I can't just keep quiet!

I have tried to be very positive and fair with my posts, and since I am aware that these are not exclusively for my family, I wanted everyone to know that I enjoy talking about family memories and events, just to keep everyone updated.

I know that these forums have great potential to become "rant" pages, and I really don't want to turn mine into that, but I have just about had enough over the past several weeks, and I can no longer keep quiet!

Let me say, It has been a real joy having Dad and Mom out to visit us this weekend! We got some great time together, and have shared a lot of stories, and updates, and just generally had a very pleasant visit. Friday morning an announcement hit the news pages, that led to some interesting discussion at our house.

Anyone who knows me well knows that I consider myself a fairly staunch conservative. I have registered Republican simply because the majority of Rep. candidates over several voting cycles have leaned more conservative than their Dem counterparts. That does not mean I support the republican party line categorically, only when they support those values and policies that I believe are best for this country and individual freedoms. I may be wrong, and those that disagree with me, I hope you feel the same about that right to disagree. That you would also defend to the death my right to disagree with you.

But we all know by listening to our politicians rant, that the right to disagree is only considered valuable to some, when they feel they are in the minority. But when they take the majority, anyone who disagrees is all of a sudden a person to be vilified, and ostracized, censured, censored or worse.

The number of times I have listened to people go on about our current president is a perfect example. Under Bush II, those currently in power (Dem's) piled on the vicious, the twisted, and sometimes the downright false, and claimed with all sincerity that "questioning" the administration was the highest form of American patriotism. That "We the People" should never just simply accept what the vast Right Wing fed us through the "supportive media". (What the ....what?!?)

Anyone with open eyes and half a brain cell can see that the vast media is leaning so far socialist left that they actually make our current President look conservative by comparison!!

Back to my point! Vicious personal remarks were commonly aimed at Bush II, websites encouraging such vile things as violent hate sex were posted naming conservative female congressional reps as preferred targets, policy decisions were touted as hate crimes against humanity, and the media and Dem politicians alike claimed that this dialogue was just an exercise in free speech! Now it's anti-american to disagree with our current administration!

I don't have time to get into the biased media NON-coverage during the last election. Suffice it to say, I also believe that the year 2008 can be named as the year in which the concept of objective, hard-hitting, expository news coverage passed away. Died, dead, finito, ausgestorben! But congratulations to a junior senator from Chicago, whose major efforts in his Senate years (other than giving some great leftist speeches and running for President) involved efforts to make the UN and other international entities take precedence over US interests and policies. Things like a "tax" for lack of a better name, 1% of the US GDP to be handed over to the UN for "distribution" around the world. Has anybody heard lately how many billions we already send around the world in humanitarian aid? There are countries that wouldn't even exist were it not for the United States of AMERICA!

Well, payback is expected! Less than 2 weeks after moving into the White House, Pres. Obama becomes a nominee for the Nobel peace Prize! Now he won! Congratulations! But for What? According to comments posted on a German NEWS website, where they actually still ask the hard questions, the answer seems to be for a bunch of promises! I read over 200 comments posted by Germans, and even though it is not a large sample, the sample broke down into about 3 categories.

Group one, nearly 2/3 of the sample were shocked, and/or appalled at the thought that such a prestigious award would go to someone for a bunch of yet unrealized-and probably unrealistic promises. Others felt like he deserved it because he had "admitted" America's arrogance and stupidity, and promised to be better. A tiny group (maybe sarcastic, with Germans it's hard to tell in print) said "what's the Nobel peace prize?"

My rant has to do with the hypocrisy of it all. Tie in the current debate on health care, middle east policy, Gitmo, you name it. Hypocrisy abounds. The favorite phrase I hear over and over is "racist". You cannot disagree with this President without being racist, because only a racist would disagree with a black man who made history by becoming the first black US pres.

To disagree means you are a racist dinosaur who doesn't see the vast picture that this president sees. A picture where the govt. provides all the basic needs from cradle to grave, using the money left over after they take 1% of the GDP to do the same for as many countries as possible. A picture where the evil (translate hard-working/ambitious/gifted/motivated) people of this country who make more than you are penalized for their efforts, to make sure that everyone's needs are met. You know who you are.

A picture where everyone simply says "hurray" when the president speaks, (but only a leftist pres.) and all those who disagree can be easily identified by the "racist" card they carry in their wallets. A picture where blind voters follow gladly behind blind government avarice.

When will Americans wake up? We always need to be questioning our Government! We don't need to be mean spirited about it! We can, and should disagree, because no one person has the perfect solution for a country this big. The debate is where we find the middle ground where all can truly thrive, but the debate is key to that discovery. Show respect for the office, even when you disagree with the man! Show respect for the man, even when you feel he doesn't deserve it! Show respect for the great men who helped found this country by being a part of the process, not just a loud angry mob on the sidelines.

But for Heaven's sake, and most certainly America's, allow and expect the same treatment for and from the other side!