"Beware when the great God lets loose a thinker on this planet." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson US essayist & poet (1803 - 1882)

Sunday, January 28, 2007

Suburban Bliss

More on the link in a paragraph or two, but first the stats...

Ran 8 miles yesterday. It was cold. I was bundled up in a big hat that had the flap down to cover my face. It SUCKED. I guess compared to last year as a beginner runner running only 1-2 miles the snow was much easier. Now, the snow seems to cause calf strain, hamstring strain, quad strain. I feel like a first time runner all over again. On the one or two occasions when someone actually plowed their sidewalk I could get into my normal stride. But that may have cause more discomfort as I had to adjust again when I reached the 3" two-track for most of my running route.



OK, Suburban Bliss...Fun Guv's favorite blog to stalk. Written by the woman that coined the phrase "Momtini" (and lives in Royal Oak, MI) was on the Today Show on Friday to discuss whether or not it's ok for a mom to have a glass of wine while at a playdate with the kids.

Didja watch it? What'd you think? C'mon go watch it! (The Today show, not the YouTube video)

Now these are the social issues that Vote for Mike '08 is based on:

~since when is being a mom babysitting?
~why is it ok for dad to sit around and watch the game while watching the kids and have a beer or two and moms can't?
~why do we perpetuate a belief that drinking alcohol is taboo & wrong instead of teaching our children about drinking responsibly by having a few drinks in front of them? (this doesn't mean allowing your kids to drink with you in the house, that's a totally different subject)
~why are women so judgemental against each other? (this is why Hillary could never win, she's a woman ~ as far as we know ~ and she'd be catty against other women)
~why does our so called left-wing, liberal media (in this case the Today Show) perpetuate a belief that stay at home moms aren't entitled to the same lunch breaks & afternoon breaks that any other professional is? My point is the Today Show used a professional, working mother who obviously works outside the home and engages in adult conversation as a counterpoint to a work out of the home, full-time professional mommy. The playing field wasn't level ~ instead of apples to apples, they used apples to oranges.
~The Today Show used a public opinion poll on ivillage.com (what a piece of crap that is) to dictate their slant for the piece.
~The Today Show also used a professional speaker to debate a writer on live TV (not really a social issue, but not really fair, a speaker is always aware of their appearance and has experience in presenting their points....a writer (in this case a blogger) has the opportunity to edit and contemplate words before hitting the publish button ~which some bloggers actually do, not so much me) Fun Guv says I have to mention that Melissa (the blogger) did very well on the show considering she was ambushed. We really don't think she's the raging alcoholic they tried to make her out to be...for the record, her husband is a marathon runner, he's run the Detroit Free Press Marathon at least twice, ergo, fitting discussion for a running blog.

OK, so, not the complete platform, but just a general level playing field philosophy that Vote for Mike '08 is based on. Remember it's a grassroots effort, write in only. Spread the word.

More to come....

Not sure how the campaign structure will work as '08 was the year I was going to run the Canadian Death Race. Maybe this is just a distraction to avoid actually training for 125K uphill, across rivers, being chased by bears in the middle of the night.

Thanks for reading and for your vote.

6 comments:

L*I*S*A said...

I ran in similar conditions yesterday. 11 miles never felt quite so long. I'm feelin' it today in my hammies, that's for sure. Actually, I felt like it was a better workout for a change.

Animal said...

Good post, and I like the updated layout. Getting people over their preconceived notions is ALWAYS difficult; we do think in terms of how a particular idea is "framed," and if your mindframe suggest that 1) staying home with the kids amount to "babysitting" (instead of what it ACTUALLY is: parenting!) and 2) having a drink during the afternoon is a bad thing, then there's little wiggle room for someone's contradictory idea. (Bad sentence, that.)

Remember to check out the George Lakoff book "Don't Think of an Elephant" as you start up your campaign. You can already see the strength of being able to frame different debate points...might as well use that to your advantage as much as possible!

SRR said...

Women are judgemental because it is in our GENES!!! I that piece though!!!

Nitmos said...

With this new layout, are you trying to wrap yourself up in the American flag? You know, create a subconscious memory for all of us that Mike = Red, White and Blue??

It might be helpful to have you photographed with a shirt/tie and sleeves rolled up filling a Mihigan road pthole to really capture the hearts and minds of the electorate.

Fun Guv said...

Oh thanks Nitmos, that was your idea? The first thing he said when he got home from work today was he needed a new picture just like you described. Darn, it's too dark out there now....maybe tomorrow!

Nitmos said...

Also, are we relaying for the Death Race or you going solo? Count me in.