He is risen!

I hope everyone had a fun and blessed Easter.  Mine was good, quiet and peaceful.  A very nice day.

Happy Birthday To Me!

Happy birthday to me!  Today's my birthday.  I'm 50-years-old today and I can't believe it.  I've lived for half a century.  That definitely marks a milestone, and the other "milestone" marked today is this is the last day to sign up for Obamacare.  Yep, open enrollment ends on my birthday and no, I have not and will not sign up.

I refuse to take part in the Ponzi scheme that is Obamacare.  I'm not sure how I'll take care of my medical needs.  I'm thinking about joining one of the Christian health care sharing ministries, such as MediShare or Christian Healthcare Ministries.  In fact, I've already received an information packet from CHM.  I don't know if a health care sharing ministry will be the right choice for me but I DO know Obamacare is not the right choice for me.  Whew, what sobering issues to think about on what should be a carefree day!

Enough about Obamacare.  I'm going to get ready to attend my weekly Bible study and enjoy the remaining hours of my special day.  Fifty years ago today, I was born.  I think that's pretty neat!

Gratitude

I'm grateful for my family.

I'm grateful for my mother, who always has my back even when I don't deserve it.

I'm grateful for my sister who's my best friend.

I'm grateful for my brother who always makes me laugh.

I'm grateful for my uncle who knows how to encourage me and strengthen my faith just when I need it.

I'm grateful for my niece who reminds me life is beautiful.

I'm grateful for my nephew who inspires me to write.

I'm grateful for my great-niece who keeps me young and whose innocence inspires me to fight for the preservation of our culture's time-honored values.

I'm grateful for my friends who are true lights in the darkness.

I'm grateful I live in a country where, for now, at least, I can speak my mind, practice my faith, and live my life as I choose with little fear of persecution, imprisonment, or death.

And finally, as a cancer survivor, I'm just grateful to be here, to see another holiday, to be alive. 

God is good!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

What's In A Name?

Time can change things.

I recently changed the name of this blog from "Sinistra's Bane" to "Heart of the Wise".  I made the change to reflect a shift in some of my ideological views.  My basic outlook hasn't changed but certain things have.  Consequently, I feel I need to change what I call myself, something more important than what to call a blog that hardly anyone reads.  *ss*

For nearly 20 years I've proudly called myself a conservative but now that label doesn't suit me anymore.  Why not?  It seems too...limiting, too..."small".  It doesn't encompass the whole of what I now believe.

I know that conservatives and conservatism have long been divided into 3 main "denominations":  social conservatives, who favor traditional, Bible-base morality and values; foreign policy conservatives, who favor a strong defense and an America active on the world stage; and fiscal/tea party conservatives, who're committed to lower taxes, balanced budgets, and limited, constitutional government.  I've always considered myself to be all of the above but it was social issues, especially abortion, that helped me to define myself as "conservative".  While fiscal and foreign policy are very important to me, social issues top my list of concerns.  And that's why I have a problem with continuing to call myself a conservative.

For that last decade or so, and especially since Obama was first elected in 2008, the conservative movement has, in my view, distanced itself from social issues and become focused on fiscal issues.  This shift was especially apparent in the 2010 midterm and 2012 presidential elections, with seemingly all major strategists on the right calling for conservative/Republican candidates to ignore social issues and focus on the economy.  That strategy failed in 2012 and many conservatives seemed to conclude that traditionalist positions on social issues, especially the hot button issue of gay marriage, is what did Mitt Romney in.

Now we have more and more conservatives supporting gay marriage and worse, expressing the same disdain for traditionalists that liberals do.  It's like they can't get to a microphone or tv camera fast enough to reveal their new found "enlightenment" and "tolerance".  Such caving to the left is disgusting to me.  I always thought that the conservative movement would be a place where traditionalists would be accepted, respected, understood, and heard.  I was wrong.

The left has convinced a huge swath of Americans, particularly the young, that opposition to gay marriage is diabolical bigotry and "extremism".  Rather than resist this lie too many conservatives have taken the easy way out and have caved.  But it's all to win elections, I've heard.  Younger voters, so the argument goes, won't give conservative/Republican candidates a chance so long as they're seen as "intolerant".  They must moderate or censor their social views so they can win and stop Obama from imposing his nanny state and bankrupting the country, the only cause that really matters.  Yeah, right.  That logic is just an excuse for cowardice in the face of leftism.

If liberals managed to convince enough Americans that advocating smaller government and lower taxes was "extremism" and hate, would conservatives change their stand on those issues, too?  Would they suddenly discover a "conservative" case for big government and sky high taxes as they've found a "conservative" case for gay marriage?  Methinks they would.

That's why I can no longer and will no longer call myself a conservative.

This is hard for me.  I feel adrift.  As I said at the beginning of this post, I've been calling myself a conservative for nearly 20 years.  Now, I don't know what to call myself.  There doesn't seem to be a single term that encompasses the whole of my socio-political belief system.  Maybe I'll have to cobble together a new, multiple word term for my worldview.  Or maybe I'll have to resurrect some long forgotten label from history.  Or maybe you, my readers, have some good ideas.  All I'm certain of right now is that "conservative" is out.  I'm still on the right, though, the side of the wise.  That, my friends, will never change.  Of that you can be sure.

New Name, New Direction

Welcome to "Heart Of The Wise!"

Hello blogging friends!  As you can see I've changed the name of my blog (and will most likely be changing the url soon, too.)  No longer will my humble spot on the world wide web be known as Sinistra's Bane.  Now, my blog will be called, "Heart Of The Wise".

Why the change?

As you learned from my previous post I'm in a blogging malaise.  I feel a strong need to take my blog in a new direction to reflect the philosophical shifts taking place within myself.  Don't worry; I'm NOT switching sides; if anything, I'm becoming more conservative.  The changes occurring in me are less about what I believe and more about how to advance those beliefs in society, how to best defeat the Left.  I'm increasingly beginning to believe that the conservative movement in general and the Republican party in particular are actually proponents of what I call liberalism lite.  They want to take America to the same destination as the Left, just at a slower pace.  You can see it when conservatives discuss the nation's problems.  Despite their constant call for smaller government they are, for the most part, devoid of solutions that don't involve government and/or politics.  That's not me anymore, and I don't want that to be my blog anymore.  Hence, the name change.

Sinistra's Bane, like its predecessor, PoorGrrl Zone, served me well but it's time to move on.  I need a new name for a "new" blog that will, I hope, help take conservatives from whiners to winners.  That can be done but it's going to take a tremendous effort, a movement wide mobilization equal to the military mobilization of WWII.  My hope is that "Heart Of The Wise" be a part of that and maybe even help to create it.

Our country has MANY problems.  The solutions bandied about by (most) conservatives/Republicans aren't working anymore, if they ever did.  We need new ideas, fresh takes on old ones, and the wisdom to know the difference.  My fervent hope is that my little place on the worldwide web will contribute to such a change on the right side, the side of the wise.

Blogging Blues

I'm in a blogging malaise.

I haven't written a post in two months, and even when I was posting "regularly" I was doing only one or two posts a month.  It's been that way for a long time and it's not just my posting that's slowed to a crawl.  I'm not reading blogs like I used to, either.  I've been on Blogger for nine years now--maybe that's part of the problem?--and I remember when I rarely missed a day of reading my favorite blogs.  Now I can scarcely recall what my favorite blogs were.  What's wrong?

Part of the problem is my illness.  I was diagnosed with breast cancer in April 2010--gosh, has it been three years already?--and for the next seven months I was focused on fighting the disease and getting well.  I won the battle, thank God, but after I did I didn't reconnect with blogging.  I took chemotherapy to fight the cancer and now I suffer from post-chemotherapy cognitive impairement, also known as "chemo brain".  Chemo brain makes it difficult to think, remember, focus, and concentrate.  I don't have a severe form of the ailment.  It doesn't affect my ability to function in every day life, thankfully.  It does, however, make it harder, sometimes a lot harder, to put words together.  I have words in my head but when I try to put them down on paper they get jumbled, and making a coherent sentence, let alone paragraph, can get so difficult I just quit.  When it comes to writing I hate quitting.  I get very mad at myself when I do, but the frustration of not being able to get the words out is overwhelming, so I give up.  So that's part of the reason for my blogging malaise.

Another reason is aethestics.  I just don't like the way my blog looks.  I've tried several different templates and layouts over the years but none of them ever really worked.  They just weren't me.  I've seen other blogs that look great but when I try to duplicate their look on my blog it just doesn't work.  That's almost as frustrating as dealing with the chemo brain induced writer's block.  I feel that if my blog had the right look, a look that was really ME, I'd be more interested in it, more motivated to push through the chemo brain and write.  But it doesn't have that look and, for now, I'm tired of trying to find or create it.  Therefore, my blog doesn't "call" me, and I don't miss it when I don't pull it up for weeks at a time.   That's the second reason for my blogging blues.  There's a final reason, though, one that, I think, will be the hardest to fix.  What is it?  I no longer know where my blog is going.

When I first started blogging I wrote mainly personal things.  Then I started commenting on politics, issues, and current events.  Slowly, the opinion pieces overshadowed the personal stuff and PoorGrrl Zone, as this blog was originally called, became a political blog.  I posted my thoughts on what was happening in America, mostly things I heard on the news, and that was great for a few years.  But then I started getting bored with that.  I didn't want my blog to be just a reaction to all the liberal craziness.  I still don't want it to be that.  In my opinion conservatives do too much of that; whining and complaining about liberal outrages but doing nohing about them.  Despite all the we-want-smaller-government rhetoric, conservatives don't seem interested in any solutions that don't involve politics and government.  That's not me anymore, and I don't want it to be my blog anymore.  I want Sinistra's Bane to stand for something, not just against something.  I want to offer non-political, non-governmental solutions to the problems that conservatives are so good at repeatedly diagnosing.  I'm not sure what type of solutions there might be but I can't keep on futilely railing against the darkness.  That's been a total failure for conservatism.  Instead, I want to light some candles.  I want a new mission for my blog.  I'm just not sure what form that mission will or should take.  Until I figure it that out I'll still be stuck in my blogging malaise.

Welcome to my world.

"You'll Never Make A Difference If You Quit"

Hi everyone! It's been a long time since I've put a new post on SB. I did a D-Day post in June, and that's the only post I ended up doing that month. I just wasn't in the mood for blogging, and to a certain extent, I'm still not.

When I started this blog, which began as PoorGrrl Zone--'memba that name?--it was going to be a personal diary, over time it turned into my outlet for political commentary. Gradually, I came to feel that blogging about my opinions and beliefs could "make a difference"; that became my primary motive for blogging. But also over time, I came to feel that I was failing.

I'm a conservative socially and fiscally, with emphasis on the social part. I'm a traditionalist. I believe in the traditional, Bible-based, moral and familial values that have undergirded Western civilization for over 2000 years. I believe in them because I believe they come from God, are intrinsically good because of their source, and are the reason that America rose to greatness. I believe that the collapse of the moral order will be the end of the nation. Now, I'm also dedicated to fiscal conservatism. We must get our financial house in order, for debt can and will destroy us as surely as moral decay. Still, if I had to choose which battle to fight first, it would be for the restoration and preservation of the "old paths". And that's why I feel increasingly alone.

As I look out across this land of mind, I see my people moving further and further away from the values that made America great. Promiscuity, illegitimacy, adultery, homosexuality, abortion, casual divorce, unbelief, greed, shirking personal responsibility, these things, and more, have all become accepted as normal. Nobody bats a proverbial eye at them; in fact, it's now virtually required to defend them lest you be guilty of "bigotry" or "intolerance". Even people who call themselves conservative are defending these things. Clearly, I and other socially conservative bloggers are NOT making a difference. I'd become discouraged enough to seriously consider quitting blogging.

I recently talked to Robert, a cyber friend who blogs at Wise Conservatism, about my discouragement and he told me something that changed my perspective. Robert, whose outlook is more positive than mine, acknowledged that we conservatives still have a lot of work to do, but he told me that, "You'll never make a difference if you quit." Did you get that? You'll never make a difference if you quit. The truth of it really hit me, and gave me both the resolve and the hope to keep blogging. Maybe I won't make the difference that I'd wanted. Maybe I'll only reach a handful of people with the truth and necessity of (social) conservatism. But maybe that handful will go on to reach hundreds, or thousands, or millions more. But it won't happen if I quit, which is the one thing the Left wants all conservatives to do. So I will keep blogging; I will keep posting. I may make only a small difference but, to paraphrase Robert, if I quit I won't make a difference at all.

Thank you, Robert.

"Sucker Punch" Rocks!

Hey friends! As most of you know, last Thursday was my birthday. To celebrate I took myself out to dinner and a movie. I'd done that two weeks prior to celebrate my birthday and saw Red Riding Hood, which was a disappointment. Not terrible, just not worth the full price I had to pay. So I decided to try the movies again, hoping to find one that was really good, and I did! It's called Sucker Punch.

Sucker Punch is great! How great? So great enough that I didn't mind haivng to pay full price for it; I'd pay full price to see it again, and I plan on buying it when it comes out on dvd. That's how great Sucker Punch is. That's how much I liked it!

Sucker Punch is cool, original, exciting, decked with great special effects, and suprisingly warm and thought-provoking. It has a moving twist at the end and, to top it off, a killer soundtrack! I won't say anymore as I'm not a skilled movie reviewer. I just wanted to do a post on how much I liked this film. If you want to have a blast at the movies this weekend, go see Sucker Punch. You won't be disappointed!

Here's a preview of Sucker Punch's awesome soundtrack. It's a video of the remake of Jefferson Airplane's classic, White Rabbit. I know, classics aren't supposed to be messed with, but leave it to Sucker Punch to get remake right. So here's White Rabbit, Sucker Punch style.

Happy Birthday To Me!

Today's my birthday. Woohoo! I'm 47 today. Wow! That's half a century! Kinda makes me feel old saying it that way, so I guess I'd better stop. Hee, hee. Seriously, this birthday is extra special because it's my first birthday as a cancer survivor. I am so grateful to see another birthday. I know that things could've so easily gone the other way. So I am very, very thankful. Thank you, God!

I didn't do anything really special for my birthday. I took myself out to dinner and a movie a couple of weeks ago and I'm going to do the same tomorrow. Actually, that is pretty special considering how tight my finances are right now. The movie I went to see on the 18th was "Red Riding Hood". It was just ok but it had a kick ass song in it. The song is called "The Wolf" and it's by Fever Ray, a band I've never heard of before. I'm including a video of the song on my birthday post. It was played during a celebration scene in the movie. I wish that scene was part of the video. Instead, all there is is a picture of Red. But it's the song, not images, I want you to focus on. So pull up a chair, relax, and enjoy!

"The Wolf", by Fever Ray



Told ya it kicked ass!

Happy New Year!

Happy new year, friends!

Today is the first day of the new year, 2011. Of course, I've seen many new years come and go but this one is a tad bit more special than the previous ones. After battling cancer during the last half of 2010 I'm bringing in this new year with a new appreciation of life and health. One of the first things I did this morning was give myself a breast exam. I'm going to do them twice a month from now on. I have a renewed commitment to my health after the events of 2010. With God's help, NO MORE CANCER FOR ME!!!!

Dear friends, I wish for all of you the happiest, healthiest, most prosperous, and most blessed new year. 2011's gonna be a blast!

Pink Warriors!

In case you didn't know, October is breast cancer awareness month. October 12 was Cares Enough to Wear Pink (CETWP) day. On that day people were supposed to wear pink to work to show support for women who have or had breast cancer. In my town CETWP day was sponsored by the fire department, which is selling special pink T-shirts during October.

Since I have breast cancer my co-workers and I decided to participate in CETWP day, only we had ours on Friday. I was really touched by all the people who participated. The department where I work was pretty much a sea of pink yesterday. Almost all of the women wore shirts in various shades of glorious pink. Even a couple of the guys wore pink shirts, and those who were too "manly" to do so tied pink fabric squares around their arms or heads or let them dangle from their pants pockets. The show of support was very moving. I even got a few gifts given to me in a breast cancer awareness gift bag. My co-workers are such kind and compassionate people. I'm really fortunate to work with them. And I'm blessed to be doing well.

I'm getting along in my cancer treatments. I had my last round of chemo--YES!!!!--on October 6. I can't tell you how happy I am that that awful ordeal is now over. Like all of my chemo treatments, the last round had side effects. Most of them have gone away but I'm still dealing with some constipation and some neuropathy in my toes. The side effects are bearable, though, because I know that, once they're over, I'll never have to deal with them again because my chemo is DONE!!!!

My cancer treatments aren't entirely done, though. At the end of October or the beginning of November I'll start my radiation treatments which will last 6 1/2 weeks. After that, I'll be finished with my treatments and finished with cancer and I'll be going on with my life. I'm keeping a very prayerful and positive outlook. I'm not giving in to fear and worry over a possible recurrence. I'm going to live my life with the conviction that I'll be cancer free from now on. After all, that's what pink warriors do, we LIVE!!!!

Update On Me

Hello everyone! I'm so sorry I've been away for so long. I haven't been here because I've been dealing with the effects of my first round of chemo. In a word, it was AWFUL.

I had my first dose of chemotherapy on Wednesday, June 30; talk about the cure being worse than the disease! I didn't have any nausea or vomiting thanks to some anti-nausea medicine, but I had something worse: a paralyzing, frightening, CRUSHING fatigue. Actually, "fatigue" doesn't begin to describe it but it's the only word I can think of. I've never felt anything like it in my life. It was as if the chemo was a pharmaceutical vampire sucking every ounce of energy from my body. All I could do was sleep, but it wasn't a restful sleep. Do you know how miserable it is to sleep 15 hours and wake up as drained as when you laid down? That first round of chemo was so bad that I seriously considered not taking anymore, but then I started coming out of it.

Saturday night I stopped feeling the chemo draining my energy and started to feel a "normal" exhaustion. From then on I slooooooowly climbed back to normalcy, feeling well enough to go to work on Tuesday, July 5. I lasted only half a day but it was still a big step forward. Since then I've worked every day and gotten stronger and stronger. I've gotten back into the rhythm of normal life, except for blogging. I don't know why, but I've had no desire to blog since I had chemo. I hope it's not a sign of "chemo brain", a condition where the ability to concentrate and remember is impaired. And I hope my interest in my blogs will return SOON!

So that's what's been happening, sweet friends, and that's why I've been away. I'm here for tonight but don't know when I'll be back. Be prepared for my postings to stay irregular during my chemo treatments which will end in October. I'll post as my physical, emotional, and mental health allows. Please keep your prayers and good vibes coming my way; I will need them. I'll receive my second round of chemo this coming Wednesday. The nurses said the second time will be a little easier. I so hope they are right; another round of that oppressive fatigue will be unbearable.

Pray for me.

Cancer Free!

Well, friends, I got the results of my lymph node biopsy I had Monday and I'm thrilled to report that I'm officially cancer free! YIPPEE!!!! My treatment isn't over, however. I'm still going to have a few rounds of chemo and then radiation to reduce the risk of recurrence, and that's alright. I'm willing to do what ever it takes to defeat this monster. And I thank all my blogging friends for your prayers and support. I truly believe that your positive energy played a part in helping me beat this thing. Y'all are GREAT!!!! And being cancer free is GREAT!!!!! Watch out all you libtards. SEANE-ANNA IS BACK!!!!

Invasive Ductal Carcinoma

Well, I now have a name for it.

I learned this past Wednesday that I really do have breast cancer, and I found out today what kind: invasive ductal carcinoma or IDC. IDC is the most common kind of breast cancer, accounting for 80% of all cases of the disease. I know some general things about this cancer but things that are specific to me are still unfolding.

The good news is that the cancer is now out of my body. I went to the hospital last Monday to have a surgical biopsy. This was necessary because the results of the initial needle biopsy were inconclusive. However, when my surgeon actually got inside my breast he saw that he could take the whole tumor out, which he did. So, I went in for a biopsy and came out with a lumpectomy. And the tissue around the tumor was cancer free. And that, to repeat, is good news.

So, what's next?

I go see my oncologist this Friday. I should learn from her the stage of my cancer and what my next round of treatment will be. My surgeon said I'll have to have radiation and most likely chemo, too. I really don't want chemo but if that's what it'll take for me to beat this then so be it. Whatever's next, I'm anxious for it to start because the sooner it starts the sooner it'll be over and I can go back to my normal life. My normal, cancer free life. That will be BEAUTIFUL!

Thank You!

I just wanted to send a shout out to all my blogging friends who've left me such sweet, kind, and supportive comments in my time of trial and tribulation. Your love has made my day. THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!

Update On Me

Hello friends! I just wanted to update you on my health situation. I still don't know with 100% certainty that I have breast cancer. I hope to find that out by Wednesday of next week as I go in Monday for a surgical biopsy. It will be an out patient surgery and I'll be home the same day, thank God. Then will come that nerve wracking wait for the results; ditto with the results of the PET scan that I had today to see if there's been any spreading of the cancer (if it's there).

Whether or not I even have cancer...I just don't know what to think. As I wrote in my previous post I was told I have breast cancer but was later informed by my surgeon that my pathology report was inconlusive. Still, my surgeon, Dr. C, is 99% convinced that I do have cancer and we just need to find out what kind, hence the new biopsy. My oncologist, Dr. G, is more doubtful, telling me flat out that "we don't know" if I have cancer because the results of the first biopsy were "useless". Two good doctors; two different opinions. So, what to think? I don't know. All I can do is wait for the results, prepare for the worst, and pray for the best.

The next few days are going to be a little hard.

PS

I almost forgot. My genetic test results came back NEGATIVE for BOTH gene mutations that signigicantly increase a woman's chances for breast cancer. This is good because IF I do have breast cancer not having the mutations means that I won't have to consider a double mastectomy as my best or even only treatment option. If the lump is small enough--and Dr. C thinks it is--I can get by with only a lumpectomy followed by radiation and/or chemo. That's the treatment option I prefer if I have to have treatment. But I'm steadfastly praying that I won't.

Announcement

Hello blogging friends! This is going to be a very personal post. I hesitated to write it. Once I'd said what I want to say I was worried about getting nasty comments from any of my ideological opponents, most notably Jane. Plus, what I have to say isn't the most pleasant thing to talk about, but I decided that my loyal blogging friends deserve to know what's going with li'l ol' me. So here goes.

As of yesterday, Tuesday May 11, I'm 99% sure I have breast cancer. On Monday I was 100% sure I have the disease, but during my visit to my surgeon, Dr. C, on Tuesday I was shown my actual pathology report which was some what inconclusive. The report doesn't say my biopsy was positive for breast cancer; instead it says there was "extensive" dead cell proliferation "consistent with necrotic carcinoma" (necrotic means dead). Sounds like cancer, doesn't it? But the path report also says, twice, that "[n]o viable tumor was identified". So I'm a bit confused, though my surgeon is proceeding on the opinion that I do, in fact, have breat cancer. I understand and accept that.

Tomorrow I have to go for genetic testing. This was suggested to me by a nurse at my local cancer resource center. Dr. C concurred on getting the test. He said I need to know if I have a certain cancer-causing gene because that could have a bearing on the best way to treat my disease. But there won't be any treatment of any kind until after I see my oncologist on Friday. After that the next step is to have another biopsy, most likely a surgical one. If it comes back conclusively positive for breast cancer then I will have some serious decisions to make. And that's all there is medically, right now.

You might be wondering how I'm doing emotionally, and the answer is, fine. Finding the lump in my breast back in March and then finding out it's most likely cancer threw me for a loop. I'm doing ok, though. My outlook is totally positive. I'm praying hard and there are many other people praying for me, too. Despite the prayers, I get scared or depressed occassionally. Mostly, though, I'm in good spirits. I decided that it just wouldn't do any good to be bitter and wallow in self-pity. Having hope and faith and a merry heart is the way to go. And that's what I'm doing. No matter what happens I choose to believe that I will be alright. I have too many leftists to fight to let a little cancer slow me down!

Keep me in your thoughts and prayers!

Your blogging buddy,

Seane-Anna

It's My Birthday!

Today's my birthday! Woohoo!

Today was actually a good day even though I spent it at work. I took my b-day vacation last Friday so I could give myself a three day weekend. THAT was NICE! I slept late, went to my town's biggest flea market, took myself out to dinner, and spent quality time with my Mom watching movies. An all around WONDERFUL birthday weekend!

Today is my birthday. I've lived another year, and that's the greatest gift of all.

Today is my birthday, and I am BLESSED!

Blah

Hey everyone. I know it's been a long time since my last post. I don't know what's going on with me but I've just been having the blogging blahs lately. It's not like there hasn't been anything to post about. The same old libtard idiocy is still out there, but I think that's part of the problem. It's the same old libtard idiocy. Sometimes it feels like I can write about that stuff only so much before it becomes mind numbing. I mean, when is the idiocy going to stop? Sometimes it seems like never.

I look out across this country that I love. I see the Tea Parties getting stronger. I see Republicans winning elections they weren't expected to. I see polls saying twice as many Americans identify themselves as conservative rather than liberal. I see other polls showing the majority of Americans describe themselves as pro-life. I see all that yet I'm not giddy like, say, Sean Hannity is about the resurgence of "conservatism".

Yes, I was thrilled about Scott Brown's victory in Massachusetts a few weeks ago. A Republican winning Teddy Kennedy's old seat was almost miraculous. My enthusiasm for Brown has cooled, though, since learning he's not a true social conservative. And I've been wondering if that's going to be the case with all the other Republican candidates this year. Will they be people committed only to conservative economics but not to conservative values? Fiscal responsibility is very important, but if that becomes all that conservatism is about, if conservatism is gutted of its soul, then I can't get enthusiastic about that.

It remains to be seen what kind of "conservatism" will emerge from the current anger at and disgust with Washington. If what emerges is a movement that is as contemptuous of traditional values and the people who hold them as social liberalism is then it'll be a movement I can't support. I'll be forced to find a new ideological home. I won't be a conservative anymore.

No wonder I have the blahs.

Record Snowfall

My humble neck of the woods outdid itself yesterday. Instead of 5 inches of snow, which would've been a LOT itself, we broke the previous record set 30 years ago and got a FOOT AND A HALF of the white stuff! That's just frickin' AMAZING!!!!

I went outside this morning and took some pictures on my street. When I stepped in the snow it almost came up to the top of my boots. It was almost scary. The pics, though, are great. I never knew how pretty snow covered trees could be. Unfortunately, the snow is starting to melt. The stuff on the trees is the first casualty of warming temperatures, but the ground cover is so thick it'll probably be here until Valentine's Day, if not later.

This has been quite an experience. Beautiful snow, a four day weekend, great pics. And I owe it all to global warming. Who woulda thunk it!