Delicate

Is this an orchid?
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What does it mean to vote "Present"

Last week at the Republican National Convention, Republican leaders mentioned over and over and over again that Senator Barack Obama had voted "present" on several occasions. The inference of the statement by the Republican leadership was that Senator Obama had voted "present" in order to avoid taking a stand on an issue.

Did Senator Obama actually vote "present" on several occasions? Absolutely.

Let's just take a moment to learn what voting present really means. The "present" vote, while not counted as a "no" vote, is in effect a "no" vote that sends a message. The "present" vote is used by lawmakers in situations where they agree with a bill in spirit, however the current version of the bill is not good enough to vote "yes;" either it is too expensive, it is inadequately planned or funded, it will not stand constitutionally, or it has riders or earmarks attached that are entirely inappropriate.

A "present" vote is taking a stand. In fact the "present" vote says more than if the Senator had just voted "no."

Did the leaders of the Republican Party understand this? Of course they did. This is what they do and part of their every day job. What the Republican leadership was counting on, was that you would not understand the meaning of the "present" vote.

Now you do.

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Update: it became clear to me in conversations stemming from this post that some people do not know the difference between abstaining from a vote and voting present. Abstaining from a vote is choosing not to vote. Voting Present is a vote that counts against the bill passing. Bills pass by the percentage of yes votes to the total number of all votes (yes, no, and present).
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cross-posted from BlogHer

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Boat Dog

Missing my dog and craving a sailboat all in one photo.


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Golden Gardens, Seattle

This particular sport was entirely new to me. I don't believe I've seen anything like it. They were not surfing (no waves), but they were paddling the boards while standing up.



Cruise ships making their way out of Seattle; most likely on their way to Alaska.



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Anniversary

Four years ago today, Mr. H and I said "I do."



I'm a lucky, lucky girl.



We didn't actually get to eat much at the wedding, so on the way to the hotel, we stopped at McDonalds and got Happy Meals. We've gone out for Happy Meals every year since, and that's where we'll be dining tonight.
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This is my contribution to Candid Carrie's Friday Foto Finish Fiesta



Previous contributions include:

• Serenity
  
• Watch Out
  
• What I didn't know
  
• Featured Prefromers

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Baby Update - Week 9

I've been doing really well. So far still no nausea or morning sickness although I sleep all the time. Mr. H is starting to understand what life will be like with a little one: every five minutes it's "I'm hungry," or "I'm tired," or "I have to go Potty," or just unexplained tears. We have also discovered the "three minute warning," or the range between "I could eat" and "If you don't get me food this instant, I'm going to eat your eyeballs." He's doing fine and adapting to this strange new world quite well. He gets extra brownie points for singing and talking to my belly on a regular basis (although that is occasionally the source of the unexplained tears).

We had our first prenatal visit on Friday. We'll be having the baby at UW Medical Center. I love the Clinic, and I absolutely love my new doctor. Everything about the appointment and all the support I've received from UWMC so far has been amazing.

The baby is doing very well. So far the baby is 3.5 cm long and has a very strong heartbeat which we could see in the ultrasound. There is one thing we are going to have to keep an eye on, I seem to have a cyst on my right ovary that at this point is bigger than the baby. At this point the plan is to watch the cyst and see what it does. Hopefully it will shrink and go away.
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We Can Do Better Than This

For a couple of hours this weekend a few democratic blogs spewed the same kind of toxic speculations, assumptions, assertions, and lies that Fox "News" reports as news every single day of the year.

Knock it off. We don't need to stoop to their level to reclaim America and our freedom and a viable future from the Republicans.

We need to draw some ground rules - what is appropriate? What goes to far?

McCain has repeatedly mentioned that he wants to address the issue of earmarks in Congress. He has also called Palin a "Cost Cutter." In that light, a close look at Palin's excessive use of Federal earmarks, both as a Mayor and Governor is appropriate.

Palin has been praised for going after corruption in the Republican Party. I think that is just excellent, but it doesn't mean she should get a pass on her own abuses of power both as a Mayor and as the Governor of Alaska.

I'm not going to go on and list everything about Palin that concerns me and why they need to be addressed. There are too many, and that's not the point of this post.

The point is this: there is a line we must not cross.

Sarah Palin's stand on Abstinence Only reproductive information (even for married couples) has been proven to be not only ineffective in reducing teen pregnancies, but actually places young people at a higher risk for acquiring Sexually Transmitted Diseases. This fact does not give us the right to tear apart her 17 year old daughter. I don't care whether she's pregnant or not. She is a minor. She didn't ask for this attention. She is not running for office. She is none of our business.
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