Ms. Shoemaker; I fear you have allowed your joy over Obama's sweeping mandate, a walloping 52% of the popular vote, to skew your viewpoint.

You label the pro-life pastors, and presumably laypersons, who vote single issue on this point "hypocrtits". A hundred and fifty years ago, this country had a strong anti-slavery movement calling itself "abolishionist". They too would often vote based on that single issue, disregarding any candidates' positions on any other topic. Were they "hypocritical", or were they dedicated?

While it is not my cup of tea, I recognize that some people worship a sterner God than mine, and find it in myself to disagree with respect for their beliefs. You, coincidentally no doubt, choose to admire only clergymen who happen to vote Democrat.

You then take after Congressman Conaway, implying his statements on unions are at odds with his professed love of Jesus. I have a couple of red-letter editions of the New Testament, a close study of which fails to reveal Jesus' thoughts on labor unions.

The excesses of the auto CEOs have already come home to roost. Any chance the "bailout" had was sunk when they brought their over-sized tin cups to Washington aboard luxurious corporate jets. Symbolically appropriate, but the truth is, the Big Three could sell all the jets and all of upper management could work dollar-year contracts, but in the context of the sums the companies are losing, that would be a drop in the bucket.

The average auto rolling off a GM line has built in "legacy" labor costs of over $4,000 that Honda and Nissan vehicles do not incur. It is basic truth that UAW has bid the cost of its members' labor beyond that which anything less than a rosy market can support, and those chickens, or perhaps vultures, are coming home to roost. I am not talking the difference between honest benefits and sweatshops. I heard a union rep bemoaning the fact that if the companies go bankrupt, the federal agency which picks up defaulted pensions "only" covers a max of $45,000 a year. $45K and full health would be a dream for most workers, but this guy thinks it insufficient for retired auto workers.

I don't believe these are the "poor" Jesus instructed us to assist. Leave room in your belief system that Conaway can critique the poor auto worker without betraying his love of Jesus.

Your third from last paragraph compels a separate response. I never met this heiress, Ros Kress Haley, couldn't hazard a guess at her stance on the items you freely attribute to her. Perhaps you have personal knowledge unavailable to us mere mortals; perhaps you are freely and unfairly projecting a "straw man" hypothesis on someone safely dead and unable to defend herself.

It is in the last sentence of that paragraph that you reveal yourself and set off my alarm bells. "Government provides these benfits by assessing taxes, OWNING AND CONTROLLING THE RESOURCES, and providing necessities for the public." A government which owned and controlled the resources and doled out the "necessities" of the public was tried, at horrific cost, for 70 years before collapsing of its own weight under Gorbachev.

I write in the hope your beliefs are capable of amendment. For instance, you seem to have withdrawn your vociferous objections to the appointment of Vona McKerley as elections administrator.

Nice article!Questioning the patriotism of one, and the faith of servants of God! This is how Obama will bring about his so-called "unity"? What is called "reproductive freedom " is, in a word, abortion. For conservatives, this is a foundational issue, one of which other issues stand or fall. Traditional marriage is another. Dems know all about the censorship of free speech. The "fairness doctrine " is a prime example. The author is very good at taking single examples and lumping them into an entire group of people. The president elect has been accused? How about all the accusations of the one in office NOW? Oh, don't blame your lack of faith on living in West Texas...this is a great place to live! The exit door is always open!

barkeep...

When the local spokesdude/dudette of EITHER party puts pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard), it's time to activate the horsepoop filter. Zealots of either stripe tend to bend, fold, staple, and mutilate the truth overmuch.

And to all... have a great Thanksgiving, and remember to truly give thanks.

Since when are all Republican's Conservative Christians and all Democrats secular-progressive? Those are your characterizations, not mine.

It is time for those of us who love Jesus Christ and follow the great commandment: Love God and love others as you love yourself - to stop being silent about our faith.

Our President-elect received votes from faithful Christians. I know several of them personally - those faithful Christians who happen to be Democrats and give more than 10% of their income to charities and the church.

I also know several Christians who happen to be Republicans who have had an abortion.

None of us are perfect - that's why we are NOT GOD! So, I hope all of us will stop trying to claim special status or privilege based upon our faith. For as surely as we claim such, we have indeed denied our faith.

"I love the Dallas Mavericks but wish Cuban had less money and Water Valley more."

Seriously?

This mindset is exactly what is going to hurt our nation. I am not a big Mark Cuban fan, for personal reasons. But to wish he had less money?

That's right. Spread the wealth. No reward for working hard.

I am not opposed to schools getting the funding they need. Mrs. Shoemaker, how about we take half of what *you* make and give it away. Maybe you need to have less money.

I'm going to go puke now.

The Republicans love to throw that "socialist" word around and around. Have they even looked at the economic team that President-elect Obama has assembled? Evidently not, but Wall street sure did, with that elated bounce on Friday after the new Secretary of the Treasury Secretary was announced. Go figure, awfully capitalistic behavior for a "socialist", isn't it?

Recent political studies have found that the new Evangelical political agenda encompasses both conservative and liberal views, it cannot be categorized on the Right or the Left. A further examination of the global vision of Evangelicals, shows that 30 to 40 percent of Evangelicals rated the war in Iraq as the most important political issue, largely because missionaries have been injured and killed as a result of instability in the country.
Additionally, Evangelicals were concerned about the use of torture at Guantanamo Bay and incidents at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, resulting in many did stop supporting the Bush administration. The change in their political outlook may be a reflection of the attitudes of the younger generation of Christians. A little over five years ago, 87 percent of young Evangelicals supported the Bush administration, while today that number has dropped to 45 percent, the studies show, indicating “younger Evangelicals are politically different from their elders.” Unlike their elders, younger Evangelicals are more concerned with social problems like the environment, poverty, sex trafficking and human rights, showing that the younger generation inhabits a world defined by internet communication, which exposes them to international problems. Sept. 11, 2001 and the war in Iraq have led younger Evangelicals to “understand that terrorism has a human cost.” Whereas the older generation grew up with the “hot rhetoric” of the Cold War, the younger generation has “seen what hatred and combat creates.

Source: A roundtable discussion, entitled “Evangelicals and the 2008 Primaries,” held in East Pyne on Feb 8,2008 before an audience of community members and graduate students from the Princeton Theological Seminary. Sponsored by the Center for the Study of Religion.

Sorry megawatt - I ain't no ma'am.

We are in a culture/spiritual war that is irreconcilable. The issues of abortion (euphemisitically called "reproductive rights" by the leftists) and accepting homosexuality as normal are non-negotiable, apparently from either side.
This country is as divided as it was in the 1960's and almost as it was in the 1860's.
It's almost as though we are two countries within the same border.

Well surprising to some, everything is not black or white in politics for everyone.

I did not vote for JM (you have to be oblivious to the real world if you think the republicans are the answer to problems they haven't been able to solve in the past 8 years) and I didn't vote for BO (I thought Hillary was the more experienced candidate and I don't think a no name inexperienced senator with a Hollywood supported/media injected campaign is gonna work).

According to most I can't be labeled a Democrat or Republican because I take stances on different issues that cross party lines. Egads!

I don't support a ban on abortions because I don't want to have to pay the social welfare costs of an unwanted or accident baby. See Nebraska Safe Haven snafu.

I don't support labor unions or feel the need to bail out the auto industry. You can't justify screwing in a nut at $50/hour because someone will do it for $7/hour (this is an exaggeration).

I don't believe religion has any effect on moral values, thus has no room in the realm of politics. My morals, ethics, and just overall common courtesy far exceed that of most religious people I know. I went to several churches when I was young, and all I saw was people advancing themselves socially and gossiping about each other.

I think taxes should remain low and so should social welfare. I have had a job since I was 14 thanks to the Summer Jobs for Youth program. I came from a poor family and now make a good living that I had to work very hard to achieve. I know it is hard for some to understand, but I don't feel an obligation to help someone out that has 3 or 4 kids (I have none) and works at a minimum wage job like McDonalds or Walmart. I chose not to have children, borrowed money for school, worked almost full time, and eked out a living.

I will end my ranting here. My point being is everyone I hear is either Democrat or Republican. The country is split between the two almost 50/50. Ya'lls bickering is getting much nastier and all the while this country is eroding from the inside out. Since we are stuck with this two party system some of you may want to consider compromise. Remember some issues can be gray.

You and your one issue mind set.....My post was transparent to your one tracked mind.

At least you helped back up my point.

Why wouldn't this person be proud of his/her stance on abortion? I guess you care more about the integrity of an unborn fetus than the life of an unwanted child. I would rather know that children who would be born to abusive parents or parents who would dump them off somewhere would never have existed to see such misery. If one doesn't want children or would treat them badly, don't bring them into this world. And unfortunately, some of these women who don't want children do still get pregnant. But it is not the child’s fault... why should the child be subjected to a life of misery? Because of your self righteous morals?? You would rather sacrifice the suffering of unwanted children just to hold on to your personal sense of morality?

I personally don't agree with abortion, but then again, I would never allow my self to get pregnant. But others do. So, what right do I have to press my personal ethics on someone else? Duh!

ModerateWestTexan has a point, not every issue is black or white. And determining the future of a child is one of those issues.

And yes, I thank MY lucky stars that I was not an unwanted child, but if I were, I'd rather not be born to experience what some unwanted children have to.

If some of those who are against women having a choice, whether they want to terminate a pregnancy or not, would put just as much energy into finding ways that avoid unwanted teen pregnancies in the first place, our world would be better off. Texas is ranked number two in the number of teen pregnancies and should not be proud of that fact considering it's emphasis on abstinence-only education programs. With the encouragement of the Bush administration, Congress doles out $113 million a year to Community-Based Abstinence Education, a consortium of hundreds of nonprofit groups and other local organizations to spread the gospel of abstinence. Another $50 million in federal money is funneled through the states in Title V abstinence programs. But a survey conducted by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unwanted Pregnancy concluded last year that these programs don't work. Abstinence-only programs fail to affect teen sexual behavior in any way. The study concluded that no evidence exists that abstinence programs delay the initiation of sex, hasten the return of abstinence or reduce the number of sexual partners among teens. Abstinence should play a significant role in any public sex education curriculum. As advocates note, it is the only sure way to avoid pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. But young people also must be armed with the information they need to make educated choices and reduce the odds of pregnancy if they do engage in sex. Using a condom is highly effective not only in preventing pregnancy but also the transmission of a variety of diseases. We can ask our children to wait before engaging in sex. But, with clear evidence that they often ignore that advice, we also must give them the information and the means to avoid pregnancy. Schools need to adopt a comprehensive approach to sex education to inform teens of options.

Thanks, Puplesage. I couldn't have said it better and have tried to argue that same point many-a-times before.

ModerateWestTexan
I can't understand the cynicism that opposes abortion bans based on taxes going up. The murder of the unborn is OK if it save a few buck?
Well how bout we just let the aged die instead of helping them "linger" in the nursing homes--wasting tax dollars.
And the retarded? Well Hitler had a dollar saving plan for them too.

meg- get a real life. you are becoming boring.

I agree with your post. I guess I didn't word what I meant very well. Shades of grey has a better take on abortion than I. Anyways I did not post here to argue the topics I put out there. I am more pointing out that people aren't just dems or reps. Ohh and btw I said LOW social welfare not NO social welfare.

i can't recall you contributing anythig, but the same old lies.

You are a clever wordsmith but as typical of the GOP spin machine you demostrate "sins of omission". First let us examine the popular vote. You state Obama only got 52% of the vote yet you neglected to mention McCain only got 46% of the vote. So, yes Obama got a mandate. Secondly when you speak of the auto industry you fail to mention that AIG, Citigroup, Bear Sterns and other fat cats had absolutely no plan, transparancy or accountability in regards to getting their loans. It is obvious you deplore labor unions which of course is a sticking point in your craw. Being intellectually honest means you present both side of the argument. Conservatism in its present form was thoroughly rejected by the electorate. Case in point Democrats got the hispanic vote, the younger vote, the moderate vote, the independant vote while the GOP got the appalachia vote- for the GOP to survive it must divest itself of Neocons, religious right crazies and conservative radio hatemongers which have become your base. True conservatives like Ron Paul, George Will, Peggy Noone, Peter Brooks are scorned by your party. I want the GOP to survive but NOT in its present toxic hybrid form.

That was a great post. Where have you been?

Thank you, Linda! Good things are happening!