For Civics, Fluffy Puppy created a political poll to see what Americans thought.

So I'm posting this here, asking YOU to help, too :)

Just go here: http://amaturepoliticalpolls.piczo.com/?cr=3 and vote!

Thank you so much!

Hey, Everyone!

Hey guys!

Fluffy Puppy here, to say how cold it is. Brrr! For the passing weeks, Squirrel and I have been able to take a walk only twice! It'll be nice to get out again, once winter's over. Three more weeks!

I guess you could call our absence period the same as the Europeans: The Dark Age!

Lately, the household has been learning about the Presidents, as well as been very involved in Politics. Currently, my favorites are Obama, JFK, FDR, Teddy, Lincoln and the Clintons. Squirrel's are JFK and Obama.

As for reading? Well, I've been reading a lot. Since the dawn of the new year, I've read Breaking Dawn (Three stars; Stephanie Meyer), Animal Farm (Five Stars; George Orwell), The Pistachio Prescription (Five stars; Paula Danziger), Paper Towns (Four stars; John Green), You Give Me a Pain Elaine (Five stars; Stella Pevsner), The Magician's Nephew (Four and a half stars; C.S. Lewis), Tex (Five stars; S.E. Hinton), Rumble Fish (Five stars; S.E. Hinton), Inherit the Wind (Five stars; Robert E. Lee and Jerome Lawrence), That was Then, This is Now (Five stars; S.E. Hinton), and Animal Farm Cliff Notes (Five stars; Daniel Moran). Currently, I'm in the process of reading Taming the Running Star (S.E. Hinton), The Notebook (Nicholas Sparks), Harry, A History (Melissa Anelli) and The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe (C.S. Lewis). As you can see, I've been busy! :)

Squirrel's really been into the series Beacon Street Girls. As of this year, she's read Blubber (Three stars; Judy Bloom), Freckle Juice (Three stars; Judy Bloom), Double Fudge (Five stars; Judy Bloom), Addie Across the Praire (Five stars; Laurie Lawler), Meet Julie (Five stars; Megan McDonald), Beacon Street Girls Books 1 and 2 (Five stars for both; Annie Bryant). Currently, she's reading Beacon Street Girls Book 3 (Annie Bryant) and A Dog's Life (Ann M. Martin).

About a month ago, we started attending Congregation Micah, which is a Temple in our area. I personally really enjoy it, because all the prayers are sang as songs. We've only yet attended Shabbat Services, but one day I hope we can make it to weekend services too! We've gone to Sunday School, too, which is fun. See our Temple http://congregationmicah.com.

Squirrel is finally enjoying guitar class. It's the entire Oh-Jeez-These-Stupid-Chords-Are-Hard! factor. I myself thoroughly enjoy chords, and am anticipating writing my own songs!

We've started attending cooking again. We stopped going for a while, because Mom was sick, but we're back! Ms Abbey, our teacher, was unfortunately checked into the hospital a couple weeks ago for asthma problems, but she's fine now. Yay!

As for science, I found a channel on youtube for college lectures. If you're interested, go to http://www.youtube.com/user/ucberkeley. I'm studying physics, and have already watched the first lecture. I love it! Honestly, I understand it a lot better than Oak Meadow!

Squirrel is learning about nutrition. Currently, they're learning about protein-rich foods, calories, the food pyramid, fats and vitamins. She's enjoying it!

As we're moving along, Squirrel is nearing the end of 3rd grade math, moving on to 4th. I just started 7th grade Math... percentages are stumping me!

As for our leisure, we're just finishing up the 7th season of Gilmore Girls, which we love with all our heart. We feel strongly about the letting-go of Amy Sherman-Palladino, but what can we say? We've also just gotten into My So-Called Life, which I got for Channukah. And we're slowly building up our education about 80s movies and the Brat Pack... We ♥ Ferris!

Until next time!
Fluffy Puppy~

Obama has a Rabbi in the family

To read this article, click HERE.

You have GOT to check this politcal link out!

Thanks Kelly for emailing it to me!

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/9/15/84829/6022/760/599280

Sarah Palin

A verified letter regarding Sarah Palin from snopes.com


ABOUT SARAH PALIN

I am a resident of Wasilla, Alaska. I have known Sarah since 1992. Everyone here knows Sarah, so it is nothing special to say we are on a first-name basis. Our children have attended the same schools. Her father was my child's favorite substitute teacher. I also am on a first name basis with her parents and mother-in-law. I attended more City Council meetings during her administration than about 99% of the residents of the city.

She is enormously popular; in every way she’s like the most popular girl in middle school. Even men who think she is a poor choice and won't vote for her can't quit smiling when talking about her because she is a "babe".

It is astonishing and almost scary how well she can keep a secret. She kept her most recent pregnancy a secret from her children and parents for seven months.

She is "pro-life". She recently gave birth to a Down's syndrome baby. There is no cover-up involved, here; Trig is her baby.

She is energetic and hardworking. She regularly worked out at the gym.

She is savvy. She doesn't take positions; she just "puts things out there" and if they prove to be popular, then she takes credit. To read the entire letter click HERE

Whomever you vote for this year, remember this:

It's easy to get sucked into the drama of the election but there are some things I wanted to remind you about as you prepare to head to the polls.

1. Make sure your opinion is your own and not your parents, clergyman, friend, neighbor or butchers'. Take the time to do your own research and come to your own conclusion. You just might be surprised by what you learn!

2. Unfortunately, most journalists today include their own opinions and slants about subjects often leaving the facts buried far under the remains of slams and distortions, untruths and opinion. Sometimes it can be hard to decipher what the truth actually is. For this reason, it would behoove you to check a few different resources to make sure you have the full story. Here are two excellent resources to have: factcheck.org and snopes.com factcheck.org was sent to me by L.A. Mama raisingcalifornia

3. Let's talk polls. I find myself checking the polls daily to see where our nation is at. But there are some rules I keep in mind as I do so.

• When checking online polls, make sure they have allowed for a margin or error. If they don't, it should be considered invalid.
• Keep in mind that someone had to pay for the research. Whether it was the republican party, the democratic party or an independent, it's important. This would explain differences from one poll to the next.
• Also keep in mind that the numbers depend on who was being polled. Some areas contain higher (or lower) concentrations of a particular party and the researchers know this.
• If you just registered with a particular party, it will take awhile to catch up to the polls

4. If you're still undecided or want to make sure you're voting where your issues lie take the quiz on this site: change.org This site was sent to me by L.A. Mama raisingcalifornia

*note - When you take the presidential quiz, be sure to click on how the issue is defined. I thought they were self-explanatory but they are not. Also, after the quiz, be sure to click on the "compare" button next to each candidates name for a comprehensive comparison of your views and the candidates. Also, by clicking on the candidates stance, you will be able to see an explanation of their issue in full.

5. Chain emails - Just press the delete button. Chain email is a waste of time as it is almost always untrue. Here are some signs to look for when you receive one per factcheck.org

• The author is anonymous. Practically all e-mails we see fall into this category, and anytime an author is unnamed, the public should be skeptical. If the story were true, why would the author not put his or her name on it?
  
  
• The author is supposedly a famous person. Of course, e-mails that are attributed to legitimate people turn out to be false as well. Those popular messages about a Jay Leno essay and Andy Rooney’s political views are both baloney. And we found that some oft-quoted words attributed to Abraham Lincoln were not his words at all.
  
  
• There’s a reference to a legitimate source that completely contradicts the information in the e-mail. Some e-mails will implore readers to check out the claims, even providing a link to a respected source. We're not sure why some people don't click on the link, but we implore you to do so. Go ahead, take the challenge. See if the information you find actually backs up the e-mail. We've examined three such e-mails in which the back-up material clearly debunks the e-mail itself. One message provided a link to the Tax Foundation, but anyone who followed it would have found an article saying the e-mail's figures were all wrong. Another boasted that Snopes.com had verified the e-mail, but Snopes actually said it was false.
  
  
• The message is riddled with spelling errors. Ask yourself, why should you trust an author who is not only anonymous but partially illiterate?
  
  
• The author just loves using exclamation points. If the author had a truthful point to make, he or she wouldn’t need to put two, three, even five exclamation points after every other sentence. In fact, we're developing another theory here: The more exclamation points used in an e-mail, the less true it actually is. (Ditto for excessive use of capital letters.)
  
  
• The message argues that it is NOT false. This tip comes from Emery, who advises skepticism for any message that says, "This is NOT a hoax!"
  
  
• There’s math involved. Check it. One message that falsely claimed more soldiers died during Bill Clinton’s term than during George W. Bush’s urged, "You do the Math!" We did. It’s wrong.