The End of a Year

As I sit looking at my calendar I find, as I'm sure most people are, that January is fast approaching. Many things have happened this year, and for what's hopefully the best, I am a different person then when the year began.
I think the most life changing event for me has been trying to find my way through a mass of information that's available. I am (frantically at times) attempting to revise who I am as a wife, mother, teacher, student, and most importantly a daughter of God. I feel like I hardly sleep at night as my mind sifts through who I am and who I want to become.
I find myself contemplating life more then I ever did before, and because of this I find myself having to rely on God more because I see so much pain in the world and cannot fix it all. I have to remind myself that there are angel's among us very literally in many different forms. Not only can I be an angel to others, but I can pray for those that I cannot protect or care for myself, and they will be cared for by other angels either mortal or heavenly.
It's my prayer that I might be able to create leaders within and out of my home who will be strong, moral, virtuous, and strive for liberty and equality wherever they find themselves in life. I pray that I will be inspiring, and see others the way that God sees them. I pray that love and respect will guide our nation into the new year and the presidency that will lead it, and that peace will be our mission.
I pray for strong families who rely on good principles to lead them. I pray that whatever a persons religion, that they will hold fast to it and instill values of service and hard work in their children.
I pray that we will not idly let another day, week, month or year go by. May we push ourselves a little harder, be a little better, and strive a little harder to find our mission in life and pursue it with all our hearts as we surrender to God's will.

A Gem about motherhood

As "curriculum" for our daily devotional, I signed up to receive different "Gems" from lds.org. Today's Family Gem was truly a gem indeed: Women Have a Great Influence for Good

“Too frequently, women underestimate their influence for good. Well could you follow the formula given by the Lord: ‘Establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God’ (D&C 88:119).“In such a house will be found happy, smiling children who have been taught, by precept and example, the truth. In a Latter-day Saint home, children are not simply tolerated, but welcomed; not commanded, but encouraged; not driven, but guided; not neglected, but loved.”

Thomas S. Monson, “The Spirit of Relief Society,” Ensign, May 1992, 101-102

It's sad, but I can't say that I'm surprised

WASHINGTON (AFP) – US elected officials scored abysmally on a test measuring their civic knowledge, with an average grade of just 44 percent, the group that organized the exam said Thursday.

Ordinary citizens did not fare much better, scoring just 49 percent correct on the 33 exam questions compiled by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI).

"It is disturbing enough that the general public failed ISI's civic literacy test, but when you consider the even more dismal scores of elected officials, you have to be concerned," said Josiah Bunting, chairman of the National Civic Literacy Board at ISI.

"How can political leaders make informed decisions if they don't understand the American experience?" he added.

The exam questions covered American history, the workings of the US government and economics.

Among the questions asked of some 2,500 people who were randomly selected to take the test, including "self-identified elected officials," was one which asked respondents to "name two countries that were our enemies during World War II."

Sixty-nine percent of respondents correctly identified Germany and Japan. Among the incorrect answers were Britain, China, Russia, Canada, Mexico and Spain.

Forty percent of respondents, meanwhile, incorrectly believed that the US president has the power to declare war, while 54 percent correctly answered that that power rests with Congress.

Asked about the electoral college, 20 percent of elected officials incorrectly said it was established to "supervise the first televised presidential debates."

In fact, the system of choosing the US president via an indirect electoral college vote dates back some 220 years, to the US Constitution.

The question that received the fewest correct responses, just 16 percent, tested respondents' basic understanding of economic principles, asking why "free markets typically secure more economic prosperity than government's centralized planning?"

Activities that dull Americans' civic knowledge include talking on the phone and watching movies or television -- even news shows and documentaries, ISI said.

Meanwhile, civic knowledge is enhanced by discussing public affairs, taking part in civic activities and reading about current events and history, the group said.

The iRack

Ah, humor. Doesn't it feel good to laugh?

Well....

I can't say that I'm thrilled with the results last night.... makes me a little fearful for my family's financial security, but it is what it is.

I hope at this time all of the McCain supporters will "cut their loses," so to speak, and move on. You can't change the past, so let's rally for the future with President Elect Obama at the head. He'll be president for 4-8 years, so we can accept that and pray that the best will happen! I worry about his big government ideals, and can't see why people can't see that.

I looked into the young ethnic voters faces as the camera panned a city in NY last night and couldn't help but think "all they care is that he's black... they have no idea what his policies are."

Regardless, we've survived in the past, and will here as well. I pray for the elected officials in the Congress and hope that they'll show more restraint and forethought on passing legislation. Again, it's them who've gotten us into a not so great situation. Blame a president all you want (they have become more powerful than they ought to be), but there are people behind the scenes that have the power to keep things aligned.

Let's be positive! God is at the helm and his will be done. His message is of free agency, and that's a beautiful thing. Sometimes we don't use our free agency as we should and we pay consequences... in that situation all we can do is learn from history and pay attention.

Election Day

Happy election day everyone... or at least I hope it will be!

I read an interesting tidbit this morning by playwright Arthur Miller entitled "Who Are We Really Voting For?"

"Political leaders everywhere have come to understand that to govern they must learn how to act... [W]ho are we really voting for? The self-possessed character who projects dignity, exemplary morals, and enough forthright courage to lead us through war or depression, or the person who is simply good at creating a counterfeit with the help of professional coaching, executive tailoring, and that whole armory of pretense that the groomed president can now employ? Are we allowed anymore to know what is going on not merely in the candidate's facial expression and his choice of suit but also in his head? Unfortunately.... this is something we are not told until the auditioning end and he is securely in office.... As with most actors, any resemblance between the man an the role is purely accidental."

This totally speaks to what our political system is equating to at the moment. Obama is a great orator and promises change... well, change doesn't always mean moving in a "positive" direction. I had the misfortune to have the tv on one day (the misfortune being the tv being on, I hate it! However, being the stellar mom that I am, I've been pawning my kids off on it so I can pack.) Anyway! I hate Nickelodeon, I just don't think their shows are appropriate for kids, but I happened to pass by the channel and heard the results of a poll they'd done. Obama had won the election! Yay. I think. Or no, not so much. I just thought to myself about how easily swayed we are by the acting that goes on around us. Never mind that his policies are dangerous, and the size of government will grow exponentially.... he's a great orator! You do get pulled in by his even tones and cavalier nature. He's certainly is a stark contrast to McCain. AGAIN, I'M NOT A MCCAIN CHEERLEADER. All I care about is life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

I don't think that these things are possible when the government is constantly in play in every life. I also don't think that "college for everyone" is what people think it is. Yah, education is great. I tend to ramble on about it when I get a minute, so, it is something I think about a lot. However, I think that the "education" being talked of is mediocre at best, and the thought of continuing high school into college because EVERYONE goes now, just makes it worse! Kids with the grades and desires DO go to college. The government bends over backwards with loans and grants, and if you really are motivated a school will help you financially just to go there. Let's not try to push everyone into going to school. The "system" of it isn't right for everyone, let us CHOOSE what is right... not be forced into it.

Parental rights! I want the right to teach my children what I want, and to CHOOSE what path is best for them. The government is TOO big. Besides, when it really comes down to it, all of us are playing ignorant anyway. The congress is calling the shots here. Why don't we start laying off the executive and focusing on the real "evil." Our elected officials in general are supposed to be voting on behalf of us... WE NEED TO START BEING INFORMED SO WE CAN TELL THEM WHAT WE WANT! THEY CAN PROVIDE A CHECK ON THE EXECUTIVE... IT WAS ACTUALLY BUILT INTO OUR GOVERNMENT THAT WAY... CHECKS AND BALANCES ANYONE?

A break from politics

I know I'm not the only one who hears the phrase "what about socialization?" when it comes to homeschooling. Here's a little laugh from "Thou Shalt Laugh 2." (The show features clean comedy, which is a nice twist!)

Something to think about...

I came across this entry last night from an amazing woman, and asked if I could share it. I have it here in its entirety for your reading enjoyment (the bold statements are what I find especially important and/or thought provoking). Thanks Donna!

"I vote in caucus, primaries, and general elections etc. I do not vote in election media polls, on the phone, in the mail, through email, or on the street. My ballot is a private one and I feel media pols are a mockery of the election process. They encourage people to rely on the consensus of others rather than think for themselves. They also lead people to be less responsible citizens. Some people who are polled lie about who they’ll vote for. Others look at the polls and see that their candidate is doing well, then they fail to vote, thinking the other majority of those polled will do their work.

All Americans have access to mandatory 13 years of eight hours a day, 180+ days a year of school at the expense of the government, which is taken out of our taxes and taxed on businesses who pass this on in higher prices. You would think that in that gross amount of seat-time children could be taught our American process of selecting representatives. Somehow the important things like how to read, write, calculate, know world geography, understand the history of world governments, and the duties of citizenship, get bypassed for the more racy stuff like how to put a condom on a banana, someone has two mommies, some prince was married in a royal wedding to some other prince, and pseudo-science. We pay dearly for this as citizens. So we have paid a high price for this Emperor and His New clothes.

The NEA want carte blanche. They do not want parents/clients tampering with their pedagogical agenda. They are in desperate need of oversight and accountability to those they serve. I am not talking of standardized multiple guess tests. I am talking about rethinking the purposes of public offered education. In the financial times we are entering, we need to make sure that education is not being hijacked and watered down by every social agenda. We are cheating the children if we do not prepare them with basic knowledge that will prepare them for the responsibilities of adult life. We have to stop every special interest group from using school as a Trojan Horse to get their agenda planted in children’s minds. We have to stop using our educational dollars on educational fads. There is no excuse for low literacy and numeracy, and no excuse for not understanding our form of government. When children are properly prepared for adult life, are reared to have a good work ethic,
and understand the freedoms they enjoy, they will better prepared to keep them.

Some insane voting conversations:

Case 1.
I had a family member who prided herself on having voted for the winner in every election since she had reached her majority. We discussed what our voting responsibilities are,” Doctrine and Covenants 98:8 I, the Lord God, make you free, therefore ye are free indeed; and the law also maketh you free.
9 Nevertheless, when the wicked rule the people mourn.
10 Wherefore, honest men and wise men should be sought for diligently, and good men and wise men ye should observe to uphold; otherwise whatsoever is less than these cometh of evil.”
Our responsibility is not to just seek out the winner or the person we feel has the best chance to win. Nor is it to vote for the lesser of to evils. I am always intrigued by those who call voting for the unpopular by better candidate as throwing your vote away. When we do what God commands us to, His hands are bound. When we do not, we have no promise. We simply do not live up to our privileges.

Well, after our talk, she did not vote for the guy she thought would win. Funny, the one she voted for did win after all.

Case 2.
I was in the check out at Walmart. There was an unshaven guy with huge tattoos and wearing a tank top, in line behind me. All of the sudden he mentioned that if “they” would let him vote he would vote for Obama. OK, from what he said and by his appearance I surmised that he must be one of those men who had broken the law, and by the fact he was right there, he had done his time, but was disenfranchised as a voter the rest of his life. So, I asked him, “why?” Then he told me because it would be historic and he would be part of history! Of all the lame reasoning for voting for someone.
Every president is historical and deals with new challenges. In times like these our choice needs to based on sound principles, not on ridiculous reasons like being part of history.

Case 3.
When JFK became president I was in Kindergarten. I have heard that some people voted on him because he was young, others because he was good looking, others because he was a war hero, and others because of a beautiful wife. Again, how do any of those things qualify you to run a country?

I believe that we have this wonderful gift called freedom. We need to pray to understand just what that means. Then we need to do the work to keep it. Voting in a General election is only a fraction of what it takes. I believe that the gift of freedom is God given. I also believe that we will be held accountable for how we use this gift of voting and other freedoms."

The presdiential candidates and the military

My friend Kate brings up a good point (thanks Kate!) Would either candidate be better for the military? Tragically, while I have my reservations, I think that McCain wins this one too.

Nathan's been in the Air Force for 7 years now. Currently the AF is putting him through school to be an officer, and because of that we have 5 years to "pay off," which for all intents and purposes means that we are "lifers" or "married to the military." As such, I have an invested interest in job security and finances associated with the military profession. So, that being said, here are my thoughts on the matter:

The fact that Obama wants to bring the troops home is okay by me. I think for myself and most of the military spouse community, we actually don't like our other halves being deployed on a regular basis. Especially when we don't know exactly when they are coming home and there's a good possibility that they'll be shot at while there. Not fun. I don't know what the implications of a pull out will mean. I don't know that a time line is necessarily the best option. Unfortunately, I don't see how anyone can foresee the implications of doing so. Iraq may fall apart, we may get attacked for pulling out, I just don't know... I DO know that if we do pull out that the lives lost in Iraq have not been in vein. The soldiers who gave their lives did so while fulfilling the wishes of their Commander and Chief. I also know that we can't be the stewards of every nation. Of course I think we should do what we can to protect ourselves (I won't go so far as to say preempt everything, but we should protect our nation and our liberties... which are actually being destroyed by our own government.. ironic, okay, okay... that's a subject for a different day), and others, but we can't go guns blazing into a territory not ready to accept and sustain democracy. I think it's a great way of life, but they are used to living under dictatorships (I got this realization from a friend who has ties to Lebanon).

Anyway! So, I appreciate Obama's plan for this war, I think. HOWEVER, he laid out some specifics for his health care plan, and that WOULD NOT be good for the military. We have pretty rockin' health care. Honestly, I'd say health care is one of the top 3 reasons why we stick with the military. Can you imagine what'll happen to it if EVERYONE can by into the government insurance plan? If we end up embracing a type of universal health care, health care declines for everyone. Doctors lose their compensation, and as we've seen in other countries, that doesn't work out so well. So, if you like TriCare, then you don't like Obama.

The other thing he talked about was cutting useless spending in the military. So, he's not going so far as to say that he's cutting our budget, but I think this is probably his PC way of doing so. I'm sorry, but any organization that has a use or lose budget is going to "abuse the system," and quite honestly, it's out of necessity. Just like I have to use every penny of my church funds so I can get them again next year, the military doesn't get a pat on the back for being frugal. In order to have funds for the next quarter they literally have to blow their money on anything they can think of because they next quarter something may come up that would require their full budget, and they'd have less if they didn't use every penny allocated to them previously. The person who installs incentives for saving money will be the one who can better control the cash.

McCain makes me a little nervous. Like you've noticed, I'm not his biggest cheerleader, but I'm finding him to be the lesser of two evils. Due to his Vietnam experiences I'm both skeptical and encouraged. I wonder if he'll be able to accept "a loss" in Iraq. I don't know if he'll be able to walk away from the situation and be able to stay out of things if another bad reigme takes over once we leave. Will he be able to pull us completely out, or will we have Korea all over again for decades to come?

My hope is that between the two of them, McCain and Palin, that they'll be able to make the right choice for our nation. I'm all about learning from the past, but I don't think that this situation has a pretty ending since we didn't learn from Vietnam in the first place. So, hopefully they can handle that.

Where I think we're safer with him lies in the fact that he does have an invested interest in the military, and so does his running mate. Neither Palin or McCain will hurt the military, I'm almost positive of that. Historically, we've seen the Republican party grow the military, and the Democratic party shrink it... that's just one of those party line things that is expected. However, the Republicans this time around are personally involved with how the military is treated. While Obama is proud of his grandparents who helped in previous wars... even though his pride couldn't actually help him remember what campaign they served in... he doesn't have ties to things personally. McCain will want us to have a good life, and good retirements since he personally knows the sacrifice, and Palin has a son who's currently serving and isn't going to want to take away from him.

So, the two second recap:

Obama's Pros:
-He'll pull us out of Iraq (theoretically anyway)

Obama's Cons:
-His health care plan will destroy the benefits we have and flood the system giving sub-par care and longer wait times for procedures.
-His ideas to cut useless military spending is just another way of saying he's going to cut funding across the board.
-He doesn't have personal experience with the military, and thus is more likely to make decisions that will have an adverse effect on us, simply because he doesn't understand what the implications to our families will be.
-Has so many programs that he wants to install that are going to need MAJOR funding, and will probably use them as an excuse to pull more of our "useless" money. (Which kills me, the DOD has a school system too! We have kids that need money, I don't see how we're not an entity that needs funding.)

McCain's Cons:
-His experiences in Vietnam may prevent him from making unbiased decisions about our current, and possibly future, war situations.

McCain's Pros:
-He understands the military and the sacrifices we make (pay included).
-He won't try to pull our funding.
-The military flourishes under republican presidents.

So, these are my observations. You can take them or leave them like everything else I rant about, but as a military wife, I'm going to have to take my chances with McCain.

I can't believe I'm saying this...

Despite my feelings about McCain's campaign thus far, I think he's finally got me. I absolutely HATE his nit-picky nature, really, he turns me off when he opens his mouth (I mentioned to Nathan that I wished the ideas coming from McCain came out of Obama's mouth) What can you do?
When it comes right down to it the typical party stances came out tonight... Obama-big government, McCain-smaller government. The amount of money that needs to be used to implement the programs that both candidates are talking about it ridiculous, however, Obama's idea of government is so huge it's suffocating. I'm a little more confident in McCain's plans because of Sarah Palin. She stated in the VP debate that she cut the government of Alaska, and we all KNOW that would be a good thing on the federal level. The idea of universal health care wouldn't fly under McCain/Palin, and that's good. I think everyone deserves health care, but neither candidate really has a plan that works. We'll see where that goes.
What really pushed me over was talk about schools. Obama's plan is scary! I agree that college is important, but I think that Obama puts too much focus on it. I know it's not unusual to hear me say how poor I think public schools are, but his plan will make them worse. I don't think throwing money at them is going to make them better, and least we forget WHERE THE MONEY COMES FROM. That would come from you and me, and that would make us less able to send our kids to college. I don't know, it's pretty silly. Additionally, it takes parents rights away yet again. Government should not have this big of a role in our lives. We need to make the choice to stand up for our lives and our kids. We should have the choice of which schools our children go to. There should be competition that breeds better schools, not diffuse it... that creates lack standards. What good is school if you aren't motivated to be there? What good is a college education that doesn't have to be worked for?

Anyway, like I said, when it comes right down to it these candidates are saying nothing different then what makes a republican a republican and a democrat a democrat. While I don't specifically align myself with anyone, I do hold strongly to the notion that government is not supposed to dictate to us what is to be done.

"We the people....." THIS NATION WAS FOUNDED BY THE PEOPLE, FOR THE PEOPLE. (Doesn't anyone remember the phrase "Give me liberty or give me death.") GOVERNMENT SHOULD NOT BE GIVING MANDATES AND TAKING LARGE AMOUNTS OF TAX DOLLARS TO RUN GOVERNMENT PROGRAMS.

An interesting read for you would be "That which is seen and that which is not seen" by Frederic Bastiat. It's just a 40 page essay that you can find online or in book form with other essays. He talks about how some things look good at first glance, but gives you an idea of how things really are "things which are not seen." I have really enjoyed reading this essay because it gives me a broader perspective when I look at opportunities from within my home on out to the government. While we tend to think that eradicating certain positions (my mind thinks of all the bureaucracy nonsense we have in America), we think narrowly that we'd be putting these people out of jobs, so what then? He gives perspective on issues like this that are worth more then gold. He has a funny thought for you at the beginning of the piece that says something to the effect of "if it looks good, in the long run it probably isn't, and if it looks bad, in the long run it'll probably be good." Obviously he knows that this isn't always the case since he uses the word "probably," but it does give you something to think about.

Happy electing! Nov. 4th is just around the corner. I guess I'll be sending my ballot back in the next couple days. I'm not particularly thrilled about either candidate, but I can agree with "the Federalist" side of McCain. States need to decide for themselves. I also see some Libertarian tendencies in him... and that's okay with me too. Bob Barr would really have been my first choice, but now that I'm on a mission for anybody but Obama, you can tell where my vote goes.

McCain/Palin 2008. Let's elect them and then make sure we PRAY A LOT that they make the right decisions for our country.