A Texas Good-bye

I told you all that I would still post here. I found this absolutely worth sharing.

I have researched this as it sounds unbelievable. All information I can find indicates that it's true. Chris Kyle is a hero to many but particularly in his home state of Texas. Some of those with whom he served know they are alive today because of Kyle's dedication to duty.

I didn't write it. It came to me in an e-mail from my father-in-law, a fellow Texan. At this time the author is unknown. I wish I had written it but honestly - besides the fact that the funeral was held in Cowboys' Stadium and the long procession to Austin drew thousands of supporters, I had no idea about the generosity of Kyle's fellow Texans nor the prestigious visitors that would call on Chris' wife, Taya, her family, and the gathered Navy SEALs. God bless them all and God bless Texas.


A Texas Good-bye

I just wanted to share with you all that out of a horrible tragedy we were blessed by so many people. Chris was Derek's teammate through 10 years of training and battle. They both suffer/suffered from PTSD to some extent and took great care of each other because of it. 2006 in Ramadi was horrible for young men that never had any more aggressive physical contact with another human than on a Texas football field.

They lost many friends. Chris became the armed services number #1 sniper of all time. Not something he was happy about, other than the fact that in so doing, he saved a lot of American lives. Three years ago, his wife Taya asked him to leave the SEAL teams as he had a huge bounty on his head by Al Qaeda. He did and wrote the book "The American Sniper." 100% of the proceeds from the book went to two of the SEAL families who had lost their sons in Iraq . That was the guy Chris was. He formed a company in Dallas to train military, police and I think firemen as far as protecting themselves in difficult situations. He also formed a foundation to work with military people suffering
from PTSD. Chris was a giver not a taker.

He along with a friend and neighbor, Chad Littlefield, were murdered trying to help a young man that had served six months in Iraq and claiming to have PTSD.

Now I need to tell you about all of the blessings.

Southwest Airlines flew in any SEAL and their family from any airport they flew into free of charge. The employees donated buddy passes and one lady worked for four days without much of a break to see that it happened. Volunteers were at both airports in Dallas to drive them to the hotel.

The Marriott Hotel reduced their rates to $45 a night and cleared the hotel for only SEALs and family. The Midlothian , TX. Police Department paid the $45 a night for each room. I would guess there were about 200 people staying at the hotel, 100 of them SEALs. Two large buses were chartered (an unknown donor paid the bill) to transport people to the different events and they also had a few rental cars (donated). The police and secret service were on duty 24 hours during the stay at our hotel.

At the house the Texas DPS parked a large motor home in front to block the view from reporters. It remained there the entire five days for the SEALs to congregate in and all to use the restroom so as not to have to go in the house. Taya, their two small children and both sets of parents were staying in the home. Only a hand full of SEALs went into the home as they had different duties and meetings were held sometimes on a hourly basis. It was a huge coordination of many different events and security. Derek was assigned to be a pall bearer, to escort Chris' body when it was transferred from Midlothian Funeral Home to Arlington Funeral Home and to be with Taya. A tough job.

Taya seldom came out of her bedroom. The home was full with people from the church and other family members that would come each day to help. I spent one morning in a bedroom with Chris' mom and the next morning with Chad Littlefield's parents (the other man murdered with Chris). A tough job.

George W Bush and his wife Laura met and talked to everyone. The Seal Team one on one. They went behind closed doors with Taya for quite a while. They had prayer with us all. You can tell when people were sincere and caring

Nolan Ryan sent his cooking team, a huge grill and lots of steaks, chicken and hamburgers. They set up in the front yard and fed people all day long including the 200 SEALs and their families. The next day a local BBQ restaurant set up a buffet in front of the house and fed all once again. Food was plentiful and all were taken care of. The family's church kept those inside the house well fed.

Jerry Jones, the man everyone loves to hate, was a rock star. He made sure that we all were taken care of. His wife and he were just making sure everyone was taken care of....Class... He donated use of Cowboy Stadium for the services as it was determined that so many wanted to attend. The charter buses transported us to the stadium on Monday at 10:30 am. Every car, bus, motorcycle was searched with bomb dogs and police. I am not sure if kooks were making threats trying to make a name for themselves or if so many SEALs in one place was a security risk, I don't know. We willingly obliged. No purses into the stadium!

We were taken to The Legends room high up and a large buffet was available. That was for about 300 people. We were growing.

A Medal of Honor recipient was there, lots of secret service and police and Sarah Palin and her husband. She looked nice, this was a very formal military service.

The service started at 1:00 pm and when we were escorted onto the field I was shocked. We heard that about 10,000 people had come to attend also. They were seated in the stadium seats behind us. It was a beautiful and emotional service.

Bagpipe and drum corps were wonderful and the A&M mens' choir stood through the entire service and sang right at the end. We were all in tears.

The next day was the 200-mile procession from Midlothian , TX to Austin for burial. It was a cold, drizzly, windy day, but the people were out. We had dozens of police motorcycles riders, freedom riders five chartered buses and lots of cars. You had to have a pass to be in the procession and still it was huge. Two helicopters circled the procession with snipers sitting out the side door for protection. It was the longest funeral procession ever in the state of Texas . People were everywhere. The entire route was shut down ahead of us, the people were lined up on the side of the road the entire way. Firemen down on one knee, police officers holding their hats over their hearts, children waving flags, veterans saluting as we went by.

Every bridge had fire trucks with large flags displayed from their tall ladders, people all along the entire 200 miles standing in the cold weather. It was so heartwarming.

Taya rode in the hearse with Chris' body so Derek rode the route with us. I was so grateful to have that time with him.

The service was at Texas National Cemetery. Very few are buried there and you have to apply to get in. It is people from Civil War, Medal of Honor winners, a few from the Alamo and all the historical people of Texas.

It was a nice service and the Freedom Riders surrounded the outside of the entire cemetery to keep the crazy church people from Kansas that protest at military funerals away from us.

Each SEAL put his Trident (metal SEAL badge) on the top of Chris' casket one at a time. A lot hit it in with one blow. Derek was the only one to take four taps to put his in and it was almost like he was caressing it as he did it. Another tearful moment.

After the service Governor Rick Perry and his wife, Anita, invited us to the governor's mansion. She stood at the door and greeted each of us individually and gave each of the SEALs a coin of Texas (she was a sincere, compassionate, and gracious hostess). We were able to tour the ground floor and then went into the garden for beverages and BBQ. So many of the team guys said that after they get out they are moving to Texas . They remarked that they had never felt so much love and hospitality. The charter buses then took the guys to the airport to catch their returning flights. 

Derek just now called and after a 20 hours flight he is back in his spot, in a dangerous land on the other side of the world, protecting America.

To my knowledge, President Obama has never acknowledged Chris Kyle's death nor his service to the United States of America. He sent no representative(s) to the funeral. He did, however, send representatives to the funerals of Michael Brown and Freddie Gray - two men who didn't really contribute much to society. During his State of the Union Address in 2014, President Obama acknowledged victims of gun violence such as Trayvon Martin and Hadiya Pendleton, the teenage girl in Chicago who was killed by a stray bullet just weeks after being a part of Obama's inauguration celebration. He calls celebrity sports stars and praises them as heroes for coming out of the closet - even praising them on national television. Yet he never once called Taya Kyle to offer condolences and thank her for her family's contributions to our national security.

And some people wonder why a guy like me has little respect for our Commander-in-Chief.

My Blog Is About To Change...

I didn't want to say anything until it was official but my blog is about to change. And by changing I mean it will be used less frequently.

Last week, at the suggestion of my friend Ron Rose, I submitted one of my blog posts to theFederalistPapers.org - a conservative news page. They not only accepted my submission for publication but yesterday I signed a contract to be one of their writers! I have been hoping and trying to get my stuff published somewhere and finally it has happened.

I will still write articles for my blog but most of my writing will now be done for the web page. I have published 1062 articles here since October of 2010 and have accumulated over 73,000 page views. Writing for theFederalistPapers.org I will (hopefully) gain a much larger audience and have a wide variety of topics to write about.

I thank all of you who read my stuff and for the comments and encouragement you have provided along the way. I will keep posting here but my posts will be more human interest stuff and far less politics. And since I have submitted my first article to the web page (waiting for it to be reviewed and published) you will soon be able to follow me there, if you're interested.


http://www.thefederalistpapers.org/


Thanks again!

Rattlesnake Logic

I got this the other day as an e-mail and found it interesting. It's been around before – I've read it before. But with things going the way they are these days I found it more pertinent than ever. I wish I'd written it but I can't take credit for it.


As long as we insist on maintaining the "moral high ground" we will never win the war on terrorism. we're in a conflict in which we insist on playing by the rules against a maniacal group who have no rules.

It's time for some rattlesnake logic....

After the Boston bombing the news media spent days and weeks trying to determine why these men did what they did. They want to know what America did(!) to make these brothers so angry with us. They want to know why these men were not arrested before they did something so terrible. The media is in a tizzy about this new era of homegrown radicals and about why and how they can live among us and still hate us.

A friend of mine here in Texas explained it all to me: “Here in West Texas, I have rattlesnakes on my place, living among us. I have killed a rattlesnake on the front porch. I have killed a rattlesnake on the back porch. I have killed rattlesnakes in the barn, in the shop and on the driveway. In fact, I kill every rattlesnake I encounter. Most of the time they warn me they are around.

“I kill rattlesnakes because I know a rattlesnake will bite me and inject me with poison. I don’t stop to wonder why a rattlesnake will bite me; I know it will bite me because it's a rattlesnake and that's what rattlesnakes do. I don’t try to reason with a rattlesnake or have a "meaningful dialogue" with it…I just kill it. I don’t try to get to know the rattlesnake better so I can find a way to live with the rattlesnakes and convince them not to bite me. I just kill them. I don’t quiz a rattlesnake to see if I can find out where the other snakes are, because (a) it won’t tell me and (b) I already know they live on my place. So, I just kill the rattlesnake and move on to the next one.

“I don’t look for ways I might be able to change the rattlesnake to a non-poisonous rat snake...I just kill it. Oh, and on occasion, I accidentally kill a rat snake because I thought it was a rattlesnake at the time. Also, I know for every rattlesnake I kill, two more are lurking out there in the brush. In my lifetime I will never be able to rid my place of rattlesnakes.

“Do I fear them? Not really. Do I respect what they can do to me and my family? Yes!! And because of that respect, I give them the fair justice they deserve....I kill them...As a country, we should start giving more thought to the fact that these jihadists' are warning the world their goal is to kill Americans and destroy our way of life. They have just posted two graphic videos on the internet showing them beheading Americans. They are serious. They are exactly like rattlesnakes. It is high time for us to start acting accordingly!”

I love this country. It's the government I'm afraid of! Look who's new in the White House!

Arif Alikhan, Assistant Secretary for Policy Development for the U.S.Department of Homeland Security, Mohammed Elibiary, Homeland Security Adviser, Rashad Hussain, Special Envoy to the Organization of the Islamic Conference(OIC), Salam al-Marayati, Obama Adviser and founder of the Muslim Public Affairs Council and is its current executive director, Imam Mohamed Magid, Obama's Sharia Czar from the Islamic Society of North America, Eboo Patel, Advisory Council on Faith-Based Neighborhood Partnerships.

I couldn't have said it better myself. America needs to wake up and understand what Islam is about - before it's too late. Political correctness will be the death of the United States. If you think Islam can't be a problem here in America take a good look at Great Britain. They didn't believe it either. Now they have this:

One Consequence In McKinney, Texas

McKinney, Texas, police Corporal, Eric Casebolt, responded to a call of trespassing and fighting at a private neighborhood swimming pool last week. When he arrived he found chaos. A group of teenagers, mostly black, were running around, ignoring police instructions to either leave the area or sit down until the officers could investigate what exactly was going on. Officer Casebolt's actions with a 15 year old girl who refused to leave and resisted attempts to detain her resulted in him resigning from his job. But was that a good thing?

Casebolt himself, speaking through his attorney, said he let his emotions get the better of him. But what caused that to happen?

According to his attorney, Eric Casebolt, a 10 year veteran of the department, began his shift by responding to a suicide call. A man had just shot himself and Casebolt had to attempt to console the grieving widow. He also had to assist in photographing the body. I have no idea what condition the body was in, as in where the man shot himself, but chances are it wasn't a pretty sight. And if you don't see things like that on a regular basis it can greatly affect you.

Casebolt's second call of the day was to a home where a young teenage girl was on the roof of her parents' home threatening to jump. Casebolt was able to talk to the girl and calm her down, thus preventing her from jumping and helping her down from the roof. No one knows whether or not she would have jumped but Casebolt quite possibly saved her life.

Then he responded to a mob situation where he encountered a belligerent teenage girl, whom he ended up wrestling to the ground. He drew his service weapon when to boys ran up on him (while he was on the ground with the girl) - one of whom put his hand behind his back as they approached Casebolt.

A short video of those two things, a mere 1/5th of the entire incident, ended up on the national news and Casebolt is not only out of a job, he's in hiding with his family due to death threats. One black actor, a man by the name of Dennis L.A. White, took to Twitter to launch a threat against Casebolt.

“We have associates looking for #EricCasebolt family,” his first tweet read. He followed up with “What if we found Eric Casebolt’s family and beat up the young girls in it?” after which he made this menacing statement: “If you live in McKinney, find his family.”

Really? Find his family? Has America really sunk that low - Hollywood actors calling for the family of a police officer to be attacked because of an incident that the black residents of the neighborhood have all said had nothing to do with race? And if Casebolt's family is found and assaulted or terrorized will Mr. White (an unfortunate name for him, I'm sure) be held responsible? 

The sad consequence of this incident is that an experienced officer, who likely saved a life that very day, won't be there to save another one because of one short and isolated incident. Like Darren Wilson, Casebolt really did nothing wrong yet he had to resign his position and go into hiding because some black citizens decided he needs to die for his actions. 

Is it any wonder that police across the nation are somewhat afraid of being proactive in their fight against crime when cops are being prosecuted, threatened and forced to resign even when they do the right thing?

We'll never know if a future life in McKinney could have been saved by Eric Casebolt. But I have no doubt one could have been if it wasn't for the hatred some people have for white police officers today. And we don't have to look very far to determine the reason for that.

The Latest Craze In Political Correctness

There is a new twist in the effort to make everyone politically correct so that no one ever feels any negative feelings about anything, ever. OK - it's not really new but it is making a strong comeback lately. I call it the latest craze because that's what it is - a bit crazy.

I'm talking, of course, about "micro aggression," defined as "the everyday verbal, nonverbal, and environmental slights, snubs, or insults, whether intentional or unintentional, which communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative messages to target persons based solely upon their marginalized group membership."

That's a lot of words to say that micro aggression is pretty much anything and everything you do or say that might offend someone in some way. There are examples below that I found in several articles. Rather than micro aggression, most of them I would chalk up to human ignorance. But see - the people pushing micro aggression say you can do it without even knowing you're doing it. That way they can include nearly everyone - although most of the examples given seem to be whites being aggressive on minorities.

Here are just a few of the examples given in a chart.

Examples of Racial Microaggressions

"When Asian Americans and Latino Americans are assumed to be foreign-born “Where are you from?” “Where were you born?” “You speak good English.” A person asking an Asian American to teach them words in their native language."

The message this is supposedly sending is "You are not American You are a foreigner."

What it says to me: "That person is ignorant of the real world and the diversity of our nation."

Assigning intelligence to a person of color on the basis of their race. '“You are a credit to your race.” “You are so articulate.” Asking an Asian person to help with a Math or Science problem."'

What they are supposedly saying: "People of color are generally not as intelligent as Whites. It is unusual for someone of your race to be intelligent. All Asians are intelligent and good in Math / Sciences."

What it says to me: "The first person is a racist who believes, for whatever reason, that black people have an inferior intellect just because they're black. Again - stupidity. Perhaps he/she should meet Ben Carson or the President of the United States. And while Asians are statistically more successful in school, including math, than the average white American - it's mostly because they have a determination instilled in them through their family values, which is far more common in Asians than in white families in the US. And that's a good thing for them - not so much for us white folks."

To me it seems a complement to a person to automatically believe they ares more intelligent than you (in a particular subject or in general) rather than aggressive. But that's me.

 Color Blindness Statements that indicate that a White person does not want to acknowledge race:

“When I look at you, I don’t see color.” “America is a melting pot.” “There is only one race, the human race.”

What is supposedly means: Denying a person of color’s racial / ethnic experiences. Assimilate / acculturate to the dominant culture. Denying the individual as a racial / cultural being.

What it means to me: While saying it out loud may be a little ridiculous, there are people who really can get past the color barrier in a relationship. One of the best compliments I ever got was from a woman I was seeing years ago. An old friend of mine was in town and I invited him over for dinner. We had an enjoyable evening and after he left she said to me "You didn't tell me he was black." I was somewhat surprised and my answer was "It never occurred to me." John and I had been friends for nearly 10 years. Back then we worked together. We went to the gym together. Our boys had played together as kids and we socialized in each other's homes on a regular basis. There was no color barrier between us and, as such, I never had in inclination to tell anyone he was black. It wasn't important.

The old saying "There is only one race - the human race," is a wonderful concept. Would that we could all feel that way. But we live in a country where we've gone from "melting pot" of assimilation to a country that promotes division by magnifying race, color, nationality, sexual orientation, etc., and then attempting for force people to accept and embrace anything and everything. We have become hyphenated Americans. We have become LGBT Americans and if you're not LGBT or don't embrace LGBT then you are a bigot and a homophobe. At least - so says the politically correct crowd.

Criminality – assumption of criminal status A person of color is presumed to be dangerous, criminal, or deviant on the basis of their race. A White man or woman clutching their purse or checking their wallet as a Black or Latino approaches or passes. A store owner following a customer of color around the store. A White person waits to ride the next elevator when a person of color is on it.

What it supposedly means: "You are a criminal. You are going to steal / You are poor / You do not belong / You are dangerous."

This one is difficult to get around because many people who are not black or Latino do feel this way. And whether or not it's fair, much of it can be explained by every day occurrences. Black crime in the United States is off the chart - particularly in the inner cities. The black murder rate is exponentially high. According to FBI statistics, blacks assault and/or kill whites at a higher rate than the other way around. Gang activity is high among both blacks and Latinos, again - mostly in the inner cities. So yeah, I think it's understandable to a point. News media is all about sensationalism.

Denial of individual racism A statement made when Whites deny their racial biases “I’m not a racist. I have several Black friends.” “As a woman, I know what you go through as a racial minority.” 

What it supposedly means: "I am immune to races because I have friends of color. Your racial oppression is no different than my gender oppression. I can’t be a racist. I’m like you." 

What it means to me: I think there is far too much emphasis on our differences in today's society. As I said above - we are supposed to be a melting pot. A melting pot, by definition, is a pot in which various metals melt down and combine into one. Can you imagine what the tensile strength of steel would be if the metals didn't actually combine and instead maintained their separate qualities? It wouldn't be as strong nor as reliable. It would break apart with increased pressure and tension. And I believe that's where we're headed as a country because of political correctness.

Here's one of my favorites: Statements which assert that race does not play a role in life successes “I believe the most qualified person should get the job.” “Everyone can succeed in this society, if they work hard enough.” 

What it supposedly means: "People of color are given extra unfair benefits because of their race. People of color are lazy and / or incompetent and need to work harder."

What it means to me: The job should go to the most qualified person regardless of race, color, ethnicity. That's how a free market society works. You get educated and you work hard to become qualified for the position on your application. Why should the job go to someone less qualified - to meet a quota? That's simple, ridiculous, political correctness.

As for the second sentence - there are people who feel that way. But that's just stupid bigotry, nothing more. Dr. Ben Carson and Oprah Winfrey have proved, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that people of color can make it big if they work hard. You don't get to be a neurosurgeon without hard work. And Oprah certainly didn't have anything handed to her.

I could go on. There are many different "micro aggressions" listed. Some are race based, some are gender based and some are sexually based. And I'm sure there are thousands of them pertaining to any and all other differences that people have. The point is that most of these micro aggressions are simple ignorance and not meant to be aggressive or insulting in any manner.

America is turning into a nation of pantywaists (that's probably a micro aggressive word in and of itself) these days. Everyone is so sensitive that they're offended and get their feelings hurt by anything and everything. You can't disagree with a person's lifestyle or or their preferences or even the things they do because you're labeled by the PC police as a bigot or a hater or some other ridiculous label. When the reality is that you're human and you make mistakes. And you don't spend every hour of every day planning your speech and/or your actions so that nothing you say or do will in any way offend anyone at any time.

Who lives their lives like that? Wait - I know...  the PC police!

Trying to please everyone all the time, or trying to keep from offending anyone all the time, is crazy. People are human. They get offended. They get over it and life goes on. Kids today are being taught that they have the right not to ever be offended by anyone. Maybe not in so many words but that's the message society is putting out.

Those of you my age - remember back when you were kids and you got into fights, verbal and even physical fights, with your friends and as soon as it was over you forgot about it and were friends again? Remember when your Little League or Pee Wee team lost and you actually had to congratulate the team that beat you? Remember when you lost and you didn't get a trophy and it just made you work harder the next year to win?

Well - no longer. These days losing is harmful to a child's inner well being and cannot be allowed - lest he or she learn that sometimes the real world hurts. And these kids will one day be running things. I wonder who they're going to run crying to the first time they actually have to face a painful experience...?

The Obama Legacy... Turning Everything Into Racism

I'm watching the news this week and once again there are racist, white cops abusing poor, innocent black people, this time teenagers who were just trying to go for a swim and have a good time. They were simply minding their own business and were doing nothing wrong when the McKinney PD showed up on a mission to pick on black kids....

Or so black activists and the main stream media (basically one in the same) would have you believe. But what's really true?

On Friday evening in a housing development in McKinney, Texas, a small group of high school graduates hosted a party for their neighbors and some invited guests at their private (HOA owned) neighborhood swimming pool. It is unknown right now how many kids were invited but the HOA rules limit guests to 2 per family.

They apparently hired a DJ who, once he was there, began sending out notices on Twitter inviting people to come to the party for $15 each. He had no authority to do that (and I hope the Homeowner's Association sues him for it.) Kids who were not properly invited began arriving and when they were refused entry they began climbing over the fence. Arguments ensued, the security staff was allegedly assaulted, and at least one fight broke out between white and black.

Police were called to the scene. (They didn't just show up - they were called.) As they tried to learn the truth about what was going on they attempted to get the mob of kids to sit down while they investigated the situation. Many refused. Some began running, others began yelling at the police. When they refused to sit down and cooperate at least one officer began physically putting them on the ground.

One young lady, seen in the video wandering in and around the scene, was told at least three times by the officer to leave the area. Twice she began walking away then returned. The last time he told her to leave he was very aggressive, yelling and using profanity. The girl started to walk away again then stopped, turned around and began yelling at the officer. It appears that the officer had had enough and he decided to detain her. When he grabbed her arm the girl, like Eric Garner in New York, tried to pull away from him. That action constituted resisting, which gave him the right to use force if necessary. (When you resist a police officer you invite the use of force.)

The officer put the girl on the ground and instructed her to stay put. She kept trying to get up, by now calling for her mother. The officer kept telling her to stay down.

During the ensuing struggle two young men ran up on the officer from his right side. The video clearly shows that the one on the left, closest to the officer, in the blue t-shirt, put his left hand behind his back for a moment just as he neared the officer. The video also shows the officer noticing that. That's when he released the girl, stood up and drew his weapon - obviously fearing for his safety.

The picture from the video is fuzzy but you can see the kid's left hand almost behind his back. It actually got there.

Both of them turned and retreated - the one in the blue shirt running away around the corner. The officer never once pointed his weapon at anyone and kept it pointed at the ground the entire time. But his actions of drawing the weapon served its purpose - the two would-be attackers retreated and were no longer a threat of any kind.

Now the BlackLivesMatter activists are organizing protests in the neighborhood and the New Black Panthers have arrived on the scene. (They actually beat Sharpton there. Sharpton is slipping.) And it's being reported that some protesters and their young children are burning American flags.

I don't really understand why the BlackLivesMatter folks are protesting since no one was killed. And since at least one of the people who called the police was black - it seems he felt that his neighborhood mattered more than

Residents of the neighborhood, both white and black, are reporting death threats being made against those who support the actions of the police. That's the problem with black activists who want to make everything about racism. They decry violence against them by advocating violence against others.

This incident was a case of unruly kids being where they weren't supposed to be and refusing to follow the instructions of adult residents of the neighborhood, security officials and police. But in Obama's America, where even the President himself vilifies the police as bullies and racists, it has become normal and almost acceptable to challenge the police then blame the police for whatever happens. In Obama's America, where even the President and his wife get on international TV and talk about how bad they have it because they're black, racial animosity in the country has grown by leaps and bounds.

In Obama's America you now have black law enforcement officers turning against white law enforcement officers. You have black college students challenging others to walk on the American flag. And you have people screaming about how black lives matter even as they ignore the black genocide that is going on in our major cities.

This is Obama's legacy. The "great uniter" will be remembered in history as setting race relations back five decades in only 8 years. Yet some will still praise him.

Does Changing Identities Absolve Your Past Problems?

I heard that question presented last night on a show I was watching. But what's the answer?

As most of you know, Bruce Soon To Be Caitlin Jenner has been in the news quite a bit lately. Not only because of the Kardashians' TV show and his divorce from Chris Jenner, but on February 7th he rear ended a vehicle on the Pacific Coast Highway and caused it to strike another vehicle before heading into the oncoming lane, where it was struck head on. The female driver of the car Jenner hit died.

Of course, the big news recently was Jenner's "coming out" as a candidate for transgender surgery - wanting to live the remainder of his life as a woman called Caitlin. He has been on the news daily since then, praised by the left for his courage and ridiculed by the right as just another attention seeker.

The question I heard last night was "If Bruce Jenner has his gender reassignment surgery before he goes to court for the wrongful death lawsuit filed by the family of the dead woman (Jenner was not charged by the police) can his lawyer simply say "Your honor - my client was not involved in the accident. That was Bruce,"?

Sounds kinda far fetched, huh? But in today's society where morals are nearly non-existent, where one can change their entire identity with a few surgeries, and where liberal courts legislate from the bench - would it really be surprising to hear it as a defense? I'm not so sure.


In other news - police in McKinney, Texas, were called to a neighborhood on Friday when a group of teenagers crashed a pool party in a neighborhood not their own, allegedly assaulted a security guard and started at least one fight. When police were called to the scene the teenagers were very uncooperative and, as the lone officer attempted to apprehend a female participant, two males ran up on him, causing him to fear for his safety and draw his firearm. (It worked. The two boys ran the other way.)

Many of the teenagers and "Black Lives Matter" advocates are saying the police office overreacted and that he was out of line - completely dismissing the actions of the teenagers. The indication was that these teenagers were harmless (because they're teenagers) and the officer had no reason to draw his weapon. In reality, teenagers injure and kill people all the time. Had the teenagers not been where they didn't belong there would have been no reason to call the police. And when the police responded, had the teenagers done as instructed instead of refusing the orders of the officer no one would have been forced to the ground and/or detained.

Of course, we all know the main stream media is very good at turning things into racial incidents, as they did in the Trayvon Martin case. Benet Embry, a black man who lives in the neighborhood where this incident too place, took to Facebook about what happened. “Look, I LIVE in this community and this ENTIRE incident is NOT racial at all,” Embry's post said. “A few THUGS spoiled a COMMUNITY event by fighting, jumping over fences into a PRIVATE pool, harassing and damaging property. Not EVERYTHING is about RACE. WE have other issues that NEED our attention other flights of made up make believe causes.”

Embry was also critical of the media in a second post about the incident. “I’ve never seen such irresponsible reporting and miss management of media resources in my life,” he said.

The Black Lives Matter activists jump on these stories and seem to think that black Americans should no longer be held accountable for their own actions and that any run-ins they have with the police are the fault of the police. This has been perpetuated by President Obama and the Holder Justice Department since the Professor Gates incident in Cambridge, Massachusetts, following which President Obama weighed in with his now infamous (and ridiculous) statement "I don’t know – not having been there and not seeing all the facts – what role race played in that, but I think it’s fair to say, number one, any of us would be pretty angry; number two that the Cambridge police acted stupidly..."

No, Mr. President, it wasn't fair to say for precisely the reason you stated first. You weren't there and didn't have all the facts.

Obama also involved himself and his Justice Department in the Trayvon Martin case (which didn't involve a police shooting), in the Ferguson case and every other case involving a dead, unarmed, black suspect and white cops. The details of the incident don't matter. The only thing that matters is that a black person is dead and a white cop was on the scene. (In the Baltimore there were actually (surprisingly) three black officers arrested and charged in addition to three whites but that case may be falling apart.)

The officer who pulled his gun Friday has been suspended pending an investigation. Is it any wonder that police in places like Baltimore and New York City have slowed down in the performance of their duties and stopped being proactive? Why should they put themselves in a position to be suspended, arrested, and prosecuted because of the irresponsible actions of others? You can bet one thing - if the police hadn't responded to this situation on Friday the neighborhood would be filing complaints against them for not taking action.

They're screwed either way, it seems. Thanks, Obama.

When Those On The Right Prove They're No Better Than The Left

I'm truly saddened by some of the comments I've seen from Republicans and conservatives (not always the same thing), who call themselves Christians, concerning the death Vice President Joe Biden's son. Because of Biden's politics some of these people are saying they have no sympathy for him.

Really?

I don't like Biden much. Aside from his humorous gaffs he's mostly useless in Washington. He says some pretty stupid and outrageous things at times, making those of us on the right laugh, cringe and sometimes just shake our heads in sadness. But he's a father who loves his children. And while the saying "No parent should ever have to bury a child" is a great wish - the truth is that it happens all too frequently. And in Mr. Biden's case this is the second time he has had to do it.

Biden lost his first wife and his one year old daughter in a traffic accident in 1972, just a few weeks after he was elected to the Senate. His two sons, Beau and Hunter, were both injured but survived. To lose Beau now has to be devastating. And regardless of politics Mr. Biden deserves our sympathy and our prayers. As a parent I can't imagine not offering both.

One person wrote on Facebook yesterday: "I can neither have nor extend sympathy for a person who suffers what he and his associates have caused to so many others and never once lamented or ceased to cause!"

First of all - unless he's psychic the person who wrote that has no idea what Joe Biden feels in his heart. Second - Biden is a liberal politician. He does what all liberal politicians do. Are you really going to hate him to the point where you have no sympathy at all for a man who has lost a child? What kind of person does that make you?

The Bible says we are to love our enemies. Doesn't a willful lack of sympathy for someone grieving their child make one as cold-hearted as those they criticize?

I read comments from some of these Republicans/conservatives talking of an upcoming trip by First Lady Michelle Obama, her mother and her daughters. Several of them said "I hope her plane goes down." Another wrote "Can we book a flight for them on Malaysian Air or that airline that crashed into the Alps?"  These comments are simply unbelievable to me. What have Michelle Obama, who has no political power whatsoever, or her two daughters, done to deserve a death wish? Those girls can't help who their parents are. And besides having a really bad attitude and a chip on her shoulder, Michelle is mostly harmless. 

Some express their desire that the President be shot or hung. Do they understand what would happen to our society if that happened? Do they really think we'd be better off? I'd like to see Obama impeached, for many reasons, but I don't wish him or his family any personal harm. We're supposed to be a Christian nation (regardless of Obama's denial of that) and most people on the right side of the political aisle profess to be believers. And these people are wishing for the death of the President and his family. 

How much hate must one have in his heart to wish another person dead? It's not necessarily a racist thing - it's just anti-Christian rhetoric that turns people into the very thing they vilify.

Last year in an interview, Oprah Winfrey said that old white people who are racists just need to die off. People on the right went crazy, calling her all kinds of names. But if you're complaining about the left hating America and/or not caring what happens to our country and/or our soldiers, or some other complaint, and you're stating that the answer to the problem is for them to die, how does that make you any better than Oprah?

I already know there will be people who will say "I'm wishing it for my country." And there are times, possibly in the near future, when a fight to preserve the United States of America may become necessary. But to wish a sitting President and/or his family dead? There is something seriously wrong with that type of thinking.

Mr. Biden, as well as our President, will be in my prayers. I pray often that God will open Obama's eyes to what's truly best for our nation. I pray for peace and healing in the hearts of Mr. Biden and his family, and strength for Beau's children, who are now fatherless.

I also pray for those who hate others, regardless of the reason. The only ones they really hurt with that hatred are themselves and their families.

I have the utmost sympathy for Vice President Biden and his family in their time of great loss. And if you happen to be one of those who doesn't don't worry - I feel sorry for you as well.

New Jersey Gun Laws Lead To A Woman's Death

New Jersey resident, Carol Brown, lived in fear. He ex-boyfriend was not happy about their breakup and had let her know on more than one occasion. Fearing he would actually hurt her she got a restraining order against him, installed security cameras outside her home, and applied for a gun license in April of this year.

On Monday, June 1st, Carol checked on her gun license to see how much longer it would take. On Wednesday Carol was dead - stabbed to death in her own driveway. Her ex-boyfriend, Michael Eitel, has been arrested and charged with her murder.

Eitel is a felon with a long rap sheet. He was charged in 2006 with aggravated assault with bodily injury. In 2008, he pleaded guilty to a weapons charge and received a five year sentence. Why Carol was with him is impossible to know at this point but she had broken it off.

The Berlin Township Police Chief confirmed that Carol had indeed applied for her handgun license on April 21st. He said the process can take two months or longer. Carol died just 10 days short of the two months.

New Jersey's gun laws are draconian and, in this case, led to the death of Carol Brown.

In 2009, Governor Chris Christie signed 10 gun control bills into law. “These commonsense measures will both strengthen New Jersey’s already tough gun laws and upgrade penalties for those who commit gun crimes and violate gun-trafficking laws,” Christie said. “As elected leaders, our first duty is to maintain public safety, and these new laws will help reduce gun violence and keep our streets and communities safer.”

Your gun laws don't work well, Governor. A woman who was following the law is dead and a gun might very well have prevented it. Gun laws only hinder law-abiding citizens. It's not rocket science.

Tired Of The Duggars.... AND Bruce Jenner

Every night for the past week the Duggar family, until recently a family I knew absolutely nothing about, has been on the news. It seems the Duggar's oldest son molested some of his younger sisters when he was 14 (12 years ago.) The mainstream media wants to make Josh Duggar out to be a monster for something he did at age 14 (and, following treatment, has apparently never done again) while Fox News' Megan Kelly interviewed his parents and two of his (victim) sisters without prejudice - just to get answers.

Liberal pundits went crazy after the interview, calling Josh Duggar a pedophile and condemning Fox for having the audacity to interview the Duggars on TV. I even heard a psychologist call Josh Duggar a pedophile which, to me at least, seems an unfair label considering this doctor is basing his opinion on what he has heard and not on first hand information from Duggar himself. 

From what I've heard and read, Josh Duggar told his parents what he did. They reported it to the police, even telling their daughters to tell the truth about what happened. The police didn't take action against Duggar and his parents sought treatment for him. Josh and his family, who are devout Christians, asked God for forgiveness and they went on with their lives until they got a national TV show, which put them in the spotlight - at least for those who watch that stuff. (I don't.)

There are questions about whether or not Duggar's police report should have been released to the public since he and the girls were minors at the time of the incident. Some say they should not have been released, others say they were properly released under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA.) I'm not a legal expert so I don't have any idea. The fact is - they were released.

The Duggar's TV show has been canceled and they are now the subject of ridicule and condemnation from the left. What's interesting about that is that when a liberal does something equally disgusting, like molesting her little sister, the main stream media ignores it completely. 

Of course, I'm speaking of actress Lena Dunham, who recently published a book in which she says she explored the genitals of her little sister and masturbated while laying next to her in bed. Dunham said that she was merely a curious child so she didn't do anything wrong. The main stream media hasn't jumped on it and called her a pedophile and a pervert. It's somehow different when you're a liberal celebrity, it seems.

Personally, like the Bruce Jenner story, I wish this whole Duggar thing would disappear from my TV screen. Josh Duggar wasn't prosecuted so the only one he now has to answer to is God. And it seems he has already done that. The Bible says "If we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us of all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9) According to the family, Josh has confessed his sins and, if the Bible is true (and I believe it is) Duggar has been forgiven by God. That in no way absolves him of the legal ramifications of the law of the land - but it seems the statute of limitations has done that. 

News networks - please drop the stories of both Josh Duggar and Bruce Jenner. Neither story has any real social value. You're not putting the stories out there to help anyone - merely to get ratings through sensationalism. Josh Duggar is not a monster - he's a man who did something terrible as a young teenager, sought help, apologized and moved on with his life. Then he got found out by the media. Bruce Jenner is no hero. He's a man whose brain has a chemical imbalance and he's using it to seek increased publicity and fame. If not he'd be doing all of this quietly instead of posing for Vanity Fair.

I would change the channel but since it's on every news channel that doesn't work. Perhaps I will just skip the news for a few more days weeks...

Ted Cruz Mocks Joe Biden....

...during his time of grief over his son's death.

That's what the headline says. And the headline is correct. Except it leaves out the part where Cruz made a public apology to the Bidens and said what he did was wrong.

“It was a mistake to use an old joke about Joe Biden during his time of grief, and I sincerely apologize,” Cruz said just hours later. “The loss of his son is heartbreaking and tragic, and our prayers are very much with the vice president and his family.”

The headline in other publications was "Ted Cruz Apologizes For Mocking Joe Biden During Time Of Grief." But that just doesn't have the same bite to it, does it?

What Cruz did was unfortunate but I don't believe it was intended to hurt the Bidens in any way. There is nothing sacred on the campaign trail and the small joke that Cruz made about Biden being funny because of the things he says was not meant to be cruel, particularly during this tragic time in the Bidens private lives.

Cruz had the decency to apologize for what he said. And I believe he meant it. He's a father. But the media outlets that want to demonize him for it will continue to post the headline.


In other news....

Hillary Clinton spoke about voting rights at Texas Southern University yesterday. The day before the event reporters were notified by the Clinton campaign of the rules for attending the event. Here's a quote from the Memo they received:

"You must stay within the barricades once you enter the arena. There will be media only restrooms located down the hall to the left of the media area. The arena has wireless internet and the login and password will be displayed on the tables. There will be NO (emphasis theirs) opportunity to interview Hillary Clinton; her speech will be her interview."

I would say the arrogance of the Clinton campaign, and Hillary herself, are surprising but they're really not. Hillary not only believes she will be the next President but believes that it's hers and hers alone. I'd be surprised if she doesn't tell any Republican challenger to drop out of the race now since they don't have a chance of beating her. That's how arrogant she really is.


And finally -

For the last 12 years in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, city buses have had various slogans painted on them. Among them were the following: “Ziggin Zaggin Ziggin,” “All Around Up and Down,” “Here and There,” “Movin and Shakin,” “Movin and Groovin” and “Rockin and Rollin,” I have no idea what the intent of the slogans is but no one has complained about them, until recently.

A woman named Tracey Jennings happened to look in her rear view mirror one day and saw something she apparently couldn't believe. The words "Ziggin Zaggin Ziggin," when viewed in the reverse image in her mirror, suddenly turned into a racial slur - at least in her mind. It's difficult to say how many other people throughout the years have looked in their mirror and seen "niggiZ niggaZ niggiZ" but if anyone believed it was a racial slur they never said anything about it.

“I just so happened to be stopped at a red light next to one and saw it. Whose brilliant campaign was this?” Jennings told the New Pittsburgh Courier.

Her Facebook post concerning what she saw said:

"REALLY PORT AUTHORITY! On my way into work I see this on the side of the bus… It says ‘ZIGGIN ZAGGIN ZIGGIN’, from the outside. Take a minute and soak that in. If you are sitting on the bus and looking out the window, what you will read is ‘N***IZ N***AZ N***IZ!!’ I never noticed this until this morning.. So how long have N***AZ been on the bus???"

Uh... twelve years, Tracey. Twelve years.

The Port Authority has vowed to remove the slogans, within two weeks, from the nine buses on which the slogan is painted and has apologized, saying they never meant to offend anyone. And up until recently it seems they never did.

Now that the reverse image of the words has been declared a racist statement it seems in the Port Authority's best interest to remove them from the buses. But what's next? Does everyone who advertises something need to look at it backwards to see if someone might possibly construe it as offensive? Will they have to look at all of the words in the advertisement to see if they can be rearranged into something that could offend someone? Where does it end?

The words on these buses have been there for 12 years and didn't seem to bother anyone. But in today's society, where everyone is offended by practically everything, it seems like we, as a nation, are going backward - and not just looking in a mirror. Many in this country today see racism in everything, from voter ID laws (you need an ID for nearly everything in this country), to police activities, to disapproval of the President's policies - and now things you see in reverse in your rear view mirror.

President Obama was supposed to be the 'great uniter." Racial tensions are higher today than they have been since the early 70s. The President himself blames disagreement with his policies on racial animosity. And liberals in general attempt to fight disagreement with their ever popular "racist" accusations.

Some progress.

The World Is Going Crazy... And Other Things You Already Know

Legendary Olympic athlete, Bruce Jenner, has revealed that he wants to be a woman and that he is going to transgender in the near future. It's not a huge surprise - he's been working on it for a while now. A few weeks ago he did an interview with Dianne Sawyer in which he announced his intentions. Last week he posed, wearing hair extensions and lingerie, for the cover of Vanity Fair, announcing his new lifestyle and name.

To my knowledge Jenner hasn't had the actual surgery yet. At least I haven't seen it all over the news. He told Sawyer his transition has not been completed. If that's true then his Vanity Fair cover is a man in drag. That doesn't rank hero status, last time I checked the definition of the word, yet that's what some are calling him.

Even the President of the United States spoke publicly about Jenner's status (he must keep up with the Kardashians, after all) and talked of Jenner's courage. While I personally believe that making an announcement like this to the world does take personal courage (your entire life is going to change and you're going to take ridicule as well as encouragement) it doesn't come near the hero status that some are trying to bestow on him. And yes - until the surgery is completed he's still a him. I don't care how he identifies.

Personally, I don't much care what Bruce Jenner does. He's not important in my life. But I wish they'd take him off the TV and stop calling him a hero. What he's doing now does not rate hero status. Heroes are those individuals who selflessly put others ahead of themselves, often risking their own lives to do so. Call me a hater if you will but I just don't see Jenner doing that with this announcement. I'm pretty sure he's not doing it for someone else.

There's an interesting new story out there, along these same lines, that make one wonder where society will draw the line concerning what people want and desire and how far we will go to accommodate them. A doctor in Canada has identified people who suffer from Body Integrity Identity Disorder (BIID), also called "transability." They believe their perfectly healthy and complete bodies should not be complete and have a deep need to make themselves disabled by removing a limb or becoming blind or some other body altering thing.

One man cut off his right arm and told people he had done it accidentally. It was later discovered that he had tried several times before and kept working, studying first aid as well, until he found a way to do it. This is not a joke.

“My goal was to get the job done with no hope of reconstruction or re-attachment, and I wanted some method that I could actually bring myself to do,” said One Hand Jason, as he now calls himself.

Transable is a real condition. From the Federalist.com:

“We define transability as the desire or the need for a person identified as able-bodied by other people to transform his or her body to obtain a physical impairment,” says Alexandre Baril, a Quebec born academic who will present on “transability” at this week’s Congress of the Social Sciences and Humanities at the University of Ottawa. “The person could want to become deaf, blind, amputee, paraplegic. It’s a really, really strong desire.”

So is this a mental disorder? Does a person who wants to be disabled when they're not, even going so far as to destroy a limb or appendage (one man wants his penis cut off - not to be a woman but to be considered disabled), or wants to be blind or paraplegic, suffer from mental illness? They want to alter their bodies from the natural state and permanently change them. Do they need help?

If your answer is yes, does that same logic apply to transgenders (people who want to alter their bodies to be something other than they were naturally designed) or are they somehow different? If transables are not deemed mentally ill is society going to help them attain their desires by assisting them with their bodily mutilation? Have we come that far?


Finally, changing the subject just a bit - in a poll that will make liberal heads spin far and wide, a new CNN poll says that George W. Bush's favorability rating is now 52% positive. That's interesting considering the latest CNN poll also shows that President Obama now has a 52% disapproval rating. I'm having a difficult time controlling my laughter. In 2009, when Obama took office, only about 1/3 of the American people had a favorable opinion of W. I predicted back then that as time went on Bush's approval rating would improve. I think President Obama has helped it tremendously.

Obama's failures over the last six years, his huge lack of meaningful response to ISIS most recently (63% of Americans disapprove of Obama's actions toward ISIS), has contributed to Bush's approval rating rising. Regardless of what Bush may have done wrong, when it came to national security and confronting radical Islam Bush was in his game. Americans felt far safer from terrorism with Bush at the helm. And rightly so. You never would have seen W try to make a nuclear deal with a nation that hates us and has vowed to destroy Israel. Period.

I now predict the longer Obama is in office the higher George W. Bush's approval ratings will climb. That's really got to irk Obama. I'm guessing he had one of his temper tantrums when he first learned of it and soon he'll be placing CNN in the same category with Fox. He doesn't take kindly to bad publicity - especially from someone who's supposed to be an ally!

Obama Spent Most Of Yesterday Telling Lies

President Obama had a big day yesterday. He spoke to a group of young Asian leaders who are part of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. These young leaders were subjected to the President's propagandizing but I wonder if they realized it. Most likely they did.

President Obama began by telling them that he had restored the world's respect of America since he's been President. Really - he said that.

"People don’t remember, but when I came into office, the United States in world opinion ranked below China and just barley above Russia," Obama said. "And today once again, the United States is the most respected country on earth, and part of that I think is because of the work we did to reengage the world and say that we want to work with you as partners with mutual interests and mutual respect. It was on that basis we were able to end two wars while still focusing on the very real threat of terrorism and to try to work with our partners in Iraq and Afghanistan. It’s the reason why we are moving in the direction of normalize relations with Cuba. The nuclear deal that we are trying to negotiate with Iran."

I'd sure like to know where he's getting his information. Who is it, exactly, that has gained this new respect for us? Russia certainly doesn't respect us. Putin shows less respect for Obama and the US than Bill Mahar shows for God. He does what he wants regardless of Obama. He invaded Ukraine and recently has been flying bombers off the coast of Alaska. Yeah - that's some respect.

China doesn't respect us. Take a look at what's going on in the South China Sea right now.

Iran doesn't respect us. They laugh at us and at the nuclear deal that Obama believes will happen. They agree to a deal then say "But we're not going to abide by it," and Obama and Kerry pretend that the Iranians respect us. There is no country in the world that thinks the nuclear joke deal is a good thing - except Iran. And that's because they're going to get major benefits from the US for making the deal without sticking to the agreement.

So which countries are the ones who respect us now? Do you have a list, Mr. President?

Mr. Obama went on to tell these young leaders about his alleged political principles. But those of us who have been paying attention found ourselves scratching our heads in wonder while listening to his words.

“One of my core principles is that I will never engage in a politics in which I’m trying to divide people or make them less than me because they look different or have a different religion,” Obama said. “That’s a core principle, that’s not something I would violate.”

“Unfortunately, too many politicians, they’re just climbing the ladder but they don’t know why, and when they get there then they’re not very effective leaders,” he explained.

“That’s when you lose your way, right?” Obama said. “You have to be willing to lose something for your principles, you have to be willing to lose an election.”

President Obama is trying to lecture other politicians about being effective leaders? Really?

Barack Obama studies Saul Alinsky while in college. Saul Alinsky was a radical community organizer who wrote a book called "Rules For Radicals." Among these rules are the following:

*Whenever possible, go outside the expertise of the enemy. Look for ways to increase insecurity, anxiety and uncertainty.

*Ridicule is man’s most potent weapon. There is no defense. It’s irrational. It’s infuriating. It also works as a key pressure point to force the enemy into concessions.

*A good tactic is one your people enjoy. They’ll keep doing it without urging and come back to do more.

*Keep the pressure on. Never let up. Keep trying new things to keep the opposition off balance. As the opposition masters one approach, hit them from the flank with something new.

*If you push a negative hard enough, it will push through and become a positive. Violence from the other side can win the public to your side because the public sympathizes with the underdog.

*Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it. Cut off the support network and isolate the target from sympathy. Go after people and not institutions; people hurt faster than institutions.

This is exactly what President Obama has been doing. He has been dividing the country racially, economically and politically. Racial tension in this country is as high as it was in the late 60s. The Obama administration has demonized law enforcement, making them out to be racist murderers based on a few incidents (most of which turned out to be the opposite of what the Obama administration put out). He sends White House delegations to the funerals of black criminals and all but ignores makes some minor comment about violence when police officers are assassinated just for being cops. His comment following the Professor Gates incident in Cambridge, Massachusetts, soon after he took office seems to be his philosophy for police departments nationwide: 

"I don't have all the facts but the police acted stupidly."

He pretty much said the same thing following the Michael Brown shooting, which ended up making him look bad since his hit man Attorney General could find no evidence of police wrongdoing in the case following and extensive effort to do just that. 

Obama's Justice Department became a wanna be lynch mob under Holder. After President Obama waded into the Trayvon Martin case ("If I had a son he would look like Trayvon.") Eric Holder tried everything he could do to find some fault with George Zimmerman - even opening a Zimmerman hotline for people to call with any possible information that could be used against him in a civil rights case. It was an unprecedented attempt to railroad someone who was found not guilty of the charges that Holder wanted to level at Zimmerman. Holder failed in his efforts but that didn't change the fact that he tried. 

The President lies about the economy, saying the unemployment rate is down to 5.4% when in reality it's over 11% and nearly 93 million people over the age of 16 are not participating in the work force. The unemployment numbers are a sham.

Obama is really good at ridiculing the enemy (the Republicans.) He blames Republicans for anything and everything, when he's not blaming George W. Bush. He takes no responsibility for anything negative that happens on his watch. 

The Obama administration has more people on food stamps and government assistance today than any administration in history. With so many people out of work, government assistance has climbed exponentially. Forty-seven million Americans are now on the food stamp program. That's nearly double the number at the beginning of 2008. Obama blamed Bush for the rising numbers after he (Obama) took office but now, six years later, the economy, unemployment and the unprecedented number of food stamp recipients is on him. And his lies become evident simply by looking at factual information.

Alinsky said "If you push a negative hard enough, it will push through and become a positive." 

The Obama administration feels the same way about lying. If they tell the lie enough times people (including them) begin to believe it. It's been that way since the beginning of Obama's Presidency. His mouthpieces - Robert Gibbs, Jay Carney and Josh Earnest, all have the amazing ability to lie with straight faces and to make up lies as they go. The position of Press Secretary has lost all integrity under the Obama administration. 

President Obama has spent his entire Presidency dividing the American people. It's something at which he excels. Anyone who is paying attention knows this. But once again he lied. He lied about America's standing in the world. He lied about his "core principles," and he lies about pretty much everything else. Sadly, the main stream media no longer employs journalists. You know - the ones who used to hold Presidents accountable for their words and actions. Main stream journalism joined the Democrat party in 2007.

Some Things I've Learned In 58 Years....

Today is my 58th birthday. I woke up this morning feeling no different. My body still feels the same as it did yesterday - arthritic joints and all. (Although the sunshine is helping with that after two weeks of rain.)

I began to think about all of the things I have seen and done in my lifetime. For a high school graduate with only a couple hours of college education I've led an interesting life. I've lived in 9 states, have visited 35 of the others (only need Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, North Dakota, Alaska and Hawaii to complete all 50...  except I heard somewhere there are now 57...?) and have lived a total of 7 years outside the continental U.S. in Germany and Puerto Rico.

I've been in 13 countries besides the United States and have seen many unforgettable sights. My career choices, made by chance, led me to most of the places I lived and visited. Eight years in the Air Force and 22 working in federal prisons took me to some great places. And I made thousands of friends and acquaintances as I went. I thank you all for being a part of my journey.

I've learned a lot of things over the years. Beginning with the basics - I learned to feed myself, speak English (albeit limited at the time) and to go to the bathroom on my own. I learned all of that by the time I was three!

I also learned that I wasn't going to get my way all the time and that my actions have consequences.

As I grew older (grade school) I learned that most people treat you in accordance with how you treat them or how you act. That's something that followed me throughout my life and to every place that I've visited in the world.

I've learned that life is unfair sometimes. No matter what you do, no matter how you treat people, no matter how much money you have or where you live - sometimes life is unfair. Everyone gets disappointed sometimes and nobody ever gets everything they want. Sadly, today's children are being taught that everything in life is fair. They get trophies for participating. Some children's sports leagues don't allow score keeping so there are no winners and no losers. These poor kids are not being prepared for real life and their disappointments are going to be magnified immensely because they're not learning to deal with disappointment now.

I've learned that there is no perfect President or political candidate. No matter your party affiliation or political views there is not one President or candidate with which you will completely agree and have no differences. People are people. They have different ideas. And politicians have different ideas than most.

I've learned that many people in this country vote with their emotions rather than with honest, logical thought and consideration. Many people don't take the time to research a candidate and what they stand for. They vote for appearance, (Bill Clinton), ethnicity (Obama) and many want to vote for gender in the next election. These people are not helping the nation.

I've learned that no matter how long it's been since you've seen a friend or family member you love, no matter how much time has passed since you last talked - if the relationship is real - the next time you see each other you'll immediately take up where you left off and it will be as if the time never passed (except for the physical changes of aging, that is...). Love doesn't depend on full time contact. Love survives time and distance.

On that note - I've learned that reconnecting with old friends can be wonderful - whether that re-connection is temporary or permanent. I have had people return to my life for a short visit. But they left me changed. I've got others who returned and are now a permanent part of my life. Both are good.

I've learned that the love of my life is a woman from my past that I never thought I'd see again. She returned to my life and I was changed!

And not that it takes the place of human love and contact but I've learned that the pure, unconditional love you get from a dog is unique and wonderful and can also be life changing.

I've learned that sometimes unexpectedly good things happen that change your life. By the same token, I've learned that sometimes unexpectedly bad things happen that change your life. Both are a part of life and both can be used to your advantage.

I've learned you can get over great tragedy in your life by trusting in God, family and friends. The world goes on and you can either let something consume you or pick yourself up and move on. It's not easy. It takes strength and fortitude. For me it also took God. He brought me through the darkest part of my life and continues to give me strength each day.

I've learned that there is truth in the old saying "What doesn't kill you will make you stronger." I've also learned that there is great truth in the saying "You never know how strong you can be until being strong is the only choice you have."

I've learned that I have become a fairly accomplished writer and that I had the ability to write and publish a book. I've also learned that my dreams for the success of my book are far greater than that success really is. But I did it.

* I've learned that love doesn't necessarily conquer all. Sometimes, in the real world, you have to blow things up. That's what our military is for.

Through my travels I've learned and re-learned that the United States of America is still the greatest country in the world.

I've learned that drinking bad coffee is no way to start the day and that no restaurant or coffee shop makes coffee as good as what I make at home.

I've learned that wealth and fame doesn't automatically give someone common sense. In fact - sometimes it has the opposite effect.

From working in prisons most of my adult life I've learned patience. When you have to wait for someone else to unlock a door or open a sliding gate before you proceed you learn to be patient.

I've learned that life is mostly what you make it.

I've learned that happiness is a choice. One can live in misery worrying about the bad things in life or rejoice and be thankful for the good things. It's a choice. Many make the wrong one.

I've learned that playing in the band at our church is not only rewarding but fun. And I've learned that I'm better on my guitar than I thought.

I've learned that having Jesus in the center of my life makes other things fall into place.

And I've learned that the unending love of my wife takes care of the rest.

Mostly I've learned to be grateful every day for what I have and for the blessings I've accrued over the years.

And remember what I said above about the way you treat others? I've learned, through all of my travels and even from my career working with inmates, that the way you treat others does make a difference in the way most will interact with you.

In Matthew 7:12, Jesus said "So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets."

The Golden Rule is still some of the best advice ever given. I have tried to live it throughout my life and can tell you, without a doubt, that it works in most cases. It doesn't work every time and it doesn't work with all people. (See asterisk above.) But it certainly makes for a better life - at least in my case.

Thank you all for reading my stuff . To my family - I didn't pick you nor you me. But I'm happy and thankful for each of you - even if I don't tell you often enough.

To those who are friends - thanks again for being a part of my life. I look forward to the future and the adventures it brings. And I thank God for the life He has given me.