" Tom , John , You , and Me"

"A well regulated Militia , being necessary to the security of a free State , the right of the People to keep and bear Arms , shall not be infringed." Many years ago a group of men got together to ratify a document upon which the greatest nation in the world would base their principles and laws . This document has been lauded by every free thinking government on this planet as the standard for personal rights and freedom above any other written work short of the "Holy Bible" , which was an inspiration for much of this document's content. The beginning statement of my article today is the second amendment to this document. As you have probably figured out by now we are talking about the United States Constitution . It took nine years for this group of dedicated patriots to come up with a document which they all could agree on . Remember this was after the revolution in a time of peace . Some of the basic precepts of that document are now under assault by a segment of our society which believes this amazing work of individual freedom is out of date , no longer viable in the world of 2009. We have already seen attacks against our first amendment by those who feel honest dissent is "un-American"and alternative thinking is something not to be tolerated. Now our second amendment is under the microscope of those who fear an armed populous . Many times rising crime rates are cited as an argument to limit a citizen's right to possess firearms , but how many people really believe that a criminal would let the law keep him from finding a weapon , their is a plentiful black market of illegal weapons in this country. Those seeking unlawful weapons will have no problems in locating whatever they want , as they have always been able to do in the past. The foolish concept of taking weapons away from honest citizens only strengthens the position of the criminal. If you know anyone in law enforcement ask them how many confiscated weapons were legally owned and how many were not , you might learn something . There are hidden clauses in some impending legislation put in for the express purpose of infringing on your second amendment rights. As people living in a free society we must keep a watchful eye on any person or organization who wishes to make fundamental changes to our individual rights under the Constitution . I know Mr. Obama is a gun control advocate and I totally oppose his views on this subject, we must remember that Hitler , Stalin , Mao , and Sadam all took firearms away from their people when they assumed power . I will not give up my gun ! John Adams , Thomas Jefferson , Henry Clay , and many others , in whom I hold in much higher regard than our current president said I don't have to. Keep an eye on your rights America , Jefferson would have wanted it that way!

"It's Alive,Alive!!"

As Halloween approaches many of us have thoughts of ghosts , goblins , and monsters. As a boy I watched a show called "Shock Theatre" , it featured classic horror films such as , "Dracula ,the Wolfman , and Frankenstein" the movies came on on Saturday night at ten o'clock and were over by midnight. The most fascinating story for me was "Frankenstein". It was the story of Dr. Frankenstein who wanted to build a man from the harvested parts of the dead in an effort to produce a super being of great stature and strength. The snag in the doctor's plan was when his assistant acquired the wrong brain to put in his creation's head ; a criminal brain which would eventually reign terror on the innocent villagers. The doctor worked savagely to give life to his perverse creation , until finally allowing the electricity of a lightning bolt to provide the spark of life. After attaining life the creature roamed the countryside murdering and terrifying all those he encountered. The well intentioned doctor wanted to create a being who would be a boon to humanity , with his great size , strength ,and intellect ; instead the creation was the antithesis of the doctor's intent. All of the parts assembled for the creation of the perfect being somehow became the scourge of the society the doctor wanted to serve.What does this classic tale have to do with today's world? When Barack Obama became our president he promised change in America , a transformed nation , a re-structuring of our nation. When he took office Mr. Obama began his reconstruction of America by bringing on a team of advisers known as his "czars" , the parts of his new creation , each part had a specific agenda in the administration's mission to transform America . As the months have gone by we have found out certain things about these "parts" of the new American dream that were quite disturbing . Van Jones turned out to be a self avowed communist , Mark Lloyd has been revealed as an advocate of Hugo Chavez the communist leader of Venezuela , and Kevin Jennings has been show to have ties to N.A.M.B.L.A. the homosexual pedophile organization , not exactly what those who elected Mr.Obama had in mind .We as a nation were expecting change , but , not the re-creation of a nation founded on radical beliefs and perverse desires. Is Mr. Obama the evil brain controlling the body of a political monster that is threatening the lives of the villagers who only wanted a servant not a rampaging monster? It is time for the villagers to arise and carry those torches of dissent and truth , reveal the nature of the beast before it's to late. Villagers like Fox news and conservative radio have been carrying the torches for America . Don't let the evil brain allow those torch bearers to be stopped . Keep America free by keeping speech free , don't let White House pressure stifle dissent. Remember the torches destroyed the monster!

"Blockbuster or Bomb?"

I like to go to the movies , it is fun to spend a couple of hours escaping into the fantasy of a movie theatre. Back in 1997 the highest grossing movie to date was made , it was called the "Titanic",and it's final gross was over one billion dollars . For those who like big numbers that is one thousand million dollars , WOW!! This is a staggering amount of cash , and it made the "Titanic" the measuring stick for financial success in the movie industry. The movie industry in the United States makes approximately nine hundred movies a year , many of them make far less then the standard set by "Titanic", but still make a substantial amount of money. At present the movie industry has projected sales of 44 billion dollars per anum , another very large amount of cash. Now let's do some math , One trillion is one thousand billions , and one billion is one thousand millions . Our projected national deficit in ten years is 9 trillion dollars. Let's play with some numbers. If Hollywood made their average 900 movies a year for ten years we come up with 9 trillion dollars , that is if each film is as successful as the all-time box office smash "Titanic". If the industry makes the 44 billion it currently pulls in it will make 4.4trillion in ten years. Now we must remember these amounts are income before taxes , which will be considerable. Our nation is looking at a projected debt so large it would take all the money made in Hollywood over the next ten years , if it had banner years back to back the entire time , to come close to resolving the debt ; even at that it would probably come up a little short. This is more borrowed money then this country has ever accumulated in it's entire history! We are in the midst of the largest financial crisis since the depression of the 1930's. Is it logical to take a nation that is on shaky monetary legs and plunge it into great debt? We are also looking at increasing possibility of higher taxes to pay for an expanding agenda of government entitlements that the Obama administration seems very fond of. When a building is on fire is it a good idea to throw kerosene into the blaze? I started this article out by talking about the "Titanic" , and we all know the outcome of that ships voyage. The Obama administration needs to exercise some responsibility in it's fiscal policies . It is sailing through dangerous waters and the entire nation rides on this ship. Captain Ahab lost everything because of his obsession , let's hope "Captain Obama" dosen't do the same thing.

"Does Size Matter?"

Many years ago ABC had a sports program called "Super Stars" ; the purpose was to pit different athletes against each other in a group of events not related to the sports they participated in. This was a great show because it showed all of these great athletes out of their element , having fun , and yet still exposing their competitive nature. I remember Joe Frazier nearly drowning in the pool during the swimming trials , and a Nascar driver falling all over himself trying to master the obstacle course. One of the shows was titled "Super Teams" where whole teams participated against one another . The teams I remember the most were the football and baseball teams. The N.F.L. was represented by the Minnesota Vikings , who had won the N.F.C. title the previous year , and the Major League Baseball representative was the Philadelphia Phillies , who won the National League Pennant the previous year.The competition was hot and heavy and great fun to watch , both teams tried their best during each event , their efforts resulted in a dead heat going into the final event , The tug of "war" , and war it would be. The teams had a weight limit as to not give any team a special advantage ; on one side you had the "Purple People Eaters" of football ,and they were huge with big legs and gigantic arms staring menacingly across from the Phillies all looking extremely small in comparison to their football rivals. The baseballers had the look of people who were beaten before they started , the shear size and stature of the Vikings was enough to scare rats out of a junk yard.The tugging started and it was intense there were eight football players dug into the sand and eleven baseball players pulling with all of the strength they could muster. The titans of football had the early advantage but as time grew long a shift was perceived and the baseballers began to move the flag towards themselves. After nearly thirty minutes the wall of the footballers gave way and the Phillie's were victorious. How could this happen? The answer was simple more arms and legs , meant more to victory then giant arms and legs did.Numbers and determination were the keys to victory. As we look at our situation today how do we compare what I have just illustrated to our position against an administration that seems overpowering in it's stature and intimidating in it's nature. We have seen over the past several days the Obama administration castigate Fox news , and give a veiled threat to the media and to anyone who has a position that offers an opinion they may have that is perceived different from what the president and congress approves of. Being in the seat of power definitely gives the administration an edge , but it doesn't give them the final victory. We must remember their are more of us than there are of them . We must continue to pressure them for truth no matter what intimidation tactics they may use. We as Americans are not noted for our timidity in the face of adversity , and we should take pride in this and push forward , not roll over . Remember we are America , not our servants ,who have been elected to do our bidding , they may loom large but we have more arms and legs. The eventual victory must be ours!

"My Friend Charlie"

Just over a year ago I lost one of my very best friends , my black lab "Charlie".When I got him he was just a little bigger then my gym shoe and about as cute as any dog should be allowed to be. He was the most intelligent dog I've ever encountered , and he had the sweetest disposition I've ever seen on any animal. Our family spent some of our best times playing with Charlie and laughing at all of the things he would get into . He loved to steal sox out of the laundry basket and then taunt us running around the house daring us to catch him. I probably spent the most time with him because my work shifts were irregular lending me to spend more alone time with him.At times I would have long "coversati0ns" with him and he was a great listener. We would go on long walks and take afternoon naps together.About May of last year he began having some physical problems and we began the many trips to the vet to find out what was wrong .Nothing seemed to be working , I was willing to spend anything to save him but by the time we found out what his problem was it was to late , and I had to do one of the worst things of my life ;I had to end Charlies , I had no alternative. Sometimes in life we are confronted with things over which we have no control , and no option is a pleasant one. Our country is in a very precarious situation over several issues , and our options are diminishing at a rapid rate. It seems our elected leaders do not want to follow the will of the people and are more interested in their own ideological interests as they direct the path of our nations future. These actions are the first signs of a cancer in our government that must be treated early before it can become terminal and destroy the very fabric of democracy in America. We all love our country yet at times we feel at odds with it's leadership. My Charlie died because I waited too long in seeking a second opinion , the disease had advanced beyond the reach of any cure. The longer we wait before we seek a second opinion the more difficult it will be to stop this administration's spiral toward socialism. No matter what state you live in you must let your senators and representatives know how you feel and you will remember their actions at the ballot box next year. I lost my friend Charlie because I waited too long. Let's not wait too long , let's not let the cancer spread , let the White House and Congress know we have a second opinion on the "health" of America , and we want them to listen or face the reality of the ballot box referendum next year.Let's not put America to sleep!

"Required Reading"

I remember when I attended high school we had something called "required reading".As a young teen who was more interested in sports ,girls , and fun this policy didn't sit to well with my social schedule.Fortunately for me I had a mom who was a reader ,and she would read to me as a small child , she had the benefit of growing up without television. I told her about my aversion to the reading policy and she said I would be cheating myself of a great experience if I didn't embrace the reading of great books , she urged I give it a chance. Thanks to Mom I gave in and read my first serious novel "The Call Of The Wild" by Jack London ,now I was hooked I couldn't get enough ,this was better than the movies.I learned to enjoy the printed page.My favorite book is "The Grapes of Wrath" by Steinbeck ,when I got to the last page I was a little sad because I wanted it to go on. The longest book I've ever read was "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich" by William Schirrer,it was fascinating and it was also 1265 pages long so it took me a while to get through it , but it was well worth the effort. No one was paying me to read these books , I did it for the enjoyment of the journey. Right now in Washington we have 535 congressional representatives and 100 senators who are engaged in the pursuit of changing the health-care system in this country.They have been through several months of committee meetings and there several proposed bills waiting for consideration , the principal bill that is being reviewed now is approximately 1500 pages ,and I'm sure the reading is pretty dry , yet when I hear that members of our Congress refuse to read the bill in it's entirety I become a little upset. This piece of legislation will affect the lives of 300 million Americans and medical treatment is a very basic need not to be taken lightly. When a senator or representative cannot seem to find the time to do what he has been elected to do we must consider his dedication to his constituents . We as Americans have a right to know what is contained in a bill of such magnitude . Perhaps our elected representatives need to be reminded of their duties . A cashier at Wal-Mart has required duties and procedures that must be followed and so do those who have accepted the responsibility of speaking for the people of the United States of America . I believe any legislation brought before the Congress of the United States is required reading , so I think it's time to do your duty READ THE BILL!!

"Is That A New Suit?"

When I was a very young boy my Mom bought us a set of books called "Child Craft",they were great.These volumes contained classic children's stories , poems , and fairy tales.One of my very favorite stories was "The Emperor's New Clothes", it was the story about vanity , pride , honesty ,and truth. For those of you who don't know the story,it's about the ruler of a small kingdom who wanted a fine set of clothes to parade before his people to reveal his splendor to them . Many tailors came before the king bringing him fabrics from all over the world , yet the king rejected each sample brought before him . Then one day a wily tailor came to the kings court with a large box tied with a golden ribbon.He knelt before the king and said,"Your Majesty , I have brought you a fabric so fine and so unique that only especially gifted people can see or even feel it.People of limited intelligence will not be able to see or feel this rare fabric".The tailor then opened the box and made un-folding motions in front of the king and his court,in reality the box held nothing , but he made elaborate gestures of shaking out the mythical cloth. He first looked at a duke and said "Have you ever seen anything like this before in your life?",and the duke not wanting to appear un-intelligent began raving about the finery of the fabric.Well to make a long story short the emperor commissioned the tailor to make him a fine new suit from this rare cloth. The day of the emperor's parade arrived and the tailor went to the emperor's bedroom and carefully "dressed" the emperor in his regalia. The national band lead the parade down the street which was full of loyal citizens ,all of whom had heard the tale of the amazing fabric used in their ruler's new suit. Down the street came the emperor holding his head high , the crowd stood cheering ,none willing to admit to the kings nudity not wanting to appear stupid, until a young boy screamed out "He doesn't have any clothes on!".The boys statement began a wave of laughter until the noise filled the tiny kingdom. The tailor had the good sense to run away , and the emperor learned a valuable lesson in humility.I believe this classic tale has a lesson that still applies today. The "main-stream media"reminds me very much of the kings court , they seem to take anything the Obama administration says as absolute truth no matter what it is or what any other source or opinion may be.Once again this weekend the White House has spoken out against the Fox News Network , dismissing them as an un-valid news agency.It seems to me that Fox looks quite a bit like that little boy who pointed out to the rest of the citizens that the emperor was naked. One voice among many speaking the truth can be a great benefit to the many who have been mislead by popular opinion or deception. This continuing attack on Fox News is reminiscent of the Nixon administration as it targeted those they considered enemies of the then sitting president.For an administration that pledged it would be the most transparent ever they seem awfully upset by a single news agency that may be revealing that the emperor is naked. America needs those who look beyond the surface ,those who are willing to show both sides of the issues , those willing to challenge the status quo; when those who speak out are marginalized by the people in power then maybe they are on to something. Perhaps America should pay a little more attention to this administration's wardrobe , at least we have one small voice that does!