Take Two: Ending 2007

So I'm taking a break from the political candidate posts for today. I do plan to return to the subject and you can expect to read about anti-First Amendment candidates Fred Thompson and John McCain, as well as why I don't trust Rudy and consider Romney to be the best of the rest. Ultimately, I will make my Ron Paul pitch (if you're curious now, you can read Ron Paul on the issues and also read his statement of faith).

For now I wanted to spend a few minutes thinking about the close of 2007. I have no real profound thoughts, but this is a unique year for me. I turned 30 in 2007, bought my first home with my husband, spent my first real time as a stepmom, began work as lead counsel on a very difficult (but also rewarding) case, and gained way too much weight. No excuses, of course, but it does seem to me the first three contributed significantly to the last. Which tells me a lot about my need to develop more self-control and stress-coping mechanisms!

Some specific thoughts. I won't designate these as New Years Resolutions, per se, mainly because my plan is to make some permanent changes and not just 2008 (or January 2008) commitments.

1. Get off the couch, away from the tv, and spend some quality time in thought, prayer, and with the Bible each day. I have the perfect place for this, too, with our lovely and cozy back porch, complete with bench swing thanks to my generous mother-in-law. Until the heat of summer sets in, this is a great place for a cup of coffee and quality time alone.

2. Use the home gym we've put together. John and I were very blessed when we bought our home that we were also able to put together money to buy home gym equipment. We have used it a bit--John certainly more than I--but we have excellent home equipment in our backyard cottage a short walk from the house.

No excuses left, it's time to really learn what all that talk about endorphins is about!

And quit using the Ab Lounger I started off loving as a place to drape clothes and coats...

(BTW -- for those who wonder, I think this thing is TOTALLY worth the price: it's the best back-stretcher we've found, in addition to being a relatively easy but very effective ab workout).

So that sums up my goals for the coming year and years to come. I'd love to hear what some of you who read this are thinking about for your own goals.

In the meantime, I'd best get back to work; a few more hours on this brief to close out 2007!

Why not Huck?

Given his "surge" in Iowa, it seems appropriate to start my candidate profiling posts with Mr. Huckabee.

I should start with the position I'm coming from. I am a registered Republican, but I belong to the libertarian wing of that party. Meaning I not only believe in a limited government, I still believe in limited government when someone I like is in charge of the government.

I believe only fools, delusional people, and socialists support increased government authority as a general principle. The first two categories are usually people who think it's okay to give the government more power because they like and/or trust whoever is currently in charge. Nevermind the likelihood of different folks wielding that power down the road.

Anyway, here are my most basic reasons not to vote for him:

1. He received the teachers union endorsement. I work for an organization that has battled representatives from teachers' unions across the country for 15 years. We work on behalf of children and parents seeking the best education possible. The unions work to preserve a demonstrably failing system, and are willing to do so totally at the children's expense. And they believe Huck is their guy.

2. I believe it is not only unseemly, it is inappropriate for him to use his alleged faith in Christ as the apparent only barometer by which folks should vote--by implication suggesting that people of faith should support him on that basis alone. The measure of a great President is not merely a question of how great is his faith in Christ--if it were Jimmy Carter would be held in higher esteem.

It is not for me--or any of us--to judge Huckabee's faith. But his recent, convenient, and almost inexplicable changes in major policy positions suggest a glaring lack of honesty and integrity that leave me doubtful.

While Governor in Arkansas, Huckabee ruled with a liberal hand when it came to taxes, to crime and punishment, to illegal immigration, and to commenting on foreign policy. His recent unconvincing and convenient swing to the right is simply beyond belief and I do not trust the man.

3. Huckabee is the ultimate Nanny State Republican. The government is his solution to any problem. We may all see the value in healthier diets and no smoking, but passing federal laws to enforce massive smoking bans and forced good eating habits strip away the very core of individual and property rights this country was founded upon.

There is a great quote I've used in speeches: "the people never give up their liberties but under some delusion." It sounds great to have the government enforce a smoking ban at all restaurants so you can enjoy your family meal. It is, after all, a public place right? Wrong. It's owned by a private individual who has now lost the right to choose how to control his property. How much will you love that kind of government power when it now allows the government to reach into your property and dictate how you use it? How about your intellectual or virtural property?

Why go down that road at all? That is precisely the road down which Huckabee would lead this country.

4. The Cato Institute gave him an "F" for his second term and a "D" overall. Only four governors had worse scores. We're at a pretty tricky time economically, and it's not the time to take a gamble on our financial future with someone who has a proven poor track record. Huckabee's philosophy on the appropriate use of your tax dollars is the antithesis of what conservatives stand for: He believes in the entitlement system, and is the only GOP candidate that opposed Bush's veto of the S-CHIP expansion. He supports increased government subsidies for ethanol and agriculture in general. He believes in increased taxes to solve budget problems.

I do not want him throwing away my hard earned tax dollars on ever-expanding entitlement programs.

5. Speaking of fiscal policy, let's talk tax policy. Huckabee supports the Fair Tax--which I don't necessarily disagree with in principle (I think a system of taxes based on consumption is a good idea). But the spin on the Fair Tax is not particularly straightforward: proponents claim that this tax will somehow automatically replace the income tax. Except they neglect to mention that the only way to really get rid of the income tax is to repeal the 16th Amendment. Further, the policy is not completely well-thought out, as James Taranto at the Wall Street Journal has detailed.

This is already too long so I'll stop. Hopefully for those who support Huckabee and read this blog I've at least given you some food for thought.

Polling

I've posted a poll, which is probably quite presumptuous given this is new and not too many people know about the blog. But we vote on February 5 in Arizona and between now and then I'm very curious to see what folks who read my blog would do if they had to pull the lever, punch the chad, or touch the screen today.

My vote today would go to Ron Paul. My goal is to put together some posts over the next couple weeks on why that is, and why not the others.

[I didn't include Democrat candidates because 1) lack of space and 2) don't figure there's a point given who is likely to read this blog]

UPDATE: I did originally include Fred Thompson but he got cut off when I published the poll. I didn't bother fixing it since it seemed he was on kind of a death-watch as far as candidates go. But his showing in Iowa could energize things, so I would love to hear from Fred-heads if any stop by.

Take One: Christmas and the Holiday Season

I figured some sort of introduction is in order, so here's a nice shot of us Perkins. Obviously this is one of our wedding pics--I have my sister-in-law Kristin to thank for the gorgeous shot.

Anyway, we got married on May 6, 2006 in Albuquerque and have had a pretty good time with the whole being married thing--and when we're not having a good time, we're at least learning some good lessons together.

This past summer I had the opportunity to get to know John's daughters, Katie and Hannah, when they came to live with us for almost two months. I think we all survived my first real experience with stepmotherhood fairly well--even our camping trip which involved one big family-sized tent for us all!

John and I were so very blessed this summer also when we were able to buy and move into our first house together. Even with the inevitable headaches that come with buying a house -- one built in 1950 in particular -- we have just really loved making it into our own home.

Which brings me to Christmas. I've had some mixed feelings this year, particularly related to some discussions John and I have had together and with our Pastor. John and Pastor Steve have both made some great points about the, well, problems with Christmas as such a prominant holiday. It's true, we as Christians co-opted a pagan holiday and several pagan traditions in our quest to celebrate our Savior's birth. It's also true that Jesus was not born in winter, but most likely in late spring or summer (not too many shepherds watching their flocks out in the fields by night in the dead of winter).

And I have to agree with Pastor Steve: we've gone just plain silly in the quest to force everyone to say "Merry Christmas"--this now particularly amuses me since I've been forced to stop and consider the question of what the words actually mean: Christ Mass. A bunch of evangelical Protestants running around demanding shopkeepers issue customers a greeting suggesting a Cathloic Mass? That is pretty funny.

On the less funny side is Pastor Steve's point regarding his least favorite saying this time of year: Jesus is the Reason for the Season. For those of us calling ourselves Christians, followers of Christ the Risen Saviour...isn't He the reason for EVERY season? And suggesting that He is merely the reason for this season, isn't that a bit, I don't know, insulting?

Some things to think about.

All this aside, I have to say that Christmas has always been my favorite time of year. I can remember laying with Frank--long after bed time of course--on the living room floor gazing at the beautiful lights, ornaments along with their memories, and the Nativity scene we had forever. Just talking about life, Christmas, whatever. And the joy we shared as a family when we opened gifts... I really came from such a wonderful family because really every member loved so much more the act of giving than of receiving; that moment of anticipation when you watched mom's face to see if she loved the gift as much as you'd hoped.

Not to mention the traditional Christmas Eve candlelight service, mostly music and singing to worship the newborn King.

My favorite sign of the Christmas season tho, has always been holiday lights--on houses, trees wherever. So you can imagine what it meant to me a few weeks ago to find my amazing servant of a husband--who doesn't particularly care for or about Christmas lights--had put them up on the house just to surprise me when I came home from work!

Of course we had to put up my tiny little tree, on a table top, with the sparkly red, white, and silver decorations and white lights. My mom and Courtney Hewes (John's dad's girlfriend) helped us make the little tree work with garland, a tree skirt, and stockings. We opted not to do much in the way of gifts this year, so we had just some wonderful, small wrapped presents from my mom to complete the picture. I know this isn't the best pic, but I had to have one with the lights on!

So there I sat on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day (yep, pretty lazy, just did the couch potato thing both days), enjoying my husband, my house, and my Christmas lights. Perhaps this is a holiday that is not mandated Biblically, that we tend to over-secularize with our trees, decorations, and focus on material things. I still find a great deal of value in it myself, and love the opportunity for a renewal of focus as we head into another year!

Okay this was quite a bit longer than I planned when I started. Merry Christmas!

Before the First Take...

Well, I've finally succumbed to the pressure and decided to give blogging a try. I'll try to include enough pictures to keep things interesting, and hopefully will manage a post every week or so. But I make no promises.

My goal is to use this space for me (and John if he decides to join in) as a way to share our Perkins' take on the world around us from the random political musings, to the details of family and social life, all the way to the mundane tidbits of married life.

We'll see how it goes.