I Am Thankful For...

Let’s pretend we are sitting at the Thanksgiving table eating turkey (ugh!), stuffing (yum!), and sweet potato pie (double yum!) and we start the “I Am Thankful For…” ritual. I’ll go first.

I Am Thankful For… being born in a country that has been and hopeful will in the future be a beacon of light in a world of darkness. I know it has its warts and short comings but it is the unarguably the best nation in the known universe. I pray that we can keep it so and make it even better.

I Am Thankful For… all of those men and women who have paid the ultimate sacrifice for our Freedom and Liberty that we sometimes take for granted. With the knowledge that as the thieves in the night will take our purses filled with thrash, there are those who would take our God given rights these brave people fought for. I know these robbers would enslave our bodies and minds for their own benefit; but I pray they are not successful and we have the courage and fortitude to fight them all of the way.

I Am Thankful For… our military members who at this moment are in harm’s way and may be called upon to lay down their lives for us as so many have done in the past. I pray that each one understands how much they are honored, respected and loved. I also pray that our leaders know what the hell they are doing and they make the right decisions when employing our troops.

I Am Thankful For… the brains that God gave me and the education my parents gave me. I pray that I will use both to better my family’s life and the world around me. I also pray that each time I have to choose sides I that I have the strength, courage, and fortitude to pick the correct one.

I Am Thankful For… the internet. I know this might sound weird, but it has changed my life and given me opportunities for business, intellectual development, and world-wide communication. I pray we all have the ability to sort through the chaff and find those precious grains of truth scattered through it.

I Am Thankful For… those I love and those who love me. I pray the former know my feelings and that the latter continue their love full well knowing it is a difficult task since I am such a pain-in-the-ass.

I Am Thankful For… each of you reading this and only wish you the best in life. I pray you will find your way, whatever path you are on.

And lastly, I Am Thankful For… for the blessings God grants us each day and the trials and tribulations put in front of us to hone us into the best we each can be. I pray for the strength each day to continue on the path to find the truth, whatever that is.

Eat drink and be Merry for tomorrow is another day and another battle.

Happy Thanksgiving!

The Hammer

You've Got To Be Kidding!

There were 2 events this week that drove me absolutely nuts when I read about them.

First an AP story that began,” The Bush administration, to the consternation of its critics, has picked the medical director of an organization that opposes premarital sex, contraception and abortion to lead the office that oversees federally funded teen pregnancy, family planning and abstinence programs.”

They are referring to the federal Office of Population Affairs which has a budget of 283 million dollars.

Another story this morning stated that one of the first big concerns of the new congress is who will receive federal aid in updating their analog television sets to HD in 2009.

Ok, will someone PLEASE tell me what the hell business is it of the federal government, or any government to be involved in either of these cases?

The first is entirely in the domain of society and no government has the right to influence us in our sex lives. Our families, churches and other social organizations have the right, no the responsibility, to effect changes in this area, if changes are desired, NOT the government.

Why should some of the people have to pay for television viewing for others? Here I am giving the appropriateness of the government being involved with the regulation of the airways a possibility of being a necessary evil, but how can you stretch that into funding for television set adaptors?

This is totally mind boggling to me and two specific examples of government bureaucracy run amok.

The Hammer

Neo-Cons VS Neo-Libs: A Few Definitions

I try very hard to have all of my opinions based on the ideas that we must have as small as possible government at all levels, that every person (or company) is responsible and accountable for their actions, and a true conservative would never utter the words “there ought to be a law”, unless it was absolutely proven to be necessary.

Keeping this is mind, I set forth a few working definitions for terms I’ll be using in future writings.

Conservative (classic definition): One who believes in small fiscally responsible government, especially limited at the Federal level to defense and necessary infrastructure, and is socially concerned, with answers for those concerns coming from the private sector. Examples are: Barry Goldwater, William F. Buckley, Ronald Reagan, & JFK (surprised?).

Liberal (classic definition): One who believes that government has all of the answers both politically and socially. One who wants to expand government at all levels. Examples: FDR, LBJ, Hubert Humphrey, & RFK (though he had many instances of conservative thought).

Moderate (Middle of the Road): One who is afraid to take a stand on issues, and usually resides in the middle of the road with the carcasses of the dead animals. Examples: None Living.

Neo-Conservative (Neo-Con): One who believes that his/her “Conservative” ideas are correct for everyone and wants the government to exist to make the people conform to these ideas through legislation, and therefore insists on big government to insure this. Pretends to be socially concerned. Examples: George Bush I, George Bush II, Ashcroft, and the Extreme Right.

Neo-Liberal (Neo-Lib): One who believes that his/her “Liberal” ideas are correct for everyone and wants the government to exist to make the people conform to these ideas through legislation, and therefore insists on big government to insure this. Pretends to be socially concerned. Examples; Pelosi, Murtha, Clinton I, Clinton II, and the Extreme Left.

Neo-Moderate (Neo-Mod): Still dead in the middle of the road, and as yet does not realize it.

As you can see the difference between the Neo-Cons and the Neo-Libs is how they insist we should live our lives.

The Classic Liberals are now considered Conservatives by the Neo-Libs, and the Classic Conservatives are considered Liberals by the Neo-Cons.

What a screwy world we live in, and we had better start correcting things ASAP. Obviously being a classic conservative I believe in the right for people to chose their on lives, spend their own money, and make their own decisions.

Speaking of politics and life, keep the facts, not the faith.

The Hammer

English, A National Language? A Resounding Yes!

Yesterday Taneytown, Maryland voted to make English its official language. As you might expect the hue and cry was heard immediately. The applause and boos were probably in equal numbers.

Here is my take on it.

I believe that English should be the official language of the nation, and that all business, contracts, and any documents that need to be recorded should be in English. Anything that will be used in a court of law or in any government program, investigation, or other bit of daily legal business should be in that language. It should be known and recognized as our language, period.

Here’s why.

You simply can not grow, prosperous and be self-sufficient without knowing English. Immigrants in the past knew this and made every effort to learn it themselves and demanded their children know it. In some cases they went too far when they refused to teach their children their native tongue.

I also believe everyone should know at least a second language if not more. It should be a requirement to graduate. Oops, I forgot, students don’t even have to know English (or geography, history, art, music, and on) to get out of school.

Why am I so hard on this? Am I a racist or anti-multi-cultural; racist no, anti-multicultural, yes, at least in the accepted definition of it. It worries me that cultures are corrupted and sometimes lost because of the influence of our culture in the world and I believe that every effort should be made to keep the many beautiful ones that exist. It saddens me when they are affected as much as they are by our media and cultural expansion.

However, if someone is living in the U.S. and wants to make a good life for themselves and be a productive member of society, they have to know the language, or they are stuck in their own little communities. This leads to the Balkanization and trouble. I will say more about this at another time.

Whether they know it or not (and I truly believe they know it), the force of the Neo-Libs’ interference with this multicultural, multilingual BS is strictly for votes and culminates in the development of a third class citizenry. The end result is control and loss of freedom for a significant part of our populace. In my mind it is criminal, a crime disguised as compassion.

The Hammer

A Goldwater Conservative in a New World

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Yes, I am an unabashed Goldwater conservative. Unlike most Republicans, I have never veered from that path. I was a One World give everybody everything liberal until I read Barry's book in the early sixties. I had to rethink my whole outlook on life in the political and social realms.

Unlike today's neo-cons, we feel that small, fiscally responsible government is an ideal. The federal government has little or no business being in any area other than defense, international relations, and maybe the fringes of interstate commerce such as infrastructure. Remember, government jobs by their nature and definition are totally non-productive and therefore a drain on our economy and society.

The feds have absolutely no jurisdiction in housing, education, or health.
No where in the constitution does it say the feds belong in our bedrooms or doctor's offices.

This brings me the social aspects of being a conservative. We are our "brother's keeper" no matter what those brothers (or sisters) look like, where they live, what sexual orientation they have, or what other classification is enjoined. In my opinion, it simply means it is none of the federal government's business to interfere with our lives; nor is it any business of state or local government if it means regulating those lives.

Examples of this are:

1. Abortion is a matter between a woman, her husband (the father), her doctor, and their God. It is no one else's concern, most especially government. If churches or other organizations want to promote alternatives in a peaceful and unthreatening manner, fine.

2. Marriage is an artificial construct of past governments under the influence of religion. If two (or more) people want to establish a formal arrangement between them, they should have our blessing, and should not be penalized in any social contract or government area such as taxes.

3. Taxes should be fair and not used to adjust and affect social concerns, such as housing credits, family sizes, etc. The fairest forms of taxes are user, consumer, and flat taxes
   

4. In summary, no conservative would ever utter the horrid words, "there ought to be a law!"

In the current election, the proof is that the extremist liberals on the right were sent home. Republicans forgot who they were and from whence they came. They promised enlightenment and change with the Compact of 1994 but that was lost long before it could be implemented. Good riddance as far as I'm concerned.

Later in life, Goldwater said there would be no place in the Republican Party for us; that the party would consider us liberal. He was right, and that has to change or the party will be relegated to the bone heaps of history as the Democratic Party has been. This election was not a victory for them, but a loss for the Republicans. Things have to change and we have to change them.

The Hammer

Election 2006: Who Lost?

The Republicans certainly were not the losers, though they did lose big and deservedly so. Who were the losers? We were of course. We always are.

The elephants were run out of the pasture because they forgot who they are. They cut taxes which was the proper move, bringing billions more into the treasurer, but the spent the money and grew government like drunken Democrats. Good riddance.

The war in Iraq: we were right to step onto the world stage again, but only if we were going to be serious. Wasn’t a half-hearted, no quarter-hearted, attempt sufficient in Vietnam? Why throw our soldiers lives away if we don’t want to win. You need twice as many men and women involved as we have now. If we can’t recruit enough, or draft enough, hire them somewhere else.

We obviously need a much larger military then at present, because there is a lot more to do, say Korea? Darfur? Syria? Lebanon? That list is going to get longer and we can’t run and hide like the Dems want to. We are the big kid on the block and we can’t let the bullies run amok.

Speaking of the Democrats, they did not win, the Republicans lost. If the Reps lost because they forgot who they, do not forgot for a minute the asses (word for donkeys) forgot who they are. They are basically run by the lunatic left: Pelosi, Dean, Clinton, and so on.

Additionally, the lunatic right has so much control over the Republicans that liberals like Bush only have to say “Praise Jesus” and they get their votes.

So we are the big losers. We go from having liberal weak-kneed Republicans running the show to liberal soft-headed Democrats running it.

Since I’m certainly not a crazy right-wing kind of guy, I can honestly say,” God help us!”

The Hammer