The Conservative Purity Test.

“When a guys on the ground and another is dancing around the ring with his hands in the air, the guy dancing is the winner.” -Unknown

Like most people I like to win. Which is why I have always been troubled by the Conservative Purity Test so many who vote Republican feel they must apply to their candidates. It’s a scenario I call the “Take my ball and go home” method of choosing our leaders.

Rush Limbaugh - Caricature

Rush Limbaugh is a very vocal enthusiast of this flawed manner of leadership. The mega-popular radio host is almost as tough on Republicans that fail his Conservative purity test as he is on Democrats.  And he is tough on Democrats. (BTW – Side note- Why is it that Democrats don’t recognize that Bill Maher and Rush Limbaugh are in the exact same business? Entertainment? Hello!) He says too many Republicans “settle” for what he terms “moderates” because we’ve been told we have no other choice. He says nominating a “true” Conservative is the only way to win. Limbaugh is not the only one who feels this way. It gives me no joy in saying that these people are idiots. By Limbaugh’s standards the only true Conservative nominated by Republicans in the past 30 years is Ronald Reagan in 1984 when he was re-elected President. No one since has passed the Conservative purity test.

This Purity Test has the following requirements of the candidates:

1. Be Pro-Life; NO EXCEPTIONS!

2. Never once raise taxes, ever.

3. Be anti-Gay marriage.

4. Never make a deal with any Democrat at any time.

5. Be a devout Christian (Mormons not included).

6. Don’t be a flip-flopper; never change your mind at any time in your life.

There are probably a few others that I’m forgetting. But these six are the hard-core rock solid minimum requirements necessary to pass the Conservative Purity Test.

Česky: Oficiální portrét amerického prezidenta...

I got news for you Conservative ideologues…Ronald Reagan would not have passed this test. And more significantly neither would ANY of the current GOP Presidential candidates. Mitt Romneyis a flip-flopper.

November 8: Republicans gain control of Congre...

Newt Gingrichembraced health care mandatory requirements AND endorsed Cap & Trade.

, U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania.

Rick Santorum has voted in favor of tax hikes. Ron Paul is an idiot (while true…more significant than he’s an idiot is the fact that he’s irrelevant).

The nominee of the Republican party will be Mitt Romney. Simple math tells us this. So I felt it was time to get something straight about our next President, whom I have chosen to support. He is a panderer. The more politically damaging term “flip-flopper” may apply to Romney but I choose to look at the simple fact that he is pandering to his electorate for votes. SHOCKING! No politician has ever done that before have they? Obviously I jest.

Congressman Poe and Governor Mitt Romney

What ought to concern those considering voting for Romney, especially as it applies to the Conservative Purity Test, is who or what is the TRUE Romney? Is it the Massachusetts’ Governor who had previously taken positions that were not purely Pro-Life and passed a health care law that include a form of the individual mandate? Or is it the rock-hard Conservative who now professes an entirely Pro-Life stance and claims he would repeal Obamacare? Who is he specifically? Well, I tend to believe he’s a lot like Bill Clinton only Conservative. Bill Clinton never seemed to have a conviction that couldn’t be swayed by the latest opinion poll.

Still, giving Romney the benefit of the doubt and keeping my eye on the ball…I want to win…I just have to employ a little common sense. What’s more likely that this life long Mormon with a family heritage that goes back to the beginning of the LDS Church is really a liberal rejecting nearly all the tenets of this church;OR that while serving as a Republican Governor in the most Liberal state in the Union and dealing with a legislature that was 70% Democrat he had to bend or twist or possibly ignore the Conservative Purity Test in order to…1. Get elected…and 2. Govern effectively? Isn’t it obvious? Say what you will about the LDS Church but their dogma is most definitely Conservative.

Come November I want to be dancing around the ring with my hands in the air. And since neither Gingrich or Santorum pass the stupid Conservative Purity Test either; and since Romney will be the GOP Presidential candidate I strongly suggest the “my-way-or-the-highway” Conservatives realize that the ultimate Championship Belt isn’t found in the nominating process. The hands are raised and the champion’s belt is rewarded in November. So come on board. And lets win.

Thanks for visiting. Comments are welcome.

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March 19, 2012
Categories: National Politics . Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , . Author: Michael Schuett . Comments: Comments Off on The Conservative Purity Test.

My False Irish Genes.

I grew up believing I was of German-Irish heritage. So St. Patrick’s Day and the history of Irish immigration to the United States was always fun for me to follow. I took pride in genetically and historically belonging to a people with such a proud history and such a tradition of closeness. In the United States few ethnic backgrounds for a Caucasian person clasp such togetherness, such ethnic pride.

Problem is…none of it’s true.

My German background is undeniable because of my name. The first Schuett coming to the United States in my lineage was my Great-Grandfather Carl H. Schuett.

Tombstone of my Great-Grandfather Carl Schuett in the Lynden Cemetery,Lynden, WA.

As best I can determine he entered the U.S. in Michigan via Canada in 1871 at age 15.

I believed I had Irish blood because my father told me so. He too always enjoyed playing the Irish heritage card on St. Patty’s Day. He believed in his Irish heritage because of his mother’s maiden name, Mathis. The pride in that name and it’s background evident by the fact that my Nana (Grandma) and her husband

My Grandpa Shelby Schuett in 1939.

Shelby Schuett named their first-born, my Dad, Jerome Mathis Schuett. My Dad’s brother’s, my Uncle’s, middle name  also came from the Mathis side of the family. He was named for my Great-Grandfather. Lee was his middle name. His Confederate father showing his Southern roots by giving his son a middle name in honor of Robert E. Lee. Outside of our family Mathis is a traditional Irish name, so I can understand my family’s belief in an Irish heritage that didn’t really exist.

About 4-5 years ago I began a life long interest of assembling my family tree through ancestry.com. The website is fantastic. I spent night after night staying up late…really late in the early going…scouring the birth, marriage, death and census records assemble on ancestry.com. When I started concentrating my efforts on finding the parentage of my Nana and all that came before her I was left both delighted and disappointed at the same time.

My journey began by trying to find that long rumored Confederate soldier I’d heard about in my youth. To find him I needed to find the birth place and parents of my Great-Grandfather William Lee Mathis.

My Great-Grandfather William Lee Mathis on his wedding day in 1908 in Bellingham, WA.

Fortunately I got a break when searching the 1880 Census. No other William Lee Mathis existed in census data at that time with anything close to the correct age other than my William Lee Mathis. The records listed him as a 2-year-old born in and living in Lee County, Texaswith his father Augustus C. Mathis and mother Elizabeth.

My Great-great Grandfather A.C. Mathis, far right, with his family in or about Lee County, Texas 1888ish.

The 1880 census data provided other important information that helped in my efforts to get back to Ireland. It showed the birthdate and location from where A.C. Mathis came; 1842 in Mississippi.

Confederate Army Veteran, Augustus C. Mathis, approx. 1875

After considerable time and research and travelling down dead-end roads I was finally able to locate my Great-great-great-Grandfather, A.C.’s dad, in the 1850 census. A.C. was in Pontoloc, Mississippi living with his farmer father John Louis Mathis, mother Luranah and seven siblings. The records also showed that John was born in Georgia and Luranah was born in South Carolina. So I was no closer to the land of Green.

Over a two-year period of nearly daily research I was able to trace the Mathis family tree from Bellingham, WAto Texas, Mississippi, Georgia, then pre-Revolutionary North Carolina, Virginia, and finally I found an ancestor who came from the Motherland…England. John Mathis died in Virginia in 1622 but was born in England, and his parents and Grandparents came from Wales. And as a side note his name wasn’t Mathis at birth. It was Mathews. NO IRELAND!? My Dad died in 2001 and never knew this information.

My Dad, Jerry Schuett

My research back on the various branches of the Mathis family tree never took me back to Ireland. Almost all the non-American lineage on that side of my family dates back to pre-1800s and comes from England, Scotland, Prussia, and France. The Schuett side was purely German. On both my Great-grandfather and Great-Grandmothers side of the family I was only able to research it back to Germany in the mid-1800’s. While not as dramatic or emotional my sense was like that of a child learning that they’d been adopted and all that they thought was true about their history, wasn’t.

I was delighted to learn that my family history in the United States on both my Dad and my Mother’s side of the family pre-dated the existence of the United States. Though I admit being disappointed in not finding Irish heritage.

So for Saint Patty’s Day now and forever more I’ll just have to adopt a temporary and fictitious name, like everyone else not Irish, Michael O’ Schuett…or should it be McSchuett?

Thanks for visiting. Comments are welcome.

March 17, 2012
Categories: Uncategorized, Washington State . Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , . Author: Michael Schuett . Comments: Comments Off on My False Irish Genes.

Economic Smackdown: Paul Ryan vs. Barack Obama

Today we offer a video showing with graphics and fair commentary the true battle going on in Washington D.C. between the Kensian Economic theorists and smart people.

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March 16, 2012
Categories: National Politics . Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , . Author: Michael Schuett . Comments: Comments Off on Economic Smackdown: Paul Ryan vs. Barack Obama

Another Kid is Shot and our 2nd Amendment Cringes

handgun

In the Seattle area three kids have been shot by handguns in the past three weeks. According to The Seattle Times the third happened at a gas station near the Tacoma Mall. A man with a license for carrying a concealed weapon placed the gun underneath the driver’s seat as he exited the car to fill the gas tank. A three-year old in the car got the gun and fatally shot himself in the head.

This kind of tragedy is avoidable if only people exercise a little more common sense when it comes to the ownership of handguns. Don’t. Don’t own them. Far more people are shot with guns they or their family members own than by the strangers with guns. If you want to dramatically increase the likelihood that you or a member of your family is shot, own a handgun.

Where I put my foot down is on government getting involved and telling us we may not own guns. The government is not needed in this discussion. Just common sense. The Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution reads: “A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.” 

The Founding Fathers thought so much of this Right that they placed it second on their list of the first ten amendments, commonly known as The Bill of Rights. But a key aspect of the amendment is frequently ignored by 2nd Amendment advocates, “A well regulated Militia being necessary to the security of a free state…”.  Remove that phrase and the amendment takes on more meaning. It does not say “We shall have the right to keep and bear arms in order to kill our fellow man”

World Peace

. So some regulation of firearms can and should be exercised. To say there should be none is to argue that anybody can own, build, and possess a nuclear weapon; for what is that if not a more extreme form of “arms”.

Still I oppose government banning or severely restricting handguns. But there are lots of things we as people have a right to do that common sense dictates we avoid. I always tell my kids to look both ways  and make eye contact with drivers before crossing the street, even at a cross walk. Entering an unregulated cross walk in heavy traffic may be your right. But you’ll be dead.

I’m a gun owner. Rifles and shotguns, for hunting. I have been since I was twelve years old and my Grandpa gave me a .22 rifle as a Christmas present. He had made an annual gesture of giving guns to the boys in my family for a couple of years. So in a very real sense guns are a tradition in my family.

The author with his shotgun

But for reasons I’ve already explained I have never and would never own a handgun. The only time I would ever own a handgun is if I lived on my own. Then I can be sure to never angrily use it or accidentally use it against a person in my family; and I would be sure to not have it used against me either angrily or accidentally. It’s all well and good to claim I would never use my gun in anger. But I’m sure there are many, many murders behind bars who said or thought the same thing.

Three children shot and severely injured, or killed in only three weeks in the Seattle area is too much. It’s too painful. How much do you really need your gun. Does it really protect you? Or does it just excite you? Perhaps the more important question should be, does having it increase your chance of being shot or of someone you care about being shot, or does it increase your chance of you or someone else you love ending up dead? I’ll answer the obvious question: own a handgun and dramatically increase your chances of a quick, tragic death.

Thanks for visiting. Comments are welcome.

If you like this blog or find it interesting please do the author the honor of sharing it. TY.

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March 15, 2012
Categories: National Politics, Uncategorized, Washington State . Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , . Author: Michael Schuett . Comments: 1 Comment

Seahawks need to Sign Some Free Agents

Seattle Seahawks logo

At 1pm today the NFL opens its free agency season. When they do some rumors have it that the Seattle Seahawks will be very involved in early activity. It’s a good thing. With San Francisco having won 13-games and missing the Super Bowl by a fumbled punt; the St. Louis Rams having landed a plethora of draft picks by trading the number-two overall, and rumor that Arizona is Peyton Manning‘s first choice

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; the Seahawks suddenly look like the fourth best team in the four team NFC West. To be clear, they are already the third best team having lost the regular season finale to the Cardinals and closing the 2011 season with a 7-9 record for the second straight year. Without a good draft next month along with the signing of some key free agents Seattle is doomed to mediocrity at best. And I wonder if Pete Carroll can survive a third straight losing season.

The Seahawks have one glaring need in order to assure their rapid improvement. A blind man without a stick or a dog could see it. They need a good quarterback. They haven’t had one in at least three years. Matt Hassellback’s injury filled last two years don’t count as Seattle having a good quarterback. And Tarvaris Jackson just plain sucks and cannot be an option going forward. To be fair to Jackson he played to his statistics, posting a 79-passer rating compared to a 77 career passer rating. His problem, in my opinion is that he is the worst 2-minute drill quarterback I have ever seen. Not just at the end of the game, but at the end of the first half time and again this past season he showed himself completely incapable of managing a team or completing passes when it was most urgent to do so.

Wide spread speculation has Seattle making a play for Green Bay backup Matt Flynn. Quick…answer this question: Who holds the Green Bay Packers record for most touchdowns and most passing yards in a game?:

A. Brett Favre

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B. Aaron RogersAaron Rogers

C. Bart Starr

D. None of the above.

 

 

 

Remarkably the answer is “D”. Matt Flynn has started two regular season NFL games in his career. Given that he backs up last season’s league MVP that can’t be too much of a surprise. But in one of those two games last season against the playoff bound Detroit Lions Flynn led his team to a win while throwing 6 touchdowns, and nearly 500 yards…in Green Bay…in January. His resume is more substantial than just one game. Flynn was a 7th round draft pick out of Louisiana State in 2008. He led the Bayou Bengals to a National Championship in his one season as a starter. This guy is a winner. Sign him Seahawks.

If the Hawks don’t sign Flynn Arizona’s possible signing of Peyton Manning would free-up Kevin Kolb for the 2nd straight season. He would be an improvement over Jackson. Possibly a big improvement.

Seattle also has a need to improve its pass rush which was amazingly weak for such a strong defense. Imagine how much better our strong young secondary will look when quarterbacks have 1-2 fewer seconds to hold the ball and wait for receivers to come open. We placed two defensive backs on the NFC Pro Bowl team while having only 33 sacks on the year compared to 50 allowed to the opponents.

Free agency does seem to offer a possible solution for Seattle that the draft is not likely to. Seattle picks 12th in the 1st round of the draft, and historically all the impact pass rushers (and quarterbacks) are long gone by the 12th pick; like former number one draft pick Mario Williams. The Houston Texans All-Pro Defensive End is now a free agent. He could be a big solution for a team not needing too many answers on the defensive side of the ball. You CAN get excited too. ESPN football guru John Clayton says the Seahawks signing Williams is a better than 50% possibility. That’s huge!

If the Seahawks can address their two biggest needs in free agency than their draft next month can go a long way toward filling the need for strong backup performers and building a team that can compete in the increasingly strong NFC West. Call me crazy, but I’m optimistic.

Thanks for visiting. Comments are welcome.

March 13, 2012
Categories: Sports, Washington State . Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Author: Michael Schuett . Comments: Comments Off on Seahawks need to Sign Some Free Agents

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