NC Freshman Senator Kay Hagan made a stop in Kernersville for "Conversations with Kay" about issues that affect Seniors. The following 'Confrontation with Kay' was taped & aired (edited, of course) on our local 6:00 news. Here's the unedited exchange for your enjoyment:
(In case the video doesn't play, click the 'watch on youtube' link, orclick here.)
I'm so PROUD of this mother!
I'm proud to say she's from my County (would go hug her if I knew who/where she was); proud of her tenacity, her courage, her 'verve'. And then there's this clash w/ Kay Hagan...
THIS is what heroes are made of: parents taking care of their children, doing whatever it takes to do the right thing, standing up to Big Government, getting their voices heard, & letting them know (in very certain terms) that they will NOT have our vote - ever!
Something has been niggling at the back of my brain...A few weeks ago @ Joe’s blog, he was entertaining a lively discussion about AZ Senator Jon Kyl’s visit w/ president BHO. Joe expressed his exasperated opinion about BHO’s political chicanery, and I agreed by quoting Joe in my comment. One would think that would be that. Well, no.
See, bloggers who’ve read any of my stuff, know my Christian world-view. I’m quite clear about it, & don’t even hint at apology (I hope). Sure, there are mockers & scoffers, etc. Only in Joe’s spirited discussion, one of the former fashioned her mockery into a weapon. She tried using my faith against me - to neutralize my ability to take a passionate stance on the issue of the day.
Were I younger, more naïve & eager to please, I might have acquiesced to the guilt laid upon me, apologized & hoped we could be more amicable. But not now, with the benefit of a bit of age under my belt, & just a smidge more maturity than I had @ 17. Or 23.
So, nothing-doing this time…The following is what happened (It’s what I’ve come to, & it might be just a little dangerous. But hey, ‘danger’ sounds like a nice middle name; he## of a lot better than ‘politically correct’):
Commenter: I don't think "heaven" listens to people with such mean-spirited hearts and who denigrate God's creations.Whether you like it or not, Miss Susannah, Mr. Obama is God's creation. How loving of you to trash His creation from the bottom of your loving Christian heart. LOL!
My response: Interesting, Joe. Some folks don't understand that being a Christian does not neuter one's ability to make assessments of character based on observable fact; that discerning character is neither an attempt to judge/condemn one of "God's creations", nor does it "denigrate" or "trash" the soul of said creation. It's simple honesty.
Folks like our friend here would rather Christians be weak, flaccid, impotent wimps who won't speak the truth for fear of being criticized or disliked. They'd rather we just shut up & go to church, or something.
Sorry, but there's a guy I've read about who made a big mess out of a Temple when he saw people doing wrong, & screamed at people - calling them what they were - when they made a mockery of Truth.
Call me crazy, but I'm guessing people wanted Him to shut up & go read the Torah or something. I'm also betting that Heaven was indeed listening that day - with a keen ear - and rejoicing.
And you know...I'm hoping against hope...I wanna be like that guy.
~~
Some day I want to be more like Jesus; more willing to act with a mind for defending Truth over defending my ego, with a heart for seeking Justice instead of self-preservation.
Folks can try as they might, pushing us back against the wall of complacent Christianity, but for those of us who are no longer wallflower Christians, there’s no turning back. And there will be no apology, either.
Folks, it doesn't get any closer to me than if I had been there myself. Saw this on Fox & Friends this morning:
My ears perked when I heard "North Carolina;" & I remind myself to research it. I go to my email & find this news story in a bundle from my local GOP headquarters folks. (Link gives much more info. than FNC video.)
Then I realize - these are MY people! I KNOW Nathan Tabor! I also know some of the others in the video. I have sat on their picnic blankets @ Tea Parties. They are not extremists. They are not the 'fringe Right.' They are average citizens (moms, dads, business owners, farmers, librarians) of my county who are not taking the G'ment steamroller lying down.
Bravo to Mr. Tabor! Bravo to the rest who are exercising our right to speak out against the over-reach of G'ment.
If not now, than never, friends. Do NOT remain silent!
The fight for our nation doesn't get any closer than this.
This article says most everything I would like to say:
Comedy Central's uneven irreverence By L. Brent Bozell III president, Media Research Center
Comedians often pride themselves on being irreverent, and in today's popular culture a favorite thing to ridicule is religion. The network Comedy Central has made laughing at religion its bread and butter. Their irreverence has limits, however, and it has nothing to do with taste. When radical Muslims wrote ominously online that the creators of "South Park" could end up like Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh - shot eight times on the street - mockery of Muhammedwas formally and publicly censored.
Within weeks of that very public retreat, Comedy Central announced plans to work up a series laughing at Jesus Christ called "JC," a half-hour animated show about Jesus trying to live a normal life in New York City to escape the "enormous shadow" of his "powerful but apathetic father." God the Father is preoccupied with playing video games while Christ is the "ultimate fish out of water."
Beyond the glaring double standard there is this question: Where is the market demand for an entire television series dedicated to attacks on Jesus Christ? What did Jesus Christ do to Comedy Central that they must relentlessly mock Him by portraying him defecating and talking about his "yummy, yummy crap" on "South Park" and roast him on specials titled "Merry F--ing Christmas"? Why the visuals of Jesus Christ being stabbed to death? Of the Blessed Virgin Mary menstruating? To call these attacks "juvenile" is an insult to juveniles.
Enough is enough.Citizens Against Religious Bigotry, a coalition of some 20 organizations and leaders, some Christian, some Jewish and some secular, in all representing millions of Americans, has come together to demand that the advertising community withhold their sponsorship dollars from this show, based on Comedy Central's documented history of anti-Christian bigotry. To sponsor this show is to support that anti-Christian bigotry. In reply, network spokesman Tony Fox declared that this show is only a vague idea and perhaps our group "should save their energy for the moment if and when this series ever makes air." But if "JC" is too vague to deserve comment, why did Comedy Central announce it with flagrant God-bashing fanfare?
It's amazing that the Comedy Central folks consider this putrid material to be "art" and wrap themselves with the blanket of artistic freedom of expression. Said programming head Kent Alterman: "The beauty of working at a place like Comedy Central is you can empower people to actualize their vision in a really unfiltered way.
"Unless, of course, the "vision" is an attack on Muhammed, in which case there will be immediate self-imposed censorship.
Comedy Central loves the idea that irreverence is the highest value that inspires the biggest laughs. Christians are called to love the opposite idea: that reverence to God is the highest value. We are called to take up the cross of Jesus daily, and that as a result people will "utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account."
We will not be silent. This anti-Christian bigotry must stop.
L. Brent Bozell III is founder and president of the Media Research Center.
~~
If you want to ACT against this cowardly, disgusting tripe, go the Family Research Council site.
Feeling the need to step out of the grind of politics for a few moments, friends. It does get rather grueling, no? Let's switch gears...
I am taking a delightful writing course taught by author Susan Woodring. In one of her recent blog posts she posed questions, "Who is your writing mentor? Have you ever met him/her?" After knocking this around, I offered a comment: "Distilling my answer to 2 'mentors,' they'd be Peggy Noonan and Beth Moore . Peggy for her deceptively 'easy' style that holds such beautiful wisdom, & Beth for the way my spirit responds to her 'teaching.' Wow."
While I've met neither of these women, I have had a snail-mail exchange with Beth Moore, because it was essential that she know how the Holy Spirit spoke to me through her. See, this piece of writing came to me partly as a result of her ministry. I sent her the following letter, along w/ a copy of that piece:
Dear Beth,
It was me.
We’re doing your Revelation series. Last week we viewed session 4 during which you quote Rev. 4:1. You stopped, looked into the camera and said, “‘After this…’ Somebody needs to hear this today: there is an ‘after this.’ You do not have to stay where you are.”
That somebody was me. I needed to hear those exact wordsfrom my Father, to be assured that ‘this too shall pass,’ there is an ‘after this.’
Beth, this ‘season’ has been a very difficult one for me...[ed. for personal content]
So. Here I am. I know that I knowthat our Lord is working. And then I wonder, ‘Will I ever move from here? Will I ever be free of it?’ And then I hear your voice saying, “Somebody needs to hear this today: there is an ‘After this.’” Imagine my surprise at such a clear & direct answer to this intensely personal question! Beth, thank you for your sensitivity to the prompting of the Holy Spirit, & for repeating His words: ‘After this…’
I’m sure others needed to be assured that with the Lord there’s always an ‘after this…’. But I am convinced that one was in a Methodist church on 2-23-2010. And it was me. And I heard, & I knowthat there is an ‘after this…’ Thanks be to God!
Jesus loves us, this we know...
A few weeks later I received a lovely letter from "Nancy," of Living Proof Ministries . Because of the scope of Mrs. Moore's influence, I did not expect to hear from her. Noting the personal, specific nature of Nancy's response, I know that Mrs. Moore had, indeed, heard from me. That was all I was after.
Back to 'writing': Mentoring is not about the celebrity of another person, it's about using their influence to help 'hear the voice.' As Mrs. Woodring has said, "I can't begin a story until I hear its voice."
Indeed.
And for me so far, the 'voice' shows up in odd & surprising places: like when conversing with my holly bushes, or when someone I'll never meet stops on a dime at a prepositional phrase.
I don't know where my story is going, but I know there is a Voice, & I am listening.
~~
"1After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, "Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this." ~ Rev. 4:1
I've had discussions lately wherein it would've helped if the person with whom I was exchanging comments had known a little more about me & why I blog. These recent talks were w/ a pacifist who is naive enough to think that violence against women must be physical in order to be real, insidious & systemic. (Sounds like a blockhead kind of man, no?) Thus, this do-over of my very first blog piece - September 27th, 2008. (Pay close enough attention, & you'll even hear why this blog calls itself GTBI.)
“I admit it! I’m a conservative republican evangelical Christian – unashamedly so…”
Such was my ‘coming out’ to some precious liberal friends recently. This, my official debut, came after doing a bit of personal inventory with the changing political winds at my face. Later, I reiterated my proclamation to some of my closest friends (who were probably thinking, “This is news?”), just because it felt so good to say. These aren’t words that I would have so emphatically written or said before. But now, somehow candor is essential. It's time to speak some things.
It started with a discussion that led into a bit of politico-speak wherein the Governor of Alaska & the Republican nominee for Vice President, Sarah Palin, was being derided. I listened with interest, but didn’t tip my hand, and later left the conversation with gnawing unfinished business. After I screwed up my courage, because there is no coming back from such things, I composed a crisp email, detailing my ‘outage’ to the original conversants, who I trusted enough to not deride me too. Below is a bit of what I wrote them that next day:
Girls, I know we're coming from different places, but let me tell you what she represents to me...Sarah Palin is a woman who - for the first time ever on the national stage - represents me. She's not an angry woman trying to be a man; not a woman who claims to champion my views, but who is so far out of step w/ me that she may as well be on Pluto. She is a woman who loves & respects her man, loves her children, loves being a mother. She is not afraid to be smart & savvy, but won't beat you about-the-head-neck-&-face w/ it. She is unapologetically committed to her faith, & she is conservative politically...So, why start a web log over this? Because I was watching the day her candidacy was announced - and was absolutely stunned. An eerie déjà vu draped itself over my shoulders, and I felt like I was looking in a mirror. Finally - a real woman (who could actually be me), with the potential of being Vice President of the country. A real woman who cares about the things I do - not someone who screams far-left hyperfeminist propaganda & then swears she's speaking for me.
Why write here & now? Because I’ve been writing for some time with a sense of discovery and anticipation, and with a notion that perhaps I have something to say. And because that day, I experienced a shift in perspective.
I'm not sure who'll win this thing, but the pundits are right. Governor Palin’s candidacy is a 'game-changer,’ -- for me, anyway. Primarily, she gives me real hope that conservative women now have a voice in the Women's Conversation of our time; that the Left no longer has a monopoly on "issues that women care about." She is a role model for thousands of women - who now see & know that you don't have to be abrasive & shrill in order to be tough & strong.
That's why they've been trying to kill her voice, kill her reputation, kill her credibility - literally kill it, before (shhhhhh!) any other women get the Big Idea that the feminist agenda has challengers...The media part of it has been beastly, and yes, quite personal. Because when the media tear her apart, they're tearing apart women like me.
So, there you go. Many thanks to Governor Palin for the shift in perspective. And thanks to the other Sarah Palins in my life, some who’ve helped me chart a course since before I have memory. Thanks to those who abrade my conscience, encourage my struggles, cheer my victories, and give me opportunities to serve in kind. You’re helping me live fully, helping me hone our voice and perhaps discover some big ideas.
~~
So thanks for indulging another do-over. Some things are just important enough to repeat.
Congratulations, Docker's ~ You DO get it! We need Heroes.
Once you 'get' what the problem is, you're well on your way to solving it. I, for one, am terribly gratified. (And all my men are getting Docker's for Christmas.)
Since their website wouldn't let me copy the pic. (see link above), here's the message:
"ONCE UPON A TIME, MEN WORE THE PANTS, AND WORE THEM WELL. WOMEN RARELY HAD TO OPEN DOORS AND LITTLE OLD LADIES NEVER CROSSED THE STREET ALONE. MEN TOOK CHARGE BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT THEY DID. BUT SOMEWHERE ALONG THE WAY, THE WORLD DECIDED IT NO LONGER NEEDED MEN. DISCO BY DISCO, LATTE BY FOAMY NON-FAT LATTE, MEN WERE STRIPPED OF THEIR KHAKIS AND LEFT STRANDED ON THE ROAD BETWEEN BOYHOOD AND ANDROGYNY. BUT TODAY, THERE ARE QUESTIONS OUR GENDERLESS SOCIETY HAS TO ANSWER FOR. THE WORLD SITS IDLY BY AS CITIES CRUMBLE, CHILDREN MISBEHAVE AND THOSE LITTLE OLD LADIES REMAIN ON ONE SIDE OF THE STREET. FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE BAD GUYS, WE NEED HEROES. WE NEED GROWN-UPS. WE NEED MEN TO PUT DOWN THE PLASTIC FORK, STEP AWAY FROM THE SALAD BAR AND UNTIE THE WORLD FROM THE TRACKS OF COMPLACENCY. IT'S TIME TO GET YOUR HANDS DIRTY. IT'S TIME TO ANSWER THE CALL OF MANHOOD. IT'S TIME TO WEAR THE PANTS."
" 'Now is the time to confront this challenge once and for all,' President-elect Obama said of global warming last November. 'Delay is no longer an option.' It turns out that delay really is an option—the only one that has world-wide support."
(Pause for editorial gasp: I cannot believe I just typed those words… )
A few weeks ago, I anxiously posted a piece about the dangers of that Copenhagen summit, & followed it with a Part II . Apparently, you & I were not the only ones anxious about the potential for extortion that Copenhagen threatens. The WSJ says, "Mr. Obama bowed to reality and admitted that little of substance will come of the climate-change summit in Copenhagen next month."
That's good news! But don’t close your eyes just yet. One battle down, a philosophical war yet to wage.
Read on: "The environmental lobby is blaming Copenhagen's pre-emptive collapse on the Senate's failure to ram through a cap-and-trade scheme like the House did in June, arguing that 'the world' won't make commitments until the U.S. does... [though] China and India will never be masochistic enough to subject their economies to the West's climate neuroses…The pointlessness of Copenhagen will now become part of Mr. Obama's argument that the Senate must inflict cap and tax on the U.S., as well as a justification for the EPA's nondemocratic carbon crackdown via clean-air regulation. If he and we are lucky, however, the Senate will fail to act too...and the economy will recover faster without the looming burden of higher energy taxes."
Bear with me: Cap & Trade hasn’t gotten much press lately, for all the HealthCare talk. But just wait, friends, it’s coming. One only has to read pieces like Black Star News’ to realize that all these issues are woven together: national sovereignty, climate change, carbon emissions, 'going green,' to effect one overarching outcome: Globalization.
Sound benign enough?
Please. Read the Black Star article. The disdain, envy & utter disgust that the author holds for developed countries is striking. Friends, ‘Globalization’ means binding the West's hands (esp. the U.S.) & siphoning wealth to the Third World. All done through an entity out of our sight & beyond our control -- New World Order orWorld Government. 'Globalization' is code for massive Wealth Redistribution.
Sound familiar?
Climate change, 'going green,' & wealth redistribution are woven together, alright. It’s no accident our political culture has been softening our ear to these phrases for some time. (Makes me think there’s a larger spider weaving the web than we realize…)
No matter. We’re waking up, & I think, hope, pray it’s just in the nick of time. As I said in the close of Part II:
"We have not been 'standing watch.'
And now we know better. It's time to live better.
For it's not only our own pulse at risk,
but the heartbeat of our very Nation that depends on it."
So…considering my last post, I think it may be time to gain some perspective.
Have you ever done a spontaneous inventory of what’s most important to your life? Me either, until my friend Linda asked a favor the other day. (“Favor”: heh, heh.) She invited me to the rare privilege of contributing to a ‘pilot’ program of ministry to young girls/teens. Her project was conceived a year ago , has been in embryonic stages, & is now emerging more fully formed: “Read My Lip-gloss.” Linda has a faithful team of skilled people who are fully committed to nurturing girls & giving them practical tools to become Godly, courageous women, in spite of the culture that surrounds them. What a treasure to be even a small part of this operation!
The ‘favor’ which was asked of me? It’s a “10 x 10” rubric; a scenario in which I place myself, then share with Linda my written response:
You’re a woman on a bus, riding comfortably, when a young teen gets on, taking the empty seat beside you. She introduces herself & tells you where her stop is. You know that 10 minutes hence, she’ll get off & you won’t see her again. For whatever reason, you feel an urgency to impart the 10 most important things that you believe she’ll need to know, to carry her through the rest of her life. You don’t have time to plan & you don’t have time to poll your friends. When this girl gets off the bus, she’ll be gone forever. You will either have used the opportunity of 10 minutes, or you’ll have lost it.
As a woman, what will you tell her? What 10 essentials can you absolutely NOT let her get off that bus without hearing? What really matters, to you, in life?
After getting off the phone with Linda, I went to my living room w/ a scratch pad & my favorite pen (Paper-mate, Write Bros., blue). No kids around (amazing!). Otis was not barking (perfection). I gave myself 10 minutes. What follows is my spontaneous “10 x 10”:
1) Choosing a relationship with Jesus Christ is the most important decision you will ever make in your life, bar none. No exceptions.
2) God has a perfect plan for your life. This doesn’t mean you will be perfect, but you can always rely on His perfection.
3) You are who God believes you are, not what media, peers, or Hollywood tries to tell you. God made you exactly as He wants you – for His purpose & His glory.
4) Rejoice then! Because you are His Masterpiece!
5) Sexual virtue is an immeasurable blessing to a future marriage. It provides a foundation of trust, respect & dignity like no other intangible can.
6) Release self-imposed guilt; allow shame to dissolve in His mercy. God can redeem anything, & is fully able to make all things new.
7) You can be a tough, strong woman without being harsh and shrill.
8) American Feminism lied. Though some of it brought progress for women, the “sexual revolution” has resulted in devaluation & degradation of femininity such that womanhood is hardly viewed as uniquely special, & has lost esteem in our society.
9) Womanhood is uniquely special & worthy of high esteem. Our marriages, children & entire culture suffer when we deny this fact.
10) God has created you with perfect giftedness. Be flexible & malleable to the embrace of the Holy Spirit, & God will surprise you with the ways your gifts are used, for His glory, across the measure of your life.
Good-bye, dear girl. God speed.
The times upon us are chaotic & frightening. Changes are advancing that threaten us with calamity. We feel impotent. We feel angry, strapped, crippled, helpless. We can’t seem to gain a grasp on the truth…
It’s time to take inventory, friends, because Truth is constant. Above, you have the Truth of my life. I believe it, & I stand firm in it. No “change” will shake me from it, so help me Lord Jesus. In the end, if that's all I have left, it’ll be enough. I will stand, waiting to be surprised by God’s use of my gifts, until the full measure of my life meets its end.
Thank you, dear Linda, for my 10 minutes. It was indeed a privilege.
There's so much going on in our country, with our media, with our people (who are trying to be heard & are being fiendishly maligned/laughed at for simply speaking) that I can't seem to wrap words around it today. The only thing I can think to say is
NO.
STOP.
DON'T DESTROY MY COUNTRY.
NO!
(Unfortunately, that's not a profoundly articulate thing to say.)
I would very much like to hear what you all have to say, & I found a terrific piece @ Bungalow Bill's site. Friends, would you please visit Bills' post, watch the video (as much as you can take of it) & join me in mulling this over? You may comment here or @ Bungalow Bill's site, or both.
I fear that which stands before us has the face of calamity, perhaps of Biblical proportion. From my perspective, she ain't pretty...
Today I was reminded that all parents, at one time or another, struggle w/ a common theme: Is what I'm doing for my children making an impact? Is what I do for them going to benefit them in the long run? Have I made the right choices for them, for our family? Never are these struggles any more piercing than when our child (or we ourselves) are in some kind of crisis. We question ourselves & second guess every move made (or at least I do).
But even in the day to day, these parent-struggles can plague our lives, sucking the joy out of our ordinary. Because after all, life is lived & true joy is found in the ordinary. Our lives are not meant to be Disney all the time. We human beings are not built for that. We can't take it - would that we could ask Michael Jackson; he'd likely agree. God rest his poor, tortured soul.
No, life is to be savored in the plain-old. That's the biggest thing I've had to learn (& the thing our society values least) from being a stay @ home mom. I've also learned that maybe it's wise to rest knowing that if we've made clear conscience decisions with all the wisdom we can muster, & given the rest to God, all will be well, eventually.
Several years ago I chose to give up my career to be that SAHM. Mind you, I'm a Master's Level educated, fully licensed professional (my ego still requires I tell you that), so this was not an easy decision: am I doing the right thing for my children? for myself? What about my education? What about our family's best interests? I've second-guessed it several times, especially when the challenges of rearing 3 very active, bright, busy children, & 'building' our home were a bit too much to carry. When we were still such a young family, shortly after the big decision, I was privileged to catch a glimpse of the Big Picture. I'll share it with you:
7-30-03 "Big boy is @ my parents. Husband, little boy & baby are all asleep upstairs. The house is quiet. It's early, but not that early. That's just it. It's not all that early, & yet I can come down in my PJ's, leave my babies sleeping comfortably in their beds. No rush to get out the door; no urgency to meet a schedule which is unnatural to our family's rhythm. Just a quiet, restful family rhythm. I love days like this.
It has been raining, which is why they're sleeping a little later than usual. ...And so it begins - Husband asks for slacks to be ironed. He has a schedule - and I help him, of course. But no such schedule imposed on my little sleepy heads. They'll have a lifetime of schedules that the world will impose, and they can choose which ones they'll abide. But not now, not as babies, not when the world is so new, not when it's my job to let them just be who they are, & grow into who they're supposed to be.
There will be times when I'll spend money more freely, move about more freely doing my own thing. But that's not these days. These days are for them; and me. These days are to be sure they're solid, secure, healthy & balanced. These days are for babies snuggled in their beds, still sleeping at 7:30 on a rainy weekday morning. I love days like this."
...because, there is a Big Picture, friends. And what JOY is found there - in the ordinary-ness of it, the plain-oldness of it! We forget so easily that JOY, because we so seldom are out from ourselves long enough to catch those glimpses.
Many times since that piece was written, I questioned - again - my decisions. I believe that's normal. And I also believe that's where faith comes in.
Faith: the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Faith: a gift from God, not of ourselves. Not sure we have enough? Pray. Ask for more. And let's be assured that the things (& people) who hold our hopes are in the hands of the One who holds us all.
Why am I so bothered by President Obama’s non-reaction to Iran’s election turmoil?
One might say, “Leave it alone. It’s not our business.” Some have said, “Who are we to tell them how to run their own government business?” There’s a point to that, when a people are fully engaged in electing their own leaders, when their voices are expressed freely & heard easily by the world. Even our President said so, in his statement about Iran’s election, “When I see violence directed @ peaceful protesters, when I see peaceful dissent being suppressed, wherever that takes place, it is of concern to me & it is of concern to the Am. People…”
So what’s worrying the tucked-away-place in the back of my brain? Not two breaths before the above he’d said, “…I have deep concerns about the election, & I think that the world has deep concerns about the election. You’ve seen in Iran some initial reaction from the Supreme Leader that indicates he understands the Iranian people have deep concerns about the election.” How can one man use so many words, trying to act like he’s saying so much, only to say so painfully little?
Maybe my disquiet relates to how the “Supreme Leader” of this 'peaceful religion' treats the most defenseless of his own people. Maybe it’s something about my country’s President referring to a theocratic despot as “the Supreme Leader”, as if he must approach said lofty potentate with reverence, or suffer some secret consequence. Maybe it’s that despite Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s “firm line against any threats to the regime, warning Iranians to unite behind the country's Islamic system (as authorities imposed severe restrictions on independent media),” that these oppressed & desperate people began to get their voices heard.
Does cutting off internet access, cell phone connections, & information access to foreign & domestic Iranian media not qualify to our President as “peaceful dissent being suppressed”?
I don’t believe Mr. Obama is really as stupid as these statements make him seem. And this is partly why I’m bothered, because he isn’t stupid. His final statement on the matter, “It’s not productive, given the history of US/Iranian relations, to be seen as meddling – the US Pres – meddling in Iranian elections…” sent me on important errands of research. It begged my question, “Why not? Why shouldn’t the strong & powerful stand up for the voice of the oppressed?" (Shouldn’t the Community Organizer schtick come in handy here?) These questions sneaked to the back of my brain & settled themselves quietly under my consciousness…
Until this morning, when I read Andrew Klavan’s “Iran and the Tragedy of Bad Ideas”. Mr. Klavan was wrestling with some of the same thoughts I was, from the angle of “The Stoning of Soraya M” a true story of an Iranian woman falsely accused, convicted & stoned to death for adultery that she did not commit.
There is SOMETHING DESPERATELY WRONG with a society that throws its accused -- helpless, defenseless & stripped of her humanity -- into the blood-thirsty, drooling, yawning jaws of Theocratic Tyranny. There is something desperately wrong with that. The people who fall victim to it must be given voice. Who better than the American President to give them stamina?
Mr. Klavan describes the tragedy of Obama’s weakness this way: “Tragedies of bad ideas are the most common, pervasive and destructive man-made mass disasters. Yet our thinking class has become powerless to oppose them or even recognize them for what they are….too many of our intellectuals are themselves ensnared in a bad idea: the notion that no system or government is inherently better than any other... Thus there are no enduring human truths…
This bad idea has all but silenced our nation at a moment when the world most needs our voice. Thousands of people in Iran are marching in the streets, protesting a sham election, heroically risking life and limb to try to tear some little breathing space in the smothering shroud of theocracy. Yet President Barack Obama, the leader of the most powerful free nation on earth, responds with mealy-mouthed strategic dithering. ..There comes a time in the affairs of men when bad ideas can be -- and therefore must be -- powerfully opposed by good ones.
Compare, if you can bear it, President Ronald Reagan's response to the 1982 crackdown on the Polish union Solidarity by the Soviet Union: "The struggle in the world today for the hearts and minds of mankind is based on one simple question: Is man born to be free, or slave? In country after country, people have long known the answer to that question. We are free by divine right." In less than a decade, in startlingly large measure because this one idea found so mighty a voice, the Soviet Union was gone…”
Thus, the niggling of my consciousness awakenedto new & more sinister questions, ones I really do hate to admit. (Doesn’t he get that this society, this 'peaceful religion' oppresses its people, especially its women?) This man has a wife, young daughters…
I get it. I’m a woman who has the right to speak, so I’ll voice the lingering, nagging questions about my President:
Why will he not put the full power of the American President’s voice behind those who’re fighting, literally, for free & fair elections?
Why will he not, as his predecessors have done, support freedom “wherever it takes place”?
What is he doing here?
And whose side is he on, anyway?
When a people’s freedom is squelched by the iron grip of tyranny, the strong & powerful should stand up for the oppressed…
Some on the blogwaves doubt if discussions about the Letterman 'controversy' are politically honest or socially productive. I find this video entirely politically honest & unquestionably socially productive! Finally.
My friends, Mr. & Mrs. Z, do what they call a 'Sunday Faith Blog' each week. I visited them first thing this morning. (I do mean first thing; before everybody was up at my house. It was only me & Otis, w/ our Bible & this laptop.) This week's Sunday Faith blog is really beautiful, & visitors have shared scripture in the comments. Please pay them a visit. I promise; it will be a blessing.
Because of my friends, I've been inspired to do the same thing on Sundays (thanks, Z!). Recent Big Ideas have centered on God's existence & His magnificent creation. Our discussion gave me a revived appreciation for one of my IPod favorites. Take a look/listen below to Chris Tomlin's, "Indescribable."
Now, as they say, "If that don't light your fire, then yer kindlin's wet."
Janine, the “uber-cool” Leftist activist has just made me cranky. (Sorry, Bluepit, I watched the posted video again.)
Really, friends, women like HER are the reason I started this blog. Jim said in last post's comments, “I think you’re confusing J.Garf. with someone who matters.” That’s just it. We can no longer afford to believe that women like her don’t matter. She & her kinswomen have been the sole voice at the mic. on Women's Issues for decades, & our society’s children have taken a sad turn downward (see Mustang's post) as a result.
In my humble opinion, the downward slide began with women like J. Garf., trying to eradicate the necessity of Manhood from our culture. Does anyone remember Gloria Steinem’s quote, “A woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle…”? It was all downhill for kids-who-need-fathers after that, & Hollywood, et. al was only so happy to perpetuate the concentric circles of such a notion.
Wait. Do you hear the shrieking? Is it coming from the video below? or from my TV? I can hear it, “She just said that women should be needy & dependent, & should be ruled by men!!!” Oh please, Janine, Gloria, Whoopi, Joy, Barbara, Oprah -- grow up… I said no such thing & meant no such inference. (And, no Janine, I’m not suffering “Stockholm Syndrome”, oh Wise One of the psychiatric community.) LISTEN, for once, to women like me!
As I've said before ,Sarah Palin’s candidacy brought for the "first time everon the national stage – a woman who represents me. She's not an angry woman trying to be a man; not a woman who claims to champion my views, but who is so far out of step w/ me that she may as well be on Pluto.
She is a woman who loves & respects her man, loves her children, loves being a mother. She is not afraid to be smart & savvy, but won't beat you about-the-head-neck-&-face w/ it. She is unapologetically committed to her faith, & she is conservative politically... She gives me real hope that conservative women now have a voice in the Women's Conversation of our time; that the left no longer has a monopoly on "issues that women care about." She is a role model for thousands of women - who now see & know that you don't have to be abrasive & shrill in order to be tough & strong."
And the culprits above are scared out of their pumps (or combat boots), because they’re starting to sense the shift away from their monopoly:
"That's why they've been trying to kill her (Palin) voice, kill her reputation, kill her credibility - literally kill it, before (shhhhhh!) any other women get the Big Idea that the feminist agenda has challengers...The media part of it has been beastly, and yes, quite personal. Because when the media tear her apart, they're tearing apart women like me. "
And Jim, I will have it no longer. I will not allow Ms. Garf. to speak without being challenged. I believe that little-by-little, women like me are coming out of the shadows (just ask Melonie, Z, BetteJo, Cristina, Mary, Frasypoo, Conservative Women, Terri, Sandy, etc., etc.) who now have the same idea. You see, we’re starting to not feel so small anymore. We’re starting to Get Some Big Ideas.
~~~
And just one more thing. Thank you, thank you, friends for such an interesting & challenging string of comments these past several days. It has been delightful & even exciting to see the enthusiasm pouring onto the blogs. Thanks so much for stopping here to share yours!
Have you wondered what our friends the Brits have gotten themselves into by allowing Sharia Law into their legal system ? Ever wondered what the implications for women would be if it were to be allowed in the US? I was inspired into a little research by USA_Admiral .
Do the research yourself & find that Muslims in Britain have pushed for decades to get Sharia law infused into the legal system. They finally wore down ‘the establishment’. In an apathetic climate, I dare say it’s an easy slide to a rise in theocratic ‘power’. And where does it go after that?
Ladies, especially you who value the power that our society affords you, I beg you to ask yourself if political correctness & pacifism is worth this: CAUTION-disturbing video
If Mr. Obama (& even Pres. Bush) still wish to insist that Islam is a religion of peace, then where is the OUTRAGE in the 'peaceful' Muslim community? Where is the United Nations resolution demanding that terrorist groups & Islamo-fascists cease this perversion of their faith? Where are the moderate, clear-thinking clerics? The American Feminists?? Listen. Carefully. Do you hear it? I don't either. Silence...
Nobody’s willing to say it; & if they do, they’re afraid of becoming a Benazir Bhutto. With this threat seething in terrorist-phile nations & slinking through modern Western societies, we desperately need heroes – people willing to publicly challenge Islamic theocrats who stoke, plot & finance terrorism. Our own Presidents have, & still are, denying the threat.
Benazir Bhutto was a hero, a martyr (if you will) for civilized society. Here’s another one. She gets precious little news coverage (or none @ all), but her voice is strong & unequivocal ~~ Zohreh Arshadi: Ms Arshadi was a practicing lawyer in Iran prior to her forced exile to Europe. She is currently an advocate in France and is active in human rights and especially of the rights of women. She has been especially active in defense of the rights of women in Iran.
In the excerpts from her article “Islamic Republic of Iran and Penal Codes”, she articulates Islamic Penal codes (i.e., Sharia Law). The Islamic Revolution of the 1970’s caused the “Restructuring [of] society on the basis of violence and sexual apartheid…What the clerics ruling Iran call an Islamic society and government denotes an underlying model that in two decades has brought about huge upheavals in the political, cultural, legal and ideological structures of Iranian society. This model can best be described by its two principal features: An administration based on naked repression and violence, and a society based on inequalities of gender, religion, politics and reinforced by a steadily widening class divide.
The theoretical foundation of the Islamic Penal Codes is a social model based on sexual apartheid….a belief that women are deficient in their natural and “innate” potentials and abilities, including their psychological-makeup and intellectual capacity. Second, a belief in a social and family order where men must be guardians over women, and women must submit. Third, a belief in an unequal system of rights…The Islamic Penal Codes are based on violence in its most primitive forms. These not only authorise organised state violence, but encourage male violence against women within the family and in society.”
Ms. Arshadi itemizes the legal Codes (Books, Chapters, Articles) which “give legal shelter to sexual apartheid”:We have…had women removed from the courts as legal specialists. Their absence in legal procedures and criminal courts means that misogynist and biased views of the law are put into practice with greater severity and force, and occasionally even added to, by male attorneys and judges most of whom are also priests. The Islamic punishments have encouraged a culture of violence against women, especially within the family and has spilled into violence against children…The fact that men receive a lighter punishment if they commit a violence against women undoubtedly encourages such violence. We saw how women could be killed with impunity...Stoning to death for adultery, although technically admissible for both sexes, has also been carried out mainly against women. Newspapers are full of accounts of wives, sisters, daughters, and children murdered...The family has become an institution of violence.
These are laws which in their entirety are more in keeping with a society still in the age of barbarism. At a time when most countries are banning the death penalty to have punishments such as cutting of hands, and feet, stoning to death, cutting off of tongues and gouging out eyes on the statutes is totally unacceptable.”
We need more heroes. This woman, living in exile from her own country, knowing the danger she brings upon herself, is willing to speak. We need more of her.
I started this blog because of Sarah Palin. Not because she's a smart, lovely woman who had a meteoric rise in politics. Rather, that she gave me hope that the voices of millions of conservative women (including mine) would finally be heard on women's issues. She gave me hope that conservative women could now join in the Women's Conversation of our time, & that the Left would no longer monopolize "issues that women care about." Get the Big Idea sprang forth - for better or worse - & then big ideas began to build. At the risk of sounding quirky (again...) I believe that God continued to whisper through "Read My Lipstick", "The Big Ben Silent Minute"& other small incidents.
Then, remember a few weeks back, when I found myself at a loss for words? I have continued find myself at a loss for words in recent weeks, not really knowing where this is going...where the proverbial ball of this-season-in-my-life is rolling. I know God has a perfect plan, but I'm a little fuzzy on the particulars lately, & that gets a little uncomfortable from time to time. (Can anyone relate?)
Here's the thing about trusting God, the notion that He has designed each of us for this generation, for this very time in history, for His purpose: I get it with my head (& occasionally I really get it), but when the details get blurred by life, trusting can take on a certain gritting of the soul. It's in these times that I find myself surprised by the tenderness of God's voice (like in the Dec. piece). Sometimes I find myself waiting, only to learn that "being still & knowing, staying & resting" is the point. And even if I don't see clearly, God is there; always moving & working toward His purpose for my life. And - if I pay attention & listen - I just may catch a vapor of His Spirit passing over me.
One such vapor passed me two days ago. I've had a desire to be in a study, & I've certainly been seeking God's purpose. On the "upcoming studies" table @ church, the Esther: It's Tough Being a Woman study nearly leaped off the table into my arms. I know Esther's story: a woman who had a destiny; & even when she seemed powerless, God used her toward a profound purpose.
I signed up immediately. If anyone can teach about purpose, it's Esther! This was God's gift to me, & I know the Word will speak about living "for such a time as this." Here's the promo video:
God is continuing to work, friends, in the seen & unseen. I know it. We all are here "for such a time as this." We all have a voice & God intends to use it!
In Primary Perspectives , one of the stated objectives of this blog was to speak my thoughts & to allow other women’s voices to be heard, in hopes that we might discover some big ideas in the process. So far, we’ve heard from one older friend, one group of seeming strangers , & now from one of the “Sarah Palins” in my life. Sandy has been following this blog, & has a few big ideas of her own. She & I have had political discussions for years, & come at the issues from different perspectives (she’s the wicked-smart CPA & I’m the counselor/writer). Her voice adds texture here, & I know that she has taken exquisite care to examine the issues she presents. I’m glad she’s joining our conversation. Here's what she has to say:
Last night I was invited by an acquaintance from church to a "Cookout for Change". I told a close friend about it & she wondered why I would be invited to such an event, when I feel as I do about Barack Obama. I thought about it, & I guess it's because this person I see at church & at the pool & at the Harris Teeter doesn't know how I feel about Barack Obama. She's just trying the spread the word about what she believes. I applaud that. She has inspired me to do the same!
I am sending this e-mail to you not because I necessarily know that you are Republican or Conservative, but because I know you are thoughtful intelligent citizens. You may not agree with my opinions, but I hope you will at least give respectful attention to the three issues most important to me. I think every American should think long & hard about at least these three things before they vote in a couple of weeks.
1. Spreading the wealth. We are in tough times. But we've had it really good for a long, long time. Economic prosperity always has, & always will, wax & wane. We can't just hand our country over to the socialists at the first bump in the road. In the second debate, Obama said that McCain’s plan takes tax money “out of the system”. (That statement tells you what system Obama believes in – not the American free enterprise system.)
Granted, no matter whom we elect, the next few years may be leaner for all of us than to what we are accustomed. Obama wants to immediately repeal the Bush tax cuts & raise taxes on families earning over $250,000 per year. That figure sounds like a lot, but that threshold is way too low for a national definition of "rich". People in major metropolitan areas know this all too well.
Why should you care about this if you make less than $250,000 per year? First of all, don't automatically assume that you aren't affected. Take a look at your old tax returns & see if the Bush tax cuts helped you or not. I bet they did, & you're about to lose that benefit. Secondly, isn't there a point that tax rates are so high it just becomes confiscation? Obama's plan will set the highest marginal federal tax rate at 39.6%! And that is just federal income tax - it doesn't include the 15% FICA/FUTA taxes, state income taxes (which here in NC are around 10%), capital gains taxes which can be as high as 28%, property taxes, gas taxes, sales taxes... What's going to be left to put into the economy after all these taxes?!?
Even if you aren't rich, & it doesn't hurt you personally for the rich to be punitively taxed, it just isn't right. It kills the American dream. Why work hard to achieve success if the government is going to steal your hard earned money & redistribute to others? 38% of the American public pays no income tax at all (yet under Obama's plan, that 38% will be getting a 'tax cut' - huh?). What both parties need to do is move those people into the realms of productivity. Our society is in big trouble when there are more takers than givers, & we are getting perilously close.
Sure, the Republican Party hasn't done anything to help these people & that's a mistake. But the big issue is that the Democratic party has a vested interest in keeping these people ‘down’, b/c they all vote Democratic.
Rick Martinez of the Raleigh News & Observer has a great article about just this. He cites a study done by William Galston (former adviser to President Clinton & scholar at the liberal-leaning Brookings Institution). His findings state three simple things that individuals must do to break the cycle of poverty. What are the three things? In Mr. Martinez’ words, “Basically, all that's required is to finish high school, wait until at least age 20 to get married & not have a child out of wedlock. Now how hard is that?”
The Democratic Party courts the votes of the disadvantaged by saying they are the only party that cares, & by throwing entitlement money at these poor people. But they have done nothing in the past 40 years to address the root of the problem (a la Martinez). If the Democrats care so much, why don't they? I fear the truth in Alexis de Tocqueville’s observation in the mid-19th century that, “The American Republic will endure until the day Congress discovers that it can bribe the public with the public’s money”.
2. Legislation from the bench. Watch this clip of the final debate (listen carefully to the closing words), if you want to hear it directly from Obama's mouth. The American system of governance was carefully crafted by our founding fathers to protect the citizenry from the tyrannies of corrupt government. They fought & won a bloody war of revolution to establish this great nation upon these brilliant principles, which have served us unbelievably well for over 230 years.
What I am talking about is the system of checks and balances provided by the three separate branches of government (legislative, executive, and judicial). Assigning legislative rights to the judicial branch of government is dangerous & unconstitutional. Think what this means to us - in some instances one UNELECTED person (a federal judge) can use his/her judgment to change the laws of our nation. This is already happening at an alarming rate. We should not allow someone who views the judiciary this way (Barack Obama) to nominate our Supreme Court justices. These people are appointed for LIFE, & the effects of who sits on the court will be imposed upon us all for the next 50 years. This is not about abortion. This is about the sacredness of the Constitution of the United States of America.
3. National Security. Every time I go to a public event I am thankful that despite all his faults & mistakes, George Bush has kept me safe. All over the world, terrorists have been plotting how to kill us & still we've been safe since 9/11. I trust John McCain with the security of the United States. He has fought for our freedom, loves this country, & is dedicated to its continued achievement above all else, including his own personal success. Obama has no experience in foreign affairs & is stunningly ignorant. Prime example, his statement regarding the Russian invasion of Georgia - "We should continue to push for a United Nations Security Council Resolution calling for an immediate end to the violence." Even I knew that Russia is a permanent member, with veto rights, of the UN Security Council. Ridiculous.
Sure we're all tired of hearing about it, but B.O. has had long associations with people like Jeremiah Right & William Ayers. Shameful. At the very least it shows a stunning lack of judgment & character. (There's a reason every mother tells her children to be careful who you choose as your friends.)
And for some reason, the media has made it absolute taboo to bring up his name. They imply that anyone who would do so is a hateful bigot. I am not a bigot. But I have a problem with the man's name. He is named Barack Hussein Obama because his father was Muslim. And technically, that shouldn't matter. But we are in a war with Muslim extremists. They repeatedly state their aims of killing Americans every chance they get & destroying our free society. And so, yes, before anyone votes for this man to be the next President of the United States of America, they absolutely should at least consider the possibility that this individual might not have the best interests of the nation in his heart. I pray that's not the case, but I just can't be sure.
So if you are thinking of voting for Obama, please be sure you consider these things. Don't take my word for it. Research the issues yourself & be careful not to use partisan sources of information. Don't vote for him because it's what all the young or intellectual people are doing, or because he's more eloquent than John McCain. Search your soul then cast your vote.
And if you support John McCain, which I know most of you do, don't give up yet. The media is trying to fool us into thinking it's all over. Be sure you vote. Be positive. Remind every Conservative you know that they must vote. Offer your elderly neighbor a ride to the polls. And in these last few weeks, show that you are proud to support John McCain. Put a sign in your yard, a magnet on your car, and a pin on your lapel. And I strongly urge you to write down why YOU must vote for McCain & share it with your address book. Think big. I am sending this e-mail to contacts is NC, SC, GA, VA, WV, NY, IN, IL, AZ, CA, HI, MD, FL, TX. You can do it too. It takes a few minutes, but the very future of our nation is at stake.
"The cool and deliberate sense of the community ought, in all governments, and actually will, in all free governments, ultimately prevail over the views of its rulers." ~James Madison, The Federalist #63
