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Tears For Anne

Posted by Rix on Wednesday, February 27, 2008 12:54:01 PM
I was reading through the usual daily line up of news from the net when I saw an article about them finding a picture of a boy Anne Frank had written about. He was the love of her life. She was 11 and he was 13 when both of their families had to go into hiding. Although I have read Anne Frank's story, seen the play, the movie. etc. etc. for some reason it hit me really hard today. It might be because my own daughter is getting close to the age Anne was when she started her famous diary, or because I realized she was born the same year as my grandmother. Looking at her picture and the picture of her sweetheart brought me to tears this morning. They weren't just for Anne who died in a concentration camp at the young age of 16. The tears are also for her young man Peter, who died in Auschwitz , for her father, though he survived, and for all the children who were also there giving up their lives for no reason other than the whim of a mad man. For the life of me I can not see how anyone with any amount of humanity in them could cause, allow, or deny this holocaust. I worry how little impact this event has on my generation and fear it will have even less on the generation of my children. In a couple of years, when she is ready, I'll give my daughter a copy of the Diary of Anne Frank and read it with her. Then I will tell her of her great grandfather who liberated one of these "camps" and the things he saw, and I'll tell her of how her great grandmothers worked at home to support the war. Then maybe we'll watch The Sound of Music again with fresh eyes and read the real story of the VonTrapp family's flight to freedom.

What do you think we should do to keep these memories alive in a new generation?

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Go Vote!

Posted by Rix on Tuesday, February 05, 2008 10:48:28 AM
I am lucky to live in an area that allows early voting for no good reason. I was able to walk into our local library, hand them my driver's license and they handed me a voter card. There was no line, and I think I was the only one there under the age of 60, but I'm use to that. I stuck the card in the computerized voting machine and made my selections. There were actually 2 county issues on the ballot that were very important. I'm not sure many people realize that there could be legitimate local business on the ballot today in addition to the primary choices.
I kind of miss the old school voting booths with the curtains and the levers. I never got to cast a ballot in one of those, but as a child I stood by my mother's side while she did. Even then I couldn't wait to be old enough to vote. I can not imagine not going to vote every chance I get. It has always been stresses to me that women have not had the right to vote for very long, so don't take it for granted, and always exercise that right. When you don't use it, you run the risk of losing it.
If you haven't voted today, log off your computer and go vote. Be nice to your poll workers, they are volunteers. Be nice to the people in line with you. Vote your conscience, and you can't go wrong.
The best thing about voting today is if it goes your way, you can brag, and if it doesn't you still have the right to complain. If things go bad today and you didn't cast a vote to stop it, then you have no room to say one word in protest. Remember that tomorrow.
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Life Changing

Posted by Rix on Thursday, January 24, 2008 1:03:58 PM
Once in awhile something will happen and you know your life will never be the same again. This past weekend Rick Burgess (of The Rick and Bubba radio show fame) had one of those days. His youngest child, a 2 year old boy, fell into their backyard swimming pool and died. At the time it happened Rick was in Pigeon Forge, TN teaching at a Scott Dawson event for teenagers. It is beyond tragic. Tuesday afternoon they held a public memorial for their son Bronner. They packed Shaded Mountain Baptist Church in Birmingham, AL with friends, family, and listeners of the show. At that time Rick stood up and gave a 30 minute address. It was the most moving and powerful thing I have ever heard, although I really have nothing I can compair it to. It was less about the life of his child and more about  what his death can mean for all of us. After listening to it I had one of those moments where I knew my life would never be the same. You know I can't keep something like that to myself. So, here it is in three parts from You Tube. The volume is low, so crank it up.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3
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No More Searching for Bobby

Posted by Rix on Friday, January 18, 2008 10:27:07 AM
When I heard the news this morning of the passing of Bobby Fischer I had a flash of nostalgia. For awhile he was the poster child for  the us vs. them battle between the U.S. and Communist Russia. They had spent time and money breeding a champion in an attempt to prove that their way of life was better than freedom, and then along comes a kid, and he was really just a child at the time, who grew up in the United States that was everything that the communist hated. Bobby Fischer wiped the floor with their champion, which was enough of an accomplishment to make Americans overlook his quirks.
 In all honesty, I am not old enough to remember Bobby's first grand win, but I am old enough to remember the constant competition that went on. During the Olympics it wasn't how many medals you won, but how many times you beat those "Ruskies" . I am of the generation that was looking for "the  next Bobby Fischer". My brother wanted to be that person, as did the boy up the street, and I'm sure my husband had dreams of it at one time. I don't think any of us really knew who Bobby Fischer was, just who we wanted him to be.
As an adult I became very curious about who he was and where he went. I've always been intrigued by mysteries. What I learned was to never read the biography of childhood heros.
Bobby Fischer the legend was a grand master of chess, he was a child prodigy, and he was a champion of the free world. Bobby Fischer the man was a sad empty man who hated his country to the point of legally rejecting it, he cursed the very people he was descended from, and in the end had put aside the one thing that had ever made him remarkable. The truth is that when the man ceased to entertain us, we ceased tolerating his rantings. He was always an anti-sematic egomaniac, we just didn't care to see it.
I wonder how many of today's celebrities and pseudo heros are really crack pots hiding in an entertaining package. Johnny Depp comes to my mind.
Who do you suspect?
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My Primary Problem

Posted by Rix on Thursday, January 17, 2008 10:10:23 AM
As it stands at the moment there are only three people in the presidential race that I would consider voting for. From the very start I have had my eye on these three people. They are Fred Thompson, Mike Huckabee, and Duncan Hunter. I really thought that one of these men would hit a boom and become a front runner, but I never for a second thought it would be Huckabee. If I had to guess I'd say that time is short for Duncan Hunter, and I don't think his voice has been heard enough to make him an effective running mate.
So, my primary vote is coming down to Huckabee or Thompson. I've heard the pros and cons on both and I am still struggling. If I had it my way they would join together as running mates and my problem would be solved. Where one is weak for me the other is strong. They are pretty close to the same on all of my personal key issues.
Here is what it boils down to whether it is more important how taxes are collected or how they are spent.
I like the FairTax. I've read through it, I understand it, and I think if passed in it's existing form it would help every American regardless of income. So, it's Huckabee. But, Thompson supports cuts and reform like a flat tax, and maybe that is more realistic.
Illegal immigration is a big concern for me. The town I live in has a huge illegal population and it is growing very quickly. It is getting to the point that I need to speak Spanish to effectively order at restaurants, and our public schools are spending a large amount of tax money on children who shouldn't be here in the first place. Not to mention how it is impacting health care costs, crime rates, and our culture in general. I want a president who will take a hard line on this. So, it's Thompson. But Huckabee has said he would allow a review of birthright citizenship, which is a pretty bold step. What good is a better tax system if we are still overspending on people who aren't even citizens.
I know I'll know what to do when the day comes and I am standing in line at the polls, but not having my mind made up by now is not like me. I am decisive, I am sure of where I stand, I am frustrated.
Is there a key issue that is holding you back from supporting one candidate all out?
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A Place For Unions

Posted by Rix on Tuesday, January 15, 2008 10:47:47 AM
This morning when my alarm went off there was a commercial on the radio full of warm fuzzies for a local trade union. My grandfather was in a trade union. He apprenticed and study and worked hard to become a member of the printer's union, and on at least one occasion I know they saved his job by lobbying for job training when the printing industry switched from typesetting to computers. In recent years it has been questioned whether or not unions have out lived their usefulness.
They are not getting good press right now. The writers out in Hollywood are looking like spoiled brats. The big consequences of the strike are a loss of the awards show and millions of Americans finding something to do with their time other than watching t.v. Woman are spending less time watching housewives and more time being one. Sure it stinks that we don't have a new season of 24, but maybe Kiefer Sutherland will use this time to reevaluate his life and get sober (probably not, but we can hope).
Since 9-11 airlines have struggled. Gas prices, extra security, and new regulation have taken a real toll on their budgets. Instead of doing what they can to help the struggling business the pilot's unions threatened to strike if their demands weren't meant. No matter how reasonable the demand might have been ( I really don't know what they were) they came off looking greedy. They were going to shut down an entire industry and put thousands out of work because of what they wanted, that is what the rest of us saw.
Many people have talked about unions outliving their purpose. They wonder if it is time to rid the country of them. I think it is time to repurpose them. Labor Unions could be one of our best allies against illegal immigration. Right now they have the reputation that the union leaders don't care where their dues come from as long as the big guys get paid. Lets change that. Our country needs Union Labor to mean Legal Labor.
How does this sound to you? If you want to have a union you have to guarantee that your workers are legal residents. If you are caught with illegals being card holders the union will be heavily fined and with multiple violations you will lose your accreditation.
The real trick would be in getting unions to be realistic. For example, if they insist on members of a gardening union make $25 per hour they have priced themselves out of the market because you can find illegal workers for $10 per hour. I'm not saying they have to meet or beat that price, but be reasonable. Personally, I would pay about $5 more per hour for certified legal workers to put down mulch and pull weeds. Any more than that and I'll do the job myself.
What do you think? Could unions be trusted to help fight illegal immigration?
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What Do I Think?

Posted by Rix on Tuesday, January 15, 2008 9:46:06 AM
Welcome to my townhall blog. I wanted my first post to be a little bit of a background. I have two professions. First and foremost I am a wife and mother. I stay at home with my children and feel like my life and their lives are better for it. My second job is as a professional blogger. I don't blog on politics or anything even closely related to what you see on Townhall, so there is really no reason to list a link to it. Basically, I am starting this blog because I often find myself wanting to write about politics, religion, and the general state of the nation, but that talk really doesn't belong on my professional blog. 
If you saw me walking down the street in Anytown, USA you would probably assume that I was just another liberal feminist, but nothing could be father from the truth. According to political stereotypes, I am in my fifties and a man, but according to my birth certificate I am a woman in her early thirties. 
I am proud to be a born and bred southern lady, and an active member of a Southern Baptist church. Conservative doesn't even begin to describe my upbringing.
I am more than a little tired of the general media trying to tell me what I think, so I thought it was high time I told them what I really think. Enjoy, comment, and take a minute to know what you think.
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