It's About Transcending our Differences Thing

Dear America,

"On Friday, it was announced 

that we added another 304,000 jobs 

last month alone -- almost double 

what was expected. 

An economic miracle is taking place 

in the United States -- 

and the only thing

 that can stop it are 

foolish wars, politics, 

or ridiculous partisan investigations."

Trump on Trump on Trump: SOTU 2019

love it.

"The agenda I will lay out this evening 

is not a Republican agenda 

or a Democrat agenda. 

It is the agenda of the American people."

indeed.

But we must reject the politics 

of revenge, resistance, and retribution -- 

and embrace the boundless potential 

of cooperation, compromise, and the common good.

and yet, the ladies in white just couldn't stand for it...

Let's talk about these ladies, for just a minute, shall we?

First, they were all democrats; and yet, they were intended to be seen in a show of solidarity, mirroring the white dresses of the suffragettes, in support of  "all women..."  hmmmmm

Did they reflect the ideology of this woman? me?   um. no.

Did they reflect the ideology of this woman....Star Parker?  um.  no.

Peggy Noonan was quick on the twitter to say, "“And good natured with the white jackets, who I see some on twitter are calling the straight jackets. AOC had a rare bad night, looking not spirited, warm and original as usual but sullen, teenaged and at a loss."  

To which, AOC replied:“Tonight was an unsettling night for our country. The president failed to offer any plan, any vision at all, for our future. We’re flying without a pilot. And I‘m not here to comfort anyone about that fact.”

was it, AOC?

cue, MediaITE -- instant poll @CBS

um, what's that?  76% approval....

even @CNN ....viewers gave it a 60% approval.

And given how long a speech it was....82 minutes to be exact....this year's SOTU even tops last year's numbers, and even toppled the viewership of Obama's SOTU in 2011.  

Anywho, Alexandria -- you may wanna rethink how the American people think about things..."unsettling" may not be where we're at. just sayin'

Perhaps her white pant suit's in a wad over this:

"Tonight, I ask you to choose greatness."

or this:

In just over 2 years since the election, we have launched an unprecedented economic boom -- a boom that has rarely been seen before. We have created 5.3 million new jobs and importantly added 600,000 new manufacturing jobs -- something which almost everyone said was impossible to do, but the fact is, we are just getting started.

or this:

Unemployment has reached the lowest rate in half a century. African-American, Hispanic-American and Asian-American unemployment have all reached their lowest levels ever recorded. Unemployment for Americans with disabilities has also reached an all-time low. More people are working now than at any time in our history --- 157 million.

or this:

We passed a massive tax cut for working families and doubled the child tax credit.

or this:

We eliminated the very unpopular Obamacare individual mandate penalty -- and to give critically ill patients access to life-saving cures, we passed right to try.

oh it's gotta be this:

We have unleashed a revolution in American energy -- the United States is now the number one producer of oil and natural gas in the world. And now, for the first time in 65 years, we are a net exporter of energy.

or this:

Inspired by stories like Alice's, my Administration worked closely with members of both parties to sign the First Step Act into law. This legislation reformed sentencing laws that have wrongly and disproportionately harmed the African-American community. 

or this:

In the last 2 years, our brave ICE officers made 266,000 arrests of criminal aliens, including those charged or convicted of nearly 100,000 assaults, 30,000 sex crimes, and 4,000 killings.

or this:

We are joined tonight by one of those law enforcement heroes: ICE Special Agent Elvin Hernandez. When Elvin was a boy, he and his family legally immigrated to the United States from the Dominican Republic. At the age of eight, Elvin told his dad he wanted to become a Special Agent. Today, he leads investigations into the scourge of international sex trafficking. Elvin says: "If I can make sure these young girls get their justice, I've done my job." Thanks to his work and that of his colleagues, more than 300 women and girls have been rescued from horror and more than 1,500 sadistic traffickers have been put behind bars in the last year.

oh finally, we get a win, and the AOC stands up and high fives to this:

No one has benefitted more from our thriving economy than women, who have filled 58 percent of the new jobs created in the last year. All Americans can be proud that we have more women in the workforce than ever before -- and exactly one century after the Congress passed the Constitutional amendment giving women the right to vote, we also have more women serving in the Congress than ever before

Can you say 'she sells shallow sea shells from sea to shining sea'  ten times?

And yet, for the AOC...and her fellow democrats...it's not enough; not even close.

In AOC terms -- in twelve years, she predicts that the world is going to end if we don't address climate change; oh, and here's her companion piece of legislation to go with that...see Green New Deal details.

To which I wonder, why do we need a Green New Deal if the world is ending in twelve years anyway?

In a perfect world -- in terms of life goals and aspirations of the young AOC -- we would all be socialists by now.

What say you, Mr. President?

Here, in the United States, we are alarmed by new calls to adopt socialism in our country. America was founded on liberty and independence --- not government coercion, domination, and control. We are born free, and we will stay free. Tonight, we renew our resolve that America will never be a socialist country.

indeed, indeed.

And yet, in truth -- in reality and not made for TV --  government dependency is on the rise.  Year in and year out, our welfare budget grows at a faster rate than our military budget and national security combined, by far.  To put it in proper perspective, our Military gets a budget of about 716 Billion dollars in 2019; while our welfare system, dedicates 721 Billion to Medicare alone, and another 458 Billion to various other welfare programs, making a grand total of $1,179 Billion..........over a trillion dollars.

And the Dem's quibble about 5.7 Billion dollars...

and about this ending.........

Everything that has come since -- our triumph over communism, our giant leaps of science and discovery, our unrivaled progress toward equality and justice -- all of it is possible thanks to the blood and tears and courage and vision of the Americans who came before. 

Think of this Capitol -- think of this very chamber, where lawmakers before you voted to end slavery, to build the railroads and the highways, to defeat fascism, to secure civil rights, to face down an evil empire. 

Here tonight, we have legislators from across this magnificent republic. You have come from the rocky shores of Maine and the volcanic peaks of Hawaii; from the snowy woods of Wisconsin and the red deserts of Arizona; from the green farms of Kentucky and the golden beaches of California. Together, we represent the most extraordinary Nation in all of history. 

What will we do with this moment? How will we be remembered?

....We must choose whether we are defined by our differences -- or whether we dare to transcend them. 

We must choose whether we will squander our inheritance -- or whether we will proudly declare that we are Americans. We do the incredible. We defy the impossible. We conquer the unknown...

 "I am asking you to choose greatness," he goes on to say.

And this girl is right there with him.

It was a good night for America, Mr. President.  Thank you.

But to Alex from the Bronx -- the girl with the degree in economics, no less -- um.  me thinks you need to be less concentrated on making fashion statements of political threads and shreds, and better immersed in the things and ideals that have actually stitched this nation together.

Our founders wove an exquisite weave of the best policies of the ages -- from Aristotle, the Greeks, we gathered ideas like this:  "even the best of men in authority are liable to be corrupted by passion.  We may conclude then that the law is reason without passion, and it is therefore preferable to any individual."

From the Romans, Cicero recognized the connection between mankind and Nature's Law, and used this as a guide for not only personal behavior, but how society must apply this connection while constructing its foundation:  "For these virtues originate in our natural inclination to love our fellow-men, and this is the foundation of justice."  In other words, and returning to The 5000 Year Leap for an assist -- " ...the glue which holds a body of human beings together in the commonwealth of a just society is love -- love of God; love of God's great law of Justice; and love of one's fellow-men which provides the desire to promote true justice among mankind."

From Jerusalem -- we simply find the basis  to every thing under heaven; choosing to believe in a faith of Something Greater than ourselves, or not -- it is another choice we make; in the simplest of terms, the commonwealth that became America started at the very beginning, applying The Ten Commandments as the very foundation of our system of laws, individually and collectively.

We are a nation intended to be designed -- and manufactured in the great USA -- of independent people, not of a people totally dependent upon Uncle Sam, or the Democratic party, to fulfill all our dreams....for we all know how that ends, right; it ends -- within twelve years quite possibly --  with an equal sharing of misery.  badump ba

Oh that girl, AOC; she has a lot to learn.
But amen, amen -- what a muse, what a muse, she is for me.

Make it a Good Day, G

It's About the Things that Break and the Power to Make Peace

Dear America,

going to one of my favorite girls today for heartfelt perspective and words of grace...

On Star Parker's website, UrbanCure, and sent out individually to everyone who receives her weekly  newsletter, are the comments made by Robert Kennedy (4 April 1968), upon the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. -- 

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I'm only going to talk to you just for a minute or so this evening, because I have some -- some very sad news for all of you -- Could you lower those signs, please? -- I have some very sad news for all of you, and, I think, sad news for all of our fellow citizens, and people who love peace all over the world; and that is that Martin Luther King was shot and was killed tonight in Memphis, Tennessee.

Martin Luther King dedicated his life to love and to justice between fellow human beings. He died in the cause of that effort. In this difficult day, in this difficult time for the United States, it's perhaps well to ask what kind of a nation we are and what direction we want to move in. For those of you who are black -- considering the evidence evidently is that there were white people who were responsible -- you can be filled with bitterness, and with hatred, and a desire for revenge.

We can move in that direction as a country, in greater polarization -- black people amongst blacks, and white amongst whites, filled with hatred toward one another. Or we can make an effort, as Martin Luther King did, to understand, and to comprehend, and replace that violence, that stain of bloodshed that has spread across our land, with an effort to understand, compassion, and love.

For those of you who are black and are tempted to fill with -- be filled with hatred and mistrust of the injustice of such an act, against all white people, I would only say that I can also feel in my own heart the same kind of feeling. I had a member of my family killed, but he was killed by a white man.

But we have to make an effort in the United States. We have to make an effort to understand, to get beyond, or go beyond these rather difficult times.
My favorite poem, my -- my favorite poet was Aeschylus. And he once wrote:

Even in our sleep, pain which cannot forget
falls drop by drop upon the heart,
until, in our own despair,
against our will,
comes wisdom
through the awful grace of God.

What we need in the United States is not division; what we need in the United States is not hatred; what we need in the United States is not violence and lawlessness, but is love, and wisdom, and compassion toward one another, and a feeling of justice toward those who still suffer within our country, whether they be white or whether they be black.

So I ask you tonight to return home, to say a prayer for the family of Martin Luther King -- yeah, it's true -- but more importantly to say a prayer for our own country, which all of us love -- a prayer for understanding and that compassion of which I spoke.

We can do well in this country. We will have difficult times. We've had difficult times in the past, but we -- and we will have difficult times in the future. It is not the end of violence; it is not the end of lawlessness; and it's not the end of disorder.

But the vast majority of white people and the vast majority of black people in this country want to live together, want to improve the quality of our life, and want justice for all human beings that abide in our land.

And let's dedicate ourselves to what the Greeks wrote so many years ago: to tame the savageness of man and make gentle the life of this world. Let us dedicate ourselves to that, and say a prayer for our country and for our people. 

Thank you very much.

And now from Star:

"Things will continue to get worse until every single American from every single background understands there is no freedom and there is no peace without commitment to God-given truths which are the only truths that can put back together and mend broken vessels."

Amen,
And God bless America and the community of Charleston.

Make it a GOOD day, PLEASE - G

It's a Stars in Their Courses Thing

Dear America,

"Intention plus hard work equals magic."

just a little sage advice that came via my Yahoo horoscope from this morning... and ironically, and as often the case no matter the sign -- it works for everyone.

the thing is... 

sometimes it takes what seems to be a lifetime to figure this out.

while other times, a whole life is lived without even so much as an inkling.

and then of course, for some "lucky" people -- the stars seem aligned right out of the gate, as if by fate, as if no effort was ever required.

But for most of the time -- this realization that the magic happens at the intersection of intention and the unimaginable number of days manufacturing boatloads of blood, sweat and tears -- IT MUST BE TAUGHT!

You know how that works -- one person tells another person, and then they tell another person,  and so on and so on.

Here's another way to look at it.   

Think of it in terms of how America was made -- that being completely upon the principles of self-reliance, independence, and the freedom to do the very thing that makes each of us happy alongside what was fully intended to be a limited government.

Simple simon, right?

Apparently not so much.

Someone who I love, respect, support, and pretty much think highly of in every way, is Star Parker. 

Just today -- upon the heels of the Baltimore riots -- she has come out with a quick post making clear where her intentions lay in the everyday.  And having come from welfare, the ghetto, herself, she personifies the conception of "intentions with hard work equals magic" almost seamlessly.  Knowing what she is made of -- the ghetto and the grit to change her circumstances -- makes Star all the more magnificent.    She IS a Star.

So here is what the constellation Parker had to say, just today:

Break the ghettos! Change policies in Washington, DC and change Baltimore, Ferguson, and our nation!

And no -- I have no intention on giving you so much as a word other than the heading.  Go read what Star has to say -- and then -- make a donation to CURE...just follow the links, easy peezy, light and breezy, lemon squeezy.

Which reminds me -- if "the magic" doesn't seem to be happening quickly enough, here's another one for you:  "if life gives you lemons, make lemonade."

Yeah, I hear you.

Save it.

Sure --  it's cliche.

Kinda stupid,

Possibly even sophomoric, pollyanna-ish, and ridiculously naive.

WHATEVER!!!!!!

As a LIFE PRINCIPLE, IT WORKS every time!

And besides, if all of the citizens of Baltimore (who are we kidding, let's throw in the entire country, shall we...)  simply had a grasp on just how this all works, we would all be in a better place; for it's so true -- our intentions coupled with hard work equals magic! 

 Indeed.  And it is our duty and responsibility to not only know this, but to pass it on with each new generation we make.  

It works from a natural law (much like the intentions back behind what is written into law in our Constitution, and within our Declaration of Independence.)  that instantly, and consistently, responds to our every thought and action and intention, whether positive or negative, like magic.  When it works in our favor, nobody ever really notices all the hard work, considering by that time it is totally out-shined by the sparkling results of whatever we made (with effort! and determination! and tears!).

The reality is, the streets of Baltimore are seeing the results of the intentions plus efforts of the whole, and most certainly, of the great power of the collective.   Unfortunately, it isn't shiny or brand new; it's neither industrious or productive.   It is purely organized destruction, after decades of ill-conceived intentions, undermining every act of self-reliance and independence with liberal lies, abuse, misguidance, and fraud.

INTENTIONS with HARD WORK equals MAGIC.  

Kinda like, um, karma,   

What goes around comes around.

  

Or, like, um, we reap what we sow.  

Ooooh,  like no, like maybe in the "stars in their courses" kinda way...[The Book of Judges encapsulates the cycle of sin and salvation, following a part of history in Israel, covering a period of time of 330 years in the land of Canaan and likely written around 1000 B.C.]

oh wow. 

oh G,.. 

sometimes, you even amaze yourself.  he he  

[Even though I am nothing, and only by the grace of God do I come up with anything to say upon any waking day... thank you, God.    Can I get an amen?]

 

Anywho, this morning when I awoke I thought to myself,

should I write a blog, or no?

And wondering, do I really have something to say, today?

Unknowingly, and yet setting my sights upon the answer of yes, my intentions began to align with tripping around the keyboard, starting with my daily ritual of reading a silly horoscope and promptly bouncing around the web like nobody's business.

And the stars came out to greet me.

Baddabing Badda Big Bang Boom.

  

Bye Bye

Make it a Good Day, G

It's a National Prayer Breakfast Not for the Faint of Heart Thing

Dear America,

so, tweaking one of my favorite phrases a wee bit:

I'd agree with you, Mr. President, but then we'd both be wrong...

no, no, here's a wonderful response, coming from Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal:

“It was nice of the President to give us a history lesson at the Prayer breakfast,” Jindal said. “Today, however, the issue right in front of his nose, in the here and now, is the terrorism of Radical Islam, the assassination of journalists, the beheading and burning alive of captives. We will be happy to keep an eye out for runaway Christians, but it would be nice if he would face the reality of the situation today. The Medieval Christian threat is under control, Mr. President. Please deal with the Radical Islamic threat today.”

The shot through the heart heard round the world came out of our president's mouth while pontificating of the injustices at the hands of Christians -- in the "name of Christ," he said specifically -- speaking at the National Prayer Breakfast last Thursday.

Letting his ignorance of actual history and his deep-seated hatred for colonial America lead the way, President Obama said the following (mind you, fresh with the image of ISIL burning a Jordanian pilot alive, with a 22-minute video of the barbarity to show for it branded into our memory):

Humanity has been grappling with these questions throughout human history.  And lest we get on our high horse and think this is unique to some other place, remember that during the Crusades and the Inquisition, people committed terrible deeds in the name of Christ.  In our home country, slavery and Jim Crow all too often was justified in the name of Christ. 

Seriously, Mr. President?

We -- both in America and Great Britain -- abolished slavery in the name of Christ!  Do you have any clue as to who William Wilberforce is?  Look him up.  While the Crusades --  the Crusades happened IN RESPONSE to Muslim Jihad against "the infidels."  Not to mention, get a grip -- for all of this happened a long, long time ago, and all in an era when the entire world, as you say, happened to be "grappling with these questions."  You'd think it was just yesterday.

um, ringing in the Jindal perspective for an encore presentation: "The Medieval Christian threat is under control, Mr. President. Please deal with the Radical Islamic threat today."

But then,
Your Excellency,
you go on to say:

And, first, we should start with some basic humility.  I believe that the starting point of faith is some doubt -- not being so full of yourself and so confident that you are right and that God speaks only to us, and doesn’t speak to others, that God only cares about us and doesn’t care about others, that somehow we alone are in possession of the truth.

Who does this?  Who says this?  As a Christian, I'm offended of this sophomoric view you portray of us believers; while I'm pretty sure, going way back to Sunday School now,  as a Christian,  most of us were raised to believe God loves all the little children of the world...red, yellow, black or white.  

But more than that,
how about you say this directly to the brotherhood ...and when I say the brotherhood, we're not talking south side of Chi-town -- we're talking about the nation of Islam and all things justified in the name of Mohammed.

what?

you scared?

but no, no,
to have the kind of courage of this president ....wow...

...mustering the strength to stand up to the "terrible deeds in the name of Christ" and to show up and bear all at a National Prayer Breakfast of all places....now that is something.  Who's full of himself now?

Given, reading the president's entire speech calls for the patience of Mother Teresa.  Honestly, he sounds all over the place -- deeply confused  -- co-mingling American ideals with falsehoods, grappling with keeping in step with his audience while keeping true to his own heart and soul, which seemed to struggle, at times, to reconcile with his own Christianity,  But feel free to read the President's remarks, here.

And for a quick rebuttal -- allow me to take the reins and send you to The Patriot Post.  go here.  Riding high and bear-back, of course, The Post  combines rugged American conservative opinion and news and values with integrity and grit and truth.

And from another view, read Star Parker's take  here.  [She attended the breakfast and witnessed the assault on Christianity herself]  Here's a thought from Star:

King Abdullah from Jordan was supposed to speak. But after one of his country's pilots was burned alive in a metal cage by terrorists, he needed to return to his country. In his place, a representative read his speech. After hearing it, I knew it was written from someone who knows the difference between good and evil. Someone who stands with Israel and Christians in the Middle East. And someone who yearned for a response from the world's only superpower, only to be told by our President that Christians are just as evil as terrorists.

And now imagine a speech when there isn't a rebuttal coming in from all directions; imagine that speech being so beautiful and unifying and wonderful and in sync with America's best interests at heart that the response was only applause.   Oh the girl can dream, can't she...


And speaking of King Abdullah -- let's compare kings, shall we?

here you go ...enjoy.

And just whose side are you on, President Obama?  I'm beginning to question.

 [um, that's not true. Pardon my Lyin' Williams moment. To go back to the  period of time when I was beginning to question, I would have to go all the way back to 2007; and to that end, I have questioned nearly everything he has either said and done, along with a  whole slew of things left undone.]

We should be afraid when there comes a day when it becomes acceptable to mischaracterize America's Christians of today and our Christian foundation.   But to have it come from our president and leader of the free world....really?   And to have it happen at the National Prayer Breakfast, intended to be a gathering on unity?    There is something so wrong with that.   You, sir, are no Martin Luther King, Jr....

This day, like so many coming 'round the mountain, is not ours to fully understand.

But a prayer or two, or 300 million minus the atheists,  might just be what the world needs now; love sweet love America.

Make it a Good Day, G

It's We Cannot Mistake Absolutism for Principle Thing....again...that is for another four years thing

Dear America,

"Do not blame Caesar, blame the people of Rome who have so enthusiastically acclaimed and adored him and rejoiced in their loss of freedom and danced in his path and given him triumphal processions. Blame the people who hail him when he speaks in the Forum of the new wonderful good society which shall now be Rome's, interpreted to mean more money, more ease, more security, and more living fatly at the expense of the industrious." --Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 BC)

is this quote amazing, or what?

It's another inauguration day for the people of these United States of America.

The quote -- I didn't find on my own; the best quotes always seem to come from a place I think of as Lady Liberty's fountain of youth and excellence in reformation @The Patriot Post.

Right now -- you still think history doesn't repeat itself?    America is opting for "more money, more ease, more security, and more living fatly at the expense of the industrious."

For proof, all we need to do, is turn our attention to this inauguration of a second term of a man who stands for a stately arrogance of power and force under the guise of serving the American people.

And more than that --  the coincidence of  this day falling upon the celebration of life of Martin Luther King makes a striking argument in the moment to give pause, taking full advantage of the juxtaposition of the two leaders.   [Again, must give necessary commendations to The Patriot Post for its use of Star Parker's recollection of the "Letter from the Birmingham Jail" in a column for the Post, here]

As Star leaves things -- at the end of her essay titled, "Could Dr. King Have Given the Inaugural Benediction?" -- she poses two questions:

"Would the Rev. Dr. King be ejected from the stage of this president's inaugural if he called this law, produced by this administration, unjust?

Would there even have been a civil rights movement without the Christian values that today's left calls bigotry?"

Why the dilemma?

Because the Reverend Dr. King was a Christian man, and reverend.  He lived with his Christianity leading the way.  And oh, by the way, he was quite clear where he stood, and how to interpret life under the Constitution.

Parker plucks a profound understanding of the rule of law in America, through the lens of this leader for civil rights in America, found deep into the famous "Letter from the Birmingham Jail" -- dated April 16, 1963; it's rather long...read for yourself, here.    This is it:

"Now, what is the difference between the two?  How does one determine whether a law is just or unjust?   A just law is a man-made code that squares with the moral law or the law of God.  An unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with the moral law.  To put it in the terms of St. Thomas Aquinas: An unjust law is a human law that is not rooted in eternal law and natural law."

Are we really interacting with the Rule of Law as if it's still intimately connected with the moral law or the law of God?

I think not.

But this letter!   I have never read it before; I am overwhelmed by it's sincerity of thought, it's explanation of action and inaction, both direct and indirect; I find myself thoroughly enthralled by the extent of Dr. King's deliberate pleas set in motion, the call for peaceful resolution, even as he laments the daily struggle to overcome the label of "extremist".  He just seems so firm in faith...

"But though I was initially disappointed at being categorized as an extremist, as I continued to think about the matter I gradually gained a measure of satisfaction from the label. Was not Jesus an extremist for love: "Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you." Was not Amos an extremist for justice: "Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream." Was not Paul an extremist for the Christian gospel: "I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus." Was not Martin Luther an extremist: "Here I stand; I cannot do otherwise, so help me God." And John Bunyan: "I will stay in jail to the end of my days before I make a butchery of my conscience." And Abraham Lincoln: "This nation cannot survive half slave and half free." And Thomas Jefferson: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal ..." So the question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we viii be. We we be extremists for hate or for love? Will we be extremist for the preservation of injustice or for the extension of justice? In that dramatic scene on Calvary's hill three men were crucified. We must never forget that all three were crucified for the same crime---the crime of extremism. Two were extremists for immorality, and thus fell below their environment. The other, Jesus Christ, was an extremist for love, truth and goodness, and thereby rose above his environment. Perhaps the South, the nation and the world are in dire need of creative extremists."

I would venture to say that this nation cannot survive half slave and half free all over again;  I might also second the motion, when King says, "so the question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be."

I believe that by siding with the sort of extremism aligned with 'love, truth and  goodness,'  -- much like King, St. Paul, Martin Luther, Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson, Jesus --  it may just be the only way we survive.

But since 'love and goodness' may be asking a wee bit too much from this imposter of a government acting under the Rule of Law for one day -- how about we begin with telling the truth.

Remember that press conference of last week?

PRESIDENT OBAMA: Well, look, Chuck, there -- there are -- there’s a pretty straightforward way of doing this, and that is to set the debt ceiling aside, we pay our bills and then we have a vigorous debate about how we’re going to do further deficit reduction in a balanced way.

I keep in mind that, you know, what we’ve heard from some Republicans in both the House and the Senate is that they will only increase the debt ceiling by the amount of spending cuts that they’re able to push through. And in order to replace the automatic spending cut, the sequester, that’s $1.2 trillion. Say it takes another trillion (dollars) or trillion two to get us through one more year. They’d have to identify $2.5 trillion in cuts just to get the debt ceiling extended to next year -- 2.5 trillion (dollars).

They can’t even -- Congress has not been able to identify $1.2 trillion in cuts that they’re happy with, because these same Republicans say they don’t want to cut defense. They claim that they don’t want to gut Medicare or harm the vulnerable, but the truth of the matter is, is that you can’t meet their own criteria without drastically cutting Medicare or having an impact on Medicaid or affecting our defense spending. So the math just doesn’t add up.

Now, what -- here’s what would work. What would work would be for us to say, we’ve already done close to $2 trillion in deficit reduction, and if you add the interest that we won’t be paying because of less spending and increased revenue, it adds up to about $2.5 trillion.

The consensus is we need about $4 trillion to stabilize our debt and our deficit, which means we need about $1.5 trillion more. The package that I offered to Speaker Boehner before we -- before the new year would achieve that. We were actually fairly close in terms of arriving at that number.

So -- so if the goal is to make sure that we are being responsible about our debt and our deficit, if that’s the conversation we’re having, I’m happy to have that conversation. And by closing some additional loopholes through tax reform -- which Speaker Boehner has acknowledged can raise money in a sensible way -- and by doing some additional cuts, including making sure that we are reducing our health care spending, which is the main driver of our deficits, we can arrive at a package to get this thing done. I’m happy to have that conversation.

What I will not do is to have that negotiation with a gun at the head of the American people; the threat that unless we get our way, unless you gut Medicare or Medicaid or, you know, otherwise slash things that the American people don’t believe should be slashed, that we’re going to threaten to wreck the entire economy. That is not how historically this has been done. That’s not how we’re going to do it this time.

THIS WAS A President's ANSWER to a question.   And correction -- he wasn't finished:

PRESIDENT OBAMA: Chuck, what I’m saying to you is that there is no simpler solution; no ready, credible solution other than Congress either give me the authority to raise the debt ceiling, or exercise the responsibility that they have kept for themselves and raise the debt ceiling, because this is about paying your bills.

Everybody -- everybody here understands this. I mean, this is not a complicated concept. You don’t go out to dinner and then, you know, eat all you want and then leave without paying the check. And if you do, you’re breaking the law.

And Congress is -- should think about it the same way that the American people do. You don’t -- now if -- if Congress wants to have a debate about maybe we shouldn’t go out to dinner next time, maybe we should go to a more modest restaurant, that’s fine. That -- that’s a debate that we should have. But you don’t -- you don’t say, in order for me to control my appetites, I’m going to not pay the people who are provided me services, people who already lent me the money. That -- that’s not -- that’s not showing any discipline. All that’s doing is not meeting your obligations. You can’t do that.

And -- and -- and -- and that’s not a credible way to run this government. We -- we’ve got to stop lurching from crisis to crisis to crisis when there’s this clear path ahead of us that simply requires some discipline, some responsibility and some compromise. That’s where we need to go. That’s how this needs to work.

 All this from a president not operating from a budget for the last four years, with every intention of going through the next four doing the very same thing.  [did you know, according to government protocol, every department simply continues to operate from the most current budget -- that being the budget authorizing all kinds of stimulus spending...And we wonder where the trillion dollar deficits are coming from...]

But I digress.

Today, the president spoke of the collective in a very big way...

Like this:

"But we have always understood that when times change, so must we; that fidelity to our founding principles requires new responses to new challenges; that preserving our individual freedoms ultimately requires collective action.  For the American people can no more meet the demands of today’s world by acting alone than American soldiers could have met the forces of fascism or communism with muskets and militias.  No single person can train all the math and science teachers we’ll need to equip our children for the future, or build the roads and networks and research labs that will bring new jobs and businesses to our shores.  Now, more than ever, we must do these things together, as one nation, and one people. "

Read his full remarks here.

Still choking on this point -- "that fidelity to our founding principles requires new responses to new challenges; that preserving our individual freedoms ultimately requires collective action."   Going further along, we get to this fascinating interpretation:

"For now decisions are upon us, and we cannot afford delay.  We cannot mistake absolutism for principle, or substitute spectacle for politics, or treat name-calling as reasoned debate.  We must act, knowing that our work will be imperfect.  We must act, knowing that today’s victories will be only partial, and that it will be up to those who stand here in four years, and forty years, and four hundred years hence to advance the timeless spirit once conferred to us in a spare Philadelphia hall."

wow. right.   And even though this may sound totally absurd, I'm just gonna say it anyway -- me thinks a Barack Hussein Obama might have called Martin Luther King an extremist, too...for all the wrong reasons, of course.   And may I be the first to ponder just who is substituting  absolutes for principles, making a spectacle of office, and otherwise ridiculing opponents left and right, stifling the freedom for a full and fair debate?  

More and more, the radicalized tactics of this presidency shine through -- contrary to popular belief and the inner workings of his own mind,  he isn't really "happy to have that conversation" about anything.   He looks upon any opposition as being extremists -- and has no patience for it;  all he wants is a  mushy, moderate middle that can be easily molded and transformed into a collective mindset he can control in every way. 

But what we need more of is just the opposite.
What we need is more people standing up and speaking up for what is right -- morally --  under Natural Law -- in order to save the collective. 

We all have a right to speak up -- even to act! -- 'knowing that our work will be imperfect.  We must act, knowing that today's victories will be only partial...'

and, and, and  knowing..... that, " 'that’s' not a credible way to run this government. We -- we’ve got to stop lurching from crisis to crisis to crisis when there’s this clear path ahead of us that simply requires some discipline, some responsibility and some compromise. That’s where we need to go. That’s how this needs to work."

The thing is -- the truth is -- rhetoric cuts, I mean, works, both ways.  

Make it a Good Day, G

It's Time to Hang the Establishment Clique out on the Flagpole ...Thing

Dear America,

"... not running for president, 

sort of strolling for president 

without an infrastructure. 

It’s pretty and cute and nice 

but whether or not it works

we can be doubtful.”

assessing the immediate situation,

playing media mean girl, 

to engineer an outcome on behalf of the establishment,

this is what we get from George Will, 

some time 'this week' 

alongside another one of my favorite people, 

Christiane Amanpour.

"it's pretty and cute and nice but whether or not it works we can be doubtful?"  really, Mr. Good Will hunting?

And  let me guess, because it's you saying so we should all just bow our heads in allegiance to the conservative pundit king waltzing through the halls of poly-sci in the nth degree, even though it oozes with unsubstantiated brute pettiness... who are you and more important, whom do you serve? you're, like, reminding me of a surreal moment, like, with the way-back-then wanna-be first lady.  Remember this one everybody? 





but to think -- it wasn't as if your sassy remarks were directed at, like, just a girl, out of the blue, or something; it's not like it was in response to some kind of homegrown, pink, and proud to be an American girl candidacy rising up out of nothing to nowhere and unexpectedly running away with the polls...

you, GW [ew, awkward], were speaking to a real live viable candidate with the real life credentials to back himself up.   unbelievable is all I got to say.

oh the establishment.... they simply know not what to do.

And can't help but notice how the egregious cutesy-pie commentary  was just laughed off -- if not otherwise totally, like, you know,  ignored.

It's like as if that guy is so unprepared, like, you know -- or worse, he's just so unwilling to don the RINO accessories like the way the designer beltway babes and boys do it --  let's just make fun of him and see how quickly we can turn his life into a living hell.  He's just not the brightest bauble in the jewel box, if you know what I mean...

So let's get to it -- just who is GW ditching in the quad?

Herman Cain.

But oh thank heaven for our tried and true friends, right?  Simply those who come along at just the right time complete with all the right things to say. Go to Star for more.

The thing is -- 

we have seen the damage 

that political cliques can do.  

...And how.  

While for many, mean girls and boys abound, bouncing off the walls and lockers and masquerading around like all that -- looking more like, a lowering of our standards...calling each other names....undermining the hope for achieving any real unity...masterminding a drift from principles en masse for so long now, we have abandoned whatever good we had going for us three years back, like freshmen, or something.  And it feels like all the attention has turned to the dark side at the same time.

Even when we see GOOD genuinely walking around with common sense, sound principle, and a firm faith -- we have grown to deny it, discredit it, proving that we have grown totally uncomfortable with the duty and responsibility that comes with it; it's called a real change, and a turn back to the things that make America pretty darn great.    Cool even.  Some might even call it a homecoming to believe in, offering something for everyone [as in, equal opportunity does not always equate to equal outcome].

Truth is, when we are in it -- and sounding hauntingly familiar with the glory days of yesteryear -- little do we really understand until we are through it; little do we truly grasp and differentiate as to what is essential and pure of intentions, and what is not.


Speaking of which, let's return to Humanities 102 and a little Emerson to finish the day:

"The world globes itself in a drop of dew...Eyes, ears, taste, smell, motion, resistance, appetite, and organs of reproduction that take hold on eternity, -- all find room to consist in the small creature. So do we put our life into every act.  The true doctrine of omnipresence is that God reappears with all his parts in every moss and cobweb.  The value of the universe contrives to throw itself into every point.  If the good is there, so is the evil; if the affinity, so is the repulsion; if the force, so the limitation."

Each of us holds the power to be the change we want to see in order to create an educated student body we can really believe in -- one safely held to a higher standard of a limited government, one that we can entrust with our utmost respect for long term security, solvency, ensuring future prosperity and happiness for us all.

"right is right even when nobody is doing it; 

wrong is wrong, even when everybody's doing it."

wee bit of wisdom 

from a somebody or a nobody

what does it really matter anymore, right?

and lookey there,  we truly are back in high school and so right on the ASB money.

Let us hope all credibility is not all lost in something simply too cute to properly vet, again (no offense, Michelle, my belle, but we've been there, done that)  While hanging by a moment here with you, it works much the same way as 'too slick,' too...just sayin'

Perhaps someone should whisper in GW's ear a little something something to let him IN on what's really IN these days, for he seems to be living in sooooo two thousand and eight -- taking us back to a time when the establishment gave us McCain.   ew. and double ew. [Heads up:  drop the mick and we just might have  something to talk about]

Peer pressure does not live here anymore [unless, of course, it's setting the right example].

Make it a Good Day, G

Dear America,

happy tuesday

You know, if you frequent G, this girl loves a good commercial. And -- have you seen the one where a couple of coworkers (lovers, acquaintances or long time associates, who really knows anymore) are sitting on a bench -- the guy pulls out his OJ with a box of Allegra and begins to look like he is about to take part in one of his morning rituals, when the woman beside him says something like (paraphrasing from memory here) 'you know, you can't take that with Orange Juice.'  He's like, huh?   For me loving the trappings of good old competition, she points out the dangers of combining the two -- and then, turns it into a teachable moment introducing Zyrtec (which apparently, has no issues w/ OJ); only to have another guy walk up, and pipe up, saying exactly the very same thing...'you know, you can't take that with Orange Juice.'

So I guess that would leave me to believe taking it with a screwdriver is totally out of the question...

But isn't competition great!
And notice I am not asking.

Good Morning my dear America.

There are all kinds of angles to play up, or make light, in regards to how we compete with one another, be it in business and selling a product -- or in politics and selling yourself (taken to a whole 'nother level if we include one's soul) -- everything, eventually, is held up to the light to see if there are any cracks in it.

Be it in finding love, friendship, business or pleasure -- all in all, it all boils down to the laws of attraction, competition, and what you've got to back things up.  It is a wicked combination, basically revolving around 'may the best man (woman) (product) (ideology) (country) win.'

Returning from dropping my baby girl off at school this morning I was assaulted (sort of).  While channel surfing on the radio, what sounded very much like a cool melody got my attention; to which point I stopped, dead in my tracks, wherever I was on the dial. And then, with all the charms of a hook, line and sinker, it took my breath away, ew.  It was an ad for Ashley Madison.com.

Without a parental warning, I was being pinned to the floor of disgust with  'life's short...have an affair.'

nooooo.  no they di'dint. 

this is where I go, that is so uncool.


sure, it is America; this is the place where dreams and opportunity unite for all to take part, from rags to riches, from nothing to something in sixty seconds; but honestly, is this really an area that needs more advertising?   Has Hollywood not already done sufficient damage here?  Do we really need help -- and be surrounded by TV and radio ads -- with hooking up for free love with no strings attached -- just for the fun of it, just because we can, just because we have no scruples, honor, or good intentions anywhere to be found?

AM.com (as I refuse to give it any more attention by name) is selling not just love affairs on the cheap, but is actually promoting stepping out on marriage itself; AM.com is consciously ruining commitments and tearing apart the real thing without so much as batting an eye.  And apparently, they must be doing well, for their commercials seem to be everywhere I turn.  ew.


And, as always, same as it works for Zyrtec and Allegra -- we can consciously choose to spend our money, and our attention, to those entities we deem worthy, or not; we can volley the pros and cons in our own little heads; we can read the fine print and understand our duty, or not; we can ask the right questions, proceed with caution, or not...as according to our beliefs, our values, our needs, and our circumstances, as we seem fit.

As individuals holding such great power (and with such natural intelligence within) -- you would think we would all be sitting on easy street by now (and with all the riff-raff no longer in business).

But noooo.  Hence the kicker...

We create our own world everyday; what we choose to support, continues to live; what we choose to discard, ignore, boycott, or discredit by word of mouth, dies.  It is a very simple process, indeed; while it works pretty much for everything.

As the universe continues to say, YES; it responds exactly to our hopes, dreams, wishes, thoughts, good or evil, it is all treated the same.Stupid is as stupid does; good in, makes good out.

There are no victims in a truly free market; it is up to each of us to be knowledgeable, educated, informed, engaged, and intent on doing the right thing, for the right reasons; that was how America was made and marketed, originally, in the beginning. The shining principles through the prisms in the glass gave us a sense of just where our duty and responsibility meet with prosperity and delight; the light source coming from,of course, our founders, and this country's Declaration of Independence and Constitution -- who got their light source from the Creator... go figure, huh... while some may beg to differ no matter how true that it may be...

But, like everything else, we have competing forces afoot; and the difference being  (if lining up the product side by side), there are those who align with victims, taking personal responsibility and accountability and conviction away from the people, feeding us propaganda to grow our dependence on more government -- and those who don't.  Otherwise known as left and right.

And since we are talking about shining lights, Star Parker's column, "Wanted: Leaders with Conviction and Courage" is a great read on this happy tuesday.

The thing is, America is done with sleazy politicians willing to sell their soul for a vote, a special favor, or the next really big deal; as Star opines (and selflessly shines every day mind you), where are the real leaders, beholden to convictions worthy of a grain of salt? (as I get a whisper in my ear from AM.com saying, psss, they're over here...)

Competition is fierce; but don't get me wrong, it is a good thing -- a very good thing.  It makes us get to places we never dreamed possible.  It makes us better, wiser, richer not poorer (if on the side of courage and convictions, that is) usually every time.

Unless you are Butler -- and then competition, win or lose, tells us even more.  To be sure, it was a sad loss, an embarrassing display of having nearly no game left.  Bare in mind, this is the second time for Butler coming out of nowhere, with a Cinder--fella story all over it, and getting to the NCAA finals second year in a row.  This is the stuff where dreams are made of -- and then, it all came to a horrible screeching halt last night.

BUT THEN, all of a sudden a little shining light came through, giving every single one of us reason to go... far out, that is so cool.  And really, I can't even begin to tell it any better than this guy, so read this now, if you will...you won't be disappointed, I promise...c'mon.... psss, over here...  From Dan Wetzel, at Yahoo! Sports.

Dan made me weep for these boys, and I don't even like basketball.  But he gathered the courage to take a look at the bright side and share it with us -- and considering this was written by a guy, about boys, or real men, take your pick, the whole experience for me took my breath away (second time in one morning -- and for all the right reasons...love it).

For better or for worse, we must stand for living with our courage and convictions leading us, moving us forward, fine print and all, win or lose; as consumers and countrymen, leaders and followers, all of us have an inherent duty and delight to constantly hold things up to the light, asking the right questions, making the right choices, and responding with honor, not just for ourselves, but for the betterment of the whole.

Make it a Good Day, G

p.s. please know that G neither endorses, nor is paid by, Zyrtec -- to be fair, I am quite certain Allegra works in it's own beautiful little way, too (just without OJ, duh) and for a whole host of other good reasons for which, without allergies myself, have no idea, but you get my drift...

But as for AM.com -- clinging tight to the K.I.S.S. principle -- 'ew'; stay away from that domain for your own good -- ya see, no problem, whatsoever.

Dear America,

As the world turns...a shade of gray.

So apparently, the expectation of one's human nature to be held to a higher, wiser, truer, never falter standard, is far greater for the average Newt, and a republican, than the average Billy Boy Jefferson Clinton, and a democrat.  Is that it?  Can we not be done with this hypocritical repartee?

You know, in life, sometimes the best teachers are the ones who have been there, done that.

They allow for the general public, and anyone else within ear shot for that matter, to feel their pain and embarrassment when in the middle of it -- while when it's all over -- we get to witness how these people find their way out of it.

But this sense of somehow, some way, just because more often than not, the GOP also stands for people who actually attend church or temple, believe in a loving God, and actually try to live a life as best they can according to some kind of lethal combination landing between religious commandments and moral truths -- that somehow these people are not also human...

...that they make mistakes

...that they lose their way, scruples, principles

...and let's just throw in a whole lot of common sense for good measure

-- that these people are held to a higher standard against the other party seems downright preposterous, hypocritical, unrealistic, and simply unfair.


With everything else going wrong in the world, with all kinds of other questions to a possible presidential candidate there might be, what has G's head spinning this morning...this.

“You’ve also been married three times and admitted to having an affair with your current wife while you were still married to your second,” a student said to Gingrich, “As a successful politician who’s considering running for president, who would set the bar for moral conduct and be the voice of the American people, how do you reconcile this hypocritical interpretation of the religious values that you so vigorously defend?”

seriously?

And his immediate reply: “I believe in a forgiving God, and the American people will have to decide whether that’s their primary concern...If the primary concern of the American people is my past, my candidacy would be irrelevant,” but that, “the primary concern of the American people is the future.”

To the lowly student taunting the giant political force, let's go ahead and talk about questionable presidential behavior:

What, were you five when Clinton was getting BJ's in the oval office and playing hide the cigar with an intern?  (oh that's right, you kids today don't call it sex either)


Have your teachers not taught you all about the lifestyles of the rich and famous, and a few good Kennedy men, battling with infidelity and womanizing  in the early sixties?  Rumors abound on the real history...between the tragic death of Marilyn Monroe and a young Chappaquiddick woman... (oh that's right, that doesn't count, that was during  your grandparents era)

Let me guess, you would have still voted for John Edwards had it not been for that misguided wrong turn he took with a campaign photographer, thwarting his presidential intentions with his good ole' American boy smile?

Double standards are everywhere and often between the two parties -- while in this day of age, I gotta say -- even if I risk sounding counter to my own ideals of a certain candidate/representative -- if this is all you got, let's moveon.org.

Now, please indulge me as I switch gears a wee bit...

One of my favorite people to listen to is Star Parker; her story (her real life!) features an African-American woman, coming out of poverty and the welfare system, experiencing hard times that I can only imagine; fast forward to today, where this woman -- this bright, vivacious, conservative, black woman -- blossoms into a living example of what this country is all about.

She has grown into a shining beacon of hope for not only other African-Americans, but for ALL Americans; she teaches what she knows to be true, as she has lived it!  Transcended it even...and all of it centers around tried and true American principles and values.

The thing is, she walks her talk and empowers scores of Americans to follow her because in their heart of hearts, they believe her...

aw, let's get real... I believe her...and that's enough for me.

and right now, she is staring right at me -- for she is the face of February on my Clare Boothe Luce Calendar (I have talked about this organization before...but check them out if you haven't already).  Anyway, a short bio on Star is featured this month, while in real life, she is founder and president of CURE, the Coalition on Urban Renewal.  (and right now, you too, can help her "stop Planned Parenthood lies" by going to her website and finding out how you can get more involved).

My point, she can teach us because she has been there -- truly been there; she has been at her bottom bottom, her lowest of the lows -- and has risen above it.  And more important, she didn't stop there (and can we get a thank you Jesus! Amen); she didn't stop at the spot where you only help yourself; she continued to move forward and to share her life's lessons, to extend her wealth of experiences, to champion the cause of being a better American, to teach the rest of us coming from a place who knows. I love, love, love her and you should love her too, just sayin'.

Those who have real life experiences, no matter whatever field, no matter whatever reality, have always grown to be our best teachers, our wisest mentors, our shining example of how to follow ever after; as we in turn replicate the process and principles, our world changes, even if only at the local level.  What begins to happen, over and over and over again, is the exponential expansion of our cornerstones -- a nation's character and values -- as these things begin to shape us and take us a long way...

...and through it all, through thick and through thin, we build a nation, AMERICA, merrily merrily up the path of duplicating the good.

But the school of hard knocks and wrong moves has the ability of teaching us everything we need to know right quick when we give it a chance -- take anything that pops in your head and the process works --

• a history of too much debt, too much spending, what does it teach us?
• a past of staying up late, drinking too much, what does it teach us?
• a habit of yelling and screaming at your kids, having those kids grow up to yell and scream at their kids, and so on and so on, what does it teach us?
• a penchant for driving too fast, talking on the phone, eating a burger -- and then fixing our lipstick-- what does it teach us?
• a night of Facebook and texting friends -- when we should be doing our homework -- what does it teach us?
• a president who takes advantage of his power and prestige, what does it teach us?
• an opportunity to ask a real question to a man who has a wealth of political insider knowledge and experiences, and we blow it, what does it teach us?

The thing is, as human beings, we blow it a lot!  Speaking of which, if I could ask three questions to the big guy in charge:

DO I think it should take nine days to respond to Libya -- and to the crazy man in charge, Moammar Gadhafi --  when in fact, you were sending in an entourage for a sit down in Egypt maybe seconds into it -- proposing Mubarak, by name, to do the right thing, for his country and all, to listen to the youth protesting in the streets, calling for him to step down?  Morally, I think you would be on the right side of history, if you came down on Moammar a wee bit harder..."the entire world is watching...violence is outrageous... unacceptable..."  oooooh...you basically said the same same thing responding to the tragedy in Arizona. what gives?

DO I think after campaigning as a champion of marriage (that being, defined in matrimony as between a man and a woman) to just yesterday, out of the blue, you justify fudging a little... as your feelings about marriage further evolve... floating around the idea that the office of our Department of Justice no longer has to defend DOMA -- which, by the way, IS A LAW, enacted by the last democrat in office -- do I think that's cool?  You say, it is because there is no "reasonable defense" of such a law -- having decided for yourself outside the rule of law -- when in fact, you of all people should realize, law is fixated by what is called PRECEDENCE.  The reasonable defense of DOMA is the mounds of precedence that has preceding it -- that, by definition, is simply known as traditional marriage in this country, and actually since the days of Caesar. typical politician flip-flop.  really?

DO I wonder wonder wonder how it is possible for you NOT to interfere with the coaxing of the price of oil -- not to be confused with making an immediate about face on where you stand with the issue of drilling here in America --  and while we're at it, getting to the good stuff of clean coal, natural gas, and going a little nuclear -- and for sure, for kicks and giggles, not that we could sustain ourselves, adding to that, the solar, wind, bio-fuels and what not...how can you not see into the future at a time like this is beyond me?  A nation's security is at stake and you distract us with a combination of making a hard core union assault against a state and changing your mind about DOMA?  wow....where are your priorities? not to mention your juevos rancheros?

Getting back to Newt and the question -- Newt might be just the right kind of guy for the job (you know, to take over where Barack leaves off) -- given his experience AND ALL.

The last two years has taught us much...and we have Barack Hussein Obama to thank.

Make it a Good Day, G

and then again, some people never really learn a thing...rumor has it Charlie Sheen was on his way to a vacation spot today, taking with him his soon-to-be ex- wife, Brooke, his live in porn-star/girl friend, and another woman.  Our morning local radio show, DSC, on Jack FM, put it like this, "Charlie Sheen and a couple of prostitutes."  To frame it another way, perhaps he is just looking to fill in his resume before a congressional run, considering his current gig is on the way out...

oh my dear America, we have such a long road ahead of us...time for a little Carpenters...now playing on dear america...

Dear America,

This was found at the end of  Star Parker's weekly column this morning (read it!):

"1957, Golda Meir, a future prime minister of Israel, spoke at the National Press Club in Washington. She said, unfortunately prophetically, 'Peace will come when the Arabs will love their children more than they hate us'."

We acheive world peace when we choose world peace.

Star's column -- which usually never fails me -- lends insight on a number of things, whether it be from the teachings of a man who recently past away (Art Linkletter) to the long and winding road in a land called Gaza;  our life is simply made best when our philosphy comes from a place of peace -- while the gift of something we like to call hindsight usually tells us, "things turn out best for the people who make the best out of the way things turn out."

I don't personally know Star -- I wish I did; for she is a powerful voice of community in relation to all things.

She is currently running for congress in the Los Angeles area, Long Beach specifically, and including areas you may have heard of before -- horrendous political, racial and economic areas, like Compton -- otherwise known as the 37th Congressional District --  unfortunately, a district not my own.  But do you think that would keep me away? not. 

She is actually running unopposed in this primary (wonder why that is, perhaps it's because it is home to one of the scariest districts in the country... or maybe, cuz she's a triple threat to anyone who would dare, just sayin') --  the only one seemingly in her way now is a long term democrat to beat on down the road come November. 

Anyone want to help her out?  For let me tell you, LA could really use all the help that they can get right now.  Go to:  http://www.starparkerforcongress.com/ 


Tomorrow is a big day for California. 

As tea party members set out to rock the boat, and vote, tomorrow, as Israel continues to protect it's waters against Hamas, as everyday people venture out to make the best of the way things turn out, let us stop and give thanks that we live in America.

And more than ever, that christens us with the obligation to come together to protect and honor America in every way we can. We must muster the same faith, the same strength, as what culminated  in Boston so long ago -- the tea must be thrown overboard, while the lawlessness of intruders in government, threatening our long term peace, must be defeated.

It's a simple as that.

And that's all I got to say about that (say it like Forrest Gump). 
Even though I'm just one girl, I've gotta run and go do my part to save California now.

Make it a Good Day, G

and if it ain't so good, make the best of it, whatever way that looks, whatever floats your own boat...do it for Art, do it for Star, do it for Gaza, do it for America, but most important, do it for U.

And thank you, Star, for always inspiring me to be a better girl living in community with others.

Dear America,

Saturday Afternoon at the movies...

Watch Ronald Reagan speak out against Socialist Medicine.

This link was courtesy of an email I received this morning from Star Parker. I just wish I thought of it myself! YouTube is brilliant; one video clip can lead you to another and another and another and before long you have an afternoon turn into an evening bopping down memory lane.

I am suggesting a day to play. Get together with your peeps and start with Reagan, move to westerns with John Wayne, take in breakfast with Audrey, swing with the Rat Pack, blast the Stones or get down and boogie to KC and the Sunshine Band. YouTube can take you there and anywhere else you want to go today.

Its fun. Its free. Its time together and a way to escape the dialogue if only for a day.

For me, it's happy Saturday and only good things can happen when a day starts off with cartoons.

Make it a good day, G