Will they or won't they?

I heard a rumor that my dorky sister, Deb, and my bother-in-law, Tom, might be coming to visit this weekend (yes, I did spell it that way intentionally). I hope that they do visit now, since the baby is due to be born on Monday the 24th. Since when do babies follow a schedule? The baby isn't going to be born this weekend. My schedule will not allow it! Note: I said that extra loud so the baby can hear.

Deb and Tom's kid, Matthew, wasn't feeling well last night so we may or may not have visitors. Our house isn't quite the disaster it usually is, so they are welcome to visit. Saturday is the big fishing derby on Gull Lake. Last year, there were over 14,000 people ice fishing on one bay and this year is rumored to be bigger, so we cannot pawn them off on some hotel for the weekend if they do visit. Just my luck, having to put up with my little sister for a whole weekend.

The winter weather advisory is now a heavy snow warning. Whoohoo! The prediction is for 6-10 inches of snow. If that keeps Tom from driving up, he is a disappointing version of a die-hard Minnesotan. Hey, we like snow around here. Sue me.

Dr. Leland told us on Monday that when the barometric pressure drops, lots and lots of babies are born. I woke up at my normal time this morning, Heather was already awake, (something that never happens). She was in the baby's room, and, get this... her activities were the epitome of that pre-labor symptom called nesting. Hey, I read all the books. The baby is coming soon! Batten down the hatches, boil the water, and, oh... the baby isn't going to be born this weekend. My schedule will not allow it!

The truth is out there. Blatantly.

It always amazes me that so many people who support the Democratic Party do so mindlessly. Before my Democrat friends angrily disavow knowing me or worse, let me explain. Condoleezza Rice, having been confirmed by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee by a vote of 16-2, is now waiting for confirmation from the complete Senate. Why? Who is holding this up? I find it ironic that the man who is, in typical partisan fashion, delaying Rice's confirmation, is a white supremacist and an avowed racist who was a grand wizard for the Ku Klux Klan, and advised them for years AFTER he left the organization. Of course, I am talking about West Virginia Senator-for-life, Robert Byrd, who, by the way, has been in Congress since the start of the Korean War, a total of 52 years. Talk about an argument for term limits!

But I digress… I cannot explain Byrd’s position that Condoleezza Rice should not be the Secretary of State, so I will let him explain succinctly, in his very own words, against which, I cannot imagine how he can even defend his stance. Sen. Byrd was also a fierce opponent of desegregating the military, complaining in one letter: "I should rather die a thousand times and see old glory trampled in the dirt never to rise again than see this beloved land of ours become degraded by race mongrels, a throwback to the blackest specimen of the wilds."

I find it ironic that the decision by Democrats to make Sen. Byrd the point man in the continuing assault against such a prominent African-American academic and leader as Doctor Rice, the position is a particularly awkward one, given his long history of racial delinquency. Only 3 years ago, he was forced to apologize for using that awful n-word twice in one of his ranting sessions. Isn’t it ironic that he is holding up the confirmation of the first black woman to be nominated as Secretary of State?

Do you need another example to convince you, and if so, how about this? Byrd filibustered the 1964 Civil Rights Act for 14 straight hours. And years after he said he'd left his white-sheeted brothers behind, he wrote to Georgia's Grand Imperial Wizard, urging, "The Klan is needed today as never before." Ironic, isn’t it?

Dr. Condoleezza Rice is a leader I have great respect for. She came from very humble beginnings to rise to the pinnacle of leadership. She came from paucity in Alabama to college at 15, graduated with high honors, holds several advanced degrees and has received many awards and accolades. That she is now the most powerful woman in the world is something I find comforting, with her wisdom, experience and her unwavering faith in God. To top it off, she is fluent in four languages. Crikey! Why is Byrd holding up her confirmation? The woman is certainly qualified after four years as National Security Advisor, more qualified than Byrd will ever be.

On a side note, I find it interesting the absurdity of protestors screeching that Bush is a racist and a sexist. Let's do the math: first woman National Security Advisor, first black Secretary of State, first Hispanic Attorney General, first black woman Secretary of State, among others. In sum total, with four years and 24 appointments, Bush has named to his Cabinet five women, four African-Americans, three Hispanics and two Asian-Americans, more than any other president. Wow. That proves he IS racist and sexist... doesn’t it???

Back to the point at hand, that black Americans and other minorities continue to stand with the Democrats when that party doesn’t represent their interests, uses them as pawns, is ironic, isn’t it? Before you think this is my defense of the Republican Party, here is my disclaimer. I am not a Republican. I believe in constitutional constructionism and holding to the ideals of the constitution, something that the Republicans only do marginally better than the Democrats.

I believe that less government is almost always a good thing. I know that the federal government has no constitutional authority taking money from the industrious and using that money to buy the votes of the so-called downtrodden, who often are in fact the indoctrinated slothful, who feel entitled to the government giving them "free money." Here is a news flash. That isn’t free money. It is money taken from the hard working to give to the shiftless, the illegal aliens, and the weak-minded dregs that follow dollar signs to the ballot box. America didn’t become great through idle hands and needy minds. Our nation became strong and free because the dreamers' reach exceeded their grasp. Our fathers accomplished the impossible. Thank God for that.

The people providing the “blue” votes in metropolitan areas are not ideologically descended from those dreamers. Naturally, the "blue state" populace will continue to support the Democratic Party when the Dems pander to them, buy their votes, and keep their constituents as mind-numbed robots spouting political myths and believing the Dem lies. I wish these citizens would occasionally think for themselves and see the power of their freedom, not the “free” government handouts, which do these entitlement addicts a disservice and this wastes their potential! We all can achieve a measure of success in our lives if only we understand it is up to our own actions to succeed.

There was once a great Democrat, John F. Kennedy, who said in his inaugural address, "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country."

The ideals of that party do not exist in the Democratic party of today, not one bit. Certainly the survival of this party depends on keeping the minorities from success by their own actions. Maybe the party should be renamed the Dependent Socialist Party? There is nothing democratic about being the financially co-dependent stooge of a Maoist party that is all about suppressing the followers successes while enriching themselves. Wait a minute. Mom used to say "Self-praise stinks!" That sounds familiar and it is the self-congratulations of people like Hillary Clinton, Robert Byrd and Ted “Hiccup” Kennedy. Ironic, isn’t it? I can see the secret of the Dependent Democratic Party, and can hear it plainly manifest before us… “Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain. I am Oz, the great and powerful!” Are you now?

I really hope that some day, in America, there will be a viable third party that can accomplish good things for the future of America, without leaving what is left of our constitution behind, after the special interests and attorneys, (a.k.a. distortion artists, extortion artists, and what have you) are done deconstructing it. My child deserves better than this. America deserves better than this.