AMERICA LOST

I have been thinking about this for such a long time now and it just feels like I need to write it down on paper and share it. It just seems that somewhere along the way America has gotten lost. The America that I remember growing up in is different and  not in a good way. I don't know if it was because I was young and not experienced in the "real life" dealings of day to day stuff or the political mud slinging is getting to me. It just seems like America use to be more together and a power to be reckoned with and  people held their heads up with pride. Now it just seems like it is about one political party over another. There definitely is a divide in America today. 

Politics has always been a tough game so to speak. Both sides wanting to win and wanting to help the American people. I remember the day that President Obama was elected I felt such an overwhelming feeling of  patriotism and relief especially after enduring 8 horrible years of Bush. I still have that good peaceful feeling with President Obama being the commander and chief. The thought that Romney/Ryan could step in and continue where Bush left off is scary to me. It will also be the time where women have no say in what happens to them and the choices they make concerning their bodies and their advancement in the workplace. 

The lies and distortions coming from the Romney/Ryan campaign is dividing this country and it is bringing out the worst in people and to top it off the amount of money being put into their campaign is outrageous! Even some members of the Republican party are telling Romney/Ryan to pull certain TV ads from running because they're out and out lies. There is something very wrong with this country when politicians are allowed to lie and distort instead of working together for the good of this country. 

A few to none Republicans have worked with President Obama in a bipartisan way even though President Obama has tried to work with them in the beginning and got no where. In fact, there have been a few of them that have made the comments we will make it so Obama is not re-elected. Here are just a few of President Obama's accomplishments without the help from the Republican party. According to Addicting Info.

1.On his first full day, he froze White House salaries.  http://on.msnbc.com/ewJUIx
2.Within days after taking office, he signed an Executive Ordering an audit of government contracts, and combating waste and abuse. http://1.usa.gov/dUvbu5
3. He committed to phasing out unnecessary and outdated weapons systems, and also signed the Weapons Systems Acquisition Reform Act to stop waste, fraud and abuse in the defense procurement and contracting system. http://bit.ly/hOw1t1 http://bit.ly/fz8GAd
4. Through an executive order, he created the National Commission of Fiscal Responsibity and Reform. http://bit.ly/hwKhKa
5. He pushed through and signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, otherwise known as "the stimulus package," despite the fact that not one Republican voted for that bill. In addition, he launched recovery.gov, so that taxpayers could track spending from the Act. http://1.usa.gov/ibiFSs http://1.usa.gov/e3BJMk
6. In his first year, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act created and sustained 2.1 million jobs and stimulated the economy 3.5%. http://reut.rs/i46CEE
7. He created the Making Home Affordable home refinancing plan. http://1.usa.gov/goy6zl
8.He oversaw the creation of more jobs in 2010 alone than Bush did in eight years. http://bit.ly/hrrnjY
9.He oversaw a bailout of General Motors that saved at least 1.4 million job, and put pressure on the company to change its practices, resulting in GM returning to its place as the top car company in the world. http://lat.ms/zIJuQx
10.He increase infrastructure spending after years of neglect. http://bit.ly/f77aOw
11. He dismantled the Minerals Management Service, thereby moving forward to cut ties between energy companies and the government. http://nyti.ms/bw1MLu
12.Ordered 65 executives who took bailout money to cut their own pay until they paid back all bail out money. http://huff.to/eAi9Qq
13. He advocated for and signed the Mathew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Act, which made it a federal crime to assault anyone based on his or her sexual orientation or gender identity. http://bit.ly/gsMSJ7
14. He issued a Presidential Memorandum reaffirming the rights of gay couples to  make medical decisions for each other. http://1.usa.gov/aUueGT
15. He signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Act, restoring basic protections against pay discrimination for women and other workers. This was after the GOP blocked the bill in 2007. Only 5 Republican Senators voted for this bill. http://bit.ly/fT3Cxg
16 He Ended the Iraq War. http://tgr.ph/ru0tyS

These are just a few of President Obama's accomplishments since being in office. Not listed are passing the Affordable Care Act aka Obama Care and being the first sitting President to support same-gender marriage. This is the kind of President that I want in the White House because he truly cares about this country and it's people! He is our only chance to find the lost America.

These are my thoughts and feelings from Jillsville.

THERE'S NO GOING BACK

I have come to the realization after last week that there is NO going back in time. Most of my Facebook friends consist of high school friends. Now I graduated in 1979 and some of these folks I have not seen in many many years.  During high school I /we never gave much thought to politics. My time was often spent drinking and partying. Also I was raised by a step father and my mom who were extremely conservative. So all my life all I ever heard was how horrible liberal democrats were. So when it came time for me to vote I never checked it out for myself and voted the way my folks did because I never really paid attention to what was going on for myself. Even after high school politics was never a huge concern of mine because I figured it was all fixed anyway so why bother. Once I went out into the world and saw first hand what was going on my whole attitude changed and I began paying more attention.

People grow up and sometimes grow apart. It happens it is just the way life is. Many of my high school friends from the conservative hometown where I was raised are still extremely conservative and forceful in their beliefs just as I am in my liberal beliefs.  With both these forces coming to a head there is no way to come to an understanding so I end up losing their Facebook friend status and that is okay. We are not kids anymore we are grown up adults now and most of us have families and responsibilities. We all also have our own ways of looking at things and at situations.

There's no going back so I am going forward with or without my hometown high school FaceBook friends. I am an adult and I am going to vote for the person that I feel is the best person for the job just as my conservative hometown high school friends are. That is called democracy. 
 
These are my thoughts and feelings from Jillsville