Red, White, and Blue Bird

It's time for another art challenge on the Paper Traders blog!  The theme this time is "Red, White, and Blue Bird" and I decided to go with a decidedly patriotic theme in honor of Flag Day this week.  I actually made the background a long time ago when I was practicing some new techniques.  This one was done by using clear embossing powder to stamp the framed words onto blank card stock to create a resist for the watercolor.  After painting, I then reheated the embossing until it soaked into the paper to create a batik effect.  The eagle image was trimmed from an old birdwatching book I found at the thrift store  =)

These challenges are so much fun!  And they're open to all art bloggers so check them out and come play along: http://papertraders-art.blogspot.com/search/label/Challenges

Reflections on the Election

I just want to preface this post by saying that the feelings expressed here have been weighing heavily on me throughout this election process and most especially the past couple of days since the votes were tallied. I sincerely hope that no one is offended by my opinions but I have a need to express what I am feeling and this is my personal blog created for this express purpose. It is my First Amendment right and I choose to exercise it. We are all entitled to our own opinions and I acknowledge that many of you may not agree with me and I respect that… I hope you will respect my right to say it anyway.

I have to admit that I am disappointed in the outcome of our recent election. More than anything, I am disappointed in the vast number of american voters who, in my opinion, have shown an inability to think for themselves, to research facts and separate them from fiction and exaggeration, who believe everything the liberal media tells them.

But the biggest disappointment to me is that the greatest fear about this election became a reality: racism reared its ugly head and tipped the results in its favor. If you look at the hispanic vote, the white vote, the asian vote, you will see that they were split between the two major candidates – this shows me that these people may not have agreed on the issues but they stood up for the side they believed in. However, according to the exit polls, the African-American vote was 95% for Obama. That proves to me that their votes were primarily RACIST and not based on issues at all. Racism is discrimination based on race – any race, any kind of discrimination – and it’s wrong, every single time. Case in point, I heard that on the Howard Stern Show they took the policies of McCain and credited them to Obama then presented them to people in Harlem. Overwhelmingly, these people agreed that these issues were what they voted for – some even said that Sarah Palin was going to make a great vice-president! It is apparent to me that these people voted for Obama because he was black – not because he was representing the issues and ideals they stood for. The color of a person's skin is not an appropriate reason to elect the president of the most powerful nation on the face of the earth.

In my opinion, the socialist agenda of the Democratic Party is the exact opposite of the American Dream. The American Dream tells us that if we work hard, we can achieve our goals, that we will be rewarded for our efforts. I see the Democrat Liberals as self-appointed Robin Hoods who steal from the rich and give to the poor – a poor who, in too many cases, make a living off the hard work of others in a parasitical manner. There is no incentive for those receiving handouts and free rides to do anything but take what is handed to them while the rest of the hardworking taxpayers carry the burden. That’s not the American Dream… it’s the American Nightmare!

My vote was based on choosing the candidate who best represented what I feel is right for our country – not the most charismatic person or the person who had the best rhetoric and especially not the person who had a certain skin color – but the person who had the right course of action. Anyone who knows me knows how patriotic I am. I cannot sing “America the Beautiful” without crying like a baby. I stand with my hand over my heart and sing along whenever I hear our national anthem, “The Star-Spangled Banner.” I have stood in airports to applaud our returning military. I send letters and care packages to our servicemen overseas. I love God and country with my whole heart. And I am proud that we are a country of opportunity and a place where anyone can be anything they choose to be. I do not care that Barack Obama is a black man but I do care that he has laid out a course that I believe will be detrimental to this great nation. Please do not misunderstand me... I am not withholding my support for our new President-Elect; in fact, quite the opposite: I feel that we all need to pray – pray with sincere hearts – for this man, our new leader, to be blessed with insight and courage to make decisions that will strengthen and heal our country. May God bless America!

Never Forget