Speak the language of the Russian Leaders

I have great interest in what is happening in Ukraine and Russia.  Collectively our immediate family has lived almost 25 years in Ukraine and Russia.  I currently have a son living in Kiev, Ukraine and a son living in Russia. Most of my children speak Russian and Ukrainian.   Historically our ancestor, Vladimir the Great, ruled Kievan Rus (modern day Russia and Ukraine.)

When it comes to sanctions that speak to a Russian leader Vladimir Putin, it will not be restricting his friend's from shopping on 5th avenue.  It will be in the language of oil and gas.

I think the best thing that we could do would be to offer to help Ukraine produce and distribute their own natural gas for Ukraine and then sell natural gas to other Eastern European countries.  Right now the pipelines lay in place through the country of Ukraine where gas is pumped from Russia to Ukraine and other countries. Russia controls all of those who are dependent on energy from Russia.  Russia, as demonstrated recently, can hike the price of energy at a moment's notice.

Since our government won't let us drill for more energy here, let's send some of this industry to Ukraine to help them foster some independence and release the independence of the other countries on Russia.

This message WILL affect Russia.  Being told that they can no longer use pipelines through Ukraine and the thought of their neighbors and customers becoming energy independent WILL get their attention.  America can also proceed with the pipelines that we have on hold and offer to change the energy market that Russia holds hostage.  As President Putin sees his power diminishing, his land-grabbing ambitions may also start to wane.  It is all about speaking the language of a true Russian.

The rights of the Innocent

On January 25, 2013, Americans will gather in our nation’s capital to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade. To me this means that nearly 55 million of our most innocent have perished. I do not know what kind of people could celebrate let alone tolerate this. Many say that it is about the rights of a woman regarding her own body. They say that all women deserve the right to rule what happens to and inside of their bodies. They see abortion as a means of control over their own bodies. But what about the babies they are severing from a chance at life. Shouldn't a fetal female also be allowed to live and grow and not have her body brutally mutilated and her life ended. Do the rights of women only start at birth, or is it at puberty or when a women becomes sexually active? I think it is great that women can now vote and have the respect in many aspects of society that we deserve, but I think that everyone's “right” should end when the rights of another begin. In the United States of America we are promised Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. Why do we then take the lives of innocent soon to be born babies and deny them the right to all of the above. When a baby is conceived, it is alive. I have seen many ultrasounds of babies who are living, moving and awaiting their chance in the world. From personal experience, I KNOW that babies in the womb are not a condition, but are life in it's most innocent form.. After carrying a baby for 4 and 1/2 months, we learned that our baby had died. I had to go through a painful delivery of the deceased fetus. Although the baby was not fully formed and was not a bouncing, breathing baby, it was a human being and if the little heart of that baby had continued to beat it would now be running around with my other children. No one can tell me that a pregnancy is a growth or a medical diagnosis, it means that you have the privilege of hosting another human being for a short time and allowing it to experience life. It is inconceivable to me that a woman would choose to end the life of another human being for her own convenience, comfort or character preservation. Especially when there are so many who lovingly long for a baby and are not given the privilege of parenthood. It is even more inconceivable that any government would deem it acceptable to tax those who believe that abortion is wrong to pay for abortions for those who feel it is somehow acceptable. Our government has also paid for many abortions in other nations. Are we trying to ease our own guilt by spreading the stain of abortion to other countries? My favorite scripture is in Isaiah. It seems to fit this topic: Can a woman forget her sucking child and have not compassion on the son of her womb. Yea, they may forget, but I will not forget you, for I have graven you on the palms of my hands. I think that Jesus chose the most loving image that he could imagine, that of a mother, to try to teach us about his love for us. I salute those mothers in this world who continue to have this love and allow their children to live and become the full grown children of God that they are. When our daughter delivered our first grandchild. I was amazed at the security measures including a nurse guard, locked doors, and other procedures that protected the babies at the hospital. The mothers were not allowed to leave the hospital until they had completed a battery of educational classes to make sure they were mentally capable of caring for their new child. Yet.... a woman can walk into a clinic and dispose of her unborn child in the name of convenience and selfishness. Where are the guards and the doors and the education protecting those children? Why do we protect some and neglect others? Why do nurses rush around to save one child struggling for breath in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and turn a blind eye when another child of the same age is simply left to die in a medical trash receptacle. I honestly don't get it. Abortion has been legal most of my life. I am grateful that I was allowed to live. I think that I owe something to those who are not as fortunate. As long as we are trying to make everything fair by spreading around the wealth and giving everyone a fair shot, let’s dedicate some of the life that we have been granted to rescue those who are not getting a shot a life. When Mother Theresa visited America a few years ago, her biggest concern was our toleration for abortion. Prophets have warned us for ages against the horror of abortion. For 40 years we have allowed an evil to rage within our borders. It is time to take a stand and stand up for those innocent ones who would be among us.

How do the Veterens feel?

Today I attended a Veteren's Day Assembly at my son's school. Each branch of the military was honored with music, applause and flowers. Attendance was standing room only. As the children sang patriotic songs, I worried that they were singing about an America that is fading away. I thought about these brave, good men in our community who left their families, lived in undesirable conditions, watched their good friends die so that they could defend our freedoms. I wondered how they feel today as they watch the country that they sacrificed so much for being destroyed from within. Where are the brave, unselfish men of today? We have some, but I see such a contrast. When many of the men of today think about our country they are thinking thoughts of "what is in it for me." Instead, they should be thinking, "what is in me that I can offer to this great country?" I feel blessed to be able to witness true patriots who "more than self their country love." Thank you Veterans. I hope the sacred freedoms you fought for will remain.

Obamacare---Like a Used Gift Card!

Imagine that your friend gave you a gift card to Olive Garden for your birthday or wedding or a special event. The card says $25 on it and you are excited to use it. You take your date or spouse and head out for a great dinner. Since your gift card is for $25 you splurge and order an appetizer and you even share a dessert after your delicious entree. All the time you are thinking warm and wonderful thoughts about the friend who so generously gave you the gift card. Then the time comes to pay the bill. You place your gift card and your credit card inside the black leather receipt holder and place the chocolate mint in your mouth with satisfation. Soon the waiter comes back to the table with your credit card and you reciept and you notice that your card was charged $33.00. You pull the waiter aside and quietly ask if he used the gift card. He says "Yeah, but there was only $3 left on your gift card." Suddenly the warm feelings for the friend you gave you the gift card are not so warm. When you are paying unexpectedly you are not feeling the love anymore! That is EXACTLY the feeling that Americans are going to feel if and when Obamacare is allowed to take full effect in our nation. Even those who are praising it will be cursing it when they see its effect on their life. Our best bet is to repeal it ASAP. Nobody likes an unexpecteed, embarrassing, expensive dissappointment, even with the free mint.

More on Food Stamps and America's Health

The fastest way that our nation could better the overall health of our citizens would be to regulate the food that can be purchased with food stamps. Let me explain. Food stamp recipients can currently buy just about any and every food and drink item with the exception of alcoholic beverages. With food stamps you can buy candy, ice cream, soda pop, and any array of high fat convenience foods. Since the food stamp market is over half of the national food market, it would change the grocery store landscape dramatically if we could require that only healthy foods were purchased with tax-payer funded food stamps. If there were regulations on fat and calorie content or if food stamps only purchased certain healthy foods like the government funded WIC program, then convenience food manufacturers would scramble to produce healthier alternatives and the freezer and snack sections of the stores would take on a whole new look. Don't those of us that pay taxes deserve to know that our taxes are paying for healthy foods, not contributing to obesity and even higher costs down the road when we pay for the increased medical costs that come with obesity and diabetes?

Cut food stamps and stamp out Childhood Obesity.

I appreciate Michelle Obama's attempts to help with childhood obesity but as a mother I think that she is on the wrong track in trying to limit the calories of school lunch Her plan is to limit the calories for students in kindergarten through fifth grade to 650, and to 700 calories for grades six through eight. High school lunches can contain no more than 850 calories. This places all children "on a diet" when all children do not need to be dieting. It also makes a lot of parents feel like they may not be getting their "money's worth" when it comes to a new smaller school lunch. One thing that Michelle could do that would help the childhood obesity problem and the dangerous deficit problem at the same would be to cut the amount that is given in food stamps to US families. Currently a couple with 2 small children can get almost 900.00 a month in food stamps. In Hawaii a single mother with 2 children can get up to $1200.00 a month. Food stamps are supposed to be a "supplemental" food program. How much does the federal government expect us to eat?!! I can easily feed a family of 12 on just $800.00 a month and I don't get WIC or free or reduced lunches as well as free or reduced breakfast at school, as well as all of the other free food programs to help reduce my food budget. If a food stamp family has $400 per person to supply 11 meals a week, they can eat quite a few calories for that amount of food money. That is nearly $10.00 per meal per person. This explains why when I am looking through the reduced priced meats to feed my family, a family on food stamps can buy the highest priced steaks without batting an eye, There is enough food stamp money left over for any brand of chips, candy, soda pop or ice cream. If there is a kid at the soccer game with an entire bag of chips or fun size candy bars that he is devouring while you are breaking a granola bar in thirds for your kids, that bag of bounty was most likely purchased with food stamps. I think cutting food stamps would greatly help the childhood obesity problem. But don't expect any such idea to even be considered until after the election.

Not a Problem

America should be enraged by the president’s comment on the David Letterman show recently. When asked about the landmark national debt, the president said that it is “not a problem” right now. I have a real big problem with that!! Most Americans get up early in the morning to go to work (while the President goes golfing) so that they can give a lot of money to the government and almost half of that hard earned money goes JUST TO PAY INTEREST on the national debt. It doesn’t pay the debt, no, just for the privilege of being in bondage for another month. How can the President say this isn’t a problem when we are wasting our lives paying for his wasteful spending? That money is not defending us from danger or building roads or bridges. It isn’t even money redistributed to the poor. It is money that I earned that is going to pay for the transgressions of a government that can’t control its use of the federal credit card. Believe me, this is a problem.