I've been neglecting my blog...I should have a new post ready soon. Just too much too fast these days! I want to see what the Troopergate investigation has to say tomorrow....

My condolences to anyone who lost their 401k today.

Now on to my purpose! I am in desperate search for a new author to read. I am caught up on my two series that I follow.
1) Kathy Reichs - The Temperance Brennan series
2) James Patterson - The Women's murder club novels.

I used to read Patricia Cornwell, but her abandonment of Kay Scarpetta and subsequent fall off the Republican deep end turned me off a bit.

So, I'm looking for a good crime/forensic-ish type book. I tend to read mostly female centric stories but it's not a requirement. Also something that would be in paperback - I'm poor!

Any ideas?

Thanks!

It's been awhile since I've blogged and boy has the world gone to hell. I will reserve my comments for the financial crisis to another blog because I feel it needs time to shake out.

The Problem of Sarah

I am at a loss, honestly. As a woman, I really do want to support female politicians, but I refuse to support one that is basically inept. (Not to mention the few opinions she seems to have seem to be a bit to anti-woman for my tastes). The people of Alaska should consider a recall when this election is over. I am appalled at the McCain campaign for being so blatant in their pandering to us "womenfolk" and I'm disgusted that Sarah Palin would actually have the delusion that she is somehow qualified for this job. Beyond the fact that I feel like this is politics at its basest form it worries me for the messages it sends. Once again a half-way pretty chick gets passes from the media and politicians, even though she's a dilettante at best when it comes to national politics.

The conservatives come out swinging, "Don't you be mean to our girl Sarah!" Well, your girl Sarah has decided to insert herself into perhaps the most important election in my lifetime, not to mention put forth the idea that she is somehow qualified to be the 2nd most powerful person in the World.

As a woman, I am offended at these types of actions. Pundits saying that Joe Biden has to use kid gloves with her during the debate, because the American people could perceive him as mean and condescending. Please....she put herself out there and if she says something idiotic or rambles like she did with Couric - she deserves what she gets. She's not running for Vice President of the PTA, she's running for the Vice Presidency of the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA! The woman barely grasps simple economics, she can't name a SCOTUS case beyond Roe...all she can do is regurgitate talking points. Would anyone be letting this go if Mitt would have gotten the call? Hell No. She looks good on a poster....wow, we've come so far. It's sad to me that a good portion of the comments surrounded Mrs. Palin is of the "I'd do her" variety. Have we really regressed so far in our society that THIS is the level of discourse in this country? Now I realize there is a real constituency to made out of the citizens of this nation that want Sarah to "show us her shit" and then go shoot a moose with her, but I'd like to think we are capable of more.

The damage that this candidacy has done to women politicians remains to be seen, but I have to think that in circles where the idea of a female President makes them uneasy...this doesn't help. I have to wonder if that was a consideration when picking her. After the success that Hillary Clinton had, did the boys get together and decide that the best way to deal with the possibility of more women running for office would be to completely destroy one? The religious conservatives in particular have always had issues with women who worked outside of the home and left the kids to be raised by daycares and nannies, yet this woman is getting a pass from those same groups...why? Is it because she's Pro-Life and attends church? Or is it because if she quits the race they all get to say "See I told you women shouldn't be in power!"? I hate to get all tin-foil hat on this, but the thought has crossed my mind...with all the truly gifted women politicians out there..why this one? I realize the appeal of the outside of the Beltway idea, but I'm sure there was someone who would have at least known what she was talking about, beyond some snarky retort.

The basic point is she is running for the second highest office in our country. She deserves to be treated just like any other candidate. That's what true feminists believe, that in instances where true equality is possible, women should be treated no differently.

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By the way, if anyone is looking for information on Sarah Palin live from Alaska, I highly recommend www.themudflats.net

Well when I started this new blog, I didn't realize the prophetic nature of the "New Start" concept. I have very recently become unemployed...this was in no way expected and I'm still a bit in shock. There was a time when I would have looked at this as a 6 month vacation (courtesy of unemployment insurance), but now with the economy the way it is...I'm a bit frightened. Between the price of food and gas and the uber competitive job market, it's gonna be a challenge....I need to decide if I want to stay in Kansas or if I want to get the hell out of Dodge (pun intended - No I don't really live in Dodge City, but it wouldn't have been nearly as funny....)

On to more important stuff.....

I have refrained from weighing in on the Sarah Palin debacle simply because I wanted to make sure my gut instincts were right and now I think it's safe to say they are.
The woman is a bit dense. Ambitious, yes...Calculating, yes...Cutthroat Bitch (in the House sort of way) probably. But I have the feeling that the idea of intellectualism is lost on her. On that note, why is it that Republicans hate smart people so much? Seriously, being an Intellectual should be lauded not derided. A President or Vice-President lacking in intellectual curiosity is not what our country needs. Look what that's done for us the last 7 years.....people need to quit voting like they are choosing the king of their favorite bar and elect a man or woman that has the intelligence to run our country.

And let me also say that any woman that would vote for Sarah Palin just because she is gynecologically similar should have their woman card pulled. I don't want rich white guys deciding what I do with my body and I sure as hell don't want some gun toting hockey mom doing it either.

Well football's on and this post is a rambling mess....so I think I'm gonna leave it for now....

Well, I decided to start a new blog. I've been using Myspace as a place to blog for awhile and well it just seems a bit too juvenile. I feel like I have a few things to say that might somehow benefit humanity and I'm afraid it's just lost in the daily din of myspace. Well, that and the interface completely hates my mac....

So I look forward to using this space for my musings about life, politics, the world around me and the world far away. I hope someone will read it...but if not, it's a helluva lot cheaper than a shrink!