It’s been a while since I’ve posted, and that’s for a couple reasons.  The first, I’ve been really super busy.  Second, sometimes words seem inadequate to express my thoughts on certain things, generally politically.  But, there are just way too many things going on that I’d like to comment on, so I’m going to touch on them today. 

First, what seems to have become a big story:  Sarah Palin vs. David Letterman.  I find it ridiculous that Letterman would joke about a 14year old (and yes, it was the 14 year old daughter not the 19 year old) girl being sexually assaulted.  I find it ridiculous that Letterman would joke and call Gov. Palin “slutty.”  On this, I have two questions.  1.  What would have been the repercussions if a conservative comedian made those kind of jokes about liberals, say Hillary and Chelsea Clinton, or the Obamas?  There would have been extreme outrage.  (And let me just say the jokes were distasteful, and I would think the same regardless of who the jokes were about.)  However, because the jokes were about conservative Governor Sarah Palin and her family, there are just excuses being made, none of which I buy, by the way.  It is absurd the extreme double standard that exists in mainstream media.  Of course that is nothing new, but it’s still irritating.  2.  What would Dave say if someone made jokes like that about his child or wife?

Second, the elections in Iran.  Initially, I favored the defeat of Ahmadinejad because I thought the contender, Mousavi, would be better on international issues.  However, I don’t think there would be much difference between the two as far a international policy.  However, I still think Mousavi would be great for the country because he supports more freedoms for the people of Iran, and he has a great deal of support from the citizens in Iran.  And, personally, I think any steps toward freedom are good, and in a country like that, they will be small steps.  Now, this morning, it’s coming out that Ahmadinejad has been declared the winner of the election.  The results are highly contested and controversial.  This was supposed to be a very close race, and it seems astounding that he would loose by such a huge margin, let alone in his own home town.  People have taken to the streets in protest, and frankly, that’s a great thing to see in a country so tightly ruled.  The Interior Ministry of the country has blocked communications, including text messaging, and pulled newspapers from the stands.  So, we actually know more here, than the people in Iran do.  Something is foul about all this, to be sure. 

What next?  Ah, yes, North Korea.  First of all, I think we can all agree that Kim Jong-Il is completely crazy.  The idea of this guy being in charge of weapons, let alone nuclear weapons, is terrifying!  So, this week the United Nations approved all kinds of sanctions against North Korea.  (Oh no, not the UN!  Now, that’s scary!  (Please note the sarcasm.))  Now, to be fair, countries are vowing to uphold and enforce the sanctions, including China.  And, in an “I spit in your general direction” move, North Korea has responded as any crazy infantile country would, and said that they will continue to enrich plutonium for weapons, and oh yeah, “Na nee na nee boo boo!”  They have also said that they will take military action in order to do so.  On a completely serious note, my brother-in-law is serving a mission in South Korea, and this whole thing really makes me nervous. 

Now, on to the homefront.  What can I say?  I think I must be living in the Twilight Zone!  What the heck is happening to my wonderful country?  Obama and the liberal Congress have moved much faster than I thought they would.  It is ridiculous some of the things that are going on!  In 5 months, he has nationalized 4 big industries.  I only wonder what is next.  They sold this “stimulus” as something that was absolutely necessary for the economy or the economy would collapse.  There were doomsday predictions falling out of the sky.  Personally, I never bought any of it.  It moved through WAY too fast, and they were clearly not being honest (not that I would have expected them to be).  And, let’s look at the results of this “economy saving” that has been done.  Many banks took TARP money, and yet still won’t loan to people.  The auto makers got a bailout, and still declared bankruptcy.  Unemployment wasn’t supposed to go higher than 7 percent, and it’s much higher than that nationally, and even higher in some states.  Wow, great plan!  “Oh, but it would have been so much worse had we not done anything!” say government officials.  Yeah, and if you believe that I’ve got some ocean front property in Arizona to sell you.  Here’s the thing.  The free market works!  Trick is, it has to be allowed to.  The government has gotten way too involved in the free market system, thus rendering it not a free market.  Then they declare that the free market isn’t working and has failed us.  NO!  That’s simply not the case.  The government has failed us, by causing the fall of the free market system.  See, with true capitalism and free markets, things fix themselves!  So, all we have to do is allow them to do so.  I know, crazy idea, huh?  Let things work how they are supposed to.  Capitalism, real capitalism, ALWAYS works!  If the government will just stay out of people’s business it would work.  I could go on and on about the horrible damage Obama’s policies are doing to the economy, but it would just aggravate me.   (And allow me to interject for a moment here, but what the heck is wrong with the Republicans?  We should be running ads like crazy talking about all the lies that have been told about all this stimulus stuff, especially in states with super high unemployment and in 2010 battleground states!  We need to start making the connections now!  We can’t wait, especially here in Nevada where Harry Reid will be up for re-election.  We’ve got to tie him to this stuff starting now!  Where is the leadership here?  We’ve got to wake up!)

And, I don’t really want to go too much into government run health care, but I have a couple things to say on it.  First, I don’t care what they call it; it’s SOCIALIZED medicine!  Second, it’s a terrible idea!  Sure, it sounds great to say that everyone will have health care, who wouldn’t want that?  However, that’s not the reality of the situation.  Just look at countries that have socialized medicine.  People get horrible care!  That’s why many of them come here to get treatment, if they can.  In those countries, there are often medications that are not available to people.  They also deny a lot of care for the elderly.  In Great Britain, women can’t get breast cancer medication.  The simple and brutal truth is that for these bankrupt government run systems, it’s just cheaper to let someone die, than to treat them, even when it’s something as treatable as breast cancer.  Most sane people can look at the facts and see that any kind of socialized medicine would be disastrous!  A quick personal example is a friend of mine that has a ridiculous amount of health problems, including Lupus and Rheumatoid Arthritis.  Because of the Lupus, her immune system is very weak, and she is prone to illness.  Now, of course most things can be treated at home, but there are times when she has to see a doctor or even go to the hospital.  Oh, yeah, she has NO health insurance because her husband has been unemployed for a year.  She can even see the horrors that would be socialized medicine, and doesn’t want it.  At least now, if she needs to see her doctor or go to the emergency room she can do so.  While it is a sacrifice for them to pay out of pocket for the visits, they do so in order to get the care she needs.  They are willing to do so, in order to get quality care.  If we were to go to socialized medicine, yes, she would be covered, but what would that mean?  She could sit on a waiting list for a year and a half to see a specialist?  She could see a doctor, but not one of her choosing.  And, she wouldn’t get any quality health care.  Fact is, when you take out the incentive for doctors to do really well, they won’t.  You won’t get quality people in the system.  Competition (capitalism) is vital for quality.  I don’t want that kind of health care (or lack thereof), and I don’t know anyone in their right mind who would! 

Onelast thing.  What happened at the Holocaust Museum this week was horrific!  The act was committed by someone who was clearly deranged!  What a horrible thing for the media to take that tragic event and politicize it!  They are making this guy out to be a right-wing crazy conservative.  NOT TRUE!  They are then drawing ties from him to people like me who are peaceful, law abiding, non-racist conservatives.  I’m pretty tired of being labeled extreme and racist and bigoted because I am a conservative.  The only thing extreme about me is that I love my country and my family extremely!  I’m not a racist.  I’m not a bigot.  I’m not an extremist or a crazy whack-job!  I’m just someone that loves my country and wants to see the values that our founding fathers established preserved for my children.  I don’t like taxes, but realize that some are necessary, for example to create roads for me to drive on, but they shouldn’t be so darn high as to fund ridiculous programs that don’t work.  I don’t think people should have the right to kill their babies because its convenient (ie: abortion), and I don’t believe in gay marriage.  That doesn’t make me a bigot or hateful; it just means that I believe in traditional family values.  (And, oh no, watch out for this:  I think families run better when the mom can be at home raising the children while the dad works!  And I think that’s the ideal situation.  Of course there are times when that’s not possible, but it is ideal.)  To sum it up, “The family is ordained of God. Marriage between man and woman is essential to His eternal plan. Children are entitled to birth within the bonds of matrimony, and to be reared by a father and a mother who honor marital vows with complete fidelity.”  None of that makes me an extremest and I’m pretty darn tired of being labeled such! 

Alright, I think that covers it for now.

It’s been a few weeks since I’ve posted anything.  That’s because my world has been turned upside down. 

A little over four weeks ago, my dad passed away unexpectedly in his sleep.  Ever since then, nothing has been the same. 

My dad was my rock.  He was my friend.  He was my daddy.  He will always be.  But I miss him terribly.  He was such a huge part of our lives.  I love my dad more than I could ever begin to describe. 

It’s been  4 weeks now,  and I still feel lost and terribly sad.  The sadness is purely selfish.  I’m thrilled for him.  I know where he is.  I know that I’ll see him and be with him again.  I know that death is not the end and that I can be with my family for eternity.  However, I’m so sad not to have him physically here anymore.  Someone told me that we never mourn for those that have passed, we mourn for those of us left behind.  It’s so true. 

I wanted to take a little bit of time, and talk about my dad a bit. 

My dad’s world revolved around me and the kids.  His family was his life.  Growing up he always put me first and was always there for me when I needed him.  There are countless examples of this, but I remember on one particular occasion, I was in preschool.  Some kid slammed my pinkie in the hinge part of a door and I was in some serious pain.  I remember getting some ice from the teacher, and then looking up and seeing my dad there.  It seemed like it has only been a couple minutes since it had happened.  My dad was at work at the time, but dropped everything and drove as fast as he could to come get me.   On another occasion, he came to the rescue when I lost my favorite blankie.  I have wonderful memories of going out to Lake Mead with my dad.  No matter how much he wanted to fish, he always made sure to pull the boat up to shore line so I could go collect sea shells and rocks and other fun things.  We spent a lot of time outdoors when I was younger, as my dad loved to fish and hunt and camp.  We stayed close, even as I was a teenager.  My dad was always someone I felt I could talk to and go to with anything.  He wasn’t always happy about what I did, but he was always there for me and always loved me.  After I got married and had children, my dad was a wonderful grandpa.  Trips to grandpa’s house with the boys always started off by visiting the garage and playing with tools and learning something.  He loved to have the boys come over and they would build things and work on all kinds of projects together.  And the girls just melted his heart.  In talking to family and friends, he would constantly be talking about the kids.  He took such joy in all of them.  He was a huge part of our lives. 

My dad was incredibly talented.  As a young child I remember sitting next to him and watching him as he tied flies for fly fishing, or worked on a fishing rod, making it look completely amazing.  He also was an extremely skilled woodturner.  The things he made on that wood lathe were absolutely incredible, including intricate baby rattles for each of the kids.  My dad was also the one anyone called if they wanted a picture frame made, or shelves made, or anything fixed. 

My dad was also a very kind and gentle man.  He was a great example to everyone who knew him. 

I’m so grateful for the time I did have here with him, and I’m so grateful that he is my dad.

You can read the obituary here.

I wanted to take a moment and talk about a wonderful friend of mine, Aimee, who passed away today, surrounded by family and friends, after loosing her battle with Cystic Fibrosis.   

Aimee and one of my daughters

She and I have been friends for about 13 years, after we met in high school.  We’ve had some awesome times together, full of fun and laughter.  But, with Aimee, it was always that way.  She always had a smile.  Aimee was one of the most warm and caring people I’ve ever known.  She was usually more concerned about other people than herself, even when she was sick.  Her heart was so big and full of love to give.  Aimee was also a rebel and highly opinionated.  She wasn’t afraid to tell you what she thought.  But, I think that’s why she had so many people that loved her.  Aimee was an aunt to my children, and a dear, dear friend to me.  She was also a wonderful daughter and sister, and to Aimee, her family was everything.  While it saddens me to think of life without her here, I am comforted and delighted with the knowledge of where she is now, and the amazing memories I will carry with me forever.

Mike also wrote about Aimee on his blog.

You can read Aimee’s obituary here.  It appears in the July 23 issue of the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Literally, like 5 minutes after I finished my last post, Leia had her first puppy!  She has since had all six!  Yup, six pups!  They are just adorable and precious.  And, mom and babies seem to be doing well.  She had 3 boys and 3 girls; 2 brown/red and 4 black.  Here’s some cute pictures!      

It’s been a while since I posted.  It’s not that I don’t have anything to say; I’ve just been very busy.  Of course, I have some commentary on recent political activity, but that will wait for another time. 

So, one of our dogs, Leia, is pregnant, ready to pop at any moment.  She’s going to be a great mom; definitely has the disposition for it.  So, we’ve been on labor watch for the last several days.  I took her into the vet on Thursday, and they did an x-ray to make sure everything was ok.  Everything looked good, and to my utter surprise, she has six little pups inside her belly!  WOW!  I seriously thought there were two or three.  We haven’t told the kids how many, just in case they don’t all make it.  But, I have had them guessing.  So far, Gavin and Genevie both said seven, Logan guessed four then changed it to six, and Daphne says two.  It’s been fun to watch them be so excited.  I think I’ve been more anxious about this than Leia has.  I keep thinking she’s going to have the babies, but then she doesn’t.  She’s showing all the signs.  But, the vet said today that she could start doing that up to 72 hours ahead of time.  Hopefully, though, it will be soon, and everything will go well. 

Also, I’ve been covering my front yard with rocks, since we just couldn’t keep the grass alive.  Well, I decided yesterday that I probably wasn’t going to be able to work on it much after the pups are born.  So, I called two of my friends and they came over and we pretty much finished it.  Hooray!  Now, we don’t look like our house is going into foreclosure.  It is really plain right now, but it looks much better.  I think we’ll add some more plants and color once the temperature goes down again.  I have to say, I’m truly grateful for such wonderful friends!

A friend of mine recommended that a do a little post about a new blog I’ve started.  As we have begun a new chapter in our family life, I decided to chronicle it all.  I think it will be of great value to us later.  I suppose it’s like a journal, much like this blog is.  My father-in-law mentioned to be yesterday that I should print all this stuff out and put it in a binder.  He’s probably right.  For all practical purposes, these blogs really are my journal, at least for now. 

Anyway, check out the new blog.

I love my kids! They truly are wonderful! I can’t believe the amount of joy they bring to me, on a daily basis. God sure knows what he’s doing with this whole family thing! It’s the best!
The following are some pictures of my little ones, bringing huge smiles to my face!

The boys were playing in the backyard for something like 3 hours the other day. They had a blast making and playing with mud. I mean, come on, what’s better than that? Life was good, and I just had to smile. Just complete and total joy for them. It’s awesome. (They are washable, after all.) I love it!

Top to bottom: The boys both sitting in their mud puddle and smiling for the camera; Logan standing on the picnic table doing some kind of Tarzan thing; Gavin showing his happiness, and his dirt.

Daphne and her best friend, Sydney, had a craft and play day. It was great fun. First a trip to the craft store, where great fun was had by all, then they got to color these nifty flowers and butterflies. They are so cute together, and they love spending time with each other!

Top to bottom: Sydney taking a picture of Daphne; Daphne coloring her butterfly magnet; the girls working with their respective crafts.

Genevie got a loom I use to make knit hats and somehow got her head through it. After that, it was stuck. I tried every which way I could to get it off, but we had to have Grandpa come cut it off with some super strong pliers. (I’m just glad we didn’t have to call the fire dept. to come get it off.) So, while we were waiting for Grandpa, I decided I might as well get a few pictures. So silly!

Top to bottom: Up close of Genevie with the loom necklace, looking happy as can be; Genevie looking at a book while we waited; the loom after it was removed.

Just a few miscellaneous pictures.
Top to bottom: Logan was giving a family home evening lesson, and he was showing us all kinds of different things that Jesus and Heavenly Father made for us; Gavin was showing me his awesome scooter tricks; Daphne and a huge smile; Grandpa and the kids reading stories together before bed; another one of Grandpa and the kiddos, reading to them like he used to read to me (I’ve definitely got THE best dad in the world!)

The Lord has blessed me with the most wonderful family! I love them more than I can possibly express! How grateful I am that we have been sealed together forever! What more could I ask for?!

February 7, 2008, was a day of mourning for conservatives everywhere.

The campaign of Governor Mitt Romney, 60, was cut short Thursday, February 7, 2008, when he announced to CPAC that he was suspending it. After he served as governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007, he began his campaign. In February of 2007 he announced his candidacy, and was a welcome addition to conservatives. His campaign was strong from the get-go, and weathered many storms. When the focus of this candidacy became his Mormon religion, he didn’t back down, but instead faced those who criticized his faith. His candidacy was for so long the bright ray of sunshine in an otherwise grim Republican field. In a time of immense Reagan nostalgia, Romney gave many conservates/Reganites great reason to rejoice. Indeed, Mitt Romney was, in the end, the only hope for true conservatism to be back in the White House.
His campaign is survived by his wonderful family, who supported him all the way; all the volunteers that spent so many hours working on his behalf; conservatives everywhere, who miss the great Ronald Reagan; his 286 delegates; the Constitution; patriotism; hope for another run; hard work; faith; and love.
Memorial services were held in the hearts of many!

It is clear that Mitt Romney loves his country!

“It is the common task of each generation – and the burden of liberty – to preserve this country, expand its freedoms and renew its spirit so that its noble past is prologue to its glorious future.
“To this task, accepting this burden, we are all dedicated, and I firmly believe, by the providence of the Almighty, that we will succeed beyond our fondest hope. America must remain, as it has always been, the hope of the Earth.
“Thank you, and God bless America.”

~Mitt Romney
CPAC, February 7, 2008

“And if you believe that as I do, that our source of strength is our people, then when America faces a new generation of challenges like we do today you don’t look to government. You don’t look to make government bigger. You don’t look to make government stronger. You look to make the people stronger. Because that has always been and will always be the source of our destiny. And when we need to call on the strength of America we look to strengthen the American people …
“We rise to the occasion time and again. Whatever we face, whatever challenges we have, there is no challenge greater than that which can be achieved by drawing upon the spirit of the people of America. This is the hope of the world. We will always be such.”

~Mitt Romney
Final Speech as RGA Chair, November 30, 2006

“And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”
~Luke 2:8-14

I love Veteran’s Day! I think it is so very important to celebrate and remember those who have fought and those that have given it all, for us to be safe and free. I have veterans of Vietnam and Korea and both World Wars in my family. Before he died in 1997, my grandpa was Nevada’s oldest living veteran, having fought in WWI and WWII. I believe it was in WWI, that he had his nose blown off by a grenade. My uncle joined the Army Rangers and went to Vietnam. He received three Purple Hearts from his service there. My great-uncle (dad to the Vietnam Vet uncle) and my grandfather were both in WWII. My step dad, Jim, and Adam’s grandfather both served in Korea. I also have letters written by ancestors that were part of the Revolutionary War and the Civil War. A friend of mine also did a tour in Iraq.
I don’t think I can really express the depths to which those in the military (past and present) mean to me. They were willing to sacrifice their lives for me, and my children. These are some of the most courageous and valiant people we have among us. I really just can’t express my appreciation for all that they do. And let’s not forget about their families, many of whom send their loved ones off to war, never to see alive again. I am truly grateful for all veterans and military personnel. They are real heroes!