After several revisions at the request of the Daily News, one of my letters has been published! They had asked me to split the original letter (previous post) into two letters…and one was published!
You can see it here!
Updated Map…
Getting closer!
visited 31 states (62%)
Create your own visited map of The United States…
Or this one…
Article on the Economic Crisis…
I like what this guy has to say. He’s a Harvard University professor of economics…
My Letter to the Red Bluff Daily News…
I decided it was finally time to write a letter to the newspaper in my hometown, as there are some dire mistakes being made. I know some of you won’t know the background to this letter, and I apologize. But this had to be said. I’m slightly passionate about certain issues, if you couldn’t tell. 🙂 Just in case it isn’t published in the paper (because my letter goes against the city’s plans), here it is for your reading enjoyment:
Dear Editor,
I lived in Red Bluff for 13 years, and I will always consider Red Bluff to be my hometown. It has saddened and frustrated me to see what has happened in the past few years in regards to the city’s economic decisions. A few years ago, as part of my degree requirement, I wrote a thirty page “city study” on Red Bluff, for which I was required to speak with the city planners and council, and I made several recommendations back then for making Red Bluff a better place for business. Though I no longer live in Northern California, I have continued to pay attention to the politics in Red Bluff–and as a “political scientist”, I think real change is needed in city leadership. I have been constantly amazed at the choices that are being made by the city council and the planning commission. What do you want Red Bluff to be–a “great place to live” or a “great place to be on welfare”? Red Bluff has the potential for true economic growth based on our natural resources and our talented and willing workforce. But by continuing to suppress growth, I feel that the city is writing its own death certificate. An economy can not be entirely based on consumerism–it must have some production element to create sustainable growth. I have heard about several companies that attempted to bring their factories to Red Bluff–only to be denied by the city council for ridiculous reasons. What is your motivation? Why do you continue to drive business away?
Let’s take a look at how many restaurants/coffee shops are in Red Bluff. Red Bluff has become a “pit stop” on I-5 to travelers–but is it a place where long-term economic investments are being made? What are we producing, selling, manufacturing? Not much. We have an economy solely based on people spending money. And that’s not a healthy economy.
You won’t allow Wal-Mart to build a supercenter, and then lease out its current building to clothing and retail stores (which the city desperately needs) for what reason? My question is this: why did you allow Starbucks (not one, but two stores) to come in? That did more harm to local businesses (Bear Flag for example) than Wal-Mart ever has.
Lake Red Bluff is a perfect example. Each year, the Nitro Nationals bring spectators from all over the country–which is a huge boost to the local economy, and brings national exposure to Red Bluff (which increases tourism). What will replace that event and the revenue it brings in? Another point: look at what happened in the Klamath River Basin (Oregon) in 2001 when the environmentalists shut down a crucial water source for farming all due to a stupid fish that scientists even admitted had no real effect on the food chain or the environment! The local people and their crops suffered to protect a worthless fish. I believe that we should take care of God’s creation; however, humans should come first. Lake Red Bluff brings in millions of dollars to this fairly poor community–why on earth would you even consider taking down the Diversion Dam (which would cost millions of dollars)? According to Tuesday’s paper, the additional cost to install the pumps is $160 million dollars! Are you kidding? There are millions of other ways those dollars could be spent, so why should we ask for a handout? Don’t fix something that isn’t broken. Isn’t there another way to accomodate the fish? Haven’t they been just fine for years? And,don’t you think the citizens and the economy of Red Bluff are more important than a species of fish? How do you propose to supplement the lost income? Higher taxes? I’d like to hear your ideas on that.
Wal-Mart is another issue altogether. I think it is entirely ludicrous to continue to make life difficult for a company that has done nothing but great things for the city of Red Bluff! Look at the jobs it has provided–along with the positive effects on the economy! People from all over the county come to Red Bluff to shop; imagine how many more will come once the Supercenter is up and running! Change is good–and necessary. And I think the City Council is fighting this change because they don’t want Red Bluff to grow and become an even greater place to live. Are they so hungry for power that they must keep fighting this issue and spreading lies? Wal-Mart is going to be doing so many things–including making the building smaller to accomodate the city’s parking requirements–at the councils demand, to improve the city, and yet the council still fights it for seemingly no good reason. And, council members, the Supercenter will not take away customers from the other grocery stores in town; everyone is very aware of the “loyalty” that small town people have for their stores. People who shop at Raley’s will still shop there.
Can a city that has already allowed environmentalists to destroy the economy (i.e. the spotted owl and the ensuing effect on the mills) afford to allow another incident? Can the city of Red Bluff afford to continue driving away new industries and businesses? Citizens of Red Bluff–I sincerely hope that you think long and hard about the effects the decisions being made by this city council and planning commission will have on your future. Don’t merely take what they say as “fact”–but research it for yourselves and find the truth. I think it’s time for fresh faces in city government–people who actually care about the city, and not just the “good ol’ boys” of Red Bluff who want control.
Lesa Close
Harrisburg, PA
Life Continues On…
The weather these past few days has been absolutely lovely…perfect, really. I have really enjoyed spending some time outside, treasuring each sunny, warm day–because I know that winter will soon be here, and I probably only have a month of glorious weather left. 🙂Â
Job update: still unemployed. Yeah. It’s been a rough week, and I’ve felt very discouraged…but, I have a few new leads that sound like awesome opportunities, so I’m praying that the Lord will bless me with one of them! God has consistently provided for all of my needs, and it has been an amazing lesson in learning to trust Him.Â
Church update: I’m fairly certain that I’ve found the church I will attend! Still praying about it…but it seems like a great church with an amazing pastor (who preaches the Gospel and the Truth–and I walk away each Sunday with something new to ponder)…
Politically, it’s interesting living in a “swing” state. I’ve been learning a lot about Pennsylvania politics lately, and have found that it’s strikingly similar to California–in that two cities (Philly and Pittsburgh) control the entire state politically, even though the rest of the state is rural and mostly Republican. Yeah–that’s just like California! Also, I have found that Governor Rendell caters to Philadelphia with pretty much everything he does. While Governor Schwarzenegger doesn’t cater to L.A. and S.F., past governors have most definitely done so. I am enjoying learning about way my new state runs politically 🙂Â
On a national level, I’m ready for this election to be over. I have been so amazed at the unashamedly biased media, and with all the schemes that are being pulled. Like someone hacking into Palin’s email? That’s a complete invasion of privacy! Yet, you don’t hear the media slamming the incident as much as I think they would had it been Obama’s email. Nope–not biased at all. I just am tired of the political machine, and I can’t wait until my generation steps in and changes the way politics are done. I have great hope that we will be the ones who push aside partisan politics and stop fighting partisan battles. That’s not what it’s about! That’s not at all what our Founding Fathers intended, I believe. Anyway, November 4th can’t come soon enough.Â
Other news: I’m not very good at “being still”, but I’ve had a lot of time to practice lately. 🙂 Being unemployed has been such a challenge for me! I would much rather be busy and be occupied all day with tasks and assignments…but, instead, I’ve had many days with nothing to do…and I’m learning to appreciate this time.Â
All in all, life is good. As my favorite Ginny Owens song states, “You never said it would be easy–You only said I’d never go alone.” And that is indeed true in my life. 🙂 It’s not easy, but I know He’s in control, and He’s right by my side.
Feminist Army Aims Its Canons at Palin
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September 12, 2008, 0:00 a.m.
Feminist Army Aims Its Canons at Palin
Because womanhood is a state of mind.
By Jonah Goldberg
Whether or not Sarah Palin helps John McCain win the election, her greatest work may already be behind her. She’s exposed the feminist con job.
Don’t take my word for it. Feminists have been screaming like stuck pigs 24/7 since Palin was announced as McCain’s running mate. (Are pig metaphors completely verboten now?)
Feminist author Cintra Wilson writes in Salon (a house organ of the angry left) that the notion of Palin as vice president is “akin to ideological brain rape.” Presumably just before the nurse upped the dosage on her medication, Wilson continued, “Sarah Palin and her virtual burqa have me and my friends retching into our handbags. She’s such a power-mad, backwater beauty-pageant casualty, it’s easy to write her off and make fun of her. But in reality I feel as horrified as a ghetto Jew watching the rise of National Socialism.”
And that’s one of the nicer things she had to say. Really.
On Tuesday, Salon ran one article calling Palin a dominatrix (“a whip-wielding mistress”) and another labeling her a sexually repressed fundamentalist no different from the Muslim fanatics and terrorists of Hamas. Make up your minds, folks. Is she a seductress or a sex-a-phobe?
But this any-weapon-near-to-hand approach is an obvious sign of how scared the Palin-o-phobes are.
Gloria Steinem, the grand mufti of feminism, issued a fatwa anathematizing Palin. A National Organization for Women spokeswoman proclaimed Palin more of a man than a woman. Wendy Doniger, a feminist academic at the University of Chicago, writes of Palin in Newsweek: “Her greatest hypocrisy is in her pretense that she is a woman.”
It’s funny. The left has been whining about having their patriotism questioned for so long it feels like they started griping in the Mesozoic era. Feminists have argued for decades that womanhood is an existential and metaphysical state of enlightenment. But they have no problem questioning whether women they hate are really women at all.
Since we know from basic science that Palin is a woman — she’s had five kids, for starters — it’s clear that these ideological thugs aren’t talking about actual, you know, facts. They’re doing what people of totalitarian mind-sets always do: bully heretics, demonize enemies, whip the troops into line.Â
The academic feminist left has scared the dickens out of mainstream men and women for so long, the liberal establishment is terrified to contradict feminists’ nigh-upon-theological conviction that female authenticity is measured by one’s blind loyalty to left-wing talking points. This is a version of the Marxist doctrine of “false consciousness,” which holds that you aren’t an authentic member of the proletariat unless you agree with Marxism.
It works like this: If you don’t agree with feminist scolds, you’re not a real woman, even if you’re a very feminine working mom. But even if you’re an actual man — never mind a childless feminist who looks like a Bulgarian weightlifter in drag — you’re a “real woman” solely because you nod your head like a windup clapping monkey every time you read the latest editorial in Ms. Recall how they christened Bill Clinton the “first female president,” too.
But here’s the fun part. Feminists are hooked on their own Kool-Aid; they actually believe the stuff they say. The shrill, angry women you see on MSNBC claiming to speak for all women actually think they do. But they don’t. They speak for a few left-leaning women in faculty lounges, editorial boardrooms and that’s about it.
Mainstream liberals have been in captivity for so long, eagerly accepting their ritual beatings, that they’ve gotten Stockholm Syndrome and convinced themselves that Gloria Steinem and Co. are the authentic voices of women everywhere.
Stop laughing.
The reality is that there is an actual reality out there, and it doesn’t look anything like what feminists see beyond the rims of their ideological blinders.
For instance, immediately after the Palin announcement, the priestesses not only ruled it “sexist” for McCain to pick a woman but also said it was strategically dumb — “insulting to women!” — to think any real women would switch support from the beatified Obama to that old devil McCain.Â
Well, according to a Washington Post/ABC News poll, there’s been a 20-point swing among white women from Obama-Biden to McCain-Palin. Did this “ideological brain rape” suddenly induce an epidemic of false consciousness?
Of course not. Nor are women mindlessly switching loyalties because there’s a woman on the ticket. What the Palin pick has demonstrated, however, is that the Feminist-Industrial Complex is a fraud. Disagreeing with self-described feminists doesn’t mean you’re anti-woman. Usually it just means you’re sensible.
And for that lesson alone, we should all be grateful.
— Jonah Goldberg is the author of Liberal Fascism: The Secret History of the American Left from Mussolini to the Politics of Meaning.Â
© 2008 Tribune Media Services, Inc.
— Jonah Goldberg is editor-at-large of National Review Online.
Internal Dialogue
Those who know me know that I tend to think about things in depth and for a long time. I love to “ponder” ideas–hence the name of my blog.Â
Today, as I answered phones and filed documents at my temp assignment, I began to have what I call an internal dialogue about my current status in life. I really don’t like to answer phones, and I’m bored with being a temp…but, I need money to pay rent and buy food, so I told myself that I can’t complain. I don’t feel that I’m “above” any task or position (after all, Jesus–the Creator of the Universe– was a carpenter and He washed His disciples’ feet…I can answer a few phone calls!)–but at the same time, I have a bachelor’s degree. And why did I go to college to earn my bachelor’s degree? To get a better job…a job that I love and that suits me well, a job where I can serve others and make a difference in the lives of others.Â
But what is it that I want to do with the rest of my life? What “job” will satisfy me? That’s where I’m stuck. I have an awesome opportunity to start fresh, to find something I am passionate about–a job where I am challenged, but also where my skills and talents are utilized…but what will that be? What on earth do I want to do?Â
In the meantime, I take whatever assignments I can get from the temp agency, and I’m very grateful! If nothing else, this time of my life has been humbling and thought provoking…now if I could only figure out what I want to do next… 🙂
PS–Great article by Michael Reagan (son of President Ronald Reagan) about Sarah Palin.
She’s a Pittsburgh girl
by Tom Purcell
Some folks are befuddled by who Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin is. I know exactly who she is. She’s a “Pittsburgh girl.”
Maybe I better explain.
Palin embodies everything feminists have been asking for – she really does “have it all.” She’s a wife, a working mom and the most powerful woman in her state – yet she’s got feminine poise (as reflected in this bumper sticker: “Coldest State. Hottest Governor.”) Palin’s husband is also what feminists have been asking for. He works part time to support her career and nurture the kids – yet he’s masculine and self-assured (Alaskans call him the “First Dude.”)
You’d think in a truly progressive society folks would set aside their politics for a moment to celebrate real equality in action (just as folks praised Hillary for being the first female presidential candidate and Barack for being the first black nominated). But that didn’t happen, of course.
The same folks who argued for years that there are few differences between males and females – we were just socialized to think there are, you see – are suddenly singing the opposite tune.
Somehow – with a straight face – they are now arguing that moms are expected to take on the lion’s share of the family burdens and that by becoming the VP candidate Palin is turning her back on hers.
What’s worse, to some, is that conservative folks aren’t responding the way they’re supposed to.
Conservatives are supposed to prefer their women barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen. But they’re 100 percent behind Palin – especially the old, white conservative fellows who are speculating that, eight years hence, a more experienced Palin just might have a shot at the highest office in the land.
The first female president a Republican?
Such a thought has to be maddening to those whose carefully constructed image of “Neanderthal” conservatives is being shattered by simple reality. Such folks can’t get a bead on who and what Palin is, so let me take a stab at it.
As I said, she’s a “Pittsburgh girl.”
I was born and raised in Pittsburgh, a down-to-earth blue-collar town. Like so many places in America, it is the land of big hearts and common sense. If your car breaks down, expect a couple dozen people to stop and help you.
It’s a place where neighborhoods are tightly knit and families even tighter. It’s a place filled with genuine people who are concerned for their relatives, friends and neighbors – and especially their country.
Folks in Pittsburgh are sitting around dinner tables and on their front porches talking about the future of this country. Their ideas may be different – arguments may get heated – but they’re trying to work this election out, trying to do what is right.
Palin resonates with such folks, who have sisters, mothers and wives just like her — authentic, honest, attentive women who will fight tooth and nail to do what is best for their kids, neighbors and communities.
Unlike some ambitious politicians who need the constant affection and reassurance of the public – politicians who say “don’t you know who I am?” when waiters in trendy restaurants fail to give them the best seat – you get the sense Palin couldn’t care less about such things.
It’s early yet and we’re just beginning to know fully who she is, but I offer a bit of advice to her opposition. It’s probably not a good idea to underestimate her (like or hate her politics, she hit it out of the park at the convention).
I wouldn’t attempt to portray her as a bimbo or an inexperienced lightweight or a religious-right wacko. Most of all, I’d avoid dragging her family into the fight.
I’ve been in the unfortunate position of opposing a Pittsburgh girl now and then. The outcome has never been pretty.
When prompted, a Pittsburgh girl will reach into your belly and rip out your guts before you have a chance to blink.
And she’ll do it with a smile on her face and not a hair out of place.
———
Tom Purcell is a humor columnist nationally syndicated exclusively by Cagle Cartoons. Visit Tom at http://www.TomPurcell.com or e-mail him at Purcell@caglecartoons.com.
A few thoughts…
So, I keep reading articles and hearing stories about how Sarah Palin does not represent “most women”, and how she’s actually causing women to take a “step backwards”. What the heck?! Who decided that “most women” support abortion (among the other arguments I’ve seen)? And why on earth does Palin’s candidacy mean that women are taking a step backwards?! I’ve seen articles about Palin being against “rights for women”. That is a bunch of bologna! Where do these people come up with this stuff?
I am an educated, pro-life (or as the left would say, “anti-choice”) woman, and I have thoroughly researched the campaign issues of the day. I choose who I support based upon their voting record, their policies, and their values. Just because I’m not a Hillary Clinton-ite, or a feminist, doesn’t mean that I’m less of a woman for that. I’m not unintelligent, and I’m not someone who jumps on the bandwagon. And I’m voting for Sarah Palin.
If anyone on the “right” ever said anything like this about women on the “left”, I KNOW the media would pounce on those individuals!Â
And that’s all I’m going to say about that for now…
Weekend in California…
I traveled for 18 hours (and 6,000 miles) this weekend–and am still recovering. It was strange to be in Southern California only two months after I left, but it was filled with good fellowship and amazing friends. My New Orleans team pitched in to fly me out for the APU Missions Celebration–and it was so great to be back with my team…sharing memories, catching up on each other’s lives, and talking about the “what now”…what do we do with all that we experienced in New Orleans?
I was also able to spend time with my closest friends–and that was exactly what I have needed. Moving to Pennsylvania has been quite lonely at times–which I know is completely normal, since I just moved to a brand new place. So it was wonderful to be with close friends.Â
While I was on a plane, I had plenty of time to think and to reflect on life…and I’ve come to realize that I have nothing to fear with being in Pennsylvania, unemployed: the Lord clearly brought me out here, so despite the periods of loneliness and unemployment, I can fully trust Him to continue to provide for all my needs! He hasn’t let me down, ever, so why would He now? 🙂 I’ll share more of the reflections later…
It was a great weekend, but it’s great to be “home” 🙂
Even So, Joy 