Food for Thought

My last post generated quite a bit of interest, and a modicum of criticism.  In accordance with the policies in my House Rules, I posted those that presented logical discourse and debate.  The one who had nothing to contribute but name-calling and anti-Semitic rhetoric got the attention he deserves:  none.

It was, however, the criticism from much closer to home that stung me.  I was told to my face (by someone who is NOT voting for Obama) that my post was shallow and descended into character assassination.  That hurt.  I wrote my post as a cautionary tale (in the spirit of my teaching philosophy derived from George Satanyana’s “Those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it”) in order to get my 1.4 daily readers to understand that his/her duty as an American citizen is to go into the polls an informed voter.  Don’t choose one candidate over the other because of something that happened decades ago, or because of an accident of birth, or because of who he chose as a wife, or because of what his kids did (or didn’t do).

Think about your values–what is important to you?  What to you is worth defending?  Worth dying for?  Worth preserving for your children, and for generations after that?  What is it you want people to think when they hear the words “United States of America”?  Once you’ve figured out what your values are, research the candidates.  Look not only at friendly sources, but unfriendly ones as well.  Get the view from all sides, because I guarantee you, there is no such thing as objectivity in media.  There was for one brief, shining moment in the mid-20th century–Edward R. Murrow led the way, but in less than five years after Murrow’s death, even Uncle Walter was showing his true colors of bias.

What matters to me?

The Constitution I swore to give my life for when I joined the service back in 1985.  Even though the Air Force released me from that oath when I received my Honorable Discharge in 1993, I still feel bound by it.  I still will, if necessary, die to defend it.  The ENTIRE Constitution–the Preamble (which, thanks to Schoolhouse Rock as a kid, I have completely memorized), all seven articles, and all 27 amendments, ESPECIALLY the first ten. I’m going with the candidate whose stated positions are more in line with mine regarding a strict interpretation of the Constitution.  Point to McCain, but only because his view is ever-so-slightly stricter than Obama’s on the Constitution.

That includes the First Amendment, which I spent three months studying as a senior in college, under the instruction of one of the foremost scholars of 1st Amendment law in the country, Dr. William Lee at the University of Georgia.  The 1st Amendment states:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. [Emphasis mine]

Note that the Amendment guarantees freedom OF religion, not freedom FROM religion.  Sorry, ACLU, you’re dead wrong!  Al Qaeda, the Taliban, and the Wahhabists have as their stated goal the deaths of all who do not worship their way.  Sorry, pal, but that ain’t the American way.  If I die for my faith, I fully intend to take as many of my murderers with me as I possibly can.  I’m willing to let God sort it out–are they?

Which leads me to the Second Amendment.  The founding fathers learned their lesson when the British government seized their guns at the first opportunity.  They specifically wrote the Second Amendment to prevent that from happening again.  I AM the NRA, and I DO vote.  I’ll be damned if I drop the ball on my watch. Point to McCain.

Twice already, I have mentioned dying for what I believe in.  That’s my choice.  “Choice” is NOT forcing an innocent to die for one’s own misfortune or stupidity.  Abortion is cold-blooded, pre-meditated murder, period.  Even in the case of rape or incest–there has already been one innocent victim, why must there be two?  Castrate the bastard who did it, and take care of the pre-natal needs of both innocent victims:  mother and baby.  When we were first married, my husband and I sat down and had a serious talk about the Right to Life (which was called “Inalienable” by that Patron Saint of Liberalism, Thomas Jefferson).  We both were in total agreement that if, God forbid, I were ever to be raped and become pregnant as a result, that we could not punish an innocent baby for the circumstances of his conception.  Neither one of us knew if we could raise this child in our own family (and so far, thank God, we have never had to make this decision), but there are SO many good families out there aching for a child to call their own.  One of my very best friends and her husband just recently gave up on their quest to adopt after 16 years on the waiting list.  It was heart-wrenching to see her go through the process of giving up a dream.  Neither Presidential candidate satisfies me on this issue.  Point to Sarah Palin.

Obama made a point of saying at one of his myriad rallies that “All sexuality is sacred.”  Bullmalarkey.  Does that include rape?  Pedophilia?  Incest?  Beastiality?  When it comes to homosexuality, call me a realist.  I know it has gone on since long before recorded history.  It will continue to go on long after I’m cold in the ground (did I ever mention before I don’t want to be cremated?  I don’t, but not for any religious reasons.  The “why” will have to be a Tale for Another Day).  We can make laws against it (and adultery, and premarital sex) until the Second Coming, but it won’t matter a hill of beans to what goes on between two consenting adults in the privacy of their own bedroom.  (On the other hand, I’m all for laws against sexual activity when at least one party does NOT give consent, or is not an adult).  HOWEVER, what you do in the privacy of your bedroom needs to be just that–private and in your bedroom.  Don’t parade it in front of me or my kids, don’t flaunt it, and DON’T make a mockery of a Holy Sacrament instituted by God the Father Almighty by calling what you do “marriage.”  John McCain is on record as supporting the Sanctity of Marriage Acts spreading among the states like a healing salve.  Yes, I know all about the fiasco of his first marriage and transition to his second.  I’m not happy with it, but I’m much less happy about what Obama has said and done.  Point to McCain.

I believe that a stronger America is a safer America.  September 11, 2001 marked the first time in 189 years that a foreign power committed an act of aggression on the American homeland (Hawaii and the Aleutians were merely territories when the Japanese attacked in WWII).  On the morning of September 12, 2001, I bought a red, white, and blue cloth bracelet bearing the slogan “God Bless America” that was being sold as a fundraiser that week by the school where I taught at the time.  Sales had been slow before 9/11; afterward they couldn’t keep them in stock.  It’s still on my wrist, just above my watch.  I remove it only for sleeping and washing.  It’s a constant reminder of what can happen if we let our guard down for just one moment.  I like Theodore Roosevelt’s philosophy of diplomacy:  “Speak softly and carry a big stick.”  His “big stick” was the Great White Fleet.  Ours is the ultimate “wack-bonk” stick:  we hit (“wack”); they fall (“bonk”). [Hey, Instinct, did we agree on 5 or 6 cents per click royalty for the use of your Registered Trademark?  I forget.]  Obama wants to meet the most insidious America-hater on the planet, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, without conditions.  He hobnobs with Hamas.  He wants to abandon all we have worked for in Iraq and Afghanistan, making the deaths of our servicemen valueless and their beliefs (and those of the rest of us veterans) meaningless.  I’ll throw in my lot with the man who has been on the receiving end of the “tender mercies” of America’s enemies.  I want my country represented by a pit bull, not a pansy.   Red, White, and Blue point to McCain.

There’s my two cents and a bit more.  Vote your conscience and vote for the future of America.  But above all, vote.

Margo Channing, the Broadway superstar in the classic 1951 film All About Eve portrayed so brilliantly by Bette Davis, said it best:  “Fasten your seat belts, it’s going to be a bumpy night.”  Make that a bumpy fortnight.

Open Mouth, Switch Feet

My friend Jen sent me this amazing excerpt from a nationally syndicated radio show (whom I won’t identify here because, if I had known the source before I heard it, I would not have listened, and it is WORTH the listen, believe me).

A “man on the street” reporter in NYC goes into Harlem and asks passers-by for whom they intend to vote on November 4.  Of course, to a man, the interviewees answer “Obama.”  They are then asked why they won’t vote for McCain.  Each makes a claim not to like McCain’s stated policies, or something to that effect.

Then the reporter asks the interviewees which policy statements made by Obama is more convincing to them.  Just one thing–every policy stance the reporter mentions is actually a McCAIN issue!  Guess what–every single interviewee embraced the McCain side every time, including the selection of Sarah Palin as the VP nominee!  You have got to hear this to believe it!

Man on the Street in Harlem

Tell me again how this election is about the selection of a president based on an informed electorate????  Or rather, the real lesson learned is this pearl of wisdom:

Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large numbers.

Mind you, this could have happened in just about any liberal stronghold.  This reporter merely happened to choose Harlem, probably for a combination of proximity and liberal saturation.  I’d be willing to bet that if said reporter headed into any number of “blue state” strongholds, he’d get a similar result.  I’m also not saying that all liberals are political Neanderthals–it’s just that it seems that the number of liberals who became so due to independent thought and not by absorbing regurgitated party lines are few and far between.  Tip O’Neill was one.  Lanny Davis is another.

Just for once, though, I’d like to have an intelligent conversation with a liberal about policy that didn’t result in shouting and name-calling on the part of the liberal as soon as I reveal that I don’t agree with liberal thinking.  I’ve tried, most recently on a “networking site for professional women” that had no room for women who think independently of the feminist line.  What a disappointment.  And they have the unmitigated gall to call us Stepford wives?!?  Go figure.

An Open Letter to John McCain

The Hon. Sen. John S. McCain

c/o John McCain 2008
P.O. Box 16118
Arlington, VA 22215

Dear Senator McCain,

First, let me express, as a fellow veteran, my deepest appreciation for your sacrifice in service to our country.  Few in our nation have given what you have and lived to tell the tale.  No matter what the future holds, in my eyes you are a hero for what you have done.

Senator McCain, I am one of those “Reagan Conservatives” who has, of late, felt abandoned by the GOP.  In fact, I am so ashamed of Republican kowtowing to public opinion, to the Democrat machine that has succeeded in establishing a double standard of public opinion where a Klansman who is a Democrat can become President Pro Tem with impunity but it seems that a Republican who hears a sneeze and says “God bless you” gets censured for failing to separate church and state, and to Big Business by “pimping” out utilities and infrastructure to the highest bidder to the point where the American consumer is squeezed dry that I have in recent years disassociated myself from the party to which I once contributed.  I have become disgusted with both parties and had seriously considered not participating in a Presidential election for the first time in my adult life.

Then, you did a most remarkable thing:  you selected Sarah Palin as your running mate.  The Alaska Governor first came to my attention in March when she disclosed her pregnancy at a time of her own choosing.  She even managed to prevent an “outing” during a Vanity Fair interview!    I was impressed enough to blog on her amazing accomplishment back in March.

Senator McCain, your detractors say that you selected her merely to attract conservatives who felt disenfranchised.  If so, may I congratulate you for a job well done, for it worked far beyond the expectations of many a man!  She is everything I want in a candidate:  pro-life; a strong defender of the 2nd Amendment, the family, and traditional values; and a “Great Communicator” in the tradition of Ronald Reagan–the President to whom all the presidents in my life are/will be compared.  In short, I’m definitely a fan of Gov. Palin.

Having said that, I must relate to you that I found the recent parody of the governor and Senator Clinton on Saturday Night Live downright side-splitting!  I think you may have made a mistake in having declared the skit to be “sexist.”   As a woman (and a Palin supporter to boot), I thought both Tina Fey and Amy Poehler did “spot-on” imitations and the skit itself was almost equally balanced in the number of jabs at each side of the political spectrum.  In fact, both my husband and I (neither of which had tuned in to SNL since Joe Piscopo was in the cast) felt that a slight majority of the barbs were actually directed at Senator Clinton!

Saying that the skit portrayed Gov. Palin in an unflattering light makes you sound petty, Sen. McCain.  It makes people think that you are unable to take a joke.  Again, I thought the sketch was harder on Sen. Clinton than Gov. Palin, but I have heard no comments from the other side of the fence–not even reports of the sound of lamps shattering in the vicinity of Chappaqua, New York.

Sarah Palin has re-energized your campaign, Senator McCain.  She has made conservatives get excited about the race for the first time in a long time.  Momentum, right now, is on your side.  Please, for the sake of a country that cannot afford the “tender mercies” of an Obama Administration, don’t blow it by choosing battles cavalierly.  Our nation is depending on you.

Most Sincerely Yours,

“gatakitty”

P.S.  I support you in November, but football takes priority.  My Dawgs over your Sun Devils tomorrow by 14, Senator.  You heard it here first!!

Let’s Get Political!

This actually came to my attention a couple of weeks ago, but CNN’s website gave me a friendly reminder today that the fine folks at JibJab have done it again!  They’ve outdone themselves this time, with an election warm-up video that takes no prisoners!

What I like about this is that it has something with the potential of ticking off anyone’s support:  they show Bush, Cheney, McCain, BOTH Clintons, and Obama, and ignore Barr and Nader, potentially ticking off their support as well!  Now THAT’s my idea of “Fair and Balanced!”

Seeing this video reminds me of the wealth of political humor out there–for my 18th birthday, all I wanted was to see Mark Russell perform at the Fabulous Fox Theatre in Atlanta’s beautiful E. Ponce area.  Too much fun!  I’ll have to upload some of his stuff from YouTube some other time!

Anyway, I thought I would add a couple of Tales (Political) from the Cranial Archives.  Enjoy!

Daddy remembers well the Election of 1936, even though he was only 11 at the time.  Democrat incumbent Franklin Delano Roosevelt was running against Republican Governor Alf Landon of Kansas.  The scene was the Colquitt County Courthouse, and everyone who could turned out to witness the vote count (or to find out how much longer before the bars could re-open).  The results were a given, for after all, this was the yellow-dog-Democrat deep south, and FDR’s frequent visits to Warm Springs, northwest of Moultrie, gave him a support boost he really didn’t need to get elected.

With great ceremony, the Supervisor of Elections opened the ballot box.  A clerk sat by his side to record the vote.  The Supervisor painstakingly held up each ballot individually and called out its endorsement with a booming voice:  “Roosevelt!”  “Roosevelt!”  “Roosevelt!”  and so on for quite some time, until, all of a sudden, the word rang out:  “Landon!”

The room fell silent.  No one had ever voted Republican before–at least, not to anyone’s memory.  The clerk looked up at the Supervisor quizzingly.  “Whadda we do?  How do I mark this?”

The Supervisor looked down at the clerk kindly.  Resting the Republican ballot next to the box, he said “I’ll just lay it down here until we’ve counted the rest.”  He then picked up the next ballot and continued “Roosevelt!”  “Roosevelt!”  “Roosevelt!”  “Roosevelt!”

After some time, he picked out a ballot from the box and called out “Landon!”  Again, the room fell silent.  The clerk, clearly consternated, said to the Supervisor, “Whadda we do now?!?”

Without missing a beat, the Supervisor picked up the other Republican ballot, held the two together, and tore them to bits saying,  “We disqualify them; the damned fool voted twice!”

Another Tale involves Pierre Howard, who was Lt. Governor of Georgia in the 1990’s.  He made an unsuccessful bid for Governor in 1999, losing in the primaries to State Sen. Roy Barnes, who would eventually win the general election.  While campaigning in SW Georgia, Howard (who famously told voters that “‘Pierre’ is French for ‘Bubba'”) lost track of his location while going door-to-door asking for support.  He knocked on one door, then told the lady who opened it “My name’s Pierre Howard and I’m running for Governor.  I sure would appreciate your support on [election day].”

The lady recieved him kindly, but told him that, much as she would like to, she could not give Howard her support.

“May I ask why not?” inquired Howard.  After all, he needed to be seen as someone who was willing to listen to the people, and if it was a problem he could fix, he most certainly would.

“You crossed the state line a quarter-mile back.   You’re in Florida now.”

The AP had a field day with this one.  I know because I read about it in the St. Pete Times–I was living in Florida, too, at the time!