous moments like the “crazy lady,” whose opinion at the mike was quickly terminated. Nameless, she will forever be known as just the “crazy lady.” She said that she could not vote for Obama because he was an “Arab.” We all wondered if the word was a euphemism for another word she was thinking. No matter, this was an opportunity for candidate McCain to do the honorable and decent thing: to uphold the personal qualities of his opponent.

There have been few light moments. One has been the hyped up scenario about “Joe, the Plummer,” the totally misunderstood encounter. I totally cracked up when I saw the sign, “Jose, El Plomero,” at a rally on television, proving this story has truly reached Latino voters, as well. (That would be Jose with an accent mark on the final e, which this computer program cannot make).

Saturday Night Live, a television show that airs for 1 1/2 hours on late night TV, promised to be interesting. Sarah Palin was scheduled to be on. She has been heretofore represented on the show by her look-alike, Tina Fey. Finding nothing in the least bit “funny” in the first half hour, I went to bed. Jim stayed up, burning the midnight oil, and hoping to find a bit of humor. All he gained was feeling more tired.

In these last days, counting down toward the final vote, more and more campaign ads are mean spirited and deceitful. For our New Hampshire Senatorial race, two candidates are accused of doing the same thing – siding with the current president. Why run the ads? They cancel out each other. I would rather hear about the good things that politicians have tried to do but that gets lost in the political wrangling.

I’ll be happy when we can get back to business as usual, so to speak, to a time when politicians can shake hands and really mean it, and a time when we can all see our way to doing what is best for the country and not just talk about plans that are doomed to fail.

What I’ve learned is that politicians are not “sacred cows.” We can and do poke fun at them, just as they poke fun at themselves and each other. Without humor, it would be a dreary and God-forsaken world. The race is on. Let’s continue it with grace and goodwill, and may the best candidates win and may their ensuing actions be tempered with insightful humor.

Patricia Cummings

For the last four days, I sat riveted to the television, as if I were watching the World Series. Although, the choice of who will lead America next is not as much a matter of athletic prowess as it is endurance. Not being much of a political animal myself, other than to watch history unfold, I came away with some general observations. The first is obvious, we are all Americans, not “red states,” and “blue states.” The Republicans also want the best for this country. The Democrats just believe that they can achieve that goal better.

As I looked at the tens of thousands gathered, I saw the strong and the weak, the fat and the thin, the young and the old, the rich and the struggling. Their common denominator is that everyone in attendance was there because they care, and they want America to maintain its leadership role in the world, with a level-headed person at the helm of the ship of state.

I am convinced that it will be interesting to watch the Republican convention, a group of equally dedicated citizens who, at least theoretically, want the best for the nation although the proof of the pudding lately has been no proof at all.

What has become abundantly clear is the need to “fix” a laundry list of issues that have not been satisfactorily addressed:

1) the need for affordable health care

2) adequate care for veterans, and homeless veterans

3) better educational opportunities for young people

4) the need to end our reliance on foreign oil and to develop alternative, renewable sources of energy.

5) and the wish of the American people to leave Iraq and the financial waste it is causing.

Viewing the overall picture of what is currently “wrong” with this country, it would seem that greed is at the root of a lot of the problems. Corporations have a lot to do with bleeding the public on every level.

The lack of knowledge about sound money management is the other side of the coin. My father, John E. Grace, was a very astute man who founded no less than 17 Credit Unions in the state of New Hampshire. He did so to give the little guy a hand up. His sound ideas about money are invaluable lessons that I learned as a child. These include:

1)� Save for a rainy day.

2)� Don’t borrow what you can’t pay back.

3)� Work hard, and live within your means.

4)� If you can’t afford it, don’t buy it.

5)� The concept of “shop and save” is a stupid one. If you are spending, you are not saving.

All of that advice has stood me in good stead. Other Americans were not so lucky as to have a parent like mine. If we look to the federal government for a good example of how to manage money, we will not find one. Social Security could be endangered, something that goes against the grain of every hard-working American who thought that he or she was earning the right to retire. Soon, as we Baby Boomers continue to age, and will need nursing home care. Just who will provide the cash for those places that only the rich can afford now?

Yes, it is “time for a change.” In November, I hope you will vote. Whatever your political affiliation, get to the polls and help make a difference by letting your voice be heard via your ballot. As just about every person who spoke at the convention said: “God bless you, and God bless these United States of America!”

Patricia Cummings

The current “race” for the White House was not supposed to be about “race” but somehow, that has become the overriding issue, right alongside its sister: “gender.”

We have all watched for months now while Hillary has talked “tough” to prove she is not a weakling, and that she has the right “stuff” to be president. She watched her words, for the most part, but her recent slip about “whites” – “middle class whites” – was just the ammunition her opponents needed to start calling doomsday for her campaign. They said that she had alienated four states, yet to vote, who are heavily populated with African-Americans.

Since when did Americans get so touchy about words? It seems that everyone has been watching and waiting for a slip, not just from Hillary Clinton, but from any of the candidates. With McCain, he is now the person who will keep us in a “100 year war” in Iraq (if that’s what it takes … ).

I have not heard much of what Obama has had to say ever since I realized that much of his rhetoric was borrowed words from his friend, Duval Patrick. I guess the theory was that whatever worked to get Patrick elected, could work again! Perhaps they were both right!

Each of the candidates has endurance, and it is endurance that is keeping Hillary in the race, in spite of the odds. She was, and is, my favorite candidate. Yet, the American people have been voting for “change” over “experience,” for “youth” over “dotty old senior citizens.” When all is said and done, my hope is that both parties can come behind their true leaders to bring America forward in this century, to keep us safe, and to begin to straighten out some of the problems that have plagued us, but have been put on the shelf during this time of political process.

I favor turtles more than jack rabbits. “Slow and steady wins the race.” May the best turtle win.

Patricia Cummings

Nothing is clear cut about this year’s upcoming presidential election. Now, to throw a little more confusion into the matter, Ralph Nader has announced his bid as an Independent, on the ballot. Some political pundits would charge that Nader’s same action in the last election cost Al Gore the presidency. Yet, at 74, Nader is compelled to try to make a difference and give the American public a more viable choice, as he sees it. Earlier in his career, Nader made headlines by setting up consumer rights groups in Washington. He’s set up a website: votenader.org

Goodness only knows how all of this political bantering will finally pan out. I wish that the election were more clear-cut among the two major parties. The truth is that in November, America will have to elect a new leader. Who is best qualified to lead the country?

Anyone who watches the news on television can see that the candidates are all beginning to look a little bedraggled. Deep circles are setting in under the eyes, they are a little thinner than when they first started, and their personalities are getting a little testy. At the same time, the media is digging for dirt, and zeroing in on every casual and not so casual remark caught on camera. “What does it mean/ What does it mean,” they ask themselves.

Running for president is kind of like being a bug under a microscope. As soon as you are found unworthy, whether the allegation is true or a trumped-up one, you are dissected until you die. Trouble is, everyone is looking for the weak spots and vulnerabilities of the candidates.

The most amusing segment of “Meet the Press” this morning was a discussion of candidates borrowing words from other people’s speeches. Tim Russert delineated a long record of the use of statements using “I see …” by a number of presidential candidates going all the way back to ten years after the Civil War.

So, nothing is new under the sun. We have the contenders and we have the spoilers, and we have the vulture-like media ready to add their observations, polls, and conclusions.

I would never mention politics on this blog, if I did not care about this country so much. Right now, I feel as though the nation is “going to the dogs.” We need strong and determined leaders to make a difference. When all is said and done, I still support Hillary Clinton and wish her well. I think that this country needs her leadership.

At the same time, I don’t agree with any one candidate on all of their stands on issues. Just last night, a farmer in Texas was complaining that a fence through his land, to keep out “illegal” immigrants, would cut off a great deal of farm land that has belonged to the family for generations. As a result, he might have to stop farming and doesn’t know what he would do then.

So, for one “solution,” we always seem to create another “problem.” We can’t even come up with the right flu vaccine at the right time. So, consequently, we are under attack by microscopic organisms that can be more deadly than any bomb.

Pat, with the Flu, dreaming of springtime blossoms and the call of Orioles

If you haven’t noticed, politics begin in grade school. The most popular children are usually the most physically attractive, perhaps the most physically agile, the most intelligent, and often have every toy or advantage that money can buy. There are the children who stay home to help mom clean out the refrigerator, on their winter vacation, and others who visit Austria and do a little skiing.

For awhile, it seemed as though one multi-millionaire thought that he could buy the election. In this country, luckily, that is not how the system works. I have watched many television shows about the political scene this year, and must say that I have noticed, to a very great degree, how the media tends to sway public opinion. One way in which they do this is by revealing “surveys” conducted by this or that research group (of whom we’ve never heard before), or by commenting on “exit polls.”

As if they had a crystal ball, or a direct line into the brain waves of millions of Americans, the press “predicts” who will “take” this state or that one.

Campaigning for office is not a good choice for the weak of heart or those who lack determination. Have you noticed? Now that the field has narrowed even more, Democrats and Republicans alike are getting into more sniping of each other and are talking less and less about the issues.

I like to envision what political campaigning used to be like, when “stumping” actually meant standing on a stump, that was a little higher than the crowd, to give a speech. Perhaps it meant riding on a horse, to get from here to there, as did Abraham Lincoln, at least some of the time, if my memory of a PBS show a few years ago serves me.

One main campaign tool was the poster. Another common artifact from campaigns of the old days is the campaign button. Of course, old examples of those types of items are “collectible” today. Then again, there were political textile bandannas, today much sought after by collectors.

What did not exist was the constant bombardment of opinions via the air waves, and every news broadcast one turns on.

Has life improved or worsened? It’s hard to say. While it is interesting to listen to the pundits on television, I wonder if they are not swaying the voters far too much. I believe it is a fine line sometimes between reporting and trying to convince. Sometimes, it is not even what is said; but rather, the snarky way that the comment is made.

In a previous blog, at the very beginning of this primary season, I predicted that John McCain and Hillary Clinton would become the two main contenders for the presidency. In spite of the current train of thought in the news, I believe that I have predicted correctly. With baited breath, we shall just have to wait and see.

Patricia Cummings

Americans love to be patriotic. We like the pomp and circumstance of military ceremonies, the salute of arms, and the songs that resonate with the principles we love best: liberty and freedom. We have always been ready to defend our own homes, our own community, and the greater body that is a collection of diverse states: the United States of America. We have “peace-keeping” units in place, the police, the prison personnel, the National Guard, the Border Patrol, and all branches of the armed services who stand, at the ready, to protect and to defend American citizens. We are always prepared to safeguard liberty and freedom within our own borders.

Most Americans understand well what has just been stated. However, a majority of Americans are increasingly overwhelmed with a despondency over current political decisions that seem to be unilateral in nature, delivered in a repulsive “Father Knows Best” framework.

Albert Einstein, known for his keen insights and discoveries and his ability to think, once stated that Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and somehow expecting a different outcome.

Whenever the war in “Vietnam” is mentioned, many refuse to see any analogy to the present situation in Iraq. It is true that there are no rice patties involved. The blood bath and the number of deaths strikes a similarity.

The reason I am writing about this war is that I passionately want the carnage to end, and I desperately want the United States to disengage from the sectarian conflict. I agree that we should never have entered this fray in the first place, but we really need to start sending troops back home, as quickly as is feasible. This war is insane. THERE IS NOTHING TO WIN. The goal seems to be to preserve one man’s ego, a man who would like to prove his decisions to be right.

More and more these days, I have been recalling the words of anti-war songs from the 1960s – my own point of reference. One of them, “Where Have All the Flowers Gone,” was translated into German – “Sagt Mir Wo Die Blumen Sind.” As I think of those sad words, I ask, “How much longer? How many more young men and young women, America’s promise for the future, will die in such a strange and bizarre land?” Sometimes, their lives are gone without a moment’s notice, blown away by some land mine.
I am as patriotic as anyone else, if not more so. There is no incongruence between wanting the troops home and my own feelings of dedication to home and patriotic fervor for country. Our leader is not listening to the will of the people, and that makes me exceedingly sad and distraught.

A Washington Post article on January 24, 2007 by Harold Meyerson summed up the situation well: http://tinyurl.com/yqe2gl

Patricia