I like what this article has to say…

Since I have had a few people ask my advice on the California Special Election Propositions, here are my recommendations. I side with Tom McClintock‘s views, so his commentary is included.

In short:

Yes on 73-77; No on 78-80.

Here’s what Tom has to say:

Proposition 73: Parental Notification for Abortion. If parental consent is required for a child to use a tanning booth or get her ears pierced, shouldn’t parents at least be notified if she’s getting an abortion? YES. Whether you’re pro-life or pro-choice, this should be the all-time no-brainer.

Proposition 74: Teacher Tenure. Do parents have a right to expect a higher level of competence before a teacher is granted life-time tenure? YES. This modest measure simply increases the teacher probation period from two years to five years.

Proposition 75: Public Employee Union Dues. Should public employees decide for themselves which candidates they will support with their own money? YES. This measure requires that before a public employee union can take money from that employee for political donations, it has to get the employee’s permission.

Proposition 76: State Spending. Should government live within its means? YES. This measure restores the authority that the governor of California had between 1939 and 1983 to make mid-year spending cuts whenever spending outpaces revenue without having to return to the legislature.

Proposition 77: Re-districting. Should voters choose their representatives in legislative districts that are drawn without regard to partisan advantage? YES. The most obvious conflict of interest in government is when politicians choose which voters will get to vote for them by drawing their own legislative district lines. This measure puts a stop to it.

Propositions 78 and 79: Prescription drug discounts. Do you want the same people who run the DMV to run your pharmacy? NO. These are rival measures, one supported by drug companies and the other by liberal activists – both of which purport to lower drug prices. What they really do is assure that one group of patients gets to pay higher prices to provide subsidized prices for others. There’s no such thing as a free Levitra.

Proposition 80. Electricity Regulation. Do you want the same people who run the DMV to run your electricity company? NO. This measure locks in monopoly control of your electricity by the bureaucratized utilities and forbids you from ever being able to shop around for the lowest-priced electricity available.

Even if you do not agree with my recommendations, PLEASE VOTE. It is such a privilege, and something about which I am incredibly passionate. Please exercise your right to vote!

This is a really good article about a writer’s visit to Tunisia…makes me want to go back…

My roommate and I have a love-hate relationship with iTunes…generally we dislike it because it has issues.

HOWEVER, today I discovered that you can buy accompaniment tracks on here! That is SO awesome! Now I don’t have to pay $10 for a tape or CD to sing with at church–I can pay $.99 for the song, AND have it on my iPod for easy use. This is so great! Using my iTunes allowance, I just bought the song I am going to do at Christmas time. 🙂

This is great!

Natasha posted this on her blog recently, and I had to post it here.

Proverbs 27:14

“If you shout a pleasant greeting to a friend too early in the morning, he will count it as a curse.”

Amen…

Do I miss school because it is all I have known for 16+ years, or do I truly miss being educated on a daily basis in a school setting?

Whatever the case may be, I began looking into graduate programs, one in particular…and I really don’t know where this will go. I also looked into taking the GRE, and that’s as far as it’s going to go for now–it’s expensive, and I don’t want to take it unless I’m seriously considering a grad program…

Also, the job that I mentioned a couple of months ago is finally accepting applications, and I applied this afternoon. Please pray that if this is God’s will it will happen! It would be a great job, one for which I am most definitely qualified.

Life is so strange!

My last post was about being amazed at how things change…

I realized tonight that one thing hasn’t changed entirely–I still love politics. There have been many times in recent months when I questioned my degree, wondering why on earth I chose that major…but at Bible study tonight (Romans 13) I became so aware of my passionate desire to change the world through political means. I truly believe that I was created to do something in politics…

…yet I have no idea what that means practically…will I be happy working in a job that has no political ties? What do I actually WANT to do with my life? More importantly, what is God’s Will for my life?

Sigh…no idea. But I do know that He has given me a passion and an understanding of political things, so I will keep growing, keep learning and keep searching as long as it takes…

It really is amazing how things change, isn’t it? Amazing how quickly plans can change…relationships can diminish into nothing…and life can bring such unexpected surprises!

I’m not talking about anything in particular–just realizing today that it is absolutely incredible sometimes how wrong we can be about plans and expectations–and then God brings us back to HIS reality with His infinite wisdom…I know we’ve all experienced that. I’m so glad that we have a God who cares for us so much that He lets us make mistakes as we try to make it on our own and then gracefully and lovingly picks us up and helps us get on the right path, knowing that eventually we’ll understand that He truly does know best…rather than calling us names and forcing us to go a certain way like we were robots or some mechanical creature.

Just something to ponder…

Please pray for one of our fellow believers in Tunisia. She recently told her family about her decision to follow Christ, and as you know, that is not always a ‘safe’ thing to do when you are in a Muslim family. I got an email this morning from Tunisia that said this:

“Prayer request: She is going through a huge drama with her family. On Saturday, they came and took her by force from J’s and said they were going to kill her. Miraculously, they didn’t, but they still get really violent and at times beat her, etc. She’s trying to work through it all and would really appreciate your prayers.”

Please pray for her! It breaks my heart to hear about what she is dealing with!