Category Archives: Musings

THE THREE “R’s” of 2016…


BLOG POST - Three Rs

Early in our history in American education focused on the “Three R’s” which were ‘reading, ‘riting’ and ‘rithmetic’.  We had a somewhat simplistic approach to the basics and one cannot ignore the influence of the Bible in our public education in our beginnings.  Those foundational principles were considered essentials for being able to function in the real world.

One of the things that were taught or encouraged was “thought” and using “cognitive skills” to solve problems and gather information.  The advancement of technology has, in some ways, diminished the pursuit of learning and has become more information resource based where if we do not know we “google it.”

This year we are involved in the selection of a nominee to run for the office of President of these United States of America.  The rhetoric is unceasing but often at the expense of information or substantive information.  I am becoming more and more concerned that what we see on the surface is not what lies beneath.  I am very concerned about “iceberg politics” where only a small fraction of the real is visible and, therefore I continue to make impassioned pleas for everyone to guard against being led solely by emotion or allowing our reason to be emotion or reaction driven.  I do not say that directed at any one candidate but to all supporters of all candidates.  This is far too important an election to allow anything but complete vetting be the rule and foundational in our decisions.

BLOG POST - Three Rs 2

There are Three R’s that I see on this matter that I will share with you.  If they resonate with you then consider them and find a way to mold your decision-making process using the suggestions.  I am not attempting to give a lesson in Psychology and that will be readily apparent based on the layman-like presentation I offer.  Consider with me the “Three R’s of 2016 Politics in America.”

  • REASON…

When reason is our base we are usually calculating and facts driven.  We examine the pros and cons and often reject all emotional involvement and influence.  We sometimes discount the spiritual as well and in our strict adherence to REASON as our guiding force, we miss the doorways or pathways to “reconciliation” of ideas and actions.  Reason is a great foundation but cannot be the only characteristic or quality in our determination or decisions.  If reason is not a foundational part of our decisions we are highly likely to make mistakes missing the long-term ramifications. 

  • REACTION…

Emotion is a very big factor in today’s politics and that concerns me greatly.  My concern is not that we are emotional for we should be.  It is not that we are angry, we should be based on what is being and has been done to our Republic.  My cause for concern is that if we allow emotion to drive us to REACTION and much of the time that action is a reaction not logical, reasoned, thought-out and rational.  Frequently, if not mostly this is an extension of our emotional state.  I am incredibly angry about the condition and direction of our nation.  I am angry at politicians who have promised and reneged on their promises.  I am angry at the way our nation has seen her sovereignty weakened and our national security jeopardized.  I am angry at the incessant spending of politicians for political purposes.  But, is simply reacting in anger the solution?  Hardly.  We need emotion to cause us to become interested enough that we become involved but then we need to “reason together” as to the long-term effects and solutions.

  • RECONCILIATION…

What I mean by this is the reconciling of our REASON and REACTION reaching a conclusion that grips our hearts enough that we will stay the course but uses our cognitive powers allowing us to “think through” the process, proposals, and possibilities.  This, in my view, is incomplete without the religious factor of prayer and dependence on the guidance of the Spirit of God.  If we “count the costs” rather than just run because our emotions are stirred we will have a greater likelihood of achieving a RESULT that is lasting and beneficial long-term.

BLOG POST - Proud to Be American

In today’s political world I hear some who are totally focused on REASON and others who are gripped by EMOTION and REACTION to the point they ignore reason and somehow believe that by reacting we will achieve the ultimate goal.  There are a few who seek RECONCILIATION or the combination of reason and reaction and are committed to interceding for America and Americans.  They are reasoned and willing to react but with a clear objective that has a substantive rationale as its foundation.

My fellow American Patriots, we are in a battle that cannot be won with reason or reaction (emotion) alone.  Just being angry and lashing out will solve no problems nor will chiding others for being emotional without carefully reasoning.  We must be emotionally involved or we will grow weary.  We must be reasoned or we will flame out in the heat of our anger and emotion.  I am praying that the LORD will open our hearts to hear more than the surface, see more than the plainly visible, and be led in the right paths.  AMERICA must be preserved as the Constitutional Republic or all our anger will be for naught and our reason will fall by the wayside.  We are contending for Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness in our fight for FAITH, FAMILY and FREEDOM.

God bless you and God bless America!

 

TODAY’S TROUBLED WORLD NEEDS ANSWERS MORE THAN EVER…


EASTER - Risen

Unapologetically, I affirm my faith in God and declare that Jesus is my Lord and Savior.  I celebrate this day as a remembrance of His resurrection but also that He came, lived, died, rose from the dead, and is now ascended to the right hand of the throne of God making intercession for us.  THAT IS HOPE, at least for me!  I know the transformation that took place in my life when I repented of my sins and received Him as my Lord and Savior and others took note immediately.

We are living in a world filled with chaos and incredible evil and need HOPE in a time of hopelessness.  We are seeing the rise of Islamic Jihadism and Terror slaughtering innocent people by the scores in the name of their god.  While that is happening we are often chided that to speak truth about what is happening is to be suffering from bigotry, racism, or a phobia of some kind and that is not who we are as Americans.  I suggest that is exactly who we are and have always been.  We have been people who valued the influence of the Bible and God in our lives and were willing to honestly face the issues, deal with the problems, and fight to defend our Freedom and Families and do so out of our Faith.

If America were the people that this president, Hillary, Bernie, and many on the Republican side tell us we are, we would have lost World Wars I & II.  Had we been the kind of people they suggest the Cold War would likely have not ended but escalated into a Hot War with nuclear ramifications.  Now, because of the push to be the kind of people they declare we have a hostile irrational and often unhinged North Korea with nuclear weapons, Iran rapidly moving toward acquiring them, and ISIS running rampant throughout the world and promising to bring their brand of terror to America’s shores.  That should not be acceptable to any American regardless of political persuasion.

I believe in Faith and Forgiveness.  I believe in peace and turning the other cheek but I also believe that when there are those who declare they are doing god a service to destroy all who do not believe and adhere to their brand of religion it is time to TAKE UP ARMS and fight.  The Bible authorizes and I believe instructs us to “care for our own” and that caring includes protecting and defending them from harm.  If an intruder breaks into your house with the intent to harm you and/or your family and steal your possessions do you think it bigoted, racist, or phobic to STOP THEM?  I do not, and have no fear of facing my creator after having stopped them. 

America needs answers on so many fronts but one that continually tugs at my heart is we need to find our moral mooring again and return to the foundational principles that made this nation great.  We cannot do that with the leftist agenda nor a passive agenda as some in the Republican Party suggest.  The time for talk is passed and now is the time for serious actions to deal with the issues at hand.  Therefore, I pray and urge each of you to pray seriously, fervently, passionately, and faithfully for America.  We need God today as much if not more than ever.

HAPPY EASTER!  God bless you and God bless America!

FOR THE REPUBLIC TO SURVIVE – We Must have A Constitutional President…


BLOG POST 4 - Constitutional Presidency

I do not want another President, Democrat or Republican, who is not constitutional.  I do not want another four or eight years of lawlessness, ignoring the Constitution, bypassing Congress and thumbing his/her nose at the courts.  I want a President who knows the Constitution and is 100% committed to obeying, following, defending, and protecting it and the God-given Constitutional Rights of the American people.

We have endured over seven years of a President who operates as an Imperial Potentate who appears to believe that because he is president he can do whatever he wants.  He has operated as though he believes he has a divine right to use his pen and phone at will in executive orders or actions contrary to the constitution.  He has been petulant, thin-skinned, vindictive, and manipulative waging war on anyone or anything that disagrees with him.  He has abused the power of the presidency more than anyone in my lifetime and possibly American history.  He has alienated our allies while empowering and emboldening our enemies.  He and his Party have engineered actions that will severely hinder America from recovering for decades if she can recover.

BLOG POST 4 - Abuse of Power

I do not want a President who envisions him/herself as King or Queen but one that knows, understands, respects, and obeys the Constitution of these United States of America.  I do not want a President who violates the Separation of Powers and writes legislation via Executive Edict even if what that President does is something I would like to see happen.  The Constitution does not change based on which Party is in Power, it is THE CONSTITUTION and that is a CONSTANT.  We may not like the law but if it is the law and constitutional it must be enforced and we dare not be content with a President arbitrarily bypassing or changing that law.  What we like this time, we may hate the next time and if we are to protect Constitutional Rights of one we must protect them of all.  We have a system of government through which laws are written, passed, and signed or vetoed by the President.  The President is not allowed by the Constitution to pick and choose which laws he/she will enforce. 

BLOG POST 4 - President

Abraham Lincoln once said, “The best way to get a bad law repealed is to enforce it strictly.”  The Constitution, Article II, Section 3 requires the President to “take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed.”  This requires the President to enforce all constitutionally valid Acts of Congress, regardless of his view as to the wisdom or rightness of those policies.  There is no discretionary power afforded the President to “pick and choose” what he will enforce and what he will ignore.  The Supreme Court has clearly and adamantly rejected the authority of the President to refuse to enforce constitutional laws.  In 1838, Kendall v. United States ex rel. Stokes, regarding the President’s refusal to comply with an act of Congress.  The court ruled, “[t]o contend that the obligations imposed on the President to see the laws faithfully executed, implies a power to forbid their execution; is a novel construction of the constitution, and entirely inadmissible.”  The court further noted that permitting the executive branch noncompliance with the statute “would be vesting in the President a dispensing power, which has no countenance for its support in any part of the constitution; and is asserting a principle, which, if carried out in its results, to all cases falling within it, would be clothing the President with a power to control the legislation of Congress, and paralyze the administration of justice.”  Is that clear enough?  The President has LIMITED POWERS and is not an IMPERIAL POTENTATE.

I have heard various candidates declare what they will do as President and some of those proclamations fly in the face of the Constitution.  I may agree with their proposal but UNLESS it goes through the Constitutional process it is WRONG to achieve the objective illicitly and illegally.  Too many, in this year’s political process are moved more by emotion than clear thinking reason and, to me, that is a very dangerous situation.  We have witnessed the result of a President acting as though he had arbitrary tyrannical powers and it is not a pretty picture.  We cannot adopt a “turn-about fair play” mentality but must strictly adhere to the Constitution if the Republic has any chance of survival.

BLOG POST 4 - Facts

I do not think it possible, at this juncture, for many to move beyond their determined devotion to their particular candidate and honestly and diligently vet the proposals, declarations, assertions and ideologies presented.  We do not, for the most part, do due diligence in our vetting and research, but resort to accepting biased websites, soundbites, and allow our frustrations to guide us in choosing our standard bearer.  I have three requests of everyone regardless of your present position on the candidates.  First, PRAY!  I have heard supporters of each candidate say, “This is God’s choice.”  All of them cannot be, so who is right?  Second, VET THE CANDIDATES THOROUGHLY.  I know it is time-consuming and you have to read stuff you do not like as well as that which you do to find the balance and truth.  Check the record, history, and actions in past events of each of the candidates and allow the facts to be facts rather than using isolated incidents as validations for the choice you have already made.  Third, BE INVOLVED.  That means working for, supporting, and voting.  This is America we are fighting for.  None of us should be willing to see a person elected to the Presidency who is not 100% committed to the Constitution.

God help us if we have another president who is not a follower and defender of the Constitution.  God bless you and God bless America.

MARCH is not MADNESS JUST FOR BASKETBALL…


MONTH OF MARCH

With St. Patrick’s Day just past and the NCAA Bracket mania in full bloom, I thought it might be well to consider how some of the ways the month of March has impacted us historically.  Therefore, I have opted to highlight some historic and significant dates for you to peruse.  For those of us in the southern portion of the nation, it is often perceived as the doorway to spring making its entrance.  I write this because I have become increasingly aware of how little history those coming out of our schools today know.  I am convinced that if we do not know history we cannot learn from it and will be in danger of taking additional laps around that proverbial mountain repeating and expanding upon our mistakes.

Blog Post - American Revolution

MARCH DATES OF IMPORTANCE – AMERICAN REVOLUTION…

  • March 1, 1781, brought us the formal ratification of the Articles of Confederation and Congress became the sole governing body of the new American nation. These Articles continued in effect until 1789 when the current Constitution was adopted.
  • March 4, 1789, was the first meeting of the new Congress under the new United States Constitution. The meeting was in New York City.
  • March 5, 1770, was the date of the Boston Massacre where Crispus Attucks, an African American was killed. As a result, British Captain Thomas Preston and eight of his soldiers were arrested and tried for murder with John Adams defending the British.  Six of the British soldiers were acquitted but two were convicted of manslaughter, branded, and then released.
  • March 23, 1775, patriot Patrick Henry ignited the American Revolution with his speech before the Virginia convention saying, “I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death!
  • Blog Post - WWIIMARCH DATES OF IMPORTANCE – WW I and II
    • March 2, 1943, during WWII in the Pacific, a Japanese convoy was attacked by 137 American bombers as the Battle of Bismarck Sea began. The convoy included eight destroyers and eight troop transport ships carrying 7,000 Japanese soldiers heading for New Guinea and ended the Japanese efforts to reinforce their troops in New Guinea.
    • March 5, 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt proclaimed a four-day “Bank Holiday” to stop panic withdrawals by the public and the possible collapse of the American banking system. Also, on this date, Winston Churchill gave his infamous “Iron Curtain” speech at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri.
    • March 11, 1941, marked the beginning of the “Lend-Lease” program allowing Britain to receive American weapons, machines, raw materials, and training and repair services. The initial appropriation was $7 Billion and grew to $50 Billion by 1946 in aid to our Allies in WWII.
    • March 13, 1943, a plot to kill Hitler by German officers was foiled when the bomb planted on his plane failed to detonate.
    • March 21, 1918, the Second Battle of the Somme began as German General Erich von Ludendorff launched an all-out drive to win the war. It lasted until April 6, 1918, and resulted in the Germans reclaiming about 35 miles of territory and the combined casualties of both sides were approximately half a million men.
    • March 21, 1943, another attempt to assassinate Hitler failed because the conspirators could not locate a short fuse for the bomb to be carried by General von Gersdorff.
    • March 31, 1933, the Civilian Conservation Corps, the CCC was founded. Unemployed men and youth were organized into quasi-military formations and worked outdoors in national parks and forests.
    • Blog Post - Electins    Now we come to the elections of 2016 and America is, once again, facing dire times.  It is decision time regarding the future of this nation.  Do we remain the Constitutional Republic our founders established or do we allow the tyranny of an all-powerful central government strip us of our liberties and constitutional rights?  REMEMBER NOVEMBER, America needs you now more than ever.  We are entering “crunch time” in the political process of determining the nominees for president and in the next few days or weeks there will be much MADNESS demonstrated and the mud and muck will likely be so deep a pig would avoid the Sty.  Many Republicans seem to have forgotten Ronald Reagan’s Eleventh Commandment of not bashing another Republican publicly.  It is a classic example of “win now” regardless of the cost and a demonstration of the Alinsky model that the “end justifies the means”.  It does not!  Providing ammunition for the enemy that is potentially deadly could be defined as insanity, not political expedience.  While all is fair, the saying goes in love and war it is a mistake to incorporate that mentality into a political campaign.Republicans were being offered a “slam dunk” election and as they have in the past two presidential cycles are in danger of continuing the propensity to shoot themselves in the foot and rather than getting beat, beat themselves.  Thus, we can call this portion of the cycle “Political March Madness” for if we get this wrong America loses.  I pray that sanity soon prevails and each candidate and their handlers will pause long enough to view the Prize and the Big Picture.  If they do not, it is quite possible we could lose the White House and the Senate again and Hillary Clinton in the White House and Harry Reid controlling the Senate would be the end of the line for any hope of a Constitutional Republic as well a packed Supreme Court that would decimate the constitution and strip us of many of our treasured rights as citizens.

      Therefore, I am begging each one to CONSIDER the BIG PICTURE.  I am not telling you who to vote for but am pleading with you to prayerfully and carefully evaluate what is best for America.  The splintering of the Party is troubling and I remain hopeful that something will transpire to bring us together and that something should be the awareness of the disaster of failing to STOP HILLARY and the DEMOCRATS in November.  We will determine America’s fate by our decision.  We will have no one to blame but ourselves if we lose this nation.  WE CAN STOP THE DEMOCRATS and KEEP AMERICA FREE!

      God bless you and God bless America!

THE SUPREME COURT – More Than A Little Important…


Blog Post - ADVICE AND CONSENT

We have a long list of occasions when the Democrats including Harry Reid, John Kerry, Joe Biden, and Hillary Clinton voiced that the Constitution DOES NOT REQUIRE the Senate to give consideration to a president’s nominee for the Supreme Court they are now claiming that was different.  Of course, it was different because they were seeking to block an appointment and now they are wanting one.  That makes IT DIFFERENT, at least in their minds.  We all know how that little game is played.  Hillary and Harry Reid both strongly stated that the Constitution authorized the Senate to give “advice and consent” or withhold “advice and consent” but nowhere in that document does it require the Senate to give a hearing of vote on the nominee.  But, alas, now the Republicans are accused of playing politics with the Supreme Court.  If you believe that I have a pair of unicorns I’d be happy to sell you.

Blog Post - SCOTUS

Many who have analyzed this nomination by President Obama, of Merrick B. Garland believe he would most closely align himself with Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor, but he is being called a centrist and a moderate.  What would they consider liberal?  If we consider some of Judge Garland’s judicial history we find some interesting things and causes of concern, at least to those of us who support the Constitution including the 2nd Amendment, but there is more to cause pause in our thinking and reasons to encourage the Senate to hold firm in not giving consideration to this nominee.

Judge Garland, in 2007 voted to undo a D.C. Circuit court decision striking down one of the most restrictive gun laws in the nation.  He demonstrated a willingness and ideological stance that individuals DO NOT have a constitutional right to “keep and bear arms”.  That is enough to break the deal for me, but there is more.  He has favored increasing environmental regulations all which hurt our industry, jobs, and the economy.  He has supported the president’s leftist agenda to destroy coal and fossil fuels in support of alternate energy and would be a decisive vote on the court to keep us moving down the path of total government control.  He, in my view, is not an originalist nor a moderate but another liberal that Obama is pushing forth because of the bi-partisan support he received being nominated to the DC. Court of Appeals that is being called the 2nd highest court in the land.  That in itself is not justification to place him on the Supreme Court.

Blog Post - Constitution

There are many reasons for the Republicans in the Senate to block this nomination.  One has been used by the left, that it is not required the Senate do so.  Another is the validity of the claim that WE THE PEOPLE should have a say in who the nominee is.  If the Democrats win the Presidential election they can run him back out or pick someone even more liberal and attempt to have them confirmed.  God help us if Hillary Clinton wins and appoints Barack Obama but we must give the voters the opportunity to decide on who makes the SCOTUS nominations.  If the Republicans win the people will have spoken they want a more conservative nominee or one who is assuredly an originalist and strict constructionist.  Therefore, it is right, in my opinion, for them to give no quarter in this battle, which is assuredly an attempt of Barack Obama to sway the election claiming the Republicans are obstructionist and ignoring his and the left’s history of being exactly that.

The Senate has a constitutional obligation to the American people and the document itself to consider the will of the people.  The media, of course always thinks the nominees are too conservative.  Remember when Elena Kagan was nominated, CBS’s Maggie Rodriguez lamented that Kagan, “might actually shift the court to the right,” and MSNBC’s Peter Alexander sighed, “…she may not be liberal enough.”  What do they want?  How much more liberal can you get?  Then in Sotomayor, ABC’s Claire Shipman declared that Sotomayor was not a liberal judicial philosopher,” and NPR’s Nina Totenberg claimed that Sotomayor was “more conservative that some members of the court including, Justice Scalia.”  What were they drinking?

We are talking about the Constitution being viewed as originally written or becoming an ever evolving document interpreted at the whim of those in power.  If we value our Constitutional and God-given rights we MUST NOT allow anyone confirmed to the court who does not consider and value the Constitution in its original intent.  God help us if we the Senate caves on this matter.  Remember “advice and consent” is, not a mandate that the Senate “rubber stamp” the President’s nominees but affords them the right and obligation to “protect and defend” the constitution.

God bless you and God bless America!

 

 

CLASS ENVY and POLITICS…


BLOG POST 2 - ENVY

I have some friends who totally buy into the class envy scam advanced by politicians, activist, academia, and the mainstream media.  Sometimes, it seems, they consider anyone who has wealth evil but when we peel the onion we find that it is not their moral objection to the greed, graft, and/or corruption but envy or jealousy that is driving their view and willingness to blast everyone with wealth.  One person recently told me, “It’s just not fair!”  My question was, “what has fair got to do with it?”  Life, in general, is not fair and was never intended to be a socialistic society where everyone is equal regardless of their production, contribution, or risk.  Our Constitution recognizes our God-given right to the pursuit of Life, Liberty, and Happiness.  It does not suggest that EQUALITY or WEALTH REDISTRIBUTION is a right or a path we should desire or pursue as a governmental mandate, edict, or policy.  Risk and reward is and has always been a part of life.

In this current political campaign, both Democrats in the race desire “higher taxes” and, therefore, the fan the flames of class envy and take advantage of the jealousy and envy of those of us who could be called the “have-nots” toward those who “have.”  I readily acknowledge that some, if not many, of those with wealth and power have achieved some if not much of their wealth and success on the backs of those who labor.  Yet, the benefit we “have-nots” gain from their creation of personal wealth is a job.  If they were forced to pay a wage beyond what the market would bear that increase would and does result in fewer jobs and higher prices.  The man on the bottom of the scale pays more for products which often if not most of the time is more than their increase in wages.  We have witnessed the reduction of hours due to government mandates and regulations which hurt those of us who are identified as “have-nots”. 

BLOG POST 2 - TAXATION

When it comes to TAXATION, the idea of “socking it to the rich” may provide some personal gratification at the idea that the wealthy or being forced to PAY their “fair share” but, in reality, it does nothing for you and me.  The reality is that while there are many loopholes, and deductions that those of wealth can take advantage of because they can afford the CPA’s, attorneys, make investments, etc. that the average Joe cannot.  However, if we truthfully examine the TAX ISSUE we find some very interesting things regarding FAIR SHARE.  The Democrats will not address those issues because they want more money and are willing to appear to want to go after the wealthy, many of which are deep pocket supporters of those very candidates.  That brings to mind another question.  “If the Democrats are truly trying to sock it to the wealthy, why are the wealthy supporting them?”  That would be incredibly nonsensical, would it not?

BLOG POST 2 - Fair Share

In a report for 2012 released by the Internal Revenue Service we find:

  • The Top 1% (1.37 Million Taxpayers) earned at least $434,682 per year and paid 38% of all federal income taxes.
  • The Top 5% were identified as those earning, at least, $175,817 per year paid 59% of all federal income taxes.
  • The Top 10% were identified as those earning, at least, $125,195 per year paid 70% of all federal income taxes.
  • The Top 25% were identified as those earning, at least, $73,354 per year paid 86% of all federal income taxes.
  • The Bottom 50% were identified as those earning no more than $36,055 per year paid less than 3% of all federal income taxes.
  • The Report estimated that over 45% of American households paid ZERO federal income taxes.

Think about the fact that the threshold for being in the hated ONE PERCENT begins at $434,682 per year.  And imagine how being called a TEN PERCENTER feels to someone earning $125,195 per year.  You do realize that earning $4 to $5 hundred thousand per year is not Lear Jet and Luxury Yacht type money, don’t you?

The clamor about corporations and taxes usually never includes the result of increased taxes on corporations.  If a corporation is taxed it has several options as to how to handle that tax incidence.  The corporation can shift the burden to another party, often in an effort to survive.  They can raise the price of its product, lower dividends or lay off workers or maybe a combination of all three.  Corporations are really tax collectors for the government.  Politicians tell us they won’t tax us but if we own a home they tax the land and property, which cannot pay taxes.  Who pays the tax?  WE DO!  The Left wants to keep and increase the Inheritance or Death Tax where the money is being double taxed.  This tax brings in about 1% of the federal revenue and while it is supported by some of those who identify as “have-nots” it negatively impacts our economy and often forces the heirs to liquidate their assets to pay these taxes and rather than advancing our economy it simply funnels money into the Big Government coffers enabling politicians to continue their spending and misuse of our money.

BLOG POST 2 - fair share 2

FAIR SHARE?  What is a fair share?  If we had a Flat Tax or a Fair Tax rather than a progressive tax system everyone could pay a FAIR SHARE by proportional participation and everyone would have skin in the game.  If you earn $10,000 and paid 10% you would pay $1,000 and if you earned $10,000,000 you would pay $1,000,000.  Now, I am not asking that a person earning only $10,000 pay $1,000 but use the illustration to reflect how this would be FAIRER than what we now have.

I refuse to allow envy or jealousy dampen my dream and joy.  I grew up dirt poor but rich in love and heritage and have never considered myself deprived because someone else had something I did not have.  All my life, if I have wanted something, I either found a way to save or earn enough to purchase it or I moved on.  What another wears, where they live, or what they drive impacts me only in causing me to dream and determine if I am willing to take the risk to have that reward.

God bless you and please do not politicians to suck you into the class envy but may God inspire you to dream dreams and reach for the stars through your efforts rather than attempting to have what someone else has.  I do not want what you have earned or inherited and do not want to be forced to give you what I have.

 

 

 

POLITICAL SUICIDE – Is That What We Signed Up For?


Blog Post - Political Suicide

I know I didn’t and do not believe that you did either.  However, with the trajectory, we are currently on, the divisiveness, the implosion, and the infighting in the Republican Party that may well be what we have.  The demise of a political party is never pretty and the fallout for the citizens is sometimes very bad.  However, the Republican Party came into existence as the Whig Party disintegrated and the new Republican Party had Lincoln as their candidate.  Sadly, with the money, machine, and media forming a new party with success will not be as easy as in the middle of the 19th century.  I completely understand the disdain people have for politics and political parties because of the professional elitist who control the helm of them but in today’s situation, it can be catastrophic.  If WE THE PEOPLE allow the Republican Party to implode from within and commit political suicide we will have permitted the Leftist, Progressive, Socialist, Democrats to not just “fundamentally transform” America but effectively “destroy”  or render the “ineffective” the Constitutional Republic.  That will have far more dire consequences than many, including politicians, seem to realize.  I keep asking, “Have, We Lost Our Collective Minds?”

Blog Post - Fighting Each Other

Although many attribute the quote, “A house divided against itself cannot stand,” to Abraham Lincoln but it was first found in the Bible in Gospels, spoken by the Lord Jesus Himself.  Saul Alinsky and other activist and tyrants promoted the idea of “Divide and Conquer” as a viable and effective means of winning battles and wars.  I wish I could say that it is the Democrats who are causing the division and creating a “divided house” but it is not.  We are doing this to ourselves and for that reason I question if this is “political suicide” we are witnessing.

I have NEVER seen such polarization and venomous attacks in my lifetime politically.  It is not just the candidates, but those following them.  The Republican Party Presidential Primary has, in my view, reached critical mass, in illustrating our division.  We cannot survive if we continue on this path.  PLEASE UNDERSTAND, I am not saying that candidates should not question an opponent’s policies, ideas, and/or stances but when it becomes personal to the point that friendships, business relationships, churches, and marriages so strained they are being torn apart IT IS UNACCEPTABLE.  I appreciate the devotion to your candidate and your belief that you are standing on principle.  However, if we commit “political suicide” who rescues the nation?  The Democrats have no desire to rescue the Constitutional Republic they want to “fundamentally transform it.”

Blog Post - Einstein

Albert Einstein said, “Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe.”  That encapsulates the situation perfectly.  I am sorry if this offends, but it is being anything but wise to so alienate those of differing preferences about who would offer the best hope for America that we can never come together against the real enemy we face.  It is insanity to think that after the varying camps have gone to nuclear war with each other, attempting to totally annihilate the character of the opponent and issued such vile statements and charges that this will somehow magically disappear later.  IT WILL NOT!   I personally know a number of people who have vowed emphatically they will NEVER VOTE FOR, Donald Trump or Ted Cruz.  Some have said that about Rubio who has become the attack dog toward Donald Trump.  I know people in the Trump camp who seem to literally hate Ted Cruz and some in the Cruz camp who vow they would never vote for Trump.  WE CANNOT WIN unless we somehow are able to lay aside our differences and unite around the eventual nominee.  Is not defeating Hillary Clinton and the Leftist Agenda of the Democrats important enough to call a truce in the viciousness of personal attacks?  We are fighting for FAITH, FAMILY, and FREEDOM.  We are fighting for America and I do not believe that Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, or John Kasich want to destroy this nation.  However, I do believe that Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and Bernie Sanders want to take a path that will.  THAT CANNOT BE ALLOWED!

Blog Post - Franklin

Therefore, I say this with a heavy heart, barring a miracle we are in grave danger of becoming, if we have not already, so fractured we cannot win in November. That angers and frightens me.  I am literally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually sick for my nation.  I pray that each of us has our eyes open and realize that this is a path to defeat.  Vote for your candidate. Speak for your candidate.  Talk of their positives, policies, plans, agendas and leave the personal insults, attacks, innuendos, and vitriol out of the conversation.  Most of all I PLEAD with everyone who prays to seriously and earnestly pray for America.

God bless you and God bless America!

HILLARY CLINTON – How Low Can We Go America?


BLOG POST - Hillary

I had a person who professes to be a Republican tell me regarding Hillary Clinton, “Well she paid her dues and deserves it.”  ARE YOU KIDDING ME?  Paid her dues?  Deserves it?  Oh, she deserves it alright but not the “it” that this person was speaking of.  The history of Bill and Hillary Clinton would reward most average citizens with extended time in the Big House so in what way is she deserving of being President of these United States of America.

Hillary’s college days reveal that she was an avid follower of and enamored by Saul Alinsky and his leftist radical Anti-American ideology.  In the 60’s she was a militant activist for the leftist agenda and even her Wellesley thesis was securely locked away from public scrutiny during the Clinton Presidency.  David Brock said she was so radicalized by Alinsky she should be called “Alinsky’s Daughter.”  Barbara Olson, who died in the terrorist attack of 9/11 said that the Clinton’s hid her thesis because they did not want the American people to know just how completely radicalized and ideologically devoted Hillary was to the Alinsky model.  She hasn’t changed!

BLOG POST - Alinsky

It seems that Whitewater is long forgotten and as Hillary would say, “What difference does it make now?”  It matters because it is part of a history that reveals the character, intent, and willingness to follow the Alinsky model of “the end justifies the means” and as her Wellesley thesis was entitled: “There is Only the Fight.”  We have documented evidence of her involvement and video and audio of her attacking the women her husband is accused of sexually abusing.  She proclaims to be the standard bearer for Women’s Rights and yet she has done as much if not more to hinder women in her career than any candidate in the field.  It often appears that she is willing to sell her influence to achieve the money and power she seeks.

The Benghazi debacle that cost four American heroes their lives was covered up by Hillary Clinton, in part to protect Barack Obama in his reelection bid and she has continued to perpetuate the lies regarding what happened, her failures, and the subsequent cover-up.  To her, “people died, that happens.”  She, it seems, believes that what she did is excusable and even justifiable because it was a “means to an end” and they end was getting the Democrat leftist reelected to continue the agenda of “fundamentally transforming America.”  What difference does it make?  All the difference in the world, because we are talking about maintaining the Constitutional Republic or reducing America to at best an Oligarchy and at worst a Dictatorial Tyranny.  NEITHER ARE ACCEPTABLE.

BLOG POST - Radical

We have her email scandal or criminal activity which is being brushed aside on every hand and even now the so-called conservative “fair and balanced” network Fox News has aligned itself with the Establishment that there was no criminal intent.  We know from testimony and documents that she rejected warnings about doing this and knew that it was not only illegal but jeopardized our national security and potentially endangered Americans in the process.  I wonder how General David Petraeus, the former CIA director feels about this?  The direct connection to Sidney Blumenthal is inescapable although Hillary claims it was inconsequential and not official.  He had access to her and the State Department virtually at will and that is somehow inconsequential and his information random and unsolicited. It now appears that she had emails that were beyond “Top Secret” on her private and virtually unprotected server.  How is that acceptable for a potential Commander in Chief?  She is deserving for sure, but not to occupy the Oval Office but a 6′ X 8′ room in a Federal facility to incarcerate those convicted of crimes.

Hillary’s aides and the many conflicts of interest should be impossible to ignore and yet, she is deemed to have “paid her dues” and now “deserving”.  America, if we allow an individual with the history and track record of failure with such a clear lack of integrity to become President we are complicit in driving the final nails in the coffin of the Republic.  I CANNOT DO THAT and will do everything I can to prevent Hillary Clinton or any nominee for the Democrat Party to become President of these United States of America.  My Freedom is too valuable and precious to do less. 

God bless you and God bless America.

 

PARTICIPATION TROPHIES AND POLITICS…


Blog Post - PARTICIPATION TROPHIES

Before everyone who is a loyal Marco Rubio fan turns me off, please allow me to explain that I used this picture because it offers a perfect Segway into something that troubles me in our society and is not about Rubio!  Most of our history and virtually all my life we were rewarded for winning or excellence not simply for participating.  Participation is a loose term that has come to mean if you were there, you win!  But is excellence about participating or achieving?  Did America become the Great Nation she has been by just showing up or excelling?  I THINK WE KNOW THE ANSWER! 

We have adopted, at least, the government has “Results Based Learning” and “Common Core” in our education system.  I was troubled years ago when the move surfaced and gained footing to virtually cease giving grades in school and keeping score in sporting events for the young.  I can assure you having raised children who played sports and having participated in sports most of my life, THE KIDS KNOW THE SCORE!  They keep the score even if the officials and parents do not.  How does eliminating winners and losers teach anything in life except the false narrative that just participating is good enough and exceptionalism is a bad thing?  How does it teach people how to handle life’s adversities when we try to level the field so that no one excels and everyone is brought down to the lowest level of those participating?

  • I am glad I grew up in an era where we learned the agony of defeat which made the thrill of victory even sweeter.
  • I am glad that I learned at an early age that life is not fair and things will not always go my way.
  • I am glad that I learned how to deal with adversity and strive for excellence and then when awarded the prize of excelling it meant something.  Blog Post - First LoserI laugh when I hear political candidates trumpet their success in finishing 2nd, 3rd, 4th, or 5th.  Is that the objective?  PARTICIPATING?  I think not and no matter how the PC Police attempt to convince us we know that finishing 2nd even a close 2nd is still SECOND.   It is not the prize sought and while it may make us feel better to declare that we are winners because we finished SECOND it will not achieve the desired objective.  Therefore, I would suggest to the candidates finishing other than 1st to realize that what they are doing is working only minimally and if they hope to ascend to the highest position on the podium they have to change something.  Hey, candidates finishing other than 1st WHAT YOU ARE DOING ISN’T WORKING.  You may be closing the gap and may be increasing the gap between you and the next position but you are still not in the lead so don’t try to make us think it is great you are a participant not a victor.

    I am not trying to pick on Marco Rubio for I’ve heard all of them except maybe Dr. Carson proclaim their victory in finishing other than 1st and laugh when I hear it.  I laughed last night when Fox News was interviewing Rubio and he kept spinning, “better days ahead” and “I’m really the winner”, and he could be right I don’t know.  He suggested, rightly, that if others were not in the race he would have done better and then Fox advised him that Governor Kasich said that because Rubio was in the race it was hurting Kasich.  I LAUGHED OUT LOUD!  Governor are you that delusional?  I continue to hope and pray that we will move beyond the personality issues and onto substance and details of WHAT and HOW the candidates propose to achieve the campaign promises and agendas.  I heard a Christian asked why he supported Donald Trump and he said, “Well, we are not trying to elect a Pastor nor a Sunday School Teacher but someone to lead this nation to where it needs to go.”  He felt that Mr. Trump was that person.  You may or may not feel that way but it does explain why some Christians overlook or look beyond some things.

  • Blog Post - Critical TimesI am convinced that this is the most critical election in my lifetime and one that we dare not get wrong or fail to win if we want to rescue America and see her thrive as the Constitutional Republic the Founders establish and intended.  It is time for the field to thin down to two but it won’t.  Kasich and Carson seem to be determined to stay in the race and only they and God knows why.  Neither Cruz nor Rubio is likely to drop out UNLESS Rubio loses Florida but after hearing him last night and on other occasions I doubt that would cause him to step aside.  Cruz is clearly in 2nd place in delegates and wins but unless one of the two of them steps down Donald Trump will be the nominee of the Republican Party, and that will either be good or bad in November.  I would prefer to have it a head to head competition for I believe that would result in a stronger plan to defeat Hillary in November and I do not believe that Cruz and Rubio both staying in will result in an for an Open or Contested Convention.

    I must say that I thought Donald Trump’s Press Conference reflected a totally different style last night.  He toned it down dramatically.  Is that a sign of things to come as the presumptive nominee and if so will that hurt or help him?  Just a thought, but I liked the change!  I SAY AGAIN, “Whoever is the Republican Nominee, I will vote for them or vote against the Democrat.”  AMERICA cannot survive four or eight more years of the anti-constitution leftist agenda.  Each of us has a preference in this process but I pray that once the process has run its course and a nominee is declared we will determine to defeat the leftist, progressive, socialist agenda of the Democrat side of the equation and VOTE.  This is about America, not simply about our personal preferences.  The Fight is for FREEDOM!

    God bless you and God bless America!

     

WHAT IS THE REAL OBJECTIVE???


BLOG POST - Objective

The more I watch, read, and listen to the Republican candidates the more I wonder, “What is the Real Objective?”  Is it to simply become the GOP nominee for president or is it to become president and alter the course of this nation averting the sure destruction looming before us?  I am perplexed by what I see and how the masses are responding to what we all hear and see.  I have heard many possible reasons for the paradox being witnessed but none has satisfied my inquiring mind.

BLOG POST - Angry

I understand being angry, for I too am angry.  I am angry at the assault on the constitution and the spinelessness of our elected officials to stand in the gap for America.  I am angry at the insatiable appetite Washington has for spending us into oblivion without regard to future generations.  I am angry at political promises made and not kept.  I am angry at the systematic erosion of our constitutional and God-given rights and liberties attempting to “fundamentally transform” America into a nation that in no way resembles that described and provided in the Constitution.  I am angry at the facilitation of the moral decline, the dumbing down of the young through educational manipulation and brainwashing, and the rejection of reason and time-honored traditions and beliefs that have made this nation strong for over two centuries.  Therefore, I understand the anger, but is anger enough or do we need real answers that are prayerfully thought out and implemented?

As I have watched the debates I keep wondering if anger is the reason many applaud rudeness and rhetoric without substantive details as to how the promises are going to be kept.  When I talk to people about whom they support I continue to be surprised at the reasons and how willing many are to embrace their choice not based on substance but presentation and appearance.  I have some tell me they consider it a breath of fresh air to have someone present an image that is in a continual attack mode.  I guess our Political Process has evolved to the place that candidates resort to name-calling, half-truths, innuendos, and character attacks and that is more productive than SUBSTANCE and DETAILS.  Candidates, I really don’t care who called who what first, escalating the back and forth of name calling is juvenile and what we have experienced over the past seven years.  Each of the candidates has their soundbite 15-second statements they use over and over and sadly their chosen words seem to resonate with people even without hearing the HOW.  I am puzzled because my view of America, where she is, where she is heading, and where she should be will not allow me to be swayed by emotion but demands that I see the details.  I want to know if the promises are truly possible and have a reasonable possibility of becoming realities.  Just my view and you have a right to yours.

BLOG POST - Substance

I agree with something Donald Trump said after the last debate regarding Dr. Carson’s treatment by the moderators.  He said, “I don’t think it was fair and they didn’t ask him enough questions.”  That is true and in this particular debate Dr. Carson and John Kasich offered more details and substance as to their views than I have heard heretofore.  I expected Marco Rubio to be the attack mode toward Donald Trump and knew that Trump and Cruz were going to go after each other.  Although I understand what and why the three of them are doing and what they do in the debates, but for it to become a shouting match is troubling.  In private conversations or public debates, I do not like to hear people talking over each other and resorting to name calling and all three did that to one degree or another.  In a true debate, which it almost became at times, one person states a position and another counters and the back and forth often leads to a revelation of positions.  However, in these formats for that to happen we almost have to have the shouting matches where the moderators are ignored and the candidates engage in debate.  That being said, when the debate is not substantive but rhetorical it turns me off.  Again, simply my opinion and preference and may not be yours.

BLOG POST - Target

I heard things that troubled me, things that angered me, things that raised new questions, and things that sent me to my knees.  However, back to my original question, “What is the Real Objective?”  If it is rescuing America then it is time for each of the candidates to tone down the personal attacks and name-calling, rudeness, and rhetoric and begin to detail in clear terms what they plan to do, how they plan to do it, and when we could reasonably expect their objectives to be accomplished.  Tuesday will be incredibly revealing and we will, quite possibly, know who the Republican nominee will be or if we will be heading to an Open Convention, which I doubt.  I am hopeful and prayerful that we will see a coalescing within the GOP and a presentation of proposals with details that we can all gravitate to and support in opposition to the leftist agenda of the Democrats.

My continual plea is, “Let’s not forget the Objective.”  America is in need of her patriots to rise up, and stand in the gap more than any time since 1776.  We face the full and final “fundamental transformation” of this nation if we do not find some way to unite and defeat the Progressive, Liberal, Leftist, Socialist, agenda of the Democrats in November.  God help us if we fail or refuse.

God bless you and God bless America!