Why I'm not a Liberal...by Denis Prager

and I agree...go ahead challenge me; I can take it.

The following is a list of beliefs that I hold. Nearly every one of them was a liberal position until the late 1960s. Not one of them is now.
Such a list is vitally important in order to clarify exactly what positions divide left from right, blue from red, liberal from conservative.
I believe in American exceptionalism, meaning that (a) America has done more than any international organization or institution, and more than any other country, to improve this world; and (b) that American values (specifically, the unique American blending of Enlightenment and Judeo-Christian values) form the finest value system any society has ever devised and lived by.
I believe that the bigger government gets and the more powerful the state becomes, the greater the threat to individual liberty and the greater the likelihood that evil will ensue. In the 20th century, the powerful state, not religion, was the greatest purveyor of evil in the world.
I believe that the levels of taxation advocated by liberals render those taxes a veiled form of theft. "Give me more than half of your honestly earned money or you will be arrested" is legalized thievery.
I believe that government funding of those who can help themselves (e.g., the able-bodied who collect welfare) or who can be helped by non-governmental institutions (such as private charities, family, and friends) hurts them and hurts society.
I believe that the United States of America, from its inception, has been based on the Judeo-Christian value system, not secular Enlightenment values alone, and therefore the secularization of American society will lead to the collapse of America as a great country.
I believe that some murderers should be put death; that allowing all murderers to live does not elevate the value of human life, but mocks it, and that keeping all murderers alive trivializes the evil of murder.
I believe that the American military has done more to preserve and foster goodness and liberty on Earth than all the artists and professors in America put together.
I believe that lowering standards to admit minorities mocks the real achievements of members of those minorities.
I believe that when schools give teenagers condoms, it is understood by most teenagers as tacit approval of their engaging in sexual intercourse.
I believe that the assertions that manmade carbon emissions will lead to a global warming that will in turn bring on worldwide disaster are a function of hysteria, just as was the widespread liberal belief that heterosexual AIDS will ravage America.
I believe that marriage must remain what has been in every recorded civilization -- between the two sexes.
I believe that, whatever the reasons for entering Iraq, the American-led removal of Saddam Hussein from power will decrease the sum total of cruelty on Earth.
I believe that the trial lawyers associations and teachers unions, the greatest donors to the Democratic Party, have done great harm to American life -- far more than, let us say, oil companies and pharmaceutical companies, the targets of liberal opprobrium.
I believe that nuclear power, clean coal, and drilling in a tiny and remote frozen part of Alaska and offshore -- along with exploration of other energy alternatives such as wind and solar power -- are immediately necessary.
I believe that school vouchers are more effective than increased spending on public schools in enabling many poorer Americans to give their children better educations.
I believe that while there are racists in America, America is no longer a racist society, and that blaming disproportionate rates of black violence and out-of-wedlock births on white racism is a lie and the greatest single impediment to African-American progress.
I believe that America, which accepts and assimilates foreigners better than any other country in the world, is the least racist, least xenophobic country in the world.
I believe the leftist takeover of the liberal arts departments in nearly every American university has been an intellectual and moral calamity.
I believe that a good man and a good marriage are more important to most women's happiness and personal fulfillment than a good career.
I believe that males and females are inherently different. For example, girls naturally prefer dolls and tea sets to trucks and toy guns -- if you give a girl trucks, she is likely to give them names and take care of them, and if you give a boy trucks, he is likely to crash them into one another.
I believe that when it comes to combating the greatest evils on Earth, such as the genocide in Rwanda, the United Nations has either been useless or an obstacle.
I believe that, generally speaking, Western Europe provides social and moral models to be avoided, not emulated.
I believe that America's children were positively affected by hearing a non-denominational prayer each morning in school, and adversely affected by the removal of all prayer from school.
I believe that liberal educators' removal of school uniforms and/or dress codes has had a terrible impact on students and their education.
I believe that bilingual education does not work, that for the sake of immigrant children and for the sake of the larger society, immersion in the language of the country, meaning English in America, is mandatory.
I believe that English should be declared the national language, and that ballots should not be printed in any language other than English. If one cannot understand English, one is probably not sufficiently knowledgeable to vote intelligently in an English-speaking country.
Finally, I believe that there are millions of Americans who share most of these beliefs who still call themselves "liberal" or "progressive" and who therefore vote Democrat. They do so because they still identify liberalism with pre-1970 liberalism or because they are emotionally attached to the word "liberal."
I share that emotion. But one should vote based on values, not emotions.

The Neon Boneyard

the letters that make up the word TRUST were rearranged from the Stardust sign

Here are some of our favorite photos from the Neon Boneyard. The boneyard consists of abadoned and donated neon signs from up and down the Vegas Strip as well as Downtown Vegas (original Vegas). The boneyard is a pretty well kept secret, it is located on the northern end of Las Vegas Blvd and if you drove past you'd never know that this historical collection of old Vegas signs is hiding behind some very tall fence. Occasionally you can get a glimpse of items that are in the boneyard in television and music videos: CSI (Vegas, of course), Carrie Underwood's "I Don't Know My Last Name" video and Jason Aldean's "Johnny Cash" video just to name a few.

http://www.neonmuseum.org/boneyard.html

SIN from the word CASINO

The Horseshoe's "H"

Wedding chapel sign- it is Vegas after all!

this "W" appeared on CSI in a crime scene, of course, as a "dead body" lay underneath it

from the Stardust sign

Ahhh...Vegas

We finally booked Vegas for December. We usually book in March or April but with me not working we thought we better wait; unfortunatley that also meant we had to pay a bit more- but it wasn't too bad. Especially since it's the only vacation we'll be taking this year.

Vegas- the ultimate adult amusement park and escape from reality that we need once a year. The strip is 3.3 miles long and is full of amazing food, great shows, (not so great shows), street entertainers, night clubs, gambling, alchohol, interactive attractions (i.e. NYNY roller coaster), people watching and shopping.

We'll be gone December 10th-15th and the Rademachers are going with us this year! They've been to Vegas a few times before so we think it will be interesting mesh our fav places and see where we end up. Crystal and I really want to go and see Jubilee; it's one of the last real Vegas show girl shows. However, I'd be happy to take in a Cirque show or a comedian instead- I'm not picky. I think we'll partake in the New York New York roller coaster. Crystal, Eric and Nate have "enjoyed" this ride before but I am a virgin NYNY roller coaster rider. I do not care for rides, especially roller coasters, however I don't want to be the dud of the group so I will fall to the peer pressure and take the ride.

(you can see the roller coaster in the above photo- it's the crazy red curvy mess of metal tracks)

My favorite part of Vegas, besides the yummy food, is the Bellagio fountain. I took this photo on my 29th birthday while the water moved to "Luck be a Lady" by Frank Sinatra. It was exactly how I wanted to spend my 29th birthday- it was one of those perfect moments. Nate and I had a great dinner at Mon Ami Gabi at the Paris Hotel, the weather was amazing and to top it all off they play the fountains to a Sinatra song- ideal!

Upon our return I'll be sure to post photos from our adventures; but in the meantime I will post some of our favorites over the 8 times we've been in the last 6 years to help the countdown pass for us.

My New Job!!!

I am finally employed again...the mortgage will continue to be paid- Praise the Lord!
It's the perfect marriage of the things I am best at: university enrollment and project management! I'm very excited and very blessed to have this opportunity...and I don't have to be anyone's boss!
The best perk of all is that I get to work from home.
When I was the Director of Admission Operations at Concordia- St Paul I was a client of this company so I have a well established relationship with some of the employees, including my new boss, a peer Project Manager and one of the VPs.
I don't want to bore anyone but here's how it all went down: when Lesley (my new boss) found out I wasn't working she wanted me to interview for this same job but we'd have to move to Iowa. I told them I'd love to but we were not interested in living in Iowa...if they were in (i.e.) San Diego no problem- but not Cedar Rapids, Iowa. So communication was ended, no hard feelings and I thought nothing of it again. Last Monday they emailed me and asked if I'd consider working from home (DUH! OF COURSE) and if so they wanted me to interview. I interviewed over the phone last week, was in Iowa Monday and Tuesday and they offered and I accepted the position yesterday!
I am very excited and ready to get back to work. I will miss some of my freedom of hanging out all day with the doggers and having all of my chores done before anything really got dirty enough to clean but I am really happy to be an active participant in paying the bills again!
The best part is I still get to be at home so the dogs can play outside all day if they want to and I can have the chicken thawing for dinner and the laundry all caught up but still be doing something for 40ish hours a week that I love/get paid for.
Here is a brief synopsis of what my new job entails (the job itself is a little thicker than this describes, but it will give you an idea- hence the term brief synopsis):

Project Manager- Enrollment Mgmt.
Cedar Rapids, IA (nope, 1815 Sherwood Ave!)
Work as liaison between RuffaloCODY clients and internal departments to ensure client satisfaction.
ESSENTIAL DUTIES/RESPONSIBILITIES:
Establish and Manage timelines, lead program implementation
Monitor progress, results
Make recommendations to enhance program performance
Track clients budget
Create invoices for clients
Build & maintain relationships with clients & internal groups
Assist Account Executive with strategic planning

So- thanks everyone for your support, patience with my emotions and prayers during this big fat life lesson I just experienced.
I pray that all of you have jobs that you love and/or the courage to know when it's time to leave and try something new!

My Fathers

I have two dads. They have 2 very big things in common (besides being crazy for marrying my mother) and that is that they are not perfect and they love me.
Today on Father's Day I will recognize that they, although they are not perfect, I am grateful for how much they love me.

I have a pretty great father-in-law...again, not perfect, but he loves me- for who I am...I dig that about him.

And best of all I have a Father in heaven that watches over me when my earthly fathers aren't being perfect and/or I am not with them. And that is what I am most grateful for today.

So- Cheers to my dads (all 4 of them): thanks for being different and thanks for loving me...because I too am not perfect.

New Indiana Jones movie...

WARNING: don't waste your money on "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull"!

If you must see it wait until you can rent it or better yet when it is on TV for free.

I don't want to ruin it for anyone so I won't give you the long list of what sucked about it; we were VERY disappointed. There went two hours our lives we'll never get back.

Just a friendly warning, do what yo wish.

a few random thoughts while I watch the fight

Waiting for the Jens Pulver v Urijah Faber fight to start...
1. Why do the people of Puerto Rico get to vote for President? Do they pay taxes? I guess if they do then I don't have a beef but if they don't I really don't care who they want to be our President.
- so I guess I'll get researching that and get back to you...however I'll take any info anyone has on it.

2. I love when fights are on tv for free! It's fun to go to B-Dubs and watch them so we don't have to pay per view...but it's really great when you can watch it from your living room!

3. Why is my Bella dog always broken??? WTF? It's silliness; the vet should not know us well enough to know my voice when I call them...I swear we aren't bad puppy parents- they are just always getting into stuff that isn't there business. Here's a tip Bella: don't play with bees!

4. Why do we bother having spring? It only last 2 weeks and rains the whole time and we have killer (literally) thunderstorms and tornados. MN really only has blustery winters and sweltering summers. And fall is everyone's favorite but it lasts 2 weeks and then it's gone. Interesting commentary on humans...let's want what we have the least of...of course!

5. This week's goal: read one chapter of Bible everyday after going for my morning walk

...that's it for now
love to you all!
Christina (and Nate too!)

okay- I looked it up...for the record I am not a big fan of Wikipedia but it was the most thorough info I could find toot-sweet, so here we go:
Under the Constitution of Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico is described as a 'Commonwealth' and Puerto Ricans enjoy a degree of administrative autonomy similar to that of a U.S. state. Puerto Ricans are statutory U.S. citizens, but since Puerto Rico is an unincorporated territory and not a U.S. state, the U.S. Constitution does not enfranchise U.S. citizens residing in Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico does participate in the internal political process of both the Democratic and Republican parties in the U.S., accorded equal-proportional representation in both parties, and delegates from the islands vote in each party's national convention.
Puerto Rico is classified by the U.S. government as an independent taxation authority by mutual agreement with the U.S. Congress. Contrary to common misconception, residents of Puerto Rico pay some U.S. federal taxes: import/export taxes, federal commodity taxes, social security taxes, etc. Most residents do not pay federal income tax but pay federal payroll taxes (Social Security and Medicare), and Puerto Rico income taxes. But federal employees, or those who do business with the federal government, Puerto Rico-based corporations that intend to send funds to the U.S. and others also pay federal income taxes. Because the cutoff point for income taxation is lower than that of the U.S. IRS code, and because the per-capita income in Puerto Rico is much lower than the average per-capita income on the mainland, more Puerto Rico residents pay income taxes to the local taxation authority than if the IRS code were applied to the island. Residents are eligible for Social Security benefits upon retirement. But Puerto Rico is excluded from Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and receives less than 15% of the Medicaid funding it would be allotted as a state, while Medicare providers receive only partial state-like reimbursements for services rendered to beneficiaries in Puerto Rico (even though the latter paid fully into the system).
Puerto Ricans may enlist in the U.S. military. Since becoming statutory United States citizens in 1917, Puerto Ricans have been included in the compulsory draft whenever it has been in effect. Puerto Ricans have participated in all U.S. wars since 1898, most notably World War II, the Korean and Vietnam wars, as well as the current Middle Eastern conflicts.