I was thinking about my grandmother today. We called her Nannie. This isn't some sentimental journey down memory lane with tears welling up or a quivering jaw. It's more like a furrowed brow and a set jaw. I missed her today because we need her.
Nannie was the ultimate politician, using her wit and personality to charm those around her. "I love your grandmother," folks would say, "she is so caring and nice." I would nervously nod with forced smile. You see the real Nannie, the family Nannie, was cunning, tough and cutthroat.
One time, my younger brothers, Nick and Jared, were spending the day with Nannie. Jared, younger than Nick, came in from outside, crying.
"What's wrong?" Nannie asked.
"Nick hit me with a stick." Jared replied through his 'I'm gonna get someone in trouble' tears.
Nannie got up from in front of the TV (I think one of her 'stories' was on) and walked out on the porch, Jared right behind her. Nick was standing still in the yard, knowing his world was over. Nannie starts looking around the back porch for something, still not saying anything. Finally she picks up a 2x4 about 3 feet long and hands it to Jared. Jared just looks at it then back at Nannie questioningly. Exasperated, Nannie says, "Well...go hit him with it!"
Another time she randomly calls up my cousin Rick, who lives on the opposite end of the state.
"Hey, Nannie, how are you."
"Oh fine, but I have a question for you Rick. Would you do something for me?"
"Sure Nannie, what is it."
"Would you be a pall bearer at my funeral."
"Oh, Nannie, I would be honored to do that."
"Well it's good to know that you'll come see me when I'm dead, 'cause you sure as he(double hockey sticks) don't come while I'm alive."
Click (no really, she hung up on him).
So I'm thinking today, instead of crying, let's hit these Democrats back (of course I mean at the ballot box. "Oh, no another extreme right wing Christian militia racist blog is talking about 'hitting'. They're sooooo mean spirited and threatening!" I think I said 'cutthroat' earlier too). Let's give them an earful of our dissatisfaction with their current disrespect for us and what we need as citizens. Not what they tell us we need but our actual needs.
I think those needs are pretty basic, completely spelled out in the Constitution. Life, Liberty, Pursuit of Property. Then defend our borders, get out of the way and watch us soar.
Of coarse according to people like Paul Krugman, at the NY Times, if Nannie were here she wouldn't be for long. Gotta get rid them old people because that's were we cut (watch out, I said cut) down that deficit, thanks to the Deathcare bill.
Lib quote of the day:
"Can you imagine if some of these reporters were working on a farm and you planted some seeds, and they came out the next day and they looked and — 'Nothing's happened. There's no crop. We're going to starve. Oh, no! It's a disaster!' It's been a week, folks. So, before we find out if people like health care reform, we should wait to see what happens when we actually put it into place. Just a thought."
-Barack Obama, back on the "hey, you guys need to get used to this dog food" tour.
YOU MEAN THIS 2700 PAGE LAW IS LIKE A SEED AND WILL GET BIGGER!!!!
By the way, the Homestead Act of 1862 (you know, the one that opened up a majority of this country to settlement and eventually statehood...pretty big deal) was a whopping 2 pages.
