11 Nov 09 Veterans have done their part are we doing ours?

At the eleventh hour this Veterans Day we paused for a moment of silence to remember those many individuals who have sacrificed their time and sometimes lives to defend our freedoms. I am very grateful for the many people from our founding fathers, and the many soldiers who stood at the ready to gain our independence, to the soldiers today who have taken the battle against terrorism overseas, these people are directly responsible for the many opportunities that we have in our country today.

As I stopped to ponder what we were fighting for in each of the major wars in history, I began to think about how well we are doing on the home front to protect the freedoms we enjoy.

The revolutionary war was the beginning of independence and freedom for this country. We were colonies of England and were being unfairly taxed. Our homes were not our own if the troops of the crown needed to be quartered. It was time that we have rights, primarily the right to govern ourselves. I can’t imagine the courage it must of taken to join a rag-tag army to take on the most powerful military in the world. Through their efforts, persistence, and I believe the hand of God, we gained our independence from England, and established this great land of opportunity.

In WWI and WWII we fought to protect ourselves and our allies from tyranny. After the first world war we did what one would expect, we punished Germany severely, and made it near impossible to recover from the war. This caused great unrest and led directly to the rise in Power of Adolf Hitler. Through the loss of many lives and the tremendous efforts of our soldiers we were able to defeat Germany. In a little more time we were able to secure the surrender of Japan. Learning from the mistakes of the past we helped rebuild Japan and Germany and as a result have developed strong allies.

In Korea and Vietnam we were fighting against the spread of communism. Although these efforts did not turn out the desired outcomes, the spread of communism did stop.

Just 20 years ago the Berlin wall fell, marking a significant turning point in the cold war. Communism was a failure and many people living under the shadow of communism regained their freedom. Unfortunately living under the cloud of communism put these people in a very difficult situation. And all these years later have not fully recovered from its shadows.

In Iraq and Afghanistan we were fighting to protect ourselves from terrorists. We took the battle to their own soil to keep our country free. We must be doing something right because there has not been another successful attack since 9-11. The stated goal of the extremists that are involved in terrorism is to destroy the unbelievers. We must convert to Islam or die. This is the opinion of the extremists, and should not be confused with the beliefs of mainstream muslims.

How are we doing with our liberties so many soldiers have fought and died for? Are we now free from oppressive taxes? Do we truly have ownership of our homes? If your answer is yes what happens to your home if you don’t pay taxes? Are we free from rulers who have to much individual power? Are we avoiding the pitfalls of communism, particularly the redistribution of wealth? Are we keeping private industry private and keeping the government out of it? Are we staying focused to rebuild strong countries in the aftermath of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to ensure we have stable allies when were done? Are we defending our freedom of religion, and right to express our religious views in public places?

Our soldiers have done and continue to do their part, but if you answer the questions above honestly it is clear that we are not holding up our end of the deal when it comes to protecting our freedoms and liberties. It is time that we stand up and do our part to protect us from communist ideals, excessive taxation, religious oppression, and tyranny.

05 Nov 09 Our Welfare State is Fencing Us In

I received an email today that illustrates what seems to be happening to us.

Catching Wild Pigs:
A chemistry professor in a large college had some exchange students in the class. One day while the class was in the lab the Professor noticed one young man (exchange student) who kept rubbing his back, and stretching as if his back hurt.
The professor asked the young man what was the matter. The student told him he had a bullet lodged in his back. He had been shot while fighting communists in his native country who were trying to overthrow his country’s government and install a new communist government.
In the midst of his story he looked at the professor and asked a strange question. He asked, ‘Do you know how to catch wild pigs?’
The professor thought it was a joke, and asked for the punch line. The young man said this was no joke. ‘You catch wild pigs by finding a suitable place in the woods and putting corn on the ground. The pigs find it and begin to come everyday to eat the free corn. When they are used to coming every day, you put a fence down one side of the place where they are used to coming. When they get used to the fence, they begin to eat the corn again, and you put up another side of the fence. They get used to that and start to eat again. You continue until you have all four sides of the fence up with a gate in the last side. The pigs, who are used to the free corn, start to come through the gate to eat, you slam the gate on them, and catch the whole herd.
Suddenly the wild pigs have lost their freedom. They run around and around inside the fence, but they are caught. Soon they go back to eating the free corn. They are so used to it that they have forgotten how to forage in the woods for themselves, so they accept their captivity.
The young man then told the professor that is exactly what he sees happening to America . The government keeps pushing us toward socialism, and keeps spreading the free corn out in the form of programs such as supplemental income, tax credit for unearned income, tobacco subsidies, dairy subsidies, payments not to plant crops (CRP), welfare, medicine, drugs, etc. While we continually lose our freedoms — just a little at a time.
One should always remember: There is no such thing as a free lunch! Also, a politician will never provide a service for you cheaper than you can do it yourself.

07 Feb 09 Are the Blue Dogs Backing Down from their Values?

The Blue Dog Democrats are a coalition of Fiscally conservative Democrats, that have been a reasonably powerful force despite their small numbers.  They have been the reason that despite a clear majority in the house the Democrats have to keep their plans in check so they won’t loose this group of voters.  With the recent stimulus bill however I’m beginning to get concerned.  The fact is, that the stimulus bill no matter how you look at it , goes against any form of conservative values anyone might have.  Spending for the sake of spending just so you can give a temporary and artificial boost to the economy is pure insanity especially when you look at the long term effects of the national Dept.  I was sure that with this blatant waste of money that surely the Blue Dog Democrats, including my representative Jim Matheson wood be fighting tooth and nail to get this ridiculous bill under control, but was disappointed when he voted for the bill and released a press release stating his bogus reasons.   Unfortunately, there have been many other Blue Dog that have fallen to the same fate.

When Bush was in the white house this group was fiercely independent and fought waste on both sides of the isle.  My concern is that they have caught Obama fever and that their core values that made me respect, and even vote for some members of the democratic party, has gone to mush.  I will reserve final judgment for a little while longer, but based on the stimulus bill it looks like the  the Fiscal Conservative values of the Blue Dog Democrats is out the window , to make room for Obama worship.

26 Jan 09 CNN Does Obama need to be a better president because he is black?

Here is a question that was posed by CNN.

Will people hold Obama to a different standard because he is the first African-American president?

Based on what we have seen from the media especially CNN is absolutely. He has clearly been held to a totally different standard than McCain, and even Hillary Clinton. The bar has been set far lower than it has been set for any other presidential candidate. It only stands to reason that as president the similar low bar will be set so that as an absolute average president the media will swoon and praise it as great. I’m now looking at this based on how the media will cover it, perhaps not how history will look back on it. I’m not sure whether this biased coverage from the media is based on their love for him, or just being afraid to criticize a black person, but it is clear that there is a bias.

The problems we face now are significant and we need a greater than normal president to set us on the right track to fix our problems in a way that strengthens us for the long term. Looking at what he has proposed we will likely see a short term bump in the economy. The problem is is much of the overall recovery plan will provide a short term bump, but weakens us for the long term. The biggest problem is the increased intrusion by the government, and increased deficit spending. Both of those things have been proven over time to negatively effect an economy over time.

Obama may have it easy as far as media coverage goes, but in order for us to really address the problems our country has he really needs to step up. Unfortunately, I’m finding that with many of the issues that need to be addressed he is proposing plans that are not sound.

25 Nov 08 My thoughts on Obama

As we approach the Obama Presidency I’m going to do somthing that the republican establisment never gave Clinton, and Certainly the Liberal establishment never gave Bush, and that is a fair chance.  Many of the pundits are already critisizing silly things like the fact that he started a .gov website to put forth his agenda and assist with the transition.  How awefull that a President elect be up front about his plans.  I am not saying I will abandon my conservative values, and I will discuss issues with Obama’s Plan in relation to those values.  What I will not do is nit pick every little action, and automatically dismiss every decision because he made it.

With the issue of the web site for example.  I think it was a great move.  If you have not been to change.gov yet I suggest you take a look.  It clearly outlines his stance and plans on a variety of issues.  If yo are a conservative and not just a talking head it is very valuable to see what the real issues you need to be concerned about are.  For example I see and hear a lot of fear over gun rights issues, and that doesn’t even make Obama’s list of issues.  It also clearly outlines his plans to increase taxes on the very people that create jobs in our country, and that is an issue that we need to be concerned about.

A we approach the new presidency we need to set asside the bias against Democrats, and discuss the issues at hand in a clear way.

07 Oct 08 Obama, McCain, and Bush the Socialist Duo

I’m beginning to realize that regulation, governement takeovers, and government programs are the message of both parties.  We are moving closer and closer to socialism, a proven failure.  It may take a little pain but a free market left to itself will always correct itself.  The more we move towards goverment regulations, the more likely the industry will try to fnd shaky money making methods.  The biggest issue we have now is that our government is to large and we spend to much money.  Even when you take the war out of the budget Bush has had huge increases in goverment spending.  Obama is promising more government programs, and more spending, and more regulation of private industry.McCain is promising more government programs, and more spending, and more regulation of private industry.  Wow!  What a Choice!

08 Feb 08 McCain is our Man! It’s not as bad as it seems.

With the removal of Mitt Romney from the race, it looks like John McCain will be the Republican nominee.  I too am not thrilled with a few of John’s decisions, Particularly in regards to limiting free speech with the McCain Fingold bill.  But, in all reality he does look at issues with a similar logic to my own.  His decision to support the comprehensive immigration bill despite the rhetoric and hype produced by the party base showed me that he understands the issue better than most, and has the courage to make a decision despite the unpopularity of the decision.  Voting against the Bush tax cuts, and many other of his votes shows his understanding that the biggest threat to our economy is our ballooning national dept.  Now, I think he has learned that tax cuts do not decrease revenue, he will make better decisions regarding taxes in the future.  All in all he will be strong on national security issues, and good with foreign affairs, good on government waste,  moderate on personal rights and moderate  on the economy.  That is certainly better than either of the Democratic candidates which would be poor on National security, Fair with foreign affairs, poor on personal rights and abysmal on the economy.

I do not believe that I have to agree on every issue with a candidate to support them.  I have to admit that it is hard to find a candidate that believes we should cut the National Endowment for the Arts, Health and Human Services, Department of Education, Food Stamps, CHIP, and basically everything except the department of defense, and what is necessary to take care of national transportation issues, Cut Income Tax and go back to a voluntary tax system that we used to have.  But there are not many politicians out there promising to cut government programs and particularly welfare. So I choose my candidates based on who I think is best of the likely contenders. John McCain is definitely the best option now out of those that have a chance of winning.