I know...on line dating services....sorta plays into the contention by one unnamed person that the new demographics here are older, female and, from the Midwest, so the content is getting to be a little irrelevant, but since many of us TPMers post on non-politcal subjects, I'm going to take the chance.

But, first, I need to do a little prefacing...

1. I 've been married for going on 37 years, so I've never actually USED one. That means that an argument could be made that I don't know what I'm talking about, but I've never let that keep me from having an opinion, so why start now? :-)

2. I'm a Christian, so THAT means an argument could be made, by some, that I have nothing of value to contribute to the conversation, even if I did know what I was talking about. Rest assured, I have not been a Christian my whole life, and DO have some experience as a "heathen."

So, if you are still with me, I'd like to explore the benefits of on-line dating services. I was discussing them with a friend a couple of nights ago. She was frustrated by her inability to find a good man, and in my self-appointed capacity as a "fixer of friend's problems," I threw out the suggestion that she try e-harmony, which was summarily rejected as not a very good idea (in not exactly those words...)

Somehow dating services can be considered a desperate measure, suited only for those losers who are incapable of forming relationships in the traditional fashion.

I disagree, and here's why...

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Why is it that so many people with more money than God have a seeming inability to pay their fair share of taxes? It's almost as if when your bank balance reaches a certain level, the integrity portion of your brain just goes away!

Be it CEO's, politicians or just plain folks, money seems to have a corrupting influence on many people's morals. The old saying is "money is the root of all evil." I always thought it was more like the "lack of money was the root of all evil." Now I'm thinking I was wrong.

The New York Times is now reporting that Caroline Kennedy has "housekeeper" tax problems. This seems to be a big problem and why? Let's assume for the sake of discussion she's paying her housekeeper $150K (and what are the chances of that?) we're talking no more than $15K in taxes...Is that REALLY such a huge amount of money for her?

Even if this particular story turns out to be untrue, there seem to be more and more stories about the rich avoiding taxes, and I just don't get it.

This has been an absolutely awesome day.

I feel sorry for the people who couldn't share in the joy and the pride that we supporters have been able to. The Inauguration was inspiring. Imagine...Barack Hussein Obama is our new President. He put his hand on Lincoln's Bible and promised to fulfill his duties. Aside from election night, I can't remember the last time I felt so hopeful and excited about our country's future. And that's a pretty odd thing, considering we may be on the verge of a severe recession or possibly a depression.

But you know what? If it's going to happen, I can't think of anyone I would rather have at the helm than Barack Hussein Obama.

Listening to him today, watching him...I was struck all over again by what an amazing man he is. He is so calm, so humble, so capable, so smart, so eloquent, so inclusive... He's funny and sweet and strong and down to earth and inspirational. He's just downright "likable."

Not only does he have an impressive agenda for the political things he wants to do for the country, but he also has the ability and desire to be a good example. Watching him with Michelle tonight, it is just so obvious that this is not a marriage of political convenience. He is wildly in love with his wife. She is his best friend, as well as his partner. He loves his kids, his family. I'm sure they have their own little bits of dysfunction, like all of us, but for all intents and purposes, they are a positive example for us all of what a family can be.

He has made us feel like he belongs to us. We are a part of his success. It was our Inauguration. He has made himself as accessible to us as a President can be. During the campaign he made a point of shaking just as many hands as he possibly could. During the parade, when they walked portions of the route, it was because he wanted to make us feel included. He could have stayed in the comfort of his limo...no one would have blamed him. But he didn't. They braved the cold to let us be close to them, and them to us. They went to as many Balls as they possibly could. They danced with soldiers.

Never before has a President had my cell phone #. Never has a President texted me to let me know what was going on. Never before has a President asked me to let him know what I think. Never before has a President inspired in me a desire to HELP him be successful.

I know that he has a huge task ahead of him. We all have a lot of work to do. Life is not going to be a bed of thornless roses just because he is our President. We are not going to wake up to a different world in the morning. We are still going to be at war. We are still going to be in a financial mess. Many of us are still going to be without health care. Many of us are still not going to be able to marry the person we love. Many of us are still going to be afraid of losing our home. Many of us are still going to lose our jobs, or lose a lot of sleep worrying that we will.

Yet somehow, I am still more full of hope than I can even fathom. I see a new administration that is already hard at work. I see a new administration that expects much from it's employees, but is working on ways to keep their family lives healthy. I can feel the beginnings of a new and improved America. I can feel a new sense of unity. I can see people beginning to "get" that they need to be a part of the solution, not just recipients of all the goodies. I can see people of vastly different backgrounds building relationships (I mean, the very idea that my new best friends are all a bunch of raging liberals!!!)

Tomorrow we'll start dealing with problems. We'll fight with the Republicans. We'll fight with each other. We'll get discouraged when things don't go quite the way we hoped they would. We'll face even more challenges than we do today.

But tonight? Tonight I'm going to bask in the awesomeness of the day, knowing that I had a teeny small part in making it happen.