Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Where's Al Qaeda?

Apparently Senator Obama didn't know that Al Qaeda was in Iraq already. Or maybe he just forgot. In his last debate will Hillary, he said "And if Al Qaeda is forming a base in Iraq, then we will have to act in a way that secures the American homeland and our interests abroad.”
So, here's a scenario: Let's say Al Qaeda is already there in Iraq, threatening our interests. Let's say we've been fighting them for a few years. And, just for kicks, let's say we're kicking their butts. What's your call as President, Obama? How will you protect the homeland? By withdrawing troops! Wow, now THAT'S a winning strategy - put our heads in the sand, and "hope" (that's your campaign's call sign isn't it? Hope?) that they either don't see us, or just don't see us as a threat and walk on by. And if they do happen to attack us again, you'll just have a tea party with Osama bin Laden and Ahmedinajad and "hope" your way to peace.

Here's what I "hope": that Obamamaniacs realize they are just being duped by a still-wet-behind-the-ears senator who can give good speeches without really promising anything except "hope" and "change;"
that Americans will vote for the one candidate that will actually DO something about Al Qaeda BEFORE they attack again - John McCain;
and that Hillary realizes her "hopes" of becoming president have been dashed completely, and starts up a reality show called "Let's Change Washington" where they kick one (maybe two or three?) congressman out each week until they show they can actually get something done.

Wednesday, February 6, 2008

What is honesty worth?

Super Tuesday turned out to be a big disappointment. I'm pulling for Romney in the presidential race, mostly because he's the only candidate I can actually trust. There has been at least one major case of dishonesty, public dishonesty, for both McCain and Huckabee, with no sign of an apology or clarification from either one. McCain, in a television ad right before the last debate before Super Tuesday, claimed that Romney was in favor of troop withdrawal dates from Iraq. The truth is Romney has been nothing if not against troop pullout dates, and only stated that he agreed there need to be benchmarks and milestones set. McCain purposely distorted Romney's statement and gave him no time to challenge or correct it before the debate. When challenged at the debate, McCain continued lying (on national TV!!) and stood by his slanderous ad. And people want this person to be president???
Then there's Huckabee. A few weeks ago, he was asked in an interview what he knew about Mormons (seeing as how his biggest rival at the time was Mitt Romney, a Mormon). His claim was he didn't know much. That's very interesting, considering he was the KEYNOTE SPEAKER at annual Baptist convention in 1998, which happened to be in Salt Lake City that year. One of the main purposes of the convention is to speak against religions in the area, and go out and preach to them, try to convert them. Why would they be in Salt Lake, if not to preach against the Mormons? And yet Huckabee "doesn't know much" about them?
Then there's this business, again involving Huckabee and McCain, in the whole West Virginia delegate contest. In the first vote in WV, Romney came out ahead with 41% to Huckabee's 33. You need 50% to win, so they did a revote. But this time, McCain told his backers to throw in with Huckabee, to beat out Romney, which they did (by a mere 46 votes). Now you watch and see, cause I'm betting that McCain, if he wins the nomination, will give Huckabee some kind of kickback - naming him as his running mate, putting him in his cabinet, something. It just shows you this really is a two man race - Romney vs. everyone else banding together against him. And yes I'm leaving out Ron Paul, because everyone knows he doesn't have a prayer.

Friday, February 1, 2008

Death and Taxes

President Gordon B. Hinckley passed away this Sunday. I haven't ever spoken to him, I've stood near him once or twice, and I think he smiled at me as he walked out of the Conference Center once after the Light of the World presentation they put on some years back. But I think it's safe to say we were strangers. Yet his passing has affected me to a degree that few outside of family or close friends could. I find myself reliving those moments where I got to see him in person, remembering funny comments he made, or reviewing words of counsel he gave that particularly struck me. I know he was a prophet, but he was also (as much as a stranger could be, I guess) a friend. I felt the love and concern he had for everyone, in the church or out. He was a great example of the kind of person I want to be, and yet he made himself accessible - he talked about his struggle with loneliness after his beloved wife passed, and how he wished he could just sit in his rocking chair, taking his pills and enjoying his grandchildren, but that he was given a work to do. It was that duality, the prophet of God who was just an ordinary man, that made him stand out to me. General Conference won't be the same without him. But the work he carried on is still moving forward. There will be another prophet called, and he will be just as much a prophet as Pres. Hinckley was. I won't let myself be one of those who "dies" with the prophet. I'll remember him and the things he taught while keeping myself open to what the next prophet teaches as well.



On a lighter note, we're in our new house! All that's left to do is hang the pictures on the walls, and get rid of all the moving boxes, and we're officially settled in. Getting into the house was a LOT tougher than I thought - all the paperwork you have to sign, the costs involved, the sheer number of things that can go wrong in the signing process are enough to overwhelm you. The most frustrating part was having to rely on people to get things done, and have them drop the ball. Things like your lender getting the interest rate wrong a week before you're about to sign on the house can cause more than a little stress. But it's all done, and we make our first payment in about 4 weeks. That, plus the fact that our tax return will be a lot bigger than I had hoped for, and my mom was found to be cancer-free (there was a bit of scare last month) have been huge blessings. I just hope I can keep things this together when the baby comes in August. Ah, the joys of adulthood. :)