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Liberals want slavery

October 3, 2012 in Blog, Libertarian Values, Miscellaneous with 1 Comment

Why do people vote Democrat? Neal Boortz boiled it down to one reason: to access other people’s money. It might not be for themselves, but for the poor, or for cancer research, or to save the environment, or fill in the blank. Brilliant. I can find nothing incorrect about his statement. Find me one person who votes Democrat who doesn’t want to access other people’s money. Making people work and not paying them for it, by any other name is slavery.

Social conservatives want moral slavery. There, there’s the bone.

Let people be. Reduce government like a good sauce. Be charitable with your own money. Big government always comes to one thing: oppression.

Let’s end slavery. Vote Libertarian, like a good classical liberal.

Animal lovers listen up. If you really love them, you won’t vote for Obama.

September 21, 2012 in Blog, Cutting Government Spending with 0 Comments

I posted my latest article on my natural living website because it has a bigger audience. The collapse of our economy is no joke.

Here is the link: http://betsydewey.com/if-you-love-animals-you-will-not-vote-for-obama/

If you love animals you will not vote for Obama

September 21, 2012 in Blog, For All, Politics with 1 Comment

Vegans, vegetarians, birders, PETA members, veterinarians, pet adoption champions, listen.

I love animals

My chickens get to free range. I’ve thought about it. If I were a chicken, I’d rather live 18 months completely free than 7 years in a cage. So I free-range my chickens. But I can only do this because I can still afford to buy more chicks. We have rogue foxes and raccoons. So when the economy collapses, I’ll coop up the chickens. I won’t be able to afford losing a hen.

My hummingbirds take about half a cup of sugar every week. That’s okay. I can afford it and we’re not in a crisis situation where sugar is legal tender.

Horses, dogs, rabbits, you name it, will all get eaten when our economy collapses

If you vote democrat, you are blatantly ignoring the fact that borrowing .43 cents for every dollar we dole out is mathematically impossible. Do I think republicans have a much better track record? Heavens, no. At least they claim to be fiscally conservative, but the irony there is that if they truly were fiscally conservative, they’d consider the undeniable fact that foreign wars are out of our budget.

Chickens, hummingbirds, humans. If you love animals, you will find the candidates in your area who stand for Liberty, the Constitution, and Capitalism. Capitalism benevolently renders an elevated standard of living for all, superior products, and an extremely healthy economy from which every citizen benefits. When you are rich, your animals have it good. Kind of like, when the rich are rich, we have it good. Capitalism is like a lake. When the lake rises, all of the boats rise, not just the big ones. When the rich ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy.

If you love animals you will not vote for Obama. If we don’t heal this economy, it will collapse, and the animals will suffer in ways you can not even imagine.

Plus, Obama signs unconstitutional executive orders. Even if you like the orders, the fact is, he is acting like a dictator, not a president of the United States who has sworn to uphold and protect our Constitution. Laws are made by Congress. The President has no authority to decide which ones he likes and doesn’t like. He has veto power, but if the Congress then comes up with a 2/3 vote, it’s a law, buddy. You can’t make your own laws or disregard the law just because you think you’re somehow king.

Oh, and he compromises your Constitutional rights too. Like Amendments 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, and 10 of the Bill of Rights. You should read them. They are your rights, not given to you by any man, but by your Creator, whomever you believe that to be.

I love animals. Do you?

The cloth menstrual pad revisited

September 18, 2012 in Advice/Wisdom, Blog, For All, Natural Living, Women's health with 1 Comment

I finally found a favorite

10 golden stars to New Moon Pads. They are easy, comfy, and even cute. Here is how to use them: you just put the fleece side down which naturally grabs on to your undies, and you snap it underneath. There are no cloth holders or inserts to worry about. If you can wash them mid-cycle you should only need 6 day time ones and 3 night time ones. You can start with the pad a little forward and inch it back a little from time to time until you need a new one. You can also double up on heavy days.

For information on how to wash cloth pads, see my first post on the subject. Click here.

I feel a little sad for women who haven’t rediscovered cloth pads.They’re not only comfortable, they’re easy, healthy, cheap, and environmentally conservative.

If you don’t know it, tampons are bad for you and can cause toxic shock syndrome (TSS).

Cloth menstrual pads are one of those things I’ve discovered, like home birth and home school, which make me so happy and almost no one else seems to know about, yet they were a part of everyone’s experience for most of history. You won’t be sorry if you order some New Moon Pads. My experience with cloth pads is that they will last for a decade or more. It certainly wouldn’t hurt to try them. If you know of other brands that rock, please let us all know!

How to Take Control of Your Pelvic Disorder

September 17, 2012 in Blog, Women's health with 0 Comments

Guest post by Elizabeth Carrollton

Thank you, Elizabeth, for submitting this informative guest post which seeks to educate women about pelvic disorders, treatments, and the dangers of vaginal mesh. Remember ladies – kegels and a healthy lifestyle...

How to Take Control of Your Pelvic Disorder by Elizabeth Carrollton

Pelvic disorders have become a common diagnosis, especially in women who have reached menopause. Two of the most common pelvic disorders are stress urinary incontinence (SUI) and pelvic organ prolapse (POP). While severe cases of these conditions can require surgical intervention, a woman can often mitigate her symptoms — or even reverse the condition altogether — with careful attention to her pelvic health. This can involve dietary or lifestyle changes, as well as specialized exercises and physical therapies. By taking control of her pelvic disorder, a woman has a lower chance of needing surgical intervention, including risky procedures that use transvaginal mesh.

The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends that non-invasive measures be considered first, before surgical intervention is suggested. There are several non-invasive treatment options available to women who suffer from mild to moderate POP and/or SUI.

Taking Control of Stress Urinary Incontinence

SUI occurs when muscles and tissues in the urethra and bladder are weakened. This can happen as the result of the natural aging process, excessive weight gain, or after pregnancy and childbirth. When a woman with SUI participates in any activity that puts stress on the bladder or urethra, she can experience incontinence. This can happen from running, jumping or lifting heavy objects, or as the result of less active events like laughing, coughing or sneezing.

Non-invasive methods that can reverse the symptoms include:

  • Living a healthy lifestyle.
  • Daily Kegel exercises.
  • Visiting a pelvic physical therapist.
  • Electrical stimulation.
  • Vaginal pessary.

Women should discuss these options, or ask their doctor for other suggestions, to see if they are candidates for non-invasive SUI treatment.

Surgery can be used to treat severe cases of SUI. Some procedures use a bladder sling, a narrow piece of mesh that is inserted to provide support for the bladder and/or urethra. Unfortunately, high numbers of health complications have occurred when bladder slings are inserted transvaginally, or through the vagina. In severe cases of SUI, where surgery is the only alternative, women should ask their doctors about options that do not involve a transvaginal procedure.

Taking Control of Pelvic Organ Prolapse

POP shares the same risk factors as SUI: aging/menopause, pregnancy and childbirth, or excessive weight gain. However, while urinary incontinence can be a symptom of POP, POP occurs when the connective tissues in the pelvis weaken, allowing organs to drop lower in the pelvic cavity. In severe cases, pelvic organs can begin prolapsing into the vagina. In addition to the non-invasive methods listed for treating SUI, pelvic massage has also been shown to help women with POP, as it realigns organs and tissues and promotes healing.

When surgery is needed for POP, doctors often use vaginal mesh to support compromised organs and tissues with a hammock-like structure. Unfortunately, vaginal mesh can erode into pelvic tissues and organs, causing irreversible damage. Vaginal mesh has also been linked to several other severe side effects like organ perforation, vaginal wall shrinkage, and painful sexual intercourse. The FDA still has yet to mandate a recall, but in 2011, they finally acknowledged that vaginal mesh complications were not rare. If surgery is required, women should discuss alternative procedures with their doctor. Many women who have had vaginal mesh surgery and suffered the dangerous complications have decided to file vaginal mesh lawsuits.

No woman should be unknowingly exposed to a risky surgical procedure. The more educated women become about pelvic disorders and their treatments, the more they can take control of their pelvic disorder and their overall health.

Elizabeth Carrollton writes about defective medical devices and dangerous drugs for Drugwatch.com.

Capitalism, patriotism, and constitutionalism are required to be taught in Texas schools

September 4, 2012 in Blog, For All, Homeschool, Politics with 1 Comment

I love Texas. I love Texas almost as much as I love the US Constitution. As a dedicated homeschool mom, one of the things I do each year is print out the State of Texas’ expectations for the grades my kids would be in. I then peruse them and make sure that my kids are at least where the State of Texas expects them to be. As blown away as I was by the Kindergarten requirements last year, I didn’t write this post. So here goes.

Here are some excerpts from Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Grade 1 - revised August 2011

Under English Language Arts and Reading (110.12)

“To meet Texas Education Code, 28.002(h) which states’… each school district shall foster the continuation of the tradition of teaching United States and Texas history and the free enterprise system in the regular subject matter and in reading courses and in the adoption of textbooks,’ students will be provided oral and written narratives as well as other informational texts that can help them to become thoughtful, active citizens who appreciate the basic democratic values of our state and nation.”

Under Social Studies (113.12)

“(4) Students identify the role of the U.S. free enterprise system within the parameters of this course and understand that this system may also be referenced as capitalism or the free market system.

(5) Throughout social studies in Kindergarten-Grade 12, students build a foundation in history; geography; economics; government; citizenship; culture; science, technology, and society; and social studies skills. The content, as appropriate for the grade level or course, enables students to understand the importance of patriotism, function in a free enterprise society, and appreciate the basic democratic values of our state and nation as referenced in the Texas Education Code (TEC), §28.002(h).

(6) Students understand that a constitutional republic is a representative form of government whose representatives derive their authority from the consent of the governed, serve for an established tenure, and are sworn to uphold the constitution.

(7) Students must demonstrate learning performance related to any federal and state mandates regarding classroom instruction. Although Grade 1 is not required to participate in Celebrate Freedom Week, according to the TEC, §29.907, primary grades lay the foundation for subsequent learning. As a result, Grade 1 Texas essential knowledge and skills include standards related to this patriotic observance.

(8) Students identify and discuss how the actions of U.S. citizens and the local, state, and federal governments have either met or failed to meet the ideals espoused in the founding documents. (my personal favorite – I mean, if discussions like this are actually taking place, Congress and Obama’s approval ratings should be hovering near 0%. Do keep in mind that the Teacher’s Unions are huge supporters of the Democratic Party.)

(12) Government. The student understands the role of authority figures, public officials, and citizens. The student is expected to:

(A) identify the responsibilities of authority figures in the home, school, and community;

(B) identify and describe the roles of public officials in the community, state, and nation; and

(C) identify and describe the role of a good citizen in maintaining a constitutional republic.

How is it we are anti-capitalist socialists these days?

I am agog. If this part of Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Grade 1 is being taught, how is it that our country is so rapidly moving in the direction of socialism, anti-capitalism, the systematic destruction of our Constitution and Bill of Rights, and economic destruction? Of course, Texas doesn’t move in that direction quite as rapidly as the rest of the country. Perhaps this is because some of our teachers bother to teach the Constitution? It’s more likely because a certain portion of parents in Texas teach their children about how the greatest, albeit undeserved, thing that ever happened to them was being born in the USA. In Texas, we don’t have a state income tax, entrepreneurs are not vilified, there is a general and healthy mistrust of government, the feds will have to pry our guns from our cold, dead, hands, we are economically conservative across the board, fiercely independent, and the friendliest people I’ve ever met in the world. We really like the ideas of freedom and the pursuit of happiness. Dissent is in our genes, and the topic of secession makes for jovial repartee at dinner parties.

I doubt that many parents who send their kids into the hands of bureaucrats for education bother to read what the state intends to teach their children. I am happy to report that capitalism, patriotism, and constitutionalism are to be taught in our schools. I truly hope that these things are in fact, being taught. Our republic teeters on the brink of destruction. We’ve already given up about half of the rights our great great grandfathers fought and died for. Perhaps our children will remember something of the only document that ever guaranteed them their liberty. Perhaps they will resurrect it.

Don’t forget Constitution Week is September 17-23.

You can listen to me reading an easy to understand translation of the Constitution here for free. You can read it here.

You are what you fill your mind with

September 2, 2012 in Blog, For All, Politics, Spirituality with 2 Comments

I believe this.

I have been different things because of it too. I’ve been a bluegrass fiddler, a healer, a martial artist, a francophile, an existential philosopher, a Christian, a pagan, a mother, and most recently, a politically immersed Libertarian candidate for the US House of Representatives.

I’ve been consciously filling my mind with issues, laws, governments, our Constitution, our rights, our current political theatre, history, economics, the pulse of what’s going on with our leaders, etc.

Am I creating it all?

I hope that it truly is all an illusion, that I’ve created this reality with my mind, and that I am responsible for my life, as my tango with New Age philosophy would have me believe. I realize there is a collective consciousness in which we all take part, but it is possible that everything is just a figment of my imagination, a great movie I am writing, directing, and staring in. That way, I can just change it. I can stop filling my mind with politics and government, and go back to filling it with positive vibrational energy.

But it sure does seem real, especially the broken bodies of our soldiers returning from war. It doesn’t seem like sticking my head in the sands of a philosophical desert is going to change that.

Politics is ugly, but I’m in control of my mind, right?

Filling my mind with politics and current events leaves me fighting becoming bitter, hard, afraid, sad, and angry. Ew. Those are all the negative emotions. There was a time, as a healer, that I would have told someone that every time you feel one of the negative emotions, you have to become conscious of it and then replace it with a positive one, and the best way to do that is through gratitude and forgiveness. If you are in the process of being grateful, you can not possibly be sad, angry, or mad. You are filled with peace, love, and joy. And when you’re filled with peace, love and joy, you’re happy, you’re light, and the people around you all benefit from that because moods are contagious.

Mmmm. I feel better already. But wait, the economy is about to collapse, our rights are going to be completely stripped when the dictatorial military law kicks in, life as we know it will come to a grinding halt, and it’s not going to be pretty. Our government, that handful of folks whom we apparently elect, controls the press and has sold us down the river. We’re beyond broke – up a creek without a paddle. We really do live an illusion, especially those who don’t provide for themselves. Our government is spying on us, has the liberty to incarcerate us without a trial, and takes the liberty to kill people by drone strike without a trial. They’ve begun the systematic elimination of our Constitutional rights. Furthermore, nowhere in the Constitution does it say that the government can forcibly take our income from us. Nowhere in the Constitution does it say that we should give that money to 47% of the population who doesn’t have any skin in the game. The Constitution unfortunately does say that Congress has the power to tax. I wish one of our founding fathers had been twisted enough to have imagined something as injurious to liberty as the income tax, so that they would have thought to add a clause that said – citizens’ earnings shall never be subject to taxation. I digress.

See? I just ranted.

My ire is raised every single time I think about these issues – like these unconstitutional wars that are destroying families and soldiers’ lives. These pointless wars are on our dime! Dime? Try a trillion dollars per war. Yep, all the tax payers are forced to fund the wars under threat of jail time. It angers me. The first lady spends millions of our dollars on her vacations. Why can’t she spend her own money like other first ladies have done? We are frugal when we spend our own money, you know.

So here I am. All peeved.

You are what you fill your mind with. Do I go on creating this for myself? Or do I stop and meditate, focus on forgiveness and gratitude, and become light and love? Herein lies the problem: I can’t follow my bliss when I don’t have freedom and rights; I can only do this in the free world for which hundreds of thousands of men and women have given their lives that I might enjoy the circuitous pursuit of happiness. I have to fight for that world right now. I want it for my grand kids more than I want it for myself. When I come to that conclusion, it makes me feel like I am one of those brave men and women who have given their lives for the rest of us to enjoy the fruits of liberty. I must conclude that I volunteer. I will fight for our Constitution, our rights, and our precious freedom.

However, for my own sanity, I may need to take a break now and then and read some Tom Brown, Gary Zukav, Neale Donald Walsh, Mary, Rumi, Starhawk, John Donne, or Brian Tracy.

“I realize we can never sleep again without one eye open on the government at all times”.   – Mike Najvar

Yes, Mike. That’s exactly how our founders felt.

 

 

Sweet days of motherhood

August 7, 2012 in Advice/Wisdom, Blog, For All, Natural Living, Parenting, Spirituality with 0 Comments

Poem of the month

I first saw this poem by Karen Howland in an old Mothering Magazine while it was in print. It’s been one of my favorites. Karen has graciously given me permission to print this here for you. Take a moment and enjoy.

My Days Are Made of You and Me

You dance tangerine slices across my skin and sing I love you mama.

Your cheeks burst with citrus juice and the sun runs down your chin.

Anticipation is too much, you eat cheese right through the wrap.

It’s your first embrace of everything that enamors me so.

Your feet try and leave the certainty of gravity, jubilant

jump, leap, fall into my lap, I quiet you with a kiss, and you’re off

flying, feeling, falling the fruit of you, the tree of me, we spin

telling time by milk rather than clocks, and we smell heaven

in cinnamon and pillows and corners the world forgets.

There is a melon slice in your open palm, an orange smile

that travels from your hand, to your face, to my soul.

By Karen Howland

You can check out Karen’s website here.

Okay, Libertarians. Who’s it gonna be? Johnson or not-Obama?

July 30, 2012 in Blog, Freedom, Libertarian Values, Miscellaneous with 2 Comments

Franklin, Jefferson, Paine… Johnson

As a Libertarian, you’ve just gotta love Gary Johnson. I personally adore the man. He knows that we need to bring our soldiers home. He speaks openly about reducing crime and gang violence nation-wide by ending the black market of drugs. He’d never agree to raise the debt ceiling – he’d actually want to pay our debt. He significantly cut spending and taxes in New Mexico during his two terms as governor. He even vetoed a bill because “this piece of legislation [is] just way too long and we don’t understand what it says.” (Take that, Ms. “We have to pass the bill so you can find out what is in it” Pelosi.) He stands by every libertarian principle I can think of whether it be fiscally conservative or socially liberal. He’s the one candidate who would have a remote chance of getting our country out of the mess it’s in. However, as Libertarians, we are also all too aware of where another four years of Barack Obama would get us.

Obama’s failure is our future

For now, we’ve got facts like these to ponder:

  • Lowest percentage of taxpayers paying income taxes in the modern era (49 percent).
  • Highest rate of government dependency in American history (47 percent of Americans receive one or more federal benefit payments).
  • America’s sovereign debt rating has been downgraded for the first time in our nation’s history.
  • Adding more debt to our nation than all other 43 presidents combined
  • All of his lies, about 100 on record so far – things like Obamacare is “absolutely not a tax.”
  • President Obama said in February 2009 that the stimulus would lift “2 million Americans from poverty.” But since Obama took office, 6.3 million Americans have fallen into poverty.

I have friends who are so liberal, they don’t even have a clue about our deficit, our debt, how “flexible” Obama said he’d be after his re-election to Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, how much Michele Obama spends of our hard earned money on her vacations, that middle eastern kings and the rest of the world’s wealthy come to the US for their health care, Obama’s marxist past, etc. They also can’t stomach the right wing’s moral broken record. They are still, even though it’s like shooting yourself in the foot when you can’t get antibiotics, going to vote for our own Nobel Peace Prize winner again. They simply can’t get over W, and born-again America.

So, my serious consideration – and what I want your opinion on – is that this election is in the hands of us Libertarians. Post-Ron Paul, our numbers are staggering. If we vote our hearts, Governor Johnson will come in a close third in the race, and Barry will win again. And then most of us are going to start wondering if New Zealand is very open to immigrants. If we want what’s best for our nation and our liberty, and we stop and think about it, as the nausea sets in, we will simply be forced to vote for Romney.

We all know that it will be Washington garbage in, garbage out as usual, but at least Mitt will be facing re-election, and would likely put off any real funny business until his second term, the kind of second-term funny business from Obama that would sink the nation. That is, if we’re not already sunk.

I know that trying to pin Libertarians down is like herding cats, and that’s one of the hallmarks of being a Libertarian – we don’t take too kindly to being herded. However, I really do want to hear from some of you. As much as I know that Gary Johnson would be the greatest president since Lincoln, I also know he’s more likely to be a Ross Perot, who received 18.9% of the vote, and for whom I proudly cast my first presidential vote at the wee age of 20, and then wore black for the next week in mourning of the liar my vote elected – who won the presidency with one of the smallest percentages of the popular vote in history.

My solution is for us to be smart about this. Not just principled, but really thoughtful. If we can elect an R for four years, then a D for four, then an R for four, and so on until the nation realizes that the vast majority of us are truly Libertarian and vote in an L, then no single man (or woman) will have a lame duck term where he or she can do political favors, spend us into oblivion, and speed us along to the demise of all democracies historically thus far.

We need to vote in a Libertarian majority in Congress. We need Libertarian sheriffs, state houses, judges, school boards, and city councils. And for President this year, you might need, gulp, to vote for the R.

If you live in a red state like Texas or a blue state like California, show our strength and vote for Gary Johnson. But if you live in a swing or blue state and you love liberty, I’m suggesting that your liberty-based decision is heavier than mine.

Sticking my liberty loving, Constitution abiding neck out,

Betsy Dewey, Libertarian Candidate, US House of Representatives – Texas District 25.

Listen to the Constitution in simple English

July 29, 2012 in Blog, Freedom, Miscellaneous with 1 Comment

Listen by clicking here. Please share this link with everyone you know.

I have a gift for you, the rest of America, and anyone in the world who is interested in the most amazing guarantee of freedom the world has ever produced. I finished recording Elizabeth Claire’s translation of the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and amendments 11-27 into simple, easy to understand English. Thank you, Elizabeth for this labor of love that you so kindly allowed me to record.

It took our founding fathers months to come to an agreement as to the contents of the document. They had to compromise. As you read or listen to the Constitution, you may find that there are items you disagree with, and you would be in the good company of those who drafted it. It’s still a compromise. However, it is not a document to be compromised. It is the only thing that stands between us and the tyranny that has swallowed countless peoples throughout history. The largest problem facing the United States today is the whittling away of the our precious Constitutional rights and the stranglehold our government is taking on our freedom. You might argue that the spending in Washington, that the printing and borrowing of money we don’t have, is the largest problem facing America. I see them as one in the same. Our federal government, which this precious document created, was never meant to overstep it’s Constitutional bounds. It was never meant to involve itself in world domination, education, medical care, or paying for votes with food, housing, and cable TV. It doesn’t give the right to the president to go to war. The wars with Iraq, Afghanistan, drugs, and poverty are undeclared and unconstitutional. If this kind of knowledge interests you, have a little listen to your Constitution.

I got to read it 5 times during my recording stint, and I am in love with this document, liberty for all, and the founding principles of this nation more than ever.

You have the right to a fair and speedy trial before a jury. Our Congress and President signed the NDAA on New Year’s Eve 2011 which gives them the right to detain you, an American citizen – their creator, indefinitely without a trial. Unconstitutional?

You have the right to free speech and to take your grievances to the government. President Obama signed “Anti-Protest” Bill H.R. 347 on March 9, 2012, which prohibits anyone from holding any signs in protest (free speech and grievance) that he, or any government official can actually see. In fact, you can’t even be in their presence, even if you don’t know you’re in their presence. Your protest is far too great a nuisance to those who make our laws. Unconstitutional?

You have the right to be free from any unreasonable searches or seizures of your body or possessions. However, the TSA was created November 19, 2001, with the Transportation and Aviation Security Act as a knee jerk reaction to the terrorist attacks of 9/11/2001. The TSA now infamously fondles every American who flies on a commercial airliner if they won’t submit to a naked body radiation scan. Unconstitutional?

And now they speak of disarming us? The 2nd amendment expressly, says that our right to bear arms may not be infringed. The only way tyranny ever prevails is in convincing the people to turn over their weapons. Even the Japanese wouldn’t invade our country during WWII because we are so well armed. I’ve got a whole post about this one coming.

For now, just listen to and read the Constitution. After all, they are your rights.

Constitutionally still free to speak,

Betsy

 

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