Today is my last blog from the state of Georgia. By Saturday evening, I will be a resident of the Commonwealth of Virginia- I believe the more common term, according to Sarah Palin during the election last year, is the state of NoVa, or Northern Virginia.

It has been an exciting latter half of the decade for me. As many of you know, I moved from my home state of New York in 2006, and settled in Atlanta. Being the political junkie that I am, I quickly studied up on the workings of the city as well as the state. By 2008, I knew something. We were were like vinegar and water. Not Atlanta mind you, the state in general. It is true, this city is indeed a blue oasis in a red sea. It's a beautiful here, but I suspect it won't be sorry to see this yankee leave. As fate - and diligence -- would have it, my partner was offered a job in the DC Metro area. He took it and the decision was made for us to relocate. I have made friends here and leaving makes me sad, but we will be back to visit. We will see each other again.
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51 comments (Latest Comment: 11/20/2009 00:51:03 by Random)

Good Morning.

Today is our 2,435th day in Iraq.

We'll start this morning as we always do, with the latest casualty figures from Iraq and Afghanistan, courtesy of Antiwar.com:

American Deaths
Since war began (3/19/03): 4363
Since "Mission Accomplished" (5/1/03): 4224
Since Capture of Saddam (12/13/03): 3900
Since Handover (6/29/04): 3504
Since Obama Inauguration (1/20/09): 135

Other Coalition Troops - Iraq: 325
US Military Deaths - Afghanistan: 920
Other Military Deaths - Afghanistan: 599
Contractor Employee Deaths - Iraq: 1,395
Journalists - Iraq: 335
Academics Killed - Iraq: 431


We find this morning's cost of war passing through:

$ 932, 684, 400, 000 .00

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37 comments (Latest Comment: 11/17/2009 23:27:38 by livingonli)

Recently Velveeta has been hearing a lot about one of her favorite subjects other than planting roses: tea parties! Oh the finger cakes and sandwiches, the antique cups and saucers, the pots brimming over with Jasmine tea, the hats and gloves and lest we forget... the juicy gossip! What a day!

So, when I heard that there was going to be a tea party in my area I was overjoyed. First, to prepare for the party, I splurged on a new crinoline vintage skirt, satin-rimmed Adele hat with large ribbon (pink) and of course a pair of fitted white gloves. I prepared my Herbed Cheese Scones using a recipe handed down from my Great Grandmother served on an antique St. Andrews rose pattern dish and then I was ready. And what a glorious day for a tea party!
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8 comments (Latest Comment: 11/16/2009 05:08:33 by livingonli)

It should have been a shining moment in Congressional history. Late in the evening on Saturday Nov 6, 2009, the House of Representatives passed a bill that will lead to a much needed overhaul of the American health care system. It's not a perfect bill, it's not everything that it should have or could have been, but it's certainly a step in the right direction. It's a foundation for change.
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29 comments (Latest Comment: 11/14/2009 02:18:33 by TriSec)

We've all heard the expression saying something was saved "in the 11th hour". It means that on the cusp of all hope being lost, something remarkable happened to save the day. What most of us don't realize is that the expression has direct ties to today - Veterans Day.
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38 comments (Latest Comment: 11/11/2009 21:21:40 by livingonli)