Santa and Jesus

When did Santa Claus and Jesus break up?  Do you know?

My kids and I were driving and listening to the local Christmas radio station.  The station plays Christmas carols ranging from Elvis to Taylor Swift.  They start playing them from the minute the turkey comes out of the oven on Thanksgiving right up until the big day.

We love it!

My daughter said, "Mom, I love these old Christmas carols!  They have Santa AND Jesus in them!"

Sure enough, she was right: "Santa knows we're all God's children, that makes everything right.  So, hang your stockings and say your prayers, 'cause Santa Claus comes tonight." Gene Autry, 1947

I don't remember ever having some tragic conflict about Santa and Jesus.  I always remember knowing that Santa gives gifts to celebrate Jesus' birth.  I have never seen a conflict there.

One of my friends has been lamenting on Facebook about telling her children about Santa and/or Jesus.  Sheesh, tell them about both and quit worrying about it.

We were watching "Miracle on 34th Street," my husband says it is his favorite.  (You think you know a guy).  It is about a little girl who doesn't believe in Santa Claus.  She is sad.  The entire movie is based around that - a child wants desperately to believe in something.  But, she has been taught not to believe.

It is the saddest thing you ever saw.  We are so focused on self in our society that we reject the notion of something bigger than ourselves, like God.  It has made us a very selfish and sad society.

Santa Claus is a loving symbol to teach children to give to others to celebrate the birth of Jesus.  I am ok with that because I believe.

What do you believe in?

I hope that you had a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Sociology

I had to take sociology in college.  It was required.  It had to be, no one would ever think up or fall for that crap otherwise.

I distinctly remember reading about "African-American culture."  This was the early 90s and I had never heard of that before.  And, not because I am some elite white liberal.  My mother had been married to a black man for almost a decade at that point, I had a black step-brother and the in-laws were all black.

Still are.

The sociology book was explaining that black people like to travel around together in large packs.  They also like to talk loudly in public, to call attention to themselves.  The book cautioned not to be alarmed when seeing large groups of black people shouting and making a ruckus in public, it is all part of their "culture."

I thought, at the time, and still think right now that that is the most idiotic and racist thing that I have ever heard.

So, did some elite white liberal travel to a remote African village (like Jeremy Wade in River Monsters) see their pagan, tribal customs and then condescend to ascribe the same behaviors to Americans?

Are you kidding me?  How could you possibly attribute those behaviors to people who were born and raised in America?  Their ancestors for at least 3 to 5 generations have all been born and raised in America.

You know, just like my ancestors.

This is the most insulting, demeaning, racist thing that I have ever heard and can only be accepted in an ivory tower situation by elite, idiotic liberals.

For some unknown reason, this racism has been perpetuated for the past two decades, insulting and degrading every single black person in America.

The philosophy that I am describing is creating and then demanding acceptance of a lower set of standards of behavior for one class of people.

How can anyone accept that?  Not only is it being accepted, the torch has been taken up by college professors, our first black president, our first black attorney general and the entire administration.

If I believe that the government shouldn't run healthcare, that means that I am racist.  Nothing could be farther from the truth.  I don't like socialism, that has nothing to do with race.

I don't believe in amnesty for illegal aliens.  That doesn't make me a racist either.  I believe in limited government and low taxes.  You got it, that has nothing to do with race.

I don't think that politicians should lie.  Accepting a lower standard of behavior for one group of people is racist.

Why don't they teach that in sociology?

Sanctity of Life

The kids were singing with their show choir at a nursing home last night.  When I went inside to pick them up, I noticed a few things immediately.

The place was immaculate, it didn't even have that "hospital-y" smell that nursing homes too often have.  There were the most beautiful Christmas decorations that had been carefully arranged for maximum enjoyment.

While wondering around the front hall, I noticed the mission statement.  The facility believes in the dignity and sanctity of all human life.  When someone becomes ill or is injured, it is their mission to bring the person back to his or her full potential as quickly as possible.

You know what happens when you are old and get sick with government run healthcare, right?

You're toast.

And, that is only the beginning.  Here is a short list of people who, according to liberal progressives, don't deserve dignity and respect:

*Republicans - the evidence is everywhere, the most recent example being a professor from Michigan who published an article about hating Republicans.  The things that "tolerant" liberals say about conservatives is appalling,
*Fetuses - the depth and voracity with which liberals cling to the idea of ripping fetuses to shreds is scary.  If you have survived being a fetus, be glad.  But, wait, there is more...
*People with disabilities - I can only guess it is due to Darwin's "survival of the fittest" but some liberals argue that people with disabilities should be aborted while in utero.  Do you know why that is?
*People over 75 - one of the many authors of Obamacare very clearly stated that he believes no one should live beyond the age of 75.  At that point, there is no reason to live.  So, you survived being a fetus, but, you still may not get to live as long as you want,
*The Little Sisters of the Poor - I was watching my step-brother's favorite movie the other night, Elf.  In it, James Caan's character, Walter Hobbs, is only "naughty" list.  His first naughty deed in the movie is taking books from nuns.  I nearly fell out of my chair.  Obama actually has been fighting with the Little Sisters of the Poor for their right to continue providing care to the dying,
*Christians - the hate-filled tirades that progressives unleash on Christians is alarming,
*Americans - when it gets right down to it, liberals progressives, whose leaders are the founders of the "blame America first and for everything" crowd, just hate America.  They think that we are inherently bad.  They don't understand that this country has offered more prosperity than any other.  Although we have made mistakes, we correct our mistakes.  They don't grasp true evil.

I know that you think I am exaggerating (mom) but frighteningly, not much.

"Tolerant" progressive liberals actually believe that anyone who doesn't believe exactly what they believe, in their narrow worldview, doesn't deserve to live.

How tolerant is that?

They also don't believe in the sanctity and dignity of human life.  If you have survived liberals thus far, you may still credit them for your demise eventually.

Conservatives care about everybody because we believe in the dignity and the sanctity of every human life.

Mysteries

I like to read mystery novels.

You don't get invited to be in any book clubs when you read books like this.  I like books where the caters bakes cookies and solves a murder.  Yes, I find it entirely plausible that someone can cater a 7-course meal for 100 while still engaging in competent investigative police work.

Ok?

But, there are some mysteries in this world that can't be solved.

One is the birth of our lord and savior, Jesus Christ.

Christ's birth, although a historical fact, is still impossible to comprehend with our small minds.  Christ came into the world, the son of a virgin, fully God and fully man.

Can you fully understand that?  I can't.

Then, Christ took on the sins of the world, died a horrific, painful, gruesome death and rose from the dead.  Now, I can be free from sin's dominion in my life, if I choose to believe.

Can you really wrap your head around that?  I don't understand it fully either.

This is why atheists call us stupid, we can't explain Godly things with our human intellect.

Does that really make me stupid?  Or does it just make me someone who believe in something greater than myself?

Unlike that nosy caterer, I am not going to solve this mystery anytime soon.  And, I am ok with that.

Are you?

I hope that you had a Merry Christmas.

Leaders Fight Evil

They don't embrace it.

Obama announced recently that he is going to open a "normal" relationship with communist Cuba.

After this latest announcement about his plans to send America down the crapper, I just couldn't take it anymore.  I took the kids and went to see The Hobbit.

In the movie, dwarves and elves are preparing for battle.  Mortal enemies, they line up their troops, preparing to fight to the death.  They both have legitimate gripes.  Their feud goes back generations over money, property, aid (or lack of) in previous battles.

They kinda reminded me of Republicans and Democrats.

Just before the dwarves and elves start to slash each other to bits, a horde of orcs swarms over the mountain, intent on annihilating them all.  If you don't know, orcs are filthy creatures with no clothes, bad dental work and they are, well, evil.

Almost immediately, the dwarves and elves unite to fight against true evil.  They lay their grievances aside.  Although their concerns are very real, they pale in comparison to everyone dying.  There is a time to unite, despite differences, or there won't be anything left to fight for.

Do you see where I am going with this?

We used to unite, as Americans, to fight evil.  Now, to Democrats, the only evil in the world is Republicans!  They ignore terrorists, give comfort to our enemies and join hands with communists.

How did we get here?  We have had two generations of communists infiltrating our schools, re-writing history and indoctrinating our children into the idea that America is the source of all evil.  So, if you are 40 or below, there is a pretty good chance that you went to a public school somewhere along the way.  There is also a really good chance that you have heard that America is bad your entire life.

Obama has slashed our military.  He very much wants to disarm all citizens.  He has opened our borders and now is courting favor with Cuba.

In the film, the dwarf king comes running out of his mountain palace, with his gorgeous hair flying, and LEADS his troops to battle.

That is what a leader does, he leads a united army into battle to defeat evil.

Near the end, when all seems completely lost, the eagles arrive.  The star of the film gasps in amazement, "The eagles are here!"

That is how people have felt the world over during America's brief time on this earth. We are the good guys, when we arrive evil will be defeated.  When we show up, all is not lost.

The eagles are here!

But, no more.  Obama has diminished our foot print on the world.  He has fundamentally transformed America from a world leader to nothing.

I can't stand it.

Because, if we had a real leader he would fight evil, not embrace it.

Merry Christmas

Let the light of millions of candles in American homes give notice that the light of freedom is not going to be extinguished. We are blessed with a freedom and abundance denied to so many. Let those candles remind us that these blessings bring with them a solid obligation, an obligation to the God who guides us, an obligation to the heritage of liberty and dignity handed down to us by our forefathers and an obligation to the children of the world, whose future will be shaped by the way we live our lives today.                                                         Ronald Reagan's Christmas Message                                                                                       December 23, 1981

Christmas Truce of 1914

This year marks the 100 year anniversary of the Christmas truce.  During World War 1, a strange thing happened on the western front.  On Christmas, an unofficial cease fire took place.  From soldiers' letters, it is clear that something did happen that day.

Details and specifics vary, but it is certain that British and German soldiers fraternized for one brief day.  It was reported that candles were lighted all along the trenches and soldiers from both sides sang Christmas carols all night long, including Silent Night.

For one, glorious, miraculous Christmas Day fighting ceased during one of the bloodiest wars the world has ever known.

Despite deep differences, differences that were serious enough to cause a world war, the soldiers shared something in common.

They were Christian.

I am currently calling my own Christmas truce.  When I see someone with saggy pants and hoodies, I smile and say, "Good morning!"  I get a cheery greeting in return, almost 100% of the time.

See?  We are all on the same team, we are all Americans.  We do have something in common, just like those soldiers did during World War 1.

A lot of Americans are Christian.

But, there is another enemy out there.  It is an enemy that we don't understand because we have nothing in common with it.  When we try to pretend that there is some commonality, they just laugh at us.

This enemy doesn't share any of our values.  This enemy doesn't want to live in peace, like we do.  This enemy wants all of us to convert or die.  This enemy believes that women should be raped, beaten and sold.  This enemy doesn't value life at all.

Our enemy is not Christian, we have nothing in common and I am afraid that, with this enemy, there will never be a Christmas truce.

I know you are lying...

I know you're lying, because your lips are moving...Meghan Trainor

Meghan is talking about her lying, cheating boyfriend when she sings that zippy little tune.

But, I think of someone else.

Jonathan Gruber is testifying before congress about calling the American people stupid.  He is apologizing profusely for saying that our stupidity is the only way that Obamacare could pass.

But, I don't think that he is sorry for saying it (over and over again, all over the country, all caught on tape).  My guess is he is only sorry that he got caught.

I believe that because I have had liberals sit in my home and condescend to explain to me why they actually believe that conservatives (generally) and Christians (specifically) are too dumb to vote.  The reason (they say) is that conservative Christians only believe what they have been taught.

Hmmmm.  So, using that argument, no conservative Christian could take those principles out into the world, use them, test them, find that they work, then come to embrace those principles and cherish them as their own.

Interesting argument, but nothing could be farther from the truth.

Actually, liberalism is taught.  Why do you think it is necessary for liberals to indoctrinate children from pre-school straight through college about liberal philosophy?

Why is sociology required in college, but capitalism isn't?

Liberals have to brainwash people into being liberals so that they believe in liberal principles despite all the odds.  Why?

Because when you take liberal principles out into the world and test them, they all fail.

Socialism has failed everywhere it has been tried.  Communism always fails.  Government-run anything?  It fails or is hopelessly in the process of failing.

Liberals lie, they admit it.  They even say the reason that they lie - people are too stupid to know that they are lying.  It is the only way that they can shove their progressive liberal agenda down our throats.

Who do you think of when you hear that song?

Stupid?

It isn't the stupidity of the American people that has gotten us into this mess...

It is the kindness.

No matter what anyone says, we are a Christian nation.  We were founded on the Judeo-Christian ethic and all of our laws are based on Judeo-Christian principles.

It is this religious system that promotes not only loving your neighbor, but also education and hard work.  If you believe that you are a person created in the image of God almighty, that motivates you to do and be your best.

The kindness that is the result of Biblical principles is what makes people stop arguing when you call them "racist."  Christians don't want to offend anyone.  They don't want to be called names.

Liberals can't grasp the goodness of the Bible or of God or the peaceful nature of Christian people.

So, they are outlawing God and the Bible in every possible forum in our country.  Then, we are left with a void. So, evil moves in to fill that empty space.

They misunderstand and don't (or can't) recognize evil.  Then, they have to legislate our freedoms.  Guns and knives aren't inherently bad.  The person who wields the weapon to do bad things, that is where the evil lies - in his or her heart.

We can be kind, but we need to be strong, too.  Don't let the views of the few dictate your own beliefs and ways in which you live your life.

No matter what anyone says, don’t forget the principles that founded this country.  Christian principles have created the greatest nation in history.  People from around the globe have drawn inspiration and guidance from us.

The American people aren't inherently stupid.  Liberals have taken advantage of our kindness.  That is how we have gotten into this whole mess.

The resiliency of the American people

Recently, I heard Obama extol the "resiliency" of the American people.  He was amazed.  He talked about people who were carrying on even though they were facing tough times.  He was flabbergasted that a man who had lost his life savings could continue in the face of a tragedy of that magnitude.  Of course, the man lost his life savings due to Obama's America-destroying policies.

I had to get a tissue because I snorted a little.

See, Obama actually thought that he could kill the American spirit.  Kinda like the Grinch in Who-vile, he thought that taking our stuff would be the end of us.

Well, just like in the Dr. Seuss classic, it didn't work.

I have noticed this resiliency lately, have you?

Gas prices are falling - despite the president's best efforts to destroy the energy industry.  Oil production is up - on private lands.  Those resilient Americans are producing oil, even though the president is doing everything that he can to stop them.

If this continues, food prices will go down, eventually.  Americans might just be able to start going back out to all of those restaurants that were able to stay in business, despite all of the regulations and taxes imposed on them by the Obama administration.

Resiliency.

Here is another one - congress is finally calling the Fort Hood massacre, which happened in 2009, what is really was - a terrorist attack.  You may have heard over the past 5 years that our stompy-foot president has insisted on calling this terrorist attack (in which Major Nidal Hasan shouted Allah Akbar while slaughtering 13 people) "workplace violence."

Although this is a complete disgrace, I didn't really understand until recently that this designation made it so that the victims couldn't receive benefits.  Now, congress is re-naming this act of terrorism so that the victims and their families can receive the Purple Heart designation and all of the benefits that accompany that award.

I hope that we continue to see the resiliency of the American people as we, hopefully, start to recover from the atrocities of this disastrous president.

Just like the Whos on Christmas Day, we will go right on singing.

Thanks, Ted

I was spackling up my face and forming my hair into a perfect redneck helmet to go downtown and sing to celebrate the birth of our savior when it hit me - hard:

Those stupid Republicans in the house passed a bill that fully funds Obamacare and Obama's lawless amnesty.

Why?  Oh, why did they do that?

As I crimped and sprayed, you know what actually popped into my little head?

"It still has to go to the senate, Ted Cruz will fight it.  He won't let us down."  Sure enough, he is fighting it right now.  (I am writing this on Saturday, you might be reading it a few days later).

As you all know very well, congress holds the power of the purse.  Obama's wildly unpopular and destructive healthcare law and his ruthless and lawless amnesty could all go away.  Congress simply has to pass a budget that doesn't include funding for those things.

Why on earth did they pass a budget that would fund Obamacare and executive amnesty?  Don't they read any of my articles?

I get these glimmers of hope - falling gas prices, Purple Hearts for Fort Hood victims.  Then, I see crap like this and all of my hopes and dreams come crashing down around my cowboy-booted feet.

The American people don't want this.  We sent an overwhelming majority of Republicans to Washington so that stuff like this doesn't happen.  I know that they aren't all there yet.

But, couldn't they have passed (yet another) continuing resolution to fund the "essential" parts of the government for a few months.  Really, other than the military, I struggle to see how essential any parts of the federal government are.

Then, when all of those fresh shiny Republicans show up in January, we could have passed a budget, one without Obamacare and executive amnesty.  It would pass the house and senate and Obama would veto it.

He would then be shutting down the government.  Enough people are paying attention now to understand that these government shutdowns are 100% the fault of our whiny president and his minions.

Couldn't we have done that?

Well, since our spineless house Republicans didn't do it, thanks, Ted.  Thanks for fighting for us.

Pull up your pants!

I was walking the dog today and two young men were walking in front of me.  One was wearing super skinny jeans.  His pants had been artfully placed so that they landed immediately below his buttocks.

He was wearing black underpants and his jacket had been carefully arranged so that it fell exactly on top of his bum.

So, as I walked behind him, I could clearly see every inch of his rear-end.

How has this lowest form of fashion managed to persist this long?  I wondered that as I walked, getting a view of the full moon.

We have a black president and a black attorney general.  Have you ever seen one of them wearing their pants that way?  Why hasn't either one of them ever told young black men to pull up their pants?

Why haven't Barack Obama and Eric Holder spread a positive message to black men in this country?  Both men went to school and have achieved the pinnacle of success in their fields.

I disagree with their politics in every possible way.  But, it can't be denied that they have achieved financial and professional success.  So, why are they telling black people that the system is stacked against them?  The system that they fault in every way is the same system that gave them their success.

This country is so colorblind that it elected a black president, twice, and has a black attorney general.

I just don't get it.  Do these men think that other black people don't deserve the same level of success that they have achieved?

Why don't these men tell the rest of the country the truth?  If you work hard, pull up your pants and go to school, you can achieve anything that you want in this country.

Why don't they ever say that?

Big Hero 6

Don't worry, I am not going to critique the movie.  I am going to critique the pervasive liberalism that was presented in the movie.

Children's entertainment is filled with liberal propaganda.  Liberals don't blow up buildings anymore.  They have Ph.Ds and have infiltrated the education system and (apparently) Disney Studios and are brainwashing our kids.

So, after stuffing myself on a Thanksgiving feast, I took my tummy that kinda looked like Winnie-the-Pooh's and waddled into the local movie theater with the rest of America.

I took my innocent children to see Big Hero 6.  It takes place in the fictional town of San Fransokyo.  In the film, we are introduced to the young genius, Hiro Hamada.  Although only 13, Hiro has already graduated from high school and has quite a career in robot fighting.

Hiro invents a new kind of robot.  He has the choice of going to the local university or he can sell his invention to a successful tech company.

The professor of the university was very clearly shown as "good."  Professor Callaghan wanted Hiro to attend school.  Of course there is nothing wrong with going to school.  But, the school choice was clearly presented as noble, high and good.

Meanwhile, the owner of the tech company was very clearly shown as "bad."  Even though he (Krei) could have purchased Hiro's invention, solved all of Hiro's family's money problems for life and made new products that help people, he was definitely bad.  The professor even called Krei "evil."

Did anyone ever call Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple, evil? He used his genius to make things that improve people's lives.  People want to pay money for his products.  Apple products make so much money that Apple has to pay oodles in taxes.

So, not only does that for-profit company (which was presented as evil in the film) improve lives, it also makes money and then pays taxes that can go to places like schools.

That made me nuts.

I won't ruin it and tell you who the bad guy is.  But, one more thing happened that made me almost walk out.

When the evil owner of the tech company was showing his invention to some people who looked like they were wearing military uniforms, he said something about using millions of tax dollars to create his invention.

What?!?!?

It has been a few years since I have done financial reporting for the SEC, but as far as I know, tech companies don't get tax payer money for their research and development.  Unless Obama has changed that too, private companies use their own money for research and development.

But, see all of those seeds that were planted into little minds?  Let's recap:

1. Any professor at a university is inherently good,
2. Any head of a for-profit company is inherently bad,
3. And, bad-for-profit companies use tax payer money to make stuff.

What a load of crap.

Be vigilant, patriots, liberals are trying to brainwash our children, even in ways that seem completely innocent.

I don't like rare steak, ok?

Maybe it is because I am familiar with field dressing a deer.  But, I don't like raw meat.  I like for it to be fully cooked.

Well, it is proper in fine restaurants to have your steak cooked medium rare to rare.

Ewwww.

I am a sophisticated redneck and have learned to like my steak medium well, not well done, like my less knowledgable kin folk.  See how enlightened I am?

But, every single time that I order meat at a restaurant, it comes out on the plate bloody.  See, the chefs think that they know better than me what I need.  They are going to stuff that raw meat down my throat whether I like it or not.

Does this remind you of anyone else you know?  Can you think of anyone else who thinks that you are stupid and don't know what is good for you?  Can you think of someone who thinks that he or she knows better how to take care of you than you do?

Yes!  Progressive liberals feel that way about you, me and all of us!

And, they are going to shove that bloody steak down your throat whether you want it or not because they know better than you.

They are going to:
-raise taxes
-increase government regulation
-kill jobs
-kill the coal industry, the shale industry, prohibit drilling
-spy on you
-take away your religious freedom
-take over your healthcare
and, laugh at you while they are doing it because they honestly think that you are too stupid to know the difference.

Open wide!

Shrimp chips

One day at Bible study, we were sharing ways in which God watches over us and takes care of our needs.

One of the women in the study shared her story with us.  She told us about how God had watched over her in an extraordinary way - with shrimp chips.

It was January and her husband had been out of work.  Although, he did have a new job, there were zero dollars in the checking account until he got paid from the new job.

Zero, zilch, nada, nothing.  Don't judge, we've all been there.  If you haven't, just wait.

Her pantry was stocked but she didn't have extra money.

One of her friends called and invited her to a party for the Chinese New Year.  She asked what she could bring.  Remember, the pantry was full.  She thought about different cookies she could make or other types of party food that she could whip up with what she had on hand.

Her friend told her, "I need shrimp chips and 21 fortune cookies."

Now, I don't even know what a shrimp chip is.  If you could name two things that would almost never be in a stocked American cabinet, it would be shrimp chips and fortune cookies.

She said, "ok," hung up and started praying.  Alright, I know what you are thinking.  She could have just said no.  But, she wanted to honor the commitment to her friend and be a gracious guest.

Each day she prayed that God would grant this unusual request.

Each day - no shrimp chips.

Finally, the day of the party arrived and her husband came home from work.  He said, "You won't believe this, there was a Chinese New Year party at work and I won the raffle!"

Ka-chunk, he slammed a box of shrimp chips on the counter.  "What are these things anyway?  Hold on, there is more stuff in the car."

My friend just started to cry, jump for joy and be amazed all at the same time.

He walked back in from the car, "I helped clean up after the party and the secretary gave me the left over fortune cookies."

"How many are in there?" she asked.

But, she knew the answer and you know, too, don't you?

21.

This amazing story shows us God's grace and is a reminder that He answers our prayers, no matter how small or insignificant they may seem.

Do you need any shrimp chips in your life?  How can God pour His blessings of shrimp chips on you this Christmas season?

Just ask, you may be surprised.

Minimum wage

Alright, pretty much everything makes me mad about liberals.  It kinda starts with the lying and then goes downhill from there.

So, let's just focus on one aspect of liberal propaganda that is driving me nuts right now.

Liberals say that Republicans aren't for working people because no Republican votes for minimum wage hikes and stupid, meaningless "income equality" bills.

Nothing could be farther from the truth.  No Republican votes for those things, because we understand that they all hurt workers.  And, Republicans understand that the government shouldn't be sticking it's unusually large nose into decision-making for businesses.

Minimum wage hikes hurt workers.  They make those jobs less plentiful because the businesses can't pay the higher wages or they will go out of business.  When businesses go out of business, don't liberals understand that everyone loses their jobs?

Or, do they just not care?

Btw, who wants to associate with a party who is fighting for you to get the minimum wage?  What snobs liberals are to look down on people and say that they are only worth the minimum.

I am a conservative Republican, I want to talk to people about the maximum wage.  How about some of that, huh?

Republicans, talk about working hard, getting a good education and earning the maximum wage.

Or, at least, annunciate it better for heaven's sakes.

We aren't for minimum wage hikes because they don't help people.    And, we are for helping people, not hurting them.

We are for the free market, which dictates how high wages can go.  We are against government, which can only force a minimum.

"Free enterprise has done more to reduce poverty than all the government programs dreamed up by Democrats."  Ronald Reagan

"Broken" immigration system

Oops, he did it again.  Our imperial president used his executive overreach to illegally allow millions of illegal aliens to stay in our country.

This move will hurt American workers.  Americans will lose jobs to illegal aliens.  This will drive DOWN the minimum wage because a flood of low-wage workers will be available to take those lowest paying positions.

So, why?  Why did Obama do this?  Why did he insist on doing it from the second his party got the spanking of a lifetime on Election Day right up until his over-zealous pen did its magic?

Because, he (and all of his liberal allies) say that the current immigration system is broken.  And (he says) we needed to act immediately.  And (he says) congress wouldn't act.  And, oh yeah the American people are too stupid, so, there is that.

Well, just like our healthcare system, which used to be the finest in the word, didn't need fixing, our immigration system doesn't need fixing either.

Btw, I am none too thrilled with the way that he "fixes" stuff and neither are the American people.

We just need to enforce the laws that are currently on the books.  Obama has opened our borders, invited the world to come in and promised all sorts of free stuff.

Who wouldn't come with that invitation?

Sheesh.

Now, he is disarming border agents, he won't let them stop the flood of illegal aliens, he won't let them deport people.  Worst of all, people who re-enter the country after they have been deported multiple times should be charged with a felony and sent to person BASED ON OUR CURRENT LAWS.

Obama won't enforce those laws.  That is the only reason that our immigration system isn't working.  It isn't working, not because it is broken, but because of intentional lawlessness.

Republicans should be bold

Since the Democrats were handed their butts in the mid-term elections, it is now time for Republicans to be bold.

I have to admit, that in an opposite-of-Reagan fashion, our Republican leaders have been sheepish.  Conservatives who clearly outline our conservative philosophy and stick to it are ostracized by moderate conservatives.

That makes me scratch my head.

Conservatives believe in low taxes, limited government regulation and limited intrusion in business and personal lives.  We believe in securing our borders and having a strong military.  With a strong economy, unencumbered from government over-taxation and over-regulation, everyone benefits.  Wages go up, everyone has more and the government even gets more tax money.

Hey, liberals, you like that, don't you?  More income to re-distribute.

With our economy in tact, we can once again be the world leader in everything.  We can have more money for our military and lead the world with peace through strength.

Hold on, I gotta get a tissue.

The American people spoke, they don't want anymore of Obama's radical, tyrannical left-wing socialist, progressive liberal agenda.  We have tried it for 6 years and it has made everything worse, literally.

Republicans, be bold.  Fight Obama and his progressive liberal friends.  The country is waking up.  There have got to be lots of moderate Democrats who don't actually want to see the country fail in every possible way.  You know, like, now.

Confidently outline our common sense, conservative approach to everything.  (See the past 400 or so posts in the blog.)

It will work because people are listening to us now.

Be bold, Republican leaders.

Thankful giving

This weekend, we went to the inner city to deliver Thanksgiving meals to families in need.

We stood in the host church with hundreds of our friends from our evangelical Christian church getting instructions.

To my horror, my two children were rolling their eyes, making faces and generally letting me know that they didn't want to be there.

How could my kids who are blessed from the tops of their glistening heads to the toes of their designer boots act like that?

Well, we got our first meal and went to the recipient's address.  She let us into her small, immaculate apartment.  We delivered the food and prayed with her.

She thanked us profusely, hugged us and we left.

A miracle happened.  My children became more loving, more humble and more thankful.

See?  That is what happens when you do stuff to help people.  It kinda helps you, too.  Sometimes, it helps you more than the other person.

I write a lot about the abuses of the welfare system by able-bodied men.  But, that is not what our safety net is for.  It is for people, through no fault of their own, who have fallen on hard times.

This can happen to any one of us.  Someone can lose their job and be homeless, helpless and hopeless within a short period of time.  That is what the safety net is for, to give people a hand up so that they can get get back on their feet.  It was never intended to be a lifestyle choice from cradle to grave.

Those who abuse the system hurt people like we visited yesterday the most.

With each delivery, my children changed just a little bit.

I hope that it taught them a lesson of compassion, love and thankfulness this Thanksgiving.

Sprinkling

The other day I got a big gulp.  I walked up to the cashier with my 32 ounces of carbonated goodness and 96 cents.  Since she works hard and peddles large sodas all day, I mentioned that large sodas were banned in New York.

(I didn't get into all of the details, just mentioned the basic issue.)

She said, "Sheesh, isn't that people's choice, whether or not they drink large sodas?"

"Yup, yup it is," I agreed between large slurps.

Something that we have learned in the past six years or so is that American voters are woefully uninformed about what is going on in our country and around the world.  I think it is from busyness and the lack of true, objective news coverage from the mainstream media.  Some may call it apathy.  Of course, members of the Obama administration just call it "stupidity" and rely on it to pass stuff that no one wants.

So, as conservatives, it is our job to take our message of real hope, real change, personal responsibility and freedom out to our friends and neighbors.  We can do this by striking up innocuous conversations, bringing up topics that most people will probably agree with.

Most people don't want people here illegally, only the purest staunchest, looniest liberals want that.  Most people don't want Obamacare or the high taxes that go with it.  Talk about it.  Mention it here and there.

I call this "sprinkling."  We do it in sales, we "sprinkle" information about the company throughout our presentation.  By the end of a sales presentation, everyone knows all of the details about our company and the benefits of our product.

I want to encourage you to sprinkle all day long while you are out and about.

You may find an accepting audience.

People are sick to death of:
-high taxes
-working hard and paying for other people to do nothing
-the outrageous cost of Obamacare, which has landed squarely on the back of hard working middle class Americans
-the intrusion of big government

So, sprinkle away.  Talk about these issues.  We have two more years to sway public opinion that a conservative president is the only way to save this republic.

Get out there and start talking about it.

And now a message from you doctor...

Or mine.  Since we have blown through our deductible, we are getting in all of our doctor's appointments before the end of the year.

So, I went to see my doctor for an annual check-up.

She asked me all sorts of questions.  There was nothing wrong with the questions, but they were things that she knew, we have talked about lots of times over the past decade and should have been in my file.

I was puzzled.  She apologized and said, "I am sorry for all of these questions.  I have to re-write your file for our new, um, system."

I said, "Because of Obamacare?"

She said, "No, um, maybe."

She then explained that there is much more coding that she has to do.  She has to spend lots of time justifying the tests that she recommends and the prescriptions she prescribes to patients.  She is a wonderful doctor and enjoys spending as much time as she can with patients.

Well, she can't do that anymore.  She has to spend more of her valuable time justifying herself to the government.

It is true, that some people abuse the system and that is wrong.  But, she doesn't.  She is a good doctor and she is still forced to give all of this extra paperwork to the government.

There was an ad during the 2012 election.  It showed a person in a paper gown in a doctor's office with her doctor.  Then, a creepy, large, plastic-headed Uncle Sam character slowly rises from below the table to stand between the patient and doctor.

I couldn't get that ad out of my mind the entire time.

I told my doctor about our woes with our high deductible plan.  She said that she agrees with the idea of universal healthcare.

Darn, I really liked her.

But, what she doesn't understand, I believe, is the level at which the cost for healthcare being free for some people is being shifted (unfairly and unsustainably) to the middle class.

Good doctors are being slammed with lots of extra work that keeps them from patients.  This is another consequence of Obamacare, people.

No more royalty

As President George W Bush (43) makes the media rounds talking about his book 41: A Portrait of my Father, I have noticed some interesting things.

One commentator was talking about the Clintons and how they are "Democrat Royalty."  See?  There it is again - the idea that the Clintons are better than us, different from us, "royal" even.  That isn't how things work in a republic.

I thought about someone calling the Bush family "royalty" and laughed.  That wouldn't happen because members of the Bush family know that they aren't different.  They believe that everyone is equal and would never consider themselves royal or better or different.

I know, I lived in Houston in the 90s when George W was governor of Texas and George H W Bush, the 41st president, lived in Houston, too.  We lived in the same part of town and there was a major thoroughfare with a huge mall in the area.  Never once did the senior Bushes close down that street for their motorcade.  They never disrupted the lives of fellow citizens.  They lived quietly and anonymously right along with us.

One Christmas my brother was working at FAO Schwarz in Houston.  He looked up to greet his next customer and looked right into the face of former First Lady Barbara Bush.  She had left the secret service agents outside the store.  She didn't disturb any other shoppers.  She got her Christmas presents for the grandkids without any fuss and was humble and polite to my brother.

43 calls his father "a man of his word."  43 also says of his father, George (41), "He was humble and quick to share credit.  He deflected attention from himself and refused to brag about his accomplishments.  He trusted others and inspired their loyalty.  And above all, he found joy in his family and his faith."

Why now, after 6 years of the most disastrous and feckless president this republic has ever produced, is this book being published and acknowledged by even the liberal media?

Could it be that we are tired of the opposite qualities in our commander-in-chief?  Read that paragraph again and think of Obama.  He is arrogant and quick to take credit for what others have done.  He always has to keep attention on himself and brags endlessly about his accomplishments.  He trusts no one and, likewise, no one trusts him.  He despises the Christian faith.

Maybe this experiment in having an inexperienced ideologue as our president was a bad idea.

In two years, let's not make the same mistake.  Let's not hire another ideologue who thinks of herself (somehow) as Democrat royalty.  We tried that.  Let's go back to hiring men and women of principle, who will lead the country honorably.

How about that?

Why Sadie cries

Have you ever wondered why Sadie Robertson cries each time the judges praise her performance on Dancing with the Stars?

Here is my guess.  She cries because she is relieved.

Each week, Sadie dances her routine flawlessly.  Granted, there was so much leg flying around in her jive that I couldn't tell where her knees, ankles and elbows were.

But, she is given a routine by her teacher, Mark.  She does each routine perfectly, no matter how difficult the routine is.  She never misses a step, she never misses a beat.

And, each week she is given criticism that isn't always fair, helpful or constructive.  She knows that she has to stand there and take it with a smile.  Think of every 17-year-old you have ever known.  How well would they have taken that?  She is doing a great job of smiling throughout the criticism.

Last week Sadie finally received a perfect score for her trio dance with Mark and Emma.  She deserved it, she danced the routine perfectly, just like she has done with every other dance so far in the entire competition.

Sadie, Mark and Emma lined up to hear the judges comments and Len unabashedly praised Sadie (deservedly) to the moon and said it was the best dance of the night.

She never knows what she is going to get - judges comments are like a box of chocolates.

Flooded with relief and the realization that she doesn't have to smile politely while listening to harsh (and untrue) criticism, Sadie cries.

And, I cry a little bit, too.

The idiocy defense

Me to disobedient child, "Did you do that?"

Petulant child, "I don't know."  "It wasn't me."  "It was my sister."  "Oh, I didn't understand that I wasn't supposed to do that."

See, that is what a child does.  He or she denies that she did anything wrong.  He or she then deflects, lies and claims no knowledge of the offense.

Does that sound like anyone that you know?  In my house, we call this "Obama-ing."  Maybe, I should starting calling it "Pelosi-ing" or "Reid-ing."  It would fit just as well.

Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid have all built successful political careers on the idiocy defense.  Not knowing anything has really been successful for them.

Pelosi famously said that we have to pass the bill (Obamacare) to find out what is in it.

Now, after Jonathan Gruber, the architect of Obamacare has been repeatedly caught on tape calling American voters "stupid" she feigns ignorance of even knowing who he is!

And, they call us stupid?  How does she possibly think she can get away with this?

Oh, yeah.  Liberals can get away with anything.  They can even lie and call voters stupid and nothing will ever happen.

We are not stupid, we knew all along that adding a layer of government to anything would never reduce its cost, only raise it.  When clear, concise points like this are enunciated by conservatives, logical, reasonable tolerant liberals shout:

"Racist!" "Terrorists!" "Arsonist!" "Stupid!"

We voted and the country has turned red from sea to shining sea.  Did this wake-up call do anything to change our liberal progressive leaders?

Nope.  We have petulant children running the country.

It is hurting hard-working, ordinary Americans.  Now, amnesty for illegal aliens is being shoved down our throats.

Amnesty for millions of illegal aliens will hurt the middle class the most.  The middle class is being destroyed by Obama's punishing taxes including Obamacare (remember the $9,000 deductible) and paying for benefits for all of those illegal aliens.  Or worse, middle Americans will lose their jobs to all of those illegal aliens.

Obama is a petulant child, but he does know what he is doing, just like my children do.  He knows that his policies are hurting middle-class Americans.

But, we wouldn't let our children get away with being bad by pretending ignorance.

Will our liberal progressive leaders continue to get away with the idiocy defense?

Proud to be an American

Proud to be an American

Unlike Michelle Obama, I have always been proud to be an American.  It started when I was a little redneck in school.  Remember learning about how we protested unfair taxation without representation by throwing all of the English tea in the Boston Harbor?

That was so cool.  I was hooked.

I remember learning about how, by being clever and resilient, we defeated the British and gained our freedom.  My little heart swelled with American pride.

How has a nation of immigrants who left native lands to escape government tyranny and find religious freedom been taken in by the lies of our tyrannical, liberal oppressive government?

I just can't figure it out.

But, last night, my bruised and battered heart swelled with American pride once again.  Why? I watched "The Man who Shot Usama bin Laden."  The show profiled Robert O'Neill, the member of seal team 6 who shot and killed Usaba bin Laden.

(The reporter who got the interview with O'Neill is Peter Doocy.  Way to go, Doocy!  Hitting it out of the park the first time you step up to the plate.)

In the interview O'Neill described the training that he endured to become a member of the elite fighting squad, seal team 6.  He had that swagger that is an amiable mix of humility and pride.  He was humble because he knows his limitations and that he is only one in a team.  But, he was proud because he knows that his cause is noble.  He fights for what is right and he fights to rid the world of evil.

Like Usama bin Laden.

Sitting there in my couch in my Hobbit slippers with Kitten-kitten on my lap, I remembered how it felt to be proud of my country.

Sometimes, it is hard to remember.  We have had an administration that has told us for the past 6 years that we are bad.  Don't you believe it.

Oh, yeah and be sure to watch "The Man who Shot Usama bin Laden."  Maybe you will feel proud, too.

Obamacare open enrollment

Today, I am establishing a relationship with a primary care physician.  That doesn't seem like a big deal, does it?

But, it is a huge deal.  Insurance no longer pays for well visits to primary care physicians.

Thank you, Obama!

Every year, I get sick.  Dozens of well-meaning friends and family members implore me to go to the doctor.  I call, every year, and can't get an appointment for three weeks.  I also am told that the appointment will be paid in full by me and applied to my deductible.

Every year, I wait for three weeks to get better and save hundreds of dollars.

So, why can I get a primary physician now?

Well, last summer, I was walking my dog.  A kitty was hanging by its little front paws from a tree.  I caught it as it fell.  It bit me and I had to be on IV antibiotics in the hospital for 3 1/2 days.  (See "Cat Scratch Fever" in my previously published works.)

I was pretty happy to be alive until we got the hospital bill.  Our out of pocket cost - $5,720.  I spent weeks talking to everyone that I could get on the phone from the insurance company and the hospital.  I explained that insurance is so that you DON'T have to pay huge, life-changing bills in the event of an accident.

They all agreed, they all understood.  But, this is how our healthcare system works now under Obamacare.

People like me pay hundreds of dollars a month in insurance premiums.  In the event that we have an accident or actually need to use the insurance, we are hit with deductibles that are so high, no one could ever afford them.

Except Nancy Pelosi.

One nice person explained that we were getting off easy - we are actually liable for a $9,000 deductible.

Sure enough, my husband had an unfortunate accident a few months later and we blew through the remainder of that deductible.  Now I can get a primary care physician.  Yippee.

Obamacare open enrollment is starting soon.  The president is going around the country telling Americans that we are still just too stupid to understand liberal progressive policies.  If he could just sell it better and get it through our thick heads, we would be falling all over ourselves to become good liberal progressives.

But, nothing could be farther from the truth.  Americans aren't stupid.  We tried liberal progressive policies.  In fact, we have had them shoved down our throats for 6 years.

They don't work and we don't like them.  Here is a clear and concise example - hard-working, middle-American families of four now have to spend $9,000 a year in deductibles just to use the insurance that we pay for.

Who would want that?  Not me and not the majority of Americans.

Who can't get that through his thick head?

Denial

It ain't just a river in Egypt

So, the president is in complete denial about the total smack down that he and his liberal policies received on Tuesday's election.

Inexplicably, a 1 point win for him in the presidential election is a "mandate."  But, a total landslide for Republicans across the country in both state and federal elections doesn't mean much.

"They had a good night," the president quipped.

But, will the thumping that the Democrats and their America-killing progressive liberals policies received change him at all?

No way!

He isn't going to change who he is, not even a smidgen.

'Cause, you know, 2/3 of the population didn't vote.  So, of course, they all stayed home watching Game of Thrones in complete support of his policies.

Snort.

I have written about this endlessly on the blog.  Liberals are in love with ideas.  Reality?  Not so much.

Liberals love high taxes, wealth re-distribution and government take-over of healthcare (and anything else they can get their hands on.) It doesn't matter that high taxes kill the economy, wealth re-distribution hurts the middle class and the government can't run anything competently, even the government!

Liberals love it all anyway.

But, the people who are being hurt by all of the disastrous liberal policies of the last six years are feeling the effects, even if Washington bureaucrats aren't.

And, they voted.  Big time.

It is time to lower taxes on everyone and everything.  It is time to roll back government regulation.  It is time to re-insert work requirements in welfare.  It is time to open the Keystone Pipeline so that we can all heat our homes this winter.  It is time to stop the EPA from killing the coal industry.  It is time to defund Obamacare.

It is time to stop Obama and his liberal progressive polices.

Gridlock

I saw an article that said something about ending Washington's gridlock now that Republicans are in charge of both the house and the senate.

It is laughable to even think that the president will deviate even one smidgen from his current policies.

Remember when Harry Reid and Barack Obama forced the government to shut down?  Not only would they not compromise, they wouldn't even negotiate or speak to Republicans at all about cutting spending.

No, they had to raise the debt ceiling and said that Republicans, who were merely asking for some spending cuts, were "terrorists" with "guns at our heads" and "bombs strapped to their chests."

Really?

Then, they blamed the shutdown on the Republicans and they actually got away with it!

Before Obama called it "unpatriotic" to oppose raising the debt ceiling, he had this to say:

"The fact hat we are here today to debate raising America's debt limit is a sign of leadership failure.  It is a sign that the U.S. Government can not pay its own bills.  It is a sign that we now depend on ongoing financial assistance from foreign countries to finance our government's reckless fiscal policies.  Increasing America's debt weakens us domestically and internationally.  Leadership means that, 'the buck stops here.' Instead, Washington is shifting the burden of bad choices today onto the backs of our children and grandchildren.  American has a debt problem and a failure of leadership.  Americans deserve better." Senator Barack Obama, 2006

Any journalist could point out this little inconsistency.  If a Republican made the same 180 degree turn in position, you would hear about it non-stop.

It has become fashionable now, for Obama to call this congress a "do nothing" congress.  Again, nothing could be farther from the truth.  The house has passed somewhere around 300 bills, including little things like budgets.

Every single one is sitting on Harry Reid's desk.  Or maybe he props his feet on them.  Perhaps, he is using the bills to fashion new office furniture or maybe he used them to make a fire on chilly Vegas nights.

He certainly hasn't brought them to the floor of the senate for a vote.

Again, the fault of gridlock or doing nothing is 100% firmly, squarely on the shoulders of Harry Reid and Barack Obama.

I hope that Mitch McConnell takes up that legislation and forces Obama to do something other than golf.

The American people have spoken out against the disastrous liberal policies of the Obama administration.  Will he ignore us forever?  Or will he continue the gridlock in Washington that is of his own doing?

The Tides are Turning

So, I spent Election Day at the polls.  I worked with the same liberal democrat, again.  We worked side-by-side, tirelessly and efficiently processing almost 300 voters over a 15-hour period.

We never had a cross word, we worked through problems and issues amicably and reasonably.  It was exactly how congress should work.

Yes, she calls me a re-thug-lican and I call her a demo-rat.  But, that is no reason that we can't work together despite our differences.

Interestingly, this time there were 3 more issues on our ballot to raise taxes, yet again.

This liberal democrat has become completely disillusioned by our liberal local government and its mismanagement of our tax dollars.

As our taxes go up and up with fewer and fewer services, she lamented, "When will it ever end?"

I mentioned that some liberals believe that all income should go to the government for re-distribution.

She, wisely, said that the rich are getting richer, the poor are getting poorer and the middle class is getting squeezed out.  She said that our tax burden is so high that people can't afford the taxes.

I just looked at her, patted her on the shoulder and said, "Welcome to my world."

She expressed her disgust with Obamacare.  Yes, it is free for some people.  But only because she has to pay $200 a month in premiums and then has to pay 5 or 6 thousand in deductibles before she can even use the insurance.  After that, insurance only pays 80/20.  She said that people can't afford that cost.  She is barely making it, paying more than she can afford all so that someone else can pay nothing.

She works hard and has to pay more for everything.  She can't afford it.  Meanwhile, some people don't work and inexplicably get some of her hard-earned money.

Can you see why the Republicans had victories all over the country?  People are fed up.  Even liberal democrats can see that they can't afford to pay for everyone else and still have enough to, like, eat.

We talked about how my family used to eat out once a month.  When Obama's 2% payroll tax increase went into effect moments after he was re-elected, our family felt that.  We stopped going out to eat once a week.  That is $200 less a month that we spend eating out because we don't have that money anymore.

We talked about the economic ramifications for that - what if everyone stops eating out?  All of those restaurants will go out of business.  All of those business owners will lose their businesses, and probably their life savings.  All of the workers will lose their jobs.

And all of that will happen, eventually, as we continue to raise taxes.  Raising taxes HURTS everyone.  Lowering taxes helps everyone.  Oddly, even government revenue increases when tax rates are lowered.

Taxes and regulation are killing the economy and destroying the middle class.  Even liberal democrats can see that and can feel the effects of theses disastrous policies on hard-working Americans.

A Win in the War on Christmas

Last year, I went to Bath and Body Works to get my Christmas on and was shocked.  They outdid themselves to say any word other than the word Christmas.  Here is a list of the fragrance names:

Merry Cookie,
Merry Marshmallow,
Vanilla Bean Noel,
Twisted Peppermint,
Frosted Plum Berry,
And Candy Cane Bliss

(For full story, please see Demand More Christmas, part 2)

So, last year, I LOVINGLY complained to the clerk.  She agreed that the store could at least use the word Christmas.

Today, I went to Bath and Body Works and nearly fell out.  A huge sign stretched across the front of the store said:

"The Perfect Christmas Scent"

I think my 10-year-old cried a little.

We stocked up on lots of Christmas-y sounding scents that will carry us right up to Christmas.  We happily told the clerk that we thought it was nice that the store used the word "Christmas."  The clerk giggled and said, "Yeah, well it IS Christmas, right?"

Yes, ma'am, it is.

Run, don't walk to Bath and Body Works and show your support for their decision to proudly say the word "Christmas" to describe a holiday that 90% of the country celebrates.

My final plea

This was published last Monday on eaglerising.com and it worked!  Please see your local election results to determine the amount of landslide...

After my article about wasting your vote on a third party candidate, I got your message loud and clear.  You are fully prepared to sit at home on your principles and not vote.  Or, you are completely ready to waste your vote on a third party candidate that has no chance of winning.

I get it.

But, I can't stress enough that this strategy is a formula for defeat.  Didn't you learn anything from 2012?  Principled, opinionated Republicans stayed home because Romney wasn't conservative enough.

What did that get us?

-A department of justice that is anything but just
-The IRS torturing conservatives
-The NSA spying on innocent Americans, not terrorists
-Obamacare that is destroying the greatest healthcare system the world has eve known
-More tax-raising, economy-strangling, job-killing liberal policies that destroy the ability of the free market to work.  Look at our liberal Utopias in the US: Chicago and Detroit.  Is that what you want for our country?
-Worst of all, the Obama administration seems to have lost all desire to safe guard  American citizens
at all, our southern border is open, terrorists are here and Ebola is here.

You have your opinion, your candidate isn't conservative enough.  As I said before, I get it.  But, please vote for the conservative anyway.  Once we have control of the house and senate, we can maybe undo some of the disastrous policies of the Obama administration.

Maybe we could even open the Keystone Pipeline.

Once your conservative candidate is elected, you can give him or her a tongue-lashing.  You sure know how to give me one.

Sheesh.

By the way, do you type to your mother on that keyboard?

Save it for the conservative elected official.  I will go with you!  We will give him or her a talking to about how conservative he or she needs to be to keep that cushy government job.

Ok?

Here is what you will get with the conservative candidate, at least:

-a belief in the free market
-a desire to secure our borders and beef up our military
-the common sense to keep Ebola victims out of our country.

Ok, who is with me?  Go out there and push the big "R" on November 4.  You can do it, your country needs you.

Irony

What if someone told you that you couldn't do anything that you wanted to do in America?  What if someone told you that you were somehow, less - that you couldn't do what you wanted without help.  What if someone told you that one group of people had more than you did and it wasn't fair?  What if they told you that you deserve what someone else has and that you should take it?

You might start to believe it.

That is exactly what the Democrat party does to any minority and to women.  They condescend to help those who couldn't succeed otherwise (in their opinion.)

Is that insulting or what?  And, here is the irony, look around, the leaders of the Democrat party are all old, white men.

I was at an event downtown and in the middle of the crowd there was a bullpen. In it were all old, fat, white men.  (No offense to old, fat, white men.  I love you guys.  I just don't like hypocritical ones, like, you know, Democrats.) Then, I started to recognize them - they were all Democratic politicians.

The Democrat party works tirelessly to keep people in comfortable, government poverty so that they can never truly get ahead or succeed.  They devote all of their efforts to making rules and laws for OTHER people, not for THEM.

Who has a war on women?  Who wants to help poor people or black people?

Look at Hilary Clinton.  She is a champion for women, right?  What about Christian women or women who choose to stay home and take care of their children? She mocks those women.  And, holy moly, if a women is someone her husband wants to sleep with, that women deserves a full throttle assault.

The Democrat party further degrades and insults women by the idiotic notion that we have nothing on our minds other than reproductive health.  Just because it is the only thing on their minds...

The Democrat "helps" but not out of true compassion for people.  They truly believe that women and minorities are unable to succeed without government intervention.

So, they impose government, which, ironically, continues the vicious cycle of keeping people from succeeding.

Personal responsibility = Freedom

Personal responsibility will always be indelibly linked to freedom.

I live in the city and have to pay taxes to my city.  In return, a nice man takes away my trash every week.

Could I "opt out" of this system and stop paying my taxes?  Nope.  What if I started burning my trash in my backyard?  I would get tickets and would eventually be put in jail.

See?  I have given the government some of the responsibility for my life and the government is now in charge of that.  It is ok with trash and even some other things.  But, once we start applying the government standard to everything, it is not so ok anymore.

What if I don't want the government to be in charge of healthcare?  They don't do a good job of running anything.  Waste of taxpayer dollars is rampant, I prefer for the medical profession to be run privately.  Can I say, "No, thank you.  I prefer the healthcare system to be left alone."  No way.  The government is taking over and there isn't anything that I can say or do to stop it.

My socialist friends and readers, take your meds and look around.  No government-run healthcare system has ever been able to hold a candle to America's private system.  Long wait times, poor care, even death is reported constantly in Great Britain's National Health Service, which liberals hold up as a shining example of the perfect government-run system.

Don't they care that people are, like, dying?

Yes, wages are higher in socialist countries that have lots of "free stuff" like Sweden.  Apparently, fast food workers make 20 an hour in Sweden.

But, let's apply to that some facts.  I have a friend from England who says that every dollar earned in the UK is taxed at 39% and 16% goes straight to the NHS.  Everyone pays the tax.  Low wage workers are not exempt.  Teenagers are not exempt.  Everyone pays the tax.

When I was living in Germany, one of the family members worked for the German military.  His marginal tax rate was 75%.  Of each dollar he made, 75 cents went to the government and he got to keep the other 25 cents.

Where is the incentive to work?  Why would anyone work hard when they will never get ahead?  Doesn't it sound better to just relax and let the government take care of you?

By his own admission, my English friend says that it is easier to live here.  Why?  Because you get to keep more of the money that you earn.

Using a conservative calculation, let's think about how much the fast food worker in Sweden, who makes 20 an hour, actually gets to take home.  I would bet that the take home pay is around 10 an hour.

The government TAKES THE REST and DECIDES WHAT TO SPEND IT ON.

You can call that "taking care of the citizens" if you like.  But, since the government takes money without permission, wastes it and spends it, even in ways that the citizens don't like, I call that "tyranny."

Yes, there are some socialist benefits attached.  But, they are just that, poorly run, government systems.

Americans, we have to wake up.  The idea that the state should take over our lives as a matter of course has got to be stopped.  The ludicrous idea that it is somehow the responsibility of government or that it is somehow compassionate and helpful is well, ludicrous.

Private companies, capitalism and the free market have lifted more people out of poverty than all of the government programs thought up by liberals combined.  (Reagan said something like that.)

The government does "look after the well being of its citizens" in socialist countries. But, it does so, only after making its citizens so poor that they can't afford to take care of themselves.  The elite class sees no difference in their lifestyle.

There is no more personal responsibility and no more freedom.

American Girl Follow-up

I just got off the phone with an executive from American Girl.  My daughter's letter will be read to the president of the company sometime in the next few weeks.  I appreciate that.

The executive was very kind and she listened patiently to me.  I appreciate that, too.

Her point of view was one of tolerance and inclusivity.

You and I have been worried about the effects of this "tolerance and inclusivity" for decades.  But, I never would have guessed that our tolerance for the Muslim religion would result in radical terrorists all over the world.  I never would have imagined that being inclusive to people from other countries would result in 4 cases of Ebola on American soil.

Our worst fears AND WORSE have been realized due to our political correctness.

I understand that the American Girl catalog does not fit in to the world narrative of war and pestilence.

However, while she was talking, I realized that she had received many phone calls and emails from people who wanted "Christmas" to be taken out of the catalog.

And, it was.

And, my precious American Girl cried because she was, inexplicably, excluded in the process of tolerance and inclusivity.

I realized that some of the blame for this predicament may fall right at our Christian, kitten-heeled feet.

How many times have you LOVINGLY complained that Christmas wasn't mentioned at a store?  How many letters have you written?  How many calls have you made?

Maybe if American Girl, and society at large, heard our gentle reproach (nobody likes a militant Christian, not even me) about tolerantly excluding 90% of the population that celebrates Christmas, there would be a change.

Here is our call to action.  Please write a letter to American Girl in Midddleton, Wisconsin.  Write it to the attention of: Corporate Service Communications.  You can also email American Girl or call the corporate office.

Let this be the first step in taking back Christmas.  Let your loving voices be heard.

Don't waste your vote on a third party candidate

Please!  I mean it.  This election is too important.  When you are in that booth and it is just you and God in there, no one will ever know your vote.  Alison Lundergan Grimes has proved that, you never have to tell who you voted for.

So, please, push the big "R."

My daughters had to go to my local Republican meeting with me recently.  My 10-year-old read or something, her political activist career hadn't begun yet.  But, my 13-year-old must have been paying attention.

On our way out she said, "Sheesh, that could have been a Democrat meeting!"

I said, "What do you mean?"

She huffed, "The way they were ripping apart all of the Republicans they could have been liberals!"

And, she is right.

As Republicans, we are very informed, engaged and opinionated.  That is good.  We don't fall in line behind our party blindly.  We read, we listen and we have very strong opinions on lots of issues.

Democrats, by contrast, rely on low-information voters.  They hear cool tag-lines like "hope" and "change" and vote for democrats.  Even though Republicans are selling awesome things like personal responsibility and freedom, liberals make all of their campaign slogans sound like, "We love puppies, we love trees and we want everyone to get free stuff and be happy!"

No one gets a puppy, tree or is happy.  Liberals just keep on pumping out the "free stuff" and have lifelong voters.  And, loyal democrats dutifully fall in line with the party no matter who is in power.  If Hillary supporters hadn't dutifully set down their signs and immediately switched over to Obama, this disastrous president wouldn't have been able to do so much damage to this country.

Wouldn't that have been great?

Now, back to Republicans, listen up, I want to talk to you.  I know that the candidates aren't conservative enough for you.

YOU HAVE TO VOTE FOR THEM ANYWAY.  Whatever we get will be exponentially better than having democrats in control.

Think about that for a second.

......

Mitt Romney wasn't conservative enough.  So, you stayed home.  You ordered from that cool pizza place down the street and caught up on Game of Thrones on Hulu.

How did that work out?

Is that pizza place still in business?  The cost of groceries has tripled, the price of gas has been doubled for the past 6 years.  (Thankfully, we are getting a brief reprieve from that right now.)  Health insurance premiums have doubled and you can't even use your insurance.  You have a deductible of about $6,000.

Don't vote for a third party candidate.  Please.  Vote for the Republican.  It will work out better than not voting.

A vote for a democrat or NOT VOTING for a Republican because he or she is not conservative enough IS A VOTE FOR OBAMA AND HIS DISASTROUS POLICIES THAT HAVE:

-raised taxes
-increased regulations
-increased the size and scope of government which has allowed:
   -the failure of the VA
   -the NSA spying on all of is
   -the IRS using its power to torture political opponents of the president
   -the retreat from Iraq that has caused the rise of ISIS, exactly as Geroge W. bush said would happen
   -the incompetency that has caused us to completely leave our southern border open and
   -the negligence that has led to not one but two cases of Ebola in the United States.

Don't waste your vote on a third party candidate, no matter how informed you are, please.  Vote for Republicans, even if they aren't conservative enough for you. It will work out better in the end.

Ok?

Liberals vs Muslims

I am starting to see a situation in which liberals, who staunchly defend the rights of Islamic terrorists as "freedom fighters" with "legitimate grievances" are going to have some really big problems with the Muslim religion.  It might happen pretty soon.  This religion, which they bend over backwards to accommodate doesn't line up very well with liberal philosophies.

Liberals consider themselves champions of all women.  Muslims beat, stone, and mutilate women.  How can liberals keep defending this?

Liberals have placed animals above all life, including human, for decades.  Muslims (I just found out yesterday by reading one of our articles) don't like dogs.  How will elite liberals feel when they can't carry Schoompsie-poo in her Gucci bag to democratic fundraisers?

Liberals have been shoving the LGBT agenda down our throats for years now.  Muslims punish homosexuality by death.

Liberals aren't really crazy about religion.  They have pushed to removed all references to God and the Bible from public places for decades, even though our country was founded on the Judeo-Christian ethic.  In Islam, not being a believer is punishable by death.  They do give that choice convert OR die, which is so nice.  But, still.

The only thing keeping Muslims from killing women, homosexuals and beloved pets right now is the armed Christian standing between them.

Shouldn't all Americans, on both sides of the aisle, be against violence toward women?  Shouldn't we all protect our domesticated American pets?  Shouldn't we all be ready to physically defend our gay friends and neighbors?  Shouldn't we all be protecting the religious liberties granted under the first amendment?

I think so.

Don't you?

Ok, help me out here

 I am just a simple Republican and I can't keep track of all the liberal flip-flopping.  My belief system doesn't change based in who is currently in the Oval Office.

See, I haven't changed my position on illegal aliens.  I still believe that it is, like, illegal.  But, Harry Reid has.  He was against amnesty for illegal aliens when George W. Bush was in office.  He is all for it now that Obama is in office.

Senator Obama called raising the debt ceiling "unpatriotic" when George W. bush was in office and was against deficit spending.  But, PRESIDENT Obama has no problem recklessly spending us into the ground.

Sheesh, where is that watchdog media when you need them?

I mean, if a Republican changes their favorite postage stamp, they will report on it, call him or her a flip-flopper.  They would start wearing flip-flops to press briefings in 6 inches of snow.

I am just saying, you would know about it.

But liberal flip-flopping is swept under the proverbial rug, which is starting to look a little bit like the Rockies.

Take the election that is coming up in two weeks.  Liberal democrats who are in danger of losing their senate seats can't seem to run far enough or fast enough away from their patron saint, Obama.

Liberal democrats, who have blocked the Keystone pipeline, crushed the coal industry, and are against fracking, are pulling out their guns and Carhartts and, well, acting like Republicans.

You know, Republicans who are for the Keystone pipeline, for coal and for fracking.

The problem is those liberal democrats, who are in danger of never being re-admitted to the congressional lounge, voted FOR Obama's energy and job killing
policies.  In most cases, they voted with Obama 95-97% of the time.

Inexplicably, Obama made sure that voters know who they are voting for in those key senate races.  He said that even though he isn't on the ballot, his policies are.

Sheesh, thanks.

But, that is ok.  This is where liberal lying and that Rocky Mountain carpet come in so handy.  Obama, in an interview with the totally politically neutral Al Sharpton, ace reporter, oh and advisor to the White House, said to democrats desperately clinging to their Capitol Hill lanyards, "You do what you need to do to win. I will be responsible for making sure that our voters turn out."  Because, the record doesn't lie and even Obama has to admit, in the same interview, "The bottom line is, though, these are all folks who vote with me; they have supported my agenda in congress."

If Republicans can't pull this one out, God help us all.

Desperate Dems...

...Will do anything to hold on to the senate.  Some say that all is fair in politics.  The problem with that is both sides don't play by the same rules.  Unfortunately, Republicans do lie sometimes.  But, when they are caught, the other Republicans help in getting the liar out of office.

Democrats lie as par for the course.  When they are caught, everyone falls in the party line and supports both the lie and the liar.  When all else fails, they just shrug and go, "Oops!"  There are never any repercussions.

If a Republican did something like this (see below) the media would report on it 24/7 in a continuous cycle.  Why aren't they reporting on this?

This is from the Washington Free Beacon:

* "Just a week after Sen. Kay Hagan (D., N.C.) recommended a North Carolina judge to President Barack Obama for a seat in the U.S. District Court, the judge ruled in favor of a company partially owned by Hagan’s husband. The senator’s husband, Charles T. ‘Chip’ Hagan, was a managing member of Hydrodyne Industries LLC when it sued a regional water authority for drawing water out of a river that had one of its hydroelectric dams built on…. Superior Court Judge Calvin E. Murphy ruled the case in favor of Hydrodyne … Murphy’s ruling was made on Oct. 23, 2009, just nine days after Sen. Hagan sent his name to Obama to be nominated for a lifetime seat on the U.S. District Court for Western North Carolina. Hagan withdrew her recommendation to Obama after North Carolina’s News and Record contacted her office about the apparent conflict of interest, telling the paper that she “was not aware that Judge Murphy was hearing a case in which my husband had an interest.””

Please, the case and the judge hearing it would have been just about the only topic of discussion around the Hagan dinner table.  How can this level of corruption be allowed in American politics?  Is it all just because the mainstream media agrees with liberal policies?  What the heck happened to objectivity?

So, do the democrats fess up?  No way, they double down.  This is from the Washington Examiner:

* “This year’s North Carolina Senate race is shaping up to be one of America’s first $100 million Senate races. By the time Nov. 4 rolls around, money spent or committed to the race between Democratic U.S. Sen Kay Hagan and Republican Thom Tillis is supposed to top $103 million, according to analysis by the Charlotte Observer. Three-quarters of the money comes from both party and interest groups, while more than $22 million comes from groups that don’t disclose their donors, known as ‘dark money’ groups. Hagan’s campaign has spent $19.6 million, being backed by $35 million from outside groups. Tillis’ campaign has spent only $6 million, but outside groups have sent more than $42 million his way.”

This is distressing.  We all need to know about it and tell it to other people.

* Washington Free Beacon and Washington Examiner quotes excerpted from "Fox News First" by Christ Stirewalt

First World Problems

I took the kids and my mom to Niagara Falls this past summer.  I was checking out in the gift shop and struggling to hold my purchases while cramming my wallet in my over-stuffed purse.

I apologized to the young man, of indeterminate ancestry, who had checked me out, for holding up the line.  He quipped, in perfect English, "That is a first world problem."

Sensing a kindred spirit, I immediately responded, "Only someone who knows how bad the third world is would say that," all thoughts of the line behind me now gone.

His mother was in fact from the third world, which is why he was raised here, speaks the King's English and works in the Niagara Falls gift shop.

I have come to realize, through one of my liberal cousins, that the "first world problem" line is actually AN INSULT to the first world.

Ok.

People die trying to get here.  People put their children on planes, alone, in the hopes that they will make it here to be swaddled in first world problems.  People claw their way across the desert to be encumbered with first world problems.

So, I have decided to relish all of my first world problems.  Every time that I prop up my hobbit slippers on my leather barco lounger to watch the news, I thank God that I don't have to carry water for 3 miles each way.  (I can walk six miles if I feel like it, but I don't HAVE to, if I don't want to.)

I am thankful every time that I turn on the water to brush my teeth, make dinner, wash the dishes or the laundry.

I am thankful that I have a dog (frowned upon in third world countries) and that I have to go pick up her allergy medicine today.  Poor puppy.

I am thankful that I have to go BACK to NTB to have them fix the tire that they fixed last week on our second car.

I am thankful for a few of the thousand or so channels that I get on several televisions.

And, I am thankful that I can worship the way that I want.

All first world problems.  The first world rocks and if we don't start defending it, we are going to lose it because I am starting to think that liberals (please see my previously published works) want to send us back to the dark ages.

Is the state responsible for the well-being of its citizens?

This question, posed by a reader on my blog, actually keep me up last night.

It wasn't the answer that kept me up, that is an emphatic "NO!"  But, rather what kept me from a good night's sleep was the pervasiveness of this seemingly innocuous argument.

I mean, it sounds fabulous at cocktail parties, right?

"Ah, dahling, the state should be responsible for the well being of its citizens.  Pass me the caviar..."

It reminds me a lot of "let them eat cake."  Of course, the upper class, which pays a small percentage of their income to the state, feels no negative effects from the state.  They pass laws that don't pertain to them, pay taxes out of their abundance to keep the government going and don't really care much about the cost of food, gas, heating bills, clothes or anything.

Like Nancy Pelosi.

However, the poor have to pay a much larger percentage, or even everything that they have to the state and are then slaves to the state.  They get only the amount of what is left that is rationed to them by the government.  Instead of being free to work hard, take what they earn and spend it on anything they want, the government takes it and gives it to other people.

So, while things are going well at the cocktail party, a wild-eyed redneck with a shotgun yelling, "Stay off my land!" doesn't go over nearly as well.  But that freedom fighter is exactly who built this country.  This republic was settled and built by people who wanted to be free from government tyranny.

It is hard to figure out how this country full of immigrants who came here to work hard and live free FROM the state has succumbed to the argument that the state can and should take care of them.

Last Thanksgiving I helped one of my cousins with his college economics homework.  (We got an A.)  He was being taught to factor in the economic costs and benefits of government in all of his calculations.  I couldn't believe it!

In economics, I was taught the free market.  (I got an A.) Government isn't the solution, it is the problem.  Government doesn't make, it just takes and re-distributes.  The elite class gives a little and doesn't notice.  The low class, which is all that is left, there is no middle, has nothing, it all belongs to the state.

Sadly, the socialist model, which is exactly what I am describing, has been tried throughout the world for centuries and it always collapses when the government runs out of other people's money and goes bankrupt.

(Yes, foreign readers, America is headed in that direction, which is why I am so upset.)

Here are just a few of the examples where socialism/communism/liberal progressivism/call it what you want has been tried and failed.

In the Bible, the new church tried out socialism.  Everyone took what they had and gave it to the church and everyone had enough.  Until, Ananias and Sapphira came along.  They sold some land and gave part of the money to the church.  They kept some for themselves, which is fine.  But, they lied and said that they had given everything.  They were both struck down dead.  (Look it up, it is in Acts.)

The Pilgrims tried communism.  Did you know that?  In the new world, the land belonged to everyone.  Everyone worked and everyone shared the harvest.  It didn't take long for a Pilgrim to figure out that if he stayed in the dirt-floor cabin, propped those buckle-y shoes on a milk urn and watched the sheep stroll by on the big screen picture window, he would get the same amount of food.

So, people stopped showing up at work!  Yeah!

Then, they divided up the land.  When the land was privately owned and you ate what you grew, guess what happened?  They worked their buckle-y shoes off to grow food.

Remember the USSR?  The government took everything and then distributed to everyone the portion that the government decided each person deserved.  People were starving.  Even now, socialist countries all over Europe are scratching their heads as they watch their governments go bankrupt.

Socialism sounds great!  But, it doesn't work anywhere.  We all used to agree on this.  It used to be something that we all fought against.  Remember the book by Madeleine L'Engle, A Wrinkle in Time?

(My daughter wanted me to point this out and please watch the comments, she can, like, read you know.)

In it, the greatest evil was a place where they lulled you to sleep, made you stop thinking and made you act like everyone else.  If you didn't, you were taken away and "re-programmed."  We are introduced to the world in the book by a description of a street where all of the houses are exactly the same.  All of the children bounce the balls in exactly the same way.  They all come inside exactly when they are told and the one boy who doesn't bounce properly is taken away.

Frighteningly, that doesn't sound too dissimilar from where we are headed right now.  We all are being forced to comply with a very narrow liberal worldview.  We are being programmed to stop thinking that government is the problem.  We are being told that government is the solution.

After Obamacare, the IRS, the NSA, Ebola and ISIS, do you really believe that?

We are being told that "you didn't build that" business.  We are being turned toward class and race warfare.  Hillary Clinton just said that businesses aren't job creators.

Once we all stop thinking and working hard, then we all turn to the government to fill all of our needs and willingly let the government take over - where exactly will we be?