It has been a really, really long year full of politicians, debates, rumors, and debacles.  I love this country, but I have to admit that it definitely has it's fair share of problems, never so evident as in a presidential election year.  Barack made a lot of campaign promises so let's just hope that some of the good ones come to fruition in the next four years. 

For those of you entirely disappointed with the outcome, let me just relay a thought brought on by a friend: "So far, no president has been able to destroy the country in just four years, heaven knows a few have tried."

So, chin up.  We still are among the luckiest in the world to be living in this great country where men and women have equal rights, we can practice whatever religion we want, and I don't have to fear for our safety every time I leave the house with my family.  I'm proud that my daughter can grow up to be whatever she wants, whether it be a homemaker or an attorney (I'm pushing for both).  We could be living in parts of Africa where there are still genocide wars being fought or parts South America where mothers abandon their children in the streets believing that they will actually have a better chance of survival.

Anyway, on a lighter note I just wanted to post this Political Science for Dummies e-mail I got a little while ago that made me laugh.  Hopefully it helps lift your mood, too.

 DEMOCRAT    You have two cows.   
 Your neighbor has none.   
 You feel guilty for being successful.
  You push for higher taxes so the government can provide cows for everyone.
   
  REPUBLICAN    You have two cows.   
 Your neighbor has none.   
 So?
   
  SOCIALIST    You have two cows.   
 The government takes one and gives it to your neighbor.   
 You form a cooperative to tell him how to manage his cow.
   
  COMMUNIST    You have two cows.   
 The government seizes both and provides you with milk.   
 You wait in line for hours to get it.   
 It is expensive and sour.
   
  CAPITALISM, AMERICAN STYLE    You have two cows.   
 You sell one, buy a bull, and build a herd of cows.
   
  BUREAUCRACY, AMERICAN STYLE    You have two cows.   
 Under the new farm program the government pays you to shoot one, milk the other, and then pours the milk down the drain.
   
  AMERICAN CORPORATION    You have two cows.   
 You sell one, lease it back to yourself and do an IPO on the 2nd one.   
 You force the two cows to produce the milk of four cows. You are surprised when one cow drops dead. You spin an announcement to the analysts stating you have downsized and are reducing expenses.   
 Your stock goes up.
   
  FRENCH CORPORATION    You have two cows.   
 You go on strike because you want three cows.   
 You go to lunch and drink wine.   
 Life is good.
   
  JAPANESE CORPORATION    You have two cows.   
 You redesign them so they are one-tenth the size of an ordinary cow and produce twenty times the milk.   
 They learn to travel on unbelievably crowded trains.   
 Most are at the top of their class at cow school.
   
  GERMAN CORPORATION    You have two cows.   
 You engineer them so they are all blond, drink lots of beer, give excellent quality milk, and run a hundred miles an hour.   
 Unfortunately they also demand 13 weeks of vacation per year.
   
  ITALIAN CORPORATION    You have two cows but you don't know where they are.   
 You break for lunch.   
 Life is good.
   
  RUSSIAN CORPORATION    You have two cows.   
 You have some vodka.   
 You count them and learn you have five cows.   
 You have some more vodka.   
 You count them again and learn you have 42 cows.   
 The Mafia shows up and takes over however many cows you really have.
   
  TALIBAN CORPORATION    You have all the cows in Afghanistan , which are two.   
 You don't milk them because you cannot touch any creature's private parts.   
 You get a $40 million grant from the US government to find alternatives to milk production but use the money to buy weapons.
   
  IRAQI CORPORATION    You have two cows.   
 They go into hiding.   
 They send radio tapes of their mooing.
   
  POLISH CORPORATION    You have two bulls.   
 Employees are regularly maimed and killed attempting to milk them.
   
  BELGIAN CORPORATION    You have one cow.   
 The cow is schizophrenic.   
 Sometimes the cow thinks he's French, other times he's Flemish.   
 The Flemish cow won't share with the French cow.   
 The French cow wants control of the Flemish cow's milk.   
 The cow asks permission to be cut in half.   
 The cow dies happy.
   
  FLORIDA CORPORATION    You have a black cow and a brown cow.   
 Everyone votes for the best looking one.   
 Some of the people who actually like the brown one best accidentally vote for the black one.   
 Some people vote for both.   
 Some people vote for neither.   
 Some people can't figure out how to vote at all.   
 Finally, a bunch of guys from out-of-state tell you which one you think is the best-looking cow.
   
  CALIFORNIA CORPORATION    You have millions of cows.   
 They make real California cheese.   
 Only five speak English.   
 Most are illegal.   
Arnold likes the ones with the big udders.