What an interesting time we live in...

I won't lie. With the election just around the corner, everything is heating up. The conversations are heated, the vibes are heated, even The Onion posts are heated.

And here's the truth...I.LOVE.IT.

I don't know if our country has ever experienced anything like this before, and it might never happen again. People who have never been involved with politics are making phone calls, purchasing buttons, and supporting the hell out of their candidates.

We will all never agree, however, living in this country allows us the freedom not to agree. It allows us to speak our minds freely and have the fun/hard/heated conversations. We are living in a land that gives us the chance to try something new and think about possibilities. If we all agreed, what would be the fun in that?

It surprised me the other day to find out that someone who is as avid McCain supporter removed me from their friends on Facebook because I support Obama. They have every right to support McCain and I have every right to support Obama. It doesn't make either one of us a "bad" person because we support the candidate we do. Our country, our liberties give us this chance...why shouldn't we embrace it? Hell, even the avid McCain supporter I sit next to in my office looks past who I am voting for and we still get along.

It's my hope that somehow this election, these times, allow us to embrace each other's opinions. Why we don't, why we choose fear and why at the end of the day, it's easier to hate instead of breathing deep and seeing a chance to learn how to listen better is beyond me.

Do the research, register to vote and take a chance. Embrace the opportunity we have...you may never get it again.

Obama/Biden 2008!

Issued by the McCain campaign

Someone recently asked me to engage a conversation on why I feel so passionate about this Presidential election.

There are many reasons, but one of the major reasons is McCain's stances on women's issues.

Here is where John McCain stands on basic women issues:

McCain Opposed Equal Pay Bill for Women, Said They ‘Need Education and Training’ Instead. McCain skipped a vote on the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act that would ensure women have the opportunity to recover back pay for discrimination once they discover it. If he had been there to vote, he said he would have voted against it and that women “need education and training” rather than an equal pay bill. The bill addressed a recent Supreme Court decision that said Steelworker Lilly Ledbetter could not recover back pay for 19 years of discrimination at Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. because she had not discovered the unequal pay until she retired. The bill would amend the 1964 Civil Rights Act to allow employees to file charges of pay discrimination within 180 days of the last received paycheck affected by the discrimination. [Source: aflcio.org; H.R. 2831, Vote 110, 4/23/08; Associated Press, 4/28/08]

McCain Voted to Gut the Family and Medical Leave Act. In 1993, before finally voting for the Family and Medical Leave Act, McCain voted to jeopardize leave for millions of workers by gutting the bill. He voted to suspend the Family and Medical Leave Act unless the federal government certified that compliance would not increase business expenses or provide financial assistance to businesses to cover any related costs. [Source: aflcio.org S.Amdt. 16, S. 5, Vote 7, 2/4/93; H.R. 1, Vote 11, 2/4/93]

Source for the following information: Planned Parenthood

McCain opposed spending $100 million to prevent unintended and teen pregnancies. In 2005, McCain voted NO to allocate $100 million to expand access to preventive health care services that reduce the numbers of unintended and teen pregnancies and reduce the number of abortions.

McCain opposed legislation requiring that abstinence-only programs be medically accurate and scientifically based.
McCain voted NO on legislation that would help reduce the number of teen pregnancies by providing funding for programs to teach comprehensive, medically accurate sexuality education and other programs to prevent unintended teen pregnancies.

McCain opposed Title X, the nation's family planning program.
In 1990, McCain voted NO on legislation to extend the Title X federal family planning program, which provides low-income and uninsured women and families with health care services ranging from breast and cervical cancer screening to birth control. (Because low income families should also worry about cancer and the inability to pay for screenings on top of every thing else.)

McCain opposed requiring insurance coverage of prescription birth control.
In 2003, McCain voted NO on legislation to improve the availability of contraceptives for women and to require insurance coverage of prescription birth control. (Because paying for a birth is so much cheaper than my $30 a month birth control)

McCain opposes comprehensive sex education.
In an interview aboard the "Straight Talk Express," McCain struggled to answer questions about comprehensive sex education and HIV prevention. He also stated that he supported "the president's policy" on sex education. (Because obviously giving teens all the information possible will lead them to have sex. I was shamed and scared into waiting till marriage to have sex by a youth group and that was such a better tactic.)

McCain unsure where he stands on government funding for contraception.
"Whether I support government funding for them or not, I don't know," McCain said about contraceptives.

McCain opposed repealing the "global gag rule."
In 2005, McCain voted NO on legislation to overturn the "global gag rule," which bars foreign nongovernmental organizations from receiving U.S. family planning assistance if the organization (using its own, non-U.S. funds) provides abortion services or information or advocates for pro-choice laws and policies in its own country.

McCain supports overturning Roe v. Wade.
In February 2007, the AP quoted McCain stating, "I do not support Roe v. Wade. It should be overturned." In May 2007, he reiterated his desire to overturn Roe v. Wade during an appearance on Meet the Press stating, "My position has been consistently in my voting record, pro-life, and I continue to maintain that position and voting record."

(Thank you Barak Oblogger for posting these!)

I'm not here to argue whether or not Roe v. Wade should be overturned (though I do think it should be available), but as a woman, I can't think of a worse possible President (let alone a male) to dictate my body and my reproduction system. That should be my choice, with my ethics and my morals that lead me to make those decisions, not the government.

So, maybe the picture wasn't issued by the McCain campaign, but I have a feeling he might agree with it.