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!
About Me
- Carolyn
- St. Louis, MO, United States
- What the name sez, Christian, conservative, 2nd amendment supporter. Physician, wife, daughter and loving mother.
Showing posts with label society. Show all posts
Showing posts with label society. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Sunday, November 23, 2008
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.
This is what conservative women are made of and what the conservative movement needs for the future!
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!
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Slow Fade
I love contemporary Christian music and Casting Crowns is among my favorites. Their song, Slow Fade, has haunted me from the first time that I heard it.
The song is more about morality and the slow and insidious way in which we allow ourselves to give up higher ground because "just once won't hurt." But as the political season draws to a close, we can also apply the slow fade to some of the policies that drive the Obama campaign. We have been slowly fading into a socialized state since LBJ's Great Society. Slowly and steadily, we have become more and more dependent on the government for the programs that we should be providing for each other through charity, the church and private industry. Instead we are slowly sinking into a complacency in which we are ripe for the picking.
For decades we have been fed a line of "Oh, this is good for you," "Just for this one time, we will be doing this for the good of everyone." Remember what we were told about the recent Bailout---"This is not what we want, but it is needed because the situation is dire." And we have bought it hook line and sinker. Now we are ready to be reeled in for the final time. Along comes THE ONE, with smooth talk, glib rejoinders, empty words and vague promises of what lies ahead. And the masses have swooned.
We, as a country, are ready for the final blow this fall when a democrat presidential candidate bolstered by a democrat congress can potentially drive away all incentive for individual productivity and through wealth redistribution, Patriot corporations, Play or Pay national health care penalties to small businesses that do not provide health care for their employees (and Barack, if there is REALLY no penalty, then why would any small company Play--thereby glutting the government system with new people to be covered at a cost that we CANNOT afford), poor economic conditions that will only be made more dire if business is penalized for being productive, the Fairness Doctrine, 1 or 2 Supreme Court nominations, etc. It is highly probable that we can spiral into a totally dependent situation where there is no alternative for the forseeable future to take back our rights.
Be careful little eyes what you see, be careful little ears what you hear, be careful little feet where you go. NATIONS NEVER CRUMBLE IN A DAY. Be wise in the choices that you make. It is not too late to avert disaster.
"Slow Fade"
Be careful little eyes what you see
It's the second glance that ties your hands as darkness pulls the strings
Be careful little feet where you go
For it's the little feet behind you that are sure to follow
It's a slow fade when you give yourself away
It's a slow fade when black and white have turned to gray
Thoughts invade, choices are made, a price will be paid
When you give yourself away
People never crumble in a day
It's a slow fade, it's a slow fade
Be careful little ears what you hear
When flattery leads to compromise, the end is always near
Be careful little lips what you say
For empty words and promises lead broken hearts astray
It's a slow fade when you give yourself away
It's a slow fade when black and white have turned to gray
Thoughts invade, choices are made, a price will be paid
When you give yourself away
People never crumble in a day
The journey from your mind to your hands
Is shorter than you're thinking
Be careful if you think you stand
You just might be sinking
It's a slow fade when you give yourself away
It's a slow fade when black and white have turned to gray
Thoughts invade, choices are made, a price will be paid
When you give yourself away
People never crumble in a day
Daddies never crumble in a day
Families never crumble in a day
The song is more about morality and the slow and insidious way in which we allow ourselves to give up higher ground because "just once won't hurt." But as the political season draws to a close, we can also apply the slow fade to some of the policies that drive the Obama campaign. We have been slowly fading into a socialized state since LBJ's Great Society. Slowly and steadily, we have become more and more dependent on the government for the programs that we should be providing for each other through charity, the church and private industry. Instead we are slowly sinking into a complacency in which we are ripe for the picking.
For decades we have been fed a line of "Oh, this is good for you," "Just for this one time, we will be doing this for the good of everyone." Remember what we were told about the recent Bailout---"This is not what we want, but it is needed because the situation is dire." And we have bought it hook line and sinker. Now we are ready to be reeled in for the final time. Along comes THE ONE, with smooth talk, glib rejoinders, empty words and vague promises of what lies ahead. And the masses have swooned.
We, as a country, are ready for the final blow this fall when a democrat presidential candidate bolstered by a democrat congress can potentially drive away all incentive for individual productivity and through wealth redistribution, Patriot corporations, Play or Pay national health care penalties to small businesses that do not provide health care for their employees (and Barack, if there is REALLY no penalty, then why would any small company Play--thereby glutting the government system with new people to be covered at a cost that we CANNOT afford), poor economic conditions that will only be made more dire if business is penalized for being productive, the Fairness Doctrine, 1 or 2 Supreme Court nominations, etc. It is highly probable that we can spiral into a totally dependent situation where there is no alternative for the forseeable future to take back our rights.
Be careful little eyes what you see, be careful little ears what you hear, be careful little feet where you go. NATIONS NEVER CRUMBLE IN A DAY. Be wise in the choices that you make. It is not too late to avert disaster.
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