If Your Gonna Vote, You Gotta Know the Bloke!

Everyone seems to lament how tiresome the debates and endless politicking is.. and November is soooo far away.

But I am enjoying it. This *can* be fun.

It is giving my family and myself time to learn more and more about these men (and woman) as they pound away on the election road. For example, can Senator Clinton maintain her new 'kind and gentle' image in front of the Iowa cameras with a bad cold on top of late nights, multiple appearances and bad food? How do all these candidates handle adverse conditions? It is like watching interns on the 72nd hour of no sleep.. will they crack??

But why watch this stuff, we all know about the ridiculous media spin?

Yup! It is a reality and like it or not, it is part of our life. It did give me a sense of relief to read about Abraham Lincoln and the battles he had with the media in his day. This is not new. This is human nature. Part of this whole process is understanding when we are being 'spun' by the media and trying to see through.

Honestly, I think if Americans could understand that one thing, when they are being 'spun', then our country would be so much better off.

THINK, Americans!!

What a great chance for us to help our children learn to think. Not just put our political opinions on them, but help them see the spin, the issues and think things through. What a gift these elections and our media gives us. A virtual classroom!

How many Bush Haters out there are simply being manipulated by the liberal media? Do they really "hate" Bush? And if so, why? Was it because Chris Matthews told them to, or they thought David Letterman's endless jokes were hilarious? Or do they have real reasons?
(OTOH, I can tell you exactly why I dislike the Clintons. Believe me, I have thought about it and it is completely against prevailing media spin.)

This is your country. Don't just throw up your hands and say it is broken so we will stick our heads in the sand. Then we really will turn it over to those least qualified.

And if you are voting for someone because Oprah or Chuck Norris told you to... then, maybe just stay home.

I digress!

I thought I would gather up for my family the *issues* pages of each of the major candidates so we could read for ourselves where they stand. Now, when we read these we have to understand they may have behaved differently than they say, but this is a starting point.

But why bother, since we have no control over who will be nominated by each party? (unless we live in a caucus state)? Well, because it helps us *know* who is out there. It gets us involved in the (very imperfect) process. The bumper stickers that irk me the most are not ones supporting candidates I don't like but those that say things like:

"Don't Blame Me, I Voted for Kinky"

Give me a break. This is your country, too.


Don't be discouraged because it all seems so political. Yes, there are candidates the press ignores. Keep plugging. Make the best choice you can.

See these Wikapedia articles for a rundown of who is running, who dropped out, who we will never hear of.
Republicans running

Democrats running


And here is a nice general article about the presidential elections with a nice electoral college map. We had the best time tracking the returns and the electoral college votes in past elecions.

But this is reality. Someone will be elected and it will affect the world, the U.S. and you on a daily basis. Just think, if nothing else, who do you want to hear giving speeches all the time on TV? But more importantly, who is going to try and lead us through these difficult times? Whoever it is needs all of our prayers.

So grab a cup of cocoa, gather the kids around, put on your


Anti-Political Correctness goggles



and read about these Americans who all want desperately to be your next president.

In fact, keep a notepad handy and jot down thoughts and comments from your kids. There can be tons of rabbit trails for learning, such as the War in Iraq. Why are we there? Who are the Shiites? The Sunnis? What does tribalism have to do with the current events today? Does the president of Iran really think there was NEVER a holocaust? Is there really proof there was one, or is he right?
Why does he hate Israel?.. and on and on...

It is amazing all the questions that can come up when discussing current events and how they can lead us back through history....


And, learning where we have been, where we are now, maybe together we can cut through the spin, or at least not get dizzy next time the press puts us on its carousel...and get to the heart of the issues important to us.

OK- As promised, here are the issues pages I found on the official websites of each major candidate. Enjoy!

Republicans:
(they go first cuz I like them better- otherwise in no particular order)

Mike Hukabee
Ron Paul
Mitt Romney
Rudy Guliani
John McCain
Fred Thompson
Duncan Hunter
Alan Keyes

Democrats:
Joe Biden
Hillary Clinton
Chris Dodd
John Edwards
Mike Gravel
Dennis Kuchinich
Barack Obama
Bill Richardson

Please comment if I have omitted any candidates. I just included the major contenders.

Now, to go read through these sites myself. A tough job, but someone's gotta do it...

But that is NOT politically correct!

Look at this quote from Mike Huckabee:

"The reason we have so much government is because we have so much broken humanity," he said. "And the reason we have so much broken humanity is because sin reigns in the hearts and lives of human beings instead of the Savior."

and-

"The most basic unit of government is not the city council, quorum court or state legislature, Huckabee said. "It is Mom and Dad raising kids and teaching them respect for authority, others and God."


Full article

Our Country- Conversation Starters

People lament our election primaries and prelimiaries go on too long. I dissagree!

It gives us a chance to get to know these people vying to be our president. Yes, there is too much money involved and the system is imperfect and the media is biased. But if we can understand these men (and woman) more, it is worth it.

I missed the Romney speech on Mormanism and the presidency yesterday but this has been an ongoing topic in our house. Great fodder for conversation.... what a mix: politics and religion! What do your kids think?

Here are some viewpoints... converstation starters


Examinier article

Rush Limbaugh's take

Another take

Justice Clarence Thomas

Did you know Clarence Thomas is Catholic and studied to be a priest?
Did you know Clarence Thomas became an angry young black man and rioted in Harvard Square in 1970?
Did you know Clarence Thomas's grandfather's favorite phrase was:
"Old Man Can't is dead. I buried him."

Wonderful interview by three Hillsdale College students. Worth the read.. and passing on to your kids.
Click here

The Imprimis is also available for free- the magazine in which the interview was published.

Who Would You REALLY Vote for for Prez?

Very interesting internet quiz.
Good questions, enough depth to get to your true beliefs and you can rate the importance of each issue.

Now, I am just trusting they have accurate info on each candidate and their positions...

Try it! Takes about 5 minutes. Unless you need to go research your opinion on an issue.. lol Trust your gut!
Click Here

Family Fun Watching the Debate

Ok, Ralphie got me up early (5:30) so I figured I would make my Monday morning run to the grocery store really early and beat the crowds!

(...Or sit here, drink coffee, and make a blog post..) Sigh. Well, life is to be lived, right?

Some families enjoy going to the movies. Others, a rousing game of Monopoly. Us, we watch the republican debates on T.V.

That is the only thing I can yell upstairs to the boys that is coming on TV and they will drop everything and come sit glued to the TV for 2 hours for. (wow, bad grammar, more coffee)

I know most of you are sick of the election and is still a year away. My dh only watched the debate in passing, saying, he is going to vote Republican anyway, so it doesn't matter that much. I begged to differ... these debates seem the best way to get to know these men. The best fast way. And I was very, very happy with how Fox ran the debate last night.

It is a limited format of course. So the goal is to get as much info out of them as you can in an organized fashion and I think Brit Hume and crew did an excellent job.

The best part of the debate, so good that I actually sent an email to Fox telling them!-- was before it even started.

They have a pollster, Frank Luntz, who organized a 'focus group' of 'regular people', about 25 of them. He had them all in a room and asked them questions about what they wanted from this debate, from these hopefuls.

What they said in those few minutes was more articulate, intelligent, honest and to the point than any rhetoric I have heard from the candidates and media pundits to date. In a nutshell:

We want:
leadership
vision
'stand up' for the Republican party and find our mission
honesty
Be like Reagan- have clear vision, clear goals, know where you are going and people (whether they agree with you or not) will know where you stand.

I could have cheered! and he next asked about Sen. Hillary. He had to, it turns out this woman is defining the 2008 elections in both parties. Dems candidate have to beat Mrs. Bill Clinton for the nomination. Reps have to beat her in the election- or so it is looking that way.

When he asked the focus group about her, you could see how much they were disturbed at the prospect of her being elected. One person said she is a socialist. Socialist? How many people here think she is a socialist, Frank asked excitedly.

Most every hand shot up.

There it is... they are honest enough to say this something we know is true but the media is afraid to admit... these people made honest sense and it was refreshing.

(Now if you are reading this and a socialist and are happy with Hillary, that is your right. But we need to think if socialism is really where we want our country to go. Seriously think about it. Read history... see where past countries have gone with socialism. This is real. And those are the roots of Hillary's philosophies.)

Wonderful these people could say what the media won't!

The debate itself, lots of highlights and side topics. We talked about Woodstock and how Senator McCain said he didn't make the concert because he was 'tied up' at the time.... :)--- Mitt Romney's new cool hair style, Rudy's attempt to cozy up to the 'values voters', Ron Paul's Libertarian views and Huckabee's no apologies supporting LIFE in all forms. What a treasure of topics!

The candidates made a good showing (imo) especially compared to past debates and appearances. No, I am not excited about all the rhetoric and campaign stuff. but this is our country. There is an election coming, warts and all. I love our two party system. Everyone has a right to be heard. Debates like these are giving us a chance to find out (in an imperfect fashion) about these imperfect men running.

We need a strong two party system and since the dems have all of the media (except talk radio) on their side the Republicans must get strong, fearless and decide what they believe, get the word out so we actually have a choice.

Last night was a good first step, plus we had lots of family conversation over our Chicken Marsala and pasta.

Fox by far and away does the best job with debates (makes it about the candidates, not the moderators)- and the next debate is in early December if you want to tune in. You can also email in questions for the candidates.. something we meant to do but never got around to.

"It makes you let go of something. And it makes you hold on to something."

PEGGY NOONAN

On Letting Go
How we become American

Friday, June 29, 2007 12:01 a.m. EDT

Happy Fourth of July. To mark this Wednesday's holiday, I share a small moment that happened a year ago in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. I was at a wake for an old family friend named Anthony Coppola, a retired security guard who'd been my uncle Johnny's best friend from childhood. All the old neighborhood people were there from Clinton Avenue and from other streets in Brooklyn, and Anthony's sisters Tessie and Angie and Gloria invited a priest in to say some prayers. About a hundred of us sat in chairs in a little side chapel in the funeral home.

The priest, a jolly young man with a full face and thick black hair, said he was new in the parish, from South America. He made a humorous, offhand reference to the fact that he was talking to longtime Americans who'd been here for ages. This made the friends and family of Anthony Coppola look at each other and smile. We were Italian, Irish, everything else. Our parents had been the first Americans born here, or our grandparents had. We had all grown up with two things, a burly conviction that we were American and an inner knowledge that we were also something else. I think we experienced this as a plus, a double gift, though I don't remember anyone saying that. When Anthony's mother or her friend, my grandmother, talked about Italy or Ireland, they called it "the old country." Which suggested there was a new one, and that we were new in it.

But this young priest, this new immigrant, he looked at us and thought we were from the Mayflower. As far as he was concerned--as far as he could tell--we were old Yankee stock. We were the establishment. As the pitcher in "Bang the Drum Slowly" says, "This handed me a laugh."

This is the way it goes in America. You start as the Outsider and wind up the Insider, or at least being viewed as such by the newest Outsiders. We are a nation of still-startling social fluidity. Anyone can become "American," but they have to want to first.

It has had me thinking a lot about how people become American.





I don't know that when my grandfather Patrick Byrne and his sisters, Etta and Mary Jane, who had lived on a hardscrabble little farm in Donegal, on the west coast of Ireland, felt about America when they got here. I don't know if they were "loyal to America." I think they were loyal to their decision to come to America. In for a penny, in for a pound. They had made their decision. Now they had to prove to themselves it was the right one. I remember asking Etta what she'd heard about America before she got here. She said, "The streets were paved with gold." All the immigrants of the late 19th and early 20th century used that phrase.
When I was in college in the 1970s, I got a semester abroad my junior year, and I took a boat from England to Ireland and made my way back to Donegal. This was approximately 55 years after my grandfather and his sisters had left. There I met an old man who'd been my grandfather's boyhood friend. He lived by himself in a shack on a hill and was grateful the cousins I'd found had sent me to him. He told me he'd been there the day my grandfather, then a young man, left. He said the lorry came down the lane and stopped for my grandfather, and that his father said goodbye. He said, "Go now, and never come back to hungry Ireland again."

My grandfather had his struggles here but never again went home. He'd cast his lot. That's an important point in the immigrant experience, when you cast your lot, when you make your decision. It makes you let go of something. And it makes you hold on to something. The thing you hold on to is the new country. In succeeding generations of your family the holding on becomes a habit and then a patriotism, a love. You realize America is more than the place where the streets were paved with gold. It has history, meaning, tradition. Suddenly that's what you treasure.

A problem with newer immigrants now is that for some it's no longer necessary to make The Decision. They don't always have to cast their lot. There are so many ways not to let go of the old country now, from choosing to believe that America is only about money, to technology that encourages you to stay in constant touch with the land you left, to TV stations that broadcast in the old language. If you're an immigrant now, you don't have to let go. Which means you don't have to fully join, to enmesh. Your psychic investment in America doesn't have to be full. It can be provisional, temporary. Or underdeveloped, or not developed at all.

And this may have implications down the road, and I suspect people whose families have been here a long time are concerned about it. It's one of the reasons so many Americans want a pause, a stopping of the flow, a time for the new ones to settle down and settle in. It's why they oppose the mischief of the Masters of the Universe, as they're being called, in Washington, who make believe they cannot close our borders while they claim they can competently micromanage all other aspects of immigration.





It happens that I know how my grandfather's sister Mary Jane became an American. She left a paper trail. She kept a common-place book, a sort of diary with clippings and mementos. She kept it throughout the 1920s, when she was still new here. I found it after she'd died. It's a big brown book with cardboard covers and delicate pages. In the front, in the first half, there are newspaper clippings about events in Ireland, and sentimental poems. "I am going back to Glenties . . ."
But about halfway through, the content changes. There is a newspaper clipping about something called "Thanksgiving." There are newspaper photos of parades down Fifth Avenue. And suddenly, near the end, there are patriotic poems. One had this refrain: "So it's home again and home again, America for me./ My heart is turning home again, and there I long to be./ In the land of youth and freedom beyond the ocean bars/ Where the air is full of sunlight, and the flag is full of stars."

Years later, when I worked for Ronald Reagan, those words found their way into one of his speeches, a nod from me to someone who'd made her decision, cast her lot, and changed my life.

I think I remember the last time I told that story. I think it was to a young Mexican-American woman who was a speechwriter for Bill Clinton. I think she completely understood.

God bless our beloved country on the 231st anniversary of its birth.

Ms. Noonan is a contributing editor of The Wall Street Journal and author of "John Paul the Great: Remembering a Spiritual Father" (Penguin, 2005), which you can order from the OpinionJournal bookstore. Her column appears Fridays on OpinionJournal.com.

Peggy Noonan's Site

Our Independence Day

I have been thinking a lot lately about what I want my boys to learn. Leonie has had an interesting discussion on her blog about what she requires in homeschooling.

"Requirements" is a completely different post, which I am formulating in my head and hope to post soon. To me it is not a certain list, but a way of life. More on that later.

But, as I was thinking about what ideas or ideals I want my boys to ponder in these learning years, the topics related to our celebration of America's independence rose to the top.

We live in a difficult time, one of many in history. As it said in scripture, we are in a time in which what is good is bad, what is bad is good, what is up is down and down is up. Today that is called political correctness. If one publicly asserts a moral code they are attacked as being intolerant or worse. And, so of course patriotism has become confused in the mire and is often branded as racism.

With immigration things are even more confusing. It begs the question of whether we can be a soverign nation within the culture of political correctness. And more fully, can we be a Christian nation in action and principle, welcoming to all peoples as our faith teaches us, while also protecting our nation and nurtuing its future.

This post will not try and answer those questions, but they are things I ponder and I share with my sons. They will be living in this world a generation past all of us and our grandchildren will inherit it after them. What kind of world will they live in? And what will our country look like in that global scenario? Our children will be facing these issues and hopefully will be leaders in thought and action.

I heard a survey yesterday that by 3 to 1 Americans think things will be worse for our children and not better. But there are voices who think they will be better. I want to be one of those voices. Prayer is foremost. But secondly we must have knowledge.

I think the answers to this depends on us and our children understanding our country, where it came from and where it has the potential to go, all while translating through our faith and God's dominion.


The demographic face of the United States is changing. How does that square with the ideals first set forth for this country? Was the founding of our country based on race, religion or ethnic make up? Is there room for all?

When we look at the immigration at the end of the 19th century, we see a true melting pot. What was it that brought people to want to live here when there were no handouts, welfare or groups to protect and feed the poor? What brought them all here without guarantees?

As I read and research I find a common bond for the founding of America. It is based on a creed. Ideals. The ideals are that of freedom (religious, economic, etc) and democracy. That implied that if you came to this country, you were not guaranteed the security that a large government or monarchy could provide. But you could live your life in freedom. Thus, the majority of those who came were self-starters, hard workers and not in search of a mother country to take care of them.

That is what has led to much of America's economic success, we were founded by self-starters.

We also were founded by people who had a deep belief in God. For example, as the first Continential Convention was about to give up in frustration, Benjamin Franklin stopped the meeting and called for prayer. They ceased all discussion and prayed, and then went on to finish the job.

George Washington truly was a towering figure, the real father of our country, and I think we have lost a lot of that recognition today. He could have been King of America. He was offered that in lieu of being President. He flatly refused and King George III was amazed and greatly impressed by this truly magnificent man. These were the kinds of people who began our country, despite the writings of the revisionist authors of today.

How does that figure into the America of today, which is a very different country in a different world from that in the 1700's. Can our constitution and founding ideas carry us through for two more centuries? Are the ideas outdated?

That is what I want my family and I to explore. We are going back to the roots to understand who the people were and what they stood for when they broke away from King George III of England.

To me, that is the basis of being able to make sense of where America can go in the future. Are we still a creedo nation? We are especially no longer bound by race, economic group or culture. When we began we were 90% English and most completely Christian. But what bound us together were the founding ideals.

Are those ideals still enough to hold together our country? And if so, how do they translate to guide us in our current issues of immigration, world policy, environmentalism, welfare, and a host of others.

What I want to give my boys is a foundation from which to be able to sort out the world and have vision into the future. Like the wonderful quote: Those who do not understand history are bound to repeat it." I feel that if we don't understand the roots of where we come from we can't know where we are going. Or if it is worth the trip, and particularly if it is worth fighting for.

Because we are currently in a fight to save our nation, from threats without and within.

We are starting with some basic review of the founding of the nation. We read some nice Sonlight and other books in past years, as well as study of our government and how it works. We have read through the Declaration of Independence and Constitution briefly in years past. All along we have followed current events, elections, politics and world events.

I hope to review our founders and history again with an eye to applying it to today's issues. Also we are reading from ,The Spirit of America edited by William Bennett, which takes original writings from the framers of our country. We hear straight from them how they foresaw this country.

If their vision is no longer valid, then really the country is up for grabs. So let's see what they had to say!

God Bless America and the whole world--

Happy Independence Day... and with all the problems of America, I want to remember what an awesome country this is.

I think it is very, very easy to take our freedom for granted.

Motorcyclist Meets his "Guardian"-

This story was on the FRONT page of the Houston Chronicle today. If you have time, I recommend reading it to the end. I am so glad they printed it and here is the link to see a picture.

click here link

Roberto Gauna, left, said he prayed for the injured Blessing at the accident scene: "'Lord, give this man life,' and he did.''
Nick de la Torre: Chronicle



June 14, 2007, 4:46AM
Motorcyclist Meets his 'Guardian Angel'
After a near tragedy on a local highway, man gets to know truck driver who saved his life


The angel's name is Roberto Gauna. The last time the two were together, Blessing was lying unconscious and appeared near death as Gauna prayed for a miracle in the middle of the northbound lanes of Interstate 45 near NASA Parkway.

That was on May 25, when what many consider a miracle unfolded after Blessing crashed into the back of a vehicle when a large, loose tire caused a multivehicle smashup.

"I thought you were fighting for your life," a tearful Gauna told Blessing on Wednesday when the two met for the first time since Gauna used his cement truck to stop traffic and keep other drivers from running over and killing Blessing. "I was holding your hand, and I prayed, 'Lord, give this man life,' and he did."

Gauna left the accident scene before anyone got his name, but he responded to Blessing's published plea that he step forward and be recognized. Gauna said he talked to family and friends and waited days before e-mailing Blessing last week.

On hand for Wednesday's reunion were Gauna's wife, Anabel, their seven children, and Blessing's wife, Dorothy, and their two toddler sons.


No memory of crash
Gauna recounted for Blessing the details of the accident, of which the motorcyclist has no memory. After Blessing's crash into a vehicle, Gauna said, he saw him fly into the barrier separating the north- and southbound lane before he rolled back into traffic lanes.

As unaware drivers behind him tried to speed through the slot-like construction area, Gauna said, he hit his brakes, straddled two lanes with his truck and forced motorists behind him to stop as he rolled closer to Blessing. Many speeding drivers maneuvered around, but one other man and several women stopped and raced to Blessing's aid, Gauna said.

"Your eyes were rolled back in your head, and you were making deep moans and grunts of death," Gauna told Blessing.

Blessing, 24, an insurance counselor who was traveling to work in north Houston from his Dickinson home at the time of the crash, shook his head repeatedly in amazement and smiled broadly as he heard the rescue story. He struggled to find appropriate words for Gauna.

"It's not that you should have done what you did," Blessing said. "It's that you did it. I can't say much more than 'Thank you,' but I'll never be able to thank you enough."

"Meeting him is better than meeting your favorite celebrity," said Dorothy Blessing. "He was brave, and he was courageous that day."

Gauna, 35, said he was raised to do the right thing as he grew up in Houston's East End. Early reports were that the trucker who prevented Blessing from being run over drove an 18-wheeler, but Gauna said his cement truck had only 10 wheels.

"I just reacted," he said, detailing events for Blessing.

As others began tending to Blessing on the freeway that day, Gauna said, he and another man tried to get traffic moving again to make way for the ambulances, whose sirens they heard in the distance.

Gauna said he was astounded when he looked back at Blessing.

"You were sitting up and unstrapping your helmet and pulling it off your head," Gauna told him.

By that time, someone had found out Blessing's name by going through his wallet.

Gauna recalled Blessing's first words.

"I said, 'Jeff, God is with you,' " Gauna told Blessing. "You said, 'He's always with me.' "

kevin.moran@chron.com

Learning (What?) Through Video Games

I have come to know that a lot can be learned through video games, both skills and content, and they can be a platform for discussion.

Ah, but as with every medium, just what can they teach? Just about anything. Global warming is a topic of interest around these parts, mostly from the point of view of discerning what is 'junk science' and PC fodder and what is not. How do we tell? Who is saying what, and can we discern their real reasons for saying it?

This article is (another) eye opener to me. It is just another extension of the media and how it is being weilded to try and teach (brainwash) the masses. Who would think while watching a funny TV show, reading a benign article in the paper or playing a video game that someone would be trying to 'shape' our thought?

I don't mind if some people think global warming is a threat, but please, don't try and sneak in your ideology disquised as fun for kids, and don't use it as a political springboard! Please Microsoft, make games and computer, don't try and make social change. But, Mr. Gates has all the billions to spend and he wants to make a 'difference'.

I think we are in a Brave New World. I try and talk about this with the boys, to keep them aware of the agendas out there. I hope we can raise an aware generation, but it is amazing the influence the media plays.