Behind The Scenes: House Republicans Take A Stand

Congressman John Boehner shares a behind-the-scenes look at the House Republicans efforts to push back against Obama’s pork-laden “stimulus” bill:

 

We can only hope the Senate Republicans will show as much spine. (If you think the Senate leadership could use some help in this regard, consider participating in this rather creative effort to send them that message.)

What Does It Mean To Be A Republican?

(video sponsored by RebuildtheParty.com)

Are you a Republican? Why? What drew you to the party in the first place? Do you think the party has lost its way?

An Inaugural Poem, Rewritten

If you listened to the poem read at the inauguration and are finished cleaning the blood out of your ears . . . well, here is my version of it (but keep tissues nearby to clean the blood out of your eyes).

If you didn’t hear the original poem you really probably should read it before you continue with this post.

Lame song for the day.

Each day we go about our business, ducking each others’ bad poetry or not, about to belch or belching.  All about us is food.  All about us are Oreos and Twinkies, pears and apples, each one getting stuck on our pierced tongues.  Someone is frying up some chicken, putting frosting on a cupcake, buying a Big Mac, eating food that does not need eaten.

Someone is trying to make music somewhere with a great big hat sporting a great big bow and an extreme lack of current talent, spoons, drum, cello, boom box, harmonica, voice.

A woman and her son wait for their food stamps.

A farmer considers his government subsidies; A teacher says, “You pretended to do your best so you get an A.  Go to lunch.”

We encounter each other in supermarkets, supermarkets clean or dirty, big or small; supermarkets to visit, revisit.

We cross wide aisles and parking lots that mark the will of someone and then others who said, “I need to see what’s in there to eat; I know there is something better than McDonalds down the road.”

We need to find a place where we are full; We walk into that which will feed us, because we are smart enough to not walk blindly into some place we cannot see, may not have food.

Say it plain, that many cows have died for this day.  Chickens, too.  Sing the names of the dead, “eee-i-eee-i-oh!” who brought us here, who laid the eggs, chewed the grasses, pollinated the flowers, the fruit trees, built patty by patty the greasy edibles they would give their lives for, work your insides with.

Praise song for handouts; praise song for food.  Praise song for every hand-plucked turkey; The handing it out at government offices.

Some live by “Where’s the beef?”

Others by you deserve a break today, have it your way.

What if the mightiest word is love, love beyond nuggets and french fries and stroganoff.  Love that casts a widening pool of handouts.  Love based on entitlement.

In today’s false sparkle, this winter air, anything can be made, even barbeque.

On the brink, on the brim, on the cusp – lame song for eating free food in the darkness.

lessons forgotten, lessons learned

As the world came to a screeching halt this morning to watch Barack Obama become the 44th President of the United States, I had one of those moments.

A moment where I remembered a lesson I had long since forgotten. Its something my parents taught me when Carter became President back in 1976…and its one I think Americans would do well to remember today.

The President, is our president, whether we like it or not…and we need to respect the man and the office, whether we want to or not.

I think at least half of all Americans weren’t listening to their parents back in the 70s.  The response, today, to former President George W. Bush proved it.

Obama fans lined the National Mall by the millions to cheer on the new President…and to ‘boo’ the old one, turning what should be one of the most historic events in the two century lineage of this country, into something akin to a high school football game.

How cheap!

It never ceases to amaze me the difference between the two political sides. The unwillingness of some to let history be the judge…the graciousness of others to let their political foes enjoy their moment in time.

Stark differences indeed.

Its a difference I want to impress upon my children.

A difference between bitterness, pettiness and bickering…and grace, forgiveness and honor. A difference many people seem to be blind to.

I want to my kids to be better than that.

I want Alek, Anya, Nick and Maddie to respect the office, as well as the man. While I certainly do not agree with the choices he has made…and we will absolutely not support many of his choices yet to come, he IS the president of the United States…OUR president, and if for no other reason than that, he deserves our respect.

President Obama will be making choices over the next four years (heaven forbid the next eight) based upon his conscious. He will be making choices he believes, rightly or wrongly, are the best decisions for the country.

I am highly concerned about what those decisions will be, but I let my voice be heard back in November. Now, I have to live with the consequences of living in a democracy. I have to live with the choices of the majority.

That’s what I’ll be teaching my children.

I will be teaching them to make change within the system of government in a responsible way.

That you need stand on your convictions…but respect the right of others to have convictions of their own.

And most importantly I’ll be teaching my kids more about the power of prayer…and our responsibility as Christians lift our new leader up before his maker.

Praying for his safety.

Praying for his wisdom.

And praying for the grace to respect the office AND the man.

Because its going to take some serious grace.

Marking This Historic Day of Obamanation*

Today is probably the most historic day of my 38 years on this planet.  I know this because the ms media keeps crowing about it.  I know this because I think they might be right.

I never thought in my lifetime that I would see such a historic, solemn occasion:  today the United States of America inaugurates her first Marxist president.

How are you marking this day?  I meant to write this post and ask this question a week ago so that we could all share ideas in preparation and then report back after our festivities.  As usual, life got in the way and the post never got written; but I have put thought into how our family will mark this day, and today I will share what we are doing.

First, and most obvious, we will all be wearing black.  Call me racist if you want, but black is the traditional color of  mourning, and I see no reason to change that now.

Second, we will be burying some money somewhere on our property to symbolize the fact that we will not be brainwashed in thinking the Marxist idea of spreading the wealth around is a good one.  Like the honeybee, we have worked hard and sacrificed much to get to where we are today (and where we are today is comfortable, but certainly not extravagant).  We do donate and look for other opportunities to serve and share, but we will never agree that it is the government’s job to take our money and administrate our charity.

Third, speaking of the honey bee, I will be looking into ordering beehives today so that I can become a backyard beekeeper this summer.   Teleprompter Jesus and his minions may go after what money we don’t have buried in a field, but I think it will be quite a while before they start taxing our back yard food production, so we’re making plans to step that up and store it.

Fourth, we will drive our Chevy Suburban around the block, several times, to show what we think about the liberal notion of global warming.  Also, since we live out in the country, that should be many miles of driving to nowhere, which is exactly where our country is going to go under an Obama administration.  Actually?  As a nation we will probably go backwards politically and economically, so perhaps I will back down the driveway when our little journey is finished. 

Fifth, we have acquired a Grim and today we will officially name her.   In addition to the symbolic significance, we figured there would be some home protection value that won’t be lost when the Second Amendment is reinterpreted or flat out repealed. Though our Grim actually looks like this:

She’s really enjoying all this global warming. 

Sixth, and finally, we will pray.  We will pray today and in the days to come for our nation, for our freedoms, and for our new president.  Because he needs all the help he can get.

So, what are you doing?

*h/t to Christina for coming up with (or at the very least introducing me to) the “Day of Obamanation” idea.

‘Is this the future of free speech and political dissent under President Obama?’

Via WorldNetDaily:

The Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Police Department has forbidden a pro-life gathering and chalk display during Inauguration Week – and now the group is fighting back with a lawsuit against the District of Columbia.

Rev. Patrick J. Mahoney, director of the Christian Defense Coalition, said the department is banning the event because of its message.

“For over 16 years, law enforcement officials have given permission to the Christian Defense Coalition to use public ’sidewalk chalking’ as a part of their demonstrations and vigils in the nation’s capitol. The City of Washington, D.C., has also allowed numerous public ‘chalk art displays’ throughout the city,” he said in a statement. “It is therefore most troubling that for the first time the Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Police Department is banning this practice when it involves a pro-life display in front of the White House.”

“Is this the future of free speech and political dissent under President Obama?” Mahoney asked in his statement. “The streets in front of the White House should be open to all views, opinions and thoughts. It should not be a place of censorship and intimidation. I hope this was not the kind of change President Obama was talking about.”

h/t Mommy Life

And Another Reason To Skip The Inauguration…

Are you planning to go to Washington to witness Obama’s inauguration? 

The Metro expects to transport 1 million passengers for the event, but is shutting down all their restrooms for security reasons.  Instead, they are placing port-a-johns at each station – at the ratio of one john for every 6,849 people.

Some people are estimating the crowds to reach 5 million people, which is beyond the capacity of the Metro - still, you do the math. 

The Park Services says there will be more port-a-johns on the mall itself.  Just where I would want to “go,” with millions milling around and below freezing temperatures in the forecast.

It’s seven below here tonight, and heading lower.  Here’s a suggestion for Al Gore’s inconveniently dishonest book:

We would not all be burdened with Obama and his minions willing to damage our economy and socialize our country, all for a half-baked theory based on GIGO computer modelling, if it weren’t for the complicity of the Main Stream Media - also known as the Malpractice Media.  They bombard us with a constant drumbeat of global warming, global warming, global warming, even though there is no proof such a thing exists. 

Meanwhile, socialist Carol Browner is welcomed as the new environmental czar of the incoming Obama administration.  She who believes in controlling the economies of the developed countries by controlling their CO2 output, since naturally occurring carbon dioxide is going to cook us all.

In fact, 2008 was the coldest year since 1997 and was just slightly above the 20th century average.

There is an excellent article on the media today by Selwyn Duke at American Thinker:

The reality is that the mainstream media are thoroughly corrupt — manifesting itself in a lack of both conscientiousness and honor — which leads to incompetence and duplicity.  It deals in half-truths, the suppression of facts, the exaltation of evil and savaging of the sublime, and outright lies all the time.  And we could use up countless gigabytes compiling examples.

[snip]

 It’s much like a computer.  If the data input is incorrect, so will the output be (the same is true if the data is incomplete, yet we still encourage people with insufficient data to vote).  If, for instance, stories about how guns are used to commit crime are showcased but those about how they’re used to thwart it are suppressed, people will be more likely to conclude that firearm ownership should be prohibited.  If the electorate is made to believe that climate change is the handiwork of man, their very logical conclusion will be that man can and should do something about it.  If you convince people that the symptoms are something they’re not, they will make the wrong diagnosis and prescribe a drug that doesn’t treat what truly ails us but often has some very nasty side effects.

If I’ve been a bit verbose, perhaps it’s because I’m trying to describe something for which words are insufficient.  It’s much like when the Morpheus character in the movie The Matrix said that no one could be told what the Matrix is, that you have to see it for yourself.  Our matrix media (along with academia and the popular culture) has constructed an all-encompassing faux reality that cannot truly be understood unless you step outside of it.  For the average person this means, first, being willing to question all his basic suppositions about political and social reality, as these have been shaped by the matrix media.  The second requirement is to embark upon a Reality 101 course on the Internet, where the wheat can at least be found amidst the chaff.  You see, unlike the movie, our virtual world is in a way more real than the “real” world.  (emphasis added)

We all need to step outside the faux reality and educate ourselves.  The information is there – we just have to do the research and be the editors.

Crucifixion? I Thought That Went Out of Style 2,000 Years Ago

While fighting between Israel and Palestinian militants in the Gaza strip was heating up in December, few in the media took notice of another action taken by Hamas leaders.

While the world focused on Hamas militants launching rockets from Gaza at southern Israel, the terrorist organization also voted quietly to implement Islamic law in the Gaza Strip, including crucifixion of Christians, according to reports in the Arabic press.  (emphasis added)  

[snip]

“Hamas’ endorsement of nailing enemies of Islam to crosses came at the same time it renewed its jihad,” Jerusalem Post columnist Caroline Glick wrote on Dec. 26. “Here, too, Hamas wanted to make sure that Christians didn’t feel neglected as its fighters launched missiles at Jewish day care centers and schools.”   Newsmax

The few Christians left in the area must really be sleeping easy, now that leaders from the Religion of Peace have again shown murderous disdain for those not of their faith.

Do we have permission yet to be concerned, or must we continue to be further browbeaten into multicultural political correctness?

It’s time to speak up for those who have no voice

The coronation of Barack Obama is only one week away. He made a promise to put one piece of legislation at the very top of his priority list. We need to see to it that this bill never reaches his desk.

What can you do? Contact your Senators and Representatives.

Sign this petition to Fight FOCA.

Spread the word. The time for election fatigue is past … if we don’t get involved, hundreds of thousands of lives could be lost.