Alrighty, so I am not college educated. And I am “the American People.” So I am assuming the loud mouths from the President on down are referring to me when they talk about those who “don’t understand,” don’t “realize the complexity,” or “have too much ‘normal stuff’ going on to pay attention.”

However, allow me to insist that college obviously don’t make smart and my momma didn’t raise no dummy.

Seems to me folks in power like to make their job seem way more complicated than it really is. That way when they jack it up, it’s mostly because you just don’t understand. And the harder it seems to be, the less we want it and the fewer intrusions they will get because really, who wants to be bothered?

I am calling bullshit. I have run government supply, a household budget and a small business. While the federal government may be larger, it is not that different.

Let’s take my household as compared to the government. We both have revenue – I have a job the government has taxes. We both have expenses:

• groceries (public assistance)
• mortgage (housing assistance)
• Health insurance (healthcare)
• Books, lunch, supplies, child care (education)
• Auto expenses (transportation)
• electric bill (energy department)
• Dog and ammo (defense and justice department)
• cable, phone, internet (communications)
• Beer and liquor (state department)

So, you see, it really isn’t that different. I have a certain amount of money coming in and I haven’t done really well at living within my revenue.

I have gone for mani/pedis and called it for the good of public welfare. I bought too much car because it was cool and tucked in the transportation budget. My kids really wanted those designer clothes – slip into the education money. And these purchases, along with many others, are paid for with my credit card because, as I stated, I did not require that my budget balance.

Well now, all my credit cards are maxed out. And the payments are due. And I really don’t deserve the last pay raise I got so I really can’t have another. And there are no second jobs for me out there because the job market it in a crunch.

So, I go to the credit card peeps and say “I need you to increase my limit, ‘k?”  And everybody thinks this is a good idea right?

NO! Everybody knows this is the worst idea in the world. I will just max that out and then what? I can’t pay the bills I have now. Why in the world would this credit card company increase my limit?

Because they know that if my limit doesn’t get raised that I will not only have problems paying my bills, but them too. So they need to raise my limit, but they also need to save me from myself.

So, they will raise my limit under some conditions. The money I have coming in is what I have to work with – that’s it! Those who are not responsible with what they have do not deserve more. I am already getting more than I have earned. I have to go through my expenses.

No more spa visits, designer clothes, trips to the doctor so I can have a sick note for work, steak and lobster, HD cable TV with Pay Per View MMA, drive thru, take out, latte, full service ANYTHING! And if your name is not on the occupancy list – you have to go live where it is. I love you all, but my budget says we got to buckle down.

Hey, another option is I can drive into the rich neighborhood tonight, break into a house, take their stuff and use that as revenue. Oh wait, can’t do that because it is ILLEGAL as it is known as STEALING!

Or, we could just continue on pretending like it is all to hard and to complicated and there really is nothing we can do short of, well, anything.

Or is this all too complicated to understand?

So, I am going to the coffee shop. If you don’t know what that means, please check it out now before reading any further. Thanks Seriously.

For a long time I have wrestled with my thoughts on The Defense of Marriage Act. While I believe in sanctity of marriage as a divined covenant with God, I also understand that my particular religious beliefs cannot be the sole argument for legislative decision-making.

The more often we come to the coffee shop, the more often you will hear that idea - my particular religious beliefs cannot be the sole argument for legislative decision-making. I have spent an awful lot of time on an awful lot of subjects applying that code.

So I considered different societal implications – children, interactions in neighborhoods, etc. I considered economical implications – tax revenues, healthcare, employee benefit packages. I considered what the unforeseen implications might be and didn’t see any – which is probably why they are still unforeseen.

And all I came up with is – it is no different from allowing a legal avenue for any other two people to marry. Any degradation of same-sex marriage – jacked up kids, crappy finances, system abuses, messy divorces – can already be found in heterosexual marriages.

Do I agree marriage is sacred? Of course I do. But many heterosexuals do not. Current divorce rates show that marriage between men and women have become disposable in roughly 50% of the cases. The is no movement to outlaw marriage between a man and a woman on the basis of mentally disturbed children, causal relationships outside of the martial bed, disinterest in the sanctity of marriage. Therefore, it is unfair to use these as barometers of a group of adults who, just as their heterosexual counterparts, are as varied in their commitment to their potential spouses.

Elisabeth Hasselbeck did a wonderful job when she said

“…to protest someone’s day I find to be without taste…The only thing that’s killing [heterosexual marriage] is heterosexual marriage.”

Some of the other women on The View said other stuff too…but, meh, Elisabeth is the only one that gets singled out here.

I understand that with my religious, conservative background, this may not be the stance expected. But these are the beliefs I currently hold. In a world so full of turmoil and discord, is this really the thing we want to fight about? With so many people unloved and bitter, are we really targeting those who have found a way to love and be loved? Do I really want to be the one to say that a hospital or jail cell or any restricted place that, “I am sorry, you are not family,” to the life partner of another person? Do I really want to be the one to say who marriage is for or who it isn’t?

Nah. I don’t think so. Do you see it different?

Just some talking points I managed to type up while watching…feel free to discuss responsibly, add, or just ponder. Click here to see “coffee cup” purpose.

Trust people with their own money and trust them to grow our economy.

52 straight months of growing jobs – wages are up so are food and gas.

Economic stimulus package can be hung up by add ons – that will hold up or derail it

Are you rich and like taxes? W says he appreciates your enthusiasm and the IRS accepts check and money orders.

Has cut 151 programs equaling $18B and a balanced budget 2012 – American families have to do it – so should the government

Congressional earmarks that are snuck in without discussion or vote…appropriations without earmarks cut in half will be vetoed.

Says he will issue an executive order tomorrow stating federal agencies will have to reject earmarks not voted on publicly by congress

Hope Now Alliance helps home owners avoid foreclosure. Modernize Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. Tax free bonds to help homeowners refinance their mortgages

Affordable health care through consumer choice – not government control. Health saving plans, Small business availability.

Education – me must trust students to learn and allow parents to demand results.

No child left behind – 4th and 8th grade math students have achieved the highest test scores ever. Increase accountability.

Failing schools – 2600+ students in DC can go to a faith based or nonpublic school.

$330M pell grants for kids for children trapped in failing public schools.

Americans workers can compete with anyone in the world. Free trade agreement with Peru is successful and like agreements need to be fostered with Columbia, Panama and South Korea.

Columbia – if we fail to pass this agreement we will embolden the purveyors of false populism in our hemisphere…

Energy security – trust in the creative genius of innovators and entrepreneurs. Nuclear power, capturing carbon emission, renewable fuels

Advances show that adult stem cells can work like embryonic stem cells – work towards medical advances without the destruction of human life. Ban buying, selling cloning of human life – all life must be treated with dignity.

Judges should get prompt up or down vote.

Permanently extend Charitable Choice

Entitlement spending – Medicare, social security – need reform need solutions to save them for our children and grandchildren

Immigration – secure borders, fences, technology, catch and release at the border, double number of border patrol agents…but we need to find a way to lawfully allow workers to come over to support our economy. Must deal compassionately with those already here. Solution must coincide with laws and our high ideals.

Foreign Policy – 3200 Marines added to Afghanistan to fight and train. Spreading freedom and democracy reduces terror and terrorism.

Surge work with the Iraqi forces to protect the Iraqis. People understood that they were not going to be abandoned. They stayed behind and ensure the safety of neighborhoods, improvement in security, improvement in daily life.

Return on success – 20000 troops coming home…”You have our solemn pledge – you will have all you need to protect our nation.” Called on congress to fully fund the troops.

When I first started blogging, I understood the difficulties in “in the box” communication. With online talks and discussions you have a few characteristics that make some conversation difficult different.

There is no body language, no tone of voice, no real time response. A person can read one post and not get the whole story or know me as a person and get the wrong idea. The ability to be anonymous emboldens some folks to say things they wouldn’t normally say.

So, in the beginning, I decided that there were two kinds of topics – blog topics and coffee shop topics. Some topics were fairly safe to talk about on the web while still being interesting. Others could be too easily misconstrued and would therefore be held for times when I could get together with a real person, face to face.

However, I have since realized that there is a wealth of opinionated and knowledgeable ideas out there with folks I know and trust. So, it is time to go into the coffee shop.

I will be honest, I am treading these waters very carefully. This is meant for great discussion. I may have a little or a lot to say. We will have to see.

The fact that I am a conservative should not be a surprise to anyone – but if you didn’t know, I am outing myself now. I haven’t picked my nominee yet because I like a few of them for different reasons. Immigration policy, Iraqi plans, tax reform, sanctity of life…those kinds of reasons.

So, now on to my question…

I am honestly looking for a Hillary fan to discuss why she is a good choice. I haven’t heard one person tell me anything other than it’s time for a change, she’s a woman, or she’s been there before.

• Change for the sake of change is not a good idea. It is desperate and not the way to run a country.
• Yea Girl Power – but electing a woman just because she is a woman is bad for the same reason as change. Get a woman in there that blows it and it will be because she is a woman. May not be true, but that’s how it will play out.
• I agree with Obama on one point – talking with your husband about his job does not necessarily make you qualified to do his job

I am looking for issues, track record – something I can wrap my mind around. As of right now, the her current success in her bid for the nomination seems ridiculously shallow.

Look out!  Chris Cree has taught me how to use the YouTube function in my blog.  This could become addictive.

Dennis Miller is a smart guy. I love to listen to him take apart the rhetoric and call it like it is.  “I am on this country’s side.”

You can think what you want, say what you want, believe what you want – as long as you are ready to back it up and own it.  I do. It is no secret I am a conservative.  Get a cup of coffee and I will gladly talk political philosophy – it is one of my favorite topics.  But action and realty demand that we be “behind our guy.”  Agree or disagree with the course of action – nobody’s right all the time – but we still have the best thing going.

On January 3^rd, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney filed his paperwork to form his presidential campaign exploratory committee. This was not a surprise to many. It has long been speculated that Romney would attempt to win the ’08 Republican nomination. I must admit, I do not know much about the man, but I am attempting to learn about all the hopefuls in order to make an informed decision on who I can really get behind. I am very afraid of the major players on the Democratic side and find it unrealistic that a third party candidate can win. So, I began the investigation of Mitt Romney. So far I like what I see. But, I am not inspired yet to discuss his stand on the issues, but rather how people will view his reasons for his stands.

Mitt Romney is a Mormon.

This single fact has blanketed all others in every Mitt Romney discussion. I could hardly discern what his actual view was for all the discussion concerning his religion. And the question was asked, “Does a person’s religion affect the way they govern?”

Powerful question. Not a real easy answer. Personally, I think it depends on a number of factors. What religion are we talking about? What are the core beliefs of the religion and how rigid does the person hold to these beliefs? Then, like many things, I applied the question to myself. How do my views reflect my belief system?

I believe that right and wrong are not relative. There are certain things that are right for all people and wrong for all people, regardless of what you think, believe or feel. There are certain absolutes. There are certain ideas of behavior that can and should be legislated. Some of these ideas may coincide with religious ideas, but that fact alone does not negate the applicability in common society. Off on the rabbit trail I continued.

I think of the beliefs that I hold that are stereotypically tied to religious argument – abortion, stem cell research, alcohol sales on Sunday, marriage, child discipline, prayer in schools, and the like. As an aside, I didn’t say how I felt about these topics. Do you think you could peg how I feel about them all based on what you know about me?

At any rate, I think on these subjects and I have begun a quest for myself and a challenge to you all. On the issues, can you defend your position without the use of religious arguments and subjective moral platitudes? Should you be expected to? Should presidential hopefuls be expected to? Would you vote for someone of a different religious background than you? Where do you fall out where the issues are concerned? How is that going to affect the way you vote? Does any of this even matter to you?