Anyone that has spent time in bear country learns to be on the lookout for momma bears and their cubs and most importantly to never get between the two of them. Often it is a good idea to make a lot of noise when going through these areas to let them know you are nearby, this can avoid very unpleasant confrontations. I used to put a bell on my walking stick so they could hear me. But even with my bell, in the Alaskan bush I would carry a heavy caliber firearm.

Many Native American Peoples legends center around bears and how they are reincarnated spirits from ancient tribes. One in particular I encountered years past was known throughout the land as the "Phantom of the Hoback", a silver backed old bear who bedeviled many who crossed paths with it. Like many ancient tales and lore passed down from our past generations, most can be found to have some fact attached to them.

When Sarah Palin used the Mamma Grizzly metaphor to describe herself and her fellow female candidates in the political arena, I thought it was a beautiful and powerful graphic reality. I have seen more and more powerful women on the right standing up to protect and defend what they believe is their family, our country the U.S.A..

The main stream media descends and savages any right of center female candidate who dares enter the political arena. They are attacked for their looks, for their religious beliefs, for their educational backgrounds, for any imperfections in their family. The press will focus on their pasts with the enthusiasm of a pack of jackals, looking for ANY past indiscretion going back to their elementary school years and even earlier. If that same press would have used its resources and zeal to delve into the background of our current President, I wonder if he would have stood up to the scrutiny, would he have even made it to the nomination stage?

Any right wing female candidate will have to be tougher than her male counterpart in order to survive the slings and arrows tossed at her. Sarah Palin has survived unprecedented attacks on her character over the past 2 1/2 years, that no one running for public office should be subjected to. Our editor, Niall O'Dowd wrote a great piece on that very subject a while back noting the savagery of the attacks on Sarah.

But the reality of the Mamma Grizzly shined last night when I saw Michelle Bachman deliver the Tea Partys rebuttal to President Obamas state of the Union speech. She has taken a stand and is going to fight to protect and defend what she believes in. She is not only a Momma Grizzly, but she has put her Celtic Warrior princess armor on. She is in this fight to the finish. No matter what your political beliefs, you have to respect that kind of strength and determination.