- Mike Silverman, Milford MA

 President Bush, Fred Thompson, and Joe Lieberman all gave inspirational speeches last night at the Republican National Convention. President Bush set the tone with an uplifting speech that accentuated the greatness of the country, the preparedness of John McCain to take the leadership role, to take the highest political position in the country, and he delivered that message with good grace a positive tone and a smile on his face. The President's speech reminded me of Ronald Reagan's resolute belief in the greatness of our nation. And I'm sure that the Senior Bush's, Mr. and Mrs., were as proud as parents could be to witness the resolute leadership of their son whose efforts as President were key to keeping the country safe from further assaults. Ending his speech by mentioning the painting in his office of the sun shining on a mountain in Texas with the analogy of citizens of the USA as always being on the sunrise side of that mountain was reminiscent of Ronald Reagan's Shining City On A Hill. It was a motivational speech. Fred Thompson gave a dramatic recounting of John McCain's suffering and courage while a captive POW of the North Vietnamese. Most of us know the gut wrenching story of McCain's ordeal and resolve to survive while doing right by his fellow American captives. But Fred Thompson brought it to life with poignancy and clarity, emphasizing the personal moral decisions McCain made and held to while undergoing the intense pain and suffering reaped by his tormentors. The telling of the story of John McCain from his childhood to his adult life served again to expose the dramatic difference between Obama and McCain. Knowing the life's story of John McCain one has to wonder how anyone could choose to put Obama into the White House over Senator McCain. There is simply no comparison. Senator Lieberman reached out to undecided Democrats last night and attempted to explain exactly that. He gave a fine speech , as a Democrat at a Republican National Convention, truly a unique occurrence in a historical sense, by de-emphasizing party and emphasizing the USA as one nation. Senator Lieberman is a good, decent man and eloquent statesman. Though as Conservatives and Republicans we will certainly disagree with his liberal views on social issues, where we can agree whole heartedly is on the key thing he brought to his speech last night. His support for John McCain and for the defense of the country itself. I'd also like to briefly mention the crowds at the RNC. These are a very classy people. They gave Democrat Senator Lieberman a very warm welcome, and even applauded politely when he mentioned what he thought were positive points about Bill Clinton. You did not hear people booing him or any of the points he made. You did not see people ignoring him or chatting idly during his speech. When liberals and/or Democrats or media pundits speak ignorantly about a lack of tolerance among Republicans and Conservatives, they may want to remember the example set by the Republican Party last night when a Democrat spoke to them. One last note here. Regarding Sarah Palin, McCain's pick for his VP running mate. As I stated in a previous post, I whole heartedly support her being on the ticket. As we know, as Conservatives, as Republicans, we are consistently hit twice as hard as any Democrat or Liberal ever gets hit in the news media. We are the subject of vicious unrelenting personal attacks and attempts to destroy us on a personal level both by the professional media and now by scores of extremist blogs. Sarah Palin is experiencing that now on a national scale. She is seeing first hand the underlying vitriol and mindless crack-headed hatred that some so called professional journalists have for anyone with an (R) next to their name. Especially when those angry mobster-style journalists know that they are facing a person of Sarah's strong moral quality and outstanding personal background. Sarah knows she has a battle on her hands to push through that mob of wild eyed festering voices and savage print critics to show the world who she is and what she can accomplish. She will do this, with our support, and the support of her family and friends, but mostly by her own superior fortitude and resolve. You may recall Hillary Clinton shedding tears on her campaign trail, vying for the sympathy of the country as woman in distress. Sarah Palin is not Hillary Clinton. You won't see that from Sarah. She will bring her own genuine strength, spirit, and honesty to the campaign and to the McCain administration. I believe as Conservatives we all stand with Sarah, and that our hopes and prayers for success are with her and her family.

- Mike Silverman, Milford MA

- Mike Silverman

 I have to wonder if Obama understands that as the candidate of one of the 2 largest political machines in the country his words actually have gravity on individual lives. I suspect he thinks its all a political show, Obama's Progressive Circus. I really think he doesn't see the danger of saying stupid things while being looked at as a possibly the next leader of the free world. Or, he doesn't care, as long as he wins. Tire inflation issue aside, this is a reckless trend. Someone has got to tell Obama that his words can prompt some people to alter thier behavior in dangerous ways. For someone in his position to be telling people to take specific actions , the real consequence of which he knows little or nothing about is a dangerous thing. But it does point out one very obvious thing, Obama is a standard bearing card carrying modern incarnation of the progressive-liberal. He approaches governance from the perspective that the country needs to be micro-managed, that every man woman and child needs to be instructed in the day to day process of simply living thier lives, such as being told to keep tires properly inflated. This is NOT THE JOB OF THE PRESIDENT!! FOR GOODNESS SAKE! People should be scared that a man in his position looks at such a topic as a vital set of information to give to the public.   I was listening to Newt Gingrich on fox news radio this week saying that Cheneny is an icon of the past and should not be speaking at the Convention. I have to disagree with Newt. I think Newt is great with the drill here, drill now, movement, but he's become a somewhat tamped down Conservative. Ever since he began spouting his line about the era of Regan being over and needing to move on, I and probably a lot of other Movement Conservatives have had a problem with him. Dick Cheney is highly admired among Conservatives, he's an absolutely no nonsense hard-hitting pillar of Conservative values who epitomizes the phrase "straight talk" and could teach McCain a thing or two about how to take the fight to the Democrats withering under Pelosi's so-called leadership. We should love to have Cheney speak at the convention. Unfortunately, McCain has bought what the liberal Democrats are selling. Liberals have despised Cheney forever and have taken every opportunity to lie about him, lie about Haliburton, and to demonize this great man. It seems that McCain is allowing his Democrat opponents to set the tone of the convention and to determine who will speak there. McCain is being naive... in the sense of being a Democrat dupe... quite frankly... if he snubs Cheney. This will not sit well with Movement Conservatives, If this happens it's just another finger in the eye of the Conservative Movement that McCain can not really afford. If McCain had any political guts at all, any at all...he'd say "to hell with liberals and media who hate Cheney, he's speaking at the convention". That would show courage, it would show fire and defiance of the liberal press, and make Conservatives cheer the position. But , it's not likely to happen. McCain will continue to do the wrong thing and will dis the Bush administration at key events in order to play his sycohpant harp for the left leaning elitists.

 - Mike Silverman

Last thursday Speaker Of The House Nancy Pelosi issued a public verbal warning to General Petraeus, the top military commander in Iraq whose handling of the recent surge of US military action in Iraq played a key role in turning the tide and forcing embedded terrorists to flee the province. She basically warned him not to give congress any good news when he shows up to deliver his report on the recent outbreak of violence in Basra. She said, “We have to know the real ground truths of what is happening there, not put a shine on events because of a resolution that looks less violent when in fact it has been dictated by al-Sadr, who can grant or withhold that call for violence,”

A lovely young respected nurse by the name of Patricia Jepsen spent over ten years caring for disabled men, women, boys and girls, at a nursing home facility in Iowa. A single parent with beautiful ebony hair, soft olive-complexion skin, deep penetrating dark eyes and a perfect smile, petite and physically attractive in every way, you would be hard pressed to understand why any man would risk losing her. However, she endured two heartbreaking and tension-filled divorces from men who abused, beat and cheated-on her. Along with this, in the 10th year of a promising career she was diagnosed with a severe condition of Chrons disease. This is an aliment of the bowel system that eats away at the intestinal tract diminishing the body's natural ability to absorb nutrients, as well as being very painful. The most extreme Chrons cases cause holes, ruptures and blockages requiring surgeries and radical medical treatments. Patricia has the misfortune of having one of the most extreme cases of Chrons ever known in the US. Before I continue , let me assure you that human language knows no words of horror sufficient enough to detail the bloody physical and psychological torments that Patricia has undergone as a result. The powerful drugs used to treat her Chrons triggered cancer of the lymphs, it is suspected that the culprit is a drug manufactured under the brand name of Remicade, further requiring her to endure a long process of chemo-therapy and radiation which severely weakened her immune system. Patricia's condition was so tenuous that she made a journey from her home state of Iowa, to Massachusetts to consult with a Gastroenterology expert at Mass General. I had the great good fortune to meet Patricia, who prefers to be called Pat or Trish, while I was using a Web Based personals service. From the first moment we met, Trish was open and honest about herself and expressed a great deal of maturity and sensitivity. We found an immediate attraction. Later Trish introduced me to her two wonderful beautiful daughters Danielle and Jennifer, both highly intelligent and talented young ladies. Jennifer at 18 is a brilliant student, in the process of transitioning to college, she works at a nursing home caring for those who are unable to care for themselves. She is a warm hearted woman who loves animals, poetry,  and has a strong independent spirit. Danielle at 14 is simply amazing. She has a penchant for math, language skills, draws and writes expertly, is a spectacular cheerleader and gymnast, loves to learn new things and is a genuine, honest, and loving  person. Trish has raised her daughters with love, care, and strong guidance. Despite the real physical suffering she endures every day, Trish has not permitted it to stop her from living her life as an example of standing for the highest values of  human morality. Though given her condition she can not maintain a job with regular work hours, she baby-sits at home for long  hours, caring for the children she watches as if they were her own. Despite exhaustion and agonizing weariness, despite the persistent need to give herself long doses of IV medication every day simply to sustain her life, she does what few people could. She smiles, she laughs, and she finds a reason to look forward and hold onto a positive outlook. She doesn't merely live, she lives life itself and does so with amazingly good cheer. The biblical icon JOB himself would have surely faltered  under the burdens Trish endures every day. There is much more that I could say. So many examples I could present of this beautiful endearing woman whose heart of gold can not be crushed, though fate tries to every day.

My reason for explaining all of this is because Trish is a truly remarkable woman. She is a prime example of Conservative principles, without choosing to be, she simply lives her life as a good, decent, person doing the best she can do with the dire circumstances life handed her. She does not expect to be given anything that she has not earned, she gives constantly of herself to others in need, though she has very little herself. And she does not drown in self-pity, but grabs hold of her own spirit and lifts it up, unwilling to cede her existence to forces that work daily to drag her down. There are many reasons to love and admire such a woman, and I do love and admire her.