Keeping Focus...

In the spirit of not getting distracted, I'd like to address my rant on John McCain's Hobbit speech.

This speech is a symptom of a pervasive problem.  We "U.S. Americans" have allowed our representatives in the federal government to go away and forget about us.  They need to be reminded regularly of their priorities; of their oath and obligation to defend the constitution and to serve their constituents in a way that will be good for all and that will preserve our nation for generations yet unborn.

Senator McCain's complete dislocation is not atypical of many in Congress, the Executive, or line bureaucrats in "public service".  Every two years we have an opportunity to remind them in a forceful way that we will not be taken advantage of and we will not allow them to sell our children's future down the river.

It is the ballot box that matters.  It is the ballot box that politicians must fear.  It is the ballot box that separates us from Egypt, Cuba, China and so many other countries in the world.  The ballot box is the only way for us to remind our representatives of their duty and to express our will on the government.

So, call your representatives.  Write to them.  Get to know them.  Remind them that you are here.  And vote your conscience.  The root is that government is unruly and without strict limits it will grow (has grown) to crush the liberty of the individual.

A Little Down-Home Advice...

Never Heard of BOEMRE...?

BOEMRE is the United States Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement.

Since 2004 they have, according to the Associated Press, received more than $50,000,000 in taxpayer-provided research money - in addition to the Bureau's regular allocation of taxpayer money.

I'm curious to know how one manages, regulates or enforces the ocean's energy.

I'm also curious to know why we're paying for this, when we face imminent default on our debt.  Maybe we ought to do what "real" companies do in similar situations.  They start cutting non-essential staff and activities.

We could start with BOEMRE.  (And the Departments of Energy and Education.)

Are You A Hobbit...?

The only thing that makes me madder than this completely derisive comment by Senator McCain is that I'm not surprised that this is how he feels about conservative people who will not be cowed by hyperbolic fear mongering.

If anyone needed a reason to be glad that Senator McCain is not President McCain, here it is.  The man is despicable, arrogant, self-righteous and self-absorbed.  And here he demonstrates his absolute lack of grasp on either politics, politeness, or economic realities.

What an a**.  (With all due respect to his war record, his office and his humanity...)

These Are The Times That Try Men's Souls...

With national hysteria on a par with 30 October 1938, it seems that America is about to explode.

We're going to stop paying all of our bills on 3 August if Congress doesn't let the President borrow trillions of dollars more than he already has?  Come on....

Old people are going to starve or die of sicknesses?  Soldiers are going to lay down their arms in the field?  College students will stop learning and professors will stop lecturing?  (Maybe that last thing wouldn't be too bad!)

If old people starve because they can't buy food it won't be because President Obama couldn't borrow more money.  It will be because President Obama inflated the money supply so significantly and so rapidly that we have fallen into hyperinflation, where a loaf of bread costs more than a pensioner's monthly stipend.  It will be because the host of enemies from whom we've borrowed $4,000,000,000,000 in 3 years have called our loans.

It will be because of a combination of well-meaning ideas, malicious schemes, economic laws, and natural timing have come together in the perfect storm.

Now is the truly last chance America has to maintain a ghost of its former independence.  Now is the truly last chance America has to begin regaining its independence and its standing among nations.  We must take the bitter pill.  We must make the sacrifices that will lead us back from the abyss.

(Irony of ironies; recall when President Obama was asked if he believed in the idea of American exceptionalism.  His response was that he believed America was exceptional in the same way "Greeks believe Greece is exceptional."  And now we follow Greece down the path of economic apocalypse!)

I say, "Stand fast!  Do not allow an increase to the debt ceiling.  Enforce the fiscal discipline on yourselves that we have heard preached at us from the pulpit of the Presidency lo, these many months!  What is good for the goose IS good for the gander!"

Disappointed...

I just have to say how absolutely disappointed I am in the Republicans we have in the US Congress.

This is, of course, speaking generally.  There have been wonderful examples of individuals hearing their constituents' voice and standing on principle.  But as a group, they've been shameful.

It seems that, before the second week of November, 2010, Republicans in Congress were back to talking and acting as if they'd been defeated.  They acted - and continue to act - as if they believed the liberal press' assertion that their victory had more to do with backward, ignorant, racist voters showing up for a one night stand than it did with a wholesale rejection of the course the country was on; perpetual war, insatiable beaurocracy, limitless government, and reckless acquisition of debt.

To have Senator McConnell and others, including Speaker Boehner in the House, act as if they have to negotiate with the President and his cabal is disgraceful.  Their answer needs to be clear.  The President can do nothing to further his agenda of American decay and debasement.  They will not allow it.  They stake their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor on defending the Constitution from all enemies - even those domestic.

Instead they act like callow shivering dogs trying desperately not to wet the floor in the foyer every time Harry Reid or Barack Obama's name is mentioned; every time they're asked a question by a reporter.  Hoping eagerly to be allowed to lick some crumb from the hand of their master.  Ears down.  Tail tucked between their legs protecting their now impotent maleness.

Where is the Lion?  Who will roar in the face of evil?  Where are the Men?  I think it's wonderful that two women have taken up the banner of liberty; Michelle Bachmann and Sarah Palin.  And I think that every political eunuch should hang his head in shame at the mention of those names until they can find the intestinal fortitude to lead.  If they lack principle, let them heed more closely the will of their constituents.  If they be principled and good, let them articulate the reason for their action, the rationale for their decision so that all can understand.

For now, I'm sorely disappointed.  I'm disgusted.

Think Quick: When's Your Birthday...?

This was good for a laugh.

I'm fascinated that a man who thinks so much of himself misstates his birthday.  He made the statement on 15 July 2011.  He was born on 04 August 1961.  That's more like 3 weeks.

(Don't go thinking I'm a "Birther" or anything like that.)

Maybe he's been talking about "trillions" and "hundreds of billions" for so long that the difference between 1 and 3 is a rounding error.

I just think he's so caught up in his ideology and in executing his agenda on America and its people - especially the middle class - that he is not present.  He is actually and completely unaware of the day, the date, the place and the time.

Focused.

Just like conservatives MUST be in order to defeat the emasculation that he would continue to perpetrate on the last best hope of humanity on earth; the United States of America.

Just Came To The Boiling Point...

Okay, I know I keep saying, "Don't get distracted," but this is too much for me to take.

Yesterday, Mark Halperin was asked what he thought of President Obama's press conference in which he pretended to address the budget and debt crises.  Halperin said that he thought the president "was kind of a d*** yesterday."  And...he said it on live TV.  And...he said it on MSNBC.

Halperin clearly was expressing his opinion of how the president behaved during a specific press conference.  He was not smearing the president's character.  He was not personally impugning his intelligence or morality.

The White House was outraged.  MSNBC was outraged.  Time Magazine was outraged.  Halperin was suspended "indefinitely".  Which, incidentally, means he could be back at work tomorrow morning.  Or he might not ever come back to work.

The president has the bully pulpit.  He can address the entire world at a moment's notice.  He certainly has the power to respond to disparaging remarks.  In fact, he can respond so effectively that, in many cases, he cannot sue for damages caused by slander or libel.  Because he cannot be damaged.

But the president - even The Anointed One - is only one person.  Gauge the level of outrage heard today against that heard in 2009.

What was 2009?

If you'll recall, since 2009 liberal media personalities have referred to those who adhere to Tea Party principles of individual liberty, low taxation, and restrained government as "tea baggers".  This is a particularly disgusting monicker that has reference to a fraternity hazing ritual performed, ironically, primarily at the Ivy League colleges liberals attend.

The White House, the leadership of MSNBC, even so-called Tea Party leaders, were not outraged.  In fact, it was kind of a 7th-grade joke that liberals giggled at on news shows for months.  But, hey, sticks and stones, right?

But there is no one to speak for the conservative person who has been maligned and misrepresented; insulted on the basis of intelligence and moral fiber.And liberal talking heads all over America picked up the personal insult and repeated it endlessly, smearing more than 60,000,000 American citizens who have no voice but the ballot.

And there was a collective yawn....

MSNBC's mea culpa was especially ironic, given that the "tea bagger" thing started with them, "We strive for a high level of discourse, and comments like these have no place on our air."

My Thoughts on "Left" and "Right": Two Roads to The Same Place...

Now, in considering this, please do not think that I am a centrist or a moderate.  This is not the case; for the choice is not between Right and Left. 

The choice is between Liberty and Tyranny.

I stand firmly on the side of Liberty.

Liberty is not to be confused with libertarianism.  Liberty requires law, order, civil society. 

Civil society requires some allegiance to the "greater good."  Civil society requires willing sacrifice on behalf of others.

Civil society is neither Ayn Rand nor Friedrich Engles.  It is Thomas Jefferson.  It is John Adams.  It is Alexander Hamilton.  It is George Washington, and Ulyses Grant, and George Patton.  It is Confucious, and Jesus.  It is Martin Luther King, Jr., and Mohatma Ghandi.  It is environmentalism, and equality under the law.  It is free enterprise and a meritocracy. 

Civil society is the aspiration to humanity and the acknowledgement of human failings.  It does not expect perfection and it does not tolerate apathy.  Civil society is the rule of law and the mastery of self.

Marx, Lenin and You...

Karl Marx is famously misquoted as having said that "Religion is the opiate of the masses."

His actual words give us more accurate insight into his thoughts on religion.  "Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world and the soul of soulless conditions.  It is the opium of the people."

In Marx's opinion, people developed religious faith because the human condition drove them to it.  Absent oppression, religion would be obsolete.

Vladimir Lenin said similarly, yet almost admiringly, "[The masses] are taught by religion to practise charity while on earth, thus offering them a very cheap way of justifying [the capitalists'] entire existence as exploiters and selling them at a moderate price tickets to well-being in heaven."

Lenin recognized that if "the masses" could have their senses dulled by "spiritual vodka" as he called it, they could be cajoled into doing anything, or abused at the will of the masters.

Religion was then a powerful tool to be used wisely by the masters.  And, as Lenin and his cabal became the masters of Russia, they used the false religion of the State to stupify their subjects.

In America, though, we love to boast of our "freedom" and our "liberty". 

My father-in-law grew up during the Second World War and the 1950s.  One evening as we talked of politics he looked at me and said, "You think you live in a free country.  If you could see the America I grew up in you wouldn't even recognize it!" 

His implication was that the culture and condition of "Americans" had evolved so radically that the "freedom" we thought we enjoyed in the 1990s was a shadow of the virtually unfettered liberties of the early Post-War years. 

The prosperity of America following World War II and through the 1990s allowed for leisure time.  More leisure time than mankind had enjoyed in history.

And entertainment became the new American Religion.  Focus shifted from interdependence to independence.  Independence deteriorated in the 1960s and 1970s to dependence - dependence on drugs, on illicit sex; on entertainment. 

The goal of the behaviors driven by dependence is, ironically, to distract oneself from one's dependent and pathetic condition.

As the "opiate" of entertainment stupefied Americans, a few who were alert took advantage of their compatriots' condition.  They rose to positions of power and authority in education, industry and government.  Some of them called themselves "conservatives" or "Republicans" and others called themselves "liberals" or "Democrats"; some called themselves "pure capitalists" and others called themselves "corporate citizens".  They pretended to aim at widely divergent goals.  Some cried for individual liberty, and others called for compassion for the less fortunate among us; some talked of shareholder interests, and others preached social responsibility.

In truth, their drive was shared.  They were all motivated by greed and the will to amass personal power; to gain control and keep control. 

Today we are so restricted in our individual liberties - and so well accustomed to those restrictions - that we think little of the fact that the Indiana State Supreme Court recently ruled that police officers do not need a warrant to enter homes in the state - regardless of probable cause or iminent danger (or the lack thereof).

We think nothing of US Senators serving 6, 7 or even 8 6-year terms in a row. 

We collectively lack the intelligence to question any idea presented as "fact" by an "authority".  The slogan so popular among Baby Boomers, "Question Authority!" now draws stern reproach from those "Boomers" because it now threatens their own standing in society.  It threatens to expose their own hypocrisy and deception they are now perpetrating on America.

So, I say, "WAKE UP, AMERICA!"  Kick the entertainment habit. 

While you are distracted and dulled you have lost your country!  If we do not do something NOW, we risk having lost the ideal of "America" forever.

Karmic, Cosmic and Metaphysical...

A while back someone in a position to really hurt me and my family did just that. 

In the moment I tried to have - and succeeded in having - a dignified and restrained response.  Following my family back to England in the mid-1800s, it's that stiff upper lip, and all.

It was also the WWJD thing that we learn from childhood in Sunday School.

Anyway, I did keep the outward appearance and behavior of calm professionalism. 

Inside and at times when I was alone I ran the gammut of emotion. 

I was euphoric because I was out of a situation that was uncomfortable, unproductive, unrewarding and stressful.  I was resentful because I felt misunderstood. 

I was peaceful because I knew that, contrary to the old addage, God's hand is in the details of our lives.  I was anxious because now one of my prime responsibilities would be much more difficult to fulfill. 

I was excited because a whole world of opportunity and options lay open before me.  I was frustrated because there were no opportunities open to me. 

I was compassionate to the person who had done this and their associates.  I was filled with rage and hatred for that person and everyone who surrounded them.

And over time, I felt that my inner feelings were getting more in line with what my will would have them be.  You see, I want to be a person who is magnanamous, charitable, kind and unflappable in every situation.  I admire Sir Thomas Moore's response when he learned that his friend's inattention had led to the destruction of his manuscript for the history he'd been working on for 2 years or more.

I want to be that guy.

Today, as I sat working on my new "opportunities" I started to think about some of the details around the event in question.  I started to see how some of the things had not been right. 

I don't discount any part I may have played in the troubles.  I'm sure, because I've examined it, that I could have done more and done differently. 

But the real insensitivity and the real injustice and the way I perceived that they were dragging out the agreed upon act of doing right by me started to eat at me this afternoon.

And I could feel the very real event of positive, creative, generative energy leaving my body and it was replaced with a dark energy.  An energy that brought with it lethargy, anger, a hyperactive sense of "justice", and malice began to fill me.

I knew I needed to change my place - both spiritually and physically.  So, I went out to a lake near the house.  I sat in the shade and focused on the nature that surrounded me.  I listened to the wind and watched the birds.  I searched my heart and I talked with God. 

And in the process I felt changed. 

I'm not describing some rebirth or powerful cleansing.  It was a subtle change.  The edge came off my anger.  Some cloud obscured my certain view into the intent of the soul of another.  And just as clouds pass and blades are sharpened I knew that this change was fleeting.

I knew it was a change I needed to keep, though.  And I understand it's a change I need to repeat continually until, at last, Grace has place in my heart and drives out bitterness and despair forever.

Where Has He Been...?

President Obama just warned us that, if the debt ceiling is not raised, the country could be in line for a financial crisis....

Where has this guy BEEN since his election!?

Follow this link to the Reuters news story.

The Mormon Exodus...

This past week I had a chance to participate as an adult leader in a brief and highly modified reenactment of the Mormon handcart pioneer trek.

For those of you with teenage children who may participate in such a trek, I will warn you here that I may spoil some of the surprising aspects of the experience, so allow them to read this at your discretion.

The Mormon Exodus is a mass migration of epic proportions, and one largely ignored by history in America.

It involved thousands on thousands of men, women and children from around the globe.  Initially, the Exodus began in flight.  Comprised primarily of Mormons, or members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, entire communities became ghost towns as local, state and federal governments refused to provide protection to the Saints against mobs of militia, ruffians, and neighbors.

Persecution was intense.  The first "Gathering" of the Mormons was to Kirtland, Ohio.  There, a small country crossroads became the headquarters of the newly formed church and the Saints began building a temple in anticipation of the restoration of the rites enjoyed in ancient Israel.  Local opposition resulted in the Church establishing a secondary center on the fringes of the United States, in Jackson County, Missouri.

Hatred for the new church and its members was even more intense in Missouri.  The governor of the state issued what became known as the "Extermination Order" which stayed in force until 1976.  This order declared Mormons enemies of the state and authorized the militia and any citizen to drive the Mormons from the state or to kill them in the effort.

Mobs fought battles with Mormons at Crooked River, Missouri and Haun's Mill, Missouri among other places.  The result of these battles was that the Saints were forced to leave their homes in Jackson County and were relocated to Caldwell and Clay counties and then, in the deep of winter, were forced to leave the state of Missouri altogether.

They crossed east into Illinois where residents were initially kind.  From Quincy, Illinois they moved north to settle in a disease-infested swamp called Commerce.  The Saints drained the swamp, established a settlement, and again began construction on a temple.  They intended to stay in what they renamed "Nauvoo" for a long time.

As Nauvoo grew to be the largest town in Illinois, concern about the political power of a Mormon voting block grew also.  Persecution followed.  Outlying farms were vandalized and their occupants were terrorized. In 1844, seeking to put an end to a religion that they viewed mistakenly as a cult of personality, a mob with the tacit approval of the governor of Illinois murdered Joseph Smith the church's founder, and his brother Hyrum the church patriarch.

Contrary to expectations, this murder was seen as "martyr" and the Church continued to grow.

Mob pressure was relieved somewhat, but state pressure on the Mormons to leave Illinois grew until, in 1846, the leaders of the Mormon church were notified that the state could no longer ensure the safety of the Mormons.  They were told that they would need to leave the state that year.

In the winter of 1846 thousands of members of the Church packed their belongings into wagons pulled by ox or horse teams and moved across the frozen Mississippi River into Iowa.  In the muddy spring those same Saints pulled 300 miles across Iowa and across the Missouri River into Nebraska (Indian) Territory to establish Winter Quarters near what is now Florence, Nebraska.

In spring of the next year Brigham Young led an expeditionary party more than 1,200 miles across the Rocky Mountains and into Mexico's valley of the Great Salt Lake.  Here, beyond the reach of the United States government, the Mormons hoped to live in peace.

By 1849 the pace of emigration had become deliberate.  Wagon trains were organized and supplies were laid in.

In the following 20 years, until the railroad extended to Utah in 1869, more than 60,000 converts to Mormonism would leave their homes and make the trek of thousands of miles to "gather with the Saints" in the Intermountain West.

By the mid-1850s the cost of wagon travel had grown and emigrating Saints needed a less expensive means of travel.  Brigham Young and other Church leaders conceived what they termed "the handcart plan".  Rather than loading all their possessions into heavy wagons and using draft animals to pull them slowly across the plains, new emigrants would be allowed no more than 17 lbs. of luggage and would pull relatively light handcarts across the well-traveled road into the Great Salt Lake Valley.  It was estimated that the Saints could pull 15 to 20 miles each day and move faster than the plodding oxen.  Whatever they needed for living would be available to them when they reached the Valley.

Further, the handcart pioneers would not carry with them all the food they would need on the trail.  Resupply wagons would be sent from Salt Lake City to meet them a little more than halfway between Winter Quarters and Salt Lake.

Of the 10-or-so handcart companies, only 2 ran into any significant trouble.  It is the immense sacrifice and the tremendous dedication of these pioneers that the handcart trek reenactments seek to memorialize.

In our recent reenactment a mob (historically out of context, as handcart pioneers faced no such persecution) came to drive us out of our camp one night.  They threw our gear around, took our food, and generally terrorized the group until we were forced to move.

As I looked into the faces of these mobbers, I recognized many of them.  Some were even my friends, parents of friends, and young people I knew.  I called them by name and tried to reason with them, but my efforts to calm them were unheeded.

And it struck me there, that this was just how it was for the early Saints who did experience mobbings.  Their neighbors, people with whom they traded, people they thought of as friends, were among the paint-faced cowards now trampling their gardens and burning their barns.  They would have seen the faces of prominent members of the community and clergy of other churches as they were dragged from their homes to be beaten, tarred, and feathered.  And they would have called to them, just as I did.  Tried to reason with them, just as I did.  And failed, just as I did.

That was a powerful realization for me.  As a child I was bullied incessantly from 4th grade until I started high school.  To recognize my tormentors was too familiar to me.  Primal feelings came to the surface during that experience as I recognized the mobbers.  The instinct to fight, the ability to do so, and rage met in a perfect storm that I could barely control.  (The "mobbers" later referred to me as that "mean Mormon".)

The rest of the experience was, I imagine, just as hundreds of other pioneers experienced it.  Long days of hot and dusty walking.  And thinking.  And wondering about what lay ahead....

What In The World Is Going On...?

This is a link to the IMPOSSIBLE!

No WAY!  I can't believe it!  Not under THIS administration!  Not under the "most ethical congress in history"!

I'm confused at how those corrupt bastard Republicans and Tea Partiers got in and got their corrupt bastard contractor cronies jobs under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Let's see, the Democrat party controlled the House of Representatives, the Democrat party controlled the Senate, the Democrat party controlled the Presidency, and Organized Labor both supports and controls the Democrat party.

And because it is an undisputed fact that Organized Labor has neither associations with corrupt contractors, nor a conflict of interest in government contracts, it is impossible that Organized Labor could have steered any of the "Stimulus" money to corrupt contractors.

Further, it is a well-known fact that supporters of Democrat candidates and regimes are in favor of high taxation and that they, on principle, would never dodge or avoid timely payment of their "fair share".  It's patriotic, after all, to pay more taxes.

I just don't get it.  Maybe Hillary Clinton was right in 1994; there must be a "vast right wing conspiracy" at work.

Kumbaya...

Tolerance and peaceful coexistence do not appear to be options in London...

I'm always curious when I see professionally printed signs at spontaneous rallies.  It makes me understand that this isn't a "reaction" to anything.  Rather, it's the outpouring of long-held beliefs and objectives.

Here's An Issue...

Here you go.  Follow this link to the Wall Street Journal

While so many are distracted by news from the Middle East, we see that food stamp recipients remained unchanged in February.  About 44 million Americans are getting assistance.  That's about 12%.

Those food stamp recipients can be converted almost directly to Democrat votes.  Consider the appeal of the Democrat platform and policies.  Higher taxes support more programs for the poor.  And because the poor do not pay income taxes (liberals say that they actually do pay a "negative income tax"), then higher income taxes do not affect them adversely.  Support for that sort of government spend-and-tax is almost universal among the poor.

Include the element of class warfare that is incessantly infused in every discussion of wealth or poverty by liberal politicians and their accomplices in the press.  "To each according to his needs; from each according to his ability!"

Add to that the 20% of Americans who are true-blue liberals and you only need to pick up 18% of the vote to win an election.

In light of this, it's easy to understand why policies and programs that fail to raise people out of poverty are so adamantly defended by Democrats.

The true purpose of the welfare state is to secure a block of voters, and not to eliminate poverty.  The true purpose of entitlement programs like Social Security and Medicare is to secure a block of voters, and not to preserve the dignity of the elderly.  The true purpose of expanding bureaucracy is to increase the number of voters who depend on big government spending, and not to better serve citizens.

If the Democrat candidate can count on 32% or more of the vote, and if true conservatives can count on their 20% "true believers", then the swing vote is not at all 60%.  It's more like 48%.  And getting 3/8ths of that group is simple.

So what is the real solution to the poverty question in America?

You May Notice...

You may notice that I have not commented on the assassination of Osama bin Laden.

Nor will I.

I refer you to my post of 28 April 2011.  Do not let yourself get distracted.

Government to Default If Debt Ceiling Not Raised...?

THIS IS A LIE! 

 Follow the link in that phrase to read an AP article that is just LYING to you.  (Unless, of course, we're borrowing money just to make our debt payments.  In that case, we can all just put our heads between our knees and....)

I've heard it for months now.  If the Congress does not raise the debt ceiling the United States will default on its loans outstanding.  In other words, people in the Obama administration, the US Congress, and the press are saying that if we can't borrow more money, we'll stop paying on the debts we ALREADY have.

I'm not sure how responsible people can continue to parrot this alarmism.

Here's the deal:  The United States has a debt.  That is the total amount of money borrowed from others and used to fund our government operations.

The United States also has a deficit.  That is the annual amount of money our government budgets to spend in excess of its "income" from taxation of its people and its corporations.

Those two terms are often used interchangeably, but in truth they are VERY different.

The issue at hand is whether or not Congress should raise the DEBT ceiling.  In other words, the Obama administration and the Democrat members of Congress are asking that they be legally allowed to borrow more money.  Essentially, they want to take out another mortgage and promise to repay it later.

Our current debt ceiling is just over $14 trillion.  And ... we have almost that amount of debt on the books right now.  If Congress doesn't change the law, we won't be able to issue more bonds and borrow more money.

Our current GDP is somewhere around $15 trillion.  In other words, we owe almost as much as our entire country PRODUCES in one year.  If every person and every company in America were to pay 100% tax - no food, no mortgage, no energy; just taxes - for one year, we would be able to pay off the principal on our loans.  Of course, at the end of the year, there wouldn't be much left of the country, either.

So, the president is asking for more.  If our government is not allowed to borrow more money, then it cannot expand programs.  It will be forced to "live within its means" just like its citizens!

But failing to raise the debt ceiling will have no effect on the country's ability to repay its existing debt. That money is provided for each year in the annual budget which, by law, must be completed by October of the year previous.  Unfortunately, the outgoing Congress failed to pass a budget in 2010 which would have provided for 2011.  Many blame Republicans for this, while ignoring the fact that the Democrat party controlled (by HUGE majorities) the House and Senate since 2007 and the Presidency since 2009.

So, it feels like I keep almost making my point.  For a government official or a "journalist" to allow anyone to believe that failure to raise the amount of money the government can legally borrow will result in a government shut-down or a government default on our debt is ABSOLUTELY IRRESPONSIBLE!

It will not happen.  We will continue to pay our debts.  We may be forced, however, to examine our on-going government programs and operations and make some reductions.

I personally think those reductions should be very targeted and begin with redundant bureaucracy, such as BATF&E and FBI.  After all, they both have inter-state powers to pursue violent criminals.  Or non-productive departments such as the Department of Education.  After all, there are no Federal Elementary Schools, or Federal Universities.  Who is the Department educating, exactly?  The National Endowment for the Arts and the Department of Energy are other easy targets.

The list can go on for pages.

Before we allow ourselves to get worked up over the "news", we HAVE to engage our brains when we hear claims that are "too bad (or good) to be true".

Distractions and Diversions…

When I was a boy we had a dog that was so smart and so fast she could catch a tennis ball that was thrown almost before it hit the ground. She always caught it on the first bounce.

We started to try to distract her by faking a throw one way, waiting for her to run as far as she would, and then tossing the ball the opposite direction. Then she’d have to hunt the ball down, taking much longer than she usually did to find it.

After falling for our fake throws a couple of times, she’d stand at our feet, watching our hands until she was sure the ball had been thrown and then she’d take off after it. She was still quick, but because she stood waiting for us to set the direction, it took her a relatively long time to bring the ball back. She couldn’t catch it on the first bounce, and often it stopped rolling before she caught up with it.

I think that conservatives are a lot like my dog. They’re quick and smart. They’re eager to get things right. They’re also easily “faked out” and, once they figure out they’re being “faked out” they are slow to move. And when they do finally move, it is often too late for their action to be effective.

I am struck by the volume of news reports (and the incessant fixation of “conservative” talk show hosts) about Donald Trump, his possible run for president, his childish insistence that President Obama needs to show his birth certificate – which he did just this week, after 6 ½ years – and Trump’s general obnoxious behavior.

We see news stories and hear radio conversations about the high price of gasoline, the restrictions placed on businesses by government, taxes for the wealthy, taxes for the poor, Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, and on and on.

We continue our war in Afghanistan, our support of the fledgling government of Iraq, our non-war in Libya, our support of both rebels and established governments in a handful of other countries around the world.

We worry about trade with China and immigrants from Mexico, about racism and radicalism, about Big Oil and small business, about Wall Street and Main Street, about worker rights and student rights.

In the midst of this, we’ve lost sight of something. These issues have always been, and will always be, central to our national discussion. But while the national discourse has focused on the issues, other forces have been working to make fundamental changes to our nation’s power structure.

For more than 200 years America has been the safest place to do business in the world. There are a number of reasons for this. We have had a small and historically weak central government. We have had relatively low tax rates in the past. Our infrastructure is world-class. We have direct sea access to the Pacific Rim, Europe and Africa. We have virtually every raw material an industry would consume in abundance. Energy has historically been cheap. Labor has historically been skilled, industrious and dependable.

And above all, we have had The Rule of Law that ensures contracts will stand, justice and penalties will be applied even-handedly, and arrangements made in good faith can be counted on. Americans may take the Rule of Law for granted, but in much of the world and throughout much of history, the Rule of Law did not govern men or nations.

Even today we hear talk of the business risk associated with off-shoring work to China or Viet Nam. We see the recent moves of Hugo Chavez when he nationalized (stole in the name of the State) all foreign petroleum production sites and equipment. We see white farmers who have been in Africa for generations driven off their land or killed in black repatriation campaigns. We see wholesale murder in the name of Islam when elections are lost in Egypt and Nigeria. We see attacks on police and infrastructure stations in attempts to intimidate others and drive behavior.

But in America we see a signed contract and a good faith effort. If the parties are satisfied, money is exchanged and the contract ends. If the parties are not satisfied, they seek mediation or judgment and when the mediator or judge issues a ruling we see both parties comply.

THAT has made the United States of America the world’s preferred place to do business.

And THAT is what the Obama administration is working feverishly to subvert. While “good conservatives” are chasing imaginary tennis balls, the ideologues working in the executive branch of our government and supported by the chorus of yes-men in congress and the liberal media, who fear above all falling out of favor with the administration, are steadily hammering away at the foundation of America’s greatness in the world. They are working to tear down the Rule of Law and replace it with the Rule of The People.

Most of these workers are true believers. They believe that what they are doing is right. After all, it makes them feel good to know that “justice” is being done in “society”. It only makes sense to them that everyone in America – and the world, for that matter – should have according to their needs. And it further makes sense to them that everyone in America should give (or have taken from them) according to their abilities. Indeed, Bill Gates and Warren Buffet have more money than they could possibly spend in a hundred lifetimes. What is wrong with asking them to share it with people who don’t even have enough money to buy a new television set? The Rich are more ABLE to provide for the NEEDS of the people.

So, we see pressure from the Office of the President placed directly on individuals to “give back” their Wall Street bonuses. Never mind the fact that those bonuses were paid pursuant to a legally binding contract.

So, we see the president of General Motors fired at the personal request of the President of The United States. Never mind the fact that the president of GM worked for a publicly held company and served at the pleasure of the board of trustees.

So, we see the Department of Treasury force investors who had loaned money to Chrysler to accept an arbitrary revision of the terms of their bonds so that they lost repayment priority during Chrysler’s bankruptcy proceedings. Never mind the fact that those bond holders had every legal right to expect their money to be repaid immediately after Chrysler’s employees and suppliers.

So, we see the US Government refuse to allow oil exploration in the Gulf of Mexico and other areas. Never mind the fact that the government itself leased portions of the area to oil companies specifically for the purpose of oil exploration and production and received billions of dollars from them for that right.

So, we see the Department of Health and Human Services debar a pharmaceutical company from doing business with any federal agency – effectively eliminating 82% of its market – because the Secretary of HHS did not feel that the company’s payment of a $313 million fine was sufficient punishment for an inadvertent mistake. Never mind that the Department of Justice felt quite satisfied and that no harm had resulted from the mistake.

You see, what is happening is the destruction of America as an economic powerhouse.

There are many in the world and in the country who believe it is wrong for America to have so much power and to influence so much of world events. They equate what we are doing with what was done by European powers in the 500 years previous to today. Just as the Belgians enslaved and exploited Central Africans 300 years ago, so are Americans enslaving and exploiting Chinese today by forcing them to make t-shirts in sweatshops so that we can buy them for $3 each at Wal-Mart.

And so, to “even the playing field”, America must come down. America must suffer just a little so that others may suffer less.

There is a serious problem with the reasoning, though. The only suffering that ever was able to reduce others’ suffering was that of Jesus Christ. But a liberal, leftist or statist is unlikely to allow even that one instance. The truth is that increasing suffering only increases suffering.

The path to relief of the world’s economic problems is to allow EVERYONE to succeed as they are able and to allow EVERYONE to help others as they are moved by their moral compass.

Inconsistencies and Hypocrisies...

This weekend I enjoyed a man-cation in the Nevada desert learning how better to shoot my "practical rifle". It was outstanding.

On my drive home I was passed by an SUV with a sticker in the rear window reading, "GAS SUCKS; ride a bike". And, although it was a small SUV, I was struck by the stark irony.

I will speak only for myself, and if you see things that resonate with you, I'm happy to have company.

I have a moral compass that guides and informs my behaviors. That compass points me in a good, healthy, happy direction.

I also have free will that allows me to make choices to follow my moral compass or not. And, in certain situations, I have chosen to ignore my compass. When I make those choices I learn again that my compass really is pointing me toward goodness; and I didn't find that in the wrong choice.

I see this as an inconsistency. I'm not out telling others what to do. And I'm not condemning them when they don't follow my advice. And I'm not turning around and ignoring my own advice. That would constitute an hypocrisy.

In my inconsistencies I am losing my own private battles in the war I am fighting within myself.

I have had friends who have become jaded toward organized religion because of what they call "hypocrisy" among the adherents. And I will grant that there certainly are cases of blatant hypocrisy in churches of all colors. Leaders who preach one thing and live in an entirely different way, or members who make a show of devotion in worship services yet are cruel at home or at work are examples that come to mind.

But I choose to believe that the vast majority of what my friends have called "hypocrisy" is really inconsistency. They're really watching a person a lot like myself winning and losing private battles in an invisible war that can last a lifetime.

Instead of watching and getting some Roman sense of pleasure when our fellow creatures are battered and bruised in the Arena, we would be better to have compassion and, with the wise man, remind ourselves that "there, but for the grace of God, go I."

On Marriage...

In the last few years America has seen quite a debate about marriage, its value to society, and its place in the future of our country. I'd just like to address one dimension of the debate.

I've heard it postulated that traditional or historical definitions of "marriage" and "family" are valuable and worth preserving. That is to say that a marriage is the legally sanctioned union of one man and one woman and that their family consists of children either naturally born to them or legally adopted by them. Further, just as society recognizes the definition of the number "two" to be a specific and exact value, society recognizes the definition of "marriage" in similarly narrow terms. These definitions preclude homosexual unions and hetero-specie unions from being recognized as "marriages" and deny "family" status to any beings affiliated with or deriving from such unions.

I happen to agree with this view and I support it completely. My views stem from my observation of society, my moral and religious beliefs, and the inner sense I have of right and wrong.

The single dimension of the debate I would like to address is the false choice put forward by opponents of marriage as follows. They point out the unhappiness of women they know who are married. They point out the emotional and physical abuse that is perpetrated by cruel spouses. They point out the infidelity that is rampant in American society as if it were a uniquely "married" problem. Therefore, they conclude, that because marriage has been desecrated by some of its participants, the concept of marriage should not be held sacred by society.

In fact, they continue, society would be better off without the institution all together. As if to say that absent marriage, women would be happy, partners would cease to be emotionally and physically abusive, and fidelity would reign in relationships.

Following that logic, I would like to suggest this analogy.

In the desert of the American Southwest there are what we call "slot canyons", narrow cuts in solid sandstone where water has carved out deep holes and steep cliffs. They are spectacular. In the depths of these canyons, even in the driest parts of the summer, one can find pools of cool water.

However, one would not want to drink it. In fact, the smell of this water is extremely offensive. The pools are tainted with manure, algae, bacteria, insect larvae, and frequently the bodies of dead animals. Drinking this water can cause fatal diseases.

The problem is not that all water is bad, though. The problem is the pollution that has gotten into it. The water component of the toxic soup is one of life's essential nutrients. Eliminating water from one's diet is not an option. One would be well to find a clear source of water and steer clear of the pollution altogether. Water is key to human survival.

In the case of marriage in America, the problem is not the institution; rather it is the pollution of cruelty, abuse, infidelity and deception that have crept into it. The choice, then, is not whether or not to continue upholding marriage as a valued tradition of our society.

The question may also be answered with a "Third Way". Society can re-examine marriage and re-commit to making it a central part of American life because of the real benefits we as a people gain from its place in our culture. Pure marriage, after its original intent, is not only good; it is essential to the survival of civil society.

A Different Take...

So, I thought the Snoop Dogg - Mormonism story was hilarious.

I've read responses to it that range from derision to indignation. Some are convinced that the writer is a rabid anti-Mormon; others scorn those offended as typical hyper-sensitive zealots.

I though that a woman in my office, who constantly gives her daughter grief about joining the LDS Church, would be the perfect person to share this with. After all, she should get a kick out of the idea.

Her response surprised me. She read the story and, without so much as a laugh, said thoughtfully, "Yeah, well, I suppose anyone can change, right? Why not him?"

And that made me think a little more.

I believe she's right.

The atonement of Christ IS infinite AND eternal. It's available to all. In fact, Paul was taught that in a dream where he saw all sorts of unclean animals in a giant sheet and the Lord commanded him to eat them. Paul refused and the Lord gently taught him not to call what He called "clean" anything but clean. Of course, that is interpreted to mean that the Gospel is to be preached freely to all, regardless of their heritage or race or nationality.

So, why not Snoop Dogg? Isn't Christ's power sufficient for even him?

And if we believe that, then why not sufficient for you or me?

I believe it is.

My Very Favorite April Fool's Joke EVER....

I first saw this about 2 years ago. It was posted on a web page that was mocked up to look exactly like CNN's page. It's a classic.

Rapper Snoop Dogg converts to Mormonism

By Aaron Nichols
CNN

DIAMOND BAR, California (AP) — In what some may consider an unexpected move, rap artist “Snoop Dogg” has reportedly converted to Mormonism after nearly a year of study with the fast-growing, Utah-based faith.

Snoop Dogg says he “can’t get enough of the Book of Mormon.”

In a statement, a spokeswoman for Snoop Dogg — whose real name is Calvin Broadus — said he considers himself extremely fortunate to have discovered such a deep sense of spiritual fulfillment at this stage in his life.

“Mr. Broadus is also very pleased to find that his family is as enthusiastic about attending church services as he is,” the spokeswoman said.

However, Snoop Dogg has not been enthusiastic about publicly sharing his experience and declined to be interviewed by CNN for this article. In fact, he reportedly informed producers of his E! reality show “Snoop Dogg’s Father Hood” that this particular aspect of his family’s life was off-limits to the cameras. Still, he left open the possibility of addressing the subject in future episodes.

According to the Associated Press, Snoop Dogg was first introduced to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as the Mormon Church is officially known, after attending a Gladys Knight concert in an LDS meeting house in Los Angeles.

Knight, who very publicly discusses her conversion to Mormonism several years ago, invited Snoop Dogg to what is known to the Mormon faithful as “Family Home Evening,” a church program that encourages families to set aside Monday evenings for gospel-centered lessons and family togetherness.

Though Snoop Dogg has been hesitant to publicly discuss his recent spiritual journey, he commented on the experience of attending his first “Family Home Evening” in a recent interview with People Magazine.

“I was hooked from the start,” Snoop Dogg said. “We talked about the purpose of life, played Mousetrap, and ate brownies. The kids thought it was off the hook, for real.”

In what Snoop Dogg now thinks was anything but a coincidence, Mormon missionaries had knocked on his door just one week before the Knight concert. He said he had initially turned them away because of what he knew about the strict Mormon health code, which prohibits members from smoking, drinking alcohol, and using drugs.

“Y’all know me,” he said grinning broadly. “There were just certain things the old me — the “natural man” — needed to do. And these young guys are telling me that God’s not down with disrespecting ourselves. But it’s cool now.”

Snoop Dogg said his conversion marks the end of his old life, one that included frequent run-ins with the law. Snoop Dogg was convicted in 1990 of cocaine possession and charged with gun possession after a 1993 traffic stop. In 1997, he pleaded guilty in exchange for a lighter sentence.

In 1996, Snoop Dogg was acquitted of murder after a purported gangbanger was killed by gunfire from the vehicle in which Snoop Dogg was traveling.

Snoop Dogg dismisses critics who claim his conversion is intended to placate a Salt Lake County judge, before whom he is appealing an alleged probation violation.

“Listen, the haters will say what they will,” Snoop Dogg said. “I can only do what I feel is right.”

Has Anyone Else Noticed...?

Yesterday I was sure I was mistaken, or that the Fox News reporter had made a one-off commentary error.

In discussing President Obama's statements on the US involvement in strikes against Libya, she said that the president was speaking from Brazil where he was on a "diplomatic mission".

For more than a week before his departure the president's trip to Brazil with his family was being portrayed as a "vacation" to Rio.

And then I heard another Fox reporter today talk about the president's "good will" mission to Brazil today.

Doublespeak, anyone?

Just Missing My Dad....

Dance With My Father
by Luther Vandross

Back when I was a child
Before life removed all the innocence
My father would lift me high
And dance with my mother and me and then

Spin me around till I fell asleep
Then up the stairs he would carry me
And I knew for sure
I was loved

If I could get another chance
Another walk, another dance with him
I’d play a song that would never, ever end
How I’d love, love, love to dance with my father again

When I and my mother would disagree
To get my way I would run from her to him
He’d make me laugh just to comfort me,
Then finally make me do just what my mama said

Later that night when I was asleep
He left a dollar under my sheet
Never dreamed that he
Would be gone from me

If I could steal one final glance
One final step, one final dance with him
I’d play a song that would never, ever end
‘Cause I’d love, love, love to dance with my father
again

Sometimes I’d listen outside her door
And I’d hear her, mama cryin’ for him
I pray for her even more than me
I pray for her even more than me

I know I’m prayin’ for much too much
But could You send back the only man she loved
I know You don’t do it usually
But Lord, she’s dyin’ to dance with my father again
Every night I fall asleep
And this is all I ever dream