They Just Don't Get It!

To borrow a line from our friends on the left...and redirect it in their direction...THEY JUST DON'T GET IT! I was absolutely dumbfounded to hear two men from the left being gleeful at the prospect of hurricane Gustav making landfall, and possibly hitting New Orleans, at the same time the Republicans are going to have their national convention.

First, we heard from the "not so brilliant" Micheal Moore who said that the timing of the hurricane is, "Proof that there is a God in heaven," and that the storm could disrupt the RNC convention.

Second, while on a flight to Charlotte after the DNC convention, Donald Fowler, the Former DNC Chairman expressed a similar sentiment when he said, "The hurricane is going to hit New Orleans (chuckling) about the time they start. The timing at least it appears now that it will be there Monday (more chuckling and a big smile on his face). That just demonstrates God is on our side."

How absolutely pathetic and down right nasty. Like I said, THEY JUST DON'T GET IT!

Experience, Experience, Experience

The media, Democrats and some Republicans are beginning to sound like a ridiculous broken record. They keep singing the same old tune, "Alaska Governor Sarah Palin is inexperienced and she isn't ready to become President."

First, she isn't running as President...McCain is. She will be the Vice President and will only become President if McCain passes away while in office. He is only 72 years old and his doctor's have given him a clean bill of health. He could live for another ten or twenty years...way past the one term he has said he will only serve.

Second, while she is definitely not experienced when it comes to foreign policy, Sarah Palin has a proven track record of leadership and strong decision making as a Mayor and a Governor. She has served in elected public office for almost 16 years. She has been a champion of ethics reform (which this government needs desperately) and energy independence. She has taken on corruption in her own party and she has taken on "Big Oil" (the demon of the 21st century). She has a record of lowering taxes, lowering budgets and passing the savings on to the people.

Third, a lot of Democrats are upset that Obama didn't select Hillary as his running mate. What makes Hillary more qualified to be VP than Sarah? What makes Obama more qualified to be President than Sarah? Neither of these two have ever governed a city or a state. I know Hillary thinks she did when she was the First Lady, but her husband was President...not HIllary.

Obama not only has no foreign policy experience...he has no executive experience of any kind. Most of his "experience" has come as a street activist/community organizer in Chicago, seven years as a State Senator in Illinois and four years as a US Senator, where he is considered to be the "most liberal" senator...based on his voting record. Obama was only in the US Senate for two years before he began his run for President. Does this make him qualified to be President?

Fourth, Sarah's qualifications are equal to those of "the great" William Jefferson Clinton. Clinton served as the Arkansas Attorney General for two years and then as the Arkansas Governor for ten years before running for President. Where was his foreign policy experience? The Democrats had no problem with him jumping into the Presidential seat. They forgave him for all his embarrassing behaviors, they looked past the accusations of impropriety and they have almost elevated him to "Godhood".

Fifth, Sarah has more executive experience than McCain, the man she will serve with; while McCain has the foreign policy experience. People who know Sarah say that she is a quick study, so she will be able to learn what she needs to know about foreign policy...much like Obama will have to. However, if elected, Obama will have to learn foreign policy as the President; whereas, if elected, Sarah will learn it as the Vice President.

Sarah Palin was a great choice for VP. She is a fresh face in Washington and an outsider to the politics as usual. She, like McCain, is considered a maverick in her own right. If elected, she will serve this country with, as she put it, "integrity, good will and a servant's heart".

Let's give her a chance to prove she is ready. I look forward to her debate with Obama's choice, Senator Biden (who, by the way, is only on the ticket because he has foreign policy experience), and I finally look forward to the next ten weeks leading up to the election with hope.

And the Criticism Begins!

Sarah Palin’s nomination as Vice President hadn’t even been made official before the Democrats began taking pot shots at her and her experience. After her nomination was publicly announced, the Obama attack force got into full swing.

Obama’s campaign spokesman, Bill Burton, highlighted Governor Palin’s lack of foreign policy credentials by saying, “Today, John McCain put the former mayor of a town of 9,000 with zero foreign policy experience a heartbeat away from the presidency.”

If I’m not mistaken, isn’t Senator Barack Obama the man the Democrats have chosen to not only be a heartbeat away from the presidency, but to become the President. He’s at the top of their ticket and has zero foreign policy experience. At least Governor Palin has negotiated with Canada on transportation issues and Russia on fishing issues. Who has Obama negotiated with?

Bill Burton continued to criticize Governor Palin as a vice presidential choice because of her support for oil drilling in the Alaskan wilderness and her anti-abortion stance when he said, “Govenor Palin shares John McCain’s commitment to overturning Roe v. Wade, the agenda of Big Oil and continuing George Bush’s failed economic policies. That’s not the change we need, it’s just more of the same.”

First, I thought one of the stated goals of the Democrats was to decrease our dependence on foreign oil, while developing alternative energy sources. Governor Palin is the governor of this nation's largest oil rich state and she is a strong advocate of drilling in the ANWR province. Good for her, she understands the issue.

Governor Palin has also recognized that, in order to decrease our dependency on foreign oil, the US needs to turn to alternative energy sources. On August 27, 2008 she signed a bill authorizing Alaska to award TransCanada a license to build a $27 billion pipeline to carry natural gas from the Arctic to the lower 48 states.

Second, yes, John McCain believes Roe v. Wade is a flawed decision that must be overturned, and as president he will nominate judges who understand that courts should not be in the business of legislating from the bench.

McCain believes that constitutional balance would be restored by the reversal of Roe v. Wade, returning the abortion question to the individual states. He feels that the difficult issue of abortion should not be decided by judicial fiat. Now, whether or not Governor Palin feels the same way has yet to be determined, although she is pro-life, so it may be likely.

Third, Governor Palin took on "Big Oil". She is not for their agenda. In Alaska, she passed legislation that increased the taxes on oil company profits. This tax is a progressive tax, so the more the oil companies make, the more they pay. Isn't that what Obama wants to do?

Lastly, as Mayor, Sarah Palin lowered property taxes, while decreasing her own salary. As Governor, she found ways to eliminate wasteful spending. When oil and gas prices went up, and Alaska's revenues went up as a result, she gave the money back to the people. She also took on ethics reform and corruption in her own party. Two leading Alaskan Republicans were forced to resign as a result. This doesn't seem like more of the same. Maybe that's what her critics are really afraid of.

The criticism continued with Senator Charles Schumer weighing in. Senator Schumer made the statement that the pick of Palin negates the Republican arguments that Obama doesn't have the experience necessary to be president. He also stated, "While Palin is a fine person, her lack of experience makes the thought of her assuming the presidency troubling."

Let's see if we understand him correctly. Senator Obama, a man, who has no executive or foreign policy experience is completely qualified to be the Democrat Presidential nominee and, if elected, is ready to assume the presidency on day one. While, Governor Palin, a woman, who has served as an elected public official at three levels (city councilman, mayor and governor) for almost sixteen years and has eight years of executive experience is not qualified to be the Republican Vice Presidential nominee and is not ready to assume the hypothetical position of President. I say hypothetical because she would only assume the presidency if McCain were to pass away while in office. McCain is only 72; he is not knocking on death's door.

All that being said, Governor Palin has more experience and is more qualified to be President of the United States than any of the three men (who have only served as Sentors) on both tickets. She is the only one of the four candidates with any executive experience. She is the only one who has actually governed and made the tough decisions that come with governing. As one governor stated, "I made more decisions in the first week as governor than I did in two years as a Senator."

So you decide, who's more qualified to be President? The real candidate on the Democrat ticket or the hypothetical one on the Republican ticket. I chose the hypothetical one.

Did You Hear That?

The 18 million cracks in the proverbial ceiling are about to come crashing down with the historic announcement of the first Republican woman to be nominated as Vice President.

Sarah Palin is not only a Republican; she is a strong conservative Republican. She is exactly what John McCain needed to energize the conservative base. And let me tell you, for the first time in this election this conservative is energized. My heart has been jumping for joy ever since FOX news reported that they had received confirmation from the McCain camp that he was going to nominate her as his running mate. Once the nomination was made public I was absolutely thrilled. YAHOO!!!! Finally, a true conservative.

Sarah Palin is a devoted wife and mother of five. Her oldest son is serving his country in an infantry brigade of the US Army and will be deployed to Iraq on September 11, 2008. She has three daughters and another son, who is only a few months old. While pregnant with her youngest son she learned that he would be born with Down syndrome. She was applauded by pro-life groups for going ahead with the pregnancy and facing the challenges of raising a learning disabled child. Mrs. Palin is an avid hunter, fisherman, outdoors man, athlete, and lifetime member of the NRA.

Sarah Palin served two terms as a city councilman in Wasilla, Alaska from 1992-1996. In 1996, she ran against the incumbent mayor of Wasilla and won. During her first term as mayor, she cut her own salary and reduced property taxes by 60%. In 1999, she ran for a second mayoral term and won handily.

She served as Ethics Commissioner of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission from 2003-2004. She resigned her position and sited a "lack of ethics" among the Alaskan Republican leadership. After her resignation she turned her attention to exposing corruption in the Alaskan Republican Party. The chairman of the state Republican Party and the Alaskan Attorney General were forced to resign as a result.

She ran for governor of Alaska in 2006, running a clean-government campaign. She won the primary election by beating the incumbent Governor. She won the general election by campaigning for education, public safety and transportation. She became the first woman governor of the oil rich state of Alaska and the youngest in that state's history.

As governor, Sarah Palin successfully pushed for an ethics bill and the shelving of pork-barrel projects. Palin has also strongly supported the promotion of oil resource development in Alaska. She also helped pass a progressive tax increase on oil company profits and has announced plans to create a new sub-cabinet group of advisors, to address climate change and reduce greenhouse emissions within Alaska.

Sarah Palin is pro-life, pro-contraception, and a prominent member of Feminists for Life. She opposes same-sex marriage, but is receptive to gay and lesbian concerns over discrimination. She vetoed legislation that would have barred the state from granting benefits to same-sex partners of state employees. Her veto granted state of Alaska benefits to same-sex partners.

She proved to be a fiscally responsible governor by selling the state owned jet for $2.1 million and canceling a contract for an 11-mile gravel road outside Juneau to a mine.

Sarah Palin is the only individual on either ticket who has governed, thus giving her executive experience. She has taken on big oil, government corruption and wasteful spending. She will be a great Vice President and, if successful, she may be a great Presidential candidate to run against Hillary in 2012.

What Makes America Great?

With all the negativity in the media and people like Bill Maher who belittle and ridicule Americans with statements like, “Americans are too dumb to be governed” or “Religion is dangerous” or a Presidential candidate who goes to Europe and apologizes for America and says we need to do more, it’s hard to remember that this country is truly a great nation.

In the humble opinion of this red-blooded American, America is the greatest nation in the world and its people are some of the most caring and giving anywhere.

The American people are what make America great. It’s their love of God and country. It’s their true devotion to the welfare of their families. It’s their desire to succeed. It’s their desire to fight for the rights of others at home and abroad. It’s their passion for their beliefs and ideals. It’s their ability to take a dream and, through hard work and determination, make it a reality. It’s their ability to pick themselves up, dust themselves off and start all over again.

When a tragedy or disaster happens at home or abroad, the American people are the first to open their wallets and give freely of what they have, and ask nothing in return.

When one country threatens another, young American men and women give their lives to protect the lives and freedom of total strangers in a strange land. I am still amazed at the willingness of so many young men and women who continue to enlist in the military, knowing full well that they may be required to spill their own blood on the shores of Iraq, Afghanistan or some other land in turmoil. I am always overwhelmed with appreciation and love when I see one or a group of soldiers, and I never miss the opportunity to thank a soldier for his or her service to this nation and the world. We owe them everything, they owe us nothing.

I refuse to let the liberals degrade this country and its people. I challenge them to find a country greater and more compassionate. Are we perfect? Hardly!!! But when called upon, we rise to the challenge and we never forsake a brother or sister in harms way. We give and give and then give some more. We do our part and we do plenty.

Hillary’s Case for Hillary?

I forced myself to watch the Democrat Convention last night just to see what Hillary would have to say, and because I believe if I don’t listen to what they're saying, I can’t dispute the rhetoric.

I was a little confused at first. I thought the convention was to rally support for Obama, but Hillary’s part in the convention began with a video presentation narrated by her daughter which outlined her rise to power. Is she the nominee or is Obama?

Then the woman of the hour, the woman who was supposed to raise us all to higher levels by becoming the first woman President, the woman of all women came out on stage to rousing applause, accolades and thousands of “Hillary” signs. If I didn’t know better I would have thought she was the nominee.

She started out by trying to do her job as the attack dog against Bush and McCain with statements like, “I haven't spent the past 35 years in the trenches, advocating for children, campaigning for universal health care, helping parents balance work and family, and fighting for women's rights here at home and around the world to see another Republican in the White House squander our promise of a country that really fulfills the hopes of our people. And you haven't worked so hard over the last 18 months or endured the last eight years to suffer through more failed leadership.”

She…or her speech writers…even came up with a catching little slogan that will probably be on bumper stickers, signs and the lips of Democrats all over the country, “No way, no how, no McCain.”

She continued her attack by saying, “We have a lot of work ahead of us: jobs lost;…"

The Economic Policy Institute estimates that over 3 million manufacturing jobs have disappeared since 1998. 59%, or 1.78 million, of these jobs were lost due to the explosion in the U.S. manufacturing trade deficit.

In addition, the Economic Policy Institute estimates that between 1993 and 2000, our lopsided trade policies, reflected in the explosive increase in the U.S. trade deficit, cost Americans a net 3 million jobs and job opportunities. The growth in the NAFTA trade deficit alone is associated with nearly 900,000 lost jobs and job opportunities through 2002. Hmmmm...who signed the NAFTA trade agreement? One clue...it wasn't President Bush. Wasn't Clinton the President between 1993 and 2000?

"houses gone;…"

The housing collapse is a result of people purchasing homes they couldn’t afford, borrowing too much money to pay for those homes and signing loan agreements with ridiculous flexible interest rates. The banks and lending agencies irresponsibly gave loans to people who should have never been given loans in the first place. Now Congress, with the blessing of President Bush, is forcing those of us who bought homes we could afford to bail these people out of their self imposed misery.

"falling wages; rising prices;…"

Food prices are rising all over the world...not just in the U.S. This rise is being attributed to increased bio-fel production...that's right...one of the alternative fuel sources the Democrats are trying to force us to use. With global concerns over rising oil prices, energy security and climate change, many countries have increased their bio-fuel production as an alternative energy source. Bio-fuel production uses raw materials that are usually used as a food source for humans and live stock, especially in the poorer countries. The rise is also being attributed to higher energy and fertilizer prices, a weak dollar and export bans. This problem far exceeds the power of any U.S. President.

"the Supreme Court in a right-wing headlock;…"

Huh? If I'm not mistaken, there are nine Supreme Court Justices. Of the nine, there are four liberals and four conservatives. The ninth justice is a fence sitter who votes with the liberals on more issues than the conservatives. What's she worried about?

"and our government in partisan gridlock;…"

Our government being in partisan gridlock is nothing new. Whenever we have had one party controlling the White House and one party controlling Congress, we have partisan gridlock. If I’m not mistaken the Republicans control the White House, while the Democrats control both houses of Congress. And, if I’m not mistaken, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid have made it perfectly clear that they cherish partisan gridlock. They've even gone so far as to say that they won't do anything until Obama is President. Seems like they're putting the cart before the horse. Our government may not be doing anything for a very long time.

"the biggest deficit in our nation's history;…"

Yes, currently the national deficit is somewhere between $389 billion and $400 billion. Last year, the budget deficit was only $162 billion.

News Daily states, "But with the U.S. economy struggling, largely due to a housing slowdown and credit crunch that is rippling through the economy, Congress and Bush agreed on an economic stimulus program in February. That is costing the government $152 billion this year, largely due to tax rebates aimed at stimulating consumer spending.

That unexpected spending, along with revenues that were running below last year's and added funding for the Iraq war, have contributed to the larger deficit this year."

Did you catch that? The highest deficit in our nation's history is due to Congress and Bush...not just Bush. Isn't Hillary and Obama part of the Democrat controlled Congress? Until the "stimulus package", the nation's deficit was just about what it was when Bush took office almost eight years ago...and that's with the high cost of waging a war.

"money borrowed from the Chinese to buy oil from the Saudis;…"

This is not exactly true. Yes, the government is borrowing money to fund the war in Iraq. But they are doing it by selling U.S. Treasury Bonds, which are essentially IOUs that guarantee payment with interest. Many U.S. citizens buy these U.S. Treasury Bonds, as do many foreign countries, because they are a safe and stable investment.

The number one holder of U.S. Treasury Bonds, after U.S. citizens, is Japan, not China. China is number two, the United Kingdom is number three and a group of oil-producing countries (which includes Saudi Arabia) is number four.

There is no direct relationship between the holder of bonds and any particular expense of the U.S. government, so Clinton only mentions China as a way to alarm voters. Let's not be fooled.

"Putin and Georgia;…"

Huh? Now we're responsible for Putin, the ex-KJB thug, who has gotten bored with just being little Russia and wants to rebuild the "Old Mother Russia" to her glory days of old? Putin's aggressions toward the smaller Democratic country of Georgia is his way of testing the resolve of the rest of the world. We all know what that resolve is...to do nothing....so come on Hillary. BACK OFF!!!

"Iran and Iraq.”

Don't forget, Hillary Clinton was among many Democrat senators who voted to authorize the war in Iraq.

In 2002, Illinois State Senator Obama gave a speech on the Illinois Senate Floor in which he acknowledged that Saddam Hussein had WMDs. He said, "He has repeatedly defied UN resolutions, thwarted UN inspection teams, developed chemical and biological weapons, and coveted nuclear capacity."

He then stated that he opposed going to war in Iraq because it is, "...the attempt by political hacks like Karl Rove to distract us from a rise in the uninsured, a rise in the poverty rate, a drop in the median income, and to distract us from corporate scandals."

Today, Obama says that he opposed the Iraq war because, "I was firmly convinced at the time that we did not have strong evidence of weapons of mass destruction."

Which is it Obama?

Hillary continued her speech, by making a case for why she should be President. Wait...isn't Barack Obama the candidate? I don't think Hillary has gotten over her spanking yet.

“I ran for president to renew the promise of America, to rebuild the middle class and sustain the American dream, to provide opportunity to those who are willing to work hard for it and have that work rewarded, so they could save for college, a home, and retirement, afford gas and groceries, and have a little left over each month."

Then why does she and her Liberal colleagues insist on punishing the wealthy. Isn't that part of the American dream?

"To promote a clean energy economy that will create millions of green-collar jobs, to create a health care system that is universal, high-quality, and affordable, so that every single parent knows their children will be taken care of."

Hasn't she paid attention to what is happening in Canada and Europe with regard to nationalized health care? It...is...failing. In order to save money, governments that control health care are rationing drugs and the care their citizens need. Americans are healthier and live longer than their European counterparts. So why do we want to sacrifice that?

If the U.S. succeeds in nationalizing health care, only the poorest citizens...the ones Hillary and the Liberals want to help the most...will be hurt. Those who can afford it will still find the medical care they need because they will be able to pay for it.

"We want to create a world-class education system and make college affordable again, to fight for an America that is defined by deep and meaningful equality, from civil rights to labor rights, from women's rights to gay rights, from ending discrimination to promoting unionization, to providing help for the most important job there is, caring for our families, and to help every child live up to his or her God-given potential, to make America once again a nation of immigrants and of laws, to restore fiscal sanity to Washington, and make our government an institution of the public good, not of private plunder."

Now this one is laughable. The education system has been declining for a couple of decades now. Clinton couldn't fix it and Bush couldn't fix. What makes her think she could fix it?

How would she make college affordable? Lay-off professors and cut courses?

Have I missed something? Have we gone back to the 1920's? We already have civil rights, labor rights, women's right, and gay rights. We've been fighting discrimination. Unless she's referring to the discrimination against the white, straight male. He seems to be the only one without any rights.

She wants to promote more unionization? Please say it isn't so. Unions are breaking the back of this country.

America already is a nation of immigrants. But is rapidly becoming a nation of illegal immigrants. If she wants to make America a land of laws then she and her Liberal counterparts on both sides of the aisle need to fix the illegal immigration problem and stop pandering to the illegals.

A Democrat claiming that she wants to restore fiscal sanity to Washington is a joke. How can you restore fiscal sanity while promoting larger government spending on more social programs?

“To restore America's standing in the world, to end the war in Iraq, bring our troops home with honor, care for our veterans, and give them the services they have earned.”

Who really cares what the rest of the world thinks of us? The only way we will ever be liked by the rest of the world is to become as miserable as they are. Hmmm....nationalized health care, a diminished military and a decreased national defense should do the trick. We won't have the health care we need. We won't be able to protect ourselves, let alone anyone else and we'll be susceptible to terrorists attacks on our city streets like everyone else.

“We will work for an America again that will join with our allies in confronting our shared challenges, from poverty and genocide to terrorism and global warming.”

In other words, she'd sell our souls to the U.N.

“Most of all, I ran to stand up for all those who have been invisible to their government for eight long years. Those are the reasons I ran for president, and those are the reasons I support Barack Obama for president…”

Finally, she remembered she wasn't really the candidate.

“…Now, this will not be easy. Progress never is. But it will be impossible if we don't fight to put a Democrat back into the White House.

We need to elect Barack Obama, because we need a president who understands that America can't compete in the global economy by padding the pockets of energy speculators while ignoring the workers whose jobs have been shipped overseas.

We need a president who understands we can't solve the problems of global warming by giving windfall profits to the oil companies while ignoring opportunities to invest in the new technologies that will build a green economy.

We need a president who understands that the genius of America has always depended on the strength and vitality of the middle class.

Barack Obama began his career fighting for workers displaced by the global economy. He built his campaign on a fundamental belief that change in this country must start from the ground up, not the top down.

And he knows that government must be about 'we the people,' not 'we the favored few.'

And when Barack Obama is in the White House, he'll revitalize our economy, defend the working people of America, and meet the global challenges of our times."

How? So far neither she nor Obama has told us how he is going to do all this. As Obama said, "words...just words."

She ends the minor part of her speech dedicated to Obama by saying, "Democrats know how to do this. As I recall, we did it before with President Clinton and the Democrats.”

Oh…really? I don’t recall living in a utopian society when William Jefferson Clinton was in office.

Yes, l will agree that the economy was very good during Clinton’s years. Investments were high and the stock market was booming…due in part to the .com businesses that eventually peaked and went under. But corporations like Enron found sanctuary during his administration and when the Bush administration caught them and prosecuted them, their employees lost everything.

Yes, the unemployment rate decreased each year he was in office from 6.0% in 1993…his first full year in office to 4.0% in 2000…his last full year in office. However, as the Economic Policy Institute states, over 3 million jobs and job opportunities disappeared between 1993 and 2000…due in part to an explosive increase in the U.S. trade deficit and NAFTA.

Clinton did nothing to insure that the American people became energy independent. He only insured that we would stay energy dependent on foreign oil. He refused to allow drilling in the ANWR province of Alaska and didn't invest in any alternative energy exploration.

Clinton did nothing to show the world we were strong on national defense or that we wouldn't be bullied by terrorists. Every time one of our American interests was attacked he did nothing. When he was offered Bin Laden, not once but twice, he refused to take him into custody for fear it might tarnish his reputation around the world. His inaction only served to emboldened the terrorists. With his inaction and the slashing of funding for our intelligence agencies, he in essence paved the way for the 911 attacks.

Finally, Clinton claims that he not only balanced the budget, but he had a surplus. Wrong! On September 30, 1994, which was the end of Clinton's first budget proposal, the national debt was $4.7 trillion and the deficit was $281.26 billion. He almost had a balanced budget on September 29, 2000 with a national debt of $5.67 trillion and a deficit of only $17.91 billion, but that's a far cry from zero, and it's definitely not even close to a surplus. On September 28, 2001, which was the end of his final budget proposal (which ended during Bush's first year in office), the national debt was $5.8 trillion and the deficit was $133.29 billion. So the growing deficit started in the year of Clinton's last budget, not the first year of Bush's administration. So, Clinton did not leave a budget surplus and Bush did not convert recorded surpluses into record deficits as many leading Democrats would have us believe.

If, as Hillary Clinton believes, this is the kind of President Obama is going to be, then we better fight against him even harder. We better do all we can to make sure we don't have four years of that kind of leadership. Our lives and our children's lives depend upon it.

Shame on You!

Shame on whoever is responsible for the pathetic campaign ad attacking Obama for not taking care of his “poor” half-brother in Kenya. The ad is in very poor taste and will serve no good purpose. Though it is true that the Obama campaign was out of line with their ridiculous attack on McCain for owning more than one home, this ad is even more detestable.

The ad says that the Republican Party of Texas is responsible, yet no one has been able to verify the truth of that statement. The ad also says that no candidate is affiliated with the ad. However, it will still be affiliated with McCain whether or not he had anything to do with it.

Republicans need to be smarter than the opposition. If we are to have any hope of winning the White House in November or retaking one or both houses of Congress, we need to stay above the fray and not wallow in the muck with the Democrats. We need to intelligently, clearly and concisely line out the differences between what we want for this country’s future and what the Democrats want. We don’t need to “sling mud”. Democrats constantly accuse Republicans of negative campaigning at every level, why prove them right?

Who Cares?

Barack Obama and the Democrats can’t find anything of substance to fight back with. Playing the race card hasn’t worked. The age issue hasn’t worked. So they have been reduced to making a big deal out of the fact that McCain, and his wife, own more than one house. They want us to feel disgusted that McCain is wealthy. So what…who cares? McCain and his wife are wealthy. Since when is it wrong to be wealthy? Since when is it wrong to own more than one home or to have investment property? Isn’t that part of the American dream? We should all be so fortunate…or not so fortunate. Can you imagine the property taxes they must have to pay?

The Democrats want everyone to believe that they are the party of the people and that the Republicans are the party of the rich. So, in order to make us all believe their mantra, they tell us it’s a bad thing for McCain to own so much property. He can’t really be right for this country because he’s rich. What they don’t tell us is that many of their own high ranking party members are just as wealthy, if not more so, and own a lot of property here and around the world. The biggest one that comes to mind is John Kerry who owns homes in Fox Chapel,

Pennsylvania (picture above); Ketchum, Idaho; Washington, D.C.; Nantucket, Massachusetts; and Boston, Massachusetts. He had also owned a home in Italy which he sold just before he announced his candicacy for President. Other wealthy Dems includes, but is not limited to, Nancy Pelosi, the Kennedys, and the Clintons.

Good for them! Good for the wealthy people in America on both sides of the political aisle. They are successful and have achieved the American dream. They have achieved what millions of us will only dream about. What’s the big deal? Why are the Democrats so ashamed of their own success? Why do they feel they have to hide? They should stand up and show their constituents what hard work and determination can achieve. They should stop telling their constituents, and the rest of the country, that it’s wrong to succeed. They should stop slinking around in the dark, hoping that their smoke screen will work, and that none of us “poor” saps will find out they have actually succeeded.

A Message to Barrack

I’ve heard you say on countless occasions that the Republicans are trying to scare people into not voting for you because, “I don’t look like any of the other faces on our money.” Or because, “My name is different”. For the record, Barack, the only person I have heard say these things about you is YOU!!! You, Barack, are the only one who is making race an issue in this election. We don’t care what color your skin is or what your name sounds like. We only care about your qualifications and what you say your plans are for this country and its people.

I am not going to vote for you in November, not because you are black and not because your name is different. I am not going to vote for you because you and I do not agree on one single issue.

I believe in a strong military and a strong national defense. You want to cut defense spending, halt the development of our missile defense system, and take our country’s defense missiles off of the hair trigger.

I believe in capitalism and a free market economy where anyone can succeed if they try hard enough. In a free market economy companies sometimes make a bigger profit than what people think is fair. But last time I checked there is no national limit on profit margins. You want to add more regulations, have the government take control of some industries and punish the oil industry with a windfall profits tax. They already pay taxes on those profits, so why tax them more? What industry will be next? Will you decide that all businesses in the country should only make a set profit margin and if they go over it they have to pay additional taxes?

I believe in lower taxes and that the "rich" should not be punished for working hard and becoming wealthy. I believe the rich are the ones who keep the rest of us working, whether it is directly as our employers or as the biggest source of investment and spending, thus keeping other businesses running and employing. You want to punish the "rich" by raising their taxes and you want to increase Social Security taxes. Do you realize that the “Top 1%” or the “rich” pay 40% of all the taxes this country collects? Two-thirds of this category is small business owners who provide 70% of our nation's jobs and 80% of all the new jobs in our economy. What will happen to all these jobs when their taxes are increased? Do you think they will be able to stay in business? Do you also realize that the “Top 50%” or the “rich” plus the “middle class” pay 95% of all taxes? Enough is enough. No "Robin Hood" politics and NO NEW TAXES!!!!!

I believe in smaller government, less social or “entitlement” programs and personal responsibility. You want to increase government spending, expand social programs and you feel that it is the responsibility of the government to provide.

I believe this country’s medical system needs to be reformed. But I believe we need to do it through tort reform, limiting malpractice lawsuits, requiring employers to pay a portion of their payroll toward medical insurance for their employees, and giving tax credits for the cost of medical insurance. You want to nationalize health care which would lead to even higher taxes and possible rationing or limiting of health care benefits.

I believe in securing our borders against illegal immigration, deporting any and all illegal immigrants, and enforcing our immigration laws. You want to open our borders and turn a blind eye to the illegal immigration problem. That’s business as usual and it hasn’t worked.

I believe English should be declared as our national language and that all immigrants should be required to learn the language. You think we should look to multilingual Europe as an example and make sure our children can speak Spanish.

I believe that all life is sacred and that abortion is wrong. I believe we need to teach abstinence and personal responsibility for our actions. I do not believe abortion should be used as a method of birth control. IT IS MURDER!!! You have vowed to make abortion the first priority of your administration by signing into law the "Freedom of Choice Act" which will annihilate every state law that limits or regulates abortion, including the federal ban on partial birth abortion.

I believe that our current energy problems are due to decades of poor stewardship of our own energy resources, including, but not limited to, President Bush Senior’s Presidential ban on offshore drilling and President Clinton’s refusal to allow drilling in the ANWR province. You choose to place all the blame at President Bush Junior’s feet.

I believe we need to drill here at home to decrease our dependency on foreign oil, while exploring and developing alternative energy sources for the future. You refuse to even consider drilling here at home and want to force us toward alternative energy sources without knowing whether or not they will even provide the energy we need.

I believe we need to finish what we started in Iraq, right or wrong. What’s done is done and no amount of Monday morning quarterbacking is going to change that. I do not want our 3,000 plus soldiers who died there to have died in vain. If the politicians had stayed out of the war to begin with, and let the generals fight it like a war, it would probably have been over by now. I do not want to see a repeat of what happened in Vietnam. You want to end the war no matter what and to hell with what the generals or anyone else thinks or what may happen to the region.

I believe this country needs change. But I believe that the change needs to come from the people. We, the people, need to return to the moral, family and social values that made this country great. We need to reject the amoral, anti-family and anti-social values which have plagued us for too many years. We need to remove career politicians who prefer to fight like children and accomplish nothing with new ones who will not forget why they were voted into office in the first place. You believe that the change this country needs is to adopt socialist policies that our European relatives have adopted and have seen fail. To me, those are very scary policies.

Lastly, I am not going to vote for you because I refuse to give Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid anymore power than they already wield. They have proven to me that they are only concerned about scoring political points by ridiculing an unpopular President (who, by the way, has an approval rating that is about 15 points higher than Congresses). They have also proven to me that they don’t care at all about the people of this country or their problems. They are nothing more than bullies and blowhards.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not particularly pleased with the Republican choice either (at least I do agree with him on a few issues). I feel McCain is one of the weakest candidates the Republican Party had running. Although I respect him for his service to this country, I do not feel he should be our Presidential choice. However, he is, so I will hold me nose and vote for him because to not vote for him would be a vote for you and this country cannot afford you!

Say What?

I’ve actually heard people insinuate that Americans have the chance to prove they are not racist by voting for Obama. SAY WHAT?

For one thing, I do not have to prove to anyone that I am not racist. I will not be forced to vote for an inexperienced black politician just so I can say, “Hey, isn’t that great. Racism is dead in America.” I answer to only one individual, my God, and he is the only one who will judge me and my actions in the end.

For anyone to say that a vote against Obama is a vote for racism and a vote for Obama is a vote against racism is ludicrous. Whatever happened to voting for someone because you truly believe he or she is qualified to do the job?

I know that I am not a racist and I really don’t care whether anyone believes me or not. I am not going to cast a vote just to prove that point. I am not a white woman who carries around any “white guilt” for slavery…that happened over two hundred years before I was born. I also do not carry around guilt for racial crimes committed by ignorant people. I can not control the thoughts or actions of others. I can only control my thoughts and actions and my conscience is clear.