What an amazingly odd week

Its amazing how life can swing in an instant.

I actually had hope in the democratic process at one point this week with the hope that John Bolton would be booted out of the nomination for UN ambassador.

Then...it happened

I heard about Justice Sunday, a television event featuringthe destruction of the American legal system by those damn liberal benchies. The BS thats being put out by focus on the family, the Family Research Council, and its partner the Republican Party need to get their acts together. This is ridiculous, never before has this nation been faced with such an onslaught of propoganda against not only a political leaning but an entire population. As a follower of Christ and a full believer in the power of Jesus It pains me to see people use the faith as an excuse to ridicule and demonize a population.

Im sick of it. People ask me, do you allow your political life to be affect your "real" life, your friendships, relationships, and your purchases. You are DAMN RIGHT it does.

I used to want to play nice with people, sure you can be a republican and follow your little mantra about stopping babies from being killed and ordering the "execution" of a poor florida woman. You can discuss how the big bad liberals blocked the judicial nomination of 10 judges and yet the Right block 60 clinton picks. Go Ahead, I would say.

No Longer.

This is a matter of whether or not all that patriotism everyone talks about is truly hitting home. I cant become a part of an organization that supports conservative ideas and agendas. I cant let the people I trust belong to a fanatic ideal that I dont agree with. This is not the time to say "politics aside." no. this is the time to ask if your politics matches your lifestyle, your faith, and the things that make us the individuals that we are. If you want to be a true republican, a true conservative, that stands for fiscal responsibility, smaller government, better schools, protected borders, and a stronger support of individuals faith then please by all means take back your party from these fanatic nut-jobs that are runing your once good name.

For now I remain steadfast in my faith, therefore I will remain steadfast in my politcs.

My one challenge to you is this: Go Ahead and Just Try To Stop Me.

This is not your country, it is OUR country and we the left will have our day in court, congress, and the Oval Office.

Out.

Pope, Probes,and Petroleum

So there is a new Pope, Benedict XVI, my cardinal didnt win but in retrospect it will be interesting to watch this particular Pope move ahead and attempt to unite the Church. Ok, enough of that.

Probes:

Tom DeLay is at the center of this oh so wonderful ethics controversy and he honestly thinks that his actions are not only acceptable, that his Party's recent proposal to change ethics rules would somehow make everything better. They feel the Democrats are not being fair and movingthe process along because we oppose the change in the ethics rule.

You may be asking yourself, why do I need to fell anything about some panel in Congress?
The reason is that the Ehtics committee is supposed to investigate claims of misconduct and the proposed rule chages are as follows (in brief):

Old Rule: All investigations must be pushed forward until a ruling

Proposed Change: If after 45 days the panel is deadlocked (its split 5-5 dem/rep) any pending case will expire and the charges dropped.

So what does this all mean? If Tom DeLay is put before the panel under the old rules he can be in serious trouble. Under the new regulations he would be able to escape conviction because the republicans could just block a vote.

Stupid.

Oil is making a climb back down to a reasonable price, then again $50 a barrel used to be crazy talk a year ago...

The real reason i mention Petrol is because of a recent Drudge headline that discussed in graphic detail the most recent accusation regarding michael jackson. Oh please, this country has many more important issues to tackle than the trial of a famous pervert.

Alright, for all you economic theory fans out there...

Flat Tax= Bipartisan support and the support of Greenspan

My Idea: Elimintate the Gas tax and reinstate the business and 39% bracket tax cut.

prices would fall to at least $1.80 a gallon and would help the atruggling airlines with their financial woes. not to mention trucking and other high-end transportation industries.

Oh well, spanish class is almost over...better get back to learning.

Non Habemos Papa

So no Pope today, that breaks the previous record.

OK! on to news!

So...the dominating issues of the day include Sarah Lunde and the Pope.

So...there isnt much to discuss today.

The political world is sitting quietly while the business world is screaming in pain.

The Dow is in a free-fall and i know that here at home we are feeling the financial squeeze. The 401(k) has become a 201(k).

I side with Alan Greenspan, we need to institutie a consumption tax instead of the stupid income tax laws and rules. Of course, for anyone with cajones out there we can certainly go for a Flat Tax, im all for that.

OK. thats enough for today. more on taxes later.

Pax.

Wow

Its been awhile, but that just means theres more to discuss!

First and foremost my heart goes out to the family of Sarah Lunde, there does not exist a set of words that can fill the void left by a child's early passage.

One of the most important, and non-partisan, issues that will be facing the Florida legislature will be the strenghtening of current sex offender laws to better track and follow registered sex offenders and predators. The current state of affairs cannot continue, innocent children need not die because of lax laws and the mistakes of the government entrusted with their protection.

OK, on to politics...

Tom DeLay is up first. He is a common sight these days in the liberal reality, poking his head into a new area known in the conservative world as "Judicial Activism." What is Judicial Activism? Well, according to our good friends in Capitol Hill, this is when a Judge, or group of judges, decides that the law is important and rules against the emotions of the population, even a small controlling minority such as the Right-wing conservatives. These "ultra-liberal" and "anti-american" judges includes The Honorable Judge Greer. The very same judge who ruled in the Terri Schiavo case along with 23 other state and federal courts, including the oh-so-flaming-liberal US Supreme Court. In addition to being a card-carrying republican, Judge greer is a baptist. Well, he was a baptist until his church asked him to leave because of his recent rulings. Anyway, they are the current target for Congress.

Majority Leader DeLay has some other problems though...
Apparently those little ethics rules that the House is supposed to follow dont apply to Mr. DeLay, or so he thought when he broke nearly 10 different rules concerning contributions, travel, and personal expenses. Hmm...sounds very moral and valuable. Im sure Terri would be pleased to hear that her biggest advocate is also a Felon who has broken the law and the rules of the United State Congress. It is merely a continuation of a theory long followed here in the Liberal Reality. If you are a republican the rules do not apply to you. You can give no-bid contracts to your buddies (Dick), you can support american jobs while allowing and encouraging their outsourcing to other nations (George and Dick), and of course you can have your federal case thrown out of the supreme court by taking someone on a trip (Dick and Antonin). But of course, if you are elected to lead a group of elected officials it is ok to break the rules of a committee you have full control of (Tom).

It seems all we have left for every Tom, Dick, and Harry out there is the simplicity found in their ability to break the rules and call it "fair" and further the cause by attacking the other side of the political spectrum that seeks nothing more than fair treatment for everyone and a little LIBERTY, PEACE, and JUSTICE. look up these words and try to apply them to the Republican party of today. Once they did this, but now it is nothing more than an empty clause for a party full of empty leaders.

Thanks to the 51% of America that chose this path. Because of you the other 49.9% has to live with higher gas prices, a two-year war, a political divide, and of course the most corrupt leadership since Harding. What did harding do? Think back to history class. Oh. wait. If you belong in the American public education system we emphasize math and science while pulling funding that supports social sciences that promote an understanding of our world. and peoples. Oh well, maybe college can help if you can afford it.

The atrocity facing America today is stuck with us until at least 2006. We must stand together and prepare as best we can to take this battle to the ground from our cities to our state offices until we have allowed the people to reclaim the White House and The Hill.

Politics in America is in a new phase. A phase without debate and discussion. This is not the America I once heard of, the one where political parties compromised and debated. Civility ruled the day, not petty comments and empty threats.

Lady Liberty, Uncle Sam, Where have you gone?

Rage, Rage against the dying of the light.

Goodnight.

And Then It Got Worse

OK, The Schiavo thing was bad, we were all worried about crazy laws that were clearly not put in place to help the people but this is crazy.

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20050406/ts_alt_afp/uscrimeguns_050406201103

Read This, then come back and comment.

Let me make it easy before you get to it, guns + florida residents= BAD

In ITGS, but keep up the fight, and do what you can to stop bills like these from actually passing.

Oh, yes, www.aclu.org/pizza

Peace.

Life, The Universe, and Everything...well not everything

So this past week has seen a lot of change both for this world and for me.

JP II will be remembered for all of his great works and his stance with conservative values.

The media is finally able to move on from Terri yet still cant bring attention to issues like the latest school shootings or the issues facing the nation, can we say rising cost of oil?

On other fronts, i have finally mended most of the fences of the past and on the whole life is looking up. Unlike a lot of my conservaitve compatriots, we who choose to live life in the liberal reality understand that its unhealthy to carry a grudge and especially dangerous to rely on third parties to negotiate anything.

Ah, political metaphors, where would I be without them?

I end tonight with a passage from the Bible, something I dont usually do but I feel that it helps me explain how I am able to hold my faith and claim that being a Christian Liberal isnt an oxymoron, it is my natural way of life.

"If you claim to be religious but don't control your tongue, you are just fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless. Pure and lasting religion in the sight of God our Father means that we must care for orphans and widows in their troubles, and refuse to let the world corrupt us."

James 1:26-27


Sgt. 1st Class Paul Ray Smith 1969-2003

"FORWARD"

Such is the Culture of Life

What a strange week indeed.

To all those that emailed me with concern I did not switch parties, sheesh, it was an April Fools Day joke, in keeping with the catholic tradition of mocking other faiths (in this case the pagans).

Pope John Paul II is dead. It is bittersweet for me personally. He was a great pope for the world, especially under communist Poland and its liberation.

Terri Schiavo is no longer with us. As promised I did not bring her up until her death.

This Weekend: Awesome.

NLN played at the Relay for Life at King High and it was fantastic. the crowd was warm and enthusiastic. Our gear made it there ok and theband ate at IHOP at 3:30 am. so cool.

Now that the schiavo mess is overwith and the Papacy is vacant there is sure to be a lot of commentary coming along about everything. At the top of my list will be Papal elections, a very secretive and elite elecltion of the next Bishop of Rome.

Spring State is coming soon. Visit the campaign website: southeastcampaign.blogspot.com

Daylight Savings Time, dont forget to set your clocks.

That is all.

Thank you JPII, you have touched a billion hearts, may He touch yours.












The Real Great Communicator

1978-2005

A Fresh Start

These last few weeks I have been reflective of the tragedy and sorrow in this nation and have made a new decision for my political beliefs and trends from henceforth.

The democratic paarty has for too long dragged its feet and been unable to face the challenges of the nation.

The republicans cannot figure out which "values" to reperesent

And the media has created a stir and cess pool of probelms that no one knows what to do anymore.

Therefore

Effective immediatly I will register me affiliation, pledge my monetary support, and follow the recently established Third Party, The Liberated Nationalists.

The Liberated Nationalists follow a belief of destruction rather than progress. Their aims and beliefs are to bring down the establishment in an attempt to propagate the freedoms and ideals found in the Constitution.

From now on The Liberated Nationalists can only grow and gain more in support.

motto, "Strength, Honor, and Glory Forever"

That is all.