TO THE LEFT OF THE RIGHT....

I harp about my Republican views, but truth be known I probably swing closer to the left than most realize. I wanted to flash this one back up again for recall.  I believe Obama is wildly an amazing orator and McCain was not among my first choice for President, although I feel he is the most experienced.  I find Sarah Palin a refreshing choice but I certainly do not agree with many of her opinions.  Have we ever truly had the perfect candidate?? Who was your favorite??

Feeling the Love....
WOW! I arose this morning to over 922 emails from people wanting to be added to the privatization of my blog. VERY TOUCHING! I had people from as far as UK, Athens, Australia and Berlin. The emails are still pouring in by the hundreds. THANK YOU for all the kind words from the bottom of my heart!



First of all, let me say, I am very proud of the people serving for our great country. I am a registered Republican and have been long before I met my husband. I am the Liberal-Progressives worst nightmare. I believe in the First Amendment and the Right to Bear Arms. I have a concealed handgun license. I think owning a gun does not make you a killer, it makes one a smart American. I also believe in Gay Marriage and in Stem-Cell research. I believe in Immigration Reform. Yet, I think being a minority does not make you noble or victimized, and does not entitle you to anything. I believe in the "Right to Choose" on many levels, especially a Woman's Right. I believe the money I make belongs to my family, not some Liberal governmental functionary be it Democratic or Republican. I am in touch with my feelings and I like it that way!


I believe that if you are selling me a Big Mac, do it in English.

I believe everyone has a right to pray to his or her God when and where they want to.


I have raised money for many political candidates, generally Republicans, alas I have given money to Democrats on occasion. Hell, I was raised in the same neighborhood (within two miles) of Dr. Ron Paul -- yes, for those that did not know, the Libertarian Presidential candidate is also my little Texas town's Obstetrician. Small world.


Three of the most charismatic people I have ever met in my life have been Bill Clinton, Louisiana Governor Edwin Edwards and former Texas Governor Ann Richards -- all Democrats and none of which I voted for but whom I had various degrees of respect and admiration, Edwards for mainly entertainment value.


My heroes are John Wayne, Babe Ruth, Roy Rogers and whoever cancelled Jerry Springer.


I have never owned a slave, or was a slave, I have not buried any witches or been persecuted by the Turks and I am confidant, neither have you. If you do not like the way things our here, go back to where you came from and change that country. This is AMERICA. If you were born here and do not like it, you are free to move to any Socialist country that will have you.


I want to know which church is it exactly where the Reverend Jesse Jackson preaches, where he gets his money, and why he is always part of the problem and not the solution. Can I get an AMEN on that one?


I think if you are too stupid to know how a ballot works, I do not want you deciding who should be running the most powerful nation in the world for the next four years.


I dislike those people standing in the intersections trying to sell me stuff or trying to guilt me into making "donations" to their cause. I find myself always getting "suckered" in.


I do not think it takes a village to raise a child, it takes two parents.


As far as defending the oil business, independent and Majors included this is an open-ended topic that people way smarter than myself have filibustered for decades. Bottom line, if you do not support American oil producers you are forced to rely on countries that do not have our best interest in mind. We do not want to have to rely on countries and leaders we consider the enemy and bash in the State of the Union address. The US needs to be energy independent or we become at the control of Chavez or the Saudis, that has the most influence. Do you think Sadaam was a boy scout?? Do I think it was ironic we invaded an "oily" country? Of course not. Do you think that honestly, is it a toss up over Chavez and Kim Jong-il over humanitarian of the year? The US oil companies are doing as much as they can to find the oil and gas reserves that we have. The gas prices are driven by demand, which constitutes the lack of supply. Bottom line, if you do not like it, stop driving. If you want more logical possibilities write/call/email your Congressman and vote for drilling off Florida, the coast off of Maine, California, the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge. I can assure you, there is not a caribou in Alaska that is going to go to call Dr Phil for an emergency therapy session if he sees an oil platform.



There are alternatives being created as I type. Billionaire Texas tycoon, T. Boone Pickens has devised the Pickens Plan as a source of an alternative for our dependency on oil. Boone wants to wean us off our $700 billion dollar foreign crude habit. It is a start, maybe not the answer. Alas, in the words of TBP "A fool with a plan beats a genius with no plan"


I am confidant by now some Green Peace (tree hugger) is seething over my last few comments. It is NOT meant to make you mad, honestly.


Some people may think I am out of touch with reality -- I agree on some level. I can take it on the chin. Alas, some of these vocalists are the same people that think we should mow down all the Wal-Mart' in America because they have production in China.


If all this makes me a "Bad American", then yes, I am a "Bad American"


Privatizing my blog is SUCH a pain....which is why I have opted NOT to for now. There is nothing I love more than great banter. I respect if you do not wish to read my blog. That is the glory of your "Right to Choose"


Peace.

SNL- Tina Fey as Sarah Palin

Whatever your party this is HILARIOUS

Hurricane Ike....WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP!

This is from my dear (longtime) friend and former co-worker Dayna Steele. Houstonians that will remember Dayna as the "First Lady of Rock n" Roll" in Houston and her afternoon "Steeleworkers" -- She and her precious Astronaut/Author hubby, Charlie and the boys took a good hit. See below to what you can do to assist!

Thanks to everyone who has called, emailed and dropped by to see what they could do to help. The port-a-potty still sits happily perched in my driveway among the remains of trees and the contents of two boys' bedrooms that needed to be cleaned out anyway. We are fine and we will re-build, re-stock the LEGOs and eventually get all the fish, shrimp and jelly fish out of the pool.


Others are not so fortunate. A student group in our school district has started Operation Crayon - Children Rallying Assistance for Youth of Need. It is amazing what these kids have been able to pull off in just a few days; providing clothing, shoes, backpacks, supplies, etc to kids who have lost everything.

School starts Monday and that's where they can use your help. Operation Crayon is a clothing and school supply drive. So far over 500 children have received new backpacks, school supplies, clothes and some much needed hugs from the CCISD Team CRAYON. Businesses and individuals interested in participating in Operation CRAYON can help CCISD collect the following items for students in need:

New clothing
Standardized dress attire
New backpacks
School supplies
New shoes
Toiletries
Monetary donations are also being accepted made payable to Operation Crayon, 300 Pennsylvania Avenue, Webster TX 77598. For more information, contact Elaina Polsen at epolsen@ccisd.net or call 281-284-0020.

Charlie the Wonder Husband and I have so many great friends across the country and around the world. Again, we appreciate everyone asking what they could do for us. Well, this is it. We have so many kids in this area that were displaced from their own CCISD schools and an unbelievable amount of kids coming in from Galveston and other school districts where they have lost everything.

I am off to Target to buy a cart full of tennis shoes...

Spin This, Liberals.....

The old South Texas saying, “Pigs get fed and hogs get slaughtered” may not be true in the Freddie/Fannie mess. While most of us contend it is ‘killing time on Wall Street’, however the ‘chicken little’ brigade battling to save Wall Street and their political allies, are screaming for mercy. Act in haste and repent at leisure; please read the fine print this time. I know, they claim to be holding America, even the world, hostage. Well, even if they do, which many doubt, should we endorse an unconditional surrender to their outrageous demands? Hell NO!



The house Republicans are making a valiant stand. They want to protect the taxpayers and build in the reforms now as a part of the package. That is only reasonable. Call and write your elected representatives, within the hour, and also contact the media and your neighbors…. Stop the madness. This time, no slap on the hands in return for a promise they will sin no more…..nope, make sure taxpayers are protected and the crooks pay a heavy price. Also, we must not allow the Dims to excuse those who did not pay while they ask the 95% of Americans who do pay their mortgages and taxes to pay for their party and excuse the scofflaws. Yes, laws were broken ….it is call fraud. Dims want ‘bankruptcy protection’ for deadbeats and even forgiveness of credit card debt. Joe Biden wants to add ear marks to the bill. The car makers also want a bailout. There seems to be no end to the outrage pleas for taxpayer handouts. Should we folks in ‘Fly over land’, you know the people who ‘cling to our guns and bibles’ go along? Hell NO!



Barack Hussein Obama is the hands down winner of the chutzpah award. This clip below exposes his disingenuous posturing and that of Dirty harry and the disgusting Chris Dodd and worst of all Barney Frank. Make sure your family and friends understand Washington corruption and their handmaidens who exploit the corrupt system the politicos created. We have trusted and been sold out. Should we continue to go along and get along? Hell NO!



We the mules who pull the wagon should ‘jump the traces’ ….encourage the ‘throw the bustards out’ sentiment! This voter for one has had enough of their BS…and worst of all are the folks we elected who stand by shrugging, enabling Congress and the crooks to continue to loot the American treasury. McCain was wrong in singling out the SEC chair for dismissal….he should have called for the resignation of all the Wall Street apologists in the administration and singled out those in congress responsible for this fiasco, beginning with Barney frank, Chris Dodd and ‘Old #2’, B.H. Obama …… Hell YES!



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usvG-s_Ssb0



Now isn’t that enough to make you puke….

Welcome to the World, Baby Liddie!

Well, our first Grand baby came into the world the week of Hurricane Ike.  Baby Liddie has more hair than the law should allow.  She tipped the scales at 7 lbs and 9 oz and was 19 1/4"

Mommy, Daddy and Baby have been bonding the past ten days and everyone is stellar!

Good job, Sissy!

We NO LIKE IKE

River Oaks ( I realize just the two words does not strike much pity from most) but my family took it very hard. From what I have been told from ROPO is that my street and San Felipe south of Willowick and Tall Timbers took it the hardest. The River Oaks CC lost 185 trees and Ima Hogg's Bayou Bend (just West of us lost 75 percent of their Botanical gardens and oaks) Our home is right on the banks of the Buffalo Bayou and the swelling has been ugly as you can see from my last post.

Keep in mind, my flagpole is 40 feet high and it came to the bottom of the Aggie flag. The water came within three feet of our wine cellar on the first floor. This is realistically within 36 feet of the flood plane. The good news is the obnoxious dollhouse we had built for our daughter (that has wireless, a/c and running water) survived without a hiccup! This is probably good since FEMA does not accept requests in crayon.

Friday started like this.... First we pondered fleeing to Laredo for margaritas at La Posada - alas, we decided to hang tough. John, my precious Aggie engineer wanted my 74 year old Momma, 2 yo daughter and me to all sleep on the floor in the master study "hunkered down" (a phrase I have come to loathe) with no windows. I listened intently to his reasoning and assured him he had "been watching way too many after school specials and oilfield safety videos" then I naturally scoffed at his suggestion. I arrogantly protested that the storm was "a category two and we probably would not get squat but some mild rain and at most a few branches" With all my attitude , I assured him I was raised on a shipyard, so naturally that made me almost a meteorologist.

Fast forward to 5:30 AM the next morning, while I was sleeping in the master bedroom that is all floor to ceiling glass overlooking the magical banks of the bayou we did receive (what I would consider peaceful) thunderstorms and that was it. I assumed it passed through and we thought it was over. ROPO did a drive through at 5:45 AM and it was all clear (or we thought) from the Captain's wave -- by 6:15 AM it literally sounded like MoPac was reverted to our backyard heading towards our bedroom. It was "freight liner loud" (as I have heard tornado's described). The four of us dove for cover and about twenty minutes later we came up for air. Four homes out of maybe twenty on our street took a large oak to the surface. Two homes including our immediate neighbor was totaled and is considered a complete loss. My neighbor, two down, totally lost their home from the four large oaks that pummeled the outside.

We are a little more than an acre and have a commercial size Rainbow play system. The tornado picked this equipment up (which had to be a half-ton) and lifted the entire piece across through to our neighbors backyard and never touched the 7-8 feet fence. None of the equipment was broken, it is just relocated to our neighbors yard. I am sure they would think this were cool if they were not 110 years old or they at least had small children.

They are sending a tech out to rebuild it in OUR backyard. You should have heard the tone in the owners voice at the corporate office of the Rainbow system, when I explained the play area (initially bolted and held with concrete) moved two yards over and never touch a fence and is still in one piece.

He said "You are totally screwing with me lady?"

I laughed and said "Yeah mister, it took me a half a gallon of Crown Royal and three hours to think this up. I have nothing better to do."

My friend called and wanted to know what type of stuff actually floated in our neighborhood in Buffalo Bayou.  I said "Well, we do not get debris such as hypodermic needles.  Since we are upstream, we mostly get Chardonnay bottles and Dommie P magnums."

Alas, I was told today by our landscapers that of all their yards in River Oaks (including the Bayou Bend Gardens) "Casa Chaos" has some of the worst damage they had encountered.  

The morning the storm barreled through, it took John 8 hours to cut us out of our house and the neighbors out of the street with his chainsaw!  Our neighbors were cheering him on as he cut them vehicle access.  He was really wearing his Superman cape! 

An hour after the storm and Sinclair strapped to me we climbed over the monster oaks and took refuge six houses down at our neighbors, the Cullens.  They have a built in generator that immediately kicks in when their electricity goes out.  They were out of town, but we had at least power to 25% of their home. Enough to keep their perishables cool and the a/c running! 

So far, our running total, we have salvaged a 30 lb. snapping turtle, 4 huge snakes, 6 dead fish in the pool, two live trout and a small gator.  This would be basically everyone that did not make the cut at the River Oaks CC.

Which in turn made me think of my friend Alex Knight and my idea about the "Ike" bag.  I want her to take my gator hide (Buffalo Bayou swamp gator green) and turn it into my prize accessory for the season.  I figure by the time the UT-Aggie football game at Thanksgiving, I will be sporting my hurricane "Ike" Buffalo Bayou gator.  Alex will have to make a little pocket for essentials like flashlight, USB card and Valium!   I am confidant it will be all the rage!

Now as far as power goes - we have none (like the other 6 million that lost theirs).  The first night of the storm we camped downtown at Daniel and Veronica's loft (they briefly lost electricity).  My wonderful resourceful hubby called his Louisiana office and got us an 18 wheeler size oilfield platform Generator that can keep 10000 square feet running for weeks without refuel.   Alas, you better love to look at (bright) yellow and green - its sprayed with Welch Generator on the side -- this thing makes my SUV look petite.  Our MacDaddy primary colored source of power is the envy of the hood!

Fortunately two other semis brought hundreds of small portable generators for all the company employees.  So far, we lost just one day in our home -- but we are going on day 12 without real power.  I just got a wireless (3G) USB card from the office and can I tell you that I am beyond thrilled.  I felt like Robert Downey looking for a NA meeting!!! I was seriously getting Internet withdraws.  

I was thinking about when I was a little girl growing up on a shipyard.  My Dad was in a variety of businesses.  One was commercial ice and the other being in the generator business.  Ice and Ingersoll-Rand does not seem that glam when you are a kid...but BOY did we take those luxuries for granted.

I got teary-eyed yesterday and John assured me "this too shall pass" and he said "I know this generator is big and unsightly but we are able to run everything at full capacity and the Mayor, President Bush and James Baker do not even have power"

I started laughing and said "Oh honey, I am from Freeport, Texas - if that thing were on blocks in the front yard - we would be certified rock star royalty!"

BAYOU CATCHES

Leo, making new friends with our floating strays from the storm.

Hurricane Ike Strikes

This is our backyard yesterday morning.  The water rose up 40 feet....four of our neighbors took trees through their homes.

Thank goodness no one was hurt -- but the damage was huge.

BOOM-BOOM Sundays...

Today was the resurrection of Boom-Boom, the pet chicken.  We have a "timeshare" of sorts on "Boom-Boom" and usually on Sundays CoCo brings him from her house to come visit  us.  

We hatched "Boom-Boom" and "Peep-Peep" (in our incubator) this past Easter and they have been getting prison furloughs to visit us on the weekends ever since.  

Piper Palin Grooming Her Little Brother Trig's Hair

I love this little girl!!!! Kids will be kids no matter what!

LIVE BLOG: Sarah Palin's Speech at the RNC

8:54 p.m. I decided to start with the live blog covering Sarah Palin’s speech at the RNC Convention. I am terribly excited about hearing her speak. Linda Lingle is addressing the convention right now, and she made a point about how Palin is a Washington outsider who wants to bring real reform to Washington politics.

8:59 p.m. I can’t stop thinking about how Palin’s candidacy is energizing women. Right now, both my precious husband and I are sitting here discussing how awesome it would be to have the first female Vice President, as it paves the way for a future female President.  I am texting madly with my RNC pals about the excitement building.

9:03 p.m. My favorite New York Yankees fan, Rudy Giuliani is addressing the crowd. He is really enthusiastic and energizing. “John McCain is a true American hero.”–Rudy Giuliani.

9:07 p.m. Rudy is talking about Barack Obama’s experience, or lack thereof. Rudy also attacks Barack’s voting record…hahaha! “For President of the United States, you can’t vote Present.”–Rudy.

9:10 p.m. “Tough times require strong leadership…this is no time for on-the-job training.”–Rudy Giuliani about Barack Obama’s inexperience John McCain is tested and ready to be President of the United States. We will be safer, no doubt with McCain’s leadership.

9:14 p.m. Rudy is talking about McCain adhering to free trade, energy independence (offshore drilling mentioned)…drill baby drill! We talk about change…they [dems] talk about hope. The only hope you will need with Barack is the hope that he will not send big brother snooping constantly over your shoulder.

9:16 p.m. Rudy mentioned the state of denial that the Democrats did not address during their convention by not addressing 9-11. McCain aligned himself with the troop surge, and we have seen success (how does the capture of Saddam sound…Iraqis having the right to vote).

9:19 p.m. “If I were Joe Biden, I would want to get the VP thing in writing.”–RG John McCain said we were all Georgians…Barack created a moral equivalency looking at both sides. Who has the most inexperience? BHO. “Advice for Barack…call John McCain”

9:23 p.m. “Gov. Palin represents a new generation…and already has more executive experience than the Democratic ticket combined.” Palin has encouraged energy exploration and is one of the best Governors in the country. Two mavericks on the ticket…way to shake up Washington…yeehaw!

9:28 p.m. Our next Vice President is on the stage. What a rising star…standing ovations abound! There are tears in my eyes. “Chairman, delegates, ladies and gentleman, I accept your nomination as Vice President of the United States.”

9:33 p.m. “There is a time for politics, a time for leadership, a time to campaign and a time to put our country first.” “Our candidate for President is a true profile of courage…the troops in Iraq brought victory in sight.” Palin mentions her son’s service to country…excellent! She is proud of her son and nephew and all of America’s troops…we have a winner!

9:37 p.m. “Our family has the same joys and the same challenges.” Mentions special needs children. “You will have a friend and advocate in the White House.” Sarah’s message to families of special needs children.

9:40 p.m. “Every woman has a place at the table.” Mentions parents and thanks them. “I had the privilege of living in a small town, being a hockey mom, and signing up for the PTA. The difference between a hockey mom and a pitbull is lipstick. I signed up for the PTA, because I wanted to make my children’s public education better.”

9:43 p.m. “I guess being a town mayor is a lot like a community organizer.” Good line, Sarah.

9:46 p.m. “Americans expect us to go to Washington to make a difference, not socialize with lobbyists.” “I pledge to all Americans to carry myself in this spirit as Vice President of the United States.” “When I stood up to the special interests, the lobbyists, oil companies and the good old boys…we shook things up and put government back on the side of people.”

9:49 p.m. “Use of veto is in the public interest.” Palin used this in Alaska to stop government spending. “Thanks, but no thanks, on that bridge to nowhere. If our state wanted to build a bridge, we were going to build ourselves.” “Americans, we need to produce much of our own oil and gas. Take it from a girl from Alaska, we got lots of both” Drill here, drill now…ease government regulations! “There is no excuse to do nothing at all.”

9:53 p.m. “On the first day of the McCain/Palin administration, we are going to build new energy plants.” “American energy brought to you by American ingenuity, brought to you by American workers.” “Barack authored two memoirs, but not a single bill.” Right on, sister!

9:56 p.m. “Barack wants to meet terrorists without preconditions.” Sarah is definitely showing her strength…Go Sarahcuda!! “Government is too big and he [Barack] wants to grow it. Taxes are too high and he [Barack] wants to raise it.” Highlights her sister and brother-in-law starting a small business and talked about how higher taxes oppress business growth. “McCain isn’t looking for a fight, but isn’t afraid of one either.” Mentions “Dirty Harry” Reid and the do-nothing Congress…we have chosen the right man. “Dirty Harry” can’t stand up to John McCain. The American Presidency is not supposed to be one of personal discovery.”

10:04 p.m. “It is a long way from a 6′ X 4′ cell in Hanoi to the White House.” His service to our country is admirable. “John McCain has inspired with his deeds. If character is the theme of this election, then I hope you will join our cause.”

10:10 p.m. Our next President, John McCain walked on stage to be with the family. It is a beautiful night to be an American and a Republican. Country first!

It has been a truly historic night. Sarah Palin makes me even prouder to be a Republican woman, and she now a heroine in my book. I pray that I can be like her one day, what a great role model! She handles pressure with grace and strength…may God bless you and your family, Sarah Palin.

I inquire (via text to my friend Beau) if I am too old for a Sarah Palin poster on my wall - he insists I should get one for him too!

BIG SHOES TO FILL

Thank you for breaking the glass ceiling, VP Palin!!!

TOO FUNNY NOT TO SHARE

Pressure, What Pressure???

No one better could have put Sarah Palin’s speech tonight in better perspective than the late legendary movie trailer announcer Don LaFontaine. Called the “king of voiceovers” LaFontaine could set up the story line:

“In a rough and tumble world where the enemy is everywhere — from CNN’s Campbell Brown asking questions of a spokesman — the world awaits … and wonders…"

MUSIC CHANGE to the William Tell Overture…

“Could a former beauty queen, now a mother of five from Alaska be the next Vice President? First she has to win the hearts and minds of a skeptical America."

“It’s the outrageous, feel-good movie of the year: “Sarah Goes to Washington.”

OK. Real world: Taking on the Alaskan establishment and wrestling away the top political office in the state after beating two powerhouse names was no small feat for Palin. The woman has shown she knows how to win and impresses people on both sides of the aisle for her substance.

But that hasn’t stopped political insiders and pundits from observing that the rising Republican star could have used a few more years of seasoning before running for the second highest office in the land.

Early or not, she’s got the spotlight now. And she’s had it since last Friday. It’s been five complete days since John McCain reminded the country why he’s been called a renegade, a maverick, a cowboy. By selecting the-then virtually unknown Palin, he made her the main subject of the GOP convention so far — and her speech tonight the most widely anticipated of the week.

Contrast this to five days after Barack Obama selected Joe Biden. The news of the day? Hillary Clinton’s “come back to the fold” speech, Montana Governor’s yee-haw fire-em-up oratory, and Mark Warner … does anybody recall what he said?

Politico asks this morning, “Can the GOP stop talking about Palin?” It’s not just the GOP, it’s everywhere.  I think she is getting more buzz than Michael Phelps!

A quick perusal around some of the major mainstream news sites shows the LA Times leading with, “McCain had criticized earmarks from Palin.” The New York Times has “Palin’s start in Alaska: not politics as usual.”

The Wall Street Journal leads with “GOP tightens VP image control.” The New York Post - in typical New York Post fashion - screams, “Shining knights - GOP defends damsel in distress Palin.”

The San Francisco Chronicle simply puts it “Spotlight on Sarah Palin.”

People watch tightrope walkers because they might fall and splatter on the ground, and when they reach the end of the line safely, there is a great release of tension. So it is with tonight’s prime-time acceptance speech by Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, picked by Republican presidential candidate John McCain to be his running mate.

One of the most anticipated political speeches in memory will begin to answer whether McCain’s gamble on the unknown chief executive of a sparsely populated and remote state was wise.

But there’s no pressure.

Upon the surprising news a last week that McCain was picking Alaska Governor Sarah Palin to be on his ticket the immediate talking point from the left, emanating specifically from the Obama campaign, was that Palin was too inexperienced. After all, according to the left, wasn’t Palin just a small town mayor a few years ago?

Well now the liberals, including Obama himself, have figured out that bashing a VP pick as “too inexperienced” might not be a good idea when your Presidential nominee is a Senator who hasn’t even completed one term yet.

Obama doesn’t want to go too far down that road.

Obama is clearly going to leave the Palin-bashing to his surrogates, but riddle me this: If Palin is too inexperienced to be VP, how in the world is Obama experienced enough to be President?

What experiences has Obama had that make him more qualified to run the country than Palin? The liberals seem bent out of shape about Obama’s lack of foreign policy experience, but what has he done in that regard that makes him such a better candidate than Palin? Time and again squirming liberals who are pressed to name Obama’s major accomplishments tell us about his having presided over the Harvard Law Review and having worked as a “community organizer” (whatever that is). Comparing those “accomplishments” to Palin’s shows that she’s got a lot more under her belt than Obama.

Palin cut wasteful spending in the Alaska budget. She pushed through a natural gas pipeline that her predecessors in Alaska had been trying to get built for thirty years. She’s refused federal earmarks for her state when she felt they weren’t necessary saying that she didn’t think it was right for people in the “lower 48” to pay for Alaskan projects. She’s fought to expand domestic drilling. She stood up to corrupt members of her own party (most notably Senator Ted Stevens). What has Obama done that rivals any of these?

He gave a good speech at the 2004 Democrat convention? He’s spent most of a partial Senate term campaigning for President?

Basically, the "Palin Buzz" going to create a huge audience for her speech whether she walks out there and blows it or hits it out of the park. With every question, with every controversy the audience gets bigger so that when she walks out there — it could be one of the most dramatic moments of either convention.

The question is, could the audience for Palin’s speech top Barack Obama’s 40+ million?

We’ll find out. She’s in the spotlight tonight at 10 p.m. (9 p.m. Texas time)


Also, set your Tivo's for Tomorrow night -- a long awaited one on one with Barack Obama and Bill O'Reilly at 8 PM Eastern/7 Central on Fox News!!!

Great week!

WHEN YOU THOUGHT I WAS NOT LOOKING

A message every adult should read because children
are watching you and doing as you do, not as you say.


When you thought I wasn't looking I saw you hang my
first painting on the refrigerator, and I immediately
wanted to paint another one.


When you thought I wasn't looking I saw you feed a
stray cat, and I learned that it was good to be kind
to animals.


When you thought I wasn't looking I saw you make my
favorite cake for me, and I learned that the little
things can be the special things in life.


When you thought I wasn't looking I heard you say a
prayer, and I knew that there is a God I could always
talk to, and I learned to trust in Him.


When you thought I wasn't looking I saw you make a
meal and take it to a friend who was sick, and I
learned that we all have to help take care of each
other.


When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you give of
your time and money to help people who had nothing,
and I learned that those who have something should
give to those who don't.


When you thought I wasn't looking I saw you take care
of our house and everyone in it, and I learned we have
to take care of what we are given.


When you thought I wasn't looking I saw how you
handled your responsibilities, even when you didn' t
feel good, and I learned that I would have to be
responsible when I grow up.


When you thought I wasn't looking I saw tears come
from your eyes, and I learned that sometimes things
hurt, but it's all right to cry.


When you thought I wasn't looking I saw that you
cared, and I wanted to be everything that I could be.


When you thought I wasn't looking I learned most of
life's lessons that I need to know to be a good and
productive person when I grow up.


When you thought I wasn't looking I looked at you and
wanted to say,'Thanks for all the things I saw when
you thought I wasn't looking.'


I AM SHARING THIS WITH EVERYONE ON MY BLOG
WHO DO SO MUCH FOR OTHERS,
BUT THINK THAT NO ONE EVER SEES.
LITTLE EYES SEE A LOT.


Each of us (parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle, teacher, friend)
influences the life of a child.

How will you touch the life of someone today? Just by
sending this to someone else, you will probably make
them at least think about their influence on others.
Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak
kindly.


Leave the rest to God.




(Thanks for sharing, Mema)

LABOR DAY GETAWAY

We snuck away to the Mountains for a few days for Labor Day....

In Aspen....the deer on the mantle HAD to be "making kisses"

Shelter from the Storm

I have learned people will forget what you have said, people will forget what you have done, but people never forget how you made them feel.


I have been burning inside ever since I heard some political pundit describe McCain "using Gustav as his political theater platform"


So while John McCain has essentially put the most important week of his campaign on hold for this natural disaster, Obama is still bashing him till the very end. This is the paramount difference between McCain and Obama

Earlier today, Team Barack was still attacking McCain. Barack Obama had criticized McCain and Palin on the campaign trail over pay equity. The Dems attack while there's a hurricane going on and John McCain suspends his convention basically. What bigger contrast can you have about putting your country first?

While dismayed about the impact Gustav is sure to have on their convention, Republicans see the storm as another opportunity to paint McCain as somebody who, even to the detriment of his own campaign, is willing to sacrifice his political interests for a larger good. As a former resident of New Orleans, this impresses me beyond words. I have not heard a peep from Barack or his side kick "hair plugs" about going down to the South to save the victims of the storm.  McCain, secured private aircraft for all of his Alabama, Louisiana and Texas delegates to be able to go back home from the convention and be with their families.

McCain knows what it is like to be under pressure, he is putting politics behind his country. I am confidant this is not the easiest way to run a campaign you have hundreds of millions of dollars riding on. But this is business as usual in McCainworld. This is OBVIOUSLY not how the Democratic rival operates.

I could have sworn Barack Obama said the other night in his speech that "Country should be first" Hmmmmmmm..... someone send me the memo when that happens.

Mitt Romney went after Obama, if not by name.

"And you want to make sure our next president is someone who should be talking about protecting our nation and does not just say let's sit down with the world’s worst actors Ahmadinejad and the Castro brothers," Romney said. "But instead says, let’s sit down with the best democracies in the world and form a league of democracies. Let’s protect America. You want to make sure the people of America understand that when it comes to strengthening our economy we’re not in favor of raising taxes and cutting off trade and drawing a line and saying no nuclear, no coal and no more drilling. Instead, you want a president who will say, I’ll get this economy going with low taxes, and more trade for our goods, and yes, we will drill for more oil."

So far, Obama has taken a more hands-off approach to Gustav, saying he doesn't plan to the travel to the Gulf but would tap his massive network of donors and volunteers to pitch in however needed. I do not know about you but I want a COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF not a Comforter-in-chief. Obama's own leadership credentials are less known to voters, so this could be an opportunity for him to show steadiness under fire as well.


Not that his peeps read my blog, but of the 30,000 that do (and a few are Barack/Biden supporters) I would send word back to their camp and the village idiots that advise them.

Americans want to see their next President on the ground. Let's see him stop bashing McCain long enough to fill sandbags and show concern for his country.