The Sadness Of Nothing

I just read an article about someone named Howard Bryant, who is apparently a writer for ESPN, claiming that there is too much patriotism in sports today. Also, he apparently doesn't much like the police or military either. 

It seems that more and more people in today's America cannot deal with anything great and uplifting in their lives. It used to be that people cheered the military as the great protectors of the American way of life. We keep our freedoms because there are people committed to their defense.

Police today have a thankless and almost impossible job of keeping our streets safe while, it seems, the government is intent on crowding our cities with criminals and possibly even terrorists. Meanwhile there is an organized movement to weaken police because some do the job badly and some even criminally. 

People of faith are looked down on by the self-proclaimed intellectuals who see them as weak and gullible.

The police and the military have fallen on hard times due to political mismanagement. Both were and are great organizations that have served us well over the years. Our country would be chaos without them. One day we will get politicians that love our country more than their own power and we will see changes that are long needed take place.

We have always been a people that valued that which was uplifting in our lives. But somehow a nihilist doctrine has spread. All those things that once gave up pride, we are now told are wrong and old fashioned and boring and useless.

It appears that it is avant garde to worship the value of nothingness. To take pride only in personal acquisition. Tear down your city and your state and even your country as our President does at any opportunity.

But I value that which is uplifting, not the sadness of nothing. 

The Adoration of The Liberals

I admit that I adapted this title from "The Adoration of the Magi". That was the name of a  couple of paintings. One by Da Vinci and one by Boticelli. They showed the Three Wise Men with the baby Jesus. Wonderful works of art by great masters and a wonderful topic for the holiday season.

But there is little room for adoration of Jesus or of religion in general in liberal land. If they admit Jesus existed at all, he was, to them, a historical figure who preached around two thousand years ago. God is but a mere myth in liberal land.

So what do liberals adore? They adore power. The more power a liberal acquires the more he or she is adored in the liberal community. That is why, in spite of his innumerable failings, liberals in general and the press in particular love Barack Obama and continue to extol his virtues. I am sure that if liberals had saints, he would be one of them.

Liberals love politics. Politics is the wellspring from which all that is great and good in liberal land comes. And they do politics very well, indeed. It all stems from a burning need to control. Two areas, politics and teaching, give liberals the proverbial "thrill up their leg" as one of them, so succinctly, put it. Molding young minds to bring up the next generation of liberals, and having the political power to control those that have not yet seen the liberal light is their goal.

Liberals have convinced themselves that they are the best and the brightest. History tells us otherwise. But then they don't read history, they rewrite it. As they are sure that they are the intelligentsia, they have a compulsion to regulate, order, and control all phases of life. So because of their special position in the hierarchy of creation they allow themselves any means to their ends. Obfuscate, destroy peoples lives, rake a little off the top to finance their efforts, it's all good. They know what their brave new world will look like. 

So as people of religion and conservatives, we have an obligation. While we must be tolerant of them, we must beat them. We must bring back traditional freedom, strength, and honor. Our country and our good people are suffering. There is more hate on the streets than I have seen in my lifetime. The liberal agenda is failing and taking America with it. Anyone that can't see this is just not looking. 

A War For The Feckless

One may wonder why Barack Obama, Al Gore, John Kerry, and their hordes of Flying Monkeys have declared war on "climate change". 

Oh, so many reasons. No boots on the ground. No expensive aircraft carriers and jet fighters to buy, so all that money can be spent on cool social programs. No military coffins to have to explain. And best of all it doesn't interfere with golf and vacations.

If you're are a liberal and running a really liberal administration, you can create your own monsters to rail against. The press, academia, and a good portion of the general populace will shout huzzahs and anoint you a god (or at least a king) for your efforts. As long as it either fits their preconceived notions or they find something in it for them.

Convince people that it is the greatest existential threat that mankind has ever seen or ever will see, and you can break any news cycle that suits your purpose. Turkey shoots down a Russian jet. "Well yes, but we must go to Paris and deal with climate change."

All those Syrian refugees that Obama wants to bring into the country. No problem. They are just friends that you haven't met yet. But have you seen what is happening to the polar ice caps? 

The bombing in Paris, nothing compared to CO2 levels. Shut down the coal mines.

But sometimes events catch up with you. Lately our kingly President reminds one more of a cat playing dodge-em on roller skates. History is closing in from all sides and what he would like to keep hidden is getting very public. 

All he wants is one more year and he can kick the proverbial can down the road to his successor. But if we should be attacked and American blood gets spilled on American soil, it is all on him. I cannot see how his legacy can possibly stand as things are today, but a terrorist attack here would be the crushing blow. He would have totally lost the "war for the feckless".

Giving Thanks

Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday. Through the years when we were raising our family, we took possession of Thanksgiving. After breakfast was over, the kitchen was mine. I loved making the holiday dinner. I even had my own secret stuffing recipe.

The deal was that since I cooked, others cleaned up. When I cook a meal like that, I guarantee that every pot, pan, and most dishes will need washing. So, as you can see, I got the best of that deal.

As citizens of America and citizens of the free world we have so much to be thankful for. We control our own destiny. Those of us that desire to create our own life have the freedom to go where we choose and do what we choose. We marry according to our own wishes and, hopefully, rear children that will learn to love our country and our life, and bring it all to a new level.

We live in a time where there are many that would curtail our freedom. Unfortunately, some of these misguided creatures are our fellow countrymen. They have the strange idea that there can be too much freedom. That will never be true. Human freedom is God's greatest gift. From that freedom all other benefits flow. Those that try to control or enslave a truly free people will, ultimately, fail.

Through time, our family has joined with other families, so holiday celebrations have multiplied. So we won't be able to see all of our daughters, sons-in-law, and grand kids this Thanksgiving. We will join our oldest daughter's celebration. She does the traditional meal and does it very well. It will be a great day.

If you are living in the free world this week, especially in America, and you are angry and feel put upon. If you are boiling over with hatred for the freedom that we possess. You are wrong. You need to take control of your own life. If you are waiting for largesse or hoping to draw blood, thinking either one will bring happiness, you are misguided.

Thankfulness, love, and reverence for a higher power that makes all of that possible will bring the joy and contentment, along with the ability to create that better life. Anger, greed, and hatred will only drag one further into the abyss.

Have a happy and holy Thanksgiving all.

And In Third Place

There was a time when the United States was the world leader. We fought wars. But they were wars against aggressors. We had to defeat Germany twice. We defeated Japan. We drove North Korea out of South Korea even though that war never technically ended. There  were missteps like Viet Nam. But we even won a cold war against the USSR.

In those days, the United States was the world leader and the President was the leader of the free world. The Senate was considered to be the greatest deliberative body in the world. We had a House of Representatives that, for the most part, looked to the needs of American citizens. 

Then the House eroded into Boehners boneheads. They became a rubber stamp for the President rather than the loyal opposition. Meanwhile evil Harry Reid and his more evil twin, Mitch Mcconnell, have turned the Senate into worlds greatest roadblock.

Through all of this the very confused American people decided we needed a "cool dude" with great pipes and a huge ego to be President. And thus it was so. Remember all those promises he made to get elected. The results have all been the opposite. And now because of the rise of ISIS among other things our country and the world is in greater danger than we have seen since WWII.

But we have a Commander-in-Chief who leads from behind and cannot speak the name of our enemy. They have declared war on us, but we will not declare war on them. Christians and conservatives are considered more dangerous than fundamental Islam. And our greatest threat is "global warming".

The world is always looking for a strong leader. Strength brings respect and trust. Vladimir Putin stepped right into that roll. He was riding a horse bareback while our guy was pedaling a ladies bicycle.

But then, out of a clear blue sky, comes a contender for second place. After the attack in Paris, with no hesitation, with no deep contemplation, Francois Hollande struck back. He showed his backbone and sent French jets in to destroy ISIS' base. With that action he took over number two position in the world leadership stakes.

And not very firmly ensconced as number three, "comfortable in the pocket", as he said, is Barack Obama. I don't quite get the football analogy. I doubt he ever played. Maybe saying, comfortable in the sand trap, would be more appropriate.  

Random Thoughts - Seventy-Three

The cowardly fools that call themselves ISIS think think they are warriors because they attack unarmed women and children with assault rifles. There is no honor among them.

As I sit in my room writing, I hear Obama's voice from the TV in the living room. I don't even need to hear the words. I can tell from the tone that he is just droning on explaining that which we do not need him to explain. We get it. We just wish that he did.

Guns are illegal in Paris. Assault rifles, the real thing, not the liberal version of assault rifles, were used by these low lives. The French stood defenseless. But the liberals still wish to disarm good Americans. We have to ask ourselves why. I think most of Europe wishes they had their guns back now.

Did you ever notice that none of this stuff ever happens in Switzerland. They have universal military training and almost every house has a firearm and someone trained to use it.

Look closely at the pictures of the crowds of Muslim refugees leaving the Mideast for Europe and the USA. Almost all young men of military age and looking very fit. You might even see it as jihadists on parade. This is not going to get any better soon.

I'll say again. People, practice situational awareness when you are out and about. Stop texting and see what is around you. If you see something that makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up, clear the area. If you see real danger, shout and run. If you are not just a little paranoid, you don't understand the situation.

Aujourd'hui, nous sommes tous Parisienne. Pray for the people of Paris. We must stand with them, as they have with us since the Revolution. 

I just heard, compliments of my wife, that Obama thinks that the Boston Marathon bombers used crockpots. Really?

WWIII

There has been no formal declaration of war. No country's planes have dropped bombs on American territory. No ICBMs have been launched against us. But do not make the same mistake that our ideologically driven President has made. We are at war and have been for some time. 

We have been attacked, France has been attacked, Sweden has been attacked, Germany has been attacked. We are in the midst of World War Three. Those that hear no evil and see no evil will not acknowledge the truth of this statement. They only recognize the traditional war of their youth.

We are involved in a new kind of war. We are being attacked by a political ideology with the face of a religion. The true believers know that they have been given a pass by their god to commit any atrocity at any time, at any place, against anyone. Even non-believer women and children.

There will never be battle lines drawn. Our enemy will never don uniforms. They fight by hiding among the lawful. They hide their faces with masks. They meet and plan in the protected sanctuaries of mosques. Their craven leaders send their misguided young into crowds with bombs strapped under their clothing to "martyr" themselves for Allah. They are promised paradise. If they get anything, they will get hell.

President Hollande of France made a fine speech last night. He promised to mobilize their forces and defeat the terrorists. Fine. I hope he does. I will not hold my breath waiting. But there is one great irony in this horrible situation. During WWII, it was Muslims that joined with Hitler against the Jews. Today it is those same Muslims that attack Germany.

There must be a coalition if the West is to survive with minimal damage. NATO forces and Russia must join together and be relentless. Those mosques that support political activity must be exempted from freedom of religion. Those that come into our country must be vetted. Our borders must be controlled.

This is a war that started over 1300 years ago. We are just entering into the latest phase. While our enemies still love their scimitars, they love dirty bombs even more. As has been said, "the price of freedom is constant vigilance".

Celebration At Last

Back in 1980, Kool and the Gang, had a hit song called "Celebration". There is a line in the song - "A celebration to last throughout the years." That is what the Republicans have today.

I have been an ardent observer of the political scene since the days of FDR, with a primary interest in conservative politics. Never has the Republican party been so blessed in the candidate department as they are today.

From the days when both parties selected candidates in smoke filled rooms through the last election candidates were older, stodgy, white males who had done their time and obiesance. It became their turn to run through natural progression. Two elections ago, the Democrats veered from tradition and went with young and inexperienced. That isn't working out well.

This time the Republicans are giving us a full menu of potential candidates to select from. There are males and a female. There are Hispanics, white folk, and a black man. There are medical doctors. There are doctors of law. There are MBAs. They run from super rich to a little above average. There are traditional pols, young bulls, and outsiders. They range from a little conservative to very conservative.

The one qualification that they all have is that they are all extremely smart. They are all smart enough to know that they don't know everything. I think that even the blustery one gets that. So they will surround themselves with smart and qualified people. I find that reassuring.

One other common factor is that they all have big egos. That is not a bad thing if it is not overblown and narcissistic. One requires a big ego to have the confidence to make the big and and important decisions that a President must make on a daily basis. And they are all able and seem willing to stand up before the nation and explain their actions and decisions and bring the rest of us along.

I am looking forward to watching the shakeout process. The process so far has changed my ideas some. I wish that were also true of the press. Their minds were, largely, made up going in. They are selling the country short by their actions. I can only hope that they will break the mold and take a second look. That would be a celebration!

A Nation Of Laws?

Throughout my whole life it has been a tenet of American citizenship that we are a nation of laws. "No one is above the law." In my civics classes in grade school through political science in college it was spoken of as the most natural state of civic life. All men (and women) are equal under the law.

Not so much any more. Lawlessness may not have started under the Obama administration, but they have certainly nursed it to full flower. There has been so much, it is hard to know where to start. "Fast and Furious" comes to mind. Encouraging guns to be bought illegally and shipped to drug cartels in Mexico. We will never know how many lives this has cost.

Then there was the conversion of the IRS into the enforcement arm of the Democrat National Committee. So many things just went on that Attorney General Holder would not see as illegal because they fit his and Barack Obama's agenda.

The ultimate low spot was the murderous attack on Benghazi and the lies told and supported by multiple minions of the administration. Then to put the cherry on the top they blamed, arrested, and allowed to languish in jail a small time film maker who was defenseless against the government juggernaut.

Illegal sanctuary cities, created by local governments, were allowed and encouraged. The Border Patrol was told to stand back and allow illegals to pass. Illegals that were caught were released by ICE. One of the candidates for the new head of the Border Patrol is a woman who is a vociferous supporter of sanctuary cities.

Then we have Hillary Clinton's blatant lies and illegal actions as Secretary of State. She is supposedly under investigation by the FBI. Damning evidence should not be hard to come by. There is no doubt in my mind that a felony case can be made. But will it? Only if the President decides it is to his advantage to take Hillary out of the Presidential race. If he makes that decision she is doomed.

Our present administration considers themselves and operates as an extra-legal entity. If the Congress won't do his bidding, a Presidential edict will get it done. If they won't pass a law have an agency pass a regulation. The hell with the Bill of Rights. There are way around everything if you are willing to ignore the Constitution. 

Right now, we are not a nation of laws. The administration and, particularly, the President are too power hungry and agenda driven. But nothing is forever. Many people seem to be catching on. Those of us that love and believe in the Constitution pray that it will be enough to force a change. 

And So It Begins

Although Starbucks denies it, it appears that they have thrown the first spear in the annual war on Christmas. Their "Holiday" cups are red with their green logo. They claim a minimalist approach that will be comfortable for all. 

It is Christmas, for Pete's sake. It is not the "name it yourself holiday". It is a celebration of the birth of Christ. A day important to millions of Christians in this country and billions around the world. The martyrs who sacrificed there lives for their faith over the years did not expect it to be denigrated by a mere coffee vendor, no matter how over-blown their self-image.

But, in fact, there are two Christmases. Their is the religious Christmas and there is the secular Christmas. Most Christians celebrate both. But many non-Christians still celebrate the secular holiday. They do that because taking part is both joyous and uplifting.

Starbucks could have used a secular Christmas motif on their cups. Santa and Christmas trees would have satisfied all but the most severe of their critics. But as they have taken a non-religious secular stance, it will be the plain red cup with a logo. I would bet that they are offending more good folks than they are pleasing.

I do not know if the phrase "Merry Christmas" will be heard within the confines of their little coffee shops. I will never know as I will not be found there. I will continue to wish people a Merry Christmas in public, and I will do it in loud ringing tones. If someone takes offence where none is intended it is on them. I take no offence when someone wishes me a Happy Hanukkah or a joyous Kwanzaa. I am willing to celebrate any holiday that is celebrated with joy, peace, and good fellowship.

So let me be among the first to wish you unbelievers and even you haters out there a Merry Christmas. Unclench those anger muscles. Relax. Enjoy the season. Most people are friendly even if you don't want to be. You might even read "A Christmas Carol" and put yourself in the place of Ebeneezer Scrooge. You might even wake up one morning and find you were wrong. 

Ethical Equivalency

We hear that one of the biggest problems with liberal philosophy is that they promote moral equivalency. A belief in satanism is equal to a belief in Christianity. Iran is a good as America. Illegal aliens are equal to citizens. And so on. And on. And on. 

But they also have a quiet belief in ethical equivalency. The by-laws of Hell's Angels is as important as the Ten Commandments. The Quran and the Bible are equal. Marriage has no true definition. It is adjustable to the needs of any minority that demands it. I read that a few days ago, three women all married each other.

We are having an ethical crisis in this country, perhaps the world. But I care about our own great United States. Let others heal their own ills. What is troubling is that the liberal social engineers have turned our children into laboratory animals. And that is not ethical.

Prepubescent children are a blank slate to these people. So when these kids start getting lectures in school about gay, lesbian, and transgender life styles, it confuses them because they don't even know what a sexual identity is at this point. Then they are told you don't have to be what you seem to be, you can make your choice from a menu. The hormones haven't kicked in yet so their body has yet to receive the biological clues it needs.

Then, about the time that those hormones start pumping, the schools start passing out condoms. Well if the school is passing them out, it must be right for us to use them. Right? Too much, too soon, with no ethical perspective.

Awards just for showing up. No mark lower than a C. Social promotion. Lax discipline both at home and in the schools. No sense of responsibility. Keeping troublemakers in class with those that are not yet lost. The litany goes on.

Then as the worst of these lost souls get older, when they find themselves in court or even in prison, they are put back out on the streets to re-offend.

We have to get back to the old ways. The new ways are just not cutting it. Rehang those Ten Commandment plaques in the schools. They are not just religious, they are historical. And they are good. Give kids responsibilities and make them stick. But above all, clean up the educational miasma. Our kids both need and deserve better.

The Return To Common Sense???

Am I mistaken, or is our populace suddenly having a return to common sense? Has the sweeping swerve to the left by liberals and the over-reaching policies of the Obama administration, along with the deterioration of our country, suddenly caused much of the population to appreciate personal freedom and despise government heavy handedness once again.

The "Sanctuary City" sheriff of San Francisco was voted out of office. In San Francisco none the less. In Texas, the locker room that you use will be decided by your plumbing and not your state of mind. Or your incipient weirdness. No legal pot in Ohio. You see, middle Americans have values. That thin air out in the Colorado Rockies seems to dilute that idea that some things are just wrong.

Kentucky voted in their first Republican Governor in four decades. The campaign against the Second Amendment failed in Virginia. One can only hope that these are harbingers of things to come. Our country cannot take much more of a beating.

Hillary Clinton's numbers are totally under water and many polls show her as a loser. Not that one should have much faith in early polls. Or polls at all, for that matter. She is old, shrill, and a proven liar. But for some very strange reason there are those that still support her. Apparently the fact that she is a woman is all the qualification needed.

It is still my opinion that at some point the President will turn the FBI hounds loose on her and Barack's mini-me will be trotted onto the world stage, much a Obama himself was eight years ago. He wants to protect his legacy. That will not happen under a President Hillary.

Most elections are finally decided by the low information voters. Those that stay informed pretty much split even on party lines. This is not a good thing. So maybe this time we have been damaged enough that more people will be truly concerned people. We may be able to save the country yet.

A Brief Update

This is an update on my previous posting. Actually, it is more like some additional observations. I enjoy football. Since my Patriots were not playing Sunday, I watched the Saints-Giants game. I'm also a little bit of a Saints fan. 

Before the game, it was not unusual to see a player take a knee or bow their head. During the game a Saints player severely injured his leg. As he lay on the ground, in pain, being attended to by the Saints medical staff, players from both teams took a knee and were, obviously, offering prayers.

When players scored, many of those who carried the ball across the goal line, either took a knee or pointed upward in a gesture of thanks.

I heard no booing from the stands as prayers were offered. I saw no mass exodus of offended fans. I heard no diatribes by sports reporters on TV. Nor did I see any excoriating articles in the news. 

More important, I have heard of no threats by the ACLU to sue either the NFL Football or individual players. A single coach at an obscure high school game takes a private moment to exercise his Constitutional right and give thanks, and his world is brought down around him. You see, he is one man without resources. Low hanging fruit, as it were. 

But professional football is a harder target. Big, rich, organized men as part of a very wealthy sports organization that has it's own bevy of lawyers. So what it amounts to is that the ACLU are a bunch of legal bullies. They are willing to destroy the "little people" who can't fight back but can't handle someone their own size.

Once More Into The Fray

I have written a lot about politics. Frankly, I'm tired of it. Ninety percent of those in office should be taken out behind the barn and have a good beating administered. They are stupid and avaricious people for the most part. Most of the ones that are reasonably smart are power mad. I need to give myself a vacation from that pig sty.

Being a cranky conservative, there is always something that disturbs me. I have recently been ordained as a Christian clergyman. There is a story there, but not to be shared here. Catch me in a local public house and offer me a touch of the Irish and I will share. What disturbs me greatly is the current attitude, among "intellectuals", against religion in general and Christianity in particular.

These brilliant intellectuals, they're actually no smarter than a fence post, never come down against Islam. Do they fear those peace loving Muslims will track them down and behead them? But peace loving Christians are an easy target. Nothing to fear there. Well maybe there is. 

I, for one, am tired of having my freedoms, delineated under the Bill of Rights, my God given freedoms, trod under foot by a bunch of troglodyte politicians and lawyers espousing a legal precedence that never existed. And getting away with it.

There is no separation of church and state. None. Nada. Never was. The state can not "establish" a particular religion. But they cannot prevent the"free exercise" of religion.
Once again, they cannot exercise the "free exercise" of one's religion. If you wish to bend a knee and pray, even as a coach at a football game, you have that right. It is as much your right as the right a criminal has not to answer questions.

Why does the ACLU work so hard for criminals and against Christians? M-O-N-E-Y. They get paid when they win cases against our rights and for criminals rights. So, Congress, shut off that money hose.

Freedom of religion is covered under the first amendment, as is freedom of speech. As one can speak about anything at any time, one can practice their faith any place at any time. Both freedoms have some caveats like shouting fire in a theater or killing as part of ones faith. But, other than such excessive behavior, any removal of personal freedom is unconstitutional.