Unmask the man

The following was written by my nephew, a sophomore in college, after he heard the aunts and uncles talking politics this weekend:

So I Googled Gadaffi because you guys were talking about how he's a big supporter of Obama and this is what I found:

Gaddafi based his new regime on a blend of Arab nationalism, aspects of the welfare state, and what Gaddafi termed "direct, popular democracy". He called this system "Islamic socialism", and, while he permitted private control over small companies, the government controlled the larger ones. Welfare, "liberation", and education were emphasized. He also imposed a system of Islamic morals, outlawing alcohol and gambling. Like previous revolutionary figures of the 20th century such as Mao and his Little Red Book, Gaddafi outlined his political philosophy in his "Green Book" to reinforce the ideals of this socialist-Islamic state and published in three volumes between 1975 and 1979.

So don't be surprised if Obama comes out with a "Little Blue Book" soon. Just thought it was interesting... ADIOS!

As was said in the post below, Obama needs to be unmasked as soon as possible, before he does so much damage that we'll never be able to recover.

"Unmask the man"

I absolutely agree with this Hillsdale College professor (h/t Instapundit).

If we are to comprehend what is going on, we must pay close attention not only to what Obama says but to what he conveys in other ways. His tone is nearly always moderate but what he hints at and what he intimates by way of body language often convey the opposite. Witness his warm embrace of Hugo Chavez. Behind the thin veneer of politeness, there is, I suspect, something ugly lurking. In the first of the autobiographies that he claims to have written, Barack Obama frequently speaks of himself as being in the grips of rage. We would do well to take him at his word. If we are to stop him from doing great damage to this country and to our friends and allies, we must take every opportunity that comes our way to unmask the man.

Go, read it all.

A July dinner

Today, browsing through drafts of posts that I just never got around to publishing, I found this one about the dinner we had on July 24th. Yes, it was so good that it deserved a post of its own. To wit:

• Grilled salmon fillets basted with honey-mustard-dill, garnished with fresh dill from the herb garden;
• Fresh cubed cantaloupe;
• Steamed asparagus with butter and lemon-pepper;
• My famous coleslaw made with cabbage from the garden (yes, those cute little cabbages in the photo above).

I need to remind myself of those awesome dinners once in awhile, because most days, I fall into a culinary rut.

That's it. Just thought y'all might want to know. :)

Today's March in DC

Estimates are that literally hundreds of thousands gathered today for the Tea Party in DC; the Daily Mail says up to two million. As saith the Instapundit, even at half that, it's huge, and impressive.

And of course, mainstream media -- the drive-bys, Obamedia, whatever you want to call 'em -- they'll ignore it. Completely.

Bless their hearts.

And I mean that in the most Southern way.

And now - I have to share a few things, for those few dear friends and relatives who stop by here (I know who you are, and I love it that you take the time to drop by to see if I've posted anything.)

• We've been making fresh salsa for the last month, ever since we bought one of these awesome gadgets at the State Fair. We've been using our own garden tomatoes, red onion, a little jalapeno or serrano, a glove of garlic, some cilantro and lime juice. Oh my gosh, it's good stuff. How will we ever go back to store-bought salsa?
• We've had a kid eruption in the neighborhood. Suddenly, this summer, about a dozen or more kids came out of the woodwork. Finally, after all these years, my kids were spending all day outside, coming in for dinner, and begging to go back out again until dark -- just like the old days of my husband's childhood. They rode bikes, played on the swing set, played tag. At night they played ghosts-in-the-graveyard and some new game called Bloody Murder. (Lovely, I know. But harmless.) Where'd they all come from? Well, some news kids moved in, and some of the already-here kids grew up just enough to join the gang. It's been fantastic.
• This was my summer of organizing. Every single room, including the garage and every closet, was taken apart, cleaned, decluttered, and re-organized. It is truly a thing of beauty. Unfortunately, it probably won't be a joy forever, as things always tend toward disorder. Especially with six people in the house.
  

Now, back to relaxing on the patio. We polished off the salsa; the youngest two are on the swing set; the husband and I are enjoying a cocktail while listening to the White Sox game. Life is good.

UPDATE: Just found this photo set at National Review... fanfastic! Oh, and one last comment: I saw a report on CNN today, after the rally, and noticed how completely clean the site was. No trash, no litter ... unlike after every single lefty protest, anywhere, anytime. Hmmm.

Eight years later

Hard to believe it's really been eight years. This morning I went down to the basement and dug out the old Chicago Tribunes we saved from September 2001; we had a little review of modern history around breakfast table. The kids were all so young then that they really don't remember too much about it. Interestingly, the Anchoress says that most young people don't really want to dwell on it; that's understandable.

I still remember the shock, fear, and deep sorrow I felt that morning. I also remember how I tried to protect the kids from the worst of it by having the TV off during our school morning, but running upstairs to check a different TV every so often. A second plane hit; then a tower fell; then a third plane hit the Pentagon; then rumors of more planes flying toward targets. Then, Flight 93 crashing into Pennsylvania ground. Even now, I'm not sure I have the chronology right; it's a blur of terror and shock. I know the north tower was hit first, but the south tower fell first; there were a few things I committed to memory because I wanted to always remember some specific, hard, facts about the day.

The uncertainty was terrible: how bad would this be? What more was planned? How many would die, and when would this attack end? I thought about a good friend who was a flight attendant for United; she was flying that day, as it turned out, and ended up being grounded on the east coast for several days, until they finally started flying planes again.

I still remember the heroes of Flight 93: I vowed never to forget their names. Todd Beamer. Jeremy Glick. Thomas Burnett. Mark Bingham. Here's a site with a timeline of the revolt by the passengers as they bravely stopped the hijackers from crashing the jet into the White House or Congress.

And tonight, I found this site with a story I've only just begun to read; it's hard to remember everything that happened that day, but at the same time, it's so very important to remember.

About Ted Kennedy

(Note: I drafted this post on August 30th, but didn't get around to publishing it till now. Maybe it's just as well, since President Obama once again reverenced the late Senator Kennedy in his speech last night. We cannot forget what this says about us.)

Mark Steyn said it all so well.

Like Steyn, I also have been thinking: what kind of nation reveres a man who did what Ted Kennedy did in 1969? What kind of state would elect and re-elect, over and over again, a man who was capable of doing what Ted Kennedy did to Mary Jo Kopechne?

Not to mention what he did to his first wife, Joan. Her life was ruined by Ted Kennedy just as surely as was Mary Jo Kopechne's, though obviously in a very different way. According to reports, Joan began drinking heavily after Teddy started womanizing, which he did, brazenly, publicly, and incessantly, for all their married life. She quickly descended into full-blown alcoholism, and is now brain-addled, permanently disabled, from the years of drinking. It's a heart-breaking story.

I spent a lot of time on my knees yesterday; my original intent was just to wash the kitchen floor, but I did end up using that time to pray a lot as well. I prayed for Joan Kennedy. I prayed for all the victims of abortion who lost their lives in part because Kennedy, vocally and fervently, pushed for the "right" for women to kill their unborn children. I prayed for Mary Jo. Those last minutes - hours? -- are too horrible to think about.

But more horrible, perhaps, is that this country allowed Ted Kennedy to get away with it, that he was considered a "great" man, that he was given a huge, public, Catholic funeral.

This says terrible things about us. Yes, I hope God was merciful to Kennedy; we all are obligated to pray that everyone is forgiven. And yes, I will pray for him. But I also will pray for his many victims -- and for all of us.

The Honorable Herb Kohl and me

Last Wednesday, a friend and I exercised our First Amendment rights: we peacefully assembled outside the Marquette University law school where Senator Herb Kohl (D-WI) was scheduled to speak on health care.

We stood on the public sidewalk with a few homemade pro-life signs as people walked by; many said, "Good for you!", or "I'm with you" as they passed. Most just averted their eyes or ignored us.

Including the illustrious senator himself. The Honorable Herb Kohl walked right past us on the sidewalk -- not three feet in front of me -- and when I recognized him, I called out in a friendly (and somewhat surprised) voice, "Senator Kohl!"

I thought maybe he'd turn, perhaps wave, acknowledge our presence, maybe see our signs, and perhaps even spare 10 seconds for me to say, "Please don't support any health care bill that covers abortion with public money."

But no.

He and his entourage kept on walking.

So, I called out again, "Senator Kohl!" He was only about 10 feet away but, amazingly, he and all his party just couldn't seem to hear me.

Finally, as he was about 15 feet away, ready to walk into the building, I called out one last time, "Senator Kohl!" He continued to ignore me. So as he stepped inside, I called out, "We the people!"

Now, I have to laugh at myself ("We the people"?!?) but I was just trying to express my utter frustration at his elitist behavior and his boorish refusal to acknowledge the existence of a few of his constituents, who'd taken time from their busy days to show up where he was speaking.

Imagine the irony: during the talk inside the law school, the Honorable Senator lectured the audience on the need for civility in our debates.

Imagine that. The oh-so-Honorable Herb Kohl, telling people to be civil, when he couldn't even be bothered to respond to a citizen who recognized him and greeted him on a public sidewalk.

It is most definitely time to throw the bums out.

Sorry if that's not civil enough for you, Senator Kohl.

Another great townhall meeting

Had I more time this morning, I'd update this blog with my latest political activities... but alas, we are having company over this evening, I had the carpets steam cleaned yesterday so I have to move everything back into place, then do some cleaning, hit the farmers market, go to the post office, do the grocery shopping, do the laundry, and start cooking. A little busy.

One of these days, I will update this blog, if for no other reason than that a promise is hanging over my head. After the election, one of my best friends and I talked about "what do we do now?" I said I'd think it over and post something.

Well, I thought it over, and I've been doing a whole bunch of things... and I know she is, too... but I haven't had any time to blog about it.

One of these days...