Started packing today, it is amazing how much "stuff" you accumulate over time. When we left CT in 2005 we only had 1/4 of a truck load, now we have to rent a huge truck from U-haul and then a 10 x 20 storage unit to hold it all.
If we get a job in the South then we have to come back to Maine to get our stuff and again get on the road, part of me wishes we could get rid of it all, but I know then when we do finally land somewhere, we will need it all and not have the money to replace it.
I do feel a bit liberated in a way for not having a home base. I really want to stay in New England near my family and friends but need to find work, and I have to go where there is work. If you think about it, and go back to the early 1800's people went whereever works was, they would leave their home country's and make a new life. It is alot easier now to communicate then back then but it is still amazing to me.
I am rereading Gone with the Wind again if you are wondering where that is coming from.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
This article below was in the New London Day today, and after reading it, all I felt was sad, and it made me think things happen to everyone and you just never know. Could this be me someday, due to no work? Are we entering a major depression? My heart goes out to this couple and their family.
If it was you, what would the first line say about who you were? I was pondering that and have no idea what it would say about me, because I do not believe I have done anything remarkable in my life, I was never a star athlete or a cheerleader. Scarey to think, what you do when life takes dips and turns you can not control.
"Charles D. Orbann was a star athlete and a squad leader in the U.S. Air Force. He taught troubled children for more than 20 years in a Pennsylvania school system.
Dianne M. Orbann was a cheerleader in college. She worked for many years as an executive secretary, and her life revolved around her husband, son and grandchildren.
As of Tuesday , Charles Orbann, 59, and Dianne Orbann, 57, of East Hampton are also sentenced bank robbers. He is serving 19 months in prison and she has a suspended sentence and three years of probation. Their lives were a classic American story, their lawyers said, until mental and medical illnesses and a gambling problem crept into their lives.
”In 25 years, this is one of the most perplexing cases I have ever had as a criminal defense lawyer,” said Ron Murphy, who represented Charles Orbann.
The husband entered the People's Bank at 139 South Main St. in Colchester on May 18, 2007, implied he had a gun and demanded money. He left with a bag of cash and fled in a car driven by his wife. Witnesses were able to describe the car, and police spotted them a short time later in East Hampton. The Orbanns had two loaded guns in their car when they were arrested.
At the sentencings in New London, the Orbanns' adult son and other relatives listened as the couple's attorneys chronicled how their lives had deteriorated to this point.
Murphy said that in the 1990s, things started to change for Charles Orbann. Mental illness crept into his life, and he started missing days at work. He eventually left teaching and was diagnosed with depression and bipolar disorder. The couple moved to Illinois, then to Connecticut to be close to their son and grandchildren.
”One of the unfortunate things about them coming to Connecticut is they were kind of close to Mohegan Sun,” Murphy said. He did not provide specifics on Orbann's gambling problem. “There were ce rtain losses,” he said.
Dianne Orbann left her job to take care of her husband and became “the keeper of the secret” of his mental illness, according to her attorney, Hope C. Seeley. Doctors said Orbann was unable to function in society without his wife. But eventually, Seeley said, his paranoia infected his wife. He demanded that she carry a loaded gun, and she did. She suffered from depression and panic attacks. Both suffered from physical ailments, and Charles Orbann worried all the time.
The wife could no longer control her husband, Seeley said, and on the day of the bank robbery, she didn't think her husband was serious.
”I think what happened that day is she was immobilized into submission,” Seeley said.
Charles Orbann's short-lived crime spree actually began 10 days earlier. On May 8, 2007, he smashed a car window and stole two pocketbooks while watching his grandson's soccer game in East Hampton, according to his attorney. He tried, unsuccessfully, to use credit cards from the pocketbooks at the casino. On the way out, he smashed another car window.
Husband and wife apologized for their crime, and their attorneys pleaded for leniency. But prosecutor John P. Gravalec-Pannone asked the judge to impose full sentences.
”We can empathize on a human level, but we have to send a message that if you're going to rob a bank and display a gun, you're going to jail,” Pannone said.
Judge Susan B. Handy remarked how terrifying it must have been for the bank teller that day. She said she recognized Charles Orbann's illness drove him to rob the bank, “but we can't have people robbing banks.”
The judge also told Dianne Orbann it was time for her to stand up for herself.
If it was you, what would the first line say about who you were? I was pondering that and have no idea what it would say about me, because I do not believe I have done anything remarkable in my life, I was never a star athlete or a cheerleader. Scarey to think, what you do when life takes dips and turns you can not control.
"Charles D. Orbann was a star athlete and a squad leader in the U.S. Air Force. He taught troubled children for more than 20 years in a Pennsylvania school system.
Dianne M. Orbann was a cheerleader in college. She worked for many years as an executive secretary, and her life revolved around her husband, son and grandchildren.
As of Tuesday , Charles Orbann, 59, and Dianne Orbann, 57, of East Hampton are also sentenced bank robbers. He is serving 19 months in prison and she has a suspended sentence and three years of probation. Their lives were a classic American story, their lawyers said, until mental and medical illnesses and a gambling problem crept into their lives.
”In 25 years, this is one of the most perplexing cases I have ever had as a criminal defense lawyer,” said Ron Murphy, who represented Charles Orbann.
The husband entered the People's Bank at 139 South Main St. in Colchester on May 18, 2007, implied he had a gun and demanded money. He left with a bag of cash and fled in a car driven by his wife. Witnesses were able to describe the car, and police spotted them a short time later in East Hampton. The Orbanns had two loaded guns in their car when they were arrested.
At the sentencings in New London, the Orbanns' adult son and other relatives listened as the couple's attorneys chronicled how their lives had deteriorated to this point.
Murphy said that in the 1990s, things started to change for Charles Orbann. Mental illness crept into his life, and he started missing days at work. He eventually left teaching and was diagnosed with depression and bipolar disorder. The couple moved to Illinois, then to Connecticut to be close to their son and grandchildren.
”One of the unfortunate things about them coming to Connecticut is they were kind of close to Mohegan Sun,” Murphy said. He did not provide specifics on Orbann's gambling problem. “There were ce rtain losses,” he said.
Dianne Orbann left her job to take care of her husband and became “the keeper of the secret” of his mental illness, according to her attorney, Hope C. Seeley. Doctors said Orbann was unable to function in society without his wife. But eventually, Seeley said, his paranoia infected his wife. He demanded that she carry a loaded gun, and she did. She suffered from depression and panic attacks. Both suffered from physical ailments, and Charles Orbann worried all the time.
The wife could no longer control her husband, Seeley said, and on the day of the bank robbery, she didn't think her husband was serious.
”I think what happened that day is she was immobilized into submission,” Seeley said.
Charles Orbann's short-lived crime spree actually began 10 days earlier. On May 8, 2007, he smashed a car window and stole two pocketbooks while watching his grandson's soccer game in East Hampton, according to his attorney. He tried, unsuccessfully, to use credit cards from the pocketbooks at the casino. On the way out, he smashed another car window.
Husband and wife apologized for their crime, and their attorneys pleaded for leniency. But prosecutor John P. Gravalec-Pannone asked the judge to impose full sentences.
”We can empathize on a human level, but we have to send a message that if you're going to rob a bank and display a gun, you're going to jail,” Pannone said.
Judge Susan B. Handy remarked how terrifying it must have been for the bank teller that day. She said she recognized Charles Orbann's illness drove him to rob the bank, “but we can't have people robbing banks.”
The judge also told Dianne Orbann it was time for her to stand up for herself.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Day 20: I think I am going crazy, I do not know what to do with myself all day. I apply, work on my webpage and then stare at the walls all day. I have started to reread "Gone with the Wind", for about the 10th time. Today, we did start going through the boxes in the basement and packed the Jeep to go to the Dump tomorrow morning.
It was hard for the husband to start getting rid of books, he has been collecting for so long, we were at over a 1,000 books, and at least 5 huge boxes went into the Jeep. Since the dump is only open Wednesday and Saturday's we figure tomorrow will be at least 2 trips, then we will go to town to get boxes to begin packing. This time, everything is going into a Storage Shed, and when we pack it in the front will be things we might need.
Becoming homeless is horrible, even though we have family to fall back on at my age, I feel like a failure. I want to believe something will break soon for my job hunt, but the other part of me, knows how bad the economy is and it may take longer than ever this time. Scared, is not a good enough word for how I feel, terrified.
The husband is so positive, and I try so hard to keep positive, but when I wake up in the morning and have no office to go to, I am just lost. I have already purged my closets and bureau of clothes I realize I will never get back into or ever wear again, and then the basement. Once, we start packing again, I know I will fall apart again. Today going through the boxes downstairs and seeing pictures from my past, past loves, past friends, when I was thin, a different lifetime again, I realize we are going into another new phase of my life and our marriage.
I never realized what and adventure my marriage would be, I thought getting married at 40 was going to be the biggest thing ever, but now we have taken another direction in our life and I want to know what will happen.
Stayed tuned..Oh, we bought a video camera so we will be recording our adventure and putting it on our blog.
It was hard for the husband to start getting rid of books, he has been collecting for so long, we were at over a 1,000 books, and at least 5 huge boxes went into the Jeep. Since the dump is only open Wednesday and Saturday's we figure tomorrow will be at least 2 trips, then we will go to town to get boxes to begin packing. This time, everything is going into a Storage Shed, and when we pack it in the front will be things we might need.
Becoming homeless is horrible, even though we have family to fall back on at my age, I feel like a failure. I want to believe something will break soon for my job hunt, but the other part of me, knows how bad the economy is and it may take longer than ever this time. Scared, is not a good enough word for how I feel, terrified.
The husband is so positive, and I try so hard to keep positive, but when I wake up in the morning and have no office to go to, I am just lost. I have already purged my closets and bureau of clothes I realize I will never get back into or ever wear again, and then the basement. Once, we start packing again, I know I will fall apart again. Today going through the boxes downstairs and seeing pictures from my past, past loves, past friends, when I was thin, a different lifetime again, I realize we are going into another new phase of my life and our marriage.
I never realized what and adventure my marriage would be, I thought getting married at 40 was going to be the biggest thing ever, but now we have taken another direction in our life and I want to know what will happen.
Stayed tuned..Oh, we bought a video camera so we will be recording our adventure and putting it on our blog.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Day 19 of the job search - Well, when I talked to the unemployment office on Friday, it went well, still not sure if I am receiving money or not, the husband thinks it was just because it is Maine and I have never applied before in my life. I have already started on the second sheet they give you for applying for jobs, your job search record, the unemployment guy did mention people that are really looking will have a few sheets.
We have made a decision, we are packing up our belongings and putting them in storage, pre-paid for 3 months and then hitting the road. We are going to stay at my mom's for a few weeks, and look for work there, and then go down to CT for a few days, and stay at my dad's he is in Hilton Head, and then go out to Wisconsin for his sisters wedding, and then to Illnois to visit his family. I have applied for a few positions out in Illnois, maybe I can get and interview. Then come back to the East Coast and go to Hilton Head, while my dad is up in CT for the holidays and see if there is any positions in this area, Virginia and Maryland too.
I am so scared, never in my life have I had no place to live and actually looking all over for work, in the hospitality world you never know when the right job will come along and where. The husband is so excited, I myself am scared, of course, the traveling is contigent on if I get a position before we travel. We do have to go out to Wisconsin for his sisters wedding the week of Thanksgiving. We did not buy plane tickets too expensive we are driving. Some of our guest rooms are already paid for, so that is a good thing.
Maybe we will see you on the road.
We have made a decision, we are packing up our belongings and putting them in storage, pre-paid for 3 months and then hitting the road. We are going to stay at my mom's for a few weeks, and look for work there, and then go down to CT for a few days, and stay at my dad's he is in Hilton Head, and then go out to Wisconsin for his sisters wedding, and then to Illnois to visit his family. I have applied for a few positions out in Illnois, maybe I can get and interview. Then come back to the East Coast and go to Hilton Head, while my dad is up in CT for the holidays and see if there is any positions in this area, Virginia and Maryland too.
I am so scared, never in my life have I had no place to live and actually looking all over for work, in the hospitality world you never know when the right job will come along and where. The husband is so excited, I myself am scared, of course, the traveling is contigent on if I get a position before we travel. We do have to go out to Wisconsin for his sisters wedding the week of Thanksgiving. We did not buy plane tickets too expensive we are driving. Some of our guest rooms are already paid for, so that is a good thing.
Maybe we will see you on the road.
Friday, October 10, 2008
Day 16 of no job:
Today, I am a b****, I have been picking fights with my husband over nothing, screaming at the birds outside, just finding things to be mad at, when in truth I am mad and disappointed in myself. I have to work harder to find a job, the thing is, I want to love the property I am working for, not just take it because it is a job.
I have applied all over the country, and only (1) of those resorts would I like to work, and that one I do not even love. I also, think it is about time, I move up in my career and am applying for Director positions in hotels/resorts. No, not Director of Sales, I am not really a room division person, I am a Foodie so Catering or Conference Services would be the perfect Director position for me. Now, I was offered a position for Director in Louisiana, but no relocation package, no insurance and paying me only $1,000 more than I was making here in Maine. Granted in LA that is good, but do I want to take a chance with a hotel with no insurance and no flag? Also, do I want to be that far from my family again?
I am looking in New England and Maryland those would be my (2) ideals, but no one is really hiring right now, all the Director positions open right now are in Texas, Georgia and LA. The wonderful husband is willing to go wherever I want, but I love New England and prefer not to leave it. I have been trying to set up and interview with a company in Boston, who contacted me and then nothing, so I have no idea what will happen with them. Yes, we will have to move again, but this time not as far, we can live right outside Boston which takes us 3 hours from here.
I hate that I feel like such a failure and no matter what I try nothing is happening, I have a phone interview with the Unemployment Office here today, I do not know if that is normal or what, I have never collected before, and this is scaring me, even when I worked for a hotel in Mystic and every year they laid you off for 2-4 weeks in the middle of winter, I would just budget so I would not have to collect. I was not brought up that way, but with the economy the way it is, you never know what will happen. Am I being too picky, should I just take a catering sales job which means we would have to pay for the move again, and I still owe my mom for the move last year.
Confusion, self-doubt is settling in, we have to go to Wisconsin in November for his sisters wedding and scared we do not have the money. My mom wants me to go see my sisters this weekend with her in CT, which normally would be fun, but now I don't' want to spend any money, I have taken to dying my hair myself and no manicure/pedicures or even my eyebrows which desperately need to be waxed. Women sure do spend alot of money to maintain themselves. My hair color cut style costs me between $170-$190 each time, so now I am thinking of going to a super cuts or something and not my normal salon, just for a cut, I will take care of the color.
I am waiting to get my Wedding Web page on the computer, the husband is editing the book now, and then even if I do not make any money, I at least will feel like I am working toward something. I need to feel like I am contributing to something bigger than myself. This is so hard for me, I have never been without a job or at least 2 jobs. Even my father said that when I talked to him the other day, he gave me some ideas. I do feel my family is judging me, they may not be but it is how I feel. It goes back to being in jr. high and wanting so much to be liked,that insecurity and that feeling of not belonging.
Off to do some more job hunting.
Today, I am a b****, I have been picking fights with my husband over nothing, screaming at the birds outside, just finding things to be mad at, when in truth I am mad and disappointed in myself. I have to work harder to find a job, the thing is, I want to love the property I am working for, not just take it because it is a job.
I have applied all over the country, and only (1) of those resorts would I like to work, and that one I do not even love. I also, think it is about time, I move up in my career and am applying for Director positions in hotels/resorts. No, not Director of Sales, I am not really a room division person, I am a Foodie so Catering or Conference Services would be the perfect Director position for me. Now, I was offered a position for Director in Louisiana, but no relocation package, no insurance and paying me only $1,000 more than I was making here in Maine. Granted in LA that is good, but do I want to take a chance with a hotel with no insurance and no flag? Also, do I want to be that far from my family again?
I am looking in New England and Maryland those would be my (2) ideals, but no one is really hiring right now, all the Director positions open right now are in Texas, Georgia and LA. The wonderful husband is willing to go wherever I want, but I love New England and prefer not to leave it. I have been trying to set up and interview with a company in Boston, who contacted me and then nothing, so I have no idea what will happen with them. Yes, we will have to move again, but this time not as far, we can live right outside Boston which takes us 3 hours from here.
I hate that I feel like such a failure and no matter what I try nothing is happening, I have a phone interview with the Unemployment Office here today, I do not know if that is normal or what, I have never collected before, and this is scaring me, even when I worked for a hotel in Mystic and every year they laid you off for 2-4 weeks in the middle of winter, I would just budget so I would not have to collect. I was not brought up that way, but with the economy the way it is, you never know what will happen. Am I being too picky, should I just take a catering sales job which means we would have to pay for the move again, and I still owe my mom for the move last year.
Confusion, self-doubt is settling in, we have to go to Wisconsin in November for his sisters wedding and scared we do not have the money. My mom wants me to go see my sisters this weekend with her in CT, which normally would be fun, but now I don't' want to spend any money, I have taken to dying my hair myself and no manicure/pedicures or even my eyebrows which desperately need to be waxed. Women sure do spend alot of money to maintain themselves. My hair color cut style costs me between $170-$190 each time, so now I am thinking of going to a super cuts or something and not my normal salon, just for a cut, I will take care of the color.
I am waiting to get my Wedding Web page on the computer, the husband is editing the book now, and then even if I do not make any money, I at least will feel like I am working toward something. I need to feel like I am contributing to something bigger than myself. This is so hard for me, I have never been without a job or at least 2 jobs. Even my father said that when I talked to him the other day, he gave me some ideas. I do feel my family is judging me, they may not be but it is how I feel. It goes back to being in jr. high and wanting so much to be liked,that insecurity and that feeling of not belonging.
Off to do some more job hunting.
Wednesday, October 08, 2008
Day 14 of the out of work blues. Actually, as of today, I am just upset that I have only had (2) companies call for interviews and I have sent out my resumes all over the United States.
I know one problem was I was too honest about needing a relocation package, which I have stopped doing, and the other is the economy. Hospitality is not a need,so it is not surprising the hotel business is taking a downturn in hiring people. I have even thought outside the box and looked outside hotels, still doing planning but not centering on weddings more on meetings.
I should of watched the debate last night, but most of the time, I think all politicians are liars, and say what we want to hear, but the real test if they follow through and do what they are saying on the campaign trail. This presidential race is definitely and interesting one, either party is going to have a first. My husband is out networking his business, and I have decided to stay home and work on my book. I have done a little more typing and going to have him start editing it.
Hope all is well with everyone out there.
I know one problem was I was too honest about needing a relocation package, which I have stopped doing, and the other is the economy. Hospitality is not a need,so it is not surprising the hotel business is taking a downturn in hiring people. I have even thought outside the box and looked outside hotels, still doing planning but not centering on weddings more on meetings.
I should of watched the debate last night, but most of the time, I think all politicians are liars, and say what we want to hear, but the real test if they follow through and do what they are saying on the campaign trail. This presidential race is definitely and interesting one, either party is going to have a first. My husband is out networking his business, and I have decided to stay home and work on my book. I have done a little more typing and going to have him start editing it.
Hope all is well with everyone out there.
Tuesday, October 07, 2008
Today, is a good day, I have started inputting my wedding book to help brides into the computer and am up to 30 pages, I will be putting it on my new website by the end of the month. It is keeping me busy, I have been putting out my resume all over the country, a few places have called, but nothing that I want.
We may have to move again, and I am trying to avoid that, it is too much to move every year, and I really would like a place we can really call home. It has been hard being with my husband 24/7, we have worked out a system when he is on the computer, I am writing my book, or working on sending out resumes, and then it is my turn.
Today, he was still in bed at 7am which is rare, so I have been on the computer now, I am taking a break and going to see some Temp agencies to get some work. Looking for that next job is a full time job in itself, and networking is the key.
Keep looking out.
We may have to move again, and I am trying to avoid that, it is too much to move every year, and I really would like a place we can really call home. It has been hard being with my husband 24/7, we have worked out a system when he is on the computer, I am writing my book, or working on sending out resumes, and then it is my turn.
Today, he was still in bed at 7am which is rare, so I have been on the computer now, I am taking a break and going to see some Temp agencies to get some work. Looking for that next job is a full time job in itself, and networking is the key.
Keep looking out.
Friday, October 03, 2008
Big going ons in the world. I watched the VP Debate last night, and thought Sarah Palin did and amazing job, and yes, I am a bit basis, I like her. It is always funny to see the political analyst after the fact and everyone has a different opinion, or is reading into what was not exactly said.
Then today, another vote for the Financial Bail out, which was passed with quite a few Republicans holding out and saying "Nay", why didn't the Democrats do that in the beginning part of the week? Were they waiting for the Senate, or did they not want only them on the Bill if it fails?
If it succeeds they will be heroes but if it doesn't then Obama will take a hit. While they were voting the Stock Market was up 266.90 points, right now an hour later it is -20.60 points what does that show?
It is Day 9 of Paula out of work, I have had a few calls, but no interviews as of yet.
Then today, another vote for the Financial Bail out, which was passed with quite a few Republicans holding out and saying "Nay", why didn't the Democrats do that in the beginning part of the week? Were they waiting for the Senate, or did they not want only them on the Bill if it fails?
If it succeeds they will be heroes but if it doesn't then Obama will take a hit. While they were voting the Stock Market was up 266.90 points, right now an hour later it is -20.60 points what does that show?
It is Day 9 of Paula out of work, I have had a few calls, but no interviews as of yet.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
We are now on day 7 of my being laid off. What do I do with my time? I am on the computer when the Husband is not working on his business and I apply for positions all over the country.
I really want to stay on the Coast of Maine, but there is not alot of work. I am writing my wedding book, to put on line, and that keeps me busy. My husband and I are in the house all day, but we barely talk, he is working on his own business, trying to stay positive for me.
I feel like a loser, I have never lost a job before, so there are alot of emotions. I am at a cross roads in my life, and have actually applied for positions outside of the hotel industry. When you have been cast aside so easily, it makes you second guess your decisions up to this point. My husband has been so wonderful, and it was because of me we are on the Coast of Maine, I wanted to move back to New England, and now look at us?
I am a bit angry, but that is a worthless emotion it was downsizing, and business nothing personal. My head knows all this, but my heart is crushed.
I will keep you up to date on my progress looking for my next career path.
I really want to stay on the Coast of Maine, but there is not alot of work. I am writing my wedding book, to put on line, and that keeps me busy. My husband and I are in the house all day, but we barely talk, he is working on his own business, trying to stay positive for me.
I feel like a loser, I have never lost a job before, so there are alot of emotions. I am at a cross roads in my life, and have actually applied for positions outside of the hotel industry. When you have been cast aside so easily, it makes you second guess your decisions up to this point. My husband has been so wonderful, and it was because of me we are on the Coast of Maine, I wanted to move back to New England, and now look at us?
I am a bit angry, but that is a worthless emotion it was downsizing, and business nothing personal. My head knows all this, but my heart is crushed.
I will keep you up to date on my progress looking for my next career path.
Friday, September 26, 2008
I am at a crossroads in my life. The company where I was work, has had to do some downsizing, and I was let go without warning on Wednesday. I do understand, but I have never been laid off or fired before.
So, then I of course, have a zillion questions, what did I do wrong? What could I have done better? Been there more? Lowered prices for meals? What??? These are questions that will never been answered and maybe part of me doesn't want to know, it is easier if I blame myself without knowing it really was my own fault.
I was so angry, but I knew it was not my clients fault, so a few hours later, I emailed my old boss, to give her updates on upcoming events. I am still angry but sadness has just set in, I am lost and trying to get a plan together.
I have already applied to positions, not any I desperately want, but life goes on, and we have to live. I have finally started my self-help book for weddings, and my wonderful husband is helping me stay positive. I did a mean thing and made him quit too, I could not have him on the property when I was not there. Selfish, I know but it would kill me, having him working my weddings, we are all allowed to be selfish once in awhile.
The economy is so scary right now, and we are in Maine, so we need heat, groceries, snow tires etc. I am scared, but motivated enough to know self-doubt is not a luxury I can afford right now.
So, then I of course, have a zillion questions, what did I do wrong? What could I have done better? Been there more? Lowered prices for meals? What??? These are questions that will never been answered and maybe part of me doesn't want to know, it is easier if I blame myself without knowing it really was my own fault.
I was so angry, but I knew it was not my clients fault, so a few hours later, I emailed my old boss, to give her updates on upcoming events. I am still angry but sadness has just set in, I am lost and trying to get a plan together.
I have already applied to positions, not any I desperately want, but life goes on, and we have to live. I have finally started my self-help book for weddings, and my wonderful husband is helping me stay positive. I did a mean thing and made him quit too, I could not have him on the property when I was not there. Selfish, I know but it would kill me, having him working my weddings, we are all allowed to be selfish once in awhile.
The economy is so scary right now, and we are in Maine, so we need heat, groceries, snow tires etc. I am scared, but motivated enough to know self-doubt is not a luxury I can afford right now.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
From Fox News, it is amazing that a public figure wants to give her support for her candidate and he does not want it, can he really afford not to? I get fed up with Hollywood having cameras in their faces and saying why Obama is their candidate, but I see no one going out and asking the "real people" of the world who their candidate is, it is as if main stream media wants you to believe Obama is the best candidate.
"LOS ANGELES — Lindsay Lohan's efforts to stump for Barack Obama were reportedly thrown back in her face by the Democratic candidate's campaign ... and her father is none too happy about it.
According to the Chicago Sun-Times, LiLo wanted to promote Obama but was turned away by his camp due to her wild ways. Now daddy Michael Lohan is biting back.
"For Barack Obama to condemn my daughter for past indiscretions when he admitted to the exact same himself is indicative of what kind of president he would be," Michael Lohan told Pop Tarts via e-mail on Wednesday night.
"His visions of a positive future for this country should be representative of a positive future for people as well. It is looking beyond the difficult times and letting go of the past," Michael said. "Obviously, Obama can do this for himself and not others, when in fact a good president should have hope for all."
Michael and his famous daughter have had a rocky relationship in recent weeks, but he had nothing but nice words for his little one in his e-mail.
"Lindsay is gifted — she has a wonderful heart and she can and will affect millions of people in a very positive way. She is here to stay," he said. "Obama might have eight years, and then he will be giving lectures. Who knows, maybe Lindsay will give him a part in one of her movies."
"LOS ANGELES — Lindsay Lohan's efforts to stump for Barack Obama were reportedly thrown back in her face by the Democratic candidate's campaign ... and her father is none too happy about it.
According to the Chicago Sun-Times, LiLo wanted to promote Obama but was turned away by his camp due to her wild ways. Now daddy Michael Lohan is biting back.
"For Barack Obama to condemn my daughter for past indiscretions when he admitted to the exact same himself is indicative of what kind of president he would be," Michael Lohan told Pop Tarts via e-mail on Wednesday night.
"His visions of a positive future for this country should be representative of a positive future for people as well. It is looking beyond the difficult times and letting go of the past," Michael said. "Obviously, Obama can do this for himself and not others, when in fact a good president should have hope for all."
Michael and his famous daughter have had a rocky relationship in recent weeks, but he had nothing but nice words for his little one in his e-mail.
"Lindsay is gifted — she has a wonderful heart and she can and will affect millions of people in a very positive way. She is here to stay," he said. "Obama might have eight years, and then he will be giving lectures. Who knows, maybe Lindsay will give him a part in one of her movies."
I have gotten sucked in again to the New 90210, but for me, I want to see more of Kelly (Jennie Garth) and Brenda ( Shannon Doherty) then I do the new kids of the show. Annie is way too sweet, she is already on my last nerve, I do like Silver and Annie's brothers story line.
Last week shows, the most exciting was finding out who's Kelly's son's dad was, and that was at the end of the show. Personally, I knew it was Dylan but part of me would of loved it to be Brandon's. Where is Dylan? I loved 90210 the original and I am trying to care about these new kids, but I watch to see Kelly and Brenda interact, it is incredible. I know Donna was mentioned but what about David? When are we going to see Donna ( Tori Spelling)?
I know that Luke Perry is now on Sci-Fi Jermiah and David Austin Green is on Sara Conner's, so are we ever going to see the guys again? How come Steve has not been mentioned?
I know I am older, but I want to see the originals back especially since I feel we got jipped with out Brandon and Brenda at Donna and David's wedding at the end of the run of the show.
Just my opinion.
Last week shows, the most exciting was finding out who's Kelly's son's dad was, and that was at the end of the show. Personally, I knew it was Dylan but part of me would of loved it to be Brandon's. Where is Dylan? I loved 90210 the original and I am trying to care about these new kids, but I watch to see Kelly and Brenda interact, it is incredible. I know Donna was mentioned but what about David? When are we going to see Donna ( Tori Spelling)?
I know that Luke Perry is now on Sci-Fi Jermiah and David Austin Green is on Sara Conner's, so are we ever going to see the guys again? How come Steve has not been mentioned?
I know I am older, but I want to see the originals back especially since I feel we got jipped with out Brandon and Brenda at Donna and David's wedding at the end of the run of the show.
Just my opinion.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Work has been a bit much lately, myself and the Director of Rooms,we get along for a day or two then he does something to tick me off. Which means he offends my group in some way, because he feels he has the right.
He should ask me first before going off half cocked without knowing what agreement I made with my vendors/clients. Example, this past weekend we had a wonderful wedding, they had hired and outside company to come in and decorate and bring in own tables, chairs, linens, china etc., and the decorators informed me on Sat. PM that the rental company can not pick up until Tuesday. Due to the fact, there was nothing in that room until Thursday, I agreed, well Mr. Director, had a fit. He wanted to charge them, and even made a stupid comment, " If they ever want to work here again, they have to abide by our rules." EXCUSE ME!! We are struggling a bit for business, and you want to offend a group that can reccommend us to the high end, cleintele that we are trying to attract.
I get mad a myself for backing down, because I am sick of fighting with him, if this was a romantic relationship, I would have broke it off a long time ago, but this is business, and I have to decide which battles to fight and which ones can go by the wayside?
Do you have someone in your work place who thinks he/she is smarter than they think? Or thinks has more power than they do? I have heard from a few people that this person will be the downfall of this property, I do believe that, because he is sometimes so abrupt with the guests. He wants to make sure they go by his rules, or what he perceives are the rules. He has told some of my wedding tours, that no rooms during July/August, hate to break it to him, we would never have sold out the few times we did this summer if it wasn't for my wedding groups. ALso, I have a way of saying so no one is offended before I even tour them.
I do keep a running grievance list against him, not that I would use it, but it makes me feel better and I get my aggravation out on him. He made another comment about a "real hotel" excuse me aren't we real? Also, how would you know, I am not sure any "real hotel" would put up with your bullshit....It has been 2 days and I am still so angry at him.
Just to make it better, the rental company came on Monday Morning and had everything gone by 11am and shocker he was not here and no one has touched that room today to get it ready for Thursday so what was the big deal? Just a question...
He should ask me first before going off half cocked without knowing what agreement I made with my vendors/clients. Example, this past weekend we had a wonderful wedding, they had hired and outside company to come in and decorate and bring in own tables, chairs, linens, china etc., and the decorators informed me on Sat. PM that the rental company can not pick up until Tuesday. Due to the fact, there was nothing in that room until Thursday, I agreed, well Mr. Director, had a fit. He wanted to charge them, and even made a stupid comment, " If they ever want to work here again, they have to abide by our rules." EXCUSE ME!! We are struggling a bit for business, and you want to offend a group that can reccommend us to the high end, cleintele that we are trying to attract.
I get mad a myself for backing down, because I am sick of fighting with him, if this was a romantic relationship, I would have broke it off a long time ago, but this is business, and I have to decide which battles to fight and which ones can go by the wayside?
Do you have someone in your work place who thinks he/she is smarter than they think? Or thinks has more power than they do? I have heard from a few people that this person will be the downfall of this property, I do believe that, because he is sometimes so abrupt with the guests. He wants to make sure they go by his rules, or what he perceives are the rules. He has told some of my wedding tours, that no rooms during July/August, hate to break it to him, we would never have sold out the few times we did this summer if it wasn't for my wedding groups. ALso, I have a way of saying so no one is offended before I even tour them.
I do keep a running grievance list against him, not that I would use it, but it makes me feel better and I get my aggravation out on him. He made another comment about a "real hotel" excuse me aren't we real? Also, how would you know, I am not sure any "real hotel" would put up with your bullshit....It has been 2 days and I am still so angry at him.
Just to make it better, the rental company came on Monday Morning and had everything gone by 11am and shocker he was not here and no one has touched that room today to get it ready for Thursday so what was the big deal? Just a question...
Monday, September 15, 2008
This is an article from the New London Day, I think we should all go shopping at "Home Depot" and not pay for anything.
Waterford - By all accounts, 24-year-old Randy Heon of Norwich was a model employee at Home Depot, until the day this summer when a shoplifter carted off a bunch of chainsaws and he tried to interfere.
Soon after, the home-supply company fired him.
”I was thinking I was helping the company,” said Heon, who had been with Home Depot for six years, starting in high school.
Heon said he was behind the desk in the garden center at the Route 85 Home Depot when an associate yelled, “Help, shoplifter!” and he ran over and grabbed at the cart the suspect was using to load up his car. But Julie Cleary, another witness and a store employee, said she saw Heon trying to pry an item out of the shoplifter's hands.
”Afterward, the loss-prevention guy at the building said, 'Good job,' “ Heon said. “Customers said I had done a good job, too.”
Yet Heon's termination papers clearly cite his run-in with the shoplifter as a violation of company policy and the reason for his firing.
”On June 30, 2008, Randy Heon was involved in an incident in which he pursued a shoplifter attempting to remove unpaid merchandise from the store,” reads the undated documents. “As a result of the (major) violation ... Randy Heon's employment is being terminated effective immediately.”
A manager at the local Home Depot would not comment on the incident, referring questions to the home office, which didn't respond to a message.
Heon, a former associate of the month at the Lisbon Home Depot store and a manager in Waterford, said he was shocked at the firing, which occurred about a month after the incident. Heon said he was fired only after the shoplifter was caught and police and store managers reviewed a security videotape that showed Heon chasing after the suspect.
A district loss-prevention specialist, according to Heon, insisted that Heon be fired on the spot.
”He was told that he should have simply waved and told the man to 'Have a nice day,' “ said Heon's 30-year-old girlfriend, Jessica Glenn, in an e-mail. “Can this really be legal?”
Not only is it legal, experts said, but Home Depot has fired several employees in other locales for similar incidents. In Midwest City, Okla., for instance, four Home Depot employees lost their jobs last year in a single incident when they helped police catch shoplifters.
”Employers decide what happens in the workplace,” said Jacques Parenteau, a New London attorney who specializes in employment law.
Parenteau said workplace rules that restrict an employee from interfering with a shoplifter are meant to protect employers from potential lawsuits filed by workers who are hurt in such incidents. They also protect against ambiguous situations in which employees may act like “cowboys” and wrongly accuse customers of stealing, he said.
David Cadden, a professor of management at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, added that companies could potentially be sued by shoplifters if they were injured in the course of being apprehended.
Cadden said large companies began instituting shoplifting policies about 15 years ago when they decided they had more to lose from lawsuits than from pilfering.
”It happens when an organization is terrified of the potential for lawsuits and they are willing to accept a certain degree of loss,” he said.
Cadden said he doesn't personally agree with such policies because of their effects on morale as well as their one-size-fits-all mentality. But he understands that companies must be consistent in their application of the rules or they could face lawsuits from fired workers.
Heon said he has considered filing suit, and may yet do so. But Parenteau said such suits are long shots because, assuming the worker finds another job within a few months, it is hard to prove much in the way of economic loss that won't be eaten up by court costs.
Heon admits that he was aware of the company policy against pursuing a shoplifter. But he said he never touched the suspect and only pursued the car long enough to get a description and the plate number.
The firing left Heon without health insurance at around the same time he found out that his girlfriend is pregnant. Heon has since added to his hours at Mohegan Sun, where his work includes being a bouncer at the Ultra 88 nightclub, but he would rather have his job back at Home Depot.
”I should have been given a warning,” Heon said. “I don't think it was a bad thing to try to stop someone. What would have been the right thing to do - let him get away with the stuff?”
Waterford - By all accounts, 24-year-old Randy Heon of Norwich was a model employee at Home Depot, until the day this summer when a shoplifter carted off a bunch of chainsaws and he tried to interfere.
Soon after, the home-supply company fired him.
”I was thinking I was helping the company,” said Heon, who had been with Home Depot for six years, starting in high school.
Heon said he was behind the desk in the garden center at the Route 85 Home Depot when an associate yelled, “Help, shoplifter!” and he ran over and grabbed at the cart the suspect was using to load up his car. But Julie Cleary, another witness and a store employee, said she saw Heon trying to pry an item out of the shoplifter's hands.
”Afterward, the loss-prevention guy at the building said, 'Good job,' “ Heon said. “Customers said I had done a good job, too.”
Yet Heon's termination papers clearly cite his run-in with the shoplifter as a violation of company policy and the reason for his firing.
”On June 30, 2008, Randy Heon was involved in an incident in which he pursued a shoplifter attempting to remove unpaid merchandise from the store,” reads the undated documents. “As a result of the (major) violation ... Randy Heon's employment is being terminated effective immediately.”
A manager at the local Home Depot would not comment on the incident, referring questions to the home office, which didn't respond to a message.
Heon, a former associate of the month at the Lisbon Home Depot store and a manager in Waterford, said he was shocked at the firing, which occurred about a month after the incident. Heon said he was fired only after the shoplifter was caught and police and store managers reviewed a security videotape that showed Heon chasing after the suspect.
A district loss-prevention specialist, according to Heon, insisted that Heon be fired on the spot.
”He was told that he should have simply waved and told the man to 'Have a nice day,' “ said Heon's 30-year-old girlfriend, Jessica Glenn, in an e-mail. “Can this really be legal?”
Not only is it legal, experts said, but Home Depot has fired several employees in other locales for similar incidents. In Midwest City, Okla., for instance, four Home Depot employees lost their jobs last year in a single incident when they helped police catch shoplifters.
”Employers decide what happens in the workplace,” said Jacques Parenteau, a New London attorney who specializes in employment law.
Parenteau said workplace rules that restrict an employee from interfering with a shoplifter are meant to protect employers from potential lawsuits filed by workers who are hurt in such incidents. They also protect against ambiguous situations in which employees may act like “cowboys” and wrongly accuse customers of stealing, he said.
David Cadden, a professor of management at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, added that companies could potentially be sued by shoplifters if they were injured in the course of being apprehended.
Cadden said large companies began instituting shoplifting policies about 15 years ago when they decided they had more to lose from lawsuits than from pilfering.
”It happens when an organization is terrified of the potential for lawsuits and they are willing to accept a certain degree of loss,” he said.
Cadden said he doesn't personally agree with such policies because of their effects on morale as well as their one-size-fits-all mentality. But he understands that companies must be consistent in their application of the rules or they could face lawsuits from fired workers.
Heon said he has considered filing suit, and may yet do so. But Parenteau said such suits are long shots because, assuming the worker finds another job within a few months, it is hard to prove much in the way of economic loss that won't be eaten up by court costs.
Heon admits that he was aware of the company policy against pursuing a shoplifter. But he said he never touched the suspect and only pursued the car long enough to get a description and the plate number.
The firing left Heon without health insurance at around the same time he found out that his girlfriend is pregnant. Heon has since added to his hours at Mohegan Sun, where his work includes being a bouncer at the Ultra 88 nightclub, but he would rather have his job back at Home Depot.
”I should have been given a warning,” Heon said. “I don't think it was a bad thing to try to stop someone. What would have been the right thing to do - let him get away with the stuff?”
Friday, September 12, 2008
ITS MY BIRTHDAY TODAY!!
I have a birthday cake on my desktop screen. I am working (of course) and then I will be home alone tonight because the hubby is working at the Resort. Birthday's are not special to him, I do blame his parents for celebrating his birthday on Thanksgiving and not on his actual birthday Dec. 1...
My mom always made each of our birthdays specials, My sisters are a week apart and she never combined thier birthdays, my brother is like my husband a Dec. 9 birthday boy, and she made sure it was special and not Christmasy..
I am getting older, but I still love my birthday, we are going to dinner on Sunday Evening I believe due to we are both working all weekend.
Happy Birthday to me..
I have a birthday cake on my desktop screen. I am working (of course) and then I will be home alone tonight because the hubby is working at the Resort. Birthday's are not special to him, I do blame his parents for celebrating his birthday on Thanksgiving and not on his actual birthday Dec. 1...
My mom always made each of our birthdays specials, My sisters are a week apart and she never combined thier birthdays, my brother is like my husband a Dec. 9 birthday boy, and she made sure it was special and not Christmasy..
I am getting older, but I still love my birthday, we are going to dinner on Sunday Evening I believe due to we are both working all weekend.
Happy Birthday to me..
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Do you remember? 9/11/01 - Where were you when you heard? What has changed in the 7 years since the attacks?
I am appalled that people forget so easily, how about the families who were affected directly? Or the Friends in directly?
I will never forget that day, and the two men who were with me at the time, my roommate Thomas and my boyfriend Seth are both gone now, but in my heart and head I will always think of both of them. Thomas calling me at work, crying that I have to come home, he can not be alone. Seth, working at the local airport calling me and telling me what is coming across the towers and the National Guard.
My birthday is September 12, so the next night Seth took me out for my birthday, it was so somber, really no reason to celebrate, will never forget what our country is fighting for, our freedom..
NY DAILY NEWS:
Seven years after that terrible morning when terrorists in hijacked airliners struck, construction has overtaken the sacred site where the twin towers once stood.
So it was with especially heavy steps that the grieving relatives, cops and firefighters ventured down Thursday into the bowels of Ground Zero to leave white, pink and red roses on the footprints of the fallen World Trace Center buildings.
Some, their faces glazed with tears, fell to their knees and prayed. Others sobbed silently and leaned on each other for support. Still others looked around and stored away the memories, knowing this could be the last time.
"I wouldn't know where else to go," said Brian Blanco, who escaped from the south tower on 9/11, and who stood near the abyss in Zuccotti Park.
I am appalled that people forget so easily, how about the families who were affected directly? Or the Friends in directly?
I will never forget that day, and the two men who were with me at the time, my roommate Thomas and my boyfriend Seth are both gone now, but in my heart and head I will always think of both of them. Thomas calling me at work, crying that I have to come home, he can not be alone. Seth, working at the local airport calling me and telling me what is coming across the towers and the National Guard.
My birthday is September 12, so the next night Seth took me out for my birthday, it was so somber, really no reason to celebrate, will never forget what our country is fighting for, our freedom..
NY DAILY NEWS:
Seven years after that terrible morning when terrorists in hijacked airliners struck, construction has overtaken the sacred site where the twin towers once stood.
So it was with especially heavy steps that the grieving relatives, cops and firefighters ventured down Thursday into the bowels of Ground Zero to leave white, pink and red roses on the footprints of the fallen World Trace Center buildings.
Some, their faces glazed with tears, fell to their knees and prayed. Others sobbed silently and leaned on each other for support. Still others looked around and stored away the memories, knowing this could be the last time.
"I wouldn't know where else to go," said Brian Blanco, who escaped from the south tower on 9/11, and who stood near the abyss in Zuccotti Park.
Thursday, September 04, 2008
SARAH PALIN: Mr. Chairman, delegates, and fellow citizens, I will be honored to accept your nomination for vice president of the United States.
(APPLAUSE)
I accept the call to help our nominee for president to serve and defend America. And I accept the challenge of a tough fight in this election against confident opponents at a crucial hour for our country.
And I accept the privilege of serving with a man who has come through much harder missions, and met far graver challenges, and knows how tough fights are won, the next president of the United States, John S. McCain.
(APPLAUSE)
It was just a year ago when all the experts in Washington counted out our nominee because he refused to hedge his commitment to the security of the country he loves.
With their usual certitude, they told us that all was lost, there was no hope for this candidate, who said that he would rather lose an election than see his country lose a war. But the pollsters…
(APPLAUSE)
The pollsters and the pundits, they overlooked just one thing when they wrote him off. They overlooked the caliber of the man himself, the determination, and resolve, and the sheer guts of Senator John McCain.
(APPLAUSE)
The voters knew better, and maybe that’s because they realized there’s a time for politics and a time for leadership, a time to campaign and a time to put our country first.
(APPLAUSE)
Our nominee for president is a true profile in courage, and people like that are hard to come by. He’s a man who wore the uniform of his country for 22 years and refused to break faith with those troops in Iraq who now have brought victory within sight.
(APPLAUSE)
And as the mother of one of those troops, that is exactly the kind of man I want as commander-in-chief.
I’m just one of many moms who will say an extra prayer each night for our sons and daughters going into harm’s way. Our son, Track, is 19. And one week from tomorrow, September 11th, he’ll deploy to Iraq with the Army infantry in the service of his country.
My nephew, Casey (ph), also enlisted and serves on a carrier in the Persian Gulf.
My family is so proud of both of them and of all the fine men and women serving the country in uniform.
(APPLAUSE)
AUDIENCE: USA! USA! USA! USA! USA!
So Track is the eldest of our five children. In our family, it’s two boys and three girls in between, my strong and kind- hearted daughters, Bristol, and Willow, and Piper.
(APPLAUSE)
And we were so blessed in April. Todd and I welcomed our littlest one into the world, a perfectly beautiful baby boy named Trig.
You know, from the inside, no family ever seems typical, and that’s how it is with us. Our family has the same ups and downs as any other, the same challenges and the same joys.
Sometimes even the greatest joys bring challenge. And children with special needs inspire a very, very special love. To the families of special-needs…
(APPLAUSE)
To the families of special-needs children all across this country, I have a message for you: For years, you’ve sought to make America a more welcoming place for your sons and daughters. And I pledge to you that, if we’re elected, you will have a friend and advocate in the White House.
(APPLAUSE)
And Todd is a story all by himself. He’s a lifelong commercial fisherman and a production operator in the oil fields of Alaska’s North Slope, and a proud member of the United Steelworkers union. And Todd is a world champion snow machine racer.
(APPLAUSE)
Throw in his Yup’ik Eskimo ancestry, and it all makes for quite a package. And we met in high school. And two decades and five children later, he’s still my guy.
(APPLAUSE)
My mom and dad both worked at the elementary school in our small town. And among the many things I owe them is a simple lesson that I’ve learned, that this is America, and every woman can walk through every door of opportunity.
And my parents are here tonight.
I am so proud to be the daughter of Chuck and Sally Heath (ph).
(APPLAUSE)
Long ago, a young farmer and a haberdasher from Missouri, he followed an unlikely path — he followed an unlikely path to the vice presidency. And a writer observed, “We grow good people in our small towns, with honesty and sincerity and dignity,” and I know just the kind of people that writer had in mind when he praised Harry Truman.
I grew up with those people. They’re the ones who do some of the hardest work in America, who grow our food, and run our factories, and fight our wars. They love their country in good times and bad, and they’re always proud of America.
(APPLAUSE)
I had the privilege of living most of my life in a small town. I was just your average hockey mom and signed up for the PTA.
(APPLAUSE)
I love those hockey moms. You know, they say the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull? Lipstick.
(APPLAUSE)
So I signed up for the PTA because I wanted to make my kids’ public education even better. And when I ran for city council, I didn’t need focus groups and voter profiles because I knew those voters, and I knew their families, too.
Before I became governor of the great state of Alaska…
(APPLAUSE)
… I was mayor of my hometown. And since our opponents in this presidential election seem to look down on that experience, let me explain to them what the job involved.
(APPLAUSE)
I guess — I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a community organizer, except that you have actual responsibilities.
(APPLAUSE)
I might add that, in small towns, we don’t quite know what to make of a candidate who lavishes praise on working people when they’re listening and then talks about how bitterly they cling to their religion and guns when those people aren’t listening.
(APPLAUSE)
No, we tend to prefer candidates who don’t talk about us one way in Scranton and another way in San Francisco.
(APPLAUSE)
As for my running mate, you can be certain that wherever he goes and whoever is listening John McCain is the same man.
(APPLAUSE)
Well, I’m not a member of the permanent political establishment. And…
(APPLAUSE)
… I’ve learned quickly these last few days that, if you’re not a member in good standing of the Washington elite, then some in the media consider a candidate unqualified for that reason alone.
(AUDIENCE BOOS)
But — now, here’s a little newsflash. Here’s a little newsflash for those reporters and commentators: I’m not going to Washington to seek their good opinion. I’m going to Washington to serve the people of this great country.
(APPLAUSE)
Americans expect us to go to Washington for the right reason and not just to mingle with the right people. Politics isn’t just a game of clashing parties and competing interests. The right reason is to challenge the status quo, to serve the common good, and to leave this nation better than we found it.
(APPLAUSE)
No one expects us all to agree on everything, but we are expected to govern with integrity, and goodwill, and clear convictions, and a servant’s heart.
And I pledge to all Americans that I will carry myself in this spirit as vice president of the United States.
(APPLAUSE)
This was the spirit that brought me to the governor’s office when I took on the old politics as usual in Juneau, when I stood up to the special interests, and the lobbyists, and the Big Oil companies, and the good-old boys.
Suddenly, I realized that sudden and relentless reform never sits well with entrenched interests and power-brokers. That’s why true reform is so hard to achieve.
But with the support of the citizens of Alaska, we shook things up. And in short order, we put the government of our state back on the side of the people.
(APPLAUSE)
I came to office promising major ethics reform to end the culture of self-dealing. And today, that ethics reform is a law.
While I was at it, I got rid of a few things in the governor’s office that I didn’t believe our citizens should have to pay for. That luxury jet was over-the-top.
(APPLAUSE)
I put it on eBay.
(APPLAUSE)
I love to drive myself to work. And I thought we could muddle through without the governor’s personal chef, although I got to admit that sometimes my kids sure miss her.
(APPLAUSE)
I came to office promising to control spending, by request if possible, but by veto, if necessary.
(APPLAUSE)
Senator McCain also — he promises to use the power of veto in defense of the public interest. And as a chief executive, I can assure you it works.
(APPLAUSE)
Our state budget is under control. We have a surplus. And I have protected the taxpayers by vetoing wasteful spending, nearly $500 million in vetoes.
We suspended the state fuel tax and championed reform to end the abuses of earmark spending by Congress. I told the Congress, “Thanks, but no thanks,” on that Bridge to Nowhere.
(APPLAUSE)
If our state wanted to build a bridge, we were going to build it ourselves.
(APPLAUSE)
When oil and gas prices went up dramatically and filled up the state treasury, I sent a large share of that revenue back where it belonged: directly to the people of Alaska.
(APPLAUSE)
And despite fierce opposition from oil company lobbyists, who kind of liked things the way that they were, we broke their monopoly on power and resources. As governor, I insisted on competition and basic fairness to end their control of our state and return it to the people.
(APPLAUSE)
I fought to bring about the largest private-sector infrastructure project in North American history.
And when that deal was struck, we began a nearly $40 billion natural gas pipeline to help lead America to energy independence.
(APPLAUSE)
That pipeline, when the last section is laid and its valves are open, will lead America one step farther away from dependence on dangerous foreign powers that do not have our interests at heart.
The stakes for our nation could not be higher. When a hurricane strikes in the Gulf of Mexico, this country should not be so dependent on imported oil that we’re forced to draw from our Strategic Petroleum Reserve. And families cannot throw more and more of their paychecks on gas and heating oil.
With Russia wanting to control a vital pipeline in the Caucasus and to divide and intimidate our European allies by using energy as a weapon, we cannot leave ourselves at the mercy of foreign suppliers.
(APPLAUSE)
To confront the threat that Iran might seek to cut off nearly a fifth of the world’s energy supplies, or that terrorists might strike again at the Abqaiq facility in Saudi Arabia, or that Venezuela might shut off its oil discoveries and its deliveries of that source, Americans, we need to produce more of our own oil and gas. And…
(APPLAUSE)
And take it from a gal who knows the North Slope of Alaska: We’ve got lots of both.
(APPLAUSE)
Our opponents say again and again that drilling will not solve all of America’s energy problems, as if we didn’t know that already.
(LAUGHTER)
But the fact that drilling, though, won’t solve every problem is no excuse to do nothing at all.
(APPLAUSE)
Starting in January, in a McCain-Palin administration, we’re going to lay more pipelines, and build more nuclear plants, and create jobs with clean coal, and move forward on solar, wind, geothermal, and other alternative sources. We need…
(APPLAUSE)
We need American sources of resources. We need American energy brought to you by American ingenuity and produced by American workers.
(APPLAUSE)
And now, I’ve noticed a pattern with our opponent, and maybe you have, too. We’ve all heard his dramatic speeches before devoted followers, and there is much to like and admire about our opponent.
But listening to him speak, it’s easy to forget that this is a man who has authored two memoirs but not a single major law or even a reform, not even in the State Senate.
This is a man who can give an entire speech about the wars America is fighting and never use word “victory,” except when he’s talking about his own campaign.
(APPLAUSE)
But when the cloud of rhetoric has passed, when the roar of the crowd fades away, when the stadium lights go out, and those Styrofoam Greek columns are hauled back to some studio lot…
(APPLAUSE)
… when that happens, what exactly is our opponent’s plan? What does he actually seek to accomplish after he’s done turning back the waters and healing the planet?
(APPLAUSE)
The answer — the answer is to make government bigger, and take more of your money, and give you more orders from Washington, and to reduce the strength of America in a dangerous world.
(AUDIENCE BOOS)
America needs more energy; our opponent is against producing it. Victory in Iraq is finally in sight, and he wants to forfeit. Terrorist states are seeking nuclear weapons without delay; he wants to meet them without preconditions.
Al Qaeda terrorists still plot to inflict catastrophic harm on America, and he’s worried that someone won’t read them their rights.
(APPLAUSE)
Government is too big; he wants to grow it. Congress spends too much money; he promises more.
Taxes are too high, and he wants to raise them. His tax increases are the fine print in his economic plan.
And let me be specific: The Democratic nominee for president supports plans to raise income taxes, and raise payroll taxes, and raise investment income taxes, and raise the death tax, and raise business taxes, and increase the tax burden on the American people by hundreds of billions of dollars.
(AUDIENCE BOOS)
My sister, Heather, and her husband, they just built a service station that’s now open for business, like millions of others who run small businesses. How are they…
(APPLAUSE)
How are they going to be better off if taxes go up? Or maybe you are trying to keep your job at a plant in Michigan or in Ohio…
(APPLAUSE)
… or you’re trying — you’re trying to create jobs from clean coal, from Pennsylvania or West Virginia.
(APPLAUSE)
You’re trying to keep a small farm in the family right here in Minnesota.
(APPLAUSE)
How are you — how are you going to be better off if our opponent adds a massive tax burden to the American economy?
Here’s how I look at the choice Americans face in this election: In politics, there are some candidates who use change to promote their careers, and then there are those, like John McCain, who use their careers to promote change.
They are the ones whose names appear on laws and landmark reforms, not just on buttons and banners or on self-designed presidential seals.
(APPLAUSE)
Among politicians, there is the idealism of high-flown speech- making, in which crowds are stirringly summoned to support great things, and then there is the idealism of those leaders, like John McCain, who actually do great things.
(APPLAUSE)
They’re the ones who are good for more than talk, the ones that we’ve always been able to count on to serve and to defend America.
Senator McCain’s record of actual achievements and reform helps explain why so many special interests, and lobbyists, and comfortable committee chairmen in Congress have fought the prospect of a McCain presidency from the primary election of 2000 to this very day.
Our nominee doesn’t run with the Washington herd. He’s a man who’s there to serve his country and not just his party, a leader who’s not looking for a fight, but sure isn’t afraid of one, either.
(APPLAUSE)
Harry Reid, the majority of the current do-nothing Senate…
(AUDIENCE BOOS)
… he not long ago summed up his feelings about our nominee. He said, quote, “I can’t stand John McCain.”
Ladies and gentlemen, perhaps no accolade we hear this week is better proof that we’ve chosen the right man.
(APPLAUSE)
Clearly, what the majority leader was driving at is that he can’t stand up to John McCain and that is only…
(APPLAUSE)
… that’s only one more reason to take the maverick out of the Senate, put him in the White House.
(APPLAUSE)
My fellow citizens, the American presidency is not supposed to be a journey of personal discovery.
(LAUGHTER)
(APPLAUSE)
This world of threats and dangers, it’s not just a community and it doesn’t just need an organizer.
And though both Senator Obama and Senator Biden have been going on lately about how they’re always, quote, “fighting for you,” let us face the matter squarely: There is only one man in this election who has ever really fought for you.
(APPLAUSE)
There is only one man in this election who has ever really fought for you in places where winning means survival and defeat means death. And that man is John McCain.
(APPLAUSE)
You know, in our day, politicians have readily shared much lesser tales of adversity than the nightmare world, the nightmare world in which this man and others equally brave served and suffered for their country.
And it’s a long way from the fear, and pain, and squalor of a six-by-four cell in Hanoi to the Oval Office.
But if Senator McCain is elected president, that is the journey he will have made. It’s the journey of an upright and honorable man, the kind of fellow whose name you will find on war memorials in small towns across this great country, only he was among those who came home.
To the most powerful office on Earth, he would bring the compassion that comes from having once been powerless, the wisdom that comes even to the captives by the grace of God, the special confidence of those who have seen evil and have seen how evil is overcome. A fellow…
(APPLAUSE)
A fellow prisoner of war, a man named Tom Moe of Lancaster, Ohio…
(APPLAUSE)
… Tom Moe recalls looking through a pinhole in his cell door as Lieutenant Commander John McCain was led down the hallway by the guards, day after day.
And the story is told, when McCain shuffled back from torturous interrogations, he would turn towards Moe’s door, and he’d flash a grin and a thumbs up, as if to say, “We’re going to pull through this.”
My fellow Americans, that is the kind of man America needs to see us through the next four years.
(APPLAUSE)
For a season, a gifted speaker can inspire with his words. But for a lifetime, John McCain has inspired with his deeds.
If character is the measure in this election, and hope the theme, and change the goal we share, then I ask you to join our cause. Join our cause and help America elect a great man as the next president of the United States.
Thank you, and God bless America. Thank you.
YOU GO GIRL!!!!
(APPLAUSE)
I accept the call to help our nominee for president to serve and defend America. And I accept the challenge of a tough fight in this election against confident opponents at a crucial hour for our country.
And I accept the privilege of serving with a man who has come through much harder missions, and met far graver challenges, and knows how tough fights are won, the next president of the United States, John S. McCain.
(APPLAUSE)
It was just a year ago when all the experts in Washington counted out our nominee because he refused to hedge his commitment to the security of the country he loves.
With their usual certitude, they told us that all was lost, there was no hope for this candidate, who said that he would rather lose an election than see his country lose a war. But the pollsters…
(APPLAUSE)
The pollsters and the pundits, they overlooked just one thing when they wrote him off. They overlooked the caliber of the man himself, the determination, and resolve, and the sheer guts of Senator John McCain.
(APPLAUSE)
The voters knew better, and maybe that’s because they realized there’s a time for politics and a time for leadership, a time to campaign and a time to put our country first.
(APPLAUSE)
Our nominee for president is a true profile in courage, and people like that are hard to come by. He’s a man who wore the uniform of his country for 22 years and refused to break faith with those troops in Iraq who now have brought victory within sight.
(APPLAUSE)
And as the mother of one of those troops, that is exactly the kind of man I want as commander-in-chief.
I’m just one of many moms who will say an extra prayer each night for our sons and daughters going into harm’s way. Our son, Track, is 19. And one week from tomorrow, September 11th, he’ll deploy to Iraq with the Army infantry in the service of his country.
My nephew, Casey (ph), also enlisted and serves on a carrier in the Persian Gulf.
My family is so proud of both of them and of all the fine men and women serving the country in uniform.
(APPLAUSE)
AUDIENCE: USA! USA! USA! USA! USA!
So Track is the eldest of our five children. In our family, it’s two boys and three girls in between, my strong and kind- hearted daughters, Bristol, and Willow, and Piper.
(APPLAUSE)
And we were so blessed in April. Todd and I welcomed our littlest one into the world, a perfectly beautiful baby boy named Trig.
You know, from the inside, no family ever seems typical, and that’s how it is with us. Our family has the same ups and downs as any other, the same challenges and the same joys.
Sometimes even the greatest joys bring challenge. And children with special needs inspire a very, very special love. To the families of special-needs…
(APPLAUSE)
To the families of special-needs children all across this country, I have a message for you: For years, you’ve sought to make America a more welcoming place for your sons and daughters. And I pledge to you that, if we’re elected, you will have a friend and advocate in the White House.
(APPLAUSE)
And Todd is a story all by himself. He’s a lifelong commercial fisherman and a production operator in the oil fields of Alaska’s North Slope, and a proud member of the United Steelworkers union. And Todd is a world champion snow machine racer.
(APPLAUSE)
Throw in his Yup’ik Eskimo ancestry, and it all makes for quite a package. And we met in high school. And two decades and five children later, he’s still my guy.
(APPLAUSE)
My mom and dad both worked at the elementary school in our small town. And among the many things I owe them is a simple lesson that I’ve learned, that this is America, and every woman can walk through every door of opportunity.
And my parents are here tonight.
I am so proud to be the daughter of Chuck and Sally Heath (ph).
(APPLAUSE)
Long ago, a young farmer and a haberdasher from Missouri, he followed an unlikely path — he followed an unlikely path to the vice presidency. And a writer observed, “We grow good people in our small towns, with honesty and sincerity and dignity,” and I know just the kind of people that writer had in mind when he praised Harry Truman.
I grew up with those people. They’re the ones who do some of the hardest work in America, who grow our food, and run our factories, and fight our wars. They love their country in good times and bad, and they’re always proud of America.
(APPLAUSE)
I had the privilege of living most of my life in a small town. I was just your average hockey mom and signed up for the PTA.
(APPLAUSE)
I love those hockey moms. You know, they say the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull? Lipstick.
(APPLAUSE)
So I signed up for the PTA because I wanted to make my kids’ public education even better. And when I ran for city council, I didn’t need focus groups and voter profiles because I knew those voters, and I knew their families, too.
Before I became governor of the great state of Alaska…
(APPLAUSE)
… I was mayor of my hometown. And since our opponents in this presidential election seem to look down on that experience, let me explain to them what the job involved.
(APPLAUSE)
I guess — I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a community organizer, except that you have actual responsibilities.
(APPLAUSE)
I might add that, in small towns, we don’t quite know what to make of a candidate who lavishes praise on working people when they’re listening and then talks about how bitterly they cling to their religion and guns when those people aren’t listening.
(APPLAUSE)
No, we tend to prefer candidates who don’t talk about us one way in Scranton and another way in San Francisco.
(APPLAUSE)
As for my running mate, you can be certain that wherever he goes and whoever is listening John McCain is the same man.
(APPLAUSE)
Well, I’m not a member of the permanent political establishment. And…
(APPLAUSE)
… I’ve learned quickly these last few days that, if you’re not a member in good standing of the Washington elite, then some in the media consider a candidate unqualified for that reason alone.
(AUDIENCE BOOS)
But — now, here’s a little newsflash. Here’s a little newsflash for those reporters and commentators: I’m not going to Washington to seek their good opinion. I’m going to Washington to serve the people of this great country.
(APPLAUSE)
Americans expect us to go to Washington for the right reason and not just to mingle with the right people. Politics isn’t just a game of clashing parties and competing interests. The right reason is to challenge the status quo, to serve the common good, and to leave this nation better than we found it.
(APPLAUSE)
No one expects us all to agree on everything, but we are expected to govern with integrity, and goodwill, and clear convictions, and a servant’s heart.
And I pledge to all Americans that I will carry myself in this spirit as vice president of the United States.
(APPLAUSE)
This was the spirit that brought me to the governor’s office when I took on the old politics as usual in Juneau, when I stood up to the special interests, and the lobbyists, and the Big Oil companies, and the good-old boys.
Suddenly, I realized that sudden and relentless reform never sits well with entrenched interests and power-brokers. That’s why true reform is so hard to achieve.
But with the support of the citizens of Alaska, we shook things up. And in short order, we put the government of our state back on the side of the people.
(APPLAUSE)
I came to office promising major ethics reform to end the culture of self-dealing. And today, that ethics reform is a law.
While I was at it, I got rid of a few things in the governor’s office that I didn’t believe our citizens should have to pay for. That luxury jet was over-the-top.
(APPLAUSE)
I put it on eBay.
(APPLAUSE)
I love to drive myself to work. And I thought we could muddle through without the governor’s personal chef, although I got to admit that sometimes my kids sure miss her.
(APPLAUSE)
I came to office promising to control spending, by request if possible, but by veto, if necessary.
(APPLAUSE)
Senator McCain also — he promises to use the power of veto in defense of the public interest. And as a chief executive, I can assure you it works.
(APPLAUSE)
Our state budget is under control. We have a surplus. And I have protected the taxpayers by vetoing wasteful spending, nearly $500 million in vetoes.
We suspended the state fuel tax and championed reform to end the abuses of earmark spending by Congress. I told the Congress, “Thanks, but no thanks,” on that Bridge to Nowhere.
(APPLAUSE)
If our state wanted to build a bridge, we were going to build it ourselves.
(APPLAUSE)
When oil and gas prices went up dramatically and filled up the state treasury, I sent a large share of that revenue back where it belonged: directly to the people of Alaska.
(APPLAUSE)
And despite fierce opposition from oil company lobbyists, who kind of liked things the way that they were, we broke their monopoly on power and resources. As governor, I insisted on competition and basic fairness to end their control of our state and return it to the people.
(APPLAUSE)
I fought to bring about the largest private-sector infrastructure project in North American history.
And when that deal was struck, we began a nearly $40 billion natural gas pipeline to help lead America to energy independence.
(APPLAUSE)
That pipeline, when the last section is laid and its valves are open, will lead America one step farther away from dependence on dangerous foreign powers that do not have our interests at heart.
The stakes for our nation could not be higher. When a hurricane strikes in the Gulf of Mexico, this country should not be so dependent on imported oil that we’re forced to draw from our Strategic Petroleum Reserve. And families cannot throw more and more of their paychecks on gas and heating oil.
With Russia wanting to control a vital pipeline in the Caucasus and to divide and intimidate our European allies by using energy as a weapon, we cannot leave ourselves at the mercy of foreign suppliers.
(APPLAUSE)
To confront the threat that Iran might seek to cut off nearly a fifth of the world’s energy supplies, or that terrorists might strike again at the Abqaiq facility in Saudi Arabia, or that Venezuela might shut off its oil discoveries and its deliveries of that source, Americans, we need to produce more of our own oil and gas. And…
(APPLAUSE)
And take it from a gal who knows the North Slope of Alaska: We’ve got lots of both.
(APPLAUSE)
Our opponents say again and again that drilling will not solve all of America’s energy problems, as if we didn’t know that already.
(LAUGHTER)
But the fact that drilling, though, won’t solve every problem is no excuse to do nothing at all.
(APPLAUSE)
Starting in January, in a McCain-Palin administration, we’re going to lay more pipelines, and build more nuclear plants, and create jobs with clean coal, and move forward on solar, wind, geothermal, and other alternative sources. We need…
(APPLAUSE)
We need American sources of resources. We need American energy brought to you by American ingenuity and produced by American workers.
(APPLAUSE)
And now, I’ve noticed a pattern with our opponent, and maybe you have, too. We’ve all heard his dramatic speeches before devoted followers, and there is much to like and admire about our opponent.
But listening to him speak, it’s easy to forget that this is a man who has authored two memoirs but not a single major law or even a reform, not even in the State Senate.
This is a man who can give an entire speech about the wars America is fighting and never use word “victory,” except when he’s talking about his own campaign.
(APPLAUSE)
But when the cloud of rhetoric has passed, when the roar of the crowd fades away, when the stadium lights go out, and those Styrofoam Greek columns are hauled back to some studio lot…
(APPLAUSE)
… when that happens, what exactly is our opponent’s plan? What does he actually seek to accomplish after he’s done turning back the waters and healing the planet?
(APPLAUSE)
The answer — the answer is to make government bigger, and take more of your money, and give you more orders from Washington, and to reduce the strength of America in a dangerous world.
(AUDIENCE BOOS)
America needs more energy; our opponent is against producing it. Victory in Iraq is finally in sight, and he wants to forfeit. Terrorist states are seeking nuclear weapons without delay; he wants to meet them without preconditions.
Al Qaeda terrorists still plot to inflict catastrophic harm on America, and he’s worried that someone won’t read them their rights.
(APPLAUSE)
Government is too big; he wants to grow it. Congress spends too much money; he promises more.
Taxes are too high, and he wants to raise them. His tax increases are the fine print in his economic plan.
And let me be specific: The Democratic nominee for president supports plans to raise income taxes, and raise payroll taxes, and raise investment income taxes, and raise the death tax, and raise business taxes, and increase the tax burden on the American people by hundreds of billions of dollars.
(AUDIENCE BOOS)
My sister, Heather, and her husband, they just built a service station that’s now open for business, like millions of others who run small businesses. How are they…
(APPLAUSE)
How are they going to be better off if taxes go up? Or maybe you are trying to keep your job at a plant in Michigan or in Ohio…
(APPLAUSE)
… or you’re trying — you’re trying to create jobs from clean coal, from Pennsylvania or West Virginia.
(APPLAUSE)
You’re trying to keep a small farm in the family right here in Minnesota.
(APPLAUSE)
How are you — how are you going to be better off if our opponent adds a massive tax burden to the American economy?
Here’s how I look at the choice Americans face in this election: In politics, there are some candidates who use change to promote their careers, and then there are those, like John McCain, who use their careers to promote change.
They are the ones whose names appear on laws and landmark reforms, not just on buttons and banners or on self-designed presidential seals.
(APPLAUSE)
Among politicians, there is the idealism of high-flown speech- making, in which crowds are stirringly summoned to support great things, and then there is the idealism of those leaders, like John McCain, who actually do great things.
(APPLAUSE)
They’re the ones who are good for more than talk, the ones that we’ve always been able to count on to serve and to defend America.
Senator McCain’s record of actual achievements and reform helps explain why so many special interests, and lobbyists, and comfortable committee chairmen in Congress have fought the prospect of a McCain presidency from the primary election of 2000 to this very day.
Our nominee doesn’t run with the Washington herd. He’s a man who’s there to serve his country and not just his party, a leader who’s not looking for a fight, but sure isn’t afraid of one, either.
(APPLAUSE)
Harry Reid, the majority of the current do-nothing Senate…
(AUDIENCE BOOS)
… he not long ago summed up his feelings about our nominee. He said, quote, “I can’t stand John McCain.”
Ladies and gentlemen, perhaps no accolade we hear this week is better proof that we’ve chosen the right man.
(APPLAUSE)
Clearly, what the majority leader was driving at is that he can’t stand up to John McCain and that is only…
(APPLAUSE)
… that’s only one more reason to take the maverick out of the Senate, put him in the White House.
(APPLAUSE)
My fellow citizens, the American presidency is not supposed to be a journey of personal discovery.
(LAUGHTER)
(APPLAUSE)
This world of threats and dangers, it’s not just a community and it doesn’t just need an organizer.
And though both Senator Obama and Senator Biden have been going on lately about how they’re always, quote, “fighting for you,” let us face the matter squarely: There is only one man in this election who has ever really fought for you.
(APPLAUSE)
There is only one man in this election who has ever really fought for you in places where winning means survival and defeat means death. And that man is John McCain.
(APPLAUSE)
You know, in our day, politicians have readily shared much lesser tales of adversity than the nightmare world, the nightmare world in which this man and others equally brave served and suffered for their country.
And it’s a long way from the fear, and pain, and squalor of a six-by-four cell in Hanoi to the Oval Office.
But if Senator McCain is elected president, that is the journey he will have made. It’s the journey of an upright and honorable man, the kind of fellow whose name you will find on war memorials in small towns across this great country, only he was among those who came home.
To the most powerful office on Earth, he would bring the compassion that comes from having once been powerless, the wisdom that comes even to the captives by the grace of God, the special confidence of those who have seen evil and have seen how evil is overcome. A fellow…
(APPLAUSE)
A fellow prisoner of war, a man named Tom Moe of Lancaster, Ohio…
(APPLAUSE)
… Tom Moe recalls looking through a pinhole in his cell door as Lieutenant Commander John McCain was led down the hallway by the guards, day after day.
And the story is told, when McCain shuffled back from torturous interrogations, he would turn towards Moe’s door, and he’d flash a grin and a thumbs up, as if to say, “We’re going to pull through this.”
My fellow Americans, that is the kind of man America needs to see us through the next four years.
(APPLAUSE)
For a season, a gifted speaker can inspire with his words. But for a lifetime, John McCain has inspired with his deeds.
If character is the measure in this election, and hope the theme, and change the goal we share, then I ask you to join our cause. Join our cause and help America elect a great man as the next president of the United States.
Thank you, and God bless America. Thank you.
YOU GO GIRL!!!!
SARAH PALIN: Mr. Chairman, delegates, and fellow citizens, I will be honored to accept your nomination for vice president of the United States.
(APPLAUSE)
I accept the call to help our nominee for president to serve and defend America. And I accept the challenge of a tough fight in this election against confident opponents at a crucial hour for our country.
And I accept the privilege of serving with a man who has come through much harder missions, and met far graver challenges, and knows how tough fights are won, the next president of the United States, John S. McCain.
(APPLAUSE)
It was just a year ago when all the experts in Washington counted out our nominee because he refused to hedge his commitment to the security of the country he loves.
With their usual certitude, they told us that all was lost, there was no hope for this candidate, who said that he would rather lose an election than see his country lose a war. But the pollsters…
(APPLAUSE)
The pollsters and the pundits, they overlooked just one thing when they wrote him off. They overlooked the caliber of the man himself, the determination, and resolve, and the sheer guts of Senator John McCain.
(APPLAUSE)
The voters knew better, and maybe that’s because they realized there’s a time for politics and a time for leadership, a time to campaign and a time to put our country first.
(APPLAUSE)
Our nominee for president is a true profile in courage, and people like that are hard to come by. He’s a man who wore the uniform of his country for 22 years and refused to break faith with those troops in Iraq who now have brought victory within sight.
(APPLAUSE)
And as the mother of one of those troops, that is exactly the kind of man I want as commander-in-chief.
I’m just one of many moms who will say an extra prayer each night for our sons and daughters going into harm’s way. Our son, Track, is 19. And one week from tomorrow, September 11th, he’ll deploy to Iraq with the Army infantry in the service of his country.
My nephew, Casey (ph), also enlisted and serves on a carrier in the Persian Gulf.
My family is so proud of both of them and of all the fine men and women serving the country in uniform.
(APPLAUSE)
AUDIENCE: USA! USA! USA! USA! USA!
So Track is the eldest of our five children. In our family, it’s two boys and three girls in between, my strong and kind- hearted daughters, Bristol, and Willow, and Piper.
(APPLAUSE)
And we were so blessed in April. Todd and I welcomed our littlest one into the world, a perfectly beautiful baby boy named Trig.
You know, from the inside, no family ever seems typical, and that’s how it is with us. Our family has the same ups and downs as any other, the same challenges and the same joys.
Sometimes even the greatest joys bring challenge. And children with special needs inspire a very, very special love. To the families of special-needs…
(APPLAUSE)
To the families of special-needs children all across this country, I have a message for you: For years, you’ve sought to make America a more welcoming place for your sons and daughters. And I pledge to you that, if we’re elected, you will have a friend and advocate in the White House.
(APPLAUSE)
And Todd is a story all by himself. He’s a lifelong commercial fisherman and a production operator in the oil fields of Alaska’s North Slope, and a proud member of the United Steelworkers union. And Todd is a world champion snow machine racer.
(APPLAUSE)
Throw in his Yup’ik Eskimo ancestry, and it all makes for quite a package. And we met in high school. And two decades and five children later, he’s still my guy.
(APPLAUSE)
My mom and dad both worked at the elementary school in our small town. And among the many things I owe them is a simple lesson that I’ve learned, that this is America, and every woman can walk through every door of opportunity.
And my parents are here tonight.
I am so proud to be the daughter of Chuck and Sally Heath (ph).
(APPLAUSE)
Long ago, a young farmer and a haberdasher from Missouri, he followed an unlikely path — he followed an unlikely path to the vice presidency. And a writer observed, “We grow good people in our small towns, with honesty and sincerity and dignity,” and I know just the kind of people that writer had in mind when he praised Harry Truman.
I grew up with those people. They’re the ones who do some of the hardest work in America, who grow our food, and run our factories, and fight our wars. They love their country in good times and bad, and they’re always proud of America.
(APPLAUSE)
I had the privilege of living most of my life in a small town. I was just your average hockey mom and signed up for the PTA.
(APPLAUSE)
I love those hockey moms. You know, they say the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull? Lipstick.
(APPLAUSE)
So I signed up for the PTA because I wanted to make my kids’ public education even better. And when I ran for city council, I didn’t need focus groups and voter profiles because I knew those voters, and I knew their families, too.
Before I became governor of the great state of Alaska…
(APPLAUSE)
… I was mayor of my hometown. And since our opponents in this presidential election seem to look down on that experience, let me explain to them what the job involved.
(APPLAUSE)
I guess — I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a community organizer, except that you have actual responsibilities.
(APPLAUSE)
I might add that, in small towns, we don’t quite know what to make of a candidate who lavishes praise on working people when they’re listening and then talks about how bitterly they cling to their religion and guns when those people aren’t listening.
(APPLAUSE)
No, we tend to prefer candidates who don’t talk about us one way in Scranton and another way in San Francisco.
(APPLAUSE)
As for my running mate, you can be certain that wherever he goes and whoever is listening John McCain is the same man.
(APPLAUSE)
Well, I’m not a member of the permanent political establishment. And…
(APPLAUSE)
… I’ve learned quickly these last few days that, if you’re not a member in good standing of the Washington elite, then some in the media consider a candidate unqualified for that reason alone.
(AUDIENCE BOOS)
But — now, here’s a little newsflash. Here’s a little newsflash for those reporters and commentators: I’m not going to Washington to seek their good opinion. I’m going to Washington to serve the people of this great country.
(APPLAUSE)
Americans expect us to go to Washington for the right reason and not just to mingle with the right people. Politics isn’t just a game of clashing parties and competing interests. The right reason is to challenge the status quo, to serve the common good, and to leave this nation better than we found it.
(APPLAUSE)
No one expects us all to agree on everything, but we are expected to govern with integrity, and goodwill, and clear convictions, and a servant’s heart.
And I pledge to all Americans that I will carry myself in this spirit as vice president of the United States.
(APPLAUSE)
This was the spirit that brought me to the governor’s office when I took on the old politics as usual in Juneau, when I stood up to the special interests, and the lobbyists, and the Big Oil companies, and the good-old boys.
Suddenly, I realized that sudden and relentless reform never sits well with entrenched interests and power-brokers. That’s why true reform is so hard to achieve.
But with the support of the citizens of Alaska, we shook things up. And in short order, we put the government of our state back on the side of the people.
(APPLAUSE)
I came to office promising major ethics reform to end the culture of self-dealing. And today, that ethics reform is a law.
While I was at it, I got rid of a few things in the governor’s office that I didn’t believe our citizens should have to pay for. That luxury jet was over-the-top.
(APPLAUSE)
I put it on eBay.
(APPLAUSE)
I love to drive myself to work. And I thought we could muddle through without the governor’s personal chef, although I got to admit that sometimes my kids sure miss her.
(APPLAUSE)
I came to office promising to control spending, by request if possible, but by veto, if necessary.
(APPLAUSE)
Senator McCain also — he promises to use the power of veto in defense of the public interest. And as a chief executive, I can assure you it works.
(APPLAUSE)
Our state budget is under control. We have a surplus. And I have protected the taxpayers by vetoing wasteful spending, nearly $500 million in vetoes.
We suspended the state fuel tax and championed reform to end the abuses of earmark spending by Congress. I told the Congress, “Thanks, but no thanks,” on that Bridge to Nowhere.
(APPLAUSE)
If our state wanted to build a bridge, we were going to build it ourselves.
(APPLAUSE)
When oil and gas prices went up dramatically and filled up the state treasury, I sent a large share of that revenue back where it belonged: directly to the people of Alaska.
(APPLAUSE)
And despite fierce opposition from oil company lobbyists, who kind of liked things the way that they were, we broke their monopoly on power and resources. As governor, I insisted on competition and basic fairness to end their control of our state and return it to the people.
(APPLAUSE)
I fought to bring about the largest private-sector infrastructure project in North American history.
And when that deal was struck, we began a nearly $40 billion natural gas pipeline to help lead America to energy independence.
(APPLAUSE)
That pipeline, when the last section is laid and its valves are open, will lead America one step farther away from dependence on dangerous foreign powers that do not have our interests at heart.
The stakes for our nation could not be higher. When a hurricane strikes in the Gulf of Mexico, this country should not be so dependent on imported oil that we’re forced to draw from our Strategic Petroleum Reserve. And families cannot throw more and more of their paychecks on gas and heating oil.
With Russia wanting to control a vital pipeline in the Caucasus and to divide and intimidate our European allies by using energy as a weapon, we cannot leave ourselves at the mercy of foreign suppliers.
(APPLAUSE)
To confront the threat that Iran might seek to cut off nearly a fifth of the world’s energy supplies, or that terrorists might strike again at the Abqaiq facility in Saudi Arabia, or that Venezuela might shut off its oil discoveries and its deliveries of that source, Americans, we need to produce more of our own oil and gas. And…
(APPLAUSE)
And take it from a gal who knows the North Slope of Alaska: We’ve got lots of both.
(APPLAUSE)
Our opponents say again and again that drilling will not solve all of America’s energy problems, as if we didn’t know that already.
(LAUGHTER)
But the fact that drilling, though, won’t solve every problem is no excuse to do nothing at all.
(APPLAUSE)
Starting in January, in a McCain-Palin administration, we’re going to lay more pipelines, and build more nuclear plants, and create jobs with clean coal, and move forward on solar, wind, geothermal, and other alternative sources. We need…
(APPLAUSE)
We need American sources of resources. We need American energy brought to you by American ingenuity and produced by American workers.
(APPLAUSE)
And now, I’ve noticed a pattern with our opponent, and maybe you have, too. We’ve all heard his dramatic speeches before devoted followers, and there is much to like and admire about our opponent.
But listening to him speak, it’s easy to forget that this is a man who has authored two memoirs but not a single major law or even a reform, not even in the State Senate.
This is a man who can give an entire speech about the wars America is fighting and never use word “victory,” except when he’s talking about his own campaign.
(APPLAUSE)
But when the cloud of rhetoric has passed, when the roar of the crowd fades away, when the stadium lights go out, and those Styrofoam Greek columns are hauled back to some studio lot…
(APPLAUSE)
… when that happens, what exactly is our opponent’s plan? What does he actually seek to accomplish after he’s done turning back the waters and healing the planet?
(APPLAUSE)
The answer — the answer is to make government bigger, and take more of your money, and give you more orders from Washington, and to reduce the strength of America in a dangerous world.
(AUDIENCE BOOS)
America needs more energy; our opponent is against producing it. Victory in Iraq is finally in sight, and he wants to forfeit. Terrorist states are seeking nuclear weapons without delay; he wants to meet them without preconditions.
Al Qaeda terrorists still plot to inflict catastrophic harm on America, and he’s worried that someone won’t read them their rights.
(APPLAUSE)
Government is too big; he wants to grow it. Congress spends too much money; he promises more.
Taxes are too high, and he wants to raise them. His tax increases are the fine print in his economic plan.
And let me be specific: The Democratic nominee for president supports plans to raise income taxes, and raise payroll taxes, and raise investment income taxes, and raise the death tax, and raise business taxes, and increase the tax burden on the American people by hundreds of billions of dollars.
(AUDIENCE BOOS)
My sister, Heather, and her husband, they just built a service station that’s now open for business, like millions of others who run small businesses. How are they…
(APPLAUSE)
How are they going to be better off if taxes go up? Or maybe you are trying to keep your job at a plant in Michigan or in Ohio…
(APPLAUSE)
… or you’re trying — you’re trying to create jobs from clean coal, from Pennsylvania or West Virginia.
(APPLAUSE)
You’re trying to keep a small farm in the family right here in Minnesota.
(APPLAUSE)
How are you — how are you going to be better off if our opponent adds a massive tax burden to the American economy?
Here’s how I look at the choice Americans face in this election: In politics, there are some candidates who use change to promote their careers, and then there are those, like John McCain, who use their careers to promote change.
They are the ones whose names appear on laws and landmark reforms, not just on buttons and banners or on self-designed presidential seals.
(APPLAUSE)
Among politicians, there is the idealism of high-flown speech- making, in which crowds are stirringly summoned to support great things, and then there is the idealism of those leaders, like John McCain, who actually do great things.
(APPLAUSE)
They’re the ones who are good for more than talk, the ones that we’ve always been able to count on to serve and to defend America.
Senator McCain’s record of actual achievements and reform helps explain why so many special interests, and lobbyists, and comfortable committee chairmen in Congress have fought the prospect of a McCain presidency from the primary election of 2000 to this very day.
Our nominee doesn’t run with the Washington herd. He’s a man who’s there to serve his country and not just his party, a leader who’s not looking for a fight, but sure isn’t afraid of one, either.
(APPLAUSE)
Harry Reid, the majority of the current do-nothing Senate…
(AUDIENCE BOOS)
… he not long ago summed up his feelings about our nominee. He said, quote, “I can’t stand John McCain.”
Ladies and gentlemen, perhaps no accolade we hear this week is better proof that we’ve chosen the right man.
(APPLAUSE)
Clearly, what the majority leader was driving at is that he can’t stand up to John McCain and that is only…
(APPLAUSE)
… that’s only one more reason to take the maverick out of the Senate, put him in the White House.
(APPLAUSE)
My fellow citizens, the American presidency is not supposed to be a journey of personal discovery.
(LAUGHTER)
(APPLAUSE)
This world of threats and dangers, it’s not just a community and it doesn’t just need an organizer.
And though both Senator Obama and Senator Biden have been going on lately about how they’re always, quote, “fighting for you,” let us face the matter squarely: There is only one man in this election who has ever really fought for you.
(APPLAUSE)
There is only one man in this election who has ever really fought for you in places where winning means survival and defeat means death. And that man is John McCain.
(APPLAUSE)
You know, in our day, politicians have readily shared much lesser tales of adversity than the nightmare world, the nightmare world in which this man and others equally brave served and suffered for their country.
And it’s a long way from the fear, and pain, and squalor of a six-by-four cell in Hanoi to the Oval Office.
But if Senator McCain is elected president, that is the journey he will have made. It’s the journey of an upright and honorable man, the kind of fellow whose name you will find on war memorials in small towns across this great country, only he was among those who came home.
To the most powerful office on Earth, he would bring the compassion that comes from having once been powerless, the wisdom that comes even to the captives by the grace of God, the special confidence of those who have seen evil and have seen how evil is overcome. A fellow…
(APPLAUSE)
A fellow prisoner of war, a man named Tom Moe of Lancaster, Ohio…
(APPLAUSE)
… Tom Moe recalls looking through a pinhole in his cell door as Lieutenant Commander John McCain was led down the hallway by the guards, day after day.
And the story is told, when McCain shuffled back from torturous interrogations, he would turn towards Moe’s door, and he’d flash a grin and a thumbs up, as if to say, “We’re going to pull through this.”
My fellow Americans, that is the kind of man America needs to see us through the next four years.
(APPLAUSE)
For a season, a gifted speaker can inspire with his words. But for a lifetime, John McCain has inspired with his deeds.
If character is the measure in this election, and hope the theme, and change the goal we share, then I ask you to join our cause. Join our cause and help America elect a great man as the next president of the United States.
Thank you, and God bless America. Thank you.
YOU GO GIRL!!!!
(APPLAUSE)
I accept the call to help our nominee for president to serve and defend America. And I accept the challenge of a tough fight in this election against confident opponents at a crucial hour for our country.
And I accept the privilege of serving with a man who has come through much harder missions, and met far graver challenges, and knows how tough fights are won, the next president of the United States, John S. McCain.
(APPLAUSE)
It was just a year ago when all the experts in Washington counted out our nominee because he refused to hedge his commitment to the security of the country he loves.
With their usual certitude, they told us that all was lost, there was no hope for this candidate, who said that he would rather lose an election than see his country lose a war. But the pollsters…
(APPLAUSE)
The pollsters and the pundits, they overlooked just one thing when they wrote him off. They overlooked the caliber of the man himself, the determination, and resolve, and the sheer guts of Senator John McCain.
(APPLAUSE)
The voters knew better, and maybe that’s because they realized there’s a time for politics and a time for leadership, a time to campaign and a time to put our country first.
(APPLAUSE)
Our nominee for president is a true profile in courage, and people like that are hard to come by. He’s a man who wore the uniform of his country for 22 years and refused to break faith with those troops in Iraq who now have brought victory within sight.
(APPLAUSE)
And as the mother of one of those troops, that is exactly the kind of man I want as commander-in-chief.
I’m just one of many moms who will say an extra prayer each night for our sons and daughters going into harm’s way. Our son, Track, is 19. And one week from tomorrow, September 11th, he’ll deploy to Iraq with the Army infantry in the service of his country.
My nephew, Casey (ph), also enlisted and serves on a carrier in the Persian Gulf.
My family is so proud of both of them and of all the fine men and women serving the country in uniform.
(APPLAUSE)
AUDIENCE: USA! USA! USA! USA! USA!
So Track is the eldest of our five children. In our family, it’s two boys and three girls in between, my strong and kind- hearted daughters, Bristol, and Willow, and Piper.
(APPLAUSE)
And we were so blessed in April. Todd and I welcomed our littlest one into the world, a perfectly beautiful baby boy named Trig.
You know, from the inside, no family ever seems typical, and that’s how it is with us. Our family has the same ups and downs as any other, the same challenges and the same joys.
Sometimes even the greatest joys bring challenge. And children with special needs inspire a very, very special love. To the families of special-needs…
(APPLAUSE)
To the families of special-needs children all across this country, I have a message for you: For years, you’ve sought to make America a more welcoming place for your sons and daughters. And I pledge to you that, if we’re elected, you will have a friend and advocate in the White House.
(APPLAUSE)
And Todd is a story all by himself. He’s a lifelong commercial fisherman and a production operator in the oil fields of Alaska’s North Slope, and a proud member of the United Steelworkers union. And Todd is a world champion snow machine racer.
(APPLAUSE)
Throw in his Yup’ik Eskimo ancestry, and it all makes for quite a package. And we met in high school. And two decades and five children later, he’s still my guy.
(APPLAUSE)
My mom and dad both worked at the elementary school in our small town. And among the many things I owe them is a simple lesson that I’ve learned, that this is America, and every woman can walk through every door of opportunity.
And my parents are here tonight.
I am so proud to be the daughter of Chuck and Sally Heath (ph).
(APPLAUSE)
Long ago, a young farmer and a haberdasher from Missouri, he followed an unlikely path — he followed an unlikely path to the vice presidency. And a writer observed, “We grow good people in our small towns, with honesty and sincerity and dignity,” and I know just the kind of people that writer had in mind when he praised Harry Truman.
I grew up with those people. They’re the ones who do some of the hardest work in America, who grow our food, and run our factories, and fight our wars. They love their country in good times and bad, and they’re always proud of America.
(APPLAUSE)
I had the privilege of living most of my life in a small town. I was just your average hockey mom and signed up for the PTA.
(APPLAUSE)
I love those hockey moms. You know, they say the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull? Lipstick.
(APPLAUSE)
So I signed up for the PTA because I wanted to make my kids’ public education even better. And when I ran for city council, I didn’t need focus groups and voter profiles because I knew those voters, and I knew their families, too.
Before I became governor of the great state of Alaska…
(APPLAUSE)
… I was mayor of my hometown. And since our opponents in this presidential election seem to look down on that experience, let me explain to them what the job involved.
(APPLAUSE)
I guess — I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a community organizer, except that you have actual responsibilities.
(APPLAUSE)
I might add that, in small towns, we don’t quite know what to make of a candidate who lavishes praise on working people when they’re listening and then talks about how bitterly they cling to their religion and guns when those people aren’t listening.
(APPLAUSE)
No, we tend to prefer candidates who don’t talk about us one way in Scranton and another way in San Francisco.
(APPLAUSE)
As for my running mate, you can be certain that wherever he goes and whoever is listening John McCain is the same man.
(APPLAUSE)
Well, I’m not a member of the permanent political establishment. And…
(APPLAUSE)
… I’ve learned quickly these last few days that, if you’re not a member in good standing of the Washington elite, then some in the media consider a candidate unqualified for that reason alone.
(AUDIENCE BOOS)
But — now, here’s a little newsflash. Here’s a little newsflash for those reporters and commentators: I’m not going to Washington to seek their good opinion. I’m going to Washington to serve the people of this great country.
(APPLAUSE)
Americans expect us to go to Washington for the right reason and not just to mingle with the right people. Politics isn’t just a game of clashing parties and competing interests. The right reason is to challenge the status quo, to serve the common good, and to leave this nation better than we found it.
(APPLAUSE)
No one expects us all to agree on everything, but we are expected to govern with integrity, and goodwill, and clear convictions, and a servant’s heart.
And I pledge to all Americans that I will carry myself in this spirit as vice president of the United States.
(APPLAUSE)
This was the spirit that brought me to the governor’s office when I took on the old politics as usual in Juneau, when I stood up to the special interests, and the lobbyists, and the Big Oil companies, and the good-old boys.
Suddenly, I realized that sudden and relentless reform never sits well with entrenched interests and power-brokers. That’s why true reform is so hard to achieve.
But with the support of the citizens of Alaska, we shook things up. And in short order, we put the government of our state back on the side of the people.
(APPLAUSE)
I came to office promising major ethics reform to end the culture of self-dealing. And today, that ethics reform is a law.
While I was at it, I got rid of a few things in the governor’s office that I didn’t believe our citizens should have to pay for. That luxury jet was over-the-top.
(APPLAUSE)
I put it on eBay.
(APPLAUSE)
I love to drive myself to work. And I thought we could muddle through without the governor’s personal chef, although I got to admit that sometimes my kids sure miss her.
(APPLAUSE)
I came to office promising to control spending, by request if possible, but by veto, if necessary.
(APPLAUSE)
Senator McCain also — he promises to use the power of veto in defense of the public interest. And as a chief executive, I can assure you it works.
(APPLAUSE)
Our state budget is under control. We have a surplus. And I have protected the taxpayers by vetoing wasteful spending, nearly $500 million in vetoes.
We suspended the state fuel tax and championed reform to end the abuses of earmark spending by Congress. I told the Congress, “Thanks, but no thanks,” on that Bridge to Nowhere.
(APPLAUSE)
If our state wanted to build a bridge, we were going to build it ourselves.
(APPLAUSE)
When oil and gas prices went up dramatically and filled up the state treasury, I sent a large share of that revenue back where it belonged: directly to the people of Alaska.
(APPLAUSE)
And despite fierce opposition from oil company lobbyists, who kind of liked things the way that they were, we broke their monopoly on power and resources. As governor, I insisted on competition and basic fairness to end their control of our state and return it to the people.
(APPLAUSE)
I fought to bring about the largest private-sector infrastructure project in North American history.
And when that deal was struck, we began a nearly $40 billion natural gas pipeline to help lead America to energy independence.
(APPLAUSE)
That pipeline, when the last section is laid and its valves are open, will lead America one step farther away from dependence on dangerous foreign powers that do not have our interests at heart.
The stakes for our nation could not be higher. When a hurricane strikes in the Gulf of Mexico, this country should not be so dependent on imported oil that we’re forced to draw from our Strategic Petroleum Reserve. And families cannot throw more and more of their paychecks on gas and heating oil.
With Russia wanting to control a vital pipeline in the Caucasus and to divide and intimidate our European allies by using energy as a weapon, we cannot leave ourselves at the mercy of foreign suppliers.
(APPLAUSE)
To confront the threat that Iran might seek to cut off nearly a fifth of the world’s energy supplies, or that terrorists might strike again at the Abqaiq facility in Saudi Arabia, or that Venezuela might shut off its oil discoveries and its deliveries of that source, Americans, we need to produce more of our own oil and gas. And…
(APPLAUSE)
And take it from a gal who knows the North Slope of Alaska: We’ve got lots of both.
(APPLAUSE)
Our opponents say again and again that drilling will not solve all of America’s energy problems, as if we didn’t know that already.
(LAUGHTER)
But the fact that drilling, though, won’t solve every problem is no excuse to do nothing at all.
(APPLAUSE)
Starting in January, in a McCain-Palin administration, we’re going to lay more pipelines, and build more nuclear plants, and create jobs with clean coal, and move forward on solar, wind, geothermal, and other alternative sources. We need…
(APPLAUSE)
We need American sources of resources. We need American energy brought to you by American ingenuity and produced by American workers.
(APPLAUSE)
And now, I’ve noticed a pattern with our opponent, and maybe you have, too. We’ve all heard his dramatic speeches before devoted followers, and there is much to like and admire about our opponent.
But listening to him speak, it’s easy to forget that this is a man who has authored two memoirs but not a single major law or even a reform, not even in the State Senate.
This is a man who can give an entire speech about the wars America is fighting and never use word “victory,” except when he’s talking about his own campaign.
(APPLAUSE)
But when the cloud of rhetoric has passed, when the roar of the crowd fades away, when the stadium lights go out, and those Styrofoam Greek columns are hauled back to some studio lot…
(APPLAUSE)
… when that happens, what exactly is our opponent’s plan? What does he actually seek to accomplish after he’s done turning back the waters and healing the planet?
(APPLAUSE)
The answer — the answer is to make government bigger, and take more of your money, and give you more orders from Washington, and to reduce the strength of America in a dangerous world.
(AUDIENCE BOOS)
America needs more energy; our opponent is against producing it. Victory in Iraq is finally in sight, and he wants to forfeit. Terrorist states are seeking nuclear weapons without delay; he wants to meet them without preconditions.
Al Qaeda terrorists still plot to inflict catastrophic harm on America, and he’s worried that someone won’t read them their rights.
(APPLAUSE)
Government is too big; he wants to grow it. Congress spends too much money; he promises more.
Taxes are too high, and he wants to raise them. His tax increases are the fine print in his economic plan.
And let me be specific: The Democratic nominee for president supports plans to raise income taxes, and raise payroll taxes, and raise investment income taxes, and raise the death tax, and raise business taxes, and increase the tax burden on the American people by hundreds of billions of dollars.
(AUDIENCE BOOS)
My sister, Heather, and her husband, they just built a service station that’s now open for business, like millions of others who run small businesses. How are they…
(APPLAUSE)
How are they going to be better off if taxes go up? Or maybe you are trying to keep your job at a plant in Michigan or in Ohio…
(APPLAUSE)
… or you’re trying — you’re trying to create jobs from clean coal, from Pennsylvania or West Virginia.
(APPLAUSE)
You’re trying to keep a small farm in the family right here in Minnesota.
(APPLAUSE)
How are you — how are you going to be better off if our opponent adds a massive tax burden to the American economy?
Here’s how I look at the choice Americans face in this election: In politics, there are some candidates who use change to promote their careers, and then there are those, like John McCain, who use their careers to promote change.
They are the ones whose names appear on laws and landmark reforms, not just on buttons and banners or on self-designed presidential seals.
(APPLAUSE)
Among politicians, there is the idealism of high-flown speech- making, in which crowds are stirringly summoned to support great things, and then there is the idealism of those leaders, like John McCain, who actually do great things.
(APPLAUSE)
They’re the ones who are good for more than talk, the ones that we’ve always been able to count on to serve and to defend America.
Senator McCain’s record of actual achievements and reform helps explain why so many special interests, and lobbyists, and comfortable committee chairmen in Congress have fought the prospect of a McCain presidency from the primary election of 2000 to this very day.
Our nominee doesn’t run with the Washington herd. He’s a man who’s there to serve his country and not just his party, a leader who’s not looking for a fight, but sure isn’t afraid of one, either.
(APPLAUSE)
Harry Reid, the majority of the current do-nothing Senate…
(AUDIENCE BOOS)
… he not long ago summed up his feelings about our nominee. He said, quote, “I can’t stand John McCain.”
Ladies and gentlemen, perhaps no accolade we hear this week is better proof that we’ve chosen the right man.
(APPLAUSE)
Clearly, what the majority leader was driving at is that he can’t stand up to John McCain and that is only…
(APPLAUSE)
… that’s only one more reason to take the maverick out of the Senate, put him in the White House.
(APPLAUSE)
My fellow citizens, the American presidency is not supposed to be a journey of personal discovery.
(LAUGHTER)
(APPLAUSE)
This world of threats and dangers, it’s not just a community and it doesn’t just need an organizer.
And though both Senator Obama and Senator Biden have been going on lately about how they’re always, quote, “fighting for you,” let us face the matter squarely: There is only one man in this election who has ever really fought for you.
(APPLAUSE)
There is only one man in this election who has ever really fought for you in places where winning means survival and defeat means death. And that man is John McCain.
(APPLAUSE)
You know, in our day, politicians have readily shared much lesser tales of adversity than the nightmare world, the nightmare world in which this man and others equally brave served and suffered for their country.
And it’s a long way from the fear, and pain, and squalor of a six-by-four cell in Hanoi to the Oval Office.
But if Senator McCain is elected president, that is the journey he will have made. It’s the journey of an upright and honorable man, the kind of fellow whose name you will find on war memorials in small towns across this great country, only he was among those who came home.
To the most powerful office on Earth, he would bring the compassion that comes from having once been powerless, the wisdom that comes even to the captives by the grace of God, the special confidence of those who have seen evil and have seen how evil is overcome. A fellow…
(APPLAUSE)
A fellow prisoner of war, a man named Tom Moe of Lancaster, Ohio…
(APPLAUSE)
… Tom Moe recalls looking through a pinhole in his cell door as Lieutenant Commander John McCain was led down the hallway by the guards, day after day.
And the story is told, when McCain shuffled back from torturous interrogations, he would turn towards Moe’s door, and he’d flash a grin and a thumbs up, as if to say, “We’re going to pull through this.”
My fellow Americans, that is the kind of man America needs to see us through the next four years.
(APPLAUSE)
For a season, a gifted speaker can inspire with his words. But for a lifetime, John McCain has inspired with his deeds.
If character is the measure in this election, and hope the theme, and change the goal we share, then I ask you to join our cause. Join our cause and help America elect a great man as the next president of the United States.
Thank you, and God bless America. Thank you.
YOU GO GIRL!!!!
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Work has been very stressful lately, and not due to the actual clients which believe me in the wedding business can be a bit much. It is with a few of my bosses. One makes me feel smaller than dirt most of the time, never a kind word, judging my contracts. When I was hired it was take what we can, and then a good business came along for 2009, and the person who’s son is getting married is huge in the Hospitality Business, so it made since to accept the business.
The next is my General Manager who I like and respect as a Manager, but he has been treating me as if I suck and why am I even here, and I do not do enough for the company. I know it is not just me and maybe I am a bit sensitive.
My husband has taken a job here to ensure my success at work, and I feel people do not like that, even though he has been my lifesaver all summer, he is not as sensitive, but I take offense when his boss, sends nasty emails and talks behind his back as if and idiot and not 10x smarter than her.
The third is the worse, he is my superior, but I have absolutely no respect for him. He talks down to everyone, kissing the bosses butt so far, he supposedly can do ‘no’ wrong, he has offended a few of my clients, and gets some nasty comment cards, dresses like a slob even in a suit. He comes at me, and screams at me in front of people, then makes comments about my professionalism. He has had me in tears a few times, not that I have shown him, I go in the other room, why give him that satisfaction?
My direct boss actually watched him come barreling around the corner and screaming in my face, not that she said anything, my husband keeps telling me to stand up for myself but I do not think it would change anything. I do have every time it has happened documented, I have no idea why but it makes me feel better to write about it. One time, he called my house and yelled and screamed into my answering machine ruined my whole weekend, because my clients misunderstood something for rooms. He changes the rules for the rooms midway through our booking process.
I feel as if I am spinning my wheels, I have heard that the person before me, did not like all the fights between departments and the stress was too much, I now see what she is talking about, if you want good sales people, and hard workers you need to give them some encouragement and let other departments know they can not talk to other employees that way. Now, I am just keeping my mouth quiet, not bonding with anyone and just doing my job. I admit I keep my mouth shut because why cause trouble, and lose my job? I have no idea what I should do.
The next is my General Manager who I like and respect as a Manager, but he has been treating me as if I suck and why am I even here, and I do not do enough for the company. I know it is not just me and maybe I am a bit sensitive.
My husband has taken a job here to ensure my success at work, and I feel people do not like that, even though he has been my lifesaver all summer, he is not as sensitive, but I take offense when his boss, sends nasty emails and talks behind his back as if and idiot and not 10x smarter than her.
The third is the worse, he is my superior, but I have absolutely no respect for him. He talks down to everyone, kissing the bosses butt so far, he supposedly can do ‘no’ wrong, he has offended a few of my clients, and gets some nasty comment cards, dresses like a slob even in a suit. He comes at me, and screams at me in front of people, then makes comments about my professionalism. He has had me in tears a few times, not that I have shown him, I go in the other room, why give him that satisfaction?
My direct boss actually watched him come barreling around the corner and screaming in my face, not that she said anything, my husband keeps telling me to stand up for myself but I do not think it would change anything. I do have every time it has happened documented, I have no idea why but it makes me feel better to write about it. One time, he called my house and yelled and screamed into my answering machine ruined my whole weekend, because my clients misunderstood something for rooms. He changes the rules for the rooms midway through our booking process.
I feel as if I am spinning my wheels, I have heard that the person before me, did not like all the fights between departments and the stress was too much, I now see what she is talking about, if you want good sales people, and hard workers you need to give them some encouragement and let other departments know they can not talk to other employees that way. Now, I am just keeping my mouth quiet, not bonding with anyone and just doing my job. I admit I keep my mouth shut because why cause trouble, and lose my job? I have no idea what I should do.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
This weekend at the Resort, is a very high maintence destination wedding. I have been getting myself sick stressing about it, even though they have a wedding planner, I am very nervous. Luckily, it looks like the weather is going to cooperate for Sunday.
Last weekend, I had (2) Weddings and they both went perfectly, and the weather was perfect. The only hiccup was the groom from Sunday's wedding, he was 24 years old, and could not handle his booze. The wedding ended at 10pm, and at 11pm he told my boss he ruined his wedding because the bartender was being responsible and shut people off, give me a break.. What got me was the Groom kept saying, " I spent $20,000 here and you should make an exception." EXCUSE ME, I did not see your name on any of the checks, you paid nothing your in-laws did and I planned the wedding with the mother of the bride in less than 6 months, so get over yourself.
He then lost his "Prada' Sunglasses and was more upset by that fact, part of me thinks he is too young to get married, but it is what it is.
This years weddings are almost over, after this weekend, I only have (4) Left, and next weekend is a high maintence bride, and the following weekend for my birthday the groom has already informed me he is a "Groomzilla", why do people think it is fun to try to make someone feel less than themselves? I work very hard at pleasing each bride, and I get stressed out making it come together for their special day, but if (1) thing goes wrong they freak out...
People spend way too much money on (1) Day, I realize that is awful since I make my living selling and working weddings, but I am amazed at how much money the bridal industry generates. When I started weddings 20 something years ago $40.00 a plate was alot, now they are more over the top then every before, and I can not stand spoiled people, who whine to their parents when they can not get what they want.
Example, yesterday, I was on the phone with a woman from NYC, who could not understand how no hair salons are open on Sunday of labor day, she needs her hair blown out for the wedding. You are in Maine, not New York give it up... The bride is upset because from today - Sunday the Hair dresser she hired for her hair can not fit her in for her 3rd trail run because the bride has decided she doesn't like the last one. Give it up, we have a life besides your wedding, which makes me wonder have you even thought of the marriage or just the "perfect wedding"?
Do people think that the "perfect wedding" will make the perfect marriage, do they even think after the wedding? When I got married my husband and I went to counseling beforehand and then read books and we work at our marriage. Oh, and no wedding is ever perfect, to me a successful wedding is when they bride and groom think it is perfect and do not know any of the mini-crisis that might have taken place.
Last weekend, I had (2) Weddings and they both went perfectly, and the weather was perfect. The only hiccup was the groom from Sunday's wedding, he was 24 years old, and could not handle his booze. The wedding ended at 10pm, and at 11pm he told my boss he ruined his wedding because the bartender was being responsible and shut people off, give me a break.. What got me was the Groom kept saying, " I spent $20,000 here and you should make an exception." EXCUSE ME, I did not see your name on any of the checks, you paid nothing your in-laws did and I planned the wedding with the mother of the bride in less than 6 months, so get over yourself.
He then lost his "Prada' Sunglasses and was more upset by that fact, part of me thinks he is too young to get married, but it is what it is.
This years weddings are almost over, after this weekend, I only have (4) Left, and next weekend is a high maintence bride, and the following weekend for my birthday the groom has already informed me he is a "Groomzilla", why do people think it is fun to try to make someone feel less than themselves? I work very hard at pleasing each bride, and I get stressed out making it come together for their special day, but if (1) thing goes wrong they freak out...
People spend way too much money on (1) Day, I realize that is awful since I make my living selling and working weddings, but I am amazed at how much money the bridal industry generates. When I started weddings 20 something years ago $40.00 a plate was alot, now they are more over the top then every before, and I can not stand spoiled people, who whine to their parents when they can not get what they want.
Example, yesterday, I was on the phone with a woman from NYC, who could not understand how no hair salons are open on Sunday of labor day, she needs her hair blown out for the wedding. You are in Maine, not New York give it up... The bride is upset because from today - Sunday the Hair dresser she hired for her hair can not fit her in for her 3rd trail run because the bride has decided she doesn't like the last one. Give it up, we have a life besides your wedding, which makes me wonder have you even thought of the marriage or just the "perfect wedding"?
Do people think that the "perfect wedding" will make the perfect marriage, do they even think after the wedding? When I got married my husband and I went to counseling beforehand and then read books and we work at our marriage. Oh, and no wedding is ever perfect, to me a successful wedding is when they bride and groom think it is perfect and do not know any of the mini-crisis that might have taken place.
Saturday, August 23, 2008
It is so interesting that Obama piked Biden as his running mate, 2 opposites, I wonder if they will work together or tear themselves apart from the inside.
They are not the first running mates who did not always agree, see the story below from CNN...
"Negative campaigning in America was sired by two lifelong friends, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. Back in 1776, the dynamic duo combined powers to help claim America's independence, and they had nothing but love and respect for one another. But by 1800, party politics had so distanced the pair that, for the first and last time in U.S. history, a president found himself running against his vice president.
Things got ugly fast. Jefferson's camp accused President Adams of having a "hideous hermaphroditical character, which has neither the force and firmness of a man, nor the gentleness and sensibility of a woman."
In return, Adams' men called Vice President Jefferson "a mean-spirited, low-lived fellow, the son of a half-breed Indian squaw, sired by a Virginia mulatto father."
As the slurs piled on, Adams was labeled a fool, a hypocrite, a criminal, and a tyrant, while Jefferson was branded a weakling, an atheist, a libertine, and a coward.
Even Martha Washington succumbed to the propaganda, telling a clergyman that Jefferson was "one of the most detestable of mankind." Mental Floss: Jefferson: The sensitive writer type
Jefferson hires a hatchet man
Back then, presidential candidates didn't actively campaign. In fact, Adams and Jefferson spent much of the election season at their respective homes in Massachusetts and Virginia.
But the key difference between the two politicians was that Jefferson hired a hatchet man named James Callendar to do his smearing for him. Adams, on the other hand, considered himself above such tactics. To Jefferson's credit, Callendar proved incredibly effective, convincing many Americans that Adams desperately wanted to attack France. Although the claim was completely untrue, voters bought it, and Jefferson stole the election.
Jefferson paid a price for his dirty campaign tactics, though. Callendar served jail time for the slander he wrote about Adams, and when he emerged from prison in 1801, he felt Jefferson still owed him.
After Jefferson did little to appease him, Callendar broke a story in 1802 that had only been a rumor until then -- that the President was having an affair with one of his slaves, Sally Hemings. In a series of articles, Callendar claimed that Jefferson had lived with Hemings in France and that she had given birth to five of his children.
The story plagued Jefferson for the rest of his career. And although generations of historians shrugged off the story as part of Callendar's propaganda, DNA testing in 1998 showed a link between Hemings' descendents and the Jefferson family.
Just as truth persists, however, so does friendship. Twelve years after the vicious election of 1800, Adams and Jefferson began writing letters to each other and became friends again. They remained pen pals for the rest of their lives and passed away on the same day, July 4, 1826. It was the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Mental Floss: The post-White House lives of presidents
John Quincy Adams gets slapped with elitism
John Adams lived long enough to see his son become president in 1825, but he died before John Quincy Adams lost the presidency to Andrew Jackson in 1828. Fortunately, that meant he didn't have to witness what many historians consider the nastiest contest in American history.
The slurs flew back and forth, with John Quincy Adams being labeled a pimp, and Andrew Jackson's wife getting called a slut.
As the election progressed, editorials in the American newspapers read more like bathroom graffiti than political commentary. One paper reported that "General Jackson's mother was a common prostitute, brought to this country by the British soldiers! She afterward married a mulatto man, with whom she had several children, of which number General Jackson is one!"
What got Americans so fired up? For one thing, many voters felt John Quincy Adams should never have been president in the first place. During the election of 1824, Jackson had won the popular vote but not the electoral vote, so the election was decided by the House of Representatives. Henry Clay, one of the other candidates running for president, threw his support behind Adams. To return the favor, Adams promptly made him secretary of state. Jackson's supporters labeled it "The Corrupt Bargain" and spent the next four years calling Adams a usurper. Mental Floss: 5 secrets left off the White House tour
Beyond getting the short end of the electoral stick, Andrew Jackson managed to connect with voters via his background -- which couldn't have been more different than Adams'.
By the time John Quincy was 15, he'd traveled extensively in Europe, mastered several languages, and worked as a translator in the court of Catherine the Great.
Meanwhile, Andrew Jackson had none of those privileges. By 15, he'd been kidnapped and beaten by British soldiers, orphaned, and left to fend for himself on the streets of South Carolina.
Adams was a Harvard-educated diplomat from a prominent New England family. Jackson was a humble war hero from the rural South who'd never learned to spell. He was the first presidential candidate in American history to really sell himself as a man of the people, and the people loved him for it.
Having been denied their candidate in 1824, the masses were up in arms for Jackson four years later. And though his lack of education and political experience terrified many Adams supporters, that argument didn't hold water for the throngs who lined up to cast their votes for "Old Hickory." Ever since Jackson's decisive victory, no presidential candidate has dared take a step toward the White House without first holding hands with the common man.
But losing the 1828 election may have been the best thing to happen to John Quincy Adams. After sulking home to Massachusetts, Adams pulled himself together and ran for Congress, launching an epic phase of his career.
During his 17 years in the House of Representatives, Adams became an abolitionist hero, championing legislation to open the debate on slavery. And in 1841, he famously put his money where his mouth was, when he defended the 39 African captives aboard the slave ship Amistad before the U.S. Supreme Court. At a time when all but two of the justices were pro-slavery, Adams won his human rights plea.
They are not the first running mates who did not always agree, see the story below from CNN...
"Negative campaigning in America was sired by two lifelong friends, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. Back in 1776, the dynamic duo combined powers to help claim America's independence, and they had nothing but love and respect for one another. But by 1800, party politics had so distanced the pair that, for the first and last time in U.S. history, a president found himself running against his vice president.
Things got ugly fast. Jefferson's camp accused President Adams of having a "hideous hermaphroditical character, which has neither the force and firmness of a man, nor the gentleness and sensibility of a woman."
In return, Adams' men called Vice President Jefferson "a mean-spirited, low-lived fellow, the son of a half-breed Indian squaw, sired by a Virginia mulatto father."
As the slurs piled on, Adams was labeled a fool, a hypocrite, a criminal, and a tyrant, while Jefferson was branded a weakling, an atheist, a libertine, and a coward.
Even Martha Washington succumbed to the propaganda, telling a clergyman that Jefferson was "one of the most detestable of mankind." Mental Floss: Jefferson: The sensitive writer type
Jefferson hires a hatchet man
Back then, presidential candidates didn't actively campaign. In fact, Adams and Jefferson spent much of the election season at their respective homes in Massachusetts and Virginia.
But the key difference between the two politicians was that Jefferson hired a hatchet man named James Callendar to do his smearing for him. Adams, on the other hand, considered himself above such tactics. To Jefferson's credit, Callendar proved incredibly effective, convincing many Americans that Adams desperately wanted to attack France. Although the claim was completely untrue, voters bought it, and Jefferson stole the election.
Jefferson paid a price for his dirty campaign tactics, though. Callendar served jail time for the slander he wrote about Adams, and when he emerged from prison in 1801, he felt Jefferson still owed him.
After Jefferson did little to appease him, Callendar broke a story in 1802 that had only been a rumor until then -- that the President was having an affair with one of his slaves, Sally Hemings. In a series of articles, Callendar claimed that Jefferson had lived with Hemings in France and that she had given birth to five of his children.
The story plagued Jefferson for the rest of his career. And although generations of historians shrugged off the story as part of Callendar's propaganda, DNA testing in 1998 showed a link between Hemings' descendents and the Jefferson family.
Just as truth persists, however, so does friendship. Twelve years after the vicious election of 1800, Adams and Jefferson began writing letters to each other and became friends again. They remained pen pals for the rest of their lives and passed away on the same day, July 4, 1826. It was the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Mental Floss: The post-White House lives of presidents
John Quincy Adams gets slapped with elitism
John Adams lived long enough to see his son become president in 1825, but he died before John Quincy Adams lost the presidency to Andrew Jackson in 1828. Fortunately, that meant he didn't have to witness what many historians consider the nastiest contest in American history.
The slurs flew back and forth, with John Quincy Adams being labeled a pimp, and Andrew Jackson's wife getting called a slut.
As the election progressed, editorials in the American newspapers read more like bathroom graffiti than political commentary. One paper reported that "General Jackson's mother was a common prostitute, brought to this country by the British soldiers! She afterward married a mulatto man, with whom she had several children, of which number General Jackson is one!"
What got Americans so fired up? For one thing, many voters felt John Quincy Adams should never have been president in the first place. During the election of 1824, Jackson had won the popular vote but not the electoral vote, so the election was decided by the House of Representatives. Henry Clay, one of the other candidates running for president, threw his support behind Adams. To return the favor, Adams promptly made him secretary of state. Jackson's supporters labeled it "The Corrupt Bargain" and spent the next four years calling Adams a usurper. Mental Floss: 5 secrets left off the White House tour
Beyond getting the short end of the electoral stick, Andrew Jackson managed to connect with voters via his background -- which couldn't have been more different than Adams'.
By the time John Quincy was 15, he'd traveled extensively in Europe, mastered several languages, and worked as a translator in the court of Catherine the Great.
Meanwhile, Andrew Jackson had none of those privileges. By 15, he'd been kidnapped and beaten by British soldiers, orphaned, and left to fend for himself on the streets of South Carolina.
Adams was a Harvard-educated diplomat from a prominent New England family. Jackson was a humble war hero from the rural South who'd never learned to spell. He was the first presidential candidate in American history to really sell himself as a man of the people, and the people loved him for it.
Having been denied their candidate in 1824, the masses were up in arms for Jackson four years later. And though his lack of education and political experience terrified many Adams supporters, that argument didn't hold water for the throngs who lined up to cast their votes for "Old Hickory." Ever since Jackson's decisive victory, no presidential candidate has dared take a step toward the White House without first holding hands with the common man.
But losing the 1828 election may have been the best thing to happen to John Quincy Adams. After sulking home to Massachusetts, Adams pulled himself together and ran for Congress, launching an epic phase of his career.
During his 17 years in the House of Representatives, Adams became an abolitionist hero, championing legislation to open the debate on slavery. And in 1841, he famously put his money where his mouth was, when he defended the 39 African captives aboard the slave ship Amistad before the U.S. Supreme Court. At a time when all but two of the justices were pro-slavery, Adams won his human rights plea.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
When I was in grade school and High School, I idolized Mark Spitz, I even wrote a paper on him in high school. I was a swimmer and wanted to go to the olympics, I was never good enough but it was still a dream.
I would love to see the match up of Mark Spitz and Michael Phelps if they were both in their prime. Its wonderful to see another wonderful swimmer from the USA go for it all.
'Mark Spitz claims he could have matched fellow swimmer Michael Phelps stride for stride if the two legends swam against each other in their primes, the New York Daily News reports.
Spitz, whose 1972 record of seven gold medals in a single Olympic Games was eclipsed Sunday when Phelps won his eighth, said he thinks he'd "tie" the 23-year-old phenom.
"I think that the relationship between people that are great is they have a common thread of knowing how to beat their competitors and they know how to constantly be in shape and in top form," Spitz told the Daily News. "If that's the case, I'd know everything about how to beat Michael. He'd also know everything to beat me. We'd have to tie."
Spitz, 58, predicted Phelps could win more gold medals at the 2012 Summer Games in London.
"I believe that he can go for nine," Spitz told the paper, adding that Phelps could add the 200 meter backstroke into his regimen. "But they need to change the order in which it's participated on that particular day … so that he would have more than 27 minutes of rest."
I would love to see the match up of Mark Spitz and Michael Phelps if they were both in their prime. Its wonderful to see another wonderful swimmer from the USA go for it all.
'Mark Spitz claims he could have matched fellow swimmer Michael Phelps stride for stride if the two legends swam against each other in their primes, the New York Daily News reports.
Spitz, whose 1972 record of seven gold medals in a single Olympic Games was eclipsed Sunday when Phelps won his eighth, said he thinks he'd "tie" the 23-year-old phenom.
"I think that the relationship between people that are great is they have a common thread of knowing how to beat their competitors and they know how to constantly be in shape and in top form," Spitz told the Daily News. "If that's the case, I'd know everything about how to beat Michael. He'd also know everything to beat me. We'd have to tie."
Spitz, 58, predicted Phelps could win more gold medals at the 2012 Summer Games in London.
"I believe that he can go for nine," Spitz told the paper, adding that Phelps could add the 200 meter backstroke into his regimen. "But they need to change the order in which it's participated on that particular day … so that he would have more than 27 minutes of rest."
Lighthouse Inn From the New London Day...
This is where my husband and I had our first date, and where we became engaged, sad really it is a beautiful Inn, I wish someone would spend the money and help this wonderful old property.
New London - Local health officials Wednesday closed the Lighthouse Inn because a boiler malfunction left the Guthrie Place hotel without hot water.
Managers for the inn, which has been beset by lawsuits and financial difficulties, told health inspectors they expected to repair the boiler and reopen today, said Stephen Mansfield, deputy director of health for the Ledge Light Health District.
Mansfield said the landmark inn hasn't been operating since last week, when district sanitarians responded to two separate, anonymous complaints about the lack of hot water. District sanitarians Wednesday afternoon delivered a public-health order, closing the inn until managers can show the district they have hot water.
In July, New York lender Business Loan Center Inc. said it planned to foreclose on the inn's $1.84 million mortgage, the latest in a series of debt collection actions by the inn's various creditors, including the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, the state Department of Revenue Services and several of the inn's suppliers.
- KEVIN DALE
New London
This is where my husband and I had our first date, and where we became engaged, sad really it is a beautiful Inn, I wish someone would spend the money and help this wonderful old property.
New London - Local health officials Wednesday closed the Lighthouse Inn because a boiler malfunction left the Guthrie Place hotel without hot water.
Managers for the inn, which has been beset by lawsuits and financial difficulties, told health inspectors they expected to repair the boiler and reopen today, said Stephen Mansfield, deputy director of health for the Ledge Light Health District.
Mansfield said the landmark inn hasn't been operating since last week, when district sanitarians responded to two separate, anonymous complaints about the lack of hot water. District sanitarians Wednesday afternoon delivered a public-health order, closing the inn until managers can show the district they have hot water.
In July, New York lender Business Loan Center Inc. said it planned to foreclose on the inn's $1.84 million mortgage, the latest in a series of debt collection actions by the inn's various creditors, including the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, the state Department of Revenue Services and several of the inn's suppliers.
- KEVIN DALE
New London
Monday, August 18, 2008
Its been almost a year since my friend Thomas passed away, it is amazing to me it is a year, since I got the news. I still can remember the screaming in my head, and almost collapsing at work. My friend Claudette and I talked about getting together, but I am so busy at work, it is not possible. So, now I am on line trying to find a girls weekend somewhere in New England for her birthday and mine in October when work will not be so crazy...
I wish I was planning it for the 3 of us, we went to Boston for my birthday a few years ago, and we had so much fun, we would all make a point at Christmas to see each other, even when I moved out of state, I would come back to Mystic, to see my family and friends. This last year, has been such a changing time for myself. After Thomas death, I worked so hard to get back to New England and after making it through a long, snowing winter in the backwoods of Maine, now that the resort is open, I think now in terms of when it is closing, 10 weeks by the way. My summer is over, I have 2 weddings this weekend, then next weekend another HIGH MAINTENCE Mother of Bride, and event after event for all these people starting August 30 - September 1, I am very much looking forward to September 1 afternoon.
When you are younger your summer seems to endless, but in the adult world and hospitality world, it is where is my next client coming in, so I can wow them and move on? Weddings bring back all my time with Thomas, and even though it is a year since his death, it still feels empty in my heart, and I miss him so much, I still pick up the phone to call him, when something happens that I think he would understand or at least put in prospective. As I get older, it is amazing to me, how many people I have lost that I really care about. I will always miss Thomas.
I wish I was planning it for the 3 of us, we went to Boston for my birthday a few years ago, and we had so much fun, we would all make a point at Christmas to see each other, even when I moved out of state, I would come back to Mystic, to see my family and friends. This last year, has been such a changing time for myself. After Thomas death, I worked so hard to get back to New England and after making it through a long, snowing winter in the backwoods of Maine, now that the resort is open, I think now in terms of when it is closing, 10 weeks by the way. My summer is over, I have 2 weddings this weekend, then next weekend another HIGH MAINTENCE Mother of Bride, and event after event for all these people starting August 30 - September 1, I am very much looking forward to September 1 afternoon.
When you are younger your summer seems to endless, but in the adult world and hospitality world, it is where is my next client coming in, so I can wow them and move on? Weddings bring back all my time with Thomas, and even though it is a year since his death, it still feels empty in my heart, and I miss him so much, I still pick up the phone to call him, when something happens that I think he would understand or at least put in prospective. As I get older, it is amazing to me, how many people I have lost that I really care about. I will always miss Thomas.
Wednesday, August 06, 2008
I saw this from the New London Day, and printed it because the economy is so scary these days, and my heart goes out to restaurant workers, they seem to be one of the hardest hit when people cut back.
"The gas crunch is taking a bite out of lunch crowds in the region as more workers brown-bag it to cut expenses.
Monica Harsmanka of Waterford, who works at Electric Boat, has a short commute, but filling up her Ford Explorer is taking its toll, she said. She says she eschews the workplace cafeteria now in favor of garden salads and leftovers from dinner.
”I just started doing it for the past month or so to cut corners,” Harsmanka said. “I almost died when I filled the gas tank. I mean, $85 - it's ridiculous. You can't go anywhere.”
Meanwhile, Monica's State Street Diner, a longtime breakfast and lunch diner in downtown New London, has had to resort to sending waitresses home early over the past month. And business partners at Pizza Grotto in Groton, which opened nine months ago, laid off two workers and are handling the mealtime rush by themselves.
Chris Zingus, co-owner at Pizza Grotto, said customers come in apologizing for cutting back from several days a week, partly because they're brown-bagging it on the other days.
”We've also noticed that a lot of offices that used to send out for big orders to be delivered - doctors' offices, you name it - they used to do it once a week, now they do it twice a month,” Zingus said. “So that's a big thing we're missing right now.”
The trend of eating out less - which is by no means universal here in southeastern Connecticut - has been borne out by studies by the NPD Group, a consumer and retail market research firm headquartered in Port Washington, N.Y.
In two recent studies, NPD found, first, that eating out at restaurants has dropped off this year and, in findings released this week, that more people are brown-bagging it to save money and eat healthier.
Harry Balzer, NPD's vice president, says his firm's behavioral studies chronicle what surveyed participants “really do,” not what they say they'll do.
Balzer shared the report's findings, noting that last year the average American made 42 meals at home over a two-week period and brought them to work or school instead of dining out. That number was 34 meals in 2001, he said.
Those 42 meals constitute “the highest number we've seen this decade,” Balzer said. If extrapolated to cover the country's population of 300 million, it shows that 5.2 percent of “all lunches” in America are brown-bagged - “the highest it's ever been.”
Here in southeastern Connecticut, consumers frustrated with the $4-a-gallon price of gasoline and high food and utility prices are trying to save, they said in e-mails to The Day and interviews in the parking lot of ShopRite.
Patricia Williams of Groton, a secretary in a local doctor's office, brings salads to work and buys soda at the grocery store instead of at the vending machine.
Last year, “when the gas prices passed $2 and change, I started brown-bagging it,” Williams said. “Saved a whole lot. Lunch was costing $3 to $5 a day. Now it might cost me $5 a week, and I use coupons with everything, so that saves even more.”
Larry Stannard of Salem said in an e-mail that four months of brown-bagging have saved him as much as $34 a week, since he only spends $16 a week now to buy bag-lunch ingredients.
”A sandwich, a small Ziploc with some pretzels or potato chips, and a piece of fruit” is the typical menu, he said. “Water I get from the cooler in the office break room. Much cheaper and healthier. I've lost some weight, too.”
As consumers cut back, restaurants that are feeling the pinch are offering specials and trying hard to avoid a hike in prices that could, they fear, drive even more customers away.
Eds' Kitchen and Creamery in Montville is offering a different $4.99 dinner special every day and posts a message at the counter empathizing with customers' high utility and energy costs.
”Gas prices, everything's up,” said shift supervisor Robert Eccleston Jr. “They've affected the restaurant business big-time. You see the elderly people will come maybe twice a week instead of three times a week. They're cutting back.”
Monica's was paying $1.13 for one lemon. She switched markets, a move that is saving the restaurant up to $50 a week, said manager Janie Foster.
”We're really feeling it now,” added waitress Cookie Peterson. “I'm getting sent home earlier now. That's never happened before in the 5½ years I've been here. It's going to hit us all. I'm afraid what we'll see in the wintertime when the fuel prices hit.”
Spot Cafe owner Bob Dragoli said he hasn't seen a drop-off in business, but he may have to raise prices at the Groton eatery because with every food delivery there's a surcharge. But he's trying to hold off.
”Business isn't that far off,” Dragoli said, “it's just that the overhead is so much higher, and we've maintained prices. We'll see what the future brings.”
"The gas crunch is taking a bite out of lunch crowds in the region as more workers brown-bag it to cut expenses.
Monica Harsmanka of Waterford, who works at Electric Boat, has a short commute, but filling up her Ford Explorer is taking its toll, she said. She says she eschews the workplace cafeteria now in favor of garden salads and leftovers from dinner.
”I just started doing it for the past month or so to cut corners,” Harsmanka said. “I almost died when I filled the gas tank. I mean, $85 - it's ridiculous. You can't go anywhere.”
Meanwhile, Monica's State Street Diner, a longtime breakfast and lunch diner in downtown New London, has had to resort to sending waitresses home early over the past month. And business partners at Pizza Grotto in Groton, which opened nine months ago, laid off two workers and are handling the mealtime rush by themselves.
Chris Zingus, co-owner at Pizza Grotto, said customers come in apologizing for cutting back from several days a week, partly because they're brown-bagging it on the other days.
”We've also noticed that a lot of offices that used to send out for big orders to be delivered - doctors' offices, you name it - they used to do it once a week, now they do it twice a month,” Zingus said. “So that's a big thing we're missing right now.”
The trend of eating out less - which is by no means universal here in southeastern Connecticut - has been borne out by studies by the NPD Group, a consumer and retail market research firm headquartered in Port Washington, N.Y.
In two recent studies, NPD found, first, that eating out at restaurants has dropped off this year and, in findings released this week, that more people are brown-bagging it to save money and eat healthier.
Harry Balzer, NPD's vice president, says his firm's behavioral studies chronicle what surveyed participants “really do,” not what they say they'll do.
Balzer shared the report's findings, noting that last year the average American made 42 meals at home over a two-week period and brought them to work or school instead of dining out. That number was 34 meals in 2001, he said.
Those 42 meals constitute “the highest number we've seen this decade,” Balzer said. If extrapolated to cover the country's population of 300 million, it shows that 5.2 percent of “all lunches” in America are brown-bagged - “the highest it's ever been.”
Here in southeastern Connecticut, consumers frustrated with the $4-a-gallon price of gasoline and high food and utility prices are trying to save, they said in e-mails to The Day and interviews in the parking lot of ShopRite.
Patricia Williams of Groton, a secretary in a local doctor's office, brings salads to work and buys soda at the grocery store instead of at the vending machine.
Last year, “when the gas prices passed $2 and change, I started brown-bagging it,” Williams said. “Saved a whole lot. Lunch was costing $3 to $5 a day. Now it might cost me $5 a week, and I use coupons with everything, so that saves even more.”
Larry Stannard of Salem said in an e-mail that four months of brown-bagging have saved him as much as $34 a week, since he only spends $16 a week now to buy bag-lunch ingredients.
”A sandwich, a small Ziploc with some pretzels or potato chips, and a piece of fruit” is the typical menu, he said. “Water I get from the cooler in the office break room. Much cheaper and healthier. I've lost some weight, too.”
As consumers cut back, restaurants that are feeling the pinch are offering specials and trying hard to avoid a hike in prices that could, they fear, drive even more customers away.
Eds' Kitchen and Creamery in Montville is offering a different $4.99 dinner special every day and posts a message at the counter empathizing with customers' high utility and energy costs.
”Gas prices, everything's up,” said shift supervisor Robert Eccleston Jr. “They've affected the restaurant business big-time. You see the elderly people will come maybe twice a week instead of three times a week. They're cutting back.”
Monica's was paying $1.13 for one lemon. She switched markets, a move that is saving the restaurant up to $50 a week, said manager Janie Foster.
”We're really feeling it now,” added waitress Cookie Peterson. “I'm getting sent home earlier now. That's never happened before in the 5½ years I've been here. It's going to hit us all. I'm afraid what we'll see in the wintertime when the fuel prices hit.”
Spot Cafe owner Bob Dragoli said he hasn't seen a drop-off in business, but he may have to raise prices at the Groton eatery because with every food delivery there's a surcharge. But he's trying to hold off.
”Business isn't that far off,” Dragoli said, “it's just that the overhead is so much higher, and we've maintained prices. We'll see what the future brings.”
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
Work has gotten in the way of my life:
My husband is working 60 hours each week, and myself between 50-60 hours, and they are different shifts, they overlap a little so we get to see each other, but we have not been able except last weekend to spend anytime together. Last Weekend, we went to Lake Winnipeasukee with 30 other people, so lets say, we were busy, but not just us.
Work is making it hard for us to find time for each other, we have always been very dillegent about finding time for just us, in North Carolina, even with him working nights and myself days, we found at least (1) Full day just us.. We have 3 more months, our house is desperately in need of cleaning, the only thing we do daily is laundry, other than that our house looks like someone has dropped a bomb in it.
When we get home, we are both so tired, we put it off and put it off, and now it is crisis point, his mom is coming in 4 weeks and that will motivate us, but in the mean time we need to do something for the house..We have no groceries, so we are living on Hotdogs and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, we eat at work for lunch so it is whatever they prepare, which is good or we would have no variety in our diets. My husband has not cooked a meal in 2 weeks due to our schedule, who feels like cooking ( or eating) at 9pm after working all day waiting on people?
Next week, starts one of my h*** weeks, my 1st high maintence Mother of Bride checks in on Monday and the wedding is not until Saturday YUKO!! Then I have a little break, and my next high maintence Mother of Bride checks in on Wednesday, August 27 and the wedding is Sunday, August 31..Luckily both of these women have a Wedding Planner, but it will be a stressful time for me, so again my husband and I will have no "us" time. I know I am complaining and it is only for another 3 months before the resort closes, but I do wonder if our relationship can survive? It may have a few dents in it, but I have to believe we will survive.. Gosh, is it November yet?
My husband is working 60 hours each week, and myself between 50-60 hours, and they are different shifts, they overlap a little so we get to see each other, but we have not been able except last weekend to spend anytime together. Last Weekend, we went to Lake Winnipeasukee with 30 other people, so lets say, we were busy, but not just us.
Work is making it hard for us to find time for each other, we have always been very dillegent about finding time for just us, in North Carolina, even with him working nights and myself days, we found at least (1) Full day just us.. We have 3 more months, our house is desperately in need of cleaning, the only thing we do daily is laundry, other than that our house looks like someone has dropped a bomb in it.
When we get home, we are both so tired, we put it off and put it off, and now it is crisis point, his mom is coming in 4 weeks and that will motivate us, but in the mean time we need to do something for the house..We have no groceries, so we are living on Hotdogs and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, we eat at work for lunch so it is whatever they prepare, which is good or we would have no variety in our diets. My husband has not cooked a meal in 2 weeks due to our schedule, who feels like cooking ( or eating) at 9pm after working all day waiting on people?
Next week, starts one of my h*** weeks, my 1st high maintence Mother of Bride checks in on Monday and the wedding is not until Saturday YUKO!! Then I have a little break, and my next high maintence Mother of Bride checks in on Wednesday, August 27 and the wedding is Sunday, August 31..Luckily both of these women have a Wedding Planner, but it will be a stressful time for me, so again my husband and I will have no "us" time. I know I am complaining and it is only for another 3 months before the resort closes, but I do wonder if our relationship can survive? It may have a few dents in it, but I have to believe we will survive.. Gosh, is it November yet?
Monday, August 04, 2008
I will admit, I am not what you would call "outdoorsy", I love any type of activity on water, waterskiing, tubing, swimming, boating etc, but that is the extend of my outdoor activity.
This weekend, we went to NH to spend the evening with my Cousin Christina and her husband Jeff on Lake Winnipesaukee, they own a summer home on Rattlesnake Island. It was a celebration of Christina's "40" Birthday, her friends from Boston came up, it was soo much fun.. My husband and I went to LL Bean last weekend, and bought ourselves a tent and other camping items for the wekend.
In order to get to the Cabin, we have to drive up to the dock and have them come over with the boat to pick us up, and you would think we were moving in with all our 'stuff', everything you need to stay outdoors. It was a lot of fun, we were on the lake most of the day, tubing (EXCITING) the water was choppy, so it made it even more exciting, my husband had never been tubing before but he seemed to enjoy himself especially when he and I were in the tube together, and I swear he was trying to knock us over..
By 7pm it was downpouring and Our tent held up beautifully, all we need for our next camp out is a air mattress or foam something, my back still hurts from sleeping on the ground, but I did not hate it, I may never camp out in the woods, I need a bathroom close by, preferable a shower too, but I can live without as long as bathrooms are close by.
I will go camping again, most likely not until October or November, due to work right now, but I can tell you we are going back to LL Bean in a few more weeks to get sleeping bags and cushions for under it, I did not complain at all, and the husband was so sweet on our way home, he took me to Sandy Point's in Alton, NH for Lobster dinner ( i think so he would not have to cook when we got home), and said, it was a treat for me sleeping in a tent with no complaints.
My last camp out was April 2003, and it was a disaster, this went so much better. I admit I can be a bit much sometimes, so I may not be "outdoorsy" but I am willing to try almost anything.
I would reccommend Lake Winnipeasukee to anyone who likes lakes and fun, there is so much to do, you can rent jet skis, etc. As we were kayaking on Sunday morning, I felt like we were in an add for New England in the summertime, it really is magical to enjoy New England in the summer. I am looking forward to the fall, which has always been my favorite time of year in New England. Especially since the rest of August, my husband and I will be working 6 days a week because of Weddings here at the Resort.
Enjoy your summer it goes way too fast.. Only 3 more months of the resort being open for the season, it certainly goes way too fast...
This weekend, we went to NH to spend the evening with my Cousin Christina and her husband Jeff on Lake Winnipesaukee, they own a summer home on Rattlesnake Island. It was a celebration of Christina's "40" Birthday, her friends from Boston came up, it was soo much fun.. My husband and I went to LL Bean last weekend, and bought ourselves a tent and other camping items for the wekend.
In order to get to the Cabin, we have to drive up to the dock and have them come over with the boat to pick us up, and you would think we were moving in with all our 'stuff', everything you need to stay outdoors. It was a lot of fun, we were on the lake most of the day, tubing (EXCITING) the water was choppy, so it made it even more exciting, my husband had never been tubing before but he seemed to enjoy himself especially when he and I were in the tube together, and I swear he was trying to knock us over..
By 7pm it was downpouring and Our tent held up beautifully, all we need for our next camp out is a air mattress or foam something, my back still hurts from sleeping on the ground, but I did not hate it, I may never camp out in the woods, I need a bathroom close by, preferable a shower too, but I can live without as long as bathrooms are close by.
I will go camping again, most likely not until October or November, due to work right now, but I can tell you we are going back to LL Bean in a few more weeks to get sleeping bags and cushions for under it, I did not complain at all, and the husband was so sweet on our way home, he took me to Sandy Point's in Alton, NH for Lobster dinner ( i think so he would not have to cook when we got home), and said, it was a treat for me sleeping in a tent with no complaints.
My last camp out was April 2003, and it was a disaster, this went so much better. I admit I can be a bit much sometimes, so I may not be "outdoorsy" but I am willing to try almost anything.
I would reccommend Lake Winnipeasukee to anyone who likes lakes and fun, there is so much to do, you can rent jet skis, etc. As we were kayaking on Sunday morning, I felt like we were in an add for New England in the summertime, it really is magical to enjoy New England in the summer. I am looking forward to the fall, which has always been my favorite time of year in New England. Especially since the rest of August, my husband and I will be working 6 days a week because of Weddings here at the Resort.
Enjoy your summer it goes way too fast.. Only 3 more months of the resort being open for the season, it certainly goes way too fast...
Friday, August 01, 2008
Here is my horoscope for today, from the New London Day of course.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Keep whatever you are doing a secret for the time being. If you are too vocal, someone will steal your idea or disrupt your plans. Focus on the future but rely on past experience to make the right choices. 3 stars
My problem is the first part, I am WAY TOO VOCAL... Work has been very strange lately, there was a comment made that most of the Salary Managers on property are working 6 days or 60 hours a week and Sales is always mentioned. Myself and my associate in my office, always pitch in when needed. I have no problem working late when I am here, I just prefer not to work on my day off if possible.
I do have some ideas in my head for my career, but to actually implement them is the part I am haveing a problem with, and I have not even talked to my husband about it. With work being strange I am keeping my mouth shut ( or atleast trying)
In August, I will be working every Sunday but one due to functions, and not taking and extra day off during the week. My husband and I now do not have any days off together until October. It has been hard working together, we both have different ideas of how I should be doing my job..
This is our last weekend away for the rest of the season, we are going to camping, yes, me camping it should be funny to watch me try to adapt to camping and pretend I am enjoying it. It will be fun because we are going to my cousins in NH and she is having an "Olympic" day for about 20 people, we have no idea what the games are but the invite said to be Prepared.. They live on a lake so I am sure water will be involved alot..
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Keep whatever you are doing a secret for the time being. If you are too vocal, someone will steal your idea or disrupt your plans. Focus on the future but rely on past experience to make the right choices. 3 stars
My problem is the first part, I am WAY TOO VOCAL... Work has been very strange lately, there was a comment made that most of the Salary Managers on property are working 6 days or 60 hours a week and Sales is always mentioned. Myself and my associate in my office, always pitch in when needed. I have no problem working late when I am here, I just prefer not to work on my day off if possible.
I do have some ideas in my head for my career, but to actually implement them is the part I am haveing a problem with, and I have not even talked to my husband about it. With work being strange I am keeping my mouth shut ( or atleast trying)
In August, I will be working every Sunday but one due to functions, and not taking and extra day off during the week. My husband and I now do not have any days off together until October. It has been hard working together, we both have different ideas of how I should be doing my job..
This is our last weekend away for the rest of the season, we are going to camping, yes, me camping it should be funny to watch me try to adapt to camping and pretend I am enjoying it. It will be fun because we are going to my cousins in NH and she is having an "Olympic" day for about 20 people, we have no idea what the games are but the invite said to be Prepared.. They live on a lake so I am sure water will be involved alot..
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