Thursday, November 7, 2024

Presidential Election 2024

I can breathe, I'm at peace, and I'm excited!  

Over the past several years, I have followed politics much more closely than ever before.  Maybe even at an unhealthy level.  Since January of 2021 our country has been under the control of the Biden administration, which has turned our country upside down,  It's like driving by a car crash, it has been hard to look away.  On day one, President Biden reversed all of the policies President Trump had put in place for the border.  This decision enabled millions of migrants to enter our country unvetted and illegally.  Thousands of criminals, drug mules, sex traffickers, and many on the terrorist watch list were allowed to freely cross our borders, resulting in sexual exploitation among women and children, horrible crimes and drug related deaths.  The government spent billions of dollars to care for the illegals, instead of taking care of our own homeless or veterans.  Biden also signed orders that severely limited our ability to drill for oil.  The U.S. began to buy oil from other countries including Venezuela, a communist country.  The result in the United States was crushing inflation.  The prices of gas, food, shelter, and basically everything skyrocketed making it very difficult for lower and middle class citizens to afford necessities.  Biden also reversed the Iran sanctions, basically dumping billions into their economy.  This emboldened Iran to strengthen their proxy terror groups resulting in the worst attack on our Jewish friends since the holocaust.  Over 1300 Jews and some Americans were killed in barbaric ways on October 7, 2023.  Over 250 were taken hostage.  The Biden administration also terribly botched a withdrawal from Afghanistan resulting in the death of 13 American soldiers, leaving behind billions of dollars of military equipment, and leaving our loyal afghani friends, who had helped us during the war, to be slaughtered.  I could go on and on about the failings and the immoral policies of the Biden administration.  It has almost felt surreal and has been very confusing.  What is right has been labeled evil and what's evil has been embraced as what is right.  A large group of people in our country believe that you can change your gender or "identify" to be whatever you want, even a cat.  People believe that it is okay to allow babies to be born and left to die if the parents don't want the baby.   I'm sure you will find plenty in the history books (if they record it accurately.)  The point is, life has been difficult and dark for a long time.  I'm so grateful that the U.S Constitution requires a new presidential election every four years.

The presidential election of 2024 will probably go down as the most fascinating election in the history of our country.  In order to grasp it's fascination, you have to understand the political landscape of the past decade and the significance of Donald J. Trump in the political realm.  I won't go into all of it, but you need to know that the liberals, democrats and main stream media hate him.  They have what we call "Trump derangement syndrome."  They are so blinded by their hatred for him, that they can't see clearly.  So, when he announced that he was running for a second term, things got crazy!  

If you remember, the liberals completely fell apart when Trump won the presidency in 2016.  He wasn't a typical politician, he was a business man, an outsider and wanted to "drain the swamp"  which meant that he wanted to overhaul the establishment in Washington D.C.  Millions of liberal women marched against him after his inauguration.  The democratic party fought his agenda tooth and nail and tried to remove him from office several times through impeachment.  The media could not acknowledge the good that he was doing, they criticized his every move.  Even though the border was secure, we were energy independent, and the economy was booming, they still hated him.  When Covid hit in 2020 and everything shut down, they blamed Trump for the flailing economy and voted Biden in.  There were questions about the legitimacy of the election, but Trump was out.  

Trump was determined to win back the presidency, but the liberals did everything they could to make sure that would never happen.  They began digging into his business practices and personal life to find opportunities to bring legal charges against him.  They hoped to drag him and his family through the mud.  They wanted to bankrupt him, or throw him in prison.  We called it "lawfare."   But an interesting thing happened.  The more they tried to prosecute him unjustly, the more the people began to coalesce around him.  Their strategy was backfiring.  Trump won the primary election, and began his second candidacy for president.  

Shortly into his presidency, Biden began to exhibit cognitive decline.  The liberal media and white house acted like nothing was wrong with him.  They covered for him for years, but they could no longer hide it once the campaign started.  The first presidential debate was the end for Biden.  He lost his train of thought and struggled cognitively throughout the entire debate.  Fearing that Biden couldn't defeat Trump, his party asked him to step aside, and crowned Kamala Harris (the V.P) as their new candidate.  This was unprecedented.  Kamala had never received a single vote.  Instead of following the democratic process and allowing the people to vote on who should be their candidate, they gave her the nod.  Immediately, the democratic party and celebrities fell in line behind her and the campaigning became intense.  

Trump began holding rally after rally all over the nation.  He was drawing huge crowds and building momentum.  Those who didn't like him, were not happy.  One such person attempted to assassinate him at a rally in PA.  It was an act of God that Trump wasn't killed.  He turned his head at the exact moment that the bullet rang out.  Instead of hitting him squarely in the temple, it grazed his ear.  He dropped to the ground as the secret service threw their bodies over the top of him.  He was lucky to be alive.  Unfortunately, 3 members in the crowd were shot and one lost his life.  In a moment of true leadership and strong character, Trump stood up and with blood streaming down his face, raised his fist in the air urging his supporters to "fight, fight, fight."  It was a moment that will never be forgotten.  His base was fired up and more determined than ever to put him back in the White House.  

As Trump's momentum continued to grow, there was a second assassination attempt and his support grew stronger.  The media and democrats started playing dirty.  They began comparing Trump to Hitler,  They said he was a threat to democracy and used scare tactics to turn voters away from him.  Biden even said that Trump supporters were garbage.  It was pathetic.  

As the election drew near, the polls showed the race dead even.  Some days Kamala had a slight lead and others, Trump.  The election could go either way.  As the early ballots started to come in, indications showed that the Trump supporters were turning out more than ever before, and yet, it was still unclear.  Some pollsters had Kamala winning all 7 swings state, while other polls showed them going to Trump.  Let's just say, election day was a nail biter.  As the results started coming in, I was glued to the tv holding my breath in anticipation for the outcome.  Things started out good for Trump, but I was still apprehensive, things had started the same in 2020.  After hours of intense uncertainty, it gradually became clear that Trump was going to win in a landslide.  The light began to chase the dark away.  I could breathe.  I was at peace, and really excited about the future of our country.  Not only did Trump win every swing state, the republican party also took control of the Senate and kept control of the House.  The country had spoken.  They wanted change.  They wanted Trump back in the White House!

Back To Back Champions!

Reyn had another fun year of volleyball!


Region Champions




High School Volleyball 4A State Champions!  
2 years in a row!


Halloween

Q made this beauty in about 10 minutes!

He had the best time trick-or-treating with his friends.

 
Reyn had multiple costumes


Ben played video games on the porch
while passing out candy

Q did well!

Tuesday, October 29, 2024

Super Sweet

When I arrived home from my trip, the door was locked with a sign that said there was a door malfunction, go to the front door.  When I opened the door, there were streamers and balloons filling the hall.  Ben had made me a gauntlet, complete with treats and flowers.


Ben had also cleaned the house, taken out the garbage, done the laundry and even bought some 9 volt batteries in case the smoke detectors start beeping before he gets home. (It seems to happen every time he goes on a trip.) He can be super sweet!

Monday, October 28, 2024

Conan Gray!

Holly called a few weeks ago to tell me about the Conan concert she went to.  She was having post concert blues.  Somehow in that conversation she convinced me that we should go see him in Texas for the last show of his "Found Heaven" tour.  We snagged some tickets, booked some flights and it was on!  She sent me links to a bunch of his songs, so I would be familiar with them.  Turns out, his music is awesome!  And the concert was a blast!

Slay!  Her Conan vibe was fantastic!
She made these pants and got 
so many compliments!

She did my makeup and
bought me a shirt to match her vibe.  

The next day we visited the 6th Floor in Dallas.  Holly got a crash course on JFK and the assassination.  It was cooler than she thought it would be.  In case you don't know, the 6th floor is a museum at the Texas Book Depository.  Lee Harvey Oswald fired the shots that killed JFK from a window on the 6th floor. 


Then we explored the 
Dallas Museum of Art.

Tuesday, October 22, 2024

A Walk Down Memory Lane

Our last stop was a detour to Lemoore, California for some family history.  We went to the elementary school that I atrended from kindergarten through 2nd grade.  I showed Ben and Qyntn the path I walked to school and we visited my old house.  It brought back so many fun memories!  I was glad I got to share it with them.  


Go Mustangs!



Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks

Next up was Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks.  On the way there we fished the Kings River and caught nothing.  Afterward, we checked out General Grant.  Then we fished at Hume lake and in a creek at the Lodgepole campground and didn’t catch a thing.  Then we hung out with General Sherman and hiked to the top of Moro Rock.  Afterward we tried fishing again at Slide Rock recreation area and still had no luck.  0-4 fishing today.  

Kings River

General Grant

Inside a giant sequoia


General Sherman
The most massive tree on earth




Moro Rock

Top of Moro Rock

The hike was a bit insane.
350 steps up with steep dropoffs.

A rock with a view!


Tunnel tree

Fishing at dusk