DEATH

She knew it was coming yet she never complained. She knew what she would endure but she never told us what was coming. We watched my mother starve to death in a hospice bed because one of the tumors in her brain was affecting her inner ear. Not to mention the radiation gave her thrush and she had a yeast infection that swelled her throat and mouth and tongue that her her so badly she could swallow nothing, not even saliva. We watched her waste away to nothing and she never even talked about the pain or the agony...she wanted to know how we were, what we were doing. She wanted to be gone because, as she put it, we"all had lives of out own to live". Like we could abandon her at her time of suffering. Like we wouldn't give ANYTHING to keep her around....

I miss her as if I have lost an appendage...I have to learn to live without a part of me.
I feel like she will walk through the door at anytime...I wait for it. I wait for the lonely feeling to subside and the sadness to go away. My mother....I can't call anyone mom any more...andit's killing me.

I HATE Cancer

I say that like other people like it....it's just a leveler....no boundaries...it takes anyone it chooses. Young, old, any race, any ethnic background - even if you are a nice or bad person.
My mom doesn't deserve this.... she just doesn't.

Are we doomed?

Wow - it's been a few months since I posted anything. We have been involved with the potty while the US has been knee deep in the stuff that goes INTO the potty. A few months of difficulties with the media, with the Democrats and with Chicago politics....
A few months of worrying about gas, the stock market, socialism, Democracy, the Communist media etc....
Wow- what a few months can do. We are already trying to name a street after Obama in my city.....I think people are jumping the gun just a little (even if you like the guy)....it's just a little pre-mature....he hasn't even taken office yet (can't wait to see the coronation!).
I was forwarded this article and found it interesting and disturbing:

Is Our Democracy Doomed
****************************
I asked the question above because I believe it could be. It surely does appear that is the course we have taken..

First let me try, again, to clear something up. The United States is NOT, I repeat, the US is not… a Democracy! We are a “Representative Republic”. In a Democracy the entire citizenry votes on everything the government does. Everything! All legislation is passed by a majority vote of the citizens of a Democracy. In a democratic Representative Republic, we elect representatives who vote for us, at least that is what they are supposed to do… represent their constituency by voting the way their constituents would vote, if they were to cast individual votes, as in a Democracy. You can judge for yourselves if your Representative votes the way you’d like him, or her, to vote.

Surprised? A lot of US citizens are when they learn (quite often), for the first time, the US is not a Democracy.

However, I have begun to worry that our fate will be the same as that of world democracies through out history. Here is something Alexander Tyler said over a hundred years ago. He said:

"A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves money from the public treasure. From that moment on the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most money from the public treasury, with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy followed by a dictatorship. The average age of the world's great civilizations has been two hundred years. These nations have progressed through the following sequence: from bondage to spiritual faith, from spiritual faith to great courage, from courage to liberty, from liberty to abundance, from abundance to selfishness, from selfishness to complacency from complacency to apathy, from apathy to dependency, from dependency back to bondage." Thus said Alexander Tyler.

Do you see the parallels between Tyler’s pronouncement (above) and the state of the US today? Look at the European countries with their welfare states. The degradation of the US is certainly behind that of the European countries, but we are definitely on the slippery slope back into bondage. Much of our country is already at the “dependency” stage. If there is any doubt about that…look at the fight the “dependents” put up against the attempt by the Bush Administration to privatize Social Security.

The US Government is the single largest employer in the United States. There is something deadly wrong about that for a country…any country. All those government employees are “dependent” on the government. This does not include all those folks who are "on the dole" from one, or more, of the government's "entitlement programs".

When you take the time to think about this, REALLY think about this, the course, to which the US is committed, IS frightening. Very frightening.

Our Government is entirely too large, and it’s reach is far to long and far to invasive. It has become so large it is self-perpetuating. It simply continues to grow… for that is what it does, and that is what it does best. At some point, in the not too distant future, it will implode… collapse of it’s own weight.

Then what? Huh?

Something to think about.

Potty on the Big Potty

Oh my goodness....J is potty training herself!
I have not pushed potty training. I just always said when I changed her diaper, "One day when you're a big girl, you'll go potty on the big potty".

I found a GREAT toilet seat
J was so excited when I brought it home she sat on it on the floor before I could even install it. When she saw it on the toilet she HAD to sit on it...it makes them feel so much more secure - she doesn't feel like she'll "fall in". It took just a few days before we got a "tinkle". I praised J so much and said we would go and buy a special dolly for going for the first time on the big potty. We got temporary tattoos, a bracelet and a dolly. A matching necklace will be opened if she "poo poos" on the potty.....remember, these are technical terms.
Within two weeks there is a control of the Keigal muscles....tinkling at will....YEA. Now it's all about "holding it", feeling the urge to go and waiting to sit on the potty.......wow- she is growing up!

****amendment.....Saturday we achieved the POO! Necklaces all around!!!!

Mommy Girl

I LOVE being a mommy...I love to be called mommy. I love all the ways she can say mommy and it means all different things:
-the sound when I pick J up at the babysitter and hear "MOMMY!!!",
-I love the sound of mommy when she snuggles into my neck and drags it out...
"mooooommmmmyyyyyy" - i love it!
-The sound of "mommy" all sleepy when she wakes up in the morning and sits up in her bed
bewildered how she can fall asleep between us and wake up in her own bed....
-The giggling "mommy" when I have her down tickling her....
-The "mommy" when she wants to eat or have some milk
-The "mommy" when she is scared and running to jump into my arms....

The best "mommy" yet is in the last few days.... I get called "mommy girl" - It's when she is having fun and she is loving our time together....LOVE IT!

The only thing that's better is when she says "I love you"

Adoption and the Birthmothers (and Birthfathers)

Once in a while I see the blogger in my bookmarks that I haven't looked at in a long time - I click on it - knowing full well what I'll read. Sadness, bitterness and hurt - never complacency. I know these women (and men) cannot forget a child, how could they? But there are women out there who are content, feel a self-satisfaction along with their longing and lonelinesses. They will never be without an empty space in their heart but it is so sad to read some of the blogs that spew the vulgarity and anger and show the hatred that plagues them.... these women need/needed therapy. These women had issues before they decided on relinquishing. They would have had a hard life without the difficult adoption issues....
I try never to look at them, like looking at the news...all you hear about are the bad stories and you cannot judge the world on that.
Adoption is hard on birthparents, no one is denying that. But, the love that adopted families can give....it's overwhelming.

We have a snuggler and yesterday J told me "You're my best girl, my best girl" patting my face. If that's not the best thing in the world I don't know what is. Today I was her "best friend"....the child is not even 2 1/2!! The love is miraculous and God had everything to do with what she has brought into our lives. I was a shell before her....now I am full.

Without adoption I would still be empty, I thank God for my J's birthparents and treat them with the utmost respect and kindness.....

Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire

Is Obama a liar or is he REALLY changing and becoming more conservative? - either way ----BOOOOOOOOOOO. Come on, who are you? Is everything just an act?

Maybe he realizes we are known as the right - because that's what we are???

Our Founding Fathers

The men who formed our countries were Christian men. They were not perfect but they all specifically talked about religion in the founding principals of our country because they wanted people of this country to have the freedom to have a Christian belief and worship in a denomination of their own choosing. They did not want the government to tell people how they were to worship and what denomination they would be affiliated with. They did NOT want there to be a total separation of church and state where even the Christian principals of faith could not be followed in government. This is preposterous. George Washington himself said "It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible"

George Washington

His Prayer At Valley Forge "Almighty and eternal Lord God, the great Creator of heaven and earth, and the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ; look down from heaven in pity and compassion upon me Thy servant, who humbly prorate myself before Thee."

"Bless O Lord the whole race of mankind, and let the world be filled with the knowledge of Thee and Thy Son, Jesus. "Of all dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of patriotism, who should labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness, these firmest props of the duties of men and citizens."

Patrick Henry

"It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded not by religionists but by Christians, not on religion but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We shall not fight alone. God presides over the destinies of nations."

President Thomas Jefferson

"The reason that Christianity is the best friend of Government is because Christianity is the only religion that changes the heart."


I have heard people justifying things they do by saying: "We are all free men protected by the constitution".....our founding fathers would roll over in their graves knowing how the constitution they fought so hard to uphold being stretched and skewed the way it is.....
The ten commandments taken out of any government building because it's from the bible? No nativity set in/on Government property (even if 99% of the people want that)?

Why is it that Muslim kids in school get a place to say their prayers but a Christian child cannot even bring their bible to school?

As soon as you lose religious principals - you lose control of the country....just look at the public school to show you what can happen. Now many of the teachers in our schools are liberals and are "dumbing down" our kids so they can't think for themselves. They are trying to get the kids to accept all the liberal thinking and most of what they teach is a big lie. It's amazing when you ask kids what they are learning. They are spreading their Marxist views right under our noses.

Reese's with Hazelnut creme???

This is a crime punishable by death!

Are you Against the War?

You think the war in Iraq is costing us too much?

Boy, am I confused. I have been hammered with the propaganda that it is the Iraq war and the war on terror that is bankrupting us. I now find that to be RIDICULOUS.

I hope the following 14 reasons are forwarded over and over again until they are read so many times that the reader gets sick of reading them. I have included the URL's for verification of all the following facts.

1. $11 Billion to $22 billion is spent on welfare to illegal aliens each year by state governments.

Verify at: http://tinyurl.com/zob77

2. $2.2 Billion dollars a year is spent on food assistance programs such as food stamps, WIC, and free school lunches for illegal aliens.

Verify at: http://wwwcis..org/articles/2004/fiscalexec.html

3. $2.5 Billion dollars a year is spent on Medicaid for illegal aliens.
Verify at: http://wwwcis..org/articles/2004/fiscalexec.html

4. $12 Billion dollars a year is spent on primary and secondary school education for children here illegally and they cannot speak a word of English!
Verify at: http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/01/ldt.0.html

5. $17 Billion dollars a year is spent for education for the American-born children of illegal aliens, known as anchor babies.
Verify at http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/01/ldt.01.html

6. $3 Million Dollars a DAY is spent to incarcerate illegal aliens.
Verify at: http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/01/ldt.01.html

7. 30% percent of all Federal Prison inmates are illegal aliens.
Verify at: http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/01/ldt.01.html

8. $90 Billion Dollars a year is spent on illegal aliens for Welfare & social services by the American taxpayers.

Verify at: http://premium.cnn.com/TRANSCIPTS/0610/29/ldt.01..html

9. $200 Billion Dollars a year in suppressed American wages are caused by the illegal aliens.

Verify at: http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/01/ldt.01.html

10. The illegal aliens in the United States have a crime rate that's two and a half times that of white non-illegal aliens. In particular,
their children, are going to make a huge additional crime problem in the US
Verify at: http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0606/12/ldt.01.html

11. During the year of 2005 there were 4 to 10 MILLION illegal aliens that crossed our Southern Border also, as many as 19,500 illegal aliens from Terrorist Countries. Millions of pounds of drugs, cocaine, meth, heroin and marijuana, crossed into the U. S from the Southern border.

Verify at: Homeland Security Report: http://tinyurl.com/t9sht

12. The National Policy Institute, 'estimated that the total cost of mass deportation would be between $206 and $230 billion or an average

cost of between $41 and $46 billion annually over a five year period.'
Verify at: &nb sp;http://www..nationalpolicyinstitute.org/pdf/deportation.pdf

13. In 2006 illegal aliens sent home $45 BILLION in remittances back to their countries of origin.
Verify at: http://wwwrense.com/general75/niht.htm

14. 'The Dark Side of Illegal Immigration: Nearly One Million Sex Crimes Committed by Illegal Immigrants In The United States.'
Verify at: http://wwwdrdsk.com/articleshtml

The total cost is a whopping $ 338.3 BILLION DOLLARS A YEAR.

Jessie Jackson

(a Reverend right?lol)

Jessie said--"This Barrack been talkin' down to black people about this faith based....I want to cut his n*ts off."
That's hilarious....

Turtle Savior

Thirty years ago there were WAY more turtles. Everytime we found one I put a big P on the Turtles back before letting it go. I never saw a turtle with a P on it's back again. If anyone found one where they live - they came from my house.
Today I felt like a hero. Baby J and I were driving along and I nearly missed a turtle in the road. The guy behind me nearly missed the turtle too. It had almost made it across the road. When I said "oops, there's a turtle in the road" In my mind I thought I should stop and get it across the road. But after a beat or two, Baby J yelled "GET IT, GET THE TURTLE" and it was as if I was told exactly what I had to do. I turned around praying that a goofy little turtle would still be alive in the road. I stopped in someone's driveway and picked up a very scared little turtle - hiding in it's shell on the part of the road where all the tires drive over- just not quite out of the way. I showed it to Baby J - who did NOT want it any closer - put it in grass and got back in the car feeling I did my good deed for the day(and No, I did not put a P on it's back--but I thought about it).
After we were back on the road, Baby J kept saying "mommy help turtle" "mommy, help turtle" (about 10 times).....wow, I feel like a superhero!

Just Some of What Defines Barack Obama:
He voted against banning partial " birth abortion.
He voted no on notifying parents of minors who get out-of-state abortions.
Supports affirmative action in Colleges and Government.
In 2001 he questioned harsh penalties for drug dealing. Says he will deal with street level drug dealing as minimum wage affair.
Admitted marijuana and cocaine use in high school and in college.
His religious convictions are very murky.
He is willing to meet with Fidel Castro, Hugo Chavez, Kim Jung Il and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Has said that one of his first goals after being elected would b e to have a conference with all Muslim nations.
Opposed the Patriot Act.
First bill he signed that was passed was campaign finance reform.
Voted No on prohibiting law suits against gun manufacturers.
Supports universal health-care.
Voted yes on providing habeas corpus for Guantanamo detainees.
Supports granting driver's licenses to illegal immigrants.
Supports extending welfare to illegal immigrants.
Voted yes on comprehensive immigration reform.
Voted yes on allowing illegal aliens to participate in Social Security.
Wants to make the minimum wage a "living wage".
Voted with Democratic Party 96 percent of 251 votes.
Is a big believer in the separation of church and state.
Opposed to any efforts to privatize Social Security and instead supports increasing the amount of tax paid.
He voted No on repealing the Alternative Minimum Tax
He voted No on repealing the "Death" Tax
He wants to raise the Capital Gains Tax.
Has repeatedly said the surge in Iraq has not succeeded...when researched, you will find this is untrue
He is ranked as the most liberal Senator in the Senate today and THAT takes some doing!

Open up ANWR!

We have MILLIONS and MILLIONS of barrels of oil here in the US and the Democrats will not vote to open it up for drilling. THEY are keeping us dependent on foreign oil. In 5 years we could be using oil that is cheaper.....what's the hold up folks???

Palin for Vice-President!!!!!
She's the governor of Alaska and all for drilling......

The REAL Agenda!

Iraq: News Media
Just in case you happened to see the ABC News piece (if you watch ABC News) with interviews of 5 military folks in Iraq ? 3 planned to vote for Obama and 2 for Hillary; no mention of any McCain supporters. Well, here's the "Rest of the Story."

***************************************************************************
This from Major General (ret) Buckman, to a close friend of his:
***************************************************************************

My niece, Katelyn, stationed at Baluud , Iraq was assigned, with others of her detachment, to be escort/guard/ watcher for Martha Raddatz of ABC News as she covered John McCain's recent trip to Iraq . Katelyn and her Captain stood directly behind Raddatz as she queried GI's walking past. They kept count of the GI's and you should remember these numbers. She asked 60 GI's who they planned to vote for in November. 54 said John McCain, 4 for Obama and 2 for Hillary. Katelyn called home and told her Mom and Dad to watch ABC news the next night because she was standing directly behind Raddatz and maybe they'd see her on TV. Mom and Dad of course, called and emailed all the kinfolk to watch the newscast and maybe see Katelyn. Well, of course, we all watched and what we saw wasn't a glimpse of Katelyn, but got a hell'uva view of skewed news. After a dissertation on McCain's trip and speech, ABC showed 5 GI's being asked by Raddatz how they were going to vote in November; 3 for Obama and 2 for Clinton . No mention of the 54 for McCain.

Let's talk - skewing the news.....

Obama IS a Fruitcake!

Thank you Mindy for pointing out THIS article about Obama distorting the bible. I already knew Obama's view of the bible is distorted and wrong and his sense of morality is skewed. I think what bothered me more about the article is that Dobson suggested he may not vote for president. Even though I may not agree with everything McCain stands for - I have an obligation to NOT let Obama rule this land with the set of "non-morals" he preaches. McCain, at least, has a strong sense of right and wrong as far as life (he's Pro-life), Liberty (he understands our military role and foreign policy), and the pursuit of happiness (he doesn't want to rob the rich to give to the poor, he is for free enterprise and has a sense of morality). Good Lord - all the Christians need to step forward and do the right thing - NOT sit back and do nothing! Shame on you Dr. Dobson for mentioning your idea and possibly influencing people like that. My SIL and children have said - Our vote is for Jesus. I said, "unfortunately, if you vote for Jesus this go-around - it's a vote for the devil himself - OBAMA". :)

CHANGE - cause that's all you'll have when I'm done - Exactly!

Cindy McCain

This is an interesting article as not much was known about her but she was on Leno and it was an interesting interview. It turns out that she is a character as she is or has been a race car driver and is also a pilot. She flies John around the country to his rallies. After hearing that about her and reading this I now have a lot of respect for her.

Election 2008: Cindy Hensley McCain has been disparaged as a trophy wife, a Barbie, an heiress with fancy purses, even the Paris Hilton of politics. But there's more to the picture than meets the eye.

Yes, Mrs. McCain is the perfectly coifed blonde standing dutifully behind the senator during his speeches. And yes, she wears stylish clothing and carries a Prada purse. And it's true she doesn't say much. But feminist critics who write her off as a "stand-by-your-man" shrinking violet are selling her short. In many ways, Cindy McCain stacks up sturdier than Hillary Clinton or Michelle Obama. And she'd make a more impressive first lady.

Mrs. McCain: More than meets the eye.

While Obama's wife has been hating America, complaining about the war and undermining our troops serving in Afghanistan, McCain's wife has been worrying about her sons who actually are fighting or planning to fight
in the war on terror. One, in fact, was until a few months ago deployed in Iraq during some of the worst violence.
You don't hear the McCain's talk about it, but their 19-year-old Marine, Jimmy, is preparing for his second tour of duty. Their 21-year-old son, Jack, is poised to graduate from Annapolis and also could join the Marines as a second lieutenant. The couple made the decision not to draw attention to their sons out of respect for other families with sons and daughters in harm's way.

Cindy also says she doesn't want to risk falling apart on the campaign trail talking about Jimmy who was so young when he enlisted she had to sign consent forms for his medical tests before he could report for duty and potentially upsetting parents of soldiers who are serving or have been killed.

The McCain's want to make sure their boys get no special treatment. Same goes for their five other children, including a daughter they adopted from Bangladesh. During a visit to Mother Teresa's orphanage there, Cindy noticed a dying baby. The orphanage could not provide the medical care needed to save her life. So she brought the child home to America for the surgery she desperately needed. The baby is now their healthy, 16-year-old daughter, Bridget.

Though all seven McCain children including two Sen. McCain adopted from his first marriage are supportive of their father, they prefer their privacy to the glare of the campaign trail. Another daughter, Meghan, 23, helps him behind the scenes.

Cindy McCain not only cherishes her children, but also her country, which in an election year filled with America-bashing, is a refreshing novelty. She seethed when she heard Michelle Obama's unpatriotic remarks that she only
recently grew proud of America "I am very proud of my country," Mrs. McCain asserted.

She also may be tougher than the other women in the race. While Hillary thinks she's come under sniper fire on mission trips abroad, Cindy has actually seen violence. She witnessed a boy get blown up by a mine in Kuwait during a trip with an international group that removes land mines from war-torn countries.

Mrs. McCain also is a hands-on philanthropist. She sits on the board of Operation Smile, which arranges for plastic surgeons to fix cleft palates and other birth defects. She also has helped organize relief missions to Micronesia.

During a scuba-diving vacation to the islands, Mrs. McCain took a friend to a local hospital to have a cut treated. She was shocked, and saddened, by what she saw. "They opened the door to the OR, where the supplies were, and there were two cats and a whole bunch of rats climbing out of the sterile supplies," she recalled. "They had no X-ray machine, no beds. To me, it was devastating because it was a U.S. trust territory." As soon as she returned home, she arranged for medical equipment and teams of doctors to be sent to treat the island children.

Michelle Obama may contribute to CARE, which fights global poverty and works to empower poor women. Cindy sits on its board.

While the Democrat women talk about helping the poor and needy, Cindy McCain actually rolls up her sleeves and does it. Who's the out-of-touch elitist?

Here's Hillary in October of 2002: "Intelligence reports show that Saddam Hussein has worked to rebuild his chemical, biological weapons stock, his missile delivery capability, and his nuclear program."

Here's Al Gore in September of 2002: "We know that Saddam has stored nuclear supplies, secret supplies of biological and chemical weapons throughout his country."

Here's John Kerry in October of 2002: "I will be voting to give the president the authority to use force if necessary to disarm Saddam because I believe that a deadly arsenal of weapons of mass destruction in his hands s a real and grave threat to our security."

Here's Senator Ted Kennedy: "We have known that for many years that Saddam Hussein is seeking and developing weapons of mass destruction." September of 2002.

And then Nancy Pelosi: "Saddam Hussein has been engaged in the development of weapons of mass destruction technology, which a threat to countries in the region. And he's made a mockery of the weapons inspection process."

Interesting that these are the same people saying "shame on you" to GW....they must have very bad short term memories....

It Couldn't Be Said Any Better

2 MICHELLES, 2 AMERICAS & SHAME vs. PRIDE

By Michelle Malkin

Like Michelle Obama, I am a "woman of color." Like Michelle Obama, I am a working mother of two young children. Like Michelle Obama, I am a member of the 13th generation of Americans born since the founding of our great nation.

Unlike Michelle Obama, I can't keep track of the number of times I've been proud - really proud - of my country since I was born and privileged to live in it. At a recent speech in Milwaukee on behalf of her husband's Democratic presidential campaign, Mrs. Obama remarked, "For the first time in my adult lifetime, I am really proud of my country, and not just because Barack has done well, but because I think people are hungry for change."

Like Michelle Obama, I am a "woman of color." Like Michelle Obama, I am a working mother of two young children. Like Michelle Obama, I am a member of the 13th generation of Americans born since the founding of our great nation.

Unlike Michelle Obama, I can't keep track of the number of times I've been proud - really proud - of my country since I was born and privileged to live in it. At a recent speech in Milwaukee on behalf of her husband's Democratic presidential campaign, Mrs. Obama remarked, "For the first time in my adult lifetime, I am really proud of my country, and not just because Barack has done well, but because I think people are hungry for change."

Mrs. Obama's statement was met with warm applause from other Barack supporters who have also apparently been devoid of pride in their country during their adult lifetimes. Or maybe it was just a Pavlovian response to the word "change." What a sad, empty, narcissistic, ungrateful, unthinking lot.

I'm just seven years younger than Mrs. Obama. We've grown up and lived in the same era. And yet, her self-absorbed attitude is completely foreign to me. What planet is she living on? Since when was now the only time the American people have ever been "hungry for change"?

Michelle, ma belle, Barack is not the center of the universe. Newsflash: The Obamas did not invent "change" any more than Hillary invented "leadership" or John McCain invented "straight talk." We were both adults when the Berlin Wall fell, Michelle. That was earth-shattering change. We've lived through two decades' worth of peaceful, if contentious, election cycles under the rule of law, which have brought about " change" and upheaval, both good and bad. We were adults through several launches of the space shuttle, in case you were snoozing. And as adults, we've witnessed and benefited from dizzyingly rapid advances in technology, communications, science, and medicine pioneered by American entrepreneurs who yearned to change the world and succeeded. You want "change"? Go ask the patients whose lives have been improved and extended by American pharmaceutical companies that have flourished under the best economic system in the world. If American ingenuity, a robust constitutional republic, and the fall of communism don't do it for you, hon, then how about American heroism and sacrifice? How about every Memorial Day? Every Veterans Day? Every Independence Day? Every Medal of Honor ceremony? Has she never attended a welcome-home ceremony for the troops? For me, there's the thrill of the Blue Angels roaring over cloudless skies. And the somber awe felt amid the hallowed waters that surround the sunken U.S.S. Arizona at the Pearl Harbor memorial.

Every naturalization ceremony I've attended, where hundreds of new Americans raised their hands to swear an oath of allegiance to this land of liberty, has been a moment of pride for me. So have the awesome displays of American compassion at home and around the world. When millions of Americans rallied to help victims of the 2004 tsunami in Southeast Asia - including members of the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group that sped from Hong Kong to assist survivors - my heart filled with pride. It did again when the citizens of Houston opened their arms to Hurricane Katrina victims and folks across the country rushed to their churches and offices of the Salvation Army and Red Cross to volunteer.

How about American resilience? Does that not make you proud? Only a heart of stone could be unmoved by the strength, valor, and determination displayed in New York , Washington , D.C., and Shanksville , Pa. , on September 11, 2001.

I believe it was Michael Kinsley who quipped that a gaffe is when a politician tells the truth. In this case, it's what happens when an elite Democratic politician's wife says what a significant portion of the party's base really believes to be the truth: America is more a source of shame than pride.

Michelle Obama has achieved enormous professional success, political influence, and personal acclaim in America . Ivy League educated, she's been lauded by Essence magazine as one of the 25 World's Most Inspiring Women; by Vanity Fair as one of the ten World's Best-Dressed Women; and named one of "The Harvard 100" most influential alumni. She has had an amazingly blessed life. But you wouldn't know it from her campaign rhetoric and her griping about her and her husband's student loans.

For years, we've heard liberals get offended at any challenge to their patriotism. And so they are again aggrieved and rising to explain away Mrs. Obama's remarks.

Lady Michelle and her defenders protest too much.