Bear's Patriot Blog

Just Win, Baby!

2011-10-08T17:36:00.000-07:00

I feel an overwhelming compulsion to share some thoughts on the passing of the owner of my beloved Raiders, not because we were close personal friends, but because of what he represents.

I am now ashamed to admit that I have, in recent years, thoughtlessly and crassly joked about his passing being necessary for the improvement of the team. But I now realize that underlying the jokes was the tacit knowledge that he would never truly die. While I couldn't always articulate why, I've always known that Al Davis was a force in the NFL and the driving force at the heart and soul of the Raiders organization. But now, confronted with the reality of his mortality, we have the opportunity to examine and reflect upon the nature of that force and what it means.

As fans, we grumble and complain when the team is suffering. We second-guess decisions to fire coaches, trade players, etc. We get caught up in the myopia of this season, this week's game, the decision to go for it on 4th down instead of taking the easy 3. And yes, we can get heartless, shamefully so, in our appraisals of coaches and owners--even joking that the owner is senile and that his demise might be advantageous to the team!

Thankfully, life provides us opportunities to realize how foolish such notions are in the larger scheme, to reflect, to repent and, in the case of Mr. Davis, to realize that he is the Team!

And now, I find myself holding back tears for the passing of a man I have never met, but whose life and work has brought me so much joy, happiness, frustration, anguish, delight, satisfaction, and, most importantly, inspiration.

It is significant, I think, that in the midst of an era of rank mediocrity and incompetence among our leaders, from the local scene to the national--when we are being told to define our standards down to a "new normal" of "No, we can't"-- that we suddenly are confronted with the passing and the attendant reflection upon lives that stand in stark contrast to what we're being sold.

Steve Jobs' passing and the sudden realizations of what he accomplished starting out in his garage and the impact he's had on all of us has been sobering.

Likewise, if we examine the accomplishments of Al Davis over the course of his life, while not so universal as Mr. Jobs', they are jaw-dropping! And they have been driven by his adherence to two simple phrases: "Commitment to Excellence," and "Just win, Baby!"

Mr. Davis developed, over the course of his life, certain reputations--renegade, rebel, scoundrel, stubborn. But there is always a reality beneath the surface or the reputation. And it usually reveals itself to some degree with death. Suddenly, it becomes clear why nine players chose him to present them at the Hall of Fame; why so many, even years after the termination of their Raider careers still call him "Mr. Davis;" why fellow owners in the league and former players are reduced to tears today as they speak of him. He was a loyal friend, a compassionate and caring mentor and coach, a devoted husband and a man who had the vision to see potential in men who were otherwise rejected and cast aside. He was a man who believed in second chances and redemption and would risk his reputation to extend those chances to players in need to help them achieve excellence and "just win."

In this regard, Mr. Davis is very much like one of the key mentors in my own life and in my law enforcement career. He was able to see in me things I didn't see myself. He believed in me and gave me opportunity to strive for excellence in my field. His vision, generosity and loyalty stand even brighter in contrast to his small, vindictive successor.

Now, as I mentioned, Al Davis (and, of course, Steve Jobs) has closed the story of his life, but in the span of that life he has established a presence, a force that will endure. His influence continues to reverberate throughout our culture, whether recognized or not.

And we can take from his life, his story and example some salient truths. It is the individual, committed to achieving his personal best--to the pursuit of the ideals that drive his passion and fervor--that makes a mark on history, society and culture for generations to come. It is the individual driven to achieve excellence and to win, who makes the small, daily decisions and amasses a stockpile of small, daily actions--those that seem inconsequential on their face--that serve to change the world we live in. It is the individual, with uncompromising commitment to lofty ideals that moves our world.

Never, ... NEVER do we hear in the stories of greatness that inspiration was gained from watching a lot of TV or from a government program, or even from a quiet determination to never make waves and to go along with the crowd, current fads or fashions or the demands of political correctness. Greatness comes from adherence to high principles and a determination to subordinate all other concerns to those principles and ideals and an unwavering pursuit of individual excellence. Interestingly, such stories of greatness always include a broad sphere of blessed lives surrounding the "hero."

Never are these great figures great because government compelled their compassion, nor drove their vision. In fact, as I've alluded to earlier, their greatness stands out in blindingly stark contrast to the march toward mediocrity our nation is experiencing as the colossally ignorant call the cadence!

It has been truly said that history is merely the biography of great men [and women]. The life ... the lives and accomplishments of Al Davis and Steve Jobs certainly bear this out.

Compassion and Compromise--Some Thoughts

2011-09-29T04:10:00.000-07:00

In recent weeks, Rush Limbaugh has had some absolutely brilliant monologues regarding compromise. Typically, we are led to believe that compromise is a noble, desirable event and the natural implication is that compromise is the goal in every confrontation. This simply cannot be true.

As Rush so astutely observed, "Compromise is not a core believe. It is a tactic." Compromise is a frequent result, but it should come after a long and hard-fought battle over core beliefs. It should never be the goal and the outset of debate and discussion in our political system. The Founders envisioned a society with many competing interests and ideas, vigorously arguing for their point of view. The more debate and argument, the less likelihood that one group would rise to unassailable power. This notion should give the lie to the demands for immediate and thoughtless compromise as the desired ideal at the onset of any debate.

In our present political scene, we have conservatives--desperately clinging to the ideals of our founding as described and set forth in our founding documents--and liberals seeking to chip away at all aspects of our society and institutions. Within this scene, we can see that any compromise by conservatives is a victory for liberals. Any ceding of principles is a win for the progressive statists.

Now, that said, I return to the question of our individual civic duties. Years ago, I began a career in law enforcement and determined to the best of my ability and understanding at the time that I would treat everyone the same--regardless of their position in the community, their last name, etc. I did so with some inkling of the social costs that would be incurred. I knew that I would likely be vilified, slandered and harshly criticized. I had no idea, however, how brutal reality would be. But I have never regretted that commitment and my efforts to live up to that high ideal, despite periodic failures and errors.

I now find myself engaged in a battle of principle--striving to communicate and drive the pursuit of high ideals precisely because I now know that striving for excellence is the path of real happiness and contentment. As one observed, "Our lifestyle should be comforting, not comfortable."

My commitment has led me to engage my opponents and to demand that they cease dishonorable practices and behaviors. I have engaged politicians locally, in the State and nationally, with varying degrees of success. I have admittedly been clumsy in many instances and ineffective in communicating. However, when I see something blatantly wrong, I feel duty-bound to engage and exert every effort to stop it.

Well meaning friends and family have counseled me to stop, to compromise, to "move on," and a variety of other sheep-like solutions. But I have made a commitment and a practice over the last decade and more to be a sheepdog--to confront wrong-doing and stand on the line and declare to those who would harm the flock, "You will not cross this line; not on my watch."

Now, it is a difficult task to assert bad acts without the implication of hatred or anger directed at the bad actor--indeed, it may be impossible. Hence a war of words and emotions is likely to erupt and feelings are bound to be hurt. But we have been warned that our Republic depends upon a populace committed to virtue and the pursuit of lofty ideals.

It was John Adams who averred: "We have no government armed in power capable of contending in human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Our constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate for the government of any other."

So the question then becomes, when, where, why and with whom do we compromise? Where is the time and place for it? Should Moses have compromised with Pharaoh? Should Christ have compromised with the Sanhedrin and Pilate? Should the Founders have compromised with King George? Should we have compromised with Hitler? When and where is the place to compromise our individual honor and integrity--our commitment to our core beliefs? When do we countenance evil actions and say, for the sake of compromise that, "It's all good."?

Bill Bennett declared, "Honor never grows old, and honor rejoices the heart of age. It does so because honor is, finally, about defending those noble and worthy things that deserve defending, even if it comes at a high cost. In our time, that may mean social disapproval, public scorn, hardship, persecution, or as always, even death itself. The question remains: What is worth defending? What is worth dying for? What is worth living for?" (William J. Bennett, In a lecture to the United States Naval Academy, November 24, 1997, emphasis added.)

Where is the line? What does it take for us to say, "No more. This line you will not cross!"? Charles Peguy correctly observed, "Freedom is a system based on courage." I take that to mean that my freedom requires and demands courage on my part--that I stand for what I believe in my pursuit of excellence; that you have an equal duty to pursue your absolute best and stand firm in the principles you hold precious to that pursuit--that you and I are bound by duty to oppose everything from overtly evil acts to acts of rank mediocrity, especially in positions of power in our government. We have that perpetual duty.

Sadly, those with the will and courage to oppose the powerfully corrupt are most often called upon to stand alone. As Mark Twain said, "In the beginning of a change the patriot is a scarce man, and brave, and hated and scorned. When his cause succeeds, the timid join him, for then it costs nothing to be a patriot."

While there is certainly a cost to engagement, as I can personally attest, there is a far greater, crushing cost of cowardice in the face of corruption. And sadly, our cowardice is not a personal anonymous shame. It is a cruel slap in the face of those who have gone before, willingly sacrificing their "[lives, fortunes and sacred honor.]"

We need to be aware of the efforts of the unscrupulous to declare themselves to be full of virtue, particularly when they are lacking any clearly observable evidence of the same.

For example, "compassion," in my recent experience, has been used as a blanket excuse and cover for cowardice, corruption, and incompetence. We cannot be deterred. There is no lack of compassion in the pursuit of lofty ideals.

I am reminded of a scene in the movie, 300, a fictional depiction of the true story of the 300 Spartans who stood against the massive Persian Army and successfully preserved the Greek experiment in Democracy that had such a powerful position in our founders' bank of political thought.

The Spartan king, Leonidas, was approached by a deformed and twisted Ephialtes, who asked to take part in the coming battle with the Persians. Leonidas explained that the Spartan method of fighting required that Ephialtes be able to stand tall, with his shield interlocking with that of the man beside him. This formed the phalanx that was the essence of Spartan combat success. Ephialtes was bitterly disappointed and turned traitor to the Spartans.

The treasonous Ephialtes, in submitting to Xerxes, the Persian king, was assured of the king's "compassion." He was told, "Leonidas demands that you stand. All I ask, is that you kneel."

Beware the compassionate would-be tyrant that demands loyalty to him above all else, including true principles.

Again, Rush observes, "...the single word that has been used to create the most damage in this country is compassion..."

It is this twisted version of "compassion" that leads to catastrophic compromise of principle and truth. We must be vigilant and never compromise ourselves to our knees before a tyrant.

"Let the American youth never forget," said Justice Joseph Story, "that they possess a noble inheritance, bought by the toils, and sufferings, and blood of their ancestors; and capacity, if wisely improved, and faithfully guarded, of transmitting to their latest posterity all the substantial blessings of life, the peaceful enjoyment of liberty, property, religion, and independence."

John Stuart Mill declared: "War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature, and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself." Wars of words can likewise be ugly, but the same principle applies.

Finally, Daniel Webster correctly declared, "God grants liberty only to those who love it, and are always ready to guard and defend it."

I will close with yet another call to act; not in violence or hatred, but with sincere conviction and willingness to extend ourselves in a worthy cause. We need not be perfect to engage, only willing! We need to be willing to demand high standards of those we elect regardless of office. We need to rid ourselves of the tendency for shoulder-shrugging acquiescence to circumstance. We need to strive daily for individual excellence and demand it of those who would make themselves our masters.

_________________________

"FAR BETTER IT IS TO DARE MIGHTY THINGS, TO WIN GLORIOUS TRIUMPHS, EVEN THOUGH CHECKERED BY FAILURE, THAN TO TAKE RANK WITH THOSE POOR SPIRITS WHO NEITHER ENJOY NOR SUFFER MUCH, BECAUSE THEY LIVE IN THE GRAY TWILIGHT THAT KNOWS NEITHER VICTORY NOR DEFEAT...

"IT IS NOT THE CRITIC WHO COUNTS, NOR THE MAN WHO POINTS OUT WHERE THE STRONG MAN STUMBLED, OR WHERE A DOER OF DEEDS COULD HAVE DONE THEM BETTER......

"THE CREDIT BELONGS TO THE MAN IN THE ARENA WHOSE FACE IS MARRED BY DUST AND SWEAT AND BLOOD, WHO STRIVES VALIANTLY, WHO ERRS, AND WHO COMES UP SHORT AGAIN AND AGAIN, WHO KNOWS THE GREAT ENTHUSIASMS, THE GREAT DEVOTIONS, AND SPENDS HIMSELF IN A WORTHY CAUSE.

THE MAN WHO AT BEST KNOWS THE TRIUMPH OF HIGH ACHIEVEMENT AND WHO AT WORST, IF HE FAILS, FAILS WHILE DARING GREATLY, SO THAT HIS PLACE WILL NEVER BE WITH THOSE COLD TIMID SOULS WHO NEVER KNEW VICTORY OR DEFEAT."

~Theodore Roosevelt~

More on Sheep, Sheepdogs and Wolves

2011-09-24T04:21:00.000-07:00

Nearly two years ago, I wrote of Sheep, Sheepdogs and Wolves as discussed by legendary law enforcement and military trainer, Lt. Col. Dave Grossman (Ret.). It's time to revisit the subject. First, some review. Lt. Col. Grossman said:

One Vietnam veteran, an old retired colonel, once said this to me:

"Most of the people in our society are sheep. They are kind, gentle, productive creatures who can only hurt one another by accident." This is true. Remember, the murder rate is six per 100,000 per year, and the aggravated assault rate is four per 1,000 per year. What this means is that the vast majority of Americans are not inclined to hurt one another. Some estimates say that two million Americans are victims of violent crimes every year, a tragic, staggering number, perhaps an all-time record rate of violent crime. But there are almost 300 million Americans, which means that the odds of being a victim of violent crime is considerably less than one in a hundred on any given year. Furthermore, since many violent crimes are committed by repeat offenders, the actual number of violent citizens is considerably less than two million.

Thus there is a paradox, and we must grasp both ends of the situation: We may well be in the most violent times in history, but violence is still remarkably rare. This is because most citizens are kind, decent people who are not capable of hurting each other, except by accident or under extreme provocation. They are sheep.

I mean nothing negative by calling them sheep. ... For now, though, they need warriors to protect them from the predators.

"Then there are the wolves," the old war veteran said, "and the wolves feed on the sheep without mercy." Do you believe there are wolves out there who will feed on the flock without mercy? You better believe it. There are evil men in this world and they are capable of evil deeds. The moment you forget that or pretend it is not so, you become a sheep. There is no safety in denial.

"Then there are sheepdogs," he went on, "and I'm a sheepdog. I live to protect the flock and confront the wolf."

If you have no capacity for violence then you are a healthy productive citizen, a sheep. If you have a capacity for violence and no empathy for your fellow citizens, then you have defined an aggressive sociopath, a wolf. But what if you have a capacity for violence, and a deep love for your fellow citizens? What do you have then? A sheepdog, a warrior, someone who is walking the hero's path. Someone who can walk into the heart of darkness, into the universal human phobia, and walk out unscathed."

This is at once a recognizable and easily understood analogy. The comparison of people to sheep is common and in most cases, as this one, there is nothing negative meant in the analogy. Biblical comparisons to sheep imply that it was the sheep for whom the Good Shepherd so willingly--even eagerly--sacrificed His life. In fact, as I discussed this with Col. Grossman, I suggested the possibility that in order for a sheepdog to be at his/her best, they should be among those who clearly hear and understand the voice of the Shepherd.

However, carry the comparison far enough there are some potentially negative characteristics that can carry over [This notion was expressed rather forcefully by a cattle rancher friend of mine, some years ago...I'll skip the details, for now...]. An obvious example is mentioned above: denial. It is the default condition of sheep and, while it does not lessen the value, it tends to demoralize and even endanger those who employ it as a coping mechanism in our society.

I was talking with a colleague who stated that he/she would never have anything to do with organized religion because of the many instances--in several different churches--where serious, abusive and violent crimes had gone unreported and unpunished because well-meaning pastors, priests and leaders had urged victims and involved parties to keep it within their church families and attempt to rescue the offender(s) through faith, etc. As I reflected on this, the thought struck me that it isn't so much a weakness of the religions involved or organized religion as a whole, but is more a manifestation of this strategy of denial among those in the "flock."

Something that is true and observable is that the sheep really aren't comfortable with the sheepdogs. They look a lot like a wolf--with all those teeth and everything--they are always keeping the sheep within the boundaries, barking at times and being scary, out at night howling at the moon, etc. But when the real wolf is approaching, you will see the sheep line up behind the one, lonely sheepdog. Again, it's not because they are bad, weak, evil or anything of the sort. They simply are not prepared to enter that toxic, destructive realm of violence and combat and, indeed, shouldn't have to with the sheepdog on watch! In fact, they generally don't even want to contemplate that it exists, let alone accept that it exists in close proximity or among themselves or prepare and confront it when it shows itself.

So, when something heinous occurs in their midst--be it a small community, church, neighborhood, etc.-- they are more than happy to allow the pastor or minister to "handle it" and to declare the problem solved and go back to "normal" life. The sheep are willing to let the wolf devour the neighbor, you see, rather than confront and stop him NOT because of cowardice or ill will, but because of a faulty coping strategy of denial. The denial comforts and smooths the violence and the pain that comes with contemplation and comprehension. It salves that nagging sense of duty that demands action and whispers to the conscience that "there's nothing I can do."

[NOTE: I have observed that a hallmark, in many cases, of this sheep-like denial, is caught in phrases like, "He's a really good guy," "She's really very nice," or some variation. Absent some concrete evidence of virtue--and even in the glaring face of rank offenses-- those unwilling to confront evil or point out that naked emperor out of fear of reprisal or disapproval/unpopularity salve their conscience with such vague pronouncements. I recall doing this as an LDS missionary in Texas when asked by my President how a troubled companion of mine was doing. I replied, "He's a good guy," (and he was!). President Huntsman said, very forcefully, "Elder, there are going to be a lot of good guys in hell. It doesn't mean anything to be a 'good guy.' How's he doing?" I then had to answer honestly that the man was still struggling to meet the demands of his position.]

Another example that I have seen first-hand is this. Talk to a random citizen about the value of fire alarms and fire extinguishers in their child's school--in fact, suggest the possibility of removing those devices from schools and ceasing regular fire drills-- and watch the reaction. They will likely be shocked at such a foolish suggestion and may even suggest you're out of your mind because those things are vital to the safety and protection of their kids.

Next, suggest to that person that it would be wise to have an armed presence in that same school--someone trained and authorized to carry a firearm and to use that firearm in certain narrowly-defined circumstances to protect the kids in the school. I would suggest that there's about a 95% chance you'll get an equally stunned reaction and more suggestions that you need mental health intervention.

Yet consider that in the last 100 years there have been NO deaths or injuries of children in American schools as a result of fire. Zero. Nada. But in the past 50 years, there have been literally thousands of kids injured or killed by violence in our schools. Mathematically, we can accurately say that the injuries and deaths of kids by violence is infinitely more likely than injury or death by fire. Yet most people will demand fire protection and drills to keep the kids safe while balking at the idea of armed security or police (don't even mention secretly arming teachers)!

So, what's my point? Today there are a couple of points that I derive from all of this.

We have been warned about "wolves in sheep's clothing," but what of the wolves in "sheepdog" clothing? What of sheep in sheepdog clothing? What about wolves or sheep, bearing sheepdog clothing seeking to usurp the role of the Shepherd? What, then, is our duty?
The roles of sheep and sheepdogs are not static. Each of us moves along a continuum between the two at different times. Doubt it? Observe a mild-mannered and gentle mother when she perceives a threat to one of her children. Note that in one school shooting incident the shooter was stopped, disarmed and held by unarmed teachers.
Can we benefit from some self-evaluation and introspection--examining who, what, when, where we retreat into a strategy of denial? Is it fear? Is it confusion? Is it laziness? Is it the perception of opposing opinions held by friends and relatives--the fear of being isolated, alone and unpopular? Do we apply the "good guy/nice lady" salve or some other cliche rather than speak truth--even clumsily? If so, is this a warning sign of a tendency toward denial?
Are there times when we are legitimately to act as a shepherd in our community? If so, and we are seeking to emulate THE Shepherd, do we understand and accept how dirty and gritty and grimy that job is likely to be? Do we fully understand the commitment involved? Is that what causes us to balk and shirk duty?

I will not attempt to supply answers here. But I do hope that each who reads this will seriously contemplate their own answers. We live in difficult and increasingly desperate times. Our world is in frantic need of sheepdogs--particularly those who hear the voice of the Shepherd--who are willing to risk comfort, wealth, reputation or convenience; willing to lay their "[lives, fortunes and sacred honor]" upon the "altar of freedom." Will you stand among them? Will you stand alone, if necessary? Will I?

I do not know.

Perhaps most importantly, if you believe in such a day of reckoning, will you... will I... will any of us be able to stand and face those men and women who have gone before, sacrificing all at that day? Will we be willing to look them in the eye and say to them--to Him-- that, "It was just too hard?"

Time will tell...

Remembering...

2011-09-11T02:47:00.000-07:00

It was two years ago that the idea for this blog was born and it was in the remembrance of what has gone before, particularly on this day of days.

Two years ago today, I had the privilege of walking through the National Law Enforcement Memorial almost alone. It was a cool, overcast day with some light, occasional sprinkles--fitting, it seemed for the day.

I had missed the formal memorial services that surely took place, but the wreaths, roses, cards, patches and memorabilia that remained hinted at what had happened. The rain likely was mixed with tears and the clouds surely mirrored the mood of many, now done with another year's services and returned to their lives.

As I roamed the Memorial, I came across a small card with the names of those officers who had sacrificed their lives in the service of their citizens that fateful day. I couldn't help but be carried back in time to the morning of September 11, 2001 when our world was forever turned on its head by a cowardly act of unspeakable horror.

I've already related how I met a lone NYPD officer, paying his respects to a fallen friend or friends in a previous post. I won't retell it here. But my thoughts today will be with him and his colleagues of NYPD, as well as the selfless men and women of the FDNY and all those who will harbor a pointed and particular ache on this day.

But, as in my last post, my thoughts are turned today, as they are every anniversary, to the question of what, then, do we do?

Fittingly, earlier the same day I was at the Lincoln Memorial where I read his immortal words:

"...It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom..." (Abraham Lincoln, The Gettysburg Address)

How do we best remember and honor the fallen? I won't attempt an answer here, but I encourage any who read this to use the moment(s) of silence that come this day to reflect upon this question: How do I make my life a fitting memorial to those who have so sacrificed?


"I see America, not in the setting sun of a black night of despair ahead of us, I see America in the crimson light of a rising sun fresh from the burning, creative hand of God. I see great days ahead, great days possible to men and women of will and vision." Carl Sandburg

________________

The naked earth is warm with spring,
And with green grass and bursting trees
Leans to the sun's gaze glorying,
And quivers in the sunny breeze;

And life is colour and warmth and light,
And a striving evermore for these;
And he is dead who will not fight;
And who dies fighting has increase.

The fighting man shall from the sun
Take warmth, and life from the glowing earth;
Speed with the light-foot winds to run,
And with the trees to newer birth;
And find, when fighting shall be done,
Great rest, and fullness after dearth.

All the bright company of Heaven
Hold him in their high comradeship,
The Dog-Star, and the Sisters Seven,
Orion's Belt and sworded hip.

The woodland trees that stand together,
They stand to him each one a friend;
They gently speak in the windy weather;
They guide to valley and ridge's end.

The kestrel hovering by day,
And the little owls that call by night,
Bid him be swift and keen as they,
As keen of ear, as swift of sight.

The blackbird sings to him, "Brother, brother,
If this be the last song you shall sing,
Sing well, for you may not sing another;
Brother, sing."

In dreary, doubtful, waiting hours,
Before the brazen frenzy starts,
The horses show him nobler powers;
O patient eyes, courageous hearts!

And when the burning moment breaks,
And all things else are out of mind,
And only joy of battle takes
Him by the throat, and makes him blind,
Through joy and blindness he shall know,
Not caring much to know, that still
Nor lead nor steel shall reach him, so
That it be not the Destined Will.

The thundering line of battle stands,
And in the air death moans and sings;
But Day shall clasp him with strong hands,
And Night shall fold him in soft wings.

~Julian Grenfell, Into Battle

What, Then, Is Duty?

2011-09-08T16:35:00.000-07:00

In the last few years we've seen some historic shifts in the political landscape of the United States. Beginning with Obama's rise to power, through the long-standing deeply corrupt political machinery of DC and the thuggery of the Chicago elites, followed by a counter-swell of genuine grass-roots opposition to his Marxist agenda in the TEA Party.

The TEA Party, however, is not an organized machine like the existing political parties and it has thus far defied definition. The American left, in both parties, has worked to target the TEA Party for ridicule, and hatred, most recently by the thug, Hoffa, declaring war on them. But it is ineffective because the TEA Party consists of the very people they are working to turn against the TEA Party. So, essentially, they are telling me to be suspicious of me! to avoid association with me!

It's stupid. It's surreal. It's politics today. But I am now plagued with a different phenomenon on the political scene. Many of us are openly displeased with the overspending and reckless taxation in DC. But a manifestation of the reluctance of people to eject their own congressmen and senators from office--choosing, instead, to blame those other states--is our refusal to scrutinize our local politicians and their activities.

We have been inundated with videos of "town hall" meetings where courageous individuals stand before a US Senator or Congressperson and "speak truth to power." I agree, such actions are gutsy and brave and much needed in our time to reverse the downward slide of government toward tyranny. But what about our local pols? Are they really as full of virtue and goodness as we seem to assume? Is it that, because they are literally our neighbors, we know more about them and are more willing to accept their shortcomings or errors in judgment or even a "little corruption" if it benefits us?

I learned a long time ago that, as much as "all politics is local," all real political power is local. We view the Supreme Court, for example, as the "highest court in all the land," and are in awe of those justices who sit on high handing down their rulings on this case and that and we call them "powerful." Yet consider the near absolute power of the local judge who, possibly in ignorance of Supreme Court rulings, determines a case on his/her own, ruling as he/she sees fit, right or wrong and that's the end of it. Disputes of the ruling seldom, if ever, will be challenged in a higher court.

It is in the local arena where politics really touches our lives. It is locally that we are more frequently impacted by the application of political power. It is, for example, in mayoral races where people run specifically because they don't like the Chief of Police or their neighbor's dog crapping in their yard! Once they win office and attack those few issues, they are left adrift in confusion as to how to carry on the more routine work of government. All too frequently, they are then taken in hand my a more slimy, "experienced" politician who helps them decide on this issue or that and all too often that clueless new mayor or councilperson goes along, blissfully unaware of the damage being done.

It is in this arena, I believe, that a renewal of political engagement by the people is most desperately needed. It is in this arena, where the "rubber meets the road" most profoundly--where the power of government and the State is in constant friction with the individual rights and liberties of free citizens. It is here that the seeds of tyranny are planted and permitted to sprout and spread. And spread they do, because it is from the base of local politics that the corrupt launch their state and national careers!

How can we demand honor, integrity and accountability in Washington when we countenance corruption, abuse of power, cowardice and incompetence at home? I am reminded of the words of CS Lewis: " We make men without chests and expect of them virtue and enterprise. We laugh at honor and are shocked to find traitors in our midst. We castrate and then bid the gelding be fruitful." How can we make such chestless men without being such ourselves? If we set ourselves on a course of compromise with corruption when and where, then, do we find a line that we will not cross? I would suggest, that it is impossible to find that line, once we've allowed ourselves to be overrun by corruption.

I'm clearly not talking about perfection. Surely we can all understand the difference between an attitude of "I've striven for an ideal and failed, but I will never stop trying because excellence is found in pursuit of perfection," and "Nobody's perfect, so why try? Let's party!"

I believe that, whether acknowledged or not, there is a war that rages in the hearts and souls of every man, woman and child. It extends beyond politics, but it is manifest in our political machinations. It is the on-going war of good versus evil in all of us. And any compromise with evil leads only to more compromise and ultimately, to destruction. Corrupt politicians have come to extol the virtues of compromise precisely because it allows them to pursue their own corruption unabated. But, as Rush Limbaugh presciently observed yesterday, "Moderation [compromise] is a tactic. It's not a set of principles. It is a tactic that says, 'Regardless of the situation, regardless of events, my first impulse is to find a different way around.'" (Rush Limbaugh Program)

I recall the story of the 82nd Airborne as related to me by Lt. Col. Dave Grossman (Ret.). In the winter of 1944, the German army launched a surprise offensive that caught the allies off-guard. The 82nd was called out of reserve and marched day and night for several days into the Ardennes Forest to meet the onslaught. They were tasked with the mission of halting the German offensive. They were under-equipped, did not have proper winter clothing and rations of food and ammo were short. But they reached their appointed positions and dug in.

On one occasion, a fleeing US tank was rumbling down a forest road in retreat--30 tons of armored death running headlong from what some believed was an overwhelming German advance. A lone airborne trooper stepped from his foxhole into the road and raised his arm to stop the fleeing tank. He was half-starved, had several days' growth of beard and a rifle slung over his shoulder.

The hatch opened and a tanker's head emerged. The airborne trooper says, "Hey, buddy! You lookin' for a safe place?"

"Yeah!" came the reply.

"Well, then get behind me. I'm the 82nd Airborne and this is as far as the bastards are gonna get!"

With that thought in mind, let me share another observation of Col. Grossman's regarding the movie, Saving Private Ryan. Most, if not all of us have seen that movie.

Recall that the unit selected to accompany Captain Miller in search of Private James Ryan was killed, one by one, during their search in the days immediately following the D-Day invasion. At the conclusion, during a pitched battle, Captain Miller himself was mortally wounded and remember his last words to Private Ryan: "Earn this! EARN IT!"

What's the significance? Captain Miller is every warrior and patriot down through the ages who has sacrificed their "lives, fortunes and sacred honor," to secure for us the liberties we've enjoyed. Private Ryan, of course, represents each of us--the recipients of those countless, willing sacrifices, from Thermopylae, to Bunker Hill, to Antietam to Bull Run, to the Bulge, to Saipan and Iwo Jima, to Soyang and Saigon, to Kandahar and Baghdad and, of course, Calvary--who now must listen and hear the whispers of all those who willingly gave: Earn this! EARN IT!

So, the question remains, what is our individual duty when we see even the beginnings of corruption in our political leaders? We surely can't demand perfection, so where is that line we will not cross, nor permit them to cross? Do we accept the creeping corruption with a shoulder-shrug and acknowledgment of human imperfection? Do we shrink when personally attacked and vilified by the powerful? Do we permit the "honorables" who aren't to dismiss us with a wave of the hand and declaration that we are "hateful" because we don't accept the party line, or because we possess the "audacity" to question them, their competence or their motives? Can we stand before our Maker and those valiant souls who went before, paving the road to our liberty with their blood and tears if we cower before those who would make themselves our masters--those who demand that we compromise bit by bit until we no longer recognize our Republic?

It is my conviction that our Founders intended for the myriad factions that exist in a free society to vigorously and loudly advocate for their respective positions--that in that struggle lay the path to liberty. They did not intend for us to find some amorphous "unity" in apathy toward corruption and dishonor in high places. They wanted us to argue our positions endlessly--to persuade and debate--not to bury our heads in the daily pursuit of personal ease and comfort. Compromise is a is a periodic tactical [very short-term] necessity, but compromise is not a core belief nor an objective! The war over core principles must continue and efforts at persuasion must endure. Otherwise, all is lost.

It's NOT Earmarks, Stupid!

2010-11-16T19:16:00.000-08:00

The earth shifted early this month and the lame-stream media is frantically working to put a blank face on it all. At the same time, they are putting their entire energy to promote "compromise" among the winners. Part of the left's strategy has been and remains simply burying the opposition in so much junk that they grow fatigued and give in.


Lest one assume I am advocating the literal sacking of Washington and the burning of the Capitol, this image is meant to be only a metaphor of what is transpiring and what lies ahead.

Already, aside from the drumbeat of compromise, is the effort to distract. We are already becoming bogged down in stupid discussions over earmarks, ie bribes, in legislation. This is NOT the driving issue behind the most sweeping Republican electoral victory in recent history. If it was, John McCain would be sitting in the White House right now. Yeah, earmarks are bad and have to go. But how about the structure of socialism that has been carefully crafted within our own government over the span of decades?! How about that?!

How about rooting out and eliminating corruption in government? How about that?

How about STOPPING the demise of our economy and our plummet into what Ronald Reagan aptly described as "a thousand years of darkness?" How about that?!!

The clowns in the media should be stupid. It's what we expect and it's what they are. They were born to be sheep. The American people have given the Republicans the reigns again, not because of some deep affection for the party, but because they are desperately seeking someone to step up and LEAD us back to the fundamental principles that established this country and made it great before the progressives began chipping away at it over 100 years ago. We did NOT send these people to their new jobs to compromise with those who are hell bent on destroying our nation, our liberty, our individuality and our sovereignty!

We awakened, as a nation, to the reality that there are grave threats to our liberty right here on our own soil, among our neighbors and friends, and deeply entrenched within our own government. We voted how we voted to begin the lawful process of stopping and reversing the march to socialism in America.

The times we are in are absolutely critical. It is not a time for compromise. It is not a time for "tweaking" programs. It's time for dramatic reversal of the leftists' agenda and dramatic, purposeful steps to restore our constitutional republic.

There is little time that need be wasted. A bill should be drafted immediately to repeal in its entirety, the travesty we call "Obamacare." There is NOTHING redeemable in that piece of trash and it MUST be trashed completely. I know B. Hussein won't sign it. But Congress should commit now to have that bill on his desk every week and force him to veto it every week and explain himself to the American people in the process.

Likewise, the "czars" of this administration should be subpoenaed, one at a time, to the Hill to explain under oath, what they are doing with our money and in our name. They must be compelled to explain under oath their treasonous efforts to undermine our constitution and our individual liberties.

I agree with Glenn Beck that Congressional pay should be immediately reduced to match the pay and benefits of the real "public servants" in this nation, our country's warriors. Find an average, say, $25,000.00/year with some travel and office supply moneys thrown in to maintain an office in their districts. Allow them to travel to DC on standby in a military aircraft if they choose, just like our military is allowed. I would be willing to bet there would be fewer junkets if they had to ride in the back of a C-130 with the luggage!

They need to be honest with the American people and explain in graphic detail how the federal government has been LYING to us for decades about Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. The American people need to be looked in the eye and told, "We are sorry. We lied to you from the outset and there is NO MONEY in these 'systems.' They were established as a front to redistribute your wealth to those we saw fit to give it to. There never was any 'trust fund,' and never any intention of benefiting you in any way. It was just another tax and we spent all the money and more. There is no money left. We will attempt to make good on our commitment to anyone 56 or older. Everyone else needs to stiffen their spine and take care of their own retirement. It's how America has done it in the past and it is the surest way to secure your individual liberty."

Finally, they need to eliminate all further expenditures related to the TARP or Porkulus bills or any further bailouts. GM needs to be returned to private sector ownership and union power must be broken.

Americans were never meant to be part of some "collective" or progressive "hive." We were meant to carry on the traditions of rugged individualism where innovation thrives and self-determination allows every man, woman and child to pursue their dreams to the fullest extent of which they are capable. The stupidity voiced by Joe Biden, that America's progress has been the result of government programs must be openly and bluntly refuted as idiotic, because that's exactly what it is. The government is and always has been a giant parasite on the backs of the people under it. It is nothing more nor less than a necessary evil that should always be regarded with suspicion and should NEVER be a money tree for bureaucrats and lackeys.

It MUST be returned to its proper role and returned to subjection to the legitimate restraints of the Constitution, and this must happen immediately. Any delays, any distractions from this aim, any negotiation or compromise will doom us and our children to slavery and servitude for generations. We must not allow ourselves to be the generation who sacrificed nothing and allowed the liberties bought and paid for by the blood of patriots and martyrs to slip quietly away without even a whimper of opposition.

The fight for freedom now falls to us. The battlefield is something we never would have imagined, but the enemy is literally upon us and has been for some time. It is time to rouse ourselves and join the battle with tirelessness and determination. This election, a sweeping and historic victory must not be the end, but the beginning of true restoration of our founding principles and true individual liberty for all.

Meeting the Enemy

2010-06-14T11:21:00.000-07:00

The attacks of the left, while not likely deliberate in the case of every individual leftist, have as consequences some insidious results. Among them are the twin sins of extreme dereliction of duty--even cowardice-- and apathy. While Marxist theory does not create those undesirable traits in any of us, they both feed upon them and feed them in all of us.

Cowardice

Today I was reading the story of David and Goliath in the Old Testament. It seems relevant to and typical of this point.

Goliath was a man who, according to some accounts, stood over 10 feet tall. He enhanced his enormous size with a lifetime of combat training, the best, biggest and best-crafted (technologically superior) weaponry available at the time. But in his core--in his heart--he was an empty shell because of his reliance on those things that elevated his pride to the point of mocking the sacred--all that the Israelites held dear.

His size, his equipment and his loud taunts made him formidable, indeed. Yet one man, small of frame, lacking armor, sophisticated weaponry and decidedly lacking in training and combat experience (with some notable exceptions) walked confidently onto the field firm in his faith and reliance on all that the giant mocked and derided.

There were some brief comments exchanged between the two, but David did not waste time in banter. He put a stone in his sling, drilled Goliath between the eyes and it was over. Those in the Israelite army that focused on the armor, the size, the taunts, the spear, the sword...they hid in shame from their obvious duty. They revealed their lack of understanding of and their commitment to the principles that impelled David onto the battle field.

They failed in their duty and put cowardice on display. Yet, no doubt, many of them were happy to take part in the victory celebrations, as if they had contributed in some way!

Today, those of us who hold the principles of our Founders dear in our hearts--those of us who continue to have faith in the principles of self-rule and self-government--we are mocked on every hand by the myopic leftists, who use their control of the media to make conservatives feel isolated, alone, and afraid. They have sadly succeeded to some degree in silencing dissent over their leading our nation in a headlong descent into slavery and despotism.

Too many of us have been intimidated by their slick PR campaigns, their shrewd use of the technology at hand, their ludicrous claims of intellectual and moral superiority, their mocking derision of the bedrock principles. Too many of us have been cowed into silence or worse, into acquiescence to their agenda. Too many have been deflected from the demands of duty when, in reality, relatively simple statements of truth and faith in enduring principles--including an abiding faith in God--are all that are required to deliver the fatal blow to the false ideology of the leftists. The truth, you see, strikes them "between the eyes," and truly sets the faithful free!

Apathy

The second prong of this insidious attack is on our own morals and engagement with one another. Over time, as the socialist influences in government have expanded and offered increasing "entitlements" to the idle, we have been likewise severed from our duty to one another. With so much of our money being siphoned off to the government to buy the votes of our friends and neighbors we are increasingly disinclined to step outside ourselves to meet the needs of the truly needy among us.

The confiscatory taxation demands that we work harder and longer hours to make up for the loss--keeping us focused on the "rat race" rather than taking time to look around and find opportunities to help out. Worse, even if we want to, our ability to make a living is hampered by intrusive government regulation and excessive taxation to the point that many are not able to afford to help their neighbors if they want to!

Don't believe me? Ask your dentist sometime about what would happen to him/her if a van full of homeless people were brought to the office for basic care, say, once quarterly. The government won't even allow it! Remember the recent fiasco involving the woman who was going to be required to get licensed as a day care facility because she typically drove several neighborhood kids to school?! How on earth can we expect one another to navigate increasing piles of government red tape and confiscatory taxation to render a helping hand to a friend or neighbor in need?! So, the presumption that it's all being taken care of by the government sets in. We cease looking up from the grindstone, we cease to be engaged with our neighbors and cease to be available when needed. We cease to care and we cease to respond. We become apathetic under the false assumption that our taxes are being used as promised.

In both cases, the answer is the same. Stand up. Engage the enemies of cowardice and complacency with principles of truth and liberty. Employ the enduring principles of our founding--our Christian founding-- and put to silence those who "mock honor and are surprised to find traitors in our midst; [who] castrate and bid the gelding be fruitful." (CS Lewis, The Abolition of Man.) Refuse to be intimidated and refuse to ignore the needs of others.

It's D-Day

2010-06-05T18:58:00.000-07:00

On June 6, 1944, 160,000 allied troops landed on a 5-mile stretch of the French coastline marking the beginning of the end of WWII. Those soldiers, representing the courage and fortitude of an entire generation of people from a variety of nations and backgrounds who loved liberty, came not to conquer, but to liberate. They arrived to set the feet of the enslaved nations of Europe back on the path of freedom--to rescue them from tyranny and to place back into their hands the gift of self-determination, the opportunity to pursue their own dreams according to the dictates of their own consciences.

But, as it has been said, "Freedom is a system based on courage." It is a precious gift--one that we cannot simply acknowledge with some expression of gratitude and set it aside and ignore it ever after. It requires, indeed it demands our care and attention. It demands our service, our own toil and sacrifice to keep it shining brightly that we may pass it on to others undimmed.

It is likewise eternally under attack by those who are inherently evil, those who desire power over the lives of others and to lay claim to the fruits of their labors. It is also weakened by the lazy and cowardly who, while not necessarily seeking its destruction, can't be bothered to exert any effort in its preservation. They are likewise disinclined to reject the proffer of the wealth of others in exchange for doing nothing.

So it is that I usually express some hope at this time of year that we will never forget the bravery of those who fought on D-Day and beyond--the toil and sacrifices of the generation that bravely fought to rid the world of tyranny and oppression. But the world has already largely forgotten not only those people and those times, but more importantly, the principles that guided them in their struggle.

We have allowed the enemy that they soundly defeated then, to occupy the halls of our government here and now. Fascists, Marxists, socialists--enemies of liberty one and all-- now occupy our institutions of higher education, the media and all levels of government. It falls now to us to uphold the legacy of the "Greatest Generation." Let us finish the work they so nobly began and rid ourselves--once and for all-- of these tyrants and usurpers!!

We CANNOT allow this nation that they sacrificed their all to defend to quietly slip into the shadow of despotism without a fight! It seems to me that the following may echo the sentiments of our fathers who served and triumphed before us:

"Yea, as one generation passeth to another there shall be bloodsheds, and great visitations among them; wherefore, my sons, I would that ye would remember; yea, I would that ye would hearken unto my words.
"O that ye would awake; awake from a deep sleep, yea, even from the sleep of hell, and shake off the awful chains by which ye are bound, which are the chains which bind the children of men, that they are carried away captive down to the eternal gulf of misery and woe.
"Awake! and arise from the dust, and hear the words of a trembling parent, whose limbs ye must soon lay down in the cold and silent grave
....
"And now that my soul might have joy in you, and that my heart might leave this world with gladness because of you, that I might not be brought down with grief and sorrow to the grave, arise from the dust, my sons, and be men, and be determined in one mind and in one heart, united in all things, that ye may not come down into captivity;" (2 Ne. 1:12-14, 21.)

We must find a way to restore the nobility of soul and character that were so commonplace a few decades ago. We have been divided along a variety of lines except those that should rightly divide us. We have allowed ourselves to be divided by lines of race, religion, political party, etc. The only lines that should divide us is that between liberty and tyranny. America has been a bastion for liberty and the gem of liberty has been handed to us gleaming brightly by hands that have been soiled, cut, bruised and scarred by labor and war. It has been set ever so gently into our soft, uncalloused hands by our fathers and it has become tarnished almost beyond recognition.

Those who now glut themselves on the labor of a once free nation are an affront to the principles of our founders and our fathers. The time is upon us to unite as free people and, under the framework provided us by our founders, rid ourselves of all those who make themselves kings and lords over us. I am convinced that the unchangeable Being that was found to be an ally of those brave souls who landed on the French beaches those long years ago is likewise allied with those who love liberty here and now. With such an Ally, we cannot fail. But we must prove worthy of His company.

O, thus be it ever when freemen shall stand,
Between their loved home and the war's desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n-rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause. it is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust"
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

~ The Star-spangled Banner

Welcome Home, Dad!...and Thank You!

2010-05-20T21:24:00.000-07:00

Today, my dad returned from a whirlwind trip to our nation's capital as part of the 2010 Honor Flight Wyoming. The Honor Flight organization has gathered donations sufficient to provide an all-expense paid trip to WWII veterans to see the WWII Memorial in Washington, DC as well as other memorials relevant to "the greatest generation." In talking with Dad today, it sounds like he had a fantastic experience and my gratitude to all who contributed to this trip is inexpressible.

He got emotional as he described the crowds of cheering on-lookers that greeted them at every stop--people of all ages, shouting "Thank you!" waving signs, giving them pats on the back, shaking their hands, offering hugs and thank you cards--treating them as they have long deserved to be treated for the lives of selfless service they have led.

Let me offer a brief synopsis of their trip, as he described it. On Monday, he and three other veterans from our area were driven to Cheyenne by the nephew of one of his comrades, who is a colonel in the US Air Force (or, perhaps the Air National Guard). They went with the understanding they would have to pay for their hotel stay in Cheyenne, but found the balance due at the end of their stay to be "$0.00."

On Tuesday morning, they boarded a chartered flight from FE Warren Air Force Base, walking a gauntlet of the first of several adoring crowds. They landed in DC to a similar scene, with cheering people on both sides of the path from the plane to the terminal. A similar scene greeted them at their hotel. While they were en route, and on arrival, there was always someone to carry their bags, help with every chore or task, fetch every glass of water or snack and provide for all their needs. Additionally, family members were asked to secretly write letters of gratitude for their service and the goodness of their lives. About midway through their flight, "Mail Call!" was announced and the letters were distributed. Dad said that reading through the letters from his children was the most emotional moment of the trip and described the difficulty of reading them all through his tear-filled eyes.

The following morning at 5:00 am, they arose for breakfast. That's 3:00 am here, in Wyoming, by the way. They boarded buses and, escorted by police and "government suburbans w/ Flags on the hoods," they were whisked through the traffic of downtown Washington, DC. They visited the WWII Memorial, where they were greeted warmly by Senators John Barrasso and Mike Enzi and Representative Cynthia Lummis, all of Wyoming. They were treated to a ceremony featuring the Wyoming Governor...some Democrat... I'm kidding. Governor Dave Freudenthal spoke at the ceremony and a wreath was placed at the Wyoming pillar at the Memorial. Again, the group was cheered by onlookers and passing tour groups of grade school children.

They took time to visit the Korean War Memorial, the Vietnam Memorial, the Iwo Jima Memorial and other sites related to their experiences. After a long day of touring, they boarded the plane again for their return to Cheyenne. Arriving after 10 pm local time, they were surprised to yet again see a crowd of cheering "fans" to greet them as they deplaned. One more night in a Cheyenne hotel and they were driven home again with some T-shirts, new hats covered in memorial pins and a lifetime of memories mixed with the emotional ride they'd just experienced.

As Dad related the story to me, he became noticeably emotional as he began to describe the feeling that he'd been transported back in time--not because of the trip with old comrades and the memories evoked by the memorials, but because of the generosity and deferential treatment they received on the trip! "It was like being back in those days," he said, "when people respected and honored the soldiers. They'd let you on the bus or train first, they'd thank you for your service, buy you a drink or even lunch." Sadly, there was no such treatment on the return home, and he jokingly mentioned that he'd have to get used to "just being me, again."

Let me fill you in on my dad's experience "in those days." He was a kid that went by the name of "Babe" in high school, graduating from his tiny school with a handful of others. Their yearbook--more of a pamphlet, actually--says, "Babe has already received his greetings from the President," referring to his being drafted into WWII prior to graduation. After graduation, he boarded a train in nearby Lovell, bound for Killeen Texas and Camp Hood for Basic Training. While there, in the first place outside of his home area he'd ever been in his life, he was informed bluntly that he would be part of an early wave of invaders on the mainland of Japan. He was also told that, due to the reluctance of the Japanese to surrender, he would likely be killed. Therefore, he was to turn in a last letter home and a will to his sergeant that would be sent to his family when the job was done. His story is not so unique among his peers. Literally hundreds of thousands of them did the same thing, faced the same stark reality and they accepted it!

He told me recently--haltingly because of the overwhelming emotion he felt in the telling--of how he was given a couple of weeks of leave to go home before being shipped out. He had no means of reliable transportation home, just what he could arrange between buses and trains at random times. He said that he had written his parents that he would be coming, but had no idea what day, let alone what time. He managed to make connection after connection until finally he was on a bus due to go through tiny Cowley, Wyoming at a very late hour-- after midnight by his recollection. His home, a log cabin, was on the main highway that passed through town and he fought unsuccessfully to hold back the tears as he described his arrival.

The bus drove a short distance past his house, stopping about a block-and-a-half north of it. He got off, expecting to surprise his family in the morning, but when he walked through the door, there was his angel mother waiting up for him! He choked out, "She had no idea when I'd be home, I thought, but she was there. I never forgot that."

He returned to his duty and to meet whatever fate had in store to be rescued by the announcement of "some new kind of bomb they dropped that ended the war." With a sizable commitment to the Army still in place, he was sent to Alaska where, at the age of 18, he was put in charge of planning meals for thousands of men, requesting the needed supplies, seeing that they were used correctly and efficiently and that they were delivered on schedule every meal, every day. It wasn't glamorous work, but it was an unbelievable amount of responsibility for an 18-year-old and he accepted it!

He returned home and married my mother in 1950. He joined the National Guard with the assurance that he'd done his active duty time and would never again be called upon to serve in that way. Nevertheless, his marriage to Mom included a brief honeymoon before he boarded a ship bound for Korea.

As my brother once pointed out, when his first son was born, Dad was facing an onslaught of 500,000 Chinese in a place he would have difficulty remembering 50 years later. Yet his unit earned a citation for their performance during those days.

Dad described how the Chinese would attack, many of them without weapons. They would scream during the night in an effort to instill fear and then rush the American positions en masse. He described how the machine gunners would "mow them down" with .50 caliber fire and how they "poured" barrages of artillery onto their attackers.

He saw the horrors of war up close and personal in Korea, but he got to serve with his beloved brother and friend, Mel, or "Bud" as he was called. (The two were very close all their lives and Dad had suffered greatly with the worry for Bud when he had been captured by the Germans in the Battle of the Bulge.) Dad came home and "unloaded" all he had seen and experienced on Mom in late night talks and then never brought it up again, she said. He would entertain the kids with the more light-hearted and humorous stories of military life, but he kept the more difficult things quiet.

For example, he kept quiet about his supposition that, given what he last saw of Korea when he left, that all he'd done had been worthless--a waste of time, money and lives. As he rode the train south from the front to Pusan, all he saw was destruction and waste. It wasn't until the 90's, as I recall, that he realized the value of what had been done in keeping the people of South Korea free! He ached over that for decades, but he accepted it as part and parcel of his service to his country... and theirs.

But as he's gotten older, the stories have begun to come out again, sometimes in feelings of regret for his attitudes at the time, but mostly feelings of deep humility, love and gratitude for what he's seen, accomplished and experienced--most importantly for those he's shared it all with! He has remained from then until now a loving father, and a sterling example of a gentle warrior--fiercely loyal to his country and the founding principles he so ably defended, and unfailingly generous and loving to those who know him best. And sadly, he is one of an ever-diminishing generation who toiled and sacrificed to provide something better for their children only to have to watch a sizable portion of those children turn viciously on those sacrifices and the nation and the freedoms they defended. It breaks his heart to see an incompetent like B. Hussein Obama systematically dismantle the foundations of this country in an overt effort to establish a Marxist regime in its place. But he has left a legacy of patriotism, faith and devotion to correct, enduring principles in his family and we will defend the precious prize he and those he served with left for us.

My dad loves and actively serves his Heavenly Father. My dad loves his country and the principles embodied in the Constitution. My dad understands that the Constitution was divinely inspired--that it is a "heavenly banner." My dad loves his family enough both to teach and exemplify all the above. My dad is not wrong and has long been worthy of the honor he's just been paid by those wonderful people he's been with for the last few days. My dad is my hero and always will be.

"Well, There You Go Again!"

2010-04-22T10:55:00.000-07:00

As has become typical of B. Hussein Obama, he has gone behind enemy lines on the new front of his War on Liberty to demand surrender. And, as is likewise typical, he is not making the demand based on clarity, honesty or the power of his ideas. He is doing it through deception, double-speak and outright lies. He did not announce today that he believes Socialism is superior to Capitalism and then outline clear reasons why for us to consider. Instead, he proclaimed his belief "in the power of the Free Market!"

Further, he declared that the financial reform measures making their way through what has become the bloated bowel of Congress, will protect tax-payers from being on the hook to bail out large corporations in the event of another crisis. He didn't mention some key problems with this plan.

Beyond the fact that the bill grants enormous unchecked power to the Executive Branch and flies in the face of the Constitution; beyond the fact that it gives government enormous control over picking the winners and losers in the economy; beyond the fact that this plan is clearly the next brick in his effort to rebuild the wall that Reagan tore down, he is being deceptive in his use of the term, "tax-payer."

Who are the taxpayers? When we hear B. Hussein say his plan to take money from large corporations to put into a bailout fund for future crises won't cost tax-payers a single penny, we are meant to presume that each of us will not have to worry anymore about such things. But let's remember the definition of tax-payer, on its face, is "one who pays taxes."

We are rapidly approaching, as part of the grand plan of B. Hussein to destroy the Free Market, a time when half of the US population does not pay any taxes! Therefore, in reality, B. Hussein should be excluding them from his assurances of the coming Utopia.

Here's the rundown: 86% of the taxes in this country are paid by 25% of the population. This is up from 84% of the tax burden these people paid in 2000.

The top 50% of earners in this country pay 97% of all federal taxes. The top 1% of earners in the US carry a whopping 39% of the tax burden of the nation! This is up from 2% of the load they paid in 2000!

So, with a clear definition of who the "tax-payers" are, let's consider B. Hussein's comments. Let's say Wells Fargo goes under and deemed "too big to fail" by B. Hussein (let's not even speculate how that determination will be made w/o any oversight whatsoever). The B. Hussein Slush Fund can be accessed to "prevent panic" in the economy. The Slush Fund consists of money paid up front to the government, i.e. taxes, by the financial sector, i.e. the real tax-payers. Sounds costly to me.

Anyway, Wells Fargo would then be dissolved and the investments/deposits of investors will allegedly be paid off. Panic will be averted, peace will prevail, and B. Hussein gets to spend the Slush Fund on whomever he deems worthy to take the money from the Slush Fund (funded by the tax-payers) to redistribute wealth.

Let's not get into the fact that the government spent TWENTY TRILLION DOLLARS in the present crisis. Obama claims that "much of that has been paid back." Paid back to whom?! Did the top 50% of earners in the country receive refund checks in the mail for what it cost them?! How about the tax-payers who invested in GM, were declared "greedy" by B. Hussein and commanded from the White House to accept pennies on the dollar for their investments as he passed ownership to the unions who contributed so helpfully to his campaign.

Likewise, we need not delve into the ominous implications of unchecked regulatory authority granted to the B. Hussein regime by this bill to declare literally any legitimate business activity illegitimate by virtue of having made an eeeeevil profit!

B. Hussein's methods never really change. They are the result of a lifetime under the tutelage of Saul Alinsky and other radical leftists and the agenda remains clearly the same--the undermining of individual liberty and of the founding principles of the United States of America.

And it must be stopped.

Oh! The Profanity!!!

2010-03-21T22:03:00.000-07:00

"And he beheld Satan; and he had a great chain in his hand, and it veiled the whole face of the earth with darkness; and he looked up and laughed, and his angels rejoiced." --Moses 7:26

It has been truly said that freedom is a system based upon courage. Tonight we have been compelled to view the fruits of stomach-turning cowardice in its march to overthrow "the last, best hope" of freedom and liberty in the world!

The truth of Edmund Burke's observation that "There is no safety for honest men except by believing all possible evil of evil men," is likewise on display. Recent weeks of underhanded thuggery have culminated in 219 individuals voting to condemn billions, now living and yet unborn in, a once free nation to abject slavery to an emerging statist regime. But who can blame them? At stake for each individual politician were the perks of power--the nicer offices at the Capitol Building, the cushy committee seats, the adulation of the statist media and, of course, the perpetual childish delusions of a would-be dictator!

So, the statists chose, on the Sabbath Day, to cast aside the honor, the sacrifice and the blood of our founders and those who have fought, bled and died for liberty in subsequent generations--valiant souls who pledged and all too often sacrificed their "lives, [their] fortunes and [their] sacred honor--and enacted institutional cowardice and national shame. They have profaned this Sabbath day by advancing their abortion-on-demand agenda--an agenda that, ironically, will culminate in abortion at the demand of government bureaucrats--and the ascendancy of the State over God in America.

Moreover, that detestable smirking simp, Nancy Pelosi, profaned the names and memory of the Founders, claiming their "vision" was being realized by this despotic government seizure of 1/6 of the nation's economy! We the people have received a stinging and derisive slap in the face by those who have transformed the title and the notion of "public servant" into a cynical cliche. And this was done while, at once, the Constitution of the United States was willfully ignored and cast aside.

Yes, in a single day, we have seen the principles the institutions the ideals and the vision that Americans have held most dear for generations vilely profaned.

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,... But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security." (The Declaration of Independence)

The arrogance at work is beyond comprehension. This cannot and must not stand. The people of this nation must awaken to a sense of their duty and renew their individual and collective commitment to liberty and the founding vision of this nation. Everything that America was, is and will yet be now hangs in the balance. We absolutely must unite to stop this advancing tyranny and beg for God's intervention in our behalf. And, we must keep this day alive and burning in our hearts and minds in November and make Election Day a day of reckoning for the traitors and usurpers in DC!

"THESE are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as FREEDOM should not be highly rated."

Been Awhile...

2010-03-03T09:49:00.000-08:00

I apologize for taking so long between posts! It's been a bit overwhelming trying to select a topic with so much going on, lately.

I wasn't able to stomach the "Healthcare Summit," but did catch the tail end featuring B. Hussein droning on incoherently, including his "race to the bottom" analogy. That one lowered my IQ by about 15 points, I think, and it hasn't been easy recovering it!

But today I'm struck by the broader view of the scene before me as I watch this culture war heat up. It seems clear to me--and I've said as much-- that the statists have read the tea leaves and determined that this was their time to strike and seize control of the United States, discard the Constitution and establish a new socialist state in its place.

While I don't subscribe to one grand conspiracy to accomplish this, it seems rather obvious that those who favor statism have long infested the education system, the media and government for decades.

A sizable portion of the statist agenda--and one that is beginning to crumble before our eyes--is their anti-religious religion. Ann Coulter laid out the tenets of this false faith expertly in her book, Godless. I don't pretend to have all the answers here, nor do I plan to make a full discussion of this point.

But there is a clear premise of hostility to religion in the bulk of the statist agenda, even though there are so many instances where that agenda is contradictory (for example, why are self-proclaimed darwinists so devoted to preventing the "survival of the fittest" in nature, in schools, in business, etc.?), they press on with their fundamental belief that any religion is superior to Christianity and no religion is best.

Absent a belief in an involved and personal God, what prevents our falling victim to the "Crisis of the Day?" Man becomes the ultimate cause of all the problems in the earth and, therefore, the solution. If only man can be sufficiently regulated by government, then all the evils and problems of the world can be eradicated.

Moreover, if there is no God, then His rules certainly don't apply! There is no morality beyond that which can be contrived by the statists--and those are typically knee-jerk reactions to situations. Without a divine heritage, man is nothing more than a common animal, but one with vast power to affect the function of the earth and its infinitely complex interactions, all of which combine to sustain life.

I could go on and on, but even this is not my point today. What has been refreshing to me is the resurgence and reawakening of religious faith that I am seeing. Similar to the rising tide of opposition to the erosion of other liberties, the attacks on religious liberty are awakening people of faith to stand firm against the onslaught of secular drivel.

This is, I think, one of the most positive sides of the rising opposition to the statists' agenda. A return to moral fundamentals must, I think, precede the return to Constitutional principle. John Adams observed, "We have no government armed with the power capable of contending with human passions which are unbridled by morality and true religion. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."

That is the essence of self-government--to be bridled by our own moral and religious faiths. It is a sure path to tyranny and servitude to jettison those supports. Hence, I think, the continuous flow of amoral sludge from Hollywood and the media.

As the "Progressive" [statist] agenda "progresses," everything else that matters must be in full decline. Our culture and our societal decline feed the argument for increasing government power. The opposite--the path chosen by our founders was self rule and self rule cannot be achieved absent a clear and consistent moral code available to each individual. And religion is "indispensable support" to instilling that code in each citizen.

George Washington declared:

“Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, Religion and

Morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of Patriotism, who should labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness, these firmest props of the duties of Men and Citizens. The mere Politician, equally with the pious man, ought to respect and to cherish them. A volume could not trace all their connections with private and public felicity...And let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion. Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on minds of peculiar structure, reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.”

Yet we live in a society where morality (and the principles that carried our parents through the Great Depression and two world wars and helped them to build the prosperity that allowed the coddled and over-privileged statists to thrive despite their moral and intellectual bankruptcy) is routinely mocked and derided in the pop culture. We have lived to realize the warning of CS Lewis, "In a sort of ghastly simplicity, we remove the organ and demand the function. We make men without chests and expect of them virtue and enterprise. We laugh at honour and are shocked to find traitors in our midst. We castrate and bid the gelding be fruitful." (CS Lewis, The Abolition of Man.)

Thus, I am greatly heartened by what I'm seeing among the faithful and pray it continues to grow!

A Tale of Two Visions

2010-02-16T15:24:00.000-08:00

Today's headlines yield some interesting fodder for comparison between the leftists now running the country and reality. We have on display some stark contrasts in views that are, I believe, at the core of the "conservative v. progressive" argument.

There is a consistency, at least, in the left's view of the Office of the Presidency. In George W. Bush, they saw a puppet at the mercy of his handlers and nefarious staff members who were consistently pulling his strings and putting words into his mouth.

With Obama, they seem to presume the same thing. Leslie Gelb, a New York Times columnist and government official penned an article for "The Daily Beast," calling upon the Obama Administration to "shake up" the staff!

In the progressives' world, when the Dear Leader fails, it is obviously not his fault. Rather, it is the fault of those beneath him who are failing to properly serve the Dear Leader.

In their world, the cure for the Detroit Lions would be to "shake up" the team. Fire the Quarterback and Defensive Captains! Promote the Center to Quarterback and move the running backs to the defensive side because they are failing as presently constituted to bring the right results to their leaders!

Unfortunately, in reality, the organization takes on the characteristics of the leader and therefore, failure is the direct responsibility of that leader. I have personally witnessed this first-hand over and over.

In the NFL, it's the coach that typically leaves an organization to bring about desired Hope & Change and the shake-ups start from the top down. We see and hear the clamor for the same thing in the country today. "We the People" have rejected the socialist agenda of this gaggle of Chicago thugs and we have clearly demanded specific changes.

Last writing, I pointed out that 63% of the American people are fed up with Congress and would like to see the bulk of its members replaced. Considering that Congress has done nothing in the past year but carry the Obama Administration's water on government seizure of health care, continued threats to enact destructive legislation to combat fictional "climate change," spend our money on fantasy "stimulus" plans and tax us into oblivion, this makes sense.

Yet the progressives see it differently. These people just need more talking to in their view. 63% of us are just wrong. We have to change, not the agenda!

The obvious question for Mr. Gelb and indeed the entire Democrat establishment in Washington is, if Obama's key people should be fired, why spare anyone who shares their views, including B. Hussein who hired them all in the first place?

As John C. Maxwell, one of my favorite leadership authors noted, "Leadership ability is always the lid on personal and organizational effectiveness. ... That's why in times of trouble, organizations naturally look for new leadership." (Maxwell, John C.. The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2007, p. 7.)

Now, contrast this response of "blame the ignorant underlings or faceless masses" with the leadership on display in New Jersey. (You can watch the video here or read the transcript here.) Governor Chris Christie, rather than point fingers of blame and whine about what he inherited, has taken decisive action to repair the damage done by decades of progressive governance in New Jersey.
While Obama panders and whines and abdicates his agenda to Congress (and allows them to take the blame), Governor Christie is speaking the hard truth to his state and in so doing bringing real hope and real change to people like myself in far-away Wyoming!

I know from talking and associating with those millions of people from across the nation and across ideological positions that we as a country are ready to endure what we must to set our nation back on track again. Most of us are willing to endure depression-like conditions to free our children and their children from the crushing debt of our irresponsible elected officials. We want a return to limited, constitutional government that is responsive and responsible to the people.

I applaud the early indications of real leadership on display in Governor Christie. I am certain he'll make his share of mistakes and endure withering opposition from the political establishment on both sides of the party aisle. But what he is undertaking resonates with the people of this country and is at the heart of the real hope and change we seek.

If the Democrats in Washington had a shred of decency, they would scrap their plans of totalitarian rule and embrace this commitment to real and lasting change--change back to Constitutional restraints-- or resign immediately and make room for someone with the spine to do it.

So, I say, God bless New Jersey and God bless the United States of America! Let's roll!

Barack to Republicans: SURRENDER!

2010-02-10T09:39:00.001-08:00

After being handed a string of significant defeats, drive-by media ignorance notwithstanding, Barack Obama has made yet another gamble to snatch his socialist dream of controlling the US health care industry from the jaws of crushing defeat. He has at once declared his refusal to scrap the travesty of a "health care bill" and demanded that Congressional Republicans come and help him pass it.

Nevermind that the bulk of the people in this country are adamantly opposed to it. Nevermind the Republicans are stringing together significant gains in recent and meaningful races. Nevermind the abject failure of the administration to accomplish anything significant over the past year. Nevermind the sustained unemployment of the American people amid reckless taxation and spending and the rapidly expanding debt. Nevermind that B. Hussein Obama is increasingly viewed as "Carter on steroids!"

In his defense, the Republicans have made monumentally moronic decisions in the recent past. So perhaps he is calculating the likelihood that the Republicans can once again snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. But I feel the calculation is in error, if that is indeed the case.

The Republicans have seen the massive groundswell of common American people--of all ethnic backgrounds, from all parties, from all walks of life--who have united in their opposition to the unchecked expansion of government power and B. Hussein's mad dash for socialism in America. While they may lack spines individually, they are presently more frightened of the people than they are of the media and B. Hussein--a winning formula, in my opinion.

But the Republicans are well aware that 63% of the American people are eager to see the bulk of Congress sent packing. And they understand that their career longevity depends on aligning themselves with those people than following B. Hussein down the road to infamy.

Conversely, B. Hussein and the media elites operate under the assumption that those 63% of the people are idiots and that they can, indeed should be ignored. But just in case, B. Hussein has threatened to take the podium daily until his government take over of our health care has passed. If only he would commit to similarly torturing the detainees at Club G'itmo!

In the midst of all this, B. Hussein has invited the Republicans to meet with him to discuss the plan as it exists to nationalize 1/6 of our economy and take control of the people in an unprecedented way. He has stated he'll surrender small portions of the plan, but is staunchly refusing to scrap the entire misguided bill. He has enjoyed a supermajority in Congress for the entire year and has been unable to convince Congress to pass this travesty in that time. He still has the majority and now wants us to believe it's the Republicans who are stopping it.

Amazingly and tellingly, he is reported to have commented that the difference between the ridiculed and failed efforts of the Clintons to enact national health care and his own is that, "now, you've got me!"

As his approval numbers plummet, and as reality closes in around him, he has taken the only logical step that remains: To demand that the opposition surrender. Why? Because, "now, [we've got B. Hussein Obama!]"

I wonder if Custer tried that. I guess we'll never know.

Thank You, Barry!

2010-02-04T11:40:00.000-08:00

There has been a palpable shift in the country and, though it has come at tremendous national and individual cost, we should all take a moment to take stock and express our gratitude for what we've seen.

In the build-up to the 2008 election, we witnessed a carefully manipulative progressive media working to define the parameters of the debate. We learned that B. Hussein Obama was to be considered a "Messiah"-like character-above reproach and that anyone who dared to identify his background, his beliefs, his philosophies, his friends and allies, his middle name--indeed, to tell the truth about him in any way was to be considered racist and beneath contempt.

We were given the candidate, McCain, carefully selected and prepared in his progressive leanings through his years in the US Senate. In the process, we were told repeatedly by progressives in the Republican Party that "the era of Reagan is over," and by default and definition that the progressive agenda being pushed within both parties was to be accepted and embraced. Those of us who bristled at the prospect of a Democrat and Democrat-Light two party system were identified as extremists, "tea baggers," etc. [is it just me, or has anyone else been puzzled by the singular irony of being identified as a "wacko" based solely on one's devotion to and reverence for the United States Constitution?]

And then, figuring that the smoke screen was sufficiently thick and the US people sufficiently subdued, the progressives set about their work to destroy our individual liberties. And they continue today, but we should thank Barry and the Boys for placing on clear display the principles and beliefs that drive them and their contempt for our Constitution, our traditions, and the principles upon which they are founded!

As disaster has been heaped on disaster by this gaggle of statist clowns, we've had living object lessons on liberalism, statism and progressivism. Moreover, their affection for extreme leftist views--the thugs and dictators of the world--and their desire to push us toward a similar totalitarianism and tyranny have likewise been exposed.

As icing on the cake, we've been given Scott Brown, who campaigned on unapologetic and overt conservatism, declaring Reaganesque principles, and seized the "people's seat" from over 4 decades of liberal usurpation. His win added contrast to the the bland answers of the progressives that have been tried and failed throughout history. The contrast of the bright lights of successful conservatism has left the progressives scurrying for cover like the cockroaches they are.

As they did when their icons were exposed and defeated in WWII and the Cold War, they are again going under cover, lying about their true intentions and working to spin themselves as "middle-right" to conceal their extreme leftist agenda.

While the pillars of liberalism and progressivism are crumbling before our very eyes (global warming exposed as a hoax, the persistent lies and schemes, the happy face on the enduring recession, the list of government intrusions with its attendant failures, the failure of the welfare, nanny state policies in living color, the exposure of the media as propagandists etc.), and the persistent efforts to conceal the truth from the American people, we've been handed a tremendous gift and opportunity to seize control of our country and return it to the principles and ideals of her founding.

In summary, the left is being exposed for the whiny, childish, incompetent brats they are, attempting to re-write the rules to create their insane world where truth is a lie and vice versa. And, we've been given just the right doses of reality to counter them and to cause their carefully crafted house of cards to crumble before our eyes. I, personally having spent many hours on my knees on behalf of our Republic, can discern the hand of Providence in the unfolding events of the day.

Yet their determination to retain power through increased repetition of their lies and at a higher volume is evident and a considerable fight yet remains before us. And we must remember that the most dangerous moments are those that immediately follow actual or apparent victory.

But we can take heart that the truth really does set us free and "We, the People" are not alone in this fight.

No Time to Falter!

2010-01-23T19:53:00.000-08:00

True to form, B. Hussein Obama has received yet another whoopin' from the American people and fled to a hand-picked adoring crowd for some much needed campaign style ego stroking. When about 1-2 million fellow citizens and I descended on the Capitol, B. Hussein likewise packed up the teleprompters and fled to Minnesota to absorb some calculated adulation from a few dozen of his closest pals.

The very serious downside to his laughable obsession with crowds of brainless nitwits chanting his name is that he gets all pumped up and more determined to foist one of his statist brain farts on the rest of us. Also true to form, he declared his intent to press forward with his socialist agenda in the health care industry and identified his next target for nationalizing private industry: banking. He is already well underway in nationalizing student loans (something I'm intimately familiar with) and has signaled his determination to take the whole thing. It's to be expected, as it was outlined by one of his Marxist idols, Saul Alinsky.

But again, I am positive and hopeful like never before. The election of Scott Brown was a monumental indication that the American people have awakened and are determined to make their collective voice heard despite the willful deafness of the political elite in DC.

The statists will pursue their agenda relentlessly, no doubt. But they do so at their own political peril and due to their own persistent ignorance of the character of the people of this nation. Regardless of their concerted decades-long efforts to dumb down the populace--to diminish the founders and the Constitution in the minds of the people and to erect in their place a pseudo-intellectualism and laughably blind faith in one fraudulent "science" after another--the American people continue to demonstrate that they have LIBERTY in their very blood.

In the two terms of "W," we were regaled repeatedly with reports of polls (an interesting phenomenon in itself in our time, where news agencies take a poll and then report on that poll as if it's news!) of his declining popularity. But we never got the straight story on why it declined.

While I'm no pollster and have admittedly not taken the time to dig into every poll in the last ten years, I noted some interesting things in those polls. We were always shown the polls of the declining approval of the War on Terror and told it was a general displeasure w/ George W. Bush and the War. However, those approval numbers rose starkly whenever we killed or captured a "High-Value Target," or kicked some trash in some way.

Likewise, we were told the American people were repudiating the conservative policies of "W." and even Reagan (!) as Bush's popularity sank to the 30's and 20's. Yet my displeasure with him (and that of countless friends with whom I conversed in DC on 9-12-09) was centered on his efforts to placate the statists on the left with an irresponsible drug expenditure, and other Progressive policies that were decidedly NOT Reaganesque!

Now, we see Scott Brown unashamedly campaigning as a conservative--NOT a McCain, Democrat Light "conservative." And he won. Come to think of it, Reagan won Massachuesetts in his landslide victory over Mondull.

Tellingly, the "media" in their first press conference w/ Brown repeatedly attempted to push him into their camp, asking if he's gotten any advice from McCain on "how to be a Maverik" (AKA spineless simp), how he plans to "reach across the aisle" to "work with Democrats" to help them carry out their agenda which was loudly and clearly repudiated by his election!!! It's unreal, but it's also an indicator of their determination to co-opt Brown or to attempt his destruction if he doesn't play along.

I have no great hopes in Brown, alone. His election is merely another in a long line of demonstrations of the determination of the American people to preserve this nation in LIBERTY for future generations. And again, the statists continue to ignore the growing volume of our voices at their peril! They can hide in their "whited sepulchres" in DC and tell each other we don't really mean it. But if they continue their efforts to enslave us and our children, they will rapidly discover first hand what King George experienced and felt! They may even get a taste of "Gentleman Johnny Burgoyne's" experience in the wilds of New England!

At any rate, and happily, this generation of Americans seems equal to the fight. A genuine and prolonged fight remains before us, to be sure. But I feel confident that the friends of liberty and freedom will prevail in our time. And hopefully, our children and their children will regard us kindly for our defeat of tyranny that has taken root within our shores. But regardless of their feelings toward us, they will be FREE to think and feel what they wish then and there through our victory here and now.

Let's Roll!

2010-01-20T21:59:00.000-08:00

The stunning election of Scott Brown in Massachusetts has left conservatives, including myself, giddy with the possibilities of the coming mid-term elections. This most recent conservative victory is certainly a spin-proof indicator of fantastic things to come in November!

I should note, however, that Obama maniacs are still attempting the spin, including B. Hussein himself! Obama indicated today that Brown's election is yet another indicator of the electorate's frustration with... wait for it... George W. Bush!! Wow.

Anyway, this week's special election completes a trifecta of failure for B. Hussein. He threw in his teleprompter-fueled golden-tongue oratory in support of democratic candidates in both Virginia and New Jersey races--both losses for his party--and now behind the hapless Martha Coakley in Massachusetts--epic fail. (And that's not counting his buffoonery in Copenhagen attempting to get the Olympics in Chicago.)

Today, Ann Coulter correctly observed:

"American politics has consisted of Republicans controlling Washington for eight to 14 years -- either from the White House or Capitol Hill -- thus allowing Americans to forget what it was they didn't like about Democrats, whom they then carelessly vote back in. The Democrats immediately remind Americans what they didn't like about Democrats, and their power is revoked at the voters' first possible opportunity.

"Obama has cut the remembering-what-we-don't-like-about-Democrats stage of this process down from two to four years to about 10 months. Folks, I'm convinced that if we all work really hard, we can get it down to three months."

But this goes far beyond even the more or less "normal" swing of political trends between parties. This race, like a volatile Yellowstone geyser, is an indicator of the growing foundational pressure from the frustrated American people. We have been dismayed by the overt refusal of elected polticians to listen to our voices. With the growing fervor of Tea Parties across the nation, we have been asking ourselves "How stupid are these people?!" Likewise, we've been asking collectively with each new rally, "Can you hear us now?!" And up until now, the answer has been a resounding, "Huh? Did you hear something? Me neither."

Now, the statist Dems are running for the tall grass and the feckless Republican Party--the erstwhile home of conservatism--has an historic opportunity draped heavily across its figurative face. It remains to be seen if it will notice.

People across the nation are abandoning party loyalty and indeed, Brown was propelled to victory by significant independent support and even some democratic defections. Keep in mind, Democrats outnumber Republicans by a ratio of 3 to 1 in Massachusetts! The right-wing crazies attending the TEA Parties across America have been screaming, "We don't care what your party affiliation is. It's about AMERICA, Stupid!! We want our country back!" The country has been again crying out for liberty, for freedom, for openly and unashamed conservative principles!

While moronic Progressives in the Republican Party have been trying to convince us that the "era of Reagan is over," the people have been literally begging for a new Reagan in our time! Keep in mind, that Reagan carried Massachusetts in his landslide victories and he left little doubt about his conservative leanings!

Brown, a relative rookie in the Massachusetts political scene, openly campaigned on conservative ideas--ideas shouted repeatedly to deaf pols across the land by those eeeevil "tea-baggers." And he took the Senate seat occupied by the bloat Teddy "Dude, Where's My Car?" Kennedy for FORTY-SIX YEARS.

If--and that's a BIG "IF"-- the Republicans can successfully read the tea leaves in this race, they can seize the opportunity to make 2010 the year that makes 1994 look like a minor shift in Congress. As B. Hussein "doubles down" on his statist agenda--announcing plans for nationalizing the student loan industry today--asking Congressional Dems to settle into their "political Jonestown," the Republicans could--emphasize could--initiate a second "Contract With America" on the order of the Gingrich Revolution. This one would be easy. They could just attend the next TEA Party and jot down what's written on a sign or two and, voila!--earth-shattering victory in 2010.

Of course, the B. Hussein apologists, progressives and statists in the Party will first have to be silenced and sent back home to the Democrats. But whatever they do, and whatever happens from here, all of us eeeevil right-wing mobocrats can take this week's Massachusetts stunner as proof positive that our voices are beginning to shake the walls of power in DC. We've only just begun and a significant fight lies before us. But we can take courage in this victory. We are certainly NOT alone and the naysaying of the left is increasingly being exposed as lies and deceit centered on de-moralizing and destroying our resolve.

But we are AMERICANS. We've got resolve to spare! And we've just taken the initiative. We can't let it go. Let's roll!!!

Too Good to Pass!

2010-01-19T18:36:00.000-08:00

This evening, Martha Coakley conceded defeat to Republican, Scott Brown for the Senate seat vacated by the late Teddy "Dude, Where's My Car?" Kennedy! This is beyond monumental and even the statist Dems can't misread this one, though they're already hard at work trying to.

Kennedy has held that seat for a colossal 42 years in the US Senate before becoming a good statist in August of last year. Today's special election hinged on the unpopular "system" being rapidly established by B. Hussein Obama to "fundamentally change America" into just another workers' paradise.

Senator Ben Nelson of Nebraska, after securing the sweetheart deal in the Senate "Health Care Bill" returned home to be boo-ed from a pizza parlor and to watch his approval numbers drop by over 30 points! But, the left cries, this isn't about Obama and his "Health Care" plan. No, it's not. It's about a rejection of statism. It's about even the liberals of Massachusetts recognizing that the "Health Care Bill" isn't about health care and it's not about insurance. It's about establishing a socialist regime in the United States and dooming the world to darkness and servitude to a political elite.

But America can today thank God and the people of Massachusetts for today declaring, "Not now! Not on our watch!"

Even though I just posted a new rant, this was just too good to pass--as good, I think, as the B. Hussein Obama agenda is bad! Massachusetts has started the new revolution rolling. Let's keep it going, America! Don't forget, it's not about party. It's about FREEDOM!!!

For all intents and purposes, Obama and the rest of the Dems show no signs of catching on. They seem determined to, as Democrat Pat Goddell said, commit to a "political Jonestown" in forcing the Obama statist agenda down our throats in the face of losses in New Jersey, Virginia and now, Massachusetts! Bring it on, you statist scum! The American people have kicked your trash in the past and we're ready to do it again!

De-valuing Government vs. American Value

2010-01-17T19:33:00.000-08:00

Something that seems to be entirely missing from the understanding of many Americans, (particularly those who are regularly duped into voting for bloated, "progressive" government and the statist agenda) is the concept of value in the economy.

Value is measured in many ways. We attach a number by stating value in dollars or in ounces of gold or silver. Some state value in terms of food. One definition I've read of value is, "the importance or preciousness of something."

As consumers, we attach value to various things by what we are willing to pay for those things. For example, some of us are willing to pay $2.50 for a gallon of gasoline, or $40.00 for a tank of gasoline. Others may switch to walking or riding a bike when the price exceeds $2.25 per gallon. They value the gasoline and the possession of the cash differently. So, price indicates value but does not define it. Value is defined by our individual preferences, needs and wants.

When we think about this, it seems fairly obvious. What seems to escape many people is the absolute fact that everything the government touches, loses value. The loss moves in every direction from the point of government contact. This is because the government is entirely inept and inefficient in meddling in the lives of citizens. In fact, we've seen gross inefficiency even in those activities for which governments are uniquely qualified, like defense (remember the $800.00 hammers and crazy costs for toilets in the Pentagon?).

The reason that government is such a drain on value throughout the economy is that it produces nothing! The only things that government can do are to impose regulations and restrictions or impose taxes. In every such instance, value is drained from the economy.

Initially, I had launched into a detailed description of how this happens, but I don't want to be responsible for boring you into a coma. In short, we can see in dramatic fashion everywhere a product is exchanged, how government extracts value from that transaction.

Every time we exchange our labor for a sum of cash, the government takes a portion of that cash, de-valuing both our labor and the cash paid for it by the employer.

Every time we pump a tank of gas at the station, we have arrived at a point where more money goes to government than to the company that actually took on the astronomical costs of compliance with mind-numbing government regulation, limits on production capacity and actual production of the fuel! In some states, government takes more than twice what the company gets in profit for its products. Think of it! If you or I were to go to our neighbor and, at the point of a gun, take the money he had earned for his labor, we would be properly jailed. Not so with our benevolent politicians.

In fact, they make the process so easy and so painless for us. They offer to simply withhold money from each paycheck to simplify that process. Over time, we've come to view our income in terms of net rather than gross. Likewise, at the pump, we grumble about the "price of gas" without noticing the the ridiculous taxes included in that price!

Consider for a moment how differently we'd view those taxes if, on each payday, we were required to go to a desk at the bank and write a check for our taxes prior to depositing our pay. What if after every gasoline purchase, we were required to write a separate check for the taxes? In some cases, that would mean the price of gas at the pump would be around $25.00 and the taxes would be about $20.00! If we had to write one check to "Big Oil, Inc." and one to the US government (and, in most cases, one to our respective state government), would we be more engaged and informed as to where and how that money was being spent? Would we be a little more inclined to hold our representatives accountable for their behaviors with our money?

But here's where we find ourselves. We are blind to the astronomical impact of government intrusion on our formerly free-market economy--an impact that is increasingly untenable. At every point of government contact and extraction of value, the loss of value reaches in every direction. It impacts the producers and consumers--the buyers and sellers. Sadly, the value is horrendously diminished by the government's gross inefficiency in spending it, even!

So, when statists are in control and move the government toward excessive growth and increasing intrusion into our lives, there is a corresponding loss of value from the economy and it is significant in our time.

But statists are always ready with the easy lie to comfort us and tell us all is well, even when we can clearly see it is not! For the past several years we've been assured that when taxes were cut and unemployment was under 4% that we were in a "deep recession." At the same time, we were assured by the likes of Barney Frank and Chris Dodd that Fannie and Freddy were in great shape! Now, that the economy is hurtling down the road to oblivion, with unemployment holding steady at over 10%, we're being assured that the recovery has been underway for some time! We should trust the Statist-in-Chief and his gaggle of communists, socialists and fascists in the administration.

When times get tough, fire up the teleprompter! Give the people "soaring oratory" to assuage their pain. Tell the people to tighten their belts while we [the government] spend like money is water! Nationalize and ration health care, while maintaining a totally unreal health care establishment for the political elite in DC. Raise taxes on the American people who actually produce, and guarantee elaborate and lavish benefits for life for the most useless and value-less politicians in the world's history with those taxes! When companies have been run aground through similarly lavish benefit packages for increasingly useless union workers, seize their stocks from legitimate and lawful investors and donate them to the unions, then artificially inflate their value through a disproportionate injection of tax dollars.

These are the "answers" and "solutions" to present problems being offered by our statist overseers to date.

The good news, of course, is that the American people are awakening again. Having forgotten the abysmal policies of Jimmy Carter and getting Carter-Cubed in B. Hussein Obama, we're catching on again, that the founders and their ideas aren't so out-dated after all! Liberty works! Freedom works! Individuals pursuing their dreams works! Smaller, less intrusive government... well... doesn't harm as much.

Rabbi Harold Kushner observed:

"There is a part of us, especially in times of stress, that wants to be cuddled and taken care of, to be told, 'There's nothing to worry about; I'll take care of everything for you.' ...There is a part of us that wants somebody else to step in and do all the hard things that we are supposed to do, relieving us of responsibility....

"...Erich Fromm, after fleeing from Nazi Germany to the United States, tried to understand how a cultured, educated people like the Germans could have let a man like Hitler come to power. In his book Escape from Freedom, he suggests an answer. Sometimes, he says, the problems of life become so overwhelming that we despair of ever solving them. Should someone come along and say in a loud, confident voice, 'Follow me without question, do everything I tell you to, and I will lead you out of this,' many of us would find that a very tempting offer. When life becomes difficult, we want someone to say to us, 'Don't worry your little head about it. Let me do it for you, and all I want in return is your gratitude and total obedience.'" (Harold S. Kushner, When All You've Ever Wanted Is Not Enough (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1986), pp. 128-129.)

Hence the dictum of Rahm Emanuel, "Never let a crisis go to waste."

But Americans have proven very different through its history. We've traditionally been the ones to throw off such assurances and demand that we handle our problems (and frequently, the world's) on our own.

But the warning is a valid one. If we cave to the negative messages of the statists, if we buy into the notion that we can't do it without their intervention, if we despair in whatever "crisis" they cook up or inflict upon us, all is lost.

But, again, I firmly believe that the resilience of the American spirit and the American people will win the day.

The statists, at their core, are cowards. They view the world through the lens of cowardice and they falsely presume that everyone else is as cowardly as they are. They are wrong, of course.

And while it took so little for them to give in to the lure of statist philosophies and false assurances, America--AMERICANS-- have successfully resisted that siren song and will continue to do so, I believe, for the foreseeable future. The greatest and most enduring store of value in the world is the resilience, the determination, the innovation and the sheer grit of the American people. And that store can never be fully destroyed by the best or worst efforts of the statist, absent our consent.

Real hope and real change are in the air again! Once again, as Ronaldus Magnus observed, "It's morning in America!"

Our Difficult Duty

2010-01-15T06:23:00.000-08:00

I mentioned in an early post being impressed by the statue that stands in front of the National Archives with the inscription, "Eternal Vigilance is the Price of Liberty." We are, as a nation, learning this hard lesson again.

Since the founding of this unique and exceptional nation, there have been forces aligned to destroy it. Call it evil, call it entropy, call it what you will. There is an active, decaying force opposing individual liberty and freedom in the world. This country has withstood it for over two centuries.

But our vigilance has been weakened in tangible ways, obviously. The undercurrent of "Progressive" influences since the administration of Woodrow Wilson have been steadily eroding our system of self government and they have gone largely unnoticed by most of us. These "progressives" were excited at the rise of the oppressive Soviet Union, sympathetic to the anti-semitism of Hitler's Nazi Germany, and they continue to favor dictators and thugs to this day (hence the popularity of Che T-shirts, "looking into [the eyes of Fidel Castro]" and openly admiring Hugo Chavez)! And they continue to seek to model our country after those despite their consistent failure throughout history (and, ironically, their efforts continue despite our nation's successful efforts at defeating their foreign idols in the past century). There's no shortage, it seems, of ego-maniacal would-be dictators willing to step up and attempt to establish themselves as our proxy parents!

It seems that every time I've watched a documentary on Nazi Germany I or someone with me has asked, "How could the Germans be so foolish as to let that psychopath gain that much power?" Now, we are witnessing how that can happen. It is the validation of the old saying, "The only thing needed for evil to triumph is for good men [and women] to do nothing."

Hence the challenge and the difficulty. Liberalism, as it presently exists, is nothing more than the consistent and deliberate erosion of the foundational supports and institutions of this nation. Conservatism is simply the effort to conserve those foundational principles and institutions from the efforts of the "progressives" and liberals. Therefore, by definition, every time we compromise the standards set by the founders, we lose and the liberals win. And regaining lost ground is practically impossible. Therefore, the progressives job is the easy one, it requires no real vigilance, just constant whining and seizing on crises to manipulate the public. In short, it is the coward's path--the path of least resistance.

But the difficult path of duty has always been and remains the true path of America. It is difficult to remain engaged as the political machine, constructed increasingly by cowardly progressives, becomes more and more complex and debate becomes increasingly clouded by pseudo-intellectual banter. As our schools are increasingly co-opted by the left and refuse to teach the truth and the principles of our founding, as the film and news media crank out their propaganda and their depressing rhetoric of an evil, hopeless, exploitive America the task becomes obviously more difficult.

Nevertheless, the duty remains and Americans have always fulfilled that duty, despite the difficulty. If we buy into the notion that we cannot succeed, that we cannot overcome, that our founders and the principles enshrined in our Constitution are outdated or unnecessary, then we will sink into the amorphous societal ooze with the rest of the world.

But that is not our destiny! This nation was touched, I believe, by the hand of God Himself and set apart in the world to be that "shining city on a hill"-- a beacon to the rest of the world that man is capable of self rule and self government. Americans throughout our history have been that beacon of true hope and true change--from tyranny and oppression, from burdensome taxation and the slavery of socialism to liberty and the guaranteed rights of life, liberty and private property.

As Americans, it is our duty still to shun the promise of ease and the property of our neighbors from manipulating politicians. It is our duty to remain engaged, to study our founding and the discern the divinity in the Constitution. It is our duty to remain suspicious of all politicians--to demand that their conduct conform to a higher standard. It is our duty as Americans to step to the plate and serve when needed in political office rather than cede that work to career politicians craving our wealth and with a ravenous hunger for power over our lives. It is our duty to educate ourselves as broadly as possible and to never cede our individual liberty to an elite class of "experts" or to any government bureaucracy.

Finally, and most importantly in my opinion, we must spend time on our knees every day supplicating the aid of heaven in preserving our liberties. It would be arrogant and ultimately destructive of our purposes to suppose that this nation under God--whose affairs and destiny have been so profoundly influenced and directed by His hand--can be saved through mortal exertions alone.

Abraham Lincoln, in bidding farewell to his hometown as he left to serve as President said, "Without the assistance of the Divine Being, who ever attended him, I cannot succeed. With that assistance I cannot fail. Trusting in Him, who can go with me, and remain with you and be every where for good, let us confidently hope that all will yet be well."

The duty upon is places our feet on a difficult and stony path, it is true. But the rewards that await us and our children far outweigh any meager sacrifice on our part to achieve that end. And, with God's aid, it will shine all the brighter in contrast to what we must now suffer to achieve that end and through the strength gained by struggle, endure all the longer!

"Let us therefore rely upon the goodness of the Cause, and the aid of the supreme Being, in whose hands Victory is, to animate and encourage us to great and noble Actions." --George Washington

[To all Kindle users: Don't forget, you can subscribe to this blog through Amazon.com!]

A Recommendation

2010-01-07T21:04:00.000-08:00

The flaccid response to the most recent attempted terror attack by the Clown-in-Chief revealed his utter incompetence to perform his primary responsibility--to protect this nation from significant threats. He is a man steeped in the belief that government, particularly an all-powerful government, is the answer to every problem.

While he and his administration were smugly counting on the "system [to work]," Americans seated beside Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab were compelled to react and subdue him when he set his underwear ablaze with an ill-conceived attempt to blow up their plane. Now, the incompetence is being exposed further, including connections between Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab and Nidal Malik Hasan, the treasonous Fort Hood shooter. (NOTE: I refuse to continue to attach the rank of major to that scumbag as I think his actions are sufficient to strip him of that distinction.)

As I mentioned earlier, there is a stark reality being revealed by these two and many other incidents. While B. Hussein can sit amid hordes of security personnel and read fantasy tales to us from his teleprompter about the "war against hate and violence" (really?!), we are left to our own devices to defend ourselves and those we love from those who would do us harm.

The other day, I quoted Lt. Col. Dave Grossman (Ret.) in describing the sheep, wolves and sheepdogs in our society. Increasingly, we are being forced to step from the flock, abandon the illusory comforts of denial and take responsibility for our own protection. Since B. Hussein took office, guns and ammunition have literally flow from the shelves and this is a positive thing, in my opinion. Americans, exercising their God-given rights and taking upon themselves the responsibility and duty to protect themselves and their families is a step in the right direction.

As a law enforcement officer, I received the best training available to instill the physical skills and more importantly, the mindset to fill the role of the sheepdog in society. I was trained by the best in verbal communication, firearms proficiency, SWAT operations and leadership and the training was enhanced by serving with the absolute best in the field where those principles and skills were reinforced daily.

So where does the civilian go to acquire those skills and that vital mindset to step into the role of the sheepdog? I want to take this opportunity to make my readers aware of a tremendous resource made available by the Outdoor Channel. It's a weekly program called Best Defense. It airs on Wednesdays and features some excellent trainers, known in the law enforcement community who have very effectively translated law enforcement training principles to civilian needs. The best thing about it is the cost!

While the firearms training "resorts" offer top-notch training to those with the means, they are extremely cost prohibitive. Best Defense is a TV show that packs excellent training tips and techniques into every episode. Of course, the responsibility falls upon the viewer first, to watch and then to practice those techniques demonstrated, but if recent trends are any indication, we as a people are prepared to take that responsibility.

No, I am not being compensated in any way in making this recommendation. I am just continually struck by the high caliber of each episode when I watch it and the real-world practical and responsible application of sound training principles. In short, it's an excellent tool and one we should avail ourselves of as we prepare for present and future threats to our individual and collective security.

Check it out and enjoy!

Stay safe, all.

Patriotic Kindle and some Random Thoughts...

2010-01-05T08:43:00.000-08:00

I am pleased to announce that Bear's Patriot Blog is now available for Kindle users through Amazon.com. I set it up last night, so it should be available in the next day or two.

Now, a few random thoughts:

B. Hussein Obama minions have made some comments recently that military action against Yemen may be in order as a response to failed Skivvie Bomber, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab. Even as his administration continues the moronic policy of profiling things rather than terrorists, this new level of stupidity is concerning.

US statists have historically been uncomfortable with "victory" and B. Hussein has stated he's no different. After all, victory for us implies defeat for someone else (with all the myriad esteem issues that come with it)! Hence their propensity, when in power, to fight wars to a draw and to seek "containment" rather than victory.

But they also don't mind the rush that comes from lumping on some tiny nation to demonstrate their toughness and military prowess--or to distract the country from more nefarious activities. So, while they neglect real threats, they get a thrill from pounding world super powers like Haiti and now, Yemen.

Meanwhile, Iran continues to build a nuclear weapon with every intention of using it on Israel first and then us. But everything will be fine. After all, the TSA will no longer allow magazines, paper back books or blankets to be in passengers' laps during flights.

____

B. Hussein and his statist congressional cronies will be meeting behind closed doors to craft the conference bill which they will then pass and he will sign. And one day soon, you and I will wake up in a country we don't recognize as a result!

I'm betting that it will feature all of the socialist features that they originally intended with a full seizure of the health care industry by the federal government. I'm also betting there will be yet another breaking of the transparency promise by B. Hussein (to post all legislation online for public review).

Since the last time the fiasco was posted online for all to see and members of Congress caught hell in town hall meetings across the country, the health care nuts have gone underground to impose their plan on the populace.

Most Americans do NOT agree with B. Hussein that our health care system is in "crisis." Rather, they recognize it is a "crisis" manufactured by B. Hussein, Rahm Emanuel and their statist administration cronies.

Similarly, two thirds of Americans self-identify as conservative and prefer smaller, less intrusive government when asked. Self-identified affiliation with the Democrat Party has steadily declined reaching a new low in December. However Republicans, who have essentially run as "Democrat Lite" for the last few election cycles, are not gathering those defectors in.

The reality is, the massive TEA Party movement has galvanized conservatives, but we remain split on the notion of a new party to carry the conservative banner. Starting a third party creates the very real risk of ceding power to the statist Dems for the foreseeable future. Given the speed with which they've acted to fulfill Nikita Krushchev's grim prophecies about America, we can't afford that. Yet the Republicans have not acted as much of a brake on that decline in freedom and we can scarcely afford much more of them, either!

In short, this movement for a return to the vision of our founders must find a way to organize and coalesce into a sustainable form. I fear that unless someone returns the government to a responsible path, the end result will be civil war and unspeakable bloodshed and horror. Tyrants never cede power peacefully and allowing tyranny--even a soft tyranny-- to develop and grow unchecked will prove disastrous.

___

Finally, on a lighter note, the Indianapolis Colts' coaching staff dishonored the sacrifices and achievements of their team through their cowardly move to bench the starters and throw the last two regular season games. This has been tried before and resulted in failure and I believe it will cost the Colts an early departure from the Playoffs this year as well.

Moreover, I feel this decision was a disgrace to the game of football as well. I don't advocate rules against such things as they should be the choice of the team and coaches. But it's dishonorable, in my opinion, to demand the level of effort from a team that leads them to a 14-0 record--to encourage and demand the work and sacrifice to reach that level of excellence--and then, when perfection is in sight and within reach, to pull the rug out from under them and throw the games under the guise of "protecting" the starters from injury and "saving" them for the Playoffs.

It's every bit as likely that the starters can be hurt in the first Playoff game as in the last two of the regular season. That excuse doesn't compensate for the cowardice of the decision to make those men (who worked and sacrificed and fought for perfection for 14 games) stand by and watch their efforts and that level of excellence be tossed aside by less talented players. They may have lost anyway and not reached that perfect season, as happened to the Patriots. But the Patriots can at least say they didn't cheat the game--that they gave it all they had in their failed run for perfection. The Colts, on the other hand, dishonored themselves and the teams that beat them in their final games by giving at best a second-rate effort.

All their protestations notwithstanding, that move disrupted an efficient machine. Those players who achieved a 14-0 record have now had needlessly to absorb a significant psychological and emotional blow. They will be out of rhythm physically, mentally and emotionally by the time they see action and I predict ultimate failure to reach, let alone win another Super Bowl.

And, in my opinion, a coach who would so deliberately or at least thoughtlessly hurt his team in this way is deserving of more contempt (and more deserving of being fired) than a coach (like Jim Zorn, for example) who gives his best and fails. There is FAR less shame in laying everything on the line and failing than in holding back in hopes of saving something for a championship shot that may never come because of that holding back!

A Nation of Sheep or Sheepdogs?

2009-12-31T13:37:00.000-08:00

As we've all heard by now Nigerian Muslim, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, boarded a plane bound for Detroit on Christmas Day. He is on the "terror watch list," the CIA was warned by his own father of his intentions and associations with Al Qaeda, he paid a large sum of cash for his one-way ticket and checked no luggage. Yet he was able to slip by the tight security where we strip search everyone but Middle-Eastern Muslim males on terror watch lists who check no luggage after paying cash for a one-way ticket to the US.

Fortunately, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab's fellow passengers were alert enough to douse the flames created by his ill-conceived "bomb" and subdue him for the authorities.

After the incident, the Director of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano, declared, "The System worked!" Wow. This is the same clown who issued a report warning of the dangers of NRA members, Ron Paul supporters, anti-abortionists and others who failed to find the tingle in their leg when B. Hussein Obama draws a breath to lie. Springing to action in light of this most recent terror attack attempt, Napolitano and her host of DHS cronies have banned pillows and blankets on flights! It's another example of the System working well enough to identify the eeeevil blanket and pillow jihad.

It's ironic that as the administration of B. Hussein Obama works tirelessly to drive us down the road to serfdom and dependence on his utopian nanny state, we are left largely to our own devices to defend ourselves from terrorists! But that's OK. We are Americans and historically, it's been the American people who have stepped up to save the world from various evils.

Lt. Col. Dave Grossman (Ret.) described our situation in this way:

One Vietnam veteran, an old retired colonel, once said this to me:

I mean nothing negative by calling them sheep. To me it is like the pretty, blue robin's egg. Inside it is soft and gooey but someday it will grow into something wonderful. But the egg cannot survive without its hard blue shell. Police officers, soldiers, and other warriors are like that shell, and someday the civilization they protect will grow into something wonderful. For now, though, they need warriors to protect them from the predators.

"Then there are sheepdogs," he went on, "and I'm a sheepdog. I live to protect the flock and confront the wolf."

Again, we've traditionally been a nation of sheepdogs to varying degrees, of course. As the leftists, with promises of taking care of our every need attempt to make us all as soft as them, it still falls to the sheepdogs to make up for the System working so well. Even before the System had fully realized the scope of what was happening on 9-11, citizen sheepdogs said, "Let's roll!" and took decisive, life-saving action.

It's the citizen, armed with a full compliment of constitutional rights and an informed moral compass who is usually on-scene first and able to respond in a proper and principled way. As the old saying goes, "When seconds count, the cops are only minutes away." Absent that citizen, we may rely on the nobility of our first responders. Government bureaucracies and programs don't even make the long list.

B.Hussein Obama, a radical leftist from his youth identifies more with the terrorists than with the average American. He is, himself, a coward-- a man who would be the first to duck behind someone else when the bullets start to fly--and a man who has never produced anything but additional misery for all he's "served."

Yet he never hesitates to fire up the teleprompter to lecture us about the evils of our country and our system of government and the free market. Like his dysfunctional and illiterate Hollywood cronies, they are long on untested self-righteous blather and short on contributing anything of value to anyone. In short, they are sheep (or braying jackasses, if you prefer,) bleating loudly in support of the wolves and in excoriating the sheepdogs among us.

But they will never so much as burn a calorie in defense of the nation that provides them the umbrella of freedom and the capital to pursue their aberrant lives.

With each new attack, we see B. Hussein progress through the series of:

It's no big deal. It's under control. "The System worked."
Um, it was a fairly big deal, actually, and we're looking into it.
This was a pretty big deal, and it's all Bush's fault and I'm a historic figure who will save the planet by taking over the private sector, starting with the banking and health care industries.
"Are my cape and tights back from the cleaners yet?... Is this thing on?"

Teddy Roosevelt said it best, I think:

"FAR BETTER IT IS TO DARE MIGHTY THINGS, TO WIN GLORIOUS TRIUMPHS, EVEN THOUGH CHECKERED BY FAILURE, THAN TO TAKE RANK WITH THOSE POOR SPIRITS WHO NEITHER ENJOY NOR SUFFER MUCH, BECAUSE THEY LIVE IN THE GRAY TWILIGHT THAT KNOWS NEITHER VICTORY NOR DEFEAT...

"IT IS NOT THE CRITIC WHO COUNTS, NOR THE MAN WHO POINTS OUT WHERE THE STRONG MAN STUMBLED, OR WHERE A DOER OF DEEDS COULD HAVE DONE THEM BETTER......

"THE CREDIT BELONGS TO THE MAN IN THE ARENA WHOSE FACE IS MARRED BY DUST AND SWEAT AND BLOOD, WHO STRIVES VALIANTLY, WHO ERRS, AND WHO COMES UP SHORT AGAIN AND AGAIN, WHO KNOWS THE GREAT ENTHUSIASMS, THE GREAT DEVOTIONS, AND SPENDS HIMSELF IN A WORTHY CAUSE. THE MAN WHO AT BEST KNOWS THE TRIUMPH OF HIGH ACHIEVEMENT AND WHO AT WORST, IF HE FAILS, FAILS WHILE DARING GREATLY, SO THAT HIS PLACE WILL NEVER BE WITH THOSE COLD TIMID SOULS WHO KNOWS NEITHER VICTORY NOR DEFEAT."

Obama is the Sheep-in-Chief and I mean every possible negative connotation in saying so. His cowardly incompetence is matched only by his arrogance and boundless ego. He is infinitely more similar to an ego-maniacal and incompetent corporal in history than, as he claims, to Abraham Lincoln (all of B. Hussein's protestations notwithstanding).

Again, I put to you the question: If you don't believe Obama and his minions are attempting to orchestrate a total socialist takeover of our country and the establishment of B. Hussein as dictator for life -- what would they do differently if they were?

The Lost Art of Struggle

2009-12-25T23:25:00.000-08:00

I have been dismayed, as readers of this blog have no doubt noticed, by the developments in our nation since the election of B. Hussein Obama and his accompanying host of communists, cronies and thugs. Yet in our republic, we the people still bear the bulk of the blame for our circumstances. This "progressive" movement has been underway since the turn of the previous century and has progressed at varying rates until now. Sadly now, we have elected treasonous politicians who perceive an opportunity to take the final leap toward a fascist or socialist utopia and the ultimate destruction of the "last best hope of earth."

There are numerous fronts upon which this war has been waged down through the decades. One of these has been to erase from the American character the art of struggle. The government has seized upon and aggravated a human failing that has been repeated time after time through history. It is the tendency toward seeking correct principles, discovering them, benefiting therefrom, achieving relative prosperity and success, moving into pride and a sense of entitlement to wealth, which results in the loss of all that has previously been won.

We forget that our individual strength is developed most in times of struggle and trial and so it is with peoples and nations. We may pay lip service to the fact, yet we see a burgeoning spate of attorneys' ads on TV declaring that "you may be entitled to compensation for this or that thing. But by far, the most efficient purveyor of that fantasy is our own government.

The recent financial crisis has been caused, in large part, by the government declaring a right of home ownership regardless of ability to pay for it. This led to pressuring banks to approve risky loans that, (surprise, surprise) defaulted on a HUGE scale, causing the economy to collapse. In the midst of the crisis, the government declared certain organizations "too big to fail," and they have expected the same presumption to be applied to the United States by her creditors as well.

Using that erroneous presupposition, the government has advanced a ludicrous spending spree that has "doubled down" on the housing debacle as well as a range of wildly fantastic promises and assurances of a pain free existence in perpetuity through the government seizure of ever more of the private sector.

Lured by the promise of ease and comfort, the American people are subtly robbed of the one of the core necessities of their individual and collective character for success and prosperity--the art of struggle.

When I began working in law enforcement as a Dispatcher for the County I was struck by a pair of individuals who "checked in" nightly pursuant to a probation requirement. The men got into trouble while intoxicated and the Court had ordered that each take an "Antibuse" tablet--a drug that purports to make a person violently ill if he/she ingest alcohol after taking it--in my presence and that I confirm it was swallowed and document the same. We learned that the men would take the tablets, immediately return to their car and drink some alcohol, which would cause them to vomit the booze and the pill, leaving them free to get commode-hugging drunk over the rest of the evening!

Occasionally, when the men would check in, we would have a warrant waiting for their arrest and they would be taken into custody and put in jail. Each time, there was a small, incremental increase in the punishment meted out by the Court.

What struck me was that the Court, in its easing or smoothing of their contact with the System for these two men was less merciful than a more harsh initial treatment! These two men were given minimal inconvenience at every stage of their contact with the Law. Each time they found that "this isn't so bad!" I noticed they never showed a hint of distress or alarm when they checked in and learned one or both were going to jail! I couldn't help but wonder if they would be any different if they were sentenced to the maximum possible penalty for their very first crime! They may very well have continued their lives of petty crime, but there is a possibility they would at least think twice before committing each crime if for nothing more than to assess the cost versus the benefits!

In similar fashion, our government is easing us into a state of slavery and financial ruin. While it seems merciful and helpful to many, it is merely putting off and aggravating a crushing inevitability. Moreover, by encouraging not only a refusal to change habits and practices but a reckless expansion of those practices, the situation and the coming reckoning becomes so much, much worse.

Our ancestors came to this continent with absolutely NO sense of entitlement and with NO safety net whatsoever. The Pilgrims experimented briefly and disastrously with a socialistic approach and learned very quickly the benefits of the pursuit of self interest and private property. Those pilgrims and their children, including our Founders, literally carved their livelihoods and their futures from an untamed and largely unknown wilderness. The risks often involved death for themselves and families, but countering those risks were limitless potential for the growth of wealth and prosperity. But more importantly, there was the promise of liberty and property.

Driven by both the full burden of risk of failure and the gleaming promise of success, these people heroically endured on-going struggle and made that endurance an art form--an art that has largely been lost in our generation. Is there anyone we know who would be eager to rush to any of the signers of the Declaration of Independence to compare our scars, bumps and bruises accumulated in defense of liberty with theirs? Do any of us feel that the likes of George Washington and his soldiers at Valley Forge would be impressed with the stresses we endure at Christmas time--stresses that drive some to suicide?!

NO! Strength is bred through struggle and opposition. Our generation will yet face monumental struggle. The risks of failure, for some, will include death, but for all will mean lost liberty and private property. The potential benefits remain the same.

Tyranny has arisen from within and, while it is presently a "soft tyranny," it will harden dramatically and rapidly. We must prepare now to be counted worthy to be numbered among citizens who refuse to be subjects. We must begin to learn afresh the lost art of struggle whenever the opportunity presents itself and to thank God for those opportunities rather than complain or cast about for a government fix or attorney to ease the pain. Where little is risked or sacrificed, little reward can be expected.

Only by willingly laying all upon the altar can we hope to earn the full blessings of life, liberty and property that are possible. Only by gratefully welcoming and embracing struggle can we build the strength equal to the task at hand. Now is the time. Now is our time. This is our struggle and we must face it with the courage shown at Lexington, Bunker Hill, Concord, Bull Run, Gettysburg and Normandy. We must be prepared to exhibit the determined endurance on display at Valley Forge, Bastogne and Fallujah! We must, in our time and turn, learn and perfect the art of struggle.

NOT of the princes and prelates with periwigged charioteers

Riding triumphantly laurelled to lap the fat of the years,—

Rather the scorned—the rejected—the men hemmed in with the spears;

The men of the tattered battalion which fights till it dies,

Dazed with the dust of the battle, the din and the cries.

The men with the broken heads and the blood running into their eyes.

Not the be-medalled Commander, beloved of the throne,

Riding cock-horse to parade when the bugles are blown,

But the lads who carried the [hill] and cannot be known.

...

Others may sing of the wine and the wealth and the mirth,

The portly presence of potentates goodly in girth;—

Mine be the dirt and the dross, the dust and scum of the earth!

Theirs be the music, the colour, the glory, the gold;

Mine be a handful of ashes, a mouthful of mould.

Of the maimed, of the halt and the blind in the rain and the cold—

Of these shall my songs be fashioned, my tales be told.

~John Masefield, A Consecration

PS: I seldom do rough drafts or re-writes beyond some corrections of typos when I find them in my blog posts. I tend to shoot from the hip when the inspiration strikes. However, I wish I had watched Glenn Beck's program featuring billionaire, John Huntsman prior to writing this particular post.

By way of a quick intro, John Huntsman is the owner of Huntsman Chemical who was born and raised by poor parents, who has made numerous mistakes and failed in many efforts to rise and become a self-made billionaire. He has determined that he will die broke, in part through donating a large portion of his fortune to the Cancer Institute he founded in Salt Lake City, UT.

In their discussion, Glenn and Mr. Huntsman underscored much more effectively than I have done the value of life's valleys--indeed, the absolute necessity of failure to success. Mr. Huntsman has made integrity a hallmark of his life and I believe that integrity demands of each of us that we give our absolute best effort in our lives, but we must understand and recognize that failure and frustration are inevitable and that they teach us what we most need to succeed in subsequent efforts. Again, it is learning to be proficient in the art of struggle that allows us to build the strength we most need to win. Along the way, we need to be grateful for a loving God whose plan allows us to strive, to fail, to learn and to strive again without allowing failures to define us, rather to make failure our servant to lift us.

I pray that it may be so with each of you and with all my fellow-citizens, individually and collectively, as we endure the coming consequences of our faults and failings.

The New Era of "Hoax and Chains"

2009-12-11T08:40:00.000-08:00

On December 8th, Rasmussen Reports released a poll indicating that 76% of Americans prefer a free market economy, while 10% prefer a government controlled economy. This is good news for those of us opposed to Obama's Hoax and Chains agenda. But I am concerned about a couple of things in this report.

The first that jumps to mind is this: What kind of idiots make up that 10% that prefer tyranny over liberty?!

My second concern is which is worse; the 10% advocating central control of the economy or the 14% who can't make up their feeble minds?!

In a similar mixed blessing of results, Rasmussen reports, "While voters almost always see a need for some restriction on market behavior, 48% say there are currently too many restrictions in the United States. However, 33% take the opposite view and believe there are not enough restrictions. Seven percent (7%) think the current level of restrictions are about right, while 12% are not sure"

I have similar problems with this bunch. While I'm relieved that the biggest chunk correctly see the government as out of control, in this case there is a majority of buffoons that think we need more, think it's just right or can't make up their minds!

Earlier in the year, Rasmussen released a poll indicating that only 53% of Americans believe that capitalism is superior to socialism!

Alexander Hamilton (who, by the way, advocated for establishing a new king after the Revolutionary War) said, "No man in his senses can hesitate in choosing to be free, rather than a slave."

Thomas Jefferson correctly observed, "Were we directed from Washington when to sow, and when to reap, we should soon want bread."

Moreover, we have clear examples of the state-run utopian ideals all around us. The statists have held firm control over the State of Michigan and the City of Detroit for decades, for example. Does anyone in their right mind think that has benefited the people the statists claim to represent?!

California is another leftist paradise that is collapsing before our eyes. Yet the statists on the national scene can look at us through the news cameras and, while keeping a straight face, explain how we need more government involvement in our lives to solve the problems created by too much government involvement in our lives.

Coincidentally, the government and statists have seized control of virtually all outlets of information, including our schools and the "mainstream" media. For decades, students have been dumbed down by public education to the point that most kids can tell us more about Michael Jackson's dysfunctional life than they can about the Founders! Forget asking about how this nation defeated the most powerful nation on earth and rose from obscurity to become the most powerful and prosperous nation in the history of the world!

It's not likely that will change anytime soon. B. Hussein Obama has appointed a noted sexual deviant as the "Safe Schools Czar"--a man who encouraged a teen to pursue a sexual affair with an older man and who distributed literature to teens promoting dangerous sexual activities. Kevin Jennings, the Czar in question, is the founder of the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) that has held "workshops" to both advocate and provide instruction to youths ages 14-21 on how to perform these dangerous sex acts. It's not likely he'll advocate the transmission of the founders' ideals to our children.

Further, the History Channel is slated to provide us a dazzling display of the rantings of Howard Zinn, an American History professor who is admittedly socialist and anti-American! It gets better. Zinn has authored a curriculum for Pre-K through high school students, complete with a "teaching guide" that is designed to help teachers "get kids excited" about Zinn's anti-American books. In short, Zinn openly advocates the teaching of Marxism to American kids in an obvious effort to peg the above-cited polls on "stupid." I don't think he or his followers will be promoting patriotism, either.

There is little doubt that can remain that a new war on the United States is already afoot. While lying elected officials undermine and chip away at our Constitution and fundamental liberties, their minions in the media and schools undermine and actively neglect the teaching of the principles upon which those liberties were founded--actively prepping our children to live as slaves to the State.

The final nail in the coffin, of course, is the selling of our children--and their children--into the servitude of crushing debt--a central aspect of the "Cloward-Piven Strategy" to collapse the free market, capitalist system under its own weight to open the door for centralized and controlled economy and socialist state.

Ronald Reagan gave us this prescient warning from the Oval Office in his farewell address to the nation as he advocated an "informed patriotism:" “If we forget what we did, we won't know who we are.”

He further warned against the “eradication of the American memory that could result, ultimately, in an erosion of the American spirit.”

The erosion of the American spirit is precisely the goal of the contemporary statist. And the statist agenda is being aggressively pursued on all fronts.

The ultimate responsibility of maintaining liberty falls upon those who wish to preserve it for themselves and their posterity. There simply is no one else to ride to our rescue in this critical moment in history. If the United States, the beacon of freedom for the world for over 200 years, falls into the bland, repressive patterns of other, lesser nations then all is lost. There is simply no one else to come fix the problem. There is no one else on earth who will rescue us.

When I served with our Regional SWAT Team, we had that reality stressed again and again when faced with critical incidents: "If we fail now, there's no one else to call!" And I feel now as I did then: that I was and am surrounded by the finest and most courageous and honorable people on the planet and that we will win this fight. We don't need anyone else to rescue us.

It certainly won't be easy, nor will it come without a cost. But we must win. The hopes of all who yearn for freedom throughout a deteriorating world hang in the balance. We must not falter and we cannot fail. And I am confident in the caliber of this generation of patriots in meeting the challenge. We will not fail.

Thomas Paine's words are as valid and appropriate to our present circumstance as they were to those of his day: "THESE are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the ...harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph."

The Dilemma of the Modern Patriot

2009-12-02T00:31:00.000-08:00

The country is rapidly catching on that the "fundamental change" that B. Hussein Obama promised really was a promise to socialize the country and they are upset. The promises to create a "transparent" administration was empty, as was the promise to get rid of a "culture of corruption." It turns out that the old practices of using our money to buy votes and increased power for politicians has accelerated rather than slowed.

Americans are rightly outraged at the Harry Reid taking diminishing tax dollars to buy the vote of Mary Landrieu on the Health Care debacle making its way through the Senate. We are likewise increasingly impatient with admonitions from Washington to tighten our belts while elected thieves continue to spend like there's no tomorrow while enjoying unbelievable luxury at our expense. The so-called "stimulus" combined with the TARP appropriations have ended up as a giant "slush fund" for the executive branch to pay off cronies and expand government. All these things and more have combined to unsettle the American people.

A November 30 Rasmussen poll indicates that 71% of voters are angry at present government policies, a number which includes 46% of Americans that are "very angry." Clearly the stage is set for genuine and desirable change beginning with the mid-term elections coming up in 2010. But as voters cast about for candidates to initiate and lead the needed return to Constitutional principles and governance, they face a very real problem. There is a similar problem for the would-be candidates who are considering stepping from the shadows of private life to lead this change.

The problem is the ingrained culture of corruption that does exist in Washington. On the voters' side, there is a palpable despair that anyone in politics will set aside their own quest for power and money and really represent the best interests of the nation. A justifiable cynicism permeates the nation. On the side of the potential new candidates, there must surely be an understandable tremulousness at the idea of stepping into this cynical arena where their character will immediately be questioned for no more than just stepping forward to serve. Their sincerity will be doubted, and that is healthy in our system. But they will also be targeted and smeared by those scumbags presently in office and determined to retain power and plush perks at our expense.

Finally, confusion and suspicion will be aggravated by well funded establishment politicians reading the present discontent and declaring themselves as constitutional conservatives with the sole intention of deceiving voters only to pursue progressive policies at the behest of special interests upon being elected. Certainly, anyone honorable who throws their hats into the ring in the upcoming elections will get some slime on them. But those courageous souls deserve our support and loyalty all the more for being willing to accept that cost to correct the course of the nation.

These realities likewise increase the burden that every voter must bear to become actively engaged in the process--to actively research and study both constitutional principles and history and present day issues where those principles must now be applied. Each of us has the obligation, the sacred duty to seek out and support those individuals who can serve with honor and distinction in elected positions. We desperately need people who will honor the oath of office and who will honor the Constitution of the United States and faithfully discharge the duties of their various offices.

This brings me to one final thought. I feel that this duty of engagement--to scrutinize and discern-- as voters is every bit as important, if not more so, in local elections as in national. Yet, we see a range of opinions among people who are familiar with candidates, issues and policies in various fields being openly expressed on the national scene but conspicuously absent in local politics.

Understandably, we are hesitant to be openly critical of friends and neighbors and we should be circumspect in our comments. But honest differences in policies and practices and certainly knowledge of character issues and competency are fair game in politics at any level. While we all have a desire to get along with those we know and encourage them to run for office when they wish to, our duty remains to scrutinize their character and honestly assess their competency in the position they seek. We must carefully guard against the impulse to simply vote for our neighbor or co-worker or friends simply on that basis alone, absent some demonstrated capacity to perform the functions of elected office with skill and honor.

It is certainly challenging to acquaint ourselves with the issues at hand in each election and to scrutinize the knowledge, skills and abilities of candidates. Yet this is the price of retaining our individual sovereignty and enduring liberty. When we fail to do our own "due dilligence" in exercising our right to be directly involved in the process, we abdicate our sovereignty proportional to that failure. In short, we arrive at the point we now face, where unworthy and unscrupulous liars and frauds hold the reigns of power and our system is rotted from within.

Simply showing up on election day and pulling a lever is clearly not enough. Picking a "team" and blindly voting for the person with an "R" or "D" by their name is clearly not enough. We must engage or else risk losing the freedoms purchased by the blood of patriots and martyrs of ages past.

Rights and the Rhetoric of Revolutionaries

2009-11-15T17:07:00.000-08:00

One of the fundamental aspects of this nation that has made it exceptional in the world is the recognition by our founders of the divinely appointed, "natural" rights of individuals and the individual political sovereignty that descends from those rights. The founders understood that rights have their origin beyond the reach of men and man-made governments--that governments and men may either properly acknowledge, defend and protect those rights, or attempt to abridge and infringe upon them. But it is not in their power to grant or to destroy them. Our unique founding documents acknowledge these rights as beyond government control that we "are endowed by our creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."

The idea of individual sovereignty is part of the idea that a man (or woman, of course), placed alone on a continent has within himself the divine creative spark that impels him to exert his influence on his surroundings, organizing, ordering and improving to enhance his own happiness and that of any that may become associated with him. By virtue of his creative, ordering input, he creates property and the rights attendant to property--to do with and use as he sees fit to enhance his own "life, liberty and pursuit of happiness."

Should our figurative man happen upon another, similarly engaged in organizing, creating and ordering the resources available they may exchange the fruits of their labors according to the value each places upon them and according to their wishes. Hence, a free market economy is born and regulated through self determination and self-rule--with each person retaining their sovereignty within the sphere of their influence.

Of course, as more and more people are added to this mix and the complexity of their efforts and exchanges increases, people may yield a portion of their sovereignty to representatives who serve to make and enforce rules designed to promote, protect and enhance the fundamental rights of each. The terms "rights, justice, liberty, equity" and many others were clearly understood and well defined by our founders who were themselves revolutionaries. But they were unique in world history in that they did not lightly cast off the order and structure of their former government without a thorough understanding first, of what that implied and second, that something would have to replace the old system to avoid a descent into total anarchy. Each of our founders had passionate beliefs in how best to protect those fundamental and natural rights and they heatedly debated those beliefs, forging our Constitution and Bill of Rights. They knew full well the cost of wrestling those rights free of the grip of tyrants and the blood of patriots and martyrs has frequently flowed ever since to renew the commitment to preserve them.

But likewise over the course of time, new revolutionaries, hostile to those fundamental rights and indeed to the truths upon which they are founded, have arisen. Politicians have carefully crafted new rhetorical arts to alter the carefully defined terms with which our society was raised and so familiar--terms like, "rights, justice, equity," until we now find ourselves having gone "through the looking glass" into an alternate reality that is 180 degrees out of phase of what the founders established. Things are literally upside down and the the understanding of our Constitution and the foundational truths upon which it was constructed are nearly lost.

Today, we hear an active debate about whether "health care" is a right or not. The simple fact that this is even a question is evidence of the cognitive and moral decay that has taken place. Returning to our figurative two lonely inhabitants of the planet, for us to argue that the first man has a "right" to health care means that with that right, he is authorized to compel the second to learn medicine and provide that care to him for free--essentially enslaving the other man to satisfy that "right." It's ludicrous on its face and certainly no different when the numbers of people involved is increased to the present population. And the result is the same--slavery.

Granted, in our time we have the benevolent government assuring us that while those enslaved to provide the care will be compensated for their bondage, that same government will enslave those in need of health care and confiscate their wealth and the fruits of their own labors to provide that compensation. So, it's an equitable sharing of the benefits of slavery among all but the government and political elites who will spend the spoils of the enslaved as they wish and live lives of lavish luxury at the expense of others.

Today's politician, to achieve that dream of unlimited power, uses the same words and phrases that inspired our founders, but the terms are dramatically different, as is shown in the case of the creation of new "rights." With terms like "economic justice" (who could be against that?!) and others, they smoothly and assuringly convince the people to cede their individual liberty and their political sovereignty to their future masters. Of course the pols make everything sound wonderful and they carefully select their language to soften the blows that come with surrendered liberties. They smile. They kiss our babies. They warmly take our hands in theirs--hands that are unmarred by common labor and soft to the point of being creepy--and look sympathetically into our eyes as they vow to "fight" for our endlessly multiplying "rights" while never a word is spoken about responsibility or cost.

And we, like sheep, submissively and quietly acquiesce because we don't want to contemplate that there might be someone who would cheerfully enslave us and rob us of all we own and all we are. Hence the bitter rebuke that still rings down through the centuries from Samuel Adams:

"Contemplate the mangled bodies of your countrymen, and then say, 'What should be the reward of such sacrifices?' Bid us and our posterity bow the knee, supplicate the friendship, and plough, and sow, and reap, to glut the avarice of the men who have let loose on us the dogs of war to riot in our blood and hunt us from the face of the earth? If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animating contest of freedom, go from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains sit lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen!"

We each have a duty to ourselves and our children and to one another to be truly "animated" in this contest for our freedom. This does not mean we should be obsessed with politics or the antics of those deranged clowns who occupy the halls of power in our country. But we must jealously watch them and stop them when they misuse their positions to drain from us our sovereignty and our wealth to enhance their own. They are criminals who cloak their actions in legislative and high-minded deceptive rhetoric, but criminals none the less. And we must be engaged if we are to prevent their ascendancy over us. We must engage proportional to the love we have for our liberty and our individual sovereignty and our property over which we are stewards.

The enemy, now within our gates, espouses the complete dissolution of moral underpinnings and are actively and openly hostile to every religion (except Islam, of course). Our academics, our media, our entertainers all mock faith and morality at every conceivable opportunity while loudly demanding more "rights" associated with their aberrant and amoral behaviors. This shouldn't surprise us, as those they revere have provided their marching orders:

“[We]... openly declare that [our] ends can be attained only by the forcible overthrow of all existing social conditions... Communism abolishes eternal truths, it abolishes all religion, and all morality.” Karl Marx, Manifesto of the Communist Party—1848

Contrast that with these words from John Adams: We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and true religion. Our constitution was made for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."

So, the die is cast again. We are in an ongoing conflict between those who want self rule and self government (who understand that means self restraint and bridled human passions) and those who demand a growing number of "rights" to unleash the worst passions within every human heart and to parade them at will before the world to the entire overthrow of individual liberty. They are openly in favor of a subdued "collective" that labors at the behest and to the perpetual benefit of a political elite.

Thus when conservatives and patriots speak of slavery in the present debate, it is not mere hyperbole. It is based on a recognition of the struggle that has raged since time immemorial and likely will a long time to come.

We cannot shrink from the "contest of freedom" in fearful times like these. It is in this type of struggle that our commitment to keep liberty alive is forged and made strongest. As Samuel Adams pointed out, softness and ease are what lead to servitude and slavery. Only those who are "animated" and engaged in the struggle will develop the strength necessary to both preserve liberty and endure the burdens of personal responsibility attendant to self rule.

Helen Keller taught us, "Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved."

Ronald Reagan, in his farewell address to the nation declared, "An informed patriotism is what we want. And are we doing a good enough job teaching our children what America is and what she represents in the long history of the world? Those of us who are over thirty-five or so years of age grew up in a different America. We were taught, very directly, what it means to be an American. And we absorbed, almost in the air, a love of country and an appreciation of its institutions.

"...Our spirit is back, but we haven't reinstitutionalized it. We've got to do a better job of getting across that America is freedom--freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of enterprise. And freedom is special and rare. It's fragile; it needs [protection].
...
"If we forget what we did, we won't know who we are."

From Thomas Paine we read, "I love the man that can smile in trouble, that can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection. 'Tis the business of little minds to shrink; but he whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves his conduct, will pursue his principles unto death."

And finally, from George Washington, "We should never despair, our Situation before has been unpromising and has changed for the better, so I trust, it will again. If new difficulties arise, we must only put forth new Exertions and proportion our Efforts to the exigency of the times."

The key, in my estimation, is to live up to Mr. Obama's estimation of a patriot, "clinging [jealously] to [our] guns and Bibles" and the United States Constitution. We should be at once grateful to God for the opportunity to be tried in this crucible--to earn the right to stand with those previous generations who have successfully defended and proven faithful-- and pray for the strength to endure and emerge victorious. I am confident that defenders of principles of truth, liberty, morality and virtue will ultimately defeat the Marxist movement at work in our time. In so doing we will earn the reverent gratitude of generations yet unborn as have those who went before us.

May God bless us in this present contest and may He continue to bless this great nation.

How's that Hope & Change Workin' Out For You?

2009-11-09T15:30:00.001-08:00

B. Hussein Obama assured us, with his characteristic smug grin, that his spending programs would stop unemployment from rising above 9.2%. Those of us with a brain knew that was a lie, but yet there were those who bought it.

Recently, we've gotten reports from the White House claiming a number of "saved jobs" --jobs that would have been lost had B. Hussein Obama not graciously saved them from oblivion. This is a ludicrous notion. There is no basis to make such a moronic assertion. Again, to those with a brain, this claim was a preparatory smoothing of the new unemployment figures just released. Unemployment has risen to 10.2% and is showing no indication of slowing down. That's roughly 15.7 million people out of a job.

It's worse than this figure, alone, indicates. If you factor in those who are "under employed" --working part time or still actively looking for work-- the number rises to 17.5% equating to approximately 27 million people.

It gets worse, still. Consider those in a position like mine. I am among those working part time. But in an economic sense, my unemployment is aggravated because not only am I not working full time, but I am not making full use of my knowledge, skills and abilities (KSA's) and would not be even if employed full-time at my place of part-time employment. In other words I, like millions of other Americans, have KSA's that include years of varied experiences, training and education that are literally going to waste because they are not being put to use. This is a subtle aspect of the unemployment problem, but the costs are very real. There is value in those KSA's even if it is hard to define or identify. And for every period those KSA's are not in use, there is a loss to the overall economy. Moreover, as the system absorbs those losses, there is a snowball effect because those costs contribute to the overall drain on the entire economy, contributing to further decreases in "full employment" for others. The result, we have experienced and highly educated individuals competing for work with uneducated and unskilled laborers and a growing abandonment of the jobs where those skilled people could contribute the most to our economy.

It gets worse. $8 Trillion of household worth has literally evaporated. It's gone. It could be recovered through the proper policies but those policies are nowhere on the horizon, at least for the next three years!

The White House touted recent growth in GDP but that measure is a false indicator of any positive change. The GDP is a combination of consumer spending, government spending and investment by businesses. Guess what drove the increase in GDP: GOVERNMENT SPENDING!

But government spending doesn't add value to the economy. The projects that have benefitted from stimulus money have not "created" or "saved" any jobs. That spending simply represents a cannibalization of the private sector, particularly small businesses which have been the driving force behind job creation in the US. The government does not create any wealth or value. It is not designed to do so. All it can do is leach value and wealth from those who do create it, the private sector.

Obama claims that over 640,000 jobs have been saved or created. Aside from the fact that we know that's total BS and where measurable, VASTLY overstated, let's take them at their word. Those jobs have come at an expense of $194.5 billion! That's about $305,ooo per job! That's even more than members of Congress make ($175,000.00)!!

Again, think for a moment what that does to our economy. These are supposedly construction type jobs--roads, bridges, etc. At a rate of $305k per job, that's a LOT of money poured into jobs that the private market values at between $35k and $50k per year. Hence a stark example of how government involvement is the antithesis of efficiency or value-adding.

This leads to more cash money in play in our market than there is value. That means inflation on an astronomical scale is coming. It is this aspect that is presently driving the stock market gains we've been seeing. People are investing in those things where value is increasing because it is being purchased on loans at 0% also provided by our government.

[NOTE: This means that the government is getting nothing in return for the money it's lending and it's spending vast amounts more than the worth of what it's buying. Yet the progressives in power are smiling and assuring us everything's going to be fine!]

One more note along this line: The government, upset at the perceived "failures" of the private sector to deliver seasonal and specialized flu vaccines, took over the process. We were assured that there would be tremendous supplies of doses by October. The reality is, there was a 77% shortfall of promised doses. SEVENTY-SEVEN PERCENT! And, they were planning on making some of that small portion available to detainees at G'itmo (until the public found out about it)!!! That's government accuracy of promises and that's government efficiency in a nutshell.

Obama would have us believe that the Health Care Reform proposals, projected to cost over a TRILLION dollars will be funded by eliminating waste, fraud and abuse. Why, then, doesn't the "Dear Leader" eliminate all that now and pay it all off in advance?! Because, as always, he's lying.

So, when government gets involved, things go south. Hence the Fannie and Freddie debacle. The government decided that home ownership is a "right" (like health care) and, through virtuous organizations like ACORN, pressured banks to loan money to unqualified home buyers. The problem was aggravated by an artificial growth in demand as a result of this new group of buyers, which enabled them to refinance and refinance again on expanding home values in that market. Finally, however, the bubble burst as we all know and here we all are.

Now, Fannie and Freddie are asking for $20 billion more in additional bailout cash! But it gets better still! After the government graciously decided to regulate executive pay, they've overlooked $30 billion in bonuses being paid to executives of Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley.

Why is that a problem? Because those companies are now, like Fannie and Freddie, quasi-government run operations. They are being backed by our tax dollars preventing the normal risks associated with such firms. In the private market, such bonuses can be justified if executives have the ability to deliver excellent performance for stockholders. They are further justified because such talent can be lured away to other competing firms by the offer of similar perks. The risks associated with doing business in this type of environment make bonuses and similar "golden parachute" measures desirable to attract and keep talent. But when the company is being rewarded for repeated failure and serving only as a vehicle to funnel tax-payer money into the pockets of politically connected execs, the situation is untenable and arguably criminal!

So, here's the present reality. I was initially sitting dazed and stunned at the plastic-faced Nazi Pelosi and her underlings cheering and applauding the passage of the 2,000 page bill in the House-- a bill that calls for charging US citizens with FELONIES and jailing them for not buying the health insurance plan as dictated by the government, among other travesties. In a consistent pattern of wanting to burn the money candle at both ends, they are cheering at the prospect of adding over ONE TRILLION dollars to the debt, offering little to nothing to taxpayers in return at a time when US citizens have lost over $8 TRILLION in their own personal wealth along with their jobs. I won't even ask where they can possibly expect to find the money to pay for this debacle. What I will ask is this:

If B. Hussein Obama and the Democrat Party were intent on destroying the US economy, forcing a mass government take-over of the private sector and establishing either a fascist or communist/Marxist regime what, exactly, would they do differently?

Redistribution and the Founders--Our Present Crisis

2009-11-08T00:24:00.001-08:00

I am finding it difficult to maintain my focus for this post as I have just learned that the US House of Representatives has passed the treasonous "Health Care Bill" foisted on us by "Nazi" Pelosi and her minions. This bill, if it becomes law, will either be the death of our individual liberty or a precursor to civil disobedience and, perhaps, civil war. It is a move calculated, in my opinion, to move us closer to a Marxist form of government with the political elite comfortably in possession of all the means of production in this nation and untouched by the unconscionable laws they inflict on the people. As B. Hussein Obama learned in his college days, a Marxist revolution can be achieved through reckless spending sprees, causing the system to "collapse under its own weight." The aim is tyranny. The masks of the "progressives" are coming off and they don't care. They are determined to make this dash for a dictatorship regardless of our demands to the contrary.

These clowns, who gave us the recent economic collapse, have lied about and bankrupted social security, medicare and medicaid, have mismanaged and corrupted every facet of their present operations now expect us to smilingly stroll into slavery under their total control of the health care system. They can't run the Postal Service or "Cash for Clunkers," but we're supposed to believe they can do a better job of managing our lives than we can.

IT IS AN OUTRAGE!!!!

There is little more that I can say without becoming entirely enraged and I don't want to damage my computer. I will leave it to a couple of founders who must be doing cartwheels in their graves today:

"Suppose a nation, rich and poor, high and low, ten millions in number, all assembled together; not more than one or two millions will have lands, houses, or any personal property; if we take into the account the women and children, or even if we leave them out of the question, a great majority of every nation is wholly destitute of property, except a small quantity of clothes, and a few trifles of other movables. Would Mr. Nedham be responsible that, if all were to be decided by a vote of the majority, the eight or nine millions who have no property, would not think of usurping over the rights of the one or two millions who have? Property is surely a right of mankind as really as liberty. Perhaps, at first, prejudice, habit, shame or fear, principle or religion, would restrain the poor from attacking the rich, and the idle from usurping on the industrious; but the time would not be long before courage and enterprise would come, and pretexts be invented by degrees, to countenance the majority in dividing all the property among them, or at least, in sharing it equally with its present possessors. Debts would be abolished first; taxes laid heavy on the rich, and not at all on the others; and at last a downright equal division of every thing be demanded, and voted. What would be the consequence of this? The idle, the vicious, the intemperate, would rush into the utmost extravagance of debauchery, sell and spend all their share, and then demand a new division of those who purchased from them. The moment the idea is admitted into society, that property is not as sacred as the laws of God, and that there is not a force of law and public justice to protect it, anarchy and tyranny commence. If 'Thou shalt not covet,' and 'Thou shalt not steal,' were not commandments of Heaven, they must be made inviolable precepts in every society, before it can be civilized or made free." [The Works of John Adams. 1787.]

Thomas Jefferson in his first inaugural address said,

"Sometimes it is said that man can not be trusted with the government of himself. Can he, then, be trusted with the government of others? Or have we found angels in the forms of kings to govern him? Let history answer this question. ...

"Still one thing more, fellow-citizens—a wise and frugal Government, which shall restrain men from injuring one another, shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned. This is the sum of good government, and this is necessary to close the circle of our felicities. ...

"About to enter, fellow-citizens, on the exercise of duties which comprehend everything dear and valuable to you, it is proper you should understand what I deem the essential principles of our Government, and consequently those which ought to shape its Administration. I will compress them within the narrowest compass they will bear, stating the general principle, but not all its limitations. Equal and exact justice to all men, of whatever state or persuasion, religious or political; peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations, entangling alliances with none; the support of the State governments in all their rights, as the most competent administrations for our domestic concerns and the surest bulwarks against antirepublican tendencies; the preservation of the General Government in its whole constitutional vigor, as the sheet anchor of our peace at home and safety abroad; a jealous care of the right of election by the people—a mild and safe corrective of abuses which are lopped by the sword of revolution where peaceable remedies are unprovided; absolute acquiescence in the decisions of the majority, the vital principle of republics, from which is no appeal but to force, the vital principle and immediate parent of despotism; a well disciplined militia, our best reliance in peace and for the first moments of war, till regulars may relieve them; the supremacy of the civil over the military authority; economy in the public expense, that labor may be lightly burthened; the honest payment of our debts and sacred preservation of the public faith; encouragement of agriculture, and of commerce as its handmaid; the diffusion of information and arraignment of all abuses at the bar of the public reason; freedom of religion; freedom of the press, and freedom of person under the protection of the habeas corpus, and trial by juries impartially selected. These principles form the bright constellation which has gone before us and guided our steps through an age of revolution and reformation. The wisdom of our sages and blood of our heroes have been devoted to their attainment. They should be the creed of our political faith, the text of civic instruction, the touchstone by which to try the services of those we trust; and should we wander from them in moments of error or of alarm, let us hasten to retrace our steps and to regain the road which alone leads to peace, liberty, and safety." (emphasis added.)

This nation and its so-called leaders have departed so far from the principles of the founding and held dear by the founders themselves that it is difficult to discern any similarity between what now is and what once was! If the voice of the people openly and knowingly demands a tyrant at their head, so be it. They would deserve what they get for ignoring the warnings of history, nature and of nature's God! (see 1 Samuel chapter 8.)

But today's progressives cloak their agenda in smooth and comforting rhetoric and smiling lies. They undermine from within while assuring us they have our interests, our well-being--even our liberty--at heart. They create false crises, like "climate change," to make us more malleable. They change the language and design catch phrases that sound benign or favorable to hide their true agenda of slavery and tyranny. And after decades of eroding constitutional government and the principles that underpin individual liberty, they are now springing their trap on us all.

They now believe that they have sufficiently weakened the resolve of the American people to begin to take off the masks and advocate for Marxism and state control of industry and individual lives. I pray they are wrong.

It is my conviction that this nation has never faced such a threat before--to be assailed from within by the presumed guardians of our Constitution and our freedom. Hitler and the soviets never had such access to the inner workings of our government, our education system, the control of our media. It is likewise my conviction that if patriots can emerge from this present crisis victorious, that we will have begun to repay the debt we owe to the heroes and martyrs among our fathers--those who valiantly defended freedom at the expense of their "lives, fortunes and sacred honor." We will have done our part and kept the faith for our children and grandchildren and they will look to our generation with the same sense of awe with which we view our predecessors who defeated Nazism and tyranny for over two centuries.

Let's take a look at what our "Dear Leader" has said on the subject (remember, it was Karl Marx who coined the concept of "from each according to his means, to each according to his need"):

One final thought. Read these words from the Declaration of Independence and ponder its relevance to our present situation. These vile usurpers in the US Congress have been and are robbing us of our liberty and our divinely granted rights. At what point will this degrade from civil debate to civil war? I pray that never happens, but how many of these insufferable incursions on our liberties can we endure?

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. — Such has been the patient sufferance of these [United States]; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present[, self-proclaimed] King ... is a [brief but destructive] history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States." (emphasis added and obvious additions made.)

The Emperor is STILL Naked!

2009-11-06T14:14:00.000-08:00

In spite of all we've seen and all that has happened over the last three weeks, 11 months or ten years, there remain among us a band of clowns who would convince us all that the naked guy in the parade before us really is wearing very fine apparel!

Today, the FBI announced its intention to "review" all of the mass shootings that have taken place since the Virginia Tech incident to see if anything can be learned. This should be translated as, "to determine how best to blame political conservatives, the US, the Founders, Tea Parties (or all of the above--BONUS!) and blur the obvious.

Let me explain what can be learned from them all has already been learned from the mass murders that have happened before the VT travesty.

1.) It doesn't matter who the shooter(s) is (are). Be they home grown psychos or foreign cowardly trash, they are bent on one thing and one thing only--getting their face on TV and having the reporters tell their pathetic, stupid tale to the viewing public. The body count is a tool to earn them that face time on TV and in the news--their ticket to fame and the forum to air their ridiculous musings on their miserable lives. Hence the seemingly endless view of that smirking cowardly clown who attacked innocents at Fort Hood this week.

2.) These cowards are not looking for a fair fight and certainly do not want to engage in a gun fight with trained professionals. Don't be fooled by the most recent terrorist--yes, Muslim terrorist--attack at Fort Hood in Texas. He was not bravely facing down armed soldiers, nor was he marred by his combat experiences (there were none). He knew full well that personnel on the base were not armed. Moreover, he knew very well that weapons are carefully controlled on base. He was facing unarmed victims for Allah--the typical bravery of a terrorist for any cause.

[NOTE: A deeply heartfelt congratulations goes out to Kimberly Munley, the genuine hero in this story who, despite her injuries, continued to return fire on the cowardly terrorist, paralyzing him and ending the threat he presented to others. May God's choicest blessings be with her and her family as she recovers from her physical and psychological injuries sustained in her outstanding performance of duty! My prayers continue with the other responders who are no less heroic in their time and turn!]

If these scumbags wanted to engage in a gunfight, they would call the local police department, announce the date and time of their "attack" and invite them to come have it out. The officers would certainly oblige and help them all assume room temperature. Likewise, they could call any of a number of combat units of the United States Armed Forces and do the same. They would similarly send them in their eternal quest for those promised virgins and deliver that service with a smile! No, cowards of all stripes prefer multiple unarmed targets because their goal, again, is the body count sufficient to get them on the news for awhile. This brings us to the third point:

3.) Unarmed masses of people are particularly inviting to these worthless cowards. They will gravitate to places where the 2nd Amendment rights are hampered the most, places where people tend to mass and where response times for police are the greatest. They will look for places with limited access points that slow responding personnel, or provide early alerts to the shooter(s). They really prefer places where they can establish rapid control over their "shooting gallery" and can focus on their climb to fame.

4.) A companion reality to No. 3 is that most of these incidents can end prior to the arrival of law enforcement. Either the gunman will run low on ammo or resolve and turn the weapon on himself. Or in the case of an organized attack with multiple terrorists, they will have fired enough to gain control of their target and can stop shooting prior to the arrival of responding officers. This will hold the assault of law enforcement on the target and allow the terrorists time to "harden" it by placing bombs, traps, blockades, etc. This way, while law enforcement establishes a perimeter, calls supervisors and SWAT teams and establishes negotiations, they will be free to torture their captives at will (for more on this, I encourage you to read Terror at Beslan by John Giduck).

5.) The best way to stop these clowns is immediate engagement with appropriate force. The only way to ensure that response is a trained and armed populace. We see in Israel that terrorists are left with only one option to attack a target--to strap a bomb on themselves under their clothing and blow themselves up in a crowded spot. The reason is that the tend to get gunned down by women and children in the streets when they show up to shoot up the place!

I am confident that after the FBI reviews everything and assures us that the best response is to remain passive and sheep-like and trust the government to protect us all, these realities will remain. While we'll be coaxed to believe that there are nuances beyond our simple understanding to incidents like this, these glaringly obvious realities will still be evident. And, despite B. Hussein Obama's pleas that we refrain from "jumping to conclusions" it will remain readily apparent that the emperor is still flitting about without any clothes on!

I feel something different on the air, though. It seems to me that the American spirit is shaking off the chains of decades of progressive "assurances" and "solutions." We're rediscovering the power of our individualism. It is my conviction that our strength as a nation--the strength that flows from individual liberty and accountability and rejection of grand government schemes--is awakening and that our best days truly lie ahead of us. Truth, in all its glowing, obvious, undeniable brilliance will surely set us free... and keep us free.

In closing, as I reflect on the heroism on display in Killeen and now in Orlando from our warriors who confront the evil among us, I am reminded of a quote from an anonymous military officer as cited by Lt. Col. Dave Grossman (Ret.): "Dear God, where do we get such men [and women]? What loving God hath provided that in each generation, afresh, there should arise new giants in the land?"

A Key Problem for the Libs

2009-10-16T10:24:00.000-07:00

It occurs to me today that there is a fundamental problem the Obama administration faces as it dashes to implement its radical and revolutionary Marxist agenda. We see it in the fracturing support for Obama and his policies among the historically Democratic faithful, particularly the gays. While Obama faces the obvious objections and protests from conservatives and patriots, he is also facing increasing opposition from his initial supporters who aren't satisfied with his apparently slow progress on abandoning all of the principles of the founding of this country.

Present generations have been taught the mistaken idea that at the extreme ends of the political spectrum of "left" versus "right" lie socialism/communism on the left and fascism on the right. This is absolutely false, particularly in light of the spectrum debated by the founders. They recognized the reality that the spectrum extended from totalitarianism and dictatorship on the left and total anarchy on the right. They worked tirelessly to find a way to place a form of government as near to total individual liberty and anarchy as possible, while establishing some order and fundamental protections of the rights of political minorities.

Herein lies the problem. The left (on both spectra) has worked to leverage the votes and support of those who are advocates of anarchy on the correct spectrum (but who view themselves as sharing the left on the erroneous one)--those, like homosexuals, who loudly demand that total abandonment of traditional values and institutional supports of those values. They consistently vote for those who claim to share the same space on the erroneous spectrum who, like Obama, use the support to gain power and move toward tyranny and dictatorship on the true spectrum where fascism and communism are so close as to be barely distinguishable (remember, "Nazi" was an abbreviated term for the "National Socialist Party" in Hitler's Germany).

What the presumed leftist protestors fail to understand is that they advocate positions that are actually at the opposite end of the true political spectrum and their positions are equally irreconcilable with those of socialists and Marxists. On the true spectrum of tyranny versus anarchy, the Democratic "base" demand more freedom to openly live dysfunctional lifestyles while Marxists work to gain absolute and total control over the lives of every individual. For example, every communist regime in history has imprisoned and exectued homosexuals as well as anyone else who loudly demands unlimited individual liberties!

So it is not congruent to expect an increasingly out-of-the-closet Marxist administration to deliver on promises to guarantee equality for those who want to move more toward unrestricted liberty to engage in conduct contrary to the values of the bulk of the nation. In fact, in the extreme case, their very lives as well as freedoms would be in tremendous peril if Obama or anyone else was to suddenly establish a communist dictatorship!

This is yet another way the sustained misinformation campaign of the socialists cannot sustain the weight of reality. And it is the fundamental reason that the socialists can never keep the fractured populace (they work to create) behind them absent absolute, violent and oppressive power.

The suppressed reality is, that the US Constitution holds the ultimate answers for all who are demanding that they be heard and understood. While it certainly takes time within that framework, it's worth it to preserve our liberty rather than to rush into the erroneous presumption that "any change is better than what we have!" And those who blindly follow the leftist agenda of this or any socialist administration will ultimately lose what they think they are gaining in so doing.

For more perspective in this key difference of view of the political spectrum and more, I encourage you to read The 5,000 Year Leap as soon as possible!

There is no safety...

2009-10-09T18:45:00.000-07:00

"There is no safety except in believing all possible evil of evil men."

We seem to be faced with a new dilemma with this administration and their apparent end run for socialism/Marxism. But in reality, we've always been faced with this need to carefully monitor our government.

When I was in DC I was impressed by the statue in front of the National Archives bearing the inscription, "Eternal Vigilance is the price of liberty." But we, as a nation, have failed to exercise that vigilance. We've countenanced innumerable violations of constitutional restraints on government and government officials. We've done so consistently enough to embolden present day socialists to the point they are making the ongoing dash for the revolutionary finish line.

Even now, as we watch it happening, it's difficult to accept the possibility that people we freely elected would openly advocate the overthrow of our Constitution, our form of government, the Republic and a free market economy in favor of a system that has failed--failed miserably--every time it's been tried.

But the question remains, when is it time to declare what we're seeing? When, after we realize the emperor is naked, do we actually mention it to the rest of the crowd at the parade? What do we do when we point it out and no one seems to care nor willing to accept or admit it themselves? What do we do when the populace seems lulled into complacency as they squander hard-won liberties--their own as well as ours--to preserve those liberties for our own children?! How do we prevent those cowards, willing to be slaves in exchange for a diminished security, from dragging us into the same slavery with them?

Certainly, we don't want to be too hasty to throw around the term, "evil." It's so final, so firm and so absolute, we want to have absolute certainty before declaring it. There are few who deny that Adolf Hitler was evil, but when it comes to defining why, we run into significant troubles and contention. Identifying what made him evil and how the German people might have recognized that evil early on, thus preventing his rise to power is a valid pursuit, but one made ineffectual by a lack of clarity in definition of the terms.

In recent years, we've seen protestors comparing George W. Bush to Hitler on the basis that, in the opinions of the protestors, both are obviously evil. If asked why, of course, they have a variety of reasons, but none make much sense. There is little in the story of Hitler that resembles the story of Bush. But there are numerous similarities between Hitler's rise to power and those of other totalitarian dictators. More seriously, there are distinct similarities between Hitler's ideas and those of present day liberals and socialists.

So the question remains, when could (and indeed) should the Germans have identified and declared Hitler and his agenda evil on its face and mobilize to stop him?

It seems that this process of recognizing and declaring evil involves some cognitive stages that we have to negotiate. First, there is the ability to accurately recognize evil designs or intentions of designing politicians, including distinctions between well-meaning but erroneous actions. This is difficult in itself, being something inherently subjective. As a cop, it was consistently more difficult in a criminal case to prove those crimes in which specific intent was an element. It involved an awareness of what was in one's mind and we all know the difficulties of that! But there was the recognition that intent is often demonstrated by action.

It can be convincingly argued that no one with any rudimentary economic understanding would undertake the fool-hardy proposals of B. Hussein Obama at a time of economic "crisis." As I see it, we have to either believe Obama and a host of trained and educated advisers are utterly moronic or completely ignorant of those basic economic principles, or that they are acting to deliberately undermine the private sector pursuant to the subjection of this country to a socialistic dictatorship. Glenn Beck has made some convincing arguments to the latter. But I can't think of a third possibility.

Next, even if we clearly recognize the evil or evil intentions or even that the results are grossly undesirable to free citizens, we have the hurdles of our own beliefs and expectations that are deeply ingrained in each of us, that there are checks and balances to stop such things and lead us to presume that a socialist revolution can't happen here. After all, we're Americans, right? But, as the above quote calls us to remember, if we can accurately identify something, someone, or an agenda as evil and destructive, we must then be prepared to accept the reality that "all possible evil" is possible!

Again, as a police officer, we were trained and frequently reminded to be aware of the dangers of "presumed compliance" in those we arrest. When we project our own values and belief systems onto a criminal suspect, especially at the precise moment of arrest, we mentally rule out the possibility of certain methods and forms of attacks from the person being arrested. When those inhibitions toward violence do not exist in the criminal's mind, we are at terrible risk and likelihood of success for the bad guy is increased immeasurably.

We likewise place ourselves in a precarious position when we neglect our duty of vigilance over government officials, politicians and policies. When we project our own beliefs and expectations on unscrupulous politicians, we are neglecting that duty and endangering ourselves and posterity.

Finally, when these hurdles are cleared, we are faced with informing others--in raising the alarm. More importantly, we are duty bound to raise it effectively--to make a convincing and factual case that genuine evil is at work and must be stopped. Glenn Beck has called for watch dogs. I would introduce another analogy from my law enforcement background and training. It's not my own.

First, our population consists primarily of sheep and wolves. The sheep are not stupid, nor worthless citizens. Rather, they are the valuable ones. They are the ones who are productive and law-abiding, and worth the life and blood of the Shepherd. The wolves are those who will feed on the sheep absolutely devoid of mercy or forbearance. They relentlessly hunt and destroy the weakest of the flock. But there is another animal in the mix and that is the sheepdog. The sheep are suspicious of the sheepdog because it looks a little like the wolves. It runs around at night, sniffing and growling. It occasionally has to push the sheep back into the safety of the flock (in the case of the cops). The sheepdog is frequently resented and vilified, particularly by the wolves in disguise among the sheep. But when the wolf is at the door--clearly identified and recognized--the entire flock is lined up behind the lonely sheepdog. If there is anything that is negative typical of the sheep it is the fact that they tend to first deal with threats and problems with denial. They keep their heads in the grass--focused on their work and day-to-day lives--and tend to ignore the threat until it's imminent. The effective watchdog or sheepdog needs to be able to clearly and certainly identify the wolves at the maximum possible distance and effectively declare the threat and convince the flock of the threat in time. But in so doing, the sheepdog must not, cannot turn its teeth on the sheep.

Bill Maher, paragon of human ignorance and wolf enabler, observed that people are stupid and should be "[dragged to it]" in reference to the current march toward socialism and his frustration with dissent. We, who value liberty certainly can't "drag" the opposition against their will, lest in winning, we lose what we're fighting for in the process! Further, we are frequently more concerned with maintaining decorum and manners in the debate than in conveying the passion that should accompany an appeal for our enduring liberty! The left observes no such restraint, and are willing to resort to physical violence to enforce their views. But those who defend the constitution timidly or apologetically accept the label of "extremist" or "nut."

The right of socialists in this nation to believe and to say that they believe in the superiority of their brand of slavery over capitalism absolutely must be preserved. But at the same time, every citizen who values liberty must engage in that debate with passion and without fear. We cannot allow ourselves to sit idly and allow ourselves to be "dragged to" socialism by default!

I don't have an answer at this point, other than being vocal and passionate about my love for this country and for liberty and, of course, loudly declaring the nudity of the emperor parading around before us! We must be vigilant and we must engage on the battlefield of ideas. We need to re-instill a healthy suspicion of government and government officials. We absolutely must roll back the massive expansion of government that has taken place over the last 100 years or more.

I welcome your thoughts on this one.

NOTE: I know I'm using words like "evil" in what appears to be a casual way. Not so. I came across this article on American Thinker that echoes both my reasons for terms in this post as well as the overall purpose for pursuing this blog. Enjoy! http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/10/silence_of_the_lambs_1.html

As Ungrateful Children

2009-10-06T15:12:00.000-07:00

Some years ago when I was still working full-time as a cop, I was involved in an investigation of a burglary where a man's son broke into the man's shop, stole a safe, took it out into the hills and destroyed it to break in. Once the safe was busted open, the young man took a bundle of cash--the object of his crime and burned the remaining contents.

What the petulant child did not know was that the father had gathered several thousand dollars in sequentially-numbered two-dollar bills, intended as gifts for the young man and his siblings. They were packaged in preparation of being presented to each when the occasion was right. The young man thoughtlessly took that money and burned it.

Still worse, among those items burned was a birth certificate. The young man's step-mother, his father's new wife, had placed that certificate in the safe to preserve it. It was the birth certificate of her son, who died soon after being born. She held it dear because it bore his little footprint and hand print--a tangible reminder of that precious little life now lost to her.

To top it all off, when the primary officer on the case confronted this young man, he confessed to the crime (to his credit). He even agreed to accompany us to the location where the safe was broken up and the items burned and subsequently to where the safe had been thrown off a bridge into the river.

As we were being shown the locations, the officer asked if the suspect would be willing to stand in the pictures and point to the various points of interest for future reference. Interestingly, as the young man and his associates stood and pointed at the pile of ashes, etc., they smiled for the pictures. I don't think they gave it any thought. I think it was habitual--you get your picture taken, you smile--but there on the photos were the pictures of this young man and his friends who had destroyed those things held dear by his parents and treasures intended as a gift for him that represented devotion, toil and effort of his father and he was smiling!

The case never made it to a jury, as a plea agreement was quickly arranged. The plea was made in part, no doubt, due to the damning photos of this young man thoughtlessly grinning at this thoughtless act. Again, the smile did not indicate intent, but was certainly indicative of the thoughtlessness and total lack of concern reflected in this crime. The money that was taken was rapidly squandered on meth which was immediately used by the young man and his friends. In other words, it's gone and gone forever. It's worse than gone. It was spent to further the damage already heaped on his father and step-mother--to further destroy himself as well as the relationship and trust that was destroyed by the act.

Now I am witnessing a repeat of this event being played out on the national stage. Our nation was founded on principles that, if adhered to, would guarantee our individual and national liberty and prosperity in perpetuity. Our precious liberties were carefully crafted, paid for literally in priceless blood, sweat and tears of martyrs and patriots over generations. Despite errors and problems along the way, our liberties were handed from generation to generation with considerable care.

Now, like that petulant young man, we are thoughtlessly and to some degree ignorantly discarding and destroying those gifts and treasures that have been so carefully preserved for us by our fathers. We have become increasingly and willingly ignorant of the processes and principles that led to the formation of this unique Republic. We have become increasingly and willingly obsessed with the demands of the moment, regardless of the loss of future treasures for ourselves and others that continued liberty might provide.

Finally, our disrespect and thoughtlessness adds the insult to the injury. I can't help but wonder what the Founders would feel at witnessing this present jettisoning of our liberties in a quest for ease and illusory guarantees from benevolent politicians whose hunger and greed for power rivals that of the most horribly addicted meth fiend. And our acquiescence and our own selfishness that permits us to countenance spending the wealth of our children and grandchildren is the ultimate insult to those who literally laid their lives, fortunes and sacred honor upon the altar of freedom for us!!!

How arrogant is the supposition that all generations should sacrifice to satisfy our greed, our appetites, our transitory demands! This is despicable and so-called leaders who approach decisions on the basis of "What will make me popular?" rather than a careful consideration of consistency with constitutional principle should at the very least be deeply ashamed. At worst, they should be considered traitors to this nation and the principles upon which it was founded and under which it has prospered. They are worthy of the disdain and contempt not only of citizens of this nation, but of all those throughout the world who have looked to the United States as a bastion of liberty and justice for ALL.

The descent into amoral secularism is at once a symptom and accelerant of the present crisis.

We must, as a nation and as citizens [NOT subjects], commit anew to learn and abide by the principles of our founders and fathers. We must understand that the generation that demands the treasures and wealth and sacrifice of all other generations--out of a spirit of selfish ingratitude and thoughtlessness--deserves contempt of all generations and to be denied that treasure, toil and sacrifice. It is tantamount to enslaving both past and future generations--to riotously live off of their labor--in squandering the combined wealth of them all. Moreover, there is an ironic justice in the fact that by thus enslaving those other generations, we submit willingly to the yoke, ourselves!

And we have submitted and are still submitting to this bondage on the thinnest of justifications. Often it is done in the name of party loyalty or in an effort to "get along," to compromise or to observe the rules of proper decorum.

The founders argued heatedly for a wide variety of positions and disparate personal and regional prejudices. Their passionate debating, combined with the inspiration of Heaven, produced the most unique and perfect form of government ever initiated among men in the history of the world. The founding documents comprehends the reality that multiple factions, passionately arguing for primacy through best efforts at persuasion in the arena of ideas would produce the best balance and preserve the liberty of the individual. They warned against powerful political parties that would subordinate multiple factions, demanding they compromise beliefs and principles to combine and achieve primacy and power.

I submit that we are not supposed to "get along" and that we are supposed to vigorously debate and argue over politics and that we desperately need to engage one another as neighbors and fellow citizens, not as party hacks. I do NOT advocate "bipartisanship" or "getting along" to "get along. " I advocate vigorous and passionate debate because the obvious universal result is increased introspection and increased care over the precious gifts handed down to us by our forebears. As Thomas Jefferson encouraged, we should "question with boldness," and we are duty bound as citizens to follow George Washington's counsel to "hold to the truth!"

Our nation, our liberty, our freedom and the future of our children are at stake! We're not watching a sporting event and rooting for the team we identify with to win, regardless of the cost! We need not be subjects to our parties any more than we should be to government--any more than our children should be to our greed!! But we MUST engage in the process. We MUST argue for our most deeply held beliefs. We MUST work to persuade and convince and we MUST scrutinize and evaluate those beliefs in the arena of ideas to find and pursue the best course for ourselves, our country and our children's future. This is our duty.

Our fathers dedicated their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor. Can we really ...really be willing to sacrifice anything less?

Who's the problem, here, Nancy?

2009-09-29T16:22:00.000-07:00

So, the New York Times in a typically balanced report described the protesters at the G20 in Pittsburgh in this way:

"PITTSBURGH — Several thousand demonstrators espousing and denouncing a host of causes converged on downtown Pittsburgh on Friday, chanting, pumping up signs and playing instruments in a peaceful and permitted march calling for solutions to a range of problems that they attributed to the economic policies of the world leaders at the Group of 20 meeting." The article goes on gushing about this cuddly protest in similarly nauseating prose and closes,

"After more than an hour, the crowd began to disperse, some wondering aloud if the G-20 leaders would hear their messages.

"Cory Perrotte, 20, a student from Duquesne University, was optimistic that it would be hard to ignore thousands in the street.

“'They will listen to a certain degree,' he said. 'They might not necessarily do anything.'”

Wow. Here's the part they left out of that story:

"A group of close to 500 left arsenal park about four miles north of the convention center and began an un-permitted march towards the convention center. They reached a police roadblock where an automated message was broadcast through speakers from a riot control vehicle. (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/26/world/26pittsburgh.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=G20%20protests&st=cse)

"Marchers then rolled a dumpster down the street towards police who responded by firing tear gas. The crowd then broke up, retreating in the other direction." (http://liveshots.blogs.foxnews.com/2009/09/24/protestor-less-in-pittsburgh/) The latter report goes on to mention that there were likely far less anarchists present than reported.

Additionally, we've all seen the video clips of the clowns at that protest, jumping up and down on police cars, being gassed and arrested, etc. I haven't seen any photos of the aftermath, but I suspect the protestors left a bit of a mess, since they caused thousands in property damage.

Now, let's contrast that spectacle with the reporting and realities of the event in DC on 9/12. Here's the NY Times' take on it:

"WASHINGTON — A sea of protesters filled the west lawn of the Capitol and spilled onto the National Mall on Saturday in the largest rally against President Obama since he took office, a culmination of a summer-long season of protests that began with opposition to a health care overhaul and grew into a broader dissatisfaction with government. [Oh, horrors!]

...

"The atmosphere was rowdy at times, with signs and images casting Mr. Obama in a demeaning light. One sign called him the “parasite in chief.” Others likened him to Hitler. Several people held up preprinted signs saying, “Bury Obama Care with Kennedy,” a reference to the Massachusetts senator whose body passed by the Capitol two weeks earlier to be memorialized." (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/13/us/politics/13protestweb.html?scp=16&sq=Jeff%20Zeleny&st=cse) [insensitive rednecks!]

Interestingly, no matter what the estimates of attendance of the 9/12 event are, there were certainly more people there than at the G20 protests. More importantly, there were ZERO arrests and ZERO property destruction. The Obama Maniacs that attended the "immaculation" and the dawning era of hope, change and enviro-supremacy absolutely TRASHED the National Mall. Yet we left the place clean.

So, which group is the most sinister, more prone to violence and more deserving of Nancy Pelosi's hand-wringing and tears? Of course, she's welcome to weep all she wants when her "reign" is ended by these "maniacs" peacefully and quietly --maybe even smilingly--walking into the voting booth in November, 2010.

Follow-up on the DC Adventure

2009-09-23T15:35:00.000-07:00

I have had some questions regarding the earlier posts about my visit to DC and the march. One that is fresh in my mind that I've gotten from a few readers is the significance of the lions at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial. Here's the explanation:

"Each of the pathway entrances is adorned with a powerful statuary grouping of an adult lion protecting its cubs. The bronze statues were sculpted by Raymond Kaskey. They symbolize the protective role of our law officers and convey the strength, courage and valor that are the hallmarks of those who serve in law enforcement."

Additionally, each lion's pedestal contains a quote. These are described as follows:

"Under each of the lion statues are inspiring quotes that capture the spirit of the Memorial and the heroic men and women it recognizes:

"In valor there is hope."
-Tacitus

"It is not how these officers died that made them heroes, it is how they lived."
- Vivian Eney Cross, Survivor

"The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are as bold as a lion."
- Proverbs 28:1

"Carved on these walls is the story of America, of a continuing quest to preserve both democracy and decency, and to protect a national treasure that we call the American dream."
- President George H.W. Bush

For more information about the Memorial or the Memorial Fund, I encourage you to visit their website at http://www.nleomf.org

To coin the phrase, "All [give] some, some [give] all."

Bear's Excellent Adventure--The 9/12 March on the Capitol!

2009-09-22T15:15:00.000-07:00

The March on the Capitol

8:30 am we arrived at Freedom Plaza to begin the March on the Capitol, which was scheduled to begin at 11:30. As we left our cabs and walked toward the plaza a single random cab driver shouted, "Get out of town!" I didn't hear him. My sister did, however and reminded him that "It's our town too!"

The crowd was already thick at the Plaza and signs were in almost every hand. My feelings from the previous day would not allow me to be clever enough to make a sign the previous night. The others gathered in my room to make signs and visit. I uploaded my pictures and reflected.

As the crowd closed in around me I was again moved by the sheer volume of people who love their country and who are willing, at their own expense and investment of time, to make this demonstration of that affection and demand that our government return to constitutional principle. The signs were funny, thoughtful, reflective of frustration, etc. I was enjoying reading them as they circulated around. There was certainly anger at the present government's attempts to move our nation into socialism or fascism, yet there was a smile on almost every face. People were talking like old friends who hadn't seen one another for years. It was like a family reunion in many ways.

The word came through the crowd that it was time to start moving toward the Capitol Building and the crowd began to move onto the street. But the conversations and pleasant interactions continued. There were very few spectators on the sidewalks and the crowd was relatively quiet. Occasional chants would spring up and singing the National Anthem or other patriotic songs would move like a wave through the crowd.

I was enjoying the spectacle of it all, taking pictures and looking at some of the beautiful historic buildings that were passing in review before us. I noted that the Old Post Office where we had eaten the previous day bore the date of 1797 below the clock tower. We passed by the rear of the National Archives and I had the opportunity to reflect again upon the principles enshrined in our founding documents.

Foundational documents. Foundational principles. Fundamental truths and formative ideas that made this nation an exceptional nation. The principles that have allowed us to evaluate ourselves against those ideals and strive to correct and repair our wrongs. But now we have a president who pledged in the campaign to "fundamentally [transform] the United States of America!" The country, it seems, is now being led by people who are tired of debating what is best and allowing people to choose for themselves. They want to do away with the pesky dissent now that they are in power and in the process do away with those founding documents and principles that guarantee individual liberty. "Fundamental change," it seems to me, is foundational change. And we had come to the Capitol from all corners of the nation to let these people know we reject that approach. We reject the notion that America must become some other nation, that we must abandon our sovereignty and walk shoulder-shruggingly into socialism like sheep. No! Not now, not ever. Not ever.

In the middle of these thoughts I heard some voices cheering and shouting to "read that!" I looked up and noticed we were passing the Newseum, which bears a large panel with the First Amendment written on it, several stories high (note the opening picture).

We had been called ignorant, uninformed, Nazis, political terrorists, mobs, rioters, Brooks Bros. protesters, rednecks, inbreds and racists. But I looked around me and saw people literally of all ages, all races and walks of life. And again, it was striking how cheerful and friendly they all were! We're all passionate about our country and our liberty and gravely serious about the threats that face our nation from outside and within. Yet everyone retained their good humor and genuinely enjoyed the association with strangers for the entire day.

We made our way through a parking lot and onto the lawn of the Capitol Building. We found a spot in the shade, sat down and had some lunch and listened as best we could to some of the speakers. But mostly, we visited with people near us, people passing by. We compared signs and slogans and shared laughs. There were no arguments, no messes, no controlled substances and to my knowledge not a single arrest.

We passed by some Capitol Police Officers on the way in. They looked truly terrified (NOT!). They were friendly and polite and I noted several people chatted w/ them as movement ebbed and flowed through the gates. Later, I heard that the officers there were estimating the crowd size to be approximately 1.2-1.3 million people! I couldn't believe it. But when I accompanied my brother-in-law to the "porta-johns" I became convinced that they could be right! There were people as far the eye could see and there were still people moving into the area. One person we spoke with said the procession of people from Freedom Plaza to the Capitol lasted 31/2 hours! I learned that the march started early because the Plaza and, according to some, the other staging areas could not handle the gathering crowds necessitating an early start. It was overwhelming! While we were in line someone came by and announced that CNN reported about 70,000 people. A gentleman from Georgia that was near us said, "Seventy thousand, hell! There's that many here waiting for the bathroom!"
We slipped away before the rest of the crowd broke up. We spent the day catching up on news reports of the event, discussing what we'd seen, heard and felt and appreciating one another and the opportunity to be a part of it all. The full impact of this event has yet to be realized, I think. And I am certain that I will never forget it.

Now that it's over, however, there is much left to do to rescue our republic from the sneering, dismissive radicals in Washington working to "fundamentally transform" our nation. The sleeping giant is awakened. Now it needs to maintain focus and stay engaged.

Thanks to all who have visited this blog and provided feedback. I hope that I have been able to communicate in some small way the tremendously powerful and transformative experience this has been for me. More importantly, I hope that you have felt a touch of some of what I felt over this historic weekend, particularly, a renewed love for this exceptional nation--a love that transcends party and politics. The purpose of holding this event on 9/12 was an overt reference to the feelings we experienced on 9/12/2001 when everyone was still in shock over the attacks, but had turned to family, friends and nieghbors for comfort. People remembered what was important on that day. Since then, leftists have worked tirelessly to get us to forget those things and those feelings. We cannot forget. We must NEVER forget. We are Americans first, last and always.

I will close this narrative with George Washington's parting comments:

"Here, perhaps, I ought to stop. But a solicitude for your welfare which can not end but with my life, and the apprehension of danger natural to that solicitude, urge me on an occasion like the present to offer to your solemn contemplation and to recommend to your frequent review some sentiments which are the result of much reflection, of no inconsiderable observation, and which appears to me all important to the permanency of your felicity as a people. These will be offered to you with the more freedom as you can only see in them the disinterested warnings of a parting friend, who can possibly have no personal motive to bias his counsel. Nor can I forget as an encouragement to it your indulgent reception of my sentiments on a former and not dissimilar occasion.

"Interwoven as is the love of liberty with every ligament of your hearts, no recommendation of mine is necessary to fortify or confirm the attachment.

"The unity of government which constitutes you one people is also now dear to you. It is justly so, for it is a main pillar in the edifice of your real independence, the support of your tranquillity at home, your peace abroad, of your safety, of your prosperity, of that very liberty which you so highly prize. But as it is easy to foresee that from different causes and from different quarters much pains will be taken, many artifices employed, to weaken in your minds the conviction of this truth, as this is the point in your political fortress against which the batteries of internal and external enemies will be most constantly and actively (though often covertly and insidiously) directed, it is of infinite moment that you should properly estimate the immense value of your national union to your collective and individual happiness; that you should cherish a cordial, habitual, and immovable attachment to it; accustoming yourselves to think and speak of it as the palladium of your political safety and prosperity; watching for its preservation with jealous anxiety; discountenancing whatever may suggest even a suspicion that it can in any event be abandoned, and indignantly frowning upon the first dawning of every attempt to alienate any portion of our country from the rest or to enfeeble the sacred ties which now link together the various parts.

"For this you have every inducement of sympathy and interest. Citizens by birth or choice of a common country, that country has a right to concentrate your affections. The name of American, which belongs to you in your national capacity, must always exalt the just pride of patriotism more than any appellation derived from local discriminations."

May God's choicest blessings always be with us all and may God continue to bless this great nation.

Excellent Adventure, Day 2--Continued, September 11, 2009

2009-09-21T15:16:00.000-07:00

OK, so we have completed our visit to the WWII Memorial and move across the street to the east to the Washington Monument. We didn't take the time to stand in line and tour the interior. But again, my thoughts turned to the "indispensable man" of the American revolution and the principles that formed and drove him--traits conspicuously absent in his present successor.

We went to visit the Smithsonian which was very interesting but not terribly inspiring by comparison. After a short lunch at the "Old Post Office" we visited the Ford Theater where President Lincoln was assassinated. Again, this was interesting to me, particularly as a cop getting to see the "crime scene," and the perspectives it affected, but my thoughts and feelings were essentially a repeat of those experienced at his Memorial.

The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial

But after this, I took the opportunity to separate from the group and venture to the Law Enforcement Officers Memorial. Being the anniversary of the September 11 attacks, I expected a crowd. However, I was both relieved and somewhat dismayed that the Memorial was absolutely empty except for what appeared to be a homeless man taking a break lounging on one of the walls. Now, in his defense, he wasn't laying on the walls bearing the names of fallen officers, but one of the lower walls opposite the names. I noted that there were pencils and etching papers provided as well as an alphabetic book provided to help visitors locate specific names as they are distributed on the walls with the same randomness by which they sacrificed their lives. I was struck by the thickness of the book and the sheer weight of the tremendous amount of those who lost their lives in the line of duty protecting their communities.

Lt. Col. Dave Grossman made the observation that our nation's warrior class is divided into two groups. "The Sword" is represented by those serving in the military that extend themselves and their strength beyond our borders, hunting down and eliminating those who would do us harm. "The Shield" is represented by those who serve here at home, watching our soldiers' "six," and working to root out the threats from within.

That reminder was all the more significant, it seemed, on this day: September 11. On that fateful day in 2001, cowardly terrorists attacked us at home and stole over 3,000 innocent lives. But we must never forget that among those lives that were taken, there were some that were freely and selflessly given. As I reflected on those brave souls I was also aware that that selfless sacrifice was also made by every officer whose name was engraved upon those walls--that this place was a timeless reminder of the finest tradition of honor and service our great nation has come to represent.

But as I rounded the Memorial, noting the lions that watch over their young at every corner, I encountered the panels that bore the names of those lost on 9/11. there were roses left on top of each panel and a small placard left w/ the names of those who sacrificed their lives to save others on that day. I saw a man taking an etching of one of the NYPD names. He carefully and thoughtfully paused, perhaps offered a silent prayer and quietly placed a patch on the wall on that panel. I gave him time and distance to finish what he had come there to do. When it was apparent his mind had returned to the present, I asked if he was with NYPD. He said he was. I shook his hand and expressed my sorrow for the loss his department and he had suffered. He asked if I was a cop and I told him about my background. I asked him to please stay safe and said goodbye. I continued toward the reflecting pool before I moved on in my "tour" of the city. The officer called to me and presented me with one of his patches, explaining he had removed it from one of his uniforms that week. I thanked him, but could manage little more as I struggled to hold back the tears. I never got his name, but will never forget him and will always treasure his gift.

The National Archives

I left the Memorial and made my way back toward the Capitol and the Mall, intending to hook back up with the rest of the group. As I walked reflecting on the experiences of this day I looked up at yet another imposing building (there are many in this city). On each side of the steps leading to the doors are large statues. Before me was one of a seated man, holding a sword. Beneath him were engraved the words, "Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty."

It then dawned on me that I had stumbled upon the National Archives. This was one of the places on my personal wish list that I was beginning to think I would miss out on due to time constraints. I saw it was near closing time and there was a long line to get inside, but I decided it was worth the attempt.

I managed to get inside. I have to admit that I was not as impressed as I thought I would be when inside. The impact of being in the same room with our nation's founding documents didn't fully hit me until later that evening when I was alone in my hotel room reflecting on the day. On display are the Magna Carta, The Declaration of Independence, The United States Constitution and the original Bill of Rights. The Magna Carta was, if I remember correctly, dated from 1259. The information there indicated that the original was written in 1215 but it was rewritten every year. This one previously belonged to Ross Perot, but another private investor purchased it from him for $21.5 million to keep it on display at the Archives.

The Declaration was dimly lit and the writing has faded so much as to be almost illegible. But it's there--the document that was handled and signed by each of those men who bravely pledged their "lives, fortunes and sacred honor" that we might be free. Likewise, the entire Constitution is now on display (not just the first and last pages as was previously done). That and the Bill of Rights, drafted to protect the liberties they fought, bled, died and impoverished themselves to secure for us. It struck me that this was a fitting end to this day and a fitting prelude to our purpose for the following day. Again, duty--the duty of a free citizen of a democratic republic under assault-- demanded of me that I do all in my power, even if that requires the sacrifice of my own life, fortune and sacred honor, to defend these documents, the principles enshrined therein and the nation they established.

The simple reality is that when we allow the government to encroach on liberties in any way, no matter how necessary or noble the reason may appear in particular exigencies, we open the door to growing tyranny. Certainly the march of time has revealed this tendency and exposed the roots of our present crisis. We now have in complete control of our government people who are hostile to those documents and all they established. They are hostile to individual liberty and self-determination. They honestly believe that government is the source of answers to all of our societal and personal problems. They have worked tirelessly to "educate" our children that government is the answer to all problems and more trustworthy--that the lessons of history should be devoutly ignored and that we focus only on the soundbites of today. Thoughtless and mindless departure from the liberties secured at so high a price must not be allowed!

The Declaration of Independence
(They keep the lights low and don't allow flash photography in order to protect the documents)

The Night of 9/11

We went out to eat again and as we were returning to the hotel, we found that the Tea Party Express was parked in the lot across the street and a crowd had gathered to greet them. We decided to look in. As we got close to the group of people gathered around the bus, the crowd spontaneously began to sing "God Bless America." I couldn't help it. I got pretty misty-eyed. People were smiling and having a great time, despite the very serious concerns that brought us together. It heightened my excitement for the coming day and the March. I also wondered what, if any opposition we'd face along the way.

Next, The March! ... and I shut up about my trip... (Yippee!)

Day Two--continued...September 11, 2009

2009-09-19T13:02:00.000-07:00

So we left the Korean War Veterans Memorial and headed east along the reflecting pool between the Lincoln Memorial and the WWII Memorial. The path was shaded by tall, ancient trees that also shielded us from the continuing rain. Along the way, my nephew, Nathan, heard a cell phone ringing from the grass. He picked it up and began the process of trying to locate the owner to return it.

We continued on at a leisurely pace and the WWII Memorial came into view. Again, my pulse quickened a tad as I have admired the WWII generation for my entire life. I remember watching the dedication proceedings on TV some years ago with both excitement and concern that it had taken so long to complete. But now, I was here to see it in person and my heart was full of both gratitude for those who served and the opportunity to be in this place on this day at this time.

The reflecting pool blends into the fountains of the Memorial beautifully. I learned that we were entering the Memorial from the "back" side, as the front is facing the Washington Monument.

The site features two towers, each representing a theater of the War--Atlantic and Pacific. There are also columns representing each of the 50 states (or, if you're an Obama-ite, 57 states).

There are several carved quotations from significant figures in that conflict as well as several depictions of various aspects of the War. I didn't take time to photograph everything, but again took time to reflect upon the direction our nation has taken and how the foundations of present weakness were laid even before this War! Obama's World Apology Tour was fresh in my mind as well as his abandonment of all the principles that saw this nation through this desperate time and helped us to rid the world of Hitler's and Japan's tyranny.

Etched on one wall of the Memorial are these words of General George C. Marshall:

"We are determined that before the sun sets on this terrible struggle our flag will be recognized throughout the world as a symbol of freedom on the one hand and of overwhelming force on the other."

Again, my resolve hardened that this recognition of our country--of our flag and institutions and the resolve of the American people--be had around the globe again. Obama is presently inviting destruction of our nation on all fronts and I believe it is deliberate. He is a man who has grown up hating this nation and has surrounded himself with mentors and associates with the combined aim of undermining our freedom and establishing a socialist dictatorship.

While many can sneer at the German people of the 1930's and wonder condescendingly "How could they let it happen?! Why did they allow Hitler to take power?" we are now living it in our own time and place. Before we left, I took time to offer a silent prayer that we, in this time and in this place might succeed in throwing off the shackles that are now being fitted for us. Time is short and the struggle real.

Later, I saw a poster in the March that called to mind these thoughts. I reflected then, again, on this visit to the WWII Memorial and the others and the reality of the fight that has fallen to our generation to make. The poster was a reference to Ephesians 6, particularly 6:10-18. Verse 12 of that passage is especially real to me: "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." Paul's subsequent call is not to arms or violence, but to personal study and righteousness and adherence to correct principles. Together with that comes open and fearless truth-telling.

Our parents and grandparents, in the perilous times of WWII stood tall and firm and boldly told the world's tyrants, "You are WRONG and what you have done WILL NOT STAND!!!"

Now, in our time and turn, we owe it to those patriots and protectors to do the same.

Lt. Col. Dave Grossman pointed out that in the movie, Saving Private Ryan, Ryan represents all of us. The Rangers who died to save him represent all the warriors and patriots of ages past who gave their blood, sweat, tears, energies and toil to present to us a free republic with boundless opportunity. Captain Miller's final words to Ryan on that bridge at the end of the movie are essentially the words of all these brave men and women to us, "Earn this. Earn it!"

Fortunately for us, and for now, our battles will be battles of words and ideas fought in community halls and in the halls of government and at the polls. If we fail here and now, the price of recovering our liberty will be a heavy toll of blood and tears. Generations yet unborn rely upon our present valor just as we have relied on that of the "Greatest Generation." We cannot fail. Not now. Not ever. Not EVER!

2009-09-17T17:37:00.000-07:00

DAY 2, September 11, 2009

While there were several events associated with the March scheduled, we had decided to spend Friday doing the "tourist thing." I have to admit, I was interested in seeing some key sites, but hadn't really considered the impact of it all on my attitude toward the march. I was to be surprised--pleasantly so-- at the impact of what we were to see and experience.

We opted to take a pair of cabs to the Lincoln Memorial to begin our day. Each of us had 2-3 must-see things in our own minds. Mine were the Korean War Veterans' Memorial and the Law Enforcement Officers' Memorial as well as to see the founding documents. I got my wish and so much more.

Overshadowing the significance of much of what we would see, in my mind at least, was the 8th anniversary of the attacks on our country "by a faceless coward" on September 11, 2001. This reality ran like a thread through every perception and heightened every experience of the day for me. I am reminded of two quotes that seem particularly applicable to the day and the experiences before us:

William Bennett: "Honor never grows old, and honor rejoices the heart of age. It does so because honor is, finally, about defending those noble and worthy things that deserve defending, even if it comes at a high cost. In our time, that may mean social disapproval, public scorn, hardship, persecution, or as always, even death itself. The question remains: What is worth defending? What is worth dying for? What is worth living for?"

In a lecture to the United States Naval Academy
November 24, 1997

Samuel Adams: "Contemplate the mangled bodies of your countrymen, and then say, 'What should be the reward of such sacrifices?' Bid us and our posterity bow the knee, supplicate the friendship, and plough, and sow, and reap, to glut the avarice of the men who have let loose on us the dogs of war to riot in our blood and hunt us from the face of the earth? If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animating contest of freedom, go from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains sit lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen!"

Today would be a memorable one...

The Lincoln Memorial

Our first stop was the Lincoln Memorial. It was raining as we climbed the steps and looked back toward the Washington Monument. Inside was the familiar imposing figure of Abraham Lincoln, seated on what appears to be a throne. Above his head is inscribed, “In this temple, as in the hearts of the people for whom he saved the Union, the memory of Abraham Lincoln is enshrined forever.”

Workers quietly mopped the floor and whispers echo off the walls. To Abe's left, through some pillars the wall features the inscription of Lincoln's second inaugural address. I was struck with the brevity and the readily apparent humility in the address as well as the comfortable references to the interventions of God in the affairs of this country. I couldn't help but contrast the man and the man's words with our current president. Obama is eager to equate himself with Lincoln, though their views, policies and core principles are diametrically opposed. Lincoln was a humble and forthright man, aware of the role of Providence in the country's affairs--one who would likely be uncomfortable seeing himself portrayed as he is in this marble "temple." Obama's arrogance is matched only by his ignorance. He is a man who glibly compares himself to those who have earned greatness through honest effort. He willingly accepts the accolades of an ignorant media and those under their spell, despite the fact he's never done anything noteworthy prior to his arrival in the Oval Office.

Fittingly, when Lincoln delivered his second inaugural address, weeks of rain had left the ground muddy and sloppy. These words seemed to shine out among the rest to me and they seemed particularly fitting for our purpose: "It may seem strange that any men should dare to ask a just God's assistance in wringing their bread from the sweat of other men's faces...With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in..." We had come to Washington, DC with passion, but not reckless anger. We came with conviction that the principles that guided the great minds and leaders of our heritage were and are being abandoned by present day politicians and with a firm conviction that the path they have set our feet upon will lead inexorably toward tyranny and slavery--that present politicians are spending the wealth our children can now never fully realize.

We turned to the opposite wall upon which is engraved the Gettysburg Address. Another masterful discourse whose power was concentrated in brevity, it reads:

"Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow -- this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."

Again, my thoughts turned toward our purpose for being there. We had come to demand that this nation, conceived in liberty, continue on. While we were not here to make war, we were here to fight in a civil manner for our convictions--"that government of the people, by the people, for the people, ...not perish from the earth." Moreover, we would have seared upon our souls and upon our individual consciences the demands of duty placed upon us by those who have fought and died so valiantly to preserve those freedoms and this unique form of government in the world "that these dead shall not have died in vain."

Resolve was stiffening and the day had just begun.

The Korean War Veterans Memorial

We left the Lincoln Memorial, went down the steps and to our right lay the entrance to the Korean War Veterans Memorial. I was eager to see this as my father, a wise, gentle, strong and worthy man served there. On the day my oldest brother was born, he was facing an onslaught of half a million Chinese attackers. His unit, the 2-300th AFA received a unit citation for their valor during that time at an obscure place called Soyang, where they fired more artillery shells in combat in a single battle than had ever been fired before. The following caption typically accompanies this painting:

"Among the hundreds of Army National Guard units ordered into active Federal service as a result of the Korean War was the 300th Armored Field Artillery Battalion, Wyoming Army National Guard. The battalion arrived in Korea in February 1951 and entered combat in early May. On the night of May 15, 1951, three corps of the Chinese People's Volunteers launched a major offensive against the 2nd Infantry Division. The 300th Armored Field Artillery Battalion, attached to the 2nd Division during the Battle of Soyang, delivered devastating artillery fire for seven days inflicting thousands of enemy casualties. During the morning of May 18 the battalion was given the mission of destroying an enemy roadblock. The batteries of the 300th poured both direct and indirect fire on the road block allowing retreating U.N. forces to fall back to more secure positions. The heroic and determined stand of the 2nd Division and its attached units allowed the Eighth Army to regroup and stop the enemy envelopment. For its gallantry in action, the battalion was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation, the first of four awards that the 300th would earn."

I actually noticed my heart rate begin to speed up as we approached this memorial. I'd seen pictures of it before and it struck me as one of the best memorials I'd ever seen. I was eager to be there and see it in person and wished that Dad was with us.

Again, being there in the rain seemed particularly fitting as the patrol depicted were all wearing rain gear. One soldier at the rear of the patrol seemed to greet visitors entering the memorial by looking over his shoulder at us with an expression that demanded respect and some reverence. Opposite is a polished marble wall with etched faces of people involved in the Korean War. The polish allows the reflected images of the patrol to be seen mingled with the etched faces. I found it significant that as one nears the wall, the etched faces loom larger and the soldiers seem to shrink.

I was again left to reflect upon the sacrifice made by these soldiers and the people of Korea for freedom and how highly prized a gift it became. I remembered meeting a college professor from Seoul who, when he discovered my father was a Korea veteran, fumbled for his business card. He bowed and presented it to me with both hands and with tears streaming down his cheeks. He asked that I relay to my father his invitation to come to Korea, stay in his home and ask anything of him while there. As is inscribed on this memorial wall and many other such hallowed places, "Freedom is not free." It comes with a price and often that price is not so dramatic as facing a shooting war. To avoid that type of war, those who treasure it must stand boldly against tyranny--hard or soft-- and expose it for what it is. The line in the sand MUST be drawn early and we MUST hold elected officials accountable for their defense of and regard for the Constitution or the entire lack thereof.

Resolve grew firmer still...

(more to come...)

Bear's Excellent DC Adventure: Day One

2009-09-17T09:40:00.000-07:00

I was invited by my sister, Marilyn, to accompany her and her family to Washington, DC for the September 12 March on the Capitol. My other sister, Pauline, her son, Nathan, and Marilyn’s sister-in-law and nephew were also slated to join us. I eagerly accepted the invitation as the cause behind the March is something deeply significant to me. That cause is Freedom--the preservation of the principles embodied in the United States Constitution for every man, woman and child in the nation. The 912 Project, initiated by Glenn Beck and taken up by common Americans across the country was inspirational to me as well and I wanted to be a part of this historic event. That same passion impels me to make a record of the trip and how it has affected me.

DAY ONE, September 10, 2009

My flight from Cody departed at 6:00 am, requiring me to arrive at the airport at 5:00 am. An hour drive from home to Cody meant a departure from home at 4:00 am which, in turn, required me to plan on waking up and preparing to leave at 3:00 am.

As it turned out, we had Ana’s daughter, Sarah visiting with us. I ended up staying up late visiting and decided it was safer to just stay awake rather than to risk sleeping through the alarm at 3:00. I then made the drive to the Yellowstone Regional Airport (“Why not YRA?”) punctuated by minute naps on the long stretches of straight road.

Once there, I went to the ticketing counter and dropped off my single bag to be checked. In Cody, they rifle through everything because they need to feel needed. I noted that the TSA folks have exchanged the white shirts for baby blue ones, no doubt a reflection of the Dear Leader’s peaceful intentions. I then went to the counter only to be told I had to check in through the new high-tech kiosk that has been installed since my last flight out of YRA (though I’ve used them many times out in the world. Luckily, they had a person behind the counter to both direct us to the kiosk and also to step out from behind it and read the instructions to me as I navigated through a largely self-explanatory process. Again, a reflection of the hand-holding society we’ve evolved into, it seems.

Nevertheless, I was quickly completed with the process (and charged an extra $20 for having the audacity to actually check a bag!) and directed to the screening area to disrobe, leaving only portions of skin and other integumentary tissue on my person. This left me only about 30 minutes to re-attach the tissue and locate and put on my clothes before take-off. I was able to accomplish the feat in about 20 minutes.

Happy to be taking off from Cody and not landing, for the time being, I had an enjoyable flight to Salt Lake City. I had an empty seat next to me and a friend who was sharing the connecting flight gave me a granola bar to munch on while I wondered if I would have time for some sleep on the hour-and-a-half flight.

In Salt Lake City, I had time for some breakfast. I opted for a timeless favorite, sweet and sour chicken and fried rice from the concourse ptomaine post. I was impressed with how something so colorful to taste so bland and how the chicken could be sizzling hot on the surface and cool in the middle. I choked it down, perused some magazines at the news stand and boarded my flight to DC.

At this point, for those who don’t know me, I should point out that I am a fat guy. I’m not big boned, I’m not “husky,” and I’m not “a little heavy.” I’m a fat dude. I never really feel that way until it’s time to squeeze my behind into an airplane seat. That said, I had the extreme good fortune to be seated next to two other fat folks. Prying myself into my window seat forced my body into a posture foreign to me--with my shoulders pushed up over my ears and the back of my hands pushed together between my knees. I also found that the cushions were not designed to hold my behind off the hard parts for more than 30 minutes. The good news was that apparently this position allowed surprisingly comfortable sleep without having to shift in any direction, with my pillowy pecs holding up my chin and optimizing air flow into my lungs. I also found that this situation prevented my seat mates and me from expelling any “paradise gas,” an obviously good thing. It also came in handy later at the baggage claim when I needed to clear an area to retrieve my lone bag.

I enjoyed the monitor on the seat in front of me that featured GPS tracking of our flight, informing me that we traveled at about 500 mph ground speed and at an altitude of between 37,000 and 40,000 feet and that it was about -45 C outside the plane. As of about 11:30 am I had passed the former easternmost point in the nation to which I had ever traveled before, Nashville, TN.

I also found that one of my seat mates, a gentleman from Pocatello, ID had left his business for the week to make the trip to join with me and unknown others in protesting the reckless and thoughtless government activity that has placed our nation and our livelihood in danger.
Almost 2,000 miles later, we touched down at Reagan National Airport, which I took as a tremendously good omen--to be making my first ever visit to the nation’s capitol with a longing for the days of Reagan and having my first point of contact with the city in the airport that bears his name. As I reflected on the character of Reagan in the face of withering opposition to his deepest convictions and his unwavering faith in the institutions and people of this nation I felt the beginnings of a new resolve to honor his legacy in my time and place--within my sphere of influence--to the best of my ability. For the first time I began to wonder how many others, like me, would be making this trip for this purpose. So far, I knew of our group of 8 and the man on the plane. I hoped that the fact we were seated so closely together was an indication of many on that flight being with us and that it was not merely a coincidence.

I met the others in our group, we gathered our bags and caught the shuttle to our hotel in downtown DC. Once settled, we made the 2-3 block trip to Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse for dinner. We were seated in a side room and apparently got the best waiters in the place. They were extremely personable and helpful. We learned from them that Sean Hannity typically ate in that room and that he usually was seated where my brother-in-law, David, had been seated for our meal. The effect was visible and I pointed out to the waiter that David’s eyebrows were darkening and growing together as he sat there! It seemed appropriate that David, who had made the trip possible for me, should be seated in the chair of one who has been so passionate in his defense of those things that have made our nation great.

We had a fantastic time visiting with one another, joking, discussing what had brought us all here. We ate like kings and left the restaurant feeling like this was only the beginning of a truly remarkable journey for each of us. For me, I felt anxious and apprehensive about the impact our efforts would have, if any. I had begun to allow some doubts to creep in and to wonder if the American people really did prefer slavery with low-quality security to freedom and the promise of excellence in many areas of life as well as the risk of failure that always accompanies liberty. But, those fears took a back seat for a time that night, in that place with those people--both in our group of 8 and those we met in the hotel and in the restaurant.

I slept very well that night.

Bear's Excellent DC Adventure: Prologue

2009-09-16T19:36:00.000-07:00

I've been home from Washington, DC for a few days now and have determined that I need to write down my memories from this trip.

My experiences in the nation's capitol extend beyond the 9/12 March on the Capitol and I have been deeply affected by this experience. I will attempt to relate the passion that I feel without "overshare" or becoming dull.

At this time, I am working on Day 1. When it's completed, I'll post it here followed, of course, by the days that followed, culminating with my return home. By way of prologue, let me say that this experience has renewed my faith in and love for the founding principles of this great nation and its resourceful people. I now feel an optimism that I haven't felt since John McCain won the Republican primary last year (meaning my optimism took a nose dive at that point!).