If you vote for a democrat, are you voting for the whole party?
Someone told me that he would not vote for a certain democrat because anyone who would associate themselves with those democrats(assuming he meant the liberal, money snatching, babykillers) was not ok to vote for.

Lowe Finney is a democrat. I like Lowe.
He is running against Don McLeary, (who was a democrat until he changed parties in 2006.)

I didn't want to be accused of being a democrat (nor would I want to be accused of being a republican). So I decided to do some research before I dared voice my humble opinion again.

I went to votesmart.com to check out the voting records of each.
They had 36 different motions voted on by Lowe Finney.
They had 6 for Don McLeary.
That wasn't helpful. I needed all of the votes.

So then I went to Tennesseevotes.org. Very easy to do.
Here they had 840 different motions voted on by Finney.
They had 0 for McLeary because he wasn't in office this year.

So I googled every phrase I could think of with McLeary, Tennessee, voting record, general assembly, etc. Nothing.

On McLeary's website he says he voted for a few different things but I want to SEE where that is listed.

But I could at least look at the results that I found on Lowe. I mostly looked at the voting records of the bills where it looked like the democrats and republicans were divided.

1. A bill about separation of church and state.
Lowe voted with the republicans:
* In Favor 2009 House Bill 1598 (Prohibit Government Burden of Freedom of Religion). Passed in the Senate (25 to 7) on June 16, 2009, to prohibit any government entity from "substantially" burdening a person’s free exercise of religion unless the government can show that imposing the burden is essential to furthering a "compelling governmental interest" .

2. A bill about implementing an AIDS/HIV program in TN. At first I thought that he voted for it. But when I sent an email to his wife about him spending my money on something like this, she reminded to look at the bill. This was not a bill to implement the program but to encourage the health department to STUDY doing the program.

Since I couldn't find McLeary's voting record, Lowe's wife sent me the link. http://www.capitol.tn.gov/legislation/archives.html
Then you type in 103rd and 104th assembly. It's hard to look through and since Mcleary was a democrat then, it may not reflect how he would vote in the future.

I sent McLeary an email asking him if he would vote differently then he did 5 years ago. He hasn't written me back.

Lowe's family has been democratic for generations.
This is Lowe's reading list.

"Surprised by Hope" by N.T. Wright
"Christ the Center" by Dietrich Bonhoeffer
He is getting ready to read "The Radical Disciple" by John Stott
And he highly recommends "Basic Christianity" by John Stott
Lately he has been listening to Tim Keller's and David Platt's sermons.

Don McLeary is reading... I have no idea. I've sent two emails, but there has been no response.
I checked out his website and he is starting off his campaign with a God and Country event with gospel music and patriotic songs.

I haven't really found anything bad about either, but I'm more impressed with Lowe Finney.
Don McLeary says on his website that "Lowe Finney voted for and supported President Obama and was high-fiving Joe Biden 2 weeks ago. He supports their policies and I don't – IT'S THAT SIMPLE."

I'm not surprised that Lowe voted for Obama. Would he vote for him now though?
I'm not surprised that he supports our President. So do I. Do I agree with the President? No. But I do support him as the leader of our country. I have no desire to go to war with the President.
I'm not surprised that he was high-fiving Joe Biden. Lowe's a fun guy. High-fiving hardly means anything more than that.

I'm still waiting. Waiting for someone to present some solid evidence to make me choose McLeary over Finney.

If your only argument is that Finney will always vote for the democrats on the things that matter. Look at his voting record and show me where that is true.

Abolish Welfare

If I made myself really uncomfortable and gave more than I wanted to give to the poor, would we even be having a conversation about healthcare reform and welfare and redistribution of wealth?

It's easy to criticize the democrats for wanting to take our money, but its a little harder to complain about the fact that they want to give it to the poor (and sometimes the lazy, indulgent, and just plain stupid).

Matthew 25:41 - To those who do not feed the hungry and clothe the naked, Jesus
says, “Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.

Proverbs 28:27 - “He who gives to the poor will lack nothing, but he who closes his
eyes to them receives many curses.”

Luke 14:13-14 "But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind,and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. You will be repaid at the resurrection of the just."

What are you and I doing to make sure that welfare isn't even needed?

Peace, Jobs and Democracy... not.

Peace, Jobs, and Democracy!
Sounds great, but it's the banner of Stalin.
Stalin believed that the USSR was building a society "in order that the human individual may feel really free. We built it for the sake of real personal liberty, liberty without quotation marks. It is difficult for me to imagine what "personal liberty" is enjoyed by an unemployed person, who goes about hungry, and cannot find employment.Real liberty can exist only...where there is no unemployment and poverty, where a man is not haunted by the fear of being tomorrow deprived of work, of home and of bread."
Comments? Are you a Stalinist?
Sounds a lot like what I hear on the news everyday, which brings me back to the point of why I have this blog in the first place.
AMERICA IS CLUELESS! We hear lovely, true words that sounds right, but something is off. We hear, but we do not comprehend. We listen, but we don't analyze.
There are two commercials that really illustrate this point.
1. Taco Bell- Taco Bell has a diet plan now. WOW. Really? It's totally legit. Just eat certain food at Taco Bell and you could lose weight. What's sad is that some people will lose weight because they will follow this plan and they will eat dramatically less food then they were before, and they will praise the wonders of the Bell, while still being CLUELESS that they are victims of marketing. People see, and they don't understand.
2. American Singles Cheese- Now this one is really depressing. I heard a commercial on the radio for Kraft Singles Cheese that announces that a country is only as great as it's cheese or something like that. They say thankfully, our cheese doesn't have holes in it... blah blah...Our cheese is the one and only, always made from milk, SINGLES CHEESE. (Trumpets blare and the American flag is raised.) Doesn't anyone else see the irony in this kind of patriotism. America is represented by fake, nasty, abnormally orange cheese...that doesn't mold, because there are too many preservatives in it.

Yay for America and Peace, Jobs and Democracy. Right? I mean if you can convince America to diet eating Taco Bell, and to feel patriotic when they eat singles cheese, then how hard is it to convince them that democracy which stands for equality and freedom can best be carried out by taking your money and giving it to the poor. Sounds good right? ... maybe not quite.

I am all for giving money to the poor, but let ME do it how I want. I am all for peace, but not giving in to whatever everyone says just because it sounds good. I am all for people having jobs, but let the rich create the jobs, so that people have goals to work towards instead of feeling like no matter what they do, everything is going to be redestributed anyway.

Wake up!

What is the Constitution Party?

The point of this blog is to educate America about what is going on in ...America. I listen to Republican radio ALOT, and so I thought that I was pretty well informed on the news. I listen to Rush and Glenn Beck... and I've never heard of the Constitution Party. Have you?

Apparently, it is the third largest party... granted it's small but listen to what it stands for...
"The Constitution Party gratefully acknowledges the blessing of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ as Creator, Preserver and Ruler of the Universe and of these United States. We hereby appeal to Him for mercy, aid, comfort, guidance and the protection of His Providence as we work to restore and preserve these United States."

That's just the beginning of the preamble... it goes on to talk about the sanctity of human life, limited government, public respect for public officials, congressional reform, the purpose of government to defend, and countless other things that I stand for. Does that mean that I should join this party? Should I click on the "Get Involved Locally" button?

Wonder who will win the Biggest Loser finale? Where's that book I was reading? I really need to wash some clothes. Do we have milk for breakfast tomorrow?

Sure, we all have individual lives that rarely ever cross paths. We have needs, and wants that go beyond party systems. But I want a government that really will "provide for the common defense and promote the GENERAL welfare", and I can't do it alone. I'm not gonna push the button for now. I'll wait to see if anyone else is out there. Does that make me a coward?

Congress in favor of wise citizens, but is Obama fostering a haven for ignorance?

Recently, I came across a quote located in some act that Congress made. It said, "Democracy demands wisdom and vision in its citizens and that (the government) must therefore support a form of education designed to make people masters of their technology and not its UNTHINKING servants."

Wow. If someone had told me that this quote came from our government, I would have said yeah right... so here's the link.
http://www.arts.gov/about/Legislation/Legislation.html

Also, this was an act from 1965. It seems that in those days we still valued the idea of being wise and free citizens. Citizens that knew better than to borrow too much money for a house that they couldn't afford. Now the government helps us to be foolish. This reinforces what I have been contemplating for several weeks now. Education makes a culture.

I'm not sure how to change our education system without just letting it bomb first. I have the option to homeschool or do private education but what about the majority of Americans that are the byproduct of a test-soaked education that is anemic in the pursuit of truth and goodness and beauty. I realize that teaching children to love to learn is harder than teaching them the facts and then making sure that they pass.

Any ideas?

Media for Obama

See the article here

ABC will be allowing the government to use its broadcasting for an entire day to introduce the idea of socialized healthcare... There will be no opposing views heard.

What is the main problem with this?
After all, ABC can do whatever they want ?right? Freedom of speech, right? They don't have to include the views of the Republicans, right?

Maybe the problem is that the President is banking on the fact that most of America doesn't care about what is going on in the world outside the walls of their living room. He is counting on them turning on the TV and listening all day long to ABC and never hearing the bad. Then when socialized healthcare really starts, the American public will just say, "oh yeah, I think I saw something on the news about that."

The art of debate is non-existent. The age of logic is over. It's time to lay your pretty heads on the couch, switch on the tube and let your mind absorb the "gospel" according to the government. Night, night.

Talk about this with people, write to the newspaper. WAKE UP! EDUCATE yourselves and everyone else. Don't let them do this to you.

Education by Obama

On BarackObama.com, there is a nice little outline (3 points) to reform our educational system.

First of all, he wants to hire an "army" of qualified teachers and use "innovative" ways to reward them for doing well.

Does anyone else feel like the problem isn't really with the teachers, necessarily?
American kids can't read. We use the "look and say" (recognition) method in public schools rather than phonics. Isn't learning the 26 letters and how they sound a no-brainer?

And he wants an innovative way to reward the teachers? Like what? Money? candy bars?
How about respect for their job? Oh wait, we can't put that in the budget...

He also wants to make sure that kids go on to do at least a year of college or job training. In other words, he wants to produce kids that work or want to work. Kids that want to give a little to the economy. What about producing kids who love to learn. Kids who are taught at a young age that what they are learning isn't just so that they can get a job, but so that they can find fulfillment in life and find beauty and truth and goodness. Oh wait, that can't really be translated into dollars either.

Any ideas on reform that actually make sense?

http://www.barackobama.com/issues/education/