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It's Wednesday: Saving America (Part 4)-THE FINALE

7/31/2013

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In this, the final in a series on saving America, I use the picture of James Madison to the left since no one so eloquently coined the concept of federalism in our government as Madison.  He had great concerns about a central government growing too powerful and saw federalism as one way to hold it at bay.  That and the separation of powers spelled out in the Constitution were designed to insure that our experiment in Democracy didn't turn into a tyranny of the majority.

Madison, along with Alexander Hamilton and John Jay, authored the Federalist Papers to support the ratification of the Constitution of the United States.  He is thought to be the leading force behind this effort and has often been referrred to as the Father of the Constitution.

Madison was determined that the American Experiment should have strong checks and balances to keep an overly ambitions Executive from usuping his authority and decreeing actions to be taken.  Remember, the Founders were extremely concerned about the possibility of a King-like Executive (from their experience with England) and the potential for democracy to turn into mob rule where a group of 51% could work their will involuntarily on the large minority which disagreed.

It's kind of ironic that when we look at our current situation here in America we find an Executive in the person of President Obama who is doing just those things which they feared.  The current President seems to pass laws by executive fiat, using Executive Orders that clearly should not apply.  What's even worse, there are a majority of our elected leaders who cower in fear and are afraid to stand up for the rights of the people.  Even the court system tends to go along to get along and the result: tyranny is beginning to worm its way into the fabric of the Republic.  If it is not checked sometime soon, we will live the prediction of the Frenchman, de Tocqueville who said the American Experiment would likely die after two hundred years.

Just look at the things that have been done that show this fear to be true.  I will only list a few because there are so many more:

   + Gun running to Mexico by the government    + NSA spying on American citizens (supposed to have been limited to foreigners)  + Continual lawsuits against the states, clearly contrary to the idea of federalism  + IRS harassment of law abiding groups  +Obamacare, a takeover of the best healthcare by a government system built to fail  + Protecting General Motors from bankruptcy with no protection for the primary bond holders  + Constant harassment of Christians, particularly ordering Chaplains not to use prayers that mention Jesus Christ  +Benghazi and Seal Team 6 (absolute denial of the truth).........and the list goes on and on.


Now I don't care if you are a Republican or Democrat, a Libertarian or a Progressive, the things that are going on, with many more not even identified yet, will destroy the fabric of our society, kill our moral commitment to the truth, and render our nation helpless against tyranny, both from without and within.  Think about it, Americans, and commit yourself to changing those things which you know in your heart are not right.

Stand with God, the Constitution and the God-fearing people of the United States.  Never take mediocrity and loss of freedom and liberty as a proper direction to follow.  Freedom is never free and there is no such thing as a free lunch.  Never surrender your principles or your passion for freedom.  We can do this, but it will take hard work, courage and determination.  Are you up to the challenge?

God bless you and God bless the United States of America.


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It's Tuesday: Time to Start Saving America (Part 3)

7/30/2013

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Today in part 3 of our discussion we move to medicare and medicaid.  These two medical insurance components were part of Lyndon Johnson's Great Society and War on Poverty in 1965.  Progressives in America have always wanted the government to control the health care of Americans and this was a first big step in that direction.

Medicare, designed to cover all Americans upon reaching the age of 65, was thought at the time to be the best way to handle the critical needs of seniors and the increased medical services they need.  After all, the overwhelming majority of health care costs for each of us occurs in the latter years of life.  The program pays for a large portion of major medical care while the individual needs to purchase a cost effective supplement to keep individual cost minimal. 

Unfortunately, due to cost overruns in the program which have been huge, the government has routinely been forced to routinely cut back on payments to doctors and hospitals and, with the advent of Obamacare, more and more practitioners are deciding to no longer accept it.  This means for many of us that finding a primary care physician, and specialists when needed, is becoming a serious problem. 

There is one big problem that could be solved and would help but no one in government seems to care: fraud.  Huge outlays of dollars have been given for treatments not received and only the tip of the iceberg has ever been found.  Sometimes the government just doesn't seem to care about policing their own systems, they would much rather try and police the individual instead.

And this brings us to medicare, the federal government mandated program which, unfortunately, is left up to the states to largely fund and many of our states today are either nearly bankrupt or headed in that direction.  Obamacare rulings by the Supreme Court opened the door for states to seriously cut back on this program due to their lack of funds by opting out.  The likelihood here is that needed services in this category, for those who can least afford care, will result in millions of Americans not able to receive care other than to flood the emergency rooms.  In a nutshell, the promise of Obamacare will once again prove that the government doesn't have a clue what it is doing or talking about.

We could probably solve many of the problems created by this mushrooming usurpation of power by the feds, but it would take willpower and politicians with intestinal fortitude.  A doctor-patient centered program, private in nature but with some governmental subsidy, could be used to lower costs (let the market determine)  while also affording compassionate help to those truly in need. 


I guess I'm dreaming on this one because it would require a federal government to support individual freedom and decision making and federalism, two features that the power hungry politicians don't like.  Tort reform, thereby lowering doctor's malpractice insurance costs, would also help.  We could follow the example of Texas.

As in the earlier parts to our discussion of saving America, we must either decide to do something or watch our Republic continue to crumble slowly, one brick at a time.  What a shame.  The nation that has always prided itself on having the best healthcare in the world is getting ready to slip into third world status.  I'm sure my departed dad, a physician, rolls over in his grave each and every day.

Tomorrow, in our final part, we'll discuss the Obama administration's disdain for the Constitution and the Rule of Law.  It will be a fitting finish because this is where something can be done if people will just demand it.

Until then, God bless you each and every one.  Have a wonderful Tuesday.



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It's Monday: Time to Start Saving America (PART 2)

7/29/2013

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Today we move from Social Security to Lyndon Johnson's War on Poverty.  Founded under good intentions, it became one of the most abused and fraud-driven programs in America's history, consisting of many different elements.  These included the Social Security Act of 1965 (Medicare and Medicaid), the Food Stamp Act of 1964, the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 and the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965.  To date over $15T has been spent on these programs.

I'll hold off on Medicare and Medicaid until tomorrow since they are an entire world of their own, particularly now that we face another disaster, Obamacare.

Food Stamps.  Originally intended to insure that no one in America went hungry, this program has turned into a major boondoggle with approximately 50 million Americans now enrolled.  Go to any food store on any day and you'll see the check-out delays by recipients of food stamp items while the rest of us have to watch our budgets ever more tightly while we pay for their largesse.  There is something critically wrong with a welfare program being used  by one in seven Americans and something is even worse by noting the lack of restrictions on what is purchased.  Didn't Michelle want people to eat a balanced diet?  Not at the local market in the food stamp basket.

And there is a sidelight issue that we probably don't think about but adds to the cost.  Kids can now get free breakfast, lunch and in some cases even dinner at school.  In my local area, this remains a viable option for anyone eighteen and under even during the time when schools are closed.  In the food department we are rapidly becoming a case of the have nots taking all of the food from the haves who have to pay top dollar buy it.  There is something dreadfully wrong with a society that works this way and it surely won't end well.

Economic Opportunity.   This is a catch all for practically anything the government wants to dream up.  Make work jobs, training programs, etc. etc. that accomplish absolutely nothing are the rule rather than the exception.  And since the minority population was a major focus of the program, take a look at the unemployment of young black males and you'll see that it is truly a disaster.  Unemployment is some areas for this group is over fifty percent and the rest of the population is closing in as well.  You see, give away and make work concepts don't work.  Only through productive free enterprise with a well educated workforce can we hope to attain full employment.

Elementary and Secondary Education.  We have spent billions and bilions of dollars on education programs and have literally been throwing our money away.  Kids are taught to specific tests, not real subject matter material, and the result is that they remember nothing when it is over.  Oh, they can tell you about having sex and birth control techniques and condoms but they can't solve basic math problems, read and write poorly and lack reasoning skills.  Of course, the real reason for the tests is so that politicians can brag they have improved our educational standards.  Really?  All we have done is to dumb  down all to the lowest common denominator.  Talk to any employer and he'll tell you about the poor quality of young job applicants.

Ironically there is one major exception: kids who attend private schools and are home-schooled.  Not only are they showing good results, but they are also being inculcated with good moral foundations for life, unlike what is taught in our now godless public schools.   The trend is for more and more kids to be home-schooled or to attend private schools and, because of this, the government is now in the process of trying to do everything it can in its power to halt this trend.   Remember, we are supposed to believe that Professor Obama knows best.  Kind of ironic that both of his girls attend a high cost private school, don't you think?  Oh, but that's good for him, he doesn't care about what's good for you.  After all, his interest lies with the leadership of the teachers unions, not the students stuck with mediocrity or less.

I could go on and on regarding these subjects, but I think you get the drift.  The Great Society helped us turn another page backwards in America and we are reaping the consequences.  I didn't even mention the problem of children being born without daddies which is tied directly to welfare payments, but that is just another example of politicians buying votes. It is really what this is all about and the mothers quickly learn that they receive more support if daddy isn't around and, believe me, that information gets passed generation to generation.  Is it any wonder we are broke?

I hope we will ponder these problems carefully because we can't sweep them under the rug if we want them solved and the old liberal dogma won't cut it.  We need real change, God centered and honest if we want to bring America back. 

Tomorrow we will discuss another burden that government has created which has the potential to implode our society: Medicare and Medicaid and the advent of Obamacare.   I hope you will join me.  In the meantime, God bless you and God bless America.  If we will turn to Him and seek His guidance, He will show us the way out of this mess. 

Have a wonderful and productive Monday.



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It's Sunday: Time to Start Saving Our Country (PART 1)

7/28/2013

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The picture to the left is to me one of the truly great memorials to the greatness and power that once was the United States of America.  I say "once was" because over recent years our country seems determined to turn itself into a second or third-rate power, one incapable of maintaining our freedom and liberty or of protecting itself from enemies of our people both from without and within.  Nowhere is the problem more evident than in the area of financial management as the government continues to spend itself into oblivion.

I decided to use a picture of the Iwo Jima memorial because, through the courage represented by those Marines, it represents  America's longstanding promise of freedom for the oppressed everywhere and a better life for Americans.  Sadly, today our image around the world  and at home is  something quite different.  I pray that each of us this Sunday, the Sabbath, will take a moment to pray for her return to the principles of the Declaration of Independence and commit to playing an individual part in turning things around.

Something has been going on in America that has drastically changed our outlook and our drive for individual freedom and liberty.  It didn't happen overnight, but it has dramatically picked up speed in the last five years.  It really began with the onset of the progressive movement early in the 20th century but picked up steam with the New Deal in the 1930's, started running wild with the Great Society in the 1960's and took off on steroids with the election of Barack Obama in 2008.

I want to look at several critical features covering the last seventy years which have led us almost to the "point of no return" we find ourselves facing today.  These features all involved spending money we either don't have or have taken away from people who have earned it and deserve to keep it. They are social security (Franklin Roosevelt in the 1930's), the War on Poverty and Medicare (Lyndon Johnson in the 1960's) and the complete disregard of the Constitution and the concepts of federalism embodied therein (Barack Obama, 2008 until ?).  They have done much to destroy the foundation and fabric of the freedom and liberty which our Founders created for us with success in the Revolutionary War.

In today's  blog I will limit the discussion to social security.  Tomorrow I will continue with a discussion of the War on Poverty and Medicare on ensuing days.  I start with Social Security since everyone is forced to participate in it (there are a few special exceptions)  and we are all subject to the impact of what happens with the program.

                                                        SOCIAL SECURITY: A GIANT PONZI SCHEME

 In the 1930's millions of Americans were suffering from the results of the Great Depression and  continued tinkering by government with programs that made the situation worse.  Social security was designed as merely a retirement supplement to provide some assistance.  Funded by taxpayers in the form of a special tax item, it was supposed to help those who had lost much of their savings.  The money was to be placed in a Social Security Trust Fund where it would earn interest over time and grow as more people were included in the system.  Unfortunately, two major fallacies were not identified at the time.

First, it was always assumed that the increase in the number of workers would be more than sufficient to meet payout requirements.  It never considered a "Baby Boomer" type of situation like we face today where the ratio of workers to those drawing from the system is nearing only 2 to 1, clearly insufficient to meet its objective.  The percentage of the working age population in the workforce today is the same as it was thirty years ago, despite population growth.  

Second, the government violated the trust part of the Trust Fund by putting the money in the General Fund and using it for general government operational expenses.  There is no protected Trust Fund, just a bunch of worthless paper IOUs.  And to make the matter worse, there is no guarantee that the funds will ever be available.  Check your annual statements since they spell this out in small print.

The program is, in a nutshell, a Ponzi scheme that is beginning to crumble and the government has known about this for years but has done nothing to correct it.  Politicians, after all, only worry about the next election.  They can't be bothered by the truth and doing the right thing when it is so much easier to tell untruths and pander.  Never trust the government to know the meaning of the word trust.

If you don't believe me, just look how Congress throws the word "entitlement" around when they speak of social security.  They treat it just like a welfare program even  though it is something that we've been paying into for as long as we have worked.  And also remember that the money you receive is also taxed, beginning in the 1980's even though you paid taxes on the earnings at the time they were withheld.  Sounds a little bit like double jeopardy, doesn't it?  The average American doesn't have a clue and the politicians like it that way.

I hope this has helped to enlighten some of you about where we are headed and I hope you will join me again tomorrow when we talk about the War on Poverty.  What a boondoggle that has been and continues to be and it is bankrupting us.  If you are currently receiving social security benefits or expect to in the future, you need to get involved.  Some changes are going to have to be made and made soon or one day we'll all receive correspondence that the piggy bank is empty.

For now, inform yourself, prepare yourself, speak up often, get involved and let's try and save this land we love and keep it free.  God bless America and may God bless you.  He is the only one who can bring us true Peace and Prosperity.


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This Day in History: Korean War Armistice, July 27, 1953

7/27/2013

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On this date sixty years ago the Korean War ended in a stalemate.  Including battle and non-battle soldier deaths and missing in action personnel, over 43,000 brave American combatants were lost.  Sadly, today many people call this war the "Forgotten War". 

I personally call it the first of a series of wars that the United States did not clearly win and this result had nothing to do with the bravery and fighting skills of our troops.  No, it was the result of politics just like the ending of the Vietnam War.  It began a trend of politicians snatching defeat from the hands of victory due to lack of fortitude and inability to explain effectively to the American people what was happening.

The Korean War American military on the ground, led by Marines doing the dirty work with the Army in a strong supporting role, fought hard, long and well despite lacking many supplies needed.  On many occasions ammunition ran low, clothing not suitable for the winter months was all that was available and rations were often limited.  Despite these hardships, our troops performed well but became disillusioned with the lack of proper back home support.  This situation was to occur again only twelve years later with the onset of the Vietnam War.

All Americans should honor these gallant men of war today for their efforts as they gave their all on behalf of their country with great sacrifice.  Oh, for our government to sacrifice for her people as gallantly.  Join me in prayer for these brave souls, won't you?

Dear Lord Above,  Today we honor the brave fighting forces of the United States who fought so well in the Korean War which ended on this date sixty years ago.  For those who gave the ultimate sacrifice, bless their souls and help their loved ones still living and in future generations to always honor their memory.  For those wounded, help them with their disabilities and pain and suffering which many still have today.  Give them peace and ease their pain.  For those who are still officially missing in action even today, help us to find out what happened to them so that their families may finally have closure.

And Lord, help us to learn the lesson of history and try to find a way to avoid war whenever possible.  But if war is necessary and can't be avoided, help us to remember that the only way to end a war with finality once it is begun is to win it.  Give our leaders the moral courage and determination to make decisions of this nature based on reality and not politics, using the experience of history as their guide.  We ask in His name, Amen.


May God always bless the United States of America
.

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What Really Happened to Seal Team 6?

7/26/2013

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I always thought something was strange about the helicopter crash two years ago with the resultant loss of life of so many Seal Team 6 members.  On a mission in Afghanistan, the helicopter carrying them was shot down by a "lucky shot" from the Taliban in remote territory, killing over thirty on board of which over twenty were from the famous unit.

It seemed inconceivable to me that this elite group, the warriors responsible for finally finding Osama bin Laden, would have had so many of its members in the same chopper at one time.  Controversy swirled around the case but below the surface for a long time.

About a year ago we started hearing from some of the family members.  They wanted an investigation of what happened but were continually met with a stone wall from the Pentagon and the White House.  Finally, a few courageous bloggers started "making some noise" and the pressure grew.  Congressman Jason Chaffetz, a Utah Congressman, started to listen and now his subcommittee in the House of Representatives has agreed to hold a hearing.

Here are just a few of the questions that need to be answered:

    * Why would so many members of this unit all be carried aboard one transport helicopter?
    * Why were there no escort aircraft as would normally be the case?
    * Why was the manifest of the Afghan military team members changed at the last minute with the additions                 being unknown to the team members?
    *Why was a slow and noisy Chinook used instead of multiple craft with speed and stealth?
    *What was the mechanical condition of the aircraft and what was its maintenance history?
    *Why has the Pentagon been so secretive about the case?
    * What about the "Lucky Shot"?  Was a military operation so poorly planned that a major force with a record of unparalleled success could be destroyed this easily and what does this say about our combat readiness?

These are just a few of the questions that I have; I am sure there are many more and I hope the sub-committee will look into this with great detail.  The families of the deceased deserve to have their questions answered.  If the record is clean, so be it.  If not, we need to know the truth and if it is another Benghazi-type of fiasco, someone needs to pay for is or her sins.

It seems that so many of the things happening under this administration are tainted with scandal or worse.  We need to demand the answers and find the truth.  I know this isn't Denmark, but something seems to be truly rotten in the State of America.  Pray to God that the answers will be forthcoming.

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Obama's Economic Solution

7/25/2013

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Yesterday Obama gave a speech in Illinois which was heralded as his new economic plan to move America forward.  I believe this is about the nineteenth time he has said he was going to "focus like a laser beam" on the real issue in America: a failing economy.  It hasn't turned out that way so far and I won't hold my breath that it will this time either.

Once again, Obama said he has turned the economy around from the disaster of George Bush and things are getting better.  And he offered his usual canned solutions to our problems: raise the minimum wage, tax the rich more, create more middle class jobs, blah, blah, blah.  In talking about the middle class he commented that the way we do it is to grow the economy from the middle out, as if the middle class is the job creator. Really?

Since we have never been allowed to see his academic records, or any other records for that matter, we don't know anything about his education in economics.  Judging from his comments and other similar comments made over the years, I doubt if he knows what the word economics means.  Let's take a look at some of his key points:

1. It's all George Bush's fault.  This has been his tireless excuse since Day 1 and now, more than 5 years later, he sticks with that standard.  I'll be the first to say I was very disappointed in W, particularly his second term.  He bought the stimulus mirage from Paulson and company and it headed us deep into the weeds.  The bank bailout was a disaster and the "too big to fail" policy was even worse.  But since taking office, Obama has put Bush's problem policies on steroids and his crony capitalism has favored the few over the many, resulting in a few getting rich at the cost of many other promising businesses left to rot due to financial resources being drained.  How's Detroit looking to you these days, Mr. President?

2.  Minimum wage. Let's put this to rest quickly.  The minimum wage was never meant to be a living wage.  It was a start point for many, particularly young people trying to get their foot in the door.  As they learned the business and gained experience, they would look forward to advancement.  By increasing the minimum wage as he suggests, the only thing that will happen is the elimination of more starter jobs.  Wonder why so many young people can't find a summer job?  Look no further, and it will only get worse.

3.  Improvement coming from the middle class out.  I don't know about you, but I never got a job from a middle class guy.  It was always a rich guy with a start up company or one that was expanding.  That's the way of capitalism; he who takes risk and puts his "money where his mouth is" with a good plan grows his wealth.  And he puts a large part of it toward more growth, hence, more jobs.  Obama, however, thinks that we can tax our way to prosperity with the rich paying for everyone else.  It has never worked and never will and, what's more, the rich will take their money and put it to work elsewhere.  I don't blame them.

If you really want to look at  what would work, think less control and regulation, lower taxes, and use of our abundance of energy resources.  Americans are controlled, taxes and regulated to death and we refuse to take advantage of our energy riches in favor of idiocy like windmills and solar. 

Mr. President, the world isn't ready for your new energy and it certainly won't work if you are the one trying to pick winners and losers.  Get the government off our backs, make America competitive with other countries by lowering taxes, and drill, baby, drill.  Use our petroleum resources while we are developing new and renewable resources but only if it is done fairly with those getting results being the winners not your hand picked crony contributors.  We have the ability to turn things around quickly but we need to get started before Bernanke and company prints us out of existence.

Wake up, Americans, use your head for something other than a hat rack and demand that the government respond to us.  We are supposed to be its master, not the other way around.  That's what makes us Americans.  Stand tall, stand strong, and stand for hard work, the love of God and a return to prosperity for the best land on earth.
  It's the only way to survive and prosper.

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Is There No Shame in Politics?

7/24/2013

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I was absolutely amazed not long ago when Anthony Weiner, a man who for some reason enjoys showing pictures of personal body parts  on the internet, decided to run for the office of Mayor of New York City.   After having been forced by public opinion to resign from the House of Representatives in shame, it looks like Weiner can't wait to try to further damage the public trust.

For those of you who might not remember, at the time of his resignation Weiner made a big deal about stating how he had to rebuild his marriage and get things straight at home.  Yet we now find out that he continued his internet sexual displays long after his resignation and he had to admit as much in a press conference yesterday.  It would appear he has no common sense and no moral qualms and feels as if he is the perfect man to be mayor of the largest city in America.

I have only two questions which I'll pose separately one at a time.

What in the world is wrong with this guy?  I mean, really, a man who can't help but expose himself on the internet to young women definitely has a problem.  Some say he is a sex addict, but I think it is much simpler.  I think he just has no moral foundation and thinks that he is the law unto himself.  He has a moral and ego problem that makes him unfit to serve in any political office and for him to think otherwise shows him to be delusional.

And this brings me to the second question:  Will the people of New York City allow him to be the Mayor?  Well, the city has two weak and unappealing candidates in the Democratic primary, and since the city is clearly one party either he or his opponent will be selected and she has some serious baggage as well.  Based on these factors, I'd say the odds are pretty good that he could be elected.  What a disgrace to New York City which is prepared to replace the food dictator with a man of strange sexual habits.


Many are also making statements about how sad they are for his wife, Huma.  Not so fast on that.  Huma is a pupil of Hillary Clinton, the mistress of the "Stand by your Man" concept, one based not upon love but power. It appears that Huma is a big believer as well and watching her stand by him and publicly comment showed that even she has very few scruples when it comes to her politician husband.

What a sad state of affairs for "The Big Apple".  It just offers another example of how far we have fallen as a moral and upstanding society.  And it tells me one other thing of importance.  For all of you Northeast Liberals who look down your nose at us flyover folks and our simpler lifestyle, I say thank God we have the lifestyle that we have.  I wouldn't trade places with you for anything.  I'll take my simple, down-to-earth lifestyle any day and I know that I am happier for it.

Good luck, New York, and I hope in the future you find a better quality of person to run for office.

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George Zimmerman Stays in the News

7/23/2013

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A small story broke in the last day or two about George Zimmerman.  The man who was acquitted of any criminal charges in the death of Trayvon Martin apparently played the role of Good Samaritan last Thursday in his hometown of Sanford, Florida.  It seems that he came upon an overturned car and assisted the removal of the driver and four passengers along with the help of one other passerby. 

So George Zimmerman, the man being maligned by many around the country without even understanding the basis for the verdict did a good deed for someone he never met.  Sure sounds like he must really be an evil guy, right?

I think this case is instructive of a general trend in America that is not very good.  It shows a lack of knowledge, a lack of understanding, and a lack of common sense and morality.  We who live in a land where a defendant is supposed to be "innocent until proven guilty"  find ourselves instead with an opposite result.  Apparently since Zimmerman was found not guilty, he and his parents have had to go into hiding because of all of the death threats.  Even a lady in the area who has a phone number only one digit off from Zimmerman's is getting dozens and dozens of death threats.  And the President of the United States, a man wo is supposed to represent all of the people and be dispassionate in all of his public utterings has clearly chosen sides with Sharpton and the likes.  Meanwhile his hometown of Chicago is a war zone with children being murdered daily and it completely escapes his attention. This is outrageous behavior and instead of being criticized for it we find the lamestream media enthusiastically endorsing it.

America, it's time to move on.  There is no story here except for a tragedy that was unfortunate and did not violate the law.  And Florida, despite the words of McCain and others who are always looking for a crisis, stand your ground on the "Stand Your Ground" law.  It works, it reduces crime, and it has been proven to be very effective for minorities protecting themselves.  Bet you won't find that statement in the news anywhere?

I pray that Trayvon Martin's family and George Zimmerman's family are both healed over time.  It is time for cooler heads to prevail and stop this madness.  And it's also time for us to focus on the big picture: the travesties being perpetuated on us by a government that is truly out of control and knows no boundaries.  It's time, America, for us to rein her in and make sure that freedom and God lead our thoughts, words and actions.

God bless America and may she return to her roots.
"


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Have America's Leaders Failed Us?

7/22/2013

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Over the last week I have been watching the HBO mini-series The Pacific.  As a follow-up to the Band of Brothers tracking paratroopers from D-Day through the surrender of Germany, The Pacific does the same for three Marines involved in the bloody island fights en route to Tokyo.

Sgt. John Basilone lost his life at Iwo Jima after earlier winning the Congressional Medal of Honor for heroic action at Guadalcanal.  After the award he was sent stateside to be a "living PR machine" for the sale of war bond but became restless and wanted to return to action.  He left behind a new bride of only months.

PFC Robert Leckie from New Jersey served with distinction at Guadalcanal, New Britain (Cape Gloucester) and Peleliu, wounded multiple times and finally sent home for good after injuries at Peleliu.  He became a well respected A.P. writer and married a girl from his neighborhood who never gave him the time of day before she saw him in his dress blues after his return home in 1946.  He also penned a great book about his experiences, A Helmet for My Pillow.

PFC Eugene Sledge, a doctor's son from Mobile, Alabama, rapidly grew from a boy to a man through his experiences.  Serving at Peleliu and Okinawa, he was involved in horrific action as a mortarman.  The impact of war was tough for him to overcome after returning home but he persevered and went on to become a Professor of Biology at the University of Monteballo.  Sledge kept copious notes of his wartime service in a pocket diary and later wrote an autobiography,  The Ballad: The Boys at Peleliu and Okinawa.

Why do I mention these heroes and what do they mean today?  Well, they represent the last group of tough American service members who fought in a war that America truly won.  We've had many brave and great soldiers since who have fought  valiantly since then, many of whom have died or been seriously wounded.  But World War II was the last war where it was clear that America achieved her objective, achieved without apology  but with great personal sacrifice  and loss and sadness for what had to be done.

Since then we've had Korea, Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan with many other lesser fights and skirmishes and I can't really say that we've accomplished much for all our efforts.  Korea has been divided it seems like forever, we lost a war we could have won in Vietnam because of the influence of the press and weak-kneed politicians, and while the jury is technically still out on Iraq and Afghanistan it looks like things are failing there as well.  We can't even seem to properly feed our men and women who are still in harms way.

Meanwhile, for their service in these later causes, many of our veterans can't even get the medical and financial help they need and deserve from a government which has turned its back on them.  It's much busier pandering to those at home who have never sacrificed anything or it is trying to open our doors to illegals who are often treated much better than our veterans.  What a disgrace.

And what does the future hold?  Well, food stamps continue to rise in number, unemployment only looks better if you fudge the numbers which the government does very well, and the strength and fabric of our nation is being ripped apart.  Our military is being weakened and turned into a social experiment and the best experienced leaders, those who are patriots and want to do the right thing, are being cashiered out of the service in record numbers,  replaced by yes men who will do nearly anything for a promotion.

And as for our politicians, they are right in the middle of the cause, from the President right on down to a large number of our elected officials.  They see as their top priority their agenda and their personal accumulation of wealth, power and privilege, no matter what the voters want.  They think they know best when they have displayed that their reasoning is questionable at best and a disaster at worst. 

So what happens when some distant power, think China maybe or even a huge terrorist force directed by Iran, decides America is ripe for the picking and decides to make a move?  Well, our military will no longer have the power to respond effectively, and its personnel will not consist of a fighting force made of up of men like those three brave Marines I discussed at the outset.  And God will sit back and watch for He sees that our leaders no longer respect Him.  No, our military will be in the midst of a social experiment with its members jockeying for position internally while the bombs are incoming.  It will make Pearl Harbor look like a Sunday school picnic.

Is this what we want, America?  We need to think about it and talk honestly.  Kill the political correctness, recognize when war is necessary and how important it is to finish the job if you start it, and get ready.  Face the truth.  Weakness never wins; in fact it guarantees failure.

May God have mercy on us and change our ways.
  And may we always recognize Him is the answer to everything.

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    ABOUT ME

    Hi, I'm James, a writer who studies nature,  animals and all things created by God. I also write from time to time about what I think God expects of us.  I would love to hear your thoughts on these subjects. I hope you enjoy my comments.

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