On Saturday afternoon David and I voted. We went up and waited in line for a few minutes then pushed our name choices and left. David's first vote (I know - how did I end up with a guy that has never voted???) and an interesting one at that. While we were walking up to vote I chatted with an Obama supporter. How'd I know he was an Oba-man? He was holding a huge sign. The couple in front of us were wearing McCain/Palin shirts. They weren't allowed to vote while wearing the shirts. A quick inside out shirt trick and they were pushing the McCain/Palin button. I wondered aloud to David if it had been an O shirt if they would have done the same. We visited with friends that evening that had also voted. While they were there, a man wearing an O shirt went in, with the shirt on right side out, and voted. It's crazy how slanted things have been. A man in front of us voted and walked out saying "God help us." This is probably one of the most important elections of our time. I hope that everyone that reads this regularly is going to vote if they haven't already. I urge everyone to go and vote. I think it took us a total of 30 mins from when we pulled into the parking lot until we pulled out of the lot. That was with my little discussion with Oba-man. Crazy nut burger. He thought that because he only made $40k a year he was some how going to not have part of his salary taken and given to someone that doesn't work. I'm sorry, since when did people making $40k a year not pay taxes??? Anyway, he chose the wrong day to picket the election line. VOTE!

Do you think Sarah Palin is qualified to run for VP? Vote now in an "unscientific poll" by PBS. They're trying to proof that the public wouldn't support someone such as her.
http://www.pbs.org/cgi-registry/poll/poll.pl

FLAG

The following was emailed to me this morning. I've blogged previously about very similar things so it's heartening to know that I'm not the only person seeing inconsistencies in BO.


John McCain's remarks about the Pledge of Allegiance
In light of the recent appeals court ruling in California , with respect to the Pledge of Allegiance, the following recollection from Senator John McCain is very appropriate:

'The Pledge of Allegiance' - by Senator John McCain
'As you may know, I spent five and one half years as a prisoner of war during the Vietnam War. In the early years of our imprisonment, the NVA kept us in solitary confinement or two or three to a cell. In 1971 the NVA moved us from these conditions of isolation into large rooms with as many as 30 to 40 men to a room.This was, as you can imagine, a wonderful change and was a direct result of the efforts of millions of Americans on behalf of a few hundred POWs 10,000 miles from home. One of the men who moved into my room was a young man named Mike Christian.

Mike came from a small town near Selma , Alabama . He didn't wear a pair of shoes until he was 13 years old. At 17, he enlisted in the US Navy. He later earned a commission by going to Officer Training School Then he became a Naval Flight Officer and was shot down and captured in 1967. Mike had a keen and deep appreciation of the opportunities this country and our military provide for people who want to work and want to succeed.

As part of the change in treatment, the Vietnamese allowed some prisoners to receive packages from home. In some of these packages were handkerchiefs, scarves and other items of clothing.

Mike got himself a bamboo needle. Over a period of a couple of months, he created an American flag and sewed on the inside of his shirt. Every afternoon, before we had a bowl of soup, we would hang Mike's shirt on the wall of the cell and say the Pledge of Allegiance.

I know the Pledge of Allegiance may not seem the most important part of our day now, but I can assure you that in that stark cell it was indeed the most important and meaningful event.

One day the Vietnamese searched our cell, as they did periodically, and discovered Mike's shirt with the flag sewn inside, and removed it. That evening they returned, opened the door of the cell, and for the benefit of all of us, beat Mike Christian severely for the next couple of hours. Then, they opened the door of the cell and threw him in. We cleaned him up as well as we could.
The cell in which we lived had a concrete slab in the middle on which we slept. Four naked light bulbs hung in each corner of the room.

As I said, we tried to clean up Mike as well as we could. After the excitement died down, I looked in the corner of the room, and sitting there beneath that dim light bulb with a piece of red cloth, another shirt and his bamboo needle, was my friend, Mike Christian. He was sitting there with his eyes almost shut from the beating he had received, making another American flag. He was not making the flag because it made Mike Christian feel better. He was making that flag because he knew how important it was to us to be able to Pledge our allegiance to our flag and country.

So the next time you say the Pledge of Allegiance, you must never forget the sacrifice and courage that thousands of Americans have made to build our nation and promote freedom around the world. You must remember our duty, our honor, and our country.'

'I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisable, with liberty and justice for all.'

Oh......and then you have this clown, who refuses to place his hand on his heart and say the pledge......
Remember this picture on election day!

Senator Barack Obama, Governor Bill Richardson, Senator Hillary Clinton and Ruth Harkin stand during the national anthem. Barack Hussein Obama's photo (that's his real name)......the article said he REFUSED TO NOT ONLY PUT HIS HAND ON HIS HEART DURING THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE, BUT REFUSED TO SAY THE PLEDGE.....how can a man like this expect to be our next Commander-in-Chief?

A picture is definitely worth 1000 words!

DEBATE

I'm currently listening to the Palin/Biden debate. Biden has about the same effect on me as Obama. Good grief, I'd like to throw heavy objects at his head. He keeps talking about Obama's great plans... and how he isn't going to raise taxes. Here's the thing, government has NO money. There are about two ways for government to manage their money. 1. Spend less (laugh, laugh - hollar - hoot *tears in my eyes*) 2. Raise taxes. Obama wants to participate in redistribution of wealth. He thinks it's a good idea to take money from higher earning people and hand it out to those who aren't earning as much. Where would the incentive be to create new business (AKA jobs) or make a lot of money? And, further more, if Obama decides to increase taxes on businesses and people making more than $250,000 annually - where do you think they are going to make up for those taxes?? Businesses are going to pass the added expenses to their consumers. Period. And a lot of those making more than $250,000 annually are small business owners. Hmm.... Yikes, these debates get me all worked up. Hopefully people will educate themselves and learn who and what they are voting for.

Sarah Palin

How about McCains' running mate? Sarah Palin, Alaskan Governor. What a great choice. She is extremely strong in the areas of importance where McCain is weak. Palin has not only voted to support a Pro-Life platform, she has lived pro-life.

In April of this year, she gave birth to her fifth child, Trig, despite having been told that he had Downs Syndrome about four months into her pregnancy and the recommendation that she "terminate" her pregnancy.

Track, her eldest, joined the military on September 11, 2007 and is being deployed to Iraq so she's personally invested in this sensitive situation.

Bristol, her 17 year old daughter, has strayed from her mothers teachings and is being waved as an example of Sarahs' inability to lead. I ask those of you, in particular who are Believers, how many of you have made knowingly made decisions that were wrong? Especially at the age of 17. Not only did I do things at that age that I knew my parents and my Saviour would be ashamed of, I still do. Perhaps we've not made the same mistakes as Bristol, perhaps the evidence/result/consequence of our poor choices won't be carried with us in full view of the Nation for the rest of our lives, but it's there, plain as day, for our Redeemer to see. And He's forgiven us just as He's forgiven Bristol. Furthermore, she and her family have made the decision to keep Bristol's baby and raise him or her up in a household of love. Further proof of this families dedication to life.

I have noticed that many people are making comments about how Palin should be staying at home with her children. I think that decision is something to be left to the Governor, her husband and her God. I think that God can use people in positions of authority and responsibility in mighty ways and far be it from me to tell a person where they should be in life. Stay at home motherhood isn't for everyone and mothers who do work out side of the home, can be just as effective as mothers who choose to stay home.

Before a person blows off this election and simply "hopes" for the right candidate to win, I would encourage them to take responsibility for the election. By educating themselves and by voting based on the facts of each ticket. It's not about Republican or Democrat, it's about leadership for this amazing country that we have been blessed to live in. Obama is the most liberal Senator in the Senate. His voting record is public and can be viewed by clicking here. If one takes the time to review his voting record, one would notice that he has voted in favor of larger government with fewer budget constraints consistently. Obama also takes pride in his "woman's choice" stance. Translation: killing babies is perfectly acceptable when they are in-utero. Furthermore, while Obama chose a running mate who simply mirrors his own beliefs, values and voting record, McCain has chosen a woman who differs from him in opinion, education and family background.

I could type page after page on this issue but I can't force people to step away from apathy and into action. I can only use my blog to encourage people to make informed choices. Please people, make informed choices. Search beyond the news and the hype and seek education for yourself. Don't rely on CNN and CBS and FOX and whatever other TV channels are out there (we don't have a TV so we aren't up on the news shows) to sort things for you. Seek out the answers to the questions on issues that are important to you. For those of you in Texas, early voting is October 20-31st. Never voted? Click here and search by your home state to find a place where you can cast your vote.

(Image from: elections.co.hays.tx.us/images/animated_vote.gif)

Sat, 22 Mar 2008 18:48:04 -0400, "LTG Bill Ginn" USAF ret:
Hot on the heels of his explanation for why he no longer wears a flag pin, presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama was forced to explain why he doesn't follow protocol when the National Anthem is played. (http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=3759803 : you have to watch the ad before you can watch the video of Obama listening to the National Anthem.)
According to the United States Code, Title 36, Chapter 10, Sec. 171, During rendition of the national anthem when the flag is displayed, all present except those in uniform are expected to stand at attention facing the flag with the right hand over the heart.
"As I've said about the flag pin, I don't want to be perceived as taking sides," Obama said. "There are a lot of people in the world to whom the American flag is a symbol of oppression. And the anthem itself conveys a war-like message. You know, the bombs bursting in air and all. It should be swapped for something less parochial* and less bellicose.⁺ I like the song 'I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing.' If that were our anthem, then I might salute it."

WOW. The above came across my email desk so to speak. I can't say I'm all together surprised considering some of the other things that Obama has said but this one takes the cake to this day. Wow. If this man is elected as President of the USA he will be the COMMANDER IN CHIEF of the United States army-all branches. Yea, I'm pretty sure that I want my CIC to TAKE SIDES.

*parochial: ¹of or relating to a church parish ²of or relating to a parish as a unit of local government ³confined or restricted as if within the borders of a parish: limited in range or scope
⁺bellicose: favoring or inclined to start quarrels or wars synonym: belligerent.
Definitions from Merriam Webster on-line.