I'm BAaaCK!

Play that intense theme music and have me entering through a smoke filled doorway because this is my triumphant return to Pardon the Interruption.

I didn't mean to be gone for so long, but after a week passed I started thinking maybe this little hibernation isn't such a bad thing. It let me collect my thoughts a little, something we all need to do from time to time. I am back in Algona for the time being and that contributed too. There was a time that my blog was the only form of letting out my thoughts. Now that I have mom, dad, and my sister here every night, I have a sounding board. It was this noon though when I checked my email and an article had been sent to me with the message "blog it up" that I thought to myself..."maybe it is time for a comeback."

So tonight I was sitting around watching the NBA Finals and thought to myself..."why am I watching the NBA playoffs?" and decided to "blog it up."

The article I was sent today was titled "Confessions of a white Christian Republican" It is James P. Gannon's (USA Today) reflections on Howard Dean's recent attacks on Republicans calling them the party of "white Christians" and how that resembles why Gannon left the Democratic party.

Gannon states he was a lifer Democrat until the party deserted him and his Christian beliefs. Now Dean, as Democratic National Party chairman, has solidified that move by acting like an idiot. Some may be shocked at this, including the person who sent me the article, but I can't disagree here. 1) Dean is an idiot. I admire his passion for politics, but he says the wrong things and attacks the wrong things about Republicans. You don't gain supporters by calling them (the Republicans) "the party of white Christians." He was elevated to this position solely because of his fundraising capablities, which are very good. 2) The Democrats, or at least a base of them, have abandoned a lot of their supporters. You can count me in that group. The Democratic party is being split in about 15 different factions right now with no solid platform, or the one they put forward is so far left that it leaves quite a few of us registered Democrats scratching our heads.

For those of you worried that I am going to go register as a Republican...don't worry, that isn't going to happen anytime soon either. As a grow more I notice that I am neither. I will most likely stay registered Democrat because it is what I grew up on and I hold the slim hope that the party will re-invent itself. An example of my not really belonging to either party is the religous issue. I'm a believer in seperation of Church and State...but I see where no matter how hard you try, your religous/moral values will have an impact on your political stances...I am against blatant religious bills though like President Bush's faith-based programs. For instance, the one-time vision of Bush to create vouchers to private (usually Christian schools) because that is an obvious breach of seperation of Church and State, giving government money to pariochal schools. But I see where an issue like abortion is impacted by religion and a bill can be passed ending this without violationg that Church and State line. It also bugs me when it seems like some politicians just use religion to gain a couple extra votes...and yes, those people usually are Republicans (especially now that they seem to control the "Christian vote"). People like Tom DeLay and Bill Frist and yes, even President Bush seem to overreact to issues in the name of "morals and values" just to gain some votes.

Well, I have rambled on quite well and probably bored/lost some of you...In conclusion, Welcome Back.