Should I care?

A friend asked me yesterday what I thought of the continued Palin bashing. I didn't know what she was talking about.

You see, from the moment Obama won I haven't watched one second of news. I just couldn't bear it. I knew it would depress me. What I didn't realize that watching other things would depress me too.

Have you seen "The Housewives of Atlanta?" are some such nonsense. It's like the "Housewives of the O.C." It follows around a bunch of wealthy women. It proves that money cannot buy class or intelligence. I was horrified that people like this existed. Then there is this show about some skinny horribly dressed freak who, for some reason, is given the task of teaching dweebs how to pick up women. It's like watching a torture scene.

If it weren't for Scrubs re-runs and Reno 9-11 I think I may have thrown a brick into the TV.

I'm trying to only listen to the positive, upbeat and funny right now. I listen to "The Walton and Johnson Show" in the morning on the radio. If you aren't lucky enough to be in their listening area, I just feel sorry for you. They are naughty and hilarious. If you are feeling like me and need a good laugh, I would suggest you listen live online here.

Right now I don't want to care. I want to be one of those women who lose themselves in shopping. I want to care if my nails are done perfectly. I want to be the one who Tivo's Oprah so I can know what book to read for the year. I want to care who wins Project Runway. I want to want to read People magazine and care whether Brad and Angelina Jolie are happy (gee, I think I just described the "Wives of Atlanta"). I want to be shallow and uniformed. Let's face it. Life is easier that way. Caring about our country is too hard.

Caring about our country means being horrified that our media became a propaganda machine for Obama this election that would have made the 1980's Soviet Union proud. It means realizing that this same media can bribe state employees to get any kind of personal information on any of us and display it to the world and no one cares. It means that a Presidential candidate can spend $650 million dollars to get elected with hundreds of millions of those donations completely anonymous and no one sees anything wrong with that. It means that the momentous incredible fact that the surge worked and we decimated Al Qaeda inIraq and are bringing our boys home in victory instead of defeat, isn't important enough to get a mention in a Presidential election where the media's preferred candidate was completely wrong about it.

I can't ignore reality for long, I know. Bill Whittle has a beautiful piece over at Eject! Eject! Eject!. It ends with this:

There is much to do. That a man with such overt Marxist ideas and such a history of association with virulent anti-Americans can be elected President should make it crystal clear to each of us just how far we have let fall the moral tone of this Republic. The great lesson from Ronald Reagan was simply that we can and must gently educate as well as campaign, and explain our ideas with smiles on our faces and real joy in our hearts, for unlike the far-left radical who gained the Presidency on Tuesday, we start with 150 million of the most free and intelligent and hard-working people in the history of the Earth at our backs, with a philosophy that -- unlike theirs, which has resulted in 100 million dead in unmarked graves -- has liberated and enriched more people and created more joy than any nation or combination of nations in our history.

How can we lose this greater fight, my friends? How can we lose, unless we give up?


He got me.

I can't give up now, can I?

What The Pro-Life Movement is Really About

I posted this over at my Houston Chron blog because frankly I was amazed at how so many on the left haven't a clue about what we do. They have bought into the media and leftwing lie about the pro-life movement. One of my commenters asked me why pro-lifers don't just help women! Good grief. So here is my post.

I can tell from my comments that there is a great deal of ignorance and misconceptions of what the Pro-life movement is about and what it has done.

Many believe that pro-lifers mainly focus on changing the law, but I would say that about 70% of pro-life work is helping women in crisis pregnancies.
On the legislative side we have worked for over 30 yrs for reasonable restrictions that most Americans agree with, like a 24 waiting period, informed consent, and parental notification for minors seeking an abortion. But Planned Parenthood and the abortion lobby has fought us every step of the way. But with the help of Republicans we have been able to pass these restrictions in many states. I'm afraid that is all about to change though with a Democratic President and a Democratic congress.

But I digress. The main focus of the pro-life movement has always been to help women and their babies. I will give you 4 examples because I have worked with these organizations personally, but there a many many more. In fact there are 3 crisis pregnancy centers for every abortion clinic in the U.S. All are run on a shoe string budget with no paid staff. They are usually funded through churches and private donations.

The first is The Nurturing Network. TNN has 48,000 volunteer Resource Members that provide homes, legal help, counseling, financial aid, educational and employment opportunities for women in crisis pregnancies. Whatever the need is, TNN provides it. Mary Cunningham Agee started TNN 20 years ago after serving in Senior Management of two Fortune 100 Companies. She was voted twice by World Almanac as one of the "Twenty-five most influential women in America." It's an incredible organization whose sole focus is women and their babies.

Next is Birthright. I worked as counselor at Birthright right here in Houston many years ago. Birthright has been around for 40 years. When I worked there we didn't have the money to provide medical care, but we found Doctors who would and we referred the women there. The same with referrals to help women meet legal, medical, financial, and housing needs. We kept a room full of donated cribs, high chairs, diapers, formula, bottles, and baby clothes. If we didn't have something a women needed, we found it. Working there was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. Women would come back and visit after their baby was born so grateful to have had the support they needed to choose life.

I now work with the Gabriel Project through the Catholic Church which helps women in much the same way with practical needs.

Lastly, The Gladney Center in Dallas. It is not volunteers though. They have paid staff. When I lived in Dallas I worked with them with young girls who weren't ready to be mothers. It has to be one of the best adoption centers in the country. They have beautiful facilities and provide on site housing and medical care for young girls. They handle all of the legal, educational, and counseling issues as well. I remember going to a Christmas party there one year and all the adoptive parents were there with their adopted children. It was brimming with happiness. I love this place.

So, I wanted to give you an idea of what the pro-life movement really does. The media likes to portray it in a negative light, but it really always has been about helping women choose life.

No Gay Marriage in California

Isn't it interesting that Prop. 8 banning gay marriage lost in California?

From what I have read the Prop. 8 question was on the "no" side of the ballot. Obama carried California by 61%. So people had to make the effort to check yes, if you see what I mean. And let me say again...this was in California.

This was quite a victory for those who oppose gay marriage. It will put off legal gay marriage for many years.

Perhaps.

Obama has said he was for gay marriage before he ran for President and changed his tune, but make no mistake about it, he will do what he can to make it legal.

It's only a matter of time anyway. TV and movies have spent years mainstreaming the gay lifestyle into the culture of entertainment. Like most people, I have no problem with civil unions and I don't understand why that isn't enough. I feel that changing the definition of marriage will open a pandora's box that cannot be closed with people allowed to marry as many as they wish and all sorts of "marriages." No doubt in my mind about that.

I have taught my children to not judge gays. That is God's job, not ours. And after all, we are all sinners. Sexual sin is sexual sin no matter whether it is homosexual or heterosexual. I have taught my kids to respect others no matter how different. Respect is not the same as condone though. We can all respect each other even if we believe differently. Once again, it's all about the choices we make. We are blessed by our choices or we regret our choices. It's up to us. It always has been.

Given that and add the mix of our culture enforcing the belief that it is simply an "alternative lifestyle," The younger generation is fine with gay marriage, so it is only a matter of time.

In a humanistic society there is no reason to not have gay marriage or any kind of marriage. Marriage is religiously based. So as we move away from faith and religion, we move away from those constraints. We started moving away from those constraints with no fault divorce.

I wish we could focus our energies on strengthening marriage instead of changing it. But I really feel it doesn't matter to us much as a society anymore. I'm not sure what matters to us anymore.

For believers it reminds me of 1 Peter 5:8 "Control yourselves. Be on your guard. Your enemy the devil is like a roaring lion. He prowls around looking for someone to chew up and swallow."

We forget that. Even as Christians we only want to focus on the positive. We don't want to think about what we should be on guard for.

We hardly have the moral high ground when our divorce rate is 50%. We hardly have the moral high ground when we ignore when our children live together before the wedding. We aren't on guard. We just aren't.

Now, before it gets too depressing here, I'll offer this. There is a wonderful program in the Catholic Church called the Retroveille program. I've referred people to it and it has literally saved their marriage. It's not just for Catholics and it doesn't cost anything (I don't think). It isn't counseling in the traditional sense. Anyway, if you are about to give up on your marriage I would strongly suggest you give it a try. I've seen couples that were absolutely divorcing but just went so they could say they tried and came out of it renewing their marriage vows.

I guess I'm being more spiritual here than usual. That's the place I usually go when I am upset about the state of the world.

Just Get Back To Fighting For What Is Right

Growing up in the middle of the civil rights movement in the 60's in Mississippi with a politically active family gave me a great perspective on how so many felt about the possibility of the first African American to become President. I felt and understood the historic nature of it. I wrote a few really positive pieces about Obama, as you may recall.

But, as all of you know, life is my issue. We are living in a culture of death. The more I learned about Obama and his promise to Planned Parenthood to sign the Freedom of Choice Act, which would destroy 30 yrs of pro-life work, I knew that he was a part of that culture of death. I wished it weren't so. I wished that at least he was moderate on the issue. But he isn't. From federal funding of abortions to partial birth abortion, he was for them all.

So there never was a way that I could get excited about how incredible it is that we have come so far in race relations. And that just made me sad.

I'm a very positive person, as you all know. I don't let things get me down. I've been blessed with a wonderful family and a wonderful life. When God called me into the pro-life movement 23 years ago, I wanted nothing to do with it. It had nothing to do with me and I didn't want to be seen as "radical." But all of you who have faith and relationship with God, knows about 'the hound of heaven." He just doesn't let up. I went into this battle against the culture of death reluctantly, but of course, it has brought me so many blessings in a hundred different ways. I met my best friends through it. I wanted more children because of it, and nothing has brought me more joy than that. That is the way it always is with God. "All things work toward good for those who love and serve the Lord" Romans 8:28. My favorite verse. It has always been true in my life.

I thought no one would be more beholden to abortion and the abortion lobby than Clinton, but I was wrong. Obama is. That is simply a fact that Obama would be proud to tell you. So today I have a heavy heart for this culture we live in and the President that we have elected that doesn't see what abortion has done to our society.

But I will move forward. I'll tell you why with a personal story. Many years ago a girl at my husband's office was pregnant with twins. She had cheated on her husband while they were separated and didn't want the children. My husband and I spent a lot of time trying to convince her not to abort. We offered our home where she could stay and offered to adopt the children. But she went ahead and aborted them.

I laid in bed that night and cried. I thought of the twins that would never see a sunset or swim in the ocean. I thought of all that was lost. I asked God how could he let this happen? We had prayed so hard and tried so hard. This work He had sent me to do wasn't working. Certainly not in society. In my grief, I heard that still small voice in my heart say, "I only asked you to fight the fight. There is free will and people choose the wrong path. You may never see laws change or hearts change. But you are called to fight the good fight. Let me take care of the rest."

It was then I realized that is all we can do. We can try to open society's eyes to the horror of things like abortion and pornography, but in the end we are a free people and we choose. In the end we all either pay for our choices, or we are blessed by our choices.

I pray that Obama will govern more moderately than his past tells us. I pray that he won't overturn 30 yrs of pro-life work.

And I will just get back to fighting for the rights of the unborn children. Because that is what I am called to do. We are blessed, not in winning, but in doing what is right. You guys keep doing what is right and let God take care of the rest.

The Machines Have Won

JOIN THE RESISTANCE.

WHERE IS JOHN CONNER WHEN YOU NEED HIM!?

Ok, you lefties can gloat. You deserve it.

Someone is mad!

And they should be. Z Ryan sent me these from Lakevill, MN. After they tore down his signs he put up the one that says, "I fought for Obama's & your freedom, so you can do this to us? Thanks. Real Class!!! Sgt. Dan Gust

They tore down that one too.

VOTE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

VOTE!

VOTE!!

VOTE!!!

................

Read this. It will keep you warm all day.

This will make you practically giddy.

Some Good News

I just got this from "Our Country Deserves Better:"

"Fantastic News! The brand new Fox News/Rasmussen battleground poll shows Sen. John McCain has surged ahead to tie or lead in key battleground states where Sen. Obama had held a lead just a few days ago.

The undecided voters are breaking for McCain and the McCain/Palin campaign clearly has the momentum to win this race!!
McCain now leads Florida (50%-49%) and North Carolina (50%-49%) is tied with Obama in Missouri (49%-49%( and Ohio (49%-49%). And in two other states McCain is within the statistical margin of error to be tied with Obama: Colorado (51%-47%) and Virginia (51%-47%).

We have a little more than 5 hours left to place one final TV advertising buy to defeat Obama. Let's give this campaign everything we have and win this election. This is our final appeal for contributions to put into our TV ad campaign before voters go to the polls. You can contribute anywhere from $5 to $5,000 online - HERE."

How Sad

Obama's Grandmother has died at age 86. This is the woman who helped raised Obama.

If he wins, how sad that she would miss that by one day. My heart goes out to Obama and his family.

60 yrs ago today!

Actually this is 60 yrs ago tomorrow, but it so similar! I forgot to put these up the last few days. Thanks to The Raving Atheist for all these!

November 2, 1948

Tucson Daily Citizen (Tucson, Arizona):

..................

NATION REPORTS VOTING IS HEAVY

Polls, Experts and Odds See Victory for Gov. Dewey

...................

Here is an excerpt:

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"Mr. Truman hinted that he believed that the presidential race will be close, contradicting poll-takers who look for a sweep for Gov. Thomas Dewey."

'What We Are Fighting For'

John McCain.

Reason 157 I love Texas

I have been reading about arguments in early voting lines and yard signs stolen everywhere and I have to think that maybe I love Texas because people are so friendly.

When I was standing in line voting we all chatted with each other. No one mentioned who they were voting for. It would have been rude I think.

I have a neighbor and a friend who is a BIG Obama supporter. We joke about it with each other, but we don't really talk about it other than that.

I also have neighbors on either side that I am pretty sure are Obama supporters (although I can't say for sure).

Because of this I decided not to put a McCain/Palin sign in my front yard. I wanted to. But I knew that if I had to drive into my driveway everyday and see an Obama sign in their yard, that it would irritate me. I figured they would feel the same way if I had a McCain/Palin sign. So I didn't.

Maybe that's why they didn't put an Obama sign out front?

I'd like to think so. Neighbors and friends thinking of each other's feelings.

That is what I like about Texas.

Why I Know We Will Win

This is from a thread at Ace's:

THE PATH TO VICTORY FOR McCAIN IS IN OUR HANDS

The media polls are heavily weighted towards Democrats in terms of Party ID. With that kind of heavy weighting, it would be impossible for McCain to show any lead even if he had a small led among independents. For example, Rasmussen currently assumes the following party id break down: Democrats 40%, Republicans 32.8%, and Independents 27.2%. He is assuming a whopping 7 percent advantage in party id for the Democrats. This is a big barrier to overcome in these polls. If we assume a 85% Democrat support for Obama and 85% Republican support for McCain and a 50/50 breakdown among independents (ignore undecided and third party candidates) this would translate to a poll finding of 52.5% for Obama and 47.5% for McCain which incidentally gives the same 5% spread as in the current Rasmussen poll.

Note that all of this is simply from the 7% party id advantage. If we reduce the party id spread to 3%, the numbers would change to 51% for Obama and 49% to McCain. Now if we assume that McCain picks off more Democrats than Obama does Republicans, 85% Democrats for Obama and 90% Republicans for McCain then the outcome will be 49.3% for Obama and 50.7% for McCain, a clear LEAD.

Now, I could see that this could seems like someone stretching it, desperate to put on the best face. I don't know much about statistics or about the science of polling. But I do know that the McCain camp knows something we don't. It's clear in their speeches and how they are in places like Pennsylvania. And Obama isn't acting like he has this thing in the bag. I see a lot of concern in their camp. So it makes me wonder if they also know something we don't.

Now, all this could be wishful thinking, and I know that. But there is just a feeling out there that Americans aren't sure about Obama. And they are sure about McCain. My feeling is that the undecided will break McCain's way in a big way.

I can't explain my optimism. I didn't have this kind of optimism with Bush the last two times. It's about momentum (which I think McCain has) against Obamamania. It will be close, but I think there will be surprises no one saw coming. Blue states red. That's my prediction.