Allow Me to Respond August 6, 2009

I’ve had enough. You know, I remember being an idealistic young girl, thinking I could help change the world. I remember believing my government was acting on my behalf. And up until just recently, I remember being complacent in my beliefs. Well not anymore. Now I’m angry.

Take a look at this little gem:

And now White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs just said that these are “astroturf” protesters (meaning not a real grassroots movement) and that they’ve been incited, organized and paid by healthcare corporation CEOs. Others in the DNC are saying that the GOP is inciting, organizing and paying the protesters.

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?!?!??!?!?!?

Let me be very clear about this. I have no grand delusions that they’re listening, but just in case…..I want to be very clear for Mr. Gibbs, Ms. Pelosi, Ms. Douglass, the DNC and POTUS. Listen closely….I AM ANGRY! Me. Personally. My anger is real and it is justified.

I have never been contacted by any GOP member nor has any healthcare official of any kind ever contacted me….and they certainly haven’t paid me anything. ME, I, PERSONALLY am angry. And I’ve been quiet long enough.

You’re right about one thing though. I have been incited. However, I was not incited by the GOP or healthcare CEOs. No, I have been incited by you. How dare you have the audacity to make the assumption that I am too stupid to think for myself. No, I am incited, but by your actions and your statements. There’s a loooooong list of things that have caused this anger to rise in me, but here’s the short list for your convenience.

1. Czars. Yes, I know that other administrations have had czars. But this administration is taking it to the extreme. These czars recieve their funding from the American people, but report directly to the President. They are given the authority and power to circumvent the House and Senate to accomplish their own personal goals. ENOUGH WITH THE CZARS! I want them out….ALLLLLL OF THEM! There should be NO government office that does not answer to the people. Period.

2. Homeland Security now the United States Police Force. WHAT?!?!?!??! Have you people even read the Constitution?!

3. Healthcare. I agree that the system is not perfect. I DO NOT agree that the government should have the authority to step in and take over. When you say that the public option is only an option, that’s an outright lie. According to what I’ve read in the bill (which by the way you should read, it’s quite interesting), I would be allowed to keep my doctor and my insurance as long as I manage to keep my job. The day I lose my job, I will be REQUIRED to take the public option and will NOT be allowed to switch back to a private option upon new employment. That’s just ONE EXAMPLE of the lies about public healthcare that are being salivated out of the mouths in Washington. But I said I would make this a “short” list.

4. READ THE BILLS!!!!!!!!! Tell me Congressmen & Congresswomen & Senators….just who do you think you are? No, really, I want to know. Just who do you think you are? Do you think that you’re so powerful that you can do whatever you like in Washington? Do you really think we won’t take notice? DO NOT PASS ANOTHER BILL WITHOUT READING IT…..ALLLLLLL OF IT!!!! If you have to hire an attorney to understand what you’ve read, then hire them! We have entrusted you with a sacred duty. You are to represent us. I cannot stand on the floor of the House or Senate and cast my vote. I am entrusting you to do that for me. Let me make this perfectly clear….the very next bill you pass without reading will be the end of your political career. The people are watching and we WILL evict you from office if you EVER do that again.

5. ACORN. Investigate. It’s that simple. No really, it is that simple. Stop pouring money into them until you have thoroughly investigated them. I don’t want another dime of my tax dollars fed to them until I know EXACTLY what they’re up to. Period.

6. Cap and Trade. If you pass this, you’re out. According to POTUS “Under my system of cap and trade, utility rates will necessarily skyrocket.” I’m sorry, but all my money is going to be tied up paying for all your other new spending bills you’ve passed. I won’t be able to afford a higher utility bill. I’m already struggling to pay the one of I’ve got. Not only that, but cap and trade wouldn’t even put a dent in the global warming problem (assuming there even IS a global warming problem). So I’ll repeat, pass this and you’re out.

7. SLOW DOWN!!!! You are overwhelming the system and we can’t keep up with all the attacks on the Constitution because they’re coming from every direction. Yes, I know that your whole point of overwhelming the system is to keep us from keeping up. However, what you may not have realized is that we’re onto you. We’ve caught on. We know what you’re doing and we WILL make it stop. You would be wise to stop now before the people force that change on you.

Now the DNC and Press Secretary Gibbs made a mistake when they said that these are organized protests at the town hall meetings. Sadly they are not organized. They are just concerned people speaking out. However, if this keeps up, I think that will soon change. The people are angry and it won’t be long before they do start to organize. Washington, you need to get your act together before that happens. Otherwise, you’re going to find yourselves out of work along with about 14% of the rest of the country.

And to my friends here at home, I know this is not what you’re accustomed to seeing here on my blog. But darn it, I’ve had enough. I’ve never been a fighter, but it’s to the point now where we have to stand up and do something. Look where complacency has gotten us. I have six kids and a lot of bills but you know what? I’m willing to take what few dimes I have and use them to put overpriced gas in my vehicle and head to Washington, insisting that I be heard if that’s what it takes. It is time.

Meet Clorinda July 9, 2009

Meet Clorinda. She’s the lady I’m helping to sponsor through Kiva. For detailed info about Kiva, click their link in my sidebar over there ——> but for the short version, read on. Basically, Kiva connects people like you and me with enterprising people in poor countries. We can make a direct difference in the life of someone a world away, just by giving a tiny bit of our luxury.

The thing I like most about Kiva is that it’s a gift that keeps on giving. This isn’t your average charity. It’s actually a loan. You loan a minimum of $25 to a person or group and they repay you over time (usually within a year). Once the money is repaid, you can either withdraw it or you can re-invest it in someone else.

My first loan was to a group of ladies in Kenya. These ladies had different types of businesses but all guaranteed the loan. So if one defaulted, the others would pick up their payment. The loan was just repaid in full today. 🙂 So I am going to take that $25 and re-loan it. I’ve decided to help Clorinda. You can read more about her below.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE consider checking out Kiva and reading about some of the people that are needing loans. I think you’ll be impressed with the system and how well it works. You can go directly to the Kiva website by clicking on the big KIVA sign in my sidebar over there ——>.

Now….about Clorinda:
Clorinda is 42 years old. She is a very hardworking mother with 4 children, 3 of whom live in her house. Clorinda has been working everyday since she was very young because agriculture is the only activity that she knows and that has been yielding great profits all these years. For this reason, she really likes her potato and oca (a root vegetable) crops. Thanks to them, her children have not experienced financial difficulties. Sometimes she also works on her neighbors’ farms, where she gets paid 12 PEN daily, including lunch. With this money, she can pay for her elderly mother’s expenses and for her children’s studies. However, when she has to cultivate her own crop fields, Clorinda and her husband make it a priority until they end up sending their products to market. She has made the most of her previous earnings by purchasing some cows, selling their milk at 1.5 PEN a liter. Furthermore, her cows keep having more and more calves. For this reason, she hopes to purchase more cows, which will increase the household income. The rest of the members are on their tenth loan with MFP, while Clorinda is on her eighth loan because she joined the microfinance institute a year after it was formed. Nevertheless, she feels very happy because she has been saving money with her group. The money that she is now requesting will be used in purchasing fungicides to eradicate the pests that attack her potatoes and oca. She will also invest in purchasing chemical fertilizer.

Now doesn’t that sound like someone who is worth helping out? 🙂

Change Lives Today! May 14, 2008

I just found a revolutionary new way to change lives.  It’s called Kiva.  This is from their website:

1) Lenders like you browse profiles of entrepreneurs in need, and choose someone to lend to. When they lend, using PayPal or their credit cards, Kiva collects the funds and then passes them along to one of our microfinance partners worldwide.

2) Kiva’s microfinance partners distribute the loan funds to the selected entrepreneur. Often, our partners also provide training and other assistance to maximize the entrepreneur’s chances of success.

3) Over time, the entrepreneur repays their loan. Repayment and other updates are posted on Kiva and emailed to lenders who wish to receive them.

4) When lenders get their money back, they can re-lend to someone else in need, donate their funds to Kiva (to cover operational expenses), or withdraw their funds.

I’m really impressed by this for a lot of reasons.  These are my top two:

*  I can make an immediate investment in someone’s life.

*  It’s the gift that keeps on giving.  Once the loan is repaid, I can re-invest that money into someone else’s life.

I’m doing my best to get a link added into my sidebar over there —–> but until then, click here to go to Kiva’s website.  Check it out!

Better yet, make a loan! You can lend as little as $25. The one I chose is the Banda B7 B Group. They’re at only 56% funding for their loan and could really use your help! Click their name to lend them a hand.

Loving the Unlovable April 28, 2008

I had said that I would come back and give more of my thoughts on our LIFE Group lesson.  I’m finally doing that.  This is a real lesson in transparency for me.  But here goes….

I have trouble loving the unlovable.  There are some people that just plain rub me the wrong way.  They get on my nerves.  They aggrevate me.  They irritate me.  I don’t even like them, so how am I supposed to love them?

Well, I could give the comfortable, typical Christian answer…..”You don’t have to like them, but you can still love them.”  Can I really?  I guess that depends on how I define the word “love.”

In my mind, love is an action word….not a feeling.  I don’t believe that I can say “I love you” and it mean anything if I’m not willing to back it up.  Our lesson had focused on that a bit and I was glad to see that.  But I want to elaborate on that for a minute.  Bear with me….

If I say that I love you, and then you call me at 2am needing help….what should my response be?  Should I tell you to call back at a decent hour, or should I help?  Sure it’s easy to say that I should help…but the actual doing is another matter.  That can get uncomfortable.  Am I willing to get uncomfortable for someone that I say I love?  Do I really love them if I’m not willing?

Here’s the hard one for me…..

If you hurt my feelings, what should my reaction be?  You hurt my feelings.  Sounds minor, but it’s really huge.  Can I love you enough to tell you that you hurt my feelings?  What if you respond with, “So what?”  Can I still love you?  What if you took advantage of me?  What if you embarrassed me in front of other people?  Can I still love you then? 

What if you just generally tick me off?  Can I still love you?

That gets difficult for me sometimes.  I want to love you, but you just make it so hard. 

So I think that love isn’t always easy.  The feeling of love is very easy.  It’s warm and cozy and everything nice.  But the action of loving takes effort.  Sometimes it comes at a price.  Sometimes I have to lay aside my hurt feelings to love someone.  I might have to get outside of my comfort zone.  And most likely, I’ll never get anything in return.  Am I willing to do that?  Am I really….or do I just say that I am?

I believe that Jesus is the perfect example of what real love is.  His love for us came at a price.  He paid the price because He knew that real love is more than a feeling…it’s action.  He paid the price because He really does love us.  And as a Christ follower, I need to be willing to do the same.  Thankfully, I haven’t had to lay down my life for anybody.  But would I be willing to do that….even for a person who I consider “unlovable?”

You Can Bite Back! April 24, 2008

Tomorrow is World Malaria Day.  Did you know that?  I just found that out.  So I’ve been reading up on malaria.  The statistics are shocking to say the least.  I first read about it on Crystal’s blog and then started digging deeper for info. This is from Compassion’s website:

*Malaria kills one million people each year

*Most of these people are children

Here’s what shocked me the most….malaria is easily prevented.  One major tool in fighting malaria is a mosquito net.  A mosquito net placed around a child’s bed will protect them from the disease bearing mosquitos that bite them while they sleep.

Here’s another shocker…a mosquito net costs only $10!  I can do that!  For $10, a child’s life can be spared.  For less than it costs to feed my family at McDonald’s, I can save a child’s life.  Yes, I am donating.  Would you join me?  Click the link below, give $10 and save a life.  After you do, please leave a comment here and let me know.

 CLICK HERE bite back against malaria!