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Obama DoD Official Spills the Beans on Intelligence Gathering

3/30/2017

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Pictured here is the Pentagon, the nerve center of our military operations, with thousands working every day on tasks necessary to coordinate America's military commands and forces around the world.  I spent a considerable amount of time there in my earlier years and it is huge, very bureaucratic and rigid in the way things get done. Sometimes I think we just succeed in spite of ourselves. But, then again, soldiers and sailors in the field are a different "breed of cat" from staff officials.

I post this picture because one of former President Obama's Defense civilian staff members, Evelyn Farkas, a former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense, openly admitted on the MSNBC Morning Joe program on March 2d that she was actively encouraging her colleagues and associates to spread intelligence about the Trump campaign that she received after she left the Pentagon.  She didn't tell them what it was, she merely cited her opinion about its relevance and importance.  This has created a huge personal problem for her, and rightly so.  How did she know about it and why was she so willing to pass it around?  She wasn't an intelligence employee, nor should she have had access to the information, not only while she was in the Pentagon but after she left the agency.

A Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense is somewhat akin to a management official below the high levels of leadership in a large bureaucracy like the Pentagon.  So if she had such information, who else was in possession of it?  And even if she didn't actually have the information, she was talking about "it" which means something was floating around in government circles outside of valid intelligence entities.  Why?

Leaking of intelligence material is a fraud and a felony and there have always been problems with it. But when President Obama, by Executive Order on January 2, 2017 (only eighteen days before leaving office), opened the door to wider leaks by allowing the passing of NSA material to sixteen other intelligence agencies without the necessary scrubbing of personal identities of innocent collateral citizens in the material, the snowball began in earnest.  In conjunction with this action, volumes of leaks involving Trump Administration nominees and supporters started showing up in mass and with it a situation truly worthy of a Deep State novel.  Can you imagine what the media would have said if this had happened back in 2009 while President-Elect Obama was waiting to be sworn in?  They'd still be talking about it.

And speaking of the hypocrisy of it all, why is everyone so concerned about Trump based on rumor and unnamed sources when no one seemed to care a bit about the State Department approval of a major uranium sale (nearly 20% of America's uranium capacity) to the Russians by then Secretary Clinton which resulted in a fat donation to the Clinton Foundation? And why did Obama open those floodgates of access to intelligence material just before leaving office in the first place, knowing full well that the agencies are full of leaks?  And, lastly, why is Valerie Jarrett now ensconced in the Barack Mansion less than three blocks from the White House?  Are all of these things coincidental?  I think not. Let's get real, folks. If you want to look into things, you have to look at both ends of the political spectrum, not just one.

My hunch is that it might very well be that the Deep State knows that Trump is on to them and they see him as a major threat to their continued often unconstitutional existence.  I'm not saying it's so, I'm just saying I want to know.  Readers, you should want to know, too. It's about your family, your nation and our very way of life. 

This story is going to stick around for some time to come and there are many more questions.  But just think about one important thing.  If this was your life, would you want to put on the guilty hat based upon shoddy reporting and fraudulent data gathering?  Of course not. And that's the whole reason for bringing it up. Freedom is a big deal and actions like this threaten its very existence. If it happens to a candidate who becomes President of the United States, with the leaks continuing after his election, don't think at some point it can't happen to you. Indeed, it can. It's time to get the intelligence gathering within constitutional control.





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Dr. Dolittle to the Rescue!

3/29/2017

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Wild turkeys on a less traumatic day
This morning as I lay in bed moaning and groaning over the aches and pains of the flu, my wife called from the kitchen and said a coyote had taken down Old Tom Turkey in the pasture.  She said he now was up and hobbling and she was going to go and save him and out the door she went. I knew at that moment that my Dr. Dolittle was off on another rescue mission.

Dr. Dolittle?  What do I mean?  Well, my wife is as close as you'll come to finding a twenty-first century Dr. Dolittle, only a real one not a fantasy character.  She has a way with animals that is simply amazing; it doesn't matter what kind, she can help them. I've seen her pet a mother possum while handling her babies right out of the pouch and heal a very sick dog with a deadly case of the mange with my own eyes.  Somehow they know she will not hurt them and they respond in kind.

So when she headed out I pulled my achy bones out of bed and went to the kitchen window to see what was happening.  As she walked into the pasture, the hungry coyote circled back hoping to make the kill.  She was unfazed, walked briskly toward Tommy Boy, shooing off the predator who decided not to challenge her.  Even he understood that she meant business.  She disappeared out of sight for a few moments and when she came back into view she had Big Tom tucked under her arm. He was very quiet and content.

As she neared the house, she took him to a large cage that was up on a table and put him in and put a tarp over the top and one side to give him shade from the fast rising hot sun. He settled in like he was right at home.  And there he sits this afternoon, eating grain and drinking water which she provided.  Upon examination, he has a puncture wound in the body adjacent to one wing but the wing is unbroken.  So we will see how it goes for him for a few days and then try and place him back with his flock if he's able.

I'll bet that old boy had no idea when she was on her way to save him that it was probably the luckiest day of his life. We don't know how it will work out, but I've seen her save a young buck, nurse a sick horse back to health and heal cats and dogs, so why not a turkey?.  After all, he's just one of God's creatures trying to survive in the difficult world of nature and helping them is clearly her specialty. 

And Dr. Dolittle?  Well, she'll just do what she does again whenever the time comes. It's one of the reasons I love her so.  God bless all the animals, large and small, domestic and wild. They all have a place in nature.

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Oh, For the Love of Big Dogs!

3/28/2017

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I thought this Tuesday would be a good day to write something relaxing and fun and when I get in this type of writing mood the subject usually moves to animals I have known, most often dogs.  I grew up with dogs, starting with the Collie shepherd in the portrait which includes Laddie Boy and yes, yours truly at age three.  Later, due to living in a growing city which had previously been a relaxed smaller place, our family opted for smaller dogs as man, in his desire to "progress", enacts all kinds of controls and rules which impact dog owners who take care of their dogs because some others won't.  Some things just never change.

As I learned as a youngster from Laddie Boy, big dogs need something to keep them busy.  If they aren't busy they are usually in trouble, not trouble in the sense of doing horrific things but the little things instead, like digging and digging and digging some more.  Laddie was given the job to be my guardian and he went everywhere I went in our neighborhood where everyone knew and respected each other.  Mom didn't have to give him instructions; he knew when I got near the first cross street that I wasn't allowed to go off the curb.  If he had to intervene he'd just grab me gently by the seat of the britches and "direct" me home with a solemn stare. It always worked and he beamed with pride as we returned to our house and Mom gave him a dog treat for a reward.

Then I went through a long period with small dogs.  Don't get me wrong, I love small dogs as I love all dogs, and here on our rural homestead we have both large and small dogs, but there's something about the "rush" when a big dog is waiting for you.  You drive up to the gate, the dogs first are barking, then when they realize it's you their tails start wagging and they move about anxiously like a tap dancer as they wait for the kind word and the love pat to which they usually provide a slurp in return. Oh, and you can't forget the drool.

The first big dog in my later adult life was Max, a liver spot Dalmatian, a ball of energy and a joy to watch.  We had other big dogs at that time but Max was special, at least as far as my wife was concerned. Max loved her dearly; he liked me.  He was a digger and a morning runner and we had to constantly be on guard to make sure that he stayed within the boundaries of our rural land.  We knew that he had been abused as a young dog as we took him in as a rescue, but I only had one occasion when he showed any concern to me and that was when I was out in the pasture practicing my golf swing.  Max growled when he saw me swing the club; I immediately put the club away and never again practiced in his presence.  Someone must have violently beaten him in his early years and I made a special effort to let him know we loved him.  There was never another questionable moment and he lived a wonderful and carefree life before passing at fourteen.  He is buried right here on our land.

After Max came our first go with a Great Dane.  My wife always wanted one and one Sunday she asked me to accompany her on a field trip. Little did I know that we were on the way to pick up a new rescue, this one with the imposing name of Goliath.   And when I met him, I was amazed about his girth and his bark; he made our dear departed Max look like a small breed by comparison. But after a few weeks of getting adjusted, he fell right in with the family and was a wonderful dog. Goliath had been deprived of love by a prior owner and he truly loved being with us. So what that there were some holes in the yard and I had to follow his footsteps with a mop when he came indoors. He made up for it in love and the security that he provided. He wasn't vicious, but on a dark night when a stranger turned into our lonely lane by mistake, Goliath let him know that he was going nowhere until I came to the gate.  Sadly, he died a tragic death when he was coaxed through a hole in the fence by our little mischievous jack rat terrier, Molly, to roam freely in the woods.  We brought his body home for burial.

We decided to make one more try with another Great Dane. Before receiving Kaz, a not-so-big, much leaner fellow, we made sure that security fences were escape proof for both Kaz and little Molly.  I don't know where he got the name Kaz, but after being moved around five times in two years, we weren't about to change his name again. And he fell right in with the family, sleeping on a large floor doggie bed by the family room television and learning to appreciate and socialize with all the critters who lived with us, including dogs, cats, horses and pet birds and fowl.  He became a protector of the flock and we thought he'd be with us until his old age when, alas, he was diagnosed with a fast growing malignant tumor in a front leg. Bone cancer is quite prevalent in large dogs and we were told he could possibly survive if the leg was removed, but we just couldn't see this big fellow hobbling around, plus the prognosis for recovery was very questionable.  We made him comfortable until he was clearly suffering and then he was put to sleep on a blanket under an oak tree while my wife cradled him in her arms.  I buried him with a constant flow of tears; I'm not ashamed to admit that. The two of us had a good cry over that special guy but, then again, we do that with all of our animal family when they depart.  He was a family member and a friend and he will be remembered, as will they all.

And that brings us full circle to our current big boys, two half-brother Great Pyrenees who have just turned three. M wife brought the first one, Valentino, home to me as a Valentine's Day present.  His little half-brother, Salvador, came about seven weeks later.  Now Sal is the big one and Val is smaller and the dominance of the bigger boy shows as well. We don't see much of them in the heat of the day, being long-haired in Florida, they find a cool and shady spot to hang out.  But as the sun dips below the pine forest, they come out in full glory, guarding every living thing that is supposed to be on our grounds.  And woe be it to anyone entering uninvited, but we've never had that problem just by their presence.  The problem that we previously had with coyotes and pesky raccoons is gone; none of the local wild critter world wants to tangle with our small polar bears. It is a good thing, however, that these guys don't even want to come inside because when they roughhouse outside on a dewy or rainy night, their beautiful white coats become a dingy gray, only to disappear when it dries in the morning sun.

So we have a few holes in the farmyard and the house sometimes gets a little bit messy. Those are minor things that can be handled. But the love and devotion that these wonderful big dogs share is something that can't be measured.  And the joy and laughter they provide is better than the best programming there is.  We love them all, wouldn't have it any other way, and it's just the way our world turns.

Dogs, cats, horses, birds, we love them all. And the little dogs are wonderful on their own, but oh, those big, clumsy, lovable giants of the canine world. God gave them to us for a reason.  Hope you enjoy the pics of the big guys and a couple of others as well.

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The Healthcare Dilemma: Cost

3/27/2017

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PictureOvercrowded emergency room

The news is overloaded with talk of the ongoing struggle to find a healthcare plan that can be acceptable to Congress and the President without creating a new untenable situation in place of the current one.  And we now know that Paul Ryan's calculated proposal, dubbed as repeal but really not, was voted down by the Republican  controlled House, so what should we do now?  The answer is relatively easy but the implementation is not.

First of all, since Ryancare was not a repeal, it was nothing more than a tweak of the existing law. Conservatives were right to oppose it. Had it passed, Obamacare would, in effect, now just go by another name, Trumpcare, which would morph as its name over time, and it would ultimately explode on its own in the not-t00-distant future just like Obamacare will. So what is needed, and what should have been done, is a complete revamping around two principles. These are reducing cost so that families can afford it and ensuring that the doctor-patient relationship is paramount as opposed to a bureaucratic administrator making the final call.  Only a combination of a better product, tailored to the needs of the consumer, and a management process that eliminates waste and abuse while improving efficiency will drive costs down.

How do you reduce cost?  Open up competition, let companies cross state lines in offering coverage, reduce regulations to the minimum critical requirements for safety and provide tort reform to a reasonable level so that doctors can practice the medicine needed, not defensive medicine with unneeded and expensive batteries of tests that likely wouldn't be needed otherwise.  Then, offer cafeteria options to differing groups of people, allowing the patient to pick the package he or she wants, not a federally dictated requirement for everyone to cover everything even if we individually don't need it or want it.

Everyone needs a catastrophic plan, but depending on the circumstances there should be co-pays and premiums which allow those who can afford it to opt for high deductibles and accept more personal risk.  Right now some of the poorest among us are paid for by having so many hard working, self employed small business people sidled with premiums so high and co-pays so exorbitant that short of a major life saving event they might not even get a penny of insurance payment during the entire calendar year. Just because you have an insurance policy doesn't mean you'll get healthcare.

And with the advent of so many concierge medical practices, where doctors group together, bring on a set volume of patients per doctor, they can offer full routine care services (excepting catastrophic and hospitalization events) for as low as fifty dollars per adult and significantly less for a child.  How do they do it?  By negotiating effectively with their vendors, not being at the whim of a government contract specialist who has likely never negotiated anything in their life.  These are growing in favor and coupled with a good catastrophic plan bring affordable options to what today continues to be the the same-old, same-old pricey and less valuable options.

So why after nearly eight years has Congress, and here I'm referring to both parties, just allowed the albatross that is Obamacare to fester and grow to the point where it is near implosion?  The answer is quite simple.  For those in today's Democratic Party, they want it to fail as planned to usher in a single payer system.  For the Republicans, they really don't want to give up central authority either and they seem to be very happy operating like a minority.  Also, both sides of the Washington coin have their unique internal Cadillac plan which lets them avoid the pain that others suffer.  And that is also why the phony repeal and replace bill failed?  Because we, the people knew it was phony and we let them know in advance of the vote with both barrels.

Time for all of our leaders to quit spending us into bankruptcy and get to work and save the future for our kids and grand kids.  What kind of world are they going to inherit anyway?


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SUNDAY MORNING COMING DOWN: The Hope of Spring

3/25/2017

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And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years.          - Genesis 1:14

We just welcomed another Spring this week and with it comes the hope associated with new growth and birth of so many living things, animal and plant, out here in rural USA.  And as God said in Genesis above, He designed the universe and our earth in a way to allow for daylight and darkness and the birth, growth, maturity and ultimate death of all of the plants and animals in the fields that we witness daily if we just slow down enough to look. It's a marvelous time of year and it shows His power and glory in so many ways.

The seasons of the year each have their own significance to we humans as well as we plan our lives and our activities of life accordingly.  But Spring is particularly inspiring for it gives us the hope of new life, the birth of the new provided to replace the old which naturally departs after it's planned lifespan, be it animal, plant or human.  And it's all according to God's plan, a Master Plan which only He knows in full detail.

Look at your life like the seasons of the year and realize the importance of each stage. Spring represents birth and early growth.  Summer involves continued growth and maturity into full adult stage of life.  Fall represents the later years, a time when we have reached our full level of knowledge based upon what we have been through and begin to slow down as we near our end.  And Winter, representing the end of life as we know it on this earth.

Each stage is important. Each involves different factors and a changing of how we see things.  And each is key to the ultimate conclusion of our life. So, in whatever stage you find yourself, look to the Lord to put the pieces together and make sense for you and what you are meant to do in this life.  And praise Him for the gift that he so graciously provided.  And, further, if you live as He wishes, life won't end with death in this world.  It will only be the beginning, the beginning of something so wondrous and glorious that even with your imagination in full gear you can't come close to approaching it.

Dear Lord:

We thank you for the beauty and variety of each of the seasons and on this day we especially thank you for the Spring. The hope and promise of new life is a masterful gift and we pray that you will help us use this very life, regardless of which stage we find ourselves, to give our all to you.  In doing so, our earthly life will be transitioned to eternal life when our days on earth are done.  You have provided the ultimate gift for us; help each of us to fully take advantage by accepting your offer through belief in Jesus Christ.  We ask this prayer in His name, Amen.


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The Ultimate in Trivia From the State Legislature

3/22/2017

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Oh, the poor Florida legislature, going through bills like butter through a knife.  They're in a hurry, a hurry to pass laws that they don't even read because it's so important.  And I don't want to single out our elected officials in Florida politics, because the same thing goes on in state capitols the nation over.  It's the way we do the business of the people these days and it's clearly a disaster.

But now I hear of a bill that contains the ultimate in trivia, yet it is almost a sacrilege if you are a Floridian, especially a native one. It seems they are considering a bill making some changes into what can be placed on a specialty license plate, you know, the ones you pay extra for in order to tout your favorite school, hobby, occupation or lifestyle.  It wouldn't get a blink of my eye except in this case the moniker that would be added is.......Auburn University.  Really, legislators, you are thinking about putting Auburn on a Florida license plate?

I guess it's all about money and I'm sure there are a large number of Auburn alums who would like this, after all, someone from Auburn had to be the one to suggest it.  And I'm not an antagonist of Auburn, a fine school, and I'm not even a Florida school graduate since I came to the Sunshine State just over twenty years ago.  It's just that there seems something just not right about a Florida motor vehicle traveling around the state sporting a state sanctioned Auburn Tigers official license plate.

I guess the legislature can't be too busy if this is some of the stuff that they spend their time on in Tallahassee.  Then again, we probably don't know a lot of what they do up there that is a waste of time and money. Writing legislation just to say you did it is never a good idea, at least not in this Conservative's mind.

And that gives me an idea. Maybe I should just ask that my Arizona Wildcats be approved for my license plate.  Then again, I don't have a big lobby group behind me, nor is UA likely to have a big supportive following around here.  But it was a thought.  Oh, well, at least they've made it to the Sweet 16 tonight.  Go 'Cats.




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Hawthorne Development: At the Cost of Who and What?

3/22/2017

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Here in our little neck of the North Florida woods, a battle has been raging for years over the issue of what is appropriate for development and how.  Eastern Alachua County is one of the last bastions of a rural lifestyle in the burgeoning state as the Governor and so many politicians see growth and development as a heavenly answer to all prayers, never considering the adverse and unintended consequences that follow.  Questions about liability, water consumption safety, the natural setting and even how growth should impact neighbors are limited to lip service at best.  These are questions that have haunted development throughout the nation for years and are never answered effectively.

Nowhere is that desire to grow greater than in the small city of Hawthorne, a place which in most states would be called a town, but has an active advocacy organization known as the Florida League of Cities. The League has organized towns as small as three hundred in population here in Alachua County, with the corporate status giving them access to a powerful base of support intent on urbanizing every square inch of Florida.

The City of Hawthorne has an energetic mayor who is leading the charge.  Matt Surrency is a decent man, a man who I call a friend and one who is always open to discussion. But in the push to grow, fueled by the influence of the few which will impact the many, strains have been significant between city dwellers and those who live in the adjacent unincorporated lands.

As a rural dweller myself, it is hard to find any advantage to my life by forcing long term residents to carry the weight of the changes to their own personal detriment.  And, of course, political leaders always like to talk about growth as a godsend, growing the tax base and adding opportunity, yet in the end the promises usually never match up with the outcome.  Developers come and developers go and they usually walk away with a pile of cash while those remaining behind are left with the cost.  And, of course, it's not just here in North Florida, it's everywhere across America and we are just now seeing what those costs are going to be.

Now I'm not suggesting that we stop development.  Of course, there are developments which can be a positive to a community which can add jobs and are good for all in the area, both within and outside the city limits. This is what all of us should seek. But when the developer is really just a landowner, a landowner who by his own submission wants the rezoning to maximize the land value and to this day has no real information to pass on about what will result, the red flag must go up.  The people adjacent to the action, in this case people who are not even in the city limits (even including an organic farmer), have great fears for their homesteads and their lives and nothing is being done to abate those fears.

Last night there was a first hearing on the project and a number of citizens in the surrounding area voiced their concerns.  Without really addressing those issues, in fact, without even commenting on them, a bare quorum of three on a commission of five, voted unanimously to approve the first reading.  Sadly, the Mayor himself was absent. The proposal will now go forward for an additional reading and final vote in early April.

And what about the hopes, dreams and fears of those neighbors who, in the words a city planning commission member must  sacrifice for the good of the others?  I guess they will have to just wonder what their fate will hold and try to adjust accordingly.  There's no reason that this should end this way, but for a landowner and his own selfish desires.  Hawthorne could reasonably develop in a way which would make all area residents proud, both within and outside of the city.  But the old saying about money and bull excrement lives on.  As long as money and power overrule common sense and laws are made by politicians on behalf of well-heeled donors, I guess we should figure it will be no different.


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"Lady Justice" Versus a Rogue Court System

3/20/2017

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PictureWith the scales of Justice in her hands
So the President of the United States issues an executive order to protect American citizens from the influx of world-wide terrorism and the federal court systems tells him no, he can't enforce the law as it is written in the books and has been conducted for generations.  It is obvious that Title 8 U.S.C. 1182 is clearly the prerogative of the President of the United States on behalf of the nation, yet on two occasions justices using their world view and opinion, not constitutional law, have ruled otherwise.

In the first case, Washington state United States District Court Judge James Robart waved the magic wand and his decision was upheld by the Ninth Circuit, by far the most liberal and overturned appellate court in the nation. That was early February and now, in mid-March, a second rogue judge, United States District Court Judge Theodore Chuang in Hawaii, issued a similar ruling on a revised executive order.  Maryland, another very liberal state, did the same thing in District Court there shortly thereafter. 

In the Hawaii case, Judge Chuang was seen meeting for dinner with former President Obama a mere two hours before the ruling was released.  Is that a coincidence?  You be the judge, but one thing is not a coincidence.  Judge Chuang was a friend of Obama in law school and he also served as a special legal adviser to the Democrats during the Benghazi disaster.  He worked hard for the State Department to keep the full details out of the hands of those who wanted to know. And, not surprisingly, it wasn't long before he was appointed by Obama to his current District Court judgeship. 

The bottom line issue, however, is what does this mean to the American jurisprudence system?  Well, first, it means that we are in the process of relegating the Presidency to a position of near irrelevance unless a lower level federal court agrees with his actions even though they are clearly legal.  There are ninety-four District Courts in the land, so why would we allow a judge overseeing legal issues in one particular area to dictate to the rest of the country?  We clearly should not.  And so the President, responsible for the safety and security of all Americans, not the whims of an ideological judge who uses absurd arguments that the best legal minds in the nation publicly denounce, becomes neutered from doing his job. Such liberal standout legal minds as Jonathan Turley and Alan Dershowitz found the judgement wanting and even CNN's own legal analyst, Jeffrey Toobin, said it was woefully inaccurate.  And five sitting members on the Ninth Circuit, appointed by Administrations of both parties, found it unlawful.

But there's even more that is wrong about it and it is in the current application of the appeal process.  The practice of  "judge shopping", selecting a judge with a biased view to handle the case, is a travesty of justice, not an aid to it.  This allows for a single judge to stymie a legal action just because he doesn't like it and, sadly, the liberals use this tactic as their principal means of stonewalling a desired action. It has only gotten much worse since the lower level courts were packed by liberal appointees following Harry Reid's change of Senate Rules.  And the Senate, a former home of extensive debate, has become a laughingstock as members on both sides of the aisle prefer their internal buddy system to doing the people's work.  Too bad they don't realize that the Constitution is more important than their self-absorbing rules.  The result in this case is a complete bastardization of the American system of jurisprudence and the will of the people.

This must stop or it will be the death of our democratic republican experiment that has served us well since the late 1700s.  If this experiment ends, can tyranny be far behind?  Well, there are those who think we are already in a stage of soft tyranny and it frankly looks that way. But if it morphs into hard tyranny, which it will if not checked, the pain and suffering will be immense in many ways.

Need a comparison?  Look to our south at Venezuela.  A beautiful land, replete with vast riches, but one which has in one generation become a "living hell", with the average citizen scouring garbage dumps for food as well as, of all things, toilet paper.  And it's all because of socialism. I remember just a few years ago, Barack Obama was glowing with praise for the government of Hugo Chavez, now deceased and replaced by someone he mentored. Chavez was the patron of what Venezuela would ultimately become.  Is that what we want?  Ponder that question if you are serious about freedom.

H/T  Powerline Blog




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SUNDAY MORNING COMING DOWN: Does God's Light Shine on You?

3/18/2017

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Again, Jesus spoke to them, saying, "I am the light of the world.  Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."
                                  - John 8:12 (ESV)


Lightness and darkness: two opposites which have two very opposite reactions on the part of most people.  Lightness is associated with life, being able to see, beauty, hope and a positive future.  Darkness represents death, fear, dread and misery.  Just think about it, in the middle of the night if you notice a sudden strange pain in your body, or you awake from a bad dream, it can be down right frightening.  Yet in the light, those things, while they might momentarily trouble you, pass in the light and clarity of the day.

So the question posed by this commentary is an important one, for as creations of the Almighty God, having the light of God shine upon us is very important. After all, He made us in His image and it therefore follows that gaining his favor, or receiving his light is very important to our life and well-being.  The only problem is that so many of us don't really know where we need to go to receive that light although the answer is very near at hand.

The words of John cited above hold the answer in the quotation from Christ.  To both find and receive the light of God requires us to find Jesus Christ.  Jesus Christ, the Son of God who also spent thirty-three years on earth as both a mortal man and God, is the light of life.  He was sent to earth to give us the opportunity to live forever through Him.  And to accomplish that, all we have to do is believe in Him through faith.  Once we make that commitment to believe, we have the pathway to the Father,  a pathway that leads to eternal life.  And by opening our heart, letting the Holy Spirit, the Third Person of God, into our hearts, that connection with Jesus is made.

So does the light of God shine upon you? Yes, if you have found Jesus.  But, if you have not made the connection, it's not too late, for God loves you and the offer stands as long as you are alive on this earth.  When your time is over, it's too late to earn the fruits of His love and grace.  Don't delay, make the positive life-changing decision today and your future will be secured, a future of light, beauty and wonder, far beyond your wildest dreams.

Dear Lord:  We thank you for your love and grace and for the ultimate gift that you have given for us.  Help us to have the faith to believe in Jesus Christ as Our Savior and to commit our lives to Him and through Him to you.  In Jesus' name, we pray, Amen.



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Happy St. Patrick's Day from Margaritaville

3/16/2017

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Well, folks, on this Friday we get a "double whammy".  We get to kick off the weekend with a salute to the luck of the Irish from Margaritaville at five this afternoon.  Some of us, I'm sure, probably are starting early. All you would have to do to verify that is go by your favorite Irish pub and watch the green beer flow and the corn beef and cabbage run out on the menu.

So what's a Scotsman like me to do?  Join the party and host a pint or two for my Irish friends and have some fun. And just think about it, Jimmy Buffett might just show up in his beach duds and sandals to join the party, for St. Patty's Day is in the air everywhere.

As for our little leprechaun kitty who looks so unhappy in the picture, he obviously doesn't appreciate the seasonal garb.  But he'll get over it when he finds that first mouse back in the establishment storeroom getting into the malt and hops.  Then he''ll be smiling like a Cheshire cat and mellowing out to boot.

So enjoy this special "double whammy" on this special Friday.  Be it the Irish pub or Margaritaville  a la O'Brien, hoist your glass, whether it be The traditional green beer or a lime Margarita.  But to do it right, make sure if you have one too many you have a designated driver.  St. Patty's Day only comes once a year and it's now a great American celebration for all of us, not just the Irish.  Participate, enjoy and remember and you don't even have to go to work tomorrow.  And, as another special advantage, the government will leave you alone until Monday morning. Can't beat that, can you?

May the "Luck of the Irish" be with you and remember to kiss that favorite beau or gal.  It's a lot nicer than the Blarney Stone, that's for sure.  God bless.


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