"It's the economy, stupid..."

Like most Americans, I chose NOT to watch the 111th GOP debate, mainly because my 14 year old wanted to watch the original "Footloose" and I didn't want to be in separate rooms on her Saturday night. I did get curious and during a commercial, switched over for a few minutes to watch Diane Sawyer and minions trying to trip up the candidates on gay marriage. Immediately I was infuriated, seeing Diane and George Hippopatumus fire away, hoping to get a "Katie Couric on Sarah Palin" moment. I watched the candidate's interaction for a few short minutes to see that they were all very polite to each other and to see Gingrich stick it to the ABC commentators (which is always delightful - go team GOP!) I switched back thinking that if the economy isn't turned around, then gay marriage and adoption will be a mute point since we won't even have a country any more. But I also thought that it probably is a good idea to bring up faith, morals and character traits because there is a battle for the soul of this country and it has been at a boiling point since the election of 2000 when the outcome hung in the balance for over a month and finally George W. Bush beat Al Gore in a classic Good versus Evil representation. Decisions are based on character and morals. In a republic such as ours, we elect representatives who make our decisions. We don't vote on every decision that comes down the pike, we elect people to represent us, and we want them to have similar faith. Because your actions are based on your faith. For example, if you believe that murder, lying and stealing will send you to hell like the 10 commandments say they will, you will be trying real hard not to do those things. Or if you believe what Reverend Wright says, that America deserved 9-11 and that 'the chickens have come home to roost,' then you are probably someone who has a disdain for this country. Beliefs determine actions.

Think about it...

Freaky Fridays

DD and me - freaky, yes?

"Stand by your man..." - Tammy Wynette

Have you ever noticed that all the men who run for president of the U.S. are married? (I guess that's also true of the women who have run as well.) It just doesn't stack up with the national stats... I guess the kind of people attracted to politics are mostly those that are married, and usually only once. I remember when Reagan ran and it was mentioned that Nancy was his second wife, which was unusual. Seems Newt is on his third wife, and he is being criticized for that, especially since his current wife Calista is allegedly the ex-mistress. I guess it goes back to the fact that we hold those that run for office to a higher standard (at least with the Republicans.) And as I mentioned Romney and Huntsman are both Mormons with squeakly clean images. Santorum is an evangelical Christian, married to his first wife, whom he thanked first in his Iowa speech the other night. Ron Paul has been married many years as well and Rick Perry has a lovely wife of many years with an obvious strong marriage.

Does this seem weird to anyone else besides me? I think the national stats are 1 out of 2 marriages in the U.S. end up divorced. And each successive marriage, the chances are cut in half each time. The wives always seem to be the "stand by your man" kind of gals, which is great, but again, unusual. Even Herman Cain's wife stood by him, although I think with the knowledge that came out, it looks like she was devastated, and might not have stuck with him if he had continued.

It will be interesting to see which man wins the White House later this year... and which of these "stand by your man" women will be catapulted into history...

"The more things change, the more they stay the same..."

At the last newspaper I used to work at, my old boss used to say, "If B&O had known they were in the transportation business instead of the railroad business, they would still BE in business." This was at the time he was getting the small town paper on-line as one of the fore-runners of seeing the direction communications are going in. Yes, it seems everything is changing... When I was younger, people that worked at Southwestern Bell thought their jobs were secure for life, but cell phones changed all of that. Paper and business form companies have always been a staple, but with so much done electronically, that has downsized in a huge way. And the three major television networks, ABC, CBS & NBC, had a huge lock on news transmission until cable networks came on the scene. And I just read today that Eastman Kodak is about to file for bankruptcy because camera sales are so low since everyone is using their cell phone to snap photos. (Ironically, it is Google and Apple that are looking to buy them.) And it also seems to me that Yahoo and Google have the new 'lock' on news transmission. Take, for instance, when my 9th grader was supposed to write an essay in November on Hugo Chavez. Like 99% of others her age, she was 'googling' him yet only finding all positive about him. I was shocked. Then, as we started looking at other dictators, we found the same to be true. Google (and Apple) are full of young liberals who can (and are) now dictating the kind of news that's being disseminated. Ask most 20 or 30-somethings how they get their news, and most of them will say on their iPhone or iPad. One of my co-workers last year in her 20's said to me (with a straight face) that she gets most of her hard news from the Jon Stewart Show. Ugh - heaven help us...

What concerns me most about the fall of newspapers is that we have been the primary "news gather-ers." Even the Fox Network in their first years, were relying on other sources, and usually newspaper sources like the AP (Associated Press.) Yes, most of them are liberal, but used to be objective. Obviously no longer. I've found that I have to go to overseas sources to get the most objective news about the United States. So no more will there be newspaper kings like William Randolph Hearst with his castle, but we now have Bill Gates and internet tycoons who have the largest houses in the U.S.

(sigh) I guess having been in the newspaper business for my entire adult career, I'm trying to sound the alarm that we have to be in the COMMUNICATIONS business and not the newspaper business. I have a Facebook account, a blog, a Twitter account and try to stay up with all the latest apps with 3 children to keep me current. It is social media that is taking the world by storm and will never return to how it has been most of my life. Sometimes it's un-nerving but it's always exciting. The whole world is turning upside down, and the U.S. is still in the driver's seat on most of this technology. That much is really positive. It's just that it changes so rapidly, it's hard (and expensive) to keep up with it all. I get a new iPhone every 2 years with each contract.

But it's constantly changing and requires so much time to learn it all. I'm wondering if we will plateau with all of the knowledge? I'm wondering with the death of Steve Jobs, if electronics will drastically slow down? Time will tell, and in the mean time?

Guess I'll go check Facebook...

"In everything give thanks..."

Soooooooo glad Rick Santorum won Iowa.... You have no idea...

"A man's got to do what a man's got to do..." - John Wayne

As the Iowa caucus nears, recent polls show that the top 3 GOP contenders are Mitt Romney, Ron Paul and Rick Santorum. Stories are saying the evangelical right (of which I count myself in) are flocking to Santorum. When asked why, they responded, "He's the most like us." I think Frank Luntz said it best tonight when he said the field is very volatile because all of the candidates have flaws. So I guess we choose the lesser of all of those evils. Of all of the current GOP candidates, I have to cross Ron Paul off of the list because of his views on Israel. He is no friend to Israel, and thus, unacceptable in my view. Of these 3 candidates, I would have to agree with evangelicals in Iowa, and vote for Santorum. He seems very solid and stable, and my only fear is that he is too nice for this job. I think Gingrich has appealed to many because of his razor sharp come-backs in a country of Big Media slanting the news with snarky-ness. Can Santorum respond to these types? A lot of people got mad when George W. didn't answer his critics, but rather rose above. I liked this... but after a while I was thinking COME ON, and fire back! Get a silver-tongued fox Press spokesman, and smoke 'em! But no, for 8 long years, he just took it. He became a punching bag for the liberal media, and it was too hard to watch. We the people are at home yelling at the TV and feeling helpless, watching our 'team' lose the media war. So, I'm just wondering if Santorum will be tough enough. Tough enough for our liberal media and tough enough to take on Iran and whoever else threatens our way of life. I already know Rick Perry is.

If only he could debate well...

"A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step."

Happy New Year from Texas! My advice to you is the same to myself. We need to figure out our passion and go do it, because it's the only way we'll be happy. We each have a purpose and God gives us talents, abilities and desires, and it's up to us to put them to good use. My desire is that you and I will get to do this, beginning in 2012.

So help me God...