A Long but Good Article

Here is a link to a quite lengthy but very well written article explaining a lot about Barack Obama and his past connections as well as a lot of insight into what we see going on in America today. Some of it I knew, a lot of it I didn't. One thing that really disturbs me is how Obama has tried to lie and cover up his past connections. I would have a lot more respect for him if he would just be honest. But anyway, it's a good article if you are interested.

http://www.americanthinker.com/2008/09/barack_obama_and_the_strategy.html

"What Did I Do!"

I have been thinking a lot about some things I have been reading about abortion. When hearing people talk about abortion, most Pro Choice people discuss abortion as being a right that we shouldn't take a way from a woman. They talk about how it is her body and how dare anyone tell a woman what to do with her body. Well I have a lot of opinions about this point of view but i won't go into that now. But one thing I have been thinking about a lot is looking at a woman's right in another way.

No one ever talks about a woman's right to hear her choices. Many people talk about what a tough decision it is for woman to make when they are dealing with an unwanted pregnancy. And I have no doubt that many, many women do indeed regard this decision as being a tough one. But my fear is that the more we grow accustomed to abortion as a society. The more it is accepted. The more it is talked about as a right. The easier the decision becomes for young women. Not because they don't care about what they do but becuase it will become so commonplace and so accepted that they won't even think about what they are doing as being wrong. Many people believe that abortion is an easier choice than carrying a baby and giving it up for adoption. Many people make that argument. And in some ways it probably is "easier" if you want to look at in that way. With an abortion no one has to know you are pregnant. You don't have to see the baby before "giving the baby up". In the future you may not even have to tell your parents you are pregnant before getting an abortion because you won't need parental notification. It all sounds like it would be easier and many women probably make the decision that way. But my concern is for these women who do choose abortion because it is easier. My concern is for them and for that day that they wake up an realize what they did. With abortion it may not hit them right away. But one day most of them will wake up one day and say "what did I do?!", "why didn't anyone tell me I was killing my baby!". I have heard many many stories of women who had abortions and who now live their life in turmoil because of this decision that they made when they were younger. Many say their life is in some way ruined. They move on, they get married, they have children but not a day goes by that they don't regret their decision. I believe we need to fight for women's right's for this issue. I believe a woman has a right to know the truth about what they are doing. This is a right I am afraid, most people are just not talking about.

Integrity

Here is a video of an interview of John McCain yesterday.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHqKoeAlAfM

It has become so clear to me in recent days who has integrity in this election between Obama and McCain, and I will give you a clue, it doesn't start with an O. That's just my personal opinion I am sure that others may disagree. And believe I am not saying that McCain's campaign has been without blemish but the situation with the whole bailout mess has once again made clear to me the candidates true personas.

John McCain went back to DC after being asked by Harry Reid to give a decision on the finanical bailout. Reid said McCain needed to get the Republicans on board. So McCain came. The democrats then rushed and got a deal together to look like they already had decided on something before McCain got there, which they hadn't. They lied. Than McCain comes and he sees the plans first hand. He hears the fears of Republicans saying they are afraid to not vote for something becuase of waht will happen but they don't like what they see. John McCain told them they need to stand with convicition and they began to work. There are reports all over the place of people who were there and said the John McCain made a big difference in this decision. And John McCain won't take credit for it. The first thing Obama did was make fun of McCain for coming to DC and now he is telling everyone that McCain shouldn't get any credit for it. John McCain isn't even asking for credit. He is acting with integrity. Obama claims to be for the middle class and the "little people" of America and then he turns a crisis imvolving $700 billion dollars of our money into a ploy for political gain. That is despictable. Even Bill Clinton said that he knew John McCain wasn't using the economic crisis for political gain. McCain has shown time and time again, he won't back down on his conviction even if it means people disagreeing from him. I may not always agree on everything he stands for but I truly respect him for how time and time again he has remained standing when so many of us would have stooped down. I don't care who you vote for but we should all be inspired by John McCain's integrity. The only reason I can see that McCain shouldn't and may not win this election, he is too humble for his own political good.

Must See!

Here is an excellent video that someone put together regarding the economic crisis. It has references for all of the facts it presents. I think it really explains what really went on. I would encourage you to pass it on to any undecided voters you may know. I think it will help in making up their decision. It has some definite subjectivity but it does a good job at presenting the objective facts in a way that helps people to understand what led to this mess!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5tZc8oH--o

Must Read

Here are 2 must read articles that explain the timeline of the financial crisis. Since the mainstream media won't do their part, I'll do their job and get it out there for people to see. If you didn't believe me up until now, I think you will after reading these articles.

http://hotair.com/archives/2008/09/16/whose-policies-led-to-the-credit-crisis/

http://www.therant.us/staff/williams/2008/09192008.htm

Equality in the US?

I just watched a report from a financial expert explaining in a very fair way of how our country got into the financial mess we are in. I will try to find a clip of it but essentially what he said (in a much clearer, precise way) what i did in my "But the Economy" post. It started with Fannie and Freddie making bad loans, they got to big, and in 2003 and 2005 legislation was introduced by Republicans warning about this and saying it needed to be stopped. This legislation which experts all say could have stopped what is going on today was never passed because the democrats stopped it from passing. My question to Obama is " if you are such an expert at the economy and such a proponent of change, why didn't you step away from your party on this one and vote for this legislation?" What I wouldn't give to be able to ask him that question in front of the world.

There was a media expert on after this guy who talked about how mainstream media is not letting this story get out there. ABC has not even mentioned the names Fannie and Freddie one time during the reporting of this financial crisis!

It saddens me that in a country built on the principles of freedom and equality that you can't even get anything that resembles fair reporting unless you have cable tv. That is not how this country was founded. All I am asking is for the facts to be out on the table. Tell me the facts and let me decide. The problem I see is that many American's don't even know any better. They think they are getting fair information in order to make an informed vote. It looks like to me like our freedom and rights have already been taken away.

Good Quote

I found this quote about abortion and I thought it was really good at explaining my conviction on this as it relates to politics especially this election.


"When the time comes as it surely will, when we face that awesome moment, the final judgment, I’ve often thought, as Fulton Sheen wrote, that it is a terrible moment of loneliness. You have no advocates, you are there alone standing before God — and a terror will rip your soul like nothing you can imagine. But I really think that those in the pro-life movement will not be alone. I think there’ll be a chorus of voices that have never been heard in this world but are heard beautifully and clearly in the next world — and they will plead for everyone who has been in this movement. They will say to God, ‘Spare him, because he loved us,’ — and God will look at you and say not, ‘Did you succeed?’ but ‘Did you try?’" Congressman Henry Hyde

There is are Christian movements out there trying to get Christians to vote for Obama and the Democratic Party despite their views on abortion because they believe the Democrats will do the most good for peace and for the poor. There is actually a Political Action Committee that was formed by the person that helped John Kerry attract the "evangelical" vote in his campaign. I can't help but feel that this group is pandering to me as a Christian, hoping to win my vote by saying the "right" things. I know that there are people who are very passionate about these issues and that is guiding their politiical decision. I myself too am passionate about helping the "least of these". It is my call as a Christian to do this. I have a tremendous passion for helping orphans. My husband and I plan on adopting out of the foster care system. There are many out there who believe we need to focus on "social justice" in this election. But I believe from a govenmental standpoint the first thing we need to do is abolish the injustice of abortion just as we abolished the injustice of slavery. Back then people fought for that cause and they won. They didn't say it was good enough to reduce slavery by 60%. They fought until that number was 0. Why are Christians ready to give up the fight on abortion? This PAC group uses the verse in Matthew 25 to back up their stance about giving to the "least of these". Not that I don't agree with this verse about giving to the poor and the least of these but I disagree with the concept of trying to do this through government. And what about the "least of these" who never even get a chance at life. First of all that command was given to us as people not us as in the government. The government was not designed by God to do His work. We are called to be the hands and feet of Christ for a reason. It is not only to help the poor and the least of these financially it is also so that we can help them spiritually. Democrats typically give a lot less money to charity. Why? Probably because they believe the government should take care of everything. I disagree. I pay my taxes and I give to charity. Why? Because as a Christian I am called to be the hands and feet of Jesus in the world but I am also called to honor authority (i.e. government) by paying my taxes. I believe the government needs to be smaller to allow more room and freedom for the church to do what they do best, care for the needs of others. I agree that the church has failed in this. But I do not agree that we should as Christians be putting our energy into encouraging our government to follow the Christian principles that we as individuals are supposed to follow. I believe we should be working harder to do this as the Church.

I am not active in politics in order to try to get more government. I think we need less. The government needs to protect the lives of the people it governs and our government certainly is not doing that considering 1.21million babies were killed in 2006 alone by abortion http://www.abort73.com/. I will never waiver in my fight for the unborn. The way I see it is. No matter what happens and who gets elected, I can continue to do my job in helping the poor, both the financially and spiritually poor. But if abortion continues to be a law, there is nothing I can do about it. Sure I can volunteer at Crisis Pregnancy centers ( which I plan to do) and things like that but I can't really stop abortion. I can't change the law of abortion. I physically can't go out and stop someone from having an abortion but I can go out and physically give someone clothing, or food or a place to live. I may be able to reach some but if it is legal, there will always be abortions. Some Christian groups have worked on the Democratic platform which now says that they plan on reducing abortions by 60%. My first question is, how can you possibly say that? How can you make a number? Are you only going to allow 4 out of 10 women to have an abortion? No. It is also a part of the Democratic platform to pass the Freedom of Choice Act which will allow minors, to cross state lines to get abortions WITHOUT parental consent, and it will allow government to pay for abortions, among many other things. I can't support this stance. How are you going to lower the rate of abortions by making it even easier to have one and to allow government to pay for it? I don't care how much sex education you give this number is not going to go down if you make abortions easier. And just for the record Obama did vote for sex education to be extended to kindergartners. You can read about it here: http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/fulltext.asp?DocName=&SessionId=3&GA=93&DocTypeId=SB&DocNum=99&GAID=3&LegID=734&SpecSess=&SessionThis This is not the kind of change we need in America. And one thing that also bothers me about that act that Obama signed on to is that is crosses out any thing that may teach children that abstinence is the only 100% way to avoid pregnancy and STDS. Obama did an interview for Relevant magazine, a Christian Magazine in which he emphasizes the importance of teaching children about abstinence. Again, just words from Obama.

Some say well woman can't afford to have babies so they are "forced" to abort. No, they are not. Adoption pays for everything. Adoption is the answer that God created for this problem. He knew this would go on in this fallen world and He gave us a simple solution that we are ignoring, adoption. And by the way there are 2 million couples in the US waiting to adopt. That means all of the babies who were aborted last year could have been adopted and there still would have been couples out there still waiting to adopt. Who is out there speaking for us?

I will never back down in my fight for the unborn. And this november no matter what the outcome, I will vote with conviction knowing that I did my part to be an advocate for those who can't speak for themselves. And I will also fight for those 2 million couples who are still waiting to adopt. I know what a precious gift adoption is and I want each of those couples to be able to experience what our family has experienced.

And just as a disclaimer I am not trying to say that if you do support Obama that you are less of a Christian or less of a person or anything like that. I am just trying to make my point about my personal convictions. And get some information out that some may not be aware of. Some people may agree and some people may disagree and that's ok. We are all created differently and that's a good thing. I just want to get my perspective on this out there.

oh yeah and sorry this post turned into another long one. I had a lot to say but I'll work on it next time! Thanks for reading!

Less Words

One thing that really bothers me about Obama is his use of words without actions to back up his words. What bothers me even more is that people just listen to him without really questioning anything. Well I have been looking up voting records and statistics on him as well as listening to different speeches by him and I have caught times when he has out right lied. It's amazing to listen to his speech about abortion to Planned Parenthood and then read interviews about abortion that he has given to Christian magazines such as Relevant. He knows how to say what people want to hear. I know this is all a part of polititics to an extent but there are major contradictions to what he says. And let's not forget his words to his supporters in San Francisco about people in Pennsylvania, when he didn't know what he was being recorded. Those are the types of words that tell me who a person really is. What you say when you don't think you are on public stage is very telling.

I found an article that is really interesting regarding something Obama adamantly says he is for and McCain is against, equal pay for women. But this article takes a look at what each of them actually do. I'll let you read it but basically for every women on his staff they earn $.83 for every dollar a man makes and McCain pays his women staff $1.04 for every dollar a man makes. Actions speak louder than words.http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/378772_murdockonline12.html


I also found an interesting list of untruths told by Obama and evidence to prove why they are lies. I can't prove that this document is all completely accurate but have they good sources to back up their arguments. So you can take away what you want from it. I thought it was pretty interesting. http://savagepolitics.com/?page_id=326


I have realized that my posts have been rather long so in an attempt to moderate my time and directness, I am going to make an effort to make shorter but to the point posts.

But the Economy!

Don't worry I will get back to the topic of abortion but for now I will move on to another topic. A topic of great interest to everyone these days, the economy. One thing I find completely comical is the fact that according to the polls Obama appears to be benefiting from the economical meltdown. Why I think that's funny (well actually more like scary) is because all Obama has done it criticize what John McCain's said about the economy and the trickle down effects of Bush and that John McCain has been in the Senate for 26 years and watched this happen. No Obama, he didn't watch this happen he tried to help but YOU wouldn't listen to him. But we'll get back to that in a minute. First let's take a look at history. When in office Clinton repealed the Glass-Steagall Act which allowed creation of the subprime market and created no document loans all in an attempt to make home ownership a reality for more people of all races and all incomes. Sounds good in concept. But in reality this doesn't work. Now don't get me wrong I want everyone to have a chance at home ownership but making a way through the government to do this just doesn't work. The money has to come from somewhere and as we are finding out now, we (the US) doesn't have the money to buy houses for everyone. This was a socialistic type idea and as we should be learning from other countries and from history that socialism does not work (or at least not for long) . So back to the point Obama last week started claiming that it was a lack of regulations that caused this to happen and that's it's all John McCains fault because he called for deregulation. But in reality it was having the wrong regulations in place that caused this to happen. If we had "deregulated" those like John McCain wanted to than this whole mess wouldn't have happened. You see I think where Obama is confused is that he thinks all regulations work for good and John McCain doesn't want any regulations. That is not what John McCain is saying. You need to have the right kind of regulations in place in order to protect these things from happening. It's like laws if you have a million different laws, it's hard to enforce them all so laws get broken and people get hurt but if you have the right laws and less laws in place than it is easier to enforce. That's what John McCain and others are saying. So anyway back to the Clinton days, regulations were put into place that forced lending practices that lowered standards in order to allow people to "buy" homes regardless of whether or not they could afford it. Clinton came up with a plan that argued for "creative measures" to promote home ownership. Well he got what he wished for, lenders got creative. These regulations were put into place, not to protect us from questionable lending practices but instead to force them. That coupled with greed by ordinary people, Wall St and Washington led to housing market crisis. Ok now let's talk about Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the main culprits in this whole meltdown. I found a really good article discussing the history of Fannie and Freddie better than i could. http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1822766,00.html. Basically Fannie and Freddie had one leg in private sector, one leg in government. That is asking for corruption and corruption answered. Senator Obama was the 2nd largest recipient of money ( close to $200,000) from Fannie and Freddie in only 2 years in the Senate. And Senator Obama opposed legislation which was proposed in 2005 which was cosigned by John McCain that would have helped to prevent this current financial crisis from happening http://www.govtrack.us/congress/record.xpd?id=109-s20060525-16&bill=s109-190. I wonder why Obama and other democrats ( and some republicans) opposed this legislation warning that if something wasn't done it would create enormous financial ramifications? It couldn't possibly be because Obama and others had vested interest could it? Now don't get me wrong, I am not saying that the current administration is blameless when it comes to the current crisis. Bush tried to do somethings in 2003 as well but he wasn't forceful enough and so nothing was done. But what I am saying is that it has a lot more to do with Obama and the Democratic Party than he would ever admit to. And it shows me he doesn't have the judgement needed to run the economy of our country which was founded on free market principles.

First Things First

The issue that is of most importance to me and is the whole reason for me even delving into politics is abortion. So I'll go ahead and get that discussion out of the way ( although i am sure it will continue to come up). And don't be fooled I have a lot of other issues to bring up, but we'll start here.

The issue of abortion is something that touches me very deeply. I have always been Pro Life and I have always said that I will never vote for anyone other than someone who takes a Pro Life stance. This issue has taken on an even deeper meaning for me this past year. My experience going through infertility and adoption has put a whole new light on this issue for me in many ways. One obvious reason my experience further shaped my view on abortion is pretty obvious. As someone who deeply desired to become a mom, to have a baby and was told that natural conception was out of the question, I can tell you it is a heartbreaking, life changing experience. I will be transparent here and say that it was such a deep desire of mine to become a mom that when my husband and I found out that we wouldn't be able to conceive a child, I told God that I would rather die than not become a mom. God heard my cry and he answered me with a beautiful baby girl, a gift through adoption. And through our experience with adoption it gave me yet another perspective on the abortion issue. You see, often when I think about abortion, I think about my daughter. Why? you may ask. Because when women become pregnant with babies that they don't want and aren't going to keep they have 2 options abortion and adoption. I look at my daughter and think she was 2 letters away from not being here. I can't imagine this world without her. And i thank God that her birth mother chose to give her life, that abortion was never even a thought in her mind. But it deeply saddens me to think of all of those babies who are not here because of a choice that their mothers made for them. I saw a button once and it rang true, it said " I want your abortion". In other words those babies that women are aborting are deeply wanted. I have been blessed to have been given a baby through adoption but there are many couples out there who are still painfully waiting for the day that they too will become parents through the gift of adoption. There is so much emphasis on a woman's right to choose that shes doesn't want the baby she is carrying. My question is what's my choice?



But to take you away from my personal experience, let's discuss the issues at hand when it comes to abortion and this election. First of all, let me say that I have had Christian friends tell me that abortion is a trophy issue and have been encouraged that this election is about more than abortion. Well i agree there are a lot of important issues at hand in this election, but I challenge those who believe who abortion is a trophy issue to take a deeper and fair look at this election. I am not saying that you can't be a Christian who is Pro Life and still vote for Obama but what I am saying is, I think it is naive to think that your vote for Obama will not effect the status of abortion in our country. I just beg you to please, look at what your vote is going to mean for the issue of abortion. Let's take a little look at Obamas stances on abortion.

I am sure most people know by now where Obama stands on abortion rights. He says he doesn't like abortion yet is the most liberal senator and presidential candidate when it comes to abortion. When asked when he believes life begins, his answer is " it's above my paygrade". He voted against a bill, "The Born Alive Infants Protection Act", that would make sure medical care was provided to babies born from botched abortions and defends himself by saying that laws were already in place to protect these children, even though the whole reason for the bill was because of nurses testifying about babies who show signs of life being put into utility rooms to die alone. I am sorry I don't know how anybody, can defend a stance such as this. But if his past isn't enough to convince you let's look at what Obama promises to pass if elected president. One alarming act, The Freedom of Choice Act. I am not saying you shouldn't vote for Obama. Everyone is entitled to their opinion and their vote, but please make sure you know what you are voting for. This act which Liberal senators have been trying to pass for years now but has faced opposition would essentially remove any and all barriers and bans to abortion at the federal and state level. The goal of it is to essentially end the abortion debate for good and make abortion a FUNDAMENTAL RIGHT!. A You can look up more details here... http://www.aul.org/FOCAHe. This act would not only allow unrestricted access to abortion it would lift any bans currently in place for government funding for abortion. So yes, that means my taxes would pay for abortions.

I am realizing that this post is getting way too long. So I am going to leave the discussion here. i'll let you digest what I have said and I'll continue my discussion on this topic in later posts. But just something else to leave you with. If you don't believe me when I say Obama is going to pass this act. I'll let you hear it from him yourself.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pf0XIRZSTt8

Why politics?

Most people who know me know me don't think of me as someone who engages themselves in politics. And until this year, I would have said the same thing about myself. But this year some things happened that changed all of that. One thing that happened was I became a mom. My daughter is a beautiful and precious baby who was given to me not through birth, but through the gift of adoption. My daughter was born to an 18 year old young woman in Las Vegas. A young woman who got pregnant and knew she wasn't in a place to raise a child, but she desired to carry that child and to give her to a couple that couldn't have children of their own. The couple she chose to be this precious baby girl's parents are my husband and I. We got a chance to talk to her at length during our time spent with her and when asked if adoption was a hard decision for her to make she without hesitation answered, " not at all, I knew I couldn't kill her". Our journey though infertility and adoption has taught us a lot and has completely changed our views on life, and especially on children. Well you might be thinking, " that's great Jen, but what does this have to do with politics?". good question. That is the question I hope to answer through this blog. But to get the discussion started, it began with one statement made by a politician running for president this year, that statement is " If my daughters made a mistake, I wouldn't want them punished by a baby". His name is Barack Obama. And I don't think i need to explain why this statement infuriated me. But I didn't just let the statement make me mad and continue on my way. It made me want to see what type of person would make this kind of statement. And along the way I have found much more disturbing information out about him and what he stands for. I have been doing a lot of research and much to my surprise (and my husbands) I have become a sort of political junkie. I respect other people's views when it comes to politics. But I also decided that I have a voice too and I am choosing to get my voice out there. I don't know if anyone will listen to me or read my blog but it is something I feel that I need to do. I have come to realize that I need an outlet to vent my frustrations and share my point of view. So here it comes. My husband has also told me that he thinks I missed my calling to be a lawyer so I guess in some ways this is my way to see if he's right ( but don't worry I am not going to become a lawyer, a politician maybe, but not a lawyer).