Bye Bye Bush and Hello 2009

I'm so happy that the time I have been waiting for has finally arrived. 2009 is almost here and Bush is almost gone. In a few short weeks George W. Bush will finally be back in Texas and the world can breathe a sigh of relief. In truth, Bush is already gone. He's the lamest of lame ducks, ignored by the world and despised by his compatriots. He seems nowhere to be found in these waning hours of 2008 as events explode around him.

I've hated all eight years of the Bush presidency. It has stood for everything I am against: greed, corruption, cronyism, arrogance, and ignorance. It has been eight years of piggies at the trough and the ruination of the country I love. I despaired when Bush walked out on the Kyoto agreement, ignored the Israeli-Palestinian conflict during his first year in office, and later responded to 9/11 with adolescent bravado ( as in " Bring em on" and his famous"Dead or Alive" statement) rather than real leadership. I was shocked when in 2003 he actually took the nation to war in Iraq against the wishes of the world. I was horrified at the ineptness of his response to Hurricaine Katrina ( " You're doing a heck of a job Brownie") For me these events are the legacy of the Bush Administration. There will be no vindication by history. Bush has been a disaster for America and for the world. In short, he just wasn't up to the job.

Ring In The New Year

Tonight I will ring in the new year with hope in my heart for both America and the world. The global financial structure is crumbling. Afghanistan is a mess. Iran wants nukes. Pakistan and India are squaring off. The Israelis and Palistinians are at it again and things are not looking good, but at least Bush is no longer at the helm of the ship of State. President Obama, when he is sworn in on January 20th will have a lot on his plate. He is being handed the equivalent of World War II and the Great Depression on his first day in office, but I am optimistic. His heart, his mind and his spirit are in the right place and while he is untried and untested, I know in my gut he is a genuine leader who can not only win hearts and minds but also get the job done.

So today, in the last hours of 2008, I feel a sense of gratitude and relief that the nightmare that has been Bush will soon be gone and I lift my glass to salute with hope and happiness a new President and a new era for the nation of my birth and of my heart.

Happy New Year everybody !

Merry Christmas to All And To All Good Night

Christmas is many things to me-- light in the darkness, warmth in the midst of cold, the birth of a child who would change the world,although now it is pretty well established that Jesus was not born on December 25th.

The early church fathers rather cagily co-opted the pagan competition by assigning the birth of Christ to December 25th to coincide with the Roman festival of Saturnalia, the Nordic festival of Yule, and the birth of the Persian sun god Mithra. I like to think that our modern Christmas celebration incorporates elements of many, or perhaps all religions. In it's feasting and gift giving it is inclusive and secular to embrace those who adhere to no religion as well. It is for everybody.

At its heart, Christmas is the eternal wish of humankind for the love of God, the rebirth of hope and the brotherhood of man. It celebrates the return of light in the darkness. It celebrates birth in the face of death, joy in the face of despair and love in the presence of indifference or hate.

May all of us, whatever our culture or clan, share this holiday in the true spirit of Christmas. God knows, this year in particular, we all need it:-)

Blagojevich's Nose is Getting Longer by the Minute

Governor Blagojevich is not just a lyer, he's delusional. His press conference the other day, in which he presented himself as an innocent victim of political enemies was amazing. I swear I could see his nose getting longer as he talked. He'll never get to be a "real" boy that way.

Check out this video. Can you see his nose growing too?

Holiday Depression and Christmas Crazies

I used to get Holiday Depression bigtime. I called it the Christmas crazies and it started around Thanksgiving with a vague feeling of anxiety and escalated through the month of December, reaching a crescendo of sadness and lethergy on Christmas Day. I always breathed a big sigh of relief on New Years Day. I thought it had to do with the emotional stress of Christmas but it turns out I was wrong.

A few months ago, I read that decreased Vitamin D due to less sunlight in the Northern Hemisphere actually might have something to do with my Christmas crazies. So at the beginning of November, I started taking 1000 milligrams of Vitamin D along with 1000 milligrams of fish oil and 1000 milligrams of vitamin C every day and the results have been amazing.

I know this is not scientific evidence, but this December I'm a different woman. I'm filled with energy and loving the hope and joy and traditions of the season. I look forward to the lights, candles, shopping and parties, not to mention the real joy and hope of the Christmas story. To think I thought all those years that I was an emotional basket case when it turns out I was just vitamin deficient.

I am so grateful and full of FaLaLa I can hardly bear it. Oh yes, and I am not selling anything and don't work for a vitamin company either. I'm just sharing what happened to me and wishing the whole world a happy healthy Holiday season.

Hello Christmas and Goodbye Bah Humbug.

Who Is Pinkpackrat Anyway?

Pinkpackrat is my usual username wherever I go on the internet, so why not here too? I chose it because I have the mind of a packrat, fulI of oddities which have been stored away for years in dark corners of what passes for my brain. I am a woman of,as the French so delicately put it, a certain age with stored memories, definite opinions and a burning compulsion to share them one way or another..You can find me on Digg and Stumbleupon and follow me on Twitter if you like. I also write on Hubpages about everything from liberal politics to chocolate cake.

What will I be blogging about here? Come back tomorrow and find out:-)