There is quite a lot written about L(l)ibertarians these days - and most folks don’t really understand why those with a libertarian philosophy (note the small “l”) are often not members of the Libertarian party and disagree quite often with those who are. I’ve been thinking about this over the last few days, and it would be an interesting study to really crunch some numbers from each state once all the counting is actually finalized.
The best way I can think of to describe the differences goes along with a Milton Friedman quote:
I am a libertarian with a small ‘l’ and a Republican with a capital ‘R’. And I am a Republican with a capital ‘R’ on grounds of expediency, not on principle.
What he is saying, is he agrees with the libertarian philosophy, and if voting for a Libertarian candidate would actually get a small government candidate into office, that would be grand. But as a realist, and being pragmatic enough to recognize that the Libertarian party has never garnered enough interest to actually provide a challenge to the Republican and Democrat parties, he is a Republican. While not agreeing with many republican principles, he fully comprehends what many Libertarians fail to grasp - their “protest” vote for their Libertarian candidate may send a message, but it also does incalculable damage when it results in the election of a candidate who will do untold damage to our public policies and distance us further from our constitutional roots. Those who vote the Libertarian candidate at all costs tell me a lot about their character; and it also tells me a lot about the character of their candidate if he is willing to be a spoiler to one who could be a good candidate if given the chance. That alone tells me all I need to know - and I guarantee I would not vote for such a person as he has said from his own mouth that he’s happy to spoil the election for a good candidate in order to get his own agenda some coverage.
If you’re a small “l” libertarian, drop me a note in comments with your blog - I’m working on a project for which I’m looking particularly for like-minded bloggers.
I’m kinda over it with all the posts and links I’m seeing regarding secession. Sorry folks, but at this stage of the game, secession is not the answer. Heck, it’s not even the question!
Just because a lot of disgruntled individuals from different states put together petitions calling for secession doesn’t make it an even remotely viable option. 25K signatures? Really? Ya think that the general populace would vote for secession even if it made it to the ballot? Not bloody likely. Each state could put forth a petition with 150K signatures and it doesn’t mean, or accomplish, a darned thing.
I’m not really sure what folks are hoping to accomplish by these petitions - just to let the other half of the US know just how disturbed we are by Obama’s reelection? I kinda think they know - and frankly, I don’t think that at this point they give a rat’s patoot.
No, there are many much more worthwhile things we can do, however. Start by watching this video by Bill Whittle - if you’re not familiar with Bill, take a cruise over to my sidebar and go have a read of some of his archived works at Eject!Eject!Eject! It could be some of the best time you’ll spend this month!
I stand with Bill. The time for recriminations and how did we get where we are is past. Politics is a disgusting business, and we’ll all be ready to tear our hair out by the roots if we don’t look to something a little more positive.
Time is fleeting, thankfully, although the last four years have seemed interminably long.Four years ago, I sat in a NYC hotel watching returns with my sister, and we went to bed knowing that Americans had chosen as their president a man that we knew,in our heart of hearts, was destined to change our beloved country - and not for the better.
We’ve watched as our economy has gone from bad to worse, our incomes have been reduced. My husband just got his first pay increase in four years - and it amounts to about $30 per month. Insurance hikes taking effect after the first of the year, even that will disappear.
In the last several years, I’ve been busy with other things (life) having taken on a full time job since moving my previously homeschooled daughters to public school; they’re now in 11th and 12th grades - and doing well.
It has been at least six years since I’ve blogged anything like regularly - and I can’t say for certain that I’m ready to bring LBF out of mothballs - but I can say one thing with absolute certainty. After last night, it’s mourning in America.
Sadness colors our worldview this morning. To many, for reasons too hard for half of us to fathom, there is joy this morning. Why should there be joy? Higher fuel costs? Higher grocery prices? Fewer jobs? Small businesses shuttering? The promise of “free” healthcare and it’s associated higher costs with fewer providers? What exactly is there to be joyful over? Ah, but to those who consider the penultimate candidate research to be what comes from the mouth of the CNN anchor du jour or those “paid political advertisements” there is, for the moment, joy. Enjoy it, my friends.
This President stifled again and again any chances for goodwill from his first month in office in 2009 (”I won“) to his abysmal lies covering Benghazi. And let’s not forget his pet healthcare initiative, “Obamacare“.
Today, yes, I am with millions of other Americans (roughly half the voting public), in mourning. I mourn the loss of so many of our constitutional rights being set aside by a man who believes that he may govern by Executive Order, choose “Czars” to run his programs as they are not subject to the Appointments Clause of the federal constitution as Cabinet members are. By so doing, the President can evade oversight by Congress - and this gives him the ability to exert “executive privilege” in the face of a FOIA or even a subpoena - which explains why “Fast and Furious” has never gotten the traction or attention it should have received.
What I’ve posted here, my friends, is just the tip of the iceberg. As a patriotic mamma who loves God, family, and country, I’m pulling out my big wooden spoon. If I hear any crying or whining coming from those of you who invited this power-hungry despot back for another four years, I’m gonna open up a big swat of “We told you so” all over your sorry butts. Hopefully, by the time you finally “get” why this was such a critical election, we’ll have a chance to take the country back. But don’t count on it - we’re headed down a very slippery slope - and dictatorship could be much closer that you ever could imagine.
Or . . . Thanks Department of Homeland Security for all the fun and games!
So, my driver’s license was up for renewal - I’ve not had to worry about it in quite a few years, but did I ever learn a lesson this year!
If you’ve renewed your license online in the past and haven’t yet had the pleasure of visiting your local DMV, hang on to your hat. Particularly if you’re a woman and have EVER changed your name.
So my little postcard came in the mail a couple months before my actual birthday, and aside from reading the requirements and filing it for future use, I really didn’t give it a lot of thought. Fast forward to the week of my birthday. I pulled out the card and re-read the requirements.
Government Issued Birth Certificate - check!
Social Security Card - check!
Marriage Certificate - check!
Proof of Residency - two types - check!
Okay, got my documents together, made an online appointment for Friday at a DMV about 40 minutes from my home as it was the earliest appointment I could get (b-day was on Sunday) and I was ready to go. Or so I thought.
Friday afternoon arrived, as did I, at my local DMV - I got there about 1/2 hour before my appointment. Had to wait in line for 10 minutes before I got the reception desk to notify them of my appointment. Receptionist asks for my documentation. First doc, birth certificate. Uh-oh. This is a Certification of Birth, but it’s not a certified copy. You must go to the Health Department to get a Certified Copy. Okay, fine. C-Ya.
About 10 miles round trip and 30 minutes later, certified copy in hand, I get back to the DMV, and again wait in line. 15 minutes later, I arrive at reception desk to be told that their computers have been down off and on all afternoon, so they’re not taking any new arrivals - so she made an appointment for me for Monday (thankfully at a location a little closer to home).
Monday morning arrives, and my biggest concern was the eye exam, LOL. Passed the eye exam with no trouble, handed over my documents. Whoa, hold on there - your Social Security Card doesn’t match your Driver’s license. No, I patiently explain, it doesn’t. You see, 20 years ago when I got married, I went into SSA, and they allowed me to drop my first name as I didn’t use it, so I became Kay (Maiden Name) (Married Name). When I got to the DMV, though, to renew my license after the marriage, they said I couldn’t drop my first name so they used the Initial of the first name along with my Middle/Maiden/Married names.
Examiner looks at me like I’ve lost my mind. I’m sorry, but I can’t issue you a license if your DL and SS names don’t match. You’ll have to go to the Social Security Office to get them to correct that so that you can get your license. And meantime, since your license is now expired, we’ll clip a corner off of it and staple it to a 60 day extension (8 1/2 x 11 sheet of paper - yeah that fits in my wallet real nice).
So, still with all my documentation in hand, I make my way 25 miles across to the neighboring town to the SSA office. Wait in line, again, but fortunately only takes about 15 minutes. Get to the window where I explain to a very likely looking young man what the problem is. He takes a quick look at my documents and says - oh, we can’t use a driver’s license that has been clipped, and you don’t have enough other documentation (keep in mind, I have in front of them my certified birth cert, marriage license, along with two utility bills, and another ID with my picture, name, and birthdate). Young man assured me that I must have either
A) Insurance card with my name and birthdate on it (yeah, ‘cuz that’s so common these days due to the “identity theft” you’re trying to prevent)
or
B) Proof of identity in the form of a letter from my DOCTOR showing my birthdate, when I had an appointment with him in the last two years, and what my DIAGNOSIS was. (Excuse me, I said - and you need a diagnosis for what reason? Sorry, but that really chaps my libertarian butt.)
I headed home that afternoon, almost in tears - frustrated beyond belief at the ridiculous request. How in the heck is a doctor supposed to prove your identity, I mean, that’s really putting them in a position to ask them to provide that information upon request by the SSA! But, I was so ready to have this done so that I could get back to the business of living my life, that I drove another 35 miles across the county to my doctor’s office. I tried to call them on the way for a heads up, but the phone kept going to their answering service, even though they were open.
Arriving at the doctor’s office, I asked if they could provide me with what was requested by the SSA, and they told me they could not. SSA did say that the Office Manager could sign for the doctor, but my doctor’s office was not willing to do that; the doctor was out. On the one hand, I was upset and annoyed, but truly, I do not believe that this should be their problem.
Next stop, dentist office. Seriously. As a relatively healthy woman who hates to go to the doctor - they were my only other choice. So I get a paper from them, with no real hope that it will be accepted, but I’ve got it in my hot little hands. Except, you know, I decide that just maybe I need to take my butt over to a different SS office rather than dealing with the imbeciles at the former one. I head across the county to another office, hold onto my file, and only give the documents that they ask for. Whaddya know - they didn’t even blink - never asked for my “doctor’s slip”, accepted my clipped DL, and fixed my name on my social security card as requested! One more stop at the DL office, and I’m done! Woohoo!
Now, what is really funny about this entire post is that it took me a year and a half and a passport later to finish it. I actually started writing it as I was going through the aggravation, and then got busy with life so I never completed it. Just found it in my drafts, so thought I’d take a few minutes and finish it up. A year later, I have family living in Grand Cayman and needed a passport to go for a visit - thankfully, due to the fun and games with SSA and the DL office, it was a pretty painless procedure. Ironically, while I was in the midst of gathering articles to get my DL renewed, I was asked repeatedly in person and by those that I talked with on the phone if I had a passport ‘cuz that would make it so easy, LOL. It’s just a vicious circle. You’ve got to speak to someone with half a brain that they can understand that getting a passport is not easier if you are an adult without a valid DL and SS card - and as far as I had known for the past 20+ years, mine were valid until Homeland Security made their changes . . . nothing like harassing clearly native born citizens of the USA!
In state after state, the Tea Party candidates have rocked the establishment, and I for one give ‘em a big Yeehaw!
So many highly placed Republicans have come out against many of the TP candidates crying that “they can’t win in the general election” and endorsing career politicians - in other words, business as usual.
I disagree with all the contentions that TP candidates can’t win - the establishment GOP, which includes some that we have respected over the years, can’t seem to divest themselves of the notion that their way is the only way. Therein lies their problem. The TP movement IS going to take back the republican party - in most cases, it appears, without their help or permission. But we will drag them, kicking and screaming, into November. And if they refuse to help elect our candidates, we’ll know for sure which side they were on from the get-go. But at this point, I think they’d better put up - or shut up.
I have a confession to make - my name is Kay, and I’m a thrift-store junkie.
My obsession with thrift shopping began about 16 years ago, when as a young married, expecting our first child, I knew that we had to cut some expenses if I were going to be able to be at home with my kiddos as I wanted to be. I’d been shopping upscale consignment stores in my area for years - most of my working maternity wardrobe came from consignment.
Two years later, when we decided that it was time for me to be home with our toddler and new infant, thrift stores became the rule rather than the exception - and I’ve never looked back.
In fact, in the early years, I was quite good at picking up quality items of all sorts at thrift stores, and turning those items into a nice little profit on eBay. As time went on, and more people discovered the untapped treasures in thrifting, along with discovering eBay, my thrifting became more personal in nature - the bulk of our clothing and accessories has come through shopping at thrift stores. Far from feeling deprived, I get quite a thrill when I find designer treasures for pennies on the dollar, and my family is able to dress far better than our income would allow were we mall shoppers.
So it is very interesting to me to note that over the past several months I’ve seen quite a trend. As a work-at-home mom, my schedule permits me to hit thrift stores during the work week - and during normal working hours. Many times over the last few years when I’d find myself shopping in the thrifts, I might be the only shopper in the store - and rarely would I see more than five or six other shoppers.
I suppose, knowing where our economy seems to be headed, and considering the unemployment rate, then, it should come as no surprise that peaceful shopping during the weekdays is coming to an end. I’ve noticed over the last several months that each time I find myself in a thrift store, no matter where, no matter when (and it is usually during a week day) that the stores are becoming quite crowded. My daughters (now 13 and 15) experienced it with me for the first time last week as it had been quite a while since they’d been “thrifting” with mom. They were stunned, along with me, to see lines 10 people deep at the cash register of one of our favorite thrifts - and it wasn’t due to any special event; it just truly appears that more people are finding their way to the thrifts. What can I say - on this one, we were ahead of the curve - we were thrifting when thrifting wasn’t cool!
It was, in reality, her predecessors and most of the politicos currently practicing politics who went rogue - and who continue to do so!
Looking at the various definitions of the word rogue, it just fits too many of their ilk - and resembles Sarah but little:
1:vagrant, tramp 2: a dishonest or worthless person :scoundrel 3: a mischievous person :scamp 4: a horse inclined to shirk or misbehave 5: an individual exhibiting a chance and usually inferior biological variation
As you can probably guess, I just finished Sarah Palin’s book, “Going Rogue - An American Life”.
In all honesty, I admired Sarah even before she hit the National political scene - I’d read about her work in Alaska long before John McCain chose her as his running mate. I didn’t really expect reading her book would change my opinion of her, but in fact, it caused me to have even more respect for her and what she has accomplished in Alaska, and more angry and disgusted with the treatment she received at the hands of the media and the so-called “handlers” of the presidential campaign.
It was actually those handlers who tagged her with the moniker of “going rogue” when she candidly answered a reporter’s question without first clearing it with senior staffers in the campaign.
Sarah was able to walk a very fine line in writing about her experiences - she tries very hard to put a positive spin on the motives of even the most corrupt of those she has dealt with in her public and private life. I enjoyed very much reading about her upbringing and what lead her to enter public service. It’s never easy to buck the system and the “old boy network”, but Sarah’s integrity wouldn’t allow her to accept the corrupt business as usual.
After being tapped as the VP running mate by the McCain campaign, it was disappointing to Sarah to find that she was now subject to constraints that she had shaken off as Governor of Alaska. She had developed a good rapport with several media outlets and knew some of her local reporters very well - but the GOP handlers would not allow her to even speak with them. And they wonder why the press doesn’t trust them, and their reports are so biased? How do you think those folks felt when, having been accustomed to free access to her, suddenly were shut out - and did not hear from her?
I have to say, it has really caused me to think that perhaps there is a reason why our media is so biased. Could it be that for years, they have felt shut out by the conservatives to the point that it seemed that we were hiding something? And if we have nothing to hide, then let’s let the sun shine in! We’ve created a monster media - a group of reporters and journalists who not only do not trust us, but who feel that they have to spin everything to fit what they believe about us. Folks like Andrew Breitbart and PJTV are doing their best to lead the charge, but you know, if some of the *politicians* would stop campaigning and do what Sarah did - damn the torpedos, do what’s right for your constituents, talk to the media, open the windows, we might just get somewhere. Yes, there might be some negative spin from your press at first - they might not trust you, they might think you’re setting ‘em up - but if you’re walking the walk - not just talking the talk, you might really begin to develop a modicum of trust. We could even end up with a press that is friendly to conservatives! Certainly not all, but even a few more than we have now would be a start!
I’ll just wind this up by saying that if you don’t know much about Sarah, you really owe it to yourself to read her book!
If you haven’t heard of Lloyd Marcus, you just haven’t been to the right tea party, LOL (tongue firmly in cheek here).
Lloyd is a very talented writer/speaker/songster and he posted on his site last week a post that goes hand in hand with one I wrote a couple weeks ago. His topic? Obamazilla. Trust me, it’s worth a read! Go. Here. Now.
Our friend, Glenn Beck, announced a new rally for August 28, 2010, and that effectively killed the M.O.M. for America Rally date of August 14, 2010. It wasn’t the first time I’ve hitched my wagon to a falling star, LOL, and it probably won’t be the last. The folks at M.O.M. for America are quickly trying to revamp to have a jamboree and meet and greet for the same weekend, and I wish them well, and hope to meet some of the moms that I’ve gotten to know virtually. For me, the focus has changed to be that of education as Glenn has called for, and to that end, I’ve joined the I Love the USA group. Our mission is to share information on our founding documents and history, to educate ourselves that we might know how to go about salvaging this great country!
On Monday, I wrote of our need to stick together as we all work toward a common goal:
Simply joining several groups is not really helping any one cause. It’s really just preaching to the choir. If you have that much free time, choose a group that appeals to you, and stick to ‘em like glue! Do everything you can to help them to reach their goals. Don’t waste time trying to denigrate the work being done by others - because when you do, you’re part of the problem - and NONE of us will be successful!
This week, for those who are interested, I’m divulging my *personal* preference. As a concerned-for-my-family-and-my-children’s-future mom, I have joined several different networks. Up to the last month, however, I have not been particularly active in any of these networks.
What changed that was the group M.O.M. for America. M.O.M. sprung out of the As a Mom group of Glen Beck fame, and I was part of that group for a short time as well - but it grew so quickly that it appeared to me to be spiraling out of control. It’s still a great group for networking with other moms, but frankly, I wanted to do more! I wanted to ally myself with a group of women that I felt at home with, and that were really more interested in working toward a common goal - i.e. the Millions of Moms M.O.M. for America Rally. If you are a like minded mom, or husband of one, I highly recommend this organization. We’re truly grassroots, but with a great organizational leadership in place. Our rally date of August 14, 2010 is now set in stone, but we’re still small enough that we’re still in the planning stages. We can use good help in a number of areas, so sign on and join the official group and your state group!
Now, aside from my chosen group, a few suggestions for anyone who is ready to be in activist mode - no matter which network you’re affiliated with. There are many things that come up, some of which sound very plausible, some not so much. If you get word that someone in authority said something outrageous, double and triple check your sources before you share it! Remember that you represent something much bigger than yourself. If you don’t want your organization to be marginalized by the alphabet soup of network news programs, you MUST not subscribe to any information that is circumspect at best. Don’t give them any reason to prove that you’re just another network of right wing nut jobs!
On our group right now, we’re getting ready to share in reading the Healthcare Bill. We’re also protesting and writing our letters to editors of our local newspapers on healthcare.
There is much more going on, but I’ve gotta get busy reading!