What, Israel Doesn't Warrent a Mention as a Community That Experienced Terrorism?

“As we commemorate the citizens of over 90 countries who perished in the 9/11 attacks, we honor all victims of terrorism, in every nation around the world, we honor and celebrate the resilience of individuals, families, and communities on every continent, whether in New York or Nairobi, Bali or Belfast, Mumbai or Manila, or Lahore or London.”

From the White House "guidelines" on how to commemorate the tenth anniversary of 9/11.

I don't know about you, but I don't think I need Obama to tell me how I should mark the day. 

Hmm, do you think leaving out Jerusalem was just a oversight? 

American Girl and Entitlement

Today, I had to take a 10-year-old to a birthday party as mom was home with a sick toddler. The party was at the store American Girl. For those that are not aware of the American Girl, it is quite the store. There are nine stores around the country, six of which are considered boutique stores, while three are the larger flagship stores.


American Girl originally started by Pleasant Company was only mail order. Mattel purchased the company back in 98 and proceeded to grow the line and open the stores. The marketing at this store is brilliant. As a person who has a master's degree in Marketing I find it fascinating and awe-inspiring. Who ever came up with the concept deserves the many millions that they will make off of this venture. Simply stunning job in marketing the store. They sell clothes for your daughters that match the clothes for the dolls. Every imaginable type of accessory is available, diaper changing stations, eye glasses in a variety of colors so your daughter can find ones that match hers, hair brushes, and on and on it goes.

For those who are not aware the dolls are sold with an accompanying book and mostly depict a time in American history. The girl of the year for 11 is Kanani, a native of Hawaii. Molly is the only original doll that is still available through the stores or online. Molly is a young girl living through World War II, and waiting for her daddy to return home from war. There is also Kit (from Kit Kittredge fame) who is growing up during the depression and watched her family lose everything and learns to realize that money isn't everything. Many of the dolls have a very good theme and reading is heavily emphasized. I picked up a few of the books in the store and was happy to see that they had some very constructive advice for tweens who are online.

But there are many problems with these stores as well. The dolls are marketed to girls 8 and over. Now, I have not lived through watching a little girl grow up and so I don't know when little girls really stop playing with dolls. But, I do seem to remember that was about the age that I started losing interest in dolls, and I was a HUGE fan of dolls. I have so many good memories of playing my baby dolls and my Barbie's. I had the whole line of Barbie items; the townhouse, the corvette, the big Barbie head so you could play hairdresser, and so on. I loved my dolls and they were very well-worn out by the time I was done with them.

The party I attended today was for girls aged 9 - 11. Every girl was given a party hat, a doll, choice of one accessory item, and a party hat for the doll. The dolls were also treated to the hair salon (yes, you read that correctly there is a doll hair salon complete with little capes that are put around the dolls while they are getting their hair braided or curled). It was quite the day. The girls seemed to enjoy the store and enjoyed the party luncheon and cake that came with the party. They all had plenty of pictures taken. I was thinking that this party must have been quite expensive, so I looked around the store more closely. Every doll in the place costs at least $100. That does include the story of the doll as well. The accessories were sold separately and range from $8 to $24. The birthday girl got two dolls and a stroller to push her dolls around in. She turned 11 today. Maybe I am wrong, but I am thinking she won't be pushing that stroller around the mall anytime soon. This party was about entitlement.

The little girls felt important being at that store. Especially since it was made clear to them how lucky they were to live locally to one of the stores. That was mentioned while we were outside on the patio putting the dolls in the high chairs that the store provides for them. Like I said, it was quite the party. There were 12 girls at this party (two were the birthday girl's sisters). This party had to have cost three or four thousand dollars. Plus she then received gifts on top of this.

Did this mother ever stop and realize that the parents of the little girls that went to this party would never be able to afford to throw such a party themselves, which could become an issue when their birthday's coming rolling around over the next year? I realize that I live in area where money is not much of a problem for many. But, this was such a blatant display of it that it really shocked me.

Isn't this just one more display of how we are teaching our children to expect things? Now, the little girl that I took to the party is lucky that she was given a doll at the party, because I can guarantee you her mother won't be buying her one. It isn't about the money so much as it is the need for an 11-year-old to have a doll at that price. Maybe I am wrong, but to me going to the store and the prestige of having the doll is what the girls want more than the doll itself. It is purely an image thing. It is sort of like the Air Jordans were to my generation. It wasn't that the sneaker was all that much nicer than the ones that were half the price, you just wanted to "be like Mike".

Like I said there are many things about the store that I really like. It promotes reading, it promotes patriotism, and it gives out some sound advice to tweens about the dangers in the world that they face. But it is directly marketing to girls that are probably a little too old for playing with dolls and a little too young to understand the worth of the keeping the doll in pristine condition for collecting.

Much to my chagrin, my little friend chose Julie as her doll. Julie is from San Francisco in the early 70's. She works to save the environment and to promote women's lib. Looks like I have some work to do with that one!! But, I have never seen her play with a doll ever, so I relatively certain it will be an expensive dust collector that sits on her bed.

See the website for yourself and let me know what you think.

I personally believe that the mother who threw this party better be picking out the kind of car she wants her daughter to have, because she will be expecting it in the driveway five years from today. And she has no one else to blame than herself for her daughter thinking that way.

Some Food (Stamps) for Thought

I have mentioned previously that I have become more actively involved with the community outreach programs that my church involves itself in. This being one of the reasons that I drive almost 20 miles to go to church. I have not been able to find another house of worship that I love as much as this one, so I just take the drive on Sunday's. To me it is worth it. The downside has been that I used that as an excuse for not being more involved in the projects. I have been determined to change that this year. Last week I went to government office that helps people with food stamp applications with one family. It was quite an experience.



Our church can only do so much to help with food to the people in need, because at the moment that need is so high. We have to find ways to stretch the food that we have available and to limit what we give out much more than we have in the past. Now, our church is not in the habit of telling people to apply for government programs; quite the opposite really. We try to help as many as we can with what we have available. For some families it is not enough and in order to get food for their kids they make the decision to apply for government aid. Another thing that we see quite often is that we have much greater need at the end of the month than at the beginning due to the fact that people who are receiving food stamps have simply run out of money before the month ends.


One of the things that makes me crazy is hyberole that isn't rooted in the facts. I see over and over again the accusations coming from the right that people who are on food benefits eat better than they do. This, for the most part, is a fallacy. The average amount that a single person recieves in this country is $98. That is $3.26 per day for food - another words $1.08 per meal. That doesn't even cover a can of soup. The average amount a family of four receives is $668 per month. That works out to $1.85 per meal per day. Most of us have been grocery shopping of late. You see for yourself how expensive food is becoming. A gallon of milk is almost $4 at my local Giant. A loaf of bread is about $3.

We have to deal with the fraud and the abuse that happens in the snap benefits programs across the country. We are spending millions that we should not be spending. But not everyone on this program is abusing it. Some really need it at the moment. Times are very tough for many around the country. They are barely scraping by. Some of these people don't realize that there are church programs out there to help them. Others can't get what they need simply through their churches and local charities that try and help as many as they can. During economic downturns the ability for the groups to collect the food and cash they need to help the needy diminishes.


One of the things that the conservative movement must do in this country is educate people on how conservative governments will actually benefit them in the long run. By making statements that these people eat like kings is not helping in that effort. At $1.85 per meal I hardly think they are eating filet mignon on a nightly basis. Chances are they are forgoing fresh vegetables altogether and eating lower amounts of protein then they should be.


The snap program should not be a way of life for people. It should only be a safety net for those needing a helping hand. Most people have needed a helping hand from time to time. We must cut the abuse out of the program so that money actually goes to the people who do need it while they are out of work or underemployed. We shouldn't be giving to college students so they have more money to party with.


I have said many times before language matters. When we talk about how people who are eating better than we do because of food stamps then we eat ourselves, we only make ourselves look silly. The numbers simply don't bear that out.


Household Size Maximum Food Stamp Allotment



1 $200


2 367


3 526


4 668


5 793


6 952


7 1,052


8 1,202


9 1,352


10 1,502


Each Additional Member +150

Household Size Maximum Net Monthly Income Limit



1 $903


2 1,215


3 1,526


4 1,838


5 2,150


6 2,461


7 2,773


8 3,085


9 3,397


10 3,709


Each Additional Member +312






These numbers are for people with no income at all. Since most people have some sort of income, these amounts will fall based on that income. If you receive social security, your benefits will fall. If you are collecting disability, your benefits will fall. If you are receiving aid from other organizations such as WIC your benefits will fall (and may disqualify you). You try feeding your family on $5 per day and see how it easy it is.


We need to find a way to help the people who need it without demonizing them because of the ones that abuse the system. So, if you have any food in pantry that has been sitting there for a month or so, bring it down to your local church or food bank. There is a family out there that will be able to use right away.


And no, I am not turning into a bleeding heart liberal, I just realize that the issue isn't as black and white as some make it sound.

Ron Paul on Fox News Sunday

Fox News Sunday is continuing its spotlight on the candidates for the GOP nomination.  Yesterday was Ron Paul's turn. 

Paul has caused some waves earlier this week when his comments on the 9/11 attacks. 

Coming Together to Remember - Oh, Really?

Then why can't first responders go the memorial at Ground Zero?  The men and women who showed up at Ground Zero the days following the attacks of 9/11 are heroes.  Some are now ill due the work they did trying to recover  bodies so their loved ones would be able to have a proper funeral and a little bit of closure.  Yet, they are being treated like they don't even matter on the tenth anniversary. 

If you believe the words you are saying President Obama, you would put your foot down and tell that politically correct lunatic Mayor Bloomberg that the first responders belong at the memorial service.  As usual, words is what we get from you, not actions. 

From the What Was She Thinking Files

Oh my.  Katy Perry's new look.  A little humor for you while the east coast is homebound due to the storm. 

Saying Goodbye

World War II vets are leaving us. We soon will have none left to thank for the world that is free of the Nazi's. They were called the "Greatest Generation" for a reason:

He was one of our community’s few remaining World War II veterans. He was 92 years old, and would have turned 93 in September. He was a Bronze Star recipient, and had been awarded the Purple Heart. He was also one of the few remaining former WWII POW’s in the country. He was captured during the Battle of the Bulge and spent from December 1944 until April 1945 in the captivity of the German army during one of the coldest European winters on record. He barely survived the cold and starvation, spent a month in a London hospital, and then came home, back to the small town of his youth, where he became a home builder, a sign painter, a master cabinet builder, and a gifted watercolor artist.

He also was the blogger The Conservative Pup's father. Stop on over and say some words of solace as she mourns the loss of a great man and a war hero, her treasured daddy.

Quote of the Day - Paul Krugman Edition

People on twitter might be joking, but in all seriousness, we would see a bigger boost in spending and hence economic growth if the earthquake had done more damage.

Well, he may get his wish with a hurricane coming and all. 

Jackass.

To Tito - While You Came Up Short You Are Still a Winner to Me

To my friend Tito:



When the polls closed and the votes were counted they said you did not win. But, that is not what happened tonight. While you will not be moving onto the general election in November for a chance to serve in the Virginia State Senate, you were a winner tonight.


You were a winner because you were willing to go through the rigors of a campaign in order to serve. You were a winner because you and your wife Debbie used your own resources in part to fund that campaign. You were a winner because when other people told you that you couldn't, you did it anyway. You stood up to say "I am willing to serve" to make Virginia a better place to live. You stood up and said you were willing to be a citizen legislator, not to enrich yourself, but to serve others. You stood up. That is so much more than many others are willing to do; myself included.


I know that some things in this campaign has left you and Debbie a little frustrated. I also know that you learned some lessons on who can and cannot be trusted. But, you made some new friends. You also introduced all of us who worked on your campaign to some great people, who are just as dedicated as you are.


And to Kristen, you worked so hard on this campaign. You will go far in helping good solid conservatives getting elected to office. That I know for sure.


The numbers didn't go your way, but you a winner to me.


I was proud to make phone calls and go door knocking in Senate district 36 for you. To introduce Northern Virginians to "Tito the Builder", a good and principled man. I will be there if you decide to run again. You just tell me when and where and I will show up.


Like you said tonight, the campaign is over, and we put it behind us - it is now time to turn our attention to turning the Virginia Senate Red.


Debbie, Tito and Kristen - Friday night dinner is on me.   Now go and get some sleep!!!!

Virginia Primary Day Almost Upon Us - Those Last Minute Donations Sure Are Interesting

The primaries in The Commonwealth of Virginia will be held tomorrow. One race that I am keeping a close eye on is Tito Munoz against Jeffrey Frederick. They are squaring off to see who will face long time State Senator Toddy Puller.



Tito received a donation from an unusual place, Mr. Christian Josi. Mr. Josi is Jeff Frederick's former financial chairman. It wasn't all that long ago that Josi was calling Mr. Frederick "a conservative rock star". Could this be part of the reason that Mr. Josi has decided to back Tito for the senate seat? I am not sure we will ever quite know for sure. But it sure is interesting that a former staff member no longer is supporting him.

Music Break - An Ode to Obama Poll Numbers

Get A Grip Beck

Glenn Beck is all up in arms that the House Ethics Committee has barred some members of congress from going to his rally in Israel later this month.



On the air, Beck said he‘d heard it was Boehner’s office that was not approving members of Congress to attend the event, with 35 representatives at one point planning to attend before being told they’d been rejected by the House and would have to self-fund the trip if they wanted to go.


Beck wondered whether the congressmen were barred because “it is me as someone who holds the Republicans’ feet to the fire” or as retribution for voting against the debt ceiling deal.


I am unable to find a list of the 35 that wanted to attend so I don’t know if any of them voted for the debt ceiling or not. But, what I do know is that if it was indeed Speaker Boehner who stopped this trip, I want to shake his hand.


It is about frickin’ time that someone stand up to these congressman (and ladies too) and say hell no, if you want to jet all over the world you have to pay for it yourself. You see they are not being barred from attending, they are being barred by taking an all expensive paid trip to Israel. The charity that was planning on footing the bill is indeed a 501 (c)3. But what Beck doesn’t fully explain is that they don’t get called lobbyists when they are legally allowed to “educate” people on their particular issue. Whatever that issue may happen to be. For instance, they can hold seminars on the say global warming (a topic that Beck has spoken out against time and again), and give out all kinds of literature on that topic. That literature legally will be allowed to contain which legislation affects their topic. As long as they don’t tell someone directly to contact an elected official or try to contact that official themselves directly on that topic, they are in compliance with the law will be allowed to keep their non-profit tax exempt status. But they can take them on little junkets to the other side of the world and that is perfectly fine. That doesn’t sound a tad like lobbying to you?


I have seen quite a few conservatives all up in arms and calling Boehner a traitor. Seriously? They are legally allowed to indirectly lobby and by paying for this trip to Israel that is exactly what they were trying to do. The trip would have been so short that they wouldn’t have had time to have any meetings with Israeli officials. Basically they would have gotten off the plane, gone to Beck’s rally spent the night in I would presume a pretty expensive hotel room and got back on a plane the next day and flown home. Conservatives have a problem that Boehner put his foot down and said no?


Speaker Boehner let me be the first to shake your hand. They make $174K per year. They can afford a ticket to Israel. We need to take away as many people trying to influence the government as possible. This is why government officials don’t want to leave their jobs. These are exactly the type of perks that average Joe’s don’t get and make being a professional politician so lucrative. Enough already.


Get a grip Beck. This is exactly the type of thing you would be all over if the democrats did it. Is this hypocrisy on your part Glenn or just plain arrogance?

Happy Birthday to my BFF

I didn't have the time to write a new one this year, so you are getting a hand-me-down from last year. But, the sentiment remains the same. I also want to say how much the strength you have shown during my illness means to me. Thank you. You are inching closer to the "Big One". Oh, my.

Another birthday has rolled around, and on this auspicious occasion I want to take the opportunity to not just say Happy Birthday, but also say thanks. I know that I didn't make the best of impressions that first morning that we met, but you didn't hold that against me.






You and I have shared a great deal over the years, and not all of it has been good. We have matured and watched either change and grow. You have taught me a great deal about patience; not one of my virtues, but it is one of yours.






You stood by me when I still trying to figure out how to rid myself of the demons and come to the realization that I deserved to be happy. You also helped me see that I could accept love into my life. Not an easy task!!!






You told me once that I have more passion in my pinkie than you did in your entire body. We never really talked about it after that, but it simply isn't true. I am just more in your face about it than you. Yours is just more quiet than mine. The proof of that is the relationship that you have with your children. They adore you. There are far too many people in the world that think the parentage has just to do with biology, and you are proof that is not true. I always doubted that, and because of you, I see that isn't true.






You know me so well. All of those oddities that I have that just make you laugh most of the time, like when I become fixated on one piece of dirt regardless of what else is around. You just make jokes about it and move on. You have put up with the tears too, even when they have been over the top, totally unneccessary and more than a tad messy.






You just shake your head when I have one too many comsopolitians and suddenly remember that I like to dance, even when sometimes the only music is in my head. I was thinking about the night I was twirling around in my favorite polka dotted skirt to the song American Pie. How you don't lose your patience is amazing to me.






You put with my passion for midnight swims, my nicotine addiction that drives you crazy, and all this political stuff that I have become almost obessed with since Obama won the nomination, you just take all in stride. Why do you put up with all this? Because you love me!!!






I just want to say how much I admire and respect you, and how grateful I am to have you in my life.






So, before the summer comes to end we need to go out for some veranda dining, we will crack open a good bottle of Malbec and just enjoy each other's company. We can go to Joe's and you can get your usual amusement while I eat one of my favorite desserts, peanut butter pie. I promise, it will be a political free (well, ok, almost) evening.






Happy Birthday to you, my best friend!!






I love you -






This is for you:

Quote of the Day - Supermom Janis Keaveney Edition

"Our three-bedroom place was already overcrowded with her sisters Coco and Ritzy, her brother Tarot, Soya's boyfriend Jake and one of her sister's babies.


"Once the new baby comes the council will have to find us a place with four or five bedrooms.

"We've already started packing. Soya's very much against abortion and there was never any doubt she would keep her baby.

"I'm sure she'll make a wonderful mum and will teach her children discipline like I have."

UK Mom Janis on her 15 year old aspiring model daughter getting pregnant. 

But, oh it gets better:

Ex-school secretary Janis, who is now on benefits, claims she is a strict but understanding mum.

Soya was going to discos in Thornaby, Cleveland, from the age of seven, wearing make-up, mini dresses and revealing tops.

Janis said: "Soya is still only a girl and very immature in some ways, but I've always 100 per cent trusted her when she goes out with her friends.

"When she was 12 or 13 she went with some pals to an under-18s disco and told me about a contest they had to see who could kiss the most boys. I didn't see any harm in it. After all, it was only kissing."

After admitting that 17 year old boyfriend spends the night she says this:

"I know people might think I'm laying down the law after the horse has bolted, but Soya won't be sharing a bed with Jake under my roof until she's turned 16 in January.


"I'm very strict about that. I know they're very much in love but the law is the law.

Hand that lady the Mother of the Year Award!!!

But no, the riots in the London have nothing to do with a sense of entitlement by the people of the Britain, nothing at all.  She wants a bigger house because she lets her 15 year old daughter sleep with her boyfriend and lucky for her the pill failed!!

If you are not sufficiently horrified, The Other McCain has some other goodies for you. 

Kathleen Kennedy Townsend - A Portrait of Hypocrisy

Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, former Lt. Governor of Maryland and daughter of the late Robert Kennedy, is asking the question is Rick Perry as Christian as he says he is. Since Perry puts his faith out there in the fashion he does it will be a question that comes up. But I have to question the messenger here.


Mrs. Townsend is pro-choice, oh sorry pro-conscience:

As I've said before, I consider myself "pro-conscience." Women do not make the decision to have an abortion lightly, but it is absolutely critical that they have the means to make this decision and access to the care they need, no matter what their choice. Anything less would be turning the clock back on the progress we have made on advancing women's health.

She is a Catholic. There is nothing more fundamental to the Catholic church than life. It is the first brick in the foundation of the faith. She once wrote an OP-ED on how abortion should not derail healthcare for all. After all, the Catholic Church considers healthcare for all a human right according to her. I am not Catholic, so I can't speak for the veracity of this statement. I do know that there is a very strong progressive social justice movement within the Catholic Church, that perverts the Gospels. She also goes on to say that opposing tax payer funded abortions is joining the likes of The Tea Party (The horror)

As Catholics, she said, “are we so laser focused on the issue of abortion that we are willing to join tea partiers and the like to bring down the health care reform bill? And at the enormous expense of millions of Americans who suffer every day because they can’t afford to get checkups, because they must choose bankruptcy in order to save the life of their loved one? “Not this Catholic."

She obviously joins in with the social progressives that are trying to take over the Catholic faith.

I see a fundamental inconsistency between Perry's concerted opposition to government social programs and his promotion of himself as a Christian politician. When asked about the impact of Texas's low-tax, low-service policies on the poor, he suggested that people who wanted more government services could find them in New York or California.

Christ teaches us to feed the hungry and care for the sick, not to abandon them. Perhaps Gov. Perry hasn't read that part of the Bible where Christ admonishes us to care for "the least among us."

Mrs. Townsend please quote the passage that says the government must perform these duties? The bible is not about government and it's role in our lives. It is about the role we are to serve in world. It is about personal responsibility. Does Mrs. Townsend feel that Gov. Perry is not performing his role as Christian in his personal life? If so, that could be an opportunity for a charge of hypocrisy. I don't know that much about Perry's personal life, so I can't answer the question of what he does or does not do. As a Christian he should be personally trying to help the least among us. As a Christian you are asked to do this, on that there is no dispute. The dispute lies on what the governmental role is in it.


What I find the most hypocritical in her piece is this:

Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who just announced he's running for president, has taken a different tack. A week before announcing his candidacy, he led a prayer meeting for evangelical Christians in Houston. The Freedom From Religion Foundation filed a lawsuit trying to stop him from participating in this rally, arguing that he was violating the First Amendment by using his position, stationery, and website to promote the event. The court dismissed the complaint, saying that the plaintiff didn't show sufficient harm to merit the injunction.

I disagree with the court's ruling. I think the governor misused his office to promote a particular religion. That might have been clearer to the judge if Perry had organized a rally in support of Islam rather than Christianity. There's no difference as far as the First Amendment is concerned.

Doesn't she see that is saying on side of her mouth that government officials shouldn't be involved with prayer meetings in a public forum (A constitutional right as an American citizen, by the way) but that same government official should be collecting taxes to fund all kinds of welfare because it is a Christian duty? How the heck does that make sense? I also love how she thinks that Perry gives up his constitutional right to freely and openly express his religious views after taking an oath that says specifically he is to stand up and defend the constitution. The logic is mind-blowing. No one was forced to attend, no one was forced to convert. That is what the framers were trying to protect the people from. The framers did not want people to be mandated on how or who they worship, but to worship freely and openly. Just as Governor Perry did.

Is Senate Candidate Jaime Radtke Just Status Quo?

As some may know this is an election year in Virginia, our entire legislature is up for grabs. The House of Delegates is expected to stay in the hands of the republicans, so many republicans are working very hard to turn our senate red. You may also know that I am doing work for the Tito Munoz, senate candidate in the VA 36. This is a contested seat for the republican nomination. Tito is facing off against former delegate and state GOP chair Jeff Frederick. I don't think that it is any secret that I am hoping that Tito wins the nomination and goes on to beat Toddy Puller in November.


We also will have an open federal senate seat next year as Senator Webb has announced he will not be seeking re-election. The GOP candidates are Senator George Allen who lost his seat to Webb five years ago and Jaime Radtke. Jaime is a former employee of Mr. Allen, so it is going to be an interesting race. But Jaime isn't just a former employee of George Allen, she was also the head of the Virginia Tea Party Association. Virginia was the first state to hold a state Tea Party Convention, it is said to be one of the most organized in the country. Jamie is a big reason that is true. She was very committed and worked for basically nothing to get our commonwealth organized. The Tea Party Convention was a great success and had some very big names that came and spoke, Herman Cain, John Fund, and Dick Morris to name just a few. I attended and enjoyed myself throughly. I have a great deal of respect for what Jaime was able to accomplish.


But, back to the state senate race...........As in most races the candidates receive endorsements. Tito was endorsed by George Allen. Jaime then endorsed Jeff Frederick. There are some things about Jeff Frederick that are quite troubling.


Frederick is a former delegate that has no real record of getting any major piece of legislation through. Frederick is also the former GOP Chair of Virginia. A position he was forced to resign from. Now, the stories vary depending on who you talk to of why he was forced to resign. One side of the story is that the "GOP establishment" in Virginia wanted to get rid of him and forced him out. This establishment includes now Governor Bob McDonnell. McDonnell was the Attorney General at the time and it was already well-known he would be running for Governor the following year. The other side of the story is that Jeff used a company that he had a financial stake in to do work. Another words, he profited from using this company. No formal charges were ever brought, the affair was dropped after he resigned. I can't get into Gov. McDonnell's head so I have no way of knowing if he truly wanted Jeff to leave or not. It wouldn't be unheard of, it could very well be true. The problem is that Jeff not only gave him the guns and the bullets, he put a target on himself and walked 20 paces. Jeff was GOP Chair when John McCain was running for president. Jeff made no secret of the fact that he didn't like McCain all that much. In the September before the campaign while I was out knocking on doors and making phones on a nightly basis, Jeff took a family vacation. His job was to get the base excited. If he felt he couldn't do his job to the best of his ability because he didn't like the candidate he should have resigned then. Not do a half-hearted attempt.


We can also move onto the small business that Mr. Frederick owns. He has been classifying himself under the 8(a) disadvantaged minority status. With this status he has been able to get set aside contracts from the federal government that many small business owners were never allowed to bid on. Frederick has denied using his status to get these contracts, but his website lists the following agencies that he has worked with:


Patent & Trademark Office IPA Blanket Purchase Agreement #45PTO254900


NECO (Navy Electronic Commerce Online) Registered


Department of Commerce COMMITS Contract No. 50-CMAA-9-00042.


GSA: IT Professional Services GSA Contract No. GS-35F-0558P


GSA: PES (Professional Engineering Services) GSA Contract No. GS-23F-0234L


GSA: MOBIS GSA Contract No. GS-10F-0262K


Frederick is the former GOP Chair in Virginia, he is a former state delegate, and he owns a nice home (I was there once for a fundraiser). I don't want to sound insensitive here, but his last name is Frederick, he speaks with no accent, and he looks like a middle-aged white guy. Many people wouldn't know that he was Hispanic by that. How exactly is this man disadvantaged?


All of this information is readily and easily available and it is all true. This isn't a smear campaign towards Mr. Frederick. This is about the principles that Ms. Radtke says she stands for. Mr. Frederick is running as the "anti-establishiment candidate" all the while taking the very establishment like advantages to further enrich himself.


Ms. Radtke says she wants to change the way Washington works. Isn't it a Tea Party principle is get rid of the federal government choosing winners and losers based on minority status? Or am I mistaken? If that is the case, why would she back a candidate such as Mr. Frederick? I contacted the Radtke campaign several times to get a simple answer of why she choose to endorse Mr. Frederick. I never heard back. I guess I am just some lowly blogger, so who cares. But I am also a voter. Not only am I voter, I am a primary voter too.


Again, this post isn't about Jeff Frederick, this post is about Jaime Radtke. Radtke waited until after George Allen came out and endorsed Tito to make any statement about the race. Once he did, she jumped on the Jeff Frederick bandwagon. The question I am left to ask is this just business as usual?

President Obama's First Ad 0f 2012 - Awesome

LOL

Tim Pawlenty Calls it a Day - Will Not Continue on For GOP Nomination

Tim Pawlenty announced today that he will not be continuing on for the GOP nomination:

“I wish it would have been different, but obviously the pathway forward for me doesn’t really exist so we are going to end the campaign,”

I think this is sad.  There were some things about his record that I didn't find appealing.  But, overall I think he would have made a good general election candidate and could have beaten President Obama.  I know that some think that anyone is a shoe in at this point, but I don't see that as being the case.  This makes it more likely that Romney will be the nominee. 

Too Bad, Timmy.  I wanted to see you do well. You did some good things in Minnesota, a difficult state for a conservative. 

Rick Perry Formally Announces for President - Video

Ames Straw Poll Predictions

Michele Bachmann will win by a small margin

Ron Paul will come in second or third.  He is an expert at getting people to vote in straw polls

Mitt Romney will do better than most people think. 

Herman Cain will place in the top 6, but it will not be enough to give him the momentum he needs to raise his profile and much needed cash

Pawlenty really hurt himself the other night and he fill finish very poorly and will be dropping out of the race before the real vote is cast

Gingrich will finish close to the bottom, he won't be too far behind Pawlenty in calling it a day

Huntsman won't even register

Rick Perry will have a very good showing even though he is a write in

Sarah Palin will do remarkably well for someone who has not announced her candidacy

Santorum I think will do better than originally predicted, he had a good showing at the debate last night, he is also beloved by social conservatives for his strong and outspoken voice for the voiceless on abortion

McCotter may actually have a bit of an impact in the poll.  He has a wonderful dry sense of humor and is a Midwesterner  Some votes of his are suspect, but overall a good solid conservative

I read in the paper today what the candidates are serving in their tents - i.e Cain is serving Godfather Pizza of course, Bachmann is doing B-B-Q and Funnel Cake, Paul wouldn't announce what he was serving, but the funniest part is that almost every candidate is having Mike Huckabee playing his bass.  He will be making the rounds for the party tomorrow in Ames - I suppose he need to fill his one hour show on Fox

Who do you think will win? 

York Questions Bachmann on Submissive Wives

Byron York is getting some jeers around the conservative blogosphere for his question of Michelle Bachmann.

(Sorry, this was the only video on You Tube that I could find of this and I am not being allowed to upload anything but You Tube Videos for some reason).

I actually think that this is a fair question.  Bachmann makes no secret of the fact that she is an Evangelical Lutheran.  She talks about her living her life by biblical principles.  Not everyone in this country understand what this means.  There are many misconceptions about what her faith is and a woman's role in it.  This question was not of bounds since this is a statement that she has made.  He asked her about her own words.  If she wants to be President of the United States her words matters.  One of the things that always bothered me about the treatment that Barack Obama received during his run for the presidency is that he wasn't asked about his own words and his own past actions.  Much of it was glossed over by the mainstream media.  Maybe he wouldn't have gotten elected has more people known what some of his words were.  Maybe more people wouldn't have the false impression that he is centrist.

These are questions that will be asked if she is the nominee, she may as well answer them now. 
As for one statement that I heard that Hillary would never have been asked this question, I can't imagine Hillary ever publically saying that she was submissive to her husband.  There is no comparision. 

York asked a fair question.  I have said before, language matters and this was the language that she herself used.  She needs to be held accountable for her words.  Simply because she is a woman and a conservative doesn't mean that she should get a pass on that.  All politicans need to be held accountable for what they say and what they believe. 

Good for Byron York for being willing to take the heat and ask tough questions. 


Her answer was brilliant by the way: 

“Marcus and I will be married 30 years coming this September. Submission means respect,” she said. “I respect my husband and he respects me as his wife. We respect each other and love each other. We have five wonderful children and 23 foster children, and I am very proud of him.”

I just heart Michele. 

It's Getting Interesting Now - Rick Perry for President

Rick Perry will be putting his hat into the ring and run for the GOP nomination confirmed today by a spokesman for the Governor. Perry who is not on the ballot for the Ames Straw Poll on Saturday, but already has legions of fans working to get people to write his name in. This was being done before the announcement today. So it will be interesting to see how he places this weekend.

Perry's announcement is bad news for Michele Bachmann. Perry has a good relationship with social conservatives. He is also very strong on 2nd and 10th amendment issues. The Tea Party will be feeling some hominess with the Governor on his constitutional stances. He and Bachmann will be going after the very same pool of voters. Perry should win that race as he has tons of executive experience to Bachmann's very thin experience. I believe this year, experience will be of up most importance. The last two plus years has shown electing someone without experience leads to nothing but bad things.

Another loser in this announcement is Sarah Palin. While she has still not announced what her decision to run is, since her and Perry are buddies, this could throw a monkey wrench into her plans for a run. Again, Perry will beat Palin in the experience department. It will be interesting to see if Palin will join the race now. She is getting in very late (although name recognition and fundraising are non-issues for her), she has repeatedly said she wouldn't join the race if there were other true conservatives (Cain, Perry, Bachmann and Santorum are true conservatives) in the race, and she has a professional relationship with Perry that was very friendly.

The biggest loser in this would seem to be Mitt Romney. Perry can pull in the big cash donors. The rumors circulating earlier this week was that Perry was making sure he had commitments on donations before he would throw his hat into the ring officially. Since he is announcing two days earlier than originally thought, someone must have opened their wallets. Perry will be able to compete financially against Mitt, he has more executive experience in the government sector than Mitt, and most importantly, Governor Perry didn't sign Romneycare into law. Another rumor floating around is that this was Mitt's biggest fear.

I am not very familiar with Perry's record, I do know that Paulites consider Perry to be part of the new world order and Romney is afraid of his candidacy. Then my reaction has to be Welcome Aboard Gov. Perry. Glad you decided to play in GOP presidential politics. If the Paulites and Romney don't like you, you may be someone to take a look at.

President Obama's Bush I Redux?

We can go over and over this thousands of times and liberals still don't get it. Going after the "rich" just doesn't work to solve the problems that we are in. President Obama's latest foree into class warfare includes corporate jets. That is how he thinks we are going to get out of the financial mess we are in.


Not so fast there buddy. Let's go back to the early 90's when Bush I was president. The combo of Ted Kennedy and George Mitchell included a luxury tax on items such jets, yacht's, and expensive cars. This was going to raise $31 million per year in additional revenue and soak the 'rich' all at the same time. What a deal. The liberal wet dream. More money to waste and hit the rich all in one fell swoop.

Shall we take a look at what happened? I say we do.

The largest yacht manufacturor in the United States at the time closed one plant and laid off all but 260 of it's 1,400 workforce within eight months of the law being signed by President Bush. One third of all U.S. manufacturing companies stopped production and the industry lost 7,600 jobs in the first year.

The tax was in place for close to three years before being repealed. But before the repeal took effect 25,000 yacht builders were out of work, 75,000 more workers who worked in fields related to the building of those yacht's, such as parts and materials needed to build those yacht's, Ocean Yacht's filed for bankruptcy, and instead of the U.S. being the leader in exporting yatch's we become the leader in importing them. Another 1,800 jobs were lost in the jewelery and aircraft industries due to the tax.

The Joint Economic Committee estimated that the job losses in the first six months was a value of $159.6 million that was taken out of our economy. The job losses cost $24.2 million in unemployment benefits and lost income tax revenue. The federal government is said to have lost $7.6 million instead of the $31 million promised to be raised. They were only off by $38 million. A million here, a million there, what is the difference? Just some pesky little details.

Obama wants to try this luxury tax yet again? Does he think it will work better this time? Or this just yet another attempt at the new democratic fall back position of class warfare?

You decide.

Quote of the Day - Tom Brokaw Edition

"They played by the rules of American politics, they got angry, they got organized, they got here, and they got what they wanted. ... If you want to change Washington, that's what you have to do."


Tom Brokaw on The Tea Party. 

At least someone in mainstream media gets it. 

Wisconsin Tax Payers 4 - Unions 2 GOP Holds Wisconsin Senate

The ridiculous and tax payer funds wasting recall elections for the GOP was held last night in Wisconsin. The GOP will hold the senate. The democrats needed four seats to pick up the majority. Four of the six sitting GOP senators held onto their seats. Most by very wide margins as well. The dems did pick up two seats; districts 18 and 32. District 32 went heavily for the democrat; she won by 10 points.




In such a small election getting out the vote was of vital importance. We all know that unions are really good at getting out the vote, there can be no doubt about that. So the smack down that had last night takes on an even greater significance.


Of course they cried foul:

A state Democratic Party spokesman accused a Republican official Tuesday night of tampering with votes in the tight 8th Senate District recall race.


With 10 of 11 Waukesha County wards still out -- including all of those in Menomonee Falls -- party spokesman Graeme Zielinski said, "We believe the election in this contest has been tampered with by Waukesha County Clerk Kathy Nickolaus.


"She’s sitting on votes. We believe that right now, there are severe irregularities in Waukesha County once again. We believe the very fate of the Wisconsin Senate hangs in the balance and is in the hands of a woman who has already shown extreme incompetence.”


“We believe there’s dirty tricks afoot.”


Democrats are demanding an investigation or at least an explanation, Zielinski said, and he added the party’s legal team is looking into it

Ms. Pasch had initially refused to concede, but did eventually call Senator Darling to wish her well on her victory. The Wisconsin democrats have also back-tracked on their allegations of voter fraud saying it was done in the heat of the moment. Of course it was.


The unions poured money heavily into these races and were hoping to turn the senate back into the hands of the very party that will continue to let them eat at the trough at tax payer expense. Luckily for the Wisconsin taxpayers that did not happen.


The democrats could even end up in a worse position as the recalls for the democrats is next week. The Republicans are favored to win at least two of those races as it stands today. But we will have to wait until next Tuesday night to see what happens. It seems to me that Wisconsin spent all that money to end up in with exactly the same republican/democrat split it had on election day of last year. What a useful way to for a state with huge budget problems to use its limited funds. Way to go unions. You showed your true faces, you could care less about government funds unless of course they are giving you what you want. The taxpayers are pushing back.


Yet one more defeat and embarrassment for the Obama white house this week.


Full election results here

Pawlenty's Powerful Ad

Yes, experience matters.  We have seen that all too clearly over the past two plus years. 

Pawlenty has poured a great deal of his very limited treasure into the Ames Straw Poll to be held this weekend.  His candidacy may just have to come to a close if he doesn't do well.  So he puts out this very powerful and very true ad.  It started hitting the airwaves today.

Quote of the Day - Bachmann Foster Child Edition

“I owe the Bachmanns everything." says an unnamed woman from Colorado, "They offered me the structure I needed and taught me how to figure out goals. They really encouraged me to figure out who I was rather than who I was becoming. I turned my life around one hundred and eighty degrees.”

One of the 23 foster children taken in by the Bachmann's over the years.



Sadly, this one comment won't stop the media and other news "sources" from violating federal law and going after these people and their families. I would venture to say that they are all adults now. One of the things that media is forgetting in trying to go after these people is that foster children in most cases have biological families that are troubled. Drugs, crime, abuse problems just to name a few. These families have the right to not have their dirty laundry aired so publicly, they are not running for office. The left just can't accept that Michele Bachmann is not the heartless woman that she is portrayed as. Obviously her and her husband, Marcus, care a great deal about at risk children and lived a life trying to help them in a real way. They are not just are not some government program to the Bachmann's. They rolled up their sleeves, opened their hearts and their homes to these kids. The Bachmann family tried to provide stability to children who more than likely had little to that point. They will be paid back by an overly aggressive media trying to violate federal law to talk to these families. A very sad commentary.

Then Move to France if You Think the Consitution is the Problem

I'll even pitch in for your airfare. 

Um, About those Bush Tax Cuts - The Real Math

I get so sick and tired of listening to liberals talk about the Bush tax cuts. Lets take a look at the real numbers, shall we?



During the first two years of the Bush administration the revenues fell. This was due to tax cuts and the tech bust. Over the next five years the revenues increased by 44%. The last year of his administration the revenues fell again due to the financial crisis. The overall increase in revenue during the Bush administration was 21%. The tax cuts increased the revenue. They more than paid for themselves.


Now, lets move on to the deficit:


The deficit increased in the years 01-04 to a total of $4.13B in 04. With the increased revenues coming in the deficit began to shrink. It went back down to $161B in 07. That is a full 1/10 of what it is today. In 08 the deficit began to rise again. Hmm, wasn't that the year that the democrats had control over both the House and the Senate, why yes it was.


Ok, next is the National Debt:


The day Bush took office in 01 the debt stood at $5.7T. The day Bush was sworn into office for his second term the debt stood at $7.6T. The day Obama took office it stood at $10.6T. Bush doubled the debt during his two terms. Almost half of that came under a democratically controlled Congress.


Today the debt stands at $14.4T. An increase of almost $4T in two and one half years. Staying on the same fiscal path that we are on Obama will have increased the debt by more than $1T in one term than what Bush did in two.


These numbers come The Treasury Department and The Office of Management and Budget.


The Bush tax cuts increased revenues and decreased the debt until the housing bubble broke.


The mess we are in is Bush's fault how? Look he wasn't perfect, he made mistakes. He spent too much money. But this country was far better off under his leadership than we are today.

Taboos and Trophy Wives

Sometimes I think I am better off not talking to anyone in Northern Virginia. Nine times out of ten you will be drawn into a conversation that ends up being the same old thing; conservative bad, white equals racist, poor are kept down by the rich, and on it goes. So why I am surprised by this still is something of an amazement. I was out running some errands and got into a conversation with a woman who looked like a perfectly normal rational human being. That is until she started talking. Oh my.



Somehow we got onto the topic of inter-racial marriages (I want you to know this conversation started up because I made a comment on how rude people have become in the age of electronics) and was told in no uncertain terms that a black man who marries a white woman does so because once he becomes successful he has the opportunity to be more accepted in the white community and can go after what is taboo. When he is not successful it isn't an option to him. I was also told that in most cases the black man will eventually cheat on the white wife with a black woman. Really?


Now, has this woman been to places where many young people hang out of late? College campuses or even something as simple as a busy mall or movie theatre on the weekends? Younger people in this country don't see inter-racial relationships as taboo as someone in her age range (I would venture to say fifties or so). While intercultural marriages are still taboo in some communities; the asian cultures don't take to marrying someone other than an Asian all that well. This is still a generality and not a hard and fast rule. Many people of Asian decent are married to people who are not.


My nephew is married to a hispanic woman who he met on a bus. Why he was on a bus, was never made quite clear to me as he has a car, but nevertheless that is how they met. On a bus you don't have a great deal of time to worry about race relations when making a decision to get up the nerve to ask someone out on a date. Since they are now married, obviously he did ask her out. I am sure it never occurred to him that she has a different skin color than he does. My family learned the lesson of not being accepting in the past and welcomed her with open arms. She is a welcome addition to our family and he is madly in love and about to celebrate his first wedding anniversary in a few weeks. Her family had no issues either. No one in my family looks at her as some sort of taboo and he is not looked at some sort of trophy.


This is just something that gets under my skin to no end. We are living in the 21st century, can't we just love who we want to love without judgement? While racism exists in this country and that cannot be denied, it is time that we have the honest discussion about it. It doesn't just exist in the white community. The black community is just as capable of racism as any other. If this woman believes that white woman marrying a black man is well received in some parts of the black community she is sadly mistaken. She is looked down upon by both men and women. Some black woman don't take all that kindly to black man being with a white woman. In some cases the white woman just can't win.


I have worked retail on and off over the period of my life. Once during a big sale I was told that I was racist because I wouldn't give a woman a coupon discount. The problem was she didn't have the coupon. So no, I couldn't give it to her. I was told in no uncertain terms by the manager that morning, no coupon, no discount. When I told her that my boyfriend's skin was darker than hers she said to me that I was just some stuck up white woman who thought I was better than his black family and he was just some sort of race traitor who didn't accept his blackness. So not only was I still a racist, so apparently was he. Who knew?


I brought up this story to her and also mentioned that some black women have told me flat-out that there is a certain jealousy that happens when a successful black man marries a white woman simply because so many black men have issues such as criminal records, drug problems, and children out-of-wedlock with more than woman. She dismissed this as just media hype. I suppose the woman who told me this is not capable of having her own opinion.


She went on to explain to me how much of the problems really stem from conservatives. Sarah Palin in particular. I asked if her if she understood that Sarah Palin is married to man who is a minority. Eskimo's are much more of minority in this country than blacks are. She completely ignored that, and also wouldn't answer me when I wanted to know what exactly Palin has ever said that leads her to believe that she is a racist. I guess being conservative is good enough. Because after all, aren't we all?


I told her that the black community certainly wasn't being helped by the likes of Jesse Jackson Jr. standing up in congress and calling virtually everything a racist issue. If we such a racist country how the heck did Obama become president. Yet another question she didn't answer. She kept repeating over and over again that people didn't understand their history.


My question to her is how does it get better if you are referring to white woman who are married to black man as some sort of trophy wife? I asked her when would the black community learn that history shows that since the welfare state started in this country the black family has become more separated than ever before? There was a time that the black community stayed together and helped each other out. The black family was much more of unit than it is today. There was a time that a majority of black babies were born to a two parent family. The republican party is not responsible for the breakdown of the black family nucleus. That is something that they themselves have to take responsiblity for. I told her that the republicans are not responsible for making blacks feel that they are not allowed to think for themselves on political issues lest they be called a race traitor. The republican party is not responsible for the sad state of affairs of the public school systems in urban communities. It isn't the republican party that is trying to stop much-needed reform. That it is indeed the NAACP that is calling well-meaning parents race traitors who are only trying to improve the education that their children receive.


I also told her that any child born into the middle class in this country has a much chance as any other in this day and age. While I will concede that is not true when you are born living at or below the poverty level. But it is no easier for a poor white child to get out of poverty than it is for a poor minority child. But one of the reasons that getting out of poverty is so difficult is that government is not helping people to stand on their own, it is giving them what they need to survive and taking away incentive to help themselves. They are constantly listening to I am a victim rhetoric.


The sad reality is that people with her attitude is part of what is holding back some within the black community and makes people who marry someone from another race or culture that they have done something wrong or taboo. Or try to anyway. And one more thing, take Jesus out of politics.  He wasn't a politician. 


I can't say it any better than this:

A Nice Little Ditty

http://www.thebigdc.com/mediaplayer/?station=WBIG-FM&action=ondemand&item=21298758

I don't know how to copy it straight over, but it is pretty funny. 

Enjoy

Quote of the Day - ABC News Blog Commenter Edition

Because they are

Why is he so embarrassed of the truth? The Tea Party are racist white trash who hate the fact we have a black president and will do anything to get rid of him because they're own lives are so useless, impotent and unsuccessful.

They can't believe a black man is President while they live in a trailer park/meth camp collecting government checks and are furious that anyone else does.

They're hypocrites. Uneducated. Racist. And pure trash.

Everyone, including the spineless VP, knows that.

 Top Jack on White House Comment on denial of Joe Biden calling Tea Party members terrorists. 

Sir, you need to get your head out of your ass and take a look at what is going on in this country.   I realize it would make your life so much easier if your statement was true, but it doesn't even come close to describing the people in the tea party.  Not even close.

If Not Now, When Mr. Speaker?

Dear Mr. Speaker:

I am writing to you in regards to the debt ceiling vote taken in the house yesterday. As a concerned citizen and a member of The Tea Party I am more than a tad disappointed. I am not writing to call you a traitor or some of the other names I have heard bandied about in the conservative blogosphere. I understand the position that you are in. I understand that there is a difference between campaigning and governing. I also get that in the real world governing requires compromise. I also realize that this was probably the best you could get with the current make up of the senate and the white house. My question is if not now when? When we will get our spending under control?


I get that many in this country don't see the seriousness of the problem and how our spending is totally out of control. My disappointment, Mr. Speaker, in you comes from the lack of messaging on your part. The job you have done with this debate is poor. The masses in America must be made to understand that not raising the debt ceiling meant default. We would only default if we didn't pay the massive interest on our debt. Money comes into the treasury monthly we could have paid our debt. Not paying the debt would be a choice. A choice made treasury and to some degree the president. You did not get this message across.


Where has the GOP been in discussing this? Why have you not found a charismatic spokesperson to be out front of this problem and explain the truth of what is going on? Where was the GOP to explain that President Obama was flat-out lying when he said he wasn't sure that there would be enough to mail social security checks? Social Security is not bound by the debt ceiling. There is enough money coming into the treasury to pay it monthly without it affecting the debt at all. Also where was someone calling out the hypocrisy of the left always saying that Social Security is not broke? If it isn't broke and has money the issue of not making the monthly payments never should have come up.


Where you have been to explain to the American people that China has sold most of our debt? Where have you been to explain that Japan is not in a position to pick up the slack? Where have you been to explain that China is now having its own debt problems? Our options are becoming more and more limited everyday. Why don't most Americans understand this? It is up to you to explain it to them.


I get that media isn't going to help all that much to get this message out. That just makes all the more important that you do.


Mr. Speaker I am not naive enough to believe that one election was going to stop the out of control spending spree this country has been on for far too long. But I had hoped that you would have started the building blocks for the larger discussion this country must have. The U.S. is running out of viable financial options.


The only hope we have of turning this around is to make the masses understand that they can no longer elect people who are not 100% committed to getting our financial house in order.


This is where my disappointment lies Mr. Speaker. I get the bill, I just don't get your lack of messaging. I want you to succeed Mr. Speaker. I did my part in the last election cycle; I made the phone calls, I gave the money in donations, I knocked on doors. It is now your turn to get the truth out there. America is broke - we must deal with it now.


Regards,




Just a Conservative Girl

Tuesday Toons

Shame On Us - Kicking the Can Down the Road Again

The debt ceiling crisis is now over. We got no real cuts in spending. It is all smoke and mirrors as it always is. I have been saying for quite sometime that we, as Americans, are not ready to make the tough choices.


I understand why the GOP did what they did. The country doesn't understand that not raising the debt ceiling means that we immediately go into default. It just means we have to pay as we go. An interesting concept that only the government in this country doesn't understand. The vast majority of Americans already live that way. I rarely use credit to buy anything. If I can't afford it, I don't buy it. I have only one credit card that I pay off every month. I live this way, so I have a difficult time understanding why our government can't even make an honest attempt at it. Maybe I am unusual and that is part of the problem. Maybe many Americans live the same way the government does; on credit.

It seems everyone has something to hate in this deal. The far left doesn't get to soak the "rich", and the far right is angry that no real spending cuts have been made. In many cases I have found that when both sides are unhappy it is good for Americans. Not so in this case.

The Tea Party is upset. They feel betrayed by at least one member of congress, Allen West. He voted with Boehner for the increase. I have said before I understand his position. I may have done the same thing in his shoes. There are some realities to consider here. Obama would never have signed onto large cuts (unless of course they were to defense) even if it had passed the Senate. Which it wouldn't have.

The party is worried about keeping the house, regaining the senate and winning the White House next year. Politics always comes first. But when do we actually solve the problem?

I see the Tea Party's argument about not raising the ceiling. I in some ways even agree with it. The money coming into the treasury every month would more than cover Medicare and Social Security. Social Security wouldn't be affected anyway, as it is not bound by the debt ceiling, that was all shameful political posturing on the part of the president. A disgusting display really. I had to talk my mother off the ceiling one afternoon. She was terrified she wouldn't get her check. My parents didn't have 401(k)'s when they were younger. They actually had to save for themselves. Another interesting concept.

But I also see the other side of the coin as well. I live just outside of DC, the economy where I live is very dependent on the Federal Government. Even if you don't work for the government many work for government contractors. Virginia and Maryland were both told by Moody's they would get a downgrade if the debt ceiling was not raised. Both are planning on selling bonds in the next few weeks so it would have greatly reduced the amount they would have gotten and hurt the population of both states.

The real problem lies with the American people. We are still not ready to accept the reality of what we are facing. We cannot continue the spending. We just can't. We are cheating our children and our grandchildren. We are putting them in the position that they are in so much debt they may never get out from under it. We have these idiots in congress saying that the republicans are manufacturing the crisis. How exactly one manufactures trillions in debt is beyond my comprehension levels, but that is what she said. Sadly, many in this country believed her. Or at least want to believe her. We are still playing this finger-pointing game about who did what and whose fault it is. Both parties are to blame. But so are the American people for not paying enough attention and we keep electing these fools are who are mortgaging our children's futures.

Shame on us. I hope that we finally start to get it before it is too late. We need to make the tough choices. We need to elect people who are willing to make those choices even when it won't make them popular.