Happy Halloween, and other stuff...

OK, mostly other stuff. All right, this post has nothing to do with Halloween! Stop badgering me already!

So, to go along with my last post, I thought you all might be interested in this. John Kline is a congressman from Minnesota who has made a commitment to avoid earmarks in legislative bills. He hasn't accepted one in 2 years! I think he is exactly the kind of guy we need to support. There is a petition to support his call to reform the earmark system and STOP THE PORK!

Hold the phone!

I just found out that one of my very favorite people to talk politics with had me ALL wrong! And if Jeff had me all wrong, maybe others do too! Yikes! So, to clarify, I am indeed a card carrying Republican, but I absolutely DO NOT agree with much of what Republican politicians DO. All this time Jeff thought that I was just a 100% party girl who loved all things Republican and followed it completely. What kind of an idiot did he think I was?!?! No. I am a Republican because I believe in the core principles of the platform. I am involved in the party because that is the only way I have any hope of finding politicians who might actually adhere to those principles. I'm not sure if you know how this works, but if you are involved in the party you actually get to choose which Republican is going to run in the general election. That is where the real choice lies...between those candidates that are differing on the details, not the over arching principles. The general election usually gives us 2 different candidates (yes, I know there are additional fringe candidates) who are so different ideologically that I don't need to evaluate the finer points.

So, do I love John McCain? No. He was the last person on my list of candidates that I liked. Will I vote for him? Yes. I'll vote for him because I have a better shot at him doing things I'll approve of some of the time. Probably not much with McCain, but certainly even less with Obama. Feel free to stop reading here, but I'm in the mood, so I'll keep writing. On to some of my views...

Let me tell you why I'm Republican. I vote based on very few core principles. I am fiscally conservative and I believe in small government. I am socially conservative, but I'll vote for a fiscal conservative over a social conservative almost always. It would sure be nice if we had one of those on the table right about now!

Along with small government, it logically follows that I am a federalist. If an issue can be decided by the states, it should be. Better yet, if an issue can be decided by individual municipalities, it should be. Even better than that, if an issue can be decided by individual families, it should be.

Some specifics, or random thoughts. Education. This is near and dear to me. Someone, who shall remain nameless, made a comment to me today that one of the reasons they are a Dem is that Dems are pro education...meaning Republicans aren't. Well now that is just silly. Dems are willing to SPEND more on education, but that is the only solution I have heard from that side of the isle. Now, don't be hasty, the Republicans are doing a pretty poor job with the solutions they are coming up with. NCLB, joke. Vouchers, never work. HOWEVER, they are trying to be innovative and come up with different solutions. Rather than, to coin a phrase, giving us more of the same. Oh wait, did somebody already coin that phrase? By the way, when you go to Nauvoo, they teach you the origin of the phrase 'to coin a phrase.'

Taxes. I can support politicians raising my taxes...as long as they cut 75% of the spending that is currently going on. All right 75% is a figure I just pulled from my backside, so please don't leave me a comment with specific figures and statistics on why that wouldn't work. Just stop spending my money on crap! And don't redistribute my wealth...I actually already do that on my own!

OK, I could go on, but I need to go to bed. The kids are already asleep and Jon's already there...ooh la la. Wink, wink.

So funny...

Elizabeth was just telling me why her ear hurts. It went something like this.

Bits: It happened when I fell down and hurt my self.
Me: When you scraped your wrist?
Bits: No, when I hurt my leg. You know, when I got a scrape and then a band aid was on and it then Jesus was by me and put new skin on it?

She cracks me up. Trust me, this all has nothing to do with the current hurting ear. And I wish Jesus would come put some new skin on me...like switching out all the crazy, post 5 babies, post 2 surgeries yucky stuff on my tummy!

A little inspiration...

I'd like to introduce you to my friends, cjane and NieNie. In truth, they are known to me only through the world of blogging (thank you Lindsey!), but I feel like I know them intimately. And you should too. Stephanie is a long time blogger who was in a plane crash this summer with her husband. The flight instructor that was with them died, while Stephanie and her husband survived with extensive injuries. Courtney is one of her sisters, who has taken over where Stephanie left off. These women have a remarkable understanding of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and their roles within it. They so clearly embrace it and exemplify it. But don't let that scare you if you aren't too "churchy." We all have lessons to learn from them on love, compassion, nurturing, passion, and so much more. I hope you'll check out their blogs and tell me that you come to love them as much as I do.