Build up - not tear down

Lets be honest...you all know Im conservative. You all have your own opinions on what you think conservative means.
BUT, Ill give you a clue on how THIS conservative feels.

I am disgusted and repulsed about those "fellow" conservatives who feel that just because Obama won the Presidency, they need to "impeach" him.

First of all, how do you impeach someone who hasnt even took their oath of office?


None the less, the election process is done...finished....complete.
No matter who we voted for-we must get behind the one who DID get elected.


This means:

1-Stop calling for him to be impeached
2-Stop saying he is a muslim (most muslims that I know, are proud and wont deny)
3-Stop blaming specific people for the loss
4-Start praying for ALL who got elected
5-Pray harder for those you disagree with
6-Make sure you make your voice heard in a respectful and polite way
7-For my gop friends, instead of tearing each other down, build each other up

Oh, heres another one: STOP SAYING HE IS THE ANTICHRIST!
I wont even start here.

There are even some people who are "hoping" that something bad happens to the President-Elect. Apparently these people are not only racist but anti-American as well. It is never good for a country to have its leader hurt. In this case, there is a possibility of a civil war...and our country cannot afford to be divided at this historic time.

I want to congratulate Barack Obama-the MAN.
He fought the odds.
To my My african american friends, I congratulate you as well. Many of you who were apathetic got involved and are now seeing the fruits of your hard work.

I wish President-Elect Barack Obama well. I will continue to pray for him and his family along with our country. I would hope that those I know would join me.

my post-election analysis-it isnt Sarah Palin's fault!

Well, I decided to give the election a few days to sink in before doing my own analysis.


Congratulations are in order
First of all, congratulations to President-Elect Barack Obama.
Here's my take on his win and the republican loss:

This election was historic-no matter which side would have won. We would have the first black president or the first woman vice president. This fact alone brought out voters in droves.


Get out the vote!
The grass roots effort of the democrats was overwhelming. Ive seen those that I know who are mostly apathetic- perform voter registration drives, make phone calls and donate money to Obamas campaign. I dont beleive that if Hilary Clinton would have won the nomination, this grass roots effort would have been so large.

Meanwhile, the republican party also has an amazing base. Most do not realize this fact, because in most states, democrats outnumber republicans two to one.


Why the GOP lost
Republicans were split on MANY levels during this election cycle..."true conservatives" did not think McCain was conservative enough to represent the party, and he was "forced" to pick an unknown governor from Alaska as his running mate. I say McCain was forced to pick Palin because other names that were floated around were also viewed as not conservative enough (i.e. social issues)

Palin, while some thought she was not qualified, brought conservatives back to the party again. McCain enjoyed a boost in fundraising after picking Sarah Palin. As a matter of fact, many republicans werent even "paying attention" anymore until the pick of Palin was revealed.



We are done with HER! Lets rip her to pieces!
What is so surprising is now that the democrats won, republicans are now ripping Sarah Palin to pieces in the media. Werent they just complaining about how the democrats were treating Sarah Palin?


What I REALLY want to know
Had the republicans won, what would they be saying about Sarah Palin then?


Paging Senator McCain......
Why havent we heard from John McCain? Why isnt he defending her? Didnt HE pick her as HIS running mate?


Double standard?
How is it- that if democrats make a mistake (i.e. Biden & Obama) its just that....but if a republican makes a mistake, they are criticized beyond belief? (it makes me think how far I would really go in politics!!!)



Why the democrats won
1) President Bushs approval rating is in the hole.
2) Sheer numbers
3) Rumors
4) Slumping economy


Heres a short explanation of each:
1- President Bush started his Presidency with democrats coming off a tough loss. From there, we had 9/11 and the wars that occurred in the aftermath.
2- As stated above, democrats outnumber republicans two to one (in some areas, four to one)
3- Rumors abound concerning those involved in republican politics. (i.e. pregnancy of the vp candidates daughter)
4- Our economy is in trouble. Our deficit has grown by disgusting amounts - and this is also blamed on our current/outgoing administration.



Heres to the next four years
I do sincerely congratulate Barack Obama. I think he has accomplished something that most beleived would NEVER happen. Kudos to him for that.

Most of you know that I disagree with most of his agenda-
I also want EVERYONE of you to know that I have been praying for him and his family ever since I realized that he would be elected. I want NO harm to come to him.

I think those that wish to harm those who they disagree with, do not understand what it is to BE AN AMERICAN.

I am sickened by those who already want to "impeach" Obama and want to be friends of mine because they beleive that just because Im a conservative, Ill agree with them. This man hasnt even begun his term yet!


Here is a simple way to PEACEFULLY disagree.
Pray for the conversion of that person's heart.
Make a phone call expressing your concern about the issue. BE POLITE!
Write letters expressing your concern about the issue. BE POLITE!
Write letters to the editor about the issues. BE POLITE!

Md Election Results (county-by county)

First, if you live in MD, county-by county results are available at the above link. I am actually amazed at how red MD is.


Any surprises?

Planet of the Apes response

Gary, dont take this the wrong way, but I absolutely LOVE you!


First, I would like to publicly say, I do not condone attack ads - PERIOD. I am sick of them, sick of what they imply and seriously want to know HOW to make them STOP! I dont want to hear them ANYMORE! Both parties have attack ads, and yes, they imply horrid things about their competitor. Sickening, I tell you....Both parties have labeled each other according to the "word of the day" theory....one day, racist - the next, socialist-communist......

There isnt a day that goes by that I dont receive some type of "activist hate" email.
Example: Those emails spreading Obama's muslim heritage (they always ask to send this on!) I for one, do not send them along, unless its to ask someone else their opinion concerning the email. I do not want to subscribe to the "fear mongering" and irrationality that does ensue.


I find myself insanely balanced in the middle with some of the labels thrown around.

• Does the "economist" in me beleive that the democratic platform is leaning socialist? yes
• Does the "conservative" in me beleive that McCain is a rino? yes
• Does the "Constitutionalist" in me believe that our country is in trouble? yes

I could go on....

Our country is in trouble in many ways. Other nations do not respect our way of life....our answer? Change them? Change us?

I heard Obama say he was going to change the world- to me, that is a scary thought. Of course, I want the world to change - but I dont know if ANY of the politicians are able to do it. NONE of them have the "working man" view.

Obama has used the word "Change" in his campaign....however-Obama is one of the most liberal Senators-and votes to support his party. This is not change-we need someone who is WILLING to work across the aisle to really make necessary change.


My fear about this election has nothing to do with color. It has to do with issues. The sad fact is, that it really doesnt matter who "wins" - nothing REAL will occur as long as we hold onto "isms" and fear. Our country is wasting money on programs that do no good, and keep raising our taxes for programs that only sound good on the surface.

Follow up - socialism

I am just going to list some replies-and recent views....


With socialism and communism terms being thrown around so liberally lately, I felt the need to post their definitions (see earlier post)

Found this blog last week:
http://www.onenewsnow.com/Blog/Default.aspx?id=290462
This is a rather interesting blog, please note the aspect of the PERCEPTION of socialism on human nature.

Gary's response to David Limbaugh's blog:
http://garyarthuryoung.wordpress.com/2008/10/18/socialism-no-he-diint/
Gary has written a well-thought out response to his belief concerning socialist principles in the democratic party.


MY thoughts: Only Barack Obama, Joe Biden, and the democratic leaders know their motives. Whether they are truly for benefitting ALL American citizens, or for socialist principles - we will not know until after the results of the election.

What we do know is that the party platform spits out "social justice" in the form of socialist principles. Whatever you beleive, it is NOT in our Constitution to provide these services to our people.

Random debate thoughts and "substance"

You will notice that todays blog has no link. I have done that on purpose since I am just going to provide my thoughts on the debate and some other random stuff.


I thought last nights debate provided an interesting view of the candidates for President. I enjoyed the back and forth between them and the allowance of responses.

I will not pick a winner, as both candidates had strong moments (debate wise). There were times when I wished it would stop....I feel as though Obama baited McCain into asking about some of the more recent "controversies". Obama was well prepared in his response. (Ill be researching later, to see if all the dots connect there)

Even though I disagree with Obamas health care plan (as well as McCains, I might add) as well as some other platform issues, he provided a well thought out description of what his would entail. I am sure that it won him support.


This morning I read Garys blog, and he is unsure about how 9/11 led to our financial mess. Here is how I beleive that it absolutely did.

After 9/11 occurred, resources went to our country's security. There were losses all the way around. Many financial companies lost everything on 9/11 (Remember hearing about companies having employees missing?)

The airline industry lost alot of money because we shut down air traffic completely. Many airlines either went under or merged with another company....jobs were lost along the way.

Do you remember the stock markets being closed? Unexpected closures affect the market, as well as the futures market (which I think is a load of crap-similar to the balloon effect in the housing industry)

I can remember like its yesterday hearing that AlQuada (sp) won a victory by destroying our financial center....and 2001 wasnt that long ago. If you look at the overall picture of the market pre-9/11 to present, you can see how the trend started.


Taxes, taxes, taxes.....
Do we really need to continue to raise taxes for the citizens? Can we seriously get an audit of everything by issue (education, transportation, outreach-services...etc) and cut the fat?

Lets stop paying for programs that do not benefit anyone. Little pet projects disguised as earmarks?

Some people look at how much money their Congressman-Senator, St Representative bring back to their district to help assist how they vote. I for one am embarrassed by this...oh yea, that new ball field at your kids school....thank you Delegate ______. You realize that this is NOT a gift for those he represents? Your paying for it thru higher taxes.

Now, I understand areas needs fields and parks, but our schools are FALLING APART. Have you been in some of the schools? Everytime it rains-trash cans in the halls where the leak is....no room for your kids? Lets bring in a portable classroom.

How about our teachers? They wont be getting a cost of living raise, and pay for items our children use out of their own pockets. Ever complain that you gotta spend a few bucks for Kleenex? Every school supply list in Baltimore County lists this item.

Our roads are a mess. And Baltimore City roads are unreal!


Money SHOULD be spent on the above mentioned items....not for some earmark/pork project for the district. This is a waste.

I wont EVEN start on the recent bailouts...its just so unconstitutional.

Technology as a campaign issue-Obama endorsed

I usually spend my Tuesdays and Thursdays updating my personal sites and blogs, today just seems like Ive been hit with an opinion arrow.

Anyway, I subscribe to T.H.E. Journal. "Transforming education through technology."
Matter of fact, Ive been a long-time subscriber-I was introduced to it about 10 years ago while working for CCBC.

The reputation of T.H.E. Journal cannot be dismissed. There are many informative articles if you like to read about how technology can be used as an education tool.



Personally, I dont care who makes campaign endorsements. Normally I do not pay attention, since I have pretty made up my mind already. However, I will address T.H.E. Journal's endorsement.

It is no secret that our federal government did not plan wisely with NCLB (No Child Left Behind) and states and jurisdictions were misinformed about the programs. Our current administration should be appalled at the goals THEY set, but never accomplished (on average). Granted, there is NEVER enough money supporting our school systems, paying for qualified teachers, and for technology.

Our country needs a President who understands technology. We need something done so that our children are utilizing EVERY possible way to learn. Studies have shown that children with developmental disabilities as well as learning disabilities learn faster and retain more information when they utilize a technological tool. I have also seen the interest level rise when students learn that they can use the computer for projects.


And, since most people know who my "dog in this race" is - let me share with everyone something that may surprise you:


Democratic candidate Barack Obama has a technology plan that will provide support and direction that is crucial to our schools and students. After a quick review, his plan DOES seem as if he has subscribed to magazines of this type for years. (I disagree with posting student information online, no matter what type of security)

Republican candidate John McCain also has a plan for schools that includes use of technology. And while McCain has some decent ideas (concerning virtual learning), he falls short on the extense of the overall "project".


If Barack Obama stops the bashing (I wish McCain would stop also) and brings THESE ideas out to the public, he will win the election by a landslide.

Fantastic idea about campaign finance

Okay, Ive been thinking....how does one get the "favors" out of the election process? I have been telling my friends this idea, and they think it will never happen. (I know if it takes away money, it wont be popular)

But anyway, I wanted to post my idea before some yahoo who gets tv time says it. Just remember, you heard it here first.

Read on
The issue really is how to keep special interest OUT of our election process. Make it fair for everyone.

We all know that lobbyists and other special interest groups donate massive sums of money to political campaigns. And- we all know how long this election is taking. Its no wonder that campaigns on both sides of the aisle spend enormous amounts of money.

We need to do something about what the REAL reason is that Americans stay home instead of voting. Plain old APATHY. They dont care. Yes, that amazes me-but people know that politics is all about who spends and collects the most money.


Lets stop campaign donations PERIOD.
During the primary election, a certain amount of money is put aside so that it can be distributed among the 2 candidates of each party for each office sought.
Example: Governor (each party has 2 candidates)

Those winners obviously move onto the general election.
Now, heres a plan for equal footing and no special interest.

Each primary winner receives a set amount of money.
(I should tell you that this would be taxpayer dollars. The amounts needed would be set-without increases, with the exception of cases where representatives are added. This money would be included in our budget.) Each candidate would be allowed to purchase radio ads, tv ads, and newspaper ads. Campaign ads would not be as expensive, since there is a limited amount of money for the candidates to spend.

No campaigning would be done until 45 days before the election. You will also notice that I did not include yard signs or bumper stickers (and other misc campaign items). These items are costly for many campaigns these days, and after any election, are thrown in the dump.

Campaign mailers will be a thing of the past. The cost of postage is expensive anyway, and it usually requires alot of coordination of campaign volunteers.

This would ease the burden of work needed and focuses the election on the issues and not who has the nicest mailing, the prettiest yard sign etc. Our country focuses on the wrong things.

We need to stop allowing special interest groups and lobbyists to ruin our election process.
Your thought are welcome.