Debating Moot Points

Our politicians have a way of inserting themselves into areas of Americans lives where they have no place, and our media seems oblivious to the infractions. The most glaring example of this is the current hand wringing over what the federal government should do to "solve" the health care problems in this country.

Democrats have always felt it their responsibility to meddle in our lives, somehow believing that the people simply cannot function without them. The surprising aspect of this all is that the Republicans allowed themselves to be dragged into an argument over an idea that should be summarily dismissed based on the Constitution.

Recently a reporter asked House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to show where the Constitution granted Congress the authority to mandate individual purchase of health insurance. Her response was, "Are you serious"? That bit of arrogance was quickly forgotten, when it should have elicited howls of outrage from everyone, especially the media.

Now, when Republicans are asked what Congress should do to "fix" health care, they offer their own solutions, but that is the wrong answer. The only correct answer to that question is simply, "Nothing. It's none of our business". Period.

Another item that leaves me nearly speechless is the current attempts by the Obama administration to bring Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (KSM) and his cohorts from Guantanamo Bay to New York to stand trial in civilian court. The raging debate in this matter continues to be over the judgement of the idea and whether such a spectacle would place Manhattan in jeopardy of more terrorist attacks.

In defending this decision, President Obama - an alumnus of Harvard Law School - assured the American people that KSM would get a fairer trial than he would have in Gitmo military tribunals. He also asserted that KSM would be found guilty and executed. This was also echoed by the United States Attorney General, Eric Holder. How could alleged experts in legal matters be so ignorant of the law? My Cousin Vinny would find it child's play to get these trials dismissed in the preliminary hearings.

And yet the powers that be, both at the federal level and the local level, continue to discuss the possibility of moving the "trials" elsewhere in New York, when anyone with a matchbook cover law degree knows that any possibility of conviction is futile, given the rhetoric of the administration.

One must wonder just what caliber of mental acumen is running our country. And the question must also be asked, what happened to the "watchdogs"?

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Harry The Crier

Harry Reid just seems to have a way of slathering his shoes with condiments and eating them with his feet still inside. First, the other day, in defense of the "Jobs Bill", Harry warned that men out of work have a propensity to turn violent and batter their domestic partners. On the discussion board I belong to, an on-the-ball friend of mine was quick to note that perhaps it might be prudent for someone to advise Mrs. Reid to obtain an order of protection prior to the November elections, when it seems extremely likely that Senator Reid will find himself among those unemployed men.

And this particular potentially unemployed man is also a former boxer. Seems that Mrs. Reid may be in more jeopardy than the average woman.

Then Harry Reid found it necessary to chastise Republicans who were "crying" over the Democrats' plans to use Reconciliation (The Nuclear Option) to pass legislation while excluding Republican input. Obama has invited Republicans to a "bipartisan meeting" tomorrow, in which he and the Democrats will give the Republicans a chance to agree to the demands of the Democrats before they pull the trigger of the gun held to the Republicans' heads.

Thankfully, Naked Emperor News has provided this video to expose the utter hypocrisy of not only Reid and Obama, but many of the other Democrats poised to usurp the Constitution they swore an oath to uphold. Here is the video:



Do these people not realize the existence of the internet and video records of damned near everything? Or do they simply dismiss the intelligence of we the people?

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I Cried All Over Again

It's thirty years tomorrow that the United States Olympic Hockey Team did the impossible, beating the vaunted Soviet team to advance to the Gold Medal game. As fate would have it, the Olympics are ongoing right now, and NBC did a tribute to that fateful time with some of the participants on hand to comment. I remember standing on my feet at the moment Al Michaels uttered the words, "Do you believe in miracles?", and I remember the tears of pride streaming down my face.

I was a very young man, married less than two years at the time, and while I was always fiercely devoted to America, I never considered myself a political animal back then. My, how that moment changed everything. I was standing in my first apartment as a husband, my wife reading or cleaning in one of the bedrooms. I still remember shouting and trembling near the end of that game, and I remember her embracing me from behind, asking if I was alright. Just the recollection of that one moment still swells my breast almost to the bursting point.

Jimmy Carter was still president, and it was probably his last bright moment in office. I can't say for certain if I recognized at that moment that his was a failure of a presidency, but I do remember the mood that swept the nation from that day forward. I remember the advent of Charlie Daniel's new song, "In America". I remember the mood of the people, previously moribund and defeatist, suddenly swinging into a new wave of unbridled patriotism. I remember union construction workers who were fiercely pro-American, waving flags and baldly challenging "pinkos", who now seem to comprise those very same ranks.

Watching tonight, I was transported back to my younger days, my ideological genesis, and the love I felt for the sport of hockey and the love for my country. I trembled again, and I cried again, the tears both for the granduer of that majestic accomplishement by a collection of mere college boys, and for the effect they could never have imagined they had on not only the nation as a whole, but on some newlywed kid in rural Georgia.

Further, did those boys ever realize the inspiration they had on Charlie Daniels, himself then an accomplished artist? Could they have envisioned the domino effect they set in motion? At the time, they no doubt saw only the incredible accomplishment they had attained in winning a hockey game, never equating it with the much larger ramifications it embodied.

How appropriate it is then that as we move beyond this week of sporting frivolity that the man who could rescue Carter from the annals of bad history is poised to double down on that bet. Since all of the indications are that Obama is fading as fast as a missed Hale Bopp comet boarding, and the kids in their purple Nikes are holding useless rolls of quarters, Obama is rolling up his sleeves to continue his assault on America as we know it.

Charlie Daniels is not only still alive, but quite vibrant. I hope he is honing his fiddle and preparing the next great song to lead us through the awful - and mercifully brief - era of Barack Hussein Obama.

I would welcome the opportunity to cry unabashedly at the greatness of America once again.

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Two Plus Two Equals Four

It's a basic truth of life, but one that has come under assault from the left nevertheless. Newt Gingrich explains it best in these videos from this years CPAC conference. Enjoy:

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CPAC 2010

Republicans have every right to feel encouraged about the pendulum swing of the nation's mood of late, from the Conservative Renaissance to the Tea Party movement. They were giddy at the 37th annual CPAC convention as the fortunes of the Party seem to have turned 180 degrees from just a year ago, but there are troubling signs that they still don't quite grasp the emotions of the people, not entirely.

Indications are early on that Republicans cling to the old notion that people are merely tired of the Democrats and ready to roll the other way for a while, and that is a dangerous perch from which to observe. What we are seeing, particularly from the Tea Party element, bears no resemblance whatsoever to the mood of 1994 and the Gingrich Revolution.

This is not a temporary moment of passion that will be instantly assuaged by the removal of a token number of Democrats. The Tea Party will not disperse suddenly after Election Day, only to return to a blind trust in those victors who vowed in word only to change their ways. There will be no trailing away of smoldering, recently extinguished torches borne by satiated villagers. The rally will stay vigilant long after the promises are delivered, the torches fed anew to keep the light shining and the demands fresh.

To be certain, the Republicans are more towards the safe side in this looming battle for America, and Democrats may just as well forget any hope of mercy in the polls. But Republicans must understand that they have much for which to atone, and must work hard to abandon their ways of old and embrace a new reality. Most importantly, they must realize that the new wave of involvement and patriotism is by no means an endorsement of their platform, but more accurately a golden opportunity to return to their Conservative roots. If those roots are not in the track of some Republicans return trip, they may as well join their Democrat counterparts in packing for home.

Finally, we the people want to hear the hard truth told plainly. We can take it. Further, we want to hear that it can be fixed no matter the pain we must endure. Explain the depth of the pain, we can take that, too.

For now, it appears that a third party can be averted, but the Republicans have little choice but to move back toward true Conservatism and mean it. The people will not be fooled again. There is too much at stake this time around.

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Laying Claim To The Crazed

This is how the beginning of the end of civilization looks. Not only do the weak succumb to the maddening pressures of the sabotaged world created by their incompetent leaders, but those left to witness the carnage waste no time in searching for signs that will prove that the perpetrator is part of the enemy camp. And while I realize that I become a participant in the macabre kabuki dance simply by acknowledging the story, some things simply cannot remain unsaid.

As I write these words, there are better people than I already scouring every corner of the electronic universe feverishly trying to find the smoking gun that will tie Andrew Joseph Stack, 53, to Rush Limbaugh or Glenn Beck. Fortunately, as of this writing, the only confirmed death in this case is that of the perpetrator, but the sad truth is that had the toll been much worse, it would not have mattered to the ideologues currently "digging for that gold". I dare say that a much more gruesome outcome would only sweeten the pot for some to prove that Stack is a right-wing nut.

Lost in the wake of the fervor to discover what made this man tick is the more important question of whether he is alone in his desperate frustration. I certainly do not suggest that his is a terrorist act as part of a coordinated group, but I know there are those out there who will equate it with a simple act of terror, thus diluting the significance of true Islamic terrorism. But while this is clearly the work of a lone, bitterly angry man, there can be little question that there are a great many out there who may not be quite near this extreme, but who feel the same notion of wits end.

In the days ahead, the picture will become much clearer as to where Stack derived his information. Two things are certain. If he is found to have been a fan of talk radio and Rush Limbaugh, et al, it will be headline news. If he is found to have been an Obama supporter and a Democrat, we'll never know.

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Beg, Borrow Or Steal

Despite the palpable erosion of moral values and personal pride in America, it is still true that a vast majority of the people, no matter their economic condition, have boundaries they will not cross. Borrowing has lost all of the stigma formerly attached to it, but people recoil at the notion of begging and - thankfully - persist in the realization that stealing is taboo. And while for some, when desperation allows for brief moments of unthinkable thoughts, they are still able to push them aside and not act on them to better their own circumstances.

How odd it is, then, that these same people feel no compulsion whatsoever to refuse the bounties bestowed on them by the government despite the fact that what they receive has been stolen from another. Worse yet is that the recipients actually encourage such behavior in the form of "taxing the rich".

One of my favorite stories of how to deal with the unscrupulous is the story of King Solomon, who was faced with a dilemma. Two women came to Solomon both claiming to be the mother of a baby, and asked the king to decide who should have the child. King Solomon summoned a soldier and ordered him to cut the baby in half so that each woman could have her share. The first woman agreed while the second, in horror, begged the king to give the child to the other woman in order to spare its life.

In his wisdom, Solomon knew instantly who the real mother was and declared that the second, merciful woman would have the child. Today I came across another story of a king whose wisdom and judgement is unassailable, and his lesson pertinent.

It was written in 1962 by a Fort Worth, Texas businessman named Lewis Love, and I found it on thefreemanonline.org, presented here in its entirety:

There once lived a king in a distant land—a just and wise old king, for he had observed and learned much about his people and about himself and his power. His people were free to go their way, and were fearful of the king and his soldiers, for his rule granted no privilege to one that was not a privilege to all equally. And they were free to petition their king and seek his wisdom in their affairs.

Thus there came one day to the royal court an artisan, a mason, and a beggar who was lame.

"O great and wise king," they cried, "we are sorely troubled with our plight." "I," said the artisan, "make many useful goods. I use great skill and labor long, and yet when I am finished, the people will not pay my price."

"And I," said the mason, "am a layer of stone for houses and fine walls, yet I am idle, for no one gives me work."

"I am a poor lame beggar," said the third man, "who seeks alms from those who pass, as they find it in their hearts to do so, but alms are so few as to be of great concern lest I perish."

"I can see that your trouble is great," consoled the king, "and what would you ask of me?"

Then, they spoke as a group, the artisan, the mason, and the beg-gar who was lame: "Your power is very great, our king, and you can make the people see the folly of their ways and aid us in our troubles."

"Perhaps," said the king, "perhaps my power is great, but I must use it wisely or it shall be lost." And he called to the captain of his guard.

"Bring forth three swords," he commanded, "one for each of these men, and instruct them in their use. These three shall go forth in the land and compel those who will not voluntarily deal with them to obey their command."

"No! no!" the three men called out, "this we did not ask. We are men of honor and could not set upon our fellow man to compel him to our will. This we cannot do. It is you, 0 king, who must use the power."

"You ask me to do that which you would not do because of honor?" questioned the king. "Is honor one thing to a beggar and another to a king? I, too, am an honorable man, and that which is dishonorable for you will never be less dishonorable for your king."

So it is, perhaps, that if those who cry most shrilly of the injustice of the wealthy were brought to the gates of the mansion and told to go up, knock on the door and demand cash, or go home without any further assistance from a third party, it would cause a bit more self reliance and less envy.

Just a thought...

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