Where did this come from???????

Oh my word!
Honestly I had stopped posting for quite a while because I thought no one was listening to me, but a recent event makes me think maybe I have to respond.

I was Listening to what Obama had to say during his acceptance speech of the Nobel peace prize.
Now in anticipation of his speech (the day before) I thought, if I was him I would turn it down with a statement about how the Men and Women of our armed forces deserved the prize so much more! Well boy howdy was I surprised when Obama almost met me halfway there!

In his speech, which I had heard someone say he allegedly wrote himself, he actually PRAISED the American military and stated that for the past 60 years they defended and preserved peace and democracy in this world.
I thought I can NOT have heard that right, but sure enough Obama praised the military! in fact a lot of what he had to say was... well... good! the man actually sounded for a little while like a president!

He made declarations that made me believe he was an American instead of a toady for some foreign group or cabal, I wondered where exactly he grew the... um... Huevos to make such a speech.
I wondered if maybe he found them in a desk drawer left over from T. Roosevelt, R. Reagan or what. Apparently even CBS thought it was out of character trying to claim he was channeling George Bush.

But upon reflection I thought of something else too. shortly before he went to receive his award, a poll came out (from a liberal pollster group of all places) that declared "his [was] the worst presidency, by poll, in the history of the United States".

Apparently NO president in History has ever had such a huge drop in approval rating from the public for a first term, first year presidency... in plain english... people voted him in office and thought oops! more so than ANYONE EVER before.
Even Carter didn't get such a bad response.
(And remember Carter was a one term wonder who, by the time he left, was universally hated by the military and single handedly drove the American voters to vote overwhelmingly republican for the next 16 years.)

No president has ever had such a drop in how people feel about him ever before... and I cannot help but wonder if the speech he gave wasn't an attempt to regain some seriously lost ground.
Also in the mix he recently "HAD" to increase the troop deployments to Afghanistan by 30,000... so maybe he was trying to "defend" that choice.
well one thing I did notice is the lack of applause that greeted his speech and I thought better of him that he faced that.
When someone is voted into office purely because of his Charisma, as Obama was, it is nice to see him do something that is unpopular and follow it through, even if it is only in the short term.

To be honest I feel for those who are in that office, Really I do! doesn't matter who they are. Being the leader of America is not easy. But that is something that ANY (all?) candidates need to be ready for.
I am afraid that with this president we may have someone who was not, and even IS not ready to be in office. But, as I heard someone declare last November, I finally see a glimmer of hope. Maybe we can make it through this yet.

What should we look for in our politicians.

Well this is a good question.
I wish people would have asked this before voting in the last election.

The things we need to look for are things like….
Values and morality, Honesty, Integrity, Character, Capability, Knowledge/Understanding of the issues, and he/she ought to have a good workable plan for solving the issues and addressing the problems.

And of course Experience is a plus.

Unfortunately the candidate/s we had and ultimately voted for lacked many of these points.

I will grant you neither candidate had a good plan for addressing the issues. Indeed neither seemed to have a grasp of the issues let alone a plan.

But we ended up with the candidate who also had no real character. We voted for the glib charismatic. This worries me. What’s worse it seems that many people realized on some level what he was about and chose to vote for him purely because he was a black man.

Now THAT is racism! To vote for someone JUST because of his skin color is wrong.

Based on my list of qualities I have a short list of people who I think would be reasonable candidates for leadership.

Colin Powell, Thomas Sowell, Bill Cosby, Sarah Palin, Chick Norris, Steve Cole, Joe Arpaio, Harrison Ford, Will Smith And Denzel Washington.

I know most of these guys are movie stars but they all exhibit a kind of strength of character that I feel we need in the White House… They seem to have moral values that I can support. And at least some of them are aware of the issues and are prepared to do something about it.

The presidency is not about popularity though. And we need to realize that.

The well analogy

I thought of another good analogy recently! I feel like a guy at the bottom of a well. I felt piled on by the economy, the recession, the war/s, in short all the issues.

I am betting that a lot of other people felt the same. Obama came along and like a beacon of hope promised change, and many bought it.

However I saw the bucket that he was hiding behind his back. (and so didn't vote for him)
See Obama is the guy who came to the top of the well looked down at us and said “I can get you out of there.) Everyone thought he meant with a rope or something.

But what he has been doing since is dumping more water on our heads. He is, even now, dragging a fire hose over so he can make it worse. (he literally plans on doubling the debt with his plans in the next 10 years alone).

He might be thinking that raising the water level will cause us to float to the top but unfortunately by the time we do we will all be drowned.

See so his plan will kill us before it can save us. I hope we will wise up and stop him before it’s too late.

The Star Wars link

I debated whether I was going to post this as a blog or not… my reasons for the debate were somewhat selfish.
I was concerned that a certain element in our society would be a little too… thick to figure out the meaning of this blog and would thus make fun of me/my blog. I was afraid in other words that posting this would be compromising what I was trying to say.

But then I realized that those people would deliberately misunderstand things anyway! So it doesn’t matter how straight or humorous I try to make it. They will still try to put me down by taking things out of context so here I go.

Recently the Liberals who are pro Obama have been complaining about the town hall meetings.
They have a problem with the signs that compare this administration with the early Nazi party.

I think they are right.

For one thing Hitler was a short, angry, white guy. Obama is a tall, Angry, Black guy.

For another Hitler was clearly interested from the start in killing everyone he didn’t like.
Obama hasn’t made it clear who he wants to kill, yet.

But there is a similarity in the sci fi world.
For my analogy today I turn to Star Wars.

I would compare President Obama to Emperor Palpatine.

Let us look at the similarities… Palpatine got control of the republic by a vote of no confidence over the old administration. So did Obama. (remember? “John McCain will just be another George Bush”)

Palpatine manipulated things to get his position. So did Obama.
Both incited fear issues in order to get in.
Palpatine took dangerous, major, Sweeping steps to consolidate his position once in place. So is Obama.
Both of them, in their campaigns, promised hope and change.
Both claimed to be on the side of the people.
Neither lived up to the expectations people had, apparently preferring to serve themselves.

So for me the question arises, Who qualifies as the Jedi in this scenario? Who is the rebellion? And does Obama have his own "order 66" already in place? These are important to know.


Of course there is also the point Mace Windu made… “There is always two, the master and the apprentice.”
If Obama is the “Sith Lord” then who is his apprentice?(or his he the apprentice? in which case we need to look for the master.)
Personally, I say we need to start watching out for a little boy with a cutsie (semi Girlish)nickname!

Equal... and I don't mean the sweetener

What is equality?

Equal

* Main Entry: 1 Equal
* Pronunciation: \ˈē-kwəl\
* Function: adjective
* Etymology: Middle English, from Latin aequalis, from aequus level, equal
* Date: 14th century

1 a (1) : of the same measure, quantity, amount, or number as another (2) : identical in mathematical value or logical denotation : equivalent b : like in quality, nature, or status c : like for each member of a group, class, or society
2 : regarding or affecting all objects in the same way : impartial
3 : free from extremes: as a : tranquil in mind or mood b : not showing variation in appearance, structure, or proportion
4 a : capable of meeting the requirements of a situation or a task b : suitable

I want to address points 1 and 2 in today's topic.
See the problem is that too many in our world, in our country, want us to believe that equal means something else.

Equal, to them, means... "because you are different from the "norm" you get preferential treatment."

Because you choose to follow a different lifestyle or because you look different you get all the perks, you get all the choices, you get special consideration.

I think Equal ought to be just that. We are supposed to have been created equal that's what the writers of the constitution believed.
We ought to all be given the same, EQUAL chances.

I know this might sound a little odd coming from me but hey let's think about it.

I can hear it now... "but you are against abortion! How hypocritical!"

Ah but see that is part of my point. Why are you so determined that the child who is unborn does not get the EQUAL chance to live?

See it fits.

But really. We need to learn from our mistakes. And the mistakes of others.

We are merely continuing the inequalities that plagued us and led us to war 150 years ago.

How many more have to suffer and die?

United?

I hate to say this. I really do. but lately I have been reflecting on our country (the U.S.) and realized that we need to rename it.

See U.S. stands for United States. But we are no longer united!
We are no longer... us.

We are a contrary, divided, backstabbing, self interested, selfish, self centered, me first kinda place.

We are no longer concerned with us as in YOU and me; No we are now only interested in the me part.
It's all about me! Me first, I don't care about you as long as I get what I want. who cares about everyone else. Me, ME, ME, Me, I, I, I, I...

Maybe we ought to disband the federal government entirely and throw the governing of the people to the individual states.
Give the states the status of being their own independent countries. Most of them are big enough!

I know this sounds cynical, but let's face it. the ideals the founding fathers were for, most in our current government seem to be against.

Freedom is a great example. The founders (except for Benjamin Franklin) all liked the idea of the bald eagle being a symbol for our country.
The Eagle soars over everything! It is free from all that fetters others. But of course people today are more worried about safety.

Will my kids be safe? How about me? when I get on a plane the authorities better make sure I won't get hurt/Hijacked/killed... But what about freedom?

What about the spirit that says,

"yeah I might be risking my life but at least I am free! I can pursue my dreams even though it might entail risk."

Well not anymore buddy... you gotta make sure it's safe or you can't do it.

I'm talking about the spirit that allowed Orville and Wilbur Wright to give us the chance to soar like the eagle.
It is the same spirit that let Lewis and Clark map the country when it was still wild.
The same spirit that, I believe, infused Charles Lindbergh, Amelia Earhart, Theodore Roosevelt, The pioneers, the Old west lawmen, and so on.

Without that spirit, how much more dull would history be? Oh not that I think history is dull.
Quite the contrary. History, especially American History, is full of awesome things. But if the people who made it so awesome had the same attitude we do today, then nothing would have gotten done. It would have been as exciting as wet toilet paper.

We would have never populated the west, made it to the moon, and we would have never had the guts to stand up and do what was right.

What is it to be united?

During the Revolutionary war they were united in defeating the British, (and again in 1812).
During the "Civil war" the states that remained united eventually agreed on freeing others (the slaves)
In the two World wars they were united against fascism and dictators who would commit genocide and "rule the world".

I have often heard the generation of my grandparents called the last great generation. Why is that???

It is because, when faced with adversity, they didn't wimp out, they didn't say "oh but we just want to be safe." they stood up and said,

"NO! NO more! this will not happen now! we are going to do what needs to be done! we are going to do what is right! and we will do no less than all we can for freedom!"

Right now I want to challenge my generation and all those younger than us. let us take the example of our grandparents and great grandparents! let us stop being so selfish! Let's stand up and say "NO! No more. it is time to do what is right and preserve our country as the founding fathers would have done (Indeed as they HAVE done.)
There is no excuse or reason not to.

Safety be "darned" what use is it to be safe in a pen waiting to be slaughtered? when we could be living free and wild soaring on the breeze.

Then when we Unite in that goal,Unite in the idea that we should strive together for what is right and good (not just what we can get out of it) maybe then we can be called the UNITED States once again.

To quote J.F.K. "Ask NOT what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country."

Freedom?

Yes that’s right today’s topic is a simple one… Freedom.

What does it mean? Why is it important? What is the big deal anyway?

One thing we see consistently is that time after time men have fought for their freedom. And whether ALL the accounts are right or not, the fact remains that there is plenty of compelling arguments that freedom was a major driving force in many if not most of those conflicts.

As evidence I will rely on other’s quotes to make my point…

Benjamin Franklin said,

“Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both.”

And,

“Even peace may be purchased at too high a price.”

So what is too high a price for peace? I would conjecture that the loss of freedom is what he references based on this quote of his…

“They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.”

The gist being, Peace (security) is not worth the loss of Freedom (Liberty).

“I prefer liberty with danger to peace with slavery.” ~Author Unknown

“Everything that is really great and inspiring is created by the individual who can labor in freedom.” ~Albert Einstein

Freedom is the last, best hope of earth. ~ Abraham Lincoln

History does not long entrust the care of freedom to the weak or the timid. ~ Dwight D. Eisenhower

In the truest sense, freedom cannot be bestowed; it must be achieved. ~ Franklin D. Roosevelt

So we see there a sense of how important freedom has been, I mean let’s face it we all have heard the famous quote from Nathan Hale…

“I only regret, that I have but one life to lose for my country.”

But during my research for this I found one of his quotes that was equally compelling…

“Let us march immediately,” he said, “and never lay down our arms until we obtain our independence.”

That was before he even joined the military to fight the British. So this was an attitude or belief he held throughout. In fact the concept of freedom was important enough that he signed up BECAUSE of it! And he later agreed to do whatever needed to be done to ensure that freedom for all! this was NOT a fly by night proposition.

But the thing about freedom is that with the privilege of freedom there is a responsibility too.

“Liberty means responsibility. That is why most men dread it.” ~George Bernard Shaw, Man and Superman, "Maxims: Liberty and Equality," 1905

“He that would make his own liberty secure, must guard even his enemy from opposition; for if he violates this duty he establishes a precedent that will reach himself.” ~Thomas Paine

Wait… you mean I have to be willing to allow my opponent the same freedom I am demanding?… YES! But there is more.

“Freedom has its life in the hearts, the actions, the spirit of men and so it must be daily earned and refreshed - else like a flower cut from its life-giving roots, it will wither and die.” ~Dwight D. Eisenhower

“Here is my advice as we begin the century that will lead to 2081. First, guard the freedom of ideas at all costs. Be alert that dictators have always played on the natural human tendency to blame others and to oversimplify. And don't regard yourself as a guardian of freedom unless you respect and preserve the rights of people you disagree with to free, public, unhampered expression.” ~Gerard K. O'Neill, 2081

“Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom, must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it.” ~Thomas Paine

And of course...

“We must be free not because we claim freedom, but because we practice it.” ~William Faulkner

We cannot shirk these duties. We must defend freedom at all costs. There are many out there that would deny our freedoms and they would do it in ways that are insidious…

“I believe there are more instances of the abridgment of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations.” ~James Madison, speech, Virginia Convention, 1788

“The contest for ages has been to rescue liberty from the grasp of executive power.” ~Daniel Webster


“The greatest dangers to liberty lurk in insidious encroachment by men of zeal, well-meaning but without understanding.” ~Louis D. Brandeis

“The people never give up their liberties but under some delusion.” ~Edmund Burke

So this is all my response / Advice to the current (and future) governments… in order to uphold the freedom/liberties purchased for us at so great a price, you must practice freedom and you must defend it to the uttermost.

“My definition of a free society is a society where it is safe to be unpopular.” ~Adlai Stevenson, speech, Detroit, 1952

“We on this continent should never forget that men first crossed the Atlantic not to find soil for their ploughs but to secure liberty for their souls.” ~Robert J. McCracken

“For what avail the plough or sail, or land or life, if freedom fail?” ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

“No one is free when others are oppressed.” ~Author Unknown

All of us need to stand and defend our freedom or we might not have anything to stand for, or anywhere to stand.

So in closing I remind you of one more quote...

" The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing."

(this is attributed to Edmund Burke.)