Like it or not…has nothing to do with reality!

Many of our elected representatives have stated that they do not plan on attending the inauguration ceremonies for Donald J. Trump, as a form of protest.  Most notable of these, is Georgia Rep. John Lewis.  The reason that he is the most notable is because he is the congressman who seems to be making the most headlines about his decision, and his comment that he does not believe that “Trump is a legitimate president.”  Congressman Lewis may not like Donald Trump, and may like it even less that he is the president-elect.  But, that is the REALity!

So, I guess legitimacy has nothing to do with reality…the reality that Donald J. Trump is an American, survived a tough primary process, and secured way more than enough electoral votes to win the presidency.  Now, legitimacy seems to have more to do with whether or not the president elect has views that align with those of Congressman Lewis, or any of the other people who are whining, protesting, seeking psychological help or running to their “safe space!”  It has more to do with opinion and feelings than fact!

“Legitimacy” isn’t the only word that seems to have new or dual meaning.  Racist comments or actions are only reality if they come from a Christian white man.   Minorities however, can beat up a mentally challenged white male, while chanting “F*@& the white man” and F*@& Trump” and it is not racist, according to liberal talking heads.

And, it is only a lie if the same Christian white man says it. Saying that the white officer who shot a black criminal in Ferguson, did so in self defense is labeled as a lie, and he is labeled as a racist bigot.  But when BLM claims that it is racist and wrong when a BLACK officer shoots a black criminal in Charlotte, it is OK?

Folks, here is the REALity.  Yes, there is racism in this country.  Unfortunately, there are white bigots who do not like certain people only because of their skin color, their religion or their nationality.  However, those people are far outnumbered by those who do not like whites, simply because of their skin color.  And while white racists are a scourge on society, at least the most they do to show their hate is to march in white costumes. to hide their identity.  Like it or not, (and you should not like it), this disgusting show is protected by our Constitution.

On the other hand, those who want to protest against whites proudly burn down their neighborhoods, overturn police cars, steal from the businesses that are owned by their own neighbors, and injure police officers.  This is NOT free speech.  This is criminal behavior and should not be tolerated!  Yet we do!  Why?

There is a familiar saying, which says. “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.”  But today, it seems as if reality is in the eye of the beholder.  A person can say or think whatever they want, and that is supposed to make it true.  A real president isn’t legitimate.  A white police officer must be racist, because he is white.  A boy can be a girl and a girl can be a boy.  A person can marry themselves or a member of the same sex, regardless of GOD’s plan and the REALity of nature.  When did thoughts, opinions and feelings start to trump reality.  And remember that reality includes history, science and biology.

The American people need to wake up.  They need to face the fact that reality doesn’t always make them feel good.  Reality does not always work in their favor.  Reality does not always make it easy.  Reality means that people get sick and die.  People aren’t always rich.  People get their feelings hurt.  They have to work hard to get ahead.  And above all, reality means that we have to accept the things that we cannot change, or work through the proper channels to change what we can.  Like it or not!

What is wrong with the old things?

People often complain about people who “live in the past.”  But what is wrong with loving things that worked?  Why is it only right if we change…whatever?

Don’t get me wrong.  I am not against moving forward, particularly with technological advances.  Inventions and new ideas are what have brought American to where it is today.  Where would we be if people had rejected Henry Ford’s new method of transportation, or the light bulb, invented by Thomas Edison?  We need to embrace new technology.

But what about tried and true ideas and methods of doing things that we grew up with?  What is wrong with the old math?  It worked!  We didn’t have to work as hard as kids do today to understand it.  And we didn’t have to devote as much time and effort to each problem!

Consider this:  Look at all of the inventions and advancements that were made in the US industrial revolution, as well as the technological revolution.  What math did the men and women use who came up with the marvelous things? What math did the NASA engineers use in the 60’s when we put the first man on the moon?  What math did the people use who created the first computers?  What math did the people use who engineered fantastic buildings, bridges, roads, equipment, etc.?

What is wrong with the old idea of family?  Why are mom, dad and kids wrong now?  Why is it wrong to use guns during a 21 GUN salute to honor a veteran?  (Yes a school district outlawed them, saying it promotes gun violence).  Why is it that Christians, who used to be accepted as the norm, are now targeted and discriminated against, and nobody seems to care?

Why are the police always wrong?  Why are the criminals always the “victims?”  It didn’t used to be this way!  Police were hailed as heroes at all times!  They were looked up to.  Kids wanted to grow up to be police or firemen.  Now, many police agencies can’t get enough qualified applicants to fill their ranks!

I have begun to use a new slogan when I talk about the things that are happening today, such as “black lives matter” and “Occupy Wall Street.”  That saying is, “Welcome to the New America.”  But why is the New America so much worse than the old America?  Why do we have so much more tolerance for things that are wrong, and no defense of what is right?  Why is drug abuse so much more prevalent?  Why do people want more money for doing less?  Why do we continue to allow politicians, particularly on the federal level, continue to drag our country down the debt hole?  Why do we accept these things and so much more?

And the big question is:  Can we get the old America back?  Have we reached the point of no return?  What are you/I/we wiling to do to get our former values, ethics, and standard of living back to where it used to be?  Or, ARE we willing to do something?

If not, where will we be in 20 years?  40 years?  Dare we think about it?

 

How did we get here? And where will we go now?

The other day I was talking to a friend about the changes that we have seen in our lifetime, most of them not good.  I am not talking about technology, but in the morals and philosophies of people in America.

A few examples:  One of the biggest newsmakers today is the decision made by Bruce Jenner to become a woman.  He has been hailed as a hero and is being given awards for his “courage.”  When did it become heroic for a man to tell GOD he was wrong when he created him as a male, and to try to change GOD’s plan?  Is it as heroic as being shot at in Afghanistan?  Is it as heroic as trying to disarm an IED, knowing that it might blow up anytime?  For that matter, is it heroic at all?

Example #2:  When did it become OK, and worse yet, condoned, for criminals to steal, burn and destroy property, and physically attack police and firefighters?  When did police become the bad guys, just because a very small minority might not follow the rules as they should?  Why are those who protect us not respected and applauded, as they should be?

Example #3:  In the era when I was born, many things were not openly discussed, because they were not approved of, such as divorce, homosexuality, sex outside of marriage etc.  For crying out loud, Lucy and Desi weren’t even allowed to sleep in the same bed, and they were married!  Now, look were we are…34% of babies are born to single mothers, the PC crowd tells us that it is OK for the LGBT crowd to shove their stuff down our throats, but Christians are hateful for speaking their opinion about it, and over half of marriages end in divorce!

There are many more examples of the gradual decline in America’s morals, but it would take too long to go through them all.  But, if you look at where things used to be, and consider that there is absolutely no reason to think things will not continue down this path, it is reasonable to believe that in a few years, it won’t be PC to say that 40 year old men shouldn’t have sex with 13 year old little girls.  It won’t be PC to talk bad about those who want to kill older men and women if they get too sick to fool with.  And it will be absolutely terrible to stop men from having sex with dogs!

Sound sick and impossible?  What would your parents and grandparents have said about a Bruce Jenner scenario in 1955?  If we don’t find a way to stop this, it will stop itself, when our country implodes because of our weakness and immorality!

Why is being rich so wrong?

Working Rich.”  That was a huge mistake.  It took me to a website, which is, “www.truthdig.com.”  I wish I had never laid eyes on this website, as it nearly made me sick to my stomach, just reading the various headlines. However, my curiosity led me to continue, and I read Mr. Reich’s article.  You can read his article here:  http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/the_rise_of_the_non-working_rich_20140716 

The second reason that this was a mistake, is that it made my blood pressure go up!  However, since I made it through to the end of the article, I want to use this forum to vent some of the pressure, as sort of a different type of medical therapy.

Reich’s entire article leads to one conclusion:  He believes that there is something morally or ethically wrong with being rich, and with having a large gap between the amount of money that the rich rightfully own, and the income that the poor have.  The very first line in is writing says, “In a new Pew poll, more than three quarters of self-described conservatives believe “poor people have it easy because they can get government benefits without doing anything.”  Yet, nothing in his article addresses this problem! 

Of course conservatives are complaining about the federal government paying people not to work, and encouraging them not to seek gainful education or employment!  Why would many people, especially those who have not been taught the value of work and independence, want to get off of the couch, when they can get a check, food stamps, and have their rent, utilities, health care and cell phone paid for by someone else!  Oh…and by the way, the “someone else” we are talking about here are the hard working Americans, and the “non-working” rich, as he likes to call them.

But what are these “non-working” rich people doing all day?  Lounging by the pool?  Non-stop vacations?  Burying their money in the yard?  No!  They are building factories, operating trucking companies, or construction companies, or any of the thousands of businesses out there that pay taxes and employee hundreds or even thousands!  And they are investing in the stock market, which helps supply capital for other companies to operate and grow.  Again, they pay taxes on the returns, as well as be a small part of putting people to work!

And, when they build that factory, or start any business, or even simply call the broker and tell him where to invest their money, they are taking a RISK!  And, with great risk comes great reward…or failure!  But, for their bravery in risking the money, they should be able to reap profits, that they EARN!

This is so obvious, that Reich even uses the term in his own piece!  “The wealth is coming from those who over the last three decades EARNED huge amounts on Wall Street, in corporate boardrooms, or as high-tech entrepreneurs.”  Why does he think that this is wrong?  Why does he care that the children of Sam Walton are billionaires?  Is it jealousy?

And, in the latter part of his tirade against those who have succeeded, he apparently thinks that the money that is earned by an individual should not be passed on to their children!  It is obvious that he believes the government has more right to the money!  He has three ideas on how to level the income playing field, all of which involve the government taking more of what is rightfully ours, because we EARNED it, or we had it given to us by our parents! 

I really have to wonder, if he is so jealous of those who inherit their riches, without “working” for it, why does he think that the government should take from our pockets, when they have never EARNED anything! 

 

 

Corruption Is A Fictional Story! Huh?

Tags

Corruption, food stamp, Senator McCain, West Virginia

Recently, there was news being made, as two women from the Social Security Administration blow the whistle on corruption in their office, located in Huntington, WV.  They spoke of retribution and harsh work environment from their supervisors, as a result of their actions to expose wrong doing.  These brave women gave testimony recently in front of a Senate investigative committee.

Senator McCain told these women that what he heard was amazing, and something that you read about in books.  Seriously?  What beach does he go to so that he can bury his head in the sand?  Corruption in governement isn’t something you read about in books!  It is something you read about in the news, on a daily basis!  It happens all over southern West Virginia!  It happens in Washington!  And I’m sure that we only uncover a very small percentage of what goes on.

And what about the corruption that we do know about, in the food stamp program?  In the welfare system in West Virginia, we have people selling their food stamp cards for fifty cents on the dollar, so that they can buy drugs, alcohol or cigarettes with the cash.  We have people who have more than enough money to by beer, drugs, cigarettes, X Box games, and 60 inch TV’s, but they can’t buy food, pay their rent, or their utilities without using our hard EARNED tax money!

When you got to Walmart, if you see people sorting their groceries into three piles, get out of that line!  This transactions is going to take forever!  The first pile is for the WIC, which is a program that I like, because it restricts the purchases to healthy foods.  The second pile is the food stamp pile, which usually consists of Delmonico steaks, (which I can’t afford to buy myself), sugary cereals, cookies, candy etc.  The third pile is the cash pile, which has the beer, cigarettes, dog food, X-Box games etc.

The federal government has put such tight restrictions on school lunches, in the interest of healthy meals, that the kids won’t even hardly eat it.  The flavor is practically non-existent in many of the meals, through no fault of the cooks I might add.  But the feds don’t mind paying for all of the unhealthy foods that can be bought with food stamps?

I apologize.  I was chasing rabbits there.  Back to corruption.  Have you bought tires lately?  Did you pay full price?  I’m sure you did. But a certain county commissioner in the southern part of the state thought that he should get the same discount that the county received.  Have you had the opportunity to use the state credit card to buy hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of computer supplies for your personal business?  I’m sure that the answer is no.  But to some politicians, the answer is yes!  Corruption!  And these are just two examples in little ole West Virginia Mr. McCain!

Again, I applaud these women for standing up for what is right.  That took backbone and courage.  It is simply too bad that they ever had to be put in that position to start with.  Where are the morals and ethics that most of us were taught when we were kids?

Be Careful What You Ask For!

This blog is probably directed more at my fellow patriots in the TEA Party more than anyone, although other conservatives may end up in my scope also. There is an election year coming up. I know…that is the last thing that most of you probably wanted to hear! Here we go again with the non-stop commercials, the automated phone calls, junk mail, and those weeds that we call campaign signs. But sadly, it is what it is, and I am not sure how to change it.

It is not even officially election season yet, as candidates can not register until January of 2014. However, candidates can pre-file, which allows them to raise funds and really start campaigning early. We saw Shelly Moore Capito pre-file and announce her candidacy for US Senate in late winter.

Which brings me to the point of this blog; Sometime between now and May of 2014, you will have to decide who you want to represent you in certain races. The nice thing about the off year election is that there are not as many races up for grabs, so we are not hit from every side. However, one race that is coming up in the primary season, will be between Shelly Moore Capito, and Pat McGeehan, running for the same seat. Both are Republicans, so one of them will be going up against Natalie Tennant in the general election. It is a generally expected that no viable candidate is going to run against Tennant in the primary.

Here is the dilemma: Patrick McGeehan is the ultimate TEA Party candidate. At least from what I know so far, his values align perfectly with those of the TEA Party groups in West Virginia. Shelly Moore Capito has the name recognition, the backing and the money to have the best chance to beat Tennant.

So…which way do we go? I have already heard many who have jumped on the McGeehan bandwagon because of principle. I have NO problem with that whatsoever. Voters have every right to choose their candidate, and campaign for them. TEA Party folks want people like him representing them in Washington, Charleston, and in their local government. And so do I!

On the other hand, can Pat McGeehan beat Natalie Tennant? She also has the name recognition, and will have the money, provided by unions and rich Democrat people and organizations. I have heard many reasons why people will vote for her, all of which are aggravating and wrong, but sadly true. People will vote for her because of the fact that she was the Mountaineer, because she is from Marion County, she was an anchor on a local news, because she has a pretty smile, or because they just recognize the name. This is sad, but a real fact in West Virginia.

With this being the case, how will you vote? Will you vote on principle? If so, are you willing to help do EVERYTHING you can do to help you candidate win in both the primary and the general election? Are you willing to donate to his campaign? Are you ready to pass out literature, make phone calls and go door to door?

Or, will you vote for the name who you feel has the better chance of winning in November? Admitedly this is the easy vote. But do we need to go the route of principle, which seems to be the proper way to go? Or should we go the less risky direction and vote for the more well known candidate? I am not going to give you the answer. You have to decide this one for yourself! Enjoy!

Isn’t Ted Doing It Right?

I have watched and listened to a lot of talk about Ted Cruz, after his 21 hour speech in the U.S. Senate.  I have also listened to a lot of discussion from the talking heads on the right, who are very critical of his stand and his speech.  Here is one comment I heard, (not verbatum) which really set me off.  On FOX News, someone said, “This is a waste of time.  Republicans aren’t on the same page with this, and Obamacare cannot be stopped.  So why waste time with this?”

Again, I apologize, but that is not an exact quote.  However, that is the general direction of most of the conversation that I have heard in the past few days.  Here is my answer to the question, “So why waste time with this?”

He should “waste time” fighting this, because it is what we want!  Most Americans don’t want Obamacare!  So, Ted Cruz is doing EXACTLY what he should be doing, which is to represent his constituents!  I am beginning to have a new word that is at the top of my list of most hated words.  That word is, “compromise.”

When you compromise on something, you are letting down your standards and turning on your convictions.  If you think something should be done a certain way, but you compromise, it means that you have let someone have their way, maybe to the detriment of the original ethical and moral stand.  Sometimes we have to hurt a little for the greater good.

If a person is behind on their bills, do they make the right choice, to skimp and save, in order to catch up?  Or do they “compromise” with the restaurant owners, to pay them for a nice meal or two, which in turn means they can’t pay their bills?  Sounds silly doesn’t it?  So think about it in the national sense?  What’s the difference?

Another commentator made the statement that we shouldn’t waste time fighting this because the Dems in the Senate will never go along.  Wow…are we now supposed to only fight the battles that we know we can win?  If that is the case, the only battles that the Republicans might win is what to have for lunch!  Why show up for work at all, if they aren’t going fight for everything that is right, in favor of fighting onyl for what they can win?

Washington needs a major overhaul.

My First Blog

OK…Here is the deal.  For several weeks now, I have been thinking that I would like to write.  I even briefly thought about writing a book.  But I have no idea how to start that, and how to do it right.  So, I figured I would try this blog thing instead! 

Does anyone read blogs?  I have no idea!  I have not read many blogs myself.  The one exception is that a friend of mine, whose opinion I have a ton of respect for, writes a blog, and I have read it occassionally.  My fear is that while I might enjoy just writing it, nobody would read it.  I don’t want the blogs to be read so that I can feel good that it was read.  I want the blogs to stimulate conversation, and hopefully make some positive impact.

What will I write about?  Sometimes this might be the biggest problem.  Once I get my mind on something, I can go on forever.  But deciding on a topic might be the roadblock at times.  But for the most part, I’ll most likely write about things that I am passionate about.  These would include religion, politics, emergency services, America and other issues as they arise.  Hopefully, the issues I write about will be current, accurate and attractive for people to read.  And, if you do read my blogs, feel free to do two things:  Comment, either agreeing with my view or disagreeing.  Just be civil!  And, give me ideas for topics!

I may try my second blog, on some particular topic, tonight!  Keep watching!