"Jan, come on, we gotta go." He calmly told me as he came to the screen door.
“What’s wrong?” I asked. I knew immediately something had happened simply because of his request. As I turned to see him standing on the front porch, I saw him holding his gloved hand upright with his other hand. “What happened?” I exclaimed; this time closer to panic.
“Oh, the cutter,” he muttered, “we have to find an emergency clinic.” I grabbed my purse trying hard to remember to breathe. I knew this moment would someday come, and I also knew I was not good in moments like this.
“Boy, I don’t know where the closest one is; let’s go up to the fire house. They will have a paramedic on there.” I breathlessly suggested.
“Ok, now don’t panic,” he lectured. “I am ok.” He didn’t know what it was that I suspected, and I did not know at this time, what he suspected. Both suspicions were one in the same: that he would not take his glove off, because of a fear that the finger was no longer attached.
I rang the bell at the station…no answer. I rang it again, this time holding the button a little longer. A young man quickly opened the door, with an expectant look on his face of an impending emergency. When I saw him, I knew he had been on his way at the first ring. Ouch. I wanted to tell him I was sorry for my impatience, but instead I asked him, "Is there a paramedic on duty?”
“EMT”, he responded, “what happened?” So as my husband explained his situation, the young man on duty took us back and told my husband to step up into the ambulance. I took the opportunity to turn away and breathe a quick prayer. I couldn’t watch. Remember, I don’t do this kind of thing well.
As they removed the glove, I heard one of the men on duty say, “Well, you still have a finger.” Then my husband’s chuckle, “Yeah, I wasn’t sure.”
They cleaned the wound and bandaged it up and told us they could take us to the emergency room at the hospital, or if we preferred, we could drive ourselves. We all knew now that the wound had been cleaned and dressed, we would be able to drive ourselves as easily as they could.
So off to the ER we went with me as a calmer driver now that the wound had been looked at by a professional. I knew things would take longer than they should at the hospital. Four hours to be precise. It isn’t our sleepy, little town any longer.
Surgery was scheduled for the next day – this would be at the larger hospital in the larger nearby city. Though we were told it would be a surgery that lasted 2 or 3 hours, I thought with check-in and recovery and things simply going as they normally do, it would end up being the full day. So I packed a bag of things that I thought I would need as I waited. A couple books, because I knew I would need a change from Dickens to something lighter. A couple magazines, because I knew there would be a time I needed something even lighter still; and I packed my blanket. Yes! My blanket! After sitting four hours in the chill of the emergency room, I wasn’t about to be cold again. Mr. Air Conditioning and I do not get along well.
Once checked in, it wasn’t long before they called my husband back for all the pre-tests.
Through the whole ordeal, my husband was, as is always his character in a tough situation: calm, quiet, and without complaint…accepting.
Once he was off to surgery, I settled in. The waiting room was fairly spacious and comfortable with lots of windows. I chose a window seat… I was glad that I had, as later in the day it offered warmth from the afternoon sun. I was able to do quite a bit of reading. But without choice, I also overheard many of the reasons that people were there also waiting: a tonsillectomy; removal of a tumor; prostate surgery; most were minor surgeries that would allow the patient to go home the same day, or within a day or two. Though privacy was attempted, through the doctors’ reports, or cell phone calls to other loved ones, one could not help but hear some of the conversations.
I eventually caught on to the rhythm, if you will, or the sequence of events that involved each family that was in the room waiting. I marveled. Each waited, reading or visiting with other family members. The surgeon would come out and give a report to the family member waiting. I could tell the doctors were exhausted, though these professionals would not let on. I thought about the stress they were under because of their profession and I knew they deserved their title, deserved our respect and should be appreciated. Each time it was good news!That is amazing to me. Ok maybe that shouldn’t surprise me. Medicine has come so far and what we experience here in America is the best in the world. We have so much to be thankful for, I thought. Once given a report, the family member would sit back and wait some more.
One patient had 13 – 14 family members waiting. It was so heart-warming! Fourteen members of this family took time out of their day - actually a full day as I overheard this would be an 8 hour surgery - to sit around a hospital room where they could do nothing but support one another. It was remarkable! Incredible - when you think about that many gathered together…just to wait. And when I saw them get a phone call of yet another family member requesting direction to their location, I watched as one who was probably the oldest sibling sent another down to help usher in an elderly couple. This couple was probably in their eighties and had also come to wait with the others. All ages of this family was present and it reminded me of my own family. Had my situation been something more serious, or had I requested it, my family would be there for one another too. I reflected on what a wonderful thing God created in families. And though I did not know this family, I was proud of them. What an awesome thing!
As I sat, I noticed a Bible on a shelf toward the front of the room. How nice to see that there. I found I would need it to verify a reference as I read an article in a magazine. When I took a walk down the hall to look for a snack, I noticed the history of the hospital written on the wall. “Ministers of Jesus Christ” something read. This hospital, too, had been started by Christians. I didn’t know that previously. As I walked back to my chair, I noticed the phone on the desk at the front of the room. A plaque that sat in the center of the desk directed: “Answer the phone if it rings. It is for someone in the room.” I watched amazed as each time the phone was answered it seemed to be for the one that answered it.
Once in a while during the day, memories would enter my thoughts to which I was not willing to return on this day. I kept pushing them back…adding sandbag after sandbag to keep them from flooding the home of my thoughts. Though the situations here were not nearly as dire, I couldn’t help but think about another hospital room I once sat in. It was an entirely different situation and an entirely different hospital – Harborview - one of the best trauma hospitals in the nation. There, grief was the overpowering emotion. There, family members sat sometimes alone, sometimes quietly conversing with others. Some sat with heads in their hands, some sat curled up asleep on a chair with a blanket. I remember when I was there, knowing the cleanliness of my loved one that would at some point need one of these blankets, I had found myself wondering when was the last time they had been washed. Unimportant…a life in the balance, and grief, buoyed only slightly by hope, was the only important thing there. There my son, who was 13 at the time, grew to be a man in merely a day. I didn’t want to think about these memories, so I shook the thoughts from my head. I had to do this more than once, because if I allowed an entrance, floodgates would open that I am not always prepared to revisit. More sandbags!
Our surgeon came out looking for me at just the right time. I waved catching his attention. He came over to me smiling. “We’re done,” he told me, “It went well. One of the tendons was stretched, so that presented a bit more of a challenge to repair, but all is good. You might as well sit back and have a cup of coffee; it will be an hour or so before he wakes up.” I thanked him and smiled at the report that came with a trace of a southern accent. I appreciate this surgeon that brought me my good news. I sat back to wait, but without coffee…the pot was empty.
The truth of the matter, though the situations I watched here weren’t the direst of conditions in comparison to the other hospital, it was all very thought provoking. We are so blessed to live in the country that we do. God’s miracles through what man pridefully calls his modern medicine happen every day. The truth is, all the glory belongs to God. All the knowledge and wisdom we have is His. We are blessed to live in this time of success.
We aren’t blessed because we are worthy. We are blessed because we are His. There-in lays one of the dangers of allowing our nation to be stripped of the definition of our nation that has always been understood since its beginning…a Christian nation. To not preserve this definition is to join the ranks of those that seek to destroy our heritage.
There you go again, Jan. Are you even going to get political about a situation as simple as this? Yep! I guess so, because I believe “Politics” is merely a dirty word someone created to keep us from being involved with life. In my opinion, life is about two things: Jesus Christ- the Author and Finisher of our faith which includes sharing His Good News, and secondly what some would call “politics” which allows us to be able to walk circumspectly through this life, and which also allows us to protect and preserve our faith so that we might continue to share it. Our Founding Fathers, having been closer to those that had once almost lost their faith, understood this and through what I believe was also God’s wisdom offered us a means to protect our faith. Yes, we are blessed!
The phone rang and this time I answered it. I didn't have to wonder; I knew it was for me.
“‘C.’ family?” the voice on the other end inquired. “Yes!” I said.
“He’s awake. Come to room 13.”
May God bless those in His care with what is entirely His medicine, and may God bless the family that waits.
Monday, July 25, 2011
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
That Which Remains
I killed it. I don’t know how. But it had to have been me. I really didn’t notice that it wasn’t doing well, until one spring I saw one lonely golden flower dangling from the left side of the tree. My Golden Chain was my favorite tree in the yard, and I killed it.
The previous owners of our home – Mr. and Mrs. Z. - would probably be turning in their graves if they knew! I also destroyed her strawberry patch. When we first moved in to our new home, I had a couple of good years with the strawberries. Eventually though, they started producing less and less until one year they were simply gone. I tried planting wild flowers there, and that was kind of nice toward the end of summer, but it took so long for them to bloom each year, that I finally got tired of how “messy” it looked there in that patch before I had flowers there to brighten my yard. This year I used my mower to mow away all that mess.
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| Daddy Meadowlark |
Then there’s the birds! Mr. and Mrs. Z. loved birds and had a little bird haven here. I have found that I love them too, and have tried my best to support and protect them. We have dogs, though. So, it was only a season or two, before the mourning doves that came to the front yard feeder each morning, no longer came.
The meadowlarks and bluebirds are my favorites; mainly because they remind me of my childhood, but also of course, because they are both so beautiful. The thing is: we have horses, so we hay our fields. I try my best to encourage my husband to spray the fields early in the spring before the meadowlarks have nested. And I am always hopeful that the little families are gone by the time we cut and bail in July. But we do need to work the land, so this one is out of my control. I can only leave this situation and those much appreciated warblers to God.
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| Mr. Blue Bird |
The blue birds are my absolute favorite birds, so of course we put up other boxes for them. But the location for viewing isn’t quite as good.
Then there are the cats….Oh my! Someone saw it in their “good judgment” to drop off a couple of cats at our place. The cat I had for 19 years had died and I was never going to have a cat again. I always marvel that people think that they know best for you and would do something like that. Yes! I think it was someone I know. Not only could I not afford to keep these two felines immunized, but they just didn’t belong in the bird sanctuary that the previous owners had created. Of course, we would learn to love them, but that doesn’t mean we want them, can take care of them, or are glad they came. It has been a nightmare. But because we now already had two cats, when a friend asked, we gladly took another to help their family when they moved out of state. It was very important what this family was going to be doing, and the kids needed to know their cat was in a good home. This was our choice; and I could not have been happier to be able to help this family in some small way; but the other two cats? I still shake my head over that little situation.
Needless to say, the cats have brought some change. I remember the look on Mrs. Z’s face when we were about to buy their place and I told her I had a cat - the old one that was 19. “Oh, but she is really old, de-clawed, and stays in the house all the time,” I reassured her. I felt so bad she was worried for her birds.
Anyway, I often lament the changes that we brought to our new place. I loved it the way it was, too. And I really wanted to be a good steward of this home. But I love it even more now. It has become our home, and God could not have picked out a better place for us. That is a whole other blog post coming, too.
One day, after loosing our Golden Chain - ours and the Z’s - I was feeling discouraged about the changes we have made to this place. I was talking to family members, about all the changes that I have mentioned above, kind of forgetting temporarily about everything good that remains. My brother-in-law stopped to encourage me. “Yeah, but Jan,” he said, “This is your place, now. These changes reflect your life and the changes have been made to fit your needs. You have a garden that the other people didn’t have, and dogs that you love, and horses. This is your place now,” he lovingly lectured. His comments really warmed my heart!
So as I write, all is peaceful and still, except for the sound of the falling rain outside my open screen door…which by the way, we added…because I love old fashioned screen doors. I look out my window to see a western blue bird scrimmaging with a swallow around the birdhouse on the deck. A little late for that type of activity, and I wonder what is up with that situation…plus, the bluebirds have never nested in that house before. Curious. Our horse is in his barn, with just his head sticking out in order that he might avoid a morning shower to wash his dirty coat which he seems to love to keep. My lab is asleep on the porch and the beagle asleep at my feet and yep - my brother is right! I can’t think how many times this brother has encouraged me; probably to him, most often unknowingly. I love him to pieces! And I love our home, even though the cats need to be fed this morning and challenge my affections daily. Yep! I loved our home right from the start and I love even more, all that remains.
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| Yeah, I know! She's beautiful. |
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
My List of Things to Do - Spending Treasure IX
I have expectations of summer that have been with me all my life, it seems. I notice the older I get though, the more I long for those lazy days of summer that I experienced as a youth.
Today, when I awoke, and I rehashed my schedule for the day in my mind, I could tell this was going to be the type of day that equals my fond memories of childhood. With the business of graduation, getting the garden and yard summer ready, preparing Matt’s summer travel agenda, and my work schedule, there just has not been very much free time. But at least for today, there was not a whole lot on my list of things to do. My summer had finally come.
I woke up to the sound of the lawn mower, Matt was already out getting his work done even before the dogs and I had wakened. I got up, made the coffee, and read a bit while I waited for him to come in from outside. When the sound of the mower stopped, he came in smiling, happy to have a jump on his day. We talked as I checked my email and then started loading some photographs to send via email at a friend’s request. Matthew washed up and started to make waffles for breakfast. He soon called me to come get the strawberries ready so we could have strawberries over our morning waffles. We had a leisurely breakfast talking about our plans for the day.
After breakfast, I went out to hoe my garden and he went out to spray a few weeds in the pasture that just didn’t want to die the first time around. As I was hoeing my garden, as is often the case, memories started flooding my mind from my childhood. When I was a kid, gardening was a big and important part of our summer. My mom and dad planted a huge garden every year, and it was part of the responsibility of my siblings and I, to help keep that garden weeded and hoed. We knew that we would not be going swimming, or horseback riding, or anything else, until that garden was weeded.
But weeding the garden is only part of my summer memories. Weeding my own garden this morning, only propelled me down “Memory Lane” into all kinds of summer activities that I decided I wanted to write down while I still remember.
One of my favorite things, when I was a kid, was to get up early before anyone else was awake, while all was quiet and still; the only sounds I might hear would be the woosh, woosh, woosh of the sprinklers in the nearby fields and the throaty, yet musical warble of a male meadowlark letting me know that all is well. I would sneak out the back door barefoot, just so I could feel the damp dew on my bare feet. I would listen to our African Geese honk a greeting to me upon my arrival at their pen. Peeper would invariably put his head down and run at me like he was going to attack me right through the wire of his pen.
The afternoon, when it was hot, would bring opportunity for me to grab a favorite book and climb up into my brother’s tree fort in the big, old locust tree. It was cool and quiet there and I could read for hours, pretending I was Nancy Drew or Trixie Belden solving yet another mystery that had come across our path. Yeah, “our path”: mine and Trixie’s, and Honey Wheeler’s, too.
After reading for a while, I might walk over the style to see what Grandma and Grandpa were doing for the day. I always knew I would receive a “Timely Word” there. Sometimes I would coax Casey, our Springer Spaniel, into sitting under the pear tree with me, where we could be all alone in the shade, where no one could see us. I would know that for that moment, he loved me better than he loved anyone else and he would be just mine… at least for the moment.
I might give my friend, Shirley, a call to see if she was up for a walk in the woods. We were WWW long before the www –World Wide Web. Shirley and I had formed a "club" called the Wary Wood Walkers, or WWW for short. She was Nancy…something…and I was Naomi Jackson. We were out to seek mysteries of our own. We would bring our younger sisters along with us and almost always desert them in the middle of the woods to see if they could find our secret hiding place or some such nonsense. I hate to think of what my little sis might now say about that.
Some summer mornings would often find me waiting for my friend, Cathy, to call so that we might go for a horseback ride. She would let me ride Sandy, while she would ride Go-Go. Eventually she got another horse whose name I can’t recall. We would jump on that horse and gallop across her pasture on our way to the little pond singing Scarecrow. I don’t recall those lyrics now either, but I do remember the moment. Treasure! One time when we did this, we came across a dead horse by the pond. I will never forget Cathy’s grief at finding this horse. She wasn’t sure to whom it belonged, but she ran to the nearest house for help, while I forlornly waited, not knowing what to do. Cathy will require a post simply telling all about her some day. The memories are many; and yes, they are pure treasure…like walking fence to see how long we could stay up and how far we could go on those straight wooden rails; or sleeping out at night, well away from her house at the base of the mountain, hidden among the trees of the forest. Or, riding our horses up “Stanea Hill” to the pipe-line and enjoying the solitude and beauty we found there. My childhood, certainly must not have been perfect, but it surely seemed like it was as close as one could get to “perfect”.
The evenings would bring a ride over to the baseball diamond to watch my brother’s Little League game. These were not only great games, these were also fun social events, as many of the kids from school and their families would be there as well, to cheer on our own "boys of summer". We would see some of the kids we might not otherwise see until school began again in the fall.
When Daddy was working at home, we could count on him to drive us down to one of the local lakes for an evening swim after supper. We loved the evening swims even more than during the day. There was rarely anyone there at the beach, and the water felt oh so much warmer. When the daytime temperatures had cooled just a bit, the temperature of the lake felt almost like bath water. Dad would watch us swim for a while and then when it was time to go, he would treat us to an ice cream or a root beer from the A and W before heading home.
Summer evenings also brought games of “Kick-the-Can” and “No Ghost Out Tonight” with the other kids on the block…or sometimes with my older sister’s friends who would be spending the night with her. The older girls added an extra dimension to our "play" making song requests to the local radio station, which we had turned up to hear as we played our games well past dusk and into the night. "Pretty Woman" by Roy Orbison would be one of the songs most requested at the time.
Our favorite summer nights would consist of Mom’s spaghetti for dinner and Henry Aldrich on TV before bed. Sleeping out under the stars and watching for shooting stars would be at the top of our list…maybe only to be topped by waking the next morning in the cool morning air, with the sun beginning to rise and realizing it was going to be yet another hot lazy day of summer with not a whole lot on my list of things to do.
Today, when I awoke, and I rehashed my schedule for the day in my mind, I could tell this was going to be the type of day that equals my fond memories of childhood. With the business of graduation, getting the garden and yard summer ready, preparing Matt’s summer travel agenda, and my work schedule, there just has not been very much free time. But at least for today, there was not a whole lot on my list of things to do. My summer had finally come.
I woke up to the sound of the lawn mower, Matt was already out getting his work done even before the dogs and I had wakened. I got up, made the coffee, and read a bit while I waited for him to come in from outside. When the sound of the mower stopped, he came in smiling, happy to have a jump on his day. We talked as I checked my email and then started loading some photographs to send via email at a friend’s request. Matthew washed up and started to make waffles for breakfast. He soon called me to come get the strawberries ready so we could have strawberries over our morning waffles. We had a leisurely breakfast talking about our plans for the day.
After breakfast, I went out to hoe my garden and he went out to spray a few weeds in the pasture that just didn’t want to die the first time around. As I was hoeing my garden, as is often the case, memories started flooding my mind from my childhood. When I was a kid, gardening was a big and important part of our summer. My mom and dad planted a huge garden every year, and it was part of the responsibility of my siblings and I, to help keep that garden weeded and hoed. We knew that we would not be going swimming, or horseback riding, or anything else, until that garden was weeded.
But weeding the garden is only part of my summer memories. Weeding my own garden this morning, only propelled me down “Memory Lane” into all kinds of summer activities that I decided I wanted to write down while I still remember.
One of my favorite things, when I was a kid, was to get up early before anyone else was awake, while all was quiet and still; the only sounds I might hear would be the woosh, woosh, woosh of the sprinklers in the nearby fields and the throaty, yet musical warble of a male meadowlark letting me know that all is well. I would sneak out the back door barefoot, just so I could feel the damp dew on my bare feet. I would listen to our African Geese honk a greeting to me upon my arrival at their pen. Peeper would invariably put his head down and run at me like he was going to attack me right through the wire of his pen.
The afternoon, when it was hot, would bring opportunity for me to grab a favorite book and climb up into my brother’s tree fort in the big, old locust tree. It was cool and quiet there and I could read for hours, pretending I was Nancy Drew or Trixie Belden solving yet another mystery that had come across our path. Yeah, “our path”: mine and Trixie’s, and Honey Wheeler’s, too.
After reading for a while, I might walk over the style to see what Grandma and Grandpa were doing for the day. I always knew I would receive a “Timely Word” there. Sometimes I would coax Casey, our Springer Spaniel, into sitting under the pear tree with me, where we could be all alone in the shade, where no one could see us. I would know that for that moment, he loved me better than he loved anyone else and he would be just mine… at least for the moment.
I might give my friend, Shirley, a call to see if she was up for a walk in the woods. We were WWW long before the www –World Wide Web. Shirley and I had formed a "club" called the Wary Wood Walkers, or WWW for short. She was Nancy…something…and I was Naomi Jackson. We were out to seek mysteries of our own. We would bring our younger sisters along with us and almost always desert them in the middle of the woods to see if they could find our secret hiding place or some such nonsense. I hate to think of what my little sis might now say about that.
Some summer mornings would often find me waiting for my friend, Cathy, to call so that we might go for a horseback ride. She would let me ride Sandy, while she would ride Go-Go. Eventually she got another horse whose name I can’t recall. We would jump on that horse and gallop across her pasture on our way to the little pond singing Scarecrow. I don’t recall those lyrics now either, but I do remember the moment. Treasure! One time when we did this, we came across a dead horse by the pond. I will never forget Cathy’s grief at finding this horse. She wasn’t sure to whom it belonged, but she ran to the nearest house for help, while I forlornly waited, not knowing what to do. Cathy will require a post simply telling all about her some day. The memories are many; and yes, they are pure treasure…like walking fence to see how long we could stay up and how far we could go on those straight wooden rails; or sleeping out at night, well away from her house at the base of the mountain, hidden among the trees of the forest. Or, riding our horses up “Stanea Hill” to the pipe-line and enjoying the solitude and beauty we found there. My childhood, certainly must not have been perfect, but it surely seemed like it was as close as one could get to “perfect”.
The evenings would bring a ride over to the baseball diamond to watch my brother’s Little League game. These were not only great games, these were also fun social events, as many of the kids from school and their families would be there as well, to cheer on our own "boys of summer". We would see some of the kids we might not otherwise see until school began again in the fall.
When Daddy was working at home, we could count on him to drive us down to one of the local lakes for an evening swim after supper. We loved the evening swims even more than during the day. There was rarely anyone there at the beach, and the water felt oh so much warmer. When the daytime temperatures had cooled just a bit, the temperature of the lake felt almost like bath water. Dad would watch us swim for a while and then when it was time to go, he would treat us to an ice cream or a root beer from the A and W before heading home.
Summer evenings also brought games of “Kick-the-Can” and “No Ghost Out Tonight” with the other kids on the block…or sometimes with my older sister’s friends who would be spending the night with her. The older girls added an extra dimension to our "play" making song requests to the local radio station, which we had turned up to hear as we played our games well past dusk and into the night. "Pretty Woman" by Roy Orbison would be one of the songs most requested at the time.
Our favorite summer nights would consist of Mom’s spaghetti for dinner and Henry Aldrich on TV before bed. Sleeping out under the stars and watching for shooting stars would be at the top of our list…maybe only to be topped by waking the next morning in the cool morning air, with the sun beginning to rise and realizing it was going to be yet another hot lazy day of summer with not a whole lot on my list of things to do.
Friday, June 24, 2011
Unlikely Duo?
Barney Frank and Ron Paul! Unlikely duo? Nope, not really. Ron Paul is just finally exposing his true colors. Ron Paul is not the true conservative he has tried to make us all believe he is. Rather, Ron Paul hides behind “States Rights”, knowing full well if he can say this is his reasoning, he will be able to gain conservative support. But he just may have gone too far this time. Working together with Barney Frank (liberal US Representative from Massachusetts) to write a bill to legalize marijuana may finally be the catalyst to cause us all to stop and ask, “Wait a minute! Who is this man, Ron Paul, really?”
I have said it before, and I will say it again: Ron Paul is not a conservative Republican. Ron Paul is a Libertarian that is conservative on some issues and very liberal on most social issues. If any one is a RINO - Republican In Name Only - it is Ron Paul. He even finally admitted it a month or so ago, by saying there is no way he could win a Presidential nomination any other way but by running on the Republican ticket. It would simply cost millions of dollars that he would not be able to generate by running on any other ticket. He said it; I didn’t.
If we stop to think critically for just a moment, we can see that writing a bill to legalize marijuana is not leaving the decision to “States Rights”. Creating a bill to legalize marijuana is rather PUSHING it forward. Yes! I meant to use the word “pushing”.
Read about it here:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/federal-government/reps-barney-frank-ron-paul-want-to-end-federal-ban-on-marijuana-cede-enforcement-to-states/2011/06/23/AGd7OphH_story.html
Ron Paul has voted in his own state for the legalization of marijuana as well as the legalization of prostitution claiming these are issues that should be left to the states. Ask a Ron Paul supporter about this and they will always defend him saying, “Well he is simply a true Constitutionalist and he believes these are things that should be left to the states.” I am afraid that is just not true. Can you imagine our Founding Fathers voting to legalize drugs or prostitution? Hardly! They understood the fact that there are some things that simply need to be considered illegal. That is why we have a rule of law in the first place. The Tenth Amendment was to ensure the federal government did not gain too much power; it was not created to allow states an "out" to accept criminal behavior.
It is time we stop to think about the fact that there are some issues that simply cannot be left to “States Rights”. Case in point – The Parental Rights Amendment is a prime example. Now if you have not followed this attempt to amend our U. S. Constitution, you can read about it here: www.parentalrights.org/
The UN Rights of the Child is trumping your position as parent of your own child to make your own decisions in what might be best for him or her. If a parental rights amendment is not passed, it may very well be the UN that is telling you how to raise your child…Does that sound extreme? Read about it here: http://us1.campaign-archive1.com/?u=00f9e4541df7da80194807124&id=4a8dea1faa
Now the reason I bring up Parental Rights is because this is a perfect example as to something that is entirely too important and has moved too far forward to simply leave for the states to handle. We need legislation at the Federal level in this case to prevent loosing our rights to parent our children which would instead be given to the UN under the authority of other nations. CONSERVATIVE politicians are diligently working to pass this amendment so that our children might be protected from the UN. I imagine Ron Paul would oppose this legislation in the same manner that he opposes the Marriage Amendment. No these amendments aren't something we like to see, but unfortunatley this is where our country has come and if these amendments are not passed we will lose the simple basic rights to remain a nation of traditional families. Unfortunately the family and our basic Judeo/Christian values are being attacked and now need to be protected. It is time for Ron Paul to quit hinding under the cloak of States Rights and take an authoritative stand on these issues. That is, if he really believes in them. Sometimes I wonder!
But let me get back to the legalization of marijuana. I think we can see the correlation. To enact legislation to legalize an already illegal and dangerous drug is not leaving the decision to the States. It is moving it forward. Next, I’m sure Dr. Paul will say. “Oh, but it will be up to the states to decide if they want it or not”. But I guarantee you, this will lead to nation-wide legalization of this drug. And we can thank Mr. Paul for helping us get there.
There are one or two more things I would like to address in this post, though I know it is getting lengthy. Dr. Paul has always claimed his pro-life stance. He has for the most part voted accordingly. But don’t be misled. Though there are those that have tried to make us believe otherwise, Paul’s record is not a perfect pro-life position. For example, Ron Paul neglected to show up for one of the most important pro-life votes in our nation’s history: the vote to protect the right to life of Terri Schiavo. Remember Terri, who was said to be in a vegetative state though doctors and family testified otherwise. Ron Paul also voted “NO” on legislation that would criminalize those that take an underage child across state lines (without parental consent) to receive an abortion. That is simply not a pro-life position. The fact is, Ron Paul is not the most pro-life candidate in this election, nor was he the most pro-life candidate in the last election. Ron Paul is a moderate that is hiding behind the guise of “States Rights”. There are others that would seek to change what happened with Roe V. Wade and openly oppose it. Ron Paul will not. He will only say it should be left to the states. And I’m afraid this is one more time that States Rights is just not good enough. As upsetting as it may be, there are times we now need to seek the change at the Federal level.
Don’t get me wrong. I understand the importance of States Rights and the 10th amendment that our Founding Fathers ensured for us. But I also see how it is being abused at this time in our history to fool conservatives into voting for what is otherwise a LIBERAL platform. Think about it! It is a clever way to get conservatives to join forces with liberals in these critical issues thereby ensuring liberal success. And it is working! The states are not going to be able to stand individually, at least in regard to the issues I have mentioned above.
Further, Mr. Paul’s position on Israel is atrocious. Christian, this is especially important for you to pay attention. We have a Biblical mandate to stand with Israel. For those that have a different theological belief in this area, most can still understand the need to stand with a nation that has been our long-time ally; a nation that is the only democracy in the Middle East. Israel is being attacked by nations that are not only their enemy, but nations that are also our enemy. Yet Dr. Paul and his son, Rand, continue to seek to deny aid to Israel. Rand Paul attempted early in the year to enact legislation that would deny support to Israel and he received so much opposition that he had to withdraw it. Thank God, for those still paying attention. Much of this I discovered when I decided to find out why Dr. Paul had the strong support of Neo-nazis and Muslim voters and Muslim organization in the last Presidential election.
We must think critically and we must think for ourselves. If something seems odd, we must ask why. We must check out voting records for ourselves, and we must look at things for what they really are - like legislating the legalization of marijuana. That fact, I’m afraid has nothing to do with “States Rights”!! We cannot afford to be fooled again this next election.
I have said it before, and I will say it again: Ron Paul is not a conservative Republican. Ron Paul is a Libertarian that is conservative on some issues and very liberal on most social issues. If any one is a RINO - Republican In Name Only - it is Ron Paul. He even finally admitted it a month or so ago, by saying there is no way he could win a Presidential nomination any other way but by running on the Republican ticket. It would simply cost millions of dollars that he would not be able to generate by running on any other ticket. He said it; I didn’t.
If we stop to think critically for just a moment, we can see that writing a bill to legalize marijuana is not leaving the decision to “States Rights”. Creating a bill to legalize marijuana is rather PUSHING it forward. Yes! I meant to use the word “pushing”.
Read about it here:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/federal-government/reps-barney-frank-ron-paul-want-to-end-federal-ban-on-marijuana-cede-enforcement-to-states/2011/06/23/AGd7OphH_story.html
Ron Paul has voted in his own state for the legalization of marijuana as well as the legalization of prostitution claiming these are issues that should be left to the states. Ask a Ron Paul supporter about this and they will always defend him saying, “Well he is simply a true Constitutionalist and he believes these are things that should be left to the states.” I am afraid that is just not true. Can you imagine our Founding Fathers voting to legalize drugs or prostitution? Hardly! They understood the fact that there are some things that simply need to be considered illegal. That is why we have a rule of law in the first place. The Tenth Amendment was to ensure the federal government did not gain too much power; it was not created to allow states an "out" to accept criminal behavior.
It is time we stop to think about the fact that there are some issues that simply cannot be left to “States Rights”. Case in point – The Parental Rights Amendment is a prime example. Now if you have not followed this attempt to amend our U. S. Constitution, you can read about it here: www.parentalrights.org/
The UN Rights of the Child is trumping your position as parent of your own child to make your own decisions in what might be best for him or her. If a parental rights amendment is not passed, it may very well be the UN that is telling you how to raise your child…Does that sound extreme? Read about it here: http://us1.campaign-archive1.com/?u=00f9e4541df7da80194807124&id=4a8dea1faa
Now the reason I bring up Parental Rights is because this is a perfect example as to something that is entirely too important and has moved too far forward to simply leave for the states to handle. We need legislation at the Federal level in this case to prevent loosing our rights to parent our children which would instead be given to the UN under the authority of other nations. CONSERVATIVE politicians are diligently working to pass this amendment so that our children might be protected from the UN. I imagine Ron Paul would oppose this legislation in the same manner that he opposes the Marriage Amendment. No these amendments aren't something we like to see, but unfortunatley this is where our country has come and if these amendments are not passed we will lose the simple basic rights to remain a nation of traditional families. Unfortunately the family and our basic Judeo/Christian values are being attacked and now need to be protected. It is time for Ron Paul to quit hinding under the cloak of States Rights and take an authoritative stand on these issues. That is, if he really believes in them. Sometimes I wonder!
But let me get back to the legalization of marijuana. I think we can see the correlation. To enact legislation to legalize an already illegal and dangerous drug is not leaving the decision to the States. It is moving it forward. Next, I’m sure Dr. Paul will say. “Oh, but it will be up to the states to decide if they want it or not”. But I guarantee you, this will lead to nation-wide legalization of this drug. And we can thank Mr. Paul for helping us get there.
There are one or two more things I would like to address in this post, though I know it is getting lengthy. Dr. Paul has always claimed his pro-life stance. He has for the most part voted accordingly. But don’t be misled. Though there are those that have tried to make us believe otherwise, Paul’s record is not a perfect pro-life position. For example, Ron Paul neglected to show up for one of the most important pro-life votes in our nation’s history: the vote to protect the right to life of Terri Schiavo. Remember Terri, who was said to be in a vegetative state though doctors and family testified otherwise. Ron Paul also voted “NO” on legislation that would criminalize those that take an underage child across state lines (without parental consent) to receive an abortion. That is simply not a pro-life position. The fact is, Ron Paul is not the most pro-life candidate in this election, nor was he the most pro-life candidate in the last election. Ron Paul is a moderate that is hiding behind the guise of “States Rights”. There are others that would seek to change what happened with Roe V. Wade and openly oppose it. Ron Paul will not. He will only say it should be left to the states. And I’m afraid this is one more time that States Rights is just not good enough. As upsetting as it may be, there are times we now need to seek the change at the Federal level.
Don’t get me wrong. I understand the importance of States Rights and the 10th amendment that our Founding Fathers ensured for us. But I also see how it is being abused at this time in our history to fool conservatives into voting for what is otherwise a LIBERAL platform. Think about it! It is a clever way to get conservatives to join forces with liberals in these critical issues thereby ensuring liberal success. And it is working! The states are not going to be able to stand individually, at least in regard to the issues I have mentioned above.
Further, Mr. Paul’s position on Israel is atrocious. Christian, this is especially important for you to pay attention. We have a Biblical mandate to stand with Israel. For those that have a different theological belief in this area, most can still understand the need to stand with a nation that has been our long-time ally; a nation that is the only democracy in the Middle East. Israel is being attacked by nations that are not only their enemy, but nations that are also our enemy. Yet Dr. Paul and his son, Rand, continue to seek to deny aid to Israel. Rand Paul attempted early in the year to enact legislation that would deny support to Israel and he received so much opposition that he had to withdraw it. Thank God, for those still paying attention. Much of this I discovered when I decided to find out why Dr. Paul had the strong support of Neo-nazis and Muslim voters and Muslim organization in the last Presidential election.
We must think critically and we must think for ourselves. If something seems odd, we must ask why. We must check out voting records for ourselves, and we must look at things for what they really are - like legislating the legalization of marijuana. That fact, I’m afraid has nothing to do with “States Rights”!! We cannot afford to be fooled again this next election.
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