I was appalled but not surprised.  I expect very little from this President and he never fails to meet my expectations.

Then it happened.  Mitt Romney introduced a spend a day with Mitt on the campaign trail fundraiser.   However with Mitt, you can enter without donating and in all fairness, I couldn’t see where he would pay for any of your expenses, it still smacks of cheapening the office of the Presidency.

This is the President of the United States, the leader of the free world not some PTA bake sale.  When, on our side, did we go from  being a public servant to being a celebrity?  What’s next?  Win a date with Ron Paul?

Here’s a news flash – I don’t want to have dinner or hang out with you.  I don’t want to know if  you burp after you eat.

I want you to lead.

I want you to be one of those great people who understand that it is not just me but millions of Americans that are looking to you for strength, resolve and determination and leadership.  Your friendship isn’t important to me – your ability to get this country out of a mess is.  I want you to be strong enough to make the tough calls – can you really do that if you want to be my buddy?

Perhaps it is just me.  I come from a military household.  The line between officers and enlisted is drawn and drawn for a reason.  It is difficult to lead someone who is your pal and even more difficult to send them into harms way.

Regardless, the win a date with Obama/Romney is a cheap gimmick not deserving of the highest office in this country.  Both of them should be ashamed of trying to be celebritians.

Now if you will excuse me, I need to write a check for $10 to Lindsay Lohan’s campaign fund.

The Honor Ride is part of the WWP Soldiers Ride. If you are not familiar with these events, their website explains it best.

Soldier Ride is a WWP initiative that provides rehabilitative cycling opportunities across the country to help wounded warriors restore their physical and emotional well-­being. It’s also a wonderful opportunity for the public to participate in a cycling event that honors the men and women of our military who sacrificed so much. Soldier Ride offers the public a chance to ride alongside as our warriors promote their positive message of recovery. The event raises funds for WWP programs and initiatives that ensure this generation of wounded warriors is the most successful, well-­adjusted generation of wounded warriors in our nation’s history.

Along with this video at this link:

At the Honor ride, 39 recovering veterans, most from Walter Reed, and almost twice that number of citizens rode 16 miles from Hains Point Park pass the National Mall and back to the park. During the ride they were enthusiastically met with horn honks, shout outs and claps from onlookers.

As I watched the cyclists coming back in, I was struck by their strength, determination and competitive spirit. They were challenging not only each other but themselves. Just watching these warriors let me know, we are in good hands with our military.

One of the cyclist was very young, perhaps 19 or so and the organizers told me that he had just lost both of his legs three months prior to the ride. I was truly humbled by his sacrifice and inspired by his determination.

The civilians in the group ranged from their 60s down to the youngest, my 15 year old son. They came from all walks of business (and life). All were there to raise funds for the project and all were there to say thank you.

The Wounded Warrior Project Soldier Ride is making a difference. I encourage you to look into riding, donating a care package or a sending a donation to the Soldier Ride.

Thomas Jefferson said that the cost of freedom is eternal vigilance. I also believe the cost of freedom is to honor those who fight for it.

In March of 2007, the national debt was $8.84 Trillion and now – $14.2642 Trillion; the monthly deficit $95 Billion, now – $189 Billion.

This country cannot sustain this spending we are on a collision course with national bankruptcy. We need our representatives to stop the semantics and the spins and get a handle on what is really at stake.

I live in Virginia, home of such historic figures as Thomas Jefferson, George Mason, George Washington, James Madison and Patrick Henry to name a few. These Virginians struggled and fought against a tyrannical government choking the economic life out of citizens. They had the courage to stand and say no.

I expected more from this crop of current Virginians on the Hill. I expected them to stand up to the ridiculous spending and represent their constituency. Imagine my surprise when I found only one person who said no on April 8th.

That one lone voice that said no was Scott Rigell from VA-02. He cast the only nay vote from the Commonwealth.

Rigell, a businessman, sent Glenn Nye packing in the last election. Supported by the Tea Party, he ran a very common sense campaign – create jobs, control government spending, reform health care, take care of the military and change Congress.

Yeah, yeah I know, lots of candidates ran on that platform. Looking at April 8th’s vote, he’s about the only one that stuck to it. He voted his principles and what he promised.

I will assume that as a businessman, he understands debt, unsustainable spending, revenue projections, and cash flow. As a legislator, he understands the vote. As former military, he understands those who serve. VA-02 did well sending him to Washington.

I read his press release on his vote and his reasoning was sound:

“Friday night’s vote should have been a stand-alone bill to fund our military and pay our troops for the remainder of the year. Instead it was another stop gap, short term funding mechanism to provide more time for a deal that will not satisfy the vow I made to my constituents when they sent me to Washington, DC. It is because of this that I did not support this short term spending bill. I believe we should have funded our military for the remainder of the year and remained in Washington to negotiate a deal which is more representative of the financial crisis that we find ourselves in.”

He gets it. He understands what he was sent to Washington to do. I give him praise for standing as a matter of principle for his district.

The Big Red Wall consists of poll observation volunteers from the local Republican committee, the John Adams Patriots, and conservatives who no longer will sit around waiting to see what happens.  They realize that action is required and we are training them.  We call our program The Ballot Integrity program affectionately known as the Big Red Wall.  Our job is to watch and report during the election day. 

Observers will record initial machine readings, watch for electioneering, observe voter check in and ballot counts.  At the end of the voting day, final machine readings will recorded and we have a stellar representative for the final count at the Registrar’s office.  Cell phones are or will be loaded with the Voter Fraud app.  We have phone numbers programmed, palm cards with important information such as our phone numbers, the RPV number, etc. along with recent changes to Virginia’s election laws and any pertinent information that might be needed during the day.  They have been training to work with election officials inside the precincts.  Each volunteer has check in times to coordinate with me giving an overall observation of the day.  We are ready. 

The Big Red Wall is there to help ensure ballot integrity and to help stop those who wish to hijack this (or any other) election.  What surprises me is the response to this program and how it reflects the desire of people to be engaged.  Prior to 2008, I couldn’t get enough volunteers to do poll watching if I had set my hair on fire and promised free trips to Aruba.  They didn’t engage. 

This year it is another story.  We have all of our precincts covered with floater volunteers during the day.  Today, we are expecting at least 30 more people at my house to receive final training and pick up packets.  Last night I got a call from one of our volunteers asking for 10 packets for people who couldn’t make the training.

I salute these patriots.  I celebrate their engagement and I celebrate their willingness to keep the voting honest.  Almost everyone of them has committed to additional training every quarter through November 2012.

We have built the Big Red Wall at our county line.  Those who wish to “play” with the vote can’t go through us and can’t crawl over us.  We’re here to stay.

I fight for my grandparents who left Eastern Europe and a comfortable life to give their children more.  They came through Ellis Island, listing their jobs as house maid and cobbler to begin their lives here.  They knew the potential and they worked as hard as they could to make a good life for their family.  One better than they had in Europe.

I fight for my Father.  An admirer of John Kennedy and a old fashion Democrat until he saw the Carter years.  He started voting for the most fiscally conservative candidate and never looked back.  All he wanted was his children to be able to grow and prosper.  He held those dreams until he drew his last breath.

I fight for my Mother.  A strong woman now in her sunset years.  I don’t want a death panel deciding if she has the right to live.  I don’t want the government regulating and controlling any of her heart treatments.  I want her and her doctors to decide the quality of her life.

I fight for my children.  I want the two youngest to grow up free from government control of their lives.  I want them to understand what freedom truly means.  I want them to never to fear speaking up.  I want them to always have their voices heard.  I fight so that their futures will not be placed in a chokehold by run away government spending.  I want them to always understand the phrase “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”.  I want them proud to be Americans.   I want my two oldest to always feel the gratitude when they answered the call to colors so early in their lives.  They put their young lives on hold to fight in a theater so others may be free.

I fight for my husband.  He has always believed in honor, courage, commitment.  I want him to know that I have always admired his service and the sacrifices he made to keep this nation safe.  I will always fight to keep that ideal alive.

I fight for my sister and my best friend Cheryl.  Both breast cancer survivors, I never want the government deciding their treatments or their drugs are too costly.  I fight for their choice of treatments and I fight for them to always have options.

I fight and will continue to fight for the right to be self governing and free from government interference.  I will fight to keep the integrity of the ballot box.  I will fight to elect representatives who govern from the conscious of their constituency not backroom deals for personal power.  I will fight to keep them honest once elected.

In six days, I plant a symbolic flag in this fight.  My vote.

You see, 9.3 million people were left in a state of flux when the House passed the recent health care bill from the Senate. You see, these 9.3 million, in the original Senate bill were thought to possibly have substandard insurance and a determination would be made by, not the federal agency under which they normally fell, but the Department of the Treasury. If deemed to have substandard insurance, it would be possible or perhaps necessary for them to purchase insurance from an government approved insurer. They were left out of the Senate bill as having a qualified program.

The House, catching this error, passed a resolution 403-0 to say that they did have adequate care as outlined by the IRS code and it wouldn’t be necessary for them to purchase insurance.

The resolution now in the Senate with the fix it bill. The Senate will need to echo the same sentiments by passing a resolution or these 9.3 million will be in a catch 22 with the possibility of buying additional insurance to satisfy government requirements. It now sits with the yet to be approved bill in the Senate.

9.3 million…that’s a lot of people. It is quarter of the number that the Dems say don’t have insurance. It is about the same size as the total populations of New Hampshire, Hawaii, Rhode Island, Montana, Delaware, South Dakota, Alaska, North Dakota, Vermont, the District of Columbia, and Wyoming combined.

These 9.3 million people are family households all with jobs or retirement benefits and are American citizens in good standing. They have worked or are still working jobs most could not or would not want to do – many with long hours, little pay and much time away from their families. There are many that have retired knowing they did their jobs when called. They are mothers and fathers raising children while the other parent is away on extended absences. They pay taxes, they contribute to their communities and for the most part understand the words courage, honor, commitment.

These 9.3 million people are our Armed Services members and families and those who have retired.

A resolution has been introduced in the Senate to ensure continued TRICARE care for our military and Secretary Gates has done the right thing by reassuring our troops that they will be covered. But the question begs, why were they left out in the first place and how did their oversight fall under the Department of the Treasury?

You have a vote coming up. Think about it carefully before you decide because your political future is going to be riding on it.

Normally, I stay out of Congressional races outside of my district. I figure that those issues impact those whose finances and lives are within said districts. Not any more. You see, your “yes” vote is going to impact me. I will be paying for those in your district and in my opinion, that gives me fair dinkum to come in and help out Congressional candidates opposing your point of view. Your “yes” vote will impact my life and the lives of my children. I think it’s only fair if you get to decide the financial future and freedom of my children, I can give a hand to help decide who gets to sit in your office and your chair on the Hill.

Here’s the thing that you may not be counting on. While I may be an everyman, I am legion. I have many friends who feel the same way I do. We have worked hard, stashed some money and have a bit of a flexible schedule. We can take some time off, head to your district, walk and make phone calls for your challenger. We can send money to whomever we get behind to unseat you and most importantly, we won’t forget the carnage you are wrecking on our children. We will work to unseat you and we will win.

We worked extremely hard to get Bob McDonnell, Ken Cuccinelli, and Bill Bolling elected along with picking up an additional 6 seats in the VA legislature. We know how to organize and we know how to work. Usually, we just work around Virginia but you have made it very near and dear to our hearts that you be referred to as “former Congressman”.

You have failed to listen to the hundreds of thousands of emails, phone calls and faxes. You ignored the protests that have taken place over the past year. You have, instead, chosen to be led around on a leash by a Speaker that would throw you under a bus faster that you could blink.

So I just wanted you to get familiar with the space between a rock and a hard place because that is where you are. How you chose to react is up to you.

See you in November.

This year, multiple members of the local Tea Party and John Adams Society not only joined the committee, they ran for both offices and made the usual vote much more interesting. While the candidates didn’t win either position – they made it clear they are there to get involved and I celebrate their joining.

There were fresh and conservative voices about standing strong and working to take back the country on conservative principles. They were there to roll up their sleeves and work.

A couple of interesting observations – the current chair, during his election speech, talked about winning both past and future. The John Adams candidate talked about winning but on conservative principles and reaching out to the community to explain those conservative principles. While the current chair retained his position, the vote was much closer than anyone anticipated. I truly believe that if the John Adams candidate had been involved with the committee for a period of time before the election (most of the members really didn’t know him), he would have won.

The next came in the motion from, in my opinion, a business as usual sycophant. Congressman Rob Wittman is coming up on reelection – he is a amazing Congressman and a true conservative. He represents the 1st District well and probably everyone in that room is or will be busting their backsides to get him reelected. With that being said, the sycophant made the motion that before the primary we endorse Rob for re-election. This brought the best discussion of the day. There was a lot of articulate discourse on the issue and it was wonderful. The back and forth as to “wait – why are we jumping the shark before we know who is running” and “we should give a fair shake to all the candidates who file” and “shades of NY-23 heavy handedness” to “we need to stop his challengers” ensued from both sides. At times it was civilly heated but there were many, many speakers on both sides. The bottom line on that issue is that conservatism and the process won through the discourse.

After the meeting, I spoke with the head of the John Adams Society to get a feel for what their plans were. They have no intention of running a third party candidate but they have every intention to make sure that the Republicans live up to the mantle of conservative principles.

So I welcome the Tea Party and John Adams Society members to the fold. You will keep us strong and you will keep us thinking. Thanks for stepping up to the plate and I am looking forward to the upcoming elections.

My beloved Australian Shepard, Goddard, died yesterday after a relatively long battle with lymphoma.  He will be missed.  I logged on to RedState this morning and began to think of Goddard and the RINOs, the three ring circus currently residing on Capitol Hill and the general tone of politicians these days.  It dawned on me that my dog would have been a better representative than the majority of crop of representatives we have now.

People:  My dog understood that there were bad people in the world.  He was fiercely protective of his home and his family.  He had the instincts to differentiate between the mailman, who he loved, and the very sleazy guy trying to pawn off substandard driveway paving at our expense.  He was always happy to see friends but had little tolerance for those who weren’t friends.  I have no doubt that he would have given his all, if needed to protect that which was dear to him.  There was no middle ground, either you were or you were not a good person in his eyes.  He didn’t pretend to like you just for the sake of appearance.  Unlike politicians who pretend to like everyone most of the time at the expense of those to whom they should be most loyal.

Other animals:  Goddard got along well with other dogs.  It was almost as if he knew they shared a common bond.  They were of the same make up, their interests being the same.  If a dog tried to steal his toys or invaded his domain, there was no doubt about his reaction.  He would bark or snarl to let them know they overstepped their bounds.  He didn’t roll over and show them his stomach signaling defeat – he stood his ground.  He was tolerate of cats but viewed them as an acceptable, arrogant nuisance.  He didn’t try to get along with them, he didn’t try to pretend to be a cat and he didn’t let them run roughshod over him because they were different – he just let them be unless they infringed on his right to be a dog.  Substitute the word RINO for other dogs, and Democrat for cats and I think you will get my point.

His Job – My dog understood his role.  He was the protector of the hearth and home.  His watch never ended.  Each night, every night he would make his rounds checking to ensure that everyone was in their beds, safe and then take up a watch in the foyer of the house.  Every morning, he would go to each of the kids bedroom doors when they were to be awakened.  For nine years, every day and every night, he did his job – no junkets, no “I’m tired and want to get out of here – the snow is coming” – he knew what he was supposed to do.  His persistence and dedication to his task were commendable.  It is a simple lesson that politicians could learn.  You do your job assigned to you – no excuses.

Behavior – Very few times did I have to admonish him.  However, if it did happen, it only took a couple of times for him to understand it wasn’t an acceptable action and never to repeat it.  There were no excuses such as “it is a complex issue” or “I did what I felt was right”.  He listened to the wishes of his masters and knew this is what was we required.  If the current crop of politicians were dogs, I doubt if 90% would even be housebroken at this point.

Play time – Goddard loved play time.  A simple game of catch or a car ride or just hiking in the woods.  He would play as long as it was allowed.  But once the play time was deemed over – he went back to his vigilance of  watching over his charges.  This is definitely a lesson our elected leadership could learn from a dog.

And last, unconditional love – There were no conditions of the love our dog showed us.  I could walked out the door for a minute or 5 hours and return to the same greeting – one of “I am so glad you are home!”.  There was no “eh, it’s you”, no “I can’t be bothered” – just joy.  Politicians and their staffers many times make it clear when contacting them that the “eh, it’s you” or “I can’t be bothered” is the common operating theme in their offices forgetting what their job truly is.

So Goddard, thank you for sharing nine amazing and wonderful years of your life with us.  You would have make a heck of a lot better representative than most sitting in office today.

On November 6th, Obama visited Walter Reed Hospital and the AP reported:

The president met with 19 soldiers being treated at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, as well as the families of three soldiers in intensive care, and hospital staff. He also awarded two Purple Hearts.

19 soliders, 3 families and 2 purple hearts – 24 actions. The coincidental occurrence of the 24 stuck with me.

There is a huge time difference between the two “24″s though.

Assuming that Obama uses one golf ball per round, he has interacted with 24 golf balls since taking office. Given the average round of golf is 4 hours and assuming one golf ball per round, Mr. Obama has devoted four hours of his time to each golf ball.

While the AP and other media outlets were in a tither that Obama spent nearly two hours with wounded soldiers, families, staff and awarded two Purple Hearts, the reality of the time is a sad statement in comparison.

Breaking down the numbers by using the President’s schedule found here, and adding 25 minutes to equate to “nearly two hours” (in the interest of fairness, he did extend his originally scheduled visit of 1 hour and 25 minutes to approximately 1 hour and 50 minutes), one can assume the following

1 hour and 50 minutes = 110 minutes

24 actions (meeting with 19 soldiers, 3 families, awarding 2 Purple Hearts)

110/24 = 4.58333 minutes per interaction.

So, a golfball in this administration receives 4 hours or 240 minutes of the President’s devoted attention while the soldiers, their actions and their families receive less than 5 minutes each on average.

I am in favor of some recreational time for the leader of the free world and CinC of our military but I am disturbed by the lack of priorities that have been exhibited by this administration. When a golf ball received more attention than a wounded soldier, there is a disconnect gone wildly wrong and unchecked.

Less time on the golf course, Mr. President, and more time on the course of the country.

Judge Williams wrote in his ruling,

“The right to vote means a right to cast a ballot that will be counted.” As a result, the court held that Virginia’s failure to mail absentee ballots to its military and overseas voters sufficiently in advance of the election “offended these voters’ prized right to vote in a federal election[.]”

An article summarizing the decision can be found here.

The right to vote means a right to cast a ballot that will be counted. A Powerful statement.

Virginia is home to over 700,000 active duty and retired military members. In 2000, it ranked as the top state with respect to this figure. Most of the active duty service members came by orders and their spouses and families came with them, making Virginia their homes.

In early 2004, an anomaly in Virginia residency requirements came to light through a very liberal registrar of voters that military spouses, technically, could only register to vote if they could swear that they would be living in Virginia for an unlimited amount of time. We move when we are told to move. We act as the shield and sword on the home front and the majority of us try to make the communities in which we live a better place for those families that follow. We just didn’t have the right to register to vote in the state we called home.

This began a protracted battle between Federal and state officials. Were we covered under UOCAVA or were we not? There were no answers and in an article done by the Military Times, this particular registrar stated that it was a federal issue not a state issue. At the time, the Federal government was viewing it as a state’s rights issue it was a frustrating ooda loop with misinformation being thrown about.

Finally, Delegate Mark Cole introduced HB138 to exempt military spouses and dependents from the archaic requirement of swearing unlimited amount of time for residency.

The House bill was referred to and passed by House Committee on Special Privileges and Elections and then on to a House vote, passing 87-11 (the eleven votes were all Democrats by the way). Once passed in the House, the bill went on to the Senate Privileges and Election Committee on which Creigh Deeds is a member. I was at the hearing to testify if needed. During the hearing, I don’t recall Deeds saying much of interest and the bill was referred unanimously for a Senate vote. And this is where it gets interesting with Creigh Deeds.

On referring the bill from Committee for vote, Deeds voted FOR the bill.
On the first read through, Deeds voted FOR the bill.
On the second and final read through, Deeds voted AGAINST the final bill. In fact, the bill HR138ER had overwhelming bipartisan support with the exception of Creigh Deeds and one other Democrat Senator.

When crunch time came, Deeds let military spouses know exactly where he stood on allowing them to register to vote in the Commonwealth.

The recent ruling on absentee ballots for military and the fight to give military dependents the right to register to vote in Virginia highlights a pervasive attitude about Virginia’s Democrats and the military family – we will say we support you but eh, not so much, when it comes down to the wire.

Keeping in mind the judge’s quote of The right to vote means a right to cast a ballot that will be counted and with Virginia home to such a large population of military families is Creigh Deeds the man we want running the Commonwealth? He didn’t even want military dependents voting an election cycle ago. Why would you believe he would protect the rights of a large portion of the state population now?

“Is there not some chosen curse, some hidden thunder in the stores of heaven, red with uncommon wrath, to blast the man who owes his greatness to his country’s ruin!”

If you are not familiar with Addison’s Cato, the theme is statesman’s honor, preserving it above all else. Addison’s impact on the founding fathers can felt throughout, especially Washington. It is an insight into the protection of a republic by those who vow to guarantee its continuation and a very good snapshot on the influence of this thinking, which allowed our early leaders to resist the temptations of power.

In recent years, we have gone through the motions and got caught up in the mantra of elect ability. We have allowed consultants, the media, and the other side to dictate who and what our candidates will be and for what they will stand. The government representatives that we have elected are more interested in getting along than standing for the principles needed to ensure the republic’s continuation. We have begun a very fast slide towards socialism.

Since 2006 and along with the current administration, there has been a chokehold on this country. What has been accomplished, what has been done, what has changed? They point out, with the help of a salivating media, faults, failures and stumbles of the Republicans still blaming everything on President Bush. Even our own leadership fails to answer these charges instead allows a deafening silence. There is neither accountability nor leadership on either side.

It is now time for the Republican leadership to stand up and fight. There is no honor in forsaking your principles to get along. It is time to take your oath seriously and cast spinelessness aside. It is time for the honor of a statesman. Your leadership is being watched – carefully. Sadly, I do not believe it will happen.

The good news is, the people are starting to get weary of this. The recent TEA parties across the nation provided a snapshot of the courage of the every man to say enough. The media coverage (and lack thereof), the Astroturf comments from Nancy Pelosi, the President being “unaware” has been heard by the taxpayers funding the frivolity of this administration and breaking the financial backs of generations to come. The arrogance has been noted and it is understood.

The every man is tired of the politics of politics. We elected you to preserve our constitution and Republic and so far, you have failed. The tea parties are just beginning and will continue because we have lost faith in your abilities to do your job.

The quote itself stands on its own. Is there not some thunder from heaven for those who seek to ruin our country?

The answer is yes and it is we. The distant thunder you hear is us and we are getting louder.

“There were Three Estates in Parliament; but, in the Reporters’ Gallery yonder, there sat a Fourth Estate more important far than they all.”

Nothing has changed in 168 years. The press provides the view of the world in succinct bytes poetically waxed by attractive talking heads and those with an ability to read a teleprompter (another story) to a society all too concerned with time allocation and diminished attention spans.

Have we, as a society, surrendered our desire for truth and fair reporting in favor of 30-second sound bytes of buzz words and favoritism?

Yellow journalism has always been around just as press manipulation has been. After hearing of no confrontation in the build up to the Spanish American War, Hearst told his reporter “You provide me the pictures and I will provide the war”. This is exactly what he did. The quest for ratings was the driver even in the 1800s. Nevertheless, the quest was self-serving for the press and that is no longer the case.

As of late, the press has taken on a different, more nefarious role in the lives of the American public. It is that of surrogate spokesman for the current administration. Few challenge, few diverge from the path of praise. Our national press is an Obama fest of gigantic proportions. Even those who do challenge, challenge in a way that is timid and unworthy of the journalistic fundamentals of who, what, when, where and why. It becomes not what they say, but how they say it.

I gave up watching television news after the November elections. However, a few days ago, while waiting for a prescription to be filled, on the waiting room television; CNN was delivering a story “critical” of Obama’s current economic plan. I really did not even hear what they were saying because I was shocked about how it was being said. In reverent, almost timid tones, they were discussing Obama and this plan. The tone said it all. Do not question the man and be humbled before his greatness. Moreover, it was frightening.

It was frightening because the tone. The tonal praise of subservience. The media that want us to believe they are the watchdogs of truth and clarity. The media that assure us that they are unbiased – have surrendered integrity. We, the viewing public, are being subliminally infused with this tone. It is a velvety “Surrender Dorothy” with Dorothy being the critical thinking capacity of the average viewer. It was an epiphany while waiting for Claritan.

We can no longer depend on the Fourth Estate for truth. For they, as Carlyle pointed out, have a more important role than the government that we have entrusted to continue our Republic.

How do we free the chokehold that we willing supplicate to and they consistently supply?

note: I can’t get the cross post thing to work. It is cross posted on my personal blog.

This observation was then followed by “what if we taped a copy of the constitution on the courthouse door”?  And so it began.

This question has evolved into an exercise of free speech scheduled for September 17, 2009 – Constitution Day.

On that day, many of us will be gathering at the steps of our local courthouse and we will tape up a copy of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights to the door of the courthouse.  Each of us will hold a simple sign that reads “We the People”.  Unlike most protests though, we will not be speaking.  Across our mouths will be a piece of tape and written on each piece tape will be Section/Article/Clause of the Constitution that has been violated by our elected leaders.  (I figure by September, we are going to need a large crowd.)  The tape is to symbolize the silencing of the voices of the people.

We plan to have written materials outlining the violations, hopefully, pocket Constitutions and information on how to become involved. 

I have already had some surprising phone calls from people that want to take part. 

Wish us well.

The Republican party has always been the party of less government interference, strong national defense, free market systems, and fundamental faith in our country and ourselves. I don’t think we have done a great job in adhering to these principles.

Do I think we are doomed? Do I think it is over? Not by a long shot. In fact, I think that our recent losses could be exactly what we need to look introspectively and decide exactly who we are and what we stand for and if we are going to follow through on those beliefs.

It is now time for us to regroup and rebuild.

First, I urge the party to outreach to all of its members. You committee chairmen have lists of those who are members, have been members and have attended your meetings. Most of you have access to information on those who voted in Republican primaries (or registered Republican), and/or political organizations to which they belong. Send an outreach letter asking them to help in the rebuilding process. Tell them their ideas are valuable and are needed. Allow the rank and file to take ownership of the party and their committees. And when the rank and file speak, LISTEN.

Too often, the committee level leadership follows its own agenda and has almost a secret handshake society. Take stock of your members, find their strengths and utilize those strengths. If you have someone interested in computers, find a way to use their skills. If you have a maven, use them to find others. If you have a fundraiser type, kiss the ground they walk on.

I have a classic example of how we fail to identify the strengths of our members. I attended a Republican women’s leadership course here in Virginia and there was a young, dynamic woman in the course with me. A second year law student, bright, articulate, energetic and extremely gifted at speech writing and analysis. We had a campaign manager come in to give a seminar on campaigns and the young woman asked how she could get involved. The canned answer was “we can always use someone to make calls”. I realize that there is that need but I see many times where talent is cast aside for failing to simply take a moment to find out where a volunteer talents lay and how those could be best utilized.

When your committee is rebuilding, look for ways to bring the committee to the attention of your communities. Send newly registered voters in the area a welcome letter thanking them for registering and give them information on their elected officials, important government numbers and websites and do an outreach to those new voters inviting them to join. Give specifics on when the meetings are held and where. Don’t wait for them to find you.

Think about ways to enhance your visibility with the community with good works. Many units have Young Republican clubs in the high schools and most of those young members will attend college. Brainstorm ideas for scholarships through the committee (if eligible) or the Republican Women’s Club or PACs and follow through on those.

Engage in community service outreach such as a food or toy drive, tackle literacy issues in your area to show that we are part of the community and the party is actively enhancing our own home areas.

We have spent too much time being reactive, it is now time to get busy and get proactive.

October 31st, 2008 at 8:16 am
Confessions of a Lawn Sign Stealer
» by Bill Dupray in: Courts, Crime & Punishment, Democrats, Election
Okay. It’s time to play a little pile-on-the-jackass. This smug sonofabitch is a professor who admits to stealing lawn signs. His name is PHIL BUSSE.

Self-described Thief and Tresspasser, PHIL BUSSE

Highway 19 is a busy six-mile stretch of meandering road that links to main interstate artery in southeast Minnesota. More interestingly, the road connects rural, and often conservative, Minnesota to the liberal college town of Northfield. Rolling through pumpkin patches and apple orchids, the highway is postcard beautiful. This summer and autumn it was speckled with McCain signs, their cobalt blue squarely set against the gold and red of fall foliage.

By early October, however, there were no McCain-Palin campaign signs on the eastbound stretch of Highway 19. It wasn’t because loyalties had switched, but because I pulled them out.

So what does Mr. Busse do for a living? He’s a visiting professor at St. Olaf College.

If I were paying tuition for a student at St. Olaf, I would ask for a refund.

Again, full article here.

I have had the privilege of living and visiting all over the country. I have found that the majority of people are generous and warm and giving. We give to charities, we give to churches, we give of our time.

We give of our treasure. We send our young to war, not to conquer but to give to people the liberties that we enjoy so freely.

When a disaster strikes a community, a state, a nation, we are first in line to help with donations of food, clothing, blood, our time and our prayers. There is a fundamental compassion that lives in the majority of us.

We have a faith in our nation and its fundamental foundations. While it saddens me that most people have never read the Constitution, I believe they have an innate understanding of its principles.

We are also a trusting nation. We elect people to office with the faith that they will represent our wishes and needs. We trust them to do the right thing. We believe in our system of a democratic republic. We have given them the public trust to either hold or defile, the choice to do either lies solely within their hands.

We trusted in the press to be objective. We believed that the media would provide a fair and balanced accounting of the pros and cons of candidates and the elected officials that serve this country not have an agenda to curry favor or to have their choice of candidates promoted.

This giving and this trust, I believe, makes voters naive not lazy or stupid. We want to believe, we want to trust and we want what is best for the country. We go about our daily lives, working, raising families and being who we are. We cast votes for people that are suppose to be watching out for our interests and those of our country.

In this election cycle, we are facing a unprecedented storm of conflict. We have a media pushing a candidate, yet the media was the trusted source of views, we have a socialist who is softly cooing to the American public that he will make it better and aided and abetted by the same media and we have part of the American public that want to believe that they will be sending the best to govern us. It is the clever hope gimmick and the media consistently resonates that off key song.

Do I think Obama will win? No, the American public is coming out of its trusting slumber and waking up to the bias of the media, the pandering of the left and I believe that the American public is starting to see how far off the ideals of this country Obama truly is.

If Obama does win does America get what she deserves? No. America deserves much better.

Son: Mom, what are taxes?

Me: There are a lot of different taxes, which ones do you want to talk about?

Son: I dunno, which one can you explain to me.

Me: Well, let’s start with income tax. Say you work for someone and you make $100. Taxes are taken out of that money you earned. So let’s say you earned $100 but the taxes are $20 and that $20 goes to the government to pay for things.

Son: TWENTY DOLLARS?? That’s a lot of money.

Me: Well, it depends on how much you earn. The more you earn, the more taxes you pay.

Son: So why would you want to earn a lot? What do they do with the money.

Me: Sometimes, it’s hard to tell but it is suppose to be used for keeping Americans safe and helping the people that live here.

Son: So why don’t the people it’s helping go out and get a job and earn their own money?

Son: What other kind of taxes are there?

Me: Well, there’s property tax that we pay for the houses, there is sales taxes, personal property tax, social security taxes, taxes on cable and internet, taxes on gas, there’s a lot of them.

Son: That stinks.

Yes it does.

Then he went into how his second grade classmates think Obama is going to win.

Son: McCain’s going to win the election.

Me: That’s right but why are you so sure.

Son: At lunch all I hear is Obama, Obama, Obama is going to win.

Me: Okay, but why do know McCain is going to win.

Son: (As he lets out a big sigh) Mom, the kids that say Obama is going to win still believe in Santa Claus.

Gotta love the mind of a seven year old.

The premise of this article begins with an indication that they hide their Obama signs and they must be very careful at barbeques about their support giving the indication that they are a persecuted minority. A minority yes, persecuted no. Military have consistently been a conservative group, it goes with the territory.

The article continues

But a few military wives have stepped out this year to back the Democratic candidate as members of Blue Star Families for Obama.

Yes they have and it began with Michelle Obama on August 6th.

Michelle Obama shared a stage this afternoon with six hand-picked military spouses in Norfolk as the campaign announced the formation of “Blue Star Families for Obama.”

Link

There is nothing wrong with Obama’s campaign reaching out to the military community however, they became part and parcel with the Obama campaign when they stepped foot on that stage. They are now part of the Obama campaign living within the military community.

But in Hampton Roads, several dozen military family members have organized to target military voters through canvassing and phone banks. They produced an online commercial for the campaign, pitching Obama to the military community.

So we have hand picked wives to run Blue Star Families for Obama and now they are canvassing to reach military families. Exactly where are they getting the information on “military families”? It is networking and through military base contacts. And this is where I have a fundamental issue with this group.

These wives fret about having to whisper about supporting Obama but yet they are willing to use contacts they have acquired through the military to get other families to join them.

I celebrate the diversity of the vote but I celebrate it OUTSIDE of my husband’s command. There is a true potential of undue command influence here, i.e., not bucking a senior officer or enlisted person (or their wife) on issues you may not agree with in fear of retaliaton to the spouse. The go along to get along attitude.

I understand the protocol and I understand that as a spouse, I have a responsibility never, ever to exhibit even a small whiff of undue command pressure.

Again, while I celebrate and cherish the privilege of voting, it saddens me that military families are being used in this election.

So spare me the victimhood of your unpopular positon within the military community while using the resources from that community to change minds.

She is also internet challenged. Her foray into the internet ended when she asked my brother about the nice man from Nigeria. It shocked her enough she hasn’t touched it since.

We rarely talk politics but one of our last conversations she said she was voting for McCain/Palin. I was stunned and asked her why.

Her response encouraged me. “The media keeps telling how perfect he (Obama) is and no one is perfect.” She actually used the words gushing, dewey-eyed, and giddy in her description of ABC, CBS, and NBC reporters. She said she is suspect since they really don’t talk about his experience but always seem to manage to include McCain’s age. She remembers McCain’s medical records being released, but not Obama’s. She remembers reporters talking about Palin’s college career but not Obama’s. She also noted that they use words like “Presidential hopeful” when describing him but refer to McCain as Senator McCain and Governor Palin as Sarah Palin or Ms. Palin. It hasn’t set well with her. She believes that the respect shown one side, should be shown to the other.

She came to the conclusion since media has been wrong so many times on so many different issues, that their pushing of this candidate isn’t about the country, it’s about them and she’s not about to let them decide based on “their puppy love crush”.

Without any help from the internet, she has drawn her own conclusions in a world that touts Obama.

I think she should get back on the net. If she can see through the media, I don’t think a Nigerian scam email will trick her again.