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.