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My writing can now be found at www.candidconservative.com

Whew! What a Week!

People are still protesting in Iran over the sham of an election. People like Neda are dying while protesting. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a huge fan of Musavi. But people should have the right to vote for their leader, and they should not be killed for protesting.

North Korea has nukes, and according to Japan, has plans to fire at Hawaii in early July. I don't think that those are the kind of fireworks we want on Independence Day.

ABC will air an ObamaCare infomercial tomorrow night, and the Republicans or anyone with an opposing viewpoint is explicitly not invited. So much for unbiased media reporting. They aren't even trying to hide it anymore.

California is bankrupt, and instead of cutting some massive pork projects, they're cutting tax exemptions and closing state parks.

Several people were killed in a DC train crash.

And Perez Hilton got punched in the face.

At least one thing in the news this week made me smile!

"It Won't Be Six Months In..."

Remember that warning from gaffe-tastic VP Biden during the 2008 election?

Can we safely say that the President is being tested, and he definitely made the cutoff. It's only been five months. Predictably and unfortunately, he doesn't seem to be passing at the moment.

From Iran-

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won re-election in a landslide, a feat which US officials say is, "not credible." The Iranian government tried to shut down communication between its citizens to prohibit them from organizing protests, but it didn't matter. The people are protesting, riots are erupting, and people are dying.

Biden commented this morning-

Vice President Joe Biden says he has doubts about whether Iran's presidential election was free and fair, as Mahmoud Ahmadinejad claims from his landslide victory.

Biden says the U.S. and other countries need more time to analyze the results before making a better judgment about the vote. He says the administration's interests are the same as they were before the vote -- ending Iran's attempts to develop a nuclear weapon and its support for terrorism.

The vice president says he's disturbed by the way the Iranian government seems to be suppressing speech and cracking down on crowds protesting Ahmadinejad's re-election.

Biden says there are lots of questions about the election, but that the U.S. doesn't have enough facts to make a fair judgment. He wonders whether the outcome is an accurate response of the Iranian people.

Well, I'm glad that the administration is "looking into" the obviously rigged election that kept in power a man that hates Americans, and to whom our President gave the go ahead to persue nuclear power. As long as, you know, they promised not to make weapons out of it. After his bogus re-election:

Ahmadinejad consigned Iran's nuclear dispute to the past, signaling no nuclear policy change in his second term, and warned that any country that attacked his own would regret it.

"Who dares to attack Iran? Who even dares to think about it?" he said at a news conference.

So I guess the Iranian policy of developing nuclear weapons and lying about doing so won't be changing. I'm guessing that that the Obama Administration policy of pretending like it's not happening still stands as well. Ahmadinejad even mocks and dares us to try and stop him. This is some seriously scary stuff.


Meanwhile over in North Korea-

North Korean officials have announced that they are enriching uranium and building a nuclear bomb. They also "threatened war if its ships are stopped as part of new U.N. sanctions aimed at punishing the nation for its latest nuclear test." They added, "An attempted blockade of any kind by the U.S. and its followers will be regarded as an act of war and met with a decisive military response."

How is the US responding to the news that North Korea has atomic weapons and enough materials to make at least one nuke? You'll all feel very safe to know that the State Department has firmly wagged it finger and said, "No, no, no!"



I wonder when the apology tour for the US provoking these great and diverse nations into building devastating weapons will begin.

Free Healthcare?

There are two types of "free." Free as in freedom, and free as in beer.

Some things are essentially free. Rainbows, wildflowers, hugs and kisses from loved ones, and sometimes, a beer from a friend who says, "Don't worry about it, I've got this one."

As Americans, we are free citizens. It's right there in the Declaration of Independence, a document that laid out the reasons why it was important for the colonies to break away from Britain's "unwarrantable jurisdiction." The Constitution lays out our freedoms; we are free to chose our own religion, to speak our minds, to assemble and petition, to own firearms, to raise our children as we see fit, to vote for a representative government, and we are even free to drink that free beer.

There has been a lot of discussion recently about socialized or "free" healthcare being introduced to the United States. Free healthcare? Where in the world are we going to find enough doctors (who, by the way, are trying to pay off an average of $140,000 in medical school debt each) willing to work for free in order to make sure that every American (or illegal immigrant pretending to be an American) has healthcare?

As a stay-at-home-mom, I work my tail bone off everyday. I'm the maid, the nanny, the chef, the chauffeur, the counselor, the life coach, the activities director, the secretary, the referee, and sometimes if my husband is lucky, I'm other things as well. ;-) I do it all for free, without being paid, because of my unbreakable and unending love for my family. But as much as I love my family, it is hard to do it all for free. Really hard. So I have to ask myself, "If it's hard for me to work for free for my family, whom I love and cherish more than anything on the planet, how hard is it going to be for doctors to work for free for people they don't even know?"

Free healthcare is an impossibility. There is no such thing as free beer. Your friend paid for it. Maybe he did it because it was his turn to buy, or maybe out of generosity or appreciation for your friendship. But he didn't do it because the bartender said, "Sir, you make twice as much money as this man, so it is only 'fair' that you buy his beer for him."

That's what our government is trying to do regarding healthcare. It isn't going to be free, because someone is going to have to pay for it (estimated cost is 1-1.5 trillion dollars over the next 10 years.) Doctors and nurses need to be paid, along with the scientists that develop new drugs, the engineers that build medical equipment, the architects that design hospitals, and even the janitors that keep the toilets clean. Taxes are going to skyrocket. Everything will be taxed, from the CO2 we breath out (double tax if that breath included nicotine), to sodas, and of course, to incomes.

It isn't going to be free either, with "legislation that would require all Americans to have health insurance, prohibit insurers from refusing to cover pre-existing conditions and place other restrictions on the industry."

I'm a grown up. I like my freedom. I like choosing my doctor, and I like that doctors can refuse patients. I like being free to choose my car, my vocation, my religion, my food, and my home. I like that all Americans have those freedoms, even if they choose differently than me. It's precisely that freedom that makes our nation great. An entrepreneur is free to make or improve something, investors are free to fund it, and consumers are free to purchase it.

Our government is sliding down the slippery slope of oppressive power. Obama wants to tell us what to eat, what to drive, how to run our companies, and what medical treatments we may receive. Oh sure, we'll still have a "choice," but the taxes will be so crippling that it will "necessarily bankrupt" us. As history has shown us over and over, everybody's a loser in a tyrannical state. The Cubans aren't driving 50 year old cars and dying of malnutrition because they like it that way.

Comments

I have decided to moderate my comments before they are posted to my site. I cannot tolerate disturbing and hate-filled comments posted by people that have nothing better to do than check my site several times daily in order to bash my beliefs and convictions based on nothing other than their disagreement with the topic.

If you disagree with me, by all means, please comment, and I will approve your comments (and maybe even rebut them!), so long as they are sincere and mature. I will not allow a few nuts leaving "hate comments" to destroy any constructive dialogue with my readers about issues Americans are obviously passionate about.

What's With All the Women Bashing?

First, Playboy published an online article that pointed out ten beautiful, conservative women, and then the author described how he would like to "hate-f*ck" them. Playboy pulled the article after some public outrage that they were promoting rape. Playboy's statement said something along the lines of, "We have supported women's rights for the more than 55 years we've been in business, but only if they're naked and need an abortion." Ok, maybe I added that last part.

Liberal reporter Bonnie Erbe was asked by Smart Girl Politics Mama Lion Teri Christoph to come to women's defense on this issue, because regardless of political conviction, we need to come together and stand up for our gender. Bonnie's response? Well, she thought it was distasteful, but one woman in particular, Michelle Malkin, invited and deserved the attack. Seriously? No one deserves to have others fantasize about raping them.

Then, a few nights ago, Letterman made horrendously distasteful comments about Sarah and Willow Palin's trip to New York. He said that Governor Palin looked like a "slutty flight attendant," and then he took a shot at Palin's daughter, saying, "during the seventh inning, her daughter was knocked up by Alex Rodriguez." Willow is fourteen years old, by the way.

The Palins of course shot back, saying the comments were inappropriate and despicable. Letterman responded by saying that he had meant to refer to Palin's elder daughter Bristol, who is 18 and a new mom. Oh yeah, that makes it better. Excuse me while I roll my eyes.

And yesterday, Carrie Prejean was striped of her Miss California title yesterday, with the Miss Universe organization citing her inability to fulfill contract obligations as the reason for the firing. Prejean maintains that she did indeed fulfilled her obligations, was respectful to all parties involved (including sad, angry little semi-man Perez Hilton), and was shocked to learn of the firing. She even said the meanest thing I've ever heard her say, "They don't like me. From day one they wanted me out and they got what they wanted."

Stories like these make my blood boil. They demean women, and they need to stop. I do not want my two daughters growing up in a world where hate-f*ck lists and tasteless "jokes" about 14 year olds getting knocked up by grown men are culturally acceptable.

Cap and Trade Will Prohibit Innovation in Energy

The 648 page American Clean Energy Security Act of 2009 is currently being considered by Congress as a way to usher in a new era of clean green energy, and a plethora of jobs along with it. This is the Cap & Trade program (scam) that Obama spoke of over a year ago that would "bankrupt the coal industry," and "necessarily cause energy prices to skyrocket."

I'm confused. Seriously, head-scratching, slack-jawed, eyes-darting-through-space-as-if-trying-to-pull-comprehension-from-thin-air confused. How exactly is a government run program that will bankrupt the coal industry (why aren't they entitled to a bailout, by the way?) and cause energy prices to skyrocket going to be good for our economy? Talk about a bad time for Joe Sixpack. First, he gets fired from his job at the coal plant because his boss couldn't afford to pay him anymore, due to the new fees he must pay for the privilege of producing carbon emissions. Then, a few weeks later, Joe's electricity is shut off because, being unemployed and all, he can't afford to pay his electric bill that has doubled or even tripled in cost. His old boss had to make up the cost of the new government fees by laying off portions of the work force, and by raising his prices to the consumer.

Where does that money go anyway? It will subsidize the green energy market, which will then ensure that green energy never becomes successful. Why feed and care for a cow when your neighbor is forced by the government to bring around a fresh pail of milk every morning?

Do you know what's going to create green energy? People actually wanting it. Mother Necessity and all that. Here's a little reminder for you that will having you humming along all day:



If people really wanted green energy, they would pay for it, even if it cost more. If enough people stopped purchasing *dirty* energy, it would no longer become profitable to produce it. It would then become necessary for the coal plants and oil refineries to step out of the way of the newer, cleaner form of energy production.

Now some people might say that new methods of producing cleaner energy need a *gentle nudge* from the government through the American Clean Energy Security Act of 2009. They may say, "It's not fair that it costs more to produce green energy, and it's not fair that consumers have to pay for the extra cost. Therefore, the government must step in and regulate energy production, for our own good."

Phooey. I don't think the energy industry needs any help from government. People will buy green energy when they want it, and if it's a better product than our current energy produced mainly from coal and oil, our country will slowly begin to make the transition to the newer forms of energy production. And guess what? As the new energy gained popularity, the price would begin to decline, making it affordable to the middle class.

Before 1908, automobiles were playthings of the rich, costing upwards of $3,000 (average income was less than $500 per year). Thanks to the innovation and determination of one man, Henry Ford, the automobile ownership finally became achievable for the middle class in 1909, with the Model T, costing $850. By the 1920s, the price had fallen to $300. The government didn't step in and force production of automobiles. Cars were a better mode of transportation than a horse and buggy. The market demanded an affordable car. People like Henry Ford produced it. When the market demands clean energy, I promise you in the American spirit of ingenuity, an entrepreneur like Henry Ford will deliver us clean energy at an affordable price.

Until then, I'm begging our representatives, senators, and President Obama to please get down off their elitist high horses and stop making decisions "in the best interest of the people." I'm not sure how much more of your help we can take.

The Judicial Branch

Today, the California Supreme Court met to discuss whether or not they would uphold the decision made by the electorate last November to constitutionally define marriage as between one man and one woman. Thankfully, the court decided to stick to the rules and not legislate from the bench.

There's a reason that the court system is called the judicial branch, and not the legislative branch. Justices that sit on the California bench are appointed by the sitting Governor, not elected by the people as a representative. In California, voters are given the opportunity once every twelve years to vote if a particular justice should be retained, but if that justice is booted, the current Governor is the one that gets to make the nomination for the replacement.

Needless to say, justices do not necessarily represent the will of the people they preside over. That's why we have representatives. Representatives run for office. They tell us why they think they'd represent us well. If they do a lousy job, we vote for the other guy the next time around (two years for the State Assembly, four years for the State Senate).

The legislative branch is the one that represents the people and has the authority to propose amendments to the California Constitution. The Governor (also an elected official, I'd like to point out) also has the power to propose amendments, as well as individual citizens that may propose new legislation by popular petition.

The judicial branch is there to make sure that the laws, as stated in the constitution, are upheld. That's it. They don't get to make up their own laws. They don't get to wake up one morning and decide to overturn a constitutional amendment that went through the proper legal channels and has become law. That's not their job.

So the idea that the California Supreme Court even had a vote on whether or not to overturn the will of the people on the issue of homosexual marriage is ludicrous. Geez, this is stuff I learned in my junior high government class! California sure is nutty sometimes.

At least our President (a Harvard Law School graduate) knows that the role of the judicial branch in policy is to uphold it, not to create or alter it. Or does he?

I will seek someone who understands that justice isn't about some abstract
legal theory or footnote in a casebook; it is also about how our laws affect
the daily realities of people's lives, whether they can make a living and
care for their families, whether they feel safe in their homes and welcome
in their own nation...I view that quality of empathy, of understanding and
identifying with people's hopes and struggles, as an essential ingredient
for arriving at just decisions and outcomes. -President Obama, May 2009, on what he will look for in potential US Supreme Court Justice

I want a Justice that follows the rules. Hasn't anyone in the government read The Lord of the Flies? Don't they know what happens when the supposed leaders start making their own rules? I don't want to ruin it for you, but I can ensure you that chaos ensues.

Let's just hope that Sonia Sotomayor (Obama's pick to replace the retiring Justice Souter on the US Supreme Court) understands her job description, and rules with a firm and fair hand, giving no biased rulings based on things like gender or race.

Somehow, I doubt it. Take a look at what she said in 2005:




And as far as impartiality is concerned? Here's what she had to say about that:

I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences
would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn’t
lived that life. -Sotomayor, 2001

Like Ralph on the final pages of The Lord of the Flies I weep for, "The end of innocence, the darkness of man's heart, and the fall through the air of a true, wise friend." Ralph's friend was the bespectacled Piggy, who was chased off a cliff by bloodthirsty young boys in pursuit of his fire-starting glasses. My friend's name is Justice, and once our country has empathetic judges that legislate from the bench on the basis of race and gender, she too will be chased off a cliff and flung to her doom.

Dear California Voters,

I was planning on having an elaborate post for you all on why I plan to vote against all the propositions in the special election tomorrow. However, a teething baby has ruined my plans. Because my responsibility to be a good mother comes above my responsibility to be a good blogger, the post is not to be.

For the record, this conservative chica is voting a big fat NO on all the props tomorrow.

We don't need more of our tax dollars to be poured into the infrastructure, we just need it to be better spent.

Please, can we let the sea lions go before we let the firemen go?

The money is there already, it just needs to be better budgeted.

Please vote NO tomorrow and force the CA legislature to reallocate bureaucracy bucks into bucks that will actually do some good for our bankrupt state.

Nancy Pelosi- Liar or Lunatic?

Maybe all that Botox has seeped into her brain. It would certainly explain the selective memory she seems to be suffering from.

In case you haven't been keeping up with the news in the past few weeks, the issue of torture has become a hot button topic. It turns out that evil US soldiers were *gasp* pouring water over terrorists' head in Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp in order to gain information about our enemies.

A few weeks ago, Speaker of the House Pelosi (aka The Wicked Witch of Washington), very firmly assured anyone that would listen that as of 2002, she had absolutely no idea that this enhanced interrogation method (or any other) was being used on terrorists detained at Gitmo.



That is until the CIA released documents clearly stating that she had, in fact, been briefed on the situation. So what did the Speaker have to say about that? She backpedaled and said that she had not been briefed on the interrogation tactics until 2003.

Rep. Jane Harmon (D-CA) was also briefed in 2003. Harmon didn't think it was right to throw water on America-hating terrorists heads, so she drafted a letter to the CIA’s general counsel to express “profound” concerns with waterboarding. (Side note- I also have profound concerns with waterboarding, particularly that it probably isn't as effective as pulling out fingernails or being repeatedly hit with a stun gun. These people hate America and want to see us all dead; why the heck wouldn't we do our best to get information from them about possible-and preventable-future attacks?)

According to the Pelosi confidant, the newly elected minority leader was told about the briefing, and that Harman was drafting a protest letter. Pelosi told Sheehy (a Pelosi aide) to tell Harman that she agreed with the letter, the Pelosi insider said. But she did not ask to be listed as a signatory on the letter, the source said, and there is no reference to her in it (This somehow reminds me of junior high, when I told Jessica to tell Ben to tell Matt that I thought it he was cute).

Since this information has come to light, the crazy Pelosi camp has stated that she didn't protest directly out of respect for "appropriate" legislative channels.


I don't know about you, but if I come face to face with something atrociously misaligned with my morals, I say something. I write letters. I blog about it. I make my voice heard, and let people know that something is happening that I do not agree with. I don't glibly spout off whatever the political ideal of the moment is. Following 9/11, people were scared, and wanted to be kept safe, even if the cost was getting a few POW's a little bit wet. After more than seven years of safety, Americans are forgetting what it's like to be afraid, and pandering Pelosi has no problem saying what she thinks people want to hear in order to get re-elected.

Nancy Pelosi is either A) A liar-how many times has she had to eat her words at this point? or B) A lunatic-and a raving one at that. My guess? A little from both column A and B.

What a Week! (And it's only Tuesday)

Swine Flu

To think that just a short week ago, the vast majority of us were blissfully unaware of the H1N1 strain of the flu, which is a blend of genetic material from pigs, birds and humans. Wow, that must have been some party!

Several cases of the illness (but no deaths) have been reported in the United States, with most of the sickies having recently returned from trips to Mexico, where the virus is suspected to have claimed 159 lives thus far.

Maybe we should, um, close the borders to prevent unnecessary exposure of the swine flu to Americans. I wonder what inept Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano would say to that plan of action? She doesn't like it much. In a press conference, she stated "We're already doing passive surveillance at the border. You would close the border if you thought you could contain the spread of disease, but the disease already is in a number of states within the United States."

Wow, what would make her call for the Mexican border to be closed? A horrific drug war that's killed dozens of American Citizens caught in the crossfire in the past few months? Oh wait... Speaking of Napolitano, here's a fun site to check out- firejanetnapolitano.com



Air Farce One

Thousands of people evacuated from buildings on both sides of the Hudson yesterday after a 747 was spotted flying just 1000 feet over Ground Zero. You can imagine the terror felt by those in New York as they remembered the 9/11 terrorist attacks in Manhattan and DC less than a decade ago.

Turns out that the plane was one of the two that serve as Air Force One, the President's personal aircraft. What was it doing flying so low to the NYC skyline? Come on, do you really need to ask? Photo op.

The Air Force apparently had permission for the 10a.m. flyover, but no one bothered to warn the masses. Whoops.


Arlen Specter
Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter officially switched teams today. He now bats for Team Democrat. This came as no surprise to many, as the stimulus supporting moderate has made no secret of his liberal leanings. A few of my favorite comments on Twitter-

@Crevek: Would I be mixing metaphors if I said it is a glorious day that Arlen Specter has finally come out of the closet?

@snarkandboobs: Upset about Specter. I mean, where else are we gonna find a completely unreliable vote and someone to quote irrelevant Scottish law?

@TLOT: NEWSFLASH: Specter leaves GOP, joins DNC, everyone says "He was in the GOP?"


Lingerie Bowl

And to top it off in sports news, San Diego is now the proud home of the San Diego Seduction, a Lingerie Bowl Team. I have not yet been officially asked to join the team.

Miss California

During the Miss America Pageant last Sunday, Miss California Carrie Prejean may have sacrificed the crown in exchange for her honesty on a hot button topic- homosexual marriage.

Prejean was asked by celebrity blogger Perez Hilton (who is incidentally is openly gay), "Vermont recently became the fourth state to legalize same-sex marriage. Do you think every state should follow suit. Why or why not?"

The drop dead gorgeous and obviously courageous Prejean might have briefly wavered, but stuck to her convictions and replied, "Well, I think it’s great that Americans are able to choose one or the other. We live in a land where you can choose same-sex marriage or opposite marriage...And you know what, in my country, in my family, I think that I believe that a marriage should be between a man and a woman. No offense to anybody out there, but that’s how I was raised and that’s how I think it should be - between a man and a woman. Thank you very much."

Perez has since called her a "dumb bitch" on his infamous website. Hmmm... what happened to, "Dissent is patriotic," which was the war cry of the left for the eight year duration of the Bush Presidency? On that note, Carrie is not even technically dissenting, since she stands with the majority of Californians that voted yes on Prop 8 last fall.

I have to wonder what would have happened if she had worded her response differently, perhaps saying, "I agree with President Obama on this issue. I believe that marriage is the union between a man and a woman. Now, for me as a Christian — for me — for me as a Christian, it is also a sacred union. God’s in the mix... Because historically — because historically, we have not defined marriage in our constitution. It’s been a matter of state law. That has been our tradition. I mean, let’s break it down. The reason that people think there needs to be a constitutional amendment, some people believe, is because of the concern that — about same-sex marriage. I am not somebody who promotes same-sex marriage, but I do believe in civil unions. I do believe that we should not — that for gay partners to want to visit each other in the hospital for the state to say, you know what, that’s all right, I don’t think in any way inhibits my core beliefs about what marriage are. I think my faith is strong enough...that I can afford those civil rights to others, even if I have a different perspective or different view."

Guess what? That italicized text came directly from the Chosen One's silver tongue last summer during the Saddleback Presidential Forum.

Just some food for thought.

Smart Girl Politics Meet and Greets

If you're near one of these areas, stop by and say hello!


San Diego
The Vine
1851 Bacon St
(between Newport Ave & Niagara Ave)
San Diego, CA 92107
(619) 222-8463
theobvine.com
4 pm local time

Northern VA
Continental
1911 N. Fort Meyer Dr.
Arlington, VA 22209
6:00-? pm

Houston:
Berryhill Baja Grill
1717 Post Oak Blvd.
Houston, TX 77056
6:00-? pm

New York:
Sheraton Mahwah Hotel
1 International Boulevard
Route 17 North
Mahwah, NJ 07495
6:00-? pm

Orlando:
The White Wolf Cafe
1829 N. Orange Avenue
Orlando, FL 32804
6:00-? pm

Raleigh:
Mimi's Cafe
1115 Walnut Street
Cary, NC 27511
6:00-? pm

Atlanta:
La Paz
2950 New Paces Ferry Rd. SE
Atlanta, GA 30339
6:00-? pm

Lansing:
Tavern on the Square
206 S Washington Square
Lansing, MI 48933
6:00-? pm

Miami/Ft. Lauderdale:
The Blue Martini Lounge
2432 E. Sunrise Blvd.
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33304
6:00-? pm

Chicago:
Exchequer Restaurant and Pub
226 S. Wabash
Chicago, IL 60604
2:00-? pm

Keep it Classy, MSM!

The main stream media has almost collapsed into a fit of giggles this week over the Tea Parties held around the country and, at last count, attended by hundreds of thousands of Americans.

Why is a massive, peaceful demonstration by freedom loving Americans cause for such hysterics?

For CNN, MSNBC and other media outlets, it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to use the word "teabagging" in a sentence.

Teabagging, for those who don't live in a frat house, refers to a sexual act involving part of the male genitalia and a second person's face or mouth.

Wow. Very mature. Almost as mature as someone that uses the argument, "I won," when people don't agree with him, or smirks while he slyly flips off his opposition as he's accepting victory.

Meanwhile, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano is standing by the reports released by the DHS last week warning law enforcement across the country of violent right wing extremists and our penchant for violence.

And sure enough... the DC Tea Party was shut down temporarily due to those violent right wing extremists. Someone had the gall, no, the audacity, to *gasp* throw a box of tea bags at the White House! Granted, in today's world, that wasn't a very smart move. But if that was the most violent thing that happened at the hundreds of protests on Wednesday, I don't think that the DHS has a leg to stand on.

The People are Speaking...

... Are our elected officials listening?




By the way, that first chick making her voice heard is yours truly. :-)

Right Wing Extremeist Tea Parties

I have to start this post with a conversation I had with a friend earlier this evening.

Friend- "So what are your plans tomorrow?"

Me- "It's the 15th tomorrow... I have a tea party to go to!"

Friend- "What are you going to do with your kids while you're there?"

Me- "Well, they'll probably be there with me..."

Friend- "What?? I worry enough with you going to these things! Do you really think they're safe there?"

Me- *laughing* "I've been to two of these things already and seriously, it seems like half the women there have their small children with them! It's been a really great time to connect with other like-minded individuals."

Friend- "If you're sure... I trust you."


These tea parties have been wonderful. They really have been. I know they are protests, but really, they are just American citizens coming together to make a point that there are MANY of us that do not agree that the way to end the current recession is spend more money and invite more government oppression into our lives.

I have met so many caring, passionate people at the two tea parties I've attended in the past month, and I hope to meet many more tomorrow on Tax Day, April 15th. There has been no violence, no secret HuffPo or ACORN plants (that I know of), and nothing but love and pride for the freedom that our country stands for. I would be proud to have my daughters stand by my side and voice the opinion that We the People want the opportunity to work hard and achieve something of our lives.

Even my five year old daughter understands that it is wrong to take something from someone that has earned it and give it to someone that has not. "But why don't those people work hard like you and Daddy?" She has asked me on more than one occasion.

My answer? "Sometimes people can't work Baby, and when people have hard times, other people should help them. Like we give money and clothes and toys to people that don't have a lot."

Her response?

"But Mommy, if they can work, they really should."


Yes Darling Daughter, they should. Have I taught you yet the term "enabling"?


Anyway, back to my point. The Tea Parties have been the most wonderful expression of our Constitutional rights that I have ever personally witnessed. And then I read a report from the Department of Homeland Security warning law enforcement officials across the country of right wing extremism and even racism.

Ok, let me get this straight. The President of the United States of America can pal around with "God DAMN America" pastors and "We didn't do enough" domestic flag burning terrorists, but the tea party protesters are the dangerous ones? People that just want the freedom to choose their own job, doctor, and schools for their children? Oh man, watch out for those right wing nuts! All they want is FREEDOM from an oppressive government.

We can't have that, now can we?

Random Mish Mash of Thoughts

I've been MIA while working on a charity event for my daughter's school, so I thought I'd post some thoughts that have gone through my brain since my last post.

I was already less than thrilled with Obama's Leno appearance. I was aghast when he poked fun at the Special Olympics. "It's like — it was like Special Olympics, or something," he said in reference to his bowling game.

The man doesn't seem to have a filter. Every time he's separated from his beloved teleprompter, he blurts out something completely inappropriate and unbecoming of his position. He was barely in office when he blurted, "I didn't want to get into a Nancy Reagan thing about doing any seances."

He has to be the world's worst gift giver. British PM Gordon Brown gifted the new President with an ornamental pen holder made from the timbers of the Victorian anti-slave ship HMS Gannet and a first edition of the seven-volume biography of Churchill by Sir Martin Gilbert, among other things. In return, Obama allegedly gave Brown a "special collector's box" of 25 classic American DVDs. DVDs which are unplayable in the UK without special converters.

Do we even need to talk about the Ipod/Queen fiasco?

Speaking of the Queen... I cannot believe that Michelle O. touched her. I understand that many people may not be aware of proper protocol regarding royalty, but as First Lady, you think she'd have brushed up on her What To Do When You Meet the Queen Skills.

Meanwhile, while Michelle wasn't showing enough respect to her Majesty, the POTUS was busy bowing at the waist to the king of Saudi Arabia. Are you kidding me? When I heard this, I honestly thought it was a joke, or a conspiracy theory. But I've seen the video. It's a clear bow. Anyone that says otherwise would probably try to argue that guns kill people, or spoons make people fat.

No wonder no one is investing in anything these days! We have a President that is so impetuous that he runs around showing himself subservient to leaders of conflict ridden countries, thinks it's entirely appropriate to give unplayable DVDs to PM Gordon Brown, goes around firing CEO's of private companies(GM), taxing the bonuses of those that had nothing to do with this financial mess other than have the misfortune of working for a company that received bailout money (AIG), and is refusing to accept repayment from the companies that want to give the money back!

It all seems like a bad dream. This administration has gone so far off the edge of sanity that people are finally starting to wake up. Little by little, the glitter is wearing off, and all that's left is a swarmy deceiver with no real experience, no conscience, no patriotism, and no desire to help anyone but himself.

Let's start taking our country and our freedoms back. I want freedom to fail. If I have freedom to fail, it also means that I have freedom to succeed.

Attend a Tax Day Tea Party rally this Saturday, and a Tea Party Protest next Wednesday, April 15th. For more information about finding one in your area, visit here.

Obama Makes History Yet Again

Although he's only been President for two months, Obama has already shattered many records set by previous leaders of the free world. Even in his first day in office, he managed to win the unofficial "Most Money Ever Spent on an Inauguration." Heck, his election itself made history, as he is the first black man to win the position.

He's had more criminals appointed to his cabinet than any other president in the history of our great country. One of them, Tim Geitner, actually had the balls to not step down, as Richardson and Daschle did. Attorney General Eric Holder openly calls US citizens cowards and implies that we're all racists. Judd Gregg withdrew his nomination for commerce secretary not because he himself is a nasty dude, but because he just couldn't stomach the Obama Administrations plans for America.

He's spent more of our money in two months than George W. Bush spent in eight years.

I suppose this new record breaker seems like small beans in comparison to everything President Obama has accomplished since January, but it is definitely worth nothing. Tonight, he will become the first sitting president in history to appear on a talk show.

Wow, what a cool guy! Too bad coolness does not end recessions, create jobs, keep citizens safe, nor divert disasters such as ice storms, Mexican drug lord slayings, and shooting sprees in Alabama.

Coolness does not equal greatness. Celebrities should not become presidents. Can we please try to remember that in 2012?

AIG Bailout Mess

So many people are up in arms about the 165 million dollar bonuses promised to AIG execs. In the MSM, I've heard such comments as, "It's not fair!" and, "Why should we reward failure?"

Why indeed?

Maybe politicians should have actually read the policies and contracts in place when they decided to hand over $170,000,000,000 in tax payer funds. That's money out of our paychecks. Even if you're part of the 40% or so of working Americans that don't pay income taxes, it's money out of your boss's paycheck, and guess what? That's less money he has to pay you. Don't be bitter if you don't get that raise this year, just be thankful that you still have a job.

Now that the deed is done, pay the AIG people the money that was promised them. Let it be a lesson. Next time, please read the fine print. And the lesson for you, John and Jane America? In 2010, let's vote some people into office that actual care about us "little people" just trying to make a living, ok?

California, Say Hello to the Delta Smelt!

Why should you say hello to this ugly, slimy little sea kitten? Because he is the reason your water bill is going through the roof and may be the cause of water rationing soon, as Governor Schwarzenegger declared California in a state of drought emergency.

All reports in the mainstream media are claiming that after three years of practically record low rainfall, of course there isn't enough water for all of us to use and enjoy to our hearts' content. It is true that we haven't seen as much rain as usual in the Golden State these past few years, but anyone that knows anything about geography knows that much of California is a desert climate, and historically has seen cyclical shortages of rainfall.

So why are we now in a state of drought emergency? In addition to a few years of less rainfall than average, there are California court-ordered restrictions on pumping from the *environmentally sensitive* Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, home of the smelt! We wouldn't want those ugly little buggers to go extinct, after all.

Save the Smelt!

Save the Smelt at the expense of all the repercussions that will come from cutting California residents off from one of their main water supplies. Not only will you be paying more for that precious H2O commodity, but you'll be paying more for unemployment of others, as farmers are forced to abandon their crops and fire their workers. No water=no plant growth. Also, get ready to pay exorbitant amounts of money for those groceries that do make it to your local supermarket. They were grown with expensive California water, or they were transported in from afar; either scenario will jack up the price.

Say Hello to the Smelt?

I say GOODBYE Smelt!

San Diego Tea Party

San Diego took part in a nationwide Tea Party Protest today in protest to the Obama Administration's bailout plan.

It was a great turnout, and amazing to see so many opposed to the redistribution of hard earned wealth to slackers working part time at McDonald's.

Speaker Michael Crimmins

Speaker Leslie Eastman

We even had a sailboat in attendance! The sign says, "Repeal or Retire."

Some of the crowd

Protesters lined the streets

Keep it up conservatives! Keep it real, keep it honest, but keep it LOUD!

Importance of Education & How You Can Help

No doubt about it. Our current educational system has cultivated a generation of self-important and politically correct young adults that can barely read, write, or add, but gosh darnit, don't they feel good about themselves? Oh wait, according to some in the new administration, (*cough* Eric Holder *cough*), only black students should feel good about themselves; white students are cowards because they don't talk enough about how cool it is to be black. (Can you see me rolling my eyes from where you're sitting?)

Our children are being dumbed down in government run schools. Study after study after study show that American students are falling further and further behind their foreign counterparts. Teachers are limited on how much work they may assign their students, social awareness trumps personal responsibility, school nurses can't hand out aspirin but can direct pregnant teens to an abortion clinic, and students incapable of constructing grammatically correct sentences or adding two three-digit numbers together without a calculator keep on donning those caps and gowns to receive their diplomas.

What's our new prez going to do to improve our educational system? With $100 billion set aside in the latest "stimulus" package for education, you'd think the government could improve education drastically. Unfortunately, as history has shown, throwing money at a problem rarely makes that problem go away. It's sort of like using a pail to dump water out of a leaky rowboat... sure, you can keep the boat from sinking (for awhile) but if you don't plug the leaks, it will keep filling back up and your arms will get very, very tired.

I'm not sure Obama really wants educated, critically thinking adults in his audience anyway. Afterall, it was the idiotic youth vote that got him elected (although not this 26 year old youth, you all know I voted for Sarah Palin ;-)). Imagine if all of those young people had stopped to think about the ramifications of electing a power hungry socialist that attended a black supremist church for 20 years, kicked off his political career in a domestic terrorist's living room, had a wife that was ashamed to be an American until her husband was nominated for the Presidential ticket, and wants to sit down for milk and cookies with Ahmenajad (you know, that Iranian leader with nukes and a desire to obliterate the US from the map). A well educated audience might have questioned his double speak, even to the point of telling two different cities that he was rooting for their team to win the world series! Seriously, is that important enough to lie about?

Besides, Arne Duncan, the former Chicago schools chief, is now heading up the Department of Education. And we all know how great the schools in Chicago are (again with the eye rolling! I just can't seem to help myself).

So what's a parent to do in these dire educational circumstances? Sit back and relax while the government tells you what's best for your child? Not this parent, that's for sure! As our eldest daughter neared schooling age, my husband and I took stock of our options. We could put her in a government run school, and supplement at home. We could put her name in the lottery for a coveted spot at a nearby covertly Christian charter school. I could homeschool her, but that would've involved too many prescription drugs (no, not Ritalin for her, Lorazepam for me). We could look into private school. Months of research, phone calls, school visits, and prayer later, we fell in love with The Cambridge School.

The philosophy-

The Cambridge School employs a classical, Christian approach to learning, which is a time-honored approach to learning used throughout the Western world by the 16th century, and which remained the norm until at least 1850.The method is known as the Trivium, which imparts the basic tools of learning to the student and introduces them to the life of the mind. The Trivium is applied to every academic discipline, meaning every subject has its grammar, logic, and rhetoric.Becoming educated in any subject involves knowing its basic facts and principles (grammar), ordering and analyzing relationships concerning those facts (logic), and communicating conclusions in a clear, persuasive, and winsome manner (rhetoric). This three-phase model works because it focuses on the way children learn best at each stage of life and builds on the foundation of previous stages. Thus, it prepares students to become life-long learners who can think for themselves. And in today's culture, such skills are increasingly valuable precisely because this educational model is the exception rather than the rule.

Now everyone knows the major downside to private education: the cost. It eats a substantial chunk of our monthly income, but it is a sacrifice that we are willing to make. Although the Obamas practice school choice (their elementary age daughters attend the prestigious Sidwell Friends to the tuition tune of $28,442 per year, per girl), it's a case of, "What's good enough for thee isn't good enough for me." Obama does not support the use of vouchers, which would allow parents of school aged children to take a portion of the money that the state has allocated for their education and spend it at the school of their choice.

I know we are blessed to not need tuition assistance at this point in time. We don't take fancy vacations, we don't go out on fancy dates, I clean the house, cook the meals, chauffeur the kids, and shop frugally. Heck, right now I'm writing this piece on a three year old laptop with a screen that blinks out if I don't keep a clothespin on the upper left hand corner. Life would be much easier financially if we didn't pay for our daughter to attend private school, but we get by just fine.

There are many that cut every corner, but still can't afford to participate in school choice. These are families with hard working parents and eager to learn kids, who just want to be given the opportunity to attend the school of their choice, The Cambridge School. For those students, the school offers some tuition assistance... which of course is paid for by...wait for it...fundraising! You knew I had to be selling something, right? Wrapping paper? Cookie dough? A snugi, perhaps?

How about a chance to win a dream car for only $25? Did I get your attention? (in my best cheesy Billy Mays impression) For the low, low price of $25, you will receive by mail or in person 1 raffle ticket as confirmation of your entry, with its partner being entered into the drawing to take place on April 4, 2009 at the Cambridge Auction and Gala. The grand prize winner will receive his or her choice of one of 4 dream cars or $25,000 cash.

But wait! There's more! Spend $100 on a bundle of tickets, and receive not 4 chances to win, but 5! That's right, Folks, for just $100 dollars, you will receive 5 raffles tickets! With sales being capped at 3,000 entries, your chances to win the grand prize or one of the smaller cash prizes are higher than the chance you're wearing a snugi right now. And be honest, that warm fuzzy feeling that you get from doing something good (like donating to a stellar cause) is all you really need to be a winner! Ok, warm heated seats in a brand new luxury car might trump a warm fuzzy heart on a cold winter morning...

No need to be present to win. Void where prohibited by law.

Download your forms here, enter "Hannah E." as the Cambridge Referral Name, and mail or fax it in to the school.

All proceeds directly fund the Tuition Assistance and Language Arts programs(Mandarin, Latin, and Spanish) which help ensure a diverse and vibrant student community and well-rounded academic programs.

The Inconvenient Truth About the Pork-Free Stimulus Bill

I know that there are a lot of folks out there who've been saying, 'Oh, this is pork, and this is money that's going to be wasted,' and et cetera, et cetera. Understand, this bill does not have a single earmark in it, which is unprecedented for a bill of this size. ... There aren't individual pork projects that members of Congress are putting into this bill. -President Obama, February 10, 2009.

Really, Mr. President? No pork in the stimulus? Well then, how do you define some of the ludicrous expenses tucked in this behemoth of a bill?

Some left-wing pet projects included in spending frenzy
-$50 million for the National Endowment for the Arts
-$380 million in the Senate bill for the Women, Infants and Children program
-$300 million for grants to combat violence against women
-$2 billion for federal child-care block grants
-$6 billion for university building projects
-$15 billion for boosting Pell Grant college scholarships
-$4 billion for job-training programs, including $1.2 billion for “youths” up to the age of 24
-$1 billion for community-development block grants
-$4.2 billion for “neighborhood stabilization activities”
-$650 million for digital-TV coupons; $90 million to educate “vulnerable populations”

Laudable goals? Maybe. Goals that should, in this citizen's opinion, be achieved through charity and not government, but either way you look at it, none of these items will do much to stimulate the economy. By the way, ACORN will be eligible to apply for and receive a good portion of this money. If there ever really is any transparency, as the Prez has promised, I'm sure we will see millions, if not billions go to voter fraud. I have a feeling that that transparency is going to be rather opaque.


Some items that will benefit Washington D.C. infrastructure
-$150 million for the Smithsonian
-$34 million to renovate the Department of Commerce headquarters
-$500 million for improvement projects for National Institutes of Health facilities
-$44 million for repairs to Department of Agriculture headquarters
-$350 million for Agriculture Department computers
-$88 million to help move the Public Health Service into a new building
-$448 million for constructing a new Homeland Security Department headquarters
-$600 million to convert the federal auto fleet to hybrids
-$450 million for NASA (carve-out for “climate-research missions”)
-$600 million for NOAA (carve-out for “climate modeling”)
-$1 billion for the Census Bureau

Is our capital falling down? This list sure makes it seems so! New buildings for everyone! Ooh, and new cars too! Let's get those cute trendy little Priuses! And, after you drive your new car to your new work building, go ahead and sit down at your new computer!

Seriously? How is bankrupting my children so that government employees can have nice things going to stimulate our economy?


Here are few other wealth redistribution goodies
-$89 billion for Medicaid
-$30 billion for COBRA insurance extension
-$36 billion for expanded unemployment benefits
-$20 billion for food stamps

Now I'm really stumped. Anyone want to explain to me how providing extra free stuff (health care, food, and just plain cash) for the unemployed is going to encourage them to get a job?


Even more random spending
-$4.5 billion for U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
-$850 million for Amtrak
-$87 million for a polar icebreaking ship
-$1.7 billion for the National Park System
-$55 million for Historic Preservation Fund
-$7.6 billion for “rural community advancement programs”
-$150 million for agricultural-commodity purchases
-$150 million for “producers of livestock, honeybees, and farm-raised fish”

Amtrak is getting a cut of this? Do you know when the last time Amtrak produced a profit was? Decades ago! I wish I could suck at my job and still get paid! Must be nice. Hmmm, maybe the $850,000,000 for money-pit Amtrak was thrown in because Joe Biden's son Hunter sits on the board? Say it together boys and girls- nepotism!

And speaking of ridiculous expenditures, why exactly are we spending money on a polar icebreaking ship? Haven't the dems been saying for years that the ice caps are melting?

Speaking of ice, the above bullet points are just the tip of the iceberg on this $838 billion dollar package meant to stimulate our economy by proving jobs to out of work Americans.


I believe Shakespeare said it best through Juliet;

'Tis but thy name that is my enemy;
Thou art thyself, though not a Montague.
What's Montague? it is nor hand, nor foot,
Nor arm, nor face, nor any other part
Belonging to a man. O, be some other name!
What's in a name? that which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet;
So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call'd,
Retain that dear perfection which he owes
Without that title. Romeo, doff thy name,
And for that name which is no part of thee
Take all myself."

Only this stimulus is not even close to Romeo of dear perfection. It is pork. Let's call it like it is, okey dokey? After all, President Obama, you were the one that called for a new era of responsibility and transparency.

Hot Topic

Did you hear about the baby botched abortion of a 23 week old fetus? The autopsy revealed that the baby's lungs had filled with air, proof of a live birth. The umbilical cord was cut, and the live baby was tossed into a bio hazard waste receptacle. No, not in Mexico or China. No, not pre-Roe v Wade. This happened in Florida in 2006. Read about it here.

As a general rule, I tend to keep quiet on the abortion issue on here. But the revelation of this baby killed and tossed in a garbage can to die, coupled with President Obama lifting the ban on federal funding for international groups that promote or perform abortions as a method of family planning in other nations, have riled me enough to speak out on the topic.

Abortion has long been hailed by liberals as a legitimate form of family planning. Pro-choice, they call it, the choice of a woman to be pregnant or not. Well, I am absolutely, 100% pro-choice in this arena. Of course a woman can chose to not be pregnant! All she has to do to make this choice a reality is to not have sex. "But that's unrealistic!" the liberals tell me. I'm pretty sure that God gave us free will, reason, and (even if sometimes limited) intelligence to make the best decisions we can. If a woman so desperately doesn't want to become pregnant, to the point that she would pay someone to suck her unborn baby out of her womb with a vacuum, then I respectfully suggest she keep her legs shut, as abstinence is the only 100% effective form of birth control.

The botched abortion baby caused tears to roll down my cheeks, in sadness at that little life ended. Who knows who that little could have grown up to be? Who knows the impact that little girl might have had on the world? And then I became indignant. Why was it perfectly legal and acceptable to kill that helpless little girl only moments prior to when it become a crime scene? Why was that baby denied the right to life simply because she still lived in her mother's body? What magical thing happened the moment her skin hit the air for the first time? How did every cell in her being cease to be part of her mother's body and transform into a separate person? I'm afraid the science of that eludes me.

It's so tempting to be persuaded by the argument that it's just part of a woman's body, and we should all have control over own bodies, but that's not what abortion is about. Legalized abortion puts the power to end another being's life without just cause into the hands of every pregnant woman.

We are living in an era of bailouts. Is anybody responsible for the decisions they make anymore? Every time a decision is made, there are consequences to that decision. Eating too much ice cream will cause you to gain weight, making risky business decisions might cause you to go bankrupt, and having sex (even with protection) might cause a pregnancy. Today we have liposuction, government bailouts, and abortion, all which take away the decision maker's responsibility for living with the consequences of their decisions and actions. How can anyone be held accountable, or taught to learn from their mistakes when they are never forced to face any consequences?

I do not believe abortion falls under the umbrella of women's rights, and I certainly don't see any discrimination in taking away a woman's right to chose whether or not she wants to end the life of her progeny for no good reason. Abortion isn't about women's rights, even though it's touted as the pinnacle of it. Women's rights are suffrage, right to contraceptives, equal opportunity, equal pay, right to own property, right to an education, right to enter into legal contracts, or any other thing that a man has a right to. A man does not have the right to chose whether or not to end his unborn child's life, so why should a woman?"

Every time I hear of abortion, my heart cries out for the victims. For the babies that never got to take a breath of air, for the mothers that have been lied to about the development of their baby in utero or unduly pressured by others, for the fathers that were told it was none of their business, and for countless others that have been hurt and are still suffering from abortion. And it makes me absolutely ill that my tax dollars are now being used to fund abortions overseas.

Let's put an end to fetuscide, shall we?

Nancy Pelosi

Nancy claims that we lose 500 million American jobs each month we don’t pass her $1 trillion pork barrel spending boondoggle. That's pretty hard to do in a country with just over 300 million men, women, and children.

Update

Even though the Stimulus passed the House yesterday, we still have something to celebrate. Every House Republican voted NO to the stimulus, and we got 11 Democrats as well!

Way to grow some, GOP! Let's keep it up.

Melt the Phones

We still have time to call our Reps and let them know how we feel about the bogus stimulus package! Click Me

Even if you're sure your Representative opposes it, call anyway and show your support so that they may stand strong and not be swayed by the Chicken Littles insisting that they *reach across the aisle*. The sky is not falling, and this package is certainly not an umbrella.

Last Fall, Citigroup received $45 billion of the tax-payer funded bailout. Since being bailed out, Citigroup has laid off 75,000 workers, but they have managed to plunk down $50 million for a new FRENCH made luxury private jet. Your tax dollars at work, ladies and gentlemen. Keep it from happening again; this stimulus has no more oversight than the last one.


Call right now, it takes less than 3 minutes!

What's the best way to stimulate the economy? Infuse it with much-needed new cash by providing across-the-board tax cuts for ALL taxpayers, reducing the corporate tax rate of 35 percent, the second highest in the world, to 25 percent or less, and keeping or reducing the capital gains tax rate of 15 percent. After all who do you trust to spend your tax money…politicians and bureaucrats or you? -Libby Wright (http://swineline.org/2009/01/27/melt-the-phones/)

So Much For...

Transparency-

Mr Obama has pledged to end the culture wars on social issues that have riven American politics for a generation and did not allow television cameras to film him signing the executive order reversing the Bush abortion funding ban on aid agencies abroad, in order not to provoke pro-life groups.

Bipartisanship-

He faces mounting criticism over his $825 billion economic stimulus plan, from Republican leaders who say the legislation has been drawn up without the input which Mr Obama had promised to allow them.

The president responded with a clear signal that he is prepared to ram the bill through without the bipartisan consensus he promised to construct, telling Republican leaders from the House of Representatives: "I won. I'm the president."

National Security-

Republicans are also criticizing Mr Obama's decision to close the Guantanamo Bay detention camp with no plan for the detainees still incarcerated there and for forcing the CIA to follow stricter rules on interrogations. The revelation last week that 60 former inmates have returned to terrorism - and that one is now deputy leader of al Qaeda's Yemeni branch - was unfortunate timing for the President.

Ethics-

Having announced new ethics rules banning lobbyists serving in his administration, the president was immediately forced to make an exception for his deputy defense secretary William Lynn, who has lobbied for the defense industry giant Raytheon.

So, is he going to break all of his campaign promises? Or is he going to keep the ones that will cause irreparable harm to our way of life? I have a feeling it's going to be a rough four years.

Changing His Tune

Last June, then Senator Obama gave a moving speech as he accepted the bid for the Democratic Presidential Nominee. In that speech, he gave hope to millions by saying, "Because if we are willing to work for it, and fight for it, and believe in it, then I am absolutely certain that, generations from now, we will be able to look back and tell our children that this was the moment when we began to provide care for the sick and good jobs to the jobless...this was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal...this was the moment when we ended a war, and secured our nation, and restored our image as the last, best hope on Earth."

Throughout his campaign, Obama drew massive crowds of people hungering for change, moved Oprah to tears, and sent tingles down Chris Matthew's leg. He eloquently read the teleprompter, promising a better way of life for America. A life with free health care, low unemployment, clean green energy, an end to the war in Iraq, affordable housing and higher education, and lower taxes for 95% of Americans, just to name a few. No wonder so many people voted for him! I would've too, if I had taken him at his word and not questioned his success rate in his career so far, studied how he planned to implement those goals, or looked at history to see if such implementation had been successful in the past. The only thing Obama has been successful in is getting elected. He planned to improve American life by expanding government involvement and spending, and taxing the rich to pay the poor. FDR's New Deal, which was a tremendous expansion in government, has now been proven to have prolonged the Great Depression by as much as 10 years.

I don't blame those who fell for Obama's seductive promises. My great grandmother used to say alluring lies fall sweetly on the ears. Everyone wants to live in an ideal society. I consider myself a pragmatist in knowing that an ideal society is not possible on this Earth; that utopia is reserved for Heaven. During his two year campaign for President, Barack Obama promised that utopia could be here and now.

Today, Senator Obama is now President Obama, elected by American people like Peggy the Moocher, who famously declared, "I never thought this day would ever happen. I won’t have to worry about putting gas in my car. I won’t have to worry about paying my mortgage. You know. If I help [Obama], he’s gonna help me.”

Now is the time for Obama to make good on his promises, to keep his word to America, to restore our image as the "last, best hope on Earth." To bring our troops home, to end our dependence on foreign oil, to provide jobs with decent wages, free health care and respectable retirements to all Americans...and to get a puppy for his daughters.

Since his monumental election November 4th, Obama has, in almost every public appearance, felt the need to remind his adoring public of the difficult times we are facing as a nation, and of the long, hard journey that lies ahead of us. It is a very different tune from the one he sang when he was courting the public for their votes, when he was full of hopeful and beautiful rhetoric about the change he was going to bring about in the country.

In his inaugural speech this morning, Obama again reminded us that, "we are in the midst of crisis," and that "our economy is badly weakened." And then he broke his campaign promise of growing a government that would assume responsibility for the health and welfare of its citizens, and laid that responsibility upon the people. He stated, "For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies. It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility -- a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task."

Interesting. He almost sounds like a conservative with that attitude of encouraging citizens to help one another rather than relying on government assistance. I for one am happy that he seems to be breaking his pie-in-the-sky promises of a government that can do everything short of wiping tushies for Mr. and Mrs. America, but I wonder how his scores of admirers feel about his new song.

Well, at least one promise will be kept. The First Family is now accepting applications for First Dog. Ok, not really. But it would be funny if they were.

CA Tax Refunds to be Delayed...

My husband and I have never relied on tax refunds. I know many people that get so excited each year when they open that big refund check from the government. I have gotten blue in the face trying to explain to them that it is not a "check from the government", but rather the government paying them back the money that they themselves loaned Uncle Sam.

If you get a tax refund check, it means that you had too much money withheld from your paychecks throughout the previous year. That's money that you earned, the government borrowed, and then gave back to you, without the benefit of even the slightest bit of interest. Tell me, have you ever borrowed money from someone without having to pay it back with interest? Ok, maybe your parents...

California has been spending taxpayer money like it's controlled by zealous liberals (oh wait, it is!) for years, and now we can no longer borrow the money from special funds or Wall Street investors due to the current credit crunch. State Controller John Chiang has decided that the best way to make up some of the $41.6 billion deficit is to deny repayment of the interest-free loans that California citizens so generously, or unwittingly, provided.

It's a good thing that I wasn't looking forward to that repayment check! I urge everyone that got a large refund on their taxes last year to take a look at their withholding status, and make sure that they are getting paid the money that they earned and are owed with each paycheck.

Let Them Eat Cake

The Age of Obama draws nearer with The Chosen One's Inauguration less than a week away. On January 20th, 2008, the new Prez will kick off his reign in style, to the tune of $160,000,000 (according to recent estimates). This far exeeds the $42,300,000 spent by George W. Bush in 2005, and the $33,000,000 spent by Bill Clinton in 1993.

For someone so intent on robbing the rich to give to the poor (Increasing taxes on top earners to hand out welfare checks to those 40% of Americans that already get a governement break by not paying taxes), I'd have thought he'd want to tone down the frivolous spending a bit. I would much rather see the transfer of power take place with a handshake in the Oval Office.

As I was Saying...

The Intelligence & Terrorism Information Center has a report on Palestinian rockets and mortar shells fired into Israel for the past 8 years, including this chart showing the rapid increase in attacks since Hamas took power in Gaza. Just thought I'd share.