Saying that a hispanic woman would make a better decision as a judge than a white man would is not racist. Disagreeing with the president’s choice of Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court based on that comment is racist. Can someone please explain?

Maybe if you read this very interesting article in the Wall Street Journal by Shelby Steele, it would help.
Sotomayor and the Politics of Race

Then come back here and explain it to me!

I’m going to write more on my observations from a funeral and graveside service I attended this morning. But right now I wanted to mention how incredibly poignant and moving a funeral with military honors is. I always get a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes when I attend one. The precision with which the honor guard performs their duties at these services adds a degree of respect, honor, dignity, emotion, and appreciation that is unparalleled by anything else I have ever seen. It makes me proud to be an American that our military sees fit to honor our fallen servicemen and women in such an incredible way. From the carrying of the casket to the playing of taps, these men and women serve a very important and meaningful purpose and are to be commended. Thanks!

A USA TODAY/Gallup Poll shows that one-third of Republicans have an unfavorable view of their party while only 4% of Democrats said the same of theirs.

I posted a few weeks ago about how, in my view, conservatives like me have been betrayed by the party we usually call home. They continue to give us less than desirable candidates and really outdid themselves by giving us that old maverick, John McCain, as a presidential candidate.

I was not contacted as a part of this survey but I would be among that unhappy one-third. Could it be that conservatives have grown weary of the party’s move toward the center, and ultimately the left? Are the days of conservatives voting Republican in every election over? I said before, I’d rather lose with someone who represents me and the issues that are important to me rather than win with someone who is a maverick. Are the GOP leaders learning anything from all of this? I would hope so, but I have my doubts. What do you think?

By: Laura Baumgardner

I made a comment to Thad regarding a blog that Natasha Donghia had posted. She is an Obama supporter and decided to speak up in defense of him. That is her right to do so, as it is everyone’s right to have an opinion. She wanted me to explain why I disagreed with some of her statements. I did, and what I thought would be a quick response turned out to be quite long. I didn’t mean to write so much, but once I got going it was hard to stop. Anyway, my blog is actually my response to her….

Natasha, you wrote a great blog and I applaud you for doing so when the views you expressed aren’t shared by many people “in these parts.” I do agree with you on a few things. I guess that’s where our conservative values meet. Like you, I disagree with his health care policy. I think it is greatly flawed too. Unlike you, however, I don’t think Obama’s plan will benefit the private health insurance companies themselves as much as it will diminish the quality and the amount of care that we will be allowed to receive if the government has control of it. Both Canada and Great Britain are prime examples of the diminished health care one receives when it is government regulated. In Great Britain, if you are diagnosed with stage 4 cancer, no treatment will be made available to you. You are past the point in which they think you are “curable.” I want to know there are cures available and have every opportunity to find it. I’m also glad that Obama lifted the ban on federal funding of stem cell research, but I still believe that we should only use adult stem cells in the research and not embryonic stem cells.

I agree with you that our country is great. I love my country and the freedoms which it offers. Are we fat and lazy like we are portrayed in the rest of the world? Absolutely. Why? I believe it’s because the government has made us this way. The social program we know as Welfare is the biggest reason that we’ve become a lazy society. Sure, there are times when we need to help those less privileged and less fortunate. However, when you have families that become “welfare dependent” generation after generation it proves the system has failed and needs to be changed. Will the government do that? No. Instead Obama wants to do a little thing called redistribution of wealth. Seven years ago Obama said in a radio interview, “the U.S. has suffered from a fundamentally flawed Constitution that does not mandate or allow for redistribution of wealth.” I’m sorry but in my opinion, life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness as the Declaration of Independence speaks of has nothing to do with redistribution of wealth. I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of footing the bill for the people who are able to work but are unwilling to do so because it’s easier for them to draw a paycheck from the government. It’s time for a “change” alright, but I’m sure his slogan didn’t mean in it that respect. It’s my sincere belief the he wants to grow a much larger welfare dependent society because that will allow the government to have the power over the people. (Government health care plan included).

As for your comment that his administration inherited the problems for the former administration, it’s the same statement uttered by every new president that has taken office. I doubt that will ever change. I agree that a few of the problems can be blamed on the Bush Administration, but some of the problems can also be placed squarely in the laps of his own Democratic party who were in control during the Bush years. That being said, Obama has taken office during one of the most difficult times our nation has ever faced. I don’t disagree with that. However, I don’t think that some of Obama’s actions and plans have been in best interest of our country. It is not the government’s place to fire a CEO of a public owned company. It is not the government’s place to say that a bank can receive a bailout will not have a chance to repay that money. Yes, the TARP fund was started by the Bush administration, but it is the Obama administration who is saying that the banks aren’t going to be allowed to pay it back. That is a HUGE conflict of interest when the government controls the largest and most powerful banks in America.

You asked what administration WANTS industry to be nationalized by government. Are you kidding me? It doesn’t matter who is in control, Democrats or Republicans. The government will seize any opportunity it has to grow larger and more powerful. Once it grows in size, you can be assured that it will never shrink. That’s why we need to be careful and pay attention to what’s going on in our society. Everything is happening at such a slow pace that I’m afraid that most people don’t see how “we the people” are losing our voices. It has nothing to do with being a Republican or a Democrat. What’s the old saying? Throw a frog in a pot of boiling water and he will jump out, but throw a frog in cold water and turn up the heat he will slowly cook to death. That is the analogy I use with our government.

I agree with you that the structure of our economy was different 30, 40,and 50 years ago. You mentioned that mom and pop stores are closing because Wal‑mart and other larger companies are forcing them out of business. That’s true. I can say that because I was one of them. We closed our business because we knew we couldn’t compete against the giants like Petsmart and Petco. I’m not blaming them for being successful, though. Every large company had to start somewhere. That is what’s great about our country. You can start small and dream big, eventually becoming wealthy and successful. So why would you let the government come in and decide how much money you can make or how much money you can pay your employees? Where do you draw the line? Sure, I’ll be one of the first to say that Wall Street was out of control and that the “golden parachutes” the CEO’s rewarded themselves with were shameful, but it’s the stockholders and shareholders who should decide what happens in the private company. Capitalism is an economic system in which wealth, and the means of producing wealth, are privately owned. The Obama administration is most certainly trying to stifle capitalism. He is wanting to control the wealth, and the amount of wealth one can earn. We may be in uncharted territory, but you had better watch where Obama steps because it may be on your toes next. You can’t have it both ways.

As for the man himself, I don’t appreciate our president visiting another country and apologizing for Americans being “arrogant.” He may be trying to improve relations, but dogging one’s own citizens isn’t the way to go about it. If the American citizens are arrogant it’s only because we’ve been taught that you don’t have to work hard or have a job in order to have your needs met. The government will give it to you anyway. Our forefathers worked hard and fought hard to get ahead in life and I think they would be ashamed to see what has happened to our country.

America was founded on God and Christian principles, and for Obama to say that we aren’t a Christian nation is an outrage. “In God We Trust” can be found on all of our currency. “One nation under God” is in our Pledge of Allegiance. Heck, even the Alabama State Constitution states “ that all men are equally free and independent; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” So do what you want to make you happy in life, but please don’t trample the values of the U.S. Constitution in order to get there, and don’t expect me to foot the bill for it.

Our president has invited Hamas to participate in Mideast peace talks. Hamas has been designated a terror group by the U.S. State Department. Smart move. Negotiating peace with terrorists at the table. Quite ironic don’t you think?

He also said in a speech in Cairo, Egypt, that America is not and never will be at war with Islam. That may be the way he sees it but you can believe this: Islam is at war with America!

This administration needs to get its head out of the sand and realize that trying to reason with terrorists is an exercise in futility. Guess what? They want to kill us! All of us. We’re free and powerful and they hate us. That’s why 9/11 happened. The mindset of the leaders of Hamas and any other terrorist organization is exactly the same as those hijackers. If they had the means they’d wipe us right off the map! Their hatred is practically as old as time itself and one isn’t likely to change their minds simply by talking to them about it. They can dress up in suits and ties and put gel in their hair and look like respectable people all they want, but given a chance they’d be cutting all our heads off shouting “allah akbar!”

And we are somehow evil because of waterboarding. Some things I’ll just never understand.

By: Natasha Donghia

Ah where to begin…Normally I just read the blog, and although I am often tempted to respond, I do not. Perhaps it’s the fact that so often, especially around these parts, when I express views that aren’t a direct quote from a Toby Keith song I tend to get treated like some sort of communist, godless, heathen who eats babies in my spare time. However, it seems there are few who are willing to step up to the plate and say “Yes, I voted for Obama and here’s why” so I guess it will have to be me.

First let me start by saying I am not a fad follower. I don’t jump on bandwagons, and I was never caught up in the fanfare. I never regarded Obama as the second coming, the great mixed-race hope or the only chance our country had at salvation. But I did recognize him for what I believe him to be: the best PR for our country.
Our country has lost the respect of the rest of the world. We are portrayed as fat, lazy, undereducated, over-privileged and ethnocentric. We have been represented by leaders who have shown such arrogance and self-righteousness that we are despised in countries where self-righteousness and arrogance are considered a hallmark of good politics.

Do we have great people in this country? Yes! Are we a great country? Of course! But that’s not the face of America we have shown the world in the recent past. And we desperately need to change that. If we were to hire the very best PR manager in the world, she would tell you the same thing: America must change its image.

So yes… we needed “Change”. What a fantastic word that is. What phenomenal marketing. The world ate it up. And at the end of the day…that’s good for all of us.

That’s not to say that I voted for Obama solely on those grounds. I would never have voted for him if I disagreed with his policy. But like all the men whose promises I’ve listened to in the past..it’s clear that the follow through will be somewhat lacking. I am greatly disappointed in his healthcare plan. It is so flawed that it would only serve to benefit private health insurance itself. I am disappointed in his wishy-washy stance on torture policy and the war. However-I am proud that he voted to lift the ban on federal funding of stem cell research. I am glad that he seems to be concerned about putting the focus back on sound science in government policy. I am also proud that he and I share the same views on what the constitution is really about and that writing discrimination into the constitution goes against it’s very spirit.

At the moment, though, I guess the big question is are we moving towards socialism in this country? I don’t think so. Let’s not forget that this administration inherited a huge problem. A broken economy that is not likely to magically repair itself. So perhaps the steps being taken at this point are unprecedented. Perhaps everyone doesn’t agree with the Government’s involvement, but it’s irresponsible to cry “socialism” instead of seeing it for what it is, a drastic measure in reaction to a drastic problem. All this talk about socialism just makes me think that some people do not have a basic understanding of it’s concepts. Where is the evidence that this administration WANTS industry to be nationalized by the government? Might I remind you that this was a process initialized by the former administration? Where have you gotten any real indication that the Obama administration is against the free market? Government oversight into a flawed system is far different than outlawing profit. Market forces will continue to direct our economy, but we can’t rebuild our economy on an unstable foundation.

The world is a constantly changing place, and what worked yesterday will not always work tomorrow. The structure of our economy was different 30, 40, and 50 years ago. The “spreading of wealth” was something that took care of itself. Now big business destroys small business. Instead of passing on a family business, mom and pop close the shop because Wal-Mart opened down the street. The very rich get much richer and the rest of the population remains stagnant. Perhaps there SHOULD be a safety net in place to protect capitalism from its worst qualities.

I was listening to Rick and Bubba this morning and they were playing the segment of the guys were on Hannity last night on Fox News. They have a new book that has just been released called Rick and Bubba’s Guide to the Almost Nearly Perfect Marriage. They made some great points on the show about being married and for those of you who listen to them in the mornings, you’ve heard some of their marriage/family stories.
Anyway, it got me to thinking about how marriage is often portrayed in such a negative light in the media and by so many people who mock and make fun of married life. I disagree with those assessments! I love marriage. I love my wife. I can’t imagine being single again and would never want to. Speaking of being single again, I’ve been there. Getting back into the whole dating thing, which I was never any good at in the first place, after being married really stunk. I remember one of the first times I actually called and asked someone out on a date. I had been assured by the girl’s sister that she was interested in going out with me and that she would say yes. I was still scared. So, I psyched myself up to call her one night. But, before I did, I spent an hour making a list of things to talk about should the conversation need a boost. She did say yes but I thought I might collapse from the sheer nervousness. It wore me out. I enjoyed the date but feeling like you are always having to impress someone can be draining. Especially when you’re me!

I met Gigi in November of 1995. I popped the question the following fall and we married on June 14, 1997. On a side note, she didn’t actually say yes when I asked her. Her immediate response was, “Are you serious?” She finally did say yes, though. With all the bumps and bruises and ups and downs, it has been the best 12 years of my life. Our marriage isn’t perfect. Whose is? Show me two people who say they have the perfect marriage and I’ll show you two big, fat liars! We do our share of arguing and being angry but you’ll never hear me tell someone how horrible married life is. I love it! It’s plenty exciting for me and there is not a single thing from my single life that I miss.

I suppose, like anything else, it is what you make it. You get out of it what you put into it. If you want to be miserable and continue living your life the way you want to with no regard for anyone else, then maybe marriage isn’t for you. It takes effort and patience and commitment to get through the rough spots and make it work but when you get past that rough spot…hey #1! I’m not saying that being single is bad. God calls some to singleness and the single life can be a fulfilling one. But to listen to your average person, marriage is one difficulty after another and is to be avoided at all costs. I disagree wholeheartedly.

Gigi and I were in a pretty good argument a few years ago before we had children. I don’t even remember what it was about. During the course of the evening’s events, I spilled a large fountain drink that had been sitting on the counter between the two of us. I went to the bedroom to change clothes and then, with only a pair of shorts on, came back to the kitchen to continue the festivities. As I said what I needed to say, I again headed towards the back, secure in my victory. Deciding I needed to say one more thing, I abruptly stopped. Or should I say, attempted to stop? My feet hit the puddle of spilled soda and in a flash, I was laying on the floor. I’ve never seen anyone go from standing straight up to being flat on the floor that quickly in my life. There was silence for a few moments. My hip hurt. I wanted to be angry and somehow blame Gigi. Then I heard the muffled sound of laughter. Then the loud sound of laughter. Then lots of laughter. And with that, the fight was over and a memory was made. YAY, MARRIAGE!!!

Marriage is good and I’ll fight the guy who says otherwise! Not really, though, because I don’t want to get beat up. But it is good!

Oh, and Happy Anniversary on the 14th, Gigi! I love you!

First, let me say that the following thoughts and opinions have absolutely nothing to do with race(how sad that I feel I needed to mention that).

I have a question. Is anyone who voted for Barack Obama having second thoughts about it? I can honestly say, and have said before, that I was no fan of President Bush by the time he left office. I was not fond of the way he dealt with the war, the economy, and various other issues. My ideals are not tied to any candidate or political party and when the leaders I supported stray from those ideals, I no longer support them. I have yet to hear from an Obama supporter who disagrees with anything he has done or is trying to do. Has this modern day pied piper’s song turned them into nothing more than blind followers who can’t or won’t think for themselves?

Does anyone honestly think it is a good thing that the government actually fired the CEO of General Motors, Rick Wagoner, by threatening to withhold stimulus funds from the company unless he quit? How many times in history has that happened?

How about the fact that a large percentage of the GM dealership closings appear to be at least partially politically motivated? It looks like several of these GM dealers were actually quite profitable but made the mistake of supporting Republican candidates rather than those in the party of our current administration. Now their livelihoods have been taken away from them.

Do those who support Obama actually think it is possible for the big, fat, bloated, power-hungry, federal government that can’t manage its own business, to manage GM’s? Or AIG’s? Or any number of bailed out financial institutions? Or the health system? Or anything else for that matter?

What this administration is doing shouldn’t surprise anyone. It is exactly what should be expected of an extreme left-wing liberal with a socialist agenda. What is surprising is that so many people are drinking the Obama-berry Kool-Aid. Otherwise right-thinking, reasonable people are being led down the primrose path to socialism and skipping and whistling all the way!

I am 40 years old. Never in those 40 years have I been too terribly afraid of what the future holds for our country. I’ve always thought that the American people had far too much common sense to ever be fooled by a slick-talking community organizer. That our way of governing would never allow us to be taken to a place that history has shown is good for those in power but devastating for the common man. Now that appears to be a very real possibility in my lifetime. And if things don’t change it scares me to think what kind of country my two children will live in when they are older. Will they be able to work and worship and travel and raise families as they see fit? Or will the government dictate all that and more to them? San Diego County officials just last week told a pastor that he couldn’t hold Bible studies in his own home. Granted, the county has backed off somewhat but the fact that the government attempted to prohibit American citizens the right to worship in their own home in the first place should frighten anyone! It’s a very sobering thought to think how much worse things could get in the coming years.

Some will say my fears are unfounded. That all this president wants to do is make us more prosperous. A noble idea to be sure. Unfortunately, if he has his way, it will likely come at the expense of some of the most basic freedoms we enjoy as a free, capitalistic society. I would love to hear from some of you who supported and continue to support this president and his ideology. Perhaps I’m simply not intelligent enough nor forward-thinking enough to see how the direction in which we are going is good for this country and you could explain it to me in terms a simpleton can understand. Because right now, I don’t.

By: Kimberly Hays

My confession this week: I completely scrapped the original blog post I wrote because of something I heard on NPR this morning. You will get to read the original sometime soon, but I thought this was too important to pass up. As I was getting ready for church this morning in my safe home, putting on my pretty dress, and blow drying my hair from a nice warm shower I hear Liane Hansen on Morning edition say that “1/3 of women in Sudan and Sudanese refugee camps have been the victim of rape”. I was absolutely stunned. There are 3 women in my family. Based on those statistics one of us would have been raped and probably long before now. According the FBI crime statistics for 2007, 90,427 forcible rapes in the United States were reported or 59 rapes per 100,000 women (http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/cius2007/offenses/violent_crime/forcible_rape.html).

Some groups estimate that approximately 80% of sexual assaults in the United States are not reported and 1 out of 3 (sound familiar?) women in the U.S. will be sexually assaulted at some time in her life. While the numbers reported for Sudanese women were shocking I was even more appalled at my own thinking. Why do the rapes occurring on another continent appall me, but I am often not fazed by the news stories I see from Montgomery, Oklahoma City, and even sometimes Stillwater. Why am I not enraged for these women who have had their lives changed forever? How can I be prepared to donate or buy a t-shirt for these Sudanese women, but not bat an eye at the trauma that is occurring in my own hometown? Maybe because I know that in the United States women can walk into an emergency room and receive treatment for the physical and emotional effects of rape. Or maybe it is because often (but sadly not all the time) when a woman is raped in the United States she is not completely shunned by her family and community. Maybe it is because that in the United States there is a chance that a rapist may be prosecuted for their crimes.

But what about our sisters, our mothers, and our daughters that are sexually assaulted in their lifetimes, but never say a word. They carry a burden on their shoulders that is just as heavy as the burden of the Sudanese women living in a refugee camp in Chad. Their lives are literally and figuratively worlds apart, but the burdens they share are more similar than many of us realize. I didn’t write this column to make any deep dark confessions about my own life. Thank goodness I am not a statistic, but many of my friends are. Smart, strong, beautiful women that were sexually assaulted by family members, acquaintances or complete strangers. Some are reported statistics and others are not. I think the reason that I scrapped my original column for this was with hope that you would ask the questions that I am asking of myself. Am I so focused on my little sphere of the world that I ignore the suffering occurring down the street or around the world? Am I afraid to think about the hard, uncomfortable stuff? Can I make any difference at all?

The only one of these questions that I can answer for any of you is the final one. Absolutely you can make a difference. No, this doesn’t mean traveling halfway around the world or donating money to a cause (although it would be awesome if it did). It means recognizing what is going on in your world (the small version and the big version) and not ignoring it with hopes that it will just go away. Parents talk to your children about the hard stuff and answer their questions. Don’t scare them, but let them know how special they are and that everyone deserves to be treated equally as special whether they live in Wetumpka, Alabama or in Khartoum, Sudan. Fellas, walk that lady to her car when it is dark out. Ladies, be aware of your surroundings and take steps to protect yourself. Mostly, think big and think small. As different as our lives are from those Sudanese women in this case the pain is the same. Help a woman here. Love a woman here and that can be felt around the world.

Based on the statistics I presented above some of you readers may be affected by this issue. Please ask for help.
The Rape Crisis Center http://rapecrisis.com/
Council Against Rape Crisis Line, Montgomery (AL) 334-286-5987
Stillwater (OK) Domestic Violence 405-624-3020

The Facebook status update jumped out at me like…something that jumps out at someone. It said, “Courtney Barrett is taking Dale to the Emergency Room because he has a BUG in his ear !!!” Dale is my nephew. Being a good uncle, I called him to check on him. They were en route to the hospital. I said, “This will be written about on the blog.” He said, “I know. It should be.” He spoke with little joy or humor in his voice. He said, “It feels like a Cadillac is parked on my eardrum.” I stifled a laugh and spoke with as much sympathy as I could muster under the circumstances. I asked him to update me when he was done. The following email that he sent me this morning is his account of the events of last evening:

We are on the way home from my mom’s and we stop to get a drink at the store. I walk to the door and as I open it I am swarmed by about 700 million bugs. After dancing on the sidewalk to get the bugs off of me I go into the store and go about my business. We start heading home and about 2 miles down the road I feel something in my ear crawling, so I start freaking out because it is in all the way down and I can’t get it.

Once home, I get a baby suction bulb and start trying to get it that way with no luck. Next, I get Q-tips and go that way, still with no luck. So, I get in the shower and run about 200 gallons of scalding hot water into my ear. At that point, I thought it was gone, so I get out of the shower but while I’m drying off, it starts crawling again. I get another Q-tip and by this time I see that my ear is bleeding which causes me to get even more frantic because I think that it has bitten a chunk out of my ear. Then I think to myself, “How do I kill it and then flush it out?” Alcohol is the first thing that comes to mind. I pour it in and immediately realize I have to go to the ER and do two things: A) Get the bug out, and, B) Repair the eardrum I have demolished trying to do just that.

We head out to Baptist Medical Center East and Courtney is driving when at the end of the toll bridge we see…State Troopers doing a license check. It is right then that we realize Courtney had left her wallet at home and we have to play twenty questions with with the officer and watch him struggle as he tries not to laugh at the 6 foot 300-pound baby in the passenger side who is all broke down with a bug in his ear.

We get to the ER and it is appears as though there has been a war of some sort and all of the wounded are at this ER. I see a woman sleeping in the front door so we turn and head to Elmore Community Hospital. We get there about 20 minutes later, go right back to the treatment area and the festivities begin. The doctor looks into my ear and says, “What have you tried to get this thing out?” I did withhold the part about the q-tips and alcohol and only mentioned the bulb thingy and the water. He sort of chuckles and continues. He says he sees it way in the back, a tiny, little black speck. He flushes my ear with a saline solution several times and it doesn’t budge. He walks off and comes back a few minutes later with a nurse, a pair of angled tweezers, and a light to look into my ear. He still sees the speck and he reaches in and grabs it! Ahh…it is finally coming out. Hallelujah! It is at this point that I almost faint because he has it alright, my eardrum! If you have never had your eardrum clamped onto with a pair of tweezers and stretched out, I highly recommend you run out and have it done now! What an incredible rush! Anyway, he looks in again and nothing is there and he gives me some antibiotic drops and tells me to leave it alone. Turns out my self-treatment had done far more damage than the bug could ever have done. Go figure.

The lesson I learned here, and I hope you take heed of this, is that a bug will come out on its own, usually quite quickly, because there is nowhere for it to go in someone’s ear. Unless it is too big to turn around. I don’t even want to think about that possibility. I know that from now on if I have to go into a convenience store at night, I will wear earmuffs!