Tea Party

I went out tonight to the meeting of the local Tea Party group. First, there were more people there than I expected, about 35. Most were in the 60-65 year old range, at my best guess. I think I was the youngest adult in the room, but as I didn't quiz everyone I'm not positive. :-) There was one gentleman there who I'm pretty sure was older than dirt. Everyone was very nice.

Tom Balantyne was speaking. He has written a couple of books, though I've not read them. The basic theme was Constitutional law and how it gets rather trampled on.

There is going to be a meet 'n' greet/rally/thing tomorrow at the state Capitol, Senator Pearce and Sheriff Joe are both speaking, plus various other representative types. Can't go, I have other things to do...plus, ew, going downtown on Friday afternoon.

I'll be going back to the meetings, though.

Socialism

OK, so I know lots of people of various political stripe, from all the way right to all the way left. No crazies in the current list, but have been there, done that.

I have questions regarding socialism. Now, I'm not a complete dunce on the subject, I have (as previously mentioned) a tendency to hit the library when I want to know stuff. I come home with armloads of books. Really.

I do see the basic appeal of socialism/Marxism/communism/whatever. Everyone is equal and has the same stuff and the same rights, etc.

HOWEVER - while it sounds good on paper, it doesn't implement well. Soviet Russia, anyone?

So somebody, anybody, explain to me this push by some very large groups to rid ourselves of capitalism and go to socialism. Really. Don't get all flame-y, just explain it to me.

Cuz from where I'm sitting I have two thoughts....

1) It sounds like jealousy. Because you rarely (not never, just rarely) have rich people standing up and saying "Yay, socialism is good!" and following it up by "redistributing" their own personal wealth. Mostly it's non-rich types, frequently college age people, who seem like they don't want to work toward their own wealth. They want someone else to hand it to them. Entitled much? Caveat: Yes, I know what I have just written does not describe EVERY socialist. Why the hell should I have to put a disclaimer? Nothing I write describes everyone. Sheesh, get a grip.

2) I forget where I read it or who said it, but there's a phrase that sticks in my head.... "Capitalism is the worst form of (financial structure? something like that), except for all the rest. What is so damn bad about capitalism? Yes, yes, some people take advantage and are horrid greedy bastards. Other than that?

I mean, sure, it would be nice to be handed a million bucks, but that's what playing the lottery is for.

Latest reading

I keep hoping that at some point this blog will get a little more...streamlined? Cohesive? Whatever the word is, I'm not quite there. All over the proverbial map, that's me. Now you understand the subheading up top there. This whole experience is giving you just a teensy peek into my brain and the constant whirlwind in there. I guess it shouldn't surprise me when I can't sleep.

Anyway, I read A TON. Almost literally. In 2008 I read a grand total of 110 books. People go a little bug-eyed when I tell them that, it's funny. If you will glance to the left side of this page, you'll see two book lists. One is my favorites and the other is books pertaining to the political, things I'm reading specifically to educate myself. Yes, it is weighted a little heavily right - that's where my information has been lacking. But there are several left leaning things on there as well.

Most recently is George W. Bush's "Decision Points". Not a complete autobio, by any means, it highlighted the major things that happened during his administration - there is a chapter on 9/11 and one on Katrina, plus several other things.

I've come to one hardcore conclusion....the media are mostly a bunch of lying bastards. Why does he have such a rep for being dumb? Is it because he deliberates before he runs his mouth? Or because he has a tendency to misspeak? Plenty of smart people have that problem - open their mouths and out comes gobbledegook.

He acknowledges in the book where he made mistakes - hi, being voted President doesn't make you infallible. He also points out plenty of times where the mistakes were NOT his, but he was blamed anyway.

Like the Katrina thing and the "slow response from the Federal gov't". He couldn't take over until the LA governor asked for Federal assistance, and she DIDN'T.

Etc. The ridiculousness of the media makes my brain hurt.

Still have a knee high stack of books to read. Sheesh, I need to get on 'em. Next up is Palin's newest....

Tucson

I live in Arizona. Phoenix metro, not Tucson. But this is still front row seats for the insanity.

For those who live under rocks and have missed it, Jared Loughner went to an event being held by Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords on Saturday and opened fire. He killed 6 people, including a federal judge and a 9-year-old girl. The Congresswoman was shot in the head and is still recuperating.

I don't think the EMTs even had everyone scooped up and off to the hospital before people were blaming Palin, Beck, O'Reilly, Limbaugh, the Tea Party, violent rhetoric, and 'this climate of hate'. Even the County Sheriff is in on it.

First of all, there has been no evidence whatsoever that he was politically motivated in any way, left, right, or middle.

Second, he's been obsessed with Gabby for years. A friend of his told the press that Jared went to another of her events and came back disillusioned because she didn't give a satisfactory answer to the crackheaded question he asked her. This was in 2007. Long before Palin's appearance in Aug of 2008. Her map of targeted districts involved a horrible coincidence and that is ALL.

Third, it would appear that the politics he espouses run from crazy left to crazy right, without any stop at "rational" in the middle. I've read (and if I'm wrong, please do correct me) that his favorite two books are 'The Communist Manifesto' and 'Mein Kampf'.

Fourth, I have a question. Y'all remember the guy that opened fire at Ft. Hood? The one shouting "Allah Akbar" while he shot at fellow soldiers? Yeah, him. Why, praytell, did everyone immediately start hollering "Don't judge! Don't jump to conclusions!" But this time, oh, it's right away the fault of the Tea Party, et al.

It's time I officially out myself. The more I read, the more I watch, the more I research, the more "Tea Party" starts to define me. If that makes you hate me, then so be it. I don't agree with the crackheads out there any more than you do.

I like Glenn Beck. I like Bill O'Reilly. I like Laura Ingraham. I even like Sarah Palin. Do I agree with everything they say? No.

And before anyone starts at me, yes, Beck is a little crazy. Doesn't make him wrong. Yes, O'Reilly interrupts people - when they try to avoid a question. What else you got?

So now there are many people calling for restriction of free speech, gun control, closing down Fox News, etc etc.

At the risk of sounding like an 8 year old...."No, you shut up!"

Quiz time!! Subject - Violent Rhetoric. I have some quotes for you. You see if you can tell me who said them. Hint: they are all from the same person.

"We will continue fighting."
"If they bring a knife, we will bring a gun."
"We're gonna punish our enemies."

What's your answer?

Beck? No.
O'Reilly? No.
Palin? No.

Obama. Yes, really. Yet the media isn't blaming him. And where are his statements about not jumping to conclusions that he was quick to jump in with after the Ft. Hood shooting?


Congresswoman Giffords is coming along nicely, last I heard. Breathing on her own and responding to doctors and moving her arms. I hope she continues to do so and regains full health. I further hope that she can move past this horrid event without blaming anyone but the single crackpot who pulled the trigger.

Absence makes the heart grow fonder

In which case, y'all should be loving me right about now. Been gone, baby, gone since just after the elections - obviously. First it was just overload, then the holiday craziness hit, plus I had bronchitis in there and stuff. Am back now and I'm planning on staying. So we'll see what happens.

My sis loaned me a stack of books today, including several on Reagan. She's a big fan of his, even named her daughter after him. Plus one on the Revolution and a couple of others. And my dad got a couple for Christmas that I've been waiting my turn on. So my incipient reading stack is rather tall just now. Knee high, at least.

Hm, current thoughts. I have none. The last week - well, 10 days, really - has been so busy that I have missed news and current events and everything. And I do NOT feel introspective just this second, even with it being a new year. Happy 2011, btw, hope it's a wonderful year all the way around.

Here's to new beginnings and better lives, yours as well as mine. I'll kick it off in the next day or so, after my brain shifts back to "normal", whatever that is.

See you soon - and stop drinking the champagne, sheesh.

Elections, etc.

OK, so I've been a little absent. I overloaded my brain and my circuits had to reset. Been reading Miss Manners instead of anything political for a bit.

So yesterday was midterm elections day, and if you didn't know that...have you been living under a rock or something? Sheesh. I can't say I'm sad that all the mud-slingy ads are gone. Ye gods, that got crazy.

As it stands, Republicans control the House, 239-185 at my last info. Democrats retained the Senate, 51 seats to 46. Most of the races, nationwide, were in the 55/45 kind of range. There were a few that were more like 60/40, but I can't think of any race that I saw results for that were a complete walk away.

Grayson in FL lost, for which thank goodness. He took mudslinging to a whole new level of "Lying Bastard". Angle in NV lost, which I kind of couldn't believe, but whatever. I don't have to live with Reid. Brown won in CA, and Boxer kept her seat.

But the huge Republican wave is just crazy! I have seen many blog and/or FB posts today that have been rather upset, ranging from sad to angry and everything in between. And I gotta say that I really don't get it. I don't get the name-calling and I don't get the assumption that "OMG Republicans won, women are going to lose the right to vote and blacks are going to be forced back into slavery and gays will be strung up on street corners!" Why?

And that's not entirely a rhetorical question. I really want to know why lefties label righties evil and scary. Some are, sure, the extreme ones. They don't speak for all. The same way the extreme lefties don't speak for all.

Here in AZ there was almost a Republican sweep. Brewer is still in as governor, McCain in the Senate. Ben Quayle won his Congressional bid. Am still waiting to see what's happening in Tucson, where Ruth McClung challenged the incumbent Raul Grijalva. He's held that seat for a long time but the last thing I saw had him ahead by only aboaut 3000 votes.

I'm hoping that all this shift will result in some good things happening. I know the left wants to blame Bush for...oh, everything, apparently, but wasn't the Congress in Democratic control since 2006? Surely they had something to do with it. Bush didn't have supreme power or anything, did he?

Anyway, I'm sure there are changes ahead. I think I'm going to back this blog up a bit, go through the Constitution one amendment at a time. Instead of flailing about. I'll get the hang of this eventually.

Islam - Required Reading

Well, I think so, anyway.

I'm still sticking rather to the shallow end of the swimming pool, but inching deeper.

I read these three books about a year ago, give or take. The author is Jean Sasson, writing for Princess "Sultana", who lives in Saudi Arabia. If the things she writes about do not hurt your brain and make you want to cry, I'm going to suspect you of not being human.

Also, I picked up "The Caged Virgin" by Ayaan Hirsi Ali at the library the other day. She was born in Somalia, lived in the Netherlands under a death threat, and is currently living in the US. She works for the emancipation of Muslim women and had this to say (in 2005) about Islamic reform which she feels is hugely necessary:

"I am optimistic, and I normally would have looked to the West for help in reforming Islam, from secular liberals, Westerners who are traditionally opposed to the enforcement of religious beliefs and customs. In certain countries, "left-wing," secular liberals have stimulated my critical thinking and that of other Muslims. But these same liberals in Western politics have the strange habit of blaming themselves for the ills of the world, while seeing the rest of the world as victims. To them, victims are to be pitied, and they lump together all pitiable and suppressed people, such as Muslims, and consider them good people who should be cherished and supported so that they can overcome their disadvantages. The adherents to the gospel of multiculturalism refuse to criticize people whom they see as victims. Some Western critics disapprove of United States policies and attitudes but do not criticize the Islamic world, just as, in the first part of the twentieth century, Western socialist apologists did not dare criticize the Soviet labor camps. Along the same lines, some Western intellectuals criticize Israel, but they will not criticize Palestine because Israel belongs to the West, which they consider fair game, but they feel sorry for the Palestinians, and for the Islamic world in general, which is not as powerful as the West. They are critical of the native white majority in Western countries but not of Islamic minorities. Criticism of the Islamic world, of Palestinians, and of Islamic minorities is regarded as Islamophobia and xenophobia.

I cannot emphasize enough how wrongheaded this is. Withholding criticism and ignoring differences are racism in its purest form. Yet these cultural experts fail to notice that, through their anxious avoidance of criticizing non-Western countries, they trap the people who represent these cultures in a state of backwardness. The experts may have the best of intentions, but as we all know, the road to hell is paved with good intentions."

I still have more to read. I was going to check out a copy of the Koran and read it, but chickened out due to OMG HUGE. I did find a book called "The Essential Koran" so am going to read that one.

Inching deeper, but still holding on to the side....