My Apologies

I want to say that I am sorry for the lack of postings of late.  But, I do have some very good reasons.

I have been kind of in a funk of late, so that explains part of it.  But not all.

I also have taken some much-needed personal time to make some decisions in my life.  Big ones in fact.

I have come to the conclusion that I really need to simplify my life and start doing more things for myself.  So, I have decided to make some changes in not just how I live, but where I live it too.  I will be moving back to my home state of Connecticut.  Something that I never thought I would do, but here it is.  Never say never I guess is the lesson here.

I have been running myself ragged for the past several years trying to get certain things accomplished and one of the goals I was working towards has become out of reach for me.  So I had to re-evaluate what my goals should be.  In that thought process I realized the need to go home.  To be around people who have known me since I was a little girl.  People who really love and care about me.  People who understand what it is that I am looking for on a longer term basis for not just myself but for the people who love and care for me.

I want to clear my head of the distractions that I have allowed to take over in the past five years and concentrate on the things that really matter.  Living a life of giving and surrounding yourself with people who will always have your best interests at heart; family and loved ones.

Now I will still remain politically active, I will just be doing it from a different location and being in a place that gives me far more comfort than the craziness of the DC area.

So please be a little more patient and I will be back to posting regularly.  I still have some logistical things to work out, but I will return to normally scheduled programing soon.

Quote of the Day - Governor Tim Pawlenty Edition

"When you have a situation that is unfolding rapidly, a lot of times people fall back to first instinct, and in that first instinct, which is more reflex than strategic thought sometimes, you get to see what they think is most important," 

Governor Tim Pawlenty on the brouhaha that has erupted over the first statement given by Governor Romney after the news broke that two of our embassies were attacked yesterday.  

Apparently the very first statement was given before the crowd had actually scaled the walls of the embassy.  The media seems to think that it was done as a way to try to save their lives and restore calm.  I happen to disagree.   A tweet was sent out after the compound had been breached:

"This morning's condemnation still stands. As does our condemnation of unjustified breach of the Embassy."

Hillary Clinton's first statement (read below) talks about offending people and religious tolerance before it speaks to the acts of violence.  Any way you cut it, the first and gut reaction by the Obama administration was to apologize for some video that very few people in the United States knew anything about, uploaded by a man who is regularly mocked by Christian conservatives.  

Sherrod and a Lesson in Using the Race Card

Apparently Shirley Sherrod is not a racist woman who was using her position of power to block people from getting equal treatment under the law.  The full video has been released and apologies have been made.  But it shouldn't be the end of the story. 

The story really isn't about Sherrod, she just got caught in the middle of it.  The story is about people who are all too willing to label someone a racist and the fear that it brings out in people.  This happened because the NAACP is starting a fight unnecessarily with the Tea Party movement. 

Sherrod's side of the story is that the Obama administration pressured her into resigning; a charge they deny.  She also said that the NAACP never contacted her before releasing it's original statement condemning her statements of not helping a white man save his farm.  Both of these things are just as disturbing as Andrew Breitbart releasing a video without the full context, and not reporting it in such a way that made that clear. 

Calling someone a racist or even implying it can have very damaging results.  This woman has been publicly ridiculed across the blogoshpere and national television.  She has lost her job (something that should be corrected immediately), and she has been thrust into  a spotlight that she neither asked for or deserved.  This is a lesson in why using the race card should only be done with careful consideration and more than just a single soundbite. 

If you take a look around the conservative blogosphere, you will see the apologies to the unnecessary interruption to Ms. Sherrod's life.  I am still waiting for the left to apologize for the non existent N word incident at the Tea Party Protest in March. 

Helen Thomas' is Sorry For Israeli Comments - Sorry that the Video went Viral That Is.

“I deeply regret my comments I made last week regarding the Israelis and the Palestinians. They do not reflect my heart-felt belief that peace will come to the Middle East only when all parties recognize the need for mutual respect and tolerance. May that day come soon.”

Helen Thomas has made many stupid comments over the years.  It is very clear that she believes that there is a moral equivalence between the United States and Islamic Terrorists:
 

I was trying to find out why, why, what’s, look, we’ve been in this war, eight, nine years, against this so-called terrorism. And I do say "so-called" because in the newspapers, if you read, you read about the militants, you don’t read about us bombing everybody, and never really explaining why, and going into three, four different countries, Middle East, Africa, and so forth. Who are we? And why are we doing this?

Has this woman gotten so old that she doesn't remember the fact that 9/11 happened before we were in Iraq and Afghanistan?  While the US military was in Middle Eastern Country before 9/11, but we were there by invitation.  The Saudis asked us to help defend against Saddam Hussein after he tried to take over the country of Kuwait.  That comment isn't even revisionist history, it is just outright false.  Helen Thomas is obviously a smart woman, but she certainly does have a closed mind when it comes to the politics and the issues of the Middle East. 

Ms. Thomas needs to explain how mutual respect and tolerance will be achieved when Hamas doesn't recognize the right of existence of Israel.  There will be no peace until then Helen.  Sorry to bring up that little detail, but it does need to be explained in order for your apology to actually work.