Just show me the parade!

Yesterday morning, after eating breakfast and commandeering the TV remote back from my children, I switched over to NBC to watch what I thought was supposed to be the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. I had fond memories of watching this parade as a child and seeing the giant floats and balloons move down the streets of New York City. Once the commercials were over and the program returned, I saw Matt Lauer with Meredith Vieira sitting in the middle of what appeared to be a hundred or so pots of mums. They were announcing the next segment which was some Broadway production number of some kind. Where's the parade I thought to myself? I noticed a timer in the upper right hand corner of the screen indicating the parade's arrival at some square. So the parade was happening somewhere, they just weren't showing it. After the Broadway number was over, there was a brief glimpse of the parade before they went to commercial. After the next set of commercials were over, I was greeted by Al Roker, who was somewhere by the parade (I could see a marching band over his shoulder), interviewing someone about their upcoming Broadway Show performances. Why can't they just show the parade, I thought again? After the interview, we went back to Matt and Meredith who were previewing the next Broadway number. Who cares about these song and dance numbers? Where is the parade already? To my amazement and chagrin, the parade was not actually shown (other than behind Al Roker or on a cut to commercial) until 9:54 AM! Virtually a whole hour went by of what was billed as the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, without actually showing the parade at all! How could this be? I guess that in order to see the Macy's Parade anymore, you have to actually go to New York and watch it in person!

Thanksgiving Day

Today I take time out from writing my usual thoughts and I give thanks to all my readers, for taking the time to read my blog. I also want to thank my wife and my children for loving me and putting up with me on a daily basis. Next, I thank all my friends...my ASP friends, my APO friends, my Facebook friends, my church friends, my Fantasy Sports friends, my neighborhood friends, my co-workers (well, most of them), and my extended family. Thanks for being my friend and being a part of my life. Have a great day with your friends and family as you celebrate Thanksgiving!

Turkey Day?

The other day I was driving in my SUV and listening to the radio, and I overheard the disc jockey talk about how she was looking forward to Thursday because it was "Turkey Day". She made no mention of the fact that it is actually called Thanksgiving Day, and has been an official national holiday since 1941 (although it has been celebrated unofficially on the last Thursday of November since Abraham Lincoln was in office and declared the day a "National Day of Thanksgiving"). So why do people try to be cute and call it Turkey Day? Actually, while most people seem to point to the year 1621 as when the first "Thanksgiving" was celebrated (when the Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Indians shared an autumn harvest feast), there was probably no turkey involved. According to information I found on the history.com website, here is what was probably served on that day: venison and fowl (probably not a turkey) and certainly not mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie (who likes this stuff anyway?). The most detailed description of the "First Thanksgiving" comes from Edward Winslow from A Journal of the Pilgrims at Plymouth, in 1621:

"Our harvest being gotten in, our governor sent four men on fowling, that so we might after a special manner rejoice together after we had gathered the fruit of our labors. They four in one day killed as much fowl as, with a little help beside, served the company almost a week. At which time, among other recreations, we exercised our arms, many of the Indians coming amongst us, and among the rest their greatest king Massasoit, with some ninety men, whom for three days we entertained and feasted, and they went out and killed five deer, which they brought to the plantation and bestowed upon our governor, and upon the captain, and others. And although it be not always so plentiful as it was at this time with us, yet by the goodness of God, we are so far from want that we often wish you partakers of our plenty."

So to the disc jockey and anyone else who might call Thursday, "Turkey Day", let's get it right, it's Thanksgiving. Be thankful, show thanks and give thanks! We do have much to be thankful for, even in these crazy times.

Don't miss the bus!

As a father of 5 children, I have to help out with the care giving of our kids. I generally rise first in the morning, so I can grab a cup of coffee and enjoy some peaceful moments to myself before the rest of the house awakes. My usual routine is to head straight for the computer in our kitchen and check the weather, my fantasy sports teams, and various news sites, in that order. Then I might check out some bank and credit card balances online, and see who might have posted an update on Facebook. Once the kids start to get up, I get their cereal ready, while they watch a little TV, and then begin to make lunches for my 2 school age boys. Now that I am writing my blog, my newest morning routine is to think of something to write about. Topics vary on my blog so it could be just about anything, but it often times comes from a news story or something that I've heard on the radio the day before. It could even be something that happens to me and my family, like yesterday. There's usually a period of time, perhaps a half hour, from when the boys eat their cereal, to when they leave the house for the bus stop. Usually they go downstairs and play in the basement, but yesterday, they went upstairs to my office, and played on our other computer. I was downstairs in the kitchen writing my blog. Consumed with my writing, I lost all track of the time. Before I noticed, it was 8:11 AM, time for the boys to get their shoes and coats on and head out the door for the bus. Then it occurred to me...I forgot to make their lunch! Now I was in trouble. I rushed them out the door and hoped they wouldn't miss the bus, and told them I would make their lunches and drop them off at school for them.
Whew! Crisis averted. I guess I need to adjust my routine so my blogging doesn't mess me up again. Of course, it did give me something to write about. Funny how life works.

St. Louis Blogs

Like most bloggers, I suspect, when I decided to write a blog, I wondered who would read what I wrote? Who would find it? How would they find it? I first got the idea when I received an e-mail from my uncle in Oklahoma to let me know that he had started a blog to write about small and family owned businesses. That same week I had a conversation about my wife about the journals that she writes, and has kept, over the years. Now, like most men, I would imagine, I was not going to start keeping a journal. That's just another name for a diary, and real men don't keep diaries. But what about a blog? It's a written record of thoughts, like a journal, and it's a little more hip. Who would you rather talk to at a party, someone who tells you, "I keep a journal do you?" or "I write a blog in my spare time"? I'd go with the blogger. So that was it. I decided to write a blog. But again, who would read it? I noticed that my free blog site on blogger.com had a search box and would send me to someone else's blog when I clicked "next blog". But what were the chances of someone finding mine? I decided to do some research and looked up blogs in St. Louis, where I live. I found a few sites that listed blogs from people who live in the St. Louis metro area. One of them would only list you if you paid a membership and had 3 months worth of blogs to review. That left me out. But another was more straightforward, if you live in St. Louis or have a St. Louis connection, send us an e-mail. Can do! So, I sent my request to St. Louis Blogs (at www.stlouisblogs.org) letting them know that I would like to be listed on their site. I did not get a reply, but to my surprise, I noticed this past weekend that my blog had been listed on their site. I told my wife that I was published! I had been discovered. I was on my way to blogger fame and fortune. There's no stopping me now! In two more months I can join the St. Louis Bloggers Guild (after I pay my membership fee) and then wait for a newspaper or magazine to call me with an offer to join their staff. OK, so maybe I got a little ahead of myself. I need to think of something to write about tomorrow. Maybe blogging isn't as easy as it sounds.

50% Off Sale

These are the signs that most people are seeing now at stores across the country, especially as we head towards Thanksgiving and that great shopping day known as Black Friday. Trouble is, since we have been told by the media that we are in a recession, a lot of stores have started their After-Thanksgiving Day sales early, in an effort to boost sales and keep their shops in business. After all, some businesses might be lucky to still be open by Thanksgiving...Circuit City for instance. Now everyone does like a sale. Who wants to pay full price? Retail, List, Rack, etc. We have been trained as smart consumers to find the best prices, and then negotiate for even lower ones. No one wants to leave "money on the table". My wife does most of her shopping at discount stores and second hand establishments. If she does go to a Target or Walmart, its "go for the discount" racks and look for the deals on the end caps. But what about the stock market? For some reason people don't like to buy things on sale here. If the price is reduced, there must be something wrong with it. After yesterday's market losses, the second triple digit loss in 2 days, we are now in some very unfamiliar territory for today's young investors. BEAR MARKET. Since the market highs of October 2007, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq have gone down more than 50% in value. The Dow Jones, slightly less at 47% but who cares at this point? So where are the buyers? There are plenty of opportunities. Most of the big bank and energy stocks are down between 60 and 80% from their highs. Well, obviously some people are afraid they might go even lower (or bankrupt). When will we see the bottom? Now this is certainly a bad market we are in, but remember, bear markets are normal events. Just maybe not this severe. Since 1957 when they began tracking the S&P 500, there have been 9 bear markets (not counting this one), averaging a 25% loss and lasting between one year and 18 months. The last time we saw a market this bad was 1973-74 when the S&P 500 lost 48% and the Nasdaq gave up 55%. Well before you decide to cash in your chips, remember this, in each of the previous 9 bear markets, the one year return following the market bottom, was 35%. Now that won't get you back to even, but it is a good start. And unless you are over age 55 (which most of my readers are not), you will have time to make up your losses in your 401k accounts. So get out there and enjoy the sale...there's bargains a plenty!

Do you Facebook?

An article in my local newspaper, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, struck my eye today, "Study suggests "hanging out" on Facebook, MySpace isn't a waste for teens", by Joe Crawford.
In it, he explains about "a study released today by the MacArthur Foundation. A team of researchers working on the foundation's "Digital Youth Project" concluded that interaction with new media such as Facebook is increasingly becoming an essential part of becoming a competent citizen in the digital age. I'm always happy when I find out that an activity that some people consider a waste of time is deemed important, or in this case, essential. I was introduced to Facebook last year by some guys at a fraternity reunion. I had heard of Facebook but equated it to MySpace as something for teenagers and not adults, particularly not someone in their mid 40's like me (gosh, it pains me to say that). These friends, who are a decade or more younger than me, explained that lots of people, groups, and organizations have a presence on Facebook, and it would be a great way for our fraternity brothers to communicate and keep up with each other. Once I set up my account, I noticed an interesting thing that happened. People started finding me and asked to be my friend! Now these were people that I already knew, but had lost touch with. Guys I went to college with, and even people I went to high school with! Through Facebook, I was reconnecting with people that I had not heard from, or spoken to, in over 25 years! And once you add a friend (and they accept you as their friend) you can see their friends and discover more people that you know. Now, I have "conversations" through the posting of comments with lots of people that I had long written off as people I would never see or hear from again. Now, I post pictures of myself and family, let people know my "status", that is, what I'm doing now, so that they can know and comment on themselves. I am now finding that communicating my e-mail and texting is really a thing of the past. Facebook and blogging are the way people are communicating today. I have even set up my Blackberry to be able to check Facebook and update my status. Now I just need some researchers to come to a conclusion that Fantasy Sports is beneficial and essential to society!

Where's my bailout?

The big discussion around the country and in the media right now is whether or not the Big 3 auto makers in Detroit, GM, Ford and Chrysler, should be given a bailout in the amount of $25 billion dollars, to help them continue their operations. It's been suggested that this bailout would only prolong the inevitable, that is bankruptcy. So the question is, why do it then? Why give them money, taxpayer money, only to let it fritter away like the share price of their stock over the past years? My thoughts are these; why bail out these companies at all? Let the free market economy decide who survives and who does not. After all, if you bail out these companies, then other companies and industries will come to Washington and demand their bailouts too. What about every taxpaying US citizen? It was suggested in numerous e-mails before the big $700 billion bank bailout, I mean, TARP (Troubled Assets Relief Program) happened, that if you just gave the money to the people, they would pay off their own troubled assets, meaning bad mortgages and other debts. But back to the auto industry. What makes them better or more important than any other industry? Take the airlines. Airlines have an important and storied history in the United States, just as the auto industry does. Did the government bail out these companies, Delta and Northwest? No. Did they go out of business? No. Both companies declared bankruptcy in 2005 and have recently merged together to form a stronger, more cost effective airline and ready to compete for continued business. Now, it is being suggested that because companies like GM and Ford are so big and employ so many workers, that the trickle down effect to the economy would be devastating. Suppliers and parts manufacturers would go out of business too. And so on and so on. Well, that's possible, but I think there will always be a market for auto parts for the existing GM, Ford, and Chrysler cars and trucks on the road today. Take Edsel for instance. Edsel was a division of Ford (named for Henry Ford's son, Edsel Ford) that closed shop on this date, November 19, 1959. Now that is a long time ago and you and I probably don't see that many Edsels on the road today, but did you know that there is a market for Edsel parts and supplies? There are numerous parts suppliers, in business, to provide replacement parts and services the many Edsel car owners and aficionados around the world today. So while some businesses many also fail as a result of a Ford or GM (or both) failure, most would not. Perhaps each could emerge from bankruptcy leaner and meaner, to better compete with the Toyota's and Honda's of the world. After all, one reason the Big 3 are in the trouble that they are is because their labor costs average $72 per hour compared to the $45 per hour paid by Toyota and Honda. Whats more is the UAW is not willing to concede anything as part of a bailout deal? Huh? I guess they would rather their union workers lose their jobs than give up some of their rich benefits. I say let these companies work out their own problems like any other business is forced to do. Whether it's through bankruptcy, merger, or some other means, they need to get to the root of the problem or history will repeat itself. Say, didn't the government bailout Chrysler before? Yes, 1979.

The Power of Dum Dums

When you have kids, it's only a matter of time before they get hurt. Children are accident prone. They don't have the sense to know what their physical limitations are and can be either very daring or very clumsy. Either way, it often times leads to injury. Now when you have multiple children in the household a new element emerges...roughhousing. Some also call this horseplay. My two oldest boys like to wrestle with each other. They also like to pretend they are bull riders and take turns riding on each other's back. Many times this innocent child play leads to unintended consequences. Someone gets hurt. Now, my two daughters, who are much younger, can also get hurt; usually by falling off a chair, or hitting the other over a toy dispute. As most parents would do, we try to console the injured child and find out the source of their pain. Once the crying begins to subside we resort to a habit that got started many years ago when our firstborn was a toddler...we give the kid a piece of candy. We discovered that a crying and sometimes even screaming child will quickly have an attitude change with the simple gift of a sucker. One moment he or she could be convincing enough that we should be heading to the emergency room, and the next moment...calm. We quickly learned that we should always have a source for candy in case of these types of calamities. Halloween and Valentines Day are excellent sources for candy replenishment. Easter adds more to the bucket also. It's amazing how effective a little piece of candy can be to sooth a child's temperament. Over the years, we have found that Tootsie Rolls, Pez, and Smarties are the kid's favorites for this purpose. But lately I have noticed that Dum Dums (the small little sucker) work especially well with our daughters. Now that our boys are a little older, 6 and 8, they prefer the bigger suckers with the Tootsie Roll centers, but they work just the same. Sometimes I wonder if these little tykes get hurt on purpose, just so they can get a piece of candy. And what are we teaching them for the future? To go to the refrigerator when you get hurt? Well, we have time to mold their minds as they head into their teenage years. Yesterday I was reminded of another reason to reconsider this strategy of parenting...I took my six year old to the dentist and found out that he had 4 cavities!

92 days

Do you know what happens in 92 days from today? No, President Obama will already be in office and will have already penned a few executive orders by then. Give up? It's the day that analog TV will cease to exist. Poof! Only people who have digital TV's or are connected by cable or satellite TV will be able to continue watching their favorite TV shows or sporting events from the comfort of their home. Now one question I have is, who are these people who are not already connected to digital TV? My 80 year old mother-in-law has a dish so she can watch Fox News and her cooking shows. My 94 year old grandmother has cable TV so she can watch the Crystal Cathedral on Sunday mornings and any Funniest Home Video or blooper show whenever they're on. Even more curious is why does my local NBC affiliate care to remind me every night, how much longer we have until February 17, 2009 arrives. Do they really care that much about the 36 people left in the St. Louis viewing area that have not already made the switch? Do they have some sort of referral agreement with Best Buy? Are they that desparate for viewers that they are concerned about the possibility of losing another 0.0000001% market share? I just don't get it. If you have an answer or a comment then please share it with me at scott@scottwheeler.net or better yet become a follower to my daily blog? I'm trying to build my audience in case I ever need a new job. How much do bloggers make anyway?

Negotiation, friend or foe?

The thing most people don't like about buying a new car, is dealing with the salesman and negotiating on the final price of the car. Nobody wants to pay sticker price and the dealer does not want to lower his price more that he has to. Because of this, companies like Saturn, Volkswagen and MINI came out with fixed pricing. That is, there is no negotiating on the price. Take it or leave it. But for some people, like me, that takes the fun out of it. Again, nobody wants to pay more than they have to for something. But what about of buying other goods or services? Most people assume that you cannot negotiate the price of goods and services at stores and other businesses, but that is not true. In most cases, all you have to do is ask. Most retail stores change their prices all the time when they have sales or promotions, so why couldn't they do it for you on a one-on-one basis? I have a real estate friend who tells me that he negotiates the price on almost everything he buys. Ironically, he admits that he rarely negotiates the fee that he charges for his house buying clients! Just this week, I tried this out by calling my cell phone carrier to discuss the monthly fee that they charge me. I asked if they would lower my bill and was told that they could drop it $10 per month! That's a savings of $120 per year with no change in service plan just for asking! Most people who have traveled abroad have come home with stories about haggling over the price of a souvenir and how much fun it was. But they are afraid to do it here. The worst that can happen is they say no and you pay what you were going to pay anyway. Don't be afraid to negotiate for things you normally would not consider, you just might be throwing away money you could be keeping in your pocket. Like the business man says, don't leave money on the table!

Recession, what recession?

Most all of the financial news sites and media outlets have been reporting for months that the US economy is in a recession. Now it's being reported that we are in the midst of a global recession. The problem is, most people and economists cannot agree on when a recession begins or ends. There are too many definitions of what a recession is. Is it based on GDP? Traditionally, 2 consecutive quarters of negative GDP defines a recession. Is it based on unemployment figures and retail sales numbers? Many now believe that a better way to gauge a recession is by looking at the business cycle from peak to trough. The average recession, we are told, lasts about 10 months to a year. But who cares about all this anyway? It's just a way for the media to sell ads by reporting negative news of doom and gloom in the world. Have any of these reporters been out to eat lately? Every time my family goes out for dinner, we have to wait in a line for a table. The parking lots are full of people wanting to dine out. It would appear to me that restaurants are not in a recession. If things were really as bad as the talking heads on TV say they are, then we should be stocking our shelves with peanut butter and jelly and baking our own bread. Walmart just reported better than expected sales for the 3rd quarter and are optimistic about the Christmas shopping season. Will children be disappointed by what Santa brings them this year? Now to be sure, some stores are suffering. Circuit City has announced their bankruptcy. Car dealerships are going out of business. But these are big ticket items that people have discovered they can live without or postpone to a later date. Everyone has to eat right? I think this recession has to do more with perception than reality. In fact, there may be a silver lining here. People are discovering that there is a difference between wants and needs. The credit crunch was caused in part by too many people buying things they did not need on credit. Maybe stores will bring back their layaway programs of old and let people save up for that next big screen TV set. Maybe banks will bring back the passbook saving accounts and stamp your interest posted with your latest deposit. Back to the basics may come back in vogue.

Thanksgiving gets the shaft

Now that Veterans Day has past, the next big holiday of the year is Christmas. What, you ask? What about Thanksgiving? Oh sure, there will be a Thanksgiving holiday. Most Americans will take that Thursday and possibly the following Friday off to be with their family and eat turkey and watch the Detroit Lions lose to whoever they will be playing that day. But Thanksgiving is a holiday that is going by the wayside. I have already seen houses and businesses with Christmas decorations up. Bell ringers are already stationed at the local grocery stores to beg for your loose change. I even flipped through the radio dial last night and heard a station playing Christmas music already! Now I'm no Scrooge. I love Christmas and what it means to Christians around the world. I love seeing my kids get excited about what they hope Santa will bring them this year. But I think Thanksgiving deserves a little more recognition than just a day to get off work and eat some turkey and pie with your friends and family. We should reflect on what we as a nation are thankful for. Freedom of religion. Freedom of speech. Freedom to vote for whomever we choose to represent us in government. Let's wait until after Thanksgiving to hang the decorations and do our Christmas shopping. Christmas will be here before we know it anyway.

Veteran's Day

Today is Veteran's Day, a national holiday that has been observed since 1954 (before that it was called Armistice Day). It is a day set aside to honor the country's living veterans who served in wartime or peacetime. Some people confuse this holiday with Memorial Day, which also honors veterans, but is actually to honor those that have died serving our country. Still others confuse both holidays as a day to have a sale! Usually it's the furniture stores, car dealerships, and most any other retail store that chooses to do so. Why? What does honoring a veteran of war have to do with getting 50% off a new couch or end table? If they really wanted to honor veterans, they would close their store like most banks do, and go to a parade or museum with their family. Better yet, call a veteran or go by a local VFW hall, and thank him (or her) in person! I have uncles and cousins who served our country in the military. My nephew is a paralegal in the Army and has recently been accepted to join the Army Rangers. The closest I got to serving was when I was in the Air Force ROTC while in college. I had a pilot slot but dropped out after I failed my vision exam before my junior year. Nevertheless, I honor the many living veterans today who served our country with honor, to give us the freedom that we enjoy today! Thank you for your service to our Nation. May God bless you all the rest of your days!

How much did you pay for gas?

While we are still in the midst of an economic and financial crisis in the United States, and most indicators suggest we are now in the middle of a recession, the price of a gallon of gas continues to fall. As recently as this past July, gas peaked at $4.17 per gallon, and 4 months later we are paying less than $2.00 per gallon. I last filled up for $1.97 last week, and there are stations in St. Louis offering gas for less than $1.89 per gallon! What are Americans doing with their gas savings? Driving more? Not likely. I think they are using their savings from gas to pay for other costs that haven't gone down, like groceries, education, and health care. Most people I talk to feel like it's only a matter of time before gas prices start to trend back up, and many people have changed their driving habits for good due to the previous lessons of $4 gas. There is speculation that President-elect Obama may even use the lower gas prices to add a higher gas tax, to help pay for road and highway repairs in the future. It would be easier to get it through when gas is below $2 per gallon that it would have been at $4. The real lesson that people are beginning to learn from this current financial crisis is that everyone must save more. The days of using your home as an ATM machine are over and the stock market should be used for long term investing, not short term speculation. Cash is king my friends, cash is king!

Daylight Savings Time

Last weekend, we changed our clocks and set them back one hour, as most of the country went back to Standard Time. Nearly a week later, I am still struggling to adjust to the change. While it does get light earlier in the morning, it is also dark when I go home from work. My kids do not even have 2 hours of daylight to play outside before it gets dark, and even worse, they are getting up earlier in the morning because of the extra sunlight. I would like to see the country adopt Daylight Savings Time for the whole year and make it the "new" Standard Time. As our country has changed from being an agricultural society to a consumer driven society, there are really no reasons that I can see to continue this annual practice of changing clocks twice a year. Studies have shown that more accidents occur the weeks after the time change happens as people struggle to adjust to the time change and sleep pattern disruptions. Some studies suggest that more energy could be saved due to a lesser need for lighting during the early evening hours. In fact, this is why Indiana switched to Daylight Savings Time permanently in 2005. Let's get a grass roots campaign going to get rid of Standard Time. Who needs it?

Transition to Power

Now that Obama has become the President-Elect, all eyes are on him to see who he selects on his Cabinet. His first pick seems to be Illinois Rep. Rahm Emanuel, who will likely be the White House Chief of Staff. This could be a good selection in the eyes of Israel and the Jewish community in the US. While Mr. Obama seeks to repair the US economy and reputation of America throughout the world, he should not forget about the 46.25% of Americans who voted for Mr. McCain. As he stated in his acceptance speech, he will be our President too, so it will be interesting to see the steps he makes to reach out to Republicans and others who did not vote for him. My children have only known a Bush administration. While my oldest son was born in the last year of office for President Clinton, he does not remember him at all. And while my youngest children will most likely not remember President Bush either, they will now grow up and be molded by the Obama administration. I will pray that Mr. Obama seeks good counsel from all parties, and God Himself, as he selects others who will help lead our country over the next 4 years.

The Day after the Election

It was an exciting election night and it certainly came with a few surprises. I had predicted an upset, and although I was wrong on who would win (McCain), I was right in that it was a bigger margin of victory than expected. Obama won the electoral vote by nearly a 2 to 1 margin, although the popular vote was much closer. As McCain and George Bush did last night, I will have to offer my congratulations to Barack Obama for his decisive win and pledge my support for him as my next President come January 20, 2009. I certainly hope that he can follow through on his promises made during his campaign, and wish him the best as he attempts to change America into a country that is more accepted around the world. I do feel that once in office, he will begin to understand the enormous challenges that George Bush had during the past 8 years and particularly the past four. I am concerned now about the balance of power shifting to the democrats with their majority in both the House and Senate. I did find it interesting that the futures market this morning was predicting a down day in the stock market. Obama's choice as the next Treasury secretary will be very important.

Election Day

Well, Election Day has finally arrived. This has been a very long campaign for both parties. I think they should make some rules as to how long someone can campaign for office. Two years seems kind of excessive to me. Today will be an exciting day. It has been over 40 years since a Presidential election has not had either a sitting President or sitting Vice-President running for office. Also, we could be witnessing the first black man winning the election in history. Today promises long lines to vote, but it will be worth the wait to cast my vote in this very important election. I think too much focus has been made on the economy. While it is certainly in a bad situation right now, the economy will improve over the next year as investor confidence is restored and consumer spending resumes. Foreign policy, energy, and health care, seem to be of great importance to me, and I will be casting my vote for the person with the better ideas to move forward in these areas over the next 4 years. I still think that the actual voting results will differ from the slanted polling predictions we have been hearing for weeks. We will see what happens as the day progresses!

Day before the election

The election is in it's final stages and Missouri is one of the battleground states. This election campaign has been long and hard, but is finally coming to an end tomorrow. I think there will be many surprises that will unfold tomorrow as the polls close and the votes are tallied. I have a gut feeling that McCain will somehow pull off the upset and shock all the Obama followers. We'll see what happens...