Election Day...And Night

Sorry I've been MIA lately. No major excuses besides just, well, life!! Sometimes it just gets the best of me! Let me fill you in on what's happened with Kenneth Sheets and other stuff!

Election Day 2010 - POURING rain...and I was standing out in it. I was a poll greeter for Kenneth Sheets. Myself and a candidate for judge would stay in our cars until someone would arrive to vote and then we'd jump out with our signs. After lunch time I decided to leave since traffic was slowing down and my car battery was dead! I got a jump and finally got to go home, take a shower and get warm thanks to my mom picked up my kids at their respective schools. Thank God for her that day or I don't think I would have ever warmed up.

Now you would have thought that I would be exhausted after that, and I was, but election day adrenaline was pumping and I was ready for the Dallas GOP party. We headed out to the Hotel Palomar where most of the Republican candidates set up camp to watch election results. We got there and found Kenneth's suite where spirits were extremely high as the early voting totals had come in and Kenneth was winning! We tried to temper ourselves a bit because there was a long night ahead and anything could happen. At some point we all made our way downstairs to the big party. I have never felt anything so electric. The energy in that place was unbelievable and even now, several weeks later, I'm getting chills as I type! I have never experienced anything like it and don't even know what to compare it to!

As I stood there looking around and taking it all in, Kenneth's campaign manager Ronda showed me her cell phone. There was a text from their consultant informing her that 5 of the "deathzones" or areas that would be tough for Kenneth to win, had gone his way. He said that it looked like Kenneth had won. We are all screaming!! As much as we believed wholeheartedly in this man, he was a relative unknown running against a well liked two term incumbent and no one really knew how it would go. We headed back up to the suite to wait some more for results to keep coming in and to let Kenneth get his thoughts together for his speech. Once the concession phone call came through, we all headed back downstairs and Doug and I got to be up on the stage with Kenneth and all his supporters and staff as he made his victory speech.

It was one of the most incredible nights of my life. I will never, ever forget it. I can see how people get lured in by the energy and excitement of politics.

In other news...Big Bear had her Pinewood Derby and won an award!! A separate post will be coming with pics and more details. Let's just say, I've never seen a smile that big!! Me Too turned 5!!! A separate post will be coming on that too. Her birthday party is this weekend so I'll wait until I have those pics and details. She has strep throat right now but started antibiotics today so I'm hoping she'll be up for having the party. I'm hoping that I am up for having the party as my throat is suspiciously getting sore and throughout the day I have felt worse and worse. Luckily, Doug off early tomorrow so if I need to run to the doctor I should be free to do so! Campo is chugging along! He is turning 3 in just a few weeks - acckkkkk!!!!

Oh and I started working with my first Handwriting Without Tears client. I did his evaluation and report and am now tutoring him once a week. He is a 3rd grader and I'll have to admit I was quite intimidated by the thought of working with a 3rd grade boy at first. But, after I left the house yesterday, I texted my husband and told him that I hope Campo is JUST like this boy at that age. He is very well mannered, very sweet and very cooperative. And his mom emailed me this morning and said that when his dad asked him how it was he answered, "Kinda fun". I'll take that!!

That's it for now!!

Thick Skinned or Running Scared?

I received a copy of a letter written by the wife of Kenneth's opponent - we'll call her Lady Vaught or LV for short (and we'll call Kenneth's opponent AV for short). It is a last ditch effort to light a fire under their supporters to help the campaign and most likely to illicit some campaign money since from what I read Kenneth's campaign has out raised theirs.

I'd like point out a few problems that I saw in the letter.

Heroic Media is a group that attempts to get the word out, through the media, to women who have unwanted pregnancies that there are alternatives to abortion. LV calls them a fringe pro-life group. Too funny. Actually, Sarah Palin is currently the keynote speaker at several events for this group - including one coming to Dallas in a few weeks!! Oh how I want to go!! Off the subject though! The website has a testimonial page with quotes from Bill O'Reilly, Laura Ingram, Michael Reagan and Col. Oliver North...you know, fringe types - HA! Here is a little bit from their home page:

When a woman is in an unwanted pregnancy, she often feels trapped and scared. Heroic Media’s television, billboard and internet messages reach her where she is. They don’t judge her. They let her know there are countless hopeful solutions.

Our advertisements (click here to view our TV commercials) connect her with resource centers that provide the hope and help she and her baby need. In fact, in markets where we’ve run consistent campaigns, the abortion ratio has dropped 24 percent! And, our messages are encouraging communities to rethink their position in favor of positive, life-affirming attitudes.

Hmmmm...that's not sounding too wacky to me. LV is very upset in her letter that this group would dare to have a gathering in the home across the street from her. She mentions that the pro-life movement "presented itself - almost literally on her front doorstep." She sounds pretty rattled by this close encounter with pro-lifers and it makes me wonder why this would be so unnerving to her. But, it also highlights what many of Kenneth's supporters love about him and why many of us are so involved in trying to get him elected - his pro-life stance. And stance isn't even really the correct word to use - he doesn't just say he's pro-life, he lives it out. Publicly. Unashamedly. Literally right out there on his "front doorstep"...and that is what his opponents' wife points out.

The second inaccuracy is the incident at the League of Women Voter's debate. She alleges that a Kenneth Sheets supporter "shouted down" one of their supporters and called them a "babykiller". I was standing there during most of this incident and the person asking the questions was not shouting at all and was not speaking to them as a Kenneth Sheets supporter. She is a constituent of District 107 and was trying to find out information about the person currently representing her district (AV), however, AV was not available to answer those questions as he left immediately after the debate. The AV representative who was left behind to answer questions in his absence was getting quite flustered, red and upset. Kenneth was not involved in this incident as he was busy being available to answer questions to the people who gave of their time to be there. He was also very quietly helping to stack chairs since the library had asked that the campaigns help to clean up. I remember being very struck by this humble attitude of service. The bottom line is that Kenneth has no control over what AV's constituents want to know about the person who was elected to represent them. Neither he nor his campaign asked this woman to "scream epithets" (which she did not do) at AV’s campaign as LV accuses in her letter.

LV makes a big point in her first paragraph to state that she has developed a thick skin since her husband entered politics. I couldn't help but wonder if her skin is really as thick as she would like to think or if she might need to work on that a little more. However, I am hoping that one week from today, this will be a moot point for her and she can just go back to keeping her street clear of those horrible fringe pro-lifers.

READ LETTER HERE

World Series Excitement

There is just so much fun stuff going on right now. I just feel a constant underlying excitement about the upcoming election. The anticipation of Kenneth Sheets' win (learn all about him here) as well as the hope that the Republicans will make great strides on all levels of government has me buzzing all the time. I've got my own personal satisfaction about getting my Level 1 HWT Certification and the anticipation of all that will bring for me. And now, as if that isn't enough, the Texas Rangers are in the World Series for the first time ever!

This town just can't get enough of our Rangers! Which is a good thing since the Cowboys are so completely horrible - boo hoo. A World Series in Arlington is about the only thing that could bring Dallas-ites out of our bad Cowboys slump!

I admit I am not a huge baseball fan these days. The long games don't seem to hold my attention. But...having lived in Dallas all my life, I of course am thrilled for the team and have kept up with most of the games throughout the playoffs.

The other night while trying to go to sleep, I remembered the allure that baseball held for me as a little girl though. My dad worked for a radio station when I was growing up which meant we never had a hard time getting tickets to events. I remember going to a lot of Ranger games growing up. I loved taking my glove and hoping that we would catch a fly ball - even though when they actually did start coming towards us it terrified me. I remember loving it when the crowd would taunt the umpires. Of course I loved the pink ice cream I always got! And I remember having a huge crush on Buddy Bell!! So, so funny!!

Anyway, these childhood memories welled up in me - the sounds, the smells, the excitement - and made me feel so proud of this accomplishment. Especially with the new ownership who seem like such class acts! And I love that both of the teams playing were underdogs in their series who beat powerhouse teams with huge payrolls. It's is going to be exciting to watch this truly historic series!!

Not Looking Good For You, EBJ

There's more to the story about Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson. First it came out that she gave scholarship funds to her own grandsons, grand-nephews and staffer's children, all who were not eligible for the money because they were related to members of the CBC and they did not live in her district.

Now, her opponent Pastor Stephen Broden, has received a copy of a letter that shows that not only did she award this money to her family members instead of needy and deserving kids, she wrote a letter asking that the checks be written out to the kids and sent to them directly instead of to the colleges they were going to attend. Read more here.

And the Front Burner, D Magazine's blog, shows the nice home her grandchildren lived in and asks if they really needed the scholarship money over some other children who come from EBJ's district.

If you live in this district (30th Congressional District) please, please, please do what you can to support Pastor Broden!!! Vote for him of course. If you don't live there but want to support good, honest, well meaning Republican candidates, please donate to his campaign here.

Had Enough? Vote Republican

Pre Order your yard sign right now from the Dallas GOP HERE! You can probably guess which one I got!

Donate to Kenneth Sheets Campaign NOW!

If you live in Texas State District 107, candidate for State Rep Kenneth Sheets needs your support...your vote and financial support. If you were ever going to donate to his campaign, this is the time to do it.

Conservative Republicans of Texas has pledged to match dollar-for-dollar EVERY DONATION WE RECEIVE FROM YOU! With your support, we can turn a $25 donation into $50 or a $100 donation into $200. WE NEED THAT SUPPORT THIS WEEK.

Conservative Republicans of Texas is offering this support only until the end of the month – July 31st is this Saturday.

Anything you can give - $25, $50, $100, $250 or more will make a huge difference for us!

It's a great opportunity for Kenneth to really raise some money for his wonderful candidacy!

Election Novena

Fr. Corapi is calling for everyone to make a Novena and pray the Rosary to Our Lady of Victory from October 27 to Election Day, November 4th. Pray that God’s will be done and the most innocent and utterly vulnerable of our brothers and sisters will be protected from this barbaric and grossly sinful blight on society that is abortion. No woman, and no man, has the right to choose to murder an innocent human being.