UF

I hate the caricature of the nagging woman. I do a lot to try to communicate without nagging. But what are the other options when you feel like you've explained yourself pretty clearly multiple times and the guy in your life gives you that big stupid "Huh?" and acts clueless. Or he tries to minimize everything--like it's no big deal. Then he acts completely shocked that something could be bothering you?

My fiance's son and I usually get along remarkably well.

But we had an incident yesterday, and it's not blowing over the way I'd like.

He completely mimicked me in a snotty and condescending way at dinner--when I was trying to give him some constructive advice. It was disrespectful and it made me much angrier than I anticipated (knew this would come some day.)

We have this marble system in place for "rewards and consequences". Usually his dad gives and takes marbles. However, I'm authorized by my fiance to take marbles if son is directly rude to me.

So I took a marble--for the first time. His dad was there and completely agreed with me.

But even though my fiance backed me up, now everything's just tense. I recognize that it is partially me. There are a lot of demanding things Son does regularly that I overlook when things are going well. Now all of his "entitled" and "demanding" behaviors are going straight down my spine. What can I do? I'm still annoyed but hate the tension.

1. He wanted to protect her and get her out;

2. He wanted to back out on her for emotional "payback"--the reverse of Paris and the train;

3. He wanted to join the resistance;

4. He knew he couldn't live up to Lazlo over time;

5. Once Lazlo told him he'd let Ilsa go with Rick to Lisbon to protect her, Rick couldn't be "outdone" by Lazlo's chivalry;

6. Once Rick stuck his neck out for Lazlo (getting him out of jail) there was no way Ilsa could safely stay in Casablanca with him;

7. He didn't love Ilsa anymore--once she came to him;

8. Ilsa lied to Rick to get him out of Paris and Rick was returning the favor by lying to Ilsa to get her out of Casablanca;

What do you think?

Other reasons???

http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p_mla_apa_research...

"Today, Republicans form only 30 percent of the women in Congress and are on track to continue decreasing as a share of women in the Senate and House. Why has this partisan gap emerged?"

I've heard some people talk about the Democratic Party "trashing women" --simply because Hillary didn't win.

"While the 2006 elections produced important gains for women’s representation and power in Congress, they also exacerbated a troubling trend, the growing partisan gap. Twenty years ago, women in Congress were equally likely to be Republicans or Democrats. Today, Republicans form only 30 percent of the women in Congress and are on track to continue decreasing as a share of women in the Senate and House. Why has this partisan gap emerged?"

http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p_mla_apa_research...

It really is pretty remarkable when you look at how close Bush v. Gore, Bush v. Kerry, and (in the nominating process) Obama v. Clinton really were.

Do you think it is media-related, or are we all grappling internally with a lot of stuff?

Why is it so hard to say, "I may or may not like the President, but I believe this person will get the job done."

Do people pick their issues first, or do they fall in love with a candidate who then tells them how to think?

I wasn't fired--I was let go because my workplace had a drop in business. It wasn't a good fit for me anyway.

Unfortunately, though, I feel down on myself and "out of the game" right now.

My family and friends are trying to be supportive, but I'm struggling.

Any practical advice--beyond the cliche "just believe in yourself."

How do I dig myself out of the gloom? How can I stop feeling overwhelmed?

Honestly, I think no single person has enough experience to be president. All successful presidents build teams--their cabinet, their Chief of Staff and advisers, their speech writers...

More important than having experience is recognizing talent in others, organizing a competent team, and listening to that team. You have to appoint a team that includes people who are smart enough and brave enough to tell you "no" when you don't want to hear it. You need them to fight with you and explain to you why they disagree with you. You need to respect them for doing so. You may not agree with them, but you need to listen to them.

I'm not against experience, but it suddenly seems the be-all-end-all. Did people care this much about experience in other election cycles?

Maybe she's just hoping a bunch of people will passionately donate to keep her in the race --and she can use that to pay down some of her debt.

Each local paper seems to announce, and then some papers announce hours later, but its the same people.

Any easy-to-use sites?

Will they be Edwards delegates at the convention, or can they change their minds?

Are there specific rules, or are they like superdelegates now?

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21660914#AL

Would he be a "green light president" (passing most laws), amber light (lots of give-and-take), or red light (vetoing most laws)? It's assumed Congress will be controlled by Democrats.

If McCain becomes president, will Clinton, Obama, and friends get more done than they have under Bush? (As Senators in the Majority, they are involved in drafting the laws).

Would Clinton accomplish more if Obama were in power?

Do you think McCain would provide healthy balance -- or a road block?

Republicans--are you afraid McCain would compromise too much? Or will he fight hard for Republican values?

Democrats--is it important to you to remove the Republican Veto?

I hear a lot of Clinton supporters say: "if Obama gets the nomination, I'm voting McCain."

I believe some of you really do mean it, and I would like you to explain why--as if I were some confused young person you were trying to win over with strong and fair arguments.

What would you hope to gain by electing McCain over Obama?

--Left-leaning Supreme Court Justice nominees? No.

--Eased tensions with Iran? No comment.

--Health care reform?

--An improved economy?

--A solution to global warming?

--A chance for Clinton in 2012?

I do not believe that Obama is part of the nation of Islam. I do not believe he has an anti-white agenda (his mother's white). I do not believe that Obama is sexist. I do not believe Obama is so vastly inexperienced that he would fail as a leader.

If you have other reasons, please explain to me gently--as if I were a younger sister--why McCain is better than Obama.

If your primary answer is experience, why do you support Clinton over McCain?

Last fall, the GOP announced it would strip HALF the delegates from New Hampshire, Florida, Michigan, Wyoming, and South Carolina at its own Rep. Convention (not at the DNC Convention). See links below.

It made this decision awhile ago, and the Republican party isn't arguing about it now. They're very quiet. So quiet, maybe many of you never even noticed it made this decision.

I have just been called ignorant and told to stop drinking kool-aid for mentioning that the Republicans also punished MI and FL for holding early primaries (1/2 vote).

If you have evidence (provide links please) that the GOP is not punishing the states they said they would, please let me know.

New York Times, August 2007:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/29/us/politics/29ca...

CBS News, November 2007:

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/11/08/politics...

If I'm wrong, I really want to know.

If I'm right, why is this fact missed by so many?

Thanks!

The Republican Party cut both Michigan and Florida's delegations in half for going early.

Will some people in these states really vote Republican to "punish" the Democrats, when Republicans basically did the same thing?

Is this the main reason the DNC is considering giving half delegates at all? To even things out with the GOP?

Check out maps of previous presidential trends, current representation in Congress, and 2004:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_states_and_blue_s...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_preside...

John Kerry lost by 35 Electoral College votes. Each vote gained for one party is also lost by the other. So Dems would need to gain 18 Electoral College seats and keep all the ones they had.

The Senate and House maps give some indication of "openness" to Dems.

Iowa (7 EC votes) and New Mexico (5 EC votes) went for Bush in 2004, but went Dem 3 times in a row before that and have Dems in the Senate. (FL has only gone Dem once in 16 years and if the FL Gov is the GOP VP...).

Louisiana (9 EC votes) went for Bush in 2004 but that was before Hurricane Katrina. LA has gone half and half over the past 16 years, and has one Red senator, one Blue.

Are Florida and Ohio really the key states THIS YEAR? Could the Dakotas, Montana, Colorado, Georgia and NC come into play?

A lot of the "white states" were won by Obama:

Iowa

Wisconsin

Minnesota

North Dakota

Kansas

Idaho

Washington

Oregon

Nebraska

Wyoming

Utah

Colorado

Alaska

Maine

West Virginia and Kentucky are not representative of the whole country, and are very likely to go GOP anyway.

... how would YOU list them?

Do you think the "Average American" shares your view?

Do we have any emotionally-charged "sleepers" that could rear their heads at the last minute?

I love the passionate interest in politics this year, but...

Do you ever say to yourself--"wow, what I just said is NUTS?" Or at least utterly biased in favor of the candidate I like?

Have you ever made up something bad or said something hateful about an "opponent"? Have you helped negative gossip about an opponent grow or spin with reckless disregard for truth?

If yes, do you really believe this is "politics, as usual" and is the price tag worth it? Or do we voters need to take some responsibility for controlling our pet desires so we can keep our heads in the game?

What--if anything--can we all do to calm down and think through our choices in a way that is healthy for each of us, and healthy for America?

Please do not name candidates' names, as I do not care who you support.