In Praise of Womanhood

 Who can find a a virtuous woman?  For her price is far above rubies.

 The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil.

 She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life
                                                                                             Proverbs 31:10-12

Women are the heart and soul of our families and our society.  They are the civilizing factor of our culture.  

I read a book written by an Afghani woman who was in Afghanistan when the Taliban took over.  The discriptions of how women were mistreated are beyond belief and heartbreaking.  If the Taliban are allowed back into power, Afghanistan will be hell for their women and will not progress beyond the stone age.
   
In Saudi Arabia, women who have been raped will be stoned and accused of seducing the rapist, allowing the rapist to go free.  The subjugation of women is in keeping with Wahabism (a radical version of Islam), the state sponsored religion.  The only reason Saudi Arabia has any riches is because of the involvement of American companies in drilling for oil.  The majority of the population live in abject poverty.

It is no surprise that povery and moral bankruptcy coincide with the mistreatment of women.  In America, we recognize the rights of women and are blessed for it.  In good marriages, spouses tend to complement one another.  Where one spouse has a weakness the other spouse has strength.  In general, women tend to be better at nurturing and communicating.  This is not to say that the roles between the genders are clear cut or that men do not serve a vital role in both their children's lives and the enrichment of society.  Ideally, the best situation is that families are made up of both a man and a woman, but that cannot always be the case and I honer the single parent that is forced to take on the task of raising their childern alone.  In this modern age, many women have felt the call to leave their traditional roles as housewife (I know I sound as if I haven't left the twentieth century but bear with me) and are in bussiness, politics, the workforce.  They are leaders, laborers and, at times, they are the breadwinners of their families.  In these new roles, relatively speaking, they bring with them to the rest of society the same things that made them of value to their own family.  Could I vote for a women for president?  If it were the right woman, in a heartbeat!  Our wives, our mothers, and our daughters deserve our love, regard and respect.  If we should ever forget this, then our culture will suffer to no end because they are the daughters of the Most High God.   

Proverbs 31: 10 -31 has always been one of my favorite Bible passages.

13 She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands.


14 She is like the merchants’ ships; she bringeth her food from afar.


15 She ariseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens.


16 She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard.


17 She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms.


18 She perceiveth that her merchandise is good: her candle goeth not out by night.


19 She layeth her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the distaff.


20 She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy.


21 She is not afraid of the snow for her household are clothed with scarlet.


22 She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing is silk and purple.


23 Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the land.


24 She maketh fine linen, and selleth it; and delivereth girdles unto the merchant.


25 Strength and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come.


26 She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness.


27 She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness.


28 Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her.


29 Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all.


30 Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised.


31 Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates.

Please Pardon the Inconvenience

The previous two posts did not have a comment section. Please leave your comments below; please.   You wouldn't believe how frail my ego is.

Dear HR Department, Get A Clue

In this past year of unemployment, I have been through the gauntlet of HR screenings by various and tawdry companies.  My least favorite of these tactics is what they call the survey or personality profile.  My distaste for this form of punishment stems from when I first came across it in the nineties when I was offered employment by Greyhound Bus Lines.  I had the job.  I just had to take their "personality profile".  I was told to answer the questions as honestly as possible.  After I was done and my answers were faxed to some psychologist somewhere, I was told that I did not fit in the "parameters" of their stupid test and, therefore, they could not hire me.  I tried to find out what it was that I answered wrong, but I was just given the "parameters" answer.  I have come across this thing often in the years since and I have never gotten a job from any company that has used this psychological trickery.  What annoyes me most is the questions on these things seem to try and deduce what your level of honesty and work ethic are.  I believe I am an honest person and I work hard for my paycheck, so what is it that a personality profile or survey or whatever you call it tells them about me?

Flash forward to the present.  I have just finished another one of these "character defect detecters" and I would be offended by the questions if they weren't so patently stupid.  The survey consists of 128 questions which ask me such probing things as whether I agree that it's okay to take some things from the office.  Let's think about this; I'm going to tell a prospective employer that I think it's okay to steal from him.  Hmm....Yeah, that's smart.  Question 32, 46, and 88 ask if I agree or disagree with the statement, worded in different ways, that you only work to the level that you think is adaquate for your pay and no harder.  Uh, what boss wouldn't want you if you answered to the affirmative.  The question that got to me was number 124.  Do you agree or dissagree that you read well enough to do the survey.  I might understand it if this was question 5 or 6 but question 124?  I dont get it.  Of course, I could not resist and answered that I disagreed.  Hey, it's not like I was going to be hired anyway.   

One hundred twenty-eight questions that could be boiled down to about ten that I can't imagine would trip up any individual into revealing anything they wouldn't want revealed.  I'm at a loss as to how these tests separate the chaff from the wheat and how is it that I am always the chaff.     

Oh No, Not Obama Again.

Yes.  Sorry.
I started this blog, in part, to go more in depth than just the personalities that are in the political arena, to explain and explore the reason and motivation behind politics and politicians.  It seems like I have done my fair share of criticising our President.  This is because he so perfectly represents the culmination of what scares me about extreme leftist policies.  Obama campaigned as a moderate and is now governing as a far left liberal (very nearly a radical).  If you don't believe me, just look at the people he is surrounded by.  Van Jones, Cass Sunstien, Reverend Wright and Bill Aryes are just a few examples of the extemists that have shaped and formed our President's values and beliefs.

What has amazed me is how Obama (a gifted campaigner and speaker) can get away with saying one thing in a speech and than say the opposite in the next sentence.  I realize that the choice for president this last election was not good ( basically it was between liberal and liberal light) and it is this problem that I would like to address.  I do not believe that 51 percent of the American electorate is desirous of the direction that our nation is headed.

 I believe that because of our busy and distracted  lives, we (myself included) have neglected our responsibility of being involved in the process of governance.  While it is true that we have a representative republic, it is still a nation "of the people for the people and by the people".  We, in the past, have complained about our representatives but have done little to change who represents us.  If we vote in general elections and our choices are the lesser of two evils, then it is we who are at fault.  As I write this, I chastise myself for not being more involved.  I now vow to change this.  This change means being involved in the party on the local level, taking part in shaping our candidates of the future.  Because who knows?  The dog catcher of today may very well be the presidential candidate of tomorrow.      

What Moves the Heart and Stirs the Soul!

I remember as a child in school being taught that our nation was special.  We were taught to take pride in being an American, that the freedoms that was guaranteed to us by our constitution was bought at the high price of the blood of our patriotic forebearers.  It was impressed upon me that some day I might have to defend this country that I so dearly love.  These are the ideals I grew up believing and I believe them just as strongly today.  We live in an age of cynicism and deceit where people are often ridiculed for holding to the ideals that the founding fathers of our great nation held to be "self evident".  It is true that our country does not always govern by the edicts set forth in the constitution.  How could slavery have existed in a nation that held to the notion that "all men are created equal"?  How is it that an eviction order of the Mormons was signed by a governor of Illinois?  This nation is not perfect.  Mistakes have been made and people have been harmed, but far more good has come from this "noble experiment" than ill and we still hold to our ideals.  Ideallic life is not possable when dealing with fallable people, but life without holding to ideals would be a bleak and unbearable existance.

Listening to Obama's speech to the UN this week made my stomach turn.  To the world, he does not speak of the greatness of the nation that allowed him to reach the pinnacle of his career ( president of the nation that he shows nothing but comtempt for).  He tells the world that in the eight months of  his  reign  presidency, change has taken place and that we are a better nation than before.  He must believe that he truly is the messiah of our nation (his arrogance and hubris is palpable, almost an entity unto itself).  Does he truly believe that this nation has only just now come into its greatness and moral direction because he has now taken the stern?  How can he so easily dismiss all those great Americans before him?  If asked, I'm sure he would deny the charges I have just laid out, but how can anyone who pays attention not see him as the liar that he is?  How can anyone support this man?  Unless, of  course, you have the same goal in mind; the same impossible goal of utopia for all at the expense of  individual achievement and personel freedom.  Just remember, my fellow Mormons, that  this is the same promise that Lucifer gave at the great premortal meeting - that none shall be left behind.  I just ask this question:  how important is the Lord's gift of  free agency?  Keep watching and listening to our president, than ask yourself - how much value does Obama give to your freedom?  If you pay attention, I think you just might come to the same conclusions that I have come to.      

Jane Curtain, Please Come and Play, I promise I'll be Gentle.

9/12/09 Has come and gone and I could not be more proud of the people who participated in protests across the nation, especially those who took our message to Washington DC.  The network news agencies and newspapers that lean left reported, "Washington marchers to number in the tens of  thousands" while the London Telegraph reported closer to a million.  There is no doubt that the dominant mainstream media is in the tank for the left and Obama in particular.  I observed this media bias in 1981 when I saw the sneer on Peter Jennings' face when he had to report that laser weapons research had produced some positive results on account of President Reagan's "Star Wars Initive".  I will never forget how Jennings looked, as if he had just swallowed a lemon whole.  Media bias since then has become increasingly more obvious.  Any stories that would place the current administration in a poor light, the mainstream media (what Rush Limbaugh has coined as the dinosaur media) will not cover.  Thank God for alternative media outlets!  At the same time, stories of Republican wrong doings are treated with great aplomb. 

I, on occasion, will listen to left-leaning talk show hosts (about an hour at a time is all I can handle).  I find that listening and reading the opinions of those that oppose my point of view helps me to solidify, justify and, once in a while, readjust my opinions and arguments.  It is astounding the lengths the other side will go to discredit us.  They call us racist.  They label us as a "fringe group" and say that we do not represent a very large section of the populace.  Even when staring at numbers of protestors that put their pro-Obama support marchers to shame.  One critisim a local talk show host leveled was that the right protested about imaginary problems while the left protested about real things such as war.  He was challenged by a caller that talked about out of control spending, to which the host conceeded, but dismissed it as if it was one small problem and one that didn't rise to the same level as an "illegal war".  Besides, it was the Bush Administration that started the spending spree.  It is true that it was Bush who started it, but for Obama and Congress to continue this policy of spending our kids future in to oblivion is like firemen dumping gas onto a burning house.

What I would like to ask those who read my blog is how would you defend our side to said talk show host's charges of  "imaginary problems" (be respectful)?  I know this is like explaining why the sky is blue or grapes are sweet, but it will be a good way to strengthen your opinions and give you an excersize in critical thinking.

I will attempt to play devil's advocate (don't worry "Jane" I'll be gentle) unless there's a liberal lurker that would like to come forward and argue the other side (you would be more than welcome and appreciated as long as you're respectful).

Please Stop Trashing My Ethics.

I hate litter. I find it hard to think well of anyone who can drop trash while within 50 feet of a trash can. I throw Frisbee's to my dog in an area we refer to as The Bowl (it's an indented lawn area in our townhouse community). There is a bus stop on the east side of the bowl where people waiting for the bus find no problem dropping their trash into our bowl area. I spend ten to fifteen minutes just picking up trash every time I take my dog out to play. It rankles me to no end the disrespect these seemingly callous bus riders show to me and my neighborhood. I now have a dilemma and it is this: Recently, I had a job at a truck stop where part of my job was picking up trash. I find it easier picking up trash when I'm paid for it. In fact, I find it's my zen moment (a simple mindless task I can do while zoning out and thinking of the higher meaning of life or, in actuality, what I'll eat for lunch). Ethically, I think it's irresponsible to litter but would I have had a job if no one littered in the truck stop? Imagine how many jobs would be lost in a society where no one littered. This got me thinking. What if we lived in a world where people took responsibility for themselves and respected one another? We would have no need for the police. Security guards would go the way of the dinosaur (a job that I currently hold). Where would a good portion of America's wealth come from if our weapons manufacturers had no reason to build weapons? If neighbors were to take care of their less fortunate neighbors, what would a whole army of welfare workers do? Speaking of army, what about the armed forces? How would they feed their families if they were not paid to defend our country? Do you see what a moral dilemma this train of thought has brought me to? I would like to see the elimination of the negative elements of society but what will I and others do for work? Perhaps we need the liberal ideology of the authoritarian taking care of people less capable so that we can all have a place in society.


I have a confession to make that I am not at all proud of. Since I lost my job in October, my family and I have been on Medicaid and food stamps. I feel somewhat the hypocrite being on the dole and preaching the negatives of big government. It gives me pause to think that I might be wrong about the attributes of smaller government and the bettering of the individual. Could it be that when drawn out, we as a society need our less than desirable elements to function? Could it be that we need a central authority to manage our lives, to make sure that society does not crumble from its own success?


Before you think that I've exchanged my "dark side" membership card for a more "enlightened" vision please read on:


What I have presented to you in the preceding paragraphs is what is known as a false dilemma. If there were no litterers, people who now spend time picking up trash would be freed to pursue greater interests. If there was no reason to build bombs, if there was no need to drop bombs, buildings, homes, and lives would not have to be rebuilt. If we did not need police, security guards, armed forces, welfare workers, etc.... There is no telling the potential that would be unleashed in the pursuit of positive, constructive and life affirming achievements by those who are freed from the need of having to protect society.


Time and time again we have been warned that modernization would cost us jobs and swell the ranks of the unemployed. Henry Ford put most buggy whip manufacturers out of business but spurred on unprecedented economic growth. I remember hearing how computers and robots were going to create havoc in the nations labor pool. The unions were so frightened by this that they fought against modernization of any kind for years. In case you haven't noticed, robotic systems and computers are everywhere and we have had low unemployment rates throughout the eighties, nineties and into the twenty-first century.


If this is not yet an axiom, than I will claim it as mine. Only positive results can occur from the elimination of negative influences or the positive achievements of man; thus saith Rocslinger.


Consider the fact that archaeologists find civilizations buried underneath one another. Most societies are dragged down from their greatness by the erosion of morality and the growing influence of a selfish and corrupt population. Each time there is a downfall of a civilization, the next one has to start from scratch. Imagine if there were no downfall; if we could continue from generation to generation going back for thousands of years? Is it possible that we might be a star faring race by now; or that we would know so much more about the human genome that we could unlock greater potential in ourselves (maybe I wouldn't be fat, old or balding; I'm just saying.......)?


False dilemma's are a politician's bread and butter. Beware the man that tells you there is a crisis and an immediate need for your money. Or the man that says you need to change your behavior to save the planet, especially, if he's unwilling to set the example. Look out for a president that says that we must totally dismantle our health care system, right now, or millions will continue to suffer. If we want to continue to be a great nation, we must train ourselves to look past the immediate and consider what unintended consequences can be wrought by responding to the false dilemma's so often presented to us by those who's motivation is less than stellar.

Does it Matter? Part 1

Sunday in priesthood meeting I gave my blog url to one of my friends. He said he would read it but warned me that he hated politics. He further explained that everyone has their opinion on what is best - smaller government or larger government - and that you can't change a person's mind. I understand the sentiment; I really do. It scares me that he might be right.


Barack Obama was elected by an ignorant electorate who was looking for government to take care of them. As I have tried to explain in a previous post, government cannot take care of us. The cost monetarily and the restrictions on our freedom are too great. If we cannot educate the populace, we cannot bring people to the understanding that we have elected tyrants that will seize the day by capitalizing on giving us what we think we want. We the people have always been fickle when it comes to who we put in office. For the longest time, the electorate could be broken down into thirds; one-third who would vote Republican, one-third voting Democrat and the final third would decide the outcome. This was especially true in this last general election. The Republicans, having betrayed the values of President Reagan (smaller government and fiscal responsibility), have begun a rift that is threatening to shatter its political base. The group polled as independent has grown while both republican and democratic parties have shrunk. I am concerned that this splintering effect will further give political power to a plurality of people that will once again vote themselves other people's money and will give up freedom for comfort and security. My question to you, the three people who read my ramblings, is: Does it Matter?



Does it matter that we have put a man in executive office that has no regard for the law? When restructuring Chrysler to sell to Fiat, the Obama administration helped put together a deal that would pay the union members a higher percentage of the sale price than those of the secured bond holders (you know, the guys who paid extra to ensure they would be first in line if the company should go bankrupt, which it did). This was in direct violation of bankruptcy law. When the court case was passed to the Supreme Court, rather than work to change the deal, the Obama administration wrote a letter to the Supreme Court asking them not to hear the case. What scares me is that somehow that letter was heeded. Another example of Obama's wanton disregard of the law is when he fired Inspector General Gerald Walpin. Most presidential political appointments serve at the behest of the president, but there is a law when it comes to inspector generals that the president has to give sixty days notice and give cause to congress before said firing. One might give Obama the excuse that he or anyone of his staff didn't know of this particular law. The only problem is that he co-sponsored this law in his short stint as a senator. Instead of working within the confines of the law, the Obama administration went out of their way to smear the good name of Gerald Walpin, accusing him of being senile. But why, oh why, is congress not doing their job and stopping this egregious use of power.

Does it matter that a growing number of Americans, to include myself, feel disenfranchised and powerless? Conservatives are not prone to demonstrations. We don't make a living hanging out in the streets as protesters. We're usually not that good at it. You would think that the media, congress and the President would stand up and take notice when the "Tea Parties" sprung up from grass roots conservative efforts. The main stream media cast aspersions on the party attendees, the congress ignored them and the President said he didn't know what was happening. Isn't it telling that much smaller protests get results when people want congress to do something (in most cases spending money or forcing other people to spend their money) but when we protest for congress to NOT do something, like not spending money, they ignore us and call us radical.

I ask in all sincerity, What do we do?

What I found in my Email; Why I have such "faith" in the government making my cars

Dr. David E. Cole is the Director of the Center for Automotive Research(CAR) and a Management Partner at the Environmental Research Institute of Michigan (ERIM). Dr. Cole has worked extensively on internal combustion engines, vehicle design, and overall automotive industry trends. Dr. Cole received his B.S.M.E., M.S.M.E. and Ph.D. from the University of Michigan.-------------------------------------------------------------------------(From a senior level Chrysler person) Monday morning I attended a breakfast meeting where the speaker/guest was David E. Cole, Chairman Center for Automotive Research (CAR and Professor at the Univ. of Michigan. You have all likely heard CAR quoted, or referred to in the auto industry news lately. Mr. Cole, who is an engineer by training, told many stories of the difficulty of working with the folks that the Obama administration has sent to save the auto industry. There have been many meetings where a 30+ year experience automotive expert has to listen to a newcomer to the industry, someone with zero manufacturing experience, zero auto industry experience, zero business experience, zero finance experience, and zero engineering experience, tell them how to run their business. Mr. Cole's favorite story is as follows: There was a team of Obama people speaking to Mr. Cole (Engineer, automotive experience 30+ years, Chairman of CAR). They were explaining to Mr. Colethat the auto companies needed to make a car that was electric and liquid natural gas (LNG) with enough combined fuel to go 500 miles so we wouldn't "need" so many gas stations (A whole othertopic). They were quoting BTU's of LNG and battery life that they had looked up on some website. Mr. Cole explained that to do this you would need a trunk FULL of batteries and a LNG tank at big as a car to make that happen and that there were problems related to the laws of physics that prevented them from.......The Obama person interrupted and said (and I am quoting here) "These laws of physics?" Who's rules are those? We need to change that. (Some of the others wrote down the law name, so they could look it up.) We have the congress and the administration. We can repeal that law, amend it, or use an executive order to get rid of that problem. That's why we are here, to fix these sort of issues." And these are the same people who are going to fix healthcare???

Due to a comment, I'm adding for future reference that THIS IS A JOKE!!!!!

The Open letter that I wish I Had Written

Glenn Beck: The Letter

June 17, 2009 - 10:36 ET
Related Links
Sign the petition: An open letter to our nation's leadership

GLENN: I got a letter from a woman in Arizona. She writes an open letter to our nation's leadership:

I'm a home grown American citizen, 53, registered Democrat all my life. Before the last presidential election I registered as a Republican because I no longer felt the Democratic Party represents my views or works to pursue issues important to me. Now I no longer feel the Republican Party represents my views or works to pursue issues important to me. The fact is I no longer feel any political party or representative in Washington represents my views or works to pursue the issues important to me. There must be someone. Please tell me who you are. Please stand up and tell me that you are there and that you're willing to fight for our Constitution as it was written. Please stand up now. You might ask yourself what my views and issues are that I would horribly feel so disenfranchised by both major political parties. What kind of nut job am I? Will you please tell me?
Well, these are briefly my views and issues for which I seek representation:


One, illegal immigration. I want you to stop coddling illegal immigrants and secure our borders. Close the underground tunnels. Stop the violence and the trafficking in drugs and people. No amnesty, not again. Been there, done that, no resolution. P.S., I'm not a racist. This isn't to be confused with legal immigration.

Two, the TARP bill, I want it repealed and I want no further funding supplied to it. We told you no, but you did it anyway. I want the remaining unfunded 95% repealed. Freeze, repeal.

Three: Czars, I want the circumvention of our checks and balances stopped immediately. Fire the czars. No more czars. Government officials answer to the process, not to the president. Stop trampling on our Constitution and honor it.

Four, cap and trade. The debate on global warming is not over. There is more to say.

Five, universal healthcare. I will not be rushed into another expensive decision. Don't you dare try to pass this in the middle of the night and then go on break. Slow down!

Six, growing government control. I want states rights and sovereignty fully restored. I want less government in my life, not more. Shrink it down. Mind your own business. You have enough to take care of with your real obligations. Why don't you start there.

Seven, ACORN. I do not want ACORN and its affiliates in charge of our 2010 census. I want them investigated. I also do not want mandatory escrow fees contributed to them every time on every real estate deal that closes. Stop the funding to ACORN and its affiliates pending impartial audits and investigations. I do not trust them with taking the census over with our taxpayer money. I don't trust them with our taxpayer money. Face up to the allegations against them and get it resolved before taxpayers get any more involved with them. If it walks like a duck and talks like a duck, hello. Stop protecting your political buddies. You work for us, the people. Investigate.

Eight, redistribution of wealth. No, no, no. I work for my money. It is mine. I have always worked for people with more money than I have because they gave me jobs. That is the only redistribution of wealth that I will support. I never got a job from a poor person. Why do you want me to hate my employers? Why ‑‑ what do you have against shareholders making a profit?

Nine, charitable contributions. Although I never got a job from a poor person, I have helped many in need. Charity belongs in our local communities, where we know our needs best and can use our local talent and our local resources. Butt out, please. We want to do it ourselves.

Ten, corporate bailouts. Knock it off. Sink or swim like the rest of us. If there are hard times ahead, we'll be better off just getting into it and letting the strong survive. Quick and painful. Have you ever ripped off a Band‑Aid? We will pull together. Great things happen in America under great hardship. Give us the chance to innovate. We cannot disappoint you more than you have disappointed us.

Eleven, transparency and accountability. How about it? No, really, how about it? Let's have it. Let's say we give the buzzwords a rest and have some straight honest talk. Please try ‑‑ please stop manipulating and trying to appease me with clever wording. I am not the idiot you obviously take me for. Stop sneaking around and meeting in back rooms making deals with your friends. It will only be a prelude to your criminal investigation. Stop hiding things from me.

Twelve, unprecedented quick spending. Stop it now.
Take a breath. Listen to the people. Let's just slow down and get some input from some nonpoliticians on the subject. Stop making everything an emergency. Stop speed reading our bills into law. I am not an activist. I am not a community organizer. Nor am I a terrorist, a militant or a violent person. I am a parent and a grandparent. I work. I'm busy. I'm busy. I am busy, and I am tired. I thought we elected competent people to take care of the business of government so that we could work, raise our families, pay our bills, have a little recreation, complain about taxes, endure our hardships, pursue our personal goals, cut our lawn, wash our cars on the weekends and be responsible contributing members of society and teach our children to be the same all while living in the home of the free and land of the brave.

I entrusted you with upholding the Constitution. I believed in the checks and balances to keep from getting far off course. What happened? You are very far off course. Do you really think I find humor in the hiring of a speed reader to unintelligently ramble all through a bill that you signed into law without knowing what it contained? I do not. It is a mockery of the responsibility I have entrusted to you. It is a slap in the face. I am not laughing at your arrogance. Why is it that I feel as if you would not trust me to make a single decision about my own life and how I would live it but you should expect that I should trust you with the debt that you have laid on all of us and our children. We did not want the TARP bill. We said no. We would repeal it if we could. I am sure that we still cannot. There is such urgency and recklessness in all of the recent spending.

From my perspective, it seems that all of you have gone insane. I also know that I am far from alone in these feelings. Do you honestly feel that your current pursuits have merit to patriotic Americans? We want it to stop. We want to put the brakes on everything that is being rushed by us and forced upon us. We want our voice back. You have forced us to put our lives on hold to straighten out the mess that you are making. We will have to give up our vacations, our time spent with our children, any relaxation time we may have had and money we cannot afford to spend on you to bring our concerns to Washington. Our president often knows all the right buzzword is unsustainable. Well, no kidding. How many tens of thousands of dollars did the focus group cost to come up with that word? We don't want your overpriced words. Stop treating us like we're morons.

We want all of you to stop focusing on your reelection and do the job we want done, not the job you want done or the job your party wants done. You work for us and at this rate I guarantee you not for long because we are coming. We will be heard and we will be represented. You think we're so busy with our lives that we will never come for you? We are the formerly silent majority, all of us who quietly work , pay taxes, obey the law, vote, save money, keep our noses to the grindstone and we are now looking up at you. You have awakened us, the patriotic spirit so strong and so powerful that it had been sleeping too long. You have pushed us too far. Our numbers are great. They may surprise you. For every one of us who will be there, there will be hundreds more that could not come. Unlike you, we have their trust. We will represent them honestly, rest assured. They will be at the polls on voting day to usher you out of office. We have cancelled vacations. We will use our last few dollars saved. We will find the representation among us and a grassroots campaign will flourish. We didn't ask for this fight. But the gloves are coming off. We do not come in violence, but we are angry. You will represent us or you will be replaced with someone who will. There are candidates among us when hewill rise like a Phoenix from the ashes that you have made of our constitution.

Democrat, Republican, independent, libertarian. Understand this. We don't care. Political parties are meaningless to us. Patriotic Americans are willing to do right by us and our Constitution and that is all that matters to us now. We are going to fire all of you who abuse power and seek more. It is not your power. It is ours and we want it back. We entrusted you with it and you abused it. You are dishonorable. You are dishonest. As Americans we are ashamed of you. You have brought shame to us. If you are not representing the wants and needs of your constituency loudly and consistently, in spite of the objections of your party, you will be fired. Did you hear? We no longer care about your political parties. You need to be loyal to us, not to them. Because we will get you fired and they will not save you. If you do or can represent me, my issues, my views, please stand up. Make your identity known. You need to make some noise about it. Speak up. I need to know who you are. If you do not speak up, you will be herded out with the rest of the sheep and we will replace the whole damn congress if need be one by one. We are coming. Are we coming for you? Who do you represent? What do you represent? Listen. Because we are coming. We the people are coming.

Why I Love Glenn Beck

My Daughter; I Love Her But I Just Don't Understand Her

Rachel is a very smart child who makes her parents proud ninety percent of the time and utterly frustrated the other ten percent. Her grades in school have slipped this last trimester and we (and by we, I mean my wife) have had to be on her all year to keep her grades up. If it was because she was being lazy and slacking off I could understand it (I wouldn't condone it, but I could understand it). It's the kind of student I was at her age. Well, no, not exactly. She does the work. She spends hours going through a mountain of homework most nights and the teachers all say that she is an exceptional student in the classroom. She does not do any sub par work. The reason her grades have slipped is because she somehow forgets to turn in her papers, even those she does in class. The last three weeks have been rough both on her and on us (and by us, I mean mostly her mother, which in turn upsets me, "'cause if mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy"). Most of her teachers have given her extra credit work in an attempt to bring her grades up. Not because her grades are poor but because she does A+ work but would be bringing in C's and B's if not for my wife's determination. My daughter is a nervous wreck with just three days left of in the school year.



I just don't understand how this can be an ongoing problem. How can you put so much time and effort into your work and consistently not turn it in? My question to the three of you who read this blog (actually two since my wife is not allowed to comment on this post) is how do I help her next year?

We're All Socialists Now? How did that happen?

Does this seem to have happened overnight? Go to bed one evening a proud but poor American, wake up in the morning a proud American but part owner of some banks and a couple of car companies? Don't get too excited. I doubt that you'll be able to cash in on any profits. You will, however, get to share in their debt. Where have all the trillions of dollars that the government loaned in the last nine months gone? How does a government already seven trillion dollars in debt loan another three trillion dollars (that is just the debt that they show on the books)? How much is a trillion dollars? I remember when a billion was the huge number that people could not get there mind around. A trillion is nine hundred ninety-nine billion plus one billion. Another way to demonstrate how much a trillion is would be to lay thousand dollar bills one on top of another. In order to reach a trillion, the stack would be sixty-seven miles high. OK, we have a lot of people to spread that trillion around, so if we divide three hundred million into ten trillion you get...lets see...thirty-three thousand three hundred thirty-three dollars and thirty-three cents. That's not so bad (if some one wants to check my math I would be grateful). So what did you get for your thirty-three thousand? Bear in mind this does not include the unfunded liability (money that has not been spent but is already promised).



No one has ever spent their way out of debt. It just seems counter intuitive. How would you personally get out of debt? I try to work my way out of debt by tightening my purse strings (figuratively, I don't actually have a purse) and pay off my debt as soon as possible. And yet, we have in office people who tell us that we need to spend more. President Obama was asked the other day when the country would be out of money. His response was that we are already out of money. I nearly choked on my dinner when I heard that. What? We're out of money? Really? When did this happen? The truth is, we have been running huge deficits for years and as long as someone buys our debt, we are able to get by. Country's who have bought our debt for a long time are no longer buying as much (China, our biggest lender, is now only buying short term bonds). The Federal Reserve Bank is now buying our debt. I know that the Fed is supposed to be a private institution but its ties to the federal government are undeniable. An example of what is going on with the Fed buying our debt would be if you were to buy up your kid's Monopoly money and then go shopping. Monopoly is a great game but your grocer is not going to sell you Diet Dr. Pepper for Monopoly money.



Why do supposedly smart people put our country in this peril? The problem starts with the motivation of those in elected office. It is not that they don't listen to their constituents, it's that they listen to an uneducated constituency. A constituency that looks to the federal government to solve life's ills and inequalities. It is a belief system that is shared with the majority of the people in federal office in one form or another, including most of the remaining Republicans. This need to throw money at problems without trying to gage unintended consequences has been a problem since the founding of our country. It has been a balancing act since the days of Jefferson and Hamilton (the two of them had distinct differences on how to run our government ). When congress declares a crisis and rushes to get legislation passed, you can almost count on said legislation being bad, loaded with unintended consequences. Congress was designed to be a deliberative body who's function is more in line with preventing bad law then passing quick law.



There is the possibility that this race to spend so much money is a deliberate act to collapse the government so that a new governing body could arise from the ashes; one that would attempt to be a utopia and that would address so called "social injustices". This is a vision that I have heard was set forth by the founders of ACORN. President Barack Obama was a lawyer for ACORN. The Glenn Beck Show (radio and TV), as well as Bill O'Rielly have been investigating ACORN. It will be interesting to see where this investigation leads.



What is written above and in other posts on my blog are my take on current events, If the three of you out there who read this have differing opinions or something to add to mine, I would love to hear it.

Don't Hate Me Because I'm Political!

Over twenty years ago, I started my career as a truck driver. When you drive for ten plus hours a day you become good friends with your radio. I started with top twenty radio stations but soon tired of hearing the same songs over and over. My mind would start to wander and I would have difficulty focusing on my driving. I started listening to talk radio and found that I could keep better focus on the road and drive longer with fewer breaks.

Talk radio back then was really lame. At the time they had a law known as The Fairness Doctrine. Radio stations would avoid controversial topics rather than attempt to maintain a balance of opinion as required by this law. It was impossible to give all sides of an issue and interviewing one candidate running for office meant you had to interview all the candidates running for the same office. Can you imagine a sponsor paying for the air time that included Joe of the "Raise-the-Country-On-Rafts-to-Float-It-South-So-Minnisota-Wouldn't-Have-Such-A-Harsh-Winter-Party" (however, George Norrie, of late-night radio fame, would probably enjoy interviewing Joe).

Some time within the first two years of my illustrious career, The Fairness Doctrine was repealed. I was driving for a company that was in the Chicago area and the local talk show hosts were becoming interesting to listen to. Unbeknownst to me, a talk show host was making a name for himself in the San Diego area and would, in a very short time, start this new format of being syndicated on radio stations across the nation. He was brash, self-assured, bombastic, entertaining and he would talk about things that most Americans could relate to. Rush Limbaugh would bring up items of news that main stream media would never report or they would do so reluctantly and with an obvious spin. I was hooked. Here was a form of media that was entertaining and informational; something that could keep my interest for hours.

In the intervening years, I have listened to numerous talk show hosts. I feel that I am one of the better informed people when it comes to issues of government. I do have my biases and I am not afraid to share my point of view to those who are willing to put up with me. The downside to this is that my poor wife ends up hearing my constant rants. This is why she has encouraged me to start a blog where I can rant away and others can choose to put up with it or not.

Disc Golf

What does Disc Golf have to do with politics or current affairs? Not much, but it's my blog and I'll cry if write what I want to. Disc golf is a game I began playing twenty years ago when my nephews introduced it to me. There are courses all across the country and most of them cost nothing to play. The object, like golf, is to put the disc in the basket in the fewest amount of throws. Most sports stores carry golf discs or you can buy them online . On your next day off when it's warm and beautiful out, why not give it a try?

The Role of the Federal Government?

The preamble The Constitution of the United States of America:
We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.



Few Americans would argue about the need for our government to provide for the common defense and there are standards of justice that need to be established by the U.S. Government. Promoting of the general welfare and securing the blessings of liberty is an area of dispute among those who see the government as either a necessary evil or the answer to all of America's problems.

There are those who believe that rights are derived from God and others who believe they are disseminated from the government. If they are given to us from the government, I would worry because of the quixotic nature demonstrated by even the most stable of governing bodies. I would not want anyone fallible deciding what is right for me to do or not do. And is not all mankind fallible? I believe that rights come from an infallible God and it is the government's role to protect those rights and "promote the general welfare" of individuals by insuring that their rights are not unjustly taken from them.

The Constitution and the Bill of Rights are there to guarantee all citizens the opportunity to pursue happiness, prosperity, and a full and successful life. It is the opportunity that is to be protected, not the outcome. You have the right to fail. It is not the government's role to save you from bad decisions or unseen circumstances. That is where faith in God and charity come into play.

No one should be protected from failure. In fact, the vast majority of people who are successful have failed several times and have learned from there failures. This current trend to save businesses from failure by government intervention is an attempt to turn our government into a socialist entity. This is dangerous and it will drag our country into an abyss from which we may not recover. There are several reasons that socialism does not work. One reason is the inefficiencies a government ensues partly because governments don't run on a profit motive. They don't have to make a profit to survive; they simply raise taxes or print more money. Raising taxes past a certain point diminishes returns and stunts growth in the private sector. The reason for this is human nature. People work for themselves and their families; businesses do not put money at risk just to have it taken from them by an ever greedy government. Printing too much money devalues the dollar and creates hyper-inflation.

Who is best at spending your money; you or the government? The next time you hear that something is too big to fail or that congress should spend our money to save someone, ask yourself if it is worth the price.

My Leap of Insanity

Okay, my first post. So many thoughts went screaming through my head when I imagined putting this blog together but now, in reality, all thoughts have abandoned ship and left me to drown.

Let me try to put together the reason why I want to write this blog. First and foremost I am concerned for this country. I wish to add my voice to the discussion of what I believe is important in the political arena of ideas. I want to inform those who may not be the political junky that I am. I am willing to engage with anyone who is willing to discuss current issues thoughtfully and respectfully.

With this blog, I want to go beyond the veneer of the instant words of political operatives and their immediate actions to explore future consequences as well as the motive and method involved.

I am an unabashed conservative. What this means is that I believe in the individual, that the government is a necessary evil and best when kept as small as possible. When President Obama stated that the government was the only thing that could bring us out of this economic crisis, I could not have disagreed with him more. In fact, it was the interference of government combined with the greed of a certain few that created this mess in the first place. I believed President Reagan when he stated emphatically that government is not the solution, government is the problem. This is one of the issues I will go into further detail on in later posts.