Strike for Freedom

Since I am committed to bringing you the good news in the fight for America, I have to weigh in on yesterday’s little-noticed news about the free press. It’s not a secret that the White House has started a war against Fox News. The have been sending their cronies out to other news outlets to say that Fox News is not a news organization and they will not treat them as such. Twice, that I have heard of, that statement has been followed by the assertion that other news organizations should stop treating Fox as legitimate. It’s a very devious tactic, from a very vindictive White House, who attacks any one who disagrees with them as “racists,” among other things.

Two days ago, the White House did more than just tell everyone else to stop listening to Fox. They agreed to make their “pay czar” (the man responsible for limiting the pay of business executives) available to the members of the White House pool. This is a situation where the five major networks have agreed to pool their resources so that only one has responsibility for the film crew covering the White House. It is a rotating responsibility. All of the networks share the footage. I am not very familiar with the details. But the White House agreed to let these networks interview the “pay czar” as long as Fox was excluded.

The heads of these networks met together and unanimously decided that they would not allow that precedent to be set. They demanded that Fox be included. The White House, perhaps realizing the damage that could happen if this attempt at censorship became a major news story, backed down. I watch coverage of all the networks at times. I know that Fox has been critical of others and the others have been critical of Fox. But these media giants realized that the government cannot take control of the media or limit free speech. I am proud that we live in a place where the right to speak is valued above consensus. I am proud of all the major news networks today.

Bringing the Country Together

Here's Obama on the campaign:



Here he is now:



President Obama is the most divisive president ever. Consider the words of Michael Gerson,

"According to the Pew Research Center, the gap between Republican and Democratic approval ratings for Bush a few months into his first term was about 51 percentage points. For Obama, this partisan gap stands at 61 points. Obama has been a unifier, of sorts. He has united Democrats and united Republicans -- against each other."

This research is from back in April. Do you think it has gotten better? I am proud that conservatives are finally coming together in defense of freedom. I just wish it wasn't at such a cost. Unite and stand together. We can preserve freedom for our children.

Community Teeth

It's a little off subject, but it needs saying...

A few months ago my husband came home from work and told me a story. One of his coworkers had been on this blog. I guess he must have found it very interesting because, rather than any thoughts on the content, he said to Nate, “Did you know that you’re not mentioned anywhere on there?” The answer is, of course, he didn’t. Neither did he care. Nate never reads my writing. I think he’s afraid he won’t like it and have to answer when I ask him his thoughts.

Still, I found it curious that other people would notice how conspicuously absent Nate is from the things that I write. I decided it’s time to change this trend. I don’t want there to be any ambiguity about how much I appreciate and adore my husband.

This month has been rather trying. I have lost my last two grandparents, everyone in my family has been sick, and I noticed a rather unpleasant lump on my gums above a tooth which has already had a root canal, a crown and dental surgery. Through it all, there has been my wonderful husband.

The internet said the gum lump was an abscess and my husband insisted that I go to the dentist immediately. The dentist confirmed the e-diagnosis and explained that I would either have to have the tooth extracted and a bridge put in, or the dental surgery would need to be repeated. He referred me to an endodontist. What does this mean to me? A lot of money.

What was Nate’s reaction? He smiled pityingly and nodded. He had been expecting it, but he was not upset. Our financial situation is not currently ideal. I admit that a part of me wanted to feel less than blessed at this expense showing up right now. It feels like we've had one unexpected expense after another. I also admit that I was concerned about my husband’s feelings on the matter. If you know Nate, you know that he wouldn’t get angry; it’s not his style. But I was worried he would see my teeth as a source of stress, as I did. He would never say that I was causing him stress. But I knew that I would be hurt when I saw that he was upset by a problem that was uniquely mine. Only, he didn’t get upset. He took the news like he would have if I had announced that we were having chicken for dinner. I felt profoundly grateful.

I tried to explain to Nate why his casualness meant so much to me. I wasn’t any better at explaining it to him than I have been at explaining it to you. I told him, “thanks for not making me feel like a liability.” He looked confused and responded, “You’re not a liability.” It was clear that he didn’t see what I was thanking him for. I didn’t know how to better explain it.

Today, Nate came home from work wearing an almost giddy smile. He declared that he was going to be able to work a few of his days off next month. In a very excited tone, he said, “It’ll be an extra thousand dollars. That will pay for your tooth.” I can’t describe what I felt when I saw my husband obviously thrilled about the opportunity to work even more hours for the privilege of, again, flushing a lot of money into my mouth.

It was finally clear to me why he hadn’t understood my concerns. He had never seen my bad teeth as a failing from me, the way I did. Instead, he saw his lack of being able to pay for something I needed as a failing on his part. I had expected him to wonder why I was asking so much of him. Instead, he took great pleasure in finding a way to support me. He didn’t see all the things he could have bought with the money that would now be wasted-at all. Strange.

I don’t know why the world has become such a selfish place. I suspect that the attitude of “her problems” and “his problems” is the primary reason behind the skyrocketing divorce rate. I have just realized that I am in a relationship where my teeth aren’t even mine. They are ours. Perhaps community teeth are the secret to a forever marriage. One thing is for certain, most of society's ills wouldn't even exist if there were more men of integrity around- more men like Nate.

So, today I am addressing the fact that I have not previously talked about my husband. I am posting here, for anyone in the world with internet access to read, that I am madly in love with the man I married 10 years ago. I will be forever grateful that he is mine.

Brilliant and Powerful

I know this blog is becoming a little video-centric, but this may be the most amazing one yet. I couldn't resist. I know none of you has time to sit and watch this. Here's the deal. Wait until it's time to fold laundry. Turn it on. You'll be amazed by this man.

The Word of People Much Smarter than Me: Freedom and Christianity

From a talk by Dallin H. Oaks:

It was the Christian principles of human worth and dignity that made possible the formation of the United States Constitution over 200 years ago, and only those principles in the hearts of a majority of our diverse population can sustain that constitution today. Our constitution’s revolutionary concepts of sovereignty in the people and significant guarantees of personal rights were, as John A. Howard has written,

"generated by a people for whom Christianity had been for a century and a half the compelling feature of their lives. It was Jesus who first stated that all men are created equal [and] that every person . . . is valued and loved by God."

Professor Dinesh D’Souza reminds us:

"The attempt to ground respect for equality on a purely secular basis ignores the vital contribution by Christianity to its spread. It is folly to believe that it could survive without the continuing aid of religious belief."

Religious values and political realities are so interlinked in the origin and perpetuation of this nation that we cannot lose the influence of Christianity in the public square without seriously jeopardizing our freedoms. I maintain that this is a political fact, well qualified for argument in the public square by religious people whose freedom to believe and act must always be protected by what is properly called our “First Freedom,” the free exercise of religion.

80 Years Later

This is a long video, but very interesting. As a disclaimer, I should note that I have found economics interesting since high school. If you have the time, check it out.

Check out my book!

This has the best the best book ever written. You know you want to read it. Everyone's doing it.

The Words of People Much Smarter than Me: Agency

The following is from a speech given by Marion G. Romney.

"Free agency means the freedom and power to choose and act. Next to life itself, it is man’s most precious inheritance.

"Free agency was operative in the spirit world. The gospel plan, as there proposed and adopted, provided that men should enjoy agency in mortality. Satan, with a third of the hosts of heaven, fought it there and lost, but they did not give up their opposition to the principle.

"In the Garden of Eden, God endowed Adam and his posterity with free agency. Satan and his followers have, from then until now, sought directly and in every conceivable indirect manner to substitute the principle of force for the principle of free agency.

"In the book of First Samuel, we have an instructive example of the results of making wrong decisions. In the first chapter we are told that Israel objected to being governed by judges. They wanted a king. The prophet told them that a king would make them servants. But they hearkened not, and persisted in demanding a king. This grieved Samuel, and the Lord said to him, 'Hearken unto the voice of the people … for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me.' (1 Sam. 8:7.)

"Israel thus surrendered the form of free government God had given them. They got their king all right, and a few decades later they were taken captive into slavery. Slavery entered into by one’s own choice is no less slavery than that imposed upon him by external force."

Perhaps Obama can pay for his own date night now?

So, I have heard that a lot of people are shocked about this morning's announcement that President Obama has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for "Obama's vision of and work for a world without nuclear weapons." Some people are even expressing anger that the apparently political move. I just want you to know that I am not angry. I cried when I heard the news. In fact, I am at a complete loss to explain how I feel right now. So, I'm going to let the quadruplets do it for me.



Have a wonderful day! Who knows, tomorrow you could be the recipient of a 1.2 million dollar prize for nothing. I'm voting for you.

Sick, Sad & Wrong

Okay, check out this video. So sad, and so funny. Here's the real sick thing. This was aired by CNN, not as a joke, but as an example of the great things this school is doing. Anyone else wonder what the Math scores are like at this school?