Right As Usual

I've long said that the culture is what drives the politics, not the reverse.  Unfortunately, I've acted as though the political part of life was the important part. With that in mind, I've decided to focus on The Culture, and WHY it has to be resisted.  Naturally, much of my thinking will come out of my Catholic Heritage. Like Nancy Pelosi and Joy Behar, I was raised Catholic. That's where we differ.  I still attend church every Sunday, and am currently also spending one evening a week (and some spare time online) learning more about my faith. Unlike many cultural Catholics, I don't ignore the "inconveniently illiberal" parts of the church. To that purpose, I've been checking out some Catholic blogs that stand firmly on the side of The Church in the HHS fight. Among them, Bad Catholic , who writes about specific ways that The Church stands up to the Standard American Culture. Bad Catholic also writes about nudity - and how the Culture has made men (a...

The central thesis of this is disheartening. ...baseball is a game taught by fathers, while basketball and football are more often taught by peers in pickup games. Gerald Hall Jr., the director of a youth-baseball program in Washington, D.C., told Milloy: “If you did a survey, I believe you’d find that the one thing average and above-average players have in common is a father. Baseball is, at heart, a father-and-son sport. And if you’re a kid that has nobody to throw to, nobody to talk to, nobody to discipline you in the way that baseball demands, you’re not likely to play the game. How unbearably sad.

YES! The federal government is ACTIVELY promoting applications from NON-citizens.  I couldn't believe that the American government could be so clueless, until I read this. In one ad from the government, a Spanish-speaking alien is being pushed to apply for benefits, even though she tells them that she doesn't need them. Imagine - someone who is self-sufficient is being discouraged from continuing to rely on themselves. Not only that, but the EBT (the "bank card" that is now used for food stamp eligible purchases) is being promoted as reducing fraud, because - wait for it - the users can withdraw money from it in cash. Get it?  They no longer have to sell the food stamps - which is illegal.  They can - legally - just ask for cash back at the register.  Which has the same effect - getting cash in their hands.  But, now that same action is LEGAL. Confused? So was I.  

I'm the only one up right now, at my Cleveland house. The habit of getting up at dawn (reinforced this year by the need to rise at 4:30 am every workday) is long-standing. I'm using this time to catch up on reading, thinking, and planning. It's work best suited to a silent house. Later in the day, every corner will be filled with people and talk. I'm reading a post on National Review, about gratitude. Multiple people have contributed a few thoughts about thankfulness. It got me thinking about it, too. I'm thankful that: I'm employed - and, at a job that I LIKE. My working situations have not always been so congenial, so I'm doubly thankful that my work is such a pleasure these days. My husband is employed - both at a part-time Christmas job, and, as of next Monday, at a teaching job. It's only for the rest of the year - it's a grant position. But, that gets him employed in the school system, and it will enable him to bid for other jobs later ...

Benghazi. I'm still pushing awareness of the whole scandal. It's amazing, even with mention in a debate, some front-page stories, and peripheral intermingling in the Petraeus story, that so many people have no idea what the story was about. It's time to get serious. We need to pare down our agenda to the core issues, concerns, and base-building activities. Dealing with Identifications issues - illegal aliens using other people's identity, voting fraud, privacy concerns balanced against need to verify identity. Bringing the Budget Monster into balance - SOME entitlements are going to have to pare down their cost. We need to cap some entitlement programs - after all, we aren't creating more disabilities, so the numbers of recipients shouldn't be increasing - but they ARE. This needs to stop. Same with many "poverty" programs. We need to base the maximum on what it actually takes to have a PARED-DOWN lifestyle - no internet, ONE phone per household, ...

It's the intersection of my two favorite things. This article gets into the way tech was used by both Obama and Romney, and how it contributed to the outcome. It should be read by ALL Conservatives.  We need to start building the infrastructure NOW.

This young woman voices some legitimate concerns. One thing that COULD be done is to get to the leading edge of marijuana legalization. Understand, I don't like it.  I never used it.  I know those of my generation that were heavily involved generally made little of their lives, at least while it was a large part of those lives. But, I do understand the attraction of the legalization movement.  With more states getting on board with it, it seems useless to continue with prohibition. So, legalize, tax, and cross your fingers. Maybe out best efforts ought to be spent on getting people to consume substances in moderation.  I don't hold out much hope for that, you understand.  In America, moderation is NOT the norm. I imagine that my grandparents felt much like this in 1933, when Prohibition was due to end.  Resigned, but NOT liking it.

1)   You should bookmark Front Page Magazine. The publisher, David Horowitz, is a former Leftist Radical, who knows - WELL - the players and tactics of the Left.  He argues forcefully for Conservative Values. A nifty idea he had was to have a link to downloadable pamphlets , that you can use, both for self-education, and to subversively spread the growth of conservative principles. Or, you can order in bulk. 2)  Of course, the Gold Standard is National Review. Originally founded by William Buckley, it has expanded beyond 1 man to be an entertaining, insightful newmagazine.  It has both online and print versions.  As soon as I get my finances in order, I plan to subscribe to the online edition. 3)  What is meant by "buying your vote"?  The Athenians tried that, many years ago.   See how it turned out for them. 4)   Right Wing News The blog owner periodically runs lists of Conservatives Blogs.  Excellent way to find new content.  Generally good guy. 5)   Breitbart - although ...

I'm going to be hitting this topic more over the next few months. I agree with many commentators that Conservatives do a poor job of arguing their case. With that in mind, I'm going to be posting some links to ways you can increase your knowledge of Conservative topics, including: The role of the Educational Establishment in promoting the Leftist Agenda What Conservatives believe Economics for Conservatives Politics from the Ground Up Let me know if there are any topics you want to see.

For the benefit of any readers who are less-than comfortable with the English language, I've added a Translate Button at the top-right of every post. No offense meant by this; I am Less-than-comfortable with Spanish, although I can usually make myself understood in an emergency. Hope this is helpful. Links for Hispanic-Friendly Resources are also available on the right sidebar.

We don't give up and whine that we'll run off to Canada! We don't follow a defeat by giving up - we re-load (NOT a munitions reference - we're ARMING ourselves with the TRUTH!). Remember those immortal words of the utterly confused and immoral Blutarsky!  

Benghazi. Missing.  They couldn't be bothered with the story before. They are barely giving it any coverage. There are just a FEW stories of the attack... ...AFTER the election, of course. Only the few editorials that made it through focused on the atrocity before the election. It's embarrassing to have SUCH a spineless media.  They roll over and beg for photo-ops, and to be able to lick the Obama administration's boots. These are the same people that STILL lionize the Woodward/Bernstein team for their "courage" in bringing down Nixon. Watergate may have been a scandal, but nobody died. Unlike Benghazi.

Benghazi. OK, the election's over. Now, let's get to the bottom of Benghazi. We were told, the President is anxious to know what happened. Right after the election is over, we were told, he'll work non-stop to find out how that whole mess could have happened. Well, I'm going to make it easier for him. I'm going to put the word "Benghazi" at the head of EVERY post, email. FB update, Tweet, etc. that I write. EVERY ONE. EVERY DAY. Until the WHOLE truth comes out. I urge you to do the same.

And by education, I mean that Conservatives need to put on a whole-hearted effort to educate some essential groups (that will make it possible to win elections at SOME time in the future): Candidates - they need to learn media strategies, and face small groups of conservatives early on, answering questions about touchy topics.  Some of the group needs to play devil's advocate, asking questions from the standpoint of an outraged liberal - "Why do you want to put women back in chains?", "If a woman is raped, why should she have to suffer and give birth to her rapist's child?", and other such impassioned pleas.  They need to learn not to fall back on rhetoric, but to listen, empathize with  the questioner's pain, and to respond in ways that won't make cringe-worthy headlines. Current elected officials - they need to either get out of public office, or do it right. Those wanting to help others seek office (I'm thinking of the effectiveness of t...

Yesterday: ONE (1) day until the election.  I can't WAIT! Nor can anyone else who I talk to.   I cautiously anticipate Romney will win.  At least, unless the Nefarious Forces of Vote-Stealing, Vote-Manufacturing, and Funky Voting Machine "Accidents" have their way.   It feels like the teachers' lounge has quieted down.  Few are all that involved; most have resigned themselves to acceptance of the outcome.  Unlike the last election, when threats to leave the country were everywhere, this time most seem to be acting like adults.   I sense that many are doubtful that their candidate (Obama) will make it.  They should be doubtful - if recent rally activity is any indication, Romney/Ryan will romp to the finish line.  The size of the Obama rallies has been pitiful - the media is reduced to reporting that 12,000 people stadiums are filled to 20,000 capacity.  Their bias is coming back to bite them in the hiney.   Like many people, I'm focused on what Romney, and I, can ...

Like Benghazi - initially, just another outrage in a Muslim country.  Aggravated by the fact that it caused the death of 4 people - 1 ambassador (who was the chucklehead that thought it was a good idea to post a known homosexual - however competent - in a country that HATES gays, and will cheerfully execute them?  They might as well have painted a target on his forehead), and 3 other men, who gave their lives to keep him safe. The men certainly went above and beyond what they had to do, and fully deserve medals for their efforts. Instead, their families got this gross question from VP Joe Biden:  Woods said Biden came over to his family and asked in a “loud and boisterous” voice, “ Did your son always have balls the size of cue balls ?” Nice way to talk to a grieving family. /sarc But, that wasn't the worst part for the family. The grieving father also described his brief encounter with President Obama during the ceremony for the Libya victims. “When he finally came over to where w...

Many political stories are like icebergs - only a small portion of the whole is above water.  The vast majority is never even seen. Watergate was like that - we got some tantalizing glimpses of the behind-the-scenes maneuvering, but much of the story stayed hidden.  Even the unveiling of Mark Felt as the long-hid Deep Throat unleashed only a few facts not already known.  It did, however, reveal his vile and tawdry motivations - not to save a country, but to get back at the one who didn't put him in charge of the FBI - a good decision, as it turned out. Some have since argued that the mastermind behind the entire Watergate affair (including the original burglary) was John Dean.   His wife had roomed, before their marriage, with a known prostitute.  Dean was said to have been concerned that compromising pictures of her existed, and were in the Democratic offices.  Hence, the burglary. The site Gates of Vienna has been running a multipart series, analyzing what is known about the Beng...