Jami Suggests You Really Read This

Have you actually read this? The emphases are mine. When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. (click here to read the middle of the document, mostly the list of abuses of power by King George III) We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these united Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States, that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. — And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor. I can't imagine what's left to add, except that I hope you enjoyed the day and remembered why we had fireworks and picnics. Check out EDW's post here, too.

Jami Holds Back No More

I am guessing this post might ruffle some feathers, but I guess maybe it's time I did. Because I am a person of strongly held convictions, a moral, compassionate, intelligent woman, mother, wife and professional, who doesn't take what anyone just hands out as truth, but looks into important matters more deeply, looks for confirmation and asks, "Which of these stories makes sense?" And maybe the hormones are rampaging today, but I've reached the breaking point of trying to hold in my opinion so as not to offend anyone or start battles or whatnot. I usually keep politics and the like out of my blog because I want it to be a fun and interesting read, and often there is nothing more boring than someone else's political take. But today, I'm going in . .. I respect your beliefs and your right to hold them and I wish you'd start doing the same. Yes, I'm a conservative, but if you think I'm heartless or greedy or mean, than you are more of a bigot than you accuse me of being because I'm not any of those things and neither are most of the conservatives I know. I don't jump to conclusions if you say you're a liberal, because I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt that you looked into the issue, too and just have a different take. Capitalism isn't evil. It's fair. If you don't like something, don't buy it. If you earn something, you get to have it. If you don't like the way a company operates, you can ask yourself, "is my belief worth the money or inconvenience of going somewhere else or doing without?" Yes, there should be very basic controls on companies, but you know what caused all the crap going on now? Government sticking too many fingers in the pie and then crying "Look! Free markets don't work." It's bull. I am against abortion, because I am FOR women and for choice. You have the choice to not have sex if you don't want a kid. You have the choice to use birth control, if you do have sex. You have the choice to parent or place your child with a loving family. Half of those children being aborted are future women, so I don't think we should kill them. Or the future men for that point. Don't give me the "rape/incest" thing because the last thing I read was something like less than 1% of abortions performed in the US were in the case of rape or incest. You don't know when life begins? Neither do I, so why err on the side of murder? Killing unborn children cheapens all life. If I can abort at 12 weeks, why not 20 weeks? If I can have a partial-birth abortion, ending the life when the baby is partially out, why not 10 minutes after he's born? Why not a day later? A life is unspeakably precious, to terminate it for convenience should be appalling to us all. I am for more freedom for everyone, and that means the freedom to fail, the freedom to be a big jerk if you want, the freedom to live where you want and spend your money how you want. I am against illegal immigration, and pardons for illegal aliens. I'm 100% for immigration. I have friends from all over the world, some who have become citizens, and I wish it had been easier for them. But that doesn't mean that just because you managed to beat the system to get or stay here you get a pass, because it's hard to do it the right way. It's hard for me to earn more money, so I should be allowed to steal from my neighbors? There is a reason for immigration law and believe me, I know firsthand how long and tedious the process can be. I was finger-printed three separate times by three agencies to get my son into the country, but that doesn't mean that I think everyone else should bypass it. I'm sure that many of the illegal aliens are very nice people. But they are still breaking the law and they chose to do so. I have lots more things I'm for and against, and I'm not going to bore you with the entire list. But before you write me off as an evil conservative b*tch, have you *really* considered the other side? Look at statistics, think about it, talk to someone who thinks differently than you and honestly consider their points instead of thinking what you're going to say next. Remember that there is NO SUCH THING as an unbiased report - this is one of the first lessons we learned in broadcasting and no matter what you think, it's the truth. And most of all - if you're still reading, thanks, and if after you've thought and prayed, considered and learned, discussed and debated, you still don't agree with me, I still like you. I still respect you. I hope you'll do the same.

Jami Can't Be the Only One Mad About This

Have you seen this SafeLink? I've been seeing their commercials for a few months and I had to watch them several times to be sure I heard right. You get a FREE cell phone and monthly minutes. Free for the person receiving it, of course. The idea, according to the commercial, is that lower income people will have a cell phone in case of emergency. Okay, I'm on board with that. I am all about the safety. But if I'm paying for you to have a cell phone that you can use in an emergency, that phone should have one and only one big button on it, a button that says 911. That's it. No calling your family, friends or pizza guy. Because we know who is paying for those minutes - me. A "federally funded program" means that along with all the other crap my taxes are going toward, now I'm paying for other people's chitchat, too. Nice. According to the website, if you're already getting some types of assistance, you probably qualify for the phone. So, now, I'm paying for your rent, your food, your medical and your phone? A cell phone isn't a necessity. It's not like shoes for your kids or milk for your baby. If you can't afford a cell phone, you don't get a cellphone. Okay? If you're elderly and your kids want to be able to talk to you once a day, they can add you to their plan for $10 a month. If they can't afford that, then you all should move in together and pool your resources. If you all still can't afford a phone all together, then you get the one big red button phone for emergencies. I know times are tough, but that means they are tough for everyone. I struggle to pay my bills, and now even more of my money is going to pay for other people's bills. For things they don't need. Maybe the Husband should quit his job so we can start getting some of these sweet deals.

Jami Demands Stickers

I voted today, and realized when I got into my car that I didn't get an "I voted" sticker. I haven't gotten them the last several times, in fact. Where is my sticker? I demand justice. And stickers. Next time I'm going to ask for my sticker beforehand and if there are no stickers, no vote! Run on the "I'll Get You Your Sticker" platform to ensure my vote.

Jami Elects to Vote

Hi Folks, I know I 'd normally be saying something like 'Hey, don't forget to get out and vote tomorrow!' but today I'm going to put a twist on it. Voting is a privilege and it's important. It's also not just something you do because it's election day. So, please don't vote if:

• You are voting for a candidate because you like their hair or teeth or the way they talk or they're from your hometown/college/favorite team. Don't vote if you don't know why this person is better than the other one. There is still time to look at where a person stands on the issues that are most important to you and vote with your head, not your mood. That's figurative of course, please use your hand on the actual machine.
• You are going to pull the whole lever for one party. Sorry, I don't believe that every person in one party is the one who best suits you. Please, at least look at each set of names. And if you don't know either name, how about not voting in that race?
• You have already voted. I know there are lots of ways to get extra votes this year, and how about we all agree to just vote the once per live, over-18, non-make-believe citizen?
• You are voting for the person's race or gender. Don't vote for Obama just so you can say you helped elect the first black president. Don't vote for McCain so you can be part of electing the first woman VP.

I guess that's about it for my list of Don'ts. I hope most of all that after tomorrow BOTH sides are gracious about the outcome.

Oh - and is anyone else sort of horrified by this idea of early voting? Doesn't that just scream out for opportunities for fraud? It's already not fair that the primaries in different states at different times can take away my choices, but now the actual vote??