To The GOP Presidential Hopefuls

Dear Republican presidential candidates & current Republican elected officials,

In light of recent events, I am writing to all of you today, as one who considers herself to be a moderate Republican with beliefs leaning toward those of the Republican Liberty Caucus, out of concern for the direction it would appear the vast majority of the Republican Party candidates are headed—a direction which causes me even greater concern for the United States of America as a whole.

It seems, for all intent & purposes that the Republican Party has morphed into a radical extremist fear & hate mongering party that no longer represents the views of moderate Republicans or even those of many average Americans at all, for that matter. I find myself rapidly becoming increasingly disgusted & disenfranchised by all the divisive hate speech, pledges, & rhetoric being tossed around. Maybe it’s simply that these members of the Republican party cannot hear the voice of the oft-silent moderate over their own boisterous bellowing & preaching or the frantic scribbling sounds of their pens busily signing the pledges of special interest & lobbyist groups, but it certainly appears that they have completely turned their backs on & lost touch with the more moderate-minded & lifelong backers of their party. In doing so, these extremist Republicans are not only committing political suicide for themselves, they are virtually ensuring another four years of Barack Hussein Obama which, in my opinion, is the equivalent of signing the death warrant for the America that most of us grew up in, take pride in, pledged allegiance to, & love. I would sincerely hope that is not what the Grand Old Party honestly wants & that they will begin hearing the voices of the concerned moderate Republican.

I implore each & every one of you not to continue to delude yourselves with the notion that, simply because I & most other moderate Republicans or Independent voters sincerely want Obama out of office for the good of this nation, we will vote for whomever the GOP ultimately endorses, regardless of any extremist actions of said candidate. There are a good many moderate Republicans or Independents who will not or cannot, in good conscience, vote for whomever the Republican Party chooses to run against Barack Obama in 2012 just to ensure that Obama does not get reelected. However, I don’t believe those individuals would vote for Obama, either. Essentially, considering the copious amounts of venomous hate speech, pledges based on personal religious beliefs, & divisive rhetoric the current GOP field of presidential hopefuls have been rabidly spewing, they are virtually revoking the right to vote at all from any conscientious moderate Republican or Independent who just cannot swallow enough antacid tablets in order to stomach casting a vote for one of these hateful, theocratic, far-right conservative Republicans who may run against Barack Obama.

I don’t think there are many American citizens who would wish to be ruled under Sharia Law here in the United States of America but, oddly enough, upon reading the full text of one particular pledge—“The Marriage Vow” by The Family Leader church group—after having watched the HBO documentary “Love Crimes of Kabul”, I found “The Marriage Vow” pledge to be frighteningly similar in many ways to the very Sharia Law it rallies against. Shame on those who have signed or plan on signing this document!

I believe I speak for most moderate Republican or Independent voters when I ask that the GOP please present us with a balanced candidate that we can truly believe in & cast our vote for with a clear conscience. One that has not already signed a theocratic pledge filled with racism, homophobia, & anti-female sentiment thinly veiled under the guise of ‘family values’. Present us with a candidate that tells us exactly how he or she intends to work with American citizens to fix the dismal economy, bring good jobs back to the United States, defend our borders, & stop illegal immigrants from leeching off of the American taxpayer’s dollars for education or welfare programs. Show us the candidate that will assist us in reforming the aforementioned welfare programs so that the average hard-working American taxpayer isn’t forced to stand in line at the grocery store behind people in designer clothes buying expensive name-brand foods with food stamps/bridge cards only to see them walk out & load those groceries into a luxury SUV said hard-working American taxpayer could ill-afford. Present us with the candidate that will ensure fair & equitable international trade while rekindling reasonable relationships with the decent allies we’ve unfortunately lost while being forced to endure the Obama administration. Give us a viable Republican candidate that isn’t patronizing lobbyists of various organizations by signing or saying things that promise us only what liberties they intend to revoke from the American citizens once they’re elected & start telling us what they’re going to do to defend our Constitutional freedoms—and that means liberty, the pursuit of happiness, & justice for all American citizens.

I praise former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman for his courage in repeatedly ‘pledging’ to his audiences to sign no pledges & for his clear statement regarding said pledges: “I don’t sign pledges–other than the Pledge of Allegiance & a pledge to my wife.”

I’ll be blunt here. Just because I happen to like steak in general doesn’t mean that you can just throw any rotting, toxic, ill-cooked cut of beef on my plate (the random GOP candidate) & expect me to eat it only because you know I definitely despise the only other entrée choice of liver & onions (Obama). I’ll more than likely starve first, as will the rest of America should Obama be reelected. The way many members of the Republican Party have been behaving lately, it looks like I may become a very skinny woman.

Sincerely,

Cari L. Pedstelak

Note: The following is a list of some of the pledges I’ve found that GOP candidates and/or current GOP officials have signed. Speaking for myself, I take strong issue with the first two, although I honestly believe that the only pledge any candidate or politician should ever make is to We, the People of the United States of America–their potential employers (lest you have forgotten that the taxpayer is, indeed, your employer as this is a government of the people, by the people, & for the people–not of the politicians, by the politicians, or for the politicians).

• “The Marriage Vow” pledge
• The Susan B. Anthony List’s 2012 Pro-life Presidential Leadership Pledge
• Americans for Tax Reform’s “Taxpayer Protection Pledge”
• Freedom Works’ “Cut, Cap, & Balance” pledge

An Open Letter to U.S. House, U.S. Senate, & President Obama

Dear U.S. House of Representatives, U.S. Senate, & President Obama,

Since approximately 5 months after Mr. Obama was inaugurated as President of the United States, our family has barely had enough money to scrape by & the situation continues to remain in a downward spiral. As Michigan residents, we feel this has much to do with our then-Governor, Jennifer Granholm, paying more attention to assisting Mr. Obama with his ‘transition team’ than in performing the duties associated with the job she held at that time, such as paying attention to the plight of Michigan jobs & businesses or to the dismal train wreck she was making of & preparing to leave our beautiful Great Lakes State in. Mr. Obama, it would appear, encouraged this deplorably neglectful behavior on the part of Ms. Granholm by enticing her with such things as the potential of a nomination as a Supreme Court Justice or United States Attorney General in his administration. We’ve attempted to maintain a sense of humor regarding this travesty by referring to it as “The Jenny ‘n Barry Show”.

Due to the numerous financial setbacks we’ve suffered, this year our family has found that we simply cannot arrive at a budget agreement we all feel is fair to all parties involved. In fact, we’re still struggling to pay off the only credit card we have, which we were forced to use to pay what you claimed we owed on taxes. Oddly enough, the issuer of that credit card, which was always intended to be used strictly for emergencies, has refused to raise our debt limit/ceiling.

Until such time as we are able to arrive at a unified decision that fits all of our various needs & any special interests, we find ourselves forced to shut down our checkbooks & will no longer be able to pay our taxes (aka your paychecks/’entitlements’–or had you forgotten that you work for us, we the people of the United States of America?).

We’re certain that, since you’ve now found yourselves in a similar position, you’ll be understanding of our predicament & will patiently await our decision regarding our family’s economic policies. As we’re sure you’re well aware, these are indeed difficult times for everyone during which we all must make sacrifices for the greater good. We’re also certain that you will all agree that family must come first–above all else.

We do wish to extend our sincerest gratitude to each & every one of you for setting such a fine example for us to follow regarding how to work things out like mature adults. We now know that it’s perfectly acceptable to simply storm out of the room without even hearing what our other family members have to say, which is such a relief! It saves us so much strain of actually having to think of ways in which we can compromise & meet one another halfway! We’ve also learned that, contrary to what we’d been taught throughout our lives, name-calling is permissible as is caving in to the demands of those family member(s) who happen to be the most raucous, regardless of whether doing so is in the best interests of all parties concerned/affected. We also are now aware that, once we’ve stomped away from negotiations to do things we find more interesting & less stressful (such as planning lavish birthday celebrations), we can simply veto or immediately vote down anything put forth by those family members that did bother to remain in the room continuing to try to work things out & we barely even have to give their proposal a second glance before doing so. What a weight off our already heavily-burdened shoulders! Thank you again, ladies & gentlemen, for your fine examples of true leadership!

Sincerest gratitude for your patience & understanding,

Cari L. Pedstelak & Family

Proud To Be An American Woman

Warning: The following blog will offend the sensibilities of individuals who seem to be clueless when it comes to being a patriotic American citizen, who believe it’s shameful to take pride in America, who can’t be bothered to respect & support our troops, or those who continually apologize for even being American. Basically, at some point in this entry, I will probably manage to offend just about everyone on the planet & I could really care less at the moment. Make no mistake. This particular blog entry is not intended to be nice, pretty, or even remotely politically correct. I am an angry American woman right now & I’ve had it up to my eyeballs with even trying to remain somewhat polite.

First of all—I love the U.S.A. It’s the ever so devious & divisive politicians I don’t trust. That being said, how dare anyone attempt to make me or any other person who still takes pride in this nation feel ashamed for being an American? Let’s get two things straight right here & now. I will never be ashamed of being American & I will never turn my back on supporting our troops!

While my blogs are generally my personal opinion on various events or topics, I do make every effort to research the facts on my chosen subject matter prior to firing off those opinions. While searching various forms of media for a heartfelt Memorial Day tribute blog of gratitude honoring our nation’s fallen heroes, I found so much blatant disrespect, not only for our troops, but for the U.S.A. as a whole that I was literally sick to my stomach with a roiling mixture of rage, sadness, & frustration. I’m utterly disgusted by some of the things I’ve read or seen over the past few weeks, let alone just this past Memorial Day weekend.

Those of you who are so ashamed to be Americans, bash on U.S. soldiers in commentary, or apologize to others for being American should find another country to live in! Heck! From what I’ve seen some sorry excuses for human beings say or write, I’m quite certain Al-Qaeda or the Taliban would be overjoyed to recruit them! If you can’t even be bothered to stand behind our troops & support them, I suggest you please do all of us who do respect, appreciate, & care for those soldiers a favor & stand in front of them—that way you can take that random spray of insurgents’ bullets or that IED blast before they do.

What gives you the right to prance all over a the comments page of a beautifully patriotic YouTube video tribute to our soldiers set to the music of Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the U.S.A.” spewing filth about how horrible it is to take pride in America & blessing Agent Orange for its negative health impact on our veterans? Oh damn it! That’s right! Those very same soldiers who you were virtually spitting on gave you that right by ensuring you still have freedom of speech! Then again, it’s pretty easy to hide behind your computer screen & fling such flagrant insults isn’t it, Keyboard Rambo? My bet is that you wouldn’t have the guts to say that kind of rubbish to a soldier’s face. If you did, my bet is also on that soldier to display more honor & dignity than you could ever hope to possess by actually refraining from twisting your worthless head off like a flimsy bottle cap.

Then we have the example of one of my fellow Michiganders, whose blog I ordinarily happen to find interesting, blogging & tweeting away on Memorial Day that war is a racket & that military actions are all about money. Fine. If that’s what you choose to believe, you’re entitled. I can even acknowledge that there were some truths to some of the points made in that article. However, Memorial Day was most certainly not the day to blog such rhetoric. Couple the incredibly distasteful timing with the fact that this ordinarily informative person hadn’t even bothered to post a single tweet or blog of gratitude about the people who died protecting their right to behave in such a self-centered manner & you’ve got a prime example of the shameful lack of patriotism I’ve been seeing everywhere I turn lately.

You wanna talk fed up? I’m fed up with every single apologetic sniveling whiner who is ashamed to stand proud as a United States citizen simply because of the actions or inactions of the current administration’s leadership, who they probably voted for in the first place. These people disgust me by acting ashamed to be Americans simply because the aforementioned current leadership is incompetent, inept, & seems to have an oddly suspicious deep-seated desire for America to become IslAmerica. The continuing slide down the slippery slope toward complete dhimmitude  exhibited by some in this country is appalling. There is absolutely no shame in being American, folks! Those in our current administration are elected & appointed officials, many of whom quite likely lied, cheated, or bought their way into office & have completely lost touch with the wants & needs of the American people—if they ever were in touch at all. They are not America, itself. We the People are! The sooner everyone gets that through their heads, the better off we’ll all be.

Another topic that found its way into my crosshairs while I was researching ways of honoring our nation’s heroes was a news story that begs a serious question. Exactly why are our generals scurrying to apologize for the accidental deaths of nine civilians during a NATO air strike on a house/compound in Afghanistan where a group of insurgents, who had already killed one U.S. Marine, had taken refuge & from which they were still fighting? Excuse me? Let’s be real, here, folks. Were the other troops who were under attack along with that Marine supposed to simply stroll up, politely knock on the front door & ask for the insurgents/terrorists to please come back outside to play nicely by the rule book? I don’t think so. Call me a horrible person if it makes you feel superior, but I don’t give a damn about those nine civilians. If they gave a damn about themselves, they should have defended their own home & not allowed the insurgents to take refuge there in the first place! Any civilian that allows terrorist insurgents to take refuge in their home is no longer a civilian, in my opinion. They have, essentially, transformed themselves into criminals by harboring fugitives & have made themselves accessories after the fact. Both of these are, indeed, criminal acts punishable to the fullest extent of the law. Well, this time the ‘law’ just so happened to come in the form of a NATO air strike. Tough. How’s that for political correctness? I wonder General Petraeus, did you just as quickly rush to the side of the grieving family of that fallen U.S. Marine?

For those of you who I’m sure now feel the intense need to pontificate & snivel about things such as the Rules of Engagement or the Geneva Convention, you are in dire need of a serious wake-up call, for you are the ones responsible for the deaths of so many American soldiers deployed to the Afghan & Iraqi theatres. Their blood is on your hands. Get a clue. These insurgents/terrorists do not adhere to these ‘rules’ in any way, shape, or form. As a matter of fact, they find them laughable &, knowing full well that coalition forces are attempting to abide by these rules, strategically manipulate them as tactics to use against U.S. & Allied troops in order to gain both the upper hand in battle & to garner global media sympathies. Those of you insisting on such niceties are nothing more than armchair generals living in a utopian dream world while placing our coalition forces in a clear & present danger. You are essentially tying the hands, under threat of prosecution, of those who are actually out there facing this enemy, are highly trained to do their jobs, do them well, & do them conscientiously. Does strict adherence to these rules make our troops more civilized or ‘better’ than the enemy they face? No. For the most part, it makes them injured or dead. Period.

I certainly didn’t see any terrorist organizations rushing to apologize for the 3,000+ civilians & public servants they killed on September 11, 2001. As a matter of fact, I distinctly recall seeing a whole lot of people in the Middle East dancing in the streets, gleefully waving their flags, cheering, & tossing candy in the streets parade-style in celebration of the events of that day. Yet, when Americans gathered together & celebrated the news of Usama bin Laden’s demise, we were chastised from just about every direction—including from within. Those that chastised America’s celebratory behavior that night seem to have forgotten or are simply oblivious to the fact that bin Laden’s terrorist activities were not reserved solely for the United States, but were global. The number of casualties throughout various parts of the world that can be attributed to that monstrous Al-Qaeda snake is estimated to be somewhere in the neighborhood of 16,000+, including at least 3,000 Muslim people who he claimed to be the guardian of.

Therefore, again, I must ask—why in the world is the United States scrambling to apologize for the accidental death of nine Afghan civilians who were harboring terrorist insurgents in their home? Why are there so many that feel Usama bin Laden should have been more respectfully laid to rest & are behaving apologetically about that, as well? And please, I beg of you, don’t dare even fathom regurgitating that lovely new catchphrase “because that’s not who we are” to me because I’m beyond done hearing that inane line! However, if that’s truly the only answer you can come up with, then answer me this. Who, exactly, are we then? Is America simply the global scapegoat doormat to be trampled on? Is America here to be begged for military assistance only to be backstabbed later by those very same people that beseeched us to help them in the first place? Or is it America’s job to plunge itself even deeper in debt by pledging financial assistance anytime another country needs a handout to bolster their economy while many of our own citizens suffer in financial hardship every day?

Obviously, I’m quite ashamed at & outraged by the behavior of some Americans. That does not, however, mean I am or ever will be ashamed of the United States of America. Do I like war? Of course not! Does anyone really like war? I highly doubt it. However, I’m also intelligent enough to grasp that approximately 1,600 year old concept put forth by Roman strategist, author, & veterinarian, Publius Flavius Vegetius Renatus—“Let him who desires peace prepare for war.” Those who feel the call of duty within their hearts & choose to serve in our military also clearly understand this concept; otherwise they wouldn’t train so rigorously or sacrifice so much of their lives & the everyday things we take for granted in order to be ready when our nation calls upon them. They are literally willing to lay down their lives for this country. Therefore, I will always support, honor, & respect those courageous men & women that fight for our nation.

"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, & handed on for them to do the same." -- Ronald Reagan

{Addendum by Cari on July 22, 2011: Not long after I’d written this article, I finished the book “Lone Survivor” by Marcus Luttrell which is a compelling, honest, & heartwrenching account of the reality of a Navy Seal mission in Afghanistan. Hardly a day has gone by since that I haven’t reflected upon Mr. Luttrell’s words which now compel me to write this addendum. While I do not apologize for my words entirely as they were my truth & my feelings at the time they were written, I will say this: I’ve been humbled into the realization that there truly are good & decent Afghan people. I know now that terrorist organizations attempt to intimidate or threaten these otherwise decent & relatively peaceful Afghan villagers into following their orders on pain of death & I now give respect as well as appreciation to those particular Afghan citizens that do have the courage & strength of their convictions to stand up & reject these terrorist threats. It is for those villagers that I learned about in Luttrell’s book that I humbly write this addendum.}

How Not To Earn My Respect

Allergies, Hillary? Really?

In an article published by the Associated Press on May 5, 2011 regarding her posture & expression in a photo taken by a White House photographer during Sunday’s raid on Usama bin Laden’s compound, U.S. Secretary of State, Hillary Rodham Clinton,  was asked exactly what she was seeing in that moment.

That’s a reasonable question considering the amount of purely natural curiosity that’s been generated & further fueled by all the secrecy & changing stories in the aftermath of this mission, right? Let’s face it, folks. I really think that most of us, if we chose to be truly honest with ourselves rather than fretting over being ‘politically correct’, would have liked to have been the proverbial fly on the wall watching the mission that took down the monster. I also feel that, were we to have been privileged enough to have been watching such an event of epic proportions unfolding in real time, it’s fair to make the assumption that it would have been one of the more intense moments of our lives. After all, this wasn’t a movie, people. No reviews, no spoilers, no previews & trailers to give those watching any idea of the outcome. This was real life & death drama playing out before their very eyes. They were watching an elite group of our soldiers heroically putting their lives on the line in an attempt to give us a greater sense of security. Mind you, those soldiers & our other amazing troops would humbly say it’s what they do every day. The difference is that most people, not even the President, don’t actually see these brave actions as they’re taking place every day & therefore probably have no idea of the intensity of the moment.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve certainly gotten wrapped up in the intensity of something I was experiencing, watching, or hearing that, in the grand scheme of things, was probably nowhere near the caliber of what the individuals in that room were watching & hearing in those moments. I’m certain that I’ve had an expression on my face & posture quite similar to Ms. Clinton’s in this picture. I’m human. So is she. So is everyone else who was in that room.

Is there something wrong with being human, Ms. Clinton? If there is, then we most certainly have far greater underlying problems in this country & the world than any of us could even begin to comprehend. Since you stated earlier in the very same interview that “Those were 38 of the most intense minutes,” I’m going to make the leap & assume, then, that your answer would be that there isn’t anything wrong with being human.  That being said, what was the point of your making the following statement?

“I am somewhat sheepishly concerned that it was my preventing one of my early spring allergic coughs,” she said. “So, it may have no great meaning whatsoever.”

Preventing an allergic cough? Ms. Clinton, really. What do you take us for? Do you have no more respect for the public than to lie about something as simple as being human at an extremely intense moment? It would’ve been far more becoming of you, not only as an appointed official who represents this nation, but as a fellow human being to simply be straight forward when asked. Admitting that it was an intense situation & that you were, like many of the rest of us would’ve been, probably holding your breath would have earned you far more respect in my opinion than that frivolous allergy comment. The truth would have, perish the thought, humanized you. Instead, you chose to pretend you’re some kind of cast-iron emotionless superior entity that exists above mere human beings & that your expression was nothing more than an inconvenience of biology. Why the facade? Admitting to being human is not a sign of weakness, Ms. Clinton. It is a sign of strength. A strength you sadly feel the need to hide for some unknown reason or, worse yet, a strength no longer possessed by those in positions of so-called leadership within an administration that seems incapable of honesty.