As a Wisconsin native, I grew up near a lot of dairy farms. My grandparents were dairy farmers for over 40 years and after they passed away my uncles continued farming. I remember visiting the farm every weekend as a kid, and I’ve experienced cow milking, hay baling and other farm chores. My uncles treated their cows well, these animals were their livelihood.
In elementary school we had something called Wisconsin Week in which we learned about all the wonderful things our state had to offer. One of the most important lessons was about our agriculture, and we were so proud to be America’s Dairyland. Over the years, California caught up to us in milk production and Wisconsin focused more of it’s time on cheese production. This is probably why we’re considered Cheeseheads — well, that and our large Green Bay Packer fan base.
You will probably understand why I was so angry when I started seeing the television commercials for “Real California Cheese”. I know the Golden State has an advantage with beautiful weather in the winter months. I’m sure our Holsteins hate the snow as much as we do. It wasn’t enough that California was surpassing us in producing milk, now they wanted to compete with our cheese?
I was shocked and appalled when I read this article in the Washington Post about the inhumane treatment of cows captured on hidden video. At a slaughterhouse in Chino, CA, employees were caught “using chains to drag cows unable to stand; shoving and rolling crippled cows with forklifts; and rampant use of electric prods to drive infirm animals to slaughter.”
I’ve never witnessed an animal being slaughtered. I can’t imagine how awful it must be. However, I never expected to discover that a meat packing company would use such horrendous methods to bring beef products to America’s dinner tables.
It disturbs me that the Hallmark Meat Packing company would commit such gruesome mistreatment. I don’t believe cows deserve to be prodded with a fork lift. I realize these cows were going to be slaughtered and there is no humane way to end an animal’s life, but it does NOT include chains or cattle prods.
(As an aside, I am not writing this to spark a debate between meat eating and vegetarianism. I understand it is a personal choice for everyone.)
For all of the twenty-eight years, eleven months and two days I’ve been alive, I’ve been a Republican. In every election I was eligible to vote in, I’ve voted Republican. Every single one.
Loyalty is important to me. I’m loyal to my husband, family, friends and employer. I’ve been loyal to the Republican party thus far. But has the GOP really been loyal to me? Not really. Is it realistic to think they should be? I’m not sure….
Today, I voted for Barack Obama in the Wisconsin Primary. It was one of the most difficult decisions I’ve had to make, politically speaking.
For several long months I’ve weighed my options, I’ve absorbed the headlines and the polls and tried my best to give every candidate a fair shake. To say that my political views have evolved would be an understatement. The way I see this country today has changed completely since the last time I voted for a presidential candidate.
I could say that it’s because of the opportunities I’ve had to research politics. Writing about politics for the last year at BlogHer has definitely opened my eyes to other ideas and opinions. But this isn’t the only reason I’ve changed my voting direction.
I think I’ve learned that it’s okay to be objective, it doesn’t make you weak. Not knowing who would get my vote was the best thing to happen to this Republican because it forced me to really delve into the issues and get a good grasp on which candidate stood where.
In years past, I voted strictly based on one issue: abortion. As a Catholic, there was no way to compromise my morals. I could never bring myself to vote for a candidate that supported abortion. I wasn’t willing to budge. I don’t believe my choice was wrong, but I’m also distraught about some of the things that George W. Bush has done in his eight year tenure as President of the United States.
Perhaps I’ve matured in eight years. I’m a wife, a mother, a full-time employee. I worry about health care, education, the environment and terrorism. I get upset with each school shooting that I read about in the news. I get angry every time I open the newspaper and see another violent act against women and children. I’m fed up.
I’m tired of politics-as-usual, and I desperately want a new face in the white house. I want someone who can give this country, and our government, the kick in the ass it so desperately needs. I looked at the men and woman running for president and struggled to determine who that someone would be.
When it comes down to it, Barack Obama is the man for the job — as of right now.
I don’t know what will happen in November, but I feel comfortable with Obama. I like his plan for health care. I think he can be the Education President. I believe that he will be the man to get down to business and make the changes Americans are craving. He’s worked for the votes. He truly cares about me and my family; even though I’m not a Democrat, Obama has shown me there is room for me in his party.
I don’t feel that way about Hillary Clinton. Her arrogance is infuriating. She’d rather blame others for this country’s problems instead of admit she’s played a part in creating them — especially when it comes down to Iraq. It’s as if she thinks she deserves to win, without having to work for my vote. Several radio ads for Hillary kept placing blame on Bush for Iraq, but Hillary voted, too. I needed her to admit she made a mistake, but she couldn’t do it, and it bothers me.
Don’t get me wrong, I support the troops and the fight to end terrorism, but I think we’ve gone too far in the Middle East. This is also why I worry about John McCain as president. He’s prepared to station troops in Baghdad for several, maybe even a hundred, years.
Because I don’t believe that Mike Huckabee and Ron Paul (whom I was starting to like more and more) stand a chance against John McCain, I decided that my vote would have more weight in choosing the Democratic candidate.
Initially, I only wanted to vote for John McCain because of his stance on abortion. That was my bottom line.
On the contrary, I wanted to vote for Hillary Clinton simply because she’s the first viable female candidate and that alone is a big deal. But what does it say about me if I vote for a person based on one issue, as opposed to voting for another based on several?
You can understand my conundrum. I tossed and turned for five days before I made my decision. And it wasn’t easy. I thought for sure that after I made my choice at the polls, I would feel guilty. But I didn’t. I felt relieved.
I still have to figure out what to do about the issue of abortion. I’m hoping that Barack Obama will embrace my feelings and help us find a way to end the needless abortions committed every year. (I can understand desperate situations like rape, incest and protecting the health of the mother.) I believe that Barack will be the candidate to bridge the gap between left and right. I didn’t see that happening with Hillary Clinton. I dislike her “my way or the highway” attitude.
Ultimately, for me, it was about being comfortable with the choices, Democrat or Republican. Barack Obama made me feel comfortable, even hopeful. I think that says it all.
Yesterday was my Big Day of Errands. I went grocery shopping. I did laundry. Dawson and I went to 4 o’clock Mass because we didn’t want to wake up early this morning.
When I finally got home last night, I checked my e-mail and found an invitation to hear Senator Hillary Clinton speak at the University of Wisconsin - Marathon campus, in Wausau — which is about forty minutes north of me.
I immediately RSVP’d to the event. I really want to hear what she has to say. I even convinced my sister to go along with me. Then I promptly e-mailed Erin and asked her if it was wrong for me to be so darn excited. She assured me it was perfectly normal and made me promise to blog it.
I charged my cell phone. I loaded the driving directions in GPS. I charged my camera batteries. I could hardly fall asleep last night.
**Updated — So, Fox News reports that Hillary canceled all of her events today due to the snow blizzard we are experiencing here in Wisconsin. The southern part of the state had freezing rain last night, sewers are frozen, roads are glare ice. The area I live in has been hit hard. Close to six inches already, it’s been snowing since 6 a.m. I tried to shovel my car out and I gave up halfway through. There’s nowhere to push this snow. Our snowbanks are now as tall as me.
I’m feeling distraught as I read more news reports about the shooting at Northern Illinois University. The sick feeling in my stomach won’t go away. Thinking about the six people who have lost their lives, on Valentine’s Day of all days, is making me cry.
Yesterday my husband and I met my parents for dinner and while we waited for our table, we watched the news that was covering this tragedy. The camera captured footage of crying students with expressions of shock, fear and grief on their faces. I couldn’t stand to look at the screen. Flashbacks of Virginia Tech began to fill my mind.
How could this happen, I thought. What possessed this man to do something so terrible? I can only hope this never happens again, but I found myself wondering, “Which school is next?”
It keeps hitting closer to home. The Virginia Tech tragedy seemed so far away. It was shocking and devastating, but I couldn’t comprehend anything like that happening near me. And while Illinois is still 200 miles away, it felt like my heart had been broken.
I live in a college town. I can’t bear to think that someone could walk into the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point and open fire in a lecture hall. But it could happen. How do we prevent these vicious acts?
How do we stop crazy people from taking the lives of others?
As a mother, my instinct is to protect my child from anything that can harm him. But when he grows up and goes to college, I can’t be there to shelter him from the maniacs of this world. It breaks my heart. It scares me so much that I want to lock my son up until he’s old enough to protect himself, but even that seems naive and crazy.
What do we do? As parents, as citizens of this country, how can we stop these terrible shootings?
Is it the fault of our government? Poor legislation? Do we blame the parents of these murderers for not raising them right?
I know I’m looking for answers that I may never find; it’s like looking for the needle in the haystack.
My thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families. I don’t even know what else to say. I just can’t believe this is happening again.
