Who am I? What am I doing here? How did I get here? (updated 10/29/2013)

unhyphenated american and proud of it bumper sticker. Image courtesy of zazzle

Every couple of months, someone poses to me the above question, not that I mind and every now and then, I attempt to take the short cut in response by searching my archives.

Admittedly, it takes longer to search the archives than it does just to type out a quick response which is why I am creating this page. I refer you to a post I created last year celebrating four years of blogging (below). [Here’s to you, JC.]

Friends and patriots know me as PUMA, Bydesign001, Bydesign, BD, Denise or simply D. How did I come about choosing this tag? Funny you should ask but first….

Up until five and a half years ago, I was a Democrat.

I worked my whole life (10 to 17 hours a day, sometimes seven days a week), taking care of a disabled spouse, raising my son and three nieces.

Family members, friends and even the school staff informed me that if I were to go downtown to welfare, I could get money for my nieces and would not have to work so many hours but having grown up poor and on the government dole, the welfare state was not an option for me or my family.

I thought it important that my children not grow up to be government dependent and with a welfare mentality and so, I did what had to be done.

Fifteen years ago, I realized that something was gnawing at me. I began to question the Democratic agenda but was so busy working and raising my family that the full extent of my displeasure failed to register.

Like most Americans, I made the mistake of trusting my elected officials without question to do the right thing.

Barack Obama’s plan to “fundamentally change” America often takes me back to the days when I worked long hours to support and care for my family, i.e., the Clinton era.

Employed full-time at a law firm, I was earning a good salary but the fact that I live in New York City/State and because a Democrat was in the White House at the time, 47 to 55% of my paycheck went to taxes.

Thank God for capitalism because I was able to work twice as many hours quickly making up the shortfall brought about by high taxes.

Entering the era of a Bush presidency and once the Bush tax cuts went into effect, the taxes taken out of my paycheck decreased dramatically from 47-55% down to 34%.

That revelation opened yet another door as to my growing displeasure with the Democratic Party.

Finally about six to seven years ago with the children grown up, out on their own and having nothing but time on my hands, I purchased a desktop computer and embarked on a path of enlightenment and no return.

At the beginning of 2008, more than halfway there but not quite, I supported Hillary Clinton for president.

I guess that I should thank Bill and Hillary for pulling the blinders off. Every attack against Hillary caused me to research deeper into Obama and the Democratic Party and what I learned displeased me and left me feeling betrayed.

By now, I was one angry American, angry with the left and myself for putting my trust in the enemy. So yeah, when the left talks about angry Conservatives, they are really talking former Democrats like me who were bold enough to step out of the Progressive box.

I can recall the exact moment when it occurred to me that I was not a Democrat. That moment occurred in September 2008 when John McCain introduced the world to Sarah Palin. Having already decided that McCain was my candidate beforehand, Sarah Palin sealed the deal.

Back to the name PUMA.

During the late spring, early summer 2008, I joined P.U.M.A. which stands for Party Unity My A** [i]. I then added the word “PUMA” in front of my tag name, bydesign001 becoming PUMABydesign001.

On numerous occasions, I blogged and/or left comments at various P.U.M.A. sites. Feeling like an outsider with the exception of one or two P.U.M.A. sites, I believe that most of my comments were dismissed or not tolerated due to their not fitting in with the narrative of the Democratic Party.

It was clear that although they supported John McCain, the majority of P.U.M.A. members would remain Democrats and beholden to Hillary Clinton in the hopes that Clinton would run again in 2012 or 2016.

By mid-August, there was no walking it back, I was not a Democrat. I was angry and ready to roar. So creating my own blog, I moved on keeping my tag name PUMABydesign001.

Patriots, this is my story. I had originally planned to complete this post the last day of August which would have marked my four-year anniversary as a blogger but as you well know, there has been a lot going on these past few weeks which to me takes precedence.

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[i] Having no idea as to the present status of Party Unity My A** , one can only assume that because of the hard stance against Barack Obama four years ago and the anointed one’s thin skin, they are no more.