Fuzzy Math Courtesy of the NEA

We keep a coin jar for loose change and from time to time I roll the coins and change them into paper money to use for a treat---dinner out, a movie, whatever. I have been eying the jar for the past couple of weeks and considering that a harvest was in order. Last night I got the coin sorter and the paper rolls out and started sorting and rolling. When I was finished I had $67 in rolled coins. I counted it at least 4 times to be sure--3 rolls of quarters, 5 rolls of dimes, 4 rolls of nickels and 8 rolls of pennies---$67 every time. We decided that we would add it to the Christmas fund. My husband and I are not exchanging gifts this year, but rather are giving to underprivileged families, and we would add this to the pot.

This morning I carried my heavy sack of coins into the bank to change it into folding money. The teller was a woman of about 35, no more than that. I told her of my mission and arranged the coin rolls into like groups so that her job would be easier. She began to count the money--"3 rolls of quarters, $30, 5 rolls of dimes, $25, that's $55 and.....uh... 4 rolls of nickels at $2 each, that's $8 and ...oh gosh, I can't add... uh that's $62 and 8 rolls of pennies at 50 cents each is $4 and the total is $66."

"No," I said, "That should be $67 because $55 + $8 is $63 not $62 and then the $4 in pennies makes $67." She looked confused, so I counted it out for her and showed her, again, that it came to $67. After the second counting, she agreed that I was right and sheepishly turned to her cash drawer and counted out my money...3 $20's and 2 $1's for a total of $62. She held the money out and I didn't take it. She stared at me with a "What's wrong, now??!" look and I said, "I'm sorry but the total was $67."

She mumbled something under her breath about needing coffee and retrieved a $5 to add to the pile and counted it out again. This is a bank teller who can't add and subtract simple sums in her head and make change! This is a bank teller with responsibility for complicated transactions. This is someone who has a cash drawer with large sums of money in it that must balance at the end of the day. This was an easy transaction, just count the money and then give me the same amount of folding money in exchange. God forbid that I had taken a large check that needed to be divided among three accounts and then had some cash back, too (something that I do regularly).

My bank is a well respected bank in this state that has been around for 40+ years under its present name and existed for many years before that. I might have to consider taking my money out now, before the run on the banks so that I can be sure that I actually get all of it!

I Told You So.....

Just a few days ago I put a post in my blog about the low price of gasoline and my concern that this was just the calm before the storm. Little did I realize, however, that the storm would come so soon.

On Thanksgiving afternoon (yesterday) we stopped to fill the tank after our Thanksgiving visiting and paid $1.33 per gallon at a local Florissant, Missouri BP station. This afternoon (24 hours later) our BP station has gasoline for $1.59 per gallon. We need to keep the pressure on our legislators to be sure that we maintain the progress we have made for offshore drilling and exploration of our own oil reserves here in the USA as a critical part of energy independence.

OPEC meets in Cairo tomorrow and our "friends" will discuss whether or not to drop production...again. I hope that I am wrong, but.....I told you so.

UPDATE: 11/29/2008 8:51 AM CST Fox news is reporting that the Saudi's feel that the price of a gallon of crude should REALLY be trading at $75 per barrel......I TOLD YOU SO.....

Thank you Sarah Palin!

There is no doubt that Sarah Palin has left her mark on the 2008 Presidential election. Now that she is back in Alaska, she is still the target of the MSM in an attempt to neutralize her. The measure of her mark, however can be found at Team Sarah where members are still joining and the membership is just shy of 60,000 members today!

The grassroots effort to unify the conservative voice to be fully prepared for the 2010 election is gaining momentum through a variety of alternative media sites such as Smart Girl Politics, Team Sarah, #dontgo movement, Grizzly Groundswell and the conservative voices on Blogtalk Radio to name just a few.

As we have just finished celebrating a national day of Thanksgiving, it is worthy to reflect on the things that we have to be thankful and for the things that have made this nation great. Sarah Palin is representative of these ideas and ideals and for this we should ask why she represents such a threat to the left in this country? This should explain it:

Thanksgiving

With all of the bad news swirling around regarding the economy and international affairs, Americans sat down today around tables all over the country and gave thanks. Most of those tables were laden with more food than one could consume and many of the recipients of these meals had so much to eat that a nap was needed after pushing away from the table! We still live in a land of plenty and we have so much for which to give thanks.

I would personally like to thank all of the men and women in the armed forces who are away from their families today because they have VOLUNTARILY committed time out of their lives to protect the freedoms that we at home take for granted and all too often squander.

I would personally like to thank all of the families who are having a Thanksgiving meal without the presence of someone who is in the military and let you know that we are grateful for your sacrifice and for theirs.

I am thankful that I live in a country where we can vigorously disagree and yet there is no consequence (at least not yet) for dissent.

I am thankful for family and friends. In spite of all of the press about "enduring Thanksgiving with the dysfunctional family", when you need them, blood is still thicker than water!

I am thankful that I have a job and what's more, I like what I do.

I am thankful that I will have enough to be able to share what I have with others during the upcoming Christmas season.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

#dontgo Movement-- But Don't Go Too Far!!!

Today my corner Mobil station has regular unleaded gasoline for $1.39 per gallon. Gleefully people have been laughing about the falling gas pump prices. Just a few days ago, a local commentator relished the fact that when he looks at the price at the pump he is tempted to squirt some gas on the ground just for grins or offer to fill up someone else's tank, too. While I love the fact that the pump prices are back to a livable level, I am also wary that this is just the lull before the storm.

In August, with a gallon of gas going for $4 plus depending on the locale in the USA, the Democrat Congress went home in a "let them eat cake" moment that left the ordinary citizenry twisting in the wind over fuel prices and the rogue Republican congress stayed behind in the darkened chambers and publicized their month long "sit in" demonstration via the social media. From this the #dontgo movement was born as a grassroots means of spreading the word about the need for drilling in the US and offshore as a bridge to make us less dependent on and ultimately independent of foreign oil. Between the #dontgo movement and Americansolutions.com the mantra of "Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Less" became the rallying cry for the common guy who needs to have gasoline to get to work every day.

In Early September when Hurricane Ike hit the Texas Gulf Coast, I recall sitting at my home computer on the weekend monitoring the petroleum chat rooms. I sat like a fly on the wall as men in the petroleum industry wove tales of gas shortages and further skyrocketing pump prices if the worst damage projected would happen to the oil rigs in the Gulf and the pipelines that take oil and gasoline to the rest of the country had to be shut done for any period of time. While the worst case scenario did not materialize for the Midwest, there were some tight times in Atlanta and along the Eastern seaboard.

The ban on offshore drilling was allowed to expire in late September and the prices have been in free fall ever since. But this is not the time to take our eyes off of the ball because we are still totally dependent on foreign oil. Now is the time to DEMAND that the small gains that have been made continue to be enforced and put into play. NOW IS THE TIME FOR DRILLING AND EXPLORATION. We can't afford to sit on our laurels (affordable gasoline) and tell ourselves that the problem is solved.... because it isn't.

Earlier this month, in a reaction to the continued fall in crude oil prices, OPEC cut production by 1.5 million barrels per day in an attempt to stave off further fall in price. In spite of this, oil prices have further dropped so that today the price is hovering around $50 per barrel. Since the first reduction did not have its intended effect, Iran and Venezuela are both calling for a further reduction in output when OPEC meets on November 29 in Cairo.

There are other ways that OPEC can ratchet up the pressure against us if they so desire...and remember... we are NOT their favorite people. Oil is traded in US dollars. For the past 3-4 years there have been murmurings about changing the currency for petroleum trade to the Euro. While it has not yet happened, this could have devastating consequences for us. Today, November 24, 2008, one Euro is equal to $1.2885 US dollars. If the oil trade currency were to change overnight, today's $50 barrel of oil would cost us $64.43 tomorrow. We are at the mercy of the oil producing nations and they have a MONOPOLY on the situation. So there are a number of ways to combine forces to squeeze us back into a very uncomfortable place with oil and heap that onto our economic woes.

It is also clear to the world that our President-elect is not a fan of ANY drilling or petroleum based ventures. He is a fan of green jobs, an area that still has much to be developed so that it does not turn into the corn/ethanol disaster we have already endured. He also favors alternative energy (BUT NOT NUCLEAR), but if we had to depend on alternative energy overnight we could not because the development and implementation phase would take years! Add to this the fact that we are in a time of transition in our leadership that makes us highly vulnerable to external whims. There is no time like the present to continue the mantra of "Drill Here Drill NOW!" to provide a bridge to the future.

While the #dontgo movement has morphed into the #dontgo Revolution and broadened its horizons to unite the conservative voters on a variety of issues and American Solutions.com is a little quieter than it has been in the past 4 months, the theme of energy independence resonates with ordinary people. American Solutions.com continues to have active buttons on its website to tell President-elect Obama that drilling in the USA is still vitally important as a bridge to the future of energy independence. It is an issue that MUST be kept in the forefront and articulated clearly so that the most lowly of us KNOWS WHAT WILL HAPPEN IF WE DO NOT pursue our own supplies of oil and natural gas. We are a nation of easily shifting focus and short attention span. We tire of hearing about the same things over and over and if the pressure is off, we move on to something else rather than continuing to work on the problem. In this situation, we cannot take our eyes off of the prize and we need to keep moving the ball forward lest we suddenly find ourselves blindsided back into energy HELL!

A Woman's Place is in the Conservative Movement

On November 5, conservatives burned with resolution regarding the need to rebrand and reimage the Republican party or at the very least the conservative message. Recently the discussion has become less heated as many of us have stepped back to consider what needs to be done. In spite of taking some time for reflection and pragmatism, others have been less than silent. Suggestions as to what the Republican party should do have been free flowing. Many pundits see the need to moderate the Republican party and make Republicans more like Democrats. The RINO has been held up as the gold standard for the party suggesting that there should be a large squishy party that stands for nothing and is willing to give up positions in the name of kumbaya. Kathleen Parker wrote a recent column suggesting that GOD is the problem with the Republican party and the sooner that GOD is out of the way, the sooner the Republican party can get on with the business at hand. Mort Kondracke posited that the problem is that the conservatives listen to the likes of Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck and Laura Ingraham and this is the root of their problem.

On the other hand, the Dontgo Movement has been revitalized and repositioned to be a grassroots conservative voice in the alternative media, Team Sarah has continued to recruit members with nearly 60,000 women willing to continue to speak out for conservative causes and a newly formulated coalition of conservative women bloggers, Smart Girl Politics, has formed with an active face in the blogosphere and social media. These outlets are designed to take back the real conservative message of smaller government, fiscal responsibility and the socially conservative message that is needed to take back our government from the hands of a socialist DINO. Robert Robb has a cogent column on what this will entail that should be a jumping off point for all conservative movements.

These conservative grassroots/ netroots organizations have the task of organizing and connecting all manner of social, fiscal and religious conservatives together in a cohesive network with a unified message that can begin to compete with the network that the Democrats so successfully wrought to achieve their November victory. While "now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their party" as the old typing test says, it may be even more important that "all good women come to the aid of their party."

It is well known in the field of health care that women are their most important focus group. Women have babies and choose a medical caregiver and a hospital or birthing center for this event. They are usually the one who chooses a pediatrician and this choice usually comes from interactions with other moms or with their obstetrician or midwife. Later when it is time for hubby to be dragged kicking and screaming to an internist or specialist, it is usually the wife who does the nagging, the dragging and the choosing. If your child goes to something other than the local public school, it is likely that mom is a driving force in the selection of a private school, and if, God forbid, as Joy Behar says, you are a knuckle dragging idiot who home schools their children, then it is likely that mom bears the brunt of the lesson planning, teaching, homework and time management in order to make it happen. (And just so that I don't get hate mail, this is in no way an indictment against those dads who have taken on role reversal for any one of a variety of excellent reasons--my husband is one of you!)

As women, we hold the future of our children and grandchildren in our hands and it is our responsibility to give them a bright and secure future. We have the chance to teach them the values and factual history that they are no longer learning in school. We should be members of the PTA and school board to fight for the things that are missing in our public schools. We should be engaged in our communities to be sure that we are electing officials who speak for our beliefs and values. We are the ones who should be working for conservative candidates, and especially for strong conservative women candidates. We are usually the volunteers that work in charities and on the boards of non-profit organizations that support conservative causes. The internet has made our world very small and communication very easy. It is high time that we use these mass media tools to educate and energize conservative women everywhere.

The power of a coalition of smart, articulate and educated women cannot be underestimated. We need to engage conservative women from all walks of life into a force with which to be reckoned. We need to be sure that conservative women are as politically articulate (or perhaps even more so) as conservative men. We need to walk hand in hand with our conservative men, just as we walk with them hand in hand in our families. We are the spouses and mothers of our military men and women who hold the home together while loved ones serve far away. We recently learned that conservative women are hated for their clarity of position, but that should only bolster our resolve. Let's face it, women are dedicated, focused, altruistic and capable of great acts of strength, that is why we are mothers. These are characteristics that we bring to the conservative table, too.

We are entering the frenetic Christmas season and one of my favorite Christmas jokes will soon begin circulating through the email channels.

Do you know what would have happened if it had been Three Wise Women instead of Three Wise Men?

They would have asked directions, arrived on time, helped deliver the baby, cleaned the stable, made a casserole and brought practical gifts.

This is what conservative women are made of and what the conservative movement needs for the future!

A Cautionary Tale

Today the housing market is down, the government is bailing out banks and considering extending this courtesy to a host of other industries. Wealthy AIG executives take a taxpayer bailout and then flaunt it with bonuses and extravagant trips. The consumer is the fall guy and prices are rising at retail outlets everywhere. The financial pundits are calling for a bleak Christmas shopping season and Black Friday may actually be awash in red ink this year. The pundits are calling for rough economic times ahead. There is talk of soon increasing credit card interest rates to 27-30%. Our government is printing money to keep up with our windfall spending and economic IOU's and promises to everyone.

Young people today do not remember the 4 year term of President Carter when home interest rates were 20%, there were gas lines everywhere and energy conservation included wearing a sweater and turning down the thermostat! The history taught in our public schools is a watered down revisionist version of what happened, so it is no wonder that young adults today have a disconnect between the past and the present. If you never learned history, then you cannot learn from the mistakes of the past.

In March 2003, Brian Trumbone wrote an article for StockandNews.com that I would offer as a cautionary tale for today's economic turmoil. In this article he described the conditions of the Weimar Republic in the decades between the end of World War I and World War II.

On January 11, 1923, French and Belgain troops (against the advice of the British) occupied the Ruhr, a region which furnished 4/5's of Germany's coal and steel production. The miners refused to work for the enemy and the Germans simply printed more money with which to pay them not to, allowing inflation to spiral completely out of control. The economy was strangled and the free fall in the mark was incredible. Following is the historic slide in the value of the German mark.

July 1914 4.2 marks to the dollar.
January 1919 8.9 marks to the dollar.
July 1919 14.0 marks to the dollar.
January 1920 64.8 marks to the dollar.
July 1920 39.5 marks to the dollar.
January 1921 64.9 marks to the dollar.
July 1921 76.7 marks to the dollar.
January 1922 1919.8 marks to the dollar.
July 1922 493.2 marks to the dollar.
January 1923 17,972 marks to the dollar.
July 1923 353,412 marks to the dollar.
August 1923 4, 620,455 marks to the dollar.
September 1923 98,860,000 marks to the dollar.
October 1923 25,260,208,000 marks to the dollar.
November 1923 4,200,000,000,000 marks to the dollar. YES TRILLION!

By late 1923, the German government required 1,783 printing presses running around the clock to print money.

Germans wheeled shopping carts filled with literally trillions of marks to pay for a single loaf of bread. Employees asked to be paid their wages each morning so that they could shop at noon before merchants posted the afternoon price rises.

Spiraling inflation also wiped out people on fixed income along with the small savings they had put aside for retirement.

"Annuities, pensions, proceeds of insurance policies, savings accounts in the banks, income from bonds and mortgages--every form of revenue which had been arranged for at some time in the past, and which often represented the economy, foresight and personal planning of many years--now turned to nothing. The middle class was pauperized and demoralized."

William Shirer in The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, adds: "What good were the standards and practices of such a society, which encouraged savings and investment and solemnly promised a safe return from them and then defaulted? Was this not a fraud upon the people?" But not everyone suffered in Germany.

Again, Shirer:"Big industrialists and landlords goaded the government to deliberately let the mark tumble in order to free the State of its public debts, to escape from paying reparations and to sabotage the French in the Ruhr. The destruction of the currency enabled German heavy industry to wipe out its indebtedness by refunding its obligations in worthless marks. The fall of the mark wiped out war debts and thus, left Germany financially unencumbered for a new war. The masses of the people only knew that a large bank account could not buy a straggly bunch of carrots, a few ounces of sugar. In their misery the Republic was made the scapegoat for all that had happened.

At the height of the currency crisis, an interested spectator commented: "The government calmly goes on printing these scraps of paper because, if it stopped, that would be the end of the government. Because once the printing presses stopped--and that is the prerequisite for the stabilization of the mark--the swindle would at once be brought to light. Believe me, our misery will increase. The scoundrel will get by. The reason: because the State itself has become the biggest swindler and crook. A robbers State!? If the horrified people notice that they can starve on billions, they must arrive at this conclusion: We will no longer submit to a State which is built on the swindling idea of the majority. We want a dictatorship." Thus spoke Adolf Hitler.

Bait and Switch

Bait and Switch is a commonly used, but ILLEGAL, tactic in the merchandising arena in which an item is advertised at an appealing price but when the customer comes to the store they are informed that either the item is not in stock or is not really what the consumer wants and they are steered to a more expensive item. This is a fraudulent advertising tactic that is punishable by U.S. law.

Have we just witnessed political bait and switch from Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson?? Today he announced that the whopping $700 billion bailout that was forced on us in the name of financial Armageddon and was to be used to buy up "toxic" mortgages to loosen up the banking loan industry will not be used for this and instead, there are new and different ways to use this money to invest in banks and to grease the skids for the credit card and auto and student loan arenas. I am outraged that we have been duped by our government and you should be too.

And to heap burning coals onto our heads, the auto industry that has been tenuous for years is looking for another handout (er...loan) to keep them from going under and AIG is getting a second handout and all on YOUR dollar. Are the airlines waiting in the wings--You betcha! Who else might be waiting in the wings with hands outstretched??? Just as our welfare system allows abuse by people who scam the system and are really not "entitled", we have just launched a huge system of industrial welfare and the corporate vultures are circling for whatever money they can get from the government gravy train.

Our elected officials must be told that this current situation is INTOLERABLE! Don't sit back and allow your hard earned money to be tossed down a rat hole and squandered by fat cats who have NO RIGHT to it. You worked hard for your money and have every right to say how it will be spent!!

Thank You

Today is Veteran's Day and I want to say "Thank you" to all veterans. Thank you for leaving the comforts of home to go to a hostile land where you may have had to live in primitive and dangerous conditions. Thank you for leaving your family for months at a time to fight to defend our freedom. Thank you for your bravery in the face of danger in far away places. Thank you for giving of your self so that people back home could be free to take your name in vain. Thank you for defending the cause of freedom in places that have not known freedom. Thank you for the sacrifice of jobs and your personal security so that those at home may be secure. Thank you for the sacrifice of your life and health so that others can enjoy the gift of freedom and democracy. Thank you for the times that you have missed precious times in the lives of your families- births, first words and steps, graduations, marriages and deaths-- while serving a greater cause.

There is another group on this day that I would also like to thank. Thank you to all of the families who have given so graciously of your loved ones. Some of them have been on loan to the country and the world, and others have been permanently given to the cause of freedom and justice for all. You have spent times alone and waited patiently for loved ones to return, sometimes in futility.

Whether you are a veteran of combat or a veteran of military service in peace time, I honor you and the sacrifice of years from your life so that a greater cause may be served. THANK YOU.

Restructuring the Conservative Movement

No sooner than the President-elect was announced than pundits everywhere were talking about the tatters of the Republican party and the need for some serious regrouping in order for the party to survive. Over the past week, I have also heard a growing number of voices that have been lobbying for the idea of a real third party. I have even read a thought or two about a secessionist movement. It is obvious that many people are thinking about what to do and brainstorming about all sorts of possibilities, some realistic and some....not so much.

Yesterday's Saturday political talk shows were filled with mention of a resurgence of the young fresh conservative faces such as Bobby Jindal, Sarah Palin, Tim Pawlenty, Eric Cantor and Mike Pence to name just a few. Today, Eric Cantor and Mike Pence graced Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace and were quite impressive in laying out some preliminary guidelines for needed action.

Even as the election returns were still coming in, some pundits were making a case for the Republican party to move toward the squishy center and this has been promoted by any number of people in the past few post-election days. This is, however, not the way to make the Republican party or the conservative movement viable. To reimagine the Republican party into a conservative democratic party is not tenable. This is part of the reason why John McCain lost. Before he added Sarah Palin to the ticket his support was luke warm, but after adding her to the ticket, there was a rush of support that went in the direction of McCain. In fact, it is likely that many Republicans cast a vote for Sarah Palin rather than a vote for John McCain. If he had added someone else to the ticket, I feel that his loss would have been even more dramatic. As my husband proclaimed this summer as he winced at the thought of voting for John McCain, "If I wanted to vote for a Democrat, I would have voted for the Democrat." It is time, now, to rid the party of all of the old RINO's that pollute the Republican party and this includes some of the old and venerable names in Republicandom--Lindsey Graham, Richard Lugar, Chuck Hagel to name just a few....in fact some of these individuals may find themselves in positions in the Obama presidency. These men and women are not truly conservative and have shown it time and time again by pandering to the other side of the aisle and giving up ground to them in the name of bipartisanship. We saw it in the wake of judicial nominees in the Gang of 14 and even this summer during the rogue Republican congress when the old RINO's got on the bandwagon at the the last minute and formed a moderate coalition to work with the vacationing Democrats. It is time to sweep out the old and replace them with new fresh faces who embody true conservative principles.

Getting young conservatives out in the front lines will energize the Republican base. These are the internet and social media savvy conservatives that we need. During the Rogue Republican congress this August, the #dontgo movement was mounted by the social media and Twitter became the home for communication from the darkened House floor to the people around the country. During the entire August recess, John Boehner, Eric Cantor, Mike Pence and a number of other Republicans held forth in the darkened House chambers to make their case for drilling offshore and throughout the country where oil reserves were thought to exist as a bridge solution for $4-$5 per gallon gasoline and diesel fuel, exorbitantly expensive aviation fuel and heating oil. While Nancy Pelosi was on her book tour, and her fellow Democrats were on vacation, the Rogue Republicans stayed behind to make the case that something had to be done to gain energy independence from foreign oil. Daily briefings were made public via Twitter, conservative bloggers, cell phone cameras and internet audio and video media who staunchly stayed on top of the situation and spread the word even though the TV cameras, air conditioning and MSM coverage were turned off during this time.

The #dontgo movement caught on and was picked up by some of the conservative radio talkers and a groundswell of ordinary citizens began flooding the offices of the vacationing Democrats and some of the moderate Republicans who had gone home with phone calls, letters and email ordering them to return and get something done about the high cost of fuel. The same sort of conservative groundswell resulted with the response to legislation for amnesty for illegal immigrants and it was squelched in favor of better and tighter enforcement of laws already on the books and tightening of our borders. Conservative groundswell also had a role in the recall of Harriet Miers' nomination for Supreme Court Justice by the Bush Administration. We know that our voices, when mounted together can be heard.

Team Sarah which was a coalition of women from all walks of life who supported Sarah Palin entered the election with about 44,000 committed members and since then as added another 10,000 members since the defeat of the McCain ticket. The One Million woman townhall internet teleconference that was held by Team Sarah on November 1 was awesome. Next week, the #dontgo movement will be reborn into a new conservative rebuilding effort with emphasis on sweeping out the stale Republican leadership and tying all of the loose ends together into a conservative answer to moveon.org.

Conservatives need to be cohesive and organized. We need to be disciplined and principled. We need to tie all of the splinter groups together and make use of the social media. We need to appeal to young people in a stronger way. We need to be sure that we stay aligned with the ideas that we should have espoused all along--smaller government, personal responsibility, lower taxes, fiscal responsibility, etc. While the black vote went overwhelmingly for Obama, we know from YouTube and the blogosphere that there were some very outspoken black Republican voters. We need to reach out to those conservative Latino and black voters where we have common ground and be sure that they realize that our tent is big enough for conservatives of any bent.

I am looking forward to seeing the new Republican party rising out of the ashes of the 2008 election defeat as a stronger, more vibrant, more cohesive and more vocal party that can stand up successfully in the 2010 mid-term election and stave off further Congressional losses and put themselves into a strong position for the 2012 Presidential election! If we all band together and work for the next two years to educate and energize potential voters, this could happen.

My Daughter Made Me Proud

My daughter works in marketing and like many young adults, she has been a relatively detached voter in the two prior Bush elections. She digests things quietly and many times during her formative years, my husband and I seriously wondered what actually got through to her. As a young adult she is conservative both socially and fiscally. As a young professional woman she is successful. Yet she has always held that a single vote is meaningless and has not had much use for politics overall. My husband and I have tried to dispel this idea, but she never seemed to buy into it. So I was a bit surprised when she admitted that she and her boyfriend had been engaged in such a spirited political discussion that they missed the exit on the interstate when they were traveling to join us for lunch on Sunday. (This in spite of the fact that they both voted for McCain/Palin!) Then yesterday, she called me in the afternoon to tell me, sarcastically, that I could sleep well knowing that she had just finished voting for McCain/Palin! She also made some snide comment about how silly I was to place so much emphasis on voting.

And yet, yesterday evening, she called while she was on the way home from a meeting to see if there was any news about the election yet!

This morning, I received an email from her with the following message: Are you sad.....?

My response was that while I was a bit sad, the election provided true conservatives with some very important challenges for the future.

I seriously thought that would be the end of the discussion, as it usually is. But I received a response email with one of the most astounding and cogent responses from her:

What was done right = MARKETING.

What was done wrong = MARKETING.

I believe that this election was won by the best marketer.

I do have to say that I'm more interested in politics now because of this election. People seem to be so energized by him that I'd really like to watch and track the actual change that takes place vs. what he said he would do (even though he didn't say much other than "change").

So thanks to this election my conservative daughter is now energized with respect to politics. She gets it now, and knows that her profession played a profound role in this election. She also recognizes that words alone don't produce change. If she ever decides to switch jobs, I think that she could find a place in the conservative political arena.

I Am So Proud of My Daughter

My daughter has been an ambivalent voter in the two previous Bush elections. My husband and I have tried to engage her in political thought and she has been reluctant before now. She embodies sound conservative principles in her life and actions, but she has not had any fire in her belly for political matters, somehow thinking that she was just one person of little significance or that the candidates did not speak for her. Yesterday afternoon she called me to grudgingly let me know that I could quit worrying, she had voted for McCain/Palin and then she made some comment about how silly I was to place so much emphasis on her one vote.

I let these things slide, because I also know that she was engaged in a spirited political discussion with her boyfriend (though they both voted for McCain/Palin and are like minded) that got so involved that they missed the exit on the interstate that they needed to take to join us for lunch on Sunday!

This morning I received an email from her with a simple message: "Are you sad....."

My reply was that I was a bit sad at the outcome, but energized at the challenges that are now clearly ahead for conservative voices in America.

Imagine my surprise when I got another email with her very cogent response:

What was done right = MARKETING.

What was done wrong = MARKETING.

I believe that this election was won by the best marketer.

I do have to say that I'm more interested in politics now because of this election. People seem to be so energized by him that I'd really like to watch and track the actual change that takes place vs. what he said he would do (even though he didn't say much other than "change")

She has been energized by a candidate that she did not back and yet she has been brought into political connection in this rough and tumble election because she saw a connection with her own profession. She finally understands how things happen and she sees the emptiness of "just words". I hope that if she decides to change jobs, she can find something in the conservative political arena..She would be awesome.

The Morning After

Last night I watched Jesse Jackson with tears streaming down his face (were they happy, was he thinking of his castration comments, or was he thinking that he was now a victim, too) ate comfort food, and ruminated on the fate of the world. The I went to bed, prayed for our nation and without the aid of anything at all, I slept a peaceful and sound sleep. Today, the sun is bright, the leaves are beautiful and the world is still there. Nothing CHANGED overnight except that there is one less bull and one more national holiday in Kenya and President-Elect Obama has already put in his bid for his second term during his acceptance speech.

The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even in one term.

Being pragmatic, realistic and having the benefit of years of past experience, I know that our country will survive and that there are 55 million voters who did not vote for the winner in this election. I lived through the awful presidency of Jimmy Carter and know about gas lines and extremely high taxes and interest rates that were just short of usery. Abuse us for 4 years and we will unseat you just like we did President Carter. President-elect Obama, you have just placed yourself in the same position. We will be watching everything that you do and holding you accountable for the things that you screw up. I can put on a sweater and keep my tires inflated. I can use those dim lightbulbs that require a hazmat team to clean up if you break one. I can retreat into a position of economic inactivity if I need to and stop my personal spending... God knows that I really don't NEED any more stuff. I can outlast you and there are a lot of people that are of like mind, not to mention a lot of people that will be very disappointed if you can't deliver the CHANGE that they thought they would be getting.




As President-elect Obama so eloquently stated in this acceptance speech last night, the CHANGE might not really happen.

There will be setbacks and false starts. There are many who won't agree with every decision or policy I make as president. And we know the government can't solve every problem.

This victory alone is not the change we seek. It is only the chance for us to make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were. It can't happen without you, without a new spirit of service, a new spirit of sacrifice. So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism, of responsibility, where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves but each other.

Sorry Peggy, guess you'll have to keep writing those checks and filling your tank yourself.

All of those 55 million voices that did not vote for the winner in this election need to sit down and look at the reasons that this election ended as it did.
1. We need to do some serious soul-searching.
2. We also need to welcome and forgive any disillusioned conservatives who strayed from the fold yesterday.
3. We need to learn from what did happen right and where we fell away from our guiding principles and went wrong.
4. We need to look at the strong conservatives who did triumph in the face of adversity last night, such as Mitch McConnell and Michelle Bachman and take a page from their playbook.
5. We need to remember that Sarah Palin (if she would ever have us again) and Bobby Jindal and other fresh faces are still there on the horizon as they garner more experience and build their conservative resumes.
6. We also need to look at the Senate and Congressional seats that are at risk in 2010 and either start to rally around strong conservatives so that they keep their seats or else look for strong conservative faces to unseat moderates in the primaries and take back what we believe in.
7. We need to fight battles on principled arguments without name calling or vilification.

As Vice President-elect Joe Biden has urged all of us, we will need to gird our loins and get ready for the struggle. In the bright light of a new day, the challenges are clearer and our determination should be even greater.

The Night Before The Election

Hat tip today goes to my 87 year old mother who sent this along to me for my enjoyment. (By the way, Mr. Obama, this came through Florida by way of several octagenarians, so don't think that those on fixed incomes are going your way!) I am passing it along to you all as I think we all need a bit of truth laced with humor right now.


'Twas the night before elections
And all through the town,
Tempers were flaring
Emotions all up and down!
I, in my bathrobe
With a cat in my lap
Had cut off the TV...
Tired of political crap.
When all of a sudden
There arose such a noise
I peered out of my window
Saw Obama and his boys.
They had come for my wallet
They wanted my pay
To give to the others
Who had not worked a day!
He snatched up my money
And quick as a wink
Jumped back on his bandwagon
As I gagged from the stink.
He then rallied his henchmen
Who were pulling his cart
I could tell they were out
To tear my country apart!
' On Fannie, on Freddie!
On Biden and Ayers!
On Acorn, On Pelosi!'
He screamed at the pairs!
They took off for his cause
And as he flew out of sight
I heard him laugh at the nation
Who wouldn't stand up and fight!
So I leave you to think
On this one final note-
IF YOU DON'T WANT SOCIALISM
GET OUT AND VOTE!!!!

See you at the polls tomorrow!

Sarah Palin is a Role Model for Girls Today

My Little Website is a Microcosm of the Economy

As a guilty pleasure I collect antiques and quirky collectibles. As most collectors know, one's collection can sometimes overrun your life and there comes a time when the collection needs to be thinned. As a result I have a booth at a local antique mall and I also have an online shop at Ruby Lane.com. I am an aucton and estate sale junkie and this is relaxation therapy for me. But when I come home with things that I love, I also have to have an outlet for the extra things that find their way into my home.

When I first started my online shop 5 years ago, my clientele was primarily domestic with only occasional international sales. As the years have passed, the frequency of international sales has gradually inched up, but in the early part of 2008, with $4 per gallon gas and a weakened dollar, I noticed that I was constantly running to the post office with international sales and my domestic sales were sliding downward. Overall my sales were the same, but the balance of international and domestic sales was changing.

Within the last 8 weeks, however, with both the foreign and US stock markets becoming volatile, I have noticed a decline in overall sales, both domestic and foreign. October was one of the worst months ever for my online shop. This mirrors the climate of uncertainty in our country right now and the tendency to pull back and not spend on anything that is not essential.

I hate to think that this will only worsen under an Obama presidency. As his threshold for a tax increase now looms at $120,000 and below and is probably falling, an increased tax burden as well as the price increases that will be passed on to the public by increased corporate taxation will only make it less likely that the public will be willing to spend money on frivilous or luxury purchases like antiques and collectibles.

While my online shop and antique mall booth are hobbies and not my livelihood, I hate to think that I may need to pull up stakes and quit because I am no longer making enough money to turn it back into my little business to purchase more inventory. If my little nickle and dime operation is hurting, think of the small mom and pop enterprises who will be choked out in such an economic climate. These individuals may employ a small number of other employees and if they fail, there are increased numbers of unemployed individuals looking for new jobs. In such a climate, larger companies are also constricting their rolls through attrition and not filling openings as they occur. This downward spiral of increasing prices, increasing unemployment, and increased taxes on everything imaginable cannot improve the economy and anyone, including BHO, who thinks otherwise is a fool.

What I would love to see is a flat tax with no loopholes. Each employed person or married couple would write a single check out to the government on April 15 or have it deducted from each paycheck...easy breezy and simple. Each wage earner would be able to keep more of their own income. People would have more expendable income and that would spur spending and productivity. If the corporate tax rate was lowered so that more of our companies would stay in the USA this would provide jobs for more Americans. If we invest in all kinds of alternate energy projects including nuclear, clean coal, drilling for natural gas and oil both offshore and in ANWAR, we can make ourselves energy independent and spur job creation in the field of green jobs. Why is this so hard to envision??? What candidate might be more likely to accomplish some of these objectives???

Neither of the present candidates is a perfect fit for my ideal, but one is closer by far and this is where I am putting my vote on Tuesday. I would rather work very hard but be able to disburse my money in ways that I deem appropriate, including my tithe and charitable giving, than to work hard only to see my money taken and "spread around" to people who don't work and feel entitled. In fact, if there is no incentive to be productive, and there is forced charity, why would I want to be productive at all??

Think twice people before you pull that lever on Tuesday, because your very life depends on it. BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR BECAUSE YOU JUST MIGHT GET IT.

Another Message from Zo, A Black Conservative

I have become addicted to the YouTube videos put out by Macho Sauce Productions. The black conservative voice is out there and Zo is a kind of Everyman. Here is the latest and probably last video before the election, aptly entitled "1 More B4 11 04."




Thank you for telling it like it is with candor and humor.