Who I am & Why I do What I Do

"I am a fat, forty-something housewife and mother, in suburbia Wisconsin, trying to make ends meet and save my country." That's the short of it, the long of it follows.

I was raised in rural Wisconsin, the oldest of the six children my parents gave life to. I was not a good kid. My temper is legendary in my family, and when I was younger, I didn't control it. On a fairly routine basis, I beat up my little brothers and sisters. Until my baby brother was born when I was 12. He was the sibling I shared my room with, who "civilized" me according to my parents. He was also the only sibling I never hit in anger. He and I still share a special bond today. My temper is no less fierce today than it was as a child, but I have learned to control it better.

I am one of the lucky people who walk among you, undetected. I survived three very close calls with death, which means I am here for a reason, and I never have to doubt that.

Five days before my 13th birthday, May 16, 1975, I was riding my bicycle home from school. I had to make a special stop to drop off a birthday party invitation at the house of a friend. Now, I grew up on a farm, and the only way to get to my house was on one of two highways. This friend's house was on my way home, but it was the long way around. I dropped the invitation off and continued on my way home. I had to make a left turn across the highway, at the bottom of a hill. Remember riding a bike downhill after toiling up it? You feel as though you're going a hundred miles an hour; wind roaring in your ears, your hair flying back (no bicycle helmets in those days), drying the sweat built up by the long climb. As I came up on the corner, I signaled for a left-hand turn, saw no one in front of me, heard no one behind me, and turned. And got hit by a semi.

People will say I'm lucky, and I'm not inclined to argue. A year later, on the same highway, at a different corner, a schoolmate was killed by a semi while turning across the road. I am lucky, but more importantly, God isn't done with me yet. Thirteen is almost too young to understand the import of what happened, I did, however, get that I am here for a reason.

The accident didn't change my life significantly, I still ran riot over most of my siblings. I stole from my parents, smoked and experimented with cigarettes and marijuana--although I didn't use drugs until college. I got pregnant twice by two different men, and gave two precious babies up for adoption. Now I say I may be a grandmother and not know it. The best result for me has been that those two babies have grown up and not seeked me out. This makes me believe that their families were right, and my decision was correct.

I married, too young, a man who believed he could control me through violence and fear, and did for almost five years. It was during this time I accepted Jesus Christ as my personal Lord and Savior. That still brings a smile to my face. I'm not perfect, far from it, but I am saved. Two children and a divorce later, I was a twenty-something single mother with two pre-school girls.

Not too surprisingly, I swore off men. I also threw myself into making a life for us and accepting the limitations that naturally come with being a single parent. I worked at being a good parent and a good provider, and got on with my life. In my early 30's I was offered a job with the state for, what was then, good money and I took it. It was there that I met my husband.

We were getting ready to get married, when I was struck down with a pulmonary embolism (a blood clot in my lung). The doctors in the ER told Rod (my hubby) if we had waited half an hour longer, I wouldn't be alive. Three years later, during the delivery of my last child, my uterus partially ruptured and I bled out half my blood volume.

What have I learned from this? I am where I am supposed to be. Live each day as though it were your last, for it might be. Live your life in the center of God's will. It doesn't mean life will be easy, it means you will never be alone in the struggle.

Following the Founding Fathers

I'll start by saying I have the utmost respect for my country and her citizens. The United States of America has, for over 200 years, been a shining beacon of hope for the rest of the world. The citizens, Americans, are a breed apart. We may have started as German, English, Irish, African, Indian, but when we became Americans, we changed. We became a race of people dedicated to protecting the rights of individuals, a race of people who invite hard work, take risks and reap the rewards. We lead the rest of the world in innovation, industry and income. The "poor" in America are richer by far than the poor elsewhere, and sometimes richer than the middle class in other countries.

The Founding Fathers realized this new breed of Americans needed to be independent. They were wise enough to make the governmental framework loose, giving us the choice of more or less government. They were wise enough to lay out the Bill of Rights, the 10 Constitutional Amendments specifying rights under this new government for her citizens. They were wise enough to know that the future would bring changes, and allowed for changes to be made through the Constitution by amendment. They even knew that liberty was not free, and put their trust in the citizenry to protect that liberty.

Today we stand at a crossroads. Will we, the people, continue to follow the corrupt government like sheep, or will we follow the Founding Fathers and protect our liberty. "Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." We have already given up the right to life for a huge portion of our citizens. On a daily basis we slaughter 4,000 of our pre-born citizens. We allow "assisted suicide", which is an oxymoron almost as ridiculous as homophobia. Homophobia, translated correctly, means fear of oneself. Suicide is, by definition, a singular act designed to end one's life. "Assisted suicide" is nothing less than euthanasia, murder. As our corrupt government takes more and more control over America's health care, we will be evaluated as to our usefulness economically, and then we might get a part of the socialist health care we pay for through our sweat, time and energy.

Our liberty has been taken away slowly in the guise of many things. Gun control-registering your legally owned, Constitutionally guaranteed right to bear arms. Not "your right to bear arms if the government says it's OK". We have allowed the government to tell legally owned private businesses they cannot allow legal activities in those businesses. Does "smoking ban" mean anything to anyone? Worse, we have stood passively by as the current government takes over the car companies, the banks and insurance companies. Are we as free as we were even 30 years ago? No. We allow laws to usurp our freedoms, and are fearful of opposing them because we will be seen as "intolerant", "racist" and "insensitive". Count me as intolerant and insensitive.

I am intolerant of women who believe the precious gift of a baby is "a blob of tissue" to be discarded at will. I am intolerant of people who believe others who are not "normal" should be put to death through euthanasia. I am intolerant of people who think they know what is in my best interests. I am intolerant of people who believe a loud, rude minority should tell everyone else what should and shouldn't be. I am insensitive about saying what is true and real; I say those things. I am insensitive to fringe groups that believe the mainstream should kowtow to them. I am insensitive to political correctness. I believe being eternally correct is more important.

Of all of our Founding Fathers, John Adams is my favorite. He struggled his entire life with feelings of frustration. He saw so clearly what was and what needed to be done, and was frustrated with his inability to effect change. He was known for his fractiousness, his unpopularity with his peers, and his bluntness. John Adams was not a man to mince words and he followed his mind and heart to the end of his life.

I, too, am very frustrated at this historical juncture. I see very clearly what needs to be done, and I don't care who I offend by saying so. I don't try to make my speech flowery. I don't care who I call out as traitors to the cause. Abortion is Murder. The best size for government is tiny, close to minuscule. I say we need to throw them all out, by force, if needed. I want to see the euthanasiasts try to take a member of my family. It will not be pretty. I want to see the government official who tries to enter my home against my will. It will not be pretty. I want to see someone try to make me do something I believe is wrong. They may kill me, but they won't be able to make me do it.

Freedom is more than a word or concept. It is a way to live. We, the people, have forgotten what true freedom is, because we have all been willing to trade our freedom for security, or equal rights, or political correctness, or whatever.

Join me in living free. Do not allow anyone to take away your freedom. I may be put to death, but it will be as a free person.

. . . a Christian Nation

First, I want to wish all a Happy Easter. I'm a Christian, so my holy day this time of year is Easter. If I were Jewish, it would be Passover, and I would wish everyone a good Passover. I'm not sure what the Muslim holy day is this time of year, or even if they have one. For the Earth/Sun worshippers and/or Druids, the holy day is the vernal equinox, I believe. My point?

"When I was a kid. . ." But yes (see previous), winter break was Christmas vacation, spring break was Easter vacation. On Good Friday, everything in town was closed from 1-3 PM, and nary a soul was to be found outside of church-Catholic and Lutheran. The grocery store in town closed at noon on Sundays, and was closed completely on holidays like Christmas, Easter, July 4th, Memorial and Labor Days, Thanksgiving and New Years. Granted, I grew up in a dinky little town, but we spent Christmas in Chicago more than once, and nothing was open. Everybody, American or not; these are American holy days; was given the day off to spend with family and friends. I vaguely knew about Rosh Hoshanna, Yom Kippur, Hannuka, and Passover, but my childhood was steeped in the Christian traditions of my beloved country.

The American holidays are no longer days on which everyone, American or not, is given a day off to spend with family and friends. Why not? In the quest for the almighty dollar, greed has stripped us of our national holy days. Have you ever gone to the local convenience store on a holiday? Did you commiserate with the clerk about having to work? Did it ever occur to you that by patronizing a business on an American holiday, you encourage that business to be open on those days? Why? Not the Freedom From Religion Foundation or the ACLU, but greed. Make more money, make more money, makemoremoney, makmoremoney, makmormoney, makmormony, mkmormony, mkmrmony, mkmrmny.....

My place of employment is a small neighborhood Cafe and the most consistently busy day of any week is Sunday morning. We close only for Thanksgiving and Christmas, and two of the owners are Catholic. There is no choice but to stay open for American holy days like Easter in order to stay in business. Today, on Good Friday, was one of the better Fridays I've had recently.

My point is that the Christian traditions of my beloved country have been passing away for a long time. The prevailing god of America is money, the quest for money has turned our eyes away from the Judeo-Christian ethics and holy days. Is it any wonder Mr Madoff was able to run his scheme? His investors wanted to believe in the fantasy Mr Madoff said they could have. Their eyes were on money. This allowed literally thousands of people to end up losing everything.

President Obama knows that the god of the USA is money. (I'll say it now, follow the money. See Dick Morris regarding the G20 agreement on a world bank.) That is why the President is allowed to fire corporate executives and set the wages of others--pretty much any others he wishes. When he says "We aren't a nation of Christians, .." he knows he is correct, because the outrage is always over the money.

Why We Need to Encourage Smoking

I'll start off by saying: this is tongue-in-cheek and in no way reflects the thoughts, actions, or beliefs of the blogger.

So... Cigarette smokers are the social equivalent of mass murderers, but cigarette smokers bear the responsibility of balancing budgets, paying for health care for our children, and the hopes and dreams of a nation. -- Wait! -- Not that last part, but the other two certainly. So, we need to take special care of the cigarette smokers left in the USA.

Instead of all these ridiculous PSA's telling smokers how they can get help quitting, we need to come out with better, newer PSA's telling smokers how they can prolong their life while continuing to smoke. We have to encourage our last, few remaining smokers to exercise and eat right. They should be able to get great health care, since they're paying for it--thank you smokers, our lives depend on you.

Instead of these inane laws restricting smoking in public places, we should be encouraging businesses and the government to create very special places for smokers to go. And I don't mean out the back door to suffer in the cold, snow, wind, rain, or scorching heat. Smokers now rate the best accomadations we can provide. No more second-class citizen treatment, smokers are the ones saving the USA.

Businesses need to be required to put in plush, comfortable smoking areas. Restaurants and bars should have large smoking sections, with the best seats in the house. I know this sounds crazy, but we need to remember the burden we are placing on our smokers. The least we non-smokers can do is treat smokers with the respect and deference due them. They are paying for health care for the rest of us.

Smoking sections, while primarily the domain of smokers, should welcome non-smokers as well. In fact, smoke-filled air is becoming scarce, it's a precious commodity and needs to be treated as such. Therefore, non-smokers who wish to sit in the rarified atmosphere of the smoking section will have to pay a surcharge. All the surcharge money will be put into a giant slush fund to aid smokers with the skyrocketing cost of cigarettes. After all, if smokers cannot afford cigarettes, they can't balance state's budgets nor pay for our health care. Non-smokers need to help out as much as possible, after all, the smoking population is declining all the time.

I am not advocating that we encourage more people to take up smoking, although that might have to happen in the future as smokers die and we lose that revenue. I am saying we need to treat our smokers better. Smokers are very special people who need extra special care. Smokers are responsible for the financial health of most of the states in the union and our nationalized health care.

Why I Tweet

I've been on twitter for a month now, and I'm loving it. I love connecting with people who agree with me, and aren't afraid to voice their opinions. With the way my beloved country is moving, it's a comfort to me to hear other Conservative voices raised in outrage.

I hear people say that the country is at a boiling point--both on and off Twitter--and I agree. There is a palpable anger in this country that's been held in check for years, and is now being let out to rage freely. When the GOP held the White House, people were angry at the polarization of my beloved country, but trusted the inhabitants of the White House, and kept the anger in check. However, with the Dems having control of both Congress and the White House, the rage is surfacing. People voted for a change, not really caring what that change might be, and now we have it. Unfortunately, my beloved country is getting what it asked for. I personally think it sucks.

Twitter is an outlet for my rage at the Government--all Government. I can rant and rave, and not hurt any one's feelings. I can laugh at the zingers my friends get off, and I can foment revolution. In fact, a lot of my friends on Twitter agree. Government is too big, Socialism doesn't work, terrorists are our worldwide enemies, and it's not "Overseas Contingency Operations" it's "The War on Terror". People on Twitter say what's on their mind, and that honesty is refreshing. There is no political correctness on Twitter. It is what it is, and calling it another name doesn't change what it is. "A rose by any other name..."

The really mean, below the belt stuff generally comes from the left-leaners, and as much as the Left would like you to think so, if you look at things through the prism of reality, you have to be conservative. Liberals cannot carry a rational argument of their position, so they generally denigrate into name-calling, swearing, and false accusations. Another sign that the conservative world view is the true world view, not some tie-dyed, rose-colored fantasy that the Left wants us to believe.

Personal responsibility and accountability are dead in my beloved country, and until/unless we can resurrect them, my beloved country will fail. The greatest experiment in recorded history, democracy on a grand scale, is always changing and growing, as the Founding Fathers intended. What they didn't intend was that the government would become our nanny. The Libs want just that. And they are getting their way. This is not the country I want to pass on to my children.

,,, and I did Nothing

They came and took away the right of the Preborn to life, and I did nothing for I was not Preborn. They took away the right of Fathers to the preborn, saying it was a Woman's Right to Choose, and I did nothing for I was not a Father. Then they came for the babies born with "Abnormalities", and I did nothing for I was "Normal". Then they came for the Handicapped; physically and mentally; and I did nothing for I was not Handicapped. Then they came for the Owners of Guns, and I did nothing for I did not Own a Gun. Then they came for the Wealthy, and I did nothing, for I was not Wealthy. Then they came for the Owners of Businesses, and I did nothing for I was not a Business Owner. Then they told Property Owners they could not engage in leagl activities on their property, and I did nothing for I did not Own Property. Then they came for the Indigent and Poor, and I did nothing for I was not Poor or Indigent. Then they came for Me, and there was No One left to do Anything.