Hobby Lobby Wins!

We made signs for our yard to put next to our banner and will shop at Hobby Lobby today to celebrate.

We Are Catholic

Excellent video! We will be heard!

Interesting Gas Station Encounter

Today has been an eventful day on the political front.  First a reader comment about me published in the Winston-Salem Journal and an interesting gas station encounter.   I brought my middle son to the orthodontist this morning and we stopped for gas on our way back home.  As you can see, my suburban is a work of art and a definite conversation starter.

The gas station attendant was an elderly gentleman and he said to me, "I'm surprised your window hasn't been shot out with that sign on it."   He was friendly enough.  I had to laugh because, really, if you had a choice between the window or the back of my car, which would you say made a better target?

I think he may have been conservative because he seemed to like some of my bumper stickers.  I just thought it was an interesting encounter. The Winston-Salem Journal called to verify my sending in a letter in response, so maybe it will be published tomorrow.  I'm sure it will open me up for more attacks.  It's okay-- I'm a big conservative girl.  I can handle the heat. Heck, I do drive around in this white suburban, after all.

Another Liberal Attack

Ah... it is okay, I'm a big girl conservative, so I can take it. In fact, their attacks are compliments to me.

 A friend alerted me to a reader letter in our local liberal rag, the Winston-Salem Journal. Rick Mashburn writes:

 "Ambushed

 Pattie Curran? Hmmm. The name rings a bell. Isn't she the mom with the teen sons who got ambushed at the opera by the twiggy thing bent in the shape of a lady-part ("Opera patron unhappy with art," March 16)? But wait. There's a person named Pattie Curran who organized a protest and spoke to the media in opposition to insurance coverage for reproductive healthcare ("Rally scheduled to protest birth control rules," March 20). That's the same Pattie Curran. Hmmm. But wouldn't that mean she had political objections to the lady-part art, since its title clearly makes a comment on the current reproductive healthcare controversy? Which in turn would mean that she was not completely honest in her argument for placing notification on the art? Hmm. Seems like maybe it was the art that got ambushed."

 I wrote a short response and submitted it to the paper (will follow these comments). Where do these liberals live? So, I can't have a political opinion? Really? Sadly, he heard what he wanted to hear and not what I actually said. While I do not agree with the political sentiment or any of the political sentiments expressed in ANY of the art displayed that evening, the messages themselves needed no parental notification. It was the display of a V that was over the top for student night.   If a right wing conservative (note the opera had no right leaning art) had an art piece of a V displayed at the opera, my response would have been the same.

I told ALL the reporters and even the opera director himself that I was very political and that I had no problem with them posting their political art all over-- remember folks, I didn't even ask that the piece be removed. Just asked that they give parental notification, just as they do for sex education in schools. Once again, I have been honest about my political leanings. I am far right and not embarrassed to share that fact. However, I am able to articulate my points without the use of vulgarity.  Not wanting to see porn is not a political statement.  Even some of my far left-leaning friends wrote letters objecting to the art being displayed without parental notification.

My letter to the paper (we'll see if it gets published!):

 "Love the "Ambushed" reader comment. Do liberals ever listen or do they only hear what they want to hear? 1) The political comments at the opera did not bother me AT ALL.... they have the right to express their political views even when I disagree 2) They have the right to display a V at their opera, I didn't say they should remove it 3) PARENTAL notification is required for SEX EDUCATION-- should not the opera have given parental notification? 4) "Ambushed" letter writer, Rick Mashburn, you get an A plus for being so astute in your observations. Yes, I am the same Pattie Curran. Notice at the Stand Up For Religious Freedom Rally WE stood up for our first amendment rights using our first amendment rights WITHOUT any vulgarity. Men, women and children were protesting that day and there was not a single display of objectionable material or art. Imagine that-- we can articulate our positions without objectifying women. What a novel idea! Pattie Curran"

Good gravy. Liberals need to get a grip. Yes, I am conservative and disagree with the entire message of the art-- note that I didn't mention the pro-homosexuality piece or the Obama piece-- who cares if I agree or disagree with the message. Like I've said over and over-- even at ADULT night, my reaction would have been different. It was not appropriate for the Piedmont Opera to display a V on Student Night without parental notification. For this Mr. Mashburn to say I wasn't honest is unconscionable. I told everyone exactly where I stood and even told the opera director himself that it wasn't the pro-Obama message that was the problem. It was the vulgarity and the art I considered porn being displayed on Student night. Can you imagine what the left would do if Rush Limbaugh displayed Vs at one of his events to get his political points across? Oh, right, there's always that double standard-- they can do it, but the right can't. Darn... always gets in the way..... that we have a sense of decorum and have moral convictions.

Official Video for the Nationwide Religious Freedom Rallies

Fr. John's Speech at the Indianapolis Rally

Obama was right.... before he was wrong

Refuting Obama's 99%

This past week has been exciting, crazy and fun. I had the audacity to say that the Winston-Salem Journal was a liberal rag this week.... it upset one of the reporters and he sent me a message. I replied, "Any paper who quotes Obama for statistics on Women's health issues is a liberal rag." I invited him to debate the topic in public, he declined. Why not explain why you think I am wrong in public? I am not afraid and I have a backbone. I stick to my claim that the Winston-Salem Journal is a liberal rag. Here is a nice article refuting the paper's claim and Obama's claim that 99% of women have used contraception. The CDC says Obama is wrong. Why didn't the Winston-Salem Journal do a bit of research before quoting Obama's false statistic? It seems to me that 99% would be high given the population of UNDERAGE women..... but the CDC says 13.9% have never had sex. Obama clearly doesn't know what he is talking about. A point the paper and Obama seem to miss is this: it DOESN'T matter what percentage of women do or don't use contraception! The Catholic Church has always taught that contraception is wrong, and therefore, it does not matter. The Catholic Church should never be forced to pay for something it proclaims to be morally wrong. Keep in mind that the Catholic Church allows for and covers birth control pills used to treat DISEASE. We are not afraid of this battle. We will fight to stop the HHS mandate and to repeal Obamacare. Here comes the Catholic Church.

Test of Fire: Election 2012

Deb's RallyPhoto Montage

Deb did a great job of documenting the Stand Up For Religious Freedom Rally on Friday. You can see the photos she took on her blog. I love her photos and her commentary! I think you will, too!

Enjoy!

Videos: Why People Came to the Rally

We interviewed quite a few people who attended the rally (before and after).  These are the videos: 

Religious Freedom Rally Speech Videos

Here are the speeches from the Stand Up For Religious Freedom Rally in Winston-Salem, NC:

Opening Prayer: 



Fr. John's speech:


Debra's Speech:


James' Speech:


Mark's Speech:


Stu's Speech:


Buddy's speech:


Michael's Speech:

Stand Up For Religious Freedom Rally- Winston-Salem, NC

Within five minutes of arriving at the rally site, five US Marshals were already talking to me and asking for our permit to protest. A few minutes after that, the Winston-Salem Police Department was doing the same! 

I'm currently uploading the video segments of the rally. We made it onto three different news stations tonight, though I can't find the video segments on line for all of them. The Winston-Salem Journal was also present. Here is a link to the News 14 video segment on the rally.You can see the FOX 8 news link here.

A family from Pakistan posted this photo on our Facebook Wall It really brought tears to my eyes knowing that families around the world were standing with us in prayer and support!

We had over 250 people turn out for our rally in Winston-Salem, NC. God is good! Here are a few photos from today:

Mark Speaking

Fr. John being interviewed

Fr. John Speaking

Grace being Interviewed

Media Blast

I've spent the morning sending out a press release to all news media outlets.

For immediate release.
Contact: Pattie Curran, 336XXXXX, catholicmomof3@XXXX
Winston-Salem Joins Nationwide Rally Against the HHS Mandate Friday, March 23rd

Winston-Salem, NC —On Friday, March 23 from noon to 1 p.m. concerned citizens will hold a Rally for Religious Freedom at Hiram H Ward federal Building 251 N. Main St. in Winston-Salem to voice public opposition to the Obama administration’s Health and Human Services Mandate. The HHS Mandate forces all employers, even religious institutions such as Roman Catholic hospitals and universities, to offer contraceptives, sterilizations and abortion-inducing drugs through their health plans, contrary to their religious beliefs and doctrines.

Winston-Salem is joining over 100 other cities across the country for the March 23 nationwide Stand Up for Religious Freedom rallies, including New York, Chicago, Detroit, San Francisco, Phoenix, Los Angeles, Washington D.C. and Miami. Find more information at http://Standupforreligiousfreedom.com

The Winston-Salem Religious Freedom Rally has been organized by Pattie Curran and Grace Garner. Special guest speakers include Father John Eckert, Debra Conrad, Stu Epperson, Pastor Michael Carbone, Julia Howard and Pastor James Knott. What: Stand Up Rally for Religious Freedom When: Friday, March 23, noon to 1 p.m. Where: 251 N. Main Street Winston-Salem, NC Who: Hundreds of citizens opposed to President Obama’s HHS Mandate

“This rally is intended to draw attention to the injustice of the federal government’s ignoring the first amendment and running over the conscience of American citizens as we seek to generate even stronger national opposition to the HHS Mandate—a ruling already opposed by millions of Americans,” said Rally Captain Pattie Curran. “We pledge to work for its ultimate reversal.”

Curran continued, “The HHS mandate actually seeks to define what constitutes religious ministry in its narrowly crafted so-called exemption. This sort of government intrusion must be opposed. This is not about the issue of contraception and abortion drug coverage—this is about protecting religious liberty as it is enshrined in the United States Constitution.”

The nationwide Stand Up for Religious Freedom coalition calls upon all Americans to oppose the mandate for the following reasons:

1. We protest the federal government's definition of what constitutes a religious institution and the mission of religious institutions through the narrowly constructed “exemption” to the HHS Mandate. Not only is this definition false, but the federal government has no authority to make it.
2. We protest that religious institutions (even under Obama’s so-called “accommodation”) are still forced to facilitate contraception, sterilizations and abortion-inducing drugs through insurance companies that are mandated to provide them.
3. We protest the Mandate for forcing all businesses -- not just religious institutions -- to provide coverage of contraception, sterilizations and abortion-inducing drugs, even if doing so violates the employer’s own moral position on these matters.
4. We protest the HHS Mandate -- requiring contraception, sterilization and abortion-inducing drugs to be given free of charge by all health plans -- in general because it treats pregnancy and childbirth as if it were a disease.

For more information please contact Pattie Curran

For more information on the Nationwide Rally effort, including media contacts for the national leadership team, visit http://StandUpForReligiousFreedom.com/press

I LOVE the Anger of the Liberal Left

Wow.. the comments and FB messages. Gotta love the anger of the liberal left. They completely miss the point. Over and over again they kept saying I was trying to censor the art and called me and my children all sorts of vile things. One woman said, "Did you see that woman's blog? She is very political, she did this to make a political statement."

Um, no..... as I said it before and I will say it again, the political statements did not bother me ONE bit. I do not agree with the artist's political statement, but that was not why I suggested it would have been appropriate for the opera to let parents know there was a V piece on display. I did not request the piece be moved, just asked that they notify the public that such a piece was being displayed at student night. That would enable parents the CHOICE to opt out of seeing the vulgar piece of art.

Let's begin here: Parents must consent for their children to receive sex education at school. They can opt out. The opera directer said he felt the piece was appropriate because they have illustrations in the sex ed materials. SO, the opera director took the liberty of assuming every child's parent had already consented to the public school system's sex education program.

Had she had her statement about the aspirin between the knees with a picture I didn't consider to be porn, I would be fine with that. There were several pieces -- and they each made a political statement. ALL of them were left of center viewpoints. Had the person who made the anonymous comment below read any of my posts, this person would know that the abstract sexual piece wasn't something that I felt needed parental notification (other parents may feel differently) -- it was abstract -- the building in the picture posted in this comment is ABSTRACT.

Anonymous comment:
"How can you let your children outside when THIS vulgarity is on display 24/7 in the middle of your beloved community?
http://bagelofeverything.files.wordpress.com/2008/04/cockovia.jpg?w=250
This must be torn down so that the 18 year olds don't have to feel inadequate."

Several friend saw the picture of the V and said there is no doubt that this is the opening of a woman's V. The anatomical parts are all there. One woman commented that she saw the V and thought it was fine for her child. Good for her. If the opera had told her, she could still have CHOSEN to see the V with her child. NO one, including myself, is trying to take away the V piece. Notification, that's all we felt would be appropriate.

There was an Obama piece, too. It was very weird, but he wasn't naked. I did not agree with the political statements, but hey... whatever. My children didn't particularly think it was very artistic (we had an opportunity to discuss the art on the way home from the opera) In fact, my husband and I laughed when my youngest said something like, "That one picture where they used a can for the man's private and the bolt for the girl's, that was just dumb. Why would anyone want to do that?" He said this before any of us even mentioned the "art", which lead us into discussing some of it on the journey home.


Again, NONE of the political statements would have caused me to speak up. It was the fact that the political statement came with a woman's V that caused me to act. AND... if this was an ADULT opera, I would have said, "WOW, that's weird," and moved on. However, this was STUDENT night and I didn't feel it was appropriate for minors to see without the consent of a parent. Can the Piedmont Opera post a Playboy Centerfold in their lobby on student night if they call it "art"?

The Pro-Choice Society

I've been thinking about the who ha at the opera quite a bit. Do we REALLY live in a society that thinks it is okay to expose kids to pornographic images without notifying parents first? Folks, let's call that image what it is: it is pornographic. It is degrading, it is demeaning to women. Some people may call it art, but it is far from art-- it was a realistic portrayal of the opening of a woman's who ha. (I say who ha because while I don't think the V word is an awful word, I'd prefer not to say or write the V word over and over again)

In a world that seemingly pushes choice, the left seems to think that choice only pertains to them. They think they have the right to CHOOSE to kill a baby in the womb. They think they have a right to force the Catholic Church to pay for contraception and abortion drugs against its religious teachings. They think have a right to choose what images children are exposed to-- in the name of art, of course.

Those of us on the right, the Christian right, are made fun of because we'd CHOOSE not to expose our children to images that are degrading to women. We'd CHOOSE not to expose them to disgusting, vile, pornographic art. Let me be VERY clear here, this was not a tastefully done French nude painting. This was an obnoxious, in your face, opening to a woman's who ha. While I am not a big fan of any nude paintings, certainly, there are pieces that are tastefully done AND I have the God-given right to avoid them and to choose whether or not my minor children are allowed to see them.

We are talking about MINORS, not adults. Certainly, adults can discern what they like about the vile piece of art work. Children should not be exposed to what is considered by some to be porn without first notifying parents. Is it really that hard for the pro-choice society to give parents a choice?

I am all for the first amendment. I am all for political statements. Just about every single piece was a political statement from the left (they all had signs with words). I really do not care if Piedmont Opera leans to the left and supports Obama. I don't go there for political reasons, I go there to see Opera. I don't go there to see the art displays, I go there to see Opera. However, that being said, I would expect that the Opera would display some level of decorum. Especially on Student Night (read: lots of minors present). Does the Opera and the artists it commissions lack decency? If you want to enter public discourse with hot-button topics, could you do so without the vulgarity? Really? Has our society come to the point that we can no longer make PUBLIC political statements without vulgar images and language?

Lastly, make fun of me and those of us who teach our children modesty, chastity and purity. I expect it from the left. You see, I am used to the mockery and vulgar words. When my now 18 year old didn't know the C word when he was 16, I was lambasted in a public forum and made fun of. Why does a 16 year old need to know the words that spew forth from Bill Maher's mouth? We want to raise articulate children who are able to get their points across without filth. We want a civil society. The left wants those of us on the right to be tolerant of the choices they make, while at the same time, they (not all) feel they have a right to keep us from practicing what we believe. If a parent wants to expose their children to vulgar art-- that is a choice they make, but it should never be forced upon our families without our consent. I'm not trying to raise the village. I'm just trying to raise my own children. The pro-choice society needs to back off and let me raise my children as I see fit.

Toesday

We are still battling the toe infection.  Over a month on antibitoics, drained three times and it seems there is a little bit of infection left.  We are hoping that it is well enough today to do the procedure.  We shall see. We are calling today "Toesday" in hopes that today, the infection battle ends!

 J has developed esophagitis -- which sometimes happens when he takes Clindamycin.  He's been on it every 8 hours--I've been very vigilant about that because of the infection. I wake him up in the middle of the night (usually 1am or so) to take the dose, making sure he drinks extra water and sits up for a bit afterward.

We continue to plod away with school and are working hard to get the word out about the Stand Up For Religious Freedom Rally in Winston-Salem, NC. 

The response has been overwhelmingly good!  I hope we fill the plaza and the sidewalks surrounding the Hiram H Ward Federal Building in 10 days!  We've got speakers and all sorts of good things lined up.

Exactly 237 years to the day before our March 23 Rally, American patriot Patrick Henry delivered his famous speech with the concluding line, “I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death!”

Triad Students for Life Make Signs for Rally

Friday night, TSFL had a meeting to make signs for the Stand Up For Religious Freedom Rally in Winston-Salem, NC.  We were blessed with a mixture of kids-- Protestant and Catholic. This is a religious liberty issue!

Here are a few pictures from the night: