Wow...I'm so fired up! I tried to get all my frustrations out on the treadmill today at the Y, but still feel the tension of it. Up to this point, I was
uncommitted to who I thought would be the best president. McCain said it right. Obama is a very
eloquent speaker. I was attracted to his style and had accepted the fact that perhaps "Big Government" was the change we needed. It would seem the average American needs a "parental" figure to keep them in check...to limit their spending, to tell them what is best for them, etc. I get it! I saw the emails passed around speaking negatively about Obama. I gave them their due attention, but didn't really let it sway me. Then last night sealed the deal for me. He confirmed some of my worse fears. These allegations going around are true, and to see him speak so nonchalantly about them...disturbed me.
He claimed that his interaction will Bill Ayers (?) was as an acquaintance, no more. Really! Let me think...I can't think of anyone I have ever interacted with that actually bombed something on American soil. Have you? Oh, I'm around people of differing opinions. I don't necessarily agree with everyone, but someone who has bombed something--an act of
terrorism? Sorry, I don't think "
Mainstreet" America has many "acquaintances" like that either.
I am very much anti-abortion and believe in the sanctity of life, but if I had an "acquaintance" that had mentioned bombing an abortion clinic for the "CAUSE." I would be like, "Are you crazy? You don't bomb abortion clinics." Turn the tables, does Obama have evidence of McCain associating with people that bombed abortion clinics? No! If he did, the Democratic party would be all over that. This wasn't a one time interaction with this man...serving on a board together. Come on!
Oh, I am so glad, the abortion issue came up. Finally, I got to see
Obama's direct response... without the media filter. Here is the thing. When the debate on the pro-choice side focused on how a baby was more like a blob of tissue...a fetus...whether than a baby. I could see how they could view abortion as any other
medical procedure...similar to a person's desire to remove a tumor or something cancerous...no emotion. Gotta it. Don't agree with it, but respect it. But to have Obama say abortions are unfortunate...shows me that he does not view the baby as a fetus or a blob of tissue, but as a human life...with a heartbeat...but he still is willing to stand firm that it is up to the woman/mother to see that pregnancy to full term. That is a whole different ball game for me. If you DO believe that it is a BABY, and still think abortion is okay, then what is wrong with any mother deciding to kill a child, in the womb or not? The excuses of why to have an abortion such as: lack of emotional/financial support, too young, not ready, no desire to be a mother...don't play out if you knew the child they were referring to was 3 years old. Mothers have acted on those
impulses once the child is indeed born, and have been put in jail. Perhaps it should be a criminal offense whether than merely a "moral" choice.
I mean look at Britney Spears' sister. Rumors she is pregnant again...possibly will abort. I mean come on...using it as a form of birth control. She knew sex without a condom could result in an unwanted pregnancy. I was also curious to read more about this Born Alive legislation. See newspaper article
http://worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=78189. Really though...this is what my heart is crying out. I know so many godly women that desperately want children...natural or adopted. I can't tell you the number that struggle with infertility. Could perhaps this overwhelming infertility problem in women these days be a way of spurring us on to desperately reach out to these mothers and say, "If you don't want your child, could I raise them?" Could we take the focus off of a mother's rights and make it more about being able to adopt children for less? Most adoptions, not just foreign, can reach up into the $20,000 range before
everything is said and done. The lawyers are the ones
benefiting the most...because the paperwork is so costly.
Enough of that...on to education. Another subject that I'm equally passionate about. You want to know why America lags behind other countries in academics? We play to the lowest common
denominator. For example, my sister in law, Denise, brought up a more than valid point. She is in college. Paid full price for a course on Microsoft Office 2000. After hearing the same lesson repeated numerous times, she decided to voice a compliant. "Why am I paying full price for a course that is suppose to be teaching me about Microsoft Office 2000 and here it is almost Christmas and we have yet to get past
Chp. 2...because people in my class aren't getting it. My employer we see on my resume that I took a course in Microsoft Office 2000. He won't realize I only learned up to
Chp. 2...nor do I imagine you will refund my tuition money to make up for the fact that what I paid for vs. what I got...are TWO TOTALLY DIFFERENT THINGS." You see our education system is like that. I saw it first hand. We couldn't move onto division until EVERY child new their multiplication facts. So those ready for division and beyond, had to wait patiently until John Doe caught up. So tutor them after school. Fine! I did that...stayed until 5 o'clock one day helping a child with his work. Do you think his parents even remembered to pick him up? No. I then had to drive him home. To them--me tutoring Johnny was two extra hours of free childcare. Of course, some children do have parents that really care, and they struggle still. Oh, how I loved when the light would turn on for a child during summer school. My heart goes out to those kids, and I will go above and beyond to help them.
Here is the thing though, more often then not...even with my own daughters...the reason they don't excel is because no one pushes them to succeed. Human nature wants to only do as much is as required or expected. If the expectations are low...even better. The same parents who are sitting back wondering how the "Government" is going to help them are raising the children that are wondering why they need do anything else in school but misbehave. Throwing money at the problem doesn't help. I knew of a school back in Wichita Falls, Texas that spent thousands on technology. You know where those computers ended up...a storage closet. Oh, but it looked like they were spending a ton of money on technology. Obama mentioned higher pay for teachers that showed performance...now, realize I was a public school teacher that performed and saw results. You know what I heard/thought. Number 1-- Teach the Test and Number 2--I did my job like that despite the pay and would do it again just as well. Nothing is stronger than the heart of a volunteer. Not to say, I'm against paying teachers more...but to make the point that extra money isn't going to make a teacher want to do more than she is already doing. A true teacher loves her job, and will do whatever it takes to help those kids. You can see that so much in a Christian school. You think teachers get paid little to nothing...imagine what Christian school teachers get paid. Mrs. Evans, Carlie's teacher, is passionate and goes above and beyond. My own mother-in-law would amaze you if you knew what she has done not only for the children in her class, but their parents as well. Obama isn't going to pay Mrs. Evans or my mother-in-law one more dime...though, they are changing lives everyday.
I guess it isn't so much about Obama, anymore. I believe McCain IS going to bring about change. You change people's hearts, inspire them, give them the tools to succeed, hold them accountable...you will see America change for the better from the ground up. I loved when McCain defended the people that came to his rallies...those war veterans and military wives...and said he was proud of him. I believe now that McCain will fight just as hard for you and me if given the opportunity to be president. Your record does matter! Anyone can have a good game face on for a few months during a campaign. I'm more concerned about what he has done and will do...then his eloquence as a speaker. Sorry, Obama...I'm voting for McCain and I'm an Illinois resident now. Gotta love the military!!!
