NC Political Connections By News 14 Carolina reporter Tim Boyum
(At my house, I cannot get this channel anymore, as we were forced to give up cable due to poor bandwidth issues and move to the better performing Directv. Sorry Tim.)
Fern Shubert Speaks for Us Published by admirers of former Senator Fern Shubert. Shubert served the ole' North State well, until stepping down from her office to make a run for Governor in 2004. While she is greatly missed from office, she knows where the "bodies are buried" and is still found digging up the truth.
Mike's Nether Land The greatest conservative blogger in the state of Maryland. Check him out!
ARRA News Service News for social, fiscal & national security conservatives who believe in God, family & country. We seek to uphold traditional family values, Republican principles & ideals, limited government, free markets to promote innovation, & individual freedom. The ARRA News Service is an outreach of the Arkansas Republican Assembly.
Crystal Clear Conservative Blogger Krystal Weeks writes about N. Virginia and DC metro area politics, as well as national issues. Check her out!
Cuba Generation Y This 30-something blogger publishes at great risk to show readers outside Cuba what everyday life is like inside the oppressive, Communist nation. Think you like Communism...read this blog and think again!
Smart Girl Politics Conservative Women bloggers, and a few men, who are here to refresh you when you are thirsty.
LadyBlog A modern take on traditional women. Classier than tea service. Like Fight Club but with better hygiene. Sightly more aggro than a cucumber sandwich.
Peach Girl Politics Conservative mother of one. Blogs in the peach state of Georgia!
Top Conservatives On Twitter The top conservatives on Twitter. If you are conservative, you should follow these people. KCC is on the list and moves up and down, depending on the day.
The Political Byline One of my fellow Top Conservatives on Twitter. Check him out! He's not afraid to speak his mind. Based in the Motorcity.
Capital Letters Jordan Schrader covers North Carolina government for the Asheville Citizen-Times.
Sister Toldjah National conservative blogger who tells it like it is. She loves North Carolina and occasionally picks up items from KCC on her blog.
Called 2 Action Check out this site, run by Steve Noble. He's a member of the religious right and he tells the truth as he sees it. He calls himself an equal opportunity offender. Check out what he has to say!
Conservative Oasis A fellow TCOTer. Fellow conservative blogger. Get your drink today.
Inside Charm City A conservative writes about all things Baltimore. He has plenty of fodder!
The Repurblican Political News and commentary for urban Republicans
NC Politics New Bern native (and your blogger's fellow high school classmate -NBSHS '85) Steve Hale writes from Pitt County about his take on the North Carolina Political scene. Check out his blog and offer up your comments.
Dateline Obamastan Cary's John Byrnes writes about national, state, and local politics. He currently serves in the Army National Guard.
Driving With One Hand Kevin LeCount is apparently driving with his LEFT hand, as this blog is written by my good friend who works for SEANC, the union of the NC State Employees. His wife, Heidi, works at my alma mater, Meredith and are good folks, despite their political leanings. Check them out.
Just like any movement, when it's successful, there will be detractors. In this case, they love to call the Tea Party people the word Tea Bag***. We won't print it because it's a disgusting sexual reference that does not belong here.
To learn what the opposition is up to, check out click on Crash the Tea Party. They say they are a network of Democrats, Republicans and Independents who are tired of Racists, "Homophobes", and Morons, yet they make really disgusting comments about homosexuals in posts regarding Barney Frank It leads this blogger to believe the actual "morons" are those running that site.
Please note: Some of the content is not very nice and can be offensive to conservative gay people and non-sophomoric others.
Your blogger saw these people in action, personally, at her last Tea Party in Washington, when trying to salvage the Health Care Bill.
These "bad guys" try to catch people at tea parties doing something wrong, such as spitting, yelling racist names, etc. They come armed with video cameras.
Therefore, at the next Tea Party this Thursday, this blogger, will come armed with hers.
Your blogger's four-year-old son is looking forward to his first rally this year, and asks his mommy each day, if "today is the day". Let's just hope the crowds will keep the ugly words to a minimum for the young ones in attendance. We are doing this for them.
Today, your blogger has added a new category to her list: Tea Parties.
Copyright 2010, Katy's Conservative Corner, All Rights Reserved
Phyllis Schlafly, president and founder of the conservative grassroots public policy organization Eagle Forum, made the following remarks after the public announcement that formerly pro-life DemocratBart Stupak(D-MI) will cast a "yes" vote for the Senate health care bill. (The bill passed the house Sunday evening and was signed into law on Monday by President Obama.)
"It is naïve for any elected official, especially one who describes himself as ‘pro-life,' to expect that a promise to issue an Executive Order that reasserts the intentions of the Hyde Amendment will be fulfilled by the most pro-abortion president to ever sit in the White House. Perhaps Mr. Stupak and his fellow pro-life Democrats forget that President Obama's first Executive Order was the repeal of the Mexico City Policy to allow for international funding of abortion."
"Not only would an Executive Order be rendered meaningless in the face of Congress passing legislation which actively provides for the massive expansion and funding of abortion services, but anyone who doubts the abortion tsunami which awaits this bill becoming law lives in a fantasy world." "Barack Obama has lined every existing federal agency with the most dedicated pro-abortion ideologues, and we know that he will continue this pattern of pro-abortion appointments when it comes time for him to fill the over-100 bureaucracies created to administer his socialized health care program."
"Any formerly pro-life Democrat who voted ‘Yes' on the Senate health care bill tonight will be forever remembered as being among the deciding votes which facilitated the largest expansion of abortion services since Roe v. Wade."
"Mr. Stupak and his Democrat followers have now clarified that you cannot be pro-life and be a Democrat. If abortion was truly their biggest issue, they wouldn't willfully align themselves with the Party of Death."
"This vote has exposed the myth of the ‘pro-life Democrat.' With this single vote, the Democratic Party has divided our nation into the Democrat Party of Death and the Republican Party of Life, and future elections will never be the same."
On Saturday, your blogger, along with hundreds of others from North Carolina, and thousands from across the nation, loaded up on buses, planes, trains, and automobiles, and made our collective ways to our nation's Capitol. It was the most beautiful day we had seen all year and the weather there was much better than it was in Raleigh, KCC later discovered.
KCC's Live Posts on Twitter
Because your blogger had to carry everything she brought, she could not live blog the event from her laptop. Thus, she posted updates on her Twitter site. Go here to read them.
You do not need to have a Twitter account to read them. Just scroll back to Saturday's posts to see what KCC wrote and thought. KCC's twitter account is not quite as "family friendly" as is her blog. :-)
North Carolinians Storm the Capitol
For a small fee of $25, North Carolineans could ride one of about ten buses that were organized by the NC Chapter of Americans for Prosperity. From Raleigh, the trip was relatively quick and our group arrived precisely at noon at the South Lawn of the Capitol. Already, speakers were rousing the crowd and masses were gathering.
Buses departed fromevery part of the Ole' North State and were ready to rally. People made phone calls on the way, and were advised as to the polite way to get their points across to opposing Members of Congress.
Lamestream Media Says "Don't Come into Washington"
What should NOT have amazed this blogger, was that the "lamestream" media was actually telling people NOT to come into the District. The traffic was too bad, they stated. They did their best to keep our numbers down, but it did not work.
Indeed there were numerous rallies going on that day. The Communist Party USA was supposed to be rallying somewhere, and an anti-war group took over Lafayette Square, across from the White House.
Your blogger stood beside a retired New York City police captain for a few minutes. He was well-versed in crowd counting and estimated the group to be between 65,000 - 70,000. Meanwhile, the "lamestream" media was calling the crowd at only 1,500 - 2,000. They were declaring that Americans were happy with the bill and wanted it to pass. Even MSNBC disagreed and declared that 60% of Americans were unhappy with the bill. Your blogger is certain that MSNBC vastly low balled the number, but they were right that most Americans opposed this bill.
Much more on this rally coming soon. Watch this space for updates!
EDITOR'S NOTES: KCC also took videos of some of events of the day.
More on the Communist Party later. Let's just say they were not quite who they said they were.
Chris Marie Farr,grassroots director of the NC AFP told riders of one of the Raleigh buses, that she had no idea what was actually going on, as she'd been buried in logistics in getting people together for 48 straight hours!
Kudos to Chris and the entire NC AFP team! God bless them in what they do. They don't get rich and it's a labor of love for them. Give this group a donation. Help them out. Any amount helps! DONATE TO NC AFP.
ALL PHOTOS COPYRIGHT 2010 K BENNINGFIELD, KATY'S CONSERVATIVE CORNER
No photograph can be used without written consent of the photographer, K Benningfield. Email for permission here.
Due to the amount of walking and standing involved on Saturday, your blogger will not be able to bring along the ole laptop and live-blog the event in Washington. Thus, she will be providing updates on the website Twitter.
You don't have to have an account to follow KCC on Twitter. Just log on to http://www.twitter.com/katys and keep refreshing your screen. You can read anything your blogger is posting out.
The @name-of-user tweets are to a specific person, but you can still read and get in on the conversation.
The # signs are called hashtags on Twitter and they refer to a specific subject being discussed. Sometimes they are silly, such as #obamadoesNOTcare or #hrc , which refers to health care reform.
One of the more common is #tcot, which refers to a group known as Top Conservatives on Twitter, a group to which your blogger belongs. Another is #sgp, which is Smart Girl Politics, another of your blogger's favorites.
Have fun and set up your own acct by going to http://www.twitter.com. It's pretty self-explanatory. You came this far, didn't you?
You may write to this blogger directly by placing @katys at the beginning of your post. Remember, we have only 140 characters to say what we mean, so use all the abbreviations necessary.
Conservatives happen to rule Twitter. A recent study showed that we make up the majority of all Twitter users. If you can't be in DC, read all about it, on Twitter.
Your blogger and her young son just returned from a nice dog walk, in this beautiful weather today. On that walk, she met a nice woman named Heidi who was with her grandson, just a little older than our Bobby.
She got into a car that I'd noticed around a lot lately, most specifically because it had a sticker noting that she'd lost a loved one to a drunk driver. Things like that hit your blogger hard, and she prays that nothing like that will ever happen in her family.
After Heidi got into her car, KCC told her "I'm so sorry for your loss." Heidi started to cry, as it had not even been one year since her son was killed while leaving a hockey game.
On April 27, 2009, he was on his way home and a drunk driver killed him and left him for dead.
Heidi said authorities didn't find her son's body for three days. Just his smashed up car, she told this blogger, through her tears.
Your blogger often wonders why people STILL drink and drive, after all these years. The data is clear. Drinking and driving kills. Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) has been around seemingly "forever" telling these same sad stories. Yet people continue to commit these offenses.
Heidi's son's killer only received 23 months in prison and will probably serve 1/2 of it. These days, you get 1 day off for every day you serve with "good behavior" due to prison overcrowding. Therefore, this idiot can get out again and do the same thing.
(Personally, KCC has a zero tolerance policy. It's not worth it for this writer to have even one single drink and then drive. The costs could be too great.)
KCC told Heidi that she would be in our prayers tonight. But we have another request.
Please keep Heidi in your prayers, too. She's lost a huge part of herself and her world. Please pray that Heidi will be comforted in her loss, especially with the month of April and that horrible anniversary coming up.
Please remember all those who have been victims of this horrible tragedy and be safe on the roads this weekend.
Readers, thank you for allowing KCC to step off the political plank just for a moment today.
When your blogger was a young girl in the late 1960s and 1970s, her only career options consisted of the following: secretary, nurse, or teacher. These were the traditional roles that women took in the work place and a woman was supposed to give up this role as soon as she was married. Afterall, that's what our favorite girl, Barbie, did and KCC's mom was a hardworking young secretary, too.
Your blogger didn't realize until she was in 7th grade, that she could do anything she wanted to. In 1979, couple KCC babysat for, told her to go for it in life and not be held back by anything. That was the first your blogger had heard of this.
By this time, KCC was winning her Jr. High School's science fairs, and was doing well in science classes. But she had never considered going into anything science-related. When she attempted to study biology in college, it was too late.
Today's little girls don't have those limitations. They even have toys that grow up to participate in careers once thought of as traditionally male. Take Barbie for example. The 126th career for Barbie is Computer Engineer (above, left).
KCC's husband is also an engineer, and says that companies located in the US often complain that domestic engineering schools do not turn out enough native born graduates. Thus, they have to turn to imported talent, which involves more red tape and is thus more difficult to work with. Companies today are working hard to help recruit young ladies into engineering schools.
Your blogger's husband encourages young girls to study math, as early as possible. Boys are not naturally better in math, as previously thought. Girls were just never before encouraged, as popular thought was that they would not need it. KCC was once such a girl and today is very weak in her math "skills".
KCC applauds Barbie's latest career and hopes that she will bring more girls into the field. Gosh knows, we need them!
State House SpeakerMarco Rubio (R-Fla) as he kicks off CPAC 2010. The Roman Catholic son of Cuban exiles, got most people excited and in the mood for some good old-fashioned politicking.
He said all the right things on all the right issues for hawkish conservatives, such as terrorism and standing by our allies like Israel and still lives in a working class neighborhood.
Speaker Rubio is running against Governor Charlie Crist (R-Fla) in the GOP primary for the United States Senate. Rubio is the conservative in the race, and thus the one who got the special invitation to keynote CPAC. This speech is one for the ages, and is worth watching again and again. We'll see him at the next Republican National Convention.
Enjoy the video and leave your respectful comments on the blog:
Liberal website Salon.com caught up with disgraced and censured Gov Mark Sanford (R-S.C.) as he was leaving the speaker's room at CPAC. Sanford did not appear on any invitee list and your blogger wondered how he managed how to get back there, although your blogger had access. Your blogger hates any corrupt politician and Sanford is no exception.
KCC doesn't appreciate Salon's hack-job coverage of our top political meeting of the year. Sure, we conservatives are working out growth problems but we have growth! That's always a good thing.
Here is Sanford trying to leave the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel in Georgetown, the same hotel where your blogger stayed, compliments of Salon.com:
Was there a preacher in the house? There had to be, but that voice, it was unmistakably that of TV personality Glenn Beck.
The popular Fox News host started by saying how Rush Limbaugh and Ronald Reagan are his personal heroes.
He admired Reagan's optimism. Like Reagan, Beck believes "it's still morning in America", though, he said, we may have to wake up with a hangover puking in the toilet first.
He warned that progressivism "is the cancer eating up America, and that it unfortunately not only infects the Democrat Party, but many Republicans as well."
Beck even condemned President Theodore Roosevelt (who I admire) as an early progressive. Beck argued:
"it's not enough for Republicans to just suck less than the other side. The GOP must admit its mistakes (an addiction to spending and big government) and reform itself".
He compared the GOP's failings to those of golfer Tiger Woods. Beck asserted that, like Woods, all addicts will continue their behavior as long as they do not get caught.
He then asked the same question everyone has been asking Woods, to the GOP: "You got caught! Are you sorry?"
Beck says he'd be more than happy to support the Republican Party if they only admitted their mistakes and showed genuine contrition. He wants them to do honest soul searching.
Then Beck noted that progressives are a political minority in this country, yet they keep advancing their agenda. How? Because they know how to package and sell their ideas. They've got Hollywood's help, too.
Beck stated that we have a right to fail.
Without failure, how do we learn and grow and improve? Why should a company be "to big to fail", so that it gets a taxpayer-funded bailout?
Beck cited his own battle to overcome alcoholism and the long way back. . He asserted conservatives believe everybody has the right to *pursue* happiness or success, not to be given happiness or success by the government. He insisted you don't have a right to free food, free housing, free higher education, or free medical care. You have to work for it and earn it.
Beck noted he couldn't afford to attend college, so he educated himself. He said there's no shame in being a self-made man, in showing ambition and working hard to become successful, so government shouldn't punish small businesses for working hard to be successful. Beck reminded the Marriott Ballroom crowd that business creates jobs, not the government.
Beck ended his sermon by promising that the future is not cast in stone. Our best days are not behind us. Our grandchildren do not have to have a lower standard of living than we have.
Watch Glenn's speech, as he delivered it on Saturday evening:
Editor's Note: This post, like all others at CPAC, was brought to you by our sponsor, RedState. RedState provided the Blogger's room and gave KCC the ability to cover the conference in a unique way. Not every blogger who applied received credentials, yet there were over 100 different conservative blogs represented, with a few liberals amongst us, as well. We all had a great time, and many thanks go to our fearless leader, Erick.
When the time came for conservative columnist and humorist Ann Coulter to take the stage at CPAC, the audience roared in approval. She told one liners as if she thought of them right on the spot and reminded everyone that she is truly a hard core conservative.
Overview
She mentioned, how she "loved bombs", supported national security, the defense of our allies, and she mentioned a few social issues that are important to her. (She reminded this blogger a bit of her own mindset as blogger's high school nickname was " 'Ole Nuke 'Em 'Till They Glow". )
A large group of Ron Paul followers appreciated that she paid tribute to their cause by saying that she appreciated that he was pro-life and that she liked everything except his foreign policy.
She also got a lot of laughs when she weighed in on your blogger's least favorite former U.S. Senator. "John Edwards may go down in history as earning the National Enquirer it's first Pulitzer Prize." Coulter told punchline after punchline and your blogger couldn't even begin to take notes of them all. However, Coulter did close with this:
"Keith Olbermanis a girl. Yes, Keith Olberman is a girl." Yes, out of left field, but it was still funny!
North Carolinian Gets First Question
In the ten-minute question and answer session, Wake County's Jonathan Bandy (below, left in a 1998 file photo) went to the microphone asked the first question.
"I'm from North Carolina and what can we do to get more newspaper coverage of slimeball John Edwards?"
Coulter shot back, "I can't believe anyone at this conference is still reading newspapers. I'm sure the National Enquirer is available in North Carolina."
Probably not the answer the former State Young Republican Chairman was looking for. Your blogger thinks he probably meant more fair coverage of Edwards.
KCC believes that the worst culprit in the state in the John Edwards love fest, remains a Triangle-area TV station ( that streams online, for national readers).
WRAL's "Special" Relationship With Edwards?
This blogger dislikes WRAL-TV relationship with the former U.S. Senator. It has disgustingly followed Edwards around for 16 years and have covered every single move Edwards makes. When it came to Elizabeth's cancer, their marital problems, their children, his mistress, his hair, his former aide's book, or his cars, nothing was too "up close and personal" for channel 5.
Back when the former Senator was running as John Kerry's veep, people complained to the station about "too much Edwards", but co-anchor Pam Salsby, with her ever-rotating hairdos, took to the airwaves to explain that "this is a local story and people want to know".
-Another question from the audience was: "Did you ever date a liberal?" Coulter paused, smiled, and slyly answered, "He wasn't (liberal) for long".
Catch the entire speech, along with the funny Q&A session, in the videos below. You'll laugh your socks off and you'll wonder how someone could be so quick on her feet. Fellow blogger and top selling author Michelle Malkin, doesn't particularly like Coulter, because Coulter has a tendency to shoot from the hip. However, Coulter likes to make light of situations and make people laugh. She's more of a conservative comedian, while Malkin is a serious writer and conservative journalist. KCC enjoys them both.
Ann Coulter Speech Part I:
Part II of Ann Coulter Speech:
Ann Coulter Q&A Part I (after the speech)
Ann Coulter Q&A Part II
Editor's Notes
KCC picked up the nickname "ole nuke 'em 'till they glow" in 1983, when she was a Junior at New Bern Senior High School. Her Advanced United States History teacher (and the following year, her Advanced United States Government teacher) Howard Matthews, was a solid conservative, which often sparked debate in class amongst the students.
Your blogger was the hardest of the hardliners in class, regarding Communism, and the running gag in class was "why don't we just nuke 'em and be done with them"? Naturally, your blogger knew, even at such a young age that such a thing wouldn't be a practical solution, but received the nickname anyway.
She believed then, as she does now, that we should NOT negotiate with Communists or terrorists. Those people are irrational and cannot be trusted to keep their word.
Mrs. Phyllis Schlafly, author, speaker, and trail blazer, spoke Wednesday at CPAC. Your blogger captured most of her talk via her digital camera. (Please forgive the occasional shaky image.)
Mrs. Schlafly is a heroine of your blogger and has been since she took on 1972 Democratic Presidential candidate, George McGovern in a debate at her alma mater in the late 1980s. She virtually slaughtered him on stage at Jones Auditorium, on the Meredith College campus.
Many of KCC's classmates complained at the time, about Schlafly, saying "we aren't getting an education to stay home and cook dinner". They clearly didn't realize how educated that the lady on stage was.
Apparently her words did resonate, however, as most of those same women are proud stay-at-home moms today. In general, most are happily married, and providing their children a home with a two parent family (a mom and a dad).
Hearing Mrs. Schalfy's remarks was a true breath of fresh air. It seems as if social issues are taboo these days. In North Carolina, people are talking only of economic issues and are kicking social issues to the curb.
She was pointed, and explained how she built coalitions to achieve her goals. She also complained about the "Rockefeller Republicans", known by some as "RINOS" or Republicans in name only. (KCC doesn't like the term RINOS. She prefers the term, moderate Republicans.)
Issues Divide NC Republicans
In North Carolina over the past twenty-five years, one thing that has traditionally divided the Republican party is this failure to address certain key social issues.
Issues like two parent families, traditional marriage, and overturning Roe v. Wade should be addressed by candidates running for legislative office. In this blogger's experiences, the typical "religious conservative" will stay home and not vote if their needs are not addressed. While KCC does not agree with this tactic, she does acknowledge that it does occur. (Your blogger has had to go to the polls and "hold her nose to vote" many times, rather than just not vote.)
While these "economic only" conservatives do have many valued points upon which we agree, it is imperative that GOP candidates at least "throw a bone" to the social conservatives, to keep them coming out. To get elected, our cause needs every single voter it can get, without sacrificing major principles.
Listen to these brief remarks and continue reading below:
About Phyllis
Phyllis Schlafly has been a national leader of the conservative movement since the publication of her bestselling 1964 book, A Choice Not An Echo. She has been a leader of he pro-family movement since 1972, when she started her national volunteer organization, now called Eagle Forum. Her monthly newsletter, The Phyllis Schlafly Report, is now in its 42nd year. She is the author or editor of 20 books on subjects on subjects as varied as family and feminism, nuclear strategy, education, and child care.
Her most recent book,The Supremacists: The Tyranny of Judges And How To Stop It (which your blogger owns and appreciates), is a look at how our nation's judiciary and its slide toward dominance of American LIfe through judicial activism.
Schlafly is a graduate of Washington University and received her J.D. from Washington University Law School. Additionally, she received her Master's in Political Science from Harvard University.
Watch CPAC 2010 here on Katy's Conservative Corner, North Carolina's official CPAC blogger. As long as activies are taking place, this feed will be live. Enjoy. We'll keep this post at the top of the page through Saturday evening and individual stories will be posted beneath.
The 80s song by the alternative group "The Smiths" comes to mind today, when thinking of the money President Barack Obama poured down the proverbial drain he signed the so-called Stimulus bill, which has mortgaged the future of our children and grandchildren. KCC's young son doesn't know it, but he'll spend his life working to pay it off.
Young Bobby is already angry at Obama for cutting NASA and the American space program. As his mommy and daddy have explained, the Chinese will now beat us back to the moon. Bobby dreams of being an astronaut and KCC hopes it is not already too late for him. In fact, he's ready to head for Pluto tomorrow, when called upon.
Meanwhile, Congressman Mike Pence (R-Indiana, right), chairman of the U.S. House Republican Conference, told Congress his own opinions about the Spendulus bill, on the eve of the CPAC 2010 conference:
"One year later, one thing is clear: the stimulus bill has failed. One year later, not one net job has been created as unemployment rose from 7.6 percent to nearly 10 percent nationwide. Mr. President, millions of Americans are asking, 'where are the jobs?'
"It is time for Washington to take a new approach to get this economy moving again based on time-honored solutions: fiscal discipline in Washington, D.C. and immediate tax relief for working families, small businesses and family farms. Let's put American families first, set aside the big government schemes on health care and energy and take decisive action to get this economy growing again."
The North Carolina Republican Party recently sent this out to it's members, reminding them of the early beginnings of the party:
On August 19, 1864, two men held a meeting at the White House. The men could not have been more different; their lives could not have been more alien to the other. Yet, drawn mostly by a common cause and perhaps by the forces of destiny, these two men came together in an effort to secure the future of African-Americans, a future that had been argued over in a violent civil war for over three years. Never before or since have two men so singularly important to a group of people come together as on that summer day in 1864, when Abraham Lincoln welcomed Frederick Douglass into his office.
As we celebrate Lincoln’s 201st birthday, we can look back and thank Lincoln and Douglass for bringing two races together in a way that did not seem possible in the middle of the 19th Century. Borrowing a phrase from Mr. Lincoln, “it is altogether fitting and proper” that in the month of Lincoln’s birth, we also celebrate Black History Month. Certainly, African-American history would be much different were it not for the history-altering actions of Mr. Lincoln and Mr. Douglass.
Lincoln and Douglass (left) enjoyed a deep friendship that grew out of a shared set of principles: individual liberty, personal freedom, and the divinely-inspired value of every life. These principles drove Frederick Douglass to escape slavery and guided Lincoln as he rose to become the first President from a party founded on freedom and liberty.
With Lincoln as our first president, and Douglass as our first African-American statesmen, the Republican Party should be proud of our heritage.
We should be proud, also, of the contributions of many African-Americans to the Republican cause over the last 150 years. Conservative leaders like Joseph Rainey, the first African-American Congressman, and Booker T. Washington (below) gave African-Americans a national voice in the Republican Party. The first African-American in the U.S. Senate, Republican Hiram Revels, was born in North Carolina. John Hyman, a former slave in North Carolina, was elected to Congress to represent the state in 1874. Countless other African-Americans have helped shape political history in North Carolina, and today, African-Americans hold elected positions at the state level and within the leadership of the NCGOP.
As we celebrate Black History Month and reflect on the birth of President Lincoln, let us reaffirm those principles that gave rise to the Republican Party so long ago. Let us resolve that individual liberty, not government control, is the founding principal of our country. Let us pledge to further the work of Lincoln and Douglass, and carry their principles as our banner as we march to victory in November.
Editor's Note: KCC thanks the NC Republican Party for sharing this information with us. We couldn't have said this better ourselves. We appreciate the contributions of all black Americans and honor them, this month and always.
For an etymology of the word Valentine, a bit of history and reflection might be appropriate. Human sacrifice, self-sacrifice and martyrdom are not new. They go back to the Iron age when Virgil in his Book IV, dramatically depicted the departure of Aeneas for the Trojan war leading to Dido's plunging a knife into her breast and sacrificing herself for the love of Aeneas.
And we know that during the reign of Roman Emperor Diocletian (244-311 BC) Christians were caught and fed to the lions.
Were those professed Christians who risked their lives and became dinner for the Emperor's hungry lions on a suicide mission as are today's fanatic suicide bombers of Islam? A good question to reflect upon... The martyr sacrificed self. Today, the fanatic bombers sacrifices self and kills innocent others. That is murder... Things got better for Christians after Emperor Constantine (272-337 AD) converted to Christianity in 313 AD. The same persecuted Christians under Diocletian were now pampered and given cushiony jobs under Constantine. What a difference a mere 75 years make!
There were three Saint Valentines and the one we westerners strongly identify is the Saint Valentine of Rome who was a priest martyred in 269 AD by the orders of Diocletian. Some 200 years later Pope Gelasius I (he was the pope when Saint Augustine '345-430 AD' became the Bishop of Hippo) decided to recognize Saint Valentine's love and devotion for Christianity and established by papal order the Saint Valentine's Day. It was not until Chaucer days in the fourteenth century England when the feast of February 14 first became associated with romantic love, a pure Anglo invention.
For the past seven centuries the invention has served us well. Imagine the number of weddings that have been facilitated and children conceived by Saint Valentine. Incidentally, Valentine from Latin valentinus means valence, and the word value takes its roots from the same origin.
My wife, Emily joins me in wishing a Happy Valentine's Day to all of you and your precious families.
Love and Joy to All,
Assad Meymandi, MD, PhD, DLFAPA Raleigh Dr. Meymandi is a former GOP candidate for office and is a longtime supporter of conservative issues and of the arts in North Carolina. He is a regular contributor to Katy's Conservative Corner.
According to the North Carolina Family Policy Council, Wake County and the town of Apex have removed coverage for elective abortions for their government employees, except in the case of rape, incest, or to save the life of the mother.
The action brought their policies in line with a 1981 state Supreme Court ruling that found it is illegal for government entities to use tax dollars to pay for abortions.
For years, pro-life legislators in the General Assembly have tried to get such coverage removed from the state employee health plan to no avail. It's good to see local citizens and government leaders taking on this responsibility to uphold both the law and innocent human life.
The largest women's college in the Southeast has done the "unthinkable' and made this blogger a very happy woman!
Meredith College, has dropped a conservative's least popular major, Women's studies. Located on Hillsborough Street in Raleigh, the college added the major during your blogger's study there and it puzzled KCC's mind. After all, aren't all majors and issues, women's issues?
Due to the poor economy, all colleges and universities are suffering and many are forced to look at eliminating less popular majors as a way of lowering costs. Yes, others were cut along with Women's Studies, but this was something special, a victory in an increasingly liberal institution.
Goodbye women's studies. May you never, ever return. Your elimination is an answer to this blogger's prayers and Meredith has another small check coming your way as our way to say thank you.
Editor's Note: Meredith students and graduates share a very special bond that's difficult to describe. We often tell men and graduates of co-education institutions that "you had to go there" to understand it, the traditions, and all generations of students went through. It doesn't matter if you graduated in 1923 or will graduate in 2013, we all share a special feeling about one another. KCC assumes that only graduates and students from other women's colleges can possibly understand.
We thank God that this is a much more conservative institution than those in the Northeast, such as where Secretary Hillary Clinton went to school.
Shameless plug: Your blogger is a proud member of the class of 1989 and recommends Meredith to any high school student considering a small college atmosphere. If you know someone who is interested in attending Meredith, this blogger can get her a waiver for her application fee. Please email KCC at the email me link above. They have a great atmosphere for conservatives and a college Republican club. Your blogger can set your student up with the right people.
(Above, Cornhuskin' Parade in 2007) Every November, Cornhuskin' is THE major activity and takes at least a year to plan. Classes compete against one another in a number of events and the day kicks off with the class parade. Every student remembers all four of their Cornhuskin's.It's hard to explain and you have to go to Meredith to understand...)
*Congratulations to the group NC Freedom on their first anniversary. This group is not affiliated with any other group, nationally or locally, but shares related information from bloggers and associated groups with those who sign up for its mailing list. Their newsletter editor, Sharon Sbrocco, told your blogger that the first year has been productive and that she looks forward to their Convention of the People - Initiative I. Check it out here.
*KCC will be an official blogger at CPAC in Washington, as a representative from NC. Held every February, the meeting brings thousands of conservatives together to ignite their collective spirits and hear inspiring speakers.
We are extremely excited to see friends that we only see at national events, and it appears that there are a number of North Carolinians going, as well. Please say hello to us while there, if possible!
We'll also run the proceedings live on this blog, in the event. This may come in handy if you don't have access to a television during your workday, for example.
*Our friend over at the ARRA News Service in Arkansas, Dr. Bill Smith, has an excellent article on Nancy Pelosi's Food and Booze Tab. Drawn from research done at Judicial Watch, this short piece will make your cry for our once great nation. In fact, Dr. Bill's blogs are excellent and we highly recommend them all.
On a side note, Dr. Bill told this KCC that he spends so many hours per week on his blog, that he often doesn't come out of his office for days at the time. He works incredibly hard to keep the citizens of Arkansas, and the nation informed.
Democrat Leaders HarryReid, NancyPelosi, BarbaraBoxer, Barwney Frawnk, and Robert KKK Byrd can't keep their minds on a strategy meeting as they discuss Senator-Elect Scott Brown. Your blogger saw it last night on the NBC show, Saturday Night Live and she and her husband laughed like crazy.
Please note, though this is a bit corny, we don't recommend it if you are easily offended to mild sexual references, or are a Democrat. This video is also not for young children.
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