We have been in the “political season” for what seem like forever.  Throughout the debate, especially in the last six months we have had the three remaining candidates, Clinton, Obama and to a lesser extent McCain; as well as their surrogates try and sell us the moon in order to restore an America on life support to “its former glory” through increased government regulation, handouts; and in at least two of the cases, increased taxation.  

I do not know if I stepped into some sort of Sci-Fi like alternate universe where Kirk and Spock are evil or if the evil Kirk and Spock found a way into my universe but that is not the America I know and love.  While I think that America in its current state has some short-comings and may be in a pivotal moment in its life as a country (which all nations have gone through multiple times in their span); I do not think it is on life support.  Even if you buy into the premise that this little bump in the road is America on “life-support”, increased government regulation and handouts have never ever been the American way or the way that America proves just how great she really is.

America, time and time again proves just how great no not just great, rather how Devine she really is in the exact polar opposite way that our next President (whoever he or she is) may try to tell you is the way.  The Pope touched on it in some of his televised speeches this past week, which he spent in America.  America proves its divinity each time not through hand outs and regulation but rather by standing tall in the darkest hour; finding a way to pull that rabbit out of our Star and Striped colored hat and defeating whatever challenge was put in front of us regardless of its makeup.

Remember America got its start because it was sick of being bullied by Great Britain.  Washington, Jefferson and the lot did not cower under their collective beds or go begging to the rest of the world for help.  France’s naval assistance came after we proved that we could take it to the British on land and to suit their own personal agenda; not out benevolence of freedom (something that America does throughout the world today). 

Nowhere in the Declaration of Independence does it say “Please be nice to us, pretty please”; nor does it beg for a hand out or a government program.  Rather, it told the British Crown what America was about in a polite yet firm manner.  It told that overbearing government that we do not need to be told what to do and can do better without it.  Then just to be sure they heard us, we clenched up our fists and did what needed to be done.  To borrow a phrase from former WWE superstar “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, our Founding Fathers “Opened up a can of Whoop A$$” on what was at the time the world’s largest military and sent that message heard around the world.  That message was firm yet simple; We Americans do not tolerate overbearing governments for very long.  And although it seemed like a lesson in futility we won.  Not only did this tiny group of ordinary citizens stand up to the world’s largest army, it found a way to win against all odds.  Furthermore it only took us less than two centuries to become the greatest nation the world has ever seen and we have not, nor should we ever forget or give up how that happened or why.

This winning against all odds ability and mentality is not an isolated incident.  Whether it was the Civil War era, the Great Depression/World War II era or the Jimmy Carter Presidency we have always found the way out of our darkest hour by digging just a little deeper within ourselves to find that will we did not realize we had; and come up with a way to come out stronger than ever before.  This attitude is reflected in the heroes we remember, not only the real ones like Washington, Lincoln or Regan but also our fictional ones. 

Fictional legends often come out of the frame of mind of the populace that created and embraced them thus bringing them to life; so they typically hold the ideals and abilities that particular culture considers to be great in a larger than life way.  The Greeks brought us unbeatable warrior heroes like Hercules and Achilles.  The Norse brought us Thor and so on.   With that frame of mind, think about the legends from American fiction that stand out the most.

 As someone who was born in 1975 and came of age in the 80’s; some of the legends of American folklore that come to my mind are Rocky, Hulk Hogan, Luke Skywalker and MacGyver.  Each of these characters, when seen from the surface, certainly appears to be different.  Rocky and Hulk Hogan portrayed sports heroes who were able to channel their inner spirit and will their bodies into absorbing unimaginable punishment on the way to defeating their seemingly unbeatable foes.   MacGyver was a genius who channeled his inner spirit and managed to use his guile and cunning in order to find his way out of tight spots and to defeat each nemesis.  Luke Skywalker used his inner spirit (known in the Star Wars universe as “The Force”) not only to summon an indomitable spirit from within himself, but also to become an inspiring leader that was able to bring out the same from those around him (i.e. Han Solo) and have them join the common cause of defeating the unbeatable foe.  Each of the above mentioned characters illustrates to us what makes America the country it is and that is why we remember them.  Each one of them was able to hone that inner strength that lies within each of us and use their abilities to their fullest do what needed to be done and achieve what was thought to be the unachievable in order to obtain victory. 

Most of the human beings throughout history have had two things keeping them from their true greatness.  The first is that most forms of government actually prevent or discourage people from seeking their true greatness.  The reason that the Soviet Union didn’t even last a century is that “from each according to his ability; to each according to his need” (i.e. punitive tax codes and government hand outs) does not breed greatness; it breeds complacency.  For most of America’s existence we realized this; and even today I think a majority of us still do even if many have shrugged back into the comfortable role of complacency with hand out.  Our Founders certainly knew this when they set up our form of government.  One in which government had a well defined yet limited role in daily lives of the citizen.  That is the main reason why we went from a small rural nation to the world’s greatest power, and an influence not seen since Ancient Rome, in an historical blink of an eye (232 years in the grand scheme of things is not very long). 

The other reason that America’s greatness occurred is a little more difficult for most people to understand, let alone obtain.  It is that inner strength that is found within each of us that “Super Power” if you will which allows us to run on all cylinders; where we realize and utilize that ability each of us has within which gives us the opportunity to be great and use it in the effort of defeating  the undefeatable or beating the odds.  Some people have it.  Benjamin Franklin; Thomas Edison, Davey Crocket and Rush Limbaugh are prime examples.  Snicker if you will at that last one, but look at where Rush came from, where he is today and what he did on the way there.  There is a reason why the Liberals curse his name.  Rush, nearly singlehandedly, took what was a dying medium and turned it into one of the most powerful forces of freedom and inspiration there is by channeling that inner strength we all have and finding a way to make his greatness work.  Each of the other abovementioned Americans, as well as countless others, also found their inner spirit or force and figured out how to use it to become the greatest person they could at what they did. 

Most people though, do not know how to find, let alone, draw from that spirit in order to pull the proverbial rabbit out of a hat and make them self the greatest person they can be.  Most of us rely on a great leader who has found their inner power for inspiration, and that is the reason why we remember people Washington, Jefferson and Lincoln; the reason why we hold Eisenhower, Ronald Regan, John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. in such high regard and will probably remember them for a millennia or longer.

They were the leaders who were able to foster that inner spirit or “The Force” within us en masse to do that which needed to be done to move the immovable object or to overcome the insurmountable force and claim victory.  George W. Bush, despite his current short comings found his inner power from 2001 though sometime shortly after his reelection in 2004.  The reason why his favorability ratings were so high for those 4 or 5 years was that he did what great leaders do.  He took the tragedies that occurred nearly simultaneously, the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks; the Enron like scandals that came to light in 2001 and the recession which had been developing since about 1998 (give or take a year) and gave us the inspiration we needed to dig deep and find that inner spirit so we could battle both the immovable object and the insurmountable force at the same time.   Look at the outcome.  We have record low unemployment; the GDP and small business ownership are both at all time highs; Saddam and his sons are dead; the Taliban and Al-Qaida are on the run and Osama is hiding in a cave.  Unfortunately for Bush and the majority of Americans, he lost his ability to channel his inner power which is a very important aspect of great leadership.  I don’t know if it was fatigue or the constant undeserving criticism he received, but he did and when that happened his ratings began to plummet and the majority returned to that state of status quo.

Don’t get me wrong, Americans are not alone in their ability to harness their inner spirit.  It lies there, usually dormant, within every single person alive past, present and future.  Take a look at the battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC, where King Leonidas and 300 Spartans drew from that inner strength, and every bit of their military abilities, to hold the Persians at bay long enough for the citizenry of Athens to be saved from the pending onslaught (and preserving what we know as “Democracy” which was in its infancy at that time).  British Prime Ministers Winston Churchill and Margret Thatcher were also able to rally the British people into playing a lion’s share of the role when it came to defeating the Nazis and the Soviets respectively.  

 My point is that America and the American ideal was specifically created by our Founding Fathers in order to make it as easy as it can be for us to channel that inner spirit which I have been talking about, but we still need to be able to find it and harness it in order for it to be effective.  Unfortunately, I do not see that type of leadership coming from the Presidency until at least 2012.  I don’t see President Bush regaining it and his three heirs-apparent definitely do not have a clue about it, based on their past records.  That means that the ordinary citizen is going to have to look elsewhere for assistance in channeling the strength from within.  Fortunately for us, our Founding Fathers set up our country in such a way that even if the government leaders where lacking the ability to rally the masses, that there would be a way for leaders in the private sector to emerge, be they from the religious, merchant, elder statesmen, philosophers or another class of citizen.

Already some leaders have emerged in the private sector.    We have the elder statesmen, such as Newt Gingrich who has developed his American Solutions think tank.  This think tank (as well as others) is a great place for ideas to become solutions.  Pope Benedict has proven that the clergy is ready to step up to the plate with his awe-inspiring speeches of hope and inner strength.  We have great orators and philosophers on the TV, radio and internet such as; Rush, Sean Hannity and Mark Levin.  We even have merchants such as Wal-Mart stepping up to the leadership plate and creating solutions to problems we have.  You know that health care crisis that the three stooges err… I mean Presidential candidates are complaining about?  Well, while they are busy arguing about how much control government should take from you (not to mention money); it is already in the process of being solved.  Wal-Mart began offering an ever increasing amount of generic prescription drugs at $4 for a 30 day supply, not to mention reasonably priced eye care clinics.  They also recently announced and began offering health care clinics at reasonable prices.  It is only a matter of time before others follow this lead and do the same.  That is one of the reasons why the Government elites (the Left) like to vilify Wal-Mart.  It is because Wal-Mart’s leadership proves time and time again the Adam Smith and not Karl Marx was right about how to increase the quality of life of the masses.  That is where their leadership is shown through.  If we have the courage to listen to the private citizens who are stepping up to the plate and take our inspiration from them while cultivating the next great American President and pressuring our current crop of “leaders” from within D.C. to mind their business; I think America’s greatness has a good chance to shine through for an eternity.

I would like to tell you a story. It’s a story that everyone should read and take heed.

There was a nation; but not just any nation. This nation started small as a colony of a much larger distant overlord. They lived a simple, peaceful and religious life while being the servant nation to this distant overlord. Until one day they had enough. This agricultural nation got fed up with being ruled by someone else and revolted. Eventually this nation decided to form a government not ruled by a single tyrant but rather a Representative Republic. In this republic each citizen got a vote and elected its leaders. The citizens formed the army and the elected leaded them against all invading armies.  If an enemy dared attack them that enemy was defeated in such a way to make it a prime example to the world.

 Merchants were free to ply their trade through the entire nation. All religions were tolerated; there was a single currency and this nation quickly emerged as the most powerful and influential nation in the world.

In time however those who ran for government learned that in exchange for a few “gifts” to their constituents they could get elected and once elected obtain more and more power. In time, the leaders would offer bigger and bigger gifts so that the citizens would look the other way while they (the leaders) took power away from them. Of course, these bigger and bigger gifts required more and more money. This money was obtained through an increase in taxes. Each time their thirst for power increased, the elected would offer more tax payer funded gifts and increase the taxes accordingly.

NOW LET ME STOP THERE FOR A MOMENT…

Does anyone who hasn’t read on know which nation I may be talking about? If it sounds an awful lot like the United States, you are partially correct. This part of my story does sound a lot like the United States. But this story is not about the good Old US of A. Rather it’s about the first Republic; the first Super Power; the first Eagle. This story is about Rome.

You see, Rome, like America, started out as a rural slave nation of the Etruscans who controlled and abused their “colony” much like we were controlled and mistreated by the British. Rome finally had enough; revolted; formed the first Republic and did all of the things I spoke about earlier. 

This is where I will continue my story about Rome. See eventually they reached a turning point. Eventually they reached a point in time where the leaders took too much power and taxes in exchange for their gifts. This is when the Consul (their version of the President) became too powerful and became a Caesar (named after Julius Caesar the last elected leader of Rome). 

Some, like Augustus were fair. Others, like Nero (the Bill Clinton of his day) were not. They would use scapegoats like the Christians (some things never change) for their misdeeds. Remember Nero fiddled while Rome burned, blamed it on the Christians and then stole if for the “public good” which was really for his own personal use (think about those people in New Haven Connecticut). 

Eventually the Caesar gained so much power that people stopped caring about Rome. The provinces one by one got fed up with paying tribute for diminishing returns and broke off from Rome.  

Then the unthinkable happened. Wave after wave of barbarian horde sacked Rome with no reprise. Tribes of Goths, Visigoths, Vandals so on and so forth. In the past this would not have been tolerated. Ask the Carthaginians, the Gaul or the Etruscans what happens if you messed with Rome. 

Finally when the end came; it was not some great battle of the ages. No, we don’t remember the battle for Rome like some ancient Battle of the Bulge. Quite the contrary. When the Gothic King finally came to relieve the last Caesar of Rome of his duties; he simply told him to retire to his vacation home and that was that. Barely a whimper.

We, my fellow Americans, are like Rome in more ways than you can imagine. When that wise man said that “he who does not learn from history is doomed to repeat it” had it right. Americans almost on a daily basis are falling for the very same lines that the Romans once did. They are giving away their freedoms (i.e. healthcare, school choice, freedom of Religion, property rights, etc.) in exchange for trinkets that they are forced to purchases via the tax code.

Our Founding Fathers, the geniuses they were knew this. They knew that Governments natural reaction is to take power, and the citizen who is unaware is likely to give it away. That is why they wrote the Constitution, which is a contract between the people and the Federal Government, that tells the government exactly what it can and cannot do. It’s not as the Democrats suggest a “living and breathing document” out of an Orwell novel. Because when the Constitution becomes a “living and breathing document” freedom gets smothered.   They wanted a clearly written document that had no misunderstandings in it.

They also showed us the one and only legal way to change it with the Bill of Rights (a.k.a. the Amendment process). They were also clear not only about how each Amendment should be written (i.e. in its entirety) so that it would not be misinterpreted; but also on the importance of each Amendment based on their order.

For example, the First Amendment (i.e. the most important one) as read by the ACLU says that Religious entities are not allowed to have dealings with the government. They routinely try to force the government to deny the use of public areas by religious entities.

However, if you read the First Amendment in its entirety,

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof: or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances” (bolding added for emphasis). What this means is that Government is to take a blind eye to one’s religious preferences when doing business with them. This means that if a town allows Shakespeare in the park in June they have to allow a display of the Manger scene around Christmas time. If the town or state contracts out to private entities for its homeless programs the entity that is best able to provide that service should get the contract; be it the Catholic Charities or the Atheist’s against America.

By the way John McCain; The First Amendment also outlaws the McCain-Feingold fiasco. For those who don’t know McCain prevents people from peaceably assembling with like minded people in order to pool resources and redress their grievances 30 days before an election (when most people pay attention) in the loudest voice they could find (i.e. TV).

That brings us to the Second Amendment. The Second Amendment was specifically put right after the First Amendment because the founders deemed it to be the second most importantone. The Second Amendment says,  “IA well regulated Militia , being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed” (Bolding added for emphasis).

The Gun Control people will say that this refers to the State, but that is not even close. First of all the first ten amendments were known as the “Bill of Rights” meaning that they were rights of the People. Secondly, Article I, Section 8 gives the government that authority. If the Gun Control people were correct the Second Amendment would be unnecessary.

Rather, the Founding Fathers knew that the Gun was the machine of the free. They knew that if not for the Gun, they would still be under the thumb of their European enslavers. They also knew that the best/last protection against an ever encroaching central government was to be armed. A wise man once opined that the Second Amendment was put into place for when the founders forget the others.

Please do not get me wrong. I am not saying that now is the time for violence. I am simply stating that the Second Amendment is there as a last grasp which we will hopefully never see. Rather now is the time to use your mind; your voice; your right to vote. But before you do go out and learn about all the candidates; not just what they say or what the media says about them; but rather what they do and put it into historical perspective. History will repeat itself but only if we let it.

Open letter to the Secular Progressives,

I was just listening to the news today and the topic was the whole Church and State argument.

It seems as though the Secular Progressive fella (hence forth known as the SPinites) was misquoting the Constitution and President Jefferson yet again to bolster his argument.

Understand, in order to properly understand something you need to read the WHOLE THING.  Not just bit parts of it like a character in an Orwellian novel. 

The SPinite was insistent that the First Amendment’s reference to Church and State was there to prevent the public display of religion (i.e.  No Crèches, Menorahs or other religious symbols); because part of the Amendment says that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion…”

The SPinite was partially correct.  What this SPinite did is what they always do.  They neglect to tell you of the whole law, amendment etc. in their argument thus giving you a false argument from which to judge their opinion on a matter.

The First Amendment in its entirety reads; “Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” (Bolding added for emphasis).

When taken in its entire context, it does not imply that government needs to ban all expressions of religion in the public square as not to offend or to “establish religion” as the SPinites would have you believe.

Rather, the First Amendment, when read in its entirety, actually means that government is not going to take a side one way or another in regards to religion.  This means that if there is a place in the public square where exhibits are allowed, the government has to allow ANY EXHIBIT in that square that does not break a pre-existing law (i.e. public displays of sex).  That means if it’s a Crèche, a Menorah, or a statue of the cast of the View, it has to be allowed.  If it is not, then the government is violating the First Amendment.

The same holds true when the government pays for services (such as schooling or feeding the homeless); in that they are supposed to hire the best organization for the job at hand.  If Catholic Charities is the best organization for feeding the homeless in your area; your government should contract out the food banks to them.  If the Atheists Club (or whatever it’s called) is the best, then they should be contracted to do it.

What the SPinites really are doing is establishing a religion, their religion (Secular Progressiveness) in the government and forcing it upon us, at tax payer expense.  Every day you hear them cry that all public displays must be “secular”.  What they really mean, is that all public displays must adhere to the principles of SPism. 

So I say to all those SPinites.  You have the right to worship your deity (big government), but I have the right to worship mine (that of GOD through Jesus Christ) and we both are allowed to do it in public, so back off and leave me alone.

Hillary Clinton is running for President. I know that, you know that we all know that. In fact, I think that the last person to officially speculate on that was Hillary herself.

My question is did it really take her that long to realize she was going to run or did she really think we didn’t know way back around 1992 that she would be running for President someday? If she thought we were surprised two weeks ago then maybe she is not as smart as some think she is.

I for one do not think she is very smart at all, I mean look at some of the gimmicks that she has tried to bring in front of us like a real life Wild E. Coyote. Like Wild E. Coyote, who could never quite keep up with the old Road Runner, Hillary is constantly trying to come up with a scheme that will fool us into thinking she is anything but the one dimensional coat tail grabbing, carpet bagging loud mouth Senator from New York.

Her first gimmick was the European style health care system trashing that would have done nothing to advance health care. In Europe, they do very little in the advancement of health care and in fact the one area of Hillary-care that did come into being was the price fixing of flu vaccine medicine “for the children”. Remember those flu vaccine shortages we have every fall and don’t forget to say thank you Hillary.

I personally wish that she would get rid of that phony smile of hers. It makes her look like she is about to eat you or something. Gives me nightmares I tell you, I always turn away when she is on. I may be willing to hear her (and laugh), but I will not look at the alienesque facial expressions she gets when she is trying pull an act with us. I mean you should have seen that look she gave when she was explaining her Iraqi war vote by telling us that the President misused his authorization to go to war by going to war.

The worst thing about it is the dry bed (formerly the main stream) media fawning over her like she has talent. I would love to hear them tell us Hillary’s stance on the Constitution; or how to stop illegal immigration and protect the border; or stopping the Islamic-socialists or something but no, they don’t do that. That would mean that they would actually have to ask her tough questions and as a great man once said, they don’t have the grapefruits to do that.

Today, I sit and wonder about the world, or more specifically my part of the world, the good ole USA. As I sit here and type, the news channels are going back and forth between President Ford’s funeral, the funeral for James Brown and the execution of madman Saddam. These three men who died in such a short time frame are as different as you could imagine, and it is almost humorous in my opinion to see the people who are mourning their deaths and how.

President Ford is getting the lion’s share of the attention, as he should be due to his place in history. The common man’s president as they are calling him healed the nation after President Nixon. While I would argue that Ford, like Nixon was a bit more liberal than they should have been, he was certainly better than his immediate predator, Jimmy Carter. I was born in 1975, so I do not remember the Ford administration and have only faded memories of Carter as seen through the eyes of a preschool kid but in my readings in school (despite the teachers arguments to the contrary), I can see where he was a tad better than Carter and Nixon. If he had been a tad stronger, perhaps we would not have had the Iran hostage embarrassment (Carter helped to install the current Iranian regime); the record high inflation and perhaps Communism would not have been allowed to populate Southern Asia nor South and Central America (outside of Cuba).

The “king of sole” James Brown’s funeral is being ran by Jessie Jackson and Al Sharpton, neither of which deserve the title of “Reverend” as they are not very holy in my book so I will not call them that, as well as Michael Jackson, who despite the “not guilty plea” could not be more so in that case (more on that another time). I can sympathize with Mr. Brown’s actions during the civil rights times, but I for the life of me cannot fathom why people are in a time warp about him. Didn’t he go to jail for abusing an ex wife or drug abuse or something? Just because someone can sing, dance or catch a ball does not make them untouchable. I would have given it about 20 minutes on one of the filler shows in the afternoon and leave it at that. It’s not like he was Elvis or something.

As for Saddam… Well, I am happy he is dead. Hooray!!! Yet we have morons actually telling us that this is bad and they are debating the merits of his death all morning on the news channels. Why??? What can possibly be bad about taking this sob out like this other than the fact that we can only do it once? He did some killing, so it was made sure that he could no longer do any more killing and the Iraqis did it the right way, quickly, so that they don’t waste any more money, time or effort on this piece of trash. In Baltimore, we are doing just the opposite and so far the only approved death penalty method is old age. SO basically, you can torture some lady, rape her to death and you get 3 squares and a cot, for 40 years while the liberals in the judiciary claim that killing you in a much more humane manner is “cruel and unusual”. Cruel and unusual is listening to one of Hillary Clinton’s speeches about how she is going to save the world if we just smarten up and vote her President for life.

For me I am going to morn the death of Ford a little bit longer, move on in the case of Brown and cheer every time I hear anything about Saddam’s. I am also going to pray that we get some divine inspiration from these three passing and learn a little bit more about how the world works and does not work.

Now that the elections are over and the Democrats have somehow managed to get the majority in both the House and the Senate. The race is on; the race that is to see which Utopian ideal will come first.

Will it be the raising of all taxes?

Will it be the curtailing of more First Amendment rights?

Will it be the defeat of Satin America at the hands of Islamic-communists?

Will it be the impeachment of G.W. Bush?

I hope and pray that enough true Conservatives have somehow found their grapefruits and can hold them Libbies at bay for two years and at least minimize the damage. I would hate to have any one or more of their “ideals” get passed into legislation, but I fear that the Conservative movement has not learned its lessons from November.

When a majority of the Demmies that were elected pretended to be possessed by the spirit of the Gipper to get elected and the true heirs of Reganism are acting like ole Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton themselves.

I had to clean out my ears twice before it sunk in, but I think that I heard people recommending that we talk to the Iranians and Syrians about what to do in Iraq. If I am wrong someone please hit me or something because I think I have gone insane.

This is like asking Bill Clinton how to keep interns safe from sexual harassment. This is like asking Hitler advice on how to overcome a Panzer division in WWII. Why n the hell would we ask the enemy to help us keep our allies safe from them? If the Gipper were alive today, Tehran would be looking like a suburb of Hiroshima right now and Damascus like Nagasaki. That is how you solve the problem of the insurgency in Iraq.

For that matter, remember the little incident in North Korea over the summer? Regan would have shown that little sob what a real ICBM can do.

As for the taxes issue, I think that Regan would have passed permanent tax rate reductions, if he had the House and Senate like Bush did. Chaffy would be out on his you know what like he is now, but it would have been done in the Primary by that Conservative not by some pseudo Reganite.

Perhaps there is hope. I have been listening to the son of the Gipper, Michael Regan lately on various talk shows and in print and I think he is ready to take his fathers place, and in this more Conservative America I think he and Mr. Gingrich would make an unstoppable force for good.

Contract with America part II

As of press time, the House of Representatives has fallen under control of the Democrats, and the Senate is teetering on the brink, likely to fall as well. When I woke up this morning, I scratched my head and tried to figure out why.

I believe that it has nothing to do with the Democratic ideology by any stretch of the imagination. So then you must ask why is it that the Democrats won decidedly after 15 years of constant loosing (save for the ’96 Presidential)? I believe that it has a lot to do with leadership.

Say what you will about the leaders of the Democrats, but they had one thing in common that we did not. They had their charismatic leaders who were willing to fight for a common ideology and guard their weak and wounded members (i.e. William Jefferson of Louisiana).

Where is the leadership of the Conservative movement? With the demise and eventual passing of the greatest leader in my life time, President Ronald W. Reagan; coupled with the political destruction of Newt Gingrich and Tom Delay, there currently is not a true Conservative leader anywhere. The latter two we can blame on the spineless RINOs who refused to stand up for them when they were being slandered by the left, but that’s another column.

While we have great Conservative talkers and soap boxes such as: Rush, Sean Hannity, Mark Levin and the like, there are no leaders. Not one person who can take those bullies by their horns and show them the curb. That is why the Conservatives went down to defeat. Since Delay left the House, there has been absolutely no one giving us the direction or the message of direction from that top that most Americans want to hear.

You see, very few humans by nature are leaders. We are essentially group animals, and in any group there are a few leaders on the top rung of the pack and everyone else is a follower. Even if the leader is wrong, we follow them anyway because they are on top.

I believe that Tuesday’s choice was essentially between the people who had the wrong message and those who had no message. When those are the only two choices, most people who are followers by nature will tend to flow towards the bad message. This is why Communism so easily took root in Eastern Europe, the Soviet Union, China and Latin America. These people had the choice between a really bad government i.e. Communism; and no government (lawlessness). They chose bad government over no government, just as America did Tuesday.

All through out history, great positive leaders such as Moses, Alexander the Great, Ronald Reagan and Jesus Christ have been able to gather groups of otherwise ordinary people and through their charisma and leadership abilities press them together to do great things. Conversely, negative leaders who were also “great” in their own right from Stalin, Hitler and Marx right down to old Usma Bin Laden himself were able to herd their sheep into doing their best for their causes, albeit incorrect causes.

We may be down for the next two years, but we are not out.

I will take my limited platform right here to start the new Conservative movement.

I have been hearing calls by many people for Newt to step out of retirement with an eye on the White House in 2008. I second that. It’s a great first step. Now we need another great step, we need a Contract with America part II to get the message back out. This second contract needs to emphasize that which those of us located on true right stand for. I will get the ball rolling on it right here, and feel free to add your own. When we get ten of them, we will send them to the leadership of the Conservative movement, and if possible Newt himself.

1. Constitutional government;

a. The Constitution has specific rights, responsibilities and limitations for all branches of government and all three levels of government. This has been overlooked for too long.

b. We need members of all three branches that understand this and will pledge not to violate this.

2. Equal tax rates, not ones that punish success

a. The 14^th Amendment allows us Equal Protection for all; however this is never the case with the tax rates. I remember one time getting a pay raise and receiving a reduction in pay because it was just enough to bump me up into the next rate. That’s not the American way of life.

3. The Military

a. Military personnel will never be paid less than their civilian counterparts, nor will they get paid less than those who do not work (i.e. well fare recipients)

b. Military personnel will be allowed the ability to do their job. We will repeal any and all laws that prevent that

4. First Amendment

a. McCain-Feingold needs to be repealed. It is despicable that 60 days before an election we are not allowed freely assemble, and pool our resources in order to buy the biggest soap box we can afford (i.e. TV air time) in order to criticize the government. This falls flat on the face of everything our Founders stood for.

b. The religious clauses of the First Amendment do not prohibit the free exercise of religion in the public square or on public land. Rather it requires that government not take heed to a party’s religious affiliation or lack thereof when dealing with them. This means if the Catholic Church has the best program for dealing with an issue that the government is tasked for handling (i.e. The homeless), then they should get the money regardless of whether or not they are a religious entity.

As many who have read my columns know, I like to look at the past, both recent and not so recent in order to put current events in the proper perspective. My frequent references to Rome in previous columns are proof of that.

Today’s column does not need to go that far back. In fact, it only needs to go back to the cold war era for us to put things in proper perspective. As I look at today’s current crisis between good and evil, I notice that there is a lot in common with the last crisis between good and evil.

With Pope Benedict’s recent comments regarding the evils of Islamo-fascists I am comforted in knowing that he is on board in confronting and defeating this evil. I am comforted in this belief, because if one were to remember back to the Cold War and remember what defeated the evils of the Soviet empire, it was the Holy Trinity of President Ronald Regan, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and Pope John Paul II. Each had their own role in defeating the Stalinist-Marxists that were wrecking havoc on the world. Until these three came into power, the Soviets were systematically infiltrating, invading and out-right conquering every country that stood in their way. It wasn’t until each of these great people played their part in the best way that they could, that the Soviet Union was destroyed.

Fast-forward to the present conflict against evil, and who are the key players in each side? Well, on the evil side, we have the same Marxist phalacy, this time wrapped around the Muslim religion rather than that of the Secular-humanist religion as the Soviets did. On the side of good, would be President George W. Bush, Prime Minister Tony Blair and Pope Benedict XVI. That’s right, in yet another case of history repeating itself; it is going to take the leaders of the United States, Great Britain and the Holy Roman Church to bring down evil once again. And yet once again, the very same people who sympathized with Stalin and his bunch are sympathizing with Iranian “President” Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Venezuelan “President” Hugo Chavez and the others who side with the Evils of Marxism in its various forms. We had John Kerry asking us to cut and run in Vietnam and he is at it again asking us to cut and run in Iraq. We had President Truman looking the other way while nuclear secrets were “stolen” by the Soviets and while China fell (despite his Generals, such as Patton, pleading with him to take out the Soviets at the end of WWII). In the 90’s we had Impeached President Clinton giving nuclear secrets to axis of evil member state, North Korea while also giving ICBM technologies to the Communists in China who are evil, threaten our allies (Taiwan) and suppress any dissidents (remember Tieneman Square?)

While history does seem to repeat itself over and over again, is it possible for us to break this chain? I think if we cut out the middle man, and just not elect any liberals (both Democrat and Republican) for awhile, maybe we can defeat this current incarnation of evil and keep it defeated instead of letting it creep up in the background.

I, like many other upstanding citizens, like to keep up on current events. I like to watch my government “representatives” and make sure that they are doing what they are supposed to. I like to read history, I study up on it. I like to see what our Founders have said in regards to what the Constitution actually says. I have written columns in the past detailing the eerie similarities between America and Ancient Rome, so I won’t detail that again here.

However, as eerie and scary as those similarities may seem, what is even worse, is when the politicians try to emulate Hollywood productions. You see, I also like to watch zany comedies. Mel Brooks and Leslie Neilson are two of the funniest and most talented actors in the world. However, when our politicians give speeches, especially on the floor of the House or Senate, and I feel like I am watching a Mel Brooks production, I get scared, very scared.

Someone played a tape of that John Murtha speech the other day, you know the one, the one in which he said we should redeploy the troops currently in Iraq to Okinawa because they would be in a “better position to fight the terrorists”, it reminded me of a scene from Hot Shots! Part Deux starring Charlie Sheen as Topper Harley. This was a movie that went about spoofing Rambo, Platoon and other war movies. There is a scene in the movie, shortly after Topper and his crack forces are bogged down by Sadam’s forces in Iraq, where the President (played by Lloyd Bridges), is planning to rescue them. He points to a globe and tells his military advisors that we should attack there. His advisors tell him that he is pointing at Minnesota, and he tells him that is the brilliance of his plan, stating that is the beauty of his plans, and begins to ramble about how the enemy will never expect it and they can invite their children etc. (Watch it, its one of the few times that Charlie Sheen actually does a good job acting).

Lately, the Democrat talking points have included things such as telling the American people that the foiling of the “liquid bomb” plot in England is proof that the President isn’t doing enough to win the war on terror. Huh? So, stopping one high profile terror plot and numerous others (i.e. the plot in Toronto, the one in Buffalo, the one in Germany and others) is winning the war. For which side? Last time I checked, we haven’t had a single terror attack on U.S. soil since 9/11/2001

On to Katrina, yes Katrina. I find it amazing that everyone is being blamed for this except the people who deserve the blame. Let us see what happened. School Bus Nagen had thousands of busses their ready (both school and metro) to take people out, he had refused Amtrak’s offer to take as many people as would fit when they were removing their assets from the region, and yet he is blaming the U.S. citizen for not caring enough. For not paying enough to repair his “Chocolate city”…… Damn it, we gave them millions and millions of dollars (let’s not even get started on the lack of Constitutional authority regarding charity), and yet this S.O.B. has the gall to say this. The first assets on the ground and in the air were military vehicles and private enterprise (Red Cross and Wal-Mart) yet the one who was actually at fault is the one passing out the blame.

Let’s not even start about jobs and the economy. Ok, on second thought I will start about jobs and the economy. The unemployment rate is at about 4%, when 5% is considering full employment, wages are rising (when all benefits are included), and the GDP is through the roof. Yet the Democrats are calling this the worst economy in 40 years. Apparently, the Carter administration’s double digit inflation and unemployment was peachy keen to them.

What is it that makes them act this way? I do not know and quite frankly I do not care. I love laughing at Mel Brooks and the like, but when our government officials are acting as though they are giving screen tests for the next Scary Movie sequel, I get scared.

I am getting sick and tired of the Anti-American shadow government forces like Chuck Schumer and Harry Reid, embolden by their Leftist propaganda arm in the antiquated media and the public school system out and out lying about the War against Islamic-Marxists (and that is exactly what they are. They are students of Karl Marx, just like Hitler, Stalin, Mussolini and Hillary Clinton).

What makes it worse is that the public school system for the most part from Kindergarten all the way through College has done such a horrible job teaching critical thinking skills that a growing number of people are actually buying their B.S.

They actually believe that President Bush has made the country less safe by attacking these Marxists where they live!!!!

This is patently untrue and completely moronic. It reminds me of that scene in Hot Shots Part Two, in which the President of that movie was planning an attack against Iraq. He said, “We should attack them here” and then pointed to the globe. His advisor replied, “Sir that’s Minnesota” to which the President replied about how great it would be, and we could invite them over for BBQ and the like.

At the time this was so absurd it was funny. Now after hearing John Murtha, (C, PA) comments about relocating our Iraqi forces to Japan and Chuckie and the gang stating how we have to prepare to have the war here, I think its actually the Democrats plan for fighting the war.

Why the hell should we fight them here, when they are already over there? We can still fight them, and keep our homeland a heck of a lot safer. Besides we already tried fighting them here, under the Clinton administration and that obviously did not work. Here is a timeline of successful Islamic-Marxist attacks in the last two administrations to prove it.

• Mogadishu (circa 1993): Despite pleadings by the military officers assigned to the task, Bill Clinton insists on sending in an insufficient military force who bravely won the battle, but unfortunately had a few casualties. The casualties were dragged naked through the streets (the Black Hawk Down movie). Clinton responded by tucking and running, which Osama claimed showcased the paper tiger status of the US.
• The first World Trade center (1993) Clinton responded by playing his saxophone and trying to take over health care. Oh and he sued them good and wagged his finger.
• Oklahoma City bombing (circa 1994). Clinton blamed Rush Limbaugh, captured the two White co-planners but neglected all reports of an Arabian individual that was traveled with McVeigh days before the attack.
• Attacks on two U.S. Embassies in Africa (mid 1990’s). They were attacked by airplanes by Islamic-Marxists. Clinton did….. Um, I think he wrote an angry letter and sent it to the United Nations.
• Attack on the U.S.S. Cole stopped in Yemen (late 1990’s). First of all, this would not have happened had Clinton not cut the military budget and gotten rid of the mid-seas fueling capacity of the Navy, but aside from that, the Islamic-Marxists fully took credit for this, and Clinton responded by bombing an aspirin factory and sexually harassing some female staffers.
• The Atlanta Olympic park bombing (1996). An innocent white man was all set to take the blame, even though he was the one that reported the suspicious back pack. Fortunately he had a good enough reputation and no evidence was found to link him. They never did find those responsible
• Israel was constantly attacked by Islamic-Marxists including those Orchestrated by the nephew of Hitler’s favorite Arab, Arafat (look it up). Clinton responded by twisting Israel’s collective arm until they agreed to give up half of their country to these Marxists (oh and Hillary made out with Arafat’s wife on camera).
• A plane was shot down over Lockerbie Scotland killing a whole lot of Americans, and another plane was shot down over the Atlantic, leaving I believe Georgia for a flight to Europe in the 90’s. Clinton responded to the Scotland issue by writing an angry letter to Libya and threatening to sue every one. His administration responded to the Atlantic flight one by claiming it was an empty fuel tank that cause of this explosion. Why a plane would have an empty fuel tank on a cross Atlantic flight is beyond my understanding. I would think that there isn’t an Exxon Mobile station in the middle of the Ocean, but maybe I am naïve.
• Did I mention the numerous attacks of NATO coalition planes that were patrolling the no-fly zones so that Saddam could not use Chemical and Biological weapons on his own people (you know the weapons that he doesn’t have). Clinton’s response was to bite his lower lip and give a stern speech saying “stop it” like a two year old.
• OH, and Clinton had the opportunity to take out Bin Laden on several attempts, including one in which Osama was on a hunting trip in the middle of nowhere, and Clinton did not want to be bothered while he was acting like the Inn Keeper at the most expensive hotel in Washington (Dereliction of Duty, Patterson 2003)
• George Bush became President in January 2001. “Jumping” Jim Jeffords did his best Benedict Arnolds impression and became a Pseudo Independent shortly there-after. The Democrats led by Tom Daschle (then majority leader) stonewalled ever Bush nomination, including then Security Advisor Rice, Defense Secretary Rumsfeld and numerous others. Up until just a few weeks before September 11, 2001, a large number of the most critical security positions were held by Clinton holdovers. We all know what happened on September 11, 2001.
• September 13, the Congress fearing for their political careers declared war (finally) on Islamic-Marxists, and the Military went over to Afghanistan to kick the Taliban and Al-Qaeda’s asses over there.
• Meanwhile, fearing the potential threats in Iraq, not too mention the object brutality that Saddam was subjecting his people too; The President and his defense team planned an attack on Iraq. The Dems (and the RINOS) decided to play all those political games in order to slow the process, giving Saddam the time he needed to move his weapons over to Syria (and they subsequently gave those weapons to Hamaas who just used them against Israel).
• North Korea was given the equipment, the fuel and the know-how to make nuclear weapons, while their puppet-masters in Beijing were given the ability to launch ICBM’s all by the stroke of a pen by Bill Clinton.
• ANWAR, nuclear energy plants and other domestic energy sources were written away by executive power thanks to Clinton. Now we are forced to utilize energy sources located in Islamic-Marxists regions such as Saudi Arabia, which support the Anti-American philosophy.
• To date, there was one successful attack in Britain and one successful attack in Spain. There have been a number of them in Iraq, but that is only natural since we are still at war there. (Bush’s Mission accomplished sign was only meant for that carrier whose mission was accomplished, not the entire conflict).

Not one single Marxist attack was successful in the United States since September 11, 2001, and while their maybe a few in the future, you can bet your bottom dollar that they are not going to be as successful as they were in the Clinton era so long as a Patriot is in the oval office. And let us not forget that the Islamic-Marxists took over Iran thanks to help by Jimmy “Nobel Prize” Carter who also help the Marxist in Argentina steal that election, the Soviets invaded South and Central America, Afghanistan (setting up the civil war that the Taliban exploited to get into power) and the OPAC fiasco. Come to think of it, every time in recent memory that Jimmy Carter’s election watchers observe an election, the despot, dictator or Marxist always seems to win or gain even more power. That doesn’t seem impartial to me. Well more on that another time.

So, there you have it. Who do you think is more dangerous for the free world? While I do not agree with everything President Bush has done. I hate the fact that the boarder is largely unguarded, don’t think we hit the Islamic-Marxists hard enough, don’t care much for the anti-First Amendment “McCain-Feingold bill” and his increased social engineering as espoused by Ted Kennedy, but he is better than the alternative right now. (Where is the President Regan, President Washington, President Jefferson and President T. Roosevelt types when you need them?)

“From the halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli….” This line from the Marines hymn is very telling in a multitude of ways. This line tells the listener that the Marines (and the rest of the military for that matter) are willing to go to the ends of the Earth to defend America, her citizens and her principles.

But this line tells us more than that, it also shows us that there are some thorns that have always been in our sides; and maybe, just maybe we are not to blame for everything as the Democrats would like you to believe. I know that some of you are public school educated, so I will break it down. (This is not a put down, I am public school educated too, and that’s how I know).

“…the halls of Montezuma….” This section refers to Mexico my friends. You see, ever since the early days of our nation’s history, we have had troubles coming from our Southern border. Even before we won the Southwest in the Mexican-American war; even before Texas won its freedom and then chose to become a state in the Union (that’s right, they decided that they wanted to become an American state), the Mexican government was giving us troubles. So the Marines had to go down there and ask them to be a bit more polite.

“….to the shores of Tripoli….” This section refers to Tripoli, over there in North Africa; you know the capital of present day Libya. You see, one of the first big threats to American sovereignty after freeing ourselves from the British (who have since changed their ways) came from some pirates that traveled around the Barbary Coast. These were not ordinary pirates mind you, they were Muslim pirates, who would attack American ships, and kill or enslave everyone aboard (heaven help you if you were a female). According to Bill Bennett, when President Jefferson confronted an Arab diplomat regarding these raids, this diplomat replied by saying it was their duty as written in the Koran that they had an obligation to attack and enslave all who were not Muslim (http://www.townhall.com/columnists/BillBennett/2006/05/17/jeffersons_crisis).

It seems like a broken record, no? What did we do wrong at that point? There were no American oil rigs or much of anything like that this was also before Israel was reinstated as a country, where it belongs, so there was no support of a “Jewish State” to use as a scapegoat. The only thing that remains the same is that Muslim governments enjoy attacking those who appear to be weaker than them. (Unlike the Christian religion, whose founding was on self sacrifice, showing others your religion and letting them decide; the Muslim religion was founded by invading areas and forcing them to convert on the tip of a sword.)

Just like in the Jefferson administration, we now have to face these two enemies. The big difference is that back then we had leaders that were willing to fight for their country, die if they must, but above all willing to do what it takes to remain free. Remember this was for the most part, the same generation that freed the United States and created the Constitution, so they knew what it meant (and we were by no means a “Super Power” back then). What is different now? We didn’t have Chuck Schumer and the like lying and impugning our nation’s character back then. And if we did, they were dealt like the treason committing S.O.B’s that they were. Wake up America before it is too late.

I had published this essay a few months ago on a less popular blogging site.  This is one thoery that should never die and one that every real American should take to heart.

What is patriotism? Well, the text book, boring clinical definition of patriotism as espoused by Miriam-Webster’s online dictionary say that it is, “love for or devotion to one’s country.” But what does that entail or more accurately how does one go about showing love for or devotion to one’s country?

A bumper sticker that was attached to the overgrown golf cart that was parked out in front of my apartment building today seems to think that it is protesting one’s government that is going to show the most love and/or devotion for one’s country. While it would be easy for me to place such a claim, which was situated right next to the bumper sticker telling me how evil America is, as the zombie minded ramblings of an ill-educated student of the local university, it actually got me thinking.

Is protesting actually the most patriotic thing that one can do? My answer is a resounding sometimes. When our Founding Fathers protested the unfair treatment of the American colonists by their British oppressors this was done out of a legitimate love or devotion for one’s country. They were protesting a progressive taxation of the American colonies for the military presence that was required to tighten the screws on them. The British were preventing free trade and taxing the hell out commerce involving American goods basically making their profitability next to nothing. Furthermore, one could not practice their religion in public, or complain about the government period. Fire arms were strictly limited and the colonists could have their land taken from them for the “good of the crown” (aka Government) and their sovereignty was non-existent.

Fast forward a couple of centuries and we have people protesting, using the founders cause (as well as the causes of people like Dr. King, and Gandhi) to promote their agenda. They claim that this protesting is patriotic, but is it? Well, we first have to see if their protests are showing love for the country.

One of the more frequent protests topics is against the US defending itself against Islamic fundamentalists whose core mission is seeing America destroyed. Another big headline grabbing protest in recent weeks is for allowing people who want to see the “reconquista” or conquering of America to overwhelm the country. These are people, mind you, whose sole mission is also to collapse America. They are responsible for some of the most brutal rapes and other assaults that I have ever heard of. Now I ask, are either of these causes showing love or devotion for one’s country?

Both of these protests are for the destruction of the country, so I do not see how they are showing love. This is much like the abusive husband who comes to the hospital with flowers after kicking the crap out of his wife and telling her that he really does lover her. And much like the abused wife, we really need to wake up and get away from this “love” as quickly as possible before we are really shown the love.

I do not know who said it, but there is a wise adage that states, “Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.”

I think that this is perhaps one of the smartest bits of advice ever spoken by man. Too bad our so called “leaders” are ignoring this sage advice.

Because if they had been paying attention to it, they would see that what they are doing will certainly lead to a weakened if not demolished United States. It seems as though many people (on both sides of the “isle”) are deliberately walking us down the same path that caused another once great Eagle to crash land on the ash heap of history. The last time an Eagle crashed, it caused a Dark Age that spanned almost a millennium and nearly caused the death of Western civilization.

For those who do not know their history, the “other” Eagle I am talking about is the one that our Founding Fathers so emulated and strived to learn from their mistakes. This last Eagle, my friends, was Rome. Rome was the first Representative Republic. Theirs was the government that our Founders saw was the closest thing to a perfect form of government that had existed prior to the United States, and but for the correction of a few flaws, would be perfect for their new fledgling nation. And like the Romans, once we adopted a Representative Republic our nation flourished and went from an agricultural colony to a world altering superpower. Just as we had unshackled ourselves from the Tyrants of Britain, the Romans to had to unshackle themselves from a foreign overlord (the Etruscans).

Similar starts, government styles and impacts on the world are not the only areas where these two mighty Eagles share common ground. Like the United States, Rome had many differences of opinion about how their country should be governed. The Legislative and Executive branches fought with each other as well as the governors of the provinces over how much control each should have over the daily affairs of the Roman citizenry. Julius Cesar came to power and was assassinated for this very reason, much like President Lincoln.

Once Rome became a mega-culture, like America, it too began to slowly become a leftist country. Taking away its citizens rights and responsibilities slowly, just like America’s left has. Nero Cesar fiddled while Rome burned. This was done so that he could steal this property in order to build himself a big mansion. The U.S. Supreme Court just ruled last year that the United States Government could burn its citizens out of their homes too (well, not literally).

Rome’s military began to suffer and become outdated so that the Cesar’s could use the ever increasing tax burden on “public works” like the Coliseum and various amphitheatres (their version of the NEA). While Rome’s neighbors mastered the art of Calvary, they continued with the same exact form of warfare (only with cheaper quality weapons) as they had for 500 years. Much like the U.S. military had gone relatively unchanged until President Regan (who was a brilliant man) saw this error and upgraded everything. We are basically using his military vision today with blazing results. They once went from a country where everyone could practice their own religion to one in which only the Cesar’s religion was allowed (much like the ACLU). They went from a bunch of head strong people who would not give up when all seemed lost to a bunch of lazy people who would not lift a finger to save themselves (see Hurricane Katrina).

Their downfall is what is most scary. Rome was sacked because they allowed uncontrolled immigration from their less developed neighbors (the Goths, Vandals, etc.) across their border. In fact, the final sacking of Rome happened when they allowed immigrants that “did the work that Romans would not do” into their walls and their homes. While Romans slept (and the last Cesar of Rome was away on vacation), these immigrants slit their bosses throats, and opened the walls so that the hordes could come crawling in to the now unprotected city.

History has a way of repeating itself.