Senate 9th District

Benjamin Lambert will be challenged this year by Delegate McEachin for the 9th Senate seat. McEachin, like Benjamin, is a democrat. Senator Lambert has served since 1984 and by and large has done a good job. I remember he was responsible for helping the Mill House, an adult program for those with brain injuries, stay afloat. He has also bucked this party on a few issues when he thought is was not in the best interest of his constituents.
His latest venture away from his party may prove the end of his political career. Last year he supported George Allen, the republican candidate for Senate--only his side lost. Senator Lambert escaped being expelled from the party by 5 votes earlier this week. While his political life may be on life support, I plan to support him in the democratic primary. No republican will run against him should he win in the primary.

His rival--McEachin is interested in nothing but moving up the political ladder and suppressing those that need his help the most, but that is another blog.

Penny for your thoughts?

I pick up pennies off the ground. I started in earnest when I was in college--you know the saying "a penny saved is a penny earned". Well, I have have found lots of free pennies on the ground. When I left Utah, I had accumulated about $10 worth of pennies. For some reason I stopped once I got a real job; didn't seem appropriate for a man of my stature to be picking up a mere penny. Well, sometime last year I started again. I don't remember consciously doing so, but I can remember some of the pennies I passed up during my 'dark period'. Some have had a laugh at my expense when I suddenly stop and bend over to pick up a penny. Now, the joke is on you. While I have already deposited most of my pennies, it is possible that pennies will be worth 5 cents should the price of metals continue to rise. That means my $5 or so worth of pennies will become $25. Cha ching. I have heard that New York City has $1,000,000 dollars worth of pennies on the ground. If they raise the price of a penny, that would be $5,000,000.

And you said it wasn't worth the effort.

**UPDATE** Emily, the girls, and I went walking this morning and managed to find 2 dimes, and 8 pennies. :)

Regulated Spanking?

California wants spanking to be punishable under law. As a parent I have decided spanking is not for me; however, I do notice that when I loose my patience the hand is a bit more active. Typically a little 'reminder' will do; however, do I want the state telling me I can't do so? The law will "proposes to make spanking, hitting or slapping a child under 4 years old a misdemeanor." This is tough--yes we need to reduce abuse in our homes, but I don't want the police called if I smack by daughter on the rear. I would also think abuse situations would happen indoors making detection difficult.

I think I would have a few hundred dollars in fines. Sorry Dustin, if this law passes I don't think I could afford to live in California.

I expect lots of comments on this one. :)

Another hat in the ring

Senator Obama created his obligatory presidential exploratory committee today. While I like what Obama has to say--he has a great persona--I have yet to hear anything really different come from him. To me, his new ideas have yet to be explained to me. Yes, he does have a unique background; however, I am interested to see if he keeps his 'rock star' status through the year.

My guess is that he cannot--his record is not quite beefy enough.

In Memory

Today we celebrate the legacy of Martin Luther King. As I listen to "I have a dream" and "Mountaintop" speeches, I marvel his words. I wonder what Dr. King would think of the civil rights movement today. I wonder if I have done enough to promote equality and encourage independence.


"And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream." --Martin Luther King