reminder to 2010 USA freshmen in congress: why you were sent

At FOX nation, Sarah Palin sends a note to the Nov 2010 congressional freshman reminding them why they were elected:

"Republicans campaigned on a promise to rein in out-of-control government spending and to repeal and replace the massive, burdensome, and unwanted health care law President Obama and the Democrat Congress passed earlier this year in defiance of the will of the majority of the American people. These are promises that you must keep. Obamacare is a job-killer, a regulatory nightmare, and an enormous unfunded mandate. The American people don’t want it and we can’t afford it. We ask, with all due respect, that you remember your job will be to work to replace this legislation with real reform that relies on free market principles and patient-centered policies. The first step is, of course, to defund Obamacare.You’ve also got to be deadly serious about cutting the deficit. Despite what some would like us to believe, tax cuts didn’t get us into the mess we’re in. Government spending did. Tough decisions need to be made about reducing government spending. The longer we put them off, the worse it will get. We need to start by cutting non-essential spending. That includes stopping earmarks (because abuse of the earmark process created the “gateway-drug” that allowed backroom deals and bloated budgets), canceling all further spending on the failed Stimulus program, and rolling back non-discretionary spending to 2008 levels. You can do more, but this would be a good start.

In order to avert a fiscal disaster, we will also need to check the growth of spending on our entitlement programs. That will be a huge challenge, but it must be confronted head on. We must do it in a humane way that honors the government’s current commitments to our fellow Americans while also keeping faith with future generations. We cannot rob from our children and grandchildren’s tomorrow to pay for our unchecked spending today. Beyond that, we need to reform the way Congress conducts business in order to make it procedurally easier to cut spending than to increase it. We need to encourage zero-based budgeting practices in D.C. like the kind fiscally conservative mayors and governors utilize to balance their budgets and reduce unnecessary spending."

Are people still listening to Sarah? Well of course they are.  She speaks for many of Americans because she if one of us.  She is America.  We the people ... are also the undefeated. 

And no, we.the.people aren't the "extremists", we're the hostages... hostages of over spending by Democrats and their socialist policy implementation. THE "Democratic" OVER SPENDERS fully own this "crisis" and doom their own party because of it. But let's be completely accurate: it is NOT a "debt" crisis, it is a budget problem and an OVER SPENDING problem: sooooo, just STOP THE SPENDING!

Sarah knows all this and she is our warrior on the front lines battling for America. Patrick Adams describes why the Palin army is so strong:

"Palinistas are conditioned to be this way after how the mainstream media has treated her. They’re committed to the mantra that there will be no free shots. This also applies to those on the right. Those who attack Sarah Palin will feel the wrath of the Palin army not because her supporters are mean spirited like liberals or establishment types, but because her supporters know you can’t win a street fight by being nice."

I hope there is NO debt ceiling increase and predict dying Democrats are purged from political in 2012 and future elections.  Slowly but surely the center-right majority will prevail... After all, our side is called Right not Wrong.  Remember that, freshman... you ALL can be voted OUT, too.

some Idol-yc dancing music

TIME FOR SOME DANCING! Here are a few songs I like with "Idol" connections...
One of the judges:


Some italian boys visit American Idol:


and a talented Australian Idol contestant:


celebrate life.... with dance!

Lord Monckton to visit NZ in Aug after Australian speaking tour ends

from F.Swempson at AT

iOwnTheWorld and American Thinker reminds us about the (man made!) global warming hoax - we shouldn't forget about it...  F.Swempson at AT says:

"While Americans are rightfully focused on the unemployment situation and the debt limit negotiations, we've pretty much forgotten about global warming as an issue ever since Obama failed to pass his Cap & Trade bill. As a result, we're becoming complacent once again about the huge threat we face from the progressives' attempts to control the world's energy industry based on the greatest scientific hoax in human history. In reality, however, nothing's changed, as Obama is still imposing his will on us through the EPA's regulation of CO2.

This hoax still threatens our economy, while advancing the UN's "Agenda 21" in more ways than one. It's also the foundation of Obama's "green jobs" approach to the unemployment issue, since the very concept of "green jobs" is just as bogus as the idea of a "carbon footprint."

With Fox anchors and conservative bloggers arguing that those "green" jobs are simply far too few to fuel a strong recovery, the fact that they're based on junk science, and aren't economically viable on their own, gets little if any mention.

The truth is that CO2 is a beneficial trace gas that exists in such small quantities in our atmosphere, that the idea of it playing any significant role in determining our climate is simply silly. CO2 comprises less than half of 0.1% of our atmosphere, and only 4% of it comes from human activity. That's 16ppm, or 1 part in every 62,500 parts of our atmosphere. CO2 is plant food, and a key component in all life on earth. Plants need CO2 to grow and produce oxygen. They feed animals (including ourselves). Animals in turn consume oxygen and plant-based foods, and exhale CO2. Without CO2, nothing could be green!"

CARBON DIOXIDE IS NOT A "POLLUTANT" AND DOES NOT CAUSE WARMING!

In Australia, Lord Christopher Monckton recently debated Dr. Richard Denniss on climate change at the Australian National Press club:  did you hear about it?  JoNova links to the debate.  It is an hour, but it is quite good.

From Australian Andrew Bolt's blog, Bolt rates the National Press Club debate’s results as:
Lord Monckton - 10
Former Greens adviser Richard Denniss - 1
Journalists - 0.

From a commenter on Bolt's blog: "Monckton was a breath of fresh air to listen to. He certainly knows his subject and won hands down against that pathetic Government lacky. He put the reporters that asked stupid questions back in their box, and the last reporter to ask a question looked terrified. You can see now why the left is trying to stifle debate as their argument has too many holes as Monckton pointed out..."

NZ's Climate Conversation mentions Lord Monckton to visit NZ after his Australian speaking tour. That is very cool!  NZ has already enacted a carbon tax - its called the ETS.  Food and petrol prices have risen because of it.  Does NZ's ETS actually impact or help abate any man made global climate "warming"?  Nope.  Not one iota!  I sincerely hope NZ will LISTEN to Lord Monckton.

From Climate Realists:

Auckland- Thursday 4th August
10am-11.30am NewstalkZB with Leighton Smith
12.15pm -2pm Business lunch- Northern Club
Lunch with Lord Monckton

Global climate change is seen by many as the world's biggest threat. But is it real … or are we subjects to bureaucratically manipulated groupthink? How has the science behind climate change been formulated and communicated?

Leading climate change skeptic Viscount Christopher Monckton - hereditary British peer, journalist, businessman and entertaining public speaker - says:

• Global temperature change is well within natural historical cycles.
• The so-called spate of extreme weather is a myth: there were more cyclones in the 1800s than today.
• Consensus (of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [IPCC] scientists) does not make climate change true.
• If you choose your time-frame carefully you can make any trend look as if it is increasing or decreasing.
• Al Gore's movie 'An Inconvenient Truth' is riddled with inconvenient errors.

Lord Monckton will explain why carbon dioxide is beneficial to Earth and mankind, and is not a "pollutant", that emissions, mainly natural, cannot and will not adversely affect natural rises and falls in global temperature that have occurred through the centuries. Any attempts by humans to "control" the temperature of the Earth cannot succeed, and the imposition of charges such as our ETS tax are pain without any possible gain. After his address, Lord Monckton will welcome questions from the audience.

venue: The Northern Club, 19 Princes St, Auckland
time: 12.15 for 12.30 start
cost: Members $38.50 non-members $48.00 (includes a 2 course lunch with wine)
contact: non-members email info@climaterealists.org.nz to book

And have you heard Australia's prime minister's favorable rating has gone down to 26% ("nobody's  listening to Gillard any more") as she pushes her scheme to enact a carbon tax on Australian citizens? Time will tell if Australians will stand for this greenie-communist agenda...  C'mon ozzies, fight it!

Ryan summarizes debt problem & states lying to press isn't leadership

Lying to the press is not leadership!

Excellent summary of current debt problems by Rep. Paul Ryan (Wisconsin)... by the way the Cut, Cap and Balance bill PASSED in the House...

attn Chicago Palin fans: theater to show The Undefeated July 23rd

So how is Steve Bannon's film The Undefeated going?  It did very well on its opening weekend and is coming to more theaters across the USA - including Chicago.  Yes, there are MANY Palin fans in Chicago. 

The film is opening the eyes of those who don't know Sarah's record or believe the negative press spin.  Ben Howe is one, at Redstate, who says:

"Ultimately, I thought she was the type of political force that was going to be around, needed to be treaded on carefully, but would never have anything substantial to offer to the cause of conservatism other than rallying troops which I still believed was a valuable service.

I thought she hadn’t gotten a fair shake in the media, but I felt confident that I could see through the bias and that I understood who she was, what she had done and what my opinion would probably be about her going forward.

I was entirely incorrect."

"In short, the execution of this film is excellent.

But what had me and my wife blown away by the time it was over, was the avalanche of information and perspectives that had been hidden from us over the years. As I would like for you to listen to my interview with Steve, I will not get into the substance of what caused the change. I want you to hear it for yourself.

I pride myself on my ability to know when something is baloney, almost instinctively. On Sarah Palin, I was so incredibly hoodwinked that the one word that my wife and I agreed described how we felt after watching it, was shame. Yes of course invigoration, satisfaction and all the other things you experience when watching a good film, but about how we had handled our vetting of Mrs. Palin, shame was the word that best described it.

Shame for not bothering to look up her record. Shame for not reading her story. Shame for turning the channel when she came on the tv. Shame for not listening to people that we had a great deal of respect for like Andrew Breitbart, Tammy Bruce, Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity.

As Breitbart points out in the film, the greatest shame is that while this woman was savaged to degrees you may not even realize yet, some of us sat back and let it happen. For me to buy into the media template and not defend someone who’s only offense was being a conservative, is the absolute antithesis of what I stand for, and something that I shall never allow to happen again."

PALIN FANS IN CHICAGO?!?  COOOOL! ...maybe there is some hope Chicago isn't fully lost to communist-corruptocrats...

John Hayward at Human Events has a good recent column on why Sarah should run for potus:

"The leader who challenges that dark fantasy must have a great and inspirational belief in the strength and wisdom of the American people. Where the State has failed, free men and women will succeed. Where regulation has failed, enterprise will triumph. The rot of central planning will burn away in the light of private sector risk and investment. It shouldn’t have taken us decades to remember that politicians don’t know squat about running a business… but better late than never.

I want Palin to run because she gets all that, and doesn’t need stare into a mirror before TV interviews and remind herself to believe it. The people who look down their noses at her have an equally low opinion of the public they have failed so utterly. Worship of the State is all about submission. I don’t see anything coming out of the Left that I feel like submitting to any longer.

We the people of the United States stand on the verge of withdrawing our consent from a collapsing system that will curse us with its dying breath. That’s going to take guts. Sarah Palin honestly believes we can do it. So do I. The time for doubting ourselves is over."

Would you vote Sarah for potus if she runs? Will you see this film or get the DVD? Let me know what you think of it...

Less than 1 human hair's worth of Australian pollution a "huge" problem?

Gateway Bridge, Brisbane Australia

I receive the below analogy in an email.  Read and can you explain to me how do people still believe in AGW and think CO2 is a "huge problem"?  Can anyone explain it beyond it being just a religious belief of untruths promulgated by the UN?


"Read the following analogy and you will realize the insignificance of carbon dioxide as a weather controller.


Imagine 1 kilometer of Atmosphere and we want to get rid of the carbon pollution in it being created by human activity.


Let's go for a walk along this 1 Kilometer of Atmosphere together.


One Kilometer consists of 1000 Meters


The first 770 meters are Nitrogen.


The next 210 meters are Oxygen.


This Totals 980 meters of the 1 kilometer: 20 meters to go.


The next 10 meters are water vapor: 10 meters left.


9 meters of the remaining 10 are Argon: Just 1 more meter left.


Now a few different gases make up the first bit of this last meter.


Still looking for the Carbon Dioxide.


Well it makes up the last 38 centimeters of the kilometer.


97% of this is produced by Mother Nature itself.


Yes, It's natural.


Out of our journey of one kilometer, just 12 millimeters left.


Just over a centimeter - about half of one inch.


This is the approximate amount of carbon dioxide global human activity puts into the Worlds atmosphere.


Australia's portion of this 12 millimeters is .18 -  less than the thickness of a human hair. " 


Currently as in right NOW, Australia's prime minister is trying to convince her country the "pollution" of a human hair - say laid on a brand new 1 kilometer long bridge - is a "huge problem"...  Can you see how silly that is?  Can you see how silly it is to enact a carbon tax to combat the "huge problem" of a hair's width (less than) of "pollution" on a new kilometer long bridge?  


You can see the silliness... from across the world.  


Wake up Australia and say NO to a carbon tax. There is NO "huge problem" except for the leaders Australians are allowing to lead them around by the nose with their globalist lies with no other purpose than to extract more money from hard working tax paying citizens.

JUST 1 STRAND OF HAIR IS NOT "POLLUTION" AUSTRALIA !!

digging Chicks On The Right

Ran across a cool blog today called "Chicks on the Right".  A verrrrry cool blog. They say:

"Here’s a news flash for all the liberals out there – Not all conservatives listen to country music and pack heat. Not all of us have rebel flags in the back of our Ford F150s. Not all of us are crazed religious freaks who will chase after you with our bibles. And, not all of us are old, gray-haired white men in suits. Nor are we just 20-something WASPs with trust funds. Some of us are stiletto-and-Sephora-wearing, hardworking chicks who juggle families, careers, and some semblance of a social life. We appreciate traditional family values, but don’t mind a great dirty joke. We like men who hold the door open for us, and don’t FLIP THE FREAK OUT if they sneak a peek as we’re walking by. We embrace our own feminism, and leave the bra-burning and hairy armpits to the Gloria Steinem-ites. We love our country, and we adore our husbands and kids. We believe that America is not only just exceptional, but that it is simply the most kickass country that ever existed. And we don’t hate government. We just want it to be limited. We believe in a healthy respect for government, in fact, but in turn, we believe that government should understand that it receives its power from us. The people.

Oh yeah – and that healthy respect for government? That doesn’t mean we can’t mock it. We believe, actually, in the power of laughter and mockery to keep us grounded when the people in power threaten our sanity on a daily basis with their ridiculous shenanigans (and yes, Nancy Pelosi, we mean you.) We’ve noticed the demise of foundational values in this country – values such as hard work, personal responsibility, and the capitalist notion of less government interference. With the dawn of the Millenial-generation’s “everyone-including-my-country- owes-me” mentality and the media-driven deification of Obama in the last Presidential election, we started speaking out more and more about the looming socialist ideology that faced us – the “Harrison Bergeronification” of our country, if you will. And we couldn’t believe the backlash we received as a result. Apparently, people get really sensitive when you criticize liberal ideology. People become quite vicious, in fact, in their debates about various political figures, goings-on in Washington, and even good old American values as obvious as honoring the American flag. It was after a few of these lively discussions that we decided we needed to start a new site – one where we could freely mock and poke fun at the political process and all of its related people and parts, but also appeal to others like us – conservative, cool, and totally together women of today (and the men who love them) who just don’t buy into the media-espoused liberal philosophy that bigger government is the answer to every problem."

RIGHT ON LADIES!
I AM TOTALLY RIGHT THERE WITH YOU!
Loooove your blog!

Below is a clip from one of their postings (and has been posted around the blogs).
Go Rep. Mack in FL, you rock it buddy! More like Mack please!  :)

SAY NO to "smart meters" or say yes to facism

 

What is a "smart meter" you ask? Trevor Loudon explains:

 

"In the name of reducing energy costs, the (USA Federal) government wants to replace all meters with these creepy Smart Meters. The meters will cause energy bills to ‘necessarily skyrocket’ (wait, where have I heard that before?) and have a whole set of nifty nasty side effects such as failing systems and the opening of your personal information to hackers. The Feds are spending a ton of money on this conversion process and ask yourself, why is that? It’s obviously not to save money as the costs are astronomical. It’s also not to save the environment as it virtually does nothing to help it. But it does give government control over you – when and for how long to shut down your power, how much you have to pay for said power, usage monitoring, etc. This is all being done in part to catch the smallest of entrepreneurs who work from home to force them to get business licenses and submit to oversight by the government, with the added bennie of forcing many of them out of business. This is the Progressive groundwork to drastically raise the cost of energy, raise taxes and fees and to box Americans in, corralling them with judgments over their income, credit ratings, habits, etc. It’s a Marxist’s dream come true and the ultimate nightmare for freedom-loving Americans. How do you like Obama now America? Time for a do-over in 2012 – if we get that far."

 

What "Smart meters" do:

 

• They individually identify electrical devices inside the home and record when they are operated causing invasion of privacy.
• They monitor household activity and occupancy in violation of rights and domestic security.
• They transmit wireless signals which may be intercepted by unauthorized and unknown parties. Those signals can be used to monitor behavior and occupancy and they can be used by criminals to aid criminal activity against the occupants.
• Data about occupant’s daily habits and activities are collected, recorded and stored in permanent databases which are accessed by parties not authorized or invited to know and share that private data.
• Those with access to the smart meter databases can review a permanent history of household activities complete with calendar and time-of-day metrics to gain a highly invasive and detailed view of the lives of the occupants.
• Those databases may be shared with, or fall into the hands of criminals, blackmailers, law enforcement, private hackers of wireless transmissions, power company employees, and other unidentified parties who may act against the interests of the occupants under metered surveillance.
• “Smart Meters” are, by definition, surveillance devices which violate Federal and State wiretapping laws by recording and storing databases of private and personal activities and behaviors without the consent or knowledge of those people who are monitored.
• It is possible for example, with analysis of certain “Smart Meter” data, for unauthorized and distant parties to determine medical conditions, sexual activities, physical locations of persons within the home, vacancy patterns and personal information and habits of the occupants.

spoofin' the failed Gaza "peace" flotilla with fun fun fun & guns guns guns

Raw truth of Palin offered in "The Undefeated"

"The Undefeated" will be at theaters July 15, 2011. 

So, why should anyone see it?  Rob Cunningham at AT suggests:

"The simple clarity and raw truth offered in "The Undefeated" stands at the ready to educate tens of millions of citizens, perhaps influencing an entire generation of voters. This documentary deeply connects, on both an intellectual and emotional level, and stirs one's very soul. This film brilliantly serves as a modern-day case study, and clearly illustrates how our agenda-driven news media, entertainment industry and political power brokers brazenly operate, in plain view and with cold-blooded intentionality, in a tireless attempt to destroy a very decent fellow citizen. When presented with basic facts, Americans will recoil in disgust.

If principled republicans, tea-partiers and libertarians choose to no longer remain silent, misinformed or "neutral" while one of our strongest and most influential "movement conservatives" is repeatedly and falsely attacked, we will empower every single person and candidate within our movement.

If, as members of the modern grass roots movement, we individually or collectively fail to mount an informed and honorable public defense of one of our generation's most influential, ethical and popular figures, then I submit we are surrendered our courage. What message are we communicating to our neighbors and children if we stand by in silence as one of our most courageous, honorable and accomplished leader receives regular virtual stonings from our friends, family and media?

Sarah Palin brings positive energy, enormous influence and massive financial support to the entire conservative movement and all advocates of limited government. Regardless of her ultimate decision to run in 2012 or not to run, each person in America that holds a sense of fairness and appreciation for truth, should personally commit to seeing the upcoming movie "The Undefeated." Viewers will become more informed and perhaps even more appreciative of our movement's most prolific ambassador, recruiter and advocate."

Breitbart's Bob Parker interviews a Regretful O Voter

Bob Park interviews Jodi Carroll here.  She is a "regretful Obama voter" and says:
"Before, I didn’t really know subjects all that deeply, so being misled by the mainstream media was easy.

I didn’t start turning toward conservatives until I started turning away from liberals, realizing they were so dishonest. Once I started to really research more facts, I realized that, all this time, conservatives were the ones who were more honest and more educated about the facts. As I said earlier, it was really a political tsunami for me, it was painful and hard to go through. It is hard to believe that all the while you believed you were intelligent, yet allowed yourself to be grossly misled.

Now, I check all the facts, myself. And as I do, I generally find that conservatives are bringing the real facts and realities to the table..."

Only technically from Chicago



Baha'i Temple, Wilmette IL

The hospital where I was born was in the Chicago city limits so technically I am from there, but I really did not grow up as a Chicagoan.  As Chicago politicians continue to mug her, rape her and drag her into the political sewer and down the gurgler - with enthusiast Communist-embracing Chicago voters choosing their captors and their own ruin - I feel embarrassed and sad for Chicago.  But I grew up in a priveleged home - outside of Chicago - in an upper middle class suburb with hard working parents who expected excellence from their kids. Do I have a right to complain about idiocy and apathy of many average Chicagoans?  Maybe not... because I am definitely not one of them.

Most of my childhood was spent growing up in a northern suburb called Wilmette, Illinois.  It is a beautiful area and I am very lucky to have lived there.  It was my parents choice to move there when I was about 5 years old.  When I was first born (adopted), they lived in an apartment in Rogers Park.  (yes, technically in Chicago). Yet, when I was around 2, we escapted the city limits along with my newborn sister (also adopted) as we moved up to a farm in Woodstock, Illinois.  Unfortunately, my mom calls this the loneliest time of her life. She grew up in Chicago in a huge family of 9 kids so she was basically a city kid.  All her friends were from northern Chicago and north, northwest suburbs of Chicago.

For me, however, I  have very happy and fun memories from age 3-5 and life on the farm. We had lifestyle farm with a couple of horses, a barn and some acreage which my dad must have rented out to let the neighbor grow corn. My dad commuted every day into Chicago and my mom watched us kids.  My 2 1/2 year old sister and I (age 4) played in the lush green cornfields, a swingset play area and explored, frolicked in the trees and property close to our house. One of our horses (a pony?) was apparently very old.  His name was Tom Thumb and he liked to poop near our swing set slide.  I remember going down that slide jumping over a fresh manure pile at the end of the slide laughing all the way. I attended a country kindergarten just down the road for a couple months. A little school bus picked me up at the bottom of our long driveway.  I remember my mom, or my Aunt Win, walking me up and down the long driveway which was alongside a graveyard.  There were grapes growing on the fence which we could pick and eat.  There was a big, scraggly looking tree at the top of our driveway and during thunderstorms, when lightening flashed, this big old tree looked very scary with no leaves.  It looked like a huge scary man with long white arms waving, extended and screaming. There sure were lots of scary thunderstorms at that farm on the top of a hill in our cute little country house.

I remember our hard working Polish farming neighbors.  The mother was older, like a grandmother and she was an excellent cook.  I don't remember all the food just that it was all yummy.  She would chop up potatoes into little tiny squares and fry them with minced onions until brown, crispy and tasty.  I also remember she spoke with an accent, she was a larger sized lady with a loud laugh and a mole on her chin with wisps of hair coming out of it.  I suppose she looked a bit like the evil witch in the snow white cartoons, but I remember she baby-sat for us sometimes and she was a lovely, kind and generous woman.

I loved the few years of childhood on a farm and later in life when I bought a home in Wonder Lake, Illinois I realized I was only about 2 miles from that little farm.  I loved driving by the farm driveway when heading to the Woodstock morning train to commute into downtown Chicago.  I think my dad really loved our little house in Wonder Lake, too.  When I first bought that house, my dad drove up to check it out and we drove up that long driveway to visit our old farmhouse.  Noone was home so we just took a quick look at the property from the top of the hill, turned around and went back down the driveway.  I'm sure some other family is making some happy memories living there.  I learned to be a country girl on the farm.

At age 5, my mother probably convinced my dad our kids education was important and my parents sought a suburban lifestyle with great schools.  Wilmette was their choice. 

I went to Harper Elementary School for 1/2 of kindergarten (age 5) and up to 5th grade (age 10). I went to Howard Junior High School for grades 6-8 then on to New Trier East High school for grades 9-12 (freshman, sophomore, junior, senior).

When I graduated NTE in 1981 there were some 800+ kids just my age. A huge school, New Trier is known for academic excellence where most kids go on to universities across America. We took skills tests like "SATs" and met with counsellors to gauge what type of college degree we wanted to pursue. I took all the pre-requisites like math, english, economics and science.  I loved Phsyics, Chemistry and Biology. New Trier had all sorts of sports, music programs and after school clubs.  My dad bought me a beautiful flute and I was in the school orchestra. There were spring and autumn formal school dances junior and senior year.  I had all sorts of short term boyfriends and went to several dances sporting full length gowns my mom sewed for me.  I had a long, black velvet for one dance and a long, brown velvet for another.  She made me a full length white eyelet gown with lilac underneath for a spring dance and another full length shimmery pink, strapless one for a summer ball.  What fun I had 1976-1981 at NTE.  I attended the 5 year and 10 year NTE reunions and in October I hope to attend their 30 year reunion.  (whoa, time has flown by...)

So why all this description?  My parents were hard sucessful and working providing a beautiful, wonderous and safe life for me.  Was I entitled to it?  No.  They gave me a great life because that was what they wanted for us.  I did chores around the house and got an allowance.  I learned the value of a buck.  I started baby sitting at age 13 then at age 16 had my first big summer job as runner at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.  I worked for a company owned by the man I had baby sat his kids for at age 13.  I learned I really loved working full time and getting a paycheck - money of my own!  It was awesome...  No, I didn't have to pay rent as a teenager but when I lived at home for a couple years 21-23 I did pay rent and bought my own car, insurance, phone line and food even though I still live at my parents house. 

I finally left the home nest at age 23 - what a golden nest it was - but I still had to fly.  I learned to live on my own, frugally paying rent all my own expenses while I worked full time.  In this regard I suppose I am a bit like many Chicagoans who work hard to provide for their own families.  My parents still helped me a bit while I was in my 20s but I became a self sufficient adult who worked full time and paid my own way in life.  I made choices, made sure my credit was good, rented various apartments and finally saved up for 10 years before I had enough for a decent deposit for my own home. 

So this is just a bit of my life story ... and how I was not a typical Chicagoan.  I was a country, suburban girl who just happened to be born at a Chicago hospital and worked for 20 years in the Chicago loop.  I am not entitled.  I make my own life happen and I am responsible for my own happiness.  I am not sitting around waiting for welfare or voting for communist policies like many in Chicago are still blindly doing.  We left Illinois in 2007 and unless things get turned around by the next few Republican or T.E.A. party presidents... we won't live there again.  Good luck Chicago...  I am from Wilmette.

Baha'i arial shot ... and the Wilmette Park District

Tsunami alert for Auckland 1 hour from now

As I post this, there is a Tsunami warning for Auckland in 1 hour... its 8:40am and waves are to hit Auckland around 10am...  I'm at work (shhh) and we aren't very close to the city...  I'll keep you posted if anything happens!  Hopefully its nadda...  in fact, I predict nuttin' will happen...

More at the official warning site: NZ Civil Defense

2012 a time for choosing

President Ronald Reagan's speech is completely still relevant today. Please listen, if you haven't heard it before, to learn the path patriots are still on today. The communists who have infiltrated Washington must be fully expunged. Period.

the meaning of Independence

happy 235th birthday America... what does Independence mean?  From Michele Malkin:

"IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, –That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.–Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world."

Impromptu Palin in Pella from Iowans4Palin

From Iowans 4 Palin: an impromptu Palin speech after the viewing of "The Undefeated" last week in Pella, Iowa... she is inspiring and doesn't even need a teleprompter...

winter garden July 2011

Middle of winter here in NZ... we had the shortest day a week or so ago, so we're heading towards spring now... Since there aren't any homes with furnaces (no natural gas pipelines), people make do with wood burning stoves, electric blankets, wall or plug in stand alone heaters ... and drinking lots of hot tea. I watched TV for a bit yesterday afternoon on my day off, had the fire going and a small heater pointed towards me... the dog layed down in front of the heater. I worried for 2 seconds her fur might catch fire, but she wasn't actually touching it. She wears a little coat, does it help? Here are a few shots of the plants in my yard which are still lovely and flowering. 2 more months of cool weather to go, but I'm ready for spring...