I wish you could have been there.

I am so glad I went to the Rally for Sanity this past weekend - me and over 200,000 other sane individuals. Well, I'll use the word "sane" loosely.

The signs were hilarious - worth the travel hassles. There were political signs: "No Nukes", "Thank you 4 Health Care", "Pro-Choice because politicians make crappy doctors", "Separation of Corporation and State", and of course, "Legalize Pot."

There were many relating to Fox News: "Fox News stop scaring Grandma & Grandpa!", "Restore Sanity: Cancel Fox News" and my favorite was a guy dressed as a giant whoopee cushion with a sign that said "Squeeze me to hear the latest from Glenn Beck."

There were signs about Jon Stewart & Stephen Colbert: "Jon Stewart for President", "Jon Stewart for moderator of 2012 presidential debate," and "Team Fear".

There were signs mocking the extremist on the right: "Not to angry to spellcheck", "Actually I'm quite content", "The kids are going to be alright" and "Jesus was a socialist."

Then there were the sillier signs: "This is a good sign", "I love bacon", "I come to rallies for the chicks", "My arm is falling off" and a little sign that said "I fear big signs"

The line to get on the metro in the morning wrapped around the parking garage. The trains were packed. The cell phone service collapsed on the mall. People were climbing into trees and onto the porta-potties for a better view. My view wasn't great, but here are some things I got on with my phone. I got some video with my phone, but blogger isn't letting me upload it. I'll try in a separate post.

I was delighted to open my paper this morning and see that the House passed Health Care Reform. It is a triumph of democracy over corporate influence - passed in spite of the massive amounts of money and effort from insurance industries, their Republican congressmen, and Fox News.

The Republicans keep saying the Dems will pay for it in the next election. I think the shame is on every single one of the Republicans who voted against helping the poor. Every single Republican voted against it. Talk about peer pressure! I was hoping there might be one courageous soul on that side of the aisle.

I'm sure the vitriol isn't over. But as with the passing of Medicare that the Republicans strongly opposed but now couldn't live without, literally in some cases, so it will be with health care.

Our government may certainly be inefficient, but I personally am glad they run a post office, emergency services, schools, libraries, food inspection, and the military. Despite the huge task ahead, I'm sure all those who so vehemently opposed health care will soon find themselves or their loved ones in need of the benefits our great American government will provide them.

I stayed up for the State of the Union address last night and couldn't help staying up longer to watch a bit of commentary. Now I'm sleepy today. Did he change your feelings about his plans, even a little bit?

Honestly I don't know what the Republicans want - except to have won the last election. I can't imagine that they think we should go back to the financial de-regulation that got us into this mess. I can't imagine that they don't want their own pre-existing conditions covered by insurance. I can't imagine they they want to keep buying oil from the region of the world that fights us the most. I thought they liked tax cuts, so why no applause about the tax cuts on small businesses and the middle class? And will the politicians in the next election wear patches of their corporate sponsors like NASCAR drivers? I just don't get it.

It took me 45 minutes to vote. I usually wait no more than four or five people to check in before walking right up to a booth. Today was fun, waving to neighbors, taking to people in line We held the space for the lady in front of us who wasn't able to stand for so long. I took my daughters with me. They were both excited and argued over who got to push the Obama button. There was hardly any electioneering. Everyone was eager, but calm. We went straight to Starbucks for our free coffee.

I woke up excited today, like it's Christmas and I'm ten. I can't wait to watch the news tonight. I'm having a hard time concentrating.

And so sad about Obama's grandma. What a jumble of emotions he must be experiencing.

How was your voting experience today?

Why is it that curse words get to claim the letter they start with?
The N-word, the F-bomb, the B-word. I recently heard that McCain said the S-word. I was wondering why that was so scandalous when I realized the newsguy meant "socialist."

So what would be your version of these lettered words, if they were of your choosing and not curses:
The A-word
The B-word
The F-word
The N-word
The S-word

For me... maybe
Aphrodisiac
Boring
Fried
Normal
Skinny

Can I just vote for Tina Fey?
This Saturday Night Live clip is 11 minutes, but worth the time.
Enjoy!