Socialism is Funny

Well, not really, but this video is all kinds of funny. Can you tell I'm trying a more upbeat approach this week?

Lighten the Mood

Will Ferrell and a bunch of other celebrities did a sarcastic pro-public option video for moveon.org and some great spoofs have hit YouTube. If the nonsense is stressing you out, you might find these humorous. I was going to post the original video here, but I just couldn't bring myself to embed something from moveon.org on my blog. Even linking was too much. Big brother might be watching you know! :)

Short Term Memory

Politicians are betting on Americans having a short term memory when I comes to their reckless behavior, so I'm doing my part to remind my small corner of the world why it is so critical right now (while votes are being made on bills that don't even exist) to stay engaged. Keep calling your senators and your representative. Just some food for thought to motivate:

The government now owns General Motors, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, American International Group and partially owns Citigroup and Bank of America. It's been estimated that they own or control businesses that generate one third of the United States economy. I'll round it down to 30% being generous.

Healthcare is 18% of the economy.

I keep seeing an estimate that 8% of the economy will be controlled through Cap and Trade. The last person I heard say it was Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann on Glenn Beck's radio show.

I'll even do the math for you: 30 + 18 + 8 = 56% of the economy controlled by the Government. 56% of what was private wealth a year ago would be government.

It is fully expected that the healthcare bill (draft) that has already been voted on and now being rewritten behind closed doors will be the first step to a government run healthcare for the United States. As dreadful as I think that will be regarding healthcare, the bigger picture is even more important.

Healthcare and Cap and Trade together mean the end of our free market society. I'm hoping to motivate, not scare or depress. The battle has been going on for so long that it's starting to feel like old news, which is good for Democrats who are tired of hearing negative feedback from citizens. They would love to pass this nonsense in peace. I still believe that American citizens hold the keys here if they will stay involved for the long haul.

As a Mom...

On September 25th Glenn Beck hosted a show completely dedicated to mothers who are concerned about the direction our country is heading. It was really good. I actually try not to watch Glenn Beck lately. He makes my blood pressure rise too high, and at a bad time of day for me - 4 p.m. That's a time when mom needs to be very patient, not stressing out about the uprising of Socialism in America...still, I turned it on that day to watch because I was really excited about the idea. 15 minutes into it, Obama came on to speak about something. It must have been important because I can't remember what he was speaking about.

In any event - Obama ruined that day's showing and it was shown again the next Monday. The next day, as inspired by the show, a woman started a forum for mothers called As a Mom...A Sisterhood of Mommy Patriots. It's kind of like Facebook, only it's hosted on Ning and it's only moms talking about their political and social concerns as conservative moms. Tuesday, the day the site went up - just two weeks ago, there were two members. Today there are almost 48,000. I think it's pretty cool.

Click here to check it out.

RNC Who?

There is a new RNC website up today that I think is worth checking out. It would appear that a lot of people are checking it out, so it's not working well enough at the moment for me to give details on what I like about it - so I'll do that later.

I wanted to address my feelings, and maybe yours, about the RNC. I've struggled lately as I've received requests for donations from various groups gearing up for the 2010 elections. Who do I support? I'm really a fairly textbook Libertarian, but I don't have high hopes for the Libertarian ticket any time soon.

The grassroots conservative movement in the past year has been amazing. For me, it has verified that my own ideals are not unique - and that's a good thing! The organization happening in local communities shows an untapped power in the American citizen that I haven't seen in my own lifetime. How does this translate into real action though?

I think/hope that the RNC is wising up and trying to be the answer. I've been a little cocky about my relationship with them - I mean, they must be drooling over the Tea Party activists and their devotion and money. Wouldn't they just love it if all they had to do was open their doors and the RNC would be infused with new numbers, new life, and new money?

It struck me today though that any conservative who hopes to see their ideology reflected in Washington needs the RNC. They need us and we need them. Yes, if they had behaved properly we would not be in the current mess...but there must be an organization to funnel all of the current energy into to accomplish much needed action. So, if you have been looking for something to DO other than read my ramblings and the ramblings of a million others in the political blogosphere, go to GOP.com and really check it out. I'm going to. Sign up, be a Facebook fan, engage. It looks like (though I haven't properly been able to click through everything) it may truly be an online community forum that can capture the grassroots energy that has mom's like me blogging during naptime!

Nobel Peace EFFORT Prize

TIME magazine's online header this morning:

"Obama Wins the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize for Effort"

The first paragraph of this article touches on some of the things running through my mind right now, only nicer: "The Nobel committee awarded the 2009 Peace Prize to President Barack Obama Friday in a prospective, premature accolade normally reserved for those who have accomplished considerable, tangible results in the pursuit of peace."

Ooh ooh, there's more: "he has attempted to reinvigorate international agreements limiting nuclear weapons." Yeah, he's made a HUGE impact in Iran. So obvious by their recent announcements of nuclear capabilities.

I'm sorry, why did Barack Obama win this award??

(Thiandian News, Zurich) "...for his extra ordinary dialogue in the world, for the way in which he was solving conflicts thru negotiations." Oh, yes. I forgot how very gifted he is in giving speeches.

(Reuters) "...for offering the world hope and striving for nuclear disarmament"

Of course I love that Fox News pointed out the nomination deadline of February 1st. So he was nominated based on his campaign. I guess the whole world bought the Obama package hook, line, and sinker.

So, the Nobel Peace Prize went to a President who is currently leading two wars and has yet to do anything but talk about his ideas for peace. The committee even admits that he got the award for nothing more than trying. Today, children everywhere participate in sporting events where everyone gets trophies. Gifted and talented classes are being eliminated in favor of leaving no child behind. The November 9th, 2008 post-election headlines were "Anybody Can Be President." Today we have yet another example of how you don't actually have to do anything or accomplish anything to get a huge pat on the back. Barack Obama got an "E" for effort today. My job as a mother trying to raise productive children just got a little more difficult.

*Disclaimer: I'm not really sure how important or credible the Nobel Peace Prize is anyway since the last United States President to receive the award was Jimmy Carter.

What's Wrong With This Picture?

(Photo courtesy of Fox News)

Let me count the ways this picture is screwed up. 150 doctors were present at a White House press conference on healthcare reform this week. All in attendance clapped wildly at everything the President said. Red flags were flying in my mind, how about yours?

For starters...let's look at the obvious: All 150 are sitting happily in the audience wearing their white coats. Have you ever seen a doctor wearing a white coat anywhere other than the hospital or clinic? I mean, most of the doctors I know would wear a suit given the opportunity to conference with the President of the United States. There are actually pictures of White House staff handing out white coats to the doctors who forgot theirs, which only makes this even funnier to me. This is the equivalent of holding an auto workers' union press conference in the Rose Garden and smudging grease on the faces of the attendees prior to the photo op. How stupid do they really think Americans are? Are they just hoping they can hoodwink a large enough percentage that the support for their government healthcare program looks reasonable, no matter how misled the supporters are?

(Photo courtesy of LA Times)

"Wow, look at this picture! If doctors are supporting Obama's healthcare plans, they must be good." Let's take a look at the facts before jumping to the conclusion Obama is hoping we will jump to with his propaganda staging here.

Some of Obama's words at the "press conference" were especially troubling to me:

"...all the distractions that are out there, I think what's most telling is that some of the people who are most supportive of reform are the very medical professionals who know the health care system best -- the doctors and nurses of America."

This is so misleading. Particularly if you go back to the idea that Obama's camp claims "reform" is his plan and anything else is anti-reform. Doctors (and many nurses) are NOT for Obama's plan. Doctors want deregulation, tort reform, portability of insurance plans, and a number of other viable reforms that are not even on the table. The AMA supports Obamacare. Most people don't realize that the AMA has a very small membership made up of doctors.

"But, what about the doctors in this idyllic photograph?" There are answers for you. The invitation-only audience of doctors drew heavily from an organization called Doctors for America, formerly known as Doctors for Obama. Hmmmm.

Just for entertainment value, I found the picture I referred to above. I'm shocked they didn't have some stethoscopes to hand out as well. Maybe stage a doctor stopping to look in someone's mouth with a tongue depressor on his way to sit down...

(Photo courtesy of New York Post)

*If you are really interested in what doctors are saying, check out these survey results from Sermo, an actual non-partisan group of physicians.

Laugh at Me

Go ahead. Laugh as I share my insanity:

I'm hooked on many things iPhone despite their affiliation with so many liberal causes. They make good stuff...what can I say? I think they are a bit similar to Michael Moore and his movie condemning capitalism. Would Michael Moore's movie be a success if people didn't PURCHASE the tickets? Doubtful, however you measure "success." I have a feeling it will be dubbed a success even if nobody actually goes to see it. Turn to Apple: Maybe the left wing population supported them when nobody else was buying their products, but the current success of Apple did not happen without conservatives who believe in getting up and going to work to make money to buy stuff...like iPods, iPhones, and iMacs. They'll come around some day when they realize that ACORN workers are not supporting their bottom line. I'm getting off track here.

My husband got me hooked on Scrabble for the iPhone this week. After enjoying the game a bit, I noticed that just above the word "Scrabble" in the logo was the phrase "Every word's a WINNER." I shared my observation with Mr. B as well as my conclusion that the Scrabble people are in cahoots with the Obama Administration. He let out a nervous laugh and probably hoped to himself that I would not repeat such thoughts. Not so, dear. :)