About Me

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St. Louis, MO, United States
What the name sez, Christian, conservative, 2nd amendment supporter. Physician, wife, daughter and loving mother.

Saturday, January 31, 2009

Spay and Neuter---PLEASE

I am a dog person and in my adult life I have had a total of 8 dogs in about 35 years. I am proud to say that I never actively sought a dog, but somehow all of them have found their way into our house and heart. Right now, our 2 adoptees include a rescued Weimaraner and an adopted puppy mill mother Rottweiler. We have had a couple of stray mutts, a Great Dane, a Lab, a Brittany Spaniel, and even a clone of the most famous mutt, Benji, the list reads like a Who's Who of dogdom. If you asked me which was my favorite, I would be hard pressed to make a choice, because just like children, each had its own unique set of good traits and with the good, comes those more challenging traits.

Today, while we were out and about, we stopped at the neighborhood pet supply store to pick up a bag of dog food. As bad fortune would have it, there was a pet adoption day going on. Before I could get into the store I had to stop and pet each of the dogs in their little crates. All of them were so wanting for affection and attention that it saddened me that some would also be going home that night to foster homes and shelters. It also saddens me that most of these animals are there as the result of irresponsible pet owners and breeders. While all of these dogs and cats will be spayed or neutered prior to being adopted, we would not have so many unwanted animals if spay and neuter was a universal practice. Most people do not go into the business of getting a pet for the purpose of breeding it, so why not be SURE that you don't end up in the puppy mill business by getting your new puppy or kitty spayed or neutered as a first order of business as a new pet owner.

Responsible pet ownership involves making sure that your pet is not contributing to the unwanted pet population, but it also involves taking the time and effort to keep your pet safe, contained and healthy. Pet ownership is a win-win situation regardless of what animal you keep as a pet. Pet ownership provides families with an opportunity to teach children lessons in responsibility that they will take with them into adulthood. Provide an unwanted pet with a safe home and food and you will be rewarded with unconditional love and undying companionship. That's a better deal than you will get with most people.

If you are looking for a real friend who only wants to please you, by all means visit your local animal shelter or pet adoption day. You will be hard pressed to leave empty handed and like Lay's potato chips, you might not be able to stop with just one!

As I am writing this, our female Rottweiler is fast asleep in a sunbeam snoring contentedly (and loudly) and her best friend, our male Weimaraner, is curled up in a ball on his own place on the couch dreaming of some critter in a hole in our backyard!

Thursday, January 29, 2009

See a Need, Meet a Need

Two years ago I heard the words "you have breast cancer." The reaction to these words is, at best, like being punched in the gut. Thoughts swirl uncontrollably in your head and most of the next words the doctor says are just "blah, blah, blah, blah blah." So far, my tale has been mostly a good one but, for others the tale is much less happy and the road is full of bumps.

Being a physician as well as a cancer survivor, I feel that whatever I can do to help others in this situation should be my personal mission. One of the things that I did during my treatment was agree to participate in a study on women with breast cancer in collaboration with two universities in my state. This was not a medical study, but rather an attitudinal and sociologic study and I found the questions intriguing. Many of the questions dealt with how the cancer patient was able to function during diagnosis and treatment...days lost to jobs, availability of transportation to treatments, access to supportive family and friends, ability to just talk to someone....By the end of my interview, I was in tears, knowing how lucky I was to have all of the things I needed to get through this personal ordeal.

Last week, while stopped in traffic waiting to make a right hand turn, I was rear-ended by a woman. When we pulled into a nearby parking lot to exchange information, I could see that she was shaken and upset far out of proportion to the relatively minor accident we had. She confided to me that she was on her way to the first of her 5-hour chemotherapy sessions for advanced breast cancer. The only papers that she had in her car to write down her exchange of information were pages of her medical records and information from the oncology center. She told me that she had been so upset by the news of her diagnosis and the prospect of her impending chemotherapy that she had been vomiting all evening. Clearly this woman was a danger to those on the road in her distracted state. Then I recalled the fact that the day I was given confirmation of my own diagnosis I had nearly run a red light on the way home. I was so deep in my own thoughts and all of the "What if's" that I had put the familiar drive home on autopilot.

I know that there are transportation programs for the elderly and the indigent, but are there programs for the ordinary cancer patient who is otherwise able to provide their own transportation and doesn't want to be a burden on others??? I pondered this on the way home from the auto body shop today after getting estimates of the damage to my car. We put so much emphasis on prevention, but providing transportation for the distraught or sick patient is really another kind of prevention program. We need to not just treat the cancer--we need to be aware of the emotional effects that the diagnosis of cancer places on the patient. We also need to realize that some people deal with this diagnosis in isolation.

The American Cancer Society's Road to Recovery
program provides free transportation to those who need transportation for ANY reason, however, when I tried to find this in my local area, I found nothing. Apparently this program relies entirely on volunteers who make their time available to take patients to their treatments. If you are looking to give back in a tangible way to the community, this would be a program well worth investigating in your own neighborhood. If you find yourself with time on your hands and a need to fill that time, this may be the right volunteer or service opportunity for you. You would be helping the community, helping a patient in need, and providing a companion to talk to during a time when there may be a need for a sympathetic ear.

For all of the faults and criticisms of our health care system, we have one of the best systems on the planet. We can effect cures for all manner of disease states and improve the quality of life for many but I fear that we look the other way, or perhaps have no idea of the fragility and vulnerability that we as health care providers produce when we give out bad news to a patient and then send them off to "deal with it."

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Keeping the List!!

Tonight, the US House of Representatives passed HR 1, the Obama Pigs at the Trough Reinvestment Act. AKA American Reinvestment and Recovery Act or simply the Stimulus Package. The vote was 244 YEA and 188 NAY votes.

We all knew that the Democrats had enough votes to push this bill through, but thanks to a groundswell of populist clamor from a variety of netroots organizations including TCOT's Operation Melt the Phones. The 188 NAY votes were composed of ALL of the Republican representatives and 11 defecting Democrats. To see how YOUR representative voted, look here.

Please THANK your representative for upholding conservative principles of smaller government and fiscal responsibility. If your representative was a defecting Democrat, magnify your thanks 10-fold for their courage to buck the system.

And don't forget.....the Senate will be voting on this Obamanation of a bill next week, so keep those phone lines burning hot!! If we could do the same in the Senate, we could scuttle this bill---Maybe miracles really do happen. Call your Senator early and often, tell your friends to do the same, Twitter your senator, email them, pray---whatever it takes.

And don't forget to write your Thank you notes like your mom taught you.

Makin' a List and Checkin' it Twice

Conservatives are not letting it go unnoticed when Republicans cave in to Obama and his merry band of thugs.

Yesterday Tim Geithner, the tax evading Treasury secretary, was passed by the Senate by a vote of 60-34. In the 60 votes approving him were 10 Republicans. These Senators should be put on notice that this is an unacceptable vote.

Is your Senator on this list??? If so, call them and let them know in no uncertain terms that their vote was an unacceptable capitulation. Common folks like you and I will NEVER be rewarded for tax evasion.
1. Corker (R-TN)
2. Cornyn (R-TX)
3. Crapo (R-ID)
4. Ensign (R-NV)
5. Graham (R-SC)
6. Gregg (R-NH)
7. Hatch (R-UT)
8. Shelby (R-AL)
9. Snowe (R-ME)
10. Voinovich (R-OH)

Then keep the heat on them as another scoundrel in the person of Eric Holder (pardon the terrorists) will be coming up for vote for Attorney General in the next few days.

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Doesn't Anyone Else See a Problem Here???

While I would like to believe that the stimulus package that is being proposed will bring an end to the recession and make things OK again, this is not CHANGE that I can BELIEVE IN. I, like most ordinary Americans, live on a budget that has to be balanced or I am in trouble. I cannot spend my way out of debt and if I spend more than I make, someone will be calling me or sending me letters reminding me that if I don't pay up.....well, it ain't gonna be pretty. After all, isn't spending beyond what we can afford what got us where we are in the first place??? So how can continuing along a poisonous path provide a cure??

The huge stimulus package that is being proposed seems like a case of Emperor's New Clothes, with a high sounding promise of "investment" (read entitlement) and "job creation" (in government jobs), however the devil is in the details. This is a wolf in sheep's clothing! Our stimulus package contains layer upon layer of pork dripping in grease and gravy. This bill is huge...1588 pages and $850Billion of OUR money. Can anyone really wrap their head around all of that. If you would like to TRY to read this package, you can see it in all its glory here.

The Treasury is now being headed by a tax cheat who was heralded as being "too important not to be approved" because he is "the only person who can understand the TARP!!" This package, just like the TARP, is being pushed through on the premise that "something" must be done NOW!! This, in spite, of the fact that the CBO has reported that most of the stimulus money will not be spent immediately. The government wouldn't be able to spend at least one-fourth of a proposed $825 billion economic stimulus plan until after 2010, according to a report by the CBO....Hardly the IMMEDIATE, BOLD, TARGETED stimulus "they" said we need.

The TARP package, which started this whole bailout mess, was supposed to be needed immediately (or the world would end), was not used for the purpose originally intended(those toxic assets are still there and credit is still locked up), had no oversight (banks were told to use it for lending, but they used it for almost everything else except lending) and has had NO positive effect on the economy (jobs in the private sector are being lost by the tens of thousands every day, but not in the bloated government sector where catharsis is needed!). We since have given money to the Big 3 auto companies, Freddie and Fannie are getting back in line for more because the first handout wasn't sufficient and NOW we are planning to throw nearly 1 TRILLION DOLLARS (that we don't have) at the problem. DOESN'T ANYONE SEE A PROBLEM HERE?????

Today President Obama met with the Republicans of both Houses of Congress to try to sell them on support for the Stimulus Package. With his fancy words he left some of them singing "Kumbaya" and HOPING for CHANGE. He has indicated that he would pull the portion of the stimulus package for family planning after San Fran Nan Pelosi let it be known that fewer mouths to feed would benefit the economy. The cautionary tale is that for all the salivating over this bone thrown to the conservatives, this was likely manufactured and put out there for the sole purpose of being taken back under the guise of bipartisan spirit. The Congressional Republicans would be well warned that WE THE PEOPLE are watching carefully what they do. We are making a list, checking it twice and will be using this list at the polls in 2010 and beyond.

President Obama knows that he can pass this Stimulus package WITHOUT REPUBLICAN SUPPORT, but he DOES NOT KNOW IF IT WILL WORK. So let him pass it on his own and all by himself......then when it is shown to be the piece of &%$@ that it really is and fails miserably, he and his band of merry thugs can take ALL the credit for the failure rather than "spreading it around."

It President Obama would like to stimulate the economy WITH cooperation by Conservatives, he would do well to look at jettisoning the IRS and instituting either a FLAT tax or a FAIR tax. A program that Tim Geithner would probably like, too!

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Getting Down to the Real Business of Being President

Today is the 36th anniversary of Roe v. Wade. As the inaugural celebrants are leaving, many pro-life advocates will be traveling to Washington D.C. to voice their opposition to abortion. In the past 8 years, President Bush spoke with this gathering annually and supported their cause. This year, on the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, President Obama will "celebrate" this occasion on his second day in office by issuing an executive order reversing the "Mexico City Policy."

The Mexico City Policy forbids any non-governmental agency operating overseas that performs or promotes abortions from receiving any US foreign aid.

So one of his first official acts in the first 100 days is to be sure that your tax dollars go to promote global abortions--I wonder if any of his Kenyan relatives will be recipients???

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Mom's eMail Strikes Again

As those of you who follow my blog already know, my 87 year old mother is a never ending source of interesting emails, some of which I have shared with you. Today, she struck again with the following open letter to America's entitlement population from a common worker.
Joe, the average worker says

Like a lot of folks in this state, I have a job. I work, they pay me. I pay my taxes and the government distributes my taxes as it sees fit. In order to get that paycheck, I am required to pass a random urine test with which I have no problem. What I do have a problem with is the distribution of my taxes to people who don't have to pass a urine test.

Shouldn't one have to pass a urine test to get a welfare check because I have to pass one to earn it for them? Please understand, I have no problem with helping people get back on their feet. I do, on the other hand, have a problem with helping someone sitting on their lazy butts, doing drugs, while I work. . . .


Can you imagine how much money the state would save if people had to pass a urine test to get a public assistance check? Something has to change in this country -- and soon!!!!!

Guess we could title that program - Urine or you're out

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

The Handshake Before the Match

Today is like the handshake before the athletic competition. A new president has taken over the helm and, at least, for today there should be civility and respect for the office of the President of the United States. But tomorrow the gloves come off and it is up to all conservatives to stand up (if I may be so forward as to use a phrase from the Obama playbook) BOLDLY and defend the things that we hold precious.

One of the most important battles for social conservatives during this administration will be played out over the most vulnerable of citizens---the unborn. Planned Parenthood and FOCA loom large on the horizon. We have the most Pro-abortion President and Congress in the history of our country and there is much to be lost in the next few years unless we stand together with conviction against this rising tide.

We have spent so much time in the past 8 years being PC and we have precious little to show for it other than ground lost. PC is political and ideological impotence. It is gratifying to give credit to CatholicVote.org for this powerful pro-life advertisement that is being played on national television during the Inauguration coverage.




To all of you who support FOCA and the ability to make abortion easier to obtain than it already is--think of this--Barack Obama would not be President today if his mother had taken the walk down YOUR path!

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Nancy Has a New Deal for You!

Nancy Pelosi is, once again, the Speaker of the House in the New Deal Obama Congress. When she became speaker back in January 2007, she had an agenda for the first 100 hours that included: enacting the 9/11 Commission's recommendations; increasing the minimum wage; allowing embryonic stem cell research; negotiating lower prescriptions prices; cutting interest rates on student loans; and investing in renewable energy. Speaker Pelosi also vowed to govern a fairer and more bipartisan House of Representatives.

By May, 2007 the most notable accomplishment Speaker Pelosi could actually put into her column was increasing the minimum wage. WOW!! In an attempt to minimize their lack of legislative productivity, the Democrat leadership underscored the fact that they had produced transformation of the policy debate and the reassertion of Congressional power, especially on the Iraq war. And what about the kinder, fairer House of Representatives...One of the biggest Republican complaints was that House Democrats, who promised to be fairer and more bipartisan in the conduct of floor debate after a decade of heavy-handed Republican rule, had not delivered. A truth that some top Democrats conceded was true. At the end of 2007, Congressional approval ratings were at a low of 27%.

In January 2008 the Farm bill looked like it might be the only big-ticket bill that Congress would pass to President Bush for signature. Republicans and Democrats alike predicted even less legislative agreement ahead than in 2007. And the song and dance from the Democrats was that operating on a thin majority it was soooo hard to get things done (Sob, sob).

At the end of the 110th Congressional session, the Democratic majority had managed to work out agreements with President Bush and the Republican minority on only a few big items, including a minimum-wage increase, a plan to raise auto fuel-efficiency standards, a free-trade pact with Peru, and student-loan relief. And the congressional approval rating had fallen to a year average of 19%.

So now that the inmates have free run of the asylum, what is on the agenda for 2009? San Fran Nan is now tweaking the rules to be sure that she is Dictator of the House. Rules changes already having been rapidly put into place include eliminating the term limits for Committee Chairmen that were enacted during the Contract with America, restrictions on the motion to recommit and sweeping changes hobbling the ability to propose tax or spending cuts to legislation.

The motion to recommit has been in place for about 100 years. It is a maneuver that the minority party can use to send bills that reach the floor back to committees, where they can be endlessly debated. There are few tools that the House of Representatives has at hand to stifle legislation from moving through the process and the motion to recommit was one of these. This was used 50 times last year by the GOP to stave off tax hikes hidden in other legislation. The Democrat leadership have their knickers in a knot because they didn't use this rule nearly as often as the Republicans, (not our fault that they didn't take advantage of the tools of the trade) so now they have put a hobble on its use. The new rules would give the minority the right to a vote on sending the bill back to committee WITHOUT instructions on policy changes, or to ask for those policy changes while the bill remains on the House floor.

The most problematic change in rules that Madam Nan has produced in her new ruthless House of Representatives is in the introduction of tax and spending cuts. While BHO is willing to throw money hand over fist at our economic woes without thought of the huge deficit this will amass, the House of Representatives is also making sure that spending and tax cuts are difficult to get into legislation. The new rules will ensure that tax increases will be easier to pass, because opponents will not be allowed to offer a simple motion to strike any increase without making up for the "lost revenue." In addition, tax cuts are made more difficult, because they cannot be offset with spending cuts. The new rules will mean that the only way to push for a tax cut will be to propose a tax increase elsewhere.

So hold onto your wallets guys and dolls, the Hope and Change mantra that BHO used to win an election seems to be envisioned by the Belle of San Francisco as "I HOPE that all you have left is loose CHANGE!"

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same

As we look at the economic chaos in this country and prepare to throw more and more money from the taxpayers without regard to where it will come from and how it will be repaid, it is sad to see how we foolishly replicate the mistakes of past history ad nauseum. The old saw of "history repeats itself" is so very true. I am reminded of parents who tell their children "don't make the same mistakes that I made," and are then met with eye rolling and "Whatever..." It is hard for a parent to watch their children make mistakes that are totally avoidable...not even big mistakes, just life lessons that cause pain or unhappiness when we want things to be good for them.

And so, it is with interest that I found this quotation from Marcus Tullius Cicero. It provides advice that is so very appropriate for the situation we find ourselves in today.

"The budget should be balanced,
the Treasury should be refilled,
public debt should be reduced,
the arrogance of officialdom
should be tempered and controlled,
and the assistance to foreign lands
should be curtailed lest Rome become bankrupt.
People must again learn to work,
instead of living on public assistance."
Cicero 63 BC

And, unless it has been purged from our history books in a revisionist attempt to doctor history, we should remember what happened to Rome when they ignored this advice. So, why are we rolling our eyes and saying "Whatever.."

Monday, January 12, 2009

The Republican Lesson from Horton the Elephant


Dr. Seuss created Horton the Elephant, one of his memorable cast of zany characters that populated his children's books. In 1940, he wrote "Horton Hatches the Egg." In his story, Horton agrees to sit on the nest of a bird who leaves for what turns out to be a loooong time. Horton has various misadventures while he steadfastly keeps his word and stays on the nest. From that story, comes a famous (to those of us who were children of the 50's and 60's) quote,
"I meant what I said, and I said what I meant, an elephant's faithful 100 percent."

The Republican party should take a page from Horton's playbook in its rebuilding process. We need to CLEARLY state what our values and principles are (something we have failed to do). We need to, then, STAND UP for these values and principles WITHOUT COMPROMISE (something that we have also failed to do in a spirit of politically correctness). We need conservative leaders who will, like Horton, say what they mean and mean what they say and never waver from their position.

Saturday, January 10, 2009

The New "New Deal"

With only days remaining until BHO, becomes the Supreme Leader of the "Free" world, he has unveiled his own version of a stimulus package designed to spend our way out of trouble. In a major economic speech at George Mason University on Thursday, he made it clear government is the only white knight out there to save the day.
But at this particular moment, only government can provide the short-term boost necessary to lift us from a recession this deep and severe. Only government can break the cycle that is crippling our economy...
The more than $775 Billion package will be loaded with options including tax cuts to appease the Republicans, green jobs that would have 75% of federal buildings and 2 million American homes (where will John Q public get the money to bring his home into compliance????) magically retrofitted or rebuilt to be environmentally friendly (remember ETHANOL?) , and "shovel ready" infrastructure projects that have mayors and governors getting in line with their hands out for money for museums, water parks and sporting venues (PORK).

This stimulus package will likely only be the FIRST of the Democratic Bailouts, and the cost that has been touted publicly is at the lower end of the estimate to allow it to G--R--O--W as it passes through the legislative process (or leave room for future salvos "if at first you don't suceed...."). This is drawing flack from Obama's own party. Tom Harken has voiced the need for more spending and less tax cuts. Harry Reid has said that he "doesn't work for Barack Obama" (RIIIIIGHT!) Outcries have also been heard from the likes of Barney Frank (king of the subprime mortgages), Carl Levin (socialist) and John Kerry (self-aggrandizing snob who has to weigh in on everything lest he lapse into deserved obscurity). Don't be fooled, however, this flack is needed to give the public perception of disharmony so that when a package is finally formulated, it will be looked at as a truly bipartisan package in a true Kumbaya moment with all credit to the Messiah.

The more important flack issue, to me, is the lack of flack from the Republican legislators. The likes of Leader Boehner ("I am excited to see the tax cuts" OMG you are falling for it from the outset!), Mitch McConnell and Tom Coburn (Obama has been "straight up" with them). I recall a Department Chairman that I once worked under who was notorious for having consensus building meetings with his faculty, allowing everyone to vent their feelings. He listened intently and then did whatever he wanted to do in the first place. When called to account for what he did, he always said, "You can't say that I didn't ask you." I fear that this is how Obama will govern....Beware the smooth wordsmithing and cool demeanor.

From February 2008 until February 2009 when Obama hopes to have crafted his own Bailout package we have been throwing money at the economy with reckless abandon and blame that falls on both sides of the aisle. Since February, 2008 we have spent $168B on the Bush stimulus package, $200B on the Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae bailout, $122.8 B for AIG (poor babies), $700B for the TARP mortgage and banking bailout (with $17.4B carved out for the auto industry and by extension the autoworkers union) and not to be undone, the biggest effort to date......>$775B in the yet to be drafted Obama plan for a GRAND TOTAL of >$1.9TRILLION (sorry there are too many zeroes to reckon with!) that will have been spent on bailing out varied and sundry things. With more pigs lining up at the trough in hope of catching some of the money to be thrown around.

Nancy Pelosi has proposed a deadline of President's day in February for getting this package crafted, drafted and sent to the new President for signature and enactment. She has also boldly stated that if there is no package by this time there will be NO RECESS!! I guess she has no Spring book tour this year....or did she learn her lesson from the #dontgo whipping she took in August 2008?????

Today on Meet the Depressed, David Gregory had a relatively one-sided round table discussion on the bailout. There were some very telling comments coming from former House Majority Whip Rep. David Bonoir who is a member of the Obama economic transition team. When asked about how to deal with the Bush tax cuts, he totally avoided that question. He did, however, say that we
"have to get hold of this inequality in wages and economy." He went on to say that in the past 20 years the top 10% of the wage earners took 90% of the income gains and this is "skewed the wrong way."
When asked where we need to end up, Bonoir indicated that we
"need to give people the opportunity to bargain collectively at the table. At 7% unionization in this country, you are not going to get the dispersion you need." He added, "We were successful in this country after the Second World War. The most profitable time for this country were the three decades after World War II because unionization was at 35%......The Employee Freedom of Choice Act ( think Card Check) is an important part of legislation supported by President-Elect Obama and Biden, Congress and 60% of the American people...This will help to share in the benefits and bounties of the country."

Later in the show, Bonoir predicted that the Stimulus package will pass and it would probably pass even without Republican support.

Come on Republicans, grow a pair and stand up for what WE believe in. Get vocal and EXPLAIN why the government can't fix this.

I close with a quote that many of you will agree with, but the source may be surprising.
We live in a time of transition, an uneasy era which is likely to endure.....During the period we may be tempted to abandon some of the time-honored principles and commitments which have been proven during the difficult times of past generations. We must never yield to this temptation. Our American values are not luxuries, but necessities - not the salt in our bread, but the bread itself.
Jimmy Carter, in his farewell address.

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

The State of the Congress

There is a great deal of angst being vented over the Senate and those being seated (or not) this morning. The truth be told, Roland Burris has every right to be seated even though there is a stench on his appointment and Al Franken has won (we think) the Minnesota race and defeated Norm Coleman. No matter how much we would like to do otherwise (and I sincerely would like to do otherwise), one man was appointed by the governor to fill an empty seat and the other, ostensibly, has been elected by a razor thin margin by the people of his state. There are laws that dictate how appointments should be made, qualifications for who can be appointed to fill a vacant seat in the Senate or House of Representatives and there are laws and rules for the conduct of a "fair" election. It appears that these qualifications have been met and we need to take our lumps and seat these men.

I live in Missouri, where a few years back we elected a dead man to the U.S. Senate under the campaign slogan "I'm Still With Mel." When he was elected posthumously, the empty seat was filled by his widow, Jean Carnahan, who was promised the seat to warm if her deceased husband could win the election and who was promptly unseated in the next election by Senator Jim Talent. It appears that Caroline Kennedy whose greatest qualification for being a US Senator is her name and the fund-raising capability that it brings to the New York political machine will also be seated in the highest governing body of the country.

What we need to do now, is take a hard and long look at the road ahead and make sure that qualified candidates get our unbridled support. AND, we need to make sure that they win by large margins that cannot be called into question at the end of the day. The laughing stock that has been made of the Senate by potentially seating a buffoon, an unqualified socialite and a man who was appointed by a corrupt governor giving the middle finger salute to all authority is certainly a shame. The infighting that resulted this morning and which will continue until all of this is resolved is even more a pox on the house of Obama and his Merry Band.

While it might be tempting to sit on the sidelines and let the Democrats eat each other alive (after all, with the Republicans out of the way and definitely in the majority, they only have themselves to trip over and fight with), this should be yet another rallying cry for all conservatives to come together and set the stage for a real house cleaning at the very first opportunity!! We have only ourselves to blame for the state of the Senate and the immediate future of our country, but that doesn't mean that we can't learn some very valuable mistakes and move forward in a better direction.

OMG!! My hard drive was making a weird noise and I thought that a fan needed to be replaced but when I took the cover off, I found 500 uncounted Minnesota ballots for Norm Coleman! Wonder how they walked to Missouri and got into my computer??? Oh the wonders of our political system!