"The answer my friend, is blowing in the wind..."

May I preface this by saying that I am an evangelical Christian conservative, who votes Republican and thinks Ronald Reagan is the best president this country has ever had....

But I would like to say that Americans need to stop fighting this war in Iraq and Afghanistan. The 2 young men from Pennsylvania above that were best friends in life, are now buried next to one another, after both dying in separate incidents in this war. We've been there too long; it's becoming another Vietnam. The people I associate with, in church, and in the conservative Texas hill country all concur. We need to get out of there, it's time for an exit strategy and sooner rather than later. Really, why are we still there?! It's not for oil, that is clear with the current price of oil. (Which, by the way, is one of the things I thought Trump made perfect sense about.) We are losing the best, the brightest and the bravest, for what? We've taken down Saddam Hussein and now Osama Bin Laden, so let's pull our ground troops out, and just let special opps target the heads of these organizations. This has gotten ridiculous. I find it very curious that when Bush was president, the liberals talked incessantly about ending this war, but now are saying nothing. I don't get it. Or maybe I do... it really IS all about politics. Yack. It's why I prefer nominating a non-politician for president.

It's not a video game, these are real lives. It's not monopoly, it's real money - OUR money.

What has happened to common sense???

"We're the Land of the Free because of the Home of the Brave..."

As we all celebrate Memorial Day in whatever fashion we choose, let's remember that our freedom was bought with blood. Wars have consequences. The victor gets the spoils, ergo freedom. We're not speaking German or Japanese because young men and women paid with their lives. And these days we don't even have a draft, these brave folks sign up on their own. And we're fortunate they do...

I've also noticed since the libs are back in power, that the anti-war people are nowhere to be found. They were strangely silent when this administration killed Bin Laden, and they're silent about Gitmo. Yet they still want to prosecute Bush and Cheney for what they deem as war crimes. It just shows me that they are all about their lifestyle choices and the rest is about stopping conservatives. It's too bad that, as conservatives, we are fighting 2 wars:

The enemy overseas and the enemy over here...

Due to a death in the family, I won't have any postings for a few days.

"The fat lady has sung..."

Well, I think all the season finale's are finally over, with American Idol crowning their winner last night as the final finale. It was an interesting season and fun to watch the musical chairs each week, leaving 17 year old Scotty McCreery from Garner, North Carolina as the last man standing and the 10th "American Idol." As I watched all the hoopla last night in the star-studded final show, it occurred to me that America got it right this year. I secretly had hoped that a practicing Christian would win, and the first thing Scotty said was that he wanted to thank God who had gotten him to that point. It surprised me that the last 2 standing were 2 "country" teenagers from the South, who seem like good, clean, innocent teens who love their parents, their families, their towns, this country and singing! I think the country collectively knows this nation has gone too far down a wicked lane, and it's time to turn back and return to good, clean fun. The country genre of music seems to be the cleanest of the choices for the young people currently. I just hope that the music scene won't ruin any of the 13 finalists that will tour this summer, because most of them seem like regular people without all of the airs they pick up in the business. One person that comes to mind that really went rotten is Will Smith. When he came onto the scene in "Fresh Prince of Belair" at about their age, he was fresh and funny and entertaining. Now? He's a pompous ass.... It's just hard to watch these normal people get ruined. We can only hope that the Bible verse will hold true, "Train up your child in the way in which he should go, and when he grows old, he will not depart from it." Personally, I don't think I would want my child to enter and have this kind of life, no matter how much money they could make. Some of the richest people I know are also some of the unhappiest. It's certainly a life of stress and not all can handle it.

Anyway.

Now that all the shows are over I'm not real excited about reruns this summer... I'd like to read but it's not something DD and I can do together.

Now what?

"She's come a long way, baby...."

O. No.

Another end of an era.... aaaaaaaaaaahhh, too many lately!! Today I taped Oprah's last show and I cried at the end. My children will never believe that, since I rarely, if ever, cry. My father would never let us cry. ever. We had to stuff it. We had to stop crying or we got in worse trouble. To this day, I cannot cry in front of anyone; only alone. So today, alone, as Oprah walked off her stage, I cried. She's been doing this my entire adult life. 25 years.... And since I've worked all of that time, I was never able to watch her show unless for some reason I had to come home on a weekday. But I've seen enough and heard about enough of her shows to know how inspirational she is. How charismatic she is. And how powerful she is.... Wow, talk about the power of one... Oprah came from a very tough beginning; VERY tough. She was sexually abused, from a poor family in Mississippi, and born at a time when black women could aspire to be a maid or a teacher in a segregated black school. She's come a long way, baby. And she's been an inspiration not only to black women, but to all women. She figured out what all successful people in the media know, that if you can help others help themselves, then it will come back to you 100 fold. Good karma, if you will.

Her last show surprised me at first, but then, as I thought about it, it made perfect sense. She was still teaching. Or as DD said as she watched it with me, preaching. She said she knew she was doing what she was born to do. She said once you realize that you and you alone are responsible for your life, it's a game changer. No more blaming other people for your lot in life. And she said each of us is responsible for the energy we bring to others. I found this very convicting. I know I sound mean and sarcastic in my blog, which I'm sure is from my own insecurities. She said she's found that most people feel unworthy, unworthy of goodness in their lives, and she has tried to show them that by just being alive, just being born, they are worthy. She said we all have a common thread of wanting to matter. We each want to be heard. And in her quest for the truth, for answers, we have learned with her. And it has been inspirational. It was never about the money for her. She has said she dropped everything to be in "The Color Purple," years ago. It was never about the money, and that showed. She has been incredibly generous with her gifts, and even that has come back to her, as she is one of the wealthiest women on the planet. I have incredible respect for Oprah. She has the unusual name for her unusual life. She knew early on that she had a huge calling. And she said today that she was able to do it because of the viewers, her team and Jesus. Her last words on the show were, "to God be the glory."

Amen sister...

"Read the handwriting on the wall..."

Wow. This is the most telling thing I've seen in awhile... Here is what our president signed TODAY at Westminster Abbey (yes, where the royal wedding was just one short month ago - the one he didn't get invited to.) Notice that he got the right day, but the WRONG YEAR. What's up with THAT?! His one line is, "It is a great privilege to commemorate our common heritage, and common sacrifices." And if you read handwriting, you will see that he's all flash and no substance. My mother wrote a long article when she was still alive on handwriting analysis. The first letter of the name is very large and flashy, which means over-confident. The rest of the name is illegible, which means he leaves the details to someone else. Hello? His signature says it all. (As a matter of fact, before the next election, we just need to read each candidate's signature to see who is best for the job, but I digress.) The prez continues his European vacation... Oh and let's not forget his wonderful words of encouragement to the victims of the worst tornado disaster in over 50 years, "We're here for you," from London and then plays a mean game of ping pong with the prime minister...

ugh.

"You can fool some people sometimes, but you can't fool all the people all the time."

Does this bother anyone else besides me??! They can't get an invitation to the 'wedding of the century,' so they go over to London and suck up to the royals?? Yack. Barry thinks he's so charming that he can just call them and ask to visit, so he can win them over. For some reason, this totally disgusts me....

P.S. Remember when he gave the Queen of England an iPod with his speeches on it??!