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Thursday, January 8

It's Here ~ The Current Events Wrap Up Meme!

Ok, I am SO excited about this new weekly meme that is being hosted by the amazing Julie Arduini at her The Surrendered Scribe blog. In the weeks leading up to the 2008 Presidential election, Julie became a part-time armchair political pundit wannabe (I think those were her words), and many of us thought she did a fantastic job! Much more fair and balanced than the Mainstream Media, I thought. There were, I think, several of us who wanted her to continue (and I think she did too), so here we are. The Current Events Wrap Up meme is the vision God gave her for continuing on in a similar way. Please go and check out Julie’s blog, and if you like current events or news, think about joining in and/or spreading the word!

As I said, I was really excited about this because… well, frankly, it’s because I’m a news junkie and I believe that it’s important to be aware of what is happening in the world. And to be honest with you, I am passionate about some things, like America, conservatism, anti-abortion, freedom of (not from) religion, etc, and I’m opinionated I sometimes like to share my opinion.

While I was really excited about this, I wasn’t really sure what I wanted to write on. Seriously, there is so much going on! The Presidential transition, the economy, the war on terror, the war between Israel and Palestine, the persistent bullying antics from Russia, not to mention the fact that Brittany Spears actually seems to be getting her act together for the moment, and the list could go on and on. Well, I was watching the Today Show this morning (for research, really…) and one of the guests was the always controversial, love her or hate her, Ann Coulter, and that was it! I had ‘my story’!

For anyone who may not know, Ann Coulter is an ultra-conservative political pundit, who is proud to have the title of the ‘Most Hated Conservative in America’. She is a former attorney, has written five New York Times bestsellers, is the legal correspondent for Human Events, and writes a popular syndicated column for Universal Press, which can also be read on her website, www.anncoulter.com.

That is her bio. She’s also a Christian and has been named as one of the top public intellectuals by federal judge Richard Posner. Ann is an unapologetic very anti-liberal, very in-your-face and tell it like it is, take-no-prisoners kind of girl. She truly is one of those individuals that people tend to either love or hate, with not much in the middle. I personally love her. Her wit is razor-sharp and her sarcasm is both biting and brutal. I love to listen to her, and read her column and books. Honestly, she makes me laugh. A lot.

The reason I wanted to write about her though, is in relation to the interview she did today with Matt Lauer. They talked about her new book, Guilty: Liberal 'Victims' and Their Assault on America. Matt said something to the effect of, she made a lot of good points (and some he didn’t agree with) about societal issues in her book, but that the way she said it would really turn people off and didn’t that worry her. Of course, she said, no, and they went back and forth. But that particular exchange really got me thinking.

As I said, I love Ann, but I totally get why other people don’t. She’s brilliant and passionate, but she’s also very controversial and extremely acerbic. The way she says the things she says, really offends a lot of people – even other conservatives. Of course what she says offends liberals, regardless of how she says it, but the point is, to me anyway, she’s saying it. She talks about, and offers tons of documentation to verify, the things people don’t want to talk about.

On a regular basis she writes scathingly about the ACLU, NARAL, NOW, Planned Parenthood, vicious criminals and the liberals who love them, corrupt or immoral politicians (Democrats and Republicans, though she’s not as hard on Republicans because she knows the liberals and MSM will take care of them), abortion, global warming, evolution, feminism and emasculated men, etc. Very often, she makes great points in what she says, but like Matt, I wondered if her style damaged her substance?

Then I came to the conclusion that no it doesn’t, because she creates controversy. And controversy sells. And controversy gets people talking. And the people who are talking are making others aware of what they are talking about. Ann discusses things other people don’t like to, or want to, or even know anything about, like NAMBLA (North American Man Boy Love Association) which incites members to "rape male children" and "serves as a conduit for an underground network of pedophiles in the U.S. and is being defended by the ACLU (for more info on this click here).

The point is Ann Coulter gets people reading, listening and talking by creating controversy. That’s her job. And when people talk, when there is more awareness of what is really happening in the places us nice folks don’t go to, when we learn of the depths that some factions of society have sunk to, then we can become outraged. And spread the word. And get involved. And fight to take back our country by praying, voting, talking, and supporting those who are on the front lines in the culture war (and war on terror, by the way) battling for us.

Yep, I like Ann. And it’s ok if you don’t. She’s certainly not going to win any popularity or Miss Congeniality contests. But I also think she probably doesn’t care. I hope you enjoyed this, my first contribution to the Current Events Wrap Up meme. Be sure to check back next Thursday and see what I come up with. And Julie, thank you so much for hosting this!

5 comments:

Julie Arduini said...

Thanks Tracy for all of this! Funny, I saw that interview too and thought, well I'm not katie Couric (liberal), maybe I'm a softer Ann Coulter. I felt the Holy Spirit nudge me and say no, you are Julie Arduini! I agree most of the time with what Ann says, and I totally agree with your assessment. I guess my naive hope is that she could speak the truth in love and still get people to listen. She is a bold one, that's for sure!

Thanks Tracy, are you looking at the news like each thing is a story? That's what I'm finding!!

Patricia said...

That is exactly how I view Ann Coulter as well. She's one of my favorite conservatives voices. I occasionally write political commentary in a guest column in the local newspaper. I'm not as "acerbic" as Ann...in fact, I felt a bit stung by an opposing, vitriolic responder to one of my columns on the US responsibility in the Iraq war. I didn't follow up with any comments, but I did keep watch as the discussion blossomed in the online forum. I realized at that point, I would always be standing to the right of middle. People will disagree (several took the name-caller to task, even though they disagreed with me) and some will agree.

I am still waiting to see if the Lord has political commentary as part of His plan for my writing. I may participate in next week's Current Events Wrap-up (I have a political blog that I haven't updated in a while and don't have open for viewing right now. Julie's meme could be a great jumping off point for that.)

Thanks for sharing this today. I always enjoy your posts.

Tracy said...

Julie ~ thank you for your kind words and once again, thank you for creating and hosting this. God's right - you're Julie Arduini and that is a very good thing! I think she actually surpasses bold, but I don't know if there's a word that fits! Yes, so much news and so many possible stories. This could be done daily (please don't though, I wouldn't get anything else done!)

Patricia ~ thank you for reading and commenting here. I know I would and I'm sure Julie would love to have you participate! You would be a wonderful addition. It is so cool that you offer political commentary for your local paper!

I'm happy to see that I'm not the only Ann fan around here! Blessings to you both!

LauraLee Shaw said...

Yes, ma'am, there's no one quite like Ann. And I can't help it, but I love her. Mainly because she has the boldness to do something that I would never be brave enough to do myself. You have some courage too, Tracy. To be able to put yourself out there for someone controversial shows a whole lotta stuff!

Great post and meme...
lauralee

Danica Favorite said...

Interesting... I've actually never read or listened to Ann Coulter.