Why you should vote and other links.

Everyone, regardless of which side of the political battle you fall on, should watch this video on why you should vote. Hank does not tell you who to vote for, or who not to vote for, or who is right and who isn't. It's simply about why YOUR vote (Yes, YOU, specifically) is important.



And now, some recent links I found and thought I'd share.

• I am fascinated with these space pictures. I especially like to call the Pirate over and make him identify everything.
• Curls for little girls- a tutorial. I am SO doing this.
• I kind of want these boots.
• This is a cool Halloween shirt.
• Pumpkin Cookies with Carmel frosting
• I'm starting to think about Christmas sewing. I love these ruffled wallets, and this hexagon Christmas ornament, and I'm considering one or two of this really cool handbag.

What links have you found interesting lately?

U.S. Presidents Reading Project

The excitment of the recent election combined with my win of the books of election books from Hachette Books Group has me interested in learning more about politics and our country's history. I'm a history major, but I didn't really focus much on US history or politics Instead, I took a lot of classes about the South. I piddled around and did most of my electives outside of my history major. It's really time to rectify that, don't you think?

Lezlie, of Books 'N Border Collies, has started an open ended challenge to read a biography of each of the US Presidents called the U.S. Presidents Reading Project. While I think this is a bit ambitious (hello, have you SEEN my TBR??) I have decided to sign up and see how far I get before I lose steam. You're able to tailor this one to meet your interests, so one book about several presidents is ok. Or say, one book about Billy Graham and several presidents.

You might be thinking, this girl doesn't finish ANYTHING she starts (someone remind me to update that page later, ok?) And you'd be right! Luckily for me, this challenge doesn't have an end date so if I read one book a year... uh... 44 presidents plus 33 years already plus a new president every four years, unless they win a second term equals.. wait, I already read a book by President- Elect Barack Obama (wouldn't you think Google would have added that to spellcheck already?).. so that leaves how many?

Anywho, I'm gonna give it a shot. Head on over and check it out, you might want to sign up too!

Vote!

Vote! Vote! Vote!

I'm going to get all political and tell you who to vote for, it's not my place to make your decision for you, but please, go vote.

I took the boys to vote with me. I thought that it was a good experience for them to see people standing up to choose their leaders. He was very very well behaved, and we only waited in line about 20 minutes.

I told the Pirate we were gonna vote for the "best person for the job!" When he reported back to daddy, Mike asked him, "so who was the best person for the job?" and he said "MOMMY!"

So feel free to do a write-in if you can't decide.

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About politics, the media, and voting

I am not ready to talk politics on my blog- but I just saw this video at SuziQoregon's Occasional Other Stuff Blog and want to spread it some more. It's not about the issues or the candidates, it's about the election itself, and YOUR (and my) responsibility to VOTE. It's kinda long, but it's worth it to watch to the end. (If you are my husband, I think you can watch it all the way to the end without blowing a gasket.)

The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama

Talk to anyone who has known me for more than a couple of years and they'll be surprised to learn that I read a book about a politician (not counting long dead ones.) In the last few years I find myself caring more and more, and becoming more interested in what is going on around me. I've written letters to my local representatives- something I wouldn't have even considered 6 years ago. I am still woefully lacking in a political education. I don't understand a lot of the political process. But I'm trying and, for me, that's huge.

I started The Audacity of Hope several weeks ago. The beginning was pretty hard for me because it referenced a lot of political history that I just didn't know about. Once of the side effects of pregnancy is that I'm tired all the time, and staying awake to read about political history (however lightly written) was tough. After this section Obama breaks down his feelings on various aspects of our country: education, race, family, and religion among others. It's not heavy handed, in fact, it's very conversational. I found that the book was making me depressed, not because I didn't agree, but rather because I DID. It was very hard to ignore the things I've been ignoring when someone is pointing them out to you. Obama doesn't blatantly blame anyone, but does point out areas where he feels change would be good. It's not a book of his position or his platform on any of the topics. Reading this doesn't tell me what he's going to DO, but it does tell you how he FEELS. This might not be what you're looking for in a book by a politician. Or, if you're me, it's exactly what you're looking for. It was hard to read but I'm glad I read it.

Cross posted at We'd Rather Read.