This fact hit me early this year: this election will change my life, and in more ways than one. You see, I had planned to go into the medical field, but with Obamacare in place, how can I? How can I as a Christian deny medical services to a patient because the government decrees that due to their illness they are not valid, contributing citizens? How can I work as a medical professional with the knowledge that I may lose my job because I refuse to do a procedure I morally disagree with? Unless Obamacare is repealed, I am very much in doubt whether I will continue into the field of medicine.

No matter what career I choose, how will I be successful in this economy? For that matter, how do I even know that in ten years, America will still be the land of opportunity? As a Christian, I am concerned about our freedom to worship God privately and publicly. I fear what our country will look like in ten years if President Obama’s agenda is continued.

Unfortunately, most Americans do not see, or are unconcerned about how all of this affects them personally. I pray that we will not be passive, and treat this as “Just Another Election”. This is life and death.

I thought to write this short entry to encourage everyone to pray for Rep. Ryan and his family. I can’t imagine all that they will have to go through in the following months.

Let’s cover them and the entire election in prayer. We don’t know the outcome, but God does, and He knows how to guide this election in every aspect.

“The trouble with our liberal friends is not that they are ignorant, but that they know so much that isn’t so.”

A few days ago, I was having a conversation with a new friend. Somehow, we got on to the subject of politics. I believe it started with a discussion about Obama’s executive order pertaining to the children of illegal immigrants. I said I believed that Obama should have gone through the proper channels of Congress instead of issuing an executive order. She immediately defended Obama, saying, “But the Republicans won’t let anything he wants to pass through, they won’t work with him.” I wanted to point out that Obama had not even tried to work with Congress, and John Boehner had attempted to work with him on a budget deal, but the president would not even consider it. I decided just to listen for a while. Somehow, she got on the subject of education. Her opinion was that we should stop and decrease spending on defense and increase education spending. Quite a few thoughts rushed through my mind at this point. First, throwing money at a problem has never worked. Second, she did not know she was speaking with someone who came from a family in which every eligible man had served in the military. One of whom is currently deployed to Afghanistan. However, I said none of this. I replied, “I think we need to send education back to the states.” I went on to say that communities should have control of matters like education. “Besides, I said, “Who cares more about your child, you or a bureaucrat in Washington?” She didn’t say anything. I couldn’t tell if she agreed or not. She repeated that we should spend more money on education. I let the subject drop since I did not want to argue. Later, we ended up talking about Planned Parenthood. I stated I believed that they should not receive government funding. “Why not?” she wanted to know. I explained my position on abortion, and that I felt the government should not fund abortion. “Oh, no!” she said, “The money Planned Parenthood receives from the government is not used to fund abortions.” Gently, I tried to explain that the money Planned Parenthood receives is not allocated for specific services. “No! she said firmly, I heard on NPR that the money they receive is not used for abortions.” I smiled to myself and thought, “NPR, that must be where she get her views on education and defense.” She went on to say that abortion was only a MINOR part of the services Planned Parenthood offers, without Planned Parenthood, underprivileged women could not get necessary health screenings and services. Once again, I tried to present the facts, but to no avail. In the end, I asked her to check out Live Action’s website. I hope that she will be curious enough to investigate.

What struck me most was that she knew all about the latest political issues. She was not uninformed, she was misinformed. Furthermore, she was using NPR as her sole source of information and opinion. I believe we would be better off if more people paid attention to current events. However, the amount of false information being proliferated concerns me, and the fact that most people blindly believe what they hear from “reputable sources” without checking the facts for themselves.

Of course, this begs the question, how do we combat misinformation? Websites like redstate.com, liveaction.org, and other alternative news sources are a great place to start, but we must be ever vigilant to encourage our friends to check the facts and be informed, not misinformed. It comes down to us, in our everyday lives taking the time to combat the deliberate lies of the Left. If each one of us points someone to the truth, and that person passes it on, imagine the impact!!

I will end with one of my favorite quotes:

The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.

Ode to Chick-Fil-A

‘Twas a bright and fine morning, when Truett Cathy declared:

He’d stand up for traditional marriage, and that he dared.

Well, the liberals raised their ugly heads, and began to say,

“Down with Mr. Cathy, and his Chick-Fil-A!”

But we conservatives would not permit it,

And organized ourselves to outwit it.

We came from near and far,

in our buses, pickups, and cars.

We stood in line all around the buildings,

To the liberals we were not yielding!!

Our chicken sandwiches we ate with pride,

Pickles and lettuce, grilled or fried.

Loud and clear our voices rang,

As we showed our support with a great big shebang!

I decided to support Rick W. Allen. It took a while to make this decision, but I am confident that Mr. Allen is the best person for the job.

Just in case y’all are not familiar with Mr. Allen’s background, he is from Augusta, GA and founded R.W. Allen Construction in 1976. He has been married to his wife, Robin for 38 years. They have 4 children and 5  grandchildren. He is a Christian Republican conservative; he attends Trinity On The Hill United Methodist Church where he teaches Sunday school.

One of the questions I asked when was I deciding who to vote for is “What is different?” If you look at each of the candidate’s websites, speeches, and interviews they seem to have many of the same views. I wanted to know what set a particular candidate apart. I spent a lot of time searching, and found something that set Rick Allen apart. You see, I wanted someone who didn’t just talk; I was looking for someone who puts his money and actions where his mouth is. Mr. Allen has done that in his own community. He has been involved with Christ Community Health Center of Augusta, an organization that provides low cost health care to the underprivileged and uninsured.  Mr. Allen has also served on the board of  St. Joseph’s Hospital. He has not just talked about fixing health care, and providing care to those who can not afford insurance, he has done something. Mr. Allen has also been involved in various other faith based charities to help his community. His commitment has stemmed from the Biblical admonition in Matthew 25:40 ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ He is often heard to say “So goes the family, so goes the community, so goes the nation.”  I could not agree with him more. I find it refreshing to see someone running for congress that believes this, and has acted upon his belief throughout his life.

Of course, that is not the only reason I support Mr. Allen. Being a businessman, he knows the value of a dollar. He knows how to balance a budget, and he understands the importance of cutting taxes and reducing regulations on small businesses to allow our economy to grow.

I respect his moral character, and the family values he stands for. It’s good to know that he is a candidate who will not hesitate to protect the right to life of every person, at every stage of life. He is not afraid to stand for the sanctity of marriage, and our religious freedoms.

Going into this primary, I hope those of you who are in Georgia’s 12th district will consider Mr. Allen. I believe he is a man we can trust to do what says he will do, and do it to the very best of his ability.

For more information about Mr. Allen you can visit his website: www.rickwallenforcongress.com

By far the most common:

“Can I get your phone number? I’ll call you back.”  Often something is tacked on like: “Could you fax me a request?” and “Could you call
back later and speak with so and so?” I usually never hear another word from these people, but who knows they may have been abducted by aliens.

“Sure” I say. When I  call back later and ask to speak with so and so,  he “had a family emergency” and another day “left early”. I finally reached Mr. so and so at his office, only to be informed by his secretary that “he said he’ll pass on the sign.” I was glad I got an answer, I was getting worried that he had been a victim of a triple dose of Murphy’s Law!!

I spoke with another local business owner and he was happy to put a sign out. “Sure,” he said, “go ahead and put the sign up. Let me tell you where to put it…”

I put the sign up the next day. Two days later the sign is replaced by a four by five foot sign for my candidate’s opponent. I called back to ask if I could have my sign back (campaign signs are expensive!) this how the conversation went:

 Me: “Sir, I noticed that the sign I put up was taken down. I
was just wondering if I could come by and pick it up so I could place it
somewhere else?”

Mr. Doe: WHAT!!! The sign is GONE? I didn’t take it down!!!

Me: Well, it was replaced by someone else’s sign, so I assumed you did not want it.

Mr. Doe: WHAT!! I don’t know anything about this! Give me your phone number I’ll call you back.

I have not, and do not expect to hear from Mr. Doe. My candidate’s opponent’s signs still stand in front of his business. He really pulled one over on me. If only I could get my sign back…oh well!

Some people are really creative at saying no, but he really took the cake!

Other people are not so skilled with the “call back” excuse. They really crack me up. Here is an example:

The lady who answers the phone is very nice, and I explain my reason for calling. She tells me to hold on a minute while she asks her boss about putting up a sign. I hear her say in the background “There is a lady on the phone from some campaign. She wants to know if she can put up a sign. What should I tell her?” “Tell her no” is the reply. Back to me on the phone she says “The owner has already left for today. Can I get your number? I’m sure she’d be more than happy to call you back.” I had to smile at that one. What is so hard about plain ole no?

Another businessman told me he couldn’t put a sign up because “My grass ain’t cut, but call back next week and it might be!” I told my sister the only way that will happen is if I buy him some goats!

Last but not least, my favorite:

“Well, ma’am I’m all in for him, but I can’t put up a yard sign. Somebody might think I’m supporting him.”

Wait, wait…come again?

I know what I’m about to propose is a long shot. Some would say I’m beating a dead horse. Maybe I am, and maybe I’m not. But I’m willing to fight for what I believe in, and for who I believe in. In my opinion, there is no one who has the experience and character to be president other than Gov. Perry. He has a record of creating jobs that few can equal. He has been a steady warrior for our consevative values. Gov. Perry was the tea party before there was a tea party!! Not only is Gov. Perry an honorable man, his wife is also a lady of virtue and dignity, and will serve our country with those qualities alongside her husband as she has already in Texas.

We need a president with Gov. Perry’s skills. It’s been too long since we had a shot at putting a man in office with the character of Gov. Perry, and I’m not willing to give up on that chance yet.

If you feel the way I do, take action. Here are a few things that we can do now.

1. EMAIL Gov. Perry. Tell him from your heart why you feel we need him and why he should rejoin the race.

         http://governor.state.tx.us/contact/

        campaign@rickperry.org

2. CALL his office and leave a message of encouragement.

• Citizen’s Opinion Hotline [for Texas callers] :
  (800) 252-9600
• Information and Referral and Opinion Hotline [for Austin, Texas and out-of-state callers] :
  (512) 463-1782

3. Use social media to get out the message.

4.  If you are going to CPAC next week, do your best to encourage

    Gov. Perry to rejoin the race.

5. Encourage everyone to donate funds and support his campaign in any way they can.

6. Most importantly, Pray. Pray. Pray. With God all things are possible.

There is also a website dedicated to the cause of re-drafting Gov. Perry into the race.  Please check it out: http://teaandfedup.wordpress.com/

Remember:

Last week, on my way to an appointment, I had some time to kill, so I stopped by a second-hand book store. One of my favorite topics besides politics is medicine. When I noticed a book about the experiences of a nurse, I picked it up. I quickly skimmed a little of the book, and since it looked interesting I decided to buy it. I finally got around to reading some of it yesterday afternoon. It was not long before my blood pressure started rising. The nurse turned out to be an ultra liberal, and an advocate for euthanasia. She believes that it is just fine to “snow” a terminally ill patient by overdosing him with pain medication until the patient dies. What’s more is that in her opinion, the family should not be allowed to make end of life decisions for the patient. She believes it should be a doctor’s decision because “the family is too emotional to choose what is  best for the patient.” Believe it or not, this book was published in 1978!!

We all know how far this movement has come today. This was a wake up call for me. Even though I already knew about this spreading mindset, it was a reminder that we must continue standing for life. We can’t become discouraged because of recent events.

If we do not elect a republican president, and Obamacare is not repealed, I’m afraid this will happen much more often to people who are handicapped and do not have the “quality of life” that “normal” people do. The government will see them as a drain on society because their care costs so much, and the practice of “humane death” will become widespread.

We must fight for life AT ALL STAGES!! We cannot give up, even though we are discouraged. We must get behind a pro-life candidate that can beat Barack Obama , and that man in my opinion is Newt Gingrich.

Ok, all joking aside, I am angry at how Gov. Perry was pushed out of the race. What angers me most is that it was not by the will of the people. Yes, I know he did not do well in Iowa or New Hampshire, but look at those states a little closer. We really don’t know what happened in Iowa. Yesterday, I heard a report that some of the votes have gone missing. We know that Democrats crossed over to skew the results in favor of Ron Paul and Mitt Romney. No one expected a real conservative to do well in New Hampshire. We were going to get the REAL DEAL in South Carolina. The truth is, people were open to Gov. Perry, I talked to many of them! But Gov. Perry had one big enemy: the media. Day after day pundits tried to push Gov. Perry out of the race, and eventually they succeeded. Due to the media’s continual bombardment, Gov. Perry’s last poll number in South Carolina was a dismal two percent. I know the polls aren’t accurate, but it still speaks to voters being influenced by media bias.

What kills me is that the voters never really got to have their say. Going forward, I think we should learn a lesson from this election. Never, Never, let the media, even the so called conservative media, tell us who the nominee should be. I hope and pray that the South Carolina primary is won by someone other that Mitt Romney, the media’s nominee.

Perhaps my syndrome will dissipate with time. I doubt it, though.

I end with Gov. Perry’s quote from yesterday:

“And this I know, I am not done fighting for the cause of conservatism. In fact I have only begun to fight.”

So, what now? I hate to ask that question. I wish I could go on defiantly supporting Gov.Perry, but in my heart I know that is not what is best for our country. We can not allow Obama to be reelected, and we must now work toward that goal.

Today we can cry, but tomorrow we have to move on. We have to unite. For me, I will take Gov. Perry’s advice and support Gingrich. I can’t say I’m thrilled to do so, but I feel that he is the best choice remaining.

Let us all pray for Gov. Perry today. I know this can not be any easier for him and his family than it is for us.

For all those in Texas: you are blessed; you have an incredibly honorable governor.

In the words of Todd Beamer, “Let’s Roll”! because of what Edmund Burke said:

“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing”.