Tis The Season

Most of the items I post to this blog have dealt with politics or my utter disdain for the antics of our elected "representatives and leaders." However I thought I would ramble on about something different for a change. Tis the season of the year when this old guy feels the call of the woods. That's right, IT'S DEER SEASON!

On most every Saturday from October through the first weekend in January I can be found perched in a tree stand hoping that Bambi's dad will walk with in range of my weapon of choice. In October it's a bow, the first two weeks of November it's a muzzle loader, and from mid-November through December it's my trusty Browning 12 gauge. Some of my friends claim that the Browning's barrel is bent from my experiment with gravity three years ago, but I attribute the "occasional" miss to buck fever. You know that surge of excitement and adrenaline that sweeps over you when you spot a deer headed in your direction. If you don't know what I'm talking about, you need to spend a crisp fall day in the deer woods. There something special about the deer woods in fall. Crisp crunchy leaves, squirrels storing up nuts for winter, turkeys scratching through dry leaves, and the sight of a whitetail deer magically appearing through a pine thicket or hard wood bottom.

So yes, TIS THE SEASON. Avoid the crowded malls, get away from the long lines of shoppers "hunting" for that great bargain and make your way to the deer woods.

IT'S NOT A CARD GAME

I don't know about you, but frankly I'm sick and tired of politicians and former presidents "playing the race card"! I truly believe this is a democratic party tactic being used to intimidate people who are openly and publicly critical of President Obama's policies and political agenda. Accuse someone of being a racist when they disagree with your political position and the natural reaction is to divert the discussion to say your not a racist and take you off of your position. If they can get you on the defensive about that, then you're no longer on the offense with your original criticism.

The current debate over health care, economic policy, the global war on terrorism (pick your topic) is not a game! These are serious issues that deserve serious debate and discussion. Let's demand that our elected representatives start doing what we sent them to Washington to do in the first place...Represent Us!

So the next time someone plays the race card, tell them to GO FISH!

Yes, We Are At The Crossroads

I wrote a while back that we needed to stop Obama Care. Well it's been an interesting summer. Representatives and Senators have gotten an ear full. Some have listened, others have not. One even went so far as to say he was going to vote for the bill even if his district was overwhelmingly against it. (Hopefully he's looking for a new job come November 2010.)

We need to continue to write and/or call our representatives and let them know that we won't stand by an watch the Obama administration and Congress wreck our nation and our economy. I've written both of Virginia's Senators and my Representative. Unfortunately, I have zero confidence that Senator Webb nor Senator Warner will break from the Democratic party line. Congressman Wittman informed me that he does not support the bill.

We are at a crossroads America! Make your voice heard and let Washington know how you feel.

With Friends Like These...

Well seems like the early rumors are turning out to be true. Our good friends and long time allies, the United Kingdom, approved the early release of the convicted Lockerbie bomber in order to further a huge oil deal with Libya. al-Megrahi may be dying of cancer, and have only months or weeks to live, but he should have spent those last days in his prison cell. Instead he's treated to a heroes welcome in Libya.

Now I'm not saying we should consider the UK as an enemy or part of the "Axis of Evil", but we should let them know in a very strong way that we, as a nation, are not pleased. How about recalling our ambassador to the UK for 6 months and ending any high-level diplomatic contact with them? How many of us have had disagreements with good friends and been given the cold shoulder. Makes you want to put things right if it's a relationship you cherish. Maybe it's time we gave the UK the cold shoulder for a while.

Before you read this post be aware that it is a joke forwarded to me by a friend. However, given the current state of our nation and the recent socialist tendencies of the current administration, it should give you reason to think....

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Democrats, realizing the success of the President's "Cash For Clunkers" rebate program, have revamped a major portion of their National Health Care Plan.

President Obama, Speaker Pelosi, and Sen. Reed are expected to make this major announcement at a joint news conference later this week. I have obtained an advanced copy of the proposal which is named....

"CASH FOR CODGERS" and it works like this... Couples wishing to access health care funds in order to pay for the delivery of a child will be required to turn in one old person. The amount the government grants them will be fixed according to a sliding scale. Older and more prescription dependent codgers will garner the highest amounts.

Special "Bonuses" will be paid for those submitting codgers in targeted groups, such as smokers, alcohol drinkers, persons 10 pounds over their government prescribed weight, and any member of the Republican Party.

Smaller bonuses will be given for codgers who consume beef, soda, fried foods, potato chips, lattes, whole milk, dairy products, bacon, Brussel sprouts, or Girl Scout Cookies.

All codgers will be rendered totally useless via toxic injection. This will insure that they are not secretly resold or their body parts harvested to keep other codgers in repair.

Why Do We Fight, If Not For VICTORY

Whenever our country decides to put our men and women in uniform into harms way; we need to be sure that the objective is victory. Today President Obama stated, in an interview with ABC News, that he was uncomfortable with the word "Victory" when discussing our current involvement in Afghanistan! Don't know about you, but that makes me as mad as hell! We have a "Commander in Chief" who is putting our most cherished national treasure into harms way against an enemy who is determined to destroy us, and he's not comfortable with "victory"!

How do you say grounds for impeachment?

OBAMA CARE MUST BE STOPPED!

OBAMA CARE MUST BE STOPPED! If you live in a district "represented" by a democrat, I urge you to contact them and let them know that a vote for Obama care means they'll be looking for new employment come Nov 2010. We've got to put a stop to this insanity!

Freedoms Under Attack

Are we free to assemble and conduct a Bible study in our own homes? Silly question you say, of course we are free to assemble and practice our religious believes the way we see fit without the state interfering! It's our constitutional right you say. Well think again! San Diego County government has told a local pastor and his wife that they are in violation of county ordinances because they host a weekly Bible study in their home. Ten to fifteen people gather in a private home, share a meal, pray and study God's word, and the County says they are now required to obtain a permit to hold a religious assembly. How ridiculous! Someone needs to remind San Diego County of a little thing called the U.S. Constitution and the 1st Amendment.

If you find this all a little hard to believe, check it out for yourself at : http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,522637,00.html

Some may say it's just crazy California, but I fear that this is just the tip of the iceberg. Are you ready to fight for your rights America? I don't know about you, but I plan on being ready.

The "New" American Revolution

Is it time for a second American Revolution? Right off the bat let me say that I am not advocating a violent overthrow of our current form of government. In fact I think the “new revolution” is needed to ensure that our current form of government continues and thrives. We, as a nation, have become complacent and allowed “career politicians” to subvert, and bring to its knees, the representative republic that our fore fathers set in place 233 years ago. I find it hard to believe that the likes of Washington, Jefferson, and Adams envisioned that the government would be run by a group of “professional, career politicians.”

Arlen Specter, the senior Senator from Pennsylvania, is the perfect example of the “career politician” that is ruining our country. Here’s a guy who has served in the Senate for nearly 30 years! He claims that he switched parties because he no longer felt the Republican Party shared his political views. An out right lie! Less that a month ago, he told Sean Hannity in an interview that the 41 Republican Senators where “in a way, national treasures”, and that he had no intentions of switching parties. Why did he really switch? Because he saw the hand writing on the wall, and realized he could not survive a strong challenge in the next republican primary. In fact he was down over 20 percentage points in the polls to his primary challenger. The blinking light in the corner of his eye was his Career Dissipation Indicator. Scrambling to save his professional political career; he cut a deal with Harry Reid and changed parties. Now he will have a much better chance of re-election in a democrat leaning Pennsylvania. Citizens of Pennsylvania, was he looking out for your best interest, or his own. You make the call.

So why do we need a “new” American Revolution? It’s time to make our government work for us again. It’s time to put an end to career politicians. Right now the first job of every new Senator or Representative is to get re-elected. As soon as he or she takes office, they begin raising money and lining up the special interest groups to help them win another term. Is that what we elect them to do? How about addressing real issues and problems that face our nation; how about re-shaping a bloated federal government that is so big that it restricts and stymies economic growth and puts an ever increasing heavy hand on it’s citizens. Let’s get rid of all the career politicians and place term limits on our representatives. If we limit a President to serving only two terms, why don’t we do the same to our Congress? Maybe, just maybe, if they know they only have a limited time in office, they’ll get down to doing the business they were sent to Washington to accomplish. Maybe the politicians who seek public office just to hoard power and curry favor from the special interest will say it’s not worth it for only two terms. And when that happens, maybe we will begin to see true public servants running for office. And maybe, just maybe, we’ll have a congress that is composed of “Statesmen” not politicians!

We don’t need to wage this revolution with rifle and cannon. This time let’s use the ballot box!

If you feel like being a revolutionary, feel free to copy this and send it to your friends. But be aware; you may find yourself on “the list.”

Scare Force One

Yesterday the Air Force took advantage of a beautiful Spring day over New York City and conducted a "Photo Op" mission over the city. Good idea, but not a great idea!

There's an old saying among the military planning community. "Prior proper planning prevents poor performance." The Air Force executed the mission flawlessly. The VC-25, commonly referred to as Air Force One (only when the President is on board), with it's F-16 in trail flew gracefully over the city; The Manhattan skyline and the Statue of Liberty providing a magnificent backdrop.

Only one small problem. HAVE WE ALL FORGOTTEN 9/11! No, I was not there that day but I can only imagine the memories and fears the scene of a giant 747 flying at low altitude over the city with a fighter jet in chase must have invoked.

There is no doubt in my mind that this mission was meticulously planned in advance by the 89th Airlift Wing (They are the AF unit responsible for Presidential Airlift). Why didn't someone involved in the mission planning recognize that this might cause fear and panic among the citizens of NYC? Where was common sense? I don't enjoy criticising my former Service, but this was just poor planning and a break down in leadership. Someone in the chain-of-command should have asked the question and applied a little common sense thinking to this process.

Making The List

If you hold any on the following political and/or moral positions, congratulations you've made the list:

• Believe in the right to bear arms
• Believe that all life is precious and worth saving
• Believe that the federal government has become too big and obtrusive in our life's
• Believe that our current president is taking this nation down a path toward socialism and financial ruin

I could go on, but hopefully you get the point. The Obama administration is trying to intimidate those who hold opposing political views and suggest that they may be more prone to recruitment into radical "right wing extremist groups." Hog wash! The first amendment guarantees our right to free speech and the ability to voice our disagreement with the government. Suggesting that doing so makes one an extremist and a potential threat to the nation is absurd. Keep voicing your opinions, write your congressman, demand that your federal, state and local government officials be held accountable. Don't let some bureaucrat in the Department of Homeland Security intimidate you into keeping quite!

If it Looks Like a Duck....

There's an old adage that goes, "if it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, and looks like a duck, then it's a duck."

You be the judge. Looks like a bow to me. The White House Spin Doctors said it was a two handed handshake. BS. Would you buy a used car from this Administration? Look at the picture closely. There is no eye contact. The King is looking down at Obama, and Obama has his head bowed.

How about it America, are you proud of your President now?

The Brakeman Cometh

A couple of months ago a small group of politicians gathered in our nations capital and drafted a bill of over a thousand pages, that no one took the time to read, and rammed it through the House and Senate with little or no debate. We were told that our nation faced a crisis that we had not seen since the Great Depression. Deliberate thought and debate were not an option; there was no time to waste! The president’s new budget will place more debt on our children and future generations than any other time in our nation’s history. In less than two months the Obama administration and the Democrat controlled Congress have done more to destroy the founding principles of this nation than all the politicians that have come before them. Have they read the Constitution that they swore to protect and defend!

Now they want even more sweeping power to seize financial institutions that are in trouble. We are no longer on the “slippery slope” to socialism. We racing down the track as fast as the engine of big government can pull us! Obama is at the controls and he’s barking out orders to keep shoveling trillions of dollars into the fire box. Tim Giethner is in the back printing up money as fast as he can to keep the steam up. Meanwhile the train just passed a sign that no one could read because the train was going so fast. If we had just taken a more deliberate approach and exercised a little restraint and caution; we would have been able to make out the sign.

WARNING, BRIDGE OUT AHEAD!

So, what do we do? As I see it we have three options.

1. Stay on the train and blindly trust the engineer -- as it careens over the cliff.

2. Say screw this, and jump off the train or,

3. Hire a brakeman to slow the train down so we can read the signs and make informed decisions.

2010 is our next real opportunity to “hire the brakeman.” Think about it.

WHACK-A-MOLE

Remember the game you used to play at the fair or Chuck E Cheese where to try to whack the mole that pokes its head up from a big board filed with holes? The mole pops up through random holes and goes faster and faster as the game progresses. I’m beginning to think Congress, and the Obama administration, believes it’s playing a giant game of Whack-A-Mole.

Economic “crisis”! Whack; pass a stimulus package that no one has read. Why? Because Nancy has a plane to catch.

“Outrage” over AIG bonuses. Whack; pass a bill (that’s blatantly unconstitutional) to tax the offending bonus at 90%.

Pass an omnibus spending bill so stuffed with pork that it oozes bacon grease. Whack; it was “last year’s business” so we can’t do anything about it.

What ever happened to the legislative branch being the “deliberative” body of our government? The framers of the constitution must be hanging their heads in disgust over what we’ve done to this grand experiment in self-government. Maybe we need to send them all back through a 9th grade civics class, or do they still teach that any more?

We the people, have an opportunity to change the current course of our government. In two years we will have our mid-term elections. We need candidates that will govern as the constitution calls for. We need a Congress that is proactive rather than reactive. One that will act through well thought out, deliberate, plans that address the future of our nation rather than the “crisis dejour.”

Whack-A-Mole is a game for kids. It should not be our model for governing!

Honoring Their Sacrifice?

Let me qualify this first by saying this is not a grumble. It's more like a rant, but I for one intend to do something about! And I encourage you to do the same.

I heard tonight that one of the ideas that the Obama administration is considering under the cover of "health care reform" is to push off some of the cost of treating our wounded veterans to private insurance companies to cover. As a veteran, I am outraged that this "idea" was even allowed to be brought up, let alone seriously considered, during the recent Health Care "summit" held at the White House.

These brave men and women willingly went off to war to free an oppressed nation, defeat terrorism, and defend our freedoms. They sacrificed their bodies to protect us and their fellow warriors. And this is how our new President would honor their sacrifice! As a nation we owe it to our wounded veterans to cover the entire cost of their recovery and treatment. Don't tell me that we can spend billions on Wall Street bankers and incompetent auto makers, but we can't afford to take care of those who were willing to lay down their lives to keep America free!

I can't begin to tell you the feelings of contempt I have for those that would enact such policy, but most of all I'm ashamed that we have sunk this low. My fear is that we may have farther still to sink.

Write or call your Senators and Representatives. Let the White House know that this can not be allowed to go any further! Take back your government America!

Grumble, Grumble, Grumble. Just Stop It!

I’m sure you’re all familiar with the Nike marketing slogan “Just Do It.” It encouraged us to get up and get moving, but most of all to buy Nike products. Brilliant!

After listening to my Pastor’s sermon yesterday, I started thinking about that slogan; only with a twist. Our Pastor challenged us to stop grumbling for 40 days. JUST STOP IT! Sounds easy right? Well think about it for a minute. How many things do we complain and grumble about on a daily basis? Our jobs/boss, our spouses, our kids, that person in line in front of you in Wal-Mart with 29 items in the 15 item express lane. There’s a saying in the military, “a GI is not happy unless he has something to complain about.” Stop and ponder on it for a while, and you’ll likely come to the conclusion that we are a nation of complainers. We like to grumble!

How does God view grumbling? James 5:9 says, “Don't grumble against each other, brothers, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door!” When the nation of Israel was wandering in the desert they grumbled about not having any meat to eat. God provided manna for them every day, but they wanted meat. So God provide quail for them to eat. So much so that the meat came out their noses and they became sick of eating quail. When He showed them the Promised Land they sent spies in to take a look around. Joshua and Caleb came back with a positive report and said “let’s go”, but the others were afraid of the people that were already there. They stirred up discontent and doubt (grumbling) among the people. What was God’s response? He sent them back out into the desert for 40 more years until all those who grumbled had died and then lead them back to the promised land. Get the picture? God does not like, nor want us to grumble.

There’s also a saying that says, “If your not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem.” Rather that complaining about things we don’t like, how about suggesting a solution.

Forty days without grumbling. I’m going to try, please pray for me.

P.S. Pastor Tom went on to say that when the 40 days are over it does not mean that we can start grumbling again. Hopefully our characters will begin to change in that time, and we will begin to act differently.

Bait and Switch

You've all probably heard of the tactic that many stores use called the "bait and switch". That's where the business would advertise one product at a great price to get you in the store. Then when you show up, they are all out but they have a product that's better than the one advertised just at a higher price.

Well my friends we have one of the biggest bait and switch operations going on right now in our nation and very few people even realize it. "What you ask?" You know that tax break Obama promised 95% of taxpayers. You know the one that's going to put extra money in your paycheck each month beginning in April. "Yeah that's a great deal right!" Nope. What they've done is change the withholding tax rated so you'll see more in your take home pay, but what they did not tell you was that the marginal income tax rates did not change. So come next April we are in for a nice surprise. Your going to have to pay taxes on that extra money you were getting each month from Obama's "tax cut." Thank you may I have another!

Let's take back our government America!

Private Jets

Let's talk about private jets. Our new President and our representatives in Congress have taken every opportunity to slam corporate CEOs for traveling in private jets. It's kind of like the pot calling the kettle black.

President Obama went to great lengths to scold CEOs and tell the American people that the days of jetting around in private planes was over. Yet barely two weeks into his term, the president made a trip aboard Air Force One from Washington D.C. to Newport News, VA to address the Democrats at their retreat in Williamsburg. To make this trip happen required not only Air Force One, but at least two of the Marine Corps helicopters that ferry the president from the White House to Andrews AFB, another at the Newport News airport to ferry him to Williamsburg and back. They also used an Air Force C-5 cargo jet to move his motorcade to Newport News just in case he decided to travel via the highway instead of by helicpoter. Is your head about to explode yet? It's less than 250 miles from the White House to Williamsburg as the crow flys. In the time it took to ferry him from the White House to Andrews AFB, fly on Air Force One to Newport News, then ferry him to Williamsburg, he could have made the trip entirely on Marine One and saved you and I tens of thousands of dollars. That's just one example.

You would be amazed at the number of "official fact finding trips" congressional delegations make using their "own" fleet of tax payer funded jets (courtesy of the USAF). How many times a month do you think Nancy Pelosi jets back and forth across the country on a dedicated Air Force C-20 (Gulfstream G-5 equivalent). You would be amazed. And they have the nerve to lecture the very people who fund their campaigns and fuel the economic engine that makes this country function.

To be fair, there have been abuses and misuses by corporations. Corporations need to make a profit in order to survive; they also have a social obligation to be good stewards of their resources. Why aren't we expecting, no demanding, the same from our government?

Let's take our government back America!

Time To Clean Out the Medicine Cabinet

A funny thing happens to you as you age. Your collection of prescription drugs begins to grow at an exponential rate. This past weekend the wife and I decided it was time to clean out our medicine cabinet along with the bathroom closet that contained all sorts of pharmaceuticals (many of which were out of date). So we did the logical thing -- we flushed them down the toilet! What was left was a clean, organized and efficient medicine cabinet. Then it hit me like a flash! Why don't we treat our congress like we do our medicine cabinets? It's time to go through the lot and toss out the old, the out of date, the ineffective, and the inefficient! If we want our government to be "Of the people, for the people...", then it's up to us to do some good old fashion spring cleaning. For far too long we have elected our representatives and sent them off to Washington to do our business only to find out that a congressman's first priority once elected is to get re-elected. They stop listening to us and focus on consolidating power and raising enough money to run the next campaign.

Do you want a Congress that's efficient, well organized and free of scandal and corruption? Well then it's time to flush the old, out of touch lot of them. Place term limits on them, tolerate no graft or corruption, start demanding that they answer to us!

Take back your government America!

Old Dawg, New Tricks

You can teach an old dawg new tricks. Like my older brother, I now have a Face Book page. My oldest daughter saw this an wrote on my wall, "Why are all these old guys getting on face book?" To which I replied, "You shouldn't call your uncle old." My youngest daughter saw my page and asked me if I was serious. Then she suggested I post a rather unflattering picture of me dancing at her sister's wedding as my profile picture. Kids just love to poke their old man.

I must say, turning fifty is not as traumatic as you might think. I'm rather enjoying being "over the hill"!