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"Designed by Monkeys"

Did any of you ever see the inside of an automatic transmission? I know most people haven’t, but believe me, there are enough parts in there to baffle any professor or Ph.D.! The engineers who designed those transmissions had to know what they were doing in order to construct a machine that does all the things that a transmission needs to do. Those guys must be geniuses!  

It’s a good thing experts design those things, and it’s a good thing all that stuff is thoroughly tested before it is placed in the vehicles that you and I purchase, usually for a large amount of money! 

When those parts are tested, a crew of engineers and mechanics go through the entire assembly with a “fine tooth comb” to make sure everything works without a snag or hitch to their performance. I believe there are no parts in a transmission that are extra or unneeded for its proper operation. You can’t just leave out the parts you don’t like to reduce production costs. If monkeys designed a transmission, I guess you could have quite a few parts you didn’t need; but who wants a monkey designing parts for their car? Monkeys don’t know anything about cars!! 

Over the last couple of weeks we are seeing more bad news about Obamacare. It seems that it is turning into the overblown spending monster that it was feared to be at its conception. There are clauses in this 2000+ page bill which just don’t seem to work in the real world without causing disaster in the operation of businesses all over America. 

Now the Constitution is a funny thing; if you implement a law, you are obligated to enforce that law in its entirety, and are not allowed to “edit out” the parts you don’t like, even the parts that don’t work! Our President, Barack Hussein Obama, has decided to “delay” enforcement of some parts of his health care debacle, as there is a Congressional election next year; he doesn’t want any “bad press” about Obamacare. Unfortunately for Mr. Obama, what he wants to do is UNCONSTITUTIONAL!!! Once again, Barack Obama is over-reaching his authority!! Once again, the Obama agenda is being manipulated to fool the American citizen. Once again, Barack Obama is disregarding the United States Constitution.
 

This 2000+ page bill that was “passed before it was read” is showing some design flaws which those “experts” in the Democrat Congress that passed it didn’t notice. I guess that perhaps those Senators and Congressional Representatives should have “read the bill” before they passed it! It sounds a bit like the “monkeys designing the transmission” to me.

 

America doesn’t have the finances to support the farce that Obamacare is turning out to be, and that is becoming clearer as each day goes by. Obama and his minions are now looking for bandages to patch up their mess before the next election.

 

Obama continues to smile while all the warts of his plan are being exposed to America. He believes his “charm” will cover his multitude of mistakes.

 

Think about this; if there isn’t enough money to fund this monstrosity, where will that extra money come from; could it be from the American taxpayer? How much more of your money will be sent to “feed the monster”? Obamacare is only part of the money eating programs that Obama has initiated under his leadership; wait until you start paying the freight for all those “new citizens” we will be letting into America.

 

Yes, my fellow American, this machine was “DESIGNED BY MONKEYS”!!

"Independence???"

Independent-Independence: 1.State of quality of being independent. 2. Freedom from control, influence, support, aid or the like of others. 3. Self-governing. 4. Not requiring or relying on others (as for care or livelihood). 5. Showing a desire for freedom. 

The above definition appears in Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary as in reference to independent and independence. This sounds pretty simple as we read it, yet independence has different meanings to different people. A teenager believes independence means freedom from the restrictions applied by their parents. A senior citizen feels independence is the ability to live without interference from their children. HMMMM! Those two things sound oddly similar!

In 1776, independence meant splitting from an over-reaching monarch in England and forming a nation where each citizen had a chance to shape his own destiny without a government that monitored every move those citizens made; it meant a government that was designed to serve all American citizens without intruding into each individual’s freedoms.

On July 4^th, people all across America will be celebrating “Independence Day”. We will see parades and fireworks in nearly every town and city in America. We will consume thousands of tons of hot dogs, hamburgers, fried chicken, nachos, potato chips and vats of cold slaw and potato salad. We will drink enough soda and beer to float an aircraft carrier, and eat so much ice cream we could form an iceberg big enough to sink the Titanic a second time. On this day, it is great fun to be an American!! 

The big question is “How many Americans really understand what our independence means?” We have more people engaged in some type of government aid now than at any other time in American history. We have more children dependent on food stamps and financial aid than there were during the “Great Depression” of the 1930s. We have an administration that has encouraged people to remain on extended benefits on unemployment compensation and extended those benefits to an unprecedented length. We give benefits to those who are in America ILLEGALLY without a second thought and our Congress seems ready to give them even more benefits at American taxpayer’s expense. Now we will have even more people dependent on the government for their “daily bread”.

How many people understand what our Founding Fathers were trying to accomplish way back in 1776? It seems folks today want to get as much as they can for as little individual effort as possible, and if they can get the government to pick up the tab, then more power to them. 

We have a President who wants a system of government that will control nearly all aspects of an individual’s life, and is willing to monitor everything those individuals say, even in confidential communications.  

Our Founding Fathers designed a system which allowed every man and woman to reach for the stars if they had the ambition to do so. They designed a government whose main duty was to maintain security and freedom, not a government that infringed on the free market economy that would make America the showpiece of the world.

We would all be well served this week if each of us would read something about the principles of our Founding Fathers, and the dream they had for every American; not a nanny state, but a citizenry dedicated to inventiveness and ambition without restriction, independent from a “Big Brother” government. Celebrate the America of Jefferson, Adams, Franklin and Washington; it is a lot better than an Obama Utopia by a long shot!!

"Kitchen Conversation"

Today I would like to take a look back in time. The time is the late 1700s; the place is a kitchen in Philadelphia, the people: Thomas Jefferson and John Adams. These two friends are engaged in a conversation over a pot of tea; the conversation is about the new constitution they are involved in writing.

“Tom, what do you think we should start out with as our first thoughts on the rights of the people? You always have a word or two on these things”.

Jefferson answered “Well John, we are here because we don’t like being told what to do by Old George, we like our freedom, my friend. Unfortunately, when we speak out, we are sometimes jailed or worse for our opinions; George doesn’t like criticism very much; you know what I mean?  I believe we better start out with the freedom to say whatever you want to; you know, without fear from our government hauling us off to jail for speaking out. Yes, I believe that should be number one alright!”

Adams went on to say “That will certainly be a novel idea Tom, and I’m sure it will be well received by the people; we colonists are an opinionated bunch and prone to speak out. That definitely should top the list! What’s next, my friend? My thinking is something about self- protection; you know Old George would love to take every pistol and musket away from us.”

Jefferson agreed and said “The people must retain the right to protect themselves, even from the government when it infringes on their freedoms; they should be able to form a militia just in case of government oppression.”

 

“Now you’ve got something there Tom; we all want and need our weapons and every citizen will go along with that!”

 

Adams injected “Our homes are our sanctums, and we should have the right to restrict them to those who we wish to allow in; no person or government should be allowed to violate that right.”

 

“Good thought John, and our privacy is something we should also protect; no government should be able to invade our privacy without cause. Private conversations and private correspondence belong only to those for whom they are designated and no one else!”

“No person should be arrested without charge and proper complaint; we must adhere to a system of laws applicable to all and the government must show cause before any arrest can be made.” “John, I believe we are making real progress here!”

 

“Yes Tom, and no one shall be held for an indefinite period without a fair trial; justice should be served in a timely manner.”

 

“Once a verdict is made, the people involved should not live in the fear that they will be prosecuted for the same offense again; not guilty should be a permanent verdict in all valid cases or the government could seek to persecute those it finds troublesome. What do think about fair bail, John?”

 

“Well Tom, nothing should be so excessive that the average citizen could rot in jail waiting for a trial, yet it should match the severity of the offense that has been alleged. You know we must presume innocence until a trial has taken place and an innocent man must have time to protect himself in court.”

 

“Well said John; every man must have equal protection under the law, regardless of his station in lifel a poor man can be as innocent as a rich man and each should have equal footing in a court of law!”

 

“What about local ordinances in towns and states Tom? Should this new constitution be dealing in those matters too?”

 

“John, most communities know best how to deal with local problems better than those who are located hundreds or thousands of miles away; after all, we are writing this because we have been interfered with by a monarch who has never set foot on any of our soil and we didn’t like that very much. Local governments should handle local issues.”

 

“Well Tom, we’ve just about finished this pot of tea, and I’m a little tired, but I think we have hit on some real issues to bring forward; things that should stand up well for generations. Let’s bring these notes before the rest of the fellows in the morning and see what they think; I believe they’ll like them. Good night my friend, I’ll see you tomorrow!”

 

I don’t know if this is exactly how it went, but I do believe these good men did have some conversations like this one, and they came up with some pretty good stuff. They didn’t gain much for themselves, but they certainly gained quite a bit for the American people. Let’s try not to forget about this “kitchen conversation” when we watch our government in action. I wish our current leaders could remember it as well!

"No Free Sandwiches"

Last Sunday was “Father’s Day”, a day which is dedicated to those men who led us through all of our lives, by their great examples of love towards family and integrity in their actions.

I always think about the man my Dad was when this day rolls around. My Dad grew up during the Depression, the third son of immigrant parents from Italy. His father did a number of things to make “ends meet” while he was growing up, and he learned that taking care of your family was the primary job of any good father.

My Dad went to work early in life and always did his very best on any job he had; it was a matter of integrity and pride in his family name. He enlisted during WWII, his only time out of the work force.  He always held down a full time job. He married my Mom when he was a young man; very young by today’s standards. In about two years I came along; he was a proud Dad, as most Italians are when it comes to their children. He seldom raised his voice to us growing up; a glance in our direction was enough to know we had done something he wasn’t pleased with, and that was sometimes a chilling feeling.

My Dad never asked for a “handout” from anyone and believed that you needed to work for things in life through effort and determination. He always said “Nothing in life is free, except for a beating, and people will always be willing to give you one of those”, and he was certainly right about that. When I said I wanted a car, his response was “Get a job”; there were no “free sandwiches” as far as he was concerned. He was right again because we always value something a little more when we actually have to work for it. This may all sound a little austere, but this same man would always sacrifice his own needs for that of his family; he would repair his own work shoes so he would have more money to spend on his children. He took in his mother and uncle when they retired, not out of obligation, but because of love and respect for family. My Dad carried quite a bit on his back, yet he never complained; he was a great Dad!

Today we are living in a society that looks at life quite a bit differently than my father did. Even as far back as the 60s, my Dad said a few things about the “welfare society”, and they weren’t too complimentary! We see a society today that cries about their lives, but does very little on its own to take care of its own problems. Our society wants the government to fix everything for us. Our young people seem to want a free ride through life; they want the government to clear a path for them so life will be easy and smooth. It seems there are too many hands outstretched and too few hands willing to get a callous or two by working hard. It seems everybody wants a paycheck, but nobody wants to work for it.

 

I have an extremely successful daughter, and from the time she was young, she knew nothing in life was free; I passed on the same message I received from my Dad, and it worked! America will only recover from our current state of lethargy if we instill the message of hard work back into our lives. We need to forget about government “evening things out” for everybody and getting up off of our collective butts and working for our goals!! America works better when people work toward their own goals. It is like my Dad said, “There are NO FREE SANDWICHES!”  

"Inside the Bunker"

Soon we will be observing the anniversary of the invasion of Normandy, D-Day, the beginning of the end for Hitler’s Third Reich.

 

On June 6, 1944, elements of the United States, Great Britain, France and other allies landed on the beach in Operation Overlord, and they began the march toward Berlin. In less than one year, Adolph Hitler would be dead and the war in Europe would be ended. In the end, old men and children became the last measure of defense for the “Master Race”; the magic that Adolph Hitler once held over Germany collapsed in rubble and death.

Hitler’s rise to power seemed indomitable and nation after nation fell to his military might. Every time the dictator achieved victory, his arrogance and swollen ego grew even larger; he felt that he could do anything and nothing was beyond his grasp. He opened up a second front against Russia, and he believed he would easily defeat the Russian troops, as he considered them an inferior race.

Although his generals knew the war was all but lost after D-Day, they continued to follow his orders without question; those who did question him were quickly replaced with men of lessor capabilities but more fervent in their support for Hitler’s “genius”.

In the end, Hitler sat in his bunker moving from explosive rants to great depression, giving command to generals to move non-existent troops and barking about disloyalty among his military commanders. Everything around Hitler was falling apart and he could do nothing to stop his crumbling dream. All his charisma was gone, and all that was left was his lonely arrogance and self- pity. 

Over the course of the last few weeks we have seen our President, Barack Hussein Obama, thrust into a series of political scandals. His Attorney General, Eric Holder, seems to be at the epicenter of quite a bit of these controversies; his ethics are most certainly in question. The Internal Revenue Service seems to have been targeting conservative groups and businesses for “special scrutiny”, while leftist groups went merrily on with barely a look. American news agencies have been secretly investigated with questionable probable cause and oddly, Mr. Obama seemed to be unaware of any of these things. The liberal New York Times was even under the gun for saying things that seemed critical of the Obama Administration. Benghazi isn’t going away, even though former Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton has said “What difference does it make how it started!”

Several different groups are calling for an impeachment investigation over the ever growing quagmire surrounding Mr. Obama, and his staff members. Eric Holder is very close to being held in a contempt situation, as he gave spurious testimony to a Congressional Committee.

It appears that Mr. Obama has too many “fronts” to defend and his options are growing fewer as each day goes by. There is evidence suggesting that the IRS scandal reaches into high level Washington offices, perhaps even into the White House itself.

Mr. Obama still maintains a “happy face” throughout all of this adversity, but I wonder if he secretly would like to have an underground bunker to hide in, away from those who have found out that his charisma may be fading. I wonder if he will soon be issuing orders to “troops who don’t exist” and screaming about disloyal supporters. It may get lonely in that bunker, Mr. President!!

"Surrounded!"

Do any of you remember the date of June 25, 1876? Do any of you remember the name George Armstrong Custer? Do any of you remember the name Sitting Bull? These names engaged in a memorable battle quite a while ago, with an outcome that has been revisited in countless movies and television shows.

George Armstrong Custer finished last in his class at West Point, was a difficult student and a headstrong commander during battles. He was given the rank of brigadier general during the Civil War due to an error in the Union Command, but did help in some turning point battles because of his willingness to pursue victory at all cost.

At the time of the ”Little Big Horn”, Custer was a colonel and commander of the Seventh Cavalry, and was best known for his flowing blond hair and buckskin jacket. He was also famous for his arrogance in his decisions during battle situations. His command consisted of about 600 troops, all battle hardened Indian fighters. His assignment was to find an Indian encampment and engage hostiles. Custer decided to split his forces in three sections of about 200 men each. Custer decided against bringing a Gatling gun, the most impressive weapon of the day, capable of firing between 400 and 1200 rounds per minute. Custer believed this weapon was too cumbersome to haul for his mission.

Custer wasn’t expecting more than about 50 to 75 warriors when he entered the valley of “Little Big Horn”. What the colonel didn’t know was surrounding him, was a force of approximately 2,000 warriors from the Lakota, Cheyenne and Arapaho nations led by the highly skillful Chief Sitting Bull.

Seeing he was surrounded, Custer made the fateful decision to dismount his troops and make a stand from a small rise; he and all of his men were massacred in short order. Why Custer dismounted was never found out, as it gave all chance of escape impossible, and that Gatling gun could have given them a distinct advantage, had it been there. Custer’s arrogance was responsible for the defeat and deaths of all his men; not the “hero” depicted on television or in the movies we have seen. Custer underestimated his opponents and his arrogance led him to disaster.

Over the last few months, we have seen our President, Barack Hussein Obama, try to soft peddle the Benghazi terrorist attack, but more and more it looks like it has been a huge cover-up from the Obama Administration; one scandal.

Over the last few weeks, we have seen the IRS revealed as a political attack dog for the Obama Administration to pursue conservative organizations and individuals in an effort to dissuade them from “making waves” for Barack Obama and his agenda; scandal number two.

We have now seen that AP, New York Times and FOX NEWS are under investigation by the Eric Holder Justice Department; e-mails and phone taps with questionable evidence of any wrongdoing by any of the parties being harassed. Holder stated he knew nothing about these investigations but he was the man who signed off on all of them; a little suspicious, to say the least; scandal number three.

It seems that the American people are finally waking up to the “Colonel Custer” we now have sitting in the White House, and his arrogance in leadership. It appears that Obama believes his “surprise” of these events is none of his responsibility and he has made noises of concern about these abuses of power. Do you believe him? This is the same man who preached “punishment” during the election by voting for him to send a message to conservatives.

The Obama Administration is now surrounded by “Lakota, Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes” and he doesn’t have that Gatling gun to help him. It must be awfully lonely standing on that hill; I wonder if “Colonel Obama” will send up a white flag?