Friday Bits of Tid - It's Alive!

A big ol' hound dog howdy to ya'll.

I'm back. I've been recharging my batteries lo these many months and it's time to get back to work. Well, this isn't really work, at least not in the traditional sense. It's more a labor of love, no wait, it's not that either. A compulsion? Yeah, that might be a bit closer to the mark...

Anyway, it's time to let all this boundless energy out before the batteries get so full they start leaking. I have a few things in mind to do here, such as playing around with the layout and the design. After a couple of years, this place could use some sprucing up. So indulge me if you will as I play with a few things like background colors and such. Gotta keep up with the times, donchaknow.

After checking my traffic stats, I noticed that a lot of you have told your friends about this place, as the hit count has increased a bit while I've been on vacation. I stop writing for a while, and I start getting more traffic. Go figure. Thanks for spreading the word. Blog hits are the currency of the Intarwebs, so if you find something here you like, please send links to other blogs, friends, co-workers, family members, even people you don't like. I'm not picky.

We have some work to do to get our country back on track. By any measure, the Obama administration has been an abject failure. There have been a few bright spots, like the recent killing of LightSquared by the FCC, but much remains to be done.

I've been watching the Republican presidential debates, as I'm sure you all have. To say there is a weak field of candidates would be an understatement. It appears to be Romney's "turn" in much the same manner as it was John McCains' "turn" in 2008. Even though Rick Santorum is currently leading in a few national polls over Romney, I don't expect that to last.

This is a rather unusual race. We don't have a clearly conservative candidate. As you may remember, my money was on Rick Perry to win it all. In my opinion, he had the best platform, the best record of accomplishment, and the best ideas. However, he pretty much shot himself in the foot when he uttered his famous statement about "not having a heart" if you opposed illegal immigration. He did walk that comment back, but he could never unsay it. At least he's a good shot...

Rick Santorum, well, what can I say about The Sweater Vest that hasn't already been said? He's the Not-Romney of the hour. While he does have some fairly strong attributes, his record of fiscal restraint during his time in Washington isn't strong. It seems to this Boy that he's concentrating more on social conservatism in order to take advantage of the uproar that resulted from this administration's recent ruling that the Catholic Church must provide contraception in its healthcare plans for all its employees, thus trampling on their doctrines and ignoring the Constitution (again). That's all well and good, Mr. Santorum, but that's not the biggest problem we face right now.

Newt Gingrich is essentially gone, a victim of his erraticness (I hope that's a word). If he could've maintained his focus on the president instead of the other candidates, he might still be the front runner. Remember how he positioned himself as the Great Uniter in the early debates and mixed it up with the liberal lefty moderators, challenging their assumptions? Good times...

Ron Paul has some good ideas about domestic fiscal policies, but his foreign policies are the stuff of, um, something, I'm not sure what. How he can say that we've caused all our own troubles in the Mideast is amazing. He's even said he can't see himself in the White House. Fortunately, neither can the rest of the country.

So, we're left to wonder why we have such a poor field of candidates from which to choose. Obama is an easy target in this election. His record is abysmal, but no one seems to be taking advantage of that by pointing it out. We are so much worse off than we were four years ago, and his lack of leadership and poor decisions are directly to blame. It's been said more than once: if Obama was intentionally trying to bring the country down, what would he be doing differently?

It is my sincere hope that our current national crises, which are becoming legion, will awaken the sleeping masses to politics and all the malfeasance contained therein. Just sitting back, smug in the comfort of an XBox, or American Idol or the latest celebrity news doesn't cut it any more.

As unpleasant as it is, our political system is like a cat's litter box. It's disgusting, but it still has to be cleaned out.

We have to do it. So many things are at stake. We have domestic enemies who must be exposed and disarmed. We have to start holding our elected officials to a high standard of accountability. Americans self-identify as conservative by a nearly two-to-one margin over liberals, yet, as Newt pointed out during one of the debates, the majority view is not being represented in Washington.

This must end. Ask yourself if gave your approval for anyone in Washington to strangle our economy. I sure didn't. Yet, that is exactly why we're in our current situation. We no longer have control of our government. It's being operated by people and organizations that don't share our simple values. Many things that the average citizen wants, such as securing our borders and developing our own energy resources, aren't happening.

We can change things. We must change things. We can rid ourselves of Progressivism, that insidious cancer that is trying to kill the body of Freedom by excising it wherever it is found.

In closing, I'll link this excellent post from my reluctant mentor, Mr. Ace of Spades. It's just a thought, but it's a good one.

You'll also notice a new link in the sidebar to American Majority Racing. This is a new conservative political organization that taps a wellspring of Americana, NASCAR fans, among whom I and BackwardsGirl proudly count ourselves. We'll be at the NationWide race next Saturday to cheer on Jason Bowles, driver of the number 81 Dodge Challenger, the red, white and blue car. If I can get my digital camera to operate properly, I'll post some pics if I can. I urge you to click on their link and help support them.

All right, y'all. That's about enough for today. I'll be posting infrequently, but I will be posting.

Be careful out there.