Posts

Showing posts from 2011

Gives a whole different meaning to the expression about "You can pick your firends..."

I belong to a group through Trev and Emma's elementary school called All-Pro Dads and I get an email a day from them with advice on how to be a better dad and/or husband. They are usually pretty short and always have a link to another site, usually with a top ten type list of helpful hints on whatever the issue of the day is. Today's email was thought-provoking for some reason: Can You Affair-Proof Your Marriage? In the book His Needs, Her Needs: Building An Affair-Proof Marriage, author Willard Harley relays the following about how affairs start:   “An affair usually begins as a friendship. Frequently your spouse knows your lover; not uncommonly, the third party is the husband or wife of a couple you both know and consider ‘best friends.’ In another common pattern, the outside lover comes from your spouse’s family – a sister or brother. Or you may have met your lover at work.   When an affair starts, it usually begins as a friendship. You share problems with the other

5th Day Of Christmas: New Traditions for your Family

Hmmm...not sure what this one means, whether it means new traditions we've recently started, are going to start this yer or want to start. But that's cool, that means I can make it mean whatever I want it to mean. And I'm still kind of stumped. I guess we're kind of stick-in-the-muds. On the other hand, how can you have a new tradition? I remember coming up with a pair of linked personal mottos back as far as high school or college...and that is pretty far back...: Try anything once. Do anything twice and it's a tradition. So, things we've recently done twice...CHERYL?! Ah - here's one we've done the previous two years. We had gotten our Christmas tree every year at a place near Parkesburg with a little train you ride out to where the trees are and then search around until you find one, then you cut it down and drag it back to the train to take you back. It was expensive and the selection seemed to wane. So we started going to a new place near Paul

On the third day of Christmas: Holiday Bucket List

Only 4 days behind on my days of Christmas...My holiday bucket list - interesting concept. The first thing that came to mind was spending Christmas somewhere else some day, like at my sisters' Laurie or Judy's, but that's not only presumptuous, it may not be practical. That said, I think one year, I'd like not to either give or receive a paid-for gift. I'd like to make all my gifts and ask only for handmade gifts, or donations to the non-profits of the giftgiver's choice.

Or maybe the cute girl in the background who seems to typify most of the country - not even paying attention

Image
I don't know which part I like best about this picture - Newt with his demonic laugh or the guy in the background, summing up perfectly the way we all feel about the possibility of Newt being elected President in 2012.

Second Day of Christmas: Budget-Friendly Ideas

Assuming this is meant to be Christmas-related...of course the very most budget-friendly idea is to spend less on Christmas. It's kind of a running joke with Ev and Liss that every year, Cheryl and I announce somberly that this year, we are really cutting back on Christmas presents and this year we mean it! But then the piles under the tree are as big as ever. It just never seems fair to the younger kids that the older kid/s got the full Christmas and then we started cutting back by the time the younger kids bothered to show up. But that aside, the thing we've done, and by "we", I mean Cheryl, is that about 4 years ago, she spent every available hour in the weeks leading up to Christmas making some simple drawstring Christmasy bags to "wrap" everything in. Of course, I say they are simple, because I wasn't the one making them. They are really cool, and they sure make the wrapping process so much easier and faster. They save us a fair amount on wrappi

A reminder we all need from time to time

In case you get down sometimes about President Obama, and let's face it, we probably all have been from on occasion. http://blackliberalboomer.posterous.com/i-am-not-disappointed-in-president-obama Interesting. Makes me realize that in actuality, his actions are the polar opposite of his soaring campaign speeches of 2008, and I don't necessarily mean that in a bad way. Where his speeches were all about hopes and dreams, his actual leadership style is all about the pragmatic and the art of just getting things done, even if the results aren't as perfect as any of us, or either side of the political aisle would want. One thing we all have to admit. He gets results. And from my point of view, he gets a lot of results I heartily approve of.

First Day of Christmas: Favorite Local Non-Profit

I'm glad this was the first one on Barbara's list, because it was easy for me to answer and helped inspire me to try to keep up with her. My #1 sort of doesn't count, since it isn't exactly Christmas related, so I'll list a few: 1 - West Chester Friends School http://www.wcfriends.org/subsite/dist/page/about-wcfs-1048 I have to list them first, both because it's true, and because I'm the (unlikely) President of their Board of Directors, a position I take very seriously and am trying to give as much time to as possible without infringing on family responsibilities which are primary, or work, which leads me to: 2 - North American Land Trust www.nalt.org Probably should be #1 since they are my employer and a really great organization that every single employee is extremely proud to be a part of. We 11 employees have been here together for so long and work so well together that (cliche alert) we really do feel like family. And yeah, that means we piss e

On the first day of Christmas...I procrastinated...but it's a McVickar Holiday Tradition!

With inspiration from my blogger friend, Barbara Bradley Hoyer, and her post here: http://alifeinbalance.net/12-days-christmas-nov-28-dec-9/ , I am going to start my 12 days of Christmas here on December 1st, partially because that seems a logical day to sart, and possibly because I've procrastined. I'm also going to skip weekends and december 9th, because I don't anticipate posting on those days. Here are the topics she suggested and the schedule I'll try to keep to: December 1: : Favorite Local Nonprofit December 2: Budget Friendly Ideas December 5: Holiday Bucket List December 6: New Traditions for your Family December 7: Holiday Memories December 8: Favorite Cookie Recipe December 12: Favorite Recipes December 13: How you Green the Holidays December 14: Favorite Local Place to Visit December 15: You decide the topic December 16: Your Grown up Christmas List December 19: Open House (Show off your decorating!) I hope folks will comments eit

Not that you spend much time looking at his hair anyway

Image
This is solely for your benefit, Laur: http://www.gq.com/blogs/the-q/2009/10/stadium-style-hey-chase-utley-wash-your-hair.html

But then, Michael Vick fits that category too, which some may argue that Satan is involved as well

You miight not like Tim Tebow for his somewhat uncomfortably deep religious convictions, but there might be no better proof of a higher power than the fact that he is not only still in the National Football League, but has actually won a few games.

And OK, not when I had an Evening Bulletin paper route either, though I did complain about the thermometer setting quite often

Three things that have happened in every place I've ever worked: 1 - Staff complains about a lack of communication 2 - People can't agree on the thermometer setting 3 - Someone puts up a sign over the kitchen sink saying "Your mother doesn't work here, clean up after yourself!" Well, except when I worked at the paper mill, seeing as how people's kitchens were in their lunch buckets.

Of course, it has my dad on there too, so hopefully that has nothing to do with his life in the great beyond!

Wow, at least someone besides Cheryl thinks I'm hot. This website thinks so too: http://www.hot-people.info/ChesterSpr_PA_Catherine-McLaughlin_Barbara-Mo.html

Well, from me anyway.

Yet another reason I'm hoping Jon Hunstman comes out of nowhere to win the R nomination: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOYVB2hc0HA Sadly, the only way he can get any attention.

Well, actually, now it's both.

It used to be that I couldn't hear the name "Rick Santorum" without being repulsed. Now I can't hear the word "froth" without the same reaction. And if you don't know why, google either one.

I protest those who protest the protestors!

Interesting to me that where we had all feared the Occupy Wall Street protestors might turn violent at some point and lose any support they may have generated from all walks of life and corners of the world, it was in fact, the Oakland Police who lost control of themselves first.

(Yes, 7, not 17 or even 37.)

With the occasional entry to this blog as an example, I like to think I sometimes look at things differently from the way they are usually seen. But if that is so, I also need to accept/admit that I am way slower to reach some other conclusions, or accept common wisdom that everyone else learned and understood when they were, like, 7. I always thought I knew what folks meant by Don't judge a book by its cover . Or at least, I guess I just used a narrow definition of it that had more to do with blacks or minorities in general, which in retrospect, seems kind of racist or maybe just condescending or patronizing on my part in a small way: Yes, yes, they are just like me! I like to think THAT is common widom now, tho that's probably naive. But at some point, I wish I could remember the exact moment, in the past few weeks, I realized it also includes fat, nerdy, ugly, lopsided people of all random coverings. I realized I'd be much more drawn, for instance, to a person at a p

Well, an old-style cartoon, not The Simpsons so much

Image
Remember the opening to the Wonderful World of Disney, when Tinkerbell would come out and use her little wand to splash beautiful colors all over the sky? No? Well this is the closest online image I could find, taking the risk that Disney lawyers won't hunt me down to sue me for unlawful use of a copyright (Unintended consequence - it might just double or triple my readership!): Anyway, that is what it felt like driving down rte 282 from up near Glenmoore and Lyndell down to Downingtown this morning. It feels like every corner I rounded (come to think of it, how can one "round a corner"?!), there was a new splash of incredible colors. I felt like I was in a cartoon practically.

Oh, and any Monkees album obviously

I hate to jump late onto a bandwagon after everyone else has already discovered a new person or TV show or movie. I also have been proud and somewhat snobbish never to fall in love with the Josh Groban types - who sound really good but have no real edge to them. Sort of like an artist who is technically perfect at painting a scene so that it practically looks like a photograph, but has no feel to it, no soul, no creative interpretation. So, if only for those two reasons, i'm embarrassed to admit that I have yet to hear Adele sing a song that I don't really want to hear all the way through. That girl can sing. And the previous times someone new or perhaps I should say someone current has come out with an album I've felt similarly about were: Eminen - The Real Slim Shady album Pink - M!ssundaztood and especially Green Day's American Idiot. And in each case, they went on to win Album of the Year. So, thinking about that, I went on to pck my top albums of all tim

I'll bet her dress is pretty though

Image
Cheryl gets a kick out of my appreciation and borderline attraction to women of an advanced age, who don't smother themselves in bright red lipstick and big ovals of rouge on their cheeks and who dye their hair colors not normally even found in a crayola box.  I think it probably stems from my upbringing and being surrounded by Quaker women, for whom there is no shame in letting their hair go gray and leaving their house, or even their bathrooms in the morning, without caking on the makeup. I don't even understand what it is these doyennes are trying to accomplish. Are they trying to look young? The whole recapture the beauty of their youth sorta deal? Or do they just think that is a good look? I was reminded of this whole subject by this recent story in Huffington Post: "The beauty of being 90 is that you stop caring -- what people think about you, who you might offend, how crazy your clothes look. Which is why Iris Apfel, the lovable nonagenarian doyenne with th

Not sure I could handle the heels though

Image
Who needs Paris to set fashion trends? I vote we let Christina Aguilera decide for all of us: (click to enlarge, tho judging the size of her thighs...oh never mind) And although I don't have a picture to prove it, there was a young West Chester University Co-ed walking through town this afternoon, who was wearing a pair of what - tights? something incredibly thin and skintight, that revealed pretty much every little curve, bend, and crevice of her very attractive lower-half as she walked into the Student Housing office on High Street, and I would just like to personally thank her for that, I mean, here, not face-to-face, dear!

The headline we've been waiting to see for 10 long years

'AMERICA'S WAR IN IRAQ WILL BE OVER' Obama Announces Iraq Troops Will Be Withdrawn By End Of This Year Thank you, Mr. President.

"Now" is my favorite time of year.

As much I love snow, and I do, and am consistently overwhelmed by the wonder of it all, I finally realized today on my drive into work that I am even more awed by the fall colors. It made me think of fireworks and how this season is kind of like the grand finale of a fireworks show, after its starts slowly in spring, is consistently beautiful through the summer, before it goes really nuts in the fall. Then the metaphorical white (ashes?) falls back to earth through dead of winter. Anyway, it all sure is beautiful.

There was an old woman who lived in the media spotlight...

I don't know why it took me so long to figure out why Michelle Bachmann is so batshit crazy, when she includes the answer pretty much every time she answers a question in these uproarious "debates" the Rs have been having, and when it's right here in her wiki bio: "Bachmann and her husband have five children...(and) Bachmann and her husband have also provided foster care for 23 other children, all teenage girls."

It's enough to make me almost want an IPod. Almost.

I have my car radio preset to 7 different music stations, 8 if you include the jazz/classical WRTI, and it's amazing how often I flip from station to station looking for one song I want to listen to. I propose a national law that local stations in each market agree in advance that one will be playing a Beatles song at any given time.

Taking the risk of cutting my readership by 50% in one fell post

Huffington Post articles I can only wish I had more time to read: Sharon Osbourne's Style Evolution If it upsets you that I didn't provide the link, please don't ever come to this site again.

And they're 1-4 now, so we're probably good for at least another year

Having just completed our 31st (We had our first one in 1980, then skipped a year and have had one every year since) annual Friends Fall Festival at Downingtown Friends Meeting this past Sunday, it seems as good a time as any to post this, even though what I wrote has very little to do with the festival, except that this first appeared in the Festival Almanac, which is no longer published. The FFF Coordinator, Bob Santangelo, dug it out, asked for my permission and posted it to the Meeting's website: http://downingtownfriendsmeeting.org/home.htm  , but here it is if you don't want to link there: Thoughts During Meeting by Jamie McVickar People sometimes ask me what I think about while sitting in a Quaker Meeting for Worship where there is no pastor to guide us in our thoughts and prayers. Depending on who is asking and what depth of answer I think they are expecting, I usually answer either by detailing the Quaker philosophy or by telling them that I simply think abo

Yet to be seen is whether they also lead the majors in 2011 playoff wins, which is all I really care about

It isn't so much that this is surprisingly, or necessarily even all that interesting. (Not that that has been a criterion for maybe 90% of my posts.) But I want this here so in years ahead and I can look back on it and shake my head in amazement: From fangraphs.com: By nearly every measure, the Phillies’ starting rotation dominated the majors in 2011: lowest ERA (2.86), lowest FIP (2.98), highest percentage of first pitch strikes (63.5), highest K/9 (7.88); highest K/BB (4.22), lowest WHIP (1.11), most complete games (18), most shut outs (7), and highest WAR (25.8).

On the other hand, Hedge Fund managers and Big Oil execs Are fully behind them

From the latest ABC News/Washington Post poll: Barack Obama has jumped to a 15-point lead over the Republicans in Congress in trust to handle job creation, a sign the beleaguered president’s $450 billion jobs package has hit its mark in public opinion.   Before proposing the American Jobs Act, Obama and Republicans were trusted equally on job creation—an even split of 40% each. Now the numbers are 49%-34%, so not only has Obama gained, but Republicans have lost. In addition to majority support for his jobs plan (52% to 36%), the poll showed nearly three-fifths of Americans think Obama's jobs plan will create jobs (58% to 39%). This is so unfair. The Rs haven't even proposed anything to address job creation, so how can they be judged on it. I mean they've only had power in the House for a year now and there are so many millionnaires to protect before they get to silly things that help the middle- and working-class.

And now, this message from the American Friends Service Committee

As an organization devoted to nonviolence and social justice, the American Friends Service Committee is encouraged by the recent wave of nonviolent actions that have swept from Wall Street across the country highlighting economic inequities. At this point, no one knows whether this wave of actions will continue and give birth to a larger movement. But, in the meantime, we encourage those AFSC staff members and volunteers who have the interest and ability to participate, provided that the actions are nonviolent, that they target issues rather than specific individuals, and that they lift up the dignity of all individuals. We also encourage staff members to help others see connections between economic injustices, militarism, and a punishment-oriented justice system. We also encourage staff members and volunteers so engaged to explore whether there are unmet needs or roles the AFSC can play to broaden and deepen the impact of these actions in ways consistent with the values and goals o

And you do NOT want to see my skin crawling anywhere!

I have to admit being both relieved and disappointed that Chris Christie has once and for all declared that he isn't entering the Presidential race for 2012. I'm relieved because I think he might have smoked President Obama next November. I'm disappointed because, well, brace yourself...even I have to admit I kind of like the guy. But the biggest reason I'm disappointed is that all the current Republican candidates just scare me, that they might win and actually implement some of the outrageous policies they have proferred. Mitt Romney is the only one whose policies aren't so much scary, at least not in the Rick "I will send troops into Mexico to fight the drug war" Perry does, but the thought of having to listen to him for the next 4 years makes my skin crawl.

At least it beats having to hold down the Rush Limbaugh float

Image
Doesn't President Obama have more important things to do on Thanksgiving than to hold down the Chris Christie float before the start of the Macy's Parade?

Of course, if the starters all just pitch shutouts and hit solo homers, that addresses all issues

A thought I had driving in to work this morning…I was glad the NL won the all star game, in case the Phils get to the World Series, primarily because it would keep David Ortiz on the bench (and the Phils don’t have a good DH candidate). Aside from the fact that it’s far less likely that Ortiz will make it that far, given the Red Sox delicious collapse, I realized that it will kind of hurt the Ps too. They need their starters to go as far as possible, given the state of their bullpen, but considering all the 1-1 games they’re likely to be in, or 1-2 and 1-3 games, they’ll have to take their SPs out earlier for pinch hitters where they won’t in games in AL parks.

Even more amazingly, I love all the sequels too!

Some people, incredibly to me, like to read the last few pages of a book to find out how things are going to turn out before they go back to start at the beginning. That concept is to me even more perplexing than voting Republican. That said, there is one story that I already know the ending to, but still love watching the story unfold right from the start. And that is, of course, the Eagles football season.

But hey - we gave them some free desert land to farm, what's the prablem?!

Not entirely sure why I thought of this this morning, but I wonder what Native American Indians think when they have heard their whole lives to get over the genocide their people endured over the 500 years since we white folks first settled here, but when we lose a tiny fraction of our population on September 11, 2001, the rallying cry is "We will never forget!".

So, OK, I got it. I'm appreciative. Now snap the hell out of it.

Watching the Phillies this past week, or more honestly, not watching them, but hearing about their 7 straight losses, OK, I watched a little, reminds me of how fortunate we Phans are to be following such an amazing team. And even more so, it reminds me of the first 50 years of my life, when they generally stunk, and a 7-game losing sreak was sort of the norm.
Vampires and Zombies just don't fascinate me. Makes me wonder if I am one.

I'll look at life from both sides now, but in a different way than Troy Davis is about to

Image
Two sides to this race issue. Without knowing many, ok, any, of the facts of this controversial case, I'll bet one of the main reasons this man:  is scheduled to die in a few hours is because he is black. And further, I'm even more certain that the main reason so many white folks are so upset about this is because he looks so intelligent, and not like the "typical" inner-city ghetto black kid. Same with Mustafa Abu-Jamal, or whatever his name is.

Regrets...I have a few..no, in second thought, actually, I don't really have any

I was thinking driving home last night how I wish Cheryl and I had been married since we were in our 20's, like for the past 30 years or so, and we would have had so much more time together, and we would know each other even better than we already do. But then I thought of all the fun times I had before I met Cheryl and decided that I like it just the way it happened. Of course, that makes it seem like there were only rollicking bachelor-life good times, when, believe me, those fun times were more than balanced out by all the lonely and bad times, tho I have to force myself to remember them. I mostly just remember the fun stuff.  But still, I do wish we'd been together much longer somehow. I guess another way to say it is that I sure look forward to the next 30+ years of being with her. And as Cheryl likes to say, she doesn't regret anything that happened in her "previous life...lives" having been married twice before, because not only did it help make her the

That's OK though really, I have all the sperm I needed anyway, thanks.

I feel so...so...oppressed or something! From The Telegraph in London: Redheads Turned Down By Sperm Bank "The largest sperm bank in the world is saying no thanks to potential redheaded sperm donors. Cryos International sperm bank has started to turn down redheaded applicants because of a lack of demand, The Telegraph reports.   The Atlantic wonders if the lack of demand could be because of the teasing redheaded children sometimes have to put up with. HuffPost reporter Katherine Bindley blogs that being a redhead is a love-hate relationship, and points out how negative feelings towards redheads is a prejudice "that dates back, globally, at least to ancient Egypt and personally, to approximately the time I started forming memories." The Atlantic also notes that the New York Times published an article about redheads being more sensitive to physical pain." Ah, but the emotional pain is what really hits me, I feel like I'm so..so...but wait. More details eme

But it's so topsy-turvy!

Image
Your quiz today: Under whose Presidency, GW Bush, or President Obama, did private sector jobs increase (over 1.2 million) while government jobs decreased (by almost 600,000)? And under whose did government jobs increase (by over 1.7 million!), while we lost private sector jobs (653,000). You sure won't see this covered in the conservative mainstream press, now will you? Here's the direct link form Daily Kos: John Boehner's tired old jobs rhetoric collides with reality Here are the facts: So during the Bush presidency, the private sector lost jobs while the public sector gained jobs. And since the end of the recession (as determined by the National Bureau of Economic Research), the private sector has gained jobs while the public sector lost jobs.

Paging all Charlies from Oxford! Step forward, sir, and identify yourself!

I find it ironic that just a few weeks after the Daily Local News did a week-long series on bullying, for which it will no doubt win industry awards, they allowed this to get into print after a letter I'd written appeared in the paper: "In reference to Tuesday, September 6, editorial page, ( sic ) once again as in numerous times before, a letter to the editor written by Jamie McVickar. (sic) I resent his anti-American comments and his slurs on Republicans and especially conservative Republicans. As a conservative Republican, I would challenge McVickar to stand up and be a man and make his comments to my face. I doubt he has got the guts to do that. he hides behind his pen and paper as most cowards do."  - Charlie of Oxford What a tough guy. Challenging me without letting me know how to get in touch with him. Probably as tough as the Rush Limbaugh, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld chickenhawks who like sending our kids to war when they have never been there themselves. I

I want a quiz like this every day!

This is one of the most amazing things I've ever seen on Facebook. It was a status posted by the amazing Jill whose blog "A Day in the Life of a Sexologist" is posted in the upper right hand corner of this blog...and who I think is going to become incredibly successful, famous and wealthy sometime in the next 12 months. First I'll post her question and all the 30+ responses, and then add my thoughts at the bottom: Jill At Feminique Tyler and I are having a debate: what is more intimate- tittie fucking or kissing? If you and your partner broke up for one night and got back together, would you be more upset to learn they kissed someone else, or tittie fucked someone else? Weigh in with your opinion. Marj Pike Hatzell kissing. I could care less about tittie fucking, honestly. Kelly Noblitt Grube Kissed. Hands down. Kayla Chenoweth How is titty fucking intimate Michelle Durcholz Lemon Kissing Jill At Feminique Follow up question: can there ever be a

This just in...!

This post is actually kind of a test, but is also an announcement, that, if I understand it correctly, anyone can get an email anytime I post something new to this blog. I am the guinea pig for myself, having signed up to get emails at my yahoo account. If it doesn't work, I'll take this post down, but if it does, see the link at the top of the page to sign up. It looks like it works pretty quickly. Thanks in advance to any of you who do so. I've certainly had plenty of requests for this feature!

Further confusion as to whether a first round pick is a high pick or a low pick

Interesting that in their opening game over the Rams, the Eagles' top picks were benched and the the later picks played: 1st: Danny Watkins (OG) - Did not dress 2nd: Jaiquawn Jarrett (S) - Did not dress 3rd: Curtis Marsh (CB) Did not dress 4th: Casey Matthews (ILB) - Starter 4th: Alex Henery (K) - Starter 5th: Dion Lewis (RB) - Starter (as kick returner) 5th: Julian Vandervelde (OG) - Not sure 6th: Jason Kelce (C) - Starter 6th: Brian Rolle (OLB) - 4th Linebacker

Giving good head...lines

Some stories, all I need to do is read the headline to know I have absolutely no interest in reading any further: Eel Swims Up Man's Penis, Has to Be Surgically Removed (Go ahead, if you want: http://www.aol.com/2011/09/13/eel-swims-up-mans-penis_n_960865.html ) And some headlines, I only need to get about 3 words into to know, I'm gonna get my click on: Scarlett Johansson Nude Photos May Be Fake, Are The Latest To Reportedly Leak http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/14/scarlett-johansson-nude-photos_n_961970.html And just to show what a good guy I am, here are the photos to which they refer: http://ilikegirlsdaily.com/2011/09/14/scarlett-johansson-nude-pics/ Or maybe I just put the link there so I always know where to find it. And now that I've posted for the day...and looked at those pictures again...in the words of Bert in It's a Wonderful Life, I think I'll go home and see what the wife's doin'.

Sorry to my loyal readers...OK, reader

I've been unable to get to this blog for technical reasons for many weeks now, but I'm back, babee! Thanks to our tech guru, David here at work for getting me hooked up again. I have a goal now of writing at least one thing every day. Some may be lame, but Earregardless I'm going for it.

Another guest post - also excellent - thanks, Elizabeth!

Image
Hi my name is Elizabeth Norton . I am a mom that is a little out of her element here but I happy to be guest posting on this blog. I asked my husband what I could write on that has to do with a Sport, Politics, and Sex since I am guest blogging on Jamie's Blog. I wasn't sure I was up to tackling the job. I am a pretty conservative person when it comes to sex, I am "confused" (according to my husband) when it comes to politics and I have almost no interest in sports unless the Phillies are winning. In that case I may be slightly delighted. (ok, so I wear a lot of red and act like I have been a "phan" the whole year....don't judge). Even though I am under qualified to write on these topics because I am clueless. (yes Clueless....my husband Confirmed) We have summed up my post to say this....... (Below is his contribution to this post) Remember that time when...... Politician, Governor Christie. used New Jersey money to ride in a helicopter to see his son

A Guest Post from Rachee!

All I Learned in Life I Learned From the Radio Editor's note: Hello Blog Friends! I'm Rachee from http://www.sayitrahshay.com/ and I'm putting the "GER!" in swinger baby! I'm posting on Jamie's Blog as a part of a blog swing put together by Elizabeth Norton. I am a mom to a tween (The Bee) and a library chick among other things (want to know more...shameless self promotion...see my blog for more!)   My kid is at that age where sometimes I kinda don't like her. Yup, she's a tween that in between age of young child and teenager and there are days that I am ready to throttle her and days when I just want to hug her. Lately I have been counting my blessings. I work with children daily and am proud of the person that she has become. The Bee is not perfect; she is a regular kid so I was surprised when she told me that she wanted to start watching the news. I cannot tell a lie; as much as I pretend otherwise, in my household we can tell you more abo

Tea anyone? No, you're good? Well, the rest of us aren't.

How is it that interest in and self-decribed affiliation with the Tea-Party has dropped, but their influence in Washington has increased?

God blessed us, everyone

I've occasionally debated...with myself...as to whether Religion has had more of a net positive or negative affect on the course of world events, and I've finally swung from the negative to the positive, based on this one observation: Although hundreds of thousands of people have been killed through the years in the name of religion, hundreds of millions have been helped just by folks of any given religious body, be it a Southern Baptist mega-church or a tiny Quaker Meeting, helping each other out in times of woe, when we need it most. The faith-based charities get attention as does the missionary work in foreign countries to help those less advantaged than us, but in the end, it's the person-to-person love, assistance and attention given to our fellow worshipers, that I really think wouldn't otherwise happen, that really tips the balance for me.

Out right-winging it

Paul Krugman: "President Obama has made it clear that he’s willing to sign on to a deficit-reduction deal that consists overwhelmingly of spending cuts, and includes draconian cuts in key social programs, up to and including a rise in the age of Medicare eligibility. These are extraordinary concessions. As The Times’s Nate Silver points out, the president has offered deals that are far to the right of what the average American voter prefers — in fact, if anything, they’re a bit to the right of what the average Republican voter prefers! Yet Republicans are saying no. Indeed, they’re threatening to force a U.S. default, and create an economic crisis, unless they get a completely one-sided deal. And this was entirely predictable. First of all, the modern G.O.P. fundamentally does not accept the legitimacy of a Democratic presidency — any Democratic presidency. We saw that under Bill Clinton, and we saw it again as soon as Mr. Obama took office. As a result, Republicans are au

Serving whine by (not at a) party...and gender

I guess everyone has a certain number of whiners in their life. I certainly know quite a few, people Cheryl calls the "They done me wrong gang". People who seem to always be complaining about one thing or another, and usually because of someone or something that is conspiring against them. It struck me today that the vast majority of women I know who fit in this category are all Dems and the vast majority of men I know who are like this are Republicans. And it also reminds me of something I saw in an article recently that I really liked: "The only thing you have complete control over is your attitude."

I love you, Woman!

Remember how it used to be so verboten for a man, heterosexual or otherwise, to tell another man that he loved him? It's still a little unusual, but not unheard of. I can thnk of a couple guys I've said it to - Mike Rellahan, Jim Burger and Martin Bradfield immediately come to mind. There are many others I could as well - Dave Nich, Jim Daly. I don't know if I ever said it to Dennis before I died but I hope and think so. I know he knew it anyway. It struck me yesterday, when I was wishing my friend since kindergarten, Lisa (Butz) Hart, a happy birthday, that it would probably not be okay to tell her I love her. I know that she would know what I meant and would correctly read absolutely nothng into it, but if I put that on FB, I had no doubt that someone would see it and wonder about it. So in thinking about it more today, I sent it to her in a private message, saying: " Hey, I was going to say this in my happy birthday note, but it seemed too public, so (i'll)

Also known as Bizarro World

From the dailykos: So, just to recap: In Far-Right Republican World… Blowing up the U.S. economy is preferable to raising taxes a little bit on the richest Americans to help stabilize the U.S. economy. Spending taxpayer money to help the poor and elderly is bad, but spending taxpayer money on subsidies for mega-profitable industries that don’t need them is good. "All men are created equal" means all men. Except the gay ones. "Our #1 priority is jobs jobs jobs" means "Our #1 priority is anything but jobs jobs jobs." The fact that voter fraud is not a problem means voter fraud is a huge problem. The fact that climate change and oil dependence are huge problems means climate change and oil dependence are not problems. George Bush wasn't president for eight years---we went straight from America-destroyer Bill Clinton to America-destroyer Barack Obama. If Republicans in the House and Senate vote to end Medicare in favor of health care by c

Can we agree that we just never agree

In the course of a facebook "conversation" about Ds vs R's and their sources of information, I was recently surprised to hear the same conservative facebook friend I referred to in the post below as being upset at how all her D friends think exactly alike, based on what moveon and dailykos tell us to think and I was shocked. As proof of her conclusion, she said she receives constant emails from various D sources and they all say the same things. I was shocked that she'd said that, partly because her evidence was so specious, but also because I wished she were right! It could never have been more true what Will Rogers said about not being a member of an organized political party, because he was a Democrat. I wish we Ds were in as lock step as the Rs. I see that as a strength of theirs and a weakness of Ds. I actually envy them for that, tho it strikes me regularly that I rarely ever hear any original thoughts from my conservative friends that didn't first come

Or maybe I'm just too damn dumb to understand

Recently a conservative facebook friend posted a link to her facebook page entitled: "The science is settled: US liberals really are the dumbest creatures on the planet". And I have to admit, it kind of, well, smarted. As I tried to think why, I decided it was for two reasons. 1 - I had more respect for her than to post such a thing. It was more insulting to her than it was to liberals, and I didn't like thinking that way about her. I felt my respect diminish and it made me feel bad to feel that way. I really felt kind of down after I saw it and was too embarrassed for her to even reply to her post. 2 - More importantly, it provided me a look at how I post things on Facebook, making me wonder if I've ever stooped to such levels, and without remembering anything specific, I have to conclude that I probably have. I think in general, the links I post to FB are meant to educate moderates to things they don't usually have access to through the conservative main

For once Bill Kristol has it right

Contrary To GOP Claims, U.S. Has Second Lowest Corporate Taxes In The Developed World During negotiations regarding raising the nation’s debt limit, congressional Republicans have defended tax loopholes for corporations, claiming that America has a high corporate tax rate that is stifling economic growth and job creation. But the Center for Tax Justice (CTJ) has crunched the most recent data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the Office of Management and Budget, and the Census Bureau, and finds that “the U.S. is already one of the least taxed countries for corporations in the developed world.” As a share of GDP, the U.S. had the second lowest tax rate, behind only Iceland. This statistic flips on its head the often-repeated Republican charge that America has the second highest corporate tax rate in the world (which is only true on paper). In 2009, U.S. corporate taxes had fallen to only 1.3 percent of GDP, from 4 percent in 1965. Conservatives l

That's some crazy shit, man

Things I spend way to much time thinking of: What makes the feces of a bat any crazier than anyone else's? And just how crazy can it be anyway?

Werthmore prediction

Some year, before Jason Werth's enormous contract comes to an end, the Nationals will finish ahead of the Phillies in the standings. I'm predicting 2014.

I still say we should ban mirrors anyway

If your thoughts mirror mine, are they the exact same, or the exact opposite?

Summer optimists, some grumps.

I'm sorry, but on June 29th, a week into summer, you're not allowed to declare that the summer is just flying by, as my dentist did this morning. And why does it feel like winter doesn't end until the temperatures get over 60 degrees or more, but summer ends on Labor Day, regardless of how nice it is the next two months?

And no the sentence has nothing to do with admitting I'm wro...that I made a mista...You know what I mean.

There are times when it would be easier for me to move a 50 pound rock than to utter a single sentence.

And maybe that's the most bizarre sexual preference of all!

I have written anything about sex on here for awhile, but haven't had any complaints. I guess that either means no one is reading, or readers would just as soon not hear any more of my opinions on the topic. Assuming it's the former, and ignoring the latter, even if it is true, here is my random sex thought for the week, cuz you know, I only think about sex once every week or two. One of my favorite quotations is from William Somerset Maugham, who said "There is hardly anyone whose sexual life, if it were broadcast, would not fill the world at large with surprise and horror." That is something that has stayed with me for a long while, and has made me wonder why we are, as a society, so prudish/intolerant, hmm...there's a better word, ah yes - repressed! - of or about people who like weird stuff sexually and makes me wonder if it's possible that everyone...EVERY single person...has something, some sexual turn-on that runs outside the norm, or at least th
Today's conclusion and over-simplification: Those on the Right think Government is the problem. Those of us primarily to the Left think the corporations who are most responsible for who gets elected and make the laws that primarily benefit those same corporations are the bigger problem. And to further the point, it's my sense that there are some who like to just rail at the government without looking a little deeper as to why our politicians continually disappoint us, and I don't mean in the David Vitter/John Ensign/Anthony ... Weiner sense. I mean the laws, whether it be in terms of Obamacare, the weak finance reform bills, the weakening of the environmental laws, the strengthening of Big Oil and Wall Street and the banking industry, can all be linked back to who put the people in office who approved those sorry bills - the corporations. And as you can guess, it's my sense that it's primarily republicans and those who vote for them that enable such governmental

That said, Obama will clean any of their respective clocks

Charlie's comment below reminds me that I should post here what I had also put on Facebook a few weeks back. My prediction for who gets the most votes for the R nomination is thus: 1 - Huntsman 2 - Ross Perot...I mean Ron Paul 3 - Romney And I only score it that way because it's just too easy to pick Romney. If I had to bet my house, I'd go Romney, but where's the fun in that? I think the single biggest deciding factor in who R's will vote for will be to choose the person they think has the best chance of beating Obama. After all, it worked for us D's when we took Kerry over our preferred ideological choice - Howard Dean - in 2004, right?

Not exactly, but he did go in to the bar to get toasted

So we're eating an awesome Father's Day dinner last night when Trev asked me to tell a dumb joke, because it's Father's Day and everyone has to laugh at my jokes, and when I can't think of one, Trev tells this one: A sandwich walks into a bar and sits down and as the bartender walks by, he orders a beer but the bartender ignores him. Figuring he was hard of hearing, the next time the bartender walks by he said it a little louder, but again he was ignored. This went on a number of times, when finally, the sandwich reached across the bar and grabbed the bartender by the collar and said, Why won't you get me a beer?! to which the bartender said "Sorry, we don't serve food here". (Actually, when Trev told the joke, he gave the punchline as "We don't sell food here." :-( ) When it was clear that Emma didn't understand the joke, Cheryl started to explain it to her by telling her how there was a time when black people didn't

How odd that Trev and I would reach the awkward age at the same time

I think I've reached that awkward age, where some of the things I do for the first time ever...I'm also doing for the last time ever. Like going in to a Moon Bounce as I did on Saturday night at a party at our neighbors across the street.

Maybe those annoying mosquitos WANT us to kill them

Seems to me that if one really believes in reincarnation, one should have no problem killing every annoying bug or hunting every available animal. In fact, we should be doing it as a favor to them, to get them to their next elevated incarnation more quickly. And I really do want to believe. I do. I do. I do.

Repeat after me...but wait...what does After Me refer to?!

I often think of things that I think are perfect for this blog, but quickly forget them, lost forever. The only way I can remember them for later is to come up with nmeonic-type trcks, depending on what nmemonic means, not to mention how to spell it. The way I remembered the 3 posts above this one is by repeating to myself from sometime yesterday until now: Burnt awkward bugs. And then I decided I needed to say it twice to remember to write this post.

A Moses story that might last even longer than the one in the Bible

I wonder how many years have to pass before the Sixers can approach a draft without the sportswriters writing repeatedly about the infamous Moses Malone draft in 1986...twenty-five years ago.
One of my favorite gifts on Father's Day yesterday to go with a coupon from Emma for a back rub (offer expires 8/8/2011!), a coupon for two tickets to a Phillies game from Ammar (quickly followed by Emma whispering in my ear "Take me! Take me!") and 4 pair of work gloves (my only requested gift) and really cool hand made cards from Trev and Emma, was a phone call from Ev. She even called twice since we didn't answer the first time. Funny how such a little thing can mean so much.

Looking out for Number One...through infinity...to infinity...and beyond!

One of my stereotypes of Republicans, and I am a believer that there is a lot of truth in stereotypes, is that they like to think of things in terms of black and white/with us or against us/good vs evil. And further that the reason for this is a less advanced process of thought where everything is simplified and the answers are more easily explained and attained. Things all sort of fit into a neat package and there is always some omniscient interpreter, such as Rush Limbaugh or Fox News who are there to explain how and where everything neatly fits. That is why so many R's are more likely than progressives to be of the evangelical strain where the Bible, and God, have all the answers, not just for life on earth, but potentially more perplexingly, what happens after we die. And they are in opposition to us hand-wringing, discerning and threshing, left-wing-types who are always trying to see every possible permutation of a problem, every corner of grey, taking care not to step on an

Put that in your belly and smoke it!

I used to hear stories about people dying of lung cancer who couldn't give up smoking, and I thought it pretty stupid. That was until recently when I happened to walk past a mirror while I was eating a cupcake.

The first response to my letter to the editor last week and my response to him

A different take on Obama's policies Published: Sunday, June 05, 2011 Jamie McVickar needs to do a better job checking some facts before he displays abject ignorance presented recently in these pages. He also needs a lesson in the rights of creditors as they related to the so-called bailouts of GM and Chrysler. Obama thwarted long established bankruptcy proceedings and gave his union buddies favored treatment over more deserving creditors. His statement that GM and Chrysler repaid their taxpayer funded loans is wrong. They merely took taxpayer money out of other government grants and applied them to loan payments. Result: We taxpayers are still owed the money. His "clear majority of Americans" that approve of Obama's performance is also wrong, and the only reason Obama enjoys his current favorability is attributable to his being dragged kicking and screaming into finding Osama bin Laden, thanks to the Bush interrogation policies Obama so violently opposed. L

Wow - 2 intelligent comments below

I tried to post this in response to the two great comments by Charlie and Anonymous to my Letter to the Editor post, but it wouldn't accept me commenting on my own post for some reason, so I'll do it here: Great points by both of you, and Charlie, as you suggest, the R's are missing a great opportunity in 2012. They could nominate a pragmatist - someone who speaks to the middle, acknowledges past successes and failures, without regard to party, and similarly, can make proposals, involving tax increases and obvious areas for spending cuts and I think he or she could win. But the R's are so impacted by the far right, it's hard to see an electable candidate emerging. I don't think the tea party is as strong as the press and the Rs in general think they are and if someone would stand up to them, it would help them as a candidate in the short and long run. The one guy I think may be able to do it is John Huntsman.

Articles that make me wonder why I still go to The Huffington Post

Headlines on one random day on Huffington Post - May 31, 2011: - In Badminton, Pants Are Back - Snooki In Custody After Cop-Car Crash - WATCH: Mika HITS Joe - WATCH: Tennis Player Infuriated After 12-Year Old Ball Boy Disrupts Point - Woman Allegedly Wheeled Around Trash Can Full Of Body Parts - PHOTO: Naomi Campbell Fuming Over 'Racist' Candy Ad - Real Housewife Reveals Truth About 'Fights' On The Show - WATCH: Giant Prehistoric Shrimp Was A Killer, Scientists Say - Oh, Boy: Giant Baby Born In California At this rate, here's my predicted headline upcoming: AOL re-thinking their offer to buy Huffingtonpost.com for $315 million

Obama Poll Numbers

Opinion Research Corporation for CNN (PDF) (5/24-26, adult Americans): Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling his job as president? Approve: 54% Disapprove: 45% Now compare this to his numbers in early April, according to the same polling firm: Approve: 48% Disapprove: 50% That's a net swing of 11 points in the positive direction in a little less than two months. Notably, much of that shift has come from independents and Republicans. Here's the net swing by party: Democrats: -4 Independents: +23 Republicans: +24 Interesting that we Dems like him less now than everyone else, though not statistically signifigantly. Doesn't seem to be any policy reason, so maybe it's just because R's are starting to like him that we are changing our minds. For the record, I haven't changed mind.

NBA Finals

I doubt I'll watch much, but like 90% of the rest of the country, I will loudly say: "GO MAVS!"

My letter to the editor earlier today

Amongst all the usual hate and froth from the usual two or three right-wing writers to the Daily Local, I was shocked this past week to see two of them giving so much credit to socialism! Our President has rescued our country from world economic collapse – the worst since the great depression, and the RWRs – the right-wing ranters - want to give all the credit to, of all things, socialism? I am not a socialist, but if that is the economic system that has accomplished in a few years what it took two to three decades to accomplish last time, I think it’s time we looked into it. And what exactly has the President done? He rescued General Motors and Chrysler, saving up to 100,000 hard-working American jobs in the process. General Motors is now recording quarterly profits in the billions and this week Chrysler announced that they were paying off their government loans in full, more than six years ahead of schedule. It took a lot of courage for President Obama and the Democrats to put that

And Ammar was there to see the whole thing

Weird stuff from last night's Phillies - Reds 19-inning marathon: - In one inning, the Phillies walked three, hit one and still did not allow a Cincinnati run to score. - Wilson Valdez is the first player to start a game in the field and then win the same game as a pitcher since some guy named Babe Ruth did it 90 years ago. - The two teams combined to throw exactly 600 pitches. - When Jay Bruce hit a home run in the 10th inning, a Phillies fan who caught it threw it all the way back to the place it had been a half-minute earlier - the pitchers mound. - Phillies relievers pitched 12 innings and had more strikeouts (10) than walks and hits allowed combined (8). - The run the Reds pitcher allowed in the 19th was the first run he's allowed this year. (OK, in just 4 games). - That was the first time in his 19 years of managing that Cholly Manuel has allowed a position player to pitch. - If the game had gone to the 20th, the Reds manager was going to bring his shorts