Fair Weather Fans

Earlier this week I wrote about party apathy in the face of defeat. I tried to be inspiring and use the post as a call to action for conservatives who are feeling downtrodden by the 2012 election. Yes, Obama won. Yes, it sucks, Yes, you're totally depressed and ate 3 pints of ice cream in your pajamas (or maybe that was just me...). This election is pulling on some heart strings.... now I'm here to tell you to get over it.

Yeah, you read that right. I said GET OVER IT. We have work to do. We have senators to primary. We have legislation to track in the Georgia General Assembly. We have midterm elections in 2014. We have work. So put on your big girl panties and go do it.

Now, for the rest of you.... GET YOUR PRIORITIES STRAIGHT. I watched so many people work their rear-ends of for Romney. They made phone calls, they went door to door, they donated money, the made phone calls. For everyone that surprised me with your amazing and unexpected activism, I have just one thing to say to you.... See you in four years!!

That's right, I've called even more people out in this post. Am I ranting? Maybe. But you need to hear it. If you care about the direction of this country and love America and cling to your God and Guns only once every 4 years, then this post is for you. And I guarantee you that if this one is for you, you'll know it... you'll feel it in your gut. My parents used to always say, after a particular rough Sunday morning at church when the preacher hooted and hollered and screamed straight at me (or so I thought..) that he was "stepping on some toes." That's what I want to do here. I want to step on your toes. I want to step, march, stomp, jump, and dance on your toes until you feel like you actually need to care all the time instead of just being a "fair weather fan."

I was born and raised right here in Georgia. I love my state almost as much as I love my country... sometimes I think I might even love it more. My Southern roots run deep and I'm proud of the area I'm from and the amazing people I am fortunate enough to call my friends. One of the most awesome things is the culture down here in the South. We know how to fry up some chicken, we wear seersucker (and look dang good in it) in the summertime, and we sit on the front porch with some sweet tea or a nice cold beer and sing and play guitar and talk about Jesus and the work week. But what do we do better than anyone else in the world? Football.

This past Saturday, UGA (Go Dawgs!) showed the Yellow Jackets who the boss was. What happened after the game? Tech fans were just as obnoxious as ever, and still proud of their team. While I think yellow is one of the ugliest colors in the free world, you have to respect that dedication.

A friend of mine just graduated from UGA and this is his truck:


If (Heaven forbid!) we lose the SEC championship, tomorrow, I don't think he will say "Oh well" and take all his stickers off and become a Bama fan. He'll probably just cheer that much harder next time around. If only Republicans took their politics as seriously as football fans take their teams...

God Bless America and the SEC.

Honest and transparent Michael Caldwell a breath of fresh air in the Gold Dome

The Georgia General Assembly has a fresh new face coming to the Gold Dome January 2013. Michael Caldwell, Georgia House District 20's newest Representative-elect, is the youngest representative to ever be elected in the state of Georgia, clocking in at just 23 years of age. 

After an unsuccessful 2010 primary campaign against sitting incumbent Charlice Byrd at age 20, Caldwell took another crack at candidacy in 2012. He won the republican primary against Byrd, despite being outspent $168,000.00 to his $24,000.00 (including his in-kind donations). He then won the November general election against democrat Lillian Burnaman at a whopping 77%.

Ok, the guy is young and won a red county in a red state. So what? What makes Caldwell truly unique is the way he ran his campaign. He refused all lobbyist dollars, advocated for consecutive term limits, and returned every red cent leftover from his campaign fundraising after the election. There are no war-chest campaign funds or lobbyist lining the pockets of this up-and-coming politician.

Even more remarkably, Caldwell has made himself more accessible than any other candidate in the state. On his website, Caldwell lists his personal cell phone number, email address, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn accounts. Further, he hosts a weekly "Coffee with District 20" at a local coffee spot every Saturday morning to meet, hear concerns, and take direction from his constituents. 

This past week, Caldwell returned, in checks proportional to the original contributions, the remaining $2,343.52 in his campaign fund. These funds can be tracked directly on his website, using his Campaign Finance Tracker.

With his term limits legislation currently in legislative review for pre-filing, it's no doubt the Georgia General Assembly will have an interesting 2013 and 2014 Legislative Session with Michael Caldwell in the mix.

P.S.: I am now working as Rep-elect Caldwell's Legislative Aide. If you ever have any questions about the office or campaign, please feel free to contact him directly, or contact me at tori@caldwellforhouse.com

The Art of Subtlety: A Call to (dis)arm Conservatives

Being subtle... that's something I really never learned how to do. If I like something, I obsess over it. If I hate something, everyone around me will suffer if they enjoy it. They say the two things you should never, ever talk about in polite conversation are religion and politics. But those two things are pretty much what make me the person I am. Does being "subtle" mean you have to be insubstantial, just for the sake of polite conversation?

I put my opinion out there constantly. Between Facebook, Twitter, and everyday real-life conversations, I never meet a stranger, and there is never any ambiguity about how I feel or what I believe in or how passionate I am. I try to be polite (and sometimes I fail miserably) but I never let my voice go unheard. After all, the tagline of this blog is "the 'not so subtle' elephant in the room." Sometimes I have to ask, though... should I be more subtle in political conversations?

Ok, most of you are probably wondering why am I writing all this. It's different than my usual posts, yes. But there is a reason, and it's very important. This weekend I saw a post on a friend's Facebook page from an individual saying, essentially, that "Obama won and now we have to suck it up and compromise." Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. Whoa..... No.

When the Westboro Baptist Church taints Christianity, do you stop going to church? Do you stop preaching to the lost? Of course not!

When progressives demonized a private company and decided to boycott, did you vow to never again eat at Chick-fil-A? I sure didn't, and I know many of you that did just the opposite. Some of you even ate 3 square meals of chicken that day!

So tell me, why would you stop standing up for conservative principles just because there is an obstacle in the way? Most people I talk to say it's "just too divisive" and "they don't like the drama" or "it's not worth losing friends." I think it's worth every bit of it.

This election was not in my favor. I am sad for this country and I worry about the future. But the unfavorable outcome doesn't mean I should roll over and abandon my principles. I'm convicted daily by my faith and my strong beliefs. That doesn't change just because there is some guy sitting in a circular office trying to call the shots. But it can be silenced by those who say they are conservatives and vote that way, but stop the pursuit of conservatism after a loss. Battles and wars, y'all. Know the difference. We were defeated in battle... but are you going to stop going to war for your country now? I know I'm not. Guess I haven't yet mastered the art of subtlety.

Oh Christmas Tree, how politically incorrect are your branches

Headlines I found from a 20 second google search:

• Brussles Bans Annual Christmas Tree Display - It May Offend Muslims
• Scrooge civil service bosses ban Christmas deocrations from government office for being 'innappropriate in a modern. diverse workplace'

When does it stop? We have Winter Trees instead of Christmas Trees, complete bans on seasonal decor, and traditional carols altered and twisted to not 'offend' folks. How is my Santa sweater offensive? How is a fake green tree with twinkle lights and little glass balls in a public space forcing Christian views on you?

My front porch CHRISTMAS decor.

I will meet in the middle - manger scenes depicting the birth of Jesus Christ can stay out of public spaces (IF and ONLY IF the people of the local community want that). But festive holiday decor like a lit-up tree covered in glitter and a life-size Santa are totally fair game.

Want to know what Christmas is about? The birth of Jesus Christ. He is the "Reason for the Season." We celebrate his birth on December 25th every single year of our Earthly lives and that will never, ever change. But as far as being offensive? I don't think wearing reindeer antlers covered in bells or walking down the sidewalk singing "Walking in a Winter Wonderland" is pushing any sort of religious doctrine on an individual: atheist, Muslim, Christian, or otherwise.

Story time:

When I worked in retail, I told a woman "Merry Christmas!" as she was leaving the store. She replied with an equally cheerful and jubilant "Happy Hanukkah!" I did not immediately feel as if the entirety of the Jewish population was persecuting me. I did not feel likes there was a crowd of Jews waiting outside to bash my skull in with menorahs until I converted to Judaism. No one filled my gas tank with dreidels. In fact, the only thing I felt was happiness - even though I was wrong in addressing her personal holiday traditions and religious convictions, there was an equally amicable response to my well-wishings.

The First Amendment guarantees freedom of religion. There will always be people around you with different views - and they have the Constitutional right to practice those religious views. No Christmas tree or Santa figurine, gingerbread cookie or fruit cake, has EVER forced Christian doctrine on a non-Christian... so your constitutional right to freedom FROM religion is taken care of there, too. Leave my cheery decorations and the Constitution alone.

Letter to the Editor: Glamour Magazine

11/15/2012

Dear Editor:

Today I learned that, among such women as Gold Medal-winning Olympic Athletes, visionary architect Zaha Hadid, and revolutionary anti-acid violence advocate Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, your magazine named Lena Dunham one of Glamour's 2013 Women of the Year.

Your magazine called Lena Dunham "an immensely likable 26-year-old force." The tagline above a picture of a tattooed Dunham reads "The Voice of a Generation." The article continues by touting Dunham's leading role in HBO's show Girls. Your magazine quotes Claire Danes' comments on Ms. Dunham, stating that she "happened to hit on something universal." Those universal topics her show addresses? Well, your magazine says those issues are "bad sex, abortion, and job struggles." Considering your article was released after Lena Dunham's video ad pledging her allegiance to (then candidate for reelection) President Barack Obama, it seems apparent that your magazine has an agenda. That agenda? To neglect intelligent, successful, and bold women, who happen to be conservatives, by reinforcing the idea that outspoken females must be liberals who are hyper-concerned with sex, abortion, and birth control. As one of those bold conservative women, I'm here to tell you that you are wrong.

I am 22 years old. I work as a paralegal in a personal injury law firm, volunteer with local political campaigns, and attend classes at a large university, where I am just a few classes away from my undergraduate degree in political science. I live on my own, with no monetary assistance (from my family or government entitlement programs), and work hard to ensure I can continue doing so. Lena Dunham's show is a slap-in-the-face to women who work hard and take responsibility for their actions. Claire Danes' comment about the universality of Dunham's show insults women who are not focused on their sex drive or the readily availableness of abortions and 'free' contraception. Dunham's depiction of these issues is not universal. There are a number of millennials who staunchly oppose abortion (or, at the very least, do not want it funded by public tax dollars). There are women in Generation Y that worry more about the state of the economy than the state of their satisfied sex drives. A large percentage of women who are unhappy with their jobs continue their education and professional training in order to obtain a new job that is better suited to their interests. And there are many, many of us who saw Lena Dunham's campaign ad as an insult to women, debasing us to nothing more than a reproductive system and blatantly ignoring our intelligence, femininity, beauty, and achievements in the workplace and politics. 

When I wake up in the morning, I pray to God that the economy will hold up and I can find a full-time job after graduation, buy a house in an eternally risky real estate market, and have the financial means to provide for the family that I hope to build. Lena Dunham wakes up and wonders how she can talk about sex, have sex, not accept the consequences of having sex, and "get back" at her coworkers. 

Before you decide who is the voice of my generation, I suggest your over-stretching writers dabble a bit in investigative journalism instead of tabloid-style tableaus. A voice? Sure. A voice of an entire generation? Not a chance. 

Sincerely,

A woman who cares more about the economy than her hormones.

P.S.: I don't have a subscription to your magazine, and I am very confident I will never obtain one. If I wanted to read sexist soft-core porn that portrayed women as sex-crazed carnal creatures (and ignored true "women's" issues like acing a job interview, planning her retirement fund, or caring for her body) I'm sure I could find a free porno website to peruse. Or watch Lena Dunham's show.

Never seen the Vagina Monologues? Just read these tweets instead!

Twitchy.com put together this compilation of women tweeting how relieved their vaginas were after Obama's reelection was confirmed. Some of the top tweets included these:

These females are a pathetic excuse for women - I'm sure they all claim to be progressive, forward-thinking feminists, too. Yet, instead of advancing yourselves, you are debasing yourselves to nothing but a physical gender organ and voting with your "lady parts" instead of your "lady smarts."

If these women fear Romney/conservatives would have "taken them back" 50 years, why are they taking themselves back to Genesis by calling attention to their privates? Half the time, what modern women wear is what is taking them back to just being a woman and not an intelligent individual. Until I see a lady-urinal in a polling booth, your vagina did not vote - you did, but you don't have anything intelligent to say about your decision so you devalued yourself to a physical body. I am just so so glad that there are brave women out there who will stand up for the female kind! /sarcasm

Want to know what "caring" about your vagina is? Not using it for sex until you find the man that you want to marry and spend your life with and have children with. Because I truly do put myself out there by running this blog and being so brash in my opinions, I will continue that severe honesty - I did not do this... but I regret it every day. Throughout the beginning of college, I did not respect myself enough to make sure that men did, too, and it cost me something wonderful. Fortunately, I now understand the importance of respecting myself (and my future husband), so the "drunk at a frat party/YOLO" mentality/ treatment of one's self that so many young women have has ended for me.

This election was about so much more to me than Obama's feigned fight for equal pay. The Lily Ledbetter Act? Didn't fight for equal pay at all -that was already a law. All that Act did was extend the statute of limitations for pay discrimination cases. This election wasn't about birth control (have all the sex you want, just buy your own BC), or abortion rights (states vote on that - again, pay for your own), or Romney's "binders full of women" (I would love for Romney to have my resume on file for potential job opportunities). For liberals, this election was about ENTITLEMENTS. "I want that, I vote Obama... I vote Obama, he gives me that." That doesn't represent me as a woman. That doesn't represent me as an American. Many Americans care about the economic future and success of their country and those living in it. We wanted everyone to have the same opportunity to excel and prosper; not the same opportunity to get a handout.

Contrary to the post-election "cross the party lines" jargon, America did not choose Obama as their fearless leader. About half of them did, sure. Then the other half wanted to work for their wealth and pursue their own happiness. #freedom

PS - to all of you pundits who keep saying that the women are so happy Obama won, give a call to a self-respecting, God-fearing, patriotic woman who cares about the economy, supporting a family, and the future of her children... she may not be as excited. She's probably more feminine, too...without having to talk about her vagina all day.

Battle of the Bloggers: Georgia's Charter School Amendment

Today’s post is a little bit of reaching across the aisle, albeit to a fellow female conservative. Jessica Szilagyi, the write of The Perspicacious Conservative, will be voting “No” on Georgia’s Amendment One Concerning charter schools. I early voted, casting a ballot that said “yes.” We have joined forces in a virtual meeting of the minds/clash of the conservative titans to each detail why we voted the way we did and why we think you should listen to us!

The Perspicacious Conservative: (www.theperspicaciousconservative.com)

As I mentioned in my Sample Ballot, I don't condone any sort of government expansion regardless of the circumstances. That alone is my reason for voting NO. This amendment isn't about the kids. It's about government control. I would like to note that I am not as opposed to Charter schools as I am to this amendment. Sometimes, there is a need for a charter school in a district. There is a never a need for this amendment or its' repercussions.

• Georgia already has more than 100 charter schools in operation. There will be ZERO effect on the already operating schools whether the amendment passes or fails. If a charter is denied, there is already an appeals process in place: to the Board of Education.
• Everyone says this is about 'local control' and 'the parents'. Tell me what is local about a board appointed, NOT ELECTED, that is accountable to the Governor and his friends at the Gold Dome? This will allow states to override a denial decided by the local school board and require them to honor the charter. (I'm legitimately asking someone to tell me how this is local because I don't understand.)
• The denial of charters is not as common as proponents are making you think. It's actually a rare occurrence for a charter to be denied. Revisit bullet #1.
• 2010-11 State Department of Education report shows that 73 percent of traditional public schools in Georgia met AYP targets while only 70 percent of charter schools met those same targets. I thought Charter schools performed better?
• I'm not one to propose more spending, but if you're claiming students need more money, maybe you should take a look at the overall spending on education for Georgia and how it's being distributed. Food for thought.
• ALEC. I would encourage you to take a look at this analysis by PoliticalVine of funding, nationwide rankings and the role that ALEC plays in education around the nation. Do we really want an organization the size of ALEC intervening in our educational system and crafting our policies? I don't.
• Revisit the Fulton Science Academy Charter issue that caused a plethora of destruction for students, teachers and taxpayers. And what about where some charter school funding comes from? That mixes with your tax dollars. State charters are almost always managed by out of state for-profit corporations with no accountability.
• Choice is not the issue. Parents may already choose public, private or homeschooling choices. They may choose which school district by living there, may enroll in any school within the local school system or any school in another school system, if there is room available. Another charter school or two will not significantly increase choice options.

I'm not sure anything could measure up to the ridiculousness of the TSPLOST, however, the government overstep with this comes close. It's time to go back to the drawing board and find a different solution for the public education crisis. You can read more about Voting NO at VoteSmartGeorgia.

_______________

ToriPundit:

I struggled with the charter school amendment, truly I did. Having no children and never having the extreme responsibility of putting a child through school laid heavy on my heart. I had to do a LOT of research. Also, I know so many well-informed voters whom I respect greatly that each have very strong opinions about the amendment, both in the affirmative and the negative. I did a little social media experiment on my Twitter and Facebook to get some of my questions answered. I took the arguments I was worried about it and posted them, asking supporters to defend them and nay-sayers to reinforce them. I weighed everyone’s arguments and played devil’s advocate until I felt like I had a very good understanding of what is at stake with this amendment.

•  Competition, Competition, Competition. School boards, teacher unions, and local elected officials are reinforcing the status quo. Is the status quo in public education good enough? I say no. Georgia is the “black sheep” of the states in education. Let these schools have an easier route to incite competition. In doing so, you make every school better. Competition is one of the biggest feather’s in a conservative’s cap. Let’s bring that principle to the public schools system.
• Choice: Let me make this clear… PARENT’S DESERVE A CHOICE. Refer back to bullet point one – do you want them making choices for your kids, or do you want to make the choice? Who ultimately knows what is best for his or her own child? (Hint: it begins with “p” and ends with “arents”). Yes, parent’s already have a choice of where to send their child to school, but when a school board shuts down a charter request, that choice becomes much more limited. Allow the choice. Vote for freedom.
• It creates more government… but not really. Many (conservative) folks who oppose the amendment do so because they felt a change to Georgia’s constitution was creating more government. I was one of these people, too. That was my final reservation. While the state can now overrule the local school board, it is because of the PARENTS. The state can now intercede, but it is when the parents ASK for the help…. THINK OF THE CHILDREN!!! Individual liberty > local control. The state doesn’t want control’ the state wants parents to have control and is helping them get it.
• Show me the money. This amendment is not a declaration of support or non-support for charter schools. Charter schools are here. At least, some are. Many, especially in rural south Georgia, are blocked from creation by local boards. Should the parents (the people whose children have to go through these schools) want a competitive alternative to the status quo public schools in place, this amendment allows the state to provide that funding

I will close with this little tidbit of wisdom from my old-man crush, Neal Boortz: “If you want Georgia schools to continue to suck, vote no.”

As you can see, The Perspicacious Conservative and I disagree entirely on the issue, and we each urge you to consider our points and find in our favor. Ultimately, though, no matter what you choose, you need to perform your civic duty and get your rears in gear and go vote tomorrow!