Best Wishes For the Season!

  Don't really have a whole lot to say here. I hope that everyone is enjoying their Christmas with friends and family.
  It is really not a day for politics. So I won't go there. While we are lucky enough to be celebrating with loved ones, we know that there are many who are not. We know that there are people in the northeast still recovering from a devastating hurricane. We know that there are 27 families in Connecticut whose Christmas season will never be the same. We keep those folks in our thoughts and prayers.
  We know that there are plenty of people who are volunteering  be away from their families today. Police, Firefighters, and EMT's who for today, is another workday. We thank them for the sacrifice of their holiday today to help to keep us safe, and to be there just in case we need them to be.
  Most of all, we thank the brave men and women of the United States Military. We thank them for offering to be thousands of miles from home, in many cases, in places that are hostile to American Soldiers. We thank them for the sacrifice they make everyday to keep America the beacon of freedom and liberty that she has been for 236 years.
  As a Wiccan, I am not an expert on the "reason for the season". But I will suggest that those of you who are, do remember the real reason for your faith today. I guess I can say in kind of a general way, that even if Christmas is not your holiday, we can all take some lessons from it. Celebrate all of the people you love today. Celebrate all of the blessings you have received this year. Celebrate all of the possibility that the new year brings. That makes Christmas everyone's holiday, regardless of your faith.

  That said. Merry Christmas From The Conservative Cauldron! 

Searching For Answers

This has been such a ghastly day. I have thought all day about what I would say tonight. Like everyone else, it is hard to know where to begin. Maybe the most logical place in a totally illogical scenario would be to say that my thoughts and prayers are with the victims and the families of this senseless tragedy in Newtown Connecticut. I am not a parent, but I can only imagine the horror and unspeakable pain of sending your kindergarten age child to school, and then they never come home.
  By all accounts, Newtown is a place where people intentionally move to to raise their kids. It is quiet, it has good schools, and practically no crime. Just a sleepy New England town. Until today.
I thought about the first responders to this nightmare. Police, Paramedics, people who are themselves parents. I thought of the people who are tonight, still at the crime scene processing it, and doing what needs to be done to ensure a proper and thorough investigation. Those people, even the most hardened among them, will never be the same. They are doing an unimaginable job.
  I thought about the world in which we now live. I have often seen previews of the "Doomsday Preppers" reality show. People who prepare for what they believe is an impending end to the world. I have to admit, making fun of them is sometimes very easy to do. But I don't know. Something is very wrong. The very religious would tell you it is because we no longer believe in or fear God, or Goddess. Some would tell you that it is a society where, the bad guys can get a gun far easier than the good guys. Still others may say that the problem is our culture, which is slowly sliding into a bottomless pit of parentless children, violent video games, and an endless parade of reality TV shows that depict people with little or no moral compass.
  The one question that kept going through my mind today was, are people so starved for their 15 minutes of fame, or infamy, it doesn't seem like it matters which one they achieve, that they will literally do anything for it? Even murder 5 year olds?
  We have all sat down somewhere today and tried to come up with an answer to this, and when none will come to us it just frustrates us and makes us mad. Five year olds, at this time of year should be preoccupied with Santa Claus, not being buried.
  For those of you who are parents, hug your children tonight and tell them you love them. For those of you who are not parents, hug your friends and family and tell them you love them. It all goes to the same place.
   May The Goddess wrap the victims and their families in her loving arms and and comfort them at this horrible time.       

The Art of Compromise

  I heard a local sportscaster the other night talking about the NHL lockout. As the newscast was coming to a close, one of the anchors remarked, "sounds like what's going on on Capitol Hill." The more I thought about it, it kind of does. Silliness comes in all forms, and these two bodies are no exception. Granted, one of these situations is way more serious than the other, but each one contains elements of the ridiculous.
  Both of these situations are, bottom line, about money. And, they are both starting to make the eyes of interested parties on both subjects start to glaze over. The NHL owners will tell you that they only have the players and the fans best interests at heart. The President and Speaker Boehner will tell you that they only want what is best for the American people.
  Bull cookies. The President is trying to screw the Republicans, and Boehner is trying to screw the Democrats. The NHL owners want the most out of the players for the least amount of money. The players want a little more of the revenue pie.
  Neither side trusts the other to play fair. Some Republicans would take a tumble over the fiscal cliff so that Democrats can own the whole mess. The President and Democrats know that if December 31 comes and goes with no agreement, they, and the Public Relations arm of the Democratic Party, also known as the mainstream media, can scream from the rooftops that it is all the fault of the Republicans. They just want to protect their rich friends.
  If you go on any number of sports websites, the threat of a boycott by hockey fans, namely season ticket holders is being talked about. It seems as though fans don't trust players or owners to solve the impasse.
  The NHL estimates that it is losing 18-20 million dollars a day, and the federal government is borrowing 46 cents for every dollar it spends. Neither of these factoids seems like sound fiscal policy. Of course, the first priority must be that Washington D.C. comes to some kind of compromise, without "compromise" meaning that Republicans cave into every Democrat demand.
  If NHL owners and players come to an agreement soon after a possible Congressional agreement, could that mean that Congress lead by some sort of example?
  Silliness comes in many forms.    

There's Something About Bob

 Well, we all knew it was coming... Yeah Bob, we knew it was coming, just not from you, and just not in the middle of a football game for the love of Pete. By now, the whole world has heard NBC sportscaster Bob Costas go on his now infamous anti-gun rant. Not being a football fan, I was not watching, but I can only imagine, sitting on my couch, chilled out for the evening, drink in hand, maybe a snack or two, and all of a sudden...what? Where the hell did that come from?!
  I don't know much about Bob Costas. Always liked him well enough. I think he has an awesome baseball mind, a walking encyclopedia of baseball knowledge. But now we all know something else about Bob, or at least we can pretty well surmise, that Bob is a liberal.
 In the grand scheme of things, that's OK. Bob is an American citizen, and he is free to be as big of a raging liberal as he wants. But Bob has one giant advantage over the rest of America. He can go on TV at halftime, and tell the world what he thinks, about anything, and if you want to watch football, you either get up to get the new bag of chips, or you suffer through whatever Bob has on his mind.
  What happened in Kansas City is horrible, tragic, sad, all of the above. Linebacker Jovan Belcher shot his girl friend, and the mother of his 3 month old daughter, Kassandra Perkins, then drove to the Kansas City Chiefs practice facility, and then shot himself in front of two of his coaches. It has been widely reported that Belcher was having trouble with alcohol and pain killers, and was dealing with several football related injuries. Costas quoted from a column written by Jason Whitlock, who argued that if he had not had access to a firearm, both Belcher and Perkins would be alive today.
  It is such a flimsy argument, a breath of air can easily deflate it. Thousands of people die in automobile accidents every year, should we ban cars? We have heard this rebuttal all day. But the questions must be raised, now that Bob has brought this front and center. First of all, Jovan Belcher was a linebacker for the NFL. He weighed 250 pounds. If he wanted to kill Kassandra Perkins with his bare hands, he was probably more than capable of doing so. Secondly, why do the American cities with the most stringent gun laws have the highest crime rates? Has Bob been to Chicago or Washington DC lately? Why, in all of the places where conceal and carry is permitted, has the crime rate gone down? All of these statistics can be easily looked up and proven right. Why do the loudest voices against guns and gun ownership come from people who have no knowledge of either one?

  The list of questions goes on and on, but the most important point here is that the right to keep and bear arms is a God given Constitutional right. But there are plenty of people who would like for this right to be eliminated. With any luck though, as long as the number of law-abiding, gun owning Americans outnumber the criminals who, I hate to break it to Bob and Jason, and all their friends, don't really give a rat's rear end about gun laws, or any laws for that matter, that right will be maintained and protected. Just a quick aside, Jason Whitlock recently compared the NRA to the KKK. As a card carrying member of the National Rifle Association myself, I find that highly offensive. In the NRA's monthly publication, there is column called "The Armed Citizen". It relates stories of regular Americans from all over, of how they defended themselves, and their homes and businesses against armed intruders, sometimes killing them, but quite possibly saving their own lives, and the lives of their families.
  All of our hearts go out to Jovan Belcher's and Kassandra Perkin's families. A little girl just three months old will never know her parents. Bob Costas is absolutely entitled to his opinion. What he is not entitled to is lecturing the rest of us about gun control.
  Save it for the Sports desk Bob.                     

Being Thankful

  On Thursday, we will all stuff our little faces with turkey, mashed potatoes, and pumpkin pie, to name just a few items on the gluttony list. We will have houses full of people, chasing kids and watching football. Maybe before the chaos ensues, it would be a good time to think about the things we are most thankful for.

  First and most importantly, I am thankful for my awesome family. My wonderful husband Randy. He is my best friend, and biggest supporter. Randy is an aspiring writer, and I am so proud of him. My Mom, who has learned to at least cope, on most days, with being a widow. It has been three years since we lost my Dad, and it doesn't seem to get any easier. But she has learned to do things, and be on her own in ways I am sure she never thought she would. Must be the Irish in her. My brother Marc. He is a part-time musician who would love to be a full-time musician. But alas, there are bills to be paid. So he, like so many other frustrated rock stars, must keep his day job. He has gone back to school, and even made the honor roll. I am also very proud of him.
  I am thankful for all of the good friends we have. Kathy and Jon, we always have fun when we get together. Martin and Gina, you guys have become such wonderful friends to us. Don't know what we would do without you. All of the good friends I have made in the St. Louis Conservative movement that are too many to mention here. We will continue the fight every day, and in every way!
  I am thankful for being employed. It might not be my dream job, but when so many people are unemployed, I can only count myself and my husband as fortunate. I am thankful for the roof over my head. After seeing so much devastation in the northeast after hurricane Sandy, it is the things you take for granted, that you end up appreciating the most.
  Perhaps the most overlooked on a day to give thanks, I am so grateful to be an American, and live in the greatest country on Earth. Things may look a little shaky right now, and the next four years even worse. But we are Americans, and we will do what we must do to keep America safe, and keep her the shining city on a hill that she was meant to be.
  It may be a little early to talk about the new year, but I know that good things are going to happen. Optimism is in the American DNA. It is what we do. It is who we are.
  Happy Thanksgiving.
 

What Would Breitbart Do?

  Now that the election is over, and we can all come back to some sort of reality, we can also discuss some other important issues.
  There is a lot of back and forth about what Conservatives must do in order to, well, win elections. Do we broaden our appeal? Do we water down the message? Do we change the message entirely? I believe I have one more issue that is an in-house one that also must be addressed. It is the 800lb gorilla in the room.
  I cannot take credit for this phrase, but I think it accurately describes this condition. It's called "Conservative elitism".
   Allow me to explain. Since the beginning of the Fox News Channel, Conservatives have seen their media become bigger and better. At first, all we had to cling to was Rush Limbaugh. He all but single handedly invented Conservative talk radio. Many more of us have followed. We not only have radio, but the internet, the blogosphere, and on the rise is internet radio. Sure, Liberals have the Daily Kos, Huffington Post, and a few successful talk radio shows. But for the most part, Conservatives own new media. I heard someone say that the goal of new media should not just be to be better than the mainstream media, it should be to replace it.
  I agree, and it seems as though we are on our way. Many of us are lucky, we have become rock stars. People clammer for photos, handshakes and autographs at conventions and book signings. And we are not done yet. Many more are coming behind the ones who are at the top. It is in this climb to the top where the problem seems to come in.
  There is a clique-iness developing. A "you are not good enough to be in my group" mentality, a sense of being unwilling to give a leg up to the author, blogger, or internet radio host on the rung below you.

  I was fortunate enough to meet Andrew Breitbart only once briefly. But I don't think you had to be Andrew's best friend to know what his vision was. It was very clear. he wanted to create an army of "citizen journalists". People from all walks of life, with no formal journalistic training, but knew when they saw or heard something that just wasn't right, were not afraid to record it, take a picture of it, or videotape it, and make sure it got out to as many people as possible, by any means possible. I think he would have wanted all of his citizen journalist army to be a solid wall. Unified. Working together. Not caring about groups or titles, or levels of success. I like to think that Andrew would have been very anti-clique, and would not have hesitated to call out his own for participating in Conservative elitism.
  So maybe before we tackle any of our bigger problems, we need to take a look at ourselves. Take a look within. Maybe we need to ask ourselves, how are we helping someone who would like to jump into the political arena of ideas? Do they need help with a blog? A website? Do they need a good interview for their online radio show? Aren't we all on the same team? Is our own success so important that we must leave someone else behind in order to achieve it?
  C'mon Conservatives. What would Andrew do?     

We Are The Resistance

Well, here we are. The same spot we were in this time back in 2008. Let's face it. Losing sucks. It has been kind of a rotten day for Conservatives. Last night, we watched Barack Obama win re-election, and most of us no doubt stared at the television watching the results and scratching our heads. How could this possibly happen? How could a President with the record from hell that he has possibly get re-elected? We watched as thousands of people cheered at the prospect of four more years of record  unemployment, shaky futures at best for small business, and a never ending stream of entitlements and goodies for those that feel they are entitled and goody deserving.
  What happened? What did we do wrong? What did we do right that maybe we should have done more of? Of course there has been a whole lot of Monday-morning quarterbacking and finger pointing going on. I would like to offer my own suggestions.
  Absolutely number 1, the hierarchy of both the Missouri State and National GOP needs to endure a very thorough housecleaning. Top to bottom. They seem to be checking off their own winners and losers, and bestowing money on those they deem "worthy." There is just one problem. They are not asking the people who they deem worthy. And if you screw up, don't plan on them letting you forget that any time soon. Todd Akin is an expert on this. On a very basic level, there is nothing wrong with old white guys, however, the Party is filled with old white guys. Their ideas are old and stale and are obviously not getting us anywhere. We need to recruit young people from all walks of life not only to investigate Conservatism for themselves, to find out what it really means to be a Conservative without any spin on it, but they must also be recruited to higher office within the State and National Republican Party, and also to run as Conservatives at the State and National level.
  Second, would it be too much to ask that the leaders of the Republican Party, to put it politely, acquire a bit of testicular fortitude? When Liberals and the Media ramble on about Conservatives being nothing but racist, sexist, bigoted homophobes, smack them back! Why on Earth do we not attempt to correct this Liberal moon bat jackassery at every turn?! Why do we give them a pass when they attempt to paint millions of Americans who want nothing but a return to basic Constitutional principles and values in this light? We have our own media now, time for them to actively pursue dominance over dinosaur media right now.
  Finally, we have to be the ones to hold Conservative Lawmakers accountable. We have to be the ones to find stories, uncover scandal, publish the underground newspapers, blogs, websites, host internet radio shows, do what ever we must to counter the fundamental transformation of America that fewer and fewer seem to know or care is taking place. Most of us were not in a good mood today, but today is over, and the fight begins anew tomorrow. Our nation is too precious a place to let go down without fighting for it until our last breath is gone.
  We....are the resistance.
            

Go Time

  Americans have elected a President in trying times before. During World Wars, during the Cold War, during times of dire economic uncertainty. It is during these times that these elections were called "the most important in our life time." This time around however, nothing could be more true.
  Tomorrow, Americans will go to the polls not just to decide the next occupant of the White House, or to decide between Republicans and Democrats, we will  be deciding on the very idea of America.
  At the risk of being overly dramatic, so much rides on this election. So much is at stake. Do we want to be a place a hopes and dreams? Where people come from all over the world because they want to escape the boot of tyrannical government on their necks, and enjoy the freedom to succeed, or to fail, depending on their own will, their own strength, their own hard work and determination? Do we want to be a place where government creeps into every corner of our lives, or where we have the freedom to live our lives, and raise our children the way we see fit?
  America simply will not survive a second Obama term. We cannot survive another four years of a President who does not believe that this nation is an exceptional place, that does not need to be apologized for. We cannot survive four more years of 23 million people unemployed, 47 million people on food stamps, and a government that seems to be willing to stop at nothing to keep small businesses from succeeding. America cannot survive another four years of it's Military not having the training, the equipment, the readiness, and the respect that makes it unmatched. They deserve a Commander In Chief who does not look at that title as simply a necessary evil, one that just happens to come with the job.
  Will America remain what the Lady in the harbor represents? The land of freedom and liberty? Or will we allow those freedoms to be chipped away at one by one? Will those of opposing viewpoints become increasingly targeted the more they continue to speak out? And we will continue to speak out.
  How much longer before we no longer recognize our country? How much longer before we are unable to save it?
  It's go time people. Make it count.     

The Truth of Benghazi

  You would think that in the aftermath of a third-rate burglary like Watergate, Politicians, and those who aspire to be, would have taken notice of the example that was made of Richard Nixon, and remember that the cover-up is always worse than the crime.
  Fast forward to September 11, 2012. When the American Consulate in Benghazi, Libya was attacked and four Americans killed, including our Ambassador, the Obama administration was quick to explain that this "spontaneous" attack was the response to an anti-Muslim internet video. Well, facts have an ugly was way of showing themselves. We are finding out that officials in the State Department, the Pentagon, CIA, and various assorted other national security advisers, were watching real time video feed of the massacre, from drones hovering above the compound. We know that all of these individuals knew within hours that an Al-Quaeda related group had taken responsibility. They knew that several U.S Military re-enforcement options, including a Delta Force Team was available as close by as Kuwait. Air Craft Carriers in the Mediterranean Sea could have been on the scene within hours. They knew that, just maybe, September 11 might be a good day to plan ahead for a possible anniversary attack anywhere in the world, especially the Middle East.

  We know all of these things, but there are many questions that need to be asked. Why, first and foremost, did the President and everyone around him push the bogus video story when it was known what had actually taken place? Why is Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sacrificing any political future she may have for Barack Obama? The history between the Obama camp and the Clintons is well documented. Who thinks that her sense of loyalty to the Obama administration runs that deep? Most important of all, who gave the command for the Military to stand down and not go in to rescue Americans who were under attack? There were three requests for Military back-up that were denied. Why?
  One of the most disturbing questions of all might be, is this all a case of astonishingly gross incompetence and criminal negligence on the part of a number of people, or a cover-up for political expediency 2 months out from an election? Of course the media is doing it's part by covering the story as little as possible. But the American people need to know if the President of the United States went to bed the evening of September 11 knowing that four brave Americans were dead and no one lifted a finger to prevent it.
  Richard Nixon once said that "...people have got to know whether or not their President is a crook...". They also need to know whether or not their President is a liar.      

The Power of Three

The third Presidential debate was held last night at Lynn University in Boca Raton Florida. The topic of the evening was foreign policy. Conventional wisdom among Conservatives was that Governor Mitt Romney would have an advantage over President Obama given the ongoing mess and cover-up over the terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya on September 11.
  Almost right from the top, Romney brought up Libya. But he did not launch a very aggressive attack on the President over the incident. At least not as aggressive as most Conservatives would have liked. But his most memorable lines of the evening would come later on.

  To many, the President came off as a man who knows he is in trouble. While Romney came off as calm and collected, even when Obama seemed to try to pick a fight with him. Obama seemed to ramble at times and almost go off on a completely different topic than the one being discussed. But what stood out to almost everyone who watched the debate was some of the sarcastic responses given by Obama. He was arrogant, snarky, and condescending. What he was not was Presidential.
  In contrast, Mitt Romney laid out his case for why he should be the Commander In Chief. He stated that his main objective in the Middle East was to "take out the bad guys." He spoke of America taking a leading role not just in that region of the world, but worldwide. He also tied the strength of the American economy to a strong America abroad.
  Mitt Romney also spoke of the President's "apology tour." When early in his Presidency, Obama went to various countries around the world and spoke of America's "arrogance", how "we haven't always lived up to our ideals", and sometimes tried to "dictate our ideas to other countries." Romney's response was one of the best of the night when he said, "America does not dictate to other nations, America has freed other nations from dictators."
  One of the most memorable moments came when the subject of defense spending came up. Romney talked about the fact that the Navy has fewer ships today than it did in 1916. Obama shot back with, " Well Governor, we also have fewer horses and bayonets. The Military has changed." Well, not all that much. Any Marine serving today will tell you that when his ammunition runs out, his bayonet is his best friend. Also, American troops serving in Afghanistan got through rough mountain terrain, on horseback. Maybe Corp-s-man Obama needs to do a little homework on the Military he now has the luxury and honor of calling himself Commander In Chief of.
  At the time of this writing, new details of the Benghazi attack are coming to light. How e-mails flew from the American Consulate to the State Department begging for more security, and a drone flew above the compound, so that we now know that State Department Officials watched the horror unfolding in Libya as it happened, knew immediately that the attack was not a spontaneous one as previously reported and did nothing to help those inside the building.
 Mitt Romney's poll numbers grow every day, and it will be up to the American people to decide if he is the man to restore America's strength and influence abroad.

The Trouble With Joe

On the eve of the second Presidential Debate, and for my fellow St. Louisans who may want to take a break from a 5-1 Giants lead in the NLCS, let's take a quick look back at some of the "best" moments from the Vice-Presidential Debate last Wednesday.
  Let's see, Joe Biden laughed a lot. A lot. He laughed at 23 million Americans who are unemployed. He laughed at the possibility of a nuclear armed Iran. He thought a 16 trillion deficit was hilarious. It was a good night for Joe. He had plenty of help from Moderator Martha Radditz. Oh yeah. Joe was yukkin' it up.
  Joe was so busy giggling that he and the Democratic Party have not noticed that the American people are not laughing. Paul Ryan wasn't laughing either. Paul Ryan did not have time to laugh. He was too busy debating 2 people at once. He did what we all would like to think we would do in such a lop-sided situation. He was calm, cool, collected, and armed with the facts. Maybe Joe thought if he chuckled loud enough, he could drowned out the facts. Martha certainly tried to assist in the fact suffocation. Every time Paul Ryan was about to make a point, Martha decided it was time to move on to the next topic. How convenient. Smilin' Joe may have spent lots of time smilin', but it was Paul Ryan who definitely got the zinger of the night when he looked at Joe and said, "The Vice-President knows that words don't always come out of your mouth the right way."
  Ryan kept hammering home the key points that he and Mitt Romney have campaigned on. The 5-point plan for America that includes energy independence, free markets, and help and support for small business. He explained the Romney/Ryan plan to get the economy up and running again, and getting Americans back to work. He put Senior Citizens concerns about Medicare at ease. he told them not to worry about the benefits that they had earned. That they would be there as long as they needed them. He explained that Social Security had to change for younger generations if they had any hope of seeing all that they paid into the system ever again.
  Still Joe laughed. But Joe did something else. he became a walking definition of everything the modern day Democratic Party has become. Rude, crass, disrespectful, degrading, demeaning, nasty. The list of adjectives goes on and on. Yeah Joe. That's a real side-splitter.
  So what can we expect tomorrow night at the town-hall style Presidential Debate? We can surely expect a much more aggressive Barack Obama. Will he get plenty of help from CNN's Candy Crowley? How will the make-up of the audience who will be posing questions to the Candidates effect the outcome? That remains to be seen. Surely Mitt Romney will be prepared for a leaner meaner Obama, and it will be Republicans who get the last laugh.


Be sure to check out my Examiner.com page in the coming days and weeks. We will have a full recap of the second Presidential Debate.
 Find out what former Presidential Candidate Herman Cain is doing these days.
Also, just exactly what is the Fair Tax? We will get at the nuts and bolts of it all.
It's all coming soon at http://www.examiner.com/conservative-in-st-louis/rebecca-noble 

           

America 101 For Muslims

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

  I really do not relish the idea of singling out one group of people and making an example of them, but it seems that this group in particular, along with American Liberals, just cannot seem to grasp the idea of what the First Amendment means. Perhaps it is time for a lesson in Basic America 101.
  There was a rally held in Deerborn, Michigan on September 28. Deerborn is the home to the largest Muslim community in the nation. The rally was held in support of the proposal of an international law banning "anti-Mohammad" speech. A law that would supersede the American first amendment.
  I am wondering if Muslims living in America, especially those who have been here a long time, have learned anything at all about the American mentality of free speech? Do they not realize the countless generations of Americans that have fought and died for that right? Do they not understand that the first amendment is first for a reason? Because it is the most important. All other rights hinge upon it. Do they have any idea of the not-so-sleeping giant that would be awakened should this right be in any way threatened?
  Except for a few fringe crazies, no Americans advocate intentional maligning of any one's faith. But if Americans have something to say, and they say it on American soil, sorry, but no one, including our fellow citizens, has the right to not be offended. Most Americans would even encourage the rally and the protest. That is what this nation was founded upon. But if you call for the removal of some one's right of free speech, sooner or later, somebody will call for the removal of yours.
  The crown jewel of being an American is the right of free speech. Possibly a trade-off of being a Muslim and immigrating to this country to take advantage of all other rights that are afforded Americans, be they born here or naturalized.
  This is what the rest of the world needs to accept, that in America, you absolutely do not  have the right to shut us up.


Check out my latest article on the Missouri Senate race at Examiner.com

Just go to http://www.examiner.com/conservative-in-st-louis/rebecca-noble    

Why I Am A Conservative

  This past Friday was the third anniversary of the death of my father. I still miss him every day. He is the reason I am a Conservative.
  Jerrold Fain was not a complicated man. He certainly was not born a rich man. He may not have been considered financially wealthy, but he was rich in all the ways that count.
  He was the oldest of six children. In a 3 room house that included all those siblings and two parents, and no indoor plumbing. He liked to tease my Mom that he thought he was marrying into a rich family because she had an indoor toilet.
  At 19, he was drafted into the Army and spent the next two years in Germany. He told my brother and I many times how he hated every minute of it, but it made a man out of him. When he came home, like a lot of other young men newly discharged from the Military, he was broke. So he went to work. He and my mother married in 1959. Their first home, an apartment in South St. Louis. They bought their first house in 1963, and two years later, this blogger made her debut.
  My Dad went to night school for a while. He would try to study while a curious four-year-old just wanted to keep him company. He never got his degree, but he worked. I never remember him being unemployed at any time. He got promotions within the companies he worked for, many times over others who did have degrees.
  He taught my brother and I that the world did not owe us a thing. If we wanted something, we were going to have to work for it. His heroes, William F. Buckley Jr., and Ronald Reagan. He marveled at Buckley's brilliance when it came to anything regarding Conservatism, and he loved his "Blackford Oakes" spy novels. I was a teenager and just starting my working life when Ronald Reagan became President. My Dad said in his quiet way, that he was the right man at the right time. When I brought my first paycheck stub to him , and pointed to two vastly different numbers, the lower one being what I got when Uncle Sam was done with me, I got my first tax lesson. "Remember that when you vote", he would tell me. I am also reasonably sure that no one else's father , as they went off to work, told them to go "discover the joys of Capitalism." He had that dry sense of humor that those who knew him best understood completely. "Don't be a sheep!", was also a favorite nugget of advice so I would not do whatever everybody else was doing, whatever "it" might be. Translated, don't follow the crowd. He also took me to my first Tea Party. Little did I know that it would be the only one we would get to together.
  It has been a hard three years without him. I know that he would be silly proud of all that I have accomplished in those three years. I know he knows that I am just getting started. Because of him , I know there is nothing I can't do.
 It's those early lessons in Conservatism that made me who I am today.
 Thanks Dad.
        
  

Can America Survive?

  I have started to write this blog at least five or six times. But each time did not seem to do it justice. So I will write about how I feel about all that I saw last week each time I turned on the television.
  I am still not sure where to start. I know first of all, I am DAMN sick and tired of watching the flag of the nation I love burned by animals! I refuse to tap dance around it any longer. They are animals who have no respect for anything and anyone. But I am supposed to be intimidated every time they are offended?! They are offended every five minutes! I can't keep up! What I want is for the world to be intimidated when AMERICA is offended!
  I know, however, that that will not happen until at least November. I am tired of having a President who is ashamed of this nation. I am tired of him putting himself and his re-election before the safety of Americans who put their lives on the line in places that are not friendly to America. How many more American Embassies have to be taken over and how many more Ambassadors sodomized and killed? How many more American flags must be torn down and replaced with Al-Quaida flags?
  I am tired of a useless whorish media, who will prostitute themselves at every turn, and do whatever they deem necessary to not only prop up this inept, incompetent President, but also decide for me and every other American, what they think I should and should not know. They are guilty of criminal negligence.
  There are reports that the State Department had credible knowledge of possible violence and did nothing. is it more important that our enemies not be offended than keeping American citizens safe? More important than keeping them alive?
  I can only speak for myself, but I suspect that I also speak for millions of other Americans. I am outraged, offended, pissed-off. The fact that my country is being looked at as weak , and ready to cave to the first band of two-bit terrorist cowards that comes along, is simply unacceptable.

  There is no way in hell that all of this was over some stupid-ass YouTube video. No. It was calculated and planned just like 9/11. And like 9/11, it was an act of war, and we must treat it as such. It has visited our shores before, and it will do so again, if we don't remind the world, and quickly, what happens when Americans, are offended.        
  
    

9/11 What Has Changed?

  Tomorrow, we remember September 11, 2001. This year, it falls eleven years to the day exactly. Like my parent's generation, who knew exactly where they were and what they were doing when John Kennedy was shot, my generation remembers where they were and what they were doing that warm sunny morning, when the world was changed forever.

  But really, what is different? What has changed since that terrible day? One could point to the biggest thing, Osama Bin Laden has gone on to his just rewards. I am willing to bet it does not include paradise or virgins. Most of Al Quaida's top henchmen are either dead or used to life in the Caribbean in Cuba at Gitmo.
  These are fantastic accomplishments, and we have the finest people in the world, the U.S. Military to thank. They continue to keep our nation safe in the face of an enemy that will never cease to give up on conquering the United States, and ultimately, western civilization.
  Everyday life has changed in ways we might not have foreseen a decade ago. Airline passengers are subjected to invasive searches and scans. A process that many experts in the security industry believe could be done a lot better had we just made a call to the Head of Security at El Al Airlines.
  Mosques seemed to have popped up in more places since 2001. It is a tough line to balance for a lot of Americans. The very founding of our nation was the result of different people coming from different lands, with different customs, all in search of a better life in America. We try so hard to be welcoming to Muslims who move into our neighborhoods. We want to treat them the way we ourselves would want to be treated. We weigh good intentions against natural feelings of wariness. Because even though they are innocent, they look like and share the same faith as the people who murdered 3000 Americans in one morning.
  Americans have changed as individuals. Something was taken from us that day. A sort of innocence, for lack of a better word. We were not prepared for the evil that was visited upon us, and it left a permanent scar.
  Eleven years later, we hope that we are much better prepared, for whatever people who wish us harm would do to us. Americans are a unique combination of strong will, stubbornness, resilience, and just plain hard-core.
  If the rest of the world has forgotten that, we should remind them.   

A Quick Look Back

  First of all, Happy Labor Day to all those hard-working Americans out there. You know who you are. You manage to schlepp yourselves out of bed every morning and go do whatever it is you do because, well, what else would you do? So thank you to everyone who runs a business, and yes, you did most certainly build that, goes to work, and basically keeps America moving.
  As we get ready for the Democratic National Convention this week, complete with all the rhetoric, stretching of the truth, and that's putting it mildly, and just general grade school type, sophomoric antics put on by America's Liberals, let's take a look back at last week's Republican National Convention.
  When Hurricane Isaac decided to put in an appearance, Monday's schedule was postponed and put off until Tuesday. Tuesday night's keynote address came from Ann Romney. And it was worth the wait. She spoke of how she and Mitt Romney met, a classic American teen-age tale of meeting a boy who made her laugh at a high school dance. She talked about their first apartment, complete with a kitchen table made of a door atop two sawhorses. But she also said what great times those were. She went on to describe what kind of man Mitt Romney is. How he never shies away from helping those in need, of years of work done on behalf of the Mormon Church, and his love of America. "This man will not fail!" She said.
  Wednesday was just as exciting, with former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice giving a rousing speech. She talked about the leadership role the United States plays around the world. She spoke of the inherent greatness of America, and on a very poignant personal note, spoke of growing up in 1950's Birmingham Alabama under segregation and Jim Crow laws. "Even though I couldn't go to a movie theatre or eat a hamburger at the drugstore lunch counter, my parents made sure to tell me there was nothing I could not do, even be President of the United States, and so I became the Secretary of State." She received a standing ovation.
  The man of the hour, however, was Vice-Presidential Candidate Paul Ryan, who accepted the Party nomination for Vice President. Ryan talked about living on the same street he grew up on in Janesville Wisconsin. Of working at waiting tables and McDonald's. "It did not occur to me that I would remain in the same station in life for the rest of my life." He spoke of his Mom, Betty, who, after she became a widow when Ryan was 15, she went back to school and eventually started her own business. He also brought up the fact that so many college graduates today cannot find jobs in their fields and are forced to move back in with their parents. Paul Ryan gave the best line of the night when he said," People should not be forced to live out their 20's in their childhood bedrooms staring at faded Obama posters. On a humorous note, he acknowledged the generation between himself and Mitt Romney, talking about their ipods. "My play list starts with ACDC and ends with Zeppelin!"
  Thursday night's run up to Mitt Romney's acceptance speech began with what many said was the best speech of the convention, given by Florida Senator Marco Rubio. He talked about his parents. Cuban immigrants escaping revolution in Castro's Cuba. They knew a new life in America would not be easy at first, but they new that perseverance and hard work would pay off and they would be able to give their children opportunities that they never had themselves. Rubio got emotional as he spoke of his Father's death just months before his election, and his Mother turning 80 the same night. He spoke of the endless opportunity for success that every American has before them. The chance for education, entrepreneurship and a chance at the American Dream await not just natural born Americans, but those who come to her shores in search of a better life.
  Mitt Romney accepted the Republican Party's nomination for President of The United States. He talked about the struggle that Americans have lived with the past four years. The struggle with an economy that is not getting any better, despite billions of dollars in stimulus money, and month after month of anemic job growth. Twenty three million Americans out of work, some for more than a year, some just giving up looking for work. He talked about weak foreign policy and disappearing influence abroad. he said that we would help our allies in any way possible, and make it clear to rogue nations that misbehavior would not be tolerated by a Romney/Ryan administration. He talked about a strong middle class, and getting government out of the way to better help small businesses grow and prosper.
  Will we hear chants of "USA USA USA!!" this week in Charlotte? Will we hear "America The Beautiful" and "God Bless The USA"? Or will we just have to endure a week of hearing what a disaster Barack Obama inherited and Chris Matthews giggling about a tingle up his leg?
 Let's hope that the contrast will be loud and clear for voters. 

Conservative Media Bias? Yes!

  What are Conservatives chief complaints about the Liberal media? That there is always an agenda, that it is hopelessly one-sided, and that they can beat a story to death until the next shiny object comes along, and then they are on to their next object of destruction.
  But in the wake of the Todd Akin circus this week, with Conservative media right there to jump on, who needs Liberals? Let's get some things straight right from the start. What Akin said was inexcusable, and should not be condoned by anyone, and he should never have done an interview with Charles Jaco in the first place. Anyone who has lived in St. Louis for 5 minutes knows that Jaco does not exactly have the warm fuzzies for Conservatives.
  As soon as this story broke, every Conservative media pundit, not so much local, but definitely national, promptly went about finding a table to get up on and jump up and down and scream about how Todd Akin must go now! Most of these people had never even heard of Todd Akin, but they were sure he was going to all but hand a second term to Barack Obama.
  Instead, what if this had happened. All those Conservatives went on TV, acknowledged the incident, roundly condemned it, even gave their opinion on whether or not he should stay or go. Then said, "Now let's talk about the economy, let's talk about jobs, let's talk about how we can get this country moving again." That's not what happened. Mark Levin must have popped a blood vessel the way he ranted on. Ann Coulter called Akin a "selfish swine", who only thought of himself by staying in the race. Funny, I know there must be one or two people who support Akin. Certainly no one bothered to find them. Is this the "fair and balanced" that we Conservatives have been known to give a rant or two about?
  Did I miss something, and it is Halloween already? I thought for sure that must be those pesky Liberals howling again. Well no, it was not. Today, a Rasmussen poll came out that shows Claire McCaskill up by 10 points. Ya' think?!!
  What I think is that there was an agenda to this as soon as it hit, and it became known that the top GOP honchos were going to pull the money plug. There wasn't a single Democrat anywhere to be found squawking about this. President Obama only touched on it briefly a few days after it happened, and briefly again today. Even though Todd Akin was the one uttering those unseemly comments to get the wrecking ball rolling, our own Conservative media grabbed that ball and boy did they run with it.
  We all know what is at stake in this election. Taking control of the Senate is almost as equally important as taking the White House, especially if we are to have any hope of repealing Obama care. Maybe if the whole situation had just been condemned by all, and then we talked about something important, we would not be where we are. Come November, if Todd Akin loses the Senate election, the blame will not just be on him. It will also fall on the complete over reaction by top GOP officials, both state and national, and yes, we will have our own Conservative "experts" to thank as well.
  So nice going people. What happens when the almost impossibly high standards we are beginning to set become so steep that even mere mortals are unfit to run for office?
  Maybe some people should just come down off the table, and in those immortal words from Archie Bunker, stifle yourself.                

Piling On

  I really have been trying very hard not to write about Congressman Todd Akin, and his unfortunate remarks about "legitimate" rape. For the simple reason that the whole thing is so stupid and blown wildly out of proportion.
  Having said that, what I find completely jaw-dropping is the never ending ability for Republicans and Conservatives to eat their own. Nobody on the right is going to condone what the Congressman said. It was inane and uneducated at least. Highly insulting and insensitive to any woman who has been a victim of rape and abuse at best.
  Akin has since apologized for what he said. As a supporter of Akin's I like to think what he wanted to say was actually correct, it just got horribly twisted in the transition from brain to mouth. But for some on our side, apologies and promises to do better next time are just not good enough. Establishment Republicans seem to be saying,"Congressman, could we please have your head on a platter so as to make an example of you for the next Conservative that writes stupid checks with his or her mouth that their brain never intended to cash?" "Better yet, could you please just step down from the race so that we can hand a much-needed Senate seat back to Claire McCaskill so she can continue to rubber stamp every Obama edict that comes down the pike?
  It is times like these that require, shall we say, a little "testicular fortitude" from Conservatives. But in the wake of comments by Mitt Romney and others condemning what Akin said, and both the Missouri and national GOP Committee pulling support from Akin's campaign, it appears that he will be getting, at least from the State Republican Committee, the CD1 treatment. The CD1 treatment is when you do not support your strongest candidate, and basically hand the election to your Democratic opponent because you don't want to make anyone angry. Hey Missouri GOP, how did that work out for you?
  Unfortunately, it is probably likely that the Republican Grand Poobahs will make life miserable for Todd Akin until he cries "Uncle", and withdraws from the race. Maybe the Libertarian or the Constitution Party candidates are still available. They can probably count on a call from the Republican Party.          

Lessons From The Campaign Trail

Last week was a long week. Maybe because I am on vacation this week. It was also a hard week. One that I did not think was going to end so quietly.
  At the risk of telling my life story on a blog, I am working on a career change. Something in Politics. I haven't quite narrowed it down yet, but something. So I worked on my first campaign. A Congressional campaign. It was fun, educational, sometimes surprising, and a lot of work. But last week in particular, it was sad. We lost.
  You at least try to be a grown-up about the whole thing. After all, you win some, you loose some right? You suck it up, put your big boy pants on, and life goes on. You try to pinpoint where you might have gone wrong, and vow to do better next time. Usually one of life's lessons learned early on.
  But as I sat with my fellow campaign workers watching election results, I knew that each one of us was feeling the same way. We were sure the numbers were going to get better. It was still early. As it got later though, the numbers were not getting any better. Finally, I knew I had to leave. I still had a paying day job I had to get up early for. Nobody wanted to leave. Leaving would make it final. But we did. Maybe it sounds a bit silly, but we were all a little teary-eyed and were trying not to show it. We had all worked so hard.
  On the way home, I felt such a sense of loss. Not just because we had lost the election, but this had been such a big part of my life the past few months. What now? I didn't sleep well that night. Perhaps it was a combination of realizing that the next step was not going to take place, and too much Kentucky Fried Chicken.
  When my alarm went off the next morning, I stumbled to the shower as usual. As I started to wake up, I realized that yes, this was an ending of sorts, but it was also a very important beginning. I had my own projects in the works that I could now devote more time to, but as a group, I knew that we were definitely not done. We had other ideas and possibilities we were kicking around. The world, at least this corner of it, had not seen the last of us.

  I have met amazing people in the last few months. People I am so honored to call my friends. They have taught me a lot, and given me some valued experience to take with me as I maneuver along the career-change path. I know because of them, that path will have a few less bumps in it than it might have had. I have always been one of those people who never quite knew what I wanted to be when I grew up. I think I might just know now.

Community Organizing Conservatives

It seems like the Left has always cornered the market on boycotts, protests, and making enough noise to get their candidates elected. But in case no one has noticed lately, something is starting to happen.
  It began in early 2009 when the mainstream media declared the Republican Party dead. Then, CNBC's Rick Santelli ranted that a Tea Party style revolt needed to happen. The rest, as they say, is history.
  Conservatives have learned a lot in the last four years. They learned that they were definitely not alone. They learned that a big part of the problem was in house. Old timey squishy Republicans, who got elected and re-elected year after year. They didn't rock the boat, didn't make waves once they got to Washington. They slapped Liberal Democrats on the back and called them their friends so everybody would like them.
  So in 2010, Conservatives found their voices. They found them in a big way. With the help of the Tea Party, which had become reality, they swept through the House of Representatives and Governor's mansions in a way that had not been seen, at the very least since 1994.
  Elections years are tricky things it seems for the mainstream media. Once again, they are sounding the death knell for the Tea Party. They must figure they have to start on that early. But once again, Conservatives are fighting back. With the support of Chick Fil A in record numbers, after the uproar over comments made by CEO Dan Cathy in support of traditional marriage. Then, with the run-off election in Texas, where the Tea party favored candidate, former State Solicitor General Ted Cruz won over Republican "establishment" candidate, Lt. Governor David Dewhurst, who was thought to be the heir apparent to this seat. Cruz will face Democratic nominee Paul Sadler in November.
  Ted Cruz won the nomination because of Grass Roots. Pure and simple. The biggest thing for Conservatives to take away from the Ted Cruz victory, and others like it, is that they have discovered their power. They went door to door, they made phone calls, they held fund-raisers. They organized the community for Ted Cruz. And they won. Now they have to keep winning. Keep flexing their muscles. Get rid of wishy-washy moderate Republicans. Stop giving a damn whether or not the mainstream media is going to like us. They won't. Keep standing up and speaking out Conservatives. Keep rocking the boat until we overturn it.
  Establishment Republicans, your time is up.  

       

Celebrating The Harvests

  On Wednesday of this week, Wiccans will celebrate Lammas, or Lughnasadh. It is the first of three harvest festivals on the Pagan calendar. The second being the Autumnal Equinox, or Mabon, and the third is Halloween, or Samhain (pronounced Sow-en). Lammas marks the peak of the Earth's bounty, be it fruits, vegetables, grains,etc., and the blessings of the Goddess and God for that bounty.
  But in modern times, when the majority of people do not live in agricultural societies, and aside from the harvest of your own personal gardens (tomatoes, petunias, etc), how can we possibly celebrate a harvest?
  Harvests come in many different forms. The harvest of your own daily hard work, the harvest of a happy, healthy family and home, the harvest of your own personal accomplishments. Through your own cultivation and attention to those things, they have grown and thrived. The harvest of your thoughts and ideas. What do you achieve when you nourish them? With proper care, they have the possibility to become reality, and maybe make the world a better place.
  Like an agricultural harvest, our own personal harvests don't always go as planned. We also have our seasons of flood and drought. Perhaps the harvest is a lot smaller than we thought it was going to be. Sometimes we have a back-up plan for those bad harvests, sometimes not. And we all know that sometimes it takes everything in us to bring that small harvest in. But man do we feel good when we do!

  During this week of celebration of the first harvest, which harvests are you celebrating? Personal? Professional? Big or small? Is there something you wish to harvest? A project? A completion of something or an idea? The possibilities are endless! Those harvests are all there. Just look hard enough and you will find them. Help your family and friends bring in and celebrate their harvests as well. You will be better for it.
  May the Goddess and God of the Harvest bless all of your harvests. In whatever form they come in.     

The Left: Playing Chicken Again

  You might find yourself scratching your head when you read that a Wiccan would jump to the defense of devout Christians, but that is exactly what you will read here. In light of news that Chick Fil-A, one of the nation's largest fast food chains, has given money to groups that oppose Gay marriage, a vicious smear campaign on various websites, and on Facebook and Twitter has erupted, driven largely by the ever-so-tolerant Left.
  But why would we expect anything else? Those shining examples of open-mindedness have already displayed their tolerance of people like Black Conservatives, and well, Conservatives in general. Especially when we have the utter gall to think freely for ourselves, and then, have even more nerve to (gasp!), say it out loud!

  We have talked a lot about business owners lately. About the fact that they are rich and therefore should "pay their fair share" of taxes. About the fact that they really didn't build that business by themselves, the government helped of course. And now, they cannot contribute their own earnings to groups and causes they believe in, and if they happen to be Christians, have the audacity (Liberals love that word don't they), to live their lives and run their businesses accordingly. For the Left, there is just one answer to that. Ban it. Shut it down. Run  them out of town, or don't even allow them in town, like Boston Mayor Tom Menino, and Chicago's own pillar of piety, Rahm Emanuel, who said that "Chick Fil-A values are not Chicago values." Would that be the you-better-be-armed-when-you-go-to-Chicago values, or the drive-by shooting values?
  One thing to know about  Wiccans, religious discrimination hits very close to home for us, usually because it has happened to us. So we take it seriously. Why do people seem to forget that this country was founded by people fleeing religious persecution? If you don't agree with some one's religious beliefs, don't frequent their establishment. It is very simple.
  But Liberals, in their on going attempt to run every one's lives, because they better than the rest of us unwashed slobs, find it perfectly o.k to tell Chick Fil-A how to run their business, and if they don't comply, well, we will make them comply. Because everyone knows that a good smear campaign always makes you want to do things their way right?
  So a big thumbs up to Chick Fil-A. For not backing down. For not knuckling under to a bunch of hippie lefties who are nothing more than bullies in a schoolyard. Usually, when you stand up to the bullies, they back down, and you find out they really are just chicken.  
        

Terror In Colorado

  The nation was left in shock on Friday when early that morning, at a midnight showing of the new "Batman" movie, "The Dark Knight Rises", a man clad in body armor and wielding a semi-automatic weapon and a rifle burst into the emergency entrance of a theatre in Aurora, Colorado and made his way up the center aisle, shooting randomly, and at anyone who tried to escape the carnage. When it was over, 12 were dead, and over 70 people wounded.
  There are so many questions, especially about the suspect, 24-year old James Holmes. Today, Aurora Police spent the day attempting to enter Holmes's apartment, which he had left boobie-trapped and wired to kill the first person who tried to enter. It will no doubt hold the answers to so many of those questions. The first and foremost one being, why?
  There is another why. Why does it take a tragedy like this for people to ask things like, just what, exactly, has happened to us as human beings? What is lacking, or just completely not there anymore in our psyche that allows this to happen? How does a seemingly normal human being, certainly with people around him that love him deteriorate to this? The sad and scary part is that there are more and more people to ask that of. Take the rash of violence in Chicago right now. This is not a political thing, a Republican or Democrat thing, a Conservative or Liberal thing, or a black and white thing. It is a human thing. How did we become just a group of targets?
  We seem to be in dire need of some sort of societal intervention. We have to stop being afraid to call things what they are for fear someone will be offended. Quite frankly, fear of being offended is getting people killed.
  As usual, the electronic lynch mob, otherwise known as the mainstream media, were pretty sure, even before the shooter was out of the theatre, that this was all the fault of Conservatives, the Tea Party, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, the list goes merrily on. ABC's Good Morning America even went as far as going on the Colorado Tea Party website and finding a James Holmes, and promptly went on to inform the public that this may be the guy. Never mind the fact that 50-something Jim Holmes had recently joined the Tea Party group, and now had to disconnect his phone, all because of the "public service" done on behalf of ABC News. I can't speak for all Conservatives of course, but I am getting damn sick and tired of having to defend myself, and others of like mind to the rest of the world every time some nut job with a gun decides to kill innocent people, and having those "journalists" at ABC, CBS, NBC, oh hell, everybody knows who they are, try to pin it on us simply because we have a different opinion! Newsflash to inane, incompetent, Manhattan living, limo riding, never been west of DC, Harvard, Columbia boobs who pass themselves off as "serious journalists", not being exactly like you does NOT make us DANGEROUS! Could you all climb out of the backside of Barack Obama just long enough to maybe, just for one minute even, just be Americans? Americans who would like to comfort the grieving and help the survivors of this nightmare? Would it be too much to ask of you to just be compassionate? To simply help your fellow human beings?
  I promise, you will have plenty of time later to blame as many of us as you can fit in one of your Sunday morning snoozer shows.
  Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims, their families, the survivors, and the community of Aurora. May the Goddess lift you into her arms and comfort all of you in this difficult time.                          

If I Build It, Uncle Sam Will Come

  We already know that Barack Obama is the most liberal President ever elected to the office. Conservatives have always believed that he has some downright Marxist tendencies as well. But last Friday, in a speech in Roanoke, Virginia, the President just may have let the cat out of the bag.
  Obama told the crowd, "If you've got a business, you didn't build that! Somebody else made that happen!" I am guessing that is one hell of a newsflash for all of the small business owners in America. You know, only the people who create three quarters of the jobs in this country.
  For someone who has invested time, more hours of hard work than they care to mention, money, sometimes out of your own pocket to pay employees when you are just starting out, and any other personal resources to get that business off the ground, the fact that your President is telling you that you did not build that business can only be making smoke come off the top of your head.
  But wait a minute. There was one thing missing from what will surely be known among Conservatives as "the Roanoke speech". There was no teleprompter.
  Nope. Nowhere to be found. So what does this tell us? A whole lot. It tells us of the contempt and disdain that Barack Obama has for anyone who dismisses the almighty hand of government to do it on their own. It tells us that Barack Obama looks down his nose at the very principles this country was founded upon. Of hard work, and being rewarded for that hard work with success because of sacrifices you were willing to make. It tells us what he thinks of countless generations of LEGAL immigrants who sometimes risked their very lives for a chance at the American dream. It tells us that he has no clue how the American economy works. That when you shove mountains of government regulation, taxation, and bureaucracy out of the way, those small businesses are the very core of the economic engine that runs America. It tells us that Barack Obama believes that government, not people, is what makes America go 'round. Without the comfort zone of the teleprompter, we know what Barack Obama truly believes.

  But this is an election year. it is probably a safe bet that he won't let that happen again any time soon.     

Robyn Hamlin's Dirty Work

  Politics is sometimes a complex business. Candidates can and will do whatever they need to in order to get a vote. They can also do and say whatever they need to say, even if it means taking a little "poetic license" with the truth.
 Take Missouri's First Congressional District Republican Primary race. The race is a repeat of 2010 between sometime Republican, sometime Libertarian Robyn Hamlin and Martin Baker.
  Recently, The League of Women Voters offered to sponsor a debate between Hamlin and Baker. Hamlin was given 10 days to respond to the offer. After the 10 day window had expired, Hamlin was approached again for a response to the debate challenge. Her response was that she did not want to debate Baker because she wanted to "save him any possible embarrassment" that some personal legal issues concerning child support and a court case with a former landlord would become debate topics.
 Baker has never been anything but open and honest about both of these issues. Baker's ex-wife reports nothing but prompt and full payment of child support, says that he is a loving and supportive father, and she fully supports his Congressional run. The court case to legally end a lease agreement is one that Baker has never shied away from discussing.

 So, is this a question of integrity and character? You bet it is. Most Americans are no doubt of the opinion that hopefully, we learned a valuable lesson about Politicians and character, or the lack of it, through the antics of Bill Clinton. Perhaps, for Robyn Hamlin, it is a question of confidence in her own ability to go head to head with her opponent to debate the issues that are important to the people of Missouri's First Congressional District. That is something Hamlin will have to deal with on her own time. Does she really think that any conflict that Martin Baker may or may not have with his ex-wife is more important than the fact this resident of the First Congressional District, every day, drives past a ghost town that used to be Northwest Plaza? One of the largest malls in the state, with close to 100 stores at it's peak. Included in that daily trip is a drive past a large empty field that used to be the Hazelwood Ford Plant. A place that employed thousands of people, now just acres of weeds. A bit of concern over these statistics, and a sincere desire to keep it from happening again, is more likely what First Congressional District voters are concerned about. Also, take a minute and ask those voters what their chief complaints are about Washington D.C, and Politicians, and chances are a lot of those people are going to say, a lack of honesty and integrity. That they have all lost the ability to simply do what is right. Is one more politician who is willing to stoop as low as they can go for a vote, the ends justifying the means, what the people of Missouri's First Congressional District really want?
 Someone once said that the definition of character is doing the right thing, even when no one is watching.
 Unfortunately for Ms. Hamlin, somebody is watching.            

July 4 Thoughts

Hope everyone is having a fun, fantastic 4 of July. Hopefully staying cool! This a special day for Americans. There are about as many ways to describe what it means to be an American as there are, well, Americans. On this day, we are all so thankful to have been born in the greatest country on the face of the Earth, and even in the most trying of times, we have no problem counting off to the world why we, as Americans are so blessed.

  236 years ago, a group of men gathered for an experiment. They came from all walks of Colonial life. Some were wealthy, some not so much. But they all shared the same dream. An independent nation, free of the shackles of the Monarchy of England, where they would govern themselves as they saw fit. They drew up a Bill of Rights and a Declaration of Independence. They declared to the world that their rights did not come from government, but from their Creator. They quite willingly signed their names to documents that would most certainly see them jailed, if not hung for treason if King George had his way. But they knew that it must be done, and they were willing to literally risk their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor for this experiment. It took five years, but an army of farmers pushed back the greatest military force on the planet at that time, the British Army. Then they saw about the founding of their new nation.
  America has not always been a perfect nation. We have ugly scars of the past to show for that. But in their wisdom, and just plain genius, the Founders of the United States knew that we were human, and humans tend to make mistakes. So they made sure that there were mechanisms in place to correct those mistakes and that America would be a better, stronger place for it.
  America has always been a beacon of freedom and liberty for all those around the world who seek a better life for themselves and their children. In the early part of the 20th century, people came to the United States with just what they could carry with them. They came with no money, not knowing the language, but with a willingness to work hard, and the burning desire to just be Americans.
  Americans will be faced with tough choices in the next couple of months. We will debate, discuss, argue, and just plain yell at each other. But because of the people who have come before us, and sacrificed all that they have, and possibly their lives, we are able to do just that. We are able to do those things because of the freedom and liberty that we continue to fight for every day. Someone said on the radio the other day that he had to continue to fight "because there is no place else to go."
 Truer words were never spoken.             

Just One More Question...

  The hits just keep coming for Barack Obama and his merry band of henchmen. The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday, voted to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in both civil and criminal contempt of Congress for his refusal to turn over key documents in the Fast and Furious gun-running scandal.
  Holder's boss, President Obama, if you remember, was going to have the "most transparent" administration ever. He failed to tell us when exactly that would be happening.
  Refusing to turn over documents in this case is just the latest in a string of questionable behaviors by Holder. By examining his track record, it seems like there should be just one more question asked of Attorney General Holder. Are you dragging your heels in this case because Brian Terry was white? Before everyone gets their panites in a bunch, let's look at Mr. Holder's history.
  On Election Day, 2008, two Black Panthers stood in front of a polling place in Philadelphia, smaking nightsticks in their hands, daring white voters to come in and vote. J. Christian Adams, an attorney in the Voting Rights section of the Department of Justice, claims in his book, "Injustice: Exposing The Racial Agenda of the Obama Justice Department", that he was directed by higher ups in the department to dismiss the case. In 2010, in one of the most brazen incidents of racial discrimination, in Mississippi was the case of Ike Brown. Brown, an African-American, was the Democrat Party Chairman in Noxubee County. Brown, for years, routinely practiced outrageous forms of discrimination by canceling ballots cast by white voters, and even threatening 174 white voters with not letting them vote if they challenged him. Brown was stripped of any power to supervise any election activity until 2012. Mississippi is one of a handful of states where the Department of Justice must oversee any voting law changes. It appears as though the Department of Justice has never done any real follow up on Mr. Brown's case as well. Adams also says that any request for information by right-leaning groups through the Freedom Of Information Act is held up for months. But if you are NPR, or the Mexican-American Legal Defense and Education Fund, chances are you will have what you need in a matter of days, if not the same day.

  So Eric Holder does, in fact, have an abysmal history when it comes to race. A man gave his life in the defense of this country. It does not matter if he is purple, his family has earned some answers as to what happened, and his memory does not need to be trampled on by ethnic Congressional Caucuses walking out on the contempt vote.
  There are a number of examples in Christian Adams book that tells of the pervasive racial double standard that is alive and well at Obama's Department of Justice. But the bottom line is this. Has this case been handled the way it has by an African-American Attorney General, and quite possibly an African-American President, all because the victim is white? Is there evidence of that in the documents being withheld? The video above of Sean Hannity's interview with Adams may hold the answer.
It's time we knew.             

A Call To Arms

  Liberty and freedom took a slap upside the head on Thursday. The Supreme Court ruled in a 5-4 decision that Obama Care is constitutional, and was upheld. Chief Justice John Roberts was the deciding vote siding with the more left-leaning Justices, and wrote the majority decision.
  The individual mandate, which forces the American people to buy government health insurance or pay heavy penalties was not upheld in the Commerce clause of the Constitution, but in the Necessary and Proper clause as a tax.
  Wait a minute! Anybody even remotely connected with the Obama administration swore up and down that this was not a tax! Well guess what America! it's all a big fat lie, perpetuated by this President (shocking!), and his newly appointed accomplices on the Supreme Court.

  Obama Care hits the American taxpayers with a whopping $1.7 trillion dollars in new taxes over the next decade. Of the 21 tax hikes that would take place in that time, 12 would effect families earning less than $250,000 a year, a.k.a- small business. This also includes penalties that employers who do not insure their employees with Obama Care would pay. This will be the largest tax increase in American history.
  We all know, however, that staggering tax hikes are just the beginning. it is the beginning of government being ever more intrusive in the lives of everyday Americans. If the government can tell you which doctor to see, and if you do not you will be punished in the form of a tax, what's next? Can the government "tax" you into eating healthy foods? Excercise? Not drinking or smoking? Oh forgive me, Michelle Obama is already working on the healthy foods part of that scenario isn't she? Is the next step a single payor system?
  For Conservatives, this means only one thing. The fight has just begun. If Conservatives really needed another motivating factor to not only vote themselves in November, but make sure everyone they know votes as well, this is it. We are being called to stand up and fight for our country, and our freedoms in a way that most of us have never experienced in our lifetime. This is serious people. It is crunch time. The nation that produced great Americans like George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Frederick Douglass, and Ronald Reagan is being chipped away at little by little. And today's ruling is one more big chunk hanging by a thread. As soon as you say,"That can't happen in America." Think again.
  There was a quote from James Carville on The Drudge Report today. he said,"The Tea Party is over."
  Think again.           

Arizona vs. Obama

Barack Obama, in some way, nearly every day, shows the American people why he is completely unqualified to be the President of the United States.
  In a petty and downright childish move after Monday's Supreme Court ruling to uphold a portion of Arizona's immigration law that gives Law Enforcement the right to ask about a person's immigration status if they are pulled over for a traffic violation, and the police have reason to check their status. The Obama administration directed the Department of Homeland Security and I.C.E. to decline any phone calls from Arizona it may get regarding deportation of illegal aliens, unless that person is wanted for a felony. The administration has also directed the Department of Justice to set up a 24-hour hotline for anyone who feels that they have in any way been racially profiled by any Arizona Law Enforcement Officers to report the incident.
  We established long ago just how thin-skinned this President is (oops, is that racist?). We have all seen him get snippy with any reporter who dares to offer up the slightest criticism. But this takes it to a whole other level. What the Obama administration has told the people of Arizona is, "We care more about people who have snuck into this country illegally, so we can insure Hispanic votes to win an election, than we do about the safety of our borders and the people who live and work on them, the sovereignty of this nation, and following the rule of law as stated in the Constitution." Barack Obama has done nothing but simply throw a temper-tantrum because he did not get his way. What's next? Throwing himself on the floor kicking and screaming?
  The Obama administration has decided it will be selective of which laws it chooses to enforce and ones it does not. If we follow this "logic", who is to say that if he is defeated in November that he will participate in the peaceful transfer of power? We already know how he feels about the 10th Amendment. We can probably guess what his thoughts are on the 22nd Amendment.

  One of the few things the Federal Government is charged with doing is protecting and defending the nation. The people of Arizona are only doing what the Federal Government refuses to do. And it just so happens that they refuse to do it in an election year, in a state with a large Hispanic population.
  Let's hope that the American people decide to throw one giant temper-tantrum in November.