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S.H. TOWNSEND: THE WAR ON WOMEN – CHIVALRY OR OPPRESSION?

6 Dec

S. H. TOWNSEND

This is part three in an ongoing series on the “War on Women” by author S.H. Townsend.

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Because of the many battles I have fought against my will, my perspective of men and women was even more distorted. I honestly didn’t want to fight, but I’m so glad I had the strength to do so, and I do thank my mother’s partner for that. She did groom me to be a strong woman, despite the other things she misrepresented to me in my young life. My mother was also a strong woman, but she didn’t find her strength until later in life, but I knew she had it in her.

 When I met my husband, to whom I’m still happily married, I told him point blank that the last thing I needed was another man to run my life. He was completely gob smacked by my forwardness and by what I had said to him. I was surprised he didn’t run away, and who could have blamed him? He stayed, much to my chagrin. I honestly tried to push him away and run him off, but he wasn’t budging.

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 My husband was raised by an older generation. His parents were fourteen years older than my parents when they had him. They were raised by an older generation as well. My husband was taught to open doors for women carry bags and other heavy objects for them, and in general how to conduct himself in the presence of the fairer sex. (This was another term I hated with a passion.) He was brought up to be a complete gentleman, but I was certainly no lady. (I’m still not, and that’s okay. I was made for war, not smelling salts.)

 The first time my husband opened the door for me, I looked at him and said, “My arms aren’t broken.” Again, he had a puzzled expression on his face similar to the one he wore when I told him the last thing I needed was another man to run my life. He insisted upon opening doors for me and paying for things, again much to my chagrin. I tried to put a stop to it, but I couldn’t. I even told him that he didn’t stand a snowball’s chance in Hell with me, but he was persistent, and his persistence paid off.

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  I gave in to my feelings for him, the feelings I kept hidden behind the mask I wore. I was afraid he would hurt and betray me just like the other men in my life had done. Instead, he accepted the terms and conditions of me, my flaws, my distorted perceptions, and my issues, and he loved me. He still loves me.

 Eventually, I got used to being treated like the woman that I am, and I began to like it. It wasn’t so bad, having someone open my door, carry my things, and do the things that I’m actually capable of doing, but it’s nice. Those things didn’t change who I am. It changed my attitude about myself as a woman, but it didn’t make me any less of a strong woman.

  I still have enough backbone for two people, and I am still woman, hear me roar.

 Now I just roar about different things.

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Secure the border now! Sign the petition here:

3 Dec

https://secure.teapartypatriots.org/endthebordercrisis/radio714

DOUG SMITH: LYING – A CULTURAL PHENOMENA

2 Dec

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Not that you lied to me, but that I no longer believe you, has shaken me

Friedrich Neitzche

Lying doesn’t matter. It’s ok, especially if you are telling a lie in order to further something you believe. Even if what you believe is also a lie. Any of us can say anything we want, and it never matters. There are no consequences for being an untruthful person. That is the lesson of modern America.

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In 1988, a 15 year old girl in New York created a story about being raped, assaulted, and smeared with feces by a gang of white men. A civil rights huckster named Al Sharpton accused a police officer who had recently committed suicide and a prosecutor named Steven Pagones. When asked what proof he had, Sharpton huffed “I have Tawana Brawley’s words.”

The NY Attorney General had a security guard from the lawyers “advising” Brawley who testified before the grand jury that they all knew from the start she was lying. As it turns out, none of them had anything but a sensational story, with racial overtones, which brought them a lot of attention. Tawana Brawley made up the story to cover being out late with her boyfriend.

Steven Pagones sued for defamation of character, and was awarded 85,000, which Sharpton did not pay. It was paid for him by Johnny Cochran and other supporters.

Brawley is a nurse in Florida.   She was ordered to pay 450,000 in damages, but refused until 2013 when a judge ordered her wages garnished. 26 years after the fact she has paid less than 4, 000 dollars

Today, Sharpton is worth millions. (Even counting the 1.2 mill in back taxes he refuses to pay. Someone call Lois Lerner. ) He gets paid 6 figures by MSNBC. He has been to the White House 85 times. Not bad for a boy Pentecostal preacher from Brooklyn. Guess the Gospel was not paying him so well. Hate, it seems, sells better.

Dorian Johnson began the mythical story “Hands Up, Don’t Shoot.” Given the way of things. It will be in history books in 20 years. The problem of course, is that it never happened.

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Reports proved  that Brown was not shot in the back, did not have his hands up, and had been shot at close range on one hand (consistent with Wilson’s story about a struggle for his gun in the patrol car). He also had enough THC in his body to cause hallucinations.

Johnson has not been charged in the robbery, or for his false reports.

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Bill Clinton’s now infamous “I did not have sexual relations with that woman. Miss Lewinsky” is the stuff of legend.  Impeached, but not convicted, he is still the Grand Old Man of the Democrats.

Barack Obama: Keep your plan and 6 years of lies, and his consequences?  The Democrats lost both Houses of Congress, but not him.  The GOP withheld funding, then caved. He is very unpopular, which no longer matters.

Brawley, Sharpton, Clinton, Obama, Johnson, all liars; all without consequence, apparently better off for the lie than without it.

Lesson for our culture: Lie.

Truth doesn’t matter. Truth and integrity are outdated social mores.

“That I know longer believe you, has shaken me.”  And it has shaken our society, not for the better.

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PLANNED PARENTHOOD FULFILLING FOUNDER’S VISION

2 Dec

Nov. 19, 2009 @ 12:00 AM

When Margaret Sanger, famous birth control activist, founded Planned Parenthood in 1916, her vision for society was not unlike another notable historical figure of the past who believed in the self-direction of human evolution.

Adolph Hitler.

A controversial eugenicist, Margaret Sanger believed, “The most merciful thing that a large family does to one of its infant members is to kill it.”

The following quote appeared in the introduction to Margaret Sanger’s 1922 book, “The Pivot of Civilization”:

“We want fewer and better children who can be reared up to their full possibilities in unencumbered homes, and we cannot make the social life and the world-peace we are determined to make, with the ill-bred, ill-trained swarms of inferior citizens that you inflict upon us.”

In her book, Sanger went on to refer to blacks, immigrants and indigents as “… human weeds,’ reckless breeders,’ and ‘spawning … human beings who never should have been born.”

Sanger’s vision has in large part come to fruition with the institution of Planned Parenthood.

According to its recently released annual report for 2007-2008, the Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA), the largest abortion provider in the United States, was responsible for performing 305,310 abortions in 2007, an increase from 289,750 the previous year, coinciding with an increase in government funding, from $337 million to $350 million.

Sanger, who was officially endorsed by the American Eugenic Society (AES) in 1932, was also recognized “under the radar” by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at a Planned Parenthood function.

“The 20th century reproductive rights movement, really embodied in the life and leadership of Margaret Sanger, was one of the most transformational in the entire history of the human race,” Clinton stated upon receiving an award from the organization that Sanger founded.

Clinton dubiously acknowledged she was in “awe” of Sanger.

Others stand in “awe” of creation.

In September, a former director of a Planned Parenthood clinic in Texas, Abby Johnson, quit her job after watching an ultrasound of an abortion in which she witnessed a fetus “crumple” as it was vacuumed out of a patient’s uterus.

“When I was working at Planned Parenthood, I was extremely pro-choice,” Johnson told FoxNews.com. But after seeing the procedure for the first time on an ultrasound monitor she said, “I would say there was a definite conversion in my heart … a spiritual conversion.”

In an interview with World Net Daily, Johnson revealed it became all about the numbers at her workplace.

“Every meeting that we had was, “We don’t have enough money … we’ve got to keep these abortions coming,” she said.

Since the clinic offered surgical abortions only every other Saturday, they sought to increase the availability of abortions by offering RU-486 chemical abortions throughout the week, according to Johnson.

RU-486 chemical abortions kill the lining of the uterus, cutting off oxygen and nutrients, resulting in the death of the unborn baby.

In Sanger’s dream of ridding society of “human weeds” and “reckless breeders,” Planned Parenthood, no doubt, has helped facilitate the murder of some beautifully created children with the potential to become real champions in life.

Mark Caserta is a Cabell County resident and a regular contributor to The Herald- Dispatch editorial page.

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S.H. TOWNSEND: The War on Women – More of a battle for some.

20 Nov

shelleye

This is the 2nd in a series from S.H. Townsend dealing with a conservative woman’s perspective on the “war on women”.

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Is there a war on women? How has it affected me? I have found myself in the midst of battles for which I was unprepared.

It was drilled into my head by my mother’s partner that all men were scum and couldn’t be trusted, but I also came to the conclusion that women couldn’t be trusted. This was after being bullied by my female peers throughout junior high school over, wouldn’t you know it, boys.

I had very few real female friends. I felt like they were all out to hurt each other. I had witnessed it many times, the catty remarks, the backhanded compliments, the unspoken competitions between women, and I didn’t want to participate in any of it. I found most females to be boy crazy. I had no interest in chatting about such insipid topics as men’s bums, or engaging in ridiculous debates about who was the hottest guy, so I became one of the guys.

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There were times when my male peers treated like the female that I am. I thought it was chauvinistic and rude, and I chastised them for it. I was woman, hear me roar! My male peers were in fact not really doing anything wrong, but I didn’t see it that way at the time.

One of the biggest battles into which I was thrust was during my first marriage. A huge portion of the battles took place at a church I attended with my first husband, who was probably the king of chauvinists. It wasn’t his fault. His father was a chauvinist, and the church he attended upheld chauvinist beliefs and had absolutely no respect for women. Women were to be seen and not heard. Women were not allowed to make important decisions. Women could play the piano and sing. Women could be Sunday school teachers and worship leaders, but a woman leader? That’s not of God! Women are subject to the men! WOMEN ARE SUPPOSED TO BE SILENT IN CHURCH!

During the last few months of my marriage, my first husband got arrested on a bench warrant. The pastor of the First Church of the Misogynist of Latter Day Saints* (and probably not the last) told me that I had no right to be angry. Of course I was angry! I had to take a day off work and spend money I didn’t have to bail him out of jail!

My marriage was nearing its eventual end. I sought help from the church. I was under the impression that churches were filled with kind people who lived to serve others, because it was what Jesus did during his lifetime. I admitted to the church that my marriage was falling apart.

Throughout my two year attendance, I was told that my husband’s sin was my fault. I didn’t pray or fast enough. I wasn’t a good wife. I did everything I thought a good wife should do. Proverbs 31 was my guide. I did every single one of the things possible to do, but it still wasn’t good enough to save my marriage. I WAS PERFECT, and it was killing me.

I went to the church for help. I told them how I was doing everything in Proverbs 31, and I was told it still wasn’t enough. Upon hearing that statement, I told the pastor if the church refused to help me, I was filing for divorce. The pastor’s response was, “He’s your mule.”

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I never agreed to a marriage with a husband who ran the bars and brought other women home. (I felt more hatred toward women because he brought so many into our home.) I pointed out that the vows had broken and I was done. The pastor’s response was, “If you divorce him, you’ll go straight to Hell, and so will any man you marry.” I was beyond the valley of angry. I should have just shut up and left, but the words, “I’ll see you there,” escaped my lips. I left that church and didn’t look back.

Stay tuned for part three, where I will further discuss my experiences on the battlefield.

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S.H. TOWNSEND: IS THERE A WAR ON WOMEN? QUESTIONS REMAIN UNANSWERED

18 Nov

To my loyal readers:  This is the first column in my series dealing candidly with the so-called “war on women” in the United States. 

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Is there a war on women? If so, how has it affected me? These questions sound like a run of the mill college essay questions for a women’s studies course, don’t they? I find these questions thought provoking.

This is not just a topic limited to the female population of readers. I would like for the men to weigh in as well. I’m fairly sure that men on the sidelines of some of the battles have witnessed injuries, as well as casualties in this war. Maybe the women in their lives have inexplicably found themselves locked in a battle for which they hadn’t prepared.

I too have been thrust into battles for which I had not prepared. In my defense, I wasn’t aware that I needed to prepare for battle. Nobody informed me about this war, but little did I know I was being groomed for it by one of its key players.

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I was raised in an “alternative” household. That’s what they called it during my childhood. To put it into terminology that everyone can fully comprehend, I was raised by a lesbian couple. My brother and I were instructed to keep quiet about it, because had the authorities been alerted, we would have been immediately removed from the home and taken away a mother who loved us and took care of us.

Please understand, I am not trying to turn this into an article about gay couples raising children, nor will I engage in a debate on this topic. My upbringing is imperative to my perspective of the war on women. I understand that people are curious, and I encourage valid inquiries about my upbringing. I also understand that people can be rude and judgmental. I had my fair share of teasing in junior high regarding the fact that I was raised by a lesbian couple.

My mother’s former partner was a misogynist. She abhorred men with a passion. She was proud to be a woman, but she wanted to be treated like man. Her attitude toward both genders left me quite perplexed as a child.

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When my mother’s partner was a child, her identity was stolen from her by her mother. She was forced to wear dresses and have long hair. The same thing was then done to me by her. Gone were my lace dresses and patent leather shoes, replaced by caps, jeans, and tee shirts.

When I became interested in boys, which tends to happen during teenagedom (a term I coined, because teenagers think they rule and reign) my mother’s partner hated every single guy I brought home. She informed me that I was just as good as any man, and none of those boys were worth my time or energy. She was thrilled when I broke my engagement, and angry when I attempted to reconcile with him. We were unable to repair our relationship.

Is there a war on women? I was thrown into this war from birth, and I never even got to choose whether or not I wanted to participate.

How has it affected me? I will discuss how the war has affected me in part two.

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November

10 Nov

S. H. TOWNSEND

By S.H. Townsend

It’s November. That slump between the gorgeous coloured leaves that adorn the trees and litter the ground, and the twinkling Christmas lights that adorn everything that doesn’t move, and some things that do. Yes, November. Say hello to dead leaves, gray skies, and shorter days. The darkness has returned. Am I behaving atrociously? If so, I apologize. Today, all I can think about is the White Stripes song, Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground mostly because of the title. The song itself makes absolutely no sense to me. Still, the title is an accurate picture of November.

Gray skies, dreary days…
Dried brown leaves…
Dead leaves and the dirty ground.
So yeah, that’s November.
My perception of November is different considering that I lost two people last year. I always felt like November was the darkest part of Fall. The leaves were usually gone, and what leaves remained on the trees were not as vibrant. It was the less beautiful part of Fall for me, the slump between October and December. Now I find it the ugliest, darkest part of Fall.
Fall is usually my favourite time of year, but this year has been disappointing. It rained during 90% of Fall. The nicer days that I could have enjoyed were sacrificed for Judgement House, which I still think was totally worth it. I didn’t get to experience the nicer days. My Fall was spent staring out of a window.
Ebola arrived to the states at the beginning of Fall. (The jury is still out on whether or not Thomas Eric Duncan withheld information or blatantly lied during his first emergency room visit. Some news sources say he did, some say he didn’t.) A disease that is supposedly unable to spread unless you’re in contact with the infected person’s bodily fluids began to spread in Texas. I still don’t understand how safe the general public can possibly be if doctors and nurses in HAZMAT suits can still contract Ebola. Stupidity abounded when Amber Vinson selfishly boarded a flight to plan her wedding, as well as several flights after. More stupidity arose when Dr. Craig Spencer decided to have a night on the town just hours before he became symptomatic. (I’m beginning to think some of the symptoms of Ebola include urgent desire to travel to crowded places, urgent need to board an airplane, selfishness, and making poor or stupid decisions.) Then there’s that Hickox woman who refuses to undergo minimal quarantine measures and self-monitoring. The media continues to glorify her insipid acts. Still no real response or solution from the Obama Administration. That’s a big surprise. (That was sarcasm in case you are wondering.)
So yeah, Fall was a complete downer this year. I’m bummed. I’m beginning to hate every season, with Summer still being my #1 most hated season. Winter still has a chance though. We’ll see how that goes.
As if this Fall weren’t bad enough, today is Election Day.
This is also sarcasm.
If you can’t tell, I’m beyond the valley of thrilled! (Even more sarcasm.) 
I’m sure some of you may want to just go ahead and stop reading. You may feel like you’ve been tricked. The title may seem misleading, but I can assure you, it’s not. November = elections during some of the even numbered years. You didn’t really think I was going to dedicate an entire post to November, did you? It’s not even my favourite month.
Why am I lacking excitement about Election Day? There are many reasons. I’m not sure which reason I should share first, but I will save the big one for last.
This year, the social networking sites have been overrun with politics, especially the end of last month and the beginning of this month. There are ads asking you to click if you plan to vote or if you have voted. It seems like the government is campaigning to get voters to the polls. My question is why. Why the sudden need to know whether or not we are voting? I’ve even heard that the people who don’t vote will have their names published. Is this legal?
Why does the government or even Facebook want to know if I’m voting or if I have voted? Why the sudden interest? Correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t think whether or not I vote is actually anyone’s business. I’m not trying to be rude, I’m just being honest.
Why do I lack excitement about Election Day? Because my vote in the 2012 Presidential Election did not count. How do I know this? There were illegal votes in Hamilton County, Ohio that were never dealt with or even mentioned again. No, I am not one of those people who make claims that the election was rigged. I just think more dead people voted in 2012 than in any other election.
Walkers heading to the polls in 2012.
Does my vote count? Does your vote count for that matter? I think these are fair questions.
I somehow doubt that…
I don’t feel like my vote counts. I feel rather ambivalent about voting these days. I’m just wondering if I should waste my time going to the polls to be completely honest.
I’d vote for him. At least he’s honest.
Some of my female readers are probably freaking out right now. “OMG, SHE DOESN’T CARE ABOUT VOTING! WOMEN DIED FOR HER RIGHT TO VOTE! SHE NEEDS TO GET OVER HERSELF, BELT UP, AND GO TO THE POLLS!” Women did suffer and die for my right to vote. It’s true.
And their efforts paid off.
Women were only meant to be seen and not heard in historical times, even as far back as biblical times. Because of this, I am beyond thankful for the suffragettes who endured horrible torture and death in order for me to have the right to vote today. I don’t take that right for granted.
In Corinthians, there is a scripture that says, and I’m paraphrasing, “a woman should be silent in church”. There was a reason behind that scripture, but churches take it and use it today and base their entire leadership system on scriptures such as this one. I attended a church long before I ever set foot in the doors of the wonderful church I attend now, where the women were not allowed to make decisions, become pastors, or even flick a light switch without a man giving them permission. There are still men out there today who feel this way about women. I’m not a man hater. I don’t agree with chauvinism, but I also understand that not every man had a father who respected women. So I’m all for women having the right to vote, and I agree with certain women’s rights, but not all of them. I like having a gentleman for a husband who opens doors for me. It’s nice. I know that not every woman has that privilege, but I do.
I remember when Doug first opened a door for me, I looked at him perplexed and said, “My arms aren’t broken.” Now I’ve gotten so used to it that if I’m with someone, I stop in front of the door instinctively without even thinking about it before I realize my husband isn’t the one with me. Because of Doug, I’m a little more traditional and dare I say a little more feminine. He made me feel beautiful. He made me feel valued. He made me feel like the scripture that says a woman is a prize to be won, as well as the scripture from Proverbs 31 that says, and again I’m paraphrasing, her value is worth more than rubies.
The problem is ever since the 2012 election, I have become quite ambivalent when it comes to politics and to voting. I just don’t think my vote counts. I think the states are more of a monarchy. There are two royal families from which to choose, King Democrat and King Republican. You can vote for King Lesser Political Party, but they’re not going to win. King Lesser Political Party doesn’t even stand a chance. No matter who you vote for, either King Democrat and his family will move into the white palace, or King Republican and his family will move into the white palace. These two kingdoms have been at war for years, and they continue to use issues that are quite petty in the grand scheme of things to sway voters, and you never hear about some of the issues after the election ever again. This war between the two kingdoms is just getting old, and I’ve become ambivalent, and I’m honestly over it. My hope for this country is gone. It may never return again.
I can see the truth in this. Some people are just less polite when engaging in debates than others.
I composed and shared a post on the night of the 2012 election titled, This is Ponderous. I laid out my concerns, and I was accused of being a racist, because I apparently did not like Obama due to the colour of his skin. (I didn’t even know I was a racist. That was news to me.) I was accused of being an elitist snob who hated the poor. (Last time I checked, I wasn’t wealthy.) *shrugs* I got threatened, I had profane words sent to me, and this was all because I shared my opinion and my concerns about my goals and what socialism would do to my dreams of becoming an author and to this country. I got such a horrible response, so I took that post down. I’m not sure if I will ever put it back up, maybe not on this blog, but perhaps elsewhere.
Does my vote count? Does your vote count? Again, these are fair questions.
I’m in a lousy mood. I’m ambivalent. On top of that, I think I’m getting a cold. Fun times!
Notice the made in Portugal sign on the right.
Voting should feel good. Voters should feel like they’re making a difference when they cast their ballots. Voters should not feel like they’re wasting their time. I feel like my time and attention could better be devoted to something else. Is it sad that I feel this way? I think so. I just remember a time when I could be proud of the states and for which they stand.
Will I exercise my right to vote today? I’m 90% certain that I will. I’m also 100% certain that my vote won’t count.
Let this statement sink in for a little while.
Cheers…

Perfection: The enemy of us all

10 Nov

To my loyal readers:

Introducing the newest regular contributor to FSP, Doug Smith!

What can I say about Doug Smith…Doug is undoubtedly one of the most intelligent people I know.  I appreciate his service to our country in the Navy and his commitment to our nation as a patriotic citizen.  He’s a superb writer who often delves into “tongue in cheek” analysis of government and possesses what has become an “archaic” view of conservative responsibility to our nation.  I appreciate him as a writer, musician and friend. Please welcome Doug to the FSP army!

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About the author:

DOUG SMITH PIC

Doug Smith was born in Huntington, WV during the Eisenhower administration.  Ike was singularly unaffected by the event. It did begin a series of adventure for Doug, however. 

 While he considers Huntington his hometown, and West Virginia his home state, he has traveled and lived in a number of places.  By the time he began school, he had lived in Huntington, Portsmouth, Va, Santa Anna, Ca.

  Nor did formal schooling stop that tendency to travel.   After beginning school in Huntington, his family moved enough so that by the time he graduated high school 12 years later, he had attended 7 schools.  

 During  school , Doug worked as a short order cook, curb boy, soda jerk, bus boy, and pearl diver.  He was a quintessential Band Geek, musician, and music lover.  Sizing up his prospects in the middle of the recession of 73-75, and being 18 feeling invincible, he opted for a stable, quiet, sedate endeavor.

 He joined the Navy. 

 During 2 years of training in electronics, he embarked on several great adventures.  He married, began a family which grew to 4 children, ( and ultimately 5 grandchildren) , and joined the crew of a Nuclear Fast Attack Submarine.  

 He served 9 years in the Submarine force, as an Electronics Technician on a boat, an Instructor at the Naval Submarine School in New London, achieving the rate of Chief Petty Officer. 

 Doug has been in over 30 US states, 10 foreign countries, 2 continents, 2 hemispheres, 2 Oceans, 3 Seas, the Panama Canal, the Straights of Magellan, the Gulf of Mexico, and in his travels has logged over 1.5 million miles. 

 He also, much to his chagrin, voted for Jimmy Carter. 4 years, of malaise later, as part of a military who sat seething through the debacle of the US Embassy hostages in Iran, and Carter s impotence as a Commander in Chief, he heard a speech given by the Governor of California, Ronald Reagan.  He became, first, one of the Reagan Democrats, who crossed over to help put him in office, then later, as he saw the strength and confidence growing in the country, a dedicated conservative.  

 Since returning to West Virginia from the Navy, he has worked as a Vocational Teacher, in the mining industry, and in electronics and computers. 

 He is an amateur musician, artist, and writer. Which of course means that no one pays him to do any of these things.  While he will accept donations, he is subject to tax, just like everyone else.  This, of course, serves to strengthen his conservatism. Meanwhile, his amateur status seems to be safe, since donations are pouring in as quickly as a politician admitting a mistake. 

 He reads, writes, and comments on conservative principles, mental health issues,  and issues affecting the health and strength of the USA, believing that these principles provide the best path to leave a stronger and better country for his children and grandchildren. 

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Perfection.

The word is alluring.  Who doesn’t love a perfect game; a perfect sunset; a perfect day?  Who doesn’t dread a “perfect storm”?  We also feel a bit inadequate because we never seem to quite achieve personal perfection.

In politics, the desire for perfection has created two unintended, but insidious traps.

I like to think of them as the “If only” trap, and the “all or nothing “trap.

Let’s take a look first at the If only trap.

From Plato’s Republic, through the French Revolution, to the 20th century string of failed Socialist states, have fallen into this particular trap.  These utopians buy into the fantasy that they can overcome human nature and create a paradise in which everyone does the good thing and the right thing all the time, and everyone is content.

If only, everyone would give to the best of their ability, and be satisfied with getting what they need (by our definition) it would be Utopia. The trap they fail to see in their thinking is

“How great things would be if not for those pesky people.”

But societies are invariably made of people, not angels. They act in their own interest, more often than not.  Their “better angels” are subject to their own whims and failings.

And so, when everyone working in a factory gets the same pay, few will work harder or faster than the worst worker. Industry and ambition are not rewarded, so everything tends to the mediocre at best, and more often than not, failure.  While the urge to compassion may lead people to help the poor, we see all too often that state sponsored, and forced, “compassion, lead to paying to reward irresponsible behaviors.   Time and again we get more of what we pay for more of.   We pay people not to work.  We pay alcoholics because they can’t keep a job due to their drinking.  We pay to support people who start families which they have no ability to support.  Utopians are then surprised that for all our money spent, we get more people not working, caught in alcoholism, and having children they are unable to support.  Common sense folks who work and live among other people are not surprised. Economists are not surprised.

When these principles fail in Russia, they try them in France. When they fail there, our own Utopians try it here. When it fails under Wilson, they reason, Wilson was not our guy. FDR will make it work.  When he does not, LBJ says, I ll do it right.  After 17 Trillion of Great Society spending, with no reduction in the numbers living in poverty, there are still Utopians who argue

“If only we had spent more, if only WE had been in charge, it would have worked. “

If only is a form of insanity. It denies the realities, and tries to govern based on what “we ought to do”, and not what we actually do. And it fails, disastrously every time.

If only people would not react like that. But time and again, they do.

The other trap, which I see conservatives fall into, is the “all or nothing “trap.

This one says, well, if I can’t eat cake, I’ll just eat mud. This is the trap that says if my party does not go far enough to pull us out of the ditch, then I might as well let the guy who drove into the ditch keep driving.  This is the argument of the child who will cut his nose off to spite his face if he can’t get his way. ( I raised one of those!)  It is based on emotion, not reason.  If I want a Congress to cut taxes by 10 percent, and they only cut them 5 %, then I might as well vote for the guy who is going to raise taxes by 20%.   How’s that again?

We saw this play out in 2012. Dissatisfied with Mitt Romney, 4 million GOP voters who voted for John McCain in 2008  sat out the election.  Barack Obama went on to win re election by fewer votes than he did in 08, and by fewer than those 4 million.  Had they voted, Romney would be President today.  Now, would he have been as good a President as some of the others in the 2012 GOP field? Perhaps not. Would he have been better than the continued failures of Barack Obama? You bet!

Conservatives who fall into the All or Nothing trap, will nominate the most conservative candidate possible, even if he cannot be elected.  They will only vote if the nominee is the most conservative possible candidate.

The result of this form of insanity is that conservatives get the worst possible outcome, e.g. a radical Barack Obama, instead of a “better than a sharp stick in the eye” Mitt Romney.

William F Buckley put forth the Buckley rule. ““Nominate the most conservative candidate who is electable.”  Mr. Buckley s rule made a lot of sense.

Let’s wish for the perfect, hope for the best, but always work to get the better.  Perhaps we can move out of the politically insane traps that have brought us to the chaos all around us in 2014.

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The term “war” should be used to describe battle.

4 Nov

To my loyal readers: 

I’m honored to have S.H. Townsend as a regular contributor to http://www.FreeStatePatriot.  We need to hear what it’s like from someone in the trenches of the so-called “war on women”. I am “greatly” looking forward to her perspective!

This is the first of many insightful columns to come from someone who just may enjoy writing more than anyone I know! While this column was written 2 years ago, I believe you’ll find her style of painting an intimate portrait – refreshing!

   Mark Caserta

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 TRUTHS FROM THE TRENCHES

“Real life realities of today’s conservative woman”

S. H. TOWNSEND 

From author S.H. Townsend:

 I am in the thirty+something year of my life. I’ve been married for over a decade, and I have written a forty book series, and I recently published my first book, Dormiveglia.

I drink too much coffee, I exercise… twice a week. I have two cats, but no children. I don’t embarrass easily, but there are certain parts of my life I don’t put the spotlight on.

I have OCD. GAD, and chronic hemiplegic migraines, and some days, I just have a hard time being me…I can’t remember where this one was from, but I saved them all. Since Ebola has entered the states, I no longer desire to go to medical school:I am a workaholic insomniac coffee addicted perfectionist redhead writer who suffers from OCD and chronic migraines, and aspires to be a best seller and a doctor. Need I say more?

Enjoy her blog as well:

http://confessionsofaredhead-shellye.blogspot.com/

shelley

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This is Ponderous.

 

President Obama was reelected today. I haven’t been this depressed since my husband lost his dream job in August.

 Yes, I am a Republican. Before I continue, I want to make it known that I am not here to debate or argue or badmouth the Democratic Party. People have the right to choose what political party they support, and I am not going to infringe upon that right. I have the right to be a Republican. I always have been, and I probably always will be. So that being said, let me get to the real reason I am composing this blog. Ever since the results of the election were announced, I realize that I have some serious thinking to do.

 Before I go on to this serious thinking, there’s just one thing that bothered me about the election itself. Illegal votes were reported in Hamilton County, Ohio. At this time, no reports have been made as to whether or not the illegal votes have been thrown out and Hamilton County’s ballots have been recounted. I don’t think illegal votes should count, but I’m just an American citizen, what do I know?

 I’m concerned about what is going to happen to my dreams, goals, and hopes, now that Obama has been reelected as president. It’s not that I don’t like Barak Obama as a person, I’ve never met him, and that wouldn’t be a fair judgment call, what I’m concerned about are his policies. Is President Barak Obama a Socialist? I think that’s a fair question because Socialism has been shoved into my face via the media in all forms since 2008 due to the health care reform.

 According to Google, this is what Socialism looks like:

  •  Punishes Success
  • Rewards Laziness
  • Redistribution of Wealth
  • Collective Ownership
  • Large Welfare System
  • Large Invasive Government

Keep in mind, this is not my definition of Socialism, this was provided by Google. It also shows that Socialism can eventually turn to Communism. That’s not what I’m here to discuss at this time.

 Do any of the above aspects and attributes of Socialism fall into Obama’s policies? I know for sure that redistribution of the wealth does fall into his desires for the United States. And forgive me, but I do not agree with the redistribution of my wealth or yours.

 I’m going to use my mother for example. My mother went to nursing school and became an LPN when she was in my age bracket. She had to pay to go to school, save for a few grants. She did not use any loans to pay for her education. She later furthered her education and became an RN. She went back and got several college degrees. She continues to further her education and training for her job. She has money put back for her retirement. Everyone can see that she’s worked hard to get to where she is today.

  Why should she have to share what she’s worked so hard to achieve?

  She did this ALL BY HERSELF. The people with whom she will be forced to share her wealth were not there when she had the ambition to leave her position as a stay at home mum of two so she could become an LPN. They were not there with her those long hours she spent studying. They were not there at her job interview and did not help her get the job. They were not there to help her when she returned to school.

  WHY SHOULD OTHER PEOPLE BE GIVEN HER HARD EARNED MONEY?

 Can somebody please answer that question for me? Why should her money be given to people who did not work for it? I don’t see how that’s fair! Maybe I’m just an evil Republican who has old fashioned values, but I think my mother should get to keep her money that she has worked so hard to earn. I’m her child, and I’m not entitled to it unless she decides to give it to me, and that’s how it should be. I may be poor, but I am not entitled to someone else’s money because I DID NOT EARN IT! It’s as simple as that.

 Here’s another thing, and I don’t know if Obama has been planning on this, but the collective ownership issue is something else with which I do not agree. I’m going to use my landlady as an example. My landlady owns the cottage we live in and we pay her rent. That’s the agreement. It is her cottage. We pay a fee to reside in her cottage. She and her husband built it from the ground up. My husband and I live in the house where she and her husband spent their first years as a married couple. She also owns and lives in (and I think her late husband had a hand in building it as well) the house in front of us. She and her husband obviously worked hard, so why should the government or anyone else have any right to what she and her husband paid off and own free and clear?

  How is that fair to her? And would it be fair to me and my husband if another family decided to move into the cottage with us, since they would have collective ownership of the cottage? It’s private property, and my husband and I are the only other people besides our landlady who have the right to be on the property. It’s the same with cars. I don’t want to share a car that I paid for with other people who did not work to pay for it. They may not take care of it because they didn’t earn it. They didn’t work for it.

  Think about it. How would you like someone using your personal private things, the things that you paid good money for that you worked hard to earn? (Some people don’t even like sharing with their siblings. Imagine having to share your property with people you don’t even know!)

 I also do not think laziness should be rewarded. And believe me, it’s not – at least not for me and my husband. I NEVER want to be rewarded for laziness.

  Do you know how much my husband would get from unemployment after losing his dream job? Only $65.00 per week!  We can’t live on that! Do you know how many food stamps we would get if we signed up for them? Maybe $16.00 if we’re lucky and that’s because the government thinks one of us should have a part time minimum wage job. If one of us had a part-time minimum wage job, the government says we would get close to $200.00 or more. (My husband had a part- time minimum wage job that gave him eight hours per week or less, and do you know how much we qualified for in food stamps? Nothing.)

I have looked for a job since February of 2011. (Writing a book series doesn’t pay anything until the first book is published.) I’ve had TWO interviews since February of 2011. I had a woman look at me and say, “Well, you’re just not going to work.” When I asked why, she snapped at me and said, “I DON’T HAVE TO GIVE YOU A REASON.” So I demanded that she give me my resume back. And she glared at me, and I grabbed it out of her hand and I left!

 TWO INTERVIEWS IN EIGHTEEN MONTHS! Do you know how humiliating that is? And people think I’m not trying? Really? My husband lost his dream job! I was suicidal! We’ve struggled for so long, and this was just such a shocking blow to us. I don’t want to be back on food stamps! I don’t want my husband to be back on unemployment! I DON’T WANT TO LIVE OFF OF THE GOVERNMENT FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE! I HAVE DREAMS AND THIS IS NOT THE LIFE I WANT FOR MYSELF OR MY HUSBAND! WHAT IS SO WRONG WITH WANTING TO DO MORE THAN JUST SURVIVE?

 Until today, I had dreams. Now all I have are questions. What’s going to happen to my dream now?

 In 2009, I didn’t like the way my life was going, so I decided to change it. I started writing, mostly for an escape because things were really bad. (Now I’m getting beyond the valley of the realness.) My husband and I had nothing but each other, but our marriage was falling apart. He decided to go back to school to better our lives. (That isn’t turning out the way we had hoped it would.) I did not support him because I thought it was a bad idea. I asked him time after time what we were going to do to survive while he was going to school. He gave me one answer and one answer only. He told me that he was going to school and that nobody was going to stop him. (I’m so glad he supports my dream despite the fact that I wasn’t so supportive of his.) I felt like he didn’t really care what happened to us, nor did he love me enough to address my concerns. I resented his lack of concern and he resented my lack of support.

 I started playing game and writing little stories about the characters. One of my friends was totally on board with me. She began adding ideas and listening to me share what was going on in the lives of my characters.

  What was a way of escape became something fun for me to share with my friends. Then, people started saying, “Shellye, you should turn it into a book.” At first I dismissed their suggestions, but when my friend prompted me on numerous occasions to take my ideas and put them into a book, I decided that maybe everyone was on to something. So I slowly began building it into a book.

 Now it has grown into twelve books, and that’s just dividing what I already have into 500 to 600 page books, and I still have at the very least, twelve more to write.

 I’ve worked so hard on this book series. I’ve poured my blood, my sweat, and my tears into it, sometimes all three things, and sometimes in the literal sense. My book has cost me time away from my family and my friends. I have neglected my own needs at times. I’ve had many sleepless nights. There are times I should have been resting, but the story ideas kept coming. There are things I’ve had to say no to because I had work to do. There are calls that I should have been making, but I was in the middle of an important part of the story. There are things I have done and experienced to be a better writer so I can get involved in the character’s emotions and feelings, music I’ve listened to, videos I’ve watched, research I’ve done on things that I am not interested in just to feel what my character is feeling. Countless hours, long days, sleepless nights, and sometimes not leaving my house for days, sometimes ignoring social networking sites. And I did it because I want to be a success. First, I escaped, second, I had fun, third, I believed in myself, and fourth, I want to take care of myself and my family. I think I’ve earned that.

 Does Obama think I’ve earned it? That’s my biggest concern.

 This is what I’ve been told. If I don’t go after what I want, I will never have it. I want to be a best- selling author. Call me pretentious, but I think I have a chance. But now, I’m faced with the possibility of throwing it all away. Forgive me, but I don’t think anyone has a right to my book or its earnings unless they helped me work on it. My supporters have a right to it. My friend and editor, Carrie, she has a right to it. My husband has a right to it. That’s why it’s so important that I succeed, because my husband is counting on me, my family is counting on me, and the people who put work and effort into the book alongside me, they are counting on me.

  I don’t want the government to take that away from me! That’s why I didn’t vote for Obama! I didn’t vote FOR Romney, I voted AGAINST Obama.

  And I don’t agree with Romney’s view of women. It’s true, Republican men in power do not have any respect for women. I know this. Republican males see the world and their political party as a boy’s club. I’ve never agreed with that, and that’s because I am a strong woman. I was raised by a strong woman.

  I didn’t vote for Obama because I don’t agree with Socialism. I voted AGAINST Obama because I believe in Capitalism. If that makes me a horrible person, let the record show that I am a horrible person. Shout it from the rooftops, declare it in your cities and your schools, whatever you have to do, just do it! I take full responsibility for my horribleness!

 I have worked hard, and I dare anyone to tell me that I haven’t! I am sick to death of people and their assumptions. If I hear one more person tell me I’m not going to make it, I may punch them right in the face! (Yes, you may take that seriously. I mean that.) But I’m not going to let the government take it away from me either.

  I don’t want to throw away two years worth of hard work, blood, sweat, and tears… But I will if I have to share credit and/or money with strangers who didn’t work for it or earn it because they don’t deserve it. If I’m wrong, then I’m wrong. If I’m evil, then let it be decreed that I’m evil because I don’t want to share my hard earned wealth with someone who didn’t earn it, or someone who is not entitled to it.

  It is my dream, and I will share my wealth with the people of my choosing. If I cannot, then, I will be the one to make the decision to kill it. I don’t want to see my work go down the drain, but I WILL NOT let the government take credit for it or redistribute my earnings from it! If I succeed, I should be rewarded for it. Not you. Not people who are too lazy to try to get a job (as if there are any real jobs these days); not the government; and yes, you can quote me.

 I thought I was the one who decided where my dream would go from here.

 

Maybe not…

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OBAMA URGES STATES TO REVERSE MANDATORY QUARANTINES

27 Oct

Under Pressure, Cuomo Says Ebola Quarantines Can Be Spent at Home

QUARANTINE

By MATT FLEGENHEIMER, MICHAEL D. SHEAR and MICHAEL BARBAROOCT. 26, 2014

Facing fierce resistance from the White House and medical experts to a strict new mandatory quarantine policy, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said on Sunday night that medical workers who had contact with Ebola patients in West Africa but did not show symptoms of the disease would be allowed to remain at home and would receive compensation for lost income.

Mr. Cuomo’s decision capped a frenzied weekend of behind-the-scenes pleas from administration officials, who urged him and Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey to reconsider the mandatory quarantine they had announced on Friday. Aides to President Obama also asked other governors and mayors to follow a policy based on science, seeking to stem a steady movement toward more stringent measures in recent days at the state level.

The announcement by Mr. Cuomo seemed intended to draw a sharp contrast — both in tone and in fact — to the policy’s implementation in New Jersey, where a nurse from Maine who arrived on Friday from Sierra Leone was swiftly quarantined in a tent set up inside a Newark hospital, with a portable toilet but with no shower.

GOVERNORS 1

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York, left, and Mayor Bill de Blasio of New York on Sunday. Credit Michael Appleton for The New York Times

It was the second striking shift in Mr. Cuomo’s public posture on the Ebola crisis in 72 hours; after urging calm on Thursday night, then joining Mr. Christie to highlight the risks of lax policy on Friday, Mr. Cuomo on Sunday night appeared to try to dial back his rhetoric and stake out a middle ground.

He said his decision balanced public safety with the need to avoid deterring medical professionals from volunteering in West Africa. “My No. 1 job is to protect the people of New York, and this does that,” he said. Those quarantined at home will be visited twice a day by local authorities, he said. Family members will be allowed to stay, and friends may visit with the approval of health officials.

Mayor Bill de Blasio, sitting beside Mr. Cuomo at a news conference in Manhattan, nodded in approval, and praised the governor for developing a set of flexible quarantine guidelines that, the mayor said, would show proper respect to those required to abide by them.

After Mr. Cuomo’s announcement, Mr. Christie issued a statement saying that, under protocols announced on Wednesday, New Jersey residents not displaying symptoms would also be allowed to quarantine in their homes.

Until Sunday night, the quarantine orders by Mr. Christie, a Republican, and Mr. Cuomo, a Democrat, had drawn withering criticism from many medical experts, who said they would discourage aid workers from volunteering to help eradicate the disease at its source. By midday Sunday, Kaci Hickox, the nurse who became the first person isolated under the new protocols in New Jersey, emerged as the public face of the opposition, calling the treatment she received “inhumane” and disputing Mr. Christie’s assertion a day earlier that she was “obviously ill.”

“If he knew anything about Ebola he would know that asymptomatic people are not infectious,” Ms. Hickox told CNN.

Even some who acknowledged the states’ authority to enact the policy took issue with its implementation in New Jersey.

RON KLAIN

At Bellevue Hospital Center, staff members listened to Mr. de Blasio on Sunday. Credit Damon Winter/The New York Times

“We have to think how we treat the people who are doing this noble work,” Mr. de Blasio said. At a late afternoon news conference, he said Ms. Hickox’s treatment was “inappropriate,” adding: “We owe her better than that.”

Yet amid heightened public anxiety about the government’s handling of the crisis, state authorities have increasingly calculated that the mandatory quarantines will prove prescient. Since the governors’ announcement, Illinois and Florida have said they were instituting similar measures.

“I think this is a policy that will become a national policy sooner rather than later,” Mr. Christie said in an interview on Fox News Sunday.

The Cuomo and Christie administrations began seriously considering a quarantine on Tuesday, aides said, after federal officials decreed that travelers returning from countries affected by Ebola in West Africa could enter the United States only at five designated airports, including Kennedy and Newark Liberty International.

Mr. Christie had grown increasingly frustrated by mid-October, aides said, over the failure of medical professionals to properly isolate themselves on a voluntary basis after returning from West Africa.

He was startled to learn that Dr. Nancy Snyderman, an NBC News correspondent who had traveled to Liberia and whose cameraman had contracted Ebola, left her home in Princeton, N.J., on Oct. 9 to pick up food at a favorite local restaurant.

When a doctor, Craig Spencer, tested positive in New York City on Thursday, the two governors watched as city officials strained to trace his every movement — on the subway, at a bowling alley, at a meatball shop.

ebola ny 2

Kaci Hickox. Credit Kara Hickox

What appeared to be a triumph of meticulous forensic work by city health officials, in retracing Dr. Spencer’s every step late last week, looked like a potential nightmare to governors who suddenly contemplated having to repeat such an exercise over and over.

In a series of phone conversations starting on Thursday night, shortly after Dr. Spencer’s condition was diagnosed, and continuing Friday morning, Mr. Christie and Mr. Cuomo decided to impose the mandatory quarantines, officials said — essentially declaring that neither state trusted those potentially exposed to the deadly disease to wall themselves off from the rest of society.

Aides to Mr. Cuomo said the notion of a mandatory quarantine had always been considered, and that the plan had been quietly vetted by attorneys and public-health officials.

Neither governor notified the White House.

It did not take long for a test case to arrive at Newark. Ms. Hickox, who had treated Ebola patients in West Africa, landed at around 1 p.m. Friday, and immediately became ensnared in the new order.

In a way, the NBC episode worked to New Jersey’s benefit. Because of it, Mr. Christie and his aides had already developed a legal framework for mandatory quarantines, which they applied to Ms. Hickox.

The benefits, supporters said, were clear: soothing public concerns with more aggressive monitoring at the front end and sparing officials from exhaustive retracing after the fact.

AND THEN I TOLD THEM

Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey. Credit Mel Evans/Associated Press

For Mr. Cuomo, though, embracing the policy proved somewhat complicated. Earlier this month, he cast decisions on screening procedures as “a federal issue.” In a news conference on Thursday announcing that Dr. Spencer had tested positive for Ebola, Mr. Cuomo appeared beside Mr. de Blasio and health officials to urge calm. (The city said Sunday that Dr. Spencer “looks better than he looked yesterday.” He remained in serious but stable condition.)

By Friday, appearing with Mr. Christie, the tone had changed starkly.

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