"Tamper-Proof"

I’m an older American, a nice way of saying “I’ve been around for a while”. I remember quite a bit of the stuff that has happened over the last 60+ years and I like to think I’ve learned something over the course of all that time. I have formed opinions and beliefs which have made me who I am today, and you know what; I like who I am. I’ll bet most of you like who you are too.

I remember growing up in the 50s and 60s, a time of great change in America; values and policies changed radically during those turbulent years. Young people who grew up watching “I Love Lucy” and “Leave it to Beaver” were suddenly introduced to the Civil Rights Movement and Vietnam protests. Fortunately, for most of us, we learned about our “Constitutional Rights” from a cadre of teachers who took those things very seriously (thanks to Miss Pettigrew, Mr. Woll and all those others who taught me well).

I believe the most important thing we have in this nation is the right to voice our opinion, otherwise you wouldn’t be reading this article; you all know I have definite opinions about my country and its’ leadership, or lack of it!

Way back in the 60s there were “marches and parades and speeches” about every cause under the sun, and that was and is a good thing. I mentioned the Civil Rights Movement and the Vietnam War; there was also women’s rights, the environment and drug legalization. Most of those protests were folks from the left side of the political scale; quite a few were “hippies and yippies”, not so many “crew cuts or conservatives” took to the streets to promote their agenda. The United States was a very polarized nation during those years between those who shouted “Hell No, We Won’t Go” and those who shouted “America, Love It or Leave It”; all of them enjoyed the exercise of their 1^st amendment rights.

All of our other rights spring from the 1^st amendment; tamper with that right and ALL other rights are in jeopardy.

Several days ago Ted Cruz (R-Tx) made a speech at a pastors’ conference about a proposal that was before the United States Senate about a plan “revising” the 1^st amendment of the Constitution to “regulate” political speech. There are those on the left who have said this was pandering to his “gullible base”, but it seems there are 39 Democrat Senators who are on board with this plan.

Harry Reid is, of course, on this list, along with Dick Durbin (D-ILL), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Barbara Boxer (D-Cal), Al Franken (D-Minn); the list goes on and a complete list is available on-line and it is totally from the Democrat Party.

It appears that all of those former “leftist activists” who happily protested so many years ago don’t like people complaining about them too much.

This Administration has been under “heavy fire” for blunders by the IRS, VA, Benghazi, Fast and Furious, SOLYNDRA, inaction on America’s energy needs and “weak-kneed defense” policies, plus many other areas of “poor performance” by this badly run Administration.

The 1^st amendment “cuts both ways” and those folks on the left must understand this. Jefferson, Adams, Franklin, Washington and all of the rest of those brave and intelligent men knew how important that 1^st amendment was for the preservation of a free society, and it should not be “tampered with” by any political group or agenda.

Durbin, Schumer, Franken and Boxer are no match for Jefferson, Adams or Washington and it’s time they learned that; LEAVE OUR FREE SPEECH ALONE!!!

"Support and Defend"

“I, (American citizen), do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.”

The above oath is taken at the time any man or woman enters the armed services of the United States of America; I took this oath along with many others. I took this oath very seriously; it is a commitment to give everything asked of you in the defense our country, America, land of the free and home of the brave.

Way back then, we had the draft and some of my fellow “oath-takers” weren’t too eager about taking this step forward; I understand their point of view, nobody likes to be forced to do something they don’t want to do; especially if you might get killed for doing it!

Sometime after that, those young men reported to different forts across America for Basic Combat Training, in preparation for their next assignment; some went to Artillery School, some went to Clerk Typist School, some went to Military Police School and some went to Infantry School.

I went to Infantry School at Fort McClellan, Alabama and I earned the title Combat Infantryman, commonly known as “grunts”.

About 80% of those who graduated from Infantry School were destined for a land with a “tropical climate”;  the rest went to places like Germany, Korea, Japan or some stateside duty.

Those young men in the “80%” didn’t have a choice of duty assignment, they just “saddled up” and went where they were told, and some never came home from that “tropical paradise” giving their last breath to the protection of the people of the United States of America. Most of those boys go unremembered most of the year, along with young boys (and women) from WWI, WWII, Korea, Desert Storm, and our current entanglements.

A couple of times a year we, as a nation, spend a little time thinking about what has been given to maintain the freedoms which some of us treat so casually. We even have elected officials who treat these freedoms as something which may be changed or even disposed of at the pleasure of following a “social agenda’ or “political philosophy”; most of them don’t understand the price that has been paid for those rights.

Monday we celebrate “Memorial Day” in America, a day off of work, a day to cook-out and celebrate the coming summer, but most of all, it should be a day to honor all those who gave everything to keep America a free nation; for those who died, who vowed to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States” at all cost.

As voters, we have our own way of giving our nation an act of service; it is done in the voting booth every two years. This is our chance to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States”.

We may not be on a bloody battlefield as shells and bullets fly toward our heads, but we are in a battle, a battle for those things all those young people died for; don’t let them down.

Enjoy “Memorial Day”, remember the price!

"Proof of the Pudding"

I recently wrote about the old saying, “The cat’s out of the bag”, and today, I was thinking about another old saying; “The proof of the pudding is in the eating” and what that actually means.

My Mom used that phrase and said these words,” It’s all about results, not appearance”. Food can look delicious, but if it tastes like manure, the good looks mean nothing.

I used to attend the “Golden Gloves” prelim fights on a regular basis when I lived in Chicago; they were great entertainment and they were cheap entrance, about $1.25 for three hours of boxing, a real bargain. I remember a young fighter who billed himself as “The Magnificent Herd” and he looked magnificent when he entered the ring, white silk trunks, white high-top boxing shoes and laces with tassels, “Ala Ali”. I have to admit that I was impressed by “The Magnificent Herd”; he certainly looked the part of the “master boxer” when he stepped through the ropes.

Mr. Herd’s opponent wasn’t quite as polished when he climbed in to the squared circle; I don’t remember his name, but I do remember what he looked like. The young man was wearing some faded high school gym shorts, and black high top gym shoes; I could even see part of his jock strap showing itself under one leg. He didn’t dance around the ring or do any “showboating” for the crowd.

Making a long story short, the bell rang and the guy in the faded gym shorts dispatched “The Magnificent Herd” through the ropes and into the crowd in under a minute with a series of blows that ended the career of the next “Ali” in short order. Flash and dancing around the ring doesn’t mean much when that bell rings; skill and substance wins every fight, just ask “The Magnificent Herd”!

New York and California both rail against the conservatives about how horrible a “conservative America” would be. There are always charges of racism, and welfare for the rich, and heartless philosophy for the poor being thrown about by these states at every Republican and conservative on an almost daily basis. If we believed all of these charges, we would have to dismiss the fact that the Civil Rights Bill of the 1960s was passed by every Republican in the Congress, even though some Democrats did vote against it. We would have to dismiss the fact that after the Civil War, it was mostly Democrat “Carpetbaggers” that helped maintain the system of segregation that lasted well into the 1960s (apologies to Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson).

Today, the most productive states in America are being run by conservative governors, as they have the lowest unemployment rates and are attracting more jobs into their states at record numbers. They also have LOWER TAX rates than any of the Democrat controlled states, and that should tell us all something about economic growth.

Major companies have already left New York and California for more “business friendly” states to open headquarters and factories in those “heartless conservative” states; those poor people will now suffer with ALL THOSE JOBS that are now available to them, while the welfare rolls continue to grow in New York and California. That pudding isn’t quite so delicious in those liberal bastions, is it?

What this all comes down to is this; sunshine and beaches, skyscrapers and Broadway shows don’t necessarily mean success, they just look good in travelogues. Underneath the glitz and the sunshine lies a decaying substrata of poor management and overspending that is eating away at the “Big Apple” and the “Hollywood Hills”.

These two states are by no means the only ones that are falling apart, I myself live in Illinois, a state that has been decimated by years of mismanagement and corruption because of undue influence from the “Chicago” strong-arms and unethical politicians.

In November, we will all be choosing Senators and Representatives for the next Congress; choose wisely, you will be “eating that pudding” for a couple of years, make sure it will “taste good”!

"Hang Em High"

Growing up, I must have watched thousands of “westerns” on television and at the movies; I really like “cowboy pictures”. This particular genre of film is always an allegory of “good vs. evil”, where lines are easily drawn and right is always in great contrast with wrong.

In most of these films, the “good guy” is a lawman who is standing up against a “bad guy” or group of “bad guys” that have been doing something evil to the peaceful people of some small community; they all had names like “Shin Bone”, “Rock Ridge” or “Red River” and were the victims of “land grabbing” or “cattle rustling” or some other form of larceny.

One of my favorite movies was “High Noon”, which starred Gary Cooper as Marshal Will Kane, and he was perfect for the part; tall, steely eyed and committed to doing the right thing, regardless of the odds against him.

Kane, the hero, was retiring from his job and leaving town after his marriage to his long time sweetheart when he found out the “Frank Miller Gang” was coming to town on the noon train with the purpose of terrorizing the town and killing Kane. People from the town pleaded with Kane to leave quickly and then, perhaps, Frank Miller would leave them alone. Kane had sent Miller to prison years earlier and Miller wanted to settle the score by burying Kane.

The town’s people ended up leaving poor Will Kane alone to face the entire Miller Gang, yet he refused to run, and he ended up destroying the gang, showing that an honest man is sometimes all that is needed to defeat an evil gang.

The word “Benghazi” has been in the forefront of the news over the last few weeks and it appears America wants answers to some very delicate questions about this tale of death and abandonment of American citizens by the government they were trying to serve. Following the deadly incident, a series of excuses were given to explain why this horrid massacre took place. The first excuse was a YOU-TUBE video which enflamed some “demonstrators” and it turned into a bloody riot; this turned out to be a deception perpetrated by some high level officials to keep from calling this a “terrorist attack” in an election year where the President, Barack Hussein Obama, said terrorism was all but completely defeated by his administration’s actions. After all, my fellow Americans, this would have made Mr. Obama look bad, and he hates to look bad!

Most of you know what the term “pealing the onion” means; every layer of that “onion” reveals something new, and it usually “smells bad” with each new layer uncovered. This axiom seems to be very appropriate in the Benghazi murders.

America’s people now want answers and they want a “tough and honest new sheriff” to ask those questions that have been avoided in the past. That “new sheriff” is a congressman named Trey Gowdy, and the “bad guys” are “shaking in their boots” at the prospect of facing him in a “showdown” on the “dusty streets” of the American “town”.

Gowdy, a former prosecutor, is known for his no nonsense attitude and brutal honesty when in the pursuance of truth, and “bad guys” always fear the truth!

There have already been “death threats” leveled toward Gowdy, and he has cast them aside; he is single minded and tenacious, regardless of these cowardly words. The “new sheriff” isn’t easily intimidated by the “bad guys” and he intends to “bring them to justice” no matter what!

It is almost “High Noon” for those “bad guys” involved in the Benghazi “cover-up” and there is no place to run, and the “steely-eyed sheriff” is closing in on them. The next stop for those bad guys is either “Yuma Prison” or “Boot Hill”! Good luck “Sheriff Trey”!!!

"The Cat's Out of the Bag, America"

Did you ever wonder where certain expressions come from? We have all heard the term “pig in a poke” from time to time as we were growing up, but what does it mean? The story I heard goes like this; way back in the 15^th or 16^th centuries, there were common markets where people would go to make purchases of grains, vegetables, fruits, livestock and other things that were necessary to have to be able to exist. These were not the “super-markets” or giant “box stores” we are accustomed to in today’s world. These “markets” were just merchants gathered in a village or on a dirt road, “hawking their wares” to all who would listen. Some of these merchants were good and honest men, and some were not. Most peasants were “dirt poor” and looked for any bargain they could find, and some unscrupulous merchants happily took advantage of them. Here is their “pitch”: “My friend, I have here a sack containing a young piglet suitable for breeding or eating, whatever your pleasure may be, and I will sell this piglet to you for the cost of only five pence, but you must take it away immediately or I will be overcome by others who want the same deal and I only have this one piglet”.

The gullible peasant would then reach into his meager purse and hand over his last five pence and take the sack, walking away happily with his bargain. Once this unsuspecting customer was out of sight, he would open his sack to gaze upon his newly acquired piglet; to his surprise, he found a squirming alley cat, not suitable for “breeding or eating”; he had been swindled!

This explains another old axiom; “don’t let the cat out of the bag”, a term used by those unscrupulous merchants to their cohorts when perpetrating their nefarious deeds on their innocent victims.

Centuries have passed since people began using these expressions, yet they still seem applicable in today’s world of lies and deceptions.

I will now speak about two occasions where these expressions apply.

Let’s first recall “Obamacare”, Barack Hussein Obama’s “pig in a poke”; remember Nancy Pelosi saying “you have to pass the bill to find out what’s in it”; well, Congress (Democrats) passed the bill and America walked down the road and “opened the sack” and found, not an “alley cat”, but a “skunk” that is now stinking to “high heaven” instead of the promised wonderful benefit the “unscrupulous merchant” said it would be; and who suffered, American taxpayers and thousands of workers who lost their healthcare plans as a result of this “pig in a poke”.

Let’s now recall something that has really been in America’s forefront over the last few days; Benghazi revelations! E-mails that have shown a conscious effort to deceive the American public in an effort to sway the 2012 Presidential Election in favor of Barack Hussein Obama. Trey Gowdy has just been appointed as chairman of a select committee to investigate these new revelations of lies and cover-ups by key Obama administrators. The expression “the cat’s out of the bag” seems to be applicable in this situation, and the “unscrupulous merchant” has been shown up for what he is, a LIAR and a DECEIVER!

In ancient days, “tar and feathers” were used to punish this type of behavior; today, we are more civilized, so let’s just “THROW THE BUMS OUT!”